“Star Warsâ„¢: Where Science Meets Imagination”
George Lucas has once again lent artifacts and props from his popular Star Wars film franchise to Houston. This time it’s for “Star Wars™: Where Science Meets Imagination” at the Health Museum, an exploration of the futuristic technology that was seen in the six films in the series and the…
Blues in the Night
Every blues song began with a broken heart. In Sheldon Epps’s musical review Blues in the Night, three scorned, broken-hearted women sing blues song after blues song. The show opened in New York in 1980 and since then has been a crowd-pleasing staple of regional theater. The story is set…
“40 Seasons of Jazz — Photo Exhibit”
When jazz drummer Bubba Thomas saw that talented young students weren’t getting the musical education they needed, he put to-gether the first Summer Jazz Workshop. That was back in 1972. “40 Seasons of Jazz — Photo Exhibit,” currently on display at the Houston Public Library’s Central location, documents the program’s…
2011 Summer National Senior Games
Houston welcomes the 2011 Summer National Senior Games, a two-week competition in 18 sports. Everything starts with an Olympic-style torch run on June 16 that ends at Discovery Green, which will be home to the flame for the duration of the games. Athletes, all of whom are over the age…
Chicago
Chicago is on its way back to Houston, bringing with it two murderesses, an international cast and John O’Hurley in the role of Billy Flynn, the winning lawyer always looking for the spotlight. O’Hurley has been doing Flynn off and on since 2006 (he joined the Broad-way show after his…
Comment of the Day: What About Rushmore?
This morning, we posted a piece by Abby Koenig encouraging The A.V. Club’s Pop Pilgrims to visit Houston. Among our reasons were ’70s cult classic Brewster McCloud, Anna Nicole Smith’s marriage to J. Howard Marshall and Anderson Fair. Notably absent from the story? Rushmore, and you didn’t let us forget…
Top 5 Country Music Feuds
Country music singers, Hank Williams Jr. once sang, are a real close family. And like most families, sometimes they don’t get along. But unlike rap or British rock, where there are so many feuds it can be hard to keep track of them all, country musicians do a pretty good…
Going Tubing in New Braunfels This Weekend? Be Prepared to Wait
Earlier this month we listed five places to have water-based fun in Texas during the drought, and the spring-fed Comal River was one of them. We weren’t alone in our thinking — the river has become packed on weekends, to the point where officials say tubers have had trouble exiting…
Comment of the Day
The whole wheat pasta Carrie Applegate Jaeger used in this week’s race with Rachael Ray got Bruce R curious about where to find the good stuff: Carrie, I think I tried Hodgson Mill wheat spaghetti and maybe one or two others, but I gave up. I did find that wheat…
Betz Gallery Presents “The Art of Pride”
Stepping into the the Betz Gallery these days is like stepping into a secret world of jazz, open spaces, muted lights and colliding colors. Every single painting is its own kaleidoscopic conversation piece. Red and purple heart sculptures lie next to each other like lovers. Sea algae and sinking ship…
100 Favorite Dishes: No. 91, Chupacabra Pizza at ERA
This year leading up to our annual Best of Houston issue, we’re counting down our 100 favorite dishes in Houston. This list comprises our favorite dishes from the last year, dishes that are essential to Houston’s cultural landscape and/or dishes that any visitor (or resident) should try at least once…
Harry Potter Countdown: Gearing Up for The Deathly Hallows, Part II
There is no denying that a large segment of the population will probably be sitting in a stadium movie theater when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II debuts shortly after midnight on July 15 (presumably, a larger, more sensible portion of the population will see the movie later…
Mary’s Mural Restored in Time for Pride Parade
A group of local artists have succeeded in their quest to get the famed Mary’s mural back in its rightful place before Saturday’s Pride Parade. The building, long home to the city’s most famous gay bar, has been sold and much of the property will be a parking lot for…
Chef Chat, Part 1: Frédéric Perrier of Aura Restaurant
Frédéric Perrier, the chef/owner of Aura Restaurant in Missouri City, first came to Houston in 1997 to open Grille 5115, the restaurant inside the then-new Saks Fifth Avenue in the Galleria. Before that, he worked for several years as a chef in New York at such well-known French restaurants as…
J. Patrick Capps: Allegedly Forged Documents in Brazen Attempt to Free Convicted Murderer Marcia Kelly
The 2005 murder-for-hire of trucking company owner James Kelly was one of the most high-profile cases in recent East Texas memory. In the aftermath, Kelly’s wife Marcia and stepdaughter Shaina Sepulvado received capital murder convictions and are each serving life without parole. Those verdicts did not sit well with J…
Houston’s First Annual Asante Festival
Pardon the pun, but this is going to rule. On Saturday, royalty in the form of Asante chiefs that currently live in the Houston area will be in the house at the first annual Asante Day and Inauguration Dance. The Asante (or Ashanti) kingdom, founded in the 1670s and mostly…
At Least Two Injured as Truck Makes Unscheduled Delivery to Heights-Area Papa John’s
This is the scene of a two-vehicle, one-Papa John’s accident at the corner of West 11th and Durham today at about 1:30. According to a witness on the scene, the driver of the HVAC truck ran a red light, smashed into the Hyundai pictured and then careened into the pizzeria…
KBR Loses Bid to Have Iraqi Court Hear Electrocution Suit
A federal judge has said no to KBR’s move to have a (friendly) court in Iraq, rather than one in America, handle the lawsuit filed against the company by survivors of a Green Beret who was electrocuted in one of their facilities. U.S. District Judge Nora Fischer, in Pittsburgh, denied…
Five Favorite Retro Sodas
I remember as a young child visiting Bread & Circus in Boston and marveling over the fact that the world of soda comprised more than just Coke, Sprite and root beer. Now, I’m a bit more cosmopolitan when it comes to carbonated beverages, and I’m currently obsessed with retro sodas…
Sony May Reunite Destiny’s Child If Beyonce Album Stiffs
Following the lackluster response to Beyonce’s 4, which leaked onto the Internet wholesale earlier this month, the singer’s label has gone into crisis mode and is even considering another Destiny’s Child reunion, The New York Post reported today. Citing the ever-popular unnamed “industry insider,” the Post’s Page Six column says…
10 Movies That Meryl Streep Didn’t Get An Oscar Nomination For
Today, legendary actress and 16-time Oscar nominee Meryl Streep turns 62 years old. When the actress’ material is on point and her role is just right, she’s deadly to most any other female nominated in her same category, be it for a supporting or lead role. She’s like some sort…
Cover Story: Glenbrook Valley’s Historic Preservation Fight
Robert Searcy and Joe Ablaza have something in common: They each think they’re doing good things for their neighborhood. And that’s about it. Real estate agent Searcy and working professional Ablaza live in Glenbrook Valley, the southeast Houston subdivision that’s striving to become Texas’s first post-World War II historic district…
Cafe Moustache: Not the Place for Crepes. But These Places Are
It’s safe to say that outside of being able to drink a lot of wine on the cheap during happy hour, I don’t understand the allure of Cafe Moustache, the subject of this week’s cafe review. At risk of piling on any further, one of the most obnoxious sticking points…
Montrose in Midst of Whole Foods Mania
Swamplot has a correspondent in the skyscraper near the new Whole Foods at Dallas and Waugh, and they’ve got this picture from this morning’s opening day of business. Not a parking spot in sight. We admit we don’t really get the Whole Foods thing, but….isn’t there another one three minutes’…
Hope Stone Dance Company Announces 2011-2012 Season
Hope Stone Dance Company announced three new productions for its 2011-2012 season, including a contribution to the first-ever Houston Dance Festival, a collaboration with Mercury Baroque and a performance by some 60 students between the ages of six and 18 years. Season opener Lemonade Stand combines some of the more…
A Few Changes at Heights Ashbury Coffeehouse
It all started with a rogue Tweet a few months ago. My favorite vegan tamale venture — Radical Eats — sent out a Tweet that they would now be serving food at a permanent location, specifically a new coffee house called the Heights Ashbury Coffeehouse on 19th Street. Previously limited…
Five More Wacky Tour Riders (We Totally Didn’t Make Up)
In case you haven’t seen it yet, the Foo Fighters’ rider for their upcoming tour (still no Houston show) in support of their fantastic album Wasting Light is the best the best the best the best the best the best the best the best the best the best the best…
Five Reasons Why We’re Going to Miss The Drought
According to the weather people, Texas’s big, ugly drought should be coming to an end today. Well… not necessarily today, but soon. Supposedly, the worst is over, La Niña is leaving us the hell alone for a while and we’ll start seeing some rain again. Your lawns are dying and…
The Voice Semi-Finals: The Final 8
Somehow, even though we have half the number of contestants we had last week, the semi-final episode remains a two-hour extravaganza. I fast forwarded through all of the visits to “the Voice social media room” (it seems they’ve given up on the “V Room” moniker, unless I fast-forwarded through that,…
There Goes Rhymin’ Simon: The First Four Books Of Paul
With Paul Simon’s latest CD, So Beautiful or So What, released this spring, the reissue folks at Columbia/Legacy have embarked on a reissue project. Out of the box first this month are his four solo releases after the implosion of Simon and Garfunkel. Coming on the heels of S&G’s epic…
Southwest Pilot Caught on Open Microphone: You Are Now Free to Denigrate Gays and Your Female Flight Attendants
KPRC has broken the story of a Houston-based Southwest pilot who got a little chatty without realizing his cockpit microphone was on. Air-traffic controllers were treated to a rundown on how the unnamed pilot thinks most Houston flight attendants are ugly, with a couple of gay slurs tossed in to…
Lombardia Wines and Carmelo’s: A Great Pairing
I was recently able to attend a dinner arranged by the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce of Texas and Harvest Importing to promote the wine of the Lombardy (North Central) region. The dinner was held at Carmelo’s Italian Restaurant, the longstanding West Houston establishment. Lombardia wines are not quite as well…
Chicago: Fosse’s Follies
See pics from Chicago’s sultry opening night in our slideshow. The set-up: Unhappily married, dim bulb Roxie Hart (Tracy Shayne) becomes an instant “star” when she shoots her lover and the murder trial is transformed into a media circus by slick shyster lawyer Billy Flynn (John O’Hurley). This, of course,…
Introducing The Spacey Bobby Earth
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. Several months ago, while looking for rock samples…
NHL Hockey in Reliant Stadium? In September?
Hockey in Reliant Stadium? In September? A disaster in the making?The word on the street yesterday was that the NHL is coming to Houston. Not to play real hockey, of course. And not for the season. But just for a preseason game. At Reliant Stadium. In September. I like hockey…
Ribs on the Propane Grill: Please Don’t Call Them Barbecue
True barbecue requires smoke, and I’m not buying a smoker. Great ribs need time, and low heat. So to make succulent ribs on a propane grill, I had to make a few cheats, but in this case, cheaters do win. The first thing I did was apply a rub. There’s…
When the Rain Came
There was, indeeed, wet stuff from the sky this morning. Feel free to celebrate. It’s amazing what crazy can do / When every good citizen’s sane / When heaven’s a desert / We’ll go to our place in the rain / It’s amazing what comes into view / When you…
Art Review: “Just Press Print”
Print Houston 2011 continues at Anya Tish Gallery. Tish has pulled together some pretty innovative artists for her show, but the standout is Turkish artist Ardan Özmenoglu. Özmenoglu has created a marvelous installation in the gallery using multicolored Post-It Notes. Densely clustered on one 12-foot wall, the Post-Its are overlaid…
The Best Summer Movie Soundtracks Of The ’90s
Summer is officially here, even though it’s been ball-dripping sweaty since at least early May. This is also about the time that we are already steeped in big-budget Hollywood summer would-be blockbusters, the kind of movies that have fast-food promotions and shitty toys that break before Labor Day. You know,…
Racing Rachael: Tool Shop
According to the Food Network website, Rachael Ray created this meal using her favorite kitchen tools. Looking through the recipes, I assume that she is referring to the food processor and box grater used to make these two dishes. Really? Of all the gadgets out there that can overstock your…
Comment of the Day: The Drought Wildlife Coming to Houston
We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it’s time we paid some damn attention to them. So we’ll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day’s work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula…
A.V. Club Pop Pilgrims: Show Houston Some Love
The Onion AV Club, in their latest of online adventures, has taken to the road, in a product-placed Fiat 500, to hunt for pop culture across the U.S of A. If there is a city that has some notable history, be it film, music, literature or television, the AV Club…
App of the Week: Never Lose Your Car Again with Parkn’ Find
App: Parkn’ Find Platforms: iPhone Web site: Parkn’ Find Cost: $0.99 There are few things more frustrating than wandering around a parking lot looking for your car. This is especially true when it is raining or the sun is baking you like a roasted pig on a spit. With GPS technology being what it…
Five Great Uses Of Music As A Weapon
Ed. Note: Jef With One F does not distinguish fiction from reality from video games. We let it slide because he accepts checks from the “Bank of Mordor”… we just hope it’s not rubbing off on us. Music is a weapon. That’s what angry political bands will tell you. They’ll…
The 11 Most Annoying Religious Bumper Stickers You See in Texas
Religious philosophy: You can discuss it using eloquent and challenging rhetoric in an academic speech, or you can put it on a bumper sticker. Here in Texas, most people seem to opt for the bumper sticker. If you’re spending any time on the road, you’re going to be subjected to…
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. Downtown: With killer photos and thoughtful stories, this magazine from — yep!…
Free HIV Testing at Walgreens: Five Reasons to Get Tested
Walgreens is all kinds of sexy lately. In March, it became the first pharmacy to carry the female condom, a plastic pouch that gives females the power of putting up their own STI-barrier. Now for the first time ever, Walgreens is offering free HIV testing for three days, on June…
J.A. Happ — The Quest for 20 Losses
“I was a humble person before I lost twenty, but afterward I became really humble. You don’t want to say, ‘Hey, I lost twenty games in one year,’ but at least it has some interest to it.” — Former big league pitcher and 20-game loser Brian Kingman Last night, after…
Rush Hour and a Big Soccer Game at Reliant: Metro Says It’s Ready
There’s a big soccer doubleheader at Reliant Stadium tomorrow, including both Team USA and the star-studded Mexico squad. They’re not playing each other, but combined they’ll bring enough fans to pack the place. Which could be a problem, since the first game begins at 6 p.m. Metro says it’s taking…
Comment of the Day: One Final Shout-Out to Our Dads
On Friday, we ran a Craig-Hlavaty-penned tribute to the less-than-stellar dads of TV. Sure, Arrested Development’s George Bluth might not have the paternal know-how of that wiseass Mike Brady, but did Mike Brady ever try to boil bag dinners in an attic hot tub? I rest my case. Yesterday, reader…
Comment of the Day
Mai Pham visited Revival Market and wrote about her awesome experience there. Commenter Ali agreed that it’s a great place: Love it. I’m such a fan. The bread. The meat. The coffee. All of it. And I run in to people I know there all the time. AND I love…
Astros’ Gift to Season-Ticket Holders: A Piece of Dugout Wood
It certainly hasn’t been easy being an Astros season-ticket holder recently, unless you’re a masochist. The Astros know this. So, as a way of saying, “Thanks for sticking with us as we drive the team into a ditch it will take years to get out of,” they have spontaneously given…
Jesus “Jesse” Gonzalez: Former HS Teacher Marries Student, Complicates Prosecution of Improper Relationship Case
Recent weeks have seen a rash of cases involving high school teachers having sexual relationships with students past the age of consent. These cases differ from sexual assaults in that while they are second-degree felonies punishable by up to 20 years in prison, they are not sex crimes per se,…
100 Favorite Dishes: No. 92, Black Bean Burger from Natachee’s
This year leading up to our annual Best of Houston issue, we’re counting down our 100 favorite dishes in Houston. This list comprises our favorite dishes from the last year, dishes that are essential to Houston’s cultural landscape and/or dishes that any visitor (or resident) should try at least once…
Not A Drop Of Rain: 10 Modern-Day Dust Bowl Songs
Rocks Off just walked outside and saw something we almost didn’t recognize: Rain clouds that look like they might, you know, rain. We’ll believe it when we see it. Even if we do get some relief in the next couple of days, it won’t be enough. Rocks Off forgets the…
Today’s DVDs: The Adjustment Bureau, Kiss Me Deadly, and Charlie Sheen: Born to Be Wild
The Adjustment Bureau stars Matt Damon, Emily Blunt and Anthony Mackie, screenwriter George Nolfi also directs. The set-up: Matt Damon plays David, a golden-boy congressman that’s lost his bid for a senate seat. He meets Elise, who might be the woman of his dreams. Almost immediately, some creepy guys in…
Torrence Demond Haywood, 18, Bayou Body Count No. 89
An 18-year-old man was shot to death during an argument on the south side Monday, Houston police say. Torrence Demond Haywood, 18, was “involved in a verbal dispute” with another man about 11 a.m. in the 5100 block of Mallow, HPD says. The other man pulled out a gun and…
Brew Blog: Duchesse de Bourgogne
If you’re not prepared for The Duchesse, she can be a bit of a shock. It all comes down to familiarity with sour beers. If you’ve never had a sour, it doesn’t really matter which one you try first. The response always seems to be the same. “This isn’t beer.”…
Farewell, Ryan Dunn: Yearning to Make People Laugh
Growing up, my friends and I would make these dirt ramps for our bikes behind our houses. In the process of digging and packing the dirt, we would reach a point where no one would dare even try to ramp over our creation. We would sit halfway on and halfway…
The 10 Coolest Skyscrapers in the World
June is National Skyscraper month, a month is which us city dwellers are encouraged to stop bemoaning lack of green space and overabundance of concrete, chrome and glass and instead enjoy the fine architecture of our urban environment. Sure, it’s a gimmick month, probably made up by the real estate…
Houston Dynamo Support Groups Squash the Drama, Unite Forces
It’s an hour before game time on a late Saturday afternoon and members of the Texian Army and La Bateria congregate in a modest grassy area outside of Robertson Stadium. The Dynamo support groups have been camped out here since 1 p.m. in advance of seeing the home team take…
Texas Cottage Food Bill Signed Into Law
Earlier this year, Robb Walsh profiled so-called “pirate bakers” in his feature “Come and Bake It,” which chronicled the efforts of these home bakers, canners and tamale-makers as they strove to get their products legalized. “Bake sales and homemade tamales are only two of a long list of beloved Texas…
Out Today: Bon Iver’s Bandwagon Bait, Weird Al Goes Gaga
In the next few weeks, you may be reading about the new Robert Ellis album, Photographs, so we are just giving you fair warning. It’s a stunner through and through, and goes nicely with early morning traffic. Have you ever heard “Westbound Train” ramp up just as you hit the…
Comment of the Day: How to Get Rid of the Grass Carp
We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it’s time we paid some damn attention to them. So we’ll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day’s work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula…
7 Games We Wish Nintendo Would Give the DS Treatment
Nintendo is kind of at a crossroads at the moment. First off, the Wii U seems very underwhelming to us as the next big thing for the legendary game company, completely scrapping the model of in-person interactive play that it re-pioneered with the Wii. Also, the 3DS is showing the…
Tuesday June 21, 2011: Deals of the Day
Today’s VOICE Daily Deal from the Houston Press gets you half off ($10 for $20) at Casa Grande. Authentic Mexican fare includes Casa Grande’s famous nachos supreme: marinated fajita meat, refried beans and gooey, melted cheese along with the traditional fixin’s like jalapenos, guacamole, sour cream, lettuce and tomato. And…
Original deadhorse Not Playing Warehouse Live After All
Well, damn. Rocks Off should have known that when something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. And so, unlike what we reported Monday, the original lineup of Houston thrash-metal gods deadhorse will not be playing at Warehouse Live on October 22. The lineup that released the group’s…
Nationwide ICE Crackdown Nets 91 Illegal-Immigrant Arrests in Houston
The federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency announced today that more than 2,400 criminal illegal aliens or fugitives had been arrested in a nationwide crackdown last month, and 91 of them were in Houston. “All of the criminal aliens taken into custody had prior convictions for crimes such as armed…
Prometheus Unbound: Young Chefs Set Their Sights on Houston as the New Culinary Frontier
The living room at Seth and Hannah Siegel-Gardner’s tidy blue house in the Heights is packed: two chefs and their wives, a journalist, three dogs, a massive cookbook collection and a flat-screen TV that sits atop a vintage stove. The dogs — Catfish, Barbecue and Janie — are eying us…
An Affiliated Soldier Explains What Is And Isn’t Gangster
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. Something you always wanted to…
Art Review: Evergreen: Original Contemporary Prints
Print Houston 2011, a celebration of artist prints, is finding its way into multiple venues around town. Philomena Gabriel Contemporary has an interesting selection of prints for sale from the collection of Sharon and Gus Kopriva. The Koprivas have amazing stuff, and it’s a great opportunity to see little-known works…
Drought: Five Animals and Pests You’re Seeing More of, As They Search for Water
Some of us were praying for rain even before it was mandated to do so. Houston’s been teased more than a frat boy lately, especially early this morning, when chances of actual rain were forecast in the lofty 30 percentages! At 6 a.m. storm clouds gathered and it even smelled…
Court Battle Brewing Over Pimp C’s Music
When Rocks Off heard last week that the late Pimp C had released a new song, “Grippin’ on the Wood,” and that a new Pimp album was on the way next month, it sent our antennae up. As happy as we were to hear new Pimp material – and “Wood,”…
Ingredient of the Week: Rainier Cherries
I popped my cherry with Rainier cherries when I visited Seattle for the first time several years ago. Walking through Pike Place Market, I came across a fruit stand that sold mounds of these cherries that were, to me at the time, strangely colored. Of course, I had to buy…
Upcoming: Andre Williams, Boz Scaggs, Erasure, Supersuckers, Etc.
Anarchitex, The Energy, Black Congress, Delta Block: Fri., July 1. Fitzgerald’s. Andre Williams, Roy Head, Archie Bell: Sat., Sept. 3. Continental Club. Bassnectar: Fri., Oct. 28. Verizon Wireless Theater. Boz Scaggs, Michael McDonald: Sat., Oct. 1. Verizon Wireless Theater. “Canned Acoustica IV”: GREEN ROOM., Fri., Aug. 26. Warehouse Live. City…
Rick Perry: Thou Shalt Not Grope (But Thou Shall Sonogram)
Governor Rick Perry’s Crusade Against Groping will not be denied. He’s added to the special session agenda a bill that would outlaw any airport security agent’s touching the private parts of Texans, because…well, we’re not really sure, except it’s a way for uptight Tea Partiers to rebel against the federal…
Soccer Notes: Dynamo Look for Intensity; Mexico’s Stars Get Ready for Reliant
The Houston Dynamo locker was quiet following their 2-0 loss Saturday night to the Columbus Crew. Whether it was the loss or the fact that there was no air conditioning in the home locker room, players were quick to leave after the match. Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear went through…
Farm Fresh Goodness at Revival Market
Revival Market may not immediately come to mind as a lunch destination, but since my visit a couple weeks ago, I’ve been dying to go back. What started out as a simple girl’s lunch turned into a three-hour affair, but I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. I blame it…
Valerie June Out, Krayolas In At Leon’s, Volcano
Win some, lose some. Pete Mitchell, owner of Under the Volcano and the recently reopened Leon’s Lounge, just called to bemoan the fact that rising star Valerie June had cancelled her July 26 solo date at Leon’s. “She’s doing a record with Dan Auerbach [Black Keys] and they start recording…
Who Will Be the American Gods in HBO’s New Series?
HBO has announced that it will be bringing one of Neil Gaiman’s most celebrated works, the novel American Gods, to life in a 6-season series helmed by none other than Tom Hanks. The series will be 10 to 12 hour-long episodes, will be budgeted at around $35 million a season,…
A Page Outta: Cupcake Lasagna Leftovers
I told you I was going to do this. The last installment of A Page Outta is a perfect example of why the leftovers element is so important. Recipes are great and all, but they all too frequently ask that you do inexplicably stupid things. Some recipes ask that you…
Drake: What’s The Best Song He – And You – Ever Wrote?
Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Every Monday that isn’t the day after a major local music festival, but sometimes on Tuesday anyway, Rocks Off will have some of them here discussing issues relevant to their culture. This Week’s Panel: Renzo, Preemo, Show, Zavey, UZOY (Like the Gun),…
Austin Miller Comes Back to Houston for Urban Cowboy & 22 Country Songs
Update: Austin Miller was last in Houston in Hairspray at the Hobby Center. Before that he was at Miller Outdoor in 42nd Street. Actor Austin Miller, last seen here in the Miller Outdoor Theatre staging of 42nd Street in 2009, is heading back for another round of heavy duty singing…
Houston Park Ranger Shot By Guy Who Really Wanted Him to Turn His Headlights Off
Sometimes, if you’re in a public park, you want a little privacy, a little darkness, to do whatever it is you want to do that would require privacy and darkness in a public park. So if a city Park Ranger comes by with his headlights blaring, you naturally are going…
Pop Rocks: TV…Serious Business
Hey America, what did you think of the season finale of The Killing? – S U C K S! Not wasting another minute watching or thinking about this show! – I want 13 hours of my life back! – Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on…
Pop Rocks: We Take Our Television Seriously
Hey America, what did you think of the season finale of The Killing? – S U C K S! Not wasting another minute watching or thinking about this show! – I want 13 hours of my life back! – Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on…
Four Musicians The G.I. Bill Put On Their Way
Wednesday is the 65th anniversary of Franklin Roosevelt signing the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, better known to us as the G.I. Bill. Though the bill did many things, including unemployment compensation for veterans as well as home loans, it’s probably best known for helping soldiers pay for a college…
Summer Reprieve: Pools & Community Centers to Remain Open
Great news for kids: Thanks to some corporate donations, eight swimming pools and seven community centers that were going to be closed this summer due to budget cuts will now be open. U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and Mayor Annise Parker announced the good news yesterday, and after some initial…
Where Are We Drinking?
A hint to the location of this nutmeg-topped cocktail lies in one of the recent 100 Favorite Dishes posts. Can you gather a guess on where we picked up this rum-based cocktail with a tropical yet thoroughly colonial bent? Leave your best shot in the comments section below…
100 Creatives: El Franco Lee II
What He Does: A self-trained artist, El Franco Lee II paints highly narrative scenes that delve into anything from social commentary to superhero fantasies. His work jumps from images of Hurricane Katrina refugees, the dragged-to-death James Byrd, Jr. and prisoner executions, to ones of contemporary sports stars, hip hop legends…
HISD Gets Millions, Avoids Tax Hike & Harvin Moore Gives the Lege a Bronx Cheer
It doesn’t look like there’s going to be an increase in taxes after all and Houston ISD just got word that it’s been approved for more than $70.6 million in so-called E-Rate Funding, which means a lot of kids who’ve been going without wi-fi in their schools can jump up…
Project Row Houses Hosts Delicious “Peace through Pies”
As the Juneteenth festivities were getting underway at Emancipation Park, about a hundred folks got together across the street at the El Dorado Ballroom for a midday pie social. The event was organized through Project Row Houses as a way to close down its recent show “Matter of Food,” and…
Comment of the Day
Today brought a couple different commenters with a similar message. On Minh Truong’s piece on recession dining at Giacomo’s, SC said: If you bring your kids to this place, they’d better be well-behaved, or you’ll find me scowling at them. This is one of my favorite restaurants for a casual…
Last Night: Justin Nava Benefit At Numbers
Justin Nava Benefit Numbers June 19, 2011 All day Sunday, a few hundred people came went from Numbers, in support of The Last Place You Look vocalist Justin Nava, who broke his collarbone a few months back and was without insurance. The night was filled with good tunes, good people…
2011 NBA Draft — A Reminder of the Rockets’ Purgatory
In the second season of The Sopranos, after getting shot in the abdomen and nearly dying, Christopher has dreams while in a coma about going to a place where people die every day the same painful way they died on earth. Convinced that it was hell he was dreaming about,…
Alley Theatre Artistic, Managing Directors Sign on for Five More Years
Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd and Managing Director Dean R. Gladden have signed new contracts that would keep them on the job for another five years, according to a release. The contracts begin fiscal year 2011-2012 and continue through fiscal year 2015-2016. Alley Board President Rob Reedy credited Boyd…
deadhorse (Or Dead Horse) Reuniting In October
UPDATE AGAIN (June 21, 12:55 p.m.): Indeed, Michael Haaga has nothing to do with this deadhorse reunion. The lineup that released 1996 EP Boil(ing) is the one performing. UPDATE (June 21, 11:30 a.m.): There is some dispute as to which version of deadhorse, if any, is playing this show. Rocks…
Happy Birthday Brian Wilson: His Modern Indie-Rock Offspring
Today, ace pop-music architect and Beach Boys talisman Brian Wilson turns 69. In his nearly 50-year (!) wake of music he has helped give rise to generations of shameless copycats and other reverent rockers who find inspiration in his musical style. Obviously, the artists that came immediately after Wilson’s initial…
John Dolard, Accused Child Rapist and Church Choir Volunteer: Quite the Mugshot
Police have arrested a church choir volunteer who they say has confessed to sexually assaulting an eight-year-old boy. John Dolard, 53, met the boy at the unnamed Houston church they both attended, police say. He asked the boy’s mother if he could take the child swimming at a relative’s house…
100 Favorite Dishes: No. 93, Helado de Lúcuma at Pollo Bravo
This year leading up to our annual Best of Houston issue, we’re counting down our 100 favorite dishes in Houston. This list comprises our favorite dishes from the last year, dishes that are essential to Houston’s cultural landscape and/or dishes that any visitor (or resident) should try at least once…
Sherell Nicole Baldwin, 24, Bayou Body Count No. 88: Pregnant Woman Beaten and Set on Fire
Police have identified the woman who was found beaten and burned to death shortly before midnight June 16. Sherell Nicole Baldwin, 24, was in her third trimester of pregnancy and had come to Houston from her Huntsville home June 15 to visit a friend, HPD says. Her body was found…
Wine of the Week: “Oaky May Be Bad, but Oak Is Good.”
If you’re anywhere between 21 and 51 years of age (I’ll be 44 next month), you were brought up with the notion that oak flavors were a sign of a fine wine. Back in the 1970s, when huge investment in the Californian wine industry began to take shape, the dudes…
Saturday Night: Praia Urbana At Last Concert Cafe
Praia Urbana Last Concert Cafe June 18, 2011 Saturday, the all-day electronic music festival Praia Urbana was held at Last Concert Café. From what Aftermath saw while we were there, it was pretty much a packed house. Due to a previous commitment, we got there two hours before the party…
Art and Culture at the New Whole Foods Market in Montrose
Whole Foods Market has a tradition of incorporating the surrounding community in to each of their 300+ stores across North America and the UK. But how does one capture the essence of a neighborhood named one of the 10best in America, described as everything from “Hipster Hollow” to “The Gayborhood”…
Syed Hussain, 28, Bayou Body Count No. 87
A gas-station employee who was shot during an afternoon robbery attempt Friday died a day later at Ben Taub Hospital, Houston police say. Syed Hussain, 28, worked in a Chevron station in the 5400 block of the East Freeway. About 4:40 p.m. Friday, he was escorting a co-worker with a…
The Anachronistic Chef: Cranberry Lemon Shrub Cocktail
This summer I’m taking a break from Houston and spending some time in my birthplace, Alexandria, Virginia. Last week, I wandered into a gift shop, and unsurprisingly gravitated toward the food section. The wares initially appeared to be the usual assortment of ye olde cornbread mixes, cans of Indian pudding,…
Murder at the Howard Johnson’s a Middling Success
The set up: The title says a lot: Murder at the Howard Johnson’s. It has no pretense to glamour, like Murder on the Orient Express, but instead suggests a middle-brow, ho-hum, minor effort, and that’s what Theatre Suburbia delivers. Farces are not meant to be taken seriously, and this apparently…
Juneteenth: A Gulf Coast Good Time In A Hipster-Free Zone
Sunday’s Juneteenth extravaganza at Miller Outdoor Theatre proved to be another chapter in why, here at Rocks Off, we love our town. In spite of Hades-like mid-afternoon temperatures, brisk breezes cooled the evening, leaving trombonist Glen David Andrews and his New Orleans band to worry about the heat index as…
Houston Web Awards Tickets Half Price Until Midnight
If you’ve been holding out on buying tickets for the very first Houston Web Awards, now’s your chance. Until midnight, the tickets for the June 30 event at Momentum Audi, co-hosted by Rocks Offers Craig Hlavaty and Brittanie Shey and featuring Special Guest Fat Tony (presenting, performing and DJing), are…
Drive Carefully, Texas: One of Four Trucks on the Road Are Violating Safety Regs
The Texas Department of Public Safety has wrapped up its latest “Roadcheck” campaign, where it floods the highways with inspectors and pulls over trucks willy-nilly. Almost 8,000 trucks were stopped and inspected in a 72-hour period, and the results were encouraging? We guess it depends on how bad you think…
Whole Foods Joins the Party in Montrose, Brings Booze
I live in Montrose, and I am a big fan of Disco Kroger. The infatuation began almost four years ago, on the very first night I moved into the area. It was after 1 a.m. on a Saturday and I had an apartment full of boxes and only condiments in…
The Killing: “Orpheus Descending”
Stop, you’re…killing me. While it should be acknowledged that the creators of The Killing never explicitly told us they’d answer the season-long question of “Who killed Rosie Larsen?”, the audience can hardly be blamed for expecting some resolution after a season’s worth of red herrings and flimsy characterization. Keep expecting,…
ZZ Top Will Release New Album By Year’s End, Gibbons Says
After years of hemming and haw-haw-haw-hawing about how far along it is, who they are working with, and whether or not it even actually exists, ZZ Top singer/guitarist (Rev.) Billy F. Gibbons said the trio plans to release its first studio album since 2003’s Mescalero before the end of this…
Dan Patrick Says He’s Polling Great for U.S. Senator
Tomball’s favorite state senator, Dan Patrick (R-Tea Party), has weighed in on the polling landscape for his possible run for the United States Senate. And he likes what he sees. Patrick says the recent Texas Lyceum poll (the one that showed President Obama and Rick Perry with almost equal, healthy…
The Week in TV: The Killing Tests Your Will to Live
The Killing ended last night in a manner we critics like to call “shitting the bed.” This was the week in TV Land: • AMC has picked up The Killing for a second season, but good luck getting me to watch it. This season has been an exercise in patience…
Houston Web Awards: And The Winner Is…
…you, for getting a half-off ticket to our inaugural Houston Web Awards ceremony on Thursday, June 30. As mentioned in last week’s Upcoming Events, the Houston Web Awards tickets are normally $30, but the VOICE Daily Deal today gets you those same tickets for $15. And although it might not…
Terrance Nelson, 28, Bayou Body Count No. 86
A Kashmere Gardens man was shot to death in what police believe was a home invasion Friday afternoon. Terrance Nelson, 28, was found dead from a gunshot wound in his home in the 3900 block of Kress about 3:40 p.m. Friday. “He appeared to have been killed in a home…
2 Mixtapes & 1 Beat Battle: A Busy Underground-Rap Saturday
This weekend, Boy A and Boy B participated in their first soccer game. It was brilliantly entertaining. At one point, Boy B turned to a player on his own team, began talking shit (“I’m too fast, you’re too slow”), then picked up the ball and took off running, shouting “JUMP…
Discount Dining: Giacomo’s Cibo e Vino
Last month, Nicholas Hall found out that Giacomo’s Cibo e Vino is surprisingly kid-friendly. I never would have thought it would be, considering wine is in its name. With a $40 voucher in hand from Houston Entree and an idea of what I wanted to order, I was eager to…
Sports Posters From The ’80s Or Vintage All-Male Gay Porn Video Covers?
I came across this collection a few days ago on the Sports Illustrated site, and these posters, of some of the legends, and forgotten idols, of sport from the ’80s in fantastical and masculine poses, all reminded us of gay porn video covers. It’s odd to look back on your…
Grass Carp: You’ve Done Your Job Saving Lake Conroe, Now They’re Coming to Kill You
When Lake Conroe began to be overrun with the harmful plant hydrilla, Texas officials had the answer — they brought in a bunch of grass carp to eat that stuff up. The carp performed admirably: The lake is now essentially free of hydrilla, Texas Parks and Wildlife says. But while…
DEFCON Dining: Babysitting Edition
Some of my most terrifying DEFCON Dining moments have been brought about by other people’s children. They’re like guerrilla warriors. You never know when one of them is going to pop out from the underbrush, tantrums flying like RPGs as you futilely try to take cover and reduce civilian casualties…
Rebecca Black Pulls “Friday” Vid, Heralds The Apocalypse
Mason Lankford said, “There will come a day when we forget the Rapture ever even happened,” but Rocks Off is keeping an eye out for signs of our impending Armageddon. We were wrong last time, but we’re totally right this time! Rebecca Black shot into… fame? Notoriety? Is there even…
JCC’s Wonderland! Not Just For Kids
The set up: Don’t tell anyone that I had a good time at a musical for children, but the truth is I did – and so will you. The courageous Dionysus Theatre has mounted a production of Wonderland! The Misadventures of a Girl Named Alice, and it ranges from tacky…
The Eagle Flies Away With “Houston’s Alternative Hits”
Cox Communications has shuttered its fledgling “alternative hits” concept, 106.9 The Zone, and begun simulcasting The Eagle, The Zone’s “classic hits” next-door neighbor, on that frequency as of 5:30 a.m. this morning. “The Eagle’s Classic Hits format, anchored by the Dean and Rog Show, will have the largest coverage area…
Bartender Chat: Shawn Outlaw of Simone on Sunset
Simone on Sunset is fully loaded with approximately 35 off-the-beaten-path beers (no, you won’t find a Miller Light here), all the usual-suspect spirits, and a few hard-to-come-by bottles, such as the Ransom Old Tom Gin that Katharine Shilcutt recently enjoyed here. Whether you’re out for a great glass of vino…
Comment of the Day: Someone Liked Our Dead Fish Photos
We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it’s time we paid some damn attention to them. So we’ll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day’s work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula…
Falling Skies: “Pilot”
I don’t want to sound like a Negative Nathan here, but was another alien invasion story really necessary? I’d run out of fingers and toes trying to count previous attempts – from the original War of the Worlds (1953) and V (1983) to…War of the Worlds (2005) and V (2009)…
Celebrating Women in Baseball While Forgetting Anita Martini
The Hall’s Women in Baseball Exhibit ignores a very important woman.While on the Houston Aeros beat a couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to travel to Binghamton, New York, for the Calder Cup Finals. There’s not much to Binghamton, but about an hour and a half away, nestled…
Game Of Thrones: “Fire And Blood”
Here be dragons. “Fire and Blood,” the season finale to the first season of HBO’s Game of Thrones, dealt overwhelmingly with the fallout resulting from “King” Joffrey’s execution of Ned Stark (in what can charitably described as a shortsighted political move), but ended with another memorable event even fewer probably…
Clarence Clemons’ Top 7 E Street Sax Solos
As most of our readers know by now, E Street has lost its most prominent resident and Block Captain with the death of Clarence Clemons. In poor physical health for years due to various ailments, he died on Saturday night from complications due to a stroke less than a week…
Sonya Wells, 37, Bayou Body Count No. 85
A Houston woman was killed on the south side of town Friday night when she was hit by a stray bullet. Sonya Wells, 37, was hit by a bullet at her home in the 5400 block of Chenault about 10 p.m. Friday during a dispute over a bet on the…
The Joanna Rocks the House, and More Gallery-hopping
Friday night we ended up at The Joanna for a noisy, immersive experience that had been anticipated for a couple of weeks, after a successful outdoor preview at the Free Press Summerfest. This time around, the artist collective Exurb brought their electromagnetic fields, “soundgates,” speakers, video cameras, projectors and computers…
Where Are We Eating?
It’s a little hard to tell, but that is a bag of freshly roasted and steamed beets. (As with so many other natural wonders, it’s difficult to capture the beauty of beets in a photo.) Along with a generous amount of tangy goat cheese and sweet hazelnuts, this makes up…
Join Us For the First-Ever Houston Web Awards
If you’re reading this blog, that means you’re pretty Web savvy, right? And it also mean you know that Houston Press is also very Web savvy. We’ve done feature stories on The Twitterverse, covered heartwarming Internet tales like The Bloggess saves Christmas and pursued a myriad of odd criminal exploits…
100 Favorite Dishes: No. 94, Mulligatawny Soup at the Queen Vic
This year leading up to our annual Best of Houston issue, we’re counting down our 100 favorite dishes in Houston. This list comprises our favorite dishes from the last year, dishes that are essential to Houston’s cultural landscape and/or dishes that any visitor (or resident) should try at least once…
100 Favorite Dishes: No. 95, Eggs Mia Bella at Mia Bella
This year leading up to our annual Best of Houston issue, we’re counting down our 100 favorite dishes in Houston. This list comprises our favorite dishes from the last year, dishes that are essential to Houston’s cultural landscape and/or dishes that any visitor (or resident) should try at least once…
Comment of the Day
Today Katharine Shilcutt reported on some of the openings and closings around town, leading to a conversation in the comments about the opening of the new Christian’s in the Heights and inspiring The Great Gazoo to bring up a question: ok, hope this doesn’t stir anything up, but I drive…
This Week in Deliciousness
Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where we’ve just read the CDC’s report that teenagers are still drinking too much soda. Holy crackers ‘n’ crumpets ‘n’ tubas ‘n’ trumpets! We’ve got to put everything else on hold while we deal with this surprising, shocking, dismaying…
Sneak Peek at Whole Foods Montrose
From the slyly named sandwiches in the deli to the emphasis on showcasing local artists, it’s apparent that the new Whole Foods on Waugh is more committed than ever to being a “neighborhood” grocery store. It’s a smart move for the Austin-based store, especially in an area that’s seen a…
Ahman Green — Setting the Record Straight
Admittedly, when I write in this space, there are very few specific people that I think to myself, “Is so-and-so going to read this?” By and large, I just want my posts to be insightful or entertaining (or both). “Who is going to read this?” is something I rarely stress…
Comment of the Day: We Take Our Muppets Seriously
Yesterday, Art Attack writer Abby Koenig ranked the Muppet movies in order from most to least awesome (there are no bad Muppet movies). Except for the high ranking of A Muppet Christmas Carol (number 3? Are you kidding me?), I thought the list more or less was how I would…
More Local Music News Than Dry Creeks In Texas
It’s time for another fabulous installment of Magnolia City Mixtape. We took last week off, as we were still recovering from the whirlwind of Free Press Summer Fest. Call us lazy if you will, but this week we’ve got a double dose of local music news to make up for…
James Mundo, 70, Bayou Body Count No. 84
The driver of a van was stabbed to death by at least one his passengers on the west side Thursday night, Houston police say. The name of the victim, 70, has not been released pending notification of his family is James Mundo. HPD says he was driving a van east…
Meet Us In Meatspace At The Houston Web Awards
At Art Attack, we LOVE the Internet. We’ve obsessed about memes, and scoured for the best of Tumblr so you don’t have to. We’ve even devoted entire categories to it. And we know our local Internet community. We’ve profiled people like Etsy maven Komodokat, written about Glasstire.com’s stunning redesign and…
Houston Begins Water-Shortage Plan: Take Shorter Showers, People
Mayor Annise Parker announced today the city will be implementing Stage 1 of its water-shortage plan, which calls for residents to make some changes in their routines. Among them: Showers should be no longer than five minutes. Turn off the water while brushing your teeth. And turn on those sprinklers…
100 Favorite Dishes: No. 96, Swiss Chard Crepes at Giacomo’s Cibo e Vino
This year leading up to our annual Best of Houston issue, we’re counting down our 100 favorite dishes in Houston. This list comprises our favorite dishes from the last year, dishes that are essential to Houston’s cultural landscape and/or dishes that any visitor (or resident) should try at least once…
Walter’s No Longer On Washington, But Not Gone Either
Nearly two years after the club first said it was planning to relocate from Washington Avenue, Walter’s on Washington has finally shut down, owner Pam Robinson told Rocks Off this afternoon. After Robinson gave her landlord a 60-day notice on March 1, the Washington location closed last weekend. Robinson’s plans…
Wildfires in Spring Cause Evacuations
The Houston area has been mostly spared the wildfires that have been hitting other parts of Texas, but an abnormally large grass fire is causing problems this afternoon in Spring. The blaze is near FM 1960 and the Hardy Toll Road, which should also make the afternoon commute a pleasure…
Old-School Games We Wish Were On the Wii U
Last week, at the E3 Expo, Nintendo unveiled their latest version of video-gaming extravagance! The Wii U, which doesn’t have an official drop date, is already killing Nintendo’s stock and warranting negative comments all over the interwebs. How so, given the uber-success of the original Wii? If the advent of…
Last Night: Bootsy Collins At Warehouse Live
Bootsy Collins & Funk U-Nity Warehouse Live June 16, 2011 See more fabulous funksmanship in our slideshow. Funk is good for the soul. There’s no denying it. After 12 hours at the office Thursday, Aftermath entered Warehouse Live clenched tight as an oyster. A whopping two and a half hours…
Annise Parker Wins National Award for Making Houston Greener
What with all the electric cars and the green municipal buildings, Houston is maybe starting to ditch its reputation for being one of the more polluted cities in the country. Of course, there’s still a boatload of pollution, but at least the city government is contributing less to it. That’s…
MFAH Announces 18th-Century Parisian and 20th-Century Czech Exhibits
Visitors to the Museum of Fine Arts will have a chance to step into the dainty shoes of the 18th-century French bourgeoisie thanks to a new exhibit that attempts to recreate a day in the life of Enlightenment Paris. The exhibit, Life & Luxury, will feature around 160 paintings, sculptures,…
Rob Zombie Makes Detergent Commercials Now (We Approve)
Rocks Off got this video in a press release just minutes ago, Rob Zombie’s debut as director of Woolite commercials. Yes, Woolite. The detergent. The thing you use to make your clothes not stank and to look whiter. And we approve of the direction that the ’90s shock-maven and ’00s…
Kanye, 0. Rice, 1: Study Finds Prospective Wifeys Not Gold Diggers
Porsche.comExtra seating for harem, not family.If you’re a rich single man who owns a Porsche, chances are the dude in the pickup beside you is going to find a spouse sooner than you do. Don’t blame the car. It’s probably just you. So found a study released today by Rice…
Odd Pair: Zucchini Blossoms and Austrian Riesling
Today, we typically associate zucchini and zucchini blossoms with Italy and Southern France. I’ve just returned from Italy, where summer months find fiori di zucca (literally, squash flowers) at the height of their glory. We often forget that zucchini and zucchini blossoms, despite their Italian name, originated here in the…
Hot Stuff: Will The Texas Heat Melt Your Vinyl LPs?
Note: All temperatures in the following article are given in degrees Fahrenheit. Here is a helpful Celsius conversion calculator. You might not have noticed it lately, but outdoors, rays of this thing called “sunshine” are hitting the Earth like the planet didn’t bring the Sun a sandwich when it asked…
City Tries to Get Out of Patti LaBelle Lawsuit
The City of Houston is claiming immunity in a lawsuit filed by a former West Point cadet who said members of singer Patti LaBelle’s entourage assaulted him at Bush Intercontinental Airport last March. In papers filed Thursday, city attorneys claimed that Richard King’s civil suit improperly named the airport as…
Happy Hour Scene: Poscol
The Place: Vinoteca Poscol The Deals: $2 small glasses of wine, $1 cicchetti The Hours: 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays The Scene: I like visiting bars where you might have second thoughts about touching anything in the bathroom, let alone eating. I also appreciate nicer places that offer…
In Run-Up to Space Shuttle Atlantis Launch, NASA Allows Rare Peek Behind Mission Control Curtain
Check out our pictures of the final round of space shuttle simulation training at NASA’s Mission Control. Space. If you are anything like me, you’ve probably started to take it for granted. Save for disasters like the Columbia explosion in 2003, the country as a whole no longer gives the…
Awful TV Dads We Wouldn’t Mind Having (And Our Reasons Why)
Let’s face it, Cliff Huxtable, Danny Tanner and Mike Brady, three of the most beloved television sitcom fathers of the past 40 years, are not reality. We can’t all have rich, talk-show host, doctor, architect dads. Some of our dads work outside for a living and most don’t have witty…
Red Light Camera Ban Tossed Out
A federal judge has thrown out the city’s ban on red light cameras because it came from a referendum, not a charter amendment. U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes said the changes mandated by voters last November were not valid — they could only have been accomplished via a charter amendment,…
The 2011 Houston Underground Rap Awards, Pt. 2
The first roundup of acknowledgements of our Underground Rap Awards ran back in March. This is the second. There are 21 awards total and the entire piece is more than 1,700 words, so let’s skip right past the cutesy preamble, shall we? Aces. Here we go: Best Mixtape of the…
Comment of the Day: He Who Laughs Last
We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it’s time we paid some damn attention to them. So we’ll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day’s work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula…
June 11 to 17: The Week in Art Photos
It’s time again to check out the Houston Press Flickr Pool and see what kinds of art shots our talented photographers have added. We love street art, unique perspectives and beautiful photos of Houston’s creative community. If you think you’ve got a good eye, drop your pictures in the pool…
Upcoming Events
First and foremost, mark your calendar now for June 30, the night of our first annual Houston Web Awards with special guest Fat Tony among other presenters such as the crew of Technology Bytes and the fabulous Houston Roller Derby girls. Nominations are closed, but we will be presenting awards…
Mulholland Drive and 4 Other David Lynch Nightclubs We Want to Visit
If you live in Paris, then right now Art Attack wants to switch places with you, and not just because it’s so hot outside that we can actually feel our brain simmer. No, the thing that has us saving up for a plane ticket and buying striped shirts and berets…
Rebuilding Justin Nava: Musicians Pitch In To Help Injured Singer
A few months back, Justin Nava, lead vocalist of the Houston hardcore-turned-alt-rockers The Last Place You Look, fell off his bike while riding home through downtown Houston, breaking his collarbone. Nava didn’t have insurance so, with much more gusto than the most human beings could muster, he got back on…
Your Top 5 Summer Destinations List Includes…..Houston?
USA Today’s travel section has a column by a SmarterTravel.com writer listing the top five bargain destinations for the summer traveler. Among them: us. Probably because Houston has to offer a hell of a lot of discounts to get anyone to come here during the summer. It’s an eclectic group…
You Had Me at Uchiko
I was in Austin on business last week and, though it wasn’t my first time there, it had been a while. When I visit a place I like to find out where the locals go. I spoke to this guy who mentioned his wife was a chef; he insisted Uchiko…
Cover Story: Austin Fires Back
So I’d gotten up at 5 a.m. and spent the day at NASA’s Mission Control, where along with about fifty other writers, talking heads and camera crews from Houston, New York, London, Paris and Tokyo, I’d been granted unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to the final full-dress simulation for the 30-year-old American…
So You Think You Can Dance: Nothing Happens Twice
When you think about it, it was kind of cruel for the SYTYCD judges to make us sit through a Carrie Hilson performance and a Lady Gaga video just to reveal at the end of the show that, although there were seven dancers up for elimination last night, no one…
Remember Undergravity’s Space Jams?
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. Undergravity Space Jams (Self-released, 2011) Undergravity is a duo. The members – Adam Bomb and Mac – have, according…
Speak English, State Senator Chris Harris Tells Witness
Republican Chris Harris, from Arlington, was highly insulted when a man testifying against the “sanctuary cities” bill had the gall to make his viewpoint known to elected officials in his native language. Antolin Aguirre of the Austin Immigrant Rights Coalition, who’s been in the U.S. since 1988, spoke in Spanish…
Top Five Edible Flowers
Let’s get something out of the way: this post is not about fruit. Yes, I understand that much of what we consider to be fruit develops from the flowering part of the plant. But I’m talking about those botanical bits that people associate more with bouquets than with burritos. Here…
Reviews For The Easily Distracted: Green Lantern
Title: Green Lantern Who Are These Guys Again? The universe is divided into 3600 sectors, each of which is policed by a member of the Green Lantern Corps, whose members harness the…”green power of will” with the help of a special ring. They’re stationed on the planet Oa, home of…
Kiss My Grits Cakes
Grits are a breakfast staple, but one of my friends refuses to cook them, saying “It’s too much of a pain in the ass to cook grits for one.” She’s right. Although simple to cook in theory, the amount of standing, stirring and cleaning is a bit much if you’re…
App of the Week: Pageonce, Organizing Your Finances So You Don’t Have To
App: Pageonce Platforms: iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows Web site: Pageonce.com Cost: Free (ad supported), $12.99 (pro version) – monthly and annual subscriptions also available I will fully admit that I have struggled at times to keep track of my bills. I never liked the process of paying them — never mind the forking over…
Last Night: Peter Gabriel At Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Peter Gabriel Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion June 16, 2011 Rock writers right now – hell, everyone with a musical soul – are living in the most interesting of times. No, it’s not because we can pull any album we want down out of the sky at any time of day…
M.C. Escher: Our Favorite Dorm Posters
Pretty much anyone who grew up anywhere had their minds blown in middle school when they found out about M.C. Escher: The crows that turned into doves, the stairs that went to nowhere, the hands drawing each other. It’s just an inevitability of adolescence that you will find out about…
June 11 — 17: The Week in Photos
Each week, we take a dip into the Houston Press Flickr pool and see what our talented photographers have been up to. As the official start of summer nears, we want to see your hottest shots. Just drop them in our photo group right here. Maybe you’ll see them in…
Erland And The Carnival Map Modern Man In New Video
When Rocks Off wants the lowest of the lowdown on good new music that isn’t centered here in the Lone Star State, we always turn to Mick Cullen at Subterranean Radio. His three hour program has become a Thursday night ritual with us as he guides us through some of…
Texas School Buying “Smurf Turf” Football Field; Superintendent Speaks to Criticisms
West Texas’s Canutillo Independent School District hasn’t been bringing in much green of late, so they’ve decided to sing the $350,000 blues. Last week, the CISD Board of Trustees approved the installation of a “smurf turf” field that will replace, for “student safety reasons,” a green artificial playing surface. Located…
100 Creatives: Chris McKay
What He Does: Chris McKay is a photographer who owns and operates The Nocturnal Utopia. Many of his subjects are from the Houston goth community, and he has worked with Mr. SINched corsets, Larry Rainwater and his wife Spleen from the darkwave band Ex-Voto, and many other notable spooky personalities…
Openings & Closings
The Heights and its surrounding areas have seen some big changes over the last week, starting with the big news that 11th Street Cafe is finally closing to make room for a bigger and better restaurant on the corner of 11th and Studewood. The food at 11th Street hadn’t been…
Starring Tim Russert: Five Awful, Mawkish Pieces of Father’s Day Treacle
There are some good, honest, entertaining and trenchant books and songs out there done by people about their memories of Dad. On the other hand, there’s a lot of crap. Cloyingly sentimental, predictable, tear-jerking crap. Five of the worst: 5. Tim Russert’s oeuvre No one could do a profile of…
Gene Chizik Has One of Those “How to Be a Winner” Books
“We knew we had done nothing wrong during [Cam Netwon’s] recruiting process.” — Auburn head football coach Gene Chizik in an excerpt from his soon to be released book All In: What It Takes to Be the Best. Honestly, as I look at that introductory quote above, it’s not so…
Comment of the Day: Beach Casual = Business Casual?
Yesterday, Craig Hlavaty posted some images of the most effed-up sandcastles you will probably ever see. People lying in bed, a woman’s naked behind, some weird hollowed-out heart-chest thing and, of course, vaginas and penises, are all sources of inspiration for these sand artists. But perhaps most messed up is…
HISD Has More Grads, Fewer Dropouts
In a hurry-up afternoon press conference, Houston ISD Superintendent Terry Grier was able to say today that more of the district’s students are graduating on time, fewer are dropping out — and the improvements include every racial and ethnic student group. Grier was referring to data collected for the 2009-10…
Comment of the Day
Today Katharine Shilcutt shared the correct pronunciation of 20 food words in a post that was helpful indeed. But as commenter Hebert pointed out, there are benefits to mispronunciation: I like to screw with people and call them crudities. It sounds like you’re eating an off-color joke. We like the…
Stevie Nicks Enchanting The Woodlands August 13
Yep, just over the wire. That racket you hear is Rocks Off’s staff brawling over who gets to review the show. Tickets go on sale 10 a.m. next Friday, June 24, at ticketmaster.com, livenation.com and all the usual brick-and-mortar outlets. This helps a lot, but while we’ve got you on…
100 Favorite Dishes: No. 97, Bean Pie at Conscious Cafe
This year leading up to our annual Best of Houston issue, we’re counting down our 100 favorite dishes in Houston. This list comprises our favorite dishes from the last year, dishes that are essential to Houston’s cultural landscape and/or dishes that any visitor (or resident) should try at least once…
5 of TV’s Best Road Trips
Road trips are one of the greatest parts about summer. There’s nothing better than cruising through some dumpy town that’s never seen better days (but has some damn fine pie or barbecue or hamburgers) on your way to the world’s biggest ketchup bottle. They say getting there is half the…
Drought Photos: Apocalyptic Scenes From Sugar Land
Local photographer Barry Sigman was out yesterday near the intersection of Highway 6 and Highway 90 in Sugar Land. It’s normally swampy there, he says, but now it’s become a desert full of apocalyptic imagery…
Joe King Carrasco’s Life Is One Long Party Weekend
The best one-word descriptor for Joe King Carrasco? After a 20-minute phoner with the Sultan of Tex-Mex music, Rocks Off is going with ebullient. Something in Carrasco’s upbeat, positive ramblings signal that he doesn’t do much that isn’t fun and interesting. “Man, I’ve been so lucky,” says Carrasco, who dropped…
Jolanda Jones Picks C.O. Bradford for Her Council Rep at Disciplinary Hearing
Houston City Councilman C.O. Bradford will represent Councilwoman Jolanda Jones at a three-member panel hearing to decide if the full Council will discipline or clear her of complaints related to an Office of Inspector General investigation. Bradford’s office confirmed today that the former police chief accepted Jones’s request; now we’re…
Tunnel Explorer: Lenny’s Sub Shop
It hasn’t been intentional, but my tunnel trail-blazing has thus far been pretty systematic, tackling one section of tunnel at a time. Most of that is simply due to time-constraints; it’s just easier to go to places that are relatively close to my office. Some of it is simply a…
The 25 Most Influential Music Videos Of All Time
It’s hard to fathom a time before music videos, and it’s even sadder to remember when channels like MTV and VH1 were wall-to-wall music videos. In between there was a golden age, when with every clip that you watched could spark a revolution in you, or at least change your…
Anthony Weiner Resigns in Blow to Comedy Industry
New York Congressman Anthony Weiner resigned today in a raucous appearance that featured a heckler asking if his dick was seven inches. Because up to now, of course, this story has been too serious. The Twitter victim apologized for his mistakes and for causing a distraction, but he offered no…
Hydrating Foods for Summer Workouts
Houston summers certainly know how to bring the heat. That can be deadly to your workout routine and, in extreme conditions, your well-being. Every single cell in your body depends on water to function, and according to Runner’s World, as little as 2 percent dehydration can have a negative effect…
Man of Steel: Strongman Comes to 14 Pews
In the first scene of Strongman, Zachary Levy’s debut film documenting several years in the life of professional strongman Stan “Stanless Steel” Pleskun, we see Pleskun trying to obtain a truck for a stunt. Over the phone, he reveals little by little what the truck is to be used for…
Drainage Fee Change: Your First 1,000 Square Feet of Impervious Surface Are Free, Free, Free!!!
Mayor Annise Parker announced this afternoon that she’s changing the new drainage-fee structure after a boatload of complaints that the fees are higher than what the referendum ads said they would be. The fees are assessed according to how much surface of your property is impermeable (instead of, say, grass)…
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Food Critics But Were Too Afraid to Ask
“So many critics. Do any of them have any training?” A question posted by a chef to the Food Media section of the Chowhound forums four years ago. From the same forums, earlier this year: “How do people become food critics?” And eHow asks about the “salary range for a…
White Rappers & The N-Word Conundrum: 4 Case Studies
“You’re talking to the wrong white man, my friend. My people were the white man’s nigger when yours were still painting their faces and chasing zebras.” – Herman ‘Hesh’ Rabkin (Jerry Adler), The Sopranos Freshman year of college. One of my good friends was a white kid who loved Jay-Z…
Jacqueline LeBaron: Instead of Murder Charges, Sect Leader’s Daughter Pleads Guilty to “Obstruction of Religious Beliefs”
Jacqueline LeBaron, the daughter of a polygamist sect leader, has reached a plea deal on the criminal charges facing her for involvement in the murders of an eight-year-old girl and three other former members of the group. She pled guilty to….”Obstruction of Religious Beliefs.” Which we guess is somewhat related…
Supercell and Hatsune Miku’s and U.S. Debuts: Music Illustrators and Holograms
When we listen to a song and think about the performers that made it, we usually picture singers and instrumentalists performing on stage, not illustrators and a sexy hologram, oh yeah and a few musicians. But that’s exactly what this concert has. That’s right. We’ve officially entered the future. We…
Food Fight: Sweet Potato Pie
A sweet potato is not a yam, and a yam is not a sweet potato. Except when a sweet potato is called a yam, which is not because that sweet potato is an actual yam, but because it is a variety with softer flesh, like an actual yam. It’s purely…
Bun B Discusses Pimp C’s New Song, Rally Races And “The Sheik”
Yesterday, we linked to “Grippin’ On the Wood,” a churchy squish that unfurls into a snapshot of one of Southern rap’s most engrossing talking points: Wooden steering wheels. Beyond simply being an enjoyable song, it’s extra interesting because it’s a Pimp C single that features Bun B and Big K.R.I.T…
Memorial Park’s New Bike & Jog Trail Opens
A casual running trail that was carved out by Memorial Park users over the years has been turned into a 1.5-mile, shaded ten-foot-wide path open to both bikers and runners. The new path, on the north side of the park, was officially opened today by Mayor Annise Parker. “The addition…
Health Department Roundup
We don’t really remember caring about the heat during childhood. And now that we’re old enough to be appropriately miserable, it may be too late to feel all right about wading through a group of kids to take advantage of one of summer’s actual perks, the ice cream truck. First-world…
For Vancouver: The Top 10 Sports Riots
Oh, behave, Vancouver. Last night, a number of poor sports, distraught by the Canucks’ loss to the Boston Bruins in game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals, went all kung fu on the British Columbia city. By past standards, Vancouver’s hooliganism was weak sauce compared to these top ten riots…
Scott Stapp + The Astros = Evacuation-Level Suck
Ed. Note: Unlike the Astros’ season (darnit), Stapp’s concert appears to have been canceled. A few weeks ago, Rocks Off wondered if the real reason our hometown baseball club is having such a woeful season is because the music most of the players use to pump themselves up as they’re…
Here’s Something: Obama Polls As Well As Perry in Texas; Both Over 50 Percent
Here’s something we wouldn’t have guessed: Texans give President Obama about as good a job approval rating as they do Governor Rick Perry. More surprising, both are over 50 percent. The Texas Lyceum has a new poll out, and it shows Obama with an approval rating of 51 percent among…
Sound Art: Hear Our Houston Documents the Bayou City Through Field Recordings
Hear Our Houston acts as sort of a reincarnated Alan Lomax. For the past few months, a group of amateur sound capturers have been walking around the expansive city and documenting, through keen eyes and lo-fi audio recordings, certain daily experiences that busy bodies aren’t just going to take the…
Gloria Gaynor, Disco’s Ultimate Survivor, Discusses That Song
You know “I Will Survive.” Everybody knows “I Will Survive.” Aliens know “I Will Survive.” Dogs know “I Will Survive.” Dogs who are aliens know “I Will Survive.” Gloria Gaynor’s 1979 disco anthem, written by the same producers who wrote “Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel” and “Reunited,” has long…
Chase Angelo Hawkins, 20, Bayou Body Count No. 83
A man was ambushed and shot multiple times in the back in a northside killing Tuesday night, Houston police say. Chase Angelo Hawkins, 20, was leaving a friend’s apartment in the 500 block of Greens Road about 11:40 p.m. when he was shot. “Witnesses reported seeing a white or tan…
Le Plat du Jour at Brasserie 19
Brasserie 19 offers a Plat du Jour each day of the week, with dishes such as a veal blanquette, cassoulet and foie gras. These seem to be more classical French offerings than the other items on the menu. On Saturdays the Plat du Jour is the Milk-Braised Pork Shoulder with…
So You Think You Can Dance: The Top 20 Perform
So far in the show, we’ve kept ourselves from making the inevitable joke about how Nigel Lythgoe sounds like a creepy old man, mostly because 1. It’s a show about dance, and you’re going to make comments about people’s legs anyway, 2. He doesn’t really sound that creepy when he…
Comment of the Day: In Defense of Rick Perry
We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it’s time we paid some damn attention to them. So we’ll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day’s work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula…
Build-A-Bar: Green Chartreuse
Green Chartreuse is one of my favorite liqueurs. Not only does it have a long and storied history within the cloistered walls of the near-silent Carthusian monks, with links to Alchemy and a near-conspiratorial secrecy, it’s also one of the most singular and intriguing liqueurs available. Its history dates back…
The Bourgeois Gospels Preach To The Congregation
Each Wednesday (or thereabouts), 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. Generally, every interview here is started…
Muppets Take the Alamo Draft House: We Rank The Muppet Movies
This Friday, play hooky from work, grab your BFF and take a road trip to Katy for Alamo Draft House’s to see The Muppets Take Manhattan. Order a pitcher of Flying Dog Tire Bite (so what if it’s 11 in the morning?) in honor of Lew Zealand’s flying boomerang fish…
Fast Times: Saucy New Sauces at McDonald’s
Normally I wouldn’t pay much attention to an ad touting new dipping sauces at McDonald’s. On the rare occasion that I darken a Mickey D’s doorstep–or drive-thru–I opt for a burger and fries rather than the chicken nuggets. But I couldn’t help but sit up and take notice when the…
Last Night: Panic! At The Disco At House Of Blues
Panic! At The Disco House of Blues June 15, 2011 Panic! At The Disco lead singer and main archtiect Brendan Urie comes from the ADHD generation, the one that got meds shoved down their throats. The strange byproduct of that generation, late Generation Yers, is that they all really have…
Rhys Hickey: Habitual Beer Thief Allegedly Breaks Ex-Wife’s Face, Chokes Son
Way back in May of 2005, Rhys Hickey was already divorced from his ex-wife, the mother of their son. That was when he threatened her life. Two years after that, he was convicted for that offense and given a month in jail. His wife took out a protective order, and…
Cowboys vs. Aliens: 4 Other Random Movie Matchups
Don’t get us wrong, the trailer for Cowboys vs. Aliens leads us to believe that it’s going to be a sweet little action flick that will be more than worth the price of admission. We’re not going to get on some high horse and ride it around the premise that…
Pop Rocks: For This Comic Book Summer, Five Superheroes Who Won’t Be Getting Their Own Movies
We’re well into summer blockbuster season, and even if you couldn’t tell by the sweltering temperatures outside, you’d only need to look at the number of superhero movies — both in theaters and about to be released — to realize it. Thor started us off in May, and X-Men: First…
Pop Rocks: Five Superheroes That Will Never Get Their Own Movie
We’re well into summer blockbuster season, and even if you couldn’t tell by the sweltering temperatures outside, you’d only need to look at the number of superhero movies – both in theaters and about to be released – to realize it. Thor started us off in May, and X-Men: First…
Zachary Byron Helm: Black Leather, Bingo, And Nine Inch Nails
Rocks Off likes to check in on Zachary Byron Helm and SORP Films from time to time just to see what the master of goth, industrial, and other dark music parodies is up to. Whether it’s his masterpiece of mockery The League of Extraordinary Industrial Retards or peddling a rockabilly…
Houston: All That Pavement Makes Us Hotter, More Polluted
You used to hate Houston’s ever-growing amount of pavement for increasing flooding and general ugliness. Now you can hate it for making you sweat and breathe bad air. A major new study of the Houston area says “the proliferation of strip malls, subdivisions, and other paved areas may interfere with…
Five Very Bad Father’s Day Gifts
Father’s Day: What are you gonna do? You are forced by the powers that be to get something, unless your Dad has passed on to his reward. And if you’re a Dad yourself, then you have to resign yourself to books from that one author someone saw on your shelf…
100 Creatives: Jason Ransom
What he does: A 2011 Hunting Art prize finalist, Jason Ransom is a painter with a dynamic style that throws the viewer into a frenzy of emotion. He is as much a painter as he is a sculptor — using a palette knife and a brush to etch and carve…
The 20 Most Commonly Mispronounced Food Words
I will never forget attempting to teach my ex-husband, a Brit who found himself confronted with cross-cultural confusion at every turn (“That is not a biscuit; it’s a cookie.” “You can’t call a woman a ‘silly c*nt’ or she will slap you.”), how to pronounce the word taco. As a…
Five Reasons Facebook’s Facial Recognition Feature is a Bad Idea
Last week, Facebook finally launched its much-anticipated facial recognition software designed, at least they claim, to aid in tagging photos of you. Immediately, concerns over privacy were raised and justifiably so. In a world where virtually everything about you can be “Googled,” it makes sense that people would want to…
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris needs no recommendation, but hell, we’ll give her one anyway. In her four-decade career – next year will be the 40th anniversary of Gram Parsons’s GP/Grievous Angel, the two-fer of “cosmic American music” that really set her on her way – Harris has earned her title as the…
Family in Captivity
It was early in the morning on June 25, 2006, that Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was captured by Palestinian militants. For the five years since then, he has been held at an unknown location in Gaza, a bargaining chip for his captors as they negotiate the release of Palestinian prisoners…
Spirit Revival
Blithe Spirit director Claire Hart-Palumbo must’ve had her hands full just a week before the play opened, when she had to recast its lead character. Fortunately, she was able to call on Main Street Theater stalwart Joel Sandel to take the role of Charles Condomine, a prissy middle-aged writer of…
Box 13 June and July Exhibitions
Tudor Mitroi and Dumitru Gorzo, who both grew up in Romania and now live in the U.S., reflect on their lives as spectators of cultures in their new show at Box 13, paradoxically titled Not Tourists. Gorzo paints people he has encountered throughout his world travels, and Mitroi makes contoured…
Company
Perhaps best known for his television work in ‘90s teen medical drama Doogie Howser, M.D., and more recently on How I Met Your Mother, Neil Patrick Harris has been lauded lately for breathing new life into the Great White Way; the actor has performed in several Broadway productions and hosted…
What Happens When a White Dad Disapproves of His Daughter Dating a Mexican?
Dear Mexican, I’m a white girl dating a Mexican from Jalisco that works for my dad. There lies the problem. Dad absolutely dislikes him and totally opposes me dating Ignacio and has been almost rude to him, which I don’t like. Some details now: I often visit Dad at his office and…
Chelsea Handler: Lies Chelsea Handler Told Me Tour
Comedians must be a species unto themselves. Why else would you stay friends with the person who stuffed turkey meatballs into the backseat pockets of your new Cadillac? (That’s what Chelsea Handler did to her show’s producer.) And why else would you think it’s funny when you’re boss tricks you…
Counter Culture
See behind-the-scenes burger construction photos from The Counter’s shiny kitchen in our slideshow. Over a mound of chili cheese fries and two beers, my friend Steve is eyeing The Counter’s casually crisp interior with a look of dawning comprehension. “This looks a lot like a burger place I used to…
Charulata (The Lonely Wife)
Satyajit Ray’s name may not sound familiar, but in film circles, the Indian director’s name can be found alongside those of Francois Truffaut and Akira Kurosawa. Ray’s films did for India in the 1960s what Kurosawa’s did for Japan in the 1950s: generate greater cultural awareness of his homeland. In…
Minister of Funk
There’s nobody like Bootsy, baby. The man born William Collins is the bass guitar’s main ambassador to the furthest reaches of outer and inner space. His peerless funk resume, including stints with James Brown, George Clinton’s Parliament-Funkadelic mothership and his own Bootsy’s Rubber Band, is as stacked as his platform-heeled…
David Alan Grier
Fancy costumes and chintzy music aside, David Alan Grier admits Dancing with the Stars kicked his ass during his 2009 stint on the show. Grier tells us the physically demanding rehearsals felt like being in a bar fight every night. “Physically, it felt more like I was in [mixed martial…
The Whitest Kids U Don’t Want to Know
Gavin Wiesen’s first film, as passive and vanilla as its title, continues the numbing trendlet begun in 2008 with Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist: dramatizing the stupefying dullness of privileged white teenagers in New York City. Protagonist George (Freddie Highmore) is an 18-year-old Upper West Side Bartleby, preferring not to…
Hover Boards
Most Friday nights, Phil Arnold can be found in the back room at Standing Room Only, a bar at Northwest Mall where air hockey is played by titans. He has a standing challenge for newbies who’ve never been in a competition before: play me, beat me, and I’ll give you…
Perry’s Prayerapalooza Sparks Protests: Gov’s gathering proves controversial
NASA Freaky Space Station Man David Bowie proves existence of creepy face By Richard Connelly Recently we posted some great new video from NASA of the shuttle Endeavour docked to the International Space Station, seven minutes of mostly silent footage that screamed out for a soundtrack. We synched up David…
Capsule Stage Reviews: Big Range Dance Festival, Death of a Salesman, It’s Only Life, The Taming of the Shrew,
Big Range Dance Festival In its second of three weekends, the Big Range Dance Festival delivers just that — a big range of fresh, new contemporary dance. With nine choreographers (eight of them Houstonians) showing work, this weekend put a finger on the pulse of a very current beat. Beneath…
Prime Suspect: Everyone’s a winner, reader says.
Prime Suspect Online readers comment on “Contestant of ‘Mr. Prime Choice’ Claims Racism at Leather Pageant; Anonymously Called a ‘Coon’ on His Poster,” Hair Balls blog, by Mandy Oaklander, May 30: Just humans: You come off really naive and ignorant when you say, “The gay Montrose set is perhaps the…
Ally Carter: Uncommon Criminals
It’s not many young women who have lived through as many exciting adventures as Katarina Bishop, the protagonist in young adult novelist Alley Carter’s Heist Society series. In the latest installment, Uncommon Criminals, Katarina, who just pulled the biggest museum heist in the world, is being asked to steal the…
The Storyteller
Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, who rolls into the Houston exurbs for two shows this week, is truly a dying breed, one of the last mastodons looking down at a herd of cattle and thinking, “Look at those frail, wimpy things.” Staccato stories from a free-wheeling life roll out of the man,…
Sweet Tooth
An old wives’ tale, passed down through countless generations of families, seems applicable here. Its origins are cloudy – it may have started with the Greeks or the Romans, or maybe it was the Phoenicians – but it’s a sound premise to this day. If you go to a nightclub…
Festival de Mariachi
Mexican orchestras from around the Houston area will flock to Traders Village for the Festival de Mariachi. The national music of Mexico, mariachi music is dramatic, rousing and above all emotional. Visitors can expect to hear everything from passionate love songs to tragic tales of loss to stirring patriotic tunes…
Gary Clark Jr.
If Austin’s Black Joe Lewis and his Honeybears are the saving grace of modern soul, then Gary Clark Jr. is our pick for resident Texas bluesman for the next 60 years. Clark, who also hails from the 512, is quickly blazing trails at only 27 years old, already thrilling the…
The Deen Brothers
Seems that celebrity chef Paula Deen isn’t the only cook in the family. Her two adult sons, Jamie and Bobby Deen, have thrown their hats into the cooking arena. With two bestselling books, their own magazine and production line, the Deen brothers are making quite a name for themselves. Today…
Peter Gabriel & the New Blood Orchestra
Peter Gabriel, enigmatic performer, vocalist in Genesis’ early, proggy days and keeper of a boffo solo career for the past three decades, hits The Woodlands Thursday night for the first time since Summer 2003, and this time he’s bringing his New Blood Orchestra with him. During this visit, Gabriel will…
Luck of the Draw
Art appreciation is supposed to be a dignified thing, but it’s pure chaos at Luck of the Draw X: Revolution, DiverseWorks’ annual fund-raising party, which features two types of art auction, neither of which is traditional. In the chance version, a number is called, and if it’s yours, you have…
Nicole Atkins & the Black Sea
Nicole Atkins’ latest LP Mondo Amore finds the New Jersey “pop” singer-songwriter diving deep into something dark and painful, almost mangled — all of which, true to form, she delivers with a transcendent grit not unlike the old blueswomen she seems to carry inside. These are very tough-minded, brave performances,…
Lisa See
The characters so brilliantly brought to life in Lisa See’s book Shanghai Girls continue their journey in Dreams of Joy. This time Pearl, who along with her sister May, was featured in Shanghai Girls, is chasing her stubborn and much-too-modern daughter, Joy, who has left Los Angeles and is headed…
Joe “King” Carrasco & the Crowns
Stenciling punk and New Wave onto classic Tex-Mex garage-rock, Joe “King” Carraso & the Crowns became a phenomenon first at Austin dives like Raul’s and then across the pond, where UK label Stiff Records (Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Ian Dury) released the group’s self-titled debut in 1980; Costello called them…
Jeffery Deaver
James Bond author Ian Fleming is gone, but other authors have taken up the task of keeping Bond fans on the edge of their seats. The latest Bond book, Carte Blanche, is by Jeffery Deaver, who’s well-known to readers as the creator of the Lincoln Rhyme and Kathryn Dance thriller…
Juneteenth Celebration
Year in and year out, the Juneteenth Celebration always draws one of Miller Outdoor Theatre’s biggest crowds of the year, and it’s not hard to see why. Commemorating the day the end of slavery was finally announced in Texas in June 1865, Juneteenth is one of the biggest days on…
Houston Black Dance Festival
Celebrate Juneteenth a little differently this year at the Houston Black Dance Festival 2011: Retracing our Roots. The festival is hosted by Second Generation Dance Company, which will perform a restaging of Women Speak. Choreographed by Lori-Amare-Bujung and set to the music of Nina Simone, the visually powerful Women Speak…
The Temptations
Eddie Kendricks: Dead. Melvin Franklin: Dead. Paul Williams: Dead. David Ruffin: Dead. Al Bryant: Dead. Otis Williams: Hey, he’s still alive! So, as an original member of Motown soul legends the Temptations, Williams gets to keep using the group’s name while touring the globe with four other dudes you’ve probably…
An Evening with David Eagleman
Neuroscientist/author David Eagleman is smart. We don’t mean perfect-score-on-his-SAT smart, we mean Albert Einstein/Stephen Hawking smart. Somehow he sees beyond the physical world and is able to unravel the mysteries that have baffled humans for centuries. He’s tackled everything from the mysteries of the afterlife to those of the mind,…
Capsule Art Reviews: “George Gittoes: Witness to War” “Jackie Gendel: Fables in Slang” “Musicians Who Make Art” “Nathan Green: Fill the Sky” “Perspectives 174: Re: Generation” “Voodoo Pop: Mary Hayslip and Trey Speegle”
“George Gittoes: Witness to War” Australian artist George Gittoes isn’t afraid to put himself at the epicenters of some of the worst acts of human brutality on the planet in order to make his art. His travels have taken him to Rwanda, Bosnia, Congo, Iraq and Afghanistan, among other war-torn…
