The 10 Best Desserts in Houston
There’s dessert and then there’s dessert—the uniquely Houston, show-stopping kind that might warrant a birthday treat, showing off to an out-of-town visitor or just obsessive contemplation. Many of the following sweets have achieved cult-like status among Houston diners. However, those who doesn’t like the suggested dessert offerings here can rest…
Herzog Logs On: The Inquisitive Filmmaker Contemplates the Mysteries of Our Digital Existence
Late in Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World, his unsurprisingly wry, quizzical documentary survey on life inside and beside the virtual world, Werner Herzog stumps two brain researchers with a lyrical question in that instantly recognizable (and often parodied) German accent: “Does the internet dream of itself?” An ever-adventurous…
Puff Daddy’s WWE 2K17 Soundtrack Is Surprisingly Strong
The Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour is coming to Houston’s Toyota Center on September 15, but you won’t have to wait to party with Puff Daddy if you’ve pre-ordered your copy of the new WWE video game, WWE 2K17. The game’s soundtrack is curated by the artist formerly known as…
Star Trek 50 | Continuing the Five-Year Mission
As we gear up for the 50th anniversary of Star Trek on September 8, the Houston Press boldly goes in search of those who have turned their passion for the landmark television series into a mission. After Star Trek ended in 1969, die-hard fans were relegated to the cold darkness…
The Houston LUCKYRICE Feast Arrives This October
Over the past few years, Asian fusion has been one of the most interesting developments in modern cuisine. The LUCKYRICE Feast tour highlights this trend and will make a stop in Houston on October 6 at The Astorian, 2500 Summer. Hosted by Oxheart’s Justin Yu, the dinner will showcase reimagined…
Becoming a Drake Superfan Doesn’t Happen Overnight
At last year’s Austin City Limits Music Festival, I joined the thousands upon thousands of revelers in anticipation of Saturday night’s headliner, one of the hottest names in pop music and arguably the biggest rapper in the game. That man was Drake, who barreled through a 90-minute set that had…
Houston’s 10 Best Ice Houses
As they’re recognized today, ice houses represent a uniquely Houston experience. Many have gone by the wayside in recent years, particularly those that focused almost exclusively on selling ice, but a number of those that remain have become local landmarks of a sort. A few have even sprouted up in…
Houston’s 5 Best Weekend Food Bets: Dream Big at 8th Wonder
This weekend’s hottest culinary happenings will keep you quenched and well-fed all weekend long, with a couple of brew-filled bashes and some poke, to boot. Pokéology Pop Up at Gossip Ultra Lounge Friday, 9 p.m. to midnight 114 Main Chef Jason Liao of Pokéology (formerly known as Poke Akua) is…
Upcoming Houston Food Events: Get Presale Tickets to Tacolandia
Mark your calendars, because you don’t want to miss these deliciously fun culinary events. The second annual Houston Press taco-sampling event, Tacolandia, returns on Saturday, October 22, but you can get discounted presale tickets now. Use code TACOHOU to get them before they’re offered to the general public on Saturday,…
Reviews For The Easily Distracted: War Dogs
Title: War Dogs Describe This Movie In One Simpsons Quote: Bart: There are no good wars, with the following exceptions: The American Revolution, World War II, and the Star Wars trilogy. Rating Using Random Objects Relevant To The Film: Two-and-a-half copies of the Doors’ Morrison Hotel out of five. Brief Plot Synopsis: Bros before…
NFL Preseason Week 2: Saints vs. Texans — Four Things to Watch For
After an enjoyable morning of practice in a Houston steam bath on Thursday, the New Orleans Saints and the Houston Texans turn their collective attention to Saturday night, the first game of the 2016 season (preseason, actually) inside NRG Stadium. If you haven’t been paying attention, there are a ton…
Openings & Closings: Royal Oak Ends While Sylvia’s Enchilada Kitchen Reopens
Sylvia’s Enchilada Kitchen, 6401 Woodway, reopened on August 16 after an early morning fire caused the restaurant to temporarily close its doors just over two weeks ago. According to a press release, a passerby reported the smoke coming from the roof area. It was later determined that the fire originated…
Craig Robinson At Last Gets to Show His Range in Morris From America
In contemporary film, it’s typical for an African-American character to be the sole person of color in the story, only existing to reveal hidden racism or make white people uncomfortable with themselves. Black characters rarely get to talk to other black characters. Last year, Manohla Dargis suggested a new Bechdel-type…
FBI Agent Michael German Taught Hollywood How to Get Counterterrorism Right
Michael German went undercover with white supremacists for a year and with right-wing militants for another eight months and now he wants to set some things straight. “One of the things I learned working undercover is that the studies that the FBI or even academia had on these groups were…
The Uncertain Imperium Sends Daniel Radcliffe Undercover Among White Supremacists
The central conceit of Imperium — Daniel Radcliffe playing an FBI agent who goes undercover as a white supremacist — is laughable, and the film, to its credit, knows this. Harry Potter as a skinhead? Don’t worry, that’s all part of the plan. Well, maybe. Writer/director Daniel Ragussis tries to…
Stop-Motion Kids’ Adventure Kubo and the Two Strings Is Another Laika Marvel
From its opening image — of a distraught woman battling massive ocean waves on a moonlit night — to its surprisingly ambiguous final shot — of what, I won’t say — Kubo and the Two Strings sears itself into your brain. The stop-motion animation studio Laika has perfected, over the…
The Anne Frank of France Exhibit Comes to Houston’s Holocaust Museum
The final journal entry reads “Horror! Horror! Horror!” Soon thereafter, the young woman would die in a concentration camp. In 1942 at the age 21, Hélène Berr, who’s often called France’s version of Anne Frank, began keeping a diary. Berr, a typical young Jewish woman living in Nazi-tinged France during…
Fan Fighting League, Season Premiere — Welcome Back, Los Angeles!
I wasn’t surprised at all when the NFL decided to bring professional football back to Los Angeles. It’s a huge television market, and a lot of the core functions of the league’s television partners, including their own league-backed network, are based in LA. However, I’d be lying if I said…
How Drake Became Pop’s True Teflon Don
It probably won’t go down as particularly significant in the lore of rap beefs, but this past week’s feud between Drake and Hot 97 DJ Funkmaster Flex has raised some striking facts about the superstar rapper. After bearing the brunt of repeated disses by Flex in the last year, Drake…
Shouldn’t Sausage Party Be Funnier, Wilder — and Less Like a Jeff Dunham Special?
Hey. Do you guys remember puppet comedian Jeff Dunham, whose downtrodden Mexican “on a steeeek” character José Jalapeño delighted many a middle-class white American in the ’90s? Well, imagine he blazed up a joint with Bill Maher, wrote a manifesto on atheism and then made a multimillion-dollar animated feature film…
Natalie Portman’s Directorial Debut Is Thoughtful, Inspired and Unfocused
Natalie Portman proves herself a filmmaker of intelligence, ambition and inventiveness in her debut as a director and writer — just not one who is always certain as a storyteller. A Tale of Love and Darkness adapts, with a passionate somberness, several threads from Amos Oz’s autobiographical novel of the…
Jonah Hill Is Loosed in War Dogs, but the Comedy Has Too Much Hangover
Once, American comedies concerned underdog heroes who challenged the status quo and seized the territory of the upper-class characters who thought they were in control. Slobs vs. snobs. During the wartime administration of the lesser President Bush, the wealthy thoroughly dominated the culture, occupying America the way the army patrolled…
Texas is Still Trying to Block Refugees From Entering the State
Texas has apparently come up with a new way to try to block Syrian refugees from entering the state — this time by telling the feds Texas won’t accept the refugees unless federal officials certify that every arriving refugee does not pose a security threat. The Houston Chronicle this week…
Parents Accused of Leaving Kids in Hot Car While High on Kush
Parents have been charged this week with felony endangerment of a child after keeping kids in a hot car while high on kush. Ashlea Jones, 26, and Christopher Alexander, 27, apparently were found napping with their two-year-old daughter and three-year-old son in a car that had no air conditioning on…
What Does State’s Strained Disaster Relief Fund Mean for Harris County?
Harris County may not be getting too much help from the state if a major flood event or — we hope not — a hurricane sweeps through the region. That’s because Texas has depleted millions more than expected from its Disaster and Deficiency Grants fund, according to a letter from…
First Look at Brasserie 1895 in Friendswood
Former Kris Bistro namesake Kris Jakob worked for nine years at the tucked-away gem inside Culinary Institute LeNôtre before striking off on his own to open Brasserie 1895, 607 South Friendswood, #11. The full-fledged nature of the school’s educational programs—charcuterie, wine, pastries and more—were reflected on Kris Bistro’s French menu…
Theater District Sets the Stage for the 2016-2017 Season
Before Houston’s 2016-2017 arts and culture season cannonballs into a local theater, concert hall or art museum near you, Theater District Houston takes its opening plunge during the 23rd annual TransCanada Theater District Open House. “This year’s Theater District Open House is much more interactive than ever before,” says Kathryn…
Forecasting the Odds for the 18 Schools Targeted in Big XII Expansion
After months of speculation, peaks and valleys and more than a little recent political maneuvering, it looks like the nation’s long-suffering endurance of Big XII expansion speculation may be coming to an entirely fitting conclusion, when a conference that probably shouldn’t expand at all will not only evaluate expansion, but…
Rachel DelRocco of Camerata Wins Texsom Best Sommelier Title
Houston-based wine professional Rachel DelRocco, who works at Camerata wine bar, won the coveted Best Sommelier title at the annual Texsom sommelier conference held at the Four Seasons hotel and resort in Irving last weekend. The event, previously known as the “Best Sommelier in Texas Competition,” is now also open…
Age Is the Only Reason Trump is Leading Clinton in Texas
There are few certainties in modern American politics. One of them is that a Republican will win Texas, the second-largest Electoral College prize. But in an unpredictable election year where we’ve seen numerous political norms thrown out the window, even that assumption could be flat-out wrong. A poll by Public Policy…
Marijuana Grower Now Raises Microgreens for Houston Restaurants
A native Houstonian who moved to California and grew marijuana for a dispensary for three years is now applying what he learned to grow microgreens for Houston restaurants. Juan Molina of JSH Equipment & Supplies just returned to Houston last December. “I’ve had a crazy adventure. I went out [to…
10 Sources of Inspiration for Stranger Things
Netflix has a hit with Stranger Things, a nostalgic homage to the ’80s that seems to have won over legions of fans in a short eight-episode first season. It’s almost impossible to look at the show without being warmly reminded of the sources its writers drew inspiration from. It has…
Netflix’s The Get Down Bets Big On Hip-Hop’s Origins
The last scene plenty of us can remember in a pivotal drama about music came in Cameron Crowe’s 2000 film Almost Famous. Technically its about Cameron Crowe’s start in the music business via working for Rolling Stone but still, it’s one of the few great rock films this century. In…
Adele Episode Exposes NFL’s Threadbare Super Bowl Halftime Plans
The NFL has backed itself into a corner. Last week, word leaked out that Adele was the league’s top choice to perform at halftime of Super Bowl LI, scheduled for Feb. 5 at Houston’s NRG Stadium. It wasn’t remotely true. The “alleged source” from the NFL had been talking to…
Hard-Ass Pitcher Bill “Spaceman” Lee’s Biopic Should Be Benched
Baseball is boring. And I’m saying this as someone who loves and plays the game, as someone who’s watched all of Ken Burns’ Baseball and as someone who agrees with Red Barber that “Baseball is dull only to dull minds” — we’re all gonna be a little dull in a…
Netflix’s The Get Down Makes You Wonder How It Keeps from Going Under
The Bronx is burning in the introductory episodes of The Get Down, Netflix’s new series that presents as urban-cinematic fable the genesis of rap. The cluttered, over-caffeinated 90-minute pilot, directed by creator and executive producer Baz Luhrmann, takes place in the summer of 1977, when a serial killer terrorized New…
Houston Police Officer Faces Intoxicated Manslaughter Charge
Houston police officer James Combs was drunk when he slammed his white Chevrolet Tahoe into an oncoming Corvette last Friday morning, according to the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office. The SUV crushed the coupe, killing the driver, 36-year-old Brian Manring. Now Combs faces an intoxicated manslaughter charge in Fort Bend County,…
More Rain in the Forecast, but the Weekend Should Dry Out…a Little
Thirty-three years ago this week, Hurricane Alicia came ashore on Galveston Island causing billions of dollars in damage and killing 21 people. This week’s rainfall may not be in the same universe with the destructive power of a hurricane, but it is tropical in nature. Moisture is being pulled up…
Houston Press Tacolandia Returns This October — Special Presale Starts Today
Last year’s first Tacolandia event in Houston was a great success—not to mention a whole lot of fun—so we’re doing it again this year. The 2nd Annual Houston Press Tacolandia presented by Taquiza TABASCO sauce is on Saturday, October 22, 2016 from 4 to 7 p.m. at The Water Works…
Three Houston-Area Kids Unintentionally Shot in Less Than a Month
The death of an 11-year-old boy in Houston late last week marked the seventh accidental child shooting in the region, 16th in the state and 161st in the nation, according to a database kept by Everytown For Gun Safety. The organization, however, actually has named this database the #NotAnAccident Index,…
Upcoming: The Blasters, Cass McCombs, Flight of the Conchords, Warpaint, etc.
Note: Events in bold reflect highly recommended shows. 8 1/2 Souvenirs: Sat., August 20, 9 p.m., TBA. Big Top Lounge, 3714 Main, Houston, 713-529-9666. Alan Haynes: Sat., August 27, 9 p.m., $5. The Big Easy Social and Pleasure Club, 5731 Kirby, Houston, 713-523-9999. Alesana: With Oh Sleeper, Famous Last Words,…
How Cap-Crippling Would Jadeveon Clowney’s Contract Have Been Before 2011?
Two years into the Jadeveon Clowney Experience, this is not anywhere close to where we all hoped we’d be. When the Texans used the first overall pick in the 2014 draft on the supposedly generational defensive end (turned outside linebacker, perhaps part of the problem, albeit a small part, but…
This Week in Houston Food Blogs: Hunky Dory’s Dark & Stormy Dessert
This week, bloggers discover a Popsicle version of a whimsical, fruity cocktail, share a gluten-free recipe for a quick-prep pesto sauce and continue to explore new restaurants during Houston Restaurant Weeks. Kim of “Adventures In a New(ish) City” and her pals pick Hunky Dory as one of their Houston Restaurant…
Bowie and Prince Live at Rec Room’s Dead Rockstar Sing-A-Long Club
It’s hard to deny, Rec Room’s nostalgia game is going strong. After a successful opening to their Monday night My So Called Life reboot, founder Stephanie Wittels Wachs is keep the party going with a tribute to a few recently fallen musical idols with Dead Rockstar Sing-A-Long Club, running through September 10. “When we…
Avesta Persian Grill Is a Secret We’re Somewhat Reluctantly Willing to Share
The lamb shank looked like something that belonged in a Fred Flintstone cartoon. The size and shape of a small Mexican papaya with a thick bone protruding from its side, the meaty hunk sat perched atop a generous mound of speckled green baghali polo (basmati rice with dill and fava…
Catch ‘Em All at Station Theater’s Pokemon-Themed Cagematch
For your average Pokemon trainer, catching ‘em all is a full time job. There’s no room in your poke-packed life for a family (they’ll just slow you down), friends (who just don’t “get it”) or least of all, Houston-grown improvised comedy. Despite this, Station Theater might have found the exception. “We’ve done Cagematch before,…
Roosh Williams Says So Long to Houston in Style
Roosh Williams, Lyric Michelle, Doughbeezy, Kyle Hubbard, T2 the Ghetto Hippie & NeKo The Safehouse August 12, 2016 It’s an old and sad story whenever a talented artist checks out of H-Town to pursue new dreams, but at least such sendoffs afford us a pretty incredible going-away party now and…
Kush City: Houston has Become a Major Hub for the Latest Drug of Choice
Sypho Turner is only 56 years old, but when he sits on the trash-strewn pavement below the Southwest Freeway overpass near the Wheeler Metro Station in Midtown, the low light deepens his cracked skin, turns his toothless smile into a black pit and makes his battered face look like a…
Misleading Houston Restaurant Facebook Pages Traced to UH Frat Boys
Last week, readers tipped us off to a glut of Facebook pages for non-existent Houston restaurants that popped up out of nowhere. The fake pages, that ripped content from existing restaurants’ profiles, led some hopeful Houston diners on wild goose chases to places that simply don’t exist. Observant Houston Press…
Frank Ocean Doesn’t Owe Us Anything
Two weeks ago, the greatest travesty in the world centered around what we weren’t getting. Or rather, what someone initially promised and then reneged on. Frank Ocean, the mercurial R&B talent who with one mixtape (2011’s Nostalgia, Ultra) and one album (2012’s Channel Orange) earned a smattering of praise and…
Shows of the Week: Reggae’s Sacred Trickster Alights In Houston
LEE “SCRATCH” PERRY Fitzgerald’s, August 18 A Lee Perry show in such an intimate venue as the Secret Group ought to be a kind of reward for a successful vision quest. As prolific as he is visionary, Perry has had his hands on so much music over the past 60…
Sweltering Heat Gives Way to Rainfall and Potential Flooding
The past two years have been rough on Houstonians when it comes to precipitation. Multiple floods worthy of names like “Tax Day Flood” have drenched us and set records. This came as a shock to people who moved here during the period of prolonged drought that began in 2010. Houston…
Houston Mother Admits to Drowning Kids in Tub, Faces Murder Charges [UPDATED]
A mother has been charged with capital murder after drowning her two young children in a bathtub then hiding their bodies underneath a neighbor’s house. Houston police arrested 31-year-old Sheborah Thomas after she “matter-of-factly” told a neighbor that she had killed her five-year-old daughter Kahana and seven-year-old son Oraylyn, as…
Gwen Stefani Electrifies a Damp Houston Audience
Gwen Stefani, Eve Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion August 14, 2016 Leading up to Sunday night’s Gwen Stefani concert, fans were frustrated that the show may not happen. As storms blew through the Houston area, lightning strikes caused concern of canceling the show, and necessary precautions were taken. At 5:50 p.m.,…
Here’s Who the Astros Need to Sign This Offseason to Boost Woeful Offense
In truth, the Astros falling apart this season should be no surprise. It was foretold during the offseason when the Astros made no real attempt to improve their offense, instead re-signing Colby Rasmus and Evan Gattis to rather inexplicable deals, hoping that, in 2016, they would hit better than they…
Dish of the Week: No Bake Tiramisu
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 sharing a no-bake dessert that’s great all year long: tiramisu. Meaning “pick me up” or “cheer me up” in Italian, tiramisu…
The Houston Man Who Refused to Plead Guilty Does Not Want an Apology
His attorney told him he could be out of jail in ten days if he took the plea deal — but 58-year-old Gilbert Cruz refused, saying he wasn’t going to plead guilty to something he didn’t do. He had just been booked on charges of interfering with the duties of…
This Week in Houston Food Events: A Taste of the Caribbean at SaltAir
Here’s a look at this week’s hottest culinary happenings: All Week Houston Restaurant Weeks Continue The Houston Food Bank’s biggest and most delicious fundraiser continues with an all-star lineup of reasonably priced, multi-course meals. Need help choosing where to dine? We’ve put together a few guides to help you navigate…
NFL Preseason Week 1: Texans 24, 49ers 13 — 4 Winners, 4 Losers
After nearly two weeks of baby slapping each other while wearing jerseys and shorts, save a few padded practices here and there, the Texans finally got a chance to line up across from another NFL team and hit them in the mouth. Quite honestly, the Texans’ 24-13 win over the…
Anything Goes at Houston Fringe Festival
For those who love the performing arts, but feel mainstream tastes often stifle potential genius, the Houston Fringe Festival is for you. Adam Castaneda, festival organizer and head of FrenetiCore, promises a wide variety of displayable talent, including music, dance, theater, performance art, circus performances, poetry and comedy. One of those special talents will…
Chris Stapleton & Hank Williams Jr. Bring On an Outlaw State of Mind
Hank Williams Jr., Chris Stapleton, Wade Bowen Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion August 12, 2016 Arriving to Friday’s sold-out show at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion was no easy task. After a drive that spanned over two hours between the tollway and Houston’s own personal highway to hell known as I-45,…
The 10 Best Grocery Stores in Houston
Proud Houstonians love bragging about this multicultural city and that aspect is just as evident in the grocery stores as it is in the restaurants. Look hard enough and just about any ingredient can be found here. This list of the best grocery stores includes not only the mainstream ones,…
Feds Knew of Workplace Hazards Years Before Raiding Tortilla Plant
While investigating a Houston Heights tortilla factory in 2012 for employing undocumented workers, federal Homeland Security investigators learned of a disturbing story: A confidential informant at the factory witnessed the plant’s owners pay off an employee, Morena Del Carmen, who had lost parts of three fingers on the job, to…
Freelance Photographer Disappears in Trip to Louisiana. Car Found Abandoned. [UPDATED]
Ngoc “Son” Lam, a longtime freelance photographer for the Houston Press has been declared a missing person and Houston police are actively seeking him. According to Donny Varkey, his supervisor at St. Joseph Hospital where Lam worked as a pharmacy technician, Lam has not returned since planning to undertake a…
10 Songs That Can Almost Cure Your Worst Hangover
Written by Kris Kristofferson and most famously performed by Johnny Cash, “Sunday Morning Coming Down” is perhaps the ultimate lament of the horribly hungover. Things are already bleak before the narrator even opens his eyes — “I woke up Sunday morning with no way to hold my head that didn’t…
Billy Bourbon Picks Up the Tempo For ‘Billy Bourbon Rocks’
Billy Bourbon started out life as Bill Kline and has been making music since the age of 18; Bourbon moved down to Texas from Nebraska 10 years ago to pursue his dream of being a full-time professional musician and has been doing it ever since. “Texas country is really what…
Five Iconic Heavy-Metal Mascots, Ranked
Heavy metal is a glorious and cacophonous roar, the musical equivalent of a freight train barreling through the grimmest tunnel of doom and despair before leading fans through to the other side. Great metal bands are like a thunderclap and lightening flash simultaneously overwhelming one’s senses, and it’s no wonder…
Discovery Green Officials Removing Everything Pokemon Go-Related
Once the go-to spot for Pokémon Go players in Houston, Discovery Green will soon become a Poké-wasteland. Amid growing concerns about safety, Discovery Green officials have requested that Niantic – the creator of Pokémon Go – remove everything Pokémon-related from the park’s grounds, Discovery Green President Barry Mandel says. The…
Roosh Williams: The Houston Exit Interview
I’ve had conversations with Roosh Williams dating back to 2011. He was pushing his first album, Common Struggles of a Modern Man, and the single “No Hard Feelings” with Killa Kyleon and Renzo. Then he was a relatively clean shaven, UT-Austin graduate with a bit of an edge to him. He…
Controversial TCEQ Scientist Aims for EPA Panel Seat
Sure, Michael Honeycutt has spent the bulk of his career as head of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s toxicology division railing against anything the federal Environmental Protection Agency proposes, but don’t assume that has soured him on the EPA entirely. It turns out Honeycutt — one of the top…
Upcoming Houston Food Events: Experience Eight Wonders of the World at Hunky Dory
Mark your calendars, because you don’t want to miss these deliciously fun culinary events: All three locations of Three Brothers Bakery, 4036 S. Braeswood, 12393 Kingsride, 4606 Washington Avenue, will be running a “Dunk in Love” promotion throughout the month of August. The bakery will offer guests the option to ‘dunk’ scratch-made baked goods,…
HISD Trustees Call for an Election on a $162 Million Payment to the State
As expected, trustees voted 7-2 (Anna Eastman and Greg Meyers against) Thursday night to spend $1.245 million to pay for the costs associated with renaming eight HISD schools, that had been named after men associated with the Confederacy. Following the vote, the monthly school board meeting was disrupted for a while…
Celebrate the Final Five — But Remember USA Gymnastics Failed Many Others
The U.S. women gymnasts — nicknamed the Final Five — deserve to be celebrated. The team’s performance so far in Rio de Janeiro has been the stuff of legend. After all, the team’s victory margin on Tuesday was the biggest since the USSR’s gold medal performance in 1960. Lots of…
Finally, Summer, a Season Ripe for Sacrifice
Finally, summer! Call it the mind-destroyer, Sol Invictus, the great enervator, or the fiery hand of stifled dreams, but by any name it rages on and we cower in the shadows. Like many of you, I’m only here because at one point in my life I made the grave decision…
The Five Best Things to Do in Houston This Weekend: Meteors, Mummies and Moire
This year’s meteoric light show promises to be extra spectacular because Jupiter’s gravity has pushed the cosmic dust, left behind from Comet Swift-Tuttle, closer to Earth as it burns up in the sky. The stars are on stage, too, with the new Gambrels of the Sky and the classic-but-updated Little…
After Attack Over James Harden Diss, Moses Malone Jr. Sues Nightclub
Don’t talk smack about Houston Rockets guard James Harden on Facebook — or at least that’s one takeaway from a lawsuit filed this week in Harris County. Moses Malone, Jr., son of NBA legend and former Rockets center Moses Malone, has sued the Houston nightclub V Live for negligence after…
Monkeypalooza Brings the Original-Music Game to Galveston
Julian Zamora is the kind of guy you can’t miss even if you tried. A sight to behold, he stands 6’6”. Add the dreadlocks that explode off his head in firework formation, and he’s nearly 7 feet tall. Yet Zamora is a kind, soft-spoken and tender-hearted soul, the kind of…
Nathan Quick Turns Toward the Blues on “The Sound”
For the better part of the last decade, Nathan Quick’s music has been entrenched in the folk genre. Both his 2011 EP Coming Home and 2014’s The Mile were folk albums at heart, with blues and classic rock peppered into the mix for emphasis. But with last year’s City Lights,…
Friday Free For All: Yes, Indeed!, Actual Figures, Green Day
The Friday Free For All relays albums, artists, videos and vibes the Houston Press Music staff has been grooving to over the past week. Houston Whatever Fest has abruptly uprooted itself to the spring – which, organizers were quick to point out last week, is not an April Fool’s joke…
Judge OKs Deal to Weaken Texas Voter ID Law
The Texas Legislature’s sweeping 2011 effort to strengthen the state’s voter ID laws was largely swept off the books Wednesday when a federal judge signed off on amendments to the controversial statute. But advocates who challenged the law in court fear Texas won’t do enough to educate voters about the…
Houston, Harris County Officials Crack Down on Kush at 58 Locations
Announcing yet another lawsuit filed against a sketchy local business selling the dangerous synthetic drug “kush” under the counter, city, county and state officials gathered Thursday to renew calls to end the drug’s epidemic. On Tuesday, the City of Houston and the Texas Attorney General’s Office busted Spice Boutique with…
Larry Cosby Convicted for Murder of Daughter and Her Girlfriend
More than two years after the bodies of Britney Cosby and Crystal Jackson, both 24, were found next to a dumpster behind a Bolivar convenience store, the man accused of murdering the women and dumping their bodies on March 6, 2014 has been convicted. On Wednesday a jury in Galveston…
Time’s Running Out to Get “The Morning After” Brunch Tickets at Presale Prices
The last day to get tickets for “The Morning After: A Houston Press Brunch Event” at presale prices is this Sunday, August 14. Starting on Monday, August 15, both general admission and VIP ticket prices will go up $10. Visit the website now to buy tickets at early-bird prices. The grand…
House of Blues Flips for Riff Raff’s Singular Stylings
Riff Raff House of Blues August 10, 2016 There’s nothing ordinary about a Riff Raff show, just as there’s nothing ordinary about the man named Horst Simco from Copperfield, Texas. The G turned gent turned Neon Icon has been baffling audiences since his debut on MTV in 2009. His appearance…
An Early Take on the 2016 College Football Playoff and Heisman Odds
Twenty-one days from tonight, in exactly three weeks, the college football season kicks off with a Thursday night slate of games. There are only two Top 25 teams in action, #10 Tennessee and #23 Louisville, taking on Appalachian State and Charlotte, respectively. Not exactly a murderer’s row of matchups. And…
Galveston Bay Only Gets a “C” When It Comes to Health
Galveston Bay has seen better days, but it has also seen worse, judging by a health “report card” on the bay issued by the Galveston Bay Foundation and the Houston Advanced Research Center on Wednesday. Despite concerns about pollutants like dioxin, the overall health of the bay got a “C” according…
Pro-Life Winner of Women’s Reproductive Health Grant Draws Ire of Both Sides
“I can’t believe the names I’ve been called today,” said Carol Everett, a longtime pro-lifer and founder of the Heidi Group. It had been a long day for Everett, who was being slammed with criticism on both sides of the aisle after accepting a $1.6 million grant from the Texas Health…
A Look at Sidebar, a Cocktail Bar in The Woodlands
Sidebar, 2 Waterway Square Place, is a hidden gem among the bars that line the Woodlands Waterway. Access is via a grand winding staircase located inside the Westin Hotel. (Current is the downstairs bar at the hotel.) Sidebar’s décor includes a comfortable lounge area and a sleek, elegant bar with…
Should TEA Get Its Own OIG to Investigate HISD? Are Trustees Saying OMG?
Just when the whole chief auditor whistleblower fiasco at the Houston ISD seemed like it couldn’t get any more exciting with so many accusations and counter accusations swirling about that trustees and staff have been busy practicing their duck-and-cover drills, State Senator Paul Bettencourt decided to step into the mess. …
Is a Cat Cafe in Houston a Real Possibility?
Do cats and coffee mix? For some, the idea of a cat café conjures visions of floating hair landing right in their warm beverage. To others, though, a cat café sounds like the perfect way for would-be adopters find their next furry family member—and help overcrowded animal shelters in the…
The Evil Puppet Tyrone and Hand to God at the Alley Theatre
The second act is where I clean up the mess,” says playwright Robert Askins about Hand to God, now on its way to the Alley Theatre. A foul-mouthed evil sock puppet takes over the arm of kid who assembled him, spewing forth lewd and lacivious language. Not exactly what the…
Video Game Endings Don’t Matter
When I was a kid, the ending of a video game mattered. A lot. Even if it was just a generic “thanks for playing,” the ending was your reward for the time you put into beating the game. In fact, let’s pause there. Does anyone even say “beating the game”…
Thousands of Pounds of H-E-B Ground Beef Recalled Because of Possible Metal Contamination
According to a recall notice issued on August 10 by the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, a supplier for H-E-B’s Hill Country Fare brand is recalling 60,350 pounds of ground beef that may be contaminated with pieces of metal. The supplier, Sam Kane Beef Processors, LLC, is based in…
Lifeguard Says Pool Company Is Cheating Employees Out of Wages
Seventeen-year-old Blake wouldn’t necessarily consider his poolside lifeguard job to be a fun-in-the-sun type of summer gig. He’s had to rescue drowning kids whose parents instead yelled at him for pulling them out of the water. He’s been dehydrated. He’s had to stay late putting strong-smelling chemicals in the water…
Houston’s Artificial Head Records Delivers the Total Package
I first discovered Houston record label Artificial Head Records back when I purchased their Knights In Satan’s Service record, which features 12 mostly Houston-area bands doing KISS covers; the album was made available in four different vinyl colors, representing the members of KISS: red (Gene), blue (Ace), green (Peter), and…
My Man Can’t Get It Up. Help!
Dear Willie D: At just 39 years of age, my husband was crushed at work by an earth-moving machine, and temporally lost the use of his legs due to a spinal injury. The machine caused him to have erectile dysfunction, which he’s been struggling with for over four years now…
Come November, Heights Residents Will Have Chance to Nix Alcohol Ban
Come November 9, you might just be able to walk into a corner store and buy beer in the Heights. Houston city council members on Tuesday passed an ordinance calling for a special election to decide whether to amend the historic neighborhood’s century-old dry laws. “We’re pleased it will be on the…
State Bar Tosses Same-Sex Marriage Complaint Against Paxton
In what can only be construed as a brave, well-thought-out, politically uninfluenced decision, the Texas State Bar has decided not to sanction Attorney General Ken “I Got Your Gay Marriage License Right Here, Pal” Paxton for telling county clerks it was OK to ignore a U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing…
Harris County Commissioner Suggests “Some People Enjoy Floods”
Harris County Precinct 3 Commissioner Steve Radack kicked off a Cypress town hall meeting about flooding by digging himself a nice-sized trench. Speaking to a room of hundreds of flood victims last week — who expected to hear solutions about what can be done about the threat of catastrophic flooding…
Flying Saucer Draught Emporium Celebrates 16 Years in Downtown Houston
On Sunday, August 14, Flying Saucer Draught Emporium in downtown Houston is celebrating its sweet sixteenth birthday party. As is appropriate, that means birthday cake (made by Fluff Bake Bar’s Rebecca Masson), ice cream floats (made by Cloud 10 Creamery’s Chris Leung) and, of course, sweet, sweet beer. The special…
A Night With Janis Joplin Comes to the Alley Theatre
Janis Joplin did the dishes and was part of a family that knew she could sing, and was concerned about her safety as much as her success, her brother Michael Joplin says. “She wasn’t a superstar in training,” he recalled recently in a a phone interview. But of course, that’s…
HISD Thinks $1.25 Million Will Cover the Costs of Dumping Confederacy Names
Well the Houston ISD administration has finally revealed its more complete estimate of what the renaming of schools will cost the cash-strapped district: a bit more than $1.25 million. And school board members are expected to approve those costs at their Thursday night meeting. Despite pleas from many – though…
Blaze X Black Is the Alternative Hip-Hop Duo Houston Needs
Dynamic Houston alternative hip-hop/R&B duo Blaze X Black are two best friends who have known each other since third grade. A brotherhood that has seen them through coming of age and some of the most dynamic rap stages in Houston, these men have seen each other through the highs and lows…
