Switzerland

DEFCON Dining: Fountain View Café

Dining out with children is an exercise in situational awareness. Each experience is unique, with different variables leading to different possible outcomes, DEFCON-like in their escalating threat levels. Keen observation, forward planning and prior experience are critical in determining the proper ... More >>

DNC 2012: Who Had The Best Speech? Hint: Not The One Last Night

Three completely different emotions and narratives of the United States unfolded in each of the keynote addresses this week at the Democratic National Convention by two presidents and one first lady. In a way, all the speeches were spectacular displays of poise, command of the issues, and sheer lika ... More >>

Anthony Bourdain Heads to Cook It Raw

What does the chef and owner of the world's best restaurant do in his spare time? He finds ways to make cooking more challenging and intellectually stimulating. Rene Redzepi, of the famous NOMA in Copenhagen, also founded Cook It Raw. CIR is a food event that gathers 15 chefs in an unfamiliar settin ... More >>

Houston Fine Art Fair

Capsule Art Reviews: "Endearing the Line," "The Graphic Arts of Hans Erni," "HJ Bott: Rhythm and Rhetoric," "Members," "reverse of volume RG," "Shifting Paradigms in Contemporary Ceramics," "Space Zombie Mayan Apocalyptic Human Sacrifice Uplift Mofo Party

Capsule Art Reviews: "Berlin, Potsdamer Platz," "The Graphic Arts of Hans Erni," "The Livable Forest," "Love Man," "New Paintings: Geoff Hippenstiel," "Perspectives 177: McArthur Binion"

Top 5 Ways to Pimp Your Ride, Old-Timey Style

Some people take great pride in their cars, and decided to use them as a way of expressing themselves. Modifying your ride to give it an unique appearance or performance style is a big business, but other folk tackle it with an older world in mind. Wagon Wheels on a Hummer Hummers represent the ... More >>

John O'Shea: Energy Exec Acquitted on Mexican Bribery Charges

Someone bribed, but it wasn't John O'Shea.​The executive of a Sugar Land-based company who's been accused of paying bribes to Mexican officials was acquitted without the defense even putting on a case. John O'Shea, the former general manager of ABB Industries, was acquitted by U.S. District J ... More >>

HPMA Preview: Nobody Leaves Without Singing The Blues Edition

Photo by Brittanie SheyLittle Joe Washington​In the movie Adventures in Babysitting, Houston native bluesman Albert Collins inadvertently assists the getaway of young Elizabeth Shue (meow) and her charges from a gang of thugs, but only after she sings. Collins blocks the attackers with the sam ... More >>

Gadhafi Sodomized Before Dying: 5 Other Gruesome Dictator Deaths

Oliver Cromwell rested easy for only a short while.​New video seems to show that Libyan dictator Muammar Gadhafi was forcibly sodomized as he slowly died from gunshot wounds. Not a great way to go, but he wouldn't be the first dictator to either suffer from a tortured death or have his corpse ... More >>

European Travel Tips For First-Time Bands

​Local favorites the Wild Moccasins embark on a six-week European tour this weekend. Rocks Off knows how daunting international travel can be, especially when you're on a multi-country blitzkrieg that exposes you to numerous languages and many differing cultural mores in a relatively short per ... More >>

Wild Moccasins Ready For Whataburger-Free Euro Tour

Molly Joon​Saturday night, newly minted New West signees Wild Moccasins play their last show in the States until April, as they prepare to embark on their first European tour. Sharing the Fitzgerald's bill are Young Mammals and Wicked Poseur. The Moccasins' maiden Old World trek is an extensi ... More >>

Mariachi Love

A Weekly Tip from Your Friendly Server

​After declining a New Year's Eve party invitation due to conflicts with my work schedule, I was asked if I was in the medical field, to which I replied, "I administer a lot of wine to the public, so yes, in a way, it's like anesthesiology." I work in a high-volume restaurant and wine bar, and ... More >>

2022 World Cup Host Is... Not the US

Brittanie SheyUSA! USA! Did not win!​Houston city leaders, members of the Dynamo organization and soccer fans gathered at a bunting-filled room at the George R. Brown Convention Center this morning to hear the international announcement of which countries will be hosting the 2018 and 2022 Worl ... More >>

Frankenstein Unbound

Coming face to face with Dr. Frankenstein isn’t exactly what Dr. Buchanan had in mind

The Barbed Rose

No Lady Gaga: Celebrities We Wish Had Sex Dolls Made Of Them

He's no Johnny Depp​Yesterday on the Rocks Off blog we unveiled the Lady Gaga sex doll, Lady Gag Gag. Comments were mixed on the doll, ranging from utter confusion and strange attraction from both sexes. One commenter claimed that the model on the box was even more attractive than the real G ... More >>

Pop Rocks: With Friends Like These

​Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski remains under house arrest in Switzerland, awaiting possible extradition to the United States for fleeing sentencing after pleading guilty to "unlawful sex" with a 13-year old in 1977. His attorneys are, naturally, fighting this possibility, while a numbe ... More >>

Malcolm McLaren Has Pulled Off His Last Great Rock And Roll Swindle

​Malcolm McLaren, influential punk heavyweight icon and fashion engineer has died at the age of 64 at a hospital in Switzerland, where he was battling cancer. To say that his life was polarizing is an extreme understatement; to agree that he was integral to the shaping of modern music is a univers ... More >>

Cinema Arts Festival Houston's H BOX Ain't No X-Box

​Films are once again being seen at the Alabama Theatre, thanks to Cinema Arts Festival Houston's H BOX by Portuguese architect/artist Dider Fiuza Faustino. A series of looped videos and short films are shown in the portable screening room (constructed from connecting panes of glass and alumin ... More >>

Ain't No Feud Like A Food Feud. Or Maybe There's No Feud At All

​Cleverley Stone is a Houston food institution. Of sorts.For some, she's a lively, well-informed foodie who offers great discounts and tips on her blog, on a weekly radio show on CNN 650 AM (Proposed Station Motto: You've Probably Never Heard Of Us), on local TV morning shows and on her Twitter.Fo ... More >>

Ain't No Feud Like A Food Feud. Or Maybe There's No Feud At All

​Cleverley Stone is a Houston food institution. Of sorts.For some, she's a lively, well-informed foodie who offers great discounts and tips on her blog, on a weekly radio show on CNN 650 AM (Proposed Station Motto: You've Probably Never Heard Of Us), on local TV morning shows and on her Twitter.Fo ... More >>

The Last Roundup: A Birthday Blog, Mic Skills, Listenlisten, UGK, Riff Tiffs and More

Happy birthday, Houston's Most Hated! They're celebrating next Saturday at Numbers with The Juan MacLean, Switzerland's the Field and a bunch of local DJs. 29-95.com has a nice chat with local MC Mic Skills, mostly about his new album Defiant. We Wore Masks caught the freshly reunited Blink-182 (Woo ... More >>

Boxty Breakfast at The Angel & The Ox Pub & Restaurant

The United Nations of Food at Phoenicia Specialty Foods

Miguel Zenón

Somewhere between Latin and contemporary jazz, this Puerto Rican saxophonist is making a name for himself

Jose Miguel Yamal Latin Jazz Quartet

Da Camera opens its daytime concert series

RIP, Father of LSD

“Happiness Is a Warm Gun: The Thomas Imbach Films”

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston dedicates a weekend to a man whose work is beyond experimental

The Alps

John Harlin III tackles his biggest fear: the mountain killed his father

The Ladybug Transistor

Can't Wait Another Day

Art Capsule Reviews

A picture of our opinions on local exhibitions

A Heavy Salad

Love Bites

Mosquitos meld the Big Apple and Brazil

Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players

Wednesday, December 17

Roll Over, Eric Clapton. And Tell Stevie Ray the News.

The blues is back -- rawer and louder (and punker) than ever

A Killer Nanny

Charlotte Foster wanted a male nanny who’d play sports with her sons. She got an escaped murderer.

The Most Extreme Sport of All

Bike messengers converge in Houston for some extreme competition

Keep On Shuckin'

Live dangerously with the Double Dumbass Combo at Gilhooley's Raw Bar

Best Cheese Selection

Spec's Liquor Warehouse

Unmasked!

MFA exhibit uncovers the secrets behind our facial disguises

News of the Weird

Dish

Cat Stats

The French Connection

Press Picks

Heavy Mettle

There's nothing delicate to be found in Old Heidelberg's deliciously Teutonic soul

Short and Punky

Sad Pygmy just wants to make more noise

Press Picks