Texas Inspiration

Every Texan knows there comes a point in the summer when you stop checking the weather and just assume the forecast is “preheated.” That is when you need the official Texas Summer Survival Kit.

You’re going to need sunscreen strong enough to protect a picnic table, sunglasses you bought at a gas station but somehow trust with your life, a Buc-ee’s cup big enough to qualify as a family heirloom, deodorant with backup deodorant, and a truck AC that gets treated with more respect than most relatives. Add in some H-E-B bags, a half-melted tube of lip balm, Blue Bell in the freezer, and an emotional support Whataburger order for when the heat finally starts talking back.

Because Texas summer does not simply “get hot.” It walks outside, slaps you in the face with a wet oven mitt, and says, “Welcome back.”

Some Texas voices never really leave us, and Selena’s is one of them.

The Briscoe Western Art Museum in San Antonio is now showing Selena Forever / Siempre Selena, a photographic exhibition honoring Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, the Queen of Tejano music. The exhibit runs from June 4, 2026, through January 4, 2027, and features powerful images by Texas photographer John Dyer, taken during Selena’s rise in the early 1990s.

What makes this one special is that it is not just about fame. It is about presence. The confidence, the style, the culture, the music, and the Texas story Selena carried with her every time she stepped on stage. The exhibit includes portraits, magazine covers, memorabilia, and images tied to her San Antonio boutique, giving fans another way to remember the woman who helped take Tejano music far beyond Texas.

Selena was more than a singer. She was a Texas icon, a fashion trailblazer, a proud Mexican American voice, and someone who made generations feel seen. Decades later, people still know the songs, still wear the shirts, still visit Corpus Christi, and still say her name with love.

If you’re in San Antonio this summer, this feels like one of those stops worth making.

Briscoe Western Art Museum

Texans are tapped out on data centers. We already know what it means to watch a summer drag on without rain, to see lakes drop, pastures crack, and towns start talking about water restrictions like they’re part of the forecast. So the idea of massive data centers coming in and pulling from the same water supply families, farmers, ranchers, and communities depend on just doesn’t sit right. Texas can welcome growth, jobs, and technology, but not at the expense of the water that keeps this state alive. Our water is not some unlimited resource waiting to be handed over to the highest bidder. Around here, water is life, and Texans are not interested in watching it get drained away one server farm at a time.

Good morning Texas. Today’s weather is basically Texas looking at the calendar, seeing June, and saying, “Let’s make everybody uncomfortable in a different way.” North Texas gets sunshine, clouds, and heat that builds all day until your steering wheel becomes a personal challenge. East Texas has clouds and rain chances, which means the humidity will be out there doing pushups before breakfast. Central Texas will be mostly cloudy and hot, so it may look calm while still cooking everybody like a casserole with a roof on it. Houston and the Gulf Coast could see rain and storms off and on, because apparently the sky wants to participate in traffic. South Texas stays cloudy, warm, and sticky, the kind of weather where your hair gives up before you leave the driveway. West Texas is going full skillet mode with triple-digit heat, because Lubbock apparently wanted to know what it feels like to live inside a toaster. By evening, we’ll all be a little warmer, a little sweatier, and somehow still talking about grilling.

Flooding continues across parts of Texas tonight, and our hearts are with every family watching the water rise, every first responder heading toward danger, and every neighbor doing what Texans do best: showing up for one another. Nights like this remind us how quickly life can change, and how much strength it takes to face uncertainty with faith, courage, and hope. Please keep everyone impacted in your thoughts and prayers tonight, especially those who are scared, displaced, or waiting for word from loved ones. Texas has weathered hard nights before, but that does not make this one any easier for the people living through it right now. May they feel surrounded by comfort, protection, and the steady reminder that they are not alone.

Don’t let the university that bears the name of the Father of Texas destroy one of our state’s most historic landmarks.

The Old Stone Fort is the symbol of Nacogdoches, the oldest town in Texas. For generations, it has stood as a reminder of the people and events that shaped our state’s history. Even Stephen F. Austin himself used the fort during the 1820s and 1830s.

Now, Stephen F. Austin State University plans to demolish this beloved building to make way for a relatively small extension of a science building.

Texans,

Remember Nacogdoches!
Remember the Stone Fort!

Please sign the petition in the comments and help preserve this piece of Texas history.

There’s something about a Texas backroad that still brings out the manners in people. You can be driving past a pasture, an old fence line, or a two-lane road with more cows than traffic, and here comes that little steering wheel wave from a complete stranger.

Not a full parade wave, not anything dramatic, just two fingers lifted like, “I see you, neighbor.”

That’s the beauty of it. We may not know your name, your truck, or where you’re headed, but out there on those backroads, you’re still worth acknowledging. A little respect, a little friendliness, and everybody keeps going about their day like civilized people who were raised right.

Because apparently regular roller coasters were not dramatic enough for Texas, Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington is getting ready to open Tormenta Rampaging Run on June 26, 2026, and this thing sounds less like a ride and more like a formal challenge to your lunch.

Tormenta is being called the world’s first giga dive coaster, and it is expected to break six world records, including tallest dive coaster at 309 feet, fastest dive coaster at 87 mph, and longest dive coaster at 4,199 feet. It also includes a 285-foot, 95-degree beyond-vertical drop, which is just a fancy way of saying you’re going to have a very serious conversation with gravity.

The ride is inspired by Spain’s running of the bulls and will be part of the new Rancho de la Tormenta Plaza area at Six Flags Over Texas. So if you’re headed to Arlington this summer, you might want to bring sunscreen, comfortable shoes, and whatever emotional support snack gets you through watching people voluntarily climb 300 feet into the sky just to come straight back down.

Texas said, “Let’s build a roller coaster.” Then Texas apparently added, “Make it taller, faster, longer, and mildly concerning.”

There is just something about a drive-in movie that feels like Texas summer, even when it is not summer at all. Stars & Stripes Drive-In Theatre keeps that old-school tradition alive with movies under the open sky, families backed into parking spots, kids in pajamas, lawn chairs in the truck bed, and somebody making one more trip to the concession stand before the previews start. With Texas locations in Lubbock and New Braunfels, Stars & Stripes has become one of those places where nostalgia and modern moviegoing meet. The Lubbock location opened in 2003, and the New Braunfels location later brought the same retro feel to the Hill Country, complete with multiple screens, FM radio sound, double features, and a 1950s-style café serving burgers, fries, Frito pie, popcorn, milkshakes, and all the snacks that make a drive-in feel right. Drive-in theaters were once everywhere in America, especially in the 1950s, but today only a fraction of them remain. That is what makes places like Stars & Stripes special. It is not just about watching a movie. It is about slowing down for a night, piling into the car, letting the kids stay up too late, and remembering that entertainment does not always have to happen on a couch with everyone staring at their own screen. Stars & Stripes is a reminder that some traditions are worth keeping, especially when they come with a big Texas sky, a bucket of popcorn, and headlights pointed toward the screen.

Stars & Stripes Drive-In Theatre New Braunfels