Back from the summer heat

OMG! It has been a while, yes? I blame it on the ridiculously hot summer. This summer made me want to strip down to the skivvies and lie in a bathtub full of ice and do not much else. Seriously. Glad that it's over, but I wish that autumn would just be autumn already!

Anyhoo, back to business. I cannot believe I missed this in June, but I was awfully glad to see it. El Paso is on the cusp of something really exciting, and though there is still a lot of work to do, I think this is fine example of where we are headed:

Thanks, Texas Monthly and Kristie Ramirez, for again taking note of that one Texas town that is in a whole other time zone. Ramirez mentions in her Street Smarts column, "Visit chic salons, an indie press, and a cool old theater in this city on the Rio Grande." Niiice.

Big juicy —TASTY — burgers

I love that Texas has a national magazine! Yes, the mother of all Texas publications, Texas Monthly, is known as the National Publication of Texas. With that said, I finally got around to reading the August issue (yes, just a few days before the last day of this wickedly hot month), which lists the Top 50 burgers in the state (www.texasmonthly.com/2009-08-01/feature.php).

I'm sure you've probably all already been alerted to the fact that two of our very finest — Toro Burger and Rosco Burger — joined some of Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston's finest meatpatties on a bun. But I like to look at it this way, since Texas Monthly is the national mag, then Toro and Rosco burgers are some of the best in our fine nation! :D

It warms my heart to know that El Pasoans are delving into the culinary shift that has taken hold of our nation (the nation at large, not just our Texas Republic). I now realize, sadly, that I am not too familiar with many El Paso restaurants, partly because I don't live there and partly because, as a kid, my family didn't eat out much. To this day, my dad still gets annoyed that we'd rather go out for a bite than just eat what's in the refrigerator. I've some El Paso favorites, sure. But they are largely located in the small radius of my 'hood.

So, it got me thinking, what IS the best burger in El Paso? How about Thai food? How about Mexican food, for that matter? I'm a slave to Yelp, but sadly what reviews there are to find about El Paso is typical (Chico's and H&H). The point of Yelp is to discover new places! To delve into the new and discover a world outside of the little radius of your 'hoods. Where have you been to eat? I'd like to know. What are your favorites? Tell me, please. Yelp about it. Urban Spoon it. Let your fellow El Pasoans in on the secret. for the love of food, tell us! Pretty please?

As a side note, here's a fun El Paso food website: www.eskimo.com/~sockeye/index.html.

Also, one of those fine national burgers places listed in Texas Monthly was Parkside in Austin. I mention this because my fiance works there! The boy LOOOOOOOOOOVES food — everything about it. He cooks with love and passion and joy. You can taste it in anything he makes, even if it is just a bowl of Ramen noodles. So, if you're ever in Austin and looking for a great place to eat, mosey on over to Parkside — the food will be made especially for you, with love.

I leave the politics to the smart peeps

I usually steer clear from the politics on this blog. From the stuff that I think I know about, but probably really don't. From the things that passionately infuriate me, and the things that are better left coming from a more eloquent, more educated wordsmith. But sometimes, just sometimes, I want to open my mouth. And say the things that might make my friends mad. Or my family disappointed. Or that may be just plain wrong. Some days, I just want to say what is on my mind.

I'm glad that there are El Pasoans that aren't willing to back down, or shut up or who are not afraid to speak up for what is right. Thanks Gabe Bombara for saying what I couldn't find the words for! Thank you for representing El Paso by being a law student and showing that Chuco Town is made up of more than slow, laid-back folk. That El Paso IS multicultural in its own right, and thank you for making it NOT okay to downplay our culture and our upbringing, because how often is it that you meet someone who grew up on a border with another country and state, anyway? Thank you for letting us feel okay about being able to relate more closely to a whole other country and a whole other state than the one that is constantly claiming that we don't belong.




Thank you Ms. Cageyness for letting the Perez Hiltons of the world know that, yes, there are homophobes in El Paso, but no, that is not how everybody in the town feels. Thank you for letting the world know that many of us want equal rights for everybody, regardless of nationality, color, sexual preference, or ideology. Thank you for standing up for a town that is far away physically, but close at heart.

Thank you fellow El Pasoans — both those who are far and away and those still at home — for making El Paso a town that I will always love.

Who says there's nothing to do in El Paso?

Get up, get out, and get gone. Get out and have some fun, fun, fun.
Sleepercar will be performing a free concert at the 2009 Plaza Classic Film Festival on Friday, August 7 at 8 p.m. in the Arts Festival Plaza. The band's frontman Jim Ward composed and recorded the original score for "Motel, Glimpse" and the film also features several Sleepercar songs. Come to the show and get pumped for the world premiere screening of "Motel, Glimpse" at the Plaza's Philanthropy Theater on Saturday, August 8 at 10:00 p.m.!

Motel, Glimpse
With special guests Zach Passero and Justin Stone
Sponsored by Mills Plaza Properties
2009 | Not Rated | Drama, Drama | d. Zach Passero, Justin Stone
Justin Stone, Zach Passero, Lindsay Stone
Philanthropy Theatre
Saturday, Aug 8 at 10:00 PM
Digital
World Premiere Screening

As a teenager, Lee fled his hometown in the American Midwest. Six years later he returns, a strange kind of ghost seeking haunt in his mother’s basement, seeking the other who resides there - Ready, his brother.

Ready’s plans for Lee and himself include a landscape business, a rock n’ roll band, a new truck, girlfriends, big bucks and late nights of high life. Getting it together. But the biggest plan involves partnership with the mysterious Stuze.

Hunt some arrowheads down by the creek, fall heel over head. Look into the past, the future. Look into her eyes. Trip to California…

Get a rope

This kind of made me chuckle. I found it quite interesting, though, that the Old El Paso brand's home is Melbourne! That's a lotta Old El Paso there. www.flickr.com/photos/phototram/331889134/

ILUVEP

I love, love, love my pups — they are sweet, never complain, and have the stinkiest puppy breath. Aside from that, I'm a dog lover at heart and am always looking for ways to help animals, especially those with no homes (The Animal Rescue Site is an easy way to get started!). So, I've planned for some time to buy those Texas "animal friendly" license plates with the happy little dog and cat and just never get around to it.

Today, I decide to stop messing around. Except, I was playing a tug-o-war between that one, and two El Paso plates. You see, there is of course, the UTEP license plate, which I've seen once or twice while driving around. But, then there is the lesser-known El Paso Mission Valley license plate. I say this only because I've never seen this on any El Paso car, and that just ain't right!











For just $30, you can help the keep one of El Paso's most historical icons in tiptop shape. According to the TxDOT website, "from the $30 specialty plate fee, $22 goes to the Texas Historical Commission to make grants to the Socorro Mission Restoration Effort for the preservation and rehabilitation of the Socorro Mission." How great is that? How come we, as El Pasoans, aren't doing more to help preserve our history??

If that's not your style, at the very least, show your UTEP pride. For every UTEP license purchased, $22 will be deposited in a general scholarship fund. That's right. Educate your fellow El Pasoans, so they can make it a better place to live (plus, education is just plain good for folks!).










Maybe the puppies and kitties will have to wait. But, I hope that I'll be seeing more Mission and UTEP plates next time I'm driving around town.

Let's hear it for Omar, yo!

Ode to a childhood hero, a secret crush, a kid I'll never know, but who is a friend of a friend of a friend. Good job, Omar. Or shall I say, Mr. Lopez?

Photo courtesy of www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=38640