Pepsi-Cola

Why Don’t I Love Madonna?

Houston Likes Its Caffeine Cold And Bubbly

Houston, you love your caffeine, but only when it comes cold and bubbly.The second annual Caffeinated Cities survey came out today; it's conducted by something called HealthSaver and looks at caffeine use across the country.The Most Caffeinated City in America? Tampa. (Huh?) Followed by Seattle (tha ... More >>

Things To Look For At The Obama Inaugural

You know where you could be right this moment, which is about 7:30 in the morning Houston time?You could be waiting in FREEZING Washington, DC, getting on line to go through security checks so you could wait for hours and hours to watch Barack Obama's inauguration from a half-mile away.On the one ha ... More >>

Letters

You know where you could be right this moment, which is about 7:30 in the morning Houston time?You could be waiting in FREEZING Washington, DC, getting on line to go through security checks so you could wait for hours and hours to watch Barack Obama's inauguration from a half-mile away.On the one ha ... More >>

Miss Pop Rocks Watches the Super Bowl

Oh God, my stomach is so distended. WHY do I do this to myself every Super Bowl Sunday? I watch one football game each year and it's this one, and the only reason I watch it is to have an excuse to eat snacks and watch commercials. A few thoughts on this year's game: First of all, choirs are ver ... More >>

Memo from KPRC Management re: Ashley Madison Super Bowl Ad

FROM: KPRC STATION MANAGEMENT TO: ALL KPRC STAFF CC: KPRC SALES STAFF SUBJECT: ASHLEY MADISON.COM As I'm sure most of you have heard, during the third period of Sunday's Super Bowl - and wasn't that an exciting game by the way - this television station aired a commercial for a website known ... More >>

Momma's Girl

Thirty years ago, Lizzy Hargrove left home because she needed her space. Then Mother began trying to fill the emptiness.

Drinking Pepsi Means You Support Gay Orgies, Totally Reasonable Texan Asserts

Is Pepsi in bed with the gays? That's what former Texas Republican Party Treasurer and General Counsel Gina Parker Ford believes. Hair Balls knows this because Ford sent us a commentary detailing her outrage over a recent episode of Family Guy that "promote[d] homosexuality, gay orgies and also slan ... More >>

Memo from KPRC Management re: Ashley Madison Super Bowl Ad

FROM: KPRC STATION MANAGEMENT TO: ALL KPRC STAFF CC: KPRC SALES STAFF SUBJECT: ASHLEY MADISON.COM As I'm sure most of you have heard, during the third period of Sunday's Super Bowl - and wasn't that an exciting game by the way - this television station aired a commercial for a website known ... More >>

Malt Shop Burger at Cheeburger Cheeburger

FROM: KPRC STATION MANAGEMENT TO: ALL KPRC STAFF CC: KPRC SALES STAFF SUBJECT: ASHLEY MADISON.COM As I'm sure most of you have heard, during the third period of Sunday's Super Bowl - and wasn't that an exciting game by the way - this television station aired a commercial for a website known ... More >>

Houston Turns Back to Tap Water

That stuff flowing from the faucet is safe, cheap and environmental

Dish

That stuff flowing from the faucet is safe, cheap and environmental

Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Have a Pepsi

Country Joe's still politically correct (sort of)

Craig Newmark speaks at victim's memorial in wake of Craigslist killings.

Country Joe's still politically correct (sort of)

Mind Games

Meet Ron White, the Texas-born memory champ you'll never forget.

Immigrant vs. Immigrant

Meet Ron White, the Texas-born memory champ you'll never forget.

Sheila Jackson Lee Honors Michael Jackson, At Incredible Length

Via The Hill's blog, we've learned of our own Sheila Jackson Lee's epic attempt to immortalize Michael Jackson (who is being celebrated as we speak; check out the twittering/liveblogging at the music blog of our sister paper LA Weekly).Amazingly, Lee's bill declaring the House of Representatives "re ... More >>

That Other Rumble in the Jungle

Documenting an epic concert in Zaire, Soul Power puts on quite a show.

Gettin' Snatch? Slayin' Puss? Yeah, Pepsi Has an App for That

​One day, someone ridiculously wise (or someone that was obviously getting ripped a new asshole by the media) once said, "No press is bad press." Unfortunately, that old adage probably isn't applicable to Pepsi, and won't be in this lifetime.We suppose we shouldn't be too surprised that Pepsi deve ... More >>

Game Time: Tiger Woods And John Daly Role Reversal...Oh, This Is Gonna Be Good

​I have to admit, I love a good train wreck. When you're driving down the freeway, and traffic is at a standstill because there's a five-car pile up on the OTHER side of the interstate, I'm the guy who's slowing everything down, taking it all in. My top two priorities on my DVR are Beverly Hills ... More >>

$13 at Bar-B-Que Blues

Photos by Justine Schmider​Where: Bar-B-Que Blues, 5404 Almeda, 713-533-1230What $13 gets you: No beef but a lot of meat and a pink lemonade.On this beautiful day, before the big snow storm arrives, we thought we'd travel to the Third Ward for some lunch at Bar-B-Que Blues. We'd been to the ... More >>

Getting "Passed" Up OK with Houston's Latino Rappers... Well, Not Really

There's no doubt that Corporate America knows how to enter a market, break down consumer attitudes and needs, and sell them a product they're going to buy. Pepsi's been around for a minute so you know they know what's up. But in an effort to sell the urban community more of their product (trust us ... More >>

For Hip-Hop, Brown Could Be the New Black... or the New Wetback

​ For anyone following the Houston Latino rap theme as of late and are wondering why Rocks Off might be telling more of a cultural story than a hip-hop one with our artist profiles, it's because amongst the traditional hip-hop following in America, Houston's Latino rappers may very well be looked ... More >>

The 2010 Census Launches the Latino Underground Into the Mainstream; Other Bold Predictions for the Coming Decade

Will Lil Young be one of this decade's breakout Latino rap stars?​ Can Latino hip-hop in Houston continue to thrive as a black-market force, of sorts, whose sales are invisible to the IRS, and evolve into a powerful underground economy without the acknowledgement or praise of mainstream music medi ... More >>

NASA Had Proof Of Water On The Moon Sitting In Their Storage Closet

​NASA famously bombed the moon last year in a desperate attempt to prove there's water on it. While water was indeed discovered, we have yet to hear any reliable figures on collateral damage to the affected areas or the native population.It turns out, instead of almost triggering a Earth-Moon war ... More >>

Randall's Fried Chicken

​I have been eating a lot of Randall's country fried chicken lately, and I have to say, it's damn tasty. It might sound a little strange that a grocery store has really great chicken, but why not? If you get there relatively early in the afternoon when the guys are still in the back of the pre ... More >>

Top Five '90s Food Trends

​ We're not really nostalgic for any of these food items--perhaps it hasn't been long enough yet? What 1990s foods do you remember consuming in great quantities (that you're willing to admit)? 5. Fat-Free/Diet Snack Foods All of that playing around in the laboratory led to some pretty sketc ... More >>

Urban Food Legends - Part I: Deadly Pop Rocks, Undead Twinkies and Corrosive Coca-Cola

They didn't blow up Mikey and they won't kill you either.​It would be convenient to say that urban legends and myths can be traced back to some shred of a fact, but the disturbing truth is that some, especially the more entertaining rumors, appear to have no real logical foundation whatsoever ... More >>

Food Fight: Battle Gummi Bear

​Not all gummi bears are created equal. Some people - including certain unnamed members of my family - do not seem to be aware of this, and blithely purchase generic gummi bears from supermarket bulk bins. While it's hard to get angry at someone who buys you candy, off-brand gummis have a cons ... More >>

Wrap It Up: Houstonian a Finalist in Wrapping Contest

When in doubt, slap a giant bow on it​When we at Hairballs were just wee tots, we had relatives who liked to do everything early for the holidays. They would have all their Christmas cards mailed before Thanksgiving and their gifts wrapped the day after Black Friday. We were less efficient pre ... More >>

Super Bowl XLV: Livebloggin' the Commercials!

Betty White enjoys a Snickers.​For someone who watches the biggest television event in America strictly for the breaks, last year was a bummer. Betty White's Snicker's ad, and the Kia commercial featuring a posse of partying toys were two standouts in a year of boring, sexist and outright dumb ... More >>

Comment of the Day

​Today Eating Our Words nation was turned on by the new skinny Pepsi can Lauren Marmaduke wrote about, National Eating Disorder Association be damned. But commenter Ali wasn't letting the svelte soda get to her: Well, it is Pepsi. They've got to drum up some sort of marketing ridiculousness ... More >>

This Week in Deliciousness

Arrrrgh. Must... remember... to eat... before... writing... this column.​Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where we're down to only the one or two mystery pieces filled with truly nasty gunk in our traditional assortment of Valentine's Day chocolates. We started the ... More >>

The End Of The Ocean: No Singers, No Fear Of Caligula

It's a well-known fact that most band names are essentially gobbledygook, but here at Rocks off we're trying hard to find meaning in the oddest monikers. The End of the Ocean on Facebook​Let's be very clear about something. As a singer Rocks Off is not in favor of instrumental rock music. Reb ... More >>

Idol Beat: Mona Lisas And Mad Haleys

​Hans Gruber: You are most troublesome, for a security guard. John McClane: Eeeh! Sorry Hans, wrong guess. Would you like to go for Double Jeopardy where the scores can really change? It's double jeopardy of a sort for the remaining 11 Idol hopefuls, because thanks to the judges' save of Cas ... More >>

The Five Hottest Presidential Daughters

Continuing on with our C-SPANish investigation into White House sex and beauty (five horniest presidents here, five hottest presidential mistresses here), we now take time to examine the five hottest presidential daughters. Once again, time has not been kind to pre-20th Century candidates. Either p ... More >>

Last Night: Devin The Dude At Warehouse Live

Photos by Rizoh​Devin the Dude Warehouse Live April 20, 2011 Rare is the artist that transcends his purpose as entertainment to become an essential ingredient in a fan's lifestyle. That list is a very short one, and Devin the Dude is on it. For weekend cleaning music, you go to RJD2. For coit ... More >>

Bill O'Reilly, Battle Rapper: The Blowhard's Illest Beefs

"I got dirt on you, doggy!" ​Pac and Biggie... Nas and Jigga... Bill O'Reilly and every rapper who has had some commercial success. You can't exclude O'Reilly from battle rap, he is a heavy-hitting contender in the hip-hop arena. Remember when he insisted that people boycott Pepsi products be ... More >>

Comment of the Day

​Today Katharine Shilcutt wrote about Dr Pepper sort of suing itself - that is, parent company Dr Pepper Snapple suing the Dublin Dr Pepper plant for allegedly violating the terms of its franchise agreement. Which led commenter Stuart Reb Donald to present his theory about what's going on: ... More >>

Food Fight: Store Brand Pretzels

Photos by Matthew DresdenStore brand pretzels from Whole Foods (left) and Trader Joe's (right)​As my friend Sara Dickerman wrote in 2007 in a fascinating piece in Slate, pretzels don't get much love in the snack-food world. When was the last time you saw a television commercial for pretzels? D ... More >>

Montrose Muffled

Residents take sides on bar noise issue.

Tanqueray and Tonic. Really?

John Kiely​Gin drinkers, for the most part, are a particular crew. We'll find a gin, perhaps the first one we try, and stake a position, like Coke and Pepsi drinkers. I was no different when I made Bombay Sapphire my house gin. There's nothing distinctive about Sapphire, but as the label dec ... More >>

The X Factor: Simon Cowell's Softer Side

Fox​Wednesday night, Fox's highly-anticipated The X Factor debuted, and though as of this writing I was unable to find any ratings numbers I have to imagine they were stellar. Not too good - Ed. Simon Cowell has massive appeal, and even if numbers continue to decline throughout the season, I ... More >>

A Cooler Coke: Waialua Soda Works Pineapple Natural Soda

Do not believe her swaying promise of fruitful bounty.​Simplicity is a good idea. With simplicity comes focus; with focus comes deliciousness. At least that's the theory. It's certainly what lead me to pick up a bottle of Waialua Soda Works Pineapple Natural Soda the other day. I was milling ... More >>

Happy World Mental Health Day! 5 Crazy Songs

​Delirium is the youngest of the endless. She smells of sweat, sour wines, late nights, old leather. Her realm is close, and can be visited; however, human minds were not made to comprehend her domain, and those few who have made the journey have been incapable of reporting back more than the ... More >>

Let It Bleed

Hard at work on his eighth novel, Deadwood author Pete Dexter still packs a punch.

Zigga Zig Ah: 10 Girl-Powered Facts About The Spice Girls

​Today, November 4, marks 15 years since the Spice Girls first album, Spice, was released. Closing out 1996 with a titanic dose of girl power, the album would go on to sell almost 24 million copies and spawn countless imitators like B*Witched, All Saints, and later on, the Pussycat Dolls. Ob ... More >>

Special Mexicans Are Racist Edicion

​Today, November 4, marks 15 years since the Spice Girls first album, Spice, was released. Closing out 1996 with a titanic dose of girl power, the album would go on to sell almost 24 million copies and spawn countless imitators like B*Witched, All Saints, and later on, the Pussycat Dolls. Ob ... More >>

Happy 30th, Britney! Maybe Now You Can Finally Put These Performances Behind You

The face that launched a thousand Bob Doles​Where were you in...'81? Rocks Off was in junior high, spending long, solitary afternoons in his bedroom listening to Moving Pictures and Dark Side of the Moon and wondering why no girls seemed to be interested in playing Squad Leader. But 1981 also ... More >>

The 10 Must-Haves at Any Super Bowl Party

Photo by Ed T.It doesn't have to look like the old Felix stuff, but you'd better guaran-goddamn-tee that you've got some queso at your Super Bowl party.​Leading up to this Sunday's showdown between the Giants and the Patriots (go Big Blue!), we've been offering up recipes and ideas for those o ... More >>