NBA Finals: Give Houston What It Wants, Rashard Lewis Vs T-Mac
We interrupt this widespread panic over LeBron James’s possibly being human (and this widespread panic….and this widespread panic….) for a request. Oh, wait a second…Gary Neal just hit another three…okay, continuing… We interrupt this widespread panic for a request…. Damn! Danny Green just hit another three! Okay, Gary, Danny, we…
This Week in Food Blogs: Iced Coffee Guides & Medieval Jousting Entertainment
Blue Jean Gourmet: If you’re looking for the perfect summer dessert, look no further. Blue Jean Gourmet made a peach and blackberry cobbler with freshly picked peaches and blackberries. The sweetness of soft peaches combined with the tart, yet subtly sweet, blackberries makes for the ultimate cobbler combination. Try out…
Reality Bites: Bet On Your Baby
Having children is a huge gamble, not just due to fears about mankind’s future, but also in the sense that every parent — at certain low points when dealing with an implacably demanding toddler — wonders if he or she might be raising the next Pol Pot. “Fortunately,” ABC’s new…
[Photos] Westboro Baptist Church Protests the Southern Baptist Convention. This Should Be Fun
In the world of protestors, there are the revolutionary type (Arab Spring) and the pacifist/sit-in type (Occupy Wall Street), and then you have the bat-shit crazy, inappropriate, and downright horrible type. The notorious Westboro Baptist Church falls under that last category. The hateful yet exceptionally well organized group travels the…
Young Mammals Finish New Album Despite Recent $5K Gear Theft
Dynamic Houston indie-rockers Young Mammals, who only recently returned to active duty after a lengthy college-induced hiatus, are recovering from the theft of nearly all of guitarist Cley Miller’s equipment just as the group was ready to begin work on its first album in nearly three years. According to Miller,…
Sushi Rice and the Omakase at MF Sushi
For me, eating sushi — enjoying sushi — used to be measured by the quality of the fish. As I’ve come to learn more about sushi, however, I now understand that you can’t measure the quality of sushi on the fish alone. In fact, the critical component in all forms…
Cover Story: Chemically Burned
Brian Johns went to work on July 17, 2012 at the Rohm and Haas in Deer Park, just as he’d done for years. Johns was changing a filter in an ammonium nitrate unit when there was an explosion that covered his skin with acid so that more than 65 percent…
MasterChef 3 Winner Christine Ha Wows Crowd at Brazos Bookstore
Well, it appears I’m not Christine Ha’s only stalker huge fan here in Houston. Last night, the MasterChef Season 3 winner spoke to a full house at Brazos Bookstore, promoting and signing copies of her cookbook, Recipes from my Home Kitchen. By 6:30 p.m., most seats were full, and by…
Exploring Concepts of Outer Space with McClain Gallery
A new show at McClain Gallery tackles the subject of outer space, but don’t expect on-the-nose pieces that reference the planets or extraterrestrials. “Celestial” features only eight works — considerably fewer than you’d expect from a show at the gallery — but it’s not short on content. There’s plenty to…
Kendrick Lamar at Reliant Arena, 6/11/2013
Kendrick Lamar, ScHoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, Jay Rock Reliant Arena June 11, 2013 SLIDESHOW: Good Kid, Space City: Kendrick Lamar (And Fans) at Reliant Arena, 6/11/2013 “I’ll always have love for Houston.” Those were among the last words Kendrick Lamar told a raucous crowd inside Reliant Arena on Tuesday night, the…
The Tim Tebow Caveat: We Can Discuss Him If It Relates to Gambling (Tebow Odds!)
Did I spend a couple thousand words lamenting the Tebow Circus Conundrum yesterday in this space? I believe I did. Did I laud Bill Belichick’s terse responses to any question Tebow-related and his uncanny ability to defuse the Tebow hoopla before it even has a chance to get out of…
Top 5 Limited Edition/Seasonal Ice Cream Flavors
A terrific ice cream treat is an easy and satisfying end to a summer supper, but while you’re at the store, scan the frozen cases for new ice cream flavors. Again lured by the “limited edition” label, I have been exploring the world of seasonal ice creams. Here are five…
What I Carried on My Summer Vacation: Beach Bag Review
A great beach bag is a summer staple. Packing for the beach means being prepared so you don’t have to run back to the car or your hotel room to resupply. A beach bag of the proper size means you will always have everything you need — throw in a…
Parts of Galveston Could Be Under Water in 20 Years Due to Erosion
Beach erosion is a problem that doesn’t really sound all that menacing. It sounds more like a temporary problem rather than a serious, permanent issue. Perhaps it needs a scarier name to get people’s attention. Because when you’re looking at the statistics explaining just what kind of damage it is…
This, Not That: New Tunes to Replace Some Tired Old Texans Tailgating Songs
My family and I have been Houston Texans season ticketholders since Game 1, that celebrated and gratifying franchise opener (Texans 19, Cowboys 10), and we’ve always taken seriously our tailgating privileges. Texans fans tailgate better than most, including the North Texas delusionals who do it up there at Jerry’s World…
Fortune Cookie Messages – For Your Eyes Only?
It’s a familiar situation. The platters of lo mein and kung pao shrimp have been cleared. Your friend moans and says, “I shouldn’t have eaten that last dumpling.” Everyone laughs. The check arrives and with it a tray full of fortune cookies, one for each member of your large party…
LEGO BioShock Is Back in a Big Way
No, unfortunately that’s not an official LEGO set or even art from an upcoming LEGO video game set in the world of BioShock. What it is is another build by Imagine Rigney, who wowed us some time back by creating the massive undersea metropolis from the first two BioShock games,…
Court Cites Pharrell, Daft Punk Among Reasons to Remand Marijuana Case
It’s no secret that Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky,” featuring the vocal chops of Pharrell, is set to dominate the summer. Like Nelly Furtado’s “Promiscuous” was to 2006, or like Katy Perry’s “California Gurls” was to 2010, so, too, will Daft Punk’s latest offering soon ring through our head in board…
How To: Copycat Cronuts (Yeah, Cronuts!)
For those of you who do not know what a cronut is, it is a hybrid of a croissant and a donut. Rather than frying the ordinary batter to make a donut, croissant pastry dough is fried instead. This creates thin, crispy and butter layers instead of a fluffy donut…
How Can Anyone Think MTV’s 24-Hour Online “Music Festival” Is a Good Idea?
In recent years, it seems like music festivals have begun to pop up left and right. While it was once something you had to travel for, it’s now hard to live in a major city without encountering at least one local music festival each year And now, music festivals have…
New ’90s Pop Culture Book Missing 10 Things
As a pop culture enthusiast who has no life, I was totally excited for the release of the new book The Totally Sweet 90s: From Clear Cola to Furby, and Grunge to “Whatever”, the Toys, Tastes, and Trends That Defined a Decade, which is a very long title. I am…
Rick Perry Adds Abortion, Mandatory Sentencing to Special Session Agenda
Governor Rick Perry has added abortion regulation and mandatory sentencing for 17-year-olds convicted of capital murder to the state legislature’s special session agenda. “The horrors of the national late-term abortion industry are continuing to come to light, one atrocity at a time,” Perry stated in a press release, perhaps referring…
100 Creatives 2013: Vincent Fink, Science Fashion
What He Does: Vincent Fink has been a graphic designer ever since he left the Art Institute of Houston in 2005. He found a nice high-paying job doing what he loved, but a cruel and verbally abusive production manager inspired him to strike out on his own. Now he heads…
5 Father’s Day Gifts Houston Dads Really Want
Ties, shoehorns and handcrafted paper weights, BEGONE! This year, we have some gift ideas that’ll really put a smile on Dad’s face. From growlers to porchetta, check out 5 Houston-centric Gifts That Dads (and You) Will Really Want:…
Pleased to Meet You: Eight Song Characters I’d Like to Know
A trademark of a well-written novel is a complex, engaging central character. It’s the author’s most important and difficult job to create someone readers will be interested in and have strong feelings about. Same thing with a captivating movie. Did you see Silver Linings Playbook? That was a great motion…
Was Duane Buck Sentenced to Death Because He’s Black? Will It Matter?
During Duane Buck’s 1997 murder trial in Harris County, a psychologist told the jury that Buck was more likely to be a danger to society because he was black. This would be a huge deal in pretty much any legal situation, but the statement had more direct life or death…
Celebrate Man of Steel Opening Weekend with a Superman Cocktail
I hadn’t planned on rushing to the theaters to see Man of Steel , which opens this Friday, but then I saw its featured man candy lead actor Henry Cavill interviewed on Good Morning America. Although I didn’t hear anything he was saying because I had forgotten my earbuds, I…
5 Hilarious Lawsuits Involving Porn Parodies (NSFW)
Pornographic parodies of mainstream films and television shows, also called parallel porn titles, are a lot like licensed video games, honestly. Some of them are great, but most of them are kind of an embarrassment to themselves. I’ve owned the Rocky Porno Video Show, Twin Cheeks and a hot but…
Eat the Turnbuckle: Maybe THIS Is the World’s Most Insane Live Band
Recently Rocks Off ran an article about the five most insane bands to see live right now. Obviously, when you’re working with five spots, you’re going to leave someone off, which readers never fail to remind us. A lot of names were thrown around in regards to that one, especially…
Houston Marathon Committee Announces New Courses for 2014 Race
The folks at the Houston Marathon Committee are always looking for ways to improve the annual event, both for the full and half marathons. One surefire way to do that is to change the course. Frankly, I’ve never fully comprehended how a person could run that far. I have friends…
Bill Belichick on Tim Tebow: “We’ve Already Talked Enough About Him.”
“We’ve already talked enough about him, I think I’ve covered it. Anything else?” — Bill Belichick on Tim Tebow, three minutes into his press conference Tuesday morning Hear, hear! As Tim Tebow sat on the shelf for the last several weeks, discarded by arguably the worst and most dysfunctional team…
Jeu Sanchez: Cock Fighting in Silsbee, Swears He Won’t Do It Again
More than 50 people were arrested in Silsbee, a little town near Beaumont in Hardin County, for cock fighting. According to multiple reports, the cock fighting ring was centered on a property off Highway 92 north of the small town. Jeu Sanchez, 48, was arrested with the others and is…
Houston’s Scale the Summit Reaches a New Peak with The Migration
It’s too hard not to stick a climbing pun in the headline of an article about Scale the Summit. The local four-piece has been on a steep upward trajectory ever since releasing Carving Desert Canyons, its first album for Prosthetic Records, in 2009. That disc helped them score tours with…
Today’s DVDs & Blu-rays: A Must-have No Pryor Restraint and More
There isn’t a comedian working today that doesn’t owe something to Richard Pryor. Not one. And No Pryor Restraint, the new comprehensive box set, is the proof. At $90, the set is pricey, but absolutely worth it. Outrageous, courageous, streetwise, smart, raw, even base, Pryor was phenomenal when he was…
Top 5 Food Documentaries Streaming On Netflix
I can’t adequately express how much Netflix instant streaming has impressed my quality of life. I used to have to do something like read or go for a walk when I was between movie rentals; now, I can just watch television continuously. If I’m not bingeing on House of Cards…
Damn Yankees: Perry Takes Pro Business Message to New York and Connecticut
Governor Rick Perry’s “git your business out of that tax-loving, gun-restrictin’, commie blue state and move it to Texas” death march continues. He’s run ads and visited states like California and Illinois already. Now, he takes aim at the epicenter of all things opposite of the Lone Star State, New…
Spirited Sweets: Semolina Pudding with Ginger Vodka Sauce
A few years ago, my husband received The Vodka Cookbook and a bottle of Smirnoff for Christmas. He was grateful but a bit bewildered, having never much been interested in drinking vodka let alone incorporating it into his cooking. So it sat on our shelf untouched and eventually I stole…
Whoomp! (There It Is): Dan Harmon Returns to Community
The rumor mill had been churning over the past few weeks on whether Dan Harmon, the creator of Community, would be returning after being given the boot last season. Harmon Tweeted about it a few weeks ago but NBC hadn’t put anything down on paper. Yesterday, the deal was finally…
Upcoming: Ana Carolina, Lionel Richie, John Fogerty, Trae Tha Truth, Yellowcard, etc.
Ana Carolina: Sat., June 22, 8 p.m., $48 to $78. Bayou Music Center, 520 Texas, Houston, 713-230-1600. “Boogie, Blues, and Brews 2013”: With Mambo Jazz Kings, Wayne Toups., Fri., Sept. 20, 6 p.m., $20. With Eric Gales Band, Hamilton Loomis, Cowboy Mouth., Sat., Sept. 21, noon, $20. With Cody Canada…
Weather Week: Serious Heat on the Way
Every time it seems that summer has us in its throes, a front comes through and cools things down. Okay, maybe it doesn’t get “cool,” but when low temperatures for the week average in the upper 60s, that’s cool for Houston in June. This week, no such luck. Over the…
Houston Beer Festival 2013 – Brewskis, Bros and Bun B
The third annual Houston Beer Festival happened this past Saturday at Hermann Square Park. In its inaugural year in 2011, the festival was declared a disaster for having oversold tickets on Groupon and run out of beer well before it was scheduled to close and for overall being a big…
People Bitching About the Sookie Stackhouse Ending Just Don’t Get It
Warning, this article contains nothing but spoilers. Charlaine Harris recently wrapped up the Sookie Stackhouse books with Dead Ever After, and True Blood returns to us this Sunday. If I was a betting man, I would say that this is likely to be the last season of the show. The…
UPDATED: Mumford and Sons Postpone Three Dates, Including The Woodlands
UPDATE (June 24, 10:30 a.m.: A makeup date has now been announced for September 17.) According to a statement from the band, acoustic-rock superstars Mumford & Sons have been forced to postopone this week’s scheduled shows in Dallas, Houston and New Orleans because bassist Ted Dwane needs brain surgery. “Our…
Purportedly Nonpartisan Houston Nonprofit Seeks to Arm Neighborhoods, Observe Effects
Over the weekend, the AP ran a story centered just outside the Loop, in a north Houston neighborhood called Oak Forest. Nestled against TC Jester Park and I-45, Oak Forest is one of Houston’s older enclaves. And until recently, it had been one of the more placid. However, a string…
Doctor Who: I Think I Know the Doctor’s Name (And A Bad Thing About The 50th Anniversary)
Be advised, this article was written with tongue very much in cheek. Of course the big revelation from “The Name of the Doctor” was not the birth name of the Time Lord, or even that his name was really all that big a secret. No, the real mystery was that…
Recap: The Woodlands Wine Rendezvous Grand Tasting & Chef Showcase
There are food and wine events throughout the year, but none as big, or with as much at stake, as the Wine Rendezvous and Grand Tasting at Wine & Food Week in The Woodlands. This is no regular tasting event. Where other events may have winners, and the winners may…
The Rocks Off 100: Sama’an Ashrawi, Trill Gladiator
Who? Sama’an Ashrawi is a filmmaker, a documentarian of almost everything UGK and easily one of the few men Bun B trusts more than anything other than his shoe collection and family. Actually, Ashrawi is like family after the two befriended one another. Last fall, Ashrawi released his All Star…
BP Rig Managers Take the “Whatever Happens in Vegas” Defense
It’s been awhile since the Deepwater Horizon disaster that killed 11 men and kicked off the British Petroleum oil spill, sending barrels of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. Now it seems it’s been long enough that the tragedy of it all has taken the track these tragedies always…
June Kickstarter Round-Up: Virtual Reality Gaming is Finally Real
Once a month we’ll be bringing you a look at some of the local Kickstarter campaigns in order to let you know what’s getting ready to be unleashed through the help of small investors. Omni: Move Naturally in Your Favorite Game Ever since I was a young boy I played…
Houston Restaurant Weeks Kicks Off August 1
Houston Restaurant Weeks is less than two months away and is gearing up to raise funds for the Houston Food Bank, once again, beginning August 1 and lasting through Labor Day to September 2. This year will mark the tenth year of installment, after launching in 2003. While the complete…
Chuck Negron: “I Would Love to Sing Harmonies With Those Guys One More Time”
When Chuck Negron comes to the Stafford Centre tonight at part of the “Happy Together” ’60s-music package tour, he says it will remind him of his Houston connection and how important the state of Texas was to the success of his former band, Three Dog Night. “We broke out in…
Zapruder Analysis of Chad Johnson’s Courtroom Ass Slap (w/ VIDEO)
I don’t care how funny you think you are, there are just certain times and places you don’t joke around. At or near the top of the list of places that you should back-burner any playfulness or boyish antics is when a judge is in the process of going easy…
10 Ways Amanda Bynes Is Already a Rap Star
So apparently there’s been a legit hip-hop record deal offered to Amanda Bynes. By all accounts it isn’t a joke, which is utterly mind-blowing. The guy responsible for this offer, Daniel Herman of Chinga Chang Records, has spoken out, claiming to have cleared the way with both Sony Entertainment and…
Houston’s Craft Space Grows By One with The Tinderbox, Plus Everywhere Else You Can Get Crafty This Summer
Craft enthusiasts in Houston, you have a new destination, and it’s called The Tinderbox. The shop joined the restaurants and bars of Mid-Main this past April, and is described as half-handcrafted emporium and half- artisan craft studio and workshop space. For those interested in the latter, The Tinderbox is now…
Insect Eats in Houston, But Hey, Not the Call-the-Health-Department Kind
When the United Nations issued a report advocating the consumption of insects as part of a healthful and eco-friendly diet, I didn’t squirm as much as some people. In third grade, some kid brought in chocolate-covered ants for show-and-tell and the braver (all right, greedier) students (myself included) volunteered to…
NBA Finals: Turning Point, LeBron Returns Tiago Splitter To Sender (w/ VIDEO)
I may or may not have disclosed this before in this space, and if I have, my apologies, but I am rooting for LeBron in these NBA Finals. I’m over the animosity of Decision 2010 (Really, why did I get so worked up over Cleveland getting shat upon anyway?), I…
“Crazy Rasberry Ants” Come to Houston — & You Thought Fire Ants Were Bad
On top of tornadoes, hurricanes and this stupid hot Houston heat, it seems as if Houstonians have one more item to add to their list of things to hate: Rasberry crazy ants. According to Texas entomologists, these ants have been found in more than 23 Texas counties since 2002, and…
Falling Skies: “You Think Roosevelt And Churchill Wanted To Work With Stalin?”
Remember when you were in school and summer vacation would end and you’d spend the next few weeks trying to re-remember everything from the previous year because you’d spent the last three months systematically emptying your mind of all knowledge? Because that’s how I feel every time a new season…
Perry’s Famous Pork Chop Lunch is a Steal
Every Friday, Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille has an unbelievable deal on its famous pork chop. The “Famous Pork Chop Friday Lunch” comes with a lunch cut of their pork chop, whipped potatoes, and their homemade apple sauce for only $11.95. As we reported previously, last Friday Perry’s offered an even…
Fat Tony: “I’ll Always Have My Houston Roots”
Anthony Obi has always been a humble and gracious Houstonian. Better known to the public as rapper Fat Tony, this week he drops Smart Ass Black Boy, his first retail album. It’s been a long journey from his first LP RABDARGAB, which was inspired by an H.I.S.D. campaign to get…
George Washington: Fan of the Native Americans (Even Though He Calls Them Indians)
It’s pretty much common knowledge in our country that once America got discovered the Native Americans pretty much should have taken a good hard look at the guys in the Pilgrim hats and told them to get back on their boats and back across that ocean, pronto. Obviously that didn’t…
Game Of Thrones: “You Just Sent The Most Powerful Man In Westeros To Bed Without His Supper.”
As with every Game of Thrones season finale, it always feels like a bit of a letdown after the events of the penultimate episode. That seemed true this season more than ever, as news of the “Red Wedding” begins to filter throughout Westeros. After what was arguably the most powerful…
Juanes at Bayou Music Center, 6/8/2013
Juanes: LOUD & Unplugged Tour Bayou Music Center June 8, 2013 Unplugged: to perform with acoustic rather than electronically amplified instruments. That is what Juanes’ current tour is supposed to be. And when you think about it, taking a guitar player’s axe away should severely diminish his or her effectiveness…
A Cooler Confection: The Icebox Cake
“Keep cool” is one of my mantras given my sometimes fiery temperament. This phrase becomes doubly appropriate during the summer months, especially in the realm of home baking. Although other times of the year I relish making and eating rich, comforting desserts, I can’t stomach always piping hot bread pudding…
Arrested Development: On and Off Field Issues Plague UH Athletics
The University of Houston looks nice, shiny and new when viewed from the outside. There’s a new stadium being constructed, additions being made to the University Center. New buildings dominate the rapidly expanding perimeter of the campus. Enrollment is up. Admission standards are up. It’s a Tier One university. But…
5 of Superman’s Powers You Won’t See in Man of Steel
When people think of a superhero, they think of Superman. Oh, they may have another favorite like Spider-Man or Batman or even Matter-Eater Lad if you’re insane, but Superman is just quintessentially the guy comic books are made of. Part of it is his humility, uber-Americanism, and classic look. More…
Gina’s Italian Kitchen and Pizzeria Makes Urbanspoon’s Most Popular Family-Friendly Restaurants List
Summer has started for most kids in Houston, which means more time spent with family, especially when it comes to eating out. Urbanspoon released its list of “Most Popular Family-Friendly Restaurants” and guess what? One Houston location made the list. Gina’s Italian Kitchen and Pizzeria is one of 100 restaurants…
In Report Highlighting Racial Disparities Among Marijuana Arrests, No State Looks Worse than Texas
In one of the largest reports surveying the current state of marijuana enforcement in the nation, the ACLU released a 183-page text on Thursday examining the racial disparities among marijuana-related arrests across America. While the report is a damning look at the failure of the War on Marijuana, and the…
Fall Out Boy at Bayou Music Center, 6/7/2013
Fall Out Boy, American Fangs Bayou Music Center June 7, 2013 I was telling someone on Friday, “I get to go to Fall Out Boy tonight!” Her reaction? “Ha! Is it 2004?” I couldn’t blame her for the response. Fall Out Boy’s name prompts memories of bad piercings, worse haircuts…
Stark Naked’s Macbeth: A Good Show But Where’s the Eye of Newt?
The set-up: In Stark Naked Theatre Company’s season finale, Macbeth, real-life couple and co-directors Philip Lehl and Kim Tobin tackle Shakespeare’s most murderous, married tag-team. I’m not sure who wins. The execution: Any staging of Shakespeare is required viewing, if only to experience his glorious language in action. Reading the…
What’s Cooking This Week? Easy Chicken Fajitas & More
I love cooking for my fiancé and me, but most of the time, cooking for two proves to be difficult. If I don’t make a plan, I end up running around in circles at the grocery store and wasting half the ingredient’s I’ve bought (and I hate wasting food). Enter…
Bad Furries: FBI Seeks Help Locating the “Teddy Bear Bandit”
Sometimes a fetish can just go too far. There’s nothing wrong with two adults sharing a little 50 shades of naughty in the privacy of their own bedroom. Hell, if they want to dress up like, oh, I don’t know, giant fuzzy bears and roll around inside their “den” of…
Boogie Nights: How Surviving Disco Helped Me Understand EDM
Some kid I know asked me if I ever plan to write an article about electronic dance music. I told him yeah, probably I would. I guess that seemed too cavalier an answer. He wanted to know if I had something against EDM. Naw, it’s all right, I told him…
Why Do We Want to Eat Our Children?
When constructing his successful satire, A Modest Proposal, Jonathan Swift assumed most people would find the idea of eating (Irish) babies offensive and disgusting. And, in 1729, he was right. I’m not so sure the same would be true today. Ever heard a parent cradle his or her chubby baby…
An English Teacher’s Perspective: Why The Great Gatsby Will Never Be a Great Film
Before I begin dissecting my own interpretation of Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and why Hollywood will never make a cinematic masterpiece from the source material, I’d like to say that Baz Luhrmann’s film is much better than the 1974 Robert Redford vehicle. It’s all glossy fun and games, but that…
Update: Are Southern Baptists in Town to Break up with the Boy Scouts?
Update: The Boy Scouts of America responded to our request for a comment with a written explanation on their stance on the issue from Deron Smith, public relations director for Boy Scouts of America: “We respect the deeply held religious beliefs of all of our members. We’re finding that when…
Highlight of the Heights: Sunbeam Wholesale Store
When I first spotted the Sunbeam Wholesale Store (also known as Schott’s Bakery) en route to Beaver’s, I nearly drove into oncoming traffic. It’s not just the idea of cheap carbohydrates that sent me reeling, but specifically Sunbeam white sliced bread, the forbidden fruit of my childhood. (PS: The irony…
How to Build a Mentos-Diet Coke Volcano
Looking for a way to add some pizzazz to your next cookout or entertain the kids during summer vacation? I strongly suggest building a Mentos-Diet Coke Volcano, a concept I have recently learned is exploding all over the Internet. This volcano is not, I promise, some cheap frat-house trick, but…
Killer Bunnies Attack in Suchu Dance’s BOSK
The Setup: June 7 marked the beginning of Suchu’s three-weekend run of BOSK, Jennifer Wood’s latest dance theater creation. Filled with bunnies, deer and alligators, BOSK is a zany whirlwind of a black comedy, emphasis on comedy. The Execution: BOSK makes a strong first impression with its striking minimal set…
Dress Fun and Flirty This Summer with Fotini
Punch up your standard summertime wardrobe of short shorts and white tee with a selection from fashion brand Fotini’s Spring/Summer 2013 collection of fun, flirty, feminine dresses — perfect for Southern gals looking to make this summer a fashionable one. “It’s feminine, it’s very romantic, but it’s also very current…
Chuck Negron: Estranged Three Dog Night Voice Keeps Singing “Joy to the World”
“JEREMIAH WAS A BULLFROG!” That odd, simple and urgent declarative sentence from Three Dog Night’s “Joy to the World” is one of the most famous classic-rock song openings of all time. But the man who sang it both then and now, Chuck Negron, says that what became the group’s most…
Summer of Johnny: Zapruder Analysis Of Johnny Manziel’s Music Video Debut
Here are two immutable truths: 1. Athletes all want to be actors and/or singers, and actors/singers all wish they could be athletes. It is well known that, despite many of them making millions in their respective vocations, the grass is always greener in the other celebrity category. 2. Johnny Manziel…
A Caviar Renaissance Plus Tips for Consumption
Caviar was one of those things I always knew was super expensive even if I wasn’t quite sure what it was. At the grocery store, my mother, not usually the type of parent to discourage me and my siblings from looking and touching things, would not let us manhandle those…
The Best Concerts In Houston This Week: Kendrick Lamar, Jesse Dayton, Amy LaVere, etc.
Kendrick Lamar Reliant Arena, June 11 Before Kendrick Lamar had ever released his major-label debut, he’d already worked with hip-hop giants like Dr. Dre, Drake, Warren G and Lil Wayne, thanks to a rabid Internet following and some wildly successful independent work. He’s continued to find his footing as one…
I Had No Phone For Five Days and Didn’t Die
The scene was right out of a Kodak commercial: My ridiculously adorable bull terrier frolicked in the waves of the Gulf of Mexico at twilight, an enormous doggy smile plastered on her face. I just had to take a picture of this perfect moment on my phone, but it occurred…
Chef Chat, Part 3: Matt Pak of Koagie Hots, and His Gourmet Korean-ized Food Truck Fare
This is the third part of a three-part chef chat series. If you missed the first parts, you can read Part 1 here and Part 2 here. This week, we chatted with 28-year-old Matt Pak, a self-trained chef who had worked up the kitchen ranks since the age of 15…
Weekend Weather: A Slightly Milder Weekend…for June
“Mild” is a relative word when it comes to summers in Houston. What most people think when they say the word is “moderately pleasant.” When we say it, we really mean “you probably won’t die if you go outside for more than 20 minutes.” So, in that case, we will…
Room to Grow at Urban Harvest Eastside Sunday Market
When Urban Harvest announced that they were expanding their Eastside market to include Sundays, I was ecstatic. An early morning Saturday run to the Eastside market is a staple in our weekend routine, but it’s always nice to have options, and the location is perfect for us to combine with…
NBA Finals: Chris Bosh’s Jump Shot Is Margot Kidder
I’m not normally a superhero movie guy, but I will admit that the recent wave of superhero films the last five or six years has sucked me in. The Iron Man trilogy, the new Batman trilogy, the Avengers, I loved all of these movies. I’m especially excited for the new…
Spiderman: 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…
Upcoming Events: $10 Wine-Tasting Class for Dad & a BBQ Book Signing
Give Dad an early Father’s Day gift by signing him up for the Wine Workshop: Wines for Father’s Day — “An ode to Dad” at Central Market this Monday, June 10, at 6:30 p.m. This demonstration class is run by the Central Market Beer & Wine Experts, who will take…
A James Byrd Jr. Memorial Playlist
We all know the reason Jasper, Texas is famous… Butterflies! Oh wait, no, sorry. That’s from Bizarro World, where the answer isn’t “hate crimes and murder.” It’s one of those East Texas towns, like Vidor, that the rest of the state keeps waiting for someone to make a horror movie…
Health Department Roundup: Phamily Bites Redux, St. Pius X and More
We’re doing a lightning round of the Health Department Roundup this week. And we’ll start with some good news. The Phamily Bites truck got a reinspection and made it through without a ticket or closure order this time. In fact, the only violation the city turned up was dirty non-food-contact…
False Alarm: No Fire Here, Officer, Just $4 Million Worth of Weed
You know, juvenile delinquents these days are a real problem. First, their egging or toilet-papering your house. Next, they’re setting bags of poo on fire on your porch. But the most egregious of their infractions include false fire alarms. They pull them in school and maybe even call them in…
Happy Birthday, Prince! Remembering the Purple Rain Tour at The Summit
Today is Prince’s 55th birthday. He’s a Jehovah’s Witness, so he may not celebrate the event, but that doesn’t mean we can’t. But no superfluous, flowery lede is required when discussing one of the most creative and talented musicians of our times. Let’s just cut into the purple banana cake…
Now Read This: Ten Great Articles on Style, Fashion, and Beauty
As I embark upon my Very Glamorous Trip to Albany, NY this weekend I have been assembling reading material for the plane. Naturally I’m bringing a real book–I’m smart!–but I am even more excited to read the long, long list of articles I have bookmarked over the last few weeks…
Happy National Donut Day, America!
Today is national Donut Day and the inner Homer Simpsons in all of us get to indulge in their love for donuts and celebrate their existence. The holiday, started in 1938 as a fund-raiser in Chicago for The Salvation Army, was established to honor the women who served donuts to…
Texas Shale Puts U.S. Back on Top in Oil Producing
Once upon a time, way back when, the United States was at the top of the oil-production food chain, because, basically, you could poke a hole in the ground seemingly just about anywhere and the black gold would come bubbling up. (Seriously, that’s basically what happened when they dug down…
Just How Awesome is the Hyrule Historia?
While I was out at 8th Dimension Comics picking up the monthly selections for my regular round up column my eyes fell upon something that I couldn’t believe had finally made it over to American shores; the Hyrule Historia. Released in Japan in 2011, the Historia is one of the…
(UPDATED) Where to Eat on Father’s Day 2013: Treat Dad to Something Sweet & Something with Meat
Unlike Mother’s Day, Father’s Day is not filled with champagne and mimosa brunches, or frou-frou breakfasts-in-bed. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t take your dad out for breakfast, lunch, dinner or even cupcakes this Father’s Day. Show Dad how much you love him by filling his stomach with delicious food…
Artificial Earth Machine: The Mexican NASA In Us All
It’s a well-known fact that most band names are gobbledygook, but here at Rocks Off we’re trying hard to find meaning in the oddest monikers. There are many kinds of electronic music. There’s your run-of-the-mill pop dance stuff, your more gothic and commanding industrial sermons, chip tunes that build a…
Reviews For The Easily Distracted: The Internship
Title: The Internship Do Vince Vaughn And Owen Wilson Still Have That Magic? You’re gonna party like it’s 2005. Rating Using Random Objects Relevant To The Film: Two Biff Tannens from Back to the Future out of five. Brief Plot Synopsis: Cast adrift from their jobs when their company goes…
The Manhattan Project Is Finally (Sort of) Coming to Texas
Back in the early 1940s when the U.S. Department of Defense was looking for some remote corner of nowhere to work on the Manhattan Project, maybe Texans were just a bit hurt that none of the out-of-the-way corners of our state (ahem — the Panhandle) got picked. Alas, Texas wasn’t…
The Thermals at Fitzgerald’s, 6/6/2013
The Thermals Fitzgerald’s June 6, 2013 Thursday night in Houston is usually a safe bet for music, and most any show at a number of venues will be packed. But this was not your typical Thursday, it was a few days after Houston’s biggest musical weekend, Free Press Summer Festival…
Summer TV Club: Freaks and Geeks: “I’m With the Band”
Before we start, we wanted to remind you that all the shows we have been watching and will watch are available for free streaming on Netflix. Now I just stole the excuse you were using to not watch Magnum P.I. This week Pete, Jef and myself tackled the cult classic,…
Brasserie 19’s Extreme Value Wine List
There’s really no other way to say this. The wine prices at Brasserie 19 on West Gray are insane. And that’s not just the California-speak of my youth creeping into my wine blogging. They are insane, crazy, nuts, cuckoo, mad, screw-loose, and just downright non compos mentis…
Top Five Things to Do in Houston This Weekend: Señorita Cinema, Macbeth, the Hot Undies Run and More
Texas’s first all-Latina film festival, Señorita Cinema, returns this Friday for a weekend run with a variety of short and long flicks, all illuminating the female experience. Past installments in the festival have all been short films, founder Stephanie Saint Sanchez says, but this year, past SC winners return with…
PHOTOS: Montrose Costume Shop Vintage Oasis Burns Down
If Houstonians hold our breath even slightly when we hear or read about a fire, you’ll have to forgive us. We just lost four firefighters a week ago. Last night around 12:30 a.m., a fire engulfed the Vintage Oasis costume shop at 1512 Westheimer. Fortunately, no one was inside but…
Street Art as Fine Art at the Station Museum
In our time, there may be no art form more divisive than street art. For decades, the public has debated the merits of the form — from the criminality of the act to the skill and creativity involved. The Station Museum of Contemporary Art enters this debate with “Call It…
The 5 Best Things to Eat or Drink This Weekend: Sips, Suds & Sliders & More
Sips, Suds & Sliders at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Friday, 5:30-9:30 p.m. 1601 Lake Robbins Dr. Purchase tickets for the Sips, Suds & Sliders event at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel & Convention Center for just $20 in advance and $30 at the door to feast on a variety of…
Turtle Soup: More With One of the Wildest Bands of the ’60s
Today, when the 65-year-old Howard Kaylan looks back on the ’60s, it’s still hard to imagine the kind of commercial and chart success he had with the Turtles, and how by age 22, it was all over. “They say that wisdom comes with age, and at that time, I had…
PETA’s “Cutest Vegan” Finalists Include Soldier from Channelview
PETA pisses a lot of people off with their efforts to sway meat eaters to a vegetarian diet. The controversial campaigns often draw attention for their outlandishness. One particular approach, however, generally irritates no one, and that is the ad campaign featuring hot people, usually actors or models, wearing little…
Assembling a Care Package for Your Summer Camper
In the throes of thesis-writing, I was reminded of how much a creative and well-timed care package can lift one’s spirits when a good friend from Austin sent me tea, chocolate, unicorn tattoos and a Gumby toy along with humorous instructions as to when and how to use each item…
Music Festivals Remain a Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World
As we round out the end of the week, all of the festival hangovers from the full-blown fuckery at FPSF have subsided and we’re all a bit less foggy, it’s time to look back at the festival in a slightly different light. Let’s put aside the rants about overpriced water…
100 Creatives 2013: Stephanie Saint Sanchez, Senorita Cinema Founder
Stephanie Saint Sanchez is a Houston-based short film maker and founder of Senorita Cinema, and all-Latina film festival that takes place this weekend in various locations around town. What She Does “I like to take our mythologies and recreate them to fit modern modalities,” she said. “I am not ‘stuck’…
The Rice Owls Are Two Wins from the College World Series
This is not the best baseball team that Wayne Graham’s coached in his years at Rice. This isn’t the best of the 19 straight Rice teams to advance into the NCAA postseason, or the best Owls team to go to its tenth Super Regional since 1999, the first year of…
All in the Cast: Eight Seasons of The Real Housewives of Orange County
It’s hard to believe that we’re halfway through season eight of the Real Housewives of Orange County. Orange County is the Real Housewives franchise that started it all; before New Jersey, before Atlanta and before New York City, there were the big-haired gals of Southern California. When the franchise began…
The Best Concerts In Houston This Weekend: Fall Out Boy, El Ten Eleven, Journey Agents, etc.
Fall Out Boy Bayou Music Center, June 7 Fall Out Boy, the emo-pop band that took the airwaves by storm in the early ’00s, is back and apparently ready to save rock and roll, according to the title of their new album. They’ve taken the past few years off to…
Openings & Closings: Houston Will Run on Dunkin’
This week has been full of openings and few closings. So let’s just get the bad news over with. Houston Avenue Bar, aka Re:Hab Houston, informed the public that its lease is up and will be closing the first week of July. The Houston Chronicle reported that management already has…
Lance Deleon: Cop Fired After Shooting Neighbor’s Cat with Arrow
A Boerne police officer has been fired three weeks after he fired an arrow into a neighbor’s cat. The firing came one day after a grand jury declined to indict Lance Deleon on animal cruelty charges. (The animal survived after being treated for a punctured lung.) Deleon’s attorney, David Parent…
This Sunday is Tony Awards Night and TUTS’ John Breckenridge Is Casting His Vote
Talk about a quick turnaround. Friday is deadline day for this year’s voting in the Tony Awards honoring the best shows on Broadway in the past year. And on Sunday, we’ll get to find out who the winners are during the CBS broadcast hosted once again by Neil Patrick Harris…
The Rest of the Best: Houston’s Top 10 Churches & Temples (Architecturally)
Houston is home to several of the country’s leading mega-churches so we thought we’d look at the city’s religious architecture. Does “great big congregation” automatically translate into “grand and glorious?” Ah, that would be a no. Before we start our list of Top 10 Churches, let’s take a quick look…
Gambling! Lines on First 10 Big Games of College Football Season Released
It’s early June, which means over the next two months, we are about to have a barrage of Navin Johnson “The new phonebooks are here!!” moments. For non-movie watchers and those under the age of 35, that clip from The Jerk is my metaphor for an oddly over-the-top amount of…
Why Vampire Weekend Makes Me Embarrassed to Be a Hipster
Friends, let’s get real here. I can’t lie to you any longer. By popular opinion, I have been labeled a hipster. This is not a new or recent development. I was being called a hipster in 2008, long before it was cool to call people hipsters. I’ve even been mistaken…
Food for All But Bibs for Some? I Think Not
An increasing percentage of my friends are having babies, which means the introduction of goods such as sippie cups, baby bags and onesies into my social space. I generally welcome these child-specific items; after all, happy baby means happy parent means happy host. One item in particular seems so useful…
Dear 59/610 Exchange Drivers, Seriously, WTF?
Hi, fellow Houston drivers. Listen, if you ever drive on 610 or Interstate 59 and use the intersection of those two freeways, we need to talk. There’s a real problem. You should probably sit down. This week alone, there have been two serious accidents at that location. One involved an…
Pork Chops Deal of the Day Friday: Only 79 cents at Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille
The first 100 people in line at any of the six locations of Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille this Friday will pay only 79 cents for the restaurant’s pork chop lunch. Doors open at 11 a.m. and according to a Perrry’s press release, this is their way of honoring the year…
The Full James Turrell Experience in Houston
On Sunday, the James Turrell retrospective “The Light Inside” lands at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston in an unprecedented examination of the American light artist’s work. It’s just one of three independently curated, concurrent exhibitions that explore Turrell’s five-decade career, the other two running at the Los Angeles County…
The Turtles: The Raunchiest Band of the ’60s?
Even the most voracious reader or rock-music biographies and autobiographies would be hard-pressed to find a better opening sentence than Howard Kaylan, lead vocalist of The Turtles, has in his new memoir Shell Shocked. “I was snorting coke on Abraham Lincoln’s desk in the White House,” it reads. This sets…
What Does Pink Actually Camouflage? MyPlates Releases Girly Camo Texas Plate
Those crazy folks at MyPlates.com have done it again. Just when you thought they were done coming up with wacky designs for you to slap on the back of your vehicle, they show up with a pink camouflage license plate. It’s like you’re preparing for an adorable battle involving unicorns,…
And the Award for Best Television Wardrobe Goes To …
Did you know that a television show doesn’t even have to be good to be watchable, if the wardrobes are interesting enough? For example, the mind-numbing cop/M.E. drama Rizzoli & Isles is a perfectly fine way to kill a lunch hour, because Isles has kind of a sweet wardrobe. Remember…
Chef Chat, Part 2: Matt Pak of Koagie Hots and The Golden Grill, on Life as a Food Truck Owner
This is the second part of a three-part Chef Chat series. You can read Part 1 here and Part 3 in this same space Friday. Yesterday we chatted with Matt Pak, the chef and co-owner of Koagie Hots and The Golden Grill food trucks, about how he got started in…
Fleetwood Mac at Toyota Center, 6/5/2013
Fleetwood Mac Toyota Center June 5, 2013 A few things occurred to me as a spectator at Wednesday Night’s Fleetwood Mac show at Toyota Center: They are not in the touring game for a paycheck; This band has a ton of mutual respect for one another, and for good reason;…
Welcome to the Bizarre Era of Crazy Online Fundraising
Nicole Easton decided to try a stunt many young people have. I certainly did years ago. It seems like fun. You get a running start and jump off the roof into a pool. No biggie. Goaded on by her friends and boyfriend, Easton made the leap, only she also hesitated…
I Had Phone Sex With My Friend’s Boyfriend. Help!
Welcome to Ask Willie D, Rocks Off’s advice column where the Geto Boys MC answers reader questions about matters, in his own words, “funny, serious or unpredictable.” Something on your mind? Ask Willie D! DITCHED Dear Willie D: I got a little problem. My girl and I was supposed to…
Masterwork’s Broadway Release of ClownAround (The Original Show Album) is a Topsy-Turvy Delight
Sometimes the stars just don’t align correctly for musicals, and they flop. Their quick departure from pop culture typically obliterates them from public memory. ClownAround, with a book and lyrics by Alvin Coopperman (The Untouchables), music by Mark “Moose” Charlap (Peter Pan), and direction by Gene Kelly, suffered this very…
The Ultimate Trip to Japan with Carl Rosa
Sushi Club of Houston President Carl Rosa has taken Houstonians to Japan since 2007. Rosa takes three groups throughout the year to visit the beautiful land of Japan, tour areas you won’t find in a typical traveler’s guidebook and taste the best cuisine Japan has to offer. In August, a…
Firstborn: Tropical Storm Andrea Forms in Gulf of Mexico
It seems like only yesterday we were here talking about the opening of hurricane season. Well, technically, day before yesterday. And just like that, we have our first named storm. Last night, the National Hurricane Center upgraded the disturbance formerly known as 91L to tropical storm status and it became…
Pump Up Your Grill Game: Marinating Dos and Don’ts
Summer’s here and it’s time to grill. Step up your grill game by checking out our list of dos and don’ts for marinating meats, poultry, seafood and veggies…
Rocks Off 100: Recon Naissance, A Rap While Matt’s Guitar Gently Weeps
Welcome to the Rocks Off 100, our portrait gallery of the most compelling profiles and personalities in the far-flung Houston music community — a lot more than just musicians, but of course they’re in there too. See the entire Rocks Off 100 at this link. Who? I’ve got to admit,…
Pop Rocks: Let’s Be Done with American Idol
Does anyone watch American Idol anymore? Better question, is anyone in charge of the production on that show or is it run by interns and toddlers? The singing competition — once a juggernaut — has been nothing more than a hot mess for the past several years, and I say…
After a Year Combating Human Trafficking, Houston Coffee Shop Looks for New Location to Continue Fight
Erica Raggett always dreamed of opening a coffee shop. Every time she walked into one, she scouted the place — sometimes aware, sometimes subconsciously. Whether as a Teach for America instructor in a north Houston middle school, or while she spent time in Philadelphia as a TFA administrator, or after…
Flashdance, The Musical Proves There’s Only so Much You Can Do With Pole Dancing
The set-up: Flashdance was originally conceived as a stage production, but Paramount asked the producers to develop a screenplay, and produced it as a film in 1983. The film starred Jennifer Beals and Michael Nouri, receiving negative reviews but became a smash hit at the box-office. A stage version opened…
Top 5 Most Obnoxious Food Portmanteaux
I have no objection to a clever and useful portmanteau. Tween, hazmat and Spanglish come to mind, not to mention less obvious ones embedded in everyday parlance such as dumbfound (dumb + confound) and goodbye (God + be(with) +ye). In the food world, however, there are many, many portmanteaux that…
Any Beatles Fan’s Bucket List, Now In Easy Book Form
100 Things Beatles Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die By Gillian G. Gaar Triumph Books, 256 pp., $14.95 It’s a good thing that we are living longer these days as a human species, because given the glut of books about movies to see, music to hear, art to…
Houston Firefighters Honored at Reliant Stadium Memorial
Fire trucks from across Texas rumbled through the streets of Houston before dawn to be a part of a procession that would lead into Reliant Stadium. The trucks filled the front stadium parking lot, silent with lights flashing as they moved into the stadium parking lot an hour before the…
Parents, Don’t Let Your Children Watch Powerpuff Girls or They’ll be Communists
Regular readers may notice that I’ve managed to already turn my three-year-old into a little Whovian, and thus may envy me that I get to watch Daleks and Cybermen with her rather than other children’s fare. The sad truth is, though, that she calls just as equally for My Little…
The 10 Least Subtle Song Titles of All Time
Now I was a singer in a band, and that band wrote a song called “You Cannot Kill David Arquette.” We wrote a lot of other songs, too, and most of them had more esoteric and poetic titles. Still, that’s the one I like the best because it’s just as…
Collecting (Hoarding?) Wade Figurines from Red Rose Tea
If you have been searching for a way to indulge simultaneously your caffeine addiction and your penchant for ceramic miniatures, look no further. I myself was once faced with this challenge and am honored to share the solution: Wade Figurines from Red Rose Tea. Since 1967, Red Rose Tea has…
If George R.R. Martin Wrote Every TV Show Ever
George R.R. Martin took a break from killing Starks today to send us this list of the notes he would send to the producers of TV shows if he were put in charge of them. [NOTE: We made this up.] Here’s what he dashed off for us, in between shouting…
The Internship Is Worse Than Fetching Coffee
Eager young people can’t find jobs; qualified older people can’t find jobs. There’s nothing funny about that, which is exactly why someone ought to be making comedies about it. The Internship, in which downtrodden old-school salespeople Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson enter the 21st century and land internships at Google,…
Life Is a Sitcom in The Kings of Summer
It’s to the great detriment of The Kings of Summer that it follows the identically premised Mud by just weeks. Both films tell bittersweet coming-of-age stories about teenage friends who learn how to become men in a soon-to-be-corrupted Eden, and both are questionably embellished by a predictable teen romance, an…
Capsule Art Reviews: “Cocomirle: A Visual and Sound Environment by Adela Andea,” “The Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia; A New Beginning,” “Halls without walls, room to feel in. The door awaits you, your return within.” “Maurice,” “No Paint,” “Sal
“Cocomirle: A Visual and Sound Environment by Adela Andea” Houston artist Adela Andea’s light installations and sculptures are true crowd-pleasers, captivating artists at galleries, art fairs and, last winter, Art League Houston’s outdoor garden-turned-bio-electronic environment, “Primordial Garden.” The Romania-born artist returns to the Montrose art space — this time indoors…
Tear-Down
Highlights from Hair Balls Houston 101 I have spent most of my 44 years on this earth in the city of Houston. I started visiting the Astrodome when I was just a kid for Astros and Oilers games as well as the occasional high school football game. I even walked…
A Slice for a Tat
Food Trucks Last November, local food truck favorite Pi Pizza wanted to celebrate its one-year anniversary with something memorable. Anthony Calleo, owner and head honcho of Pi Pizza, came up with the idea of offering anyone who got a Pi Pizza tattoo during that month free pizza for life. Not…
Capsule Stage Reviews: Close Up Space, Malcolm and Teresa, Road Show, Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Suicide Club
Close Up Space The tyrannical senior editor of a publishing house keeps his rebellious teenage daughter in a boarding school, but, expelled for destruction of property, she returns to attack him. Add an assistant whose past excesses with Mary Jane have left him mentally challenged, salt with a high-strung female…
Best in Show
HPMA Without fail, the Houston Press Music Awards sneak up on us. Last year, when the HPMAs returned to the dog days of summer after a one-year Thanksgiving holiday, only a few short months fell between the 2011 trophies and the 2012 nomination ballot. This time it’s been several months…
MUY CALIENTE SUMMER EDITION
Dear Readers: U.K.’s spectacular Guardian newspaper has asked if I could field some questions for their readers as part of the paper’s summer travel package — turns out Brits want to know more about Mexican food! Let’s be benevolent toward those buggerers: their idea of what our comida constitutes comes…
A Redcoat in Patriotland: A Brit Visits the 2013 NRA Convention
The AR-15 is lighter than I expected. It’s an intimidating chunk of rough-hewn black metal and rubber, but it sits softly in my hands. I bring it to my shoulder and, making sure I’m not pointing it at anyone, I peer down its sights. I’m not sure what to do,…
The Burger Guys and the Zen of the Burger
Compared to the harsh fluorescent lighting and low, acoustical-tiled ceilings of downtown Houston’s underground restaurants, The Burger Guys’ bright yellow awning stands as a beacon on Main Street, summoning the Mole People from their burrows into the light of day. Inside, the high-ceilinged space feels generous and cheerful, splashes of…
A Bloody Good Show: Theatre Southwest Takes on Dracula
Fog swirls underfoot and Gregorian chant reverberates. Red light bathes two blanched, debauched brides wearing dusty wedding dresses. They perch on the stairs near the Gothic windows, watching with hungry anticipation. One pets a raven on her arm; the other hisses menacingly. An old crone sheathed in garlic and entangled…
The Purge Asks Questions, Gives Conflicting Answers
Here’s a category idea for bar trivia: Collect one-sentence plot summaries of young-adult novel series and R-rated horror films, and see who can distinguish which from which. The one where the kids kill each other for sport is approved by school districts for extra-credit reading, as is the one where…
A Protest, A Prayer: The Story of Pussy Riot Comes to HBO
Anyone trying to run a civilized country should know that throwing musicians in jail for making music is always a bad idea. That didn’t stop Vladimir Putin’s government from arresting three members of the punk collective Pussy Riot, after the group stormed the altar of the Cathedral of Christ the…
The Mouth That Ate Itself: Morton Downey Jr. Roars Again
Used to be to get famous in the rightwing blowhard racket you had to have an act. Not today. Has anyone ever once thought, “Oh, I can’t wait to hear what Sean Hannity’s going to say next”? (Or “squeak next,” in Hannity’s case.) Consider this scene from the funny, arresting…
What Maisie Knew Might Be a Great Movie About Childhood
There are times during the affecting tumult of What Maisie Knew when you may think, “At last, a first-rate American movie about what being a kid actually feels like!” And then there are times when, despite the scrupulousness of co-directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel’s adherence to the perspective of…
