Beginning today and running through Sunday - the party is ON in Galveston! It is time for the Lone Star Rally, one of the largest AMA sanctioned events anywhere. Where to start? There will be a humongous amount of activities going on, and stuff. We'll highlight a few and let you bang the link to the website for the full list. First, there will be the Leather and Lace Ball and Halloween Costume Party at......

The Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo publicly stated opposition to the proposed redevelopment of the Astrodome into a hotel and convention center. Giving the reason that it would have negative effects on the Texans and the HLSR, spokesfolks didn't actually release details yet to back it up. Since the Astros' abandonment of the Astrodome, it has been tough to try to agree and finance good uses for it year-round. The hotel and......

Oni-Con is Houston's original anime convention and it's held once a year. If you are not familiar with anime, please allow us to bring you up to speed. Anime is a drawing and animation style that originated in Japan and has been popular in America for quite some time with shows such as Pokemon, Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z. Maybe you've seen these animated shows on Cartoon Network late at night while channel......

If you didn't like the idea of our beloved Astrodome becoming a fancy hotel, then you won't be happy that a hotel plan is still in the works. The difference this time around, though, is that the new convention hotel will not incorporate the "historic" Texas themes which could have included an Alamo facade, faux courthouse, and a bunch of other corny things. The new plan, which doesn't yet have detailed renderings, opts for a......

GHCVB Mixer @ Buffalo Soldier's Museum Join the Greater Houston Convention and Visitor's Bureau this afternoon as they host a monthly mixer at the Buffalo Soldier's Musuem. Dreadlock Rasta. Flash back through time watching Harriet Tubman and Buffalo Soldier reenactments while immersed in hundreds of historical Buffalo Soldiers' artifacts. Enjoy complimentary hors d'oeuvres from Frenchy's chicken and beverages from Silver Eagle distributors while networking with other GHCVB members. Please RSVP to Sam at sgaler@ghcvb.org. About......

This afternoon and tomorrow, several Houston hotels are holding the ultimate garage sale at the GRB Convention Center, so now's your chance to make your living room a miniature replica of the Hilton Americas lobby. Finally! Participating hotels include the Four Seasons, the Hilton Americas, and the Hyatt, and they're selling absolutely everything. You'll find furniture, electronics, linens, dishes, etc. and good bargains have been promised (that remains to be seen though). That includes......

We at the Gothamist network would like to express our heartfelt wishes to the people of Minnesota in the days after their tragic bridge collapse. We're not trying to discount the severity of the accident by making note of it in opposition to our usual -Ist lightheartedness – we just wanted to take a moment and recognize those affected last week. After the Minneapolis bridge collapse, Bostonist did a little research and found that Massachusetts......

Ah, how we love news of stupid criminals — but there's been woefully little of it lately. So thank goodness for the guy who broke into a jukebox early this morning, but didn't realize it was free and therefore contained no money at all. It happened on West Road near the North Freeway at around 1:30 a.m., when someone smashed a glass door of a restaurant and went to the jukebox inside, apparently planning to......

Bridal Extravaganza + Ticket Giveaway Getting married soon? (Yikes.) If you are ready to dive into the world of florists, photographers, DJ's, and bridal gowns, you are in luck! This weekend, the 23rd Bi-Annual Bridal Extravaganza walks down the aisle at the GRB, July 14 & 15. The nation’s largest bridal show will take place on Saturday, at the George R. Brown Convention Center this Saturday and Sunday. This year’s event features over 300,000......

Organic short documentary showing the cool, hidden life of Houston, America's 4th Largest city. Features interviews with George Foreman, Chloe Dao, Lauren Anderson and others. Musical performances by Beetle and Michael Ward. Great cinematography and editorial. Produced by Merideth Melville. Directed by W. Ross Wells. This is a very well done documentary that runs 12:14 and was made in part by Continental Airlines and is linked with visithoustontexas.com which is a site for The......

Discovery Green, the unfortunately named park under construction in downtown Houston, has gained its first high-profile piece of artwork: Jean Dubuffet's Monument au Fantôme, which has stood in front of 1100 Louisiana for 25 years. Dan Duncan, the pipeline tycoon who owns the skyscraper, has donated the sculpture to the park, where it will sit along Avenida de las Americas across from the George R. Brown Convention Center. "It's a fantastic piece of art," park......

Good morning, Houston. We don't mind telling you that we really have no love for cockroaches, but we do have a little bit more appreciation for the little critters after reading the Chronicle's interview with the Houston Museum of Natural Science's curator of entomology, Nancy Greig. "They're neat," Greig said. "Only 12 out of 4,000 are pests." Ah, well, good. But why are those 12 always in our apartment? >> Perry: We need more......

Good morning, Houston. So, did you hear about the guy who accidentally shot himself during a gun show at the George R. Brown Convention Center? Nope, not a joke: The guy was apparently trying to disassemble his Glock .40-caliber handgun while shopping for a part for the gun when he shot himself Saturday afternoon — but the real kicker is that it looks like he was carrying the gun illegally. "We have signs posted......

What's in store for the brain this week? Photography and politics join forces this Thursday when the American Leadership Forum of Houston presents a lecture program entitled, Civil Liberties and Guantanamo. If your brain tickles at the thought of debating the failures of the Geneva Convention, or if you never figured out what the big deal about Guantanamo was anyway, then this event is for you. Thursday's lecture will be led by University of Houston......

With the official beginning of the 2007 hurricane season a little more than a week away, Harris County officials have released a new evacuation plan based on ZIP codes. Residents of coastal and low-lying areas can determine whether they're in evacuation zones using a map of the area that groups ZIP codes into four zones based on threat, from the coast up through Brazoria and Galveston counties to Houston's East End, Channelview, Baytown and......

KHOU's Jeff McShan had a much-publicized interview with Quanell X last night — and despite the indication that it would show us who Quanell X really is, we don't know all that much more now than we did before. The only thing that seems clear about Quanell X is that he's full of contradictions. In the interview with McShan, he recalled what he called a turning point in his life: a conversation he had with......

If your classic car collection is missing that certain something, may we suggest that you head down to Seabrook this weekend for the Worldwide Group Houston Classic Auction? A bunch of classic autos will be on the auction block, including a sweet '53 Corvette roadster, an elegant '52 Jaguar, a '70 American Motors AMX Fastback — oh, and what will undoubtedly be one of the stars of the show: the hearse that carried JFK's body......

Out of curiosity, have you tried to book a hotel anywhere in Houston this week? Checked out the prices? Wondered why all rooms have gone up by a hundred dollars or so? If you don't know what we're getting on about, then you probably don't work in the energy industry, and you probably don't know that the OTC (Offshore Technology Conference) is going on this week. The convention is currently taking up the entire......

The Friends of the Houston Public Library invite you to peruse the more than 80,000 books of all genres that will be on sale at bargain prices this weekend at the George R. Brown Convention Center. The sale, held annually, benefits the Houston Public Library - and you, of course. Who doesn't love cheap books? Friday is preview day for members of the Friends, but you can join at the door for $20. On Sunday,......

Urban Corridor Planning is a City of Houston initiative that "will change how the City regulates development and designs its streets and other infrastructure in order to create a high quality urban environment in areas along METRO’s light rail and guided rapid transit corridors." The results of UCP's Phase I can be seen here. Now it's time to begin the next phase, and the city is all but begging for your input. The kick-off workshop......

Remember when the Astrodome was considered to be the 8th wonder of the world? It is amazing how quickly times have changed…now the redevelopment is struggling to meet funding deadlines for the $450 million project. In August 2006, the Astrodome Redevelopment Corporation (catchy name) signed a letter of intent proposing a 1,000 room 4-star luxury hotel and parking garage inside the previous sports stadium. The first 'proof of funding' deadline passed in December of 2006,......

If there's one thing we've never heard Galveston compared to, it's The Hamptons. Houston's Clear Thinkers was equally surprised when they encountered this comparison in a New York Times article. We guess it makes sense, since there has been a boom in beach-house building and buying among Houstonians in the past several years. Has the world finally "discovered the Gulf Coast?" We'll see. This blog says that we'd be better off watching for hurricanes, not......

GHCVB presents: One Day in Houston Ever wonder what famous Houstonians have to say about the Bayou City? Find out tonight as the Greater Houston Convention and Visitor's Bureau premieres a Zen Film production of One Day in Houston, a promotional film designed to promote Houston from within. No, we're not talking ANS or Space Cadet, this film features positive Houston advocates such as George Foreman, Chloe Dao, Lauren Anderson, Brian Ching, Yolanda Adams,......

Good morning, Houston. Today's question: How cool are you? According to Ken Hoffman, the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau is trying to find the 10 coolest people in Houston to form a focus group that'll help promote the city. Hoffman saw the list of nominees and wasn't impressed — but seriously, when was the last time anyone was impressed by one of the GHCVB's marketing plans? So here's the deal: If you can......

Sadists known as distance runners are expected to crowd the streets near George R. Brown Convention Center this Sunday morning to take part in the Chevron Houston Marathon, Aramco Half-Marathon and Houston Press/Smart Financial 5K. The race has grown-up quite a bit since the initial event in 1972 when the first race was run by 113 runners on a five mile loop. 2007's 35th incarnation of the event will feature 15,000 registered runners between......

Whoooaaawhoaaooohoooh! It's not unusual to dig Tom Jones! We digress. Cat people of Houston, aficionados, fanciers, breeders and cat lovers in general, there is a cat show here, on the green, green astroturf grass of home. Now, we don't think you will actually see Tom Jones (rats! Maybe this handsome orange devil on the right will perform?), but, actual cats will abound and will be judged by breed and for best overall. The 55th Annual......

A couple of weeks ago, we talked about how a marketing firm suggested that adding "Island" to the city of Galveston's name would make tourists flock to the island. Presumably, tourists would then realize that it actually is an island, and everyone knows islands = fun (well, OK, there are some exceptions). But if you got excited about the possibility of the City of Galveston Island, simmer down: The Galveston City Council pretty much shot......

OK, guys — we're sure this won't interest you one bit, but there's a porn convention in Houston this weekend. What? All right, all right, we'll go ahead and tell you about it because we know you're dedicated to keeping up with local events. The convention is Lone Star Pornutopia, which began Wednesday and runs through Saturday. It's a scaled-down version of an event held every January in Las Vegas (which includes the AVN Awards),......

If you're hiking, consider charging up your iPod, as Seattlest finds out that a man lost during a hike was found by the glow of his iPod. That cleverness seems to be devoid in cops who were using police cruiser instant messaging clients - although we imagine IMs "so are you nakie" to be included in cop shows, just for realism. If only the cops were busting the Hummer-driving jerk who made a poor......

Houstonist will be taking Thanksgiving off, but that doesn't mean you should. There are plenty of places all over the city that need volunteers to do everything from deliver meals to carry balloons this week. Here are just a few: TXU Energy is sponsoring a 5K Fun Run that benefits Sheltering Arms, an agency that provides a wide array of services for the elderly. Volunteers are needed to help with registration, set-up, water stations, etc.......