Playbill: Stoney La Rue
If it’s Wednesday it must be time for Stoney La Rue! Catch the newly named winner of the 2007 Artist of the Year at the Gruene with Envy Awards in a free concert tonight at Pub Fiction. You’ll hear tunes off his new CD Live At Billy Bob’s, including the…
Aching for Aiken
American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken is coming to Houston for a show with our own Houston Symphony . The show isn’t until July but ticket sales went crazy on Monday when the Symphony held a pre-sale limited to Symphony subscribers and Clay Aiken fan club members. Today tickets were made…
Aching for Aiken
American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken is coming to Houston for a show with our own Houston Symphony . The show isn’t until July but ticket sales went crazy on Monday when the Symphony held a pre-sale limited to Symphony subscribers and Clay Aiken fan club members. Today tickets were made…
Light Blogging Today (And Everyday)
So I get a newsflash that there’s a fatal shooting on a Metro bus on Westheimer. Initial reports, at least, state that the bus was just west of the Galleria. Which attracted my notice, because I’ve got a kid who takes a the 82 Metro bus everyday down Westheimer from…
Idol Chatter
All in all this was one of the most boring weeks ever — what were those songs Blake, Sanjaya, LaKisha and Melinda sang? Broadway or something? The especially delectable guest mentor Gwen Stefani was a saving grace, but man, otherwise that was damn monotonous last night. Although he came on…
Fight for Your Write
We’re generally not big on pointing out typos. Everyone makes mistakes, after all. And highlighting other people’s linguistic peccadilloes is so Word Geek Level One. As you progress, you generally become more relaxed about such things. That said, we just couldn’t pass up this doozy in today’s Chron, which we’ve…
Is There a Doctor in the House?
Something’s wrong with the NightCULTURE people, and it’s not just capitalization problems. We regularly hear from them about what DJ’s are spinning where, but their most recent e-mail has us worried. Apparently, everyone afilliated with NightCULTURE has contracted an illness, or several illnesses. First, we are warned that the Disco…
Trading Spaces: Mock Draft Version 4.0
It still hurts, doesn’t it? Mock drafts are God’s gift to sportswriters. Slow news day? Feeling too lazy to dig up a good story? Just churn out a new mock draft. The best part (or worst, depending on how you view the current state of society): Most of us would…
John Royal’s MLB Predictions
So, it’s time for baseball season. And am I the only one out there who thinks that Opening Day should be a holiday? That said, it’s time for the predictions. Now, I could get all kinds of stats and get lots of links to back up my predictions. But what…
Free Sample
This week’s Chef Special features Richard Kaplan, whose Brown Paper Chocolates was recently nominated for the Gallo Gold Medal, a national award for artisanal food producers–who better to ask for chocolate bunny advice? So Richard, why do the ears taste best? Because they’re usually the first bite you take. –…
Free Sample
This week’s Chef Special features Richard Kaplan, whose Brown Paper Chocolates was recently nominated for the Gallo Gold Medal, a national award for artisanal food producers–who better to ask for chocolate bunny advice? So Richard, why do the ears taste best? Because they’re usually the first bite you take. –…
APRIL 16 420 FM Station Thing
We should definitely do something with this on the blog, don’t you think? – margt >>> “Sakura Komiyama” 3/21/2007 3:51 PM >>> Hello, X Country, the Americana channel on XM Satellite Radio (Channel 12), will be featuring a special show featuring songs about marijuana. That’s right – the “420” show…
Shucks. We Were Planning on Having Burnt Pork Roast for Dinner.
Houston might be dropping in the fat city rankings, but the folks at Slate.com can’t stop talking about our cuisine. First, there was the write-up on wholesaler Sysco. Now they’ve got an item on our latest delicacy: human flesh. As you’ve probably heard by now, a local man has been…
Rice Grad to Break the Gender Barrier?
Hey, Ria, we’re over here, on the other side. You blind or something? On Thursday, March 29, at about 2 p.m., Houston time, Rice University grad Ria Cortesio will do something that has not been done since March 1989. Ms. Cortesio will step out on a grass field somewhere in…
Apples and Oranges Are Both Fruit, After All
Tom DeLay’s new book, currently #336 on Amazon.com after two weeks on the shelves, seems quickly headed for Half Price Books’s clearance section where it will fit snugly between Ari Fleischer’s Taking Heat and John Ashcroft’s Never Again. So kudos to The Jewish Daily Forward for taking the time to…
Time for a Little House Cleaning
Looking for something to keep you busy during your 15-minute work break? Allow me to lend you a helping hand. Just print this bad boy out and get comfortable. We’ve got a lot to get to before diving head first into our latest mock draft, which is on its way…
Toast to Toast
Dusti Rhodes Linda Darke Swaynos and the greatest thing since sliced bread. When we called Linda Darke Swaynos to ask about her show “TOAST: A Celebration of Life,” she was thrilled. “Oh, that’s good, because I’ve been making so much toast!” she said with a giddiness rarely associated with breakfast…
Big Shrimp
Robb Walsh My’s Seafood, 514 Waterfront, Seabrook, 281-474-4833 Yo, Sharon! You wanted to know where to go for fresh fish, cheap shrimp and shucked oysters. Thing to do is take a drive down to Kemah. But before you go over the bridge, turn off into Seabrook and find Waterfront Drive,…
Big Shrimp
Robb Walsh My’s Seafood, 514 Waterfront, Seabrook, 281-474-4833 Yo, Sharon! You wanted to know where to go for fresh fish, cheap shrimp and shucked oysters. Thing to do is take a drive down to Kemah. But before you go over the bridge, turn off into Seabrook and find Waterfront Drive,…
South By Slideshow
We’ve got a new slideshow up on our homepage. Just click on “Home” up there above — yeah, right up there, next to “News” — and then scroll down and click on “Iggy” to see Dan Kramer’s killer pics of Iggy Pop’s performance at SXSW. Dude’s pretty buff for an…
BREAKING, AND SHOCKING, NEWS
It’s a horse we’ve tried to beat to death before, but it just won’t die. The headline on David Barron’s sports-media column in today’s Houston Chronicle: “Nantz Says Final Four Will Be One For The Ages.” This accomplishes two of the trademark things from the Barron ouevre: It provides a…
BREAKING, AND SHOCKING, NEWS
It’s a horse we’ve tried to beat to death before, but it just won’t die. The headline on David Barron’s sports-media column in today’s Houston Chronicle: “Nantz Says Final Four Will Be One For The Ages.” This accomplishes two of the trademark things from the Barron ouevre: It provides a…
APRIL Donate Life Month
>>> “Dave Undis” 3/15/2007 8:47 AM >>> April is National Donate Life Month – would your readers be interested in learning about a better way to donate their organs when they die? Your readers can help themselves as they help reduce the deadly shortage of transplantable organs and make the…
EVERGREEN Rice Professor book on Polarization of American electorate
Rice University Office of News & Media Relations Press Advisory CONTACT: Franz Brotzen PHONE: 713-348-6775 E-MAIL: franz.brotzen@rice.edu “Divided America” looks at political polarization in U.S. HOUSTON — (March 19, 2007) — Rice University Political Science Professor Earl Black and his brother Merle, a professor of Politics and Government at Emory…
EVERGREEN Wildflower Hotline
125 E. 11th Street Austin, Texas 78701-2483 (512) 463-8588 FAX (512) 463-9896 March 19, 2007 Wildflower hotline available AUSTIN — Motorists searching for the best wildflower locations along Texas highways have help at their fingertips. The Texas Department of Transportation’s wildflower hotline (800-452-9292) and Internet site (www.txdot.gov) give users information…
Re: Lights Out for Lidge?
John Royal responds to Jason Friedman’s comments about Royal’s remarks about Brad Lidge. Try to keep up. Jason, welcome aboard. It was nice to hear from you. And it’s nice to know that someone out there is more cynical about the Houston sports scene than I am. It’s also nice…
A Little Too Ironic
What’s this guy got to do with baseball? Good question. My name is John. And I’m an addict. No, I’m not addicted to anything glamorous like alcohol. Or drugs. Or sex. Or gambling. No, I’m addicted to the blogs written by the Houston Chronicle sports writers. Now, I know that…
The Houston Chronicle DeLayed
It’s easy to forget the Houston Chronicle is a newspaper — that is, a paper that delivers news. On March 21 the Chronicle blanketed its front page with a report on Tom DeLay’s fiery new memoir — five days after Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Novak broke the story. (Credit Wonkette…
Rotation: Jon Rauhouse
Jon Rauhouse Steel Guitar Heart Attack Bloodshot Records Ace sideman and session player Jon Rauhouse almost left us a couple of years back. Guys as young as Calexico collaborator Rauhouse aren’t supposed to have heart attacks, but all those years of touring with tear-ass bands like the Waco Brothers obviously…
Podcast: An Interview with Azul
To listen to our podcast with Mexican singer/songwriter Azul, just click here. Azul performs with Lila Downs and Magos Herrera in the Divinas concert, Sunday, March 25, at Miller Outdoor Theatre, 100 Concert Drive, 281-373-3386…
Rockets Win While Fans Yawn
Your Houston Rockets just finished winning their fifth game in a row and it came against the best team in the Eastern Conference no less. But do you even care? It sure doesn’t seem like it. As you read this, the local airwaves are probably still meticulously dissecting the Matt…
Ft. Bend’s Homeless Youth
Wanna do some good? Here’s your chance: You — yes, you! — are invited to a meeting this afternoon to help figure out the next step in addressing suburban Fort Bend County’s burgeoning homeless problem. Earlier this month a consortium of community churches, case workers and various other do-gooders cast…
This Better Work, Redux
Well, I’d like to welcome Matt Schaub to the Houston. Matt, as QB 1, you’re going to be the toast of the town. Especially since the last QB 1 was pretty much hated. Why, right now, even as we speak, the city’s leading information source is comparing you to Tom…
This Better Work
So the Texans have themselves a new quarterback. On the plus side, he’s not named Jake Plummer or Jeff Garcia. On the other hand, his jersey comes with an “8” on it, and that number can make any gathering of Texans’ fans immediately re-enact the Barf-a-rama scene from Stand By…
Mail Call
Rodeo Cruelty My husband and I are horrified at your tasteless article you wrote regarding the rodeo — “Shocking Cruelty” it should be called. [ “Beers, Steers &…,” by Richard Connelly, March 1]. The photograph of the poor calf being treated in such an unacceptable way [“Shark Attack” in HouStoned,…
Mafioso
Alberto Lattuada’s tricky-to-parse Mafioso dates from 1962 but, with its abrupt tonal shifts and disturbing existential premise, this nearly forgotten dark comedy could be the most modern (or at least modernist) movie in town. Released by Rialto on the heels of its triumphantly rediscovered Army of Shadows, Lattuada’s tale of…
Reggae Hut Cafe
Short of a trip to Jamaica, the best way to experience the country’s cuisine is to try the jerk chicken ($8.50) at Reggae Hut Cafe (4814 Almeda, 713-520-7171). There are several theories about the name of this dish. Some say “jerk” refers to the style of cooking, in which the…
Azul, Magos Herrera and Lila Downs
Lila Downs, Azul, Magos Herrera. Three Mexican singers with strong ties to the United States, each with her own ideas about what modern Mexico sounds like. Together they are the divinas, the divine ones. Not exactly divas, but not exactly not. “I understand the term,” says Herrera. “But mostly it’s…
Shooter
In the same week that sees Adam Sandler playing a grieving 9/11 widower in Reign Over Me, another lone figure reeling from post-traumatic stress fills the central role in the new Antoine Fuqua-directed thriller, Shooter. Named Bob Lee Swagger and played with appropriately gruff machismo by Mark Wahlberg, he’s a…
South By Southwest 2007
To get to the Fader party at South By Southwest, you must first wend your way through a maze of Levi’s products out to a back patio that is brought to you by Southern Comfort peach brandy. There, The Good, the Bad and the Queen, Ladyhawk, Vietnam, Redman and Bone…
Stage Capsule Reviews
An American Brat Anyone who thinks the generation gap closed way back in the 1970s needs a ticket to Bapsi Sidhwa’s hilarious new play An American Brat. Based on the writer’s novel of the same title, the charming story, now playing at Stages Repertory Theatre, demonstrates how wide that chasm…
Mims & “This Is Why I’m Hot”
This is why “This Is Why I’m Hot” is hot: Because it’s hot. There are, of course, other reasons the breakout single from Mims, a Washington Heights rapper who intends to carry New York hip-hop on his back and restore us to glory, is hot. It ascended to number one…
Art Capsule Reviews
“…..all of the above” Judy Pfaff is considered a pioneer of installation art, and she’s got the MacArthur Fellowship to prove it. Her latest offering is awash in fluorescent oranges, blues, yellows, greens and purples, giving the space a decided Tron feel, sans digitized crotch rockets and wacky helmets. White…
Vanilla Ice
Vanilla Ice. The patron saint of the would-be Federline dynasty. The thorn in Marshall Mathers’s side. The scourge of aspiring white rappers all over. Vanilla Ice (a.k.a. Rob Van Winkle) has incited shock, revulsion and curiosity in the hearts of Americans for almost two decades. Coming from a distinguished lineage…
Mexican-American Culture
Dear Readers, Muchas, muchas responses to my March 8 column asking whether I should keep this column’s gold-toothed, mustachioed, sombrero-wearing fat Mexican logo and what I should name him. The overwhelming majority of ustedes support amnesty for the wab, but a few folks also made articulate arguments in favor of…
Modest Mouse
We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank seems most easily defined by what it isn’t. This isn’t The Moon & Antarctica, with its move from landscape and loss, from even landscape as loss, towards utter aridity. Dead lacks the blood-on-the-tracks freshness of the early work; this is not Interstate…
Ghost Rider
Publisher: 2K Games
Platform: PS2, PSP
Price: $29.99
ESRB Rating: T (for Teen)
Score: 2.5 (out of 10)
Ozomatli
Ozomatli’s latest effort, Don’t Mess with the Dragon, is a fusion of Spanish rock, hip-hop, reggaeton and funk, the perfect crossover release. The nine-man Ozomatli has put together a dozen tunes for their fourth full-length CD, most of them happy dance tracks. The opening song, “Can’t Stop,” is polished and…
DVDs
Blood Diamond (Warner Bros.) Ed Zwick’s Blood Diamond, about the civil war over diamonds that devastated Sierra Leone in the late 1990s, plays like a guilt-ridden Jerry Bruckheimer movie. It’s little more than action-adventure pulp drenched in someone else’s blood — which it tries to wash off by proselytizing to…
Jarvis Cocker
Former frontman of the former British sense-band Pulp, Jarvis Cocker has been creating sexual narratives both desperate and weary since he was a teenager. It’s been 25 years of rock and pop equally shameless (always ready for the next bit of fun) and forlorn (when you think about it, this…
Top DVDs
Batman Beyond: Season Three (Warner Bros.) The Bridge on the River Kwai (Sony) Burning Annie (Warner Bros.) The Caine Mutiny (Sony) The Care Bears Movie: 25th Anniversary Limited Edition (MGM) Come Early Morning (Weinstein) Eragon (Fox) The Guns of Navarone (Sony) JAG: The Third Season (Paramount) Justice League Unlimited: Season…
Thee Armada
Thee Armada’s The New You shows how easy it has become to write catchy — in the most clichd sense of the word — pop punk. The group gives listeners the sound they have come to know and love. However, the formula laid by their heartbroken forefathers — Saves The…
Heartbreak House
Twentieth-century Irish literary lion George Bernard Shaw, famed for his intellect, wit and prickly philosophy in such theatrical landmarks as Arms and the Man, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Caesar and Cleopatra, Saint Joan, Major Barbara and Pygmalion, among many others, is the only writer to receive both the Nobel Prize for…
Antelope
Certain punk purists will only say a band is “punk” if they adhere to the formula that has been around since the beginning: simple, straightforward, snotty and fast. Not sure what they’d say about Washington, D.C., trio Antelope, who call themselves a punk band but don’t sound simple, straightforward, snotty…
Southern Culture on the Skids
These gasoline-soaked, chicken wing-slingin’, Little Debbie-sailin’, banana puddin’ connoisseurs and self-described “bards of downward mobility” have an annual SXSW two-day side trip to Houston. Lucky us. While there’s lots of shtick in their act, these leading exporters of Raleigh-Durham trailer house chic are as powerful a trio as exists on…
DPS, Driver’s License Renewals, Mardi Gras in Galveston, Tales from the BBB
Going to a branch of the Department of Public Safety is never a very pleasant experience, but the past week or so in Houston has been especially horrendous. Computers at three offices went down, resulting in waits of four hours or more for people trying to get even the most…
Clipd Beaks
Oakland’s carnal art-punkers Clipd Beaks are living proof of a gateway drug. There’s a particular rush that comes with listening to the Minneapolis transplants, and it’s entirely intense, intoxicating and ethereal — something peer pressure could never lead to. The music’s pulse swaggers in hypnotizing post-punk rhythms and tribal percussion…
Houston Hip-Hop
After years of being dismissed as a novelty and then as a sort of stepchild to its East and West Coast precedents, Southern hip-hop is only now receiving its due. That road to respectability began here in Texas, primarily with the breakthrough national success of the Geto Boys’ “Mind Playing…
Larry Harlow and Noche Caliente
Pianist Larry Harlow, a.k.a. “El Judio Maravilloso,” is a must-see for salsa fans. An important member of the Fania All-Stars, Harlow claims to have produced more than 250 CDs and recorded more than 50 as a bandleader. Numbers get muddled over the years, so those may or may not be…
Mo’s Place
It’s Friday night and I’m buzzing in through the back door of Mo’s Place, (21940 Kingsland Boulevard, 281-392-3499, www. mosplacekaty.com), the only honky-tonk on the lost highway of I-10 West, way out I-10 West. Mo’s has a large, circular bar with a bandstand and dance floor on one side, and…
The Namesake
Packed with female book club members, a screening of Mira Nair’s The Namesake left no doubt about the film’s target audience. If anyone’s going to flock to this warm and likable tale, it’s going to be women, yet it seems a pity to confine the movie behind the bars of…
Crawfish
Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily
Boiled crawfish: Market Price
Crawfish and fried oyster poor boy: $10.95
Cup of crab bisque: $6.75
Fried half-and-half dinner: $14.95
Bowl of gumbo: $6.95
Garlic bread free on request
Reign Over Me
As Charlie Fineman, a New York dentist who lost his wife and three young daughters in one of the September 11 plane crashes, Adam Sandler sports a mass of bedraggled locks and walks with his head hung low, the sounds of the city drowned out by The Who or Bruce…
The Mink
“Fuck MySpace” says Editrix as we walk into The Mink (3718 Main Street, 713-522-9985) on a Saturday night. She’s giving our group of six a lecture on the social networking phenomenon, which she alleges is strictly reserved for “douche bags” like myself who “don’t know who their real friends are.”…
The Last Mimzy
Hard-core phantasie geeks will relish role-playing every enemy of The Last Mimzy, a family-style sci-fi adventure whose director Bob Shaye is better known to them as the evil wizard — the alien executive who peed all over the Fellowship. Shaye, in his other job as New Line Cinema topper, has…
Saint Matthew’s Churches, Inc.
There is a big difference between kneeling down And bending over… — Frank Zappa Behold the Faith Check. It is written on the Bank of Heaven. Bank President: God, the Father; Vice President: Jesus, the Son; Secretary and Treasurer: The Holy Ghost. Written instructions: Place the Faith Check in your…
