Siberia

Patrick Mies Is Obsessed With The Spartan Death Race. Is That A Bad Thing?

Patrick Mies II is a very intense individual, the kind who will barely let you get a word in edgewise in a conversation. I have called him to talk about his participation in something called the Spartan Death Race, and I have just inadvertently become a part of his first challenge. Mies, 33, is one ... More >>

The "Bad" Table

It doesn't matter what restaurant you visit; there will always be the "bad table." You know which one I'm talking about. The one by the bathroom, by the service/bussing station, by the swinging kitchen door or the one in the corner where the restaurant's atmosphere is nonexistent. Don't let restaura ... More >>

Penn State Scandal: My Statement To The Paterno Family

"The sanctions announced by the NCAA today defame the legacy and contributions of a great coach and educator without any input from our family or those who knew him best." -- The Paterno Family, in a statement (how else?), 7/23/12 Since the moment that Jerry Sandusky was whisked out of the back of ... More >>

The Coast of Utopia: An Extended Run and Revival of Part I -- Good News for Tom Stoppard Lovers

Gird your loins. Main Street Theater, which has experienced great success with Voyage, the first part of its The Coast of Utopia trilogy, has decided to extend its run and bring back the Voyage for two performances, "providing the chance to see all the parts of the trilogy over three consecutive day ... More >>

Petrol Station

A Russian artist explores the force behind American foreign policy.

Art from the Arctic

The Menil Collection presents ancient objects in a spectacular all-white display.

Smoking Ban Gets Semi-Vaporized In Galveston

Send a few to Galveston, Ronnie​Smokers can enjoy a rare victory in the Banning Wars thanks to Galveston.The city council there ignored the wishes of the new mayor and in a close vote revised the drastic ban on public smoking that had been in effect since the first of the year.That ban outlawed sm ... More >>

Pop Rocks: Believe It Or Not, There Are Worse Ideas Than Kim Kardashian As Lara Croft

I can't wait to hear her English accent.​It's been a rough week: we found out the BP oil spill may spread across the Atlantic Ocean and threaten England's blessed shores (which, let's admit it, would be pretty hilarious) and dealt with the campaign in Afghanistan supplanting Vietnam as America ... More >>

Friday Night Noise: Hearts of Animals' She-Stew, Telecult Powers' Buzz 'n' Chirp, Ascites Update

Ascites Update! ​Last week FNN took on "Soft Adult Contemporary" from Ascites' Incisional Drainage album, all the while bemoaning a dearth of background and label information. Well, turns out that Ascites read the post; members Nathan Golub and Matt Coffey reached out to FNN via email, filling in ... More >>

The Sister Cities Of Houston: A Critical Appraisal, Part Two

With the recent addition of Karachi, Pakistan, Houston now is a sister to 18 other cities around the world. Hair Balls is on the case - we studied all of them so you wouldn't have to. See the first half here.Sister: Luanda, AngolaHow we are sisterly: Houston's only African sister is yet another sea ... More >>

This Week in SXSW: Katy Perry Kisses the "Lake of Fire"

There's now less than a month to go until we here at Rocks Off throw sobriety and sane living to the wind at this year's SXSW festival. This past week we learned of a boatload of new stuff about the weeklong liver-damaging voyage in March, so here goes... The list of bands keeps growing and gro ... More >>

Dersu Uzala

Japanese director Akira Kurosawa captures life in the Russian wilderness

“Chantal Akerman: Moving Through Time and Space”

Blaffer Gallery hosts the first major U.S. museum exhibition for the filmmaker and video artist

Texas Albums

2007's best Texas albums, from Houston, Austin and beyond

Peyton Manning Takes a Break from Shooting Commericals, Takes Down the Texans

Top Tacos

Mexican "tacos de trompo" are getting hard to find because the Health Department says they're illegal

Sugar Kisses

Hustle Time

Damon Jones has traveled from UH to all around the NBA chasing stardom and a sound bite

Bombs and Bikinis

Stealth aims low but hits its mark

Back in the USSR

Break out the vodka -- The Nightfly tours Houston's Russian-themed bars

Pa Rum Pum Pum Pum

Christmas is the weirdest time of the year. Who better to musically document the season than John Waters?

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

Go, Baby, Go

Behind the barricades with the Pro-Life Cougars and their dead-fetus pictures

Vodka Venue

Red Star serves up a Russian theme with its martinis

Club Directory

The Red Elvises

Friday, November 15

Moscow on the Bayou

A Muscovite Moulin Rouge in a westside strip mall? Welcome to The Russian Bear

Opera Is Cool

The "Elvis of Opera" plays down his pop-star status

An Open Mike

He wants to castrate pedophiles and purge the courts of politics. He has assailed fellow jurists, lawyers and lawmakers. He's maverick Mike McSpadden, a tennis ace with a tomahawk tongue.

Brown's Diss-functional City Hall Family

Drug testing and staff backstabbing have 'em dropping like flies

A Portrait of the Artist as a Capitalist

Painter Vladimir Gorsky learned how to work the system in the Soviet Union for personal gain. He discovered that things operate much the same way in America.

First Out of the Gate

Now that he's got Mayor Lee Brown's attention, can Chris Bell win your support?

Best Shish Kebab

Cafe East

Farewell to a Killer

A dogged detective and a Houston judge take parting shots at an old nemesis

Oil Giant's Policy Fuels Gays' Protest

Activists rally ExxonMobil for recognition of same-sex-partner benefits

The Yenta

The nice Jewish boy of my mom's dreams-for a hundred bucks?

Night & Day

April 22-28, 1999

See. Be Seen. Don't Eat.

As a jazz club, Sambuca is so-so. As a restaurant don't ask.

News of the Weird

Making a Killing

In the '70s, Walter Waldhauser arranged four contract murders. Nearly 20 years later, he has a new name and a new line of work -- but he still generates a profit from death.

The Insider

Press Picks

Pain for the Prosecution

Assistant district attorney Kristen Pain sent criminals to jail -- and then went to jail herself.

DisUnion

Rent by charges of corruption and ineffective representation, Teamsters Local 988 may be driving itself to destruction

English Renaissance

Houston jazz keyboardist Paul English releases Beauty