United States

How To: Throw A Summer Outdoor Dinner Party

The unfortunate part about summer in Texas, more specifically in Houston, is that you want to go outside but it is just too dang hot to stay there for more than five minutes without breaking into a sweat. My family loves to grill during the summer time, and we love to take our food from the grill ... More >>

The Supremes Say No Red River Water for North Texas

If North Texans thought they'd get their hands on Oklahoma water from the Red River, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled they've got another thing coming. The Tarrant Regional Water District has been trying to buy water from Oklahoma to help the growing population up in that corner of Texas -- you kno ... More >>

This Week in Food Blogs: Iced Coffee Guides & Medieval Jousting Entertainment

Blue Jean Gourmet: If you're looking for the perfect summer dessert, look no further. Blue Jean Gourmet made a peach and blackberry cobbler with freshly picked peaches and blackberries. The sweetness of soft peaches combined with the tart, yet subtly sweet, blackberries makes for the ultimate cobble ... More >>

BP Rig Managers Take the "Whatever Happens in Vegas" Defense

It's been awhile since the Deepwater Horizon disaster that killed 11 men and kicked off the British Petroleum oil spill, sending barrels of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. Now it seems it's been long enough that the tragedy of it all has taken the track these tragedies always seem to take -- na ... More >>

The Rice Owls Are Two Wins from the College World Series

This is not the best baseball team that Wayne Graham's coached in his years at Rice. This isn't the best of the 19 straight Rice teams to advance into the NCAA postseason, or the best Owls team to go to its tenth Super Regional since 1999, the first year of the Super Regionals. And this team definit ... More >>

MUY CALIENTE SUMMER EDITION

This Week In Food Blogs: Cronut Craze and RA Sushi's Watermelon Margaritas

Eater: The cronut craze has taken the world by storm. After having its origin in New York, the hybrid croissant-donut has made everyone in the United States and overseas go crazy for the sinfully sweet treat. Eater gives us nine cronut imposters from around the world, including an at-home recipe wit ... More >>

Rats Needed to Keep the Keystone Pipeline Rolling

The Keystone Pipeline people just can't seem to win. First there are the landowners and environmentalists down this way objecting to the pipeline hauling the sticky black tar sands through their property. Then the Native Americans are furious because they feel the federal government isn't negotiatin ... More >>

Forced Apart

North Texas Judge says lesbian couple can't live in same household with children.

Attack of the Drones: Texas Could be a Top Drone Producer, Thanks to NASA

If you talk about being from Texas, people automatically think of the stuff us Texans are famous for -- oil, cattle, more oil, guys with really great mustaches and awesome cowboy boots, riding horses to school -- but in the coming years, they may also think Texas, land of the drones. (Ooh, and then ... More >>

Texas Leads in Carbon Emissions, Environmental Group Tries to Tie Them to "Monster" Tornadoes

The Environmental Defense Fund sent out a press release detailing the fact that Texas leads the nation in carbon emissions according to information provided by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. According to their report, Texas emitted 652.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2010, ne ... More >>

Dustin Reininger: Texas Dude With a Truckload of Guns Forced to Remain in New Jersey Gulag

Second Amendment-hating New Jersey judges rejected a Texas man's appeal on a 2010 conviction of illegal possession of multiple firearms this week, but the case may soon be headed for New Jersey's Supreme Court. Rockport resident Dustin Reininger's Kafka-esque nightmare began in 2009, when he was dr ... More >>

Long Island Iced Teas, Lone Star State-Style at Marquis II

In response to last week's paean post on the Long Island Iced Tea, commenter Chris suggested that I check out the Texas Teas proffered at Marquis II. He added: Report back on the experience, because it's tough not to get wasted starting the night with one of those. That, sir, is a challenge I mu ... More >>

Texas Concert For Conservation at Sam Houston Race Park, 5/18/2013

Texas Concert For Conservation Featuring Dwight Yoakam, Robert Earl Keen, Hayes Carll & Ray Wylie Hubbard Sam Houston Race Park May 18, 2013 If I wanted to make a dopey analogy, which I'm going to do anyway, I'd say Texas' coastal waters and our wry but soulful singer-songwriters are two of this s ... More >>

5 Houston-Area Barbecue Joints Top Texas Monthly List of 50 Best BBQ Spots

The last time Texas Monthly released its list of the 50 best barbecue joints in Texas was 2008. During that five-year interim, a lot has changed. Namely, the Austin-based magazine now boasts its very own barbecue editor -- the only publication anywhere to have a single person devoted to the cuisine. ... 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 ... More >>

GIANT SNAILS!! GIANT KILLER SNAILS Have Invaded Texas & Targeted Gullible Children!!

Beautiful spring weather, it's not hurricane season yet, nothing to worry about outside except the occasional mosquito, giant deadly snail and annoying neighbor kid. What-whut? Giant deadly snail? Yep -- if various sightings around town are to be believed, the Giant African Land Snail (Lissachatin ... More >>

Perry Spokesperson Welcomes Obama to Texas. Perry Himself? Not So Much

Sometimes, silence truly is deafening. Rick Perry spends an awful lot of time engaging anyone who will listen around the country on why they ought to move to Texas. It's good for business. We got lots o' guns. We let you live the way you want to live. We don't have no dad-gum income taxes. We're jus ... More >>

Palin, Santorum, and Perry Remind the NRA Convention of America's Greatness, and that Greatness Comes from a Gun

There was a point in Rick Santorum's history lesson, a point in the former Pennsylvania senator's spiel last Friday about the horrific transition President Obama has yet in store for America, when the 20,000-strong audience at the 2013 NRA Convention sat perfectly silent. Bathed in blue flood-light, ... More >>

It's Good to Be the King: Texas Renaissance Festival is Holding Auditions

Do you long to speak in a British accent all day? Do you feel comfortable in tights or cod pieces? Are you a huge fan of crying children who kick you in the shins, annoying teenagers who yank on your clothing and busty wenches? Well, my good fellow (or me lady), we may have just the thing for you be ... More >>

AG Greg Abbott Bans Same-Sex Benefits In Cities, Counties & School Districts, Sorta

Attorney General Greg Abbott, in an ironic twist of timing, has struck down the ability of cities, counties and school districts to offer domestic partner benefits. By almost any measure, today was a landmark day for the GLBT community, with all eyes focused on basketball player Jason Collins, the ... More >>

Ninjas From Texas: San Antonio Metal Crew Sells "Sex, Drugs and Mopeds"

It's a well-known fact that most band names are essentially gobbledygook, but here at Rocks Off we're doing out best to make sense of the oddest monikers. Ninjas From Texas is a metal/hardcore act out of San Antonio. It's the sort of music that makes me sad there are no good Van Damme movies anymor ... More >>

Maine-ly Delicious at Maine-ly Sandwiches

The lobster roll is the main attraction at Maine-ly Sandwiches.

Acts You Shouldn't Miss at iFest's Second Weekend

Texas Brass Band Bud Light World Music Stage, 1 p.m. April 27; Houston Press Rocks Off Texas Music Stage, 4:30 p.m. April 27 The Texas Brass Band combines trumpet flourishes and tuba-led bass lines with jazz, R&B, and hip-hop influences to create a unique, distinctively Southern sound. Last year, t ... More >>

Lobster Rolls Are the Main Attraction at Maine-ly Sandwiches

One of the first known recipes for lobster comes from Apicius, a Roman cookbook dating to around 400 A.D. that's organized quite like a modern cookbook into ten chapters. In "Thalassa," the chapter on the sea, Apicius provides recipes for dishes including boiled lobster with cumin sauce, lobster wit ... More >>

Five Reasons The Rockets Playoff Run Isn't Generating More Buzz

I listen to a lot of sports radio and talk to people online and off about sports on a regular basis. Despite the fact that the Rockets are in the playoffs for the first time in three years, there just isn't the buzz about the team Houston has seen in years past. There are fewer calls about them on s ... More >>

Because the HCSCC Doesn't Have Enough Ideas, Here Are 5 More Things We Can Do with the Astrodome

Let's see if I've got this: The Confederacy of Dunces charged with making decisions on the Astrodome are once again acting like they want to make decisions on the Astrodome. Decisions that will involve them punting the ultimate decision to a higher authority that has, time and again, punted the deci ... More >>

West, Texas Explosion: 5 Things You Might Not Know About The Town, Including Willie Nelson & Kolaches

Dire news coming out of West, Texas -- an explosion at a fertilizer plant has rocked the town, killed five to 15 people, and possibly injured scores of others. Hair Balls has a father-in-law who lives on a farm a few miles from the explosion. The house shook, he said; initially he thought it was a ... More >>

State Rep Wants to Force Universities to Allow Faculty to Research Intelligent Design, Thousand-Head Giants, and Earth-Creating Ravens

The current legislative session has been, as far as we can tell at Hair Balls, a series of marginal victories for the state's education system. The voucher system State Sen. Dan Patrick attempted to instill -- the same kind that's beset Georgia in corrupt conflicts; the same sort that's hollowed Lou ... More >>

This Week in Craft Beer: Petrol Celebrates 4/20, Drink of Ages at The Hay Merchant and More

Every week we try to harvest all the news in local craft beer and serve it up so that you don't miss out on events that may have slipped past you each week. From brewery events to pub crawls and breaking craft beer news, if something is going down, we will try to round it up here on This Week in Cr ... More >>

Celebrity Pitmaster Neil "Bigmista" Strawder Heading Back Home for One-Day Barbecue Extravaganza

Good things always come in threes: First, it was the smashingly successful Houston Barbecue Festival. Then it was the annual Foodways Texas symposium, which spotlighted barbecue. Now it's news that California-based celebrity pitmaster Neil "Bigmista" Strawder is headed back to his hometown of Galves ... More >>

Barbecue, Onions and Red Soda: Dispatches from the 2013 Foodways Texas Symposium

When I first heard about the theme of the 2013 Foodways Texas symposium, I was wary: two-and-a-half days of barbecue panels, meals and talks. Two-and-a-half days? Not that there isn't fertile ground to plow for topics, but the sheer amount of time devoted to discussions of smoked meat seemed excessi ... More >>

A Place at the Table: A Heart-Hitting Documentary About Hunger in America

"My dream is to be an honor roll student. My other dream is to be on Home Makeover: Home Edition. I just wish they would come and rescue us from our house ... I want my kids to have a better life than I do: have more food, a bigger house with no mold. Get to do what they want to do, and need to do, ... More >>

What's the point of your question?

I-69 Signs Along I-59: No, It's Not a Clever Joke. Stop Giggling.

Whenever I think of U.S. 59, I think of constant gridlock from Shepherd through the 288/I-45 interchange, the flat, treeless drive to Ft. Bend County and the piney woods of east Texas, in all its glory. It is a unique stretch of road that runs from Mexico well into Missouri. Oh, sure, it changes num ... More >>

Ted Nugent Tells Culture, Recreation and Tourism Committee He Hunts 300 Days Per Year

Apparently, there is a debate over the practice of hunting deer in captivity in the state of Texas. I grew up with a father who loved the outdoors, so much so he worked as an outdoor writer and broadcaster for many years. While he was more into fishing than hunting, he did like to go out and shoot a ... More >>

This Week in Craft Beer: Ash Bash Continues, Beer Legislation News and More

It's a busy week in beer. That said, it always seems to be a busy week in beer around here lately thanks to Houston's growth in the industry over the past two years. The Craft Brewer's Conference is wrapping up in Washington D.C. and we're creeping closer to National Craft Beer Week, but there's ple ... More >>

Racial Identity and Driving Señora Daisy

Texas EDM Fans Dealt Setback With Nocturnal Wonderland Pullout

For three consecutive years, Apache Pass near the Central Texas town of Rockdale has been the home of Nocturnal Wonderland, a multi-day electronic dance music festival that Texas EDM fans have counted on to kick off their EDM festival season. The season is largely driven by L.A.-based supergiant pr ... More >>

Seven Spring Music Festivals In Texas That Beat Staying Home

SXSW is officially over, thank the sweet baby Jesus. Now music fans have already begun to fan out to the four winds, seeking sunshine, swimsuits, alcohol, easy hookups and all the tunes they can handle until it gets ridiculously hot. Texans: you have about three hours. It's already begun over in Mi ... More >>

Bloody Tide: How Puerto Rico Affects the U.S.

As Puerto Rico is battered by a wave of drugs and brazen murders, Houston and other continental U.S. cities feel the blowback.

Experts: Conservation the Key to Future Texas Water Needs

Since the summer of 2011, Texas has been faced with a drought which not only harmed wildlife, but reduced our recreational opportunities and damaged our water supplies. By 2012 the drought conditions marginally improved, but the Texas population continues to grow making the demand for water increase ... More >>

Ten Years Later, and How Iraq Can Change a Generation's Trajectory

Every day after baseball practice, my Dad picked me up. Still clad in my dirt-stained pants, still too young to have a full appreciation for deodorant, I would toss my bookbags and gear in the back of our Volvo and jump in the front seat with him. He'd ask how practice was, and I'd tell him about th ... More >>

East Texas and Butcher Knives: Two Great Tastes That Go Great Together

East Texas is known for many things: the piney woods, beautiful lakes, white supremacists, meth dealers and girls name Crystal immediately come to mind. But, apparently, you may soon be able to add butcher knife to that list. Two separate reports detail the use of butcher knives used in recent crime ... More >>

New Texas Beer Legislation: What It Could Mean For You

In case you didn't know, we here in Texas are so far behind the curve when it comes to alcohol laws, we might as well be your grandmother trying to work The America Online. Other states literally look to Texas as the textbook example of how not to do things. It's an embarrassment, really. States li ... More >>

An Open Letter To The Texas Craft Beer Industry

A lot of news has been made of the recent legislation that exited committee earlier this week regarding the Texas beer industry. I addressed the basics of these bills earlier today. While generally positive, reactions in the craft beer community have been noticeably and understandably mixed. See a ... More >>

State Rep Debbie Riddle To Breastfeeding Hordes: Hey, "I Breastfed" Too!!!

As we noted yesterday, State Rep Debbie Riddle (R-Tomball) smacked open a hornet's nest of angry breastfeeding moms when she posted on Facebook her reasons for opposing a bill increasing breastfeeders rights. Riddle said the bill would make it easier to sue business owners who interrupted women bre ... More >>

What's in a Name?

You, Too, Can Shop for Groceries by Light Rail!

When I tell people that my husband and I share a car, and have for the entire three years we have lived in Houston, we get a lot of funny looks. It's true that the logistics don't always work out, but we almost always make it work. Note the "almost" -- that's the little word that forced me to get ou ... More >>

Debbie Riddle's Facebook Page Gets Tsunami'd By Pissed-Off Breastfeeding Moms

You don't mess with moms. Especially if it's about breastfeeding. The Texas legislature is once again taking up the ticklish subject of whether moms should be able to breastfeed in public. Representatives like Jessica Farrar (D-Houston) are backing a bill that would allow business owners to be sued ... More >>