Do you remember what fun is? More to the point, have you ever voluntarily subjected yourself to the bizarre and inexplicably enjoyed it? If you haven't, that probably only because you haven't heard the music of Leslie and the Ly's performed live yet. No worries, though; such a problem can be easily remedied and sooner than you think. Whether it be in gem sweaters or spandex pants, Leslie Hall knows how to rock the party.......

Tonight’s Texas Bowl is going to be a throwback to the days of the Southwest Conference with an exciting match-up between the University of Houston and Texas Christian University. From a football point of view, it’s a classic match-up of high powered offense (Houston) against a formidable defensive squad (TCU). It will be interesting to see how the Coogs respond in tonight’s game, their first without Art Briles who ran off to Waco to become......

Good morning, Houston. Do you feel like you're living and dying in 3/4 time? Need a margarita(ville) or two to pick up your spirits on this way-too-hot Monday morning? How about a vintage Jimmy Buffett video to help you through the week? "Come Monday" has long been one of our favorite JB songs, and what better time to listen to it than now? Plus, his girlfriend was super-hot, and we can't argue with that.......

Literary Salon @ space125gallery Join Houston Arts Alliance on tonight. August 2nd, from 7PM -9PM at space125gallery for an evening of poetry and literature. "Meet the Authors" reception begins at 6:30PM. Featured artists: Laurie Clements Lambeth PhD, University of Houston Creative Writing Program Houston Arts Alliance Individual Artist Award Recipient Winner 2006 National Poetry Series Open Competition Cambor Fellowship Recipient, Inprint David Stuart MacLean MFA, New Mexico State University Fullbright Scholar Mary Gibbs and......

Some news for those of you who commute to and from Brazoria County regularly: TxDOT is considering building 26 miles of toll lanes along Highway 288. The proposal is for two toll lanes in each direction from Highway 59 to the South Loop, three lanes each way from the Loop to the Beltway, and two lanes in each direction from there to County Road 60 near Iowa Colony. There's room: When the South Freeway......

We now know that a little bit of Iowa is less than an hour away from Houston. Dewberry Farms, located in Brookshire, is trying to bring the farm experience to kids of all ages, offering up a pumpkin patch, farm animals, hayrides, pig races, gemstone mining, and – our favorite – a corn maze. Every summer, decides on a design and plants its corn accordingly. This year, they are celebrating the now-former Astro Jeff Bagwell’s......

The shot from flickr user and Houstonist photo contributor happykatie. An interesting shot that begs the question, what's going on? According to Happy Katie: "A local high school created this altar in memory of US troop casualties in Iraq for the MECA Houston Day of the Dead Festival." Ah yes, the day after we recover from our sugar hangovers, a large portion of the population is celebrating Dia De Los Muertos. For those gringos......

So we've heard a lot lately about the city's attempts to clean up graffiti. Given that, it's not surprising — kind of dumb, but not surprising — that a weekend graffiti-art event is ruffling some feathers. The event is the Hawaiian Punch Graffiti Jam, scheduled for 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow at the Southside Skate Park, 510 Iowa Ave. in South Houston. Professional graffiti artists will paint a mural and will teach all comers......

>> World: British health food stores will sell tea spiced with hemp flower syrup and THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. "Iced Cannabis Tea" is also sold in Switzerland, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. >> Nation: Another crazy poll verifies something we never expected. This time, the U.S. is the No. 1 patriotic country out of 34. Venezuela comes in second. >> Texas: The Supreme Court's decision to uphold much of 2003's......

Local health officials are keeping an eye on the outbreak of mumps that's hit six Midwestern states. It began in Iowa and spread to Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota and Oklahoma, affecting more than 1,150 people — and the CDC says it expects the mumps to spread. About two dozen cases of mumps are reported in Texas every year; so far this year, nine cases have been reported. None of them has been linked to the......

Though a suspect is already in custody, police are still puzzling over the murder of Kasey Davis, a Texas Christian football player who was shot to death at a Conroe apartment complex early Tuesday morning. Davis had just parked his Suburban at the Forest Creek Apartments on Montgomery Park about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday when a man got out of a nearby car and shot Davis through his driver's-side window, then returned to his car and......

Things are changing in the Astros broadcast booth: Drayton McLane and team President Pam Gardner told veteran broadcaster Alan Ashby yesterday that he won't be returning for the 2006 season. Ashby, who played with the 'Stros for 11 years and has been in the booth with the team for eight years doing color, hoped to do play-by-play for road games next year, but instead, the team will go with a pair of rookies: The Astros......