Washington State University

The New Crusaders

TSU restarts its jazz program, tapping into the talents of the fabled Joe Sample and kids looking for a place to play.

Happy Birthday Kurt Cobain: Where Would He Be Today?

Last year on this date in honor of what would have been late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain's 45th birthday, I wrote a blog supposing where the grunge icon would have been in 2012. It got a lot of traction and people loved and hated it. Imagining him as a dubstep DJ was really for grins and shock valu ... More >>

Monte Pittman: Madonna's Texan Guitarist Has Deep Metal Roots

Just a guess, but when Madonna played to tens of thousands of fans at Toyota Center last week, most of them probably didn't know that onstage with her was a member of one of the most severe metal bands of the past 20 years. Rewind: Last Night: Madonna at Toyota Center But it's true. Native Texan ... More >>

Crossing the Line: Bordering on Revolution

A hostile Supreme Court. A feckless Obama administration. America's war on Mexicans has gone too far.

Top 5 Liars in College Football History -- A List Dedicated to Bobby Petrino

Fired and liars rhyme. Just sayin'. This week, Bobby Petrino, a married father of four, was canned from his gig as head football coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks. As Hair Balls previously rapped about, Petrino was let go for lying about his motorcycle accident, his extramarital affair with a fello ... More >>

Kurt Cobain At 45: Where Would He Be In 2012?

​Had he not died in April 1994 by his own hand -- or sinister forces working for Courtney Love (insert maniacal laugh) -- Kurt Cobain would have turned 45 years old today. The rock icon killed himself at the age of 27, leaving behind not only a daughter to fend for herself against the wiles of ... More >>

Mike Leach: Former Tech Coach Partners with Houston Publisher of Strip-Club Guides

Adult Quest: Proud partner of Mike Leach Football.​Texas football hasn't been the same since Mike Leach left Lubbock. Not only have the Texas Tech Raiders struggled on the field, but the goofiness quotient has gone way down. Leach has gone to Washington State, but he hasn't cut off all his T ... More >>

Messina Hof Has the Best Wine in Texas, According to the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo

This year, more than 2,500 wines were entered into the annual Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo's International Wine Competition. Of those entries, 736 were from Texas wineries. And of those Texas wineries, Messina Hof swept up 20 medals and the coveted title of Top Texas Wine for its 2004 Solara, whic ... More >>

10 Thanksgiving Wines (That We Actually Drink)

Photos by Jeremy Parzen.Dolcetto can deliver character without overwhelming the palate or breaking the bank.​Yes, folks, it's that predictable time of year when everyone posts their Thanksgiving wine recommendations. Among the literally hundreds of blogs and feeds that I follow, one of my favo ... More >>

5 Things You Shouldn't Do When ESPN's GameDay Visits UH

This stopped being funny 200-plus episodes ago. ​It's a big deal that ESPN's traveling college-football preview show GameDay is posting up at the University of Houston's Cullen Circle in advance of the Cougars' game against the SMU Mustangs. (Who saw this coming, especially after quarterback C ... More >>

The 6 Worst Air-Show Disasters: A Video Collection, Just In Time For Wings Over Houston

Things can go wrong​Next time you go to an air show, take a look at the fine print on the ticket. Besides the usual stuff about acts of God and "Promoter not responsible if the frontman doesn't show due to injecting Drano into his balls," there's something else. It says they're really, really ... More >>

Football! Weekend's Best Bets (No, Really!)

I realized something in the last 48 hours. I am a big fan of the Boston Red Sox, which means by sports fan definition, I should be on suicide watch right now. I mean, "my team" just pulled off the biggest September choke in MLB history with a soul-crushing ninth inning loss. The thing is, I'm not e ... More >>

Five Reasons Why Perry's Attempt to Block Negative Social Media Content Is a Bad Idea

Controlling negative publicity is tough business in the modern world. Virtually everything is caught on tape -- good and bad -- and the Internet provides the ideal place for opposition. From anonymous commenters to bloggers to people on social networking sites, it is impossible to prevent negative c ... More >>

Ingredient of the Week: Rainier Cherries

Photo by John SuhLife is just a bowl of cherries.​I popped my cherry with Rainier cherries when I visited Seattle for the first time several years ago. Walking through Pike Place Market, I came across a fruit stand that sold mounds of these cherries that were, to me at the time, strangely col ... More >>

UH Looking For Lots Of Crowd Noise For Tonight's ESPN Game

Bring the noise to Robertson Stadium for ESPN​Strange as it may seem, if things had gone a bit differently in the college career of Drew Bledsoe, Kevin Sumlin might not have ended up in Houston. But strange as it may seem, that's the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.Sumlin's first ... More >>

Israeli TV Show Is Taping In Houston And Honoring Right-Wingers

Live! From Houston! It's Tuesday Night Live In Jerusalem!!​Houston is the first stop for Israeli TV hosts Ari Abramowitz and Jeremy Gimpel as they take Tuesday Night Live in Jerusalem across the United States. "We want to give an empowering, uplifting, inspiring message about Israel. And the ... More >>

Welcome to Mi Pueblito, Washington

The small-town, family-farm lifestyle that we love to celebrate is being preserved — thanks to Mexican immigrants.

Texas Sucks At Recycling Computers, But We'd Be A Lot Worse Without Dell

We're no Minnesota, that's for sure​The numbers are in. When it comes to recycling computers and monitors, Texas sucks. Not only sucks, but out of the 20 states with computer recycling laws, Texas finished dead last, according to a study by the educational nonprofit, Texas Campaign for the Environ ... More >>

Five Things To Remember This National Signing Day (Six, If You're A UT Fan)

​Today is the most important off-season day in college football, a momentous and staggeringly significant event that is known as National Signing Day.Today 18-year-olds declare where they will accept scholarships to play football. No other thing that happens today, barring an alien invasion, will ... More >>

Arguably the Best Oyster in the World

​When I compared a Totten Inlet Virginica (left), a Galveston Bay select (middle) and an Apalachicola oyster (right), I had to agree that the Totten Inlet oyster from Washington was the sweetest and saltiest of the three. Jon Rowley, the Washington State seafood marketing guru who masterminded ... More >>

Listology: War Master's Dream Metal Festival

​This weekend, Houston becomes the grindcore and death-metal capitol of the country for two days with Houston Noisefest 2009, starting tonight at the Atomic Café and concluding tomorrow night at the White Swan. Bands from California, Ohio and as far as Washington State are heading down here to r ... More >>

Mussel Mania

Ride your bike to the Broken Spoke for some awesome moules frites and a Stella.

UH Football And Basketball Have Big Weekends On Tap

​One season is ending. One season is just beginning. But for the Houston Cougars, it's a big Thanksgiving weekend either way with the football team playing for the C-USA West title, and the basketball team up in Alaska playing against Big 12 power Oklahoma in the Great Alaska Shootout on Thurs ... More >>

99 Ranch Market Grand Opening

​69¢ Gulf oysters and lobsters for under $9 a pound are among the grand-opening specials worth checking out at 99 Ranch Market, the new supermarket at I-10 and Blalock where the big Fiesta used to be. 99 Ranch Market is an Asian supermarket chain out of Los Angeles. The first store was called ... More >>

Crawfish Season's Tail End

The bugs get bigger and the prices lower as the season comes to a close.

Pirate Radio USA

Web exclusive!

Cy Springs Grad Loses Job In Porn Industry

Cypress Springs High no doubt was proud of 2000 graduate Christopher Jack Reid when he joined the Marines and served in Iraq.They might have been a little less proud when he returned, adopted the name "Jack Venice," and started starring in porno films. Although hey, maybe they were still proud. You ... More >>

Here Come the Irish

Half Shell Face-Off

Compare East Coast oysters to Gulf Coast oysters and see what you think

Texas Burger Binge

Our food critic reports on the state of the Texas burger -- and recommends 18 you need to try immediately

Free Lunch

Freegans prove there is such a thing as they Dumpster-dive for food for themselves and the homeless

The Killer Next Door

He left clues all over, but it still took investigators years to unmask the serial murderer in their midst

Bayou City Body Snatchers

How cold war fears fueled a hot market for Houston's human parts business.

Educated Sounds