This Week in Texas: Our Best Stories

Bum steers, BBQ, Nicolas Cage, and more. [View in browser](  [Texas Monthly][Texas Monthly](    This week in texas   The best & the bum Steers [Who's Doing Good and Who's Not In These Crazy Times]( Texans have long taken pride in helping their neighbors as well as strangers, and the coronavirus pandemic has given us inspiring examples of that tradition in action. But there’s always that guy, right? The one who screams at grocery clerks, hoards resources, and threatens to kill and eat his neighbors. As we move into another phase of the pandemic, we are rounding up, on an occasional basis, both the Best Things in Texas and some real Bum Steers. [Read Story]( By dan solomon    news & Politics More Coronavirus-Related Coverage - On Voting: Are [mail-in ballots]( in our future? - On Hair Salons: How they became [the thing to fight about](. - On Prisons: They're hot spots, and [Palestine's got five of them](.    lifestyle & culture For a Break From Coronavirus Coverage - Backyard Chicken Keeping: For eggspert advice, [click here](. - Yoga With Adriene: For inspiration and optimism, [click here](. - Surrealist Entertainment: For a music teacher's musings, [click here](. - Crafting: For how to make stained glass window art, [click here](.    SPONSORED [G]( A Little Optimism]( Time is running out! Don't miss your chance to nominate a Texan to receive a free optimism care package complete with self-care goodies, gift cards, and other fun swag, courtesy of the Texas Optimism Project. [Learn More](  Entertainment [Nicolas Cage + Texas Monthly + Joe Exotic =]( As your most annoying friend will remind you, Shakespeare spent his downtime during the bubonic plague writing King Lear. Pandemics inspired Florentine poet Giovanni Bocaccio’s The Decameron, gave Isaac Newton space to formulate the basics of early calculus, and influenced one of Edvard Munch’s most haunting masterpieces. Great work arises from history’s darkest ebbs, in other words—and now COVID-19 can claim as its own a TV series in which Nicolas Cage will play Joe Exotic. Variety reports this week that Cage will step into the cage as the eccentric zookeeper in an adaptation of [Leif Reigstad’s original article for Texas Monthly](. Reigstad’s story first introduced the world to the wild tale that’s captured a quarantined audience via a hit Netflix docuseries. Read more in our latest "[Hollywood, Texas]( by Sean O'Neal    Get your fill Food & Drink Stories - BBQ News: Meat shortages, James Beard Awards, and more. [Read Story]( - Taco News: One restaurant's creative solution to stay afloat. [Read Story]( - Eating Alone: A case for enjoying a meal solo. [Read Story]( - Virtual Tastings: The new way to enjoy wine. [Read Story](    BUsiness news Neiman Marcus Filed for Bankruptcy On Thursday, Dallas-based Neiman Marcus became the first major department store company to file for bankruptcy during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the [New York Times](. The first Neiman Marcus store opened in Dallas in 1907, and became known for selling fancy and expensive fashion items. But the company has struggled to compete with online retailers, and was in a financially precarious position well before the pandemic. For more on the fall of Neiman Marcus, [read Jason Heid's story for Texas Monthly here](. —Leif Reigstad    from the archives [No Promises]( Relax and enjoy as Senior Executive Editor Mimi Swartz reads her story “No Promises.” It's about her love for Houston and is from our January 1987 issue. [Watch Here]( or [Read Here]( for more bedtime stories, [click here](    on film [The Texas Black Rodeo Circuit and a Tender Friendship Are at the Heart of "Bull"]( A year after charming the Cannes Film Festival, Austin director Annie Silverstein’s feature debut has been released on VOD. [Read Story](    [Give A Little Optimism ](   Let's get social [Facebook](  [Instagram](  [Twitter](    [Texas Monthly]( PO Box 1569, Austin, TX 78767 You are receiving this message because you signed up for our newsletters. Want more? Check out our [other newsletters](. [Manage your preferences]( or [unsubscribe]( Â