JMR
@jamesfortexas.bsky.social
freelance writer covering art, the built environment, culture, people and politics, mostly in dfw and texas. quorum report’s newsclipper.
Reposted by JMR
A dive into Bob Dylan’s late career has produced the best book on the musician in ages. on.wsj.com/4ahnTMO
‘After the Flood’ Review: Dylan’s Rebirth
A dive into Bob Dylan’s late career has produced the best book on the musician in ages.
on.wsj.com
February 6, 2026 at 4:40 PM
A dive into Bob Dylan’s late career has produced the best book on the musician in ages. on.wsj.com/4ahnTMO
Walker alone is 3 days
February 5, 2026 at 1:15 PM
Walker alone is 3 days
damnit! A week too early for me. i know you’ll rock it
February 4, 2026 at 3:54 PM
damnit! A week too early for me. i know you’ll rock it
Reposted by JMR
If you’re in Chicago, I’ll be in conversation with architects and engineers from SOM to present my work on demolition, material “recycling,” and erasure on February 9. Come! www.eventbrite.com/e/replacemen...
Replacement and Reuse, Reconsidered
Join this dynamic talk focused on reuse over demolition—how existing materials can be repurposed to shape low-carbon urban futures.
www.eventbrite.com
February 4, 2026 at 3:36 PM
If you’re in Chicago, I’ll be in conversation with architects and engineers from SOM to present my work on demolition, material “recycling,” and erasure on February 9. Come! www.eventbrite.com/e/replacemen...
Wow. For the first time in two months I feel like a functioning human today.
February 4, 2026 at 2:35 PM
Wow. For the first time in two months I feel like a functioning human today.
Who wants to hire me for a column on architecture and the built environment in FW and Texas? 😎
February 4, 2026 at 12:35 PM
Who wants to hire me for a column on architecture and the built environment in FW and Texas? 😎
I wrote about the bullying of the UFO in 2020 for the Fort Worth Weekly: www.fwweekly.com/2020/02/26/c...
Convention Center to Go?
Spaceships may not exist, but Fort Worth’s own spaceship soon won’t exist at all. The fate of the 1968 Convention Center Arena, anchoring Commerce Street in an underdeveloped part of downtown, was dec...
www.fwweekly.com
February 4, 2026 at 12:33 PM
I wrote about the bullying of the UFO in 2020 for the Fort Worth Weekly: www.fwweekly.com/2020/02/26/c...
But look at the details of the UFO, like the tiles on the fountain like columns and the scribbles on the roof. Plus, for a city that loves boosterism at any chance it can get, we can say we still have a UFO building where others have torn them down.
February 4, 2026 at 12:32 PM
But look at the details of the UFO, like the tiles on the fountain like columns and the scribbles on the roof. Plus, for a city that loves boosterism at any chance it can get, we can say we still have a UFO building where others have torn them down.
I get it. the UFO lacks the charm and openness of a building bookending Main with he county courthouse to the north. Between are two centuries of architecture, both flawed and dynamic and representative of the enormous changes during that period.
February 4, 2026 at 12:32 PM
I get it. the UFO lacks the charm and openness of a building bookending Main with he county courthouse to the north. Between are two centuries of architecture, both flawed and dynamic and representative of the enormous changes during that period.
Convention centers aren't easy to design. Think of them as the refrigerators or dishwashers of public buildings. But what's replacing the flying saucer as part of our convention center expansion is a colloquial town hall for the future suburb of Alliance, Texas. www.star-telegram.com/news/local/f...
Here’s what’s replacing the ‘flying saucer’ at the Fort Worth Convention Center
The convention center is undergoing a $700 million expansion. The second phase will add significant space to the exhibit hall and ballroom.
www.star-telegram.com
February 4, 2026 at 12:32 PM
Convention centers aren't easy to design. Think of them as the refrigerators or dishwashers of public buildings. But what's replacing the flying saucer as part of our convention center expansion is a colloquial town hall for the future suburb of Alliance, Texas. www.star-telegram.com/news/local/f...
Reposted by JMR
These kinds of human scale, mixed-use Midwest dive bars are illegal to open and operate in most American neighborhoods.
February 1, 2026 at 3:54 PM
These kinds of human scale, mixed-use Midwest dive bars are illegal to open and operate in most American neighborhoods.
Reposted by JMR
It’s hard to understate how much the GOP candidate was disliked here. She was responsible for ruining the school boards of at least three districts (including mine), and ensuring that every school had the donated “In God We Trust” and 10 Commandments posters in each classroom.
Former Texas Lege reporter here. A Dem hasn't held this seat since 1990. Tarrant is the safest of red suburban counties. There is no way the TX and national GOP aren't in panic mode right now.
JUST IN: Democrats flip a red seat in the Texas Senate.
Taylor Rehmet wins against Leigh Wambsganss, a conservative activist who helped lead right-wing efforts to take over TX school boards.
With all early vote, and 95% of precincts, in, Dem up 57/43.
Trump won this seat by 17% in Tarrant County.
Taylor Rehmet wins against Leigh Wambsganss, a conservative activist who helped lead right-wing efforts to take over TX school boards.
With all early vote, and 95% of precincts, in, Dem up 57/43.
Trump won this seat by 17% in Tarrant County.
February 1, 2026 at 3:00 PM
It’s hard to understate how much the GOP candidate was disliked here. She was responsible for ruining the school boards of at least three districts (including mine), and ensuring that every school had the donated “In God We Trust” and 10 Commandments posters in each classroom.
Reposted by JMR
Love watching the world learn these amazing Tarrant County facts
This race was such a massive swing blowout that Democrat Taylor Rehmet literally won a city called White Settlement
February 1, 2026 at 3:36 PM
Love watching the world learn these amazing Tarrant County facts
Reposted by JMR
Everyone should follow @emayfarris.bsky.social who has done amazing work on local politics and sheriffs.
But also any Dem who is running in the midterms or primaries. They should ignore their consultants and run on the left.
But also any Dem who is running in the midterms or primaries. They should ignore their consultants and run on the left.
The most important part of the Rehmet campaign (in my humble opinion as a local political scientist whose opinion nobody asked for) is that Rehmet ran as a union man.
Rehmet is a union president, and this was an unapologetically pro labor campaign.
Rehmet is a union president, and this was an unapologetically pro labor campaign.
February 1, 2026 at 3:29 PM
Everyone should follow @emayfarris.bsky.social who has done amazing work on local politics and sheriffs.
But also any Dem who is running in the midterms or primaries. They should ignore their consultants and run on the left.
But also any Dem who is running in the midterms or primaries. They should ignore their consultants and run on the left.
Reposted by JMR
“For families like mine in Wichita Falls, Texas, @pbs.org was oxygen,” writes @briangaar.bsky.social . “It was proof that humor could be silly, intellectual, and a little dangerous all at once.
thebarbedwire.com/2026/01/28/p...
thebarbedwire.com/2026/01/28/p...
PBS Was a ‘Cultural Life Vest’ for Kids Like Me Before the Internet. The Fight to Keep Public Media Alive Feels Personal.
From late-night “Doctor Who” to “Monty Python,” PBS beamed in the wider world to kids in Texas.
thebarbedwire.com
January 28, 2026 at 6:04 PM
“For families like mine in Wichita Falls, Texas, @pbs.org was oxygen,” writes @briangaar.bsky.social . “It was proof that humor could be silly, intellectual, and a little dangerous all at once.
thebarbedwire.com/2026/01/28/p...
thebarbedwire.com/2026/01/28/p...
Gun Owners of America and the NRA condemned a federal official's statement that law enforcement are justified in shooting protestors. (They also blamed "the Left" and Democrats for antagonizing officers.) www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/u...
Gun Activists Bridle at Suggestion That Pistol Justified Killing
www.nytimes.com
January 25, 2026 at 2:39 PM
Gun Owners of America and the NRA condemned a federal official's statement that law enforcement are justified in shooting protestors. (They also blamed "the Left" and Democrats for antagonizing officers.) www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/u...
(2/3) From @texaspublicradio.bsky.social: Protest breaks out at Dilley immigration detention facility holding 5-year-old Liam Ramos www.tpr.org/border-immig...
Protest breaks out at Dilley immigration detention facility holding 5-year-old Liam Ramos
A protest broke out Saturday at the ICE-run South Texas family detention complex in Dilley, where five-year-old Liam Ramos is being detained.
www.tpr.org
January 25, 2026 at 2:32 PM
(2/3) From @texaspublicradio.bsky.social: Protest breaks out at Dilley immigration detention facility holding 5-year-old Liam Ramos www.tpr.org/border-immig...
(1/3) Two must-read under the radar stories from this weekend:
January 25, 2026 at 2:31 PM
(1/3) Two must-read under the radar stories from this weekend:
Reposted by JMR
No cookie booth sales this weekend for our kiddo to count to her “go to Girl Scout summer camp” goal (with 693 boxes to go), so if you might want cookies after the storm, here you go:
Order your Faves on my Digital Cookie Site Today
That's right! You can order your favorite Girl Scout Cookies from me online, all while helping my troop and I do great things in our community and beyond! Check it out.
digitalcookie.girlscouts.org
January 24, 2026 at 3:24 PM
No cookie booth sales this weekend for our kiddo to count to her “go to Girl Scout summer camp” goal (with 693 boxes to go), so if you might want cookies after the storm, here you go:
Reposted by JMR
#198: Hubert Teschlade, Highway Chapel Roxel (1968-69)
January 20, 2026 at 4:13 PM
#198: Hubert Teschlade, Highway Chapel Roxel (1968-69)
Reposted by JMR
Now after beast games, another reality show that completely misses the entire point of the source material.
January 18, 2026 at 6:01 PM
Now after beast games, another reality show that completely misses the entire point of the source material.
Reposted by JMR
In Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington, which led the nation in homebuilding permits between 2019–2023 at 350,000, 61% of the workers in the trades had immigrated to the country. @riordanfrost.bsky.social
chicagoagentmagazine.com/2026/01/14/i...
chicagoagentmagazine.com/2026/01/14/i...
Report: Immigrants drive housing production in top US homebuilding metros - Chicago Agent Magazine National News
Immigrant laborers play a key role in the housing pipeline, especially for the nation’s top homebuilding metros, according to a new study,
chicagoagentmagazine.com
January 15, 2026 at 2:38 PM
In Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington, which led the nation in homebuilding permits between 2019–2023 at 350,000, 61% of the workers in the trades had immigrated to the country. @riordanfrost.bsky.social
chicagoagentmagazine.com/2026/01/14/i...
chicagoagentmagazine.com/2026/01/14/i...
Reposted by JMR
This government needs to discuss Cuba policy urgently because it could blow up very badly for everybody if Trump and Rubio successfully choke off all the Venezuelan oil. Rubio could be the dog that finally caught the car -- and he has no plan for what to do the day after. 1/
Cuba is the ultimate manifestation of the Pottery Barn Rule. If they destabilize the govt & can’t rebuild the economy quickly, then they will face a tsunami of migration that will make the MASSIVE 1980 Mariel Boatlift look like a picnic. Rubio’s dream is Miller’s greatest nightmare. This is no joke!
January 8, 2026 at 9:11 PM
This government needs to discuss Cuba policy urgently because it could blow up very badly for everybody if Trump and Rubio successfully choke off all the Venezuelan oil. Rubio could be the dog that finally caught the car -- and he has no plan for what to do the day after. 1/