Friendswood

How Roger Ebert Made Me a Better Writer

When I had a heart attack in October 2011, an event brought on mostly by my unfortunate lifestyle decisions, my brain was deprived of oxygen for about 15 minutes. All I wanted to do when I came to, several days later, was read. I couldn't. In the hospital, friends and family members brought me nume ... More >>

Meet Les Heinemann, Baybrook Mall's Bluegrass-Picking Santa Claus

Les Heinemann has played Santa Claus at Baybrook Mall in Friendswood for 13 seasons now. Somebody told him that by December 25 of this year he'll have had almost 300,000 children sit on his lap and sort out their Christmas lists. I first met Heinemann in 2001 when I worked at Baybrook part-time a ... More >>

Saturday Night: Red Hot Chili Peppers at Toyota Center

Red Hot Chili Peppers Toyota Center October 20, 2012 The Red Hot Chili Peppers have stuck around long enough -- through drugs, overdoses, creative strife and changing musical tides -- to have 30 years of hits they can knock out into the nosebleeds at any given live show. Saturday night's Toyota C ... More >>

Kevin Schoolmeyer, 21: Dies After Downtown Rave Party

A 21-year-old man began acting bizarrely and then died after taking drugs at what police call "a rave party" early Saturday morning. Kevin Schoolmeyer was driving home to Friendswood with a friend about 6 a.m. Saturday when he began acting strangely, police say. As they were driving through the De ... More >>

King's Biergarten and Restaurant's 2012 Oktoberfest Kick-Off

Update: Rough Weather, Tornados Rolling Through Houston, Affecting Airports

As has been mentioned by weather forecasters in recent days, some pretty rough weather is passing through Houston this morning as part of a cold front. The storms are spanning high winds, torrential rain (some areas could receive up to five inches), flash flooding and potential tornadoes. According ... More >>

Two Houston Chefs Honored by James Beard House

Photo by Tam VoRonnie Killen will be reppin' the Gulf Coast in New York City.​Being asked to serve as guest chef at the James Beard House in New York City is as high an honor as they come for a professional chef. And now two Houston chefs -- each completely different from the other -- have bee ... More >>

Timothy Porter: Teacher, Volleyball Coach, Alleged Steroid & Cocaine Dealer

Timothy Porter: Jack of all trades.​High school coaches can be inspiring figures, like Coach Taylor in Friday Night Lights. Except we can't quite picture Taylor dealing coke and steroids, possibly to his own students and players. That's what Friendswood police accuse Timothy Porter of doing, ... More >>

1986: Best Musical Year Ever?

​For almost two weeks now, Rocks Off has been obsessed with the year exactly 25 flips of the calendar backward from this one. It started when Steve Earle did one of his "Time Machine" shows, where the singer-songwriter who plays House of Blues Wednesday spotlights a dozen or so of his favorite ... More >>

New Venue The Flamingo Room Has A Leg Up

Photos by Marc Brubaker​Astute readers of the Houston Press' and Rocks Off's local concert calendars might have noticed that a new venue is pulling some names into town. Sidled up to the Gulf Freeway just minutes from Hobby Airport, The Flamingo Room is Houston's newest mid-level venue. Rumor ... More >>

Never Mind Arcade Fire: Bands Who Fit Other Houston 'Burbs

Gabriel Jones/Merge Records​Tonight's the night. Win and Will Butler of conquering indie heroes Arcade Fire finally return to the town that indirectly won them a Grammy, The Woodlands. On last year's The Suburbs, the Butlers and their Canadian compatriots reflected on the brothers' restless M ... More >>

Jonathan Robert McMinn: Dude, Don't Go to Police HQ to Pick Up the Items You Stole

Jonathan McMinn: Maybe should have just written off his loot​Sometimes a man can take too much pride in his work. He feels he's earned his just rewards and he's going to get them. When the man in question has a common-sense quotient of a sugared-up tween, however, trouble may ensue. Jonathan ... More >>

Hot Off the Grille

The original Perry & Sons Market & Grille is still rooted in mom-and-pop charm even with its growth into 12 big-box restaurants across Texas.

A Work By Brooke Bartholomew Of Friendswood May Be The Face Of Google For A Day

Courtesy Google"Repairing All the World's Breaks"​ Your Google searches may soon start with artwork from a Friendswood eighth-grader.Brooke Bartholomew is one of 40 finalists out of 33,000 contestants, and she's getting a free trip to Google's New York headquarters out of the deal.You want her to ... More >>

Big Brother Sees Your Tweets

San Jac student disciplined for bomb threat.

Sarahmania Hits Houston

What did we learn?

Critiquing the Critics

Readers disagree with our statement that the AP's rock critics are assholes.

This Week In Deliciousness

MEATSPLOSION!​ Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where we've finally secured the patent on sourdough incense. This week started off with a bang, when Greenway Barista slammed the Luling City Market on Richmond, which is actually unaffiliated with the actual market in ... More >>

I Would Rather Be Raped Than Work Any Longer On Your Campaign, Sir

Breach of contract suits are ordinarily dry, boilerplate affairs, which is why Hair Balls tips our hat to the colorful complaint filed last Friday by Donald Large against City Council At-Large Candidate Carlos Obando. Large, who is also chairs Harris County Republican Precinct 411, tells Obando in h ... More >>

Food Fight: Battle Gyro

Photos by Katharine Shilcutt​To be fair, the gyro is as much American as it is Greek. It was introduced to both Greece and America around the same time in the mid 20th century, based on the Turkish doner kebab (which is what you'd order if you wanted a gyro in Britain, by the by). And althoug ... More >>

Ghost Riders: Easy Come, Easy No

CenterPoint Energy's power line easements would make ideal bike highways. Too bad they won't let us use them.

Life, Post-Ike: A Full Recovery

Just when it looked like UTMB might leave Galveston forever, local legislators saved it.

A Cafe Bites Nibble

Brett Floyd and Floyd Landry are partners in Floyd's Cajun Seafood and Steakhouse (1300 East Broadway, 281-993-8385), which recently opened in Pearland. "We opened the Floyd's in Webster in 2004, then another one in Beaumont in 2006, which had been a Don's Seafood for 38 years," says Brett Floyd, "a ... More >>

Artist of the Week: 10th Grade Cutie

Each Wednesday, Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group "Artist of the Week," bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist that isn't awful? Email their particulars to introducingliston@gmail.com.Courtesy 10th Grade CutieSm ... More >>

Maryland Bang

Meet Rye Rye, Baltimore's latest rap sensation.

iFest: This Is Our Party

Better music than ACL and fewer hippies

Aftermath: Clint Black at RodeoHouston

Photos courtesy Houston Livestock Show & RodeoNot only does Clint Black know how to play to the home folks - after being introduced by his daughter Lily, he said hello to Tomball, Spring, Pasadena and his hometown Katy (but where, Aftermath would like to know, was Friendswood?) upon takin ... More >>

Santa Round-Up Part Five: The Crying Game

This and every Christmas season the most important person is the baby Jesus, with a bearded, white-haired toy factory owner coming in a close second. Every year we flock to the malls to sit in our kids down on Santa's lap. Sometimes they run off screaming, while others take to the old guy just like ... More >>

Drunk Drivers: Here's The Person Who's Giving You Hope

The Worrisome List Of The Missing

Some Dogs Enjoy An Ike Break

The New Miracle Play, Coming to You Courtesy of San Antonio’s Trinity University

Houston to Austin and Back Again

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor

These Kids Go to the Best Public High School in Houston

This week: Our first- through fifth-place finishers

The Press: 15 Rounds and Counting

A decade and a half of devilish deeds and die-hard journalism

The Return of the Band of Rhythm and Pleasure

The Hollisters reunite to rock the East Texas pines

Letters

Letters

Burying the Past

A farewell slap to a Chronicle columnist

Club Directory

On the Outs with Indigos

Plus: Paving Lunatics, Statue of Limitations, Batty over News

In the Hold

Plus: Rebuttal Witness, Doctoring the Ratings, Breeding Greed?

Letters

Green Diet, School Shame, Capital Con

Curiouser and Curiouser

Ex-congressman Stockman is labeled a co-conspirator in prescription fraud

Letters

Mental Health Madness, Residental Revelations, English or Else?

News Hostage

Triumph of the Spirit

"O'Quinn Is a Miracle ..."

Press Picks