Video of Tased Bastrop High School Student Prompts Lawsuit, ACLU Response
A security video has surfaced in the investigation into the tasing of Noe Nino de Rivera, a high school student at Cedar Creek High School in Bastrop, by a Bastrop County deputy in November. Rivera suffered a severe brain injury and was kept in a medically-induced coma after the incident…
Art and Beer: Bayou City Outdoors’ Arts and Crafts Crawl Hits Gallery Row
When you think art galleries, does an image of fancy-pants folk, sipping wine and using words like “post-modernism” come to mind? If you have shied away from the gallery scene because it felt a little too stuffy for you, then perhaps this Thursday’s Arts and Crafts Crawl, hosted by Bayou…
Voice Film Club Podcast: Glenn Beck, Gloria and a Defense of The Wolf of Wall Street
On this week’s Voice Film Club podcast, this paper’s film critics kick things off with something of a “potpourri segment,” to borrow a phrase from Voice film editor Alan Scherstuhl. Echoing a common sentiment in the movie world, Scherstuhl describes the month of January as a “grim, featureless landscape…that long,…
Reality Bites: Party Down South
There are a million reality shows on the naked television. We’re going to watch them all, one at a time. Like Manchester before it, MTV’s The Real World has much to answer for. The Patient Zero of reality programming, TRW provided a template that has served fans of poorly scripted…
Why New Organizations Are Trying on Upworthy Headlines: The Answer May Surprise You
In the world of social media marketing, there is something called “click bait.” These are images or headlines that, because of their salacious or outrageous nature, make people click them to see where they ultimately lead. There may be some on this very page you’re reading in the form of…
This Week in Food Blogs: Your Water’s Lemon Wedge Might Be Contaminated
Urban Swank: The ladies of Urban Swank checked out Nara’s Korean Grill Room and have the 411 on the restaurant, especially what their favorite menu items are. During their visit they enjoyed a variety of Korean barbecue items such as the rib eye (bulgogi) and pork belly (kurobata samgyup sal)…
Snowpocalypse Part Two: The Wrap-Up
It’s hard to believe, but our long, frigid nightmare is over. Okay, it wasn’t particularly long or even that nightmarish, but Snowpocalypse the Sequel is over and we can get back to what we do well in southeast Texas. No, not sweat. We’ll save that for August. For now, we’ll…
Ghost the Musical: A Love Story Now With Even More Music and Live Stage Illusions
The first time Steven Grant Douglas ever saw the 1990 movie Ghost, was on an airplane ride in February after being called in for an in-person audition for a lead role in Ghost the Musical. “I knew about the pottery scene from the parodies and Family Guy, so I watched…
Mongolian Hot Pot: Is It Worth All the Work?
I have this thing about working for my food: I don’t really like it. When I’m dining, I like to sit back and relax and enjoy food that’s presented to me. It’s ironic, really, because a lot of Vietnamese food (the food that I grew up with) requires work. We…
Broncos Win…According to Moody Gardens Football-Prognosticating Komodo Dragons
From Jimmy the Greek to whatever current incarnation of oddsmakers in Las Vegas will offer you this week’s picks “free on a recorded message,” there have always been people willing to give you their opinions on who will win a game, among any number of other crazy bets that gambling…
Instant New Mexico: Red Chile Sauce in a Jar
Los Chileros puts a lot of New Mexico into a little jar.
Diane Keaton Is Unique, Unique, Unique, Unique, Unique, Unique
It’s a little surreal. Talking to Diane Keaton, as will the audience at her upcoming appearance for Brilliant Lecture Series on February 6, is a lot like walking onto the set of Annie Hall. It’s almost as though one can see her leaning against the door at that New York…
The Problem With Saying “First World Problems”
Over the past couple years, a new meme or slang phrase has entered our lexicon: “first world problem.” It has now reached the tipping point of ubiquity where even your typically uncool friends have picked up on it and started saying it, despite the fact that those “in the know”…
100 Favorite Dishes 2013-2014: No. 39, Mum’s Chicken Curry at the Queen Vic Pub
This year, leading up to our annual Menu of Menus® issue, Kaitlin Steinberg counts down her 100 favorite dishes as she eats her way through Houston. She’ll compile a collection of the dishes she thinks are the most awesome, most creative and, of course, most delicious in town. It’s a…
Don’t Shoot! But Our Cell Usage Is Out of Control
I was standing behind a woman on line at Kroger this weekend who, while checking out, was chatting away on the phone. “Do you want to donate a dollar to the Food Bank?” the pimply teenage cashier asked her. She ignored the clerk due to her interest in whoever she…
Hype or Help: The Fine Line Between Weather Warnings and Scare Tactics
Whenever there is a storm approaching, news media outlets go a little crazy. They know that, quite often, storms equal big ratings. No only are people watching for warnings, but they are sometimes captive participants in the drama unfolding outside their homes. The problem is when weather is hyped to…
Broncos vs. Seahawks: Team-Inspired Menus for Your Super Bowl Party
Time for bets, beers, and plenty of wings — Super Bowl XLVIII is just around the corner. Unfortunately, the Texans completely blew it, so our grand plans of J.J. Watt Texans Tackle Crackle ice cream cake pops are spoiled. But no worries, we’ve still got a few Super Bowl tricks…
100 Creatives 2014: Doni Langlois, Interior Designer
What She Does: When you think of art on your walls, you probably picture hanging a painting there, or maybe placing small sculptures on a shelf. Something like that. Doni Langlois of It’s an Artful Life has a different philosophy. Her passion is turning the wall itself, or even a…
Zapruder Analysis of an Irate WWE Fan After the Royal Rumble
The WWE’s Royal Rumble is generally regarded as the second or third most prominent pay-per-view event on the WWE calendar. Wrestlemania is always the clear-cut number one, the Super Bowl of wrestling. Then, depending on what one’s tastes are, the second slot goes to January’s Royal Rumble or August’s Summerslam…
The Eating…Our Words Library: 10 Essential Cookbooks Everyone Should Own and Use
Here at EOW, we take our food seriously. We write about all things culinary every day, and for the most part that passion was born in the kitchen. Whether you dabble with molecular gastronomy or are slowly learning your way around a burner or grill, you all share the same…
Five Artists (Other Than Trace Adkins) Who Should Fight Their Impersonators
Leave it to a wily country artist to get into some serious shenanigans with his impersonator, while on a cruise dedicated to himself. The lyrics to the twangy, semi-obnoxious song nearly write themselves, don’t they? So, if you haven’t heard, Trace Adkins, the country music crooner who brought you songs…
UPDATED: Alley Theatre Gets Ready to Move to a New Home for One Season
Update: At 11 a.m. today, the Alley Theatre hosted a press conference to further discuss its one-season move. See the additional copy at the end of this post. Next summer the Alley Theatre will pack its bags and head for an extended stay at the University of Houston’s main campus…
The Shakespearean Story of Soulsville, U.S.A. Focus of New Book
Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion By Robert Gordon 384 pp. $30 Bloomsbury It’s a story that any novelist or screenwriter would find fantastical. A white, middle-aged banker and part time country music fiddler with a hankering to get into the music business convinces his older sister (and…
Seven Bad Singers in Good Bands
I’m willing to bet you’ve heard more than one band and thought, “that guy can’t sing.” Maybe you even liked the music, but the singer was just so awful it ruined it for you. It’s not simply the domain of local bands who couldn’t find a decent singer off Craigslist…
3 Things Made Almost Entirely Out of Beatles Lyrics
You can’t overstate the impact The Beatles have had on the world of pop music. On the Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time there are four Beatles records in the top ten alone. By nearly all measures they remain the greatest musical act of the…
Northern Punk Avengers DOA Return to the Dirty South
Seething, agitated and anarchistic, DOA continues to unleash tuneful and frenzied songs, proving they are far from retired. For more than 30 years, the band has unleashed rock and roll tethered to lumberjack toughness and ‘green’ environmental issues. They balance flannel-shirt, beer-smeared, hockey-drenched jukebox drunkenness with punk savagery, aggressive politics…
Snowpocalyspe Part Two: Pics or It Didn’t Happen
As we head towards the tail end of this “winter event,” a strange and miraculous thing happened around the inner metro area of Houston. Strange, tiny (almost impossible to see) white flakes of ice fell from the sky. That’s right, snow. For the first time since last week’s Snowpocalypse, most…
Iced in Again? Time for a Winter Movie Marathon
Now that we’re in the middle of “Snowpocalypse II: The Avalanching,” it’s time to consider how you’re going to spend your involuntary confinement. As of this writing, pretty much every local school district is closed today, as well as county and city services. So you’re stuck at home, maybe with…
Former Texan Charles Spencer Is Not a Fan of the Texans’ New Offensive Line Coach
As Houston Texans head coach Bill O’Brien has been assembling his staff (a staff, by the way, on which none of the hires has officially been announced yet), the hope a couple of weeks ago had been that ousted Titans head coach Mike Munchak would be returning to Houston to…
Celebrate the Lunar New Year with Food and Drink at These Houston Events
The Chinese year 4712 begins on January 31, 2014, and Houston is ringing it in with style. There’s a huge Chinese population here, and we love a good party, so all over town in late January and early February people will be celebrating the new lunar year, which lasts until…
Gary Kubiak Lands on His Feet in Baltimore
After Gary Kubiak’s time as Houston Texans head coach ended abruptly and somewhat ignominiously on a Friday morning in early December, speculation began in earnest during the holidays as to what Kubiak would choose to do next. An interview with the Detroit Lions for a head coaching job that eventually…
It’s Elementary: New Baker St. Pub & Grill in Cypress Draws Huge Crowds
It’s been open less than two weeks, but the newest Baker St. Pub & Grill already has nearly 3,000 likes on Facebook and a packed restaurant all hours of the day. But Baker St. isn’t a new concept. It stems from the original Sherlock’s Baker St. Pub, which opened in…
Failure: A Love Story: Fails to Fully Engage Us in Its Characters
The setup: Playwright Philip Dawkins has created a work that requires inventive staging, and offers a challenge to the producing theater. It deals with events in the clock-making Fail family of Chicago, chiefly the deaths of the parents and of three daughters, each in a separate manner, in 1928. The…
Pop Rocks: Use “Super Bowl,” Get Sued, What if Other Things Were Like This?
The NFL is a little weird. They really don’t like people using the term Super Bowl, at least not if it is for profit…or even hints at such. This is why whenever you see ads for companies trying to promote something for the Super Bowl — pizza delivery, perhaps –…
The Best Comics in January Part 2: Harley and Ivy, Together at Last
Each month the staff at 8th Dimension Comics picks out the best book to review. Look for Part 1 here. All-New X-Men #22: One day I hope there’s a huge trade paperback collection of all these Brian Michael Bendis stories because they are wonderful, huge, and frankly a little hard…
The First Families of Houston Food: Why We Eat the Way We Eat in H-Town
Houston is a town inundated with great restaurants, but in tracing the city’s history, you discover that many of the big names in the restaurant industry are related to each other in some way, whether by blood or business. Some families have continued to stick with their own, too, but…
Snowpocalyspe Part Two: Winter Storm Warning Canceled, Watch in Effect
The National Weather Service has canceled the Winter Storm Warning and put into effect a Winter Storm Advisory. Temperatures in the immediate Houston area are slightly warmer than expected and continue to remain above freezing. While it is raining lightly throughout the area, it appears that most of the rain…
White and Educated? You’re One of the Reasons Politics Are So Polarized
If you’re white and have a college education or greater, you’re probably (one of) the reasons our politics is so polarized. Using abortion, a polarizing issue if there ever was one, as a proxy, researchers have shown that since 1980, educated whites’ stances on abortion have skewed in two very…
Beat the Snowpocalypse Blues With Quick and Easy Stracciatella Soup
Houston, we have snow! Or at least ice. Probably. Point is, it’s cold out there. And we all know that as soon as the temperatures dip below freezing and there’s a bit of precipitation in the air, the city shuts down. Yes, it’s for our own safety, but it can…
Top 5 Valentine’s Day Gifts Available Online for Foodies
Don’t be that guy (or girl) charging through CVS on February 14 in search of a giant heart-shaped chocolate box. If Valentine’s Day is important to you, or rather, if Valentine’s is important to your partner, act early and order one of these gifts. You’ll get extra points for planning…
Texas Yoga Conference Celebrates Five Years
The Texas Yoga Conference comes to Houston January 30 through February 2, celebrating its fifth anniversary with a weekend of concerts, presentations and yoga classes in a brand new location: Silver Street Studios. This year’s TYC theme is “A Year of Devotion and Love”. The conference kicks off Thursday with…
Snowpocalypse Part Two: City, County Shutting Down for Storm
Last week, most everything shut down, but some apparently not soon enough. This time around, no one in the city our county is taking any chances. Judge Ed Emmett and Mayor Annise Parker announced separately on Monday that both county and city offices would close Tuesday. They along with the…
How to De-Ice Your Car: Bet You Thought You’d Never Need That Skill in Houston
As Snowpocalypse Part Two settles in, you might need to drive your car, particularly Wednesday morning as things begin to clear. But, it should be freezing throughout the day and may even snow, so you might have buildup of ice on your windshield to greet you when you this morning…
The Rocks Off 200: Robert Kuhn, the Well-Traveled Islander
Welcome to The Rocks Off 200, 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 previous entries in the Rocks Off 100 at this link. Who? They say…
The 5 Most Brilliant Principles Pop Culture Gave Us
When people sit down and write out their brilliant thoughts in a logical, ground-breaking manner we call them philosophers and treat them like mind-wizards… unless they’re Ayn Rand in which case we hurl scorpions at her from the house made of expired unemployment checks built on the rubble of a…
First Look at The Nook Cafe, UH’s New Coffee Shop
Every college campus needs its own special coffee shop — something other than Starbucks, at least. For me, it was Common Grounds at Baylor University. Just on the outskirts of the campus you could find a crowd of students sipping on the signature Cowboy Coffee made with the Daily Joe,…
Snowpocalyspe Part Two: How Long Will It Last?
Snowpocalypse: The Sequel is upon us. Temperatures this morning will be chilly, even below freezing and they won’t climb much above that all day. The big questions now are how big a freeze event will this be and how long will it last? Let’s start with that first one. A…
An Indiscriminate List of Top Bandcamp Downloads
Anything with a copyright date of 1922 or earlier legally has no owner and is in the public domain. If you’re a musician, cover that song. If you’re a paid blogger, plaster that picture wherever you’d like in your work. For the most part, that is. This is something we…
Flux TV Aims to Stream Houston Acts to the World
Last month Studio713 and Regressive Records unveiled their latest project, Flux TV, with a launch party and screening held at River Oaks Theatre. Now the Flux TV iPhone app is set for release on the Apple’s iTunes Store tomorrow. “Since the studio’s inception three or four years ago, we’ve released…
Upcoming: Avicii, The Black Angels, Cage The Elephant, Foster The People, HAIM, etc.
Absu: The Black Moriah, War Master, Oath Of Cruelty., Sat., March 1, 8 p.m., $15 to $17. Fitzgerald’s, 2706 White Oak, Houston, 713-862-3838. Avicii: Sun., May 11, 5:30 p.m., $30 to $80. Toyota Center, 1510 Polk, Houston, 713-758-7200. The Black Angels: With Roky Erickson & The Hounds of Baskerville, Golden…
Six Ways to Enjoy a Concert More
As a fairly extroverted person who is hyper in general and also suffers from a crippling caffeine addiction, I’m constantly going out and doing things, especially things that involve large crowds and performance. Translation: I go to a lot of concerts and live shows. This is a passion that some…
Dewhurst Thinks Teachers Have It Just Great in Texas, Except When He Didn’t
Teachers are use to working long hours, attending parent teacher conferences, and sometimes sacrificing their personal lives to teach. They don’t earn millions of dollars each year like basketball players or actors but the passion they have for education and making a difference is what drives them to the classroom…
Super Bowl XLVIII: Hype Week Is a Popcorn Fart, Somebody Do Something
We are generally an impatient people. As soon as the AFC and NFC title games are over, most of us would like to see the Super Bowl played the following week because, quite frankly football is a drug and one week without it starts causing withdrawal symptoms. The Pro Bowl…
Recipe of the Week: French Classic Coq Au Vin
From classic comfort foods to regional standouts and dessert, we’ll be sharing a new recipe with you each week. This week, we’re tackling the French classic coq au vin. Literally meaning “cock (rooster) of the wine,” the rustic dish was traditionally made using a rooster or any other old barnyard…
Rigoletto at HGO Has Promising Performances, But This Is Not Definitive Verdi
The set-up: The dissolute courtiers in Mantua have lost their mojo. In their handsome Elizabethan finery by costumer Peter J. Hall they stand listless during debauchery as if posing for a group portrait by Holbein. They regroup slowly so as not to ruffle their ruffles. They’re not alone. The entire…
Fucked Up at Fitzgerald’s, 1/26/14
Fucked Up, Glue, Back to Back, Bastard Cult Fitzgerald’s January 26, 2014 In all of the angry, sweaty universe of hardcore punk, there’s no other band quite like Toronto’s Fucked Up. Don’t bother trying to name another group in the genre whose last release was a critically acclaimed rock opera…
Weather Week: Snowpocalypse Part Two. Could It Be Worse Than Part One?
Not all sequels are terrible. Many believe Godfather II was the best of that series and I am much more fond of Empire Strikes Back than I am of Star Wars (episode IV as it were). When it comes to the sequel to the winter weather we experienced less than…
Miles of Aisles: Top 5 GOYA Products to Try
In large part, I agree with GOYA’s slogan: “If it’s GOYA, it has to be good.” That mantra, however, isn’t particularly helpful when you’re at the grocery store facing down shelf and shelf (or even entire aisles) of GOYA products. Here are five of my favorites to try: 5. Low…
Tomb Raider: My First PS3 to PS4 Upgrade
Tomb Raider wasn’t the best game of 2013 (It was clearly The Last of Us, in case you were wondering), but it was definitely my favorite. Certainly it was the first game I had played to 100 percent completion in a long while. It was just so engaging. That script…
Texas Gets Ready to Rumble With the EPA. Again.
You’d be hard pressed to find anything Texas officials love more than taking whatever the federal Environmental Protection Agency is trying to do and fighting against it. They’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of fighting against anything the EPA tries to do when it comes to air quality in…
Mason Jennings/Lily Kershaw at House of Blues, 1/26/14
Mason Jennings with Lily Kershaw House of Blues, Bronze Peacock Room 1.26.14 House of Blues’ Bronze Peacock Room was the perfect intimate setting for Mason Jennings’ stellar showcase of songs on Sunday night. Ranging from his vast catalog of music, Jennings came to perform for his fans’ sake, and that…
The Best Comics in January Part 1: Deadpool at His Deadpooliest
Each month the staff at 8th Dimension Comics picks out the best book to review. Look for Part 2 tomorrow. Hawkeye #16: don’t know why I don’t follow Hawkeye more closely. I have literally never read an issue I didn’t think was absolute genius. Part of that is Matt Fraction,…
100 Favorite Dishes 2013-2014: No. 40, Canestri alla Funghi at Paulie’s
This year, leading up to our annual Menu of Menus® issue, Kaitlin Steinberg counts down her 100 favorite dishes as she eats her way through Houston. She’ll compile a collection of the dishes she thinks are the most awesome, most creative and, of course, most delicious in town. It’s a…
Rick Perry, Pot Friendly and a Presidential Candidate?
You might have assumed that Gov. Rick Perry’s fumbling last attempt to score the 2012 Republican presidential nomination guaranteed we’d never see him on the national stage again. But then Perry announced he wasn’t running for re-election as governor of the great state of Texas. Then he started traveling the…
Comedian Michael Yo has a Houston Homecoming
Stand-up comic Michael Yo and the comedians of the Hot Mess Comedy Tour will be taking over the Houston Improv on January 31 and February 1, and they promise to deliver a night unlike any other. “Hot Mess Comedy”, Yo explains, “is when you go to a show and you…
Cordúa Family’s Food and History Come to Life on the Pages
The Cordúa family recently released their first cookbook after more than 25 years in the Houston restaurant industry. It’s the product of years of recipe development melding the food of Nicaragua with the melting pot of Houston cultures. The Cordúa patriarch, Michael Cordúa, is credited with bringing Latin American cuisine…
Wait, What, SMU Breaking the Rules?
Are you the Sports Information Director for a major college athletic program? Do the sports programs at that school have a reputation for bending NCAA rules? Do you like your job, like traveling the country and being involved with sports? Then here’s a little hint: don’t let your Hall of…
Stark Naked Theatre Presents Compelling Performances in the Gripping Story Faith Healer
The set-up: Brian Friel’s Faith Healer has come to Houston, courtesy of Stark Naked Theatre Company, after traversing a rocky journey from its unappreciated dismissal (20 performances) on Broadway in its 1979 debut, starring James Mason and directed by Jose Quintero. A Long Wharf Theatre revival in 1996 garnered a…
Jack Daniel’s and Ginger: Does the Ginger Ale Make a Difference?
Jack Daniel’s and Ginger Ale isn’t as simple as it may seem.
5 Lessons Learned from Snowpocalypse 2014
When I started putting this together, I had no idea Snowpocalypse 2014 Part Two was coming this week and might be worse than Part One. So, consider this advice you can use when the weather starts freaking out Tuesday. The problem is that we Houstonians don’t really know what to…
The Future of Halloween Arrives in Houston With HAuNTcon and the Halloween Expo
Halloween is a $7 billion industry. With that much money involved in the world of scares and dressing up, it should come as no surprise that the industries associated with the holiday have their own yearly conventions where people come together to swap ideas and merchandise. This year HAuNTcon (The…
Top 5 Pop-Tart Flavors That Need to Disappear Now
I’m not completely averse to Pop-Tarts and in the past have even found some new types I quite enjoy. Innovation is a good thing, as Martha Steward might say. But does anyone remember a time when the Pop-Tart selection wasn’t excessively diverse? They seem to be taking a cue from…
Neko Case at House of Blues, 1/26/2014
Neko Case, Thao & the Get Down Stay Down House of Blues January 26, 2014 Her fans from other parts of the country will have to have to ask Neko Case what a “Houston Grammy” is sometime. Hopefully she’ll remember that one herself. According to the rangy singer, who is…
Dear Grammys, We Can Be Friends Again
Hey there, Grammys — remember when we broke up with you last year? Well, it seems we’ve made a mistake. We take it all back. We are back on professionally. So LL Cool J hosted again last night, same as last year, and it turns out he’s still boring. But…
The Blasters at Continental Club, 1/24/2014
The Blasters Continental Club January 24, 2013 With rare Houston performances by Barrence Whitfield and the Savages and hallowed SoCal roots gods the Blasters, the city has had a whopper-sized dose of old-time rock and roll in the past couple of weeks. Phil Alvin and his hard-traveling cohorts — drummer…
Famous Rappers, as Drawn by Six-Year-Old Boys
Note: In his column Serrano Time, Houston’s award-winning writer and goofball Shea Serrano writes about his life and times. I am working on a new book. I cannot say too much about it yet, other than: 1. it’s with the same company that published Bun B’s Rap Coloring And Activity…
The Best Shows in Houston This Week: Debonair Lounge, Jake Bugg, Disclosure, etc.
Debonair Lounge Cafe 4212, January 27 For the past few months, the only way to get each week off on a good foot has been at this Museum District oasis of cool. Debonair Lounge has already welcomed a who’s who of Houston’s hottest young hip-hop and R&B performers — this…
The Moores School of Music Presents Menotti’s The Consul
The Setup: This weekend the Moores School of Music presents its third production of Gian Carlo Menotti’s Cold War-era The Consul. The opera, which is set in an unnamed European city, is about the oppression of government, and what happens when the hopes of a people are reduced to case…
Fashion, Art Merge Beautifully at Artopia
Last night, I was kicking myself for never attending Artopia in the past. I will never make that mistake again. It’s not often that all the creative worlds of Houston converge, which is a pity, but when they do, a real party results. Presented by the Houston Press, Artopia is…
The Show Must Go On…Or Not: What the Weather’s Doing to Today’s Performance Schedule
Roads are closed, school is canceled and everybody is getting ready for another day — and night — of freezing weather. Theaters, museums and local production companies are doing the same thing. Some are opting to staying open, some are not. So far, we’ve confirmed that Stark Naked Theatre’s performance…
Adult and Wrenching, Next to Normal Is Contemporary Musical Theater at Its Finest
The set-up: Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey’s multiple award-winning musical (Drama Desk, Tony, and a Pulitzer) has a first act curtain like no other. What other show ever has wheeled its leading lady into the operating room to undergo electric shock therapy then broken for intermission? There’s room on the…
Gambling! 2014 Heisman Odds Are Out!
With the off week between the AFC and NFC title games, the opportunities to wager are precious few, so sorry, there will be no “Best Bets” this week. I know that after my 0-2 performance this has to disappoint many of you who have been fading my picks all year…
Robert Duvall Charms and Educates as Part of the Brilliant Lecture Series
Actor Robert Duvall brought his experience, outstanding talent and forthright articulateness to the Wortham Center last night, courtesy of the Brilliant Lecture Series, and cold rain and impending sleet didn’t stop a large audience from attending. Duvall has won an Oscar, two Emmys, and four Golden Globe awards, but remains…
Alternative Appearances and Destinations for the Astros Caravan
In an effort to explain to fans throughout Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana what an Asher Wojciechowski is, the team sent caravans of players and staff on a 31-city, seven-day road trip this month. With three straight 100-loss seasons under their belts and still no TV deal, just the act of…
What Separates Von Trier’s Nymphomaniac from Porn?
Let’s start with the ending: the closing credits disclaimer that insists that none of the lead actors in Lars Von Trier’s Nymphomaniac filmed penetrative sex. If there is real sex in the movie, and it sure looks like there is, it must have been done by one of the eight…
100 Favorite Dishes: No. 41, Biscuit With Crème Fraîche and Marmalade at Blacksmith
This year, leading up to our annual Menu of Menus® issue, Kaitlin Steinberg counts down her 100 favorite dishes as she eats her way through Houston. She’ll compile a collection of the dishes she thinks are the most awesome, most creative and, of course, most delicious in town. It’s a…
Wasted Jacoby Jones Is Enjoying His Offseason
Someday, we will look back at the prominent athletes of the early 2010’s Era (otherwise known as the Age of Manziel), and we will all realize what an underrated asset Jacoby Jones has been. I don’t know that there’s an athlete from whom we’ve drawn such a disproportionate amount of…
Greg Kinnear Doesn’t Look Like He’s Having Any Fun in FOX’s Rake
The best thing about FOX’s new series Rake is Greg Kinnear. And the worst thing about Rake is Greg Kinnear. The legal drama/comedy made its debut last night and we’re hoping that FOX gives it a few weeks to find its footing because a more mature, settled Rake might be…
Films for Foodies: Waitress
Movie studios scramble to have big-name stars headline their films, but in many of my favorite movies, food is the star. Few things are better than pairing a foodie film with a great meal so we can enjoy ourselves just as much as the folks onscreen are enjoying their own…
$5 Fridays at Randall’s: Discounts to Kick Off Your Weekend
When you hear “$5,” you might think immediately of Subway’s infamous January campaign for discount footlong subs. But I suggest you redirect your thoughts such that your association becomes “$5 = Randall’s,” at least on Fridays, when the supermarket chain offers a series of promotions that all cost $5. The…
American Horror Story: Coven: Notes on a Landslide
Elsewhere I have already penned more than a 1,000 words on exactly how this season of American Horror Story went off the rails on a crazy train, and it’s not in my nature to kick someone when they’re down. So with one episode left to go I thought I’d focus…
UPDATED: Snowpocalypse 2014: Schools Closed, Roads Icy, Commence Panic
Update at 10:24 a.m. Houston Independent School District officially closed all schools and administrative offices for the day. The freeways are still a mess as temperatures remain at or below freezing throughout the area. Forecasts suggest temperatures should climb above freezing by noon and the ice should dissipate. Update at…
Bringing the Voting Rights Act Back to Life: Texas May Be Back on the “Pre-Clearance” List
Last June, the four movement conservatives on the Supreme Court, joined by Anthony Kennedy, held that the Voting Rights Act’s “pre-clearance” procedure was a relic of the past–the South, and society in general, had changed, the High Court told us. No longer did states and jurisdictions that had a history…
The 5 Best Things to Eat or Drink This Weekend: Saint Arnold Pub Crawl in The Woodlands & a Burns Night Celebration
Glenmorangie Tasting & Dinner @ Kiran’s Friday, 6:30 p.m. 4100 Westheimer Enjoy a delightful seven-course tasting menu paired with a variety of Glenmorangie products for $115 at Kiran’s tonight. Hal Brock of Glazer’s will be the host for the evening. The night kicks off with a variety of appetizers, including…
Let’s Meet Our Artopia 2014 Musical Guests
We’re not going to lie to you: We’re pretty excited about tomorrow night’s Houston Press Artopia, and we would be even if this paper wasn’t the one putting it on. Artopia is coming up on its sixth year, and long ago entered the realm of Serious Shindig, a place to…
The 8 Steps You Take When Forced to Binge-Watch a New Cartoon
For the past four years I have had the pleasure of watching my enchanting daughter grow and evolve from adorable infant to precocious and intelligent child. It’s a magical experience that transcends any other I have ever had or likely ever will. Also for the past four years I have…
NBA All Star Starters Show Rocket Fans Are Lazy Ballot Box Stuffers
Voting for NBA All Star Game starters used to be a much simpler endeavor back in the pre-internet days. You go to a game, you grab a ballot (or handful of ballots), punch out the holes for all of your selections, and slip the ballot in the ballot box. Generally,…
Upcoming Events: Bottomless Martinis & Valentines for Houston Veterans
On Monday, January 27, Osteria Mazzantini will host “Whiskey, Dinner & Cigars”. The whiskey cocktail-paired four-course meal crafted by Chef John Sheely costs $125 per person. The evening begins with smoked scallop crudo prepared with celery leaf, shallots and lemon, as well as roasted grapes served with ricotta salata, radishes…
100 Creatives 2014: Kat Denson, Firedancer
What She Does: You know what’s awesome about belly dancing? Well, yes, pretty much everything, I concede, but nothing is so awesome that it cannot be thoroughly improved by adding fire to it. That’s where Kat Denson comes in. She moves her body surrounded by tutus of flame, and it…
The Astros Have a Plan (Kind of) to Deal With This Whole CSN Houston Disaster
It’s a little more than a week until the CSN Houston parties return to the courtroom of judge Marvin Isgur. Things have been relatively quiet since the last hearing, and it can only be hoped by all involved that the Rockets are close to working out carriage deals that will…
The Top 5 Things to Do in Houston This Weekend: Paquito D’Rivera, Houston Press Artopia 2014 and More
Saxophonist and composer Paquito D’Rivera is one of the few artists to conquer both classical music and Latin jazz. D’Rivera made his symphony debut before he was in his teens, went on to become a founding member of the legendary Afro-Cuban music group Irakere, was an original member of Dizzy…
10 Silly Predictions for Sunday’s Grammy Awards
This Sunday the music business will celebrate its equivalent of Oscar night when the 56th annual Grammy Awards are handed out at L.A.’s Staples Center. Basically it combines two high-school traditions, the prom and the talent show, but the Grammys are always worth watching — if nothing else, the outfits…
Openings & Closings: A Bennigan’s Bites the Dust…Again
This week welcomes pizza, pasta and a whole lot of comfort food. But as we welcome these new establishments, we say good-bye to a couple of others. A little birdie told us that on either Monday or Tuesday of this week a “For Lease” sign appeared at Chopping Block Gourmet…
The Galleria’s White-Collar Hotel Bars Mean Serious Business
“We’ll take two Nipple Up’s, a Fraggle Rock and a Pipe Stripping, please. And light on the ice, if you will.” You can tell quite a bit about a bar from the drink names on the cocktail list, and this one runs to four pages. Names like “The Jed Clampet”…
The Concrete Wonders of BLSHS’s Abstract Desires
Ever since I stumbled across BLSHS trying to find subjects for my defunct band-name origin column — you can only hear “we were high LOL” so many times before you give up on something — I have been utterly entranced with them. Even at a time when Houston is delivering…
Houston’s Top 10 Latin Bars and Clubs
As our sister blog Eating…Our Words does, from time to time Rocks Off will be giving your our picks for the top taverns in various Houston-area neighborhoods. Of course, the lines can be porous, but here anything with a TABC license that cannot reasonably be considered either a restaurant, coffeehouse…
The Best Concerts in Houston This Weekend: The Blasters, Artopia, Neko Case, etc.
Reggie and the Full Effect Warehouse Live, January 24 The side project of Get Up Kids keyboardist James DeWees, Reggie and the Full Effect is an indie band with a sense of humor. Dating back to DeWees’ days with Coalesce, when he recorded a joke demo on a cassette tape…
Animal Welfare Group Plans to Protest Great Bull(shit) Run
On January 25, idiots will descend upon Baytown’s Royal Purple Raceway to run with a bunch of bulls for some reason — we’re not really sure why, exactly — and the University of Houston Law Center’s Student Animal Legal Defense Fund plans to be there protesting. Although the Great Bull…
H-E-B Might Be a Little Aggressive on Its Matt Schaub T-Shirt Pricing
If you want a very subtle indicator of what a team thinks of a certain player, a lot of truth can be parsed from the price of that player’s merchandise in team stores and distributors in the area. This dawned on me a couple of years ago during the NFL…
Rockets Roll Kings, Continue Hot Streak Despite Injuries
There are certainly plenty of things to be concerned about with the local professional basketball franchise. They still do not play consistent defense and probably take too many three pointers — particularly given their mediocre percentage from beyond the arc this year. They feel a bit like a team caught…
What We Will Rock You Lacks in Story it Makes Up for in Great Songs and Powerful Voices
The set-up: This isn’t the first jukebox musical, nor will it be the last, when a concert is performed but a show breaks out. All Queen-heads will be in seventh heaven with this superbly sung, thrillingly played, and blindingly lighted arena show. Those who want such a thing as an…
Waiter, Waiter: Please Stop Pouring Wine in My Glass!
Click here for “how to prepare your stemware” and here for “how to open a bottle of wine.” The “overpour” is one of the most troubling things you see in restaurants, especially today, when so many restaurants are serving fine wine without properly training their staff on how to appropriately…
Houston Texans Staff Update: Godsey In, Munchak Out
I’ve said it frequently here, and will continue to pound the drum — hiring is the most important skill of any manager or coach, in business or in sports. Surrounding one’s self with excellent people is tantamount to achieving success. That said, even if fans and media recognize some of…
Amon Amarth at House of Blues, 1/23/2014
Amon Amarth, Enslaved, Skeletonwitch House of Blues January 22, 2014 As Houstonians prepared for another blast of icy weather on Wednesday night, who better to usher in the cold than a bearded Viking horde led by Amon Amarth? Like a gang of beer-swilling Leif Erikssons, the Swedish death-metallers have spent…
Epiphany Galettes de Rois, Ancestors of Our Southern Mardi Gras King Cakes, Star at Etoile
Every morning during Epiphany, which begins in early January, Philippe Verpiand’s parents would buy a galette des rois, or French king cake, which would be gobbled up by the following day. “We call it frangipane in France,” Verpiand, chef and owner of Étoile, explains about the cake’s almond filling. “It’s…
10 Reasons American Horror Story: Coven Has Lost Its Damned Mind
I’ve covered American Horror Story since it began, and I still think it’s a very impressive show. Horror on television is difficult under the best of circumstances because of the limitations of the medium. You’re limited in the depths of depravity you can plunge into, even on FX, and dragging…
Louie Gohmert Rejects Obamacare, Personally
There’s a lurching feeling that comes when you realize you don’t have any health insurance. You’ll be walking along, a swing in your step, a grin on your face, when it hits you: Anything could happen. You just walked under a ladder. Fool! You just felt like you had to…
UPDATED: In Freud’s Last Session, Two Great Minds Debate Atheism and Christianity
Update: Performances of Freud’s Last Session have been extended through March 2. One is near the end of his life, a world-renowned psychoanalyst who is physically ailing but resolute in his atheism. The other is a young Oxford don, who has yet to become known for his writing, but he’s…
100 Favorite Dishes 2013: No. 42, Fried Oyster Po-Boy at Goode Company Seafood
This year, leading up to our annual Menu of Menus® issue, Kaitlin Steinberg counts down her 100 favorite dishes as she eats her way through Houston. She’ll compile a collection of the dishes she thinks are the most awesome, most creative and, of course, most delicious in town. It’s a…
Houston in Top 10 Move Destinations in U.S., But Behind Dallas
For the second straight year, Houston is ranked sixth on Penske Truck Rental’s list of most popular move destinations of 2013. This is not surprising given both how economically friendly the city is and how freaking bad ass we are — just ask like everyone ever. But, some of the…
The Rocks Off 200: Tyler Newberry, Head Chef in the Songwriters Kitchen
Welcome to The Rocks Off 200, 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 previous entries in the Rocks Off 100 at this link. Who? Tyler Newberry…
Filling the Gaps: Backstreet Café
I’ve lived in Houston for 22 years. It took me 16 of those to visit the Rothko Chapel for the first time. I didn’t eat at Ninfa’s on Navigation until I’d counted myself a Houstonian for nearly a decade. I still haven’t eaten at Frenchy’s. The list of glaring omissions…
Pop Rocks: Drinking and Pregnancy: The Battle Continues
I knew that I was pregnant the day after it happened, but as I had been warned to do, I waited the obligatory two weeks before testing myself for fear of a false negative. In that time, I went on a road trip with my husband up through Denver and…
Bank-Robbing Lady Declares “I’m Back” When Hitting Same Bank for the Second Time This Month
When robbers make multiple robbery attempts, they are often called brazen, but when the robber in question is a older woman with a penchant for hoodies making her look like a Sith Lord, how should we describe her? Brazen seems almost too masculine. Perhaps she has gumption or spunk. Or…
Where to Eat on Saint Valentine’s Day 2014: FYI, It’s on a Friday
This year, Valentine’s Day is on a Friday. In other words, everyone will be vying for a reservation at one of the many Houston restaurants offering a special meal on the day of romance. Don’t be that guy or gal who forgets to make a reservation in advance, especially if…
How Houston’s Katy Atlas Built a Better Lifestyle Blog and Became Successful
The world of fashion and social media is changing, as we know it. Anyone who has a sense of style, basic knowledge of how to build a Wordpress or Tumblr page and a pretty handy grip on a camera can now transform into a style icon; however, not everyone can…
UPDATED: Freezing Precipitation Possibility Increasing for Early Friday Morning Across Southeast Texas
Update: The National Weather Service has now issued a Winter Storm Warning for the entire Houston area from 5 p.m. today until 9 a.m. on Friday. New forecasts are now calling for a wintry mix of sleet, freezing rain and snow throughout much of Houston through the early morning hours…
Rest of the Best 2014: Houston’s Top 10 Choreographers
Few cities in the south boast as deep and varied a dance community as Houston. We could easily name our favorite 20 dancemakers, but we’ve kept the list to the top ten. 10. Sophia Torres of Psophonia Dance Active as a teacher (at both the University of Houston and Houston…
Cheap & Good Eats: Top 5 Budget Lunch Spots in Clear Lake
We’ve been rounding up our favorite budget lunch spots in different neighborhoods around town (See the complete list at the end of the post). This week, we’re moving toward the shores to the Clear Lake/NASA area. With plenty of old-time favorites and a couple of newer spots in the mix,…
The Blasters’ Keith Wyatt: “We Know How to Take Care of Business”
Guitarist Keith Wyatt has been with Phil Alvin’s Blasters, one of the most storied roots ensembles to emerge from the ’80s, for almost two decades now. But even after 17 years, he’s still frequently standing in the shadow of original Blasters guitarist Dave Alvin, who left the band in 1986…
I’m Stuck Living With My In-Laws. Help!
Welcome to Ask Willie D, Rocks Off’s advice column where the Geto Boys MC answers reader questions about matters, in his own words, “funny, serious or unpredictable.” Something on your mind? Ask Willie D! SCARED OF COMMITMENT Dear Willie D: I need help. I am 19 years old and ever…
Vote or Die: The Last VJ’s Top Five Videos of the Week
Welcome back to The Last VJ, music fans. Amid all the “Wrecking Ball” parodies, there are still some fantastic music videos waiting to be seen, loved, and most importantly judged lurking around. 2014 has already fielded incredible work, and this week is no different. Strap in because we’re gone punch…
Next to Normal
The rock musical Next to Normal tackles bipolar disorder from the point of view of a family. With a depth of emotion and love, the heartwarming story — book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt — is anchored by its realistic depiction. It won the Pulitzer…
Doctor Faustus
Playwright Christopher Marlowe, a contemporary of William Shakespeare, was stabbed to death at the age of 29, leaving behind a number of plays — Doctor Faustus, Tamburlaine and The Jew of Malta, among others — that were acclaimed in their time and are admired even today. The Classical Theatre Company…
Into the Woods
Long before there was the television show Once Upon a Time, there was Into the Woods, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. Into the Woods intermingled fairy tale creatures with various twists that departed from legend. Christina Stroup says she jumped at the opportunity…
“Great Art in Ugly Rooms”
Is Paul Kremer making art with his photography series “Great Art in Ugly Rooms”? Or is he commenting on pop culture? Chances are it’s a little of both. The Brandon is hosting a solo exhibition of Kremer’s GAiUR photography series. The idea is simple: Kremer takes famous and heavily revered…
Failure: A Love Story
In Failure: A Love Story, by Philip Dawkins (a playwright with an increasing buzz about him), the grandiose themes of love, death and the transient nature of life are tackled on a minimalist stage and in a way both practical and magical, according to Leslie Swackhamer, a professor at Sam…
“Flashes of Hope”
The “Flashes of Hope” photography project has a simple goal: “photographing every child with cancer until every child is cured.” Currently at the Health Museum, “Flashes of Hope” is a series of images created by teams of volunteer stylists and photographers who worked with children to create special photographs. Some…
Tony DeSare: The Contemporary Songbook
Hear songs by Journey, Prince and the Doobie Brothers in the rarified confines of Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, performed by singer/pianist Tony DeSare in “The Contemporary Songbook.” DeSare is backed by conductor Michael Krajewski and the Houston Symphony. The New York Times called DeSare “two parts Sinatra and…
13th Annual Trinity Jazz Festival
William B. Miller of midtown’s Trinity Episcopal Church sees no conflict in synthesizing jazz and spirituality. Since 2002, Miller has spearheaded the Trinity Jazz Festival to display not only the beauty of his house of worship but also its commitment to artistry. “Though jazz in the sacred context may be…
The Four Good Things in I, Frankenstein
There are four good things we can say about I, Frankenstein, another muscles-and-rubble comic book adaptation just un-terrible enough not to alienate its core audience, yet never consistently grand or surprising enough to win over anyone else. First, Aaron Eckhart brings it, scowling like a champ beneath his jigsawed scar…
Houston Choreographers x6
Houston audiences will see a variety of performance styles in Houston Choreographers X6, an annual concert featuring the work of six local dance-makers that’s the highlight of Houston Dance Month. Among the choreographers is Hope Stone’s production manager, Cori Miller, who will present her work My Rollercoaster. “It reflects life…
Helen Reddy
It’s one thing to have a hit song that captures the social zeitgeist. But when said tune still packs a punch decades later — that’s a rarity. Such is the case for Aussie singer Helen Reddy’s most well-known single, “I Am Woman.” The 1972 No. 1 hit co-written with Ray…
MFAH Film – Movies Houstonians Love: Wendy Watriss and Fred Baldwin present Bagdad Cafe
FotoFest co-founders and directors Wendy Watriss and Fred Baldwin present Bagdad Cafe during the latest installment of the MFAH Film — Movies Houstonians Love series. An offbeat, quirky comedy, Bagdad Cafe (1987) was director Percy Adlon’s American -debut. The film follows two women, (CCH Pounder and Marianne Sägebrecht), one an…
Paquito D’Rivera
Saxophonist and composer Paquito D’Rivera is one of the few artists to conquer both classical music and Latin jazz. D’Rivera made his symphony debut before he was in his teens, went on to become a founding member of the legendary Afro-Cuban music group Irakere, was an original member of Dizzy…
Consul and Barber of Seville
For the first time in more than 20 years, the University of Houston Moores Opera Center is presenting The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini. “While it might not seem a radical programming choice, actually, for us we just haven’t had the right people at any one time and we…
Forbidden Broadway
Even the greatest moments of musical theater lend themselves to satire, and it may be that those soaring the highest are the most fun to watch when skewered by the lance of wit. Forbidden Broadway, a spoof of current and recent Broadway hits, had a long-running stint in Manhattan beginning…
Family: Blood is Thicker Than Water
Despite his youth, Joe “JoeP” Palmore is an experienced and richly talented actor who dominated the stage at Ensemble Theatre in many productions, notably as the lead in The Ballad of Emmett Till. He put this experience to good use in penning his first full-length play, Family: Blood Is Thicker…
Houston Press Artopia 2014
It’s one of the biggest — and best — parties of the year: Houston Press Artopia 2014. Okay, we admit we’re a little biased, but it really is a great party. The highlight of the evening is the presentation of the sixth annual Houston Press Mastermind Awards sponsored by Stella…
Diary of Anne Frank
The Diary of Anne Frank, an enduring drama that won the Pulitzer Prize and Tony award as Best Play in 1956, describes how a young girl and her family were hidden in an attic in Amsterdam during the German occupation of that city in World War II. The teenaged Anne…
Rigoletto
The Duke of Mantua in the opera Rigoletto is not a good guy; he preys upon one female conquest after another, discarding the women almost immediately. “In the aria in Act 2, you do see a softer side for a little bit, but right after that he goes to his…
“El Cuerpo Sutil”
The two artists exhibiting in “El Cuerpo Sutil/The Subtle Body,” Miguel Angel Rojas from Bogotá, Colombia, and John Sparagana of Houston, both explore the issue of political unrest in their work. Rojas contributes two textile-based installations, while Sparagana adds several remixed media images (think sliced, painted and hand-fatigued inkjet prints)…
The Giver
In the play The Giver, the success of society depends on one man knowing the history of all things, both good and evil, while the rest of the population remains in ignorance of the truth. Now it’s time for that man, known as the Giver, to pass the knowledge on…
Faith Healer and The Good Thief
One is the story of a no-name criminal who is hiding out not only from two different crime bosses but from charges of kidnapping and murder as well. The spotlight is on actor Santry Rush in The Good Thief as his character becomes the prey, rather than the hunter, leading…
Welcome Back, Marfreless: Lovers’ Lounge Again Ready for Action
Attention Houston makeout artists. Your slutty blue door is back. Well, almost. Marfreless, that infamous River Oaks lovers’ lounge with the the equally infamous blue door, will once again welcome Houston’s randiest bar patrons tomorrow, when it reopens its freshly polished doors for business. But this Marfreless will have a…
Other Desert Cities Is Good, But Theatrical Truth Remains Elusive
Jon Robin Baitz has had a number of plays well-received by critics and audiences, but there seemed to be a consensus that even more might be expected of him. Other Desert Cities has been hailed by many as answering this need, as it was praised in its off-Broadway debut in…
Vanessa Hudgens Proves Truer Than the Story in Gimme Shelter
You can say this for the Disney teen machine: They sure know how to pick ’em. Vanessa Hudgens was 17 when High School Musical made her famous, the tail end of a generation of Mouseketeers that included her contemporaries Zac Efron, Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez, and her elders Justin…
Rest of the Best 2013
Top 10 Our 2013 Best of Houston® winners have been announced, but in many cases, picking the best item in any category was no easy task. In order to show off all the culinary greatness Houston has to offer, we’re rounding up the “rest of the best” in some of our favorite…
The Great Divide
Electric Rodeo The early part of January, music news was dominated by two big announcements: first the 2014 lineup of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in the California desert about three months from now, and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s entertainers for its 83rd season this coming…
Capsule Art Reviews: “50 Shades of Green,” “The Age of Impressionism: Great French Paintings from the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute,” “Antonio Berni: Juanito and Ramona,” “Funnel Tunnel,” “São Paulo 2013”
“50 Shades of Green” The influence of the impressionists is very much at play in the new collection “50 Shades of Green,” at the Archway Gallery. The show is composed of the works of painters Judy Elias and Harold Joiner. The collaborative collection features a variety of oil paintings, mostly of outdoor…
Capsule Stage Reviews: Into the Woods, A Raisin in the Sun, Under a Cowboy Moon
Into the Woods Familiar fairy-tale characters spring to exciting life in the Stephen Sondheim/James Lapine musical as Little Red Ridinghood visits her grandmother, Cinderella meets her prince, Jack grows his beanstalk and Rapunzel lets down her hair, while a new tale is created about a baker and his wife desperate…
TSA Harassment and Star Search Mexican Style
Dear Mexican, I have a question for you about los mexicanos and the TSA, my most hated useless government agency. I heard that TSA does illegal ICE dragnets at airports to catch illegal aliens. My problem with TSA is that I get pulled aside for “special screening” every single time…
Behave Yourselves!
Highlights from Hair Balls Texas Texas, we’re starting to earn our reputation. When we look at the recent headlines out of Texas that have made national news, it’s pretty easy to see why folks outside the Lone Star State think that we all ride our horses to work. Our antics…
The MasterMinds 2014 Winners Revealed
In this, the sixth year of the MasterMind Awards, we’re discovering that the process of selecting winners gets more and more difficult. It seems the variety and quality of nonprofit arts organizations and independent artists increase every year, aided and abetted by a thriving arts community. The Houston Center for…
The Dosa Factory Elevates a Traditional Indian Street Food to Delicious Perfection
There are more than 34,000 McDonald’s locations in 119 countries worldwide. Dunkin’ Donuts operates about 15,000 franchises, and Starbucks has spread to 62 countries, opening nearly 21,000 locations in just 40 years. This is what America has given to the rest of the world. This is our fast food, our cheap food,…
Two Galleria-Area Hotel Bars Groom a Serious White-Collar Clientele
‘We’ll take two Nipple Up’s, a Fraggle Rock and a Pipe Stripping, please. And light on the ice, if you will.” You can tell quite a bit about a bar from the drink names on the cocktail list, and this one runs to four pages. Names like “The Jed Clampet”…
The Passenger Sends Off Sparks With a Story You’ll Never Forget
Unless composed by Richard Strauss or Benjamin Britten, 20th-century opera is fairly devoid of masterpieces. Considering that Strauss’s last great opera, Die Frau ohne Schatten, was written in 1919, and Britten’s enduring Billy Budd hails from 1951, the world of contemporary opera has had to wait a long time for…
