UPDATED: Leah Purcell Charged in Spindletop Dog Refuge Case
Update: First Assistant District Attorney Phil Grant tells us that one felony count of animal cruelty has been filed in addition to the four misdemeanor charges. A felony count is punishable by a maximum of two years in state jail and/or a $10,000 fine. Former Spindletop Dog Refuge owner Leah…
UT President Bill Powers Won’t Resign Until June 2015, But His Departure Will Probably Suck
UT Austin’s beloved president submitted his resignation for June 2015 last Wednesday afternoon, after being presented with an ultimatum to resign or be fired by the university’s chancellor, Francisco Cigarroa. As the university’s Burnt Orange Nation reports: The [Board of Regents] has been on a crusade to oust Powers for…
Comcast Rep Loses Mind When Customer Tries to Cancel Service
We all know the horror stories about Comcast. Some of them involve the dreaded four-hour window. Others make reference to service outage problems. In Houston, our biggest complaints are most closely tied to the existence of Comcast Sports Net Houston and the fact that it is unavailable to the majority…
Are the Raiders Aware They Traded for Matt SCHAUB?
In sports talk radio, there is a running joke about the “Matts.” The Matts are a gaggle of NFL starting (or recently starting) quarterbacks who coincidentally all fall somewhere between, like, tenth and 45th among quarterbacks in terms of their perception around the league. It’s a huge chunk of the…
Reality Bites: Little Women: LA
There are a million reality shows on the naked television. We’re going to watch them all, one at a time. The glut of reality television, like climate change, is a reality that can’t be denied by rational human beings. From inexplicably top-rated shows like American Idol and The Bachelor/Bachelorette to…
Hump Day Cocktail: Old Fashioned at Poison Girl
It’s Wednesday. Hump Day. Still two days until the weekend. Honey, you look like you need a drink. Here’s our suggestion. Tell ’em the Houston Press sent you. “The best thing about this bar is $2 drinks. If you go to Midtown, it’s $8. Forget it.” I’ve never been to…
Married, Sort Of: The Legal Limbo of Being Gay and Married in Texas
Jenn and Lizzie Wigle are wandering the halls of a bridal expo, searching more for ideas than products or services. Eventually they visit three of the events, looking at dresses, invitations, cake decorators and all the other trappings of the $40-billion-a-year American wedding industry. Most of the vendors whom Jennifer…
Godspell at A.D. Players: A Glorious, Heartfelt Production
The set-up: If there’s any Broadway musical that’s ripe material for A.D. Players it’s Stephen Schwartz’s folksy story of Christ and His message, Godspell (1971). The fit is beyond reproach. In a glorious production bolstered by heartfelt performances, this Sunday school lesson masquerading as a musical explodes into one of…
Chef Chat, Part 1: Roy Shvartzapel’s Culinary Journey to Common Bond
His last name may be a little challenging to pronounce correctly, but chef Roy Shvartzapel of Common Bond is practically a Houston native. After traveling the world and working in some of the most renowned restaurants, he came back home to open the wildly successful, upper-crust bakery at Westheimer and…
Overcoming Barriers: Adaptive Movement Is Parkour for the Physically Disabled
Rob Lynn leans against the painted white brick wall. His eyes are trained on Cameron Pratto, a muscular but not stout man with a cool but nondescript accent, who has tattoos up his whole right arm and a shaved head. Pratto walks between two three-and-a-half-foot wooden structures and gives instructions…
This Week In Food Blogs: National Food Holidays Are Pointless
Adventures in a New(ish) City: In the final post about Kim’s June weekend with her mom, she writes about their brunch at Down House. They started with Bloody Marys at the bar while they waited for their table, then Kim chose the Gouda sandwich with a fried egg and avocado…
July Kickstarter Round-Up: LARP, Pugs and Brain Injuries
Once a month we’ll be bringing you a look at some of the best local Kickstarter campaigns in order to let you know what’s getting ready to be unleashed through the help of small investors. Larpe Diem: Have you ever seen Darkon, the documentary someone made about foam sword fighting,…
Even After Leaving, Manziel Still Dominates SEC Conversation
HOOVER, Alabama — The question was irrelevant, but Johnny Manziel hardly was. After delivering his opening statement at Southeastern Conference Media Days, the first question Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin answered — or heard, rather — was about his Heisman Trophy-winning former quarterback, Manziel. “What is it like not coaching…
5 Signs You’re Actually in an Angry Mob
The other night I sat down and read a bedtime story to my daughter. It was The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles and George Ford. The book details the life of a young black girl in 1960 who was ordered by a judge to be the first black…
Rakim at Numbers, 7/15/2014
Rakim, D-Risha Numbers July 15, 2014 “That was just sound check.” Forty minutes into his headlining show at Numbers, Rakim had barely broken a sweat. It’s quite possible his inability to even let a bead drop from his head comes from a near three-decade presence onstage and beyond. It’s also…
Houston Restaurant Weeks Announces Participating Eateries and Menus
It’s the best time of the year for many Houstonians — Houston Restaurant Weeks! From August 1 through September 1, Houston restaurants will prepare special multi-course menus that show off some of their best and most popular dishes for a low, fixed price. People wait all year to try out…
Zapruder Analysis of a Pool Dunk With LOTS OF FIRE (VIDEO)
In the mid to late ’90s, professional wrestling’s popularity was skyrocketing with a battle between two huge companies on Monday night television. In order to win the ratings battle, among many tactics, both companies tried to up the ante of gratuitous violence. The use of chairs begat the use of…
100 Creatives 2014: Larry McKee, Cinematographer, Knows How Light Behaves
What He Does: Larry McKee was a still photographer in the late ’70s and through the ’80s. Once he learned how to light, he found himself analyzing movies as he watched them. It became an obsession with him, trying to figure out the way that scenes were lit to bring…
Burger Report: Cottonwood’s Bleu Cheese Burger
Though Cottonwood is known mostly as craft beer bar, it has some serious burger game. And while we’ve already waxed poetic about their poblano-and-fried-egg-laden Squirrel Master Burger — it even made our critic’s 100 Favorite Dishes of 2013 — that doesn’t mean the other burgers aren’t just as good. The…
If Your Allergies Have Sucked This Year, You Are Not Alone
Two weeks ago, I was sitting in an urgent-care facility with a doctor feeling my neck. I had what felt like a swollen lymph node — something not terribly uncommon for me throughout my life — and wanted to make sure I wasn’t dying. The doctor said he didn’t feel…
Rest of the Best 2014: Houston’s Top 10 Margaritas
Our 2013 Best of Houston® winners were announced a while back, 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 continuing to round up the “rest of the best” in…
Places in and Around Houston That Feel Like You’ve Stepped Back in Time
Sometimes the pace of modern life can get to anyone, and we long for a simpler time. Unless you have a time-traveling DeLorean, your only option for really reaching back in time is to find places that keep elements of the past alive.Fortunately for us would-be time bandits (okay, if…
Glenn Hughes’s California Breed Redefines the Power Trio
It was the late summer of 2012, and hard rockers Black Country Communion had just released their third album. But the co-singer/bassist of the very successful group, the legendary Glenn Hughes, was pissed. That’s because the very future of the band featuring Hughes, co-singer/guitarist Joe Bonamassa, drummer Jason Bonham and…
Boston George Traps a Hit With Traffic
“Do You.” That was the crux of a recent Twitter back-and-forth between DJ Mr. Rogers, easily one of the best DJs Houston has to offer, and Slim Thug, a Houston mainstay whether he’s rapping or just speaking his unfiltered mind. “Do You” is not really a brand-new concept, it’s something…
The Five Best Punk Supergroups of All Time
Punk rock is known for bands breaking up just as quickly as they form. So many seminal groups across its history have only one record to their name that critics talk a lot more about bands breaking up than forming for that reason. But every now and then we get…
Six Simple Ways to Be Courteous at Shows
Do you, as an audience member, have responsibilities to the performing band at a local show? Yup. The biggest is to keep your trap shut long enough for the music to reach those who came to hear it, and to do that, we must be where the act is performing…
Dwight Howard Tweets #FreePalestine, Then Takes It Back When He Gets Shelled
Rockets center Dwight Howard upset a lot of his fans this weekend with his tweeting #FreePalestine, and then deleting it a few minutes later…
“New and Improved” Millennial Cover Letter Not Really New or Improved
Getting a job is tough. There is the endless searching of job websites for the right gig, preparing résumés and then the god-awful interview process. Hopefully, the end result is a well-paying job where you can be somewhat satisfied with the hours spent there every week. Everyone agrees that when…
With The Strain, Are Real(er) Vampires Back?
“Wait a minute,” you may hypothetically be saying, “Back? What about Twilight? Or The Vampire Diaries? Or True Blood? Have vampires ever really left?” I acknowledge that the handsome fops the liberal media have been passing off as vampires have remained in the public eye for years, but these simpering…
Five Things We Can Ascertain From Daryl Morey’s Monday Interview
Sometimes things don’t go quite the way we planned them. Houston Rockets fans learned this all too well in the past four days. At lunchtime on Friday, it was all right there. A few more simple (albeit expensive) steps left to execute, and the Rockets would have the best starting…
Petite Sweets Introduces Frozen Custard Waffle Cone Sundaes
Petite Sweets is known for its creamy, sweet custards. And this summer, rather than filling up a tall cup with the signature treat, the West Alabama bakery has crafted a variety of frozen custard waffle cone sundaes using the three standard flavors: Chocolate, vanilla and swirled. Custard is similar to…
Elbert Shawn Rice: The Strange, Twisted Saga of a Failed Bird Scammer
On June 23, Sharon Wells-Markland, who runs an exotic bird sanctuary in Montgomery County, found an uplifting e-mail in her inbox: A man contacted her about a lost macaw that Wells and three other women had rescued earlier that month. The man was referred to Wells-Markland after spotting a picture…
Snap Kitchen Opens Downtown Location & Offers Light, Tasty Meals
Snap Kitchen opened its newest location downtown Monday at 1200 McKinney in The Shops at Houston Center and the surprise was with all that emphasis on health, its food tastes really good. The Houston Press received a sampling of the various menu items available and just about every meal resonated…
UPDATED: Seven Years of Lunaface: The Illest Promoters in Town
UPDATED (Tuesday, 2 p.m.): An earlier version of this article credited Lunaface for bringing Wu-Tang clan to Numbers in December 2010, which is not the case. For the better part of the last decade, Lunaface Promotions has provided Houston music fans with top-notch showcases that range from classic hip-hop, rock…
Spaghetti Code, Abby Koenig’s New Comedy, Is as Tangled and Delicious as Promised
The Set-Up: In playwright and (frequent Houston Press contributor) Abby Koenig’s dark comedy Spaghetti Code, Milly and Tim, an infertile married couple, have exhausted every effort to somehow have a baby of their own. When their friend Phil, a reproductive endocrinologist, mentions in passing how cost effective natural surrogacy would…
Fox News Gender-Neutral-Bathrooms Segment Goes Painfully Awry
Man on the street interviews can run the gamut from insightful to awkward to downright disturbing. On that scale, a recent Fox News segment measured right around facepalm. As part of an apparently reoccurring portion of the Fox and Friends program called “PC Police” in which our fearless hosts call…
Kimchi Koagie Is a Killer
In my continuing quest to sample Houston’s cheesesteak options, I have been stalking Koagie Hots. Although the truck follows a fairly predictable schedule that regularly includes nearby (for me) Boondocks, finding it when it was open proved difficult in light of this writer’s bedtime, which many octogenarians would consider “early.”…
Pop Music Needs Lady Gaga, Lady Gaga Needs an Editor
Art is subjective. We all know this, and then we proceed to try and stick art into black and white, good and bad distinctions because art also makes us all irrational. This is especially true on the Internet, where middle ground seems to be nonexistent and if you happen to…
Lawndale’s The Big Show Doesn’t Disappoint
For 30 years running, The Big Show at Lawndale has been treating Houston to an exceptional collection of local works in an effort to entice art lovers and put the spotlight on undiscovered artists. This year’s efforts continue the tradition of offering beautiful artwork from a variety of mediums. The…
Pop Rocks: The Only Thing Worse Than Bachelor/Bachelorette TV Is America’s Obsession With It
Standing in line at H-E-B the other day, I remarked to my wife that I had no idea who any of the people featured on the covers of various gossip magazines were. Now, granted, I’m a dude who doesn’t pay that much attention to celebrity news, but still, I have…
Rand Paul, So Mad at Rick Perry, He Defends President
Sen. Rand Paul, so irritated with Perry he’s sided with Obama. He was doing so well for a minute there. Last week Gov. Rick Perry managed to appear on the national political stage and not make an ass of himself over the immigration problem, and boy were we proud. Or…
5 Best Chocolate Ice Cream Flavor Variations to Try
What’s better than chocolate ice cream? [For the love of god, don’t say “vanilla ice cream.”] Chocolate ice cream mixed with other goodies! If you’re looking for a little crunchy, chewy, salty, or sweet variation in your cocoa creams, check out these five flavors: 5. Double Fudge Brownie (Dreyer’s). Craving…
The Rocks Off 200: Dave Callier, Grindcore Guitar God
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? If you’re…
Fantasy Crime League Update: Jimmy Smith Makes It Five Ravens Arrested
We’ve seen this Harbaugh Brothers movie before. One Harbaugh has a team that jumps out to a huge lead, only to see the other brother’s charges come storming back to make it a contest. We saw it in Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans, John’s Ravens taking a huge lead…
100 Favorite Dishes 2014-15: No. 80, Whole Fried Fish at Churrascos
Once again, Kaitlin Steinberg is eating her way through Houston and counting down her 100 favorite dishes as we work our way toward our annual Menu of Menus® issue and culinary extravaganza. She’ll compile a collection of the dishes she thinks are the most delicious, most creative and, of course,…
Weird Al’s 10 Best Forgotten Parodies
It’s hard to remember sometimes that “Weird Al” Yankovic has been honing his craft for more than 30 years now, bringing us masterful parodies of pop music for so long that he’s outlived many of his onetime subjects. He has a new album called Mandatory Fun due today and is…
Pete ‘n Keely at Stages: A Musical Turn Back to Variety Shows of the 1960s
The set-up: Once upon a time in American households, somewhere around the late ’60s, everyone in the family watched the same TV programs. As there were only three major networks, choices were limited but the talent was vast. The variety show, a child of vaudeville, was a staple during any…
Is the CSN Houston Madness Almost Over? Maybe
The Beatles once wrote that happiness is a warm gun. They were singing about heroin. But truthfully, it’s not to hard to imagine them digging their way through the latest happenings arising from the CSN Houston bankruptcy and literally figured that happiness involved putting a gun to their heads as…
Bartender Chat: Aaron Lara of Lillo & Ella Talks Titles and Tinctures
If you’re a frequent patron of Chinatown restaurants, you probably don’t think of great cocktails when you think of Asian food. At Lillo & Ella, bar manager Aaron Lara is trying to change that. Lillo & Ella opened in the Heights in May, making it one of the few Asian…
Ringling Bros. Is Built to Amaze But Could Use Some Work
I skipped the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus last year, but did have a chance to check out Fully Charged the year before. In the two years since then, there have been some improvements made in the latest tour, Built to Amaze, but not necessarily enough to justify…
Upcoming: Andrea Bocelli, Black Pussy, Dwight Yoakam, Katy Perry, Paul Wall, Santana, etc.
Alan Haynes: Sat., July 26, 8 p.m., $5. The Big Easy Social and Pleasure Club, 5731 Kirby, Houston, 713-523-9999. American Sons: Sat., August 2, 8 p.m., $8. Cypress Saloon, 12710 Telge, Cypress, 281-304-7777. Andrea Bocelli: Wed., December 10, 7:30 p.m., $75 to $375. Toyota Center, 1510 Polk, Houston, 713-758-7200…
Five Appropriately Profound Weird Al Haikus
Some of us are counting the days until Weird Al Yankovic receives his much-deserved Presidential Medal of Freedom or Kennedy Center award, whichever comes with a gold-plated accordion. Until that happens we’ll have to make do with Mandatory Fun, his astounding 13th album that is in stores and online today…
TUTS Underground Goes for Season 2 With 4 More Offerings
Putting a TUTS Underground shortened first season behind him, Theatre Under the Stars Artistic Director Bruce Lumpkin struck a note of nothing but optimism as he announced next season’s offerings for the new offshoot enterprise operating out of the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. The season offers a musical…
Rockets GM Daryl Morey: “By Playoffs, We Will Be Better Than Last Year”
There’s a picture on Daryl Morey’s Facebook page that is almost exactly five years old. It’s a picture from a July trip to Las Vegas for the NBA’s Summer League, and presumably a night of unwinding in one of the casinos playing some blackjack. The caption to the picture says…
The Leftovers: Crisis of Faith
I’m very upfront about the fact that I only started watching The Leftovers because Christopher Eccleston is in it. That’s not to say I haven’t enjoyed it of course. Point in fact, it’s the sort of show that I can easily point out to the “I don’t watch television” crowd…
New Rules for the NBA Free Agency Rumor Mill
On Friday, I was relaxed, enjoying the wrap up of a beach vacation with my wife, sitting under an umbrella with the clear, green waters of the southern Gulf of Mexico stretched out in front of me. And my spirits were high as I continued to watch reports of the…
Scott Rosenberg’s Snail Trail Makes Good Use of Materials Both Found and Created
The “Snail Trail” refers to the garden theme found in this exhibition, but, wait, before I proceed to that, I’d like to cite a statement from the press release that is captivating and endearing: “Scott Rosenberg rarely overthinks his work, creating pieces that lack pretention and avoid complex metaphors.” I…
Tickets on Sale Now for July 20 Sassafras Beer Dinner to Benefit Oak Forest Animal Advocates
Oak Forest has a stray animal problem, and neighborhood residents are rallying to do something about it. It’s not an original problem; the entire city of Houston shares it. Our streets are home to about one million stray animals, and BARC has neither the money nor the manpower to handle…
Group Says League City Undocumented Kids Resolution Also Anti-Muslim
According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the recently adopted League City resolution banning undocumented immigrants from using city services also contains language suggesting closing the borders to Mexico is about more than keeping out impoverished children. In an op-ed piece in the Galveston Daily News, the group’s Houston communications…
Brooklyn a Pocket Musical Filled With Theater Magic
The setup: There’s a nicely sentimental story about how this pocket musical Brooklyn came to be, but you won’t hear it from me, as there is already enough good-hearted sentiment on the intimate Kaleidoscope stage in downtown Houston to fulfill ordinary needs. What we have here is a musical with…
Dish of the Week: Plum Clafoutis
From classic comfort foods to regional standouts and desserts, we’ll be sharing a new recipe with you each week. See the complete list of recipes at the end of this post. This week, we’re sharing more about the French dessert clafoutis. Clafoutis is a flan-like pastry made with fruit (traditionally…
Travel and Social Media: Tips for Protecting Your Home While On Vacation
Vacation is supposed to be relaxing, a time to rest up and enjoy yourself. It’s also a great time to let your friends know just how much fun you are having and, you know, rub it in their faces. In the past, that took the form of post cards, the…
Lionel Richie & Cee-Lo Green at The Woodlands, 7/13/2014
Lionel Richie, Cee-Lo Green Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion July 13, 2014 It’s not a stretch to say that many of my peers could have possibly been conceived thanks to Lionel Richie’s body of work. The legendary R&B singer’s sexy-meets-soulful approach, both with the Commodores in the ’60s and ’70s and…
Baker Spotlight: Bobby Jucker of Three Brothers Bakery
For the past 65 years, Three Brothers Bakery has sold a multitude of European baked goods, such as rye bread, challah, Kaiser rolls and danishes, as well as many classic American treats like cupcakes, cakes, cookies and pies. Robert “Bobby” Jucker, son of one of the original three brothers, Sigmund…
Doctor Who: Interview With Paul McGann
While he was here for Comicpalooza, Paul McGann, the Eighth Doctor, talked with us about what it was like going from one of the least regarded and almost forgotten Doctors to becoming a huge crowd favorite following his triumphant return to the modern show in “Night of the Doctor.” For…
Astros, Number One Pick at Odds Over Bonus, Alleged Injury
George Springer got the cover of last month’s Sports Illustrated story on the Houston Astros. But the actual story was less about Springer than it was about how lessons learned by a blackjack dealer can be applied to building a baseball team. And a large portion of the story was…
UPDATED Fallen Angels a Delicious Farce That Shows the ’20s Were Pretty Wild
Editor’s note: Performances have been extended through August 10. The set-up: 1925 was definitely the year to be Noël Coward. He had four shows running concurrently on London’s West End and was starring in his sensational The Vortex from the previous season, the hottest ticket in town. With the musical…
Restaurant Managers and Servers Move Toward a Friendlier, Less Formal Environment
“Treat celebrities like locals, and locals like celebrities, because everyone loves to be made to feel special.” That’s the mantra of Gabriel Stulman, owner of six restaurants in Manhattan and featured speaker at the inaugural Welcome Conference on hospitality held in New York earlier this month. He’s just one person…
LeBron James Goes Back to Cleveland: 4 Winners, 4 Losers
A simple letter posted to the internet. That’s all it was this time. No made for television special, no Jim Gray, no “taking my talents to,” no dry ice unveiling where were told “not three, not four, not five…” championships. In every way imaginable, LeBron James’ announcement Friday that he…
We’ve Narrowed Down the Most Underrated Tex-Mex Spots…Vote Now!
I never thought I’d say this, but here goes: Maybe, just maybe there are too many Tex-Mex restaurants in Houston. I know, I know, is too much of a good thing ever bad? Probably not, unless you’re trying to figure out which Tex-Mex restaurants Houstonians think are underrated, and you…
10 Grocery Store Customers Who Must be Stopped
I go to the grocery store every single day because I grew up with people who went once a week and ended up with a tin can Narnia in the pantry because of it. In doing so, I meet many lovely people just out purchasing their various foodstuffs like normal…
True Blood: Life in the Corpse
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again; I expect True Blood to go out harder than a train crash in the third Atlas Shrugged movie. This show exists to justify the phrase “Get out while the getting’s good.” And yet. AAANNNDDD yet…this week was honestly one of my…
UPDATED: The 2014 HPMA Write-In Nominees
UPDATE (Monday, 2 p.m.): See new voting ballot info in third-to-last paragraph. It’s been an interesting week. Rocks Off would like to thank everyone who participated in last week’s write-ins for the 2014 HPMA ballot. It says a lot that even after their favorite local artists were left off this…
Houston’s 10 Best Dance Clubs 2014
Grooving to the beat is all well and good and all, but sometimes when the music burrows deep into your veins, there’s only one way to unleash that energy…and that is to get down on it, shake your bombon and boogie. Houston is filled with a plethora of dance meccas,…
The Five Best Shows in Houston This Week: Rakim, Lady Gaga, the Neighbourhood, etc.
John Egan The Big Easy, July 14 Give John Egan credit for taking chances. The longtime solo Houston bluesman’s new album, Amulet, is in some respects the polar opposite of its 2012 predecessor, Phantoms. Besides bringing in a few side musicians and respected Americana producer R.S. Field (Billy Joe Shaver,…
Susie Jimenez Announces Trenza Will Close Saturday, July 12
In a surprising turn of events, Susie Jimenez, owner and chef at Trenza, has announced that her West AVE restaurant’s last service will be Saturday, July 12. The Houston Press received this statement from Jimenez: “It’s with great regret that I am announcing the closing of Trenza at West AVE…
Houston Mosque Will Ball Hard for Palestine
In case you didn’t know, Houston is home to one of the largest Muslim populations in the country and the city is home to a network of mosques and religious centers run by the Islamic Society of Greater Houston. Houstonian Amir Hossain is part of this American-Muslim community. He wants…
LeBron’s Choice Opens Rockets to Snag Chris Bosh
It was a rough break-up for LeBron James and Cleveland. That acrid stench of burning jerseys and the screams of angry fans were traumatic enough to keep the Miami Heat star up at night thinking about his home team, the Cavaliers. Now, he’s kicking South Beach to the curb for…
Fluff Bake Bar’s Rebecca Masson Secures a Space for Her Brick & Mortar Bakery
Back in December, the “sugar hooker” Rebecca Masson launched a successful Kickstarter campaign to raise $50,000 to help build out her dream bakery. Hundreds of Houstonians donated more than $53,000 to the cause, but then Masson got back to work, and we didn’t hear much more about the upcoming bakery…
Reviews for the Easily Distracted: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Title: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes First Rise, Then Dawn; When Do We Get To The Actual Planet? Pretty soon. Rating Using Random Objects Relevant To The Film: Four Guenters (from Futurama) out of five. Brief Plot Synopsis: Ape not kill ape. Beyond that, knock yourself out. Tagline:…
Suspected Spring Shooter Collapses in Court [UPDATED]
Updated: This story was updated to include a statement from a father of one of the victims. It can be tough to face reality. The man accused of killing six members of his ex-wife’s family collapsed in court Friday morning upon hearing the allegations against him, according to reports. The…
What’s in Fashion: Redheads May Go Extinct and How to Ride a Bike in a Skirt
Lots of breaking fashion news hits the interwebs and I don’t want you to miss one bit of it. So, I present some of the biggest headlines each week for your reading pleasure. Click and enjoy! Thanks to 3D printing you can have perfect earbuds. Via The Verge Redheads to…
Why del Toro’s At the Mountains of Madness Will Probably Be Terrible
Wall Street Journal reported over the Independence Day weekend that Guillermo del Toro would be moving forward on his adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s At The Mountains of Madness after all. Previously, del Toro had interest from Universal to make the film, but they balked at making such a huge, R-Rated…
The 5 Best Beer Flights in Houston
Decisions, decisions, decisions. How to pick just one or two beers to drink during happy hour when there are so many to choose from? Fortunately for those fickle souls among us, a number of bars and restaurants in town offer beer flights, so you can get more bang for your…
The Cro-Mags at Walters, 7/10/2014
The Cro-Mags, Die Young, Black Coffee, BLUNT, H.R.A. Walters Downtown July 10, 2014 When the Cro-Mags arose from the streets of New York City in the mid-’80s, punk and heavy metal were hardly the best of friends. If there’s one thing that singer John Joseph and company have proved over…
Vera Wang Wedding Dresses for $500 Thanks to New Site Borrowing Magnolia
Planning a wedding is all about romance, love, family and, of course, spending a lot of money. The average American wedding cost nearly $30,000 according to The Knot and the average wedding dress eats up nearly $2,000 of that budget. Set your sights on a high end designer dress, you…
Andre Johnson Reportedly Wants to Be Traded
Well, now we at least know something. After months of cryptic interviews, nebulous filibusters by his uncle and vague implications that he would hopefully-be-coming-back-but-I-don’t-think-I’m-coming-back, we at least know something as it pertains to Andre Johnson, his desires and what’s causing all of this. Until Thursday morning, the latest news consisted…
What Is Halal Meat, and Why Should You Care?
“These things alone he has forbidden to you: What is already dead, blood, the flesh of swine, what has been offered up to other than Allah.” Al-Anam 6:145 While driving around Houston, you’ve probably noticed signs for Halal meat markets or Halal delis. You’ve probably read labels touting that a…
Does Houston Really Need Any More People?
Last week, yet another list was released noting all of the amazing things Houston has to offer. This time around the list was released by Business Insider, an online publication widely read in the business community, entitled 18 Facts That Make Houston The Best City in America. Yeah, no joke;…
LeBron Watch 2014: NBA Cities Everywhere Held Hostage
This is what happens when you have a league-imposed maximum salary on a player whose true worth is at least two to three times that amount — in a league where that star player is worth about 25 to 30 incremental regular season wins — and, when that player is…
The 5 Best Things to Eat or Drink This Weekend: Food Truck Chicken Throwdown & a Full Moon Party
Who Got The Gizzards! Chicken Challenge Championship @ Midtown Mobile Cuisine Friday, 5 p.m. 4002 Almeda This evening, eight local food trucks will compete to make the best chicken dish in the first part of a Food Truck Battle Series brought to you by Soul Cat Cuisine. Houston comedian Blue…
100 Creatives 2014: Tiffany Heath, Filmmaker, Will Scare the Pants Off You
What She Does: Tiffany Heath doesn’t look like she’s possessed of the kind of darkness that can make a seasoned horror film reporter go turn on all the lights in the house and consider taking up day drinking. By her own admission she’s a forty-something-year-old girl who lives in an…
The Astrodome: From Elvis to Evel Knievel…to Green Space?
Anybody surprised that Astrodome is going to be demolished and turned into green space hasn’t really been paying attention the past 25-plus years. The Dome has been a doomed property ever since Harris County gave into Bud Adams’s demands to destroy the heart and soul for the building so that…
Hearts of Animals’ Mutation Poses a Beautiful Puzzle
One of my favorite things about reviewing music in Houston is that you don’t just appreciate or criticize the music the city produces. You solve it like a video-game puzzle…if you’re lucky. How can someone really stand up and try to do a conventional review of a P.L.X.T.X. album? That’s…
Upcoming Events: Grab Your Mixers & Bake Cookies at Michael’s Cookie Jar
Next up in the Landry’s Summer Chef Series is executive chef Ryan Braden of Brenner’s Steakhouse on the Bayou. On Wednesday, July 16, beginning at 7 p.m., Braden will serve guests a five-course dinner with wine pairings for $95 per person. The meal kicks off with an heirloom tomato confit…
The 5 Best Things to Do This Weekend in Houston: George Lopez, Brooklyn – The Musical, the Spaghetti Code World Premiere and More
Good comedians do more than just string together a bunch of punch lines. Good comedians give audiences something to laugh at and think about. George Lopez is a good comedian. He’s also one of our choices for Friday with a two day run at Bayou City Music. Much of the…
Openings & Closings: CorkScrew BBQ Is Getting a New Pit
Before you freak out, CorkScrew BBQ is not closing for good, just for a few weeks to install a new pit. The Spring barbecue spot made the announcement via Facebook on July 8: “We will be closing August 3rd to start rebuilding the pit room, adding a awning, removing the…
The Tall Texan’s Jukebox Is Not a Toy
“And I’m hungry like the wooooolf…” The music from the jukebox blares throughout this tiny bar on North Main. Although pleasing to our ears, the cheesy ’80s rock has sparked a rumble of laughter from the regulars splayed across the crooked counter. It’s not often that someone comes into Alice’s…
Watch Valet Crash This $335,000 Lamborghini (VIDEO)
The concept of valet parking has always been a fascinating one to me. Here is an item that for many people is one of the largest tangible things that they own, for most second behind their home, and yet when we pull into a driveway at a hotel or restaurant,…
Here’s Where Houston Whatever Fest Came From
If you happened to head down to Lucky’s Pub during the height of this year’s World Cup action, you probably noticed the district around BBVA Compass Stadium, the several apartment blocks in the area and Warehouse Live has become one of those thriving urban pockets that so-called “livable city” advocates…
The 10 Best Shows in Houston This Weekend: Zomboy, JT, Ian Moore, Sheryl Crow, etc.
Zomboy Stereo Live, July 11 One thing you learn seeing Zomboy is that he doesn’t play around when it comes to trying to crush your body with waves of bass. The man born Joshua Jenkin starts things off intense and it pretty much stays that way the entire time; forget…
Houstonia Posts (Then Disappears) City Map Showing Where “Aspiring Mexicans” and “Pretentious White People” Live
If you think you know where “aspiring Mexicans,” “black people who like trains” and “pretentious white people” live in Houston, then Houstonia Magazine had the right map for you. The magazine posted a “Judgmental Map of Houston” on its Facebook account today before quickly taking it down. We called Houstonia…
Texas Pretty Uptight, Study Shows
We love Texas and all, but damn, can it be uptight — at least according to research. A recent study by psychology researchers at the University of Maryland-College Park ranked all 50 states (sorry, D.C.) by how uptight or loose they are when it came to enforcing rules and tolerating…
Municipal Courts Offering Alcohol, Tobacco Education Programs
Hey rebel teenagers in trouble with the law, have a minor in possession of alcohol, minor in possession of tobacco, or public intoxication charge you have to deal with? Look no further than the City of Houston Municipal Courts Department to help you. The Municipal Courts Department is now offering…
Sundown at The Grove Returns With Craft Beer Flights & Delightful Bites
How does drinking a flight of beer with specially paired food while watching the sun set at Discovery Green sound? Pretty nice, right? Well, every Wednesday night until September 17, you can spend your evening sipping on beer from a featured brewery while munching on bites of food crafted by…
Summer Date Night in Old Town Spring: Pizza and Wine
Old Town Spring is known for its antique stores, funky yard decorations and charm. But there is a lot more to this quaint neighborhood off of I-45 than just adorable vintage furniture and decorations. Old Town Spring is an excellent spot for a date night involving shopping, pizza and wine…
HCSO: Man Who Killed 6 Was Looking for His Estranged Wife
Authorities have charged Ronald Lee Haskell with one count of capital murder in a Wednesday shooting rampage that left six people dead, including several children. The details of the incident are a bit bizarre as authorities say that Haskell dressed up like a delivery man to gain entrance into the…
Whatever: Houston’s Getting Another Music Fest Next Month
Is Houston ready to sweat out two more days of music barely two months after Free Press Summer Fest, only this time with a little more laughter? We may be about to find out. Wednesday afternoon, a new festival calling itself Houston Whatever Fest popped up online and on social…
Chef Chat, Part 2: Talking Trenza and Those Pesky Closing Rumors With Susie Jimenez
This is the second part of a two-part Chef Chat interview. If you missed Part 1, you can read it here. On the day of our visit, Susie Jimenez was working in the kitchen and had been all day. She’d been on-site since 7 a.m. and would be there a…
Podcast: Why You Should See Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Boyhood
On this week’s Voice Film Club episode, film critics Alan Scherstuhl, Amy Nicholson and Stephanie Zacharek recommend seeing Matt Reeves’ Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (12:00) and Richard Linklater’s Boyhood (20:00), a movie filmed over twelve years with the same cast. [Subscribe to the Voice Film Club podcast…
Eat Your Dessert First at Kraftsmen Cafe
Sometimes it’s not a wise decision to eat at such a hopping place like Kraftsmen Cafe on a Sunday afternoon. But sometimes you forget that places like these fill up quickly with large parties, BYOB brunch groups and hungry patrons coming from church. The longer you stand in line, the…
Queen + Adam Lambert Doesn’t Add Up for Either Party
Queen + Adam Lambert Toyota Center July 9, 2014 Put yourself in these two situations: A. You’re a member of a Hall of Fame-level band who wrote some of the most famous, popular songs in rock music. Your lead singer was perhaps the greatest of all time, but he’s no…
Six Quirky Locations to Take a Date in Houston
Houston is filled with strange places to visit. While some of the more quirky attractions to see are well known, many are not. Whether you’re trying to impress a date with a taste for the strange or unusual, or just want to experience those things for yourself, there are lots…
The 5 Best Brunch Spots in Rice Village
In Houston, we’re pretty serious about our brunch. Whether it be migas and breakfast tacos or chicken and waffles and loaded Bloody Marys, we have no shortage of awesome spots to get our brunch on. Keeping later hours and killer cocktails in mind, we’ll be taking a look at some…
The Rocks Off 200: Mlee Marie Mains, the Heart of Hearts of Animals
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? Another Mutation…
The Wolf Among Us Finishes Up With a Deeply Political Message
Last October I got the chance to play the first episode of Tell Tale Games’ adaptation of Bill Willingham’s Fables. Or as I like to call it, what Once Upon a Time would have been if Disney hadn’t farted pixie dust all over someone’s mommy issues. It was the first…
Andre Johnson on His Texans Return: “Hopefully.”
On Tuesday this week, former Houston Texans offensive lineman Chester Pitts had a charity bowling event here in town. Among the celebrity guest lists were several of Pitts’s former Texans teammates like Brian Cushing and Duane Brown. Also included in the advertised copy was wide receiver Andre Johnson. It was…
100 Favorite Dishes 2014-15: No. 81, Daughter-in-Law Burger at Natachee’s Supper ‘n Punch
Once again, Kaitlin Steinberg is eating her way through Houston and counting down her 100 favorite dishes as we work our way toward our annual Menu of Menus® issue and culinary extravaganza. She’ll compile a collection of the dishes she thinks are the most delicious, most creative and, of course,…
Rest of the Best 2014: Houston’s Top 10 Small Museums
See that colorful sculpture above? That’s more than art, that’s a coffin. It’s part of the fantasy coffin collection created by Ghanaian sculptor Kane Quaye at the National Museum of Funeral History. That’s one of the reasons we like Houston’s small museums – they offer the unexpected. Sure the blockbuster…
The 5 Best Hidden Restaurant Gems in Galveston
The time for the great exodus has arrived. Every summer as the temperatures rise and the oppressively hot days stretch into muggy nights, Houstonians escape the confines of the city for tropical paradise Galveston. No, it’s not the loveliest beach in the world (or even in Texas), but it’s our…
Displaced by Fire, Funnyman MC Reko Trill Says #BurnDownForWhat
It was a hot and humid Thursday afternoon last week when local MC Reko Trill left his apartment to grab a bite and pick up a few items in anticipation for the 4th of July weekend. A summer thunderstorm rolled through that evening, dropping rain and booms of lightning all…
Rockets’ Dangerous Game of Dominoes and What Needs to Happen With Bosh, Parsons and LeBron
Well, let the madness begin. After a ten-day period that began with a Daryl Morey trip to Philadelphia to visit Kyle Lowry, followed by a brief courtship of Carmelo Anthony that fizzled about the time he got into his car to leave Americas Restaurant and head to the airport, the…
Ringling Bros. And Barnum & Bailey Circus: Built to Amaze
It’s a spectacle. It’s the stuff of cherished childhood memories. It’s an invitation to see a world where anything is possible. It’s the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus: Built to Amaze! Among our favorite performers (and there are lots!) are Dmitry Dolgikh and Nadejhda Tarasova. The Russian husband-and-wife…
Spaghetti Code
Playwright and frequent Houston Press contributor Abby Koenig tells us her latest work, the black comedy Spaghetti Code, was inspired by but not exactly based on her own life. Koenig and her husband struggled for years with infertility. It was, she says, rough going. “You spend most of your waking…
“Following General Sam Houston”
Historic figure Sam Houston isn’t just a name in a history book. He was a real man who lived, worked and died. In the case of Houston, he spent some of his time in Texas and the events of his life were chronicled by artist and historian Bernhardt Wall including…
Fallen Angels
Two women in the late 1920s are living their expected upper-class lives as wives when they get word that a man from their past is coming to see them. And not just any man, but a French charmer named Maurice whom each of the women had a fling with at…
Richard Linklater Explains His Secret Movie Boyhood, Which He Shot Over 12 Years
“It’s the secret films you have to watch out for,” jokes Richard Linklater of his new movie Boyhood, a furtive experiment that he kept quiet for more than a decade. In 2002, he chose a first-grader named Eller Coltrane, the 6-year-old son of two Texas artists; cast Patricia Arquette and…
“The Big Show”
The juror for this year’s “The Big Show” at Lawndale Art Center is Erin Elder, visual art director at the Center for Contemporary Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The annual exhibit, started in 1984, features the works of local artists living within 100 miles of Houston. Elder saw 981…
The Three Craziest Moments of Nic Cage’s New Rage, Ranked
How has there not already been a Nicolas Cage movie called Rage? That title could fit many of the Drive Angry star’s late-career time-wasters. Here it works best as an imperative rather than an announcement of theme: You may feel some anger if you pay to watch this. Or you…
The Village
History can be really boring. “In 1949, Chiang Kai-shek blah-blah, thousands of Chinese, blah-blah, forced to immigrate, blah-blah, Taiwan, blah-blah.” Make those events personal and suddenly a wave of refugees isn’t just a faceless mob; it’s someone’s life. It was Wang Wei-Chung’s life. His recollections form the basis for The…
Wish I Was Here: Zach Braff’s Crowdfunded Indie is Just Good Enough
Wish I Was Here, the movie that actor and second-time director Zach Braff partially funded with money raised through Kickstarter, isn’t nearly terrible enough to satisfy all the grumblers who are hoping to see it fail. When Braff couldn’t secure traditional financing for the film, he appealed to the fan…
Wilton Barnhardt: Lookaway, Lookaway
Novelist Wilton Barnhardt’s latest release, Lookaway, Lookaway, isn’t always easy to read. Barnhardt, here to read from and sign copies of the newly released paperback version of Lookaway, has crafted a sometimes hilarious, sometimes heart–wrenching story about an “old-money-empty-bank-account” society maven who desperately tries to hold onto her family and…
Planes: Fire & Rescue is More Fun to Think About Than Watch
It turns out that the cars and planes of Cars and Planes can kiss. Deep into Planes: Fire & Rescue, a time-killing kid flick whose title is an exact summary of its plot, the filmmakers introduce us to two creaky old Winnebagos, a husband and wife in their sunset years,…
Victor Lundy: Sculptor of Space
The General Services Administration. It’s a rather boring name for a government agency with a rather boring mission, that is “to deliver the best value in real estate, acquisition and technology services to government and the American people.” It was this agency with the exceptionally unexciting name and mission that…
Linklater’s Glorious Boyhood Captures Life in Bloom
The business of childhood is the business of waiting: waiting for Christmas, waiting for school to let out, waiting to be old enough to stay up past nine. No other movie I can think of better captures the wistfulness of those days full of waiting than Richard Linklater’s Boyhood, an…
Remains of the Day
In conjunction with its “Houghton Hall” exhibition, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents the film series Drama in the House, showcasing some other stately English dowager mansions ready for their closeup. First is Merchant/Ivory’s Remains of the Day (1993), adapted from Kazuo Ishiguro’s prize-winning novel. Beautifully crafted — the…
Anna Kendrick Had Her Heart Broken by a Hot Dog
“I forget that people think that I’m the girl with a ponytail and a briefcase,” says Anna Kendrick, perched on a couch in a T-shirt and jeans. Her career-launching role as a prim go-getter in Up in the Air is so far removed from her actual self that she’s still…
Dragons & Fairies
Folk tales take center stage at the weeklong child-friendly event “Dragons and Fairies.” The little ones will explore everything about Vietnamese culture while creating their very own fairy wings or dragon masks. They’ll learn just how that tiger got his trademark stripes, and perhaps will even find out how a…
The Purge: Anarchy Sets Up Frank Grillo to Finally Be the Leading Man
Sirens blare and an eerie voice announces that it’s best to remain indoors if you don’t plan to participate. While others make safety arrangements, and some sharpen their knives, one man loads his black, steel-armored car with plenty of guns and begins cruising. Fires erupt along the street, and gunshots…
Brooklyn: The Musical
Brooklyn: The Musical calls itself a “sidewalk fairy tale” and since all fairy tales have happy endings, we’re not giving anything away when we say the show’s lead character, an orphaned Parisian teen in search of her wayward father, gets her happily-ever-after. It just doesn’t look like the happily-ever-after that…
Take Two: The Mummy
In The Mummy (1999), Brendan Fraser makes the most dashing French Foreign Legionnaire since Gary Cooper bivouacked with Marlene Dietrich in von Sternberg’s Morocco. Brash, audacious, with a delicious cheeky attitude and looking swell in khaki, he battles the very wicked reanimated ancient Egyptian priest Imhotep (played by Arnold Vosloo),…
Godspell
A.D. Players provides family-oriented theater that entertains, enlightens and inspires, so it’s natural for the company to present the New Testament musical Godspell. Director Kevin Dean reports: “Jesus saw his disciples for what they were: men under construction. The 2012 Godspell revival includes the song “Beautiful City.” Just as the…
My Next-Door Neighbors Are Peeping Toms. 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! WHY DO SMOKERS STAND RIGHT OUTSIDE OF DOORWAYS TO SMOKE? Dear Willie D: I have a…
On the Verge of the Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe, responsible for spawning the fringe movement all across the globe, is the largest performing arts festival in the world. Houston City Dance makes its way to Edinburgh later this year, but first the company gives Houston audiences a sneak peek at its planned program at On…
“The Rural Family Funeral Home”
The National Museum of Funeral History is way more fun than it gets credit for, and proves that in its newest exhibit, “The Rural Family Funeral Home.” After all, who isn’t at least sort of interested in what happens when they’re kickin’ up daisies? This exhibit examines what led up…
George Lopez
Good comedians do more than just string together a bunch of punch lines. Good comedians give audiences something to laugh at and think about. George Lopez is a good comedian. Much of the Mexican-American’s material early in his career focused on his contentious relationship with his hard-as-nails grandmother and growing…
37th Annual Houston World Series of Dog Shows
While cute cat videos tend to rule the Internet, their canine competitors aren’t taking it sitting down, so as part of this year’s 37th Annual Houston World Series of Dog Shows, organizers are asking you to nominate your favorite funny/cute/heartwarming dog videos from YouTube to be compiled for special screenings…
Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
The Chicken Ranch is back and this time it’s free to watch. In 2012, Theatre Under the Stars scored a success with The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas at the Hobby Center. TUTS decided to bring it back this year for its annual free summer offering at Miller Outdoor Theatre…
The 10 Dirtiest Band Names We Could Find
These days it doesn’t matter much what you name your band, because Bandcamp doesn’t have any silly content standards for you to worry about. That’s nice for punk and metal, because those dudes love to name their bands after completely sick shit. And they wonder why they have a reputation…
Paul Haggis’s Third Person Is a Baffling Rough-Draft Epic.
If a toddler tried to re-create the mystifying behavior of adults, it would look a lot like Paul Haggis’s Third Person, a drama where grown-ups scream and cry and kiss for reasons that are confounding even to those who understand speech. The film follows a handful of couples, or really,…
Smoking, Evolution and History
Dear Mexican, I noticed that Mexican people don’t generally smoke. Don’t get me wrong — I’m not condoning smoking, but it’s interesting to see how some groups do or do no smoke, and I have yet to see a Mexican person smoke cigarettes. Does the tobacco industry not target Latinos?…
Capsule Art Reviews: July 10, 2014
“The American Landscape” at Meredith Long & Company features the work of Larry Horowitz, but the paintings by William Anzalone capture the imagination as well, and a number of artists in this group show stand out with a single painting each. Michael Coleman’s Sneaky Approach is a fascinating tableau in…
Capsule Stage Reviews: July 10, 2014
I Wish You Love This play is a slice-of-life segment of a single year, 1957, in the life of Nat King Cole, a trip down memory lane with a performer singing his hit songs, interspersed with some backstage material and poignant references to the emerging civil rights movement. The setting…
In the Flesh: Houston Musicians Talk Tattoos
There’s no rule that says if you make music you have to have a tattoo, but the reality is that a lot of people who play music have ink on their bodies. Whether they’re hidden by a shirt or displayed for all the world to see, tattoos can mean a…
60 Degrees Mastercrafted Is All About Meat, But It’s the Seafood that Caught Our Fancy
In a sea of specials and featured dishes and staff favorites, the catch of the day stood out: a simple fillet of red snapper atop a bed of eggplant and tomato risotto in lemon butter sauce dotted with capers. Drizzled on top, an oily, spicy pesto, and thrown in for…
Early Decisions: More College Coaches Are Getting Into Middle-School Recruiting
It was February 2010, and Lane Kiffin had just taken over the reins of the University of Southern California program. As its brand-new head coach, on the heels of the Pete Carroll Era, Kiffin was tasked with maintaining and building upon one of the most successful eras in school history…
Nightfly: Cheap Beers and Questionable Music Choices at Alice’s Tall Texan
“And I’m hungry like the wooooolf…” The music from the jukebox blares throughout this tiny bar on North Main. Although pleasing to our ears, the cheesy ’80s rock has sparked a rumble of laughter from the regulars splayed across the crooked counter. It’s not often that someone comes into Alice’s…
In “Untitled,” Jerry Uelsmann Presents Composite Photos Both Haunting and Beautiful.
The world of photography has many mansions. Some photographers seek to capture a fleeting moment of action frozen in time. Others await the moment when the sun bursts through the clouds or when the bud opens. Jerry Uelsmann is a photographer of a very different stripe, creating composite photographs that…
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Is a Stellar Sequel
Who knows why, but the sight of apes sitting tall and proud on horseback is stirring in a primal way. That’s one of the best images in Matt Reeves’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the sequel to the enormously successful 2011 Rise of the Planet of the Apes…
