“Real Pirates: The Untold Story of the Whydah from Slave Ship to Pirate Ship”
Ever since Johnny Depp put on some guyliner, pirates have been hot again. But as with the Vikings, the gulf between the Hollywood and historical versions is wide. Some of those myths about peg legs and eye patches are put to rest in the Houston Museum of Natural Science’s exhibit…
Ghost Tour with Sandra Lord
Tag along with Discover Houston tour guide Sandra Lord as she conducts a Ghost Tour just in time for Halloween. This is not a ghost hunt, mind you. You won’t be taking photos in creepy cemeteries and then looking for orbs in your snapshots. This is a nighttime walking tour,…
“Created and Found Maps – Exploration of Self and World”
Most people don’t see maps as art. The Houston Center for Photography is out to change that with the exhibit “Created and Found Maps – Exploration of Self and World.” The exhibit showcases the works of nine different artists from around the world. Each piece centers around some sort of…
36th Annual Texas Renaissance Festival
You don’t actually have to be a lord or a lady to attend the 36th Annual Texas Renaissance Festival, but you’re sure to see some while you’re there. The fest features more than 200 daily performances by costumed entertainers, full-contact jousting, polka dancing, a fireworks display, dozens of rides and…
The Farmer and the Badger
Halloween doesn’t have to be about overpriced haunted houses and lame parties populated with drunks dressed up like creatures from Avatar. Emily Hynds, artistic director of BooTown, has one of the best annual alternative Halloween celebrations in the city. This time it’s an outdoor production of The Farmer and the…
14th Annual Pimp and Prostitute Ball
Don’t miss the 14th Annual Pimp and Prostitute Ball. The party features feature multiple DJs, including the Kung Fu Pimp, a $3,000 costume contest with prizes for Pimp of the Year, Classiest Ho, and Best Overall Costume, malt liquor and drinks specials. There will also be SuperPimp passes include entry…
Fourth Annual Montrose Pub Crawl
Join the 4th Annual Montrose Pub Crawl. This event combines a traditional pub crawl with the spirit of trick-or-treating as several hundred people dressed in costume visit bars and pubs on lower Westheimer. This year’s event will encompass nine separate venues. The fun starts at Brasil, 2604 Dunlavy, at 6…
Texas Renaissance Festival: All Hallows Eve Adventure
Head to the Texas Renaissance Festival for a an old take on Halloween in the All Hallows Eve Adventure, which will feature a Banshee Screeching Contest, a pumpkin carving contest, a costume contest and a candied-apple eating contest. The event will be open from 9 a.m. to dusk each day…
Beans Barton Halloween
Head to Dan Electro’s for a Beans Barton Halloween with Beans Barton and the Bipeds,Rock Role Theatre and with a possible appearance by the Tribal Lilies belly dancers. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 9 p.m. For information, call 713-862-8707 or visit www.danelectrosguitarbar.com. Sat., Oct. 30,…
Halloween Bash with Paris Green, Seven Candles Fall
The 19th Hole Bar and Grill’s Halloween Bash with Paris Green and Seven Candles Fall features live music and a festive atmosphere. The party starts at 8 p.m. 202 Sawdust Rd # 118, Spring. For information, call 281-363-2574. Sat., Oct. 30, 2010…
Phobia Haunted House
Phobia Haunted House is more than ready for Halloween with eight different haunted houses staged in one convenient location. Darke Institute, Mind Control, 3D Clown Phobia, Claustrophobia, Dawn of the Machine, Exile: Simon Fowler Woods, Mania and Darkeworld are all ready and waiting every weekend in October. 18777 Highway 290…
Revisiting an Old Favorite: Carrabba’s
Carrabba’s recently invited me to come in and sample a meal. Although I have always been fond of the place, I hadn’t been there in several years, and was anxious to see if the place had changed. I visited the Kirby location (3115 Kirby Drive) not only because it is…
Slideshow: Houston Fashion Week, Day Two
Day two of Houston Fashion Week brought strong designs plus charity causes from David Peck and Lauren Bush (as well as an appearance by her grandparents, the first presidential Bushes), non-traditional threads from Lela Rose, and big-design guns from the online retailer net-a-porter.com. Check out the slideshow…
KTRU Deal Signed By Rice & UH; Station Goes Off The FM Dial By The End Of The Year
The news isn’t good for fans of KTRU.After the University of Houston Board of Regents voted to buy 91.7 FM from Rice University and convert the frequency to all classical and fine-arts programming earlier this summer, various KTRU staff, alumni and supporters formed Friends of KTRU, an activist group dedicated…
Houston Puts (Some) Teeth Into Its Historic Preservation Code
One side’s happyCity Council easily passed today some important revisions to Houston’s historic preservation laws, the key part being you can no longer thumb your nose at Houston’s historic preservation laws.The “”90-day clause” — which said the city could stop you from demolishing a historic structure for all of 90…
KTRU Deal Signed, Station Likely Off FM Air By End Of 2010
After the University of Houston Board of Regents voted to buy 91.7 FM from Rice University and convert the frequency to all classical and fine-arts programming earlier this summer, various KTRU staff, alumni and supporters formed Friends of KTRU, an activist group dedicated to keeping the largely student-run radio station…
Top Five: Porn Stars We Follow on Twitter
Some people follow pro athletes and musicians on Twitter. Some people follow porn stars. Like we do. They lead interesting lives, with their careers running relatively short, dealing with high public and moral scrutiny, all the while trying to sell themselves and their products–video and otherwise. Women in porn don’t…
Stirred & Shaken: Branch Water Tavern’s Ramble
I’m not sure that the whiskey sour has developed a wimpy reputation, but I have one decent piece of anecdotal evidence. I was at Leon’s Lounge a few years back with my friend Dulin, who doesn’t drink much. (He’s an Irish Catholic outlier.) Dulin ordered a whiskey sour, and the…
Sienna Bernal: A Primordial Dwarf, A Bieber-Loving 11-Year-Old
Sienna and Sierra Bernal of Tomball are identical twins, but no one would ever guess it: Sierra looks like most other 11-year-olds, while Sienna is a primordial dwarf.She’s three-feet-ten and 27 pounds. She is maybe one of 200 people in the world classified as primordial dwarves.As Craig Malisow writes in…
Stevens & Pruett Vs. The FCC: Beer Cans And Hershey Kisses
Rocks Off is in the process of collecting stories about legendary Rock 101 KLOL morning team Stevens & Pruett as a tribute to Mark Stevens, who passed away Tuesday morning from complications of Alzheimer’s disease at age 76. We’re especially interested in hearing from the duo’s colleagues at KLOL, but…
Chilean Miners: The Important News You Have Missed, Some Of Which Involves Lindsay Lohan
Also, Texas is suing for trademark infringementHey there, Chilean miners — you are climbing from the depths into the world’s heart (copyright pending). As you surface, you are busy signing book and movie deals, getting some off your wife, tasting real food and beer, hoping your colleagues keep up their…
Menudo: It’s Not Just for Hangovers
Over a bowl of menudo during a recent lunch at Mucho Mexico — the subject of this week’s rather unfavorable cafe review — Jay Rascoe and I ruminated about our favorite spots in town for menudo, the ruddy, fatty soup that’s filled with hominy and honeycomb-like pieces of tripe. Neither…
Top Five: Lame Halloween Costumes
Sure, we know sometimes it’s hard coming up with good costume ideas for Halloween. You wrack your brain for something that blows everyone away, but you inevitably wind up braving the lines at Party Boy or Frankels, or even worse, panicking–you go in drag or throw on some fairy wings…
Top Five Non-Alcoholic Beers
The city’s beer nerds are all excited for Houston Beer Week. But for some random reason, this brew celebration has just made me crave my favorite non-alcoholic “beers.” Here are my Top Five: 5. Birch Beer. Earlier this year I blogged about my love for birch beer, a minty-sweet soda…
Tracy McGrady And His Tired Legs
“I have been working hard all summer to get ready for the upcoming season an am thankful that I landed in Detroit. I’m doing my workouts with my trainer Ben, and I am now able to finish full workouts that I wasn’t able to do for the past two years…
Your Buzzword Is My Band Name, Part 1
It’s a Google-rific society we be a-living in, and the fastest way to notoriety is to coin a phrase that, when Guantanamo Bayed safely between quotation marks in a search field, will bring up endless debate upon your win or fail. We have been blessed with some real standout buzzwords…
Keeping It Fresh at the City Hall Farmers Market
You don’t need to search far and wide to find fresh, high-quality produce, dairy, and meats in Houston. More and more, Houstonians are developing an appreciation for farmers’ markets, and it was only a matter of time before our city government got directly involved. Today marked the inaugural City Hall…
Woodforest Bank: Finding Inventive Ways To Rip Off Customers
The large print giveth and the small print taketh awayWho doesn’t love how banks charge overdraft fees? Getting every single cent out of harassed and cash-strapped customers?It’s a work of art, it is, and the Michelangelo of it all just might be Woodforest Bank of The Woodlands.The bank, whose branches…
Top Five: Houston’s Fashion Trendsetters
(The above video is sped up to allow quick viewing of an otherwise lengthy production. Unless you can’t get enough of the Chipmunks, we recommend you TURN OFF THE SOUND.) Even with our first ever Fashion Week upon us, we realize that Houston, while chic and trendy at times, is…
Obama Is Santa Anna, Conservatives Are Sam Houston In New Ad
Santa Anna, pondering how best to create death panelsWe thought Obama was bad because he was a Muslim socialist, but it’s much, much worse: He’s Mexican.At least according to the C Club of Houston, the longtime conservative group now headed by former Secretary of State Jack Rains.Behold their horrifying video…
Last Night: Deer Tick At The Bronze Peacock
Deer Tick House of Blues (Bronze Peacock Room) October 13, 2010 What makes a Deer Tick? Equal parts The Band, Nirvana, Ritchie Valens, Duane Eddy and a heap of firewater. It’s hard to describe Deer Tick to people who haven’t heard them, but those are the best terms we can…
Big British Burger at Baker Street
Baker Street Pub and Grill (5510 Morningside) is right across the street from the place where I work. I often go there on breaks and drink. There’s a decent happy hour there, with beers and shots that are like two dollars and fifty cents each. That’s why I go there…
The Never-Ending Issue: ‘Green Vehicle Initiative,’ City Council & The Search For A Vote
“Just vote already!”Today was the day, after all the months and weeks of waiting, that the Vehicles for Hire Green Vehicle Initiative would go before City Council for a vote. This was, as we previously mentioned, to be the third and final step in what has become a drawn-out process.Of…
Odd Pair: ChocoVine and Raspberry PB&J
My first question upon discovering ChocoVine, the chocolate wine, was simple: Why had no one told me about this miracle product sooner? ChocoVine is exactly what you think it is: chocolate and wine. The surprising part is that it actually works. French Cabernet is blended with rich, dark chocolate from…
Accept: New Singer, But “Balls To The Wall” As Ever
Screaming out of Germany like a Teutonic Terror – which also happens to be the name of their current single – Accept spent a lot of years on the road and in the studio before having heavy-metal success with the albums Restless and Wild (’82), Balls to the Wall (’83)…
Chilean Miners: NASA Touts Its Help In Getting Them Out
The world’s a sucker for trapped-in-a-mine stories (“trapped in a well” works, too), so it’s no surprise that a ton of people are following the rescue of those Chilean minors.NASA, which can use all the budget support it can get, wants everyone to know that they played a big role…
Mohammed Nabil Elsayed, 32, Bayou Body Count No. 246
Robbed and dumped in a drainage ditchA man who was believed to be a robbery victim was found dead in a ditch on the northwest side Tuesday afternoon.Houston police said the victim, whose identity was withheld pending notification of family, “suffered a possible gunshot wound” and was pronounced dead at…
Causes In Effect: Houston Fashion Week, Day Two
See photos of the Lauren Pierce show and more. The beginning of day two at Houston Fashion Week brought causes to the main stage. David Peck’s diffusion line CrOp is a cooperative collaboration with Jamie Collier, a Houston photographer who works with the Baylor International Pediatrics AIDS Initiative (BIPAI). Her…
Fried + Brownie = Delicious?
I’m sort of irritated with Whataburger right now. The burger chain is currently responsible for the utter destruction of two truths I always held to be inalienably irrefutable: No. 1, that anything from Whataburger can be counted on to be delicious. And No. 2, that adding one delicious thing to…
Weston Brown Band: Just The Facts, Sirs
Each Wednesday, Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group “Artist of the Week,” bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist that isn’t awful? Email their particulars to sheaserrano@gmail.com. If we were to divvy up the Artist…
Terry Grier is Looking for a Few Good (Young, Non-White) Men
Acknowledging that “with guys it’s sometimes not cool to be smart,” Houston ISD Superintendent Terry Grier said the district is particularly short of “non-white males” among the ranks of those taking Advanced Placement tests.HISD has been on a push for years, even before Grier arrived, to get more kids to…
A Taste of Peru at Spec’s and Charivari
Perhaps it’s because we’ve never been there, but images of alpacas, Pisco and Machu Picchu account for much of our knowledge of Peru. We’re hoping that changes this month with a grand showing of Peruvian products and samplings at Spec’s Smith Street location. In addition to a large display and…
Opera Vista’s Elephant-Sized Risk
Since winning a Houston Press MasterMinds Award in January , OperaVista (a group that specializes in new, original compositions for opera) needed to make a decision: Move to the next level or fold. “We sat down and decided we didn’t want to keep trudging along anymore,” says Viswa Subbaraman, Opera…
Last Night: Blitzen Trapper At House Of Blues
Blitzen Trapper House of Blues October 12, 2010 Because Aftermath only found out former KLOL morning DJ Mark Stevens had died a few hours before Blitzen Trapper went onstage at House of Blues Tuesday night, we couldn’t help thinking about that while the Portland six-piece played to an extremely sparse…
Owls Focusing, Dammit, On The Cougars
This post about Saturday’s football game between the Rice Owls and the Houston Cougars is brought to you by the word “focus,” as in the Rice Owls need to focus on making their plays. And as in the word “focus” is the current term of choice for the Owls in…
The Magnetism of Superintendent Terry Grier
Some magnets are in the crosshairsThe great magnets of the Houston ISD — DeBakey, HSPVA, Carnegie Vanguard, T.H. Rogers — have nothing to fear from any remodeling of the district’s magnet program, Superintendent Terry Grier declared at a media roundtable Tuesday.Schools that make him go “wow” are in the safe…
Glee: The Thing With Two Heads
The duet is a tricky thing. Song choice, partner selection, and … other stuff all play a key role in the success of a given effort. Put it all together correctly and you can end up with something magical, like David Bowie and Bing Crosby. Do it wrong and the…
Sampler Plate: This Week in Food Blogs
Each week, we put together a sampler plate of the most interesting links from both local and national food blogs. Know a blog we should be paying particular attention to? Leave the address in the comments section below. Dear Judy, F.Y.E.: This food blogger has been at it longer than…
The Soft Pack: 30 Seconds With Matty McLoughlin
We sat down with Matty McLoughlin from The Soft Pack to see what we could learn about him in 30 seconds. Rocks Off: What is the worst song in the world? Matty McLoughlin: An Eagles song. It’s divorce rock and is always a buzzkill. RO: What is the best lyric…
Drilling Ban Lifted: Five (Possible) New Federal Mandates
The Obama administration has lifted the ban on deepwater oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, but it is also enforcing steps to make sure a disaster such as the Deepwater Horizon leak never, ever happens again. Don’t worry, we have a planThe feds have outlined a bunch of tough…
Tiffany Young-Hartley: Beheading Related To Case Or Not?
A tradition unlike any otherThe Mexican military leader of the investigation into the disappearance of David Michael Hartley has been beheaded, according to Texas state representative Aaron Pena and Zapata County sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez.A spokesman in the Tamaulipas state prosecutor’s office confirmed the death of Commander Rolando Armando Flores Villegas,…
First Look: Jus’ Mac
I have something to confess: I’ve been stalking Jus’ Mac (2617 Yale) for quite some time now. I have basically used every excuse in the book for driving by the corner of 26th and Yale. As a diehard mac n’ cheese fan, I have been very impatiently awaiting its opening…
John Robert Dossey, 62: Architect Gets Four Years For Sex & Porn With 16-Year-Olds
John Dossey should have kept the camera at homeJohn Robert Dossey liked his sex partners young, as his conviction showed.If he had just stuck with sex, maybe he would have escaped without a huge amount of prison time — he went with 16-year-old hookers, and while it’s pretty disturbing it’s…
Hpnotiq Signature Cocktails at Houston Fashion Week
Last night the city’s movers and shakers flocked to the Wortham Center for Houston Fashion Week, where the hair was big, the heels were high, and the drinks — they were blue. Hpnotiq, one of the event sponsors, provided fun flair with candy bars and signature cocktails created in honor…
Slideshow: Houston Fashion Week, Day One
Christian Siriano was the headliner at Monday night’s opening of Houston Fashion Week, and as expected, he wowed the crowd with bold patterns and exquisitely draped dresses. At the event, which included collections by Lyn Devon and local designer Cesar Galindo, our favorite comment came from a handsome, extremely well-outfitted…
Our John Nova Lomax Explains The Wilting Of The Richmond Strip To TV Viewers
Channel 39 did a recent piece on whatever happened to the Richmond Strip, and turned for expert advice to our own John Nova Lomax. Includes exciting footage of Lomax preparing to type…
Tailgating Turkey
I have gnawed on many a turkey leg in my day, and the results are usually disappointing. To me, they always seem like a much better in theory than practice. I always dream of it being juicy and tender, but alas, I am stuck sucking on a dry bone. Um,…
Mark Stevens Of KLOL’s Stevens & Pruett Show Passes Away
Rocks Off just got word via ABC13.com that former Houston radio personality Mark Stevens, half of KLOL’s popular Stevens & Pruett morning-show team from the 1980s until 2000, has passed away. Houston blogger Mike McGuff says close friends told him Stevens died in his sleep early this morning; Channel 13…
Slideshow: Art Attack Party at Bering Art Collective
It was a terrific turnout Monday night as we celebrated the launch of our Art Attack blog with a party hosted by Bering Art Collective, a cool gallery tucked behind Gravitas near Allen Parkway. John Jenkins’ exhibit “The History of Rock & Roll” was on display, this year’s MasterMinds Award…
Movies! The Store to Close in November
When I moved to Houston a little more than a year ago, I did two things: I got a library card, and I opened an account at Movies! The Store. (These are the things you do when you’re unemployed.) In the months since, I’ve gotten some serious use out of…
Favre In Charge — “The Media Still Sucks” Edition
The mainstream sports media couldn’t avoid the topic forever. Eventually, the story of Brett Favre’s penis would have to be addressed. And as deafening and infuriating as the silence in Bristol and points beyond was, we knew that the only thing more exasperating would be the way Favre honks would…
Hands Up Post: Honky-Tonk Houston’s Done Got Out Of Hand
A recent thread on the Hands Up Houston message board found poster “honky honk” complaining (and mangling the English language): Dear Houston. Why are you excepting [sic] this right wing, overtly white genre of music known as honky tonk or country? Why do we have to travel that far back…
A Talk by Shubhra Ramineni, Author of Entice with Spice
Shubhra Ramineni was born in India and moved here as a small child. In Houston, her mother made Indian food with local ingredients. Shubhra went on to college and graduate school and is now a busy young professional and new mom. But she still wanted to cook uncomplicated Indian food…
New on DVD: I Am Love, Leaves of Grass, Jonah Hex
(Capsule reviews by Melissa Anderson, J. Hoberman and Nick Pinkerton) I Am Love As unrepentantly grandiose and ludicrous as its title, Luca Guadagnino’s visually ravishing third feature suggests an epic that Visconti and Sirk might have made after they finished watching Vertigo and reading Madame Bovary while gorging themselves on…
Astros’ New Scoreboard: Just How Huge Will It Be?
Photo via Alyson Footer That tiny, tiny thing surrounded by a sea of pale blue is the old Astros scoreboard, the one deemed perfectly acceptable by most people at the ballpark.The pale blue? That’s the size of the new scoreboard…
Sunny Cocktails at Shade
The Heights is often associated with being dry, although plenty of area restaurants from casual (Onion Creek) to high-end (Zelko Bistro) have fabulous beer and wine selections. Adding to the mix is the lovely cocktail menu at Shade (250 W. 19th, 713-863-7500). General manager Rachel Loil tells me the cocktail…
Should Kanye Be Dissing Celebrity Clothing Lines?
The hip-hop world is a less than sensible place – lots of times, you’re even required to clarify when bad means bad and when bad means good – so once a week we’re going to get with a rapper and ask them to explain things. Have something you always wanted…
Sara Saco-Vertiz: Astros’ “Foul Ball Girl” Gets Arrested For Drinking & Lack Of Hockey Knowledge
Not from BuffaloSara Saco-Vertiz had her moment of internet fame this summer when the guy she was attending an Astros game with ducked out of the way of a foul ball that hit her.The couple went on a national TV show, they engaged in an unseemly squabble on Facebook, they…
The “Big O” at Dessert Gallery Bakery & Café
In a recent post, I referred to a certain dessert shop as “the town’s only establishment solely dedicated to my drug [chocolate].” While this might be true, I realized I would be a fool to ignore what wonderful things other fancy local bakeries were doing with cocoa and cake. So…
Fashion Week Opening Night Lives Up to Hype
See our photos from Houston Fashion Week’s first day. Cesar Galindo is definitely a local boy. His models strutted down the catwalk beneath sky-high frizzed pompadours pinned into edgy feminine faux-hawks, a look we have unintentionally sported many a day due to oppressive summer humidity. The Houston native kicked off…
Maxim’s Hometown Hotties: Houston Has A Finalist!
Photo courtesy MaximShe’s a financial analyst, boys Houston can’t brag about its sports teams, or its beautiful geography, or — for that matter — its air.On the other hand, we have….a finalist in the Maxim “Hometown Hotties” contest.Which isn’t as good as breathable air or an NFL team that always…
Before Ray & Dave, Noel & Liam, There Was Don & Phil…
The Everly Brothers Reunion Concert: Live at the Royal Albert Hall Eagle Vision, 120 minutes, $11.98. Long before the professional pairings of the Robinsons, Gallaghers, Davies or even the Righteous, (and just after the Burnettes), there was the early rock and roll fraternal act of the Everly Brothers. In the…
Cooking Through Alton: Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes
We’re trying recipes by Food Network icon Alton Brown that might work for Thanksgiving. If they’re good, you’ll have a complete guide for the big meal. If they’re clunkers, we’ll provide you with alternate recipes that are tried and true. Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes The dish: Mashed potatoes are a…
The Five Best Halloween Warnings Forwarded By Frantic Moms
FORWARD THIS E-MAIL TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!!!!!Oooooo — Halloween!! So scary for young kids!!And for adults who insist on forwarding every e-mail from some AOL account carrying dire warnings of Halloween horror.Our five favorites:5. That candy has crystal meth!!Subject: HALLOWEEN WARNINGHALLOWEEN WARNING PLEASE READ!!!!There is a type of crystal meth…
Top Five: Moments in Movie Jackass-ery
This Friday, Jackass 3-D arrives at a theater near you. With it, the chieftains of stupid rise above the 2-D world and celebrate 10 years of kicking each other in the balls. Johnny Knoxville is apparently sober now, so watching him do stupid stuff should be even more painful. In…
Recap: Episode Two of The Next Iron Chef
Here’s my chronological running diary of the random thoughts I had while watching episode two of The Next Iron Chef. We are reminded that in the first installment, Andrew Kirschner was sent packing. He has a soul patch. For the first challenge, the contestants are asked to put two breakfast…
Radio Is Dead, MySpace Too. How Do We Find New Music?
As both a music journalist and an actual musician, one of the things Rocks Off is always interested in is finding out how you people are finding out about the music worth finding out about. When you work for a major music blog, new music is hurled at your head…
Upcoming: Bobby “Blue” Bland, Die Antwoord, Justin Townes Earle, Etc.
Apocalyptica: Wed., Dec. 15. House of Blues. Betty Wright, Bobby “Blue” Bland: CHANGED Fri., Oct. 15. Arena Theatre. Die Antwoord: Mon., Nov. 1. Stereo Live. “Girls Gone Wild” With Dev Electric, Chrome 44: Sat., Dec. 11. Scout Bar Clear Lake. In This Moment, Taking Dawn, One Eyed Doll: Wed., Dec…
The Jerk Church Called: They’re Running Out Of You
The meek shall inherit the earth, whilst calling people “jerks”Commuters in Beaumont are, unwittingly or not, taking part in a bold new experiment in church advertising: The “You’re a Jerk!” school of theology…
The 5 Most Underrated Vegetables
With fall headed our way, one of my favorite things to do in cooler temperatures is to roast vegetables. Breakfast, lunch or dinner; it doesn’t matter. Heating up my old oven long enough to roast sweet potatoes or brussels sprouts isn’t such a bad thing when it’s cool outside and…
Houston Fashion Week, Day One: Christian Siriano, Lyn Devon, Cesar Galindo
See photos of Houston Fashion Week Day 1 in our slideshow. The first night of Houston’s very own fashion week kicked off with our city’s own Cesar Galindo. His collection was mostly rich in texture and color, but interspersed with some mod-era pinks and reds. The silhouettes were very traditional…
I Hate My Album: Five Artists Who Dissed Their Own Work
Albums are to artists what children are to parents: You never want your favorite kids to move out, but you can’t wait to send the other ones off to college. (Rocks Off should know; we were one of those favorites.) Here, we salute five artists who were brave enough to…
Bill White the Loser, HISD Declares
Houston ISD’s assessment of the upcoming state legislative session on Monday began with the declaration that Bill White doesn’t have a chance and that Rick Perry will continue as governor. Rebecca Flores, the director of Government Relations for HISD, and board attorney David Thompson delivered their expectations during an afternoon…
Unidentified Female, 54, Bayou Body Count No. 245
Police say a drunk driver killed a womanIntoxication manslaughter charges have been filed against a driver who was driving south in the northbound lanes of Eldridge Parkway Sunday afternoon.The suspect, Nicholas Jared Mireles, 24, was charged with causing the death of a 54-year-old woman whose identity was not released.Police say…
Wax Audio’s Tom Compagnoni: Portrait Of A Mash-Up Artist
Rocks Off is quite keen on YouTube mashups. Whether it’s famous ones like the contentious “Boulevard of Broken Songs,” which melds Green Day’s “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” with Oasis’s “Wonderwall” – and Noel Gallagher still says Green Day should pay him for ripping off his song – or the absolute…
Where Are We Drinking?
The last days of margarita season are upon us. It’s difficult to enjoy the icy, citrusy concoction when autumn beverages like Oktoberfest beers and cherry-topped Manhattans are calling out. Think you know where we’re drinking this week? Leave your best guess in the comments section below…
UH Architecture Students Give T.H. Rogers Students Some Relief From the Heat
Photo by Bobette RinerHoles 18 feet deep for supportA school courtyard in Houston can very well be the last place you’d want to spend time, given the heat that can dominate most of the academic year. But what if you’re a 12-year-old forced to wear a suit, while playing a…
Tiffany Young-Hartley: A Clairvoyant Sheriff, Vanishing Suspects, Whoring Politicos, Incompetent Pot Smugglers, And Weird Facebook Photos
Still a lot of unanswered questionsSome law officers will tell you they develop a sixth sense about crime. They will say that even while they are driving to work, they know the kind of mayhem their shift will bring. But as Talking Points Memo notes, Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez’s…
ACL Day 3 Recap: Flaming Lips, The National, And We’re Out!
For more photos from Sunday’s final day of ACL, see our slideshow here. If there was one band this member of Aftermath was most looking forward to seeing at ACL this weekend, it was the Flaming Lips. But explaining why requires a bit of a backstory. From 1980 to 2003…
Unidentified Male, Bayou Body Count No. 244
Drunk drivers, a car chase, a deathA man has been charged with intoxication manslaughter after a wild car chase killed an innocent driver on Telephone Road late Friday night.Herman Rodriguez Torres, 36, was charged after the Chevy Suburban he was driving smashed into a Toyota Corolla in the 3200 block…
Sundae Sunday: Snickers Sundae at Amy’s Ice Cream
The proximity of Halloween inspired me to recreate one of my favorite candy bars, Snickers, in the form of a sundae, so this past weekend I headed to Amy’s for some experimentation. Admittedly I could have made this sundae just as well at home (or bought this pre-designed monstrosity), but…
Health Dept. Roundup
After a month of hum-drum inspections citywide, somebody lit a fire under Health Department workers last week, and they found some truly epic violators. The longest list of citations came at Fish Place (11550 Gulf Fwy.), where an October 5 visit found an amazing 19. The inspectors found equipment in…
HISD Marching Bands Perform; Sweat Measured In Pounds, Not Ounces
Photo by Chasen MarshallHe who has the biggest horn … Check out a slideshow of the HISD Marching Band Festival.Saturday was a miserable day to be dressed in full band attire. It was a warm day and Delmar Stadium is entirely exposed. But over 20 schools had agreed to perform…
Case Keenum Will Try To Come Back For Another Year At UH
Trying to come back to UHCase Keenum’s big run-for-the-Heisman year ended with an injury last month, but he has decided to appeal to the NCAA for another year at UH rather than go into the NFL draft.”After talking this over with my family and people close to me, I have…
Saturday Night: Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros at Warehouse Live
Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros Warehouse Live October 9, 2010 Oh crap, Aftermath thought shortly after Edward Sharpe struck up the Magnetic Zeros Saturday night, it’s the Polyphonic Spree all over again. Unless we are having an especially bad day, Aftermath is no misanthrope. But we have our limits,…
Weekly Time-Waster: Continuity
Whatever repressed, stranded-at-Cracker-Barrel family memories you might associate with sliding tile games, the genre apparently isn’t a lost cause. Continuity is half tile-puzzle game / half platformer that creates its own breed of enjoyable play. At last weekend’s Indiecade festival in California, it won the prize for the browser game…
Singapore Noodles from Tan Tan
I lived in Singapore four-and-a-half years and transited through there off and on for another two while I was living in New Delhi, but I have to confess: I never ran into anything called Singapore Noodles in Singapore. Singapore Noodles were, in fact, invented in Hong Kong. Being a melting…
John David Crow: Aggie Statue Of Him Will Be Freakin’ Huge
A&M has found the Michelangelo for its (John) David (Crow)When most institutions of higher learning put out press releases about a new art installation on campus, they go heavy with how cutting-edge it is, or how breathtaking it will look, or how famous the artist doing it is.Not the Aggies.Here’s…
ACL Day 3 Recap: Devendra Banhart, Band Of Horses, Other Beardos
For more photos from Sunday’s final day of ACL, see our slideshow here. Aftermath doesn’t know the bargain Austin City Limits promoter C3 Presents gets by booking both Lollapalooza and ACL, but to this dog-tired participant, this year’s Zilker Park festivities ended up feeling less Austin weird and more something-something…
Unidentified Female, Bayou Body Count No. 243
Another woman found strangled downtownLess than two weeks after a homeless person was found strangled to death near downtown’s Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, another woman has been found dead “from neck trauma” at the old Downtown YMCA.The victim, whose name has not yet been released, was found about 5:10…
The Party’s Tonight
Remember to join us tonight, 7-9 p.m., at Bering Art Collective to celebrate the launch of Art Attack, nominate artists and organizations for our annual Mastermind Awards, meet our writers and spend a Monday evening in the company of local artists. There’ll be a special performance by Bootown, an exhibition…
Texans-Giants, Debacle: The Sequel — 5 Winners, 5 Losers
Driving down Murworth to the media lot on Sunday morning at around 10 a.m., if it weren’t for signs directing us to various colored lots and a few orange cones, you’d have barely known there was anything going on at Reliant that day, let alone an NFL football game. The…
Blue Plate Specials at Haven: Now’s the Time to Try It Out
Haven (2502 Algerian Way, 713-581-6101) has been the recipient of a bounty of accolades lately: In the 2010 Best of Houston® issue, we gave the restaurant the Best Ominvore’s Dilemma Restaruant award, My Table’s readers named it the magazine’s Best New Restaurant a few weeks ago, and — most recently…
Charter School Was Sex-Toy Hotbed, Lawsuit Claims
Photo courtesy Sensual Play ThingsThe Ride `Em Cowgirl book on sexual positions: Only $20Being a teacher is a tough job, what with the squabbling kids, the disinterested parents, the constant badgering to buy dildos, the low sala — say what now?Three teachers are suing a Uvalde charter school, alleging they…
Slideshow: Brass Balls at the Vintage Pinball and Arcade Game Expo
HAAG, the Houston Area Arcade Group, hosted the 2010 Arcade Expo at the Houston Northwest Crown Plaza this weekend. From Guitar Hero to old-school Atari, gamers had access to generations worth of arcade history. The expo also featured a swap meet, guest speakers, and lots of antique games for sale–not…
ACL Day 3 Recap: Eagles, Norah Jones, Wayne Coyne’s Diet
Ed. Note: Updated at 1:42 p.m. to include information on Don Henley’s medical condition we received from Eagles manager Irving Azoff. For more photos from Sunday’s final day of ACL, see our slideshow here. It’s just a few hours after the Eagles left the stage at this year’s Austin City…
Ingredient of the Week: Napa Cabbage
What is it? Napa cabbage is a delicate form of cabbage that grows in elongated formations rather than the tightly packed sphere shapes. The leaves are much thinner, with a thick stem running down the middle of each with curly, ruffle-like ends. Napa cabbage is slightly sweet with thinner, lettuce-like…
Justin Thompson, 19, Bayou Body Count No. 242
Someone was breaking the law….A teen who was shot while “other people were taking part in criminal activity” died Sunday, Houston police say.Justin Thompson, 19, was shot about 3 p.m. in the 1800 block of Chantilly and taken to Memorial Hermann Northwest Hospital by a companion.The driver told police Thompson…
Rodeo’s Economic Impact: One Beeeelyun Dollars
A chance to see “Houston in its splendor”The Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo has released a report detailing its economic impact on our area, and according to them it’s vast.Gross sales in the region are increased by a half-billion dollars each year by the rodeo, annual personal incomes by almost…
Has the Greek Festival Jumped the Shark?
Having grown from its small beginnings in 1966 as an annual “Greek Night” to celebrate the history and culture of its parishioners, to the four-day-long festival that sprawls across the complex of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral, the Houston Greek Festival barely resembles the same festival of only ten years…
Friday Night: The National At House Of Blues
The National House of Blues October 8, 2010 Relive The National’s performance via the photos in our slideshow. Houston crowds like to party. The National does not. These two seemingly indisputable musical facts led Aftermath to imagine all sorts of nightmare scenarios for the Brooklyn band’s visit to House of…
Slideshow: Belly Dancing Workshop at Soraya’s School of Dance
Internationally acclaimed belly dancer Suhaila Salimpou taught a two-day belly dancing workshop this weekend at Soraya’s School of Belly Dance. The workshop featured lessons on finger cymbals and footwork technique, including ’70s-style choreography and “hard rock” fusion choreography. Go to the slideshow…
Councilman Gets No-Billed Over Evading-Arrest Charge
Jarvis Johnson: One bit of trouble out of the wayA grand jury has declined to indict councilmember Jarvis Johnson on charges he evaded arrest during a June traffic stop, various news outlets are reporting.A Houston police officer tried to pull Jarvis over for speeding on the Eastex Freeway; the cop…
What the Hell Is That!?
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to play another round of “What the Hell Is That?” the game where you guess what beloved American food item is being made in the picture above. Today’s featured photo takes us to an industrial locale, where a candy-colored creation creams into a soft…
Why Is Chelsea Handler Rappers’ Favorite TV Personality?
Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Every Monday that isn’t a national holiday, Rocks Off will have some of them here discussing issues relevant to their culture. This Week’s Panel: Fat Tony, Kyle Hubbard, Real Elliot Ness Not Invited: Chelsea Handler’s mom This Week’s Prompt: Rumors have been…
Columbus: Five Little-Known, And Possibly Inaccurate Facts About Him
Columbus: Amerigo Vespucci’s a pimpWhy are you at work? It’s Columbus Day!!It is only rampant anti-Italianism that prevents Houstonians from getting a three-day weekend to celebrate the guy who was among the first dozen or so people to discover America.Columbus, of course, is a misunderstood figure. Perhaps the best historical…
Fess Up: You Haven’t Eaten at RDG + Bar Annie
…or maybe you haven’t eaten at La Colombe d’Or or Tony’s or Mark’s. Or, on the other hand, you haven’t eaten at Lankford Grocery, Irma’s, Pizzitola’s or Molina’s. Maybe you’ve never eaten at a Chili’s. I don’t know. All I know is this: Albert Nurick asked a question on Twitter…
Video: Another Look at the Explosion
You’ve seen the photos and video online, but you haven’t seen last week’s historic ignition of Cai Guo-Qiang’s massive gunpowder drawing Odyssey from Art Attack’s unique perspective. Our video intern Erica Love captured the preparations and was directly behind Cai as he lit the fuse. Check out the video after…
Dynamo’s Troubles Continue: Can’t Anyone Here Score?
Dynamo can’t get the ball in the netA second half equalizing goal by Dominic Oduro was not enough for the Houston Dynamo as they fell to the New England Revolution 2-1. Once again, a pair of defensive miscues doomed the Orange to another home loss last night at the Rob.Just…
Friday Night: LCD Soundsystem At Verizon Wireless Theater
LCD Soundsystem Verizon Wireless Theater October 8, 2010 With Papa Rocks Off watching The National and Big Brother Rocks Off in Austin enjoying Day 1 of the 2010 Austin City Limits Festival, the introverted, nerdy member of the Aftermath team ventured out of our cave to watch LCD Soundsystem play…
Bartender Chat: Julienne Desjardins of Wild Geese Tavern
You would never know it by looking at her, but Julienne Desjardins is tired. “I’ve been taking care of a sick child all day,” she laughs. Despite this, she’s still hustling about on a busy Tuesday evening, pouring beers, shaking shots, and getting everyone nice and tipsy at the Wild…
Boardwalk Empire: It’s No Fraud
Halfway through last night’s Boardwalk Empire, I was blown away by the monologue in which Chalky White talks about his murdered father to a Klansman who’s been detained as a possible suspect in the hanging death of Chalky’s driver. The moment was wonderfully crafted by writers Lawrence Konner and Margaret…
Friday Night: Shakira At Toyota Center
Shakira Toyota Center October 8, 2010 See photos of Shakira’s performance in our slideshow. From the moment Shakira took the stage at 9:30 p.m. Friday, she had Toyota Center under her spell. Sensual, confident, and brimming with energy, the Latin pop star electrified the capacity crowd for two hours. With…
Rice Owls Lose Again
The Rice Owls were full of talk before the season started about how they were going to a bowl game this season. Talk of how people were underestimating them. Of about how they would surprise people.And the Owls are surprising people. Surprising people with how bad they’re turning out to…
James Edward Clacks, 62, Bayou Body Count No. 241
An argument on the south side ended up with a 62-year-old man shot to death in front of his home Saturday afternoon, police said.James Edward Clacks was at home in the 3800 block of Seabrook about 2 p.m., HPD said. Witnesses reported a car with tinted windows pulling up to…
Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band: Better With Franco-Prussian War?
It’s a well-known fact that most band names are essentially gobbledygook, but here at Rocks Off, we’re trying hard to decode Houston’s oddest monikers in order to find a little meaning. When Rocks Off was a small child we built a volcano as a History Fair project, and we promise…
Where Are We Eating?
A bottle of cold beer and some assorted exotic-looking foods. Saying anything more about the colorful scene below would certainly give this favorite haunt away. Think you know where we’re eating this week? Leave your best guess in the comments section below…
The Week In TV: Outlaw Thrown Out of Court
Jimmy Smits is out, Justin Bieber won’t die, and I’m not allowed to use the name Jerry Bananaseed. This was the week in TV Land: • I think I’m done with The Office for a while, or at least the type of comedy that manifests itself in hateful extended pauses…
Cougars Go The Wile E. Coyote Route
Watching the Houston Cougars lose 47-24 to the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday night was a bit like watching a Wile E. Coyote cartoon. Things got off to a great start as the Cougars got the kick and drove 64 yards in eight plays behind the pinpoint, precision passing of…
Giants 34, Texans 10: Another Tough Defense, Another Breakdown For The Houston Offense
Texans: Let’s not get physicalWe knew the Texans’ young defense could have games like this. A second disastrous performance in five outings for the supposedly-elite Houston offense, however, is incredibly concerning.The numbers are baffling. 195 total yards. 1.6 yards per rush with what had been the top rushing attack in…
Live From The Austin City Limits Festival, Day 3
Updated Monday afternoon to reflect Eagles manager Irving Azoff’s statement about Don Henley’s medical condition. Craig Hlavaty: News coming out of the media tent: Don Henley of the Eagles had a stent put in to help his heart this past week. He will be singing and possibly playing guitar, but…
ACL Fest Recap, Day 2: LCD Soundsytem And Bachelorette Cops
For more LCD photos and lots more besides, see our slideshow here. LCD Soundsystem is not a band. It’s a six-headed snake, that glides and slithers. It’s as if when they perform live they are all mentally tethered into a computer. Saturday night’s Budweiser stage show had us doing the…
ACL Day 2 Recap: Gaslight Anthem, Local Natives, Kinky, Muse
For more images from ACL Saturday, see our slideshow here. Complaining about crowds at an event like ACL is like complaining about the smell of livestock at the Houston Rodeo, but it does take some getting used to. And for the folks who think that Saturday was too hot -…
ACL Day 2 Recap: M.I.A., Gogol Bordello, Deadmau5, Mouse Masks
For more photos from Saturday, see our slideshow here. Aftermath was eager to catch Gogol Bordello, only because our companion had missed their last Houston show at Meridian in 2008. We were convinced he’d get a kick out of them, so we dragged him over to the AMD stage early…
Live From The Austin City Limits Festival, Day 2
Brittanie Shey: When you go to a festival litke this, you’re always looking for the discovery, the one band that either blows you away or causes you to alter all your expectations. Today it was Dan Black, a performer we caught only because there was nothing else going on. As…
ACL Day 1 Recap: Vampire Weekend, More Strokes & Sonic Youth, Sulking
For lots more pictures from Friday, see our slideshow here. Friday night at ACL began with Aftermath charging our phone up until 6:45 p.m., then sulking because the Internet was down in the media tent (duh), and then stocking our man-satchel with cans of Red Bull for the rest of…
ACL Day 1 Recap: Sonic Youth, Spoon, The Strokes, Nice People…
For lots more pictures from Friday, see our slideshow here. Rocks Off wonders what kind of guitar budget Sonic Youth has. They aren’t very gentle with their instruments. This occurred to us as we were standing a few feet from the large screens projecting their extended, distorted set to a…
Bad Teachers Consigned to the Flames in Fiery Manifesto Signed by Terry Grier
In a story already online and due to come out in the Sunday print edition of the Washington Post, our own Terry Grier joins other superintendents in blaming teachers (well, the bad ones) for the poor state of our schools and children.He also pushes charters and endorses a faster, zippier…
Live From The Austin City Limits Festival, Day 1
Brittanie Shey: Things seem incredibly crowded, and hotter than Houston, if that’s even possible. The dust is already flying. Some of us here braved the bro-crowd at the Black Keys (see jump) but some of us, seeing the mile of bodies wobbling before the stage, decided to take in a…
Magnet Schools in HISD — The Passion, The Powder Keg
The word “lottery” is not just anathema to Southern Baptists. Toss it into a room filled with ardent supporters of the magnet program in the Houston Independent School District and you get a two-hour discussion about good programs (okay, toss the bad ones), high test scores, engaged students and the…
Terry Grier Ready to Whack H.P. Carter
Carter will be closedIt was only a month ago that Houston ISD Superintendent Terry Grier brought up the issue of H.P. Carter Career Center, the school housing just 54 students that costs at least $2.86 million to run. Well, that won’t be for a whole lot longer, apparently. One of…
Little Joe Y La Familia Heat Up Festival Chicano
Miller Outdoor Theatre may self-combust tonight when the classic orquesta Tejana sounds of Grammy winners Little Joe y la Familia waft forth into what promises to be a temperate, perfect evening for music in the park. This marks the 31st annual Festival Chicano, one of the oldest such events in…
This Week in Deliciousness
Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where no cupcake is too strange. Not even these. Or these. Some forward-thinking brewers are already thinking of ways for you to get wasted in space (space-ted), since their burgeoning space tourism industry should be available to non-billionaires very…
FAIL: Gene Simmons, Steve Albini, INXS, Danzig (Not)
Gene Simmons Is Donald Trump In Makeup: Fails has never been a big KISS fan, but we can’t imagine watching Gene Simmons’ behavior makes being one any easier. If you’re a die-hard KISS fan, watching his douchey whoring and cutthroat CEO tactics must be difficult, as is knowing that KISS…
Brooklyn’s “Fourth-Largest City” Boast Threatened By Us
Brooklyn’s boast may be in contention soon Way back in the benighted `70s, there was a (terrible) sitcom called Welcome Back, Kotter, starring Gabe Kaplan and a young John Travolta (just to indicate clearly its levels of terribleness).The opening credits each week featured a montage with the above sign, which…
Upcoming Events
As mentioned earlier this week, food festival season is upon us in Houston, with some of our favorite festivals kicking off this weekend. The 44th annual Greek Festival started yesterday and runs through this Sunday, but you’ll want to get to the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral complex fairly early during…
Dynamo Fight Revolution, Breast Cancer This Weekend
The Revolution are coming! The Revolution are coming!The Houston Dynamo have teamed up with Methodist Cancer Center to bring awareness for Breast Cancer. The Dynamo will have a special $20 ticket package for this Sunday’s home match against the New England Revolution. The package will include a ticket, a commemorative…
Chef Chat, Part 3: John Sheely of Mockingbird Bistro
This week I have been sharing my interview with Chef John Sheely of Mockingbird Bistro. After our conversation, I committed the deadly delicious sin of gluttony. First up was his calamari, which was quick fried and presented with two dipping sauces: the basic remoulade and a sweet-and-spicy glaze. I’m not…
Debating the Meaning of the the Middle Finger
Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, whose work was recently on display at the Menil, is the subject of some controversy in Milan, Italy, where his sculpture L.O.V.E. is being called “an insult” and “disgusting.” The 30-foot-high marble middle finger installed in front of the Milan Stock Exchange appears to be sending…
Favre In Charge: A Very Special Episode
“I’m not getting into that … I’ve got my hands full with the Jets.” — Brett Favre, in his weekly press conference on Thursday Hands full? Right. Sure. With the Jets, Brett. Gotcha. If everything we’re reading, hearing, and (unfortunately) watching on Deadspin are true, Brett Favre’s hands may need…
Katz’s Deli Celebrates 10 Years in Houston
True, the sign outside the restaurant that “never kloses” on Westheimer says that Katz’s has been around since 1979, but the deli in Montrose is celebrating 10 years in Houston this weekend with a big bash on Sunday featuring Texans tailgating, a pickle-eating contest with a $1,000 cash prize and…
Foals: The Beat Goes On For These Oxford Dance-Rock Scholars
Hailing from Oxford, England, the five-piece group known as Foals have danced their way into acclaim with their second album, Total Life Forever. Musically, dance is where their rhythms lie, imitating beats from techno to funk to hip-hop. Instead of using conventional electronics, the band early on to convert these…
Happy Hour Scene: Under the Volcano
The Place: Under the Volcano2349 Bissonnet St. 713-526-5282www.underthevolcanohouston.comThe Hours: Monday through Friday 2-7 p.m.The Deals: All drinks, except bottled beer and wine, are $1 cheaper than normal. The Scene: Under the Volcano has never seemed like a happy hour kind of place. The drinks are too expensive and the crowd,…
Shakira And Music’s Eight Other Hottest Bellybuttons
Shakira shimmies into town tonight at Toyota Center, and frankly, she’s pretty much the only artist Rocks Off regrets having to miss while we’re in Austin covering ACL. Say what you will about her caterwauling voice and her corny foreign-ness. There’s something so playfully goofy about Shakira that we absolutely…
Steve Francis: Drunk And Causing A Scene At LA’s Airport
Steve Francis: Arrested at LAXStevie Franchise!! How could you?Wire reports indicate former Houston Rocket Steve Francis was arrested last night for being drunk and resisting arrest at an LA International ticket counter last night.”Airport spokesman Albert Rodriguez says Francis was arrested at 11:30 p.m. [PDT] Thursday because he was intoxicated,…
Thomas James Ballantyne, 52, Bayou Body Count No. 240
Drug-related killing?Police think drugs have something to do with the broad-daylight gunning down of a man in his driveway yesterday.Thomas James Ballantyne, 52, suffered multiple gunshot wounds at his northeast-side home about 4 p.m. Thursday.”It is believed he was robbed and shot multiple times in a drug-related incident,” HPD said…
Rocks Off Has Officially Reached ACL Fest
Well, we were afraid of this. While Rocks Off Sr. remains at Mission Control here in Houston (appropriate, don’t you think?), Craig Hlavaty and Brittanie Shey have sallied forth to the Live Music Capital of Travis County to cover this year’s Austin City Limits music festival in Zilker Park. We…
Openings & Closings
Two noteworthy restaurants opened this past week, noteworthy if only for the refreshing simplicity of their respective menus. The first of the two, Jus’ Mac (2617 Yale), features — as the name would suggest — just macaroni and cheese. But it’s not just the elbow macaroni and cheddar blend we…
Ticket Giveaway: Stone
In Stone, Edward Norton plays the incarcerated title character, up for parole after serving eight years for arson. Robert DeNiro plays the churchgoing caseworker Jack Mabry, responsible for recommending Stone’s release to the parole board. Thrust into this match-up of acting with a capital A is Stone’s wife (Milla Jovovich),…
HISD Marching Bands Coming To A Stadium Near You
Photo by Chasen MarshallLady Gaga couldn’t maintain these formations.Screeching trumpets, heart-thumping drum beats and crisp, colorful uniforms will be on display all day Saturday in northwest Houston.The HISD marching band scene will be descending on Delmar Stadium, participating in the third annual HISD marching band festival. Bands from 17 high…
Last Night: Gaslight Anthem At Warehouse Live
Gaslight Anthem Warehouse Live October 7, 2010 Quite a great deal of press – too much, really – has been given to the similarities between New Jersey’s Gaslight Anthem and that other guy from the Garden State – Jon Bon J… er, Bruce Springsteen. Both Springsteen and GA lead singer…
Believe It Or Not: Yao Ming Plays Basketball At Toyota Center
Photo by GroovehouseBasketball season is almost hereThe Houston Rockets played a pre-season game last night at the Toyota Center. Reports are that a very tall Chinese person participated and — somehow — did not injure his foot.Incredible, no? Check out the slideshow for proof…
SunChips Compostable Bags “Too Loud” – Frito-Lay Says To Hell with Planet
Frito-Lay first launched a new, innovative line of compost-able packaging made entirely from plants for their SunChips brand in April of 2009. Less than 18 months later, the company is returning to the original plastic packaging on five of six flavor varieties. What are they thinking? Apparently, the new biodegradable…
Last Night: Vampire Weekend And Beach House At Verizon
Vampire Weekend, Beach House Verizon Wireless Theater October 7, 2010 It’s hard to quantify a show featuring two of the darlingest indie darlings the indie-darling machine has ever invented back-to-back in a non-festival setting. These events don’t happen often, because parity in pop music is at an all-time high, and…
Galveston Paper Issues Correction On Who Called It Racist
The Galveston County Daily News had a story this morning somewhat innocuously headlined “NAACP leader: ‘I did not make that comment’.”It got more interesting when you read what the comment in question was, and when you know that Dolph Tillotson is the publisher of the Daily News. As today’s story…
Bragg Organic Apple Cider Vinegar Drink
The recent cold snap in Houston has made me nostalgic for autumn in New England and all its corresponding activities, like day tripping to Salem, Massachusetts, apple-picking, and even raking leaves (in small yards). I’ve also started craving foods like apple cider, and, on a recent hunt to find a…
South Houston Eighth Graders Tell Us What Music Is Good
Teaching is often cast as a thankless, glamour-free job. Nothing could be further from the truth. For the past five years, Rocks Off has taught at a Title 1 (read: poor) school in Hispanic-heavy South Houston. We’ve been thanked several times for several things. And we’ve been to several 4-6…
Over the Line or Overreaction? Use of the Word “Gay” in Ron Howard’s The Dilemma Stirs Debate
ThinkB4YouSpeak.com may not be a household name, but you may have seen one of their award-winning public service announcements. If not, please take a minute to watch the short clip above featuring comedian Wanda Sykes. I remember seeing a similar spot a while back and the impact it had on…
Kristin Diane Massey: Female Sex Offender In Trouble Again
It certainly looks like last night was a wild one for 27-year-old Kristin Diane Massey.According to court records, the rail-thin Massey agreed to have sex for money with an undercover cop and was arrested. Prostitution-related arrests are not new for Massey, but this is the first time she has gotten…
Odd Pair: Crab Rangoon and Sauvignon Blanc
On a recent Friday night, I found myself both hungry and bored, but with absolutely zero inclination for leaving the house. Thus there was only one solution to my predicament. Order Chinese delivery and dig around for some wine…
College Football and NFL: This Weekend’s Best Bets (And a Promise From Me)
I’m coming up on almost one year now writing a daily post on Hair Balls for HoustonPress.com. In that time, I’ve written tens of thousands of words about topics like the Summer of LeBron, the Brian Cushing saga, the Houston Texans, and the death of Jose Lima. Some of those…
The Week In Art Photos
Each week, we scour the Houston Press Flickr Pool and see what kinds of art shots our talented photographers have added. If you think you’ve got a good eye, drop your pictures in the pool and every Friday we’ll post the most eye-popping shots. (Be sure to enable the HTML…
Last Night: Local Natives At House Of Blues
Local Natives House of Blues October 7, 2010 Aftermath should, first and foremost, be honest: We aren’t the biggest Local Natives fans. Why? We’re not quite sure, really. We try not to hop on the bandwagon too quickly when the newest musical craze pops up, but we try to do…
The Coogs Prep For The SEC’s Mississippi State Bulldogs
The Houston Cougars (3-1) won’t be changing their offensive identity to suit whoever starts at quarterback this weekend. They are the team they were at game one. Or so said head coach Kevin Sumlin earlier this week. Never mind that a freshman will be starting the game. Never mind that…
Reviews For The Easily Distracted: I Spit On Your Grave
Title: I Spit On Your Grave Director: Steven R. Monroe, previously known for SyFy Channel “classics” such as Wyvern and Ice Twisters. Cast: Mostly people you’ve never heard of, plus Tracey Walter (“Miller” from Repo Man) as the movie’s only male non-rapist. Rating Using Random Objects Relevant to the Film:…
Musician Hopes Free Drinks, Practice Time Draw Bands To Mango’s
Do you like playing music? Do you like drinking alcohol? Then Jess Wilson at Mango’s can hook you up. Rocks Off was doing our weekly wade through Craigslist when we stumbled across the following ad: I’m looking for bands to play regular gigs on Thursdays at Mango’s on Westheimer. All…
Week in Photos: October 1-7
Each week, we take a dip into the Houston Press Flickr pool and see what our talented photographers have been up to. Be sure to add your images to our Flickr pool — if it’s Houston-related, we want to see it.. They might even show up online. As usual, for…
Coffee Service at Epicure Café
One of my favorite places to drink coffee is Epicure Cafe on West Gray. You order at the counter and sit down at a table, and the staff brings you your coffee in a little stainless steel pot with a coffee cup and saucer, half and half on the side…
Homecoming Mums In Texas: Five Examples Of An Arms Race Gone Mad
What? No bears on that thing?Homecoming season is nigh, and in Texas that means…very, very, very large homecoming mums.Nowhere else, it seems, do high school girls put their energy, money, ego and shamelessness into effect when it comes to what used to be a simple flower and ribbon.Even back in…
Rice Sex Survey: Are You Sexier Than A Rice Freshman?
You wanna know WHAT?!Rice University likes to greatly ease freshmen into the college experience, with plenty of group meetings where they “rap” about “what’s happening” and so forth.For years, that process has sometimes included a 100-question quiz on your personal sexual history. Nothing official from the school, but just something…
Chef Chat, Part 2: John Sheely of Mockingbird Bistro
Today we continue our discussion with John Sheely to learn about how skiing ties into cooking, his memorable food discoveries and how he’s been coping with the down economy. EOW: I understand you love to ski. Do any skiing concepts translate into what you do in the kitchen? Sheely: Sure…
Janet Cox Worked For A Judge, Until She Supported His Electoral Opponent
Campaigning against your boss?Most people who don’t like their boss are able to keep it to themselves, silently wishing plagues upon him or her, or maybe venting to a trusted co-worker. But Janet Cox says she was fired from her job as a Brazoria County court coordinator when she supported…
Guess That Fish and Win Big!
Okay, maybe not big big, but you could win two tickets to our greatly anticipated Great Gulf Dinner next Saturday, October 16 at The Usual if you know your needlefish from your noodlefish. The Great Gulf Dinner is our way of encouraging people to consume Gulf seafood once again while…
The Top 10 Female-Friendly Rap Songs
Chris Rock once said that women don’t pay attention to rap lyrics. Truth be told, most casual hip-hop fans – male and female – rarely pay attention to lyrics. As long as the beat is catchy, they’ll drop down and get their eagle on all night. They might even do…
Top 10: Dudes In Drag
It’s fun to dress in drag if you’re a dude. Take it from us, stepping out in a Little Miss Muffet outfit or a revealingly tight nurse’s uniform is liberating. There’s something oddly grotesque (especially if you don’t shave the appropriate parts of your body, too). Nothing like getting your…
Food Fight: Battle Blue Corn Chip
I love blue corn tortilla chips. I admit, I like them better than yellow corn, at least when it comes to buying for home–perhaps because hot and greasy restaurant chips are so hard to replicate at home, and they’re almost always of the yellow corn variety–so I keep the realms…
Oh, Great: Minute Maid Park To Feel Even More Like Downtown Tokyo
Get that outdated video screen outta there!!!A lot of people have their little peeves about Minute Maid Park, whether it’s the fake hill in centerfield, the toy train up above, the crummy team wearing Astro uniforms.But we have to admit we’ve never heard anyone say “I don’t think there’s enough…
Emmanuel Truman, 24, Bayou Body Count No. 239
An argument and a deathAn argument on the southwest side ended with one man fatally shot Wednesday night, Houston police say.Emmanuel Truman, 24 was shot in the back after an argument in front of a home in the 16100 block of Bowridge, police say.Multiple shots were fired about 9:30 p.m…
Benjy’s Debuts New Dessert Cocktails
For those of you who like to drink your dessert, Benjy’s has added two new sweet cocktails to its fall drink menu. Created by mixologist Mason Houge, these drinks go beyond the typical chocolate or green-apple sweet “tini” versions. For a grown-up version of a nostalgic treat, Houge mixed up…
Peter Pan Soars at the Alley
If perhaps I’m slightly out of sorts, it might be because I can’t quite manage to stay in my desk chair. I seem to be somewhat hovering above it, or around it, but not quite in it. It’s the queerest sort of floating. There’s a strange dust wafting over me,…
Last Night: Neon Indian At Groundhall
Neon Indian Groundhall October 6, 2010 For more images from Wednesday’s show, see our slideshow here. In-the-know scenesters amassed Wednesday night as Texas’ indie darling Alan Palomo performed to a half-full Groundhall, although many local vets still refer to the warehouse-like downtown venue as the Engine Room. Better known under…
Rice Students Had A Great Sexual Year, Apparently
Rice gets it onToday in Self-Serving “Studies,” we have what is no doubt highly sophisticated and peer-approved from the people who make Trojan condoms.They’re put their annual report on “sexual health” on America’s college campuses, looking at such things as condom availability, health center hours, educational and awareness programs, etc…
The Back 9: A Vertical Tasting of All Previous Saint Arnold Divine Reserve Beers
Robb Walsh last did a vertical tasting of all the Saint Arnold Divine Reserve (DR) brews back in 2008, and three more DRs have been released in the ensuing years: DR 7, a Weizenbock; DR 8, a Scotch ale; and DR 9, a very autumnal Imperial pumpkin stout. Now, the…
Tacos for Lunch at the Last Concert Café
Some people know the Last Concert Café as a great Mexican restaurant. Others know it as a really cool outdoor music venue. I know it as a place that is very close to my office, where lunch is pretty cheap…
Locked Bar: Rocbar Goes On Hiatus
Rocbar Houston, our city’s fauxiest faux rock and roll bar, located above Verizon Wireless Theater and the Hard Rock Cafe in the Bayou Place complex, has shuttered its doors after four years in the game. The club, claiming it is temporarily shutting down for retooling, had this to say on…
HISD Asks Annise Parker For a Break, Gets Clobbered by Prop 1 Fans (Updated With HISD Response)
Houston ISD trustees think they’ve already given enough tax money in support of flood control/drainage issues and want no part of the Renew Houston Proposition 1 measure that would allow the City to collect even more money through drainage fees. So they voted 8-0 today to ask the city for…
Edward Gutierrez: 31 Years Later, Confesses To Murder
Photo courtesy HCSOEdward Gutierrez finally confessesWhen Santiago Conale, 23, was found stabbed to death back in 1979, investigators interrogated Edward Gutierrez.They didn’t press any charges against him, though, so he must have had a convincing alibi.Thirty-one years later, members of the Harris County Sheriff’s cold-case team reviewed that interview as…
Top 5 Houston Food Festivals
Houston may not put on festivals on the scale of Taste of Chicago or even Taste of Buffalo (no, seriously; it’s the nation’s second largest food festival), but the festivals that we do put on each year offer some fine and fantastic foods. And with fall upon us, several of…
Five Musicians You Don’t Want At Your Birthday Party
Rocks Off was struck by a random thought the other day: How cool would it be if a rock star showed up at your birthday party? It could happen any number of ways. Maybe a well-connected friend calls in a few favors. Maybe your party is in the same hotel…
Slideshow: Cai Guo-Qiang’s Spectacular Odyssey Ignition
Last night, artist Cai Guo-Qiang lit the fuse on his 162-foot gunpowder drawing Odyssey at a packed-to-fire-code-capacity warehouse near Reliant Stadium. Ignition time was originally scheduled for 7 p.m., but preparation delays stalled the explosion for a little over an hour-and-a-half. As expected, it was a spectacular sight. The gunpowder…
Terry Grier Cries Oops!
Several months ago, Houston ISD superintendent Terry Grier delivered dread news to an aghast school board: HISD was short by $37 million (actually it was originally set at $39 million for a couple days) in its bond fund projects money. Almost immediately, some people well acquainted with the district’s finances…
Vintage Cocktails: The Fine Art of the Daiquiri
The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks is a hard-to-find but indispensable cocktail manual first published in 1948. My barstained copy (it was stained before I got to it) came from a southside Houston thrift store and was marked down to $9.95. The out-of-print book now goes on Amazon and eBay…
Die Antwoord’s “Evil Boy”: More Disturbing Than Gaga?
Wednesday, Rocks Off came across the full length video for Die Antwoord’s new song, “Evil Boy,” which makes Lady Gaga seem like Celine Dion. The South African hip-hop trio is poised to break big, if not majorly weird, over the next few months with their album 5. Rapping in part…
Meat Cupcakes
It’s almost Halloween, and now is the time to begin perfecting those fun, gross or otherwise ridiculous recipes like severed finger cookies, kitty litter cake or ectoplasm for your festivities. Here’s a look at my first practice run of a possible Halloween goodie known as a meat cake…
Houston Press Goes All Glossy
ShinyAs you pick up your print edition of the Houston Press this week, you’ll notice something different about the cover.And not just that it has a cute monkey staring at you.The Press is the latest paper in the Village Voice Media chain to get a glossy, heavy-stock cover, which allows…
Even Gawker Commenters Can’t Snark About Feral Hogs
Not to be snarked aboutYou may not be aware of it, because it came as yet another announcement in an increasingly silly race for Agriculture Commissioner, but October is “Get the Hog Outta Texas” month.It’s all about killing off as many dangerous feral hogs as possible, says incumbent Todd Staples…
Remember ESG’s Return of the Living Dead?
Houston’s history is dotted with albums that, fairly or un, have been swept aside. We’ll examine them here. Have an album that you think nobody knows about but should? Email sheaserrano@gmail.com. ESG Return of the Living Dead (Blackhearted Records, 1997) When ESG made Ocean of Funk (a Top 10 Houston…
Ron Paul Tells Stephen Colbert About Zombies, Dangerous Milk And Putting Anything You Want In Your Mouth
Ron Paul & Stephen Colbert: Fighting for AmericaLast night’s Colbert Report shined the bright light of truthiness on the federal government taking action against some “raw foods” company that sells unpasteurized milk.Apparently drinking unpasteurized milk is a sort of spiritual thing for some people, dangerous though it might be (the…
Araya Artisan Chocolates: Halloween Chocolates for Grown-Ups
For kids, Halloween is mostly about dressing up, trick or treating, and getting CANDY. As we get older, many of us continue with the dressing up, but the trick or treating switches to parties, and the candy switches to booze. Now don’t get me wrong, this is a pretty decent…
Getaway: Chinati Weekend in Marfa
There’s still time to plan a west-Texas getaway this weekend for an annual art event that’s seen some changes over the past few years. In October 2007, the Chinati Foundation’s annual Open House Weekend event had reached critical mass. The tiny town of Marfa was overrun with hipsters and alt-rock…
Last Night: Carrie Underwood At Toyota Center
Carrie Underwood Toyota Center October 6, 2010 Carrie Underwood is perfect for Vegas. That’s not a knock – mostly. Underwood is wholesome, engaging and dynamic. She’s no Tina Turner, but she can strut onstage. Her voice is excellent – good range and control, on key and expressive. Maybe she oversells…
The Rice Owls Go Mining For A Victory
If you ask the Rice Owls, they’ll tell you that they’re doing just about everything right. That they’re one or two plays from turning around the season. They’ll tell you about the improvement they’re seeing in this year’s team when compared to last year’s team. There’s a truth to what…
Jessica Simpson Feels The Pain Of Bullying Victims
There’s been a lot of talk about bullies lately. The suicides of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi and Hamilton Middle School’s Asher Brown have prompted renewed calls for bullying prevention, leading to things like the It Gets Better Project, which tries to convince LGBT youth that high school is, at most,…
Jessica Simpson Feels The Pain Of Bullying Victims
There’s been a lot of talk about bullies lately. The suicides of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi and Hamilton Middle School’s Asher Brown have prompted renewed calls for bullying prevention, leading to things like the It Gets Better Project, which tries to convince LGBT youth that high school is, at most,…
Wine of the Week: Clos du Bois 2008 North Coast Pinot Noir
Receiving this sample was like opening a long-awaited Christmas present. As a huge fan of the always-delicious Clos du Bois Chardonnay (especially when paired with fresh guacamole), I was anxious to taste the highly lauded Pinot Noir varietal from the Clos du Bois winemakers. The wine is thin with no…
Cage Match: Steven Curtis Chapman Vs. Vampire Weekend Vs. Witness To The Fallen
Ladies and Gentlemen, tonight a battle will be waged for your musical souls. Three opponents, each personifying an aspect of rock and roll – though for some that such a designation may be kindly inappropriate. In this corner, with his guitar and a somewhat peckerwood haircut, The Christmeister, Steven Curtis…
Houston Zoo May Improve Our City’s Brutal Reputation On Cable TV
For a while now, cable viewers have had their image of how Houston treats its animals shaped by Animal Planet’s Animal Cops, which shows us basically torturing very cute puppies, just for kicks.Happily, the image may be about to change, when the National Geographic WILD channel airs Zoo Confidential, a…
Flagship Hotel: Five Suggested Attractions For The New Amusement Park
Don’t miss the Galveston Police Whack-a-Mole gameAs was announced yesterday, the not-so-beloved Flagship Hotel in Galveston is being torn down so Tilman Fertitta’s Landry’s Restaurants can build an amusement park on its pier.What sort of attractions should be offered at the new destination? We have a few suggestions.5. The Balinese…
Bayou City Arts Festival
Finding cultural entertainment is never a problem in Houston, but cultural entertainment and something to hang over the sofa? Both can be obtained at the massive downtown Bayou City Arts Festival, featuring 300 artists working in 19 different media, among them jewels, leather, metal, pencils, paint and photography. Be sure…
Sideshow Tramps
We could tell you that the Sideshow Tramps sound like what might have happened if The Band had waltzed away from Winterland in ’76, made a brief pit stop in NoLa to kidnap a handful of second-line musicians, then spent a few years hanging out on general store porches deep…
Ghosts
Don’t come to the Classical Theatre Company’s production of Ghosts expecting something light and frothy. Through press materials, company Artistic Director John Johnston admits, “Ghosts is an intimate but powerful play that asks a lot of its actors and its audience.” This is Ibsen, after all, and like his other…
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
There’s a new attitude in psychedelic pop this decade — think big, as in lots of people sharing the stage. We’ve seen a growth of grand-sounding assemblages with large, free-floating memberships like Polyphonic Spree, Lansing-Dreiden, and Henri Fabergé and the Adorables. But none have imbued their naturally large sound with…
Omara Portuondo
Cuban singer Omara Portuondo, the only female member of the Buena Vista Social Club, won a Latin Grammy two years ago. She was 78 years old at the time. Now she’s celebrating her 80th birthday with a whirlwind concert tour that makes a stop in Houston today as part of…
Shakira
Without question, Shakira is Colombia’s hottest export since blow and plastic surgery. (Oddly, she doesn’t indulge in either.) Now in the business of donning belly shirts and shaking her moneymaker, the blond beauty has certainly come a long way from the quiet, dark-haired quasi-hippie on Pies Descalzos or the dreadlocked…
Houston Poetry Festival
There’s a growing sense that, while the Internet has made more information available to us all, it also has made us less productive and maybe even stupid Ñ at the very least, less capable of deep thinking. For this reason, the Houston Poetry Festival, now in its 25th year, might…
3rd Annual Bayou City Shrimp Festival
Like shrimp? Head over to the 3rd Annual Bayou City Shrimp Festival at Traders Village this weekend, where you’ll find it fried, boiled, broiled and grilled. Of course, there will be lots of Gulf Coast-style shrimp gumbo and a heaping of shrimp po-boys, too. There’ll be plenty of cold beer,…
Día De Los Muertos: Honoring our Past, Celebrating Our Future
MECA presents Día De Los Muertos: Honoring our Past, Celebrating Our Future. This event features an altar exhibit competition, foods, vendors selling authentic Latin American Día de los Muertos arts and crafts, and a Calavera Fashion Show. It is held at MECA’s campus located at the Dow School in Houston’s…
Echoes from Ugarit: The Oldest Music Notation in the World!
Pianist Malek Jandali’s solo concert, Echoes from Ugarit: The Oldest Music Notation in the World!, features his newest compositions. The music that inspired them was written in a form of notation that dates back to 3400 B.C. The notation system was found in an ancient city on the Mediterranean coast…
Under the Volcano: Oktoberfest
Under the Volcano will be celebrating Oktoberfest from 4 to 10 p.m. It will include a polka party with Mark Halata and Texavia. Also being offered for Oktoberfest are bratwurst and specials on beer served in one-liter German steins every day. 2349 Bissonnet. For information, call 713-526-5282 or visit www.underthevolcanohouston.com…
Gulf Coast Reading: Karyna McGlynn, Jason Daniels and Kevin Tynan
Poet Karyna McGlynn, appearing today at the Gulf Coast Reading series, earned legions of fans with her first collection of poetry, I Have to Go Back to 1994 and Kill a Girl. Her latest effort is Small Shrines, a collection of “odes to minor living celebrities” such as Jake Gyllenhaal,…
“23rd Annual Día de los Muertos” Exhibit
Mexico’s Day of the Dead makes the gringo tradition of running from house to house to get candy seem positively, well, juvenile. Day of the Dead revelers celebrate departed friends and family while enjoying the company of the living (and surrounding themselves with some creepy-looking skulls, skeletons and more otherworldy…
“BRWN PLNT”
A group of Latino artists tackles environmental issues in the exhibit “BRWN PLNT: That Which Is Undone.” The works in the show range from sculptures to paintings to multimedia pieces and are the result of conversations among a trio of environmental experts (Juan Parras, Arturo J. Blanco and Dr. Graciela…
Pecos Bill
Angela Foster, executive artistic director of the InterActive Theater Company, might be bragging a bit when she says, “Pecos Bill is easily one of the funniest productions we’ve ever put on the stage.” But bragging, boasting and telling tall tales is a regular part of Pecos Bill, a play about…
Carlos Fuentes
Famed Mexican author Carlos Fuentes believes that “in a novel, no one owns the truth.” For more than five decades, the world-renowned Fuentes has given readers three-dimensional, nuanced characters. Admired for his ability to blend the inner life of his characters with the politics of the world around them, effectively…
Free Night of Theater in Houston
There’s nothing better than a great night of theater, except maybe a great night of theater for free. The Houston Arts Alliance and the national Theatre Communications Group are offering fans a Free Night of Theater. You can choose between a musical, play, dance concert or any other kind of…
Tribute to Marco Bellocchio
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston has uniformly excellent film programming, so it’s difficult for a screening to stand above the rest, but this weekend’s Tribute to Marco Bellocchio does so quite easily. The films cover more than 30 years of Bellocchio’s career. Friday’s schedule includes Bellocchio’s first film, the…
Gemma Wilcox: Shadows in Bloom
Theater lovers are in for a treat with Gemma Wilcox: Shadows in Bloom. The new, already acclaimed one-woman show takes a look at a 30-year-old woman who is down and out and much, much too aware of her biological clock. Filled with vignettes and more than 20 characters, Shadows in…
44th Annual Greek Festival
Enjoy beer and wine? How about dancing? Tack on an even passing interest in feta cheese, and you’re pretty much Greek enough to enjoy the massive, ever-growing Greek Festival, now in its 44th year of dishing up tradition, tastiness and talent. Over the course of the fest’s three days, Houstonians…
Ira Glass
Writer/broadcaster Ira Glass knows he faces an intimidating task every time he steps onstage for a live performance. “The novelty of seeing somebody you hear on the radio all the time is good for a few minutes at least,” he says. “After that, I’m just trying to totally amuse the…
It Happened One Night
Every once in a while a film comes along that sweeps every major Academy Award. The Lord of the Rings did it a few years ago; back in 1934, it was It Happened One Night. The screwball comedy featured the illustrious talents of Claudette Colbert as a runaway socialite and…
Broadway Film Series: Shrek
The big, green guy known as Shrek is coming to the Hobby Center soon, and to get everyone in the mood, Gexa Energy Broadway at the Hobby Center is screening Shrek, the 2001 film that started it all. With singing, dancing and great scenery, the stage version of Shrek is…
Peter Sis
Award-winning author and illustrator Peter Sis is bringing his newest picture book, Madlenka, Soccer Star, to Blue Willow Bookshop. During the reading and signing session, Sis will discuss Madlenka’s latest adventure, a game of soccer with all the neighborhood regulars, including a dog, several cats, a parking meter and even…
Off the Bus
TALES FROM TRANSIT Not Quite So Bold Metro’s execs won’t be commuting via bus By Paul Knight George Greanias, Metro’s president, dropped a bombshell at a recent budget meeting, announcing that the agency’s Senior Management Team is turning in its company cars and being required to ride buses or the…
An Affair to Remember
Pamela Eleiott recently opened The Devine Affair (14021 Memorial, 281-759-6300) with 30-year industry veteran Dave Devine, formerly of George’s Pastaria and Montesano’s, among others. “Pamela has a passion for food and loves to entertain and throw parties,” says Devine. “She is also a great interior decorator and made the place…
Middle Eastern Nachos
It’s always a good rule to order the signature dish at any restaurant, especially when it has the restaurant’s name attached to it. At Café Mawal (6006 Fairdale, 713-977-1999), you won’t go wrong with the Mawal Signature Dish ($13), which is not unlike nachos. Made with crispy pita bread pieces…
Authentically Inauthentic
Take a look behind the scenes at Umai’s kitchen in our slideshow. A bowl of ramen — its thick, almost nutty broth steaming up from the table — sat in front of me at Umai Japanese Restaurant on my first visit. There aren’t that many places in town to get…
Capsule Art Reviews: “35 Years: Anniversary Exhibition,” “Harvey Bott: Paradigms in Paint and Wire,” “Richard Misrach: After Katrina,”
“35 Years: Anniversary Exhibition” Moody Gallery is 35! Packed with gallery artists, the anniversary show is like a big, riotous family reunion where all the crazy cousins showed up and brought art instead of a covered dish. Among the offerings, Michael Bise has a naked portrait of himself hooked up…
Capsule Stage Reviews: Chess, Driving Miss Daisy, Sleuth, The Waiting Room
Chess ABBA fans might be happy to know that an evening of tunes by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus is happening at the Hobby Center, thanks to Masquerade Theatre’s remounting of the musical Chess. Set during the cold war, the story holding together the ’80s pop music imagines a globe-trotting…
Intelligent Life
All April Evans wanted was peace of mind when she took hold of the microphone that afternoon, February 2, 2010. It was a Tuesday at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. An e-mail had been sent that morning, announcing three all-hands meetings that afternoon. These were optional and typically Evans skipped them,…
Special Gracias Edition
Dear Mexican: Mexico is truly an amazing, beautiful country! Huge oil reserves, mineral deposits second to none, tourist potential unparalleled! God gave Mexico every possible advantage. And yet the Mexicans, in all their wisdom and intellect, have turned it into a backwater, undeveloped narco-ruled Third World cesspool of corruption and poverty. How were…
Grand Prize’s Vieux Carre
Compared to other big cities, Houston does not have a hipster problem – if you feel otherwise, either your definition is too broad or you just got off a Greyhound from somewhere like Odessa. Still, when neighborhood sports bar Ernie’s closed and news broke that slightly more polished Grand Prize…
Vampire Weekend
When it burst on the scene two years ago with its self-titled, Afro-centric, indie-pop debut, Vampire Weekend was the subject of such overheated blogger buzz and hipster adoration that it didn’t even have to await its sophomore release before the backlash began. Hopefully all the haters got it out of…
Gaslight Anthem
The Gaslight Anthem sound harks back to the Jersey Shore of yore — a place that’s about as far away as you can get from the grotesque excesses displayed by MTV’s Jersey Shore and, um, Pauly D’s hair. For ever-earnest singer Brian Fallon and his band, it’s a blue-collar thing,…
Village of the Doomed
Published five years ago, Kazuo Ishiguro’s massively praised Never Let Me Go is set in an alternate universe where life has been extended and catastrophic illness eliminated, thanks to an evolutionary advance, namely the harvesting of vital organs from specially bred human clones. But that’s backstory. Despite its lurid premise,…
The National
Matt Berninger’s warbling baritone has the gruff, amber warmth of whiskey. As intoxicating as his band’s songs are, it’s arguable that his voice is at least 80 proof by itself. Berninger is front man of The National, a gorgeously morose band that has become one of the brightest talents in…
Cuckoo Chic
A film seemingly designed to get every New York City honors student face-punched at college, It’s Kind of a Funny Story chronicles a privileged Brooklyn high-schooler’s super-cool institutionalized mental-health break. Hot for his best friend’s girlfriend, stressed out over an application to a prestigious summer school and audaciously neglectful of…
Two Cow Garage
When Two Cow Garage burst out of the unlikely burg of Columbus, Ohio, onto the alt-country scene with 2002’s Please Turn the Gas Back On, we have to admit we didn’t expect these young Midwesterners to last long with a name like that. They were young, they were passionate, they…
At Her Mercy
Nature is beautiful, romantic and tranquil — that is, until you are in the middle of it. For most of human history, we have been trying to conquer, control and triumph over nature, creating safe shelter so as not to be at its mercy. Of course, now that we have…
Inanimate Objects
The Inanimate Objects may be new to us, but they’re hardly new. Like first-wave stalwarts the Hates, the local trio has been around since the early ’80s, when they opened for Hüsker Dü, San Francisco’s Los Microwaves and Pearland’s The Judy’s at long-gone Main Street punk redoubt The Island. Copies…
Tailgating in Midtown
From afar, beer pong looks like an absolutely unnecessary activity. But up close? Man, watching people play the regular beer-pong tournaments at Christian’s Tailgate (2000 Bagby), it’s… it’s… actually, we suppose up close it’s unnecessary too. Essentially, beer pong is like that game they used to play on the Bozo…
School of Seven Bells
Atmospheric pop trio School of Seven Bells – identical twins Claudia and Alejandra Deheza, plus guitarist Benjamin Curtis, formerly of ex-Dallas prog-rock outfit Secret Machines – released debut Alpinisms in 2008. It was a ghostly wisp of music, and its follow-up, this year’s Disconnect From Desire, is similarly hazy. With…
Money and Mercy
Peninsula Parish Online readers comment on “No Mercy,” by John Nova Lomax, September 22: Sad: We had a vacation home in Bolivar for years. Generations of my family attended this church in the ’60s, and I found this story very sad and disturbing indeed. R. King Money talks: John Lomax…
Blitzen Trapper
Lady Liberty should adorn Blitzen Trapper’s album covers, and so should this remixed inscription: Give us your old, tired genres yearning to breathe anew. The Portland sextet has been quilting together hard-to-pigeonhole blends of American music for a decade, but the band hit the critical sweet spot with 2008’s Furr…
Remedial Ed
Davis Guggenheim’s call-to-arms documentary on the failures of the U.S. public-education system — thoroughly laudable in intention if maddening in its logic and omissions — originated with his own guilty conscience. An Academy Award winner for 2006’s An Inconvenient Truth, the director, whose debut doc, 2001’s The First Year, heralded…
Accept, King’s X
If you are planning on coming to see lil’ Udo Dirkschneider at the helm of Accept to sing hit single “Balls To the Wall” Wednesday, you are plum out of luck. The diminutive Teutonic terror left the band a while back and is not participating in any new projects, but…
This Is Happening
Being misunderstood is a career hazard when your career involves being the front man and principal songwriter for LCD Soundsystem. But even James Murphy seemed taken aback when, a week after the Internet debut of “Drunk Girls,” the first single off his band’s third and supposedly final LP, This Is…
Who Is Edward Sharpe?
As the only 10-piece evangelical rock tribe in the history of the universe to publicly arouse the curiosity of Jay-Z, Beyoncé Knowles and the assorted occupants of the couple’s four-Escalade entourage, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes have some questions to answer. For starters: Who, or what, is Edward Sharpe?…
