From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • The suspected father of a murdered three month old baby boy who was found Tuesday in Galveston has surrendered to authorities in Philadelphia. • 8,000 cases of meat from HISD school cafeterias are being pulled after hidden camera video released by the Humane Society shows ill cows being tortured before slaughter. • A Union Pacific train en route to Indiana derailed near......

• A weather system rolled through Houston last night reeking havoc on this morning's commute. • The body of Baby Grace, Riley Ann Sawyers, will be laid to rest today in Eastlake, Ohio. • A pedestrian who ran in front of a car being driven by a Harris County deputy constable was hit and killed Tuesday night. • A truck and the garage it was parked in caught fire and burned on Houston's south......

He can make you burn, make you rock, or teach you about triangles. Houstonist recently caught up with Trevi "Big Daddy" Biles, local hot sauce maker/ Whorehound band member/ geometry teacher. Here's what Big Daddy Trevi had to say about Big Daddy's Ass Burn "Hell Goin' In Hell Goin' Out" Hot Sauce: What made you want to create a hot sauce? Was the stuff in the stores not hot enough? Actually the whole thing started......

Houstonist has an active and amazing Flickr photo group. We receive many, many photos of Houston and the surrounding areas every day and unless you are an active visitor to our photo pool many of these photos go unnoticed. So in a weekly effort to bring you more amazing photos from Houstonist readers and photographers, we are going to feature a block of photos submitted to our Flickr photo group. The images will be dug......

It was your typical Friday night on the 3700 block of Main. There were bands playing at both The Continental Club and Shoeshine Charley's Big Top Lounge, The Mink was minding its own business serving drinks and Tacos-A-Go-Go were catering to their usual crowd of taco munchers when the evening started to really get hot! Hot as in flaming barrel hot. Houstonist Flickr photo contributor and resident photographer for The Continental Club, Jay Lee......

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).......

We're always looking for more ways to learn about our great city, so why not start at home? Not only is it interesting to know about the plat upon which you live, but it can also help to paint part of the picture of Houston's interesting, albeit short history, and there are quite a few on and offline resources to help with research. An easy way to start is to find the specific name of......

Good morning, Houston. Hey, guess who's having a birthday today? Well, OK, it's technically not Houstonist — our second birthday was back on Nov. 20, but we figured that if the queen can have two birthdays, so can we. And so we're throwing ourselves a little birthday party tonight, and you're all invited. It starts at 6 p.m. at Monsoon Wok, Lamar at San Jacinto (yes, street parking is free downtown after 6). Six......

Fire Breather by Jeff Balke ________________________________________________________________ If you have a passion for Houston and photography, consider joining over 450 of Houston's best photographers in the Houstonist Flickr Photo Group. If Houstonist uses your photo for Photo Of The Day, submit it here.......

Good morning, Houston. 'Tis the season for strange missing persons reports: In Tyler, the latest individual to go missing is a 42-foot-tall snowman. The inflatable snowman was last seen at a Tyler tree farm Friday night; the tree lot's owner, Royce Wisenbaker, told the AP that he believes it was hoisted over a fence and carted away. The snowman is worth about $10,000, and a $1,000 reward has been posted for information leading to......

Good morning, Houston. We remember our days as student drivers — not bad overall, though we did have a pregnant in-car instructor who had a nasty habit of slamming on the brakes every time we passed a doughnut shop. Still, we didn't have it anywhere near as bad as the kid who passed his driver's test Monday, then crashed his car into the side of a Houston DPS office. The driver was parking his......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • The saga of Riley Ann Sawyers continues. This Chronicle article discusses how Riley's Mom ended up in Texas. • A ten year old fourth grader was cuffed in a school in Cleveland, Tx. • Four teenagers have been arrested in the murder of off-duty Precinct 6 reserve deputy constable Carltrell Lewayne Odom. • Six local firefighters were injured during a fire in......

Good morning, Houston. If you're hoping that the United States will one day be free of its dependence on foreign natural gas — and we're sure at least one of you is — this isn't your lucky day: According to a report from the Energy Forum at Rice University's Baker Institute, there's no end in sight to our use of imported gas. Natural gas accounted for 22 percent of total primary energy use in......

A fire erupted this morning at a Sharpstown-area public housing development mostly populated by senior citizens. The fire, causes of which are still unknown, began on the fifth floor of the seven story building, and required multiple firetrucks responding from several stations. As firefighters fight the fire, residents are taking shelter in a nearby apartment building, Regency Square, and some are being moved into that complex already. The 210-until Bellerive Senior Highrise is home to......

Houstonist is no slouch in the kitchen. That having been said, when we accidentally set fire to a whole pumpkin during a Thanksgiving dessert test run gone wrong this week, Houstonist learned a valuable lesson: If you can't make it, fake it. Luckily, there are a few Houston institutions that have you covered in case your kitchen ambitions require more than your skill set can provide. Ruggles Cafe Bakery offers a wide selection of......

Good morning, Houston. In these days of near-$3 gas, there's one group of drivers who aren't so worried: hypermilers, who use certain techniques to squeeze every possible M out of their MPG. Hypermiling involves a few pretty simple changes in the way you drive, including coasting, accelerating slowly from stops and the skillful use of cruise control. Used correctly, hypermiling can increase your car's fuel efficiency by 30 percent or more — so why......

Brooks & Dunn, Sugarland, and a host of others perform at the CMA Awards on Wednesday, but we're most excited about Keyshia Cole's Jay Leno appearance and Arcade Fire on Austin City Limits this week. Monday -NBC, 10:35pm: Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Garth Brooks -ABC: 11;05pm, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Matt Nathanson -NBC: 11:35pm, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Band of Horses Tuesday -NBC: 2:05am, Last Call with Carson Daly (repeat), Joss Stone -NBC: 12pm,......

Good morning, Houston. Seriously, what is it with North Texas these days? Yesterday we had the story of the 18-wheeler full of human heads, and today there's the Fort Worth man who accidentally shot himself in both legs in his cubicle at work. According to police, the 47-year-old man put his .45-caliber gun into his jacket pocket Tuesday morning, then draped his jacket over the back of his chair at an insurance office. When......

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.......

Good morning, Houston. You might not remember it, but many local beaches used to be much wider than they are now — and soon, they'll be that wide again, thanks to a multimillion-dollar restoration project that's going to be announced today. The project will widen three miles of eroded beaches west of the Seawall in Galveston, Sylvan Beach in La Porte and other beaches in Surfside; the goal is to combat the erosion that's......

It’s hard to believe that it’s been over 20 years ago when the band The Cult united rockers with club-goers with the single “She Sells Sanctuary.” Other classics followed, including “Fire Woman,” “Love Removal Machine,” and “Rain.” The band faded from the spotlight last decade, but they have a new album out now and plenty of Cult followers to cheer them on. (Check out the first single "Dirty Little Rock Star") The Cult arrives at......

Ok, so it’s been like eight years since American Pie came out. Can you believe it? We know, we’re so old. It was a totally different decade then. A forgotten, distant time in our culture. An innocent age when we’d not yet seen Tara Reid’s, well, pretty much everything. A time when most of us had never heard the term MILF. A time when Eugene Levy had not yet sold his once funny soul to......

Good morning, Houston. Looks like our freewheeling land-use policies have gotten some national attention: The Wall Street Journal has a story focusing on the proposed residential tower at Bissonnet and Ashby. "The condo-tower dustup is just the latest in a string of odd situations allowed by Houston's lenient land-use rules," the article explains. "Rowdy cantinas, rock-crushing operations and commercial dumps sometimes pop up in residential neighborhoods. Condo towers sprout next to schools. A pay-by-the-hour......

Good morning, Houston. Imagine it: a penthouse apartment in the Galleria area, complete with your own personal dome. Nice — and did we mention it's free? Or at least it is for one guy who's been squatting in the attic of an Uptown business: According to KTRK, he's set up a pretty sweet pad, with cable, a flat-screen TV, surround sound, air conditioning and a bathroom. It's a pretty sweet deal for the guy,......

::The Orange Show for Visionary Arts Concert Series:: We told you about this event in this week's Thriftster, but decided it was waaaaaay to cool not to be reminded of again. I mean, would you seriously know what to do if we didn't tell you these things? Don't answer that. Unless the answer is "No." This new concert series, co-sponsored by SugarHill Studios, is dedicated to showcasing musicians as original as the Orange Show......

This week, Phillyist saw the waters of a landmark fountain run red for a Showtime marketing stunt, the Phils pull ahead, and some serious nostalgia. They also got a chance to review an awesome tribute album, reminded folks to see the King and appreciated their beautiful skyline. Chicagoist knows what it's like to like the Cubs. But naming your kid Wrigley Fields? At least they can breathe a little easier now that Grossman's out and......

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......

Astros pitcher Brandon Backe, in his second start of the season after Tommy John surgery, threw 97 pitches in his strongest outing since being injured last year. Showing a lot of the fire and self-criticism he's known for, Backe was not pleased with his showing, telling Astros.com: I was lucky, fortunate enough to make good pitches in big situations when the game could have gotten out of hand," he said. "But for the most......

We wouldn't go quite so far as to say that every day is an anniversary of 9/11, but there are several events happening around the city today to remember 9/11 and its victims. So hit them up, whether you're a firefighter, a civilian, or a troofer. >> Houston Fire Museum dedicates new statue: The Houston Fire Museum will dedicate a new statue titled "In the Line of Fire" to honor firefighters everywhere. The sculpture will......