The Texas Reds Steak and Grape Festival is October 7-8, 2011, in Downtown Bryan, Texas.

A new twist this year: general admission is $4 or $5. They’ll have the event gated” so they know who paid and who didn’t. The rational? To make up for the revenue they’ll loose for the two days. Seriously? I find it hard to believe that the City of Bryan makes $50,000 in two days from the 5 square blocks of downtown where the event is being held. I may not go just on principle.

This year, the Texas Steak and Grape Festival celebrates it 4th anniversary, June 18-19. They also have a spiffy new (WordPress) Web site, and I think the City of Bryan is sponsoring it; they’re hosting the site.

I may be out of town that week so I don’t know if I’ll make it to the festival. I’ll just have to have some steak and grapes in honor of the festival somewhere else.

It snowed in Texas tonight, February 11, 2010.

Just as soon as Tom Schieffer announced that he will not run for governor, Houston Mayor, Bill White, had a press conference to announce that he will decide by (Dec 4) if he will run for governor or stick with his original plan and run for a US Senate seat – the one presumably vacated by Kay Bailey Hutchison – but White wants to hear from the people of Texas as to what he should do. You can tell him what to do at his web site.

Seeing as how KBH said she will not vacate the Senate while health care is up in the air. I don’t see White filling that seat. The others on the Republican dance card are Larry Kilgore and Debra Medina.

The Dem-dance so far includes Farouk Shami, Felix Alvarado, Kinky Friedman, Hank Gilbert.

Looking at their web sites, I want to scream, “Neeeext?!”

Farouk Shami fires up his campaign Web page

Hair care millionaire Farouk Shami fired up his Farouk for Governor Web page today in anticipation of his official launch Thursday into the campaign for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

Others in the race include Felix Alvarado, Kinky Friedman, Hank Gilbert and Tom Schieffer.
Source Farouk Shami fires up his campaign Web page | Texas Politics | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle.

Paul Burka, Governor Rick Perry, even former university president Ray Bowen, and others have made mention – at least in passing – that Bonfire can/should return to campus and burn again.

Why does Burka keep harping on Bonfire? The words that are said and the way they are said makes it seem like Ags are hell-bent on melting the polar ice caps and raising the average global temperature a few degrees.

Not only is Bonfire dangerous – no matter who builds it – but it’s evironmentally insane. It needlessly forces tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. I thought it was crazy when I first heard about it in 1995, and I still think that it’s crazy to “build” something as massive as Bonfire and then BURN it!

I’m all for traditions. Traditions build unity and keep the past fresh. Aggie Muster is an example of a Tradition. First Yell is an example of a good Tradition. Bonfire is a good example of putting people at risk during “cut” and “build” and contributing to the harm of future generations during “burn”. I think it’s time to put Bonfire to rest and maybe say a prayer (or have a moment of silence) on November 18.

Source: Burkablog: Texas Monthly.

UPDATE:
From an e-mail from Dr. R. Bowen Loftin, Interim President
September 15, 2009
There is a lot of discussion about bringing Bonfire back to campus as we prepare to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the tragedy. Bonfire brings out strong emotions in all of us. As an Aggie, interim president – and father – I believe that the parents who entrust us with their sons’ and daughters’ education expect us to first and foremost do what we can to help ensure their children’s physical safety and well-being. Please keep the families of the Aggies affected by the tragic collapse of Bonfire in your thoughts and prayers as we look ahead to November’s 10th anniversary.

Hunting season starts tomorrow! Just a friendly reminder to get those hunting licenses..Be safe and good hunting!!

Murano’s severance package included being paid her salary of $425,000 while she is on leave through June 2010. She’ll also be paid $295,000 by the end of the week in exchange for agreeing to not file a lawsuit against the system or its officers.

And the other shoe drops…
From the same article:

The special regents meeting kicked off with a presentation that painted a dire economic forecast for Texas A&M University and higher education in general, including continued tuition increases, funding shortfalls in the next legislative session and possible reductions in other revenue sources such as investment earnings.
The presentation — made by B.J. Crain, associate vice chancellor for budgets and accounting — said that Texas A&M University’s total operating budget increased 66 percent from 2000 to 2008, from $553 million to $918 million. The spike was significantly higher than the cost of inflation, she said.

The administration (the BOR, Presidents Murano and Gates) over spent and now it’s time to tighten the belt. Of course combining functions with their flagship university allows the System to save money, but it’s a crutch. They may lower cost slightly and keep income steady, but next year, everyone will be worse off when the Texas Legislature cuts the budget. Long live the president and the office of the president.

“…Presidents and Chancellors come and go….”

As seen on http://texan4texas.wordpress.com/2009/06/17/video-perry-on-murano-decision/