Eating Our Words Exclusive: What New Mayor Annise Parker Likes to Eat
We know President Obama likes hamburgers. The national press made sure to tell us both times he went out to buy some. But what about Annise Parker? Our history-making new mayor is famous, too, darn it. She’s been all over TV. But the media has been too distracted by piddly…
Stoned Glory Cornbread
Katharine Shilcutt came over for brunch the other day and I put her to work in the kitchen cooking her famous “perfect cornbread.” She keeps the recipe on her iPhone. I handed her a sack of Lamb’s Stone Ground Cornmeal, but I failed to impress her. “That’s the kind I…
Please, Houston Bank Robbers: Put Some Effort Into Your Disguise
Oh, Houston bank robbers, you continue to disappoint. But few disappoint more than this guy, who hit a westside Randall’s yesterday.The FBI has dubbed him the “Rasta Robber,” but we feel that’s giving the dude too much credit. The feds say he was a black male who “sported a dreadlock…
Are You a Geek? Like to Drink? Think You Know More Than Us?
Then you’ll want to join us on Thursday, January 14, at 8 p.m. at the Maple Leaf Pub for a very special edition of Geeks Who Drink. I’ll be serving as the guest trivia master (or maven, as it were) at the Thursday edition of the weekly pub quiz series…
Guitar Zero, or One Old Dog Attempts to Learn a New Trick
[Ed. Note: What happens when Rocks Off finds out one of our writers recently began taking guitar lessons? This.] Some men hit their 40s and lose their minds a little. They trade in their minivan for a Corvette, or their wife for a similarly newer model. I have a history…
The EPA: “Castrating,” Maybe, But Also Getting Tougher
The EPA may giveth, but it can also taketh away — the agency is toughening guidelines in the fight against smog pollution, lowering the national ozone limit for the eight-hour standard.A federal Environmental Protection Agency spokesman says the agency will announce today that it is lowering the limit to no…
My Organic Dirt Patch: Cloudy and Cold with a Chance of Frozen Lettuce?
So I finally got some salad greens growing in my new organic garden. I was pretty proud of those little sprouts. The “Bright Lights” chard was looking good too. My doubting spouse still suspects it was a mistake to tear out the jasmine landscaping and plant these organic vegetables. So…
Obama’s EPA Accused Of “Castrating” Clean Air Act In Houston
Clean-air advocates in Texas had such high hopes for the EPA under the Obama administration. After all, the federal environmental agency has said that, as early as today, it will significantly lower the national ozone limit and has essentially stated that some of Texas’ pro-business industrial permitting practices may be…
Rocks Off’s 2010 Predictions: The Fate of Owl City, Chingo Bling vs. Chamillionaire, the Next Twilight Soundtrack and Madchester In Katy
Adam Young of Owl City will mystify the scientific community, yet surprise no one in the music community, when he is hacked in half in a freak sawmill accident, and it’s discovered he is filled with gummi bears. The Arcade Fire/Flaming Lips feud is resolved when, completely unprovoked, both bands…
Jungle Café and Patisserie Re-Opens
Jungle Café and Patisserie recently made the move from the 9100 block of Bellaire and is now located in a new strip center just east of Beltway 8 on Bellaire. The new location is primed to set the standard for new cafes entering the Asian market, seizing on a modern…
Game Time: Five Biggest College Football Title Game Implosions
It’s almost here. After wading through the sludge of bowl season, with just one more “go get me some popcorn” match left tonight between Troy and Central Michigan (Admit it, ninety percent of you reading this have no idea what state “Troy” is in), finally tomorrow Alabama and Texas will…
Top 9 Houston Restaurant Closings of the Decade
1. Maxim’s Maxim’s closed in January 2001. It was possibly the most influential restaurant in Houston’s culinary history. It was the only upscale restaurant in the city for decades and its French cooking and quasi-French dining room became the very definition of fine dining for generations of Houstonians. Maxim’s was…
Inquiring Minds: Golden Cities’ Marcus Gausepohl on Krautrock, Space-Rock and His Ambient-Drone Buddies
Houston’s own Golden Cities headline the Mink tonight with Boston droners Great Hopes and St. Louis post-punk duo Spelling Bee. Rocks Off sat down with GC guitarist, Esotype Records staffer and fellow Pearland expat Marcus Gausepohl to talk about his band, his record label, and some of the groups that…
It’s An “Abortion Super Center,” And They’re Gonna Protest It
Planned Parenthood of Houston is moving into that office building on I-45near UH that looks like a cash register, and it looks like the protests will follow them.The Drudge Report is linking to a right-wing news service’s story decrying the new building as an “abortion supercenter.” Big protests are planned…
Sampler Plate: This Week In Food Blogs
Each week, we put together a sampler plate of the most interesting links from both local and national food blogs. Know a blog we should be paying particular attention to? Leave the address in the comments section below. The Wynk: Melissa shows off a beautiful homemade veggie pizza, complete with…
Road Trippin’: A West Texas/Big Bend Playlist
Right after Christmas, Rocks Off hopped into our car and headed straight for the bowels of West Texas. It’s a long drive to Big Bend, mostly through the middle of nowhere, huge swaths of land where even AM radio can’t reach. Twelve hours in the car demands a certain kind…
No Fireworks At Parker’s First Council Meeting (But Somehow Jolanda Jones Passes Up A Chance To Speak)
Mayor Annise Parker concluded her first City Council meeting this morning with a bang, warning citizens about icy roads in days ahead as Houston braces for what’s expected to be its coldest temperatures in decades. “We’re covering our pipes, doing what we can to keep ice away from our entrances,”…
Wine of the Week – Phoenicia Specialty Foods
Last year, Robb Walsh visited Phoenicia Specialty Foods’s Bargain Bin section to stock up on some obscure Italian wines at low prices. We are always looking for a good deal, so we decided to pay Phoenicia another visit. Last weekend, we found ourselves wandering around the Ikea-like aisles, feeling a…
He Might Be a “Lil Young,” But He’s Not Stupid
The first time Rocks Off ever went to Houston’s Show Palace Cabaret, we took eight tequila shots in a row in less than ten seconds (we have witnesses). Our friend Billy, who lost the tequila-shot contest, filled up three urinals with food he consumed that night and probably all the…
Stuck On You: Farmville Fanatic Arrested In String Of Bizarre Summertime Adhesive Attacks
One of the more bizarre Houston-area crimes of the past year has apparently been solved.Back in July, Pasadena police were seeking a man described as an “older teenager” who they believed attacked random women in retail outlets. His assaults took a peculiar form: he would squirt a tube of what…
“Paper Or Plastic”: You Won’t Be Hearing That In Brownsville Anymore
Brownsville is never going to be confused with Portland, San Franciscio or some other bucolic tree-hugging liberal city, but it’s home to just as many crunchy ecological activists as any yurt-living commune, apparently.Yesterday its version of the city council voted to ban merchants from using plastic bags except for some…
$13 at Raja Sweets
Where: Raja Sweets, 5667 Hillcroft, 713-782-5667 What $13 gets you: A double helping of chick peas, rice, a salad, a sack of stellar samosas, pakoras and a lot of leftovers. After some underwhelming cafeteria food for lunch and a long day, we decided it was time to treat ourselves with…
Our Texas High School Rock Off Preview, Part 2: The Handshake and Living Vicariously
This Friday, House of Blues hosts the first (and perhaps only) Texas High School Rock Off, co-sponsored by Fuse, Sonicbids and Rocks Off our own damn selves. See here for information on tickets, which start at the allowance-friendly price of $8. The winner receives $500, a trophy and an opening…
HISD Hoops Classic: A-Hole Coach 170, Lee High School 35
It was the biggest rout since Hitler’s Panzers took on Poland’s cavalry, and showed about as much sportsmanship: The powerful, undefeated Yates High basketball creamed not-so-powerful Lee 170-35, pressing and gunning all the way.The halftime score was Yates 100-12, so obviously the Lions couldn’t take their foot off the gas…
Visiting Finca Santa Rita
We recently wrote a review of a coffee from Cuvee Coffee, a roaster out of Spicewood, Texas. The coffee we discussed was the El Salvador Santa Rita Peaberry. Mike McKim, the owner of Cuvee Coffee, just got back from a trip to Finca Santa Rita, the very farm where the…
Artist of the Week: Soundtrack-Ready Alt-Folk Quintet Red November
Each Wednesday, Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group “Artist of the Week,” bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist that isn’t awful? Email their particulars to sheaserrano@gmail.com. For this week’s segment we linked up with…
The Aggie Assault Case Gets A Trial Date, Somewhat To The Surprise Of the Victim’s Family
A judge in Brazos County set a date — June 21, 2010 — for trial in the case of a Texas A&M student who was allegedly assaulted by two members of the Corps of Cadets, an incident the Houston Press wrote about in a January 2008 cover story, “Rotten to…
Cougars Take The Easy Way Out With Next Year’s Football Schedule
If there’s one thing I really hate about college football, it’s when schools like Texas schedule FCS teams as part of their non-conference schedule instead of taking on some legitimate, top-flight competition. It’s my belief that schools like Texas (you can toss in Florida, Alabama, and lots of major schools…
Stirred and Shaken: Rebels Honky Tonk’s Mother-Effer
At Rebels Honky Tonk (5002 Washington, 713-862-7172), the classics are relegated to the bathroom. The record jackets mounted on the men’s-room wall feature the likes of Willie Nelson and Marty Robbins, but on a recent Wednesday night a couple KILT-FM DJs were pumping nothing but the latest chart-topping, completely indistinguishable…
Rocks Off Is Looking for One Good Intern
Do you like music? A lot? Are you always annoying your friends because you won’t shut up about your latest discovery on iTunes or that band you saw last weekend at Meridian, the Mink or Super Happy Fun Land? Here at Rocks Off, we understand, and we may have a…
For The Cold Snap: Bikinis Ain’t What They Used To Be, Thank God
As Houston gets ready for an actual deep freeze this week, it brings to mind enduring winters up north. A day or two of nighttime temperatures getting near 20 is nothing like a few months when you’re begging for the thermometer to get in the upper 30s, believe us.But growing…
Real Texans Hate The Longhorns
It’s an exciting time to be a Longhorn fan. If UT beats Alabama Thursday, it will mark only the second time in the team’s storied history that they will be crowned college football champions while having black players on their roster.All of Texas is thrilled with the title chase, with…
Cheese Berry Asian Pizza
We sampled the kimchee and bulgogi pizza at Cheese Berry Asian Pizza and Sweets at 9888 Bellaire this weekend. “That’s our biggest seller,” Jeanette Sun, the girl behind the counter, told us. There was also a kung pao chicken pizza and a red curry shrimp pizza available. The fusion pizzeria…
2010: Year of the Meatball?
“2010 is going to be the year of the meatball,” my friend Jay Francis declared as I ate a warm and gooey meatball parmesan sandwich at Kojak’s Deli on 18th Street. When I looked puzzled, he told me he had been noticing meatballs in all the glossy New York food…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: Nashville Royalty Waylon Payne Plays Mucky Duck Thursday
The son of music royalty – his father is Willie Nelson guitarist Jody Payne, his mother was Nashville hitmaker Sammi Smith of “Help Me Make It Through the Night” fame – Waylon Payne is one of the best of the new breed of Nashville’s young writers. So good, in fact,…
The Houston Press Mastermind Awards: Last Year It Brought Hightower Great Luck
For at least one winner of last year’s Houston Press MasterMind Awards, the accolades continue. The Hightower High School Broadcast Academy, which received a $2,000 prize in the Press’s 2009 MasterMind contest, was recently awarded three separate grants that will help Ted Irving and his students keep doing projects that…
Kombucha Kleanse
Had it been any other week, we probably wouldn’t have shelled out. But this is the week after New Year’s. The week when we resolve to eat healthy, exercise, give up alcohol, and generally attempt to be super-human. So Sunday night we spent more than $15 on three bottles of…
The Shameless Chef: Starch Cassidy and the Hamdance Kid
What do the Shameless Chef and a lonely college freshman girl with a hot roommate have in common? When we get bored and curious, we tend to experiment. So it came to be while I was rooting through my pantry this morning for some kind of unique breakfast experience, something…
Our Texas High School Rock Off Preview, Part 1: Useful Information and The Paperwaits
This Friday, House of Blues hosts the first (and perhaps only) Texas High School Rock Off, co-sponsored by Fuse, Sonicbids and Rocks Off our own damn selves. See here for information on tickets, which start at the allowance-friendly price of $8. The winner receives $500, a trophy and an opening…
Game Time: 2010 Fiesta Bowl….Thanks For Coming, TCU
The winner and NEEEWWWW Intercontinental Champion…the Boise StateBRONCOS!!!– me on Twitter last night after the Fiesta BowlFor those of you who don’t get the analogy, I’ll give you the back story. In professional wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment (known better by the acronym WWE) has their world champion and their Intercontinental…
The Mysteries of Lucky Burger
The manager at Lucky Burger, at 1601 Richmond, doesn’t know why the greasy spoon she runs looks like a giant blue pickle barrel, or why it was built that way (painted orange) when it opened under its original owners in 1975. But the shop — with its thin lunch counter…
Texas Traveler: Heading West
Ed. Note: This the first part of a series on heading west to Big Bend and back. Check back next week for our continuing adventures. The very first thing we have to decide is which way to go. We’re meeting friends in Big Bend for a New Year’s camping trip,…
A Post-Christmas Miracle
We have been hooked on primo coffee beans roasted locally (well, in The Woodlands) ever since last summer, when we saw a supper show at Dosey Doe Coffee House (25911 I-45 North, The Woodlands) starring songwriter Jimmy Webb. The show was intimate, the venue cozy, the food a nice blend…
Hell City Kings Filming New Video at Rudyard’s Tonight
Houston scuzz-punk heroes the Hell City Kings are filming part of a new music video upstairs at Rudyards tonight. If you have seen the band in their live element, you can imagine where this shoot may be headed. With their new lead singer, the band seems to be reenergized, just…
Tea Baggers: Continuing To Make Houston Proud
This photo blew up on lefty web sites yesterday. Luckily, most happened to mention that the guy was from Houston!!He’s Dale Robertson of teaparty.org. We hope we don’t need to mention that he’s not Dale Robertson, the Houston Chronicle sportswriter.The photo was taken at a Houston event last year; organizers…
Get Lit: I Slept with Joey Ramone by Mickey Leigh with Legs McNeil
Though the title indicates this might be a juicy memoir from a punk-rock groupie, it’s actually by the brother of the Ramones singer, who did indeed share a bedroom with the tall boy born Jeffrey Hyman for many years. The crux of the book follows Leigh’s (born Mitchell Hyman) extremely…
How To Make The Perfect: Cornbread
Cornbread is that most essential and vital of Southern staples: eaten as a meal on its own or as an accompaniment to a greater spread, eaten as a savory dish or as a dessert slathered with butter and honey, eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner — and sometimes all three…
The Old Sheraton-Lincoln Downtown Hotel, Likely To Remain A Shell For A Long Time
All our hopes for the old Sheraton-Lincoln Plaza in downtown ended with the New Year, because in 2009, the hotel — the Beatles slept there during the band’s one and only trip to Houston in 1965 — was supposed to be renovated and re-opened as a luxury hotel. (Swamplot has…
Chef Chat, Part 2: Adam Puskorius of Polo’s
Yesterday we asked Adam Puskorius a few questions. Today we finish chatting with Polo’s new executive chef. Eating Our Words: What influences your choice of menu at Polo’s? Adam Puskorius: New American cuisine is the opportunity for young chefs to express themselves. Mediterranean — I am half Greek — local…
Ask a Rapper: New Houstonian EX-L Eazy on How HAM! His New Hometown Is
The hip-hop world is a less than sensible place – lots of times, you’re even required to clarify when bad means bad and when bad means good – so once a week we’re going to get with a rapper and ask them to explain things. Have something you always wanted…
Coming To The Small Screen: Weird Sex, The IRA And Origami
Each Tuesday, Coming to the Small Screen will take a look at offbeat, newly released DVDs.Let’s start off with the most unexpected, first — Flexing with Monty. The fact that Sally Kirkland is in the cast might have something to do with the fact that Hollywood heavyweights Sean Penn and Danny DeVito…
Michelle Obama on Iron Chef
Michelle Obama appeared on Iron Chef America last Sunday to promote healthy eating. Ever since she planted that organic garden last year, she has become a spokesperson for eating your vegetables and therefore a lightning rod for controversy. The White House communications office reached out to Iron Chef to get…
Get Your Roller Derby On, Grrrl
Think you have what it takes to be a Houston Roller Derby skater (besides, um, the lady-parts)? Then get thee to the January 10 tryouts at Dairy Ashford Roller Rink, 1820 S. Dairy Ashford from 10-noon. Tryouts are $25.HRD Spokeswoman Tiffany Hamilton, aka Grrrl Friday, tells us “the league is looking…
Aftermath: Annise Parker’s Freezing Inaugural Concert at Discovery Green
The best-laid plans of mice, men and even mayors sometimes go awry. Annise Parker declined a big-ticket inaugural celebration in favor of a free concert on Discovery Green, a genuine expression of goodwill to the city that – as national media such as CNN never tired of pointing out during…
What’s It Gonna Take To Get Gary Kubiak Fired?
Before the football season, Houston Texans owner Bob McNair supposedly said that anything short of the playoffs for the team would be unacceptable. I say supposedly because here we are, in January, at the end of another non-playoff season, and not only is Gary Kubiak still the coach, there’s even…
Distant Early Warning: Balaclavas, Betty Soo, Booker T, White Rhino, Diamond Rio, The Red Chord and More
Balaclavas, Indian Jewelry, Dead Roses: Sat., Feb. 13. The Mink. Betty Soo: Thu., April 15. McGonigel’s Mucky Duck. White Rhino, Blind Pets, Smoke & Feathers, The Rivermouth: Sat., Jan. 23. The Mink. Booker T, JJ Grey: Sat., March 27, 8 p.m., $22. Meridian. Bruce Bruce, Mike Epps: Sat., March 27…
Pop Rocks: Why 2010 Is Going To Suck, Pt. 1
I know I’m not the only person who feels like high-fiving everyone at the end of the holiday season, heady with the triumph of having survived another two weeks of forced jocularity, awkward family moments, bad TV, and worse music. The new year, with it’s promise of fresh opportunities to…
Where Are We Drinking?
Cathedral-like ceilings. A calm, cool bar. Memories of days gone by haunt this historic location; fitting, since the bar itself is now only a memory these days, too. Take a trip down memory lane and see if you can remember this erstwhile pub. Think you know where we were drinking?…
Houston Plant Gets Hit With $1.4 Million Fine
The website for CES Environmental Services Inc., a waste treatment and disposal outfit located in Houston, states that the company “will, at all times, use a proactive approach towards health, safety and environmental issues towards our employees and clients work environment.”Well, maybe not “at all times.”On Monday, the feds announced…
Funnel Cake Sticks at Burger King
We never fall prey to fast food commercials and their new twists on old dishes, but…we saw the ad for funnel cake sticks at Burger King, and our munchie-having stoner inner child awoke inside us. We just had to have them. We know, we know…What can we say, you can…
Chef Chat, Part 1: Adam Puskorius of Polo’s
Polo’s New American has a young executive chef with some great Houston roots. We dropped by one afternoon to pay him a visit and see what Polo’s is all about. Eating Our Words: How did your culinary tales begin? Adam Puskorius: Before becoming executive chef of Polo’s, I was a…
Sheila Jackson Lee To Get Some Actual Opposition This Year
And lo, the word came via Twitter: Sheila Jackson Lee will be facing an actual opponent this year.City councilman Jarvis Johnson announced he’s filing for the primary in the 18th Congressional District, where Jackson has ruled for years, Jarvis is starting his third two-year term on the council, representing District…
Unrated Lesbian Action!!! The Inauguration, In Photos (Safe For Work)
Annise Parker was officially sworn in as mayor in a private ceremony over the weekend, but today is the public event. This morning featured Joel Osteen; tonight has Archie Bell. You choose which one you’d prefer to be at.Our Dan Kramer was on the scene to record all the the…
R.I.P Former Sugar Hill Studios Chief Engineer Mickey Moody
Former Sugar Hill Studios engineer Mickey Moody, who – unlike his boss Huey P. Meaux – was a quiet, behind-the-scenes man, died in Fort Worth over the weekend. Moody, chief engineer and right-hand man during Meaux’s heyday at the historic Houston studio, was an important part of several historic recording…
Guatemalan Tamales
I sampled my first rice tamal last week. It reminded me of Biba’s slogan, “one’s a meal.” The soft glutinous ground rice was stuffed with chicken and salsa and garnished with green pepper and a raisin. I had it for breakfast with a cup of coffee and a little extra…
Uvaldo Gallardo, 18: Bayou Body Count Victim Number 1 For 2010
Suspected New Year’s Day killer Leandro Lozano-Jiminez is on the loose, and Houston police say he’s armed and dangerous.It was only 56 minutes into 2010 when Lozano-Jiminez, 20, started arguing with Uvaldo Gallardo, 18, and his brother, Hugo Gallardo, 25, at 9618 Marlive, just south of the Stella Link Shopping…
Recipe: Hummus
Growing up in a small northern town, we weren’t often exposed to culturally diverse foods. Our aunt taught us how to make this when we were very young, after she finished grad school in Israel. You can re-hydrate dried chick peas, as friends have taught us to do later in…
Not to Stoke the SXSW ’10 Rumor Mill at All, But Might Pavement and Soundgarden Show Up?
Well here it goes, the year’s first official blog entry about South by Southwest 2010. Yes, we know that it doesn’t start until March 17, but the hype machines have already been running since the fall and rumors have been getting stoked since before Austin City Limits in October. So…
She’s Not Cheating, She’s Just Having Words With Friends
Oh, honey. Did you blearily roll over at 2:30 a.m. this morning, only to catch a glimpse of your paramour’s illuminated face? Not from any post-orgasmic glow, mind you, but from the intense spotlight emitted from her iPhone’s screen? Well, before you go slinging obscenities in her direction and referring…
Odd Pair: Crawfish Boudin and Old Barossa Blend
Boudin reminds us of sitting on Bourbon Street on a hot, swampy night listening to a little Zydeco with an ice-cold Abita. Beer and boudin is a perfect combo, like peanut butter and jelly. To spice things up a bit, we might opt for a Sazerac or a Hurricane, but…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: Now We Have Already Started Our 2010 Top 10 List
With all the pressure to list the Best Albums of 2009, Lonesome Onry and Mean is going to go ahead and leap forward and make a prediction about our Top 10 list for 2010. We’ve already received a number of advances for the coming year, and two have completely blown…
Game Time: At That Moment, Jerry….I Tell You, The Texans WERE A Playoff Team!
“So I started to walk into the water. I won’t lie to you boys, I was terrified! But I pressed on and as I made my way past the breakers a strange calm came over me. I don’t know if it was divine intervention or the kinship of all living…
Donut Patrol: Sesame Balls with Red Bean Paste
The dim sum sesame balls at Chinese Cuisine, a new dim sum joint at 9888 Bellaire, were excellent — they came to the table piping hot and filled with red bean jelly. The dim sum sesame balls with yellow bean paste featured in last week’s Donut Patrol drew disparaging comments…
Texas Is Still The Destination Of Choice, Moving Company Finds
For 42 years, Allied Van Lines has issued a report saying where people are moving to and where they’re leaving. Once again, Texas tops the list of destination states.Dominates the list, is more like it. The state had a net gain of almost 2,000, the company reports, far greater than…
Miami New Times Music Blog Shouts Out Houston’s Lee Alexander
Congratulations to Houston singer-songwriter Lee Alexander, whose Mayhaw Vaudeville was selected as one of 2009’s best under-the-radar albums by Lee Zimmerman of Houston Press sister paper Miami New Times’ music blog Crossfade. In fact, it was the first one listed by Zimmerman, who said the album “provides a perfect example…
Scenes From An Inauguration: God Hates Urinals
Although it may have surprised the three anti-gay protestors outside the Wortham Theater, Mayor Annise Parker’s inaugural speech concentrated less on her historic election as the first openly-gay big city mayor and more on her goals to improve coordination among law enforcement agencies, expand public transportation, and improve school drop-out…
A Gift from You to You
This year for Christmas we flew home and got socks, undershirts, and a fridge full of gift-beers from around the country. We thought we’d share a few, in case you want to pull one of those after-Christmas “from [self] to [self]” deals. The best offering we sampled was a 2007…
The 2010 Census Launches the Latino Underground Into the Mainstream; Other Bold Predictions for the Coming Decade
Can Latino hip-hop in Houston continue to thrive as a black-market force, of sorts, whose sales are invisible to the IRS, and evolve into a powerful underground economy without the acknowledgement or praise of mainstream music media like Rolling Stone or XXL magazines? Or without the support of major music…
This Week In TV: The Return of 24 and American Idol, Fox’s Advertising Revenue
It’s the middle of winter, we’re about to get new shows, and this is the year I make contact. This was the week in TV Land. • So, New Year’s happened. This was my first year not to ring it in with a regular party of friends who get dangerously…
Urban Harvest’s 10th Annual Fruit Tree Sale
I had a hard time choosing between kumquat, grapefruit and Meyer lemon when I decided to plant a citrus tree last month. I guess I should have taken a class or something. Houston is a great place to grow citrus trees, and this week is a great time to plant…
New Council Member Delivers On Our Prediction He’d Be Entertaining
Some thought we might have jumped the gun a bit when we selected Al Hoang as one of our five most entertaining council members of the decade, seeing as he wasn’t sworn in until today.But his campaign, which featured him running for and eventually winning in a district with which…
Get Lit: Blues & Chaos: The Music Writings of Robert Palmer
Unfortunately, by the time that Robert Palmer (the writer, not the “Addicted to Love” guy) died from liver failure complications in 1997, his fierce brand of music journalism had been six feet under for years. Palmer was part of a loose cadre of scribes like Cameron Crowe, Greil Marcus, Lester…
Come On, Feel The Nosie
We saw this during yesterday’s Texans game, but our screen-capture skills are nil. Luckily, Kevin Whited of blogHouston is better at it, and was able to preserve the moment for eternity. Or enertity, as these fans might put it…
Blueberry Hill
Blueberry Hill on West Alabama and Kirby silently opened a few months ago, and we haven’t heard much about this frozen yogurt store. We spoke with the owner, who told us the idea behind Blueberry Hill is to get the yogurt directly from one farming co-op — this one being…
Live Coverage of Annise Parker’s Public Inauguration
While she privately took the oath of office on Saturday afternoon, today is the day that Houstonians will get to cheer alongside Annise Parker as she is publicly inaugurated as Houston’s 61st mayor amidst day-long festivities and celebrations. Stay tuned to Hair Balls as we cover all the action below…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: Three 2009 Albums That Didn’t Get Enough Love
A few more records from 2009 that deserved more mention than they got. Jesse Winchester, Love Filling Station: At 70 years old, the music industry’s most notable Vietnam draft dodger delivered as soulful and wise set of songs as anyone on the scene. Love Filling Station has become some of…
Texans 34, Patriots 27: Progress But No Playoffs
The Texans legitimately won nine games. The New York Jets legitimately won seven. The Texans displayed tremendous heart on Sunday in rallying past a Patriots team playing its starters and remaining aggressive almost throughout, while the Jets were given a handout for a second consecutive week.Unfortunately, the Texans play in…
The Triple Option: 2-For-2 Against Disinterested Bowl Teams
The Texas Bowl and the Armed Forces Bowl featured two teams in Houston and Missouri who felt they should have been playing in better games going up against two teams who employing the triple-option run offense.The Cougars have had trouble against running teams all season, yet facing Air Force for…
Where Are We Eating?
If you haven’t eaten your black eyed peas yet to celebrate New Year’s (and God knows we’ve tried to encourage you here…), it’s not too late. Provided, of course, you can guess where we’re eating this week. Leave your best guess in the comments section below…
Turning the Screw: Bertell, Skillz, Diddy, Teddy Riley, Kid Sister, The Kanye, Cudi, Raekwon, Reflection Eternal and More
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: “She Bad,” Bertell feat. Bun B Wire to Wire Before we get started with beginning this year’s goofiness, Skillz…
New Year, New City Council: Don’t Expect Many Waves
If you are planning for fireworks and more drama than a Maury “Who’s the Daddy?” show when the new city council finally settles down next week … well you will be in for a surprise. Expect a tame, courteous council that may run into bumps every once in a while…
Last Call For Art: Festival of Lights and Polish Art
The first weekend of 2010 is plenty busy with exhibit and film closings. First up, you can catch the last bits of Moody Garden’s Christmas celebrations including Festival of Lights. On January 2, the festival closes with a Fruit Cake Launch and Christmas Tree Chunk. (Think of it — you…
2009 Concert Rewind: ACL, Before, During and After the “Shit-Mud”
This is the very, very, very, very last thing Rocks Off has to do before we’re off New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day and the whole blessed weekend after that, so we’ll tell you what: Click right here and feast on our copious ACL ’09 coverage to your heart’s content…
This Year in Deliciousness
So this is the time of year when we normally say things like “Wow, another year gone by already!” and “Can ya believe it’s almost 2010?” and “Say there, how come you just broke my nose?” That last one is something you say if you’ve been ruminating on the quickness…
Game Time: Areans Vs. Crittenton In Pistols…And We’re Off And Running In 2010
Happy New Year to all of you. Quick question — what is the record for breaking a New Year’s Resolution that doesn’t involve alcohol, drugs or sex? Because I just ate a Chipwich for breakfast…just wondering. Well, 2010 is here, and that means we get to hit the reset button…
The 11 Stupidest Events from the World of Music, 2009 Edition
Hi there, 2009. Please have a seat. Are you comfortable? Would you like some coffee, or perhaps a cigarette? No? Okay, good. Let’s just cut straight to the point, then. You suck, and frankly we’re sick of your bullshit. You were an awful year, filled not just with economic collapse,…
Catfish at Tony’s in Baton Rouge
We went to Baton Rouge, Louisiana on a road trip this holiday season to see some family, and our sister told us about a grocery that filets live catfish and fries them to order. I dropped everything and beelined it for Tony’s Seafood & Deli. Sure enough, near the entrance…
The Top Ten Rockets Moments Of The Decade, For Better Or Worse
For the Rockets, the decade of the 2000s began with Hall of Fame legend Hakeem Olajuwon starting at center. It finished with 6-foot-6 Chuck Hayes, the shortest listed starting center in NBA history.It started with promising rookie sensation and No. 2 pick Steve Francis at point guard, and concluded with…
The Polo Empire
On a recent trip to Polo’s Signature for some drinks at the bar, we were sent out some appetizers from the kitchen from Chef Adam, who previously worked for Mark Cox. We got a platter of crispy calamari slathered in sweet Italian cherry peppers with a meyer lemon aioli and…
Beasting Off the Riesling: The Most Ridiculous Lyrics of 2009, Part 2
New Kids on the Block, “Dirty Dancing” “It’s so crazy/ She’s like ‘Baby’/ I’m like Swayze” One would think that the last thing the somewhat revitalized New Kids on the Block (or is that NKOTB?) would want to do is remind people that it’s not 1987 anymore. Perhaps, however, we…
Previewing the Year Ahead In Local Releases
2010 looks like it’s going to be a banner year for music in general. We can look forward to a new Arcade Fire opus, another Spoon outing, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and a Beach House record that is already getting Animal Collective-like buzz. Rocks Off…
Five Pieces Of New Year’s Weirdness
As you recover from your New Year’s Eve party, rest assured that no matter how weird it got, it could have gotten weirder. The changing of the year seems to bring out some odd stuff.Here are just five examples of New Year’s Weirdness.This clip features Father Time getting blasted by…
A Fish Poor Boy in the Nickel
The artist Bert Long gave me a tour of his garden in the Fifth Ward last week. He pulled some bok choy that was going to seed and cut some spicy arugula leaves and put them in a plastic bag for me to take home. It was lunch time, and…
We’ve Got Flatline. Clear! Houston Can Jump-Start the Heart of a Music Career
Flatline feat. Trae, “Fuckin With Texas” @ Yahoo! Video Back in 2007, we came across a hip-hop video on YouTube that featured Trae, so naturally, we eagerly clicked on it. The track starts off with a sick Bun B sample. “You fuckin with Texas, you fuckin’ with the best/ I…
Your New Year’s Weekend Sports-Viewing Guide
So you stayed up a bit late last night doing the whole celebrating the New Year thing. Now your head’s aching, the room’s spinning, and you just want to flop on the couch and watch some sports. But you don’t want to have to think about what sports to watch…
Top 5 Best Bloody Marys to Ring in the New Year
Let’s be honest. You don’t feel so hot after last night’s New Year’s Eve celebration. When you downed your last champagne cocktail at two a.m., the world was your oyster. This morning, the thought of oysters makes you nauseous. Never fear. We will help you find that spicy cure-all to…
Five Spot: So-Called “Kingofdasouth” T.I. Bursts Out of Jail
Welcome back to Five Spot. Every Friday, we’ll examine a recent bit of music news and, sometimes awkwardly, tie it to a bit of Houston rap. It’s five videos and occasional cussing. Send tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. In celebration of T.I. getting out of lockup early – does time travel faster…
Our Most-Viewed Posts of 2009
When we sat down to assess our most popular posts of the year, the result wasn’t entirely unexpected — a blend of the sublimely bizarre, the achingly silly and the shockingly outrageous news from the year. In short, the average American’s news interests in a nutshell. Below are our top…
Jinxed Restaurant Locations of the Decade
Is there really such a thing as a jinxed restaurant location? Some say it is just a myth. But we beg to differ. In July, Eating Our Words featured its first list of jinxed restaurant locations. We are happy to see that some of these restaurants have beaten the curse…
2009 Concert Rewind, September: Taylor Hicks, Chickenfoot, Abbey Road, Monotonix, Butthole Surfers, Happy Mondays… and Creed
Collective Soul, House of Blues, September 1: “Collective Soul is no one’s idea of a Southern Rock band, but the band did manage to prove a point or two. First, nostalgically speaking, the ’80s are over. The ’90s are where the money is. Second, Kings of Leon hardly sprung from…
Game Time: Global Thermonuclear War In Lubbock
Remember the movie War Games where Matthew Broderick’s character hacks into some online set of games, decides to play Global Thermonuclear War and sets of a chain reaction that nearly launches actual government missiles all over the world? In the end, the missiles don’t get launched, instead we’re left with…
Beasting Off the Riesling: The Most Ridiculous Lyrics of 2009, Part 1
The lowest common denominator having been achieved in 2005 with the release of the Black Eyed Peas’ Monkey Business, popular musicians have had to work extra hard in recent years to find new and inventive ways to be inane. They found great success in 2009, with artists as varied as…
New Year’s Pigs’ Trotters
This weekend, Da Marco will be serving zampone, the stuffed pig’s foot that’s traditionally eaten on New Year’s in Italy. Da Marco is serving the zampone with lentils and the mustard-marinated fruit called mostarda. December 31 is called La Festa di San Silvestro in Italy. You eat lentils, because they…
He Said She Said: Songs for Your New Year’s Eve Party, Part 2
When it comes time for He Said to make a party mix, you would think he would go for some classic metal or punk rock. But you would be totally wrong. When it’s time for single boys and single girls to drink, mingle and start making questionable choices, we can…
Gabriel Iglesias: If You Give A Comic A Cookie….
Just before picking up the phone to call Hair Balls, comedian Gabriel Iglesias has a cookie. The plus-sized comedian says it puts him in a better mood. Not that the comedian has anything to be down about these days. On the business side, he’s just released a new DVD, I’m…
Cut Your Tax Bill And Help An Arts Organization Via Last-Minute Donations
Support a local arts organization and knock a few bucks off your IRS bill while you still have time — make a tax deductible donation today. Dozens of museums, theater and dance companies have online options to make donations or are happy to take your credit card number over the…
5 Foods That Look the Same Coming Out As They Did Going In
Coming straight off our admonishing post of foods to avoid if you want to keep your throat intact while throwing up on New Year’s Eve, we thought we’d do a photo retrospective of foods that look exactly the same on the plate or on the street. Find yourself blowing chunks…
The Incredible Truth: The Best Southern Rap Albums (and Mixtapes) of 2009, Part 2
5. Z-Ro Cocaine (Rap-A-Lot) With Z-Ro’s long-awaited album Heroin delayed, Cocaine ended up as the appropriately named followup to 2008’s Crack. Though Cocaine was originally intended to be a mixtape put out by little-known producer DJ Drama Queen, it more than holds its own as a proper album. Full of…
Recipe: Black-Eyed Pea Dip
Today, Becky Means shared her recipe for classic black-eyed peas on Eating Our Words. Here’s our favorite non-traditional black-eyed pea recipe, a crowd pleaser for sure. Purists know that the traditional New Year’s Day meal also features collard greens, stewed tomatoes, and cornbread. The peas, which swell when cooked, symbolize…
The Music of True Blood, Episode 1.12: Closing Up Shop With a Ditty Called “Ain’t No Grave”
Alan Ball was known for his masterful use of music in Six Feet Under. He’s lost none of his touch when it comes to his current HBO series, True Blood – which happens to be set in the Louisiana swamps, not terribly far from Houston. With Season 2 just completed,…
Five Best New Year’s Eves In The Movies
The New Year’s Eve countdown is only hours away. The built-in suspense of it all, along with the opportunity for pathos via a lonely celebrant, or a doomed couple exuding cheery optimism, has been catnip for moviemakers.There have been some great New Year’s Eves in the movies. Here are five…
Recipe: Black-Eyed Peas
Black-eyed peas are another mandatory New Year’s Day food – eat a bowl and you will supposedly have good luck all year! This version is made with ham hocks, but you can always substitute bacon, or a couple of pork chops. Of course, you can always nix the meat all…
He Said She Said: Songs for Your New Year’s Eve Party
You know when you’re at a bar or a party and everything seems über-subdued, then suddenly someone pops a dollar in the jukebox or a CD in the player and it’s just the right song for the moment? And then everyone hops up and does this synchronized line -ance perfectly…
Today’s Bowl Menu: UH And The Texas Bowl, Both With Teams Wishing They Were Elsewhere
Two of what should be more of the entertaining non-BCS Bowl games should be played this afternoon. They’ll be entertaining because of the teams involved and because of similarities among all four teams. Both games feature teams that don’t want to be playing that game and have chips on their…
Recipe: New Year’s Cabbage
Southern tradition mandates cabbage and black eyed peas at the parent’s house on New Year’s day. We had never even heard of braised cabbage until we moved to Texas, and were taught what to do by our super-sweet mother-in-law. This is her recipe. It’s not the lightest version out there,…
The H-Town Countdown, No. 4: UGK’s Too Hard to Swallow
Roughly 84,000 rap albums have been released in Houston since 1989. We’re counting down the 25 best of all time every Thursday. Got a problem with the list? Shove it. Just kidding. Friendship. Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. UGK Too Hard to Swallow (Jive, 1992) How cocksure is Bun B? The first time…
Our Hottest Concert Shots of 2009; Also, We’re Not Going Anywhere New Year’s Eve or Day
Of all the amazing concerts that we attended in 2009 – including hometown girl Beyonce and once-in-a-lifetime act KISS – these were our 15 favorite shots from the shows. And Rocks Off still has plenty of stuff for you today and tomorrow, so please check back on the regular…
Disney’s A Christmas Carol
Catch Jim Carrey at his multiple-personality best as he plays a young, middle-aged and old Ebenezer Scrooge – and the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come – in Disney’s A Christmas Carol. The rubber-faced Carrey leads a cast that includes Gary Oldman (a.k.a. Sirius Black to Harry…
The Polar Express 4D
Take a ride on the Polar Express 4D and you’ll not only see and hear the action, you’ll feel and smell it too. The 12-minute film (an abbreviated version of the feature by the same name) has dozens of special effects, including falling snow, the smell of hot chocolate, cool…
The Ice Rink at Woodlands Town Center
Spectacularly lit holiday displays surround the Ice Rink at Woodlands Town Center, making for a twinkling setting as you skate. Nearby, a 30-foot Christmas tree overlooks Waterway Square, where fountains, waterfalls, jets and cascades are synchronized in a light and water show set to holiday tunes such as “Feliz Navidad”…
Stephen Hunter: I, Sniper
If there’s one person who can help you shake off all the sentimentality and nostalgia of the holiday season, it’s Bob Lee Swagger – the ass-kicking hero of six thrillers by Stephen Hunter. Swagger’s on the case again in I, Sniper, which Hunter will discuss and sign today at Murder…
Gabriel Iglesias
Though he doesn’t attract as much romantic attention from women as Enrique Iglesias (or, for that matter, Julio), the plus-size Gabriel Iglesias (no relation) keeps the ladies laughing. “When women hug me and walk away, they leave an impression,” he says of his pillow-like body. “And when I want phone…
Seasons of Sharing: New Year’s Noon Celebration
Kids don’t have to wait until the stroke of midnight to ring in the new year. The fun goes on all day at the Children’s Museum of Houston’s New Year’s Noon Celebration. Get things started by making a float and joining the New Year’s Day Parade (it snakes through the…
A Neapolitan New Year
Start the new year off on a high note at Ars Lyrica Houston’s A Neapolitan New Year. The evening features a performance of J.A. Hasse’s Marc Antonio e Cleopatra with soprano Ava Pine (whom the Dallas Morning News calls “dazzling”) and mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton. That’s followed by a New Year’s…
Wonder of the World New Year’s Eve Performance
All dressed up and nowhere to go on New Year’s Eve? Theatre Southwest is offering one of the best deals in the city, with dinner and a night of zany theater in the form of David Lindsay-Abaire’s wacky comedy Wonder of the World. The play, which continues without the New…
Houston Symphony’s New Year’s Eve Concert
Any New Year’s Eve event not involving the usual options of getting drunk and, ah, drunker, could rightfully describe itself as a celebration with class. The Houston Symphony’s New Year’s Eve Concert, a tasteful and exuberant concert at Cypress Creek FACE, certainly fits the bill. Traditionalists will enjoy works by…
A Fertle Holiday
Family dysfunction is rarely funny, unless it’s someone else’s family, of course. Visit the most screwed-up family of all as you’re transported to the fictional town of Dumpster, Texas, via the tiny stage of the Radio Music Theatre for A Fertle Holiday. Now in its 25th year, the show serves…
Disney’s A Christmas Carol
Catch Jim Carrey at his multiple-personality best as he plays a young, middle-aged and old Ebenezer Scrooge – and the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come – in Disney’s A Christmas Carol. The rubber-faced Carrey leads a cast that includes Gary Oldman (a.k.a. Sirius Black to Harry…
Master Class
The great opera singer Maria Callas is the focus of Terrence McNally’s Tony Award-winning Master Class, a play about an imaginary lesson Callas gives to three students at Juilliard one eventful day. Though the script is totally fiction, it’s based in fact. “Maria Callas gave master classes at the Juilliard…
A Fertle Holiday
Family dysfunction is rarely funny, unless it’s someone else’s family, of course. Visit the most screwed-up family of all as you’re transported to the fictional town of Dumpster, Texas, via the tiny stage of the Radio Music Theatre for A Fertle Holiday. Now in its 25th year, the show serves…
Capsule Art Reviews: “A Room of Her Own”, “Carlos Cruz-Diez: Crosswalk”, “Cy Twombly: Treatise on the Veil”, Damascus Gate (Stretch Variation III)
“A Room of Her Own” Group shows of women artists are exceptionally patronizing when the only connection between the works presented is that they were all made by someone with a vagina. That’s the organizing principle behind “A Room of Her Own” at McClain Gallery. The title is pretty awful…
Cross Canadian Ragweed
You’ve got to love Cross Canadian Ragweed, those boys from Oklahoma who roll their joints all wrong. Working their way up out of college bars in Stillwater, Oklahoma City and Lubbock, Cody Canada and his buds just kept plowing fertile ground, picking around the edges of the nascent Texas music…
Live with Me
Our smug neighbor to the northwest may call itself “The Live Music Capital of the World,” but Houston Press music blog Rocks Off may be the live-music-reviewing capital of the Internet. This past year, Rocks Off averaged around one review every three days in a slow month, and almost one…
Fight Pretty
Houston’s own Fight Pretty and Ghost Town Electric kick off a short national tour tonight over at the Mink with fellow locals Muhammadali, The Burden and Big Fiction on hand to lubricate the masses. Armed with its own new 7-inch single, “Androphobia,” the long-running Fight Pretty has recently revamped its…
Buh-Bye 2009
The year is finally coming to a close, and it’s a close a lot of people are more than happy to embrace. With the recession technically “over,” we’re all eager to kick 2009 to the curb and launch ourselves into a slightly more secure future. So we’ve compiled a list…
Houston’s Craziest
Jimmy Bailey has taken so much lithium in his life that all his teeth, except a few that wouldn’t give up, have rotted away, leaving him with a broken, gummy smile. He’s been alive for 34 years and is a big man, weighing a little less than 300 pounds. When…
Houston’s Craziest: The 30 Worst
1. A 34-year-old man whose grandmother filed a restraining order against him because he beat her up. The man eventually moved to Pasadena with an aunt who had a criminal record for fraud and takes care of two foster children with special needs. The man assaulted one of the children…
2010 Musical Resolutions
We at the Houston Press are loathe to give up our own vices, especially at the start of the year when the stress of the holidays means we need those security blankets even more. Don’t get us wrong — we’ve tried giving up smokes, booze, even Coca-Cola, only to come…
Computer Driven
There are some rock-solid truths to the universe usually discovered by anyone who’s ever been in ISS (in-school suspension). You don’t spend the day with peers who rank among the school’s best and brightest. The teacher in charge is either a humorless martinet or a coach who likes to tell…
Capsule Stage Reviews: A Fertle Holiday, O Little Town of Bagels, Teacakes, and Hamburger Bun, Panto Sleeping Beauty
A Fertle Holiday Another annual Christmas pleasure in Houston comes courtesy of Radio Music Theatre. This year marks the 25th production of A Fertle Holiday. The crowd-pleasing skit-comedy show celebrates family and the difficult joys of coming together for obligatory Christmas joy. Of course, the best thing about an RMT…
Animal House at HHS and is HPD Guilty of Elder Abuse?
COURTS Animal House at Humane Society Women call director a sexual harasser By Craig Malisow In the wake of a sexual harassment lawsuit against Houston Humane Society Shelter Director Edward Perez, former HHS employees have told Hair Balls they were driven to quit because of Perez’s verbally assaultive behavior, condoned…
Critiquing the Critics
The Air We Breathe Defeating: Thank you for printing the story “A Quiet Hell” [by Chris Vogel, December 17]. It is sad and a shame that more is not done to control the chemical releases they spew into our air that we breathe. This has been an ignored problem since…
SPECIAL YEAR-END EDICION
Dear Mexican, Why in the hell does everything have to be in English and Spanish? I ride the bus/train to work (not because I must, but because it’s more efficient) and every time someone requests to stop, you hear “Stop Requested,” then this parrar bullshit! Not to mention the schools…
Lucky Black-Eyed Peas
The cabbage on the steam table at Family Discount Food was tender, but not squishy. It was flavored with enough bacon to coat my lips pleasantly with pig fat. I found a curled-up piece of bacon meat among the leaves in the Styrofoam box that served as my plate. The…
Umai Japanese Restaurant
Umai means “delicious” in Japanese, and it is certainly a fitting name for the new, trendy place that just opened on Bellaire, Umai Japanese Restaurant (8400 Bellaire, 713-750-9222). Manager and soon-to-be-owner Anita Yang is from Taiwan but decided to open a Japanese restaurant, she says, “because I like to eat…
Flat and Fabulous
The andouille and tasso flatbread ($9.50) at Bistro Alex (800 West Sam Houston Pkwy. in the Hotel Sorella, 713-827-3545), owned by the Brennan family, is one of those dishes that you wish would never end. A riff on an ultra-thin-crust pizza, it remains crisp until the very last morsel. The…
HOWL AT THE MOON’S TENNESSEE TEA
The musical act is the main draw at Howl at the Moon (612 Hadley, 713-658-9700), a dueling-piano bar in Midtown (and in Scottsdale, Charlotte, Baltimore, etc.). The bar features a stable of multi-instrumentalists whose job it is to work the crowd while plunking out up-tempo versions of predictable stuff. (Interactive…
Free Press New Year’s Eve
We already know that Free Press Houston can throw a helluva bash from this year’s two Block Party events and the groundbreaking Summerfest concert back in August. Let’s see how they treat Houston on New Year’s Eve. FPH has lined up seven bands and performers to ring in the new…
