Internet Scam from DNS Services Sends Solicitation That Looks Like an Invoice
I’ve worked as a web developer for 15 years and I’ve seen a lot of scams related to domain names. At least a couple times a month, one of my clients will forward an e-mail to me with some sort of “request to verify domain name” or “domain name registry”…
Ethiopian Political Head-Butting in Southwest Houston Spawns Lawsuit, Criminal Charge
An Ethiopian-American man handing out flyers for a memorial service for Ethiopia’s recently deceased prime minister, Meles Zenawi, claims he was assaulted by a countryman who reviled the repressive leader, according to criminal and civil court documents. The victim and plaintiff, Tesfai Tsadik, is suing both Wossenu Gizaw, the alleged…
Shelby Kibodeaux and Amy Walther: “Animal Rescuers” Lie About Finding a Home for a Dog Who’s Already Dead
Courtesy Lydia CaldwellYou know what wouldn’t suck? If this little dude were still alive.This is a story about a puppy who was needlessly euthanized by people who claim to be big animal rescuers in Houston, who appear to have perpetrated a lie, and who were dumb enough to put the…
Shining Some Light on Sparrow Bar + Kitchen
While I was quick to name Sparrow Bar + Cookshop — the revamped restaurant from chef Monica Pope and the subject of this week’s cafe review — as the No. 1 restaurant in Midtown a few weeks ago, it was not without some reservations. Namely, Sparrow leaves its customers in…
Want HOUSTON as Your Custom License Plate? Prepare to Pony Up
The state of Texas over the past few years has created all kinds of business, school, sports team and charity-themed license plates. I even suggested some businesses that might consider nabbing a plate of their own awhile back. But what if you want to take your personalized plate even further?…
Sweet Semantics: Jam vs. Jelly vs. Preserves
A few weeks ago I made the mistake of dismissing a friend’s insistence on referring to that chicken broth-flavored bread crumb holiday favorite as “dressing.” “Stuffing, dressing, same thing. Regional synonyms,” I said, carelessly. I think her head exploded. Our conversation made me realize that while I don’t much care…
Phil Jackson Words Ring True for Underground Houston Rap
Context: That’s The Fury God doing one of those radio-station freestyles that radio stations like to ask rappers to do. It happened right before he performed at The Box’s recent Los Magnificos Custom Car Show, alongside four other underground acts. Why It’s Important: Because it might maybe possibly be indicative…
Unplugged: As We Become More Connected, We Become More Dependent
One of the new TV shows I’ve watched this season has been Revolution. The show is entertaining enough, but the premise is interesting: What if the entire planet lost the ability to produce electricity? In this world, virtually everything we rely upon, from computers and cell phones to refrigeration and…
This Week in Food Blogs: Skimping on Samosas and Backing Out of Tips
Eater Houston: What’s a typical shift like for one of the best, most baddest-ass female bartenders in the country? Eater Houston contributor Rachel Brill spends an evening with Yael Vengroff to find out, and quickly discovered that shaking drinks all night only looks like fun: “Yael finally relieved me from…
Poetic Partnership: Bernie Taupin’s Best Lyrics for Elton John
This month marks the 45th anniversary of Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s songwriting partnership. The two signed their first record deal together, with their parents having to co-sign because both men were minors at the time. The partnership has spawned countless songs at this point, and has been one of…
Reality Bites: Extreme Cougar Wives
There are a million reality shows on the naked television. We’re going to watch them all, one at a time. “The heart wants what it wants.” How many terrible acts have been justified by those six words? I don’t doubt there are many cases where true love blooms only after…
Rockets Beat Raptors, Head to Minnesota for Funeral Then OKC for Reunion
The Rockets won one for their coach Tuesday night with a 117-101 victory at home over the Toronto Raptors, but they also climbed back to .500 and continued to demonstrate a cohesiveness born over the past couple weeks, particularly since Coach Kevin McHale left to tend to his ill daughter,…
Le$ Keeps Perfecting Riding Music on The Struggle Continues
The melting pot that is Houston hip-hop comes with so many different ingredients it should be considered musical gumbo. For example, the rugged cool of your favorite street records and that fake bravado you feel when you hear them in a car at maximum levels. You want to know how…
Lightened Comfort Food: Vegetable Lasagna
Last Christmas, my family and I made a warm, hearty lasagna for Christmas Eve. It was delicious, comforting and perfect for the cooler weather outside. You can’t go wrong with a big plate of thick pasta, meaty sauce and creamy ricotta cheese. But there are some vegetarian dishes that are…
New Fletcher Stafford Video Continues to Boggle the Mind
Every time Fletcher Stafford emails me I take a drink because I honestly believe that he is the most benevolently insane musician in the entire city. When the guy who wrote “You Cannot Kill David Arquette” calls you wackalooney, you need to pay attention, understand? Stafford got in touch because…
Is Wine As American As Apple Pie?
The enoblogosphere is reeling today in the wake of a French researcher’s report published this week (and circulated today on the Internets). According to the survey (conducted by FranceAgriMer, an independent agricultural industry observer), the French are now more likely to drink fruit juice than wine at the dinner table…
The Talk of Montauk Lands in Houston
Even before he spent a residency this summer out in Montauk, at the tip of Long Island’s South Fork, Houston artist Shane Tolbert was already drawing comparisons to one of its most famous former residents: Jackson Pollack. The father of the Abstract Expressionist movement could be seen in the splashes…
Aggie Mailbag: “Sean, you are whats (sic) wrong with this country.”
Before I get into this post, in the spirit of having to cater to the lowest common denominator of what is a rightfully proud and mostly sane Aggie fan base, and because it’s about to get a little uncomfortable up in this beeyatch once this post is done, allow me…
With Andrew WK Out, Who Can Bring the Party to the Middle East Now?
Over the weekend, the State Department shocked uptight old white people around the United States by announcing that expert on partying Andrew WK would be bringing the party to Bahrain as a cultural ambassador. In the world we live in, this shouldn’t be all that shocking. President Obama is practically…
Reviews for the Lazy Gamer: Midway Arcade Origins
Game: Midway Arcade Origins Platform: PS3, X-Box 360 Publisher/Developer: Midway/Warner Bros Games Genre: Various (Full game list at end of article) Describe This Game in Three Words: Total Carnage Rocks! Plot Synopsis: 31 games from the classic Midway arcade library are all gathered together for one outing on your seventh…
5 Fast Food “Secret Menu” Items: Sides Edition
Remember the McGangbang? Yeah, we brought it up again — sorry! But it got us thinking: Surely there have to be other “secret menu” items lurking out there, just waiting to be discovered. And because we live in a sick, sick world, there are. So we dug them up for…
Dr. Bernard Z. Albina, Kiddy-Porn Loving, Alleged Child Rapist Orthopedic Surgeon, Gets Ten Years in Federal Prison
A Houston orthopedic surgeon a veteran cop called the most obsessed child molester he’d ever seen has been sentenced to ten years in federal prison after he was found guilty of possessing ten videos and 326 images of child pornography. Bernard Z. Albina was arrested in July of 2009 and…
So This Is 5 Years of Listening to Sunny 99.1’s Christmas?
2008: An Hour in Sunny 99.1’s Holiday Hell Every year, Sunny starts playing non-stop, 24/7 Christmas tunes by the end of November. You can pretty much bet that by the time you hop in the car after Thanksgiving dinner that Perry Como will be riding shotgun with you up to…
100 Creatives 2012: Chuy Benitez, Photographer and Arts Organizer
We first met photographer Chuy Benitez some five years ago when he was participating in a “Race & Class” group show at Project Row Houses with an exhibit of his mural-like panoramic images. After graduating with a degree in photography from Notre Dame in 2005, he came to study digital…
7 Formerly Jinxed Houston Restaurant Locations That Have Reversed the Curse
Late in 2009, Eating…Our Words took a look at the then-top “jinxed locations” in Houston. The compiled addresses had such a long and storied history of failure they made the Astros look like the Yankees. Looking back at the list today, there may be hope for hometown baseball. Of the…
Week 12 Highlights of FFL (Fan Fighting League): Giant-On-Packer Violence Zapruder Analysis
As I take a break from the Aggies inundating my email inbox and Twitter timeline on the heels of my playful Johnny Manziel teleconference recap on Monday, let’s take a hard left turn and hit on a sport that we haven’t discussed here in quite some time — Fan Fighting!…
Welcome Back: 5 “Retired” Artists Who Have Returned
Retirements in everyday life are often final, rewarding caps to distinguished careers so that the retirees can pursue lifelong hobbies and ambitions. Alternatively, they move to Florida and join a country club. In music, however, retirements are often little more than an excuse to sell concert tickets for a “farewell”…
Top 5 Celebrity Charity Hospital Visits
You may not know it by the tone of many of the articles I’ve written on here, but I am an inherently optimistic person. I really am. No matter how many times I am disappointed in the results of humanity’s action, fate is usually kind enough to present me with…
Off to a Choppy Start: Batanga Takes Down the Trees on Its Patio
The abandoned restaurant near the corner of Travis and Congress was known for two things until recently: (1) Being completely and depressingly empty since Wasabi vacated the spot several years ago and (2) having one of the most beautiful patios downtown, with a grassy area covered by a quartet of…
Bank Security Can Put a Crimp in Your Holiday Travel Plans
If you haven’t noticed, many large banking institutions have stepped up their security over the past few years and it’s gotten even tighter for the holidays. While this additional security is mostly a good thing — no one wants their bank accounts emptied right before Christmas — it can be…
Six Ways Comcast and AT&T Have Both Sucked for Me
For the past three years, I’ve had AT&T’s U-verse service for Internet and cable television. I also have an iPhone and use AT&T for my cell service (more on why in a moment). Recently, my fiancée and I got a place together, which is great. But, this is where things…
Upcoming: Testament, Tame Impala, Cooder Graw, Not In The Face, Silverstein, John Hiatt, Etc.
American Fangs: With Southern Backtones, Deep Cuts., Fri., Dec. 14, 8 p.m., $10/$11. Fitzgerald’s, 2706 White Oak, Houston. Amplified Heat: Fri., Dec. 21, 8 p.m., $7. Mango’s, 403 Westheimer Road, Houston. Another Run: With Square & Compass, Cache The Ghost., Sun., Dec. 2, 10 p.m., $10. Scout Bar, 18307 Egret…
A Very Knitted Christmas: 15 Bizarre Handmade Christmas Ornaments on Etsy
If you are looking for some new and interesting ornaments to decorate your tree this year, Etsy can be a good place to look. The home of all things crafty on the Internet, there are thousands of options for funky, arty, quirky and even traditional adornments for your tree. But,…
Newman’s Own Skillet Meal a Saucy Take on Fettuccini
Newman’s Own Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo…where do I start? This was an item that caught my eye at the grocery store several weeks ago, one that I tossed into the cart almost as an afterthought. It’s the kind of item I might heat up when I’m on my own for dinner,…
(UPDATED: With Jones’ Quasi-Apology) Two and A Half Men and the Lord: Ashton Kutcher and Miley Cyrus Drive Angus T. Jones to Jesus?
Welcome to the party, Angus T. Jones. The farting cherub who grew up in front of our eyes over how ever many seasons of Two and A Half Men is now denouncing his cash cow as “filth” of the highest order now that he goes to church. Well, guess what,…
Rosemary Diaz: Still Missing After 22 Years
Twenty-two years, and twenty-two minutes: those are the time periods that figure big in the unsolved missing persons case of Rosemary Diaz. On November 24, 1990, the 15-year-old El Campo High School honors student simply vanished from her job at a Danevang (Wharton County) convenience store, according to Shannon Crabtree’s…
Build-A-Bar: Madeira, An Anachronistic Spirit
Tackling a subject like Madeira can be a tall order; it’s a broad category more than it is a specific tipple, with examples ranging wildly in flavor and consistency. From the slightly brisk, semi-dry Sercial to the dark (in color and in flavor), viscous Bual and beyond, picking up a…
Andrea Bocelli’s Career Highlights, Singing with Celine Dion and…Edith Piaf?
“I could not live without music,” Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli tells us via e-mail while on tour. “Singing is always a joy. Even now, after 20 years of career and with graying hair, I am never tired of singing.” One of the most popular classical crossover singers performing today (his…
2012’s Most-Searched Musicians: Good Grief, People
Tuesday morning, Microsoft’s search decision engine bing.com released its list of 2012’s most-searched names in a host of categories, from celebrity couples and Olympians to tech and sports stars. The one we care about is, of course, musicians. After getting a glance at the list, we don’t know why. According…
Uchi Auctioning Off Iconic Felix Mexican Restaurant Sign for Charity
“What happened to the old Felix sign when Uchi moved in?” This is the question I was asked on a near daily basis when Tyson Cole’s chic Austin import opened this past January in the old building which housed Felix Mexican Restaurant for over 60 years. “Can you find out…
Today’s DVDs & Blu-rays: Lawless
There’s a surprise in John Hillcoat’s period piece Lawless: Shia LaBeouf. Starring as Jack, the youngest of the three Bondurant brothers who run moonshine in a small town in Virginia during Prohibition, LaBeouf steals the show, one scene at a time. The film is based on the true story as…
Hot and Cold: The Seesaw Autumn Continues, but Little Rain in Sight
If you want to find a constant climate, be it warm or cold, you probably should look somewhere other than Houston, Texas — unless it is August. From October through the early summer months, the Bayou City is nothing if not mercurial (literally and metaphorically). As the temperatures and humidity…
Jerry Lee Lewis & the 10 Raddest Musician Arrests of All Time
Thirty-six years ago this week, security at Graceland, Elvis Presley’s Memphis manse, called the police to come deal with an unwanted visitor. A drunk, gun-waving lunatic in a brand-new, white Lincoln Continental was blocking the compound’s drive and causing a hell of a ruckus at three in the morning. That…
The Beauty’s in the Clean Simplicity at Hiram Butler Gallery
There’s a joke the curator Walter Hopps once told about Hiram Butler Gallery that goes something like this (and I’m horribly paraphrasing): If there were three items in the gallery, are you afraid it would be too cluttered? It’s funny because the gallery has a penchant for sparse, minimalist shows…
Our Asian Thanksgiving Experiment: The Results Are In!
The Challenge: A non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner. The Reasoning: After my husband eats one leftover turkey sandwich and two bowls of turkey soup, I am solely responsible for consuming the remaining eight-to-12 pounds of turkey. And I just couldn’t do it again this year. The Strategy: Choose a recipe from our…
“Almost Homeless” Montrose Man Is Spotless Impressionist of King of the Hill Characters and the Crocodile Hunter
The Friday before Thanksgiving, local filmmaker Mike James was shooting the final scenes of his romance/psychodrama Web series Love, Why Don’t You Stay when filming was interrupted by “Timothy,” who is also known as R.E.D.D., which means Real Every Damn Day. As you can see in the video below, there…
Reviews for the Lazy Gamer: Hitman: Absolution
Game: Hitman: Absolution Platform: PS3, Xbox 360, PC Publisher/Developer: IO Interactive/Square Enix Genre: Stealth action-adventure Describe This Game in Three Words: Dark as hell Plot Synopsis: Hitman Agent 47 is sent on assignment to track down his former handler, who has gone rogue. When he catches up with her, he…
Chef Chat, Part 3: Maurizio Ferrarese of Quattro and His Traditional Italian Food
Maurizio Ferrarese Quattro at the Four Seasons 1300 Lamar St. Tel: 713-276-4700 http://www.fourseasons.com This is Part 3 of a three-part Chef Chat series. If you missed the previous posts, read Part 1 here and Part 2 here. This week, we’ve been chatting with Chef Maurizio Ferrarese, executive chef of Quattro…
Jimi Hendrix at 70: What Did We Miss?
Most everyone in the 27 Club have fanciful alternate lives in the minds of fans, where they didn’t die at such a stupidly young ages, and they all “grew up” to be breathing interesting, road-tested people in the 21st century. Rewind: R.I.P.: Remembering The 27 Club — Jimi, Jim, Janis,…
Pop Rocks: Let’s Have A War (On Men)
War, as I once heard somewhere, is good for absolutely nothing. Nevertheless, it appears we’ve been wasting valuable time and resources hunting down enemies abroad when our most dangerous threat is right here at home: The battle of the sexes is alive and well. According to Pew Research Center, the…
Thanksgiving Domestic Violence: A Tale of Two H-Town November Weekends
Thanksgiving is all about long hours in hot kitchens, feuding family members (and in-laws) cooped up together, perhaps a surplus of alcohol, and a preponderance of testosterone coming from the football games on TV. Taken together, it seems like it could be a recipe for a side order of domestic…
The Doors Smoke the Bowl
The Doors: Live at the Bowl ’68 Eagle Rock, $14.98, 135 minutes Long valued by many Doors aficionados as the peak representation of their powers as a live act, this storied show at the Hollywood Bowl makes its DVD debut in fully restored sound and vision glory. Befitting its time,…
The Eating…Our Words 100: James DeLeon, Certified Sommelier and Craft Beer Nut at Kroger
James DeLeon is one of the only people I’ve ever met for an interview who began to interview me before I could even get a single introductory question going. It was my own fault, though, as I admitted to being a craft beer fan upon meeting DeLeon, a certified sommelier…
Francisco “Frankie” Vela, 22, Shot August 11, Bayou Body Count No. 207
Francisco “Frankie” Vela, 22, was shot to death at Norma’s Plaza Apartments at 7526 Martin Luther King Blvd. on August 11, and police are struggling to find suspects. We were unaware of the shooting at the time, but have since been alerted by the victim’s mother-in-law. Witnesses heard two gunshots…
The Rocks Off 100: Madalyn Sklar of GoGirlsMusic.com
Welcome to the Rocks Off 100, our portrait gallery of the most compelling profiles and personalities in the far-flung Houston music community — a lot more than just musicians, but of course they’re in there too. Who? Madalyn Sklar is the founder of GoGirlsMusic.com, an international organization specializing in advancement…
Great Prices on Narciso Rodriguez for Kohl’s — Act Fast!
Somehow the Narciso Rodriguez for Kohl’s Collection has flown largely under the radar. Where are the huge, full-page ads and edgy commercials a la Missoni for Target? Perhaps it’s that Kohl’s doesn’t have quite the same cachet (!?) as Target, or maybe they were just trying to avoid the kind…
Stuck in the Past at Tony Mandola’s
There are times when past-era cooking should be revered. Old recipes represent history, a moment in time. Some have held up well because they’re delicious. I submit that my grandmother’s old-fashioned fudge and divinity were works of art (and damn hard to make in Houston’s humidity). Not all that is…
Johnny “Football” Manziel Can Speak! Texas A&M QB Talks to the Media
Throughout the 2012 football season, with the scintillating wins and the crazy improvised plays piling up, the question had been frequently asked by Texas A&M fans, college football junkies, and media alike — “Is there anything Johnny Manziel can’t do?” Well, up until Monday afternoon, the one thing that Aggie…
Top 10 Restaurants in Upper Kirby
With the construction three new Carrabba’s family restaurants along Kirby and the continued success of West Ave — the mixed use shopping/living/dining development on the corner of Kirby and Westheimer — the Upper Kirby district is a stronger dining out destination today than it has been in years. The last…
Larry Hagman’s Hilarious Dallas Outtakes Plus Some Random YouTube Action
This holiday weekend, the TV world lost a treasure as actor Larry Hagman moved on to that big ranch in the sky at the age of 81, due to complications from throat cancer. He was best known as the put-upon Major Nelson on I Dream of Jeannie and, of course,…
UPDATED: 5 Ultra-Rare Demo Tapes for Super-Collectors
UPDATED: The On a Friday auction has ended, and the tapes have now been listed at $50K. Ever been hanging around a venue just after your favorite band has played only to have some scuzzy-looking guy walk up to you and say, “Here, take this, it’s my band’s demo” and…
Houston ISD Doesn’t Make Finalist List for Race to the Top and All That Money
Houston ISD received discouraging news today as the U.S. Department of Education released its list of Race to the Top finalists and Houston wasn’t on it. “We’re disappointed to miss out on this opportunity to win badly needed funding for Houston’s classrooms. We knew the competition would be tough as…
Orange Show Named Most Impressive Thing Built By Obsessive Person
Well la dee da, Houston. The accolades just keep rolling in for our Space City. This time Houston is being noted on Cracked.com (so this is some big business) on their list of the “5 Most Impressive Things Built by One Obsessive Person,” and wouldn’t you guess it, The Orange…
RIP Alexandra “Sasha” McHale, 23, Daughter of Rockets Coach
It goes without saying that no parent should ever have to bury a child. Over the weekend, the coach of the Houston Rockets had to face that horrifying reality. Kevin McHale’s daughter, “Sasha,” died from an illness related to her long battle with lupus, according to reports. She was only…
Still Feeling Disgustingly Full from Thanksgiving? Let Us Help
No matter how much you ate on Thanksgiving and no matter how many leftover turkey sandwiches you made — hell, maybe you made every single amazing-sounding sandwich on Brooke Viggiano’s list of ultimate leftover turkey sandwiches — no disgusting act you committed over the holiday could come close to the…
Terms of Service: Questions for Facebook Users Posting Privacy Notices on Their Walls
Like most days, I scanned through my Facebook feed this morning to see what was happening amongst my friends and relatives. For the most part, it was same ol’, same ol’. There were motivational posters, memes, discussions about working out, complaints about something or another. The usual. But as I…
Saturday Night: ABN Reunion at House of Blues
Trae, Z-Ro House of Blues November 24, 2012 They are big. They are menacing. Their voices are akin to what a Tyrannosaurus Rex may have sounded like before biting you in half. They lurk constantly in the shadows, waiting for the perfect time to strike you down. Parents invoke their…
Petrol Station Celebrates Its 7th Anniversary with a Rare Beer-Filled Fest
Houston craft beer mecca Petrol Station hosted its seventh anniversary party over the weekend on a beautiful, not-too-hot fall Saturday afternoon. Owner Ben Fullelove offered up an enormous selection of rare beers for the event, including North Coast Old Rasputin XII and a Jack Daniel’s barrel-aged Gingerbread Stout from Houston’s…
Five Lessons Learned from the Jenny Johnson vs. Chris Brown Twitter Feud
I know! Being a worthless piece of shit can really age a person. RT @chrisbrown: I look old as fuck! I’m only 23…— Jenny Johnson (@JennyJohnsonHi5) November 25, 2012 You might have been too busy gorging yourself with leftover turkey or trying to avoid your relatives by hiding in the…
666 Park Avenue: Declare Yourself an Unsafe Building
Payback’s a bitch. I punted to Abby so many times on Falling Skies I knew it would come back to haunt me (no pun intended). And so it did, as I swoop in to recap the eighth episode of a canceled TV show I’ve never watched. I don’t know if…
It’s National Peanut Butter Lovers Month: Top 5 Peanut Butter Recipes
If you can be content with a spoon and a jar of peanut butter, this month is dedicated to you. Peanut butter is one of those simple treats that will always bring a smile to my face. Whether it’s in the form of a peanut butter sandwich, a dip for…
Andrea Hernandez: High Schooler Sues for Right Not to Wear Tracking Device
It was the great Detroit poet-philosopher Robert Clark “Bob” Seger who lamented, “I feel like a number/I’m not a number” — and his words have never been more prescient: A high school sophomore in San Antonio was suspended in September for refusing to wear a school-issued ID badge with a…
5 Classic Houston Christmas Records
5. Lightnin’ Hopkins, “Merry Christmas Baby” Besides Townes Van Zandt, who we wish had recorded the world’s most melancholy Christmas album, Lightnin’ is probably Houston’s most critically exalted hometown artist. Lightnin’ was born in East Texas but he died in Houston, and in between he became widely thought of as…
First Look at Elevation Burger, Finally
This past May I drove past 3819 Kirby (the former location of Mai Thai) and noticed that the new tenant, Elevation Burger, was finally setting up shop. Ever the intrepid reporter, I pulled over, waded through the dusty half-remodeled dining room and asked the site manager when the restaurant would…
Top Five Savory Holiday Commercial Products
A single list comprising both the sweet and the savory might suffice for Halloween or Easter, but the insane proliferation of Christmahanakwanzika-themed products warrants multiple blog posts. Or at least two. Here are my top five savory holiday commercial foods for 2012. 5. Snowflake Philadelphia Cream Cheese Frozen-water-crystal-flavored cream cheese?…
Friday Night: Reverend Horton Heat at House of Blues
Reverend Horton Heat House of Blues November 23, 2012 “I think somebody just threw beer on me,” Jim “Reverend Horton” Heath said to the crowd, 30 minutes into his band’s set, almost absent-mindedly tuning his guitar as the crowd booed their disapproval. “At these punk rock shows now, everyone throws…
Cyber Monday: Like Black Friday but for Nerds
Yes, it’s Cyber Monday again. What’s that? You don’t know what Cyber Monday is? You’re reading this on your computer right now, aren’t you, and you still don’t know? Have you ever heard of Amazon? No, not the jungle. Okay, I can see this is going to take a moment…
What’s Cooking This Week? Galumpkis, Bistro Burgers & More
I love cooking for my fiancé and me, but most of the time, cooking for two proves to be difficult. If I don’t make a plan, I end up running around in circles at the grocery store and wasting half the ingredient’s I’ve bought (and I hate wasting food). Enter…
Vince DeFranco: How Long Before People Make Music With Their Minds?
Making music is easy. At its most basic, music is no more than a person causing sound waves to vibrate in a rhythmic fashion. Of course, if you want to make something more complex than “hand hits thing at precise intervals,” then it can be argued that making music is…
The Magic of Christmas at Houston Ballet’s The Nutcracker
The Setup: Houston Ballet has performed The Nutcracker for the past 40 years, but it’s the 1987 production with Ben Stevenson’s revised choreography that has become the definitive holiday experience. The set and costumes by Desmond Heeley evoke an old-world Yuletide spirit, but the focus of Stevenson’s version is the…
Trapped in the Closet With R. Kelly
This Thanksgiving, my family and I took part in a new type of a tradition — one I wouldn’t expect to be so popular, but what do I know? We watched the entire Trapped in the Closet marathon on IFC, which led up to the premiere of the hour-long third…
How To Avoid Giving Dumb Gifts to Your Boss This Christmas
It’s the most giftiest time of year, a time when we all get together, pretend to be happy and exchange worthless presents with our coworkers. This yearly ritual is often dull and depressing unless you’ve managed to sneak egg nog for a few hours prior to the gift-giving extravaganza, in…
5 Rising Stars In the K-Pop Invasion
Said to be a product of South Korea’s robust economy, optimism and cultural pride, K-Pop has taken over the eastern part of the world and is now making its mark in the West. K-Pop really made a hit in American pop culture this past summer, with the rapid online spread…
Cellaring 102: Three Beers You Can Drink Now and Save for Later
The last time we talked aging beer, we looked at basic do’s and don’t’s of storing your beer. Simple stuff, right? Now that you know where you are going to put all that beer, it’s time to go shopping. With beer aisles now holding hundreds of choices, it’s hard enough…
Cathy Rigby Still Soaring at Almost 60 in Peter Pan: Clap Your Hands If You Believe It
She was the pert and perky gymnastics Olympian who went on to redefine a character identified in the public mind with Mary Martin. And now Cathy Rigby is back, taking the lead role in the national tour of Peter Pan presented by Theatre Under the Stars and coming to Houston…
Cougars Win Robertson Stadium Finale
The Houston Cougars closed out Robertson Stadium in fine style on Saturday night. The Cougars got a season-closing 40-17 win over the Tulane Green Wave. The partially sold out crowd was happy. And fireworks soared high over the campus as soon as the final event in the history of the…
MasterMinds 2012 Revisited: The Pilot Light Restaurant Group on the Perils of Publicity
After being named one of our MasterMinds Awards winners in January, Seth Siegel-Gardner and Terrence Gallivan, the duo behind the Pilot Light Restaurant group, got a little bit of unwanted attention. “We got shut down by the health department,” Siegel-Gardner said. The two friends, who met in kitchens in New…
First Look at Walker Street Gastropub, Waiting On Its TABC Permit in EaDo
The latest sign that the gentrification of EaDo — formerly Houston’s first Chinatown — is approaching critical mass? It’s not the microbrewery that’s about to open at the corner of Dallas and Hutchins, nor is it the nearly completed East End light rail line down the street. It’s Walker Street…
The 5 Best Shows In Houston This Week: November 26-29
Willie Nelson Grand 1894 Opera House (Galveston), November 26 & 27 Yes, it’s in Galveston, on a Monday/Tuesday, but hey — it’s still Willie, at one of the very few venues around here about as venerable and acoustically pleasing as the Red Headed Stranger himself. Although it doesn’t seem like…
Ren Fest’s Last Weekend for 2012: Go Now or Wait Till Next Year
Check out our slideshow. Fair warning one and all: This is the last weekend for the 2012 Texas Renaissance Festival and with the slightly cooler temperatures and the last-minute discounts, this is a good time to make the trek to Plantersville. The day after Thanksgiving had stalwart souls still tackling…
Texans-Lions: The 10 Best Thanksgiving Rapper Tweets
Houston has a professional football team, called the Houston Texans. A lot of people like them. Some of them are rappers. The Internet has several forms of social media. One is called Twitter. A lot of people use it. Some of them are rappers. Same as every week, we perused…
Health Department Roundup: Lola’s (?), Hugo’s, That Pizza Place and More
It’s a holiday miracle: A city health inspector visited Lola’s Depot (2327 Grant) and found nothing wrong. We like the bar, but damn, inspector — you couldn’t throw a “no tight-fitting door on restroom” violation down just for posterity? Did you even go into the bathroom? The ghosts of former…
Via Colori: The Week in Art 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…
Upcoming Events: Pre-Christmas Citrus Sale and Monday Night Football at Triniti
Kick off the holiday season by giving back at the annual Christmas Tail Gingerbread Doghouse Contest and Auction, a fundraiser to benefit Lucky Dog Rescue. VIP judges will determine who is best in show as Royal Sonesta Hotel Houston executive chef Peter Laufer welcomes a growing pack of participants including…
Love Goes to Press: Frenzy Without Humor
The setup: Love Goes to Press was a hit in London’s West End in 1946, and a flop on B’way in 1947 — five performances. The Mint Theatre Company in Manhattan specializes in unearthing forgotten plays and giving them fresh life, and has done the same with this comedy, presenting…
Before Tonight’s New Trapped In the Closet, We Recap the First 22 Balls-Crazy Chapters
Christmas is coming early for many of us. As you probably already know, the next 18 installments of R. Kelly’s gloriously batshit hip-hopera Trapped In the Closet are premiering on IFC tonight. Just in case you haven’t seen the first 22 — yes, twenty-two — chapters in this ongoing, one-music-video-at-a-time…
Out of Line: The Stress of Waiting to Shop for the Holidays
At about 6 p.m. Thankgiving night, I was driving the familiar route between my fiancée’s apartment and my own, hurriedly planning what I needed to finish packing before the perhaps ill-advised move set for 7 a.m. on Friday. Way too full of turkey and the usual Thanksgiving Day fare, I…
The Ultimate Leftover Turkey Sandwiches (Part II)
Shit ton of leftover turkey? Me too. It happens to the best of us. The anticipation of the Thanksgiving meal is so great that by the time we sit down to eat it, our multiple (and completely necessary) taste tests of everything in the kitchen have completely eliminated any room…
Top Five Things to Do This Weekend: Bond and Beyond, Love Goes to Press, Bill O’Reilly & Dennis Miller and more
Start your weekend with a little bonding time on Friday when vocalist Debbie Gravitte, a Broadway favorite and Tony Award winner, joins the Houston Symphony for Bond and Beyond. A program of signature tunes from the James Bond film franchise, Bond and Beyond features Adele’s chart topping single from Skyfall,…
The Rest of the Best: Houston’s Top 10 Local Music Venues
10. NOTSUOH/DEAN’S ON MAIN Parking in downtown often comes at a premium, but notsuoH and Dean’s — located at 314 Main and 316 Main, respectively — make the hunt worthwhile. Weekly poetry open-mikes every Wednesday night offer fledgling writers an opportunity to share their feelings onstage, while and lounge piano…
Unidentified Male, 28, Shot in Gas Station Parking Lot: Bayou Body Count No. 206
A 28-year-old man is dead after he was shot by unknown assailants in the parking lot of a gas station in the 7400 block of Long Point near Woodvine in Spring Branch according to a report from the Houston Police Department. The report stated that the unknown man pulled into…
The Art of Random Encounters in RPGs
So recently I reviewed the latest Paper Mario game, which is whimsical and fun, but is still ultimately not the direct sequel to Super Mario RPG that we want and deserve. While I was going through it, fighting random encounters with goombas and koopas, it occurred to me that the…
2013 Concert Tours to Look Forward to
By now we all know that Taylor Swift, Maroon 5, Eric Clapton, Muse, Lady Gaga, Dave Matthews Band, Carrie Underwood, and P!nk are all on the touring warpath to Houston in the next few months. I even saw a notice about Keith Urban coming to the Woodlands sometime next summer;…
Openings & Closings: Restaurants Within Restaurants and Second Locations Abound
Two anticipated restaurant openings are headed our way — and the two spots couldn’t be more different from one another. First up is U.S. Smith’s BBQ, Beer and Garden from chef Christopher Williams of Lucille’s, which opens on Thursday, November 29. Although Williams just opened his Southern-goes-mod Museum District restaurant…
College Football Is Finally Done In Houston For This Season, Maybe
It’s doubtful that back in August, when football practice was beginning, people who follow Rice and the University of Houston thought this weekend would be like this. With Rice (5-6) playing UTEP in El Paso for bowl eligibility and a shot at a bowl game. With Houston (4-7) hosting Tulane…
100 Creatives 2012: Robin Kachantones, Illustrator
Illustrator Robin Kachantones learned the hard way that the devil is in the details. She was working on a project for Major League Baseball when they asked her to render a portrait of Barry Bonds. “This was back when you couldn’t just Google somebody and get a million pictures of…
The Axiom, Part 2: Venue Cast Long Shadow Over Houston
Thursday Rocks Off talked to three people behind this weekend’s Axiom reunion — former owner J.R. Delgado, Rivethead magazine’s Lisa Sullivan and ex-Axiom publicist/co-manager Julie Grob — about the club that was Houston’s underground-rock headquarters. They set the scene, a vivid tableau of everyone from Mudhoney and Social Distortion to…
Black Friday Dining Deals: Everything Tastes Better on Sale
While you’re going crazy running from store to store to grab the best deals for Christmas gifts this Black Friday, you’re definitely going to be starving for something good to eat. Why not stick with the theme of finding the best deals when it comes to where you’ll eat or…
Texans-Lions: 4 Winners, 4 Losers
This post is for all of you Houston Texan fans who: 1. …were able to survive the over-the-top gorging and carb overload that comes with the Thanksgiving holiday every year, and… 2. …were able to survive a game that included two turnovers and two missed field goals in overtime, and…..
Spoiler Alert! A Handy Infographic Guide to the Shelf Life of Dry Goods
This is the last in a five-part series on keeping your groceries safe and sound. Can you freeze that extra loaf of bread you baked? And did you know that you absolutely should freeze that new bag of flour you brought home for at least 48 hours before using or…
MasterMinds 2012 Revisited: Buffalo Soldiers Museum Gets A New Home
In January, Captain Paul Matthews, founder of The Buffalo Soldiers National Museum, told our Steve Jansen that the museum’s collection of military items, ranging in dates from 1866 to 1951, was outgrowing its space in a 3,500-square-foot building on Southmore Boulevard, where it had been housed for 12 years. The…
5 Cool & Cheap Weekenders: November 23-25
Reverend Horton Heat House of Blues, November 23 Easily one of the most influential bands to come out of Dallas (or Texas), the Reverend Horton Heat cast a long shadow on modern rockabilly, psychobilly, and probably any other type of ‘billy we haven’t heard of yet. The long-running crew of…
Texans 34, Lions 31: Heart of a Champion? Houston Bends but Doesn’t Break in Latest Rally
For a second time in five days, the Texans trailed by a touchdown late and seemingly needed a miracle just to reach overtime. Yet again, they ended up winners — this time, moving to 10-1 with a stirring come-from-behind effort in Detroit. “It looked a lot like last week, but…
It’s a Thanksgiving Miracle: Texans Beat Lions in Second OT Game in Five Days, 34-31
The Texans in yet another improbably way, defeated the Lions in Detroit 34-31, their second straight overtime victory, this one only five days removed from their last win over the Jaguars. The win came after both teams turned the ball over and missed field goals in the overtime period before…
Need to Get Out of the House Today? Head to Grand Prize Bar
Thanksgiving plans fall through? Didn’t get enough to eat at Aunt Zelda’s? Want to grab a bite with your friends in town for the holiday? Simply need to escape the family for a bit? Then head to the living room of Montrose — Grand Prize Bar — tonight, where Joshua…
First Look at Ba Mien Bistro in North Houston
Vietnamese pho shops are nothing new to even the far reaches of Houston — including the North Bammel and Klein areas of Houston, where no shortage of small, family-owned shops dot the strip centers along Veterans Memorial north of Beltway 8. For over 20 years, these small noodle and sandwich…
Cassette Tapes Could Have a Future… In Outer Space
In the face of continuing wide distribution of the compact disc and rebounding sales of vinyl LPs, cassette tapes have yet to see a real resurgence. The medium caters to consumers with a sense of nostalgia, yet the sound quality is comparably low. This isn’t news. Cassette tapes are indeed…
Chef Chat, Part 2: Maurizio Ferrarese of Quattro, on Running a Hotel Kitchen and What He Misses About Italy
Maurizio Ferrarese Quattro at the Four Seasons 1300 Lamar St. Tel: 713-276-4700 http://www.fourseasons.com This is Part Two of a three-part Chef Chat series. You can read Part 1 here and Part 3 in this same space Friday. EOW: The kitchen back there is massive. Tell me about the operation here…
Last Night: Devin the Dude at Warehouse Live
Devin the Dude, Phranchyze, etc. Warehouse Live November 21, 2012 It’s good to spend the holidays with friends and family. For Houston hip-hop fans on Wednesday, that meant celebrating Thanksgiving Eve with everyone’s beloved stoned uncle, Devin the Dude, and his whole Coughee Brothaz clique at Warehouse Live. There were…
Black Friday Dining Deals: Everything Tastes Better on Sale
While you’re going crazy running from store to store to grab the best deals for Christmas gifts this Black Friday, you’re definitely going to be starving for something good to eat. Why not stick with the theme of finding the best deals when it comes to where you’ll eat or…
$430 Beatles LP Box Leads 2012’s Big-Ticket Holiday Music Buys
It may be Thanksgiving today, but retailers know it better as the day before Black Friday. Music retailers know it even better as the day before Record Store Day Jr., a post-Thanksgiving vinyl bonanza. Saturday is Small Business Day on top of that, so record stores ought to have a…
The Rest of the Best: Houston’s Top 10 Tamales
If your family is anything like my own, tamales are a Christmas staple. And in my family, tamale-making typically begins the day after Thanksgiving with several pots of stewed meat on the stove, several pounds of corn husks and giant vats of masa laid out like a Ford assembly line…
If You Aren’t Feeling Thankful, Count Your Blessings Anyway
On this Thanksgiving, it might be difficult to count your blessings. Sometimes, when we want to be thankful, it’s tough. Family can cause complications. There was that whole election thing that probably ostracized you from at least a few of your friends whose views differed from your own. During the…
Free for All: Chicken Run, “Foley’s Department Store” and the 11th Annual Holiday Market
Friday is the last day of the Chicken Run Free Family Fun. The animated film is a hilarious parody of prison break films, but this time the action is set on a British farm. One independent chicken, Ginger, decides she’s going to flee the coop, but her attempts are all…
The Eating…Our Words 100: Alex Padilla, Executive Chef at Ninfa’s on Navigation
Who he is: Alex Padilla is the executive chef at venerable Houston institution The Original Ninfa’s on Navigation. Alex’s history with Ninfa’s goes back many years — his mother worked in their kitchen when he was a teenager. His journey to executive chef saw him start from the ground up…
The Rocks Off 100: Nick Gaitan, Upright Bass-Plucking Umbrella Man
Welcome to the Rocks Off 100, our portrait gallery of the most compelling profiles and personalities in the far-flung Houston music community — a lot more than just musicians, but of course they’re in there too. Who? The Umbrella Man’s Nick Gaitan, “native son of Houston Town,” grew up in…
50 Things Houstonians Should Be Thankful for in 2012
Lately, you’ve probably noticed a lot of people posting what they are thankful for. If you are anything like me, you were wondering, “What’s with all these weirdos?” Then, someone tells you it’s Thanksgiving and you are all, “They have that ever year?” It would be funny if it weren’t…
5 Ways To Pass The Days Until Touring Shows Come Back
Cooler weather is great for a lot of things — not having to worry about dying every time you’re outside for more than ten minutes, getting your yearly dosage of all things pumpkin-flavored, finally getting to wear those nifty hoodies you bought on clearance months ago- but for music lovers…
Shop in Your Pajamas: Your Black Friday Online Strategy
Imagine a world in which people actually go camping, rather than pitching tents outside of big box stores to score cheap, super-duper, extra-special bonus edition DVDs. Imagine that instead of huddling around concrete and commercialism, families huddled around campfires roasting marshmallows. Black Friday is The New Thanksgiving. Families are already…
Dining Out on Turkey Day: Where to Eat This Thanksgiving
Let’s face it, sometimes a “home-cooked” meal in a restaurant is better than anything we can whip up at home. Thanksgiving dinner is one of the most difficult, time-consuming and stressful meals to make if you don’t normally cook meals at home. But, there’s one thing to be thankful for…
Football! This Weekend’s Best Bets
Thanksgiving weekend is a time for many things. First and foremost, it is a time to show gratitude for all of the blessings in our lives, or if you are bereft of any significant blessings, it is the time where you look at those less fortunate and say “Hey, at…
Spoiler Alert! A Handy Infographic Guide to the Shelf Life of Dairy Products
This is the fourth of a five-part series on keeping your groceries safe and sound. Check back at the same time each morning all week long for our guides to fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy and dry goods. Did you know that you should always leave eggs in their original container…
Happy Thanksgiving: Art Attack Writers & Their Shout Outs to the Houston Art Scene
The arts writers on Art Attack like to pause for a minute every Thanksgiving to note the things and people they are thankful for in the Houston arts scene. So here’s our 2012 version. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Olivia Flores Alvarez I’m thankful for Asia Society Texas Center, which changed the…
(Almost) Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Axiom
This weekend, one of the most beloved and memorialized clubs in Houston history throws itself a hell of a 25th anniversary party. From 1987 through 1991, the Axiom took a run-down former drugstore/motel in the still very seedy East End of downtown and created a home for punk, metal, thrash,…
Bettye Lavette
Michigan native and longtime Detroit resident Bettye Lavette has gone from a Motown-style R&B diva not far removed from Patti Labelle to the best female rock singer this side of Tina Turner. The stunning A Woman Like Me, from 2003, made up for her 20-year absence from U.S. shelves in…
Steve Winwood
The higher love-needin’ Winwood is secretly one of the biggest players of the classic-rock era, even if his name and unassuming demeanor gets lost in the Jann Wenner-stunted shuffle. Besides his poppy solo output, Winwood was also an integral part of seminal rockers the Spencer Davis Group (“Gimme Some Lovin'”),…
Asian American Portraits
Grouping visual artists by ethnic identity is a tired curatorial tactic, but at least we get to see some great art in this one at the Asia Society Texas Center “This exhibition displays the diversity of contemporary Asian American identity…” reads the copy for Portraiture Now: Asian American Portraits of…
Trae, Z-Ro
The original Assholes by Nature, cousins Trae and Z-Ro remain two of Houston’s most durable rap heavyweights. A gruff but oddly mellow rhymesmith, Trae tha Truth has recovered from a gunshot wound suffered outside a southwest Houston cabaret in June, and this is first his first headlining show in town…
Capsule Art Reviews: “Cleve Gray: 1967 Silver Paintings,” “CraftTexas 2012,” “[Houston Times Eight],” “Liz Ward: Cryosphere,” “Structural Impermanence: New Works by Renée Lotenero,” “Translucent Trajectories”
“Cleve Gray: 1967 Silver Paintings” It was 1967. The late, great Cleve Gray was angry with his painting — a semi-Cubist composition of black and a bit of green — because it was “boring.” So he threw a bucket of aluminum paint on it that he had lying around, likely…
What Do Mexicans Think of the Film Machete?
Dear Mexican, I have a problem I need your advice on. My granddaughters were born and raised in Georgia, as was their father. Their knowledge of their culture is zero and I have tried to educate them by talking to them and even writing a book of my life growing…
Young Mammals, Mikey & The Drags, Caddywhompus
Escape the horror show of your family’s Thanksgiving — and, what the hell, pre-party for Black Friday — with this triple-shot of garage rock. Young Mammals, Mikey & the Drags and Caddywhompus headline upstairs at Fitz, offering a prime opportunity to share war stories from the previous 12 hours over…
Some Advice for General Petraeus
Highlights from Hair Balls Political Animals Techie Check Some Real-World Advice for General Petraeus & Co. BY JEFF BALKE I’m no Dear Abby (she’s shorter than me), but reading the sordid details of the David Petraeus affair and how the whole thing blew up in his face causing him to…
Reverend Horton Heat
Easily one of the most influential bands to come out of Dallas (or Texas), the Reverend Horton Heat cast a long shadow on modern rockabilly, psychobilly, and probably any other type of ‘billy we haven’t heard of yet. The long-running crew of Jim “Reverend Horton” Heath, Jimbo Wallace, and Scott…
Dining Out on Turkey Day
SEASON’S EATING Let’s face it, sometimes a “home-cooked” meal in a restaurant is better than anything we can whip up at home. Thanksgiving dinner is one of the most difficult, time-consuming and stressful meals to make if you don’t normally cook meals at home. But, there’s one thing to be…
The Axiom Reunion
This will be Houston’s third major “scene” reunion this year, after the When We Ruled H-Town festivities this summer and The Island get-together earlier this month. Although Emo’s shouldn’t be discounted, the Axiom actually took over for The Island as Houston’s refuge for punk, hardcore, and later what became known…
capsule Stage Reviews: Crazy for You, Girls Only — the Secret Comedy of Women, Home for the Dysfunctional Family Holidays!, Sylvia
Crazy for You This is a 1992 version of B’way’s 1930 Girl Crazy, music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin, with a newly revised book by award-winning Ken Ludwig. Some songs were dropped, and others added and incorporated smoothly into the plot. The young leads are brilliant. Richard…
Geoff Tate
Not-quite-shocking Queensryche fans all over the world, lead singer Geoff Tate exited that band this past spring after a month-long row with his bandmates that included shouting, punching, and spitting matches at even intervals. Tate’s wife and daughter had been relieved of their managerial and fan-club duties, with turmoil lurking…
Today’s Top 5 Female Punk Rockers
1-2-3-4! There have been punk-rock chicks as long as there has been punk rock. Unfortunately, punk can also all too often be a boys’ club. Consider that emo, an entire genre based around angsty young men bemoaning their troubles with women, spawned from punk. Then take a gander at the…
Paul Van Dyk
Although his fame isn’t quite the same as his fellow European super-DJ Tiesto, Paul van Dyk has enough pull in these parts that packing fans into the palatial Stereo Live won’t be a problem. The Berlin-based DJ excels at styles from pillow-soft progressive house to more robotic techno, but is…
2012 Turkeys of the Year
Check out our slideshow on the making if this year’s Turkeys of the Year cover. Literature’s Count Zaroff (and California’s Zodiac Killer) said that man is the most dangerous game of all, but those freaks never tried to bag a Turkey of the Year. To best this most onerous of…
Burger Outpost
See more photos from Guru Burgers’ bustling dining room and colorful kitchen in our slideshow. Guru Burgers & Crepes has almost zero obligation to be good. Out here in Sugar Land, two types of restaurants thrive: big chains and tiny ethnic spots. There’s very little in between that’s noteworthy, but…
An American Artist
In 1872, 13-year-old Henry Ossawa Tanner was walking with his father in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park when he saw a man making a painting of a tree. Then and there he decided he wanted to become an artist. With 15 cents from his parents, he promptly bought “dry colors and a couple…
Tiger, Tiger, Pixels Bright
A stacked-deck theological inquiry filtered through a Titanic-by-way-of–Slumdog Millionaire narrative, Life of Pi manages occasional spiritual wonder through its 3-D visuals but otherwise sinks like a stone. It’s no shock that Ang Lee brings to his high seas adventure graceful and refined aesthetics devoid of any unique signature or pressing…
Path of Khan
“I can’t think of a more pathetic situation for an actor than to do a film and not connect to it,” Irrfan Khan says. “And I pray to God that I never face that situation.” Khan might not be one of the most prominent stars in Bollywood, especially not when…
Christ, It’s Another “Red Dawn”
America has had its national traumas — its Antietams and Pearl Harbors and 9/11s — but what we haven’t faced since the Battle of New Orleans is a proper ground invasion, a shooting war with a foreign occupying army. Rather than accept this as good fortune, the absence of this…
