The Big Yellow School Bus, Now With Ads
The financially beleaguered Cypress-Fairbanks ISD has decided to put advertising on its yellow school buses as a way of raising some much-needed revenue. The school-bus advertising partnership is with Steep Creek Media and proceeds from ad revenues would be split 60-40 with the 60 percent going to the district, according…
Obscure Wine Grapes: Nuragus
The Nuragus grape is the most widely grown in Sardinia. Some experts believe that the grape was brought to the island more than 3,000 years ago by the Phoenicians. It is so prolific and adaptable, it has been called pagadeppidus (“pay-debts grape”), preni tineddus (“fill-up-vats grape”) and ua de is…
John Culberson: I’m Just Like The Brave Iranian Protesters
Among the heroic people fighting for freedom these days — the protesters clogging Iranian streets, taking life-threatening risks to urge democracy in a repressive regime; and, ummm, House Republicans.At least according to one House Republican, Houston’s John Culberson.The Twitter-addicted rep has — as pointed out by Washington Monthly — bravely…
The Big Tweet: Wild Moccasins Tour Edition
It’s now been exactly a week since the Wild Moccasins kicked off their first-ever extended tour with a sweaty show before a packed house at Mango’s, and like a lot of people (we imagine), Rocks Off is curious how the H-pop heroes are faring on the road. Luckily, instead of…
Continental Airlines: Work Hard, Fly Right — Unless You’re A Kid
For the second time in a week, Houston’s Continental Airlines has admitted they sent an unaccompanied minor passenger to the wrong destination.One 10-year-old girl who was trying to get from Boston to Cleveland ended up in Newark. (The only time ending up in Newark is “not so bad” is when…
Food Fight: Battle Frito Pie
In theory, Frito pie should be a relatively difficult thing to screw up. It’s just a bag of Fritos and some chili with shredded cheese on top (and onions, if you’re not one of those obnoxiously fussy eaters). But in reality, the Frito pie is greater than the sum of its parts: It’s…
Ask a Rapper: Savvi of H.I.S.D.
The hip-hop world is a less than sensible place – lots of times, you’re even required to clarify when bad means bad and when bad means good – so once a week we’re going to get with a rapper and ask them things. Something you always wanted to ask a…
That’s One Ugly Baby: The 10 Creepiest Babies Ever
We’ve been seeing pregnant bellies all over H-Town. From The Woodlands down to Lake Jackson, it seems every other woman we see is either in the family way or accompanied by a doting father lugging around a car seat right not too far behind. What gives? One conspiracy theory is…
Chronicle Brass Meets (At A Luxury Hotel) To Discuss Problems
The layoffs at the Chronicle, which left plenty of blood on the floor, didn’t magically solve the paper’s problems. That’s not surprising, given the state of print media these days.Staffers who have survived the cuts are struggling to fill the gaps as they are also expected to do more and…
The Acadian Bakers in Montrose
Montrose has seen some exciting new restaurants open lately: Poscol, Little Big’s and Feast. It’s fun to discover something new. But there’s also the opportunity to “discover something old” in the Montrose. For the last 15 years I’ve lived a block away from the intersection of West Alabama and Audubon…
Win a Pair of Kid Rock/Lynyrd Skynyrd Tickets
As part of Live Nation’s all-day $24.99 lawn-ticket sale for shows at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, they’ve kindly offered us a pair of lawn tickets to the June 30 Kid Rock/Lynyrd Skynyrd shred-off to give away. But of course, we’re not just going to give them to you. If…
Backe’s Back In The Rotation: Just How Bad Can The Astros’ Farm System Be?
Here’s some shocking Astros news. According to the Chron, Mike Hampton is going on the 15-day disabled list. Yeah, I know, who would ever think that Hampton would get injured. It’s not like he missed two of the last three seasons because of injuries, or anything. Even Matt Schaub and…
Artist of the Week: Winter Wallace
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. After last week’s Artist of the Week set…
A Cafe Bites Nibble
Johnny Huynh is part of the family that owns Singha Thai, which has been serving the west side of town several years. Now he’s part of new downtown venture Bangkok Room (914 Main, 713-658-0950). “Everything is made fresh to order,” he says. “We decided to do Thai and sushi together,…
The ACLU, Stirring It Up Again In Texas And Elsewhere
Muslims in Texas and around the United States aren’t being allowed to practice one of the key tenets of their religion — namely charitable giving — because of our country’s terrorism-finance laws, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.In its 164-report “Blocking Faith, Freezing Charity,” the ACLU is almost certain…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: Teresa Kolo at Under the Volcano
Smart, sassy, saucy, perky, full of energy and wit – that’s local singer-songwriter Teresa Kolo. She’s been sharpening up her game since reemerging on the local club scene last year with some gigs at Mucky Duck, Waldo’s, Rudz and the like. Kolo has also been working up some new material…
Oscar The Porcupine Vs. Miles The Giraffe: The Death-Cage Cute-Off
VS. It is on like Kong, people. The ultimate test of Who’s Cuter? (Well, besides this guy, of course.)The website Budget Travel is doing the most important public service ever: Holding another contest to determine who is the cutest zoo baby in America this year. The Houston candidates…
Texas Traveler: Buffalo Gap
Buffalo Gap is a hamlet outside of Abilene whose main claim to fame is the Perini Ranch Steakhouse. The current issue of Food Network Magazine claims that the Perini Ranch Steakhouse makes the best burger in Texas. I love the Perini Ranch and count Tom Perini among my friends. But…
Gulf Coast Museums Prepare for Hurricane Season, At Least One With Liquor
If you think you’ve got a lot to do getting ready for the season’s first hurricane, imagine if you had a museum full of millions of dollars in art you had to protect. Gulf Coast area museums don’t have to imagine — they do. Among the most prepared is the…
Eyeballin’: John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band Live in Toronto ’69
It’s a story well-told in Beatles lore. Reeling from the Fab Four’s unraveling, a bored John Lennon accepted an invitation to perform at the Toronto Rock ‘n Roll Revival show in September 1969. He quickly formed an ad hoc group of friends (wife Yoko Ono, Eric Clapton on guitar, Klaus…
Rice’s Joe Savery, Still On The Path To The Major Leagues
A little over two years ago, we did a feature on Rice’s Joe Savery, a linchpin of the school’s elie baseball team, a guy who combined excellent power pitching with a terrific batting average.Savery is a complete local product, having played in Bellaire, at Lamar High and for Rice. The…
Discounted Woodlands Lawn Seats All Day
Until midnight tonight, the folks over at Live Nation are selling all lawn tickets to shows way out in the woody, mall-y expanses of the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion for just $24.99. The concert conglomerate has been running deals on Hump Day for about the past month to alleviate all…
Now It’s Even A Bigger Deal To Win A Tommy Tune Award
The ceremony for Houston’s Tommy Tune awards has become a high point on the local high-school drama calendar, as productions from all over the area enjoy their own version of the Tonys.Now the nominees have even more reason to get incredibly tense as the winners are announced: at stake may…
Internet In Uproar Over Texas CPS Bill, But It Probably Shouldn’t Be
Beware, Texas parents! With a stroke of his pen, Gov. Perry may soon give CPS the power to pick up your kids without your consent. That’s why groups like the Texas Center for Family Rights, the Free Market Foundation and the Texas Republican Liberty Caucus are angry about SB 1440,…
Rare Opportunity Missed: Irradiated Burgers
Rare hamburgers are considered dangerous by food safety experts. You can take your own chances with a burger cooked medium-rare, but you better think twice before you serve any burger cooked to less than 160 degrees F to others, as I was recently warned by microbiologist. When I said I…
Before We Go: Devin the Dude, ZZ Top, Camp Jam Houston, The Orb, Something Fierce and More
Free Press Houston has added Devin the Dude, whom Rocks Off is currently trying to track down for a prospective new feature (email us, mang!) and Prince Paul to its Summer Fest August 8 and 9 in Eleanor Tinsley Park. See FPH’s or Pegstar’s Web sites for ticket info (hint:…
Local Musician In Galveston Hospital With Severe Burns
Word has hit Rocks Off that local strummer Dave Rask is currently a patient in the burn unit at Galveston’s John Sealy Hospital, being treated for trauma on over 90 percent of his body due to a gasoline burn. Details surrounding Rask’s condition and the circumstances of his injuries are…
Free Burritos at Chipotle Mexican Grill
Photo courtesy of Chipotle Psst! Wanna free burrito? Check out the new Chipotle Mexican Grill at 10905 Louetta Road on Wednesday, June 17. That location — and that location only — will be serving up free burritos to anyone who drops by from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Why the…
Local Musician Taken To John Sealy Hospital with Severe Burns
Word has hit Rocks Off that local strummer Dave Rask is currently a patient in the burn unit at Galveston’s John Sealy Hospital, being treated for trauma on over 90% of his body due to a gasoline burn. Details surrounding Rask’s condition and the circumstances of his injuries are scattered,…
Bayou Body Count: The Handyman Goes Wild
It was the case of a handyman gone wild. Harris County deputies began investigating the murder of Elizabeth Ann Williams, 66, after her body was discovered inside her home at 3618 Treaschwig on March 28. Williams had been stabbed and beaten. On Monday, detectives say, they finally got their man…
Benjy’s Chocolate Cake Recipe
The huge, fudgy, pecan-studded glory that is Benjy’s chocolate cake is a Houston tradition. And Benjy Levit, whose second restaurant opened this year on Washington Avenue, can actually say that his cake is “just like Mom’s,” because, well, it is his mom’s. She actually does bake every chocolate cake served…
The Last Roundup: White Lies, Black Sheep Premiere, A Hearty ‘Man-Drink,’ In the Red, GM vs. Evan Dando, Charles Hamilton and More
IndieHouston invites you to Friday’s screening (and musical performance) of White Lies, Black Sheep. My week has barely begun, but I think 29-95.com has already made it great with this quote from its review of Dundee Brewery’s Craft Pack: “At its core, beer is the quintessential man-drink. It’s specifically engineered…
Hey! Finally, A Price Tag For Fort Bend ISD’s Grand New Science Center
The deep, dark mystery of just how much it’s going to cost to build the proposed Fort Bend school district’s elaborate “science center” has been solved — to a degree.The school board approved a resolution recently that more or less caps the cost at $26 million.And now former Sugar Land…
Coming Attractions: Food Inc. Preview
In her review of the new film Food Inc. which debuted on the East and West Coasts last weekend, Kim Severson of the New York Times sounded a little weary of whistle-blowing food movies. I haven’t seen Food Inc. yet (it opens in Houston on June 26) but evidently the…
The Big Tweet: Special David Byrne Edition
Rocks Off was hardly the only one who enjoyed David Byrne’s show Monday night at Jones Hall. His eclectic, polyglot post-punk/funk presentation brought out all sorts of Twitterers, or those who wished they were there… @CodyScott: “Wilco tonight. Though I think I’d rather be at David Byrne. Jealous.” sorch1: “I…
Look Out, (Really Minor) Lawbreakers: There’s A Warrant Sweep Today
If you’ve been ignoring all those pesky notices about paying that traffic fine or dealing with that $10 hot check to Kroger’s, better lay low today.HPD is having another of its occasional warrant round-ups, where they knock on doors or storm into cubicle farms to arrest hapless citizens who are…
Distant Early Warning: Avant, Britney Spears, Dave Alvin, Devin the Dude, Indian Jewelry, Psychedelic Furs and More
The Airborne Toxic Event: Thu., Oct. 1. House of Blues. Asleep At The Wheel: Thu., July 30. Dosey Doe Coffee Company. Avant, Mateo: Thu., Aug. 13. House of Blues. Babyface, Frankie Beverly & Maze: Sat., Nov. 7. Reliant Arena. Bob Schneider: Thu., Aug. 6. McGonigel’s Mucky Duck. Britney Spears: Wed.,…
A 16,000-Word Rant Against UH’s Baseball Coach Becomes The Hit Of The Internet
Warning. Before you click on this link, make sure you’ve had breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Make sure you’ve used the toilet, and make sure you’ve set your DVR to record anything that you might conceivably want to watch for the next two weeks. That’s how long this thing is. (And…
$13 at El Jardin
Where: El Jardin, 7849 Harrisburg, 713-921-3633 What $13 gets you: enchiladas Mexicanas. Corn tortillas rolled in a tomato sauce, filled with white Mexican cheese, topped with more sauce, more cheese, cubed fried potatoes and grilled jalapeño slices, served with refried beans and a lettuce and tomato salad ($9.95)…
Aftermath: David Byrne at Jones Hall
David Byrne knows about living in the moment. The white-haired former Talking Heads frontman and unofficial U.S. ambassador for Third World pop, whose hair was as white as his (and his band’s) wardrobe, was a genial host at Jones Hall Monday night. “It’s nice to be in Mr. Jesse Jones’…
The Chronicle’s Sad, Embarrassing Descent Into Porn Hell Continues
Good Lord, is there anything more embarrassing than the Chronicle’s ongoing attempt to be edgy by trying to be Penthouse?Their 29.95 blog continues, for some reason, to publish “MILF & Cookies,” a column where someone — allegedly, according to her profile, a bisexual married Republican who lives in Midtown –…
West Wing Creator Aaron Sorkin To Discuss His Latest Play At The Alley
Hair Balls has raved about The Farnsworth Invention at the Alley Theatre, the gripping drama about the invention of television. (Yes, we said “gripping drama about the invention of television.”)The play is written by Aaron Sorkin, the guy who’s given us West Wing, A Few Good Men and Charlie Wilson’s…
Where Are We Eating?
This ornate dining room might look like something out of Arabian Nights, but it’s actually straight out of Houston. Can you guess where we’re eating this week? Leave your guess in the comments section below…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: Scott Miller at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck Friday
Scott Miller’s new album, For Crying Out Loud, finds Miller still rocking, but often in a folky, more Appalachian approach than on previous records. Working with Nashville vet Michael Webb, Miller has put together a rocking album that stays true to his mostly rural musical roots. Of course, with Miller,…
It’s Like I Don’t Even Have the Energy to Make Fun of Yanni
I just spent about 10 minutes of my life that I will never get back tooling around on the Yanni site and have discovered something disturbing. Ladies and gentlemen, Yanni was here, and I missed him. He played the Toyota Center this past Saturday while I was stuffing my face…
Texas A&M’s President Goes Out In A Blaze Of Bad Headlines, Great Official Statements
God bless the Aggies. Who else could hire a new president amidst much fanfare (She’s Hispanic, y’all!!) and then fire her 18 months later?Although we’re not quite sure why she got fired. Sure, as we showed last week via an Open Records Act request, she was given a not-so-hot job…
The Big Tweet: What a Few of Rocks Off’s Twitter Friends Are Up To
Rocks Off is no less fascinated by the Twitter phenomena as when we began Twittering in earnest back in February. (We still prefer that to the other term for those 140-character-or-less updates, ‘tweeting.’) Since then, we’ve built up a Twitter-verse of about 420 ‘followers’ and about 100 more ‘followees’ (or…
Obscure Wine Grapes: Piculit Neri
Piculit Neri is an ancient grape varietal from Italy that was popular in Roman times but went out of favor. Progressive winemakers have recently revived the almost-forgotten grape, along with several others that were once popular in the Friuli Venezia-Giulia region, an area in the North of Italy that borders…
Lesson One, Criminal Masterminds: Don’t Call The Cops If You’ve Got 270 Pounds Of Pot In Your House
There is a tangled tale coming out of Montgomery County (where else), but one lesson seems clear — if you’re hoarding 270 pounds of pot in your house, think twice before calling the cops about something.Think three or four times. And we don’t mean dope-addled “thinking” like examining all the…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: Plenty of Tickets Left for Steve Earle Thursday
Lonesome Onry and Mean just bought some tickets to Steve Earle’s June 18 Steve show at the Crighton Theater in Conroe and was surprised to learn there are still approximately 90 tickets left. The Earle show is a bonus show added to the citiy’s annual Sounds of Texas Music Series…
R.I.P., The Sons Of Hermann Hall In The Heights
Anyone who’s driven up Heights Boulevard has noticed the Sons of Hermann hall, if only for the sign.And they wonder who the hell was Hermann, and why do his sons need such a big place?But no more. The building is on the list of places to be demolished, Swamplot reports…
Batter Blaster: Against God and Nature?
First, there was whipped cream. Then, there was cheese. Now, it’s pancake (or waffle) batter being sprayed out of aerosol cans. God-fearing people everywhere are trembling as technology pushes us ever closer to experiencing breakfast as nature never intended. We tried Batter Blaster for ourselves. The batter was thick and…
BARC Comes Up With Some Answers, Of A Sort
We’ve got updates on last week’s BARC stories; the delays of which could have easily been avoided by proactive public relations, which is apparently anathema to the animal control department of the nation’s fourth-largest city.Last week’s photo of exposed canine cadavers in the back of a city truck raised a…
Rex Grossman: Can He Become One Of the Top Five Texans QBs Ever?
The Houston Texans have signed former Chicago Bears quarterback Rex Grossman. Do a Google-news search for the move and one of the first things that comes up is this, from a fan blog: Now on to the butt of many Chicago jokes…Rex Grossman. June 12th 2009 is a day that…
Turning the Screw: Slim Thug Associates, Willie D, Jay-Z vs. Auto-Tune, 50 Cent, Paul Wall, Big Hawk, Jazzy Jeff, Trae & Z-Ro 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: “Associates” Wire To Wire Poor, poor Willie D. We were excited the other day when we read this thing…
Snackshot: Little Bitty Burgers
This week’s petite Snackshot comes to us courtesy of garyrwise and Little Bitty Burger Barn: From the photographer’s description: “Little Bitty Burger Barn candy.” An actual Little Bitty Burger Barn slider (a.k.a. a little bitty burger) is after the jump…
USS Stewart Finally Back On Duty With The Submarine Cavalla
In April Galveston’s popular World War II sub the USS Cavalla reopened after fixing damage caused by Hurricane Ike. Its companion ship, the USS Stewart — a destroyer escort — was still closed, however, due to the storm surge that lifted the boats and then settled them back down a…
Remembering 1969, Part 3: The Beginning of the End for the Beatles
Note: see Part 1 here and Part 2 here. For most of 1969, the Beatles were pretty much comatose – after the disastrous Get Back sessions (which would later spawn the Phil Spector-produced Let It Be), they reconvened to the studio that spring to record the music for what would…
Mesquite Charcoal Fireworks Warning
To use mesquite in the grill, I usually light some charcoal briquettes and add mesquite wood after a while. But I recently saw 20-pound bags of mesquite lump charcoal on sale at HEB for 12 bucks each. Starting the fire with mesquite charcoal and then adding mesquite wood seemed like…
Saavedra Tells HISD When His Last Day Will Be, By E-Mail
Turns out, Houston ISD superintendent Abe Saavedra sent out an e-mail to district administrators last Friday, giving them his last day news. HISD spokesman Norm Uhl found out about it Friday afternoon and planned to release the news today, “but the Bellaire Examiner got a tip and scooped me. Good work…
Social Distortion: Every Blog Has Its Day
Stardate: 1999 (or 02254.5, if you’re nasty). Also known as Pretty Much the Stone Age, when talkin’ ’bout the internets. Al Gore had barely invented the term “social media,” and no one called themselves social media gurus. Yes, those were the good ol’ days. Amidst the tumult that climaxed in…
Aftermath: Yanni at Toyota Center
Words like pageantry, wonderment, and spectacle aren’t used very much in the Aftermath lexicon. It’s hard to divvy out those special labels when we are covering bleeding dudes in bondage gear half-raping each other on stage, the weekly parade of washed-up alt-rock groups making another run at the brass ring,…
Tamalalia Returns!! Kind Of
For a lot of years, the Tamalalia shows were a Houston summer tradition — annual, hilarious, musical-comedy romps by rubber-faced comedienne Tamarie Cooper and her colleagues at Infernal Bridegoom Productions.But IFB disappeared in a still-mysterious wave of financial shenanigans, and so did the Tamalalia shows.Most Many Some of the IBP…
Vamplification: Dirty Fuzz, Von Iva and Boris
Screw those pink sparkly Daisy Rock guitars. Chicks can stroke the neck of a Fender Strat right alongside the guys. The best girl rockers also deliver some of the wickedest vocals out there and, as an added bonus, usually look damn sexy doing it. Rocks Off thinks it’s high time…
$7 at Hank’s Ice Cream
Where: Hank’s Ice Cream, 9291 South Main, 713-665-5103 What $7 will get you: We tried to utilize the full expense allotment. We failed. The banana split comes in at $5.50, which includes tax and three toppings. We went for more toppings, but the girl behind the counter refused to charge…
Texas Traveler: Juneteenth Celebrations
Juneteenth, the holiday celebrating the emancipation of slaves in the United States, first began in Galveston, and as such, the area around Houston is home to some of the biggest and most lavish Juneteenth celebrations in the world. The June 19 holiday, also sometimes called Emancipation Day or Freedom Day,…
HISD’s Saavedra Leaving In August, Paper Reports
If it turns out to be true — and since it’s the weekend it’s tough to tell — full kudos to the Bellaire Examiner for this scoop — HISD superintendent Abe Saavedra’s last day on the job will be August 31..HISD board member Dianne Johnson told the paper that Saavedra…
Get Lit: The Girl’s Guide to Rocking by Jessica Hopper
I hate to ask this question, as it is overly publicized and just all-around cheesy, but nothing else will fit what this book is about. So, with a heavy heart, I ask, “Are you ready to rock?” Readers of Jessica Hopper’s The Girl’s Guide to Rocking will find, in time,…
Live Shots: Yanni At The Toyota Center
It’s about to get all new age up in this piece! Stay tuned for our review of last night’s show…..
The Switch To Digital TV In Houston, As It Happened
Unlike every other media outlet in the country, we warned you that today would bring the switch from analog to digital TV.So how did it go?The snapstream blog has collected a montage of the local Houston stations at The Moment of Truth, as seen on an analog TV. The bigger…
The First Fight Over The TV, At The Alley
Two people arguing over electrons, cathode rays and how much light it takes to transport a moving image across the country may not sound like a riveting evening to most people — but they’d be pretty much wrong. For its final show of the 2008-2009 season, the Alley Theatre is putting…
Friday Night Noise: Anthony Pirog, the Hospitals and Walk With One Side
Anthony Pirog, “Budding Peonies”: On Beginning to End (Sonic Mass), his debut album, NYC-based guitarist/composer Anthony Pirog offers an aural Whitman’s sampler of his core competencies: sunkissed tone poems (think John Fahey), pitch-shifted glimmer, meditative squalls, discordant piano frowns and various noisy flavors. While End’s odds and, er, ends hang…
This Week In Deliciousness
Welcome back to the weekly Eating Our Words round-up, where the food is well-prepared, plentiful and, more often than not, weird as all hell. To start with, Robb Walsh introduced us to the concept of a Wal-Mart supermercado, which might not go over as well as Wal-Mart is hoping, because…
Bayou Body Count: A Suspect Sketch Released In Double Murder
Courtesy HPDHouston police released today a composite sketch of the apparent shooter in a double murder at a Phillips 66 gas station last week. One of the victims, Mohammad Aziz Zubair, 55, called 911 before he was shot, providing police with a brief description of the suspect, police say. Shahzad…
Talking With Air Guitar Master Bjorn Turoque
For the past six years, Dan Crane, aka “Bjorn Turoque” has been the preeminent ambassador for the world of air guitar. He retired from competition in the Air Guitar World Championships in 2005 and made a lateral move to being the touring roadshow nightly MC – or the “Master of…
Last Call For Art: This Weekend’s Closings
Four exhibits at Lawndale Art Center close this Saturday including “Washington Avenue: Forgotten to Gentrified,” a photo exhibit by Robert Sennhauser that looks at the near-downtown neighborhood and the changes it’s currently undergoing. Among the highlights of the exhibit are Sennhauser’s taped interviews with residents from the area including one…
R.I.P. Huey Long
Guitarist Huey Long, the last surviving member of the doo-wop pioneers the Ink Spots, passed away Wednesday at his Houston home. The Sealy native was 105 years old, khou.com reported. Long got his start playing banjo in the Frank Davis Louisiana Jazz Band, one of Houston’s top Dixieland draws of…
What It’s Like To Get Outed On The Blogosphere
The famous blogger was on the computer in his mother’s basement when he got the news. A rival had uncovered his true identity and would soon reveal it to the world.And so John Blevins gathered his kids and went to lunch.Blevins, a professor at South Texas College of Law in…
Texas Traveler: Dr Pepper Texas
This is the week that the “Dublin” signs on the highway are changed to read Dr Pepper, Texas. The 118th Dublin Dr Pepper Birthday Festival climaxes this weekend with an exciting schedule of events, including live music by Layne Golden and the 10-2-4 Band. There is a charity run and…
Adopt That Cat Or Dog This Weekend — You Know You Want To
If you’ve been thinking about adopting a dog or cat, but just haven’t had the time to make it happen, here’s something that you’ll have a hard time making an excuse to miss: Friends of BARC is holding a “Wags to Whiskers” adoption drive June 20, from 12-4 p.m. It’s…
Aftermath: The Wild Moccasins at Mango’s
Every once in a while Houston will surprise you. There’s only so much back-and-forth about who’s a redneck and who cheats on his wife and who was responsible for 9/11 one man can absorb before he just wants to say “fuck it” and move back to Austin. Jesus H. Christ…
Stages Announces Its 2009-10 Season
Stages Theatre, still basking in the success of its Grey Gardens production, has announced its 2009-10 season lineup.There are a bunch of productions that are “regional premieres” but, it must be said, nothing as headline-grabbing as the musical about the Beale sisters.But it’s a solid series of productions, including:Southern Rapture…
Upcoming Events
Crawfish season is at its close, as noted by Robb Walsh last week, and you can catch the last big boil of the season at Calliope’s Po-Boy tomorrow, June 13. They’re serving up the biggest mudbugs of the year for $26.99 per person, which includes all-you-can-eat crawfish, corn, potatoes and…
Please Add to Our F*** List
Life is hard; we understand that all too well. Some days, the whole thing just seems meaningless and trite, not unlike like so many new American Idol runners-up who are being foisted upon the general public as if they are the second coming of Freddie Mercury, when they are in…
Aftermath: Susan Cowsill at Discovery Green
A sloping hillside full of people on blankets, kids running around, dogs lolling, and a fine band playing “Yellow Submarine” – this truly was what the whole Discovery Green concert series is about. Susan Cowsill and her band powered through a short set of their own material – as well…
Now That The Summer Heat Is Here: The Sweatiest Movies Ever
How ’bout this heat? Spring has officially finished her fleeting annual jaunt through SE Texas and abandoned us to Summer, which is set to squat uncomfortably upon us for the next five months like that hippo ballerina in Fantasia.Not that you were caught unawares, of course. After all, humidity is…
The Soda Fountain That Time Forgot
Driving by Huston’s Drugs on Washington Avenue, it’s easy to miss the small drugstore despite its royal blue, fantastically retro sign. Although the drugstore closed down sometime in the mid-1990s — forsaking its soda fountain and all its other contents to the ravages of time — not much had changed…
Seeing The Astros Without Getting Drunk? Umpossible! But Now, Possible
Hey Astros fans. Are you tired of the exorbitant prices you have to pay for booze at Astros games? Well, I’ve got good news. And I’ve got bad news.The good news is that the prices might be getting a lot damn cheaper real soon. The bad news is that the…
The Quality of Musical Discussion Here in Houston
… is right here: “YOU KNOW THEM HOES FELL OFF WHEN YOU STARTED ACTIN LIKE A BITCH PLAYIN WITH BARBIES.” Much, much more right here. Happy Friday! Almost forgot this one, from “God,” who, if he were truly omnipotent, would know the difference between “your” and “you’re”… and how to…
If You Live In The Boonies Of Fort Bend County, Beware The Rabid Skunks
If you live in Needville or “the unincorporated portion of Beasley,” the Fort Bend County Health & Human Services Department is warning you to stay away from skunks.We’ve never quite lived in a place where people had to be warned to stay away from skunks, but then again we’ve never…
Rioja’s Paella
The paella at Rioja restaurant on Kirkwood is one of the best I’ve ever eaten. You can get it at lunch with two tapas appetizers for $13. Paella is one of those dishes that can leave you completely indifferent or knock your socks off, depending on the skill of the…
Mack Brown’s Print-Loving Fans Enter The Fray
We wrote a while back about UT football coach Mack Brown’s diary of his trip to see the troops in Iraq and other places. We excerpted the rather significant time Brown seemed to spend complaining about conditions.It went national, with Deadspin picking it up. There was the usual feedback from…
Five Spot: Remembering “Five Star General” Big Hawk
Welcome back to Five Spot. Every Friday, we’ll examine a recent bit of music news and, sometimes awkwardly, tie it to a bit of Houston rap. It’s five videos and occasional cussing. Send tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. MTV’s Cribs has to be one of this generation’s finest cultural achievements. For anyone…
Can’t Join ‘Em? Sue ‘Em or Quit ‘Em!
Tony LaRussa and Trent Reznor are bona fide weenies. Yup. Weenies. As flaccid and dejected as they come. So to speak. In an embarrassing showing of overinflated celebrity egos, the Lifestyles of the Rich and Social Media Clueless has had the interwebs all atwitter as of late. As a result,…
Perry Signs New Law Designed To Improve Safety At State Schools
This week’s cover story, The Recruit, deals with state schools and the popular alternative: privately-owned group homes. Today, Governor Rick Perry signed into law a bill designed to improve the safety and quality of care for residents at state schools. “Whether these Texans live in a state facility or in…
Akron Reacts To Losing Their AD To UH, With A Shrug Of Its Shoulders
As we noted below, UH has itself a new athletic director — Mack Rhoades from the University of Akron, which we are reliably informed is in Ohio. Or somewhere around there.Speaking personally, we only know of the Akron Zips because that is the purgatory Gerry Faust was banished to for…
Openings and Closings
Anyone in the social media community in Houston will be familiar with the first closing of the past week, Sauté (2303 Richmond Avenue). On June 5, the erstwhile “new world Creole” restaurant broke the news via Twitter: “Our dear friends: Today we sadly announce we are closed. Had some great…
Local 7-Inches of the Week: A Ditchwater Double Dip
Dead Roses “Sleep Dep.”/ “Liar” Ditchwater Records Ralf Armin, Houston punk/glam pioneer and sometime Balaclavas sax-man could be the city’s most underrated musicians. Between his works with Truth Decay, the late lamented Swarm Of Angels, and his seminal work with The Pain Teens and Really Red, Armin has paved a…
BARC, Showing Its (In)Competence Once Again
Photo by Martin EveringtonThe captured dog, waiting for BARC, is at least in the shade now.Meet the latest dog who will likely wind up on one of those BARC meatwagons Hair Balls discussed Wednesday.The pictures come from a friend of Jerry Heinemeier, who owns a produce business by Old Spanish…
Breaking Up The Buffalo Bayou “Dam” By Studemont
Spencer Langford paddles his canoe west from Eleanor Tinsley Park along his usual route through Buffalo Bayou. He tries to get on the water every day. A nature buff, he notes the different species of birds, fish, turtles and snakes. But as he nears Studemont, by the dog park, he…
Local Motion: Top Sellers at Cactus Music, Sound Exchange, Soundwaves, Sig’s Lagoon and Vinal Edge
1. Ryan Bingham, Roadhouse Sun 2. Dave Matthews Band, Big Whiskey & the Groo-Grux King 3. Steve Earle, Townes 4. Grizzly Bear, Veckatimest 5. Elvis Costello, Secret, Profane & Sugarcane 6. Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood, Live at Madison Square Garden 7. Neil Young, Archives vol. 1 8. Crosby, Stills…
$7 at Poppa Burger Hamburger Stand
Where: Poppa Burger Hamburger Stand, 1622 N. Main St., 713-227-6721 What $7 gets you: A combination of two or three items from a menu that features just about anything you could expect from a roadside hamburger stand. It’s open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, even on holidays…
Guy Says He Has Scientific Proof Too Many People Get Sent To Jail
Considering the recent problems facing the Harris County jail, overcrowding and the high cost of keeping inmates locked up in this nose-dive economy, corrections expert Sean Hosman thinks he has a way to help: science.Hosman, CEO of Assessments.com, was in Houston this week talking at the Texas Corrections Association conference…
What You’ll Be Missing Tomorrow If You Don’t Get Your Digital-Converter TV Box
The Great Digital TV Revolution occurs tomorrow, and Hair Balls is worried for those of you still clinging to your rabbit ears and MacGyvered-aluminum-foil towers. While we applaud those who have drawn a line in the sand and refused to feed the cable and satellite beasts, we urge you to…
Local Album of the Week: Mango Punch’s Una Casita Blanca
Mango Punch Una Casita Blanca www.mangopunch.com Mango Punch’s Walter Shur is a great front man (as multiple Houston Press Music Awards wins prove), but his real talent lies in songwriting. His band Mango Punch’s new CD, Una Casita Blanca (A Little White House), shows Shur’s considerable range as a writer…
All-You-Can-Eat Seafood at the Monument Inn
The all-you-can-eat seafood dinner at the Monument Inn starts with a basket of boiled shrimp and a plate of oysters on the half shell, then continues with a basket of fried seafood. The basket is deceptive — it’s a lot deeper than it looks. There were around three dozen fried…
Swine Flu Is A Pandemic Now!!! Panic!! Or, In Houston, Don’t
The World Health Organization has declared swine flu to be a pandemic, the first in over 40 years.It’s doing it mostly on the basis of a sharp growth in cases in Australia, Japan and Chile, but just about every story on the subject — at least in America — mentions…
That Wasn’t A Bomb In The Municipal Court Parking Lot
Things got a little tense at Municipal Court this morning, and it wasn’t because of the usual BS changing-lanes-without-a-signal ticket.An attendant noticed a container in a pick-up truck that was yellow and marked with stickers saying “radioactive” and “danger.”He called the bomb squad.After some nervousness, it was determined the box…
Tonight: Wild Moccasins Tour Kickoff at Mango’s
June is a month of many new beginnings, a time for kids to graduate from the past and walk into the impending, uncertain future. So there’s no better time for Houston’s Wild Moccasins to set out on the band’s first-ever tour, imparting their keen knack for perfect melodies to listeners…
Tomato Fest at Bayou City Farmer’s Market
Tomato season has begun. And last Saturday the Bayou City Farmer’s Market celebrated the lipstick-red, round bottom fruits with their Fifth Annual Tomato Fest. The market felt more like a block party that day, with the usual vendors selling everything from eggs to homemade jam, with the added excitement of…
UH’s Choice For New Athletic Director: From USC Or Akron?
The University of Houston has supposedly narrowed its search for an Athletic Director to replace Dave Maggard down to two choices. The first choice is Brandon Martin, a former college basketball player for USC who is currently the senior associate AD for the Trojans. The second choice is Mack Rhoades,…
Defending the Polka: Mark Halata of Texavia
Polka may be a musical punchline to a lot of people, but it’s no joke to others. That’s why no one was laughing when the Recording Academy announced last week that it was eliminating the Best Polka Recording category starting with next year’s awards. As reported in The New York…
KUHT Claims Success In Fund-Raising Drive, Needs More
KUHT’s big summer drive to make up its Ike-caused shortfall began a little over two weeks ago, and it’s already a big success.The station says it aimed to raise $550,000 (these figures always seem fluid) and they surpassed it, bringing in $632,867and adding 1,570 members to the current 39,000.That’s a…
Cafe: What’s a Salumeria?
Poscol, Marco Wiles’s fabulous new Italian joint on Westheimer, is the subject of this week’s Cafe review. While I raved about the food I ate there, I also whined about the cured meats. Wiles calls the place an enoteca (wine bar) and salumeria (cured meat shop). But if you have…
Remembering 1969, Part 2: The View from Brazil
Note: Part 1 is here. While anti-Vietnam protests escalated in both sides of the Atlantic , the scenario was quite different in Brazil: in March 1964, a military junta toppled democratically elected president João Goulart and installed a cruel dictatorship that stayed in power for two decades – in 1968,…
Be Prepared: This Version Of Cabaret Has Some Serious Bling At The Kit Kat Club
Ditching the sometimes darker approach, the upcoming version of Cabaret that Theatre Under the Stars is bringing to Houston delights in what some critics have called “Vegasy” glitter, but director Bill Berry and his design team maintain is far closer to the truth than what’s been shown previously. Actually, they…
Apparently, Crazy Shit Can Go Down When You’re Pregnant
I never thought pregnancy could be so crazy.Apparently, I was wrong.Now calm down, gentle readers. The fates have not yet conspired to allow Miss Pop Rocks to breed (perhaps there’s an overabundance of snark at the moment and the universe does not need anymore), but this thought crossed my mind…
Eyeballin’: The Moody Blues at the Isle of Wight Festival
Held each year between 1968 and 1970, England’s Isle of Wight Festival was the premier outdoor rock party for the British counterculture. The last edition (before its recent revival) proved the largest-attended (600,000!) and best, with a lineup that included Jimi Hendrix in his last major performance, the Doors, the…
Museum of Dysfunction II: A Showcase of Shorts
Check out a slew of new works by the members of Mildred’s Umbrella Theater Company at Museum of Dysfunction II: A Showcase of Shorts. Included is Sara Patterson’s play Turned, about a young woman who discovers that everything isn’t what it seems in her relationship, and Timothy Evers’s Lonely Odd…
Menil Movies: Cinematic Works from the Menil Archives
When you think of an art film, you usually think of something with subtitles, directed by Bergman. How about an actual art film — you know, something about art and the artists who make it? The film archives at The Menil Collection are replete with art movies of every stripe,…
The Art Guys Marry a Plant
You know how opponents of gay marriage often express concern that allowing it will lead to other “nontraditional” marriages, like those between people and, say, cows? Well, their worst nightmare will come true in today’s The Art Guys Marry a Plant. As part of the ongoing exhibition “No Zoning: Artists…
Throw Down Your Heart
American musician Bela Fleck, who has 20 Grammy nominations for his work, goes to Africa to trace the roots of the banjo in Sascha Paladino’s new documentary Throw Down Your Heart. Recording an album during his visit, Fleck travels to Tanzania, Mali, Uganda and The Gambia, meeting musicians from backgrounds…
Jacuzzi Movies
Watch a short film in your short shorts at Jacuzzi Movies. Andrea Grover, founder of Aurora Picture Show, is setting up a Jacuzzi on the back lawn of the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston during a screening of Touched By Water, and a few lucky filmgoers will be able to take…
Closely Watched Trains
One of Time’s All-Time 100 Movies, Closely Watched Trains is a coming-of-age story set in German-occupied Czechoslovakia during WWII. Teenage Milos, a dispatch apprentice at a village train station, is unaware of the country’s increasingly tense political situation. He’s more concerned with his own sexual awakening. As he tentatively makes…
Cabaret
Oh, those naughty girls of the Kit Kat Klub — they’re back and lovelier than ever in the brand-new, totally revamped revival of Cabaret from Theatre Under the Stars. According to Lauren Lovell, TUTS’s public relations manager, the revival of the musical about a German club in the 1930s is…
Canal Street Gallery; “Par Avion”
Houston artist Gordon Phillipson grew up making model airplanes in his native Jamaica. Those childhood memories are the inspiration for his art exhibit “Par Avion,” currently at Canal Street Gallery. In press materials, Phillipson says, “It’s a craze, really, my passion for airplanes. It’s almost as if I don’t want…
Swan Lake
Prince needs wife. Prince meets swan. Swan turns out to be a princess, but is trapped in her avian form by a sinister spell. Love, hardship and a million pirouettes ensue as the Houston Ballet wraps up its 2008-2009 season with the mother of all ballet classics, Swan Lake. Artistic…
The Boys in the Band
In 1968, a full year before the era-changing Stonewall Riots put gays in the headlines, Mort Crowley’s play Boys in the Band put them onstage, right in the face of blue-haired old ladies, during the Saturday matinee. This seminal work, equally praised and condemned, is considered the mother of all…
Summer Israeli Film Series: Riki Riki
The winner of the Best Feature Film award at The World of Comedy International Film Festival in 2005, Aitan Anner’s Riki Riki kicks off the 2009 Summer Israeli Film Series. The romantic comedy features Riki, a young woman who’s disappointed when her boyfriend, instead of asking her to marry him,…
Mildred’s Umbrella Theater — Aesop’s Fables
Mildred’s Umbrella Theater troupe brings Aesop’s Fables to life during a performance today at the Central Library. Kids will enjoy stagings of The Boy Who Cried Wolf, The Tortoise and the Hare and The Fox and the Grapes. 10:30 a.m. 500 McKinney. For information, call 832-393-1313 or visit www.houstonlibrary.org. Free…
2009 Summer Children’s Movie Series
It’s Houston. It’s summer. That means it’s hot, hot, hot, and parents are looking for a way to entertain the kids while staying cool at the same time. Try the 2009 Summer Children’s Movie Series at both Houston Studio Movie Grill locations. This week’s flick is Because of Winn Dixie,…
Lost and Found Summer Art Workshop
This summer, tell the kids to put down those coloring books — Blaffer Gallery’s Lost and Found Summer Art Workshop will show them that art can be more than trying to stay within the lines of SpongeBob’s head. Under the direction of artist Patrick Renner, they’ll tour the “Existed: Leonardo…
Who’s Who in Black Houston
Meet more than a dozen of Houston’s most prominent black leaders at Who’s Who in Black Houston at the Houston Public Library. A book signing with artist Bert Long Jr., jurist Calvin Botley and community activist Judson W. Robinson III, among others, is the centerpiece of today’s event, but there’s…
“The Cinema of George Lucas”
You won’t have to go to a galaxy far, far away to enjoy “The Cinema of George Lucas” exhibit — just get over to Space Center Houston. On display are dozens of props, costumes and artifacts from Lucas’s private collection, amassed during more than 30 years of filmmaking. Of course,…
Golden Beginnings Golden Retriever Rescue Benefit
Calling all Parrot-heads, it’s time to cruise by Golden Retriever-Ville, a.k.a. the Golden Beginnings Golden Retriever Rescue Benefit. This is a “Margaritaville”-style party a la Jimmy Buffet, but with pooches. Island-style munchies will be provided by Bayou City Seafood, along with plenty of booze. The highlight of the evening is…
Mark Todd: “Oh, Man.”
Comic books, cars, fire, Kurt Russell — it’s no wonder Mark Todd calls his exhibition “Oh, Man.” Because that’s exactly the kind of stunned/amazed response his paintings and illustrations coax from viewers (mostly nerds). Todd re-creates vintage comic book covers and adds his own embellishments — lightning bolts, flames, rockets…
Blew Notes Trio with Abiodun Oyewole
Spoken-word artist Abiodun Oyewole appears today as part of The Blew Notes Trio’s mixed-media performance at the Miller Outdoor Theatre. Blew Notes actually isn’t always a trio, but a loose collection of musicians and performance and visual artists. Oyewole is a founding member of The Last Poets. Organized in 1968,…
Wild About Wine
It promises to be a zoo at the Wild About Wine fund-raiser for the Center for Ecosystem Survival. Hosted by the Galveston Chapter of the American Association of Zookeepers, Wild About Wine features lots and lots of local wines and up-close encounters with Moody Garden’s marine animals. If you’d rather…
Beer Feast
Take sides in the Beer Wars during today’s Beer Feast, a special screening of the documentary accompanied by a gourmet dinner with each course paired with craft brews featured in the film. Both Beer Wars director Anat Baron and Dogfish Head brewery’s Claus Hagelman will be in attendance. “They’ll be…
Crawl for Cancer
The Harris County Hospital District Breast Care Center for Excellence is giving folks an alternative to the usual stuffy black-tie fund-raising galas — Crawl for Cancer, a Midtown club crawl. You raise money for cancer treatment and research and get blotto drunk at the same time. (Okay, maybe blotto isn’t…
Black Acre Theatre: Love Song
They’re both under 25 years old, kinda young to be the heads of a theater troupe, but Ben Chai and Mary Black are exactly that. Founders of Houston’s newest youth theater, Black Acre Theatre, Chai and Black also act in the group’s first production, Love Song. John Kolvenbach’s comedy about…
E.T.
Who can forget that heart-melting moment in Steven Spielberg’s alien flick E.T. — “E.T. go home”? Or Drew Barrymore’s piercing screams when she first sees the little guy? Well, you can relive the magic this weekend with your choice of four screenings. 12:30 and 3:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Alamo…
Loco Comedy Jam
Emmy Award winner Mike Robles hosts an evening of Latino laughs at Loco Comedy Jam. The caustic comic has a bit of an edge to his humor: “My routine is ranting and raving. I don’t come out on stage with a list of what to talk about,” he admits. But…
Guantanamera
It’s all about death and love, love and death in the 1995 Cuban film Guantanamera. In the movie, Gina’s aunt dies during a visit, and Gina must return the body home. Gina’s loud and bossy husband takes over everything (just like he usually does), leaving Gina time to reflect on…
Urban Fiction Book Club: Angel by Teri Woods
Like hard-edged fiction written by authors unafraid of looking at the grittier side of life? Drop by today’s meeting of the Urban Fiction Book Club and discuss Angel by Teri Woods. The tough alter ego of good girl Kareemah, Angel eliminates anyone who gets in her way as she makes…
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi scored a victory for women in 2007 when she became the first female Speaker of the House. Yes, her wealth and political connections helped, but you don’t become second in line for the presidency without formidable intelligence and ambition, no matter your gender. And, as an archetypal California…
Gabriel Prusmack: “Street Tempted”
Gabriel Prusmack’s exhibit “Street Tempted” combines stencils, graffiti, installation and found art. Paintings on found material are adhered to the gallery’s walls and incorporated into larger images, making the four walls one seamless work of art. The 21-year-old Prusmack is quickly making a name for himself in Houston outsider art…
D. L. Hughley
This is the first chance Houston will have to see comedian D.L. Hughley in concert since CNN canceled his show D.L. Hughley Breaks the News. Seems Hughley’s brand of low-brow humor was a little too low for the news station’s audience. (What? Calling the GOP political convention “Nazi Germany” didn’t…
Gipsy Kings
With the release of their eponymous fusion masterpiece in 1988, the Gipsy Kings’ blend of the ornate styles of traditional flamenco with Western pop, Latin rhythms and anything else that caught their ear began catching the attention of listeners around the world. For two decades, the Kings’ eight voices and…
THE MARQUIS II’S LONG ISLAND ICED TEA
Outlined against a blue neon beer sign, the Four Horsemen rode again. In dramatic lore they are known as famine, pestilence, destruction and death. These are only aliases. Their real names are: tequila, rum, vodka and gin. They formed the crest of the booze cyclone that swept me and my…
“Gabacho” isn’t the only bad word we’ve got for you…
Dear Mexican, I was riding the local light rail when two female Mexicans sat down and started talking rapid-fire Spanish nonstop for 45 minutes! It seemed as if neither one stopped to take a breath of air. They were loud and could be heard the length of the train. Question:…
Crocodiles: Summer of Hate
New Wave pop glimmer, meet noisy, lo-fi reverb; you’ll be working together closely on Summer of Hate, the debut from San Diego’s Crocodiles. Intimately, one might say — there’ll be times when the two of you are so intertwined that you’ll find it tough to say where one ends and…
Big Flavors, Little Tables
Maybe the tender braised baby octopus in a light brown sauce with cannellini beans and carrot chunks was my favorite dish at Poscol. I had the stew of tiny tentacles and white beans with a Piedmonte Arneis, a white wine made with a rare Italian varietal. The wine was probably…
Grizzly Bear: Veckatimest
It’s still quite shocking that Grizzly Bear’s debut, Yellow House, caused the commotion it did. The Brooklyn four-piece was clearly adept at exploring harmonies that intermingled within fairly odd, acoustic-backed arrangements — but instead of words, often they cooed their way through much of the record. In that sense, Veckatimest…
Staggering Something
Midway through A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers’s solipsistic, terminally-apologetic-for-being-solipsistic portrait-of-the-artist-as-a-young-slacker-messiah, the author, upon interviewing to become a cast member of MTV’s The Real World, makes the following observation about his generation of self-obsessed, media-savvy technobrats: “These are people for whom the idea of anonymity is existentially irrational,…
J’Accuse!
Director Kirby Dick doesn’t actually stick his camera under any Capitol Hill bathroom stalls in the new documentary Outrage, but his goal is more or less the same: to catch conservative, family-values politicians with their pants down. Armed with a chorus of incriminating voices from across the alternative press and…
Mack Brown vs. Iraq & John Lomax vs. a Metro bus
Sports Mack Brown, Grumpy Old Man He travels to Iraq and complains and complains by Richard Connelly Mack Brown, along with a handful of other NCAA coaches, is making a goodwill visit to the troops in Germany, Iraq and Kuwait. (He’s following in the footsteps of a coach at an…
Byrne’s Eye View
We can forgive the Presidential Inauguration Committee for leaving David Byrne out of January’s Obama festivities. After all, when you’re trying to reach millions of Americans, Bruce Springsteen is about as populist as you can get. And Aretha Franklin probably represents the collapse of racial barriers more than any other…
That’s the Spot
Each month during the summer and fall, testosterone-driven awesomeness takes over Gary’s Spot (14083 FM 2920) in Tomball at “Blood, Sweat and Beers.” Gary’s Spot is a suburban mega-bar (think Scout Bar, 18307 Egret Bay, Clear Lake) that was opened by Gary Crawford in 2005. It’s big and dark, and…
One-Woman Wrecking Crew
Teacher Conference Great article: My sister, who was a kindergarten Gifted and Talented teacher, was initially told her contract would not be renewed for the coming year [“Let the Record Reflect,” by Margaret Downing, June 4]. Apparently, when a school in HISD doesn’t renew your contract, it means you are…
Hey, Dude
Men — you know them — those grunting, garage-dwelling, television-loving Neanderthals women so graciously put up with because women are so…well…magical. Rob Becker created Defending the Caveman, the one-man show that more or less defines men and women this way. Since the early ’90s, his cellophane-deep script, which is most…
Capsule Art Reviews: “The Art Guys: New Clichés,” “Literally Figurative,” “Measuring Your Own Grave”
“The Art Guys: New Clichés” With “New Clichés,” the Art Guys present recent work still rooted in the familiar blend of bizarre humor and smart, confident swagger we’ve long associated with the names Jack Massing and Michael Galbreth. They are avid, eager experimentalists in process and materials. It’s as intriguing…
Yo! MTV Rap Fest
I can’t help but approach the Yo! MTV Rap Fest, a show I’m just gonna assume MTV has nothing to do with, with both fond nostalgia and pity. Sure, the show features some of the most recognizable names of late-’80s/early-’90s hip-hop: Naughty By Nature, Big Daddy Kane, Rob Base, Live…
Capsule Stage Reviews: Beauty Queen of Leenane, Big Range Dance Festival, Complete Works of William Shakespeare…Abridged, Urinetown
Beauty Queen of Leenane If you know anything about the works of playwright Martin McDonagh (The Pillowman, Lieutenant of Inishmore), then you’re well aware that his vision of Ireland does not include leprechauns, four-leaf clovers or pots of gold. His plays are infamous for their willful violence, black-as-pitch humor and…
Girl Star, Grown Up
The Cowsills became a national bubblegum-rock sensation when MGM released “The Rain, The Park, and Other Things” in 1967. Seven-year-old Susan Cowsill began her career in 1968 when she joined the family band prior to recording the evergreen hit “Indian Lake.” So who would a seven-year-old pop star listen to…
O Pioneers!!!: Neon Creeps
Song titles can be misleading. In the case of Houston trio O Pioneers!!!, for example, “Saved by the Bell Was a Super Good Show” doesn’t dwell on Zack Morris, and “The Architect of Disney World” isn’t about a theme park. Rather, nearly every song is about venting in the face…
The Recruit
In a closet in his dorm room at Richmond State School, Trevor Falk keeps his one nice suit. The 24-year-old with Down syndrome wears it on Sundays when he attends church services, and he usually makes the five-minute walk to the school’s chapel with the two roommates he calls friends…
Keri Hilson
As a member of songwriting fraternity The Clutch, Atlanta’s Keri Hilson has been writing hit songs for artists like Britney Spears and Ciara for years. But she first gained fame as a singer in her own right on Timbaland’s 2007 grammatically curious “The Way I Are,” arguably the most addictive…
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
Want to know how a city works? Start by watching 1974’s The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, a primer in which subway hijackers test how long it’ll take a million bucks to pass through Gotham’s plumbing. Turns out an hour is just enough time to roust the hated mayor…
David Allan Coe
Stifle yourself, Steve Earle. Lower that middle finger, Hank III. Take another hit from that spliff, Willie Nelson. And then all of you step aside. When it comes to insurgency, you guys pale compared to that cantankerous country crooner David Allan Coe. Banished to reform school at age nine, he…
Garnaxa
Sara Zapian, the owner of new tapas bar Garnaxa (5213 Cedar, 713-667-3030), led an interesting life before moving here from Mexico seven years ago. She has been a photographer as well as a pilot, but it was her love of food that led her to culinary school in Houston. Almost…
Joe Cocker
The songman born John Robert Cocker has always possessed a grittier, more soulful voice than anyone would expect from a northern Brit. But Cocker, a fan of Ray Charles and company since childhood, honed his own vocal instrument with an authentic bluesy grit only enhanced, over time, by his own…
Nothing’s Missing at Brisa Cocina Mexicana
The salchi-burger ($9) at Brisa Cocina Mexicana (5161 San Felipe, 713-993-9899) is the perfect marriage of pork and beef with Mexican ingredients, an overloaded burger that tastes sensational. The sandwich consists of a sesame seed-coated yeast bun, smeared with jalapeño mayonnaise and refried beans, topped with a half-pound beef patty,…
