The Undercover Animal Cruelty Videos that Spurred Big Ag’s Censorship Crusade
Photo courtesy of Mercy for AnimalsOne of the nearly 3,000 pigs at Country View Family Farms in Fannettsburg, Pennsylvania. The farm is a supplier for Hatfield Quality Meats, which is sold in twelve Northeastern states.This week’s story, “The Ag Gag War,” goes behind the scenes of the guerilla fight between…
The Rest of the Best: Houston’s Top 10 Cemeteries
Houston’s been home to former presidents, movie stars, famous crooks and the lawyers that got them out of jail, sports legends and medical pioneers, and all sorts of colorful folks. Where do all of these people go when they die? To Houston cemeteries, of course. Here’s our list of our…
Sen. Larry Taylor’s Shark Fin Flip-Flop
Hair Balls is scratching our head over Republican Senator Larry Taylor’s recent flip-flop on a bill that would effectively ban the already federally prohibited practice of “shark finning” in Texas waters — i.e., catching a shark, cutting off its fin for use in a very expensive soup and then tossing…
Seasons 52 Opens Today with a Full Menu of Dishes Under 475 Calories
Seasons 52, the new restaurant located in the new Millennium complex on Westheimer adjacent to Bo Concept, is opening to the public today. “The name Seasons 52 represents the 52 weeks of the year,” said Reuben Rolf, the managing partner. “Every week, our menu offers a side panel of new…
Southwest Introducing Nonstop to Washington, D.C., Reagan National Airport
Beginning the first week of August, if you need a flight to DC, it just got a little easier. Southwest Airlines is launching nonstop flight service between Hobby Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, according to a release. Recently, the airline began nonstop service to Pittsburgh (yay?) and Charlotte…
Doctor Who: Are You Ready to Trock?
Sadly, your dedicated fanboy has no more episodes of Doctor Who to watch until the 50th anniversary in November, though I am very much looking forward to seeing Frazer Hines this weekend at Comicpalooza. In an effort to stave off the madness of a Who-less existence, today I want to…
Chef Chat, Part 2: Ruben Ortega of Hugo’s and Backstreet Cafe, On Growing Up in a Huge Family in Mexico, and the Differences in Regional Mexican Cuisine
This is Part 2 of a three-part Chef Chat series. You can read Part 1 here and Part 3 in this same space Friday. EOW: So at Hugo’s, you’re sort of the man behind the man. RO: Well, Hugo’s the boss. He’s the big guy. EOW: What is his role…
Why I Won’t Be Pronouncing GIF jif Anytime Soon
I started playing around on the Internet back in the early ’90s before there was a fully formed World Wide Web. At that time, the GIF (Graphics Exchange Format) was the image of choice for many things. As the Web grew, so did the GIF. Soon, animation was added and…
Kanye West’s New Punk-Rap: This Year’s Most Exciting and Original Release?
It’s probably fair to guess just about everyone under the Sun has seen Kanye West’s performance on Saturday Night Live’s season finale at this point. Or maybe they caught the video for Yeezy’s new song “New Slaves” playing on the side of a building somewhere around the world. Or maybe…
Doctor Who: Meet Jamie McCrimmon at Comicpalooza
This weekend Houstonians will have the chance to meet the one and only Frazer Hines, who played the Second Doctor’s longtime companion Jamie McCrimmon when he’s in town for Comicpalooza. Jamie obviously comes from a very early time in the show’s history, and also from a point when so many…
North Texas Judge Forces Lesbian Couple Raising Children to Live Apart
A couple in McKinney, Texas, has been together for nearly three years. They’ve been together following one’s messy divorce. They’ve helped raise the two young children that were on the receiving end of the acrimony following that split. After living under the same roof, the couple has, according to one,…
Another Man Sent My Girl Roses On Valentine’s Day. 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! LOVING ORANGE COUNTY Dear Willie D: I’m a newly single divorcée with lots of time and…
One of the World’s Most Important Ancient Artifacts, On View at the MFAH
In Tehran, more than a million people viewed it; at the Smithsonian Institution, there was timed ticketing. While worlds apart, all these people came to see a clay object no larger than a football. Despite its unassuming size and material, the Cyrus Cylinder is no ordinary object. It is one…
Tribal Chiefs Walk Out of Keystone Talks, Demand Presidential Meeting
If you’re the leader of a sovereign nation meeting with another sovereign nation to discuss a pipeline that will tote thick, sticky tar sands oil through your land if the project is approved, you might be just a little put out when the head of the other nation doesn’t make…
An Existential Question Posed by Kublai Khan Crazy Mongolian Stir-Fry
I had a lot of questions on my first visit to the new Kublai Khan Crazy Mongolian Stir-Fry on Milam: Why is there a weird indoor-outdoor bar greeting customers when they first walk into the heavy double doors? Why did a waitress take our drink orders and then claim that…
Pop Rocks: What If Arrested Development Sucks?
Seven long years ago, the world was forced to say goodbye too early to the most screwed up family on television. The Bluths, of Fox’s Arrested Development, slipped quietly into the night on February 10, 2006; it was even more silent because they had to compete against the opening ceremonies…
The Rocks Off 100: Chris Gerhardt, Mastermind of Giant Battle Monster
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? Giant Battle Monster, we’re…
Delbert McClinton: “Honestly, I’ve Never Figured Houston Out”
At 72, Delbert McClinton has been about everywhere and done about everything you can do: hung out with the Beatles; worked as a sideman for Bruce Channel where he played harmonica on a national hit, “Hey, Baby;” wrote a No. 1 hit for Emmylou Harris, “Two More Bottles of Wine”;…
Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Suicide Club Gives Us a New Look at a Great Character, Director Mark Shanahan Says
Mark Shanahan was that kid. “I was that kid at 11 or 12 under the bed with a flashlight reading Hound of the Baskervilles. Those stories hold up; those characters hold up,” says Shanahan. And now the actor/director is getting a chance, as co-director with Alley Theatre’s Artistic Director Gregory…
PetSmart Charities Names Houston One of the Most Adoption-Friendly Cities
PetSmart Charities has named Houston one of the top ten pet adoption-friendly cities in the country. Houston nabbed the honor after rescue groups here, in conjunction with PetSmart stores, helped find homes for 111 critters over National Adoption Weekend (May 3-5)…
NBA Retro Zapruder Of The 1985 NBA Draft Lottery
In the 80’s hit movie Stand By Me, there’s a scene where the four main characters, teenage boys (including a young Corey Feldman!), are sitting around a campfire and one of them (Gordie) tells a story about a fat kid named Lard Ass participating in a blueberry pie eating contest…
Katharine Shilcutt’s 10 Favorite Dishes in Houston
In a recent Food & Wine article, restaurant editor Kate Krader called Houston “America’s newest capital of great food” and listed 10 of her favorite dishes/drinks in our city to underscore her point. They included the Vietnamese Wagyu meatballs at Underbelly, the blackstrap rum daiquiri at Charity Saloon and the…
Five Artists With Their Own Brand of Booze
It’s 2:45 in the morning and you’re stumbling to the bar. You’ve had a few to drink, and you just got your face rocked off by your favorite rock band in the universe. It’s time to have one for the road and then get on home (responsibly, in a cab…
Comicpalooza: Meet the Cosplayers
Having spent a good portion of my life on stage I enjoy my role as a journalist on the sidelines a great deal. You see a lot of interesting things when you fade into the background. At Comicpalooza at the George R. Brown Convention Center this weekend you’ll get the…
