Awesome Gift Ideas For a Classic Rock Christmas!
Ah, the Christmas-shopping season is upon us, meaning there is likely one classic-rock fan on your list. But what to get them when the Amazon Gift Card doesn’t really say “gee, I really put a lot of thought into this?” Fear not — these four items that any faithful listener…
One Man’s Eight-Year Fight For Workers’ Compensation
Since the accident, John Bennett has lived in a sea of paperwork, and rarely does he come up for air. The papers have become like furniture in his home, living mostly in eight boxes stacked next to his dining room table where more unstapled sheets are scattered and out of…
Do You Feel More Texan Than American?
Recently, I asked a large group of my friends if they identified more strongly as Americans or as Texans, and nearly every one of them responded that they felt they were Texans first and foremost. That surprised me. I grew up saying the Pledge of Allegiance, and while “Texas stuff”…
8 Best Vegan Dishes You Need to Try in Houston
Despite Houston’s image as a city famed for luxurious meat and cheese-drenched offerings, the city’s diverse and burgeoning food scene also lends itself to a wide spectrum of quality vegan options. Read on to learn about eight vegan dishes around Houston that you need to sample whether you’re a die-hard…
Houston vs. the UK: Crowd-Behavior Smackdown
For a multitude of reasons, many times people have a negative experience at concerts. As seen in many reviews or comment sections, the problems are often attributed to Houston music fans. These complaints are legion: they may be the start times of shows; complaints about the crowd; the cost of…
Saints-Texans — Four Things to Watch For
After a weekend that starts with Thanksgiving Day football wall to wall, continues with a University of Houston home game on Friday, and hits a crescendo with a ton of meaningful college football on Saturday, Sunday is the perfect capper if you’re a Texans fan. Not only do you have…
Cyclone Anaya Goes Seasonal With Its Tamales in Houston
Just in time for the winter holidays, Cyclone Anaya’s has decided to offer homemade gourmet seasonal tacos. In order to promote their offerings available until January 1, Chef Jason Gould and self-described raconteur Patrick Boylan, dropped by the Houston Press offices to leave us some samples. In order from left…
The Elf in Tights Is Back; Todd Waite Returns as Crumpet at the Alley
It’s been two years and ten other plays since he last wriggled into elf garb and Alley Company actor Todd Waite says he’s ready. “I sort of love it. Having had one year off for the renovations, it kind of feels new.” Yes, Waite is returning in his signature role…
College and NFL Football: Thanksgiving Weekend’s Best Bets
I don’t know what to say. I’m embarrassed, I’m ashamed, and now I’m dirt poor thanks to my performance the last two weeks. Consecutive weeks of 1-5 on these best bets is absolutely pathetic, so if I’ve made you poor with my picks, just know that my family and I…
College Football Playoff Rankings: Oklahoma Crashes the Party
So you remember how last week the College Football Playoff Rankings were fairly stagnant at the top because everybody in the top four was taking care of their business and everybody from five on down was either getting upset or escaping by the skin of their teeth? Yeah, well, that…
Country Music Needs the Dixie Chicks Now More Than Ever
You could say that country music is currently, perhaps unwittingly, sitting at a real turning point. As critics sit and debate over who is and is not “authentic” and who’s going to be its next “savior,” fans are starting to get turned on to music that has traditionally been marginalized…
Houston-Area Grocery Stores Open on Thanksgiving Day
It never fails. You made your shopping list, checked it twice and still managed to leave off something. Maybe you “knew” you had a particular ingredient on hand and then found out it all got used up. No matter what the circumstances, there are plenty of grocery stores open at…
Can You Solve the Puzzle?
I wasn’t able to solve the puzzle, though I tried several numerical combinations in the coded door lock of Candace Hicks’s Edward Hopper’s Doorway or The Way Out, part of her “Read Me” exhibit at Lawndale Art Center. There are plenty of clues throughout her pieces and, while the payoff…
Are Tow Truck Drivers Using “Spotters” to Increase Their Profits? [UPDATED]
If you parked in the wrong spot (or even if you parked in the correct one) and your car was towed, someone in addition to the wrecker driver and storage lot may have made money from your misfortune. A man who may have been wrongfully towed from the Velvet Taco…
Tejas Roots Music Sounds Extra Sweet in Nick Gaitan’s Tune Parlour
No one begins writing music from a blank slate. What you’re hearing as a “new release” today has been formulating for years, often going back to the first songs your favorite musicians heard and loved. This notion is not lost upon Nick Gaitan. He’s one of Houston’s most successful musicians,…
We’re All in Trouble Now: Booze Delivery Now Available in Houston
In a press release this morning, delivery service Instacart announced that they’ve partnered with Spec’s Wine, Spirits, and Finer Foods to deliver the “widest assortment of fine foods, wine, liquor and beer.” The service start today in Houston and Austin and, depending on where people ordering live, could be as…
Abbott Says Guns Are Okay in Texas City Halls
Governor Greg Abbott has weighed in on the recent challenges to gun bans on certain government-owned properties, and he says city halls in particular can’t prohibit concealed handgun licensees from carrying their weapons into the building, according to a memo the Governor’s Office sent to the Attorney General in October…
This Week in Houston Food Blogs: Thanksgiving Tips ‘N’ Tricks
With Thanksgiving nearly upon us, the Houston food bloggers have shared some recipes that could take your big meal from basic to breathtaking. We’ll also look at a few reviews of hot new eateries that you definitely need to know about. Gravy is a Southern staple, so we trust Garden…
Joachim Wtewael at MFAH: Who Knew a 17th-century Dutch Painter Could Be So Shocking?
Tits and ass. Now do I have your attention? Just to make sure, I’ll say it again: tits and ass. Because you’re going to see a lot of both when you go to the exhibition “Pleasure and Piety: The Art of Joachim Wtewael (1566-1638)” at the Museum of Fine Arts,…
Johnny Football Is Back, Clubbing in Austin on His Bye Week
Thanksgiving week tends to be a little slow in the sports world. Unfortunately, there are a few of us who are too stupid to take a full week of vacation still responsible for churning out some content during this week. Dreadful, I know! Thankfully, the football gods heard our prayers and…
Tom Herman’s Houston Cougars Aren’t Just Relevant, They’re Compelling
On a crisp November night at a sold-out TDECU Stadium, Memphis kicker Jake Elliott trotted out onto the field with seconds remaining in the game. It would be up to the junior from Western Springs, Illinois, to act as the human fire extinguisher, to squelch the furious comeback that the…
100 Favorite Houston Dishes 2015, No. 35: Pozole at El Big Bad [UPDATED]
Phaedra Cook is eating her way through Houston and counting down her 100 favorite dishes of 2015. It’s a collection of personal favorites that is also indicative of Houston dining. It’s a scene where a vast range of dishes coexist: highbrow and lowbrow; local and international; cheap and expensive; modern…
Ho Ho Humbug Returns With a New, Slimmer Santa Story
It’s the semi-autobiographical story of a New York City out of work writter looking for something to tide him over so he can qualify for unemployment benefits, who accepts a job as an elf and is catapulted into the Santa chair. If you think you already know how this goes,…
Southern Goods Has Found a Way to Improve on the Tried and True of Barbecue
Little inspires more lust in the hearts of barbecue lovers than good “burnt ends,” those outlying fatty parts of brisket that get the most flavor and char from the smoker. Southern Goods in The Heights has found a way to make the experience even better. The restaurant uses beef belly…
The 2015 Turkeys of the Year: Feast on This Bumper Crop of Foul Fowls
It was Friedrich “The ’Stache” Nietzsche, the great German philosopher and Catskills comedian, who warned, “Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster.” The same could be said for Turkeys of the Year — those dangerously dimwitted creatures who do their…
Houston’s Best Holiday Lights Displays Are Lit Up for the Season
Before we get to the best light displays in Houston this season, we want to give you a couple of tips to make your visit hassle-free. One, figure out where you’re going to park before you get there. Even with ample parking lots and closed streets, parking in Houston takes…
Upcoming: Banda MS, Charley Pride, Dixie Chicks, Hoodie Allen, Justin Bieber, Spoonfed Tribe, Suzanne Vega, !!!, etc.
!!!: With Stereolad. Thu., December 10, 8 p.m., $15 to $18. Fitzgerald’s, 2706 White Oak, Houston, 713-862-3838. The AJ Santana Band: Thu., December 10, 7 p.m., TBA. AvantGarden, 411 Westheimer, Houston, 832-287-5577. Alan Haynes: Sat., November 28, 8 p.m., $5. The Big Easy Social and Pleasure Club, 5731 Kirby, Houston,…
State Rep. Ron Reynolds Sentenced to Jail in Ambulance-Chasing Scheme
We’ve already heard how difficult it is to run for elected office with criminal charges hanging over your head (just ask Rick Perry). But Rep. Ron Reynolds may soon know what it’s like to run a re-election campaign from a jail cell. After being convicted last week on five…
Houston’s 10 Best Bars Open Around Thanksgiving
Contrary to popular belief, not every bar in Houston is open on Thanksgiving Day, so we present you with this list of the best bars open on Turkey Day; these places are all open on Wednesday as well, for those of you who need to de-stress a little bit the…
Remembering Houston Rap Legend MC Wickett Crickett
The legacy Darrell Veal left on this Earth became one of the standards not just for MCing but promoting local acts, regardless of what region you belong to. He was slender, growing dreads in his later years, and never was without a smile or a word of encouragement. He gave…
Planned Parenthood Sues Texas, Fights to Keep Serving Medicaid Patients
Planned Parenthood affiliates in Texas a filed lawsuit in federal court Monday in hopes of saving Medicaid funding to the organization’s family planning clinics across the state. The lawsuit follows the decision by state health officials last month to cut off any Medicaid money administered by the state for patients…
College Football, Week 12 — 4 Winners, 4 Losers
Well, we’re getting down to it now in college football. Two weeks to go in the regular season, including a Saturday full of conference championship games in two weeks that could turn the selection process for the College Football Playoff into the most controversial selection of anything since the 2000…
Year 2 of Houston Whatever Fest Welcomes Bigger Crowds, More Fun
“Mark Wahlburg” telling Houstonians his plans to displace J.J. Watt and take on the entire New York Jets football team single-handedly. Kanye West’s skin peeled from his body, leaving people awash in pools of his blood. One of rap’s geniuses refusing to perform from the stage and doing his entire…
Immigrant Families Rally for DAPA After Obama Requests Supreme Court Review
When President Barack Obama announced an immigration policy change last year, Maria Carachure’s parents, who are undocumented immigrants, were feeling hopeful. Her parents had come to the country two decades ago, and to provide for the family, her father traveled across the country picking fruits while her mother sewed clothes…
The 10 Most Inspired Texans-Jets Rapper Tweets
The Houston Texans’ 2015 season began with HBO’s Hard Knocks introducing the team to America at large. It took a month of filming and some fancy editing to present to the nation our sometimes thrilling and frequently frustrating NFL franchise, but Home Box Office could have saved all that time…
Break of Noon Gets Neutered by Niceness
The set up: Meet John Smith. He’s a man in a Neil LaBute play, so yeah, he’s a selfish, womanizing asshole. Or at least he used to be. That was all before he was the lone survivor in a horrific lunchtime workplace massacre that left 37 of his office mates…
Thanksgiving Cocktails: Drink Recipes From Wooster’s Garden
In the video above, general manager Jennifer Johnson of Wooster’s Garden demonstrates how to make three different cocktails to go with Thanksgiving dinner. There’s a drink designed for each phase of the meal: before, during and after. Here are the recipes, with some additional commentary from Wooster’s Garden co-owner Steven…
UH Hoops Flashes to Victory
The University of Houston basketball team was supposed to win Saturday night. That’s the thing about early-season out-of-conference basketball games. Lots of those games are sure winners for the home team. How the Cougars won Saturday night’s game, however, stands out. They defeated Florida A&M by 45 points, 97-52, to…
Why Did the Houston Zoo Bend Over for Gun Rights Advocates?
Since local lawyer and gun rights advocate T. Edwin Walker successfully had the Houston Zoo’s gun ban removed in September, other gun advocates across Texas are pushing for similar signs to come down in public spaces ranging from botanical gardens to nature preserves to police departments.But not everyplace with a…
This Week in Houston Food Events: Foodies, Give Thanks
All Week Long Soup Steal at Khun Kay As the weather cools off, the kind folks at Khun Kay Thai, 1209 Montrose, want to help you stay warm. For this week, if the predicted daily high is 75 degrees or less, you can get 15 percent off your bowl of…
Recent Acquisitions by MFAH Shed New Light on Latin American Artists
Since the 2001 establishment of the Department of Latin American Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston – and aided by the keen eye of Mari Carmen Ramírez, Wortham Curator of Latin American Art and Director of the International Center for the Arts of the Americas – the museum…
Where to Get Mashed Potatoes to Go in Houston
Have a hankering for creamy mashed potatoes and gravy? Need a quick side for a big meal and want one less thing to deal with? Here are some places in Houston that will pack up a quart container of mashed potatoes and gravy to-go. Of course, if it’s you’re just…
In This Version of Phantom of the Opera, the Chandelier Crashes Just As It Should
The setup: He’s back! If you’ve been living under some anti-musical rock for the past 27 years, you may have missed Phantom of the Opera, a super-production from Andrew Lloyd Webber (Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats, Evita, Sunset Boulevard) and Charles Hart (lyrics) and Richard Stilgoe (co-librettist with Sir Andrew, and…
NFL Week 11: Texans-Jets — 4 Winners, 4 Losers
I’ll never say that a second half of football is meaningless ever again, regardless of what the margin is heading into said half, and here’s why… I think you could make an argument that the second half of the Atlanta game, down 42-0, was where Brian Hoyer rediscovered his mojo,…
The Triumphant and Tragic Story of Jaco Pastorius, World’s Greatest Bassist
A transcript of the first meeting between Joe Zawinul, keyboardist/leader of the jazz fusion group Weather Report, and a young player. Young Man: My name is John Francis Pastorius III, and I’m the greatest bass player in the world. Zawinul: Get the fuck out of here! Having worked with Miles…
Hey, This New Bieber Album Is Actually Kind of Good
I’m not supposed to like this record. But I do. And I think I’m OK with that. The impetus for this article began with a tweet I released into the world earlier this month. I’m not embarrassed about it, though I’m supposed to be, I guess. Even as I’ve developed…
Animal Welfare Group Doesn’t Want You to Ride Elephants at the Texas Renaissance Festival
A California-based animal welfare group is protesting the Texas Renaissance Festival’s elephant rides, citing alleged past evidence of abuse by one of the elephants’ handlers. Animal Defenders International plans to have local volunteers “educate the public with leaflets” Saturday at the festival, located in Todd Mission, about 50 miles northwest…
In Pre-WWI Gay Culture, The Twentieth-Century Way Was All the Rage
The set-up: Award-winning playwright Tom Jacobson (Ouroboros, Bunbury, Sperm) goes undercover in The Twentieth-Century Way and flings wide the closet door, turning on the light to reveal a fascinating, unreported, and, by all accounts, ubiquitous stratum of pre-WWI American gay culture. The execution: Basing the rudimentary facts from Bryn Mawr…
Jets-Texans — Four Things to Watch For
Heading into this weekend’s slate of games, there were only 11 NFL teams above .500 on the season, the lowest number of teams above the even mark since the elder Bush was in the presidential office. Basically, in 2015’s NFL, mediocre is the new average! The bad news is that…
Owls’ Effort Improves, but Team Goes to 0-3
For about 10 minutes last night the Rice Owls basketball team seemed to forget that it was the Rice Owls basketball team. There was crisp movement of the ball, smart-incisive passing, good shot selection. The visiting Oregon State Beavers, a bigger, more athletic, more talented team, looked discombobulated out on…
Lawsuit Details Brutal Allegations of Rape at Neon Boots
A Houston woman who says she was drugged and brutally raped at Neon Boots Dancehall and Saloon — and then left alone and locked inside the club for hours — sued the business Thursday for negligence. The harrowing details are laid out in a statement the woman provided to the…
Jessica Jones Is the Best On-Screen Drama Marvel Has Ever Made
Marvel’s Jessica Jones is smart, surprising and occasionally terrifying, a human tale of trauma and healing in a superhero vein. Its first episodes have more (unexploitative) sex scenes than battles, more shrugs and eye rolls than mighty kapows. But it’s not the shock or novelty that gives it resonance. Jessica…
An Adoption Success From a Walk on the Swanky Side for Dogs at Houston’s Hotels
One of the dog “models” used in the Houston Press photo shoot for the article, A Walk on the Swanky Side for Dogs at Houston’s Hotels, was a rescue dog from Cocker Spaniel Rescue of East Texas. As a result of the feature, his hard luck story came to an…
University of Houston Approves Raise for Tom Herman
Over the last couple years, the University of Houston has done virtually everything right when it comes to positioning itself for a possible bump up into a Power Five Conference. They made a massive investment in a new football stadium, committed to upgrades for their basketball facilities, and made two…
Frank Spotnitz Lays Out His Version of a Nazi America in The Man in the High Castle
The Nazis lost World War II, but they’ve conquered the American imagination. Seventy years after his suicide, Hitler is still everywhere: in the movies, on YouTube, in political headlines and on the History Channel. The latest manifestation of our Third Reich fixation is The Man in the High Castle, Amazon’s…
Sid Miller Is Still An Asshole
Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has worked hard at becoming the hard-right caricature of Texas state government. It was Miller who, as a state House member, authored the law forcing abortion providers to conduct a sonogram 24 hours before the procedure, forcing doctors to play audio of the fetal heartbeat and…
Justin Bieber Gives the Crowd at Toyota Center Exactly What They Want
To promote the release of his new album, Purpose, pop sensation and controversial figure Justin Bieber hosted a live event at the Toyota Center Thursday night, promising a live Q&A, special guests and a video premier. The album came out last Friday and served as his attempt for legitimacy as…
Five Awesome Thanksgiving-Themed Horror Films to Enjoy
It’s nearly time for people all over the country to gather together over a meal and give thanks for the good things in their lives, or at least for the chance to gorge themselves on huge amounts of waist tightening foods. Quite a few of us will find ourselves sprawled…
10 Can’t-Miss Acts at Houston Whatever Fest
AUTO FELLATIO DREAMS Saturday, 7:30 p.m. With a name that leaves a distinct impression on our most primitive sensibilities, Auto Fellatio Dreams’ imagery lives up to the band’s sound. Discordant, harsh and experimental, but in the best sense of the word, their music takes no prisoners. They offer only the…
UH Student Fakes Her Own Kidnapping
A student who was found bound and gagged in a bathroom at the University of Houston Law Center earlier this week and claimed she was kidnapped was apparently not actually kidnapped, according to the Above the Law. In an email obtained by the legal blog, the dean of the law school assured students…
Free Music, Free Thinking Return at For the Community X
Micah Jackson says the free music and arts festival that’s known to Houstonians as For The Community wasn’t designed to be a repeating affair. “The first For the Community was a one-off party that was so thrilling and loved that we decided to continue to develop the event,” he recalls…
The 5 Best Things to Do in Houston This Weekend: Magical Winter Lights and More
On Friday, the inaugural Magical Winter Lights lantern festival opens for a six week run. It’s a holiday festival, but not the one that first comes to mind. Yes, Santa will be on hand to take photos with kids but that’s pretty much the only evidence of Christmas on the…
Openings and Closings: An Adults-Only Dessert Bar Hits The Village
Although gastropub Scrappy Brown’s had a really rough time getting off the ground– and that’s an understatement– Rey Alton and Chris Williams have finally finished their labor of love, and the restaurant is in the midst of its soft opening. The fare is a Southern twist on traditional pub favorites,…
College and NFL Football: This Weekend’s Best Bets
Embarrassing. That’s the only word I can come up with to describe my performance last weekend. On a weekend where underdogs in the NFL covered at a 12-2 clip ATS, I could not have been any more square, going 1-5, with three of those losses being bets on NFL favorites…
Houston’s 10 Best Bars Near Holiday Shopping
With the Holiday Season fast approaching, many of us will be heading out to local shopping centers and malls to purchase Christmas presents for friends and family in addition to or instead of buying stuff on the Internet; sometimes these shopping experiences can be fun, other times they can leave…
Houston Whatever Fest Local Spotlight: Guilla
Pedigree provides a distinct advantage for athletes and artists alike. Timothy “Guilla” Russel’s musical lineage includes a mother on the verge of becoming a prima donna in the Italian opera scene. His father, likewise, is an accomplished DJ with one of the dopest record collections on the planet. Thus, when…
Max Baca’s Tex-Mex Supergroup Blows Into North Houston Saturday
Bajo sexto maestro Max Baca blows into north Houston club Area 45 Saturday to lead an all-star revue-style show that would be the envy of any promoter anywhere. A longtime member of Tex-Mex supergroup Texas Tornados and current leader of San Antonio roots outfit Los Texmaniacs, Baca says the idea came…
State Board of Education Won’t Fact-Check the Textbooks
There is one thing to say for the Texas State Board of Education: At least its consistent. After all, why would a board that has already come up with textbook curriculum that has resulted in textbooks that are problematic at best (and, you know, factually incorrect at worst) want to…
Vockah Redu Will Have Houston Whatever Fest Twerking Right Away
Some music festivals start off with kind of a whimper. That ain’t gonna be the case the weekend at Houston Whatever Fest, though. If you’re showing up early to get the full festival experience, do yourself a favor and pregame a little, because the first artist of the day plans…
Investigation Says Suicidal Patients Ignored at St. Joseph Hospital
The 61-year-old woman was found unconscious in a bathroom, with a bra wrapped around her neck and a bottle of pills in her hand. Despite the suicide attempt, when she was admitted to St. Joseph Medical Center on October 1, suicide risk assessment wasn’t part of her treatment plan. Neither…
College Football Playoff Rankings: University of Houston’s 2016 Season Starts Now
The latest College Football Playoff rankings came out on Tuesday night, and we will dive into them in just a second, but I want to go into a topic that deserves more than a one paragraph blurb beneath the rankings — the University of Houston’s place in the College Football…
Hooray — 20 Chimps Locked up in San Antonio Will (Finally) Be Retired to a Sanctuary!
Fifty federally owned chimpanzees warehoused in research facilities — including 20 in San Antonio — are being retired to a Louisiana sanctuary, according to the Humane Society of the United States. This freaking rules. And it’s long overdue. The National Institutes of Health had already retired the majority of its…
Anti-HERO Crowd Trolls Dallas, Attempts to Move State GOP Convention
On the heels of their victory in Houston this month defeating a sweeping non-discrimination law that would have protected 15 different classes of people (including LGBT Houstonians), the hard-right, religious conservative leaders that railed against the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance turned their sights on Dallas. Jared “no men in women’s…
Astros Add More Hardware, Keuchel Wins AL Cy Young Award
Every sport has its one non-negotiable necessity that a championship level team must have. In the NFL, it’s an elite level quarterback. In the NBA, it’s one All-NBA star level player (or three). In Major League Baseball, it’s a hammer at the top of the pitching rotation. On Wednesday, it…
Ordinance Requiring Permit To Feed Homeless Still Angers Volunteers
The temperature dropped to the mid-50s, the wind picked up, and suddenly Felicia Garcia’s outdoor nap wasn’t so comfy. She awoke Tuesday to the rain coming down on the thin nylon walls of her tent, zipping up the entryway to keep dry as her boyfriend, Jerry Landry, hurried inside. Several…
For Its Second Year, Houston Whatever Fest Doubles Down on Fun
Houston Whatever Fest takes over the streets around Warehouse Live and BBVA Compass Stadium this weekend hoping that when it’s over, it will be much less of an unknown quantity than it is today. Perhaps that’s a natural risk run by any event with such a vague word in its…
Sometimes Porn Games Do Feminism Better Than Blockbusters
I recently wrote a take-down of Triple A video game titles that insisted on including female characters who were nude or nearly nude for really ridiculous narrative reasons. Quiet in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain isn’t writhing around undressed in the rain because Konami wanted us all to…
Top Houston Chefs Hosting Special Dinner for Volunteer Medical Expenses
Liz Fenton could be called an über foodie. She’s well known in Houston’s restaurant scene for her avid patronage but has done a lot more than that. She’s helped promote Houston’s food scene by writing articles for local publications as well as volunteering at dozens of public events and fundraisers. Now,…
Blue Bell is Back! (Never Mind That Whole Listeria Thing)
Well, that was quick. Just nine months after Blue Bell was forced to issue the company’s first recall in its 108-year history the cartons of ice cream are back on the shelves, (some) Blue Bell employees are back to work, the public is acting as if the whole listeria outbreak…
Movie Theater Turf War: Is the Loop Too Small for iPic and Edwards Greenway?
The new Hunger Games movie will not be screening at Edwards Greenway Grand Plaza. If you live inside the loop and can’t bear to leave it for a movie, then you’re either going to have to head downtown and catch it at Sundance or pony up the cash to catch…
Texas Renaissance Festival Musicians Who Deserve a Little Love
The Texas Renaissance Festival seems to grow bigger and more popular every year, having transformed from its more modest roots into one of the nation’s largest events of its type, spanning seven weekends. Visitors today have a lot more to look forward to than gnawing on a turkey leg while…
Houston Whatever Fest Local Spotlight: MNYNMS
Note: all this week, we will be highlighting Houston acts performing at this weekend’s Houston Whatever Fest. How much further can a new band ascend when their second gig takes place at the Knitting Factory? Houston’s MNYNMS (pronounced Many Names) have been a band for less than a year, yet…
I Want Custody of My Ex’s Kids. Help!
SHOULD I PURSUE CUSTODY OF MY EX’S CHILDREN? Dear Willie D: I recently dissolved a four year relationship with a man whom I thought would be with me till death do us part. We never had kids together but he brought two boys, who are now six and nine, with…
Where to Get Thanksgiving Pies to Go in Houston [UPDATED]
There are so many dishes to make for Thanksgiving dinner that saving time on dessert makes a lot of sense. Here are several Houston places offering pies and other desserts to-go. Take advantage and enjoy spending a little less time on your feet in the kitchen. Be sure and note…
Houston Rockets Fire Kevin McHale
Well, if ever you needed more evidence that two of our Houston professional sports franchises are run with completely different philosophies, you got it on Wednesday morning. For eight seasons, the Houston Texans and owner Bob McNair allowed Gary Kubiak and his staff to attempt to rise above the puddle…
Prosecutors Take Another Shot at “Stand Your Ground” Case
Prosecutors began their second crack at convicting Raul Rodriguez this week for the 2010 killing of his neighbor, whose party had become a bit too boisterous for Rodriguez’s taste. Rodriguez’s 2012 conviction was overturned last year after an appellate court ruled that the jury instructions were confusing and erroneous. The jury, who…
NASA Wants Space to Get Super Commercial
The first Space Commerce Conference and Exposition (known as Spacecom for short) kicked off on Tuesday morning with more than 1,500 people — all dressed in dark suits, because that seems to be the space industry dress code — packed into a ballroom at the George R. Brown Convention Center…
Does This Guy Look Like a Cop?
Rey Garza spotted Jonathan Santellana as he exited a friend’s apartment at the northwest Harris County complex where Garza, a rookie Navasota police officer, served as a “courtesy officer” (someone who works security, typically for free or reduced rent). Garza grew suspicious when he saw Santellana, 17 years old and…
HGO’s The Little Prince Offers a Galactic Quest for Meaning in Whimsical Form
In the second year of its special holiday shows, the Houston Grand Opera has decided to bring back The Little Prince based on the classic book by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. The story, set in World War II, tells of a young prince from another planet who meets a downed pilot…
Clinic Access a Factor in Self-Induced Abortions, Study Finds
When Texas women can’t get access to abortion clinics they end up inducing abortions on their own, according to a study issued by Texas Policy Evaluation Project. The study, issued on Tuesday, found that women were willing to use other means — anything from obtaining abortion drugs on the black…
Butcher Babies Slice and Dice Old Metal Stereotypes
Speaking with Heidi Shepherd, vocalist for the 5-piece, Los Angeles-based heavy-metal ensemble Butcher Babies from the road is no easy task — especially when flu strikes. Yet, this hard-working crew does not stop working no matter the diagnosis. Ever the soldier for her band, Shepherd not only took the call but…
Missing Man Found Dead, His Truck Torched, East of The Woodlands
Marc Pourner, 28, was last seen at his house off Cypresswood in Spring on Wednesday, November 11, leaving late that night after his roommates overheard an argument, one friend, Joseph Day, wrote on Facebook November 13. He was a no-call, no-show at his job as a bookkeeper at Randalls Grocery…
So, We Might See Some Tornadoes Today…
The National Weather Service this morning announced a tornado watch for much of southeast Texas, as severe thunderstorms are expected to pummel the area throughout the late morning and early afternoon. The storms are also expected to bring rains of up to 2 inches per hour; NWS has also issued…
Fifties Migrant Drama Brooklyn Reveals Saoirse Ronan as One of the Greats
Saoirse Ronan makes a grand case for herself as the millennial generation’s finest leading lady in Brooklyn, an immaculately crafted, immensely moving character study about a 1950s immigrant struggling to find her place in the world. With an open, innocent countenance equally capable of registering tremulous separation anxiety, exhilarating joy,…
Trumbo Fails as a Portrait, and Isn’t Much Better at Drama
Bryan Cranston parades through Trumbo, a wiki-pageant of shorthand history, like he’s a costumed kid playing Actor Bryan Cranston at a Disney park. As blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, a man given to mannered diction, Cranston layers movieland falseness over the scraped-raw heart of his Breaking Bad triumph. Remember how you…
Jennifer Lawrence and The Hunger Games Transcend the Blockbuster
With the spectacular The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2, the best in the series, Jennifer Lawrence closes out the franchise that made her the biggest star of her generation. Since The Hunger Games started, in 2012, she’s starred in four of them and only six of everything else. Luckily,…
In The Night Before, Seth Rogen and Co. Grow Up – Again
How funny, really, are dick pics? Millions of them must be snapped and shared each year, as inducement or harassment, celebration or shaming. Perhaps Harper’s Index could tell us the tonnage of coal mined each year to power the transmission of American crotches. So when a dick pic turns up…
Superb Reporting Drama Spotlight Is a Rallying Cry
Newspapers are dead, except in the hearts of anyone who has ever loved them — which means there are still narrow slivers of hope. One of them now comes to us in the form of a movie: Tom McCarthy’s bold, shirtsleeve-sturdy newsroom drama Spotlight, which shows how a team of…
