According to Houston METRO's new fare system, today marks the end of free transfers for cash paying customers. METRO introduced the fare structure and the Q Card to the community on January 2nd. METRO touts the benefits of the Q Card system, as creating a simpler fare system by moving from 65 methods of payment to two - the Q and cold, hard cash. METRO is restructuring its fare system to simplify what has been......

Good morning, Houston. We heard a few weeks ago about a bat infestation at TSU, but now there's something else happening in the halls of academia: a bee infestation at UH. It seems 100,000 of the industrious little critters have taken up residence in the walls of the Cullen College of Engineering, but rather than exterminate, the university is planning to move the bees to a wooded section of campus. Beekeeper Mike Knuckley will......

Lots of CDs are released week after week. And though we unwisely spend a bulk of our disposable income on music, Houstonist understands that you work hard for the money, honey! So every Tuesday, we'll bring you a list of CDs that we think will give you the most bang for your buck. Ryan Adams and his band the Cardinals release an EP called Follow the Lights today, just months after the acclaimed full-length Easy......

While SFist cringed at the fatal dose of crime littering the Bay Area, it found solace in Hillary Clinton's San Francisco campaign headquarters opening, which featured loads of exposed mammary glands. In other news, SF Taxi Commission ruled that Satan's cab must keep its (in)famous medallion number, 666; and in an un-fashion-forward frenzy, San Francisco Fashion Week (chortle) bars bloggers from covering and getting smashed at their shows and parties, respectively. Also, they found a......

It would if it were Christmas in July, right? Or at least the temps might climb down to a mild 75? See what the air is like at the Contemporary Arts Museum tonight, where ArtsHouston sponsors Steel Lounge Underground. Instead of carols, there will be DJs Majora y Minora in from Austin, spinning electro, disco, techno, house, and all other forms of I.B.M. (Intelligent Booty Music). And for holiday fare: free sushi and veggie......

We're starting to reconsider our plan to apply for a job as a Metro bus driver: On Tuesday, two men attacked a bus driver after arguing with her over the fare, marking the second assault on a Metro driver this week. According to the Chronicle, the men — who appeared inebriated — got into a dispute over fares with the driver and made a threat against her, then walked back into the bus. About 10......

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......

The hype machine for the NFL bid of Galveston native Walter Thomas has officially kicked into high gear. Yesterday the New York Times ran a nice article on the enormous yet agile Thomas, and the piece quickly climbed up to the most emailed articles of the day. The guy's numbers are difficult to fully comprehend: he weighs 370 lbs, runs the 40 yard dash in 4.9 seconds, can do flips and cartwheels handily, and......

Yeah, we know the headline isn't eloquent. So what? Rainbow Lodge's brunch offering will leave your head spinning and your tummy smiling. Houstonist was excited to try Rainbow Lodge for the first time. Although Rainbow Lodge has been serving an eclectic menu for 30 years, we had not experienced it for ourselves. Fortunately, their recent move to Ella & TC Jester placed it in our backyard. The sign out front says "Casual Sunday Brunch,"......

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......

The Mucky Duck will have loads going on for St. Patrick's Day. Opening at 11:00 a.m. to kick of a day of Celtic culture that can be had for a mere $15 admission. Traditional fare will be available for lunch, Corned Beef and Cabbage, Fish and Chips and more - a complete listing can be found HERE. Entertainment begins at noon and features Clandestine, The Rogues, O'Maoileidigh Irish Dancers, Wyndnwyre, The Celtic Gypsies, E.J. Jones,......

And Now for Something Totally Different So it's Wednesday Houston, and you're probably not sitting around wondering where you can go to hear some killer Polish music tonight... but we are going to telll you anyway. Houston is diverse, we don't just eat and drink (although this even can involve both if you choose to let it.) Get out tonight and celebrate all that is Space City, and head over to Rudi Lechner's Restaurant and......

Dear Al Gore & all those people who keep telling us that driving cars causes global warming, An inconvenient truth of a misplaced vehicle led to Houstonist riding the bus to work yesterday instead of driving. Turns out that things were a bit more convenient that our assumptions about the use of mass transit in car-centric Houston. So, we thought we'd share a bit of our experience with you in hopes that other non-mass......

Sunday. Usually, a quiet, contemplative day in the Blogosphere. But not here in the Ist-a-Verse. Nonono! Just look below and see all of the wild and crazy stuff our staffs are up to. In Austin, bands are beginning to confirm for SXSW and the rumor mill is up and running. Good thing, too, because we all know how much Austinites love live performances. Austin also found itself in the national spotlight, with Longhorn Legend......

There's no velvet rope to hurdle or doorman to bribe to gain entry, but you may need to wait three-deep at the bar because this Houston institution appeals to folks from all walks of life who have booze on the brain. Corporate cube pilots stop in to take off the edge after work. Actors and stage folk from nearby theatres are known to unwind here after a performance. Houstonist even saw two country-strong gentlemen......

The Chronicle reports today about something missing from the menus at local restaurants — something Houstonist would never even have thought of eating: guinea pigs. The critters are popular fare in Peru, and one local importer hopes to start distributing frozen guinea pigs in Houston within a year. Mmm. Guinea pigs have been eaten in the central Andes — they're called cuy there — for thousands of years; in Peru, depictions of the Last Supper......

As Texans, we can't get enough Mexican food, which is why we were thrilled to learn On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina will be bringing more of their Tex-Mex fare to the Houston area. Like most large restaurant chains, On the Border is focusing on the suburbs, so if you ever find yourself in Spring, Humble, Rosenberg or Pearland, check them out. The casual Mexican restaurant offers traditional food: quesadillas, fajitas, and our......

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......

I was wondering if you could do a round up of restaurants that will be open on Thanksgiving for we few freaks who will not be spending time with friends and/or family. You would know this better than a recent transplant like my(sorry)self. Hey, just because you're not able to spend time with friends and family on Thanksgiving doesn't make you a freak — it's what you do while you're away from your loved......

A reader tipped us (thanks) to a Houston Business Journal report that Eatzi's is closing its Houston location at 6 PM today. The Post Oak business was a favorite Galleria area lunch destination as well as offering a full fare of take-out options for dinner, which we pawned off as our own on many occasions. The Dallas-based company has not commented on the closing, nor does their web site offer insight on the matter. However,......

Torontoist visits the site of a new Frank Gehry structure, stalks "the elusive Bahamas streetcar", and watches Tom Green get surgery. Phillyist rejoices in the Phillies' wild card chances, mourns the injuries sustained by Eagles defensive end Jevon Kearse, and goes pirate on our asses. SFist notes that Guns and Roses were in town, that San Franciscans are taking over reality TV, and that the San Francisco Chronicle's skills of original nomenclature could use some......

The Chronicle ran a report this morning on Google’s semi-new search engine “Google Trends,” which allows you to type in multiple words and phrases and see the Top 10 cities and regions that have googled those terms in the past two years. We think it’s a fun feature, too, so we thought we would share someof our findings. Since we’re so competitive with other Texas sports franchises, we thought we’d take a look at......

The Ben Milam Hotel (Joseph Finger: 1925), located across from Minute Maid Park (and some may know that old place - Union Station), has been vacant for more than two decades and may soon be history. What's with all this speculation, you ask? Well, we recently witnessed the sneaky razing of its neighbor, the William Penn Hotel (which was, indeed, in much better condition), and now its windows are being removed and the interior is......

Houstonist understands the importance of bar food, so we were interested in checking out the offerings during a recent trip to Pub Fiction for a friendly get-together with our bowling league compadres. Pub Fiction is located across Smith Street from the Spec’s Liquor Warehouse in Midtown and has a moderate amount of parking available; inside, it has a hip "nightclub marries sports bar" look, with a wall of televisions and an area for live......

Brought to you by the producers of another summertime hit (albeit one of a few years ago), VH1's World Series of Pop Culture is a gameshow based on Entertainment Weekly's Pop Culture Quiz, and it's brought to you by the zany folks behind Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Sixteen three-person teams compete in tournament-style gameplay, answering questions in categories covering everything from The Brady Bunch to Buncha Crunch. The show is the first to......

It's hot. No, really, like....hot. So what better way to spend your day--or at least part of it--than with some summer TV? You may be thinking reruns, but the days of being stuck on the couch in front of interminable Brady Bunch marathons (or, worse, The Brady Bunch Movie) are over. In fact, far from being re-run central, summer's become the time that network and cable channels test out their new series ideas, so lots......

Torontoist immediately wins our heart by using the word "Jackass" in a headline. In fact, we love their use of it so much that we're going to use it as much as possible throughout this post. For example, it looks like there are Toronto-area jackasses besides those who misuse the sidewalk: look at the crap on sale on Toronto's craigslist. But it looks like Toronto doesn't contain the kind of jackasses who pee in public......

So inflation and rising operations costs have finally caught up with Metro, which the Chronicle reports may be considering a bus fare increase before long. But wait — is the problem really inflation and rising costs, or could it have something to do with the fact that Metro's only getting an average 43 cents per passenger boarding, compared with the $1 base fare? That sounds odd, but it's due in part to an extremely complicated......

Travelers between Houston and New York will have another airline choice later this year: JetBlue, the low-price carrier that boasts leather seats and satellite TV on its planes, will begin service between Hobby and JFK on Sept. 7. Service will begin with three flights a day, the airline said. It's a busy summer for JetBlue, which has plans to add Aruba, Charlotte, Nashville, Pittsburgh and Raleigh-Durham to its list of cities served between now and......

A state district court judge ruled today that Angel Maturino Resendiz, the "Railcar Killer," is mentally competent and should be executed next week as scheduled Police took a Metro bus passenger into custody this morning after the man threatened to stab the bus driver when the two had a dispute over the fare About 2,000 households in Crosby were ordered to shelter in place yesterday evening during a plastic resin fire at a nearby plant......