HPD: Shootout Amongst the Dildoes & Butt Plugs
An unnamed suspect is in the hospital but expected to live after being shot by two Houston police officers at the classiest place possible for a shootout, a Gulf Freeway adult-video store. It is not known if any dildoes or edible underwear or butt plugs were harmed in the event,…
Brandon Marquis Bryant, 28, Bayou Body Count No. 53
A man was shot to death on a south Houston street Tuesday afternoon, Houston police say. Brandon Marquis Bryant, 28, was sitting in his car with the door open in the 3700 block of Alice about 4:30 p.m., police say. “At some point, Bryant was shot by one or possibly…
Brasil Switching to Not “Full Table Service” But “Something Like It”
Dan Fergus, the man who owns Montrose haunt Brasil, has had a lot of complaints lobbed at him over the years. Most of them involve paying customers attempting to linger at their tables during or after a meal, which has gotten more than a few people kicked out or simply…
Last Night: Creed at Bayou Music Center, Night 2
Creed Bayou Music Center May 1, 2012 Read our review of Creed’s My Own Prison performance Monday night. Creed fans were out in full force for the second night of the “2 NIGHTS” tour. The previous night the band performed their 1997 album, My Own Prison, from beginning to end…
Pizza Hut Appeases Disgruntled Fans with Limited Release of Cheesy Bites Pizza
“Just. Can’t.” So went fellow EOW blogger Christina Uticone’s response to my post about the exclusive release of Hot Dog Stuffed Crust Pizza in the UK, Pizza Hut’s latest creation. She wasn’t alone, either. But apparently, according to a press contact at Pizza Hut, “American pizza fans are furious” that…
RIP Junior Seau: Legendary Linebacker Dead in Possible Suicide
Junior Seau, a legendary linebacker at USC, the San Diego Chargers and the New England patriots, has died at 43, multiple media sources are reporting via Twitter. Police responded to a shooting at his Oceanside, California home and found him, according to TMZ, which first broke the story. In 2012,…
Cover Story: In the Clutch (Web Extra Video & Photos)
In the tunnel next to the lounge under the expensive seats at the Toyota Center this past March, Robert Boudwin ripped the head off of his costume and collapsed to the floor in exhaustion. Boudwin, the man behind the Clutch the Bear mascot costume for the last 17 years, had…
Italian Food in Bloom in The Woodlands
I appear to have unconsciously started a yearly tradition for myself: Discovering terrific Italian food in or near The Woodlands every spring. Last April, it was Capri Pasta Pizza & More, a wonderful little hole-in-the-wall in Spring run by Italian-born Barbara Coglianese that specializes in beautifully constructed lasagna and house-made…
Comment of the Day: Sports-Talk Radio Shows
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…
Chef Chat, Part 1: Kaz Edwards of Uchi Houston on Culinary School, Staging at Uchi and Working with Tyson Cole
Kaz Edwards Uchi Houston 904 Westheimer 713-522-4808 uchirestaurants.com/houston This is the first part of a three-part chef chat series. Click to read Part 2 and Part 3. People who think that Uchi Houston is just about sushi should think again. The Uchi kitchen turns out what I can only call…
Avengers Assemble Soundtrack Butt-Rocks into the Future
Time was in the ’90s that every big summer action movie came prepackaged with a great hard-rock soundtrack. As the industry went through growing pains it died off a bit, reducing a soundtrack to maybe one or two free downloads from a middling band close to the project. The heady…
Texas Wines Are Talk of the Town
In the wake of Sunday’s Texas wine seminar at the Austin Food & Wine Festival, organized and moderated by Houston wine writer Russ Kane, Texas wines seem to be on everyone’s minds this week. Eatocracy (CNN): Food & Wine magazine executive wine editor Ray Isle, a Houston native, was a…
Last Night: Roger Waters at Toyota Center
Roger Waters Toyota Center May 1, 2012 It really is true what they say: You don’t appreciate a performer until he’s fired a machine gun at you. They were blanks Roger Waters was firing during “Run Like Hell” Tuesday at Toyota Center. That’s why this review isn’t being filed from…
Linda Alton, 31, Shot by Ex-Boyfriend As 2-Year-Old Daughter Watches, Bayou Body Count No. 52
A man saw his ex-girlfriend walking with her two-year-old daughter Tuesday morning and began an argument with her. Within minutes he had shot her several times, killing her as her daughter watched, and then turned the gun on himself. Linda Alton, 31, was pronounced dead at the scene, as was…
Natalie Johnson: Stiff Sentence for East Texas Mom Who Sexed Teen Boy
An Angelina County district court judge has brought the hammer down on a 33-year-old Diboll woman who was recently convicted of having sex with a 13-year-old boy. Despite a tearful apology and plea for forgiveness, judge Barry Bryan sentenced Natalie Johnson to 25 years in prison. According to the Lufkin…
Cinco de Mayo Pregame: Homemade Churros with Mexican Chocolate Dipping Sauce
How do you plan on spending your Cinco de Mayo? I will be celebrating Mexican culture with mucho margaritas by the pool. But first, I’ll need something good and greasy to coat my stomach with. I’m thinking churros, the fried street food popular in Latin America and many other parts…
Band of Skulls: “Sweet Sour” Is Bitter Fare
Earlier this month your intrepid VJ brought you a music video called “The Greeks” from London band Is Tropical and the filmmakers at MEGAFORCE. It detailed a children’s war game enhanced with anime-style explosions, blood and just all-around awesome, over-the-top violence. While somewhat offensive on the surface, as I was…
Who Grills the Best Steak? Killen and Caswell Duke It Out in the Walmart Choice Steak Challenge
What better way to spend a sunny spring afternoon than to participate in a pop-up celebrity chef challenge at your local Walmart parking lot, where the main ingredient is steak? Last Tuesday, shoppers at the Walmart Supercenter # 1409 (10750 Westview Drive) had a lucky surprise when they pulled into…
Best Comics in April: Parenting Vader-Style and Garth Ennis’s Shadow
Once a month the amazing staff at 8th Dimension Comics selects a pile of the best new releases for us to peruse and judge. Justice League #8 I was initially unimpressed with the rebooted Justice League as it was basically a showcase on why almost every other member is a…
Ask a Rapper: Tha Centop’s Top 6 Sports-Related Rap Songs
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…
Javier Garcia: Staggering DWI Charge for South Texas County Commissioner Candidate
Alice Police DepartmentJavier Garcia: May not have achieved the same high office, but allegedly racked up a BAC Bob Bullock and John Tower would admire.For politicos in some parts of this country, a single DWI conviction is enough to permanently derail a career. That’s apparently not the case in South…
The Four Oddest Things Found at This Year’s Texas-Beach Clean-Up
The annual volunteer clean-up of Texas beaches resulted in some good news — less trash had to be picked up. About 137 tons of trash of all sorts was collected, the Texas General Land Office says, which sounds like a lot. But over the 26 years of the event, the…
Xenoblade Chronicles: Relax, and Let the Adventure Guide You
These days, all RPGs feel as if you’re setting up a game of Dungeons and Dragons. I know I’m showing my age here by asking, “Whatever happened to games like Chrono Trigger where you spent a minute in exposition and then you’re hurling fire spells at enemies as easy as…
The 5 Most B.S. Rebuttals in Internet Arguments
Lately, my colleagues here on the Houston Press blogs have posted some kind, helpful tips on proper usage of social media to help you avoid pitfalls in a world where employers regularly look you up. That was sweet of them because I work with good people full of love and…
100 Creatives 2012: Rebecca Udden, Main Street Theater Artistic Director & Risk Taker
Rebecca “Becky” Udden knew she was risking a lot by mounting a production of Tom Stoppard’s trilogy The Coast of Utopia with its length, its cast demands, its demanding subject matter. But she knew and loved the language in it, and she knew there were enough really good actors in…
Rest of the Best: Houston’s Top 8 Jukeboxes
Along with pickled pig’s feet and a steady supply of Slim Jims, a good jukebox is a prime element for any great bar. But, like dinosaurs, jukeboxes are a vanishing breed. Unlike digital jukes, iPods or DJs, jukeboxes require love, care and maintenance, as well as — among the truly…
Sampler Plate: This Week in Food Blogs
Houston Burgers: This burger blog has been dormant for a few months, but a brand-new post popped up in my Google Reader today — and just in time for baseball season. This week, Darrell reviewed the new deep-fried mac ‘n’ cheese burger at Minute Maid Park, which contains the same…
Jacoby Jones Released by the Texans
“I don’t watch the draft. When they draft someone it means somebody I played with for an entire year and sometimes longer, must go.” — Arian Foster on Twitter, 5/1/12 Arian Foster posted this tweet to his Twitter account late Tuesday afternoon, and despite the lack of any specific names…
The Sexier Side of Star Wars (NSFW)
Since its first release in the summer of 1977, Star Wars and the rest of the films in the series’ canon have been fetishized by mega-fans. They have devoted much of their lives to collecting anything they can get their hands on related to the movies, and spend much of…
Sail To The Bahamas With Anthrax & Hatebreed On The Mayhem Cruise
What do younger people have against cruises? You can (sometimes) gamble, drink, eat all you want, and there is always tons of grim people watching to do. You don’t have to drive anywhere, and if you want you can just hole yourself up in your cabin and not do a…
Unidentified Female, 26, Killed by 20-Year-Old Alleged Drunk Driver, Bayou Body Count No. 51
One passenger was killed and another critically injured in a one-car accident caused by a 20-year-old driver who police say was drunk early Sunday morning. Carla Lopez has been charged with intoxication assault and intoxication manslaughter, and is in the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, HPD says. Police say she was…
LBJ & the Houston Chronicle: Paper’s Support Signed, Sealed & Delivered
The latest volume of Robert Caro’s epic Lyndon Johnson biography is out — The Passage of Power covers 1958 through 1964 — and Amazon has happily delivered our copy. A quick check of the index shows there’s not much Houston-related content except for one episode describing how LBJ got the…
A Decidedly Non-Foodie Trip to Las Vegas
So, this past weekend I went to Las Vegas and celebrated the wedding of two very dear friends with a bunch of my very best friends (including one who was Skyped into the ceremony from Turkey) and wore a beautiful blue dress and red lipstick and danced all night and…
Pink Floyd The Wall at 30: Would Pink Have a Facebook Page?
Rock stars: They’re different from us. That’s why we love them, and that’s why sometimes they can fool themselves into thinking they’re Hitler. That, as far as I can tell, is the message of Pink Floyd The Wall, Alan Parker’s 1982 film based on the British rockers’ 1979 album The…
Osman Irias: Cops Say He Beat His Son, 2, to Death
When two-year-old Osman Irias Salguero died in a hospital April 28, his father, Osman Irias, said it was the result of a fall. An autopsy found 86 bruises and fractured ribs on the child, however, and today Irias, 21, has been charged with the felony of causing injury to a…
Brews, Swamp Pop and Fire at Buffalo Bayou Brewing Co.’s Brewery Sneak Peek
“I have no idea why people are here, at this beat-up warehouse to drink some fucking weird beers,” Rassul Zarinfar, founder and CEO of Buffalo Bayou Brewing Co., said to me sarcastically, yet straight-faced, as he regarded the large, enthusiastic crowd that showed up for the brewery’s sneak peek on…
A New Dark Knight Rises Trailer Hits — So Long, Muffled Bane Voice
Last night a new trailer for this summer’s surefire The Dark Knight Rises hit the Internet, featuring more footage of Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a new face in the story, Batman looking beat to hell and defeated, and Bane sporting a new, clearer speaking voice. Tom Hardy’s…
Half-off Mexican Food at Coronita Grill Buffet, Yorktown Deli
Today’s Houston Press Voice Daily Deal comes along just in time for Cinco de Mayo. Enjoy half-off ($10 for $20) of delicious Mexican fare at Coronita Grill Buffet, at either one of their locations — Westheimer or Southwest Freeway. The Texas-size buffet features a menu that changes daily, and a…
Enrique Alvaraez-Soria: Had 14 Gallons of Liquid Meth in Truck’s Fuel Tank
Those Ford truck ads with Denis Leary shticking his way through the vehicle’s high points so far have not included one enticement: “Great for carrying LIQUID METH.” (We see the “LIQUID METH” as the words emblazoned on screen as he growls them.) Enrique Alvaraez-Soria, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, didn’t…
DVDs & Blu-rays: Ralphie May: Too Big to Ignore
Comedian Ralphie May is a big man. According to his latest comedy special out on DVD/Blu-ray today, he’s Too Big to Ignore. May’s fans will enjoy the new bits in his routine, many of which come from his growing family. One especially on-target bit is about cartoon character Dora the…
Upcoming: Pitbull, Gillian Welch, Ringworm, El-P, Explosions in the Sky, Etc.
Two Star Symphony: Tue., May 22, 8 p.m., Free. Leon’s Lounge, 1006 McGowen, Houston. Bad Romance (Lady Gaga Tribute): Fri., May 25, 8 p.m., $13-$20. House of Blues, 1204 Caroline, Houston. Black Breath, Martyrdod, Power Trip, Burning Love: Fri., June 29, 8 p.m., $10/$12. Walter’s, 1120 Naylor St., Houston. Blue…
Green Seed Vegan Finally Puts Down Roots
On the busy corner of Wheeler and Almeda sits Green Seed Vegan’s new restaurant. It’s only a few short blocks away from the original cabbage-green food truck where Matti Merrell and her husband Rodney Perry first got their start. This brick-and-mortar location — repainted from the bright red of its…
Unidentified Female, 31, Allegedly Shot by 59-Year-Old Common-Law Husband, Bayou Body Count No. 50
A man shot his common-law wife, and when she escaped to a neighbor he dragged her back by gunpoint and finished the job of killing her, Houston police say. James McCarr Robinson, 59, first shot his common-law wife shortly before 9 a.m. Monday in the 4000 block of Liberty, HPD…
Nicki Minaj Reloading at Bayou Music Center July 28
Nicki Minaj, the most famous person with pink hair since Phyllis Diller (or P!nk herself), is bringing her Pink Friday International tour to Bayou Music Center (formerly Verizon Wireless Theater) on July 28, according to an announcement Tuesday morning from 42 West publicity. If you saw the Grammys in February,…
Dogfish Head’s Aprihop: A Portmanteau for a Waste(Land)ed T.S. Eliot
I don’t really get T.S. Eliot’s beef with April. “Winter’s over, stuff is growing again, woe is me.” I think maybe he was just vitamin D-deficient as a child, the resulting rickets keeping him from playing with the other kids. It must have been a vicious cycle: Stay inside writing…
Swapnista at Couture Blowout Brings Out Houston’s Fashion Bloggers, Fans
Couture Blowout is a high-end consignment shop tucked into a small strip mall near the corner of Westheimer and Dunlavy. On Saturday the boutique hosted Swapnista, a fashion “swap party,” for about 50 attendees, co-hosted by the Houston Fashion Bloggers. The idea behind a Swapnista party is simple: Everyone brings…
Comment of the Day: What, No Letter Grades for the NFL Draft? Hack
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…
Five Ways to Avoid Over-Sharing on Social Media and Save Your Relationships
In a recent story in The New York Times, it was noted that relationships, which already face numerous hardships, have a new foe: social networking. More specifically, sharing too much information about a partner or loved one can, in short, really piss them off. To be sure, figuring out what…
Homemade Chocolate-Dipped Hazelnut Biscotti…’Nuff Said
Biscotti — which literally means “twice-baked ” — are slightly sweet and ultra-crumbly Italian biscuits. The cookies’ dry, crisp texture is a result of the second baking. They are the perfect accompaniment for a frothy cappuccino, a breakfast tea or even a sweet dessert wine. More importantly, they’re freaking delicious…
Rap Round Table: Who’s Going to Win the NBA Finals?
Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Each week, Rocks Off will have some of them here discussing issues relevant to their culture. This Week’s Panel: Bun B, Slim Thug, hasHBrown, Chane, Yung Truth, Preemo, Chuckway, Mac, Nosaprise, D-Risha Not Invited: Amar’e Stoudemire’s braids This Week’s Prompt: The NBA…
Food Fight: Battle Bottled Green Smoothie
I blog a lot about booze and other processed beverages, but once in a while I really do try to drink something a bit more healthful, like milk, juice (100 percent) and water (the non-coconut kind). Smoothies might be more regular members of my healthful drink rotation if they weren’t…
Last Night: Creed at Bayou Music Center
Creed Bayou Music Center April 30, 2012 Villains are infinitely more interesting than heroes, and have way better origin tales. All human mythology features roguish baddies, who are actually more engaging than their lily-hearted counterparts. Kids of all ages dress up like Darth Vader and the Joker for Halloween. There…
Urban Safari Prints Hot for Summer
Safari prints are very en vogue for summer this year. Bold prints and easy neutrals graced the runways of designers like Michael Kors, Donna Karan and Oscar de la Renta. The mix of animal prints, earthy color palettes, and tribal-inspired graphics and accessories project a soft version of safari –…
Ranking the Local Sports Radio Shows from Worst to First
I’ve been listening to sports radio in the city of Houston a very long time. Too long, probably. While I don’t remember much about Edmonds and Martini, I do remember when the only sports radio show in Houston was Sports Beat, which ran evenings on KTRH. Amazing to think that…
Enrique Iglesias & Jennifer Lopez Heading to Houston August 26
Enrique Iglesias, Jennifer Lopez and Wisin Y Yandel are heading to Houston’s Toyota Center on August 26. This marks the third time that Iglesias has been in Houston in the past year, logging a RodeoHouston date this spring and a Toyota show last fall. Does he own land here or…
Pop Rocks: Let’s Kill Osama Bin Laden Again, Hollywood Style
Today marks the one-year anniversary of Osama bin Laden’s death at the hands of Navy SEALS (temporarily in the employ of the CIA, to make it all nice and legal). In just under 40 minutes, some two dozen commandos stormed the al Qaeda leader’s compound in Abbottabad and shot him…
Jennifer Torres: Alleged Target Shoplifter Goes for Mugshot of the Day
If your plan is to shoplift from Target, we’d assume you’d want to be discreet. Blend in with the crowd, don’t attract attention, that sort of thing. And maybe Jennifer Torres’s look is what the typical Harlingen Target shopper is sporting these days. Still — for whatever reason — store…
App of the Week: U-verse Gives You Control Over Your DVR
App: U-verse Platform: iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Windows Web site: ATT U-verse Price: Free I’ve been a U-verse user for several years now. I left Comcast for numerous reasons and never looked back. There are certainly benefits to each and neither is perfect, but U-verse has been great for me and…
Mr. Shoop!: Summer School Turns 25 Years Old
This year the 1987 teen classic Summer School, starring a pre-Navy Mark Harmon and a svelte Kirstie Alley, turns 25 years old. The film, released on July 22, 1987, was directed by comedy legend Carl Reiner and written by future Full House creator Jeff Franklin. A must-see for ’80s fetishists,…
You Got Served: The Top 10 Legal Battles in Rock History
Ten years ago last week, one of the most vicious legal battles in rock history took another ugly turn. Ex-Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic and drummer Dave Grohl found themselves in King County Superior Court over a dispute with Kurt Cobain’s widow, Courtney Love, over the band’s considerable royalties. Grohl and…
Where Are We Drinking?
What’s that? You can barely see the coffee in this Where Are We Drinking post? No matter; it’s the tacos that are the tell this week. The chorizo taco with green salsa on a homemade tortilla comes from a favorite Tex-Mex joint that’s just down the street from this popular…
Karen Carstens: Sexed Underage Boy While His Mom Was Hospitalized, Cops Say
Update (May 1, 10:30 am): Karen Carstens was found guilty of felony sex assault charges. Original Post: When her good friend was hospitalized, Karen Lee Carstens volunteered to help watch her 13-year-old son. For two years, cops say, she and the boy had a sexual relationship, one where he apparently…
Mortal Kombat vs. Killer Instinct Is Happening, and 4 More MK Crossovers We Want
NetherRealm Studios, who has given us two really amazing Mortal Kombat games recently in the form of the ninth entry in the series and the crossover involving the DC Universe, has been working on acquiring an old and beloved fighting franchise to add to their roster. Rumors that they were…
Bri Bagwell Wants to Be Your Whiskey in New Video
Bright of voice and fresh of face, Bri Bagwell was handed to me in order to fill in the column I spend the absolute minimum of effort on to draw a paycheck. That being said, I always take the time to look into my subjects, and a few listens to…
Sunday: iFest in Downtown Houston — Seun Kuti, Texas Tornados & More
Houston International Festival Downtown Houston April 29, 2012 See lots more on iFest’s second weekend in our slideshows of the bands, the crowds and the arts & culture. I like iFest. I’m glad it’s here. It’s not the kind of thing I’d like to go to every weekend, but once…
Friday Night: Say Anything at Warehouse Live
Say Anything Warehouse Live April 27, 2012 Friday night, emo/pop punk heroes Say Anything arrived in Houston at Warehouse Live, the latest in a long string of dates on this tour for their new album Anarchy, My Dear. It was a special show for the fans as well as the…
Jordan Hill: The Play-by-Play of Alleged Fight with Girlfriend, from Court Documents
Former Houston Rocket Jordan Hill, now an LA Laker, has been charged with a felony count of assault of a family member, “impeding breathing.” The charge comes in connection with an alleged fight with his girlfriend March 29. Court documents say Hill had paid the woman’s airfare to come to…
Rick Perry’s War on Planned Parenthood Suffers Setback (UPDATED)
A federal judge has put a hold on Governor Perry’s war on Planned Parenthood, in part because he doesn’t believe Texas will keep Perry’s promise to make up for lost federal funding. Texas, of course, has banned Planned Parenthood clinics from receiving Women’s Health Program funds, beginning tomorrow, since some…
Lazy Day Patio Dining at Onion Creek
After flying back from a quick trip to New Jersey, my fiancé and I recently found ourselves with a lovely afternoon off. Usually when we have extra time on our hands, we book it to the nearest theater and fight over whose turn it is to pick the movie. But…
Last Night: Meshuggah & Baroness at House of Blues
Meshuggah, Baroness, Decapitated House of Blues April 29, 2012 When I arrived at House of Blues for Sunday night’s heaviness, a large crowd had already been lined up on the second floor of the Houston Pavilions before the doors opened. Hadn’t seen that before. Evidently, this show had been circled…
Friday Night: Sage Francis & B. Dolan at Fitzgerald’s
Sage Francis, B. Dolan, Thurogood Fitzgerald’s April 27, 2012 The last time Sage Francis came through Houston, he played at the House of Blues’ Bronze Peacock room. In case you aren’t familiar, Sage is a heavily antiestablishment rapper with a stiff shot of anticorporatism thrown in, so needless to say…
Mad Men: Parents Just Don’t Understand
As expected, Mad Men season five just keeps getting better. Last night’s episode, although somewhat soapy, was filled with rich character development, and even Megan wasn’t that annoying. In fact, I may be starting to like her! Nothing makes a character more sympathetic than when they have totally screwed-up parents…
Lean, Mean, On-the-Go Meals from Snap Kitchen
So I do this thing when my husband goes out of town where I become a slovenly, lazier version of myself. Cooking for two is challenge enough, but cooking for myself is a chore I do not relish, so I end up eating a lot of nachos and breakfasts-for-dinner. I…
East Downtown Record Store Vinyl Junkie Goes Online Only
Sunday night, Titus Haag, owner of record store and part-time venue Vinyl Junkie, announced on Facebook that he was closing the doors on his east downtown location. I had last talked to Haag for recent Houston Press cover story “Playing For Keeps,” which detailed the vinyl life here in Houston…
Unidentified Male, 31, Bayou Body Count No. 49
A fight in the common kitchen area of an East End apartment complex ended with a fatal shooting Saturday night, Houston police say. The 31-year-old male victim, whose name was not released, was in the kitchen about 11:30 p.m. in a complex in the 6700 block of Avenue K. He…
Hot Pictures of a Young Michelle Pfeiffer
In news that will make us all feel a tad older, actress Michelle Pfeiffer turns 54 years old today. Last seen trying to sex up Zac Efron in New Year’s Eve, Pfeiffer will next be in Dark Shadows, coming to theaters on May 11. Her long and illustrious career has…
2nd Annual Texas Beer Fest a Success
Check out our photos from the Texas Beer Festival at Discovery Green. This past Saturday, a sun-drenched Discovery Green was converted into a playground for beer-lovers as it played host to the second annual Texas Beer Fest. As I walked into the festival grounds, I opened up the event booklet…
Design Fair 2012: Practical with a Touch of Recycled Chic
For more photos from this year’s Design Fair, check out our slideshow. Judging from the pieces presented at Design Fair 2012, the look right now is modern, yet practical — with a touch of recycled chic. Every year Design Fair is hosted at Lawndale Art Center, a perfect venue for…
Friday Night: Lee Fields & the Expressions at the Continental Club
Lee Fields & the Expressions Continental Club April 27, 2010 A very few singers who missed out on being Al Green and Otis Redding when soul music first got big in the ’60s and early ’70s, people like Charles Bradley and Bettye LaVette, have been lucky enough to enjoy good…
Comment of the Day: Astroworld Memories
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…
Texas Wine Makes the Big Time at Austin Food & Wine Mag Fest
“The Wines of Texas Are Upon You” may have seemed like a bland seminar title when compared with spicier ones like “Everything You Need to Know About Wine But Were Afraid to Ask” and “Super Star Wines.” But the fact that the Austin Food & Wine Festival (which made its…
First Baptist of Ivy Gap from Theatre Suburbia: Sweet, Sentimental Theater
The setup: In Theatre Suburbia’s First Baptist of Ivy Gap, women of varying ages roll bandages in 1945 as part of the war effort, and exchange badinage as well as bandages. And we see them 25 years later, as secrets and life choices are revealed. The execution: Some vibrant performances…
Kids & Guns: 11-Year-Old Boy Accidentally Shot, Dies
A group of boys hanging at an apartment found a gun Sunday afternoon and one of them ended up dead. An 11-year-old boy, whose identity has not been released, was accidentally shot and killed when one of the other boys mishandled the gun, Houston police say. The incident occurred about…
Borgias: Michelotto Has a Posse
Throughout The Borgias, the long-running conflict has been between Pope Alexander VI and Cesare Borgia over the path Cesare’s life should take. Since he was made a bishop at the age of only 15, it’s clear that his father wants him to be a master of church politics and intrigue…
Lesson Learned: Crawfish Don’t Belong on a Buffet
By the time you read this, I will be on a plane home to Houston from Las Vegas, where I will have hopefully won $1,000,000 off a nickel slot machine and eaten at the Wicked Spoon — which, from what I can tell in the April edition of Saveur, looks…
Friday Night: Rev. Al Green at Arena Theatre
Rev. Al Green Arena Theatre April 27th, 2012 Mark my words. If you check the local hospitals exactly nine months from now, you will surely see a spike in activity in the maternity wards. Al Green gets everyone and anyone into the baby-making mood. Even the comedian who opened the…
10 College-Related Thoughts on the NFL Draft, Including Case Keenum
I’m not the draft expert that some of my Press colleagues are. Yet I do watch a lot of football, especially college football, and like every football fan, I have a few thoughts about some of the things that happened over this past weekend. 10. There are probably a bunch…
Saturday Night: Brian Jonestown Massacre at Fitzgerald’s
Brian Jonestown Massacre Fitzgerald’s April 28, 2012 Brian Jonestown Massacre is a band that packs a dramatic and oftentimes dysfunctional psych-rock punch. With probable thanks to the 2004 documentary Dig!, which shed light on the band’s antics, fans old and new were instantly reeled into the BJM soap opera. Nevertheless,…
New Lovecraft Graphic Collection Hits the Shelves
It’s weird. Despite being one of the most influential writers of all time, and arguably the most important penman of weird tales ever, H. P. Lovecraft remains somewhat of an underground thing. Sure, you’ll see Cthulhu bumper stickers, tabletop games, T-shirts and the like, but there’s never been a big-screen…
Outside the Loop Adventure at Ragin Cajun in Sugar Land
I am often entertained by the OTL-versus-ITL debate, just as I enjoy the Houston vs. Austin dustups that crop up from time to time. I spend a majority of my time inside the Loop. The reasons are purely practical: My husband and I share a car and have a high-maintenance…
iFest Weekend Two: Belly Dancers, Crocheted Dolls, Angolan Singers & More Packed Together
Check out our slideshows from this weekend: iFest bands and food and faces from iFest. Also, be sure to read our write-up of iFest’s musical performances. Well, iFest is over, y’all. By now, the downtown streets of McKinney, Smith, Lamar and Brazos, once bright and teeming with festival goers of…
Game of Thrones: “The Ghost of Harrenhal”
Oh, what “shadow”-related quote to introduce this week’s GOT recap? The possibilities are endless… But darkness makes me fumble For a key, to a door that’s wide open – The Police No? How about Because the night belongs to lovers Because the night belongs to us – Bruce Springsteen That…
What’s Cooking This Week?
I love cooking for my fiancé and for myself, but most of the time, cooking for two proves to be difficult. If I don’t make a plan, I end up aimlessly wandering the supermarket and wasting half the ingredients that I’ve bought (and I HATE food wasters…I’m lookin’ at you!)…
5 Things We Learned from the Dynamo’s Loss to United
On Saturday night, the Houston Dynamo did something they haven’t done since 2009 — lose to DC United. With the final score of 3-2 at RFK Stadium in DC, the Dynamo suffered just their second loss of the season. So far during their seven-game road stretch, the Dynamo have been…
Saturday: iFest in Downtown Houston — War, Bombino & More
Houston International Festival Downtown Houston April 28, 2012 Check out our slideshows from this weekend: iFest bands and food and faces from iFest. Also, be sure to read our write-up of iFest’s artistic and cultural offerings. It’s hard to know what to experience first at iFest. Long before you reach…
Texans Draft Recap: Six Things We Learned
Few things are sillier in sports analysis than “draft grades” given before players have taken their first steps onto a professional field. Texan fans know this quite well, considering the abundance of Fs given to them by analysts in 2006 for having the gall to choose Mario Williams over the…
Stages Repertory Theatre Rises to the Challenge of The Unexpected Man
For more coverage of The Unexpected Man at Stages Repertory Theatre, see our chat with actors Sally Edmundson and James Belcher and director Seth Gordon here. The setup: Acclaimed playwright Yasmina Reza (Art, God of Carnage) explores the inner life of a successful male novelist and a female admirer of…
Idaho Man Forces Friend to Moonwalk at Gunpoint While High on Drugs
I have to admit that when I read this headline around 3 a.m. on Friday night, I couldn’t stop laughing for a good 30 minutes. I may have even laughed myself to sleep. I may never feel that much joy for the rest of my life, and I wish that…
For May Day: The Nine Leaders of the USSR, Ranked on Hotness
Tomorrow is May Day. It doesn’t mean a lot in the U.S., but in many nations it’s their version of Labor Day. Back in the day, when there was such a thing as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, May Day was a big, big deal. Soviet leaders would stand…
Where Are We Eating?
“The original chef of this restaurant is back and the food is amazing!” wrote the photographer who took this photo of chili fried fish at a popular Sichuan restaurant right in the busy heart of Chinatown. Don’t let all those bright red peppers scare you off, though. The photographer claims:…
Hot Girls Really Do Have Problems
I try my best not to pay attention to the excess of horrible user-generated videos out there, but when the same video gets e-mailed to me no less than eight times, I am compelled to check it out. Bad move on my part. The recent “hit” song and music video…
Yankee Fan Mule-Kicks Drunk Red Sox Fan (w/ VIDEO & Zapruder-Like Analysis)
The Red Sox-Yankee rivalry is one of the fiercest in all of team sports, a true “throw out the won-loss record” hatred, if not between the teams then certainly between the respective fan bases. That acrimony was on full display this weekend. Strangely enough, the backdrop for what you’re about…
Our Wish List for Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained
By now everyone has seen Entertainment Weekly’s new stills from Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming western, Django Unchained, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Sacha Baron Cohen and, well duh, Samuel L. Jackson. The story of a freed slave, a German bounty hunter and a slave-holding plantation owner who makes his…
Anastasia: The Mystery Is Over, But the Songs Go On
Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia was the youngest daughter of Russia’s last Tsar, Nicholas II. During her father’s reign, her life was rife with scandal due to the association between the royal family and Grigori Rasputin. By all accounts, the relationship that Rasputin had with the young duchesses was…
Alley Theatre’s 2012-13 Season: Death of a Salesman, Clybourne Park, The Elephant Man & More
With an emphasis on the company actors themselves, the Alley Theatre today announced its 2012-13 season, with James Black taking on Willie Loman in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, John Tyson playing the President of the United States in David Mamet’s November and Todd Waite once again becoming the…
This Week in Deliciousness
Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating…Our Words, where we’re currently gathering funds together in order to put out hits on people who still spell “crawfish” as “crayfish.” Seriously, you lost this one, grammar nerds. Time to let go. Guess what? Our taste buds are beyond our control…
Robert and Deedra Grubbs: Middle-Aged Montgomery County Couple’s Crime Wave Over
A middle-aged Montgomery County couple is now behind bars after a brutal home invasion in The Woodlands followed by a horrific triple shooting in deep East Texas. Shelby County authorities believe that Bobby Dewayne Grubbs and Deedra Michelle Grubbs arrived there after Wednesday morning’s assault and burglary. According to KLTV,…
New Work, New Venue for UH MFA Thesis Show
One has been contributing to Houston’s potent art scene for years with his mixed-media surprises. Another is soon off for the Pacific Northwest, where he hopes to put the finishing touches on a graphic novel. Chuck Ivy and Ted Closson are two University of Houston artists who will be exhibiting…
NFL Draft 1st Round by the Numbers: Ranking High School Ratings, Conferences
The first round of the NFL Draft is in the books, and now we spend today overanalyzing the selections the teams made last night (complete with the inane letter-grade report cards for a bunch of players that have not yet even had their first press conferences with their new teams)…
UH Releases Schedule for Last Season in Robertson Stadium & Conference USA
The UH Cougars will be ending some relationships after this season — they’ll be leaving Conference USA for the Big East, and demolition crews will begin working on Robertson Stadium in December 2012. The school isn’t sure yet where the 2013 football team will play while a new stadium is…
Masquerade Theatre Stops Singing
I am grieved to report that Masquerade Theatre, Houston’s pre-eminent producer of musicals using only homegrown talent, has closed its doors. As of last Tuesday evening, rumors were flying about its demise. Its current Web site simply states, “Dear Masquerade Patrons, It is with deep regret that, due to the…
Richard III from Main Street Theater: Magnificent Theater
For further coverage of Main Street Theater’s Richard III, see our interviews with Rebecca Udden and Rutherford Cravens. The setup: Shakespeare’s magnificently malignant spider, the Duke of Gloucester, a.k.a. the soon-to-be Richard III, as embodied by the equally magnificent Guy Roberts, scuttles gleefully across Main Street Theater’s Chelsea Market stage…
Through Being Cool: 5 Easy Ways to Protect Your Hearing
Now, speaking for myself as a music fan, hearing is my favorite of the five senses. That’s not to say the other senses don’t play a part in enjoying music — the smell of rain in the air during a hot outdoor show, the taste of a cold drink while…
Upcoming Events: Mucho de Mayo
As May approaches, more Cinco de Mayo events are announced every day. Here are a few of our favorites. La Mexicana in Montrose is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. And while the restaurant doesn’t normally host a big Cinco de Mayo bash, it’s blowing off the roof on Saturday,…
Jaime Mata: Chilling Video of Him Allegedly Barricading Bar, Setting It on Fire
Police are looking for Jaime Mata, who’s been charged with arson for burning a bar in the 8000 block of Harrisburg after barricading the door so patrons couldn’t leave. Crime Stoppers says Mata and a friend were tossed from the bar. They returned, “closed the burglar bars and barricaded the…
Community: “Basic Lupine Urology”
I made no secret of the fact I didn’t think the Ken Burnsian thingy a couple weeks ago was all that special, but everything about last night’s Law & Order parody (“Basic Lupine Urology”), from the camera work to the pre-credits bon mot to desperate earnestness of the “legal” team…
If You Don’t Eat Well, It’s Because You Haven’t Tried
Sadly, I was never able to eat at El Bulli before it closed. Ferran Adrià is recognized as the best chef in the world and was the creative force behind El Bulli restaurant for 24 years. His legendary talent, creativity and gastronomic innovations have inspired chefs and food lovers around…
Anita Baker? Grandfather Child’s Lucas Gorham Unloads His Influences
Local music fans are all waiting intently for Grandfather Child to drop their self-titled debut on New West Records some time in early June, so this Big Star Bar gig is the best chance for you newbies to see what all the fuss from the cool kids will be about…
iFest: Top 5 Argentine-American Musicians
The Houston International Festival enters its second weekend tomorrow, with featured musical acts WAR, Joe Louis Walker, Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, Texas Tornados, Del Castillo, Steel Pulse and lots more. Although iFest’s performers come from all over the world, all around the main stages will be the sights and…
Watch Kids React to Their School Bus Being Fired On
Crime Stoppers has released security video of the incident last month when a passer-by fired four shots at a school bus. Luckily no one was hit. What do the kids do when they hear the shots? Most of them run to the windows where the shots were directed to see…
Couture Discount Shopping at 11 a.m. Houston Time Every Day
“There’s an interesting story about my dress,” says Jill Meisner, laughing. We’re inside of Triniti Restaurant and Bar, a geometrically chic South Shepherd eatery. Inside the restaurant’s private room, Meisner, public relations director for fashion and lifestyle Web site Gilt.com, and Melissa Liebling-Goldberg, Gilt’s editorial director — stylish in a…
Comment of the Day: Gun Culture Gets Creepy
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…
Happy 80th Birthday, Casey Kasem: At Least We Still Have You
Last week the world mourned the loss of famed television producer, idol maker and eternal teenager Dick Clark, who suffered a massive heart attack and died at the age of 82. Today, one of his contemporaries, Casey Kasem, turns 80 years old. The Lebanese vegan has logged more than 50…
Oyster Po-Boy with Remoulade: Only One Wine Will Do
At our house, we’re already cranking up the a/c and bracing for the Texas summer. But with the arrival of the heat also comes my favorite time of our yearly gastronomic cycle, when fried and grilled foods are guiltlessly consumed in mass quantities. Summertime holidays — from Memorial Day to…
Bridge: The Week in 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…
Openings & Closings: Cova Is Over, but Dunkin Donuts Has Just Begun
In the grand tradition of giving both good and bad news, the bad comes first this week. Both locations of Cova Hand-Selected Wines closed after service this past Sunday. In an interesting side note, it was The Tasting Room’s Jonathan Horowitz who was first with the news, pointing out the…
The 2012 Houston Press Underground Rap Awards: Vol. 1
So, 2012 is 33 percent of the way done. And (thankfully) the antiheroes of Houston’s Underground Rap World have been just as busy trying to make music being made in the rest of the country entirely obsolete as they were in 2011. Seems fitting then: Let’s run through the first…
Make a Splash, Invest in a New Swimsuit for Summer
Ever since my trip to the new Everything But Water boutique in the Galleria, I have been obsessed with all things beachwear. It didn’t hurt that the experience of shopping for a new suit was so incredibly positive; it has me thinking about a serious expansion of my resort/swimwear wardrobe…
Week in Photos: Vertical Planes
Each week, we take a dip into the Houston Press Flickr pool and see what our talented photographers have been up to. We’re looking for pictures that represent the best of Houston, from food to art to events, to secret hidden spots of beauty. Just drop them in our Flickr…
Person of Interest: “Did We Actually Accomplish Anything Here?”
I noticed a slight alteration to the opening credits, unless Reese in the crosshairs (as a “Threat to Asset”) or Fusco with a gun to his head has been seen before. Give me a break, this show takes two or three weeks off on a regular basis. So some secrets…
Astros Rebuilding: Going Back to the Future Can Be Fun
The 1991 Houston Astros finished the season with a record of 65-97. They were last in the old NL West, and they were one of the worst teams in the majors. But the fans who watched the team that season had reasons to be excited about the future. Jeff Bagwell…
Hates Front Man Turns DJ in New Radio Show
It’s been a hard year thus far for Houston’s pre-eminent punk-rock institution, the Hates. Former drummer and co-founder Glenn Sorvisto lost a long, hard battle with cancer last month, and if the Craigslist ads are any indication, the band is still searching for a full-time percussionist. Nonetheless, our elder statesman…
Brunch at West Gray Cafe: A Comedy of Errors
There are three things I want out of Sunday brunch: 1) To get day-drunk, preferably off of mimosas. 2) To eat tasty food. 3) To temporarily forget by means of reasons 1 and 2 that I have to go to work the next day. That’s it. Last Sunday, West Gray…
Reviews for the Easily Distracted: The Five-Year Engagement
Title: The Five-Year Engagement Is That a Particularly Long Time to Be Engaged? It is if all your grandparents are barely clinging to life, I suppose. Rating Using Random Objects Relevant to the Film: Three crossbows out of five. Brief Plot Synopsis: Newly enagaged couple are in a hurry to…
Rockin’ Bluesman Joe Louis Walker Ignites Hellfire
While many young’uns spent their years ‘twixt 12 and 20 just listening to music and attending concerts, Joe Louis Walker was a bit more proactive. At age 16, he became the house guitarist for the legendary San Francisco rock club The Matrix, he played with or opened shows for everyone…
Local Artist Pen Morrison Celebrates Guitar Pickers and Their Guitars
One of the most pleasant discoveries at last weekend’s iFest was the guitar sculpture of local graphic designer and political junkie Pen Morrison. A Yankee who came south to college and fell in love with all things Southern — especially blues and gospel music — Morrison began the “Guitars” series…
Julio of Xuco Xicana Slings Drinks from an Airstream
This week, we paid our first visit to El XX, or Xuco Xicana. It was happy hour, so we did what we always do: sidle up to the bar, order a couple of cocktails and pick the brain of the person standing opposite us. On this occasion, we ordered one…
The 5 Oddest AstroWorld Items on eBay Right Now
AstroWorld may be gone as a physical entity, but it lives on in the hearts of Houstonians and in people trying to make a buck on eBay. We took a look at the AstroWorld items currently up for auction, and found some odd stuff. Like these five: 5. Swellegant cup…
Joseph Adams: Some Thoughts on Our Interview with the Dude Behind SaveWhitePeople.com
If there’s one thing Hair Balls can’t get enough of, it’s racists, which is why we were thrilled to hear this week from a Houston contributor to a site called SaveWhitePeople. The writer (known on the site as Erich) wanted to know if we’d like to interview the NYC-based site’s…
Pictureless Pins Is Pinterest for the Gal on the Go (Or Dudes That Could Care Less)
I first learned about Pinterest over last Christmas when the girlfriend would spend hours staring at her phone or laptop while we were being all domestical, looking at pretty pictures of puppies, food, babies and house crap. I remember saying, “Meh, it’s just Tumblr for chicks,” as I clicked on…
Texans Draft Notebook: What the Mercilus Pick Means for the Weekend
The Texans, as expected, addressed a need with their first-round pick Thursday night. It just wasn’t the sexy playmaker position that many expected. Whitney Mercilus, a projected linebacker at the NFL level who led the NCAA with 16 sacks in his junior year at Illinois, proved too much value for…
A Nice, Quiet Dinner at Fratelli’s
“Red or white?” the server asked. My partner got the white, and I ordered the red. As I sipped the serviceable house Chianti, I considered that sometimes it’s nice to be presented with such a simple choice. No fretting over the wine list, just a quick glass to help shunt…
100 Creatives 2012: Donae Cangelosi Chramosta, The Vintage Contessa
Stepping inside Donae Cangelosi Chramosta’s Richmond office is like stepping into one of those insanely decadent Vogue spreads filled with merchandise that, if liquidated, could cover an Ivy League tuition. The office is stuffed from head to toe with classic and contemporary Chanel purses, obscenely expensive Birkins and posh Pradas,…
7 Cool & Cheap Things to Do This Weekend: Lee Fields, Quiet Company, Shellee Coley, Etc.
That guy, Lee Fields (above), is playing the Continental Club with his band the Expressions. Tonight. Some of Fields’s songs include “The Bull Is Coming,” “She’s a Lovemaker” and “The Funky Screw.” Could get steamy. Locals Nick Gaitan & the Umbrella Man open, and should have a new album out…
Five Mistakes You Need to Stop Making on Facebook
As Facebook marches onward toward 1 billion users (yes, billion with a “b”), it is understandable that people make mistakes on the social networking monster. You know that thing where your friend joins Facebook and immediately starts sending you a hundred requests for Farmville because “It’s so much fun!”? But…
Houston Loves George Clooney: A Walk Down Clooney Lane
Holy heart attack, Batman! In less than a week’s time, the one and only Mr. George Clooney will grace our metro with his magnificent aura. Clooney will join Houston celebutante Lynn Wyatt as the featured speaker in the “Brilliant Lecture Series.” The series focuses on bringing “international leaders, philanthropists and…
Illegal Wiretaps: Jesus, What Have They Done?
I was first introduced to the Illegal Wiretaps when they graced the electronic pages of my What’s in a Name? feature. I didn’t know how really to describe them then, and I still don’t really know now. Electronica is a safe term, as is experimental. Nonetheless, these are by definition…
CrazySexyCreepy: TLC to Tour with “Resurrected” Left Eye?
In a move that shouldn’t surprise anyone, especially in the wake of the Tupac Shakur “hologram” at Coachella, the surviving members of ’90s R&B group TLC are looking into a 2012 tour — with help from the late Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes. Yes, Lopes died in an April 2002 car…
2012 NFL Draft — Live Blog
I made an analogy on my radio show this morning on 1560 The Game that the NFL Draft tonight is like Christmas Day for many NFL fans. Air of anticipation, excitement of the unknown, food, it’s all there. (My co-host, John Granato, compared it to Hanukkah because it’s played out…
Don’t Forget: NFL Draft Live-Blogging, Right Here
Will the Texans recapture that David Carr magic in this year’s NFL Draft? Even though Carr has more Super Bowl rings than the Texans, we certainly hope not. The draft has become a huge entertainment extravaganza, stretched over days and preceded by months of hype, analysis and blathering. (Lotsa luck…
Travis Wayne Jones: Accused Sex Offender Nabbed After Ten Years on the Run
A 50-year-old former Texan is currently awaiting extradition to East Texas in an Arkansas jail, where he was escorted earlier this week by United States Marshals. According to Tylerpaper.com, Smith County Sheriff Ray Nutt said the Marshals got a tip that Travis Wayne Jones was hiding out in a home…
Health Department Roundup: Just the Facts, Mostly
Normally we go all Popeye Doyle on the inspection reports, doing things our way, asking for forgiveness rather than requesting permission. We’d even consider purchasing an ankle holster if we were allowed to rub up against girls while on the clock. (Just kidding, it’s a quick-draw gimmick.) Today, though, we’ve…
Jade Dickens: Toughest Middle-School Girls’ Gym Coach Ever?
You thought your gym teachers were tough? If the allegations in a federal-court lawsuit are true, Jade Dickens just might have yours beat. A mother has sued Dickens and the Gatesville school district, saying Dickens forced her seventh-grade daughter to carry a 280-pound student the length of a football field…
Got a Problem? Ask Monster Ballads for Help
Dear Monster Ballads, As the result of two recent death scares involving skydiving and putting a fork in an electrical outlet, I have been having questions about where Heaven is located? Is it on a map where I can find it or is it located in a closet — like…
Hurry and Save on VIP Haute Wheels Food Truck Festival Passes
Today’s Houston Press Voice Daily Deal is good for half-off exclusive VIP passes to the second annual Haute Wheels Food Truck Festival, May 12-13 at the Houston Community College West Loop Campus. A limited number of half-price passes ($35 for $70) are available, so act fast. Your VIP pass entitles…
Uh-Oh: George Jones Is Sick
It’s never really not old, but since we’ve already been going through it with Levon Helm and the Bee Gees’ Robin Gibb (who, gratefully, is at least out of his coma), this isn’t good news at all. Saratoga native and Country Music Hall of Famer George Jones, the man who…
NFL Draft WARNING Label: JaMarcus Russell 2007 Draft Footage
The day is finally here. Tonight at 7 p.m. all of the analysis, evaluation and conjecture will end (temporarily) and the hopes and dreams of 32 young men will come true. It is the first round of the NFL Draft, and for fans of everyone except the Jets it is…
Date Night at Dolce Vita Pizzeria & Enoteca
When it comes time for date night, I want two things, and two things only: good food and flowing wine…Wait, and my fiancé, I guess. Okay, three things and three things only… Back home, our usual date night took place at one of the hole-in-the-wall Italian joints that are everywhere…
Gothic Council vs. Marilyn Manson
I was in high school when Marilyn Manson’s Antichrist Superstar came out, and yeah, I played it until everyone around me begged me to stop. Though I’ve grown to appreciate deeper and better artists, Mr. Warner has always had a place in my heart for introducing me to a darker…
Would You Put a Preschooler in a $1,200 Dress?
The New York Times is a great newspaper in a great city, but sometimes it seems to be sending in reports from another planet, and that planet’s inhabitants have more money than they know what to do with. Case in point: today’s story about how “designer children’s wear is all…
Paul Roberts: “Teacher of the Year” Fired for Inappropriate Texts to Students
A Stafford middle school teacher has been suspended and jailed for inappropriate texts and online messages to students. Paul Roberts, a math teacher who had been named a Teacher of the Year in the Stafford school district, is accused of sending inappropriate electronic communications to at least two students. The…
Wine Fair Cy Fair: A Celebration of Wine, Beer and Food to Take Place this Saturday in Cypress
There seems to be an unwritten rule that all top-notch food-and-drink festivals have to take place inside the loop. Lucky for us, the folks at Food and Vine Time Productions are slowly changing the rules; little by little, they’ve taken praiseworthy food-and-wine festivals to Houston suburbs that traditionally have gone…
Last Night: Buckcherry & James Durbin at Warehouse Live
Buckcherry, James Durbin Warehouse Live April 25, 2012 Check our photos from last night’s Buckcherry and James Durbin concert in our slideshow. I confessed I walked into Warehouse Live last night solely for the purpose of hearing Buckcherry play “Lit Up” and “Crazy Bitch,” two of the biggest songs of…
Free for All: MonoVisioN, Christopher Farnsworth’s Red, White and Blood, Anything That Floats & the Houston Pod Chili Cookoff
Indulge in some architectural porn at the “Scott Frances: MonoVisioN” exhibit on Friday. When we say porn, what we mean is photographs of beautiful homes set in world-class locations with stunning views, or commercial buildings, such as museums or performance halls, that are as much works of art as what…
Headlines We’ll Never Believe: “Why Beyoncé Is Beyond Embarrassed She’s the World’s Most Beautiful Woman”
In case you are just now emerging from your isolation chamber, Houston’s Beyoncé has been named People magazine’s Most Beautiful Woman. According to our friends at CultureMap, she is “beyond embarrassed” about this. To which we cheerfully say: Bullshit. As evidence, CultureMap cites this “behind the scenes” video of People’s…
Last Night: Steve Earle & the Dukes at Stafford Centre
Steve Earle & the Dukes, The Mastersons Stafford Centre for the Performing Arts April 25, 2012 After three decades of music, mischief and critical accolades, it might come as a surprise to some to find Steve Earle performing at the relatively out-of-the-way (by Inner Loop standards) Centre for the Performing…
More Than 40 Food Vendors Will Feed Your Face at iFest
I love iFest so much, I typically go on both weekends of the festival each year. This time around, I’ll be missing the second weekend of the International Festival in favor of appearing in a bright blue bridesmaid’s dress at a mansion in Las Vegas (HOLLA), but you lucky people…
Comment of the Day: Ah Yes, the Fabled HPD 1975 Gremlin
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…
Brad Tucker Returns to Inman Gallery with Familiar Tricks Up His Sleeve
Brad Tucker has made a name for himself as a maker of playful, idiosyncratic art. That’s pretty much what you get, too, in a new show of the Austin artist’s work at Inman Gallery. Pressing News, Tucker’s fifth show at the gallery, features a combination of site-specific work, video and…
Pink Slipped: The 7 Best Artists to Be Dropped from Their Label
Once upon a time, record labels were the most important thing to an artist who chose to work within the music industry. They could make or break anyone, and even world-renowned artists knelt at the feet of their masters. Getting dropped from a label was, at one time, a death…
The April Steak and Crab Cake Offer at Sullivan’s Steakhouse — Get It While You Still Can
When I think of surf and turf, I automatically think of steak and lobster, but to many food lovers, crab is the sweeter “turf”: Its meat is more delicate, its fragrance more subtle and its flavor more pleasing. Which is why, when Sullivan’s Steakhouse announced its April Steak and Cake…
Rebecca Udden Becomes Queen Margaret in Main Street Theater’s Richard III
Check out our interview with actor Rutherford Cravens. Last year, Main Street Theater’s Executive Artistic Director Rebecca Greene Udden saw actor/director Guy Roberts’ production of As You Like It “and I just thought it was terrific. I loved the inventiveness of it and I thought he did such a wonderful…
Unscripted: Top 10 Actor/Musician Collaborations
Johnny Depp and Marilyn Manson have been hanging out a lot lately. The actor joined the antichrist onstage a couple of weeks ago at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards show in L.A., and played guitar on “Sweet Dreams” and “Beautiful People.” Depp also collaborated with Manson on a cover of…
Beer, Bombers and Boarding Passes
So I’ve become a bit of a smuggler. Every time I travel on business, I’m scoping out opportunities to score. I pack my stash away in my luggage, wrapped in socks for security and subterfuge, and hope it makes it through undamaged. I haven’t been caught yet. Of course, my…
Rockets Mediocrity: Blame the Strategy of the Owner
There’s something unholy about a team playing out the string of games knowing it won’t make the playoffs. It’s even weirder when said team felt its season end with a thud after a horrid stretch of games that lasted right up until the second-to-last game of the year. Going one…
No, George Washington Doesn’t Want You Armed Against the Government: E-Mail Debunking Part II
This little infographic has been making the rounds on Facebook among the more pro-gun people… especially a certain kind of pro-gun people. See, there are hunters, there are people who want to own guns for home protection and there are people who want to own guns simply because they are…
Pop Rocks: We Were Promised Death Sports
We’re well into the year 2012 at this point and — let’s face it — beyond “Angry Birds” and the new Batman movies, the 21st century has been pretty disappointing. From the continued gutting of NASA’s budget, the depressing lack of effective laser weaponry, and Jennifer Aniston’s persistent romantic woes,…
Texans Draft Preview: Understanding Needs in a Gary Kubiak Offense
For the first time in years, the first round of the NFL Draft may not be about defense for the Texans. After spending exhaustive resources to rebuild the depleted unit, the consensus among pundits is that Gary Kubiak will use the 2012 draft to add youth to his offensive core…
Haute Wheels Food Truck Festival Comes Rolling Through Again
I think it goes without saying that last year’s Haute Wheels food truck festival was rather disastrous. It was almost unbearably hot, there was very little shade to be found, some food trucks were running very late and almost all of the trucks had lines that stretched across the blazing…
The 4 Most Bizarre Theme Cruises This Year
I work a lot. Six days a week at the day job and till midnight every night crafting the finest pop culture reports and penis jokes that the Houston Press will buy off of my guttersnipe form. It’s a good life, trust me, because no one will ever look back…
Houston Concert Calendar: New, Improved, Sometimes Tattooed
Timothy NorrisDrum roll, please… Individual results may vary.We’ve just rolled out a new and improved calendar of Houston concerts. Our online music listings are now sortable by artist, venue and price. We’ve also got a raw, unadulterated, alphabetical list of upcoming shows in the drop-down menus on the right-hand side…
5 Reasons Why Texas Will Never Win “Most Peaceful State” (and Good Riddance)
Maine has won the latest version of the United States Peace Index’s “Most Peaceful State” competition. Texas? Forty-sixth most peaceful. This result simply means that Maine is a big pile of bo-ring while Texas is still holding it down with do-whatever-we-please citizens and outrageous criminals (see number five on the…
Ex-Rocket Steve Francis Turns Rapping Twitter Phenom
Every rapper dreams of being a baller and every baller dreams of being a rapper. It rings true today and former Houston Rocket Steve Francis renews the saying with his recently discovered hip-hop label Mazerati Music. Rocks Off cringed when we saw Dan Devine’s Ball Don’t Lie sports blog on…
Playing Dress-up with Electronics Is Fun!
Dressing up our dogs and carrying them around in little purses stopped being weird back when Paris Hilton had a career. There was barely a flutter of the national eyelid when someone dressed up her kid like Julia Roberts’ hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold for a beauty pageant on Toddlers & Tiaras. So by…
Big Screen Classics: Cool Hand Luke
Paul Newman, Cool Hand Luke, 1967. Do we really need to say anything else? Newman was at the height of his prowess as an actor when he took on the role of a smart-assed prisoner who was a major pain for the warden (think One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest…
7th Annual Latin Wave: New Films from Latin America
Antonio is an unimportant little man living a boring, uneventful life. Until he meets another man who, like him, is Gordo, calvo y bajito (fat, bald and short). Unlike Antonio, this other little man is not only important, he’s happy. And if he can do it, why can’t Antonio? An…
Cole Porter’s Great American Songbook
Cole Porter is an American musical version of Oscar Wilde. His lyrics have always danced the line between lighthearted frivolity and brilliant sexual innuendo. The bright airiness of his compositions masked the incredible complexity and depth of his musical talent. The Houston Symphony’s presentation of Cole Porter: The Great American…
Design Fair 2012
Looking for some vintage Chanel clip earrings? Maybe something right off the runway? Or a one-of-a-kind piece of furniture? Design Fair 2012 has made it easy for you. The three-day expo features the best contemporary and 20th century jewelry, fashion, furniture, glass and accessories in the -region. Donae Cangelosi Chramosta,…
Musical Evening with Maestro Graf (Dedicated to Dmitry Shostakovich)
Few men wear the title of “maestro” as well as Hans Graf. In demand in the largest and most famous concert halls around the world, Graf appears today at the intimate Russian Cultural Center with a Musical Evening with Maestro Graf (Dedicated to Dmitry Shostakovich). After a screening of a…
Roger Waters
Rarely does one find a nugget of truth in reality TV — let alone in I Love the ’80s. “If you never got high and watched The Wall, you were never a teenager,” lectured one of the show’s pudgy, ponytailed commentators when the Pink Floyd album came up on the…
Esperanza Spalding
Bassist, vocalist and composer Esperanza Spalding took the jazz world by storm when she released her self-titled CD in 2008. With a potent mix of whimsy, charisma, enthusiasm and unbridled talent, Spalding likes to mix pop, soul, funk and jazz, with a little classical thrown in from time to time…
The Clever Wife
Catch the world premiere of The Clever Wife: A Chinese Folktale by Houston Grand Opera’s HGOco. The family-friendly story follows a young wife who must draw on all her talents and skills to help her foolish husband, who’s been tasked with impossible duties by a magistrate. Music is by Mary…
Richard III
Rutherford Cravens, who’s been on screen in RoboCop 2, Friday Night Lights, Ray and, most recently, No Country for Old Men, is extra excited to be playing Lord Hastings/Murderer #2/Blunt in Richard III at Main Street Theater this month. That’s because his daughter, Sarah Jane Cravens, has been cast as…
Interesting Times: Celebrating Houston
See how Houston has changed over the last few decades at today’s screening of Interesting Times: Celebrating Houston. The documentary is based on surveys done by Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research and focuses on the way the city’s changing demographics shaped the city’s character. Ernie Manouse, from PBS,…
”Scott Frances: MonoVisioN”
Photographer Scott Frances deals in what he calls architectural porn. That is, photographs of beautiful homes set in world-class locations with stunning views, or commercial buildings, such as museums or performance halls, that are as much works of art as what they contain. The images seen in his exhibit “MonoVisioN”…
Christopher Farnsworth: Red, White and Blood
It’s never good to find anything written in blood. It’s especially not good to find the words “It’s Good to Be Back” written in blood, especially for you, by a monstrous creature known only as the Boogeyman. But if you’re Nathaniel Cade (a.k.a. The President’s Vampire), the central character in…
Anything That Floats
You might remember a scene from the movie Titanic in which Rose is lying on a door while Jack is in the freezing water next to her. The door stays afloat (warning: science stuff ahead) because of buoyancy, the principle that something will float if the downward pressure caused by…
Katy/West Houston Jazz Festival
Duke Ellington famously said, “By and large, jazz has always been like the kind of a man you wouldn’t want your daughter to associate with.” We don’t completely disagree. The Katy/West Houston Jazz Festival celebrates that jazz is also a hallmark of free thinkers and those who can appreciate art…
FabriFaction 2012
Can’t decide if you want to listen to poetry or music? FabriFaction 2012 has made it easy for you — do both. Presented in conjunction with FotoFest Biennial 2012, a celebration of contemporary Russian photography, FabriFaction will feature several poets, including University of Houston – Downtown professor Andre De Korvin,…
Houston Metropolitan Dance Company: Signature Works
Find out what Lola wants at the Houston Metropolitan Dance Company’s Signature Works. The program includes new works and audience favorites, with New York-based choreographer Joe Calej’s Whatever Lola Wants among the pieces reprised. “It’s a pretty fun piece, with a little bit of a sexual undertone to it,” says…
Texas Beer Fest 2012
The Lone Star State might not have a reputation for being a leader among beer breweries, but Texas Beer Fest 2012 is doing everything it can to change that. More than 50 brewing companies from around the state will be offering signature beers to sample. Proceeds from this event benefit…
Brian Jonestown Massacre
It’s hard to separate the music of the Brian Jonestown Massacre from the public persona of the band’s stubborn leader Anton Newcombe, so we won’t. His notorious tantrums, on full display in 2004’s excellent rock doc Dig!, very much fuel his creative juices. Or is it the other way around?…
Capsule Stage Reviews: The Cripple of Inishmaan, Don’t Drink the Water, Mary Stuart, The Seafarer
The Cripple of Inishmaan The University of Houston School of Theatre brings a bit of Ireland to Houston, re-creating the small-mindedness, boredom and bickering of a coastal island while vividly etching its inhabitants, in a dark comedy by acclaimed playwright Martin McDonagh. The Irish accents and authentic costumes anchor the…
Florence + the Machine
Making her Houston debut, Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine has already emerged as one of the singular voices of her generation. When the London native, now 25, first appeared on most Americans’ radar, it was in late 2008 with “Kiss with a Fist,” a delightful garage-pop ditty about…
Seun Kuti & Egypt 80
Even for the Houston International Festival, a booking like Seun Kuti & Egypt ’80 is an eyebrow-raising, once-in-a-blue-moon event. The youngest son of Nigerian icon Fela Kuti, whose distinctive hybrid of traditional folk music and horn-heavy jazz and funk became known as Afrobeat, Seun Anikulapo Kuti joined his father’s band…
Newspaper Fights City Hall
TEXAS Newspaper Fights City Hall New Braunfels PD fights back By Craig Malisow In case you weren’t aware, a war (of sorts) has been brewing in the otherwise sleepy hamlet of New Braunfels. Late last year, Leonidas Patrick “Mark” McGonical, a critic of a new can-ban law that keeps tubers…
Joe Louis Walker
When the other kids growing up were idolizing Jimi Hendrix — well, Joe Louis Walker did, too, but he was destined for a life in the blues. The San Francisco native actually backed Hendrix and many others as a guitarist at the Matrix, a club in the Fillmore district, joining…
The Color of Power, Roses and The Dream Act
BUY TACO USA! Gentle cabrones, my much-promised Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America has finally hit bookstores! Place your order with your favorite local bookstore, your finer online retailers, your craftier piratas, but place it. My libro editor has already promised to deport me from the publishing industry if…
Brian Jonestown Massacre
It’s hard to separate the music of the Brian Jonestown Massacre from the public persona of the band’s stubborn leader Anton Newcombe, so we won’t. His notorious tantrums, on full display in 2004’s excellent rock doc Dig!, very much fuel his creative juices. Or is it the other way around?…
State and EPA Battle Over Fracking, Flaming Well Water
Steve Lipsky gripped a garden hose and held it at arm’s length, staring as a guttering tongue of fire poured from its end and grew another foot before his eyes. “Look at that,” he said in awe as the flame, liquid and sinuous, licked the rural darkness outside his home…
Pena’s Is Donut Heaven
Get a glimpse of Pena’s kitchen, candy-colored donuts and delicious burgers in our slideshow. Witness this most Texan of scenes: It’s early on a spring morning, bright sunlight bearing down on a field of tall prairie grass across a newly paved highway in a pristine suburb south of Houston. Mockingbirds…
Charley Pride, Major League Legend
Charley Pride is tired of being asked about how tough it was. The three-time Grammy winner, who broke Montgomery County’s color line by dining at Conroe’s White Hut following a now-legendary 1967 performance at Pat’s Longhorn Ballroom, says it wasn’t like people imagine. “People never believe me, but in my…
Bernie
Richard Linklater’s Bernie is the rarest of rarities: a truly unexpected film. It might be classified as a black comedy, for it deals with the murder of an 81-year-old woman in a fashion that is not exactly tragic. But unlike most movies that fall under that label, it never indulges…
60 Years of Russian Photography
By most estimates, Joseph Stalin was responsible for the deaths of at least 20 million people; some put the number as high as 40 million or more. His purges, forced famines, executions, imprisonments, exiles and other atrocities devastated the people of the Soviet Union. Uncle Joe was an equal-opportunity murderer…
Michigan Is Not for Lovers
There is exactly one unexpected moment in the otherwise drearily predictable The Five-Year Engagement that, though little more than a throwaway line, at least adds a bit of charged political reality to puncture Nicholas Stoller’s limp, hermetic comedy of deferred nuptials. Tom (Jason Segel, who co-scripted with Stoller), a talented…
Creed’s Scott Stapp Knows You Hate His Band
From the late ’90s until the early ’00s, modern-rock radio was ruled by Creed, with singles like “Torn,” “One” and “With Arms Wide Open.” Three straight albums, My Own Prison, Human Clay and Weathered, sold millions upon millions of copies each, and fans were sucked in by the band’s metallic…
Midtown’s Coziest Pub
Three guys walk into a bar. Then they park themselves on the patio at Front Porch Pub (217 Gray), a neighborhoodsy hangout near downtown that’s been open for more than a decade. Front Porch has to figure into any discussion of Houston’s best patios alongside Brixx (5110 Washington), Hughes Hangar…
Capsule Art Reviews: “CTRL group two,” “Elixir,” “Neurotic,” “Space Zombie Mayan Apocalyptic Human Sacrifice Uplift Mofo Party Plan Spring Break 2012”
“CTRL group two” Collage photography is having a bit of a moment right now in Houston, thanks to a major exhibition up at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston called “Utopia/Dystopia.” For a much smaller show that still manages to cover a lot of ground, there’s also “CTRL group two”…
Eleanor Friedberger
Lovable though the Fiery Furnaces are, part of the brother-and-sister duo’s charm is its tendency to upend any moments of pop perfection with cacophonous noises, fractures in song structure, and other sonic disturbances. Thankfully, on Last Summer, her first solo outing, Furnaces singer Eleanor Friedberger doesn’t obscure her talent for…
Grandfather Child
Local music fans are all waiting intently for Grandfather Child to drop their self-titled debut on New West Records some time in early June, so this Big Star Bar gig is the best chance for you newbies to see what all the fuss from the cool kids will be about…
