Islamic Advocacy Group Asks Ted Cruz to Skip Conference Featuring an Anti-Muslim Leader
It’s only been a few days since Sen. Ted Cruz formally admitted he’s running for the GOP nomination for president for 2016, but an Islamic advocacy group is already weighing in and urging Cruz to skip a conference they claim has ties to white supremacists and anti-Muslims…
GOP Lawmakers Want to Make It Harder for Minors to Get an Abortion Without a Parent’s Consent
Six years after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade, legalizing abortion across the country and protecting it as a woman’s constitutional right, the high court took up another thorny issue: are pregnant minors afforded that same right? The 1979 case Bellotti v. Baird challenged a Massachusetts law…
The Fury Road Not Taken
2015 promises to be a big year for movies, with some predicting box office returns of the all-time record variety. Indeed, any one of these three movies has the potential to break $1.5 billion worldwide. Avengers: Age of Ultron Jurassic World Star Wars: The Force Awakens And it’s not out…
Brock Lesnar Announces He’s Staying With WWE
Even though it’s flagship show is the most watched show on cable television, WWE has always had to work to get coverage in the mainstream. Oftentimes, when it does happen, it’s because WWE will inject some mainstream star into their universe, the perfect excuse for high brow cable like ESPN…
Animal “Crush” Couple Will Again Face Federal Charges
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review an appeal in what’s believed to be the first prosecution of an animal torture video under a 2010 statute, meaning the Houston couple accused of producing “crush” videos will once again face federal prosecution. Ashley Richards and Brent Justice also faced state…
Two Young Singers With Houston Ties Win Metropolitan Opera Competition
Reginald Smith Jr., a studio artist with Houston Grand Opera, and Nicholas “Nick” Brownlee, a former Shepherd School of Music at Rice University student have been named winners of the annual Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in New York City. Along with three others, Adams and Brownlee each received $15,000…
A Preview of Bernadine’s Restaurant Coming to Houston
Last week, attendees got a look at what chef Graham Laborde has planned for forthcoming restaurant Bernadine’s at a Kipper Club pop-up dinner. It was the second preview dinner, since the one held back in January sold out. It proved to be a fresh take on Gulf Coast cuisine that…
Free Agency 2015: Texans Re-Sign Inside Linebacker Akeem Dent
An underrated subplot of the Texans’ last two off seasons, 2014 and the current one in 2015, has been their ability to somehow flip their discarded quarterback into actual NFL transaction currency. Instead of Matt Schaub, T.J. yates, Case Keenum, and Ryan Fitzpatrick being NFL garbage, the Texans were actually…
Playwright Theresa Rebeck Directs the Alley Production of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons
It’s a family with a terrible secret. Businessman Joe Keller made money selling defective airplane engine parts to the U.S. military. As a result, 21 American pilots died because of the faulty equipment. Keller, the picture of a devoted family man, has sidestepped any blame in the matter but his…
The Art of Lying to Your Kids About Boo Boos
My daughter had a pretty rough week last week. First, she picked at an ingrown toenail until it became infected and needed to go to the doctor for antibiotics. Then she ran crying into our room in the middle of the night after waking up from a nightmare, tripped over…
Shellee Coley’s New Video Has a Message for Moms and Girls
One of the highlights of Shellee Coley’s 2012 album Where it All Began was the song she wrote with her daughter, “Conversations With Z.” Now, thanks to a unique partnership, that tune has an official music video and a message of hope for women looking to fit creative outlets into…
Try These 5 Seriously Awesome Sliders in Houston
Forget plain cheeseburger sliders. From mini beef bombs smothered with peanut butter and bacon to chicken-fried-chicken stuffed between bite-sized Texas toast, here are five outrageously delicious sliders to try in Houston: See also: Try These 5 Outrageously Awesome Chicken Wings Try These 5 Seriously Outrageous Sushi Rolls Try These 5…
10 People Unfit for Miami’s Ultra Music Festival
Written by Kat Bein/Miami New Times Watching Ultra Music Festival in Miami’s idyllic official after-movies, you might get the impression that UMF is some kind of utopian music-based society where the young and beautiful run only in slow motion, where everyone is welcome and everything is pleasant. In some ways,…
Jimi Hendrix Has New Music Out…and It’s Legal
Before he became a psychedelic shaman and the most lauded guitar player or his (or, arguably, any) era, Jimi Hendrix was “Jimmy” Hendrix. A jobbing, wandering axeman for hire, he spent lean years lending his brewing talents onstage and in the studio by backing acts like Little Richard, King Curtis,…
#MarcoAtSXSW 2015: A (Mostly) Pictorial Diary
As I was driving to Austin early last Wednesday morning, I was worried, most immediately because the rain was dropping so torrentially that Highway 71 was almost invisible. But also because, according to several insiders, media sources, and SXSW veterans, this was going to be an off year for the…
Ted Cruz’s Presidential Run Could Actually Be Way More Entertaining Than Rick Perry’s
Rick Perry’s awkward 2011 slog around the GOP presidential primary circuit felt kind of like putting a once-powerful horse out to pasture. A formidable politician, Perry led from the Texas governor’s mansion for more than a decade using his power of appointment to leave a lasting conservative mark on things…
Two Houston Chefs Are James Beard Finalists
Houston, we’re going back to the beards! Two Houston chefs need to start thinking about what to put in their carry-bags, as they’ll be expected at the Lyric Opera of Chicago for the James Beard Awards ceremony on May 4. Hugo Ortega of Hugo’s and Caracol and Justin Yu of…
J.J. Watt Restructures His Contract, Opens Up $8 Million in Cap Space
It goes without saying that this has been the Texans’ most active offseason in free agency since the lockout-shortened offseason of 2011, when they signed Johnathan Joseph and Danieal Manning within 24 hours of each other. They’ve re-signed cornerback Kareem Jackson, tackle Derek Newton and quarterback Ryan Mallett. They’ve brought…
New $243 Million Astrodome Renovation Plan a Hodgepodge of Recycled Ideas
When the Urban Land Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based organization, released its report on Monday detailing what it recommended for preserving the Astrodome, it sounded an awful lot like what had been previously proposed. The suggestions included a large indoor park, meeting space for the massive annual Offshore Technology Conference, an…
Not Everything Sparkles at Tout Suite, but There’s Enough to Keep You Coming Back for More
One of the best things about my day job is that it isn’t. Midweek days off are a common occurrence, even if they’re usually whittled away by my sneaking back into bed to snuggle with the baby (and his mom) after I drop his sisters off at school. We’ve been…
Make Bayou City Art Festival Your Weekend Fashion Destination
Among the 450 artists scheduled to appear at this week’s Bayou City Art Festival at Memorial Park are designers who focus on helping us curate our most personal art collections — our wardrobes. If you are always on the hunt for one-of-a-kind jewelry, conceptual handbags, cut-to-fit leather belts and other…
Texans Pick Up Three Compensatory Draft Picks in 2015 NFL Draft
Unless you’ve watched a massive number of free agents leave your city during the previous season, the day that compensatory draft picks are handed out probably doesn’t really register on your NFL calendar. For better or worse, though, the Texans have happened to watch numerous free agents leave in recent…
This Week in Houston Food Blogs: Springtime Is Snow Ice Time
The weather is warming up, which means that cold treats are starting to sound like a good idea again. Tag Sale Tastes takes a trip to Nu Café, which creates beautiful mountains and hills of shaved ice that look like piles of lace. (Kaitlin Steinberg introduced us to the Taiwanese…
Thelma and the Sleaze Ain’t Here to Play Nice
What sort of video might an all-woman band which travels in a church van playing songs titled “Cum” and “Motor Tits” conceive? What images would be captured to visualize songs described by one of the band members as “Eddie Money woke up in the South on a pile of Judas…
The Future of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld Is in Gaming
It’s taken me nearly a week to really get over the death of fantasy author Terry Pratchett. Everyone knew it was coming ever since he was diagnosed with a rare form of early-onset Alzheimer’s, but it was still an unexpected blow that left a tremendous hole in the world. Shortly…
Houston Rapper Hefe Wine’s Plan for Fame: Claiming to Be Iggy Azalea’s Husband
Your persona’s drama, that you acquired in high school in acting class/ Your whole aura is plexiglass — O.C., “Time’s Up” On November 22, 2013, Maurice Lasel Williams woke up with his birth name and when his head hit the pillow, he was legally known as Enzo Valido Dunamas Weinberg…
Appetites: A Memoir and the State of French Cuisine
Last week, Kris Bistro and French cooking school Culinary Institute LeNôtre celebrated two events in one evening. The first was the signing and party for Marie LeNôtre’s new book, Appetites: A Memoir. We received an advance review copy and have already finished it, which was no chore. The book is…
How Scared Should Houston Be About Low Oil Prices?
It’s hard to believe that once upon a time, the wise sages of energy were saying that Texas would never see another oil boom and the United States as a whole would run out of oil sooner rather than later. Well, those sages were wrong because not only has there…
Upcoming: Billy Bob Thornton, Boz Scaggs, Hans Raj Hans, Jewel Brown, Slash, etc.
2X4: With Scavenger, REX, Far From Nothing, Thrones, Demoted to the Grave. Sun., May 3, 6 p.m., $12. Walters Downtown, 1120 Naylor, Houston, 713-222-2679. 8 1/2 Souvenirs: Sat., April 18, 9 p.m., $10. Natachee’s Supper ‘n Punch, 3622 Main, Houston, 713-524-7203. A.J. Vincent: With the Journey Agents, Sun Thieves. Fri.,…
Blocking People Online Will Make You a Happier Person
This may sound weird for a journalist, but tuning individual people out on social media has vastly improved my life over the past year. I used to be one of those people who refused to ever hit the block button for anyone but an obvious spambot. Knowledge is my business,…
Top Five Choices for Ted Cruz’s 2016 Campaign Song
Whatever you may think of Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz (we plead the 5th), Monday morning he announced his candidacy for the 2016 presidential nomination. Immediately, Twitter went ape shit. Some think the sky may be falling. Others just think it’s politics as usual and he’s just another cog in…
Scintillating Field Notes From SXSW 2015
Always See The Home Team First If I were to write a guide on how to experience SXSW, somewhere I would write about how to view the acts from your hometown performing in “away game” situations. For me, that meant Doeman wrapping an American-flag bandana around his head during Scope…
Doomsday Keeps Old-Fashioned Rasslin’ Alive
Tex Lonestar is the Cal Worthington of Houston Wrestling. Standing tall in the middle of the tiny makeshift ring, donning a ten-gallon hat and vintage Western suit a la Nudie Cohn, he is tonight’s ring announcer and hype man. “Tonight, history will be made,” he announces as the crowd goes…
Southern Goods Dream Team Evolves With Latest Chef Addition
A few weeks ago, chef Lyle Bento and and Charles Bishop of Southern Goods made the surprising announcement that they had added well-regarded barbecue specialist Patrick Feges to their team. (Feges was previously at Killen’s Barbecue.) Today comes another piece of good news for the forthcoming restaurant. Chef JD Woodward,…
Cleveland Browns Rumored to Be Frontrunners for HBO’s Hard Knocks
Among the underrated milestones on the NFL’s offseason calendar is the unveiling of the team the league and HBO have selected as the subject of the award-winning Hard Knocks, the five week annual miniseries where we get the behind-the-scenes view of what it’s like to be an NFL player or…
The Bluebonnets Deserve Better Than They Got Saturday
The Bluebonnets Continental Club March 21, 2015 Austin hard rockers the Bluebonnets do for me what that other, more famous all-female Texas band, the Trishas, don’t: they rock your ass off and make you feel like having animal sex in the outdoors. You know, the way rock and roll used…
Oceans of Slumber Casts Its Thrall Over Fitz
Green as Emerald, Carrion Sun, Oceans of Slumber Fitzgerald’s March 20, 2015 It’s rare that a band gets an opportunity to make a second first impression, and Oceans of Slumber arrived at Fitzgerald’s on Friday night prepared and determined to make the most of this unlikely shot. After all, the…
Self-Steering Cars in Texas? As If We Didn’t Already Have Driving Problems
A bill making its way through the Texas Senate that would create a pilot program in the Lone Star State encouraging the development of cars that drive themselves. This very first sentence sounds like something read on a news broadcast during a flashback in a futuristic film about machines taking…
Luke Bryan Closes Rodeo With Superstar Swagger
Luke Bryan NRG Stadium March 22, 2K15 Luke Bryan is an unlikely sex symbol. Yes, he’s a good-looking guy and he has a good voice and he writes songs that make girls in boots swoon and he has something that resembles the ability to dance, but the fact that he’s…
La Tragédie de Carmen Overcomes Its Shortcomings at Opera in the Heights
The set-up: Do you hear that whirring deep underground? It’s composer Georges Bizet spinning in his grave after the beating his immortal opera masterwork Carmen gets under ham-fisted director/auteur Peter Brook in his adaptation La Tragédie de Carmen. Tragedy, indeed. Poor Bizet. First he had to die prematurely during the…
March Madness 2015, First Weekend: 4 Winners, 4 Losers
How do you know a brand is damn near bulletproof? When the functional quality of its product is mediocre, when the buildup to the part that matters is totally irrelevant, and when fans can count on one hand how many people they can name who are associated with the product,…
It’s Rodeo Business as Usual For Brad Paisley
Brad Paisley NRG Stadium March 21, 2015 Saturday was one of those days where, when you looked outside, you might have thought it was never going to stop raining. Life doesn’t stop on account of dreary weather, however, and so the rodeo rolled on. Practically speaking, it meant the halls…
SXSW 2015 Festival Style Roundup
SXSW, the small festival turned international music, tech, and everything else cool people are in to event, attracts people from all over the world and with that comes style of all kinds. If you took a stroll around Austin over the past week, you would have seen a veritable smorgasbord…
“Houston Becoming a Major Culinary Destination,” Says Leading U.S. Wine Writer Jon Bonné in IPOB Tasting Preview
In the interview that follows, leading American wine writer and author of The New California Wine (Ten Speed 2013) Jon Bonné shares his impressions of the Houston wine and food scene and offers a preview of the In Pursuit of Balance (IPOB) tasting, which will be held in Houston on…
Dish of the Week: Croque-Madame
From classic comfort foods to regional standouts and desserts, we’ll be sharing a new recipe with you each week. Find other dishes of the week here. This week, we’re covering a French bistro staple: the Croque-Madame. A croque-madame is a version of the simple bistro sandwich croque-monsieur, which is a…
stupid f*****g bird Is a Good F*****g Play
The set-up: If you were an upper middle class character in some classic Russian play at the end of the 19th century, let’s say Chekhov’s The Seagull, your sad but comic melancholy would be worn on your sleeve. It would be an elaborately embroidered sleeve, to be sure, from the…
Should Texas Have Confederate Flag License Plates? U.S. Supreme Court Hears the Case Today
Today the U.S. Supreme Court is slated to hear the case looking at whether Texas officials violated First Amendment rights over a proposed Confederate flag specialty license plate. The case, Walker v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Inc., is a fascinating one because, despite what you’d expect from Texas,…
This Week in Houston Food Events: It’s Springtime!
It must be springtime in Houston, because the events and festivals are really in swing this week. Take a look! Tuesday, March 24 Wine Dinner At Bistro Provence Bistro Provence welcomes Jean-Philippe Marchand for a dinner pairing his Burgundy wines with their traditional French cuisine. Courses include Lobster and St…
Doctor Who: The 3 Best Retcons in Doctor Who
Canon is a very loaded word, and that’s the only time I will use that pun, I swear. When it comes to something like Doctor Who, which is half a century old and very prolifically contributed to pretty much every possible artistic medium, establishing what is canon and what is…
March Madness Returns to Houston, So Which Team Should You Cheer For?
The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament returns to NRG Stadium this week, hosting the South Regionals on Friday and Sunday. And since the Texas-based college basketball teams all crapped out on Thursday (0-5 for the day), there will be no Texas team coming to Houston for fans to latch on to,…
For Almost Three Hours, the World Was Stevie Wonder’s
Stevie Wonder Toyota Center March 20, 2015 Think about the running order on a few of your favorite albums, and consider the last song. Even on some of the biggest albums of all time, it’s almost always an afterthought or throwaway. Though it’s not unusual for artists to use it…
The Five Best Concerts In Houston This Week: Twin Shadow, Pentatonix, Frontier Fiesta, etc.
Twin Shadow Fitzgerald’s, March 23 Twin Shadow fans are living on borrowed time. The day will come when he’s too big for those small venues he’s been playing for the last few years; it’s just a matter of when, really. George Lewis Jr. has always been a gifted songwriter, but…
Saint Arnold Premieres Its New Canned Line With an Event at Historic Beer Can House
On March 2, Saint Arnold released the results of the first canning in the brewery’s history; the Fancy Lawnmower kolsch and Santo “black kolsch” (“which technically doesn’t exist as a style,” according to the website) are now available in six-packs of aluminum cans at your local grocery and liquor stores…
The End of the USW Strike Is in Sight for Some Local Unions
Well, it looks like the first significant oil refinery strike in 35 years is finally beginning to wrap up. So far, oil companies have made agreements with local unions that will see union workers back on the job at two of the striking Texas refineries — Shell Deer Park and…
Dallas Sportscaster Destroys Cowboys for Greg Hardy Signing (w/ VIDEO)
On some level, the Ray Rice domestic violence case was supposed to be a turning point in how the NFL, and maybe we as fans of the NFL, viewed domestic violence. At least, that was the hope. The fact that we saw the chilling video of Rice punching his fiancée…
Cowboy Diaries: Ace Slone
True cowboys are hard to find, but not at the Houston Rodeo. Life on the road leads them here this time every year for the biggest rodeo in the world, where they’ll ride and wrangle livestock for cash and glory. Here we spotlight one person with enough dirt on his…
Hozier Fights the Good Fight Against a Chatty Houston Crowd
Hozier Warehouse Live March 19, 2k15 For about five songs it looked like Hozier’s debut performance in Houston was going to be a triumph. He hit the stage and from the start he and his bandmates sounded great. The songs early in the set were upbeat and catchy and just…
Houston Creatives: Vanessa Sosa, Artist Drawing Hyper-Realistic Food
Vanessa Sosa is a talented and impressive young artist. Her work so impressed the judges at Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, she was named a 2015 Scholastic Art & Writing Award Portfolio Gold Medalist (one of 16 medalists from thousands of student applicants). The award came with a $10,000…
Blake Shelton Shores Up Status as Rodeo Royalty
Blake Shelton NRG Stadium March 19, 2015 It didn’t take long for Blake Shelton and his band to slow it down Thursday night, much to the delight of the ladies in the crowd. During his fifth RodeoHouston performance, before serenading the fairer sex, the Oklahoma native had a few words…
It’s About Time Rice Did Something About Rice Stadium
Last week work was started at Rice University on The Brian Patterson Sports Performance Center. Located in the north end zone of Rice Stadium, the facility will replace a large section of tarped-over seats and the current scoreboard. At a cost of $60 million, the facility will house the football…
Houston’s 5 Best Weekend Food Bets: Crawfish, Whiskey & Food Truck Eats
Kemah Crawfish Festival @ Kemah City Parking Lot Friday – Sunday 604 Bradford The 5th Annual Kemah Crawfish Festival is taking place all weekend long. Enjoy live music, dancing, drinks, and plenty of $2.99 per pound crawfish on Friday from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday from noon to 11…
5 More Good Bills Filed in the Texas Legislature
We’ve already talked plenty these past few weeks about the many alarming bills filed by the members of the 84th Texas Legislature. So far this biennial legislative session has been a good show for those who savor watching one of the most conservative legislative bodies in the country try and…
Upcoming Houston Food Events: An Italy vs. France Showdown & More
On Wednesday, March 25 at 6:30 p.m., join executive chef Giancarlo Ferrara of Amalfi Ristorante Italiano & Bar and executive chef and owner Jacques Fox of Artisans Restaurant at their friendly Italy vs. France culinary competition, held at Amalfi Ristorante Italiano & Bar, 6100 Westheimer. Tickets ($135 for members of…
The Best Fashion Trends for Spring (and Where to Find Them in Houston)
Spring has sprung, and with it a whole new crop of seasonal beauty and fashion lines. It’s been a very strenuous month of shopping, facials, and beauty counter makeovers, but it’s finally time to present the top contenders for the season…
March Madness 2015: State of Texas Plundered (and Friday’s Best Bets!)
The brackets came out on Sunday, and when it was all said and done, the state of Texas got five teams into the field — Texas, Baylor, Texas Southern, SMU, and Stephen F. Austin. As luck would have it, all five were playing within hours of each other on the…
Openings & Closings: Legit Ramen Makes It to Midtown
It takes a long time to make really good tonkotsu ramen broth, and even with the plethora of new ramen specialty shops that have opened in Houston, few have nailed it. JINYA Ramen’s Webster location has been doing a phenomenal job for months, but it’s been quite a drive for…
Houston’s 5 Best Weekend Events: Modern Masters, The Vampire Diaries and More
Novelist Owen Laukkanen is in town on Friday to sign his latest thriller, The Stolen Ones, which ventures into the dangerous and deadly world of human trafficking. Investigative team Kirk Stevens and Carla Windermere are called in when a Minnesota sheriff’s deputy is killed. A hysterical woman holding the deputy’s…
Cowboy Diaries: Dustin Flundra, Canadian Cowboy
True cowboys are hard to find, but not at the Houston Rodeo. Life on the road leads them here this time every year for the biggest rodeo in the world, where they’ll ride and wrangle livestock for cash and glory. Here we spotlight one person with enough dirt on his…
Songs in the Key of Life Endures, Almost 40 Years Later
Tonight Stevie Wonder will perform a “live adaptation” of his 1976 album Songs In the Key of Life at Toyota Center. The 64-year-old pianist/composer/performer is one of the undisputed all-time greats, Motown Records’ answer to Muhammad Ali (sorry, Marvin), but on the surface this still seems like a risky move…
Dance Music May Rise and Fall, But Disco Donnie Is Here to Stay
The coming of Spring means a lot of things: warmer temperatures, better movies in theaters and the beginning of music-festival season. From now right until around the time that Fun Fun Fun Fest ends on a cold night in November, Texas is going to be packed with festivals almost every…
A Few More Words With Oceans of Slumber
Coming off an exceptional year with a critically acclaimed album and turning out to be one of Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy’s favorite bands for 2014, Oceans of Slumber could easily be lauded as Houston’s hardest-working metal band (or hardest working any band, for that matter). Once described by Russ…
The 10 Best Concerts in Houston This Weekend: Stevie Wonder, The Suffers, Luke Bryan, etc.
Stevie Wonder Toyota Center, March 20 Stevie Wonder was already a superstar in 1976, taking home consecutive Grammy Album of the Year wins for Innervisions and Fulfillingness’ First Finale, but double LP Songs In the Key of Life put him in the pantheon. Almost 90 minutes of music that required…
New Matador Signee Steve Gunn Is Finally Having a Moment
After recording and releasing albums for over 8 years of serene, picturesque indie rock, Steve Gunn is finally having his moment. The Brooklyn musician originally from Philadelphia, who kickstarted his current tour in Marfa this past weekend, is playing Walter’s Thursday night, mere weeks after signing to indie stalwarts Matador…
Rebecca Masson and Brandi Key Join Forces for a Pop-Up Dinner Sunday
Pastry chef Rebecca Masson of Fluff Bake Bar (expected to open in Midtown next month) and executive chef Brandi Key of both Coppa Osteria and Punk’s Simple Southern Food will cook for an Aces of Taste pop-up this Sunday, March 22. Aces of Taste is a dinner series that happens…
Fort Bend Sheriff’s Office Decides to Help Out Identity Thieves With Worst Press Release Ever
The Fort Bend Sheriff’s Office just sent a press release to news outlets all over Texas that revealed the credit card, checking account, Social Security and driver’s license numbers of hundreds of people. You see, the email contained a photo of these items that were kept in a lost-and-found room…
Oceans of Slumber Pushing Harder Than Ever
When local prog-metal troupe Oceans of Slumber take the stage at Fitzgerald’s on Friday night to celebrate the release of their new EP, don’t be surprised if they look and sound a little different than you remember. The band has added a keyboard player, for one thing. And then there’s…
Cowboy Diaries: Matt Shiozawa
True cowboys are hard to find, but not at the Houston Rodeo. Life on the road leads them here this time every year for the biggest rodeo in the world, where they’ll ride and wrangle livestock for cash and glory. Here, we spotlight one person with enough dirt on his…
Four Texas “Reparative Therapy” Options to Help You Get Lone Star Straight
Just because Texas Representative Celia Israel filed a bill to outlaw “reparative therapy” (the kind of therapy that “cures” homosexuality) for minors doesn’t mean that the gay baby ought to be thrown out with the bathwater. There are still places in Texas where those afflicted with same-sex-sensations can be “cured.”…
There’s a Fireball Near the 290/I-10 Split…So You Might Want to Avoid It
If you’re about to take 290 into town this morning…well, don’t. It’s not clear yet exactly what happened, but there appears to be a truck billowing flames near the I-10 interchange. As of 9:30 a.m., it looked like all inbound lanes on 290 were closed. According to Houston Transtar, there…
Florida Georgia Line’s Rodeo Pizzazz Trumps Clichéd Music
Florida Georgia Line NRG Stadium March 18, 2015 “There’s only one time a year when we get to play in front of 75,000 people,” said vocalist Tyler Hubbard 15 minutes into Florida Georgia Line’s performance Wednesday night at RodeoHouston. “And we didn’t come all this way not to make a…
Chef Chat, Part 2: Fernando Echeverria of Fernando’s
“Good help is hard to find,” so the adage goes. Fernando Echeverria found this to be true with his self-named restaurant, Fernando’s in Sugar Land. Cooks he hired failed to be conscientious in how they used expensive ingredients, so he decided that for profitability and peace of mind, he’d take…
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Slaps You Awake
The set-up: If you’re feeling a bit sleepy when Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat begins, don’t worry, the show will slap you awake fast. And hard. This is the most frenetic show in memory, fast-paced, constantly on the go, terrifically cheesy. Nobody and nothing stops. Ever. It’s the siege…
Fantasy Crime League Update: Ravens RB Pierce Nabs a DUI Charge, Gets Cut
Let me preface this post with the obvious statement that everybody, not just NFL players, should avoid getting in trouble with the law. That goes without saying. However, given the high profile of NFL players and the offseason the league endured last year off the field, you would hope NFL…
Will Pixels Finally Give Us a Sandler/James Film Worth Watching?
When was the last time you were actually excited for an Adam Sandler movie? Funny People (2009)? Reign Over Me (2007)? Punch-Drunk Love (2002)? I jest — kinda — but the reality is that while he’s continued to put out movies over the past five years, it feels like it’s…
A Sneak Peek at Batanga’s Revitalized Food and Bar Program
Batanga’s menus are getting a bit of a facelift, thanks to newly hired chef Rishi Singh (formerly of Boheme Café and Wine Bar and Dry Creek Café) and bartender Jojo Martinez (who recently worked at The Nightingale Room). We got a peek yesterday on what’s in store. (Fun fact: Martinez…
Jockey Accused of Shocking Horse Arrested, Charged With Lying to Texas Racing Commission
Roman Chapa, the jockey indicted by a Harris County grand jury last week for attempting to influence a horse race by shocking a horse, was scheduled for an arraignment for 9 a.m. Wednesday. However, when Chapa arrived at the 176th Criminal Court at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center Wednesday…
The 10 Best Pet Cemeteries and Crematoriums in Houston
George Carlin once said that buying a pet essentially meant you were purchasing a small tragedy. The fact is that in most cases we out live our beloved animal companions, and for some people the bond is strong enough to want a proper ceremony or burial to honor them. Luckily…
Where to Eat in Houston Easter 2015
From bunny breakfasts, egg hunts, and 3-course meals featuring roasted racks of lamb to Mexican-style brunch buffets with live music and cocktails, here’s where to eat this Easter in Houston: Note: Don’t forget to make your reservations quickly, as these spots are bound to fill up! 024 Grille 945 N…
March Madness 2015: Predictions, Sleepers and Best Bets
There aren’t many specific days on the calendar that, professionally, I enjoyed more before I got into sports talk radio than I do now that I’m in sports talk radio. Generally speaking, almost every day at my job is way more fun, stimulating, and satisfyingly exhausting in my job now…
Houston’s 10 Best Bars For March Madness
The NCAA’s “March Madness” basketball tournament, leading up to the Final Four at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on April 4 and ultimately the championship game on April 6, began this past Tuesday. Five Texas schools are in the hunt this year, including the University of Texas Longhorns, Baylor Bears,…
Owen Laukkanen: The Stolen Ones
Novelist Owen Laukkanen had a storied start to his writing career. He answered an ad on Craigslist and became a reporter for pokerlistings.com. He spent three years traveling the world from one glamorous, high-stakes poker tournament to another. Laukkanen eventually left that position (to be honest, we’re still not sure…
Lone Star and Laundry and Bourbon
The Company OnStage mounts two small-cast comedies, Lone Star and Laundry and Bourbon. There are just three men in one, three women in the other, all of them small-town Texas characters. Both one-act plays were written by James McLure, who also wrote the better-known The Day They Shot John Lennon…
Measure for Measure
Rice University’s Baker Residential College has played host to Houston’s longest consecutively running Shakespeare festival for 46 years. This season BakerShake, as it’s called, offers up Measure for Measure. “We’re taking this classic show of law and lust colliding and re-envisioning it in a timeless setting, familiar to viewers,” said…
Cirque du Soleil’s Amaluna
The audience won’t be the only ones in awe at performances of Cirque Du Soleil Presents Amaluna. According to performer Andreanne Nadeau, when they aren’t onstage, the other members of the circus acts stand in the wings in wonder. “I watch the show and say, ‘Wow, that’s so amazing!’ There…
House on Haunted Hill
For horror movie fans, just knowing that 1959’s House on Haunted Hill stars the “Merchant of Menace” Vincent Price as an eccentric, sadistic millionaire should be enough to head out to Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. In this black and white film, five varied characters are challenged to spend the night in…
“Shark!”
“Sharks are misunderstood,” says Wes Tunnell, curator of marine biology at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard this claim, but we have to admit, we’ve been slow to warm to the idea. That’s where “Shark!” a special exhibit at the museum, comes in…
Human Capital
The 1 percenters are everywhere. And the lure to be among them is just as universal. Paolo Virzi’s multi-viewpoint dissection of the Italian rich and famous and the wannabes clawing fast at their heels, Human Capital (2013), melodramatically twists and turns like that sweeping exterior double staircase to that eye-popping…
Hillary Clinton Might Become President. 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! I HOPE HILLARY CLINTON DON’T BECOME PRESIDENT Dear Willie D: I love Hillary Clinton, but I…
Mexican Kaleidoscope
Classical music is so focused on the idea of Western art forms that music from other parts of the world is often neglected, even New World colonies of Western nations. In fact, Mexican composers produced many Baroque works during the 18th century. The Apollo Chamber Players will present Mexican Kaleidoscope,a…
The Vampire Diaries Official Convention
Fans of The Vampire Diaries and spinoff series The Originals have a great deal to look forward to when the convention tour stops for the very first time in Houston. Stars Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley will both be signing autographs, as will several of their co-stars and guest stars…
“Fabergé: From a Snowflake to an Iceberg – The McFerrin Collection”
Get a peek at the baubles of royalty at “Fabergé: From a Snowflake to an Iceberg — The McFerrin Collection.” Some 500 jewel-encrusted treasures include dozens previously owned by Nicholas II and other members of Russia’s royal family, Queen Victoria and other nobles. On display are jewelry, picture frames, cigarette…
Four Blood Moons
“The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord,” states the Old Testament’s prophetic book of Joel. The pastor of a San Antonio mega-church and founder of the organization Christians United for Israel, John Hagee…
Kazuo Ishiguro: The Buried Giant
It took ten years for Kazuo Ishiguro, bestselling author of The Remains of the Day, to bring to life his latest piece of fiction, The Buried Giant. The author will read from his new novel as part of the 2014/2015 Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series on Monday, March 23;…
The Telephone Book
Vinegar Syndrome is a video label that has made a mission out of preserving, restoring and releasing rare exploitation and horror movies from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema started showing these restored films last December in what it’s calling the Vinegar Syndrome series; the March selection is The…
Miller’s Crossing
Miller’s Crossing, a gritty portrayal of the warring Irish and Italian mobs of the 1920s, is an early work of Joel Coen and an uncredited Ethan Coen. This bloody tale features a young Gabriel Byrne as Tom Reagan, along with John Turturro and Steve Buscemi. Reagan is double-crossing the Irish…
Rear Window
The late Alfred Hitchcock was known for his mastery of suspense, having honed his craft with 69 directorial credits, 28 producer credits and multiple uncredited cameos in many of his films, including Marnie, The Birds, Psycho and Dial M for Murder. Five of his movies were unavailable for more than…
Harlan Coben: The Stranger
Early reviews of Harlan Coben’s newest release, The Stranger, seemed to have two things in common: All of them had universal praise for the thriller and all of them revealed what we thought was a key plot point. Whoa, shouldn’t reviewers be more careful or at least label the reveal…
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
During William Shakespeare’s lifetime, there was a lot of belief among the populace that fairies and other magical beings could cast spells on you while you were sleeping, says Kim Tobin-Lehl, who is co-directing A Midsummer Night’s Dream with her husband, Philip Lehl, at Stark Naked Theatre. Both are looking…
Houston Ballet: Modern Masters
Ballet lovers of all types as well as people not too sure what part of the art form appeals to them will have a chance to look at it in some variety as the Houston Ballet presents Modern Masters, a program featuring three distinctive dance performances. Oliver Halkowich, a soloist…
Houston Jewish Film Festival
Amy Rahmani, arts and culture program coordinator at the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center, calls the schedule for the 11th annual Houston Jewish Film Festival “phenomenal.” Fans are sure to agree. “We have a phenomenal lineup this year…Films that will make you think, make you laugh, make you cry” Rahmani…
Boiling Point Players: Get Lucky Cabaret
The Boiling Point Players are feeling lucky, and they want you to feel lucky, too, so much so that their upcoming cabaret, Get Lucky, is centered around the concept. Boiling Point Players co-founder Melanie Martin said the one-night-only performance was inspired by St. Patrick’s Day. Symbols for the holiday include…
Discover Dance 2015
PLEASE NOTICE: New event date Discover Dance 2015 isn’t the usual “fans-sit-here, dancers-dance-there” type of festival. “In developing this festival, we embraced the fact that there is a big overlap between people who love to dance and people who love to watch dance,” says Andrea Cody, founding director of Dance…
Desert Island Discs: New Oceans of Slumber Vox Cammie Gilbert
From time to time, we ask local musicians for their Top 5 absolute desert-island discs, the records that made them the musicians they are today. This week; Cammie Gilbert, the new vocalist for prog-metal heroes Oceans of Slumber. ETTA JAMES, At Last As the daughter of a local jazz musician,…
The Gunman Pretends to Be More Serious Than Taken, But Is Just As Silly
In the action thriller The Gunman, Sean Penn, at age 54, looks neither old nor young. He’s been in training to look this age for a long time. Even as a relative kid, in 1982’s Fast Times at Ridgemont High, his sailor-on-shore-leave mug had a wry, quizzical roughness to it;…
Mike Tyson’s Champs and the History of Fighting
‘Mark Twain said boxing is the only sport where a slave, if he’s successful, can rub shoulders with royalty,” says former heavyweight Mike Tyson, who once knocked out 19 opponents in a row. “Can you imagine that? Just by fighting another human being, he can meet a king, a prince,…
Russia, a Whale and a Way of Life Molder in Leviathan
Where we come from defines us more than we even realize: That’s the idea implicit in Andrey Zvyagintsev’s somber, sturdily elegant drama Leviathan, in which a mechanic who has lived on the same parcel of land all his life — as his father and grandfather did before him — resists…
A Marriage Crumbles, Beautifully, in Winter Sleep
Twitter is doublestuffed with check-your-privilege messages for entitled men, but I’ve rarely seen one as potent as this singular line from Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s out-of-time masterwork Winter Sleep, a Chekhovian drama of marriage and class and the way both can inspire insulated cluelessness. “Just once, I’d like you to defend…
Capsule Art Reviews: March 19, 2015
“Mel Chin: Rematch” For the next few months, Houston-born and raised Mel Chin will be taking up practically the whole art atmosphere of the city with his 40-year retrospective. It’s a progressive art feast so big that it takes four museums to hold it all. And as a special treat…
Capsule Stage Review: March 19, 2015
A Midsummer Night’s Dream Written circa 1595, probably immediately after Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is Shakespeare at his most magical. Full of moonbeams and gossamer, it seems written on cobweb. Combining ancient myth, folklore and pastoral romance, the master weaves a fantastic story all about love, which,…
