“Day of the Dead Rock Stars”
Artist Carlos Hernandez has a few surprises for this year’s “Day of the Dead Rock Stars” art exhibit, his annual show of famous (and dead) musicians shown as traditional Día de los Muertos skeletons. The painter has added screen printing to his arsenal of tools, which allows him to layer…
“AirPlane1 and AirStation1, An Art Installation by Dion Laurent”
A 1930s art deco gas station is the setting for “AirPlane1 and AirStation1, an Art Installation by Dion Laurent.” The centerpiece in the installation, AirPlane1, is a winner from this year’s Art Car parade and was fashioned after a 1956 Cessna 170 airplane. (The full-scale wood and metal sculpture is…
Ten Country Covers That Top The Pop Originals
Our copy must still be in the mail, but Rocks Off figures we have heard enough songs from Jamey Johnson’s new album The Guitar Song on Sirius/XM’s Outlaw Country to know that we like it a whole lot. But none that we’ve heard so far are our favorite new Johnson…
Road Rage Suspects’ Truck Caught In Surveillance Photos
Photos courtesy HPDLast week we told you about the man murdered in broad daylight after a road-rage incident on the Southwest Freeway,Theodore Mitsakos, 49, was followed off the highway and eventually shot by one of the people in the truck that was tailing him.As they pursued Mitsakos on West bellfort,…
This Is…Beer?
The class was on cheese, yet more than a week has passed and all I can think about is the curious beverage that paired so beautifully with the sharp flavors of the washed rind cheeses. The drink was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. It smelled like funky champagne,…
NBA 2010-2011 Preview — Reconstructing LeBron
“What should I do?” — LeBron James, over and over and over again his new Nike spot The fact that LeBron James is posing the question in his new Nike spot perhaps tells us that he is not completely devoid of self-awareness, as he appeared to be last summer. Of…
Chef Chat, Part 1: Bill Greenwood of Eddie V’s Prime Seafood
Last week, we sat down with chef Bill Greenwood of of Eddie V’s Prime Seafood at CityCentre (12848 Queensbury Lane). We explored the many places he has lived and worked, which one he calls home, and what Buddhist monks like and don’t like on their plates. Eating Our Words: So…
Slideshow: Ruby Revue Burly-Q at House of Blues (NSFW)
The curvy ladies of Ruby Revue Burlesque performed in the Foundation Room at The House of Blues last night. As the photos attest, the theme was horror. One girl is covered with a black robe and holding a naked baby doll. What happens when the robe comes off isn’t very…
Dennis Ray Anderson: Convicted Killer Who Kept Corpse In Barrel Is Considered Dangerous
Photo courtesy HCSODennis Ray Anderson: Yes, he’s dangerousYou serve a long prison term for murdering a woman and her three-year-old granddaughter. You’re now wanted because you’ve been keeping a corpse in a barrel in your backyard, someone you most likely killed.You have no money, you’re on foot and armed. Yeah,…
Ten Videos That Will Creep The Hell Out Of You (NSFW)
“This was the first time we realized we were scared of needles being shoved into our faces…” Craig’s Hlist has spent the past 27 years of our life mired in music videos. The family got cable at the exact same time that MTV was hitting its stride, so you could…
Stirred & Shaken: Polk Street Pub’s Houston Tycoon
It’s a strange scene when you have groups of Houstonians at a bar experiencing collective joy at the success of a Dallas-area sports team, but that’s the power of New York Yankee hatred. It’s stronger than love and most kinds of sexual attraction, and it’s definitely more compelling than any…
Allen Stanford: Now Officially Broke, Gets Good Attorneys
Allen Stanford’s new lawyerAllen Stanford, the much-put-upon onetime gazillionaire, has finally reached the end of his assembly line of attorneys representing him against massive criminal-fraud charges.Stanford had been going through the higher echelons of the Houston criminal defense bar for some time, eventually working his way down to lesser-known attorneys…
DVD Giveaway: Back to the Future: The Complete Trilogy
Yesterday, the stars of the 1985 blockbuster Back to the Future got together in New York to commemorate the movie’s 25th anniversary. And one star, not surprisingly, was conspicuously absent — Crispin Glover. He was conspicuously absent in parts two & three, also — except when they tried to dress…
Texan Concepts of Ethnic Food: Breaking It Down, Venn Diagram-Style
Have you ever traveled abroad and met people who — upon learning you’re from Texas — ask if you own any horses? Own any cattle? Own a ranch? Ask where your boots and buckle are? Stereotypes abound far and wide, from my dear ex-mother-in-law from England — who wanted to…
Social Media Folks, Caffe Bello and Fun Times
Organized by frequent EOW commenter, foodie, tweeter extraordinaire and website developer who counts the Vallone enterprise as one of his clients, Albert Nurick (aka @htownchowdown) gathered lots of tweet-happy, food-loving Houstonians for a meal at Caffe Bello last night. The conversation flowed between some people who had only interacted with…
Based On Music Scene, Houston May Be U.S.’s 4th-Dumbest City
Sooooo… The Daily Beast has compiled its second annual list of the dumbest cities in America. Houston came in fourth from last (out of 55), just ahead of our neighbors in San Antonio. The list is compiled through a great many things, such as the number of libraries, cultural investments…
GOP State Rep. Candidate: Sure, I Caucused With Dems, But Just To Stop Barack Obama
Voters in well-to-do West U, Bellaire and Meyerland have a clear choice for State Rep this fall: A staunch Democrat, or someone who caucused in 2008 as a Hillary Clinton delegate.GOP hopeful Sarah Davis says she voted for Clinton in the 2008 primary, but it was only to stop Barack…
Voter Intimidation Victim and Witness Come Forward, And Nov. 2 Looms Closer
No one seems to want to play nice at the voting polls this year. And new names and organizations keep getting involved in the already over-crowded, controversial fray.King Street Patriots/The Tea Party. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. The Texas Democratic Party. The Texas Republican Party. Harris County Democratic Party. The Attorney…
Happy Hour at BRC Gastropub
Some things at BRC Gastropub — the subject of this week’s cafe review — can be hit or miss. Even the wonderful mac ‘n’ cheese, which was named Best Mac and Cheese in this year’s Best of Houston® issue, can have performance anxiety. But one thing that isn’t hit or…
New on DVD: The Girl Who Played With Fire, Sex and the City 2, Winter’s Bone, Wild Grass
(Capsule reviews by John Patterson, Ella Taylor, Dan Kois and J. Hoberman) The Girl Who Played With Fire This grim and bloody adaptation of the second volume of the late Stieg Larsson’s bestselling Millennium trilogy–featuring journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) and computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace)–moves the story into…
Victoria Human-Smuggling Deaths Spur Another Lawsuit — This Time Against The Truck’s Manufacturer
The semi should have had airholes, suit saysIt’s been seven years since the human-smuggling tragedy in Victoria, in which 19 undocumented immigrants died and around 100 people suffered brutal conditions, trapped inside a tractor-trailer transporting them across Texas.Late last week, however, the families of some of the people who perished…
Odd Pair: Sparking Pinot and Pringles
Sparkling red wines are becoming more and more prevalent. I first became aware of them during a trip to Australia where I sampled delicious sparkling Shiraz. Stateside, I was lucky enough to find red bubbles on the wine lists of Houston’s better restaurants. T’afia actually had a very lovely one…
Backmasking Bieber, Black Keys, Kanye, Etc.: What Do You Hear?
“It’s my sweet Satan … Oh I will sing because I live with Satan.” “Turn me on, dead man.” “Turned out nice again.” “Eat donkey crap.” Every since the beginning of rock and roll, listeners and disgruntled parents alike have been searching for hidden meanings in music. Was Paul dead,…
Seabrook PD: School Lockdown Caused By Man “Shooting At Varmints”
Man’s got a right to defend himself against varmints, don’t he?The city of Seabrook is conscious of its image, or at least we deduce so from its extremely majestic motto: “As Grand by Land as by Bay, and Why Many Choose to Stay.”We’re not saying that motto makes a lick…
Reporting from the Southern Foodways Alliance Symposium: Chingo Bling Talks “Taco Circuit”
A lot of rappers establish street cred by talking about hittin’ licks and sellin’ rocks. Chingo Bling raps about slangin’ tamales and hot sauce — which is what brought him to the Southern Foodways Alliance annual symposium last weekend. Known as the Masa Messiah, or the Taquero Vaquero, or, according…
Electric Car: I Drove The Volt And The Volt Won
Photo by Danny LopezThe electric car is here, but you can’t ride it yetGeneral Motors and Nissan are in a tight race that could go down to a photo finish. No, it’s not the Corvette Z06 vs. the Nismo 350z. They’re in a race to see who can get the…
Slideshow: Day of the Dead at Lawndale and Manos Magicas
Skeletons are popping up all over Houston as the city is gearing up for the Mexican holiday Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). No matter what you’ve heard, Día de los Muertos is not the Mexican version of Halloween. Celebrated on November 2 as a day to remember…
Simple Success: Remix Artistes Not So Simple After All
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. Several weeks ago we attended FlyFest, a day-long…
Leonard Campbell & Bobby Henry: 150 Montrose Burglaries In The Past Year
Photo courtesy HPDLeonard CampbellHouston police have arrested two men they believe are responsible for up to 150 burglaries in the Montrose area in the past yearLeonard Campbell, 50, and Bobby Henry, 40, were both arrested this month. HPD says Campbell can be tied to 107 burglaries and Henry to 50…
Top 5 Groceries You Buy and Then Throw Away
We go into the grocery store with the best of intentions, usually… I mean, assuming we’re not violating the cardinal rule, “Never grocery shop while hungry.” We try to plan out our meals to some degree, and think of all kinds of great things we can cook with various ingredients…
Rodeo 2011: Sugarland, Zac Brown Band, Selena Gomez…
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo announced the first four entertainers for its 2011 season, scheduled for March 1-20, 2011 in Reliant Stadium: Sugarland (March 3); Selena Gomez (March 6); Zac Brown Band (March 17); and Brad Paisley (March 19) You were expecting Arcade Fire, perhaps? Once again, the Rodeo…
Glee: “The Horror”
So it seems Emma was a virgin in more ways than one. At least, we know at the episode’s outset she was still innocent in the ways of Rocky Horror, and one assumes her virtue is still intact, even though it’s hard to believe anyone could resist the carnal mega-tonnage…
Glee Does Rocky Horror Proud
“A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, God said, “Let there be lips. And there were lips. And they began to sing!” – The Audience Rocks Off will never forget the night we first heard a bunch of reprobates screaming at a movie screen while half-clad cult…
Texas Rangers: World Series Tips From A Town That’s Been There
Let a veteran city help you out, MetroplexTonight begins what — to fans of the Peter Sellers movie The Mouse That Roared — will always be known as the “so-called World Series.”It (the Series, not the movie) features the Texas Rangers and the San Francisco Giants. If you wanted a…
Cocks, Crap, and Demonic Livestock: Top Five Crazy Political Commercials
The fervor of the current election has produced so many wacky ads it was hard to choose just five. If we hadn’t already covered them, Christine O’Donnell’s “I’m not a Witch” and CAGW’s “Chinese Professor” would definitely top out the list. In celebration of the 2010 election (less than a…
Sex And Violence On Facebook: Wankie McDoucherson’s Saga
Ain’t the Internet wonderful? We found out just how much fun it could be yet again yesterday, when we stumbled across what looked like a garden-variety domestic violence report on file in the Harris County District Clerk’s online records. Tuesday Harris County Sheriffs arrested a 20-year-old Katy woman for assault…
Five Four Musicians Who Practice Witchcraft
Gerald Gardner founded Wicca in the 1960s, though many claim the idea was originally thought up with assistance by Aleister Crowley. Regardless, the faith has become one of the most prominent neopagan belief systems in the world, and the pentacle symbol used by adherents is even approved for use in…
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. Dude, You Going To Eat That?: Tired of reading blog posts and…
Charlie Sheen vs. Matthew McConnaughey: The Freak-Out Showdown
Onetime actor, current sitcom star Charlie Sheen was taken into custody in New York yesterday after trashing a Plaza Hotel suite, with hookers and other party favors abounding. California PenalIt’s not bad as these things go, but how does it stand up to Texas’ own Matthew McConnaughey’s naked-bongo bust 10…
BRAINS! Lawnmowers, Sensible Slacks BRAINS!
For the Halloween season, Sears has zombie-fied a part of their online store. Fashion, accessories, home appliances are all zombie-fied. You need a cool place to leave your leftover brains? They have deals on refrigerators for you…
The Heights-Area Walmart’s 380 Agreement: Council Voted On A Draft Version?
Hair Balls obtained new e-mails this week that reveal an interesting detail about the controversial 380 agreement between the city and developer Michael Ainbinder: The application, which city ordinance says is essential to the process, doesn’t exist.The local group Responsible Urban Development for Houston filed an open records request on…
H.A. McArdle: Long-Lost Battle Of San Jacinto Painting Found In A West Virginia Attic
Found in an atticAnyone who’s visited the Texas capitol in Austin has seen the epic painting depicting the Battle of San Jacinto, where Sam Houston whipped up on the Mexican Army.There was a smaller, slightly different version of it by the artist, H.A. McArdle, but he kept it after a…
Turkeys Of The Year 2010: We Need Your Nominees
Illustration by Chad CroweCecil Cooper’s not around to get picked anymoreNovember is just around here so that means….temperatures should drop below the 90s at some point? We’re just hoping.It also means it’s time to dole out the Houston Press’ coveted Turkey of the Year awards, a tradition that goes back…
Enchiladas Huasteca at Taqueria El Campesino
One of my favorite taquerias, Taqueria El Campesino (7710 Bellaire Blvd. #L, 713-777-8889), has an ostensibly good location, in a mini-mall at the northwest corner of Bellaire and Fondren, right on the way to Chinatown. But that’s the thing: it’s on the way to Chinatown, which means that every time…
MFAH’s Marzio Sixth Highest Paid Charity CEO
Newsweek’s The Street blog posted a list today of the 15 Highest Paid Charity CEOs, and the Museum of Fine Arts Houston’s Peter Marzio was listed as number six with a salary (in 2008) of $1,054,939 — the first million-dollar earner on the list. According to the list, in 2008…
The 7 Basic WWE Metaphors For Real Life Situations (w/ video)
I’m working on my 2009-2010 NBA Preview which should be done by tomorrow. I hope that some of you will cut me slack given that a whopping three games will be in the books by the time it gets posted here on Hair Balls, including the Rockets opener against the…
River Oaks’ Teflon Man Sues Wife Despite His Heroic Cancer Battle
Return of the Teflon ManLast we heard from Gary Ross, the Teflon Man of River Oaks, he had e-mailed one of his lawyers about how he had colon cancer and was at death’s door.But apparently Ross never lost the will to fight since that September 2009 e-mail: Last month, Ross…
Joe’s Deli: As Simple As It Sounds
Joe’s Deli 3729 W Alabama St Ste C I’m a sandwich guy, but I’m not fussy about it. I’m as thrilled with prosciutto and brie on Italian as I am with turkey and American cheese on Wonder Bread, especially if cherry Kool Aid is involved. While driving down West Alabama…
For the Sake of the Song: Sanitized, Still Essential
No discussion of Houston music history is complete without mentioning Montrose folk venue Anderson Fair. The list of performers alone is staggering, but there’s more to the old spaghetti restaurant than just the people who’ve graced the stage, and that’s what documentary For the Sake of the Song, which screens…
HGO’s Minimal Madame Butterfly
The Setup: 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 tour of duty in Nagasaki. Impatient, he has no intention of fully accepting Butterfly as…
Geroge Wesley Ellington: Sheriff’s Deputy Indicted For Moonlighting As Security For Ecstasy Dealer
Rave on, with the help of the Harris County Sheriff’s OfficeHarris County Sheriff’s deputies moonlight all the time, providing security for local businesses.Including ecstasy dealers, apparently.A federal grand jury indicted a sheriff’s deputy for selling criminal information to a ecstasy dealer and for “providing security/protection in his capacity as a…
Top 5 Food-Related Arcade Games
You might have heard that October is Truck Month. You’re right, of course – as if you could forget with those Chevy ads on heavy rotation — but as a designation it’s irrelevant. Everyone knows that in Houston, every month is truck month. You might also have heard that October…
It’s Christmastime Already? Pass The Ammo, Please
Rocks Off is not trying to interrupt your Halloween plan-making – getting a little late in the game, isn’t it though? – but you might as well forget about it anyway. We feel it’s our civic duty to inform our readers that as of this moment, it’s officially the holiday…
Diane Burnett’s Job Included Drinking, Smoking Weed And Having Sex, And She’s Suing Over It
Welcome to the working weekAct now before this gets on Monster.com — there’s apparently a job out there that involves getting high, getting drunk and screwing.That’s if you believe the allegations of one Diane Burnett, and she’s filed a suit, so there’s at least a chance it’s true.Burnett said her…
Gourmet With a Side of Ghetto at Grand Prize Bar
There is a point at which last night’s events begin to get extremely fuzzy for me. I know that some time around 10:30 p.m., I ended up on the back porch at Grand Prize Bar (1010 Banks, 713-526-4565) smoking cigarettes — I don’t smoke — and yelling at Justin Basye…
Health Dept. Roundup
There weren’t many frightening revelations in our pre-Halloween Health Department Roundup, but there were a few questionable violators. They include: Taqueria Porvenir (13102 Beaumont Hwy.), which was slapped for seven violations during an October 21 visit, including paperwork errors and failing to store its food at a safe temperature or…
Fox vs. Dish Network: Rockets Fans Need Alternative Plans
Dish Network: No Yao, but not for the usual reasonsThe Rockets’ season opens tonight, and if history is any guide, you’ll want to catch the early-season games — you know, the ones before Yao Ming goes down with an injury.That’s easy enough tonight — they’re on TBS TNT — but…
The Top 10 Horror-Movie Scores Of All Time
The art of the instrumental horror-film score is quickly being lost. All too often now, filmmakers are using heavy metal and pop music to soundtrack their films. Hearing Slipknot or HIM during a stabbing scene just doesn’t hold the same weight to us as some tubular bells or a haunting…
The Yes Men Strike Again
Last week the socially conscious pranksters known as the “Yes Men” very successfully harpooned a new Chevron advertising campaign. In case you didn’t see the impressive exhibition last April at DiverseWorks, the Yes Men is a duo consisting of Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno. They impersonate corporations in order to…
Cooking Through Alton: Chipotle Smashed Sweet Potatoes
We’re trying recipes by Food Network icon Alton Brown that might work for Thanksgiving. If they’re good, you’ll have a complete guide for the big meal. If they’re clunkers, we’ll provide you with alternate recipes that are tried and true. Chipotle Smashed Sweet Potatoes The dish: This recipe is an…
Death & Hassles At Bush Intercontinental
The tram system that transports travelers between terminals at Bush Intercontinental has been shut down in the wake of an accident that appears to have killed one worker and injured another.Various media outlets are reporting that a LifeFlight helicopter is on the scene. The accident occurred a little before noon.KTRK…
Houston Vacation Even More Hellish Than Expected, Detroit Couple Claims In Lawsuit
Not quite so pleasant, couple claimsRude hotel workers, racist motorists and rotten cops.For Russell Jarrett and his friend Helena Haggins of Detroit, a visit to Houston was the holiday from hell.So much so, in fact, that the two are now suing their hotel, several HPD officers and the City of…
Tweet and Eat with the Houston Chowhounds and PBS
Twenty dollars goes pretty far tomorrow night when the Houston Chowhounds host a fundraiser and viewing party at 14 Pews (the former location of the Aurora Picture Show) for HoustonPBS from 6:30 to 11:30 p.m. The party, Bon AppeTweet, encourages food fans to come out, Tweet and eat while they…
The Quotable Keith Richards: “I’m Happy To Be Anywhere”
As anyone with half a brain and persistent hacking cough knows, today is a very special day. Today Little, Brown and Company publishes Life, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards’ autobiography as told to/pieced together by British journalist James Fox. Life has already received a fair amount of media attention; it’s…
Five Very Lame Pet Costumes For Halloween
You’re set for Halloween: You’ve got your Justin Bieber wig or your Situation six-pack.But what about your pet? No self-respecting Halloween nerd can get through the holiday without dressing up his or her little best friend.You can do this the right way, but more likely you’re going to do it…
What Makes Men Cry?
A few weeks back we polled our male friends on Facebook and Twitter about what makes them cry. It could be anything, movies, music, life, or certain situations. Other than inducing our own crying jags, we found out that us dudes are balls of nerves, hair, and emotion who blubber…
Reporting from the Southern Foodways Alliance Symposium: The Gulf and the Spill
At the Southern Foodways Alliance annual symposium this week, Brett Anderson of the New Orleans Times-Picayune moderated a panel discussion on “The Gulf and the Spill.” Panelists were former Houston Press food critic Robb Walsh (also my dad), Chef Adolfo Garcia of New Orleans and Jim Gossen, CEO of Louisiana…
LeBron James: Hate Or Appreciate?
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…
Larry Garza: Corpus Man Busted With Beer In Car-Seat And Kids Roaming Free
South Texas is hell-bent on showing the rest of us exciting new ways of involving the whole family in drunk driving shenanigans.Last week, Hair Balls brought you the Padre Island-based story of the (allegedly) shit-faced Rosales ladies — one of whom allegedly attempted to get a elementary school-age child to…
Upcoming: Buzzfestivus, John Mellencamp, Merle Haggard, Etc.
Amplified Heat: Fri., Nov. 26. Rudyard’s. Authority Zero: Thu., Dec. 2. Scout Bar Clear Lake. Belanova: Wed., Dec. 1. House of Blues. Born Liars, The Energy, The Mahas, Talk Sick Brats: Wed., Nov. 24. Rudyard’s. “Buzzfestivus” with Smashing Pumpkins, Jimmy Eat World. Sun., Dec. 5. Verizon Wireless Theater. “Buzzfestivus: An…
Aeros Experience A Lost Weekend
This third weekend of the season for the Aeros once again saw them play three games in three days. This third weekend of the season for the Aeros saw them lose three games (one in OT). This third weekend of the season for the Aeros saw them fall into the…
10 Pumpkin Dishes to Try in Houston, #8: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin from Stone Mill Bakers
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…
Top Five: Scariest Kids’-Movie Good Guys
Plenty of films have been released over the years that were geared toward the whole family. And yes, a lot of those films featured villains that were far, far too scary for their otherwise innocent subject matter (the Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, anybody?). But many of those…
Sunday Night: Rick Ross At Arena Theatre
Ed. Note: Due to an email malfunction, Shea was unable to send his review until Monday evening. Rick Ross Arena Theatre October 24, 2010 10:09 p.m.: Just walking in now. Papa Reu is finishing the catchy-but-not-catchy-enough-to-still-get-very-excited-about-hearing-it-live “Put It In The Air” song he’s fond of doing and Z-Ro is just…
David Purdie, Filmer Of Astroworld’s Death: Next Up, The Flagship Hotel
Earlier this month, we learned that Galveston’s Flagship Hotel, an icon of the island for 45 years, will be torn down due to damage from Hurricane Ike. Landry’s Restaurants, which owns the Flagship and originally said the hotel would be restored, announced a new plan to spend $30 million and…
The Ballad Of Randy Quaid
Americans, as a people, are fascinated by stories of outlaws. English bandit Robin Hood has been dead for 500 years (give or take) and they’re still making crappy movies about him. And the Old West remains a fertile ground for tales of romanticized criminality, from the silent films of the…
The Ballad Of Randy Quaid
Americans, as a people, are fascinated by stories of outlaws. English bandit Robin Hood has been dead for 500 years (give or take) and they’re still making crappy movies about him. And the Old West remains a fertile ground for tales of romanticized criminality, from the silent films of the…
Where Are We Drinking?
With the muggy weather seemingly intent on sticking around despite the fact that it’s now fall, iced coffee sounds a lot better these days than regular old joe. Does the concoction below look familiar to you? Think you know where we’re drinking this week? Leave your best guess in the…
Five Ways Rock Stardom Is Like Your Boring Office Job
The Beach Boys are mired in a controversy resulting from accusations that they lip-synced at an Australian concert last Saturday. That just goes to prove something we’ve known all along. Namely, that being a rock star isn’t all that different from being one of the regular old cubicle mice. For…
Weekly Time Waster: Gretel
For the past two months, platformers and puzzlers have been our temps-wasteurs du jour, but this week we’re switching it up. Gretel and Hansel Part 2 is a charming and creepy point-and-click adventure featuring hand-painted art, clever storytelling, and a sick sense of humor. You play as the famous Gretel…
One Toke Of K2 Over The Line: Real High From Fake Weed Lands Bryan Man In Jail
An unidentified 24-year-old Bryan man faces Class B misdemeanor DWI charges after allegedly admitting to police that he smoked K2, a marijuana-like substance sold legally in Houston stores as incense.According to the Bryan-College Station Eagle, a Brazos County sheriff’s deputy spotted a man struggling to maneuver his car out of…
Something Called Total Beauty Thinks Houstonians Are Fat, Stinky & Have Bad Teeth
We feel shameJust when we were getting over whatever the latest pseudo-ranking that someone put out, we get hit again.Houston, you smell, you have bad teeth, you’re fat and you don’t move around much.So says Total Beauty, and since it combines the words “total” and “beauty” they must know what…
Juan & Bertha Gracia: Animal-Cruelty Trial Is A Trial In Itself
From the Gracia’s compoundHair Balls couldn’t help but scratch our head today over the arguments and testimony spewed forth in the second trial of exotic bird breeders Juan and Bertha Gracia, who were found guilty of animal cruelty last August. Although that scratching was mostly to keep us awake.Although Harris…
NFL, College Football and Brett Favre’s Wiener — 5 Winners, 5 Losers
I hope everybody had a lovely Texans bye weekend (insert lame joke about “Texans giving up fewer than 300 yards passing to BYE” here), and that you’re refreshed, rejuvenated and ready for the back half of the football season. I’m on vacation this week visiting my children (James 12, Judy…
Two Versions Of The Chron’s Bill White Story Out There: The Houston One Is Nicer
Two cities, two versions of a storyThe Houston Chronicle did its Bill White’s Houston Legacy story today, and it was picked up online by the Dallas Morning News.It had the same writer in the byline, and the stories were essentially the same. But there are subtle differences between what showed…
Five Songs The Texas Legislature Will Never Make Official
A while back, Rocks Off wrote about how, thanks to a combination of personal taste and certain technological twists of fate, our listening options at the office are somewhat limited. Quite limited, really: Basically The Arrow or The Eagle – or silence, once we cannot stand to hear “Rocky Mountain…
Raise Your Glass to Texas Wine History
The last few years I had the opportunity to live in both San Francisco and Napa Valley and work in the thriving California wine industry. Overall it was a very enriching experience; I learned a lot about the micro-climates that dictate Northern California’s growing seasons, met some notable winemakers from…
Top 5 Worst Fast Food Commercials
Fast food commercials are often complete head scratchers, reaching new levels of stupidity and crudeness. Here are five fairly recent offenders. 5. Taco Bell’s Shrimp Blogger When’s the last time you’ve seen a non-annoying Taco Bell ad? You haven’t, they don’t exist. This one is borderline recent (it ran in…
Rick Perry: Let’s Rank The Top 10 Most Wanted
Gwen Komahcheet: The computers like him, but the coaches poll and strength of schedule….Rick Perry’s office has issued an official release today announcing that “Jose H. Morales, a member of the Mexican Mafia,” has been arrested.Morales was a member of the states’ Top 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list. We don’t…
Slightly Creepy; Still Fun – An Afternoon at the Nintendo Trailer
If you ever get invited to meet someone in an windowless trailer that has a gorilla decal and out-of-state plates, you might not be as excited as we were recently. In fact, for legal reasons, we should probably strongly advise you against agreeing to such a thing. Unless, that is,…
The Food Holes at the Renaissance Fest
I took a trip out to the Renaissance Festival this weekend. Seems like a lot of the food never changes: turkey legs, meat on a stick, funnel cake, muffalettas (muffalettas, really?). But while in the German Court, I discovered a burger with sauerkraut, mushrooms, cheese and mustard, of course, all…
Perry Ray, 35, Bayou Body Count No. 259
Shot in the Third WardA man was shot to death at his backdoor in a Third Ward house Sunday night, police say.The incident occurred about 11:45 p.m. Sunday near the intersection of Anita and Nettleton streets.Police said the man, whose identity has not been released Perry Ray, 35, was shot…
Kings Of Leon: Holy Rock ‘N Rollers, Ex-Holy Terrors?
Holy Rock ‘n Rollers: The Story of Kings of Leon By Joel McIver Omnibus Press, 320 pp., $24.95. Just in time the release of their fifth record, Come Around Sundown, comes the second biography (after Michael Heatley’s Kings of Leon: Sex on Fire) of the three-brothers-and-a-cousin band from Tennessee with…
The Trainwreck That Is GASTROCINEMA
Animated GIFs have been around, clogging up the Intertubes, for nearly as long as Netscape Navigator, the first browser into which the moving Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) files were intoduced. (Remember Netscape, that old dinosaur? If you’re still using it, may I please direct you here or here?) If you’re…
Unidentified Male, 24, Bayou Body Count No. 258
Miguel Grimaldo: Arrested for intoxication manslaughterIntoxication manslaughter charges have been filed against a man who killed his passenger in a northside accident early Sunday morning.Miguel Angel Grimaldo, 29, was driving a white Infinity at a high rate of speed on Lillja Road about 4:30 a.m. Sunday, police say. He ran…
Ingredient of the Week: Prickly Pear
What is it? When I envision “tuna,” it’s not usually in the form of a cactus. But, if you hit up a largely Hispanic grocery store, you’ll learn that “tuna” is Spanish for “prickly pears.” While they’re quite unpleasant to bare skin with their protective spines, this cactus fruit yields…
Top Five Most Irritating Types Of Music Fans
Rocks Off will assume that we’re all music fans here, m’kay? We just like the way the more melodic molecules feel when they gutter-ball into our eardrums. That’s peachy, but there are those among us who take being a fan into the realm of douchebaggery. Check amongst yourselves for the…
Slideshow: Day of the Dead Rock Stars
Saturday night, artist Carlos Hernandez unveiled brand new screenprints in his Day of the Dead Rock Stars series at Cactus Music’s Record Ranch. The sugar-skull-inspired images included dead-ified portraits of Ritchie Valens, the Big Bopper and Lubbock’s own Buddy Holly in a plane-crash triptych tribute. Los Skarnales performed. The prints…
Dynamo Season Ends WIth A Relatively Rare Win
“Playoffs?” Not for the DynamoBetter late than never, as the Houston Dynamo finally won back-to-back matches for the first time all season – MLS regular season that is. Unfortunately, they were also the last two games of the season for the Orange, as they take their first losing season since…
Brunch at Benjy’s
“I don’t want to go to Washington Avenue on Sunday morning. It smells like piss and Jaeger,” said my friend Brandi. Thus we chose the Rice Village location — and the original, it should be pointed out — of Benjy’s (2424 Dunstan, 713-522-7602) for brunch this past Sunday, after my…
How Much Does Houston Like Rush? A Lot.
Rush’s “Time Machine” tour was well-named in more ways than one. Not only did the Canadian trio perform 1981’s Moving Pictures in its entirety, but the tour transported the concert industry back to the days of robust ticket sales. You know – three, four years ago. Last week Billboard reported…
Jerry Wilson: When The Boss (Allegedly) Makes You Watch Pig-Sex Videos
Watching women get it on with the other white meatThere’s nothing like a video of someone fucking a pig to spoil a perfectly fine day at the office.So say, at least, a trio of women who are suing their boss for sexual harassment, claiming he exposed himself and had them…
RIP, Fear Factory: Decrepit Building Bites The Dust
Unlike the building, we hope these guys are still with usJust two years after winning Best Abandoned Building by us, the old apartments known to everyone as the Fear Factory have been town down.Located a block north of Milam and Elgin, the building has always looked spooky, and a weathered…
Marijuana Laced Soda: Dixie Elixirs, The Anti-Red Bull
Medicinal marijuana is legal in 14 states, and it’s big business. Earlier this month the New York Times reported on the financial boom from medicinal marijuana ads in Colorado, citing our sister publication in Denver and Village Voice Media’s COO, Scott Tobias:…
Antoine Dodson Won’t Go Away
It’s come to this, America. You made such a big deal about Antoine Dodson fighting off bed-intruders and rapists in Lincoln Park, that he’s now shilling for a “sex offender tracker app” for iPhones and Androids. His appearance on this commercial actually negates the good will behind the very idea…
Recap: Episode 4 of The Next Iron Chef
Welcome to another exciting episode of The Next Iron Chef, where the Houston food community gathers, hoping for a win for an Iron Chef who has a real passion for this sometimes underdog Texas city. And where Ming Tsai acts like a tool. By the way, did you hear when…
Amanda Williams: SHE’S A COP, Dude Who Texted Her For Weed Date
C U in jailHooking up with old friends is easier than ever these days, but it’s not risk-free.For instance, before you ask some girl you used to know whether she’d like to get together to enjoy some weed, you might preface your offer by asking first if she’s a cop.One…
Saturday Night: Godsmack, Bush And Seether At Buzzfest
Buzzfest, featuring Godsmack, Bush, Seether Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion October 23, 2010 For mucho photos from Saturday’s Buzzfestivities, see our slideshow here. Aftermath didn’t get to Buzzfest XXV out at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion until around 6:30 p.m. Saturday, so we missed the lion’s share of the day’s entertainment -…
Travone Ford, 24, Bayou Body Count No. 257
Argument turns deadlyAn argument ended in a shotgun death Friday afternoon, and a man has been arrested and charged with murder.The victim, Travone Ford, 24, had been arguing with John Anthony Lopez, 27, in the 11900 block of South Wilcrest near the Southwest Freeway about 2:30 p.m. Friday, police say.The…
Boardwalk Empire: The Cost of Indulgence
Ep. 6 – Preview I’ve made this point before, but it bears repeating: Boardwalk Empire is so much better than every other drama currently airing that the discrepancy is jarring if you think about it for too long. The biggest hits on TV are consistently the broadest and least challenging,…
Texans’ Bye Brings Unofficial Start To AFC Bubble Watch
Will the Texans take “moops” for an answer?For the first time in seven weeks, a football Sunday passed and the Texans’ secondary wasn’t torched by an opposing quarterback. Of course, that sadly meant it was the Texans’ bye week.A week from tonight, Peyton Manning will look to repeat his 400-yard…
What Is The Best Album Cover Ever?
Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Every Monday Rocks Off will have some of them here discussing issues relevant to their culture. This Week’s Panel: Bun B, Lil Flip, Hollywood FLOSS, hasHBrown, Kyle Hubbard, Renzo, Brad Gilmore and Nash White Not Invited: Kanye, because his presence is present,…
Wine of the Week: Vale do Bomfin Douro Valley 2007
This Portuguese wine is a gem, in its rich, jewel-toned color, its complexity and its price. From the Douro Valley in Northern Portugal (as the name states), this wine was originally produced only for the enjoyment of the Symington family, a renowned name in the world of Ports. After repeated…
The Week In TV: Obama Does Daily Show, Mythbusters
The TV season is in full swing, we’ve got a new group of pickups, and I’ve already seen two Christmas commercials. This was the week in TV Land: • What are the odds that 30 Rock and The Office would both explicitly reference The Sting on the same night? Even…
Friday Night: Dawes At Fitzgerald’s
Dawes Fitzgerald’s October 22, 2010 Dawes front man Taylor Goldsmith does not have a beard. In fact, no member of the Los Angeles-based quartet sports any scruff. Such a discovery surprised us as the band played Fitzgerald’s Friday night, considering the undeniable folk-laden, woodsy roots of their 2009 debut, North…
The Knights Slay The Owls
The Rice Owls played about as perfect a football game as they could last week. Even then, they needed a UH fumble on fourth-and-one to preserve a 34-31 win.This weekend, the Owls traveled to the land of Disney to take on the UCF Knights. The Owls saw a nearly perfect…
Banned Campaign Ad Predicts a Chinese-Owned America in 2030
The ’80s are back – and we’re not talking leg warmers. Last week Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) released “Chinese Professor,” a campaign spot with overtones of xenophobia not seen since the Cold War. The ad takes us to a Beijing classroom in 2030 AD where a Chinese professor is…
KTRH & Right-Wing Radio: Can You Predict The Results Of Their Online Polls?
KTRH’s vox populi: Out on the edgeOne of the few remaining joys of listening in the morning to KTRH, once the city’s proudest newsradio station, is not weather or traffic.Sure, those are about the last reliable things the station broadcasts, but that doesn’t mean there’s no other entertainment value left.Take,…
$5 Awesome: Murry Attaway’s In Thrall
Rocks Off has picked up some CDs over the years at prices so low we think that it would’ve been less insulting to the artists if we had stolen them. Some of these have become our favorite albums, and in this column we’ll tell you what they are and why!…
Where Are We Eating?
If you can fit the entire sandwich into your mouth in one go, it’s free. (Not really.) Can you guess where this monster of a meal came from? Think you know where we’re eating this week? Leave your best guess in the comments section below…
T-Boz Takes On Je’Caryous Johnson’s Marriage Material at the Hobby
T-Boz. It rhymes with Oz and that’s where the former TLC R&B and hip-hop star finds herself these days – in another world known as theater. Tionne Tenese Watkins, aka T-Boz, is on a national tour and in Houston for upcoming performances of director/writer Je’Caryous Johnson’s Marriage Material at the…
Cougars Battle SMU And The Weather, Get The Win
The Houston Cougars stopped the SMU Mustangs on their first drive. The Cougars then took the ball and scored a touchdown to go up 7-0 with about half of the first quarter left to play. Then came the thunder and lightning to join the rain and, just like that, there…
Heights-Area Walmart: Self-Created Traffic Jams To Prove A Point
Heights residents plan to stage a protest to show how bad traffic will be with a new Walmart. There hasn’t been much noise lately about the Heights Walmart, except those embarrassing e-mails from city officials, but one group opposed to the development still has hopes that the project can be…
Twitter Follow Friday — My 24 Favorite Tweets From @OMGFactsSex (with commentary)
It’s a bye week Friday, so we don’t have the Texans defense to kick around this week. So I’m going to use my Friday post as a forum to do the new and exciting Friday activity that’s sweeping the nation — telling people to follow other people on Twitter! Riveting!…
The Lennon Bus – A Mobile Music Video Studio
(By Chasen Marshall, cross-posted from Hair Balls) A dark blue bus currently parked on the sidewalk at Discovery Green Downtown Park meets the musical editing needs of both Houston youths and the Black Eyed Peas. Beyond being littered with sponsor labels and massive silver recreations of John Lennon’s signature, the…
This Week in Deliciousness
Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where our enemies are chopped up and fed to their relatives. It’s a succulent dish we like to call “Long Pork Andronicus,” and so far the most popular cut is “nephew.” We know, we were surprised, too. We started…
Make a (Very) Short Movie, Win a Trip to Sundance
Time Warner Cable and the Independent Film Channel are sending four grand-prize winners to the 2011 Sundance Film Festival just for uploading a two-to-five minute film to YouTube. Of course, the film has be good. And if you haven’t already started, you’ve got a week. The deadline for submissions is…
John Lennon Bus: Making Music With Houston Kids And The Black Eyed Peas
The dark blue bus parked on the sidewalk at Discovery Green downtown looks like something that might show up outside House of Blues on the night of a show, but it has more going on then one would think.Beyond being littered with sponsor labels and massive silver recreations of John…
Mark Lanier’s 2010 Desperate Christmas Party Performer: Sting
Nah, you’re not invitedMega-lawyer Mark Lanier each year throws an outrageous Christmas party, because there’s nothing better to do with money than throw an opulent, look-at-me event that doesn’t even serve liquor for all the dads who’ve had to drag their kids out to ride the rides.The event also serves…
Women Would Rather Spend Money on Shoes than Food, and Other Things I Learned Today
“Well, I learned something new today!” exclaimed my friend Jessica Walters as I met up with her after a panel at today’s Houston Summit for the Creative Economy. “Women cause diabetes!” She laughed, but we both agreed that the moral of the story from the panel had been rather bizarre…
Will Buzzfest Leave Us “Cryin’ Like A Bitch”?
First of all, we sort of enjoyed ourselves at the last Buzzfest in May. Fred Durst told us he liked our Black Flag tattoo, and we finally got to hear “Nookie” live. We aren’t going to say it was like being in the audience during a Beatles performance on the…
Recipe: Kolaches (Sorta)
Can someone tell me why, if you get kolaches from a place that isn’t Shipley’s, Kolache Factory or Olde Town Kolaches, they are all the same? Whether it’s a place called Sunshine Kolaches, Happy Doughnuts or Doughnut World, it’s hard to tell the difference between them. It’s as if somewhere…
Local Music Photographer Wins Deer Tick’s Tour Bus
Mark C. Austin just keeps on living the dream. Last month he opened “Three Songs, No Flash,” his first-ever exhibition of his bountiful collection of concert photography – many shot for these very “pages” – now on permanent display in Warehouse Live’s Green Room. Last week he became the proud…
ESPN The Magazine Solves Yao’s Foot Problems
Courtesy ESPN The MagazineThe wearing of the green ESPN The Magazine has its NBApreview out, and it’s partnering with Marvel Comics for the illustrations.Along the way, they’ve solved the Rockets’ problems: Just encase Yao Ming in adamantium…
Shiftwork Bites: Shrimp and Cauliflower “Grits”
Necessity, and forgetfulness, is so often the mother of invention. Seldom is this more of a truism than when you’re cooking on the job, when it isn’t your job, in an occupation that doesn’t afford you a normal lunch hour. I had the best of intentions. I’d gone shopping the…
Top 10: Most Controversial Magazine Covers
In light of recent controversy surrounding the GQ photo shoot featuring highly sexualized photos of the Glee cast, we take a look back at 10 of the most talked about magazine images in the last 30 years. Click ahead for the list…
Obama Shirt: Can’t Vote. Reagan Shirt? Vote Away
The fashion police are everywhereShirts are fast becoming the new weapon of choice in Harris County’s 2010 polling places.One woman told KHOU she was not allowed to vote because she was wearing an Obama shirt. The county issued an official warning against people wearing Obama shirts (or, if anyone had…
Last Night: Frightened Rabbit At Walter’s On Washington
Frightened Rabbit, Plants and Animals Walter’s on Washington October 21, 2010 Aftermath has always favored “out of sight, out of mind” over “absence makes the heart grow fonder,” but after Thursday’s Frightened Rabbit performance at Walter’s On Washington to a sweaty and packed-in throng of adoring Houstonians, we may have…
Upcoming Events
This coming Wednesday, all you need is basic cable and Twitter to participate in Bon AppeTweet, an event sponsored by HoustonPBS and the Houston Chowhounds. On October 27, from 7:30 to 11:30 p.m., PBS will be airing a series of Rick Sebak’s specials on food. Shows include A Sandwich Special…
Hayden & Sean: When Your Hip “Save The Date” Wedding Video Goes Viral
The above clip is attracting comments all over the Internet, as an example of either the hippest “Save the Date” video ever, or the lamest attempt at making a hip “Save the Date” video.It’s all about the wedding of Hayden and Sean in Austin, and it’s pretty much a Wes…
Reporting from the Southern Foodways Alliance Symposium: Thacker Mountain Radio Show, Mississippi Masala, and a Talk by Robb Walsh
The 13th Annual Southern Foodways Alliance Symposium officially kicks off today, but the fun got started Thursday night with the Thacker Mountain Radio show and some dinner offerings in line with the “Global South” theme, including Mississippi Masala by Suvir Saran. Thacker Mountain is broadcast on stage with a live…
Voodoo Lady: Christine O’Donnell’s Halloween Playlist
Christine O’Donnell’s “I Am Not a Witch” ad gave us truckloads of comedy during a rather boring election season. Thanks to that unintentionally hilarious ad and the upcoming election, Christine has been on our minds lately. To better understand what drives the Teabag candidate, we stole her iPod and quickly…
Dominic Walsh Dance Theater’s First Course: Czech, Please
It’s been a great year in Houston for those of us who love Jiří Kylián, possibly the greatest living European choreographer. In April, the Czech master’s works were prominent at Dance Salad with the intricate duets Blackbird and Toss of a Dice. Just last month, Houston Ballet offered impeccable performances…
Unidentified Male, Bayou Body Count No. 256
A man was shot to death as he and his two brothers tried to stop a man from breaking into his car on the northwest side early Thursday morning, police say.The victim, whose identity was not released, saw the suspect about 4:20 a.m. and went out to confront him with…
The Rum Punch that Kicks the Ass of All Other Rum Punches
“It’s not a party without lots of rum punch.” This is my new philosophy on all things festive after inventing a rum punch that kicks the ass of all other rum punches. Yeah, it’s that good (patting my hungover self on the back). It’s a refreshing change from the tooth-achingly…
Franz Liszt, Composer From Beyond The Grave
Rocks Off is an avid collector of all things bizarre and occult. Some people draw their spiritual beliefs from The Bible, marveling at its miracles and lessons. For us, the holy text was Charles Berlitz’s World of Strange Phenomena. One of our favorite stories from the book was that of…
Your NSFW Weather Report For The Day
Dick has been spottedYou may not have heard of KLST in San Angelo, but it’s the best place to go for news of the throbbing heart of the Concho Valley.Also, they like to show dicks in their weather reports.They do, at least, according to the screengrab after the jump, which…
Reviews For The Easily Distracted: Paranormal Activity 2
Title: Paranormal Activity 2 What Was The First One About Again? Nothing much, just this woman who neglected to tell her husband that a demon has been stalking her since childhood. Cast: Nobody you’ve ever heard of, which supposedly adds to the film’s “authenticity.” Rating Using Random Objects Relevant to…
Openings & Closings
Ever since Shuck Daddy’s closed down last month in what’s quickly become known as the cursed address at 1511 Shepherd, people have pondered what restaurant could possibly take over the location. Ponder no longer: Swamplot has word that Lupe Tortilla will be moving in. Great. And right across the street,…
Why, Lord? Now They’re Foursquaring From Space
Life just got betterYou, like all people, just LOVE Foursquare, the web application that lets you keep up with where people you don’t care about are at any given moment.Because if you don’t know that someone has earned enough points to be “Mayor of Lupe Tortilla’s” or some such crap,…
Laying Odds On Rick Ross’ Arena Theatre Show Sunday
Ricky Rozay will come thundering into town this Sunday. This is a most excellent situation. Saying that Ross is only a little intriguing is like saying that his waistline is only a little oversized; he is perhaps the world’s most interesting pseudo-thug. Lots of people went yo-yo when he was…
The James Baker Monument: Five Things It Needs
James Baker: Not related to Velvet RevolverFinally, there will be a reason to visit downtown Houston: A statue honoring former Secretary of State James Baker will be unveiled Tuesday.Why Baker? As the monument’s official website so modestly puts it, he’s “A Magnificent American.”Some people might choose a different word to…
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…
Happy Hour Scene: Richmond Chill
The Place: Richmond Chill4704 Richmond Ave.713-622-0775www.ridethechill.comThe Hours: Monday through Friday 3-7 p.m.The Deals: A lot. But the basics are $2 domestic bottles and pints, $3 premiums, $3.50 “super premiums,” $3 wells, and $3 wines. There are also pitcher specials and nightly specials. Tuesday, for example, is $2 Texas beer night…
Last Night: Built To Spill At House Of Blues
Built to Spill House of Blues October 21, 2010 While Thursday’s chatty House of Blues crowd mingled and awaited Built to Spill’s 10 p.m. set time, most hardly noticed that the band was already strolling the stage, casually setting up their own gear. Such nonchalance may contradict a band that…
Cougars Seeking To Fill A Void Against SMU
Heading into tomorrow’s game with the 4-3 SMU Mustangs, it needs to be pointed out that the 3-3 Houston Cougars have some issues that need to be addressed. Real issues like the leadership void on the field since Case Keenum’s season-ending injury. And a defense that has problem making tackles…
Top 10: Best TGIF Shows
For a period of about 10 years, ABC’s Friday-night programming held sway in America, and we were glued to the couch or VCR every week. Hell, what else were we going to do? We couldn’t drive, drink, shave, and we hated girls. Granted we were five years old in 1988,…
October 15-21: 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. Be sure to add your images to our Flickr pool — if it’s Houston-related, we want to see it. They might even show up online. As usual, for…
Papa Roach’s Name Doesn’t Bug Girls At All
It’s a well-known fact that most band names are essentially gobbledygook, but here at Rocks Off, we’re trying hard to decode music’s oddest monikers in order to find a little meaning. “Would you like to come out and review the Papa Roach show?” “I’d rather be blown by a garbage…
Top 5 Surreptitiously Disturbing Foods
Halloween is one of the best holidays for a reason. It’s not the mountains of candy, the festive costumes, or the totally awesome jack-o-lanterns. It’s the simple fact that Halloween, more than any other modern holiday, is an invitation to be as simply, unapologetically childish as possible. Everything else, all…
Tea Party License Plates: Five Better Choices For Texans
Too wishy-washyEarlier this week we told you how Texas’ vanity license plates might soon be making a Tea Party statement, with choices like the “Don’t Tread On Me” flag that has been co-opted by the `baggers.A spokeswoman for the company who offers the plates through a privatization deal insisted that…
Creatively Sustaining Artists in Houston
Artists come to Houston, live here, have great ideas and often remain isolated, according to Theresa Quintanilla and George Worthington, co-founders of HoustonSummit.org, a fledgling organization that has applied for non-profit status. There just aren’t enough artist collectives like Winter Street Studios, they say. With the goal of making better…
Jacob Thompson: $20 Gets You A Tat And Minor Surgery (Allegedly)
Not many of us would confuse James “Jacob” Thompson with a medical doctor, but to an unidentified 16-year-old East Texas woman, the fact that the Groveton man was something of a tattoo artist was qualification enough for her to ask him to perform minor surgery.According to a report in the…
Black Congress Storms Out Of Ghoulsfest
Earlier today, Black Congress said that the band would not be performing as previously scheduled at Ghoulsfest, Houston’s newest music festival taking place at Pearland’s Tom Bass Park next Saturday and featuring Bad Brains, Macy Gray and many local acts. The band announced its departure from the event in a…
Scores Of “Unsightly” Billboards Will Be Torn Down, Parker Says
A victory for billboard-hatersMayor Annise Parker says 59 highway billboards on the fringes of Houston’s city limits will be taken down under a court order from a long-running lawsuit.The signs — owned by RTM Media — are in the city’s “extra-territorial jurisdiction” and therefore are subject to ordinances banning them,…
Chuck Norris Officially A Texas Ranger, Finally
We have to admit, the above Keyboard Cat clip contains the only footage of Walker, Texas Ranger we have ever seen.But the great and august government of Texas must have seen more, for today they officially voted to make Chuck Norris an honorary Texas Ranger…
Orzo with Orange-Marinated Chicken, Spinach and Edamame
One of the recipes on my meal plan that I did stick to during last week’s eating-on-$20 escapade was this salad that I made up after deciding I liked the way all the ingredients sounded together in my head. That still counts as a recipe, right? This recipe served me…
HPD Tells Cops: No Bar Pictures On Facebook, Please
Thou shalt not tweet bar picsEarlier this summer, KPRC ran across some pretty offensive stuff on the Facebook page of Houston police officer Deyna Carabajal, such deep thoughts as Haitians Hondurans are “the most drunkards, violent ppl I hv ever dealt with.”The internal investigation is still (somehow) ongoing, but HPD…
Rock Stars’ Troublesome Family and Friends
Wednesday, the NAACP released an extensive, in-depth study of the main six groups which provide the lion’s share of support for the infamous Tea Party movement, and the results of their study are not encouraging. It chronicles a great deal of cross-pollination between Tea Party and white supremacist organizations, including…
NFL & College Football — Weekend’s Best Bets
Before I get into the Best Bets for this weekend, a public service announcement for those of you traveling to Singapore any time soon. They still cane people there. Just ask former Florida State tight end Kamari Charlton. He is over in Singapore as you read this helping his wife…
Unidentified Male, 23, Bayou Body Count No. 255
A pool-hall stabbingA pool-hall stabbing on the southwest side early yesterday left a 23-year-old man dead, Houston police say.The victim, whose identity was not released, became involved in an argument in the Gol Bar Pool Hall in the 9500 block of Beechnut about 2 a.m. Wednesday, police say.He suffered multiple…
Jones Plaza’s “Make-Ogre” and Other Lame Theater-District Puns
On Wednesday, the cast of Shrek: The Musical helped jump-start “Jones Plaza Live!” — a month-long event of daily performances happening at the newly renovated Jones Plaza. Or as the Hobby Center’s PR people informed us via e-mail: “Jones Plaza is Getting a Make-Ogre When Cast Members From Shrek The…
Strata Debuts New Fall Menu
It’s that time of year again, when all the city’s best chefs are rolling out their new autumn menus. I tasted Chef John Ly’s latest offerings at his boutique restaurant in Tomball (122 Vintage Park), and let me tell you, everything was as good as I had hoped. For appetizers,…
The Weather Channel Picks Houston As One Of The Best Climates (Kind Of)
We’re Number One!!Look, when The Weather Channel sets out to pick America’s best climates, you pay attention. These guys are experts.So it’s extremely satisfying that Houston has been named as one of the best climates in America. Obviously the TWC people are lovingly familiar with our comfortable summer breezes, our…
Sahib Ali Khan, 58, Bayou Body Count No. 254
Store owner killed in afternoon robberyAn afternoon robbery yesterday left a northside store owner dead from multiple stab wounds, police say.Sahib Ali Khan, 58, of Cypress, was in his store in the 3500 block of Elysian about 3:15 p.m. when a male entered, police say.The store was closed for remodeling…
Bartender Chat: Nathan Taylor
I first met Nathan Taylor last summer at the Iron Bartender Competition hosted at the San Luis Resort in Galveston. He was wowing the crowd with flair bartending moves that would’ve sent Tom Cruise’s head spinning. At the time, he was working at Buck’s down in Seabrook, so I was…
Five Celebrity Costumes To Avoid At All Costs
Halloween: The one night grown men and women have a legitimate excuse to look like clowns. Call us crazy, but we stopped dressing up for Halloween at 13. We still love you and your ridiculous costume. We really do. That’s why we’ve taken the time to offer some wonderful ideas…
Jaime Esquivel: Dude, At Least Try To Make It Challenging For The Cops
Jaime Esquivel needs more practiceWe’re going to go out on a limb here and predict that Jaime Adan Esquivel, 36, does not have a bright criminal future ahead of him.Not because his goals seem somewhat low for a man nearing middle age — stealing a cash-register till and a couple…
Revenge of the Cupcakes
Confectionaire extraordinaire Lily Vanilli felt London’s cupcake craze was all show and no substance. Beautifully decorated, poorly baked. In response, she went the opposite route with grotesque and revolting desserts that tasted delicious. “Cupcakes have been iced in pink and glitter for far too long…now they are getting their REVENGE!”…
RIP, Bob Guccione: Five Texan Penthouse Pets, In Your Honor
Teagan Presley, a Texan Penthouse PetHair Balls is wearing sackcloth and ashes today in memory of Penthouse founder Bob Guccione, who shuffled off to the Great Stiffie in the Sky Wednesday at age 79.Maybe our sense of loss comes from the fact that we’re old enough to remember ye olde pre-internet tymes, when…
Top 5 Overlooked Stocks
Stock is one of the most basic components of good cooking, yet it has become a shockingly infrequent element in most home cooks’ repertoires. And it’s amazingly easy to prepare. Meanwhile, store-bought stock tastes terrible and is pretty expensive. Stocks are concentrated flavor, made all the more special by the…
Harris County Warns: Don’t Wear Your McCain Shirt To The Polling Place
Can I get this in a large?As controversy continues over aggressive poll-watching in minority areas, the Harris County Clerk’s office has put out a bulletin outlining what is and isn’t proper to do in voting locations.Spokesman Hector DeLeon highlights areas of the election code and then expounds on them. “‘A…
The Social Network, Now Starring Lady Gaga, Drake, ZZ Top…
The Social Network was finally toppled at the box office this past weekend by the new Jackass 3-D, but that doesn’t mean Rocks Off is done with the story chronicling the beginnings of Facebook and the rise of founder Mark Zuckerberg. You remember our film-score blog, right? When it was…
Penthouse Founder Bob Guccione Dead in Plano
“I never thought anything like this would ever happen to me …” — Bob Guccione Last night, Penthouse magazine founder Bob Guccione passed away at the age of 79 in Plano, succumbing to lung cancer after a long fight. He was a champion for the First Amendment, a tireless smut…
Big Stop Sign On Metro’s Light Rail Projects
Photo by Bryan WilliamsMetro’s light rail expansion plans are slowing down. Big time. More bad news, at least for people hoping for more light rail in Houston, came from Metro headquarters this morning when the agency’s president, George Greanias, announced that the light rail expansion budget for this year has…
Pasta Ammuddicata: And You Thought You Hated Anchovies
One of the things that helped me get through the week of eating on $20 like a breeze was making a meal plan and sticking to it. Seriously, this $20 thing wasn’t even a challenge. Next time, I’m eating only out of what I have in my pantry and freezer…
When Frank Sinatra Played Juarez… And Galveston
Already a poet laureate of Americana before he moved to El Paso about ten years ago, Tom Russell’s border tenure has seen him produce some great hardscrabble portraits of sketchy characters and haunting, even deadly landscapes. One of Russell’s truly great pieces is the border memoir “When Sinatra Played Juarez”…
Spend Halloween With Peter Pan, Or Sooner
Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up, now playing at the Alley Theatre is at the same time a most sentimental and yet unsentimental look at children and grownups. It is totally engaging despite a run-time of just under three hours that includes two intermissions. The show…
Chef Chat, Part 3: Mark Schmidt of the Rainbow Lodge
On Tuesday and Wednesday, we chatted with Mark Schmidt of the Rainbow Lodge. Today, we take a photo tour of the on-site herb and produce gardens surrounding the restaurant…
HCC Whistleblower Cop Charged With Falsifying Arrest Report
HCC cops: It never endsA Houston Community College police officer, who in the past has publicly criticized the campus’ police department, is being accused of falsifying an arrest report which resulted in a student being indicted for a felony.Records filed Monday in Harris County District Court indicate that officer John…
Fat Tony Breaks Down His Brand-New RABDARGAB
For the past three years, Fat Tony has reigned over his section of Houston’s underground rap scene like goddamn Pol Pot (minus the dead Cambodians, duh; read a book, suckas). This, of course, is a curious situation, because he only released his debut LP, RABDARGAB, two days ago. There will…
Weird Smell In Montrose Apartment: A Very Deceased Mom Who’s “Just Sleeping”
It’s Mom!Wayne Donawho manages a property at 601 Fairview, across from Barnaby’s, and he has been receiving complaints from tenants about a bad smell.Yesterday he traced it to one apartment, but the tenant there said it must be an animal under the building. Donawho was pretty convinced it was coming…
Get on Board the Burger Bus
Justin Turner is one of those rare people who has found it relatively easy to open a food truck in Houston. Owner of Bernie’s Burger Bus, which began operating just over a week ago, Turner decided to leave his very cushy job — personal chef to the Rockets’ Shane Battier…
King Street “Patriots”: Voter Intimidation Continues At Polling Stations Around Houston
Polling stations around Houston have turned into bastions of controversy this week: Fourteen reported incidents Monday and another that Hair Balls heard about on Wednesday in south Houston near Gulfgate. There are few details for the Gulfgate incident, but what is known, and seems to have become modus operandi, a…
Your Meme of the Week: Pedobear
Your meme of the week is one of our favorites, Pedobear. He may not be politically correct and he may, hypothetically, prey on young children, but he’s got the cutest face in the world. He’s no more offensive than cereal icons the Trix Rabbit, Lucky, Count Chocula, or Tony The…
Jason Moran: In New York City, Houston Means Jazz
Jazz pianist Jason Moran thought he’d vary the routine for recording his latest album, Ten. Usually, Moran and his bandmates would be at the studio by 10 a.m. -“That’s really early for jazz musicians,” he jokes – and work through the day. This time the Houston born Moran decided to…
NFL — James Harrison And A Funny Sex Story
According to a March 2009 study, the average veterinarian in the United States makes $93,398 per year. According to foxsports.com, James Harrison is set to make $13,357,280 for playing football in 2010. Harrison might want to make note of these statistics if he’s serious (cough, cough) about his “retirement” talk…
Esther’s Cajun and Soul Food
I stopped by Esther’s Cajun and Soul Food (5204 Yale) the other day for a quick lunch. It was my first time at the restaurant, and I had only found the place from taking a wrong turn on my drive to work. Glad I did. What caught my attention was…
The Parents Television Council Disapproves Of Your Pedophiliac Glee Shenanigans
I’ll give the Parents Television Council this, they did Fox a huge favor by keeping Glee in the headlines even in a week when the show was pre-empted by the network’s NLCS coverage: GQ’s sexy Glee cover has gone too far, The Parents Television Council says. In a statement released…
Last Night: Deftones At Verizon Wireless Theater
“Get away from the garbage can, bitch.” Deftones Verizon Wireless Theater October 20, 2010 For more photos from the show, see our slideshow here. Not many bands have the longevity the Deftones do, and after 22 years and counting, they have their art down to a science. The tunes are…
The Owls Prepare To Slay The Knights
The Rice Owls (2-5) aren’t going to out-physical most football teams. They usually don’t have the talent of other teams. So for the Rice Owls to win football games, they need outstanding game plans, solid execution, and they need to eliminate mistakes.The Owls put those three things together last week…
The Parents Television Council Disapproves Of Your Pedophiliac Glee Shenanigans
I’ll give the Parents Television Council this, they did Fox a huge favor by keeping Glee in the headlines even in a week when the show was pre-empted by the network’s NLCS coverage: GQ’s sexy Glee cover has gone too far, The Parents Television Council says. In a statement released…
Food Fight: Mounds v. Almond Joy
As I was a child with a sweet tooth of heroic proportions, Halloween was always my favorite holiday. My parents refused to buy store-bought sweets, but this was purely an economic principle: They had no objection to me eating candy, so long as I acquired it myself. I also had…
Cage Match: Werewolf Of London Vs. Purple People Eater
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s been a while since we had a Cage Match. Our apologies, we couldn’t find a band willing to take on Nickelback – really. Be that as it may, get yourselves ready for a special Halloween edition as two of the greatest monsters in song take on…
Andrew Lippa: From The Addams Family on Broadway to Texas State in San Marcos
Broadway composer Andrew Lippa — of Addams Family fame — is in San Marcos this week; his first pass through after being named Texas State’s first composer-in-residence. He’s assessing the singing and other performance capabilities of students in the musical theater program there not just for grins or to spend…
Mad Men In Houston: Five Long-Gone Architectural Examples
Martinis will be servedThe terrific group Houston Mod is dedicated to preserving as much as it can of Houston’s energetic fling with “modern” architecture and design — as in Mad Men modern, for a large part.They also mourn the passing of modern architecture that’s been demolished to make way for…
Halloween Pranks: A Complete 16-Part Guide, By An Expert
They have an egg ban, go goo g’joobThey say that idle hands are the devil’s tools, and that line is proven to be true most every weekend while you are a teenager. Growing up I found myself in a strange, marauding gang of girls and boys who lived to pull…
Grinding Justice
Operation Streamline’s a mega-expensive quagmire that fattens the U.S. Border Patrol’s budget and enriches private corporations. It diverts resources from pursuing serious crimes, such as human smuggling and drug and gun trafficking. Streamline’s critics complain that the program’s arbitrary and inhumane, violating due-process and effective-use-of-counsel requirements of the U.S. Constitution…
Third Annual Rock the Cradle for Johnny Kicks Cancer World-Cup Contest
Johnny Romano was just a kid when he died. It was leukemia that got him. The diagnosis changed everything for the Romano family, except for one thing: Johnny kept skateboarding. He had first climbed on a skateboard when he was just two years old. And through his illness, skateboarding was…
Madame Butterfly
Puccini’s ill-fated female characters are among his most tragic. There’s the famously fragile Mimi in La Bohéme and the strong but doomed Tosca, but none of Puccini’s creations suffers more than Cio-Cio-San in Madame Butterfly. The beautiful geisha marries an American soldier, Lieutenant Pinkerton. She commits to him for life,…
For the Sake of the Song
Ten years ago, Sarah Gish launched her own public relations company. Her very first client? The Southwest Alternate Media Project, a nonprofit organization that promotes filmmaking, affectionately known as SWAMP. To celebrate her first decade in business, Gish is holding a fund-raiser for SWAMP with a screening of the music…
Anjelah Johnson
Tammy is everyone’s favorite Vietnamese manicurist, always finding ways to pile on extra fees for her services. The character is one of actor/comedian Anjelah Johnson’s most popular characters – a video of her Nail Salon routine went viral, propelling Johnson to become a regular on MadTV. Another character, Bon Qui…
Rice Cinema: Mexican Film Festival
As a perfect follow-up to the recent Festival of New Spanish Films 2010, Rice Cinema now hosts The Mexican Revolution Film Series. The three-day festival screens the 2007 Pueblo de Madera (Village of Wood) by Juan Antonio de la Riva on Friday. It’s a hard look at life in a…
Paul Anka
He’s had his songs recorded by Frank Sinatra (“My Way”), Tom Jones (“She’s a Lady”) and Donny Osmond (“Puppy Love”), and he even contributed to Michael Jackson’s last hit (“This Is It”). Paul Anka, with 900 tunes to his credit, is considered one of the most successful and prolific songwriters…
Houston Symphony: Chris Botti
Be ready to be charmed and romanced by one of the most popular trumpeters on the jazz scene today, Chris Botti. Master of pop and classical repertoires, Botti is most at home with jazz (for the last six years, he’s been the bestselling American jazz instrumentalist). Grammy Award winner Botti…
Resurrecting Phi Slama Jama
Hofheinz Pavilion doesn’t look today like a place where the best basketball team ever once played. That team was the University of Houston’s men’s basketball squad from the early 1980s, nicknamed “Phi Slama Jama” by Houston Post sportswriter Thomas Bonk for the team’s affinity for the fast break and slam…
Linus Pauling Quartet
For a band that flies the “stoner-rock” so proudly (and loudly), the Linus Pauling Quartet sure is industrious. Sort of. Although the long-running Houston band hasn’t released anything since the vinyl-only All Things Are Light — “Southern rock, sword metal, heavy-as-hell psych, jazz-leaning interludes and gonzo pseudo-ska,” the Houston Press’s…
John Anderson
Depending on your age bracket, your first memory of Florida country singer John Anderson was either 1983’s “Swingin'” or 1992’s “Straight Tequila Night,” which we used to sing in the car to our family, oblivious that it’s about a heartbroken woman’s agave-aided bender. Along his career path, Anderson has covered…
Valient Thorr
Mix equal parts Alex Jones and Gene Roddenberry, with a healthy dash of MC5 and a scoop of AC/DC, and you get Chapel Hill’s Valient Thorr. The band’s live shows are sweaty, draining, lusty rock and roll affairs with lead singer and former schoolteacher Valient Himself holding court before his…
There Is No Enemy
Even though Built to Spill’s Doug Martsch sounds proud of his band’s newest album, There Is No Enemy, he’s aware of its typical critical appraisal. “First good record they’ve made since the 1990s,” he mockingly spits in a dumb- ass drawl. That isn’t altogether true. Still, there’s not much doubt…
Moon Tower Inn
It’s easy, and convenient, to lump bars into archetypal categories when you’re describing them. This bar is a Dive Bar, that bar is a Glitzy Nightclub, this bar is an After-Hours Lounge. That bar is where 21-year-olds hang out, so don’t go there unless you feel like getting into a…
Faces of Ife
When you walk into “Dynasty and Divinity: Ife Art in Ancient Nigeria” at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, it feels like you are walking into a crowd of people. The exhibition is filled with the faces of distinct, but long dead, individuals, depicted in striking works of stone, terracotta…
Jason Moran, HSPVA Jazz Ensemble
Jason Moran is a genius. We suspect that was evident to the Houston native’s classmates at HSPVA (he’s been playing since age six), but now it’s official. Last month the Mac- Arthur Foundation named the pianist, now 35 and living in New York City, as one of the 2010 recipients…
Capsule Art Reviews: “Objects of Devotion,” “Retablo Exhibition,” “Richard Misrach: After Katrina,” “St. Boniface’s Last Days”
“Objects of Devotion” The Menil Collection is the perfect place for an exhibition like this. John and Dominique de Menil’s collecting was deeply influenced by Father Marie-Alain Couturier and his interest in art and spirituality. The Collection’s Renzo Piano-designed building itself feels like a chapel, and nobody installs work more…
Teflon Don
Jadakiss once wondered why rappers lie in 85 percent of their rhymes, and here’s the answer: Because they don’t have the audacity of Rick Ross, who lies in 95 percent of his. Last year, the Florida don, who’d built his entire persona on his status as a criminal kingpin, was…
Capsule Stage Reviews: The Marriage of Bette & Boo, Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Would Not Grow Up, Shadows in Bloom
The Marriage of Bette & Boo Christopher Durang might be famous for his wildly sardonic satires, including Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You and Baby with the Bathwater, but his 1985 flaying of familial love, The Marriage of Bette & Boo, is as tragic as a tale about…
Aggies Go Big
Education Aggies Go Big Largest college-football statue EVER By Richard Connelly When most institutions of higher learning put out press releases about a new art installation on campus, they go heavy with how cutting-edge it is, or how breathtaking it will look, or how famous the artist doing it is…
The Heights of Comfort
See the making of Zelko’s Boss Burger and more in our slideshow. Zelko Bistro has the best napkins in Houston. They’re the flour sack towels that my mother and grandmother have always used in their kitchens, slung over their shoulders like rifles as they wash vegetables and man the stoves…
Let’s Get Spooky
It’s that time of year again, when people prowl the streets wearing everything from barely-there bunny suits to floor-length cloaks. The classics might have a bit of a twist as a few cat suits take on a blue tinge (yes, Avatar is still around). But, whether you pick an old…
Snap Kitchen
Martin Berson was an operating partner of Benjy’s Restaurant. Now he heads up the new Snap Kitchen (3600 Kirby, 713-526-5700), which offers fresh, healthy takeaway cuisine. “There are three things we were striving for: great food, phenomenal service and a cool, hip, fun and sexy atmosphere,” says Berson. The Houston…
The Job Problem
The Job Problem Online readers comment on “Intelligent Life,” by Chasen Marshall, October 7: I commend you, April: I hope life shows you that you made the right decision. I do wonder if there would have been a way for you to stay in your position and educate those around…
Death by Eastwood
Life is wonderful, death is wow, chance is weird and Clint Eastwood’s Hereafter is a puddle of tepid ick. Is America’s last cowboy icon prospecting for more Oscar gold? Taking for his map an original screenplay by British docu-dramatist Peter Morgan (The Queen, Frost/Nixon), Eastwood rides a sleepy burro deep…
Frightened Rabbit
Boldly seizing a moniker his mother hung on him when social anxiety held him back a year in nursery school, Scott Hutchinson’s Northern Scotland quintet Frightened Rabbit plays earnest, self-searching paeans that ring with the sonorous indie-pop echoes of spiritual and regional antecedents The Vaselines, Orange Juice and the Delgados…
Country Fried Oysters
When you’re served the Country Fried Oysters ($13) at The Barbed Rose (113 E. Sealy, Alvin, 281-585-2272), they come with instructions on how to eat them. The server tells you to place one of the chicken-fried oysters on a house-cured, thick-sliced, rind-on bacon strip, then top that with a slice…
Jónsi
As a solo act, Sigur Rós singer Jón “Jónsi” Þór Birgisson imbues his harmonic pop with youthful wonderment and melancholy. Go — Jónsi’s solo debut, a collaboration with composer Nico Muhly — offers wistful romps that would make a perfect alternate soundtrack to Where the Wild Things Are. Whereas Sigur…
Yaksok Karaoke Bar’s Soju
The first time I met Sunny, the owner of Yaksok Karaoke Bar (9444 Long Point, 832-358-0035), she poured shots of soju for a friend and me and told us about getting robbed by a Vietnamese gang in Queens while the bar’s sing-along machine plunked out a MIDI version of “Hotel…
Racists, Driving While Mexican and Used-Tire Shops
Dear Mexican, I’m not the type to let things slide when I see something that strikes me as ignorant, no matter who it is. When my friend’s mom posted jokes on Facebook about Mexicans, and her friends popped up with comments I felt were racist, I just had to step…
Paul Oakenfold, Calvin Harris, Kenneth Thomas
Paul Oakenfold is getting long in the tooth. Although the 47-year-old British-born trance superstar isn’t ready for AARP membership just yet, he’s been bringing forth the beats since the Studio 54 era and has outlasted his peers from London’s early-’80s DJ scene to become arguably one of the most successful…
