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. 29-95: The post that everyone’s talking about this week is Chris Reid’s…
Wanda Adams Tearfully Defends Herself To Gays At Council Meeting
There were tears at today’s city council meeting when Wanda Adams defended herself against charges she had abandoned her Montrose constituents in a vote on a proposed home for HIV/AIDS.Here’s the video: fast-forward to the 16-minute mark. Kris Banks, a former Adams staffer, appeared in the public-speaker portion of the…
The Real Luling City Market
Reluctantly heading to San Antonio for a holiday weekend work conference — woo-hoo! – I stopped by the famous, original City Market in Luling, Texas (not to be confused with the barbecue joint in Houston). I was shocked how packed the joint was on a Friday at three. Though much…
Booster Seat Crackdown: No, You Won’t Get A Ticket If You’re An Adult Under 4-Foot-9
The Great Booster Seat Crackdown 2010 is in full swing, as the state law requiring boosters for any kid up to the age of 8 under 4-foot-9 to be boosterized, front seat or back, went into effect yesterday.Getting a third-grader to sit in a booster seat is not something we’d…
Behind “Little Boy Blue”: This Interview Is Over
The interview with Blue October’s Justin Furstenfeld had long been set. After overcoming some misgivings on the part of his management over some stuff I had written in the past, it was decided that I would get to spend an hour backstage with the platinum-selling frontman between sound check and…
Robb Walsh’s 100 Favorite Houston Dishes: #29 The Cheeseburger at Christian’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…
Game Time: NBA Free Agent Summit: The Four Horsemen Guide to 2010 Free Agency
“The only time this much havoc had been wreaked by this few a number of people, you need to go all the way back to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse!” — Arn AndersonAnd with that seemingly throwaway line during a wrestling promo, one of the most entertaining factions in…
Little Joe Washington Awake, Talking Following Second Surgery
After undergoing a second surgery Tuesday to clear an obstructed bowel, Little Joe Washington is now awake and reasonably alert, his friend Reg Burns told Rocks Off this afternoon. Burns said he talked to one of the nurses attending the 71-year-old in the surgical intensive care unit at Ben Taub…
RDG+Bar Annie’s Fresh “Canned” Smoked Oysters
If there’s one dish that comes to mind that could uniquely define Houston’s culinary palette palate at this very moment, it would have to be RDG+Bar Annie’s fresh “canned” smoked oyster deluxe. Executive Chef Robert del Grande took a traditionally canned cocktail appetizer from the 1950s and ’60s era and…
Justin Furstenfeld: Why We Felt Compelled To Ask For Proof Of His Mental Illness
The interview with Blue October’s Justin Furstenfeld had long been set. After overcoming some misgivings on the part of his management over some stuff I had written in the past, it was decided that I would get to spend an hour backstage with the platinum-selling frontman between sound check and…
Music’s Top 10 Messed-Up Mouths
Rocks Off went to the dentist this morning for the first time in… well, a long time. The importance of taking care of your choppers is thus fresh in our minds – especially since we have to go back tomorrow, this time to a “specialist.” So… yeah. This would probably…
Stanlislaw Burzynski: New Movie Proves He’s A Cancer-Fighting Giant
Houston’s Stanislaw Burzynski, who sells a so-called cancer treatment to patients who have had to mortgage homes to meet his steep fees, has found another major supporter: A NYC-based animator named Eric Merola has just crafted the hagiographic Burzysnki: The Movie.Marketed as a documentary and entered into regional festivals (it…
5 Places Seniors Like to Eat
When you find yourself in one of these establishments to partake of some tasty vittles (because don’t seniors call food “vittles”?), look around and we’ll bet the median age is older than 60. If you enjoy the geriatric crowd as we do, check out some of these Houston traditions. 1…
Jeff Henry Williamson Learns Not To Send Bomb Threats To The FBI From The Houston Public Library
Jeff Henry Williamson, who thought it was a good idea to use the Houston Public Library downtown to send threats about blowing up the FBI building, learned otherwise today.U.S. District Judge David Hittner sentenced Williamson to three and a half years in federal prison, with another three years of supervised…
Texans Cheerleaders: On The Road To Japan And Blogging About It
The Texans cheerleaders are headed to Japan on an Armed Forces Entertainment tour, because our brave service members want to hear what Matt Schaub is really like. Or maybe they want to look at cheerleaders.Texans cheerleader Lindsay (as always, first names only to deter stalker creeps) will be blogging about…
Allied Kenco
If you ever wondered where chefs get that cool butcher stuff you see them using, or if you ever wondered how chefs in restaurants like Poscol get such amazing salamis and dried hams, here’s your answer: They shop at Allied Kenco (26 Lyerly Street 713-691-2935) butcher supply…
Win Two Neil Young Tickets At 4 p.m. Today
Ed. Note: Please check out Rocks Off’s Facebook page at 4 p.m. SHARP today to find out how to win the two Neil Young tickets we’re giving away. Remember, you must “like” us to win (hint hint). But for now, enjoy “Classic Rock Bob” Ruggeiro’s review of the latest addition…
I Wanna Be Your Dog (Or Cat): The Name Of This Blog Is I Wanna Be Your Dog (Or Cat)
Hair Balls was glad to learn that one of our musical heroes, David Byrne, is taking on The Man; namely, Florida Governor Charlie Crist, for using the Talking Heads song “Road to Nowhere” in his U.S. Senate campaign without permission. (Crist is running as an independent, but historically has belonged…
Matt Frey of Catbird’s
Matt Frey is the bartender at Catbirds (1336 Westheimer Road 713-523-8000) You might know him from such bands as Swarm of Angels, but Matt is a bartender’s bartender…
Mods Vs. Rockers: Five Mock Battles
Fresh off our trip to AmeriVespa 2010, Rocks Off has come to this conclusion: we are neither a Mod nor a Rocker. We’re a Mocker. When you drive around a town as large and car-centric as Houston on a small scooter you get a lot of comments from people, mostly…
Joe Chavez: Former TABC Agent Accused Of Sexually Assaulting His Decoy In Underage Drinking Sting
Last May, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission decided that some minors in Bastrop County might have been having a little too much fun. They apparently decided it was high time to conduct a sting operation.One of the TABC’s tried-and-true methods is to send a real-life minor to various retail outlets…
Wine of the Week: Lost Summer California Rosé
So you’re shocked, right? Yet another “light, crisp, refreshing” wine review comin’ your way. But guess the cuss what? It’s summer, it’s hot, and some super-nice lady was providing samples of this wine at the grocery store a few weeks ago. And I’m a total sucker for samples. With that…
Young Mammals Pilot Their “Dragon Wagon” On Summer Tour
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. It’s a good time to be a Houstonian…
Glee: Faking The “Funk”
“Daddy?” “Yes, son?” “What does regret mean?” “Well son, the funny thing about regret is that it’s better to regret something you have done than to regret something you haven’t done. And by the way, if you see your mom this weekend, will you be sure and tell her SATAN!…
UH Ends Dismal Season Dismally: Can Coach Rayner Noble Survive?
The Houston Cougars finished their baseball season last Friday, losing 10-6 to the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles team that won the C-USA Tournament championship on Saturday night. It was a game that didn’t need to be played. The Cougars had lost their chance to play for the tournament title when…
Glee: Faking The “Funk”
“Daddy?” “Yes, son?” “What does regret mean?” “Well son, the funny thing about regret is that it’s better to regret something you have done than to regret something you haven’t done. And by the way, if you see your mom this weekend, will you be sure and tell her SATAN!…
Finally! Ke$ha’s “Tik Tok” In American Sign Language!
You know what makes Rocks Off sad? The knowledge that the approximately one million Americans who are functionally deaf don’t have someone expressing the absolute poetry of Ke$ha’s “Tik Tok” to them in American Sign Language. Until now! Sure, you can read a line like, “Boys tryin’ to touch my…
Stirred and Shaken: Orange’s Orange Kaipiriña
The World Cup is inspiring because it focuses global consciousness in a way usually reserved for natural disasters and war. It’s also inspiring because it often takes place several time zones away and therefore makes it all right for those of us who aren’t nurses, cops or night-shift factory workers…
Crystal Lynn Johnson: College Station Woman’s Mayhem Does First Name Proud
Some time back we put forth the hypothesis that Crystal was the female equivalent of “Wayne” – the male criminal’s favorite name.And as with Wayne-related mayhem, it’s not just the quantity of Crystal-line mayhem, it’s the quality. Of course, by “quality” we at Hair Balls mean craziness, viciousness and at…
Marmaduke: The Five Most Perverted Sex Scenes
Marmaduke the movie is coming out Friday, for some reason. This is somewhat surprising, since we know of no one who finds Marmaduke the comic strip funny, in an intentional way at least.There are plenty of people who find it funny in other ways.Thanks to those heroes, we have compiled…
Local Spotlight: Maison Burdisso
WHAT: The best French macarons in town — and proof that good taste is hereditary. In Houston, the word “macaroon” typically inspires visions of lightly sweet, chewy mounds of shredded coconut tenaciously held together by egg whites. But a “macaron” — minus one O — is a delicate French sandwich…
Tiffani Mayes, Houston Cop: You Made Some Traffic-Court Defendant Very Happy Today
When you get a ticket you want to fight, standard operating procedure if you don’t want to spring for a lawyer is show up and hope the cop that gave it to you is absent.You look around — there’s plenty of time to do so — and your heart sinks…
Upcoming: The Eagles, Aerosmith, BoDeans, Otep, Slim Thug, Etc.
30footFALL, Latch Key Kids: Sat., June 26. Continental Club. Aerosmith, Sammy Hagar and the Wabos: Thu., Aug. 5. Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. The Ataris, Gasoline Heart, Don’t Panic: Sat., Sept. 4. Scout Bar Clear Lake. The BoDeans, Ray Johnston: Thu., June 17. The Warsaw. The Burden, B L A C…
The Anachronistic Chef: Indian Pudding
This is the first in a series of posts in which I will sample recipes from the days of yore (i.e., not the 1990s). The dishes to be featured were mainstays of nineteenth-, eighteenth- and even seventeenth-century tables, but for one reason or another (unusual taste, archaic ingredients), have fallen…
Unidentified Male, Bayou Body Count No. 131
In the pre-dawn hours on Satruday, a man awakened his roommate to tell him he wasn’t feeling well.Which was a bit of an understatement: the man then collapsed and died shortly thereafter. Police discovered he had suffered “multiple blunt-force injuries.”The victim was pronounced dead at the scene near the 1300…
Summerfest Volunteers Now Full, Afterparties Finalized
• Summerfest approacheth. We can almost taste it. Or maybe that’s just the Brooklyn Zoos at Boondocks, which will be hosting the official unofficial afterparty, featuring Roky Moon & BOLT and a super-secret special guest. • Dean’s Downtown is also hosting an afterparty with Spain Colored Orange, You(genius) and more…
Brew Blog: Victory’s Golden Monkey
A few months back, we put the gloves on two imperial stouts and had them slug it out. The offering from Pennsylvania’s Victory Brewing Co. got whipped and had its lunch money taken. We weren’t all that charitable, and a few Victory fans rushed to the brewery’s defense. That episode…
Al & Tipper: Five Political Marriages We Thought Would End Before Theirs
If you’ve been wondering why the internet is full of awful global-warming related puns today, it’s because Al and Tipper Gore have announced that, after 40 or so years of marriage, things are just not going to work out.We’re guessing there are some shoes about to be dropped, but what…
Big Ram Ranks The Best Houston Rappers Ever
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…
Metro Votes To Settle Paper-Shredding Lawsuit
The Metro board has voted to settle the Lloyd Kelley lawsuit that spawned a wild series of tales of the agency shredding paperwork.No details of the settlement were released, but the agency took pains to note how quickly a new board chairman had taken action on the matter.Today’s meeting marks…
The Shameless Chef: Ice Cream Sandwich Casserole
Ah, summer in Houston. When the dashboards melt, ants cook on the sidewalk, and a young man’s ballsack takes on the consistency of Turkish taffy. When the voices in the heads of serial killers mainly say things like “No killing tonight, it’s too hot for that bullshit. Stay in and…
Korn Was Not A F**king Emo Show At Sold-Out Verizon
Seventeen years after its inception, Korn still managed to sell out the Verizon Wireless Theater on Sunday night for the 2010 Jagermeister Music Tour. Most bands could only dream of continuing to sell-out venues for two decades, but a look at Korn’s fan base, which ranges from 10- to 35-year-olds,…
Robb Walsh’s 100 Favorite Houston Dishes #30 Elysian Fields Lamb and Mushy Peas at Tony’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…
Game Time: Okay Rockets, It’s Your Move In The “Summer Of Trying To Be Moderately Interesting” In Houston
“Can you really not be aware we’ve been building a RICO case against Tony Soprano for five f**king years? And then you blow this popcorn fart?” — Federal agent to local prosecutor in Sopranos episode “Soprano Home Movies””Popcorn fart” is an appropriate term (actually, it’s probably somewhat inappropriate if you’re…
La Roux Puts House Of Blues Under Its Electro-Pop Thumb
The past year has been a year of renewal for pop music when it comes to new roles for women. In these previous 12 months, the archetype of what a female pop singer is supposed to look and sound like has been completely gutted and reconstituted, leaving room for the…
Random Ingredient: Leeks
What is it? Leeks are related to shallots, onions and garlic, but they have a milder, sweeter taste. Instead of forming bulbs at the base of the plant like the others, leeks form long, thick stalks with heavy green outer layers that extend toward the top. They look like giant,…
Texas Drivers Are Dumb, If You Don’t Ask The Right Questions
In case you needed empirical evidence that Texas has some of the worst drivers in the country, look no further than the GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test: The Lone Star state ranked an unimpressive 35th, falling ten spots from last year and 18 from 2008, meaning that by 2014, we…
Mucky Duck Marks 20th Anniversary Tonight
McGonigel’s Mucky Duck, called by USA Today one of the top listening rooms in America, celebrates its 20th anniversary this evening. Originally leased but now owned by proprietors Theresa and Rusty Andrews, the operation has grown from a shoestring-budgeted enterprise to become one of Houston’s most economically sound musical enterprises,…
Belgian Dinner Delight
Last week, we interviewed Chef Andrew Klarman of Jeannine’s Bistro. Then we tried his traditional Belgian cuisine for ourselves. When we arrived, we were greeted by an elderly gentleman playing the accordion. The accordion is not something you expect as house music, but it was a nice surprise. Some of…
Galveston Beaches, Bars, Hotels Had Big Weekend (Also: From Iran, The Most Unintenionally Funny Galveston Doomsday Scenario)
It could be the bad economy and high gas prices, it could be the oil spill that’s avoided Texas (so far), it could be that the relatively cold winter had people yearning for the beach — whatever it was, Galveston had a banner Memorial Day Weekend.Peter Davis, chief of the…
Hanson, Boys Like Girls Top Bamboozle’s Pop-Punk Marathon
As Aftermath made our way into Verizon Wireless for Bamboozle 2010 Friday night, we were greeted by Cady Groves’ voice coupled with melodic guitar and salsa shakers. We knew Good Charlotte, Cartel, All Time Low, Forever the Sickest Kids and a few others from the tour’s lineup, but Groves’ punkish…
Marcus Tyrone Carter, 49, Bayou Body Count No. 130
A man was shot to death by his cousin in the Greenspoint area Friday night, and the suspect was later arrested near the Mexican border.Marcus Tyrone Carter, 49, was shot several times in an apartment complex parking lot by his cousin Damon Lousieur Jacquot, 36, Houston police say. No motive…
Is VH1’s Hip Hop Honors Insulting Southern Rappers?
Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Every Monday (that isn’t a national holiday) Rocks Off will have some of them hear discussing issues relevant to their culture. This Week’s Panel: Chamillionaire, Paul Wall, Chalie Boy, Hima Sneed, Thurogood Wordsmith and Church. Not Invited: J-Bar. Have you heard his…
Recipe: Sweet and Spicy Nut Mix
Nuts are a great way to curb hunger cravings. This tasty nut snack mix is a slightly sweet, slightly clumpy version of a trail mix — simply speaking, this is a granola minus the actual oats. It was created as a post-workout snack and something to toss in a camelback,…
Common Leaves Us Hanging At Warehouse Live
8:00 p.m.: There is a female behind the decks onstage. Aftermath loves seeing females who can hold it down on the 1s and 2s. She has a bedazzled Macbook and goes by the name of DJ Superstar. Go on with your bad self, girl. 8:10 p.m.: The audience is a…
Chris Johnson: Time To Move Him Up From Round Rock
Before I go further, I first want to congratulate Houston Astros GM Ed Wade for ignoring Pat Burrell.Burrell was recently released by the Tampa Bay Rays, and over the weekend he signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants. I want to congratulate Wade for this, however, because…
Janet Civitelli: How Not To Be Young & Recessioned
Today’s installment of Young & Recessioned features Janet Civitelli, associate director of career services at the University of Houston, who helps college grads find jobs in a toughened job market. When the economy is booming, you can have mediocre job search skills and still land a job. But in a…
Where Are We Drinking?
Calling all Juggalos and ex-pat Detroiters: Houston now stocks Faygo! But where? Does the cold drink display below look familiar to you? Think you’ve found out where to get your Faygo fix? Leave your best guess in the comments section below…
Dennis Hopper, Tell Us A Tale Before You Go
King Koopa has gone where Mario and Luigi cannot follow. Dennis Hopper, the Academy Award-nominated actor from films like Apocalypse Now, Blue Velvet, Easy Rider and yes, Super Mario Bros., passed away Saturday after a long fight with prostate cancer. While Hollywood mourns the death of one of its most…
Pop Rocks: Maybe The Gulf Oil Spill Isn’t All Bad
What a difference a three-day weekend makes. Okay, not really. The Gulf oil spill is still out of control, with BP attempting another half-assed Hail Mary this week and the relief wells that promise the best chance at diminishing the catastrophe still two months off. Depending on who you ask,…
Your Fantasy Hurricane Draft Tips For 2010
Today marks the beginning of hurricane season, and for many reasons things look ominous. God has already shown He’s pissed at the gulf, and if anything further bad can happen in connection with the BP spill — like, say, a hurricane — it will.Plus all the usual weather signs –…
Win A Wolfman DVD, If You Dare
Hollywood, believe it or not, is absolutely eager to bring back the classic horror film. Movies like Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula — they’re all in the pipeline, which of course doesn’t guarantee anything.But much depended on Wolfman.Not-so-fresh off Hidalgo (You remember it, right? Something about horses) and Jurassic Park…
Recipe: Basil Caipirinha
The weather is hot. It’s a holiday weekend. We all need a drink, we need it soon — and by soon, we mean now. As much as we love mojitos, margaritas, and piña coladas, we’re dying to try something new. After an intense brainstorming and tasting session with our bartender…
R.I.P. Lala.com: 2006-2010
By midnight tonight, Lala.com will have passed on to the great Web site graveyard in the sky to lay in eternal rest with Broadcast, TV Links and Imeem. We will miss Lala for all the rich flavors it bestowed on us, even the embarrassing things we discovered that we liked…
Texas Traveler: AmeriVespa 2010, San Antonio
More than 30 scooter enthusiasts from Houston spent Memorial Day weekend in San Antonio representing the Bayou City at AmeriVespa, the largest scooter rally in the nation. Now in its 17th year, the event, which takes place in a new city each year, draws scooterists from all over the United…
Give Me No Man’s Land: 5 Songs For The Fallen
Today is Memorial Day, and Rocks Off would like to honor our brave and beloved dead as we honor everything – through music. At no time in American history have there not been men and women in life-threatening danger trying to protect us, whether it was a declared war or…
Party Down:The Funniest Show You’re Not Watching
Who watches the Starz network? Who even knows if they have the Starz network on their cable lineup?Starz, though, is the place to go to see the funniest TV show you should be watching — Party Down, the story of actors in a dysfunctional catering service.It’s just pretty hilarious. And…
Robb Walsh’s 100 Favorite Houston Dishes: #31 The Sampler Plate at Café Lili
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…
11 Songs Sean Hannity Won’t Be Listening To Today
Today Americans celebrate Memorial Day, honoring the military servicemen and women that have passed while serving our country. The holiday is definitely not as flashy or as popular as Independence Day in July, seeing that there are no Memorial Day fireworks or picnics. It’s not stuck in November like Veteran’s…
The Week In TV: Back For Another Round
Summer is upon us, television is a rocky wasteland, and you’re probably out grilling right now. This was the week in TV Land: • Summer’s a weird time for TV viewers and often a terrible one for TV fans: There are loads of new and returning series, but many of…
Top 8 Post-2000 Soldier Songs
Like many of you, Rocks Off has friends and family members who have served (or are serving) in our armed forces. Memorial Day is when we honor the sacrifice so many of them have made – and are still making – fighting America’s wars. Songs about the hardships suffered by…
Where Are We Eating?
In honor of Memorial Day Weekend, we’re celebrating our rights as Texans to barbecue. Do the sausage links below look familiar to you? Think you know where we’re eating on our day off from work? Leave your best guess in the comments section below, then go and fire up the…
For Memorial Day: Five Best Graveside Scenes
Memoral Day is the time we honor those who gave their lives for their country, and families everywhere will be going to graves to leave something for the young boys who “never saw gray hair.”Hollywood has always been fond of graveside scenes, of course, especially for war movies. The web…
Rice Drops C-USA Tourney But Will Advance
Good pitching, it’s said, will always defeat good hitting. Thus it was that the Rice Owls on Saturday night found their bats facing the outstanding pitching of the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles.The Owls had been as close to perfect in the C-USA Baseball Tournament as a team could be. The…
KTRH’s Michael Berry: Bomb That Ground Zero Mosque!
Michael Berry, the former city councilman who now runs KTRH and other Clear Channel AM stations here used to run Clear Channel’s AM Stations here but who now simply hosts a talk show, has had a federal complaint filed against him by CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations.For some reason…
Army Helmets Made By Beaumont Prisoners Are Recalled For Safety Hazards
It looks like it’s getting harder to find good help these days — especially when the help are federal prisoners: earlier this month, the U.S. Army recalled 44,000 helmets manufactured by Beaumont inmates working for Federal Prison Industries, Inc.Also known by the less-Orwellian-sounding UNICOR, FPI — a wholly-owned government corporation…
Top 5 Bar Bathrooms
When I began conducting “research” for this piece, I felt it best to speak with some of the most knowledgeable people out there: bartenders, bar hoppers and picky women. The response was overwhelmingly enthusiastic. Everyone I spoke to and even those simply eavesdropping had an opinion on their favorite bar…
Possible Sponsors For 6 Summer Tours
Sunday night, resurgent ’90s nu-metaleers Korn stop by Verizon Wireless Theater as headliners of the annual Jagermeister Music Tour. Wonder if they’ve still got the gorilla suit. It seems like more and more artists are following the model of bands like U2, whose recently scratched 360 Tour was “presented by…
Recipe: Ceviche Mixto
Nowadays, there are hundreds of variations of ceviche, even in Peru itself, where ceviche bars are incredibly popular. Despite all the new fusion foods available, this version, my Abuelita’s, is still a favorite. Abuelita, who is from Callo, Peru, learned how to make ceviche from her mother, she from her…
Mario Alberto Gasca: Brownsville Teen Confesses To Horrific Puppy Slaughter
Mario Alberto Gasca didn’t like it when a group of people in his Brownsville neighborhood accused him of burglarizing a nearby house.In fact, the very idea he could be accused of something like that made him furious. How could he best show how much he was misunderstood? How could the…
The Corpse Reviver #2
The Savoy Cocktail Book is one of a handful of antiquated tomes that continue to push the classic cocktail movement forward. Seventy years it was first published, Harry Craddock’s bible of drinks, which he and his staff crafted at the American Bar in London’s Savoy Hotel, is a staple on…
Ronald Keith Foreman, 21, Bayou Body Count No. 129
A drug deal gone bad in the parking lot of the Marq-E entertainment complex resulted in the death of a 21-year-old man.Houston police say Ronald Keith Foreman and Glenn Earl Hickman, 26, “met with two male suspects in the parking lot of the Marq-E Entertainment Center on the Katy Freeway…
Chef Chat Part II: Andrew Klarman of Jeannine’s Bistro
Yesterday, we talked to Chef Andrew Klarman about Jeannine’s Bistro and his culinary inspiration. Klarman and his sister, Jeannine, must have hit on a winner with Belgian food in Houston since our readers couldn’t stop raving out it. Eating Our Words: The pictures on your website of your menu items…
Plundering Facebook’s Punk Rock Flyer Archive
The art of the attention-grabbing flyer has a history almost as old as entertainment itself, but there are few genres that are as boundary crossing as that of punk rock. Sam Atakra, a record-label owner and formerly employed by the Freemasons in Santa Fe, N. M., can attest to that…
RAW VIDEO!!!! (Of A Motionless, Bored Alligator)
Here is RAW VIDEO of Houston police in a deadly face-off against a huge, vicious alligator.We dare you to sit through all four and a half minutes. You will not be able to.Not because it is filled with gnashing teeth and cops’ arms getting snapped off, but because nothing happens…
A Cooler Coke: Pakola
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 lies ahead. Last night, one of my fellow Eating Our Words bloggers — Jason Kerr — brought over a special treat to my house. No, not…
Whoa! 21 Famous Musicians’ High School Yearbook Photos
While Rocks Off was seeking out the best rock star yearbook photos for this blog, we came to a conclusion: Everyone was ugly in their yearbook photos, except Gwen Stefani and Beyonce Knowles. Everyone else looks weird as hell, or nothing like their current selves. Being humane, we won’t post…
Happy Hour Scene: Aka Sushi House
The Place: Aka Sushi House2390 West Alabama St.713-807-7875www.akasushi.netThe Hours: Monday through Saturday 3-7 p.m., 9-close. All day Sunday. The Deals: Domestic beers are $2; imports are $2.50. Sake and sake cocktails run from $3 to $5. House wine is $4.50, wells are $4. Small appetizers and sushi specials run from…
Game Time: Celtics, Feel Better — Five Officiating Decisions That Were WAY Worse Than Kendrick Perkins’ Second Technical
It’s funny, because I’m from New England, people automatically assume that I am a fan of all the Boston teams. To wit, last night as the Celtics were imploding in Orlando, my iPhone was blowing up with text messages asking if I was starting to get worried about the series…
Remember K-Rino’s Book Number 7?
Houston’s history is dotted with albums that, fairly or not, have been swept aside. We’ll examine them here. Have an album that you think nobody knows about but should? Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. K-Rino Book Number 7 (Black Book Int’l, 2007) We have written at length about the brilliance of K-Rino, SPC’s…
Houston’s Hottest Chef: Voting Is Now Open
We’ve carefully combed through the 100 plus comments from last week’s post and compiled the top five male and top five female chefs you nominated as Houston’s hottest chef. We combed through our own photo archives and — occasionally — the chef’s Facebook or Twitter pages to come up with…
Favian Ramirez, 20, Bayou Body Count No. 128
Ineptitude reigned in a fracas that resulted in the death of a 20-year-old man on the southeast side.Favian Ramirez was shot at 1:30 Wednesday morning and died in the hospital; two men have been charged with murder.Police say Ramirez had earlier argued with the men — Raymond Preston Moreno, 18…
Robb Walsh’s 100 Favorite Houston Dishes #33 The Picnic Platter at the Grove
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…
Mark Twain’s Vibrator: Five Other Bits Of Possible Literary Kinkiness
As ordered in his will, the three-volume autobiography Mark Twain wrote as he was dying is being published 100 years after his 1910 death.First reports note that the book note that it includes talk of a “vibrating sex toy” his mistress gave him as a gift.Mark Twain going all “Bend…
Arcade Fire Still Can’t Shake Houston
Symphonic Canadian indie-rockers Arcade Fire announced the title and release date of their third full-length album this morning. The Suburbs is due August 3 on Merge Records, and a limited-edition vinyl 12″ featuring the title track and “Month of May” should be in your friendly neighborhood record store right now…
UH And Rice Improve Their Outlooks In C-USA’s Confusing Tournament (We Think)
After yesterday’s opening Conference USA tournament baseball games, only one thing is clear: if Southern Miss and Houston win today, then they’re playing for the C-USA title on Saturday game and none of Friday’s games will matter.But the Rice Owls are hoping to derail UH tonight, which they can do…
Giacomo’s, Mean Girls, and Houston’s Fear of Change
I’ll just come right out and say that Giacomo’s Cibe e Vino is my favorite new restaurant of 2009. It’s an ideal spot for a casual date night or low-key dinner with friends. The dining area is a light-filled sanctuary complete with patio and bar. Food is fresh, deliciously energizing,…
Washington Avenue Open-Mikes: What Would Townes Think?
Ed. Note: The Houston Press’ style is to use “open-mike” instead of “open-mic” unless quoting outside material. The recent Houston Chronicle puff piece about trying to create a music scene at Washington Avenue’s Salt Bar presents Lonesome Onry and Mean with another example of why the Chron is our top…
Pop Rocks: The Celebrity DUI Conundrum
I’ve always preferred brunettes. Aside from making me not a gentleman, this simply meant I favored Jaclyn Smith over Farrah Fawcett, Lynda Carter (or JoAnna Cameron) over Deidre Hall, Yasmine Bleeth over Gena Lee Nolin, and Jane Seymour over, well…just about any of the other Bond Girls. Given that, it…
The 6 Absolute Ugliest Custom Guitars On The Planet
Rocks Off is currently in the market for a good guitar yet has next to no money, so for the past few months we’ve been tantalizing ourselves by poring over the multitude of guitars of the Internet. There are some mighty pretty signature guitars out there, including Angus Young’s signature…
Faking a Fantastic Cake
Did you ever want to serve up a cake that screams “homemade” but were short on time? Here’s a little trick: focus on the frosting. A great frosting can save a bad cake but a great cake can’t save a bad frosting. That’s because the sweet, thick, buttery awesomeness is…
Idol Beat: That’s All, Folks
And so, the ninth season of American Idol comes to a lumbering and terrible end. The show is frequently boring and often aggressive in its desire to force viewers to sit through bad guest performances, but even by the show’s own standards, last night’s season finale was a brutal exercise…
American Idol: That’s All, Folks
And so, the ninth season of American Idol comes to a lumbering and terrible end. The show is frequently boring and often aggressive in its desire to force viewers to sit through bad guest performances, but even by the show’s own standards, last night’s season finale was a brutal exercise…
ACLU Doesn’t Like Obama’s Border Plan; Cites Need For Further Studies
President Obama’s plan to send a bunch of National Guard troops and a ton of cash to the U.S.-Mexico border has a new critic: The American Civil Liberties Union.The ACLU has come out against the plan, saying Obama needs to…do other things before he does this.”The Administration is buying into…
Hurricanes: Rice Says Ike Was Nothing
Just in time for hurricane season, a group created in the wake of Ike has issued a report that should be entitled “The Bejesus, And Scaring It Out Of You.”Remember Ike and how much that sucked? Destruction in Galveston, no electricity in Houston, all that? Rice’s SSPEED (Severe Storm Prediction,…
“John Alexander: Life on a Merry-Go-Round”
There’s only one painting in Beaumont-born artist John Alexander’s show “Life on a Merry-Go-Round,” currently at McClain Gallery, but it’s a doozy. The name of both the exhibit and the piece, Life on a Merry-Go-Round is an oil painting of a bunch of grim-faced, wacky-masked people riding a carousel decorated…
Pecos
The Texans of yore apparently could lasso tornadoes, use rattlesnakes as whips and ride atop mountain lions. Or at least these were several of the legendary accomplishments of Pecos Bill, who is celebrated in appropriately dramatic, flamboyant fashion in Pecos Bill, a Stanton Welch number that the Houston Ballet presents…
New Faces of Comedy
The New Faces of Comedy has taken up the reins from the Laff Stop’s open-mike night. (If you didn’t get the memo, the legendary club closed last December.) “The comedy scene needs some hope and change,” says Chase Dorousseau, a local open-miker/Houston’s Funniest Person of 2008. And apparently that change…
Christopher Farnsworth: Blood Oath
The film rights to Christopher Farnsworth’s debut novel Blood Oath and its yet-to-be-released sequel Black Site have already been snapped up by Warp Films. That kind of reaction might be unusual for most new authors, but while this is Farnsworth’s first novel, it’s not his first outing as a writer…
Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains
It’s style versus substance in Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains. The 1982 pseudo-documentary was almost lost when Paramount pulled the film after critics and audiences alike panned early previews. It never even made it to VHS. But a few of the people who saw it kept the buzz up…
Tish Hinojosa
Singer Tish Hinojosa does a good job of defying labels. Western swing, Mexican corridos, down-home country, grown-up pop, indie rock, she sings it all – and she sings it in English and Spanish. She’s been on the circuit for three decades and is well known for her crystal-clear vocals and…
Sounds like Fun: European Vacation
The Houston Symphony takes its show on the road for the Sounds Like Fun: European Vacation summer concert series, bringing the music to communities around Houston. HS Associate Conductor Robert Franz and Assistant Conductor/American Conducting Fellow Brett Mitchell alternate duties at the podium for a program that includes music by…
Korn
Somehow, we never saw Korn growing into old age. Not that we wish them any specific harm, but we just could never picture the band members playing “Blind” while pushing 40. Unlike spirit brothers Limp Bizkit, Korn never went away, but just kept retooling its sound after events that would…
“Animation”
Animation has evolved far beyond the 2-D, hand-drawn princesses of Disney’s Golden Age, but even with help from computers, it still requires a lot of brainpower – from both the left and right sides. This is the central theme of the Health Museum’s “Animation” exhibit, which, with help from the…
Steel Lounge Underground
Wander through the exhibits “Perspectives 170: Cruz Ortiz” and “Hand + Made: The Performative Impulse in Art and Craft” while listening to the hip-hop sounds of Karina Nistal and Fly Girl T and the blues/rockabilly tunes of Andrew Karnavas and Bart Malone. Today’s installment of the Steel Lounge Underground concert…
Intelligence-Slave
Intelligence-Slave is the story of Curt Herzstark, a concentration camp prisoner who added years to his life by inventing the first four-function calculator. He was kept alive so the Nazis could gift-wrap his Curta calculator for the Führer – a thank-you for a victorious end to the war. But what…
The General
Actor/director Buster Keaton lent his clever comedy to The General. The 1927 silent film tells the story of Johnnie Gray, a locomotive engineer who, rejected by the Confederate Army and mistaken as a coward by his girlfriend, decides to take on the entire Union Army when spies steal his train…
Cirque de la Symphony
Cirque artists have long used music to enhance the effects of their performances; now, the musicians of the Houston Symphony are using cirque artists to enhance theirs. In Cirque de la Symphony, a brand-new concert conducted by Michael Krajewski, the musicians will share the stage with aerial fliers, strongmen, hand-balancing…
The Girl, the Grouch and the Goat
The title of UpStage Theatre’s latest production, The Girl, The Grouch, and The Goat, might sound like a children’s show. In fact, it’s anything but. With music and lyrics by Broadway composer Mark Hollmann (the sardonic talent who also wrote the songs for Urinetown), the show sends us back to…
“2nd Annual AMG Visual Stimulus Package”
You might think a few zeroes have been left off of the prices of the artwork for sale at the “2nd Annual AMG Visual Stimulus Package.” All of the paintings, photographs and multimedia creations are priced at just $50 and $100. The roster of 50 emerging and established artists, who…
SPECIAL ETHNIC STUDIES EDITION
Dear Mexican, I have a sister. I read your column each time it comes out in the Tucson Weekly. Once, we were talking about all the hatred against Mexicans in our state and my sister said, “Sis, why do they hate Mexicans so much in Arizona? Why do they hate…
Deporting All WetWacks
“They Wrestlemania this rap shit / Dry-mouth rappers can’t spit / They rap bricks / But identical to bum’s outfits…Robert Earl with the brick grey tape on / Ezal on his back in the store they fakin’.” — Mayalino, “We Alive Now” Houston rapper Jeremiah Morin, known as Mayalino, wants…
Come Out and Play
Are you aware that The Offspring, Orange County’s pre-eminent metal-tinged punk rock band, has been active since 1984? That’s 25 years, yo: Three more years than Green Day has been around, and those guys are dinosaurs. And what’s weirder, even though they have some qualities that you’d think would make…
Buxton, Small Sounds
A show like this at Discovery Green’s Capital One music series is encouraging, to say the least — we won’t go so far as to say it represents a sea change in the local-music scene, but it should allow two of Houston’s best roots-rock bands to reach an audience that…
David Dove & Lucas Gorham
Nameless Sound founder David Dove and Grandfather Child’s Lucas Gorham were originally commissioned by local gallery labotanica to apply the late DJ Screw’s distinctive, hyper-slow production style to its own improvised music for the multimedia “Screwed Anthologies” exhibition, and the project worked so well they’ve managed to squeeze a three-week…
A Place without Poetry
The apocalyptic world of Wallace Shawn’s The Designated Mourner is a place without poetry, art or wisdom. And in Catastrophic Theatre’s production of this dark tale, it is also cloyingly claustrophobic. The group has staged the story in a small living room that holds only a few dozen audience members…
SUMMER GUIDE: (100) Days of Summer Movies
First off, forgive us for not having the budget to upgrade this summer movie preview to 3D. Rest assured, there are plenty of eye-popping (brain-numbing?) epics in the preview list that follows, but to our pleasure and surprise there is a surplus of attention-worthy 2D flicks too. Happy summer, movie…
The Expat
Eight years ago, the Houston Press reviewed this EP called InfraRed IntroSpective (IRIS for short) from a local singer/guitarist named Steve Steele. “Steele’s stylishness verges on nostalgia more often than even he knows,” we wrote, adding that his music owes a lot to ’80s British New Wave. “If this were 1985,…
Leatherface
Veteran Brit-punks Leatherface have easily one of the most iconic sounds in their genre. With lead singer and guitarist Frankie Stubbs’s raspy yelp and the band’s straight-ahead yet snaky sound, Leatherface’s fingerprints are on most every band that has come after them. Stubbs and company’s influence is evident in ’90s…
Train Wreck
In the fall of last year, Metro’s president and CEO Frank Wilson traveled to Orlando, Florida, for the annual convention of the American Public Transportation Association. It was a good week to be in Orlando. The weather was sunny and clear during Wilson’s five-day stay, with temperatures leveling out in…
Capsule Art Reviews: “Bert Long’s RED Book”, “Cosmos”, “Group Show: Shoman, Benhelima, Forero, Zet, Wilson & Wolfson”
“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…
The Gallant Knight’s Chocolate Cake
My friend Hassan describes the differences between the new The Gallant Knight (2511 Bissonnet, 713-942-9940) and the old location like this: “It used to be way smaller, and white people would actually dance.” She’s right — most patrons are out on the patio, drinking dollar domestics (a Thursday special) and…
Ashka’s East Meets West
“Ilove to cook, so I decided I would try to make some money doing it,” says Ashka Parikh of Ashka’s East Meets West (1502 Durham, 281-216-9097), from her shiny restaurant trailer parked in the lot of her parents’ Ace Hardware store on Durham between I-10 and Washington. “I was a…
The Royal Treatment
I am sitting at a long table at Royal Restaurant with a couple of friends, one who has traveled to India and recently moved to Austin from Houston. “There just aren’t any good Indian restaurants in Austin,” she says. As we sit at the table, listening to Bollywood videos on…
Capsule Stage Reviews: Fear of Ducks, The Little Foxes, Romantic Comedy
Fear of Ducks Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the theater, along comes the inspired lunacy of Radio Music Theatre. You’re never safe around these three (Steve Farrell, Vicki Farrell, Rich Mills), for you could die laughing, or at the very least spray your drink…
Mushrooms Gone Wild
The menu at D’Amico’s Italian Market Cafe (5510 Morningside (713-526-3400) notes that the Wild Mushroom and Walnut Tortellini ($10.95) was voted Best Pasta in 1997. There’s no indication of who voted it the best pasta, but one taste and you can certainly see their point of view. Sheets of homemade…
Paycheck Prince
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time’s story hinges on a dagger that can rewind time, a narrative conceit that doubles as a taunt to those who endure this cacophonous, frivolous adaptation of Ubisoft’s Arabian Nights-themed video-game series. Bruckheimered to the hilt with the same rollicking period-piece cheesiness that typified…
La Roux
British electro duo La Roux came into the public consciousness around late 2008, about the same time that America’s new Madonna/Marilyn Manson figure, Lady Gaga, also began making waves. Therefore, Elly Jackson and Ben Langmaid’s icy pop got a little lost in the pop-culture shuffle, which is a damned shame…
Aging Disgracefully
Say what you will, Michael Patrick King knows how to stage a fabulous gay nuptial. Sex and the City 2 begins with flair and good humor at the wedding of Stanford (Willie Garson) and Anthony (Mario Cantone), complete with a gay men’s chorus in white top-and-tails crooning a tastefully low-key “Sunrise,…
Rice’s Baker Institute on Drugs
EDUCATION Rice’s Baker Institute on Drugs KPFT recordings to be archived there By Chris Vogel When talking publicly about illegal drugs and butting heads with the U.S. government over its prohibitionist policies, respect is hard to come by. Over the years, though, local Houston radio host Dean Becker has earned…
A Student’s Death
A Student’s Death Online readers comment on “Tobi Oyedeji’s After-Prom Accident: Sleep Deprivation Can Be as Bad as Drinking for Teens,” Hair Balls blog, by Richard Connelly, May 17: All-ages problem: Sleep deprivation is not just a problem on prom night or with teens. I worked overnights through college after…
