City Councilwoman Helena Brown Tried to Force Out Staffer for Pregnancy, Letter Says
City Councilwoman Helena Brown, of District A, wouldn’t allow six staff members to leave a meeting last April until everyone signed a document saying Brown had told a 22-year-old staffer she should seek medical care because of her pregnancy, according to a letter that employee filed with Mayor Pro Tem…
Chef Chat, Part 1: Erin Smith of Plonk Bistro, on Her Externship at Per Se
Erin Smith Plonk Bistro 1214 West 43rd Street 713-290-1070 www.plonkbistro.com This is the first part of a three-part chef chat series. Look for Part 2 and Part 3 in this space Thursday and Friday. There are just a handful of female executive chefs in Houston, and at 29, Erin Smith…
100 Favorite Dishes 2012: No. 62, Torta Burger at El Gran Malo
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…
Dynamo Shut Out Chicago, Themselves
The only action at BBVA Compass Stadium last night was the pre-Fourth of July firework show following the supposed match between the Dynamo and the Chicago Fire. A sellout crowd turned out to witness a 0-0 snooze fest between the two MLS clubs. The Dynamo looked like they lost a…
Reality Bites: Haunted Highway
I tried to stay away, really I did. After my last foray into paranormal reality shenanigans, I decided the wiser course of action was to ignore the subgenre entirely and hope I hadn’t engendered permanent ill will among the sinister denizens of the infernal regions. But with July 4 looming,…
Local Foods Stays True to Its Name
Sometimes restaurants have the kind of simple, straightforward names that let you know exactly what to expect there: That Pizza Place On Ella, for example, or the subject of this week’s cafe review, Local Foods. True to its name, Local Foods — the little sister deli to big sister benjy’s,…
July 4th Travesty: Joey Chestnut’s Annual Hot Dog Beatdown to Be Tape Delayed!
First and foremost, I want to wish a very happy Independence Day to all of the people who read this blog and listen to my radio show, and more than anything else pay thanks and tribute to all of our troops past, present, and future who protect our freedom. Their…
Sundae Sundays: 59 Diner
As I now live very close to both an Amy’s Ice Cream and a 59 Diner, the temptation to get ice cream during the evening is hard to resist. On a recent Sunday I was in the mood for structure and formality — specifically, a glass ice cream dish and…
Top 6 Rap Songs That Criticize the USA
Word to your mamas, sucka emcees. It’s the Fourth of July (or, as the Native American guy that I went to college with used to half-jokingly refer to it, “The Most Fucked Up Holiday I Can Think Of… Why Don’t We Just Go Ahead And Start Celebrating 9/11, Because That’s…
Yankee Doodle Dandy: A Massive George M. Cohan Song List Comes to Miller Outdoor Theatre Thanks to TUTS
James A. Rocco was lying on a beach in Cancun talking with friends about the origins of musical theater when it came to him that George M. Cohan, the man who wrote more than 500 songs and jump-started the American musical into being, was not getting his due. So Rocco…
Texan Porn Stars Share Their 4th of July Plans (Sadly, They Don’t Involve Us)
Ah, the 4th — a day for friends and family to hit the grill and the swimming pool; a day to celebrate what it truly means to be American. And besides burgers sizzling on the grill and the drunken detonation of fireworks that come perilously close to blowing off your…
Top 5 Bakeries in The Woodlands
Confession: I have a serious addiction to baked goods. This addiction includes — but is certainly not limited to — cakes, brownies, muffins, bagels, cookies, wheat breads, pies, donuts, cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, kolaches, danishes and pastries of all sorts. When it comes to these divine carb-filled treats, I just can’t…
6 Non-Yank Bands Who Wrote American Anthems
Some of the most definitive “all-American” rock anthems were written by bands who not originally from the United States. Think about it… what are some rock and roll staples that remind you of our beloved country, which gave us the freedom to rock? “The Boys Are Back In Town” “We…
Movies Released Over July 4: The Good, the Bad and the Meh
With Houston’s heat and humidity, most of you will no doubt be retreating into the cold and comfortable movie houses across the city and into the suburbs. And why not, there are always a handful of dumb flicks to numb your brain with. Pick one, preferably with superheroes, explosions, aliens,…
Comment of the Day: The “I’m From Texas” Edition
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 or afternoon from the previous day’s work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous…
Hank Williams Jr.’s Top 10 Patriotic Lyrics
As 2012 reaches the halfway point, one of the most gratifying musical comebacks has been none other than Bocephus himself, Hank Williams Jr. It’s not a very long list, either – the Beach Boys, Fiona Apple, and now the late-breaking Blur; we’re still not sure Chris Brown and Beach House…
My Personal Boycott on Burger King Bacon Sundaes
I like bacon, but I’m not one of those crazy “bacon on everything, please” people. I got a big kick out of the article our own Katharine Shilcutt wrote this past January about “The Bacon Backlash,” complete with a list of things that bacon does not make better. (Surprise! The…
The Astros And The Fourth of July: 10 Moments to Remember
This is the Astros final season in the National League. And since I was asked to provide a Fourth of July holiday post, I thought I would like back at some of the Astros games played on the holiday. There have been some memorable games, and some not so memorable…
GG Allin: Remembering the GGreat American Hero
This past weekend marked the anniversary of the death of GG Allin. Described as “the most spectacular degenerate in rock and roll history,” he died from an accidental heroin overdose on June 28, 1993. It’s only proper that we remember his legacy on July 4. Allin’s onstage violence and off-stage…
What’s Cooking on Pinterest? Nutella Mug Cake
Baking a cake takes time and effort; especially if it is from scratch, but what if you could make a cake from scratch in less than five minutes? Too good to be true? I disagree. Mug cakes are the perfect way to have your cake and eat it too. Pinterest…
100 Creatives 2012: Elizabeth Keel, Playwright
Houston playwright Elizabeth Keel was always interested in the arts. From the early age of four, she was already always reading and writing. While attending Robert E. Lee High School in Virginia, she tried her hand at acting, but by the time she had finished school, she’d realized that writing…
5 Fourth of July Sports Moments
Though only a few sports are in full swing in July, all sorts of marvelous, bizarre and messed up sports moments have occurred on America’s Independence Day. Here are five of them…
How Whiny Is Spidey This Time?
According to Spider-Man movies, the greatest triumph that Spider-Man ever achieves is finding it within himself to arachnid up every day. Has any other hero ever moped so much about being gifted with superstrength, -agility and -love interests? This from a guy who can swing on his wrists’ magic ejaculate…
Start the Revolution! 10 Songs About Historical Events
If you ever look at music throughout time, along with a history book — they kind of complement each other. Some of the greatest songs in rock, R&B and rap have chronicled history both social, major news events, sports, entertainment and political. In my opinion, many times, the song is…
This Week In Food Blogs: BevNaps and Designated Hipster Seating
Delicious Mischief: If you have been lucky enough to get your hands on some dewberries — one of the great edible treats in the Texas summers — radio host John DeMers has a great idea for what you should do with them… Make dewberry cobbler, of course. Blue Jean Gourmet:…
Masters of Fate: The Best Roommates Give You Techno
I met Madeline Malka back in the days when we were both regular Dr. Frank-N-Furters in the River Oaks Rocky Horror Picture Show cast, and she’s always been a bit… off. Lovely girl, talented to boot, but hanging out with her is sort of like hosting a rave inside an…
UPDATED: Kathryn Murray Is the Latest Teacher Accused of Having Sex with a 15-Year-Old Student
UPDATE: Harris County prosecutors have filed three additional felony charges against former Spring Branch ISD teacher Kathryn “Camille” Murray, who is already dealing with sexual assault charges over a relationship she had with the same 15-year-old student. The boy told his parents that he had sex with Murray, 29, three…
William Trey Ross, 26, Investigation Continues in Drive By Shooting, Bayou Body Count No. 92
Police are seeking help in locating a suspect in the shooting of William Trey Ross, 26, of Houston. Ross was shot inside his vehicle at 10300 South Gessner about 7:50 p.m. Friday, June 29. An unidentified male passenger was also shot and wounded. The passenger was treated and released fro…
Chron Admits Journatic Stories May Have Had Fake Bylines
Tucked neatly beneath a photo of Pitbull and next to the lotto numbers in Tuesday’s Houston Chronicle A section (page 2, if you’re curious) was a “Note to our readers” that detailed the Chron’s recent discovery that stories provided to them by Journatic and affiliate Blockshopper had used pseudonyms instead…
Rosharon Lummus: Mom of the Year Candidate, Gets Middle Schoolers Drunk at Birthday Party, then Attacks Mom with Butcher Knife (Allegedly)
Keystone Beer, a quartet of middle schoolers and 38-year-old Rosharon Lummus are a combustible combination, at least if what Anderson County authorities are saying is true. According to Tylerpaper.com and sheriff Greg Taylor, Lummus hosted a birthday party on a country road southwest of Palestine that began last Tuesday and…
100 Favorite Dishes 2012: No. 63, Macaroni and Cheese at Vic & Anthony’s Steakhouse
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…
DVDs & Blu-rays: Some Guy Who Kills People, The American Dream and Chesty Morgan’s Bosom Buddies
Some Guy Who Kills People stars Kevin Corrigan, Karen Black and Barry Bostwick; Jack Perez directs. Jack Perez’s Some Guy Who Kills People is the best kind of splatter film — one that doesn’t take itself seriously. The black comedy features Kevin Corrigan as a loser who gets abused by…
Red, White, and Blue Fudge: A Cautionary Tale
Although the Fourth of July is not my favorite holiday (that honor goes to Halloween), I’m always happy for an excuse to to make themed confections. And after learning that up to 21 percent of Americans have no plans to celebrate the holiday (projection, not fact), I felt like I…
Marcie Chapa Gives Freedom Over Texas a Beat
With all due respect to pop-country stars Sara Evans and Billy Currington, the real show-stopper at the City of Houston’s Freedom Over Texas July 4 celebration in Eleanor Tinsley Park Wednesday might be the Ernest Walker Band, the jazz/R&B/funk/Latin table-setters whose ranks — all of them with Houston connections –…
Reviews for the Lazy Gamer: TheatRhythm Final Fantasy
The Game: TheatRhythm Final Fantasy Platform: 3DS Publisher/Developer: Square Enix/indieszero Genre: Rhythm play Describe This Game in Three Words: Most Magic Music…
Intertek Oil and Gas Workers Screwed Out of Moolah, Says Lawsuit
Local oil, gas and chemical inspectors have been getting jipped out of overtime wages, according to a collective action lawsuit that was recently granted approval by a judge in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Texas. According to the suit, employees for Houston-based Intertek USA, Inc. haven’t…
A July 4 Playlist That Goes Boom!
July 4 is truly America’s national holiday, because it combines two of the country’s grandest traditions: Taking the day off work and blowing shit up. Because freedom isn’t free, fireworks and other explosives are embedded in America’s formative myths and our national character. Also, they’re pretty and make loud noises…
Eat Fajitas in Your Underwear for Less, or Put Pants on and Get Half-off at Samba Grille
Putting on pants — so much effort, right? Don’t you wish you could just leave those trousers crumpled up on the floor, and have a big ol’ batch of fajitas delivered right to your door? Wish no more, friends: The time for pantsless fajitas is now. Save 50 percent ($25…
Dear Abby: Happy Birthday, Can I Take Over Your Column?
There is so much to celebrate on July 4: our country’s independence, hot dogs without nitrates and Pauline Phillips’s 94th birthday! Who? Pauline Phillips is also known as Abigail Van Buren and even more known as the one and only advice guru Dear Abby. As an Abby myself, I have…
Lenwood Johnson: Trying to Save a Last Shred of Freedmen’s Town History
And so, after all these years of condofication, it has come to this: one last row of shotgun houses in the Fourth Ward. The transformation from funky and proud Freedmen’s Town to go-go, oontz-oontz Midtown is almost complete. Gone or boarded up are several historic churches, the Fa Real bar,…
Don’t Tread on Me: The Top 10 Musical Celebrations of American Might
Rock and pop music in the United States has earned a distinguished reputation for quality protest anthems and anti-war songs, from Country Joe and the Fish all the way up to friggin’ Green Day. And that’s great; it really is. Not only are many of the tunes timeless, but criticism…
Where Are We Drinking? Clue: It’s Deli-cious
At this delicatessen, nearly everything on the menu — both food and drink — is all Texan. That includes the wines, such as a refreshing glass of McPherson Roussanne or the blushing Becker Vineyards Provençal Rosé shown below. Think you know where we’re drinking this week? Leave your best guess…
RIP Andy Griffith: Beloved Actor and Gospel Musician Dies at 86
Andy Griffith, the honey-drawling North Carolinian who spent decades on television as rural America’s favorite sheriff and later a wily but folksy Atlanta lawyer, passed away Tuesday morning at age 86, according to E! Online. Former University of North Carolina president Bill Friday, a good friend of Griffith’s, told Washington,…
Comment of the Day: Don’t Steal My Beer
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 or afternoon from the previous day’s work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous…
Bullying Takes Center Stage in The Poets
The setup: A young poet is rejected by his father and bullied at school by a classmate for not measuring up to their concept of masculinity. The execution: The focal point of the set is the bedroom of Santiago, a young poet in-the-making, living with his mother Anita, who has…
Do You Need a Silpat? Yes, But You Can’t Have Mine
When I got married, I registered for one Silpat baking sheet, but I got three — and I kept them all. Sure, maybe it’s because I’m too lazy to go through the trouble of a return (we kept all nine of the king-size pillows we received, even though we only…
Rap Round Table: Who Is the Greatest Movie Villain of All Time?
Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Each week, Rocks Off will have some of them here discussing issues relevant to their culture. This Week’s Panel: E.S.G., Marcus Manchild, Renzo, Kyle Hubbard, Purple Bastard, Preemo, Mic Skills, Mac, more. Not Invited: Michael Myers, because fuck that guy. This Week’s…
You Know You’re a Texan If…12 Ways to Know for Sure
We Texans are a proud folk. We think of our state as its own little country and love to point out we are the only state in the union not annexed — we signed a treaty — and that affords us a certain let’s call it swagger. A lot of…
Venomous Maximus Head Out Onto the Highway For Summer Tour
Summer is the season for Houston bands to hit the road for tours, and Houston’s metal demons Venomous Maximus are heading out onto the highway themselves. Tonight at Rudyard’s the group throws a tour fundraiser/kickoff with friends the American Heist and A Dream Asleep. On July 13, the band sets…
The Houston Arts Resource Fair Is Coming to Town
Of the many distinguishing characteristics that define Houston, the city’s vibrant art culture rises to the top. Houston’s various arts organizations and museums are not just known around these parts, but have garnered notoriety around the globe. But it’s not just the art itself that sets Houston apart from other…
Skinny Sweets: 4th of July Red, White & Blue(berry) Cheesecake Bars
Need a quick and easy dessert for your 4th of July barbecue party? This low-fat berry-filled Red, White and Blue Cheesecake is the perfect way to get your summer sweet on. Blueberries, raspberries and strawberries bring the dessert American flair and double bonus: tons of antioxidants! Add reduced-fat cream cheese,…
Reviews for the Easily Distracted: The Amazing Spider-Man
Title: The Amazing Spider-Man Is He Strong? Listen, bud, he’s got radioactive blood. Can He Swing from a Web? Careful, you’re going to give people the impression this movie’s more fun that it actually is. Rating Using Random Objects Relevant to the Film: Two and a half skinks out of…
Michael Jordan’s Son Smiles Pretty For His Mugshot
Michael Jordan was having a pretty good week. The owner of the Charlotte Bobcats stayed out of the way of his team’s draft just long enough for them to actually make the correct pick with the number two overall selection (Michael Kidd-Gilchrist), the first step on the long road to…
Anthony Bourdain Heads to Cook It Raw
What does the chef and owner of the world’s best restaurant do in his spare time? He finds ways to make cooking more challenging and intellectually stimulating. Rene Redzepi, of the famous NOMA in Copenhagen, also founded Cook It Raw. CIR is a food event that gathers 15 chefs in…
5 Really Ridiculous Art Vandalisms
What was Uriel Landeros thinking when he strolled into The Menil Collection and jacked up a Pablo Picasso? That’s the thing. He wasn’t. That’s why there’s a warrant out for his arrest. “I do know the repair, [currently] in the conservation lab, is going very well, all due to the…
Know Your Local Media: Jim Kovacik of 97.9 The Box Talks About Being White and The Atascocita Thugz
It is difficult surviving local music radio in any city, but Houston in particular. Imagine doing that when you are basically the antithesis of the stereotype most assigned to your position. Think a punk rocker working at a country station. Jim Kovacik — Jimbo or Jimbeazy as he is known…
Upcoming: Bunny Gang, Daniel Johnston, the Features, Mission of Burma, etc.
Amplified Heat, Slow Motion Rider: Sat., July 14, 10 p.m., $7. Rudyard’s, 2010 Waugh, Houston. Antibalas: Wed., Oct. 10, 8 p.m., $15. Warehouse Live, 813 St. Emanuel, Houston. “Asylum” With Ceeplus Bad Knives, Mr. Castillo: Sat., July 28, 9 p.m., Free. The Fairview, 315 Fairview, Houston. Bunny Gang: Tue., July 24, 8 p.m., $10/$12. Warehouse Live, 813 St…
Trader Joe’s: Texas’s Newest Sensation
What do you get when you take a grocery store with a jazillion specialty products, organic produce and flavorful freezer food and intertwine it with low prices throughout, then sprinkle it with a laid-back Hawaiian vibe? Trader Joe’s. The specialty store, whose roots lie in the small town of Monrovia,…
UT Hacks Unmanned Drone, Homeland Security Concerned
In February, when the U.S. decided to open the skies to unmanned drones by 2015, people nervously imagined Big Brother tracking them constantly from above. Now that’s the least of their worries. Last week, a team of researchers at University of Texas showed that it’s pretty easy to hack — or “spoof”…
5 Censorships That Were Good Ideas
Censorship is generally a bad thing, especially when you’ve got a government trying to keep any… unpatriotic thoughts under wraps in order to maintain its own power over the national dialogue. I’m not saying that has never happened in good old ‘Merica, but I will say that it’s not really…
The Texas Chefs Hall of Fame: 1981 and Now
Assistant music editor Craig Hlavaty recently purchased a 1981 edition of The Genuine Texas Handbook, a guide to all things Texan. It’s an often-tongue-in-cheek look at the people, places, outfits, songs, foods and more that made someone Texan 31 years ago. Incidentally, the book and I are the same age,…
The Last VJ’s Guide to Making a Good Music Video
It appears — and every record label, manager, and publicist that I ask agrees — that I am petty much the only mainstream journalist who dedicates himself to covering music videos as a regular, in-depth beat. I try to focus on at least one a week, though it obviously depends…
The 10 Greatest Summer Concerts I Never Saw
Well, kids, summer has arrived. If you have ever noticed, all the good concerts seem to come during the summer — with May being more like a pre-show. My parents, when I was younger, took me to many concerts at some of these venues, mainly Contemporary Christian concerts. I myself…
Why the Rockets Have to Suck Before They Can Improve
For quite some time, I have resisted the sentiment that to improve in the NBA, you must first have a substantial downturn. I don’t like the idea of losing on purpose. Calling it “tanking” only makes it worse. The entire concept feels like the exact opposite of what players, coaches…
Five Dumbest Reasons Someone Got Killed in East Texas
We understand some of you will read this and likely think: Every reason to kill someone is wrong. This rationale holds ostensible merit, you, reader of great virtue. But there is a difference — minuscule as it may be — between wrong and just plain dumb. Every excuse is wrong, but some are just…
Heat? Check. Rain? Check. Hurricanes? Maybe Not. Summer in Houston, 2012
If you don’t like Houston, probably at the top of your list of reasons why is the summer. For those not accustomed to the — let’s call it “sticky” — weather the Bayou City offers from July through September each year, it can be a brutal three or four months…
Ka-Ching! UH-Downtown Gets $3.2 Million Federal Grant
The University of Houston-Downtown has been awarded a $3.2 million federal grant earmarked for first-generation Hispanic students. The university is one of only 19 in the nation (and three in the state) to receive the U.S. Department of Education grant, administered through the the Title V Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program,…
100 Favorite Dishes 2012: No. 64, Soft-Shell Crabs at Banana Leaf
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…
Lingerie Serves as Backdrop for Confusing But Engaging Large Animal Games
The setup: An upscale lingerie shop serves as a focal point in Steve Yockey’s comedic play about — well, finding out what it’s about is part of the fun, so let’s just say it chronicles the needs, aspirations and foibles of semi-affluent would-be sophisticates in their thirties, give or take…
Euro 2012 Final: Houstonians Love Fútbol
According to UEFA predictions, approximately 250 million soccer fans tuned in to watch the Euro 2012 final match on Sunday evening. Compare that to the 111 million that watched this year’s Super Bowl, and you get an idea as to the impact and significance of this event. The game pitted…
The Same but Different: The 2012 Vans Warped Tour at Reliant Center
“I couldn’t wait for the summer and the Warped Tour,” sang Blink-182, echoing many of my own thoughts as the school year would come to a close. I’m not a hot-weather person, but for a few years at the end of the ’90s and the start of the ’00s I…
Top 5 All-American Red Wines for July 4 Grilling
It seems only natural to go All American for our Fourth of July recommendations. After all, wine — and our nation’s bizarre relationship with alcohol — have been part of our history since the time of the Founding Fathers. “In nothing have the habits of the palate more decisive influence…
Trio of stars help Dynamo beat Philly
Armed with a new 4-3-3 formation, the Houston Dynamo dominated possession and took down the Philadelphia Union 2-1 on Saturday night. And they did it with a trio of stars — Brian Ching, Brad Davis and newly acquired designated player Oscar Boniek Garcia. How new is Boniek Garcia? He arrived…
Falling Skies: “Adults Get Us Killed.”
I often (okay, just now) wonder about how the alien invasion went down pre-Falling Skies. According to what we’ve heard, the aliens overpowered Earth’s defenses and killed 90% of humanity in the space of a few days, which I guess means Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum weren’t able to upload…
Where Are We Eating? Clue: Hit the Streets
It seems like there’s a new food truck in Houston every week, and the last week one was no exception: It was the first full week of business for this new truck, which serves Korean-influenced cheesesteaks, hot dogs and the best damn kimchi fries I’ve ever had, topped with feta…
Saturday Night: Porter Robinson at Stereo Live
Porter Robinson, Mat Zo, The M Machine Stereo Live June 30, 2012 In doing research to cover this show, I created the Porter Robinson drinking game. It’s simple: When you read a CD or live-show review for the guy you take a drink anytime his age is mentioned, anytime someone…
Rachel Landon Brings Tell Me on a Sunday to Vibrant Life
The setup: One of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s lesser known works is brought to vibrant life at the intimate Obsidian Art Space, with Rachel Landon as the sole performer. The execution: The storyline is simple: girl finds boy, loses boy. Girl (now a woman) finds man, loses man. Same woman finds…
Comment of the Day: Another Port Aransas Girl’s Death
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 or afternoon from the previous day’s work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous…
Friday Night: Black Breath, Martyrdöd & More at Walter’s
Black Breath, Martyrdöd, Burning Love, Enabler Walter’s on Naylor June 29, 2012 All of six months has gone by since Walter’s on Washington reopened in its new location on Naylor St., and last week I realized I’d yet to take in a show at the new place. The old joint…
What’s Cooking This Week? Grilled Peaches & A Skinny Avocado Dressing
I love homemade meals with my fiancé, but most of the time, cooking for two proves to be difficult. If I don’t have a game plan, I end up running around in circles at the grocery store and wasting half the ingredients I’ve bought (and I HATE wasting food). Enter…
“Alleged Feces” in Lufkin Dollar General Store Likely Came from Woman and not “Large Animal”
On entering a storeroom at a Lufkin Dollar General store, an employee was shocked, dismayed and appalled to find the floor dotted with a pile or piles of what KTRE has described as “a ‘large animal amount’ of feces.” The staff acted quickly and decisively. (You would too if you…
Every Day He’s Waffling: The Waffle Bus
The Waffle Bus. I like waffles. I like fried chicken. Why would I not go there? So I grabbed a girlfriend and we ventured out to the University of Houston campus, the bus’s current weekday stand. It’s hot, the parking garage sits down the block, there are no chairs in…
10 Greatest Comeback Lines in Film
If you have ever seen the American Film Institute’s 100 Years….100 Quotes, you will know that many times these quotes eventually enter our everyday vernacular. Think of how many times you have probably thought “show me the money” while in Las Vegas. It’s pretty interesting how much movies can define…
True Blood: Steampunk and Strippers
Alan Ball was known for his masterful use of music in Six Feet Under. He’s lost none of his touch when it comes to his current HBO series, True Blood — which happens to be set in the Louisiana swamps, not terribly far from Houston. If you came to the…
Houston Airport Lagging Behind on Wi-Fi
Last week, Chicago O’Hare joined a growing number of airports across the country that offer free unlimited wi-fi to travelers. But George Bush Intercontinental is stubbornly sticking with a 45-minute time limit. In 2007, the airport brokered a multimillion-dollar deal with Boingo, the biggest public wi-fi provider in the world…
Red Wine Pork Chop at Cafe 101
Cafe 101 reminds me of the Taiwanese/new-Chinese restaurants that opened up in Alhambra and Monterey Park, California, about ten years ago, catering to a young-ish late-night crowd with its contemporary decor, flat-screen TVs, impossibly long list of fashionable drinks and generally attractive young waitstaff. When it opened a few years…
The Greatest Gifts of All: Gifts With Purchase
If you shop at department stores, or Sephora, you probably have a little drawer in the bathroom — maybe in your vanity — dedicated to the tiny bottles and jars and spritzers of samples. Or is that just me? (This drawer is also my home for the extra buttons, beads,…
The Astros Traded Carlos Lee, They Just Couldn’t Get Him to Leave
No matter what else might happen with the Houston Astros this season, the fans should realize one thing: General manager Jeff Luhnow is a genius. What other word can describe a man who not only was able to trade Carlos Lee to a contending team for a good, young pitching…
Despite the Title, Sanctified at Ensemble Theatre Is a Rollicking Good Time
The set-up: In Sanctified , now running at Ensemble Theatre, the pastor for East Piney Grove Baptist Church in rural South Carolina wants to bring some musical changes to revitalize the dwindling coffers, but meets with resistance from the deacon and many parishioners. The execution: Don’t be misled by the…
These Are Serious Issues: A First World Problems Playlist
Twenty-seven seconds into the song posted above, Canadian rocker Matthew Good says the phrase “first world problems.” It is, as far as most Internet detectives can tell, the first time that phrase was used in a piece of art. Good wasn’t setting out to create a punchline that would be…
Venture Down a New Sushi Road: A Newbie’s Guide to Sushi
When it comes to sushi, some love it, some hate it and some only eat California rolls. But, there is so much more to sushi than just a roll of rice with cream cheese, avocado and crab. If you, like me until recently, have never ordered sashimi or nigiri and…
Daryl Morey Begs Rocket Fans to Beg Omer Asik to Come Here, and Dammit It Worked!
“Meeting w/Omer Asik in a few minutes — tell him how much you want him to be in Houston! He will see your msg live – include #Asik2Houston” — Rockets GM Daryl Morey, early Sunday morning as NBA free agency began So much of how we process things is about…
Houston’s Top 10 Ice Creams for National Ice Cream Month
Fittingly, July is National Ice Cream Month. Finally! A national food holiday/month that makes at least a modicum of sense. And because it’s National Ice Cream Month, this week’s list will round up ice cream only. Although there are plenty of great gelato, shaved ice, snoballs, snow cones, frozen yogurts…
Aliens Welcome: A Playlist for World UFO Day
Having grown up on Unsolved Mysteries and Time-Life books… as well as being completely ignorant of organized religion, my head is full of a thousand examples of Fortean phenomena, unexplainable happenings, and tales of a eldritch and incomprehensible world that gnaws at the edge of reality like a supermodel with…
Best Comics in June: Harry Potter Is the Anti-Christ Who Shoots Magic from His Wiener
Once a month the amazing staff at 8th Dimension Comics selects a pile of the best new releases for us to peruse and judge. The Guild: Fawkes If you haven’t caught any of the Guild created by and starring Felicia Day, it’s on Netflix and you’re an idiot. Dark Horse…
Top 5 Ringtones For People You Want to Avoid
Sometimes we just don’t want to hear from certain people. Unfortunately we pick up the phone and see who is calling, and it just puts a damper on our day. Why can’t we have some better warning to not pick up the phone? We all have that creepy ex who…
Unidentified Man, 20, Burglary Suspect Shot By Owner, Bayou Body Count No. 91
A 20-year-old man caught breaking into a house was shot to death by the homeowner, and a second burglary suspect was injured, Houston police say. HPD says the man, whose identity has not been released, had broken through the glass door of a house in the 2000 block of Tuam…
The 4th of July on a Wednesday: Maximum Dysfunction for the Work Week
Everybody loves the 4th of July, at least in America, but if there’s one time we don’t love it as much as others, it’s when it falls on a Wednesday. Other holidays can be easily adjusted. Memorial Day, the sacred date we set aside to honor those who gave their…
Patrick Spurlock: Goes on Shooting Rampage, Injuring 4, Then Dies in Car Accident
A chronically disgruntled renter went on a shooting rampage Wednesday morning and injured four people before dying in a traffic accident, police say. HPD has identified the shooter as Patrick O’Neal Spurlock, 39. They said they received a call of a shooting in progress at an apartment in the 6000…
Houston Officially Great for Businesses & Careers, If You Believe Forbes (And Who Shouldn’t?)
The Forbes magazine item touting Houston as one of the 20 best U.S. cities for businesses and careers has finally gone online, available for maximum touting by the folks who tout such things. Tout away, Mayor Annise Parker: It’s great for our city to have national recognition for something Houstonians…
John Callen Jr.: Cypress Dealer with 14 Kilos of Coke, 1 Kilo of Heroin & 14 Weed Plants: “I Deserve Mercy”
A former Cypress resident with an impressive drug-trafficking business told a judge at his sentencing, “I deserve mercy,” but got more than 15 years in prison. John Callen Jr., 52, moved to Michigan after a 2003 raid at what prosecutors called his “upscale Cypress home,” but eventually pleaded guilty to…
100 Favorite Dishes 2012: No. 65, Fried Catfish and Gumbo at Cafe-A-La
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…
Unidentified Man, 52, Shot by 19-Year-Old Clerk Over Stolen 12-Pack, Bayou Body Count No. 90
A man who walked out of a Third Ward convenience store with an unpaid-for 12-pack of beer was shot by the store’s 19-year-old clerk, police say. The victim, whose name has not been released, had been accused of stealing from the store before. He entered the store in the 3300…
7 Cool & Cheap Weekenders: Joe “King” Carrasco, Praia Urbana, Etc.
One of the buzziest bands in Houston’s brimming folk-rock/alt.country scene, The Wheel Workers, celebrate the release of their latest vinyl single, “Right Way to Go,” tonight at Fitzgerald’s with Alkari, Sunward and Boy + Kite. Get some bass, more bass, and then still more bass at the dubstep party WOBBLE…
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes Call It Quits: Cash in Your Bets, Folks
Today Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes announced that they were splitting after five years of marriage, one child (Suri, six, no relation to the iPhone app) and a whole boatload of whispers, questions, bedevilment and tabloid guffawing. That’s sorta going to happen when you go on Oprah and bounce up…
Guilt Party Signs Off With Saturday Release/Farewell Gig
Saturday night at Mango’s, Houston howlers Guilt Party will be releasing a cassette, and also bidding adieu in one fell swoop. Few bands debut a new release and then shut down the store, but the quartet has decided to do so. Joining them tomorrow night will be Weird Party, California…
Never Give Up: The Week in Photos
It’s time again to check out the Houston Press Flickr Pool and see what kinds of art shots our talented photographers have added. We love street art, unique perspectives and beautiful photos of Houston’s creative community. If you think you’ve got a good eye, drop your pictures in the pool…
Owls Coach Wayne Graham Reflects on His Career, Baseball and Lance Berkman
John RoyalRice coach Wayne Graham reflects on his career.Rice Owls head coach Wayne Graham has been a college baseball coach since 1981. He coached San Jacinto from 1981 through 1991, then he took over the Rice program. In all of that time, he’s never had a losing record. He was…
Pat Green: “We’re Still Totally In the Mix”
Earlier this morning, Rocks Off talked to Texas country star Pat Green, who plays the Coastal Conservation Association’s “Concert for Conservation” Saturday at Sam Houston Race Park with his hero Jerry Jeff Walker, Sammy Kershaw, Gene Watson, and a few others. After more than a decade as both one of…
The 10 Most Texan Beers: Let the Games Begin
Any self-respecting, beer-drinking Texan has their own personal list of favorite Texan brews. This isn’t that list. Instead, this is a list of the beers — craft or otherwise — that define the state’s brewing history. Beers that you can still buy and enjoy today. Beers that show the rest…
Highway 6 Landfill Is Such Trash, Say Waller County Folks
Members of the Stop Highway 6 Landfill coalition are warning folks that the proposed Waller County landfill is going to spoil the rural landscape, poison the water supply and pollute our schoolchildren. Project officials say this is a bunch of rubbish. Pending state approval, the 723-acre site — 223 acres…
Let Your Imagination Run Wild in Peel Gallery’s New Sculpture Show
The joy of Peel Gallery’s new show is making associations in purposefully abstract work — colored pencils that come together to form a cactus, or a fat cat in Jennifer Maestre’s work. The geometric angles of paper and wood that resemble some mutated Rubik’s cube, courtesy of Tom Lauerman. The…
Wine and the Supreme Court Health Care Ruling
When I was a student in Italy in my early twenties, I ate twice a day in a university cafeteria, where 3,000 lire (roughly $2) got you a pasta or rice first course (usually topped with tomato sauce or tomato and meat sauce), a second course of fish or meat…
Jody Seabody & the Whirls: Death In an Alt-Rock Band
Losing a band member can’t ever be an especially pleasant experience, but the sudden death of one of your musical comrades, someone you’ve been playing with since high school, is almost unfathomable. But that’s what happened to Katy alt-rockers Jody Seabody & the Whirls last fall, when bassist Matt Johnston…
In Like a Lamb: No Moves, No Trades for the Rockets in 2012 Draft
Pick two came and went. Then pick five. Then seven and eight and it began to dawn on Rockets fans: For all the talk of trades for Dwight Howard and moving up into the top ten of the draft, Houston, a team mired in mediocrity, would stand pat and roll…
Pat Green: “I Don’t Feel Like I Needed Rebooting”
Did Pat Green save country music? That is a contentious question no matter on which side of the Red River you’re standing, but it’s also a little beside the point. Nurtured by the storytelling culture of legendary Central Texas singer-songwriter rooms like New Braunfels’ Gruene Hall and San Marcos’ Cheatham…
Upcoming Events: Fireworks and Fêtes
Brennan’s encouraging its guests to wear hats? Yes, but not of the baseball variety. Instead, the refined restaurant is offering a special deal during every Saturday brunch in July: Wear a hat — whether it’s a fedora, bonnet, beret, derby or cloche — and get a free Smoke Bloody Mary…
Dear White People: Justin Simien’s Controversial Concept Trailer Receives Both Praise and Criticism (w/ Video)
Dear White People, Justin Simien’s concept trailer for his not-yet-made satirical film of the same name, has generated quite a bit of controversy since being uploaded to YouTube about two weeks ago. Comments below the video are a cauldron of ire-provoking debate. Some agree wholeheartedly with the film’s premise. awesome…
Reviews for the Easily Distracted: Magic Mike
Title: Magic Mike Is It True Olivia Munn Is Topless in This? It is indeed true, and they are Munn-ificent. Rating Using Random Objects Relevant to the Film: Three penis pumps out of five. Brief Plot Synopsis: Veteran male stripper shows newbie the ropes. And his junk. Tagline: “Work all…
Happy Birthday, Phil Anselmo: The Trendkiller’s Top 5 Side Projects
On June 30, ex-Pantera and current Down frontman Philip H. Anselmo turns 44 years old. For a while there, it didn’t look like he was going to make it this long. The metal titan suffers from chronic back pain caused by degenerative disc disease in his spine, and beginning in…
The Global Burger: Syria
I love a good burger. While I always enjoy the regular patty on a bun with cheese, lettuce, tomato and ketchup (as long as it’s cooked at least medium-rare), sometimes I like to put a twist or two on tradition. In this series of posts, I’m globalizing the burger by…
Go Shopping, Help Kids Get Smarter, with Macy’s ‘Be Book Smart’ Campaign
Shop now at your local Macy’s and participate in their annual “Be Book Smart” campaign, in partnership with the Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) organization. The concept is pretty simple: Donate $3 — yep, just three bucks — which will provide a book for a child in our local community. In…
Crustacean Combat Sends Two Beaumont Women (Ages 70, 23) to Hospital with Gunshot Wounds
Initial reports out of the Golden Triangle said that two women — one 70, and the other 23, neither identified — were shot during the course of a heated argument about crawfish. Those reports were incorrect. In actual fact, the women apparently shot each other over shrimp. Now that’s Gulf…
Week in Photos: Sunrise
Each week, we take a dip into the Houston Press Flickr pool and see what our talented photographers have been up to. We’re looking for pictures that represent the best of Houston, from food to art to events, to secret hidden spots of beauty. Just drop them in our Flickr…
Video Game High School: Autosaving for the Final battle
Sometimes Video Game High School suffers from an identity crisis. Conversations I’ve had with producer Matthew Arnold show that the run is basically a feature-length film that’s been cut up into Internet-sized chunks for serial consumption. In the past this has led to a few episodes that while very good…
National Ice Cream Soda Day: 5 Unique Ice Cream Sodas
Soda fountains are not as popular today as they were in the 1950s or ’60s, but who doesn’t love a good old ice cream float? Creamy and sweet ice cream dunked into a fizzy and bubbly soda satisfies any sugary craving. Tomorrow, June 30, is National Ice Cream Soda Day,…
Fist-Fighting With Hip-Hop Headlines: Drake, Iggy Azalea, Etc.
You are a human and you have eyeballs and you also have the Internet, so you’ve likely read some things. That’s sort of what this is, except sort of not too. We went through a ton of headlines of hip-hop “stories” from the past week, picked out the most egregious…
Mike DiMuro: MLB Umpiring Is Barely One Level Up from WWE Refereeing (w/ VIDEO)
“Most _______ are actually pretty good at their job; it’s a few bad ones that give all of the ________ a bad name.” There are a number of different vocations that you can “Mad Lib” into that sentence above. Car salespeople, cable installation technicians, sports bloggers and, yes, Major League…
100 Creatives 2012: Bob Martin, Designer
What He Does: Bob Martin began as a jeweler and ended up a designer at Merge Studios, a design and metalsmithing collaborative that specializes in furniture and sculpture. The work Merge produces is startlingly elegant, with crisp, modern lines done in dark metals and stainless steel. They do everything from…
Top 5 Off-the-Market Drinks We’re Still Thirsty For
We’ve been taking a look at foods we miss dearly and crave back in our lives. So far, we’ve decided we can’t stand a life without snacks like O’boisies Potato Chips and Fast Food Chicken Dishes like KFC’s 39¢ Chicken Littles. But all of that junk food has made us…
Jenna Hernandez: Another Teen Girl Murdered in Corpus Area; Police Say It’s Probably Not Related to Nearby Olgin/Chapa Shootings
As the whole world now knows, on Saturday morning, 19-year-old Mollie Olgin and 18-year-old Mary Kristene Chapa were found shot in a Portland park at the edge of Corpus Christi Bay. Olgin died. Chapa is in stable condition. Both had been shot in the head with a large-caliber handgun. Two…
June 2012 Openings & Closings: Nightmares and Dreamscapes
Correspondence this week from the “It Was Only a Matter of Time” department confirmed that The Moghul’s has closed. After one disastrous visit to the place, I was never inclined to go back — and it appears the restaurant left other guests with the same impression. Moving into the spot,…
Why Independence Day Is Better Than Independence Day
When I was a kid, Michael Bay Roland Emmerich made a movie out of explosions, aliens and Bill Pullman that he called Independence Day. There is a greater chance of you being a lizard person than of you not having seen it, so I’ll skip the plot recap. As far…
Father Sean Horrigan Set to Rock Leon’s Lounge Tonight
The Celebrity DJ” Fridays at Leon’s Lounge take a turn from the secular to the sacred tonight when Father Sean Horrigan, pastor at Christ the Redeemer Church, commands the turntables. Horrigan, whom we ran into last Saturday night at the Wagoneers show at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck, was the music editor…
The 10 Most Rocking Songs In Children’s Entertainment
Here’s the thing about children’s entertainment, it’s designed to appeal not only to the lowest common denominator, but the toughest audience known to man. Don’t believe me? Try playing your favorite song to a toddler, even something that is an acknowledged classic like the Pretenders’ “I’ll Stand by You” or…
Hate Axl Rose? Just Go See Slash Instead!
Former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash is heading back to Houston and the House of Blues on September 9 with Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, plus extra-special beautiful openers Foxy Shazam. Mr. Saul Hudson was last in town opening for Ozzy Osbourne at Toyota Center in January 2011. That night…
HISD’S Stanford Scores, Hoo-Rah With an Asterisk
After a few days of assessing the scores it had been dealt, Houston ISD today released the broad outlines of the latest Stanford scores for kids in grades 1-8 and claimed that its students “matched or beat the average scores posted by students across the nation…in reading, math, science, and…
Comment of the Day: The Shots Fired at Mollie Olgin & Mary Chapa
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 or afternoon from the previous day’s work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous…
Kevin Wheeler: Algebra Teacher Getting Blow Job from Student Tells Her, “You Must Not Be Into It Because You’re Not Wet,” Cops Say
A La Porte algebra teacher and coach has been arrested for having sex with a student, although he could also be charged with worst bedside manner ever. Kevin Wheeler, 31, began flirting with one of his algebra students, a 17-year-old female, on Facebook and eventually arranged a rendevous in his…
Dallas: “He Was Dyslexic, Not Stupid.” “Yeah.”
I’ve said it before and I’ll likely say it again, but some actors are just born to play a certain role. Patton would not have been the same without George C. Scott, no one but Humphrey Bogart could’ve played Rick in Casablanca and Larry Hagman inhabits J.R. Ewing in such…
100 Favorite Dishes 2012: No. 66, Banana Pudding at Pizzitola’s
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…
Muse Releases a New Queen-errific Track: What Ya Think?
Well, Muse’s new song is not quite the dubstep massacre that we all thought it be indicated from the album teaser. But it’s also the official song for the upcoming Summer Olympics in London, so it had to be palatable for the masses. No molly is needed to enjoy this…
The Williamson Boys: Pocket-Dial Allows 911 to Get a Play-By-Play of Their Copper Theft
Modern technology giveth and it taketh away. It definitely hampered the best-laid plans of Kevin and Charles Williamson, two guys with lengthy criminal records who were planning on hitting a Lufkin construction site for some copper. The trouble was, according to the Lufkin News, was that one of the dudes…
Health Department Roundup: Pride Parade Checked Out, City Jail Wiping Cloths Scrutinized
Illegal Pride operations, expense-account steakhouses, hole-in-the-wall ethnic places and jail — welcome to Houston. If you’re tempted to take a cell-phone picture of your dash thermometer, don’t. The only two places to get cited or shut down this week were a pair of Illegal MFUs. (Mobile food units, we’re guessing.)…
Who Is Houston’s Mysterious FLCON FCKER?
Big and far-flung and ever-changing as Houston is, sometimes the names who show up in the Houston Press Music Awards nominations every year surprise even us. This is not a bad thing at all: Within the music scene (which continues to amaze us in its ingenuity and diversity), it keeps…
Free for All: Carolyn Haines, Art Car: The Movie, and La Sardina de Naiguata
With a big nod to Agatha Christie’s The 4:50 from Paddington, novelist Carolyn Haines spins a fun and spooky story in Bonefire of the Vanities. Like The 4:50, Bonefire features a sleuth-turned-housekeeper who uses her position to infiltrate a suspicious home. Haines’s protagonist, Sarah Booth Delaney, is on the trail…
NBA Draft Cautionary Retro YouTube Video — Kwame Brown’s Draft Night!
The NBA Draft is tonight, and you know what that means — yes, bad suits, incoherent interviews, lots of Stuart Scott, and tons of upside potential. So basically, one big engrossing train wreck. It used to be a virtual guarantee a few years ago that every pick in the first…
Gregory Boyd on Why the Alley Theatre Is Calling Upon Hercule Poirot
Art Attack got together with Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd as he and his troops get ready to put on another of their Summer Chills series, this time turning to a play featuring Agatha Christie’s famous detective Hercule Poirot, who attempts to solve the murder of Sir Claud Amory…
Last Night: Les & Friends at Fitzgerald’s
Les featuring Slim Thug, Killa Kyleon, Mug, Doughbeezy, Propain, Amber London, Roosh Williams, DJ Mr. Rogers Fitzgerald’s June 27, 2012 Twice this year already, Les, one of the new rap generation’s most interesting performers, has released mixtapes. Neither of them were anything less than Absolutely Very Good And Enjoyable, remarkable…
First Look at Solea
Solea opened Wednesday night on Shepherd, and although I wasn’t there for it, I imagine it to have been a fine, fun affair. Instead, I was there on Tuesday night for a media preview of the place — something which I rarely attend anymore. But curiosity won out; I had…
SCOTUS, Obamacare, CNN Effing Up: Supreme Court Decisions in the Twitterverse (UPDATED with Keen Rick Perry Insight)
If you were two seconds late posting your “BREAKING NEWS!” report of the Supreme Court decision largely upholding Obamacare, you were left in the dust and looking like a fool, fool. Hey, dude, tell us something we don’t already know! You get your news by Pony Express? Harrumph. frowny face,…
Melanie Loew, Deer Painter, at Darke Gallery
In “Apparition of a Deer,” the current main show at Darke Gallery, Melanie Loew’s paintings come across as highly symbolic and associative. She paints women in the nude, bringing to mind vulnerability, femininity and truth. They’re often depicted with deer or just their antlers, which could connote goddess mythology and…
Was My Brunch on the Titanic or in Downtown Houston? Hint: There Were Bottomless Mimosas
Tucked into the restored Foley Building, the second oldest in the Historic District of downtown, is a gem of a restaurant: Hearsay Gastro Lounge. Fresh off the plane from five days of some of the worst food around (thank you, Walt Disney), I met some friends for brunch there last…
Last Night: Puscifer at Bayou Music Center
Puscifer Bayou Music Center June 27, 2012 Always making the most of minimalism, Maynard James Keenan, the mastermind behind Tool and A Perfect Circle, made the back of Bayou Music Center’s stage his home Wednesday night, content to let the rest of his band stand and sit in the foreground…
Father’s Day, Functional Alcoholism and Funk: Lost Abbey & New Belgium Brett Beer
Father’s Day came and went recently and, nearly a decade in, I’m still getting used to the fact that it applies to me. Don’t get me wrong, I am fully and completely a father. In order to do it even remotely correctly, being a parent has to take up approximately…
Remembering the Films of the Late Nora Ephron
Nora Ephron succumbed to the leukemia she had been fighting since 2006 on Tuesday evening. She was 71. Much has been said about the screenwriter, director, producer, essayist and author these past two days since her passing. Almost immediately, film fans and devotees alike began reeling off their praises. Her…
Last Night: Screwed Up Click at Warehouse Live
Lil’ Keke, E.S.G., Big Pokey Warehouse Live June 27, 2012 June 27 isn’t an official holiday in Houston — yet. But the date remains the preferred occasion for formally celebrating the life, career and influence of Robert Davis, our beloved DJ Screw. On Wednesday, the remnants of the Screwed Up…
Ford Cummings: Enters Jail Armed, Tries to Convince Jailers He’s a DEA Agent and Needs an Inmate Released
Ford Truitt Cummings, 32, is: a) Ballsy b) Dumb c) Perhaps too dismissive of the brainpower of Nacogdoches cops d) All of the above, mixing together in a marvelous piece of East Texas humanity We’ve got to go with d) here, folks. Maybe your assessment will differ. We do know…
Pop Rocks: The (2nd) Greatest Summer of Movies Continues With Adventures in Babysitting
1982 may have been the Greatest Summer of Movies Ever, according to the Alamo Drafthouse, but 1987 was a close second. I have dibs on Elisabeth Shue. I’m old enough to remember the first…stirrings of manhood while watching Jaclyn Smith on Charlie’s Angels and Lynda Carter in Wonder Woman, but…
Za’Mor Turner: HFD Firefighter Seeks Help in Search for His Son
Firefighters have set up an account to provide a reward for anyone who can help reunite three-year-old Za’Mor Turner with his HFD dad, Roderic Taylor. Za’Mor is adopted and is believed to be in the care of his birth mother, who has had her parental rights terminated. That woman, Tenika…
Mr. Sunday’s Saturday Night Chicken: It’s Just Chicken, But Oh, What a Chicken
Chris Wallace of Fox News Sunday is a politico who loves his chicken. His wife, Lorraine, has written two cookbooks, Mr. Sunday’s Soups and Mr. Sunday’s Saturday Night Chicken, based on Wallace’s love of routine. His motto is “change is overrated.” He wants a quiet evening at home the Saturday…
Top 10 Musical Moments on The Arsenio Hall Show
One of the greatest late-night talk show hosts of all time was Arsenio Hall. He was the quintessential Ed Sullivan for the ’80s and early ’90s. He featured all kinds of musical artists, but most importantly, he helped introduce rap music into the mainstream. Hall, who won Donald Trump’s most…
Tyler Gleason: The Messianic Facebook Manifesto of the Man Who Allegedly Left His Baby in the Sun on FM 1960
Along with his wife, Tonya Gleason, Houstonian homeless advocate Tyler Gleason was arrested yesterday and charged with child endangerment. Harris County Sheriff’s deputies say that the couple left their five-month-old son in a car-seat in the median of FM 1960 near Kuykendahl while they solicited funds from motorists, ostensibly for…
Anthem: It is Indeed Time to “Get Out of Our Heads”
One of the great, unsung videos of all time is Eve 6’s “Promise.” It’s nothing special in conception I’ll admit, just another round of Max Collins playing with nonsequiturs to a catchy alternabeat while a cast of malcontents quit their crappy jobs. It’s a party tune, but that’s like calling…
5 Things That Would Be Better With Free Beer
Last week, domestic airline Era Alaska, whose regional flights consist of quick hops between cities with names like Eek and Kwigillingok, discontinued its free beer program. Yep, you read that right. The Alaska-based airline that takes customers all over the Alaskan terrain was having a free beer promotion during its…
Wild Game Burger Friday at Rainbow Lodge
What goes into an eight-ounce burger? At the Rainbow Lodge, every Friday yields a new mix. One week it may be antelope, venison, wild boar and pork belly. Another week, it may be nilgai, lamb, venison and lamb belly. Forrest Gump’s mama would say that it’s like a box of…
Local Filmmaker Discovers Unknown Dean Corll/Elmer Wayne Henley Victim
Local filmmaker Josh Vargas set out to make a movie about the life of Houston serial killer Dean Corll, and ended up discovering evidence of a never-before identified victim. Now he and the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences are hoping you will be able to identify him. Forty years…
The Rest of the Best: Houston’s Top 5 Restaurant Playlists
The only times I notice the music in a restaurant are when it’s really bad (Christmas music playing year round at Sichuan Cuisine), really out of place (Nine Inch Nails blaring out of the speakers at now-closed Tony Vallone joint Ciao Bello or Cannibal Corpse washing over the line of…
A Few Fantasy Books to Tide You Over Until Game of Thrones Returns
So Game of Thrones ended a few weeks ago. Most new viewers haven’t read the books. No worry. To be honest, the novels seriously decline in quality after about book 3. George R.R. Martin has an infuriating way of really toeing the line on his narrative, dragging out characters over…
The More You Know: 5 Music Web Sites To Add To Your Bookmarks
The true power of the Internet is information. Don’t get me wrong; free music, photos of kitties, Ryan Gosling memes, and pornography are all wonderful, but it’s information that’s the real star even if we take it for granted. It’s changed the way people do reports in school, made us…
Mail Dump: Janis, Little Richard, dBs, Donovan, Etc.
The mailbox has been truly kind the past several weeks. Sure, there are still piles of useless dreck to wade through/past/over. But those all get to go to the big box in the dark closet and await the apocalypse. But there are standouts and surprises almost daily. Let’s begin with…
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man, an inexcusably good reboot-thing from director Marc Webb, celebrates the heartwarming arachno-genetic bar mitzvah in which a boy becomes a spider and a spider becomes a man, a rite of passage last observed in Sam Raimi’s uneven but often pretty great trilogy in the oh’s. And there’s…
The Real Gurl
From bubblegum-bi-curious novelty “I Kissed a Girl” on, Katy Perry has built a career on glorious brain-dead-with-a-wink odes to playacting in a fantasy space of total acceptance and no consequences, sold to children with literal sugarcoating. Her hits are powerful stuff, coming from an artist who was raised by Pentecostal…
Merle Haggard
Seventy-five-year-old country legend Merle Haggard is still making country and rock crowds giddy with cuts like “The Fightin’ Side of Me” and “Mama Tried,” when most men his age can barely open a car door. He released an album, Working In Tennessee, last October and shows no signs of slowing…
Woody’s Roman Holiday
Woody Allen has just had the biggest hit of his career with Manhattan — a love letter to the titular city, a romantic celebration of its timeless urban landscape set in a nostalgic-fantastic present, culminating in the gut-punch realization that what’s past is irretrievably past. Manhattan’s $39 million take made…
Pat Green
Pat Green didn’t just put “Texas country” on the map, he has been a crucial figure in the creation of an entire genre of Southern popular music. Today Texas country (or “Red Dirt”) is its own thriving business outside the Nashville mainstream, somehow both more country than country and more…
Jody Seabody & the Whirls
Nine times out of ten, a band’s CD release party is cause for unchecked celebration. The tenth it gets a little more complicated. Katy’s Jody Seabody & the Whirls formed in 2004 and have been slugging it out in the trenches of the local scene – Rudyard’s, Fitz, Notsuoh and…
Capsule Art reviews: “David Aylsworth: The Reverses Wiped Away,” “Endearing the Line,” “Jason Yates: All We Ever Wanted Was Everything,” “Lucas Johnson: Original Prints,” “Perry House: Elegance/Violence,” “Rhythm,” “Tu Eres O No Tu Eres Mi Baby”
“David Aylsworth: The Reverses Wiped Away” This new show at Inman Gallery displays artist David Aylsworth’s geometric abstractions, with titles geekily borrowed from show-tune lyrics. The paintings are predominantly stark white planes and hard edges. In the works that do employ color, the white takes on an erasing quality, overtaking…
Vans Warped Tour
Anyone out there thinking that kids don’t care about music anymore – the kind of music without bass drops – we would like to kindly direct to the annual traveling rockstravaganza that is the Vans Warped Tour. More than 40 bands converge on a parking lot somewhere in Houston to…
Capsule Stage Reviews: The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, Little Shop of Horrors, The Psychic, Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins, Travelsty
The Dark at the Top of the Stairs This portrait of a small-town family dealing with the changing world of the 1920s features playwright William Inge’s talent for authentic characterizations, and his abiding interest in family dynamics. In a small town near Oklahoma City, Cora and Rubin Flood bicker. Cora…
Freedom Over Texas
Flag-waving 4th of July celebrations don’t come much bigger than Houston’s annual Freedom Over Texas party at Eleanor Tinsley Park, an event said to be seen by an audience in the hundreds of thousands both on TV and in person. Okay, okay, everybody knows the ginormous fireworks show is the…
Mexican Youth and a Chicano Martyr
Dear Mexican, Barrack Hussein Obama, how you dare deprive Mexico of its young, educated people. These illegal aliens in the U.S. are the only hope for Mexico and you want to keep them here in the U.S.. They could start businesses, create jobs, and improve the standard of living for…
The 2012 Houston Web Awards
Jump to page 3 to see the full list of 2012 Houston Web Awards winners. Also check out this video of cover model and Houston Texan Connor Barwin talking about his favorite Houston Hangouts. If there is one thing we have learned about covering social media in Houston, it’s that…
Magic Mike
When Channing Tatum stood up and revealed his bare ass to the camera a minute or two into Steven Soder-bergh’s Magic Mike — which the actor conceived of and produced based on his own experience as a teenage dancer in an all-male exotic revue — the audience in my screening…
Underbelly: The Taste of Home
It’s one of our biggest cafe slideshows this year, but Underbelly’s gorgeous dining room, inviting wine bar and vibrant kitchen merit all the photo coverage. Take a look. At the top of Underbelly’s simple, one-page menu is a bold statement: “Houston is the new American Creole city of the South,”…
Ted
Fans of Seth MacFarlane’s Fox mainstay Family Guy who wish he would run afoul of FCC regulations every week might be pleased with Ted, the story of a 35-year-old man and his foul-talking teddy bear. Plushies, too, might be turned on by the pot-smoking, whore-banging CGI toy ursus of the…
Life After “Popular”
Entering their twentieth year and currently touring their latest album The Stars Are Indifferent To Astronomy (Barsuk), New York pop-rockers Nada Surf are living the rock and roll life without all the usual pressure and chaos. Drummer Ira Elliot describes the band, who first caught national attention with the 1996…
Dining on the Rails
When owner Staci Davis decided on a location for her restaurant, Radical Eats, one thing was extremely important to her above all: Davis wanted her vegan paradise to have access to the new Metro light rail North Line that’s currently being built along Fulton. When the line is completed, riders…
Houston, Circa 1981
Highlights from Hair Balls SPACED CITY Houston, Circa 1981 A guide to an oil-booming city By Craig Hlavaty Recently I found a copy of Rosemary Kent’s 1981 book The Genuine Texas Handbook at a thrift store off Highway 290. The 224-page golden treasury of Texicana hails from a time when…
A Stunning Space
There is a bona fide blockbuster hit at the new Asia Society Texas Center. It’s not an imposing ancient Chinese sculpture or contemporary calligraphy hanging on the gallery walls, though. It’s the building itself. The Museum District center opened in April at Caroline and Southmore, following months of build-up and…
If This Is It
Poor Pilate’s eponymous 2011 album crept up on us over a few weeks, but once it fully latched onto our brain, each spin got sweeter and sweeter. The self-released set made good on the promise of the Houston five-piece’s live shows. Singer and keyboardist David Lascoe has one of the…
