Popcorn Fart of the Year — CBS’s Mike McQueary Interview
“Tonight on Evening News Mike McQueary breaks his silence and opens a window for me into his emotions.” — Armen Keteyian on Twitter yesterday late afternoon At about 4:45 yesterday afternoon, it was this tweet that compelled me to stay at work for another 45 minutes for fear that I…
Comment of the Day: Not So Enamored with H-E-B
Here on Eating Our Words, the commenters absolutely make the blog, and our Comment of the Day honors the best of the bunch. Every day, we read you guys and pick the commenter, or commenters, who made us laugh, cry, salivate over something delicious, or think about things in a…
Michael Giventer: Sudden-Stop-Accident Scammer Arrested for Bankruptcy Fraud
Michael Giventer owed State Farm Insurance $8.6 million after losing a civil suit where the company proved he had been scamming the company for years through false claims stemming from “sudden-stop” accidents. He also had been convicted of criminal fraud for staging car accidents. He didn’t want to pay the…
Ask A Rapper: J. Cole vs. Big Sean, the Worst Song of 2011, More
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…
Gregory Longoria Jr. Convicted of Assault in S&M Trial
Gregory Longoria Jr., on trial for assaulting a woman he knew by burning her breasts and genitals, choking her and hitting her with a belt — the guy whose defense was that the woman enjoyed such S&M games — was convicted today. The Houston Chronicle reports the jury took about…
Chef Chat, Part 1: Mark Gabriel Medina of Kata Robata
When I asked Mark Gabriel “Gabe” Medina, the current Chef de Cuisine at Kata Robata, if he would be willing to do a chef chat with me, the 29-year-old, soft-spoken chef, who’s been flying under the radar since he assumed his current position, was a bit hesitant. Stepping into the…
Upcoming: Dropkick Murphys, Glen Campbell, Il Divo, Red Fang, Dax Riggs
“The 15th Annual Townes Van Zandt Wake”: Sun., Jan. 1. Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe (413 20th St., Galveston), 413 20th St., Galveston, Galveston. Adrian Bourgeois, Street Violence, Art Institute: Tue., Dec. 13. Super Happy Fun Land, 3801 Polk, Houston. Band Of Skulls: Fri., March 16. Fitzgerald’s, 2706 White Oak, Houston…
Clear Lake Shores Mixers City Council Meetings Feature Alleged Boozing, Personal Attacks and One-Fingered Salutes
The people who attend Clear Lake Shores’s city council meetings get started early…and we’re not talking about the recitation of the pledge of allegiance. Last week, Hair Balls was copied on a letter written to Galveston County assistant district attorney Donna Cameron by Jean Garst, a 28-year resident of Clear…
Tasting Notes: This Week in Wine Blogs
Vintage Texas: We’re happy to report that it’s been an unusually busy week in the world of Houston wine blogging. And we’re doubly thrilled that Houston-based blogger, leading Texas wine authority Russ Kane, author of Vintage Texas, continues to serve faithfully as the Texas wine world’s de facto media director,…
Dig This: Female Demand, EndIsNow, Daniel Zen, Soulutionn, and Vivian Pikkles
The current volume of local music is staggering. New Houston bands are born daily, and all too often pass away just as quickly. Rocks Off wants to help you (and ourselves) keep up. We know the Houston Press Music Awards were last night, and we gave everyone a veritable local…
Top 5 Things You Might Not Know about Caravaggio: Artist, Pimp & Brawler
Andrew Graham-Dixon’s newly released book, Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane, details the life and times of the the Italian-born 16th century artist, including lots of juicy details. There have been lots of rumors and speculation about the artist, but Graham-Dixon put ten years of research into his book, clearing…
Amber Osage: Police Say Cranky Caretaker Repeatedly Slugs Paralyzed Patient
According to police in Nacogdoches, Amber Osage didn’t like it when her fellow in-home caretaker and the quadriplegic man they were looking after woke her up. When they asked her to help move him to his bed, she refused, and so the man ordered her to leave his house. Amber…
What Did benjy’s Ever Do To You?
I hear benjy’s gets a lot of flack. You’ve seen it too. It crops up here in the comments sections, on Twitter, in everyday conversations. I’ve honestly never understood it. And after reviewing benjy’s on Washington this week, I understand it even less. While I’ve had one fair-to-middling meal at…
Festival Alert: The Montrose Winter Social Set For December 3
The music festival family in Houston just gained another with the Montrose Winter Social, coming December 3 to AvantGarden, Sole Purpose, Numbers, and Mango’s, all at the corner of Westheimer and Taft. Shiny Toy Guns are set as the national headliner for this inaugural event. The California electro-rock act is…
Pauline Oliveros Talks Houston Improv, Her Mother’s Death and the Essence of Latency
Pretty much everything has changed since Pauline Oliveros left Houston in 1949 to seek out a music that would later inspire her Deep Listening Institute. Everything except for latency, which, in the sound world, refers to the millisecond delay between when a sound materializes from a system and when that…
Operation “No Tacos” Progress Report: Taco Torture
It’s been 15 days since I started this challenge. Fifteen. Long. Days. But I’m hanging in there! People still think I’m crazy, and I partly agree, but the truth is… my mind was made up to take on this challenge even before I pitched the story to Eating Our Words…
Cover Story: How James “Bull” Durham Became A Poster Boy for East Texas Meth
See our slideshow of James Durham’s descent into meth hell. James “Bull” Durham, Lufkin’s meth poster boy, popped his first shot of that devil’s potion at the age of eleven — he says it helped him get through his day-long shifts as an off-the-books catfish skinner. Even so, he says…
Rural Alberta Advantage: Drowning for Fun and Profit
We get a lot of great music videos from Mick Cullen over at Subterranean Radio because Cullen has the best nose for tracking down incredible underground music in the country. His latest offering to us is a Canadian band called the Rural Alberta Advantage and the video for their song…
H-E-B’s New Montrose Market Opens Today; Take a Sneak Peek and Avoid the Crowds
I stood inside the vestibule to the new H-E-B Montrose Market (1701 W. Alabama) yesterday afternoon, awaiting the beginning of a media tour through the San Antonio grocer’s latest Houston store — all 78,000 square feet of it — and watched as one potential customer after another had to be…
Fred Eaglesmith: Dangerous To Himself
Fred Ealesmith’s latest release 6 Volts is rapidly becoming our most played disk since we scored a copy at his recent show at Mucky Duck. Recorded live as a band with ONE MICROPHONE(!) as one track mono to a reel-to-reel deck (oh, you want lo-fi!), the album has drawn frequent…
Ten Texas Towns That Could Use a Name Change
For Thanksgiving, the stunt-publicity experts at PETA are asking the tiny Texas town of Turkey to change its name to Tofurky. In exchange for the one-day name change, PETA promised to reward the town’s residents with holiday meals of “Tofurky with mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes (made with vegan margarine), and…
A Christmas Carol & Its Kid Actors & Audiences at the Alley Theatre
Sometimes they have to hold hands in rehearsal. Or show the youngest actors the masks so they won’t be scared of them. But overall everything goes pretty smoothly as the Alley Theatre gears up one more time for putting on A Christmas Carol – A Ghost Story of Christmas. Actor/associate…
10 Pumpkin Dishes to Try in Houston: #2 Pumpkin Empanada at Rustika Cafe and Bakery
In 2010, I had a grand ol’ time scouring Houston for outstanding pumpkin dishes. One year later I’m older, definitely not wiser, and still in love with orange squash. So from now until Thanksgiving I’ll be counting down (again) 10 Pumpkin Dishes to Try in Houston. Forks at the ready!…
3 Very Special Texas Museums: Toilet Seats, Cockroaches and Creationism
Who: Former plumber-turned-folk artist Barney Smith is the man who keeps the Barney Smith’s Toilet Seat Art Museum afloat. In 2010, the museum had more than 1,000 pressed wood seats, which he engraves, paints and otherwise decorates. On the inside of each seat, Smith details the materials used, inspiration for…
Texas 1015 Supersweet Onions
If you consider the rise of a Full Harvest Moon to be the end of the gardening season, then you aren’t from Texas. On any day of the year there’s at least one crop you can plant or seed in the ground, and have a productive crop weeks or months…
Three Texas Museums: Toilet Seats, Cockroaches and a Desiccated Finger
Who: The story is that former plumber-turned-folk artist Barney Smith had a pair of deer antlers he wanted to mount one day and a spare toilet seat seemed just the place. That was the beginning of Barney Smith’s Toilet Seat Art Museum, one of three Texas museums we are highlighting…
Watch The Cradle: When Babies Meet Jay-Z & Kanye
Houston’s December 5th date on the Watch The Throne tour, with Jay-Z and Kanye West up front is just a few weeks away. Obviously the Rocks Off team is excited, and everyone is fighting for tickets around here. No doubt everything about the show will be amazing, from West’s new…
Thanksgiving Day Dining and Takeout Options: Because Washing Dishes Sucks
Recently we read an article on “Facebook Depression,” which is essentially a feeling of general malaise attributed to the constant comparison of one’s own turbulent, unexciting existence to the seemingly glamorous and worry-free lives of their digital friends. But the reality is social media sites, for the most part, are…
Triumph of the Nerds: The Crazy Story Behind the Lost Steve Jobs Interview
It was almost like fate. A 70-minute-long interview with Apple founder Steve Jobs, thought to be lost for 16 years, resurfaces magically just days after the personal computer pioneer’s October 5 death from pancreatic cancer. Now that interview, recorded in 1995 as part of a three-part British television series on…
Comment of the Day: Teen Dance Night At Rich’s
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…
Your 2011 Houston Press Music Awards Winners
Check out our slideshow of this year’s Houston Press Music Awards winners. It was a dandy of an evening last night at Warehouse Live as we handed out those silver records to some of Houston’s best musicians and luminaries at the 22nd Annual Houston Press Music Awards Ceremony. If you…
Cop-Car BJ Story Turns into Whataburger Debate
Our story on the woman who decided to give her co-arrestee a blow job in the back seat of a cop car got some attention; we can’t imagine why. Since the initial arrest happened at a Whataburger, commenters at Gawker quickly turned discussion from “cop-car blow job?” to how Whataburger…
Houston Art Critic to Pan Performance Art with Performance of His Own
Words aren’t enough for one Houston art critic to pan a performance art piece — he needs to stage a performance art piece of his own. On Friday, Houston Chronicle arts writer Douglas Britt will marry art publicist Reese Darby at Tony’s Corner Pocket. They’re not doing it out of…
Leslie Aikens: Veteran HPD Cop Convicted of Drug Work
Leslie Aikens, a 19-year Houston Police Department vet, has been quickly convicted of drug-related corruption after a federal trial. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says a jury took less than two hours to return the guilty verdict after a two-day trial in which prosecutors presented evidence Aikens was paid $2,000 to…
A Very Goth Council Thanksgiving
The great feast is almost upon us, America, and as usual we’re looking forward to a lot of home cooking and a carbohydrate overdose induced coma in the papasan chair while old Bela Lugosi flicks play on the TV… or maybe it’s Texas Tech football. It’s getting hard to tell…
Sampler Plate: This Week in Food Blogs
Robb Walsh: When we make references to Houston being a “new Creole” city, it’s for reasons like the ones Robb discusses in this post: Long Point Creole. Read and learn (and try not to get your feathers too ruffled, New Orleaneans). Houston Food Adventures: After a long hiatus, Phaedra is…
5 Holiday Songs We Never Want to Hear Again
It’s not even Thanksgiving yet, but that means nothing to major American retailers, who have been blasting Christmas music and setting up lights since the day before Halloween. Every year, it feels like the holiday season gets longer and Christmas pushes Thanksgiving out of the picture earlier, and a lot…
HCC Barely Manages to Inform Students Its Northeast Campus Has a Three-Day Shutdown
Shutting down an entire college campus for three days is something you’d think the students would like to know about, right? But Houston Community College, which so often has managed to bungle the simplest things, like awarding contracts without being shady about it, seems to have done it again. HCC’s…
Sandusky Confirms in NBC Interview: He “Likes Young People” (w/ Interview VIDEO)
Last night on NBC’s new Rock Center program, retired Penn State defensive coordinator and ousted human being (Yes, I am ousting him from the human race) Jerry Sandusky did a phone interview with Bob Costas which accomplished the nearly impossible — it made Sandusky infinitely more deplorable and creepy than…
Occupy Houston: Where Everything Is an Emergency That Local Media (Including Us) Fall for
Hair Balls now has something in common with the local Fox and CBS affiliates. We’re all suckers. On Tuesday afternoon, in light of the recent shutdown of Occupy Oakland, Hair Balls did some recon by contacting one of our sources (he calls himself “Benjamin Franklin”) to check in with the…
Comment of the Day: God Bless The Simpsons
Here on Eating Our Words, the commenters absolutely make the blog, and our Comment of the Day honors the best of the bunch. Every day, we read you guys and pick the commenter, or commenters, who made us laugh, cry, salivate over something delicious, or think about things in a…
Mourning Big H.A.W.K.’s Should’ve-Been Birthday
Big H.A.W.K. should’ve been 42-years-old today. He should’ve been getting ready to release his newest album, Birds of Pray, the title a play on his name and his unwavering belief in Christ, the music a staunch spine of Houstonisms that Drake would’ve lovingly sampled in a few years secretly hoping…
Whatever Happened to Baked Alaska? The Fates of Five Once-Faddish Dishes
In the course of researching Turkducken’s real age last week, I turned to one of my favorite food resources on the Internet: the Food Timeline. If you’re a food nerd, prepare to lose dozens of hours to the fascinating depths of the Food Timeline and its entries on the history…
Occupy All Streets: Jay-Z Tries to Iron Out T-Shirt Controvery
Jay-Z hasn’t been in the right Empire State of Mind lately. First, the native New York mogul released an “Occupy All Streets” t-shirt on his clothing label, Rocawear. Then, the shirt was immediately taken off the online catalog following a backlash from critics. Then, it came back, but back ordered…
Happiness Is A Warm Buzz: 5 Hot Cocktails
So it’s not exactly chilly outside, but at least it’s rainy. And last night, we just pretended it was cold, whipping up a warm concoction that quieted the cough, soothed the sore throat and helped us drift off to dreamland, Ambien-style. As much as we love the tart, fruity and…
Tina Marie Arie: Gives Hummer to Co-Defendant En Route to Jail
It looked at first like a routine call for the Montgomery County Precinct 4 constable: an intoxicated male passed out inside a Whataburger in Porter. After all, passing out in and around Whataburgers is a proud Texas tradition. But this case turned out at first to be a little something…
The 10 Most Real Artists of All Time; The Anti-Milli Vanillis
On this day in 1990, the manager for recent Grammy winners for Best New Group Milli Vanilli held a press conference to tell everyone his act was a fraud. They did not do any of the singing on their best-selling record and they lip synced their shows. It was a…
Deconstructing the Meatball Sandwich at Thien An Sandwiches
Thien An Sandwiches is one of my favorite Vietnamese restaurants inside the loop, but I find myself not eating there as often as I’d like due to its hours. I don’t work close enough to visit for lunch, and by the time I get home it’s closed. So I found…
Did The Simpsons Force Food Blogging to Jump the Shark?
Despite blogging about food for a living, the latest episode of The Simpsons did not appeal to me in the slightest. I simply didn’t want to watch it, although I finally forced myself to last night. I haven’t wanted to watch an episode of The Simpsons in a long time,…
Teen Dance Nights at Rich’s Come Under Fire From Parents and KPRC
Last night KPRC aired a frazzled piece about Rich’s Houston’s popular teen dance nights, namely their upcoming Playboy-themed night geared towards the kiddos, advertising on Facebook for attendees to strut their underage stuff in their sexiest outfits for prizes. Of course in light of the ongoing Penn State scandal, anything…
Parents And KPRC Just Found Out About Rich’s Sexy Dance Nights
There was a harried report last night on KPRC about the teen nights at Rich’s Houston off San Jacinto, namely an upcoming Playboy-themed night geared towards underagers, those 14 to 18, to come out to the dance club in their sexiest gear. Of course in light of the ongoing Penn…
And The Envelope Please: The HPMA Ceremony Is Tonight At Warehouse Live
Tonight is the Houston Press Music Awards ceremony at Warehouse Live at 7:30pm, when the fruits of all of your torrid Facebook and Twitter campaigns will be picked from the vines of the Internets and presented to Houston. Hopefully bands won’t break up and children won’t be crying in the…
Exceptional H-E-B Store Brands
I banned store brands shortly after high school, after spending less money on a large jar of strawberry jam, and getting sparsely fruited corn-syrupy red sludge. I saved one dollar and tossed out three. But last year I observed, then participated in a blind taste test of five raspberry preserves…
The Paintings in “Matt Magee” at Hiram Butler Are Charming
Tape is de rigueur for painters seeking crisp, graphic abstraction. Matt Magee makes those kinds of paintings, but he works without a net — i.e., no tape. Filled with patterns and rows of shapes, some of the works get a bit of an optical hum going through color placements and…
Tuesday November 15, 2011 Deals of the Day
Today’s VOICE Daily Deal from the Houston Press is good for 53 percent off ($7 for $15) gourmet and specialty burgers, sliders, wings, sandwiches, salads, and the yummy, daily home-style special at Little Bitty Burger Barn. Burgers are made from fresh–never frozen!–beef, and served alongside homemade fries. Vegetarian? No worries,…
Comment of the Day: Matt Schaub’s Injury Is One Fan’s Fault
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…
DVDs & Blu-rays: The Rules of the Game, West Side Story and Collectible Looney Tunes
The Rules of the Game stars Nora Gregor, Paulette Dubost and Marcel Dalio; Jean Renoir directs. The Setup: Jean Renoir’s drama is a stinging critique of a corrupt society that hides behind a wall of proprieties and good manners. The film starts off like a bedroom farce, with couples frequently,…
How The Simpsons Makes Foodies Look Like Smug, Elitist Schmucks
I didn’t want to watch the latest episode of The Simpsons, the one in which Marge inexplicably becomes a food blogger. Yes, the foodie backlash has officially begun. I haven’t wanted to watch an episode of The Simpsons in a long time, however, specifically for the very nature of this…
Rogelio Martinez: Police Seeking Allegedly Unrepentant Habitual Burglar
Photo by HPDRogelio Martinez: Not bashful about his work.In recent months the near-northwest neighborhoods of the Heights, Timbergrove Manor, Oak Forest and Garden Oaks have been plagued with daylight home burglaries. Sadly, even after police have smashed one such ring of thieves, another continues unabated. On Halloween, Houston police arrested…
Marcus Manchild Reporting via Text from Magic City
Houston rapper Marcus Manchild and his label partners at AMG (Authentik Music Group), Wodie, George, Chad and Nate, are currently traveling the country as part of the Smoker’s Club Tour, headlined by Method Man, Curren$y and Big K.R.I.T. The Smoker’s Club tour was at Warehouse Live November 11 (read the…
Dr. Brown Found in Contempt for Stalking Estranged Wife
Cocaine-and-dildo enthusiast Michael Brown has been cited for violating a protective order prohibiting him from following his estranged wife, Rachel. According to transcripts from a November 11 hearing in the 280th Harris County District Court, Brown’s attorney, Mike Debruin, stipulated to an agreement whereby Brown receive a suspended six-day jail…
Art Attack Seeking Additional Writers
Ever thought you could do as well/definitely better at writing for our Art Attack blog? Well, if you can write well, if you know what you’re talking about, if you are dependable and can deliver on deadline, we’re extending you that opportunity. We’re looking for additional writers to add to…
5 Things You Shouldn’t Do When ESPN’s GameDay Visits UH
It’s a big deal that ESPN’s traveling college-football preview show GameDay is posting up at the University of Houston’s Cullen Circle in advance of the Cougars’ game against the SMU Mustangs. (Who saw this coming, especially after quarterback Case Keenum tore up his knee last season?) In order to represent…
Jerry Shirley: A Slice of the Pie Has His Say
English lad and budding drummer Jerry Shirley was all of 16 years old in late 1968 when he received the phone call that would change his life forever. On the other line was Steve Marriott, the singer/guitarist for mod group the Small Faces (“Itchycoo Park”). Shirley’s musical hero and new…
Brew Blog: Brooklyn Winter Ale
I love make-your-own-six-pack programs. Sure, they’re almost always driven by theft, and the resulting need to move a bunch of individual bottles at a significant per-bottle markup. That part sucks. I like to focus on two positives. First, at least it means that petty thieves sometimes have good taste in…
“If you didn’t get to Austin to see the Texas Biennial”: The Title Says It All
The show’s title pretty much says it all: It’s a group exhibition of Darke Gallery artists who were included in the 2011 Texas Biennial. There’s some nice work here, and unlike most group shows, every artist deserves a mention. Hillerbrand and Magsamen’s humorous and unsettling 2010 video “Accumulation,” based around…
Artist of the Week: HPMA Nominee Clory Martin
Welp, you’ve made it. Tonight is the Houston Press Music Awards ceremony, otherwise known as Music Christmas, otherwise known The Opposite of the Holocaust, otherwise known as The Day Jesus Says “Fuck. Yes.” We figured we’d sneak in one more HPMA-themed Artist of the Week column. Meet, Clory Martin, nominated…
Find More Than Just Tacky T-Shirts at These Museum Gift Shops
Museum gift shops aren’t usually known for their good taste — think boxy, stiff T-shirts, garish magnets and easily breakable key chains tied to whatever forgettable exhibition is currently on display. As you do your holiday shopping this season, though, don’t rule out these Museum District stores — you might…
First Look at Shepherd Park Draught House
On the end of an unassuming strip mall in Independence Heights lies Shepherd Park Draught House, the latest venture of Ken Bridge, owner of the Delicious Concepts restaurant group which also operates Pink’s Pizza, Dragon Bowl and Lola. As if an empire of pizza, noodles, and comfort foods wasn’t enough,…
Pop Rocks: The Hunger Games Trailer, Reviewed By a Non-Reader of the Books
I don’t know much about The Hunger Games. It’s nothing personal. Plenty of people enjoyed the series, but my stack of “need to read” books stands at about 50 titles already and generally swings between ponderous historical tomes and crime novels of the Dennis Lehane/George Pelecanos variety. Maybe I’ll get…
Pop Rocks: Our Uninformed Commentary on the Hunger Games Trailer
I don’t know much about The Hunger Games. It’s nothing personal. Plenty of people enjoyed the series, but my stack of “need to read” books stands at about 50 titles already and generally swings between ponderous historical tomes and crime novels of the Dennis Lehane/George Pelecanos variety. Maybe I’ll get…
The 10 Greatest Rock Bassists of All Time
Last week, Neph Basedow wrote her list of the 11 greatest female rock bass players and she took a little heat for it, including some from me. But, she also got a lot right. At the very least, she highlighted the most under-appreciated musician in rock music, the bassist. I…
Where Are We Drinking?
This half-bottle of Bonny Doon was just one of the many delicacies we enjoyed at this upscale favorite recently. Does the setting look familiar? Maybe you’ve celebrated a special occasion of your own here before? If you think you know where we’re drinking this week, leave your best guess in…
Breaking Dawn: 6 Things We’re Hoping Get Us Through the Next Twilight Flick
Next week we’ll see the release of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1, the beginning of the end of this madness. The Wife With One F has hauled us kicking and screaming to every film thus far, and we’re a little miffed that the studio has dragged this out…
Houston Sells Off Its “Scattered Sites” Low-Cost Housting for $8 Million
It’s not the easiest real-estate market in history, but the city of Houston says it made $8 million in selling 171 scattered homes and three lots around town that had been designated for low-cost housing. The 1987 experiment in scattering low-cost housing around neighborhoods only worked to a degree (Note:…
Texans/Bucs — 4 Winners, 4 Losers (The “Goddammit, NOT Schaub!” Edition)
So, I was thisclose to hitting “SEND” on a post that would have openly discussed the Texans going 13-3 and getting home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. And then this: Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub has a significant foot injury that will force him to miss several weeks, according to coach…
What Do Wine and Saddles Have In Common? The Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo
Over the course of a weekend, volunteers with the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo wash 20,000 wine glasses in two days. It’s just one of the staggering statistics behind the annual International Wine Competition, the contest that leads to the Rodeo Uncorked! Wine Show and to a few lucky wineries…
Matt Schaub Out, and It Could Be Serious
Yes, Texans fans, you are cursed. Quarterback Matt Schaub has suffered what might be a serious foot injury, which he got in the game against the Buccaneers Sunday. “How bad could it be if he still played with it?” you ask. Well, adrenaline — and not being asked to do…
Barry Walter Bujol Jr.: Hempstead Student Convicted of Helping Al Qaeda
A 30-year-old Prairie View A&M student has been convicted of providing aid to Al Qaeda. Barry Walter Bujol Jr. had a four-day bench trial before U.S. District Judge David Hittner, who ruled this afternoon. Bujol offered no witnesses or defense to charges he had materially aided what the U.S. has…
Rap Round Table: What Music-Related Thing Are You Most Thankful For?
Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Each week Rocks Off will have some of them here discussing issues relevant to their culture. This Week’s Panel: Rob Gullatte, Herney the Great, Pyrexx, Mac, Snoopy, Medicine Girl, Chane, Young Sensation, hasHBrown, Brad Gilmore Not Invited: Target, because they skip right…
Whey-Brining
If you’re like me, you constantly find yourself trying to re-purpose things that might otherwise get tossed out. Corn cobs turn into stock, vermouth just past its prime transforms into vinegar, the crumbs and dust left over from packages of dried mushrooms gets further ground up with spices, for a…
Amerika: Rammstein Finally Hitting Houston In 2012
Popular German industrial group Rammstein hits Houston on May 25, 2012 for a date at the Toyota Center. This will be the band’s first Houston date since their formation, but they have played sporadic dates at points elsewhere in Texas over the years. This is a coup for the industrial…
Pole Dancing Video: Taking a Spin with Melee on the Bayou
See pics of the dancers in our Melee on the Bayou Pole Dancing slideshow. Art Attack knew not to expect unbridled sex appeal from Houston’s first pole dancing competition, Melee On The Bayou, but other than that we weren’t sure what else might be in store. We left the event…
Humberto Velasquez, 66, Bayou Body Count No. 175
A gunfight between an apartment resident and a security guard ended in one death Friday night, but a Harris County grand jury will determine if any charges are filed. Humberto Velasquez, 66, was killed in the shootout in the 5100 block of South Willow on the southwest side of town…
2011 HPMA Showcase: No F-Bombs in the Shuttle Bus
Checkout the slideshows of the bands and the crowd at the Houston Press Music Awards Showcase. I’d like to preface this by mentioning that I got a stern lecture from a part-time shuttle driver, full-time pastor on Saturday at the Houston Press Music Awards. I dropped too many F-bombs –…
What It’s Like to Live Like a Doll
“My Life as a Doll,” a new exhibition at DiverseWorks, bills itself as an “immersive art encounter.” But you don’t really get a sense of what that means until you’re stretching blue booties over your shoes and stepping on the pink mat that, instead of the usual “Welcome,” warns, “Telling…
What’s Cooking This Week?
Last week at my house, we dined on luscious Shrimp Bisque and some Squash, Manchego & Balsamic Onion Grilled Cheeses. Damn those were good. Not to pat myself on the back, but I have to pat myself on the back. Just kidding…but not really. This week, I wanted to lighten…
2011 HPMA Showcase: Orq, Scroggins, And Roky Moon Shine Bright
Checkout the slideshows of the bands and the crowd at the Houston Press Music Awards Showcase. Saturday’s Houston Press Music Awards Showcase was spread out over five areas and some eleven stages, which meant most of our photogs and writers were stationed at one location for most of their day…
Once Upon a Time: Unhappy Ending
That’s it. We’re done. We’re leaving this show behind the way Lot left Sodom. We’re throwing our keys inside the window of a broken down car and never looking back. This show is terrible, and they literally can’t pay us to watch another episode. Funny thing was, we didn’t think…
East Texas DWI Mayhem Kills One, Injures Three, Damages MedEvac Chopper, Spawns Stupid Quote of Year
A connected series of two allegedly alcohol-related car crashes killed one, injured three and sent three others to jail, one in part for asking one of the dumbest questions we’ve ever read anyone asking at an accident scene. At 1:30 a.m. Sunday just outside of Palestine, a Chevy Tahoe driven…
Wine of the Week: An “Old Vine” Zinfandel from California (Where Else?)
What does the designation “old vine” mean, anyway? And how did it come to be a “brand name” for California wines in the 2000s? Vine age is a key element in the quality and nature of a wine that a given vine will produce. While a vine produces more fruit…
2011 HPMA Showcase: Lonesome, Onry and Mean Edition
Checkout the slideshows of the bands and the crowd at the Houston Press Music Awards Showcase. I spent most of the my Houston Press Music Awards day circulating between five contiguous venues: Dirt Bar, Ben’s Beans, Reserve 101, Pete’s Dueling Piano Bar, and the House of Blues Foundation Room. Some…
Made in the USA: Settlement Goods to Carry All American All of the Time
Nothing but American-made clothing, jewelry and home goods. What a conceptual concept. Scheduled to open in a few months, Settlement Goods will exclusively carry quality men’s and women’s goods by American designers ranging from Elizabeth Knight and Popo Momo to Samantha Pleet and Left Field NYC…
Music Editor Chris Gray Had Luck on His Side When He Had His Heart Attack
John P. Zepeda of the Metro PD’s canine squad had performed a routine bomb search at the Ensemble light-rail station October 28. Finding nothing, he tried to head back. But train after train was filled with morning commuters headed downtown, so he and his dog waited things out. Which turned…
Mikkeller Beer Comes to Houston: Night After Monsters
Mikkel Borg Bjergsø moved around the crowd last night at the Night After Monsters beer tasting like a virtual unknown. Clad in a red plaid shirt and a scruffy beard, Mikkel looked more like any other Montrose resident who’d walked over to Whole Foods for the tasting than a world-famous…
2011 HPMA Showcase: What’s Up, Dad Rock?
Checkout the slideshows of the bands and the crowd at the Houston Press Music Awards Showcase. Josh Wolf, lead singer of rock and rollers Hell City Kings, is fantastic. And mesmerizing. And pasty. During his set at the HPMAs (Warehouse Live, 6 p.m.), he stalked around the rostrum, teal light…
Dear Santa: Christmas Comes Early to Theatre Suburbia
The set-up: Christmas comes early to Theatre Suburbia, as we are treated to the Houston premiere of a comedy set in Santa’s North Pole workshop, as elves cope amusingly with a number of production problems. The execution: If you’re looking for Ibsen, you’re barking up the wrong chimney. This line…
Darrin Doucet, 21, Bayou Body Count No. 174
A man was shot to death on the northeast side Friday night, and a Harris County grand jury will determine if there will be any charges in the incident. Darrin Doucet, 21, was visiting a friend in the 10500 block of Kelburn about 8:30 p.m. Friday, Houston police say. “The…
Modern Outdoor Design Tour
For even more exteriors and interiors at the Modern Outdoor Design Tour, check out our slide show. Open houses are fun — if you want to walk around your old/potentially new neighbors’ homes — mainly because this could be the only time that you’re invited inside. The Modern Outdoor Design…
Revisiting Rice Bowl II for Tasty Indonesian Cuisine
It’s easy for a restaurant to become old news. Case in point: Rice Bowl II, which got some buzz a couple of years back, has fallen a bit off of the radar lately. But just because it’s not getting the buzz that it used to doesn’t mean that it’s not…
Last Night: Willie Nelson at Arena Theater
It’s been a long, loud, and smoke-filled road for Willie Nelson. And although the end of that road just might be around the next bend, Shotgun Willie can still pack ’em in and shake ’em up. The man is a legend, possessing a musical genius that elevates him into the…
Così fan tutte at Opera in the Heights: Ravishing
The setup: Among all of Mozart’s splendid operas, perhaps Così is most special because it has taken the most lumps. Cut short of performances when Emperor Joseph II died during its Vienna premiere in February 1791, when the theaters were shut for mourning, the opera returned for five shows through…
What the “Top 10 Stolen Vehicles” List Says About Houston
Every month Houston police put out a list of the most-often stolen vehicles, a list that defines what are either the most vulnerable or most desirable members of our automotive society. This month’s is out….what does it tell us about Houston? 3. Our car thieves want you to “Buy American”…
The Week in TV: Brett Ratner, Rick Perry Vie for “Stupidest Man Alive” Title
• Some big movie-related TV news this week: Brett Ratner, who was all set to produce the 2012 Oscars with host Eddie Murphy, was fired left the job after the hellacious PR fallout that hit him after he remarked at a Tower Heist Q&A that “rehearsing is for fags.” For…
Friday Night: Smoker’s Club Tour with Curren$y, Method Man, Big K.R.I.T. and DZA at Warehouse Live
The second annual Smoker’s Club tour, which kicked off October 12, finally landed at Warehouse Live’s ballroom Friday night with bountiful billows of smoke. One of the Smoker’s Club tour mantras is “Bring your lungs.” A line was still wrapped around the building even at 10:30 p.m. The venue was…
10 Pumpkin Dishes to Try in Houston: #3 Pumpkin Ravioli at Fratelli’s
In 2010, I had a grand ol’ time scouring Houston for outstanding pumpkin dishes. One year later I’m older, definitely not wiser, and still in love with orange squash. So from now until Thanksgiving I’ll be counting down (again) 10 Pumpkin Dishes to Try in Houston. Forks at the ready!…
2011 HPMA Showcase: Shuttles, Sideshows and The Beans
Checkout the slideshows of the bands and the crowd at the Houston Press Music Awards Showcase. We’ve attended every Houston Press Music Awards showcase since moving to Houston in 2003, and while each has varied slightly from year to year in location, bands and venues — the core of the…
Fast Times: Hunan Village Chinese Takeout
I’m not sure if everyone will agree that Chinese takeout is “fast food,” but it falls well within that category at my house. We don’t really have a “go-to” takeout place here in Houston, so when my husband and I were rifling through our drawer of paper menus we found…
When the Day Met the Night (a moosehunt experience) from Big Head Productions: Gripping, Vivid
The setup: The world premiere of a new, experimental play explores five friends using recreational drugs 20 years ago, then leaps into the present to see them as they are today. The execution: The first act successfully re-creates the ambience of partying at an all-nighter, with a variety of mind-expanding…
Comment of the Day: Inside the Mind of a Chronicle Editor
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…
Deloyd Herman Wheatley III: Photographs Himself Leaving Phone to Catch Sexy Bathroom Action
Is there anything more sexy than smartphone footage of a woman going to the bathroom? Before you answer “OF COURSE,” put yourself in Deloyd Herman Wheatley III’s shoes. Specifically, put yourself in his shoes at his job at Memorial Hermann in the Medical Center. Put yourself in those shoes as…
Top 4 Video Game Worlds You Can Visit in Real Life
A great video game needs a great universe, and we’ve been entranced with them ever since Super Mario Bros. As the years have passed, graphics technology has gotten to the point where you can more or less build an entire planet filled with unique architecture, flora, fauna, and societies that…
Are the Cougars Really BCS-Bowl Bound? If They Don’t Mess Up, Yes
I spent most of Saturday afternoon working on a post explaining the possible ways the Cougars could still make a BCS bowl even with Boise State going undefeated and taking the one guaranteed BCS bowl spot that the non-automatic qualifying conferences get. Then Boise State’s kicker missed a game-winning field…
Sunday Afternoon: Maroon 5 On A Cruise Ship And In Concert
Yesterday morning I found myself in Galveston boarding Carnival’s brand-new cruiser, the Magic, for a presser with Maroon 5, who are currently burning up radio and the iTunes with their hit single “Moves Like Jagger”. The band is helping promote the mammoth new cruise ship – it’s a monster of…
Where Are We Eating?
Today, it’s a mobile edition of Where Are We Eating? We’re not on the move, though; the food above is. Can you guess which food truck made this gorgeous grilled cheese sandwich with tomato and avocado? Leave your best guess in the comments section below…
MasterMind Awards 2012: Your Nominations Please
Nominations are now open for the fourth annual MasterMind Award competition honoring the best in Houston arts. Once again, the Houston Press is looking for artists of all types who are changing our creative and cultural landscape in the Houston area. Past honorees have included chefs, members of the visual…
Texans 37, Buccaneers 9: Five Things We Learned
Were it not for the heartbreak of the past ten years, week after week of uncompetitive football might get boring. As it is, the Texans and their legion of fans will take the wins however they come. The Texans cruised past Tampa Bay (4-5) on Sunday from the game’s very…
RIP Doyle Bramhall, Austin Blues Legend
Doyle Bramhall, one of the legendary Austin drummers and a noted songwriter, passed this morning. He was 62. Unconfirmed reports on Facebook noted that Bramhall had been under the weather for some time. He had recently had pneumonia. A longtime fixture on the Austin scene, Bramhall was living in Alpine…
Three More Penn State Stories to Cap Off the Worst Week Ever
I haven’t gone back through history to see if this really was the worst week ever in sports, but I’m willing to take this week and, sight unseen, put it up against any other week in a contest for “worst sports week ever” and I’ll bet I win. Death? Joe…
This Week in Deliciousness
We mentioned ShowBiz Pizza this week, which gives me a perfect excuse to post this. Do yourself a favor and watch this video. Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where this year my puns finally beat out Kraft Macaroni ‘N’ Cheese to win the official…
Texas Johnny Brown Switches Places With Kevin Taylor Kendrick at the Houston Press Music Awards
This just in: Due to scheduling conflicts, Texas Johnny Brown will go on stage at Ben’s Beans at 3 p.m. at this year’s Houston Press Music Awards Showcase Saturday night. And Kevin Taylor Kendrick will take the last spot on that night’s lineup at Ben’s Beans at 8 p.m. The…
HISD Takes Over North Forest ISD
The Houston school district, which like every district in Texas these days has enough on its plate, got a new problem handed to it today — the state ordered it to annex the troubled North Forest ISD. North Forest has struggled for years with poor performance and other problems, and…
Upcoming Events: A Week Full of Beer
In case you hadn’t heard, it’s Houston Beer Week, y’all. The week-long celebration of craft beer and local breweries kicks off tonight with a kick-off happy hour at Ziggy’s Downtown, from 5 to 7 p.m. The restaurant will be offering $2 appetizers and $1.75 Lone Stars in addition to $3…
Dude Leads Cops on Frantic Car Chase…to a Police Station
First rule of being the chasee in a police chase — don’t head to a police station. They have reinforcements there. An unnamed suspect learned that lesson the hard way early this morning after a wild chase that began in West U and ended up in the HPD’s northwest substation…
Ex-Voto to Headline Age of Decay Festival
Gothic Council member Alethea Carr and Houston-based partner Kris Prudhomme are busy preparing for a major event in the goth calendar next year, their inaugural Age of Decay festival in Jacksonville, Florida on April 21. Two major Texas acts have already been signed to participate in the festival; Ending the…
Five Spot: Today is Remember The First Time You Listened To UGK Day
Ah, Julio. Julio is a grown man now, probably about 32. I have not spoken to him in years. The very last time we were within earshot of each other was when I was college. I had come home on a break and run into him while I was out…
Going for Baroque: Ars Lyrica’s Musical Alchemy
Chances are you’ve heard of Bach’s “Brandenburg” Concerto No. 5, but what about Janitsch’s Quadro “O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden”? Ars Lyrica Houston brings those and two other rarely performed works to the stage for Musical Alchemy this weekend. The ALH musicians perform on baroque period instruments, making this…
Openings & Closings: Flying Saucers and Farmers Markets
In big grocery news this week, Trader Joe’s has set its sights on The Woodlands as its first Houston-area store, Phoenicia has finally opened downtown and H-E-B’s Montrose Market is close to opening at 1701 West Alabama. Stay tuned next week, when we’ll have a photo tour and behind-the-scenes photos…
Baylor’s Awesome “Homosexuality as Gateway Drug” Class Gets New Name
One thing about Baylor: It stands by its convictions, no matter how wacky. Take, for instance, the class they offer called “Homosexuality as Gateway Drug.” Some might find that hilariously offensive, or offensively hilarious, but Baylor knows it is a serious look at how homosexuality can lead to….heroin? Bestiality? We…
Winners of the Master Pancake’s The Notebook Screening
On Wednesday we told you about Master Pancake Theater, four-time winners of the best comedy troupe in Austin, and their screening of heartthrob hipster Ryan Gosling’s romantic date-movie The Notebook at Alamo Drafthouse West Oaks this Saturday night. Master Pancake screens films with sarcastic Mystery Science Theater-like voice-overs, and a…
Last Night: !Women Art Revolution, Cinema Arts Festival
Last night Art Attack checked out the highly buzzed documentary by multifaceted artist Lynn Hershman Leeson, !Women Art Revolution. The documentary was featured as a part of this year’s Cinema Arts Festival. Prior to the screening of the film, the Museum of Fine Arts held as its monthly “Artful Thursday”…
First Look at BlackFinn American Grille
BlackFinn American Grille has come to Midtown, and it’s pulling out all the stops to attract the local clientele. The grand opening is set for next week, but the restaurant is open and serving. At last night’s soft opening party guests were given a chance to tour the restaurant and…
Corrie Long: Topless Cop Sued for Defamation
The Galena Park Police Department strikes back!! Former GPPD cop Corrie Long grabbed a lot of attention when she made claims she was unjustly fired because an ex-boyfriend and fellow cop gave the chief the nude pictures she had sent him. Long told reporters police chief Robert Pruett and another…
Never Say Die!: Black Sabbath Reforming In 2012 For Tour & Album
Today in Los Angeles, legendary, pioneering heavy metal group Black Sabbath convened in front of reporters at the Whiskey A Go Go to announce a 2012 reunion tour and album, set for a fall release. The event, hosted by Henry Rollins, was telegraphed by a countdown clock on the band’s…
Kata Robata’s Autumn Festival, “Aki no Matsuri!”
Twice a year, Kata Robata transforms its patio into an izakaya, a casual after-work drinking place with Japanese bar food. Izakaya-type food is not fancy. They are the Japanese equivalent to Spanish tapas, small dishes meant to be shared over Japanese sake or beer. To my knowledge, Houston doesn’t have…
Bugging Out: Allison Hunter’s Blue Butterflies and Kaleidoscopic Honeycombs at Alliance Art
Allison Hunter takes nature shots that are unlike anything you’d be lucky enough to find in nature. From the indigo, delicate specimens in her “Blue Butterfly” series to the zoomed-in cells of her “Honeycomb” one, butterflies and bees have never been this appealing, or photogenic. “Hanging by a Thread,” a…
Lori Darling David: Probation for Katy Housewife Who Sent Lewd Pics to Teen
It was one of the more high-profile area sex crimes of 2010: Lori Darling David, a blond, well-built Katy housewife, was busted e-mailing the 16-year-old son of one of her jogging buddies two racy photos of herself. (In one, her breasts are exposed, in the other, she is kneeling on…
Fellatio and Fishing Reels in Powder Her Face from Opera Vista
The setup: I’ve been waiting my entire career to say this with clear conscience: This opera blows. For you see, the subject of this chamber opera by English composer Thomas Adès is the notorious Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll (1912-93), who, after a seedy divorce trial in 1963 that was…
Gem Club: You Will All Die Sexless and Alone
We’ve been searching for a while for something as disturbingly beautiful as the Irrepressibles’ “The Lady is Dead” video. We haven’t found it in Gem Club’s “252,” but it is pretty damned close. It’s never going be beautiful because there is just too much pain in it. Granted, there is…
Houston’s Awesome: The Week in Photos
It’s time again to check out the Houston Press Flickr Pool and see what kinds of art shots our talented photographers have added. We love street art, unique perspectives and beautiful photos of Houston’s creative community. If you think you’ve got a good eye, drop your pictures in the pool…
Restaurant and Bar Owners Crowd City Council Chambers In Advance of Proposed Parking Ordinance
“I don’t see anyone riding the bus to El Real,” remarked James Jard, one of the 26 members of the City of Houston’s Planning Commission that was gathered in City Council chambers yesterday afternoon for a public hearing. It was just one of the many responses that the committee had…
10 Tips for Holiday Wine Shopping
As you head to your local wine seller to stock up on holiday wines, here are 10 tips for smart wine shopping. 1) Find a shop that offers a mixed case discount. Most wine shops, especially when independently owned, will offer a 10 percent discount for a mixed case of…
Gregory Longoria Jr.’s Ballsy Defense: Victim Wanted to Be Spanked, Strangled & Burned
When your crime is so heinous that the sheriff holds a news conference just to excoriate you, you know it’s going to be tough getting a jury on your side. Gregory Longoria Jr. is on trial for choking, assaulting and using a lighter to burn the breasts and genitalia of…
Last Night: Houston Symphony Performs Brahms’s Second at Jones Hall
In December 1877, leading up to the premiere of Johannes Brahms’s newest composition (which would be performed by the Vienna Philharmonic), the German told friends as well as the publisher of his work to watch out for the most emo piece of music ever written. It was a sardonic trick…
11 Albums with 11 in the Title at 11:11:11 on 11/11/11
Personally, we’re all pretty sick of the whole 11/11/11 thing. We know that “it goes to 11!” (thanks, Nigel) and it’s funny how numbers work, but internet nerds seem to love it. So, in honor of all you nerds, we give you 11 albums with 11 in the title. Just…
Giant Duck Threatens to Bring ExxonMobil to Its Knees (w/Video)
If ExxonMobil collapses by the end of the day into bankruptcy, with company executives begging for forgiveness for their polluting ways, all the credit should go to a giant inflatable duck. The duck is being displayed across the street from ExxonMobil’s downtown headquarters, and if it doesn’t bring results, we…
Matt Kassian Does More Than Play Hockey, He’s a Twitter Star
John RoyalMeet Matt Kassian, Twitter superstar.Following athletes on Twitter can be boring. Most of the stuff they tweet is dull because they’re afraid of offending any followers or making their coaches and/or teammates angry. Others use it primarily as a medium to promote themselves and whatever product their agent has…
Yellowcard Talks Lineup Changes, Growing As A Band, And Going Acoustic
Maybe it’s a failing of our own energy and spirit that’s to blame for a history of apathy for Yellowcard. When we discovered the band we were in the last of a desperate attempt to patch things up with MTV. We’ve always been a music video fanatic and the death…
Community: Everybody Knows It Sucks to Grow Up
It can be easy to think of Annie as being older than she actually is. Alison Brie turns 28 this December, and she stars on Mad Men and appears in photo spreads like this one, but Annie Edison is just 20. She’s just a kid who is still adjusting to…
Bartender Chat: Nathan Wells of Beaver’s
This week, we paid a visit to Beaver’s to meet bartender Nathan, or “Dollar Wells,” as he’s called. It was pretty dead at 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday as I sat at the bar, beautifully littered with several rocks glasses filled with different-colored concoctions. Nathan tells me they’re making some last…
Reviews for the Easily Distracted: J. Edgar
Title: J. Edgar How Does Leo Look In A Dress? *Sigh* That’s really not the focus of the movie. But Does He Wear A Dress Or Not? Well, yes. But in the context of the scene it makes sense. Sort of. Rating Using Random Objects Relevant To The Film: Two…
Houston Press Music Awards Showcase This Saturday Complete Line Up
It’s finally autumn in Houston. Our weather this time of year makes it almost worth having to live through the hell of summer. We know that there are lots of things to do in the fall around here. It’s like everyone just waits for November to make with the party…
Patricio Guzmán’s Search for the Light
Nostalgia de la Luz (Nostalgia for the Light) was directed by Patricio Guzmán. In the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, two groups of people search for answers. Astronomers from around the world who have flocked to the area for the crystal clear views of the night sky scan the skies…
What’s Good Here?: The 5 Most Annoying Types of Restaurant Customers
Last week I wrote about what I consider to be the most annoying types of waiters. It’s only fair that we also mention the most annoying types of customers out there – we know it can’t be easy dealing with these people. This list doesn’t include what I think is…
Comment of the Day: The Rick Perry Catch-22
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…
Week in Photos: Spicy Pickle
Each week, we take a dip into the Houston Press Flickr pool and see what our talented photographers have been up to. We’re looking for pictures that represent the best of Houston, from food to art to events, to secret hidden spots of beauty. Just drop them in our Flickr…
Honoring Our Veterans: Our Favorite Movies about Vets
Ninety-two years ago President Woodrow Wilson decreed that November 11 would be a day to honor the armistice signed between the Allied forces of WWI, in addition to honoring the fallen soldiers who brought an end to the war. In 1954, Congress amended the day to be called Veterans Day,…
Football! This Weekend’s Best Bets: Stanford, Wisconsin & Other Bullies
Nobody likes a bully. Unless, of course, that bully can win you some money! Through the first ten weeks of the college football season, in my mind, four BCS conference college football teams have set themselves apart as “bullies” of the college football world, meaning if they are playing a…
Memories Of “Crash” Collins Continue To Pour In
Last Sunday’s passing of longtime Houston radio personality “Crash” Collins and our subsequent blog about him brought in some interesting commentary from people who remembered Collins’ long tenure at rock radio station KLOL-FM. Collins was one of the first disc jockeys to ditch the formalized diction and most of the…
The Rest of the Best: Houston’s Top 5 Wings
For the next 20 weeks, we’ll be rounding up the runners-up to our 2011 Best of Houston® winners. In many categories, picking each year’s winner is no easy task. We’ll be spotlighting 20 of those categories, in which the winner had hefty competition from other Houston bars and restaurants…
“Best Arts Ambassador” Jade Simmons to Perform at the White House
In the last year, Houston pianist Jade Simmons has traveled to New York City, Greece, Italy and St. Petersburg, Russia, for the Tchaikovsky Competition as a Web cast host. Now Simmons, who was recently named by the Houston Press as “Best Arts Ambassador,” has been invited to play at the…
Hard Times Hit the Chronicle: Restrooms Cleaned Just Twice a Day, Unbleached Towels and Defrost Your Own Damn Refrigerators
The Houston Chronicle has been hit with the same rough economy as others in the print media. Sometimes that leads to layoffs. Sometimes it leads to cutting back on the janitorial services. A new memo from management outlines the shocking hardships Chron staffers will now have to undergo in an…
HPMA Preview: The (Relatively) New Kids (Sorta) On The Block
For this preview of the Houston Press Music Awards showcase, we look at the the band’s who are finally getting recognition from the Houston scene, or at least have beginner’s luck and are getting shouts just a few months into their career. Some of these artists, like Brant Lee Croucher,…
Comment of the Day: Give Us the Izzy
Here on Eating Our Words, the commenters absolutely make the blog, and our Comment of the Day honors the best of the bunch. Every day, we read you guys and pick the commenter, or commenters, who made us laugh, cry, salivate over something delicious, or think about things in a…
Phillip Little: Four Arrested in Domino’s Driver’s Murder
Four people — including a 15-year-old girl — have been arrested for the November 2 murder of Domino’s Pizza driver Phillip Little, Houston police said today. Little was shot in a robbery attempt near the intersection of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Canterway about 11:15 p.m. Little, 40, was making…
The 5 Best Local Beers to Bring to Thanksgiving Dinner
Just in time for Christmas, Buffalo Bayou Brewing hopes to release its first beer to the public: an 11 percent gingerbread Imperial stout that would be the toast of any Christmas dinner. For Thanksgiving, however, there are plenty of locally brewed beers that would be equally welcomed at the table…
Dan Shea, the Man Who Sued the Pope, Sounds Off on Joe Paterno
Bella figura can mean many things, but at its core is presentation…how one looks, how one comports oneself, how one makes the best possible impression in all things. That such a concept is hardwired into the Italian psyche is no surprise: what else could be expected from a country that’s…
Health Department Roundup
There are three keys to a smooth Health Department inspection: maintaining a clean facility, keeping your paperwork in order, and…let’s see. We can’t think of the third one. We can’t. Sorry. Oops. There were more familiar faces on the city’s inspection site this week. We’ll start off with the only…
And, Uh, Um, OOPS: The Third Members Of Great Musical Trios You Probably Can’t Name
Last night we all watched as Governor Rick Perry blanked on the third department he would do away with if he was elected president. It was one of those moments – a la Scanners – when we all tensely waited for his head to explode, figuratively. Of course we love…
American Horror Story: Death and Rage
Well, we can check watching a cheerleader piss herself in terror off of the list of things we haven’t seen on network TV. Let’s see what’s next… oh, a ninja breakdancing on the roof of a double-decker bus! Get on it, Hollywood. Whatever ambiguity might have been left by the…
Brew Blog: Viru
When I saw Viru sitting on the bottom shelf at Spec’s Downtown, my first thought was, “cool bottle.” My second: “Estonia brews beer?” Yes, as it turns out, but not very good beer. This stuff languished in the back of my fridge for a long time, because I was more…
Ashton Kutcher Tweeting Wisdom Lost to America Because He Hadn’t Heard About Joe Paterno
Weep, America. Ashton Kutcher is no longer tweeting. He says he has handed management of his Twitter account, which has eight million followers, over to his media team. Why? Because he is apparently the only self-described football fan not currently on a radio-silence special ops mission in the mountains of…
This Week in Music Videos: HPMA Nominee DeAndre Wright; Sydnee-Jane
One is wearing face paint; the other is rocking a bright-red lipstick and a big smile. One is surrounded by people in ball masks; the other is standing on the world’s skinniest red carpet. Sydnee-Jane and DeAndre Wright, two of Houston’s rising pop stars, premiered their first videos this week…
Does This Look Like a $4.3 Million Photo to You???
Joke? Unfortunately, no. On Tuesday night, some sucker well-educated art lover scored Andreas Gursky’s Rhein II for $4,338,500 at Christie’s, making the image the priciest photo ever to sell from the highbrow New York auction house. The sale price trumped the previous $3.89 million record, set by Cindy Sherman’s Untitled…
Andrew Mosier, Missing Houston Boy, Found in Michigan with Fugitive Uncle (UPDATED)
Andrew Mosier, a boy who disappeared from his Houston home in August 2010, has been found in Jackson, Michigan, with his uncle — a fugitive facing a felony charge for previously taking Andrew from his home. Erin Powers, a spokesman for Andrew’s father, Dennis, told us the good news this…
An Opaque Review of Drake’s Take Care
[Note #1: Drake’s Take Care leaked this past weekend. We didn’t download it illegally, that’s for certain. But if we had, here’s the review we would’ve written.] Listen to this while you read this. Thanks. Drake’s Take Care. Lilly. Dander. Cotton. Wine, cheese, grapes, crackers. Bubble bath. Scented candles. Wool…
Tunnel Explorer: Howdy Burger
I probably should have known better. In fact, my better instincts were telling me to keep moving when I stumbled on Howdy Burger while exploring the tunnel section stretching underneath the Esperson building. The glossy signage and faux-kitschy decor, heralding all of the same canned touchstones that have Top Chef…
Up All Night: Reagan And Chris Enjoy Their “First Night Away”
Just to get something out of the way that’s bothered me about Up All Night since the show began: putting a crib together is not that hard. For starters, why aren’t you scamming somebody else’s? At Reagan and Chris’s age, they should have plenty of friends with kids. Hell, one…
Boom. Penn State Fires Joe Paterno (w/ a VIDEO chronology) & CNN Kicks ESPN’s Butt
“Joe Paterno is no longer the head football coach, effective immediately.” — John Surma, Vice Chair, Penn State Board of Trustees Boom. Nothing is forever. We all knew there would be a day when Joe Paterno would no longer be the coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions. However, if…
Happy 31st Birthday, Turducken: 8 Foods Born in 1980
Tomorrow, on 11-11-11, I will turn 31 years old. Last year, for my 30th birthday, my uncle sent me a Facebook message that contained only the following Pink Floyd quote and a “Happy Birthday” at the end: So you run and you run to catch up with the sun but…
JuiceheaD: The New Breed of Punk
We never knew how much we needed our daily dose of punk rock until Fungus became a victim of the XM/Sirius merger…in favor for a station that played AC/DC 24/7 if we remember correctly. That was the cue to say goodbye to satellite radio, but it didn’t really do anything…
Darren Aronofsky’s Meth Ads: Anti-Drug PSAs That Actually Might Work
Last week, we posted a list of anti-drug commercials that not only didn’t stop any children from doing drugs, but potentially encouraged such abusing behavior. The famed PSA one-liner, “I learned it from watching you,” probably made more kids of the ’80s wish they were rolling doobies with their dads…
Darren Aronofsky’s Anti-Meth PSAs Really Don’t Make You Want to Try Meth
Last week, the Houston Press’s own Richard Connelly posted a list of anti-drug commercials that not only didn’t stop any children from doing drugs, but potentially encouraged such abusing behavior. The famed PSA one-liner, “I learned it from watching you,” probably made more kids of the ’80s wish they were…
The Rick Perry Dumb-Quote Random Generator: UPDATED
Just when you think Rick Perry has said all the dumb things he possibly can, he goes and ignores his own best advice and gets in another debate. This calls, of course, for an update to the Houston Press Rick Perry Dumb-Quote Random Generator. Keep on clicking to get a…
Dog’s Best Friend Is an HFD Firefighter
A two-alarm apartment-complex fire at Dashwood and Kirkwood was put out this morning, but not without a little doggie rescue work…
Chris Gray / Houston Blues Museum Benefit: How to Apply to Play
Many thanks to all the bands who have expressed a desire to play a benefit for Chris Gray. Now you will have your chance. We’ve set a date and picked a venue and now all you need to do is send your info to this link. A few facts:The show…
Texas Filmmakers Showcase: This Time It’s for Real
Last week, we had the utmost pleasure of chatting with the Deputy Director of the Houston Film Commission, Alfred Cervantes, about the 2012 Texas Filmmakers Showcase. Cervantes told us it was a collection of the “best short films made in Texas.” Was that statement a challenge for us to go…
Build-A-Bar: Allspice Dram
I’ll excuse you for thinking this column was kaput. It’s kind of felt that way. Between a hectic schedule over the past few months and a few cold-and-allergy related palate deaths, I’ve had neither the time nor the wherewithal to keep up. On the upside, the wherewithal part actually provided…
Violinist Philippe Quint Kicks Off Cinema Art Festival
For more pictures from the Cinema Arts Festival opening, check out our slideshow. The MFAH and Cinema Arts Society rolled out the red carpet last night for the opening of the 2011 Cinema Arts Festival, featuring a screening of Downtown Express and a performance by its star, violinist Philippe Quint,…
Rick Perry Tries to Raise Money Off His Debate Disaster (with Video)
When you’ve provided the signature moment of your doomed campaign in a national debate, what do you do? Try to make some money off it. Rick Perry stumbled badly — like Gerald Ford badly, like Admiral Stockdale badly — in last night’s GOP debate. He couldn’t remember the third federal…
Love Letter: R. Kelly And Online Dating
For over 20 years, R. Kelly has been making sexual history as the official “pied piper of R&B,” lovingly encouraging men and women to embrace their inner freaks. He’s probably even been present for most of you young bloods’ conceptions. Behind the scenes, though, he’s made personal legal history as…
Houston Cinema Arts Festival: Unfinished Spaces
Film lovers all over Houston will be gathering to take in a barrage of independent films and filmmakers at the city’s Cinema Arts Festival this week and weekend. Art Attack viewed one of the festival’s offerings, a profound and beautifully shot documentary entitled Unfinished Spaces. The film, co-directed by first-time…
10 Pumpkin Dishes to Try in Houston: #4 Pumpkin Pancakes at Baby Barnaby’s
In 2010, I had a grand ol’ time scouring Houston for outstanding pumpkin dishes. One year later I’m older, definitely not wiser, and still in love with orange squash. So from now until Thanksgiving I’ll be counting down (again) 10 Pumpkin Dishes to Try in Houston. Forks at the ready!…
Last Night: The Sounds at Fitzgerald’s
Aftermath wasn’t sure whether the tank top that Maja Ivarsson was wearing last night was meant to be ironic or not. It didn’t really matter anyway; when the Swedish, platinum blonde lead singer came to the stage with The Sounds, every red-blooded American in the audience had to catch their…
Top 5 Restaurant Freebies
Sometimes, I find myself drawn to a restaurant not for what’s on the menu, but for what is placed on the table in front of me before I even open the menu. You know what I’m talking about. It’s sometimes even the best part of the dining experience: the pre-meal…
Comment of the Day: Easy Rawlins on Beautiful Churches
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…
Esvin Sabonluis, Killed Near Richmond Strip: Man Arrested, Charged
Last month we told you about a man killed as he walked to his car with his wife near the Richmond Strip, an area not generally known for outright murder. Esvin Sabonluis, 27, was killed about 9:10 p.m. October 23 in the 6200 block of Fairdale, near Fountain View and…
Striptease: Pole Dancing Competition Comes to Bayou City (w/ VIDEOS)
For those who still think the pole dancing fitness trend is a trashy fad reserved for Kardashian wannabes and Real Housewives, the organizer of an event happening Friday hopes she can change your mind. Crystal Belcher is the pole-fitness instructor behind Melee on the Bayou, a competition showcasing the skills…
Pop Rocks: Perry Is Done. Would He Have Been Worse Than These Movie Presidents?
You’ve probably seen it by now, but just in case you haven’t, here’s the precise moment Governor Rick Perry’s campaign went irrevocably into the toilet: Anyone anticipating a long, drawn-out embarrassment of primaries and caucuses will be disappointed. As will those of us anticipating at least another year’s worth of…
Pop Rocks: Five Movie Presidents That Are Probably Worse Than Rick Perry Would’ve Been
You’ve probably seen it by now, but just in case you haven’t, here’s the precise moment Governor Rick Perry’s campaign went irrevocably into the toilet: Anyone anticipating a long, drawn-out embarrassment of primaries and caucuses will be disappointed. As will those of us anticipating at least another year’s worth of…
5 Signs You’re Dangerously Starting to Think It Just Might Be the Texans’ Year
You have tried. You have told yourself you’ve been down the road before, and each time your hopes and dreams have been cruelly dashed. But you can’t help it — you are, once again, letting yourself become optimistic about the Texans. But this year things are really different, you say…
HPMA Preview: Houston’s Breaking Badasses
So far this week in anticipation of this Saturday’s Houston Press Music Awards Showcase, we have covered your blues cats, the metallic monsters, the relaxing buzz-y bands, and the ones who whip a crowd into an utter frenzy on any given evening. This entry looks at the bands and artists…
Drama-Rama-Thon Seeking Entries for Its GLBT Event
“Ten queer plays in ten gay hours” sounds like a sure shot to us. There’s also this bonus: It’s not too late to participate. Unhinged Productions is currently looking for submissions for Drama-Rama-Thon, where amateur playwrights and actors/actresses in the GLBT community showcase their original productions…
Bloodsport and Oxtopus on Last Night’s Top Chef: Texas
…aaaaaand we’re back! Last week, I drank heavily and recapped the first episode of Top Chef: Texas. Check that recap to familiarize yourself with the dumb names I’ve made up for nearly everything on this show so far. After a short montage of the first two rounds of contestants’ cooking…
What HISD Trustee Manuel Rodriguez Considers an Apology for an Anti-Gay Flyer
Houston school board member Manuel Rodriguez barely eeked out a re-election victory this week, despite — or maybe because of — putting out an anti-gay flyer at the end of the campaign. As we noted: Under reasons to “vote no for my opponent,” Rodriguez listed: Program manager of minority male…
Oliver Twist
Don’t expect any singing during the Houston premiere of Neil Bartlett’s adaptation of Oliver Twist. This production is meant to be more hard-hitting — after all, Charles Dickens’s tale is about an innocent child thrown into the dangerous street life orphans faced in 19th-century England. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays,…
Mickey and Minnie’s Magical Journey
Kids, be sure to bring your imagination to Mickey and Minnie’s Magical Journey, where two of Disney’s most popular characters hit the road and visit their famous friends, taking you along for the ride. See Ariel in her undersea kingdom, along with Sebastian; stalk the Pride Lands with Simba and…
Fidelio
A woman’s husband is falsely imprisoned, possibly already dead. His wife sets out to search for him and somehow makes her way through the labyrinth of a prison system. Fidelio, based on a true story, is filled with passion, angst, uncertainty and, of course, loyalty. It took 11 years for…
Hank Hancock and Harbeer Sandhu: Your Tax Dollars at Work
Three years ago, Wayne Dolcefino, an investigative reporter for a local television station, railed against the Houston Arts Alliance, claiming Houstonians’ tax dollars were funding local artists’ works that were often offensive or failed to be produced. (Actually, it’s hotel taxes paid for by out-of-towners that fund the Alliance’s grants.)…
Bobbindoctrin Puppet Theatre: My Cold Dead Fingers
The latest deadline for the Rapture has come and gone, and the post-apocalypse world looks much the same as it did pre-apocalypse. That doesn’t mean we should assume that hidden evil spirits aren’t controlling existence as we know it. The Bobbindoctrin Puppet Theatre certainly hasn’t. In the new play by…
Speed the Plow
David Mamet is famous for his dramas full of competitive men willing to do anything to get ahead in this dog-eat-dog world, and Speed the Plow is no different. This time Mamet takes his characters into the cruel milieu of Hollywood, where money trumps art and all are willing to…
“Cartography of the Spirit: Virgil Grotfeldt’s Explorations on the Mystical, the Magical, and the Sublime”
It was only two years ago that Houston lost one of its most critically acclaimed and beloved painters, Virgil Grotfeldt, to cancer. Even in his final months, he was creating innovative art, using magnetic resonance imaging scans of his brain taken during his treatments as the basis for his final…
“Encounters: Similarities & Contrasts — Kelyne Reis and Jane Ewen”
After meeting at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s Glassell School, artists Jane Ewen and Kelyne Reis decided that showing in the same gallery might be a good idea, even though their styles weren’t exactly similar. That idea becomes reality with “Encounters: Similarities & Contrasts — Kelyne Reis and Jane…
Andrei Molodkin: “Crude”
The new installation at the Station Museum of Contemporary Art is named Andrei Molodkin: “Crude,” and aptly so. Russian-born artist Molodkin uses crude oil as one of his materials. Molodkin has created a series of clear plastic sculptures of familiar imagery and weighted meaning, such as the Statue of Liberty…
37th Annual Texas Renaissance Festival
There will be wenches and sabers and roasted turkey legs at the 37th Annual Texas Renaissance Festival. The largest festival of its type in the country, Ren Fest transports Texans back to a time when women wore punishing push-up bras and men thought jousting was fun (come to think of…
Train Man (Densha Otoko)
Director Shosuke Murakami’s happy love story Train Man (Densha otoko) gives us love in the age of the Internet. Actor Takayuki Yamada plays a twentysomething otoku (a Japanese geek), a nerd with a capital N. On the commuter train one day, he steps in when a young woman is being…
“Monster Show Six”
Halloween is long gone, but the exhibit “Monster Show Six” continues at Domy Books. The sixth annual show features horror-themed art from more than 60 different artists, including work from one of our favorite local rock flyer artists, Davie Graves of the hard-rocking band Thunderkunt. “Monster Show Six” art runs…
Energizer® Night Race for a Brighter World
Help send solar power to communities without electricity at today’s Energizer® Night Race for a Brighter World, and have lots of fun while you do it. Runners can choose from an 11K course or 1.1 mile fun run. Everyone gets a T-shirt, a cool Energizer® LED headlight, a finisher’s prize…
Winter Wonderettes
If might feel like summer but that holiday season is creeping up on us. Witness the lighted palm trees and the dusted off Christmas wreaths going up at shopping centers around town. And we’re seeing the first twinklings of seasonal shows including Stages Repertory Theatre’s Winter Wonderettes. This bit of…
Powder Her Face
Blame it on the elevator shaft. London socialite Margaret Campbell, the Duchess of Argyll, was, politely put, a big slut. But it wasn’t her fault; the Duchess had fallen down an elevator shaft and apparently suffered an injury to the part of her brain that regulates impulse control and inhibition…
“Spirit of Modernism”
Successful oil-and-gas businessman — and avid art collector — John R. Eckel died in 2009, but his generosity as a patron of the arts has continued. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston was fortunate enough to acquire his art collection, known as the John R. Eckel Jr. Foundation Gift, and…
Zouhair Zairi: Moorish Fusion Cuisine: Conquering the New World
Get a taste, albeit visual, of Moorish food — a unique mix of Spanish, North African and Arab cuisines — during today’s book signing and discussion with Chef Zouhair Zairi, who will present his new cookbook, Moorish Fusion Cuisine: Conquering the New World. Very few cookbooks have been written about…
“Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs”
King Tutankhamun is the Elvis of Ancient Egypt. Even 3,000 years after his death at the age of 19, thousands of fans flock wherever he or the fabulous relics left in his tomb land in their world tours. Houstonians will have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see some of those artifacts,…
Once on This Island
Romeo and Juliet meet The Little Mermaid in Lynn Ahrens and Steven Flaherty’s charming Once on This Island, a Caribbean musical about love, death and storytelling. The one-act, song-filled story, which takes place in Haiti, follows Ti Moune, a peasant girl. On one side of the island are the poor…
On Vibrate — Pop and Post-minimalism in American Music
If you think that all the great classical music was written before the dawn of the 20th century, Aperio will be happy to prove you wrong with On Vibrate — Pop and Post-minimalism in American Music. The latest offering by Aperio, the chamber orchestra dedicated to the music of composers…
Cirque Mechanics Boomtown
Anyone who’s seen the magic of Cirque du Soleil is in for a treat at today’s Cirque Mechanics Boomtown. With a cast made up of former performers from the Moscow Circus and Cirque du Soleil, Cirque explores the relationship between man and machine. For Boomtown, the cast travels back to…
2011 Music Awards Showcase
Here it is, the Grandaddy of all the Houston music festivals, the 23rd annual Houston Press Music Awards showcase. Twelve hours of music, featuring 50-plus bands and a slew of DJs to close out the night. This sucker runs the gamut from funky to twee, Americana to experimental, gritty rap…
Numbers Game
Maybe Wikipedia isn’t this generation’s great beacon of truths after all. Here’s a piece of how they summarize the existence of Pinhead, the guy from that horror movie franchise Hellraiser: “Pinhead is the leader of the cenobites, formerly human creatures from an extradimensional realm who travel to Earth through the Lament Configuration, and…
Brujeria
You don’t have to speak or understand Spanish to enjoy Brujeria, our favorite Satanic Mexican grindcore band. Since 1989, the band has trafficked — tee-hee — in punishing yet über-catchy dirges about running drugs, worshiping Satan, violent crime and, of course, witchcraft. With their barked and heavily processed lyrics and…
Sondre Lerche
The Norwegian songwriter Sondre Lerche emerged a decade ago as a precocious and angel-faced teenager with Faces Down, a debut of simple yet sophisticated songs composed of Lerche’s guitar and sweet falsetto. In subsequent years, Lerche has branched out extensively, dabbling in everything from jazz (Duper Sessions) to distorted rock…
Tesla
In the 1980s, Tesla were the anti-glam hard rock band. In fact, the Sacramento rockers were more Skynyrd than Skid Row. But, like baseball players forever associated with the steroid era, Tesla were never quite able to escape the teased and coiffed shadow of their hair band contemporaries or the…
His Whole Self
It’s got abstract painting. It’s got video. It’s politically courageous. It’s rife with sexual overtones. “Donald Moffett: The Extravagant Vein,” curated by the CAMH’s Valarie Cassell Oliver, is the first survey of the artist’s diverse yet related bodies of work. It’s not often that an artist can pack all of…
Zechs Marquise
Those who thought the Mars Volta was complex and strange will probably feel even more challenged by Zechs Marquise. Formed in 2003 by two brothers of Mars Volta co-founder Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and rounded out by two childhood friends, Zechs Marquise walks a similarly impressionistic path — not surprising, considering that…
Capsule Art Reviews: “Building Arts: Alexander Apostol, Dias & Riedweg, Thomas Glassford, Marco Maggi and Clarissa Tossin,” “Insperity Golf Experience,” “Katja Loher: Multiverse,” “Mary McCleary: A Survey 1996-2011,” “New Formations: Czech Av
“Building Arts: Alexander Apostol, Dias & Riedweg, Thomas Glassford, Marco Maggi and Clarissa Tossin” “Futuristic” mid-century architecture ages badly; when clean, crisp lines and minimal surfaces become worn and grubby, they look like a failed dream. Clarissa Tossin’s 2009 two-channel video White Marble Everyday records the repetitive labor that goes…
Ray Manzarek & Robby Krieger of The Doors
Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger, two of the three remaining members of iconic classic-rock group The Doors, are touring here in 2011, performing songs they recorded with noted madman and amateur shaman Jim Morrison at their ’60s and early ’70s zenith. Drummer John Densmore has declined every Doors reunion along…
West Eggs
Catch a glimpse of the kitchens at these two west-side eateries: Chatter’s on Eldridge and Pecan Creek Grille. For a very long time, it was difficult to take the family to breakfast out on the west side of Houston — from Memorial down through the Energy Corridor — without heading…
Blind Boys of Alabama
Maybe the greatest gospel group ever assembled, the Blind Boys of Alabama have a list of awards and honors that would take up more space than allotted here. Formed in 1939, the group has done a command performance at the White House, sharing the bill with Bob Dylan. In recent…
One Fan at a Time
A big breath. Hollywood FLOSS’s chest is rising. His eyebrows are crawling up his forehead. His pointy shoulders are moving upwards. Then a slow exhale. Hollywood FLOSS’s chest is lowering. His eyebrows are coming pinched together. His pointy shoulders are returning to their natural state. Everything is exaggerated a little,…
Capsule Stage Reviews: Damaged Divas of the Decades, Oliver Twist, Once on this Island, Skin Deep, Speed-the-Plow, There Is a Happiness That Morning Is
Damaged Divas of the Decades A particularly high style of cabaret is in performance through November at Music Box Theater. This second production from the newly minted troupe is called Damaged Divas of the Decades, and if that title alone doesn’t propel you to Colquitt and Kirby, what kind of…
Rap Boom Reload
V. 2011. 1. Kirko Bangz is sitting on a couch in an oversized house in North Houston that is filled with people watching him move. He is flanked by two attractive females, each of them doing their best to gain his gaze. They caress his face and his chest and…
Rap Boom Reload: Coming Up
The monolithic ideology of 2005 has been replaced with a scattershot of styles and sounds. Here’s a sampling of 2011’s cast, each with their own sound and/or design: • The Boss Hogg Outlawz — Slim Thug’s camp of gorillas highlighted by Mug, a snarling gangster rapper, and L.E.$., a…
Great Man Theories
A resounding “yes” to the question trembling on every lip: There is life after Hereafter! Clint Eastwood goes deep into Oliver Stone territory and emerges victorious with J. Edgar. Although hardly flawless, Eastwood’s biopic is his richest, most ambitious movie since the Letters from Iwo Jima-Flags of Our Fathers duo,…
North Houston Battle Royale
CRIME North Houston Battle Royale Machetes, grenades…and a wedding By John Nova Lomax Okay, this is a weird one. A really weird one, involving accusations of parents smoking weed with children, divorce and remarriage, divided families, indestructible young women, hand grenades, garden hoes, machetes, other assorted weaponry, a Pakistani immigrant…
SPECIAL MUJER EDITION: Why Do Mexican Women Sew Their Own Dresses
Dear Mexican, I am an Anglo intruder in New Mexico. When I moved to Albuquerque from Virginia, I fell in love with Mexican culture. I was impressed at what I called “Southwestern hospitality.” I have had so many second dinners when I go to people’s homes that I gained a…
Place in the Spotlight
Justin Nava is a difficult man to interview. One Tuesday night, I went to meet him to talk about his band, thelastplaceyoulook, over a drink — by which I mean one drink. Instead, I ended up bar-hopping with him for nearly four hours. Along the way, I also met a…
