HISD Set To Pick Old White Guy For Next Superintendent?
The Houston Chronicle is reporting that HISD seems to have settled on Terry Grier, of the San Diego school district, to be its next superintendent. They have the sources over there, so we’re inclined to believe it.Earlier this afternoon HISD spokesman Norm Uhl sent out word that the supe pick…
“Prison Sex” and Other Songs Jacko’s Ex-Doctor Doesn’t Want to Hear Right Now
Well, this is a strange and incongruous turn of events. Normally when a celebrity gets pumped full of pills by a dubious “personal physician” and croaks, there are no repercussions and everyone’s free to split up the dead guy’s loot like Christmas came early. Not this time, however: Fox News…
We Lost 500 Cows During Hurricane Rita!! Just Don’t Look Too Closely
Earlier today we had hurricane victims ripping off the feds and the sacred cow of Oprah Winfrey; now we have hurricane victims allegedly ripping off the feds with virtual cows.Six people were indicted today on charges that they told the federal government they had more than 500 cows that were…
Top 5 Foods That Only Grandma Can Make
When we think of our grandmas we might think of homemade meals and love, secret recipes and the good ol’ days. We probably think of pie. But many of our grandparents are immigrants, and our families have unique food traditions. I have a Southern grandma and a Chinese grandma, and…
Bayou Beat: Cougars for a Cause at House of Blues, Mandy Moore Hearts Jandek, Bun B Orders Up Some PB&J, etc.
Want to help fight breast cancer and possibly get pawed by some of Houston’s hottest older ladies? Boy, is this the right weekend for you. Sugar Ray, pimping its new album Music for Cougars, headlines House of Blues’ “Cougars for a Cause” show Saturday night with Austin power-pop heroes Fastball,…
A Bit Of A Slowdown In The Rush To Approve BARC’s Change Agent
City Council did not vote on BARC interim chief Gerry Fusco’s contract because it was not completed in time for the meeting, according to the mayor’s agenda director.”The documents weren’t in,” Marty Stein told Hair Balls. “….In this case, what happened was, because this is kind of a special contract, we…
Houston Music Fight Club, Round 2: Bryan Jackson vs. Jacob Calle, Bun B vs. B L A C K I E, Beau Beasley vs. Justin Nava
In last week’s Houston Music Fight Club, we pitted six of Houston’s brightest-shining musical diamonds against one another in a sort of cruel Internet death match. The only blood drawn was the dark crimson blood of laughter that…yeah, we need to work on our metaphors. Anyhow, we came up with…
Bayou Body Count: Don’t Mess With The Step-Father
They say there’s nothing so powerful as a father’s love. Well, Leroy Lewis, Jr. is making a pretty good case for step-fathers, too. He may even go to prison for trying to prove it. Lewis, 32, is charged with murder for allegedly shooting his step-daughter’s boyfriend in defense of her,…
A Messy Roadhouse Burger in Cypress
In this week’s Café review, we eat burgers at Rockwell Tavern, a roadhouse on Telge Road in Cypress. The dense, moist and slightly sweet custom-baked rolls are the first thing you notice about these burgers. Then the never-been-frozen freshly ground beef grabs your attention. The meat is very juicy, and…
Inside Pearland’s Mystery Mansion
Photos by Katharine ShilcuttIn an up-and-coming neighborhood in Pearland off Highway 288 and Southfork, two nearly identical mansions sit abandoned in adjoining 15 acre lots. The weeds have grown high around the entry gates to one; the other never even had gates built and sits behind a padlocked chain link…
Artist of the Week: D.R.U.M., Who Will Not Be Challenging Moodafaruka to a Texas Death Match
Each Wednesday Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group “Artist of the Week,” bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist that isn’t awful? Email their particulars to introducingliston@gmail.com. D.R.U.M. is arguably the world music band in…
The Five Worst Movies Being Shown On The International Space Station
Maybe this has come out before — the list seems to be a year old — but we noticed today a story in the British paper The Guardian about the list of DVDs NASA has provided to the International Space Station.The actual list is here, released under the Freedom of…
Barbecued Crabs: The Secret Recipe
When barbecued crabs were invented, there were only three ingredients required to make them: blue crabs, hot cooking oil and the now-discontinued Alamo Zestful Seasoning mix. These days, what exactly went in the seasoning mix is unknown. I have been working on my own barbecue crab seasoning recipe lately. Lots…
Rocks Off Exclusive: A Sneak Peek at Tom DeLay’s Dancing With the Stars Dance Card
By now, the news about former Sugar Land Congressman Tom DeLay’s impending appearance on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars has had time to sink in, and the long-term ramifications of this colossal melding of two of our greatest loves (reality television and the suffering of others) are starting to become…
Ripping Off FEMA And Oprah: Not A Good Idea
It’s one thing to defraud FEMA in the wake of a hurricane. It’s another to mess with Oprah.That’s the sad, heavy lesson learned by four people named in indictments unsealed this morning by the U.S. Attorney’s office. They’re charged with, as the feds put it, “wrongfully obtaining rental assistance from…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: The Disturbing Ballad of Bob Woodruff, Part 3
In the first two installments of LOM’s blog about vanished country music performer Bob Woodruff – see them here and here – we learned of his heroin addiction and the help he received in kicking the habit. We also learned how his career, which many thought would be huge, disintegrated…
Five Songs to Send Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez Back to Arlington
Future Hall Of Fame catcher Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez, signed to a quick one-year contract by the dis-Astros at the end of spring training in April, was dealt to the Texas Rangers yesterday for two mid-level minor leaguers. The Rangers are deep into a playoff race (remember those?) and were looking…
Stirred and Shaken: Cava Bistro’s Southern Belle
Alissa, the lovely GM at Cava Bistro (301 Main, 713-223-4068) came up with the idea for the Southern Belle one lazy Sunday afternoon by the pool. See, she and her girlfriends were just chillaxin’, catching some rays, and they needed a poolside thirst-quencher. So our hero combined two great Southern…
Aftermath: We Were Wolves and Satin Hooks, Born to Be Wild at the Mink
It’s been false-starting for a couple of years, but that grunge revival may be right around the corner – if it ever went anywhere in the first place. Beaumont’s We Were Wolves plugged into the Mudhoney machine at the Mink Tuesday night, crafting sludgy sheets of guitar noise to contend…
Pudge Ends His Career As An Astro, Chron Readers Learn Eventually
At noon yesterday, the long rumored and speculated-on demise of the Houston Astros baseball season was officially confirmed. Not so surprisingly, approximately five hours later, the long rumored and speculated on demise of the Houston Chronicle as a news-gathering organization was also confirmed. It was at noon yesterday that the…
A Cafe Bites Nibble
“The ‘W’ stands for Washington, since we’re on Washington Avenue,” says Gene Monteaugudo of his new W Grill (4825 Washington, 713-861-9933). Monteaugudo has worked lots of high-power hospitality-industry jobs, but he’s happy to have his own place now. “I used to leave the house at five every Monday morning and…
Five Songs to Send Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez Back to Arlington
Future Hall Of Fame catcher Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez, signed to a quick one-year contract by the dis-Astros at the end of spring training in April, was dealt to the Texas Rangers yesterday for two mid-level minor leaguers. The Rangers are deep into a playoff race (remember those?) and were looking…
The Latest ACT Scores: Not Much Improvement In Texas
The ACT scores are just out for the 2009 graduating seniors who took the tests as sophomores, juniors or seniors and it is not great news across the land, and certainly not in Texas. As far as biology goes, we’re not exactly wowing the galaxy with our knowledge.And the ethnicity…
MP3 of the Day: Little Joe Washington, Still Tearing Up Boondocks Tuesdays
Amongst all Rocks Off’s other weekly meanderings (the blood bank, liquor store, pawnshop, emergency room…) we figured we would remind you that Little Washington still holds down a residency at Boondocks on Tuesday nights. Since summer 2007, the bluesman has been laying down dirty licks and passing the hat at…
Mollydooker Winemaker Sparky Marquis at Central Market
The Central Market at 3815 Westheimer is hosting a “Meet and Greet With Mollydooker Winemaker” this Thursday, August 20, from 1:30-2:30 p.m. With a name like Mollydooker, how could you not go? And yes, of course, they’re from Australia, which accounts for the name. The person actually answering questions will be…
Who Lied During The Dispute Over How Much The New Rail Lines Would Cost? Maybe No One
We may finally have some answers to the questions that emerged after it was reported that Metro lied about the cost of two proposed light rail corridors. During a Metro meeting in April, Houstonian Paul Magaziner told the board that the projects would cost $1.8 billion. Frank Wilson, Metro’s president,…
No Reservations: Thailand
When Anthony Bourdain and his crew visited Thailand in April, Bangkok was in political upheaval. This week’s episode of No Reservations opened with flickering images of soldiers, protesters and smoke, with Bourdain admitting, “I don’t know what to say about Thailand. I don’t know how to make sense of what…
A Musical Guide to Post-Secession Texas: Houston and “Brazoria”
The final installment of our Five States of Texas project brings it all back home, to the new state of Brazoria, encompassing all of Southeast Texas from the Brazos Valley to Sabine Pass. Patron Saint: Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown. A master of rock and roll, country, Cajun/Creole, blues and jazz, no…
Downtown Friendswood To Repeal Prohibition, Maybe
For the first time since John F. Kennedy was president, it just may be legal to buy yourself a drink in downtown Friendswood without going through the charade of joining a “private club.”The city council last night approved an effort to place on the November ballot a referendum on whether…
Houston, You’re A Cheap Date
Houston may just be the most romantic city in the world — the spectacular sunsets caused by refinery pollution, the thrilling moments dodging hurricanes, the long hours spent chatting on the cell while stuck on 59 — Paris ain’t got nothing on us.Now it turns out that we’re a cheap…
The Belly of the Beast
People swarmed the table full of pork and beans at last night’s long-awaited Pork Belly Throwdown at Catalan like bees on a hive. Dishes such as Vermont maple-glazed Kurobuta pork belly shared space with whole suckling pig heads, their cheeks decimated and tongues greedily cut out by diners eager to…
Never Mind Woodstock, Here’s Hippie Mike Writhing Around at Summer Fest
We had to post this. Video by our own Mark C. Austin…
Sherwood Cryer, Gilley’s Co-Founder and Ornery Cuss, Dies at 83
Sherwood Cryer, who co-founded legendary super-size Pasadena honky-tonk Gilley’s and watched it rocket to worldwide fame in the wake of 1980’s Urban Cowboy before a bitter falling out with his partner Mickey Gilley led to the club’s demise, passed away last Thursday at his Houston-area home. He was 83, and…
Timing Of Vote For BARC’s “Change Agent” Contract Surprises Some, Like Councilmembers
Silly fuckin’ us.We thought that when a Houston City Councilman says something, we’re supposed to take him at his word. But sometimes we forget that this is Houston, and things are done a little differently.At the August 3 Human Services Committee meeting on Gerry Fusco’s BARC contract, Councilman and Committee…
Sherwood Cryer, Gilley’s Co-Founder and Ornery Cuss, Dies at 83
Sherwood Cryer, who co-founded legendary super-size Pasadena honky-tonk Gilley’s and watched it rocket to worldwide fame in the wake of 1980’s Urban Cowboy before a bitter falling out with his partner Mickey Gilley led to the club’s demise, passed away last Thursday at his Houston-area home. He was 83, and…
Nutella® vs. Gianduia vs. Kroger Hazelnut Spread
Nutella, for those who’ve never tasted it, is the “original creamy, chocolaty hazelnut spread.” Popular in Europe (it’s made in Italy), Nutella is mainly eaten at breakfast or for dessert by smearing it on bread or a croissant, or folding into a crepe. “Nutella” is a brand name, but like…
Distant Early Warning: Alice Cooper, BT, Drive-By Truckers, Neko Case, Skinny Puppy, Wanda Jackson, etc.
Alice Cooper: Sun., Oct. 11. Verizon Wireless Theater. Bamboo: Fri., Oct. 2. Arena Theatre. Billy Joe Shaver: Sat., Nov. 28. Dosey Doe Coffee Company. BT: Fri., Sept. 4. Rich’s Houston. Colin Hay: Sat., Oct. 17. Dosey Doe Coffee Company. Dave Seaman: Fri., Nov. 27. Rich’s Houston. Drive-By Truckers: Fri., Oct…
If There’s A Watch List For QB Awards, UH’s Case Keenum’s On It
If the honor is in being nominated, then UH quarterback Case Keenum can just go ahead and shut it down before the season gets started. The junior QB, last season’s Conference USA offensive player of the year, has had his name added to two more postseason watch lists, putting him…
Ask a Rapper: Grammy-Winning Mixtape Messiah Chamillionaire
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. Have something you always wanted to ask…
Where Are We Eating?
Last week proved to be the stumper we were all looking for. The answer? Andrea Ristorante Italiano in Westchase (12513 Westheimer). Will this week’s photo prove easier to guess? Let’s find out. Can you tell where we’re eating this week? Leave your best guess in the comments section below…
Five Reasons Why Michael Vick Should Play For The Houston Texans
Michael Vick, the country’s most famous dog-fighter, has gotten out of prison and is now a Philadephia Eagle.This is sad for a couple of reasons — one, we would have liked to have seen how Eagle fans treated Vick when he came in with another team, and two, he’s not…
Aftermath: Davila 666, Puerto Rican Garage Punk Badasses
It’s been a good while since Aftermath could be seen dancing in front of a band, let alone anywhere in public. Sure, there have been the stray moments at Boondocks where he shook his ass for the last thirty seconds of a Stones song, but that was pretty much it…
Bayou Body Count: Weekend Leftovers, Including River Oaks
During the past few days, Houston-area police and sheriff’s deputies have dealt with an unusually high number of murder-suicides. Sunday nearly capped off the week with another. This one, however, was thankfully less successful and had the added element of attempted patricide. Eugene Hawk, 59, and his 21-year-old son, Raymond…
The Art Guys Are Home on the Range With New DVD
Hot on the heels of their recent marriage to a tree, The Art Guys (Jack Massing and Michael Galbreth) unveiled their new DVD last Thursday at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. The two-DVD set, titled Home on the Range, features video works spanning 1984 – 2008, and the evening-length…
Noodles You Need to Know About
I got a medium pho with steak and brisket at Pho Binh at 10815 Beechnut for lunch the other day. I was coming down with a cold and it worked at least as well as chicken soup. Pho Binh on Beechnut is located in a shopping center. It was the…
True Blood, Episode 8: Lyle Lovett’s Prison Song and Redemption on a Dallas Hotel Roof
Alan Ball was known for his masterful use of music in Six Feet Under. He’s lost none of his touch when it comes to his current HBO series, The South continues to rise again on True Blood, as Episode 2.8, “I Will Rise Up,” features music from a certain Mr…
Five Post-Political Careers As Bad As Appearing On Dancing With The Stars
Most politicians, once their days in government service are over, go on to less public but nonetheless lucrative careers in the private sector. They serve on corporate boards, become presidents of universities, or enjoy a quiet retirement. Sure, they can’t all be Jimmy Carter, parlaying a lengthy political career into…
The Queen And I: The Wiz With My 4-Year-Old Daughter
My daughter Harriet is four and is a huge Wizard of Oz fan, so I thought she would enjoy taking in the Ensemble Theater’s free production of The Wiz at Miller Outdoor Theatre Saturday night. (We skipped the brutal line for covered tickets.) I had heard that showtime was 7…
Bayou Body County: Bloody Weekend In Houston Town
It was around 2:30 a.m. Sunday when Mayra Renteria called the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. Her estranged husband, Tomas Carreon, had just walked into her parents home on the 19400 block of Tree Orchard Drive, where Renteria was staying, and began shooting. He killed her mother, Marina Schaerer, 42, father,…
Texas Traveler: Cliff House in Stamford
The Cliff House is famous for its chicken-fried steak, but it also serves a pan-fried steak with onions and green peppers, something you don’t see just anywhere. The restaurant is located just off the Haskell Highway. The building is weirdly constructed — it was originally a mid-century modern motel. Wednesday…
MP3 of the Day: “Claudette,” Still a Better Song Than a Storm
It’s been so quiet in the tropics lately that even Ike-scarred Houstonians were able to forget that it’s hurricane season – until this weekend, that is, when not one but three disturbances showed up “down there.” (Better than some other things showing up “down there,” Rocks Off can tell you…
Rice Getting Piece Of Art That It Declares Will Be A Masterpiece
Rice University announced today that, as the headline on the release put it, a “Multi-Million Dollar Gift Will Bring Turrell Masterpiece To Rice.”A donation from alum Suzanne Deal Booth has allowed the school to commission a large work by noted artist James Turrell that will be built once plans are…
Kemah Still Being Pretty Damn Casual About Its Future
Kemah is at a crossroads where some residents want to keep the city an eclectic, fishing-village-type place, and others want to turn the town into a mini South Beach, with high-rise condos lined up along the shore. That’s what Robin Collins, a city councilwoman, told us at the city’s second…
One Night Only! Pork Belly Madness at Catalan!
Monday, Monday, Monday! The battle to beat all battles will be held tonight at Catalan featuring contenders from across the city as they compete to claim the prize of Houston’s best pork belly. The third in a series of popular “throwdown” events organized by Jenny Wang of the Houston Chowhounds, tonight’s…
Lone Star Scorecard: How Accurate are Your Favorite Songs About Texas?
Many songs about Texas are written by residents wishing to celebrate some part of their beloved Lone Star State. Others come from non-Texans who are unable to resist the je ne sais quoi of the place that produced both Walter Cronkite and Karl Rove. One thing that many of them have…
Eight-Liner King Enters Guilty Plea
A major operator of the 8-liner machines that are so popular (and illegal) around here and the rest of Texas has entered a guilty plea that will cost him over $1 million, state attorney general Greg Abbott announced today.Gordon Graves, the 72-year-old founder of Aces Wired, entered the plea in…
Tom DeLay to Debut the “Bitch Slap” on Dancing With the Stars Next Month
News is leaking out of Hollywood that former U.S. House Majority Leader and mugshot model Tom DeLay will be part of the cast of next season’s ABC hoofer ratings smash Dancing With the Stars. What hasn’t come out yet is DeLay’s plans to debut a new dance called the “Bitch…
Conservatives Defend Whole Foods While Liberals Boycott
Irate progressives are calling for a boycott of Whole Foods after the health food store chain’s founder John Mackey came out against Obama’s efforts at reforming health care in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece last week. After stating his fears about socialized medicine, Mackey made a few suggestions of…
Tom DeLay Goes Dancing With The Stars
It’s nice to know that the dignified, studious, classy Tom DeLay we all knew and loved in the Congress is alive and well…and appearing on Dancing with the Stars.Because that’s what serious people do.ABC announced today that the former King of Sugar Land will be a contestant along with such…
Turning the Screw: Arrest In Trae Day Shootings, More Michael Jackson Exploitation, Who’s Getting Slappy and Who’s Getting Stabby
Welcome back to Turning the Screw, Rocks Off’s weekly rap post. It probably won’t rhyme, at least most of the time. E-mail tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Thanks, homies. Single of the Week: Paul Wall feat. Baby Bash, “Lemon Drop.” Wire To Wire This weekend, 19-year-old Albert Walker “A-Walk” Mondane, one of…
Nobody Beats The Wiz, When It Comes To Lining Up
Hair Balls decided to take in the free showing of The Wiz at Miller Outdoor Theatre this weekend. The show has been in an extended run at the Ensemble Theatre (not for free) but, for two nights only, transferred over to the city’s outdoor and free stage for the vox…
Aftermath: Blue October and Its Mystifying Cult at Verizon Wireless Theater
Friday’s sold-out Blue October show at Verizon left Aftermath wondering one of the most vexing, troublesome things any reviewer can: “What is it about this band,” the voice in our head kept asking over and over again like a car alarm, sometimes even threatening to drown out the band itself,…
Late Night Scene: CoCo’s Crepes & Coffee
It’s not exactly cool outside, even at close to midnight, but it’s even warmer inside CoCo’s Crepes and Coffee (218-A Gray St., 713-521-0700). The heat emanates off the pastry display cases and lingers in the air inside the vaguely Italian-inspired pocket-sized shop. Luckily most of the tables and most of…
Miss Pop Rocks Special Monday Edition: Mad Men is Back!
OMG, where where where can I find a stewardess outfit like the one on Mad Men’s premiere episode last night? And the hat? So cute.Sigh…my favorite show is back with a vengeance, thank the fates. Retro overload is at work as the Machiavellian machinations of Sterling Cooper’s ad agency circa…
Aftermath: Passengers’ Robotic Drug-Rock Drone at the Mink
Seeing that Aftermath is childless (we hope), it’s a rare occasion for us to see something be birthed before our very eyes. Sure, we have probably unwittingly been around for some conceptions, but never a full-on screaming mama genesis like we saw and heard Friday night at the Mink…
Oh, The Changes I’d Make To The Astros
The Astros Fan Blogger at Chron.com had an interesting post late last week.The gist of the post was that Drayton McLane had just fired Ed Wade and that he’d made the reader the general manager, then he wanted to know the first five things one would do as the general…
What Do Your iPhone Apps Say About You?
When you’re an iPhone owner, not only are you better than everyone else (obvs), but the lifeblood of your technological slice of gadget heaven is your applications, or “apps,” if you’re nasty. An integral part of your holy iPhone identity really shines through the apps you choose to rely on…
Aftermath: The Jonas Brothers Put the Art In Wal-Mart at Toyota Center
The robot eggs have hatched and out come three marionettes, made entirely out of cheese, slathered in the holy sweat of Jerry Falwell, packaged with a bow, and placed in the clearance aisle of the toy store at a mall for starving rats. The price? Your soul. Here come the…
Snackshot: Summer Salad
This week’s Snackshot comes to us courtesy of Erika Ray: From the photographer’s description: “Peach tomato salad.”…
Texas Traveler: Waterin’ Holes
School starts soon and Labor Day will eventually herald the unofficial end of summer. But as Houstonians know, the sweaty season lasts well into fall around here. There’s still time to dip your toe in a stream or two, so Texas Traveler presents to you five unusual waterin’ holes. Don’t…
Bonus MP3 of the Day: Whiskey Boat & the Supersuckers Do Neil Young’s “Powderfinger”
“Powderfinger” has always been one of Rocks Off’s favorite Neil Young songs, up there with “Cowgirl In the Sand” and “Rockin’ In the Free World.” You know things are headed for trouble from the first line – “Look out mama, there’s a white boat comin’ up the river” – as…
A Musical Guide to Post-Secession Texas: “Rio Grande”
In the fourth in our continuing series on the music of the five states of Texas, we examine the fictional state of Rio Grande, comprising San Antonio and Corpus Christi, South and West Texas, and the Valley. See Part 1 (“Palo Duro”) here, Part 2 (“Trinity”) here and Part 3…
Last Call For Art: Sherlock Holmes, Flappers & Edgy Art
It’s your last chance to get your Sherlock Homes fix (a seven-percent solution, naturally) as the Alley Theatre’s Summer Chills production of Sherlock Holmes and the Crucifer of Blood comes to a close.The Summer Chills shows are always entertaining, and Todd Waite pretty much owns the Holmes roles on the…
Can You Tell the Difference Between Blue October Lyrics and Some Pretty Purple Poetry?
Everyone has their own way of coping when life isn’t going the way they’d like. Some people pray, some people play golf, some people beat their kids. Rocks Off generally tends to turn up a Rolling Stones album real loud or seek comfort in the cozy confines of a bottle…
This Week In Deliciousness
Welcome back to Eating Our Words’ weekly roundup, where we use meat loaf as the bread in our sandwiches. Hey, if we’re not supposed to do that, they never should have started calling it a “loaf”. This week got off to an irritable start with J.C. Reid posing the question:…
Another City, Another Dispute Over Sexism And Racism
After a summer of what seemed like a million racist and sexist offerings from the Houston Fire Department, it started to feel like our city had to have the worst department around. But that changed earlier this month when Channel 13 reported some “explosive new allegations” about racism and sexism,…
Friday Night Noise: Stabbed! In! The! Back!
Dear cherished FNN party people, Is there a Houston-area noise act that we haven’t written about that you go apeshit over? Are you a Houston-area noise artist who would like to featured here? Then we really, really need you to email FNN links to your non-MySpace/Facebook Web site where we…
Houston 101: Where Howard Hughes Learned To Be Kinky And Germophobic
Some Houstonians — mostly University of St. Thomas grads — know that Howard Hughes lived for a while as a teen at 3921 Yoakum, now a campus building called the Hughes House. It’s home to the theology and archeology departments.But before that Hughes and his family lived in the Beaconsfield…
Defending the Jonas Brothers: You Got a Problem With That?
We have spent days wrestling throw pillows and chain-smoking cigarettes in the sun, sweatily contemplating why it is that we can’t hate the Jonas Brothers. We can honestly say this isn’t some crass devil’s advocate playing rock journalist devilry. We can’t find a reasonable flaw in the wares they are…
Recipes: Fred’s Fairly Famous Concoctions Cooking Sauce
Culinary tinkerer Fred Konig’s Sixth Generation Foods is headquartered in Montgomery, Texas. Fred has been making his “fairly famous” cooking sauce for 45 years according to the company website. The “Our Story” page tell us that Fred was one of those guys who gave away bottles of cooking sauce at…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: Oscar-Nominated Songwriter Gwil Owen and Toni Price at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
Toni Price hasn’t played in these parts much since her move from Austin to California a couple of years ago. But for Lonesome, Onry and Mean, her show tonight is made all the more interesting by the inclusion of Nashville songwriter Gwil Owen. Owen isn’t a household word, but the…
For Woodstock: The Five Lamest Hippies In The Movies
Forty years ago this weekend, hundreds of thousands of unkempt youngsters descended on the town of Bethel, NY for an advertised “three days of peace and music.” Woodstock has since become etched into our country’s history, not just for symbolizing the 1960s, but also for unleashing the continuing threat to…
MP3 of the Day: Passengers’ Leather-Scented Death Dirges
Somewhere down our dark and booze-addled alley lies the sound of Passengers. Rising from the pieces of mod-punks Teenage Kicks, comes copious amounts of grimy leather-scented organ-infused Krautrock. This is the kind of music that the Brian Jonestown Massacre was making in the mid-’90s before Anton Newcombe turned into a…
The Times Fashion Writer Tries To Master The Art Of Apologizing
On Wednesday we wrote about a New York Times review of the new JC Penney store in Manhattan, in which writer Cintra Wilson spent much of the piece articulating the lack of class manifest in the pudgy, butterball-esque people who a) don’t live in Manhattan and b) shop at JC…
Openings and Closings
Was last week’s announcement that Galleria-area Tex-Mex joint Maggie Rita’s (2800 Sage) had closed perhaps a bit hasty? It seems so, since the owners contacted our friends at B4-U-Eat to let them know that they were indeed still open, but had been closed for a few weeks to repair damages…
Dirty, Dirty Hippies Were the Least Odious of Woodstock’s Many Shameful Legacies
This weekend marks the 40th anniversary of Woodstock, as if you needed us to remind you. Documentaries, feature films, tours and boxed CD sets have been rolling out all summer in order to wring still more cash from the corpses of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and – to a lesser…
Third Time’s The Charm For Closing Down The Gulf Freeway
The first time TxDot tried to shut down the Gulf Freeway to Galveston for repairs, island officials howled about how it would affect business. TxDOT backed down and rescheduled.The second proposal, though, was just as bad: It was the weekend that Galvestonians are holding a bunch of events to commemorate…
Long-Anticipated BARC Report Is Out
MCV Consulting has released its 2009 Multi-Stakeholder Initiative report on BARC, which states — hold your breath — “that the number one priority must be the city instating strong, competent leadership of BARC that is mandated, empowered and held accountable by the city to solve the serious operational and cultural…
Social Distortion: Twitter Is Your Friend for the Weekend
In a sprawling metropolis like Houston, how the hell do you decide what to do on the weekends? Sure, you could subscribe to the latest newsletter for every single entertainment venue that mildly interests you in the region. ‘Cause that totally worked in 2002. So what if it’s a big…
Bartender Rawad Semaan of The Grove
To see Rawad Semaan behind the bar or patrolling the floor at The Grove (1611 Lamar St., 713-337-7321) with his impeccable suit and easy smile, you’d think he’s never done anything else. But in reality his success — Beverage Director at one of the city’s hottest new restaurants before the…
Things to Do This Weekend If You’re (Almost) Broke
Friday The freaky folk band everyone’s talking about, listenlisten, helps Block 7 Wine Co. (720 Shepherd) celebrate its grand opening this evening with Robert Ellis. Festivities continue Saturday with Runaway Sun (9 p.m.) and Sunday with Kenneth Scott (8 p.m.). No cover. The adorable Cop Warmth headlines a seizure-inducing bill…
Five Spot: The Proper Way to Phrase a Cop-Killing Song
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. How much does this suck: Antavio Johnson, some no-name rapper from a place that…
25 Key Things To Watch For In The Texans’ Pre-Season Opener
With the Houston Texans kicking off pre-season play tomorrow night, I thought I would throw out a list of 25 things to watch or listen for during the game.1. Does Matt Schaub make it through two series of plays without any type of injury?2. What kind of stupid catchphrase is…
BloggingFAIL, Right Here In Houston
Paul Kennedy is a DWI lawyer in Houston with a blog called The Defense Rests.Let’s check some recent highlights!!Friday, August 7: Remember to Think Before You Post Online. “In a talk at the ABA’s Annual Meeting [Judge Susan Criss] reminded the attorneys in the room that what you put up…
A Video Tour of the Blue Bell Creamery
So where would you rather be on a hot day in August than the Blue Bell Ice Cream Factory in Brenham? Tours are $3 for adults and $2 for kids and seniors, weekdays only. Better get there early in the morning to sign up, the tour is very popular this…
That Money That Was Supposed To Help Broadway Boulevard — Is It Helping Anywhere Else?
A couple weeks ago, we wrote about the hyped program to fix apartments on Broadway that didn’t fix any apartments on Broadway. According to Richard Celli, director of the city’s Housing and Community Development Department, the $35 million was used in other parts of the city to rehab deteriorating apartments,…
Gyro Sandwich at Al’s Quick Stop
Al’s Quick Stop is a nondescript convenience store on a nondescript stretch of Waugh Drive in a nondescript area of Montrose. There’s not even a sign — Hurricane Ike blew that away last September and it has yet to be replaced. When I describe it to people, I always say…
One Of The Pilots Continental Is Suing Says He Saved One Of their Planes From Crashing
Remember those Continental pilots who were fired and sued by their airline for allegedly arranging “sham” divorces in order to get their mitts on fat pensions a whole lot earlier than Continental’s policy allows?Well, it turns out one of those former pilots was a bona-fide hero. Or at least that’s…
A Musical Guide to Post-Secession Texas: “New Texas”
In the third in our continuing series on the music of the five states of Texas, we examine the fictional state of New Texas, comprising Austin and the Hill Country. See Part 1 here and Part 2 here. New Texas Capital: Austin Patron Saint: Willie Nelson Lesser Icons: Roky Erickson/Thirteenth…
Food Fight: Battle Egg Roll
Despite the fact that so many of the Chinese dishes we as Americans consume aren’t really Chinese — things like chow mein, General Tso’s chicken and chop suey are almost more American than apple pie — the egg roll has actual roots in Chinese cuisine and, throughout the years, has managed…
Death Of A Ladies’ Man: R.I.P., Deano
The Animal God giveth, and the Animal God taketh away.Not long after the birth of the World’s Cutest Giraffe, an old soul has left the Houston Zoo: Deano, a 26-year-old sea lion who was dedicated to entertaining kids and lovin’ the ladies.”Deano was such a charmer. We are missing him…
ExxonMobil Fined $600,000; We Think They Can Come Up With It
Let’s be honest.There aren’t a lot of “bad days” for a global petrochemical company that made a record $45.2 billion profit last year, so we’ll just say ExxonMobil had a less than stellar day on Wednesday when state regulators penalized it more than $600,000 for environmental crimes.ExxonMobil’s oil refinery and…
Khun Kay Thai Café’s Summer Lettuce Wrap Recipe
When Supatra Yooto and Kay Soodjai opened the Golden room in 1982, they originally had a mostly Chinese menu. The Thai items increased as the cuisine gained popularity in Houston. When I first visited the restaurant some 20 years later, I had a whole red snapper and heard Soodjai say…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: Delbert McClinton Should Go Honky-Tonkin’ More Often
LOM has been listening to Delbert McClinton’s new album Acquired Taste (New West), which hits stores next Tuesday, quite a bit lately. We’ve always been a fan of Delbert’s and consider him to be one of the leading proponents of what we consider Texas music. Much like Doug Sahm, the Fort…
From Black Prison To New Branch of The Houston Museum of Natural Science
The Houston Museum of Natural Science is opening a new branch in Fort Bend County; the 43,000-square-foot HMNS at Sugar Land will open in October in a “historic prison building,” according to the museum’s official announcement.The new facility sounds nice — four permanent exhibits mirroring the most popular ones at…
An Ice Cream, An Espresso and A Hookah
While researching this week’s ice cream feature, I went looking for Trentino Gelato’s dulce de leche — it’s an Argentine-style caramel flavor gelato with big hunks of melted chocolate all through it. I called two of Trentino’s biggest distributors, Cricket Creamery and Coffee Groundz, but neither one had that flavor…
Les Paul Is Shredding Axes With Jesus and GG Allin Now (Wait, That Can’t Be Right…)
Thanks to Mr. Jesse Dayton for showing us this clip Les Paul, the musician who literally created the definitive sound of rock ‘n roll with his slew of equipment inventions, has passed away at the rockin’ age of 94. Seriously if you make it that far after spending your life…
Get Ready, Houston: You’re Gonna Have Two Solid Weeks Of Taylor Hicks
Good news came out today for fans of Taylor Hicks and Grease — they no longer will have to pick certain Houston shows to be sure of seeing the former American Idol winner as the Teen Angel. Originally, Hicks was to only appear in some shows during the two-week run…
An Interview With BARC’s Change Agent
BARC could install a 3,000-square-foot building to house cats within a month, interim chief Gerry Fusco and Health and Human Services Spokeswoman Kathy Barton told Hair Balls Wednesday. It was a bit of welcome concrete information, something that’s been scarce since Fusco was brought on board two weeks ago. During…
MP3 of the Day: Hell City Kings’ Violent, Grimy “Never Let Go”
Most descriptions of the Hell City Kings involve cocaine, whiskey and dirty girls, with good reason. Live and on record, the local quintet sounds like every single vice rolled into one greasy rock and roll casserole – like falling down the stairs at Rudyard’s after losing a switchblade fight with…
Lingering Over Lunch at Rioja
Fine dining establishments are suffering in these days of the downturn. But as we’ve mentioned many a time before, the best restaurants in the city have some of the choicest lunch specials. Bistro Don Camillo’s business lunch, an appetizer, entrée and dessert for $18.95 is quite a deal and so…
A Congressman’s Son, A Special-Needs School, And A Lawsuit
It was November 2007, and Carrie Spitler, a teacher for the Tuttle special-needs program at Houston’s Briarwood School, was with her class on a field trip when suddenly a 17-year-old student, 5-foot-10, 170 pounds, struck Spitler in the head with a rock. The student then began beating her in the…
The H-Town Countdown, No. 24: Pimp C’s Post-Prison Pimpalation
Roughly 84,000 rap albums have been released in Houston since 1989. We’re counting down the 25 best of all time every Thursday. Got a problem with the list? Shove it. Just kidding. Friendship. Email it to sheaserrano@gmail.com. Pimp C Pimpalation Asylum, 2006 As fun as it is for us music…
The Astros: Where Pitching Careers Go To Die
I don’t know what Cecil Cooper has against pitchers, but it’s really beginning to harm the team. The Astros put Wesley Wright on the disabled list yesterday. Chris Sampson, who recently came off of the DL, is pitching as if he’s still injured, and he and Cooper had a closed-door…
Dueling Tongs: 99¢ Blue Crab Free-For-All Viet Hoa supermarket
Viet Hoa supermarket is the place to get live blue crabs lately. I thought the 99-cents-a-pound price was a limited time special, but regulars tell me blue crab has been 99 cents/pound at Viet Hoa for awhile now. The thing is, when you walk up to the crab counter, most…
Cutout Bin: Really (Really) Bad Beach-Movie Soundtracks
To celebrate the end of summer (hopefully soon), Cutout Bin brings you a double shot of crappy movie soundtracks from crappy “beach” movies that no one has ever heard of. Enjoy! Various Artists, Beach Balls Original Soundtrack Phoenix Records (“A division of Metal Blade,” lol), 1988 BONUS: the above clip…
Magazine Actually Claims Harris County Can Govern Itself
Reporter John Mecklin worked a long time in Houston for the old Post; he also served as an editor at the SF Weekly, the San Francisco paper in our very own Village Voice Media chain.He’s now editor at a magazine called Miller-McCune, a publication started by a Southern California philanthropist;…
David Duke Is Mad At Us; We Try To Muddle Through Life Anyway
It’s a red-letter day in our journalistic career. For the first time in our career, we are being called out in print by a former presidential candidate.Under the headline “The Eternal Life of a Lie,” the would-be president and former state representative begins thusly: Sometimes when I read allegations and…
Chef Chat: Sara Brook of Dessert Gallery Bakery and Café
Meyerland native Chef Sara Brook oversees the mini-empire known as the Dessert Gallery Bakery and Café, with three Houston-area locations. An entrepreneurial spirit, Brook previously owned a bakery, The Executive Sweet, and a chocolate sauce company, The Great Chocolate Cover Up, and hopes to expand her current franchise nation-wide. What…
Maybe Miley Would Be Better Off Dead Like Selena, Kurt and These Others…
In case you missed it – and if you value your immortal soul, we’re sure you did – Hannah Montana star/future tell-all memoir author Miley Cyrus unveiled a newer, more “mature” look last weekend at the only venue appropriate for such things: the Teen Choice Awards. Nothing says “successful transition…
We Want To See Your Flesh & Ink: A Call for Entries
It’s that time of year again: The 2009 Best of Houston edition is right around the corner, and you should be busily casting your votes for Houston’s best restaurants, services, public personas and even Houston’s best tattoo parlor. But in the meantime, we’ll be busy judging you too. We want…
South Asian Carnival
Imagine heading to an American festival in South Asia and finding out that Zac Efron, Brad Pitt and Beyonce were going to be there. Now you have a sense of what it will be like for die-hard Bollywood fans who attend this weekend’s South Asian Carnival, where superstars Saif Ali…
The Wiz
Audiences lined up to buy tickets for The Wiz during the show’s extended run at The Ensemble Theatre this summer. (In fact, Wiz is the Ensemble’s only show that has ever sold out before its opening.) Lucky you, you can see the show today for free at Miller Outdoor Theatre…
10 x 10
If you love the idea of attending stage plays but have a serious problem paying attention to anything over ten minutes long (blame the blasted Internet!), Scriptwriters/Houston has just the evening for you: The 19th installment of 10 x 10, ten ten-minute plays by local authors presented by the actors…
Violet
The central character of Violet has seen a whole lot of pain in her life. When she was just a girl back in the North Carolina mountains, her father accidentally hacked her in the face with his ax. Since then, very few people have looked past the scars to see…
Houston Wellness Association’s Mayoral Candidate Forum
For today’s Houston Wellness Association’s Mayoral Candidate Forum, four candidates – Peter Brown, Annise Parker, Gene Locke and Lieutenant Colonel Roy Morales – come together to discuss ways to get Houstonians healthy. The agenda includes an informal meet-and-greet followed by presentations from each of the hopefuls. 7:30 to 10 a.m…
Where is the Avant-Garde Cinema Today?
At Where is the Avant-Garde Cinema Today?, Michael Sicinski will tell you exactly where: on the Internet. “I pull up on YouTube [illegally uploaded] works by Michael Snow, Ernie Gehreand…every time you find a clip, it gives you ten-plus other related things,” says the writer/lecturer for today’s Aurora Picture Show…
David Eagleman
David Eagleman could have stopped proving his prodigious intelligence after graduating with a literature degree from Rice. But, nooo – he then had to go on to get a freaking PhD in neuroscience, and then start his own neuroscience lab. After studying brains all day – get this – he…
Artful Thursday: The Art Guys present Home on the Range
See the greatest hits of the greatest hits at Artful Thursday: The Art Guys present Home on the Range. Houston’s favorite art duo will preview snippets from two DVDs’ worth of its performance art history in a fan-friendly, Q&A format. Michael Galbreth and Jack Massing (said Art Guys) will screen…
Z
When Costa-Gavras’s visceral, muscular political thriller Z opened in the U.S. in December 1969, Americans had been through Nixon’s inauguration, rampaging radicals of the Weather Underground, gay Stonewall riots, men landing on the moon, the Charles Manson murders, Woodstock and the TV premiere of The Brady Bunch. Film audiences were…
Linwood Barclay: Fear the Worst
Tim Blake was having an ordinary day when his daughter disappeared in Linwood Barclay’s novel Fear the Worst. He made her breakfast and she went off to work. At least that’s what he thought. When she didn’t come home, Tim went looking for her. The hotel where she worked was…
Theatre Under the Stars: The Color Purple
When Alice Walker published The Color Purple in 1982, she could hardly have imagined that it would become a Broadway musical of all things. But as we in America know, all things are possible if you believe in Oprah, the woman who helped steer the Pulitzer Prize-winning book into its…
John Pipkin
Henry David Thoreau of Walden Pond fame once set fire to woods surrounding the pond, burning down 300 acres. It was an accident, and one that changed Thoreau’s outlook forever. Now John Pipkin has written a book, Woodsburner: A Novel, based on the incident. The story follows a few characters…
Terra Cotta Warriors VIP Party
See the warriors who stand on eternal guard, ready to protect their emperor Qin Shi Huang, and do a little schmoozing with the city’s movers and shakers at today’s Terra Cotta Warriors VIP Party. Those lucky enough to attend will get one-on-one time with the museum’s curators, a behind-the-scenes tour…
“The Sultans of Science”
The greatest achievements of history’s pioneering Muslim thinkers included advancements in medicine, math and engineering. The greatest achievement of The Sultans of Science, which covers 1,000 years of exploration and innovation in the Islamic world, is letting visitors actually interact with that formidable history. The expansive traveling exhibit, which is…
Menil Summer Movies In The Park: High Ho Silver
The Menil Collection and Aurora Picture Show have joined forces to present a series of cowboy flicks. Last time it was High Noon; this week it’s High Ho Silver, a hodgepodge of excerpts from television classics including The Lone Ranger, The Roy Rogers Show and Bonanza. 8 p.m. Menil Park,…
Three Nights of Movie Musicals
Join Eliza (Audrey Hepburn) as she learns how to properly enunciate the King’s English, as taught by Professor Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison) in George Cukor’s static adaptation of the famous, frolicsome Lerner and Loewe musical My Fair Lady (1964). Learn to play a trumpet or glockenspiel from tone-deaf con man…
Urban Fiction Book ClubUrban Fiction Book Club: ReShonda Tate Billingsley
Shhhh! Houston has a secret, and it’s novelist ReShonda Tate Billingsley. The former journalist stepped away from the news and became embroiled in the lives of her steamy, sexy fictional characters, including Nina, a Texas Lottery winner who finds out that her divorce isn’t quite final, and she just might…
“Pieced Together”
After representing Texas on a cross-country tour, the “Pieced Together” graffiti art exhibit will celebrate the end of its trek at Aerosol Warfare Gallery. The show, which spotlights artists from across the state, opened some eyes in graffiti epicenters like New York and L.A. “People don’t ever look at Texas…
Family Business
As Tetro, Francis Ford Coppola’s baroque genealogical melodrama, reaches its appropriately hysterical denouement, Vincent Gallo fixes his pale gaze on young co-star Alden Ehrenreich and reassures him that “it’s going to be okay — we’re a family.” Gallo’s warmth is not altogether convincing, but for writer-director Coppola, Tetro is a…
Kata Robata
Vietnamese restaurant Hue recently reincarnated as the Japanese Kata Robata (3600 Kirby, 713-526-8858). Dish asked Yun Cheng, who also brought us Azuma and Soma sushi spots, what happened. “The construction on Kirby really hurt us,” Yun said. “Plus, Jenny Do, our chef, decided to go back to New York, where she…
Trying to feed the homeless? Not so fast! Meanwhile, METRO blows $80K congratulating itself.
Spaced City Our Own Professor Gates Incident In Houston, it features the homeless By Mike Giglio It is not against the law to feed the homeless. Nor does this require a permit. Deputy T. McGilbray of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office was apparently unaware of this during a recent patrol,…
Capsule Stage Reviews: Last Easter, Sherlock Holmes and the Crucifer of Blood, Steel Magnolias, The Tamarie Cooper Show: Journey to the Center of My Brain (in 3-D)
Last Easter Bad English accents swirl through Bryony Lavery’s confessional drama presented by Mildred’s Umbrella Theater Company, but that’s the least of the problems. Although the last half of the first act is set at Lourdes, the French town made famous by the sightings of St. Bernadette and the healing…
Readers loved the tale of José & Magdalena…
The Tale of José and Magdalena Powerful: Thank you for the lovely story of José and Magdalena; what amazing humans those two are [“Love in the Time of Leprosy,” by John Nova Lomax, July 30]. It was wonderful to read such a positive, powerful and uplifting story amongst the drivel…
Language and Carlos Slim Helú
Dear Readers, We begin, as we do each week, with cojones, although the huevos in question deal with my column a couple of semanas ago on why gabachos prefer the former term for testicles as opposed to the latter. I gave a rough etymology of the two (cojones comes from…
The Young and the Restless
During a tour of the States earlier this year, the four guys and three gals that comprise Cardiff, Wales, outfit Los Campesinos! absorbed some of the more off-the-wall American delights. “We’ve seen pickled pig’s feet in a truck stop in Florida,” says vocalist Gareth Campesinos!. (All members share that last…
Blue October
Although Blue October began playing around Houston almost 14 years ago, it wasn’t until 2003’s “Calling You” that audiences outside Texas really began to catch on. Then 2006’s Foiled album single-handedly launched the quintet to its current alt-rock A-list status courtesy of singles “Hate Me” and “Into the Ocean,” two…
Coming of Age
They said it couldn’t be done, that no one in Houston would dream of spending two days in the punishing August heat at an outdoor music festival. Rightfully (somewhat), the Bayou City has acquired a reputation where indie-minded bands like Explosions in the Sky and Of Montreal went to die…
listenlisten
About two weeks ago, local indie-folk quartet listenlisten made the up-and-comer “Hype Monitor” section of www.rollingstone.com — the first time a local band landed a notice in a major music publication since Spin reviewed the Fatal Flying Guilloteens’ Quantum Fucking a couple years back. The Hype Monitor thinks listenlisten’s debut…
Galactic Cowboys
Call it a coincidence, but as young local groups like Something Fierce, the Wild Moccasins, Three Fantastic and listenlisten (see elsewhere this issue) have begun attracting attention well beyond the Beltway, a breakout band from the not-so-distant past is reuniting. Briefly. Like kindred Houston spirits King’s X, the Galactic Cowboys’…
Billy Joe Shaver
If you dug New York Times writer Thomas Friedman’s recent column about 59 being the new 30, you’ll probably want to come out to Billy Joe Shaver’s birthday party. It’s official: Friday, the grandfather of the Outlaw Movement, songwriter of choice for Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, pal of choice…
Fear
The mere sound of Fear lead singer/guitarist Lee Ving’s howl makes us long for the days when Darby Crash puking on the floor at a basement show would be called groundbreaking. The beer-tastic Fear was founded in 1977 by Ving, who had already been a rock veteran for over a…
Cheap Trick, Def Leppard, Poison
With big hooks, roaring guitars and coy humor, Cheap Trick were America’s answer to AC/DC, a catchy, hard-rocking act boasting arena-size heft. They crashed Big Star into Thin Lizzy, producing three end-of-the-’70s albums — Cheap Trick, In Color and Heaven Tonight — that dwarfed their contemporaries’ output, though it took…
Mos Def
It’s very likely there are Houstonians who are pleased as punch (please forgive us for using that expression) that Mos Def is coming back to Houston for another show. Some of you may remember the show he did at the Arena Theatre in April, where he, Bilal, Ledisi and Mint…
The Scoop
A few years ago, on a hot summer day, I took my friends John and Jan Bebout for their first visit to Hank’s Ice Cream on South Main. Jan is trim and extremely fit, and also a dainty eater. We’d just had a large dinner of barbecued crabs. Jan surprised…
Divide and Conquer
The aliens have been with us for 20 years already at the start of South African director Neill Blomkamp’s fast and furiously inventive District 9, their huddled masses long ago extracted from their broken-down mothership and deposited in the titular housing slum on the outskirts of Johannesburg. Unlike the space invaders…
Major decision at Bohemeo’s
It’s hard to decide which is better, the Bo’s Baja Fish Taco ($3) or the Bo’s Baja Shrimp Taco ($3) at Bohemeo’s (708 Telephone Rd., 713-923-4277), so the only thing to do is get both. Each is served on a good-sized whole-wheat tortilla with shredded red cabbage and cilantro along…
Quick Pick
“North Looks South: Building the Latin American Collection” at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston was pulled together in less than two months. And it’s a great show, far better than a lot of exhibitions that took years to assemble. It was pulled together on the fly to fill a…
Capsule Art Reviews: “Detritus”, “Existed: Leonardo Drew”, “$timulus”, “Toil and Trouble”
“Detritus” Painter Angela Beloian and sculptor Jessica Moon Bernstein both employ discarded materials in their work. They’re also both Colorado-based artists and take inspiration from environmental concerns. Recycling materials is a way for them to mitigate mass consumerism, but there’s nothing overtly activist in the works on view in “Detritus.”…
Digital Domain
Joe Mathlete puts most other local musicians to shame. The local musician, artist, producer, 29-95 blogger, videographer and comic-strip commentator isn’t releasing any old recording at Mango’s Saturday — he’s releasing all of them. Mathlete has compiled about 130 of his unreleased and out-of-print songs, dating back to 2000, that…
Keep on Trucking
The stupendous cochinita pibil tacos are a buck and a half apiece at Tacos La Bala #2 on Bellaire, across the street from Pico’s Mex-Mex. The shreds of fall-apart tender, slow-cooked pork are topped with raw onions and chopped cilantro (by request) and swimming in a spicy orange broth that…
