Mario Gallegos Wants Terry Grier to Leave HISD
Texas State Senator Mario Gallegos, Jr. has gone on the attack against Houston ISD Superintendent Terry Grier and his reform efforts, sending out letters to the school board and state legislators, in which he says his office has been investigating Grier’s claims of prior accomplishments and found them not to…
$13 at Amazon Grill
Where: Amazon Grill, 5114 Kirby Drive, 713-522-5888. What $13 gets you: An okay salad topped with normally stellar ceviche, and unlimited plantain chips and chimichurri. I think of ceviche as something of a comfort food. Some days, I’m exhausted, or I’m having one of those girly moments that can only…
Unidentified Female, Bayou Body Count No. 111
Things you don’t want to discover in the Dumpster: A partially decomposed body.But that’s what employees of a northside business discovered about 2:30 yesterday, police say.Blood was seen on the woman’s clothing and in the parking lot, they say, but “due to the level of decomposition, no wounds were visible…
Things Get A Little Testy At Commissioners Court
Harris County Commissioners Court met this week, and the subject of which law firms get hired to handle bond business came up.County Judge Ed Emmett tried to ask about spreading the business around or getting a discount. Things didn’t go all that well.EMMETT: Okay, I just noticed that you know…
Robb Walsh’s 100 Favorite Houston Dishes: #43 Barbacoa Soup at De Buey Y Vaca
Over the course of the next few months, I’m counting down 100 of my favorite Houston dishes. I chose some because they are such quintessential Houston creations, others for their cultural or historical significance, and others because they are just so damn tasty. Share your own nominations in the comments…
Rap Song Or Murder Ballad? Guess Which Is Which
Remember back in the day, when rap was kind of new, and there was this huge uproar from parents’ groups and politicians about how the lyrics were so violent, they would undoubtedly warp the minds of the world’s youth? Well, those folks had a lot of nerve, considering the tradition…
Texas Textbooks Ignore Hip-Hop, Thomas Jefferson
“…But history is written by those who have hanged heroes” – Braveheart What do you need to know about history? They are the stories that made up America. They are the stories that America made up. That’s actually not ours. If you’ve seen Assume The Position on HBO, you know…
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. Robb Walsh: Our former food critic’s latest book hit store shelves (and…
Game Time: Houston Astros 2010 Silver Linings, Volume 1: Their Players Stay Awake All Nine Innings!
Having spent about fifteen years in the corporate world prior to getting into radio three years ago, I always promised myself that I would never be the radio guy who complains about actually having to go cover games. There are fans who would gnaw off their right arm to have…
Wine of the Week: Hartford Court Winery
Recently, we had the opportunity to sit down with Tom Rozner from Hartford Family Winery and taste some of the winery’s key varietals – Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Zinfandel. Prior to that evening, we had not tasted any of Hartford’s wines, let alone heard of them. Little did we know,…
Bros Before Hos: Tales From The Wedding-Band Front Lines
Sting once stated in an interview about The Police’s trademark song “Every Breath You Take” that he was bewildered by the tune’s popularity at weddings. It is, after all, a song about stalking, and not the exactly the sweetest sentiment to start off a committed relationship. Rocks Off wondered what…
Robert Butler, Sr., 57, Bayou Body Count No. 110
An arrest has been made in the shooting death of Robert Butler, who was ambushed in northeast Houston as he was parking a tractor-trailer.The suspect, Diamond Markee Godfrey, 18), is charged with capital murder in the 338th State District Court. Godfrey was arrested today by Louisiana State Police in Ville…
Art Car Food
What’s better than soaking up some Houston humidity and watching a bunch of freaks drive some weird-looking cars? Washing the whole experience down with a bunch of complimentary food and booze – that’s what. Well, complimentary, if you don’t include the $125 price tag for getting into the VIP area,…
Minutemen Get Their Wish: Tomorrow Will Be A “Day Without Mexicans” In The Valley
We’re guessing this isn’t going to work out as hoped: The chambers of commerce of several Mexican border towns are calling on residents to stay out of the U.S. tomorrow.That’ll teach Arizona to pass a restrictive illegal-alien law, is the thinking. On the other hand, the people they’re trying to…
Otis Redding, Jayhawks Help Us Overcome The Mailbox Cringe
Sometimes we cringe when we go to the mailbox, but the past few days have brought Lonesome, Onry and Mean an eclectic trove of cool stuff. New Mystery Girl is Austinite Chrissy Flatt’s new project with longtime collaborators Eric Hisaw and Ron Flynt. Twist City is a no-frills roots-rock disc…
Texas Sucks At Recycling Computers, But We’d Be A Lot Worse Without Dell
The numbers are in. When it comes to recycling computers and monitors, Texas sucks. Not only sucks, but out of the 20 states with computer recycling laws, Texas finished dead last, according to a study by the educational nonprofit, Texas Campaign for the Environment Fund.The organization recently examined computer recycling…
Texas Textbooks Ignore Hip-Hop, Thomas Jefferson
“…But history is written by those who have hanged heroes” – Braveheart What do you need to know about history? They are the stories that made up America. They are the stories that America made up. That’s actually not ours. If you’ve seen Assume The Position on HBO, you know…
Breakfast at Cafe Express
Breakfast at Cafe Express might be one of the best-kept secrets in town…for now. Even though the breakfast menu launched a few months ago — the efforts of Cafe Express’ corporate chef Greg Martin finally come to fruition — the crowds haven’t yet found their way into the restaurants’ doors…
Valero’s Tax Ploy: Is It Really Doomsday For Schools And Cities?
Until the day comes when people jump for joy over paying taxes, they will look under every nook and cranny for loopholes that let them save as much as they can. It works the same way for businesses, and you generally never hear about it. But in the past few…
The Day The KKK Bombed KPFT
Yesterday morning during KPFT’s biannual pledge drive, the station was paying homage to recently deceased color-barrier breaker Lena Horne by giving away copies of her biography Stormy Weather and highlighting a 40-minute interview with the black singer/actress about her relationship with whites in the entertainment industry and civil rights activists…
Jorge and Isaac Alvarez and Ocean’s Takes Over the Bistro Vino Site in Montrose
Houston, the city that loves sushi in all its forms, will have a chance to see how devoted it can be to its Hispanic cousin, ceviche, the appetizer that moves to main course at the about-to-be-opened Ocean’s Restaurant at 819 W. Alabama (the former Bistro Vino location). Brothers Jorge and…
Beef Tendon with Green Onions by Tam Vo
One of my favorite dishes at one of my favorite Chinese restaurants is the beef tendon with green onions at Fu Fu Cafe (9889 Bellaire, Suite 105). In all honesty, Fu Fu’s take on the stewed sinew is a complete mystery to me. The tendons are sautéed in a sweetly…
One Supervisor’s Love For Daisy Duke Shorts Costs County $31,000
This never would have happened in the Mad Men days.Harris County has agreed to fork over $31,450 to settle a lawsuit from a former employee who says she was sexually harassed by a supervisor.Among the supervisor’s acknowledged offenses, according to court documents: saying “gals should wear Daisy Duke shorts, lime-green…
Cypress Hill’s Hazy Tuesday At Warehouse Live
For more photos from the show, see our slideshow here. If Aftermath never sets foot inside another rock concert for the rest of our life, we will still more than likely not pass a drug test until our grandson’s freshmen year of college thanks to the giddily oppressive contact high…
Dirk Hayhurst’s Bullpen Gospels Shows What The Minor Leagues Are All About
It’s easy to become disillusioned about sports when night after night you watch the likes of Carlos Lee loafing around the outfield while making an insanely obscene amount of money. But you watch the guys like Michael Bourn and Hunter Pence going full speed every night, the care and concern…
The Eastern Sea: TV-Savvy, Wife-Approved
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. Summerfest, the mega-music festival put on by everyone’s…
Nostalgic in Houston: Desserts of Our Youth
Yesterday we remembered some of our favorite nostalgic Houston dishes. After dinner at the old San Francisco Steakhouse (remember the trapeze?), we could go home for some Blue Bell Caramel Turtle Fudge — or we could head out for dessert. We sure loved that banana pudding at the Black Eyed…
Glee: We’re Gonna Keep On Rockin’ Forever…Forever
The theme this week was the loss of the glee club’s voice — both literally (Rachel has laryngitis) and figuratively (Puck gets a haircut, followed by a corresponding loss of mojo). Will asks everyone to solo in front of the whole group with a song that represents where they are…
Glee: We’re Gonna Keep On Rockin’ Forever…Forever
The theme this week was the loss of the glee club’s voice — both literally (Rachel has laryngitis) and figuratively (Puck gets a haircut, followed by a corresponding loss of mojo). Will asks everyone to solo in front of the whole group with a song that represents where they are…
American Idol: Jamie Foxx, Why?
This is really it? These are the four best singers the Idol producers could come up with? Last night’s competition episode, featuring Crystal, Mike, Lee, and Casey, was one of the dullest in weeks, built on the kind of dry and forgettable performances that got everybody else sent home. The…
Yelapa Playa Mexicana’s 1800 Express
The man and woman I found hanging out behind my neighbor’s shed earlier this week were telling the truth about one thing: It’d be a waste to stay inside on one of the few nice evenings we have left before summer. But I’m not sure they were telling the truth…
Idol Beat: Jamie Foxx, Why?
This is really it? These are the four best singers the Idol producers could come up with? Last night’s competition episode, featuring Crystal, Mike, Lee, and Casey, was one of the dullest in weeks, built on the kind of dry and forgettable performances that got everybody else sent home. The…
BARC Angers Europe, According To A Petition
More than 2,500 people have signed a petition calling for new leadership at Houston’s Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care, according to No Kill Houston President Bett Sundemeyer, who organized the petition drive. She also claimed in a press release that 400 people wrote letters to City Councilmembers, expressing their dismay.There’s…
Former Fed Prakash Khatri Says The Immigration Fast Track Takes 130 Years, On Average
Some people seem to believe that for a Mexican immigrant to become a U.S. citizen and come here legally, all he needs to do is to sign some forms, pay a fee, and then wait a little while. “Eventually they’ll have their day,” these people say, “just like my grandparents,…
Annise Parker’s First Budget Doesn’t Include Major Layoffs Or Furloughs — Yet
One of the things that Mayor Annise Parker touts about the city’s 2011 proposed budget — released today — is that it’s balanced without any major layoffs in city departments or any mandatory furloughs for city employees. By the end of her presentation at City Hall, however, Parker said that…
A Cooler Coke: Uludağ Portakal
Each Tuesday and Thursday for the next few weeks, we’ll be taking a look at alternatives to cokes for the sticky Houston summer that lays ahead. Although there might be some initial confusion about the provenance of Uludağ Portakal, there’s absolutely no question about what kind of soda it is,…
Terry Grier Wants To Know Why “The Legislature Has Started To Play School-Board Member” With Summer Vacations
It was time for another media roundtable Tuesday and Houston ISD Superintendent Terry Grier, a still somewhat recent arrival to the great state of Texas, started musing about why the state legislature involves itself in setting the date for the start of the school year, or as he put it:…
Bellaire Cop Found Not Guilty In Robbie Tolan Shooting
Jeffrey Cotton, the Bellaire police officer who shot Robbie Tolan in a controversial incident outside the Tolan home, was acquitted by a jury today after four and a half hours of deliberation.He had been charged with aggravated assault in the 2008 incident, in which he followed Tolan’s car home and…
The Shameless Chef: Tostada Burgers
We all know that the hamburger is one of God’s most perfect creations. Somehow a fried patty of beef in between two doughy hunks of bread elevates every ingredient involved to a completely transcendent level of awesomeness. Even vegans have to accept the greatness of the hamburger; why else do…
Unidentified Male, 22, Bayou Body Count No. 109
The driver of a Lincoln Town Car who smashed his way into some trees in a median has been charged with intoxicated assault for the death of his passenger.Police say Adrian Mendoza-Alvarez, 22, was driving northbound in the 3600 block of Briarpark about 12:50 a.m. May 5 when he veered…
Top 5 Spots to Stay Away From: UH Area
A lot of great places to eat have sprung up around UH campus lately. This article, however, is not about those places. Below is our top 5 spots to stay away from. Bon appetit!…
Smokey Fire Just East Of Downtown
Photos by Katharine ShilcuttOffice-dwellers downtown might have thought the George R. Brown Convention Center was on fire this afternoon, as smoke from that area burgeoned up. Instead it was an abandoned commercial building on the other side of 59, at Polk and St. Emmanuel, that was the site of the…
9 Places We’d Send The New York Times
As we may have mentioned, Rocks Off was none too pleased when we read The New York Times’ most recent article on Houston in this past Sunday’s travel section and found exactly zero mentions of anything music-related. This is Houston, so of course we expected all that restaurant/museum/architecture love, but…
Pola Artisan Cheeses
We’d tried Pola Artisan Cheeses (1829 Colquitt, 281-414-2509) at the Urban Harvest Farmers’ Market and even taken some to the Saint Arnold Brewery, but when we heard it was being made in a house in Montrose, we had to see it for ourselves. We called ahead to make sure it…
Game Time: Cush-Watch Day 5: AP Voters Get Their Sanctimony On
I’m not sure what it says about your franchise when the most highly anticipated Monday is not a Monday following a big game nor the Monday after the NFL Draft, but instead it’s the first Monday of “organized team activities” (OTA’s for those into acronyms) in May, and it’s compelling…
2010’s Hottest Wedding Jams: Aventura, Lady Gaga, Pantera(!?)
In the immortal words of Vince Vaughan, “Tattoo on the lower back? Might as well be a bullseye” “It’s wedding season, kid!” Whether you’re taking the plunge yourself, in the bridal or groom’s party or just crashing, Rocks Off thinks knowing what you’ll be dancing to at the reception is…
Hope Dworaczyk, Playboy’s First 3-D Centerfold, Is A Local Girl!!
Playboy, a magazine that is far, far above such desperate gimmicks as a cartoon-character centerfold, has announced its coming issue will be in 3-D. Or at least the centerfold will.And who will that centerfold model be? She’s Hope “Thank God for cut-and-paste” Dworaczyk, the pride of Port Lavaca!!Dworaczyk is 2010’s…
First Look at BRC Gastropub
Let’s get one thing out of the way first: BRC stands for Big Red Cock. There’s even a giant crimson rooster in the parking lot, in case there was any misunderstanding. So get all the “Wow, that Big Red Cock is really delicious!” and “I can’t wait to try some…
Aggie Professors Trying To Recruit Gays? That’s What Happens When Your Football Team Sucks
Perhaps there’s a side of Aggieland that we’ve never experienced, but Texas A&M, along with the entire College Station area, has never struck us as a place that accepts alternative lifestyles.But that could be changing, because the school’s Faculty Senate took a step to attract more gay professors. The senators,…
Mayalino’s F*** These WetWacks: A Mixtape Must-Have
Mayalino – We Alive Now from Chase Rees on Vimeo. Rocks Off drowns ourselves in mixtapes, and we’ve come to one conclusion: It’s hard to find a good one. But like a domestic violence-prone girlfriend, we keep going back to the mixtape circuit because we think, “he’ll change.” Mixtapes feel…
Robb Walsh’s 100 Favorite Houston Dishes #44 Steak Tikka at Himalaya at 59 and Hillcroft
Over the course of the next few months, I’m counting down 100 of my favorite Houston dishes. I chose some because they are such quintessential Houston creations, others for their cultural or historical significance, and others because they are just so damn tasty. Share your own nominations in the comments…
Brandon Backe’s Odd History With Bars Continues
Brandon Backe, who for a fleeting moment was the Houston Astros’ homeboy hope of the pitching future, just can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to booze.There was, of course, the little wedding-party brawl with Galveston police while he was still with the Stros. Nothing much came of…
Today’s DVDs: Good Actors In Bad Movies — Legion, Edge of Darkness and Daybreakers
Stick your hopes for quality cinematic releases back in your pocket. This week’s list of DVD releases is topped by a trio of B-movie action flicks that star some A-list names: Legion with Paul Bettany, Charles Dutton and Dennis Quaid, Edge of Darkness with Mel Gibson and Daybreakers with Ethan Hawke,…
The Top 5 Musical Eco-Fails
The bad news about the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is that BP’s magic undersea dome didn’t work, and the slick is now the size of Connecticut. And unless the latest half-assed stopgap measure (a “junk shot” of debris fired down the well in an attempt to plug it) works, it…
Bartender Chat: Lindsay Heffron of Stella Solla
We’ve read a lot about Bryan Caswell and his new venture, Stella Sola. But, what you may not know is that in addition to the Texas-Tuscan food, Stella Sola has a sleek, modern bar with a unique cocktail menu. Mixologist Bobby Heugel of Anvil Bar & Refuge designed the eclectic…
Matthew Ray Creel Finds A Very Ironic, And Unsuccessful, Place To Hide His Weed
Matthew Ray Creel, 21, was pulled over by a cop in Santa Fe last night for having a defective headlight.He was then arrested because, it turns out, he was driving with a suspended license.So the cops searched his car. And, according to KTRK, they found some marijuana folded up in…
BB’s Café Opens 2nd Location Downtown
In the latest flocking of a popular restaurant to the downtown area, BB’s Café joins the scene with its distinctive Tex-Orleans cuisine at a second location. The original will remain at 2710 Montrose…
Solange Serenades Tykes On Yo Gabba Gabba!
Magnolia City Mixtape’s favorite Knowles sister, the much-maligned Solange, performed a charming Mother’s Day song, “Mama Loves Baby” on the kickass kids’ show Yo Gabba Gabba! last week. Solange has a five-year-old son, and awesome taste in eye shadow. Joe Mathlete’s Marmaduke Explained series was mentioned mentioned on The Onion’s…
Teacher Gives Student A Lesson In Whoop-Ass
KRIV’s Ned Hibbard got his hands on the teacher-fight video of the year, a brawl in a Houston charter school.Officials at Jamie’s House Charter School say the teacher has been fired, now that they’ve seen the video…
Unidentified Male, Bayou Body Count No. 108
Police responding to a shooting call at the Dos Rios nightclub found a man shot in the chest early Monday morning.They took him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.”Witnesses stated the victim and unknown male suspect got into an argument when the suspect pulled a gun, shot the…
Young & Recessioned: James Nguyen And the Oh-So-Elusive Dream Job
Today’s installment of Young & Recessioned features James Nguyen, a 25-year-old Texas A&M grad who spent close to ten months unemployed before landing his current position. I never had a dream job. I started in computer engineering, then made my way to the business school, and I did accounting and finance…
Late-Night Scene: Bombay Pizza Co.
Bombay Pizza Co. (914 Main Street) adds chutneys and tandoori flavors and make extremely unique — and extremely delicious — pizza. Since it’s a downtown destination, we chose to park for free in Midtown and catch the rail straight down Main Street to the Main Street Square exit. The restaurant…
Should Houston Increase Its SXSW Footprint?
What can the City of Houston do to promote H-town as a musical, cultural and artsy-fartsy tourist destination to the thousands of people who attend SXSW in Austin each year? That’s the question posed by Jim Moran, a multi-decade veteran of the music/film/interactive festival, to representatives from the Mayor’s office,…
Smoot On Shamed Texans LB Brian Cushing
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 to ask…
Donald Ray Spencer: Tiny Terror Tries To Grab Cop’s Gun After Burglary Bust
It’s a cliché, but criminals come in all shapes and sizes.On Saturday night, the Houston Police Department picked up 20-year-old Donald Ray Spencer for burglary of a habitation, a felony.Evidently Spencer did not go down without a fight, because he is also charged with trying to snatch away the gun…
Coogs Will Host C-USA Tournament, But Probably Won’t Play In It
The University of Houston will be hosting the Conference-USA Baseball Tournament come the last week of May. But while it may be hosting the event, it’s becoming ever more possible that it won’t actually be playing in the tournament.Only six teams qualify for the post-season tournament, the first of several…
Where Are We Drinking?
No trick photos this week. No closeups of only the ice in the drink, or pictures of the bar food instead of the booze. Just a straightforward shot of a lovely, lush bar. Does it look familiar to you? Leave your best guess in the comments section below…
Upcoming: Asia, Hawthorne Heights, Natalie Merchant, Silversun Pickups, Etc.
Ana Egge, Michael Kingcaid, Frank Smith: Wed., May 26. Rudyard’s. Asia: Sat., Aug. 21. House of Blues. Asleep At The Wheel: Sat., June 26. House of Blues. Benny Benassi: Fri., June 18. Stereo Live. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy: Fri., June 25. House of Blues. The Burden, Side Arms, Ghost Town…
Pop Rocks: Is Iron Man 2 ScarJo’s Finest Performance?
Unsurprisingly, Iron Man 2 was tops at the box office last weekend. The $128.1 million haul was considered a mild disappointment by some, proving once again that even the fifth biggest opening weekend in movie history can be spun as a negative in Hollywood, where it was also argued semi-convincingly…
Javier Tufino Belmont, 43, Bayou Body Count No. 107
A barroom dispute out by the refineries ended with one man dead late Friday, police say.Javier Tufino Belmont was found dead in the Michoacan Night Club in southeast Houston after being shot. Police said no motive for the shooting was known.The suspected shooter has got a tattoo that might help…
Elevators In Houston: Let’s Hope We’re Living It Up While We’re Going Down
Houstonians, you spend one hell of a lot of time in elevators.So says IBM, which has conducted a study of “smart buildings” that included (somehow) an assessment of how much time workers spent “stuck in elevators.”Houston, in the past 12 months, you’ve spent a cumulative 9.7 years in elevators.A quarter…
Shafin Okieth Lark, 27, Bayou Body Count No. 106
Police have a suspect in the stabbing death of 27-year-old Shafin Okieth Lark, killed shortly about 12:15 Saturday morning.The “person of interest,” pictured to the right, is Gary Bernard Allen. He’s described as a blackmale in his early 40s, 5 feet 10 inches tall and 180 pounds. Police say Lark…
Texas’ Serial Killers: Someone’s Selling The Dirt From Their Graves On eBay Online
Digging up someone’s grave and stealing whatever’s down there isn’t legal, but what about the dirt laying over the grave or next to a headstone? Is it against the law to take home a scoop or two? And what if the person is somewhat famous? Should you be allowed to…
Raul Dominguez’s Playitas
Raul Dominguez is a good bartender. Not only did he incite fervency in the crowd at the Iron Bartender competition recently, he also knows how to charm the bar patrons at Yelapa Playa Mexicana (2303 Richmond). We can’t get enough of his sweet and spicy creations, such as the oft-yearned-for…
Andrew Stewart, 29, Bayou Body Count No. 105
A suspect has been arrested in the murder of a man over a backpack.Rosendo Diaz, 28, has been charged with murder in the April 11 murder of Andrew Stewart. The pair had been arguing over a backpack at a house in the 7300 block of Tuck. Diaz left with the…
Top 10 Places to Take Visitors
We get asked a lot for suggestions on where to take visitors to Houston. Houston is an amazing place for foodies and non-foodies alike, and it’s great to watch the surprised faces of non-Houstonians when they realize all Houston has to offer. Here are our top 10 places to take…
Eight Memorable Frank Frazetta Album Covers
No man has ever been more able to make pure bad-assery out of ink and canvas than Frank Frazetta. In fact, Rocks Off’s initial attraction to his wife owes much to his obsession with Frazetta’s pale, almond-eyed, raven-haired heroine in his painting “At the Earth’s Core.” The 82-year-old artist who…
Evander Holyfield Loses A House And A Lawyer
Today’s edition of the never-ending saga of former heavyweight boxing champ Evander Holyfield ‘s financial woes takes the form of a lawsuit the boxer filed today against a Houston lawyer he says illegally foreclosed on Holyfield’s home.According to the suit, filed in Harris County District Court, Holyfield executed a deed of…
Healthy Alternatives: Mongo’s Bowl
Mongo’s Mongolian Fire Pit (11200 Broadway Street, Ste 400, Pearland) is one of our favorite dining establishments in the relatively new outdoor mall that is known as the Pearland Town Center, despite its location on the outskirts of town. Though there isn’t anything particularly original about Mongo’s, it executes the…
Upcoming Events
One of summer’s sweetest berries will be celebrated this weekend at the annual Pasadena Strawberry Festival, now in its 37th year. If you’ve never been before, you can look forward to an old-fashioned, small-town festival on steroids — and we mean that in the best possible way. There’s a beauty…
Game Time: An Open Letter To Texans Linebacker Brian Cushing
Dear Brian,I won’t even start off this letter with some colloquial phrase like “How was your weekend?” I know your weekend probably sucked, and the truth of the matter is I hate it when people ask how you’re doing and don’t really want to hear the answer. Along with the…
Reginald Leroy King, 29, Bayou Body Count No. 104
Reginald Leroy King was walking through the parking lot of the Pine Ridge Apartments in the 5700 block of Thousand Oaks Circle when, police say, he and the person with him were surrounded by a half-dozen men.”One suspect pointed his gun at King and demanded his car keys,” police said…
Ben Folds, Still Fighting His “Piano Man” Side
For more pictures from Ben and Kate, see our slideshow here. It’s been awhile since Aftermath came out of a show so ambivalent, so very “eh” that we almost feel bad about even attempting to review it. It didn’t offend us in any way, nor did it blow any wind…
Robb Walsh’s 100 Favorite Houston Dishes #45 Oysters with Lardons and Leeks at La Brocante
Over the course of the next few months, I’m counting down 100 of my favorite Houston dishes. I chose some because they are such quintessential Houston creations, others for their cultural or historical significance, and others because they are just so damn tasty. Share your own nominations in the comments…
Galveston Voters Reject Fancy $35 Million Stadium
In case you missed the news, Galveston school district voters over the weekend thunderously voted no on a proposal to build a $35 million sports stadium on the island.The proposed stadium was touted as a way to help rejuvenate Galveston as it tries to recover from Ike, but the plan…
Random Ingredient: Heirloom Tomatoes
What is it? The “heirloom” in heirloom tomatoes refers to the fact that many of the seeds have been passed down through generations of families. Cultivated for any number of characteristics, heirloom tomatoes come in endless shapes, sizes and colors. Another distinct characteristic of these boutique-like tomatoes is their open…
Little Joe Washington Is A National Treasure
For more pictures from Saturday night, see our slideshow here. Aftermath is still trying to get our heads around what we witnessed at Saturday night’s benefit for the International House of Blues Foundation in House of Blues’ Bronze Peacock Room. In a way, it was one of those “you had…
Scenes From An Art Car Parade
The weather was great, the cars were fantastic, the crowds were big and boisterous — just another successful Art Car Parade for Houston.Saturday’s event featured Dan Aykroyd, who also took time to pimp his Crystal Skull vodka at Spec’s during his visit.Click here for our slideshow of the big day…
Reginald Keith Haynes, 48, Bayou Body Count No. 103
Three black males broke into a home in the 400 block of Truman, ransacked the place and assaulted the occupants Saturday afternoon, Houston police say.One of those occupants, Reginald Keith Haynes, 48, died from “lacerations and possible internal injuries,” police say.Police received a call about an assault at the address,…
Brad Davis Leads Dynamo Over Chivas USA; Man U Coming To Town
Nothing cures a bad loss for the Houston Dynamo like a meeting with Chivas USA. Saturday the Dynamo scored two early goals to beat the Goats 2-0 at the Home Depot Center in SoCal. In the fourth minute of the match, Brad Davis connected with a sliding lob to put…
Nostalgic in Houston: The Foods of Our Youth
Twenty-five years ago I was a wee elementary school lass who liked to watch Goonies, play Legos, and eat raw gelatin off my finger at swim meets. Life was easy back then – We got our sloppy joes from the cafeteria lunch lady and our Frito pies at the neighborhood…
Shelby Lynne, Unlikely Honky-Tonk Heroine
Until the advent of the Internet and blogs and all that, Lonesome Onry and Mean seldom had the time/space to go back and rethink what we’d written, to tweak it more into what we came to think than what we initially thought or add new revelations. I’d published one Shelby…
Janet McAfee, 50, Bayou Body Count No. 102
A domestic dispute that turned into a SWAT situation ended Saturday with a woman dead and the man who allegedly killed her in critical condition from a self-inflicted gun wound.Police responded to a “panic alarm” call in the 2100 block of Tangley near Rice University.late Saturday afternoon. They “were told…
Treme: We’re Your Neighbors
We’re halfway through the first season of Treme, and it was clear in last night’s episode, “Shame, Shame, Shame,” that creator David Simon and his crew have some very clear ideas about where to go from here. The halfway point acted like a turning point of sort for the season,…
Recipe: Whole Wheat Bread
On an afternoon a few weeks back, 23 bees flew through the air conditioning vents and into our apartment, where they bumped up against the front window until we swatted them or trapped them and tossed them outside. A beekeeper visited the next week, cut a hole in the bedroom…
Bun B Counts His Money; Kenny Chesney Chopped And Screwed
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. “Get Well Soon, Bun” Single of the Week: “Countin’ Money,” Bun B feat. Yo Gotti Wire to Wire That Trae vs. The Box…
Chet Garner is Trippin’
Texas is filled interesting, hidden treasures — delicious food, historic locations, interesting people that don’t toot their own horn. And Chet Garner is hell-bent on finding each and every one of them. A lawyer by training, Garner left the legal game behind and decided to turn to his attention to…
Ludacris And Monica A-Town Stomp Arena Theatre
8:22 p.m.: Ah, yes, the rap concert double-decker of safety: Walking through a metal detector and then getting a very handsy full-body pat-down. How is it that this actually makes you feel less safe than if there were no precautions at all? 8:29: Oh, man. We love when white girls…
Christina Aguilera, Lady Gaga (Again!) Headed Our Way
Hot off the wire this morning is that pop’s two preeminent bionic women have penciled in Houston for dates on their upcoming tours. First up is Christina Aguilera, who will bring her tiny frame and prodigious voice to the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion August 12. British diva Leona Lewis, a…
The Week In TV: Betty White and the Rich Dicks
I’ve got clear eyes, a full heart, and can’t help but notice that you seem pretty practiced at putting on panties with one hand while holding a gun. This was the week in TV Land: • Because Facebook now controls us all, Betty White hosted Saturday Night Live a couple…
Where Are We Eating?
A steam table filled with comfort food and down-home goodness. Does the setting below look familiar to you? Think you know where we’re eating this week? Leave your best guess in the comments section below…
Treme: We’re Your Neighbors
We’re halfway through the first season of Treme, and it was clear in last night’s episode, “Shame, Shame, Shame,” that creator David Simon and his crew have some very clear ideas about where to go from here. The halfway point acted like a turning point of sort for the season,…
Sean Berry Is Failing The Astros
With J.R. Towles gone, the Astros needed a new scapegoat to blame for their rotten season. It kind of appeared that Hunter Pence was turning into the one that Brad Mills was looking at for that role, as it was Pence that Mills has been continuously benching because of his…
Clinton Tod Harwell: Fake Oil Millionaire Convicted Of Felony Theft In California Court
UPDATED, FEBRUARY 14, 2012: Harwell called to say that he is trying to put his life in order now and wishes there wasn’t so much negative information about him on the Internet. For the record, he disputes the account of the anonymous woman in this story and says that her…
Frank Wilson Survival Watch: Down Goes Wilson!!! Down Goes Wilson!!
Today’s installment of the Frank Wilson Survival Watch is our last — the Metro president announced his resignation at a meeting this afternoon — but that doesn’t mean Wilson is completely dead to Metro. He’s still got quite a bit of cash coming to him, thanks to generous contract stipulations…
Brian Cushing And the Department Of Bad Timing
Adventures in Public Relations:At 2:13 this afternoon, we got this e-mail: My name is Ryan Cole and I work for ESBL Sports management where we handle the PR for Houston Texans’ Rookie of the Year and Pro Bowler Brian Cushing.I wanted to reach out to you in regards to setting…
New York Times Travel FAIL: Houston Has Music Too
It’s Friday afternoon in our sleepy little Southern megalopolis, and just about the time Rocks Off was wondering if we’ll actually be able to go home at a decent hour, what to our wandering eyes should appear but a link to a story scheduled to be published in this Sunday’s…
This Week in Deliciousness
Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where we’re still looking for a bakery that can fit “Sorry I Never Finished College and Quit Going to Church and Swear Too Much In My Articles and Am Generally a Huge Disappointment to You” on a Mother’s Day…
Fake Nigerians Scamming Hispanics In Texas City
Almost exactly five years ago, we were minding our own business at the Downtown Transit Center light rail stop one evening. A suave and well-dressed middle-aged black man came up to us and introduced himself and spun an outrageous tale about being an exiled South African king.In a heavy African…
FAIL: The Temptations, Roger Waters, Fred Schneider
If you’re reading this, you’re either on the Internet, or else you’ve mastered multi-dimensional thought-projection processes that would make Michio Kaku cry like a little girl. We’ll assume the former, and just in case you don’t already know, the Internet has decided that the word “failure” is too long by…
Khun Kay Thai Café
Why is it when ever you order food at a Thai restaurant and you say you want it hot, they never make it really hot? That is what Thai food is all about – hell, they even have a dish called Tiger Cry. For crying out loud, is there a…
To Get You In The Mood For Summer Movie Season, The Worst Blockbusters Of The ’00s
For better or worse, the summer movie season kicks off this weekend with the release of Iron Man 2 (which I believe is a Black Sabbath documentary).It’s the time of year when temperatures rise and IQs drop as folks looking for relief from the sweltering heat seek shelter in air-conditioned…
Pocket Shot: WTF
We were in this liquor store buying some beer, and at the counter they had these Pocket Shots. They came in Gin, Tequila and Vodka. The lady behind the counter said they’d had Scotch but had sold out. Go figure. We bought the vodka and took it out to show…
Don’t Start A Band… Actually, Go Right Ahead
Rocks Off hasn’t been too good about updating our Don’t Start A Band blog. But we have an excuse: Houston musicians, at least the ones we’ve talked to, are surprisingly positive. It actually made us feel bad, because we thought all artists were as bitter as we are. We’ve talked…
Right-Wing Radio Ignites A Flap At A Klein High School
Gee, does this sound a little defensive?Response to Inaccurate Allegations# Neither the Klein Independent School District nor any of its campuses has flown another country or state’s flag on a pole outside of its facilities.# Neither the Klein Independent School District nor any of its campuses has flown the American…
Unidentified Man, Bayou Body Count No. 101
Maybe he was trying to make it to the emergency room.The dead body of a gunshot victim was found near Memorial Hermann Northwest Hospital early this morning, police say.Although no identity has been released pending notification of the family, police do say they have linked the victim to a shooting…
Mother’s Day Pancakes: Four Ways
Mother’s Day is this Sunday, and if you’re like us, you’re still trying to decide exactly how to honor the woman who was brave enough to deal with you during your formative years. You could always take her to brunch, but that trick is becoming a bit played out. Huge…
GHASP Takes On Toxic Chemicals In…Well, Just About Everything
Photo courtesy GHASPThat is, indeed, a large duckStanding in front of an 20-foot-tall pseudo-rubber ducky, local public health advocates on Friday morning threw their support behind recently proposed federal legislation to update and upgrade the laws governing toxic chemicals used in consumer products.”The Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 regulates…
Bun B Hurt At Gumball 3000 Rally Concert
Bun B jumps onstage at Houston-area hip-hop concerts so often that the idea of the II Trill rapper getting hurt under the lights is almost inconceivable. But apparently that’s what has happened. Allhiphop.com is reporting that Bun, whose presence will no doubt be missed at tonight’s Ludacris/Monica show, was onstage…
Game Time: Lawrence Taylor — We Liked You A Lot Better When All You Did Was Sack Quarterbacks And Snort Blow
There’s a scene at the very beginning of the Tom Cruise hit film Jerry Maguire where superagent Maguire is shown adeptly handling all of the day-to-day duties that come with his territory. Wooing potential new clients, securing sponsorship deals for existing clients, fast talking, smooth talking — it’s like watching…
Robb Walsh’s 100 Favorite Houston Dishes: #46 Ice Cream at Hank’s
Over the course of the next few months, I’m counting down 100 of my favorite Houston dishes. I chose some because they are such quintessential Houston creations, others for their cultural or historical significance, and others because they are just so damn tasty. Share your own nominations in the comments…
Coming At 4:20: Free Cypress Hill Tickets!
This afternoon at the weeding hour of 4:20 p.m., Rocks Off will give away a pair of tickets for Cypress Hill’s Warehouse Live show Tuesday night on our Facebook page. You must be a fan of the page (i.e. “like” us) to play the game. What, you aren’t already? As…
Leighann Adair, Third-Grader: Busted For Jolly Rancher Possession
A third-grader in a small Fort Bend school district has received a week-long suspension because of a rogue Jolly Rancher consumed at lunch, KHOU reported.The parents are upset, and the incident seems to stem from confusion over state nutrition guidelines. We’re sure it will all get settled.But our question is…
Houston Restaurants Get National Attention
For all the blustery proclamations issued from native Houstonians when our culinary scene is spotlighted by outside media — “We know we’re great; we don’t need reassurance from Yankees!” — it still feels nice to be recognized on a national level when we’re doing something right, especially when we’ve been…
Faith And The Muse Headline Goth Show Of The Year
The night that is shaping up to be THE Goth event of the year is Saturday at Numbers, when Faith and the Muse and Voltaire take the stage. Formed in 1993 in the Washington D.C. area, Faith and the Muse is a gothic mainstay. Previously, vocalist Monica Richards had been…
Baseball Food
Summer means it’s baseball season in Houston. Whether you love the Astros or hate them (probably hate them right now), baseball is still the American pastime. And, let’s be honest, even when the games suck, you still go for the booze…we mean, food. Baseball food has come a long way…
Jeffrey Petroff Will Pay You To Watch Him Have Sex With A Hooker, Police Say
Hotel workers see a lot of strange stuff, and this week at Galveston’s San Luis Resort was no different.Police say Jeffrey Petroff, the suave guy pictured to the right, was going around the hotel offering employees money to watch him have sex with hookers.An offer you could definitely refuse.Petroff also…
Freak Flags Fly At Art Car Ball
The best thing about Art Car Weekend is it’s the one weekend in Houston where everybody can let their freak flag fly. Last night at the Art Car Ball, Rocks Off saw a woman wearing nothing but Koosh Balls on her tatas and a dude who was way more excited…
Will Ferrell Proves Astros Minor-League System Really Is A Joke
MLB.com has a report on the newest reliever on the Astros’ Triple-A affiliate, the Round Rock Express.He’s Billy Ray “Rojo” Johnson, an American raised in Venezuela who recently got out of prison for the “illegal importation of countless species of reptiles, including various types of rare snakes, lizards, iguanas, turtles…
First Taste of Zelko Bistro
When Jamie Zelko left her post as executive chef at Bistro Lancaster in 2008, we worried that the young talent would pack her bags and leave our fair city. She was, after all, a climbing star, winning praise, love and accolades from patrons and critics alike. Turns out, leaving the…
Where Are We Peeing Next To A Giant Hole?
WAWP has no regard for his health or well-being. We have no children, nor do we have a ball and chain cooking for us or telling us when to say when. The only creed we live by is “How much this will cost us? and “Will it hinder us making…
NBC’s Thursday Night: I Walked On Your Face!
This is my third week blogging about NBC’s Thursday comedies as a whole, and I’m really enjoying the experience of watching them as a block. Between my DVR, sites like Hulu, and a willingness to look around for other online videos whose legality I will not get into in any…
Which Actors Can Hack It As Musicians?
Hollywood Shuffle got word Thursday that Blues Brother and Saturday Night Live alumnus Dan Aykroyd will be at the downtown Spec’s this afternoon from 3-7 p.m. to sign bottles of his new vodka, Conehead Crystal Head. Aykroyd is in town to act as Grand Marshal for Saturday’s Art Car Parade…
Lil’ Keke’s 11 Favorite Gangster Movies
Welcome back to Five Spot. Every Friday, we’ll examine a recent bit of music news and, albeit sometimes awkwardly, tie it to a bit of Houston rap. We’ll incorporate the number five in there somewhere. Send tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. As research for an upcoming music feature, we met up with…
$7 at Taqueria Lulu
Where: Taqueria Lulu, 4320 Almeda Rd. What $7 gets you: A fajita chicken torta ($5.25) and a veggie taco ($1.50), with 25 cents to spare – not including tax. The torta was mediocre, but satisfied a craving for beans, guacamole, shredded lettuce and cheese on a bun, plus it came…
The Week In Photos
With the heat of summer just around the corner, it’s time for a refreshing dip in the Houston Press Flickr Pool to see what our talented photographers have been capturing over the past week. As always, for more information about a picture or its photographer, simply click on it. Want…
Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia Hit Where It Hurts
John Denholm, a former Harris County sheriff’s deputy turned lawyer, knows how to push buttons.And he’s done it again, filing a lawsuit that hits right at Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia’s point of pride — an open and transparent administration.Denholm is seeking an injunction, saying Garcia has consistently refused to…
J.R. Towles — The Astros Have Found Their Scapegoat
So it’s all the fault of J.R. Towles. That seems to be the only conclusion that can be arrived at by the Astros demoting him to Corpus Christi after the Astros 1-0 loss to Arizona on Tuesday night.The Astros didn’t say it was his fault, of course. There was talk…
Bobby Heugel’s Weekly Cocktail: The Margarita
Nobody wants to talk about margaritas on May 6, the day after Cinco de Mayo. However, rather than avoiding discussing the source of the dreaded May 6 hangover, we thought we’d confront the Tex-Mex monster head-on. You can almost smell the lingering stench of artificial margarita mixes and poorly made…
Health Dept. Roundup
This week’s Health Department Roundup brought us to some interesting-sounding places. At Supple Skin (2368 Rice Blvd.), a May 5 pre-opening inspection found the ceilings not easily cleanable in the walk-in fridge, food prep area and several other sections of the shop. At Boom Boom Game Room (10708 Kingspoint Road),…
Fight The Oil Spill By Giving Your Dog A Haircut
Until today, Hair Balls thought pet hair clippings were only good for making you sneeze, but apparently the hair is incredibly absorbent, which could come in handy in the case of, say, a gigantic freakin’ oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Pet Paradise, a chain of chichi pet spas, with…
OMG: The Five Most Embarrassing Songs In Our Library
If, like Rocks Off, you’re an archivist (read: pack rat), then you’ve collected quite a few songs on your listening medium of choice. Hopefully you’ve done so legally, but this is the internet, so who are we kidding, really. However it happened, you’ve almost certainly got a few tracks that…
Breakfast at Whole Foods
Creamy, delicious cheese grits on a breakfast buffet? From Whole Foods, no less? The answer is a resounding YES. The grocery store at 2955 Kirby already has my favorite salad bar in town (who else offers things like spelt and no-oil balsamic vinaigrette so good it’ll make you forget Ranch…
Easy Dishes to Serve at a Tapas Gathering
Tapas were created to accompany cocktails, beer and wine — pub grub de España, if you will. And anything built solely to meet the snackage needs of drinkers is a mighty fine idea, no matter the origin. If you decide to brave the world of Spanish bar food in your…
For The National Day Of Prayer: Five Invocations For (Almost) Any Occasion
The good news is, President Obama didn’t cancel the National Day of Prayer, as was alleged by e-mails sent by a few of my dimmer relations over the last few years. The bad news is, it’s still pretty goddamned hard to find an appropriate bit of Scripture when you’re in…
Remember Bushwick Bill’s Phantom of the Rapra?
Houston’s history is dotted with albums that, fairly or un, have been swept aside. We’ll examine them here. Have an album that you think nobody knows about but should? Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. At the peak of his insanity, Bushwick Bill was the most ferocious of the Geto Boys. He was never…
Arizona’s Immigrant Law Sparks A Protest At Minute Maid
About 60 demonstrators were outside Minute Maid Park last night protesting the Arizona Diamondbacks in response to the state’s newly passed SB 1070 anti-immigrant law.As baseball fans made their way into the stadium, several stopped to find out exactly what was going on and were surprised when they found out.”I…
Food Fight: Battle Iced Coffee
It’s only the very beginning of May, yet it’s already becoming oppressively hot by 10 a.m. each day. And although no good morning can start without a cup of coffee, the hot black stuff just doesn’t appeal on days when my legs are sticking to the car seat before noon…
Jaylon Calloway’s Suspected Killer Named (UPDATE)
(Updated with reported arrest.)The man who police believe shot 14-year-old Jaylon Calloway at a Yates High graduation party is Brian Chidozie Ezike, 18.HPD says he goes by the names “Etray, E-Tray or Etrey,” which just about covers all the possible spellings. He’s been charged with murder in the 182nd District…
Pamela Des Barres, More Than The World’s Most Famous Groupie
Pamela Des Barres is the world’s most famous groupie. In 1987 she published her first book, I’m With The Band, a collection of journal entries and stories detailing her life growing up in Los Angeles at the height of the 1960s music revolution, her years as a groupie and her…
Sierra Club Takes Its Oil-Spill Act To The Offshore Technology Conference
Dressed in a black business suit with a fake BP badge on the lapel, Sierra Club spokeswoman Donna Hoffman pretended to be a BP company exec giving a press conference after an oil spill.”I want to reassure everyone that the oil spill, outside of lives lost, is not a big…
Robb Walsh’s 100 Favorite Houston Dishes: #47 Pasta with Fresh Peas, Ham and Mushrooms at Ciao Bello
Over the course of the next few months, I’m counting down 100 of my favorite Houston dishes. I chose some because they are such quintessential Houston creations, others for their cultural or historical significance, and others because they are just so damn tasty. Share your own nominations in the comments…
Game Time: FREE BEER!…Now That I Have Your Attention, Behold My TEXANS HOME RUN DERBY Dream Team
Save the date!Free beer will be served at Nick’s Place on Friday, May 28. Well, to be clear, since there are probably legalities involved in a bar literally giving away beer, someone will be paying for the beer — and that someone is my co-host John Harris. That’s right, Houston,…
Krayolas Attack Arizona Immigration Law On “I’m Your Dirty Mexican”
San Antonio Tex-Mex garage-rockers the Krayolas, who sharpened their political claws on the Little Steven-endorsed “Corrido (Twelve Heads In a Bag),” have set their sights on Arizona’s controversial anti-immigration law on the band’s new single “1070 (I’m Your Dirty Mexican).” The Krayolas recorded the glowering, mid-tempo “Mexican,” the first song…
Willie Nelson Camp Confirms Drummer’s Stroke
Willie Nelson’s camp has finally confirmed what Rocks Off first reported here last Friday, that longtime Nelson drummer Paul English did in fact suffer a “mild stroke.” About an hour ago, Nelson tweeted the message “Paul is getting better!” A brief statement on Nelson’s Web site today added that English…
Odd Pair: Donuts
The other night we had dinner at Backstreet Café. For dessert, we decided to try the potato donuts dusted in cinnamon and sugar and served with a decadent milkshake. Donuts have now made their way onto the dessert menus of fine dining restaurants with the likes of crème brulee and…
World Premiere: Coast’s “Still Walking” Video
If you’re new to Coast or if, perhaps, this is your first listen to arguably one of the most embraced underground hip-hop artists in Texas, you might click other write-ups hyperlinked throughout this blog to know more about him. You’ll see lengthy proclamations in the comment section, which serve as…
Julian Castro, San Antonio Mayor, Annointed Great Hispanic Hope By The New York Times
The cover story from this week’s upcoming New York Times Magazine is available online, and it’s a love letter to 35-year-old San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, tabbing him as an official Hispanic to Watch, including talk of the Governor’s Mansion in Austin and the White House in D.C.Castro, they say,…
A Cooler Coke: Vimto
Each Tuesday and Thursday for the next five weeks, we’ll be taking a look at alternatives to cokes for the sticky Houston summer that lays ahead. If you’re like me, you might wander up to the refrigerated drink case at Phoenicia and think that the red, yellow and white can…
Marlin Joe Brown, 67, Bayou Body Count No. 100
The 100th Bayou Body Count of the year comes to us in the form of an elderly man who got in a fatal fight over his girlfriend.Police report that Marlin Joe Brown was the landlord of a property in the 5700 block of Allison, in the rural open spaces south…
Celebrate National Day Of Slayer
Henry Rollins talks about Slayer Since 1952, every first Thursday in May has been set aside as a National Day Of Prayer. It’s a day for Christians and other religious folk to gather together and pray for our country, the world and ourselves. God is awesome and all that, but…
Rice Coach Wayne Graham: He Reads The Message Boards
Here’s a little note for you Rice Owl baseball fans who like to post on the message boards. Coach Wayne Graham likes to read your little postings. But here’s the thing, he doesn’t always agree with what you write. And he’s hoping that, after last night’s 16-9 win over the…
The King Cole: Our New Fave
We popped into the King Cole to pick up a gin and tonic set up and started admiring the small quaintness of this Montrose cornerstone. This 70-year-old booze haunt, which is no bigger than a walk-in closet but is, for some reason, really comfortable inside…
Most Hated Musician Search Reveals Houston’s Best Qualities
Recently, Rocks Off gifted the interwebs with a riddle and a moral. We jotted down a list of activities, proclivities and personality disorders and asked our readers to guess who exactly owned all of the traits and was, therefore, the most hated musician in Houston. Now we’ll tell you. No…
American Idol: Adios, Aaron
I was amazed, if not exactly surprised, at how much time Idol can kill in a one-hour results show. Now that we’re down to just a handful of singers, the producers are really reaching for padding, which is why last night’s elimination featured two medleys from the contestants instead of…
Norah Jones, Miranda Lambert Top Lilith Houston Lineup
If you missed Norah Jones Wednesday or Miranda Lambert a couple weeks back, don’t worry – they’ll both be back when the revived Lilith Fair hits the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion August 16. Also scheduled for Houston are Dixie Chicks Emily Robison and Martie Maguire’s new band, Court Yard Hounds,…
Got 7-Year-Olds Less Than 4-Foot-9? Better Put Them In A Booster Seat
Cleaner than DPS’ initial motto attempt, “You’re Either Buckled Up or You’re Fuckled Up”TxDOT and the Department of Public Safety have announced yet another “Click it or Ticket” effort in Houston and elsewhere later this month. This one has a twist, though.Thanks to a new Texas law, children who are…
The Iron Bartender Competition in Galveston
This Sunday certainly qualified as a Sunday Funday as 70 bartenders crowded the grand halls of the San Luis Resort to vie for the title of Iron Bartender. Following a contestant brunch, these 70 hopefuls were narrowed down to 10 of the best mixologists around town who then went head…
Idol Beat: Adios, Aaron
I was amazed, if not exactly surprised, at how much time Idol can kill in a one-hour results show. Now that we’re down to just a handful of singers, the producers are really reaching for padding, which is why last night’s elimination featured two medleys from the contestants instead of…
Pop Rocks: Remake My Day
When it comes to movie remakes, I always think of Die Hard. Specifically, this Alan Rickman line: Sooner or later, I might get to someone you do care about! Granted, he was trying to force McClane to tell him where his detonators were, but the same sentiment applies to “reimagining”…
Today’s Porn Comes From A Local Right-Wing Blogger
Melissa Clouthier is a chiropractor from The Woodlands who blogs the right-wing line for the Houston Chronicle and various websites.She’s a big Tea Partier, and she was highly, highly offended that President Obama used the term “teabaggers” in an interview for a forthcoming book. For all we know, the interview…
Uncivil Unions
Since 1998, Unhinged Productions has been the leading theater voice for all things LGBT. (If we have to explain the acronym, you’re not ready for them.) Like all small, idealistic companies, this one’s had its share of ups and downs, but its distinctive voice has neither wavered nor dimmed. Its…
The Adventure of Baroque Music
Introduce your children to the wonders of classical music. The first-ever public concert aimed at kids by Mercury Baroque, The Adventure of Baroque Music is set in 1704. England’s Queen Anne has a problem with her orchestra. The oboe and bassoon players are running out of reeds. To make more,…
“Perspectives 170: Cruz Ortiz”
For “Perspectives 170: Cruz Ortiz,” the San Antonio-based artist’s work is inside the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, but it’s also outside the museum – right outside. Inside, Ortiz, who is both a visual and performance artist, has created a tent city as an installation in the CAMH’s downstairs Zilkha Gallery…
Meals on Reels: Food, Inc.
Peter Travers, film critic for Rolling Stone, called Food, Inc. “scarier than anything in the last five Saw horror shows.” That might be due to the fact that once the movie’s over, the carnage it revealed continues to occur. Subtitled A Participant Guide: How Industrial Food Is Making Us Sicker,…
A Flea in Her Ear
You might want to take a seat belt with you to see A Flea in Her Ear. The sexy French farce, adapted by Texas Repertory Theatre Artistic Director Craig Miller, is performed at breakneck speed. It’s the story of Raymonde, who thinks her husband Victor is having an affair because…
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Few graffiti artists have the global reach Banksy has – his work is on display from the West Bank in the Middle East to post-Katrina New Orleans. Extremely secretive and always fighting to remain anonymous, Banksy had managed to escape being captured on film – that is, until a French…
The Business
The Business has been one of the longest-running street-punk and Oi! bands running since first stirring in 1979. Led by the charismatic Micky Fitz, the band has gone through a myriad of personnel changes, with Fitz being the sole remaining piece of the classic ‘80s crew. You more than likely…
Jen Lancaster: My Fair Lazy: One Reality Television Addict’s Attempt to Discover If Not Being a Dumb Ass Is the New Black, or, A Culture-Up Manifesto
When you give your book a title as long as My Fair Lazy: One Reality Television Addict’s Attempt to Discover If Not Being a Dumb Ass Is the New Black, or, A Culture-Up Manifesto, it better be worth reading. Author Jen Lancaster began her career as a blogger discussing her…
The Human Centipede
Get ready for a gross-out in the horror movie The Human Centipede. Directed by Dutch filmmaker Tom Six, Centipede starts with a familiar setup. Two young women have car trouble on a lonely road in the middle of nowhere in the dead of night. They walk to a remote house…
Rachel Caine: Kiss of Death
Before she wrote her first supernatural novel for young adults, author Rachel Caine wasn’t sure she’d be successful in that field. Her work for adults, including the Weather Warden and Outcast Season series, was popular, but teens and young adults? That was a whole different ballgame. Legions of fans are…
Mother’s Day Brunch at Tokyo One
Mom gets a special gift and a complimentary glass of Champaign during today’s Mother’s Day Brunch at Tokyo One. The menu features Japanese specialties such as Dungeness crab, salmon kama, Hibachi steak, New Zealand lamp chops Unagi Kabayaki and unlimited servings of regular menu entrées. 2938 West Sam Houston Parkway…
Elizabeth Berg: The Last Time I Saw You
Elizabeth Berg, the author of Home Safe and The Year of Pleasures, will discuss and sign her new book, The Last Time I Saw You, today. In it, former classmates meet at their fortieth high school reunion, each of them with a different hope. Dorothy, for example, has just been…
Nano Fiction Reading Series: R. T. Castleberry and Peter B. Hyland
The inspiration for local poet R.T. Castleberry’s latest chapbook, Arriving at the Riverside, comes from a familiar place. “I was working at a job that I didn’t really enjoy and I could not escape, so the characters in my poems could,” says the writer, who will appear at the Nano…
“Lily Cox: The Stand”
For her exhibit “The Stand,” now appearing at Lawndale Art Center, local artist Lily Cox-Richard looks to the “supporting” elements of sculpture – the less-noticed elements like buttresses and props – to see if they can sustain historical meaning alone. “The departure point for much of my work has been…
Bayou City Concert Musicals: Tea for Two – The Songs of Vincent Youmans
Bayou City Concert Musicals presents Tea for Two – The Songs of Vincent Youmans, another installment in its series of programs based on the Great American Songbook. While Youmans might not have the name recognition of some of his cohorts, such as Ira Gershwin and Cole Porter, his songs are…
Alice Neel
Respected by and known only to the cognoscenti, painter Alice Neel was, perhaps, the most famous unknown painter of the 20th century. It was only at the end of her life that she gained the recognition she deserved. See Neel from another perspective: her grandson’s 2007 tribute documentary Alice Neel…
A Life of Zen: Making Peace with the Commonplace
The answers to life’s questions are as close as your laundry basket, at least according to Karen Maezen Miller’s book Hand Wash Cold: Care Instructions for an Ordinary Life. A Buddhist priest, today Maezen presents “A Life of Zen: Making Peace with the Commonplace.” The session includes a talk and…
Stiletto Jam
Horny straight guys, stop reading. Stiletto Jam is not for you. The Splash Pride Party is for lesbians. Hundreds of women from across the country, including Houston, New Orleans, Atlanta and Miami, will congregate at Warehouse Live for a plush party of dancing, drinking and, of course, flirting. 9 p.m…
“The Inner Space of War. The Blockade of Leningrad in Photographs”
Over sixty-five years ago, Hitler was terrorizing Europe. Among the many cities he captured at the time was Leningrad. The city was held for 872 days. A group of photojournalists developed their own way of resistance – they photographed the people’s suffering and the horrible conditions they endured. Unable to…
“Made by Will: Selections from Four Portfolios”
The Houston Center for Photography provides a concise description of the exhibit “Made by Will: Selections from Four Portfolios”: “This show is about how photographs are a reflection of their maker.” But the exhibition packs far more emotional clout than these few words imply. The self-portraits, studies and busts shot…
Mother’s Day Gospel Brunch
Raise the roof with live music and a scrumptious southern style buffet at today’s Mother’s Day Gospel Brunch. Both shows are expected to sell out, so get your reservations in quickly. To add a little extra comfort to your celebration, opt for the VIP brunch in separate lounge, with guaranteed…
Love & Marriage, Texas Style
Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew has been adapted to a variety of settings and times, but the Houston Family Arts Center’s Love & Marriage, Texas Style might be unique. Houston playwright/actor/director Elaine Edstrom reset the story in Tomball and reworked the dialogue, not only making it modern but filling…
Mother’s Day Dim-Sum at Café Chino
For the first time ever since its opening 26 years ago, Café Chino will be serving a Mother’s Day Dim-Sum Brunch. May Chan, who, along with her husband Eddie Chan, owns Café Chino, explains, “Instead of serving our regular menu, I wanted to do something different. Growing up, my mother…
Cypress Hill
When it comes to weed-friendly artists, SoCal’s Cypress Hill comes in third behind Snoop Dogg and the grandpappy of reefer, Willie Nelson, in terms of musicians who have done the most PR work for the sweet leaf. Across the group’s two-decade history, they helped mainstream Latin hip-hop early in their…
Unflinching Truths
Alice Neel was not the sort of artist people turned to for vanity portraits, because her paintings revealed much more than her subjects likely wanted. The expressive strokes and often lurid flesh of Neel’s mature work make you wonder if she dipped her brush into her subject’s psyche and smeared…
Capsule Art Reviews: “Bert Long’s RED Book”, “Iron: Forged, Tempered, Quenched”, “Maurizio Cattelan”, “Steve Wolfe on Paper”
“Bert Long’s RED Book” Houston art scene fixture Bert Long presents 18 new pieces based on The Red Book, Carl Jung’s personal art journal that was published for the first time last year. Jung’s artwork was based largely on the symbolism of dreams, and Long mines his own personal unconscious…
Capsule Stage Reviews: The Little Foxes, Man from Nebraska, Reefer Madness
The Little Foxes Not since Agamemnon and the house of Atreus has there been such an entertainingly decadent family as the house of Hubbards in Lillian Hellman’s classic tale of greed, The Little Foxes (1939), about three on-the-rise siblings in 1900 Alabama. Ben is ceaselessly scheming at ways to get…
The Pope Problem
The Pope Problem Online readers comment on “The Man Who Sued the Pope,” by John Nova Lomax, April 22: Let them wed: The Catholic Church would regain so much confidence if they would just reinstate married clergy. That prohibition has less to do with theology than with church finances. And…
Built to Last
As Iron Man 2 begins, Tony Stark — mechanical genius, Forbes 400 perennial, the pop-star CEO of Stark Industries — has dropped any pretense of a secret identity. Stark is garishly “out” as Iron Man, performing a one-man air show before touching down to host his Stark Expo, which transforms…
Ben Folds
Since making his bow with his trio Ben Folds Five in 1994, we have seen Ben Folds steadily morph from a sort of slacker Randy Newman into the Burt Bacharach of indie-rock. The BF5 amicably disbanded in 2000 with four LPs under their belts, and a wealth of fans still…
Tag, You’re It
A genuinely hip, thought-provoking work of art disguised as a doomed documentary resurrected, Exit Through the Gift Shop is not just the definitive portrait of street-art counterculture, but also a hilarious exposé on the gullibility of the masses who embrace manufactured creative personas. Though it’s credited as a Banksy picture…
Too Beaucoup
Searching for a neighborhood joint where I could eat some mudbugs, since they’re in season, I called Beaucoup Bar & Grill (3102 Old Spanish Trail, 713-747-5100) to see if they were holding. The sweet, friendly voice on the phone informed me that Beaucoup does crawfish boils on the weekends sometimes,…
Semi-Comeback for the Tower Theater
SPACED CITY Semi-Comeback for the Tower Theater By Katharine Shilcutt Back in November 2009, the Hollywood Video store that occupied the erstwhile Tower Theater on Westheimer at Waugh closed for good. Since then, the property has sat vacant, the same sad way as the Alabama Theatre has been empty since…
Cha Champagne & Wine Bar
“I own the building, and when Raindrop Chocolate left, we already had the kitchen in place, and a good friend of ours suggested we open a champagne bar,” says David Shellar, who just opened Cha Champagne & Wine Bar (810 Waugh). Todd Leveritt, who used to work for Voice, is…
Special Arizona Buycott Edition
Dear Readers: All together, now: ¡A LA CHINGADA WITH ARIZONA’S SB1070! For those of ustedes too occupied with the your Drinko por Cinco hangover, the initiative I mentioned (signed a couple of weeks ago into law by Arizona’s governor) gives immigration powers to the state’s police officers and sheriff’s deputies…
Fill ‘er Up
Most chiles rellenos at Mexican restaurants are stuffed with a ground beef mixture, but at the Cadillac Bar (1802 Shepherd, 713-862-2020), there’s a seafood-stuffed chile relleno ($11.99) that will make you forget all about the meat version. A large poblano pepper is filled with a delectable mixture of crab, shrimp,…
How Low Can He Go?
Imagine revamping a fiery activist anthem into a mindless, rump-shaking jam. That’s exactly what Ludacris has done on his recent hit “How Low,” which features Chipmunk-style vocal effects and young girls being seduced out of their pajamas. The “How low can you go?” in Public Enemy’s original version of “Bring…
The Big Easy’s Origo Malum
Sitting at the bar on a quiet night at the Big Easy (5731 Kirby, 713-523-9999), it feels like you’re a one-armed dwarf and an exotic dancer away from being in a Tom Waits song. Something about the music, empty space and Mardi Gras lights gives it that shore-leave-gone-wrong flavor. Behind…
An Opportunity to Stand Up
Village Voice Media is underwriting the cost of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona’s forthcoming litigation against Senate Bill 1070, as well as two other immigration lawsuits. Senate Bill 1070 mandates that a police officer who has “reasonable suspicion” that someone is a Mexican must detain that person. The…
Wrong Number
Miss Leslie, a.k.a. Leslie Sloan, and her band the Juke-Jointers play hardcore honky-tonk from the days of 45s on the jukebox and Hank Williams on the AM radio, but she’s no throwback. After 2008’s outstanding Between the Whiskey and the Wine, she thought about making the results of each recording…
On Hold
Flanked by attorneys, Michael Serges sat nervously at the defendant’s table while the jury deliberated, his life and career as a peace officer hanging in the balance. He knew he was innocent, that he didn’t rape anyone, but he also knew you can never predict what a jury is going…
Swagger Like Us
You would absolutely be forgiven for having overlooked Swagger Lounge (3839 Southwest Fwy.) the past 17 months it’s been open. Despite the bigness the name implies, the bar is 1,400 square feet of modesty and neutral-tone paint. It’s a tiny, rectangular space slipped into a shopping strip off U.S. 59,…
Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s reign of terror becomes Arizona policy, thanks to state Senator Russell Pearce and Governor Jan Brewer.
With Governor Jan Brewer’s April 25 signature affixed to Senate Bill 1070, Arizona is poised to direct all law enforcement agencies to adopt Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s policy of rounding up and incarcerating Mexicans and then shipping them back across the border if they lack proper documentation of their status in…
Art Car Ball/Sneak Peek
By combining two things Houstonians are most passionate about — automobiles and art — the Art Car Parade has become one of Houston’s signature events, and is expected to draw more than 250,000 people when Blues Brother and 2010 parade grand marshal Dan Aykroyd (see right) leads the vehicular procession…
Houston Heart & Soul Blues Benefit Concert
Even though he’s no longer part-owner of the music-venue chain, Dan Aykroyd would hardly pass up a chance to stop by House of Blues while he’s in town to grand-marshal Saturday’s Art Car Parade (see left). Friday night, Aykroyd — sorry, “Elwood Blues” — dons his signature suit ‘n’ shades…
The Blasters
It’s surprising that, after 30 years of incendiary shows, The Blasters haven’t gone to heaven in a glorious blaze of self-combustion. Since bursting onto the Los Angeles scene in 1979 with their classic American Music, the band has been a long-lived cult favorite if never a huge mainstream success. Although…
Growing
“Mind Eraser,” the last song on Growing’s new album Pumps, consists primarily of the words “I love drugs” repeating over a bass drum loop and a staccato synth sample. Which bodes well – in the past, Growing made huge fields of treated guitar drones. It was warm and comforting, a…
Gilberto Santa Rosa, Oscar D’León
It doesn’t matter if you like salsa on the romantic side, old-school or infectiously danceable, you’re sure to be happy at Sunday’s Gilberto Santa Rosa/Oscar D’León performance. Puerto Rican Santa Rosa has a reputation as a soneo, or improvisation master. During his performance at Carnegie Hall, the first-ever appearance by…
