The past looms large for Tony Mandarich – almost as large as the man himself. The NCAA colossus and NFL underachiever has just clambered out of his black monster Jeep in front of his photography studio in North Scottsdale. Unlike his ride and most everything else about Mandarich’s outsize life, the studio is modest. Mandarich… Continue reading From lineman to lensman
Month: April 2023
You’re not from Texas
Scotland’s Duncan McLean knows more about Texas swing than most Texans; it’s an avocation, a pure-hearted love of the form, that sucks up much of the Aberdeenshire-born author’s time. McLean now lives in Orkney, an isolated island chain off the Scottish coast. When he’s not packratting around the mainland in search of golden-age swing recordings… Continue reading You’re not from Texas
Taylor, swift
At 6:15 on a May morning, three months before the start of the 2016 Olympics, controlled chaos reigns at Scottsdale’s Cactus Aquatic & Fitness Center. Fifty-plus teens from Scottsdale Aquatic Club’s elite National Team dart about, huddling and chatting, preparing for a practice in the center’s Olympic pool – one of nine punishing sessions they… Continue reading Taylor, swift
Kindie rock
Once upon a time, rock ’n’ roll was about bad dudes singing about bad shit, and it was very, very bad for you. One of my formative images was punk progenitor Iggy Pop stage-diving onto a field of shattered glass. The dude rose slowly, like a demon out of ooze, gushing corpuscles and grinning like… Continue reading Kindie rock
Belle of the brawl
When the NFL season started in early September, Jen Welter’s well-publicized coaching internship with the Arizona Cardinals officially ended. But the social tectonics set in motion by her hiring certainly didn’t. Many experts inside the world of sports propose that female coaches may have an abiding future in male pro sports leagues. Believed to be… Continue reading Belle of the brawl
South of Houston
Who knew that Houston had an underground? The Tunnel, as the befuddling, 6.3-mile subsurface promenade is informally known, has been with us since the mid-1930s, but it remains one of the city’s least-trumpeted destinations. On purpose. “The Tunnel was never intended to be an attraction. It was not designed; it just kind of evolved,” says… Continue reading South of Houston
Loop de Loop 610
The best ride of the day was not on a roller coaster but in a stretch limousine; it purred there on pitted asphalt, gleaming like polished bone in the Gulf Coast sun. The Six Flags flacks had hand-picked half a dozen limo riders from the gathered throng of media types; most of those at this… Continue reading Loop de Loop 610
Generation exceptional
“We had a rule: absolutely no classical music whatsoever.” Orli Shaham laughs at the memory — and its obvious irony. The young musician is now a mature married woman at 22, and she’s recalling the nuptial ceremony, held more than a month ago in her homeland of Israel. Orli’s a world-class concert pianist. Her husband,… Continue reading Generation exceptional
Aggie yoke
TV’s highly rated Beverly Hillbillies was axed for attracting hicks. Robert Earl Keen wrestles with his own 500-pound demographic gorilla: rednecks. The singer/songwriter — raised in Houston, he graduated from Texas A&M and now lives in Bandera — is bigger than God and Patton to the future farmers and junior militarists called Texas Aggies. The… Continue reading Aggie yoke
Happy death day
The End Date December 21, 2012. 12/21/12. Whatever. While I’m sure I’ll have mixed feelings if the Apocalypse really does go down on the Winter Solstice in 2012 – I won’t get to see the playoffs! I won’t have to pay my mortgage! – I’ll be royally pissed if nothing at all happens. I’m one… Continue reading Happy death day