Car and Light Rail Collide at Jefferson and Main (PHOTOS)…Again
Sometime after 2:30 p.m., a Dodge Charger tried to take on a Metro light-rail train. The light rail won…
Sonia Sotomayor: Supreme Court Justice Offers Life Lessons to Houston
Stories of life challenges and the determination to overcome them is something that will always attract attention and admiration when we select our role models. On Tuesday night inside Cullen Hall at The Wortham Center, a room full of admirers welcomed Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor as she shared her…
Man Dies After Speeding His Kia Soul Through a Construction Zone
Police are investigating a fatal traffic accident that happened on the North Sam Houston Parkway service road around 12:10 a.m. on Sunday. Apparently an unidentified male victim, 38, drove at a high rate of speed through a construction zone and was killed when his vehicle hit a concrete support pillar…
Mellow Mushroom: The Best Bar in Spring (Also Offers Pizza)
Mellow Mushroom — the Georgia-based pizza chain which opened its first Houston-area location off Steubner Airline a few months ago — just might be the best bar in Spring. It also offers great pizza. I say this only partially tongue-in-cheek, as Mellow Mushroom — the subject of this week’s cafe…
Reality Bites: Sister Wives
There are a million reality shows on the naked television. We’re going to watch them all, one at a time. The assumption that one man having multiple spouses is in and of itself freaky enough to warrant a reality show is correct in the sense that Hollywood has decreed things…
How Less Accountability and a Smaller Tax Base Could Place Jesus on a Stegosaurus
After a comprehensive, scathing report detailing the implementation of Bible-as-literature courses within Texas’s public school systems — nothing like looking to Noah’s sons to figure out which race you belong to! — it’s perhaps not the best time to revisit the latest steps in Texas’s long slog toward educational vouchers…
This Week in Food Blogs: Maggie Rita’s Meets Its Maker
Houston Business Journal: In the first of this week’s big news items, the HBJ reports that Maggie Rita’s has closed its Galleria and Shepherd locations. No surprise, considering the overall quality of the food and the fact that the Kirby location was closed not too long ago. Maybe we’ll finally…
Bizarre Acting Roles by 20 Famous Musicians
It’s a toss-up whether actors or musicians will go to greater lengths to make rent, but some musicians have even found themselves so hard up they’ve been forced to take an acting gig. Such is the case with the haystack-sized Sleepy LaBeef, who in 1968’s The Exotic Ones appeared as…
Sundance 2013: America’s Black Indie Film Renaissance
Rachel MorrisonMichael B. Jordan (The Wire), who’s fully up to the challenge, in Fruitvale.You could hear a pin drop during the first Sundance screening of writer-director Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale, an enormously powerful and moving debut feature based on the shooting death of 22-year-old Oscar Grant by Oakland transit police in…
Houston Press Artopia 2013 – The Winners are In
In today’s edition of the Houston Press we are announcing this year’s winners of our MasterMind Award. For five years now we’ve handed out checks of $2,000 to three individuals or groups for doing what we believe is outstanding work in the Houston arts community. As in years past, the…
Larry McMurtry: Houston Is the Best Big City in Texas. Dallas Sucks.
Author Larry McMurtry knows a thing or two about the Lone Star State, which is why when he talks, much like EF Hutton in the ’70s, people listen. In this case, he was talking to Texas Monthly in an essay about Texas’s biggest cities for their February issue, and, as…
The Taste Premiere: Sea Bass with Butterscotch for Anthony Bourdain
With television today overwhelmed by reality shows that feature everything from singing to dancing to racing around the world, it’s no surprise that ABC has a new reality competition centered around cooking. The Taste is exactly like The Voice on NBC, except that instead of judging someone’s voice blind, the…
Introducing the Mr. Wired Up (Oh Boy) Guest Feature Counter
This year, Mr. Wired Up (Oh Boy), a kinetic, wiry local rapper who, as you may have suspected, excels within the Strip Club Rap subgenre, has set forth on a valiant journey: He is attempting to supply America with exactly 100 guest verses in 2013. Here’s a bit of an…
Gillette Asks “Is Stubble Killing the Kiss?” On Wednesday Night At The Houston Pavilions
With the beard and moustaches craze currently dominating the faces of men all over the country, it’s natural that companies who have a vested interest in men being clean shaven have some work to do. That’s why the good people at Gillette are going to be in town today at…
Brewery Incubator Wants to Bring Nano-Brewing to Downtown With Your Help
While American craft beer has often been called a small business renaissance, that doesn’t mean that entry into the business is a cheap initial investment. Brewing space and equipment can push start-up costs well north of six figures and beyond. This prohibitive figure often means that some of the very…
500px Mobile App Pulled from Apple Store Over Boobs, Victim of Apple’s Bizarre Double Standard When It Comes to Nudie Pics
The Apple App store has an incredibly byzantine set of rules that make it almost impossible for app developers to navigate. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that the approval process is often random and unevenly applied. Take for instance the case of 500px, a mobile photo-sharing app not…
The 5 Worst Disasters in Benefit Concert History
Benefit concerts are great. The practice of bands playing to raise money for a cause can be as local as helping a fellow unsigned musician pay for their son’s hospital bills to as international as world hunger. Though we may pinch our noses at the perceived sanctimoniousness of people like…
The Ten Best Pictures From 2013 AVN And AEE Weekend (NSFW)
This past weekend the porn world’s version of the Academy Awards, the AVN Awards and the Adult Entertainment Expo filled the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas with tons of porn starlets and industry folks hawking their wares for their peers and devoted fans. Vegas is quickly becoming…
“Power Hour” Free Once Again After Trademark Dispute, Thanks to Ali Spagnola
Imagine, if you will, an hour-long drinking game, fueled by 60 shots of beer and 60 different one-minute songs all performed live. Can’t quite picture it? You have a terrible imagination; here’s a video to help you out: That looks like fun, right? Who doesn’t like fun? Jerks on the…
Will Long.Live.A$AP Be the Biggest Houston Rap Album of 2013?
There are a few things you should know about A$AP Rocky. He’s a pretty motherfucker. His new album, Long.Live.A$AP, is at the top of the charts. And it might turn out to be the biggest Houston rap album of the year. Except that it’s not really a Houston rap record…
Exploring ‘Common Objects’ at David Shelton Gallery
Organizing an art show around everyday objects seems like a liability. By focusing on the mundane, you run the risk of the artwork itself being mundane, too. Luckily, David Shelton’s latest show, “Common Objects,” narrowly avoids this fate thanks to the strength of its three artists. Curator Shane Tolbert brings…
Midweek Dining at Hawthorn
Why is it that it takes me the longest time to try the geographically proximal restaurants, even when I’ve been hearing for months they’re fantastic? A question indeed for the ages. A few days ago I finally took that hop, skip and jump from my house to Hawthorn. I’ve been…
Turnovers, Inconsistency, Lack of Defense Hurt the Rockets During Losing Streak
Sometimes, as the saying goes, you can’t hit the ocean from the beach. During the Rockets’ seven-game losing streak, which mercifully came to an end at Charlotte on Monday afternoon with a 100-96 Martin Luther King Day matinee win, the Rockets have been awful from the floor. James Harden has…
Clybourne Park: Race Against Real Estate, But Hey, Kind of Funny
Clybourne Park, the winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award for Best Play, tackles the question of race right where we live. We get to see not only whites reacting badly to the prospect of having black neighbors, but decades later, blacks arguing against whites gentrifying what has…
Kester Havard Is Mad As Hell: Armed, Demands of Sheriff’s Office, “Do Your Fucking Job”
Sometimes, you just can’t take it anymore. Whether you are the guy in Network or Michael Douglas’s character in Falling Down, there’s a point where every man reaches his breaking point. It’s at that time that he must take matters into his own hands, even if that includes taking a…
David Lynch’s 10 Most Iconic Musical Scenes
Over our extended weekend, we celebrated the birthday of Reverent Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But one other eventful birthday I’d like to bring to your attention was on January 20, this past Sunday. That’s the birthday of acclaimed director David Lynch. The visionary filmmaker turned 67 years old. In…
How To: Organize Your Fridge & Keep It Clean
As the first month of the New Year comes to a close, we find ourselves starting to reorganize and clean our homes, especially our kitchens. One of the easiest things in our kitchens to get disorganized and cluttered quickly is our refrigerators. After a few trips to the grocery store,…
Goodbye PS2, A Non-Asshole Boyfriend’s Remembrance
The Sony Playstation 2 is no longer being manufactured. The sixth generation system lasted a good 13 years, and is actually the best selling home console of all time so far. Roughly one person in every seven worldwide has owned one. New games were still being released up to fourth…
Legislators Propose Tax Districts to Fight School Crime, Guns & Violence
Three Houston lawmakers are proposing the creation of school district crime control districts, new taxing entities that can fund additional security measures or free up dollars for other expenditures. The “Texas School District Security Act” would give taxpayers the right to approve this new taxing district, modeled on local Crime…
How Houston’s Singles Date According to How About We + Where to Get the Best Grub
The dating Web site How About We just released the results of an in-depth study about the dating habits of singles across America. And, rightfully so, our dear Houston was one of the cities involved in the study. (We are so hot right now, you guys. I can’t even.) We…
100 Creatives 2013: jhon r. stronks, Dance-maker
To watch jhon r. stronks take the stage is to witness a creature fully inhabiting the environment he thrives in most. The man behind Houston’s “yay dance” movement was originally a voice major in college, but that changed after facing an intense vocal jury. “I went down the hall and…
Latest Springsteen Book Digs Deep Into Songs
E Street Shuffle: The Glory Days of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band By Clinton Heylin Viking, 352 pp., $27.95. Capping a trilogy of recent, impressive Springsteen bios that also includes Marc Dolan’s Bruce Springsteen and the Promise of Rock and Roll and Peter Ames Carlin’s semi-authorized Bruce, noted…
Move Over, Jeff Bagwell! Brian Cushing’s House Is For Sale, Too!
Maybe after the tidal wave of a sports week that we all enjoyed/endured last week, we needed a bit of a breather. After Manti Te’o’s phony baloney girlfriend, Lance Armstong’s phony baloney apologies, the Patriots’ and Falcons’ phony baloney Super Bowl aspirations, a slow sports week leading up to Super…
Pop Quiz: The Joker or Kefka Palazzo?
I was messing around on the Internet the other day when I found the material possession I want more than anything else in the world. This picture is part of a series of minimalist works done to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Final Fantasy. The seller, BuddyIris213, brings out the…
Amorfa: The Best SNL Parody Commercial in a Long Time Lampoons Starbucks
Starbucks satire has grown increasingly stale as Americans slip into quiet acquiescence to the fact that the omnipresent Starbucks stores are now as much a part of our landscape as stop signs. Even though the coffee giant closed 600 stores in 2008 and then another 300 stores in 2009, it’s…
5 Easy Ways to Spruce Up American Idol
You may not have noticed, but American Idol started a new season last week. If you’re like most people, you apparently didn’t watch, because the ratings are way down. This could be for any number of reasons. Idol has been on the air for what feels like forever, with pretty…
Roe v. Wade, 40 Years On: Rick Perry Still Carries The Battle Flag
The 40th anniversary of Roe v Wade is not so much a time of celebration, Rep. Donna Howard told a small crowd on the south steps of the Capitol this morning, as it was a look at the progress towards healthy women and healthy communities. Some of that, liberal lawmakers…
Dynamo start training camp with lofty expectations
Seven weeks after dropping a second MLS Cup Final to the LA Galaxy, the Houston Dynamo are back out on the pitch, gearing up for the 2013 season. The preseason will be busy for the Dynamo, but there is not a lot of turnover on this Dynamo roster, and having…
UPDATED Three People Shot at Lone Star College, Maintenance Worker Caught in the Crossfire, Suspect Charged
UPDATE January 28: This morning, a judge dropped the two charges against Carlton Berry. He had been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Trey Foster, the second suspect who was arrested last Friday, is still facing two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. UPDATE January 24:…
Man Murdered for Playing Loud Music in His Truck, Perpetrators on the Loose
On December 3 around 3:30 a.m., Silas Armando Najera-Hernandez and three other men were driving around the parking lot at Bar Uno, located at 5829 South Gessner Drive in southwest Houston. As Najera-Hernandez navigated the silver Ford F-150 pickup through the crowded lot, loud music screamed out of the vehicle…
Upcoming: Grizzly Bear, Bad Religion, NKOTB, R. Kelly, Dillon Francis, Gaslight Anthem, etc.
Adnan Sami: Sat., March 23, 8 p.m., $35.00-$250.00. Arena Theatre, 7326 SW Freeway, Houston. Alejandro Escovedo & the Sensitive Boys: Sat., Feb. 9, 9:30 p.m., $18. Continental Club, 3700 Main, Houston. Bad Religion: With Against Me!, Polar Bear Club., Wed., March 13, 7 p.m., $25-$35. House of Blues, 1204 Caroline,…
Chamber of Commerce Weather on Tap All Week Long
If you ever wanted to invite a cranky, annoying relative who thinks Houston is a hellhole to town, this would be the week to do it. It would be particularly awesome if that person wasn’t from San Diego, because, well, it’s time for some Southern California weather up in here…
Arby’s French Dip n’ Swiss: You Got That (Two-Thirds) Right!
I was driving down South Shepherd last week when a poster in the window of Arby’s caught my eye, one advertising a French Dip n’ Swiss sandwich. Though I rarely eat at Arby’s these days (just a quick stop in Wasilla for a Beef n’ Cheddar when I’m traveling in…
Houston Press Partnering with Foursquare, and Not Just to Stalk You
Each September, the Houston Press releases our Best of Houston® issue after slavishly compiling what we consider to be the best this city has to offer — from theater companies and sports figures to bars and restaurants. With that in mind, we’re excited to announce a new partnership with Foursquare,…
Kris Kristofferson’s Favorite Place on Earth Is in Texas, But Not Houston
Rocks Off spoke to Kris Kristofferson by phone from his home in Hawaii where he describes living a life as spare and literal as the records he makes with producer Don Was. Twice he told us that he’s old, once he told us that he’s brain-damaged and then he told…
Today’s DVDs & Blue-rays: Pina and Imposter
Yes, Pina is a dance film, but it’s not just for dance fans. Documentary filmmaker Wim Wenders puts together a series of performances by the late choreographer Pina Bausch using her dance company members. Some seem to be performed on a stage, others are transported to public settings such as…
Time to Steal the Donuts: Man Robs Two Donut Shops, Drops Cash Register While Fleeing Second
In the pantheon of places would-be criminals have on their list of places to rob, I kinda feel like donut shop wouldn’t be high on the list, particularly before 7 a.m. on a federal holiday. Well, one man in Tyler decided that the early morning hours of Martin Luther King…
Last Night: Jeff Mangum at Wortham Center
Jeff Mangum, Tall Firs Cullen Theater, Wortham Center January 21, 2013 The level of nervous anticipation throughout Wortham Center beforehand ran high, while in the lobby countless hushed conversations between excited faces were underway. Jeff Mangum had finally come to Houston, and to say that the crowd was looking forward…
What’s Cooking on Pinterest? Homemade Pop-Tarts
Who doesn’t love a Pop-Tart? Even as college students, my roommates and I have Pop-Tarts in our kitchen at all times; it’s a childhood classic that’ll always stand the test of time. Last week on Pinterest, I made cupcakes with Earl Grey tea for a sophisticated treat, but this week,…
4 Imaginary Figures That Would Have Benefitted Manti Te’o’s Career More Than a Fake Girlfriend
When Deadspin broke the story about Notre Dame linebacker and future NFL draft pick Manti Te’o’s fake girlfriend, the whole nation was shocked. Many sympathized with him when he lost Lennay Kekua due to leukemia while he continued to play in “her” honor. Since then, he has garnered a large…
Sunday Fun-day: Five Great Reasons to Allow Liquor Stores to Sell Booze on the Sabbath
Local Texas state rep Senfronia Thompson has introduced a bill that would allow liquor stores to open on Sunday, something they have not been able to do in my lifetime thanks to “blue” laws that prevent certain businesses from operating on Sunday. In fact, I remember when virtually all stores…
Beyonce vs. Whitney: Battle of the “Banner”
“The Star-Spangled Banner,” our nation’s national anthem, is a notoriously difficult song to sing. Often arranged in an unforgiving key for vocalists, the melody is full of tricky intervals that make it even more precarious. This is a major reason most of the people around you at Astros and Texans…
First Look: OKRA Charity Saloon Looks to Make Change in More Ways Than One
OKRA, the organization founded by local bar and restaurant owners “to pursue charitable community initiatives,” is hoping its newest effort will be a trendsetter. Treading untested waters in both concept and locale, The Original Charity Saloon is among the most ambitious bars in Houston memory. The space that once housed…
Private Lives: KVAC Presents the Classic Noel Coward Comedy About the British Upper Class
The set-up: The classic comedy Private Lives by Noel Coward is a much-revived vehicle because of its wit, rich humor and vibrant characterizations. The leading role of Amanda has served as a magnet to many actresses: Gertrude Lawrence, who originated the role, Tallulah Bankhead, Joan Collins, and Elizabeth Taylor, who…
I Was A WWE Raw Seat Filler
With the help of a friend who works in local promotions and film screenings, I was a seat filler recently at the WWE Raw event at Toyota Center. You could say that for a few hours that I (and my ass) worked for World Wrestling Entertainment, and all I had…
Last Night: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion at Fitzgerald’s
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Weird Party Fitzgerald’s January 21, 2013 “We use these instruments like jackhammers,” says Jon Spencer, headlining Fitzgerald’s with the Blues Explosion on the evening of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, leaving the venue’s proverbial and literal ears ringing. The show was an early one by Houston…
Maggie Taylor Shows Us the Magic of Photoshop at Catherine Couturier Gallery
Maggie Taylor’s brand of photomontage is a fascinating mix of old and new forms of photography that results in even more fascinating images. Since 1996, the Florida artist has been working with Photoshop, taking advantage of its imaging magic to create pictures that are truly surreal, strange and, yes, magical…
Fly, Shop, Repeat: Travel for Fashion Lovers
When making a list of travel destinations for fashion lovers, one could probably just go with the following list and be done with it: Paris Paris truly remains the fashion capital of the world. No matter how many times you visit, or how long you stay, there will always be…
Houston Turns in Lackluster Performance For Speed Rack 2013
Speed Rack is a series of cocktail competitions that raise funds for cancer research. This year, proceeds are going to SHARE Cancer Support, a support organization for women with breast or ovarian cancer. Last year, Houston’s lady bartenders really shined in the competition. The high-speed cocktail contest was held on…
Jeff Bagwell Selling House for $15M, Includes Saltwater Pool, Wine Vault, Fitness Center, Putting Green
The only news lately for former Astros first baseman Jeff Bagwell is that he didn’t get selected for the Hall of Fame for the third year in a row. There has been a lot of talk that the reason he wasn’t selected was due to rumors of PED use mainly…
Find Out Which Houston Roads Suck the Most Butt
A study released this week by Washington, D.C.-based TRIP illustrates something we all know: This place completely blows for motorists. According to the TRIP report “Texas’ Top 100 Transportation Challenges and the Improvements Needed to Address Them,” 17 shit shows for roads — which TRIP calls “challenges” — are in…
Pop Rocks: How Do These Imaginary Friends Measure Up To Manti Te’o’s Special Lady?
The problem with writing intermittently humorous pop culture blogs on a regular basis is the not infrequent occasion when real life completely obliterates anything you could come up with: Admitting that he deceived his parents and the press about the nature of his relationship with Lennay Kekua, but denying any…
The Eating…Our Words 100: Minh Nguyen, Owner of Cafe TH and One of Houston’s Best Front-of-House Personalities
People don’t go to eat at Cafe TH just for the food. Sure, the food is enough of a draw in and of itself — the intensely spiced vegan curry with layers of vegetable flavor, the ruddy banh mi bo kho that fills your belly with heat on a cold…
The Rocks Off 100: Beau Beasley, Organist for the End of Time
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? For this edition of…
OMG, You Guys, Five Things We Can Totally Do at MainStreet America, the Most Boring Theme Park EVER
Hey, kids, guess what? Oh, man, this is so freaking awesome, you are totally gonna die. So, many of you don’t remember Astroworld. It was so cool. It was like Six Flags in Dallas, but cooler. And now I’m reading this story on CultureMap about a new theme park in…
SPONGEBOB UPDATE: The Best Pop-Culture Porn Parodies Today (NSFW)
NOTE: I have updated this blog to include the new SpongeKnob SquareNuts, a porn parody on everyone’s favorite sponge that lives in a pineapple under the sea. May God have mercy on all our souls. Porn parodies of big-screen movies and television shows are nothing new, it just seems that…
Top 5 Foie Gras Dishes to Try in Houston
I enjoy eating foie gras and I’m not going to apologize for it. I don’t believe in animal cruelty (and whether force-feeding is actually “cruel”, painful or harmful is a matter of debate), but I do believe in an individual’s right to choose what he or she consumes. Furthermore, I…
The Cavern and the Top 10 Iconic Rock Clubs In History
Last week back in 1957, the most famous rock club in England opened in Liverpool. There was absolutely no rock and roll on the bill that night. The Cavern Club was originally opened to mimic the cellar jazz bars that owner Alan Synter visited in Paris. There was a strict…
Notre Dame Football Recruit “Catfishes” Himself In Lie About A Campus Visit
Sometimes the sports gods have a sense of humor. For example, a player named Nomar Garciaparra (and the multiple “ar” sounds in his name) landing in Boston, with the natives’ ridiculous accent, is funny to me. Sometimes the sports gods are cruel. Refer to the entire sports history of the…
Top 10 Most Frustrating Mini-Games in Video Games
Let me define a mini-game for you at the outset. It’s when some sort of mechanic or goal in a video game is introduced as a new challenge for a short time which may or may not be instrumental to continuing the progression of the game and has little to…
First Look at Blacksmith, Serving Coffee Where Mary’s Once Served Montrose
Blacksmith, the new coffee shop from Greenway Coffee & Tea owner David Buehrer, opened yesterday. The cafe and Mary’s — the infamous gay leather bar which once occupied the building at 1022 Westheimer — have at least one thing in common aside from a shared address: serving the needs of…
5 Bands Who Pioneered Modern Indie-Rock… Besides the Smiths
Legendary guitarist Johnny Marr is set to release his first ever solo record next month after years of being a sideman for other bands, some rather important. In anticipation, he’s had some choice words to say that one would have expected more from his less level-headed ex-Smiths compatriot Morrissey. Specifically,…
RIP Martin Miglioretti: Houston Blues Society Poster Artist Was 58
It’s been a rough weekend for the Houston blues community. Martin Miglioretti, a graphic artist who designed dozens of posters and other images for the Houston Blues Society, even its Lightnin’ Hopkins-themed logo, passed away suddenly Saturday night. He was 58 and signed his creations “Martino.” Houston blues musician and…
Gritty Local Bands Plug In For Superstorm Sandy Relief
The Journey Agents, Knights of the Fire Kingdom, etc. Dean’s and Notsuoh January 20, 2013 It’s only been since October, but Hurricane Sandy already kind of feels like it happened forever ago. Hell, we’ve weathered a fiscal cliff, a school shooting and a Texans playoff loss since then. The news…
Dr. Richard Patt, Healer and Mainstay of Houston Blues Scene, Passes Away at 58
Dr. Richard Patt, a former anaesthesiologist and longtime member of the Houston blues community, passed away early Sunday morning, according to a post by Houston Blues Society president Gail Singer on the HBS Facebook group. Rewind: Dr. Rick, Physician Turned Patient, Learns to Enjoy Every Sandwich For many years Patt,…
Saturday Night: Red Bull Thre3style Regional Qualifier at Fitzgerald’s
Check out more photo from the Houston Thre3style qualifier in our slideshow. Red Bull Thre3Style DJ Competition Regional Qualifier Fitzgerald’s January 19th, 2013 The illustrious Fitzgerald’s was once again the center of the city’s rich music scene Saturday night, as it hosted the Red Bull Thre3Style Houston qualifier. Five of…
The Folk Market Makes Its Debut at AvantGarden
This Sunday marked the first Folk Market at AvantGarden, which will be a monthly event held on the third Sunday of each month. The Folk Market is the brain child of Brittany Bly who also created Pop Shop Houston. Each month, Bly will coordinate with 20 or so vendors to…
Blast from the Past: Marvin Zindler’s Rat & Roach Report
In my personal opinion, the weekly Health Department Roundups that our own Blake Whitaker writes up are the funniest posts that Eating…Our Words run all week. But even the esteemed Mr. Whitaker has nothing on the original Health Department Hound: Marvin Zindler. In the video above, sent to me by…
Saturday Night: Zomboy at Stereo Live
Zomboy, Carnage Stereo Live January 19, 2013 When asked about a philosophy when it comes to club shows, your average DJ is apt to say something about taking the crowd on a journey or giving them an experience. Whether or not they deliver on that philosophy is another matter, and…
Growlers Beer and Wine Bringing CrafTap System to Montrose Soon
The craft beer community in Houston doesn’t let much slip past them. Growlers Beer and Wine owner Doug Bunze found that out late last year when a few eagle-eyed craft beer fans tracked down the store’s Web site and Twitter account after he posted a Craigslist ad about job openings…
This Show Boat Runs Aground
The set-up: As soon as the Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II musical adaptation of Edna Ferber’s best seller Show Boat premiered on Broadway in 1927, American musical theater grew up. Overnight, song and dance turned into art. No longer were shows destined to be fantasy romances set in make-believe Ruritania or…
Remember the Alamo: $1.6 Million Added to State Budget for the State Landmark
In Austin, both the House and Senate have unveiled baseline budgets for the session, with the idea that additions would be negotiated over time. Sen. Tommy Williams (R-The Woodlands), who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, told reporters the Senate’s budget was as close to last session as possible. “I think…
A “New-Old” New Order Album? We’ll Take It!
While we all wait for the remaining members of New Order to do more expansive touring (read: Houston or Austin and not just Dallas) or record new material, their camp released a mini-album from the Waiting For the Sirens’ Call sessions in 2004. For now, we will take what we…
What’s Cooking This Week? Veggie Stuffed Stromboli & More
I love cooking for my fiancé and me, but most of the time, cooking for two proves to be difficult. If I don’t make a plan, I end up running around in circles at the grocery store and wasting half the ingredient’s I’ve bought (and I hate wasting food). Enter…
Put the Panic on Hold: The DA’s Office Will Still Prosecute Animal Cruelty Cases
Houston animal advocates have notified Hair Balls about a recent post by animal law specialist Clarissa Kay Bauer that suggests new District Attorney Mike Anderson has all but relegated animal cruelty cases to the trash heap, but this does not appear to be the case. From what the office’s spokeswoman,…
Reflections on My Birchbox Three-Month Anniversary
Last September I signed up for Birchbox after writing a story about the company (and its counterparts, Glossybox and Glymm). My excitement during the sign-up process was dampened somewhat when, after entering all of my information into the required fields, I was notified that I had been added to a…
Will There Ever Be A Proper MLK Biopic?
With most of us having the day off today in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, my thoughts turned to the future of a MLK biopic. There have been plenty of MLK appearances, some bit roles, in historical dramas and TV series, but there has never been an honest…
When Embedding Social Media Into Your Web Site Goes Bad
Everyone wants to embed live Twitter streams into their stuff these days. You see the streams scrolling across the bottom of your TV screen during live presentations and you see them broadcast with a projector at events. And you see them quite frequently on websites, for restaurants or otherwise. What…
RiFF RaFF and Hip-Hop’s Greatest Method Rappers
There’s an idea floating around in the pools of rap consciousness that most guys within the genre are merely method actors on par with Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln. Rick Ross might have already secured a few Academy Awards with his confusing portrayal of a flamboyant mafioso kingpin who dwells in…
Will The Astros Losses Still Count If You Can’t Watch The Games?
If the Astros lose 100-plus games again this season, and nobody can see them play those games, do the losses really happen? If the Astros lose 100-plus games again this season, and nobody can watch it happen, will anybody really care? That’s a bit of an exaggeration. People will be…
Top 5 Ingredients to Add to Coffee
When I go to the grocery store, I always stop by the coffee creamer section to see what new flavors I can try in my coffee the next day. I usually rotate between hazelnut, vanilla, creme brulee and holiday flavors like peppermint mocha; it’s fun to change things up. I…
Memory House: Mother-Daughter Story Fails to Come to Life
Check out our interview with playwright Kathleen Tolan. The set-up: In Memory House a mother attempts to connect with her adopted daughter, while the daughter works on finishing an essay required for a college application. The execution: There are gulfs a mile wide between this pair, and we never quite…
Top 5 Songs That Sample Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Today we all have a nice long weekend thanks to the birthday of one Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Many people just see it as a day off, others just don’t seem to understand why we celebrate it. But Dr. King was a civil rights pioneer who still inspires…
Cliffs Notes For Manti Te’o’s Untelevised Marathon Conversation With ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap
When a public figure does something wrong, whether it’s a case of willful misconduct or extreme naiveté, in my eyes that person is defined more by how they react and atone for their misstep than by the misstep itself. I realize in today’s social media fueled, 24-hour news cycle, where…
Top 10 Restaurants in EaDo (a.k.a. Old Chinatown, a.k.a. East Downtown)
So you’re not comfortable with the EaDo sobriquet. I don’t care. The damn thing has stuck. It’s short, easy and to the point. (Besides, the more important question is what to call that weird DMZ area on South Shepherd that’s not quite Montrose, not quite Upper Kirby, not quite River…
Goodbye PS2, You Caused Me Much Grief
When I read the other day that the Playstation 2 was being taken off the market after a decade-plus long run I had mixed emotions. I had a horribly, unbelievably long relationship with a PS2 fanatic and upon hearing the news, a flood of old memories came rushing back to…
The Best Concerts In Houston This Week
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion Fitzgerald’s, January 21 The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion has been back preaching the blues gospel and garage wail for three years now, since reissuing their catalog to rave reviews and excitement from fans young and old. The trio — Jon Spencer, Judah Bauer and Russell Simins…
Sundance 2013: Sex with James Franco, Sultry Scarlett Johansson, Daniel Radcliffe’s Jew-Fro, and a Great Film From Jordan
In Amreeka, Dahlia (Arrested Development’s hilarious Alia Shawkat) is a lesbian tentatively trying to step out of the closet.In his brief remarks before the first public screening of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, Robert Redford praised the Sundance Institute’s ongoing filmmaker development labs as “our core,” noting that the festival…
School of Rock Spreading Across Houston Suburbs
Today high-school-age kids seem to be turning their backs on rock and roll like at no other time since rock and roll began, except in one crucial area — as an after-school activity. Also, when public schools are slashing music-education budgets or even eliminating some music programs altogether, programs like…
Football! NFC and AFC Title Game Best Bets
Last weekend, when we were down to eight teams left standing in the NFL playoffs, on my radio show I placed the remaining starting quarterbacks into three distinct “buckets”: ELITE (3): Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning These three all were secure in their legacies regardless of the outcome of…
MLK Day: What’s Closed on Monday?
Monday is the Martin Luther King Jr. Day federal holiday and there are quite a few things closed. Here’s a rundown of what we know is closed and/or open. If you know of any things we missed, please add them in the comments. Most banks. The United States Post Office…
Houston YouTube History: Commercials
For this first edition Houston YouTube history, we look at Houston’s television commercial history, a world filled with mufflers, savings-crazed furniture magnates, dearly departed theme parks, professional ballplayers, and food, tons of food. Everywhere. Food. REWIND: Time-Trippin’: Great Houston Radio TV Ads From Yesterday A few weeks ago I found…
Liquid-Meth-in-the-Shampoo-Bottle Trick Doesn’t Work for Women in Brownsville
You might say that law enforcement personnel assigned to the Brownsville bus station have seen it all, especially with the smuggling (or attempted transportation) of illegal substances. “With the U.S.-Mexico border being right there, there are a lot of drugs on the main highway and in the bus terminals,” says…
Tasting the Unconventional: 10 of the Best Eccentric Ales
We recently had a handful of friends over to help christen our new home. And we decided since they were kind enough to come visit, the least we could do would be to use them as guinea pigs for a host of oddball beers sitting in our beer cellar –…
The Blues Is Always No. 1 for Jon Spencer
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion has been back preaching the blues gospel and garage wail for over three years now, since reissuing their catalog to rave reviews and excitement from fans young and old. The trio — Jon Spencer, Judah Bauer and Russell Simins — has become easily one of…
Whiskey: The Week in Photos
It’s time again to check out the Houston Press Flickr Pool and see what kinds of art shots our talented photographers have added. We love street art, unique perspectives and beautiful photos of Houston’s creative community. If you think you’ve got a good eye, drop your pictures in the pool…
Last Night: Ed Sheeran at Bayou Music Center
Ed Sheeran Bayou Music Center January 18, 2013 It was 8:45, and Ed Sheeran was scheduled to perform at 9 p.m. sharp. Since I was cutting it close, I briskly walked up the steps, taking two at a time as I made my way to will-call. Arriving at the window,…
Chef Chat, Part 3: Greg Gatlin of Gatlin’s BBQ, Tasting the Craft of Houston Barbecue
Greg Gatlin Gatlin’s BBQ 1221 W. 19th St. 281-804-4555 www.gatlinsbbq.com This is Part 3 of a three-part Chef Chat series. If you missed the first parts to this series, you can read Part 1 here and Part 2 here. This week, Greg Gatlin has been sharing stories about barbecuing as…
Reviews For The Easily Distracted: The Last Stand
Title: The Last Stand Is There Really Such A Thing As A “Sleepy Border Town” These Days? Maybe on the one between Canada and North Dakota. Rating Using Random Objects Relevant To The Film: Three sides of beef out of five. Brief Plot Synopsis: Mexican drug lord escapes federal custody…
Rice Owls Play the Game of “What If?”
The story is not that the Memphis Tigers defeated the Rice Owls 77-51 on Wednesday night. That was to be expected. The story’s not that Rice struggled shooting the ball. That’s a season-long pattern. The story’s not really about the game the two teams played on Wednesday night. The story’s…
Upcoming Events: Somm-vasion at Phil’s Wine Lounge and More
The brand-new Phil’s Wine Lounge downstairs at Philippe is breaking in its boots by launching a Guest Sommelier Series starting February 6. Hosted by Vanessa Trevino Boyd — resident sommelier at Philippe and last year’s Best of Houston® winner for Best Sommelier — the series will feature intimate, informal round-table…
Trailer Park: Spring Breakers With Selena Gomez And James Franco And Bikinis
Ever since pictures began to leak from the seat of director Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers, perverts everywhere have been rejoicing. Yesterday, the trailer for the film was released, featuring Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, plus James Franco — and yes rapper Gucci Mane — in rare form. Of course the only…
Re-creating the “Lost” Beatles Songs on YouTube
The Beatles is my favorite band. Not because of their albums, but because they are the greatest urban-legend generators in rock and roll. All around them, stories sprang up that sounded possible but were anything but. I even made a quiz out of it if you’d like to test your…
Janis Joplin at 70: What Might Have Been?
Janis Joplin would have been 70 years old on Saturday, which means it’s been more than 40 years since she died. But even today Joplin’s name is practically a household word, thanks to one of the most powerful, emotional, expressive voices in rock history. Of course Joplin was one of…
Mac Whitney Lets the Steel Do the Talking
Mac Whitney’s current show at Gallery Sonja Roesch only just went up earlier in January, but the sculptor would be familiar to regular gallery goers, as well as those who just happen to drive by the Midtown gallery. For the past seven months, the artist’s 3,000-plus pound sculpture, Carrizozo, has…
Yashaun Roman: “So What If the Baby Dies? He’s My Child”
A San Benito man is in the slammer after he slapped his mother and gave his nine-month-old son an alcoholic homeopathic that knocked out the child for a half-day. Around 12:50 p.m. Sunday, officers from the San Benito Police Department responded to a domestic dispute house call and found Yashaun…
Reviews For The Easily Distracted: Broken City
Title: Broken City Are They Referring To A Specific City? Come on, you haven’t figured this out by now? Stylish setting for exotic/glamorous crime = Los Angeles/Miami. Gritty tale of corruption and redemption = New York City. Or maybe Chicago. Rating Using Random Objects Relevant To The Film: One-and-a-half Mayor…
Penn State’s Bill O’Brien Wins Bear Bryant Award
“I feel like I’m a mentally tough guy right now. I feel like I’m the right guy.” — Penn State head football coach Bill O’Brien on the day he was hired, 1/8/2013 Selecting the recipient of the Paul “Bear” Bryant Award for the best head coach of a given college…
Archer Season 4 Premiere, “Fugue and Riffs”
If you love FX’s spy-themed animated comedy Archer as much as I do, then you’ve waited for this premiere with bated breath. The wait is over at last. Let’s get into it. The episode kicks off with the much-ballyhooed Archer / Bob’s Burgers crossover – H. Jon Benjamin voices the…
Girl Scouts Get Healthy: Mango Cremes with NutriFusion
Girl Scout cookie season is my absolute favorite time of the year. Samoas, Thin Mints and Do-si-dos make me a happy camper (no pun intended). With the 2013 season upon us, Girl Scouts have released their lineup of cookies, including a new flavor that doesn’t seem to fit with the…
Almost Famous: 5 Millennial Bands Who Should Have Been More Successful
I recommend that once a year you dig out your old CD collection (or MP3 archive if that’s how you roll) and give a spin to the music you haven’t listened to in forever. Everyone should take a nostalgic listen down memory lane now and then; not only is it…
Grading the Texans’ Season: The Good, the Bad and the Seriously Ugly
Ultimately, the 2012-13 Houston Texans season will go down as a disappointment. An impressive 11-1 start gave way to a 1-3 finish, loss of home-field advantage and second straight one win and out in the playoffs. Still, there were some bright spots for the team and some of the individual…
Top Five Things to Do in Houston This Weekend: SPANK! The Fifty Shades Parody, plus Memory House, the Iranian Film Festival and More
We knew it was only a matter of time before “mommy porn” hit the stage and here it is with the new musical SPANK! The Fifty Shades Parody, our must-see show for Friday. Written and directed by Jim Millan (Kids in the Hall, Marijuana-Logues with Tommy Chong), SPANK! is loosely…
The 30 Essential Texas Restaurants: Surprising Shut-Outs
Haven’t had a chance to peruse this week’s feature yet? Catch up on our list of the 30 essential Texas restaurants and then meet us back here. Synchronize Swatches! There have been plenty of questions asked by readers confounded by how some of their favorite Texas restaurants could have been…
The 5 Most Important Years in Goth Music: 2002
Over the course of the week, Rocks Off will be looking at the biggest years for goth music and exactly what they meant for the genre. Arguably the last big goth album by a new band to make a crossover splash was Evanescence’s Fallen, released in early 2003. That one…
Texas Attorney General Wants New York Gun Lovers to Move to Texas
Even for Texas this ranks about a 9.8 on the “YEE HAW, WE’RE FROM TEXAS” crazy shit-o-meter. Attorney General Greg Abbot has launched a quasi campaign to encourage people in commie states like New York, who feel like their liberties are being infringed upon because they can’t own a garage…
100 Creatives 2013: Joe Grisaffi, The Man Who Will Play Dean Corll
What He Does: Watch more than three horror movies that have been produced or shot in Houston you will likely stumble across the name of Joe Grisaffi in some form. His IMDB page lists 62 appearances as an actor alone, in addition to work as a director, writer, and cinematographer…
Health Department Roundup: House of Pies, Live Animals, La Fisheria and More
Did you know some people call the Kirby House of Pies “The House of Guys”? It’s hilarious because that House of Pies location attracts a lot of late-night diners from Montrose, which is a neighborhood with a relatively substantial homosexual population. We’d love to find out who came up with…
Houston’s Top 5 Large Music Venues
5. TOYOTA CENTER Aeros, Rockets and concerts. Oh my! Houston’s Toyota Center is built to impress and hosts big-time, all-star performances, ranging from Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga to Metallica and Tool. When it isn’t a sporting event, the venue’s playing surfaces are removed, giving way to an extra 700…
Confederate Lawyer Fights to Keep Confederate Memorial Plastered in Confederate Remembrance
The Texas Supreme Court building is the largest Confederate memorial in the world. Kirk Lyons, a lawyer with the Sons of Confederate Veterans, wants me to know this. He says it, repeats it. At the beginning of the conversation. In the middle. At the end, twice. “That building is still…
Consolation Prize: The Onion Spoofs the Texans to Add Insult to Injury
It’s hard not to like The Onion. Any organization that spends its entire existence lampooning news, politics, sports and anything else that makes headlines is pretty damn awesome. Unfortunately, this week, the Texans were in their crosshairs. It’s understandable considering the rough way yet another season of hope and promise…
What Your Favorite Arnold Schwarzenegger Movie Says About You
This weekend Arnold Schwarzenegger returns in earnest to the big screen with The Last Stand, co-starring Johnny Knoxville and Forest Whitaker. His roles in The Expendables 2 was a part of an ensemble. This is his first movie back as a true leading man. REWIND: The Best (Worst?) Pictures Of…
The Best Concerts in Houston This Weekend
Terry Allen McGonigel’s Mucky Duck, January 19 It doesn’t take long to notice that country-folk musicians from Lubbock are a little different. Whether it’s all that flat surrounding them, the supposed UFO visits or something else, they always seem a little more metaphysical than their peers. With landmark albums like…
Openings & Closings: Backstreet’s Back…All Right!
Last week was quiet; this week has some talking to do — starting with news that David Grossman will be closing out at Branch Water Tavern and taking the restaurant’s name with him when he does. The restaurant itself will remain open under a new name and new ownership, reports…
Bike Texas Considers Dropping Armstrong Custom License Plate
As Lance Armstrong’s career continues circling the drain following his admission that he did indeed use performance-enhancing drugs, as had been widely reported, a new loss closer to home could be on the horizon. According to a report, Bike Texas, a nonprofit bicycle advocacy organization, is considering pulling a Texas…
A Secretary of State, an Elk Head and Rice Students — What Could Go Wrong?
The most well-known prank in Rice history took place on a warm spring morning in 1988. A few years after the idea first crept into their keg-addled minds, a handful of engineering students erected a pair of 24-foot A-frames around the campus’s centerpiece, a one-ton statue of William Marsh Rice…
DJ Sun’s Guided Tour of One Hundred, Part 2
Wednesday DJ Sun, who has as good a claim as anybody we know on the title of Houston’s Chillest Citizen, was kind enough to walk us through the first half of his brand-new (and first) full-length original album, One Hundred. Full-length is right, too: One Hundred stretches to 19 tracks,…
Wittenberg: Meet Hamlet Before He Was Famous As Martin Luther and Dr. Faustus Fight Over Him
Apparently the place to be in the 17th century, if you were of an inquiring mind, was the university of Wittenberg. William Shakespeare put his Prince Hamlet there very specifically, while Christopher Marlowe placed Dr. Faustus there. That also happened to be where real life theologian and rebel Martin Luther…
Jason Hales, Convicted Sex Offender, Busted for Pot Growing Room in House
Comedian Damon Wayans once said, “I have a friend in jail for something he didn’t do. He didn’t run fast enough.” But the reality is so many criminals get busted not for an inability to escape, but because they do really stupid things. Take the case of Jason Hales, a…
Free for All: Brad Taylor, “full circle” and the First Ever Indie Craft & Design Fair
It’ll be a homecoming of sorts for author Brad Taylor when he stops at Murder by the Book for a reading and signing session on Friday. Taylor, though born in Japan, grew up in the Lone Star state and graduated from the University of Texas. Taylor’s Enemy of Mine, his…
Chef Chat, Part 2: Greg Gatlin of Gatlin’s BBQ, On Working with His Family, the Flavor of His Barbecue and the Staggering Amount of Brisket He Sold Last Year
Greg Gatlin Gatlin’s BBQ 1221 W. 19th St. 281-804-4555 www.gatlinsbbq.com This is Part 2 of a three-part Chef Chat series. You can read Part 1 here and Part 3 in this same space on Friday. EOW: Gatlin’s is a family affair. Tell me who is in the family. GG: The…
David Bowie By the Threes: A 50-Year Retrospective, Part 2
When we left off Wednesday, David Bowie had reached an unprecedented commercial peak on hit 1983 album Let’s Dance. As it turns out, the rest of the ’80s and early ’90s found the former Thin White Duke largely spinning his wheels. Rewind: David Bowie By the Threes: A 50-Year Retrospective,…
Six Examples of How James Harden Follows in the Tradition of Great Rockets Hair
When the Houston Rockets acquired James Harden in late October, General Manager Daryl Morey finally found the superstar that he longed for. Houston would go on to post billboards around the city featuring Harden with the caption, “The Beard Has Landed!” So far, Harden has delivered, as he is one…
American Horror Story: Asylum: Now You’re Just Being Mean
There’s a rule I used to strictly abide by when I was a wrestling fan. Never shell out cash to watch the last match before the pay per view. It’s always pointless set-up. It has to be. I understand that, but damn does it get freakin’ annoying. I’ve danced in…
Central Texas Style Bar-B-Q to Reopen Today After Fire on Tuesday Night
One of our favorite haunts in Pearland battled a fire late Tuesday night, which left Central Texas Style Bar-B-Q closed all day yesterday as the owners cleaned up the damage. No one was injured in the blaze, but patrons were quick to take to Twitter to express their love for…
Jazz Fest Scores with Willie, John Mayer, Frank Ocean, Fleetwood Mac, Patti Smith, etc.
Well, I never thought that I would have John Mayer and Patti Smith together in the same headline with Willie Nelson and Frank Ocean, but that’s why I kinda love New Orleans Jazz Fest 2013, whose lineup was released earlier this morning. Rewind: A Texican in New Orleans: Lessons Learned…
Houston Grand Opera Fills in More Details on it 2013-14 Season: Put a Ring on It
Houston Grand Opera today unveiled its detailed plans for the 2013-14 season. As reported in September, the opera is undertaking the first part of a four-season plan to do the entire Ring cycle (a production by the Catalan company La Fura dels Baus) and a Sondheim work. It will stage…
David Cooper Jr.: Runs Wife and Kids Off the Road Over Disconnected Cell Phone
David Cooper Jr. really needs to use the phone. He was so pissed about the fact it doesn’t work anymore, he decided to take it out on his estranged wife and children by running them off the road and now he’s in jail. According to a report, Cooper, who is…
Cauliflower Pizza Crust a Delicious Work in Progress
Like many, I’m trying to take this first month of the New Year to detox a bit, by making better food choices and upping my workout schedule. We tend to throw it down during the holidays, and the cumulative effects of rich food, plentiful booze and sleep deprivation had me…
Steve Said Bringing a Bit of Dosey Doe to D.C. Inaugural Ball
Rocks Off wanted to know why Dosey Doe Music Cafe had cancelled its January 19 Ray Wylie Hubbard show, so we called and got a dosey dose of serendipity. As it turns out, owner Steve Said was asked to be the talent buyer for the Texas State Society of Washington…
Update: Menil Says the Art Guys Tree Was Moved to Save It & It is Still Part of Its Collection
More details are emerging in The Art Guys Marry a Plant-Menil Collection separation. Last week, Houston art provocateurs The Art Guys announced via a press release sent to Glasstire that the Menil had removed its controversial piece from its collection. However, that is not true, according to the Menil. We…
Texas Public School Bible Courses Sparsely Offered, Poorly Taught
Six years after lawmakers agreed Bible courses could be offered in Texas schools, the Texas Freedom Network finds that course offerings are neither “legally appropriate nor academically sound,” according to a report released today. Lawmakers, after much wrangling that included input from Jewish Houston Rep. Scott Hochberg, passed down a…
Essential Rock and Roll Literature for Budding Music Writers
Right about now young, budding rock writers and nerds are sitting on gift cards and credit from the holidays, and may need to know what books to pick up at the local bookstore or Amazon to further their education. It’s not enough to just read every new music blog or…
The Mountaintop: The Last Night of Dr. Martin Luther King in a Memphis Hotel Room
Check out our interview with director Robert O’Hara. The set-up: It is April 3, 1968, the night before Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated, and Dr. King is staying at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. An attractive black maid brings him coffee, and they discuss a variety of…
How Does Your Garden Salad Grow? Ranking 7 Fast-Food Salads from Best to Worst
Since I’ve made a New Year’s resolution — along with half of America, as with every year — to eat healthier, I’ve been investigating fast food salads every now and then as a quick lunch option. I’m not one of those for whom eating salads is a penalty, however: I…
Pop Rocks: The Many Moods Of Mark Wahlberg
Mark Wahlberg’s latest movie, Broken City, comes out this Friday. In it, Wahlberg plays Billy Taggart, and ex-New York cop turned P.I. who ends up embroiled in some sleazery surrounding the reelection campaign of the current mayor, played by Russell Crowe. Taggart is another of those “tough, no-nonsense characters” the…
Houston Chicken Farmers Trying to Escape the Coop
Ken Cousino knows exactly when the move to legalize chicken farming in Houston took off. Isabella, a nearby nine-year-old, had been a steady customer at Cousino’s Quality Feed and Garden, picking up fodder for her few pet chickens. One day, she entered in tears. The city had arrived, she said…
The Eating…Our Words 100: Tiffany Tyler and Aimee Turney of Central City Co-Op
Who are they? Tiffany Tyler has been part of Central City Co-op since 2003, where she started as a member and volunteer; today she is Chair of the Board of Directors, and is the “public face” of Central City Co-Op. Her day job is with an oil and gas company,…
The Rocks Off 100: Rapid Ric, Mixtape Mechanic
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. Who? “Mixtape Mechanic” Rapid Ric, a studio owner and producer, has been DJing in…
Manti Te’o Fake Girlfriend Saga: How Fake Twitter Accounts and Digital Trickery Fooled America
Lots of people have been fooled online. Some have had entire relationships with people only to find out they weren’t the people they thought they were…some not even the right gender. It is as disturbing as it is frustrating to imagine that anyone you speak with on the Internet might…
Take-Out Fake-Outs: 5 More Favorites Lightened-Up
We love Friday-night pizza or lazy-Sunday Thai delivery as much as the next guys — but we can’t say the same for our waistlines. Luckily, we have a few tricks up our sleeves. By remaking your favorite take-out foods at home, you can get all the pleasure…with none of the…
The 5 Most Important Years in Goth Music: 1994
Over the course of the week, Rocks Off will be looking at the biggest years for goth music and exactly what they meant for the genre. Nineteen ninety-four was a good year for a new kind of goth. Previously, for the most part the men had been sensitive artists, and…
Chip Kelly Heading to the NFL: 4 Winners, 4 Losers (w/ PDF Link to Will Lyles’s Hilarious Recruiting Reports)
“It’s a special place with special people. They accepted me six years ago when I was at New Hampshire. Not many people knew about me. Gave me an opportunity to come here. It really means a lot.” — Former Oregon head football coach Chip Kelly about three weeks ago A…
Frida Kahlo’s Threads (and Three Other Artists Whose Wardrobes We’d Like to See)
Frida Kahlo’s personal style was as distinctive as the art she created. And while we’ve been able to view her works in museums, her wardrobe has been off-limits–until now. In November her clothes–in storage for 50 years–went on display at the Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico City, in an exhibit…
Open Letter to the Bar Owner Who Wrote the Open Letter to Musicians on Craigslist
Dear Guy Who Owns a Bar in Tampa and wrote this letter to musicians on Craigslist, I’ve been playing music for over 25 years. I’ve worked in a lot of different places from absolute ratholes to really wonderful venues. I’ve seen all sorts of bad behavior on the part of…
The 30 Essential Texas Restaurants: Nearly Made It (a.k.a. the Dan Marino Restaurants)
If you’ve read this week’s feature — “Eat Here: The 30 Essential Texas Restaurants to Visit Before You Die” — then you’ve no doubt already asked why X, Y or Z restaurant didn’t make the list. Maybe you’ve asked this question angrily to your computer, or rhetorically to a coworker…
A Full Dance Card
Electric Rodeo I live too far away from the coasts to care about Coachella all that much and have done far too much time in both the ACL and SXSW trenches to get too excited about anything that happens in far west Houston anymore. So instead, I have started looking…
Jeff Mangum
For indie-rock fans, particularly aficionados of ’90s lo-fi, an in-the-flesh audience with Jeff Mangum is something akin to a chance to pet a unicorn. With a loose collection of associates known as Neutral Milk Hotel, the Louisiana native made two albums, 1996’s Avery Island and 1998’s In the Aeroplane over…
Rants of a Know Nothing
Dear Mexican, Can you please tell me something? How do you think it’s fair that all the people that come to our country and stay get treated far better than some of the people who have busted their butt all their lives here — tell me how is that fair?!…
30 Essential Texas Restaurants
Check out our slideshow of the 30 Essential Texas Restaurants. For all its enormous range of space, climate, and physical appearance, and for all the internal squabbles, contentions, and strivings, Texas has a tight cohesiveness perhaps stronger than any other section of America. Rich, poor, Panhandle, Gulf, city, country, Texas…
Park City’s Breakouts
For the next ten days, all Hollywood eyes — and those of many a filmgoer — will turn toward the frigid wilds of Park City, Utah, reportedly experiencing its chilliest winter in a decade. Their collective hope: to discover at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival (January 17 through 26) the…
Shak Attack
Check out pictures from the Chili Shak’s kitchen in our slideshow. ‘You’ve gotta get in here,” my friend Linda told me through a full mouth as she handed over her chili cheeseburger one afternoon with a slight look of reluctance. Although it was wet and chilly outside, the snug confines…
The Selling of Schwarzenegger, 2013
We’re now a generation removed from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s brief, odd reign as the biggest star in movies. This Coppertone age lasted from 1990, when two of the 10 top-grossing pictures were Schwarzenegger’s Total Recall and Kindergarten Cop, until 1993, when Last Action Hero — an attempt at a tonal gene…
A Portrait of Spain
Before I tell you what the big Prado show — Portrait of Spain: Masterpieces from the Prado — at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is, let me first tell you what it isn’t. More than 100 paintings from the national museum of Spain’s remarkable collection are currently on display…
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion has been back preaching the blues gospel and garage wail for three years now, since reissuing their catalog to rave reviews and excitement from fans young and old. The trio — Jon Spencer, Judah Bauer and Russell Simins — has become easily one of the…
Gangster Squad
Originally slated to open in September 2012, Gangster Squad was delayed when the movie-theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado, suddenly made a scene of gunfire in Grauman’s Chinese Theatre “inappropriate.” Four months later, a turn in the film’s plot that relies on gunning down an adolescent risks recalling Newtown, but the…
Underoath
One of the biggest bands to come from the Christian metal scene, Florida’s Underoath is calling it a career after seven albums and 15 years of work. But they’re giving fans one last tour before they split up and taking some of their favorite buddy bands along for the ride. The…
Helena Brown
Highlights from Hair Balls Political Animals We had a major WTF moment when we saw that Houston Woman Magazine had named conspiracy theorist/elected leader Helena Brown as one of the city’s “50 Most Influential Women” of 2012. According to a statement by publisher Beverly Denver, “Influential people are often charismatic…
Capsule Art Reviews: “Claes Oldenburg: Strange Eggs,” “Ewan Gibbs: Arlington National Cemetery,” “[Houston Times Eight],” “Joseph Havel: Hope and Desire,” “Unpremeditated Natures: Russ Havard and David McClain”
“Claes Oldenburg: Strange Eggs” The name Claes Oldenburg may bring to mind sculptures of giant lipsticks, ice cream cones and shuttlecocks. Today, the esteemed 83-year-old artist is known for his playful, larger-than-life public art installations of ordinary objects. This conversation between art and the everyday is one Oldenburg’s been having…
The Departed
Dating back to the Beatles and the Stones, rock bands that set themselves apart from the pack tend to contain two or more songwriters and draw most of their creative energy from batting ideas back and forth, amiably or otherwise. In this day and age, you can see that yin-yang musical…
Terry Allen
It doesn’t take long to notice that country-folk musicians from Lubbock are a little different. Whether it’s all that flat surrounding them, the supposed UFO visits or something else, they always seem a little more metaphysical than their peers. With landmark albums like 1979’s Lubbock (On Everything) and 1996’s Human…
Kozmic Pearl
Janis Joplin would have been 70 years old this weekend, but instead her October 1970 death at just age 27 left a legacy as one of rock’s first female superstars and a lot of unanswered questions. One of the biggest is what she would have done next, but Joplin had…
Metalachi
While all of you Metallica diehards wait for James, Lars, Kirk and Robert to make actual new Metallica music (Lulu with Lou Reed didn’t count), why not catch Metalachi, who bill themselves as “The World’s First and Only Heavy Metal Mariachi Band”? The six-piece group covers some of the most…
Capsule Stage Reviews: The Boys in the Band, Girls Only — the Secret Comedy of Women, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, The Submission, The Young Man from Atlanta
The Boys in the Band Mart Crowley’s historic gay play (1968) is the mother of them all. When it premiered off-Broadway a full year before the seminal Stonewall riots, Crowley’s acid-dipped drama shocked theater-goers with its full frontal assault. No one had ever been this close to a homosexual onstage,…
Keep Those Resolutions
For Your Health For me — and, I imagine, for a lot of people — the toughest part about dieting is when you’re confronted with eating out. Unless you’re dining in a chain restaurant, it’s tough to count calories or know what the sodium or fat content of any given…
