Oh My Gogi’s Continuing HPD Problems
Houston police spokesperson John Cannon has trouble not laughing when he hears about the food truck Oh My Gogi. It’s not their complaints, or their food, or the owners. It’s the name. Oh. My. Gogi. The punch lines pretty much write themselves. Oh My Gogi isn’t laughing. Owner Eric Nguyen…
Why Do Houston Police Keep Bothering Food Truck Oh My Gogi?
Houston police spokesperson John Cannon has trouble not laughing when he hears about the food truck Oh My Gogi. It’s not their complaints, or their food, or the owners. It’s the name. Oh. My. Gogi. The punch lines pretty much write themselves. Oh My Gogi isn’t laughing. Owner Eric Nguyen…
Rockets Start the Preseason Tonight, But Not on U-Verse or DirecTV
When it comes to preseason sports, there is nothing as boring as professional basketball. Okay, maybe spring college football scrimmages come close, but, overall, preseason in the NBA is a torturous grind and this is coming from someone who loves pro ball. For the hometown team, preseason will provide much…
The Top Ten Most Corrupt Tax Breaks
Did you know Apple Inc. was Irish? Did you know the mortgage interest deduction can be applied to yachts? Big million dollar yachts? Or that even though the five biggest oil companies made a collective $137 billion in revenue last year, they also got $20 billion in tax breaks? A…
University of Houston’s Lame Attempt to Distract From Recent Robberies
Hair Balls is used to receiving one or two (hundred) moronic press releases a month, but the one issued today by University of Houston flacks needs to be publicly addressed for its singular ingenuousness. The release praises the university’s new police chief, Ceaser Moore, for firing three cops who allegedly…
5 Bands to Avoid & 5 Bands to See at This Year’s ACL
If you are lucky enough to be going to ACL this weekend, you have no doubt been sitting in front of your concert schedule plotting your movements for this coming weekend. Alternately if you are missing out on ACL, a lot of the bands playing have been through Houston lately,…
Does Over-Serving at Restaurants Go Under-Investigated?
UPDATE: The TABC has responded to some of our concerns and cleared up some errors and misconceptions about over-serving investigations. Carolyn Beck, director of communications, especially wished to stress that the quote from the Houston Chronicle below regarding one TABC agent for a county with over 800 establishments was untrue…
Cover Story: A Clash of Millionaires Among the Mansions of Shadyside
I’ve been called a number of things throughout the course of reporting a story — “pontificating punk” may be my personal favorite — but something I’ve rarely been called is naive. Until, that is, I started working on this week’s cover story, The Battle Of Remington Lane. I didn’t know…
Chef Chat, Part 1: Bobby Matos of Ciao Bello, on Whether Culinary School Is Worth It
Bobby Matos Ciao Bello 5161 San Felipe 713-960-0333 ciaobellohouston.com This is the first part of a three-part chef chat series. Look for parts 2 and 3 in this same space Thursday and Friday. Ciao Bello, Tony Vallone’s lighter, more casual version of his iconic Tony’s in River Oaks, offers some…
Last Night: Garbage at House of Blues
Garbage October 9, 2012 House of Blues See Garbage and Houston’s most devoted darklings in our slideshow. Shirley Manson pays her debts. Maybe it’s that Scottish Calvinist ancestry, or the discipline honed by decades with the same group of bandmates. Maybe she’s really a Lannister. Whatever the reason, the Garbage…
Reality Bites: Parking Wars
There are a million reality shows on the naked television. We’re going to watch them all, one at a time. If you own a car, and you live in a place that has curbs, you’ve probably gotten a parking ticket. If you’ve gotten too many tickets (an arbitrary number that…
Top 10 Most Frightening Video Games
See also: Top Ten Creepiest Ghosts Hidden in Video Games. As I recently pointed out, horrifying ghosts await you within even the most family-friendly of adventures. Well, the good news is that there are games that don’t even try to be family-friendly and they too have terrible things just itching…
The $20 Trader Joe’s Challenge
Editor’s note: We asked five Eating Our Words bloggers to head to Trader Joe’s with $20 and write about what they were able to get. We’ve gathered their stories together here. Katharine Shilcutt: Objective: Two meals for two for $20 My boyfriend and I hit Trader Joe’s a little before…
Robert Claude Powell: A Man, a Barstool and a Plan Gone Awry
Robert Claude Powell of Alvin is a dude who’s serious about renting movies — he won’t let anything get in his way, including pesky doors, apparently, because he was arrested after allegedly throwing a barstool through the glass doors of Allstate Video Monday. According to The Police News, Powell just…
Is Adele’s “Skyfall” the Worst Bond Theme of All Time?
Fifty years after the release of the very first Hollywood adaptation of Ian Fleming’s superspy, James Bond returns to make his 23rd appearance on the silver screen this month in Skyfall, Daniel Craig’s third crack at the character. The media blitz for the film’s premiere is already in full effect,…
No Birkin for You? Try One of These Three Handbag Labels Instead
I am equal parts “giddy with anticipation” and “anticipating post-Birkin proximity depression” as I contemplate my trip(s) — let’s face it, I’ll go more than once — to Festival des Métiers at Hermès this weekend. This is certainly as close as I’ll ever get to a Birkin bag, and if…
UPDATED: ACLU, Human Rights Watch Report Condemns Solitary Confinement for Teens
Human Rights Watch has produced several videos in connection with this report. In June 2009, Chris Vogel wrote our story “For Their Own Good,” detailing the problems created when teens are left in solitary confinement in jail for up to 23 hours a day. We’d like to think we made…
Top 5 Ways to Use Halloween Candy
Let’s face it, eating Halloween candy plain can get old really fast. Sure, we all love the variety in miniature chocolate bars, the fun-size packs of M&Ms and Skittles or the endless amounts of candy corn, but sometimes we need to spice things up a bit. Here’s my top five…
Kenny Rogers’ Luck: The Gambler’s Story More Than Breaks Even
Luck or Something Like It: A Memoir By Kenny Rogers William Morrow, 304 pp., $27.99 Having recently produced a television special commemorating his 50 years in show business, this memoir from the Gambler seems long overdue. And indeed, during his ’70s and ’80s heyday, Kenny Rogers was an artist that…
Why the United States of America Is My Favorite RPG
Though I review all types of games for the Houston Press, at my heart I love role-playing games the best. I was weaned young on Final Fantasies, and am now almost 200 hours into Xenoblade Chronicles. My favorite RPG, though, is definitely the country we live in. Election years are…
Love And Madness: The Top 5 Songs Named “Crazy”
Starting in 1992, October 10 has been known as World Mental Health Day. Started by the folks at the World Federation For Mental Health, it’s a day that helps promote awareness and education of depression and other mental health illnesses. It’s one of those “days” that isn’t nearly as big…
Christine Ha Talks MasterChef, Masochism and Multi-tasking with Eating…Our Words
If you are like us, you are in a serious post-MasterChef funk of depression right now. Aside from the fact that it’s a bummer anytime a great show ends its season run, we had extra incentive to tune in — and celebrate — as we watched Houstonian (and former EOW…
Texas Southern University Athletics: NCAA Calls Foul Once Again
The Texas Southern University Athletics Department was once again cited for infractions by the NCAA Tuesday and placed on five years probation, something which certainly has to leave both its supporters and detractors discouraged. As the NCAA report noted, TSU “either has been on probation or had violation occurring on…
The Top 20 Greatest Goth Albums of All Time, Nos. 10-1
BY CHRIS GRAY AND JEF WITH ONE F Rewind: The Top 20 Greatest Goth Albums of All Time, Nos. 20-11 10. Rosetta Stone The Tyranny of Inaction (Cleopatra, 1995) In 1995, Porl Young used a nice-sized record advance to purchase a multitrack digital recorder that changed Rosetta Stone’s sound considerably…
Gertrude Companion, 72, Bayou Body Count No. 173
Two people found shot to death at 14302 Carolcrest St. about 10:30 a.m. on October 3 were part of an apparent murder-suicide, Houston police say. Police identified the victims, both of the same address, as Gertrude Companion, 72, and Michael Companion, 71…
Who Wants to Be a Sexy Hamburger for Halloween?
What girl doesn’t want to dress to impress this Halloween as a sexy, sleek, chic, hamburger with lettuce, tomato and a thick, juicy beef patty? Someone call the health inspector! This weekend on Tumblr I found a link for a women’s hamburger costume, available at sexy online outlet Yandy, your…
A Ransom Note to All Major Fast Food Chains
Scene: KFC International Food Testing HQ “So what you’re telling me, Colonel, is that I can only get these creamy, delicious, bacon and herb stuffed taters…when I go to Japan? Japan!! Is that what you’re telling me!??! Cue sound effects: multiple explosions followed by a quick sword fight and the…
100 Creatives 2012: Kent Dorn, Drawer, Painter, Artist
Originally from South Carolina, Kent Dorn has called Houston home since coming here for the University of Houston’s MFA program in 2001. Beginning with his thesis show, Dorn’s paintings and drawings have gained national recognition for both their unique narrative qualities and their distinctly gritty and dense surfaces. When he…
Bye, Bye “Jer”: Jerry Sandusky Sentenced to Minimum 30 Years in Prison
During the trial of convicted pedophile and former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, it was revealed that he would send actual love letters to one of his numerous victims, denoted in the case as Victim Number 4. The creep factor on these letters was off the charts, and they…
The Bizarre Ride of Kickback Sundays, Pt. 3
For being a boutique that happens to aid others with ticket sales for bigger shows, the owner of SF2 looked at the bottom line for sales for its own show, dubbed Raw Talent, and scoffed. Rewind: The Bizarre Ride of Kickback Sundays, Part 1 “We only sold two tickets,” Suzie…
How To: Copycat Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte
With all the hoopla about Starbucks’ shortage of Pumpkin Spice Lattes, I searched the Internet for a copycat recipe so you can make this wonderful fall drink at home. That was before I found out that Houston is in the clear of having to suffer from the loss of Pumpkin…
Linda Hall Jones: Pepper-Sprays Sassy Tween Girl, Abilene Police Say
An altercation near the downtown Abilene Rodeway Inn ice machine has landed a 65-year-old woman in jail and a 12-year-old girl in a (temporary) world of hurt. According to Big Country Homepage, Linda Hall Jones and the tween were standing at the ice machine when the youngster laughed at the…
5 New Holiday Albums For Your Halloween Horror
Right now, as soon as you can either get to year nearest music retailer or click over to iTunes or Amazon, you can buy the first holiday-themed 2012 album we have heard of, Jason Gray’s Christmas Stories: Repeat the Sounding Joy. If that sounds early to you, well, yeah, but…
This Week in Food Blogs: Is Houston Diverse Enough?
Lushtastic: Beer blogger Leslie Sprague has a preview of the city’s newest craft beer bar from the owners of Liberty Station: Cottonwood. And if Sprague’s write-up is any indication, Cottonwood is going to kill it. On the food end, there will be a full menu of burgers and mussels from…
15 Is the New 30: Childrens Hospital Is Changing Sitcoms
Adult Swim, the Cartoon network’s late night block of risqué grown-up programming, which has been amusing stoned college students for over a decade now, recently hit a milestone. One of their short-form live action shows, Childrens Hospital, just won an Emmy. If you are unfamiliar with the show, it is…
Forethought Financial: Houston-based Company Repays California Clients $25 Million
Yikes — a Houston-based “end of life needs” insurance company will reimburse California beneficiaries $25 million, California State Controller John Chiang announced Monday. Chiang accused Forethought Financial Group of not paying death benefit, saying, “It’s a shameful betrayal of trust when this insurance company — either through wanton greed or…
Relax, Houston: Your Pumpkin Spice Lattes Are Safe
I know people who mark the passing of the seasons by Starbucks’ seasonal lattes, and I am very much not joking about this. Fall has officially arrived when the coffee chain starts carrying Pumpkin Spice-flavored lattes. Winter is here when the Peppermint Mochas arrive. It’s become a cycle as constant…
Upcoming: Band of Horses, Devin the Dude, Keane, Shadows Fall, Etc.
The Abyss, PuraPharm, The Scars Heal In Time, Obscured by Echoes: Sat., Oct. 13, 8 p.m., $5/$8. Notsuoh, 314 Main, Houston. Amplified Heat: Fri., Oct. 19, 9 p.m., $10. Continental Club, 3700 Main, Houston. Band of Horses: Wed., Oct. 24, 8 p.m., $25.00-$30.00. House of Blues, 1204 Caroline, Houston. Burned…
Michael “Propostris” Veytovich: World of Warcraft and Hip-Hop Parodist Accused of Vile Sex Crimes
The front Michael “Propostris” Veytovich presented to the world was a jolly and humorous one, if deeply immature for someone in his mid-30s. A struggling voice actor and part-time rapper who apparently relied heavily on his wife’s income, Veytovich looks to have whiled away his days in marathon World of…
Houston’s Best Non-Halloween Halloween Party: MFAH Mixed Media Designed by IKEA — We’ve Got Free VIP Tickets UPDATED
UPDATE: Organizers for the October installment of MFAH Mixed Media Designed by IKEA originally planned to ban costumes. After hearing from their audience, organizers decided that costumes will be allowed. In order to keep the art safe, the galleries will be closed off. Lots of invites to Halloween parties have…
10 More Things I’ll Be Doing at ACL Festival This Weekend
That’s right folks, it’s ACL Music Festival time again in Texas, and Rocks Off will be flying to Austin on the private Rocks Off jet this weekend to cover the fest from Friday until the last notes of “Give It Away” at the end of the Red Hot Chili Peppers…
DVDs and Blu-rays: The Barrens and A Cat in Paris
Stephen Moyer and Mia Kirshner star in The Barrens; Darren Lynn Bousman writes, directs and produces. Let’s just say Richard Vineyard, the character at the center of The Barrens, isn’t all that well-balanced. Or maybe he is and it’s the rest of the characters that are off-kilter. Vineyard (played by…
Half-off Grub at Christian’s Tailgate, Majorca and More
What better time to enjoy a half-off deal on burgers from Houston Press Voice Daily Deals at Christian’s Tailgate? Answer: none. Come celebrate football season at any of Christian’s three locations — Heights, Midtown and Washington — and don’t forget to bring your half-off coupon ($10 for $20). Christian’s Tailgate…
The Top 20 Greatest Goth Albums of All Time, Nos. 20-11
BY CHRIS GRAY AND JEF WITH ONE F Even at this late stage of the game, “goth” is a loaded word. Years and years of bad emo bands in too much eyeliner and corsets on sale at Hot Topics coast to coast will do that. Some even doubt the existence…
Roger Dean Matice: River Oaks Man Latest Prominent Houstonian Caught in Child Porn Dragnet
A 70-year-old River Oaks custom kitchen and bathroom designer was caught possessing and promoting child pornography, according to Harris County Sheriff’s Office investigators. Roger Dean Matice was taken into custody Friday and is charged with two counts of possession of child pornography and one count of promoting same. Police say…
New Calorie-Displaying Soda Vending Machines: 5 Reasons Why They Won’t Significantly Aid America’s Obesity
There’s just no getting around it: Americans have a love affair with soft drinks. Dr Pepper, Sprite, Coke, Pepsi, Fanta — you name it, we love it. It’s a soft drink love fest — until we remember all the calories that soft drinks contain, and the fact that those sugar-…
Dogs in Halloween Costumes 2012 in Honor of Howl-O-Ween
Yes, it’s time for the annual Howl-O-Ween contest in which you get to help other animals while embarrassing your own. Sponsored by the South Texas College of Law Animal Law Society, Howl-O-Ween gives you the chance to shove your canine into a costume, take his or her picture and post…
Texans-Jets: The 10 Best Rapper Tweets From Monday Night Football
Houston has a professional football team, called the Houston Texans. A lot of people like them; some are rappers. The Internet has several forms of social media; one is called Twitter. A lot of people use it. Some of them are rappers. Like last week, we perused Twitter during Monday…
Where Are We Drinking? Clue: Chinotto per Tutti
At this Italian import, you can find specialty Italian beverages on the menu that are otherwise hard to come by. My favorite is the Chinotto, which San Pellegrino claims to have created in 1932. Made from the fruit of the myrtle-leaved orange tree, it’s said to be “bitter orange” flavored…
Vince Ryan Says Babes North Is a Strip Club, Not a Bikini Bar
We don’t know what you’ll be wearing for Halloween, but in County Attorney Vince Ryan’s eyes, the FM 1960 Babes North is already in full costume. According to a news release from his office Monday, Ryan filed suit against the business establishment, “alleging that it is a place where persons…
Spoiling the Surprises of This Year’s CraftTexas 2012 Juried Exhibition
Contemporary craft artists have a habit of toying with functionality in an effort to separate what’s art from what’s craft or decorative items. The dynamic can get tiresome after you’ve seen one too many ceramic tools or aluminum blobs. But as CraftTexas, a juried exhibition at Houston Center for Contemporary…
Top 5 Creepiest Places an Album Has Ever Been Recorded
The creative process is a fickle little mistress, trust me. Some people like Axl Rose can dash off memorable lyrics on the back of a pizza box whenever the mood strikes. Then there are people like Bjork who think only being naked in a bat-infested cave will get them the…
10 Oyster Dishes to Try in Houston: No. 9, Oysters Baton Rouge at Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen
You know what I love about SeptembeR, OctobeR, NovembeR and DecembeR? It’s oyster season! Not that I don’t indulge in bivalves year-round, but during these months oysters are at their peak. For the next few weeks, I’ll be sampling the most memorable and tasty oyster dishes in Houston. No. 9,…
Comment of the Day: The Astros’ Payroll Massacre
We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it’s time we paid some damn attention to them. So we’ll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning or afternoon from the previous day’s work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous…
Zombie Makeup Tips: In Full Bloody Color with VIDEO (Part I)
This video was shot and edited by Norma Vasquez. It’s the first of three we’ll be posting on consecutive Tuesdays. The second annual Zombie Walk Downtown is approaching and we wanted to help you represent well on the journey. It’s a chance to do good while looking grotesquely great. The…
Shawn and Dashawn Butler Discover That Harris County Deputies Are Party Poopers
Twins Shawn and Dashawn Butler had their Saturday night party all set, according to investigators. They were going to host a huge gathering in northeast Harris County on someone else’s private property. But someone dialed in a tip to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, saying that the Butlers had made…
Pop Rocks: For 007’s 50th Anniversary, the Five Best Bond Films (And Five More)
Ever since the first trailer hit, I’ve been squealing like Navin Johnson: “Skyfall’s almost here! Skyfall’s almost here!” I don’t get hyped by a lot of stuff anymore, movie-wise. The Hobbit? Eh. The Dark Knight Rises? Meh. But I grew up watching James Bond movies. Before there was Star Wars,…
The Rocks Off 100: Brandon Lemons, Keeper of the Treaty Oak Collective
Welcome to the Rocks Off 100, our portrait gallery of the most compelling profiles and personalities in the far-flung Houston music community — a lot more than just musicians, but of course they’re in there too. Who? Brandon Lemons is the man behind The Treaty Oak Collective, “a small record label/booking/promotion group here…
Top Five Foods You Must Try at the Texas Renaissance Festival
The Texas Renaissance Festival began this weekend on Saturday, October 6, bringing in people from all over the state. The last time I went to the Renaissance Festival was in high school, but I am glad to say that it is still the same enjoyable and hysterical event it was…
Texans-Jets: 4 Winners, 4 Losers, the World Learns About J.J. Watt Edition
Well, it wasn’t sexy, it wasn’t pretty, and it was actually a whole lot closer than most people thought it would be, but the Texans escaped northern New Jersey with a 23-17 win over the New York Jets. After the game, most Texan fans on Twitter were more interested in…
The New Fall Menu at Max’s Wine Dive
If you’ve been to Max’s Wine Dive, you probably know about their egg sandwich, their famous fried chicken, their ultra-gourmet burger and their Max ‘n Cheese. What you may not realize is that half of the Max’s menu changes each quarter, with fun and exciting menu items that are always…
The Bizarre Ride of Kickback Sundays, Part 2
It’s March 2012. The freewheeling atmosphere of South by Southwest has Kickback Sundays co-founder Teresa Waldon’s spirits high. It’s been months since she and partner Suzie Rivera had ended Kickback Sunday’s first season and cancelled its supposed return, yet her emotions towards her “baby” haven’t wavered. Rewind: The Bizarre Ride…
The Smell of the Houston Single at Nouveau Antique Art Bar
The concept of a pheromone party seems simple enough. Singles wear clean, new white tees to bed for three nights in a row, sealing in their natural slumbering scent. The tees are frozen overnight to maintain the odor of the single, to be finally displayed at the party anonymously. REWIND:…
Top 5 Hardcore Bands That Should Make New Music
Last month, Bad Brains announced they would be releasing a new album, Into the Future, in November, their first since 2007’s Build a Nation. Five years is a long time between albums, but for aging punk rockers, it’s just about the standard. Some seem to take even longer. What is…
How Tom DeLay’s Lawyer Learned to Love Mini-Satan As He Prepares for Wednesday’s Hearing
Tom DeLay, the man who once easily held the title Most Hated Republican in his clawed hands, will finally have his hearing over campaign-finance money-laundering charges Wednesday before a three-judge panel in Austin. It’s been a long road for the former congressman from Sugar Land — some of the indictments…
Top 10 Restaurants in the Heights
Let’s get one thing out of the way before we get started: This is a list of the ten best restaurants in the Heights, as “the Heights” is defined by the Houston Heights Association. That means that restaurants outside of its boundaries — north of Loop 610 West, west of…
See the Cult Classic Alligator…with Real Alligators (Not Giant Mutants)
Since the 1930s, one of the favorite American urban legends is that tribes of alligators live in the sewers beneath the cities, growing to huge size after being flushed down the toilet as babies by children who had bought them as pets. It’s not really true, especially in places like…
J.J. Watt Saves Texans from Prime-Time Embarrassment
Things didn’t turn out quite as planned — for Texan fans, tonight was supposed to be a dominating effort introducing the team to the national stage — but a win’s a win, right? And this win was due in large part to the hands and skill of J.J. Watt, who…
Cop on Traffic Stop Hit By Nearby Robber’s Bullet
A Houston cop pulled over a driver for a traffic violation on the northside in the predawn hours Sunday, probably hoping for a routine piece of business. Instead he stumbled into the free-fire zone of a nearby robbery and ended up wounded, HPD says. The officer, whose name has not…
No Respect for Texans: $14 for a Monday Night Football Ticket?
If you think some of your fellow Houstonians are taking a “wait and see” attitude when it comes to the Texans, you should see the rest of the country. There’s always just the slightest hint of disbelief in the voice of whatever NFL expert is picking them as a Super…
Houston Art Vandal, Uriel Landeros, Planning an Art Show: Milking Every Last Drop of Fame from Vandalism
Yesterday, the Houston art vandal, Uriel Landeros, who scrawled “conquista” across a Picasso painting several months ago for everyone “who has suffered any injustice of any kind,” said on Facebook, “I don’t back out. Others do.” Thanks, Uriel. Because where would the world’s disenfranchised be without your noble vandalism? We’ve…
Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman Are Splitting Up: Say It Ain’t So #TrollFoot
My whole life I have known a few things, things that remained as constants to keep me sane: 1. Van Halen, not Van Hagar. 2. The only good Hot Pockets are the pepperoni kind. 3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to fire. Danny DeVito and…
Rodney Wayne Hicks: Nursing Prof Sues Over His Sex-With-Minors Chats
A nursing professor has sued the Texas Board of Nursing for disciplining him after it stumbled onto an online chat where he talked of his “fantasies of sexual contact with minors.” Rodney Wayne Hicks’s lawsuit, reported by Courthouse New Service, says no evidence of pedophilia was presented in his case,…
Copper: “Better Times Are Coming”? No Way, Bro
Copper’s eighth episode was titled “Better Times Are Coming”, but it was nothing but sullen and jarring. This season has had a handful of turning points. Mrs. Haverford trying opium with Robert Morehouse, child whore Annie killing two people, and of course, Detective Corcoran further turning into some sort of…
Hail Caesar Salad! 28th Annual My Table Magazine Caesar Salad Competition
What makes for a good Caesar salad? Is it fresh, crunchy romaine lettuce? Are homemade, well-seasoned croutons the secret? Is it the perfect amount of lemon juice, olive oil, egg, garlic and pepper? Perhaps the quality and quantity of the parmesan cheese that tops it? Maybe it’s the notorious anchovies?…
Death of a Salesman: New Performance Schedule Arrives
The Alley Theatre’s opening night for Death of a Salesman — delayed by the illness of former lead actor James Black — will be Thursday, October 11. As we previously reported, Glenn Fleshler will take over the role of Willy Loman. He was an understudy for the role on Broadway…
Houston’s Miss Mykie Chosen as BET’s New 106 & Park Cohost
Ms. Gray is a proud mama. It is the first really chilly night of the year, and Gray is fighting a sore throat, but she remains firmly planted at the head table in the House of Blues’ Elwood Room. A waiter brings her a cup of hot tea with honey,…
Ariane Roesch’s Soft Sculptures and Interrupted Landscapes
For the past several years, Houston artist Ariane Roesch’s work has been cleverly at the intersection of people and technology, whether she’s outlining the interior of Midtown’s Celsius 13 in electroluminescent wires or making huggable felt sculptures of early personal computers. The multi-media artist continues to explore that dynamic in…
Big Wins for Chris Shepherd and Bobby Heugel at the 2012 My Table Houston Culinary Awards
It wasn’t quite a Lord of the Rings-style Oscars sweep for Underbelly last night at the 2012 Houston Culinary Awards — the restaurant didn’t win in every category in which it was nominated — but chef Chris Shepherd and mixologist/bar owner/restaurateur Bobby Heugel took home four awards between them. Shepherd…
Thomas Lee Elkins: GEO Group Lets Sixth Rapist Stroll Away From Halfway House in 24 Months
The rapist of a 16-year-old girl is the latest sexual predator to slip through the sieve that is the privately run Southeast Texas Transitional Center. Thomas Lee Elkins, convicted of aggravated kidnapping and sexual assault in 1991, absconded from the facility, 10950 Old Beaumont Highway, October 5, according to reports…
666 Park Avenue Only Getting Crazier and More Awesome
The sophomore episode of the creepy-crawly 666 Park Avenue aired last night and if our own Craig Hlavaty didn’t nail this puppy on the head or what: this show may be the greatest thing to happen to primetime television. There’s nothing better than a show about rich people, especially when…
Saturday Night: Big KRIT at House of Blues
Big KRIT House of Blues October 6, 2012 Twenty-five minutes into his performance, Big KRIT told the crowd that he has been reading the reviews of his new album. It seems that critics think that it’s a bit monotonous. They say he talks too much about cars, candy paint, and…
Where Are We Eating? Clue: Classic Creperie
At this new French restaurant in the Heights, you’ll find a menu of Gallic favorites and plenty of crepes. It’s one of a passel of new restaurants to specialize in the stuffed pancake, which can be made sweet or savory. A spicy chicken version has been my favorite so far…
Thomas Williams Jr., 15, Bayou Body Count No. 172
An argument on the southwest side Friday evening led to the death of a 15-year-old male, Houston police say. Thomas Williams Jr., 15, got into an argument with “an unknown male suspect” about 6:45 p.m. Friday in the 10600 block of Sabo, HPD says. “At some point, the suspect produced…
Goose Fat Heath Bar Cookies
Last winter, I brought my husband a most special souvenir: a can of goose fat from Borough Market. Although I had no specific plans for the goose fat, I was certain he would come up with some. I mean, what does goose fat not go well with? Six months later,…
Houston Family Arts Center Makes Theatrical Magic with The Glass Menagerie
The set-up: The Glass Menagerie was Tennessee Williams’s first successful play, opening in Chicago on December 26, 1944, then opening on B’way March 31, 1945, and playing through August 3,1946. It won the New York Drama Critics Award as Best New Play, and starred Laurette Taylor, a renowned actress suffering…
Friday Night: Dinosaur Jr. at Fitzgerald’s
Dinosaur Jr. Fitzgerald’s October 5, 2012 According to the scene at Fitzgerald’s Friday night, the ’90s are alive and well. Fans flocked to the venue to see reigning hard rockers Dinosaur Jr. — and many were turned away, as the show sold out. The last time we’d seen Dinosaur Jr…
Is Tejano Music Completely Dead? We Ask The Experts
In the past decade or so, much has been written about the decline and apparent death of Tejano Music, the much-loved yet all but forgotten genre that mixes traditional conjunto music with modernized, keyboard-driven pop sounds native to the Mexican-American population of South Texas. The Houston radio airwaves no longer…
Embracing DIY Culture: Zine Fest 2012
It’s amazing what a person can do with a pen, a piece of a paper and a copier machine. For a zine creator, these pieces of equipment are necessary items. Despite technology basically eliminating the need to create zines through the rudimentary process of literally cutting and pasting creative work,…
What’s Cooking This Week? Pan-Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Turkey ‘P’LTs & More
I love cooking for my fiancé and me, but most of the time, cooking for two proves to be difficult. If I don’t make a plan, I end up running around in circles at the grocery store and wasting half the ingredients I’ve bought (and I hate wasting food). Enter…
Sheridan Fay of Haven and El Gran Malo Talks Careers in Cocktails and the Changes Coming to Haven
Longtime local favorite Haven is no stranger to talent in the kitchen or behind the bar. With the recent departure of Aaron Lara and Zach Adams — both of whom are now behind the bar at the newly opened Pass & Provisions — Haven has restocked the bar, so to…
Welcome to the Charles Sims Show
Houston Cougar running back Charles Sims is probably one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. He’s quiet, and getting more than a sentence or two from him in a media setting just isn’t going to happen. In fact, when dealing with the press, Sims looks as if he’d…
The Ensemble Theatre’s The Nacirema Society
The setup: It’s so rare when a new play makes an impression that when it does, you feel like you’re walking on air. Pearl Cleage’s romantic comedy, The Nacirema Society, in its regional debut in a scrumptiously detailed production from Ensemble Theatre, makes you giddy. It’s a singular pleasure. There’s…
Saturday Night: David Byrne & St. Vincent at Hobby Center
David Byrne & St. Vincent Sarofim Hall, Hobby Center October 6, 2012 Late, late into David Byrne and St. Vincent’s appearance at Hobby Center Saturday, the duo arrived at a song whose title suited the evening to a T: “The Party.” The tune itself, from St. Vincent’s 2009’s album Actor,…
The Buyer’s Guide to Doctor Who Wedding Accessories
The Houston Press, and specifically this particular fanboy, is dedicated to bringing readers their best option for geekifying their lives. This week we present the best way to invite the Doctor to your wedding. Be sure to check out our other guides, such as steampunk Nintendo systems and horrifying baby…
The Bizarre Ride of Kickback Sundays, Part 1
First in a series — ed. Numbers remains one of Houston’s more traditional setups in terms of a performance venue. The lighting seems archaic, yet holds a sense of charm to make anyone seem like a pop star on a given night. This past summer on Sunday nights, it became…
Fry What You Like: Cinnamon Rolls and Bacon-Wrapped Avocado
I love my university for various reasons, but a new reason is that we have a “Fry What You Like” competition where teams of four get to fry anything of their choosing. All we have to do is prepare our items, dip them in a frying batter, roll them in…
Former Texan Eric Winston Rips Chiefs Fans Cheering Matt Cassel’s Concussion
Eric Winston has opinions on lots of things, and he’s not afraid to express them. It’s what made him a favorite of most of the media and a large portion of the fan base during his time in Houston. Eric Winston was an open book, and for better or worse,…
The 5 Best Shows In Houston This Week: Big Business, Garbage, The Shins, etc.
Big Business Warehouse Live (Studio), Monday Since 2003, the twosome of drummer-yelper Coady Willis and bassist-howler Jared Warren (give or take a guitarist) has been making a perfect sludgy mess as Big Business. They ended up joining Melvins Buzz Osbourne and Dale Crover along the way, both live and on…
The Top Ten Best HBO Dramas & Ones That Didn’t Quite Bubble Up
Whenever a season of an HBO drama ends and fans and critics begin wondering whether or not (fill in the blank) series will return for another season, human blogger nature begins ranking the show in the grand scheme of all HBO dramas. Fans of True Blood and newbie The Newsroom…
Help the Greater Houston Visitors and Conventions Bureau Update Its List of 15 Iconic Houston Meals
Whether or not you agreed with our own recent list of our 100 Favorite Dishes in Houston, most residents have their own very definite ideas of what essential Houston meals are. Perhaps it’s barbecue at Thelma’s or oysters at Gilhooley’s. Maybe it’s crispy-skinned snapper at Reef or Vietnamese crawfish at…
Texans-Jets Monday Night Football: A Preview Wrapped in a Drinking Game
Tonight the Texans begin a stretch where over the next ten weeks they will play five games on national television with the stage all to themselves — tonight against the Jets, next Sunday hosting the Packers, November 11 in Chicago, Thanksgiving Day against the Lions and December 11 in New…
Study: Free Press Summer Fest Brought $14 Million to Houston Economy
According to an economic study by the University of Houston, Free Press Summer Fest brought in more than $14 million to the local economy this year, according to Summer Fest producers Free Press Houston and Pegstar Concerts. Rewind: Complete Free Press Summer Fest 2012 coverage The study was conducted by…
Post Presidential Debates, Rick Perry, Whatchya Plannin? (Please Not A 2016 Presidential Run)
It’s been a bizarre few weeks for the Gov. The madness began in late August when Perry said he would “absolutely” consider another run at the presidency, adding that 2016 is a long ways off and “a lot of good things can happen.” Oh, Rick. What “good things” are those?…
Sean Payne: Humble Man Too Drunk To Pose for His Mugshot
A man police found early Thursday outside Shamrocks Pub in Humble was so drunk, police had to hold his head up for his mugshot. Sean Carl Payne, 35 and of Humble, was charged with public intoxication. According to the pub’s Facebook page, the band Nervous Rex played that night, and…
Beginner Pong: Rice Amasses 54,000 Online Students for First Coursera Class
Distance learning, until recently, has mostly been relegated to certificates and diplomas from second (or third or fourth) rate schools aimed at getting college degrees into the hands of anyone who could afford the courses. But, with technology — particularly video — dramatically altering the way we communicate, traditional four-year…
Last Three Scumbags Plead Guilty in Sex Trafficking Case
The last three defendants in what federal prosecutors called the single biggest domestic sex trafficking ring in the Southern District of Texas have pleaded guilty to forcing women and minors into prostitution. John Butler, 52, Jamine Lake, 30, and Ronnie Presley, 38, face between five and 20 years in prison,…
UPDATED: Railroad Revival Tour With Willie, etc. Cancelled; Band of Horses Adds House of Blues Date
UPDATED (3:15 p.m.): According to Live Nation, Band of Horses has added a show October 24 at House of Blues. Tickets go on sale tomorrow at noon at livenation.com. The Railroad Revival tour, featuring Willie Nelson, Band of Horses, Jamey Johnson and actor John C. Reilly’s band, has been canceled,…
Arc Electronics: The Local Company Allegedly Behind Russian Spying, Perhaps Making Traffic Lights As Side Gig?
If their website is any indication, Arc Electronics was apparently into a lot of things besides spying. Sure, espionage is exciting and interesting and all, but bills have got to be paid. Those traffic lights aren’t going to construct themselves — though Arc sure as hell weren’t selling anything to…
Ashlyn Treadway: An Educational Fund in Her Honor
Child Abuse and Forensic Services, a Beaumont-based non-profit, has created the Ashlyn Tilea Treadway Educational Fund, in honor of a sexual abuse survivor who was killed in a car accident last August. Treadway was just 23. We first wrote about the abuse Ashlyn, her younger sister Brea, and two other…
This Week in Deliciousness: Hasta La Vista, Propane
Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where we’re already developing an exercise plan to help compensate for all the eating of feelings we’ll be doing this fall. Because we try to be optimistic, but let’s face it, it’s football season and we are Houston. I’m…
UH’s Serious Money: The 1987 Play About Financial Sharks Is Still Timely
The set-up: Serious Money, Caryl Churchill’s satire on insider trading in the London stock market won Britain’s Laurence Olivier Award in 1987, and the Obie Award in 1988, as Best New Play. The University of Houston has staged this ambitious play, complex in design and large in cast, at its…
Tommy & Scrappy: The Week in Art Photos
It’s time again to check out the Houston Press Flickr Pool and see what kinds of art shots our talented photographers have added. We love street art, unique perspectives and beautiful photos of Houston’s creative community. If you think you’ve got a good eye, drop your pictures in the pool…
10 Dishes We’re Excited About on Houston Restaurants’ New Fall Menus
Roost Bistro is one of the restaurants with an exciting fall menu. Fall means looking forward to more than just oyster season, chili cook-offs and pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks. It means that plenty of our favorite restaurants (and, yes, bars too) across the city are issuing new seasonal menus…
The 12C Spider:McLaren’s Arachnid Invades City Centre
British engineering was on display at the Houston Motor Club in City Centre last night when McLaren was on hand to unveil its new supercar to the Texas market: the 12C Spider. The Spider sports a unique single piece “MonoCell” body made of carbon fiber with aluminum trimming in the…
Reader’s Poll: The Best 40 Albums of 1992
As we close out our 1992 week here on Rocks Off — part nostalgia trip, part making you all feel old — we look at the best albums of that year. The rock-music world was still on a Nirvana high, and the fruits of Cali hip-hop were ripening, with widely…
Person Of Interest: The Man Who Sold The World
When I learned PoI was paying a visit to our very own Lone Star State this week, I was happy as a clam at high tide. Not because I expected CBS to actually fly the cast and crew to Texas or even show some half-assed establishing location shots. No, I…
How to Ship Wine Legally to Texas
In the wake of my post Wednesday, “Texas Wine Shipping Prohibition Is Morally Indefensible (and Bad for Business),” I wanted to follow up with some tips on how to ship wine legally to Texas. Although it hasn’t been updated for more than two years, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission does…
Soccer Notes: Mexico Comes to Town, Again
If you’re a fan of watching a big-time football team beat up a small program, then October 12 at BBVA Compass Stadium is the place to be. And no, Texas Southern won’t be hosting an SEC or Big 12 team…
The Biggest Houston Bands of 1992
Researching what the Houston music scene was like 20 years ago has been an eye-opening experience, to put it mildly. In that benighted era, the world was very analog. Musicians could design a gig flyer or type up some lyrics on their computers, maybe fiddle around with some primitive MIDI-type…
Top 3 Reasons You Should Visit the HMNS’s New Paleontology Hall (Including Half-price Admission with Today’s VOICE Daily Deal)
We’ve got three great reasons you should visit the Houston Museum of Natural Science’s new Paleontology Hall. 3. Size: The thing’s as long as a football field. And the dinosaur skeletons are as big as … well, dinosaurs. 2. Quality: The museum’s won multiple Houston Press Best of Houston awards,…
Upcoming Events: Punch Parties and Greek Eats
Can you believe it’s been nearly 50 years since the first Greek Festival in Houston? Here we are on the 46th anniversary of the beloved festival, and it’s bigger and better this year than ever — but it’s still only $5 at the gate, with kids getting in for free…
Sen. Dan Patrick Named Senate Education Chair, Re-dedicates Himself to Private School Vouchers
Conservative Sen. Dan Patrick (R-Houston) probably wasn’t expecting broad accolades from the education community when he was named chair of the Senate Education Committee on Thursday, and the quick negative reaction from mainline education groups did not disappoint. The dean of Harris County conservatives will replace Sen. Florence Shapiro (R-Plano),…
Set It To Blow: 5 Musical Bombs to Promote Internet-Jukebox Anarchy
Recently my Twitter buddy John Seaborn Gray wrote a blog for Rocks Off in which he gave the world five simple suggestions for how to use Internet jukeboxes more effectively. He makes a lot of good points and if you’re good people you’ll read it, digest it and put his…
Reviews For The Easily Distracted: Taken 2
Title: Taken 2 “Taken 2? That Seems Kind Of Weak. I came up with some alternatives: Taken 2: Mrs.Taken. Taken 2: Take Harder. Taken 2: The Wrath of Slav. Those…Aren’t Really That Good. Neither was this movie. Rating Using Random Objects Relevant To The Film: One Turkish bathhouse out of…
Wow, Brett Dolan And Dave Raymond Fired By The Astros. Who’s Next?
I feel that I owe an apology to Brett Dolan and Dave Raymond. It took me a few years before I accepted them as members of the Astros radio crew. Mostly that was due to my affection for Alan Ashby, who was unfairly forced out of the booth. Once I…
The Chitlin’ Circuit: Road to Rock & Roll Ran Straight Through Houston
Above: Walter Barnes and the Royal Creolians, the first kings of the Chitlin’ Circuit Most music critics, writers, historians, and aficianados in Houston don’t think this city has ever gotten enough credit for its contributions to blues, soul, and, the Holy Grail, the birth of rock and roll. Well, roll…
Trailer Park: Rob Zombie’s The Lords Of Salem
The newly-released trailer for Rob Zombie’s The Lords Of Salem rolls everything I love about his movies into one package, and then Alejandro Jodorowsky’s all over that pile. I hate scenes of people being burned alive, but well, Zombie made it look rad. Zombie has proved time and again that…
The Great Debate: Hershey Krackel v. Nestle Crunch
The upcoming presidential election has gotten me into the mood for debate, and rather than argue about shit I know very little about (e.g., the efficacy of the stimulus package), I would like to engage with the American people on an issue very close to my heart: the supremacy of…
Week in Photos: Sunrise
Each week, we take a dip into the Houston Press Flickr pool and see what our talented photographers have been up to. We’re looking for pictures that represent the best of Houston, from food to art to events, to secret hidden spots of beauty. Just drop them in our Flickr…
Health Department Roundup: HBU, Reef, Tina’s Mystery Dive and more
We tend to forget that Houston Baptist University exists. We’ve never met anyone who went there, at least not that we know of. We’re wondering – what’s it like? Are they allowed to dance there? Is it like Baylor, but with better access to pill mills and Indian food? The…
Gimmicky Television or Creative Brilliance?
The new season of the FX comedy It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia premieres October 11, and to promote the season opener they have been running gag ads all over the place. The catch is that the entire cast of the show has been replaced with new actors. It’s funny enough,…
The Top 10 Weirdest U.S. No. 1 Hits
It’s not often that the pop charts will surprise you. After all, the average consumer in most countries doesn’t have time to delve too deep into an artist’s catalogue. They don’t often pick up on songs that will stand the test of time. They like the ephemera record labels tell…
Foie Gras Bubble Gum and 5 Other Items We Can’t Believe Exist
Ever come up with an innovative, couldn’t be more perfect, fan-freaking-tastic idea, only to discover someone’s already come up with it? Well, this is the complete opposite… You see, in these cases, we can’t seem to wrap our heads around the fact that these items exist…like, in real life. It…
When Rice Whupped A&M’s Butt & A&M Fans Took It Out on the MOB
Rice University, in celebration of its centennial year, has been running a video series on line of its great moments. Just released is its history of the MOB or as it is more formally known, The Rice University Marching Band. The first director Wilson Betts was a student, and a…
Jonathan Tyler & the Northern Lights Ready to Reload
While this is going to be their first appearance at Ziegfest, the Dallas-based Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights have brought their brand of southern-fried soul and debauchery to Houston several times before. One particular Houston night sticks in Tyler’s mind. “We were playing at the Warehouse Live and we…
100 Creatives 2012: Lillian Warren, painter
What She Does: When Lillian Warren moved to Houston from St. Louis nearly 20 years ago, she thought her practice as a landscape painter was over. Where St. Louis had picturesque meadows and lakes, Houston had cell towers and freeway overpasses. But one day something clicked, and Warren saw the…
Football! This Weekend’s Best Bets, Charlie Weis Celebration Practice Video Edition
This week’s tale of gambling riches comes from Branford, Ontario, where locally their version of the lottery is actually an NFL parlay card of sorts, where if a player picks 15 games 100 percent correctly, they will win a sizable six-figure payout. In Week 3 of the NFL season, a…
Top 5 Creepiest Ghosts Hidden in Video Games
Can a video game be haunted? I don’t mean like they were occasionally haunted in crap horror movies in the last decade. I mean can an abstract landscape made up entirely of 1s and 0s actually have bizarre, unexplainable phenomenon hidden within it just like an abandoned asylum or the…
Openings & Closings: Expansions and Transformations
Ever since the planned second location for Killen’s Steakhouse in the Heights fell through, Ronnie Killen has been keeping busy back home in Pearland. There, he’s currently in the process of transforming his popular steakhouse into Killen’s BBB. Writing for CultureMap, Ruthie Johnson Miller says the new Killen’s BBB (which…
6 Cool & Cheap Weekenders: Dinosaur Jr., Some Stones, Big K.R.I.T., Optimo Radio, etc.
Dinosaur Jr. Friday, Fitzgerald’s Dinosaur Jr. may be one of the most underrated indie-rock acts of the past 25 years. They weren’t as sexy as Pearl Jam or as populist as Nirvana, but the music dripping from the instruments of the criminally-unsung J Mascis, bassist Lou Barlow and drummer Murph…
Oprah Winfrey’s Coming to Town … And Yes, There are No More Tickets
Oprah Winfrey sits down with Pastor Joel Osteen and author Dr. Rick Warren at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts on Friday morning for a taping of her popular Oprah’s Lifeclass series. As she does in every episode, she’ll grill her guests for tips on how to lead “a…
Ninh Nguyen Faces 10 Years For His Collection of Stolen Credit Cards
Back on March 30, Ninh Nguyen, 58, was arrested at the Walmart on Tomball Parkway for shoplifting 32 Walmart gift cards, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. But as it turned out, investigators said, that wasn’t all he had. Today the Houston man was convicted of “access device fraud,”…
It’s Allegedly Raining Bleach-Filled Balloons at UT-Austin
Like everyone else, Hair Balls was freaked out over reports of alleged mad bombers at UT-Austin pelting minority students with bleach-filled balloons. But then we spoke with the Austin Police Department, and we decided to suspend our outrage until we learn more. Dozens of students held a campus march against…
Ripley’s Download the Weird: Houston Strange Well Represented
The newest edition of Download the Weird, the new book from Ripley’s Believe It or Not! does not overlook Houston. Of course. Included in this “annual collection of bizarre, fun and totally true stories from around the world,” is the subject of our own cover story Natalie Irish, the artist…
Celebrate Food Truck Friday with Us Tomorrow at Lunch
What did you do for lunch today? Whatever it was, don’t plan on doing it again tomorrow. Instead, head out to the House of Dereon from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for our second monthly Food Truck Friday. There, you’ll find four of our favorite food trucks all in one,…
Understanding the Rock Hall’s 2013 Nominees: Chic? Kraftwerk? Butterfield?
Wednesday night The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation announced their 2013 nominees for induction next year. These names will be voted on by a committee of guys in bad weaves, rich people who know the right people, and tenured music writers with axes to grind. The names are…
Top 5 Weirdest & Worst Musical Collaborations
In the history of music, there have been many meetings of the mind between people with similar attitudes, styles, and ideas. Some of these just felt right from the very beginning and you knew they were destined to produce greatness. That’s what happened when Brian Eno met David Bowie and…
La Socarrada: Herbal Abuse, Inadvertent Tracheotomies, and Spanish Ale
My wife loves herbs. She doesn’t necessarily understand them, but she loves them. Rosemary is a particular favorite, due in no small part to the fact that it’s the only herb we can consistently keep alive in the mess of barren pots and dead-heads that passes for our garden. As…
Free for All: Suzy Spencer, “Winter Street and Spring Street Studios Annual Artist Exhibition,” Zine Fest , and SYZYGY
On Friday, New York Times bestselling author Suzy Spencer’s discusses her latest project Secret Sex Lives. The project started with a simple online posting: “Need to talk about sex…” That led to dozens of conversations with men and women – of every size, shape, color, and orientation. The book recounts…
Last Night’s Debate: Mitt Romney’s Weird Half-Smile Forever Seared Into Our Brains
The Face was somewhere between the look you make while waiting for a fart to dissipate on the subway and the countenance furnished when your father makes a totally weird joke in front of your girlfriend. Pained, embarrassed, and wonderfully awkward. It’s difficult to pinpoint what, exactly, was the genus…
Farmers’ Market Spotlight of the Week: Sweet Potato Greens
Cooler temperatures mean that the City Hall Farmers Market is open once again and that more Houstonians will be heading out to enjoy the many other excellent farmers’ markets across the city. Each week, we’ll be spotlighting a produce pick from the Urban Harvest network of farmers’ markets by showing…
MTV’s Best Year: The Top 5 Videos of 1992
In 1992, the recording industry was riding high. The compact disc had become a major success, with music lovers purchasing new albums and old releases in astonishing numbers despite the format’s comparatively steep price tags. And the music-video juggernaut known as MTV was helping major labels to break new music…
Comment of the Day: We Have a Problem With HPD Cop/Nude Model Stacey Soro?
We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it’s time we paid some damn attention to them. So we’ll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning or afternoon from the previous day’s work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous…
10 Years’ Brian Vodinh: “We’re a Little Darker at Times”
This weekend, on the heels of the release of their fifth full-length album, Minus the Machine, 10 Years visits Houston (…well, The Woodlands) for Buzzfest XXIX, performing alongside Silversun Pickups, Three Days Grace, The Toadies, Dead Sara, Hollywood Undead, Lit and our city’s very own thelastplaceyoulook. Rocks Off recently spoke…
Keep on Truckin’: Breakfast Burritos Anonymous
I have a new-found love for breakfast — in fact, I’ve discovered that it’s truly the most important meal of the day. On a particularly busy morning I found myself in a hurry, with looming deadlines, and in desperate need of caffeine. I of course made my way to Inversion…
Trailer Park: Is Movie 43 Real Life? (NSFW)
This week the red band — boobs and dirty words — trailer for Movie 43 hit the Internet, showcasing the hard and fruitful work of 12 directors and grocery list of Hollywood stars from Kate Winslet, Naomi Watts, Terrence Howard, Gerard Butler, Emma Stone, and Johnny Knoxville. Movie 43 is…
2 Years After Ownership Change, Fitz Is Thriving
Has it really been two years already since Jagi Katial and Omar Afra became the new owner-operators of Fitzgerald’s? Apparently so, because the Free Press Summer Fest partners celebrated their second anniversary at the rickety old live music club on White Oak a couple weeks back with a weekend’s worth…
Top 5 Special Edition Halloween Candies
As the fall holiday season approaches, Halloween-themed candies are popping up on grocery shelves and fueling my addiction to limited/special-edition products. Here are five that deserve some space in your trick-or-treat sack. 5. Ghost DOTS. While regular DOTS never really made me kick up my heels, I really like the…
Target Launches Interactive “Falling For You” Movie/Shopping Experience
When I first heard Target would be releasing “uninterrupted, shoppable short films” I admit my first thought was: “Lame.” I mean, if you have a new collection just forward me some photos and a press release, and a link where I can browse and zoom in on items, and I’ll…
October, Cooler Weather Here: Welcome to Fall in Houston
Sure, I sometimes get a little envious of our northern neighbors with their lovely autumn foliage and the gentle patter of snow falling on snow. But, then I remember that when they are shoveling themselves into oblivion in January, I’ll might be wearing flip flops. Welcome to the “cooler” months…
Two Great Tastes? Five Reasons Pallilo and Zierlein Will Succeed on 790
In a very funny Saturday Night Live skit from the `80s, Frank Sinatra played by Joe Piscopo was singing a duet with Stevie Wonder played by Eddie Murphy. Since Wonder had recently had a hit with Paul McCartney (“Ebony and Ivory”), it was theorized by Sinatra that they could have…
Pop Rocks: Your Official 1st Presidential Debate Recap…As Seen On Twitter
Did you watch the debate between President Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney last night? You weren’t alone. I’m not up on things like “ratings” or “”Nielsens” but I do know the whole shebang brought down Twitter for a little while. And that kind of screwed me up. See, my…
It’s National Taco Day: Crock-Pot Chicken Tacos
Happy National Taco Day! This has to be one of my favorite food holidays. Tex-Mex food and I are best friends. So, if there’s an entire day dedicated to eating tacos, sign me up. In honor of this glorious food holiday, I have decided to share my brother’s Crock-Pot recipe…
The Rocks Off 100: Instagram Man Daniel Jackson
Welcome to the Rocks Off 100, our portrait gallery of the most compelling profiles and personalities in the far-flung Houston music community — a lot more than just musicians, but of course they’re in there too. Daniel Jackson’s concert photography on Instagram (at @listenyoungman) first caught my eye about a…
Buffalo Bayou Gets Some National Love
Who knew we in Houston were sitting on such a gold mine of urban planning? A lot of us, actually, especially the ones who take time out to enjoy Buffalo Bayou. Now that strip leading to downtown is getting some more of the recognition it deserves, as the American Planning…
Happy Birthday Anne Rice! 6 Songs For a Horror Icon
Anne Rice, the author of horror classics like Interview With The Vampire and the Witching Hour, turns 71 today. She’s a talented and complicated lady that all goths owe a debt to for recreating the vampire as a lonely, Miltonian figure that was at home in seats of elegance or…
Game Day Snacks Lightened: Lemon & Garlic White Bean Dip
Football — it’s finally here! I could not be more excited to throw on a jersey, stress over my fantasy team and get a nice buzz while watching the games every weekend. But equally as important — the food! While I love wings, nachos, and sliders as much as the…
Art Blogger Robert Boyd’s Counter-Texas Contemporary Art Fair
Houston’s big art fairs aren’t the only games in town anymore. When the Texas Contemporary Art Fair takes over the George R. Brown Convention Center this month, fewer than five weeks after the Houston Fine Art Fair was at Reliant Park, a counter-art fair will be setting up a stone’s…
Houston Sports Stories That Need Their Own ESPN #30For30 Episodes
Red-Blooded American Man’s newest obsession — behind Kate Upton — has to be ESPN’s 30 For 30 series. The sports documentary series takes on notable and not-so-notable events in sports history and gives them the 360-degree treatment. Since 30 For 30 debuted in late 2009, the directors have tackled the…
Shape Shifter: A Conversation With Icon of Style Carlos Santana
National Hispanic Heritage Month is observed annually between September 15t and October 15 as a celebration of the positive cultural impact Hispanic and Latino Americans contribute to this country. This year, guitarist Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Carlos Santana was honored by Macy’s as the Hispanic Heritage Month “Icon…
The Rest of the Best: Houston’s Top 10 Pizza
For the next 20 weeks, we’ll be rounding up the runners-up to our 2012 Best of Houston® winners. In many categories, picking each year’s winner is no easy task. We’ll be spotlighting 20 of those categories, in which the winner had hefty competition from other Houston bars and restaurants. Earlier…
Fifty Shades of Grey:Finding Ms. Steele
Last week I discussed a few of the guys that were being considered to play Fifty Shades of Grey’s stud muffin…Christian Grey. One reader asked why I hadn’t mentioned who was going to play Anastasia Steele? Well good question. Have to admit…it’s trickier trying to talk about other females without…
Waits Variations
In Martin McDonagh’s Seven Psychopaths, a prune-faced, simian-mouthed sexagenarian sits by the road in an old suit and brown-patterned tie, and cradles a white bunny in his arms. This is precisely what we’ve come to expect of a Tom Waits entrance. Waits has long been one of Hollywood’s favorite sight…
Ava DuVernay and the Future of Black Film
“Positive characterizations are complex characterizations,” says writer-director Ava DuVernay, tucking into a serving of roasted potatoes. “That’s all we need to know. They shouldn’t be saccharine. They shouldn’t feel like medicine. You know, often films that are deemed positive, nobody wants to see them.” It’s a recent Sunday afternoon, and…
Capsule Stage Reviews: Awesome America!, Miss Julie, Getting Sara Married, Life Could Be a Dream, Otello, Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure
Awesome America! In its inaugural production, the Ohana Theatre Company presents four short unrelated plays set in different American locales. Whatever Happened to Big Nose George, by Pamela Jamruszka Mencher, is set in Wyoming – a train-robber embarrasses a male victim in front of his fiancée and later pays a…
Woman Uses Three-Year-Old For Porn
Crime Woman Uses Three-Year-Old For Porn Skyped to UK. By John Nova Lomax Working together, Interpol, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Webster police have busted a 24-year-old Hitchcock woman allegedly responsible for creating live child porn and transmitting it to a British man via Skype. According to court…
Big Business
Since 2003, the twosome of drummer-yelper Coady Willis and bassist-howler Jared Warren, give or take a guitarist, has been making a perfect sludgy mess as Big Business. They ended up joining Melvins Buzz Osborne and Dale Crover along the way, both live and on record, but continue to release great…
Retired Lab Chimps Pressed Back Into Service
If scientists ever develop a vaccine for hepatitis from research done on chimpanzees, some of them will say the human race owes a debt of gratitude to chimps like Ken. Currently housed in a San Antonio research facility, Ken was born on a New Mexico Air Force base in 1982…
Bon Iver, Hipster Doofus
Hipsters Who is Bon Iver? The name originally referred to a band, I guess in the same way Nine Inch Nails referred to a “band,” but since hitting it big, it’s mostly just a nickname for frontman and songwriter Justin Vernon, who, depending on who you ask, may be either…
In Plain Sight
The 20th century saw a lot of hand-wringing about the “death of painting.” Painting, however, didn’t get the memo. It remains alive and well. The act of applying pigment to a surface — smearing, brushing, pouring, rolling, spraying or scrubbing it — is tactile, satisfying and pretty much eternal if…
Why Do Chicanos Love the Aztecs?
Why do so many Chicanos claim to be Aztec? Chicano stuck in leavenworth Dear Gabacho, You’re right. The beaner love for everything Aztec mostly stems from the Chicano Movement, which appropriated various Mexica iconography (the stylized United Farm Workers black eagle, the concept of Aztlán, the airbrushed paintings of warriors…
Frankenweenie and the Pleasures of Reanimation
Ever since Mars Attacks!, Tim Burton has mostly been in the adaptation business, rendering dark and becurlicued Sleepy Hollows, Alice in Wonderlands and Charlie and the Chocolate Factorys. With Frankenweenie, he adapts his own work — the first animated short he ever produced for a major film studio, and the…
Garbage
We didn’t get our Shirley Manson fix in April due to a family emergency in the Garbage camp, but the long-running modern rock act is finally making up their highly anticipated Houston return. The band’s latest, Not Your Kind of People, dropped in May to wide fan and critical acclaim,…
How To Survive A Plague
In his filmmaking debut, journalist David France, who wrote the first story about ACT UP for The Village Voice, assembles a thoroughly reported chronicle of that direct-action advocacy group’s most vital era, from its founding in 1987 (six years into the AIDS epidemic) through 1995. Expertly compiled from hundreds of…
Dazzling Singaporean Food at Straits
To see more colorful photos from Straits’ Singaporean kitchen, visit our slideshow. I once read in an interview with Straits executive chef John Sikhattana that the chef not only lives in CityCentre — the upscale west Houston “town square” development filled with tony restaurants — but that he rarely leaves,…
Dinosaur Jr.
Dinosaur Jr. may be one of the most underrated indie-rock acts of the past 25 years. They weren’t as sexy as Pearl Jam or as populist as Nirvana, but the music dripping from the instruments of the criminally unsung J Mascis, bassist Lou Barlow and drummer Murph has always been…
David Byrne & St. Vincent
Out of the blue as it was, this cross-generational pairing of art-pop oddballs makes such perfect sense it’s a wonder nobody thought of it sooner. Besides, whatever you could possibly imagine the former Talking Heads singer and Dallas-bred indie guitar queen cooking up in the studio, it probably doesn’t sound…
The Shins
Indie nation made a collective sad face when the Shins went on hiatus after 2007’s Wincing the Night Away. That departure added a whole new layer of poignancy to the songs that had already made James Mercer’s Portland-based crew one of the ’00s’ most beloved bands, even before Natalie Portman…
Capsule Art Reviews: “Dieter Balzer: Objects,” “Endless Disharmony and Telltale Ashes,” “Flyaway: New Work by Aaron Parazette,” “Glass Graphica,” “Vivian Maier: Out of the Shadows”
“Dieter Balzer: Objects” While looking at Dieter Balzer’s meticulous overlapping stripes and bold checkers, I couldn’t help but think of the on-trend fashion equivalent — the mix-matched patterns and loud color blocking that have been everywhere this past summer. And now, so it seems, they’ve found their way to the…
Merchandise
Tampa’s Merchandise may come from a breezy, sunny clime, but their latest album, Children of Desire, is six tracks of positively cloudy yet catchy indie-pop. Lead singer Carson Cox intones like a mix of King Morrissey and Chris Isaak, evoking early New Order but mostly 2008’s lost Glaswegian act Glasvegas…
Ziegenbock Music Festival
The area’s biggest fall country festival celebrates its tenth year with more beer-drinkin’, hell-raisin’ honky-tonk than a roomful of lawyers can sue to stop. This year’s big headliners are Ryan Bingham & the Dead Horses, Cody Canada & the Departed, Jason Boland & the Stragglers and Kevin Fowler (and his…
100 Favorite Dishes 2012
100 Favorite Dishes This year leading up to our annual Best of Houston® issue, which came out last week, we counted down our 100 favorite dishes in Houston. This list comprised our favorite dishes from the last year, dishes that are essential to Houston’s cultural landscape and/or dishes that any…
Big K.R.I.T.
After years of honing his craft on the mixtape circuit, Mississippi’s Big K.R.I.T. officially became one of the South’s most formidable MCs when his Def Jam debut, Live from the Underground, dropped in June. Basically a mixtape on a fat-n-sassy Def Jam production budget, Underground finds the kid (born Justin…
