“Johan Grimonprez: It’s a Poor Sort of Memory That Only Works Backwards”
Belgian artist Johan Grimonprez carefully documents the output and meaning of technologies from years past in “Johan Grimonprez: It’s a Poor Sort of Memory that Only Works Backwards” at the Blaffer Art Museum. The installation is made up of a series of small screening rooms, each featuring one of Grimonprez’s…
“Parody of Light”
Thomas Kinkade is like the Walmart of the art world — loved by middle America, uniformly hated by almost everyone else. His generic, paint-by-the-numbers landscape pieces make him ripe for ridicule, and Patricia Hernandez’s “Parody of Light” at DiverseWorks does just that. The installation includes the interior walls of a…
“WYSIWYG, a site specific community interactive installation by Wendy DesChene”
Artist Wendy DesChene has been working with hundreds of co-collaborators on “WYSIWYG, a site specific community interactive installation by Wendy DesChene.” The installation grows and changes at each stop along its countrywide tour, as it includes additions to the piece by local communities. For example, while “WYSIWYG” was in Cincinnati,…
The Hobbit
Bilbo Baggins joins Gandalf the wizard for an epic adventure in the family-friendly show The Hobbit, on a journey that includes fighting a treacherous dragon as they search for a precious treasure. Based on the fantasy novel by J. R. R. Tolkien, The Hobbit brings Middle Earth to the stage…
God of Carnage
The play that the New York Post called “gleefully nasty fun” comes to the Alley Theatre. Yasmina Reza’s Tony Award-winning comedy God of Carnage starts with a pretty simple premise: Two boys have a fight in the schoolyard, during which one of them gets a few teeth knocked out. Rightfully…
“Disturbance of Distance”
Houstonites usually don’t socialize much with Dallas folk, but for the sake of art, we might just have to put the competition aside. At least, that’s what Charles Dee Mitchell envisioned when he curated “Disturbance of Distance 2,” the second in an ongoing series of exhibits connecting Houston to surrounding…
A Remarkable Princess
A young princess makes a difficult choice in Andy Huggins’s new play, A Remarkable Princess. Pressured to marry a man she doesn’t know, the princess decides to make her own choices and sets off on an adventure that includes a battle of magic in an enchanted land. 11 a.m. and…
All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten
The family-friendly musical All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten comes to the Houston Family Arts Center. Based on the book of the same title by Robert Fulghum, the show is a series of humorous and endearing sketches. “The idea Robert Fulghum wants us to consider is…
Sonia and Suzy
Nancy Geyer has won tons of awards for her plays, including a super-prestigious nomination for a Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Now Houstonians will get a chance to see the work of this hometown writer at Country Playhouse with a new production of Sonia and Suzy, a tale about an actress…
Conservatives’ Plan to Close Budget Gap: Sell Liquor on Sundays!!
The conservative-dominated Texas House has come out with its plan on how to close the state’s massive budget gap, and it’s not just full of silly stuff like “make state employees pay for parking.” Although that is part of the plan. No, the conservatives who decry every sin someone else…
Comment of the Day
Today, Katharine Shilcutt told EOW readers about the new beer bar from the guys at Anvil, which left many salivating for more info…and probably beer. Said commenter Dacano: I think 2010 was just the beginning for the craft beer movement here in Houston and Texas as a whole with the…
Flea Market Reality Show Being Shot in Houston
The Pawn Stars may be elsewhere, but when it comes to flea-market superstars, Houston is about to shine. The National Geographic Network is producing a show that rips off is inspired by the various pawn-shop reality TV series on the air, and it’s shooting it in the Houston area. This…
George Strait: No Unflattering Photos, Please
Rocks Off does our best to shield our readers from all the red tape we have to go through in order to bring you a steady stream of concert reviews. For one thing, it’s pretty boring – a bunch of emails and release forms not much different from the paperwork…
The Longhorn Network — The $300 Million Mystery
“We want to define what it means to be ‘the’ public university. The challenge is to create new sources of revenue to support our mission.” — University of Texas President Bill Powers Done and done. Earlier today, the University of Texas and ESPN announced a 20-year, $300 million partnership creating…
Breakfast at Brasil: Eggs El Salvador
I know that this will not sit well with many Montrose-dwelling diners, but I don’t really like Brasil, at least not for the food. Sure, it’s a great place to go hang out over a cup of coffee or a beer, relaxing on the patio and watching the Montrosian wildlife…
Maria Escamilla, 51, Bayou Body Count No. 8
A woman was killed on the southeast side and an arrest has been made in the case, Houston police say. Maria Escamilla, 51, was found dead from a gunshot wound inside a building in the 3000 block of Broadway about 10:45 p.m. January 8, HPD says. Jose Guadalupe Guerrero, 41,…
Your Meme of the Week: The Horror Of Mouth Eyes
Your meme for this week is something called Mouth Eyes, which freaks me the hell out, and it should do the same for you. It’s not new, but I just figured since some of you could be eating it would be fun to show you. So I hope you are…
20 Musician Biopics Currently In Development Hell
News came down last week that Sacha Baron Cohen will be stepping into the rhinestones and glitter as Queen icon Freddie Mercury. It’s been a long time coming for Cohen, the Borat and Bruno star who is slowly becoming his generation’s Peter Sellers and has been rumored to have the…
Health Dept. Roundup
Here’s our weekly foray into the deliciously seedy world of Houston health inspections. Delicious in the figurative sense. Anyway, let’s get started: Poparazzi’s Popcorn (8236 Kirby), a shop near Reliant that specializes in flavored – you guessed it – popcorn, racked up a couple of violations during a Tuesday inspection…
Luv Ya Blue Reunion at Upcoming Memorabilia Show
Getting all the icons of the Luv Ya Blue-era Houston Oilers together in one spot — and happy to sign autographs — is pretty rare, but it’s happening. The 25th annual Tristar Collections show this weekend will feature almost all of the major figures from that era: Bum Phillips, Earl…
Edgar Allan Poe, Still Wicked After All These Years
Today we celebrate the birthday of one Edgar Allan Poe, a man whose influence on music simply cannot be overstated. In fact, Rocks Off is going to go on record and say that Poe’s writings have influenced more music than any other written work except the Bible, and when you’re…
Ladies And Gentlemen, Brochella 2011
You can stop freaking out. The real Coachella lineup is below. But you might freak out anyway…
Getting to Know George’s Pastaria
Doing some research for this week’s cafe review of George’s Pastaria (1722 S. Dairy Ashford, 281-558-1717), I stumbled across a treasure trove at YouTube of all places: low-budget but incredibly awesome commercials that George Reed, his wife Rene and their employees made for the restaurant. If I didn’t already love…
Cover Story: Prized Possessions
Video by Daniel Kramer and Monica Fuentes In this week’s feature on the homeless and their prized possessions, we speculated that some, though certainly not all or even most of them, might subscribe to Kris Kristofferson’s dictum: “Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose.” How else to explain…
Chef Chat, Part 1: Ozzie Rogers of III Forks
Located in Houston Pavilions downtown, III Forks is an upscale dining establishment that encourages patrons to relax with a nice bottle of wine and a big steak. Ozzie Rogers is the man mostly responsible for those impressively behemoth cuts of beef (as well as the decadent side dishes). EOW recently…
Balaclavas, Moccs, Fat Tony Place In Pazz & Jop Poll
Music writers all know that once they get their Village Voice Pazz & Jop ballot in their e-mail inbox, that it’s time to tally their loves from the last year. It’s sort of like the leaves changing or the first freeze of winter coming. You get a message from Voice…
Ron Paul for Senate: New Poll Says Texans Demand It
As America faces the challenges of the 21st century, it is safe to say it needs as many Pauls in the Senate as possible. And we’re not talking first names, either. Texas, it seems, agrees. A new poll from PPP shows Texans are demanding that Kay Bailey Hutchison’s Senate seat…
Concealed Carry on Campus: (Conservative) Students Agree, Now Is the Time
Things we learned today: “The Texas College Republicans and Young Conservatives of Texas don’t always see eye to eye.” Big Tent, baby!!! The claim comes in an announcement that — despite the overwhelming variety of opinions among members of the Texas College Republicans and the Young Conservatives of Texas –…
New On DVD: Animal Kingdom, Down Terrace, Freakonomics, Jack Goes Boating, Paper Man, Stone
(Capsule reviews by Melissa Anderson, Michael Atkinson, Dan Kois, Michelle Orange and Nick Schager.) Animal Kingdom Happily sampling nasty beats and riffs from the Scorsese catalog, the new Aussie crime saga Animal Kingdom begins with a hushed but breath-holding set piece: A gawky lad watches TV on the couch next…
Last Night: Ozzy Osbourne At Toyota Center, Part 2
Ozzy Osbourne Toyota Center January 18, 2011 See more photos of the Ozzman, opener Slash and their fans in our slideshow. How does he do it? Say there’s this musician who a) overindulged to such an extent for 30 years he made Caligula look like a Southern Baptist; b) left…
Citrus Fest Hits Central Market
Between now and January 25, it’s Central Market’s annual Citrus Fest. The place is teeming with all manner of zesty treats, including imported sparkling lemonades, marinated fish filets, and lemony baked goods. Being a purist, I was most excited by the huge display of gorgeous fresh citrus fruits like Mandarins,…
Sampler Plate: This Week in Food Blogs
Each week, we put together a sampler plate of the most interesting links from both local and national food blogs. Know a blog we should be paying particular attention to? Leave the address in the comments section below. Foodie Houston: With all the new food trucks in town, there’s plenty…
Gabrielle Giffords Coming to Houston
CNN is reporting that family members say Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will be coming to Houston Friday to begin her long rehab process. The victim of the Tucson shootings will move to an unnamed facility here, but one with “military surgeons who specialize in bullet wounds to the head,” Giffords’s mother…
Video: The Virginity Hit‘s Zack Pearlman Caught in the Act
The newest Will Ferrell/Adam McKay film, The Virginity Hit, comes out on DVD this week. The self-described American Pie-meets-Superbad comedy follows the lives of four teenage boys trying to lose their virginity. Sure, we’ve seen this storyline many times before, but the cliche plot feels original thanks to the film’s…
What’s The Worst Tattoo You’ve Ever Seen?
Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Every Monday (or thereabouts) that isn’t a national holiday, Rocks Off will have some of them here discussing issues relevant to their culture. This Week’s Panel: Delo, Killa Kyleon, Jack Freeman, Renzo, Thurogood Wordsmith, Young Sensation Not Invited: Gucci Mane This Week’s…
Anvil’s Bobby Heugel and Kevin Floyd Opening a Beer Bar
If places like the Flying Saucer and BRC Gastropub didn’t think they had any real competition before, things are about to change. Anvil’s Bobby Heugel and his partner, beer man extraordinaire Kevin Floyd, are opening a beer bar together. For many months now, Floyd has been giving Beer 101 classes…
Gary Ross: River Oaks’ Teflon Man Reappears, in Chron’s Society Pages
Gary Ross: He’s baaackWe laughed our asses off this morning when we saw a pic of Gary Ross, a.k.a. Teflon Man, on the arm of Carolyn Farb in the Houston Chronicle’s society pages A colorful character who winnowed his way into River Oaks society in 2004, Ross eventually ticked off…
Generation Z, meet The Cocteau Twins
Generation Z, we’re worried about you. You were born in the early 1990s and as a result, you’re coming of age with no memory of what it was like to not have the Internet, TMZ, or a smartphone. This concerns us. You seem distant. Engaged yet disengaged. Your eyes glow…
Conroe Man Could Have Bought Willie Nelson’s “Crazy” For $10
One day in 1960, Larry Butler was rehearsing his band at the Esquire Ballroom on Hempstead Highway when the manager approached and said a man at the front door wanted to talk to him. “So I told her to just show the fellow in and sit him at the table…
Noni Berry Snapple
Being familiar with a wide range of foods, I don’t often find myself exclaiming, “What the hell is that?” while walking through my neighborhood supermarket. But that was my reaction when I spotted Noni Berry Snapple. More specifically, I thought, “What the hell is a noni berry?” For a second,…
Jerome Gray : Longtime Anchor Becomes Metro Spokesman
Metro has a new public face: Jerome Gray, the longtime anchor for KHOU and KPRC news. Gray’s contract with KPRC was not renewed last year, possibly because he is no longer 26 years old and perky, if he ever was. He’ll be a V-P and “senior press officer” for the…
Oysters on Oysters at BRC Gastropub
Lately, I don’t pass up an opportunity to have oysters. I love them plain, with their salty brininess, and dressed up, all covered in cheeses, cream, and breadcrumbs. As with soft-shell crabs, I dream of a restaurant that offers buckets of fried oysters accompanied by cups o’ dipping sauce like…
Comment of the Day: I Shaved My Legs for This?
We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it’s time we paid some damn attention to them. So we’ll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day’s work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula…
Last Night: Ozzy Osbourne At Toyota Center
Ozzy Osbourne Toyota Center January 18, 2011 See pics from last night’s show, featuring Ozzy and opener Slash, in our slideshow. For metal fans like Aftermath, Ozzy Osbourne’s now 42-year-long career represents a platinum standard of evil cool. You start with Black Sabbath, work your way through the band’s first…
Sonia and Suzy‘s Story Needs an Arc
The Setup: A two-actor play challenges the performers to hold the audience’s interest, without an eccentric uncle suddenly entering to spice things up. Sonia and Suzy, a new work by Nancy Geyer, takes on this challenge, as Suzy, an adopted daughter in her early 20s, meets her birth mother Sonia…
The Final Four Is Coming to Town
John RoyalThe NCAA is coming to townThe NCAA Final Four is coming to town in April. So get ready for the hype. Get ready for the out-of-towners bitching about what a crappy city Houston is. Get ready for complaints from people having to stay in hotels out in The Woodlands…
Gothic Council Debates Gothiness Of “Graveyard” Video
Though Gothtopia doesn’t get to do our daily music-video column anymore, they’re still one of our favorite things to write about. So, while trolling through YouTube yesterday, we came across the music video for the latest single by Pittsburgh electo-goth duo Candy Apple Blue, “Graveyard.” Frankly, we were nonplussed. Was…
Ten Charmingly Strange Old Houston Postcards
You think you have it tough these days as a Houstonian, trying to sell your city as a tourist destination? Try it back in the days before…ummm…before the Downtown Aquarium Family Fun Restaurant!!! Thanks to the folks at cardcow.com, we can see what Houston used to highlight about itself. And…
Let Them Eat…Crumbs?
While picking up a slice of cake at Dessert Gallery Bakery & Café as a new-semester pick-me-up, I noticed a rather unusual discount baked good bin. For the record, I’m generally a big fan of bakeries and sweet shops selling their day-old wares at reduced prices. This practice often allows…
Ten Houston Neighborhoods: The Crimes They Experience
We’ve been plotting which neighborhoods in Houston lead in certain crime categories, but doing that doesn’t really get you to the more well-known parts of town. So we decided to zero in on a few specific neighborhoods and see what crime’s been going down in them. The numbers all come…
Comments of the Day
Nicholas Hall had what he calls “the worst meal I have ever had in any restaurant, anywhere” at the Rainforest Café. Commenter Fjfurlow said he plans to avoid Tilman Fertitta’s restaurants altogether: Tilman Fertitta could care less about the food you buy. Just keep giving him your money. I will…
Colby Bartholemy: Fire in Our Pot Greenhouse? We’ll Take Care of It, Firefighters
Colby Bartholemy and his pals know how stressed firefighters can get, especially volunteer firefighters in a small town like San Leon, where any second they could be called to battle a raging inferno. So when Bartholemy and friend had a bit of an electrical fire in their business Saturday, they…
Top 5 Greatest Canned Foods
We had a look at some of the worst canned foods you can buy some time ago, which you might remember in the same way that twitchy guy in the cubicle across from you still remembers having been trapped in a burning car when he was six years old. Well,…
Lacrosse Mascot Gets Halftime Lap Dances (with VIDEO)
Living in Houston, I’m guessing very few of you know anything about lacrosse. I’m guessing even fewer of you know that there is actually a professional lacrosse league called the National Lacrosse League. However, again, living in Houston (and being avid readers of the Houston Press), I’m sure practically all…
Roky Moon & BOLT Record New Album In One Day
Rocks Off has a short list of hotly anticipated local releases for the upcoming year. Among that list is certainly Buxton’s next album, Nothing Here Seems Strange, as well as whatever cooks up in Robert Ellis’ kitchen. We’re also looking forward to the new stuff from The Ton Tons and…
Merry Christmas Ukraine!
You may be appalled that I am still talking about Christmas. Well, Ukrainian Christmas begins January 6, which is considered Christmas Eve, while Christmas day is then on the 7th, and the whole shebang culminates on January 19th with Epiphany. I was happily curious after being invited to a friend’s…
Video: HGO’s “Humanette” Designer James Wojtal Is a Master Manipulator
The first thing I noticed after meeting puppet designer James Wojtal was the pair of life-sized pink legs sticking out of the box he was carrying. That was not what I expected to see. That’s not to say that the legs looked realistically human — they were made of plush…
ID Thief Helpfully Poses for Sam’s Club Card
You’ve ripped off someone’s credit cards, gone on a $2,000 spree at various suburban stores and the cops still haven’t caught you. Help ’em out!! That was apparently the thinking of one woman, who in the course of using a stolen credit card got so swept up in the giant…
A Jerky Fix from Prasek’s Hillje Smokehouse
When our friend Dale announced that he was making a meat run, my wife immediately chimed in with what some might consider an immoderate order for jerky. Dale’s second cousin owns and operates Prasek’s Hillje Smokehouse. Prasek’s is famous for its various smoked meats and kolaches, and has been mentioned…
Julia Ward: Alleged Pill-Mill Doctor Says She’s Legit
We’re no pill mill, doctor saysThe Texas Medical Board has temporarily suspended the license of a Houston doctor who Board investigators allege is running a pill mill out of a pain clinic on West Little York.According to the suspension order of Julia Renee Ward, investigators for the Medical and Pharmacy…
First Look at Cafe España
The rap music playing on the speakers was not a good first sign, nor was the smell of raw sewage that permeated the dining room at Cafe España last week. My dining partner and I threw each other tentative glances as we walked in and were greeted with a lackadaisical…
Video: Rémi Gaillard Acts Like a Dick
Rémi Gaillard is a French comedian known for his hidden-camera sketches. He gained attention when he appeared disguised as a soccer player in the Coupe de France final match and was greeted by then president Jacques Chirac. Since then he has dozens of videos on YouTube in which he terrorizes…
Ozzy & Sabbath Songs We’d Like To Hear Tonight (But Won’t)
It’s the curse of being a fan. You want to hear all your favorite songs, but you know that the artist only has so much time onstage, and what with trying to shill a new album nobody has heard and playing the requisite classics, may only have time for an…
Spark Energy: Houston Company’s Plane Drowns Out Rick Perry’s Inaugural Speech
How not to get on Rick Perry’s good side: Drown out part of his inaugural speech by flying your advertising plane way too low over the capitol. Spark Energy of Houston is about to learn that hard fact, or, in the alternative, make a sizable donation to some Rick Perry/inaugural-based…
Fabi & Rosi in Austin
As a high school exchange student in Europe about hundred years ago, I developed a fondness for schnitzel, bratwurst, and sautéed cabbage. Germanic cuisine does not always offer the most sophisticated flavors, but it certainly sticks to your bones in a way that is particuarly satisfying when the temperature drops…
Guilty Conscience Is Guilty of Lame Writing
The Setup: Longtime collaborators Richard Levinson and William Link created some marvelous television, including the excellent Murder, She Wrote, a delightful soufflé of plot and acting. The Execution: Unfortunately, Levinson & Link’s stage creation, Guilty Conscience, falls flat as a pancake. Originally a successful television movie, that Guilty Conscience featured…
UH’s “Tier One” Talk Gets a Little More Legitimate
Just as Houston officials throw around “world-class city” ad nauseam, boosters of the University of Houston throw “Tier One University” into every other sentence, it seems. The mysterious and vague “Tier One” description is reserved for the nation’s elite schools; Rice, UT and A&M have it, and the Texas legislature…
Don Kirshner, Late-Night Rock TV Mogul, Dies At 76
Don Kirshner, the music-business impresario responsible for hits by the Monkees and the Archies, as well as introducing scores of pre-MTV American youth to rock via his late-night network program Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert, died Monday. Kirshner, a songwriter, producer and publisher, was 76 and died at his home in…
Brew Blog: Weihenstephaner Original
All right, beer nerds, sharpen your knives (or whatever your weapon of choice when chasing down fledgling beer reviewers, pinning them to the ground, and pouring gallons of domestic pilsner down their throats). That’s right, this marks my official debut as the new Brew Blog writer here at Eating Our…
Marriage Counselor’s Methods Included Banging a Wife, Lawsuit Claims
Can this marriage be saved? Probably not through the alleged methods of Mario Pena, a Midland counselor. Pena is being sued by Pablo and Rosa Villela, who say they went to him for help with marital troubles. As part of the therapy, they claim, Pena embarked on an 18-month affair…
New Local Rap From A Madman, A Menace And A Monster
Back around the time the first Ask A Rapper column was running (June 2009), Rocks Off had a conversation with an out-of-town publicist who was trying to get her out-of-town act an interview for the spot. When told that AAR was reserved for Houston rappers, she responded with, “You’re going…
Evergreen West Side Story Is Still Powerful
The Setup:The stage of the Hobby Center doesn’t seem big enough to contain all the life that this classic show (1957) so vibrantly possesses. The powerful gangs of Jets and Sharks tear across the stage in Jerome Robbins’s priceless choreography, propelled by Leonard Bernstein’s most melodious score, while singing Stephen…
Migas at La Guadalupana
My sure-fire breakfast on a bleak weekend morning? Migas at La Guadalupana (2109 Dunlavy, 713-522-2301), along with a cup of cafe de olla and a tall glass of jamaica. There’s very little not to love about this breakfast, especially if you treat yourself to a bite from pastry case afterward…
Patrick Borrego, 40, Bayou Body Count No. 7
A man whose body was found at 5 a.m. in an eastside bar parking lot died later at the hospital, Houston police say. Patrick Borrego, 40, of Pasadena, “suffered sharp force wounds” and died at Ben Taub Hospital, HPD says. Police received a call saying a body had been found…
Longing to Touch at Inman Gallery
Somehow the most conspicuous visitors at the opening of two solo shows at Inman Gallery last Saturday were a group of five toddlers who had their own thoughts about the works on exhibit. In particular, they were transfixed by Carl Suddath’s untitled sculptural work of mahogany beams joined together into…
Ozzy Osbourne’s Top Five Animal Moments
Ozzy Osbourne rolls into town tonight for the second leg of his worldwide Scream tour. Given the guy’s past, we’d be lying if we said we didn’t suspect this might be the last go-round for the 62-year old former Black Sabbath front man, and Rocks Off will be at Toyota…
Juan Quintero: Sale of Cop Killer’s T-Shirts Being Reconsidered
Last week we told you about fund-raising T-shirts being sold by GRACE, the Gulf Region Advocacy Center. They featured a design by Juan Quintero, who is on Death Row for killing a police officer, and someone had started anonymously faxing copies of the fund-raising page around town, questioning its propriety…
Top 5 290 Eateries
Places right off the freeway often get a bad rap. But if you’re stuck in traffic, hungry, and need a quick bite, these five excellent options are located a stone’s throw away. Establishments directly off Highway 290 out to Highway 6 are accounted for on this list. 5. Willie’s Grill…
Upcoming: Blue Oyster Cult, Foals, Ice Cube, Etc.
10 Years, Digital Summer, A Cry Farewell: Mon., Feb. 28. Scout Bar Clear Lake. Al Staehely: Fri., Feb. 11. Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe. Blue Oyster Cult, Marshall Tucker Band: Fri., March 18. Arena Theatre. Cults, Small Black, Sun Airway: Tue., March 15. Fitzgerald’s. Destruction, Destroyer 666: Wed., May 18. Numbers…
Wine of the Week: Glögg
I’ve been dealing with a cold all week and thus a lack of taste and smell, so there’s no wine tasting for today’s Wine of the Week. Last week, I ended up with an abundance of Seven, which I plan to turn into Glögg – Scandinavian mulled wine – as…
Four Hip-Hop Tattoos Gone Very, Very Wrong
People get tattoos for a number of reasons: to commemorate someone or something special, to make a statement, to remind themselves of who they are, or as a consequence of a drunken night out with friends. Whatever the motivation, tattoos always draw attention. Oh, and they’re stuck with you forever,…
Comments of the Day: The Two Sides of Jolanda Jones
We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it’s time we paid some damn attention to them. So we’ll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day’s work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula…
30 Seconds With The Hates’ Christian Arnheiter
We sat down with legendary Hates front man Christian Arnheiter to find out what we could learn about Houston punk’s elder statesman in 30 seconds. Rocks Off: What is the worst song in the world? Christian Arnheiter: “Need You Now,” by Lady Antebellum. “It’s a quarter after one, I’m a…
The Best Pop-Culture Porn Parodies Today (NSFW)
Of all the porn parodies we as a smut-loving nation could have asked for, we end up getting a hardcore version of The Simpsons, complete with body paint, blue hair, and Homer and Marge doing things onscreen that would make Reverend Lovejoy and Ned Flanders turn red with embarrassment (or…
Why the Golden Globes Are Relevant…No, Really
The 2011 awards season kicked off Sunday night with the 68th installment of the Golden Globes, a.k.a. That Awards Show No One in Hollywood Takes Seriously But They All Attend Anyway Because They’re Too Chickenshit to Blow It Off. Though now that I think about it, I guess “Golden Globes”…
Quit Complaining About The Golden Globes Already
The 2011 awards season kicked off Sunday night with the 68th installment of the Golden Globes, aka That Awards Show No One in Hollywood Takes Seriously But They All Attend Anyway Because They’re Too Chickenshit to Blow It Off. Though now that I think about it, I guess “Golden Globes”…
Ted Stewart: Austin Man Dresses As Clown, Threatens Liquor Store Clerk
Nobody can say 44-year-old Ted Stewart hasn’t done his part to keep Austin weird. According to an arrest affidavit reported by the Austin American-Statesman, last Friday evening Stewart staggered into the Twin Liquors on East Seventh Street downtown and was rebuffed in his attempt to buy more hooch because the…
Where Are We Drinking?
Only one place in town (that we know of) serves Cool Taste, a Capri Sun-like drink with two distinct advantages: It’s 100 percent fruit juice and the top screws closed when you aren’t drinking it. Take that, children’s lunchbox beverages! Think you know where we’re drinking this week? Leave your…
The Houston Ship Channel Never Looked So Beautiful
Hat tip to Mr. Kimberly over at Neon Poisoning for tipping us off to the excellent photo stream of Louis Vest, OneEighteen on Flickr, who occasionally uploads amazing videos of the humdrum business on the Houston Ship Channel, including the one above…
Comments of the Day
Katharine Shilcutt had a bad experience at Royal Oak Bar & Grill this weekend and told us all about it. Lots of readers were outraged on her behalf, while others already had an issue with this place: the name. Said Montrosian: I’m surprised no one has commented on the name…
NFL Conference Title Games: Douche-apalooza 2011!
Ben Roethlisberger, Mark Sanchez, Jay Cutler, Aaron Rodgers. In an era where success in the NFL has never been more tied to quarterback play, those are your last four quarterbacks standing in the 2011 Playoffs. Most NFL fans see the elimination and subsequent absence of names like Manning, Brady and…
Dining Depressed at Rainforest Cafe
I knew better. We both did. As anyone with young children can tell you, though; it’s not at all uncommon to sacrifice your taste buds to tease a beatific smile from the face of a four-year-old, smitten with animatronic elephants and the thrill of indoor “thunderstorms.” For that reason, my…
Jazz: A Little Third Ward In Manhattan
Yesterday, Ben Ratliff reported in the New York Times about two special concerts that went down, last Friday and Saturday, in Manhattan’s TriBeCa neighborhood. Houston pianist Jason Moran organized “713 to 212: Houstonians in NYC” at the 92nd Street Y, featuring jazz musicians taught by Dr. Robert Morgan, a recently-retired…
Steve Jobs Absence: Huge, But How Would It Rank Against Other Big-Time CEOs?
Steve Jobs has once again rocked the tech world, albeit this time with his announcement that he is taking another medical leave of absence. It’s huge because, to most people, Jobs is Apple, and Apple is the most hip, flexible, intuitive provider of gizmos the world never knew it needed…
Ozzy, Yes. Might These Rockers Have Neanderthal DNA?
Last year, Ozzy Osbourne became the first in what is sure to be a long line of musicians and artists to have their genome mapped by scientists. The firm that did the analysis, Knome of Cambridge, Mass., found that Osbourne has a few trace elements of Neanderthal in his genes,…
Cheap Wine and Chard at Giacomo’s Cibo e Vino
As former EOW blogger Ruthie Johnson noted back in May — quite pointedly, at that — Giacomo’s Cibo e Vino (3215 Westheimer, 713-522-1934) now offers table-side service at night. This is different from its original model of counter service, which confused many of the restaurant’s patrons. Like Ruthie, I failed…
Howard Lowe, 21, Bayou Body Count No. 6
A man attempted to rob an acquaintance and killed him in the process at a southwest side apartment Friday night, police and court records say. Howard Lowe, whose age was not given but is believed to be in his 20s 21, was killed by Joel Stephen Berkley, 22, shortly before…
Last Night: Too Short & Devin The Dude At House Of Blues
Too Short, Devin the Dude, DJ Kid Capri House of Blues January 16, 2010 The truly legendary lineup of DJ Kid Capri, Devin the Dude and Too Short came together Sunday night for Houston’s first major hip-hop show of 2011. The term “legendary” is often just a synonym for “old,”…
Coconut Cream Tea at Teahouse Tapioca & Tea
One recent night I couldn’t decide whether I was craving a milkshake or a smoothie, so I opted instead for a coconut cream tea ($4.50) at the Teahouse Tapioca & Tea. I’ve tried their bubble tea before and enjoyed it, though in truth I like shooting the tapioca balls through…
“A Matter of Wit” at FotoFest: Subtle, Sometimes Poignant
“A Matter of Wit” is an apt title for FotoFest’s exhibition of three photographers who cleverly capture, construct and/or stage images that use humor in ways that are subtle and sometimes even poignant. The Europeans are the standouts in this show, curated by FotoFest’s Wendy Watriss. Czech artist Miro Švolík…
Golden Globes: Worst Dressed Viewers
Last night’s Golden Globes brought with it, as it always done, a string of fashion triumphs and disasters. Many a publication or online site today is busy raining down judgment with lists of each category. We must do our part. So here are the Golden Globes’ Five Worst Dressed Viewers…
Martin Luther King or Glenn Beck: Whose Speech Was Better?
Glenn Beck’s stirring oratory made the nation forget MLKFor years now, one dude has hogged Martin Luther King Jr. Day. And that dude is Martin Luther King Jr. His “I Have a Dream” speech will probably be broadcast five thousand times on five thousand channels today, as it is every…
Top Eight Freedom Songs For MLK Day
Rocks Off sincerely prays that those of you with today off are at least peripherally aware of why you have today off. For our annual MLK Day reflection this year, we thought we’d leave the songs about Dr. King to Bono, and instead share a few of our favorite songs…
Ingredient of the Week: Himalayan Pink Mineral Salt
What is it? Mined from the base of the Himalayan Mountains in Pakistan, this prized rock salt ranges in color from light beige to deeper reds, depending on the mineral content. The more minerals the salt contains, the deeper the color. Formed more than a quarter billion years ago during…
Prepare for an Identity Crisis: The Zodiac Signs Have Changed
If I subscribed to the (oxymoron alert) science of astrology, everything I believed to be true about myself for the past three decades is a lie. It turns out I am no longer a diplomatic, charming, sociable, idealistic, indecisive, flirtatious and self-indulgent Libra. The universe actually intended for me to…
Ted Williams: Golden-Voiced Ohio Beggar Reportedly Now in Texas Rehab
In a sadly predictable story, it seems like for Ted Williams, the Ohio beggar with the golden voice, his Internet super-celebrity proved to be too much, too soon. Now informed speculation has it that the 53-year-old former soul radio DJ will be a temporary Texan, thanks to a three-month stay…
Salty Lemonade at Huynh
I was definitely in the mood for Vietnamese food when some coworkers and I walked into Huynh Restaurant on a chilly day last week. It was then that I realized, even though I had dined there many times before, that the place was named Best Vietnamese Restaurant in the 2010…
Jim Parsons On a Streak; Wins Golden Globe
We were wondering if Houston boy Jim Parsons’ success is still newsworthy in these parts. After winning last year’s Best Actor Emmy for his role as Sheldon Cooper in CBS’ The Big Bang Theory, and the series being renewed for three more years (Parsons will make $200,000 an episode with…
What a Crock: Bread Pudding
I recently had some bread pudding at Gatlin’s. That experience provided all the motivation I needed to find a crock pot recipe and give a home version a shot. The rundown This bread pudding recipe consists of simple ingredients typically found in most households. Bread, brown sugar, eggs, cinnamon, raisins,…
Jane Draycott: EEOC Sides With Female Firefighter on Harassment Charges
As first reported by Fox 26, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has found that one of the female firefighters involved in a headline-grabbing case was the victim of harassment. We’ve got a copy of the document (you can see it below) and the EEOC says Jane Draycott “was subjected…
Saturday Night: Reel Big Fish & Aquabats At Verizon
Reel Big Fish, Aquabats, Suburban Legend, Koo Koo Kangaroo Verizon Wireless Theater January 15, 2011 Walking into Verizon Wireless Theater Saturday night, it was easy to spot who was a fan of whom. The Aquabats’ fans wore masks, and Reel Big Fish’s fans wore witty T-shirts pertaining to the group…
Patricia Hernandez’s “Parody of Light” Is a Rollicking Takedown of Thomas Kinkade
While it’s common enough for an art show’s opening reception to offer beer, wine, and soda, and while it’s also increasingly common to find hip food trucks outside serving up hot nosh, the reception for Patricia Hernandez’s “Parody of Light” on Friday, January 14, included a food court as an…
First Look at Royal Oak Bar & Grill
When a friend wanted to meet for a late-evening bite to eat and some beers in the neighborhood last Friday night, I immediately suggested Royal Oak Bar & Grill (1318 Westheimer, 281-974-4752). The former home of Bartini had recently been converted into what I’d heard was a cute whiskey bar…
MLK Boulevard, Houston: In Pictures
Today, of course, is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It seems every American city of any decent size (and minority population) has a street named after him. Writer Rob Walker has a blog featuring pictures of MLK Boulevards around the nation. We decided to do our part…
The Week In TV: The Globes, Garfunkel & Oates
This was the week in TV Land: • Thanks to a combination of laziness and masochism, I wound up watching the Golden Globe Awards broadcast last night. Ricky Gervais hosted again, and while there’s no denying his comedic talent, his approach to hosting is more of a scattershot roast than…
Saturday Night: Gritsy Dubstep Night At Warehouse Live
Gritsy feat. 12th Planet, The Dub Commission and Tangles Warehouse Live January 15, 2011 See pics from Gritsy (including the iconic Gritsicle) in our slideshow. Aftermath first heard about Dubstep in 2007, and immediately felt an immense attraction to the music’s personality. Sure, you’re better off enjoying the power of…
Jolanda Jones & HFD: Squaring Off Again
City Councilwoman Jolanda Jones has been at odds with the Houston Fire Department, it seems, almost as soon as she won her seat in 2007. Most notoriously, she quoted a description of Jeff Caynon, head of the firefighters union and a black man, as being a “House Negro.” So you’d…
A Different Type of Chocolate Cookie
While another EOW writer, Joanna O’Leary, has been out searching for the perfect chewy chocolate chip cookie, I have been busy in my kitchen turning out an entirely different version. This recipe is adapted from Alice Medrich’s new book Chewy, Crispy, Crunchy, Melt-in-your Mouth Cookies, which I spotlighted last month…
Friday Night: Daniel Johnston’s 50th Birthday At Fitzgerald’s
Daniel Johnston Fitzgerald’s January 14, 2011 Check out our slideshow from Friday night’s birthday festivities. News had already reached Aftermath before we arrived at Fitzgerald’s for Daniel Johnston’s 50th birthday concert that he could only get through two and a half songs at his Cactus Music in-store performance. That didn’t…
Joyce DiDonato Plays Sister Helen Prejean in HGO’s Dead Man Walking
Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, who plays Sister Helen Prejean in Houston Grand Opera’s upcoming star-studded production of Dead Man Walking, had her sights set on becoming a high school choir director. But when she needed some extra credit at Wichita State University in Kansas, she stepped into a college production (and…
Shiftwork Bites: Texas Thai Curry
Through the course of Shiftwork Bites, I’ve been making a conscious effort to build a semi-respectable pantry at work. Ultimately, I’d love to have one from which I might actually theoretically be able to prepare full meals with little or nothing in the way of extra ingredients brought in. Obviously,…
Friday Night: George Strait & Reba At Austin’s Erwin Center
George Strait, Reba McEntire Frank Erwin Center, Austin January 14, 2010 Friday night, Aftermath drove to Austin to catch one of the lone Texas stops on this round of tandem touring by the King and Queen of Country, George Strait and Reba McEntire, with Lee Ann Womack as support. Houston…
Max Noreau: Hey Now, You’re an All Star
John RoyalMax Noreau leads the team onto the ice Saturday nightLet’s hear it for the Houston Aeros. The team appeared doomed by a difficult December schedule that found them playing nearly every other day, with most of the games on the road, while traveling back and forth between the U.S…
Saturday Night: The Room With Tommy Wiseau
See pics from the midnight movie and Tommy Wiseau’s appearance in our slideshow. Oh my God did I forget how nerdy midnight movies were. Holy Jesus, seeing The Room on Saturday night at midnight at the Landmark River Oaks put me into a weird Ogre-from-Revenge Of The Nerds spiral that…
Comment of the Day: More Tips for Metro
We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it’s time we paid some damn attention to them. So we’ll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day’s work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula…
Hecklers 2: Electric Booooooo-galoo
Rocks Off got so many great stories from bands about hecklers that we are proud to present Hecklers 2: Electric Booooooo-galoo. Sorry, the editor has cut our pun budget in half and we have to import sub-standard puns from a disreputable manufacturer in Thailand. DR. MILO T. PINKERTON III, CONSORTIUM…
Case Keenum: UH’s Newest Grad Student
John RoyalCase Keenum addresses the media on FridayThe new semester starts tomorrow at the University of Houston. And there’s going to be a new grad student on campus. So UH students, when you see Case Keenum on campus, welcome him aboard. Keenum’s not actually new to the Houston campus. However,…
Where Are We Eating?
We snagged this BLT from a food truck (first clue!) that’s usually parked in one of our favorite coffee shop’s parking lots (second clue!). The BLT had a secret ingredient, though, that we can’t divulge — that might be one clue too many. Think you know where we’re eating this…
Astrology Sign Panic: Five Reasons to Calm the Eff Down
Astrology believers have been freaking out over the past week about news that there’s been a shift in things and Capricorns might be Aries or Cancers might be Virgos or something like that. A new sign, Ophiuchus, has been bandied about. Customers at shops like Houston’s Body Mind & Soul…
Inman Gallery Moves to Auxiliary Space After Flood
ArtAttack, indeed. Inman Gallery was flooded with several inches of mud earlier this week, when a CenterPoint Energy tunnel being drilled 28 feet underground, meant to house electrical wire, overflowed. The pressurized mud, designed to clear debris out of the tunnel as it was bored, oozed up through layers of…
This Week in Deliciousness
Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where we’re still trying to think of a title for our Nicolas Cage-themed cookbook. We were going to go with Braising Arizona, but we just don’t think enough people would get it. We started this week off with a…
Metro Danger Train Cure: Warning Labels
Ever since its debut, Metro’s light rail system has experienced recurring trouble with vehicle collisions. They’ve redesigned the warning systems at intersections, they’ve installed enough glowing lights to make Vegas seem tame, and still the crashes keep coming. So it’s time to call out the big guns: Warning labels. Not…
God of Carnage Is Dark, Funny Mayhem
The Setup: In Yasmina Reza’s latest Tony winner for Best Play (artful Art was the last, also translated from the French by Christopher Hampton), she asks the question, how civilized are we? The answer we get is, not very. It doesn’t take long at all — a brisk 90 minutes…
Comment of the Day
Today Nicholas L. Hall reviewed Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work, and commenter mfsmit filled us with admiration describing a MacGyvered sous vide contraption: My sous vide rig consists of a crock pot, a thermocouple, a PID controller and an old extension cord. The parts can be…
LaTrenda Watson: Ruth’s Chris Steak House Calls Her “Ghetto”
A Houston woman is at the center of a dust-up centering on the shocking news — if we can be absolutely stereotypical here — people from Mississippi can be prejudiced against blacks. LaTrenda Watson made reservations at a Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Ridgeland, Mississippi for a Saturday night get-together…
The Worst Concert Rip-Offs We’ve Ever Seen
On this day in 1978, the rapidly disintegrating Sex Pistols finally fell apart for good. Conveniently enough, they did it onstage at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom, on the final night of the ill-fated U.S. tour that also lurched its way through San Antonio and Dallas. That night, Johnny Rotten signed…
HISD Reinstates Asst. Principal at Wheatley High
In an amazing turnaround, Houston ISD has reinstated Sandra Walker as the assistant principal at Wheatley High School. HISD spokesman Jason Spencer said a letter from HISD Chief High School Officer Aaron Spence went out to Wheatley parents today saying that Walker had been offered the opportunity to return “and…
Rick Dennison — “I Just Work in Houston Now”
“I’m orange and blue all the way through. I just work in Houston now.” — Rick Dennison before his unsuccessful attempt to get the Broncos’ head coaching position There you go, Houston. Maybe your city isn’t the final stop for every wayward Denver Bronco soul. If you ask Rick Dennison,…
Just Give the Golden Globe (and the Oscar) to Christian Bale Already
Because he deserves it. He deserved it when he was 13 years old, playing a young J.G. Ballard in Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun, which Art Attack saw when we were 15. It made me blubber in tears then, and it still gets me when young Jamie (Bale) confesses to…
Double Cheeseburger and Fried Mushrooms at Lucky Burger
The prospect of getting decent Chinese and American food all in one place initially drew me to Lucky Burger. (Hey, I’m all for fusion cuisine.) The colorful façade also reminded me of Austin, which I have been missing lately, even though my heart now belongs in Houston. I ordered my…
Richard Nutt: Indictment Comes for Sheriff’s Deputy’s Coke Business
A month after now-former Harris County Sheriff’s deputy Richard Nutt was arrested for allegedly running a cocaine business, he’s been indicted by the feds on those charges. The U.S. Attorney’s office announced today that Nutt and four others had been indicted on charges of distributing cocaine, which came after a…
Jose Hernandez, Astronaut Who Sparked Immigration Controversy, Retires from NASA
NASA astronauts are not really known for stirring up much controversy beyond the occasional complaints about budget cuts (not counting the random diaper rampage, of course), but Jose Hernandez didn’t fit that stereotype. Hernandez pissed off some critics when he called for legalizing all undocumented workers in the United States…
Celebrate International Hot & Spicy Food Day This Weekend
Did you know that Sunday, January 16, is International Hot & Spicy Food Day? Look at it this way: It’s definitely not the stupidest of the arbitrary food days/months (I mean, January 16 is also National Fig Newton Day…) and you can use it as an excuse to pop some…
Weekly Time Waster: Cat Astro Phi
Cat Astro Phi is exactly what it appears to be: a throwback to simple Game Boy adventure games. There’s no tongue-in-cheek irony, no nodding winks, and no half-assed design. With graphics by Ilija Melentijević and music by Rich Vreeland / Disasterpeace, the game nails the 4-tone grayscale screen and melodically…
Bullish On Bull Thieves; New Music Everywhere
At Rocks Off, we work hard every week to collect those valuable pieces of internet minutiae commonly referred to as local music news. Much in the same way many of you once worked hard to gather and reunite the pieces of the Tri-Force: Is it truly meaningful? Probably not, but…
Chef Chat Part 3 Philippe Schmit of Philippe Restaurant + Lounge
This week, as we spoke with Philippe Schmit of Philippe Restaurant + Lounge, opening January 25, the one word that kept appearing was “design.” Aside from designing the menus, Schmit poured a lot of energy and thought into constructing the layout of the building with designer Lauren Rottet. The restaurant…
Case Keenum Coming Back to Coogs for Another Year
Case Keenum: Back in red for 2011The University of Houston is holding a press conference later this afternoon on the status of QB Case Keenum, and Fox 26’s Mark Berman says it’s to announce the NCAA has approved him coming back for another year. Keenum had asked for the extension…
In Search of The Beef: A Look Back at Iconic American Ad Slogans
It’s hard to imagine, but it’s been 27 years this week since little old Clara Peller first questioned the size of her hamburger patty, launching one of the most iconic advertising catchphrases in American history. In celebration of the missing beef’s birthday, we take a look back at some of…
Chanel Dizzle: Much More Than Just A “Barre Baby”
Rocks Off was pretty much blown away by that video of angelic-looking YouTube user ChanelDizzle singing the dirty hits of members of the Screwed Up Click, which we posted about last week. So we decided to get in touch with her and find out if she had dreams of becoming…
Brandon Trinidad, 20, Bayou Body Count No. 5
An afternoon drive-by shooting on the north side left one man dead Thursday, Houston police say. Brandon Trinidad, 20, was walking with two other people in the 12800 block of Northborough about 1:10 p.m. Thursday when an SUV — possible a Ford Explorer — pulled up to them and the…
Bartender Chat: Art Baez of Next Door
If you’ve never been to Next Door Bar, but bartender Art Baez looks familiar to you, there’s a reason for that. True, he’s a Houston legend in the bar scene, but I’m talking about something else…
“Oh, Hi Houston!” – Tommy Wiseau & The Best of The Room
This weekend at the Landmark River Oaks Theatre, you can meet the star, writer, and director of The Room, the noted auteur Tommy Wiseau, as he presents his cult-classic film tonight and tomorrow at midnight with a Q&A session. The “Love Is Blind” Tour pulls into Houston, and by my…
Oh Brother Grier, Where Art Thou?
Thursday’s Houston ISD school board meeting was packed and a significant portion of the crowd included those who wanted to talk about the recent removal of Wheatley High School assistant principal Sandra James Walker. But first they had to sit through close to three hours of school board talk (okay,…
Erasure’s Andy Bell: “My Voice Is Stronger Than Ever”
“I believe I would make a very convincing Russian gangster.” Rocks Off went around asking every person in the entire world and found that there are in fact no people anywhere who do not like synth-pop superstars Erasure. There was one guy in Sweden who said he was kind of…
Openings & Closings
This week saw two big closings, one big opening and some scares for fans of sushi and wine. First things first: Oishii (3764 Richmond, 713-621-8628) is not closed. The same dead-eyed panic sets in every year when the owners take a break and close the restaurant temporarily, reopening after a…
Million Dollars’ Worth of Weed Found in Montgomery County
Talk about your convenient locations — a million-dollar pot-growing operation in Montgomery County was located near a) a school, b) The Woodlands Mall and c) a church. So you had your students, your shopping moms and your bored-to-death guys being dragged to services all covered. Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies made…
Vid Picks of the Week: Jack Vale Films
The rise of the Internet Comedian has replaced stand-up comedy with the short-length internet video. Comedians like Jon LaJoie, Seth Green (Robot Chicken) and Will Ferrel have all contributed to this new medium to express their talents. We promise to select our favorite videos from those guys, but this week…
Top Five Hip-Hop Foes Turned Friends
Some rivalries are beyond repair. You’ll never catch Kobe and Shaq trading smiles at a joint family picnic. 50 Cent and The Game will still be mugging at each other at the 2021 VH1 Hip-Hop Honors. Batman will always despise that sonamabitch The Joker. Truth be told, hip-hop is a…
Odd Pair: Hot Buffalo Wing Pretzel Bites & Fume Blanc
Although I hadn’t even tried buffalo sauce up until last year (horror!), I am now obsessed with its tangy heat. Generally speaking, I don’t eat much meat, which makes it difficult to enjoy the stuff. But I recently discovered these little bites of crunchy pretzel that are drenched with a…
Mary Bassi: NOT Too Old to Work in Strip Clubs!!
Women in your 50s, rejoice. Your God-given right to work in titty bars has been upheld by the federal courts. Well, maybe it wasn’t as explicitly stated as that, but the Houston office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is reporting that Mary Bassi, who says she was harassed out…
Reviews For The Easily Distracted: The Green Hornet
Title: The Green Hornet Is This The Guy With The Ring? No, that’s Green Lantern (coming to theaters June 17). Rating Using Random Objects Relevant to the Film: Three Lone Ranger masks out of five. Wait, What Do The Masks Have To Do With Anything? In the radio…
Last Night: Girl Talk At Verizon Wireless Theater
Girl Talk Verizon Wireless Theater January 13, 2010 For more photos from last night’s Girl Talk show, check out our slideshow. Girl Talk is a DJ that is ostensibly famous for wearing a headband, but is actually famous for his ability to sew together various songs from various genres seamlessly…
NFL Playoff Best Bets (and a Tiger Woods Wagering Lesson)
Every Friday (Thursday some weeks) when I go to fish the lines for that weekend’s football games off the Internet, I go to the same site. (Point of non-disclosure: I will not reveal the name of the site which I use to wager go to. Easily the most asked question…
Review: Ideas in Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work
I’ve been reading the Ideas in Food (blog.ideasinfood.com) blog for quite a while now. Husband and wife chefs Alex Talbot and Aki Kamozawa are two of the most fascinating culinary minds I have ever come across. Their blog never ceases to provide insightful, thought-provoking ideas, and their creativity is seemingly…
Comments of the Day: Register, All You Gays
We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it’s time we paid some damn attention to them. So we’ll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day’s work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula…
The Week In Art Photos
Each week, we scour the Houston Press Flickr Pool and see what kinds of art shots our talented photographers have added. If you think you’ve got a good eye, drop your pictures in the pool and every Friday we’ll post the most eye-popping shots. (Be sure to enable the HTML…
George Strait Looking For Sea Of Red At Austin Show
Of course Rocks Off is driving to Austin on Friday night to see George Strait and Reba McEntire at the Frank Erwin Center. Who do you think we are? Isn’t everyone driving to Austin to see the Morrissey of Texas and the Queen of Modern Country? Anyhow, Rocks Off will…
Dark Chocolate Snickers
It seems like dark chocolate versions of mainstream candies popping up everywhere. While shopping for toiletries at CVS a few days ago, for example, I spotted a Dark Chocolate Snickers. The candy’s packaging was appropriately black in color and on the back reads “CHOW-IN-THE-DARK” in Snickers font. A little eerie,…
Craig Biggio, Steroid User?
Wait, Craig Biggio did what?Craig Biggio used steroids. Yes, you read that right. Craig Biggio used steroids. At least that’s the latest allegation to come from Jeff Pearlman, the man who says Jeff Bagwell used steroids but refused to offer up any evidence of Bagwell using steroids. Of course, he…
Black Queen Speaks Checkmates Other Funk-Rockers
It’s a well-known fact that most band names are essential gobbledygook, but here at Rocks Off we’re working to find some meaning in the monikers. Black Queen Speaks’ own description of itself is better than any other we could possibly come up: They sound like Jane’s Addiction and Soundgarden got…
Top 10: Best Dead (And Deader) European Composers
New York Times music and food critic Anthony Tommasini is exploring the qualities that make a classical composer great, maybe even…the best! On January 21st, he will unveil his list of the top ten classical composers of all time. Period. The best. And none of them get a prize because…
January 8-14: The Week in Photos
Each week, we take a dip into the Houston Press Flickr pool and see what our talented photographers have been up to. Be sure to post your pics to our photo group. You never know which images we might choose. As always, for more information on a subject or photographer,…
Jason Bourque and Daniel McAllister: East Texas Church Arsonists Sentenced to Life
The crimes that East Texans Jason Robert Bourque and Daniel George McAllister were convicted of last month were disgusting indeed. The two young men, sometimes working together and other times apart, admitted to torching ten rural churches across Smith, Henderson and Van Zandt counties. Their unholy firebug spree began on…
Upcoming Events
Don’t forget! Urban Harvest’s annual fruit tree sale is kind of a big deal, and it’s happening this weekend at Robertson Stadium on the University of Houston campus. From the press release: The event will bring together the largest stock of fruit trees and berries that has ever been assembled…
The 12 Stages of Facebook Addiction
The Internet is addicting and there are studies to prove it. Once people get involved with watching videos of kids falling down, leaving overly harsh anonymous comments on news stories and reading about how Swiffer will kill your dog, well, it’s just damn difficult to stop. Social networks have no…
Paula Harris Is New HISD Board President
As expected, Paula Harris has been elected the new president of the Houston school district’s board of directors. The unanimous vote came early in a meeting that’s still going on. Harris, who works in the oil industry, replaces Greg Meyers, who stepped down from the position after a one-year term,…
Comments of the Day
Today Lennie Ambrose talked about the “Top 5 Foods that Just Seem Wrong,” one being dishes involving both chicken and eggs, and the other foie gras. Commenter Kyle had something to say about both. Chicken and eggs: There’s a Japanese dish called oyakodon, which translates to parent-and-child rice bowl, that…
Spotted: The Girls Gone Wild Bus … Oh, Who Cares?
As our own Katharine Shilcutt pointed out earlier on Twitter, the infamous Girls Gone Wild tour bus is parked on Washington Avenue. As of this writing it was in front of Pandora, at 1815 Washington. Certainly the producers and crew of Girls Gone Wild would like to see a veritable…
The Girls Gone Wild Bus: Where It Should Go in Houston
When the Girls Gone Wild tour bus is spotted around town, as our own Katharine Shilcutt nodded to on Twitter, people are wont to talk. Speculation begins to pop up, and the town starts abuzz — where is it, and why? Should I go? Can I find a sitter? At…
Hot Dr Pepper with Lemon: The Ultimate Texas Cold Weather Drink
When I was in college, Dr Pepper ruled our campus (and so did Drayton McLane, but that’s a story for another day). No, seriously. It became the official soft drink of Baylor back in 1997. And along with it came Dr Pepper Hour, formerly Coke Hour. Baylor University isn’t just…
Brett Favre’s Sister Would Do Anything for Meth (MUGSHOT ALERT!)
In Season Five of The Sopranos, Tony is dealing with a lot of shit. In addition to the usual set of headaches — little things like RICO statutes and wondering each day if that would be the day that the New York crew decides to off him — Tony was…
1991: Best Music Year Ever?
1991 was one of the biggest years in modern music. It was when metal went pop, radio country ruled, grunge went mainstream, and rap began its climb to chart dominance, even if it was spearheaded by a white candy rapper from Dallas. There were many debut albums that year too,…
Chef Chat, Part 2, Philippe Schmit of Philippe Restaurant + Lounge
You might remember Philippe Schmit as the executive chef at the former Bistro Moderne at Hotel Derek. If you’ve been wondering where he’s been since BM’s closing in 2007, look no further. It’s a new year and new beginning for the chef as January 25 marks the long-awaited launch of…
A Grab-Bag of Writing Styles at Gulf Coast Reading Series
Funny fiction will be among the offerings at Brazos Bookstore next week as the University of Houston Creative Writing Program continues its Gulf Coast Reading Series with a grab-bag of literary styles. “There should be a good mix, that’s really the idea,” said Associate Gulf Coast Fiction editor Zach Smith…
Sheyla Hershey Wants Her Giant Boobs Back
If there’s one thing to say about Fox 26, it’s that they have owned the story of Sheyla Hershey, the local woman who got breast implants the size of a microwave and then got them taken out for health reasons. Latest update: She wants those puppies — make it those…
Imam Zoubir Bouchikhi: Arrested Shortly Before Deportation
Yesterday Ilyes and Omar Bouchikhi, aged 13 and 11, left school early to attend a protest on behalf of their father, Imam Zoubir Bouchikhi. Bouchikhi, the spiritual leader of a mosque in Southeast Houston who last year was detained for five months, was arrested once again Tuesday evening. His wife…
The Best Bar-Fight Song Of All Time: “Colorado Kool-Aid”
“I’s sittin’ in this beer joint down in Houston, Texas/ Drinkin’ Colorado Kool-Aid and talkin’ to some Mexicans…” So begins one of the greatest bar fight songs of all time. Along with “Pardon Me (I’ve Got Someone To Kill),” “Colorado Kool-Aid” is one of the high-water marks of Johnny Paycheck…
Top 5 Foods that Just Seem Wrong
5. Chicken served with eggs I love chicken. I love eggs. I don’t love chicken and eggs served together at the same time. Am I alone here, or do others feel that serving something dead at the beginning of life (sort of) and at the end of life just seems…
“Blizzard of Pollen” Hitting Hill Country
If you have plans on visiting Austin or the Hill Country any time soon, you better hope you’re not allergic to Mountain Cedar: The area is getting hit with massive amounts of the pollen, an expert says. “In all my life, I have never seen so much Mountain Cedar pollen,…
Learn to Make Authentic Tex-Mex with Robb Walsh
If you’re going to take a Tex-Mex cooking class, it may as well be from a man who’s penned no less than three books on the subject, a man who many acknowledge as the High Priest of the Temple of Tex-Mex: Robb Walsh. According to his blog, our former food…
Slutwave: Pop Phenomenon Or Feminist Scourge?
“Every generation needs a new revolution.” – Thomas Jefferson As one of the few women on the Rocks Off writing team, we were fervently proud to take an introspective stab at the new, curiously named micro-genre that 2010 bestowed upon us: Slutwave. Believed to have been coined by Brooklyn blog…
Houston By The Book: Kaboom
“This [used book] business is well-stocked with misanthropes and curmudgeons.” That was the first thing John Dillman, the proprietor of Kaboom Books, said after Art Attack informed him about our plans for a series on Houston’s independent bookshops. It was a peculiar sort of warning to offer up as we…
Gabrielle Giffords Fallout: NASA Announces Backup Shuttle Commander, But Her Husband Still Hopes to Fly
NASA is appointing a backup commander for the upcoming shuttle flight led by Mark Kelly, husband of wounded congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, but Kelly says he still expects to make the mission. Rick Sturckow will be the commander throughout the rest of the training for the April flight, with Kelly attending…
Kay Bailey Hutchison Retires: Five Career Highlights
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison has announced she will not seek re-election to the Senate, probably a wise move after conservatives sensed blood in the water after her disastrous gubernatorial campaign. KBH’s three terms in the Senate were somewhat odd in that she never made all that much of an impression…
Jones Soda Cocktails
Everyone likes to talk about the great presents they receive over the holidays. What often goes unmentioned is the laundry list of crappy gifts out there. You know you got them, likely from some far-flung aunt who just can’t believe that anyone wouldn’t want a collection of salt-water taffy she…
Graphic: Top Five Rejected Girl Talk Mash-Ups
Tonight is the big, wildly anticipated Girl Talk show at Verizon Wireless Theater. The show was originally slated for the House of Blues, but ticket sales and space dictated the gig move a few blocks away to capture the magic. Girl Talk, aka Gregg Gillis, is notorious for his inventive…
Making Art Out of Garbage: Waste Land
Vik Muniz’s work looks like trash. That’s the point. As captured in Lucy Walker’s documentary Waste Land, Muniz is a master at taking ordinary discarded objects and turning them into gorgeous and heartbreaking works of art that invoke the spirit of their subjects. The film revolves around Muniz’s work with…
GRACE: Organization Selling T-Shirts Designed By Cop-Killer, City’s Crime-Victims Advocate Says
GRACE — the Gulf Region Advocacy Center — specializes in defending indigents facing the death penalty. Naturally, fund-raising for such an undertaking can be problematical. To encourage donations, they’re selling T-shirts for $20. The trouble is, according to HPD’s crime-victims advocate Andy Kahan, the design on the shirts is done…
Food Fight: Battle Takeout Soup Bar
When the weather gets cold – and stays cold – there’s nothing like a piping hot bowl of soup. Sometimes you’re in the mood for chicken pho. Other times it’s tortilla soup. Or maybe French onion soup. Or maybe split pea soup from a packet. (Hey, what can we say?…
Last Night: No Age At Fitzgerald’s
No Age Fitzgerald’s January 12, 2010 For more pics from last night’s show, including lots of crowd shots, check out our No Age slideshow. We are only a little less than two weeks into 2011, and Aftermath may have seen the first best show of the year, with 50 weeks…
36 Years Ago Today, Rice Stadium: They Don’t Make Super Bowls Like That Anymore
A tweet from Rice University reminds us that today is the 36th anniversary of Super Bowl VIII, played at Rice Stadium. That’s right — Super Bowl madness in the middle of that cushy neighborhood. Hard to believe. But check out the first two minutes or so of the above video…
Brennan’s Recognized by the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance
When Brennan’s burned to the ground in the chaos of Hurricane Ike in September 2008, owner Alex Brennan-Martin wasn’t even sure if the restaurant could be salvaged at all. Before the remains of the structure were assessed, it looked like he’d have to rebuild the old girl from scratch. Luckily,…
Remember Renzo’s Understand This?
Houston’s history is dotted with albums that, fairly or not, have been swept aside. We’ll examine them here. Have an album that you think nobody knows about but should? Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. Renzo Understand This (Self-released, 2010) Renzo is the diminutive free-agent MC who enjoys singing his own hooks and offering…
Your Meme of the Week: The Most Interesting Man in the World
This week’s meme is one I know that we’ve all been doing over and over in our heads for years. When Dos Equis, my bro-beer of choice and giver of hellacious heartburn, came out with the “Most Interesting Man In The World,” it was a game-changer. Finally a beer commercial…
Owls Basketball: Just One or Two Plays Away, Again
John RoyalBen Braun questions a call in the first halfRice Owls head coach Ben Braun says that his team is close. One or two plays away close. One or two plays away from winning those close games and being a good basketball team. But all that actually matters is that…
Pink Prosecco Floats: A Grown Up Dessert
I had a friend over for dinner recently and spent some time contemplating what kind of dessert to serve following a hearty dish of Giada’s Spicy Baked Macaroni. Wanting something sophisticated, but easy, I decided to do a nice Prosecco Float. Prosecco Floats are a wonderful way to end your…
Gourdough’s in Austin
Homer Simpson and I have two things in common. First, we have both been exposed to above-average levels of nuclear radiation (he from working at the Springfield Power Plant, and me from having grown up very close to Three-Mile Island). Second, we both really, really like donuts. I’ve often bemoaned…
Five Songs That Huck Finn Guy Should Censor Next
As many of you probably already know, Alabama publisher NewSouth Inc. plans to release censored versions of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, replacing the words “nigger” and “Injun” with “slave” and “Indian,” respectively. That’s a good start, but there’s still a lot…
Comment Of The Day: That City Is Gayer Than Us?
We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it’s time we paid some damn attention to them. So we’ll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day’s work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula…
Game Of Thrones Gets An April Premiere Date. Will End…Quite A Few Years Later
There’s a new miniseries set to premiere on HBO in April, and if you’re in any way familiar with the epic fantasy genre, you’ve doubtless been anticipating Game of Thrones since the project was announced back in 2007. It’s based on the first book in George R.R. Martin’s Song of…
HBO’s Game of Thrones Will Be Awesome. And It Will Never End.
You may or may not have heard about the new miniseries gearing up to premiere on HBO in April. If you’re in any way familiar with the epic fantasy genre, you’ve doubtless been anticipating Game of Thrones since the project was announced back in 2007. It’s based on the first…
Paris Falls Has A Winner With Reverse Mirror Image
It’s very, very hard to talk about Paris Falls’ latest CD, Reverse Mirror Image, without using a plethora of adjectives that have already been painted in bright letters across reviews of their first three albums. They are still the living embodiment of everything that made pop music awesome in the…
App of the Week: GroupMe
App: GroupMe Platforms: iPhone, Android Website: GroupMe.com Many experts are predicting that more people will text than make actual phone calls in the coming years. This is already true for younger people, but the convenience of a short message over a long conversation, voice-mail message or busy signal (they still…
10 Sexually Suggestive, Food-Related Album Covers
If there are three things we report on quite well here at Houston Press Blog Central, it’s food, sex and music. So, hell, let’s merge ’em! Here is a rundown of ten of the most sexually suggestive, food- related album covers that caught our eye and gave us the craziest…
The Ten Sexiest (Male) Texans of Our Lifetime
Last week we gave you our 10 Sexiest Texans of Our Lifetime. It was a list that was, admittedly, vagina-biased. We make it up to the people who love guys with this definitive list, which involved more asking around than the first one. Here are, then, the ten sexiest Texas…
Tchaikovsky’s Traveling
Teenage violinists Elizabeth Cai and Catherine Cai, along with pianist Stephen Fierros, perform in the concert Tchaikovsky’s Traveling. The program features Violin Concerto Op. 35 and Chanson Sans Paroles Op. 2, No. 3. The Cai sisters and Fierros will also perform the Italian Song and Neapolitan Song. 7:30 p.m. Russian…
T. Jefferson Parker: Border Lords
Mystery author T. Jefferson Parker counts May 23, 1984, as a red-letter day. It was the day he got an acceptance letter for his first novel, Laguna Heat. The book went on to become a New York Times bestseller and an HBO movie starring Rip Torn, Harry Hamlin and Catherine…
Ellen Schreiber: Once in a Full Moon
Meet bestselling author Ellen Schreiber when she signs and discusses her new title, Once in a Full Moon. In it, teenaged protagonist Celeste Parker finds herself drawn to Brandon, a new student at school. But when she suspects that Brandon’s a werewolf, she’s torn between her heart and her head…
Girl Talk
Gregg Gillis: genius or hack? It seems that no one can agree whether Girl Talk is an indication of Gillis’ brilliance or music’s agonizing decline into postmodern muck. Gillis’ mixes mash up your favorite jukebox hits with a shock of bass. Feed the Animals, from 2008, super-collides tracks – “Gimme…
Texas Independent Film Network: An Evening with Greg Carter
Director/screenwriter Greg Carter has been on hyperdrive for the last ten years. He filmed his first feature in 1997, was in the Texas Filmmakers’ Hall of Fame by 2006 and has just started working with Seven Star Studios, currently being built here in Houston. Fans can join Carter for a…
48th Annual Ann Arbor Film Festival
As the megaplex superstars gear up for the self-congratulatory awards season, the experimental short offerings of the 48th Annual Ann Arbor Film Festival offer a refreshing intermezzo for movie geeks. The AAFF, which has been traveling around the country since 1964, brings nine 16mm shorts to the Museum of Fine…
MFAH Film Special Presentation: Artist’s Talk with Johan Grimonprez
Get an in-depth look at artist/filmmaker Johan Grimonprez’s work during today’s conversation between Grimonprez and Claudia Schmuckli, exhibition curator and Blaffer Art Museum director. During the MFAH Film Special Presentation: Artist’s Talk with Johan Grimonprez, the two will discuss his work not only as the director of such films as…
David Caceres
Something interesting happened to saxophonist David Caceres during his recent three-year stint in New York — someone suggested that he record an album featuring not his sax-playing but his singing. “There are a lot of great sax players out there,” producer Matt Pierson told him, “but there aren’t a lot…
For Once in My Life
Music Director Javier Peña leads the Spirit of Goodwill band, a group made up of severely disabled workers at the Goodwill Industries center in Miami. But this is no shtick; this is a real band that performs at a professional level. Their inspirational story is captured in For Once in…
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Blake Edwards’s classic love story Breakfast at Tiffany’s stars Audrey Hepburn at what some consider her loveliest. She’s Holly Golightly, a modern if somewhat shallow woman on the hunt for a rich husband. Holly innocently unleashes her charm on a new neighbor, Paul Varjak (played by George Peppard), a fledgling…
Robert Crais: The Sentry
Joe Pike, the central character in Robert Crais’s thriller The Sentry, is in for a wild ride this time out. That’s because nothing and no one is what they seem to be in the latest fast-paced, engaging installment in the Joe Pike series. The trouble starts when Pike stumbles upon…
Ron Franscell: Delivered from Evil
Today Texas author Ron Franscell will discuss and sign his new true-crime book, Delivered from Evil: True Stories of Ordinary People Who Faced Monstrous Mass Killers and Survived. Franscell recounts the horrific stories of survivors from some of America’s deadliest mass murders, including the 1984 McDonald’s massacre, the Luby’s Cafeteria…
Kristine Mills
We’ve heard Kristine Mills master jazz; we’ve heard her conquer the bossa nova. Now, on her latest album, As Yet Untitled, we’ll hear her do something completely different. The CD’s not due for release until May, but Mills is giving her audiences a sneak peek with an intimate concert. “Musically,…
Sam Singleton Atheist Evangelist, If the Ocean was Whiskey and God Was a Duck
Nine-year-old child evangelist Brother Sam thinks he’s been conned in the one-man show Sam Singleton Atheist Evangelist, If the Ocean was Whiskey and God Was a Duck. At a revival, he sets out to clear up a few questions about right and wrong — with hilarious results. In press materials,…
Alex Beard: Monkey See, Monkey Draw
Called an accomplished artist and adventurer by Vanity Fair, painter and author Alex Beard brings Monkey See, Monkey Draw, his newest children’s book, to Houston audiences today. The story of a troop of monkeys and an elephant who learn to draw and paint with their hands and feet, Monkey See…
Quinceañera
The Mexican-American tradition of quinceañeras — that is, the elaborate 15th-birthday parties akin to debutante balls — is at the center of the Sundance Award-winning film by Wash Westmoreland and Richard Glatzer. In Quinceañera, Magdalena is a 14-year-old girl happily looking forward to her upcoming party. Her plans are waylaid…
Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
When the MPAA handed Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine an NC-17 rating this fall, cynics suggested that the so-called “kiss of death” was better publicity for the gently experimental marriage drama than anything famously crafty distributor Harvey Weinstein could buy. When the rating was reversed this month — downgraded to an…
Superhero Slob
Only inertia will bring people to Michel Gondry’s 3-D spectacle, The Green Hornet. Opening amid persistent negative buzz in the mid-January dead zone, this long-germinating prospective franchise, based on a character that first saturated the nation’s radio waves in 1939, seems pretty much DOA — although in the absence of…
Still Standing
See South Park in pictures in our slideshow. Seven days a week, the Burger Park food stand turns out 400 to 500 burgers a day. It isn’t part of a chain, national or regional. It isn’t known for its gourmet cuisine. It doesn’t have gleaming granite countertops or even indoor…
Greg Brown
As poetic as William Blake, as raw as some old blues guy scratching away at a hand-built guitar somewhere in the Delta, Greg Brown easily ranks among the essential songwriters of this era. Certainly a folkie, perhaps the quintessential Iowa troubadour, but also someone whose music reflects a deep understanding…
Javelin
Brooklyn duo Javelin cobbles together boomboxes, broken synths and pop-culture effluvia into a captivating and intensely fun approach to postmodern electronic music that perversely combines discofied funk and fractured hip-hop with gently swaying global-pop melodies and Bacharach-ian arrangements. It is dizzying and discombobulating, but by stacking layers upon layers of…
Too $hort
At 44 — a year older than Thom Yorke, for reference’s sake — Oakland rapper Too $hort might be expected to adopt a less morally reprehensible lyrical stance than the one that informed his 1987 breakthrough, Born to Mack. Surely this 5’5″ on-record pimp has exhausted the litany of metaphors…
Ozzy Osbourne
The new year finds undisputed Prince of Fucking Darkness Ozzy Osbourne touring his new album, Scream. It’s Osbourne’s first disc since 1986’s The Ultimate Sin without former axeman/collaborator Zakk Wylde, whose trademark riffs were thought to be overtaking the Ozzman’s iconic sound by making Osbourne’s solo work come off more…
Capsule Art Reviews: “Plenitude,” “Rachelle Vasquez: Where Pigeons Dare,” “Tony Smith: Drawings”
“Plenitude” “Plenitude” is a big group show of “emerging and established artists,” and as such, it’s a well-chosen grab bag of nice work. Among the standouts is Hoary Squeezy Conversation (2010) by Annie Lapin. The artist uses paint in a way that is engaging and modern — it looks alternately…
Hustle Town
The New Orleans Hustlers Brass Band, which plays Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations Saturday at the Rothko Chapel and Sunday at Under the Volcano’s soul-food cookoff, has essentially called Houston home since Hurricane Katrina. The band includes the father-son tandem of tuba player Damion Francois and trombonist Devin Francois…
Capsule Stage Reviews: A Catered Affair, Plaza Suite,
A Catered Affair Based on the earnest 1955 teleplay by Paddy Chayefsky about a struggling, loveless family in the Bronx, which was adapted by Gore Vidal into an earnest 1956 movie starring Bette Davis, this gray little show was turned into another earnest kitchen-sink drama in 2008 when given music…
reasons to be pretty
It’s a guy thing. This play by Neil LaBute, reasons to be pretty, starts out in familiar LaBute territory. A couple is having a fight — an epic battle, one we instantly peg as a breaker-upper. Greg (Bobby Haworth) is helpless before the fury of Steph (Lauren Dolk). Steph unmercifully…
Rocca Fellers
The job of a party promoter is to promote the party. Crazy, right? It’s part of the reason why it’s so easy to disregard proclamations that a Tuesday-afternoon beatnik poetry reading at some lame strip-center gift shop in Pearland is the second coming of San Francisco’s Six Gallery. Every father…
Expanding Class Size
Expanding Class Size Go, Democrats: Texas Democrats, like ex-governor Mark White and veteran state house legislator Scott Hochberg, continue laboring to improve — against long odds — the Texas system of public education from its dismal national ranking [“The Whipping Boy,” by Margaret Downing, December 30, 2010]. The differences between…
Girl Talk
Gregg Gillis: genius or hack? It seems that no one can agree whether Girl Talk is an indication of Gillis’s brilliance or music’s agonizing decline into postmodern muck. Gillis’s mixes mash up your favorite jukebox hits with a shock of bass. Feed the Animals, from 2008, super-collides tracks — “Gimme…
Facebook v. Leaky Boob
SOCIAL DISTORTION Facebook v. Leaky Boob Houston mom in a FB face-off By Richard Connelly We think Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said it best: “NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE HEART OF A LEAKY BOOB!!!!” Facebook has learned that harsh lesson. Houston blogger/tweeter/Facebooker Jessica Martin-Weber, the founder of the Web site theleakyboob.com, appears…
Daniel Johnston
It’s hard to believe Daniel Johnston is 50. He looks every bit of it, or he did at the ill-fated but enjoyable Ghoulsfest in October. The Daniel Johnston in his songs, though, remains the wide-eyed incurable romantic that first surfaced in mid-’80s Austin and is depicted in Infernal Bridegroom/Catastrophic Theater’s…
Gaga for Pho Ga
Have you ever wanted to peek inside the kitchen at a busy pho joint? This slideshow is for you. On my first visit to Pho Ga Dakao, I took Robb Walsh along with me. He was planning a trip to the grocery store next door afterward for supplies to make…
God-Fearing Gangster
J-Dawg, the guts of the Boss Hogg Outlawz troupe, is about to walk up. It’s a little after 2 a.m. on a Tuesday morning, and the rapper is standing outside a club on Richmond near 59. He has just finished doing his very best to kick a hole in the…
Cactus Poaching
Dear Mexican, Read your column in the Village Voice and am hoping you can help me: I think I have a Mexican problem. In short, I have a home in sunny California on a property with an abundance of agave cactus and Century plants growing along the street. Every year…
