Oprah Winfrey

The Rocks Off 100: Bill Fool, Punk Lifer, Dad, Good Guy to Know

"Bill Fool was born in Chicago, Illinois and spent his entire youth living near Wrigley Field and really never left that particular area as a kid, ever..." says local luminary and punk lifer Bill Fool in an email. What follows is a short primer on this beloved curmudgeon. Mr. Fool has been a part ... More >>

Shape Shifter: A Conversation With Icon of Style Carlos Santana

National Hispanic Heritage Month is observed annually between September 15t and October 15 as a celebration of the positive cultural impact Hispanic and Latino Americans contribute to this country. This year, guitarist Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Carlos Santana was honored by Macy's as the Hispanic ... More >>

Mr. Sunday's Saturday Night Chicken: It's Just Chicken, But Oh, What a Chicken

Chris Wallace of Fox News Sunday is a politico who loves his chicken. His wife, Lorraine, has written two cookbooks, Mr. Sunday's Soups and Mr. Sunday's Saturday Night Chicken, based on Wallace's love of routine. His motto is "change is overrated." He wants a quiet evening at home the Saturday befo ... More >>

Shellee Coley: Where It Began Is Everything Linda Chorney Isn't

Your humble narrator has mostly stayed out of the Linda Chorney/Americana-Grammy scandal. A Slytherin at heart as well as a fellow musician, it honestly didn't matter to us whether she gamed the system for the nomination or whether her music was worthy of the nod. A Taste of Honey beat Elvis Costell ... More >>

Reality Bites: The Bad Girls Club - Las Vegas

There are a million reality shows on the naked television. We're going to watch all of them, one at a time. There comes a point in reviewing shows showcasing the embarrassing antics of tattooed subhumans (Jersey Shore) or the plasticine über-rich (Real Housewives of X) where you start realizing th ... More >>

Lauren McAdams: Going Up

Sugar, Sugar Book Launch and Cooking Class at Central Market on December 5

I have confessed my lack of kitchen skills to you guys on several occasions, but my one true kitchen talent is baking. I love to bake breads and muffins and cookies, and with the arrival of the holiday season I have already been hard at work testing new recipes. So my baking antennae went up when I ... More >>

Oprah of the Piney Woods

Kathy Patrick wields some hefty clout out of her beauty shop/book store

Kathy Patrick Runs Literary Empire From Tiny Shop in Jefferson

​It's a long trip to Kathy Patrick's little hair salon/bookstore, Beauty in the Book, nestled just outside the main street of historic Jefferson, Texas, deep in the Piney Woods. But plenty of people make the pilgrimage each year. From up-and-coming authors to members of Patrick's 515-chapter i ... More >>

For Tyler Perry's Birthday, a Comprehensive History of Black Men in Drag

That's a man, baby.​Happy birthday, Tyler Perry. The media mogul is celebrating his 41st with the news that he topped Forbes list of highest paid men in entertainment: Thanks to five movies he has cranked out over the past two years and two TV series, Perry earned $130 million between May 20 ... More >>

Saturday Night: Santana & Spearhead At The Woodlands

Photos by Marco Torres​Santana, Michael Franti & Spearhead Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion September 10, 2011 Timeless. Classic. Legend. OG - all classifications that tend to be distributed loosely in the music industry these days. Yet for Carlos Santana, the skinny Mexican kid who played at ... More >>

Charles in Charge

Readers debate the real Mayor of Montrose.

Last Night: Bon Jovi At Toyota Center

Photos by Groovehouse​Bon Jovi Toyota Center May 17, 2011 Keep the faith with Bon Jovi and their hordes of Houston fans in our slideshow. It's no easy feat to emerge relatively unscathed from the ruins of the '80s metal boom. Bon Jovi's more glam-oriented contemporaries can no longer hope to ... More >>

Musical Dads & Daughters: The Good, The Bad & The Awkward

OK Magazine​Blood, they say, is thicker than water. When Matthew Knowles and Beyonce ended their business relationship earlier this week, both stressed the fact that family is still family. "He is my father for life and I love my dad dearly," Beyonce said in her statement. "I love my daughter ... More >>

One Night with Glenn Beck: A Twitter Diary

Photo by Craig HlavatyThey lined up to hear Glenn Beck.​Glenn Beck was in Houston on Friday for a stop on his current speaking tour, dubbed the "Glenn Beck Live On Stage!" tour; it was everything I hoped it would be, with a few twists and turns. As an observer of most things Tea Party and cons ... More >>

Last Night: Diana Ross At Verizon Wireless Theater

Photos by Groovehouse​ Diana Ross Verizon Wireless Theater March 1, 2011 Wham, bam, thank you ma'am. Blame it on David Bowie, but Aftermath couldn't help thinking that while settling into our balcony seat at Verizon Tuesday. Diana Ross and her deluxe band were pounding out "I'm Comin' Out" a ... More >>

Kenny Chesney's Real Life Lessons For The Boys Of Fall

​Rocks Off found out last week that country singer Kenny Chesney is offering free DVD copies of his high school football documentary The Boys of Fall to any schools or coaches who might be interested. If you want to buy it, it's only available at Walmart. From the email: In the documentary, C ... More >>

In Defense of Rachael Ray

​It's funny how culture seems to creep in via osmosis. Take, for example, a dinner I made on the fly the other night. I found myself staring into a near-empty refrigerator at around 7:30 p.m. on a school night, trying to find something to make for dinner. A container of pre-made basil pesto c ... More >>

Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Oprah And The Houston Press

The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10cRally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear Announcementwww.thedailyshow.comDaily Show Full EpisodesPolitical HumorRally to Restore SanityOprah (no last name needed) went on the the Daily Show last night to give the audience a surprise -- tickets to the R ... More >>

Is Chris Brown Officially Unshunned?

Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Every Monday that isn't a national holiday, Rocks Off will have some of them hear discussing issues relevant to their culture. Photo illustration by John Seaborn Gray​This Week's Panel: Yung Redd, Fat Tony, Thurogood Wordsmith, Kyle Hu ... More >>

Friday Night: Pat Benatar At House Of Blues

Photos by Groovehouse​Pat Benatar House of Blues August 13, 2010 For more photos from Friday's show, see our slideshow here. For some reason whenever we saw people after Friday night's Pat Benatar show and they asked what we thought, all we could do was shrug our shoulders. Usually after a s ... More >>

Down on the Farm

The Humane Society and big agriculture slug it out over animal rights.

Diary of a Sad Black Woman

Precious pushes the limits of taste, but locates the heart — and hell — of its heroine's struggle.

Social Media Smackdown: Facebook vs. LinkedIn

They tell you landing a job via social media that won't trigger your gag reflex is a piece of cake. They share insider tips and tricks like Carrie and Samantha dishing blowjob techniques over Cosmos. They tell you to keep your nose clean, but if you can't, don't post photos of it online. So whe ... More >>

What This Area Needs Is A Good Nanotechnology Center

David Goswick is thinking small -- very, very small. No, even smaller than that. Goswick, the head of Historic Real Estate, wants to build the Nano World Headquarters right here in River City, ah, ... we mean Houston. The idea behind the Headquarters is that Houston (well, at least the Sam Houston T ... More >>

Zack and Miri BEEEEEEEEEEP

Donor Babies Search for Their Anonymous Fathers

All grown up, some children of sperm donors are trying to break through the secrecy that keeps them from knowing their family history

Q&A: Talking Naked Ladies and Sweaty Elvises with Caren Anderson and Carl Baldwin of Portland’s Velveteria and Black Velvet Masterpieces

What the Presidential Candidates Are Like to Party With

Kid Care, Carol Porter, Wayne Dolcefino, Weighing Marijuana and Stopping on Red

The Kid Care story fizzles to a finish

What Ever Happened to Lady Jane?

Fonda's humiliation is only one reason this Monster is such a dog

Good Vibrations

Haunted by dildos, The Nightfly buzzes through a home sex-toy sales party

The Edge of Treason

Bridget Jones is betrayed by a dumb, dull sequel

Letters

Rock and Roll Dream Team

Forget the office-football draft, dude. Here's a far cooler way to waste your time and your employer's money.

Hecklers Beware

Jay Mohr will kick your ass

Right at Home

Local artists show off their work at Lawndale's annual Big Show

Foster Pussycat

White Oleander is blond but ambitionless

Salman Fury

Salman Rushdie lashes out at his favorite targets in Fury

Second to None

Trey McIntyre gets the Houston Ballet crowd hooked on a feeling

Letters

Big on Little Joe, A Capital Idea, Truck Lines

Tingle Hell

A monstrous teacher finally meets her match

In the Groove

Shallow feels swell in McMillan-inspired Stella

Big Talker

From the Geto Boys to his new nationally syndicated radio show, Willie D has kept his mouth moving. But where his rap was once down and dirty, not it's--gasp!--respectable. Has the gangsta of love sold out, or just grown up?

They Grow Up Fast

Matilda is a girl wise beyond her years; Jack, a boy trapped in a man's body

Philadelphia Story

Searching for a magic mixof meat, cheese and bread

Video Pulpit

A Houston judge takes his quest for juvenile justice into national syndication

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