The Reliant Park World Series of Dog Shows is back in town this weekend, marking 31 years of the beloved canine competition. We can't think of a better or more enjoyable way to spend a hot Houston afternoon than inside the Reliant Center watching some fine canine athletic competitions. Less strict and far more fun than its stuffy cousins, the Reliant dog show offers events such as flyball, agility and obedience, doggie dancing competitions and......

As if you needed another reason to head down to Discovery Green this weekend, here's one more: Dock Dogs! Yes, the time-honored "dog performance sport" of leaping off docks and catching crazy air will be going on all weekend at the downtown park. If you thought the Lumberjack Games were the most ludicrous yet highly entertaining sport you've ever seen, then you haven't witnessed the majesty of Dock Jumping. In this sport, dogs of all......

Just when you think you've heard it all, along comes the story of a The Woodlands pooch who is headed off to the national Chihuahua races. No, really — April Fools' Day was three weeks ago. The canine in question is Piccolo (or is it Piccolo?), a year-and-a-half old brown-and-white Chihuahua who beat out more than 125 competitors at a derby in League City on Saturday. It's all down to training, apparently: "He raced......

Calling all pooches! Oliver, a friendly (obviously, he's hosting this soiree) Golden Retriever is having a little canine social event, the Bow-Wow Bash at the Houston Arboretum this Saturday from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m. Please RSVP quickly here, to ensure your participation. There will be music and refreshments in the meadow and dog owners get poochie punch and a doggie bag with bottled water and a treat for their "party animal". Please be sure......

The question that has burned in men's minds since 2000, invading their slumber and disturbing their very ability to enjoy music, has finally been answered emphatically. It was Jerome Mathis, wideout and kick returner for the Texans, who let the dogs out. Mathis was given a citation by Brazoria County authorities on Saturday when four of his pit bulls were menacing neighbors near his home in Manvel. Animal control officers were able to intervene without......

We're talkin' about the McRib, ya'll. That's right. We said "McRib." Say it loud, say it proud: we heart the McRib. Let us preface this post by saying that we rarely ever find ourselves at the MickeyD's, especially in a town that offers us so many quick, good fast food of the non-world-domination variety. However, being a sucker for processed-meat (sausage, hot dogs, spam...), we have a special place in our heart for the McRib.......

Somewhere, Marvin Zindler is rolling over in what is no doubt a very lavish coffin. While this article in the Chron todaylooks into the health inspections at sports venues makes no particular mention of slime or its proximity relative to the ice machine, you can be sure that Marvin would've known and would've shouted it from the rooftops. Or at least from somewhere near Dave Ward's elbow. The stadiums reviewed under the auspices of the......

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......

Plenty of good music in town this week to..uh...wet your musical whistle - if you will. Tonight you may want to check out some alternative hiphop at Warehouse Live with Del the Funky Homosapien or relive the 90's at Verizon Wireless with Live and Collective Soul. Later in the week the wild and whacky Blue Man Group is playing at Toyota Center -or- you could see Rilo Kiley at Warehouse Live -or- release your......

Happy first weekend of September - and happy Labor Day weekend, too, for our American cities! Let's take a look at what's been happening around the Ist-a-verse. The deaths of two firefighters shook Bostonist this week. Boston's firefighters bent over backwards all week long - first, they fought flames pouring from the Boston Tea Party museum, and then a restaurant fire killed two and injured many more. Their efforts make everything else - like Tom......

Need to know just a little bit about something? Ask a dilettante. The Chinese obviously hate us: First, they tried to poison our dogs, then our teeth, and now they're after our kids. Does this mean we should be keeping a closer eye on Yao Ming? Or ChineseElvis? --Red Ballsworth, Houston Now that Yao Ming has entered wedded bliss, I don't think he has the time to plot our downfall. Plus, he's been living in......

Antonya Nelson, one of our resident writer geniuses here in town, recently placed *another* story in the New Yorker, and it takes place in Houston! Get a load of that! The story is called "Shauntrelle." Here are the opening lines: "It isn’t just a husband you divorce but a life. A credit rating. Certain friends—sadly, some of them small children. A mother-in-law, that innocent bystander. And sometimes it seemed to Constance that she had divorced......

Cocktailing strategies are very dependent on the occasion, one's state of mind and one's objective. "I need a sixer for the game dogs at Mike's bar-b-que." "We need to pick up a case of wine for when your parents come to dinner." "I need to get drunk in a hurry." We've all been there. Combine those goals with today's "Me Generation" desire to focus on looking good, and you've got yourself a puzzle. "How......

Anyone who's been to Crystal Beach knows it can be busy — but is it dangerous? We wouldn't have thought so, but we might have to think again after a woman was found raped and murdered on the beach early Sunday morning. The victim was 28-year-old Bridgette Gearen of Orange, who was visiting friends at a beachhouse near the corner of Crystal Beach and Redfish roads. After they spent Saturday at the beach, the group......

Banner week for SFist as the site's new editor introduced himself -- hooray for Brock! While the NY Times weighed in on SF's mayoral race, only SFist had the (insert tongue firmly into cheek) hard-hitting latest on candidate/activist Josh Wolf. Coverage of a protest vs. gentrification spawned a fantastic debate amongst SFist's readers. Finally, from the sublime to the ridiculous: video of a man that confused a Board of Supes meeting with "open mic......

Good morning, Houston. Been missing the Texas Cyclone since it was torn down last year? Then you'll be happy to know about the Boardwalk Bullet, a nearly 100-foot-tall wooden roller coaster set to open this summer at the Kemah Boardwalk. Tim Anderson, Kemah Boardwalk manager, said the Bullet will have more crossovers than any other wooden coaster in the world, and it'll be a bit taller and longer than the famed Cyclone. "It has......

Good morning, Houston. In place of the usual Morning Roundup, we've decided to offer you some good, all-American July 4 information to begin your holiday. And ours — we're taking the day off to spend with our families and friends, as we hope you are (you may see a few posts today, but we'll get back to our usual schedule tomorrow). Before we head out, though, did you know: There are 30 places in......

No, it's not by driving as fast as we can around loop 610, but it does include city-wide celebrations, all hoping for the same thing: No rain. Here are a few of the events we'll be checking out tomorrow. Where will you be? Tell us, maybe we'll ditch our plans and join you. But probably not. >>Freedom Over Texas Festival Houston's Official 4th of July Celebration. Chevy presents a concert and Independence Day celebration at......

Seems like everyone has a video on YouTube these days — even gang members in the Fifth Ward. KHOU found the video made by self-professed gang members, who talk about crime, life on the streets and grills (which cost $1,500 cash, apparently). As you might expect, city leaders aren't too happy about the video: "They can't be the voice of the Fifth Ward," City Councilman Jarvis Johnson, whose district includes the neighborhood, said. "I'm......

Need to know just a little bit about something? Ask a dilettante. What is that bright, shiny yellow orb up in the sky? And why is there a slinky gray thing following me around? The bright, shiny yellow orb is called “the sun.” It’s always above us during the day, but we haven’t been able to see it for some time. Enjoy it while you can because sources say the sun will be gone again......

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......

Houston Roller Derby's Burlesque Brawlers are throwing down a great time at a cool location to raise some funds for the team (we keep telling you how costly those fishnets and stuff are - and the ladies do play this sport entirely on their own dime and receive no revenues). Beginning at 5:00 p.m. and lasting until you holler uncle, or the bar closes - you can hang out with the Burlesque Brawlers at Hans......

Seattlest has a talk with the photographer from last week's "Segway Mom" and then experiences some dissension in the ranks over the question of wine vs. beer. It's not West Side Story, but about as close as they'll get. They're also still waiting on some inbox relief after a spammer is arrested. As Chicagoist counts down the days to its third anniversary party, they found all-organic pizza to be underwhelming amidst the hoopla, tried......

Dollar Dog Night @ Minute Maid Park Sure it's been raining for days, and so what the 'stros are in the midst of a 9 game losing streak. There's only one thing that can make either of those things better: Dollor Dogs. That's right, folks. Dollar Dog night is back at Minute Maid. What better way to soak up a $9 beer than with a few dozen $1 hot dogs? Join the Astros tonight as......

A Galveston cruise terminal was evacuated yesterday due to a suspicious package. A police dog found the package on Carnival's Ecstasy ship around 8:30 yesterday morning. The port was closed from Pelican Island to Galveston Yacht Basin. The package turned out to be nothing but a computer printer. We're sure that the passengers on board the ship, who were returning from a five-day Caribbean cruise, were not terribly excited about hanging out in their rooms......

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......

Good morning, Houston. Another day, another ranking: This time, Houston is the second most dangerous place in the U.S. for letter carriers — at least in terms of dog bites. According to the U.S. Postal Service, 94 mail carriers were bitten by dogs in Houston last year, putting us slightly behind Santa Ana, Calif., which logged 96 bites. The safest city in the country: New York City, of all places. Who knew? The USPS......

It's Art Car time again, kids. Time to watch four wheeled oranges, roaches, dogs and other rolling works of art cruise down Allen Parkway. Dealing with the crowds and traffic on Saturday could easily drive you insane. Take the edge off with a(n) Art Car Bomb. Car Bomb+ 3/4 pint Guinness draught + 1 shot Bailey's Irish Cream + a splash of Jameson's Irish Whiskey Pour the Guinness and let the bubbles settle. Meanwhile,......

Good morning, Houston. Ever been to Podunk, Texas? You have if you've ever visited the east Houston neighborhood of Denver Harbor, which was affectionately called Podunk during the Great Depression because it was then far enough east to seem semi-rural. And as of yesterday, thanks to a state House resolution, Podunk is the Official Mythical Town of Texas. Grady got the resolution passed by gathering 700 signatures on a petition and persuading the area's......

Good morning, Houston. Blah blah blah, et cetera. (Yeah, you can tell it's Friday again.) >> BP: Managers to blame for 2005 blast: An internal BP report on the deadly 2005 explosion at its Texas City refinery recommends that four top managers be fired for bad judgment and failing to do their jobs. The report — completed in February but kept confidential until it was released under court order Thursday — named Pat Gower,......