Oh My God, Is It Christmas Already?
Well, not technically, but you’d never guess by all the Yuletide records Rocks Off got in the mail this week. That’s right, it’s not even Halloween and the first crop of holiday albums is already in stores, with more on the way from studio sax giant Dave Koz, Broadway diva…
Ike Also Did Damage Underwater
Not all of Hurricane Ike’s damage to Galveston was on the surface. A new mapping of the seafloor beneath Bolivar Roads shows extensive erosion and damage, according to a new study by scientists from the University of Texas. Researchers had led students on a seafloor-mapping run of the Roads in…
ExxonMobil To Worker, Allegedly: Ignoring Racial Harassment Won’t Make You An “Uncle Tom”
There’s some pretty severe accusations flying around these days over at ExxonMobil involving racial discrimination. Carla Briggs, an African-American laboratory trainee working at one of the energy giant’s offices in Beaumont, claims in a federal lawsuit filed in Houston that she has repeatedly been denied promotion and the ability to…
The 2008 Voting Charts: The Harris County DA Race
For the first time in a long time, Harris County voters actually have a choice in this year’s District Attorney race, in terms of candidates who have a shot at winning. Unfortunately, it’s not the most awe-inspiring choice of all time. Democrat C.O. Bradford used to be Houston police chief,…
Whitney Casey’s Glamour Collection
We have long since given up trying to devote any time to the odd, gushing, almost-English ramblings of Whitney Casey, the former local talk-show host who is now writing a Houston Chronicle column on “relationships.” Casey, you’ll remember, is the self-promoter who turned a brief stint on an unwatched TV…
Aftermath: TV on the Radio at House of Blues
Photos by Craig Hlavaty Lazy folks always use terms concerning fire and chaos to describe TV on the Radio. They throw out adjectives like coruscating and clamoring, crushing and cacophonic. Dark and ethereal. But no one ever sees the simple beauties inside it all. To me, they have always been…
Holding Small Amounts Of Pot Will Still Get You Jail Time In Houston
To Houstonians holding their breath that the cops here might follow the lead of other Texas cities and allow officers to just issue a ticket to the fine folk caught holding a small bit of marijuana, you may as well exhale. It ain’t going to happen. Houston Police Chief Harold…
Hanging Out at Houston Firefest
Where there’s smoke, there’s firemen barbecuing up a mess of briskets, sausage and chicken. The Houston Firefest event was this past Saturday, October 25. Thanks to a friend of mine, I got to go hang out the night before as the different crews fired up their smokers to prepare for…
Obama Wraps Up The Miss USA Demographic
Have you voted yet, or are you still clinging to that sorry I’m-too-busy excuse? If it’s the latter, then shame on you. Listen, if Missouri City-born Miss USA Crystle Stewart can fly back to the Houston area from NYC to vote, then you can walk, ride, bike, or thumb it…
Ten Gruesomely Good Halloween Songs, Pt 1: New York Dolls, Dr. Elmo, Ramones and More
Yeah, yeah. We’ve seen the “Thriller” video. Time for some Halloween songs that take disturbance to a whole new level. Brace yourself for ten that are so perverted, you may want to skip the witching hour on Friday. And Dia de los Muertos, too. New York Dolls, “Frankenstein”: This song…
Refusing To Blow In The Breathalyzer May Not Save You This Weekend
If you plan on driving drunk this Halloween weekend — Great idea!! Kids running around in the dark!! — you should be aware that the old “Never give a breath test” ploy might not work. The DAs office announced this morning that it’s teaming up with HPD to fund a…
Zagnut Bars and Other Freak Candies
“My dad was obsessed with the strange coconut and peanut butter confection called a Zagnut–the chocolate bar without the chocolate. I inherited his fascination, and now I buy them whenever I can find them. I wanted to give Zagnut bars to trick or treaters this year, but the only store…
Houston Aeros Are Scoring Like Crazy. Opponents Are Too.
Matt Kassian takes on a player from the Iowa Chops on Tuesday night. (Photo by Fred Trask) When last we wrote about the Houston Aeros, they were 4-0-0-0 on the season for the second-best start in team history. Since that time, they lost three games in Canada over the weekend…
Young Female America Deliberates: Just How Sexy Should We Get for Halloween?
Dear Diary, Geez. I just don’t know what I should be for Halloween! I could be a sexy kitten. Kittens are so sexy after all, batting around string and flipping their tails like they do. And they bathe themselves. Guys like to think of girls in the bath, right? Or…I…
Book Review: A Collection Of Female Noir
Sure, ice may be a dominant form of currency in the aftermath of a hurricane. But here’s what Tunnel Mole needed to survive two weeks of no electricity: a miner’s hat avec flashlight. That’s best for bedtime, to snuggle in and devour some juicy noir — make mine the XX…
Know Your Texas Cults
With the April raid of Warren Jeffs’ FLDS ranch still earning headlines, smaller sects (or “boutique cults,” as Hair Balls likes to call them) in Texas are getting the short shrift. How many people do you think took notice of the fact that an elder in the Abilene-based House of…
Johnny Cash/Various Artists: Johnny Cash Remixed
That sound you hear is Johnny Cash spinning in his grave as remixers from all over the 12-inch spectrum get their mitts on “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Country Boy” and ten others on Johnny Cash Remixed, brand-new from Houston’s Compadre Records. Or might it be the Man in Black actually dancing?…
Roy Orbison: The Soul of Rock and Roll
The leg up Roy Orbison had on fellow founding fathers of rock Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly was that he could be all of them at once. His bodacious voice, mad guitar skills and nerd-chic look rocked around the clock. These combined powers were at their zenith in…
The R&B timeline in reverse via Cotton Exchange and The Real Sammie
There is never an appropriate time to play Nick Cannon’s five-year-old single “Gigolo.” It’s a corny, brainless, flute-laden mash-up of a song that even a catchy chorus from the pied piper of R&B couldn’t save. Ergo, its presence at Cotton Exchange (202 Travis), downtown’s upscale contemporary R&B lounge, signifies only…
Calle 13: Los de Atras Vienen Conmigo
On its self-titled 2005 debut, Puerto Rican duo Calle 13 was hilarious and musically innovative, vocalist Residente’s lyrics poking fun at every aspect of contemporary Latin culture while his cousin Visitante’s beats combined reggaeton, hip-hop and funk into a swirling, irresistible groove. Last year’s follow-up Residente o Visitante was more…
History Becomes Entertainment in Frost/Nixon
The only modern presidential drama that comes close to 2008 happened in 1974, the year Richard Nixon resigned in the shame of Watergate. Never mind that he didn’t admit to any wrongdoing. Americans would never feel the same about the office Nixon tarnished. It would take three years before Nixon…
Capsule Stage Reviews: The Altruists, …and L.A. Is Burning, Cav/Pag, The Strangerer
The Altruists For Unhinged Productions’ electrifying version of Nicky Silver’s mordant black comedy, set designer Dominic Klovensky has made a mess. There’s stuff strewn across the three-room set — crushed beer cans, assorted bottles, M&Ms, soiled towels, Cheerios, used Kleenex and various clothes. It’s the magnificent visual equivalent of Silver’s…
Walid Raad and his Fake Foundation Show Real Art at the Glassell School
Lebanese-born artist Walid Raad is founder of The Atlas Group and creator of “The Dead Weight of a Quarrel Hangs: Selections from The Atlas Group Archive,” now on view at the Glassell School/MFAH. The Atlas Group, according to the exhibition, was founded in 1999 “to research and document the contemporary…
Bayousphere
You’re just passing the time, idly standing around in the waters off Kemah, and suddenly a ferocious pumpkin comes barreling down on you. What can you do? You grab your net and get ready for the fight of your life. Prepare to be boarded, good ship Pumpkin. To view image…
Capsule Art Reviews: “Damaged Romanticism,” “Juan Andres Videla: The Unsaid Word,” “Liz Ward: Crazy Weather,” “RADAR EYES,” “A Time for Change”
“Damaged Romanticism” “Damaged Romanticism” features the work of 15 internationally recognized artists. There’s some compelling work on display. Italian artist Angelo Filomeno’s silk embroidered panels are incredibly intricate. The ornate images, stitched into gold silk lamé, depict nature, but with a subversively comic tone. In Arcanum: Rolling Shit, a green…
Kevin Smith Blows His Wad with Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Ostensibly, Zack and Miri Make a Porno should be money-shot Kevin Smith: Pals make a porn to pay the bills and, in the process of gettin’ it on for the video cam, cum to realize their years-in-the-making friendship is really a love affair. Awwwww, how sweet. In other words, it’s…
Music’s Ickiest of the Icky, Circa 2008
Creepy is a hard thing to pin down, but you know it when you see it because life is full of creepy people. The guy at the end of the bar with the moustache that licks his soup strainer when your girlfriend walks by. The chicks that claim to love…
Angelina Jolie takes on a serial killer and the system in Changeling
On a double bill with L.A. Confidential, Chinatown or just about any film made after 1970 about institutional corruption in Los Angeles, Clint Eastwood’s Changeling, a period drama based on a 1928 Los Angeles missing-child case, would come off as faintly geezer-ish noir lite. As LAPD scandals go, the case…
Scared Shipless in Dead Space
Some people want to get scared on Halloween. Others only want to get “scared.” It’s easy to tell which kind of person you are. Did you pay full price to see Saw V, only to peek through your fingers and giggle your way through the movie? Are you prepared to…
A Mainstream Mormon’s Test of Faith
Evening falls on the Concho Valley. Along the highway, which is dotted with rusty oil derricks and gnarled mesquite, spring grasses peek out from the rocky soil. It’s April 3, 2008, and few here know what is about to happen. Up on Rudd Road, a man steps from his bullet-riddled…
Texas Beer
Welcome to Helles: Kudos to Robb Walsh for his very informative and entertaining article on the many aspects of the fascinating Texas beer scene [“We Want Beer,” by Robb Walsh, October 16]. Walsh celebrates the social, cultural bonds of beer that bring people together, exposes the dark side of the…
Trails to Terror
It’s scream time, Houston, and whether you party funny or sexy, know that with a Friday-night Halloween, it’s going to be huge. The clubs around town are getting together to give you something special to do, and plenty of beer to wash it down with. Trend watchers say many of…
Mexican Homophobia
Dear Mexican, I know you’ve been asked variations of this before, but I’m going to ask you again anyway. I’m a gay white guy and I’ve had three relationships with Mexican men in the last seven years. Each lasted from three to six months. This past relationship actually lasted a…
Taco Cones and Tasmanian Devils at Amazon Grill
The “Amacones” at Amazon Grill are tacos shaped like ice cream cones. Four corn tortillas are freshly fried into perfect cone shapes and then stuffed with layers of stewed chicken, pico de gallo and guacamole with a perfect grilled shrimp on top. I ordered the taco cones for lunch the…
“Gulf Coast Beach Boys” the Coastliners Return…with the Beach Boys
By the mid-1960s, the Beach Boys’ sunny California harmonies had swept the nation. The Malibu group’s songs about the beach, surfing, cars and girls were something every kid could either identify with or simply wanted to. The Houston area was no exception, and in Baytown, Ozzie Hart (drums), Tommy Meekins…
Fabulous Flavor at Sophia
The mussels ($10) at Sophia (1601 W. Main, 713-942-7970) fill their entire shells. Plump and juicy, they’re almost too much to eat in one mouthful. But it’s not their size that makes them so exquisite, it’s what Chef David Alvarado does with the sauce. He dices apple-smoked bacon and onions…
Grace Potter & the Nocturnals
Grace Potter has jammed the antiwar streets enough to get arrested. But if she showed any politics on last year’s This Is Somewhere, the protest was mostly veneered by the Nocturnals’ adult-alternative rock and Southern-boogie blues, though she cuts to the NOLA disaster core on the piano-grooved “Ain’t No Time.”…
Mooyah Burgers and Fries and La Torretta Del Lago
Eric Paquin owns Mooyah Burgers and Fries (300 Bay Area Blvd., 281-338-7305) with partner Ken Phelps. When Paquin saw his first Mooyah in Dallas, where the franchise started, he says, “I just fell in love with the concept. I just knew this was an awesome concept and the right one…
Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson has had quite the 75th birthday year. He’s been feted in print — Joe Nick Patoski’s deluxe biography Willie — and on Columbia/Legacy’s outstanding four-CD anthology One Hell of a Ride. And he shows no signs of letting up — must be all that, um, yoga. First came…
Rabbit in the Moon
If your Halloween isn’t bizarre enough already, consider the sensory overload of Rabbit in the Moon live: strobe lights, lasers, smoke machines and a sea of costumed bodies writhing in (and perhaps on) ecstasy. Formed in 1991, the three-man Tampa-based outfit has become one of the premier remixers in the…
Los Skarnales
Talk about a dynamite mix: Día de los Muertos, Los Skarnales, art crosses and MECA (Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts). That’s the formula for Under the Volcano’s annual Day of the Dead benefit. While local artists hand over decorated crosses for a silent auction to benefit MECA, Houston’s…
Pleasure, Brains and K.A. Paul
The preliminary estimates for Ike damage are coming in — the Harris County Housing Authority is issuing a report that pegs the figure at about $8.5 billion — but you shouldn’t worry. You, as a Houstonian, could not be more pleased with the job the city has done picking up…
Legendary Pink Dots
A music store’s status as “eclectic” is defined by one thing, and one thing only: Does it carry music by the Legendary Pink Dots? Quite possibly the most avant-garde of the avant-garde, the Holland-based psychedelic minstrels have never skipped Houston on their many North American tours. This time through, listen…
Music to Shuffle Off This Mortal Coil
Hank Williams and Jim Morrison knew it. Did they ever. Temple-born bluesman Blind Willie Johnson had a pretty good idea, owning up “Dark Was the Night — Cold Was the Ground” (a crucifixion song based on the old hymn “Gethsemane”) in 1927. Most people spend the majority of their lives…
Colourmusic
What to do with a hopelessly pretentious but inarguably catchy band like Colourmusic? Though the Stillwater, Oklahoma, natives claim a bloodline to Sir Isaac Newton and a mission to make records based on the principle of synesthesia — where hearing sound translates into seeing colors at the same time —…
Here’s How To Get Texas Lottery Sales Humming Again
State officials say that Texas Lottery sales are slumping because the games are “boring.” We couldn’t agree more. If you possess the kind of sharp, brilliant, mathematically sophisticated mind that says “I’m buyin’ lottery tickets!!”, then you will quickly grow bored with the same-old, same-old. No one wants to see…
Aldine Once Again A Finalist For Big Education Award
There’s good news for the Aldine school district — it’s a finalist for the $1 million Broad Prize in Education. The bad news is that it’s old news, in a sense. Aldine has been one of the annual five finalists three times out of the six the awards been given…
Welcome Back, Beyonce
Beyonce has returned – though she never really seems to go very far, does she? – and is now hitting the world with dual singles hoping to flood both pop and urban radio with her regal presence and glass-shattering vocals. The pop ditty she’s offering is a track called “If…
Dow Chemical Leads The Way In Pollution
Dow Chemical Co., whose TV campaign touts its reverence for the “human element” on this big blue marble we call Earth, was cited today for something much less ethereal. Dow’s Freeport plant topped the state’s list of Texas environmental scofflaws thanks to its inability (or unwillingness) to follow the rules…
Add Buckhead to the List of Best Burgers in the Nation
Buckhead Diner in Atlanta makes one of the best upscale burgers in the country. The beef is fresh ground every day and loosely formed into half pound patties in the cut-off bottom of a plastic jar lined with Saran Wrap. I got mine medium-rare with cheese on a fresh-baked bun…
Tonight: Android Lust at Meridian
“Dragonfly” Melyssa Anishnabie Now this, as rapper Yung Berg might say, is some other shit. Meet Android Lust, the performing alias of Bangladesh-born singer/musician Shikhee, who probably never met a pair of thigh-high stilletto boots she couldn’t totally own. Now based in New York and frightening small children and the…
Come On, People — Keep Houston Rich
As we know, Austin must be kept weird, San Antonio must be kept lame, and Dallas must be kept pretentious. Now, web designer Vernon Caldera is trying to make “Keep Houston Rich” happen. Caldera (disclosure: a friend of Hair Balls) got the idea for his campaign when a friend came…
Public Storage Inc. — Protecting You From Your Belongings
In the midst of natural disasters like Hurricane Ike, some businesses find a way to both help the community and land new clients. To wit: When Ike was ready to pounce on the Gulf Coast, U-Haul offered a free 30-day storage space deal for people in Ike’s path. A U-Haul…
New Imax Theaters Opening In Houston
The battle to get people to give up their hi-def TVs for a night and actually attend a movie in the theater just heated up in Houston. AMC announced today they are adding IMAX screens to two of their multiplexes, the First Colony 24 and the Gulf Pointe 30 (the…
Weird and Wild at Hubcap Grill
My first inclination was to go for the Triple Decker Burger at the Hubcap Grill, the little downtown burger shack that is the subject of this week’s Café Review. But the Triple Decker didn’t turn out to be my favorite–it was a little too long on the bread. Instead, I…
Houston Company Gets Sued Over Alleged Magazine-Subscription Scam
Buying magazines on the cheap sounds like a good idea. So you can hardly blame folks such as Andrea Cappuzzo of Independence, Missouri when she dialed up mags4cheap.com on the Web, a site operated by a Houston-based company called Creative One. The website offers sensational discounts on almost every major…
KTRH’s Joe Pags — Gone, But Not Far
If you’ve been listening to KTRH-AM more than usual because of Ike, you may have noticed a small blessing — Joe Pags is gone. “Joe Pags” is Joe Pagliarulo, a San Antonio-based radio shouter who ably carries on the choir-preaching duties of all of Clear Channel’s local talk-show hosts. He…
Artist of the Week: Twan Von Hovi
Each Wednesday, Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group “Artist of the Week,” bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist that isn’t awful? Email their particulars to introducingliston@gmail.com. A few weeks ago we received an email…
The Craziest College Band. Ever.
The Rice University Marching Owl Band has quite the reputation around these parts for its outrageous behavior and halftime shows. Just ask the Aggies and Tulsa University. But when compared to the U.C. Davis band, the MOB is nothing more than a shameful wannabe. The U.C. Davis band is a…
Aftermath: Fred Eaglesmith at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
Photos by William Michael Smith Just prior to Fred Eaglesmith’s sold out show at Mucky Duck Tuesday night, his young bassist Luke Stackhouse tapped on the window of the van. “Hey, Joey just called from the Ray Lamontagne show in Toronto and said they’re playing Tinderbox as the pre-show music.”…
Brandon Backe’s Top Ten Reasons for Getting in That Wedding Brawl in Galveston
As you are undoubtedly aware of by now, Houston Astros pitcher Brandon Backe had a bit of an encounter with the Galveston Police Department on Saturday night. The details are a little sketchy about what exactly happened, but it is a fact that Backe got the crap beat out of…
George Rodrigue Speaks about Blue Dog Speaks
Click here for a slideshow of images from the book… Louisiana artist George Rodrigue dedicated his new book Blue Dog Speaks “To Brother Edward Scanlan, who threw me out of class for drawing.” Brother Edward was a Christian Brother who taught Rodrigue in high school and sometimes threw him out…
Always Look on the Bright Side of Ike, Vol. 4
So you know Houston is finally getting back to normal after Ike. I had just set off for the bus stop yesterday morning, right after the morning rain had abated. The storm drain across the street was full of debris, and looking closer, I saw a tiny creature tangled up…
Man Allegedly Beaten by Jailor and Denied Tape of Incident
Charles Chukwu confronted the Houston City Council this afternoon about a beating he claims he suffered at the hands of a correction officer while at the city jail as well as the fact the police will not release the video of the alleged beating so that Chukwu can see for…
Local Visual Artist Snags Latin Grammy Title
Lisbeth Ortiz, a local artist and MECA’s coordinator of visual arts programming, has been announced as the official Latin Grammy Artist. (That means her painting, Latin Grammy Night in Tejas, will be used as the official image on the cover of the invitations, posters, program book, etc.) Latin Grammy Night…
The Purse Party of No Return: Louis Vuitton Brouhaha Leaves One Injured, Two in Jail
Before you could say “Jerry Springer,” a tranquil Sunday afternoon “purse party” in Missouri City turned into a vicious brawl which ended with one woman slashing another and a third arrested for brandishing a Louisville Slugger. According to Missouri Police Department spokeswoman Janice Poppenhusen, two unnamed friends were seated on…
Many Houstonians Aren’t Reporting Suspected Child Abuse
Here’s some cheerful news for you: Only eight percent of Houstonians who suspect someone of abusing a child actually contact authorities, according to a survey released today. The awkwardly titled “Hope Shining Houston Bystanders and Child Abuse Survey,” commissioned by domestic violence services agency Safe Horizon, asserts that “a shocking…
Why You Should Probably Go Ahead and Turn That Shit Down
We all have one of those neighbors who likes to party and turns up their music a little bit too loud. Hell, Rocks Off has been that neighbor more than once. But you might want to think twice about giving the volume knob a little extra crank after this. The…
See If You Can Make It Through All 3:12 of This
Go on, I dare you. Rocks Off couldn’t…
Seven Jazz Icons Hit the Screen
Compared to Deadheads, Beatles fans and the KISS Army, fans of classic ’50s and ’60s jazz are, admittedly, a small but extremely dedicated bunch. Somewhere out there is a middle-aged man (possibly with a beard) creaming his corduroys to discover tape of Miles Davis sneezing into the mike during a…
Gary Kubiak’s Top Ten Excuses for Losing to the Colts
Gary Kubiak had his normal postmortem press conference yesterday wherein he rehashed the disastrous Sunday afternoon loss to the Indianapolis Colts. And it was more of the same. The team tried hard. The Colts are a great team. But what you don’t know is that Kubiak actually had a list…
Bill Clinton Coming to Town for Chris Bell
Over the recent years, a number of politicians (including Democrats) have distanced themselves from our former president, Bill Clinton, fearing his reputation would somehow rub off on them. But Chris Bell, now running in a November 4 special election for Texas Senate in District 17, is made of tougher stuff…
Fatburger A Flop
I had high hopes for Fatburger. The chain out of Southern California calls itself “The Last Great Hamburger Stand.” The original was opened in 1952 by Ms. Lovie Yancey in Los Angeles. Yancey sold out to a franchise corporation in 1990. The chain currently claims 80 locations. Never-been-frozen ground beef…
Houston (and Rocks Off) Makes Spin Magazine
Normally Rocks Off is not one to blow his own trombone, but forgive me for a second, because this is kind of a big deal. The Houston music scene – past, present and future – will be on the national stage all Rocktober long, because Rocks Off managed to convince…
MLB Playoffs: Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox Move Up
The first round of the playoffs is now over in the American League, and it’s going to be the Tampa Bay Rays versus the Boston Red Sox, with the Rays having home field advantage. And home field is going to be important because the two teams played each other 18…
Houston Texans Remain Positive, and Maybe That’s the Problem
People aren’t very happy with the Houston Texans this week, but the Chron tells us that the players remain positive that the team is moving in the right direction. Sure, they say that they were outplayed, but they’re positive, and all of the players rallied behind Sage Rosenfels. Richard Justice…
Hey Ike, Thanks for All the Debris
Looks Hurricane Ike has surpassed Alicia in terms of crap piled up on the side of the road. “As of Sunday, October 5, 2008, we have hauled away nearly three million cubic yards (over 76,000 truck loads) of debris. This is about the same amount that was hauled away during…
So Long, Opus
Sad news has come in over the wires from Bloom County. Houston boy Berkeley Breathed has announced “Opus” will be no more come November 2. “With the crisis in Wall Street and Washington, I’m suspending my comic strip to assist the nation,” Breathed said in a press release from the…
Billy Gibbons Pt. 3: “We Were Fairly Confident,” Taking Eliminator to the Dance Floor, The Videos, Eliminator In Hindsight
Note: Part 1 of this interview is here; part 2 is here. Rocks Off: Did the band think you had a hit record when you wrapped the album? Billy Gibbons: Yeah. We were fairly confident we had stumbled into something that was really solid. In the middle of the disco…
The Spread: A Bittersweet Buffet at All Stars Men’s Club
Don’t get your hopes up. This photo was taken during a totally different visit. The pork chop I ate yesterday at All Stars Men’s Club was bittersweet – not taste-wise, but because once I put my fork into it, I knew I was putting a fork into The Spread. Those…
Project Runway’s Kenley Must Go!
Dude, WTF is Kenley still doing hanging her Betty Page wannabe ass around the Project Runway set? Seriously, if this girl isn’t kicked to the curb manana when Runway airs the first part of its season finale, I’m going to protest by wearing a sackcloth and ashes to work Thursday…
Public Service Message: Last Day To Register To Vote, Dudes
If you plan on voting a month from now, you have until midnight tonight to register. Fortunately, there are plenty of places that will be accepting forms right up until the witching hour. Unfortunately, it will involve getting up off your lazy ass and getting to them. Fortunately, two of…
Human Smuggler Gets A Longer Sentence
There was a bit of an uproar two years ago when one of the ringleaders of a notorious smuggling effort that resulted in 19 deaths was sentenced to only the 33 months she had already served. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a new sentencing for Norma Gonzalez…
Pit Bull Laundering By The Houston SPCA
The Houston SPCA, in the form of Meera Nandlal, who’s in charge of public relations, got back to us finally today and made it clear there has absolutely been no change in policy by the SPCA about adopting out pit bulls. The Houston SPCA, as we’ve noted, makes a big…
Stranded on Planet AC/DC… Don’t Bother Sending Help
Problem children of XM Nation, unite! All month long, to mark the release of AC/DC’s 15th studio album Black Ice – due October 20, and available offline exclusively at Walmart – XM has turned its channel 53 into “AC/DC Radio.” Just like the satellite-radio provider did with Led Zeppelin, George…
Brandon Backe Wants A Riot Of His Own
As noted in our sister sports blog, Astro pitcher Brandon Backe got himself involved in an incident in Galveston this weekend. The headline on the Houston Chronicle website this morning said Backe was arrested as part of a “riot” in Galveston. A riot in Galveston? We had visions of tent-city…
Where Some Of Those Astroworld Rides Went
October, for some nostalgic people, brings the thought of Fright Nights at Six Flags Astroworld. Those days are no more, of course. The park was demolished a couple of years ago. But Astroworld lingers on in many a Houstonian’s mind: they’re still pumping out fond looks back at the place…
Billy Gibbons Pt. 2: Making Eliminator, Partying in Memphis, the Stories of “Legs” and “Under Pressure,” ZZ Top and Punk Rock, “Texas Music,” etc.
Note: For part 1 of Rocks Off’s interview with ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, click here. Rocks Off: Describe a typical day for ZZ while you were making this album. BG: Well, we had the golden work ethic. We were in by 9, out by 9. RO: 9 p.m. to 9…
Brandon Backe Arrested After Wedding Brawl in Galveston
Media reports are conflicting over what exactly happened with Brandon Backe this weekend in Galveston, but a few things are certain: There was a wedding. People got Tasered. Backe took some hits. (But that’s to be expected.) Was Backe an innocent bystander or a drunk brawler? We’re guessing the answer…
Ike’s Pit Bulls Live Another Day
It turns out the pit bulls we wrote about last week were not put to death after all. According to Wendy Mahoney, thanks to the appeals that went out, all 12 dogs were either fostered or went to another rescue group (including one for labrador retrievers!). What was unusual is…
The Dome As A Movie Studio
The Astrodome — which never hosted as bad a late-game collapse as Reliant Stadium — is still sitting forlornly in the shadow of the the new facility. People are trying to turn it into a hotel, into a space museum, into just about anything. (Tearing it down, which seems the…
Almost Showtime for House of Blues
Photos by Chris Gray Monday morning, a construction crew attached House of Blues’ new sign to the exterior of the nationwide restaraunt/music venue franchise’s new Houston location at 1204 Caroline in the Houston Pavilions complex. HOB’s first show is Saturday with New Orleans revival-rockers Cowboy Mouth; other first-week shows include…
College Football Review: Tulsa Beats Rice in Douchebag Bowl
After last weekend, this weekend’s slate of college football games couldn’t help but be disappointing. The only real upset came on Thursday night as Pittsburgh beat Southern Florida 26-21. Oregon State, who upset USC last week, nearly pulled off the upset this week, but lost to Utah 31-28. And unfortunately,…
Little Something For The Ladies
Skimming through Cosmopolitan’s 2008 Hottest Bachelors List, there’s an undeniable air off douchiness. A good deal of the dudes’ photos show them posing without shirts but with pseudo-Abercrombie smiles, like they just came in from the beach, or maybe a frathouse date-rape-athon. There are plenty of “students,” and some dudes…
Turning the Screw: K-Otix, T-Pain, Bun B & Face?, Jay-Z & Coldplay, Master P, The Game, The Kanye, MF Doom and More
Welcome back to Turning the Screw, Rocks Off’s weekly rap post. It probably won’t rhyme, at least most of the time. E-mail tips to introducingliston@gmail.com. Thanks, homies. Single of the Week: K-Otix, “Let Me Be Your Addiction” (feat. Michele Thibeaux) Wire to Wire Okay, We’ve got four local bits of…
Aeros-Rampage: No Kinks So Far
Preseason games aren’t about winning, really. For the players, they’re about performance. For the coaches, the games are about evaluations. The officials use them as means of getting in shape and implementing new rules…
Bring On The Protesters: Vietnam To Open Houston Consulate
The Vietnamese community in Houston has long been a vibrant and active one, and it looks now like they’ll be getting some recognition for it. After months of rumors, it appears the Vietnamese government is going ahead with a plan to open a consulate here. Right now Vietnam has consulates…
MLB Playoffs: Cubs Lose, Cubs Lose. Brewers Too.
NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS: The Chicago Cubs are now working on century number two of futility. They haven’t won the World Series since 1908, and after being swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers this past weekend, they won’t be winning the World Series in 2008 either. The Cubs never competed in…
Over the Weekend: Numbers, Block 21 and Houston Texans
This weekend saw a changing of the guard, a new arrival on the club scene, and more of the same from the Houston Texans. 12:30 a.m. at Numbers On Friday, October 3, there was a celebratory farewell in honor of legendary doorman Mike Pack’s last night working at Numbers. 1:15…
Changes At the Chron
The Houston Chronicle, in the midst of a 5-6 percent cutback, is reshuffling its opinion section after Opinion Director James Gibbons decided to take the paper’s buyout offer. Taking his place will be John Wilburn, the newspaper’s managing editor. Meanwhile, the Chron’s reader representative, Steve Jetton, has been named Outlook…
Texans-Colts: Houston Needs to Go to Finishing School
“You and me we’re goin’ nowhere slowly And we’ve gotta get away from the past There’s nothin’ wrong with goin’ nowhere, baby But we should be goin’ nowhere fast.” — Ellen Aim, “Nowhere Fast” Admit it. You were sitting watching the Texans game, and you saw that 27-10 lead over…
