Hawaii

No Requests

Five reasons EDM shows are better than rock concerts.

Christmas Past: 15 Odd Christmas Gift Ideas for Musicians

While we celebrate the holidays, Rocks Off is resurrecting a few of our best Christmas-themed blogs from the past few years. (Wait... resurrecting is Easter. Never mind.) This blog originally appeared November 21, 2011. As the timeless tale of the Little Drummer Boy reminds us, there is no greater ... More >>

5 Great Songs by Psy Besides “Gangnam Style”

5 Great Songs By Psy Besides "Gangnam Style"

Sometimes it's hard for Americans to believe, but there is, in fact, a whole world outside of the United States. No, I'm not just talking about Alaska and Hawaii. There are whole other countries out there and not just ones that are either a) our cute friends (England, Japan) or b) our bitter enemies ... More >>

10 Great Autumn Bikinis Not On St. Baart's

Our list of 25 Best Reasons to Love Texas in the Autumn was, we were told, a little skimpy on the babes. Not that there's anything inherently sexy about fall (although some dudes go nuts over the boots-with-dresses look), it's just that some folks think any listicle must include skimpily clad femal ... More >>

Chef Chat, Part 3, John Sikhattana of Straits Shows Off Singaporean Food

John Sikhattana Executive Chef Straits Asian Bistro 800 West Sam Houston Parkway North 713-365-9922 www.straitsrestaurants.com This is the third and final part of a three-part chef chat series. Part 1 and Part 2 ran in this space over the last couple of days. Our chat with John Sikhattana this wee ... More >>

Battleship

Because every generation needs an Armageddon.

Coachella: The Worst Of Weekend 2

It couldn't all be great performances, decent recreational drugs, and pleasant weather at Coachella. Here are our writers' picks for their least favorite things from the festival's second weekend. People Not Here for the Music: If you're paying $300-$800 for a festival ticket, one might think you w ... More >>

Rap Round Table: The Red Beast Is Nearing. Are You Prepared?

Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Each week Rocks Off will have some of them here discussing issues relevant to their culture. This Week's Panel: Fat Tony, KAB, Kyle Hubbard, Zavey, Medicine Girl, Mac, Eskabel, Delo, D-Risha, RoderickVonn, A.D.D. Not Invited: Mario O., who, ... More >>

Mason Jennings

15 Odd Christmas Gift Ideas for Musicians

​As the timeless tale of the Little Drummer Boy reminds us, there is no greater gift than the gift of music. But what about those on your Christmas list who already have plenty of music in their lives? Buying gifts for musicians is no easy task -- most of them already own the entire Rush disco ... More >>

Fantasy Island

Alexander Payne's Hawaiian excursion might be the feel-good movie of the year. Uh oh.

Darren Aronofsky's Meth Ads: Anti-Drug PSAs That Actually Might Work

​Last week, we posted a list of anti-drug commercials that not only didn't stop any children from doing drugs, but potentially encouraged such abusing behavior. The famed PSA one-liner, "I learned it from watching you," probably made more kids of the '80s wish they were rolling doobies with th ... More >>

Best/Worst College Football QB Transfers: A List Inspired by Former Texas Main Man Garrett Gilbert

Obviously, Garrett Gilbert is no Colt McCoy. Or Case McCoy. Or David Ash. Earlier today, the Texas Longhorns announced that Gilbert -- who filled in admirably for the injured Colt McCoy during the Longhorns' loss in the 2010 BCS Championship game...and that's about it -- is leaving the program. G ... More >>

Chef Chat, Part 1: Hicham Nafaa of Majorca Bistro & Tapas

Photo by Mandy OaklanderHicham Nafaa, owner/chef of Majorca Bistro & Tapas​The walls of Majorca Bistro & Tapas are deep red, accented with hand-painted bullfighting frescoes. Soft flamenco music pulses through the low-lit dining room. Majorca is Midtown's brand-new tapas restaurant, and from t ... More >>

Space Station To Crash Into Ocean: 5 Other Notable Falls From Orbit

Skylab: Roomy but fallible​News came out yesterday that Russia and her space-station partners plan to crash the thing into the ocean when its life span ends in 2020. It's too expensive to dismantle, and would be too huge and dangerous a piece of space junk to leave up there in orbit. Man-mad ... More >>

For Flag Day: The 10 Worst U.S. State Flags

As we are sure you are no doubt keenly aware, Flag Day is tomorrow. We could give you a list of the ten prettiest flags, but we are Hair Balls, and that's not the kind of crap we like to cough up. Here instead is a list of ten state flags to tun up the flagpoles of your worst enemies: 10. Nevada T ... More >>

Hula Mama's: Paradise in a Double Wide

Brittanie SheyKeep your eyes on the hands.​The writer at Eater who declared last week that tiki is dead might want to get out of New York for a while. This weekend in Ft. Lauderdale, tikiphiles will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of The Hukilau at the historic Mai Kai (also celebrating it ... More >>

Sex Dolls & Texans

The men who love pseudo-women

Five Signs A Rapper May Be In Jail

​When Scarface went vacationing in the iron city last October, no one seemed to notice. Everyone was stunned to later learn that Face had been in jail for three months. It got us thinking, what are some tell-tale signs that a rapper may be in the clink? 5. Static Twitter Page If a prominent ... More >>

10 Trivia Pursuit Questions Whose Answers Have Changed Since 1982: Can You Get Them?

Your old answers are WRONG, grandpa​You may be playing board games as a way to ease through the holidays with family and friends. Back in 1982, everyone was playing Trivia Pursuit. Everyone. Some of the answers back then, of course, are no longer valid. And there are people who track this. C ... More >>

Fruitcake and 4 Other Foods with a Bad Reputation

jeleneDiscouraged by its bad reputation: the fruitcake. ​How does a food item get a bad reputation? Does it cut class to smoke with trans-fats in the parking lot? Sleep around with carbohydrates? Often it's an association with a particular era in history or social class that gets a food placed ... More >>

DJ Premier: A Pillar Of Hip-Hop History

​Maybe it's leaving behind our twenties and embracing our thirties, but we've been so concerned with the past lately... history, that is. We've been talking to our grandmother in the last few months about her life as a young child growing up on the Texas border. You truly don't know someone b ... More >>

John Anderson

Five Things We're Not Looking Forward To In The Upcoming Fall TV Season

​Just when you were afraid the lack of fresh content on your television might finally force you to get up off your couches and engage in some meaningful interaction with your loved ones, here comes the 2010 fall season and its annual helping of canned laughter, reality shenanigans, and FCC-app ... More >>

A Day At The Beach For Beyonce, Dad

​ One of the things Rocks Off is most grateful for is our Google alert for Beyonce, which provides us with a never-ending stream of amusing and occasionally newsworthy anecdotes concerning the escapades of Houston's hometown diva and her extended family. This morning's was especially rich, because ... More >>

Game Time: National Signing Day, The Creepiest Day In Sports...And I'm Part Of The Problem

​It's all a matter of how you look at it -- if you're a diehard college football fan, then today is December 25. You woke up this morning and ran over to your computer to pull up ESPN's Recruit Tracker the same way you ran downstairs to see what was under the Christmas tree when you were a kid. (" ... More >>

Game Time: Weekend Review

​I hope everyone had a great weekend, and that you were all able to enjoy the nice weather by moving your television and recliner into your driveway to watch football on TV.  I'd like to start off by welcoming the Texans to this new thing for them called "November".  Boys, I know in ... More >>

Why Notre Dame Will Win The BCS And Texas Won't, Part 8

​We didn't watch the Longhorns this weekend, we have to admit. Subjecting the country to a prime-time match-up of UT and Missouri seemed unnecessarily cruel, but such is the heartless world we live in these days.But we're assuming two things: First, UT won, because come on, it's Missouri. And seco ... More >>

Eddie V's Prime Seafood

The 100 Best Bars in America: None For You!

Hey, Esquire, stick to covering topics like this and we'll all be happy.​The venerated Esquire has released its list of the Best Bars in America, compiled after what we imagine was some serious and excessive binge-drinking that had either mind-erasing or mind-altering effects on the editors ... More >>

Five Artists Motel 6 Would Rather Not Give Free Rooms, Including John Mayer

canada.com​In a move sure to boost occupancy among skinny jeans-wearing hipsters while simultaneously driving regular families away by the family truckster-load, Motel 6 is running a promotion to give free rooms to up-and-coming bands: "Here's how it works: Motel 6 will give free rooms to developi ... More >>

Houston's Tea Party: Yes, There Was One

You probably didn't realize it, because the Left-Wing Socialist/Fascist Mainstream Media chose to ignore it, but there was yet another "Tea Party" in Houston over the weekend, which means another wacky, fun-loving combination of a) very odd people, and b) wildly overstated crowd estimates.Organizers ... More >>

For the Fourth Of July: Worst Cinematic Attempts At Patriotism

This weekend, as we come together to celebrate Independence Day, let's do our best to remember what this holiday is all about. It's more than merely dodging DWI checkpoints on your way home from backyard barbecues and trying to decide between the Jon & Kate 8 or Deadliest Catch marathons on TV ... More >>

Westheimer Block Party Preview: Updates from Woozyhelmet, Hell City Kings, Gold Sounds, Heptic Skeptic and More

Woozyhelmet: "Woozyhelmet is one word. We've been spreading the love of our new album, Get Down, for the last several months and are working on a follow-up EP that will only feature Brandi singing with the working title "Crop Brandi Out." It may end up being a 7" on Soda Pop Sounds. Jay recentl ... More >>

Local Guitarist's Wife Dies in Hawaii Swimming Accident

Tragedy has struck a long-standing member of Houston's musical community. Elizabeth Danheim, 43-year old wife of Eric Danheim, died Jan.30 while swimming in Hawaii. The HollistersEric Danheim, who also worked under the alias Eddie Lee Dale, has been a fixture on the Houston roots-music scene ... More >>

Tragedy Strikes; Notre Dame Somehow Chooses Honolulu Over Houston

The commenters have had a lot of fun dismissing the euphoria that we felt at the idea that the storied and awesome Notre Dame football team might actually come to Houston for the first time in 35 years, to play in the Texas Bowl.Some people think a 6-6 ND team is not very good; what they fail to rea ... More >>

Jason Segel uses his balls to great effect in Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Sad Sack Extraordinaire

The College Football Preview, Week 14: All These Bowls Are Making Us Groggy

The College Football Preview, Week 13: Nick Saban Is a Turkey

Miss Pop Rocks: Arrest Me, Dog Chapman

Joel Gilbert/Mickey Jones

Bob Dylan: 1966 World Tour -- The Home Movies

Playbill

Taj Mahal & the Hula Blues, with Susan Tedeschi

Sunday, May 2

Paying the Price

Major gas companies are driving away independent station operators, all in the name of greed

Fungus Alert

In search of "wild mushrooms"

Cowboy in the Kitchen

Welcome The Houston Press's new food critic, Robb Walsh

What You Missed

Press Picks

Hip and Hawaiian