Students Against (Possible) Sweatshops Fight On
Apparently, a day can’t go by without dramatic development in the neverending battle between the Students Against Sweatshops group at the University of Houston, and the university itself. In a press release SAS issued this morning, the group claims that a member of University President Renu Khator’s staffed “physically blocked”…
Who Won the Obama Scramble?
Barack Obama is coming to town July 31 to hit up River Oaks and Memorial for cash. There will be two events: one, of course, at Becca Cason Thrash’s mansion, because the law of the River Oaks-Memorial jungle dictates that there is no way in fucking hell that she would…
Banking Disaster — Texas Style
The real reason banks are on the verge of collapse: As you might imagine, this little mishap did, of course, occur here in Texas. The East Texas town of Center, to be exact. It’s only the second-most redneck scene we’ve been privy to in this week’s trawling of the ‘net,…
Have Houston Doctors Cracked the AIDS Virus?
Per the UPI, word is filtering out of the scientific press that a trio of pathologists led by Dr. Sudhir Paul at the University of Texas Medical School here in Houston has pinpointed the Achilles Heel of the virus that causes AIDS. The vulnerable spot is hidden in a protein…
The Blaffer Gallery’s Art SWAT Team
In this week’s Houston Press, Beth Secor writes about the “2008 Houston Area Exhibition” at the Blaffer Gallery. Trying to get a look at the works for her review, she had an interesting experience at the space, which has notoriously aggressive guards. My experience with the Blaffer’s museum guards lent…
Whither Southern Rock?
South by Southwest’s daily music-news aggregator The Daily Chord stumbled across an interesting item today on former Houstonian Bill Bentley’s new Sonic Boomers blog. Longtime music writer Geoffrey Himes, who penned the Born in the USA entry in the 33 1/3 album-guide series, writes a lengthy essay about Southern Rock,…
Iraq Whistleblower Sues
You may remember Barry Halley, the former contract worker in Iraq who testified before Congress last April about rampant abuses he’d seen while working for several contractors in the Gulf. Well, according to a lawsuit filed earlier this week in Houston, this brave fellow is making his voice heard again…
Ice Cream Fads: Greek Gods Chocolate Fig
July is not only national beer month and national hot dog month, it’s also national ice cream month. I don’t think of myself as a follower of fads, but in the case of ice cream, I have a very fickle freezer. My ultra-expensive ($5 a pint at Whole Foods) ice…
Curse You, Batman: The Dark Knight (Opening Soon!!)
We’ve been having some technical problems on-and-off today with the blog, both the ability to post and the ability for people to access it. Our apologies. Why the problems? Two things: Drudge and Batman. Drudge prominently linked today to a posting from our sister paper LA Weekly about the looming…
Steroids and Roger Clemens: Kirk Radomski Hands Over Some Damning Evidence
After last night’s epic-All-Star Game, it’s kind of a bummer to get back to real life, but… Kirk Radomski, the former New York Mets clubhouse attendant who is responsible for naming a majority of the players found in the Mitchell Report, has supplied the Feds with documentary evidence stating that…
Now Open: Capriccio Tapas in the ‘Burbs
After retiring from the corporate world, some people might take a load off. Not Jerry Sarmiento. “I needed a second life,” he says of his decision to become a restaurateur. “The more I got involved in the food business, the more I loved it, so I decided to do it…
RIP Finesilver Gallery
People have been wondering what’s going on over at Finesilver Gallery for some time. Its last exhibition was supposed to end in April but was never taken down. Director Eleanor Williams (disclosure: a friend of Hair Balls) left the gallery in May, and no one was hired to take her…
Tonight: At the Gates at Warehouse Live
Think of Swedish music, and it’s usually ridonkulously catchy pop artists like ABBA, Roxette and Robyn that come to mind, not bonecrushing death metal, right? Yes, but… turns out in Europe’s land of the midnight sun, death metal is no longer the sole province of Norwegians. It hasn’t been since…
Houston, We Are Not Loved
Gawker has posted an item on a New York Sun article by some Harvard economics professor saying Houston is a terrific city that encourages growth, while New York has policies that deter growth. “Go there now, so I can have your apartment!” Gawker’s poster wrote. As you can imagine, the…
Alejandro Escovedo Spills the Beans on Houston Springsteen Duet
If those of us in the audience at Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band thought we were freaked out when Texas singer-songwriter icon Alejandro Escovedo walked out to join the Boss for “Always a Friend,” the first track off his excellently reviewed new CD Real Animal, during the first…
Pee For Me, Please
(Guarantee — No Lisa Nowak jokes will be made in the writing of this item.) NASA workers, the country needs your pee. The new Orion space capsule is designed to take astronauts to the moon and let them work there for months at a time. Astronauts, it turns out, piss…
MLB All-Star Game: Shucks, No Home Field Advantage in the Word Series for the Astros This Year
Click the image for a slideshow… I thought I would do one of my live-at-the-moment-I-type posts for the All-Star Game. So let’s get started. Top First: Hanley Ramirez of the Marlins, the starting NL shortstop, does his best impersonation of Miguel Tejada and strikes out. As does Chase Utley. And…
Your Mind on Drugs — Great! A Book Review
As a headline from last week’s Time states, smoking pot is an “American Pastime.” The article was reporting on a survey that determined that “Americans were more likely to have tried marijuana or cocaine than people in any of the 16 other countries, including France, Spain, South Africa, Mexico and…
Slideshow: Houston Burlesque Performer Calla Doll
We’ve just loaded up some images of local burlesque performer Calla Doll, who’s slated to perform this Saturday with a five-foot bubble (?) at the Dare Ware Summer Sin Party. Miss Doll says she was named after the calla lily; her mom worked in a flower shop. As for her…
Verne Troyer Sex Tape…Oh God.
I recognize I’m a little late to the party, as the saying goes, but I could not bring myself to watch the Verne “Mini-Me” Troyer sex tape until now which is why I haven’t written about it until now. Why? Because I don’t want to think about Mini-Me having sex…
Slideshow: 42 Statues of Liberty for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game
So the MLB All-Star Game was in New York’s Yankee Stadium last night. To honor the game, 42 miniature copies of the Statue of Liberty were placed throughout New York City. Each statue wears the colors of a different team or of something associated with New York City. Since I…
Aftermath: George Michael at Toyota Center
Photos by Chris Gray. Note: they made me stand way, way back at the soundboard so all I could take were these freaky sci-fi shots. Some of them turned out pretty cool. On his first U.S. tour in close to 20 years, George Michael’s 25 Live Tour stopped at the…
It’s Not Big-Oil Propaganda, Dammit
Chesapeake Energy has announced the creation of “an online news channel” devoted to the Barnett Shale, a potentially huge natural-gas find that lies under much of the area around Fort Worth. Tracy Rowlett, a retiring Dallas anchorman who is to DFW what Ron Stone was to Houston, will be the…
Meth Comes to the Burbs
There’s been a lot of talk and hand-wringing lately about what to do about the FM 1960 area, especially the stretch west of I-45 and east of Steubner-Airline. With all the foreclosed homes, vacant strip malls and boarded-up big-box retail, it’s starting to look a lot like a reprise of…
Lonesome, Onry and Mean: The Death of Honky-Tonk? (Part 1)
Although the sterile country-crap radio in our fair city may not know honky-tonk music from the Muzak in an elevator, suddenly there are a number of stellar honky-tonk records out. Arty Hill’s Bar of Gold spent several weeks atop the Freeform Americana radio chart, not bad for someone from Baltimore…
More Trouble for the Eldorado Tipster
An arrest warrant was issued yesterday for the now-infamous Rozita Swinton, the woman who allegedly posed as a teenage girl and reported abuse by a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The call eventually led to the raid of the church’s YZF Ranch near…
Tonight: Sleepercar at the Mink
Sleepercar, the El Paso-based side project of Sparta’s Jim Ward, pays a call on the Mink tonight, topping a typically eclectic local bill of Buxton, B., the Jonbenet and Giant Princess. Doors at 8. “A Broken Promise”: Sleepercar’s debut, West Texas (Doghouse/Civil Defense League), is shaping up to be one…
Boycott McDonalds — Unless You’re Gay
Put down that McDonald’s Happy Meal!! It’s killing you!! Not because it’s fast food — that’s a slow death, sure, but it’s only for this lifetime. That meal is actually killing you FOR ETERNITY, banishing you to the foetid, burning swamps of hell, where Satan forces you to listen to…
Midday MP3s: Lise Liddell at the Tasting Room
We’re now officially in full-on Music Awards mode here at the Press; appropriate, then, that 2004 Best Songwriter winner Lise Liddell plays tonight at the Tasting Room (2409 Alabama). After tonight’s gig, Liddell makes her way to Atlanta, where she’ll log studio time with local alt-country artist Richard Bicknell, who…
Shoplifting — A Gateway Crime to Extortion?
The two master criminals – 13 and 12 years old – were in the Forever 21 clothing store on Gessner when they made their move. They grabbed some merchandise and stuffed it in the 13-year-old’s backpack. It was to be the Crime of the Century, more ghastly than the specter…
Cornyn’s Killing Noriega, Money-Wise
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Rick Noriega, from Houston, isn’t doing so well in the fundraising department, the Republican Party of Texas is happy to inform us. With a little more than three months remaining in the race, Sen. John Cornyn reportedly raised $1.7 million from some 8,000 contributors during the…
Jesus On a Stick
According to Alice, Texas resident Mirabel Martinez, Jesus is putting in an appearance a few dozen miles west of his namesake city of Corpus Christi. For reasons of His own choosing, the Messiah has chosen to reveal his face on a telephone pole. The Alice Echo-News picks up the tale,…
The NFL Pregame Shows Suck. Here’s How to Save Them.
I think that one of the reasons I have really come to enjoy watching the NHL on NBC is the fact that because hockey is seen as a minor sport, it is thus not deemed worthy of a pregame show. There’s no hour long monstrosity with a blow-dried host and…
Priscilla Slade and TSU Still making News
We’re not sure why, but Texas Southern’s flamboyant, fabulous, free-spending and non-felonious former president Priscilla Slade is back in the news. Several media outlets around the country have picked up a recent AP report that essentially recounts Slade’s luxurious lifestyle and how the criminal case against her is “ending quietly.”…
Abstinence Education Somehow Not Working
The state of Texas leads the nation in throwing money at sex-education programs that preach abstinence, the Austin American-Statesman has reported — $17 million in state funds and $3 million of your Texas tax dollars. (As we’ve noted before, HISD says it doesn’t keep track “centrally” of how much it…
A Houston Astros Mid-Season Progress Report
So it’s the All-Star break and our Houston Astros are in last place. I didn’t even see that coming – seriously, I figured the St. Louis Cardinals were so devoid of talent that there was no way they could win; that shows just what I know about baseball, and just…
Starbucks’ Vivanno Smoothie Hits the Counter Today
Your friendly neighborhood Food Explorer… Starbucks’ new Orange Mango Banana Blend Vivanno Smoothie is released today, and I got the chance to do an advanced tasting last week. What I like about it is that it is sweet enough without being overly so. The coffee-slingers have also opted to use…
Slideshow: Central Valley Coyotes vs. Texas Copperheads
On Saturday the Coyotes trounced the Copperheads, 72-34, but our photographer was too busy hanging out in the stands to capture much of the game. You can follow the peripheral action here. — KP…
Houston Speed Traps Caught on Film
Via bloghouston and the Bayou City Madman , we learned of a guy calling homself erickonphoenix, who has a Youtube channel devoted to his testing of detection devices that are supposed to help you elude speed traps. The channel includes this great video that shows one fine day where an…
Where Is It? (Patriotic Pigs)
Here piggy piggy. Here piggy piggy. — Jay Francis…
Fraternity Hazing Suit Settles
Lawyers for the family of Jack Phoummarath, a UT freshman who died in a binge-drinking episode, say they’ve settled their lawsuit against a fraternity and some of its members. (At least that’s who we’re assuming they’ve settled with, since that”s who they sued; the announcement doesn’t specify, and the lawyers…
UH Sweatshop Protest, Part XVII
If you feel like stickin’ it to The Man, the University of Houston’s Students Against Sweatshops (SAS) are holding a press conference Tuesday at noon, on the UH campus. The issue? New UH Prez Renu Khator and other university bigwigs are “actively engaging in a cover-up of sweatshop labor” to…
The Year the Smurfs Attacked
Twenty-five years ago this past January, Houston middle-school playgrounds were a-hum with fear and loathing. Rumors were crackling like wildfire about a deadly, remorseless street gang with the cuddly name of The Smurfs. That their name was so ridiculous only enhanced their bad-assery in the minds of many kids. You…
Twitter Is Very Important!
Some legislators have embraced the Interweb’s vast system of tubes more fully than others. U.S. Rep. John Culberson, for one, has especially taken to Twitter, where he can keep constituents posted of his thoughts as they come to him, 24-7. That’s why Culberson is worried that The Man (i.e. Congress,…
This Just In: Robert Plant and Allison Krauss Confirm Woodlands Date
Scratch another name off the list of people you’re going to have to go all the way to the Austin City Limits Music Festival to catch (see also: Drive-By Truckers, Spiritualized). Robert Plant and Allison Krauss, whose 2007 CD Raising Sand found approximately the same reception among critics as the…
Army Recruiters Never Sleep
A 16-year-old we know was waiting patiently at a bus stop the other day. A non-descript sedan drove by, then hit the brakes. The driver made a quick U-turn, went back and crossed the median again in order to drive by the bus stop. As it neared the bus stop,…
Astronauts Need to Start Having Sex in Space
Looks like if Lisa Marie Nowak had only waited a decade or two, she could’ve gotten down (or up, or however one does it in space) with fellow astronaut William Oefelein as part of the job. Dr. Jason Kring, an assistant professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University who studies sex for…
Tonight: George Michael at Toyota Center
George Michael, he of the perpetual stubble, 85 million records sold, seven U.S. No. 1 singles and rap sheet including lewd conduct and passing out in his car, hits Houston for the first time in a month of Sundays when he brings his 25Live tour to Toyota Center tonight (doors…
DA to Tackle Family Violence
Houston hasn’t always been on the forefront of helping victims of family violence, as we’ve noted in the past. Some help appears to be on the way. The Harris County DA’s office has just announced a federally funded three-year, $850,000 project to “speed up the response and available services to…
Fusion Hot Dogs at Hot Breads Bakery
The odd but tasty Indo-American hot dog at Hot Breads Bakery on Hillcroft appears to have an automotive inspiration. The sandwich consists of six little vertical pistons of hallal chicken frankfurter baked into a deliciously soft 6-cylinder brioche-like bun and topped with a sauce of mayonnaise, onions and green peppers…
Playboy, Erin Andrews and John Royal: Now That’s a Threesome
Playboy.com, the good folks who brought us the sexiest sports broadcaster (Erin Andrews, who still won’t pose sans clothing), brings us a new Internet contest. They’re asking for our votes on the Hottest Web Blogger. You can find the candidates here. I’ve got to confess that I’m not too thrilled…
More Houston Chronicle cuts coming?
Bad vibes are wafting out of 801 Texas, home of the Houston Chronicle. The Chron underwent a round of layoffs and buyouts back in October, but that might have been only the beginning. Papers all over the country have been ferociously chopping jobs, and it appears even the relatively healthy…
Over the Weekend: Art of Can, Afterburner Party, Rich’s and Astros
Welcome to our brand-new news blog. Don’t worry, the inimitable Miss Pop Rocks isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and we’ll still keep posting plenty of Over the Weekend action. On that note… Red Bull Art of Can at the Galleria Taurine freaks created works of art far removed from those…
So Angelina Jolie Had Her Babies
So, gals and guys, pull up a chair and let’s dish. Cuz Angie had her babies. This past weekend, she popped out a matched set, Vivienne Marcheline and Knox Leon (well la di da) to go with the bevy of Benetton babies she shares with Brad Pitt. The kiddos were…
Where Is It? (BBQ Crabs)
Here we go again… — Robb Walsh…
Lindsay, Britney, Obama and Hello
You are looking LIVE! at the Houston Press’ new Hair Balls blog. Take a second to luxuriate in the subtle, distinctive logo. One of the ways we hope to get things going here is by interacting with you. Feel free to comment, drop me a line at rich.connelly@houstonpress.com or call…
Astros-Nationals: Back from Vacation and Ready for the All-Star Break
When I departed on vacation, the Astros had just finished losing three of four games to the Los Angeles Dodgers. I didn’t take my computer, and I was doing lots of sightseeing around Minneapolis and New York City, so I wasn’t exactly keeping up with the Astros – besides, about…
Slideshow: Red Bull Art of Can at the Galleria
Instead of blogging, sprucing up their Facebook pages or attempting to reach a higher level on Grand Theft Auto IV, some dedicated Red Bull quaffers put all of those empties to better use. They created works of art far removed from those wooden guys with the Budweiser can torsos of…
Diet Gourmet on Sandwich Row
The 3800 to 4000 blocks of Richmond are something of a sandwich row. You have Which ‘Wich (3815 Richmond), Quizno’s (3837 Richmond) and Schlotsky’s (4001 Richmond), but my hands-down favorite is one you might actually miss. I know I did until recently, thinking that it was only for take-out and…
Weekend Music Part 2: Randys Travis and Weeks, Yuppie Pricks, Jackyl, Spain Colored Orange and More
Here we go with the rest of the weekend video previews. Busy Busy… Saturday Mr. “Forever and Ever, Amen” Randy Travis digs up some bones at Sam Houston Race Park: Randy Weeks, who wrote Lucinda Williams’ “Can’t Let Go,” encourages some day drinking at his 3:30 p.m. Cactus Music in-store:…
Aftermath: Peter Murphy at Meridian
Photos by Chris Gray David Bowie will always be the Thin White Duke, so maybe Peter Murphy can be the Thin White Count. He doesn’t make a bad Bowie either, closing Thursday’s encore with a plodding cover of “Be My Wife” from Low. Murphy’s voice is so deep it almost…
Weekend Music, Part 1: Papermoons, Chili Cold Blood, 30FootFall, Derailers
Figured I’d break our weekly survey up into two posts and stretch it out a bit. First up, local indie-folk duo Papermoons are already drawing raves for their full-length debut New Tales. Better catch tonight’s release show at the Mink, because they’re not long for this city. Where have we…
You’re Too Gosh-Darn Sensitive
It turns out you do actually learn something new every day. Today we learned that Houston is too goddamn sensitive. Our cover story this week was on the sad trend of indie bands bypassing Houston for greener, or at least greenerish, pastures. To illustrate it we had the noted artist…
A Report from the Dynamo Media Match
We feel ya, kid. If there is one thing to be said about defense, it’s that you need it. This was proven when my team went down 8-2 at the Dynamo Media Match yesterday. Local television, radio and newspaper journalists, along with public relations representatives from Houston teams like the…
Beer Here: Saturdays at Saint Arnold’s
There’s a $5 tour every Saturday afternoon at Saint Arnold’s brewery. The doors open at one and the price of admission also gets you a beer glass and four tokens good for filling it up. The picnic tables inside are first come, first served. Lots of beer lovers bring food…
Where Is It? (Lounging Panini)
Okay, one more easy one before we stump ya’ll with some obscure stuff. — Robb Walsh…
Could You Do It In a Smart Car?
I’m starting to spot Smart Cars around town. Driving down Montrose, parked in the lot at my local Y. They’re so cute, but I’m wondering… Could you do it in a Smart Car? I mean, they have great gas mileage (40 city/45 highway), they’re remarkably affordable (they start at $11,590),…
Tonight: UFO at Scout Bar
Dudes! I almost forgot because I’m so excited about Peter Murphy, but if you’re in the mood for a little vintage Brit-metal on the shores of Clear Lake instead, UFO is playing at Scout Bar. Be sure to request their cover of “Alone Again Or” by Love. – Chris Gray…
Prosecutors Dismiss Assault Charges in J Prince Gym Beating Case
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office has dismissed aggravated assault charges against J Prince, founder and CEO of Houston’s Rap-a-Lot Records, Rap-a-Lot announced today. The charges stemmed from a January 2007 incident at Prince’s Prince Complex gymnasium, where Studio 7303 owner Ronnie Bookman alleged Prince ordered him beaten up because…
Tonight: Dayna Steele at Houston Public Library
Dayna Steele, the onetime first lady of Houston rock radio with legions of “Steele workers,” will read from her new book Rock to the Top: What I Learned About Success from the World’s Greatest Rock Stars at 6:30 p.m. tonight at the freshly remodeled main branch of the Houston Public…
There’s More and More Houstonians
Feeling a little crowded? You should — Houston has just been declared the country’s fastest-growing city. And that’s according to the U.S. Census Bureau, so you know it’s got to be right. The bureau released a new study today on growth in U.S. cities between July 1, 2006 and July…
Great Espresso at Cafe Inka
If you’re looking for great espresso, you need to find yourself an independent coffeehouse and a knowledgable barista. A great test is to ask for a ristretto. I found a great independent coffee house in Cafe Inka (12225 Westheimer, 832-379-1717) and a barista extraordinaire in Justin Karnes. Not only did…
Run’s Playground
Rev. Joseph “Run” Simmons, one-third of legendary rap group Run-DMC and more recently starring as a man of the cloth and beleagured father of seven (in other words, himself) in the hit MTV reality series Run’s House, visited Houston Wednesday with his wife, Justine, to help build a brand-new playground…
Carolyn Haines, Dean James and Mary Saums
Carolyn Haines, Dean James and Mary Saums are dropping by Murder by the Book today to sign and discuss their most recent releases. Haines will present her new Sarah Booth Delaney mystery, Wishbones, which follows former P. I. Delaney as she packs up her life in Mississippi and heads to…
“Creature Comforts”
“The show is really young adults trying to hold onto their childhood imagination,” says curator/artist Eli Sebastian Brumbaugh about “Creature Comforts.” The exhibit features five locals, including Brumbaugh, along with Toronto artist Deforgeo. “Everyone has some sort of monster or creature they like to work with,” says Brumbaugh. Brumbaugh is…
Rockets Blacktop Battle 3-on-3 Summer Tour: Ballin’ on the Summer Blacktop
Hey, hey basketball freaks, it’s the Rockets Blacktop Battle 3-on-3 Summer Tour: Ballin’ on the Summer Blacktop. B-ball players ten years old to adult can show off their skills and compete against some of the best players out there. The Houston Rockets Girls will be there to hand out prizes…
Meet & Greet The Real (Art) World Residents
DiverseWorks has borrowed the familiar intro to MTV’s The Real World to show off their artists-in-residence: “See what happens when people start making art and start getting real.” The organization is hosting Meet & Greet: The Real (Art) World Residents, where you can see what the DW artists-in–residence have been…
Ice Worlds
Cool off (figuratively, at least) at the new IMAX movie Ice Worlds. The full-dome screen show takes viewers on a tour of Earth and other planets’ polar regions and icy landscapes as scientists explore the “critical relationship between ice and life.” And yes, that does extend beyond a few cubes…
West Side Story
The opening scene of West Side Story tells you everything you need to know about the musical: Tough guys, full of pent-up anger and a simmering sexuality, suddenly break out in ballet moves and song, stopping just long enough to push each other around. Their slicked-back hair never moves out…
Movie Trailers: Trash or Treasure?
The best part about going to the movies is the previews. The other films coming soon to a theater near you are somehow always more enticing than the flick you just paid to see. Movie Trailers: Trash or Treasure? is a collection of those advertisements that had you thinking, “I…
The Unexpected Guest
If it’s summer, it must be time for the Alley’s Summer Chills mystery series. This year’s treat is the goose bump–inspiring murder mystery The Unexpected Guest by Agatha Christie. Dense fog, the ancient Welsh coastline and a dead big-game hunter all come together to start Christie’s 1958 hit off with…
“In the Forest of Fontainebleau Painters and Photographers from Corot to Monet”
It’s no surprise that Claude Monet found inspiration in the forest of Fontainebleau just outside Paris. The lush greenery has been known as a refuge from the bustling city for more than 200 years. Paintings of the area’s landscape are the focus of “In the Forest of Fontainebleau Painters and…
“Art of Can”
It should probably be noted that if you have so many empty Red Bull cans lying around that you think, “Hey, I’m going to make a six-foot-tall sculpture out of these,” you might want to consider cutting back on the caffeine. That said, the slender, colorful little cans do make…
Video Games Live
Futuristic soldiers, frogs crossing the road and diminutive Italian men with a fondness for smiling mushrooms are three things not regularly associated with the rarefied world of classical music. But today the local highbrows go a little haywire with Video Games Live, an extravaganza of gaming music performed by the…
“The Big Show”
If recent reports from (envious) national media outlets are to be believed, Houston is weathering this recession well. Actually, it’s thriving — people are smiling and, more importantly, spending. This is great news for all, but especially for local emerging artists, some 500 of whom submitted works for consideration for…
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus showman Tabayara Antonio Maluenda de Campos (a.k.a. Taba) says taming tigers is easy: “You keep getting closer and closer. And then one day, she lets you kiss her.” Ah, sure. We’re just gonna have to take your word for it there, Taba, because…
Christopher Titus
Christopher Titus is a guy’s guy. We don’t mean to sound sexist, but the comedian’s brand of humor seems to play better to aging frat boy types. You might remember him from his now-defunct sitcom, Titus, which mainly focused on his relationship with his abusive father. The show was almost…
“Damn, It’s Hot! I Need a Cold One”
“Damn, It’s Hot! I Need a Cold One” showcases the dangers of alcohol via outdated, out-of-print, 16-millimeter filmstrips. The vintage educational films, which come courtesy of the movie buffs at Cinema Bomar, are unintentionally hilarious. Sure, drinking and driving is one of the worst ideas in history, but it’s hard…
“Paradise/Gravedigger”
Rene Cruz does something with his action figures that would make most collectors cringe: He takes them out of the box and plays with them. For his show “Paradise/Gravedigger,” the artist — gasp — defaced his own collection, removing the heads from the figures, replacing them with colorful, diamond-shaped heads…
The Binz Architectural Walking Tour
To keep things cool, the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance is moving its monthly afternoon tours to a later time. “We’re trying to avoid having everybody on the tour die of heatstroke,” says Jim Parsons, a guide for July’s Binz Architectural Walking Tour. The roving lecture will focus on the historic…
Crime Stories
Good Tackle A career for Corey: Loved the article on Corey Williams [“To Catch a Rapist,” Crime Story, by Randall Patterson, June 26]. How refreshing to hear about such selfless bravery in the face of modern-day society’s don’t-get-involved attitude. This guy rushed in, without any thought of danger or personal harm,…
Drag Queens and Sports Bars
There’s a new spot opening up right next to the Hollywood Super Center, Anita’s Bar and Grill (2409 Grant). Rich’s owner DJ Mark D is opening the place with his wife, along with the restaurant’s namesake, popular Montrose fixture Anita Bump, and her husband. Apparently they decided to leave the “Bump”…
Why do Mexicans Love Elvis, and Why Do White People Love Tans?
Dear Mexican, What’s the fascination Mexicans have with Elvis? Good Roceando Tonight Dear Gabacho, Your question is spot-on, but it’s taken awhile for Elvis to achieve icon status amongst Mexicans. As recounted in Eric Zolov’s 1999 book, Refried Elvis: The Rise of the Mexican Counterculture, the King largely sparked the…
Peeking Inside the Shadowy Crypt of Houston’s Goth Community
Thursday is a red-letter day for a curious, long-lived musical subculture that, the rest of the year, generally favors black. Bauhaus founder and frontman Peter Murphy is playing Meridian, his first Houston performance in several years. In certain circles, it’s like Elvis or the Dalai Lama dropping by. Seriously. “There…
All’s fair in love and war for St. Louis rapper Black Spade
In the 2002 movie Orange County, Jack Black plays a pudgy slacker who manages to get a gal out of her clothing by uttering, “Do you want me to get naked and start the revolution?” Oddly enough, that line describes the arc of To Serve with Love, the debut album…
Bob Log III, Scott H. Biram, Possessed by Paul James
If you’re unfamiliar with Hillgrass Bluebilly Entertainment, it’s the Austin-based booking agency whose clients make generous use of the stomp box (that small wooden box with a microphone pickup inside that, when struck with the foot, makes a tremendous racket), release albums with names like Log Bomb, Dirty Old One…
Earth, Wind & Fire
Every year, without fail, Earth Wind & Fire rises from the black hole of tight songwriting, flashy pants and old ’70s space junk to take their movable fiesta cross-country. Last given mass exposure when “Boogie Wonderland” appeared in a medley from 2006 kid flick Happy Feet, EWF has bestowed such…
Bayousphere
Let’s hope this blushing bride has better luck taking the kitchen route than Bobby Kennedy did. (Come on — it’s been 40 years.) Yael Avivi smiles sweetly as she sneaks through the St. Regis Hotel kitchen in order to avoid being seen by the groom before her recent wedding. Her…
L.A. Guns
With an image and sound that evoke Alice Cooper slumming it up in a 3.2 beer joint, ’80s rockers L.A. Guns have managed to project their tractor-pull cred and white-tank-top enthusiasm upon multiple generations of American rock lovers. Frontman Tracii Guns has shown a remarkable tolerance for the shade of…
Cute Is What We Aim For
Buffalo’s Cute Is What We Aim For is likely the perfect 21st-century pop band. Almost purpose-built for short attention spans, CIWWAF focuses so heavily on pop sheen, hooks and scenester touchstones that it’s often difficult to figure out the true sum of the parts. For a generation of kids raised…
Alejandro Escovedo: Real Animal
Most collaborations between two such strong artistic personalities as Alejandro Escovedo and Chuck Prophet would be doomed from the start, but Real Animal is like adding a turbocharger to a Ferrari V-12. Searing rocker “Always a Friend” burns rubber off the starting line, and Real Animal never looks back. The…
Mike Stinson
Dwight Yoakam, who cut Mike Stinson’s “Late Great Golden State” on 2003’s Population Me, isn’t the only country singer to realize Stinson may be the best writer of stone-cold honky-tonk songs on the planet today. Jesse Dayton, no slouch as a honky-tonk writer himself, is producing Stinson’s next album. “The…
Warlocks: Heavy Deavy Skull Lover
It’s hard to imagine doing anything while listening to Heavy Deavy Skull Lover except lying on the couch in a substance-induced stupor — cough syrup, hydro, opium, take your pick — so it’s probably not a good idea to dial this up on your iPod while operating heavy equipment or…
Atari’s Alone in the Dark is scary for all the wrong reasons
Upon playing Atari’s new horror/puzzle game Alone in the Dark — the newest and most hyped in the increasingly limp franchise — you immediately realize there are far more terrifying experiences out there than this astonishing failure. Like actually being alone in the dark. Seriously: Take your video game controller…
Single File
Annie, “I Know Ur Girlfriend Hates Me”: This trend of text-message abbreviations invading pop — thanks, Pink and Fall Out Boy — has gotta be stopped! Otherwise, artists with names like :P, l8r and tyvm will be signing lucrative, three-month ringtone contracts before we even realize it. Death Cab for…
Papermoons: New Tales
Along with bands like the Riff Tiffs, the Western Civilization and Hearts of Animals, Papermoons are helping to define a new direction for Houston indie rock that largely eschews the punk, noise and psychedelic influences that have dominated for the past two decades. Instead of confrontation and muscle, they deliver…
A Native American Family Fights Against Hair Length Rules
Five-year-old Adriel Arocha has been mistakenly called a pretty little girl. “No, I’m a boy,” Adriel told one stranger. “I have a penis.” Adriel’s long, ink-black hair caused the confusion. He’s never had a haircut. His father, Kenney Arocha, is part Native American. He teaches spiritual beliefs to his son…
Nova Arts Project’s ambitious War of the Roses actually works
Audacity, thy name is Nova Arts Project. For its epic cycle of Shakespearean history plays War of the Roses, this feisty young theater company might also be called daring or innovative — certainly, downright fun. Nova has taken the eight most famous Shakespeare histories, given them to eight different director/adapters…
Houston Has a Bad Reputation with Touring Indie Bands
For lovers of modern indie rock, Houston has its very own Pearl Harbor Day — October 13, 2006. The battle took place at the Rice Military nightclub Walter’s on Washington, when, early in the set of San Francisco punk-folk-blues band Two Gallants, all hell broke loose. It all started with that…
Capsule Art Reviews: “Designed by Architects: Metalwork from the Margo Grant Walsh Collection,” “Mary Magsamen and Stephan Hillerbrand: Forced Fields,” “The Old Weird America: Folk Themes in Contemporary Art,” “Volker Stelzmann”
“Designed by Architects: Metalwork from the Margo Grant Walsh Collection” This exhibition is filled with beautiful, desirable objects drawn from Walsh’s more than 800-piece collection. Looking at them on a scorching Houston summer day, you want to reach inside the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s vitrines, touch the cool, smooth…
Voice: Tastes Great, Less Filling
The coolest stuff I’ve eaten at Voice, the new restaurant at the chic Hotel Icon, came from the bar menu. The “four little crab cakes in red chili voodoo sauce,” the size and shape of marshmallows, were made out of sweet, solid crab. They were deep-fried in a crunchy crust…
Joe Harris County spends his days in court, keeping score on the trials he watches
The courtrooms on the 20th floor of the Harris County Criminal Justice Center are larger than others in the building, and so, in an effort to accommodate spectators, the more sensational cases are usually tried there. On the morning of the fourth Monday in June, Project Court #1 was occupied…
Creative Carpaccio at Ristorante Cavour
The beef tenderloin carpaccio ($14) at Ristorante Cavour (1080 Uptown Park Blvd., 713-418-1000) is so incredibly thin, you can see right through it to the glass plate below. The five almost-imperceptible slices of this raw delicacy are scattered with thin shavings of aged Parmesan, coarse rock salt, drizzles of olive…
Capsule Stage Reviews: Ain’t Misbehavin’, Electile Dysfunction, Smoke on the Mountain: Homecoming, Snoopy, The Tamarie Cooper Show
Ain’t Misbehavin’ By day, Thomas “Fats” Waller sold beboppy tunes on Tin Pan Alley. Come nighttime, when all the cool cats were out on the prowl, the jazz great traveled uptown to take part in the Harlem Renaissance. Lucky for us, many of those delicious toe-tapping tunes have been tied…
Masons and Miles Davis at Bissonnet’s Fedora Lounge
Dancers beware: Fedora Lounge (2726 Bissonnet) is no place to cut a rug. Located on the end of a narrow strip center, Fedora has a fire marshal-ordered occupancy of 49 that can occasionally creep to around 60, if you’re counting those on its makeshift patio. What floor space there is…
Devil May Care for Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Hollywood’s Endless Superhero Summer rolls on with the arrival of Hellboy II: The Golden Army from Pan’s Labyrinth director Guillermo del Toro, but before this review goes any further, I must confess — head hanging low in shame — that I haven’t read a comic book since I was 12…
Going Down to the Center of the Earth
At the top, let’s be clear about one thing: Journey to the Center of the Earth is more a demo reel than a narrative feature. It’s a decent, if overly familiar and yawningly obvious compendium of look-at-me moments intended to show off the latest and greatest in stereo 3D filmmaking,…
Paradise Lost in Surfwise
Halfway through Surfwise, a mesmerizingly ambivalent documentary about an itinerant family of Jewish surfer-dude health nuts, we meet the 84-year-old patriarch, “Doc” Paskowitz, at Los Angeles’s Museum of Tolerance, showing director Doug Pray a blown-up photo of a Nazi preparing to shoot a Jewish mother and child at close range…
