Mahmoud Darwish, renowned Palestinian poet and man of letters, died in Houston on Saturday. According to the Houston Chronicle: The predominant Palestinian poet, whose work has been translated into more than 20 languages and won numerous international awards, died following open heart surgery at a Houston hospital, said Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The New York Times also mourns the world's loss and notes that Darwish will receive a state......

This is your last week to check out shows at The Proletariat before it closes for good. They packed their schedule with some great local bands. Be on the lookout for more information on these shows soon. Did we miss something? Let us know. Here’s the full week line-up. Local bands are noted by an asterisk (*): Wednesday • *Over Sea Under Stone/Geisert 8/*Judas Bear/*Antarctica Starts Here – indie/rock | 9 p.m. at The......

Artists from both coasts duke it out on the charts this week. We’ve been fans of the Helio Sequence's ambient sound for some time now, and today the band releases their fourth album, Keep Your Eyes Ahead. -Download some songs at CNET -Aversion interviewed Helio singer Brandon Summers -Read an album review at Billboard.com -Buy Keep Your Eyes Ahead So if you visit the Mars Volta’s website, you can read a very elaborate story about......

Good morning, Houston. Remember Mayor Bill's agreement with Clear Channel that would result in the removal of nearly 900 billboards across the city? Well, it's not necessarily a done deal after all: On Wednesday, six City Council members voted to delay the plan, saying they still had questions about its ramifications. The problem, they said, was that the deal would allow Clear Channel to move remaining billboards: "We're allowing new billboard locations to pop......

With all the excitement surrounding the new Wu-Tang Clan record, what are some other bands you'd like to see return to the spotlight? We still say a prayer for a Fugees' comeback album, even though we know it's a lost cause. 8 Diagrams is the long-awaited new album from Wu-Tang, featuring the much-talked about Beatles' sample and guitar work by John Frusciante. Group members Ghostface and Raekwon have been vocal about their dissatisfaction with the......

Update: Yesterday's news of Pimp C's dead shot across the city of Houston via blogs, message boards, and shocked emails. Rumors of foul play, even a mention of fellow rapper Spice 1 also being involved in a shooting, buzzed around town. The two incidents are not thought to be related. Capt. Ed Winter of the Los Angeles County coroner's office said Butler had apparently died in bed. "At this time there's no signs of foul......

Houston rapper Pimp C was found dead this morning in his hotel room on LA's Sunset Strip. Pimp C had performed with Too Short on Saturday evening at the House of Blues. Pitchfork reports "L.A. firefighters responded to a 911 call at the Sunset Strip's Mondrian Hotel, where they found the rapper dead in his bed. No information on cause of death has been given at this time." Pimp C, born Chad Butler, was one......

December already? Everything is reversed from the summer: back then, the Astros were dead in the water, the upcoming Texans season looked promising because of some new additions, and the Dynamo were gearing up to defend their MLS Cup title. Now, the Texans are DOA, the Astros are looking exciting next year, and the Dynamo, well, at least someone's consistent. Here's what's been going on this week in the Houston sports blogosphere: - The Dynamo......

Good morning, Houston. Did you know that we're now in a bold new Fluorescent Age thanks to Mayor Bill White and his colleagues in Dallas, San Antonio, Austin and El Paso? The collective His Honors gathered in San Antonio on Friday to name the compact fluorescent bulb the "state bulb of Texas." If that doesn't make you want to switch to CFLs, try this: December is Compact Fluorescent Light Month in Texas. What's so......

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......

The thought may have crossed your mind once some balmy spring day in early March, pre-heat, as the flowers start to bloom but the mosquitoes haven't yet returned. Or perhaps you realized it some fall evening as you relaxed on a patio having drinks while people in the northern half of the country listened to their radiators clank like a death knell. "Houston's not so bad, in fact, despite the [_____], it's worth it." Okay,......

Happy Monday from the Sports Doldrums! With the World Series over, the Texans being the Texans, and the Rockets not quite started, this has got to be the worst time of the sports year. But sports being what they are, people are still talking about them. Here's what the blog world has been saying about your hometown teams: - Sad, but unsurprising, end to the story of the life and death of Eddie Griffin.......

The Red Sox has permeated nearly every facet of Bostonist's lives. When they're not live-blogging the games, waxing poetic about the games, thanking Curt Schilling for his splendid work, or telling Dane Cook to watch his hair, they're watching certain presidential candidates hop on the Red Sox bandwagon (sorry, Gothamist). The Sox are so branded on the local brain that people are using the Series to spice up their sex lives. Speaking of spice, Bostonist......

Good morning, Houston. How better to end the week than with a little soul searching — and when better to do it than on Evaluate Your Life Day? Yeah, we know, it used to take hours (days, even) to find your true self, but the good news is that you can get things taken care of much more quickly these days: using online quizzes, you can figure out whether you're CEO material, which celebrity's......

On Tellers at the "Drive-Thru" Bank "Hello? Yes? Ah, hi, I'd like sass and slowness, please. Great! More than asked for!" On the Bands That Play at the Sugarland & Woodlands Baker St. Pubs Good job, gentlemen, At another Friday night Rawkin tired covers. On Single-Ply Toilet Paper 'Twas way too thin, the Single-Ply Toilet Paper: Needs more folding. Crap. On the Dead Cockroach Behind the Couch, Requiescat in Pace We never met, sir,......

Good morning, Houston. If you've walked — or driven — downtown or in Midtown lately, chances are you've noticed the fancy new "countdown signals," which flash the number of seconds pedestrians have to cross an intersection before traffic lights change. They'll soon be installed at more than 300 intersections in neighborhoods with high amounts of pedestrian traffic, including the Medical Center; though they cost $1.3 million to put up, officials say the efficient LED......

It's been called many things. The Danger Train. The Death Train. A Streetcar Named Disaster. But it is our only rail line and it does get us from downtown to beyond Reliant Stadium. So, in this video, we give you it's greatest hits. Just smashing! Thanks to Mike McGuff and brentabousko for turning us on to this video.......

After an extraordinarily embarrassing event wherein Houstonist unwittingly drove the wrong way down a portion of South Braeswood Boulevard, we decided to thoroughly investigate the nature, goals, and idiosyncrasies of the Braeswood Boulevards. Our results have been quite astonishing and maddening, as these braided hydra-like streets weave, change course, change names, and sometimes suddenly disappear for a portion of their overall path as though it were not no thang at all. Our ultimate aim......

Good morning, Houston. Pardon us, but we seem to have lost our phone number. Can we borrow yours? Yeah, we know — it's lame. And apparently we're not the only one with a bad pickup line: Houston is the country's 14th best city for singles, according to Forbes magazine. We lag behind Dallas-Ft. Worth (No. 9) and Austin (No. 12), but we're far ahead of San Antonio (No. 28). On the bright side, Houston......

Good morning, Houston. Yeah, we remember how (relatively) mild the first part of the summer was, and we're grateful for that. But now, after weeks of oppressive heat, we're sick of the weather — so you can imagine how excited we were when we checked out the long-range forecast and saw highs in the low 80s and lows in the low 60s coming in early September. But it might not come as early as......

Victor Montano, a sixteen-year-old Houstonian, was hit and killed by a police vehicle in New Orleans. He had been visiting the city for about two weeks. Police caught Montano spray painting along the floodwall last Thursday afternoon. When he saw the police, he took off running and the officer followed in his SUV. The officer said it appeared as though Victor was going to jump over a fence, but when tripped and fell in front......

Good morning, Houston. We think it's even too hot for the beach lately, but that didn't stop lots of people from heading to Galveston last weekend. But the heat wasn't the only thing those folks had to watch out for - fourteen of them were stung by stingrays. These injuries were all due to beachgoers stepping on stingrays and causing them to lash out. According to Beach Patrol Chief Peter Davis, such incidents can......

Good morning, Houston. Do you feel like you're living and dying in 3/4 time? Need a margarita(ville) or two to pick up your spirits on this way-too-hot Monday morning? How about a vintage Jimmy Buffett video to help you through the week? "Come Monday" has long been one of our favorite JB songs, and what better time to listen to it than now? Plus, his girlfriend was super-hot, and we can't argue with that.......

Chances are that we all know Alfred Eisenstaedt's iconic Life magazine photo of a sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square on V-J Day — easily one of the most-recognized photographs in American history. In the half-century since that photo was taken, there's been a lot of speculation over who, exactly, the sailor and nurse were: In the midst of the celebration, Eisenstaedt didn't stop to ask names, and there were apparently a lot of......

Remember earlier this year, when the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration began a probe into dozens of dead dolphins that had washed up on Southeast Texas beaches? Well, several months into the investigation, the NOAA hasn't figured out what killed the dolphins — and officials say they're unlikely to find an answer. Nearly 70 dolphins washed ashore on beaches in Galveston and Jefferson counties, at least 60 of them in March — a sharp upturn......

Need to know just a little bit about something? Ask a dilettante. When/where is it ever appropriate/cool to wear a band's t-shirt? Obviously not to their concert, but should you be a certain distance away from where the band is known/popular? I would think the goal would be to evangelize to people who don't know they exist. Also, I have a Phil Collins concert T from the early 90's. How should I destroy it? --Mason......

A couple of concerts original scheduled this week were either canceled or postponed. The "Smooth Groove Tour," featuring Cameo, Morris Day and others has been postponed. If you have tickets, check the Reliant Arena website soon for the new date. If you had tickets to see American Idol Taylor Hicks, you can get a refund, but you won't get a chance to see the premature gray-haired Idol. His show was canceled due to bad......

Houstonist landed her after departing from a small media market town where the most colorful television news personality was the local weatherman with the bad toupee - think Brick from Anchorman. Naturally we were blown away by the loud delivery, blue sunglasses and long earlobes that were Marvin Zindler. His ear splitting delivery of his tag line - "MAR-vin ZINDLER, EYE-witness NEWS!" - emblazoned the phrase in the memories of Houstonians despite hearing it only......

Good morning, Houston. Noticed a sharp increase in the number of mosquitoes this summer? You will, observers say — and now, Harris County's first confirmed 2007 human case of West Nile virus has been reported. Break out the insect repellent, check up on the West Nile symptoms and do your best not to get stung — although, these days, we guess that's about like saying "stay out of the humidity." >>A break in Gearen......

Some people consider Sunday the beginning of their week, we usually like to look at it as a great lazy way to wrap up a hectic 7 days, and prepare for the next round. We've decided to pull together a list of events that are ending today, so now's your chance to catch these before they are gone for ever. Kinda like last week. Bwah-ha-ha. Thoroughly Modern Millie | Playhouse 1960 The Sound of Music......