“Peter Sacks: Recent Paintings”
Many of Peter Sacks’s emotionally charged, multidimensional paintings deal abstractly with the culture and politics of his home country, South Africa, where he spent the first half of his life. Sacks has long since established himself in the U.S. (he’s a celebrated poet and a professor at Harvard), but his…
Eve Ensler’s The Good Body
Playwright Eve Ensler’s The Good Body focuses on a different part of the body than The Vagina Monologues did; this time it’s the stomach. Good Body has three actors playing several characters as they discuss women’s body-image issues and what’s considered beautiful in different cultures. They eventually make peace with…
“Present Fugitive: New Work by Ruth Pastine”
Gallery owner Sonja Roesch is very emphatic when she says, “These paintings are not monochromatic; they are near monochromatic, but there is more than one color in each one.” She’s talking about the pieces in the exhibit “Present Fugitive: New Work by Ruth Pastine.” For example, one of Pastine’s works…
9 to 5: The Musical
The first time Mamie Parris and her co-stars had a complete run-through of 9 to 5: The Musical was opening night in Nashville. Dolly Parton, who personally approved Parris for the role of Judy, and a slew of celebrities were in the audience. “We’d attempted a dress run-through the night…
Peter Grimes
It almost goes without saying that in September 1945 the people of London were ready for a little entertainment. And they got it in the form of suspenseful crime-story opera Peter Grimes, by Benjamin Britten, being presented here by the Houston Grand Opera as the fourth installment in its Britten…
iPod: Happy Anniversary, You Little Devil
Can somebody please tell us what the hell Firewire is? Nine years ago today – November 10, 2001 – Apple unveiled a new kind of MP3 player known as an iPod. About the size of a deck of cards, the device contained five gigabytes of memory, enough for about 1,000…
Saint Arnold + Trentino Gelato: A Fall Treat for the Warm Weather
Like it or not, it’s warm again outside. (At least for now.) Drinking that toasty pint of Saint Arnold Oktoberfest just isn’t the same when it’s approaching 80 degrees and 95 percent humidity. But what if some genius soul turned that beer into a frozen dessert? Artisanal gelato master Marcelo…
Jerome Gray Out At Channel 2, Report Says
Jerome Gray, who has been a TV presence in Houston for more than 20 years, has told the Houston Chronicle that KPRC is not renewing his contract. Gray has been the co-anchor on the station’s 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. newscasts; he came over from KHOU in 2005. “They said…
HISD On Title IX Complaint: “Nothing To Be Upset About”
The Houston Independent School District held a press conference this afternoon to attempt to respond to allegations that the district doesn’t give girl athletes the same opportunities as boy athletes. Trouble is, the district hasn’t received any official notice or complaint from the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights,…
What Are Our Lazy Relatives Bringing to Thanksgiving? A Handy Chart
There’s one in every family. Everyone is supposed to bring a dish (preferably home-cooked) to the Thanksgiving dinner table, but there’s one family member who can never quite get it right. Whether a victim of procrastination, incompetent cooking, or just plain not giving a rat’s ass, at least one of…
Young Man, Older Woman: Top Ten Cougar Anthems
Congratulations to Houston folksinger Glenna Bell. Her “The Cougar Anthem,” from this year’s Perfectly Legal: Songs of Sex, Love and Murder, was singled out Tuesday alongside Aaron Neville, Keith Richards, Norah Jones and Paul McCartney & Wings in USA Today’s weekly “The Playlist” feature. In the song, which is streaming…
Cover Story: Jason Nodler Discusses Bluefinger, His New Rock Opera About One Debauched Dutchman
“I am only ever interested in art/work/plays/music about how weird and fucked up it is to be a human animal on the planet earth, aware of and in necessary denial of our mortality, of the fact that each of us will die and go off the planet and be lost…
Stirred & Shaken: Pineapple-Infused Tuaca at 360 Sports Lounge
“I tell people I vote, but I never do,” my friend tells me. “I think you should vote, but I don’t do it.” We’re at 360 Sports Lounge watching Election Day returns on a big screen in the corner and sipping on one of the bar’s specialties, Tuaca infused with…
Black Bear – It’s What’s for Dinner
If you’ve always wanted a chance to try out the meat of the mighty black bear, tomorrow, Thursday, is your chance. The first 30 culinary adventurers to make a reservation at Charivari for the three-course, $35 meal will get a chance to sample bear meatball soup Transylvanian style; bear Tokany,…
Updated:HISD Parents Group Says No to More Bennies in Apollo 20
It seems that a proposal to put even more money into the Apollo 20 reclamation project in the Houston ISD was the final straw for a group of parent leaders in the school district. At the same time as the district is planning “to cut summer school funding for 54,140…
Texas Foodies and Chefs Secede from Dixie: The Texas Food Alliance Fundraiser at Armadillo Palace
While the mighty ice sculpture with the Foodways Texas logo slowly melted amid it all, rivers of St. Arnold’s and Dripping Springs vodka / Rio Grande Valley ruby red grapefruit juice cocktails flowed. The Catalan corned beef sliders, Goode Company baked oysters, shrimp corny dogs and Bryan Caswell’s signature shrimp…
Ten Songs We Are Sick Of Hearing At Football Games
That sound you heard Sunday was the collective shattering of the playoff hopes of thousands of Houston Texans fans as the team suffered yet another home loss, this time against the hapless San Diego Chargers, bringing their record to 4-4 and raising serious, if predictable, doubts about the team’s future…
Crips and Bloods: The Details On Harris County’s Plan To Get An Injunction
Where’s your injunction?It’s time for the Bloods and Crips to lawyer up. Harris County is taking a bunch of gangsters to civil court. “This is a grand day in Harris County,” DA Pat Lykos said this morning during a news conference. Lykos filed a public nuisance lawsuit today against 33…
Top 10: U.S. Marine Corps Movies
November 10, 1775 will forever be emblazoned on our brain as the birthday of the United States Marine Corps birthday, because while we were in Marine Corps boot camp at San Diego, we once got IT’d on the squad bay deck next to the drill instructor’s duty hut for forgetting…
Dahi Puri at Sweet n Namkin
This week’s cafe review found me at Sweet n Namkin / Salaam Namaste, a dual-sided and jointly-owned Desi restaurant in Meadows Place (also home to favorites BB’s Beef & Hot Dog and the yet-to-be-reviewed Suya Hut). On the Salaam Namaste side of the house, expect lots of meat and manly…
National Group Accuses HISD Of Not Treating Girls’ Sports Equally
The National Women’s Law Center has filed complaints against the Houston school district and 11 others across the nation, claiming the entities violate Title IX by failing to fund and treat girls’ sports equally to boys’. “These complaints, which are based on the schools’ own data, reveal pervasive and growing…
ACLU Of Texas Moving Its Headquarters To Houston, Because This Is Where Civil Rights Get Trampled
After decades in Austin, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas is moving to a city that’s apparently more fertile ground for civil-rights battles: Houston. “A city as dynamic and diverse as Houston is truly the face of the new Texas and the right setting for our dedicated staff to…
Henry Darragh: Our New Favorite Houston Musician
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 sheaserrano@gmail.com. We were a little disappointed trading messages with…
Domino’s $12 Million Dollar Assistance Hard to Swallow
Growing up, Friday was pizza night. We can recall many a happy evening in the ’80s spent watching ABC’s TGIF and eating Domino’s Pizza. With the ’90s came the far superior Papa John’s, with crust that (wow!) resembled actual bread, tomato sauce that really tasted like tomatoes, and the trademark…
National Journal Ranks Rick Perry 11th In The 2012 Stakes
It’s never too early to begin the horse-race punditry on the 2012 presidential race, and National Journal has taken on the job. They’ve published their rankings of who’s likely to get the GOP nod, and — in what’s good news for America but bad for Texas — Rick Perry comes…
Fashionistas Crowd Crocker Bar for Premiere of Bravo’s The Fashion Show
Last night in the small, tucked-away Crocker Bar in the Montrose area, some big names were out for the premiere of Bravo’s The Fashion Show. Ro Tamez had a soiree to celebrate the show’s first episode with close friends and a surprise visit from Cesar Galindo. Ro and Cesar both…
Bun B Hosting Ugandan Breakdance Doc Screening
“I’m not a politician, so I’m not going to use politics. I’m not a soldier, so I’m not going to hold a gun. I’m a B-boy.” – Abraham “Abramz” Tekya, Founder, Breakdance Project Uganda Thursday at 7 p.m. on the Rice University Campus, a screening of the inspiring documentary Bouncing…
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. 29-95: The Chron’s Greg Morago, pulling double-duty over at 29-95, has the…
Pot Farm On Main Street: Because Commuting To The Woods Is A Hassle
Location is key for a growing business. Of course, when you’re business involves growing weed, you tend to sacrifice convenience for privacy. Not so for four La Marque entrepreneurs. Their large-ish indoor pot farm — 240 plants strong — was located right at Main Street and 5th Avenue. Now, Main…
“I’m Rich BIATCH!” Remembering Chappelle’s Show With Our Top Five Sketches
Last weekend, while flipping through all 10 channels of network television we landed on “The Racial Draft,” a classic skit from the second season of Chappelle’s Show–on KIAH-TV (Channel 39). Apparently the network has been airing back-to-back episodes of the groundbreaking comedy series from 12 a.m.-1 a.m. every Sunday, and…
Forget Mr. Goodwrench: Five Other Ad Characters That Need To Be Retired
General Motors has announced it is retiring the Mr. Goodwrench character from its advertising line-up.Which is probably a good thing, since a) We weren’t even aware they were still using it, and b) It’s probably not as big a selling point as it used to be: “Hey, when your GM…
Top 10 Rock Tell-All Autobiographies
Craig’s Hlist just cracked into his copy of Life, by Keith Richards. It’s the first time that the Rolling Stones guitarist and god among men has taken time to document his rock and roll journey for anyone. Sure there have been Stones oral histories from the band, but this is…
Redneck Thanksgiving: Appetizers
I love my family. I have loved every childhood trip into the hills of eastern Ohio for Thanksgiving, gorging on thick, homemade egg noodles, mashed potatoes and gravy. That said, Coshocton County generally is not an outpost of culinary excellence. Flipping through my aunt’s church cookbook shows how her neighbors…
Cinema Arts Festival Kicks Off Tonight
The Second Annual Cinema Arts Festival Houston begins tonight with two screenings of films never before seen in Houston. John Cameron Mitchell’s adaptation of David Lindsay-Abaire’s Pulitzer Prize winning play Rabbit Hole officially opens in theaters on December 12, but Houston gets a sneak peek tonight. Houston theatergoers might remember…
Aggie “Gunman” Was Carrying Fake AK-47 For Halloween, Report Says
The student who caused a frantic shutdown of the Texas A&M campus was carrying a realistic-looking fake AK-47 he planned to use as part of a Halloween costume, an official report says. The Bryan-College Station Eagle obtained the report under a public records request, and reports that the “gunman,” a…
Lil Wayne: Can He Stay Off Booze For Three Years?
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. Have something you always wanted to ask…
The Rice Owls: An Avalanche of Destruction
The season didn’t start out this way for Rice. Sure they lost to Texas, but they were competitive and they stayed close for most of the game. They struggled against North Texas, but still got the win. The loss to Northwestern stung, but once again, the team competed, and they…
The Dallas Cowboys’ Monster.Com Listing For A New Coach
Can you do better than a 1-7 record with a team of high-priced, high-profile players? Then the Dallas Cowboys coaching job may be for you!! The Cowboys offer a beautiful training facility in suburban Dallas where no one has been horribly injured in a wind storm in well over a…
Glee: Bob Marley And The Beiste
As “Never Been Kissed,” the latest episode of Glee’s second season wrapped up, I took some time to reflect upon how great it must be to write for a show that only has about 20 minutes of actual dialogue each episode. Between commercial breaks and the trademark five or six…
Chicken and Religion at the House of Blues
When the House of Blues rolled out their World Famous Gospel Brunch buffet shortly after they opened in downtown Houston, I was eager to try it. Then I heard about massive lines and long food waits, and I was scared off. But when I got the opportunity to go this…
30 Seconds With Bob Schneider
Rocks Off sat down with Bob Schneider to see what we could learn about the popular Austin singer-songwriter in 30 seconds. Rocks Off: What is the worst song in the world? Bob Schneider: Obviously this is a personal preference issue. That’s one of the amazing things about music. How personal…
SunMart: Jury Hits Gas-Station Chain For $30 Million For Cheating At Pumps
SunMart is a Houston-based company that runs convenience stores across the Southwest. If you regularly got your gas from there, a Houston jury said this week, you got ripped off. You paid for a gallon but got less, through some pump trickery. A jury hit SunMart’s parent, Petroleum Wholesale, with…
State Rep. Debbie Riddle’s Pre-Filed Bills: A Sampling
Monday was the first day to pre-file bills for the upcoming session of the Texas Legislature, and Tomball State Rep. Debbie Riddle famously camped out to get first crack at things. She filed nine bills. Not all of them deal with the Brown Menace attacking the U.S. from across the…
Our Favorite Rolling Stone “Naked” Covers
Today is Rolling Stone magazine’s 43rd birthday, and we’re sure somewhere in Manhattan, founder Jann Wenner is snorting a line of Hunter S. Thompson’s ashes while David Fricke loads up some Springsteen vinyl onto the turntable in the corner and Wenner talks to President Obama on Google Chat. We would…
Nightline Examines Local “Gay Cure” Program; Gays Cry Foul
Last night’s Nightline featured a report on the camp in New Caney that purports to help gay men get rid of all that glorious gayness. Journey Into Manhood — with a name that says gays aren’t men, you can guess where it’s going — gave ABC exclusive access to a…
Liz Thorpe on Maligned Cheeses, Haven and the Houston Dairymaids
Yesterday, we took a look at the new Murray’s Cheese kiosks that are springing up in Kroger stores across Houston (well, in three stores…so far). Liz Thorpe is the vice president of Murray’s Cheese Shop and a noted expert in the field, author of The Cheese Chronicles and consultant for…
Bloods And Crips: Harris County Is Coming After You (With A Civil Injunction)
Lawyer up, all you Bloods and Crips on the northwest side. Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos will announce tomorrow the county’s first civil injunction filed against a gang, targeting “members of the Blood and Crips gangs who have continually preyed upon the 2,400 residents of the Haverstock Hills apartment…
The Chronicle’s Jason Spencer: From Covering HISD To Promoting It
Jason Spencer, who was been covering the Houston school district as a Houston Chronicle reporter and editor for six years, has a new job: Promoting the Houston school district. Spencer starts soon in HISD’s communications department, where he’ll be paid $95,000 a year to help give the district a positive…
Is Rap Acceptable In Your Sex Mix?
Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Every Monday (that isn’t a national holiday) Rocks Off will have some of them here discussing issues relevant to their culture. This Week’s Panel: Chuckway, Renzo, Kyle Hubbard Not Invited: Our wife, who thinks rap is unacceptable during sex, as well as…
Caesar Salad (For One) and Roast Suckling Pig (For Two) at Stella Sola
I’m not a big fan of sharing food at restaurants. There are some exceptions to this rule: family-style dining, especially at Italian-American and Asian establishments and those foods (pizza and fondue) that are designed for communal consumption. But I hate splitting entrees (or appetizers or desserts), which is why I…
The Shady Tavern Ice House’s Fourth Annual Chili Cook-Off Competition
What is the best way to prepare for an all-you-can-eat meal? There are two main schools of thought: eat as much as possible in the days before, to maximize the capacity of your stomach; or, eat as little as possible in the days before, to maximize both the amount of…
Houston Texans: My McNair Epilogue, Apparently It’s NOT On Gary Kubiak
Things I’ve learned in the last 24 hours: 1. Dunkin’ Donuts is re-opened on Bellaire Boulevard and is cranking out some positively delightful coffee and flatbread sandwiches. Highly recommend. 2. Per @OMGFacts on Twitter, the most dangerous city in America is Camden, New Jersey. Breathe easy, New Orleans! You’re Kennebunkport,…
More Priest-Abuse Suits, This Time With Chloroform
Man claims he was chloroformed and raped as an altar boyThe Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston is facing more allegations of abuse and fraud related to a Houston priest who died in 2000.In a lawsuit set to be filed today, Guadalupe Gonzales accuses the late Father Lawrence Peguero of molesting her as a…
In Defense of Rachael Ray
It’s funny how culture seems to creep in via osmosis. Take, for example, a dinner I made on the fly the other night. I found myself staring into a near-empty refrigerator at around 7:30 p.m. on a school night, trying to find something to make for dinner. A container of…
The Strip House: Steak and Glenlivet Scotch
Our invitation to sit in on a special Scotch & Steak dinner at the Strip House in downtown Houston the other night was memorable for the food, our table companions and the dedication of the diners to march their way through several servings of Scotch in one meal. We started…
Rolling Stone’s 25 Worst Cover Misfires
Happy Birthday, Rolling Stone, the first magazine that made us want to pick up a pen and notebook paper and go on an ether binge. The current-events and music magazine turns 43 years old today, and we wish them 43 more. The magazine’s first cover boy was John Lennon on…
King Street Patriots Ready To Go National
At a King Street Patriots meeting Monday night, the group proved, at least for one week, that it’s doing what Democrats and liberals couldn’t after riding a wave of emotion to Election Day victories in 2008: still showing up. The group’s founder, Catherine Engelbrecht, delivered a “State of the Street”…
First Look at J’Ouvert
J’Ouvert is a huge holiday in the eastern Caribbean, celebrated from Trinidad to Dominica, that precedes Carnival each year. It’s also a brand-new Caribbean restaurant that just opened in Midtown six weeks ago. I stumbled into J’Ouvert (3030 Travis, 713-521-1313) by accident yesterday when I headed over to Cali Sandwich…
Low-Cost Virgin America Airline Might Be Coming To Houston
Another low-cost airline is looking to come to Houston, and that can’t be bad. Virgin America, the airline essentially owned by billionaire Richard Branson, is considering renting some gates in Houston to go along with an hoped-for expansion in Chicago, Bloomberg News is reporting. The idea is somewhat dependent on…
The Top 5 Reasons Why Keurig Will One Day Rule the World
I rank the invention of the Keurig somewhere between electricity and the Internet. Don’t agree? With coffee being the second largest traded commodity on the planet, I can certainly justify why Keurig will one day rule the world. For those of you in the dark, the Keurig is a single-cup…
Mickey Newbury: Houston’s Forgotten Genius
“Hank Williams’ pain songs, Newbury’s train songs/ And ‘Blue Eyes Cryin’ In the Rain’ – Willie Nelson & Waylon Jennings, “Luckenbach, Texas” Lonesome, Onry and Mean was sitting around having a few cold pops the other night when we put on The Best of Mickey Newbury. It wasn’t long before…
Slideshow: The 2010 Orange Show Gala
Last Saturday, the Orange Show held its annual hot-ticket gala at Finger’s Furniture (near the UH main campus). The carnival-themed event featured an aerial performer from Cirque du Soleil, a silent auction and a performance by the ’70s vintage funk band WAR. (We’re hoping someone was appropriately drunk enough to…
Mildred Johnson, 86, Bayou Body Count No. 268
A Houston woman strangled her 86-year-old great aunt during a fight over money, Houston police say. Mildred Johnson had been arguing with her great niece, Alexis Larina Jones, 24, about Jones not having a job or contributing to household expenses, HPD says. “Jones then hit Johnson with a blunt object…
Toy Story, Now Starring Houston Rappers
At the Serrano household – among the toddler sect, anyway – the Toy Story trilogy is generally regarded as man’s greatest creative achievement, followed closely by Reese’s Sonic Blasts and poop jokes. There was no way our two boys weren’t being Woody and Buzz Lightyear for Halloween this year. We…
Hot Pot at Thai Spice, For When Winter Returns
So, it’s not cold and drizzly outside anymore. At least for now. When that wonderous Seattle-esque weather returns, I’ll be returning to Thai Spice (8282 Bellaire Boulevard) for more hot pot — and I won’t be ordering chicken this time. The Thai Spice Express at the corner of Mary Bates…
Upcoming: Girl Talk, Kesha, Styx, Walkmen, Etc.
Bad Boy Bill: Fri., Nov. 26. Rich’s Houston. The Batusis, Zipperneck, Blower, Chelsea Hotel: Fri., Dec. 10. Mango’s. Girl Talk: Thu., Jan. 13. House of Blues…
Believe It Or Not, It’s Time For College Basketball
They were just exhibition games, and they tell us that exhibition games are meaningless. They don’t count in the standings. They’re a chance to test game conditioning. To see how well everyone understands the offense. To see what improvements need to be made defensively. It’s a chance for those guys…
New On DVD: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Love Ranch, Grown Ups
(Capsule reviews by Melissa Anderson, Nick Pinkerton and Robert Wilonsky) Scott Pilgrim vs. The World For all of Scott Pilgrim’s adherence to the graphic novels upon which it’s based–the pop-art pows and thwacks, the video-game imagery, the rock-and-roll and references, the merging of chop-socky action and puppy-dog-sweet sentiment–it goes even…
Why Do Bandmates Want To Kill Each Other?
A band is the family you choose. We can’t speak for your family, but in our family we send you to the hospital over the last piece of chicken. We’ve seen our cousins choked unconscious more often than we’ve seen Star Wars. Bands are like that too. On one hand,…
Health Dept. Roundup
Last week was a remarkably light one for city health inspectors, but we’ll still trot out their slim pickings for you to peruse this week on Health Department Roundup. At Happy Lamp (9619 Hillcroft), a November 1 inspection found seven violations, including some equipment that was not cleaned often enough…
Jon Stewart & Rick Perry: The Gloves Stay On, Even In The Extended Clip
The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon – Thurs 11p / 10cExclusive – Rick Perry Extended Interviewwww.thedailyshow.comDaily Show Full EpisodesPolitical HumorRally to Restore SanityAnyone hoping for a Daily Show grilling of Rick Perry and his extremist positions came away disappointed from last night’s show, as he and Jon Stewart engaged in…
Uncle Charlie Art Show, DJ Sex Panther, and Go-Go Dancing this Saturday on Main Street
The 3700 block of Main Street–home to The Continental Club, Shoeshine Charley’s Big Top Lounge, (old) Sig’s Lagoon, Tacos A-GoGo, and The Mink–has long been an oasis of camp and cool along the rail line. Last month the Best Block in Houston expanded North across Windbern with the grand opening…
Johnny Romano Skate Jam: World’s Largest Skatebording Charity Event
Photos by Taylor TurnerEvery year Southside Skate Park brings together fans and amateur and professional skateboarders from all over the country to raise money for a good cause. South Shore Distribution hosted the 14th Annual Johnny Romano Skate Jam at Southside Skate Park Saturday, November 6, for the Make-A-Wish Foundation…
Rappers Vs. Uncle Sam: N.W.A., Eminem, Kanye…
Mike Myers will probably go down in history as the most uncomfortable white guy next to a black guy in TV history, thanks to Kanye West’s unscripted outburst during that infamous Hurricane Katrina telethon. It began with Myers reading his part of the script verbatim. Two-thirds into the PSA, an…
The Dead Walk, But Do They Have Legs?
The Halloween premiere of AMC’s Walking Dead knocked the socks off critics and viewers alike and earned the network the biggest audience for any of its original series to date. Last Sunday’s episode (“Guts”) looks to have been just as successful, triggering countdowns to when AMC will order a second…
The Dead Walk, But Do They Have Legs?
The Halloween premiere of AMC’s Walking Dead knocked the socks off critics and viewers alike and earned the network the biggest audience for any of its original series to date. Last Sunday’s episode (“Guts”) looks to have been just as successful, triggering countdowns to when AMC will order a second…
Where Are We Drinking?
Although the weather is no longer as crisp and cool as it was last week, a steaming mug of tea still sounds good on a November morning. Does the specimen below look familiar to you? Think you know where we’re drinking this week? Leave your best guess in the comments…
Tear Me Down: Five Songs About The Berlin Wall
Today is World Freedom Day! The holiday was declared in 2001 by George W. Bush to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall and just how awesome he felt Ronald Reagan was. It was 21 years ago today that East and West Berlin were reunited, and the Berlin Wall remains…
Chuck Morris Falls on His Sword While Carol Mims Galloway Continues Slicing Away
Houston ISD trustee Carol Mims Galloway Monday made it clear once again and in even stronger terms that she thinks the current district administration headed by Superintendent Terry Grier is dumping on the people of the Fifth Ward in its plans to shutter the H.P. Carter Center. “The administration came…
Amtrak’s Terrible Sunset Limited May Become A Daily
Amtrak has a new plan out on how to improve service on the Sunset Limited, the long-distance passenger train that comes through Houston on its way between Los Angeles and New Orleans. Any plan would likely improve service, since the Limited is notorious for long, long delays. In fact, that’s…
The 10 Worst Things About Family Thanksgivings
It’s coming, people: Thanksgiving. There’s nothing you can do about it. You will not be allowed to sit around alone at home. If you’re lucky, you’ll be with friends or with a nice, fun, easy-going bunch of relatives. But not everyone’s that lucky. So if you’re one of the unfortunates,…
HISD’s Anna Eastman: You Say Banana, I Say Waste
Right in the middle of a lovely quick review of how many more breakfasts the Houston ISD is serving in its ever-expanding First Class Breakfast program, trustee Anna Eastman brought up the subject of waste at Monday’s board agenda review. That perennial bugaboo – one that has plagued previous highly…
Last Night: Merle Haggard At Mo’s Place
Merle Haggard Mo’s Place November 7, 2010 Next month, President Obama will look on while Willie Nelson inducts Merle Haggard into the Kennedy Center ring of honor, our nation’s artistic equivalent of a Purple Heart. A glance at the Hag’s tour calendar could offer a small clue why. Haggard plays…
Murray’s Cheese and Kroger: How’s That For a Cheese Pairing?
The famous Murray’s Cheese Shop didn’t start out as the epicenter of the cheese universe. Its roots were much more humble than that: a sort of general store founded in 1940 by Murray Greenberg to sell butter and eggs to area residents in Greenwich Village. It traded hands a couple…
Houston Texans — Do Something, Bob McNair
Headlines don’t lieEvery home game Sunday, the Houston Texans put out a free publication called the Tailgate Times that gets handed to ticket holders and media members as they pull into their respective Reliant Stadium parking lots. It’s essentially a four-page piece of upbeat Texans propaganda, a printed trailer if…
Weekly Time Waster: Corporate Climber
Over the past decade or so Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim programming has built up a reputation for exploding all our childhood cartoon nostalgia only to reincarnate it as surreal and “mature” programming fit for the older us. They’re doing a pretty good job of repeating that magic with their online…
Blood Orange Margarita at Benjy’s
Cheap cocktails can be hit or miss even at historically reliable happy hour spots. Heavy on the mixers, light on the (bottom-shelf) alcohol, these discount drinks often do nothing for my thirst or my buzz. “Did I really just have four glasses of sangria?” I found myself saying to a…
Wine of the Week: Cusumano Nero D’avola 2008
After tasting a rare, white Vallone Nero d’Avola at Caffe Bello, it was time to try its more common counterpart, the red. Nero d’Avola is also known as Calabrese, and according to www.winecountry.it, it is the “most important red grape in Sicily.” With flavors of blackberry, plum, chocolate and spice,…
Sarah Palin’s New Show: Houston Blessed Enough To Get Sneak Preview
If you’ve been moping around saying you have nothing to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, relax. You now officially have a reason to offer gratitude. There are a whole bunch of cities in the United States, right? (Yes, right.) Well, there are only eight of them who are lucky –…
Texas BigBeat: A Mighty Racket For Such A Small Crowd
Sunday afternoon at Bush Intercontinental Airport, the sound of drums roared through the air, all but drowning out the planes taking off in the background. The Fourth Annual Texas BigBeat drumming charity event was a success in its continued work toward promoting music and supporting local charities. Unfortunately, similar to…
Aaron C. Robinson: Bomb Threat To Evade Child-Support Hearing Gets Three Years In Prison
Even second-graders have learned that, in a post-9/11 world, the ol’ “bomb threat to get out of a test” doesn’t work. Well, it works, in that school officials will indeed close school, but chances are pretty good you’re going to be tracked down by some very unhappy federal law-enforcement officials…
Feast with the Beasts at the Houston Zoo
See the spread of gourmet food at the zoo in our slideshow. Over the past five years word must have spread that the Houston Zoo’s annual “Feast with the Beasts” is one of the city’s most unique and entertaining fundraisers ($95 regular admission, $150 VIP). Last Friday night, approximately 3,300…
Opera in the Heights’ Die Fledermaus Is Bubbly and Frothy Fun
The Setup: Ever since its premiere in 1874, this effervescent work has delineated the raffish charms of fin-de-siècle Vienna: insouciant romance, wayward husbands and equally wayward wives, fun for fun’s sake, masquerade balls, a magnum or two of the best champagne, all set to the strains of those heavenly waltzes…
Fun Fun Fun Extra: Blood, Hot Dogs And Clown Powder
Check out FFFFest’s veritable midway in our slideshow of crowd shots. If music wasn’t your bag during this weekend’s Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, you could take a foot bridge to Waterloo Park’s east side for a cavalcade of human wonders, including wrestling, stunt shows, comedians, videos, the occasional…
UT-Brownsville Back To Normal: No Drug-War Gunshots Today (So Far)
UT-Brownsville — Close to the borderLife is apparently back to normal today at UT-Brownsville.Normal, that is, for a school that canceled classes over the weekend in response to Friday’s loud and deadly gun battle in Matamoros, Mexico, less than half a mile from the campus.College police near the school’s soccer…
Ingredient of the Week: French Fried Onions
What is it? Thanksgiving, my favorite food holiday, is just around the corner, which means there’s a sale in every grocery store in the U.S. on French fried onions, those crispy bits of fried goodness. These salty little treats are available commercially by two famous brands, Durkee and French’s, with…
Dallas Cowboys Feel The Jason Garrett Excitement!!
The Wade Phillips Era is over in Dallas. And everywhere else, as a matter of fact. Multiple sources are reporting that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has axed Phillips in the wake of the highly entertaining rout by Green Bay last night. His interim replacement? Jason Garrett. The guy who’s been…
#1 Chicken Rice & Seafood
There’s one in every neighborhood: a restaurant that you pass by almost every day and think to yourself, “One of these days, I’ve got to try that place.” But you never do. I’m not talking about famous restaurants you haven’t visited; I’m talking about the kind of place that nobody…
Still Fun Fun Fun, Festival Is On The Cusp Of Change
Miss the bands in Austin this weekend? See as many as we could squeeze into our handy slideshow. Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin is on the cusp of change. A renovation to its home base, Waterloo Park, is due within the next year, so come next November the festival…
Westbury’s Shannon Walker (Maybe) Gazes Out Windows A Lot Better Than You Do
It’s a little dark, so you have to look close but check out this picture of Houston’s own Shannon Walker checking out the traffic on the West Loop. She’s in the new-ish Cupola that’s been installed on the International Space Station, digging the views. Uodate: There’s some dispute over who’s…
Unidentified Male, 24, Bayou Body Count No. 267
A fight outside a southwest side restaurant left one man dead early Saturday, police say. Cops responded to a call of shots fired in the 7600 block of Dashwood about 2:40 a.m. Satruday and found a male victim dead at the scene. His identity is being withheld pending notification of…
Saturday Night: Best Coast At Fitzgerald’s
Best Coast Fitzgerald’s November 6, 2010 Considering our prior exposure to Best Coast was at this summer’s massive Pitchfork Festival, we were eager to check them out on Saturday, in the considerably cozier confines of Fitzgerald’s. It seems much of Houston shared similar enthusiasm, as the line to enter spanned…
Yates High: 1985 State Champs and ‘Team of the Decade’ Celebrates 25-Year Anniversary
Twenty-five years ago, Houston was home to, arguably, the greatest high school football team ever to take the field in Texas. During that season, Yates High was unstoppable on offense and impenetrable on defense. The team finished a perfect 16-0, racking up a still-record 659 points along the way. In…
The Dwarves’ Blag Dahlia Tells One Hell Of An Emo’s Story
While Rocks Off was lumbering around the artist lounge waiting for GWAR and Bad Religion’s closing sets at Fun Fun Fun Fest, we caught up with Blag Dahlia of the Dwarves. He had just finished an interview with another outlet, and we were lucky enough to snag him for a…
Sharbat and Sweets at the 4th Annual Turkic Fest
“That man sounds like he’s yelling ‘sherbet,'” laughed my friend and photographer, Groovehouse, as we made our way through the crowds at the 4th annual Turkic Cultures and Children’s Festival — or Turkic Fest, for short — this past Sunday afternoon. He was referring to a brightly outfitted man with…
Unidentified Male, 36, Bayou Body Count No. 266
A Montrose storewoner stabbed to death a man who tried to shoplift some beer Sunday night, police say. The man, accompanied by a woman, entered a convenience store in the 900 block of Richmond about 7:30 p.m. and tried to leave without paying. The storeowner got into a tussle with…
Recap: Episode 6 of The Next Iron Chef
On the previous episode of The Next Iron Chef, Maneet Chauhan was finally put out of her misery. Nice lady, interesting choices, but just not consistent enough to get the job done. We also learned that in this episode that two of the final five would be getting the ax…
Texas Represents In The Most Important Bikini Contest To Take Place In The Bahamas Over The Weekend
Son Lam, who photographs lots of stuff for us, was in the Bahamas over the weekend. (We, on the other hand, weren’t.) While there he ran across the finals of the Swimsuit USA International Model Search, and his journalistic instincts were engaged. Seven of the finalists were from Texas, including…
Justin Bieber Fever Hits Houston Fans, Parents Hard
For more photos from Saturday’s outbreak of Bieber Fever, see our slideshow here. The last time Rocks Off saw this many lovestruck girls exiting limousines, we were at Junior Prom. So it’s no surprise it took us a moment to grasp our usually tougher-edged bearings at Toyota Center on Saturday,…
106.9 FM Gets In The Zone, Misses The Point?
Another Houston radio station has changed formats, or “flipped,” although early reaction from some listeners is that the change is so slight it’s hardly a change at all. Cox Communications has rechristened its property at 106.9 FM from “The Point” to “The Zone.” It’s not a sports station, although anyone…
Tomball State Rep. Debbie Riddle: So Eager To File An Arizona-Like Immigration Bill, She Camps Out
And so it begins. Today is the first day Texas legislators can pre-file bills for the upcoming session, and Tomball State Rep. Debbie Riddle, apparently in fear she might be kidnapped by illegals before getting her chance to shine, camped out in front of the clerk’s office so she could…
Cooking Through Alton: Turkey and Stuffing
The dish Save it, folks. I can already hear it. No, this isn’t a brined turkey recipe. Don’t get me wrong, I love brined turkeys. In fact, I’ve made one each Thanksgiving for the past few years. I’m well aware of their popularity, ranking somewhere between the cupcake and sliders…
Friday Night: Bad Religion At Warehouse Live
Bad Religion, Aggrolites, Off With Their Heads Warehouse Live November 5, 2010 Fun Fun Fun Fest may have beckoned tantalizingly from Austin, but we resisted its pull to see what is, for us, the greatest punk rock band still putting out new material. It was Bad Religions’s 30th Anniversary show,…
Diavolo Company Is Agile, But Artistically Amateurish
Los Angeles-based Diavolo prides itself on being a team. Artistic director Jacques Heim says that all of its pieces are created by the dancers. The company’s show Friday night at Jones Hall did prove that none of the performers takes precedence over any of the others, but as a group…
Friday Night: GWAR At House Of Blues
GWAR House of Blues November 5, 2010 See pictures of GWAR playing a tarp-covered stage at the House of Blues in our slideshow. It’s difficult to describe GWAR. Some say the band is a mixture of KISS, World Wrestling Entertainment and the Rocky Horror Picture Show; others simply dismiss it…
Tulsa Rocks Rice Like A Hurricane
The Rice Owls started last week saying they were capable of winning any of their remaining games. They ended the week by having their ass kicked 64-27 by the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. So the Owls might have said they could beat anybody, but the reality was far different than what…
The Week In TV
I set my clock back an hour every night. My boss doesn’t like it. This was the week in TV Land: • It’s been a hell of a week for Keith Olbermann. On Tuesday, when things looked a lot better for the MSNBC host, he took a cue from Jon…
Houston Anything But Cougar Town, Lose To UCF 40-33
The Houston Cougars can walk away and talk about how they exposed the University of Central Florida’s defense as a fraud. They can talk about another explosive game from receiver Patrick Edwards who seems to draw David Piland’s passes to him like a target. They can talk about another fantastic…
Kemo For Emo Breaks In Half, Seeks New Members
It seemed like it was a good year to be a member of Kemo for Emo. The quartet narrowly lost to Skeleton Dick for best punk band in the 2010 Houston Press Music Awards – making it their fourth nomination. The group also signed with Space City Records, who currently…
Where Are We Eating?
It’s finally oyster season again, and we’re celebrating with these delicious and juicy chargrilled oysters. But where did they come from? Leave your best guess in the comments section below…
Boardwalk Empire: Would I Lie to You?
Ep. 8 – PreviewWe’ve reached the pleasurable point in the season when an HBO drama (at least one that’s well done) begins to gather steam for its climax. Last night’s Boardwalk Empire continued to draw together the strands that have been laid out so far and pull them together, and…
Keith Richards And Stephen Sondheim Share A Moment
Keef: What he shares with SondheimReading the memoirs, back to back, of Keith Richards and Stephen Sondheim produces the cultural bends you might expect. Sondheim’s Finishing the Hat is a meticulous study of lyric writing — and it’s not intended to be full-fledged memoir — while Richards’ Life is a…
Hey Gary Kubiak: Driscoll Middle School Has A Play For You
All of Houston knows that Gary Kubiak apparently doesn’t know how to call a fourth-and-short play. We don’t know if this play, from Corpus Christi’s Driscoll Middle School, was on fourth or third down or what, but it obviously worked…
Chargers 29, Texans 23: If The Offense Can’t Be Trusted, Then Why Is Kubiak Here?
See photos from the game and the tailgating competition in our slideshow. The Andre Johnson drop-turned-interception was the epitome of fluke. The Arian Foster touchdown-that-wasn’t was an awful call that resulted from a terrible rule. But when the 4-4 Texans reflected on their heartbreaking (and potentially season-ending) loss to San…
HISD To Consider All-Girls School
The Houston school district is considering a school limited only to girls, a district spokesman says. A public meeting Monday night will discuss the possibility, Norm Uhl said. The district already has an all-boys charter school, but an organization called The Foundation for the Education of Young Women wants to…
Yates High Principal Quits Amidst Sex Allegations, Texas Watchdog Says
When Ronald Mumphery quit as principal of Yates High at the beginning of this school year, no one had any answers as to why. Now the Texas Watchdog is reporting that, based on documents it has, Mumphery resigned “after being accused of multiple acts of sexual misconduct with teachers and…
Compaq Headquarters, 20 Years Ago: The Cutting Edge Back Then
Found on the webz: This video from 20 years ago this month, a walking tour of Compaq headquarters here in Houston. With the Presario (4 GB of RAM!!) still in the future — and future overlord H-P in no one’s thoughts — these brave engineers entered the `90s…..wearing the fashions…
This Week in Deliciousness
Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where trading leftover Halloween candy has eclipsed fantasy football around the office. We’ve even got a stock ticker set up. Dots, Twix, and Three Musketeers are way up, and you can’t unload a Sugar Daddy or a Charleston Chew…
Daylight Savings: Five Ways to Spend Your Extra Hour
“25th Hour” is not just an underrated Spike Lee film–it’s a literal concept dreamed about by throngs of over-caffeinated students and workaholics. One day a year, however, this procrastinator’s day-of-paradise becomes reality. Not to be confused with the gnarly trinket in World of Warcraft, DST was first known to us…
Loreal Bronte Castro: Arrest Made In Teen’s Drive-By Death
Loreal Bronte Castro, 17, was just sitting in a pick-up truck after a Halloween party on the southeast side of town October 30. Suddenly a car came down the street, shots were fired randomly, and Castro was mortally wounded. Houston police made an arrest in the case today. Carlos Jesus…
Dr. Fadi Ghanem: The Doctor Will See You Now, Especially If You Want Home-Grown Weed
Dr. Fadi Ghanem is a 48-year-old family practitioner in The Woodlands. He also, apparently, is something of a weed horticulturalist who pissed someone off. Police say he had a hyroponic marijuana set-up in his home. It sounds like he took a lot of precautions with it — arrest reports describe…
Upcoming Events
This weekend, Discovery Green is getting fresh. As mentioned earlier today by Nancy Kerschen, a Slow Food Picnic Dinner will take place tomorrow evening from 6 to 8 p.m. on the verdant lawn of Houston’s best downtown park. $45 a person gets you food from local restaurants like Haven, t’afia,…
The Full-on McRib
No, a “full-on McRib” is not a euphemism for some new sexual position, but a description of my experience with the highly processed sandwich that makes an annual appearance on the McDonald’s menu — and all the high-fat, high-salt, high-sugar things that go along with it. Thanks to some inspiration…
Danny Hinton: Donut Wheels And A Shootout At Big Texas Dance Hall
This report of off-duty Harris County sheriff’s deputies shooting at a man in a pickup at the Big Texas Dance Hall in Spring piqued our interest for a couple reasons. One, the man’s name wasn’t released because he wasn’t charged with anything. We know if we did something worthy of…
Alegria: A Cirque du Soleil Classic
Big news from Cirque du Soleil this week: The French Canadian circus is doing a Michael Jackson show that will open in Montreal in October 2011. And if you hadn’t heard, Michael Jackson The Immortal is going to be coming through Houston in February 2012, its only Texas stop. Tickets…
Os Mutantes: The Best Band You’ve Probably Never Heard Of
Os Mutantes were one of the most influential rock groups to emerge during the late ’60s in Brazil. The band – initially a trio with Rita Lee, Arnaldo Baptista and his brother Sergio Dias – fell under the graces of the founders of the Tropicalismo movement, Brazil’s response to psychedelia…
NFL, College Football, Twitter, Pancake Bites and Bestiality — Weekend’s Best Bets
So last season I did these Best Bets posts on Fridays and made every attempt to conduct myself like an actual handicapper, coming up with reams of statistics and subjective observations to lead to a conclusion that I hoped made reasonable sense. End result? A prediction success rate well below…
Openings & Closings
Filed under “O” for obvious is the closing this week of Agora (1712 Westheimer) after last weekend’s devastating fire on the eve of Halloween. For those of you just tuning in, Agora’s next door neighbor — Antique Warehaus — caught fire and the flames quickly spread to the two-story restaurant…
We Got A Letter From Natalie Portman! (Sort Of)
Apparently the trailer for Darren Aronofsky’s new film Black Swan isn’t creepy enough … so the film’s marketing team has decided to up the ante. Imagine the chills we got today when our film account manager Jessica Newbold received a mysterious hand-addressed black envelope from a “Nina Sayers” in Beverly…
Texas Supreme Court Sides With Beachfront Homeowners
The Texas Supreme Court gave a big victory today to beachfront homeowners who suddenly find their homes on public land because of storms, saying the state can’t take away their property. The battle over open beaches in Texas has been going on for a long time, of course, but today’s…
Nine More Washed-Up Musicians On Reality Shows
Everybody’s favorite lovelorn rock has-been Vince Neil has signed on to Skating With the Stars, an upcoming reality show sure to feature an exact recreation of the photo illustration above. Times, it seems, are tough all over, and Neil can’t be the only musical celebrity in deep enough financial trouble…
Mixto Rio Grande at The Original Ninfa’s
I think Robb Walsh was right on the money when he named the fajitas at The Original Ninfa’s his second favorite Houston dish. However, I have never been content to get just the beef fajitas — or the chicken or a combo of both — at Ninfa’s, whose expansive menu…
Bobbi Mihal: Suit Says Farouk Shami’s Company Fired Her For Not Being Muslim
Woman says she was fired for not being MuslimDoes the son of former Texas gubernatorial candidate and Houston hair product mogul Farouk Shami dislike white people?According to a former employee of Shami’s company, Farouk Systems, which reportedly pulled in $27.4 million in revenue in 2008, the answer is yes.Bobbi Mihal…
Top 10: Typecast Actors In Need of a Stretch
This weekend Zach Galifianakis stars with Robert Downey Jr. in Due Date, from the director of The Hangover and its upcoming sequel. Critics are already saying the road comedy follows the same territory as most every buddy road picture in existence, but that RDJ and Zach hit it off really…
Vintage Cocktails: The Mighty Manhattan
Though I’m a fan of pre-Prohibition cocktails, I’m woefully uneducated in the ways of bourbon. So I turned to Chris Morris, master distiller at Woodford Reserve, who schooled me in the history of one of America’s oldest drinks, the Manhattan. Woodford Reserve is sponsoring a Manhattan mix-off Monday at the…
Fun Fun Fun Fest: A Pocket Guide To Rocks Off’s Picks
Tonight Rocks Off heads to Austin to cover our third festival this year in the capitol city, Fun Fun Fun Fest. This is also our second trip to the festival in Waterloo Park. Think ACL but with bigger beards, tighter pants, more tattoos, and no jam bands. Last year we…
RenFest Folks: Watch Out For Ye Olde DWI Patrols
Harken!! Ye king of the County of Montgomery hathe decreed that — ah, we were never really into this Renaissance Festival stuff. But lots of people are, and they should be aware that should they be enjoying the Queen’s Mead or ye olde mulled wine or the Miller Lite, they…
Brent Green’s Bringing On the Heartbreak
Brent Green is talking enthusiastically about a scene in Werner Herzog’s 2009 film My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done? “The guy has a coffee cup that says ‘Razzle Dazzle’ on it. And at some point he realizes … that’s the point: ‘razzle them, dazzle them.'” Pennsylvania-based Green will…
DJ Shadow: “What Lasts, And What Survives, Is Good Taste”
DJ Shadow is one of the most recognizable names in experimental hip-hop. Occasionally controversial, and ever-influential, Josh Davis also has a reputation for being a bit of a shut-in when it comes to the media, so Rocks Off jumped at the chance to grab a few minutes with the sampling…
Bryan Caswell Defends Houston on Eatocracy, But Can We Defend Ourselves?
In 2002, Houston officially became a Zagat guide-less city. Teresa Byrne-Dodge, editor and publisher of My Table Magazine, told the Houston Press at that time how the folks at Zagat — based in New York City — had not only snubbed her after 14 years of involvement as a contributor…
Judge Woody Densen, Despite Guilty Plea, Still Denies Keying Neighbor’s Car
Woody Densen, the retired judge who still sits as a substitute on cases, famously was accused last year of keying the SUV of a Rice Village neighbor. He was caught doing it on a surveillance tape. He entered a guilty plea on the misdemeanor and paid $6,000 in fines and…
Last Night: Of Montreal And Janelle Monae At Numbers
Of Montreal, Janelle Monae Numbers November 4, 2010 At ACL we lamented that The Flaming Lips performances have evolved to be less about the music and more about the floor show. You know what you’re getting when you pay for a Lips concert ticket – Wayne Coyne will get in…
Happy Hour Scene: BB’s Cafe
The Place: BB’s Cafe509 Louisiana St. 713-236-8269www.bbscafe.comThe Hours: Monday through Friday 3-8 p.m.The Deals: Domestic beers are $2.50 and imports, along with Abita beers, are $3. Calls are $3.50 and BB’s “signature” drinks are $5. The Scene: Certain areas of downtown, like the “theater district,” kind of puzzle us. Last…
Bike Sharing In Houston: It’s Like Bike Renting, Without Dealing With People
The city of Houston set up a demonstration earlier this week for a proposed “bike sharing” program it’s looking to initiate next year.What’s “bike sharing”? It’s like the “bike renting” you do at Galveston or other tourist spots, except you don’t have to deal with human beings. Insert a credit…
Chopped and Stewed: Slow Food Tomorrow at Discovery Green
Grab your wicker basket and checkered blanket tomorrow and support Houston’s development as a sustainable city. This Saturday, Discovery Green will be buzzing with the Bioneers by day and a Slow Food Picnic Dinner by night. The Fall Harvest Day in the Park is a free, family-friendly event featuring booths,…
Last Night: Heart At House Of Blues
Heart House of Blues November 4, 2010 See pictures of the Wilson Sisters in our slideshow from last night. In trying to come up with a witty juxtaposition to open our review of Thursday night’s Heart show, Aftermath was initially going to throw out a comparison to Jefferson Airplane/Starship, another…
5 Teams I’m Surprised Didn’t Snatch Up Randy Moss Before Tennessee
One. The greatest NFL deep threat of our generation gets tossed back onto the open market and that’s the exact number of teams that wanted to stake their claim (or at least stake their claim at the pro-rated portion of Moss’ 2010 salary). And that’s the thing about the NFL…
Reviews For The Easily Distracted: Due Date
Title: Due Date Director: Todd Phillips, who you’ll probably remember from The Hangover, Old School, and Road Trip. Cast/Crew: Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifianakis, Michelle Monaghan, Jamie Foxx. Is Galifianakis In Everything These Days? It certainly seems that way. Rating Using Random Objects Relevant to the Film: Two Sunny the…
Brew Blog: Le Petit Saison Ale from Twisted Pine Brewing Co. of Boulder, Colorado
Regular watchers of Brew Blog will know that we’re big fans of Belgian beers. Now, given that it’s such a small country, you’d be forgiven for assuming that Belgium has about five beers. But during a visit there a few years back, we were told that the country lays claim…
Community: The Gender Episode
One of the things that separates comedies like Community from, let’s say, The Rules of Engagement is that the writers on Community always take the jokes one step further. Not in terms of class or extremes, but structure: the punch line is usually just a set-up to the real punch…
Last Night: Hacienda At Under The Volcano
Hacienda Under the Volcano November 4, 2010 How long did it take Hacienda to warm up and find the rock groove Thursday night? About two drum beats. For a bunch of peaceful, soft-spoken, just-grateful-to-be-here guys who have been touring non-stop all year, the rising San Antonio ensemble began the set…
Cougars Duel The Knights Tonight
The University of Central Florida Knights are, perhaps, the best team in Conference USA. They definitely have the best defense, and their offense is one of those bone-crushing, time-consuming rush-oriented games that drains the souls of opposing defenses. They’re 6-2 on the season (4-0 in the conference), and if there…
Oct. 29 to Nov. 4: The Week in Photos
Each week, we take a dip into the Houston Press Flickr pool and see what our talented photographers have been up to. Heading to the Ren Fest? Planning a holiday party? Dining at that new restaurant everyone is tlking about? Be sure to add your images to our photo group…
What Can You Tell About a Person by Their Fridge?
Earlier this week, I send out a request to friends, family, coworkers and acquaintances: Let me see your fridge, in all its organized or crusty glory. The response was overwhelming. I had photos of fridge contents sent to me from chefs and cubicle-dwellers alike, from California to New York, from…
Cage Match: Justin Bieber Vs. Muhammidali
Ladies and gentlemen, tomorrow night a battle will be waged for souls of Houston music fans. The stages have been set. The combatants are ready. In this corner, weighing approximately 9 lbs and sporting the haircut heard round the world, Justin Bieber! And in this corner, weighing in at the…
The Week In Art Photos
Each week, we scour the Houston Press Flickr Pool and see what kinds of art shots our talented photographers have added. If you think you’ve got a good eye, drop your pictures in the pool and every Friday we’ll post the most eye-popping shots. (Be sure to enable the HTML…
If Gary Kubiak Had Been Around In Key Historical Moments
Houston Texans’ coach Gary Kubiak is the genius who piloted the team to a big win over the Indianapolis Colts early this year via a punishing running game. He’s also the idiot, fans are saying, who piloted the team to a crushing loss against the Colts Monday by trying to…
Bath Salts As Fake Coke: How Five Movies Would Have Been Different
Bath salts: The first taste is freeWith all this talk about synthetic marijuana (K2), Hair Balls was already feeling despair for kids these days. But when we checked out the Beaumont Enterprise recently, we completely lost all faith: people in southeast Texas are now apparently snorting bath salt.”Authorities are interested…
Gallant Knight Closing, Or Switching Hands, In Landlord Dispute
Citing a landlord dispute, management of the Gallant Knight announced this morning that the club will be closing Dec. 31. However, according to a report circulating on Culturemap.com this afternoon, it appears that Vintage Lounge owner Amir Ansari will be taking over the premises Jan. 1, 2011. According to a…
Slideshow: Street Art Fundraiser at Nouveau Antique Art Bar
Wednesday night, street artist Daniel Anguilu held a fundraiser to benefit his new project: a massive mural covering the entire surface of a four-story Midtown building that was flooded and left dormant by Tropical Storm Allison. The event took place at Nouveau Antique Art Bar, across the street from Anguilu’s…
Bob Hudgins Leaves Texas Film Commission, Unpleasantly
A couple of months ago, when we examined why there was so little fim and TV production in Houston as opposed to Dallas and Austin, some of the commenters blamed Bob Hudgins, who heads the Texas Film Commission. Well, they won’t have him to kick around anymore — he’s quitting…
Bartender Chat: Mindy Kucan of Anvil Bar & Refuge
Mindy Kucan, who was named Best Bartender in the 2010 Best of Houston® issue of the Press, used to commute to Houston for her shifts at Anvil. “I’m originally from Houston, but had moved to Austin to bartend at the Hilton. Then I got the job at Anvil in November…
Gallery Scene: Opening This Week
We’re excited about the new shows this week, Epecially Brent Green at DiverseWorks, Benjamin Patterson at CAMH, as well as intriguing stuff at Bering Art Collective and Nau-haus. We’ll have a white wine. Brent Green: Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then Green takes over DiverseWorks’ main gallery with his site-specific exhibition…
Court Battle: Where Would The Discriminating Traveler Stay?
If you were visiting Houston back in the Eisenhower years — well, we hope you had family here, or some really pressing reason to visit. But even if it was just a pleasure trip, where to stay? Look at the dilemma facing an intrepid vagabond forced to cheese between the…
Phoenicia Specialty Foods Breaks Ground in Downtown
If the turnout at last night’s event is any indication, Houstonians are very (very) excited about the new Phoenicia Specialty Foods, set to open in April 2011. Dreary weather did little to dissuade upwards of 600 people from attending the groundbreaking of the location at One Park Place (1001 Austin…
Hit Nashville Songwriter Takes Skynyrd-AC/DC Detour
We were talking about bluegrassers Steeldrivers with a mainstream Nashville producer recently when he remarked that the band’s former singer-songwriter, Chris Stapleton, is “the most talented guy in Nashville.” Say what? In fact, unless you follow the doings of Music Row or you are one of the bluegrass cognescenti, it’s…
Rocks Off Denied Justin Bieber Reviewer Tickets
Should we be… or…..
WHAT?!? Companies Pay BRIBES To Do Business In Russia And Angola?
Shocking, we knowBe prepared to lose all faith in — well, if not humanity, per se, at least capitalism and government officials in Nigeria.It appears — are you sitting down? — that bribery is sometimes used when American companies try to do business in Russia, Nigeria, Angola and Kazakhstan. Yes,…
Why We’re Eating at McDonald’s
Between news that San Francisco has recently banned the sale of fast food meals that contain toys and the glorious return of the McRib, McDonald’s is getting both good and bad press this week. Both the McRib and the possible ban on Happy Meals are divisive topics: opponents of the…
The Wonton Soup at Vietnam
With temps falling, I’ve had soup on the brain lately. I recently headed over to Vietnam Restaurant (605 W. 19th Street) for some wonton soup. You’d be hard-pressed to find better in the city. The beauty is in the simplistic approach the good people at Vietnam take to soup preparation…
Wadren Hilger: East Texas Woman Faces Three Felony Counts In Horrific Child Abuse Case
Back in June, doctors at Beaumont’s St. Elizabeth hospital were shocked at the condition of their little patient from Silsbee. The three-year-old girl was semi-comatose, suffering from seizures and bruised from head to toe.After being called by the hospital to investigate, Silsbee police chief Dennis Allen was also mortified.He counted…
Top Eight Notorious Concert Disasters
[this photo has been removed — ed.] Recently, indie-rock juggernauts Arcade Fire were prevented from playing a gig in Portugal by NATO, which is having a summit on the same date. Arcade Fire offered to play a day ahead of time, but NATO decided the risk to the Canadian/Houstonian gaggle…
10 Pumpkin Dishes to Try in Houston: #5: Pumpkin Spice Latte at Diedrich “Dirk’s” Coffee
I adore pumpkin. It’s orange (my favorite color), healthful (fiber! Vitamin A!), and associated with two lovely, food-centric holidays (Halloween and Thanksgiving). Starting around October, I always find myself on the hunt for pumpkin-flavored foods, and this autumn is no exception. So, between now and Turkey Day, I will be…
The Future of Movies! The Store
There might be people in Houston who are greater movie fans than Rob Arcos, but if there are, there can’t be many. Art Attack has known Arcos almost a decade. We slung popcorn and sacrificed blood to the ancient projectors at the Landmark River Oaks Theatre together, and we more…
HISD Looks to Trim Summer School Costs
An initial — and not yet approved — plan presented to Houston ISD board members today calls for cutting summer school expenditures from more than $26 million to either $11 million or $15 million for 2011.At the same time, principals are being told that the money they have been holding…
Camarena Tequila Arrives in Texas
Admittedly, I am no tequila expert. I like it in margaritas, and I tend to get into trouble when I drink it by itself (with the help of a little lime and salt, of course). I think Camarena tequila — both the silver and the Reposado – are pleasantly smooth…
A Fire, Karaoke Or Ex-Brothel: Where Were We In Drag?
Pull up a chair, start a tab and order a round of shots, because this is Rocks Off’s weekly roundup of the goings-on in the Houston bar scene. Ups and downs, openings and closings, we will cover it all. Hit us up with any hot tips at craig.hlavaty@houstonpress.com. Open Tab…
Houston Aggie Takes On Jeopardy
If you have a question about victims rights, you’re probably going to want to ask Houston’s renowned crime victims advocate, Andy Kahan.If you have a question about practically anything else, you might want to try Kahan’s son, Kyle. The Texas A&M student has been selected as one of the wiz…
And The Winner Is…
Last week, H-E-B asked for Montrose residents’ votes on the design for the new store that will soon be constructed at West Alabama and Dunlavy. Of the 206 residents that turned out at a neighborhood meeting to cast their vote, 88 went to the winning design seen above: The Pavilion…
Are You a South Park Authori-tah?
Geeks Who Drink, the national pub quiz phenomenon, is taking a special quiz across the nation. “Screw Your Quiz, I’m Going Home,” a South Park-themed quiz, lands in Houston on Thursday November 11th at the Maple Leaf Pub. If there’s one thing GWD’s 20-to-30 year-old demographic knows, it’s South Park…
Dallas Cowboys’ Latest Distraction Gimmick: Lap Dances
Shoulda put this on the giant hi-defWhat is it with Dallas football fans that makes a monstrosity of a football stadium want them to have public sex?First it was the boffing on the bathroom stalls. Now it’s the front-row lap dance.This woman, obviously bored with whatever ass-kicking the Cowboys were…
Rap’s 10 Most Hated People Of 2010
Hatred is a popular sport in hip-hop. Players of this sport include everyone from fans to peers. There’s no specific reason for loathing. Sometimes, being the best in your league is an egregious enough crime to inspire a strong dose of vitriol. Here are the 10 most hated hip-hop artists…
HPD Says Crime Is Down, Down, Down In Houston Town
Crime? What crime?The Houston Police Department is crowing over what it says is a significant drop in major-crime rates in the city so far this year.We feel safer already.HPD says the first three quarters of 2010 have seen a lot fewer incidents than the same period of 2009: Violent crime…
Vegetarian Pâté: Why? Just…Why?
I am sympathetic to the plight of vegetarians, whether it’s a lifestyle chosen for religious, health or ethical reasons. “Plight? What plight?” you may ask. The plight of often being overlooked or ignored by restaurant menus, for one. And the plight of not being able to enjoy life’s simple pleasures,…
Bush & Kanye West: Five Lower Points In His Presidency, None Of Which Involve WMDs, Torture Or Decimating the Middle Class
That belt: another low pointAs you’ve likely heard, George W. Bush has a new book out, one that promises to be as good as his campaign bio A Charge to Keep.Decision Points proves once and for all that W is not to blame for anything and even if he did…
Justin Bieber: Why Are We Going Saturday?
Justin Bieber is much more than a Twitter phenomenon and the most-copied hairstyle since Jennifer Aniston. He’s also a living, breathing, 16-year-old human being who will perform at Toyota Center Saturday night. From what we can tell, tickets are still available, but we expect a full house. Rocks Off is…
Food Fight: Battle Carrot Cake
I always wonder what people imagine the first time they hear the words “carrot cake.” It’s not that the name isn’t accurate or descriptive – it really is a cake made with carrots – but it’s hard to imagine people picturing something, well, good. Do they even think it’s a…
Bret Michaels Broke Up Your Parents’ Marriage? Could Be Worse.
Oh dear: The reason Miley Cyrus’ parents are splitting after 17 years of marriage: Mom Tish had an affair with rocker Bret Michaels, reports the new Us Weekly. When Billy Ray learned of it – as well as at least one other fling – he filed for divorce Oct. 27,…
Remember H.I.S.D.’s The Weakend?
Houston’s history is dotted with albums that, fairly or not, have been swept aside. We’ll examine them here. Have an album that you think nobody knows about but should? Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. H.I.S.D. The Weakend (Peace Uv Mine, 2010) The Weakend is only the second full-length album that the now-veteran group…
Rice Tries To Downgrade The Golden Hurricane
The Rice Owls (2-6) didn’t play football last weekend. They rested up, got some players back from injury, and got back to stressing that need to work on the fundamentals. And they watched this week’s opponent go into South Bend and defeat Notre Dame on national television. (Sure, beating Notre…
Own a Piece By Matisse for $25
On Saturday, November 13, from 6pm-10pm, Avenue CDC will host the 14th Annual Art on the Avenue at Winter Street Studios. The silent auction, the largest annual fundraiser for the non-profit organization dedicated to revitalizing Houston’s Washington Avenue and surrounding communities, will feature originals from over 250 Texas artists–and one…
Five Musicians More Embarrasing For Your Mother To Have An Affair With Than Bret Michaels
Every thorn has its prick: The reason Miley Cyrus’ parents are splitting after 17 years of marriage: Mom Tish had an affair with rocker Bret Michaels, reports the new Us Weekly. When Billy Ray learned of it – as well as at least one other fling – he filed for…
Arthur Yoria Hates “Happy Birthday”
We sat down with Arthur Yoria to see what we could learn about the stoner-rocker in 30 seconds. Rocks Off: What is the worst song in the world? Arthur Yoria: “Happy Birthday.” I don’t like the changes and the lyrics are trite. RO: What is the best lyric in the…
Top 5 Worst Thanksgiving Day Dishes
You know them all too well. Year after year, these dishes seem to find their way to the Thanksgiving table. Why must we be subjected to these horrible creations? 5. Instant Mashed Potatoes Are our lives so busy that we must cut corners on this most sacred Thanksgiving dish? I…
MasterMind Awards: Call For Nominations
It’s time for the third annual competition honoring the best in Houston arts Once again, the Houston Press is looking for artists of all types who are changing our creative and cultural landscape in the Houston area as we stand ready to give out our MasterMind Awards. Past honorees have…
Six Semi-Creepy Ads: Happy Times, Unless You Look Closely
Google “creepy ads” and you come across the classics of the genre: the pig butchering himself, the baby getting crushed by a giant washtub, the wife getting spanked over piss-poor coffee. But there are other, more subtly creepy, ads that professional advertisers believed, at one point, would convince consumers to…
10 TV Rooms In Houses Big Enough To Have Elevators
If your house is big and fancy enough to have an elevator (or a shaft ready for an elevator if you desire), then it’s probably not your basic shotgun shack. And you, the owner, are probably someone who puts a lot of thought into your home.Like, say, in the TV/media…
‘night Mother
Jimmy G. Mai, artistic director of the Midnight Theater company, isn’t afraid of taking audiences to a place of hopelessness in ‘night Mother. The unsettling story involves a tense mother-daughter relationship made even more difficult when the daughter calmly announces she’s going to commit suicide. The daughter is played by…
Contemporary World Cinema: Israeli Short Films
Bathe in the glow of two life-affirming short works by Israeli filmmaker/actor Pini Tavger at Contemporary World Cinema: Israeli Short Films at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. With painterly, clear compositions and an infectious, cheek-pinching performance by youngster Anthony Berman in the title role, Pinchas (2008) deftly tells a…
13th Annual Polish Film Festival
You can still catch several screenings at the 13th Annual Polish Film Festival. On Thursday, it’s director Juliusz Machulski’s 2010 release Kolysanka (Lullaby). The film chronicles the mysterious disappearances – and equally mysterious reappearances – of several people in a small village. The viewer soon discovers there are vampires in…
Carlos
Never has a five-and-a-half-hour TV miniseries been so ripe for the big screen as Carlos, the adrenaline-drenched epic on the despicable life of Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, the Venezuelan revolutionary terrorist known as the Jackal. The film never loosens its throat-tightening grip as it races through his deadly career with an…
2010 International Quilt Festival
“The biggest insult you can give to a quilter is to say she makes blankets,” says Libby Lehman, a quilting expert who will be on hand for the 2010 International Quilt Festival. While making blankets may have been the original purpose of early quilters, the craft soon grew into an…
Dennis Lehane: Moonlight Mile
Some mistakes do come back to haunt us. And it’s hell when they do. In Dennis Lehane’s new thriller, Moonlight Mile, private investigator Patrick Kenzie worked on a missing child case in 1997; the missing girl was a four-year-old named Amanda. Working with his partner, Angela Gennaro, Kenzie found Amanda…
Selkie, A Sea Tale
The bittersweet love story of Selkie, A Sea Tale is based on Irish folklore about mythical creatures. To come on land they shed their skins, which allows them to take human form. But if their skins are stolen or lost, they can’t become a seal again and must remain human…
Impulse Artist Series: The Alter-Ego Season
Think all classical musicians are old and dusty, playing sonatas in symphony halls somewhere? You haven’t met the musicians slated for this year’s Impulse Artist Series: The Alter Ego Season, a weeklong slate of concerts that will take place in various locations throughout the city. There’s Kris Becker, a pianist…
Free First Sunday: Nature Inspires Us
At the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s Free First Sunday: Nature Inspires Us, families are invited to explore the artistic influence of nature through paintings, activities and films. “We’re giving a sensory experience through looking at the works of art, getting a sense of what inspires these artists,” says Tracy…
The 5 Browns
Royal Tenenbaums, step aside: If you want to see a family of geniuses, look no further than The 5 Browns, a piano-playing quintet of siblings, each trained at Juilliard, and – bonus! – born in Houston. Desirae, Deondra, Gregory, Melody and Ryan are experts at Rachmaninov, Bach, Brahms and Liszt,…
Do Mexicans Think It’s Weird for Gabachos to Do Their Own Yardwork?
Dear Mexican, I’m totally serious about my email, so please forgive me if my question sounds ridiculous. I also mean no insult to anyone about my question or questions in this e-mail. There are a lot of antsy/jittery people along the United States’ southern border. Lots of those antsy people seem to want…
Heart
When we went to see Journey at the Woodlands Pavilion a couple of summers ago, we expected an evening of stout classic-rock anthems with a side of arena cheese. That’s exactly what we got…from openers Heart. In fact, if Journey hadn’t rallied late with an epic “Don’t Stop Believin’,” the…
Allen Toussaint
For all intents and purposes, Allen Toussaint is New Orleans music. The 74-year-old pianist, songwriter, producer and arranger’s résumé is too long to list, but here are a few highlights: He filled in for Fats Domino at some of Dave Bartholomew’s recording sessions in the ’50s; he gave the Meters…
Bad Religion
Bad Religion came barreling out of the California hardcore scene in 1979, setting fire to listeners with a lyrical bag full of syllables and philosophical grit. Led by singer Greg Graffin, guitarist Brett Gurewitz and bassist Jay Bentley, the band wanted you to think about your world as much as…
Janelle Monae
This has been a good year for Janelle Monáe. Not only has the 24-year-old’s second full-length album, The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III), racked up praise for its ambitious blend of modern soul, rock, hip-hop and R&B, but her live show is also being recognized as one of the best…
The Hold Steady
The Hold Steady are like Bruce Springsteen for indie-rock people who have far too many questionable tattoos and a massive record collection they’ve been meaning to sell off to make a down payment on a house. The band’s fifth and latest album, Heaven Is Whenever, is their most grown-up outing…
Latin Bites Café
Roberto Castre, originally from Lima, Peru, came to Houston a few years ago, moved to Miami and then came back here to open Latin Bites Café (1304 Nance, 713-229-8369) in the arts warehouse district just northeast of downtown. “It reminds me of the area in Lima known as Barranco, which…
Best Coast
Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast has gotten a lot of flak for her song lyrics, as heard on her band’s debut, this year’s Crazy for You. The songs are all fuzzy layers of reverbing guitars, evoking a drugged-out California haze (not all that different from the music of Cosentino’s boyfriend,…
Merz at the Menil
The Dadaists considered German artist Kurt Schwitters too bourgeois. The Nazis included his work in the first “Entartete Kunst” (Degenerate Art) exhibition. Born in 1887 and expelled from the Berliner Akademie der Künste in 1911 as “untalented,” Schwitters went on to make groundbreaking work that would birth installation art and…
Fired Up
Bright Men of Learning have been around for a long time, especially in Houston years. The band has already topped a decade, and that’s not counting the members’ various permutations prior to settling down in BMOL. That notion of settling down is an apt way to sum up the self-proclaimed…
Zach Attack
In Due Date, a skinny, scowly and dryly self-referential Robert Downey Jr. meets a chubby, beardy, quasi-autistic Zach Galifianakis boarding a flight from Atlanta to Los Angeles. Downey Jr. plays Peter, a Bluetoothed architect with a very pregnant wife (Michelle Monaghan) waiting at home for him; Galifianakis’s Ethan is a…
The Rainbow Disconnection
It’s a long, long way from the women’s bar outside Berkeley, California, where Ntozake Shange first presented her combustible choreopoem For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf, in December 1974, to Atlanta’s Tyler Perry Studios, where the impresario filmed much of this calamitous adaptation. Though…
Loko Oh No
WHATEVER Loko Oh No Testing the new fad drink By Richard Connelly and Craig Hlavaty The latest bit of juvenile delinquency that has the authorities up in arms is Four Loko, a powerful caffeinated beer that’s sending kids to hospitals. The “powerful” part — 12 percent alcohol in a 24-ounce…
Pierson’s “Small” Gumbo Bowl a Mouthful
At the recently opened Pierson’s Cajun & Country Café (3843 Cartwright Rd., Missouri City, 281-208-8882), the gumbo is as good as it gets. The “small” ($3.95) comes in an extra-large bowl, so consider this when ordering; it’s hard to imagine what the “large” looks like. At the bottom of the…
Haunted
GhoulsFest had everything going for it last Saturday except one rather important detail: people. It felt…well, haunted. Normally, that would be an excellent thing to say about anything happening on Halloween weekend — except possibly a music festival where a few thousand people were expected to show up and only…
Fifth Ward Saints
See our slideshow of the youth football league at work and at play. The dark gray Chevy truck rolls backwards onto a fence-enclosed field, with grass the color of hay, in the heart of the Fifth Ward. Front doors open and seven kids pile out; once the hatch to the…
Sane – and Afraid
What’s the point? It was a question I asked myself more than once in the last month: While I was booking the hotel room, then sitting on the flight from Houston to Washington, DC, and finally walking with tens of thousands of others down Pennsylvania Avenue to attend the Rally…
Our Readers Go Loco for Zelko Bistro.
Loco for Zelko Online readers comment on “The Heights of Comfort,” by Katharine Shilcutt, October 20: Thanks, HP: “Neighborhood joint” means “keep a low profile.” Couldn’t you have waited more than seven months to review, giving us some time with our peeps? The vibe will change when the good reviews…
Jackson’s Watering Hole’s Sazerac
Heading into New Orleans on I-55, just before you cross the fourth-longest bridge in the world (and the second-longest in south Louisiana), you’ll pass a couple remote restaurants/bars that for reasons I can’t explain fit perfectly in the alluvial landscape. The exterior of NOLA-themed newcomer Jackson’s Watering Hole (1205 Richmond,…
Capsule Art Reviews: “Kiki Smith,” “The New Black: Contemporary Concepts in Color and Abstraction,” “Quantumdada Phase 2”
“Kiki Smith” Following up on their exhibition of Richard Serra etchings, Devin Borden Hiram Butler Gallery features another great print show. This time the work is by Kiki Smith. It’s a series of color intaglio works based on the story “Little Red Riding Hood,” a fairy tale that has a…
Come to Pappa
See Pappa Geno’s kitchen in all its Cheez-y glory in our slideshow. “This is about as authentic as it gets,” my friend Jim Parsons remarked as he took another bite of Pappa Geno’s steak and cheese sandwich on a recent Tuesday evening. “It’s the bread, isn’t it?” I said. “Yep,”…
Capsule Stage Reviews: Madame Butterfly, Peter Grimes, Richard III, Vanities
Madame Butterfly Is there any opera entrance more musically ravishing than the bridal procession of Butterfly? A 15-year-old geisha, she’s been “sold” by marriage broker Goro to American naval lieutenant Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton, who’s on a tour of duty in Nagasaki. Impatient, he has no intention of fully accepting Butterfly…
Loud Is the Night
It’s an old saw: “I’d rather be lucky than good.” But for exploding San Antonio rock band Hacienda, which makes its Houston debut Thursday night, being both is even better. The fledgling band had been together only long enough to compose and demo six original tunes before a chance meeting…
Greed, Interrupted
Inside Job, Charles Ferguson’s follow-up to his Iraq War gut-twister No End in Sight, is a documentary that inspires less shock and awe than sickening ire. The movie opens with the cautionary tale of little Iceland, an idyllic nation so stable that, as put by one local, it enjoyed “almost…
Suicidal Tendencies, High on Fire, Kylesa, Municipal Waste
If you can’t make it out to Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin this weekend, Houston will be getting plenty of runoff from that festival’s lineup — like this bill, a seeming one-stop shop for all things thrash and metal. Headliners Suicidal Tendencies are skate-punk royalty, and their 1983 self-titled…
