Houstonist

Weekendist Nov. 20-22: Art all day every day

Brittanie Shey — 2009-11-20T16:30:00-06:00

Oh my goodness, Houstonist is SO overwhelmed by everything that is happening this weekend.

ALL WEEKEND

Spacetaker's Winter Holiday Art Market, Friday, Saturday and Sunday (see link for hours). Winter Street Studios, 2101 Winter Street. Free to get in but bring cash if you want to shop.
Via Colori Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Sam Houston Park, Allen Parkway and Bagby. Free to get in, but donation and proceeds go towards the Center for Hearing and Speech.

FRIDAY

6 p.m. — Opening reception for new exhibits at Lawndale Art Center. Artist talks at 6 p.m. The works will be on display through January 9. Free, 4912 Main Street.
10 p.m. — Fistful of Soul record dance party at the Mink, featuring food by Ray's Franks. Free, 3718 Main St.

SATURDAY

10 a.m. — Need a helmet? The Houston Parks Board is donating 50 top-of-the-line helmets to the first 50 kids under16 who need and want a helmet, at the Jamail Skate Park. Helmets are required to skate in the park. Plus, they're a good idea any time. Free, 103 Sabine Street.
10 a.m. — Your Bright Future: Contemporary Art from Korea open at the MFAH, through Feb. 14. This looks awesome, but Houstonist has a soft spot for all things Korean, having lived there for more than two years. Free with membership, $7 otherwise. 1001 Bissonnet at Main.
10 a.m. to 9 p.m. — Art Crawl Houston, one of our favorite annual events. Wander the warehouses of northeast downtown, drink free wine and see work from local artists. Free. See map here.
7 p.m. — Opening at Blossom Street Gallery, featuring Reaction, a collection of found object-based work by Dirty Bird Studios. Free, 4809 Blossom Street.
10 p.m. — Reverberations at Boondocks. Dance to garage rock, psych, blue and more from the '60s. Free, 1417 Westheimer.

Photo: Flickr user eschipul

Houstonist Bartender: Salty Dog

Mary Jane — 2009-11-20T15:00:00-06:00

Oddly enough, the winter is when our citrus ripens, we find that we get more fruit than we can say grace over each year. So, we pawn it off on friends and juice what we have room to freeze, then we either eat the rest - or make fresh juice. You know, now that we think on it - our growing season is all off-kilter from our consuming season. Okra peaks in the summer, but, it is too damn hot to eat gumbo (although hot coffee + hot day = just fine), then we have this winter citrus quandary. This is one of our favorite drinks, tart-ish and refreshing - a great alternative to all that National Beer of Texas we consume.

Salty Dog

1 1/2 oz good vodka (Monopolowa, Skyy, Absolut - not a peep about Skyy, ees good)
juice of 1/2 grapefruit, reserving enough juice to wet glass rim
2 teaspoons simple syrup (recipe follows)
salt for rimming the glasses (medium-coarse sea salt looks very nice)

Dip the rim of a cocktail glass in the grapefruit juice and dip in salt. Fill glass almost to the top with ice. Combine the vodka, a generous 1/4 cup of grapefruit juice and simple syrup. Pour into glass, quaff. Repeat as needed.

Simple Syrup

Simply combine 2 cups sugar and 2 cups water in a saucepan, bring to a boil over medium-high heat until sugar is fully disolved. Cool completely, refrigerate. Make dranks.

Don't be a dumbass, be sweet and responsible. Remember to watch some football this weekend. Our beloved Texans will face the despised, villanous, flipper-offer Titans of Tennessee this Monday. The beloved Texans have a shot at the play offs, even with our favorite tight end and uber-hottie, Owen Daniels, out for the season - we have a great starting team, getting some depth at several key positions. You no like the football? We no care - go out, eat sports bar foods and have a reasonable amount of beverages and cheer. All you have to do to look like you are educated with regard to the game.....find someone in Texans garb...they yell, you yell, they jump up and down and do crazy dances....you do that too. Support our team, and remember.....Bud Sucks (the team owner, not the beer).

Okay, we're bitter, we admit - first we suffer that heinous loss to the Bills, we were up like, what? 35 points? We were the Houston Oilers, now, we are the Texans - let's get this straight, there are no Oilers - that jackass kept the team name, why? he's a jackass, a whackadoodle jackass. There are no Oilers - they are dead to us. Sure, Bud may have thought he was avenging that faux pas of a football expedition in giving the bird to everyone in his line of sight. He forgot - that was in Houston, he's not here, nor are the Titans (he's getting the dementia, just saying). Do not wear Oiler throw-back uniforms, it's an abomination. And, while we're at it, HEY BUD, DON'T YOU OWE THE COUNTY FOR THAT LAST EXPANSION WE PAID FOR TO MEET YOUR DEMANDS, TO KEEP THE TEAM???? Okay, we're done now - where the hell is our cocktail?

Last Chance To See 600 sq mi: Hidden

Marc Brubaker — 2009-11-20T13:30:00-06:00

Hopefully by now you've been able to swing by Xnihilo Gallery and have a look at the wonderful photography exhibition that we put together known as 600 sq mi: Hidden. If, however, you've been too much of a lazy bum or busy bee in the last six weeks, make sure you catch it this weekend before it is too late.

The installation will come down on Monday afternoon, so whether you've never seen it or you'd like to drop by for one more viewing, make it quick. While you're there, grab a cup from Taft Street Coffee as well - and yes, you can bring your latte into the gallery. Xnihilo is located at 2115 Taft Street, in the Montrose [77006].

We'd like to extend our many thanks to everyone who was involved in pulling off this wonderful exhibition, submitted works, attended the opening, left a comment in the guestbook, bought a piece, and has stopped by to see the show. So with a grand bow and a sweep of the arm, Houstonist thanks you!

Houstonist Flickr Photo of the Day - Untitled

Eric S. — 2009-11-20T11:59:00-06:00

Untitled
by goodbye nikolai

With the work week almost behind us, here's to looking forward to the weekend.

If you have a passion for Houston and photography, consider joining a whole bunch of Houston's best photographers in the Houstonist Flickr Photo Group. Each day, Houstonist chooses a Photo of the Day and if Houstonist uses your photo, submit it here.

Missed Connections: Gefilte Fish...and "Chain Connections"

Mary Jane — 2009-11-20T10:00:00-06:00

Each week Houstonist checks out Missed Connections on Craiglist. Here's a few that we found interesting.

Gefiltefish Kosher Salted

Pfenig up the bream schmaltzy sheath, painted eyelids sequins on stilettos
Pink-slicked blips
stealthy slips ‘thout a hitch
acorns on stilettos

Tottering aubles, Odette waters her mien
And conversation rises from douche to ditch
while the gazetteer holds his pee
he is so hypnotized by stilettos…

Ev’ning in the geisha house
fishtale in his powder milk sky
the orchestra runkles to stilettos

Pfenig up the bream
schmaltzy sheath, painted eyelids
sequins on stilettos

Pink-slicked blips
stealthy slips 'thout a hitch
acorns on stilettos

Tottering bobbles, one for Monsieur, one for Madam
Swooning to touch touché toulouse tête-à-tête
while the gazetteer holds his bee
he is so hypnotized by stilettos

Ev’ning in the geisha house
fishtales in a powder milk sky
Sushi, eye makeup, bobbles and stilettos

We're verklempt, gefilte fish, geisha's, "ho-letto's", poetry? Perhaps the most fabulous post on MC, ever. Now.....we're going to be watching for a reply from the "poetry-hater" from a couple of weeks ago, who posted MC rules of engagement. (There's a vegetarian gefilte fish.....check this out!)

How hard can it be to find another you. (Dancing at Chayn's)

I don't know hard it will be to find another you,even though i've tried in everyway i could.

Um, go shake your groove thang at another "club" - if you keep to the "area" around Chayn's, odds are in your favor. Can't hurt....well, could get expensive, but, hey - she's worth it.

Don't want this to end - w4m

Last year you and I had a crazy sex affair that got a little out of hand towards the end. Everything started out unusual and things progressed too quickly and ended harshly. Recently though we have been seeing each other again. And I guess I’m telling you this on here because I’m too scared to say it to your face- and that’s not me at all. I think if I were to tell you in person you would end things again. But here goes….

The unusual way we met led you to not trust me. I’ve always hated that- I wish I could do something or say something to make you trust me. You were the most fun I’ve ever had in two months. I’ve gone a year thinking about you all the time and what could have been if only we had met under different circumstances. Would you respect me more or show me that you really do care. I know I’m just your play thing now, and that’s fine with me because I at least have that much with you.

One day this thing you and I have has to end…. which is sad, but that’s life. I just want you to know that you opened doors for me that I never knew existed. You are crazy and wild and that’s what I love about you. After only knowing me for such a short while you knew who I was and you understood me. I could talk to you about anything and not feel judged and you always helped me understand what I could not. I like your company and enjoy talking to you and when this little sex thing between us ends I just hope we can still be friends.

Every man's dream - a woman who'll allow herself to be used, and is "wild", hell, unfettered, perhaps. The unusual way you met? We can't help but think that initial encounter was at the XXXMart? But wait, she's professing "lurve" and wants to still be friends, dude - run, she's gone whackadoodle on you. Next thing you know, she'll be sitting in front of your house, looking all crazed and trying to figure out how to get you and your nuclear family all to herself, without that evil bitch that's in her way.......just saying. The affair is never, ever allowed to be "friend", that's just the rules, deal.

Could someone tell me how I can find her. (Dancing at Chayn's)

I've been looking for her so long.Not a day in my life has gone by,that I don't think of her.So I'm asking if someone can help me find her,because I need her,and the very special way she looks into my eyes,and lets me know how much she really cares,and there will never be another love like ours.I can't count how many days I have seen her face,and have dreamed of holding her in my arms,walking on the sand,watching the waves come in,and feeling the wind go through her hair,and how beautiful it is to hold her,and see her smile.I can't get her out of my mind,it doesn't matter how hard I try.How many dreams do I have to dream,how many wishes do I have to wish,before I find her,and know she will be with me forever.Everytime I see a snowflake,hear a raindrop,and see the wind going through the trees,shes there with me.When I think of anything beautiful,I think of her,and dream of the moment in time when I will find her.Could someone tell me,because I need her,and how very special she is to me.

More Chayn's? Really? We are now seeking out these entries regarding Chayn's and this incredible unrequited love.....people have wasted away and died for less (well, in the 1800's). Seriously....they probably make a "pill" for that, but, you're amusing us, so do carry on. We told you how to find her, in your first plea for "help"....so, dust off the "Loverboy" red leather britches and that sleeveless union jack shirt....rrrrraaarrrrrrrr, go get her.

"I TRULY do Miss You" - m4w (anywhere)

You opened it. Good Luck! Tonight at midnight your true love will realize they love you. Something good will happen to you at 1:00PM-4:40PM tomorrow, it could be anywhere. Tonight at midnightv they will remember how much they loved you as well. You will get the shock of your life tomorrow, a good one. If you break the chain you will be cursed with relationship problems for the next 2 years. Karma. If there you onced loved (or still do) and can't get them out of your mind, repost this in another city within next five minutes. It's amazing how it works! If you really miss someone a past love and can't seem to get them off your mind... then repost this titled as "I TRULY do Miss You." Whomever you are missing will surprise you.. Don't break this, for tonight at midnight, your true love will realize they love you. And...something great will happen tomorrow

Well, we did not go post this on another city's MC section. We're honestly shocked to see a chain entry on the MC, but, it was bound to happen. Someone, somewhere - who's apparently terribly bored, is getting a kick out of watching this patheticness replicate all over the Craigslist......because (and we know because we read it - we have to, it's our job) there are just scads of desperate, emotionally weak people who just cannot moveon.org and are pining for a past love, or trying to hook up with that persone who knows who they are, from you know where - just tell me, what was I wearing? We've cursed ourselves....our one true love, whom we've missed and didn't know it - gone, forever. The horror.

i saw your butt crack - m4w - 35 (at the bar)

Saturday night at the bar, I was there by myself, and while you were busy a short distance away, your low cut jeans had slid down a bit, revealing a nice juicy slice of ass, a good 3 inches of the crack was sticking out. Normally, this would be a turn off, you know, the plumber or repairman stereotype. But it just looked so nice, the round swell of your butt cheeks, showed off beautifully by your fitted jeans, and now, with this little tease, I became much more aroused. Plus, you don't have a tramp stamp interrupting the nice landscape with some idiotic design that represents your soul escaping...I must say that I would love to visit with that gorgeous behind some more, I can I am sure think of many activities that I will enjoy with it...and if you would enjoy them too, tell me what you were doing when I got the peek. Or tell me what I was wearing. or tell me what bar it was. Or tell me the song was playing on the jukebox. Just tell me something so that I know that this wasn't all a dream or a glimpse of heaven.

A sphincter says what? This is the first avowed assman we've spotted on craigslist - and he likes tat-free butt crack, what are the odds?

bc smoke shop - w4m - 22 (houston)

i was in there last saturday. i had my dog with me and you were beyond helpful. i left my number... but i guess i wasnt cool enough :(
hahha or maybe i was too cooL!?!

at anyrate you seemed nice and i wanted to tell you how everything worked out but never heard from you.... what happened???

She got what she needed at the smoke shop, went home and got totally baked - perhaps that explains the forgetfulness (and a strange penchant for pork rinds and Little Debbie snack cakes with a Big Red to wash it all down).
---
Photo: flickr user fd.

Rock Talk, Vol. IX

Marc Brubaker — 2009-11-19T15:00:00-06:00

Aw, you didn't think that the good doctor forgot about you yesterday, did you? Don't worry. The office was simply a bit overwhelmed with patients this week, what with Block Party and all. Here's everything you need to know from the past week, plus a bonus day. Hooray!

Tunes
Dave Wrangler dropped us a line to let us know you can download his NASA vs YACHT remix, The Mayor. He also promised that he has "a ton of fresh new tracks to send out in the next 45 days" and says his Under the Influence remix album will come out January 1st.

Team Science! Records just put out a 10" record from Franz Nicolay of The Hold Steady. It looks pretty sweet, and we can't wait to get our hands on it.

Local producer/emcee Jett I. Masstyr dropped a new instrumental album, Vacation on Tatooine, that you can get for free. IndieHouston has all the details.

Co-Pilot slapped five new songs up on their MySpace.

Videos
The latest Live from Joe Mathlete's Living Room features Hearts of Animals, and it is definitely worth watching.

Chelsea Hotel played at Röcbar on Sunday, and has a video to prove it.

Female Demand posted a video that features their 15 minutes from the most recent episode of Live From Sugar Hill.

Insert Name Here took their video camera to Summer Fest, and posted the result.

Thee Armada gave us a glimpse at what their Rocktober show looked like.

News, etc.
Finnegan is putting down some more demos. We don't have them yet, but you can read the lyrics to two new songs.

The Literary Greats' Ocean, Meet The Valley has climbed each week on the CMJ charts, reaching #123 in its third week.

Andrew Karnavas had a rather inspiring conversation with Jandek at Block 7. Jandek's advice? "YOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU WANT. Fuck the world."

Eric Davis is lobbying for a historical marker that will pay tribute to Sam "Lightnin" Hopkins. We fully support this endeavor.

Friday night is the opening for what should be a really cool show covering the last decade of concert posters in Houston at Caroline Collective.

Until next Wednesday, Rock Talk is dismissed.

H-Town Rock

Marc Brubaker — 2009-11-19T14:00:00-06:00

For the weekend of November 19th - 22nd, 2009

The weekend before Thanksgiving is certainly a popular one for events, and this year is no different - Art Crawl, Via Colori, Spacetaker's WHAM, a You[Genious] release party, some art openings and a whole smattering of other happenings are going on this weekend. Houstonist supposes that no one wants to try to fight the holiday weekend. We're not complaining, but it certainly has our concert calendar full.

We expect nothing less from you tonight than to make an appearance at the latest installment in 29-95's stellar free Thursday series at The Continental Club. This week's show features Grandfather Child, whose praises we can be found singing quite frequently - they'll take you to church [and not like that time your mom found you... well you know]. Then we'll try to slip down to Willy's Pub at Rice quick enough to catch the ever-entertaining Fat Tony.

Houstonist would really like to go see just how dirty Bob Saget can be on Friday, but we don't have the pocket change lying around to ~~feed his coke habit~~, er, buy tickets. We plan on catching some "Texas Vato-Billy" at Rudyard's.

Saturday is jam-packed. After hitting up Art Crawl, the WHAM [which will also have music but we don't know who & when], Via Colori, and Cactus Music, Houstonist is going to head over the the good ol' Orange Show for some smooth talk courtesy of You[Genious]. Spain Colored Orange [who will be having a rather busy weekend] will be sitting in as his live backing band, The Misfits of R&B. Fat Tony will be there too, so we wouldn't dream of missing it. We heard a rumor that students & wearers of Hawaiian shirts [it's luau-themed] will gain entry for a meager five bones.

Houstonist recommends topping off your weekend by stopping by Via Colori's impressive Sunday lineup [Buxton, Wild Moccasins and Elaine Greer back-to-back? Yes, please!] before catching our favorite red-headed songstress, Neko Case, at Warehouse Live.

Let us know where you'll be, and if you know something that's not on the calendar [like that WHAM lineup].

Thursday, November 19th
Crossing Togo [CD Release] at Mucky Duck
David Ramirez, The Federalists, Chris Hawkes, Jamie Harris, Harrison Hudson at Bohemeo's
Fat Tony at Willy's Pub [Rice University]
Grandfather Child at Continental Club
Hatebreed, Cannibal Corpse, Unearth, Born Of Osiris, Hate Eternal at Meridian
Hed PE, Trancend & Elysian at Scout Bar
The Hidden Images, Lasien, Witness The Fall at Jet Lounge
Jackopierce at Warehouse Live
Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights, The Effects at House of Blues [Bronze Peacock]
Julian Marley, Stephen Marley, Javaughn, Gully Bank Sound System at House of Blues
Los Pistoleros de Texas at Charlie's Big Top
News on the March, Little Joe Washington, Capybara, Free Radicals at Mango's
Pat Wictor, Billy Bourbon at Anderson Fair
Spain Colored Orange, The Tiles, Passive Agressive at Walter's

Friday, November 20th
Black Dog, Fab 5 at Fitzgerald's
Bob Saget, Ryan Stout at House of Blues
The Bright Light Social Hour at Super Happy Fun Land
Dana Cooper at NiaMoves
Dax Riggs, Duncan Johnson & The Gentlemen at The Mink
Deafening, Saturate, Dine Alone, Dead Bolt Zen at Fitzgerald's [downstairs]
Dirty Love & The Tin Roof Band, Machine at Jet Lounge
The Factory Party, A Thousand Cranes at Mango's
Fired For Walking at Dean's Credit Clothing
Flamin' Hellcats at Rudyard's
Justin Nozuka, Sam Bradley, Elizabeth & the Catapult at Meridian [Red Room]
Kimberly M'Carver at Anderson Fair
On This Day, 20/20, The Defying Grace at Scout Bar
Norma Jean, The Chariot, Arsonists Get All The Girls, Skyscrapers Walk Among Us, A Candle Lit City at Meridian
Nosh Engh at Charlie's Big Top
Para Donde Vas, The Iguanas at Continental Club
Perseph One, Trills, Solanae at Ray Courtyard [Rice University]
Slaid Cleaves at Mucky Duck
Sun Machine, Stamen, Wild Rabbit Salad at Dan Electro's
Switchfoot at Warehouse Live

Saturday, November 21st
The 71's, The Canvas Waiting, Amber Skyline, Wonderful Future, Air Review at Fitzgerald's
AFI at Verizon Wireless Theater
Air Castle Mystery Solved, Warbler Pl at Dean's Credit Clothing
Bruce Robison at Warehouse Live
Caroline Herring at Anderson Fair
Cartel, The Dares, The Summer Set, This Providence at Meridian
Dweezil Zappa at House of Blues
Dwight Yoakam at Arena Theatre
Fallcore '09, featuring: Bitter End, Power Trip, The Jonbenet, On My Side [last show], The Weight Of Respect, As Eden Burns, The Golden Age, Fight Pretty at Walter's [5 pm]
Fondue Monks, MacAdams at Dan Electro's
Ian Moore, Hilary York at Continental Club
The Involuntarys, Bionica at Fitzgerald's [downstairs]
Opie Hendrix at Last Concert Cafe
Mark Beets & Saylor White, Gary Seber, Steve Price, Mike Darnell at Bohemeo's
Pablo Mayor & Folklore Urbano at Miller Outdoor Theatre
Poopy Lungstuffing, The Electric Love Drone, B Side, Organ Failure, Anarchitex, Cop Warmth, Room 101 at Super Happy Fun Land
Powell St. John at Cactus Music [1 pm]
Prophecy, Torsectomy , Sculpting Atrocity, Injurious Physical Violence, Insidious Decrepancy, Brutally Mutilated at White Swan
Rik Emmett at Mucky Duck
Runaway Sun at Cactus Music [3 pm]
Ruthie Foster, Seth Walker at House of Blues [Bronze Peacock]
Via Colori Festival, featuring: Beetle, Kristine Mills, Spain Colored Orange, Jerk Store, Flying Fish Sailors, Two Star Symphony, The Texas Toast, Stan Crawford at Sam Houston Park [Allen Parkway & Bagby]
Vicarious Me at Rudyard's
You[Genious] & The Misfits of R&B [CD Release], Fat Tony
Zac Brown Band, Nic Cowan, Levi Lowrey, Sonia Leigh at Cynthia Woods Pavilion

Sunday, November 22nd
Always Guilty at White Swan
Americans in France at Rudyard's
Muscians Benevolent Society Benefit, featuring: Mary Cutrufellow, Powell St. John, Zydeco Dots, Steve Krase, George Kinney, Rock Romano, and more at Continental Club [2 pm]
Hamilton Loomis at Mucky Duck
Neko Case, Deer Tick at Warehouse Live
Throwdown, Bury Your Dead, For Today, Abacabb, The World We Knew, Ethreal at Meridian
Train, Uncle Kracker at House of Blues
Via Colori Festival, featuring: Buxton, Eric Korb, Wild Moccasins, Elaine Greer, Grupo Kache, John Quintin, Runaway Sun, The Smooth Operator at Sam Houston Park [Allen Parkway & Bagby]

Photos: Evan Twyford [You(Genious)], nekocase.com [Neko Case]

]]>

Houstonist Flickr Photo of the Day - Pizza

Eric S. — 2009-11-19T12:00:00-06:00

Pizza
by Spinning_Pixel

Pizza! It's what's for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

If you have a passion for Houston and photography, consider joining a whole bunch of Houston's best photographers in the Houstonist Flickr Photo Group. Each day, Houstonist chooses a Photo of the Day and if Houstonist uses your photo, submit it here.

Houstonist Flickr Photo of the Day - At the end of the day ...

Eric S. — 2009-11-18T12:00:00-06:00

At the end of the day ...
by deji_01

At the end of the day... you photograph a gorgeous sunset with a blurry background to create a beautiful image and then a few days later you get selected for Photo of the Day.

It's easy folks, take a great shot, submit it to our Houstonist Flickr Photo Group and wait to get picked.

If you have a passion for Houston and photography, consider joining a whole bunch of Houston's best photographers in the Houstonist Flickr Photo Group. Each day, Houstonist chooses a Photo of the Day and if Houstonist uses your photo, submit it here.

Steaks Followed by Showers of Meteors Tonight

Mary Jane — 2009-11-17T16:00:00-06:00

Tonight is steak night at Griff's - Houston's Oldest Sports Bar!! What a bargain - a 16 oz ribeye, a baked potato(e) and a pint of domestic beer for $12. Big meat, little money - plus beer. Dinner awaits you, Houston.

Following your steak night special, take a power nap to prepare for the Leonid meteor shower. Prime viewing should begin around midnight and continue until dawn. This year, we understand the display will be "sparce", around 10 per hour, but, the colors should be wonderful.

Griff's
3416 Roseland St.
Houston, 77006
713.528.9912

Here's an older list of Wednesday steak nights. In fact, we would love to let all of our readers know where lots of "big meat nights" are...send us an e-mail letting us know what your favorite bar steak night is and we'll get a list together for you. Maybe (and this sounds all crazy and stuff) we may bust a food review of some places.

Houstonist Flickr Photo of the Day - Old building on Houston Ave.

Eric S. — 2009-11-17T12:00:25-06:00

Old building on Houston Ave.
by mata-leão

Night photography sans flash can be tricky but in this instance, mata-leão, gets it right. This shot of an old building on Washington Ave. was nicely executed using a street light for a light source.

If you have a passion for Houston and photography, consider joining a whole bunch of Houston's best photographers in the Houstonist Flickr Photo Group. Each day, Houstonist chooses a Photo of the Day and if Houstonist uses your photo, submit it here.

Presented By:

2009-11-17T12:00:25-06:00

Eat This: Pola Artisan Cheeses

Kaylan Tannahill — 2009-11-16T15:23:29-06:00

Ashy and Bloomy Rind Pyramid cheeses made by Pola Artisan Cheeses here in Houston.
New on the Houston artisan foods market is Pola, a local cheesemaker. While most ‘local’ cheeses are from Texas hill country, Pola Artisan Cheeses are made right here in Houston with milk procured from small dairy farmers in the area. Pola produces a wide range of cheeses using old world methods. Varieties include both raw and pasteurized goat and cow milk cheeses.

Charoomy: Made from pasteurized cow milk, this cheese has a light texture and delicate flavor.

Ashy Rind Pyramid: Made from pasteurized goat milk, this cheese is creamy in texture and has a more tangy flavor than the cow milk. The colorful rind is delicious as well, the result of coating the rind with vegetable ash.

Bloomy Rind Pyramid: This cheese is also made from pasteurized goat milk. Bloomy cheeses age from the outside to the inside, giving them a range of texture. The tart flavor of this cheese and its velvety rind made this one our favorite.

Currently, we have only been able to find these cheeses at the Whole Foods Market on Kirby. If you have seen them elsewhere, please leave us a comment.

Photo by Kaylan Tannahill / Houstonist

H-Town Rock

Marc Brubaker — 2009-11-16T14:00:10-06:00

For the week of November 16th - 18th, 2009

We know we say this a lot in our Monday posts, but it bears repeating - we're alive! Houstonist hit Block Party pretty hard this weekend, achieving local music overload, discovering new artists that we have just got to see again, and making connections for some future interviews. But let's get down to what's happening this week, shall we?

Tonight's a fairly light night in local music. We could use the night to check out one of several residencies in the rotation, or we might drop the dough necessary just to see the lovely girls in Texas-bred Eisley, complete with harmonies and a couple talented dudes in the mix. We had a ~~rough~~ stunning weekend that took all our cash, though, so we might pass.

Houstonist sees two opportunites to relive the late 90s on Tuesday - a decent one at House of Blues and a terrible one at Warehouse Live. We'll settle for catching Mansions at Cactus early, then drop into The Mink for our favorites, Ghost Mountain.

We'll hit midweek in one of two modes: recuperate or pre-weekend assault. If it's the former, we're definitely going to The Mink for Gretchen Schmaltz. If it winds up being the latter option, we'll head to Mango's for some noisy goodness courtesy of The Wiggins.

Let us know where you'll be.
Monday, November 16th

Beyond Hope Lies at Super Happy Fun Land
The Cory Wilson Jazz Quartet Avant Garden
The Octanes, Glover Gill at Continental Club
Say Anything, Eisley, Moneen, Miniature Tigers at Warehouse Live

Tuesday, November 17th
Celtic Thunder at Verizon Wireless
The Get Up Kids, Kevin Devine, Mansions at House of Blues
Jim Lauderdale at Mucky Duck
Jookabox, Ghost Mountain, Maggy Adeleye at The Mink
Larkin Grimm, Sew What at Mango's
Mansions at Cactus Music [5 pm]
Middle Finger Mob Super Happy Fun Land
Papa Roach, After Midnight Project at Warehouse Live

Wednesday, November 18th
Blues Control, Twisted Wires, The Wiggins at Mango's
Captured By Robots!, Chiasma, Attic Ted at Super Happy Fun Land
Gretchen Schmaltz, Kerry Melonsen at The Mink
Grizzly, Josh Langston at Continental Club
Mike Terror, Holy Hell Rod, & Pratice at Scout Bar
Straight Line Stitch, Ekotren, Blackfield Asylum, Xatarus, Bandaidsforguns, I.o.N. at Meridian
Wayward Sons, Jack Stafford, Jenny Woods at Bohemeo's

Photos: Martin Price [Gretchen Schmaltz], Autumn DeWilde [Eisley]

]]>

Houstonist Flickr Photo of the Day - Parking Spot 6

Eric S. — 2009-11-16T12:00:00-06:00

Parking Spot 6
by @Hella

Your parking spot awaits the start of your work week. Welcome to work.

If you have a passion for Houston and photography, consider joining a whole bunch of Houston's best photographers in the Houstonist Flickr Photo Group. Each day, Houstonist chooses a Photo of the Day and if Houstonist uses your photo, submit it here.

Weekendist Nov. 14-15: The other things going on

Brittanie Shey — 2009-11-14T11:00:00-06:00

Block party blah blah blah. Fight the crowd if you feel like it. But if you don't, here are some other options.

ALL WEEKEND
2009 Houston Cinema Arts Festival — Tickets for most events are sold out but you can always hang around outside the venues in the hopes of running into her hotness Tilda Swinton.

SATURDAY
1 p.m. — Henry Darragh in-store at Cactus Music. Darragh's celebrating the release of his vocal jazz album Tell Her For Me
4 p.m. — Meese in-store at Cactus. Two in-stores in one afternoon? Awesome.

SUNDAY
7:30 p.m. — Billy Stritch and the UH Jazz Orchestra live at Miller Outdoor Theatre. Performing songs from the Great American Songbook.

Houstonist Parties Around The Block.

Marc Brubaker — 2009-11-14T10:00:00-06:00

Block Party Fall 2009
We had a post all prepped and whatnot, but it's old hat at this point. Apparently this is going to be the last Westheimer Block Party, for now. So get your ass out there and go see some music this weekend, got it? Houstonist commands you.

Here's the schedule as it stands - well, the most up-to-date one that we can find, that is. Click for Saturday and Sunday's lineups.

We also discovered that our good friend and general badass [Can we say that if he's got a six week old baby? Is that kosher?] Jeremy Hart has assembled each stage into its own Google Calendar - a beastly task if we ever saw one. You can subscribe to them here, and get yourself a handy version to carry around on your mobile.

Houstonist plans on roaming the venerable Westheimer & Taft corner for the better part of the next two days - just not during the wee hours. Sorry folks, but we cost more than you've got in that wallet. We'll see you at Block Party. Houstonist out.

Alliance for Lupus Research Walk: Tomorrow 9:00 a.m.

Mary Jane — 2009-11-13T14:00:00-06:00

We know, this is late notice for a walk - however, we felt compelled to get the word out, as it's come to our attention that a walk to raise money to cure a chronic disease or at least find new treatment in the fourth largest city in our nation has raised less than half of it's fund-raising goal. How much is that goal? A million dollars? Half a million dollars? Nope, one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), in a city of how many? There's a good reason for that, you see, lupus (Systemic Lupus Erythemetosis, SLE) is not championed by a celebrity, or a gaggle of product companies, to raise awareness. The local media won't be mentioning the importance of improving and extending the lives of the people (ninety percent of which are women) who suffer from this disease. There will only be a few hundred walkers at Houston Baptist University tomorrow morning to participate and support researching a cure, if that. SLE, which is a chronic, inflammatory autoimmune disorder, affects approximately 1.4 million women (additional specifics after the jump, below). Registration begins at 9:00 a.m. and we walk at 10:00 (bonus, you can still sleep in, a little)

We went all in for pink in October....it's time to turn to purple (the official color of SLE). No one will be baking cute cupcakes, or donating a percentage of any proceeds to aid in raising funds, so it's up to us. As individual Houstonians, we should make a donation to find a cure, or to make life better and longer, for our friends and neighbors (hopefully). It's deductible, just saying. If you and all of your friends gave $5, we could at least say that our city hit its fundraising goal. Here's some scoop on the walk itself: it's family-oriented, it's a 5k (you don't have to walk the entire walk, if you are unable to), dogs on a leash are welcome (you must pick up their waste, of course) and it doesn't start at the crack of 8:00. Further, absolutely 100% of all monies raised goes directly to fund medical research - how many other walks can boast that (we're too harried to research that, right now)?

Alliance for Lupus Research Mission: To find better treatments and ultimately prevent and cure systemic lupus erythemetosis (SLE, or lupus), a debilitating autoimmune disease.

Bang this link to make a donation to tomorrow's walk (feel free to hit a walker's team, so that they can reach their goals).

Bang this link for more information.

Follow the jump for specifics on SLE.

Lupus, latin for "wolf" is so named because many who suffer have a butterfly, or malar rash on their faces, at some point. Much like the markings on the face of a wolf.

About SLE and it's symptoms/treatments:

What affect does it have?

Lupus may affect the skin, joints, kidneys, liver, central nervous system, heart....basically any and every part of your being, it can even develop into leukemia in some instances, thus affecting bone marrow.

Common symptoms:

Symptoms vary widely from person to person, not all suffer the same. Virtually all patients suffer joint pain. Many suffer from butterfly rash, extreme fatigue, muscle aches, nausea & vomiting, seizures, skin rash, arthritis, psychosis, sensitivity to sunlight and pleurisy, or pleural effusions.

Additional associated symptoms:

Abdominal pain, blood disorders (including abnormal clotting), hair loss, nosebleeds, numbness and tingling in the extremeties, patchy skin color, difficulty swallowing, blood in urine and visual disruptions (loss of focus).

Treatment:

There is no cure or direct treatment for this disease. At best, physicians try to control symptoms using anti-inflammatories, hydroxychloroquinine (plaquenil) and varied doses of corticosteroids. When an organ system is involved (kidney failure or "malfunction" is very typical and a leading cause of death), certain anti-regection medications show promise in containing the disease. Typically, cytoxan, imuran or methotrexate is employed (chemotherapy). The treatments typically have side effects that require additional medication or cause further health problems - life with lupus is very painful for many.

SLE is essentially a disease that occurs when the body turns on itself, attacking normal, healthy tissue and cells rather than diseased or infected ones, like it's supposed to. A diagnosis cannot be done with one simple test, but, is made only after a patient presents at least four of the eleven typical characteristics. Tests used to diagnose this disease are: Antinuclear antibody panel, Anti-double strand (ds) DNA, Anti-phospholipid antibodies and Anti-smith antibodies. Clear as mud on those tests?

Survival odds are better, the ten year survival rate is now greater than 85% (yes, what we're saying is, most patients will not survive a normal life span and it's an excruciating death, in many cases). But, the odds are improving....that's a plus.

Helpful links:

The Johns-Hopkins Arthritis Center

Lupus Foundation of America

Blogging Lupus:

Molly's Fund

Lupus Girl

Fighting Fatigue (this is a great source with a lot of links imbedded)

LupusRants: Thirty Things You May Not Know (excellent)

Think you may have lupus (because no one knows what's wrong with you and you feel like hell, so you may just be crazy)? Schedule an appointment with a rheumatologist for further discussion of your symptoms and a few (dozen) simple blood tests.

]]>

Get To Know A Houston Band: The Literary Greats

Marc Brubaker — 2009-11-13T12:30:00-06:00

H-Town Rock took a trip over to Valhalla this week and sat down with Brandon Elam and Taylor Lee of The Literary Greats, who were coming from a session on KTRU's Local Show. We chatted about everything from their new record to beer baskets to Ice Cube. The full audio from our 30 minute chat can be listened to here, including the weirdest intro to an interview yet.

H-Town Rock: So we're here with Brandon and Taylor from The Literary Greats. So who are The Literary Greats?
Taylor: Well, Brandon is the vocalist/guitar player. The band started with Brandon, and pretty much every song originates with Brandon. I back him up on vocals and play guitar as well - and my name's Taylor. My brother Darin plays bass, Kris Becker is on the keys, he does all kinds of different stuff. He's a concert pianist.
Brandon: He's an award winning classical pianist. He played with the Hong Kong Orchestra, and uh, he plays in our rock and roll band.

HTR: He's a new addition since the first album, right?
Brandon: He actually played on the first album, as a guest musician. We just kept playing with him and had him join the band.
Taylor: So he's full fledged now, which has totally added a different element that's amazing.

HTR: Yeah, he really helps round out & complete [the songs].
Taylor: And Chris Ginsbach is our drummer.
HTR: And you said that he lives in Midland?
Taylor: Yeah, he used to play in some bands here in town.
Brandon: He's born and raised in Houston, his parents still live over in Westchase. He's a Houstonite, but he's working right now in Midland.
Taylor: Our band's weird, 'cause the first full record that we did, we did over a long period of time. Brandon and I met as audio engineers. You start talking shop with people, "oh, do you play?" 'Yeah, it's funny that you ask that, here's my demo.' I heard his tunes and thought, man, my brother plays, we could fill this stuff out. And then before we could track a record [Brandon's] job took him somewhere else, and then [he] got sick, and then right when we were ready to get going again Chris Ginsbach moved to Mexico.
Brandon: To teach English.
Taylor: So it took forever from when we initially started to actually put out the first record. With a lot of those hurdles, bands would have just broken up, but because we're audio engineers we could always work on it ourselves and communicate over the internet. And when the first record did well, we already had a formula that didn't depend upon us all being in the same city.

HTR: So the second record went smoother?
Taylor: I think so.
Brandon: For one thing, we tracked all together. That's probably a big difference. We did every song together in the studio, and knocked it out in two weeks.
Taylor: I think one of the reasons the first one did well is because it took such a long period of time, there were some songs that we tracked like "oh, this song is awesome!" Then after such a long period of time went by, we listened to them and went, "eh..."
Brandon: It's not so awesome anymore.
Taylor: They didn't make the cut, you know? We had enough time to weed through all the ones that needed more work.
Brandon: On the latest one... I sent a demo out to everybody to hear, and since we tracked all together everybody kinda put their ideas together at once. There was definitely a more collaborative effort on this one.
Taylor: It was cool having an actual producer on this one.

HTR: Chris Grainger, right? How'd you guys hook up with him?
Brandon: Tinderbox Music is our promoter that did our radio campaign for the first record, and I just started a relationship with John Delange, the owner. We were talking every week on the phone. He was doing some TV stuff for us, some licensing stuff. I sent him a Christmas beer basket, in fact I sent the whole office one. I think it was like forty bucks, it wasn't even that expensive. He calls me up, 'Hey, when are you doing your next record? I got this guy in Nashville.'
Taylor: A little bit of networking... [laughs]

HTR: That's one of those smart things that people just don't do.
Brandon: And a polite thing!
Taylor: You coulda drank with that forty dollars, but it probably wouldn't have gotten you a producer. It was cool to have [Chris Grainger] involved; he kinda babysat us. It got recorded really quickly, and we didn't have to worry about stepping on anyone's toes because he was kinda the referee... We went into it going, "we'll defer to Chris if we get to any kind of complications or differences in opinions." Not that we have a lot of conflict, but it just went quick.
Brandon: I think he also brought some ideas to the table, too. There were some things that we would have probably never thought of that he had an ear for, [things] that would round out the song, that made it flow.

HTR: Is there any particular flourish or fragment on the album that's one of your favorite moments?
Brandon: There's a lot of those, yeah.
Taylor: My two favorite songs right now are Show Me The Coast and Ruby Sapphire. Show Me The Coast because I love the lyrics of it. It's such a pretty song, but then the lyrics are really dark. I like dynamics in music... if something's really pretty - maybe your chord progression's really pretty or the melody's really pretty - I like to have the lyrics go the opposite direction. I love the lyrics - that's one of the reasons I wanted to be in the band, I love [Brandon's] writing. And Ruby, I love the music.
Brandon: That's one where the music came first... I think the one that I'm listening to right now is Dreadnought, because all of the background noise that we did was done on an ARP, an old vintage synth.
Taylor: It makes such a broad range of sounds...

HTR: There's a lot more in the background of these songs, is what I've noticed. All the background vocals, these little key parts, every now and then this little guitar riff that slips in, or the bass does something... I think it really makes the album more complete. It's kinda this theme throughout the album.
Brandon: I caught [your review] today, it was really well written.
Taylor: [laughs] It was a good review and you're, "it was very well written, thank you." [laughs]
Brandon: Well, I thought it was articulate. I geek out on that kind of stuff, 'cause I'm really not an articulate person.

HTR: Really? Because your lyrics would suggest otherwise.
Brandon: Yeah, but I have to spend a LOT of time working on that.

HTR: There's ten songs on the album. Was there anything that got cut that you went in [to record], was there something you replaced? Did you go in with all ten?
Taylor: I think one song was a possibilty that got cut, and we ended up using a tune that got cut from the last record.
Brandon: What song got cut?
Taylor: Well, we were throwing around the idea of doing Houston Texas Mexico. Which I kinda wanted that one.
Brandon: Yeah, it just didn't match the rest of them. We deferred to Grainger. Ocean Waves is the one that ended up replacing it. And that was tracked with the first record.
Taylor: We actually tracked that one, but Grainger mixed it.
Brandon: We redid some stuff, but the drums, bass, and [Taylor's] guitar are from two years ago.

HTR: You guys posted that the album debuted [at #153] in the CMJ top 200, that's pretty cool.
Brandon: These charts come out every Tuesday, and we actually went up to #142 this week. We hope to keep moving up.

HTR: I saw in the interview that y'all did with Jeremy Hart of Space City Rock that you guys had stuff picked up for Real World?
Brandon: Yeah, so we were on Real World: Brooklyn. I said we, well our music was on RW: Brooklyn.
Taylor: [laughs] Yeah, I told people, "we're gonna be on the Real World!" and people would be like, "you're gonna be on Real World?!"
Brandon: We're like, "Whoa, whoa, it's not that exciting."
Taylor: Yeah, you're not gonna see my mug getting a sex change, going "I'm gonna fight everyone!"
Brandon: We were on three episodes.
Taylor: There's a lot of different shows that we got licensed for - I don't watch a lot of that stuff so I don't know if it ever got used.
Brandon: We got licensed for The Hills, Keeping Up With The Kardashians... all these semi-reality shows... The funny thing is that if they played us on some of these shows we wouldn't know until our PRO sent us the check.
Taylor: Which is like 9 months later...

HTR: So there might be stuff that y'all got used in that you don't know about.
Brandon: No earthly idea. MTV's courteous, that's why we knew about that one. We knew it before it came on, so we actually got to watch it. But we won't get the check until December because of the way the payment works.

HTR: Do you guys have any tips for bands that are trying to get stuff licensed?
Brandon: There's a lot of ways to do that. There's some websites where anybody can go and sign up, and sign an agreement or contract... but what I found is it's really the relationships.
HTR: Sending the beer basket...
Brandon: Yeah, and the right people pushing your stuff, that helps.

HTR: So how did you guys get hooked up with Tinderbox?
Brandon: They hit us up over MySpace, I believe. Our [current] radio promoter sent us a message, "hey I think you guys might do well in college radio." And I was like who is this guy and what are you selling? But he's a really cool guy, and he sounded like he really knew what he was doing, and he actually delivered.

HTR: Do you have a band or musician in town that you think people should really pay attention to?
Brandon: Probably the most obvious one is Sara [Van Buskirk].
Taylor: You've gotta listen her record coming out...
HTR: I'm looking forward to that.
Taylor: A lot of us played in other bands in town and stuff, years back, and have done it for a while. Recently I think a lot of us have been working, so that we can promote our band, and we kinda lost touch - which is one thing I regret about not going out to as many shows. I'm trying to get back into that, because I think there's a younger generation in Houston - not necessarily age, but bands that are coming out now - that has something new and fresh to offer... There's some good stuff out there.

HTR: Do you have a favorite memory from the Houston music scene?
Brandon: I'm a huge David Garza fan, so every time he plays at the Continental, I'm there... He'll do a show, and then he'll go out on the back porch, and everybody who's at the show will go out to the back porch. He'll play his acoustic guitar and everyone will get around in a little 'campfire' circle. That's one of my favorite memories.
Taylor: We played some stuff today on the radio - Ian [Wells] just let us pick through stuff and play. I came across this one band - I didn't remember what they sounded like. I remember it was kind of sludgy and it was from back in the day; they were a Houston band called Man Or God. I just remember sneaking out in early high school, going to see them at Fitzgerald's... I remember seeing Weezer play the Westheimer Block Festival, like blue album. I can't believe my parents let me out to roam the streets of Montrose at that age.

HTR: Is there one thing you want people to know about The Literary Greats?
Taylor: Well, for Houston, I just want people to know that we really appreciate the people that come out because they like the music. I never try to pressure anyone to come out to our shows because I don't like to be pressured - I always just tell people, "if you like the music, then come out." And when people do come out, it's awesome. So I'd just like to tell people thank you for doing that.
Brandon: I would say what you see is what you get with us... I think we take our music seriously, but we don't take ourselves seriously. Heck, I spent three months in the hospital - what you get in the music as well is the good times and the bad times, you're gonna get everything. It's pretty honest, I think. If people like that, they should look into us.

HTR: You guys play your record release on Saturday at The Continental Club. What time's the show, and who else is playing?
Brandon: Doors open at 8 pm. Elkhart is a band from Dallas - another set of friends we have - that are coming down.
Taylor: They're a good fit for us.
Brandon: They'll play at 9 or 9:30, and then us.
Taylor: And Sara [Van Buskirk] will finish out the night.

HTR: How much is the show?
Brandon: It's five bucks. We'll have the CD's at the show. I like to tell people the CD's are five bucks, but if you don't have five bucks just take one, and promise to tell your friends about us.
HTR: You can't really beat that.
Taylor: Yeah, I usually chime in behind him [whispers], "Buy me a beer!" Buy me alcohol, because it's only five bucks. Especially if you took one for free, you can get me a Lone Star. Sometimes it works.

HTR: Alright, well thanks for sitting down with us.
Taylor: Thanks for having us, man.
Brandon: Yeah, we appreciate it.

The Literary Greats play at The Continental Club on Saturday night, with Sara Van Buskirk and Elkhart, and the show will run you a cool 5 bones.

]]>

Houstonist Flickr Photo of the Day - untitled

Eric S. — 2009-11-13T12:00:00-06:00

untitled
by karenclaire

'Tis the season to speak in a horrible, fake English accent, chow down on Turkey Legs, oversized and overpriced beers and walk through an area, north of Houston, that has been relegated back to Renaissance times.

So with everyone dressing up, why not throw in a couple of stormtroopers?

If you have a passion for Houston and photography, consider joining a whole bunch of Houston's best photographers in the Houstonist Flickr Photo Group. Each day, Houstonist chooses a Photo of the Day and if Houstonist uses your photo, submit it here.

Houstonist Was There: The "Adult Swim Presents" Concert

Eric S. — 2009-11-13T10:00:00-06:00

Houstonist had a craving for metal and not just a small craving, we had an insatiable craving that was satisfied last night with the four bands that made up the bill for the Adult Swim Presents concert at the Verizon Wireless Theater at Bayou Place.

The bands on the bill included, Oakland, CA based High On Fire, Converge from Salem Massachusetts, Mastodon out of Atlanta and the headliner, Adult Swim's own live version of the cartoon band Dethklok featuring the show's creator, Brendon Small on lead guitar and vocals.

All the bands on the bill rocked Bayou Place with an aural assault that not only rattled the walls and doors but left metal heads content, kids with their fingers in their ears and parents wondering why they left their quiet, cozy, suburban confines on a Thursday night.

For photographic evidence of the metal onslaught, check out our gallery below with photographs by groovehouse. Special thanks goes out to Live Nation.

]]>

Missed Connections: Relationships 101

Mary Jane — 2009-11-12T15:00:00-06:00

Each week Houstonist checks out Missed Connections on Craiglist. Here's a few that we found interesting.

RE: seeking something that doesnt exist. - w4m - 27 - w4m

That's how life works... You don't give a fuck about the guys that care about you, and the ones you care about, don't give a fuck about you. Don't feel offended by the words. That is just reality.
As a guy I can tell you that the problem are not your partners. You expect men to change because of you or the things you do for them. Please realize this will never happen.
I see women do that all the time but I guess you can't really choose who feel attracted to.

Anyways, you should try take someone you can trust, thats respects you, and really cares about you. The rest of good features yet desirable should be optional.

Good luck.

It's not just a she thang - but, it's a reality, nonetheless. Unrequited love, who hasn't faced it. From the teen hearthrob or sex kitten you drooled over before you could date, to the person you just knew you loved, if they would give you the time of day. Sometimes, we can't "just be friends", and we despise the competition that "doesn't deserve you". Shallow is as shallow does, she apparently needs to quit digging for gold, or something (grow up). We shouldn't just "settle" for someone tolerable - fireworks and sparks are in order. Find your happiness, and hang on. If you do happen to get bucked off, get back on. Otherwise, this guy makes several good points, after all, it's all about ~~money~~ trust.

You're gone-

You and me both! What a Karmic odyssey!

If you're going to refer to karma, please understand what it is. Karma is not a relationship ending. Karma is when the bastard cheats on you - and his new ~~bitch~~ "prize" does the "hokey pokey" with all of his friends, and he finds out. What you do and what you give comes back to you. Breaking up? Well, that's just hard to do. If he or she is gone, good riddance and move on.

: the force generated by a person's actions held in Hinduism and Buddhism to perpetuate transmigration and in its ethical consequences to determine the nature of the person's next existence.

re: you're gone (houston)

maybe if you weren't such a pussy and had some balls and some self esteem you'd have gotten up and said, you know, this isn't working for me and you aren't my cup of tea. so, i have to go and you have to go. instead of waiting for that person to leave and then posting a chicken shit ad like that. what a f*cktard you both are. and then you wonder why your relationships never work out. hello. because you're both idiots.

remember that what you put out into the universe is what the universe returns to you. karma's not a bitch, but she'll make your life one if you are.

oh and since this is missed connections: I MISS YOU!!!!

Well, that's "on point".

This edition is rather short, so, we'll have a "bonus" Missed Connections for you, tomorrow afternoon.
---
Photo: flickr user fd.

H-Town Rock

Marc Brubaker — 2009-11-12T14:00:00-06:00

For the weekend of November 12th - 15th, 2009

Here's the deal - our job is really easy this week, because it's Westheimer Block Party Time, and to top it all off this year there's a bonus day of music. Houstonist is going to assume our readers have enough smarts not to miss two days of free music and then some, so we'll be listing everything else concert-wise of which we know. We'll also be back tomorrow with the most up-to-date Block Party schedule we can find and a few selections you shouldn't miss.

Tonight brings the most brutal band ever in the history of brutality to Verizon, and Houstonist will be there front and center. If Dethklok & Mastodon aren't your thing, try hitting up Walter's for A.A. Bondy & Elvis Perkins.

Friday we plan to start the night early with a pint and The Eastern Sea at Cactus - these smart indie rockers wowed us at Summer Fest, so we're happy to see them back in town.
Houstonist isn't certain how Marcy Playground got bumped to Meridian's kiddie stage, but our childhood calls us to go see them, so perhaps it's fitting. The Swell Season is sure to have plenty of swooning young'uns holding hands, so we might have to pass that show. We'll be at Super Happy Fun Land, getting our regular dose of Ghost Mountain.

Which brings us to Saturday - go to Block Party! Alright, now that we have that out of our system, make sure you catch The Literary Greats CD release at Continental Club. That album is tasty. Other options for Saturday night include ~~getting your face punched~~, er, Chris Brown at House of Blues, the post-Block Party show at Numbers, or Spain Colored Orange at Jet Lounge.

What's left for Sunday? Block Party, 'nuff said. Seriously, do it.

Let us know in the comments what you're planing to catch this weekend.
Thursday, November 12th
Capybara, Woozyhelmet, The Good Tryers at Super Happy Fun Land
Dethklok, Mastodon, Converge, High on Fire at Verizon Wireless
Elvis Perkins in Dearland, A.A. Bondy at Walter's
The Factory Party, The Live Lights at Boondocks [free]
Joshua James, Lex Land, Eustace at Meridian
moe. at House of Blues
Pat MacDonald, Melanie Jane at Charlie's Big Top
Point Clear, Chasing Kings, Witness the Fall, Platoon at Jet Lounge
The Rocketboys, Hallelujah the Hills, Holy Fiction at The Mink
Romeo Spike at Bohemeo's
Seth Walker at Warehouse Live
Subdudes at Mucky Duck
Stuckey at Continental Club [free]
Vains of Jenna, Dirty Penny, Lady Wreckless at Röcbar

Friday, November 13th
Chin Xaou Ti Won at Avant Garden
Cowjazz, The Shady Rest Band at Last Concert Cafe
Dickey Hands, Burn the Boats, Defending the Kingdom at Continental Club
The Eastern Sea at Cactus Music [5:30 pm]
Ensifirum, Hypocrisy, Lazarus AD, Blackguard, Waverly Hills, Tyrant Virus at Meridian
Grandchildren, Caddywhompus, Limb at Mango's
Jewel, Holly Williams at Verizon Wireless
Julio Iglesias at Arena Theatre
Jody Seabody & The Whirls, Skepticynic, The Dead Leslies at Bohemeo's
Lisa Novak, Rich Hopkins at Charlie's Big Top
Little Teeth, sIngs, Ghost Mountain at Super Happy Fun Land
Marcy Playground, Margot, While You Were Gone, The Ride Home at Meridian [Red Room]
Nova, Dead Bolt Zin at Röcbar
Ray Wylie Hubbard at Mucky Duck
She Speaks to Jesse at White Swan
The Swell Season, Rachael Yamagata at Warehouse Live
Tinsley Ellis, Tommy Dar Dar at Fitzgerald's
Vicky Emerson [CD Release] at Anderson Fair
Vienna Teng & Alex Wong at NiaMoves
Volunteers, DuneTX at Rudyard's

Saturday, November 14th
Westheimer Block Party at the corner of Westheimer & Taft
Black Queen Speaks, Lowman's Joe, Fox Derby, Suburban Warfare at Fitzgerald's
Chris Brown, New Boyz, Audio Push at House of Blues
Dead Prez, Japanther, Eastern Sea [CD Release], and Black Congress at Numbers [post-Block Party, $12]
The Dollyrockers, World’s Most Dangerous, Trian Woodburns at Rudyard's
Henry Darragh at Cactus Music [1 pm]
Koffin Kats, The Ghost Storys, The American Heist, 13 Black Coffins at Walter's
The Literary Greats [CD Release], Sara Van Buskirk, Elkhart at The Continental Club
Ludo, Meese, Without A Face at Warehouse Live
Meese at Cactus Music [4 pm]
Shake Russell Trio, Michael Hearne at Anderson Fair
Spain Colored Oranges, Atw, Big Rocket, Soulbound at Jet Lounge
Tom Russell at Mucky Duck
Uzuhi, The Escape Theory, The Devil Makes Three, Clubs at Fitzgerald's [downstairs]
Yoko Mono, BombaChica, Elypseas at Bohemeo's

Sunday, November 15th
Westheimer Block Party at the corner of Westheimer & Taft
Darrel Scott at Mucky Duck
The Distracted, Business as Usual at Bohemeo's [1 pm]
Mickey Avalon, Beardo at Warehouse Live
Three Bad Jacks, Dykes on Bikes, Grizzley at Continental Club

Photos: Dethklok MySpace, The Eastern Sea MySpace

]]>

Tonight We Herald The Coming Mustache-alypse.

Marc Brubaker — 2009-11-12T13:00:00-06:00

Mustaches for Kids official grow season kicks off tonight. What does that mean to you? Well, here in Houston it means that you can hit up Cedar Creek at 7 pm to watch a bunch of dudes shave their stubbly faces, for charity.

Houstonist knows what you're thinking - how the hell can mustaches help kids, other than those high-schoolers desperate to prove that they're "becoming a man?" Simple: some fellas get together and pit themselves against one another to see who can grow the sweetest lip rug between November 12th and December 12th. Oh, and they take donations - you know, like that time you ran a 5K to save the endangered fugu fish or whatever it was, except there's no running.

This year, the Houston chapter of M4K has selected Workshop Houston as it's designated charity. Workshop does some fantastic work over in the 3rd Ward, schoolin' kids on fashion design, beat-makin', homework-doin', and bike-fixin'. Houstonist loves the fact that we can stop into 3rd Ward bike shop to tune up our two-wheeler, so we heartily approve of the choice.

You can support Houstonist's very own Marc Brubaker, ~~who'll be at Cedar Creek cleaning up his visage tonight, in preparation for the Battle of the 'Stache,~~ or you can make a simple donation via Chip-In.

[Update: our man has a scheduling conflict, so he won't be attending the opening cermonies of the 'Stache-alympics, but he's still in the fight.]

Houstonist Flickr Photo of the Day - Metro

Eric S. — 2009-11-12T12:00:28-06:00

Metro
by soonerpa

Photographer's Description:

I just hung the camera down and out and got lucky with the symmetry on this one.
Took about 6 tries.

Maybe its just me, but I get all nervous taking a photo on the MetroRail because I keep expecting the "authorities" to jump out of no where and take my camera!

As the photographer was reminded in the comments on this photo on Flickr, photography is not illegal.

If you have a passion for Houston and photography, consider joining a whole bunch of Houston's best photographers in the Houstonist Flickr Photo Group. Each day, Houstonist chooses a Photo of the Day and if Houstonist uses your photo, submit it here.

Rainbow Lodge Monthly Patio Wine Event Tonight

Mary Jane — 2009-11-11T14:00:00-06:00

If you're looking for an outdoor wine dinner to help you exploit the lovely weather, look no further than the Rainbow Lodge tonight. From 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. there will be a casual "walk around" tasting on the patio with a very tasty looking menu/wine pairing for $29/per person. Here's what you can look forward to:

Linguisa and Shrimp "a la Plancha", Orchiette, Fresh Citrus
Aveleda, Alvarinho, Vihno Verde, 2006

Spice Braised Lamb with Butternut Squash, WiltedSpinach
Quinta do Crasto, Crasto, Douro, 2007

Coriander and Paprika Roasted Pork Loin, Vinho Tinto Onions
Quinta do Casal Branco, Ribatejo, 2007

and Port!
Cabrales, Cocoa Fig Jam, Walnuts, Flatbread
Fonseca 10 Yr. Old Tawny

If you are feeling philanthropical, You can upgrade your ticket to $39 and for that you'll get a T-Shirt and a $9 donation will be made to "Beyond the Finish Line".

Rainbow Lodge
Patio Wine Event - 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.2011 Ella Blvd. at East TC Jester
"In The Heights"
713 861 8666

Houstonist Flickr Photo of the Day - hello, FX

Eric S. — 2009-11-11T12:00:00-06:00

hello, FX
by mikehaskew

Flickr user and Houstonist Photo Contributor, mikehaskew, shows us how easy it is to submit a photo to the Houstonist Flickr Photo Pool.

You can do it too. Join mikehaskew and over one thousand other photo contributors to our Flickr Photo Pool.

If you have a passion for Houston and photography, consider joining a whole bunch of Houston's best photographers in the Houstonist Flickr Photo Group. Each day, Houstonist chooses a Photo of the Day and if Houstonist uses your photo, submit it here.

Rock Talk, Vol. VIII

Marc Brubaker — 2009-11-11T11:00:00-06:00

Come one, come all, Rock Talk is now in session. The good Dr. H Townrock is in, and like any caring parent we've been out gathering worms from the Houston music scene, returning now to the nest to regurgitate these tidbits just for you, dear reader. So open wide, or you'll have to wait for us to come back next week.

The 71's announced a, "Bands, Fans & Cans" show at Fitzgerald on November 21st, benefiting the Houston Food Bank. Bring five cans and get a free CD from any of the bands playing.

deSangre's new album, Day of the Dead, is now available on iTunes, and practically every other online music outlet.

Female Demand was on last week's episode of Live from Sugar Hill. They posted a blog with details on how you can watch their performance, but even better still is that they announced their self-titled EP will be out November 21st. But wait, there's more! They also posted a video of an acoustic set they did at Joe Mathlete's house.

Expect our fair Miss Leslie to take a sabbatical from her Sunday residence at The Continental Club, as she's expecting! Don't worry, honky-tonkers, we've heard the baby won't be around until late March, so it'll be a while.

That new/final/only Teenage Kicks LP is out on Action Town Records. You can pick it up at Sound Exchange, Sig's Lagoon, Cactus Music, Domy Books, or online here. Read what the esteemed Jeremy Hart has to say about it on Space City Rock.

Thee Armada has made their first EP, The New You, available for free on purevolume. The band plans to play it live from start to finish on November 27th at Warehouse Live.

MTV picked up a couple songs from The Watermarks that'll be on the November 15th & November 29th episodes of Styl'd.

B L A C K I E has promised us a mixtape in the near future. We can't wait.

Grandfather Child is hoping to put out a 7" by the end of the year, featuring two songs: Waiting On You and Dog Water, and a full length in early 2010.

You can grab a new track from Giant Battle Monster over at IndieHouston.

Rad Rich wanted to vote, but refused to use the electronic machines. Then he ranted about it on Hands Up Houston. Why is this news? Because the LA Times picked up the story.

Ok, so this last one is not exactly band-related, but local video maker Chris P has thrown his hat into the ring for Doritos crash the Super Bowl contest. His clip features zombies and Brett Taylor of sIngs, so what other motivation do you need? Go watch it already. [Ed. Note: Clicking "Skip Intro" in the corner will get you there much faster.]

Rock Talk out. See you next week.

Got a tip/tidbit for Rock Talk? Send it to marc [at] houstonist [dot] com.

Presented By:

2009-11-11T11:00:00-06:00

Houstonist Listens: The Literary Greats' Ocean, Meet The Valley

Marc Brubaker — 2009-11-10T15:30:00-06:00

We'll fess up right away: Houstonist has had this album for some time now. Band member Taylor Lee passed it to us a while back, and we eagerly gobbled it up, waiting for the right moment to unleash our opinions upon the teeming hordes of Houstonist readers. Yes, yes, you can order the album online, but seeing as the official CD release is this Saturday at The Continental Club, now seemed a fine time to inform the masses just how good this album really is.

If you're unfamiliar with The Literary Greats, Houstonist won't hold it against you. They haven't saturated the local market with shows, as some acts are wont to do, and they don't really hang out with a scene of "hip kids" whom everyone recognizes about town. In a way, finding your way into The Literary Greats musical realm is a bit like stumbling across an uncovered treasure chest - all of a sudden you wonder how this bit of goodness hasn't been snatched up by the masses.

That status seems bound to change with their new album, Ocean, Meet The Valley. Despite coming from an unsigned band, the album debuted at #153 on the CMJ 200 two weeks ago, and for good reason. To borrow from our esteemed colleague at Space City Rock, their brand of rock "sounds perfectly Texan," and we couldn't agree more. It's a blend of alt-country, Americana and rock, all the while avoiding being bland or cheesy.

Several factors have come together to turn what was already a talented group into a sharp, polished crew. First is the addition of Kris Becker as a full-time key jockey - his flourishes, undertones and orchestration are an integral element that really completes the music. Also important is the guru-like touch of Nashville's Chris Grainger, who recorded and mixed the album.

The true difference between Ocean and the band's eponymous debut, however, is that each of these songs was written as band, and it shows. From the opening pounding notes of the Wurlitzer on "That Mountain Yonder" it is evident that The Literary Greats mean business. Songwriter Brandon Elam's subject matter is a bit darker, but never depressing, and brothers Taylor & Darin Lee have crafted excellent guitar and bass parts, respectively. Darin's bass lines move the songs along at great pace, while Taylor drifts from scorcher riffs to the just-right meandering solos effortlessly. Chris Ginsbach's percussive drumming sounds huge when necessary and restrained when appropriate, providing dynamic balance. Perfectly placed background vocals [include a couple guest spots from another Houstonist favorite, Sara Van Buskirk] provide that magical something that sends these songs over the edge, propelling them into greatness.

Houstonist's favorite tracks include the moody, brooding "Happens Every Time", the roaring "Oh, Abilene", and the sharp opener, "That Mountain Yonder", but we can't simply stop there. The album is good from start to finish, with standout track-to-track flow - nothing feels out of place here. Even the slow, controlled "The Black Bee" has enough fill and bite to make itself at home between the rocking songs with which it resides. To top it all off, Elam's poetic lyrics resonate well, both clever and comfortable without being cliché. As he pleads on the opening track, "ooh, you've got to believe!" Congratulations, fine sirs, you've succeeded in making believers out of us.

The Literary Greats will be on KTRU [91.7 FM] tonight from 8 to 10 pm, chatting and playing a few acoustic songs amidst a setlist that will probably include most of the new album. They play at The Continental Club on Saturday night, with Sara Van Buskirk and Elkhart, and the show will run you a cool 5 bones.

Voter Registration and Renewal Happy Hour Tonight

Mary Jane — 2009-11-10T15:00:00-06:00

Houston's run-off elections are coming up. If you have moved around lately, or were not registered to vote in this past election and want your voice heard, come on out tonight and get your "voting papers" in order. The Usual Pub is hosting a happy hour tonight complete with $1 Lone Star and free burgers for everyone who needs to ready themselves to vote, or would like to chat politics with some of their peers. The party kicks off at 7:00 p.m. and Lone Star is rumored to be handing out some swag to go with the $1 brews.

Voter Registration/Renewal
The Usual Pub - 7:00 p.m.
5519 Allen St. (near Washington/TC Jester)
281.501.1478

Houstonist Cooks: Bean Soup

Mary Jane — 2009-11-10T14:00:00-06:00

Another cold front is breezing through H-town today, and it is causing us to have visions of hearty bean soup. We make ours with bunches of ham, because that's how we like it. However, we'll give you the very veggie option, if you are not so omnivorous. This soup is quite good the first day, but, we prefer to make it a day or two ahead of time and let all of the flavors marry and the starch from the beans break down and thicken it. This is simple, inexepensive and freezes well - so, make a nice large batch and freeze some for later.

Bean Soup

1 lb dried white beans (we prefer navy, but, you can use any white bean, even limas)
1 lb ham (you can subsitute turkey ham and cut some fat/calories)
32 oz of stock (chicken for meatatarians, or veggie - we use organic, free range, low sodium and fat chicken broth)
2-3 carrots, scraped
3 ribs celery
1 medium onion
1 medium bell pepper
3-4 cloves garlic
water
olive oil
2 teaspoons each, thyme, mexican oregano, white pepper and poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon each cayenne, black pepper, (cumin is optional, we like it)

Pick through beans for "detritus" and discard anything that doesn't look like a normal bean, rinse well and drain. Clean and dice the onion, carrot, celery, bell pepper and garlic (you can press the garlic, if you prefer - or use a heaping tablespoon of pre-minced). In a large dutch oven, preheat a good turn of olive oil and add the vegetables to begin sweating them down, stirring occasionally. While this is going on, dice the ham into bite sized pieces. Once the vegetables are soft, which should take about 5 minutes, add the stock, ham and beans. Add water to cover and bring to a soft boil, skimming all of the foam off of the top before reducing to a simmer. Add seasonings, cover and simmer over low heat for about two hours, until the beans are softened. Taste for seasoning and adjust (this is when we add any salt, if needed).

Veggie variation: Use a good vegetable stock and, once the beans are soft, add additional carrots, parsnips, broccoli, diced butternut, chayote or acorn squash - any "sturdy" vegetable you like that's in season. Just prior to serving, add chopped swiss chard or baby spinach until wilted.

Serve with crusty bread and a nice big salad!

Once we "tire" of the standard soup, we convert ours into a frugal "cassoulet" of sorts by adding smoked sausage, sliced into bite sized pieces. This stretches out our meals and keeps it "on the cheap".

Note: You can alter the spices to fit your herb garden, tarragon, basil, sage and rosemary are great in this application - our measurements are for dried herbs, when using fresh, start small and build to suit your taste. If you like the heat, toss in a chili piquin (or two) or add some minced fresh habanero. Soups are pretty forgiving, use some imagination to personalize this one!

Daily-ist Tuesday: NANOFiction 3.1 reading

Brittanie Shey — 2009-11-10T12:40:00-06:00

NANOFiction, the Houston-based experimental literary journal founded by UH students, hosts the tenth installment of its reading series tonight at Kaboom Books in conjunction with the release of Issue 3.1 of the journal.

The journal is published twice a year. The reading series takes place on the second Tuesday of every month at 7:30 p.m. Tonight's reading will feature Sasha West, a Pushcart Prize-nominated poet, and Andrew Brininstool, who's works has been features in the anthology Best New American Voices 2010.

NANOFiction Reading Series
Admission: Free
Date and Time: Tonight, 7:30 p.m.
Location: Kaboom Books, Houston Ave. and Bayland

Houstonist Flickr Photo of the Day - Tree at Mercer Arboretum

Jason Bargas — 2009-11-10T12:00:00-06:00

Tree at Mercer Arboretum
by Theodore Scott

If only the path of life was as shady and tranquil as this image. Happy Tuesday, people.

If you have a passion for Houston and photography, consider joining a whole bunch of Houston's best photographers in the Houstonist Flickr Photo Group. Each day, Houstonist chooses a Photo of the Day and if Houstonist uses your photo, submit it here.

H-Town Rock

Marc Brubaker — 2009-11-09T14:00:00-06:00

For the Week of November 9th-11th, 2009

We sure had us a weekend, visiting our cousin Austinist and their big party Fun Fun Fun Fest. It's tough coming back to a world without free drink tickets and constant live music, but we suppose we'll have to make do. Here's what's coming up for you this week.

We highly advise you going to either Melt Banana or Lucero tonight. Houstonist witnessed both this weekend, and it's your decision on what to miss: the eccentric barking beeping noise music - with show support from local favorites Homopolice and B L A C K I E, or the bluesy, rolling down home rock, complete with new horn section of Tennessee-dwellers Lucero.

Tomorrow offers up yet another blast from the past with Powerman 5000 rolling through Scout Bar. Our apologies to Spider One, but we'll be opting for his brother on Wednesday. We'll go see something bright and shiny at Verizon, lest everyone think we've completely sold our soul to the devil: Regina Spektor. [Besides, he's already got our soul.]

Apparently MC Chris is rolling through town this week, not last week. Houstonist is sorry for the mix-up in reporting, but Walter's online calendar is not exactly accurate or thorough. There's a good show at Warehouse Live tonight, but as previously mentioned we'll be busy partaking of the Robert Bartleh Cummings experience - Rob Zombie. We're hoping for more than a few old standards in the set.

The full calendar is after the jump, and don't forget to let us know where you'll be.
Monday, November 9th
Go Kart Mozart, Kat Kilpatrick, The Krinkles at Super Happy Fun Land
Lucero, Cedric Burnside & Lightnin' Malcolm, The City Champs at Meridian
Melt Banana, Homopolice, B L A C K I E at Walter's

Tuesday, November 10th
Gentry Dodd, Hion Music, The Paperwaits at Super Happy Fun Land
Ginger Leigh at Mucky Duck
Powerman 5000, Chrome 44, The Hectic, Faulter 42 at Scout Bar
Regina Spektor, Jupiter One at Verizon Wireless

Wednesday, November 11th
Bella Morte, Ego Likeness, Versailles at Röcbar
Gregory Alan Isakov at Mucky Duck
The Jack Stafford Foundation, Hion Music at Super Happy Fun Land
MC Chris, Whole Wheat Bread, I Fight Dragons @ Walter's on Washington
Municipal Waste, Goatwhore, Phobia, Cauldron at Meridian
Rob Zombie, Nekromantix at Verizon Wireless
Son Volt, Peter Bruntell at Continental Club
Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, Portland Cello Project, David Schultz & The Skyline at Warehouse Live

Photos: Rob Zombie MySpace, Marc Brubaker [Lucero]

]]>

Houstonist Flickr Photo of the Day - After a Late Night at Work

Eric S. — 2009-11-09T12:00:00-06:00

After a Late Night at Work
by cpwardy

Here we go... heading into another week.

If you have a passion for Houston and photography, consider joining a whole bunch of Houston's best photographers in the Houstonist Flickr Photo Group. Each day, Houstonist chooses a Photo of the Day and if Houstonist uses your photo, submit it here.

Houstonist Bartender: Applejack Old-Fashioned

Mary Jane — 2009-11-06T15:00:00-06:00

What a beautiful week! This weather has us thinking of apple crisp, oven-warm and a la mode. Fall is time for chili, stews, and apple desserts, or simple baked apples, with a nice sprinkling of cinnamon. There may be a flurry of baking activity in our near future.

This weekend in college football (our one true love), the second-ranked Longhorns take on the unranked Knights of UCF at 11:30 a.m., the Tigers take on the Crimson Tide tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. and the thirteenth-ranked Cougars will hopefully clobber the unranked Golden Hurricanes of Tulsa at 6:30 p.m. That's an entire day of football spectating, so we won't be quaffing these bad boys all day. That would be disastrous.

AppleJack Old-Fashioned

1 sugar cube
2 dashes bitters
2 ounces Applejack (4 tablespoons)
ice cubes
lemon twist

In a rocks glass, muddle the sugar cube with the bitters until the sugar has dissolved. Add the Applejack and the ice cubes, stir and garnish with the lemon twist. Sip gently (no mixer, strong drank).

As per usual, be responsible, yadda yadda...

Weekendist Nov. 6-8: Uncle Charlie, 2010 Census, Via Colori

Brittanie Shey — 2009-11-06T12:40:00-06:00

FRIDAY

5-9 p.m. — POISSANT Gallery opening, "Filtered," featuring new work by three Houston artists, Felipe Contreras, Haden Garrett, and Carol Gerhardt, who's work with Barbies we *love*. Free, 5102 Center Street.
6:30-9:30 p.m. — Via Colori sneak peak at Coffee Groundz. See prints from the VC ‘08 Photo Contest Winners and find out how to participate in the 2009 Photography Contest, learn how to promote The Center for Hearing and Speech fourth annual fall fundraiser, listen to good music and enjoy good drinks. Free. Via Colori is November 21-22. Free, at 2503 Bagby.

SATURDAY

9:30 a.m. - 3:15 p.m. — Houston Counts Census Training. Learn all about the 2010 Census and why it's important you participate. Help show Houston's diversity by participating in the Census, which helps determine what kind of funding and government support gets filtered back into our community. Learn about special initiatives happening in Houston and how you can get involved in the national effort. Hear the key messages and outreach strategies organizations across the country are using to encourage census participation among the hardest-to-count communities. Free, at Texas Southern University's Streling Student Life Center, 3100 Cleburne Street.
6-11 p.m. — Uncle Charlie Poster Show at Sig's Lagoon, 3710 Main. Uncle Charlie has been designing concert posters for Houston-area shows longer than you've been cool. Free.

Photo: Flickr user .imelda

Houstonist Flickr Photo of the Day - Margaritas

Eric S. — 2009-11-06T08:08:01-06:00

Margaritas
by gwenturnerjuarez

Margaritas... what more needs to be said? Have a safe weekend.

If you have a passion for Houston and photography, consider joining a whole bunch of Houston's best photographers in the Houstonist Flickr Photo Group. Each day, Houstonist chooses a Photo of the Day and if Houstonist uses your photo, submit it here.

Missed Connections: November 2 - 5

Mary Jane — 2009-11-05T15:15:00-06:00

Each week Houstonist checks out Missed Connections on Craiglist. Here's a few that we found interesting.

Not to bad - 28 (IAH)

You were at the rental counter in front of me, you were a little older but had an ass that wouldn't quit, in fact some of it was showing along with a tatoo. Thanks for making my morning a little better.

This proves our theory that most people are really just "typing to themselves" out here on MC. Open calls to whackadoodles last week, this week "chick with trampstamp at Intergalactic Airport". Like that's a low-traffic place - what are the odds that someone randomly at the "rental counter" ( 'cause, ya know - there's only one of 'em) knows who was staring at their ass, if anyone? Slim? or, None? We love reading the exercises in futility, really, so please continue. This is better than the comments on the Chronicle website.

East Houston Hospital Er Nurse- - m4w - 32

I was there last week and I think we made a connection. I was sad to leave was counting backwards til I left but didn't get to really say goodbye.... you had dark long hair in a ponytail and beautiful blue eyes & hispanic last name.
message me back if you see this please.

OOOOHHHHH, yeah, you were the guy who had a weak spine....now, she remembers. Drive yourself back over to that hospital a couple times and hang out in the waiting room until you see her. The "jambox serenade" is way too Eighties (although, "In Your Eyes" is still a great song) but, we're just certain you can devise is very clever and intriguing manner of expressing yourself. Or, you can just do the ole "slip and fall" at a nearby DiscountedMerchandiseMart and impress her with an injury. If they admit you to the psych ward for observation.....we never advised you to harm yourself....

starbucks - m4w

i saw you in starbucks at eldridge and briar forrest at lunch today. it has been a long time since i have seen you there. we made eye contact and smiled at each other. would love to talk to you.

What? Cat got your tongue? Jaw broken in recent barroom scuffle? Irrational fear of rejection? SPEAK! You are IN the coffee place, at the same time. Tables are always scarce at the Starbucks. Get one, invite her to sit.....talk to her (and whatever you do, don't get all nervous and spill your very hot coffee in her lap, she won't let a stranger "kiss it to make it all better", is our guess).

beautiful brunette in huntsville - m4w - 50

Postin thsi for Huntsville as you are there but I am form Houston....met you last Friday evening and was quite taken.....You put your number in my phone but it didn't save and couldn't find it that night. Wish now I had checked it before it was too late. You are a student of medical and sociology and we met on the north side of Houston.....sincerely want to keep in touch........I know the chances are slim but maybe someone will tell you about the ad.......hoping for a little miracle.....

Man, technology sucks it. Back in the day, after clay tablets and sharp sticks proved inefficient (they are heavy and you could put your eye out, too), people exchanged business cards, scribbled on bar napkins, took the pen to the skin and wrote a name and number on their hand or forearm (unless you are one unsanitary, no-spelling moron, you'll wash it off....try arm, better odds of survival). Do you suppose a girl in college would accidentally not mash that "save" button, but, rather gleefully mash "delete" after some fiddy year old asked for her number (unless he was, say not unlike J. Howard Marshall)?

A few guidelines to life on CL - m4w

Indeed. Let me remind the people posting on here that this is the MISSED CONNECTIONS facet of CL. If for some reason you don't understand what that means, let me remind you.
(1). This is not a forum to post your lame poetry. Go out and get a journal. Not a CL account.
(2). Incredibly vague posts will be dismissed as a result of the author being lazy; for instance, "I was on the road going West and you had on a shirt." This makes it incredibly difficult for the people on here to distinguish whether they are the person who had a "missed connection", or are just a person on a road wearing a shirt. You are dumb.
(3). Posts that involve you looking for a dude you met in a club in September of 1991 will almost never be read. You probably missed the boat on that one. Again, you are dumb.

I read the Missed Connections as part of my daily routine. Kinda like reading the newspaper in the morning. Sue me, I'm a romantic like that. But when the above examples come into play, it just becomes an exercise in futility. If you really want to see this person again, put some thought into your post and your chances of finding that special person will blossom exponentially. Thanks.

We don't know you, but, we don't like you - because you care less how we feel. You are threatening our joy, our amusement. You must cease and desist...oh, yeah, oops, public forum. For you, we will post a special haiku, or other rhyming-like thing that annoys....we will, when you least expect it. Threaten our joy....no sir-ee Bob...in the immortal words of Dee Snider, "we're not gonna take it".

---
Photo: flickr user fd.

H-Town Rock

Marc Brubaker — 2009-11-05T14:00:00-06:00

For the weekend of November 5th - 8th, 2009

See?! We told you there would be plenty of music this weekend. Never doubt Papa Houstonist. Unfortunately we won't be in town for much of the weekend [we have, on the other hand, the good fortune of attending our sister Austinist's FunFunFun Fest], but that doesn't mean we'll pass on making a few recommendations to you, dedicated reader.

For tonight, allow us to pose a query: Are you a Houston musician? Are you serious about wanting to tour? If you answered yes to these questions, then make sure you stop by Avant Garden at 7 pm to get some sage advice from Martin Atkins. He should wrap up around 8:30, so we'll have plenty of time to catch Spain Colored Orange at Continental Club, The Caprolites new lineup at Notsuoh, or News on the March at The Mink. Also of note: Mr. Kenny Rogers himself backed by "that there collection of strings and whatnot," The Houston Symphony.

Friday, while the kids all trek to House of Blues for The Used & The Almost, you can revisit the 90's with Third Eye Blind. Our pick of the night, however, is rocking instrumental crew Russian Circles at Rudyard's. That's right, we picked a Rudyard's show!

It's awfully hard to root against our hometown favorites Ghost Mountain, who are playing with Health at Mango's on Saturday, but our choice brings us to Walter's to catch WHY? - a source of heavy inspiration for the Baytown duo. If you simply must catch something other than one of these shows, allow us to recommend The Julys at The Mink. Also, congratulations are in order for local metalcore kids Before There Was Rosalyn, who will be releasing their CD this weekend - on Victory Records! Nice work.

You can top all of that off with a high-voltage show at Toyota Center on Sunday. Some group named after a power conversion will be playing, or so we hear. If you can't shell out for the big tickets, join us at Walter's for the zany Adult Swim regular MC Chris.

Drop us a note and let us know where you'll wind up.
Thursday, November 5th
Brian McNeill, Ed Miller at Mucky Duck
The Caprolites, F*cking Thief, Best Fwends at Notsuoh
The Chibas, Miguel [of The McKenzies], Jim & The Toms, FGG at Super Happy Fun Land
Fu Manchu, Shit City High, Heavystoned at Meridian [Red Room]
Galactic, Mike Dillion's GoGo Jungle at Warehouse Live
John Lee Hooker, Jr., Richard Cagle & The Voodoo Choir at Meridian
Kenny Rogers with The Houston Symphony at Jones Hall
Like Trains & Taxis, Melissa Savci, The Journey Agents at Bohemeo's
Los Pistoleros de Texas at Charlie's Big Top
The Lovemakers, The Personal Victories of George Quartz at Warehouse Live [Studio]
Martin Atkins at Avant Garden
Mindy Smith at House of Blues
News on the March, Shapes Have Fangs, Ghormeh Sabzi at The Mink
Off With Their Heads, Smalltown, O Pioneers!!! at Walter's
Spain Colored Orange, Beetle at Continental Club [free]
Sugar and Gold, Brett Koshkin, Roky Moon & Bolt, Mystery Flavor at Mango's
Sugarball Express, Letters to Voltron, Dark Surf at Rudyard's

Friday, November 6th
Adrian & The Sickness [CD Release], Osiris, Distant Lights at Dan Electro's Guitar Bar
Alison Fisher at Charlie's Big Top
An Albatross, The Coathangers, Dark Meat,The Roller, Black Congress at Mango's
Austin Lounge Lizards at Mucky Duck
Bee vs. Moth at Cactus Music [5:30 pm]
Big Rocket, Platoon at Last Concert Cafe
Charlie Robison, Mark McKinney at Warehouse Live
The Damen Austin Band, Losers Beat Winners, The Antioch Road Band, Mega Fauna at Fitzgerald's [downstairs]
The Flatlanders at Fitzgerald's
Krunk Ninjas,SDfone, El-Nino, TDBZ, Twinkdogg at Super Happy Fun Land
Lea Salonga at Arena Theatre
Luchsinger Brothers, Cory Todd at Bohemeo's
Marc Broussard, Charlie Mars at House of Blues [Bronze Peacock Room]
Mugrero at White Swan
Russian Circles, Young Widows, Red Sparowes, Coliseum at Rudyard's
Third Eye Blind at Verizon Wireless
The Used, The Almost, Drive A at House of Blues
Vallejo, Nightbird at Continental Club
Vince Bell at Anderson Fair
The White Tie Affair, Every Avenue, Stereo Skyline, Runner Runner at Meridian

Saturday, November 7th
500 Megatons of Boogie, Ghosttown Electric, Bright Men of Learning at Rudyard's
86 Within, 12 Gauge, Awakening, Brown Out, Paper Anvil at Bohemeo's [2 pm]
Alastair at White Swan
Arthur Yoria, Stepahnie Briggs, Live Oak Decline at Last Concert Cafe
Before There Was Rosalyn [CD Release], Upon a Burning Body, Molotov Solution, American Me, Through The Fallen Skys, Courage Sleeps, In The Storm, At Cavalry at Meridian
Chris Sacco at Charlie's Big Top
David Cook at Warehouse Live
Eric Taylor at Anderson Fair
The Fabulous Thunderbirds, The Gourdes at Miller Outdoor Theatre [free]
Haunting Oboe Music, Components of the Modern Age, The Bottom Four, Prayer For Animals at Super Happy Fun Land
Health, Lovvers, Somosuno, Ghost Mountain at Mango's
The Julys, The Sideshow Tragedy, Jonathan Wilkins at The Mink
Mumiy Troll, Come See My Dead Person at Meridian [Red Room]
New Duncan Imperials, Dash Rip Rock, Mojo Nixon & The Toadliquors at Continental Club
Straight Fork, Carry The Storm at Fitzgerald's [downstairs]
Super Panch Combo [CD Release], The Redline, Perfect Pants at Dan Electro's Guitar Bar
Vince Bell at Cactus Music [1 pm]
White Cat Showcase at Mucky Duck
WHY?, Au, The Moore Brothers at Walter's

Sunday, November 8th
AC/DC at Toyota Center
Chris Bell, Chris Chandler at Dan Electro's Guitar Bar
Deadmau5 at House of Blues
D.R.U.M. at Discovery Green [3 pm]
The Last Place You Look, From Guts To Glory, Floorbound at Scout Bar
MC Chris, Whole Wheat Bread, I Fight Dragons at Walter's
Miss Leslie & Her Juke Jointers at Continental Club
Ryan Montbleau at Mucky Duck
Shonen Knife, Dead Roses at Mango's

Photos: WHY? MySpace, Ryan Russell [Russian Circles]

]]>

Get sticky at Lawndale's Sugar Skull workshop

Brittanie Shey — 2009-11-05T13:00:00-06:00

It's common knowledge that Lawndale has the best annual Dia de los Muertos art celebration in the city, but did you know you can get some hands-on experience in making a traditional symbol of the Latin American holiday?

Sugar skulls are made from compressed sugar and water, and are decorated and then left as ofrendas at the graves or memorial sites of loved ones. They can also be eaten, if the decorations are consumable.

Last year Houstonist went to the sugar skull workshop and had tons of fun. It's the perfect event to bring a kiddo too, especially if they like candy and like getting their hands messy. Workshop participants get to take home their own skull, and the official Lawndale sugar skull recipe. The rest of the skulls will be saved for decorating at Lawndale's Family Fiesta Day on Saturday.

Lawndale Sugar Skull Workshop
Admission: Free!
Date and Time: Tonight, 4-7 p.m.
Location: Lawndale Art Center, 4912 Main Street

Photo: flickr user cybertoad