Subject: Darth Vader

• Don’t Blame Me. I Voted for the Duck.

  October 16, 2008

• An Hour in Sunny 99.1's Holiday Hell

  Band Aid: Do they know it's Christmastime at all? Most people I know hate Sunny 99.1, but not me. And I should really hate it. Any radio station supported by the American Dental Association has to suck. But every time I listen to it, I either hear something so corny and half-baked that I can't turn back to the Ipod. It's like pouring liquid Valium in my ears. I don't have to worry about hearing the same Nirvana song I've heard for the past fourteen years, like on the Buzz. Nor do I get to hea

  December 2, 2008

• Buried Deep

  March 2, 1995

• The Wendy Card

  April 6, 1995

• Sugar High

  July 13, 1995

• Life and Darth

  February 20, 1997

• Alley Fighting

  July 23, 1998

• Toe-Tapping Zapping

  Game soundtracks struggle for legitimacy in an industry obsessed with killing machines, not killer tunes

  July 6, 2000

• Return to Normalcy

  The Chronicle gets back to business as usual

  October 11, 2001

• Robert Downey Jr. Plays Jesus for Artist Sam Taylor-Wood

  Anything for Art

  August 21, 2008

• Lightsabers and Tits Don't Quite Hide Soul Calibur IV's Lack of Ideas

  A Bit Force-ed

  August 14, 2008

• The Force Is Strong With This One

  November 1, 2007

• Sydney White

  Someone stop Amanda Bynes from updating another classic

  September 20, 2007

• Ready for Some Football?

  The Houston Symphony sure is

  September 14, 2006

• Soaring Swan

  Stanton Welch pushes a classic ballet to new heights

  March 2, 2006

• Yuletide Fear

  Wolf Creek rings in Christmas with a band of butchered tourists

  December 22, 2005

• Fire Flies

  The fourth Harry Potter rushes through its paces

  November 17, 2005

• The Force Runs Its Course

  November 3, 2005

• Dang, You've Got Skills!

  Show 'em off at a midnight screening of Napoleon Dynamite

  May 26, 2005

• Excess Hollywood

  In the season of sequels and Happy Meal toys, '05 may be a pleasant surprise.

  May 26, 2005

• On the Dark Side

  Why Episode III isn't the movie it should have been

  May 19, 2005

• Sith Is It

  George Lucas at last delivers the Star Wars prequel we've been waiting for

  May 19, 2005

• Fahrenheit 2004

  Remembering the movies that heated up cinemas this year

  December 23, 2004

• Daddy Dearest

  Nick Flynn gets to know his father with Another Bullshit Night in Suck City

  September 30, 2004

• Pleasant Convenience

  Does Stages' new musical live up to its potential?

  June 3, 2004

• This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

  March 4, 2004

• War on War Songs

  Iraq and roll don't go together well when rockers protest

  March 27, 2003

• All I Want for Christmas Is...

  A shopping list for your favorite political types

  December 26, 2002

• Game Boy

  Hugh Grant shows real substance in a solid comedy about growing up

  May 16, 2002

• Ouch!

  E.T. returns to heal our cynical hearts

  March 21, 2002

• Life As a Sappy Movie

  Irwin Winkler builds a rickety House out of saccharine

  October 25, 2001

• High-Tech Spectacle

  Jennifer Steinkamp and Sharon Engelstein bring back the big and bold.

  October 18, 2001

• Letters

  Rockin' On, A Stark Affair, Wrong War?

  May 31, 2001

• Not Your Standard Issue

  Architects design one-of-a-kind houses for the Fifth Ward, trying to prove that even lower-end houses don't have to be a cookie-cutter box

  November 9, 2000

• Arena Wars

  "Environmental Darth Vader" pushed as campaign consultant

  August 24, 2000

• Unmasked!

  MFA exhibit uncovers the secrets behind our facial disguises

  July 27, 2000

• Museum with 1,000 Faces

  Masks: Faces of Culture

  June 22, 2000

• Episode I: What Did You Expect?

  It's Star Wars, all right

  May 20, 1999

• 1998 Houston Press Music Awards Winners

  June 25, 1998

• Press Picks

  January 9, 1997

• Press Picks

  January 2, 1997

• He Said She Said: Ten Artists We Would Go Gay For

  ​It always happens: you and your friends toss back a few beers and the talk turns to what celebrities and models you find attractive. At first it starts out innocent enough, arguing the merits of Angelina Jolie, Megan Fox, Marissa Miller or Paula Deen. Well that last name is actually just our own fantasy. We think it has something to do with the use of butter and the whole "mama" thing. But somewhere along the line, someone says out loud, "Well, what guys do you think are good looking?" O

  September 3, 2009

• Five Decent Bands Named After Star Wars Terminology

  www.myspace.com/aerosith"If this is a consular ship, where is the ambassador?": Aerosith​ Since the release of the first Star Wars in 1977, through the subsequent sequels and disappointing prequels, pop culture has been awash in Force-related mania. People name their children Luke and Leia, family pets get monikers like Yoda and Anakin and folks even get SW tattoos. Almost every part of our daily lives can be colored with references to the film, from calling your boss Darth Vader or finding yo

  October 20, 2009

• Theme Songs for the Most Annoying Characters In the Star Wars Universe, Including Whiny Emo Bitch Anakin Skywalker

  www.flickr.com/photos/fuzzcat/And you thought your office was annoying.​ Jar Jar Binks, Pratfalling Mongoloid Looking like some kind of unholy cross-breed between a frog and a duck, Jar Jar was the earliest indication that The Phantom Menace was not going to be up to snuff. The Gungan's antics were undoubtedly supposed to be whimsical and charming, but simply came off as a crude, slightly racist caricature of the mentally disabled. From fart jokes to stepping in shit, no other character showed

  October 21, 2009

• Oh, Lord: Bands Who Thought It Was a Good Idea to Cover Music From Star Wars

  If naming your band after a Star Wars character isn't enough nerd cachet, just try writing music referencing the film series or covering music from the canon of work surrounding it. Anyone SW fan worth his or her (mainly his, because dudes are more apt to be nerds) should be able to bang out an ode to stormtroopers or the Force. Yes, the Force is capitalized because it is a valid religion in some circles. We tracked down a handful of songs encompassing all facets of the Star Wars experience, fr

  October 21, 2009

• Talking With C-3PO Himself, Anthony Daniels, About Star Wars: In Concert

  A few weeks back, Rocks Off had the pleasure of speaking with actor Anthony Daniels, the man in the golden suit and the physical embodiment of one of the most iconic characters in popular science fiction. Since production began in 1976 on A New Hope, better known of course as Star Wars, Daniels has been C-3PO for better or worse, through sand and sweat, through near amputation by Jawas to probable immolation at the hand of the Ewoks. His character has been in all six Star Wars films and continu

  October 22, 2009

• Aftermath: John Williams' Score, Crafty Editing Redeem the Prequels - Somewhat - at Star Wars: In Concert

  Photos by Craig Hlavaty/ Click here for a slideshow​ Shortly after the release of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace in 1999 - indeed, about 15 minutes or so into the movie - many (if not most) fans' hearts sank as they realized the 15-something years they had waited for George Lucas to fill in the narrative gaps in the backstory of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Darth Vader, etc. had been spent in vain. Lucas, it seemed, was more interested in creating new, action-figure-ready characte

  October 26, 2009

• Halloween Countdown: Fool-Proof Last-Second Inspirations

  This is the final post in our series of articles offering Halloween costume advice. Check out the other four entries here, here, here and here. You've been too busy to run by Frankel's, Party Boy or even Wal-Mart to start formulating your Halloween costume this year. No ideas have jumped out at you. We've all been there -- stuck a day or two before the witching hours of October 31 with nothing to wear to the big party except a shrug and whimper. So to help you out, your friendly Halloween sta

  October 29, 2009

• The Final Fantasy: An Inside Look at Anime and Cosplay Conventions

  Photos by Jeff BalkeWe don't know who this character is supposed to be, but she was killing some Japanese opera.​The costumes are expected. The fanciful, the extraordinary, the bizarre, the obscurely referenced, the painstakingly planned and the larger than life weren't surprising -- after all, this was a cosplay (short for "costume roleplay) convention. What was unexpected, however, was the gender-bending everywhere that we looked. The most gorgeous men were dressed as exotic women, whil

  November 3, 2009

• Game Time: Larusso Vs. Skywalker, The Death Match

  ​I'm not afraid to admit it, I'm a huge fan of The Karate Kid. And I'm not just talking "guilty pleasure" fan.No sir, not only do I actually own all three DVD's in the Karate Kid trilogy, but my Karate Kid III DVD actually has some scenes that skip because of wear and tear. Yeah, you heard me, the Karate Kid movie whose central storyline involved a Wall Street tycoon spending every waking moment of his day trying to figure out a way to mentally and physically destroy a skinny teenage kid fro

  November 4, 2009