Gatorade

Jason Friedman’s NFL Picks, Week Three: Approaching the Promised Land

Astros-Reds: That’s Five in a Row

News from Nowhere

Clearing the desk for the New Year, and other excuses for a column

The Facts of LifeBag

Photos by Blake WhitakerPreparation is keyImagine a catastrophic hurricane has severed communication with the outside world. You're thirsty, but the water coming out of the tap is contaminated. Society has devolved into lawlessness, and your neighbors have stolen your bottled water by torchlight. Th ... More >>

Press Picks

Photos by Blake WhitakerPreparation is keyImagine a catastrophic hurricane has severed communication with the outside world. You're thirsty, but the water coming out of the tap is contaminated. Society has devolved into lawlessness, and your neighbors have stolen your bottled water by torchlight. Th ... More >>

The Insider

Photos by Blake WhitakerPreparation is keyImagine a catastrophic hurricane has severed communication with the outside world. You're thirsty, but the water coming out of the tap is contaminated. Society has devolved into lawlessness, and your neighbors have stolen your bottled water by torchlight. Th ... More >>

Press Picks

Photos by Blake WhitakerPreparation is keyImagine a catastrophic hurricane has severed communication with the outside world. You're thirsty, but the water coming out of the tap is contaminated. Society has devolved into lawlessness, and your neighbors have stolen your bottled water by torchlight. Th ... More >>

The Menu That Fell to Earth

Photos by Blake WhitakerPreparation is keyImagine a catastrophic hurricane has severed communication with the outside world. You're thirsty, but the water coming out of the tap is contaminated. Society has devolved into lawlessness, and your neighbors have stolen your bottled water by torchlight. Th ... More >>

For The Final Four: Five Most Inspirational Pre-Game Speeches

As the NCAA Tournament builds to a climax, one can only speculate about the kinds of speeches offered by the likes of Texas' Rick Barnes and OU's Jeff Capel before their respective matches against Duke and North Carolina. One thing seems certain, it probably wouldn't have hurt to have one of these ... More >>

KICKS'S KICKTAIL

As the NCAA Tournament builds to a climax, one can only speculate about the kinds of speeches offered by the likes of Texas' Rick Barnes and OU's Jeff Capel before their respective matches against Duke and North Carolina. One thing seems certain, it probably wouldn't have hurt to have one of these ... More >>

Lousy Movie: 'Meet the Spartans'

Few laughs to be had in this lackluster parody

The Facts of LifePack

Photos by Blake WhitakerPreparation is keyImagine a catastrophic hurricane has severed communication with the outside world. You're thirsty, but the water coming out of the tap is contaminated. Society has devolved into lawlessness, and your neighbors have stolen your bottled water by torchlight. Th ... More >>

Ladies with Balls

Team USA's scrappy soccer starlets kick it at Reliant Stadium

Best Hangover Coffee

Team USA's scrappy soccer starlets kick it at Reliant Stadium

Well-Dressed Rebels

Revolt of the operagoing socialites

No Sissies Allowed

They'll run. They'll catch. They'll tackle. Women's professional football ramps up (again) in Houston.

Safety Zone

Justin Bull Riding Championship

Let's Order Run Service

The Running Companion service

This Week In Deliciousness

Photo by Robb WalshI can't write this column on an empty stomach. It's difficult to maintain your trademark acerbic wit when all you can think is, "I would literally murder somebody for that hamburger / pizza / pastry / whatever insane but incredible dish from Feast we've featured this week." ... More >>

Inquiring Minds: Fresh Houston Rappers the Nice Guys

Photos by Jamaal Ellis A few years back, Houston was the city the rap world was talking about. Artists like Paul Wall, Slim Thug and Mike Jones showed the entire nation (and beyond) what H-town had been up to for years. Those days are gone now, though, and the city is left wondering where local musi ... More >>

Pop Rocks: Tiger By The Tail

​With apologies to William Blake:Tiger! Tiger! Feeling lowIn the forests of OrlandoWhat errant hydrant (or 5-wood)Put that dent in your Caddy's hood?That silliness out of the way, here are some thoughts on the whole Eldrick Woods...thing.1. The instantaneous news cycle really is something to behol ... More >>

The Shameless Chef: Tex Mex Ramen Explosion

Yeah, if you've got some kind of principled objection to what is traditionally known as "junk food", you'll wanna go ahead and move right along to the next article.​ Ah, the hazy, crazy days of dorm life. I stayed in the dorms at the University of Houston for two-and-a-half years, had some gre ... More >>

Game Time: Longhorns Come Away With "Rocky Balboa" Respect

​Around 10:15 PM last night, about the time the wheels started coming off the University of Texas Longhorns' run at what would have been an historical comeback, I got the following text from AT&T (verbatim, including all of the texty little abbreviations): "The AT&T All-America Player ... More >>

Game Time: 2009 Bear Bryant Award, Chalk One Up For The Good Guys

​I'm not sure if any of you have noticed, but the last few weeks have not been all that kind to the perception of the college football coaching profession. If it's not Jim Leavitt getting fired from South Florida for allegedly slapping around a special teams player at halftime of a game, then it's ... More >>

A N00b Runs the Houston Chevron Half-Marathon

Photos by Jason McElweenie / Click here for a slideshowRunners in the marathon, some of whom dressed like Disney characters.​Every January for the last several years I have stood on a curb along Allen Parkway, cheering for my friends in the early hours of a Sunday as they competed in the Chevr ... More >>

Last Night: Ted Nugent At The Pasadena Fairgrounds

Photos by Marc Brubaker/ Click here for a slideshow​Ted Nugent Pasadena Fairgrounds July 11, 2010 It was one of the most offensive shows that Aftermath has probably been to, but that didn't stop us from buying a T-shirt. It was a show that would have made the cast of liberal pundits on CNBC s ... More >>

Stirred and Shaken: 1820 Bar's Bo-Tang

​Outside of the occasional pedicab and the 24-hour glow of bail bondsmen's office lights, the northeast side of downtown was dead and dark on Tuesday evening. This isn't a good sign for the Astros considering I was two blocks from Minute Maid Park during a home game. But at 1820 Bar (1820 Fran ... More >>

1820 Bar's Bo-Tang

​Outside of the occasional pedicab and the 24-hour glow of bail bondsmen's office lights, the northeast side of downtown was dead and dark on Tuesday evening. This isn't a good sign for the Astros considering I was two blocks from Minute Maid Park during a home game. But at 1820 Bar (1820 Fran ... More >>

Zico Coconut Water

​Water, water, everywhere, and so much of it stinks. These days, it seems like every beverage company is hocking its own special version of H2O that promises consumers a transcendent hydration experience. Since it's the sultry season and Houston tap water leaves much to be desired, I have been ... More >>

Hurricane Rita, Five Years Later: What's Your Story?

As you sit in a bit of stalled traffic today or tomorrow, you can ease your annoyance a bit by remembering what was happening five years ago this week.Just weeks after Houstonians watched horrified as Hurricane Katrina pounded New Orleans and spawned jaw-dropping scenes of just how bad things can be ... More >>

UH Architecture Students Give T.H. Rogers Students Some Relief From the Heat

Photo by Bobette RinerHoles 18 feet deep for support​A school courtyard in Houston can very well be the last place you'd want to spend time, given the heat that can dominate most of the academic year. But what if you're a 12-year-old forced to wear a suit, while playing a cello, no less? Or in a ... More >>

The Soft Pack: 30 Seconds With Matty McLoughlin

​We sat down with Matty McLoughlin from The Soft Pack to see what we could learn about him in 30 seconds. Rocks Off: What is the worst song in the world? Matty McLoughlin: An Eagles song. It's divorce rock and is always a buzzkill. RO: What is the best lyric in the world? MM: "Nigga plea ... More >>

Why I'd Rather Eat Halal Food (Including Campbell's Soup)

​The latest round of anti-Muslim rhetoric to spew forth from the nation's right-wing extremists has formed from the strangest combination of ingredients: Canada and Campbell's soup. News that Americans have started a Facebook group called "Boycott Campbell Soup" [sic] -- which has nearly 3,50 ... More >>

Four Myths About Super Bowl Radio Row

​I got to cross another item off of my list of radio career "firsts" this past week, attending my first Radio Row in Dallas for this year's Super Bowl from Monday through Wednesday. For someone that grew up on sports talk radio, the feeling I got walking around Radio Row was the same feelin ... More >>

The 15 Worst Astro Baseball Cards

Baaaaaaby Ruth!!!​It's Astros season again, which more than likely means copious losses, manly tears, beer bottles broken over televisions, and the testicular fortitude of a snake-charmer to get through nine innings of a game without the aid of alcohol, narcotics, or a distracting game of Angr ... More >>

Jerry Eversole's Trial: The Winners and Losers

The youthful Eversole, before the feds started pestering him.​Jerry Eversole surprised a lot of people when he escaped conviction on bribery charges. A hung jury ended in a mistrial, but prosecutors expect to take another swing at it soon. In the meantime, everyone is poking through the wrec ... More >>

Mark Cuban Hit In The Face With Flying Projectile; Video of Five Times He Deserved It

Mark Cuban: We have the video evidence​Apparently, at the end of Game 3 of the Maversicks-Blazers series on Thursday night in Portland, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was pegged in the face with a mysterious unidentified object. While I don't condone the anonymous launching of projectiles a ... 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

Mark Cuban: We have the video evidence​Apparently, at the end of Game 3 of the Maversicks-Blazers series on Thursday night in Portland, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was pegged in the face with a mysterious unidentified object. While I don't condone the anonymous launching of projectiles a ... More >>

Capsule Art Reviews: "Jackie Gendel: Fables in Slang" "Nathan Green: Fill the Sky" "Perspectives 174: Re: Generation" "Voodoo Pop: Mary Hayslip and Trey Speegle" "Wendy Wagner: Once Uponse a Time in the Land of O-Poppida"

Mark Cuban: We have the video evidence​Apparently, at the end of Game 3 of the Maversicks-Blazers series on Thursday night in Portland, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was pegged in the face with a mysterious unidentified object. While I don't condone the anonymous launching of projectiles a ... More >>

Hydrating Foods for Summer Workouts

Greg Riegler Photography​Houston summers certainly know how to bring the heat. That can be deadly to your workout routine and, in extreme conditions, your well-being. Every single cell in your body depends on water to function, and according to Runner's World, as little as 2 percent dehydratio ... More >>

Comment of the Day

​Today Katharine Shilcutt wrote about Dr Pepper sort of suing itself - that is, parent company Dr Pepper Snapple suing the Dublin Dr Pepper plant for allegedly violating the terms of its franchise agreement. Which led commenter Stuart Reb Donald to present his theory about what's going on: ... More >>

William Chambliss: Suspected of DWI with Grandkids Perched on Roof of SUV

William Chambliss, grandfather of the year.​Drunk driving is a terrible idea. Drunk driving with kids in the car is even worse. Leave it to an East Texan from the Lufkin-area village of Huntington to invent an even worse variation on this potentially deadly theme. On Monday, concerned citizen ... More >>

Texas Tweakers

James "Bull" Durham burned down his mother's house while cooking meth. In Angelina County, the jail is full of guys like him..

Texans Celebrate: Twitter Pics From The Locker Room And The Team Plane

​It's been a long, long time since Houston has hosted an NFL playoff game -- Newt Gingrich hadn't even become Speaker of the House yet, for crying out loud, when the Oilers choked away a Dome game to the Chiefs in 1993. And the Texans, of course, have given fans plenty of despair and disappoi ... More >>

Bartender Chat: Bryce of Gigi's Asian Bistro

​I still had a few things I needed to cross off my Christmas list that I had been putting off, as these specific items could only be found at the Galleria. Then, like a total nutjob, I decided to go shopping this past weekend and paid for it with my sanity. Its enough to drive a girl to drink. ... More >>

Top 5 Worst Foods To Take to the Gym

Photo by Joanna O'LearyThere's no crying in baseball...or at the gym.​As a self-confessed "gym rat," I have come to appreciate my fellow patrons who exercise good sense, especially with regards to food and drink in the workout areas. There is no explicit rule banning, say, eating limberger che ... More >>

The Best and Worst Foods To Hand Out During the Marathon

Photo by euthman on Flickr​This Sunday thousands of runners will be pounding the streets of Houston and at some point during their x-hour runs, they might want a little snack. Officials will be handing out water and Endurance Formula Gatorade (the official energy drink of the Chevron Houston M ... More >>

Five Prop Bets For Music Lovers This Super Sunday

Photo by Allison Wagoner​It's time to be honest with each other for a moment: some people out there don't care about the Super Bowl. They may not care about sports at all. In fact, they might hate sports completely. Listen close and you can hear them roll their eyes at yet another blog post a ... More >>