HERE'S WHAT WE'VE GOT THIS MONTH

This is the first issue of our second year doing the LNF Weekly magazine. As always, we’ve got art, food, issues, and pets.

BEST OF THE FIRST YEAR

But here’s where we recommend you start: We’ve put together a retrospective of the best and most popular articles from our first year. There was a lot to choose from — we published about 175 pieces during the first year — so make sure you’ve read the ones that scored the highest.

ART

We’ve always got a lot of art.

In this issue, we’ve got a feature article about Robert Tatum, and we’re also using one of his works as our cover art. Robert has an interesting background, and it makes for a great read.

Meanwhile, photographer Al Rendon has pulled a Halloween photo from his archives. Al says that this shot was was part of an exhibit at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center and marks the first time he began to take photos with art as the intent.

And our poet-in-residence, Allen Itz, discovers that breakfast orientation may be destiny.

FOOD AND DRINK (AND HISTORY)

We try to include a recipe in each issue of the magazine. Some have been elegant, some have been complicated, some have been simple. In this issue, Jane is going for simple, but traditional and good.

For more ‘traditional’, read our article about Beethoven Männerchor, one of the most historic parts of a very historic neighborhood. And, by the way, they offer a pretty decent bratwurst to go with your pretty inexpensive beer.

And Re:Rooted’s Jen Beckmann has given us a really good explanation of what things can go wrong with that bottle of wine the waiter just brought to your table.  She tells you what causes a good wine to go bad, and how you can recognize the symptoms.

PETS

We’ve always published articles about pets, because this is a neighborhood that loves its furry family members. Jane has written a piece in this issue about steps you should take before bringing home a new puppy. Jane tells me that she wishes she had had this resource before she adopted Micky.

AND A COUPLE OF OTHER THINGS

When you live in the heart of San Antonio, it’s easy sometimes to forget the bigger picture — being in the heart of Texas. Sometimes an outsider jolts you with a different perspective, like this old friend of mine who doesn’t want to visit anymore.

And then there’s this: We love doing LNF Weekly, both the email newsletter and the website. But it is a lot of work, and we need to cut back a bit. Here’s the plan.