:: FOTOFEST BIENNIAL :: Fotofest starts tomorrow and continues until April 20th. Houston will be covered inside out with some amazing photography and photo-related art, and we heartily encourage you to see as much as you can. The theme this year is China and the ancillary theme (like minoring in college?) is transformations. Get a preview of the outstanding work on show here. Start tomorrow with the opening over at official HQ: the Vine......

Good morning, Houston. If the dearth of new TV in the wake of the writer's strike has left you willing to watch anything, we've got some news for you: HTV, the municipal station, is launching a new program! Woohoo! Entertainment Houston, a 30-minute show, will focus on — wait for it — Houston's facilities, included the Wortham Center, Jones Hall, the George R. Brown Convention Center and the not-quite-finished Discovery Green. A new episode......

::FOTOSYNTHESIS: Photos by Pr!mo and Hermano:: The brothers Luster, Alex and Michael, show off their combined photographic talents tonight at Bohemeo's Cafe. This photo show opening represents the brother's solo work which includes landscapes, architecture, portraiture, local cultural events and much more. The title of the show, FOTOSYNTHESIS is a play on traditional definitions of photographing a subject and controlling ambient light. Entertainment will be provided by Erol Kushchu and Latintron Date: Tuesday January......

To heck with that resolution to be thinner - we are embracing our inner grease-lover, you know, the one who firmly believes that cheese is a food group and will eat cardboard if it comes covered in cream gravy. Yes, that one, the "believer in spandex britches". So, we are back on our "burger thing" and will be telling you all about good burgers, mediocre burgers and possibly bad ones (hey, if it's gross AND......

Good morning, Houston. So you say you're a Dynamo fan, eh? Well, here's your chance to prove it: The back-to-back MLS champs are auctioning off a chance to get close to the team's two MLS cups — literally. If you win the auction, the cups will be dropped off at your house on Christmas Eve and picked up Dec. 26; in between, you can do whatever you want with 'em (within reason, of course).......

This looks to be the last big release week of the year, and 2007 is going out with a bang. We'll see you in '08! The Cool is Lupe Fiasco's follow-up album to last year's fantastic Food and Liquor. The record is filled with clever and forward-thinking tracks like “Dumb it Down” that manage succeed on both an underground and commercial level, and features noteworthy contributions from Snoop Dogg, UNKLE, newcomer Matthew Santos, and Food......

If you remember the last time we featured a house in Shelterporn — longer ago than it should have been, we know — you'll remember that we have a thing for modern houses. So, naturally, we were drawn to this Montrose contemporary, a three-year-old house designed by architect Scott Ballard. The defining feature is the barrel-vaulted roof, which not only gives the house a unique silhouette but also creates some pretty impressive interior spaces.......

If you're anything like Houstonist, you haven't finished all your holiday shopping yet. In fact, if you're anything like Houstonist, you've barely even started. But don't worry: We're putting our gift lists together and pulling out some of our more inspired ideas to share with y'all. From music to DVDs to T-shirts to wet wipes, we've got you covered — but seriously, you probably won't want to give the wipes as someone's primary gift.......

We know that American Idol Mania is almost a religious experience in certain parts of this country, but we will not, cannot recommend that you buy Blake Lewis’ new album. We just… can’t. Sorry. What have you wrought, Doug E. Fresh?! Listening to Alive 2007 will give you a sense of what the Daft Punk concert experience is all about. Well, you won’t have beer spillage on your shoes, or dudes smoking trees all up......

Here you go Houston, more food and wine events for you to peruse. We are going to work to get you more than one Culinary Events posting per week, as the holidays can increase the number of events, dinners, fund-raising food and beverage activities and festivals. Also, we strive to give you some advance notice - as you can't always get your reservations or tickets, which ever the case may be, on the day......

The Dynamo are in a quandry. On the heels of winning their second consecutive MLS Cup, they're at the center of a dispute with the MLS. The Orange are owned by AEG, an entertainment conglomerate owned by Phil Anschutz. AEG used to own close to half of the teams in MLS, but are now down to just our all-conquering hometown boys, and the pretty boy-signing LA Galaxy. The MLS is ready for AEG to shed......

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......

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......

Local tech news in a compact, digital format. Indra Vishnampet: Local Entrepeneur Indra Vishnampet who was recently named "Outstanding Woman Entrepreneur of the Year" by The Indo-American Chamber of Commerce Greater Houston sat down with Purva Patel of The Houston Chronicle and answered a few questions about her local multi-million dollar software integration business which has offices in Houston, Canada and India. Missouri City Not Experiencing "Comcastic" Service Hats off to a group of......

::Houston Dynamo MLS Championship Rally at City Hall:: Help welcome our team home today as they return from DC after defeating the New England Revolution for the second year in a row. Yikes, Reis, let another one slip past ya?! By defeating the Revs, the Dynamo become only the second team in the history of Major League Soccer to conquer back-to-back championships. Glenn Davis will serve as the event's Master of Ceremonies. Other speakers include......

Tori Amos’ tour is coming to Houston this coming Sunday night, at Jones Hall. Yes, we know that’s almost a week away, but we wanted to give you a good heads up since many of us are going out of town. Tori is currently touring supporting her latest album, American Doll Posse. She received fame with her debut solo album Little Earthquakes (which spawned the very personal "Silent All These Years" and "Crucify,” among others),......

Britney and Backstreet are back alright, but we’ve got our eye on a few other notable releases this week. However, if you’re still looking for some last minute Halloween costume ideas… We’re really excited about the lovely Nicole Atkins’ latest album, Neptune City. The fact that Atkins’ dramatic low-register voice vaguely reminds us of early Stevie Nicks is merely an added bonus. -Watch the video for the album’s title track on Youtube -Stream the......

Jugglers, performers on stilts, dancing girls, horn players, a bass player, drummers and percussionist all converged on Market Square as the sun went down for a little free early evening entertainment. It was Portland's own MarchFourth Marching Band who provided Friday nights free show and we posted about them earlier in the day. So we took our own advice and headed down there to catch this unique and highly entertaining show. As we strolled......

Houstonist loves good pop music. We’re not talking about Britney, or anything else you’d hear on local pop radio for that matter. We’re talking about good indie-pop. Catchy melodies, clever lyrics, and overall sophisticated (yet, fun). Well, that basically describes Chicago-based Office. Office (not to be confused with the popular TV shows) originated in 2001, but Office leader Scott Masson didn’t get serious about it until 2004 – that’s when he left his job waiting......

We have to begin this week's Shelterporn with a disclaimer: Manhattan, Randall Davis' odd residential concoction across the street from the Water Wall, doesn't really suit our taste. But we'll freely admit that, if someone came to us and offered the keys to this penthouse in the building, we'd find it hard to turn down. Just saying. Access to the eighth-floor unit is through a 38-foot gallery that's perfect for hanging your art collection......

Good morning, Houston. We just don't understand the entertainment juggernaut (or is it "juggernette?") that is Hannah Montana: Tickets to her Nov. 11 Toyota Center show sold out in five minutes Saturday, and now they're going for as much as $1,275 on eBay — granted, that's for a set of four tickets, but still, wow. The markup through eBay and ticket brokers has left some parents shelling out big bucks to give their kids......

HUGE Houston Roller Derby action this Sunday!! Come to the Verizon Theater for the Governor's Cup, where the Houston Roller Derby, Assassination City Roller Derby, Alamo City Roller Derby, Dallas Derby Devils and Texas Rollergirls will be battling for the title of Best League in the Lone Star State. Tickets for this big event are $20 each and are available at the Verizon Wireless Theater's box office. Doors open at 3:00 p.m. and the action......

A new radio station is born this morning. Houston will get its own “Jack” format, a format that has succeeded in other major markets for years. What is “Jack” you say? The idea behind the format is (as radio programmers say) your iPod on shuffle mode. That is, if you iPod only included popular mainstream songs from the 1960’s to present time. The switch will be happening on 103.7 FM at 10:37 a.m. this morning......

With unseasonable weather descending upon much of North America, schools getting ready to reconvene, and sports seasons getting exciting, it's a busy time of year for us here in the Ist-A-Verse. Luckily, even with all the things we have to do, we still managed to get together to let you know what we've all been up to. After cooling down from a hot weekend of many badass Sunset Junction Street Fair photo dispatches, LAist asked......

Triple Threat Edition So we couldn't decide on one event for tonight, so we're giving you three. We are so damn generous some times. Besides, this week has been so long we figured you needed an extra long Friday to make up for it. Well, of course there's the Txt Me L8r SPIN Party at HCP that we'll all be at. Two of your favorite Houstonist contributors (wait, you have favorites, right?) will be participating......

In the span of four short years Houston will have quadrupled the number of all-sports radio stations gracing its airwaves. Come August 20, KILE 1560 AM will be renamed KGOW after local businessman and owner David Gow when it signs on with a sports and entertainment talk format. Branded as "The Game," KGOW will enter a saturated market that includes KILT (610 AM), KBME (790 AM), and ESPN Radio affiliate KFNC (97.5 FM) The new......

No, it's not a new adult film premiering at Aurora, its White Linen Night in the Heights, and it's back for it's 2nd coming. "Small town cool, in the center of the big city." This Saturday, Heights residents, and curious visitors from all across the city, descend upon one of Houston's fastest-growing art scenes for a celebration of culture and community. The annual event, now in its second year, focuses on art, galleries, retail, outdoor......

Last night, Warehouse Live played host to the annual Houston Press Music Awards. Houstonist was there to absorb all of the entertainment and was treated to some of the best local music around. The Dimes (pictured above) walked away as big winners, with three awards – Best New Act, Best Indie Rock, and Song of the Year, for “Delilah,” which they performed on stage midway through the night. Other performers included Million Year Dance......

With all of the rain we’ve been having, it’d be nice to just sit (or stand) indoors somewhere and enjoy some good music. So, that’s what Houstonist is going to do. Many good choices for this weekend – here are our picks: Tonight Jazz comes to Fitzgerald’s tonight. However, this isn’t your grandfather’s jazz. One of our local favorites, Drop Trio (pictured on the left), will be joining headliner O’2L (which features a member of......

Houston Shakespeare Festival That which we call a free show , by any other name would smell as free. And with that poor, poor attempt at Shakespearean quote alteration, Houston kicks off the annual Shakespeare Festival. Love's Labor's Lost Directed by Sidney Berger Performances | July 27 , August 2, 4, 8, 10 Romeo and Juliet Directed by Carolyn Houston Boone Performances | July 28 , August 1, 3, 9, 11 Now celebrating its thirty-third......