Egypt

When It Comes to Ending Hunger, All Eyes are Upon Houston

Every other month, Moez El-Shohdi travels through the greater Middle East. Stretching from Morocco to Pakistan, El-Shohdi dots the landscape, visiting models he helped perfect through his work in Cairo. He examines the factory sprung in Riyadh. He tours the facilities in Damascus. He makes sure that ... More >>

Football! This Weekend's Best Bets, "Satan Hates Auburn" Edition

I was saddened on Thursday to hear of the passing of legendary college football historian and journalist Beano Cook, who passed away in his sleep at the age of 81. Back in the `80's and early `90's, before the television landscape was cluttered with literally dozens of studio shows all blending toge ... More >>

Mediterranean Film Festival

Sunday: iFest In Downtown Houston -- Seun Kuti, Texas Tornados & More

Houston International Festival Downtown Houston April 29, 2012 See lots more on iFest's second weekend in our slideshows of the bands, the crowds and the arts & culture. I like iFest. I'm glad it's here. It's not the kind of thing I'd like to go to every weekend, but once a year is about perfect. ... More >>

Seun Kuti & Egypt 80

The Rolling Stones, King Zog: 5 Famous Exiles, in Honor of Napoleon

This week marks the 198th anniversary of Napoleon being exiled to Elba, a move celebrated by palindrome fans everywhere. (Able was I ere I saw Elba," you know. Exiles have been around forever, people forced to leave their country of choice for one reason or another. Sometimes it's worked out well, ... More >>

Lotzah Matzah: Top 5 Ways to Enjoy Unleavened Bread

Happy Pesach ya'll! Passover, the Jewish holiday remembering the biblical story of the ancient Israelites' escape from slavery and exodus from Egypt, is here. The story goes that once freed, the Israelites left in such a hurry that they could not wait for their dough to rise. To commemorate, matzah ... More >>

The Meaning of Matzoh

The Jewish holiday of Passover starts tonight. Passover celebrates the Jews escaping Egypt and God smiting the cruel pharaoh in the process. Passover is also called "The Festival of Unleavened Bread." According to the Torah, God sent ten plagues, punishing the pharaoh for not listening to Moses a ... More >>

OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies

Tut, Tut

There are some fascinating objects in this wannabe blockbuster, but mainly it's a grab for crowds and cash.

The Mummy

The Silence of the Hams

Jabber-free, The Artist joyfully resurrects Hollywood's past.

What's in a Name?: The Year End Dictionary Update

Just as the Merriam-Webster Dictionary constantly adds new words, so does Rocks Off enrich the English language through our explorations in the meaning behind band names. Below are the entries that made it into our lexicon in 2011. ​Art of Dying (n) 1. The reverse of suicide 2. Upbeat, hard r ... More >>

Brew Blog: Independence Jasperilla Old Ale

As I mentioned back in June, while writing about a Camp Beer event, Old Ale is kind of an oddball. From what I understand, nobody really knows what it is, and brewers are left to their own devices and historical notes and anecdotes to fashion their own versions of this antediluvian brew. From what I ... More >>

"Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs"

Tinariwen

Egypt Central: The Anthem of Hate Day

It's a well-known fact that most band names are essentially gobbledygook, but here at Rocks Off we're trying hard to find meaning in the oddest monikers. ​It's a good thing Egypt Central caught us in a violent rage because we're pretty sure that's how their music is supposed to be heard. Your ... More >>

Ingredient of the Week: Green Asparagus

Photo by John SuhAsparagus: good for health, bad for diuretic smell​What is it? A spring vegetable that dates back to 3000 BC with the Egyptians, it was ingested as a vegetable and a diuretic medicine. Because they turn woody as they mature, only the young shoots are eaten. They are a good ... More >>

Ingredient of the Week: Fava Beans

luvjnx​What are they? Immortalized by Dr. Hannibal Lector in the Oscar-winning film Silence of the Lambs, these fat, light green legumes are one of the oldest cultivated plants in civilization, and they're currently in season. Coming in a pod that's around six inches long, they require a lit ... More >>

State Rep. Leo Berman Sponsoring Secession Rally

Why does Leo Berman hate America?​State Rep. Leo Berman of Tyler has already gained notoriety for introducing a birther bill in the legislature, but he's not done yet. Now he's sponsoring a rally on the capitol steps that is calling for Texas to secede from the United States. The announcemen ... More >>

Cold Weather Baby Names: Naming the Bundle of Joy You Started This Morning

It made sense in February 2011, kid​No doubt all of you people who don't work in the news industry are either off this morning or working from home. But we all know that no one gets any work done at home with all the distractions running around you. Television, NetFlix, Internet porn, food, wi ... More >>

I Think We're Alone Now, Except for the Mega Pythons

My cup runneth over.​I realize Egypt is in chaos and everyone north of the Mason-Dixon line is going to be flash frozen like a bag of Birds Eye broccoli florets and Charlie Sheen is apparently the reincarnation of Grigori Rasputin, but that is no excuse, no excuse, for the criminal lack of att ... More >>

Egyptian Protests: Houston Playing Its Role

Photo by Mike McGuff​With amazing events going on in Egypt -- some sort of "big announcement" is expected soon -- Houston isn't being left out. A group is outside the Egyptian Consulate near Westheimer and Chimney Rock, as photographed by the intrepid Mike McGuff. When the history of the 30- ... More >>

Garbage Dreams

Recycled choices make for a meager existence for Cairo’s slum boys

A Post-Christmas Miracle

​We have been hooked on primo coffee beans roasted locally (well, in The Woodlands) ever since last summer, when we saw a supper show at Dosey Doe Coffee House (25911 I-45 North, The Woodlands) starring songwriter Jimmy Webb. The show was intimate, the venue cozy, the food a nice blend of do ... More >>

CINEMATHEQUE: Latin American “Third Cinema”

Curator Margarita de la Vega-Hurtado pairs two agit-prop classics

The United Nations of Food at Phoenicia Specialty Foods

Thaïs

Diva Renée Fleming hits the big screen in a live Met broadcast

Sonidos y Mas: Various Artists, "The Price of Silence"

Sixty years ago this week in Paris, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The original text was a collaborative effort from representatives from many nations including the United States (Eleanor Roosevelt was part of the team), written as a way to repudiate the atroc ... More >>

Al Green Goes All Rambo

Representative Al Green Fights His Own Vietnam War

"American Civil War Field Notes: Sketches from Cairo to Columbia"

Embedded Illustrators on display at O'Kane Gallery

Mail Call: Post-Ike/ACL Edition

Fava Favorites at Mint Café

“Farouk Hosny: The Energy of Abstraction”

An Egyptian artist paints over politics

Pink Martini

Stage Capsule Reviews

Our critics weigh in on local theater

Aïda

If Aïda's grand opera, where's the grand?

Will Dance for Cash

Nile Dazzler

Aida gets an assist from the glitz of Disney

Best Family Gathering Restaurant

Magic Island

Best Place to Smoke a Hookah

Star Cafe

That Verdi Magic

HGO's elegant Aida underscores that all's pharaoh in love and war

Night & Day

June 3 - 9, 1999

The Sound of Money

Exodus Lost

Prince of Egypt goes wrong with Good Book rewrites

Still Tragic

With The Gods, the Alley fails to save The Greeks

Dealer of the Art

In his 14 years as Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Peter Marzio has increased the MFA's endowment tenfold, tripled MFA Membership and gotten it started on a huge new home. He hasn't done badly for himself, either.

Press Picks

Press Picks