Comments of the Day
Today Christine Ha wrote about her “Top 5 Foods Best Found in Houston,” and a ruckus ensued. Some commenters didn’t like the list, like SirRon, who said: Almost every single item on this list can be better found in a city not named Houston. We can enjoy the great Houston…
Optimism 2011: HISD May Lose Less Than Expected in State Funds
Could the Houston ISD have cut too much? According to Chief Financial Officer Melinda Garrett today, the latest news from the state Legislature is that if the so-called Eissler (Rep. Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands) amendment is adopted, the district may have actually cut $16.4 million too much from its upcoming…
Texas State Reps Passing Around Porn, Colleague Says
Things got a little odd on the floor of the Texas House this afternoon. As the Texas Tribune reports, and several media members are tweeting, female members are expressing outrage over the flyer to the right, with one calling it pornography. On the other hand, the one who referred to…
Remember Herney The Great’s Diary of a Young Black Male?
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. Herney the Great Diary of a Young Black Male (Self-released, 2011) Herney the Great is an occasionally explosive, always…
MLB 2K11 Version of Houston Astros Makes (Terrible) History
Video games have always been one of the more underrated enemies of society. When I was a kid, sitting around and playing Atari or Intellivision all day was completely frowned upon by parents. The mall arcade was where the “hoodlum” kids went to smoke cigarettes and try to shatter their…
Breakfast Tacos at Villa Arcos
Look, I am an Upstate New Yorker who moved to Houston via Fairbanks, Alaska, so I’m not going to shine you on like I’m some world-renowned expert on what a breakfast taco is “supposed” to be, okay? But a few weeks ago, after a rigorous 6 a.m. hot yoga class,…
Jack Ingram Headlining City’s July 4 Freedom Festival
Not counting the fireworks, Woodlands native Jack Ingram, one of the first artists to cross over from the Texas Music circuit to mainstream country success with songs like “Wherever You Are,” “Maybe She’ll Get Lonely,” and his cover of Hinder’s “Lips of an Angel,” will headline the City of Houston’s…
HPD Seeks Smiling Woman in Connection With Nursing-Home Death
This chipper-looking woman, caught on a security cam, is being sought by Houston police in connection with the May 8 death of a man in an assisted-living center. Willie Hightower, 66, was found dead in his room at the center in the 600 block of East Tidwell amid signs of…
The Best Pam Grier Movie Posters Ever
Today is foxy mama Pam Grier’s birthday, and the 62-year old actress, model, and African-American icon has starred in some of the wildest and weirdest movies of the past 40 years, starting with films about chicks in prison, before moving on to appear in some of the most beloved flicks…
Tow Down: Busted Rapper/Grower’s Lyrical Tipoffs
The Bubba Sparxxx of Fort Bend County, Tow Down, was arrested Wednesday for using three houses as weed nurseries, where he and several associates including his older brother cultivated more than 600 marijuana plants, the U.S. Attorney’s office announced today. As our sister blog Hair Balls noted earlier, this is…
DARKE | gallery Fostering 2011’s Fiber-Art Showcase
“The Year of the Quilt” has arrived in Houston. On Wednesday, DARKE | gallery, 320 Detering Street, announced that they’re showcasing a two-person exhibition of works in what New York City’s American Folk Art Museum recently proclaimed as being the medium of choice in 2011. “Intersections” — scheduled to open…
Hungry Suit Wants You to Eat Like a Human
The motto at downtown start-up Hungry Suit is “Eat like a human.” And by “human,” the company clearly means the kind of human who orders room service in fancy hotels — not that I’m complaining. The photo above shows a typical lunch spread that Hungry Suit delivers to downtown office…
Wayback Machine to Bad Houston Fashion and Even Worse Ads
Local media Mike McGuff has made a YouTube discovery that should make happy anyone who grew up in Houston in the `70s and early `80s — a compilation of old news clips and ads. There are some famous faces: Dan Rather, Jessica Savitch, a very young Bill Worrell and Mattress…
Titanic and Four Other Horrible Things That Shouldn’t Be in 3D
When a reporter writes a story, he gets a check. Sometimes, another publication likes that story so much that they want to run it in their publication. When that happens (sometimes), they send the writer another check, which is awesome because you already did the work. Now picture that check…
Leonora Carrington (1917-2011): Surrealism Master Passes Away in Mexico City
The greatest living surrealist has left the planet. Leonora Carrington, an English-born artist who became one of the greatest masters of surrealism painting and sculpture, died in her adoptive home of Mexico City, where she fled during World War II. She was 94 years old. BBC News confirmed Carrington’s death…
Greatest Grub: Pulled Pork
Although beef may be the big daddy of Texas barbecue, one cannot underestimate the power of the pulled pork. Here are some favorites from both Eating Our Words writers and kind citizens I accosted on the street. Did your favorite make the list? From Eating Our Words: Christina Uticone Gatlin’s…
Beyonce’s 4 & 11 Other Numerical Album Titles
Beyonce is not the first artist to title her album after a number. Here are 11 more – one of which B may have to unseat from the top of the charts when her fourth solo album, 4, is released next month. Chicago, Chicago III-Twenty 1 (1971-91): Chicago had a…
Big Range Dance Festival: Blending Dance, Movement and Theater
The styles and influences explored during Suchu Dance’s annual Big Range Festival is as broad and all-encompassing as its name. Back for its ninth year, the festival is one of Houston’s most anticipated contemporary dance events, with eight days of performances and three different programs of dance works. The event…
Rapper Tow Down, Others Arrested Yet Again for Growing Weed
Houston rapper Tow Down, who’s been arrested before for using several Fort Bend County homes as weed greenhouses, has been nailed again. The U.S. Attorney’s office has announced that “Bryan Andrew Theriot aka Toe Down, 33,” (no rap points for the USAO), his brother Bernard, 37, and six others were…
Quail with (Four) Sweet Potato Fries at Indika
A few days before I skipped town for the summer I finally went to Indika. God knows what took me so long, considering the restaurant’s consistently positive reviews and my love of all things curry and masala. Around 9 p.m. on a weekend night, the restaurant was swarming with large…
Houston Is an International “City of Opportunity”
A big new report by PwC, which used to be PriceWaterhouseCoopers, says Houston is one of 26 “Cities of Opportunity” in the world today. The only other American cities: New York, LA, Chicago and San Francisco. Pretty classy company. We came in 11th when a wide range of factors such…
Game of Thrones: 7 Observations from a Newbie (and Pop Rocks Pinch-Hitter)
Pete Vonder Haar couldn’t file a Pop Rocks today, so it falls to me to do so. Since he is also our chronicler of all things Game of Thrones, I will pick up that mantle too. I’m not much of a fantasy person at all, but I find myself getting…
The Astros Suck. Is It Their Music?
Wandy Rodriguez is Rocks Off’s new favorite Astro. Not because the Domincan southpaw has actually posted decent numbers for Houston’s hometown cellar-dwellers this year (3-3 W-L, 3.41 ERA, 53 strikeouts), but because Rodriguez has one of the few pieces of “walkup music” – the snippet of a song that plays…
Helena Bonham Carter: 8 Red Carpet Moments That Made Us Scratch Our Heads
Today’s the 45th birthday of Helena Bonham Carter, Hollywood’s answer to Jekyll and Hyde. Bonham Carter, who was nominated this year for a best actress Oscar for The King’s Speech, often plays the straight-laced period roles that earned her the nickname “corset queen” early in her career. The red carpet…
Calf-Farm Animal Cruelty Video Results in Criminal Charges
Last month we reported on a pretty shocking hidden-camera video that showed workers at a calf farm in the Panhandle town of Hart bashing animals on the head with hammers and pickaxes. The owner of E6 Cattle Company, Kirt Espenson, told us at the time that four employees had been…
Desi Living, Houston-Style
In this week’s feature, we explore the fast-growing Hillcroft area, home to Houston’s newly designated Mahatma Gandhi District. Although most of the history of the area is told through the eyes of Raja Sweets — the oldest continually operating Indian restaurant in Texas, it so happens — I interviewed many…
Dallas Mavs’ Promo Video: A Life & Death Battle of the Gods, Examined Second By Excruciating Second
Above is the official promo video put out by the Dallas Mavericks for their ongoing playoff run. It just may be the single most defensive and embarrassing such video ever, but hey, it’s from Dallas. Let’s examine this thing. Throughout, the music is so over-the-top dramatic it makes “O Fortuna”…
Idol Beat: Beam Me Up, Scotty
Thanks to Shea Serrano for taking the bullet yesterday. After what felt like eons, the 10th season of American Idol lurched to its inevitable anticlimax last night. It was as especially torturous affair, stretching well over two hours and mixing performances by the new (Lady Gaga…again), the established (Tim McGraw),…
Food Fight: Battle of the Fast Food Chicken Salads
I love chicken salad, but it’s almost always chock full of calories and fat, usually due to mayonnaise, which is about 80 percent fat on its own. Why? Why must chicken salad be so delicious but so awful for you? It’s just not fair. Does a chicken salad sandwich have…
Idol Beat: American Idiots
Thanks to Shea Serrano for taking the bullet yesterday. After what felt like eons, the 10th season of American Idol lurched to its inevitable anticlimax last night. It was as especially torturous affair, stretching well over two hours and mixing performances by the new (Lady Gaga…again), the established (Tim McGraw),…
Alley’s Pygmalion Gets Shaw Right
The set-up: Meeting ragged guttersnipe Eliza Doolittle (Elizabeth Bunch) who sells violets outside Covent Garden and wails in “kerbstone English,” phonics professor Henry Higgins (Todd Waite) bets his confidante Col. Pickering (James Black) that he can pass her off as a duchess within three months. All upward mobility needs is…
Shuttle Endeavour in Hi-Def: Its Final Liftoff
NASA has released hi-def video of the shuttle Endeavour’s final liftoff, from cameras mounted at various points on the outside of the vehicle. Your tax dollars at work! Enjoy…
Chef Chat, Part 2: Renato De Pirro of Ristorante Cavour
Yesterday, Ristorante Cavour executive chef Renato De Pirro told us how he came to Houston from Las Vegas. Today we’ll hear about working with a Hell’s Kitchen winner, Chef De Pirro’s love for the Cowboys, and the new summer menu at Ristorante Cavour. EOW: Heather West, the Season 2 winner…
Skeleton Dick: Decoding Houston’s No. 1 Punk Band’s Stupid Name
It’s a well-known fact that most band names are essentially gobbledygook, but here at Rocks Off we’re trying hard to find meaning in the oddest monikers. Skeleton Dick currently reigns as Houston’s top punk ac, with a trophy and everything to prove it. We’ve been fans and friends of the…
Monochromatic Mania: Myke Venable’s Clustered Paintings
If you’re a fan of squares and solid colors, Myke Venable’s paintings might be up your alley. The Houston artist paints square canvases and then joins two or three of them together to create abstract compositions. The result looks kind of like those pattern block creations you used to make…
Top 5: Foods Best Found in Houston
Travel & Leisure recently named Houston as America’s Best Burger City. But as many Houstonians would tell the nation, Houston is known for much more than just burgers. It’s a melting pot of culture and cuisine, and thus offers awesome dishes beyond the typical burger, steak and barbecue. Here are…
My Head Hurts, My Feet Stink: Five Songs For A Hangover
Every now and then after a night out, Lonesome, Onry and Mean’s head feels like it’s been in a fight with some guy who owns a nail gun. While we may no longer be on a regular first-name basis with morning – nor, by way of waiver, are we particularly…
Comment of the Day: That Is One Hideous Real Estate Listing
We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it’s time we paid some damn attention to them. So we’ll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day’s work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula…
Comment of the Day: Huh?
For the past few weeks, our own Christina Uticone has been giving us the blow-by-blow of each episode of NBC’s The Voice. Whats started out as a mildly promising venture in which contestants were chosen based on their voices alone has become the inevitable self-destructive cluster in which the best…
Game of Thrones: 7 Observations from a Newbie (and Pop Rocks Pinch-Hitter)
Pete Vonder Haar couldn’t file a Pop Rocks today, so it falls to me to do so. Since he is also our chronicler of all things Game of Thrones, I will pick up that mantle too. I’m not much of a fantasy person at all, but I find myself getting…
Spin Doctors’ Houstonian Bassist Talks Grooves, Kryptonite
Though they’ve often been unfairly characterized as strictly a “jam band,” The Spin Doctors were in fact one of the more underrated acts of the ’90s, particularly as a live unit. The group’s 1991 debut, Pocket Full of Kryptonite, proved a commercial smash with songs like “Little Miss Can’t Be…
Hurricane Season 2011: Ten Questions Answered for Storm Newbies
On June 1, the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season officially opens for business. If it is anything like 2010, business will be good. But, before we get into all that, we thought it might be helpful to answer a few questions for all of you who either don’t know much about…
Cheeseburger, Greyhound-Style
Every time I gaze down on its bright lights from my balcony at night, the Greyhound bus station taunts me. Look past the homeless man deliberately coughing on cars as they drive by and the cab driver yelling at the drug dealers, and you’ll see it too: the bright blue…
100 Creatives: Kia Neill
What she does: Kia Neill is a multi-discipline artist known for her installations, sculptures and drawings created to look like natural artifacts and landscapes — such as shells, coral, geodes, and caves — with a hyper-fantasized twist, as if exploring some type of exotic, fictional environment. “I saw the geodes…
Top 5 Celebrities Who Tried to Go All NASCAR…and Failed
If you’re going to travel at more than 80 miles an hour over the limit, you should probably be a professional speedster and not a celebrity with run-of-the-mill driving know-how. On Tuesday, Kyle Busch, a championship-winning NASCAR driver and team owner, was caught going 83 (eighty-freaking-three!) miles per hour over…
