U.S. Marine Corps

Gloriously Gallic at L'Olivier

L’Olivier stays grounded in French bistro territory while still managing the occasional surprise.

Rodeo Houston Fun

Go Texan with this guide.

The Rocks Off 100: Miss Leslie, Queen of the Honky-Tonks

Who? Miss Leslie if you're country, Leslie Anne Sloane has played fiddle/violin in both the classical and country/bluegrass styles since age 5. In 2004, she started Miss Leslie and Her Juke-Jointers, which can usually be found once or twice a month at finer roadhouses and honky-tonks in the greater ... More >>

Gen. Petraeus: A Possible Glimpse at the Spymaster's iPod

Nuge the Stooge knows what CIA director needed. Enough already about Gen. David Petraeus and his private harem ... err, his embedded biographer with the flashy wardrobe and bad vision. Petraeus is a patriot, a winner of wars, a brilliant strategerizer, a man dedicated to little beyond his own caree ... More >>

The 10 Best Warplane Films, According to Real Aviation Buffs (No Top Gun, Thank You)

Featuring a proto-beatnik jet pilot​With the possible exceptions of horses and ships, no other non-speaking entity has starred in so many motion pictures as the airplane. And we love airplanes. We love them so much we've probably seen every last airplane movie worth watching, and even more tha ... More >>

Detroit Leanin': Who Is The Best Motor City Artist Ever?

detroitrockcity.altervista.org​Some places breed music. Due to sheer size, any big city will produce its fair share of talented musicians, and some - Memphis, New Orleans, Chicago - seem to have music in the water supply. But none, arguably, more than Detroit: John Lee Hooker, the Motown dias ... More >>

Top Six Artist Vs. Record Label Feuds

​Pink Floyd has finally settled its lengthy dispute with their longtime record label EMI. The band, which signed to the label over 40 years ago, first took EMI to court last spring in an effort to clarify their existing contract. Floyd sought to prevent EMI from "unbundling" their albums by se ... More >>

German Shepherd

Johnny Falstaff is a honky-tonk translator.

Selling Counterfeit Cisco Parts To The Prison System? Get Ready To Meet Your Victim

Yo, "Tony" says it's all good​Robert Erdman ripped off the federal Bureau of Prisons and other agencies to the tune of almost $1.5 million, and now he will get a close-up view of just how good the computer systems in the BOP are.Erdman was sentenced today to 30 months in federal prison for selling ... More >>

Texans Cheerleaders In Japan: Armed & Dangerous

They're cheerleaders, and they're armed​The Texans cheerleaders are headed to Japan on an Armed Forces Entertainment tour, because our brave service members want to hear what Matt Schaub is really like. Or maybe they want to look at cheerleaders.Texans cheerleader Lindsay (as always, first names o ... More >>

Badlands

From Ground Zero of the immigration crisis along the Mexican border

Chris Stokes, U.S. Marine, Gets His Stolen Medals Back In Memorial Day Miracle (Of Sorts)

One bad Memorial Day followed by one good one​A year ago, U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. Chris Stokes was tubing in New Braunfels. His vehicle, parked at the Landa Park Rec Center, was broken into while he and his wife were on the river.Among the items stolen -- Stokes' Marine honor medals. Bummer o ... More >>

Prison Guard's Wife Cries Crocodile Tears In Ashes Of Home

​The story shocked Beaumont and prison guards all over America: a federal correctional officer and his wife Monique, both Marine veterans fresh back from a tour in Iraq, were apparently burned out of the house they just bought less than a month before the April 10 blaze. The low-down scumbag ... More >>

Vision Quest

Uncle Charlie is the best concert-poster artist in Houston — and he's legally blind.

Rocks Off Mercilessly Mocked on National Anti-Hipster Blog

Rocks Off would like to extend our congratulations - we guess - to our lieutenant, Craig Hlavaty. Craig's picture of him sitting on Santa's lap (above), culled from his slideshow of Hosuton-area mall Santas last December, went bad and nationwide Sunday, appearing on the hilarious picture blog Look ... More >>

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

U.S. Military Deserters Once Again Flock to Canada to Avoid War

Looks like this time they picked the wrong country.

Lost Tuneage: Moby Grape

Who Dat? Collectively, Moby Grape probably was one of the most talented bands to come out of San Francisco area during the golden age of hippiedom. Formed in 1966 by drummer Skip Spence and manager Matthew Katz (both of whom had just been fired from Jefferson Airplane), the lineup includ ... More >>

No Pressure. It's Just Texas High School Football.

Katy High School was going to play against a Florida team on national TV. Now all it had to do was find a way to win again.

John McCain's Neglected Veterans

The candidate's fame is based on his POW status, but he has abandoned his fellow veterans time and time again

Soldier Suicides

Surviving our War on Terror calls for more than an ability to dodge bullets and IEDs

Spy Stories

Edwin Wilson said he was still in touch with his former employer, the CIA, when he shipped explosives out of Houston to the Middle East. The CIA denied it. The CIA lied

Long Life

The MFAH showcases autobiographical work by a Houston legend

Wars, Penguins and Gays: Oh, My!

The year in review

"I Raq and Roll" vs. "We Can't Make It Here"

Two Houston-connected musicians offer up different takes on the war. One veteran tells Racket which he thinks is better and why.

One Dead Guinea Pig

A bad reaction to a drug trial sparks an investigation into Houston's Fabre Clinic and its founder

Chefs Rule!

If you can't stand the sight of lopped-off digits and the smell of your own flesh burning, get out of the kitchen

Draining the Swamp

A scorched-earth management philosophy is sucking the life out of our region's wetlands

Parts Unknown

Did Donnie Riley kill Tarron Dixon, or was he shooting at someone else in a different Houston neighborhood that night 13 years ago?

Reefer Madness

The government says Clayton Jones shouldn't smoke marijuana. He says it's the only thing that keeps him from blowing his brains out.

A Very Good Year

Inmate Beckcom gets his term reduced for his work in the Prible case

The Dogs of War

Foster programs try to save departing soldiers' critters from becoming casualties

Kill Shot

Neil Burger fabricates Kennedy's Assassin, and he's mostly on target

Roller Derby

Wheelchair basketball is for wussies. And park your pity at the door. Welcome to quad rugby, where quadriplegics slam their opponents into the hardwood.

The Devil You Say

Was Jeffery Prible the cold-blooded murderer of an entire family? Or the gullible target of an opportunistic jailhouse informant?

Getting Stomped

Texas boasts the soil, the climate and the grapes for a strong wine industry. So what stands in its way? Bad taste and politicians.

Letters

Storage Containers, Not Ready for Prime Time, The Well Runs Dry

On the Off-Road Again

Country legend Ray Price continues to take the path less traveled

Billie Bob's (Mis) Fortune

Less than two years after Billie Bob Harrell Jr. took the $31 million lottery jackpot, he took his own life

Faith's Fusillade

The gunman moved methodically, killing cowering churchgoers, before one of them stood up for the final confrontation. Then came the last shot.

The One and Only

A fiddler gets a leg up on the competition

Static

Swangin' and Bangin' ... and getting to that other level with the disciples of screw

Press Picks

Burned Out

Houston artist Bert Long returned home from Spain, only to find he had no home

Vintage Sounds

Wayne Hancock is a new-fashioned guy with old-fashioned desires

Roots Rasslin'

At Tugboat Taylor's gym, would-be wrestlers are taught the eternal verities: It's more fun to be a heel, but heels always lose.

Lil' Stevie's Year in Review

Caught on History's Wheel

The Kentucky Cycle ends with a bang, and a burial