A new study coming out of the Baylor College of Medicine suggests that the Texas Public School Nutrition Policy has led to real improvements in the way that the state’s middle school students eat. The findings, published in this month’s American Journal of Public Health, analyzed lunch records in south Texas middle schools before and after both district- and state-wide changes took place. The research team found that school lunches after the 2004 policy was......

Here are a few books Houstonist thinks your friends and family won't use for doorstops (that's the fruitcake, right?). Everyone likes a good read, or at least a smart-looking book to sit on the nightstand. Give these a try. And shop at your local independent bookstore -- they can give you even more recommendations, and probably a good cup of coffee as well. Fun, mostly fiction books for people who are... Houstonians and/or architecture......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • Two men were rescued from the Gulf of Mexico 130 miles southeast of Galveston when their helicopter crashed. • Deer Park resident and former Astros pitcher, Andy Pettitte, admitted to using a human growth hormone during his recovery from an elbow injury in 2002. • During future evacuations and before boarding public transportation criminal background checks will be standard operating procedure to......

Football on a Thursday? Does this mean we have to skip 30 Rock? Damn, this is a hard decision. Gary Kubiak vs. Jack Donaghy. Sage Rosenfels vs. Judah Freidlander. Texans Cheerleaders vs. our completely defensible crush on Tina Fey. Tracy Jordan vs. Travis Henry's illegitmate children. Mike Shannahan's hair vs. the Sheinhart Wig Company. Who are we kidding? You can watch 30 Rock any time on NBC's website. It's like Tivo for poor people! The......

Raise your glass and raise some funds for the HERO project -- a humanitarian campaign of the United Nations Association (USA) dedicated to providing comprehensive, school-based support to orphans and vulnerable children living in HIV/AIDS-affected communities in Africa. All you have to do is show up at New Gallery/Thom Andriola (2627 Colquitt) tomorrow, Wednesday the 12th between 7 and 9PM. Taste some wine, admire the art, and feel good knowing you're doing something for other......

The Texans pleasantly surprised us yesterday. Here we were all ready for another defeat, and suddenly Sage "Best Backup QB In The League" Rosenfels makes us feel all better. The picture that accompanies the top link today captures the feelings of many Texans fans today, we'd imagine. But there's more than just football going on this time of year; read on and see! - The lovely and talented Stephanie Stradley at AOL Fanhouse has a......

Candlelight Open House at Bayou Bend Dec 7, 2007 5:00 PM at the Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens This fall, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, has been hosting Candlelight Open House nights at their Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens on Friday nights. This Friday night is your last chance to go to the open house and tour the property in all of its holiday season glory. The central figure in Yuletide´s Holiday Heroines is......

::Flash Yo Stache at Vinyl Ranch:: It's back all you Urban Cowboys and Girls: Vinyl Ranch at Leon's Lounge. And this time a little twisted (at the edges). Tonight's 4th installment of the honky tonk party at Leon's Lounge brings a whole new level to the shindig. Local charity Mustaches For Kids will team up with Vinyl Ranch creator, Dave Wrangler, to create a meeting of the 'staches! How perfect is this? Be on......

::Dame Julie Andrews to speak at Hobby Center:: "The Hobby Center's alive, with the sound of Juuuu-lieeee." Yeppers, Marry Poppins herself makes an arrival at the Hobby Center tonight, as part of the Brilliant Lecture Series. The voice, the music the memories.... The Brilliant Lecture Series presents A Conversation… with Golden Globe, Emmy and Academy Award winner, Dame Julie Andrews. Join us for a rare and candid conversation with the legend. Andrews has rebuilt her......

Houstonist got worn out on early morning White Russians and late night Bloody Marys during the Thanksgiving break. Thus, we were looking for something light and zesty when a fellow sauce fiend suggest we opt for a Slutty Shirley. The Slutty Shirley is a twist on the traditional children's cocktail, the Shirley Temple. You may remember Shirley Temple as a tap dancing little girl from black-and-white movies. The little lady inspired a fizzy red......

Here we go, the big mother of all holidays. Love it, or hate it – it’s nearly December and whether you’re into Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa or whatever else you may be into, December is a really bigass month. If nothing else, the streets are more congested, people drive even crazier than normal and the average Houstonian is pelted with food, drink and festivities. Yeah, we hate drinking and eating, we know how you feel......

There are so many freaking cool things happening this weekend -- here's just a list of what Houstonist has on hand. Please send us the rest. Thursday November 29th HOUSTON. IT'S WORTH IT. Book Launch Party At the Lawndale Parking Lot, 4912 Main Street 6:30PM-9PM Images from the book will be projected on North wall of Lawndale art center. DJ Pooks spins the tunes and there will be refreshments. Proceeds from sales of the......

Good morning, Houston. There's nothing quite like a building implosion to lift our spirits at the beginning of the week — if, of course, it's a building we won't miss. That happened to be the case with the Crowne Plaza hotel in the Medical Center, which was reduced to rubble Sunday; click the link for video from KHOU. (Be prepared to wait — there's a lot of buildup to the big moment in Channel......

Houstonist has an active and amazing Flickr photo group. We receive many, many photos of Houston and the surrounding areas every day and unless you are an active visitor to our photo pool many of these photos go unnoticed. So in a weekly effort to bring you more amazing photos from Houstonist readers and photographers, we are going to feature a block of photos submitted to our Flickr photo group. The images will be dug......

Better late than nevah - here's our roundup of feasting and imbibing in the very near future. See the bottom of the post for some Thanksgiving food ideas, we'll be continuing to update that, and no, we won't add Grandma Kroger to the list, or any other supermarket, for that matter. Well, maybe Central Market or perhaps Whole Foods, maybe. Great American Bake Sale -Dessert Gallery, Sugar Land Friday, November 16th – 6:00 p.m. until......

::Official Houston Launch of Skirt! Magazine:: A few skirt-y things have come outta Houston in the last few months, and we are thrilled our lovely ladies are making their mark in Houston business. First, Houstonian and hilarious blogger, Laura Mayes, co-founds sk*rt, a social media ranking site that caters to the female persuasion (think Digg, but for chicks). And not to be confused with that sk*rt, this last month launched the Houston market of Skirt!......

::Live Downtown Kick-off Party:: Before you have to battle the Spoon vs. Girl Talk decision tonight, stop by an event that doesn't require you to choose between your two favorite children. Ok, maybe missing Spoon isn't THAT life changing. We'll be at Girl Talk. Tonight, in preparation for Saturday's Live Downtown Home Tour, guests are invited to the Live Downtown Kick-Off Party on the rooftop terrace of the Commerce Towers. From 6 - 8 p.m.......

Houston! We’re going to be rounding up current food and wine events once a week, so you don’t have to. Previously, we posted these gastronomic opportunities, along with festivals and the like – having let that slip was criminal! Once again, Culinary Adventures comes your way!!! Tour de Donut – “The Sweetest Bike Ride in Texas”Sunday, November 4th – beginning at 8:00 a.m. Sun & Ski Sports @ Katy Mills Mall $25/participant in advance $35/participant......

Good morning, Houston. Well, uh here's something you don't hear about every day — but it being Halloween and all, we couldn't resist: In Hunt County, police pulled over an 18-wheeler Sunday morning and found about two dozen human heads in the back. True story. But it's not what you think: Turns out the heads (which were embalmed) were specimens used in medical training in Fort Worth, and they were headed back to a......

::MFA Presents Movies Houstonians Love:: "Singin' in the Rain" Guests Speaker: Lauren Anderson, Houston Ballet We are big fans of this MFA series, as past participants include Bun B, Barbara Bush, Larry Dierker, and Mayor Bill White. Tonight's film, "Singin' in the Rain," will be presented by principal ballerina, Lauren Anderson, who danced with Houston Ballet from 1983 to 2006, starring in classical ballets, appeared across the world to critical acclaim. In January, Anderson assumed......

Good morning, Houston. We suppose Tex-Mex is finally official: The New York Times wrote about it yesterday in an article that looked at famed Mexican joints in Houston, Dallas and San Antonio. "Neon signs flicker above pastel storefronts promising excellent Mexican food in virtually every block of the city," the Times' Joe Drape writes of Houston. "The trick is to figure out which places will deliver on that promise." Indeed. Drape visited El Jardin......

::HOME: The Aramco Brat's Story:: Tonight, River Oaks Theatre hosts the Houston screening of the feature length documentary, HOME: Aramco Brat's Story, a film depicting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as seen through the eyes of the Western expatriate children who grew up there between 1933 and present day. With all the attention given to the Middle East today, it is important that the Western public receives a complete picture in order that their......

Bayou City Arts Festival - Downtown Need tickets to this weekend's Bayou City Arts Festival? We gotcha covered. We scored a few pairs, so drop us an email at monica (@) houstonist dot com and we'll hook you up. (And not like the time we tried to hook you up with our boyfriend's 3rd cousin. Sorry about that.) This all can be yours, for the low, low price of free (aka send an email to......

Good morning, Houston. We've run into some, uh, active parents of student athletes in our day, but we can't remember remember hearing about one who was actually banned from his kid's sporting events — until now, that is. Meet Joe Dalton, who has been barred from his son's Stafford High home football games because school district officials allege he assaulted a student. It happened at the last home game Dalton attended, where he said......

There are few among us who truly focus on the wining, dining and opining of the fair sex as a studied artform. Think Al Green, Barry White and now local ladies man of song You(genious). Picture a perpetually suited smooth crooner with champagne bottles, single stem red roses and lollipops in tow - just for the ladies. To get this sultry party started, a few H-Town questions with You(genious): Sexiest place in H-town? My......

Houstonist's 'Heart of Gold' is a regular feature that gives a little love to the people that make a difference. Yes, we randomly get that touchy-feely. So sue us. And share your ideas with us too! Because shaving is just so uncharitable, Houston is holding its very first Mustaches For Kids fundraiser event. Didn't think kids needed mustaches did you? Well, think of it like a walkathon where the walking is replaced with facial hair......

Good morning, Houston. If you've ever been to Rich's, the dance club in midtown, you probably won't be surprised to hear that the crowd there Saturday was sporting "feather boas, glittering hair accessories, sparkling dresses and tutus." But exactly who was in the crowd might take you by surprise: It was a bunch of kids there for Baby Loves Disco, part of a national series of dance events that benefit childhood cancer research. (In......

The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art is kicking off its Fall with a fantastic afternoon for families, children, artists and all very cool persons who enjoy art cars! Saturday, September 29th from 1-4pm, head on over to Munger Street, home of The Orange Show Monument, for food, drinks and the return of the 2006 winner of the Mayor's Cup - Atomic Dog, created by Waltrip High School. Those of you who hit the Art......

Movie buff? Military buff? Either way, today's Daily-ist has gotcha covered. Hey, we're here for YOU. Head dowtown tonight (yes, on a Tuesday) for The Heritage Society's a one hour special screening and discussion of the newest documentary to come from director and producer Ken Burns: The War. This seven-part series about the Second World War highlights the perspectives of a handful of ordinary American men and women who lived during this time. But, under......

Gloria Steinem presents "The Progression Of Feminism: Where Are We Going?" Tonight at Wortham Center, the Progressive Forum Houston presents pioneer of the modern feminsit movement, Gloria Steinem, in a program that urges audiences to reconstruct their understanding of gender roles to foster a national spirit of cooperation for advancing of the rights of all citizens, especially our children. Gloria Steinem's philosophy and fight for equal rights for women transformed America, creating a social acceptance......