The NBA Lockout X-Factor: Turkey (The Country, Not The Meat)
On the surface, the NFL and NBA lockouts are the same thing — owners are closing the doors on their own leagues so they can negotiate a more beneficial collective bargaining agreement with the respective players unions. However, as most sports fans know, the NFL is thriving economically and everyone…
Comment of the Day: Project Runway Countdown
Yesterday, Christina Uticone recapped all the action of Project Runway in anticipation of its Season 9 premiere on July 28. Looks like we’re not the only ones who can’t wait for it to start. Reader Lynda commented today: yay!!! i love this article : ) i’m excited tooooo!!…
Texas Contemporary Art Fair Slated for October
Houston art aficionados will have not one, but two chances to pick up some contemporary art from around the world as the Texas Contemporary Art Fair (TCAF) and the Houston Fine Art Fair (HFAF) hold their inaugural events this fall. TCAF recently announced that it will take place in October…
Comment of the Day
For today’s Odd Pair, Jeremy Parzen had a hot dog with a glass of Claret, which looked and sounded amazing to us. But commenter Laurie had an issue with Jeremy’s hot dog preparation: I also am an avid fan of Hebrew National, and they make a still enjoyable light version…
Local NAACP Branch Sued over Alleged Financial Shenanigans
A former attorney with the Houston branch of the NAACP has accused the branch’s executive director of mishandling funds and altering financial statements in a federal civil suit. Filed last week in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, the suit also accuses the NAACP’s national office of…
Texas Cities and Nonprofit Entities to Get About $3.5 Million in National Settlement of JPMorgan Suit
Financial giant JPMorgan has agreed to pay $228 million to settle charges that it manipulated deals involving the government bond market, and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott says the state’s portion of it will be about $3.5 million. The money will go to Texas municipalities and nonprofit groups who were…
100 Favorite Dishes: No. 76, Bacon-Avocado Burger at Facundo Cafe
This year leading up to our annual Best of Houston issue, we’re counting down our 100 favorite dishes in Houston. This list comprises our favorite dishes from the last year, dishes that are essential to Houston’s cultural landscape and/or dishes that any visitor (or resident) should try at least once…
Remember Onehunnidt’s Legacy of a Legend?
Houston’s history is dotted with albums that, fairly or not, have been swept aside. We’ll examine them here. Have an album that you think nobody knows about but should? Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. Onehunnidt Legacy of a Legend (Self-released, 2011) Remember Onehunnidt? He’s the uber-artist that was turned loose here back in…
Fush Yu Mang: Future Charity Stunts By ’90s Has-Beens
Today, we learned that Smash Mouth lead singer Steve Harwell will eat 24 eggs, in any style he wants, for a $10,000 donation to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. That’s a pretty sweet deal, because we like scrambled eggs with cheese and deviled eggs. And omelets are pretty rad too. Here’s…
Alleged Scrap-Metal Thief Dies in HPD Custody After Chase
The Houston Police Internal Affairs division is investigating the death of a man who was in police custody after a foot chase yesterday afternoon. Craig Campbell, 42, was trying to sell some scrap metal to a dealer just outside the South Loop near 288 about 2 p.m. yesterday when “he…
Is Everything Fine? An Interview With Crispin Glover
If your only memories of Crispin Hellion Glover are as George McFly in Back to the Future or “the Thin Man” in Charlie’s Angels, you’ve barely scratched the surface. Glover has continued to appear in mainstream Hollywood films (Willard, Hot Tub Time Machine), but his greatest passion for the last…
Off the Wall: Riva’s Italian Restaurant
When Anamaris Cousins Price wrote about her old favorite Montrose hangouts, EOW reader J. Britt Alexander chimed in with his pick: “Rivas – directly behind Niko-Nikos and the Tower Lofts off Montrose. — Old green house romantically lit by white twinkle light. The best bang for your buck Italian food…
Yeah, the Shuttle’s Probably Not Lifting off Tomorrow
KTRK tweeted this picture, taken from a monitor turned to NASA TV. NASA says the lightning came within a third of a mile of the launch pad. NASspaceflight.com is keeping a running account of preparations, and it notes the lightning strike “was VERY powerful at nearly 70,000 amps (realize your…
Texas Is 12th Most Obese State: Five Excuses For Why We’re Fat
If every state in America was a schoolchild on a playground, Texas would be the fat kid playing by himself, dreaming of a day when he can float away and form his own playground, damn it. Basically, that’s what this year’s “F As In Fat” study found, which studied obesity…
Chef Chat, Part 2: Tommy Birdwell of TQLA
In part one of our conversation with Chef Tommy Birdwell of TQLA, we covered his early career and his vision for TQLA. Today, we’ll discuss Chef Birdwell’s work on the Pappasito’s menu, writing a cookbook with Stephan Pyles, and more…
Last Night: Steve Earle At House Of Blues
Steve Earle & the Dukes and Duchesses House of Blues July 6, 2011 During her sublime set at Verizon a couple of weeks ago, Emmylou Harris mentioned how she thought Barack Obama was pretty okay, and how she hoped his election meant our society had evolved beyond the events depicted…
There’s Something in the Water: 5 Great Movies About Aquatic Killers
Around 67 million people went to see Jaws on its opening weekend in 1965, making it the first-ever summer blockbuster. Within 78 days, it became the highest grossing film of all time, but was still playing on fewer than a thousand screens. There’s a simple reason for that. It is…
EPA Hits Texas, Other States with Tougher Air Pollution Regulations: Cue Outrage from Rick Perry, Greg Abbott
The Environmental Protection Agency announced stricter rules on air pollution, rules that will especially affect Texas, whose politicians have been fighting tenaciously to avoid federal regulation of the state’s many pollution producers. The EPA says it “today finalized additional Clean Air Act protections that will slash hundreds of thousands of…
Odd Pair: Hot Dogs and Claret
Hot dogs and their preparation command a quasi-spiritual reverence in our home. Great — even extreme — care is taken in preparing the condiments: Heinz Ketchup, Grey Poupon Mustard, Best Maid Sweet Jalapeño Relish, celery salt, and sliced half-sour pickles, in this case requested especially from Kenny & Ziggy’s by…
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap: Music Fans Love Their A-Holes
Sting. He’s the artist we love to hate. From The Atlantic: Sting, everyone’s favorite somnambulant acoustic pop star, has developed a somewhat checkered experience in Central Asia. In 2009, Gulnara Karimova – herself a fledgling pop singer under the name GooGooSha and daughter of Uzbek president-for-life Islom Karimov – paid…
Theatre Southwest Prepares for Festival of Originals
For some people, reading 300 to 400 scripts for one-act plays a year can be a daunting task. But Mimi Holloway, artistic director for Theatre Southwest, calls it “nice reading.” The plays are submitted to the theater for its annual Festival of Originals, a series of original one-act plays, each…
Last Night: Robert Ellis & The Boys At Fitzgerald’s
Robert Ellis & the Boys (CD release), Jonny Corndawg Fitzgerald’s July 6, 2011 See more Photographs from Ellis’ homecoming in our slideshow. Robert Ellis’ record release show last night wasn’t short on thrills, from the openers to the closing moments from Ellis and his boys, it was a brief but…
Dad? I Let a Friend Drive Your Porsche Boxster and It Erupted into Flames
Conversations no 19-year-old kid wants to have: Kid: Uh, Dad? Dad: Yes, buddy? Kid: You know your Porsche? Dad: The Boxster? Love that thing to death. LOVE IT. That’s why I never let anyone else drive it. Kid: Yeah, well, umm….. And things can only go downhill from there once…
AB InBev Trademarking Our Area Code for Crappy Beer
Anheuser-Busch is counting on civic pride to make its next product a smash seller: beer named after America’s various beer-drinking cities, based on their area codes. To that end, AB has already applied for a federal trademark for “713” for Houston, reports Craft Business Daily, as well as 314 for…
KPRC’s Toilet Hell: Now We Know Who Owen Conflenti Flipped the Bird to
KPRC anchor Owen Conflenti tweeted this workplace picture, saying, “Some fellas in my office apparently don’t know basic bathroom etiquette.” Nice. We assume there was a handmade sign at first; when that didn’t work they put up a professional one, and when that didn’t stop the non-flusher, they showed him…
Happy Birthday, Pierre Cardin! And Thanks for the Belt
One of my very first gifts from the world of “high” fashion was a bright turquoise woven belt with a gold buckle, and on that buckle was the signature of one Pierre Cardin. Today is Cardin’s 89th birthday, and I set out to find out a few things about this…
Jose Olvera’s Angry Day: Road Rage Incident at 6:30, Murder at 9
This is probably not a pleasant conversation about the weather.June 27 was no day to mess with Jose Antonio Olvera, if what Houston police say is true. About 6:30 that evening, he was driving his employer’s van when he took exception to something a fellow driver did. He “threatened two…
Yoga Fuel: $5 Bowl of Oatmeal at Empire Café
There is something about expensive oatmeal that just makes me cranky. Even steel-cut oats are relatively cheap — and rolled oats are practically free — so when I pay $5 for a bowl of oatmeal, no matter how delicious and no matter how fresh the fruit on top is, I…
So You Think You Can Dance: Magnificent Seven?
Puttering around Facebook this morning, I find that I wasn’t the only one disappointed in last night’s performance episode of SYTYCD. Friends who watch the show decried the amateurishness of the choreography, the strangeness of the costumes and the huh? choice of Carmen Electra on the judges’ panel. Still, there…
Last Night: Wiz Khalifa & Big Sean At Reliant Arena
See pics of Wiz Khalifa and friends in our slideshow. Wiz Khalifa, Big Sean feat. Trae Tha Truth & Bun B Reliant Arena July 6, 2011 Wiz Khalifa can smile now. The Pittsburgh rapper had a minor hit in 2007’s “Say Yeah,” a breezy dance cut laced all over Dutch…
Comment of the Day: On Astros’ Management Catering to Red Sox Fans
We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it’s time we paid some damn attention to them. So we’ll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day’s work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula…
Health Department Roundup
Water is getting scarcer, grass is getting more brittle and the list of parts of the house in which it’s acceptable to hang out while wearing only underwear is expanding to include the front yard. The other day we took a shower with no hot water on at all and…
Alvaro Saar Rios Brings One-Man Show (Back) to Houston
g.The last time Alvaro Saar Rios was in town to perform One Hot Texican Summer, his one-man show about growing up in Houston, “it flooded like crazy,” he says. But the weather didn’t keep the Heinen Theater at Houston Community College from filling up. There’s something about the play, Rios…
A Brief History Of Hashtag Rap
Every rapper brands himself as an original, but few merit that distinction. The ones that do rarely profit from their innovation. When it comes to emceeing, those who favor intricate rhyme schemes will scoff at a technique known as “hashtag rap.” G.O.O.D. Music rapper Big Sean is credited with pioneering…
Shrimp n Stuff on the Island
It’s summer, and crazy-hot in the Houston area. What can you do to find a bit of relief? Hop on I-45 and head south to Galveston Island, walk along the Seawall, hit the historic homes or Moody Gardens, then stop for some seafood at Shrimp n Stuff. Located at 3901…
George W. Bush Birthday Cards: Better Late Than Never
Dammit! We missed George W. Bush’s birthday yesterday!! We were too busy celebrating Sylvester Stallone’s!!! It’s not like we totally flaked out. We picked out a bunch of cards; we just couldn’t decide which one to send, and then it was too late. Oh well, there’s always next year. But…
Pop Rocks: Sting, Stank, Stunk
Sting. He’s the artist we love to hate: Sting, everyone’s favorite somnambulant acoustic pop star, has developed a somewhat checkered experience in Central Asia. In 2009, Gulnara Karimova–herself a fledgling pop singer under the name GooGooSha and daughter of Uzbek president-for-life Islom Karimov–paid him $1.6 million to perform at a…
Pop Rocks on Sting: “Rock Stars…Is There Anything They Don’t Know?”
Sting. He’s the artist we love to hate: Sting, everyone’s favorite somnambulant acoustic pop star, has developed a somewhat checkered experience in Central Asia. In 2009, Gulnara Karimova–herself a fledgling pop singer under the name GooGooSha and daughter of Uzbek president-for-life Islom Karimov–paid him $1.6 million to perform at a…
Folk Family Revival Unleashes Unfolding
Back a bit before we typed this sentence, Jeffery Armstreet over at Magnolia Red asked us to brave the cannibal-infested jungles between Houston and his studio/label in Magnolia to come do some listening of his latest project. Seriously, it is like driving to another country where the exports are banjos,…
What Did Texans #AskObama?
Yesterday afternoon, our country’s most technologically savvy President (a self-described CrackBerry addict) held the first-ever President Twitter Town Hall, where netizens of all stripes could submit questions to the Commander by simply appending the hashtag #askObama to their tweets. With the entire state in a months-long crippling drought, a few…
100 Creatives: Cliff Franks
What he does:While artist Cliff Franks is an illustrator and painter, he is just as much an astute philosopher. Incorporating elements of sensationalism into his art in the same way that that those “lovers of wisdom” incorporate provocative ideas into the questions they pose, he strives to incite others to…
Iggy Pop, the Bordeaux Connoisseur: The Funniest Food Requests on Riders
The next time someone calls you a picky eater, direct them to Weezer’s backstage rider for their 2010 tour. Weezer demands that both regular and Canadian bacon be available for breakfast, that there be almond butter but no peanut butter, that there must be carbonated water but also non-sparkling spring…
Shuttle Atlantis’s Souvenir Load: 22,000 Flags, 10,000 Patches, a Very Small Painting and More
If you’re making the last-ever trip on the space shuttle, you want to make it count. And if the list put together by collectSPACE.com is any indication, this last flight is taking along enough souvenirs to outfit a small army. Almost all the items are put there by NASA to…
Britney Spears
What a long, strange trip it has been for Britney Spears and her peanut-gallery observers since 1999’s “…Baby One More Time.” We’ve seen the Louisianan starlet pinball between industrial-strength jailbait, scorched-earth party girl, softcore music-video vixen, barefoot-and-pregnant hausfrau, canopy-wielding, bald, crying maniac, and back to pop superstar in a comparatively…
Special Soccer Edicion
Dear Readers, Ever since the Mexican national soccer team thrashed the American side, 4-2, in last month’s Gold Cup final, Know Nothings have railed about how Mexis in the U.S. root for El Tri against the norteamericanos. They’ve invaded the Mexican’s mailbox with preguntas sobre fútbol, so rather than answer…
Capsule Art Reviews: “The Clearing — Joey Fauerso” “Exurb: Input/Output” “George Gittoes: Witness to War” “Jenny Schlief Stock Photography: From the Woman Series” “Mitch Dobrowner: New Work” “Musicians Who Make Art”
“The Clearing — Joey Fauerso” For “The Clearing,” Joey Fauerso takes found, generic landscape scenes and inhabits them with photos of naked men. In one, a bearded, generally hairy man is leaping off a river rock while a majestic waterfall cascades in the background. In another, the same man (I…
Big Hit
It’s July, which means it’s time for Lawndale Art Center’s Big Show — the annual juried-from-actual-work extravaganza of Houston art. Here’s the drill: Lure in a savvy, intrepid and good-natured curator. Stick them at a desk for two days as you parade hundreds of works of art past them innumerable…
Capsule Stage Reviews: The Great American Trailer Park Musical, Opening the Box
The Great American Trailer Park Musical There’s nothing wrong with fried food, except when it stains your pants and you can’t get the smell off your fingers. Stages uses the best oil — the production boasts a dream cast with smooth direction and movement by Leslie Swackhamer and Krissy Richmond,…
Killer Dragon
See more of Dragon Bowl’s casually cool dining room and pan-Asian dishes in our slideshow. Poring over the new menu at Dragon Bowl Asian Bistro on a recent Friday night, I was stunned to see options at the Heights hangout such as a Third Coast hand roll with crispy fried…
Our HAUS
Check out pics from Houston’s first co-operative living experiment in our slideshow. Shrapnel from the city of Houston makes up the kitchen of a weird old house in the Third Ward. Wall tiles come from a torn-down property, and the countertops are thick oak doors that once swung at the…
White Man’s Lament
There’s a scene in Horrible Bosses in which Jennifer Aniston, playing a dentist who habitually sexually harasses her weakling male hygienist (Charlie Day), repeatedly says the word “pussy.” Her character is trying to intimidate his, while the filmmakers attempt to shock the audience with the spectacle of this lady rom-com…
What Dead Passenger?
CRIME What Dead Passenger? Driver caught with corpse in front seat By Richard Connelly When a cop pulls you over because your windshield is shattered, your front end is crumpled and — as he points out to you — you seem to have a dead person sitting next to you…
Valley Divided
Valley Divided Online readers respond to “War Zoned,” by Steve Jansen, June 23: Good article! If the residents of Glenbrook Valley believe they need such property designations from the Texas Historical Commission, they should follow the application process and guidelines just like everyone else in the state of Texas. I…
Four More Years
This month marks four years since I moved to Houston to work for the Houston Press, first as Assistant Music Editor and then (after a brief layoff) Music Editor. It’s gone by in a flash, but four years is a long time. By the calendar, four years is 1,661 days. It’s a presidential election cycle, an Olympic ring…
Members Only
A small, warm, informal smile is followed by a small, warm, informal greeting. “Welcome to the club.” Those are the words of Kristen Powell, owner of Simone on Sunset (2418 Sunset), the Rice Village establishment that is neither two years old nor explicitly a wine bar. The evening is beginning…
Off the Sidelines
At 26 years of age, Jermaine Lamarr Cole — better known as J. Cole — is a rapper and producer who, in usual, young-MC fashion, already considers himself to be the next hip-hop great. After all, this is a guy who once rapped that he’s “something like the light-skinned version…
Big Business
Over the course of three albums, Big Business has grown from the two-piece of drummer Coady Willis and singer/bassist Jared Warren into the muscle-bound four-piece of upcoming disc Quadruple Single. You more than likely know Willis from his ongoing tenure in Murder City Devils, and Warren from his late, great…
Centro-Matic
Although you can’t tell from the music, Centro-Matic is a band of extremes. The quartet, formed in Denton in 1995, is staggeringly prolific; by their own estimation, “the number of Centro-Matic or related releases is in the hundreds at this point.” However, the group has been dormant since 2008 —…
Dwight Yoakam
The last time Dwight Yoakam was in Houston, back in November 2009, he gave his Arena Theatre crowd a two-and-a-half-hour workout of his own hits, those of Buck Owens as featured on his 2007 LP Dwight Plays Buck, and a multitude of other nuggets to sate a Dwight-starved crowd. He’s…
Ancient Cat Society
As Houston favorites Buxton chugs off in the more rock-oriented direction of upcoming New West debut Nothing Here Seems Strange, Ancient Cat Society has formed to help balance out the folk/bluegrass/gospel scales. Steered by Buxton front man Sergio Trevino, flanked by bandmates Austin Sepulvado (guitar) and Haley Barnes (keyboards/vocals), the…
Slideshow: Day of the Dead at MECA
We’ve just loaded up some killer photos from Daniel Kramer of the Dia de los Muertos festivites at MECA last weekend. We meant to get them up sooner, but that whole voting thing caught us by surprise. Who knew there was an election coming? — Keith Plocek…
Adrian Garcia’s Campaign Manager Wants To Move Up
A turning point in Adrian Garcia’s campaign for sheriff came after Tommy Thomas ran an ad claiming that Garcia smoked marijuana more than 100 times. Garcia responded that he had smoked as a teenager, saying he admitted that years ago on an application to the city’s police department. Garcia’s campaign…
Sugar Land, Missouri City Get Into The Entertainment Business
Lost a bit in the election coverage — although it’s every bit as important as a black man getting elected president, dammit — was the news that Sugar Land voters approved a series of proposals to create a cultural and entertainment district. The four linked proposals passed rather easily. They…
A Country Requiem for the GOP
Little Jimmy Dickens As the Willie Nelson-quoting Don Merideth used to sing on Monday Night Football, turn out the lights, the party’s over. While last night’s electoral bloodbath isn’t the end of the Republican Party – particularly way down Texas way – the GOP is in shambles, and Barack Obama’s…
Six Ways You Know Obama Has Won
The election, by all accounts in the media, is over. Barack Obama has won. There will be no hanging chads, no recounts, no doubt. He can indeed start measuring those damn drapes John McCain was always talking about. And America feels different today. How do we know? Six ways you…
Drunk the Vote
It was a close race at The Flying Saucer, but Barack Obama managed to win the downtown-drinker vote 1,459 to 1,271. The Main Street bar held its own pint-by-pint poll for 2008. The contest started in early September and allowed patrons the option of ordering their beer in a $5…
Houston Votes: The Photographic Evidence
You’ve seen the photos from Chicago. You’ve even seen the photos from Phoenix. Where are all the Houston election-day photos? The mystical panorama documenting our participation in the civic tradition of choosing our leaders? The insightful, trenchant examination of Houstonians voting? It’s all right here. — Richard Connelly…
Steroids and Roger Clemens: The Legal Battle Continues…
Yes, it’s been awhile since we’ve had any news out of the Roger Clemens steroid matter. But lost amidst all of the election stories and news this week was a Monday hearing in Houston regarding Rocket’s defamation lawsuit that he filed against Brian McNamee, the former trainer who claims to…
Steroids and Roger Clemens: The Legal Battle Continues…
Yes, it’s been awhile since we’ve had any news out of the Roger Clemens steroid matter. But lost amidst all of the election stories and news this week was a Monday hearing in Houston regarding Rocket’s defamation lawsuit that he filed against Brian McNamee, the former trainer who claims to…
Change Comes To The Harris County Courthouse
No doubt some Harris County attorneys woke up with a bad hangover today, either from repeatedly toasting their candidates’ victory, or drowning the sorrows swelled by a tidal partisan shift. But criminal defense lawyers Brian Wice and Randy Schaffer told Hair Balls this morning that, either way, it’s not in…
Five Other Rock-Star Presidents
One of the John McCain campaign’s many unsuccessful tactics during the just-concluded race for the White House was to try to drive a wedge between Barack Obama and the nation’s Joe the Plumbers – well before the actual Joe the Plumber joined Campaign 2008’s plentiful supporting cast – by accusing…
Garcia Supporters Come Out Of The Closet (Not That Way)
Adrian Garcia didn’t say much about Tommy Thomas in his victory speech after winning the election for Harris County Sheriff, but he referenced the fear that Thomas had instilled in his deputies. “This night belongs to the hard working men and women of the sheriff’s department who supported me, even…
(Most of) America’s Mood This Morning
…Besides hung over from election-night parties, that is. Just saying. Rocks Off can’t remember ever waking up and instinctively feeling everything – or a lot of things, anyway – has changed overnight. Seems like even the air is different today. Welcome to the 21st Century, America. Enjoy it while it…
Barack Obama May Be Our Next President But He Doesn’t Get to Talk on KTRH-AM
Presidential election coverage filled the news on KTRH (740 AM) this morning. What was amazing was that listeners didn’t get to hear a word from the man who won the presidency: Barack Obama. Instead, the broadcast led with portions of defeated candidate John McCain’s consession speech played over and over…
The Most McCain County In Texas
Nationwide county-by-county results are available on lots of interactive maps on the web. we used one to find that — as far as some quick cursor-rolling can determine — the biggest McCain vote in Texas, percentage-wise, came from King County in the southern Panhandle. Ninety-three percent of King County voters…
Artist of the Week: Kyle Hubbard
Each Wednesday, Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group “Artist of the Week,” bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist that isn’t awful? Email their particulars to introducingliston@gmail.com. Somehow, Kyle Hubbard has operated in anonymity (from…
Photos from McCain’s Party in Arizona
Our sister paper Phoenix New Times has plenty of photos from John McCain’s party last night at the Biltmore Resort. Click here for the goods. — Keith Plocek…
Harris County Becomes Democratic
Many predicted it would happen, either this election cycle or next, but it was a close-run thing. In the end, though, Harris County turned Democratic. For the first time since LBJ, the county did not go for the Republican presidential candidate. Democrats pretty much swept the judicial races, although the…
Sued By AG, Texas Company Takes Its Game Elsewhere
So you own a company in Coppell that sells “wellness” products, such as skin cream and nutritional supplements, and you were sued by the Texas Attorney General in 2007 for alleged false advertising, because your promotional materials implied your products could treat cancer, muscular dystrophy, and a bunch of other…
GOP Party — Not So Much
Canadians Jeff Collins and Rick Erickson At the official Harris County GOP election party in the Westin Galleria hotel, the Republican faithful were celebrating what they could. As live national news feeds on one of two big-screen TVs rattled off state after state going for Obama, revelers maintained optimism that…
Fox Calls It For Obama. People Desperately Look Up How To Spell “Shadenfreude”
Black man elected President of the United States! (No, really.) “He was elected because a lot of people didn’t remember the Civil Rights movement,” Karl Rove says on Fox News, weirdly. Imagine, says Fox’s Chris Wallace: “An African-American first family.” “We’ve had that, with the Cosby show,” Rove analyzes. Oy…
Getting Kinda Crowded In Here
There is only so much celebration a Democrat can take tonight, apparently. The official Dem party is at the Crowne Plaza hotel near Reliant Stadium tonight, and it is packed. The ballroom, the hallways, God knows the lines for the cash bar — it’s gotten so crowded that people are…
Photos from the Obama Rally in Chicago’s Grant Park
Someone had fun in arts and crafts time. (Photo by Katie Hayes) So we’ve got this friend, who’s got this friend, right, and, well, all that really matters is we know someone who’s in Grant Park right now for the Obama rally, and she was kind enough to share some…
Breaking News — Texas Goes McCain!!
CNN has just called it — Texas is in the McCain column. It’s been quite a while since the vote has ended here tonight, but we’re glad the suspense is over. Next up: CNN calls — sometime around four-thirty tomorrow morning — that the sun will rise in the east…
Where To Look, And What For, Tonight
The results are going to take some time to come in, but the place to look for how Harris County is voting is here. That’s the official place. Analysis is best, in our opinion, at Off the Kuff . (He may be too blue for some, but it is shaping…
Ain’t No Party Like A Libertarian Party
The Libertarian Party’s Harris County Chair for Meetup.com, Guy McLendon might feel a little lonely at the group’s Election Day Party later today. As of 4:45 p.m. today, the group’s meet-up site had only 18 people confirmed to attend the shindig, with another 7 folks saying “maybe.” That’s even though…
SXSW 09 Application Deadline Friday
It pains Rocks Off to even mention this, because he dreads even reading that four-letter word – let alone thinking about the five-day schmoozeaholic binge it signifies – until after the holidays, but he’ll get over it. In the interest of public service, the deadline is midnight this Friday night…
Election Night Parties — Where To Watch
No doubt some folks are going to be ecstatic tonight, and some are going to be bitterly disappointed. Either way, you’re going to need some alcohol and a giant-ass TV. Here’s a list of some election night parties where you’ll find both (in no particular order, just in case you…
Houston Company Fails To Bribe Its Way To Success In Iraq
Ah, the Iraq War. Great opportunity to do bid-ness, Houston-style. It’s all fun and games until the FBI gets involved, though. Houston-based EGL, also known as Eagle Global Logistics, has agreed to pay the federal government $750,000 to settle allegations that they bribed employees of KBR (Halliburton, to you old-school…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: RIP Jimmy Carl Black
Mothers of Invention, “Who Are the Brain Police?” Lonesome Onry and Mean is saddened by news that Texan Jimmy Carl Black, drummer for the groundbreaking anti-establishement 1960s band Mothers of Invention, passed away in his sleep this past Saturday. He was 70 years old. Born in El Paso and raised…
Scenes From The Polls: The GOP In The Fifth Ward!
It was an early day of voting for Nino and Anita Garcia. The 64-year-old Nino, retired from the Army, dropped his wife off at Scroggins Elementary in the Fifth Ward at about a quarter to six. As a judge, Anita had to check the seals on the machines, put up…
Slideshow: Houston Votes 2008
We’ve just loaded up some election-day photos from Aaron M. Sprecher. Right now there are only a few, but we’ll be updating the slideshow throughout the day. Promise. — Keith Plocek…
On The Bus, Not Many Voters
It’s election day, 10:30 a.m. and I’m sitting on the #85 bus. I’m in the front section, where two double bench seats face each other, making for easy conversation. “So did everybody vote already?” I ask. No answer. A few ears perk up, the bus driver glances in his rear…
Scenes From The Polls: Election Day Slows in Fort Bend County
“It’s real quiet,” said Barbara Hall as she sat in a lawn chair outside a Fort Bend polling place at Elkins High School Tuesday. “I worked the primaries and we were busy then. Had to turn some people away when the polls closed at 7. Hardly anybody’s coming over today…
Your Election Night Soundtrack
U2: Bono say vote! Say you’re watching the election returns tonight and don’t feel like listening to the chattering punditry – really, at this point, who does? All the information you need will be onscreen anyway, and if you must, there’s a neat little thing called closed-captioning most TVs have…
Get Your Free Election Day Stuff (And Maybe Break the Law)
Don’t forget, Election Day is a great day for freebies. If you need a cab ride to the polls, it’s free. Or at least the first $25 of the ride is. (Contrary to rumors, riding the bus or train is not free today, unless you live in Dallas or Austin…
Harris County Criminal Courthouse To Become Like A Sports Bar
The Harris County Criminal Courts are going hi-def, baby. Tired of putting up with crappy TVs and low-rent VHS machines in this age of CSI, Commissioners Court approved today a proposal to spend $2 million upgrading the video and audio capabilities of the courtrooms. And they sound like every other…
Scenes From The Polls: All Quiet On The Western Front
There may have been a pre-work rush, but rest of the morning has brought a dead period to some voting locations on the high-income westside areas of town. Voting booths at Hunters Creek, River Oaks Elementary, Looscan Library and Memorial Elementary were all going begging. Hair Balls asked the election…
Scenes From The Polls: Fire In The Third Ward
Things are pretty quiet mid-morning at the Greater Zion Missionary Baptist Church polling station in the Third Ward. And the election volunteers are just fine with that, having watched a crucial vote-tabulating machine catch on fire earlier today. Alternate Judge Marvin McNeese told Hair Balls that at around 7:45 a.m.,…
The Early Scene at Obama HQ
8:15 a.m.: At the busy Midtown intersection of Alabama and Travis, horns honk at placard-bearers on the corners bearing slogans such as “Vote Democratic, Be the Change” – though whether in support or derision is impossible to fathom. Inside the cozy gift shop and African-American art gallery across the street…
Election Eve With Fred
Sisters of Mercy After seven solid nights of mostly incredible shows, Tina Turner through Los Skarnales, on the eighth Rocks Off rested. I even bought a freakin’ bottle of milk. As it so often is, the XM receiver at Rocks Off HQ is tuned to Fred, so the Cure have…
Kidz Korner: How To Deal With Your Drunk Parent Telling You How “Hishtoric” Obama’s Victory Is
Yes, we know we’re jumping the gun with the headline. But this subject is too important to wait until it’s too late. You youngsters out there — be you 15, be you 8 — are going to have to deal with some issues tonight. You’ll be thinking it’s a typical…
Tuesday Morning Quarterbacking: This One Was All Kubiak
It would be easy to blame the Texans’ 28-21 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on bad players and poor play. Like defensive back Jacques Reeves who was toasted time and time again by Fran Tarkenton Tommy Kramer Wade Wilson Gus Frerotte. Or Sage Rosenfels who threw an interception while the…
Tuesday Morning Quarterbacking: This One Was All Kubiak
It would be easy to blame the Texans’ 28-21 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on bad players and poor play. Like defensive back Jacques Reeves who was toasted time and time again by Fran Tarkenton Tommy Kramer Wade Wilson Gus Frerotte. Or Sage Rosenfels who threw an interception while the…
Candidate Cocktails on Election Day 2008
When it’s time to break up the fistfights and inject a little levity into your election-watching party, try handing out stiff cocktails and finger foods. (It’s hard to fight with both hands full.) Be sure to give the food items and drinks disarmingly silly names. Right wings, hero sandwiches, and…
Memo to Chuck Todd: Mommy Like
Okay, so as our country elects the next president of these great United States, can I just take a moment to talk about something more important? Specifically, may I talk about how I am deeply and madly in love with news analyst Chuck Todd? Sorry, Mr. Pop Rocks, but I…
If Bill Ayers Is a Terrorist, Then So Am I
It was three weeks ago when I first heard rumblings that Barack Obama was being labeled a terrorist supporter. John McCain and his fellow conservatives were giving him that label for his friendship with Bill Ayers, the former Weather Underground member and current professor at the University of Illinois at…
Texas Tech, Say Hello to Number Two
I’ve got to admit. Even after Texas Tech stomped Texas 39-33 on Saturday night, I was worried that the Red Raiders would get shafted in the BCS rankings. After all, Penn State was still undefeated. As was Alabama. And Florida had just laid a whipping on Georgia. So surely the…
Texas Tech, Say Hello to Number Two
I’ve got to admit. Even after Texas Tech stomped Texas 39-33 on Saturday night, I was worried that the Red Raiders would get shafted in the BCS rankings. After all, Penn State was still undefeated. As was Alabama. And Florida had just laid a whipping on Georgia. So surely the…
Aftermath: Cheech & Chong at Verizon Wireless Theater; Willie Nelson at House of Blues
Photos by Chris Gray Willie Nelson and Cheech & Chong? On the same night – Halloween night to boot? Nothing less than every stoner’s dream come true. The real question was, would anybody remember anything afterward? Let’s start at the suspiciously smoke-free Verizon, where about a third of the sold-out…
I Voted For McCain And All I Got Was This Cheap Plunger
A serious election calls for serious measures.Whether a large purchase of toilet plungers qualifies as serious is debatable, but it got our attention. Steve Radack, the pugnacious Republican county commissioner in the County of Harris, will pass out 1,000 toilet plungers to rally the conservative vote tomorrow. The idea, we…
The Surprising Rise of Sweet Potato Fries
Photos by Robb Walsh What do you put on your sweet potato fries? At Hubcab Grill in downtown Houston, my friend gets extra mayo to dip his in. At Beechwood American Bistro in Venice, California, they come with aioli. Other L.A. restaurants serve them with chipotle mayo, horseradish mayo and…
Houston Doomed If Obama Wins
Douglas MacKinnon is a former press secretary for Bob Dole; he’s now a political columnist and talking head. He obviously takes a GOP view of things, but in his latest column he offers a compelling reason for Houstonians to vote for John McCain — if they don’t, the Galleria will…
Matt Schaub Injured and Out for At Least Four Games
The news for Texans fans is that Matt Schaub is out for at least four games due to a torn MCL in his left knee. Now the guys on the radio are talking about how this means the Texans season is over. I disagree, of course, because I thought the…
Matt Schaub Injured and Out for At Least Four Games
The news for Texans fans is that Matt Schaub is out for at least four games due to a torn MCL in his left knee. Now the guys on the radio are talking about how this means the Texans season is over. I disagree, of course, because I thought the…
Pay No Attention To The Artwork Above The Bed, Please
We’ve long made known our love for the real estate blog Swamplot. It’s the best place to go for Houston real estate news, not to mention the visual tours of hideously decorated houses for sale. Usually the point of those tours is just to have readers guess what neighborhood the…
Remembering Boomhauer’s Houston Sojourn
Hank, Dale, Bill and Boomhauer will soon quaff their last 12-pack of Alamo Beer in the alley behind their houses and Peggy will dominate her last Boggle match: Fox has announced that the last episodes of King of the Hill will be aired in the 2009-10 season. Just which major…
Big, Big Upset Coming Tomorrow, Says Possibly Untrustworthy Source
The next POTUS, the next POTUS, tomorrow will know who it is, who it is! But what if we told you that we’ve been emailed some exclusive information…a bombshell, if you will…about the outcome of the election. We could publish the two stories we have received about this, but that…
Get Lit: The Clash by the Clash
Isn’t a lavish, coffee table hardcover book on “The Only Band That Mattered” something of a sell-out, a blatant attempt at a cold cash grab reaching out to middle-aged men whose Mohawks have turned grey or mall kids who think the Ramones are too soft? Apparently so, according to co-author…
Houston, As Seen From The Middle East
Seven professors from seven Middle Eastern countries arrived in Houston on Friday to finish their tour of the United States. Previously the group had traveled to Washington, D.C. and San Francisco and is in town this week to study, among other things, Houston’s large Hispanic population. The group took some…
Turning the Screw: H.I.S.D., Trae, Lupe Fiasco, Prodigy, Soulja Boy, Roy Jones Jr., Ice Cube and More
Welcome back to Turning the Screw, Rocks Off’s weekly rap post. It probably won’t rhyme, at least most of the time. E-mail tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Thanks, homies. Single of the Week: “Break of Dawn,” Hueston Independent Spit District Wire To Wire We’re not sure how we missed this, but Trae…
Together In Life And Death
Over the weekend, two local legends died — private investigator Clyde Wilson and attorney Tom Alexander. The Houston Chronicle duly made note of the deaths, of course, but didn’t mention the two were closely related professionally. And they worked together on two very high-profile Houston cases. Wilson helped Alexander go…
Houston Astrologers Pick The Presidential Race
Some of you nervously awaiting the presidential election are lying fetal, with some type of bottle in your mouth (Dems, most likely); some of you are side-swiping every car you see with an opposing candidate’s bumper sticker (Reps, you betcha). But I’m here to tell ya: You’re not going to…
Over the Weekend: Halloween, Willie Nelson and Houston Aeros
Three words: Friday night Halloween. Two more words: Totally awesome. Nightlife Photos: Houston Halloween Space City got all dressed up on Friday, October 31, for Boheme, Numbers, Avant Garden, The Next Door, The Flat, Bond and Allure. Willie Nelson at House of Blues Willie’s Halloween concert brought out several redheaded…
Aeros Still Looking Good, Despite Tough Loss to Penguins
Krys Kolanos chases the puck on Friday night. (Photo by Fred Trask) There’s a kind of electricity that goes through Toyota Center when Houston Aeros forward Krys Kolanos gets his stick on a puck. It’s an electricity that wasn’t around the team last season, because it’s an electricity that arises…
Gloom And Doom For Uninsured Texas Children
There are two solutions to help the population of uninsured children in Texas, according to a Houston pediatrician: Pray for change or move to Canada. That’s overstating it a bit, but Dr. Ana Malinow, a pediatrician and co-founder of the advocacy group Healthcare for All Texas, tells Hair Balls that…
Slideshow: Willie Nelson at House of Blues
Willie’s Halloween concert brought out several redheaded strangers and some strange surprises. Click here for a slideshow. – KP…
Nightlife Photos: Houston Halloween
We’ve just loaded up the mother of all nightlife slideshows. A happy Halloween it was indeed. – KP…
Big Thicket Burger
Last week, I tried a Dippity’s double meat, double cheese on a fresh baked bun with lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, mayo, mustard and jalapeños. It was pretty impressive. Great onion rings too. The fresh-ground hand-formed beef patties weighed five and half ounces each, so a double was eleven ounces. They…
A Howard Stern Wanna-Be, With A Somewhat Confused Dream
Hair Balls got an e-mail from The Men’s View, a local podcast that models itself after, you guessed it, The View. Apparently the show has been picked as a finalist for Sirius Radio’s “I Want to be Howard Stern” contest, which will give one lucky winner a one-time, one-hour show…
The Ghost Of Johnny Fixx
A while back, we came across a local ghost story we hadn’t heard. Back in 1980, there was this rock cover band hear called Lic. This wasn’t just any cover band; supposedly bandleader Johnny Fixx was one of Houston’s pioneering punk rockers, and his band brought plenty of piss and…
Art Fans Are Heading East On I-10
A chunk of the Houston art world has fled to New Orleans this weekend for the opening of Prospect.1 New Orleans, which is apparently a very big deal. Organizers say the brand-new art fair is “the largest biennial of international contemporary art ever organized in the United States…conceived in the…
Five Types Of Horror Movies That Suck
Horror movies walk a chainsaw-thin line between frightening and unintentionally hilarious. In fact, so many inadvertently end up on the wrong side of this boundary it’s hard to compile a list of bad horror movies that numbers less than a thousand. For that reason, this list will include categories of…
Protect Your Teeth — And The Troops
Save your teeth and give a solider a treat at the same time during Halloween Buy Back, a project of Operation Gratitude, which sends care packages to U.S. soldiers in the Middle East and other hot spots. Clear Lake area dentist Cindy Flanagan will be paying $1 per pound of…
Five of the Wackiest Saints in History
Much like Boxing Day (and who needs a holiday devoted to Mike Tyson anyway?), All Saints Day is often neglected in favor of the much more fun holiday that precedes it. We guess Christmas and Halloween just have too much glutted goodness going on. But tomorrow’s celebration of those who’ve…
UH Reporters Ordered To Hand Over E-Mails
A college newspaper poses quite the conundrum when it comes to the Freedom of Information Act. Technically journalists can refuse turn over notes, but if a publication is receiving public funding, they must comply with record requests. University of Houston’s student run paper, The Daily Cougar learned this earlier in…
Houston Is Great For Relocating Singles, Allegedly
What’s the best city in Texas to relocate to if you’re single? Houston. Suck on that, Temple! The bad news: Houston is only the 23rd-best city in America for a relocating single dude or dudette. This no-doubt-highly-scientific information comes from Primacy Relocation, which deals with such things…
David Anderson, Conan O’Brien and the String Dance
I love Conan O’Brien. He’s one seriously funny dude. But I don’t get to watch him often, mainly because I’m an old dude with a day job. That said, I thought Houston Texans wide receiver David Anderson’s touchdown dance on Sunday looked kind of familiar. Now courtesy of YouTube, I…
Ten Gruesomely Good Halloween Songs Pt 2: Violent Femmes, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Nick Cave and More
Violent Femmes, “Country Death Song”: This tune sounds like the confessions of a degenerate hillbilly. It’s folksier than usual for the Violent Femmes, and singer Gordon Gano adds extra twang to the already countrified banjo riffs. Wails Gano, “I swear I lost my mind, I started makin’ plans to kill…
Joel Osteen Teams Up With Guns N Roses To Rock Your Face Off
Lakewood Church mega-guru Joel Osteen is working with Guns N Roses, you may be surprised to learn. He’s offering to throw in a DVD of Become A Better You with every copy of Chinese Democracy if Axl Rose “could just get the goddamned thing released,” the Houston pastor said. Actually,…
Five Spot: Jackson Five Reuniting; Certainly This Will Not End Badly
Welcome back to Five Spot. Every Friday, we’ll examine a recent bit of music news and list five reasons why it’s either brilliant or dumb-assed. Send tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. The beacon of credibility that is Jermaine Jackson confirmed rumors Thursday that the Jackson Five would indeed be reuniting in 2009…
We Get Ike, Dallas Gets A Minor Earthquake
In our “WTF?” news of the day comes word that Dallas got hit by an earthquake last night. More than a dozen crack pipes were shattered after falling from lockers at Cowboy HQ in Valley Ranch (We’re assuming). We lived in Dallas for five long years and don’t remember any…
More Willie Nelson Tickets Released
“Pancho & Lefty” House of Blues has released more general-admission tickets for tonight’s Willie Nelson show. $63.50, they’re available at the venue box office (1204 Caroline), Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at 888-402-5837 and online at hob.com or ticketmaster.com. Don’t wait too long – it’s close to selling out. – Chris…
Five Scariest Movie Moments You Probably Haven’t Seen
It’s Halloween, which means a great deal to people who never outgrew the need to dress like someone else to gain the acceptance of others. It’s also the season for watching scary movies, and while everybody is familiar with the scary-ass moments from popular horror movies (Dallas & the alien…
Texans Better Watch Out for Purple Jesus
Richard Justice says the Texans are about to play the most important game in their history. I say that Richard Justice needs to get a grip. Sure, if the Texans defeat the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, the team’s record will be 4-4, they will have won four straight games, and…
Ristorante Cavour Tacks on Another Room, But It’s Anything But Tacky
Ristorante Cavour, the Houston Press’s Best Of Houston 2008 pick for Best Italian Restaurant, has added on another room, despite the fears of some connoisseurs of its almost surreally private atmosphere that somehow the real specialness of the place would be lost if too many people came in at the…
It’s All About Location
The New York Times has a warmhearted story today entitled “Quebec and Vermont Towns Bond Over a Sleepy Border” that highlights the wonderful towns of Derby Line, Vermont and Stanstead, Quebec that butt up against each other on either side of the U.S.-Canada border. Accompanying the story is the map…
We Are Important, But Let’s Hope the Terrorists Don’t Notice.
Federal anti-terrorism dollars have been earmarked, and guess what? Houston will get a bundle – $25 million, or 50 percent more than we got last year. And from the look of things, we’re going to need it. Last year’s money was spent on a study involving emergency radios and –…
This Week in Ron Paul
Looks like the campaign of our favorite half-crazed presidential long-shot got an injection from the one, the only, the Manilow. That’s right. Barry Manilow hearts Ron Paul. Bonus YouTubage after the jump. – Keith Plocek…
Cover Story: Heads You Lose, Tails You Lose
You’ve probably seen the ads for rare coins, maybe while waiting to get a cavity filled. They run in stodgy mainstream pubs such as Time, Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report. If you looked closely, you saw at the bottom of the page, in itty-bitty type, a disclosure: “We…
Sure, the Team Sucks. But That Doesn’t Mean We Care What You Had for Lunch.
Hey kids, it’s time for fun from the Astros radio booth. And I write this because I don’t want you to miss any of the fun times that I have while listening to the Astros on my car radio. For instance, did you know that Astros broadcasters Brett and Dave…
Sounds Like Drayton’s Gonna Fire Someone. Or Not.
Wow. The Astros won a game. A game played on the road. I guess that means that Drayton’s surge is starting to work. Drayton’s in D.C. visiting his Astros. And he’s not happy: “It’s been disappointing,” McLane told the Chron. “I still feel we have a much better team than…
Your Third Nipple Makes Me “Smile”
I used to think third nipples were an unsightly and grotesque part of the human anatomy. The thought of having three of something on your body where evolution only deemed us to have two, is a tad freakish. The only notable exception I can find is that chick from Total…
Robb’s Review: On the Menu
For Sunday brunch at Sandy’s Produce Market (see this week’s Café), they cook omelets in virgin coconut oil. This seems strange since the medical community has always told us coconut oil is unhealthy. The debate about coconut oil is ongoing, but most of what’s being written lately focuses on its…
Robb’s Review: On the Menu
For Sunday brunch at Sandy’s Produce Market (see this week’s Café), they cook omelets in virgin coconut oil. This seems strange since the medical community has always told us coconut oil is unhealthy. The debate about coconut oil is ongoing, but most of what’s being written lately focuses on its…
Where’s My Millionaire At?
Why, thank you. Don’t mind if we do. Last year, KHOU did a story on Houston’s 56,000 millionaires. To mark the occasion, then-Houstoned blog editor Steven Devadanam called up his millionaire buddy Mike and asked him what it’s like to have a cool mil. The answer: You can afford a…
Get Lit: The First Commandment, by Brad Thor
My wife had just finished getting a procedure at the hospital, so I entered the recovery room and put down the review copy of the book I’d been killing time with. One of the nurses picked it up, wide-eyed with excitement. “The new Brad Thor is out?!” she gasped. Yes…
Friendswood Is a Great Place to Live. Or So We Hear.
CNNMoney.com released its list of 100 Best Places to Live recently. Coming in at number 51 was Friendswood, Texas. The report said the list was “focused on smaller places that offered the best combination of economic opportunity, good schools, safe streets, things to do and a real sense of community.”…
It’s Going to Be an Ugly Month for the Astros
I decided to listen to Dave Raymond and Brett Dolan’s radio broadcast of the Astros game. I did hear some info from the game, but the main thing that I heard was these two guys bitching about the location of the press box in the stadium in which the Washington…
Cocaine Redux
Admittedly, the article I wrote on cocaine a couple of weeks back was a little too anecdotal. Though I tried to find them, I couldn’t quite find the stats I needed to back up some of my contentions, and some of you have called me out for that, or for…
Taking Liberty’s at Fitzgerald’s
This week’s big local music news (besides Jana Hunter’s last show before moving to Baltimore) is of course Fitzgerald’s 30th anniversary, starting Thursday with local folksinger supreme Shake Russell, Friday with Fort Worth percussion amoeba Spoonfed Tribe, and Saturday with Denton polka kings Brave Combo and Houston Celtic warriors the…
What Happens to the Kids?
A hot story recently has been the issue of what happens to the children of parents who have been either placed in an immigrant detention center or deported. It appears veteran journalist Bill Conroy has an interesting lead. According to Conroy’s entry on the Web site narcosphere.narconews.com, the federal government…
Fire Phil Garner
In my Brad Lidge post last week, one of the commenters jokingly picked up on a meme that Richard Justice and others at the Chron have been passing around: Phil Garner shouldn’t be fired because it’s not his fault that this is such a lousy team. To which I say:…
Minute Maid Park Is Not Wrigley Field South. Oh, and the Astros Still Suck.
Okay readers, you’re going to have to excuse my ignorance, because I thought the Astros were supposed to have positioned themselves back into the playoff race. That was what that 7-4 kick leading into the All-Star Game was all about, wasn’t it? Getting some momentum, moving into position to make…
Confessions of a Classic Rock Whore, or One Man’s Journey
When the Press cast its net for a new Assistant Music Editor, the editors probably assumed they’d reel in one of those sniffy indie types who worships either Bright Eyes or Death Cab for Cutie and thinks Boston is a place with a lot of nice bookstores. Instead they got…
Give Up vs. YAR!
Shit’s going down tonight. Two of Houston’s most prolific street artists are facing off in a death match. To the death! We’re talking Thunderdome here, people. Two men enter, one man leaves! Okay, so actually there’s probably just gonna be a bunch of works by YAR! and Give Up on…
Do Da Dip
1997, you are officially ten years old this year. And you have plenty to celebrate. You gave us the first blank CD-Rs and the song “Barbie Girl” by Aqua. You saw the untimely passing of Jeff Buckley and Biggie Smalls, making the world safe for ridiculous amounts of needless posthumous…
Rocket Scientists Can’t Spell
The geniuses over at NASA have had their share of PR nightmares recently. First, there was the story of astronaut Lisa Nowak, the butt of late-night TV diaper jokes. (Nowak may not have been wearing diapers after all, but that’s another story.) Then, the usually discreet Texas Monthly published the…
By the End of Tonight Looking for a Drummer
Play the drums? Want to be in a band? Local instrumental rockers, By the End of Tonight, just announced they are on the lookout for a new drummer. (We think they should ask this guy.) If you’re interested hit them up on their MySpace page and tell them you’d like…
Linda Pace, RIP
Her former professor at UT told Linda Pace he would give her a C if she would give up painting. She didn’t give up making art and she never gave up supporting art. Pace died from breast cancer July 2 in San Antonio, a city she almost singlehandedly put on…
We Know People
We just wanted to give a shout-out to former Press staffer Nina Friedman, whose mad matchmaking skillz just got props in People. The professional yenta recently found a match for herself, resulting in the kind of heartwarming story People loves, when it’s not reporting on anorexic celebrity cokewhores. If you’ve…
Enough with the Brad #@&*% Lidge Already!
Okay, the All-Star break is over. It’s time for the Astros to get back to business. Now, will the Astros who are getting back to business be the Astros who are 39-50 and pretty much sucked for most of the season, or will it be the Astros who finished out…
