Jamaican Me Crazy
To most gardeners, bugs are a nuisance, something to be swatted away or doused to death with a can of Real Kill. But when Ziggy Marley found himself face-to-face with a curious dragonfly, he began to think about how the insect viewed him and, in a wider scope, all mankind…
Penned In
In 1987, 23-year-old John Michael Harvey was on the inside track of the high-tech circuit. The New York native was working for one of the hottest companies in Dallas, Electronic Data Systems (EDS), running programs that monitored ATM machines. But he was no computer geek. Harvey had already amassed a…
Pasadena Air Force
My Twilight Pilot. MyTwilightPilot. *MYTWILIGHTPILOT*. *MTP*. Whatever you decide to call them, they are a rock band. A moody, indie rock band, to be more specific. Yes, moody indie rock is redundant, but *MTP* is moody with emphasis. They describe their music as “atmospheric.” Songs that build and fade. Songs…
Rice Gets the Mayor Back
During a recent interview at City Hall, Mayor Lee Brown told The Insider he planned to teach at a local university when he leaves office in January. Brown said it is “premature to decide right now, but I’m looking at it.” He allowed as “Sam Houston State has a good…
Mauled Eagles
If one strictly adheres to the tenets of the hipster Bible, a religion almost as narrow and near-fascistic as Bush Republicanism, it is dogma that the Eagles sucketh. To say so comes as easy as shooting duck decoys in a wading pool with a bazooka. And from the group’s myriad…
Bill’s Bargain Tax Bill
A Michael Berry supporter recently asked The Insider why rival mayoral contender Bill White’s homestead in the tony Stablewood neighborhood carried a $100 valuation on the improvements on the property. White’s latest total appraisal is $1.23 million. The estimated market value is $2.8 million for the lot and two-story house,…
Washington Avenue Rocks
The trouble with far too many local music festivals is that they’re full of bands that are, in a word, bad. Most promoters think that quantity trumps quality, but that’s as erroneous with bands as it is when applied to diamonds. You want carats and facets, not flaws, on both…
Bull Session
The weary irritation in the woman’s voice on the phone told me it must be hard for the little guy — or gal — to make a living, even when he’s selling a service we’ll all need eventually. Technically, she was only another citizen calling the state capitol to check…
Legendary Shack Shakers
Take early Reverend Horton Heat, toss in a bushel of habaneros, a keg of railroad spikes, a bunker-buster bomb, a dog-eared copy of the Kama Sutra, and the minutes from a David Koresh revival meeting and you’re approaching the launch pad where Nashville’s Legendary Shack Shakers lift off. These guys…
A Super Super Bowl
In case you hadn’t heard, the Super Bowl is coming to town. (If you live in Houston and hadn’t heard, we should also inform you that there was a war with Iraq recently. We won.) As far as we can tell, hosting a Super Bowl is just about as close…
Infernal Bridegroom Productions
Songs from the Meat/BAR (Infernal Bridegroom Productions)
Letters
Flick Fever Scene One: Houston: Thanks so much for the unbiased state-of-the-industry report on Houston filmmaking [“Film Buff,” by George Flynn, May 29]. A major factor in expanding Houston’s film industry is raising awareness that there is in fact something going on in our town. Your article and the First…
Lilys, with Of Normandy, Need New Body and One Version Aversion
Though ostensibly a band, the Lilys are really the result of the creative direction and musical output of one Kurt Heasley, an enigmatic songwriter whose obtuse lyrics and sometimes bizarre demeanor have helped the American gain a cult following in the UK. After a decade of shifting lineups and musical…
A Deeper Valley
Anyone who’s got cable has probably tuned in to Valley Girl, that ’80s classic, at one time or another. And anyone who’s seen the film will be surprised to learn that Michelle O’Marah’s remake features a cast of folks in their late twenties and early thirties. “I’m not trying to…
Fuddy Buddy
Having seemingly exhausted all permutations of the sports comedy formula (Bull Durham, White Men Can’t Jump, et al.), Ron Shelton has now moved on to another obsession: the Los Angeles Police Department. Earlier this year, we got the uncharacteristically somber (for him, anyway) Dark Blue, a “what if” tale of…
This Week’s Day-by-Day Picks
Thursday, June 12 The whole swing thing is going to die an ugly, protracted death. There’s a group of people out there who refuse to pull the plug. Just think about all the time they’ve spent learning to toss each other in the air and scoot between each other’s legs…
Peace Asylum
A black comedy, set inside a psychiatric hospital in the Russian Republic of Chechnya, House of Fools (Dom Durakov in Russian) bears the unmistakable — and not wholly welcome — trappings of a Fellini-esque free-for-all. Winner of the Special Grand Jury Prize at the 2002 Venice Film Festival and Russia’s…
Life Stories
It’s the ultimate question. It’s also the title of Po Bronson’s new book. What Should I Do with My Life? has become a genuine cultural phenom in a very short time. More oral history than self-help screed, the book’s a No. 1 New York Times best-seller. Bronson was inspired to…
Greek Out
You need not leave the house to know what’s playing in movie theaters in coming weeks. You’ve already seen these films, with titles consisting of letters followed by numbers. There’s no surprise in the dark, just the bumping into of familiar faces, legally blond or largely green, and furious franchises…
Don’t Mock Us
Everything Texans Need to Know About the Other 49 States, a “mockbook” by Friendswood residents Brook and Julie Syers, is good for a laugh. You open it up, and all the pages are blank. Har-har. Strangely, though, the Syerses seem to think they’re performing some kind of public service with…
Nile Dazzler
Giuseppe Verdi might be rolling in his grave, but Disney’s fizzy remake of Aida is nothing if not entertaining. The media giant that produced Broadway versions of The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast has spun Verdi’s tragedy into an upbeat, Vegas-like splash of a show complete with soda-pop…
Reality Bites, Slams and Spears
SUN 6/15 Like religion or English beef, professional wrestling requires a leap of faith. Is this sport real? Is this even really a sport? We suggest not thinking about that too much. This weekend, head to Compaq Center, where World Wrestling Entertainment (née Federation) will present Bad Blood, a seven-card…
By the Numbers
While there is no truth to the critic’s rumor that excessive viewings of The Nutcracker cause brain damage, it’s worth saying that a much better bet is Ben Stevenson’s Alice in Wonderland if you want to take a child to the ballet this season. It’s far more entertaining for all…
The Real Ramona
TUE 6/17 For more than 30 years, reading about the adventures of mischievous third-grader Ramona Quimby has been a rite of passage for schoolchildren. This week, the lucky little boogers get to see the heroine of the series by Beverly Cleary in person at Main Street Youth Theater’s Ramona Quimby…
POWerful Images
As a kid, I always thought Wonder Woman, that ass-kicking female superhero, was so cool. I was never into the comic book but I loved the ’70s show starring Lynda Carter, with her bullet-deflecting bracelets and invisible jet. Carter was an object of wonder for male and female viewers of…
Berry Talented
FRI 6/13 For the past three years, Charlene “Charlie” Berry, a Rice University junior, has become well known in Houston music circles — and it’s not just because of the cleft in her chin. She’s sung backup for the likes of Corey Stoot and Steve Steele and opened up for…
1 Fish, 2 Fish, Red Fish…
If the rolled-up tuna were a hot dog bun, then the asparagus would be a foot-long wiener sticking out of it at both ends. The odd-shaped creation at Blue Fish House sushi restaurant is lightly battered in tempura and deep-fried before it is served. It was the wildest sushi I…
Aged Peppers
SAT 6/14 Now known as the Red Mild Chili Peppers, the band that ignited the funk-rock explosion of the late ’80s has ceased to be spicy. The heat has been replaced with sophistication, which is ironic for a group that used to perform wearing nothing but gym socks over their…
Puppy Love
There are two reasons to love Annabelle’s Diner (705 Taft, 713-523-9959). The first is its BYOD policy (bring your own dog) where, on the outdoor patio, four-legged friends are treated to some B&B (a bone and a bowl of water). The second is the creation of Annabelle’s avocado pasta ($12.95),…