Troy Allison: Reward Upped for the Sporting Sex Offender
Troy Allison, a sex offender whose mug shot features a slight smile and a sporty shirt, is still on Texas’s Top 10 Most Wanted Sex Offenders list, and the reward for helping to find him has increased. Tips, anonymous or not, that lead to his arrest can be worth up…
Who Is Dick Clark?: The Twitter World Wants To Know…
Famed television host and “world’s oldest teenager” Dick Clark has passed away at age 82, due to a massive heart attack. The longtime host of American Bandstand and ABC’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve lived a storied life, introducing millions of kids to pop music, while also hosting various game shows…
Mitt Romney, American Parasite: A Look at Bain Capital
Mitt Romney has survived the serial challenges by circus clowns that was the GOP primary, and now he is out to sell the American public on his vision for the country. Some workers who have experienced that vision have some qualms about it. Romney ran Bain Capital, an investment company…
Mole Like Monterrey at El Gallo de Jalisco
“I feel like I’m in a time warp,” my friend Linda said after a few minutes contemplation over our plate of chicken mole at El Gallo de Jalisco. “I feel like I’m a kid again and I’m back at my grandmother’s house in Monterrey eating her mole.” The sensation was…
Dick Clark, Rock & Roll Benefactor, Dead At 82
Television producer, idol maker, and eternal teenager Dick Clark has died today at the age of 82 from a massive heart attack, TMZ is reporting. Clark’s show American Bandstand helped foster rock and roll’s development through its early years, and later he branched out into other television franchises and production…
Musical “Holograms” We Don’t Want To See Anytime Soon (OK, Yes We Do)
A lot has been made about the Tupac “hologram” at Coachella. First off, it’s not really a hologram as much as it is CGI “magic” and it’s nothing new, seeing that they have been doing it Japan for a few years now. But they do lots of things in Japan…
This Is the Insane Line at the New Chick-Fil-A on Taylor
Tomorrow is the grand opening of Houston’s newest Chick-Fil-A (2222 Shearn). And above is the insane line of people who created a tent city today in advance. Why? Because the first 100 people in the door tomorrow morning receive free Chick-Fil-A for a year. “We do this with all grand…
Chef Chat, Part 1: Jose Hernandez of Triniti on Learning to Cook Viennese Pastries in Mexico City
Jose Hernandez Triniti 2815 South Shepherd Drive 713-527-9090 This is part one of my chat with Chef Jose Hernandez of Triniti. Click to read parts two and three. I fell in love with Chef Jose Hernandez’s pastries from the very first moment I tasted this oh-so-delicate, and perfectly constructed off-menu…
MADD Says 85 Percent of Texas Parents Say Their Kids “Are Not Interested in Drinking”
Texas parents are a deluded group, if a new survey for Mothers Against Drunk Driving is any indication. The survey says 85 percent of Texas parents feel their children “are not interested in drinking.” At least some of those 85 percent have kids in high school, one would think. But…
Cover Story: Cleaning & Caring For Your Vinyl Collection
This week’s feature, “Playing for Keeps,” takes a look at the resurgence of the vinyl record. When you think about it, vinyl is probably the most enduring musical format in the history of home audio. How many people’s record collections were started with hand-me-downs from their parents? But it’s not…
If You Can’t Play It, Display It: Crafting with Old Records
This week’s cover story, Playing for Keeps, looks at the resurgence of the vinyl record. Over on sister blog Rocks Off, we taught you how to care for and clean that awesome vinyl collection you’re building. But not all thrift store vinyl can be saved. Especially in Houston, some collections…
East Side Vacation at El Petate: A Guide to Salvadoran Cuisine
If you’re anything like me, pupusas are the first thing that spring to mind when thinking of Salvadoran food. And why not: The fat, round pockets of cheese, beans, meat (and sometimes all three) are like the divine offspring of Mexican quesadillas and gorditas. They’re portable and easy to consume,…
Cover Story: Wanna See A Vinyl Record Get Pressed Before Your Eyes?
This week’s Houston Press cover story, “Playing For Keeps,” dives into the world of vinyl records, with interviews with local collectors and shop owners who are helping keep the medium alive in the Bayou City. Research for this cover story took me as far north as Dallas, where I visited…
Late Nite Pie Owner Also Charged with Arson
The owner of Late Nite Pie, Felicity Burris, has also been charged with arson in the aftermath of a fire that claimed the Midtown pizza joint on February 8. According to our sister blog, Hair Balls, Burris allegedly instructed the manager — Raymond Pecher — to burn the restaurant down…
Heather Ricks Terry and Mary Dorsey, Alleged Thieving Dental Workers: Thar’s Gold in Them Thar Grills
A pair of Lufkin dental office workers have been arrested and charged with stealing gold meant for grills and fillings from their place of work. Authorities there say that Heather Ricks Terry, 30, and Mary Dorsey, 42, swiped about $5,000 of the precious metals from the Palmer and Ross Dental…
Tommy Tune High School Award Winners Announced
In an awards ceremony complete with the big man himself — Tommy Tune — Episcopal High School took Best Musical for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Billy Cohen from Episcopal took Best Leading Actor and Caitlin Finnie of John Cooper School performing in Beauty and the Beast took Best Leading Actress in…
Verna Deann McClain Kills Woman to Steal Her Three-Day-Old Baby (UPDATED)
A nurse killed a woman outside a pediatrician’s office and took off with the victim’s three-day-old baby, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office says. Verna Deann McClain, 30, has been charged with capital murder. A deputy searching an apartment complex saw a car that matched the description of what she was…
Tasting Notes: This Week in Wine Blogs
Eat My Words: This week Texas Monthly wine writer Jessica Dupuy gives a glowing review to new releases by the Duchman Family Winery, the Texas Hill Country winery owned by Houston’s own celebrity cardiologist Stan Duchman. “I’ll be honest,” she writes, “I fell in love with all of these wines,…
Reality Bites: American Pickers
There are a million reality shows on the naked television. We’re going to watch them all, one at a time. I can’t claim I was excited about the prospect of watching American Pickers, especially when it felt like my recap of Storage Wars was just last week (it was actually…
Don’t Play It Again, Sam: More Terrible Remakes Of Great Songs (By The Original Artists)
Rocks Off covered Eric Clapton’s “Layla” and several other awful updates in January. Sometimes an artist hits it big with one great song. Real big, real fast. Before they know it, they’re the hot-button item, on the lips of the hip and influential across the world. Of course, a sudden…
Comment of the Day: United, Southwest & Loyalty
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…
Newman’s Own: Margherita Frozen Pizza
“I don’t want to cook.” “Well, I don’t want to spend any money.” “Fine. Then throw one of those frozen pizzas in and let’s watch Game of Thrones and get it over with.” This is the conversation that happened in my house on Easter. My girlfriend and I were tired…
The Dead Come Back Alive, On Big Screen, For One Night Only
Grateful Dead concerts were always something of a time machine that took both casual fans and hardcore Deadheads back to another era. And for one night only, the machine goes back more than 20 years — to July 18, 1989 to be exact — for the Grateful Dead Second Annual…
John Adelman: Making Drawings the Hard Way at DARKE Gallery
Upon first look, John Adelman’s ink drawings up at DARKE Gallery don’t look like much to make — messy squiggles, cascading white scratches, quick and efficient dashes on canvas. You could just stop there and move on, but that would be missing everything. Adelman’s works are all about the process…
Late Nite Pie Owner Felicity Burris Also Charged with Arson: “The Business Need[s] To Be Gone Soon,” She Told Manager
Owner Felicity Burris also hit with charges.A second person has been charged with arson in connection with the blaze at Montrose mainstay Late Nite Pie. Felicity D. Burris, 35, has been charged, joining manager Raymond Pecher, who was charged with arson earlier this month. Burris is being held without bond…
They’re Ba-a-ack!: The Six Best Coachella Reunion Performances
Over the weekend, we experienced one of the most exciting musical events of the year: The Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. One of the main features of the festival is the reunion aspect. For most of Coachella’s lifespan, it has featured at least one classic band back together for…
The Bold and the Blu in Sugar Land
After reading Mai Pham’s Chef Chat series with Executive Chef Junnajet “Jett” Hurapan of Blu Restaurant in Sugar Land, I knew a trip of my own to Towne Square was in store. I was lucky enough to attend a media tasting at Blu, where I tried delicious and innovative food…
Drugstore vs. Department Store: Beauty Bloggers Do the Work for Us
When I was a kid, most of my makeup consisted of hand-me-downs from my mother’s cosmetics case, or 99 cent Wet n’ Wild purchases from the local Rexall Pharmacy. On Saturdays, my friend Andrea and I would ride our bikes downtown and shop for cheap makeup created, branded and marketed…
Dynamo Tailgating: There Are Limits
A lot of fans rejoiced when the city eased off on anti-tailgating restrictions that would have barred the practice at the Dynamo’s new downtown BBVA Compass Stadium. After opening the season with four straight road games, the Dynamo will finally open up their new park May 12, and they have…
Lizmark Jr. & Octagóncito: Lucha Libre USA Hits Houston This Friday
According to my research — which I guess began 25 years ago on the streets of the Mexican border town of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, when I was playing with “Santos” toys that my mom bought me — Lucha Libre is awesome. What is essentially a telenovela with more punching, flying, muscles…
They’re Looking for a Few Good Dominatrixes
Patrons of Numbers probably recognize Domina Shannon as the busty, perky bartender who’s always ready with a drink and a smile. What more could you ask for? However, when she’s not slinging gin, she’s swinging a riding crop as part of Maison Noir, Houston’s pre-eminent BDSM dungeon. And good news…
Texans Release 2012 Schedule: Five Early Thoughts
It’s often not whom you play, but when you play. That’s the key item to consider when evaluating an NFL schedule release. Ranking schedules based on prior-year records, as some media outlets did this week in proclaiming an “easy” slate for the Texans, can be misleading. For example, Denver –…
100 Creatives 2012: Damon Smith
Damon Smith expected to enjoy Houston when he moved here in August 2010, but not this much. The Bay Area transplant — an internationally established double bass player, who has shared a stage with Peter Brötzmann, Cecil Taylor and Alvin Fielder — is also a visual artist, arts scholar and…
Sampler Plate: This Week in Food Blogs
He8, She8: The first of two new (to us!) blogs this week, He8, She8 is similar in concept to 2 Dine For, in which a couple eats together and then reports independently on their own experiences at a restaurant. He8, She8’s latest review is of Feast, where they both gave…
Supergroups: 10 Bands That Sprang From Other Bands
From the remnants of other great bands are often birthed more great bands. Oftentimes these little side projects go under the radar unless you are a hardcore fan, or the new band itself gains a lot of airplay or word of mouth. Either way, some of the greatest rock bands…
4 Thoughts on Delonte West’s Wet Willie on Gordon Hayward
After allowing me to fall into the trap of proclaiming them a lock for the playoffs on my radio show, the Rockets lost their fourth straight game last night. Logic dictates that I should post something about that, but I need to step away from the Rockets just to be…
5 Hit Books Hollywood Will Never Film
As we recently pointed out when we tackled movie novelizations that were actually worth the read, turning books into movies is big business. The entertainment industry likes its projects pre-vetted, and Hollywood in particular loves to add “Inspired by the novel many of you bought” or “From the mind of,…
Ezra Pound: Songs To Celebrate Leaving The Loony Bin
Ezra Pound remains one of America’s most genius and most controversial writers. His poetry has gone on to inspire countless artists, and as a literary editor and critic he was responsible for shaping the styles of T.S. Eliot, James Joyce, Robert Frost, and Ernest Hemingway. He was by most accounts…
