Contortionists and Potato Salad- A Strange Act Out of West Texas

Via Durango Texas.

The Ross sisters were actually natives of West Texas. They performed, as you see, contortionist routines with light hearted ditties, reaching the peak of their popularity in the 1940s. Pretty amazing stuff. Here's their Wikipedia entry.

The Heaventree of Stars

hung with humid nightblue fruit.

Hubble and Joyce.
Ulysses

The Jackalope: An Examination of the Species

We found a lovely little explanation of some of the odd behaviors of the elusive Jackalope today at the Museum of Hoaxes. They seem to know a bit about the animal's behavior. An excerpt:

The jackalope is an aggressive species, willing to use its antlers to fight. Thus, it is also sometimes called the "warrior rabbit."

Jackalopes possess an uncanny ability to mimic human sounds. In the old West, when cowboys would gather by their campfires to sing at night, jackalopes would frequently be heard singing back, mimicking the voices of the cowboys. Jackalopes become especially vocal before thunderstorms, perhaps because they mate only when lightning flashes (or so it is theorized).

When chased, the jackalope will use its vocal abilities to elude capture. For instance, when chased by people it will call out phrases such as, "There he goes, over there," in order to throw pursuers off its track. The best way to catch a jackalope is to lure it with whiskey, as they have a particular fondness for this drink. Once intoxicated, the animal becomes slower and easier to hunt.

If you're thinking of a run to West Texas you might want to give the whole thing a read, just so you'll know what to do if you encounter one of these horrid critters.

Oprah: Lulu Not a Real Person, Accuses Memoirist, West, of Hoax

(above: Prada, Marfa)

Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey spoke up today to denounce celebrated memoirist, Zelda del West, who recently penned an explosive tell-all about a small Walla Walla girl who supposedly endured a horrible kidnapping crisis at the hands of an evil aunt who also happens to be a Wicked Witch.

"This is just another hoax memoir," Oprah announced. "The girl, Lulu, cannot be found, nor any of this story verified. I demand an apology from Zelda del West, if that's even her real name, which is unlikely. She's a fake. Furthermore, I assert that there is no such thing as a Wicked Witch of West Texas, or Walla Walla, or anyplace else, for that matter."

West was reached at her home on a Chupacabra ranch somewhere near a town somewhere in Texas, or somewhere near Texas, or near a state that borders Texas-- depending on how you define "near." Suffice it to say that West is a bit vague about her location.

"I resent the accusation that I made this story up. Lulu is very real and because of the trauma she's endured her mental state is fragile. I have protected her identity out of concerns for her safety. The Wicked Witch of West Texas certainly is real, and Lulu's still in danger, as am I, having revealed her existence to the world. We can't simply go prancing about over at the Marfa Prada store like the Witch isn't watching."

"I've actually spoken to Lulu," insists June Jones, West's editor. "She's just a very frightened little girl, who happens to tell people to shut up a lot."

The controversy shows no signs of letting up.

"Oprah has been mislead by so many phony memoirists," Zelda del West speculated, "she really has no idea what's true and what's false at this point. Plus we all remember that incident with a certain evil wizard not long ago."

Heading to Marfa Prada

Deep in the middle of nowhere, near Marfa, Tx. sits this mysterious Prada outlet, which is never open. However, it's been rumored that the location actually is home to a wormhole, the other end of which is somewhere in Italy, which is how the Wicked Witch of West Texas manages to get her designer outfits from this West Texas location. Who knows? Only the shadow. We're going to be investigating strange goings on at this location. Wish us luck, because who knows what we'll encounter at the Wicked Witch of West Texas's favorite retail outlet. 

Alien Burial in Texas Graveyard--1897

From Wikipedia:
"The Aurora UFO Incident is a UFO incident that reportedly occurred on April 17, 1897 in Aurora, Texas, a small town in the northwest corner of the DFW Metroplex.[1] The incident (similar to the more famous Roswell UFO Incident 50 years later) reportedly resulted in a fatality from the crash; however, unlike Roswell, the government did not allegedly engage in any coverup, and the alien body is reportedly buried in an unmarked grave at the local cemetery."

Greetings From West Texas

West Texas is a scary place sometimes. Lightning, a tornado and aliens and a chupacabra treaten an oil well in this shot captured last night near Ft. Stockton, Texas. Rumor had it the Wicked Witch of West Texas was having a barbeque in the area, followed by a wild shindig. Certainly, the guest list would have made for some interesting conversation.