::Vinyl Ranch #6: A Tribute to the Female Legends of Country Music:: Oh Lordy do we need some country lovin'! Vinyl Ranch will be playing the best of the best tonight at the smallest country dance floor in Texas, currently in place at Leon's Lounge. Dave Wrangler and LJ Walker host this very special ladies night, along with guest DJ Chris Kairo. It's February, and if any month could use a little more honky......

Seeing as how it's now officially 2008 — which, by the way, is both the International Year of the Potato and the International Year of Sanitation (thanks, U.N.!) — we figured it was a good time to pay a visit to the Houstonist Favorites page and see what your favorite Houstonist posts of 2007 were. >> Most commented: "R.I.P.: Houston-born Anna Nicole Smith" February was sort of a high-water mark when it came to, um,......

Good morning, Houston. So you say you're a Dynamo fan, eh? Well, here's your chance to prove it: The back-to-back MLS champs are auctioning off a chance to get close to the team's two MLS cups — literally. If you win the auction, the cups will be dropped off at your house on Christmas Eve and picked up Dec. 26; in between, you can do whatever you want with 'em (within reason, of course).......

We have a confession to make. Merely two weeks into our low cholesterol diet, we've fallen off the low cholesterol wagon and dove into the chow wagon. But it wasn't our fault! We were tempted by an evil and sinister force: oysters. More specifically, Danton oysters. So, you understand, right? Right? Confession aside, let's get to the nitty gritty--these oysters are anything but gritty. We walked into the place with full intentions to abide by......

Here you go Houston, more food and wine events for you to peruse. We are going to work to get you more than one Culinary Events posting per week, as the holidays can increase the number of events, dinners, fund-raising food and beverage activities and festivals. Also, we strive to give you some advance notice - as you can't always get your reservations or tickets, which ever the case may be, on the day......

Houstonist is two years old. We have made great strides during our second year. We are proud to have showcased the city and the work of many talented photographers during 600 sq mi. And, we are also proud and very relieved to have safely hosted over 60 folks on the Light Rail Pub Crawl. Thanks to our 11 veteran readers and our one new recruit. We love you. You're the jam in our jelly......

No trips to the record store this week; our best pick for new music is only available on iTunes. This is Me Then features early gems from Common’s career, including tracks from his groundbreaking record, Resurrection, and four old school music videos. -We thought Common was great in American Gangster -Next up, he's filming a movie with Angelina Jolie -Buy This is Me Then: The Best of Common Listen to cool music and help out......

Goat cheese is another one of those ingredients that people either love or hate. On the one hand, we think goat cheese is a delectable, multi-talented piece of dairy. On the other hand, one hater told us he thought it tasted like 'farm'. Hmmm. Hopefully this article will inspire a second taste, perhaps even transforming 'farm' to 'farmtastic? Goat cheese, also known as chevre cheese, has a slightly tart taste due to the higher content......

Ok, so every once in a while our own private obsessions creep into our picks for the Daily-ists. Hey, we're only human, and today's Rice lecture explores the most human aspect of us all: the brain. Yippee! (ok, enough joyous celebration of our favorite organ.) "Brain and Behavior: How We Create and Maintain Memory in Early Adulthood and Advanced Age" A lecture by Jessica M. Logan Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Rice University No one......

::Vinyl Ranch at Leon's Lounge:: As the Houston Press finally put to rest the debate of Houston's oldest bar yesterday, we were busy planning our strategic involvement in the 2nd Annual Vinyl Ranch at Leon's Lounge. Yes, DJ Dave Wrangler is doing it again,. If you missed the first Vinyl Ranch, you are probably still kicking your self. Well, at least we are. (Kicking oursevles, not kicking you.) So what is Vinyl Ranch? Think: Gilley's......

Contemporary Dance Showcase at MOT Beginning tonight, Dance Source Houston presents a Weekend of Texas Contemporary Dance, to be held at Miller Outdoor Theatre. Now in its 13th year, A Weekend of Texas Contemporary Dance, presents a snapshot of the contemporary dance scene in Houston featuring new work and revivals of recent work. This artistic sampler features a range of choreographic styles set to music that ranges from classical to experimental. Featuring the best of......

That's right, our favorite technology radio show, Technology Bytes, turns 12 this month! (the exact date seems to be lost by everyone on the show. hmmm, guess it wasn't on their Google Calendar.) Join Co-hosts Dwight Silverman & Jay Lee, and the whole gang, Peter, Barrett, Phliktid, Groovehouse, and Jennifer the Intern for the TechBytes anniversary party, tonight at Dean's Credit Clothing [316 Main St.]. Dean's is smoke-free for your breathing pleasure, and there will......

LAist was comped front row seats by the Dodgers due to Malingering being struck by a foul ball last week, and she came back with some great photos, and earlier made fun of 4th of July on Venice Beach. But the biggest stories of the week was that the Mayor's Hot Tamale was revealed, and that a Kwik-E-Mart was erected in Burbank. Phillyist was busy doing the Fourth of July up right, exercising their......

The road to 3,000 hits the Bayou City starting today with a four-game set against the Colorado Rockies. And Craig Biggio is salivating at the opportunity to make history at home. Against the Rockies, Biggio owns a .347 average, the best of any opponent. On Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers, Biggio recorded career hit 2,997 against Claudio Vargas in the third inning; a single to left field. Biggio Fact of the Day: In 1987,......

Houston Symphony Summer Nights The Symphony must have heard what you said about Miller Outdoor Theatre, readers. Tonight they will perform a concert at the auspicious venue, and - like all Miller events - it's totally free. It might be a little wet, so remember that tickets for the covered seating area are available at the Miller Theatre Box Office between 11:30 am and 1:00 pm on the day of the performance. Remaining tickets are......

Good morning, Houston. Remember Radar, the adorable Channel 2 weather dog? If you're a Ken Hoffman reader, we can't imagine how you'd forget. It turns out someone in Tyler was a big fan of the idea: a TV station there has their own weather dog, Stormy. Stormy serves a function similar to Radar's and also wears an American flag bandana and takes ridiculous pictures. Just another reason to be glad you don't live in......

Holy smokes! Giant fish on the MTA, Paris Hilton in jail, then out, then in again, Al Gore, goatses, blumpkins, Matt Damon, and baby art critics! It's been a busy week across the Ist-A-Verse, and here's a smattering of what's been going on. In Gothamist's neck of the woods, they found out that many things are possible: A man caught a 40+ pound fish off the Rockaways and took it home on the subway. Graffiti......

Dance, Dance. Double-header Dancing tonight in the form of two of Houston's best dance companies: The Metropolitan Dance Company and City Dance. >>>Summer Dance with the Houston Met Dynamic, exhilarating and high-energy. It’s how critics and the public alike describe the performances of Houston Metropolitan Dance Company. To complete their stellar season they are brining their artistry to Miller Outdoor Theatre for a free performance, Summer Dance: The Best of the Houston Met Season tonight,......

It was 10 years ago today that the music world lost Jeff Buckley. The musician drowned after taking a midnight swim in the Mississippi River during a break from recording his sophomore album. Yes, he only released one studio album while he was alive, the critically acclaimed Grace, which was released in 1994 but didn’t reach gold status (500,000 copies sold) until 2002. In memory of Buckley’s passing, Sony has released So Real: Songs from......

Today’s Photo of the Day comes from flickr user and Houstonist photo contributor jgriffi1. Taken during the recent Houston Grand Prix, it's the perfect photo to speed us over the finish line of sports theme week. Thanks to all our contributors for graciously sharing their photos with us and look for more of the best of our Houstonist Flickr members. If you have a passion for Houston and photography, consider joining over 270 of......

LAist is experimenting with blogging dates from J-Date, but finds the best men are found offline. Some date vicariously online and that is one reason why porn is big -- really freaking big -- so they ask if they should cover XXX since the heart of it lays in the city's San Fernando Valley. A writer grapples with her food porn photography obsession, another gets censored on Flickr, one gets scooped by the LA......

Houstonian Charlie Robison is coming to Warehouse Live this Thursday night and we’re giving you a chance to win a pair of tickets. Actually, we have two pairs of tickets for the show, so you can urge your friends to enter, too! Robison, who was born in Houston but raised in Bandera, first hit the Texas country music scene over a decade ago. His 1998 album Life of the Party received a lot of regional......

Local singer/songwriter Lee Alexander has been working the pub and wine bar scene for the last few years, and it’s paid off. His CD Out of Place was on many local critic’s “Best of 2006” list and has received several regional music nominations and awards. Alexander plays tonight at one of our favorite wine bars – The Corkscrew. They are hosting a new Monday evening acoustic set, which puts Lee Alexander right at home (and......

Jeff Van Gundy was mum about his future with the ball club during last night's post game press conference. However, ESPN is reporting that Van Gundy will leave the Rockets following last night's loss to the Jazz. John Kincade broke the news to Houston listeners earlier today on his ESPN Radio show. JK stated that Van Gundy was leaving the sideline to take a break from the stress of coaching. Van Gundy's coaching performance has......

The Rockets are back in the playoffs and the fun starts tonight. It's hard to believe that it's been ten years since the Rockets have won a playoff series. Tonight they start their first round run against the Utah Jazz and to this day I still don't know why that team hasn't changed its name. Utah is just not synonymous with Jazz. Tonight is the first game in a best of seven series that......

We first fell in love with the Old 97’s as soon as we heard “Time Bomb” on college radio more than 10 years ago. Half a dozen albums later, the band is celebrating and touring on the heels of their latest CD, Hit by a Train: The Best of the Old 97’s. Houstonist caught up with Rhett Miller, lead singer, songwriter and sometimes solo artist (Rhett released his second solo album The Believer last year)......

Two internationally acclaimed artists join the Houston Chamber Orchestra for a diverse program tonight at the Hobby Center. Pianist Charles Asche performs as soloist in Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58.” Asche has performed throughout the United States, in Russia and South America and is currently on the piano faculty at the University of California at Santa Barbara. He was among the first American pianists to perform in the......

We didn't see this one coming, but Felicia, the Houstonian on this cycle of America's Next Top Model, has been sent packing. The 19 year old beauty has been focused on this season, mainly due to her resemblence to Supermodel/ANTM host Tyra Banks. We thought she would go much farther, because she is beautiful, took great pictures, and isn't crazy. Apparently though, not being crazy is not a good thing for ratings, and because she......

Cross your fingers, folks. This year might be the end of the Chronicle's 106-year-long Pulitzer losing streak. That's right -- the Houston Chronicle is the only newspaper among the country's ten largest to have never won a Pulitzer Prize. However, according to an unofficial leaked list of this year's finalists, Nick Anderson, editorial cartoonist, might end the dry spell. Anderson is already a Pulitzer winner, you see. He's only been with the Chronicle since last......

Well into the first week of the rodeo, we’ve seen performances from George Strait, Los Lonely Boys, and Reba. Tonight is Black Heritage Day, featuring Natalie Cole and R&B singer and songwriter KEM. So, we thought we’d feature Natalie Cole’s biggest hit, a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Pink Cadillac” most memorable song and video, her 1991 studio produced “duet” with her father, Nat “Unforgettable.” Natalie was apprehensive about capitalizing on her father’s name for......