Yet Another Explanation From Toyota On Unintended Acceleration
Toyota made big news today, with a press release titled “Toyota Announces Details of Remedy to Address Potential Accelerator Pedal Entrapment,” by announcing the details of a recall that will apparently stop all those problems of Toyota’s accelerating wildly out of control, as detailed in a Houston Press cover story…
The Couple That Robs Banks Together Stays Together
Fun with Dick & Jane was pretty much a bomb for Jim Carrey, but it looks like one couple really liked it.They walked into a Wirt Road Krogers this afternoon and robbed it.As the FBI puts it: At approximately 12:55p.m., the couple entered the Kroger and proceeded to the bank…
My $47 Free Turkey
I can never resist a bargain. And since H-E-B offered a free turkey with the purchase of a spiral cut ham, we went there for our Thanksgiving shopping. I found the ham, and then I went looking for the free turkey. It turned out to be a scrawny-looking frozen 12-pounder…
As You Stuff Yourself Tomorrow And (We Hope) Watch The Cowboys Lose, Don’t Forget Us
We can tell by the quiet outside the office window that the Thanksgiving exodus has probably already occurred. Or maybe everyone’s working late and it will get really busy in an hour or so.At any rate, even though tomorrow is Thanksgiving, be sure to check back here for posts. We’ll…
Black Friday Beat: 5 Worst Mall Foods
When you’re out there in the trenches this coming Black Friday, let it be known that we’re thinking fondly of you. Waging war with high prices, reaping the bounty of sweet sales victory, dragging sacks of consumer electronics and sweaters through the parking lot to your SUV like trophies of…
Rocks Off Is Not Going Dark Over Thanksgiving, Turkeys
Once you shake yourself out of that Tryptophan coma tomorrow, Rocks Off would like to invite all of you over to our own Thanksgiving buffet. Craig Hlavaty and Brittanie Shey go toe to toe over the songs they’re least thankful for, yours truly will have a report from tonight’s Raphael…
Thanksgiving Pies from Goode Co.
So you made a tradeoff with the Devil this year: In exchange for your invitation to join a Thanksgiving feast, you agreed to bring a dessert. Everyone knows what dessert means this time of year: You’re not showing up with tiramisu or German chocolate cake or apple fritters — you’re…
Health Department Roundup: No Joy in Turkeyville Edition
While everyone’s still making grocery lists and arguing over casserole, the Health Department has been making its rounds early in preparation for Thanksgiving, hitting up grocery stores and bakeries across the city. Kroger at 10306 Post Oak had violations in almost every department – meat, produce, bakery and deli. Violations…
And The 2009 Turkey Of The Year Is…..
The suspense has been so thick you could cut it with….Oh, Christ, what’s the word we’re looking for here…some kind of cutting implement…a really sharp-edged melon-baller? No, that’s not it. Maybe box cutters.At any rate, you can relieve that suspense right now by clicking on our current cover story and…
Gobble Gobble Hey: Our Choices for Local Hip-Hop Turkeys of 2009
[Ed. Note: To go along with the cover story in this week’s Houston Press, Rocks Off asked our writers to nominate a few local musical “Turkeys of the Year.” Turns out there were quite a few from the hip-hop side of town. We’ll unveil the biggest musical turkey of all…
Wine of the Week: Sally Swiss of Whole Foods Market
Thanksgiving is a time of celebration. Who are we kidding? It’s a time for long grocery lines, crazed holiday drivers, and indigestion. With the help of Sally Swiss of Whole Foods on Kirby, at least buying the wine can be easy. Swiss has been with Whole Foods for 16 years,…
Game Time: A Hand Of Blackjack At The “Atrocious Football Game Management” Convention
EXT. HO-CHUNK CASINO IN BARABOO, WISCONSIN — NIGHTThe sun is setting behind the main casino building and the marquee at the front of the parking-lot entrance reads “2009 ATROCIOUS FOOTBALL GAME MANAGEMENT CONVENTION.” This is the annual gathering where football coaches at the college and pro level who have proven…
Fancy French Chocolates
I got a tiny box containing four chocolate truffles in the mail. I ate the one that was covered with pistachio crumbs and filled with green pistachio cream. It was so good, I ate the one covered with cocoa powder and filled with dark chocolate ganache. Then I put the…
Longtime Montrose Restaurant and Sometime Music Venue La Strada Is No More
In the final chapter of a long-drawn demise of a lower Westheimer institution, La Strada shuttered this morning. Numerous insiders and former patrons attribute the demise of the 22-year-old restaurant, notorious for its rollicking Sunday brunches, to a 2002 fire which closed the restaurant for over a year. “Before the…
R.I.P., La Strada — One More Montrose Landmark Closing Its Doors
In the final chapter of a long-drawn demise of a lower Westheimer institution, La Strada shuttered this morning. Numerous insiders and former patrons attribute the demise of the 22-year-old restaurant, notorious for its rollicking Sunday brunches, to a 2002 fire which closed the restaurant for over a year.”Before the fire,…
Hiding on the Backstreets, Part 2: Bruce Springsteen Brings The River, Born In the U.S.A., Tunnel of Love and Tom Joad to Town
As Bruce Springsteen fans come to grips with the unfortunate reality that this past weekend’s show in Buffalo, N.Y., may well have been the final offical tour date – although surely not the final show – from the Boss and his rapidly aging E Street Band, Rocks Off is remembering…
Five to Try: Tres Leches
From the moment we first tried it, tres leches has monopolized a decent-size spot in our hearts previously reserved for chocolate. This originally Nicaraguan dessert is a vanilla sponge cake full of tiny, tasty air bubbles and topped with an incredible combination of three milks: evaporated, sweetened condensed, and whole…
Warning: It’s A No-Refusal DWI Weekend In Harris County
Be warned if you plan on using some blessed liquor to get you through the horror of your in-laws this Thanksgiving — Harris County is making this a “no-refusal” weekend when it comes to DWIs.The District Attorney’s office has announced they’ll be setting up the usual mobile labs, compete with…
La Strada Closes Its Doors
In the final chapter of a long-drawn demise of a lower Westheimer institution, La Strada shuttered this morning. Numerous insiders and former patrons attribute the demise of the 22-year-old restaurant, notorious for its rollicking Sunday brunches, to a 2002 fire which closed the restaurant for over a year. “Before the…
Smashing Roasted Pumpkins
In her recent post “How to Make a Perfect: Pumpkin Pie,” Jane Catherine Collins recommends that you make your pumpkin pie with canned pumpkin. After roasting a couple of whole pumpkins this fall, I have to agree with JCC. Funny thing is, the first time I roasted a whole pumpkin,…
Material World: Five High-Life Holiday Videos for Your Broke, Unemployed Ass
Only 29 shopping days until Christmas. More to the point, it’s less than a month until we don’t have to hear that goddamned barking dogs version of “Jingle Bells” and can stop forcing ourselves to be nice to each other for another year. We at Rocks Off know times are…
Diamond In The Back, Sunroof Down For Aggie Women’s Hoops
Ladies and gentlemen, the new media guide for the Texas A&M women’s basketball team. We’ve got nothing against players dressing up (unlike this columnist from Seattle, who thinks this trend has something to do with homophobia), but we have to ask: What the hell is coach Gary Blair doing?His little…
Bayou Body Count: Arguments And Infants
You know what they say: Nothing good ever happens at the club after midnight.That certainly seemed to be the case this past weekend. On Sunday, for instance, three guys at about 2:50 a.m. were heading out of the Kahlua Disco club at 7600 Dashwood when they bumped into a pair…
Sampler Plate: This Week In Food Blogs
Each week, we put together a sampler plate of the most interesting links from both local and national food blogs. Know a blog we should be paying particular attention to? Leave the address in the comments section below. The Wynk: Melissa concocts a dish she calls “Tasty Chicken” out of…
Artist of the Week: Sigur Ros-Sampling White Rappers Guerilla Foco Clan
Each Wednesday, Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group “Artist of the Week,” bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist that isn’t awful? Email their particulars to introducingliston@gmail.com. At a recent Devin the Dude concert, we…
UH Football And Basketball Have Big Weekends On Tap
One season is ending. One season is just beginning. But for the Houston Cougars, it’s a big Thanksgiving weekend either way with the football team playing for the C-USA West title, and the basketball team up in Alaska playing against Big 12 power Oklahoma in the Great Alaska Shootout on…
The Shameless Chef: Three Layer Pumpkin Overload
Jane Catherine Collins recently posted how to make the “perfect” pumpkin pie. Well, that’s fine, if you’re into meticulously tracking down those rare jungle spices that you have to mix into your pie crust at the stroke of midnight on the equinox while chanting the Shaman’s Iniquity Prayer in its…
Aftermath: The Umbrella Man’s CD Release at the Continental Club
Want to hear some great rockabilly, ska, gospel, zydeco, retro-country and soul? Those are only some of the styles you’ll hear on Nick Gaitan and The Umbrella Man’s debut CD. When you experience the band live, expect even more. Gaitan and Umbrella Man’s other five members put on an impressive…
Dancing With the Stars: An Osmond Is Crowned
Sunriiiiiise, sunset Sunriiiiiise, sunset Swiftly flow the days You guys, I can’t believe we’ve come so far together. We’ve had so many ups and downs, so much laughter and so many tears. When I began the season of Dancing With the Stars, I was but a boy, but now, I…
Stirred and Shaken: Char Bar’s Manhattan
Back in 1936, the year Duke’s of Hollywood Tailors opened downtown, there were no such things as woo-girls, light beer or house music. Going for a drink meant staking out a stool at a dimly lit bar and ordering a proper cocktail from a man with a white towel draped…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: Hank Snow, “Movin’ On” to Altman’s Nashville… and George Wallace
“You switched your engine now I ain’t got time For a triflin’ woman on my main line ‘Cause I’m movin’ on, you done your daddy wrong I’ve warned you twice, now you can settle the price ‘Cause I’m movin on – Hank Snow, “I’m Movin’ On” Thanks to earnest guidance…
Come On, Avatar: Do Your Aliens Really Have To Be Blue? It’s Been Done
It’s hard to escape the ad campaign for James Cameron’s Avatar, much as you’d like to. We’ve seen the trailer in a theater — even in a 3-D theater — and we are…whelmed. Certainly not overwhelmed; not yet ready to declare ourselves completely underwhelmed. We’re sure it comes off better…
I Wanna Be Your Dog (Or Cat): Thanksgiving Edition
We all know the story of the first Thanksgiving — the Penguins traveling to the New World in the rickety Mayday; Squinty the Indian teaching the clueless newcomers how to grow potatoes (the Penguins had left Ireland because of a famine); George Washington marrying Pocahantas on Plymouth Mount. These wonderful…
Eating at the Renaissance Fest
We were happy to be in the audience at the Texas Renaissance Festival for the turkey leg-eating contest, with not one of the 10 contestants kneeling in the dirt picking sinew out of their teeth (see video). Winner “Albert Zero One” of Austin inhaled his in about three-and-a-half minutes, then…
Before It Was the Tower Theater, It Was Clubland, and Our Friend Worked There
Monday’s news that the Hollywood Video located in the old Tower Theater will soon shut down has put our sister blog Rocks Off on one of our periodic nostalgia kicks, and this one actually comes with a personal connection. Before the Tower was one of Houston’s main mid-size music venues…
Taco Truck Gourmet: Frito Pie
Food writer extraordinaire John T. Edge is in Houston checking out taco trucks for a new book he is working on about American street food. I took him to visit some trucks on Longpoint. At the Refresqueria Rio Verde truck, I saw a hand-painted sign for Frito Pie and decided…
We (Urban) Dare You To Find Rice’s Frog Wall
A new competition made its Houston debut this past Saturday. Dubbed “the race where smarts can beat speed,” Urban Dare takes teams of two on a journey around town where they must figure out clues to arrive to different destinations.Once the race started, each team was given a rules sheet…
How to Make the Perfect: Pumpkin Pie
Okay, don’t run away screaming. This recipe involves making homemade pie dough. Not homemade pie dough! But, it’s so hard and time consuming! Take a deep breath. We will walk you through it. But just in case, have a store-bought one as a backup. Pumpkin pie is not hard. In…
Before It Was the Tower Theater, It Was Clubland, and Rocks Off’s Friend Worked There
Monday’s news that the Hollywood Video located in the old Tower Theater will soon shut down has put Rocks Off on one of our periodic nostalgia kicks, and this one actually comes with a personal connection. Before the Tower was one of Houston’s main mid-size music venues in the first…
Taco Truck Gourmet: Eating with Edge
Noted food writer and Southern Foodways Alliance founder John T. Edge was in town this week researching a new book about street food. Edge already knows his way around Houston pretty well after putting on a Potlikker Film Festival event at the Saint Arnold Brewery a couple of summers ago…
How To Become Famous on the Internet in 5 Easy Steps
As evidenced by both the Art Crawl and Via Colori this weekend, there’s a teeny, Joe Francis-penis-sized attention whore that lurks shamelessly inside almost each and every one of you, whether you care to acknowledge its loving inhabitation of your soul or not. But wine/cheese/warehouse-enabled extroversion and sidewalk chalk shenanigans…
More Than Just Yards of Beer at CityCentre’s New Yard House
The first thing you notice upon walking into Yard House — the new upscale bar at west Houston’s CityCentre — is the beer. Purposefully, of course, as the California-based chain likes to claim that it has the “world’s largest selection of draft beer.” Rows of colorful, gleaming taps take center…
Hustlers Brass Band’s Big Top Residency Begins Tonight
Dismal weather getting you down? Short days got you singing the blues? Are you hungry for some free red beans and rice and funk-drenched brass-band jams? Got five bucks? Then get on down to the Big Top tonight and/or every Tuesday through the end of the year for the Hustlers…
Game Time: Stop Me If You’ve Heard This Before — So The Texans Are Going To Tie The Game….
There are certain teams around the NFL where having the national stage all to themselves — say, on a Thursday night, Sunday night, or especially on Monday night — is seen as just another day at the office. To teams like the Colts, Patriots, Giants, and a handful of others,…
SXSW Announces First 2010 Music Festival Artists
You guys ever wish for something, and then regret the outcome when the Good Lord answers your prayers? Well, the initial list for next year’s South By Southwest music festival came out and that’s sort of where we are right now. Cringing and sweating, because after this year’s line of…
City of Coffee: Green Beans
As noted in our recent City of Coffee feature, coffee tastes best when it’s made from fresh-roasted beans. Some coffee fanatics take that concept to the extreme and roast their own coffee beans at home. (Hot air popcorn machines are very popular for this purpose.) Several of these home roasters…
A Bad Weekend For Gene Locke
Who would have thought that after it was revealed that the “anti-gay” activist Dave Wilson donated $2,000 to the Gene Locke campaign that it would be the catalyst for a bad, bad weekend for the candidate?It didn’t help that Locke forgot to attend the first highly anticipated debate since the…
Five Decisions That Took Less Time Than Bill White Figuring Out If He’ll Run For Governor
Bill White brought the Texas political world to a standstill yesterday when he convened a press conference to make the momentous announcement that….he was going to take some time to think about running for Governor instead of Senator.In a little over a week, he said, he’ll make up his mind.Somehow…
Tonight: Houston Filmmaker Raymond Gayle’s Electric Purgatory at Domy Books
Electric Purgatory screened almost two years ago at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, but Rocks Off still hasn’t seen Houston director Raymond Gayle’s film about the plight of the black rocker. We’re gonna miss the next screening too – tonight at Domy Books – due to Thanksgiving travel, but…
A New Champion: Chick-fil-a Peppermint Chocolate Chip Shake
Last month J.C. Reid raved about DQ’s Pumpkin Pie Blizzard, ushering in the 2009 holiday-beverage season. Frozen or not, these are guilty pleasures at best. But we’ll still take them intravenously if given the option, from tried-and-true drinks like the Starbucks Gingerbread Latte to Jack in the Box’s more questionable…
Titans 20, Texans 17: It’s The Trenches, Stupid
It would be easy to blame Kris Brown.It would be easy to chalk it up to an inspired homecoming performance by Vince Young. It would be easy to criticize several iffy playcalls by offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan and coach Gary Kubiak, including a decision to effectively kneel down before the…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: The Shadowy Depression-Era Roots of Modern Country and Bluegrass
As LOM promised in last week’s blog about bluegrass, here are some precursors to that art form. These are some wonderful tunes to listen to on your boom-box or iPod while tending your illegal still. Charlie Poole: Charlie Poole is the iconic model for every hard-drinkin’, guitar-plunking, Appalachian ne’er-do-well musician…
Thanksgiving Deals: Turkeys and More
Local groceries want your business this year, and they know you want their turkeys. Having just moved to Houston from the country’s 10th-most populous county for turkeys (Dubois, in southern Indiana), I should point out that most of these are the same birds stuffed into different-colored wrappers. But these numbers…
Aeros Try To Deal With Roster Shortages
On Sunday, the Houston Aeros went to the dogs, somewhat literally, as the Toyota Center was opened up to allow people to bring their dogs to the game. And while the dogs might have had a good time, it’s questionable if the fans did as the Aeros lost their second…
Let Sig’s Lagoon Help You With Your Holiday Shopping Needs – Even Music
Nothing says “holiday spirit” more than “…alleged child predator who was shot dead.” Rocks Off has a special place in our heart for Sig’s Lagoon – we do live upstairs from “Midtown’s Only Record Store” – so we were pleasantly surprised to see Sig’s owner Tomas Escalante post the above…
Pop Rocks: Is Avatar Doomed?
Catch James Cameron talking about Avatar on 60 Minutes last night? I thought it was awfully sporting of Viacom to throw some publicity at a movie it doesn’t appear to have any stake in for once. Cameron, as usual, exuded confidence about the project. He explained his desire to make…
Mini Thanksgiving, Continued: Pecan Pie
A Thanksgiving feast wouldn’t be complete without dessert. That goes for a mini-Thanksgiving dinner too. Last week, we gave you the recipe for the main course of a mini-feast. Miniature pecan pies will put the finishing touch on your meal. They may also help you control the holiday calories, assuming…
Ask a Rapper: Bun B on His Thanksgiving Food Drive and Why He Seems to Be Everywhere
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…
Dancing With the Stars: Nearing the Finish Line
Do you smell that? That potent mixture of stardust, flop sweat, and desperation? It’s like burnt cinnamon and broken dreams. And it can mean only one thing: The final week of Dancing With the Stars. The show’s whole pointlessness was driven home in Tom Bergeron’s opening narration, when he reminded…
How To Make a Bad Day Worse: Eat Your Weed In Front of a Cop
When 32-year-old Terance Eugene McCullough was pulled over last February for speeding on Highway 59, the policeman asked McCullough about the strong smell of marijuana emanating from his ride. McCullough replied that he had, in fact, just smoked a joint. The trouble was, he hadn’t quite finished that joint. And…
Where Are We Drinking?
After last week’s difficult-to-identify dive, we’ve chosen a location that should prove somewhat more simple to recognize. Do you know where we’re drinking this week? Leave your best guess in the comments section below…
Distant Early Warning: Akron/Family, Beach Boys, Dark Star Orchestra, Jonathan Richman, Noah & the Whale, Xiu Xiu, etc.
Akron/Family, Warpaint: Tue., Feb. 23. Walter’s on Washington. The Beach Boys: Fri., March 19. Jones Hall. Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys: Fri., Feb. 26. Continental Club. The Boxmasters: Fri., Dec. 18. Fitzgerald’s. Dark Star Orchestra: Thu., March 4. House of Blues. Eddie Griffin: Sat., Jan. 16. Verizon Wireless Theater…
Houston Humane Society Hit With Sexual Harassment Suit
A former employee has sued the Houston Humane Society’s shelter director for sexual harassment. Lauren Valverde’s lawsuit also names the non-profit itself, saying HHS did nothing to protect Valverde, a clinic supervisor, from Edward Perez’s “sexual assaults.”Filed October 30, the suit claims that the abuse, consisting of “unwanted and unwelcomed touching of a sexual…
Dwight Yoakam at the Arena Theatre, Take 2: It Only Hurts When I Cry
[Ed. note: That’s right, this show was so nice we’re reviewing it twice.] Dwight Yoakam may not have sung that particular Ray Price song Saturday night at the Arena Theatre – maybe he forgot; we’ve never seen a set list in a three-ring binder before – but he’s sure got…
Thanksgiving Nightmares
Ah, Thanksgiving. A time for pumpkin pie, good cheer, sweaters…and loved ones swilling booze and going at it. Yes, Thanksgiving family tension — if not outright violence — is a tradition as time-honored as postprandial football. Inspired by this recent article in the New York Times, we asked the Houston…
Deep-Fried and Still Alive: 5 Culinary Practices As Cruel As the Chinese Deep-Fried Fish
The video above is fairly graphic. Do not watch if you are faint of stomach or heart. By now, most people have seen the video circulating the Internet which features a fish that has been deep-fried, being consumed…alive. Yes, the fish is still alive during the deep-frying process and while…
Friday Night Lights, Houston Style: Why Does Everyone Hate Katy So Much?
Photos by Paul KnightStanding in the rain on Saturday afternoon, watching Katy High School play Atascocita in a playoff game, Hair Balls remembered something we read on the Washington Post NFL blog this past week. This question, about the Dallas Cowboys, was asked: “Why are the Cowboys So Hated? How…
Houston Is Somehow A “Salad City,” Highly Scientific Survey Says
Is your mind still boggled at the thought that Bush Intercontinental is a terrific airport? Be prepared to have be re-boggled.The scientists at Dole Foods, or at least the people who put together pseudo-scientific surveys, have declared Houston to be one of the best “Salad Cities” in the nation.Houston, perennially…
Cafe Rose in Bloom
We stopped by the European-style Café Rose on the bottom floor of Hotel Sorella (800 West Sam Houston Parkway), recently opened by Alex Brennan-Martin of Brennan’s, and tried a grilled hanger steak wrap and margarita panini. The food was in line with Brennan’s reputation. Tender steak, caramelized onions, peppers, and…
Slide Show: Zappa Plays Zappa at House of Blues
Looking more and more like his late father Frank every year, Dweezil Zappa continues to keep his dad’s legacy of classically complex, absurdist jazz-rock alive through his constantly touring “Zappa Plays Zappa” ensemble. Unfortunately Rocks Off’s reviewer was unable to make it to last Saturday’s show at House of Blues,…
Bush Intercontinental Doesn’t Suck, No Matter What You Think
Remember this as you fight your way through the never-ending construction and the other annoying delays at Bush Intercontinental this weekend: It could be a whole lot worse.At least that’s what website The Daily Beast thinks. It’s named Bush the best airport in America.We’re not kidding.Listen to them enthuse: The…
Listology: Nick Gaitan of the Octanes and The Umbrella Man’s Favorite Female Vocalists
This is a big week for all-everything Houston bassist Nick Gaitan. Not only have his Monday-night Continental Club gigs with atomic-powered rockabilly trio the Octanes been steadily been picking up steam, his other band The Umbrella Man – which just happens to play Tuesday nights at the very same place…
Odd Pair: Eggs Rolls and Pinot Grigio
In a perfect world, we would eat every meal at a nice restaurant. A sommelier would pick out the perfect wine to pair with our gourmet meal, and we could even take a nap afterwards. But it’s not a perfect world. We still want to drink wine with our meals,…
Our New Favorite Blogger Is Also Her Own Favorite Blogger
To say that rsvp713.com “fashion columnist” Leslie Tyler-Fink is arrogant, thoughtless and elitist is probably being too kind. A recent ellipses-filled “Glam Life” column is filled with air-headed socialite idiocies that sound like dialogue written for Zsa Zsa Gabor’s character on Green Acres.Example: “Darlings…White has been my lucky… actually very…
Aftermath: Deer Tick Remembers Lightnin’ Hopkins – Do You? – at Warehouse Live
Deer Tick’s set Sunday night at Warehouse Live, opening for the lovely and photo-shy Neko Case, was the perfect capper to a weekend that saw us become sleep-challenged conspiracy hounds and road-weary travelers all within the span of a day. Too bad that the band didn’t let us get a…
Eating Out on Thanksgiving Day? What’s Open
Not everyone in the city celebrates Thanksgiving, and that should come as no surprise given our increasingly diverse tapestry of residents (something for which Eating Our Words is thankful). And not everyone who celebrates Thanksgiving does so with a big family dinner at home. For these folks, it can be…
Game Time: Texans Battle Titans Tonight In The Most Important Athletic Event In Our’s Nation’s History
Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve been to Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq, and I can say without hyperbole that this is a million times worse than all of them put together.” — Kent Brockman, Channel 6, Springfield (The Simpsons)If you are wondering what “this” was in that quote, it was the Bart…
For Your Entertainment? Nice Try, Adam Lambert, But These Music-Awards Moments Were Even Creepier
The best news that Jennifer Lopez could possibly have heard this morning was that America is still more interested in clucking about public displays of gayness than in pointing and laughing when a diva falls on her ass. We imagine there’s already one of those jumbo-sized Harry & David fruit…
Top 5 Food Shortage Nightmares
Simultaneous shortages in Libby’s canned pumpkins and Eggo waffles in the last week have led to some puzzling moments of hysteria. The situation got us thinking about which foods we’d totally freak out about if, suddenly, we couldn’t get them…
Bill White Switching To The Governor’s Race, Chron Reporting
The Houston Chronicle is reporting that Mayor Bill White is about to switch his future plans from not being elected to the U.S. Senate to not being elected Texas governor.White’s move comes as Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison’s laughably inept run for the governorship continues to implode. Sooner or later KBH…
Five Houston Monday Night Football Highlights
The Texans go nationwide tonight with a Monday Night Football match-up against the Tennessee Titans. MNF isn’t what it used to be since moving to ESPN, but it’s still a big deal.Houston, of course, has had some memorable moments on Monday night. Mostly involving the Oilers — who are now…
Hiding on the Backstreets: Remembering Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band In Houston
This past weekend’s show in Buffalo, N.Y., was the last date on a nearly two-year (and two-album-supporting) trek by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, which found them criss-crossing the country and the globe several times to rapt audiences, with a stop at the Super Bowl and the Rock…
Donut Patrol: Buttermilk and Baklava
The glazed buttermilk doughnuts aren’t bad, but don’t miss the Napoleans and the baklava at Donutz N’ Stuff. There is a big sign written in Persian underneath the regular sign in front of this little donut shop on Eldridge Parkway near Briar Forest. I asked the woman behind the counter…
Aftermath: AFI, Looking Slightly Dated But Still Bringing the Goth-Rock at Verizon
Aftermath isn’t one so much for biblical allegories generally, but damn if AFI’s Davey Havok didn’t remind us of Samson on Saturday night at Verizon Wireless Theater. He proved to us exactly what happens when you sacrifice your locks and your pores to the fashion gods. See, Mr. Havok used…
R.I.P., Hollywood Video In Montrose: What’s Next For The Old Tower Theater?
Swamplot confirms what we’ve been thinking for a while: The Hollywood Video store, in that nice old theater near Westheimer & Montrose, is not long for this world. Employees are telling customers the place is closing, and the marquee out front is being dismantled.Video stores are closing all over the…
Pan Cake Pork at Fu Fu
Fu Fu Café (9889 Bellaire Blvd) has an odd name, yes, but the food is stellar. We stand behind most anything on its menu, especially the hot pot cuisine. This time, however, we ordered a dish Fu Fu staff recommended: Pan Cake Pork. Yes, it sounds like a pork pancake,…
Aftermath: Dwight Yoakam at Arena Theatre
Inside the pocket of the Arena Towers, you’ll find several hundred very happy Dwight Yoakam fans. Or you would have Saturday night, when the Hollywood hillbilly and his five-piece band entertained (to put it mildly) for two and a half solid hours Saturday night. We lost count – we’ve still…
This Week In TV: Oprah to Resign in 2011, World to End Shortly Thereafter
The sun’s back out, I’m ready for turkey, and I can’t believe I sold my DeLorean to Mr. T. This was the week in TV Land: • So, Oprah resigned, but not really, or something. Just to make sure we all have time to prepare our families for the ritualistic…
Coogs Roll Easily, Still Have Title Shot
According to Houston Cougars head coach Kevin Sumlin, his team has yet to play a perfect game. Saturday, the Cougars defeated the Memphis Tigers 55-14 in what was easily their most dominating performance of the season.So, coach, was this game perfect?”Now looking at it, it probably is as good an…
Where Are We Eating?
Last week’s version of Where Are We Eating? proved so popular that we’re going to continue the same format (albeit condensed) from now on. Can you figure out where we’re eating this week by the dish below? Better yet, do you know what we’re eating? Leave your best guess in the comments…
Turning the Screw: Slim Thug, KRS-One, Robin Thicke, B.o.B., The Renaldo The Ensemble, Joe Budden, Slaughterhouse, Mary J., Scarface & Tupac, etc.
Welcome back to Turning the Screw, Rocks Off’s weekly rap post. It probably won’t rhyme, at least most of the time. E-mail tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Thanks, homies. Single of the Week: “Thug,” Slim Thug Wire To Wire KRS-One is going to be helping out the homeless on Thanksgiving. What’s the…
Texas Traveler: Holy City
Traveling for the holidays? If you’ll be near Wichita Falls you should consider crossing the border to the north to explore the village of extraordinary weirdness known as The Holy City, near Lawton, Oklahoma. Nestled in the measly foothills of the Wichita Mountains, the Holy City began as the site…
La Plus Ca Change At BARC
People who aren’t fans of dogs accidentally strangling themselves with their leashes aren’t going to like this story: On Wednesday, a dog at the Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care died after, as previously mentioned, it got caught up in its leash while a staff member cleaned its cage.Elena Marks of the…
This Week In Deliciousness
Welcome back to the weekly round-up here at Eating Our Words, where we’re now voting Republican, because they’re the only ones fascist enough to pass this “Everyone Must Now Put Grape-Nuts in Their Yogurt” legislation we’ve drafted. It’s something we feel very strongly about. Greenway Barista started the week off…
Last Call For Art: Mack The Knife, French Film And Invisible Billboards
Get ready for the closing curtain of Rice University’s production of Threepenny Opera. The grand story by Bertold Brecht and Kurt Weill is being touted as “a musical of murder, mayhem, and matrimony!” Meant to satirize traditional opera while creating an new kind of musical theater, Threepenny is set in…
Another Visit To Past Turkeys of the Year
Do you remember The Alamo? Of course you don’t. It was a terrible movie.But boy, did it get a lot of hype here in Texas. Papers did stories, Texas Monthly gave it a cover, and the American public gave it the finger.Which led to its inclusion as a 2004 Turkey…
Openings and Closings
November has been a good month for Houston restaurants so far, with notably few closings. Among them in the past week were two casualties of Spanish cuisine: Tio Pepe (5213 Cedar) in Bellaire and the adjoining Garnaxas Tapas Bar. In better news, a spate of openings around the city –…
Coma White: A Sampling of Songs About the JFK Assassination
Warning: Some of these videos contain very graphic images. Anyone who knows Rocks Off, even in passing, knows of his fierce JFK assassination obsession. The theories, the scientific data, the literature and the various opinions shooting through the Internet with a lightning-fast velocity are all like catnip to us. We…
Highland Village Farmers Market Thanksgiving
For the down-to-earth and/or most ambitious of us, Olde World Farms is offering a limited supply of free range turkeys at the Highland Village Farmers Market this Saturday. It’s part of a huge push on the market’s part to capture your T-Day dollars. Stone Cloud Farms has fresh herbs and Meyer…
Houston 101: Sig Byrd, Houston’s King of True-Life Noir
Of all the columnists in the history of Houston journalism, Sigman Byrd was easily the darkest and the most literary. From the late 1940s to the early ’60s, Byrd wrote a column called The Stroller for the old daily Houston Press and later, briefly for the Chronicle. He always much…
Upcoming Events
Although the Saturday tours at the brewery are still on hold for now, you can still get your fix of walking and beer with the Saint Arnold Pub Crawl tonight starting at 6 p.m. As a special bonus, there will be limited-edition Christmas Ale on tap. The crawl will take…
Inquiring Minds: Elizabeth Cook on Rodney Crowell, Florida Folk and “Apron Strings”
Most mornings, Rocks Off wakes up to Elizabeth Cook’s country-as-cornbread drawl on her Outlaw Country satellite-radio program, “Apron Strings” (Sirius 63, XM 13, 5-9 a.m. Mondays). On her 2007 LP Balls – produced by the Houston Kid himself, Rodney Crowell – Cook was as frank and charming on songs like…
Five Signs You’re Suffering From Internet Burnout
It happens to the best of us. One minute, you’re singing its praises, zealously licking some of its naughty bits not otherwise visible to the sun, offering up your most personal information like free fellatio, and spreading your virtual legs, letting it have its way with you. And sickeningly, to…
Health Department Roundup: Dirty Margarita Edition
A spotless Tex-Mex restaurant is an eerie sight. Arguably, things like carnitas and cold drinks are served best with a little grit, but this week the Health Department report – more frequently than usual – seems to argue otherwise. (In a completely unrelated note, don’t Google “Dirty Margarita” if you…
Inquiring Minds: Deer Tick’s Front Man Goes for That Chased-by-Alligators Sound
Providence, R.I., band Deer Tick may hail from “Up North” but their sound is purely steeped in grungey folk and rockabilly yelp. They, in fact, hear this description so much that the band has started to rebel against it by in fact upping the dosage on their new More Fuel…
More Ugly Trouble For That Doctor From The Wholesome TV Ads
Houston’s wackiest, silliest married couple is at it again: Last Sunday night, Rachel Brown, wife of cocaine-enthusiast and medical-license-losing former surgeon Michael Brown (star of local television ads featuring his kids) called 911 because, per the offense report, “her husband is trying to kill her and her family.” Those ku-raaazy…
Mini Thanksgiving
If you don’t have to entertain an entire family for Thanksgiving dinner this year but still want to have a feast, here’s the recipe for you. This is all you need to make a mini-Thanksgiving dinner for up to four folks. Okay, our recipe is not exactly turkey but it…
Three Bassoons Walk Into a Bar…: The Near-Classical “Noncert” at Under the Volcano
Under the Volcano does not feel like Under the Volcano. The TVs are off, so no more NBA on ESPN. Hayes Carll’s Trouble In Mind has come and gone – in its entirety – on the jukebox, taking its bad livers, broken hearts and drunken poet’s dreams with it… mostly…
Game Time: Rating The Smack Of Mark Mangino
Less than two years removed from taking home the Bear Bryant Award which goes to college football’s top head coach, Kansas coach Mark Mangino’s mouth is getting him in trouble. No, I’m not talking about the fifth serving of cheesecake he may or may not have had (ok, DID have)…
Divine on the Line: Bottling Saint Arnold’s Divine Reserve #9
Last week, we trekked out to the old Saint Arnold brewery to watch as Phil Dagger and the rest of the line crew bottled the limited-run Divine Reserve #9, which will hit store shelves on December 1. (Oh, and we sampled a little. Just a little. Don’t worry; we left…
Rider Agrees: Get Those Homeless Off The Light Rail!!
Earlier this month we wrote about how a Metro vice-president blatantly told some citizens that he considered part of his job to be keeping those nasty homeless people off the light rail. Let them take the bus, he more or less said; the light rail is for winners.He has at…
Friday Night Noise: Dangerous Live Tracks from Richard Ramirez and Dead Machines
Richard Ramirez, “Removal Off…(Live)” Now this is the sort of noise that plasters a big dumb ‘ol smile on Friday Night Noise’s normally dour mug. How can you hate this sort of stuff, this all-over-the-place, sliding-around-in-oil roar where the crud flies here and there with absolutely no strategy whatsoever, where…
Bartender Chat: Scott Fix of Maple Leaf Pub
Hockey fans, look no further. You’ve found him. The man who will bring you cold beer and snacks during the Stanley Cup playoffs. No, he’s not God. He is Scott Fix, the bartender at the Maple Leaf Pub (514 Elgin Street). Fix has been bartending for 15 years, two-and-a-half of…
Texas Monthly Gives A Big Ol’ Slobberin’ Kiss To Bill White
The newest edition of Texas Monthly has a lengthy profile of candidate (for something) Bill White, erstwhile mayor of Houston.The first few grafs give the flavor: by S.C. Gwynne Mayor Bill is on the move. Strapped into the passenger seat of an unmarked Lincoln Town Car, cell phone stuck firmly…
The Music of True Blood, Episode 1.6: Cobra Verde Helps Sookie “Play With Fire”
Alan Ball was known for his masterful use of music in Six Feet Under. He’s lost none of his touch when it comes to his current HBO series, True Blood – which happens to be set in the Louisiana swamps, not terribly far from Houston. With Season 2 just completed,…
Recipe: Chef Johann Schuster’s Ceviche
Chef Johann Schuster, of Charivari Restaurant in Midtown, tossed together three bowls of a fine ceviche at last weekend’s Houston Peruvian Festival. The keys to a good ceviche, Schuster says, are fresh fish and sharp knives. But chewing raw fish is a bit more pleasant if there’s, you know, other…
The Week In Photos
Each week, we cull the most interesting photos from the Houston Press Flickr pool for your viewing pleasure here. Want to see your photographry featured on the blog? Jump into the pool and start submitting. For more information on any of the pictures, including photographer and subject, simply click on…
Five Spot: Inside E.S.G.’s Everyday Street Gangsta
Welcome back to Five Spot. Every Friday, we’ll examine a recent bit of music news and, sometimes awkwardly, tie it to a bit of Houston rap. It’s five videos and occasional cussing. Send tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. After you interview somebody in preparation for writing something about them, there are always…
The Office: The Slovenly Joys of Wastefulness
Last night’s The Office was great for one thing: Jim’s complete pwnage of Ryan. I mean, it was an emotional teabagging. B.J. Novak is a hilarious writer and actor who’s got a gift at making Ryan a complete douche, and it was great to see Jim get the better of…
Thanksgiving Recipe: Cranberry Yogurt Ice Cream
Whenever I buy fresh cranberries to make cranberry sauce, I end up with too many of them. They aren’t cheap, and they usually go to waste in my refrigerator. If you have ever popped a fresh cranberry in your mouth, you know why nobody eats them raw. If you have…
Title Dreams Are Likely Gone, But Coogs Try To Regroup
Nobody needs to tell the Houston Cougars that they messed up last Saturday. They’re well aware of that fact on their own.But they’re now trying to forget about what happened last week while they attempt to do the most important thing in the world: concentrate on Saturday’s game against Memphis.”All…
He Said She Said: Songs That Remind Us of Our Exes, Part 2
Oh lord. This could get ugly. Sorry, mom. When it comes to – ahem – unresolved issues in a relationship, almost nothing is better to help us commiserate, haterate and self-medicate than music. She Said sometimes likes to image what the soundtrack of her life would look like. The songs…
Five Ways To Sex Up Your Thanksgiving
Is there a less sexy holiday than Thanksgiving? Sure, Memorial Day can be a downer, what with all the remembering the heroic dearly departed. And Columbus Day gets into all that stuff about Europeans spreading STDs like a rogue fraternity with a big-time roofie pipeline.But Thanksgiving? Really not much to…
Is It Still Thanksgiving Without the Turkey?
Yesterday, we offered up a selection of meatless options for Thanksgiving and those vegetarians in your life. Truth be told, we’re perfectly happy not having turkey — or any meat at all, for that matter — at Thanksgiving. We’ve eaten plenty of delicious Thanksgiving spreads that featured a breathtaking salt-domed salmon…
The Proper Methods of Mixing a Musical Anger-Release Cocktail
One of the typical byproducts of getting older is that, by and large, you don’t tend to get as angry anymore. Not necessarily the “If you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention” social-awareness type of anger, but the hard-edged, passionate type of anger which seems to be a prerequisite of…
Twilight Saga: New Moon: Mopery Abounds
This review by Village Voice Media’s Ella Taylor came in too late for our print edition, but we don’t want you making any fang-film decisions with insufficient knowledge. So here it is:Moping at the MoonToo much angst, not enough saga in the wholesome Twilight 2By Ella TaylorBella: I’m coming.Edward: I…
Radnofsky’s Claim About Texas Marriages Is Quite A Stretch
Houston lawyer Barbara Ann Radnofsky, who plans to challenge Greg Abbott as a Democratic candidate in next year’s Attorney General race, must feel that the spotlight isn’t shining bright enough from her speaking gig at tonight’s Tarrant County Young Democrats Gubernatorial Forum at Texas Christian University. Or maybe she wanted…
For World Toilet Day, the Most Creative Lyrical Uses of the S-Word
According to an email Rocks Off received from none other than the World Toilet Organization, today is World Toilet Day. We’re told it’s an “internationally recognized” occasion for drawing attention to the plight of the 2.5 billion people on the planet who lack proper facilities. To this end (heh), they’re…
Catfish at Wunsche Bros. Cafe
Built in 1902 in Old Town Spring as a hotel and saloon for railroad employees, today Wunsche Bros. Café stands emasculated by its current surroundings but holds strong to its heritage. The interior of Wunsche Bros. is still filled with hints of manlier times – of honor bars and prohibition…
$13 at Raia’s Italian Market
Where: Raia’s Italian Market, 4500 Washington Avenue, 713-861-1042, www.raiasitalianmarket.com. What $13 gets you: We’d been driving by Raia’s Italian Market for a while, always meaning to stop but never quite getting there. The steady stream of customers should have been a clue, but silly us, we always kept on driving…
“Buddha Bubba”: Billy Gibbons and Bill Narum’s Fellow Artists Comment on the ZZ Top Graphic Designer’s Passing
When Rocks Off learned that Texas countercultural icon and longtime ZZ Top graphic designer Bill Narum passed away Wednesday night, one of the first things we did was reach out to the ZZ camp for a statement. The Lil’ Ol’ Band from Tejas’ publicist just got back to us with…
Food Fight: Battle Masala Dosai
After last week’s Battle Grilled Cheese, we received a gentle prod from one of our readers and favorite local food mavens, Dr. Ricky: “I think there need to be more creative choices for the food battles. Down to grilled cheese sandwiches?” It was with a heavy sigh and a heavy…
KBR Rape Victim’s Arbitration Award Not So Final Yet
Just when it looked as if the legal battle between former KBR contractor Tracy Barker and Halliburton, which used to own KBR, was about to come to a multi-million dollar conclusion, filings made today in the rape case seem to indicate there is still some ways to go until it…
Lonesome Onry and Mean: Remembering Doug Sahm – 10 Years Gone Already?
“You just can’t live in Texas if you don’t have a lot of soul” – Doug Sahm, “At the Crossroads” If the Texas music scene ever had a soul, it belonged to Doug Sahm, the leader of the Sir Douglas Quintet who passed away ten years ago Wednesday. It didn’t…
Christmas at Central Market
We had the pleasure of sampling the holiday goods on offer at Central Market this week, both those scattered in festive packaging throughout the store and those behind counters. General Manager Phil Myers seemed most proud of the wares he ordered for the store during a culinary excursion to Italy…
Game Time: The 10 Greatest Sopranos Episodes Of All Time
The Sopranos is the greatest television show of all time. I know that sentence right there will be enough to start plenty of discussion, tweets, and emails, both in support of and in disagreement with that statement.It’s funny, with sports expansion breeds mediocrity. The more teams that get added to…
He Said She Said: Songs That Remind Us of Our Exes
One thing that struck He Said while we were making this list was the lack of metal and/or punk rock associated with the women in our past. It’s kind of odd that someone so dirty and haggard never dated anyone with a Crass patch on her denim jacket or Misfits…
Texans Getting Ready For Christmas Shopping Say “What Recession?”
If you’re a Texan, you’re getting ready to blow the budget this Christmas because, apparently, why the hell not?The 24th annual holiday survey by financial firm Deloitte says (not in so many words, of course) that Texans are ignoring every piece of news available about current economic conditions. Fears about…
Happy Hour Scene: So Vino
Wednesday means only one thing — wine happy hours. By the time midweek rolls around, we need wine, and we need happy. Unfortunately, happy hour is not so happy at So Vino (507 Westheimer). When we walked in, it was empty and stayed that way. Our guess is that the…
John Culberson Mans The Barricades For Michael Savage
U.S. Rep. John Culberson has a new cause — he has become perhaps the world’s biggest cheerleader for Michael Savage, the hateful nutjob radio host (Proudly presented here by KPRC!!) who makes Sean Hannity seem like a deep, reasoned thinker.What’s Savage’s radio show about? When he’s not making jokes about…
R.I.P. Bill Narum, KLOL Co-Founder, Leading Texas Counterculture Artist and ZZ Top Stage Designer
Bill Narum, a key figure in Houston’s counterculture in the late 1960s and early ’70s, passed away Wednesday night at his home in Austin. The cause of death was an “apparent heart attack or something that took him quickly while sitting in his studio at the art table in his…
Enter the Dragon
When we pulled up to Hong Kong Chef (5112 Bissonnet St.), we felt like we were in a kung fu movie. As we entered the doors, which were decorated with Chinese symbols and a long dragon, it became clear this place is serious about its fast Chinese food. Yes, it…
25 Things About The Texans-Titans Monday Night Match-Up
For the second week in a row, it’s homecoming week on Monday Night Football. This past Monday, it was the Baltimore Ravens returning to the place from which they came, Cleveland, to play the Browns. This coming Monday, the Tennessee Titans are returning to Houston to take on the Texans.With…
Bayou Body Count: A Stench At The Airport
George Bush Intercontinental Airport may not be on the same level as mythic Mafioso burial grounds such as JFK in New York or the airport in Newark, N.J., but it still finds a stiff every once in a while.Last week, airport police got a call about a terrible stench coming…
Thanksgiving Recipe: Pork Chops in Apple Butter Mole
Calvin Trillin has lobbied to replace the Thanksgiving turkey with spaghetti carbonara –something to do with Columbus being Italian, I think. In the Tex-Mex Cookbook, I pointed out that Juan de Onate and his Mexican pioneers held a Tex-Mex thanksgiving in El Paso decades before the Pilgrims ran into Plymouth…
The H-Town Countdown, No. 10: OG Style’s I Know How to Play ‘Em!
Roughly 84,000 rap albums have been released in Houston since 1989. We’re counting down the 25 best of all time every Thursday. Got a problem with the list? Shove it. Just kidding. Friendship. Email it to sheaserrano@gmail.com. OG Style I Know How to Play ‘Em! (Rap-A-Lot/Priority, 1987) There are any…
Glee: The Ballad of Will and Rachel
Last night’s Glee, “Ballad,” was pretty strong, if a little too full of awkward-in-a-bad-way moments. The musical numbers were entertaining and plot-driven, the jokes were on, the narration was ramped back up to Election levels, and the ep’s main hook — all the glee kids are randomly paired up to…
New Texas Vanity Plates While U Wait
When the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles opened November 1, we had no idea that it would be the greatest new state agency in memory.”What’s so great about the DMV, Hair Balls?” you might ask. We’re glad you did.See, the DMV has partnered with www.myplates.com to make it easier and…
$7 at Chiloso’s Taco House
Where: Chiloso’s Taco House, 701 E. 20th St., 713-868-2273What $7 gets you: A quick lunch of tacos, beans and rice and a big-ass bottle of Coca-Cola. Sometimes the weather is so nice in Houston that the best meal is one enjoyed on an outdoor patio. A personal favorite is Bubba’s…
Never Mind Twilight, Here Are the Best Werewolf and Vampire Music Videos
Werewolves and vampires have been at each others’ throats long before Twilight: New Moon (opening tomorrow) had them making pouty duck-faces at one another. Thankfully, the tradition of the vampire and the werewolf in the art of the music video is a much richer one than the antics of the…
Pop Rocks: Sell Me On New Moon
I’m going to step away from the sarcasm for a minute and present you with an honest overture that will hopefully foster understanding and goodwill between yours truly and certain segments of the Hair Balls readership. To wit: can somebody — anybody — tell me what tell me what the…
“Vicious Venue”
It’s nature vs. outdated technology in “Vicious Venue,” in which artist Shawn Smith sics pixilated vulture sculptures on a 1940s-era office. “[They’re] eating the obsolete technology, like the typewriter and the rotary phone,” says Smith. By putting these creatures in an outdated setting, the artist is commenting on outgoing and…
Twilight/New Moon
There’s going to be plenty bloodlust at today’s Twilight/New Moon double feature. Fans of the teenage vamp flicks can see a repeat of Twilight at 9 p.m. and then stay in their seats for the midnight showing of New Moon. The back-to-back screening will undoubtedly make Bella and Edward devotees…
PechaKucha: Houston
PechaKucha: Houston is perfect for those who love to hear from artists…just not for more than, um, 400 seconds. The Japanese-derived event (the name translates to “chitchat” in English) gives architects and designers a chance to discuss their latest work, but limits them to only 20 images and 20 seconds…
Panto Sleeping Beauty
Stages Repertory Theatre is mounting a slightly different holiday show this year, Panto Sleeping Beauty. “Last season, Panto Cinderella was a great success,” says Eva Laporte, resource development manager for the company. “It was such a treat that we decided to do Sleeping Beauty this year. [We] were searching for…
Via Colori¨ Houston 2009
The art will hit the asphalt in Sam Houston Park when more than 200 artists create colossal masterworks on the ground for Via Colori¨ Houston 2009. Returning to the street-painting festival is artist Michael Ann-Belin. “I’m looking forward to creating my art,” she says, “and also seeing the work of…
Borbetomagus
How much noise do you think two saxophonists and a guitarist can make? Okay, now imagine ten times that. Imagine a screeching ululating fuzzed-out roar that reduces your teeth to shards and your internal organs to pulsing red mush. That’s the sound of Borbetomagus. That, and much more. An upstate…
Electric Purgatory: The Fate of the Black Rocker
Director Raymond Gayle will be in attendance during a screening of his documentary film Electric Purgatory: The Fate of the Black Rocker. In making the film, Gayle traveled across the country for a year speaking to black rockers such as Fishbone, Cody Chesnutt, Vernon Reid and Jimi Hazel. He also…
“Stenciling Power”
Mormonism and South American leftist politics don’t exactly mix like chocolate and peanut butter, but Rice student Michael Adair-Kriz will bring them together for his multimedia show “Stenciling Power.” The anthropology doctoral candidate – who, as a gay Mormon and former Young Republican, knows something about unorthodox combinations – recently…
StoryCorps Historias
Here’s your chance for your life story to become part of the permanent record at the Library of Congress. StoryCorps Historias, an independent oral history project based in New York, goes around the country inviting everyday people to record their stories via a mobile professional recording booth. This round of…
“Your Bright Future: 12 Contemporary Artists from Korea”
Get a look at the work of creative giants Kimsooja, Bach Yiso and Do Ho Suh in the multimedia exhibit “Your Bright Future: 12 Contemporary Artists from Korea.” The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is the second of only two U.S. stops for this show, the first in almost two…
Hank Stuever: Tinsel: A Search for America’s Christmas Present
According to journalist and author Hank Stuever, Americans spend some half a trillion dollars on Christmas every year, accounting for one-fifth of all shopping purchases in the country. After realizing that Americans of every religious persuasion are annually assaulted for six weeks of what he calls “shopocalypse,” Stuever set out…
Opera (and Ballet) in Cinema: The Nutcracker
In 2007, the artists of the Mariinsky Ballet mounted a spectacular production of one of the most well-known holiday stories of the last century, The Nutcracker. Choreographed by Kirill Simonov, with sets and costumes by avant-garde Russian artist Mikhail Shemyakin, the production featured Irina Golub as Masha (the Clara character)…
American Graffiti Car Show
For most people, George Lucas’s 1973 American Graffiti was just a movie – a really good movie, to be sure, but just a movie. For a few people, though, it became a way of life; these people enjoy cruising around in restored Mustangs and Camaros with the radio on the…
“Hasta La Basura Se Separa [artcrush]”
The 13 artists of “Hasta La Basura Se Separa [artcrush]” are in the business of resurrection. For the sculpture-centric exhibit, they’ve transformed mostly found or recycled objects from anonymous detritus into meaningful commentary on object identity and border politics. The show was conceived specifically for exhibition at a historical building…
35 rhums
The charismatic, striking-looking Gragoire Colin showed off his glistening torso as a French legionnaire in Claire Denis’s Beau Travail. But he’s practically unrecognizable as Noe, the second lead in Denis’s intimate 35 rhums (2008), part of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s Contemporary World Cinema film series. Noe is a…
Fall Mosaic
Revolve Dance Company’s offering up a bargain – three dance companies for the price of one. The program’s called Fall Mosaic, which makes perfect sense, considering Revolve’s fusion of ballet, jazz and even hip-hop. The company is the professional arm of North Harris Performing Arts, and it’s fresh from a…
A Christmas Carol
Masquerade Theatre’s gift to local audiences is the Houston premiere of the Alan Menken/Lynn Ahrens musical version of A Christmas Carol. It’s the same story you already know and love – Scrooge is a bit of a grump and a cheapskate to boot. Ignoring the loving family around him, he…
A Christmas Carol
No matter how many times we see Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, it always has a timely – and much needed – message. (Thanks, Black Friday.) Get your annual reminder about the true meaning of the holidays care of the Alley Theatre. “Dickens’s classic virtually created, in Victorian times, the…
MasterMind Awards
For the second year in a row, the Houston Press is on the prowl for artists, innovators and entrepreneurs who are changing our creative and cultural landscape. And we need your help. If you know of one of these life-changing artistic types, please send in their names and something about…
Honky-Tonk Revival
There’s a new fad taking hold on the hipster-crowded streets of deepest, darkest Montrose. Except this “fad” should be familiar to anyone who grew up in Texas and spent any time at all listening to music, whether the radio or their parents’ record collections. For the past six weeks or…
Jail Misery
On the last day of July, months after quitting his job as a cook on an offshore oil rig, Monte Killian was tooling around the Fourth Ward in his pickup when, police say, they pulled him over and found a rock of crack in his mouth. Forty-five years old, Killian…
Flounder Fish & Chips
During flounder season, I’m always looking for tasty flatfish dishes. I hit the jackpot at Kata Robata, the stellar new Japanese grill and sushi bar on Richmond at Kirby. Listed simply as “fish & chips” on the daily specials menu, the basket of lightly fried flounder fingers and french fries…
Capsule Art Reviews: “A Room of Her Own”, “Howard Sherman: When gorillas shoot pigs”, “Tierney Malone: Third Ward Is My Harlem”
“A Room of Her Own” Group shows of women artists are exceptionally patronizing when the only connection between the works presented is that they were all made by someone with a vagina. That’s the organizing principle behind “A Room of Her Own” at McClain Gallery. The title is pretty awful…
Bullritos
Bullritos is a new concept from Russell Ybarra, owner of Gringo’s Mexican Kitchen. Dish asked Russell about the name. “It’s obviously a play on words, but the bull part of it comes from the fact that…I ran with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain,” Russell said. The newest location (3651 Weslayan,…
Capsule Stage Reviews: The Lighter Side of the Recession, The Nerd, ‘night, Mother, Trey McIntyre Project
The Lighter Side of the Recession Unemployment might be high, but so are the laughs at Radio Music Theatre, whose latest bit of hilarity is called The Lighter Side of the Recession. This handful of sketches, which are loosely connected around the idea of folks doing their best during hard…
Crispy and Crispier
The crispy cashew calamari ($12.50) at Eddie V’s (12848 Queensbury Lane, City Center, 832-200-2380) have layers of crunch. The calamari themselves are lightly battered and then wok-fried and topped with sesame seeds. They’re served on top of Asian noodles that maintain their crispiness for as long as it takes to…
Hair and Healthy Tex-Mex
Dear Mexican, Why oh why do most Mexican women cut their long, black hair after reaching the pivotal age of 40? Not only do they cut it, but they then proceed to cut it short and dye it all shades of the most unnatural hair color for Mexicans: red. My…
David Guetta
There are so many genres and subgenres in electronic music at this point that it can get quite confusing. So if you want to get schooled in what it means to experience some deep, booty-shaking house music, get over to Bar-Rio Friday to see David Guetta play. Although he’s been…
Runaway Sun
There’s a languid viscosity to Runaway Sun’s sound, and it pours out thick and strong on the Houston four-piece’s debut album, The Bridge. Some of that comes from the tendency toward mid-tempo songs, but the real topper is the interplay of Andrew Karnavas’s vocals and Daniel de Luna’s lead guitar…
MIYAKO’S LYCHEE-TINI
When I eat expensive sushi, it’s usually at family dinners honoring special occasions — my little brother coming down from Austin for Mom’s birthday, my little brother getting out of city lockup, my little brother beating that misdemeanor drug charge. (Lesson learned: Don’t bring weed through the downtown Greyhound station…
Hilary York
Former Ginger Man bartender Hilary York has been in Austin for over a decade now and, at least part time, pursuing a music career. She recently released her second album, In the Dark, a follow-up to 2006’s The Moon. The album features some of Austin’s most sophisticated session players like…
Papa Gangsta
There was some construction being done in the front of the house, so maybe someone knocked over a ladder or something, he remembers thinking. He was in the back of the house when he heard the noise. BOOM! BOOM! That’s when a man charged in, wearing a ski mask, pointing…
Neko Case
Whenever alt-country chanteuse Neko Case releases a new record, it’s natural to wonder if the next album will measure up to the nearly flawless body of work that preceded it. There are very few musicians out there who’ve never released a clunker, and for years, Case has been part of…
No Pun Intended
It’s a trap. It’s so clearly a trap that you briefly consider that it might not even be a trap. But it’s a trap. If you open a venue and decide to call it Hearsay (218 Travis), you’re pretty much just baiting every chorus-verse-chorus writer to start an article about…
Down the Rabbit Hole
A little over a year ago, artist Michael Bise wrote an essay for Glasstire.com called “Holy Ghosts.” It’s searchable at the Web site, and I encourage anyone interested in looking at his recent graphite-on-paper drawings currently on display at Moody Gallery to read it. In it he describes his upbringing…
Dwight Yoakam
All Dwight Yoakam’s local fans who have been waiting for him to please, please (baby) come back to Houston can now say “Thank you.” When he came racing out of L.A. in a “Long White Cadillac” in the mid-’80s, the Kentucky-born Yoakam proved you could be a staunch honky-tonk traditionalist…
The Way He Sees It
Raphael Saadiq is a musical soul, which probably explains why he has so much. The Oakland native, born Raphael Wiggins, is probably best known for his time in one of the biggest R&B bands of the late ’80s and early ’90s, Tony! Toni! Toné!, which hit with songs like “Little…
Borbetomagus
How much noise do you think two saxophonists and a guitarist can make? Okay, now imagine ten times that. Imagine a screeching, ululating, fuzzed-out roar that reduces your teeth to shards and your internal organs to pulsing red mush. That’s the sound of Borbetomagus. That, and much more. An upstate…
The Tug of War
As temperatures dip into the low 80s, providing a brief respite from the searing September, a crowd of people enter the side entrance of the Jewish Community Center in North Dallas. Perhaps the pleasant afternoon weather is bashert, Yiddish for “meant to be,” as the local Republican Jewish Coalition, which…
Was Blind But Now I See
Another poor, massive, uneducated African-American teenager lumbers onto screens this month, two weeks after Precious and obviously timed as a pre-Thanksgiving-dinner lesson in the Golden Rule. But unlike the howling rage of Claireece Precious Jones, The Blind Side’s Michael “Big Mike” Oher (Quinton Aaron) is mute, docile and ever-grateful to…
Saying Goodbye: A serial killer’s victim is finally buried and Metro kicks the homeless off the light rail.
Crime 36 Years On, a Victim Buried Unknown teen killed by The Candy man put to rest By Richard Connelly Just a couple of weeks ago we went on a Houston 101 nostalgia trip about Houston’s most notorious mass murderer, Dean Corll. Now into our e-mail-box comes word that one…
