Northern Ireland

Special Best Of Best Of Edition

8 Musical Activities That Should Be Olympic Sports

After years of preparation, unprecedented security, and a Mitt Romney gaffe or two, the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London get underway about 3 p.m. Houston time. At the same time, multitudes will gather in nearby Hyde Park for a free concert with Duran Duran, Snow Patrol, ... More >>

Pizza Hut Stuffed Crust Pizza: UK Edition

Well, damn, I should have waited to blog about five British food traditions to embrace, because clearly a front-runner has emerged. Eh, perhaps not. For some inscrutable reason, Pizza Hut has chosen to offer its new Pizza Hut hot dog-stuffed crust pizza exclusively in the UK. Aren't British people ... More >>

Special Mexicans Are Racist Edicion

Party of One

travis(ty)​In a few weeks, I'm going to Spain by my lonesome. I've traveled solo before in Northern Ireland and India, but it's been a few years since I've spent a substantial amount of time touring, reading, and eating alone. In light of my upcoming trip, I've started thinking about dining ... More >>

Two Door Cinema Club: More Than Just A Sandwich

It's a well-known fact that most band names are essentially gobbledygook, but here at Rocks Off, we're trying hard to decode Houston's oddest monikers in order to find a little meaning. Jamie Adamson/myspace.com/twodoorcinemaclub​Two Door Cinema Club is one of those bands that when you spend ... More >>

World Cup 2010: These Teams Will Make It Out Of The Group Stage. Guaranteed

Now THAT was a USA World Cup squad​The 2010 edition of the FIFA World Cup is finally here. Thirty-two teams made it to the big dance to see just who is the best in the world. Realistically though, only a handful of teams have a shot of winning the cup. It's all going to come down to matchups ... More >>

O'Brien's Song

After years of fighting everybody and anybody, now the ornery, annoying civil rights activist has to concentrate on fighting for his life.

R.I.P. Former Ale House and Stag's Head Manager Angela Mullan Jenkins

​A wake will be held from 2-3:30 p.m. Saturday at the Stag's Head Pub for Angela Mullan Jenkins, who passed away Thursday from breast cancer complications. Jenkins came to Houston from Northern Ireland over 30 years ago and worked briefly for a division of Baker-Hughes before beginning her career ... More >>

Site Scavenging

Internet content is the "found object" of the 21st century.

Nobel Prize Winner Gets Hassled At Bush Intercontinental Airport

Mairead Corrigan Maguire thought the hard part was over. Along with fellow Nobel Laureates Rigoberta Menchu of Guatemala, American landmine activist Jody Williams, and Iranian Shirin Ebadi, she had been in Guatemala, where the women had just co-hosted a three-day conference on democracy, human right ... More >>

Aftermath: iFest in Downtown Houston

Photos by Chris Gray Quebec's Chic Gamine: a cappella gospel with percussion and soul.iFest needed a breezy, not-too-hot, sunny Sunday to get back on track after Saturday's torrential festival-cancelling rains. The festival got great weather; as I drove down Allen Parkway toward downtown, it ... More >>

Some Further Thoughts on iFest, and Festivals

Photos by Chris Gray Skyscrapers - something you won't see at Austin City Limits. Western Swing maidens the Quebe Sisters performed in the shadow of the Jesse H. Jones Library.Previously, Rocks Off's idea about what a "festival" should look like, and what to expect, came from his exper ... More >>

Former Irish Republican Army Fighter One Step Closer To Being Deported From Texas

Pol Brennan, the former I.R.A. fighter detained in Texas on immigration charges, has lost another court battle.The 55-year-old Brennan had been working as a carpenter, living openly in the San Francisco area for ten years, where he had also married an American woman named Joanna Volz. Early thi ... More >>

John Edwards, The IRA and Jesus Christ

The Fugitive

Homeland Security Won't Let a Former IRA Man Out of Prison

After living in the U.S. for 25 years, Pól Brennan is now stuck on the Texas-Mexico border

Why do Mexicans and Irish get along so well?

Could Be Verse

A love story told in iambic pentameter? Yes, and yes again.

How Low Can You Go?

Let's see with the last installment of our guilty-pleasures project

DeLorean Lives On

Coke jokes aside, a Houston company continues the DMC dream

Caged Angels

Chart-toppers in the UK, Ash is happy on the American club circuit. But how long will it stay there?

Clowns to the Left, Jokers to the Right

No Man's Land cracks wise hoping the world will wise up

Letters

Rotten to the Corps, Wife Strife, Sweet and Neat

Drag King

Actor-comic Eddie Izzard just wants to be loved

Sam Houston's Retreat?

SHSU stirred the higher-ed circles. Now the excitement has turned to exodus.

God Help Them

Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt are shooting blanks in The Devil's Own

Mothers Against Deliberate Dying

Some Mother's Son shows an uprising's confusion

Independent Heaven

Promises,Promises

The Cranberries aren't impressed by the hype that's followed them to the top