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Have yourself a merry little Thanksgiving; taking sides in the Battle of the Bocks.
Thanksgiving is still more than a week away, but Houstonians who can’t wait to get into the Christmas spirit are already jingle bell rockin’ and getting a jump start on the most wonderful time of the year — at least if they’re listening to Sunny 99.1 FM. The station has made its annual switch to roundthe-clock holiday music, about a week earlier than last year and more than a month before Santa Claus comes to town. While some may frown at the Christmas creep, bemoaning that soon you’ll have elves and reindeer mixed in with October’s ghouls and goblins, this week’s cold snap has us thinking of a winter wonderland. So, enjoy the holiday tunes. Unless it’s “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer,” that is. A Texan may have written it, but we don’t have to listen to it.
It’s not exactly “Game of Thrones,” but the great Battle of the Bocks has come to Texas, pitting multinational beverage giant Anheuser-Busch InBev against the Spoetzl Brewery, located in Shiner and makers of Shiner Bock. Houston-based (but ABInBev-owned) Karbach Brewing has come out with its own brand of dark lager, the Crawford Bock, to challenge the Shiner supremacy in the bock beer market. As reported in the Chronicle, Karbach is literally taking the fight to Shiner, sponsoring a music festival and putting up three billboards in the small town that read, “There’s a new Bock in town.” ABInBev is also pulling no punches in its fight for the Texas consumer, branding Crawford in Astros colors and donating part of the proceeds to the franchise’s charity. We know this is business, and may the best bock win, but as Jon Snow fans, our heart is with the little guy.
Selena tribute artist Karol Posadas was released from immigration custody recently after spending almost a week at a detention center. Posadas’ group, the California-based Anything for Salinas Band, was touring Texas when she was detained at the Valley International Airport in Harlingen. The young singer, who came to the United States from Guatemala, is part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and is in the process of renewing her documentation, according to the Chronicle. Posadas was lucky; immigration attorneys across the country have reported cases of DACA clients being detained or their removal cases reopened. It probably didn’t hurt that she honors the late Texas superstar in her act. We’re not saying this is a case of anything for Selenas, but — anything for Selenas.
We get it, Pearland has a Muscovy duck problem, but it’s still a little shocking to see that while it’s illegal to feed a duck (any species, not just the invasive Muscovy), it is perfectly legal, under certain parameters, to shoot said Muscovy duck dead. Maybe it’s a character thing, but while the other kids gravitated toward Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse, the Thumbs were down with the thornier personalities of Daffy Duck and Donald Duck (no relation), so any time a duck is threatened we cry foul. Sure, if you listen to the Chronicle, the Muscovy duck is aggressive, can cause property damage, transmit diseases and creates problems through competition with native species — but that description also applies to humans, so let’s not go throwing stones. After all, there is a non-lethal solution to Pearland’s woes. The Muscovy duck is considered native in Hidalgo, Starr and Zapata counties. So, who wants to organize the duck convoy to the Rio Grande Valley?