Reginald Parr doesn't look like he should -- not if he's supposed to be the good guy. None of his businesses -- welding, rental property maintenance, big-cat stewardship -- are...
Tales abound for why Verdi's debut of La Traviata in Venice was a dismal failure. Some point to a lackluster response to its contemporary setting during his time (1850s). This...
Rags to Ruggles Nowadays, lots of middle-class kids want to grow up, become a celebrity chef and make millions. They go to fancy cooking schools; they do stints in Europe;...
Short of nuclear holocaust, a major sale at Kmart or a confirmed Clint Eastwood sighting back in rural Iowa, there's probably no way to keep the movie version of Message in a...
"Sorry I'm late, kids," says Dave Chappelle, holding his crotch. "Santa got caught up with some pussy in Vegas. I had to sell some toys to get back." The 25-year-old comedian...
It takes real cojones for a theater of any size to tackle Shakespeare. And when an outfit as small as Main Street Theater decides to stage Othello, it's hard not to be amazed...
William July gave Jamey Lacy a copy of his book, Brothers, Lust and Love: Thoughts on Manhood, Sex and Romance, when they met at a how-to-find-a-publisher workshop. It was the...
Chicago's alternative rock bands can take themselves pretty seriously. From Tortoise's postrock self-indulgence to Liz Phair's postfeminist diatribes to the Smashing...
Custom crispy critters: Choose half orders of any two grilled items on the menu to compose your own special Mixed Grill plate, $18.95 at the Tuscany Grill [3910-C Kirby,...
Now that Houston has become, however fleetingly, a good jazz town, with more live jazz available on a Tuesday night than on a Saturday of even one year ago, the Rice Media...
Thursday February 11 In the human view of the insect world, there are good bugs and there are bad bugs. We consider some (such as parasitic wasps, lacewings, praying...
Sean Welling oozed testosterone as he took the Kaplan Theatre stage last weekend amid smoke, flashing lights and the slick voice-overs of a taped "announcer." From a line of...
In an almost nightly ritual of 14 years, Alvaro "Al" Barretto made the rounds of his domain, the Crystal Nite Club, on a late Wednesday in December 1997. The 32-year-old...
There was a time in Houston when "rap music" meant Rap-A-Lot, and that was it. For the better part of the decade, that rap label, led by James "Lil' J" Smith (now known as...
It's that time of year. Your sinuses are stopped up, your taste buds dulled by Robitussin. What you need is soup -- specifically a fire-breathing potage that'll clear your...
Sabrina might be following in the nice-witch broom-wake of Samantha from the smash '60s sitcom Bewitched, but most supernatural shows of late are a little more rebellious....
Steelworker stands more than 12 feet tall and holds his testing ladle beside him the way a sentry holds his gun. The helmeted worker, located a short spring from the University...
Mayor Lee P. Brown has been careful in his freshman year to couch his policies in a "Be Like Bob" mode. After capitalizing on his predecessor's undeclared support to win the...
Blondie No Exit Beyond Most pop comebacks, particularly recent ones, are pathetic. Disastrous. Mortifying. (Case in point: Bauhaus.) So when Blondie, a band that defined...
Entering Cafe Caracas from the commercial clamor of Westheimer is like stepping into a 19th-century bandbox. Imagine a turn-of-the-century sidewalk cafe turned outside in: The...
