With a Wine-Friendly Menu, Camerata Ups the Bar for Houston Wine Bars
There’s an old and chiasmatic adage often uttered by the great wine lovers of Europe: No wine without food and no food without wine. To those who truly love wine, no glass is complete without the complement of food. In America, the utterance of the binomial wine bar seems to…
Reality Bites: Treehouse Masters
There are a million reality shows on the naked television. We’re going to watch them all, one at a time. Why the hell is this show on Animal Planet? I know – in a larger, nebulous sense – that we’re all “animals” (that cretin on Call of the Wildman certainly…
Rosh Hashanah vs New Year’s Eve: Wanna Blow My Ram’s Horn?
At sundown tonight, Jews worldwide will gather in their synagogues to watch an old dude blow through a hollowed-out ram’s horn, and then amble over to the nearest creek to throw in pieces of bread. Afterwards, they’ll dip apple slices in honey. This is how the Chosen Folks traditionally kick…
CheeseburgerOs!
When Campbell’s announced earlier this summer they were rolling out a new flavor of SpaghettiOs (something they’ve only done three times in their 50-year history), I was intrigued. At this point in my life, I do not regularly consume canned pasta products, but there was a period (fifth and six…
Cuts For a Cause: Elroy Boogie Tribute at Mixxwell Audio Lab, 9/3/13
“I’m gonna make you dance. I’m gonna make you move. I’m gonna make you sing. I’m gonna make you boogie!” — Roy “Elroy Boogie” Samano When a loved one dies, the grieving process can take shape in a variety of ways. Whether its looking through old photos, visiting the special…
Brian Cushing’s Deal Is Done. Who’s Next?
Omar Little put it best — a man’s gotta have a code. There’s a time to color outside the lines, and there’s a time to adhere unflinchingly to your own internal set of rules, and when it comes to contract negotiations, the Texans live by a strict moral code: Any…
This Week in Food Blogs: Burgers, Tacos, Cupcakes and (It Wouldn’t Be a Blog Roundup Without It) Beer!
Hank on Food: Hank has been blogging up a storm lately, but one of his most useful recent entries is a review of Just Burgers up near Spring. He notes that the outside of Just Burgers is pretty nondescript, but inside it’s a veritable shrine to the Texans and to…
Willie Nelson Is the Perfect Guy to Hawk Stuff on QVC
A generation ago Willie Nelson beseeched his fans to help him out of a tight spot with Who’ll Buy My Memories?: The IRS Tapes, a two-album set Nelson released after the feds had slapped the beloved Texas icon with a hefty back-tax bill. Basically, the accountants Nelson had hired to…
Best Comics in August Part 2: Shouldn’t It Be Heckboy?
Once a month the staff at 8th Dimension Comics selects the best of the monthly books to review. Be sure to check out the first round from yesterday. Here Comes Daredevil #30: I’m a big fan of the Silver Surfer, even though he rarely pays off in a solo book…
“Fantastic Habitat” Challenges the Perception of Nature
All of the photographs in “Fantastic Habitat,” Susi Brister’s new exhibition at Lawndale Art Center, are shot in a forest, swamp or sand setting. Had these pictures been shot by themselves, the final product would have been exceptionally dull, a typical landscape shot to be framed and hung in a…
James Nelson Talks MasterChef and Future of Bravado Spice Co.
James Nelson’s run on FOX’s MasterChef is over, but this top 5 finalist’s cooking career isn’t. The chef and co-owner of Bravado Spice Co. in Houston spoke with Eating Our Words to talk about his experience on the show and his future culinary endeavors. In the final episode Nelson competed…
Let’s Not Imagine Cloning John Lennon Just Yet
I grew up watching those 1950s black-and-white sci-fi movies where man creates some terrifying abomination from his wayward attempts at science. It’s a story as old as Mary Shelley, but as science evolved the ways we could totally screw ourselves by playing God expanded and grew more frightening. As a…
UPDATED One Student Killed, Two Others Injured at Spring High School
Update: The latest from HCSO: “Gang rivalry appears to be the motive in Wednesday morning’s stabbings….During the altercation, 17-year-old Joshua Devon Broussard was killed and three others were injured.” The alleged stabber, Luis Alonzo Alfaro, remains in Harris County Jail on a charge of murder. Update: Seventeen-year-old Luis Alonzo Alfaro…
Former Rocket Royce White Under Investigation for Domestic Violence
Outside looking in, despite all of the self-induced drama that comes along with him, it feels like former Houston Rocket and current Philadelphia 76er Royce White is fairly harmless (unless, of course, you’re an NBA salary cap). Perhaps the most famous (infamous?) sufferer of anxiety disorder in the sports world…
The Ostensible Randomness of Dining Rewards Cards
It seems like almost every fast-casual dining establishment offers some sort of rewards card, which is perhaps why my cheap wallet barfs out its contents into my purse approximately once a week. Poor wallet — it just can’t handle all this rectangular paperwork promising discounts and freebies. Because I am…
Reviews for the Lazy Gamer: Lost Planet 3
Game: Lost Planet 3 Platform: PS3/XBox/PC Publisher/Developer: Spark Unlimited/Capcom Genre: Action Adventure Describe This Game in Three Words: Better Than DS3 (Dead Space 3) Plot: This entry in the series is a prequel, set in a time when E.D.N. III was still a frozen wasteland. Our hero is Jim Peyton,…
Upcoming: Keep Calm, Fight Cancer Benefit, Kinky Friedman, Hank Williams III, etc.
Brian Wilson & Jeff Beck: With Al Jardine, David Marks., Tue., October 1, 8 p.m., $55 to $495. Bayou Music Center, 520 Texas, Houston, 713-225-8551. Cristian Castri: Thu., October 17, 8 p.m., $39.50 to $$79.50. Bayou Music Center, 520 Texas, Houston, 713-225-8551. DrFameus: With The Magic Beans., Fri., September 13,…
Alabama High School Football Coaches Brawl After Game (w/Video)
High school football is a big deal in Texas. It’s such a big deal in fact that a book, a movie and, eventually, a TV series were made about it. And that TV series is about to be yet another movie on the subject. Friday nights in the Lone Star…
Top 5 New Fast-Food Menu Items You Should Try
Crazy concoctions and brand new menu items seem to be popping up in just about every fast food restaurant these days. Throughout the summer, many quick-service chains introduced new items in hopes of luring customers. After last week’s announcement of several new menu items, we decided to put together a…
Decompression: A Parent’s First Night Alone in Four Years
Something happened last Saturday, something that I have completely forgotten existed…I had the entire house to myself for the evening. My wife has her clinical rotation from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. in this semester of nursing school, and my sister-in-law offered to keep the kid overnight so they could…
Straight Edge: Six Songs That Celebrate Sobriety
Go to any live-music event and there will be signs of drug use of some sort in the crowd. Even sitting among the well-heeled gentry of the opera, there’s bound to be one guy who smoked a fatty in his Mercedes before the first aria. Even if you can’t locate…
Five Reasons Brian Cushing’s Deal with the Texans Is the Right Thing to Do (and This Is the Right Time to Do It)
The Houston Texans and inside linebacker Brian Cushing agreed to terms Tuesday on a six-year extension to Cushing’s current deal, which came up at the end of the 2013-14 season. Had the Texans not signed him before the end of the season, Cushing would have become an unrestricted free agent…
Barbarella Explores New Frontier In Houston Dance Clubs
Right now seems like it might be a good time to open a dance club in Houston, but not just any dance club. So call the brand-new Barbarella (2404 San Jacinto) a progressive dance club — almost anything is better than “hipster dance club,” right? Once the grandaddy of them…
Celebrate Rosh Hashanah with a Honey-Glazed Apple Walnut Cake
L’shanah Tovah! It’s Rosh Hashanah — the first of the High Holy Days and the Jewish New Year. Apples and honey are often served as part of the traditional Rosh Hashanah meal, symbolizing a sweet new year. So to celebrate, we’re sharing a simple and delicious recipe for apple walnut…
100 Creatives 2013: Khrystyna Balushka, Paper Flower Child
What She Does: Do you like flowers? Sure, everyone does, but what if you’re one of those people that just isn’t content with what mother nature produces on her own? Gaia’s best just isn’t good enough for your wedding or front parlor. That’s where Khrystyna Balushka and her incredible paper…
Craigslist: The Place to Get That Positive Pregnancy Test to ‘Prove’ You’re Knocked Up
There is a lot of strange stuff out there for sale in the wide world of the Internet, and the list of weird currently includes positive pregnancy tests from Craigslist right here in Houston. Yes, for a reasonable $20 to $25, you too can own your very own slightly used…
5 More Awesome Things to Eat at Buc-ee’s
A few weeks ago, I wrote about my ritual of stopping by mega-convenience store Buc-ee’s on my way to visit family in the Hill Country. Because I visit my folks pretty regularly, I stop at Buc-ee’s a lot. It’s not really a road trip unless I do. I listed the…
The 10 Best Grunge Albums of All Time
Kids of the ’80s have to face the fact that it’s time to put that “Beat It” jacket in cold storage, because the ’90s are officially all the nostalgia rage. While the editor of this blog was vacationing last week, he happened to take in a screening of the very…
Breaking Taboo: A.G.R.O. and the Art of Human Suspension
As I sat against one of the graffitied walls at the Kingspoint Mullet, watching the beads of sweat creating pools under the chin of a shirtless guy straddling a chair, I had to wonder if all of the sweat dripping from his brow was due to the miserable Sunday afternoon…
Best Comics in August Part 1: Hollywood Murders and Herobear
Once a month the staff at 8th Dimension Comics picks out the best books to review. There were a fair few, so enjoy this and stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow! Angel & Faith #25: I’d just about given up on Buffy comics after I started to get the nagging…
I Went for a Sugarbaby’s Cupcake, I Got a Whoopie Pie Instead
My daughter had her vaccination last week after turning four years old. Even a kid that likes to play doctor for hours on end and owns her own pair of miniature scrubs doesn’t like shots, though. So there was the usual screaming and looks of reproach that you would expect…
Rub Some Dirt on It and Get Back Out There: The NFL Avoids Getting Its Hands Dirty with Concussion Litigation Settlement
Scott Fujita, who played linebacker in the NFL for ten years, has an essay today in The New York Times regarding the settlement the NFL reached with its former players (roughly 4,500) over the “concussion litigation.” Fujita expresses some mixed emotions about it. But one stark point remains: Because the…
Dunkin’ Donuts Loves Us, Proves It with Big N’ Toasted Breakfast Sandwich
The first, most well-known rule of breakfast is that it’s the most important meal of the day, but the lesser-known rule of breakfast is that it’s the best fast-food meal of the day. With that in mind (and a song in the heart, given a newfound proximity to Dunkin’ Donuts),…
Choice:Texas — New Video Game Shows Just How Hard It Will be to Get an Abortion in Texas (But in a Fun Way)
Some rabble-rousing pro-choicers are developing a video game that will “illustrate a woman’s quest to obtain an abortion in the Lone Star State,” according to the New York Daily News. In “Choice:Texas,” the player picks one of five female characters to overcome “the struggle with geography, time and money to…
Wine for Jews: Just Because It’s Kosher Doesn’t Mean It Has to Be Bad
It’s that time a year again: Like their brethren across the nation, Jewish Houstonians will make their way to their local supermarkets for last-minute kosher wine shopping. And like most Jewish Americans, they will find themselves ill-prepared in selecting the wines, partly because for most of them, it’s on the…
Musicians’ Five Greatest Drunken Moments
For better or worse, I recently began to think about my last three birthdays in a row and realized that I’ve been blackout drunk throughout all three. It’s not something I do often, but when my friends and I get together for a special occasion, it turns into something akin…
“MURMURATIONS” Sets the Tone at Lawndale Art Center
Ascending from the bottom of Lawndale Art Center’s first floor stairs are five small speakers. To the left of these speakers are five lights, illuminating each. Start climbing the stairs, and a congregation of sounds begins. First, clapping. Then, cheering. By the time you reach the top, a chorus of…
See Some History, for a Price, with the Texas Historical Landmark App
App: Texas Historical Landmarks Platforms: iPhone, Android Web Site: Atomic Axis Cost: Free (lite version), $3.99 (full version) Texas Historical Landmarks rolls quite a few things into an app that I like. It’s easy to use, has quite a surprisingly dense number of features — from check-ins and photos to…
Houston Indie Booksellers in September: Lee Child at MBTB, Junot Diaz at Brazos, and Mike Lupica at Blue Willow
September is here, which means the events calendars at Houston’s indie bookstores are full of tempting events and book signings that are bound (zing!) to make us late to the dinner table. From Edgar Award nominees at Murder By The Book, to Pulitzer Prize-winner Junot Diaz at Brazos Bookstore, and…
The Gang’s Back: 5 Foods to Serve at Your It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Premiere Party
You guys, it’s finally here. Season 9 of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia begins this Wednesday on FXX. If you’re not a fan, you should be. Rumor has it that even the Game of Thrones creators are down with the gang, as David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have co-written an…
From Beyond Takes on Coffin Joe In New Video (NSFW)
Truth be told, I turn down way more music videos than I accept to cover because, well, people make a whole lot of boring ones. It’s not enough to film candid footage on tour and splice it in with your crappy metal band on a rooftop in Des Moines anymore…
You’re a Sucker for Putting All That Money into Your 401(k)
If you’ve been paying any attention at all since the Great Recession of 2008, you’ve probably heard of high-frequency trading. It’s essentially this: people who have their PhD’s in computer science go work for firms and set up systems that allow them to know–even if it’s just milliseconds–how a stock…
Top Six Songs For Your Fantasy Football Draft Party
Now that every team is down to its 53-man roster and the first “real” game of the season is joyfully only days away, fantasy football players everywhere are holding their annual draft parties. If you are somehow unaware because you aren’t one of 30 million Americans who play — or…
Online Personal Stylist “StitchFix” A Fun, Creative Shopping Solution
Stylish subscription services are becoming more popular by the minute; cosmetic and beauty products are available through websites like Glossybox and Birch Box, which deliver sample-size goodies right to our doorsteps. There is a subscription service for just about anyone: crafters (Whimseybox), pet owners (Bark Box), and healthy nuts (Nature…
100 Favorite Dishes 2013: No. 89, Porchetta e Fagioli at Giacomo’s Cibo e Vino
This year, leading up to our annual Menu of Menus issue, Kaitlin Steinberg counts down her 100 favorite dishes as she eats her way through Houston. She’ll compile a list of the 100 dishes she thinks are the most awesome, most creative and, of course, most delicious in town. It’s…
Weather Week: The Long, Slow March to Fall Begins
It’s September. Let that sink in for a moment. The unofficial end to summer was this past weekend: Labor Day. Most people around the country consider this past weekend to be the real end of summer. Up north, it starts getting cooler, much cooler, beginning now. We still have, at…
Same-Sex Marriage, Overcoming Homophobia and Playing The Floor Is Lava
If I’d met Joey Guerra 15 years or so ago I would have spit in his face… which would have been very detrimental to my music career in addition to keeping me from a good friend and worthy colleague. It wasn’t anything personal, it’s just that he’s full of the…
Top 10 Late-Night Coffee Shops in Houston
Houston’s love affair with coffee shops doesn’t seem to be in any danger of dying out. And this time of year, with classes at colleges and high schools starting up again and students looking for places to study (or not), coffee shops are swinging back into high gear — especially…
The Rocks Off 100: Mr. Castillo, Song-Sniping DJ
Welcome to the Rocks Off 100, our portrait gallery of the most compelling profiles and personalities in the far-flung Houston music community — a lot more than just musicians, but of course they’re in there too. See the entire Rocks Off 100 at this link. Who? Dan Castillo, Mr. Castillo…
Need Extra Cash? Feral Hog Bounty Goes Up This Week!
Everyone knows feral hogs are a nuisance, which is why some counties pay folks to kill ’em, but we thought we’d pass along a tip that you may not have heard about: Hays and Caldwell counties “are more than doubling the bounty” on the beasts, according to KEYE. Of course,…
The Best-Named Rolling Stones Book of All Time
Rocks Off: 50 Tracks That Tell the Story of the Rolling Stones By Bill Janovitz St. Martin’s Press, 404 pp., $25.99 OK, we’re not biased about this book since it also happens to share a title with this very music blog. But it’s an interesting concept, as Janovitz takes 50…
FrenetiCore’s “The Rite of Summer” Would Have Made Stravinsky Proud
When Igor Stravinsky premiered his renowned orchestral concert The Rite of Spring at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in the spring of 1913 a riot broke out. Deemed too far-out by theatergoers and critics, the nature of Stravinsky’s emphasis on meter and rhythm over melody as well as Vaslav Nijinsky’s sexually…
Challah, Houston, Holla!
If the upcoming high holy days have you craving challah, you’re not alone. And while you’re getting your braided bread fix, why not look beyond the simple (but spectacular) loaf and embrace dishes that incorporate challah in other ways? Here’s a short tour of H-town challah. Perhaps the most popular…
Houston Texans 53-Man Roster (Plus 8) Tidbits: People Sift Through Our Garbage Now!
Full disclosure: I’ve never sifted through someone else’s garbage, and I’ve never acquired any piece of my furniture by snagging it from the end of someone’s driveway after they’ve thrown it out. But to each his own, and if you’ve done this before, hey, as Tony Soprano would say, “Ya…
Doctor Who Slap Fight: Battle of Classic Doctors in Modern Stories
It’s been a while since I had good subject for a pop culture slap fight, but thankfully one man came through with the perfect Doctor Who set-up, and that man is a YouTube user named WhovianWars. See, it’s become something regular when meeting old Doctors at fan conventions to get…
Observing Knockers While Knocking Back Beer at Twin Peaks
Changing into a push-up bra before I left my apartment that night was my first mistake. Ordering beer instead of liquor was my second. I was presented with the opportunity to make a third mistake with the amiable gentleman who sat down next to me at the bar, but thankfully…
10 Things In Music More Exciting Than Miley Cyrus
Hey everyone, can I ask a question? Are we sick of Miley Cyrus yet? No? Oh, okay. The fact is that for some reason people can’t seem to get enough of this girl shaking her ass on TV. That’s fine and all, but it’s a shame for all the true…
Buddy Guy & Jimmie Vaughan at Arena Theatre, 8/30/2013
Buddy Guy, Jimmie Vaughan & the Tilt-a-Whirl Band Arena Theatre August 30, 2013 By now most Buddy Guy fans know to pack an extra pinch of salt between their cheek and gum before going to see him live. The man does go on sometimes. The Louisiana-born septuagenarian bluesman’s credentials extend…
Breaking Bad Jesse’s Revenge
How do you catch a psychotic mastermind who has you by the balls? If you are the DEA, perhaps you find a witness to his misdoings and put them together in an attempt to get your guy to talk. If you are his partner-turn-adversary, going the “legal” route may not…
Cougars Throttle Southern, Wipe Away Some Memories of Last Season
The Houston Cougars got the 2013 football season off to a nice start on Friday night, defeating Southern 62-13 before 26,205 inside Reliant Stadium. It’s hard to really tell much about a team after a game like this — teams like Southern are brought in for the guaranteed win, after…
What’s Cooking This Week? Baked Eggs w/ Chorizo Hash & More
I love cooking for my fiancé and me, but most of the time, cooking for two proves to be difficult. If I don’t make a plan, I end up running around in circles at the grocery store and wasting half the ingredient’s I’ve bought (and I hate wasting food). Enter…
Backstreet Boys at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, 8/31/13
Backstreet Boys Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion August 31, 2013 The title of this article could be a lot of things, but none of them would be more fitting than one that read, “How the Backstreet Boys changed the mind of a former ‘N Sync fan.” And really, nobody is more…
Aggies Demolish Owls As Johnny Manziel Returns from His Half-Game Exile
So the Rice Owls went up to Kyle Field and took on the Texas Aggies on Saturday. And of course it didn’t go too well, with the Owls losing 52-31 before 86,686 Aggies. Just looking at the score, you wouldn’t know that the Owls led 14-7 after the first quarter…
Food Porn: 12 Houston Instagram Accounts To Follow
Food Porn Alert! If you’ve been trying to completely ruin your diet or you just like to spend your time trolling and salivating over pictures of food, have we got the list for you! We’ve rounded up some of the most drool-worthy Instagram accounts in Houston for your following pleasure…
50 States of Song Part 5: South Dakota to Wyoming
When I was in third grade I learned all 50 states in alphabetical order thanks to a catchy tune. Now I’m hoping to stick that bit of trivia in your head just in time for the new school year by celebrating each state with an appropriate song. SOUTH DAKOTA Magic…
Reviews for the Lazy Gamer: Payday 2
Game: Payday 2 Platform: PS3/XBox/PC Publisher/Developer: 505 Games/ Overkill Genre: Co-op Crime Shooter Describe This Game in Three Words: Been Caught Stealin’ Plot: You star as one of four hired guns employed to do dirty jobs for the highest bidder. These range from smashing up malls to knocking off jewelry…
Are You Ready for Christmas? Cuz Bering’s Hardware Is.
While you’re enjoying your Labor Day weekend, Bering’s Hardware would like to remind you that Christmas is only 114 days away. The store at Westheimer and Fountain View has not one, but THREE Christmas trees already on display. Never mind the fact that this picture was taken last week when…
Top 5 Cheese Pizzas To Try in Houston
These days, the phrase “plain cheese pizza” is a bit of an oxymoron since enterprising chefs keep upping the ante in terms of creatives takes on the traditional pie. Houston pizza purveyors have followed suite; here are five innovative pies to try in Houston just in time for National Cheese…
The Return of Garrett Smith
There’s one difference between the dancers choreographer Garrett Smith works with in Norway and those he works with in Houston: “European dancers are a little more adventurous. If I ask someone to scream and jump into the orchestra pit, in Norway the dancers would say, ‘Alright, here I go!’ Somebody…
Johnny Manziel’s Monster Heel Push Is Underway
Growing up a wrestling fan, I always rooted for the heels (wrestling parlance for “villains”). While my friends patriotically thanked their maker that Hulk Hogan saved us all from the Iron Sheik’s reign of terror in early 1984, I was rooting for “Rowdy” Roddy Piper to hit Jimmy Snuka with…
Top 5 Symbolic Foods of Rosh Hashanah
At Sunday, this Wednesday, Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the High Holy Days, one of the most important times of the year for observant Jews, and with this holiday, comes many traditions and rituals. Some of the more fascinating (and, might I say, delicious) customs involve the consumption of…
The Best Concerts In Houston This Week: Rancid, Scout Niblett, Marc Anthony, etc.
Rancid House of Blues, September 4 Although Rancid was one of the major players on the punk-revival scene of the ’90s, they never saw the same kind of mainstream success of peers like Green Day – and honestly, thank God for that. Even to this day, they’ve stayed true to…
Feds Won’t Go After Pot Smokers in Colorado & Washington (Texas Still Draconian)
The Department of Justice is not going to move to undo new Colorado and Washington laws legalizing marijuana. The Washington Post reports: The Department also, per Reilly and Grim’s report, sent a three page memo to governors of all states outlining federal priorities for enforcing marijuana laws. This included “the…
Upstairs at Rudyard’s: Joe Apa’s Beer Dinners
The beer dinners that Joe Apa stages at Rudyard’s Pub the last Thursday of every month have been around for a few years, in fact, the one held last night was the 69th one, or at least so he can recall. So why is it that Google was of no…
Rap Mixtapes Of The Week: Twenty Eleven, Young Von, hasHBrown, D-Risha
August in Houston rap contained a heavy shadow looming over it. That shadow? Doughbeezy’s Footprints On The Moon. It was supposed to land early on, swallow up every project moving and then laugh with a bald fade ball of fury and lyrics mostly celebrating success. Only it didn’t happen and…
The Case for T.J.: Why Yates Deserves to Be Texans’ No. 2 QB
Marco Torres, Houston PressIt’s an unpopular opinion, but T.J. Yates did enough this preseason to keep his job.If or when Case Keenum is named the No. 3 quarterback for the Texans, it should be noted that he didn’t lose the race to be Matt Schaub’s top backup. T.J. Yates won…
I Made a Ramen Burger…Sort Of
Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past few weeks, you’ve no doubt heard about the famous Ramen Burger — a burger slapped between two pan-fried ramen “buns” invented by Keizo Shimamoto and sold at the Smorgasburg food market in Brooklyn. It’s a bit of a phenomenon. It’s…
The Owls And Cougars Are Ready For Some Football
Tonight’s the start of a new college football season. The Houston Cougars hosting Southern at Reliant Stadium at 7:30 p.m. as the Coogs try to erase the horrors of last season by moving into a bright shiny new conference. But the media spotlight’s about 90 minutes away in College Station…
50 States of Song Part 4: New Mexico to South Carolina
When I was in third grade I learned all 50 states in alphabetical order thanks to a catchy tune. Now I’m hoping to stick that bit of trivia in your heads just in time for the new school year by celebrating each state with an appropriate song all this week…
2 Gingers Cherry Rickey Cocktail (Slightly Adapted)
I have yet to buy a single Christmas present, but I already know what I will be drinking next St. Patrick’s Day. You can see my priorities. These past six months I’ve been on a bit of whiskey kick, forcing myself to look beyond my old favorite, Jameson, and expand…
A Legend, a Winner, Rain and Sunshine: The Top 10 Photos of the Week
We here at the Houston Press have long believed that some of the best photographers in the world live right here in Houston. Between the slideshows and blogs we publish and the images you share with us in our Flickr Pool, we see tons of amazing photos every week, and…
The Polyphonic Spree at Fitzgerald’s, 8/29/13
The Polyphonic Spree Fitzgerald’s August 29th, 2013 Some moments in life are just better than others. Having a laugh while your kid, armed with floaties, thinks he’s drowning, despite moments ago assuring the instructor he had it. Turning so red from embarrassing laughter moments after realizing you ruined the final…
Forbes Bloggers Fighting Over Astros $99M Profit Projection
Brother fights can be brutal. I don’t know this firsthand because I’m an only child (cue sad string ensemble). But, I have learned about it from friends and relatives. It’s kind of expected. But, one place you don’t expect to see fighting — at least not the extremely public version…
College Football Week 1 Best Bets: Gambling Season Begins
Back in my married days, my then wife was from Louisiana (she still is from Louisiana, actually, and still alive, we are just not married anymore) and around late October or early November is when duck hunting season would begin. At least, I think it was around that time, I…
Summer TV Club: Black Books “Cooking the Books”
I had never even heard of the British comedy Black Books before Pete suggested we watch it for this week’s TV Club and after viewing the series premiere, I understand why it never hit mainstream popularity in the United States like some of its contemporaries, The Office or Coupling for…
Happy 177th Birthday, Houston: Ride the Light-Rail for Free All Weekend; Here’s Where To Eat
Houston turns 177 years old on Saturday, and METRO is celebrating by offering free rides on every light-rail and local bus starting Saturday and lasting through Labor Day on Monday. With the longer weekend more and more families are going to be out and about, so we are here to…
Reviews For The Easily Distracted: Getaway
Title: Getaway What Are They Trying To Get Away From? Those meanies at Rotten Tomatoes, I guess. Rating Using Random Objects Relevant To The Film: One of Sweet Tooth’s ice cream trucks from Twisted Metal out of five. Brief Plot Synopsis: Ex-race car driver destroys beautiful Shelby Mustang (and a…
At Long Last, Fox News Has Found The Source of All Societal Ills
Or, more plausibly, they know their audience — old, white people — well. Check out the above screenshot from them vis-a-vis the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington. Yes, hip-hop is to blame. I love the Fox News “move” of using “some see . . .” Who “sees”? “Some.”…
General Mills is Resurrecting the Yummy Mummy and the Fruit Brute
If you were a child in the ’80s or ’90s, you probably have vivid memories of throwing temper tantrums in the cereal aisle, begging your parents for Count Chocula, Boo Berry or Franken Berry for breakfast while they mumbled about the sugar content and lack of nutritional value in a…
Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival at the Woodlands Pavilion, 8/29/2013
Alice in Chains, Jane’s Addiction, Coheed and Cambria and Circa Survive Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion August 29, 2013 If there’s anything that Rockstar Energy Drink loves more than jacking kids up on near-fatal doses of caffeine and sugar, it’s putting together pre-fabricated, traveling music festivals to help advertise its wares…
Human Remains Found in Open Field
Houston police are investigating skeletal remains found at 9550 Fannin St. Wednesday afternoon, according to a press release. “A worker was checking a pipeline near the above address when he came across the skeletal remains in an open field. The identity and cause of death of the remains are pending…
The 10 Worst People at Houston Concerts
Look, Houston. We like you. We really do. You’re kind of the ham to our delicious sammich, for the most part. But lately as we’ve ventured out to take care of music bidness (you know how we do), we’ve noticed a trend. We’ve got some naughty concert-goers out there, and…
The 5 Best Things to Eat or Drink This Weekend: Celebrate Labor Day Weekend With Beer, Wine, Bacon & More Beer
Brewmasters International Beer Festival @ Moody Gardens Friday-Monday, All-Day 1 Hope Blvd, Galveston Island Throughout the entire Labor Day weekend, Moody Gardens hosts the 4th Annual Brewmasters International Beer Festival where more than 400 craft beers and a multitude of culinary bites will be served. Over the next four days,…
Do You Have (September) Issues?
Vogue is a three-pound monster with the gorgeous Jennifer Lawrence gracing the cover. Elle is keeping it model-classic, featuring voluptuous It-girl Kate Upton. Lucky is slim and readable at about 220 pages; Blake Lively is on the cover, and in a cool high-low spread inside the mag. Vanity Fair is…
Weekend Weather: Labor Day Weekend Looks Hot, Dry
The state of Texas has never been able to fully recover from the drought of 2011 and it is only exacerbated during months with little or no rainfall. While we have had a few decent rain days in August, on the whole it’s been pretty dry, which is typical for…
Top 10 Biker Bars In And Around Houston
As our sister blog Eating…Our Words does, from time to time Rocks Off will be giving your our picks for the top taverns in various Houston-area neighborhoods. Of course, the lines can be porous, but here anything with a TABC license that cannot reasonably be considered either a restaurant, coffeehouse…
Upcoming Events: Yoga and Wine, Beer and Brass & More
Starting September 1 until September 15, CRAVE Cupcakes has partnered with the Arts in Medicine Program at MD Anderson Children’s Cancer Hospital to honor National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. During these two weeks, you can purchase four flavors decorated with beautiful toppers created by MD Anderson patients in place of…
100 Creatives 2013: Christina Carfora, Visual Artist and World Traveler
Visual artist Christina Carfora spent some time in Indonesia during 2009 and 2010. Some of her work since then is a direct result of her time there, including the work-in-progress Mechanical Hand for an Orangutan, seen above. She created the piece after seeing orangutans in the Indonesian jungle that had…
College, Land Of Education, STDs, Now With Bed Bugs
You were wearing sheets as clothes. What could possibly go wrong? The typical college party was going full swing. Someone (possibly you) had just done their third kegstand. Someone else was pouring shots of Goldschlager and someone who had seen Animal House a few too many times had ripped the…
Top Five Things to Do in Houston This Weekend: The Rite of Summer, Museum Hours, Tommy Davidson and More
Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring gets chopped and screwed for FrenetiCore’s The Rite of Summer, our pick for Friday. Rebecca French, the group’s artistic director, worked with laptop musician Chris Becker to reimagine the famous score. ”This music is 100 years old,” French tells us. ”It was ground-breaking at…
Openings & Closings: Family-Friendly Restaurants, Labor Day Openings & More
What a month it has been for openings and closings! Fortunately, we haven’t seen many restaurants leave the Houston dining scene, but we are in store for a ton of anticipated fall openings. We will get to that in a little bit, so let’s start with the the openings and…
The Best Concerts in Houston This Weekend
Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears Cactus Music, August 30 It can’t be a coincidence that the recent vinyl revival and the rise of young throwback soul bands like Austin’s Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears have happened at the same time, but it sure works out well Friday night…
College Football Christmas Morning Is Here! My Best Season Win Total Bets
Anytime some marquee date on the sports calendar arrives, we always seem to want to make a “Christmas morning” analogy (admittedly ignoring that it’s probably slightly offensive to some of the folks out there who value religion). Revealing the brackets for March Madness, the day before any trip to Vegas,…
Texas Foster Care System Class Action Lawsuit Greenlit by Judge
A children’s advocacy group can proceed with a class action lawsuit accusing the Texas Department of Family Services of depriving foster children of their constitutional rights, a federal judge in Corpus Christi has ruled. The group, Children’s Rights, sued DFPS in 2011, claiming that the more than 12,000 kids in…
11 New Traffic, Criminal Laws Hit the Books Sunday: Using Phones for Good and Bad, Salvia and Rendering Aid
Some new traffic laws will go into effect beginning this Sunday, September 1. That means that they will all be on the books for Labor Day and it’s a good idea to know them because of that whole ignorance of the law thing. I found out the hard way when…
50 States of Song Part 3: Massachusetts to New Jersey
When I was in third grade I learned all 50 states in alphabetical order thanks to a catchy tune. Now I’m hoping to stick that bit of trivia just in time for the new school year by celebrating each state with an appropriate song all this week. Massachusetts: Dropkick Murphys,…
Do The Twist(er): Local Musician Chases Storms For Fun and Profit
Hank Schyma doesn’t come off as insane. Not at first. He speaks clearly and eloquently about being a storm chaser, and as you’re talking with him, it seems like a perfectly reasonable thing. Hank Schyma, front man for Houston band the Southern Backtones, has been chasing storms for more than…
Top 5 Things To Order At Maine-ly Sandwiches BESIDES the Lobster Roll
It’s no secret that Maine-ly Sandwiches serves some damn fine lobster rolls. And if you go there, you should probably order one. But that shouldn’t be the only thing you take home with you. Here are five other menu items worth trying at Maine-ly Sandwiches. 5. Lobster Bisque. The scene:…
Rocks Off 100: DJ Big Reeks, The Chief Waxaholic
Welcome to the Rocks Off 100, our portrait gallery of the most compelling profiles and personalities in the far-flung Houston music community — a lot more than just musicians, but of course they’re in there too. See the entire Rocks Off 100 at this link. Who: At first glance, Rican…
Johnny Manziel Suspended for One Half…of First Game at Against Rice
In the world of college football scuttlebutt, Rice University normally ranks somewhere just below one of the military academies and just above other Ivy League schools. It’s a fine institution with very little football tradition. But, the first game of the season will bring with it a level of intrigue…
I Allow My 8-Year-Old To Drink Alcohol. Help!
Welcome to Ask Willie D, Rocks Off’s advice column where the Geto Boys MC answers reader questions about matters, in his own words, “funny, serious or unpredictable.” Something on your mind? Ask Willie D! I ALLOW MY 8-YEAR OLD TO DRINK ALCOHOL I hosted dinner at my house to celebrate…
10 Mario Games You’ve Probably Never Heard Of
For closing in on three decades, Mario has been the undisputed star of the video game world. No one else even come close to his unparalleled universal popularity. If Nintendo were a country and every single sale of a Mario game was a citizen, then that country would be the…
100 Favorite Dishes No. 90: Uncle Daryl’s Cake at The Chocolate Bar
This year, leading up to our annual Menu of Menus issue, Kaitlin Steinberg counts down her 100 favorite dishes as she eats her way through Houston. She’ll compile a list of the 100 dishes she thinks are the most awesome, most creative and, of course, most delicious in town. It’s…
Johnson Space Center STILL Won’t Get A Shuttle But We Get A Consolation Prize
If you’ve been around Houston for a while, you may have noticed that NASA is kind of our thing. We love being “Space City” almost as much as we hate Dallas. So when we didn’t get a space shuttle — even though Florida, New York, California and Washington D.C. did…
Pop Rocks: Is It OK To Punch the Paparazzi? How About if You’re Alec Baldwin?
I love Alec Baldwin as an actor and I may even think he’s a good person; it’s hard to say given the amount of bad publicity the guy has brought upon himself in the past few years. Like two days ago, for example, Baldwin was caught grabbing a paparazzi photographer…
BBQ Like A Boss: 5 Homemade Sauces for Your Labor Day Cookout
Fire up the grills, ya’ll — it’s Labor Day weekend. To celebrate the holiday and the unofficial end of summer, we’re sharing 5 killer BBQ Sauce recipes (+ 1 Texas-style cheat) that are easy to make and easier to eat. Slather ’em on chicken, ribs, burgers, or even your shirt…
10 Songs We Never, Ever Want to Hear Again, Ever
“Gangnam Style,” Psy I’m not going to deny it. The first time I saw the video for “Gangnam Style,” I was amused, but not enough to watch it again. The only problem with that was the fact that almost every American decided to either recreate “Gangnam Style” or share videos…
Miley Cyrus’ VMA Performance: The Definitive Zapruder
Back in 2008, my daughter Judy Anne was ten years old. Like most young girls between the ages of 5 and 12 back in 2008, she was an avid fan of the television show Hannah Montana. Like a BIG fan, to the extent that I would find random Hannah Montana…
Don Letts on the Legacy of the Clash and the Girl Joe Strummer Stole Away
Check out part 1 of our interview with Don Letts by clicking here. Film and video director Don Letts has a lengthy and varied resume, but is most associated with The Clash. The new all-compassing band box set, Sound System (Sony) includes a DVD of Letts’ concert, promo, and atmospheric…
Hey Kids! Masticate Your Way to Molar Health
I can be a bit lazy about brushing my teeth. Don’t be too grossed out, I still do it every day (often twice), but my technique sort of sucks and I don’t always follow the two-minute rule. These (mal)practices have led my spouse and siblings to compare me on occasion…
“Stitched” Kickstarter: “Mending the World One Stitch at a Time”
As of of the writing of this story, Whitney Riley’s “Stitched” Kickstarter project is more than halfway to her $15,000 goal, with just over a week to go. Collaborating with Y.U.M. in Indonesia, the “Stitched” project endeavors to bring unique, one-of-a-kind fashion to the market without the use of sweatshops…
Deputies Seize 377 Roosters Used for Cock-Fighting
Harris County Sheriff’s deputies seized 377 roosters allegedly used for cock-fighting, and the two men who allegedly owned the birds are facing criminal charges, according to the Sheriff’s Office. “Deputies initially responded on August 23 to the property in the 14000 block of Sellers Road in north Harris County in…
The Rest of the Best: The 10 Best Places to Just Go and Think in Houston
It’s a very busy time to be alive. We’re coming out of a recession, and those of us who have jobs are working as a hard as we can to make sure it stays that way. The underemployed and jobless spend every moment trying to find a way to keep…
Fast Food Employees Across Houston Striking Today for Higher Wages
In the wake of strikes that started in New York back in November and more protests throughout the Midwest earlier this summer, fast food employees in the South and on the West Coast are planning walk-outs of their own. Today, fast food workers in more than 35 cities across the…
From Hair Balls to Rocks Off: Songs for Houston’s White-Collar Criminals
Houston has a strong job market. Many of those jobs are professional positions in a wide range of industries. Many of the people working in those jobs are creepy, sometimes even murderous criminals. Just because you’ve earned a PhD and a seven figure income doesn’t mean you can’t be wretched…
Ten Fascinating Facts from Slimed!, the New Oral History of ’90s Nickelodeon
After Jimmy Savile, Amanda Bynes, Lindsay Lohan, and that Christian puppeteer who wanted to kidnap, kill, and eat little boys, it’s hard not to imagine the children’s entertainment industry as a fount of unimaginable filth and degeneracy. But for those who’d prefer to remember their childhoods happily, Mathew Klickstein offers…
R.I.P. Elroy Boogie
MILES-TONES Elroy Boogie, a member of popular Houston DJ collective the Kracker Nuttz who had been battling cancer for the past few months, passed away August 18, according to a statement on Kracker Nuttz co-founder DJ BabyJae’s Facebook page. “I am truly at a loss for words,” BabyJae said. “A…
Capsule Stage Reviews: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Little Shop of Horrors, Standing on Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays, Tarzan the Musical
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Big Daddy, a wealthy plantation owner, is dying of cancer, though the diagnosis has been withheld from him. His elder son, Gooper, seeks to gain the inheritance, but Big Daddy prefers his younger son, Brick, who is floating in an alcoholic haze, to the…
The 10 Worst People in Houston Restaurants
TOP 10 Houstonians love food. Dining out is one of our favorite pastimes, and we embrace it like it’s the official sport of Houston. We are a city of “foodies,” and thanks to us, the restaurant industry is thriving. Unfortunately, this insane love of food has spawned a culture of…
Making the Case for Keenum
Case Keenum played well against the Dolphins in the Texans’ second preseason game. He also had a good game in week one against the Minnesota Vikings. He’s been good enough in Texans camp that Keenum might be the team’s second-string quarterback to open the season. And this has some people…
Special Labor Day Edición: Whatever Happened to the Lazy Mexican?
Dear Readers: The Mexican wants to be you to the carne asada case this Labor Day fin de semana, so behold two oldies-but-goodies I amazingly haven’t yet passed off as new in this columna. The first one is extant and one of the favorite questions the Mexican ever got; for…
Five Great Summer Movies You Might Have Missed (And Can Still Catch!)
As another summer movie season characterized by cynicism and excess draws to a close, there are few activities less valuable or interesting than complaining about it. The blockbusters arrived, flattened cities, vomited effects, deafened with explosions, made money, didn’t make enough money, pleased populist critics, displeased elitist critics, and finally…
Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity is Lightning From the Heavens
The late, great Elmore Leonard advised writers never to open a book with weather. Does a lightning storm count? Last evening I was welcomed to Venice, where I’m just settling in for the 2013 edition of the city’s film festival, with a spectacular lightning storm over the Grand Canal. This…
The Dark Wall: Legendary Tornado Chaser Tim Samaras’s Last Ride
Before it came for him, Dan Robinson watched the thing grow. It began as a bolus that descended out of the storm, projecting needle-like vortices that lanced the wheat fields near a lone pump jack. Columnar towers a hundred yards wide gathered and darkened against the pale light to the…
CRISP’s Culinary Chaos: Conflicting Combinations and Confusing Seasonings
Want a behind the scenes look at CRISP? Make sure to check out our slideshow. From the moment the first bite reached my tongue, I knew something was wrong. The pizza was sweet. And it wasn’t supposed to be sweet. I looked at the list of ingredients on the menu…
Do The Twist(er): Local Musician Chases Storms For Fun and Profit.
Hank Schyma doesn’t come off as insane. Not at first. He speaks clearly and eloquently about being a storm chaser, and as you’re talking with him, it seems like a perfectly reasonable thing. Then you watch the videos. You watch as Schyma points a camera at a tornado, a black…
Hog Wild: Buster Graybill Elevates Hunting Blinds and Feeders Into Rustic, Rural Artistry
Fifth-generation Texan Buster Graybill has successfully noodled for a giant catfish. He’s made sculptures with ricks of wood. He drives a big truck. Last year he installed his work Deer Blind for Mondrian on the grounds of AMOA Arthouse Laguna Gloria. The Mondrian-inspired camouflage-patterned panels from the blind are currently…
Secrets Not Worth Knowing: Suspense Flatlines in Closed Circuit
Intricate, intelligent thrillers made specifically for grown-ups are so rare these days that it’s tempting to award extra points to anyone who even scales an attempt. Tomas Alfredson’s 2011 John le Carré adaptation, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, may have been the last great example of an adult thriller that refused…
DePalma’s Passion Is All Tricks – And Undervalued
Your life surges ahead as it is, pretty much, but maybe tinted blue. Maybe everything around you is tilted a bit, and strips of light glow on the wall, like an SUV with its brights on is idling on a ramp facing your window blinds. Your world looks not like…
Drinking Buddies Is An Honest, Affecting Romance
There is a moment of silent incompatibility in Joe Swanberg’s Drinking Buddies that illuminates the entirety of a relationship in a single request. As the lovely, earthy Kate (Olivia Wilde) reclines suggestively on a couch in his tasteful apartment, Chris (Ron Livingston), her gently fussy boyfriend, politely reminds her to…
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie: What Happened?
An average episode of the 1989-1999 cable show Mystery Science Theater 3000, in which a man and his robot buddies heckle bad movies, runs about 90 minutes. The 1955 film This Island Earth is 87 minutes. The 1996 feature Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie, in which the man and…
Capsule Art Reviews: “The Beauty Box,” “Dining In: An Artful Experience,” “Funnel Tunnel,” “Gifts from the Past: The Isabel Brown Wilson Collection,” “Impressions | Abstractions,” “Summer Studios 2013”
“The Beauty Box” This is the brainchild of local mixed-media artist Robert Hodge, who, with partner Philip Pyle, a sculptor and digital artist, has converted an open-air space in the Third Ward into a replica of a living room, like “your grandmother’s living room or dining room,” says Hodge. The…
