Fossil Fuel Energy Production

Shakedown: The HCAD Appraisal Game

HCAD fights owners of moderate housing for every single assessment penny. So why is it routinely handing out tax breaks worth several millions to big corporations?

Giant Dragon Descends Upon TransCanada Offices to Protest Keystone XL Pipeline! (okay, not a real dragon, but still...)

Protestors of TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline demonstrated at the company's downtown headquarters and another building Monday, with similar protests occurring in other cities, including Westborough, Massachusetts, where students superglued themselves together in an office lobby. In Houston, demo ... More >>

The Ten Most Corrupt Tax Loopholes

If Mitt Romney won't tell you which need to be closed, we will.

New Cracks in the Frack

Pesky little complaints like pollution, flaming water and abandoned homes continue to cast doubt on the argument that drilling into shale will benefit all.

Anyone See Halliburton's Missing Radioactive Rod Lying Around?

Hair Balls has lost car keys, wallets, cats, and once even a rare Monet, but we'd like to think that we'd never lose a "potentially lethal" radioactive rod. But that's exactly what some Halliburton truck drivers did in the desert around Odessa last week, according to news reports. The "seven-inch l ... More >>

America's Petro-Terrorists

Wall Street and Washington conspire to destablize the U.S. economy, one barrel of oil at a time.

Payback

2013 Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half Marathon (& 2013 ABB 5K)

Why Big Companies Hide Contact Information on Their Web Sites

A few years ago, I was getting ready to sell a house. My existing mortgage company had been purchased by another company and my account had been transferred. However, when it was transferred, the permissions that allow customer service representatives to do basic, but important, tasks like provide a ... More >>

Photos Of A Guy Crapping In The Press Parking Lot & Its Aftermath

Life in the big city. We're not sure if it was an offended reader (maybe a Phish Phan?) or just someone who answers nature's call wherever he might be, but someone took a crap in our parking lot last week. Shit happens, you know? But someone in the nearby ExxonMobil building had a camera working a ... More >>

Umbrella Man's Bridges and Bayous.

Houston's swampiest musical savants return with new album.

Fire at ExxonMobil a Buzzkill for Lunch Crowd

The lunch crowd at ExxonMobil got a surprise today when the food court and dining room had to be evacuated because of a fire in a lower level. Food-service workers say they were in the midst of preparing and serving lunch for some 900 clients when a burning smell was detected. Service was suspended ... More >>

Tour de Houston

Bet on the Rockets

What will the second half bring?

Taste Test Marathon: The Power Bar Challenge

Photos by Christina Uticone​With the Chevron Houston Marathon looming, running and fueling and hydrating are trending topics online and off. My preferred workout fuel is actual food, although I've been known to supplement with a bar or a shake along the way when short on time. Generally I save ... More >>

40th Anniversary Chevron Houston Marathon

Free for All: Art Without a Price Tag

We've got our weekend figured out and it's filled with everything from Olympic runners to e-books to comics. On Friday, we'll be at "and everything in between," the latest exhibition of Curtis Gannon's artwork. The show, at the Spacetaker ARC Gallery, is a collection of new works by Gannon, featurin ... More >>

The 10 Most Unintentionally Hilarious Business Names in Houston

Gained in translation​Legend has it that back in that glorious half-season when Randy Johnson was mowing 'em down for the red-hot Astros, Drayton McLane thought up what he believed was a brilliant way to part Astros fans from still more money had one of his famous food-service brainstorms. He ... More >>

Legalize Online Poker? Texas Congressman Says Yes

Coming soon to a state near you?​U.S. Representative Joe Barton (R-Oil), the man who famously apologized to BP for the horrible way they were shaken down by the Obama administration after the Gulf oil spill, is introducing a bill to legalize online poker, the AP reports. Yay? Barton wants in ... More >>

Joseph Harrell, Waco Minister, Pleads Guilty To Selling Millions of Fake Shares in "Petro America" Investment Scam

Photo by Mandy OaklanderA member of the Ministers Alliance on his way to a meeting at Denny's, in typical Alliance uniform.​Yesterday, a Waco minister named Joseph Harrell pleaded guilty in a Missouri federal court to playing a key role in a nationwide securities scam. Harrell admitted sellin ... More >>

Capsule Art Reviews: "Guns and Roses," "Heinrich Kühn: The Perfect Photograph," "Henry Horenstein: Show," "This Is Displacement: Native Artists," "Voodoo Pop: Mary Hayslip and Trey Speegle," "Wendy Wagner: Once Uponse a Time in the Land o

Capsule Art Reviews: "Guns and Roses," "Heinrich Kühn: The Perfect Photograph," "Henry Horenstein: Show," "Minimalux," "Round 34: A Matter of Food," "The Whole World Was Watching: Civil Rights-Era Photographs"

Tort Reform: Rick Perry's Latest "Emergency"

Tort "reform" will solve all our problems​The AP is reporting that Governor Rick Perry has declared yet another right-wing hobbyhorse to be emergency legislation: a tort reform bill. Republicans reflexively shout "tort reform!" at the drop of a hat, even though Texas -- via the big corporate ... More >>

Health Department Roundup

"That ice machine is looking pristine, bro."​You know what Jesus was doing around Easter? Getting crucified and coming back from the dead to hang out in the Middle East instead of in paradise with his dad, for some reason. You can learn about the first part of this in Mel Gibson's The Passion ... More >>

Carb-Loading for the Marathon? Here's Where to Do It

Photo by Eda CherryCarb-loading: Serious[ly awesome] business.​In the book Going Higher: Oxygen, Man, and Mountains, the necessity of carb-loading before any highly strenuous, acutely physical activity is explained as, basically, the hoarding of glucose -- your body's fundamental energy source ... More >>

ExxonMobil's Baytown Refinery Sued For Being So Damn Leaky

Headed to court​Following in the footsteps of Shell and and ChevronPhillips, ExxonMobil has been sued by environmental groups who say its refinery routinely violates clean-air regulations and doesn't really do anything about it. The Sierra Club and Environment Texas announced their lawsuit to ... More >>

The Dead Walk, But Do They Have Legs?

Just leave those guns anywhere.​The Halloween premiere of AMC's Walking Dead knocked the socks off critics and viewers alike and earned the network the biggest audience for any of its original series to date. Last Sunday's episode ("Guts") looks to have been just as successful, triggering coun ... More >>

Reporting from the Southern Foodways Alliance Symposium: Thacker Mountain Radio Show, Mississippi Masala, and a Talk by Robb Walsh

Robb Walsh, right. ​The 13th Annual Southern Foodways Alliance Symposium officially kicks off today, but the fun got started Thursday night with the Thacker Mountain Radio show and some dinner offerings in line with the "Global South" theme, including Mississippi Masala by Suvir Saran. Thack ... More >>

Upcoming Events

Photo by Reggie BibbsThis winsome wench and many more are waiting to pour you a flagon of mead at Ren Fest.​As mentioned earlier this week, food festival season is upon us in Houston, with some of our favorite festivals kicking off this weekend. The 44th annual Greek Festival started yesterday ... More >>

New-School Pirates Are No Longer After Your Buried Treasure

We miss the old-school pirates​Being a pirate on the high seas isn't what it used to be. The rum-swigging, foul-mouthed, unkempt groups in search of buried treasure have evolved in the 21st century. Their new concern: Fueltrax systems. How's Disney supposed to make a movie around that plot line? ... More >>

Another Oil Rig Explosion In Gulf

Another oil rig has exploded in the Gulf, injuring one person and raising fears of another massive leak.All the 13 workers on board have been accounted for. Officials are not sure if any oil is leaking from the rig, which is about 80 miles south of Louisiana's Vermilion Bay.The Department of Homelan ... More >>

ExxonMobil Sued Over Alleged Exec's Anti-Social Behavior

Someone is just a tad angry with ExxonMobil​The introduction to a lawsuit filed by a businessman against ExxonMobil and one of its executives says it all: "This case is about criminal and civic disobedience, but this litigation is also about fundamental issues of freedom, respect, dignity and ec ... More >>

Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap

The longest running show in London livens up Houston’s summer

Haynesville: A Nation's Hunt for Energy

The story of a town the oil industry tried to buy

Friday Night: Sting At The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion

Photos by Groovehouse​Sting with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion June 25, 2010 "If you love somebody," Sting once sang, "set them free." Friday night at the Woodlands, he set a good two dozen of his songs free from their original arrangements, and set ... More >>

Father's Day: Five Very Bad Gift Ideas

Gifts even worse than another tie​Father's Day is fast approaching, and you probably haven't given much thought to your gift. We know you.To be sure, most fathers would gladly settle for Peace & Quiet once the kids are out of the weirdly-shaped homemade-paper-clip-holder stage, but most people ... More >>

ExxonMobil Not Moving To Houston, Chief Says

We prefer Irving to Houston, thank you very much​ExxonMobil, which has a large downtown Houston presence (right near the Houston Press; we heartily recommend the cafeteria), but rumors that it will be building and moving into a large campus on the city's north side are apparently untrue.ExxonMobil ... More >>

Annise Parker's Star Wars Choice: She's With The Bad Guys

City of Houston photosSo that's what Stormtroopers look like when they take off their helmets​ We'll admit freely that we're not the biggest Star Wars fans in the world. Given the fanaticism of some Jedi followers, it's an easy claim to make.But we thought -- and correct us if we're wrong -- that ... More >>

The Top 5 Musical Eco-Fails

uscgd8 via Flick​The bad news about the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is that BP's magic undersea dome didn't work, and the slick is now the size of Connecticut. And unless the latest half-assed stopgap measure (a "junk shot" of debris fired down the well in an attempt to plug it) works, it could be ... More >>

Fight The Oil Spill By Giving Your Dog A Haircut

Blow-drying after the cut is optional.​Until today, Hair Balls thought pet hair clippings were only good for making you sneeze, but apparently the hair is incredibly absorbent, which could come in handy in the case of, say, a gigantic freakin' oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Pet Paradise, a ... More >>

$7 at SunMart #139

​ Where: SunMart Mobil Station, 3200 Holcombe Blvd, Houston 77021 What $7 gets you: A tasty and cheap dinner, Fanta, and a pack of Tums. We stopped at SunMart Mobil to get gas, and stopped in for a drink and to pay. It smelled awesome inside, and our evening plans to get a salad were squashe ... More >>

New On DVD: The Yes Men Fix the World

The Yes Men​Depending on your world view, The Yes Men Fix the World, out on DVD today, is either very, very funny or really, really not funny at all. But humorous or not, it is entertaining and should be required viewing for anyone who doubts that big business is out to screw the public.In th ... More >>

Big Rip of Amen Recordz Breaks Down The Convenient-Store CD Economy

The hip-hop world is a less than sensible place - lots of times, you're even required to clarify when bad means bad and when bad means good - so once a week we're going to get with a rapper and ask them to explain things. Have something you always wanted to ask a rapper? Email it to introducinglisto ... More >>

"Why Can't It Be More Like Jazzfest?" Rick Mitchell Debunks The Top 10 Gripes He's Overheard About Houston's iFest

All photos courtesy of www.ifest.orgOzomatli: 8 p.m. Saturday, April 17, Bud Light World Music Stage​ A couple of days ago, Houston International Festival Director of Performing Arts Rick Mitchell emailed Rocks Off and asked us if we'd mind reprinting something he wrote for the blog on iFest's Web ... More >>

22nd Annual ConocoPhillips Rodeo Run

Web exclusive!

Movies Houstonians Love: Kingdom of Heaven

Web exclusive!

Behind-the-Scenes Tour: Wiess Energy Hall

Web exclusive!

Chevron Houston Marathon

Runners from around the world will challenge the race’s course records