Author Archives: Martin
FREE RANGE: FOOD, NATURE, PLACE, AND MORE
The mythical West: John Wesley Powell and the limits of individualism
In reflecting on some of the issues Heather raised in her recent post on billboards and property rights, I’ve found myself forced to the conclusion that the American West doesn’t really exist, and never did. Oh, I don’t deny the … Continue reading
A school of fish: Izaak Walton at Madroño Ranch
… doubt not, therefore, sir, that angling is an art, and an art worth your learning. The question is rather, whether you be capable of learning it? Inspired by the recent Freshwater Fly-Fishing School at Madroño Ranch, I’ve been rereading … Continue reading
Posted in More
Tagged Dai Due, fishing, Henry David Thoreau, Izaak Walton, Jesse Griffiths, Morgan Angelone, Thomas McGuane, Tink Pinkard
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Down home and out of place: East Side blues
As regular readers of this blog know, we believe firmly in the pleasures—and, even more, the importance—of cultivating the kind of deep knowledge of people and landmarks and events, present and past, that only comes with long residence in a … Continue reading
Posted in Place
Tagged Antone's, Austin, blues, Fabulous Thunderbirds, Little Elmore Reed Blues Band, maps, sense of place, TC's Lounge, Texas music
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Bivalves and F-bombs: happy birthday, Dad!
My father, Franz Kohout, turns eighty-six tomorrow. He is, I believe, a world-class eccentric—an opinion, I should add, shared by many. He still lives on Nob Hill in San Francisco, a half block down California Street from Grace Cathedral, in … Continue reading
Posted in More
Tagged bivalves, F-bombs, Le Pétomane, Rio de Janeiro, San Francisco, Santiago de Compostela
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The Trans-Pecos: fried chicken and freshwater sharks
West Texas has been much on my mind recently, in part because Heather and I drove down to San Marcos a couple of weeks ago for a panel discussion marking the opening of an exhibition entitled Big Bend: Land of … Continue reading
March Madness: mountain laurels, plastic ducks, and ‘roid rage
Jeff Meikle), the changing definition of childhood, the history of American environmentalism, and more. He writes well and often amusingly, but the overall message of his book is dire: we are almost literally drowning in waste, and we don’t really … Continue reading
Posted in Nature
Tagged baseball, climate change, earthquake, Grist.org, Japan, March Madness, sweat, tryptophan
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Maps and mobility: living in, not on, the land
I was surprised, while reading Rebecca Solnit’s fascinating Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas, to realize that I probably know substantially more about the history of Texas than I do about the history of my native San Francisco. Of course, … Continue reading
Posted in Place
Tagged Bay Area, Frederick Jackson Turner, frontier, home, maps, Rebecca Solnit, San Francisco, sense of place, Texas State Historical Association
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These boots were made for blogging
Owen Wister and Roy Rogers, Audie Murphy, John Wayne, and a powerful pull. All of which only partially explains why I just bought myself a pair of a certain professional football team based in Dallas. Moreover, my feet are famous … Continue reading
Posted in Place
Tagged Audie Murphy, boots, Clint Eastwood, cowboys, Dallas Cowboys, England, Gary Cooper, Gene Autry, John Wayne, Nudie's, Owen Wister, Roy Rogers, sense of place, Tom Mix, Zane Grey
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