texas: part 1
the former frontierland of western texas is part of the same wretched, desolate dustbowl as the states preceding it. the speed limit east on the I-10 out of el paso is an unprecedented 80 mph - presumably because everyone is trying to get the hell out - but there's no reprieve for hundreds of miles, just a barren wasteland punctuated by terrifying towns recently ghosted. the tiny towns en route from el paso to dallas are a lot like Bowie (AZ), but by now we're more careful of where we seek gas. this is chainsaw country, after all.
detour: the Prada Marfa storefront (Valentine, TX)
Prada Marfa is an art installation by elmgreen and dragset, situated against a desert backdrop just north of the middle of nowhere on the side of highway 90. the storefront holds an unchanging collection of Prada shoes and handbags circa 2005, like a couture version of the Lido before its mystery was unravelled. i think it's amazing, but i guess the locals disagree - in addition to a lot of shitty graffiti, there's a bullet hole above the glass door.
Dallas:
driving through the heart of texas was intense - like playing a wipeout XL edition of the rainbow track in mario kart, but less fun. i don't look forward to my future nightmares of trying to navigate the spaghetti bowl of multi-level criss-crossing highways that encircles the city. fortunately our only objective in dallas was to check out the sixth floor museum and JFK memorial. the museum has a really interesting exhibit of JFK's brief presidency and the events immediately prior to and following the assassination, though it tows the party line pretty hard. it presents the main points of controversy fairly enough, but one gets the impression that the warren commission is at the top of the donor list. the museum also upholds the popular reverence of the kennedys, and was very respectful in its representation of his death (ie: the video footage stops short of jackie trying to put his brains back in, but includes ruby's murder of lee harvey oswald in full). still, the narrative it constructs is compelling. the memorial is a giant concrete cube. it was supposed to be marble, but dallas cheaped out.
detour: the Dr Pepper Museum (Waco, TX)
turns out that david karesh and the branch davidians aren't waco's only claim to fame; it is also the birthplace of the jägermeister of soda! back in the day, dr pepper was just called a waco, cuz that was the only place you could get it. it was originally blended by an apothecary as a stomach tonic, but rose to popularity through the shrewd talents and american values of one of its early delivery men. the museum is quaint and cute, and serves the original recipe from an old-school fountain.
burrito the ninth:
we rolled into austin around suppertime, and were too hungry and hot to venture far from our hotel. we ate at güero's mostly because of beck, and i should've inferred from the name that it would disappoint. though the menu was extensive, it catered to white people palates, and tex-mex is already super bland. i've taken to carrying that LA bottle of hotsauce in my handbag.
aside: i'm sad to be missing hockey.
detour: the Prada Marfa storefront (Valentine, TX)
Prada Marfa is an art installation by elmgreen and dragset, situated against a desert backdrop just north of the middle of nowhere on the side of highway 90. the storefront holds an unchanging collection of Prada shoes and handbags circa 2005, like a couture version of the Lido before its mystery was unravelled. i think it's amazing, but i guess the locals disagree - in addition to a lot of shitty graffiti, there's a bullet hole above the glass door.
Dallas:
driving through the heart of texas was intense - like playing a wipeout XL edition of the rainbow track in mario kart, but less fun. i don't look forward to my future nightmares of trying to navigate the spaghetti bowl of multi-level criss-crossing highways that encircles the city. fortunately our only objective in dallas was to check out the sixth floor museum and JFK memorial. the museum has a really interesting exhibit of JFK's brief presidency and the events immediately prior to and following the assassination, though it tows the party line pretty hard. it presents the main points of controversy fairly enough, but one gets the impression that the warren commission is at the top of the donor list. the museum also upholds the popular reverence of the kennedys, and was very respectful in its representation of his death (ie: the video footage stops short of jackie trying to put his brains back in, but includes ruby's murder of lee harvey oswald in full). still, the narrative it constructs is compelling. the memorial is a giant concrete cube. it was supposed to be marble, but dallas cheaped out.
detour: the Dr Pepper Museum (Waco, TX)
turns out that david karesh and the branch davidians aren't waco's only claim to fame; it is also the birthplace of the jägermeister of soda! back in the day, dr pepper was just called a waco, cuz that was the only place you could get it. it was originally blended by an apothecary as a stomach tonic, but rose to popularity through the shrewd talents and american values of one of its early delivery men. the museum is quaint and cute, and serves the original recipe from an old-school fountain.
burrito the ninth:
we rolled into austin around suppertime, and were too hungry and hot to venture far from our hotel. we ate at güero's mostly because of beck, and i should've inferred from the name that it would disappoint. though the menu was extensive, it catered to white people palates, and tex-mex is already super bland. i've taken to carrying that LA bottle of hotsauce in my handbag.
aside: i'm sad to be missing hockey.