South Dakota

Tribal Chiefs Walk Out of Keystone Talks, Demand Presidential Meeting

If you're the leader of a sovereign nation meeting with another sovereign nation to discuss a pipeline that will tote thick, sticky tar sands oil through your land if the project is approved, you might be just a little put out when the head of the other nation doesn't make time to sit down and talk ... More >>

Weather Sucks: Thank God We Only Have Hurricanes to Deal with in Houston

"It's already here! - Twister Overnight in north Texas, a rash of tornadoes killed at least six people and injured many more. There could be another outbreak of twisters tonight as dry, cool air from the north slams into warm Gulf air over Texas. It's unfortunately a common occurrence for an area l ... More >>

Pope Francis Who?

Five who might have inspired the name.

Porn Proves Texas Is Not Southern: We Prefer "Teen," They Prefer "Ebony"

The question of whether Texas is part of the South or the Southwest has long been debated. Now we can answer that question, thanks to porn. (Is there anything porn can't do?) PornMD, porn-searching website that apparently tries to wrap itself in the aura of the health industry, has put together ra ... More >>

Weekly Weather: Heat and Rain Followed by More Beautiful Weather

If you have been wondering if it was hotter than normal lately, it was, but like much of last year, it didn't come in the form of high temperatures. Sure, it's been in the 70s the last few days, but what is really odd is the extremely warm low temperatures. Monday, the official minimum temperature w ... More >>

Upcoming Events: John Mueller Brings His Barbecue to Houston

Don't have the time or gas money to burn driving out to legendary barbecue spots like Smitty's, Kreuz, Franklin, Snow's or Louie Mueller, but have a hankering for classic Central Texas-style 'cue? You're in luck, then, because highly-regarded pitmaster John Mueller is headed to Houston for a one-day ... More >>

DOJ Eyes Will Be On the Ground in Harris, Fort Bend counties on Election Day

Voters in Harris and Fort Bend counties will get an extra treat on Election Day: Federal poll watchers. As a result of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (now 47 years old!), the federal government attempts to make sure every registered voter regardless of race, color "or membership in a minority langua ... More >>

Living on the Edge: 10 More Onstage Oopsies

Rock stars are just like the rest of us. They eat, love, poop, age, and sometimes they just embarrassingly go ass over tea kettle. Rewind: When Gravity Attacks: 13 Memorable Onstage Stumbles The difference between them and us, besides, you know, money, fame, security, and the like, is that when w ... More >>

Cowboy Diaries: Nikki Steffes -- Future Dentist?

True cowboys are hard to find, but not at the Houston Rodeo. Life on the road leads them here this time every year for the biggest rodeo in the world, where they'll ride and wrangle livestock for cash and glory. Each day, Hair Balls will spotlight one person with enough dirt on his boots to call him ... More >>

Luck: "You Don't Know Your Own Depth"

When word came out that David Milch was working on another series for HBO, the inevitable question arose: Would we be getting the David Milch that created the densely lyrical, critically acclaimed Deadwood? Or the David Milch responsible for the incoherent John from Cincinnati? As it turns out, Luck ... More >>

Let It Bleed

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

Football! This Weekend's Best Bets, A Salute To TV Season Premieres

DWTS = this week's Philly-Giants game?​Television fascinates me. It seems like a new station pops up onto my channel grid every day to the point where I'm actually a little disappointed I haven't been approached by anyone to televise the Sean Network. I mean, doesn't everyone have their own ne ... More >>

James Vernon McVay: Obama Assassination Plot Foiled After One Murder in Planned Spree

South Dakota State PrisonJames Vernon McVay: Proud Houstonian​James Vernon McVay wanted to kill President Obama. After his arrest in Wisconsin earlier this month, he told police that he believed the best way to do that was to stalk the commander-in-chief while he was playing golf and pick him ... More >>

The Abortion Debate Part 2: Five Pro-Choice Songs

radicalrags.com​Yesterday Rocks Off allowed five musicians to voice their opposition to legalized abortion in this country through song. Today, we allow rebuttal from the pro-choice camp in order to give everyone their say. As a note, a conversation between writer an editor brought up Ben Fol ... More >>

For Flag Day: The 10 Worst U.S. State Flags

As we are sure you are no doubt keenly aware, Flag Day is tomorrow. We could give you a list of the ten prettiest flags, but we are Hair Balls, and that's not the kind of crap we like to cough up. Here instead is a list of ten state flags to tun up the flagpoles of your worst enemies: 10. Nevada T ... More >>

Texas AG Greg Abbott Grabs The Spotlight In Fight Against EPA's Tailpipe-Emissions Rule

Greg Abbott leads a mostly southern uprising​Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott wants everyone to know that he is doing everything he can to stop the federal Environmental Protection Agency from trying to implement greenhouse-gas limits on cars and trucks. In the latest of a series of lawsuit ... More >>

The United States Of Women In Music

​Rocks Off is no He-Man Woman Hater's Club. We like women quite a bit, actually, especially those women brave enough to wade through the rivers of bullshit in the male-dominated music business. If you'll page back a few weeks, you'll remember the discussion of our favorite female artists from ... More >>

Cowgirl Diaries: Jill Moody -- Horse Once Skewered By Barbed-Wire Fence, But the Show Goes On

Jill Moody, barrel racer​​True cowboys and cowgirls are hard to find, but not at the Houston Rodeo. Life on the road leads them here this time every year for the biggest rodeo in the world, where they'll ride and wrangle livestock for cash and glory. Each day, Hair Balls will spotlight one p ... More >>

The United States of Beer

Illustration by Monica FuentesFull-size image below.​You asked for it, we delivered. Last week, while many of you were enjoying our map of the United States of Soft Drinks, just as many of you alcoholics were demanding a United States of Beer map instead. And so we hunkered down all weekend, ... More >>

The United States of Soft Drinks

Full-size image below.​In 1998, Nebraska set a precedent for all other U.S. states when it formally declared Kool-Aid to be the state soft drink. Sure, plenty of other states have state foods or state dishes, but a state soft drink? The popular children's beverage was developed in Hastings, N ... More >>

Houston Texans - Jobber To The Stars

Just call him Gary "Special Delivery" Kubiak​"You just keep playin', you work hard in this business...keep workin', believe in what you're doin', keep your chin up, and keep pluggin', somethin' good will go our way." -- Gary Kubiak, 11/21/10 (but truth be told, he's said some variation of thi ... More >>

Vinyl Junkie Joins Houston's Indie Record-Store Ranks

Photos by Neph Basedow​Considering the music junkies we are, Rocks Off couldn't wait to check out Houston's newest independent record store, the aptly titled Vinyl Junkie, which opened its doors November 1. Located at 4202 E. Canal in Houston's East End, customers might need to circle the blo ... More >>

Last Night: Aerosmith At Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion

Ed. note: See a slideshow from Thursday night's concert with Aerosmith and Sammy Hagar here. Photos by Groovehouse​Aerosmith Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion August 5, 2010 Remember when you were little and would watch your parents fight around the house? Everyone can relate, unless you grew ... More >>

Bugs: There Are Two States Actually Buggier Than Texas

It's a bug's life in Texas​Houston, as you slap your arms, face and neck while trying to enjoy a sunset, reassure yourself that things could be worse: You could be in Florida or Louisiana.Those two states are officially and somewhat scientifically more bug-infested than Texas, according to an indu ... More >>

Book Learning

Houston's Literary Greats sail onto the college-radio charts with Ocean, Meet the Valley.

Down on the Farm

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

Ted Poe Decides He Likes Drunk Drivers After All

​Congressman Ted Poe was, for a long time, a Harris County district judge. And he displayed special venom for people convicted of DWI.Once he went to Washington things didn't change. Here's part of a floor speech he gave two years ago about a police chief killed by a drunken driver: He took th ... More >>

Kinky Friedman

Not Everything's Bigger In Texas. Take Penises, For Example

​All you gay guys in Texas, you have let us down.Manhunt, a website designed to encourage hook-ups between consenting male adults, has done an utterly scientific survey of dick size based on its ads. "Now that we have cock size as a feature on Manhunt profiles, we couldn't resist getting a fee ... More >>

Sobriety-Checkpoint Bill Advances; Some Legislators Should Start Worrying

Photo by Jason PrattThe American Beverage Institute is still keeping up its noble fight to stop the Texas legislature from passing a bill that would allow sobriety checkpoints on the roads.SB298 has been passed by the Senate and now goes to the House."By calling for sobriety checkpoints, this propos ... More >>

Life On The Rodeo Road: Smoking Brakes In The Middle Of Nowhere

Photo by Paul KnightName: Annesa SelfHometown: Valley View, TexasEvent: Barrel RacingI got into rodeo because my mother and my father both did it. My dad roped, so I just kind of followed in his footsteps. I was five years old when I started winning ribbons, and when I got a little older, I was like ... More >>

Mark Olson & Gary Louris: Ready for the Flood

Kirbyjon Caldwell Loves Bush, Hates McCain

Mescaline on the Mexican Border

Texas is the only state in the country where peyote is sold legally. Really.

Bishop Is Back

The former kingmaker is back, sort of

Costly Advances

Payday lenders take care of you till your check comes in, and for a long time after

Get Your Kicks

A Texas filmmaker looks at small-town life through a windshield

Ghost Dance

Activists still wonder if Standing Deer died in a plot by the feds or Indian foes — or for no reason at all

The Year of Living Dangerously

Cinema 2002 counterbalanced a treacherous world

Paying for It

Stung by critics, KPRC dials up escort services

In This Together

KTRK and the Chronicle contribute to an HISD campaign

Reservation Blues

Indigenous's rock springs from the deepest roots in North America

The Improviser

In a city that doesn't support jazz, Paul English still finds ways to make the music happen

News of the Weird

News of the Weird

Mash and Trash

The Other Vaughan

Letters

Arming Peggy MacGregor

Why is this winsome public sculpture, created by Mount Rushmore's sculptor, languishing in disrepair? And where is her arm?