“Randy Twaddle”
Longtime Houston artist Randy Twaddle has been known to find inspiration as he drives down city streets at dawn and dusk, scanning the tree tops. Twaddle especially likes the way power lines and transformers look silhouetted against the sky, and he’s been making artwork out of that imagery for more…
Comment of the Day
This week, Katharine Shilcutt started counting down her 100 favorite dishes in Houston right now, and so far the response has been eerily good-natured. Like this one from Kozmonix, on her No.99, the Mixta Pizza at Friends Pizzeria: OMG How could you pick this place?!?!?!?1111 There’s so many better ones…
Kareem Jackson — First Cockfighting and Now….
While the NFL’s work stoppage has fans (and several players needing a cash influx) a little bit nervous that we may not see football start on time this fall, there has been a silver lining in players’ being banned from the teams’ facilities. The work stoppage, which has included cancellation…
Comment of the Day: The Green Lantern vs. God
Today on Art Attack, we featured an open letter from writer/resident geek Jef With One F to Warner Brothers and DC Comics asking that “Under God” be restored to the Green Lantern Oath. If you’re like me, you probably hadn’t realized it was missing; then you slowly realized it had…
Gabrielle Giffords Gets Out of TIRR, Moves to League City
U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords has completed her stint at TIRR and will begin outpatient therapy, Memorial Hermann announced today. The Arizona rep, shot in the head five months ago, will live in the League City home of her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly. “Congresswoman Giffords has shown clear, continuous improvement from…
Extreme Makeover, Houston Edition: Send Us Photos of Your Flipped House
The season for spring cleaning is well over, and we know some of you crafty/handy/Real Simple types did something pretty extraordinary with your homes, like make flower beds out of railroad ties or use bricks to paint walls or fit your TV into a dumbwaiter. The point is, we’re a…
BARC Handling String of Startingly Bad Animal Abuse Cases (With Graphic Photos)
The world has completely gone to hell in the last 36 hours, based on the shocking display of animal cruelty cases that Houston’s Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care is dealing with. Authorities are investigating the following, according to BARC: — A man shot a Yorkshire terrier with a high-powered…
Five Life Lessons From John Lennon’s “Lost Weekend”
Rocks Off would like to wish a very happy 70th birthday to one of the coolest pop cats out there, Harry Nilsson (wherever he is now). Four times out of five, whenever we play the jukebox at Warren’s, we put on something from his Greatest Hits – like Martin Scorsese,…
Nathan Del Sol, 5, Bayou Body Count No. 82
Houston homicide investigators are looking into the shooting death of a five-year-old boy who was shot by his seven-year-old brother. The two were left unattended in a Katy Freeway motel room while their father was in the motel’s front office, police say. The older boy “gained access to a firearm…
100 Favorite Dishes: No. 98, Veggie Tacos from Radical Eats
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…
Cover Story: Air Hockey Reigns Supreme (With Video)
As the space shuttle program winds down, people will be reflecting on all the contributions to society NASA has made. Among them: Air hockey. The game was developed by NASA contractors, and it remains huge, especially in the Houston area. Our cover story this week, “Hover Boards,” examines the phenomenon…
The Best WTF Sandcastles
The official start of summer is just days away, even though this part of the world got a jump start on us two months back when temperatures began edging closer to the 100’s. With warmer air comes more beach action, and in turn, the return of the sandcastle. Though it’s…
Anne Lynn Montgomery: Teacher Had Two Children With Student
It’s bad enough to be a teacher having an affair with a student. It’s worse when you have two babies via the affair. But for Anne Lynn Montgomery, the coup de grace is that no one in law enforcement would have known about it all — until she went to…
Down House Isn’t Open, But You Can Eat There
Down House has been seating folks for breakfast and lunch for approaching three weeks now. But, the restaurant is still in its soft-opening period despite running a wait during lunch this week. In fact, according to General Manager Forrest deSpain, “as far as we’re concerned, we haven’t even opened yet.”…
Happy Father’s Day: Country Songs For Country Daddies
In country music, fathers are either saints with strong hands capable of spinning wonder and magic, or grim drunks who want nothing more than to beat their wives and children and induce general misery. After spending a lifetime listening to some of these songs, some bringing tears to our eyes…
Wikipedia Doesn’t Think Much of Astros GM Ed Wade
Wikipedia, the absolutely, impeccably never-wrong source of all information, apparently isn’t impressed with Astros General Manager Ed Wade. The opening, in case you can’t read it up there:…
Ponderosa Gives House Of Blues A Mouthful
Rocks Off is usually ambivalent, at best, about restaurant shows. One of the few times we’re not interested in live music at all is when we’re eating, and we imagine we’re hardly the only person who feels that way. Strolling violinists and mariachi groups especially get under our skin That’s…
Extremely Short Film Festival 2011: Motion Pictures Handpicked by Wholphin‘s Main Man
There’s a reason why people name check McSweeney’s. The San Francisco-based, shoestring-budget enterprise of Dave Eggers – author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, How We Are Hungry and What is the What – represents, with nary a lame offering, what’s right about contemporary literature (read Salvador Plascencia’s The…
R.I.P., Army Berets: Eight People Who Could Actually Rock That Look
We read with mixed emotions the news that the U.S. Army is dropping the beret from its official combat uniform after soldier complaints. On the one hand, the overall foppishness of the beret tends to cancel out the otherwise serious, assertive message of the rest of a combat uniform. But…
Fifteen Of Our Favorite Cheating Songs
Songwriters find inspiration many of life’s varied realms: Joy, grief, sex, drugs, anger and, evidently, two-timing. Some are sad, some cheeky, some violent and revengeful, but we’ve collected a sad-sack grab-bag of cheating-related songs. Here is our Top 15, along with their lyrics’ best (read: worst) lines…
A Not So Happy Hour at El Real Tex-Mex
I admit, my expectations were high for El Real Tex-Mex. And well they should be. Since it’s a joint venture between James Beard nominee Bryan Caswell, and James Beard Award-winning writer and former Houston Press Food Critic Robb Walsh, I expected to be blown away. I expected fireworks on the…
Exurb Makes Impressive Debut With Input/Output
Museums are so boring, right? Standing around, looking at art on walls and pedestals is so passé. Ok, perhaps we’re exercising a bit of hyperbole – after all, Art Attack loves a good museum experience. There’s always something special about experiential pieces, though – these works force us to redefine…
Illicit Cig Leads to Odd Lufkin Donnybrook
Yesterday’s police report in the Lufkin Daily News led with an odd item, a month to the day after we reported another cigarette-related incidence of domestic mayhem in that Piney Woods metropolis. Apparently a woman and her live-in boyfriend got in a fight after she caught him smoking a cigarette…
Burger Bewilderment (of the Best Kind) at The Counter
Have a blind date coming up? Need to eat dinner with someone who’s really bad at making small talk? Eliminate that awkward initial silence by agonizing over the list of burger options at The Counter! I know this sounds like an unusual endorsement for a restaurant — especially one that…
Buck Movie Tickets: Name This Horse
When my mom was a kid, she entered a Sears contest to win a horse. She just had to give the horse a winning name. Her dad convinced her to name the horse “Roebuck,” adding “you’ll win for sure!” She didn’t win. But we’re giving you a chance to win…well,…
Texas Monthly‘s Best & Worst Legislators: Mostly Houston-Free
Texas Monthly has released its always-anticipated reckoning of the 10 Best and 10 Worst Legislators, and Houston seems largely absent from either list. The best includes Senator John Whitmire, and that’s it — although technically the easternmost portions of another Best winner, Representative John Zerwas, have some of far west…
To See You Happy: Experimental Christianity Leaves Us Hanging
Ed. Note: As they are designed to, these “What’s In a Names” get a little fanciful sometimes. There is in fact no church on Phillippine Street – in fact, there is no Phillipine Street in Houston at all, though there is one in Jersey Village – and Joshua Littleton is…
New UGK/Big K.R.I.T. Song Holds Fast To That Wood
It’s not quite up to Tupac-level proportions yet, but UGK keeps pouring out that prime Southern rap unencumbered by Pimp C’s untimely December 2007 demise. The latest track, leaked by the Smoking Section this morning, is the expertly sculpted ode to steering wheels “Grippin’ On the Wood,” featuring the Port…
Ingredient of the Week: Rudy’s Rub
Last week, the Ingredient of the Week was an Asian garlic chili sauce that doubles as a condiment and a marinade. This week, I decided to continue the meat-prepping theme by showcasing an American seasoning just in time for summer barbecues. What is it? A dry rub for various meats…
Gerardo Lugo, 20, Bayou Body Count No. 81
A man was gunned down in a westside apartment complex last night, Houston police say. Gerardo Lugo, 20, was visiting an apartment in the 1500 block of Sherwood Forest when “several unknown suspects” approached and shot him multiple times. He was taken in a car to Memorial Hermann-Memorial City Hospital,…
Tasting Notes: This Week in Wine Blogs
Know a Houston-based blog we should be paying particular attention to? Leave the address in the comments section below. Vintage Texas: Top Texas wine blogger Russ Kane may be based in Houston, but, man, this dude gets around. His blog is always our No. 1 go-to resource for wine events…
The Voice: Round 2 Quarterfinals Live Show
I’m really excited about this week’s episode because I think Cee-Lo and Adam have the strongest overall teams, and both Texas contestants–Nakia and Jeff–compete tonight. Not to mention the strongest contestant of all: Javier Colon from team Adam, whose musical ability goes far beyond just his voice; he plays piano…
Your Favorite Bands: How To Correctly Pronounce Their Names
Back in December 1998, when Eminem was just hitting MTV and rap radio, we remember people pronouncing his name as “Eee-mine-im,” and not the candy-inflected way it actually was. We even made the mistake during our first viewing of “My Name Is” late at night on the video channel and…
20 Things the Astros Can Do Now to Save the Season
And today’s scapegoat is…When you’re the worst team in the major leagues, and when attendance is falling off, and when the only thing people want to talk about is you switching leagues so they can see the Yankees and Red Sox more often, then you’re a team that has problems…
Eminem Vs. Gaga; Nicki Minaj Vs. Britney: Who Wins?
The hip-hop world is a less than sensible place – lots of times, you’re even required to clarify when bad means bad and when bad means good – so once a week we’re going to get with a rapper and ask them to explain things. Something you always wanted to…
Restoring “Under God” to the Green Lantern Oath
Dear Warner Brothers and DC Comics: I am writing as a concerned fan and parent, and not at all as some kind of smart ass satirist. I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to see Green Lantern finally hit the big screen, and with Ryan Reynolds portraying Hal Jordan…
Joseph Harrell, Waco Minister, Pleads Guilty to Selling Millions of Fake Shares in “Petro America” Investment Scam
Yesterday, a Waco minister named Joseph Harrell pleaded guilty in a Missouri federal court to playing a key role in a nationwide securities scam. Harrell admitted selling millions of shares in a purported oil company called Petro America Corporation. The company claimed to be worth a whopping $284 billion –…
Brew Blog: Camp Beer VII
While other, less fortunate drinkers were watching beer-pong tournaments and passing out from heat-stroke, I spent Saturday in the cool, blessedly beer-pong-free environs of the Odd Fellows Lodge in the Heights. I was there for Camp Beer VII: The Golden Beers. It was my first Camp Beer experience, and I…
Art Review: Musicians Who Make Art at the Art Car Museum
When talking about crossover in art forms, perhaps musicians and visual artists are most successful at achieving success in each other’s fields of expertise. Dancers, actors and singers can be triple-threats, but musicians and visual artists, through their manual manipulations of instruments and materials, seem naturally inclined to swing between…
Dear Paul McCartney: Please Come Play Houston
Dear Paul McCartney, Hi. This is Craig Hlavaty and I write about the musics for the Houston Press Rocks Off blog here in the Bayou City. Lately I have been seeing on Twitter and the greater Internet that you are slowly piecing together a concert tour of baseball stadiums. Which…
Racing Rachael: South of the Border
First, my confession…I did it again. I relied on the trusty old cookbook and didn’t look at the web versions of these recipes. My apologies for the inconsistencies between the cited recipes and my creations. Regardless of where these recipes are found, they are still part of Rachael Ray’s famed…
Comment of the Day: Why Yao Ming Didn’t Meet Expectations
We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it’s time we paid some damn attention to them. So we’ll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day’s work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula…
The Bridesmaid Dress: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
So what passes for a bridesmaid dress these days? I only got married two years ago, but it took me about five minutes of online shopping to know that I wanted to pick the color and leave the rest up to the bridesmaids. I went with black, since I was…
Astros Pitching Coach Brad Arnsberg Fired: Four Things to Watch
“It was philosophical differences between a manager and a general manager and a pitching coach. I don’t want to get into the details. It’s just been kind of rearing its ugly head the last two, three weeks, and I guess they felt like they had to make a move for…
Gothic Council Nominates 2012 Presidential Candidate
The Gothic Council has few real duties, you understand. The role of the group is largely ceremonial. Wearing black and judging people isn’t really a full-time job unless you somehow end up as a judge on American Idol. However, each election cycle we are obligated to nominate a candidate for…
Twisted Father’s Day Cards: For the Dad You Have
This Sunday is Father’s Day, a day that keeps the folks who make bathrobes and mustache trimmers busy. A holiday where we reflect on that hairy dude who put their P in our mother’s V to make us, and hopefully stuck around long enough for us to borrow the car…
Sampler Plate: This Week in Food Blogs
Each week, we put together a sampler plate of the most interesting links from both local and national food blogs. Know a blog we should be paying particular attention to? Leave the address in the comments section below. Weapons Grade: Justin implores restaurants, bars and alcohol purveyors across the city:…
Rick Perry Says He’s a Prophet and That’s Why Texans Don’t Like Him Much
Governor Rick Perry appeared on the Fox News network for an interview with Neil Cavuto. Cavuto made the somewhat dubious statement that Perry is “very popular outside your state, still popular but not nearly as popular within your state.” (Although “outside your state” could, we guess, refer specifically to the…
Calvin Day: Alleged Pervy Dermatologist Loses License
The Texas Medical Board has suspended the license of a San Antonio dermatologist indicted last month on two counts of sexually assaulting patients — but what really got our attention is the part where he ordered an employee to stick a laser hair-removal device “into his anus and pull the…
Comment of the Day
So yeah, apparently some people are kind of upset about some beer festival. Like commenter winelush here: Just reading this makes me chuckle, and I was going to go, but I lucked into a massive sinus infection and that and 95 degree heat is no bueno. A friend bought VIP,…
Comment of the Day: Who Would You Kill Off?
We’ve all had a favorite character from a favorite show get killed off. It’s one of those inevitabilities that comes with long-running shows and short actors’ contracts (someone needs to rethink that hot-dog-bun-to-hot-dog-package ratio), and today’s Pop Rocks brought to mind those characters that were never killed off, but really,…
Love It Mayne: Houston Web Awards Welcomes Fat Tony
Rocks Off is pleased to announce that Houston rapper Fat Tony will be our special guest at the first-ever Houston Web Awards, 7 p.m. Thursday, June 30 at Momentum Audi (2315 Richmond). Tony, who is still riding high off last year’s full-length debut RABDARGAB, will DJ throughout the evening, present…
Fetuses in a Public Landfill: Not the Way It’s Supposed to Happen
We all know that the souls of aborted babies go to live with Jesus, but what of their earthly remains? Well, in Texas, they legally can’t be disposed of in landfills — which is exactly where the remains from two abortion clinics have been going, according to Texas Commission on…
Lynne Ellen Field: A Few Drinks and an Ex-Husband’s Wedding Equals Arson Fun
Here’s a lesson for you men out there: You don’t want to get on the bad romantic side of Lynne Ellen Field of Waller. Field, 48, got two years’ probation today for her reaction — after having a few drinks — to learning the news that her ex-husband was in…
100 Favorite Dishes: No. 99, Mixta Pizza at Friends Pizzeria
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…
Zoo Station: A Noah’s Ark Of 75 Animal Songs
And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his…
Today’s DVDs: Battle: Los Angeles and MOOZ-lum
Battle: Los Angeles stars Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez and Bridget Moynahan, Jonathan Liebesman directs. Here’s What our critic, Pete Vonder Haar, said about the film: I wish I could tell you the cool explode-y parts make up for the cornball dialogue and wholly predictable ending, but while some of the…
Jamie Leigh Jones Finally Gets Her Day in Court Against KBR
After years of delays, today Jamie Leigh Jones is finally getting her day in court against Halliburton and KBR. Jones — we’ve done a number of stories on her — has become famous through her attempts to hold the company responsible for the gang rape she says she endured in…
Pico Benedict at Black Walnut Café, Rice Village
Another Saturday morning, another last-minute decision for breakfast in Rice Village–this time my husband and I settled on Black Walnut Café. I had only dined there once, for one very lovely, delicious lunch last summer. This breakfast certainly left me wondering why we hadn’t been back, because it was–in a…
Krayolas Score Surprise Hit With Bob Dylan Cover
If you follow these pages you may have noticed that Rocks Off recently tabbed Tipsy Topsy Turvy by veteran San Antonio rockers The Krayolas as our choice for best Texas album of the year so far. Yes, we understand that this may be running counter to the other members of…
The Lord of the Rings Screening: The Final Hurrah
Once upon a time, a lot of people went to a lot of trouble to get rid of a really small ring. It took a whole year, eight protectors and one determined hobbit named Frodo Baggins. Today marks the beginning of the special screening of The Lord of the Rings…
Family Sues to Get Attorney’s Fees Back Because Their Lawyers Successfully Bribed the Judge
A Texas family that successfully settled a wrongful-death suit for big bucks is suing to get back $5.7 million in attorney’s fees and expenses because the lawyers used part of that money to bribe the judge. Whatever it takes, right? Be happy with your winnings, right? Apparently not. The plaintiffs…
Is Good Tequila Required for a Good Margarita?
Years ago, a wise bartender in a cantina known for its destination margaritas and so-so cuisine revealed his secret: Cointreau. “I can beat El Tesoro and triple sec any day, with common tequila and Cointreau.” I didn’t know how much wisdom he had, so I asked him to make what…
Schweddy Balls: 5 SNL-Inspired Ice Cream Flavors
Gothamist reported yesterday almost the awesomest news a Saturday Night Live fan/Alec Baldwin fan/human being could ever hope to hear: That Ben and Jerry’s might be unveiling a new flavor based the iconic “Schweddy Balls” sketch starring Baldwin and cast members Molly Shannon and Ana Gasteyer. The sketch revolved around…
Nathan Eugene Davis: Composite Sketch of Cross-Dresser’s Killer
HPDNathan Davis’s killer looks like this.Houston police have released a sketch of the man they believe hit Nathan Eugene Davis in the head and left his body near an apartment complex dumpster. The shooter is described by HPD as “a black male in his late 20s to early 30s. He…
Tuesday June 14, 2011 Deals of the Day
Today’s VOICE Daily Deal from the Houston Press gets you half off ($6 for $12) at Las Tortas El Angel. Choose from 13 different sandwiches, piled high with fresh veggies and your choice of meat, and served on fresh telera bread; toppings include chipotle mayo, refried beans, avocado slices, and…
Yao Ming Signals It Might Be All Over
Yao Ming, the man who — through no fault of his own except his fragile feet — has never delivered on the high expectations Houston had of him, is beginning to make clear that he’s played his last game here. In an interview with a Chinese basketball site, Yao says…
Art Review: George Gittoes at the Station Museum
Australian artist George Gittoes isn’t afraid to put himself at the epicenters of some of the worst acts of human brutality on the planet in order to make his art. His travels have taken him to Rwanda, Bosnia, Congo, Iraq and Afghanistan, among other war-torn countries. This exhibit at the…
The Abortion Debate Part 2: Five Pro-Choice Songs
Yesterday Rocks Off allowed five musicians to voice their opposition to legalized abortion in this country through song. Today, we allow rebuttal from the pro-choice camp in order to give everyone their say. As a note, a conversation between writer an editor brought up Ben Fold’s “Brick,” and whether such…
Flight of Moules-Frites at The Broken Spoke
Belgian beer connoisseurs know that The Broken Spoke is the place to go for brews that are difficult to find on draft in Houston: Maredsous Brune, Duchesse De Bourgogne, St. Bernardus Prior 8 and Tripel Karmeliet are just a few of the nearly 20 beers that proprietress Catherine Duwez keeps…
Houston Clergy Group Criticizes Rick Perry’s Prayerapalooza
Two dozen leaders of Houston churches have signed an open letter criticizing Rick Perry’s big summertime prayer meeting in Reliant Stadium. You’re not going to see a lot of Southern Baptist names on the letter — there’s a lot of “universalist” and “unitarian” and churches that support GLBT issues. The…
Happy (Black) Flag Day, Everybody
Today is Flag Day, a day where we honor the institution of the first United States flag in 1777. You know, Old Glory, the flag that looks really killer on bikinis in the ’80s or when B L A C K I E wrapped himself in it at Free Press…
Comment of the Day: Too Many Hispanics In The Lege? How About Too Many Men?
We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it’s time we paid some damn attention to them. So we’ll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day’s work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula…
Bun Bo Hue Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup
There’s so much more to explore and understand about Vietnamese cuisine than banh mi and pho. The regional differences in the north, central and southern regions of Vietnam mean that there are foods at which each region excels. The north is known for being a bit cleaner and saltier. Dishes…
Mortal Kombat: Legacy Finale Postponed Until Comic Con
For those who have been wondering when our coverage of Kevin Tancharoen’s groundbreaking web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy will resume… we’ve been wondering the same thing. With only two episodes left to go, word about the delay has been scarce on the series’ home at Machinima.com. A little digging around…
Hashtag Honors To Foreshadow Underground Rap Awards
This Friday, the second installment of the Houston Press Underground Rap Awards will post here. We’ve received a fair amount of emails/text/mentions/tags about it this month, which is cool. But before we get to that, let’s run through a bunch of good music that’s been passed this direction recently. As…
Isabel “Chavelo” Gutierrez: Dies While Raping Elderly South Texas Woman
A 53-year-old convicted sex offender has died while in the act of raping a 77-year-old woman earlier this month, Refugio County police say. Pending an autopsy, authorities there believe that Isabel “Chavelo” Gutierrez was (karmically) stricken by a heart attack on June 2. According to published reports, Gutierrez was in…
Wine of the Week: Riesling, the Perfect Poolside Wine
If you’ve been following along recently here at “Wine Time” on the Eating Our Words blog, you know that my credo and top criteria for picking wines are balanced alcohol and bright acidity. These words-to-live-and-drink-by go hand-in-hand with a motto often repeated at our house: no wine without food, no…
MFAH Screening: Our Beloved Month of August
Blurring the lines between fiction and reality, Our Beloved Month of August is a bewildering fusion of documentary, narrative and musical styles that results in a film that is as deceiving as it is captivating to watch. Attempting to shoot a screenplay during the summer festivals in and around the…
Upcoming: Avenged Sevenfold, Blue October, Lindsay Buckingham, Etc.
Avenged Sevenfold, Three Days Grace, Seether: Mon., Sept. 5. Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. Blue October: Sun., Aug. 21. House of Blues. Battles: Thu., Oct. 20. Fitzgerald’s. Boyce Avenue: Tue., Sept. 20. Fitzgerald’s. The Chris Robinson Brotherhood: Sat., Aug. 27. Fitzgerald’s. The Dodos: Sat., Sept. 3. Fitzgerald’s. Electric Six, Kitten: Sun.,…
Breakfast: Vietnamese Steak & Eggs
A typical Vietnamese breakfast may look a lot like lunch. Savory dishes are preferred; a bowl of noodles, either pho or hu tieu, and chao, a traditional rice porridge, are pretty common breakfast fare. French baguettes are a favored breakfast item as well, especially accompanying Bo Ne Bit Tet, a…
Eight Halfway Decent Songs With Godawful Titles
So, we listened to Coldplay’s new single, “Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall” for the first time and, try as we might, we just can’t hate it. Now, it’s not great. One could argue that it only barely crosses the line into “good” territory. It sounds like Chris Martin locked himself…
Doctor Challenges Mayor Parker to Become Vegan, As If She’s Not Busy With Anything Else (UPDATED)
UPDATE: Janice Evans, Communications Director for the Mayor, has confirmed that Mayor Parker is not going vegan. Hey, Mayor Parker! Drop those bacon-wrapped Cheetos. In fact, drop everything, and become a vegan. You’re not doing anything else, are you? So supposes Dr. Neal Barnard, a nutritionist who’s coming all the…
Goodbye Today Show: Your A.M. TV Problems Solved
Now that Meredith Vieira is officially off The Today Show, you might be looking for something new to tune into as you sip your 7 a.m. coffee. I have been a regular The Today Show watcher for years, mostly for Matt and Meredith’s tête-à-tête, that “will they, won’t they” factor…
Pop Rocks: Let’s Kill Off Some More Popular TV Characters
Last weekend on [that show we won’t name here because we’ve been writing way too much about it] there was a pretty shocking development: one of – if not *the*- main character of the series was killed off. Offing a beloved television figure isn’t an uncommon tactic (even if most…
Pop Rocks: 5 Lead TV Characters We’d Rather Kill Than…That Other Guy
Last weekend on [that show we won’t name here because we’ve been writing way too much about it] there was a pretty shocking development: one of the — if not *the* — main characters of the series was killed off. Offing a beloved television figure isn’t an uncommon tactic (even…
The Great Kat: From Juilliard To Shred Goddess
Rocks Off has collected some very, very off-the-wall people over the years in search of musical enjoyment. We thought Cory Sinclair of The Manichean was until we interviewed Tyagaraja and realized he might actually be a Jedi. We always thrilled to hear the psychotic scienctific ravings of Dr. Milo T…
For Flag Day: The 10 Worst National Flags
We don’t just hate certain American state flags here; we also hate the following ten foreign abominations of design, symmetry and good taste. It is less our opinion than it is scientific fact that these are, without a doubt, the ten worst national flags in the world. 10. St. Lucia…
Where Are We Drinking?
Here at Eating Our Words, we don’t just drink booze all the time. Sometimes we drink ungodly amounts of caffeine, too. In this case, the photographer captured one of our favorite ways to drink our morning coffee: in a pint glass. It’s almost like the best of both worlds. Can…
100 Creatives: Mr. SINched
What They Do: Kenney Arocha and his wife Michelle, better know to the goth community as Mr. and Mrs. SINched, specialize in designing and producing extremely high-end corsetry, fetish wear, and dark fashion. These aren’t the cheap corsets that you’ll find in Hot Topics. Each of the items handmade pieces…
10 Politician Photos Sexier Than Anthony Weiner’s Shots (NSFW)
If you’ve ever had any curiosity about how photogenic Anthony Weiner’s crotch is, you’re having a great week or so. (The answer, by the way, is “Not one-one hundredth as photogenic as he seems to think it is.”) Weiner, who’s taken a leave of absence from the U.S. House of…
MLB Realignment — I Want The Astros In The American League (And I’m Bright!)
Your Houston Astros lost 4-1 to the Atlanta Braves on Sunday afternoon to drop their record on the 2011 season to 24-42, the worst record in all of Major League Baseball. The Astros are a bad baseball team that is thoroughly uninteresting. As someone whose living is largely based on…
Comment of the Day
Christina Uticone tried Whataburger’s chicken club and pineapple shake, sending commenter Rgwalt into a kind of dream state: The grilled chicken sandwich topped with grilled peppers and onions is another limited time option, and it is fantastic. I recommend getting it with jalapenos, also grilled… As far as the regular…
Jolanda Jones Speaks, Sort of
In the wake of an Office of Inspector General investigation that found she violated city ordinances in creating a flyer dispensing legal advice, Houston City Councilwoman Jolanda Jones said today that she was “confident that when all of the facts come to light, I will have acted within the acceptable…
100 Favorite Dishes: No. 100, Dumplings at Heights Asian Cafe
This year leading up to our annual Best of Houston issue, we’re counting down our 100 favorite dishes in Houston. This list comprises our favorite dishes from the last year, dishes that are essential to Houston’s cultural landscape and/or dishes that any visitor (or resident) should try at least once…
Comment of the Day: Verily, I Would Nap
Today, we ran a story about the Southern Naptists, a group that seeks to re-establish napping as a priority in this country. Instead of baptizing their followers, elders “naptize” new congregants. Instead of communion wafers and wine, you get cookies and milk. Actually, it sounds pretty nice. Reader Dodie Messer…
Happy 25th Birthday Olsen Twins: 5 of Their Creepy Food Songs
If you want to know why Generation Y is fat, look no further than the ’90s musical output of the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, the Monchhichi-looking twin sisters from ABC TGIF powerhouse sitcom Full House. Today is the girls’ 25th birthday, and it seems like just yesterday the men of…
The Napkin Files: Deep Thoughts From Shallow Waters
Lonesome Onry and Mean spends quite a bit of night time in bars and music venues writing random thoughts on bar napkins. Lots and lots of bar napkins. Usually LOM is laboring under the delusion that he’s having a brilliant idea, some deep, penetrating minor profundity that will, if not…
Rebecca Forest: Tea Party Leader Tells Austin Rally There’s Too Many Hispanics in Legislature
This weekend saw another thrilling right-wing rally in Austin, and in this one Rebecca Forest, a co-founder of an immigration group called Women on the Wall, offered a unique take on why Texas can’t get hard-core legislation passed like Arizona and Alabama. If you want to know why we can’t…
Houston Beer Fest Outsells Its Venue by 8,000 Tickets; Attendees Furious
Nearly 20,000 tickets were sold by the organizers of the inaugural Houston Beer Festival, although the festival’s venue only had a capacity of 12,000 people. And that was just the first of many issues that arose at the beer bash on Saturday afternoon, after the embattled organizers had already contested…
Fresh Air: The Big Range Dance Festival
In its second of three weekends, the Big Range Dance Festival delivered just that: A big range of fresh, new contemporary dance. With nine choreographers (eight of them Houstonians) showing work, this past weekend put a finger on the pulse of a very current beat. The BRDF’s Program B opened…
Jose Maravilla: Most Detailed Public-Masturbation Story Ever
We here at Hair Balls are not a squeamish lot. We make no pretensions towards being a “family newspaper.” Hell, as a blog, we are not even a newspaper at all. We are gonna go ahead and assume that the opposite is true at The Monitor, the daily paper in…
Top Five Foods As Good On Your Face As In Your Mouth
As a wee thing, I frustrated my mom by smearing my dinner on my face rather than putting it in my gullet. Little did she know I was actually experimenting with edible skin care treatments. (Turns out spaghetti sauce does not clear your pores.) Here are five foods, however, that…
A Dream Austin City Limits Weekend For Houston
Summer is creeping in, which means the fall concert calendars are filling up fast, and we should know which Austin City Limits Music Festival artists will book side dates in our area sooner rather than later. The standard disclaimer: Rocks Off is not a promoter, and we have no inside…
Tears of Joy: Kana Harada at Koelsch Gallery
Kana Harada finds inspiration in the joys of life, both small and large. Everything presented at her latest exhibit, Tears of Light, at Koelsch Gallery is an embodiment of her gratitude and joy towards life. Her art, in fact, displays that same youthful zest for living, and include Disney, the…
Francisca Cortez: Woman Accused of Hit and Run That Led to HPD Officer’s Death
The driver who hit two motorcyclists and then fled the scene in an incident that eventually led to the death of a Houston police officer has been found and charged, according to court documents. As we noted, the mystery person behind the wheel of a white Suburban was just about…
Edgy, Twisty, Heartfelt: It’s Only Life
The set up: You won’t hear simple rhymes like “moon, June, spoon” in this compilation revue by composer/lyricist John Bucchino (A Catered Affair). His interior monologues are gem-size musical short stories, each with its own distinct tone and emotional pitch, geared for the frantic urbanite searching for love. His work,…
Highlights from the Wine Rendezvous Grand Tasting & Chef Showcase
For me, this past Saturday was the culmination of a week’s worth of anticipation and a day’s worth of appetite-saving, a chance to taste more than 500 wines and sample 50 chef’s tastings at HEB Wine & Food Week’s Wine Rendezvous Grand Tasting and Chef Showcase in The Woodlands. I…
The Abortion Debate: Five Pro-Life Songs
In this time of great economic stress, high gas prices, mounting debt, and other sober financial concerns gripping the nation, it is only natural that many legislative debates across the nation are focused on abortion. And when we say it’s only natural, we mean that it’s hard to type while…
The Southern Naptist Convention’s Solution for Insomnia: Napping
Here’s a message to a city that never sleeps: it’s nap time. At least that was the message yesterday at 14 Pews, where many gathered for the Southern Naptist Convention to catch a few z’s. “[It’s about] bringing an awareness about napping…Technology and different things keep us up later and…
Stealing a Purse in Church: a How-To Video
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office has released this security-cam video of a woman rifling through a purse during a church service. “God and a camera were watching Cynthia Gonzalez, aka Cynthia Martinez, as she allegedly stole from a woman’s purse after the woman got up to receive communion,” the sheriff’s…
The Rolling Hunger’s Rollin’ Taco
This week I made a stop by Dirk’s Coffee on Montrose, where The Rolling Hunger truck was parked. I’d seen a picture of the “Rollin’ Taco” on Facebook, and it looked too delicious to pass up. And this taco, with truffle fries, pork, Korean slaw, pico de gallo, and their…
The Weekend in Slideshows
It was a busy weekend for food events, from the 17th anniversary party at Saint Arnold to the cattle call for Pilot Light tickets at Revival Market, but we managed to capture most of it. The line for those Pilot Light tickets started forming at 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon,…
Mavericks Celebrate in South Beach Bar: The Photos, Including Dirk Nowitzki Guzzling an $80K Bottle of Champagne
The Web site worldredeye.com has a page full of pictures up of the Dallas Mavericks, the whitest NBA champs since Larry Bird’s Celtics, getting down last night and early this morning at Dallas South Beach nightclub LIV. We can only assume such a hip name as LIV is an homage…
The Killing: “Beau Soleil”
Oh for crying out loud. This is what it’s come to? After three months of red herrings and glacial plotting punctuated by occasional flashes of brilliance (last week’s episode, for example) the identity of Rosie Larsen’s killer is apparently revealed, and it turns out to be the guy everybody wrote…
Last Night: The Doobie Brothers At House Of Blues
They are one of the classic American rock bands of the ’70s and ’80s, boast nearly a double CD’s worth of hits from three distinct eras, always play with incredible musicianship, and still feature original singer/guitarists Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons. So why was Aftermath – though we enjoyed the…
Silsbee Cheerleader: Bid to Help Assault Victim Gets Overwhelmed
Word comes via the Bayou blog of an effort to help pay the legal fees of the Silsbee cheerleader who was thrown off the squad for refusing to cheer the player she said raped her. The cheerleader took the school district to court, but the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of…
The Week in TV: Tracy Morgan That Much Closer to Becoming Tracy Jordan
There hasn’t been a lot of TV to watch recently, but repeats still beat going outside (or, apparently, braving the Houston Beer Fest). This was the week in TV Land: • Apparently bored between seasons of 30 Rock, Tracy Morgan got into some trouble recently for some jokes he told…
Saturday Night: She Wants Revenge & Nico Vega At Warehouse Live
She Wants Revenge, Nico Vega Warehouse Live June 12, 2011 Aftermath made our way into Warehouse Live Saturday night, expecting to dance our pants off to some She Wants Revenge, whom we had put on the backburner after we overcame and outgrew our angsty, teenage years. But there was a…
Chicago Comes to Houston With John O’Hurley as Billy Flynn
The music and lines in Chicago, the musical are so distinctive, so memorable that John O’Hurley who has starred in the show on Broadway says he can step in and out of his role as the lawyer Billy Flynn at a moment’s notice. O’Hurley, of Seinfeld fame (he played Elaine’s…
Nathan Eugene Davis, 44, Bayou Body Count No. 80
A man reportedly dressed in women’s clothing was found shot to death near an apartment complex Dumpster this morning, police say. The victim, whose identity has not been released, had been shot in the head and left in a complex in the 13300 block of Northborough on the north side…
No-Bake Summer Desserts
It’s hot. It’s so hot I can’t even make jokes or try to be witty about it because it’s just not funny. And it’s only going to get hotter, which kind of makes me want to cry. It wouldn’t be so bad if I didn’t have the world’s moodiest air…
Houston Theatre Company’s Death of a Salesman “Barest and Boniest”
The set up: The power of Arthur Miller’s masterpiece, Death of a Salesman, comes through even in a bare-bones production, and the presentation from the Houston Theatre Company is the barest and the boniest that one could possibly imagine. The execution: Stripped-down theater permits the writing and the acting to…
Saturday Night: Luis Miguel At Toyota Center
Luis Miguel Toyota Center June 12, 2011 It’s 9:10 p.m. and Luis Miguel struts onstage, all smiles and ego. He’s 40 minutes late but nobody, including him, seems to notice. He launches into “Te Propongo Esta Noche” backed by a band that’s got a full horn section of three saxes,…
Astros to the American League? That’s the Latest Rumor
Wait, what, the Astros to the AL?If you were at one of the Astros games this weekend against the Braves — and judging by the attendance figures, many of you weren’t — then you were probably annoyed by the idiot Braves fans doing that stupid tomahawk chop thing they do…
Fast Times: Pineapple Shake and Honey Mustard Chicken Club at Whataburger
I did an hour of cardio in preparation for this, my first-ever trip to Whataburger. And I didn’t even get a Whataburger, if you can believe it. No, my first trip to Whataburger was dedicated to two new, limited-time-only items on the menu: the Pineapple Milkshake and the Honey Mustard…
Rappers: Which NBA Player Would You Be And Why?
Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Every Monday that isn’t the day after a gigantic local music festival, Rocks Off will have some of them here discussing issues relevant to their culture. This Week’s Panel: Bun B, Zavey, Kyle Hubbard, Mac, Dice, Hollywood Floss, Cuddy, Mr. Wired Up…
World Naked Bike Ride Comes to Houston (Semi-NSFW)
(For more Semi-nekkid pics, check out our slideshow.) A select group of free spirits congregated at Super Happy Fun Land on Saturday night for the first-ever session of the World Naked Bike Ride to be held in Houston. Organizer David Collins, who dubs himself the “Naked Emperor,” promoted and recruited…
Burning Bones Press Ups the Cool Factor in the Heights
It’s hard not to be thrilled by the opening of Burning Bones Press. After all, co-owner Carlos Hernandez is one of those guys you root for to succeed — humble despite his obvious talent, full of positive energy, and an all around genuinely nice person. He first gained attention for…
Top 5 Simple Foods to Pair with Scotch and Whiskey
I recently started drinking whiskey for the same reason most other people do — because someone they knew was drinking whiskey. For the past decade, I’d stayed away from the brown stuff, because all the Crown shots from college had left a mental (not to mention liver) scar. But now…
Friday Night: Motley Crue & Poison At Toyota Center
Motley Crue, Poison, New York Dolls Toyota Center June 10, 2011 See mucho pyro, “Titty-cam” requests to Tommy Lee and lots more in our slideshow. “This drink tastes like rank hooker ass,” says the man in the club-level bar, clad in an oversized Motley Crue shirt from one of the…
Comment of the Day: Houston’s Great Colleges And Universities
We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it’s time we paid some damn attention to them. So we’ll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day’s work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula…
Game Of Thrones: “Baelor”
If you haven’t watched the latest Game of Thrones and don’t want to know what happens, get the hell out of here. Though it would probably serve you right for reading recaps in the first place. I really wasn’t Iooking forward to this one. The big WTF moment of the…
Astros’ Pitching Musical Chairs — Somehow Brandon Lyon Got a Seat
“Fulchie’s got the stuff, and he’s had some success here the last couple years and we wanted him to go down and work on command of his pitches and being able to throw the ball over the strike zone with consistency,” manager Brad Mills said. Okay, first things first –…
30 Seconds With Tyagaraja
Jon Welch, better known to Houston audiences as Tyagaraja, remains one of our most brilliant and esoteric artists. We sat down with him to see what we could learn about the mystical musician in 30 seconds. Rocks Off: What is the worst song in the world? Tyagaraja: A song that…
For Flag Day: The 10 Worst U.S. State Flags
(For a list of our ten worst national flags, click here.) As we are sure you are no doubt keenly aware, Flag Day is tomorrow. We could give you a list of the ten prettiest flags, but we are Hair Balls, and that’s not the kind of crap we like…
Where Are We Eating?
A long line at this popular restaurant isn’t out of the ordinary, but at least it gives patrons a chance to figure out what they want from the massive menu before ordering. Does the scene below look familiar to you? If you know where we’re eating this week, leave your…
We Live in a World Where Dallas Has Won an NBA Title: Five Things to Consider
Way, way back in the day, when we lived in Dallas — more or less against our will — we were Dallas Maverick fans. The Dallas Morning News’ offices were a block or two from Reunion Arena, and Mark Aguirre and Roy Tarpley were there to be enjoyed. The Mavs…
Motley Crue At Toyota Center: A Taste
Rocks Off had to run by the (rocks) office this afternoon, so we thought we’d post a few photos from Friday’s Motley Crue/Poison/New York Dolls glamstravaganza at Toyota Center while we were up here, plus a few tweets from the show. See our full review, and more photos, tomorrow morning…
Eirin Hicks: Misdemeanor Charges Filed in Death of Texas State Woman Who Fell to Death
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and Texas State University police announced a handful of charges stemming from the death of Eirin Ann Hicks, a student who fell to her death from an elevated first-story dorm room last month. The charges are not directly tied to her death; the most serious…
Class Size in Texas May Not Blow Up After All
It’s not going to be carte blanche and open the door to pack 25 kids into a classroom in Texas public school classrooms after all. Rep. Rob Eissler (R- The Woodlands) whose House Bill 18 wanted to move the state to a cap of 25 students in each classroom, today…
Comment of the Day
Jeremy Parzen created another mouthwatering Odd Pair: “King Ranch Chicken and an ‘Oxidative’ Wine from Jura.” And it is official – he has a fan in commenter SirRon: Seriously, Jeremy’s wine posts have literally made me a better person. For real. High praise, indeed. We’ll just bask in that for…
Look Out Notre Dame: HBU To Challenge For Gridiron Supremacy Of Religious Schools
The college football world was (not exactly) shaken up today with Houston Baptist University’s announcement that it is looking to field a team. The Huskies play in a few sports, but the school says it is looking to play football “should an appropriate league opportunity present itself.” “Intercollegiate football will…
This Week in Deliciousness
Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where we’ve been trying to get Opie and Anthony to re-tweet scandalous pictures of our manscaped junk all day, but so far, no dice. Come on, guys. Help a loyal listener with exhibitionist tendencies out. We started the week…
HISD’s Apollo 20 Dealing With Some Outbound Personnel
In today’s Examiner newpapers, editor Charlotte Aguilar breaks the news that Jeremy Beard, the school improvement officer assigned to oversee the turnaround project for the district’s low-performing schools, is leaving Houston ISD. Instead, he’ll go to work for Blueprint Schools Network, part of Dr. Roland Fryer’s Harvard EdLabs. Fryer is…
Top 10 Songs Famous Because Of A Movie
Wednesday night, surf-guitar hero Dick Dale played to a packed Continental Club, in what Rocks Off’s buddy Lonesome Onry and Mean and several others have since said was one of the best shows they’ve ever seen. The song that sent everyone home with their ears ringing and their fingers on…
Upcoming Events
Pay attention, because your weekends for the rest of the month will be quickly filled up with fantastic food events a-plenty. Remember this time last week when we were discussing food trends to watch for in Houston? Seth Siegel-Gardner and Terrence Gallivan are back with another pop-up restaurant project, just…
Yay? Houston One of Few Cities to Get the Sarah Palin Movie
You’ve been holding your breath for weeks now, wondering if Houston would be blessed enough to be one of the cities picked for the limited initial release of The Undefeated, the documentary that proves beyond all doubt that Sarah Palin is the heart and soul of America. Great news!! You…
Anime Night at the Alamo: Dance in the Vampire Bund
If you love vampires and werewolves but can’t stand the perfect, sparkly ones that fought over that one chick in Twilight, then considerDance in the Vampire Bund. This supernatural anime is the highlight of this week’s Anime Night at the Alamo Drafthouse. The story goes something like this: vampire princess…
Good Tequila Actually Does Come (Relatively) Cheap
It’s 4:32 in the afternoon and I have a box of booze and nowhere to be. A box filled with two giant bottles of Familia Camarena tequila, a brand that I am not familiar with. Lord knows I do love me some tequila, but testing out strange booze can be…
Ace Atkins: This Time It’s Fiction
Fans might just now be meeting Quinn Colson, the Army Ranger at the center of Ace Atkins’s new book, The Ranger. Atkins, however, has already completed another book and is writing The Ranger’s sequel, so he’s been living with the character for a while now. And he’s happy with his…
Is There a Guy Beating Gay Bar Patrons with a Baseball Bat Roaming Montrose?
OutSmart magazine has talked with a guy who said he was jumped and beaten with a baseball bat outside a gay bar in Montose last weekend. The man’s name was not given, but he said he was near a bar in the Fairview area about 2 a.m. Sunday, walking to…
Would You Sell Your Soul For A Million Twitter Followers?
Recently, Rocks Off was rolling the List o’Craig like we do when an all caps entry screamed at us that for only $50 they would gain us thousands of Twitter followers and Facebook friends. $50? That’s less than a the price of a good Lego set! However, is it a…
Odd Pair: King Ranch Chicken and an “Oxidative” Wine from Jura
University of Texas alum and a Solomon among wine writers, my friend Eric Asimov likes to tease me about some of my favorite pairings with Texan cuisine, like “oxidative” wines from Jura, France, with my mother-in-law’s Chex Mix. (An oxidative wine is a wine that was made by purposely exposing…
Black Tie Optional, Beach Casual or Semi Formal? What to Wear to a Wedding
So it’s summer, which may mean you have one wedding to attend, or you may have a dozen. When I was in my mid-twenties I saw several summers in which a huge portion of my income was spent on bridal shower and wedding gifts, not to mention new dresses for…
A “Super Hero” Art Exhibition at the Zen Art Space
Huge muscles, spandex, and underwear worn on the outside are all classic trademarks of our favorite comic book heroes. But there’s a twist to the image at an upcoming exhibition since it features art of real superheroes, ranging from firefighters and policeman to those that inspire us. “‘Super Heroes’ [is]…
Controversial Ex-BARC Vet Accused Of Botching Surgeries (With Graphic Photos)
A veterinarian who left the Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care after he was caught dispensing controlled substances without proper registration is now accused of botching routine surgeries on four kittens last week at his new job at a low-cost clinic. Marie Melancon told Hair Balls that two of her…
Single Jack White: 10 Women He Should Date Next
Today came word that Jack White and wife Karen Elson are splitting in grand style, with a celebratory party in their hometown of Nashville this evening. Together, the two struck a sultry pose, the brooding, multifaceted rocker and his redheaded model wife. They have two kids together, ages five and…
Chef Chat, Part 3: Morty Parsa of Kasra Persian Grill
After our conversation (included in Part One and Part Two of this Chef Chat), Chef Parsa brought out a few of his specialties. We started with the house-made flatbread called taftoon, a warm, slightly puffy disc the size of a large plate. It was crusty, chewy and and good enough…
Alpha One Investing: Great At Pretending To Be Wildly Profitable
A Spring man plead guilty today to running a bogus investment scheme that produced a lot of account statements to customers showing great profits as he pocketed their money. Robert David Watson, 50, told investors his “Alpha One” method of investing in foreign currencies was da bomb, and got almost…
Last Night: Hip-Hop Fest 2 At Midtown Lounge
Hip-Hop Fest 2 feat. Tawn P, Undergravity, Dante Higgins Midtown Lounge June 9, 2011 11:09 p.m.: Son. Of. A. Bitch. We’ve been trying to see Tawn P live for, like, two months and have missed her every single time. She apparently just finished her set a couple of minutes ago…
Main Street Theater Shakes Off An Awkward Start For Blithe Spirit
The set-up: Blithe Spirit is Noel Coward’s famous comedy that asks the question, “What happens if death do us not part?” Charles Condomine, a fussy English novelist and his new wife, Ruth, are haunted by the ghost of his first wife, Elvira. Personality clashes, the appearance of a flamboyant (and…
HISD Students and Parents Won’t Have to Learn New Bus Times This Fall
In what had to be something of a surprise to the Houston ISD administration, school board trustees in a 4-3 vote Thursday night turned down a plan that would have standardized and changed start and stop times at the district’s schools two months from now. Superintendent Terry Grier had presented…
June 4 to 10: The Week in Art 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…
The Best Barbecue in Texas: There’s an App for That
This week, Texas Monthly unveiled a new website and an application for the iPhone that claims to help you “discover, discuss and debate the best BBQ joints in Texas — and worldwide.” Whoa, worldwide? Let’s just take this one step at at time, Texas Monthly, and let’s see how the…
River Battle on the Rio Grande: The Aftermath, On Video
The Texas Department of Public Safety has released this snippet of raw video from the maybe-not-so-epic shootout on the Rio Grande yesterday. It shows the drug-filled inflatable raft, but the best shot is four U.S. boats, proudly and meacingly facing towards Mexico. Take that, drug cartels! Meanwhile, the McAllen Monitorhas…
Motley Crue’s Nikki Sixx: The Rocks Off Interview
“I’m dying for rock and roll to become exciting again” Tonight, the grand rock and roll triumvirate of Motley Crue, Poison, and the New York Dolls pulls into the Toyota Center. Each band comes armed with decades of experience, great songs, and a boatload of modern influence, including the Dolls,…
Houston One Of Few Cities Seeing Increase In Retail Jobs
Houston led the nation in increasing retail jobs since 2008, but it wasn’t that difficult a task since the vast majority of cities saw a decrease, according to a new study. Houston added 4,100 retail jobs over the time period, easily besting second-place Austin, which increased by 2,400. Third place…
Last Night: Swishahouse Reunion At House Of Blues
Michael “5000” Watts Birthday Celebration & Swishahouse Reunion House of Blues June 9th, 2011 The premise was simple: bring together every Swishahouse artist, past to present, for a reunion concert, invite 2,000 of your closest friends, and profit. Simple? Sure. Easy? Not quite. But if anyone in Houston can rally…
Yoga Fuel, Lazy Yogi Edition: H-E-B Sushi and Spring Rolls
Don’t let my piece about fried zucchini blossoms fool you–I’m really a pretty lazy cook. My husband does most of the cooking and food shopping at our house, so when he’s out of town on business I tend to do more “assembling” than “cooking” for my meals. It only takes…
Houston Ballet’s Taming of the Shrew: A Feminist Travesty, But A Dancing Delight
The Houston Ballet closes its season with the Taming of the Shrew, a work by John Cranko based on Shakespeare’s masterpiece of the same name (for those who got to skip this in middle-school English, it’s the ballet version of 10 Things I Hate About You). Katherina, danced last night…
So You Think You Can Dance: The Top 20
It’s some kind of unwritten law that, as the dancing gets better on SYTYCD, host Cat Deeley becomes exponentially more annoying. I’m sure there’s a chart or a mathematical formula somewhere, but you can just go by anecdotal evidence, too. Last night, she could be seen squeezing in a seat…
Efforts To Deport Terrelle Pryor To Canada Fail
“My house is not for sale, but for the right price, it’s on the market.” — Larry James, Terrelle Pryor’s attorney discussing his client’s possibly signing with the CFL There are lots of life lessons for Terrelle Pryor to take away from the events of the past two weeks. Lessons…
Greatest Grub: Chocolate Cake
Chocolate. In my book, it’s a superfood. Have something to celebrate? Break out the chocolate. Have a bad day at work? Time for chocolate. Feel like you’re going to explode from overstuffing yourself at dinner? Chocolate to the rescue. Here are some picks for where to find the best chocolate…
Reviews For The Easily Distracted: Super 8
Title: Super 8 What Exactly Is “Lens Flare?” It’s the often screen spanning glare created when non-image forming light enters the lens and subsequently hits the camera’s film or digital sensor, used to comedic excess by director J.J. Abrams in Star Trek. And Why Are We Talking About It, Again?…
Hula Mama’s: Paradise in a Double Wide
The writer at Eater who declared last week that tiki is dead might want to get out of New York for a while. This weekend in Ft. Lauderdale, tikiphiles will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of The Hukilau at the historic Mai Kai (also celebrating it’s 55th anniversary this year,…
How Bootsy Collins Became A Bass Player
Recently Rocks Off had the great pleasure of speaking with one William Collins, known around the world by his platform-heeled nickname, Bootsy. The man with the mellow voice and star glasses is on any short list of best bass players in the world, thanks to his long years with James…
Comment of the Day: The South Shall Rise Again
We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it’s time we paid some damn attention to them. So we’ll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day’s work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula…
David Alan Grier Warms Up For Houston Visit
When comedian and actor David Alan Grier calls from Los Angeles, his main concern about Houston is the same as any in-town resident: the weather. “What’s it like there now? I just remember Houston as being hot, hot! And they had all these unfinished highways that went to nowhere!” When…
June 4 — 10: The Week in Photos
Each week, we take a dip into the Houston Press Flickr pool and see what our talented photographers have been up to. As the official start of summer nears, we want to see your hottest shots. Just drop them in our photo group right here. Maybe you’ll see them in…
Joel Gregoire: One-Man Metal Extravaganza
If there is anything that Rocks Off loves about the modern music era it’s that the ability of individual people to put out their own elaborate albums has never been easier. Meet Joel Gregoire, an instrumental metal maestro by trade and former member of Stride. He’s releasing his new album…
Gun Charges Dropped Against Two Rice Football Players
In April we noted a surprising run of guns-and-ganja arrests among Rice football players, not a population normally given to resembling the University of Texas, either on or off the field. So, in order to dispel the impression that the campus on South Main has become a freefire, drugged-up den…
Openings & Closings
Pearland is really moving up in the world, home to greats like Killen’s Steakhouse and hole-in-the-wall gems like Thanh Phunog that serve wild boar pho. In addition to its own recently opened version of House of Pies, a new biergarten/carwash called King’s Biergarten has opened on Broadway. According to the…
100 Creatives: “Uncle” Charlie Hardwick
What he does When asked to describe his craft, “Uncle” Charlie Hardwick replies, “I don’t consider myself an artist. I’m more of a carnie, really.” Hardwick may not see himself as an artist, but his extensive body of work in the music industry has elevated the 41-year-old Houston native to…
Racy Cowgirl Postcards: An NSFW Tour Of An Odd Subculture
As the Dixie Chicks sang in “Little ol’ Cowgirl”: She’s a little ol’ cowgirl from out Texas way / Countin’ the nights ’til the fiddler plays / Workin’ all week just doin’ her thing / She likes punchin’ doggies but she loves to swing The cowgirl has been a source…
Comment of the Day
Katharine Shilcutt wrote a long review of Tan Tan and blogged about needing to get the bad taste out of her mouth. And commenter Mike Calimbas wrote in to agree with her: I’ve always loved Tan Tan on Bellaire so I tried the one on Westheimer and boy was I…
Ozzie Guillen’s Son Oney — Worst MLB Draft Analyst Ever
As someone who has a tendency to react irrationally from time to time to something that someone (friend or enemy) may say, do, tweet, or e-mail, I can attest first hand how hard it is to maintain the self-control that allows one to go from “I must react violently and…
Comment of the Day: We Don’t Speak Nerd
Today’s a very special Comment of the Day. Well, not really. We’re checking out a new timeframe for the feature to see how it gibes with our schedule, which is why we’re about eight hours late in publishing it. Really. This isn’t about who did what or got jacked up…
Dazed And Confused 2: A Rock Of Ages For The ’90s
Broadway loves nostalgia, and they also love a sure thing. That’s why most of the biggest hit musicals on Broadway right now are jukebox musicals that string together narratives out of popular songs. Musicals like Movin’ Out, Jersey Boys, and especially Rock of Ages utilize hits from the past few…
Mark Anzaldua: Sentenced In Horrific Case After Mentally Challenged Relative Has His Baby
Yesterday a Hidalgo County jury found Mark Anzaldua guilty of raping a mentally-challenged relative. The evidence in the case was beyond compelling: a DNA test proved that Anzaldua fathered the woman’s son. In the sentencing phase, Anzaldua wept in open court and begged for leniency. Choking back sobs, he told…
Top 5 Healthy and Unique Smoothies
For nearly two years I lived without a blender. I know, talk about a hardship, right? Well, the dog days are over, because I have been reunited with one of my favorite kitchen appliances once again and am making up for lost time. In addition to being a blender enthusiast,…
This Weekend: Dumb and Dumber at Alamo Drafthouse
If you hate it when your roommate gives you “the look” every time you can’t resist saying “Samsonite! I was way off!”, “If I know Mary as well as I think I do, she’ll invite us right in for tea and strumpets,” and “Kick his ass, Sea Bass!” during your…
Houston First In Race to Gaily Cruise the Amazon
Nobody’s celebrating Pride month quite like Concierge Travel, the Houston-based GLBT cruise agency. They just announced the first gay cruise on the Amazon is scheduled to set sail, reported USA Today. So grab your breathable cotton and organic dolphin biscuits, because Cher is waiting on the Lido Deck. The seven-night…
Beyonce Nude, Still A Texas Gal At Heart
Rocks Off has been clicking our “This Week In Beyonce” category more and more lately, and we expect to keep doing so as the hype builds surrounding her latest album, 4, which is scheduled to be released June 28 but leaked to the Internet Wednesday. We’re still working our way…
Houston Beer Festival Finds Itself in a Sticky Situation
This weekend is the Houston Beer Festival, an event from the same organizers as last year’s Houston Wine Festival, and it’s not without its share of controversy. Organizer Timothy Hudson came under fire earlier this week when it was noted by local Twitter bloodhound Kyle Nielsen that the beer festival’s…
Dirty Diaries: The Motley Crue Literary Canon
Anyone who knows this member of Rocks Off will know that he owns most every book written about Motely Crue, or written by a member of Motley Crue. Yes, next to Howard Zinns’s A People’s History of the United States and a well-worn copy of American Psycho, sits the collected…
Perry For Prez Speculation Heats Up With His Key Aides Quitting Gingrich Campaign
The political world is buzzing with word today that key aides to the hilarious Newt Gingrich presidential campaign have resigned. Why? Because some of those aides are longtime Rick Perry people, and their presence on the Gingrich team was often cited as evidence Perry was not serious about running for…
Hippie Hour Scene: Last Concert Cafe
The Place: Last Concert Café 1403 Nance 713-226-8563 The Deals: $2 draft beers, $3 margaritas The Hours: 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. Mondays The Scene: This Monday, Houston’s (alleged) longest happy featured one kind of draft beer (Shiner, ran out about 10:30 p.m.) and some mix-heavy machine margaritas on discount…
Last Night: Houston Rap’s Creme De La Creme At House Of Blues
Crème de la Crème feat. Killa Kyleon, B L A C K I E, Hollywood FLOSS House of Blues (Bronze Peacock Room) June 8th, 2011 If you missed the Crème de la Crème event last night at the Bronze Peacock – and judging from the sparse attendance you probably did…
Happy Donald Duck Day: 5 Classic Cartoons
Today we celebrate the anniversary of the first appearance of America’s favorite foul-tempered waterfowl, Donald Duck. Donald first surfaced in 1934 in Disney’s “The Wise Little Hen,” a short musical cartoon in which he hardly shook a fist. The temper came a little later, and Donald shot to fame. Disney…
Billboard Touting American Muslims Put Up By Houston CAIR Chapter
The Texas chapter of CAIR, a group that fights anti-Islamic hatred, will announce tomorrow they’re putting up a billboard touting the Muslim presence in Texas. “This pro-active campaign is designed to promote mutual understanding and to highlight the contributions of American Muslims to our society,” said CAIR-Houston executive director Mustafaa…
Alabama Illegal Immigration Law: Texas Tea Partiers Can Only Look On In Awe
Sure, Rick Perry can swagger about a meaningless “sanctuary bill” to keep the brown hordes out of Texas, but if you want real action on illegal immigration, the place to go is Alabama. That state’s governor, faced with the intractable, huge and heretofore not-really-heard-of problem of illegal immigrants in Alabama,…
Summer Treat: Stuffed and Fried Zucchini Flowers
I grew up in a small town in Upstate New York, with a significant Italian and Italian-American population. It wasn’t until I was older that I realized many people don’t consider a huge, steaming plate of linguine and white clam sauce a light snack on a hot summer day. What…
Dick Dale Destroys Continental Club
In spite of a lifetime of healthy living that includes vegetarianism, martial arts, and an aversion to drugs and alcohol, Dick Dale, King of the Surf Guitar, realizes that he has a date with Grim Reaper. In our interview this week, Dale described the litany of medical problems besetting him…
Film Preview: Watch Neil Patrick Harris and Company
Perhaps best known for his television work in How I Met Your Mother and ’90s teen medical drama Doogie Howser, M.D., Neil Patrick Harris has been lauded lately for breathing new life into the Great White Way; the actor has recently performed in several Broadway productions and slated to host…
Meet Houston’s Most Underrated Chefs
Two weeks ago, Mai Pham’s excellent post about the modern Franco-Japanese cuisine Chef Jason Hauck is cooking up at Soma Sushi shed some light on the fact that Soma serves much more than just sushi, despite its name. It also led commenter Ryan to speak up for Houston’s many wonderful…
Sherwood Oaks Eyesore: Owners Aren’t Talking
We were intrigued by reporter Emily Akin’s story on a long-vacant Sherwood Oaks strip mall that residents say is an unwelcome hangout for vandals and crackheads — intrigued mostly because her story stated that “it’s unclear who owns the property since the owner on record is no longer alive.” And…
Bright Light Social Hour’s Favorite Summertime Jams
With a sound influenced by Sly & The Family Stone, The Allman Brothers, Daft Punk and Muddy Waters, Austin’s Bright Light Social Hour has become one of the city’s most prominent party bands. Imagine Foxy Shazam with a case of the funkys or the aforementioned Allmans after way too much…
America’s Mexican: George Lopez
A clip from George Lopez’s television special Why You Crying? George Lopez calls himself “America’s Mexican.” While that might be a slight exaggeration, he is certainly the country’s most widely accepted Hispanic actor and comedian these days (he’s gained the largest U.S. audience of any Latino comedian/actor since Freddie Prinze)…
Remember Mr. Wired Up (Oh Boy)’s Inside My Mind?
Houston’s history is dotted with albums that, fairly or not, have been swept aside. We’ll examine them here. Have an album that you think nobody knows about but should? Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. Mr. Wired Up (Oh Boy) Inside My Mind (Self-released, 2011) Despite having gained some traction near the middle of…
Rio Grande River Shoot-Out: Texas Officers, Mexican Drug Cartel Trade Fire
A dramatic firefight broke out on the Rio Grande River early this morning when federal drug agents attempting to intercept two boats traded shots with cartel members on the Mexican side, the Department of Public Safety says. “A suspicious vehicle on the U. S. side of the Rio Grande River…
Jolanda Jones In More Hot Water: City Says She Lied To Investigators
As we reported back when it happened in February, city councilmember Jolanda Jones went to a publich earing on alleged HPD abuses handed out cards urging residents to not talk to police if questioned, cards which contained the phone number of her criminal-defense practice. She’s now in hot water from…
Top 5 PMS Snacks
I’m a firm believer that there are foods and drinks to match every occasion…even the less than pleasant one that occurs roughly every 28 days. If Aunt Flo is coming to visit/ you’re just about to ride the crimson wave/you’re feeling “menstruiffic” (is that enough euphemisms for ya?), this post…
Pluck Yourself Silly On Google Today
In honor of late musician and solid-body electric guitar inventor Les Paul, who would have turned 96 today, Google’s home page is transformed into a digital approximation of a guitar. Each of the ten “strings” that make up the logo today sounds off, changes color and even vibrates when you…
So You Think You Can Dance: Vegas, Baby!
We’ve finally made it to the Las Vegas callbacks, the SYTYCD version of Hollywood week. The competition gets leaner, meaner and obscener as 160 dancers are whittled down to the top 20. This means the occasional flip-out by a contestant, several hospital visits and more “WTF?” facial expressions by judge…
Comment of the Day: The Only Way to Ride Out A Flood
We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it’s time we paid some damn attention to them. So we’ll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day’s work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula…
Chef Chat, Part 2: Morty Parsa of Kasra Persian Grill
In Part One of our Chef Chat, we learned how Kasra Persian Grill chef/owner Morty Parsa came to open a restaurant in Houston. Today we discuss his approach to cooking and his philosophy of running a Persian restaurant. EOW: Houston Culinary Tours has stopped here three times already and is…
Opening Tonight: Catfish Perez’s “Menagerie of Hope”
When you hear the words “breast cancer fundraiser,” you probably think of ranks of people running marathons with pink ribbons pinned to their sweatshirts. Now, Catfish Perez has figured out another way of taking the disease head on: through art. Tonight, the Houston-based artist will present his latest show, “Menagerie…
Food Fight: Washington Avenue Crab Cakes
June marks the start of blue crab season in Texas. While Houston has a plethora of restaurants serving up this tasty little crustacean, I decided to delve into just one of its many forms – the crab cake. And to narrow it down further, I focused my battle on Houston’s…
Movie Sequels We Would Actually Pay To See
According to Ben Stiller, Zoolander 2 is now in the works, and The Hangover III is in its earliest planning stages, as the second film in the series is still confounding critics and filling seats in multiplexes all over the country. No one actually asked for a Hangover II, and…
Girls Rock Camp Houston Readies For Second Summer
Remember when you were growing up as a an odd kid and there were a few people you admired for reminding you that you didn’t have to play with dolls or listen to the Spice Girls? They encouraged you to get the Penny Hardaway basketball shoes you wanted and play…
Drought Time: Five Fun Alternative Texas Water Spots When Rivers And Lakes Are Low
As we noted yesterday, the ongoing drought is kicking the ass of Texas rivers and lakes. The Guadalupe is just inching along, low in its banks, formerly underwater roots exposed, making toobing not the traditional summer romp it usually is. (You may end up doing some walking along the way.)…
Pop Rocks: It’s Nerd Throwdown Time – Twilight vs. Harry Potter And 9 Other Contests Of Geekery
Anyone watch the MTV Movie Awards? Anyone? I didn’t think so, mostly because I suspect the majority of Hair Balls/Art Attack readers are over the age of 12. And while I have no intention of revisiting the whole “‘Music?”Television line of jokes, I did find it interesting that the network…
Pop Rocks: Twilight vs. Harry Potter And 9 Other Geek Throwdowns
Anyone watch the MTV Movie Awards? Anyone? I didn’t think so, mostly because I suspect the majority of Hair Balls/Art Attack readers are over the age of 12. And while I have no intention of revisiting the whole “‘Music?”Television line of jokes, I did find it interesting that the network…
30 Seconds With Richard Cheese
Rocks Off sat down with Richard Cheese to see what we could learn about the man who turns all your favorite rap, metal, and rock songs into the lounge hits God intended them to be in 30 seconds. Rocks Off: What is the worst song in the world? Richard Cheese:…
Wayland Matthew Fox, Wrongfully Convicted of Child Molestation, Speaks Out About His Release
When Child Protective Services showed up at the house of Houston native Wayland Matthew Fox in March 2006, his life changed forever. Fox learned that he was being accused of sexually molesting the son of his ex-wife. It would be the beginning of a trial that swept Fox into jail…
100 Creatives: Avital Stolar
What She Does Avital Stolar is a playwright and teacher, both of which work together for her larger purpose of helping young students find their full potential. She is currently majoring in theatre and dance at the University of Texas at Austin and has been working for the past semester…
Veals on Wheels: Rejected Food Truck Names
Last week, assistant music editor Craig Hlavaty amused the entire office by forwarding a link to Filmdrunk’s recent post, “Ideas for Movie-Themed Food Trucks.” On the front page was the Photoshopped image of a “Hunan Centipede” food truck that haunted us all for days. Talk about a rejected food truck…
Okay, The Mysterious Face On the Space Station Is Freaking Us Out
Yesterday we posted some great new video from NASA of the shuttle Endeavour docked to the International Space Station, seven minutes of mostly silent footage that screamed out for a soundtrack. We synched up David Bowie’s “Width of a Circle,” just because it’s about the right length and occasionally has…
“PrintMatters”
Print makers are getting their due this summer as part of PrintHouston 2011, a multi-venue, multi-artist series of exhibitions that have taken over the city. Hooks-Epstein Galleries adds “PrintMatters,” a group exhibition of hand-pulled prints by established and emerging artists who have fused the traditional methods of printmaking with contemporary…
Houston Beer Fest
This is really easy: Houston Beer Fest is a festival celebrating beer in Houston. That’s really all you need to know, isn’t it? Beer. Festival. Houston. That’s the whole concept in three words. Okay, if you must know more, some 80 types of beers will be on hand, from the…
Two Spirits
In July 2001, Fred Martinez, a Native American high school freshman in Cortez, Colorado, was bludgeoned to death by 18-year-old Shaun Murphy, a petty criminal and gang member. The two had met casually at a party after a rodeo. They saw each other again on the street later that night,…
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with the Invincible Czarz
In 1920, actor John Barrymore was perhaps the most famous man on earth. Handsome and charismatic, he was known for his great profile. (He looks pretty good from the front, too.) That’s something you’ll see quick enough in today’s KUHF Silent Film Concert Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Paramount Pictures’…
Eddie Griffin
If you ever find yourself in the middle of a bank holdup, comic Eddie Griffin says, the criminals’ race will determine how well executed the robbery goes. “Now see white boys, they plan shit. They’ve got technical terms for their guns, maps, body armor, they do it with a military…
George Lopez
George Lopez calls himself “America’s Mexican.” While that might be a slight exaggeration, he is certainly the country’s most widely accepted Hispanic actor and comedian these days. (He’s gained the largest U.S. audience of any Latino comedian/actor since Freddie Prinze.) His television series, The George Lopez Show, ran for five…
The Best of Ottawa Animation Festival 2010
Film animation has come a long way since a certain mouse made his debut in the late 1920s. A very, very long way, as viewers will see in The Best of Ottawa Animation Festival 2010. The traveling show delivers the top animated shorts from the festival celebrating stylistic and technical…
The Taming of the Shrew
Houston Ballet has a big job in staging its latest production, The Taming of the Shrew, based on Shakespeare’s comedy of the same name. Almost everyone is already familiar with the story (whether you’ve seen the musical Kiss Me Kate or the teen movie 10 Things I Hate About You)…
Luis Miguel
Luis Miguel is considered by many to be the handsomest man in Latin music. Nay, the handsomest man in the world! And any dude who can count among his conquests Myrka Dellanos, Aracely Arambula, Gabriela Sabatini, Princess Stephanie of Monaco, Brigitte Nielsen (back in her hot days), Daisy Fuentes and…
She Wants Revenge
When She Wants Revenge first shimmied out of the San Fernando Valley with their detached, almost android new-wave tales of highly charged late-night lust, it was hard to believe that half of the duo, front man Justin Warfield, once had a trippy hip-hop hit (1991’s “Season of the Vic”) and…
The Doobie Brothers
We shudder to think at what classic-rock radio would do without the collected hits of the Doobie Brothers. They would probably be forced to play like, the Velvet Underground or The Stooges, and that just can’t happen. If you have spent any time listening to the classic-rock airwaves for the…
Difficult Gifts
Including glimpses of Sleeping Beauty in her glass coffin, the rings of Saturn and a roadside Texas barbecue, Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life bears forth a variety of forms — and invites as many reactions. You may feel amazed or muddled, softly spoken to or simply abandoned while watching…
Flirting with Disaster
Abig-bang demolition derby, J.J. Abrams’s much-anticipated, greatly enjoyable Super 8 seems bound for box-office glory. Opening three weeks before July 4, this Steven Spielberg-produced, kid-centric 21st-century disaster flick could well hang in at theaters till the tenth anniversary of 9/11 — an event that haunts Abrams’s surefire blockbuster nearly as…
Inmates Diss Web Dating
Crime Inmates Diss Web Dating You meet a lot of pervs By Mandy Oaklander June is Celibacy Awareness Month, which we singles have appropriated from the Bible-thumpers. Not that we’re celebrating our celibacy with the same gusto, but we’re just as aware of it — especially as the weather’s heavy…
Broken Promises
Broken Promises Online readers comment on our cover story “Broken System” about the state of the foster care system in Texas by Craig Malisow, June 2: Lost siblings: The problem with “DFPS” is that they don’t properly investigate cases. They separate children from their siblings and family. They also don’t…
Finding Austin
From the outside, nothing about Eddie Wilson’s near-north Austin bungalow would indicate that a prime architect of the city’s mystique lives inside. Once through the door, though, and the whole fantastic story becomes plain as a giant javelina sucking on a six-story jug of tequila. Over the fireplace, in the…
Liz Isenberg
If music could indeed reach out from a reel of analog tape or a digital file and punch you in the gut, Liz Isenberg would be a prizefighter. But her blows wouldn’t yield visible scars or bruises. Instead, the 26-year-old plays a style of singer-songwriter music that punishes from the…
Teen Encounters
A photograph of a gaunt, scarred Palestinian teenager under house arrest hangs on one wall. In images opposite it, suburban Texas teens proudly display their homecoming corsages: giant beribboned mums bigger than their heads. While certain aspects of being a teenager may be universal, the group show Teenagers: Portraits of…
Tan Tan No. 2
It’s the second time during dinner that the armed guard who is stationed outside Tan Tan has prowled restlessly through the aisles of the restaurant, entering silently through the front door and making his way past tables of diners who seem determined to ignore him. The guard takes in everyone…
Little Smoke
Things started to change for This Will Destroy You when bassist Donovan Jones joined up three years ago. His fellow Dallasite, drummer Alex Bhore, signed on a year and a half later, at which point the instrumental post-rockers founded in 2005 by San Marcos-based guitarists Chris King and Jeremy Galindo…
Walk on the Wild Side
“Just because we wear lipstick doesn’t mean we can’t kick your ass!” — Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil Mötley Crüe, Poison and the New York Dolls have all lived like they wanted to die. From overdoses and car crashes to legal scrapes and porno tapes, few bands have been more…
Capsule Stage Reviews: Asylum, The Money in Uncle George’s Suitcase, Opening the Box, The Great American Trailer Park Musical
Asylum Sweet, nerdy Gary (Chris Patton), who seems permanently stuck somewhere near adolescence, finds himself drawn deeper and deeper into his dream world until he can’t tell reality from fantasy. Will his dreams pull him into madness? Keith Aisner’s Asylum, mounted in an extremely well-acted and intricately conceived staging from…
Capsule Art Reviews: “Jackie Gendel: Fables in Slang” “Nathan Green: Fill the Sky” “Perspectives 174: Re: Generation” “Voodoo Pop: Mary Hayslip and Trey Speegle” “Wendy Wagner: Once Uponse a Time in the Land of O-Poppida”
“Jackie Gendel: Fables in Slang” Houston-born Jackie Gendel paints portraits and people in a style that recalls a number of late-19th-early-20th-century French painters, but with cranked-up distortion. Her people are constantly obscured by a surface abstraction, or they retreat into the background, virtually faceless with the furniture and decor surrounding…
My, My, My
Leroy Allen, David LaFleur, Thomas Johnson and Kenneth Crayton are as seasoned an R&B group as has ever existed. Collectively, the synchronized foursome who call themselves Gifted the Group has more than 160 years of performing experience. And at the moment, they are calling on every one of those years…
Twin Sister
In March 2010, Brooklyn quintet Twin Sister released an EP called Color Your Life. It’s a hazy, freewheeling record, especially the standout track, the charming and romantic “All Around and Away We Go.” Twin Sister’s lush dream-pop sounds a little like if Beach House had more members. Vocalist — and,…
Heartless Bastards, Bright Light Social Hour, The Wheeler Brothers
Heartless Bastards crawled out of Cincinnati about a decade ago as a raw-boned garage-blues trio fronted by Erika Wennerstrom, whose fearsome scorned-woman howl supported the old saw that good things come in small packages. The band was quickly snapped up by roots-savvy Mississippi label Fat Possum, and had plenty of…
