John McCain’s Neglected Veterans
Published online October 22, 2008 If you want to know what it’s like to be a veteran in John McCain’s home state, stop by the Justa Center in downtown Phoenix. On a Thursday morning not long ago, a volunteer named Twyla stands in front of a group of clients at…
Butthole Surfers Pt. 2: Ex-Manager Tom Bunch on Managing the Band (Officially and Otherwise), the “Ranch” in Dripping Springs, the Rough Trade Bankruptcy, pioughd and Steering BHS to the Majors
Ric Wallace Note: Part 1 of the interview is here. The Buttholes – Gibby Haynes, Paul Leary, King Coffey, Jeff Pinkus and Teresa Taylor – play Meridian tomorrow night. For the band’s side of things, see Austin Powell’s recent Austin Chronicle cover story. When we left off, the band was…
High-Tech Look At Ike Devastation
Thanks to Eric Berger at the Chron, we found this stunning bit of technology — an interactive panorama shot of Bolivar Island put together by the Dallas firm Hawkeye Media. The map takes a while to load, and you have to blunder your way through navigating it (if you’re as…
John Royal’s World Series Pick: Rays in Six
So we’re down to the final two teams in baseball, with the Tampa Bay Rays and the Philadelphia Phillies playing in the World Series. The action starts tonight with Houston’s Scott Kazmir on the mound for the Rays against Cole Hamels for the Phillies. The rest of the rotation for…
Houston Women Will Test What Everyone But Doctors Call Female Viagra
Potential good news for women with a low sex-drive: a study is underway in Houston for a topical solution that revs up the libido. Think of it as applying a little bit of steamy thespian Lorenzo Lamas’s sweat to your skin. Created by Illinois-based BioSante Pharmaceuticals, LibiGel could be ready…
The Straight-Ticket Voting E-Mails: Ignore Them
Election season brings crazy e-mail time, and we don’t just mean all those Obama-worships-the-Koran things your grandmother forwards. This year a big trend locally seems to involve straight-ticket voting. The assumption seems to be that a lot of first-time voters (read: blacks) will want to cast an actual vote for…
Slideshow: Thunderbolt Special at Project Row Houses
Photo by Chris Gray Don’t be scurred. That gator is just part of Thunderbolt Special, the new Lightnin’ Hopkins-inspired art installation by curator Terry Adkins, James Andrew Brown, Sherman Fleming, Charles Gaines and Rice University’s own George Smith. Click here for a slideshow. – Chris Gray…
Still Hiring – the Houston School District
The Houston Independent School District has another information session planned for Monday, October 27 to talk about the alternative certification path for a teaching career. All you need is a bachelor’s degree and an interest in teaching. According to Interim Press Secretary Norm Uhl, the program takes a year to…
Saved From The Scrap Heap, Sculptures Are Headed Here
Houston is getting some new art that could have been headed for the melting vat. Grubb & Ellis Realty Investors is permanently installing several works by George Sugarman in buildings around town. The company recently acquired around 50 large-scale, colorful aluminum sculptures by Sugarman, which had been installed in a…
Aftermath: M.O.P. at Warehouse Live
Photos by Kris Ex There are a few interesting door policies going on at Warehouse Live these days. Lighters are no longer allowed in the building. There’s a small trash bin by the door where you can deposit your lighter, so there’s always a few available if you come out…
Episcopal Diocese Accused Of Sending Sex-Abuse Chaplain to Houston
The Episcopal Diocese of Texas acknowledged that the headmaster of a Diocese-run school in Austin covered up allegations of sexual abuse against the school’s chaplain and moved him to a Houston church, where he was later accused of sexual abuse, according to a lawsuit filed against the Diocese and Bishop…
Houston Audiences Changing The Way Radio Measures Itself
You may not realize it, but Houston is at the forefront of a revolution in radio, at least in terms of how to measure audiences. We’re one of only three cities (Philly and New York are the others) using “people meters” — beeper-sized things that measure what a person is…
Holy Crap: “Chinese Democracy” is Real
You keep hearing it everywhere you turn, but maybe the world really has been turned upside down. Not only has Guns ‘N Roses’ “Chinese Democracy” – the title song from the album that has been delayed longer than the Chicago Cubs’ next World Series championship – been released to radio,…
Tunnel Mole Hops On The Early-Voting Train
This time of year, you tend to think about those who welcome you with open arms, ready to share their abundance. And if you think I’m talking about Thanksgiving family gatherings, you really must have just come in on a pumpkin truck. I’m referring instead to the Harris County Administration…
Two Houston Athletes Donate Their Brains To Science
Have you ever wanted to win an award from the good folks at PETA? Well, here’s a way to do it without actually having to deal with filthy stinking animals: agree to donate your brain to science when you shuffle off this mortal coil. PETA has awarded its Compassionate Action…
John McCain: Friend Of Vets? Not So Much
Our sister paper, the Phoenix New Times, has just released a massive investigation of John McCain’s work to help veterans. And although McCain tends to wax eloquent on the trail about his service record and his belief in taking care of those who fought for this country, the record is…
Fundraiser for the Koonce Family
Everybody who’s anybody in the Houston food scene will be at The Beacon at 1212 Prairie Street on Thursday, October 23, at the giant benefit dinner for wine guy James Koonce and his four year-old daughter Katharine, who both suffered serious burns in the Brennan’s fire. The party goes from…
Never Been To A Gun Raffle? Head To Manvel
Feeling lucky? Got $30? Get a gun. The Manvel Lions Club is raffling 100 hunting rifles and tickets are just $30 each during the “Hunters Night on the Town” fundraiser October 25. The money raised (in the neighborhood of $100,000) will help build a Little League field in Brazoria County…
Butthole Surfers Pt. 1: Ex-Manager Tom Bunch on BHS’ First Houston Show, “Gibby Used to Drop His Pants a Lot,” His Punk Rock Video Archives, Explaining the Music Business and More
Butthole Surfers live in Philadelphia, 2008 farm4.static.flickr.com After he and Rocks Off talked for more than an hour at West Gray Cafe last week, Tom Bunch, who managed the Butthole Surfers for a decade between the late ’80s and late ’90s – exact dates are fuzzy; imagine that – summed…
TAKS Test Made Slightly Less Non-Sensical, Teachers Say
Teachers around the state are singing, “Ding, dong, the test is dead.” The test in question is, of course, the problematic Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test (TAKS), and while it’s not quite dead, it is different enough to make educators across the state happy. Changes discussed during the…
Five Movie Presidents Worse Than W.
Oliver Stone’s W. opened last week, to decidedly mixed reviews (not that any Houston critics got a chance to see it). While the movie may have received a lukewarm reception, George W. Bush’s actual presidency – which is enjoying a 29% approval rating – is sure to go down as…
Cactus Music Has Black Ice
“Rock N Roll Train,” the first single from Black Ice – and No. 2 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart this week For those about to rock, don’t head over to Walmart just yet. AC/DC of course is the latest classic-rock band to sign an exclusive-release deal with the Arkansas-based retail…
Get Lit: Gay Travels in the Muslim World
Michael T. Luongo originally wanted to call his latest book Gay Travels in Islam, but the editor thought it was too controversial. Instead it became Gay Travels in the Muslim World. “I don’t really see a difference,” Luongo told Hair Balls. Luongo, who lives in New York, was working a…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: The Gourds Land a Real Haymaker!
The Gourds live at Bumbershoot in Seattle, 2007 Photo by Allie Pasquier Advance copies of the Gourds’ new Yep Roc album, Haymaker!, are out, and fans certainly have something to look forward to. Release date is Jan. 6. Of course it features the usual zany lyrics — check out “Shreveport”…
Mutiny On The Iberville: The Most Thrilling Legal Opinion Of The Year
Usually, the written opinions authored by appeals court judges are pretty drab stuff. Too much legalese to decode and certainly not a lot in the way of plot, much less action. Then there’s Judge Bailey Moseley. He recently issued an opinion from the state’s Sixth Court of Appeals that reads…
City Council Needs An Open-Records Request To View HPD Tape
City Council members say they have begun looking into the case of Charles Chukwu, the man who so far has been denied access to a security video taken at the city jail that he claims may show guards beating him. The Houston police internal affairs division has reviewed the tape…
The Dome As Movie Studio — Now On The Web
The folks who are trying to turn the Astrodome into a movie studio have taken a giant, important step — they’ve gotten themselves a web site. If that doesn’t make them legitimate, we don’t know what will. The site, debuting today, is properly slick and explains how the Dome can…
Hey Houston! You’re “Extremely Pleased”!
The preliminary estimates for Ike damage are coming in — the Harris County Housing Authority is issuing a report that pegs the figure at about $8.5 billion — but you shouldn’t worry. You, as a Houstonian, could not be more pleased with the job the city has done picking up…
Dolemite No More: R.I.P. Rudy Ray Moore
“The Signifyin’ Monkey,” from 1975’s Dolemite (note: NSFW) Rudy Ray Moore, aka Dolemite, aka the Human Tornado, aka Petey Wheatstraw the Devil’s Son-in-Law, has left the world as we know it. Friday, Moore, 81, passed away in an Akron, Ohio, nursing home from complications from diabetes. The trailer to Dolemite…
Fanfare For The Area Man
The Sealy Times gets today’s award for most-Onion like headline: “Local Man Joins Presidential Race” That big-dreamin’ local man is a Houston native — Thaddaus Hill, who heads the Madisonian-Federalist Party. Hill is a political science professor at Blinn College. He admits he’s not measuring the Oval Office for drapes…
Tuesday Morning Quarterbacking: Close Call for Texans, Almost Total Collapse for Cowboys
I don’t know about you, but I had visions of the collapse against the Indianapolis Colts dancing through my head Sunday afternoon as the Texans held on to defeat the Detroit Lions. The Texans jolted out of the gate, taking a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter. The team…
R.I.P., Zima 1993-2008
Per the Associated Press, dedicated drinkers of malternative beverages will soon be bereft of the flagship in the category: Zima is going bye-bye. The joint venture between SABMiller’s U.S. unit and Molson Coors Brewing Co. told distributors in a letter Monday that production of the malt liquor beverage was discontinued…
Marcia Brady…TMI!
Over ten years ago Barry Williams, who played Greg Brady on a little show called “The Brady Bunch,” released a little gem of a book entitled Growing Up Brady: I Was a Teenage Greg which detailed his hot and heavy crush on Florence “Ma Brady” Henderson as well as the…
Cuba, Mexico Look To Block The Texas Entrance To The U.S.
For Cubans fleeing their country, the main entrance into the United States shifted to Texas a couple years ago, after traveling through Mexico became a safer bet than floating to the guarded Florida coast. (The U.S. policy on Cubans allows undocumented immigrants to stay once they reach dry land.) We…
Ike Hits Degenerate Horse Gamblers Where It Hurts
Sam Houston Race Park officials have just announced that despite all their efforts to the contrary, they are having to cancel the entire thoroughbred meet that was scheduled to start November 28, 2008 and run through April 4, 2009. An excerpt from the statement: The storm’s high winds and rainfall…
R.I.P., Zima 1993-2008
Per the Associated Press, dedicated drinkers of malternative beverages will soon be bereft of the flagship in the category: Zima is going bye-bye. The joint venture between SABMiller’s U.S. unit and Molson Coors Brewing Co. told distributors in a letter Monday that production of the malt liquor beverage was discontinued…
This Guy Gets Cell Phone Service On Death Row
Can you hear me now? Even though I’m calling from Death Row? You can if you are Richard Tabler, currently waiting to be executed for killing two people. TDCJ investigators are looking into how Tabler got a cell phone and “use it to call a Houston senator, among others,” as…
Chronicle Hops On The Obama Bandwagon
Eyebrows were raised all around Houston — really!! We saw one!! — when the Houston Chronicle endorsed Barack Obama for president, their first Democratic-presidential endorsement since LBJ (What, Dukakis didn’t excite them?) Texas Monthly editor Evan Smith predicted that all five of the state’s top dailies would endorse Obama. He…
Free Ting Tings Tickets Right Here
“That’s Not My Name” House of Blues just dropped off a veritable shiteload of tickets for tonight’s show by Manchester pop-dance duo the Ting Tings. One of the more buzzed-about bands at this year’s SXSW, the Ting Tings – Jules de Martino and Katie White – have since become staples…
RodeoHouston Books Jonas Brothers, Taylor Swift
Parents, grab your wallets: The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo announced today that ultra-clean-cut fraternal pop-rockers the Jonas Brothers will handle the post-rodeo concert chores at Reliant Stadium Sunday, March 8. If you don’t know who the Jonas Brothers are, Rocks Off thinks its safe to assume you have no…
Texas Renaissance Festival Slide Show: Wenches and Turkey Legs
Click here for more photos… The Texas Renaissance Festival – an ode to the abundance of all things be they drink, turkey legs or breasts – is busy playing out its version of Merrie Olde England on the flatlands of Texas to the northwest of Houston. As usual, its lineup…
Bring Back the Guns’ Matt Brownlie Injured in Scooter Accident
Photo by Rosa Guerrero/ Brownlie is second from left. Matt Brownlie, guitarist/singer for proggy Houston indie-rockers Bring Back the Guns, suffered several non-life-threatening injuries Saturday night when the scooter he was driving hit a dog. “It just came out of nowhere,” Brownlie, who was wearing a helmet and driving about…
Opa Dog
Photo by Robb Walsh Opa’s seemed to be the official sausage supplier in Fredericksburg. Menus at German restaurants and biergartens all over town featured Opa’s bratwurst, knackwurst and “Opa sausage,” the local nickname for a coarse ground pork and beef link officially known as “Opa’s Country Blend Smoked Sausage.” I…
No Room At The Inn For Returning Galvestonians
Time is running out for Ike refugees who have been getting their hotel bills paid by FEMA. Soon they’ll have to leave Austin, or Dallas, or wherever and head back to Galveston. Where, they will find, there are no hotel rooms. Complaints have been reaching city council that the hotels…
It’s Time To (Wait In Line And) Vote
Regardless of their politics, there is one thing today’s early voters can agree on. “I didn’t want to do deal with the lines or the wait,” says Brooke Spence, who cast her early ballot at the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center, 1475 W Gray. Spence, along with other voters at the center,…
Turning the Screw: Lil Wayne, Hip-Hop and the Election, Wu-Tang Clan, Danity Kane, The Kanye
Welcome back to Turning the Screw, Rocks Off’s weekly rap post. It probably won’t rhyme, at least most of the time. E-mail tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Thanks, homies. Single of the Week Mista Smashsational feat. Buk, “On Patron” Wire To Wire BET named Weezy F. Baby named Lyricist of the Year…
Over the Weekend: House of Blues and Houston Aeros
Beautiful weekend. We actually woke up chilly this morning. 7:30 p.m. at House of Blues Dan Aykroyd and plenty of others showed up on Saturday night to help welcome the new House of Blues. San Antonio Rampage vs. Houston Aeros Damn. Fourteen goals in three quarters. We had no idea…
Book Review: Le Carre’s Latest
A Most Wanted Man, John Le Carre’s 21st novel, has some familiar aspects: a seemingly successful man facing a moral crisis; an idealistic woman who partly triggers that crisis; and spy agencies that don’t much care for morals or laws. It’s all catnip to his many fans. From the opening…
Birds Endagered By Man (And Ike) Going Back To The Wild
It’s freedom day for five rare birds that got blasted by Hurricane Ike. The Wildlife Rehab and Education Center, which is part of the Houston SPCA, is set to release into the wild five brown pelicans it took into its care after the storm. The brown pelicans, an endangered species,…
Texas College Football Report, Whining Aggie Edition
Apparently the Aggies are bitching because the Texas Tech Red Raiders elected to score a last-second touchdown as they went about defeating the Aggies 43-25 on Saturday. Now the Aggies can bitch all that they want to about this, but until they become a relevant football team again, then all…
Aeros-Rampage: Fourteen Goals Later, Houston Gets the Win
Photo by Fred Trask Corey Locke scores the game-winning goal against the Rampage on Saturday night. “We didn’t get the goaltending we’re used to. We didn’t get the penalty killing we’re used to. And yet we won a game,” Coach Kevin Constantine said Saturday night. “Something I’m not sure we…
Your Curry Home Companions
Here are some ideas if you’re thinking about taking a break from America’s favorite condiment, ketchup. First up is….ketchup. But with a difference. I came across All Gold at Leibman’s. It’s from South Africa, uses cane sugar as the sweetener instead of high fructose corn syrup, doesn’t have any colorants…
Five Spot: Eminem Releasing New Album, Still White
Welcome back to Five Spot. Every Friday, we’ll examine a recent bit of music news and list five reasons why it’s either brilliant or dumb-assed. Send tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Eminem released a single from his forthcoming LP Relapse – due in December – on his Sirius radio station earlier this…
Border Patrol Amps It Up This Weekend
At midnight on Saturday, the U.S. Border Patrol launches “Operation River Freedom Denial,” a response to several clashes between agents and drug smugglers this week along the border. The operation will move more agents to the Brownsville and McAllen areas, to assist sheriffs’ departments and local police. On Monday, sheriff’s…
Rice Biology Students: Making Beer Better
Winos have been enjoying the “but it’s good for me” excuse for too long. Some Rice University students are slicing and dicing genes so that now beer drinkers can enjoy some health benefits, too. International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) is the world’s largest synthetic biology competition. The contest asks teams…
New Health Department HQ Delayed
Apparently, there’s some unhappy financial stuff going down lately – you might be aware of it if you read the paper or listen to radio news. (Some of us at Hair Balls prefer early-’70s Oui magazines and Cheap Trick.) To help prevent Houston from getting sucked into this new economic…
Not So Great News from the Health Department, Asian Edition
We took a look at restaurants that serve Asian food this week and we found: Fu’s Garden Restaurant #2 (5866 San Felipe) had just one violation; the vent covers in the walls and ceilings were not maintained in good repair. Golden Island Restaurant (12810 Gulf Freeway) on the other hand…
Channel 51 Owner Files For Bankruptcy Despite Stellar Schedule
The owner of Channel 51 here in Houston has filed for bankruptcy. Douglas R. Johnson has filed for personal and business Chapter 11 bankruptcy. He tells the Houston Chronicle it’s mostly due to a divorce, and it shouldn’t affect station operations. Which is a real relief, because otherwise we wouldn’t…
Dan Aykroyd on the (Mostly Texan) Blues Brothers Band, Our New House of Blues, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Houston Kinfolk, SNL in Campaign ’08 and More
Photo by Jay Lee Rocks Off will assume Dan Aykroyd needs no introduction to most of the English- and Canadian-speaking worlds. Every bit as passionate and knowledgeable about music as Harley-Davidsons, Aykroyd also co-founded House of Blues in 1992. In case you somehow hadn’t heard, House of Blues Houston (1204…
Lakewood Still The Biggest Church, If You Believe Porno Magazine
Just like US News & World Report’s college rankings are eagerly awaited by schools, Outreach magazine’s Top 100 list of churches is the place to be if you’re a hustling megachurch pastor. The results are in — not from Outreach itself, which charges for the info, but from a Christian…
Wanna Go to Reverend Horton Heat Tonight?
[Update: The Press office closes at 6 p.m., so the tickets will be at Sig’s Lagoon, 3710 Main, after then.] Funny you should ask. The Press just stumbled across a motherlode of 50 tickets for the Reverend’s show tonight at House of Blues with Asleep at the Wheel and Houston’s…
Houston Ain’t Ready For Digital TV, Mayhem to Ensue
Almost 20% of all households in the US are still in the dark when it comes to the all-digital broadcasting transition set to happen in mid-February next year, and the least-prepared city is …. Houston! (We’re number one, we’re number one!) If the analog-to-digital switch was flipped today, 34% of…
Aftermath: Dominic Walsh Dance Theater’s Titus Andronicus, with Two Star Symphony, at Hobby Center’s Zilkha Theater
Photos courtesy Dominic Walsh Dance Theater Two Star Symphony got its ballet-scoring career off the runway in brilliant style last night at Zilkha Hall. The band’s dark, thick, goth-rock-informed approach to classical music matched well with Dominic Walsh’s stylish, whimsical, ultra-modern adaptation of Shakespearean gore-fest Titus Andronicus. This was the…
Power Struggle At The Coffee Shop
Things got pretty crazy for Catalina Coffee owner Max Gonzalez after Ike. “We were overwhelmed. We had been listed by the Houston Chronicle as one – they had about three other listings – of places with free electricity and free wi-fi for a city of four-plus million,” Gonzalez tells Hair…
No Death Penalties This Year For The Death-Penalty Capital Of America (That’s Us)
Harris County is known as a pipeline for Death Row, but that changed this year. The county hasn’t had a death penalty conviction in 2008, the first time that’s happened since 1977, the year capital punishment was reinstated and Chuck Rosenthal was hired as an assistant district attorney. The departure…
Slideshow: Jay-Z at House of Blues
We’ve just loaded up some photos from Jay-Z at House of Blues. Have a look. — KP…
Houstonians Think They’re Great, Unlike All Those Other Houstonians
Straight from the “my-shit-don’t-stink” department, a recent poll shows that while Houstonians think that they are responsible, they think their neighbors are not. The Responsibility Project, developed by Liberty Mutual, released their latest survey of 15 cities across the country, testing how residents feel about personal responsibility. Houston ranked smack…
Texans-Lions: Houston Maybe Just Might Win Two in a Row
Hey Texans fans, are you ready for a winning streak? No. Really. The 1-4 Texans are taking on the 0-5 Detroit Lions in a sleep-inducing slugfest scheduled for 3:05 on Sunday afternoon at Reliant Stadium – for some reason Fox is making this one of the big national doubleheader games…
I Saw the New Kids on the Block Last Night at Toyota Center OMG
Ladies, last night my friend Brandy and I got to see Joey McIntyre pump his pelvis and beg me to please, don’t go girl. Oh, Joey, I won’t. I never did. Yeah, I was at the New Kids on the Block show last night. As readers of this blog may…
Rememberin’ Lightnin’
Photo by Chris Gray This bear of a man goes by “Brother-in-Law,” and Rocks Off had the pleasure of making his acquaintance while touring the new Lightnin’ Hopkins-inspired Thunderbolt Special installations at Project Row Houses in Third Ward this afternoon. Look for a slideshow soon. Turns out Brother-in-Law, who lives…
Brookland, Put Your Injunctions Up
The ARE As was reported in Monday’s Turning the Screw, Lil’ Kim is being sued by recording company Brookland Media for failing to meet contractual obligations. We assume “looking like a nutcase” and “being not so relevant these days” were not the unfulfilled obligations in question because she’s pretty much…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: Tim McGraw Takes On His Label
Lesson: Never hit a woman in front of Tim McGraw. Tim McGraw is learning a lesson the Beat Farmers learned long ago: Curb Records plays hardball. A perennial hitmaker and major concert act, McGraw is perturbed that Curb ignored his desires to release an album of new material and is…
Rocks Off Is Interviewing This Guy Tomorrow
That’s right, I get to sit down tomorrow morning with Dan “freakin'” Aykroyd. I suppose he’ll probably want to talk about the new House of Blues – he is one of the chain’s founders – and the big Blues Brothers revue Saturday night, which is rumored to include Stax Records…
Tha Fucking Transmissions Are For the Children
As you can well see from this photo (ain’t they cute?) from last Saturday’s Westheimer Block Party, where the boisterous local rap-rockers killed Avant Garden’s outdoor stage. TFT vocalist Cornbredd, by the way, will be a contestant – repping the H, of course – on MTV’s upcoming reality show 50…
Ask Joe The Plumber
It’s been a big day for Joe Wurzelbacher, better known as “Joe the Plumber.” After John McCain mentioned his name about 12,000 times in last night’s debate, the media descended on the guy’s house in Ohio to learn about “the common man’s” thoughts. Thoughts which sounded pretty much like GOP…
That Smell At Kyle Field Isn’t Just The Aggies Sucking
It’s tough being an Aggie football fan these days. Your team stinks, your coach is old and doesn’t look like he’s “hep” to the college game today; the biggest paper in the state no longer covers you (The Houston Chronicle, after cutbacks, now takes its A&M coverage from Hearst’s San…
Chefs Pitch In for Brennan’s Fire Victims
One of the saddest stories to come out of Hurricane Ike was that of Brennan’s employee James Koonce and his 4-year-old daughter Katherine, who took refuge in the historic restaurant and were severely burned in the early-morning fire that broke out there around the time Ike was hitting. Top chefs…
Galveston Releases A Damage-Assessment Map
The city of Galveston has released its first damage-assessment maps after Ike. There are three maps listed here. The one most people are interested in is the first, from 61st Street east. Increase the size of the blow-up on the toolbar to, say, 50 percent and you get a pretty…
Metro’s Fare Hike, Explained
Metro has announced plans to raise its fares, announcing in the same breath that the basic fare hasn’t risen since 1994. As with all things Metro, the facts are confusing. (Why, it’s almost as if they want things to be less clear.) So we’ve prepared a chart to simplify matters…
The One Pound Potato Chip
Oktoberfest food booths sold a lot of familiar fairground stuff, as well as some German dishes like potato pancakes, sausage wraps and German tacos (sausage slices, sauerkraut and mustard on a flour tortilla). But my favorite item was big one-pound russet potato cut with a spiral cutter and deep-fried into…
Slideshow: Top Ten Totally Lame Last-Minute Halloween Costumes
Still trying to decide on a Halloween costume? We suggest you come up with something soon. Otherwise you might wind up being one of these suckas. — Keith Plocek…
Texas’ Own Joe The Plumber
If you watched last night’s presidential debate, you know who the star was — Joe The Plumber. He’s a fellow in Ohio who’s worried about taxes. His name was invoked no less than 15 times by Republican nominee John McCain, who is using him as sort of an Everyman in…
More Hi-Def Channels, More Getaways
Is Omar Little your cable guy? A Sunnsyide shoot-out makes us wonder… KHOU is reporting a southeast side gun battle that left one woman dead and two men injured. Homicide detectives allege that the shoot-out started when three men drove up and attempted to regain possession of “thousands of dollars…
What To Do With That Ike Debris
The city of Houston has announced a contest to come up with the best ideas on what to do with all the fallen-tree debris left by Hurricane Ike. “Composting, erosion control and fuel for boilers and electric generation are just some of the ideas we are pursuing,” said Mayor Bill…
Drenched in Neil: More from the Diamond Mine
Photos by Craig Hlavaty You know, at least they’re not at a Jonas Brothers show. Which is like saying, “Well, at least they’re smoking hash and not mainlining speedballs into the veins between their toes.” They get a free pass tonight…
Don’t Blame Me. I Voted for the Duck.
I know the elections are almost here. If you’re like me, they can’t get here quick enough. And if you’re like me, you’re probably really, really tired of both candidates. I’m also sure that there are some of you out there who might be looking for a different alternative. Well,…
‘Round the Kitchen Table
Are you sitting ’round your kitchen table, contemplating how you’re going to pay those family bills? Are you sitting ’round your kitchen table, concerned about rising health care costs? Are you just sitting ’round your kitchen table, being American and all? Erg. And are you annoyed as Hell by the…
“The Dead Weight of a Quarrel Hangs: Selections from The Atlas Group Archive”
In the 1970s, under the moniker The Atlas Group, Lebanese-American artist Walid Raad began to chronicle the civil wars in his Middle Eastern motherland. The now influential and world-renowned political artist collected photographs, video, recordings and writings about the wars in Lebanon from 1975 to 1990. “The Dead Weight of…
“Rothko on Rothko”
Mark Rothko was an internationally acclaimed artist who explored the idea of unifying all religions. Most notable among his work are his luminous abstract canvases and, of course, his final legacy, The Rothko Chapel here in Houston, a nondenominational, meditative space. In today’s fittingly titled lecture, “Rothko on Rothko,” his…
Alex Kava
In Alex Kava’s new thriller Exposed, profiler Maggie O’Dell must track down a deadly threat that comes from halfway around the world. The first victim is Waheem, an animal wrangler in Africa who catches monkeys to send to labs in the U.S. and Britain. On his way to deliver a…
InPrint Studio Series: Karen Shepard and Cate Marvin
Don’t I Know You? proves that murder victims include more than just the person who stopped breathing. Novelist Karen Shepard, the author of An Empire of Women and The Bad Boy’s Wife, will read from Don’t I Know You?, her most recent title, at today’s InPrint Studio Series event. Set…
Jean Eustache: Film as Life, Life as Film
Despite a lack of formal training, French director Jean Eustache had a masterful ability to relate a story with disarming authenticity. He crafted ostensibly autobiographical, unique films up until his abrupt death, when he committed suicide in 1981 at the age of 42. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s series…
…and L.A. Is Burning
In the spring of 1992, all of America watched as riots broke out across L.A. after a jury acquitted four white police officers of beating Rodney King, an African American, despite graphic video evidence. In that swirl of rage, playwright Y. York heard a voice (“like a dart, ill-aimed and…
“Cinema Remixed & Reloaded: Black Women Artists and the Moving Image Since 1970”
As of late, black actresses have increased their prominence in the American psyche, but their cohorts behind the camera have remained largely obscure. “Cinema Remixed & Reloaded: Black Women Artists and the Moving Image Since 1970” hopes to change that. The exhibit examines the critical contributions of black female film…
“Damaged Romanticism: A Mirror of Modern Emotion”
“Damaged Romanticism: A Mirror of Modern Emotion” explores stubborn optimism. The exhibit features the work of 15 international artists who spin the negative into positive. In Mary McCleary’s Nazi Pets, a lion and several dogs bask in the sun on a lush hillside. In Angelo Filomeno’s Arcanum: Rolling Shit, a…
Cinema Bomar: “Bring on the Girls!”
Cinema Bomar exposes its feminine side with “Bring on the Girls!” The collective’s latest round of vintage filmstrips features women on the move. Little women (and by that, we mean midgets) tap dance and hula themselves into a frenzy in the 1939 musical short Hawaiian Rhythm. Burlesque ladies shake it…
Titus Andronicus
Shakespeare’s tragedy Titus Andronicus is, even by today’s standards, extremely, extremely gory. The story of a Roman general and a Gothic queen engaged in a furious cycle of revenge involves – for real – a woman getting raped and then having her tongue and hands cut off, as well as…
Quartetto Italiano di Clarinetti
There’s something nice (and, okay, a bit snobby) about being able to say you heard a piece of music when it premiered. You can do just that at today’s Quartetto Italiano di Clarinetti performance, a Moores School of Music A.I. Lack Series Recital event, which includes the United States premiere…
Sophie Hannah and Michael Genelin
British crime writer Sophie Hannah doubles the thrills today when she signs and reads from Little Face and Hurting Distance, her two newest mystery novels. In Little Face, Alice, a timid and repressed woman, has just given birth to her first child, Florence. But there’s a problem: It’s not her…
The Homopolice
There is much to be discovered about Houston’s newest (and most elusive) noise/punk band The Homopolice. Here’s what we know: The foursome features members of more prominent local acts such as Black Congress and No Talk. A few weeks ago they locked themselves in a studio with plenty of distortion…
The Keller Quartet
The Menil Collection turns its lobby over to Hungary’s most prominent classical performers, the Keller Quartet, in their first-ever Houston appearance. (They’re off to Carnegie Hall from here.) The group worked closely with György Kurtág, considered by many to be Hungary’s greatest living composer, to create a program that not…
The Suspects
Houston’s oldest and favorite horn-wielding, skank-inducing troupe is back…again. (And by “skank” we mean the dance done by fans of the ska genre, not your mom.) The Suspects might have a never-ending makeup/breakup history, but their flawless blend of reggae, ska, rock and punk is always welcome back to the…
David Sedaris
David Sedaris needed to quit smoking – so he moved to Japan. The award-winning, best-selling, Grammy-nominated humorist believed it was the only way he could kick his habit. His quest is chronicled as part of his latest release, When You Are Engulfed in Flames. The collection of short stories covers…
Glenn Gould, The Russian Journey
Even nations that can’t seem to meet at the negotiating table have often found common ground on the stage, sending musicians out in the global field as cultural ambassadors. Most notably, the U.S. dispatched jazz men like Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie and Benny Goodman to spread good vibes with their…
The Houston Symphony’s Beethoven 2 and Tchaikovsky’s Rococo
James Gaffigan will be at the baton when cellist Alisa Weilerstein takes the stage during the Houston Symphony’s Beethoven 2 and Tchaikovsky’s Rococo today. The 25-year-old Weilerstein is a beautiful performer, and we’re not talking about her creamy skin, sweet smile or long, wavy tresses. It’s her soulful playing that…
Andrew Porter
Author Andrew Porter won’t have far to drive when he comes to Houston to read from The Theory of Light and Matter – he lives in San Antonio. The characters in his book, however, live all across America. Theory, which is a collection of short stories, won Porter the Flannery…
Bayou City Art Festival
The Bayou City Art Festival brings together more than 300 artists from around the world, ready to show off their creations in 19 different mediums. Each artist (Houston Press staff photographer Daniel Kramer participated this year) was chosen by a group of jurors, and the work they’ll have on display…
Floyd Newsum’s “Primary Concerns”
Local artist Floyd Newsum’s exhibit “Primary Concerns” focuses on what he calls fractured landscapes – that is, landscapes that are not based on reality, but rather, use reality as a point of departure. His work is filled with the repeated use of symbols and abstract patterns, including his signature ladders,…
Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci
In opening its new season, the Houston Grand Opera is doing away with epics, opting instead for a pair of verismo operas, known for portraying the (sometimes unsavory) events of everyday life. The first is Cavalleria rusticana, Pietro Mascagni’s tale of passion, revenge and seduction. The one-act opera, which premiered…
Frost/Nixon
For those of you obsessively checking the Web for new interviews with Katie Couric and deer-in-the-headlights/vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, Broadway Across America has the show for you: Frost/Nixon. In 2006, Peter Morgan (who wrote The Last King of Scotland and The Other Boleyn Girl) shook up London and then…
Deathtrap
Some people are just too smart for their own good. Case in point: Sidney and Clifford from the wicked comedy Deathtrap. Sidney is a famous Broadway playwright known for his mysteries, but right now he’s in a bit of a dry spell. One of his students, Clifford, sends Sidney a…
Responses to our Best of Houston® Issue
Our online readers had some opinions on our Best of Houston® edition: Best Picnic Spot, Bell Park Bell no: Whoever decided that Bell Park is the best picnic spot is sadly mistaken. I live in the neighborhood. It was true maybe four years ago, but in the past two years…
Bush’s Brain: W.
W. may be less frenzied than the usual Oliver Stone sensory bombardment, but in revisiting the early ’00s by way of the late ’60s, this psychohistorical portrait of George W. Bush has all the queasy appeal of a strychnine-laced acid flashback. Hideous re-creations of the shock-and-awful recent past merge with…
Flounder Fanmail for Jimmy Wilson’s Seafood & Chop House
My friend Jay Francis was holding the last five inches of crispy panfried flounder by the tail and munching on it like it was a lollipop. From across the table, it sounded like he was eating potato chips. At the old Jimmy Wilson’s on Westheimer, which was decorated in distressed…
B L A C K I E: Wilderness of North America
When B L A C K I E showed up on the local indie-rock and underground-rap scenes, Houston was pretty impressed. The MC/producer born Michael LaCour twists the laws of the metronome into abstract beats to back his equally oddly timed lyrics. The formula is impressive and different, and LaCour’s…
The Other Sister: Rachel Getting Married
Those who believe that Jonathan Demme went all soft with Philadelphia and never recovered may not be reassured by his latest movie, an ensemble tale of family pathology gussied up with vérité camera work, world music and improvising actors both trained and not. You can find the worst and the…
Texas Wants Beer: Five Places to Drink Beer in Houston
Scott Birdwell, the owner of DeFalco Home Wine & Beer Supplies and longtime leader of the Houston beer-geek scene, names his five favorite beer joints. Here’s his list (in no particular order): The Stag’s Head Pub 2128 Portsmouth St. 713-533-1199 This is my “local,” a little British pub oasis in…
Heroic Boys and Mexican Families
Dear Mexican, A group of very young soldiers in the Mexican Army were being chased through the castle by U.S. Marines. At the end of the chase, the Mexicans realized they were trapped on a balcony and, instead of dying on bayonets, they wrapped themselves in Mexican flags and leaped…
Texas Wants Beer!
Oktoberfest in Fredericksburg starts with a free glass of Shiner “Helles,” a crisp, golden-colored Czech-style pilsner. When the gates to Fredericksburg’s Marktplatz open on this Friday evening at six, more than 100 people get in line in front of the keg stand where Shiner brewmaster Jimmy Mauric and his crew…
Houston Halloween Guide 2008
It’s scream time, Houston, and whether you party funny or sexy, know that with a Friday-night Halloween, it’s going to be huge. The clubs around town are getting together to give you something special to do, and plenty of beer to wash it down with. Trend watchers say many of…
Northern Soul: Portugal. The Man
No one would blame John Baldwin Gourley if he never listened to oldies again. That’s all the frontman of Portugal. The Man listened to when he was growing up — at least until he was old enough to drive himself. Despite this oversaturation, the classics stuck with Gourley. And last…
Texas Wants Beer: Change This Law!
There’s a Texas law that prohibits breweries from selling their beer in their gift shops. Bill Metzger, the publisher of Southwest Brewing News, says it’s the worst of many bad beer laws in Texas. “It doesn’t make any sense,” he says. “It’s like you make a killer brisket at your…
This One Time at BandCamp
This is starting to sound like a broken record. But maybe this time it’ll be different. Isn’t that what they always say? The topic at hand, once again, is how to “fix” Houston’s chronically underperforming local music scene, like it’s a Ford pickup with a faulty transmission or air conditioner…
Texas Wants Beer: My Ten Top Texas Beers
Here are my top-five year-round beers, in order: 1. St. Arnold Elissa If you love crisp, bitter, hoppy beers, you will fall hard for this India Pale Ale (IPA) named after Galveston’s tall ship. 2. Live Oak Pilz Live Oak beers are sold on draft to select pubs and restaurants around…
Opeth, Baroness, High on Fire
Along with Mastodon, Kylesa and Harvey Milk, Baroness is part of a mini-wave of terrific metal bands currently roaring out of Savannah, Georgia. The band’s mix of psychedelia, doom and raw ’70s riffage makes it one of the most potent combos in contemporary heavy music. The act’s early EPs showed…
Bring Your Dog to Saint Dane’s Bar & Grille
From the name Saint Dane’s Bar & Grille (502 Elgin, 713-807-7040) and the way dogs wander around like they own the place, you might guess the new place in Late Night Pie’s old location is dog-friendly. You would be correct. One owner, Dustin Jones, has a Saint Bernard; another, Zack…
Ting Tings
Brit duo Ting Tings’ fusion of club culture and hipster-rock seems to have a single purpose: to make KC and the Sunshine Band sound a little dangerous, or maybe just British. With this year’s We Started Nothing, Katie White and Jules de Martino weaponize bubblegum dance-rock with piss-off and go-home-and-jerk-off…
Simple Sweetbreads at La Tapa Tapa Restaurant & Lounge
Many people are repulsed by the concept of eating sweetbreads, which is the thymus gland, generally of a sheep. That’s one reason they’re euphemistically called “sweetbreads” — they’re also somewhat sweet in flavor and might be thought to have a bread-like consistency. Because it makes us squeamish, they’re not easy…
HEALTH
In the past decade, a thriving noise scene has emerged in direct aesthetic opposition to the tanned, fake, pretty faces most often associated with the city of Los Angeles. HEALTH burst from that experimental-music maelstrom in 2005 with a vengeance. Furious tribal beats, generally off-kilter rhythms and a collage of…
THE HARP’S LIQUID COCAINE
I’ve learned a few things this year. I’ve learned that acid reflux is a force to be reckoned with. I’ve learned that it might be time to retire some of my Caddyshack lines. I’ve learned that the subprime mortgage meltdown really has affected all aspects of the economy (WTF, DJIA?)…
The Shredder
Eric Benét: Neo-soul crooner brings new musings on Love and Life (Warner Bros.) to the Southwest side. (Thursday, Arena Theater) Jay-Z: Jiggaman (and, perhaps, his main squeeze) gets intimate at palatial new downtown venue; some proceeds benefit Hurricane Ike relief efforts. (Thursday, House of Blues) Reverend Horton Heat, Asleep at…
Global Drum Project: Global Drum Project
Grateful Dead fans probably will not recognize longtime drummer Mickey Hart’s latest project, an audacious percussion tour de force blending traditional musical elements from India, South America and the Caribbean into one cohesive amalgam of modern samples, wailing vocals and other sounds. Collaborating with three other master drummers from different…
Validated Vagueness of “Damaged Romanticism”
The group-show template is a strangely tolerated mainstay in contemporary art. It’s a safe environment where curators can look smart while excusing themselves for being vague. FotoFest recently employed the stencil with its exhibition “Mechanical Perception,” which slapped a broad, lamely connective theme on five artists’ work. Following the tradition,…
LL Cool J: Exit 13
On his 13th album, hip-hop lothario LL Cool J comes out swinging by waging war against naysayers. It’s a fiery opening; yet much like the current war in Iraq, some battles are long overdue for a screeching halt — especially since his bravado is now overmatched by reality. LL may…
The Secret Life of Bees Is All Honey, No Sting
A young woman fights off her brutal husband; a gun goes off; a marble spins on the floor where a toddler sits unattended. From B-movie beginnings, The Secret Life of Bees, a family drama set in the civil-rights-era South, chugs along pleasantly like a television special tailored for the crossover…
Capsule Art Reviews: “Heroes Alter Egos,” “Houston Collects: African American Art,” “Indifference Personified,” “Lo-Fi No-Brow Folk Show,” “RADAR EYES,” “Susie Rosmarin: Spectrum Series”
“Heroes Alter Egos” Utilizing images of Nixon, Reagan and both Bushes to represent the dark side of American culture has become an artistic cliché, just like JFK’s visage gets used to symbolize good. Now that Shepard Fairey’s ubiquitous Barack Obama poster has proclaimed open season on the presidential candidate’s face…
Ike’s Fuzzy Animals
So you know Houston is finally getting back to normal after Ike. I had just set off for the bus stop one morning last week, right after the morning rain had abated. The storm drain across the street was full of debris, and looking closer, I saw a tiny creature…
Bayousphere
Nosferatu walks the mean streets of Houston, or at least the not-so-mean streets of Discovery Green. What looks like a small TV is actually a big screen, showing the classic horror flick as part of KUHT’s Silent Film Concert. To view image larger, click here…
Jack’s Mannequin
On Jack’s Mannequin’s optimistic new single “The Resolution,” vocalist/pianist/songwriter Andrew McMahon sings, “I’m alive, but I don’t need a witness, to know that I survived.” The 26-year-old could just as easily be referencing the fact that he’s transcended his teenage band (piano-punks Something Corporate) as he is that the cancer…
The Not-So-New Kids on the Block
They’re baaaaaaack. New Kids on the Block have a new album (The Block), a new hit single (“Single,” featuring Ne-Yo) and a reunion tour that croons its way to Toyota Center Thursday. They have a new look, too: late-thirties. Three of the five Kids — Jonathan Knight, Danny Wood and…
Jenny Lewis: Acid Tongue
At this point, it’s pretty hard to make music about the tension between sin and redemption without sounding hokey. That whole church thing had already been reinvented a zillion times (see: Cash, Cave, Kanye) before Jenny Lewis took a dusty side trip from Rilo Kiley on 2006’s Rabbit Fur Coat,…
Capsule Stage Reviews: Acting Whore, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, Electile Dysfunction, To Kill a Mockingbird
Acting Whore Here’s a world premiere at Silver House Theatre that you should know about. Actor/director Eleazar Catter has written a very fine comedy/drama about the perils, pitfalls and joys of being an actor — the humiliating auditions, the dreams of making it, the constant terror of not making it,…
You Down With OCD? Yeah, You Know Me
It’s with a heavy heart we deliver the following news: Pac-Man Fever is a legitimate mental illness. Earlier this year, a Philadelphia Research Center of Mental Illness study found “an alarming rate of OCD” in kids who played ’80s video games like Q-Bert. You know Q-Bert: the orange fuzzball with…
