She's back Houstonist! Taucha Hogue has advanced to the championship round for College Cheerleader of the Year and she needs your vote! Taucha squares of against Arkansas' Laura Cole and she currently trails 54% to 46% as of Monday night. Ok, Taucha, here we are in championship round. Are you starting to feel the pressure of being in the BIG game? There is pressure out there for the fact there are so many people......

::FREE MUSIC MONDAY!:: Yep, two chances today to catch free music from two great local music organizations. Did we mention FREE? Thought so. Just checking. If you're calling it an early day at the office, or happen to be hanging around the Rice University campus at 4:00pm today, stop on by Brown Hall (Room 113) to experience a treat for your ears (and brains---which is technically a part of your ears.) Rice University Shepherd School......

Spent all your cash on girlie drinks and shattered dreams again this weekend, didn't you? No worries - Thriftster gives you the lowdown on cheap stuff to do until Paycheck Friday. We're making this 'multi-cultural' Thriftster week, given all the great global goodies in town for you to experience. Monday: Catch the last night of the Polish Film Festival at the Angelika (510 Texas Ave.) with 3 shows for $10 (or $8 if you've got......

What is it about the term "crafts" that is so off-putting to some of us? Well, for one, it reminds us of suburban housewives with wooden figurines adorning their shelves, reminding us that we're in a "Kountry Kitchen," or that (hee) "Back Door Friends are the Best Friends!" It was many years before we realized just how funny that sign in our wacky Aunt Grace's kitchen was. That, or that wacky Aunt Grace led a......

Houston Mod Board members Jason Smith, Robert Searcy, Ben Koush, Michael Brichford, and Stephen Fox were included in an article in Tribeza magazine about Houston's modern architecture. The article highlights Smith's renovation of his William Jenkins-designed home in Willow Bend, and also touches on Houston Mod's mission and goals of education and awareness of Houston's modern architecture. “It’s really a waste,” laments Searcy. “We are filling our landfills with works of art—and replacing them with......

::Water For People Fundraiser at St. Arnold's Brewery:: Who are we to deny an event that let's us drink beer and better the lives of people all over the world? We usually like to tell ourselves that every time we drink, but this time we don't have to kid ourselves. Water For People is a nonprofit, charitable organization in the United States and Canada that helps people in developing countries obtain safe drinking water. Water......

Good morning, Houston. We admit that we have a thing for interview shows, so we thought we'd take a second to note that NBC's Meet the Press, the king of Sunday morning TV news, made its television debut 60 years ago today. Meet the Press began life as a radio show in 1945 and moved to TV a couple of years later, and it hasn't stopped since. Now, MtP is the longest-running show on......

::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......

Calling all cool kids (or, just kids aiming to be cool at some point in the future...cool adults are fine, too...or, well, you know...)...Contemporary Arts Museum Houston brings us a Steel Lounge Underground Halloween Bash tonight with their friends at KTRU 91.7 Rice Radio. Come early for a special preview screening of the season premier of art:21, focusing on contemporary artists and romance, beginning at 8 p.m. in the Cullen Education Resource Room at......

Today’s Photo of the Day comes from flickr user and Houstonist photo contributor Myel Photography. This gorgeous sunset was taken from the south facing deck at UH Downtown. Higher education pays off yet again. If you have a passion for Houston and photography, consider joining over 430 of Houston's best photographers in the Houstonist Flickr Photo Group. If Houstonist uses your photo for Photo Of The Day, submit it here. For more great photography......

When we’re out and about, rocking and rolling and what not, we meet a lot of people who say, “Gee, I’d really like to be into art, but, I just don’t know about any artists and I get really intimidated when I go to galleries because the attendants can totally tell I don’t know anything about art and I end up leaving in shame, lamenting that my old Monet poster and that STOP sign I......

Native Houstonian Sam Jones IV may not have a traditional route as to how he got his start in art, but it's definitely a unique story. The mixed media artist sat down and talked with us about his experiences growing up in Houston, and how living in the South has impacted his artistic career. You have a pretty "uniquely-Houston" story as to how you got your start in your art education. Most people don't......

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......

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......

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......

Rice Design Alliance's Fall Lecture Series, Design Activism: Agents of Change will present conscientious designers from across the country who focus on socially responsible design. These professionals believe social accountability shapes the physical environment. Their work integrates civic-mindedness within design practice and education. Each practitioner seeks to establish livable cities and towns, thereby creating a sense of community. Speaking tonight is John Peterson, Principal, Peterson Architects, and Founder, Public Architecture, San Francisco, CA. The......

Good morning, Houston. In the mood for a really, really bad promotional video? It's your lucky day: May we introduce you to "The Metro Report", a quasi-Colbert Report-style production in which a host, Elliot Roberts, "interviews people on the street" about why they love riding public transportation. Which makes us wonder: Where'd Metro find all these people? Oh, right, they're actually actors — and, according to KTRK's Wayne Dolcefino, this bit of self-promotion cost......

Good morning, Dynamo fans. Ready to see the Orange in the MLS playoffs again? Well, playoff tickets will go on sale at 10 this morning. Depending on where the Dynamo finish in the standings, the team will play in the Western Conference semifinal match at Robertson Stadium either Oct. 27 or Nov. 3; pick your tickets up at Ticketmaster or the Dynamo's website. >> The scandal effect: TSU's enrollment has fallen to its lowest......

Good morning, Houston. In case you didn't hear yesterday, we'll soon see the end of an era in air travel: Beginning Oct. 2, Southwest Airlines will assign passengers a place in line based on the order in which they check in. That means no more of the airline's (in)famous "cattle call" boarding process, which means there's no longer any point in arriving at the airport 16 hours early to get in the A group......

Good morning, Houston. How many of you knew what Monday was? Anyone? Anyone? That's right: It was the 220th anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution. To mark the anniversary, the nation had a little holiday, Constitution Day — but how many people actually knew about it? Not many, apparently: Though federal law says students at public high schools should be taught about Constitution Day, a recent survey of students found that......

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......

Rice Design Alliance Fall Lecture Series Tonight at MFA Rice Design Alliance's Fall Lecture Series, Design Activism: Agents of Change will present conscientious designers from across the country who focus on socially responsible design. These professionals believe social accountability shapes the physical environment. Their work integrates civic-mindedness within design practice and education. Each practitioner seeks to establish livable cities and towns, thereby creating a sense of community. Lectures are held Mondays beginning today, Sept......

So, Houstonians, you think energy prices are higher than a proverbial cats back? We can power our world on biodiesel, wind turbines and solar power? You have the opportunity to experience what it takes to power a city of 3.9 million, courtesy of Chevron and the publisher of Economist magazine. So, bang here to try your hand at running "Energyville" and learn a little about energy supplies. Here's a blip from the Chronicle that gives......

The best part about a 3 day weekend: A 4 day work week. Bonus! So happy Tuesday. The weekend's just around the corner. After visiting the HCP last week for the SPIN Party, we realized just how little we visit this art space, considering all the great programs they offer. Like First Tuesday! Yes, we are THAT excited it's Tuesday. First Tuesday provides an opportunity for local photographers and media-based artists to share their work......

"Creative Crowdsourcing Through Mobile Technolgy" We couldn't have said it better ourselves, and you'll have to see this to believe the awesomeness of it. This has been on our radar for quite some time and we are so excited it's finally here. The Houston Center for Photography and Aurora Picture Show band together this summer to present the 3rd annual summer SPIN Party and Exhibition Txt Me L8r on August 24 from 8-11pm. On July......

AIGA Houston Presents 365: AIGA Annual Design Exhibition 27 A juried selection of the best in communication design Opening Reception Thursday, August 9, 2007 6-8pm Exhibit will be up until Sept 25th 365: AIGA Annual Design Competitions make a definitive statement on the quality of communication design in North America. The survey of selections is published in AIGA’s online design archives; published in a book that is distributed as an authoritative chronicle of current design;......

HISD Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra announced Thursday that the district needs an $805 million bond issue this November to repair and replace aging schools — but the HISD trustees are expected to vote next Thursday on whether to put the issue on the ballot. Think that isn't much time to learn the details of a pretty big amount of money? You're not the only one: "I'm concerned about the timeline," school board member Greg Meyers told......

Houstonist took it on the chin with another late night out on the town. Don't ask. What happens out there stays out there. We missed our alarm. We showed up late for work. The office coffee pot was broken so we headed to Starbucks to get a jump start. Our caffeinated bliss was tainted after we learned about the nine cent price increase that is now in effect. While we agree with Lewis Black......

The results are in and Texas tops the charts in births to girls aged 15 - 19. The Anne E. Casey Foundation publishes KIDS COUNT study annually but these results are based on figures from 2004. State law requires that abstinence be emphasized during sex education classes in schools. However, local jurisdictions are able to plot their own course with delivery method (of the class, not the babies) and amount of information conveyed. The......