Personae of Persecution
If we base our perceptions of Palestine on news accounts, we imagine ruined towns, rubble and people throwing stones at Israeli tanks. We view Palestine as a place ruled by chaos, paranoia and violence. These assumptions may be true, but the new exhibit at The Station, “Made in Palestine,” reveals…
Blonde Joke
ABC-TV has penciled in to its 2004 schedule a series based upon the 2001 film Legally Blonde, for which a pilot has been shot starring someone named Jennifer Hall in the Reese Witherspoon role of Elle Woods, the pretty, dumb-in-pink sorority girl-turned-whip-smart-attorney. MGM, which owns the franchise, smartly decided to…
Fire, Work with Me
FRI 7/4 Here’s a rundown on where to watch the bombs bursting in air this Independence Day. Sam Houston Race Park celebrates the Fourth with some good ol’- fashioned horse gamblin’, followed by a fireworks show. Or, those with more refined tastes may enjoy the annual Houston Symphony Pops concert,…
Flying Fur
Watch out! The “jungle-red” claws of the catfighting ladies in Clare Boothe Luce’s The Women are as sharp as ever, especially in Main Street Theater’s hysterical revival of the 1936 classic. Indeed, Luce’s gaggle of gossipy, spitting kittens who live for nothing but their men still packs a mighty punch…
We’re Gonna Get You, Soccer!
Only a month ago, Houston played host to a sold-out international match — Mexico vs. the U.S. — that proved that this city has lots of soccer fans, and that if the stars and moon align properly, they’ll come out. That day, you could feel the heat radiating from the…
Summer Breakfast Strategy
It’s 6:30 a.m., and the breakfast shift at Frank’s Grill on Telephone Road has already been at it for an hour and a half. The head chef is wearing one of those pointy-at-both-ends white paper caps. We take a seat in a vinyl booth along the front window. The waitress…
Mini-Investigators
SUN 7/6 Fingerprinting. Fiber analysis. Trace evidence. Not your average Sunday with the kids. Court TV’s Mobile Investigation Unit will swing by Houston this week, introducing youngsters to the fascinating world of forensics with a simulated investigation: the case of a missing laptop. “It’s a fun caper to solve using…
Test Your Manhood
If you’re planning to order the chicken-fried steak ($9.95) at Hickory Hollow (101 Heights Boulevard, 713-869-6300, and other locations), the only decision you have to make is what kind of man you’d like to be: a Rancher, a Hired Hand or a Plowman. Any confused-gender males could also choose to…
Downtown’s Got Soulphilia
TUE 7/8 Tuesday nights can be oh-so-quiet downtown — too quiet. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t something popping off inside one of the spots along the newly renovated Main Street. Take a typical Tuesday at beloved “boozerdashery” Dean’s Credit Clothing: DJ 606 plays an hour-long hip-hop set, then a…
Scar Wars
SAT 7/5 There are plenty of bands that use the line “We’re better live than on the CD” as an excuse for their shitty studio work. But not Austin’s Vallejo, the five-piece Latino rock band that can write and produce decent albums and then take the songs to a new…
¿Quién Eres Tú, Mun2?
“It was a blessing in disguise,” says Felix Sama, co-host and DJ for Mun2’s hot property, the daily live TV show The Roof. He’s carrying bags full of records he just mixed live out of the Telemundo studios in suburban Miami. The Roof’s audience probably missed all the albums that…
Go with the Floetry
All you gotta do is say yes / Don’t deny what you feel /Let me undress you, baby / Open up your mind and just rest And so begins the chorus of “Say Yes,” the sparkling, slow-jam single from UK neo-soul duo Floetry. Although the lines could be construed simply…
Static on the Dial
A little less than four months after getting fired by Clear Channel Broadcasting, June Garcia Sherman, formerly the director of nontraditional revenue at five local Clear Channel stations, decided she wasn’t going to take her dismissal lying down. On May 5, she filed suit against Clear Channel Worldwide, Clear Channel…
Kitty Litter
Toyya Braskey took two tranquilizers her first night dancing topless at Heartbreakers. She doesn’t remember being there, she says, but she made $700. As she danced on subsequent nights, men asked her what she was thinking. They wanted to know what fantasy or porn movie was playing in her mind…
Vikter Duplaix
Vikter Duplaix wants you bad — really bad. So bad it hurts. You can practically see him, lying on the floor, hand on his stomach, slithering around just like Maxwell in that “‘Til the Cops Come Knockin'” video, dying for some raven-haired beauty to come tapping, tapping at his chamber…
It’s My Party
Juneteenth should be a celebration of unity, right? What with slaves being freed and all. But the holiday reportedly left some bruised feelings at one local government agency. The Harris County Central Technology Center, which manages the county’s computer systems, has a large cafeteria that’s regularly used for staff birthday…
Liz Phair; Michelle Branch
Ah, the music industry, where a former white-hot mama indie rock icon turns to designated hit-makers the Matrix, the Scandinavian songwriting team responsible for Avril Lavigne’s success, and a teenage upstart relies on her own songs. As can be seen by the outrage over Liz Phair — a New York…
Let’s Pick On Orlando!
Mayoral candidate Bill White did his best to hold the attention of an audience crowded around the bar at Midtown’s Seven Lounge, but the competition was stiff. White paced the front of the room with a microphone and pitched his experience and financial savvy. Meanwhile, a soundless color TV on…
Killah Priest
The Wu-Tang family tree is a twisty, ever-expanding one. Just when you think you’ve got the names down of the nine guys who make up the Staten Island tribe, here comes an album by the Killa Beez or G.P. Wu or Killarmy or Remedy. As with any rap artist or…
Mixed Messages
Robin Riley had seen the recent blizzard of what he considers pro-Bayport advertising by the Port of Houston Authority. He and other opponents of the plans for a major expansion of port terminals to Bayport decided it was time to battle back. As mayor of Seabrook, Riley led the effort…
Little Joe Washington
Wednesday,
Letters
Job Dilemma Masking the résumé: Saad Mahmoud needs to ignore his friends [“Taking the Plunge,” by Jennifer Mathieu, June 19]. Allegedly they told him that with his educational background, few would hire him, saying that “Because he’s so overqualified, they know he’d take off as soon as the economy takes…
Benefit for the Children of Danny Armantrout, Featuring Simpleton and Dinosaur Salad
On June 10, Danny Armantrout and Justine “Buttafly” Maxwell were murdered in their home by Robert Saulter, Maxwells ex-boyfriend, who killed himself a few days later. Armantrout, a talented young tattoo artist, left behind two children from a previous relationship girls age nine and 19 months and Armantrouts friends in…
Poetry / You Know Its Me
Houston’s poetry scene has exploded. In the early days, there were underground Midtown Art Center gigs with Israel McCloud and the infamous Roots Collective, and those unforgettable sets at Mahogany Café. Now spoken word in Houston has acquired a force of its own, and if you know where to look,…
A.R.E. Weapons
Melding industrial beats, synth wash, drunken rants and trash-punk ethics, NYC’s A.R.E. Weapons flog a drug-crazed, sex-addled rotten apple image that would do the Lou Reed of “Walk on the Wild Side” yore proud. Vocalist Brain McPeek leads the intentionally derelict musical attack with his spoken/sung sermons validating the street…
This Week’s Day-by-Day Picks
Thursday, July 3 We suggest calling in sick today and booking it out of town to spend the afternoon tubing down the Colorado River. Unlike New Braunfels, Columbus is only an hour away. The six-mile stretch of river used for tubing is shaped like a horseshoe, so you finish up…
A Great Chase
Much like “hilarious Islamic comedy” or “sublime Affleck picture,” the term “terrific second sequel” isn’t bandied about too much. Name one. Took you a minute, didn’t it? Don’t be ashamed — there are probably support groups for fans of Smokey and the Bandit III. Generally, creative juices are drained by…