Michelle Obama

Put a (Super Bowl) Ring On It: The Beyoncé Set List We'd Like to See

Remember when it actually seemed halfway likely that the Texans could make the Super Bowl this season? Ha! Good times. After the team's collapse down the stretch, highlighted by a couple of humiliating losses to Tom Brady and pals, the only way Matt Schaub will be in the Superdome on this coming Sun ... More >>

Shemekia Copeland: Never Count Out the Blues

She's never lived here, but Shemekia Copeland is Houston blues royalty all the same. Her late father Johnny Clyde Copeland was one of the guitar princes of the Third Ward scene from the '50s to the mid-'70s, lighting up clubs like Shady's Playhouse alongside Albert Collins, Joe "Guitar" Hughes, John ... More >>

Nine Awful, Terrible, "What Were They Thinking?" Political Halloween Masks

You're deep into your Halloween plans, possibly distracted by the presidential race. Or possibly not. Should you combine the two and do your trick-and-treating dressed as one of the leading pols of the day? You might want to think twice about your answer. A survey of Halloween websites shows that ... More >>

The Land of Tomatoes and Honey: A Tour of the White House Kitchen Garden

Although it's not officially fall yet, plump orange pumpkins are resting on mounds of hay and dirt in and around two plots that -- along with dozens of others -- makes up the 1,100 square feet White House Kitchen Garden. It's a warm day in early September and the garden is sprawled out like a sunbat ... More >>

Eating D.C.: Dining Dispatches from the Capital

As of this writing, I am still comfortably ensconced in the Hotel Palomar in our nation's capital. There is a Negroni at my side, compliments of the hotel, which was waiting for me in the room after I returned from walking off a Shake Shack burger at lunch. That's service. Both the Shake Shack and ... More >>

DNC 2012: Who Had The Best Speech? Hint: Not The One Last Night

Three completely different emotions and narratives of the United States unfolded in each of the keynote addresses this week at the Democratic National Convention by two presidents and one first lady. In a way, all the speeches were spectacular displays of poise, command of the issues, and sheer lika ... More >>

Healthcare for Homeless Head Meets Michelle Obama, Gets Big Surprise Check

As founder and president of Healthcare for the Homeless -- Houston (HHH), Dr. David Buck is a busy man. So busy, in fact, he was taken aback when his office got a voice message from U.S. Representative Gene Green's wife Helen saying that she would like Dr. Buck to attend the Centennial First Lady's ... More >>

RIP Etta James: A Dynamic Voice And An R&B Legend

​Etta James, whose fiery voice helped influences generations of R&B singers, has died at the age of 73, after a long bout with leukemia. James, known best for her ballad "At Last", had been ill for sometime, and had went home to be with family just a few weeks ago around the holidays. Accord ... More >>

Jason Wu for Target Debuts on February 5

If you feel fully recovered from the frenzy of the 2011 Missoni for Target event, your next combat shopping mission awaits. Designer Jason Wu, who designed first lady Michelle Obama's white Inaugural Ball dress, is launching his debut line for Target on February 5. The Wu launch is anticipated to be ... More >>

ESPN's Jon Gruden Mistakes the First Lady for Lisa Salters (w/ VIDEO)

It's hard to find a reason to stick around and watch a college bowl game where the score is 63-20 in the third quarter, so if you caught the moment that I am about to lay out for you from last night's Orange Bowl, then you are likely a) a family member of a West Virginia Mountaineer football player ... More >>

The Week in TV: The Muppets Now Control Everything

Not much happened last week, what with everyone taking extra naps and blaming it on the turkey. Still, it wasn't a totally uneventful week in TV Land: • Having been dragged back into the mainstream spotlight by Jason Segel, the Muppets are now eyeing a return to TV, the medium that first brought ... More >>

5 Things Sarah Palin Should Know About Common

gowherehiphop.com​Dear Sarah Palin, we smelled the stench of desperation and traced it down the Twitter hallway. It led us to some foul words about rapper Common. It started when Michelle Obama scheduled a poetry event at the White House and invited several poets, including Common. Conservativ ... More >>

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Jolanda Jones says never talk to HPD

Like the Obamas Wanted to Go to Your Stupid Royal Wedding Anyway

The invite the Obamas -- and you -- didn't receive​Despite having cast off the shackles of the British monarchy over 230 years ago, our great nation has yet to free itself of the embarrassingly colonial obsession with all matters concerning the Royal Family. A cursory scan of Google News yest ... More >>

Breastfeeding: Aggie Professor Joan Wolf Questions the Battle Against the Bottle

Texas A&MJoan Wolf asks if the breast is best​Ever since First Lady Michelle Obama talked about removing barriers for breastfeeding mothers last week, we've been thinking more than usual about boobs. Maybe that's why we were interested to read about a Texas A&M researcher's new book, Is Breas ... More >>

Placing Rappers With The Proper Charity, Because We Care

The hip-hop world is a less than sensible place - lots of times, you're even required to clarify when bad means bad and when bad means good - so once a week we're going to get with a rapper and ask them to explain things. Have something you always wanted to ask a rapper? Email it to sheaserrano@gmai ... More >>

The City Hall Victory Garden

Planting an orange tree.​Houston is now a bit prettier, fruitier and greener thanks to the new City Hall Victory Garden downtown. This past weekend, several teams of volunteers came out to complete round one of the project: clearing the land, tilling the soil, setting up planters, and planting ... More >>

Will Ferrell: Win Passes To The Other Guys And See His Five Best Funny Or Die Videos

Will Ferrell has been a little uneven in his comedies lately -- Land of the Lost and Semi-Pro, for instance -- but you know the slump won't last. Not only because he's inherently hilarious, but because we've got Funny or Die providing all the evidence we need that he hasn't become some secluded sta ... More >>

Book 'em, Danno

Constables go after HISD students' unreturned books

Houston's Hottest Chefs: Monica Pope

Tam Vo​Every day this week we'll be highlighting the female winners from our poll on Houston's Hottest Chefs. On Friday we'll reveal the hottest chef of all. EOW: How does it feel to one of the hottest chefs in Houston? Monica Pope: *humbly chuckles* It's nice to be one of the hottest chefs ... More >>

This Week in Deliciousness

God, there could be anything in there. You first. No, please, we insist. Let us know if it's filled with spiders, because that means we're having that stupid nightmare again.​ Welcome back to the weekly round-up here at Eating Our Words, where we've built a little fort out of our vast stockpil ... More >>

Michelle Obama on Iron Chef

​Michelle Obama appeared on Iron Chef America last Sunday to promote healthy eating. Ever since she planted that organic garden last year, she has become a spokesperson for eating your vegetables and therefore a lightning rod for controversy. The White House communications office reached out t ... More >>

Top 7 Couples' Costumes for Halloween

Halloween is coming, and that means many, many costuming mistakes will be made by normally sane adults. To help stop this scourge, each Thursday we will be offering tips and analysis of what to avoid, or possibly what to do. Check out past entries here, here and here. There's one thing -- or should ... More >>

In Honor of Michelle Obama and "Shortsgate," the Best Ass Songs of All Time

In a year when the biggest news stories aren't about war or the environment but a mentally unbalanced woman having a litter of children and the death of a creepy pop singer who hadn't put out a decent album in 25 years, it should come as no surprise that so many people would be up in arms ... More >>

The TSU Shootings in Twitterese: "Stay Classy, Houston"

Video by nosvideocrew Looks like things in the Trae Day shootings are about where they were last night. The Houston Police Department's homicide unit is involved - although no one was killed - but letting TSU detectives handle the investigation. Rocks Off's Shea Serrano spoke with an official at TS ... More >>

The TSU Shootings in Twitterese: "Stay Classy, Houston"

Video by nosvideocrew Looks like things in the Trae Day shootings are about where they were last night. The Houston Police Department's homicide unit is involved -- although no one was killed -- but letting TSU detectives handle the investigation. Hair Ball's Shea Serrano spoke with an official at ... More >>

This Week In Beyonce: BET Awards, Remembering Jacko, Michelle Obama in Crowd and More

Queen B: Rocks Off usually loves your style, but this just equals two words: Ask somebody. From one superstar to another: Beyonce pays tribute to Michael Jackson at her concert. "He taught me everything I know," she told the crowd at Philadelphia's Wachovia Center last week. Tyra vs. Beyonce: Who'd ... More >>

A Missing Gasp In Last Night's A Bronx Tale

Michelle Obama, Chazz Palminteri, A Bronx Tale and the American Dream all collided yesterday during opening night of Palminteri's one-man show. A Bronx Tale, based in part on Palminteri's life, shows a kid named Calogero growing up in a tough New York City neighborhood during the 1960s. Pulled in on ... More >>

Turning the Screw: Soulbrotha, Slim Thug, Will Smith, Lil Wayne/Michael Phelps, Jodeci, DMX, MC Hammer, Yungstar and More

Welcome back to Turning the Screw, Rocks Off's weekly rap post. It probably won't rhyme, at least most of the time. E-mail tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Thanks, homies. Single of the Week: "Viva La Revolucion," Soulbrotha Wire To Wire Slim Thug says March will be highlighted by the relea ... More >>

Is Jose Cruz a Terrorist?

Barack Obama and Me

It was the year 2000 and I was a young hungry reporter in Chicago covering a young hungry state legislator