Harry Potter

The "Secret" Menu at Los Tios

A funny thing happened when I was preparing to visit Los Tios to conduct research on their skinny margarita. Since I have nothing to do all day but peruse menus online, I spent [too] much of one morning scanning the food options at Los Tios in the hopes of preventing order paralysis (an affliction ... More >>

A Secretary of State, an Elk Head, and Rice Students - What Could Go Wrong?

The most well-known prank in Rice history took place on a warm spring morning in 1988. A few years after the idea first crept into their keg-addled minds, a handful of engineering students erected a pair of 24-foot A-frames around the campus's centerpiece, a one-ton statue of William Marsh Rice that ... More >>

Exterminate: 5 Songs For the Daleks

Note to my fellow Whovians: This is being written in the past, so I have no idea how much then-me will have enjoyed the first episode of the season (now). If you want to read what I will have thought you can see that at this link, but please pop back over here and let then me know in the comments wh ... More >>

Last Night: Armin van Buuren At Stereo Live

Armin van Buuren Stereo Live May 23, 2012 After a crazy night at Stereo Live with Rusko's breakdown Tuesday, I couldn't help but imagine what was in store for Wednesday night's Armin van Buuren set. Hailing from the Netherlands, Armin started making music at age 14 and had his first success with t ... More >>

Top 5 Most Awesomely Insane Things Done By Nick Cave

Nick Cave remains in a class by himself. On one hand, he's the most gothic person alive, but on the other he's so unique in his contributions that when we sat down to make a list of all the different eras of goth music, we simply had to leave him out because he doesn't fit anywhere. He's a statistic ... More >>

Friday Night: Mountain Goats at Fitzgerald's

Let us be clear from the very beginning -- this member of the Rocks Off Aftermath team isn't the most storied fan of The Mountain Goats. Though we'd heard of the legendary John Darnielle before, out first actual exposure to his music was in 2007 with Heretic Pride, and we were so struck by the power ... More >>

10 Pumpkin Dishes to Try in Houston: #1 Pumpkin Trio at Ninfa's On Navigation

In 2010, I had a grand ol' time scouring Houston for outstanding pumpkin dishes. One year later I'm older, definitely not wiser, and still in love with orange squash. So from now until Thanksgiving I've been counting down (again) 10 Pumpkin Dishes to Try in Houston. Forks at the ready! #1 Pumpkin ... More >>

Pop Rocks: 10 Actors Whose Former Creepiness We Can't Get Over

Eww.​So I'm being forced to watch The Good Wife last Sunday, and I see that Colin Sweeney, a semi-recurring character Alicia once defended for murdering his wife, was apparently involved in testifying for Alicia's firm for one reason or other (give me a break, the entire hour was me wrestling ... More >>

A Scary Good Time

The Houston Press Guide to Halloween

Top 007 James Bond Musical Title Sequences

59 years ago today, United Artists released Dr. No, the first film adaptation of Ian Feming's James Bond novels. There have since been 21 more movies with another one on the way, and the series is the second-highest grossing film series ever after Harry Potter. One of the things that continue to d ... More >>

9 People Who Could Play The King In New Elvis Biopic

tonkoorevaar.be​Tuesday, Paste reported that director John Scheinfeld will be adapting Elvis: Still Taking Care of Business, the memoir of Elvis Presley confidante Sonny West, who was one of the King's bodyguards for 16 years. West was a member of the "Memphis Mafia," Elvis' merry band of bone ... More >>

Saturday Night: Stevie Nicks At The Woodlands

Photos by Jay Lee"Anybody seen my wand?"​Stevie Nicks Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion August 13, 2011 Aftermath can't help but wonder if the people who think Stevie Nicks is some kind of wand-waving white-witch faerie queen have paid much attention to anything she's done besides "Rihannon." N ... More >>

True Blood: Drunken Vampires & Danko Jones

Alan Ball was known for his masterful use of music in Six Feet Under. He's lost none of his touch when it comes to his current HBO series, True Blood - which happens to be set in the Louisiana swamps, not terribly far from Houston. ​Gothtopia first read Dracula at age 8, and Anne Rice's Inter ... More >>

Five Real Wizards Who Make Harry Potter Look Like David Blaine

​By the time you read this, your humble narrator will be on the edge of our seat at the West Oaks Alamo Drafthouse watching the triumphant finale of the Harry Potter films. The books and movies have given us of our best times over the past decade, and it's hard to believe that it's all over. ... More >>

Last Night: Bruno Mars & Janelle Monae At Reliant Arena

Photos by Marc Brubaker​Bruno Mars, Janelle Monae Reliant Arena May 18, 2011 See Bruno Mars, Janelle Monae and their fans, just the way they are, in our slideshow. Somewhere, Michael Jackson is smiling again. At last. The King of Pop may be gone, but he was very much there in spirit Wednesd ... More >>

Gabrielle Giffords Coming to Houston

Gabrielle Giffords with her astronaut husband, Mark Kelly​CNN is reporting that family members say Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will be coming to Houston Friday to begin her long rehab process. The victim of the Tucson shootings will move to an unnamed facility here, but one with "military surgeon ... More >>

Wails: Wintry, Wilcoesque, Worth Listening To

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 sheaserrano@gmail.com. ​Chances are you've never ... More >>

Ex-DJ Brandi Garcia Happy To Move On Beyond The Box

Photos courtesy of Brandi Garcia​When Rocks Off got DJ Brandi Garcia on the phone a couple of weeks removed from her controversial dismissal from 97.9 The Box for playing a Trae track at an unrelated concert, we were anticipating her to call us from a frigid office full of books with legal jar ... More >>

Pop Rocks: The Passion Of The K-Stew

​Much hay is being made of Kristen Stewart's ("Bella" in the Twilight movies) comments to British Elle magazine about the perils of fame. This one in particular: On the paparazzi: "What you don't see are the cameras shoved in my face and the bizarre intrusive questions being asked, or the peo ... More >>

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 >>

One Vampire Movie That Really Sucks

Cirque du Freak tries to get in on the trend. Fails.

While You Weren't Tweeting: Now With More Harry Potter

C'mon, 'fess up. You spent early last week camped out in front of the Angelika in your Hogwarts uniform, awaiting the arrival of the new Harry Potter movie in theatres. Then you spent the rest of the week basking in the afterglow of Daniel Radcliffe's smoldering gaze, and engaging in heated discuss ... More >>

Dito Montiel's Fighting Lacks Punch

Down for the Count

Sole Of Houston: East Side Story -- Trains, Tequila, Dogs & Grief

Photos by Jay LeeI just can't get enough of Houston's East End/Second Ward/Ship Channel area, so that is where the latest installment of the Sole of Houston took us. I don't think I can recreate the route with anything more than about 90 percent accuracy, but my best guess is that it looked so ... More >>

Our top DVD picks scheduled for release this week:

Video Game Review: NCAA Football 08

Confessions of a Hilary Duff fan

Get Off My Duff!

Lord Have Mercy

Jesus Camp pitches its tent in the other America

Cruella de Vogue

The Devil Wears Prada slaps the latest duds on an infamous fashion editor

Bring On the Backlash!

Flinging poo at the haters with the Arctic Monkeys

Houston's Food Nazis

Some are curmudgeonly but intriguing. Others are just a bad trip to S&M land.

Heavenly Hag

Emma Thompson's Nanny McPhee becomes a thing of beauty

Origin of Innocence

The New World boldly reclaims the Pocahontas tale from Disney

The Reel Truth

Hollywood claims the sky is falling. To which we say Puh-lease.

Lion in Winter

C.S. Lewis's world comes to life in The Chronicles of Narnia

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Wack's Very Special Holiday Music Guide

Spent

A Broadway schmaltzfest spawns a big-screen travesty

Say Cheese

Wallace and Gromit make their long-overdue feature debut

Houston Press' top DVD picks for the week of September 6

Cine City

The MFAH screens nine important Mexican films

Skip It

This holiday movie will make you very, very Kranky

Gender Pretender

Billy Crudup goes girly in the witty Shakespearean world of Stage Beauty

The Fire Next Time

Nobody knows what AFI's next album will sound like, least of all the band members

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Delayed DeLay

He didn't duck an airport mob

Talk's Back

Storytellers practice their craft in a concert for all ages

See-Worthy

Disney's old-school Atlantis strikes gold under the ocean

Crazy from the Heat

Boorman and Le Carré lose touch with their thrill-seeking personae in Panama

What, Them Worry?

As Mad celebrates its 400th issue, its editors wonder how to stay funny in a world gone mad

Music Awards Winners

The votes are in! See who you picked as winners in the HPMA 2000