Last Call For Art: Lotta Shows Ending
A whole bunch of theater presentations are ending their runs this weekend, so get on out there if you want to see them.The Wiz, which has been drawing huge crowds to the Miller Outdoor Theater and has extended twice, absolutely, positively must close this weekend. Be aware you might encounter…
Heroic Iraqi Refugee On His Deathbed As Family Struggles to Obtain Temporary Visas to Be At His Side
Houston’s Iraqi refugee community is saying a painful goodbye to one of its most valued members. Now Marwan Hamza’s friends are scrambling to help his family do the same. Hamza, 22, is on his deathbed at Memorial Herman hospital after crashing his car earlier this week. Hamza’s work with U.S…
Things to Do This Weekend If You’re Almost Broke
Another Friday afternoon and Rocks Off is itching to leave, so let’s get to it. Friday Pop duo Adam & Lena play a free Cactus Music in-store at 5:30 p.m. Free beer, etc. Hurry, but if you miss them they’ll be at Robusto’s Cigar Lounge in Katy tomorrow night. House…
Puppy Mill Pit Bulls Need Your Help
Have any extra room in your home and heart for a pit bull? There are a bunch of ’em available in Nacagdoches, rescued from an alleged puppy mill that telegraphed its redneck roots by choosing the name “Swamplot Kennels.” The pits are among the 118 dogs constables and animal control officers…
Houston 101: The Forgotten Mansions of Riverside Terrace
Photos by Katharine ShilcuttAn empty giant on Riverside Drive, built in 1936.People often complain about Houston’s flat, uninspiring terrain — the topological equivalent of the doldrums, almost. But those people have probably never ventured south on Highway 288 to a sleepy neighborhood off MacGregor called Riverside Terrace. Long a stronghold…
This Week in Deliciousness
Welcome back to Eating Our Words’ weekly round-up, where each table has salt, pepper, sugar packets, and a Super Soaker full of chile con queso. J.C. Reid kicked off our week with a long-overdue investigation into Tex Chick, Houston’s only Puerto Rican restaurant. It’s a wonder most Puerto Ricans still…
My Ding-a-Ling: Iggy Pop, Tommy Lee and Rock’s Other Dirk Digglers
So the other day, Rocks Off wrote briefly about Huey Lewis in regards to the Back To The Future soundtrack, not even thinking to chime in just a little bit about his reportedly huge male member. You know that certain part of the male anatomy all those soft-core porn stars…
A Different “Cash for Clunkers” Program at Daniel Boone Cycles
At first glance it seemed like the cash for clunker bike promotion at Daniel Boone Cycles was little more than a spoof on the government program to get some advertising for the bicycle shop. Turns out, you might call it a political statement. “It’s a matter of making people aware…
Hatching a Pepper Myth
It’s green chile season, that wonderful time of the year when other people roast your chiles for you. Roasting green chiles and removing the skin is a pain in the ass, so I buy a bunch of green chiles while the roasters are working and put the cleaned peppers in…
High-Fiving T-Pain, Wondering Why We Can’t Quit Plies’ “Plenty Money”
[Note: Thursday night T-Pain, Wale and DJ MOS performed a private concert at downtown nightclub Venue. Our man Shea Serrano was on the red carpet and inside.] 9:17 p.m.: Yo, the PR camp from Heineken, that company that’s putting this concert on, is extremely organized. At one point while we…
The Alabama Bookstop Remembered By 14-year Employee John Cramer
“At its peak the place was really a focal point of the neighborhood,” he says. He remembers the glory days of the strip mall, when Butera’s anchored one end and Whole Goods and Cactus were in the middle. “You could go to Butera’s and have a beer at lunch,” he…
The End Of the Story For the West Alabama Bookstop
The company’s press release touted the infallible awesomeness of the new, 32,000 square-foot space, which will include one of those exotic, hard-to-find coffeehouses called “Starbucks.” But Hair Balls wanted to find out why the company would want to shutter a unique store housed in a historic building and open yet another big-box…
HEAA Slings Some Loaded Questions at Four Mayoral Candidates
The Houston Electric Auto Association recently cornered the four biggest mayoral candidates and grilled them on environmental issues, most (unsurprisingly) having to do with the unmitigated wonderfulness of the electric car. They were also quizzed on their support of proposed or already-existing City of Houston initiatives. Peter Brown, Gene Locke,…
Texas Blind Salamander Blues
The Texas blind salamander lives in a dark cave in San Marcos and doesn’t see very well, hence the blues-guitarist moniker. It’s also an endangered species. Blind Salamander Pale Ale from Rahr Brewery in Fort Worth is the first of a new series called “Rare Breed” beers. Each will be…
Friday Night Noise: Hearts of Animals’ She-Stew, Telecult Powers’ Buzz ‘n’ Chirp, Ascites Update
Ascites Update! Last week FNN took on “Soft Adult Contemporary” from Ascites’ Incisional Drainage album, all the while bemoaning a dearth of background and label information. Well, turns out that Ascites read the post; members Nathan Golub and Matt Coffey reached out to FNN via email, filling in some blanks…
Slap On the Wrist for Rich Doctor Who Molested Young Girls
Little-girl-lovin’ Beaumont cardiologist Jeffrey Klem has entered into a 15-year “agreed order of public reprimand” with the Texas Medical Board, according to a Board release issued this morning. If you’ll recall, Klem was the guy who showed that, in Jefferson and Harris counties, you can get a slap on the wrist…
A Chat with Norman Daughtery of Bailey’s American Grille
To watch Norman Daughtery make a martini is a beautiful thing. The head bartender at Bailey’s American Grille in Seabrook, he pours his ingredients slowly and precisely before furiously going to town with the cocktail shaker, whipping the ingredients until the strong drinks have the thinnest layer of ice on…
Social Distortion: Stuff Happened, Then Facebook 3.0 for iPhone Came Out
You know, this week in current events really was a doozy, wouldn’t you say? Senator Ted Kennedy passed on to the crystal Kennedy camp in the afterlife, Dominick Dunne followed in his footsteps (ALERT: Old white dudes with cancer, don’t walk under any ladders this week, okay? The odds are clearly stacked against…
Five Spot: We Are Totally In the Tank for T-Pain
Welcome back to Five Spot. Every Friday, we’ll examine a recent bit of music news and, sometimes awkwardly, tie it to a bit of Houston rap. It’s five videos and occasional cussing. Send tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. As indicated in that italicized synopsis above, this is usually an area where we…
Everyone’s a Critic: ACLU vs. Harris County vs. DOJ vs. HCJ
The ACLU of Texas is criticizing Harris County’s criticism of the U.S. Department of Justice’s criticism of Harris County Jail. Hair Balls isn’t sure who to criticize yet. In a press release, the state chapter’s legal director calls County Attorney Vince Ryan’s response to the DOJ’s June report: “defensive and backwards-looking.” Plus, the…
Crosby, Stills & Nash’s Skeletal, Primitive Demos
Crosby, Stills and Nash Demos (Atlantic/Rhino) These are resurging times for this harmonic trio. They’re in the midst of a 40th anniversary tour (which stops in Houston at the Woodlands tonight), were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in June, and are headed into studio with Rick Rubin for…
Cafe Zol Gets a Makeover
When Cafe Zol opened in early 2008 in the old Crostini location on Shepherd near Westheimer, the menu was billed as “Scandinavian tapas.” Houston food cognoscenti responded with head scratching and mixed reviews, wondering if there really needed to be a challenger to the local IKEA superstore’s apparent monopoly on…
Animal Cruelty Can Be Fun!
Regular readers of the Houston Press and Hair Balls have been following the saga of the Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care for some time as we’ve tried to raise awareness about mismanagement and abuse at the facility. Change is slow to come by, as the City and City Council…
If You Love Roy Oswalt, Set Him Free
Ed. Note: We mistakenly stated that Brian McTaggart was with the Houston Chronicle, which has now been corrected. We regret the error. If you were watching the Astros lose on Wednesday night, then you probably recall that at one point, Albert Pujols hit a soft groundball right up the middle…
