The State of the Comedy Game Show: Notes on Match Game and Celebrity Family Feud
Alec Baldwin is no Steve Harvey. Unlike Harvey, Baldwin seems diminished on the set of a retro ’70s game show dedicated to getting contestants to say gently dirty nonsense. On ABC’s baggy, boozy Match Game, Baldwin crabs into a skinny last-century microphone about how everything’s stupid: his celebrity panelists, the…
The Low-Key Pete’s Dragon Dares to Mostly Let Its Beast Chill
Pete’s Dragon is as cuddly as the mountains of plush toys Disney hopes to sell from it. A disarmingly homespun blockbuster, this loose remake of the studio’s 1977 live-action/animation hybrid is perhaps best defined by all the things it’s not: It’s not a soaring action flick, nor an indulgence in…
Alex Riddle Reaches Back to Shakespeare For Happy Daggers
“I’m not a lover; I’m just a whore,” Alex Riddle sings on the opener of his three-track EP Happy Daggers. “I’m not a liar, at least I wasn’t before.” These provocative lyrics, which trail a building guitar riff and a haunting falsetto chant, set the stage for the Houston native’s…
The Mystical Origins of The Red Krayola
Note: first in an occasional series. University of St. Thomas. 1966. Conversations with an angel commence outside the Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas. “What did Aquinas know about God?” the Angel asked people passing him. Only those soaked from head to toe in lysergic acid diethylamide could hear the angel’s…
Jerry Castle Floats on Past Nashville’s Big Machine
Jerry Castle has pretty much been claustrophobic since a babysitter locked him in a closet as a child. So the idea of being encased in a floating tank – unable to move, see or hear – wasn’t exactly an appealing one. Turns out it may take his career to the…
The “Way Too Early” Texans 53-Man Roster Prediction, Version 2.0
We are five sweltering hot practices — ok, actually, four sweltering hot and one air conditioned bubble practice — into training camp for the Houston Texans, and here are the things that we’ve learned so far: 1. The offense is going to be kind of a work in progress throughout…
Orangutans, Our Superfamily Kin, Could Use a Hero Right About Now
We can’t pull a Not In My Back Yard with this one. If you washed your hands, shampooed your hair or munched on prepackaged snack foods today, you could have been engaging in behaviors that have a serious impact on the other side of the world. It turns out that…
The Little Prince Gets Expanded Onscreen, but Not Corrupted
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince, published in 1943, might stand as a children’s classic, but it’s not-so-secretly a story for grown-ups. Kids have long been drawn to the book’s dreamy sense of wonder, to the golden-haired star-child of the title, but Saint-Exupéry’s ruminations on regret, solitude and loss belong…
Make America Rock Again? Sure, Why Not?
The Make America Rock Again Tour is billed by promoters as “the tour that ‘trumps’ them all.” With the election three months away, and with nostalgia for ’90s and 2000s bands in full effect, you can see where they’re going with this. This tour, which stops through the Pub Fountains…
The Villains of Suicide Squad Almost Transcend the Usual Comic-Book Action
“The world changed when Superman flew across the sky,” Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller says early on in Suicide Squad. “And then it changed again when he didn’t,” she continues, over somber images of the Man of Steel’s funeral following his (non-)death at the end of Batman v. Superman. Luckily, that…
A Look at 11 Below Brewing Company in Far Northwest Houston
Houston-based 11 Below Brewing Company, located at 6820 Bourgeois in the Willowbrook area, was started by three guys who started as home brewers. Owners Bryce Baker, Jeff Handojo, Brandon Moss and brewer Keenan Zarling say that, since opening last summer, their business has been flourishing over the past year. The name “11…
Landing Theatre Co. Presents Another Tale of Eve in Gambrels
Local playwright Elizabeth A. M. Keel understands the title of her new play, Gambrels in the Sky, is a little confusing. “Gambrels is a not a word that a lot of people down here know,” the University of Houston alum admits. “But [a “gambrel”] is a pointy little roof that snow will fly…
10 Surprising Vegetarian Menus for HRW
Ah, Houston Restaurant Weeks, the most wonderful time of the year for exploring new restaurants around Houston. While many carnivores can expect to be delighted by impressive beef filets and decadent pork shoulders, vegetarians may be side-eyeing some of the menus, expecting to be relegated to meals of salad* and…
Houston Body Painter Rudy Campos Turns Locals Into Human Masterpieces
Up to three times a week, for five to eight hours each day, Houston painter Rudy Campos labors over his masterpieces. Painstakingly wielding his air brush, Campos sprays layer over layer over his canvas – using up to eight ounces of material for each piece – creating intricate shading and textured designs in…
Miranda Lambert Has Big Plans For Her East Texas Hometown
Country superstar Miranda Lambert is pulling up stakes in Oklahoma and doubling down on her hometown of Lindale, a tiny community halfway between Dallas and Shreveport with country music in its soul and big dreams pinned on one of the biggest names in the industry. The “House That Built Me” singer has…
Five Better Openers For Guns N’ Roses Than Skrillex
Guns N’ Roses’ ongoing “Not In This Lifetime” reunion tour has been music-headline fodder for months now. This publication has also had a few things to say about it. Personally, I’ve been a fan since 1987 and have long been looking forward to seeing the heavy rock gods perform their…
Das Jackboot: Don’t Sleep on Netflix’s NSU: German History X
You can have your houses of cards, your Jessica Joneses, your wet hot American summers. The Netflix original with its finger firmest on the pulse of our fraught current moment? It comes from Germany, comprises three feature-length “episodes,” and commences its tale more than a quarter-century ago. NSU: Germany History…
Drawn to Misery: BoJack Horseman‘s Third Season Is Its Best Yet
Just over a minute into the third season of the Netflix animated comedy BoJack Horseman, an entertainment-news interviewer asks our hero, “What would an Oscar nomination mean for BoJack Horseman?” The rest of the season is dedicated to answering that question, tracking BoJack (voiced by Will Arnett) from press junkets…
Mayor Turner Shoots Down Houston’s Controversial Plans for Affordable Housing Near Briargrove [UPDATED]
Mayor Sylvester Turner announced Monday evening that the Houston Housing Authority’s controversial proposed mixed-income housing project near Briargrove Elementary wouldn’t even be considered by City Council, a move that denies the housing authority millions in tax-credit funds. Thousands of residents in the Briargrove area near the Galleria had been loudly…
Lines Drawn in Battle Over Rosenberg’s Animal Shelter
A skirmish of sorts has been heating up in Rosenberg, where animal welfare advocates are pushing for reforming the small city’s animal shelter, and city officials appear to find the critics shrill and annoying. For years, the shelter, which handles about 1,200 animals a year, has been staffed by two…
Heights Theater Rolls Out Rough Draft of Fall Schedule
For reasons known only to the stars, Edwin Cabaniss’ plane was routed through Philadelphia on the first day of last week’s Democratic National Convention. At least that left him plenty of time to talk about the inaugural music calendar for the renovated Heights Theater, which Cabaniss and his staff hope…
A Neutered Production Turns The Maids Into Something Less Than Stellar
The set up: “Oooooh, it’s a good play but it’s really hard to do.” That was the universal response I got from my in-the-know friends upon hearing I was reviewing French playwright Jean Genet’s 1947 play, The Maids. Having read the play (but not seen it staged) I could see…
Amid Uproar Over Jailed Rape Victim, DA’s Office Audit Finds Another Wronged Survivor
After jailing a rape victim for 27 days so she could testify against her attacker, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office announced Monday it had audited itself to make sure something like this never happens again. District Attorney Devon Anderson said it was a KPRC news story about a mentally…
This Week in Houston Food Blogs: Cauliflower Hummus & Animal Cracker Cake
If you like to cook creative, healthy dishes, you probably already know that cauliflower is pretty much a miracle food– you can make knock-off mashed potatoes, bread, rice, tater tots and so much more out of cauliflower. It’s packed with nutrients, including vitamins and fiber, and it’s low in carbs…
Texas Rangers Lap the Houston Astros at MLB Trade Deadline
From June 27 through July 24, the Astros managed to go 28 straight days without losing ground to the division leading Texas Rangers, whittling the Rangers’ lead in the American League West from 11 games all the way down to 2.5 games. For nearly a month, it was a bizarro…
El Nogalar Is Both Inspired by and Constrained by Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard
There’s no doubt you could easily spend your time watching the Houston premiere of Tanya Saracho’s El Nogalar ticking off the Chekhovian nods. Saracho herself will happily tell you that El Nogalar (Spanish for The Pecan Orchard) was heavily inspired by Chekhov’s comedic tragedy The Cherry Orchard, about a family’s…
Feds Raid Houston Heights Tortilla Plant, Cite It for 25 OSHA Violations
Exposed live wires. Cutting tools without safety guards. Locked emergency exit doors. Unprotected ceiling fans looming seven feet above the floor. Those are only a handful of the 25 occupational safety violations Department of Labor investigators say they found at La Espiga de Oro tortilla plant in Houston Heights in…
Ghostbusters Remake Now Officially Not a Flop
This past weekend the controversial reboot of Ghostbusters finally brought in more money than it cost to make, topping $158 million in total worldwide box office receipts, putting to rest any notions that it would be a flop by not making back its $144 million budget. “But wait,” a whole…
Voting Is Now Open for the Houston Culinary Awards
This past June, a group of industry professionals and food writers from many publications (including this one) gathered to mull over the restaurant and bar scene over the past year and nominate their picks for My Table magazine’s 2016 Houston Culinary Awards. Those with the most votes each made it to…
What Doctor Who Taught Me About Parenting
So, regular readers who follow me might notice it’s been awhile since I wrote an article about Doctor Who. The reason is mostly that I’m spending this long year with no new episodes until Christmas collecting and reading the 70-odd Eighth Doctor books from the ‘90s, which is heaven to…
Upcoming: Band of Horses, Chuck Inglish, Galactic, John Hiatt, Morrissey, Nina Diaz, Porches, Toni Braxton, etc.
Note: events in bold reflect highly recommended shows. 5th Annual Crimson Vagabond Roadshow: Sat., September 10, 7 p.m., $25. Talento Bilingue De Houston, 333 S. Jensen, Houston, 713-222-1213. An Evening with Christopher Cross: Sat., October 1, 7:30 p.m., $48 to $150. Dunham Theater, 7502 Fondren, Houston. The Atomic Bitchwax: With…
Skinny Rita’s Is a Leaner Approach to Tex-Mex, but Watch Out for the Desserts
In testament to Houston’s need for lighter alternatives to artery-clogging Tex-Mex (washed down with salted vats of sugary margaritas), the second location of Skinny Rita’s, a haven of healthier Mexican flavors, opened up on West Gray a little more than a year after the establishment of its first spot on…
The Story Behind the Typhoon Texas Christian Youth Lock-In Fiasco
On Friday, June 10, and Saturday June 11, a rain-or-shine, all-night Christian youth lock-in at Katy’s Typhoon Texas was supposed to feature a stacked lineup of church preachers, Christian rappers and DJs from local Christian radio station NGEN Radio. Despite the night-owl hours, kids wouldn’t sleep in the brand-new waterpark,…
Gucci Mane Vaults From Federal Prison to Rap’s A-List
It’s an unprecedented time in American history. Yes, readers, we are charging headlong into a new frontier. I’m not talking about the presidential election or what lies ahead with all that mess. I’m talking about rap. And no, I’m not talking about Drake claiming his throne with Views or Kanye…
Houston’s 10 Best Hookup Bars
For many, an evening out at a bar can mean a chance to catch up with friends, maybe play some bar games, perhaps win a few free drinks playing trivia. For others, a trip to the bar is made with one simple goal in mind: to not go home alone. Houston…
Texas Penalized Blue Bell $850,000 (But It May Only Pay a Fraction of That)
The other shoe has finally fallen for Blue Bell, the Brenham creamery which launched a massive recall last year after regulators found listeria in its products. The Texas Department of State Health Services last week issued a $850,000 penalty to the company, but Blue Bell may only end up paying…
Here’s What Campus Carry Looks Like on the UH Campus
Fifty years to the day since the nation’s first mass campus shooting at the University of Texas, campus carry has taken effect at all public universities in Texas and a single private university, which, given the choice to opt out of the law, instead decided to opt in. Starting today,…
Surprising Chef Swap: Jordan Asher Is out and Albert Vasquez Is in at Ritual Restaurant in Houston
A reader tip led us to confirm that chef Jordan Asher is no longer the executive chef at Ritual, the restaurant from Delicious Concepts that replaced El Cantina Superior at 602 Studewood. Surprisingly, Asher, who also consulted on the menu of Witchcraft (now Republic Diner + Sojubang) says his role…
Chef Ryan Hildebrand of Triniti Readies for Casual Burger Concept in Houston
Last week, chef Ryan Hildebrand of Triniti announced that a long-expected second concept is mere months away from opening. It’s called FM Burger and will be located at 1112 Shepherd just north of Washington Avenue. If it seems like this isn’t the first time a second restaurant from the people…
Andre Johnson With the Tennessee Titans Just Seems All Kinds of Wrong
There’s a play I’ll always think of when it comes to Andre Johnson. It’s the Texans running a play action pass with the quarterback rolling to his right and slinging a deep ball. No matter how bad the Texans running back (and before Arian Foster came along, the Texans running…
Houston Shakespeare Festival Delivers a Rousing Henry V
The set-up: Well, since you’re perspiring anyway in the oven-like heat at Miller Outdoor, how about the sweat of battle to keep at it? In their most completely realized production in seasons, the Houston Shakespeare Festival delivers a muscular, affecting, and ultimately stirring production of Shakespeare’s mighty Plantagenet pageant Henry…
Dish of the Week: Fattoush
From classic comfort foods to regional standouts and desserts, we’ll be sharing a new recipe with you each week. Find other dishes of the week here. This week, we’re sharing a Levantine classic: Fattoush. Derived from the Arabic word fatt, meaning to “breaking” or “crumbling”—fattoush is a bread salad that…
The New Blink-182 Is the Same as the Old Blink-182, and That Works
Blink-182, A Day to Remember, The All-American Rejects Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion July 31, 2016 Here’s how a Blink-182 concert in 2016 starts off: a curtain goes away, the band kicks into “Feeling This” and behind them giant flaming letters spell out “Fuck.” The new Blink-182 are real eager to…
Rabbit Showdown: Is Your Bunny Faster, Stronger, Better Than Other Bunnies?
When General Mills held an open casting call last year to find an honorary “real” Trix Rabbit, one lucky bunny hit the jackpot out of a pool of more than 7,500 starstruck cottontails. The winner? A two-pound Holland Lop from Houston named Cinnabun. That’s a big win for H-Town, and…
Nearly 200 People Have Died In Harris County Sheriff’s Office Custody In 10 Years
In the decade between 2005 and 2015, 199 people died in the custody of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office —and of those who died in the county jail, about 85 percent had not yet been convicted of a crime. That’s according to a new database developed by University of Texas…
Houston Chef Kevin Naderi of Roost Beats Bobby Flay at His Own Game
People who have watched chef Kevin Naderi in cooking competitions know that he can get a little mouthy during the heat of battle. He’s a seasoned competitor, though (he won the won the Iron Fork competition at the annual Houston Press Menu of Menus Extravaganza four years in a row,…
Much Ado About Nothing Shines to Great Effect at Miller Outdoor Theatre
The set-up: Why wait until Rio’s Olympic Games in August to see world-class sport? Head over to Miller Outdoor Theatre right now to savor the alfresco delights of the University of Houston’s annual Shakespeare Festival, where combat – on the battlefield and in the bedroom – lies heavy in the…
Houston Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins’s Holdout Ends After One Day
On Friday afternoon, the Houston Texans announced that general manager Rick Smith had signed a four-year extension that would keep him in charge of personnel for the Texans through the 2020 season. The news was announced by the team via a press release that paints Smith’s roster-building chops as a…
This Week in Houston Food Events: Houston Restaurant Weeks Begins
All Month Cuchara Charity Month When you spend $35 at Cuchara, 214 Fairview, this month, the restaurant will donate $5 to a featured charity or public institution. This week’s featured group is the Buffalo Bayou Partnership, which seeks to revitalize and transform Buffalo Bayou through bike trails, natural landscaping, parks…
The Houston Press Monthly Mixtape: Sweating Out the Dog Days
August is typically a tough month for shows in Houston. We’re still in the blistering thick of summer, a long ways off from when we catch ACL’s music runoff. But this August has some acts coming to town that would even get the most concert-weary Houstonians out of their air-conditioned…
Get Ready Soon For a Zika Outbreak In Houston Because Doctors Say It’s Coming
As health officials in south Florida grapple with the first U.S. outbreak of the Zika virus, Houston doctors are warning an outbreak is imminent in Harris County. “All up and down the Gulf Coast, in urban and poor areas, they’re at risk for Zika,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the…
6 Types of Cars No One Wants to See on a Houston Freeway
Houston’s roads are considered by many to be among the most dangerous in the country, and that’s due to a large number of “bad drivers” using them. Heading out on one of our freeways can feel scary for many reasons, and plenty of Houston drivers seem eager to show off…
Steven Tyler’s Solo Set Still Heavy on Aerosmith Classics
Steven Tyler Revention Music Center July 29, 2016 Just a few days after his debut solo album topped the Billboard Country charts, rock icon Steven Tyler brought his “Out On a Limb” tour to Houston to regale fans with a mix of classics, new-fangled country and anecdotes from his many…
Shows of the Week: A ‘Return of the Dreads’ Not Necessarily About Hair
ROB ZOMBIE, KORN Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, August 3 Hilariously billed as “Return of the Dreads,” this summer outing by two ‘90s hard-rock heavyweights sounds like something excavated from the psychic crevasses of aging Gen-Xers’ nightmares — or, more to the point, out of one of Rob Zombie’s demonically well-crafted…
How Will History Remember Guns N’ Roses?
For some Houston rock fans, the excitement for Guns N’ Roses’ approaching concert this Friday at NRG Stadium — the first time Slash, Axl Rose and Duff McKagan will share a stage in Houston since the Astrodome in August 1992 — is tempered somewhat by the disquieting realization that this…
Bramble Restaurant in Houston Is Closed, Effective Immediately
In a surprising statement received early Friday evening, chef Randy Rucker announced that Bramble is closed, effective immediately. It’s unexpected news in part because the restaurant was slated to participate in Houston Restaurant Weeks, which starts on August 1. (Bramble was, in fact, one of our top picks for places…
Son Suspected After Ex-NFL Player And Wife Killed in Houston Shooting [UPDATED]
Early Friday morning around 1:30 a.m., a 16-year-old boy shot and killed a woman and nearly killed her husband, who was taken to the hospital in critical condition, according to various reports. The 16-year-old, whose name has not been released because he is a juvenile, has been charged with murder,…
Blues Funeral Details The Search for a New Strain of Throwback Metal
Houston is blessed with a whole shitload of heavy-metal bands. But there may be only one these days that features the harmonic percussion sounds of a Hammond B-3 organ. That band would be Blues Funeral. Their proggy, throwback approach to heaviness is an original tribute to the proto-crunch of ‘70s…
Student Sued by Law Firm for Bad Facebook Review Asks Judge to Dismiss Case
A lawyer helping Lan Cai—the 20-year-old waitress sued by a Houston law firm for sharing her bad experience with the firm on Facebook and Yelp—has asked a judge to immediately dismiss the case. The Law Firm of Tuan A. Khuu sued Cai, a former client, for between $100,000 and $200,000,…
Will Houston’s Repeal of HERO Create Problems With NBA, NCAA?
A game for the ages was played inside NRG Stadium on April 4, 2016. Underdog Villanova defeated North Carolina 77-74 when Kris Jenkins’s game-winning three-pointer left his hand mere milliseconds before the buzzer, sailing through the net and throwing the assembled 74,340 fans into a frenzy rarely seen inside the…
Nylon Strings & a Few Friends Help Craig Kinsey Strip Down
The Craig Kinsey I recently met at a local bar is not too far from his real self. That self is not too far removed from the performer, either. Kinsey is no facsimile, no hack trying to sell a brand or image of a projection of himself. He is authentically artistic,…
Reviews For The Easily Distracted: Jason Bourne
Title: Jason Bourne Describe This Movie In One Simpsons Quote: Bart: Where’s my spy camera? Mail Carrier: Where’s my spy camera? Every day for the last six months: ‘Where’s my spy camera, lady?’ Here’s your stupid spy camera! Bart: Oh, thanks man. Rating Using Random Objects Relevant To The Film: Two-and-a-half pairs of…
UH to Sanction Student Body VP Over Anti-Black Lives Matter Post [UPDATED]
Rohini Sethi may not have realized the implications of publicly criticizing the Black Lives Matter movement as a student leader at a predominantly nonwhite university earlier this month. But her classmates are ready to punish her either way. The University of Houston student government Senate has passed a resolution calling…
The Five Best Things to Do in Houston This Weekend: Shakespeare and Soccer
Shakespeare, soccer and sneakers, oh my. From highbrow to lowbrow and everything in between, this weekend in Houston is quickly shaping up to have something for everybody. Take your pick of free Shakespeare on the hill all weekend, witness WWE’s in-ring action with Shinsuke Nakamura, and see what’s new when…
Almost Human: Future Blondes, Inspired by Unseen Events
It would be difficult to describe Future Blondes to the kind of ordinary human you often find standing in line at the food truck, vaping. There’s a lot of space for common feeling in the glint of the Blondes’ sigil, but everyday language isn’t there yet. Once, while boarding a…
Openings & Closings in Houston: Arthur Ave Arrives, Byzantio Bids Good-bye
It’s time for the much-anticipated opening of Arthur Ave Italian American, located at 1111 Studewood. The Italian eatery is from the same team that brought you Rice Village’s newest award-winning concept, Helen Greek Food and Wine, which was one of this year’s James Beard Award semi-finalists in the Best New…
Desiigner Finally Finds His Voice On “Timmy Turner”
Desiigner’s second act began by snapping his fingers. It was June. “Panda” had already reached its apex as both the no. 1 song in the country and the most polarizing. XXL, the noted New York based hip-hop magazine, had crowned the 19-year-old from Brooklyn as one of its coveted freshmen…
Friday Free For All: Giant Kitty, Culture Club, 1nce, Clint Broussard, etc.
The Friday Free For All relays albums, artists, videos and vibes the Houston Press Music staff has been grooving to over the past week. GIANT KITTY Late to the party is always better than missing the bus altogether. The Huffington Post was onto Giant Kitty back in April, saluting the…
U.S. Contractor Wants Houston Woman’s Case Tried Under Afghan Law
A United States military contractor sued by a Houston woman over a drunk-driving accident on an Afghan military base wants the case to be tried under Afghan civil law. Filed in a California court in 2014, the lawsuit evokes the kind of Fox News nightmare wherein the specter of Sharia…
The State Has Finally Made a Move on the Alabama-Coushatta’s Reopened Casino
After months of official silence, the state has finally tipped its hand on the Alabama-Coushatta tribe reopening their casino on the reservation just outside of Livingston. Perhaps unsurprisingly, filings in the Lufkin federal court indicate Texas officials are against it. However, this time around the Alabama-Coushatta are also okay with…
Chocolate Mixed by Hand at Houston’s Mostly Chocolate & Catering
In a world that is growing more technical by the day, chocolatier Dany Kamkhagi of Mostly Chocolate & Catering sticks with time-honored tradition in preparing his chocolate truffles. The chocolatier works entirely hands-on in a Spring Branch commercial kitchen and retail store – melting, tempering, scraping, shaping, filing and serving…
Houston’s Scrap Yard Dawgs Battle It Out in Fastpitch Softball
Down a grass-lined road, past a gravel parking lot and under a baking hot sun lies the home of the newest Houston pro sports team. This 75-acre complex of softball and baseball fields– named the Scrap Yard – is where the Scrap Yard Dawgs, Houston’s women’s fastpitch softball team, play…
CAMH Gives Houston Punk Icons Mydolls a World of Their Own
Contemporary Art Museum Houston’s 20HERTZ lecture series that focuses on contemporary musical experiences has been creating something quite special for at least the last six months, maybe more. “We’ve been working really hard on this one,” curator Max Fields explains while showing off the different features in the museum’s Cullen…
Why Japanese KitKat Bars Are Coveted in the United States
In the United States, KitKat candy bars are usually a blocky rectangle of four vanilla wafers covered in milk chocolate. However, in Japan, there are more than 200 different kinds with special editions released each year. Some are somewhat savory. Others are intended to be frozen or even baked. The KitKat…
Lawyers: Thousands of Mentally Disabled Texans Are Wrongly Living in Nursing Homes
Zak Morgan only remembers a couple activities available at the nursing home where he was sent for five years: bingo and bowling—the kind with the fake plastic pins and a kickball. Sometimes he watched TV. Often he stayed in the cafeteria, where he would socialize with just about everybody. The…
MiddleChild Makes an Even Better Band Than Motorcycle Gang
Now that I think of it, I guess it’s not that hard to get to my heart. When I arrived at Boomtown Coffee in the Heights a couple of fellows lined up behind me talking about an episode of X-Files one of them had just watched. Those fellows turned out…
Are Guns N’ Roses Still Relevant?
According to one of our local Live Nation reps, only a couple of thousand tickets remain for Guns N’ Roses’ August 5 concert at NRG Stadium, and Houston is one of the top-selling markets on the tour. The venue alone speaks to the kind of public interest in GN’R that…
Six Practical Skills All Touring Musicians Should Have
Among the lingering fantasies of rock music lore is the idea (versus the reality) of what it’s like to go out on tour with a band. Anyone whose ever hit the road with four or five other people on a mutual quest to play in front of new audiences, knows…
My Man Wants to Make a Sex Tape. Help!
SHOULD I MAKE A SEX TAPE WITH MY BOYFRIEND? Dear Willie D: I’m 19 and being pressured by my boyfriend to make a sex tape with him. He told me that if I truly loved and trusted him, I would do it. I want to do it, but I’m afraid…
Councilman Boykins Joins UH Students, Faculty in Pushing for Campus Carry Task Force
University of Houston professor Christine Ehlig-Economides shudders at the thought of students carrying concealed handguns in her classroom. “I see no evidence of how carrying a weapon, concealed or otherwise, makes anyone safer except on a battlefield,” Ehlig-Economides said from a podium at City Hall on Wednesday morning. “Increasing the…
Second Houston Hotel Boots Texxxas Adult Expo [UPDATED]
Days after a Hilton hotel in Houston backed out of its contract to hold the Texxxas adult entertainment expo next month, a second venue reneged on a deal with convention promoters. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation announced the Holiday Inn Southwest, on U.S. 59, had cancelled its agreement to…
Why The Dropped Charges Against The Anti-Abortion Activists Is Not A “Vindication”
Almost immediately after prosecutors decided, abruptly, to drop charges against the anti-abortion activists who infiltrated a Planned Parenthood facility in Houston using fake IDs, conservatives pro-lifers were calling it a “vindication.” Even though the charges were dropped because of technicalities. Sandra Merritt and David Daleiden had been charged with tampering…
HISD Names Sole Finalist for New Superintendent
Trustees of the Houston ISD who have been at loggerheads during many votes so far this year, were able to reach unanimous accord Tuesday in an early morning meeting and name Richard A. Carranza, a public schools superintendent from San Francisco as the sole finalist to replace former Houston ISD…
UH Grapples With #RemoveRohini Fallout at Town Hall Meeting
Inside the student ballroom at the University of Houston on Tuesday evening, the voices of the angry were heard. About 200 people, including Vice President for Student Affairs Richard Walker, current and former students, concerned activists, the presidents of both the Black Student Union & NAACP along with Student Government…
“Supermarket Sommelier” Jaime De Leon Expands World-Class Wine Selection at Kroger
A Houston-based wine writer had just stepped into the neon-lit wine section at the Kroger on Shepherd in the Heights when an apron-garbed manager asked him if he needed any help finding something. “I was looking for something white and oxidative, ideally from a family-run estate and if possible under…
Law Firm Sues 20-Year-Old Waitress Over Unflattering Yelp, Facebook Reviews
Twenty-year-old Lan Cai was half-asleep under the covers, in her underwear, the first time she met the lawyers from the Tuan A. Khuu law firm. And already, they were off to a bad start. She had just been a serious car accident while driving home from her job as a…
Dogs Fluffed, Sculpted and Color Coded at Houston World Series of Dog Shows
There was so much to see at the Houston World Series of Dog Shows, from agility and flyball competitions to individual breed judging, from canine musical freestyle to Frisbee exhibitions, but all eyes were on the amazing transformations taking place in the Creative Styling Challenge. For those who were at…
15 of the Best Bets for the 2016 Houston Restaurant Weeks
With more than 200 restaurants participating in Houston Restaurant Weeks this year, choosing where to go can be really tough. We’ve checked out the options and created this guide to help make that decision a little easier. One of the most interesting aspects of Houston Restaurant Weeks is that the…
Love Brunch? Tickets for “The Morning After, a Houston Press Brunch Event” Now on Presale
Considering that it’s often comprised of easy-to-love dishes like pancakes, waffles, bacon, baked eggs and mimosas, brunch may be the best meal of the week. Now, there’s a brand-new event to celebrate it. “The Morning After, A Houston Press Brunch Event,” brings together some of the best restaurants in Houston…
