Huntsville

Beautiful Butterfly

Houston Ballet mounts Stanton Welch's sumptuous first full-length ballet.

New One Hunnidt Album Admirably Wrestles Cognitive Dissonance

"As artists, it's like we have the responsibility to paint a certain picture of our own lifestyles. It's almost not allowed to be like, 'Man, my life sucks. I'm sad about this or that.'" -- One Hunnidt Three days ago, my fuel pump went out. Now, were I in Houston when it happened, it would have onl ... More >>

Know Your Local Media: Adam Clanton, the Jim Rome-Impersonating Sports Guy from Channel 2

Each week, we will profile an esteemed member of the local media and ask them five questions, for better or worse. Name: Adam Clanton Employer: KPRC-TV Channel 2 Title: Weekend Sports Anchor/Reporter/Producer With so many local sports personalities hailing from up north -- we have more than our fa ... More >>

6 Musicians Who Messed With Texas

Today, March 2, is Texas Independence Day, the day a bunch of old white politicians and landowners declared this part of the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas to be its own sovereign republic in a cabin near Washington-on-the-Brazos. For some inexplicable reason, Rocks Off does not have the day off ... More >>

"Tatooine" Discovery: Five Other Times NASA Has Drafted Off Star Wars' Heat

NASA: If only there was a movie about a two-sun planet....​NASA officials hyped a press conference yesterday about a new discovery via the way they know best: Trot out the Star Wars references. People connected with the movie and SFX gurus Industrial Light & Magic were on the panel to discuss ... More >>

Sherell Nicole Baldwin, 24, Bayou Body Count No. 88: Pregnant Woman Beaten and Set on Fire

Sherell Baldwin: had hopes of being America's Next Top Model.​Police have identified the woman who was found beaten and burned to death shortly before midnight June 16. Sherell Nicole Baldwin, 24, was in her third trimester of pregnancy and had come to Houston from her Huntsville home June 15 ... More >>

Alejandro Smith: TDCJ Prison Guard Was Also Heroin Dealer, Prosecutors Say

TDCJ: Who's guarding the guards?​A Texas Department of Criminal Justice guard has been arrested and charged with possession of heroin with intent to distribute. Alejandro Smith, 21, worked in Huntsville's Eastham Unit; police got a tip that he was "providing contraband to prisoners," the U.S. ... More >>

McKenzie's BBQ Delivers Great Taste at a Great Price

Jason Bargas​Monday morning found me in Conroe helping out a friend, which meant that I was outside of my comfort zone of Inner Loop luncheries. My web search sorcery pointed me to McKenzie's Barbeque. The McKenzie family birthed the restaurant in Huntsville in 1992, with the Frazier Road lo ... More >>

You Talkin' to Me? Seven Musical Moments in Martin Scorsese Films

​We scoured the Internet, like we do for at least nine hours a day, for an excuse to embed Scorsese clips into one, organized blog post. Lucky for us, we found that timeliness was applicable: the 35th anniversary edition of Taxi Driver is out on Blu-Ray! We'll probably stick to our used copy t ... More >>

ACLU: When Facing Death, Lizards Are Treated More Humanely Than Humans

Does Cleve Foster deserve a death at least as humane as that of a lizard? The ACLU thinks so.​The pets of those on death row would be treated more humanely than their owners, if the animals were sitting in the execution chamber instead of them. According to a report released by the American C ... More >>

Montrose Murder

Paul Broussard's killer, up for parole, may not be model prisoner.

Honky-Tonk Heaven Returns To Houston

Faith Silva​It may be Wetback Wednesday at some bar in Huntsville, but in H-Town the first Wednesday of every month has become Honky Tonk Wednesday, when the lineup for those interested in gettin' their tonk on is stout as a garlic milkshake. Boot heels will be dragged, belt buckles will be p ... More >>

Execution Drug In Short Supply; How Will Texas Cope?

Texas doesn't make rookie mistakes when it comes to the death penalty​The Arizona Republic reports today that a planned execution in Ohio almost had to delay a recent execution because of a shortage of thiopental sodium, the drug used for lethal injections. Arizona, it said, might be unable to do ... More >>

Toad The Wet Sprocket: Not Bikers' First Choice

'90s alt-rockers Toad the Wet Sprocket, playing House of Blues tomorrow night, may be an established act now, but back on the heels of their second album, 1990's Pale, the Santa Barbara, Calif.-based quartet had to take their lumps just like everyone else who has ever left the practice sp ... More >>

Texas' Serial Killers: Someone's Selling The Dirt From Their Graves On eBay

See that my grave is kept clean...and sell the dirt!​Digging up someone's grave and stealing whatever's down there isn't legal, but what about the dirt laying over the grave or next to a headstone? Is it against the law to take home a scoop or two? And what if the person is somewhat famous? Should ... More >>

TDCJ's Intercept Of Drug-Filled Toolbox Ruins Inmates' Day

When the pot, meth, Ecstasy and tobacco just won't cut it​When you think about it, anytime you try to get a toolbox delivered to a prison, you're going to raise some suspicion. You'd have to figure the authorities aren't just going to carry it down to Cellblock D and say "Here you go, here's the f ... More >>

Stages Theatre: Playing a Drama Queen in Speech & Debate

Photo by Bruce BennettAshtyn Sonner, Michael McClure and Garret Storms​What Ashtyn Sonner likes about playing drama queen Diwata in Speech & Debate now playing to all-round good reviews at Stages Repertory Theatre is that it "nice to see someone dealing with the issues we're actually dealing w ... More >>

Houston Music Fight Club: Roky Moon vs. Joe Mathlete, Asli vs. Zahira, Hippie Mike vs. Little Joe

​Last week Rocks Off was mindlessly trolling the Interweb when we stumbled upon a site solely dedicated to animal fights. No, not the awful kind that say, Michael Vick would have been found at a couple of years ago. This site, Wild Animal Fight Club, trafficks in speculative death matches like kom ... More >>

After 22 Years Of Wrongful Imprisonment, Two More Days To Freedom

A man convicted of rape in 1987, based largely on questionable HPD crime lab data, and sentenced to life in prison is expected to be released on bond Thursday, according to the Harris County District Attorney's Office. Recent DNA test results show "discrepancies between the new tests and evidence p ... More >>

Michael Berry, Houston's Least-Likely Howard Stern Wanna-Be

Anyone fortunate to be listening to "The Michael Berry" on KTRH 740 AM this past Friday night got to hear about an hour's worth of girl talk. No, Berry didn't change formats and start expressing his feminine side underneath his good ol' boy former city council member tandoori-chomping image. What we ... More >>

The Prison Experience Just Isn't The Same Without Cigarettes, Lawmaker Says

After sticking another inmate with a shiv in the showers, there’s nothing better than a tepid cup of apple wine and a smoke. Unfortunately, TDCJ banned all tobacco products in 1994, making it that much more difficult for a prisoner to relax after a hard day of rec-yard baseball or gang rape. ... More >>

Embrace The Inflatable Ads, Houston

Mick Jagger meets Gilley's

Some Girls Ride Bulls

HPMA Showcase Preview: Videos from Black Math Experiment, Mighty Orq, eyeagainst, John Evans, Skyblue72 and Wayside Drive

Sara Hickman: Injecting Music Into the Death Penalty Debate

Lingering Long on Love Street

River People

Folks around Lake Livingston are what they are

OU Fans Pretty Pissed

Houston Chronicle, Virginia Tech massacre, HISD, George Michael

The Chron's blog obsession leaves taste behind

A View to the Rooms

Texas Burger Binge

Our food critic reports on the state of the Texas burger -- and recommends 18 you need to try immediately

Mucho Mayo

Cinco de Mayo festivities abound around town

Slaid Cleaves

Saturday, March 27

Takin' It to the Street

A Scottish mystery novelist steps out of the drawing room

A South By Southwest How-To

Let's do like the Texans and punk Dallas

Rejected

Thousands of inmates rely annually on a capricious parole board for their freedom. Most, like George Dismukes, return to their cells without ever knowing why they were denied.

Does Not Compute

Complaints question the tactics of educational computer marketers

Job Insecurity

For 13 hours, guard Jeanette Bledsoe wondered if she would see one more murder inside prison walls -- her own. Now she wants to make sure TDCJ protects those who protect us from society's rejects.

Throwing Away the Key

A talented escape artist and con man gets more prison time. Will he serve it?

The Art of Smoke

Technology has changed the nature of barbecue. But deep in the heart of Texas, a few true artists still cling to the old ways. We go in search of greater Houston's greatest pits.

Shaka's Last Supper

He wouldn't eat it, so they did!

Letters

Media Row on Death Row

Will proposed media rules stifle coverage of convicts facing execution?

Dumb or Dumber?

Space cadets of Man or Astro-man? go to great depths to maintain a gimmick

Critical Diagnosis

If you think your HMO is bad, check out what Texas has created for its prison inmates

What Really Happened To Rodeny Hulin?

Since his death, teenage inmate Rodney Hulin has become a national symbol of why it's wrong to send juveniles to adult prisons. His true story, though, paints a different kind of troubling picture.

Letters

Cook Gets Two Beards

The Year of Living Anxiously

Are We Having Fun Yet? Or is it just the jangly buzz of advanced urban stress syndrome?

Press Picks