College Football: Week 1 Best Bets
Finally, college football is back. Soon, the NFL will follow. Yes, friends, after an interminable summer, gambling season is finally here, and all roads lead to the pay window, we hope. Last season, I was positively average, finishing the season with an utterly pedestrian 53-54-1 record. This is no way to…
The Little Mermaid Returns to Houston’s Hobby Theater Center
When she was five years old, Alison Woods saw the Disney movie The Little Mermaid and fell in love. Whenever she went swimming she would pretend to be Ariel. She liked that they both were red heads. She loved the songs by Alan Menken. About five years ago she auditioned for…
Believe It Or Not, But Pop Music Is Great Again
It’s time for us to talk about pop music. It’s 2015, and the landscape today is a very different place than it was even just a few short years ago. With the emergence of so many streaming services and a populace ready to accept just about anything offered to them,…
Texans-Cowboys: Four Things To Watch For
There’s an old saying in sports that when it comes to rivalries: it doesn’t matter what names are on the backs of the jerseys, it only matters which names are on the front. That’s a cute way of saying that rivalries are more about teams and cities than they are…
New Book Introduces The Beatles to Ages 6 to 10
Young readers, parents, and librarians are used to seeing picture book biographies of real-life people like, say, George Washington and Thomas Edison. Or Babe Ruth and Martin Luther King, Jr. But as the inevitable march of time moves forward, more contemporary subjects will grace the shelves of elementary and junior high…
How Ken Paxton Became the New Supervillain of Texas Politics
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has really outdone himself. In the space of the very short time that he has been in a state office — keep in mind the guy only took office on January 5 — he has managed to become such a liability that members of his…
Mutoid Man Is the Metal Supergroup We Deserve
Tonight at Rudyard’s, Houston is going to see one of the most monstrous supergroups of all time performing in their natural habitat: a sweaty bar with cheap, shitty booze. This is Mutoid Man. Let’s be real: most supergroups a big disappointment, but Mutoid Man have made it work in spades…
Does Houston Have the Right to Enforce Clean Air Laws? The Texas Supreme Court Will Decide
The City of Houston has been defending it’s Clean Air Ordinance ever since it was enacted in 2007, with city lawyers arguing in court that Houston has the right to control and regulate its own air quality. Now the Texas Supreme Court is taking on the issue. The high court…
Landscapes and Blue Skies by Socially-Conscious Louisiana-based Artists
Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the town of Arnaudville, Louisiana saw the need to preserve the cultural assets of the region, including the French language, music and visual arts. The NUNU Arts and Culture Collective – a multipurpose art and culture space that plays host to social and educational events…
Doctor Who: Is the Eighth Doctor Returning to Television This Season?
There are some intriguing rumors that the Eighth Doctor might be on his way back to television this season. Regular readers will be familiar with my endless devotion to Paul McGann, The Doctor of the oft-maligned but way better than you think it is 1996 television movie. I’m thoroughly addicted…
Houston Texans “Hard Knocks,” Episode 4 Review
Make no mistake, I have not liked having Hard Knocks covering the Houston Texans … I have LOVED having Hard Knocks covering the Houston Texans. As a viewer, the “must-see” aspect has been raised several notches with our hometown team on the show instead of some scrub unit like the Atlanta Falcons. (I’m…
“MicroCosmos” at the Menil Presents a Much-Appreciated Cold Temptation
It’s been a long, hot summer in Houston and any hint that there’s a place you could legitimately call the frozen North is welcome. By now Arctic has a lovely, icy ring. So hurray for the exhibition “MicroCosmos: Details from the Carpenter Collection of Arctic Art,” which opened at The…
College Football: Five Best Bets On Season Win Totals
Normally, this is where I would say “Wow, the college football season is already here! Gee, it seems like we just got done crowning Ohio State a week ago!”, but not this offseason. Between all the stories of head trauma, off the field crime, not to mention the general non-sports…
The Army Must Pay KBR $30 Million for Legal Fees
Have you ever wanted to pay KBR $30 million to cover legal expenses? Well, it’s your lucky month: the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals on August 13 ordered the Army — i.e., taxpayers — to reimburse the company for the cost of defending lawsuits over an allegedly toxic water…
Trailer for “Concussion” Released, NFL Braces for Backlash (w/ VIDEO)
For years, the NFL has tried like hell to keep player head trauma on the back burner. They’ve spent several decades treating the brain disease that results from repeated blows to the head like some sort of boogeyman, until eventually they were confronted with science, not to mention a growing…
City’s Chief Procurement Officer Says She Was Forced To Resign [UPDATED]
Lourdes Coss, the top official in the city’s Strategic Procurement Division, is gone. The city says the Chief Procurement Officer resigned, but Coss says she was forced out because she was pushing too hard to make the city’s purchasing process more transparent and fair. A spokeswoman for Mayor Annise Parker,…
Gumbo Jeaux’s Walks the Texas-Louisiana Food Line With Style
At Gumbo Jeaux’s on Durham Drive, there are about 30 assorted bottles of hot sauce on a shelf under the iced-tea dispensers. Hardly anyone ever fetches one, because dishes rarely lack for heat. There’s enough cayenne in the blackening seasoning mix on the catfish Opelousas that an “approach with caution”…
This Week in Houston Food Blogs: Brace Yourself, Pumpkin Spice Season Is Coming
Fall is just around the corner, and the bloggers are getting into the spirit already! Plus, we have a few more ideas for your last-minute Houston Restaurant Weeks outings. It’s almost time for the pumpkin spice takeover, and Nancy of Tag Sale Tastes has already posted a pumpkin ginger bread…
How Buffalo Soldiers Helped Win the Spanish-American War…and Saved Teddy Roosevelt
The Roughest Riders: The Untold Story of the Black Soldiers in the Spanish-American War By Jerome Tuccille 304 pp. $26.95 Chicago Review Press It is one of the most familiar stories drilled into the heads of schoolchildren around the country. How Teddy Roosevelt, riding high on horseback and in the…
What Would a Four Super-Conference College Football Structure Look Like?
On the surface, with a total of 64 teams in the current Power Five conferences, the math of realigning those schools into a Power FOUR conference structure would appear easy. Make no mistake, though; the math is the only thing that’s easy. Political dealings, long-standing relationships, academics and television contract…
A Seismic Shift: What is the Future of the Big 12?
On a chilly December night, in the wake of a 38-27 win at home over ninth-ranked Kansas State to close out the 2014 college football regular season, Baylor head coach Art Briles stood amid his jubilant bunch of Baylor Bears on a makeshift stage in the middle of McLane Stadium…
Feminist Frequency Releases First Tropes Vs Women in Video Games Episode in More Than a Year
One of the regular criticisms of Anita Sarkeesian’s feminist web series regarding portrayals of women in videos games that does often ring true is that she’s not very fast at producing them. She herself has described each one as essentially writing a master’s thesis on the subject and that’s why…
“Female Musicians Wanted.” But for What?
While waiting on my son to finish his weekly drum lesson at School of Rock, I usually do one of two things: play on my phone or wander around the adjacent music store, Guitar Center. Sadly, this is what my life is reduced to as a parent: simultaneously waiting to…
Maybe ‘Kanye West – Reanimator’ Will Ressurect Hip-Hop Too
Have you felt like the hip-hop scene is becoming a little bit played out? Perhaps you’ve grown weary of the way that most club bangers and rap hits are just one phrase repeated over and over, or you’re just sick of Drake getting away with speaking out of rhythm and…
Indian Jewelry & Vockah Redu Open Up a Few Third Eyes
Indian Jewelry, Vockah Redu Walters Downtown August 28, 2015 It’s about time that we added “prolific” to the list of words used to describe Indian Jewelry in every review — right up near the top, next to “psychedelic noise” and “hypnotic tribalism.” For the last decade or so, the unsettling…
Blue Bell is Back and Mattress Mack is Celebrating (Of Course)
Blue Bell is hitting Texas shelves and right here in Houston, Gallery Furniture’s owner, Jim McIngvale (aka Mattress Mack) is ready to celebrate. It’s hard to believe that only a few months ago we were wondering how the Brenham-based company would ever put the listeria outbreak behind it. Now we…
Clear Lake Restaurant Suffers Tragic Loss With Ryan Roberts’s Death [UPDATED]
Houston-area restaurant professionals were stricken on Sunday with the news that one of their finest has unexpectedly passed away. Ryan Roberts, who has been the general manager of Cullen’s American Grille & Whisk(e)y Bar since it opened seven years ago, was found dead in his home on Sunday morning. It…
Theresa Roemer Named One of Houston’s Most Influential Women
Big closet owner Theresa Roemer has been named one of the “Top 30 Influential Women of Houston” by something called the d-mars.com Business Journal, and we guess congratulations are in order. Until we got this press release, we had no idea Roemer, who is married to multimillionaire oilman Lamar Roemer,…
Pegstar’s Last Fitz Show Draws a Packed House
Walking up to Fitzgerald’s Saturday evening, attendees were greeted with lines stretching all the way from the front door to what felt like Loop 610 and from the will-call window past the load-in parking lot. Throngs of local music fans had come out for Pegstar Concerts’ final show at the…
The Next To Last Prediction of the Houston Texans 53-Man Roster
We’re at the time of year when you have to get your NFL 53-man roster predictions out there quickly, or else they could get debunked if your team has an itchy trigger finger, so quickly, here is a reminder on the key dates this week: Sept. 1: Prior to 4…
Why Kanye West Is the Perfect Heel (and Presidential Candidate)
At around 9:32 p.m. CST Sunday night, I started opining about what Kanye West with a microphone in his hand could possibly mean. I started thinking, shit; Kanye is going to make me defend him for speaking his mind about something. That thought evolved into, shit, everybody is going to…
Miley’s Stoner Antics Make an Awkward VMAs Even Worse
Well, somewhere Kennedy and Kurt Loder are slurping up the remnants of Kanye’s Hennessey and thinking to themselves, “What in the everloving fuck just happened to VMAs.” Jesus actual Christ, that was painful. But at least Britney looked pretty? The rest of it, not so much. Much like Kennedy and Kurt…
Wes Craven Dies, Leaving Fans Many Classic Films. Here Are 6 of His Best.
I was driving home yesterday evening when a friend reached me with the sad news that legendary horror film writer and director Wes Craven had died at the age of 76. I was shocked, unaware that Craven was as old as he was and had been battling brain cancer. I…
Reclaimed Wood Inspires Eight Artists at HCC Central Art Gallery
It seems that everywhere we look, buildings are being torn down to make way for something shiny and new. Established and emerging artists have taken the cast-offs from this construction boom and created interesting works of art, on exhibit now at the Houston Community College Central Art Gallery, in the…
Dish of the Week: Goes-With-Anything Romesco Sauce
From classic comfort foods to regional standouts and desserts, we’ll be sharing a new recipe with you each week. Find other dishes of the week here. This week, we’re covering the classic Romesco Sauce. An all-purpose sauce from Catalonia, romesco is made with toasted nuts – usually almonds or hazelnuts…
After Deputy’s Murder, Sheriff Hickman Blames “Dangerous National Rhetoric” Surrounding Police Violence
On Friday at around 8:20 p.m., a Harris County sheriff’s deputy was shot and killed while pumping gas at a Chevron station. And in reaction to the tragedy, Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman said that the only apparent motive behind the slaying is that the deputy, Darren Goforth, was wearing…
Mötley Crüe’s Role As Rock Fashion Icons & Their Houston Designer Connection
“In the beginning,Good always overpowered the evils of all man’s sins. But in time the nations grew weak, and our cities fell to slums. While evil stood strong in the dusts of hell, lurked the blackest of hates. For he whom they feared awaited them. Now many many lifetimes later, lay destroyed, beaten, beaten down, only the corpses of rebels, ashes…
NFL Preseason Week 3: Texans-Saints — 4 Winners, 4 Losers
Kids, gather around and let me tell you about a time when the NFL actually treated the third preseason game like it mattered. Back in my day (old guy go-to phrase), all the way back in like 2014, NFL teams would work training camp and the preseason to a crescendo…
The Five Best Concerts In Houston This Week: Kelly Clarkson, Hank & Cupcake, Mike Stinson, Ed Sheeran, etc.
Kelly Clarkson Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, September 1 Pop’s reigning girl next door ever since her victory in American Idol’s inaugural season (all the way back in 2002), Kelly Clarkson has remained interesting and relevant into her thirties, supplying a ready-made role model for younger singers who wish they had…
A Post-HPMA, Back-to-School Backpack of #NewHoustonRap
With the Houston Press Music Awards coming to a close last week, the official start of the Houston Rap New Year has commenced. Not to be confused with the normal calendar we use on a daily basis, the Houston Rap calendar exists on an August to August basis. Know how…
