What is art? Is it a French impressionist oil painting or is it a good book? A couple of local art students suggest that the answer might be more metaphysical than, say a (highly) interperative dance or a chocolate Jesus sculpture. Interdisciplinary Arts students from the University of Houston's Cyntha Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts present He Ate Love at the always cozy Antidote Coffee in the Heights. An abstract presentnation of love in......

We’ve got a busy week on the concert front. Our favorite duo from New York arrives at The Meridian tomorrow night. They Might Be Giants have been making quirky alt/pop songs for grown-ups over 20 years now, and a few albums for the kids that us grown-ups enjoy, too. Wilco’s Friday night show at Verizon Wireless Theater is sold out, but if you’re willing to pay a little, you can still get your hands......

Oh, indie rock. Does such a genre even really mean anything anymore? What was once "independent" is now major label material; a few major label material acts are now "independent." The grass is blue, the sky is green, up is down, down is up; nothing makes sense in this day and age. Leave it to Built to Spill to defy space and time by continuing to rock the same songs they've been playing since 1993......

A number of female artists chance it for a comeback on the charts this week. Prolific soul singer/songwriter Erykah Badu returns with her first album in five years, New Amerykah. -Watch a very cool music video for album single, "Honey," on Youtube -Read an interview with Badu at MSNBC -Badu will be featured in a new Tom Ford Fragrance ad campaign -Read an album review at EW.com -Buy New Amerykah Ethereal electronic star Goldfrapp is......

Tonight, catch Grammy award-winning R&B vocalist, singer/songwriter Jill Scott at Verizon Wireless. Frequent visitor Bob Schneider makes his trip from Austin a little bit shorter tomorrow by playing at the Cypress Saloon in northwest Houston. Local faves Orange Is In is opening, which makes for a great double-bill. Another local act, The Mighty Orq, will be presenting a lot of new material at his CD release show at the Meridian Friday night (you’ll probably......

Many artists make a living on the road, but few have been able to do it as successfully, and consistently, as Garrett Dutton. The Philadelphia native and his band, better known as G. Love & Special Sauce, have been churning out albums and have been known for their fantastic live shows for a decade and a half now. Their unique blend of rock, hip-hop, and blues, among other ingredients, has made them a crowd favorite.......

Sick of re-warming the soy milk for that pretentious jerk’s soy latte? Is your work place just like “The Office,” but without actually being ironically entertaining? Need to get out of your parents’ garage apartment? Well, we’ve got just the resume boost for all of you. VH1 is pulling out the “Help Wanted” sign for Sean “P Diddy” Combs, although we think it’s “Sean John” now. The cable channel responsible for such quality programming like......

Houstonist found this week's crop of Missed Connections sweet & torid but relatively dull until we found the Springer-tastic posts listed below. Looking for ROBIN - m4w - 52 Robin, we dated in 1991/1992 and then lost track of each other. You are from New Orleans, worked at the VA hospital and lived on South Main. I was living in Pasadena and worked at the Transco tower. We met at an Olive Garden because......

A little bit of old school, a little bit of new school on the charts this week. According to Magnetic Fields' mastermind Stephin Merritt, the group's latest album, Distortion, was inspired by The Jesus and Mary Chain. We think the Scottish post-punk thing is a good look for Merritt and Co. -Read an interview with Stephin Merritt at Pop Matters -Stream the entire album on AOL -Magnetic Fields are featured in the latest All Songs......

What up, Houston? Houstonist is glad to be back in the saddle after our "long winters nap." Looks like the Missed Connections crowd didn't take too much time off for Hanukwanzmas. Plenty of folks were out ho ho hoeing around. Enjoy. J - please talk to me - w4m I meant what I wrote in that last email. I'm sorry you can't deal with someone like me. You wanted a freak... I'm freaky.. and......

This weekend, there's a movie coming out called Charlie Wilson's War; the eponymous Wilson was a congressman from Lufkin (actual motto: You'll Love Lufkin!) who funneled arms and money to the Afghan rebels fighting against the USSR in the waning years of the Cold War. Wilson took up the fight because the Afghans were underdogs and when they were pissed, they'd hurt the Commies in ways that red-blooded Americans of the time only wished they......

Here are a few books Houstonist thinks your friends and family won't use for doorstops (that's the fruitcake, right?). Everyone likes a good read, or at least a smart-looking book to sit on the nightstand. Give these a try. And shop at your local independent bookstore -- they can give you even more recommendations, and probably a good cup of coffee as well. Fun, mostly fiction books for people who are... Houstonians and/or architecture......

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......

Okay, okay - this is a no-bake, not from a "box", as creative as you want to be, addition to your holiday party, goody swap or gift. After all, it's not about buying up all the gift cards at the convenience store on the corner - it's the thought that really counts. Also, these are great additions to little treat bag/thank you gifts for your holiday guests. What is it? Chocolate Bark creations!!! Very......

We love restaurants in cute little houses. They immediately make us feel comfortable and at home, except we don't have to cook or wash the dishes. And yet, while the quaint brick cottage is one reason we love Seco's Latin Cuisine, the food is enough to make us forget our surroundings. Usually we like to come here for the $13 Sunday brunch buffet, so that we can stuff our selves silly and then have the......

Every so often we're too lazy to read every MC there's a Missed Connection that stands out from the crowd. This is one of those so oftens. just a kiss... - w4m I’m a girl. (or woman, what have you) I’m in my mid 20s. I am polite, respectful, well spoken, intelligent, from a great family, and very independent But it occurred to me a few weeks ago that I can’t remember the last......

San Antonio rock band Girl in a Coma is set to play a show with The Cliks tomorrow night at Fitzgerald’s. The young band [pictured] has had a pretty charmed life thus far; legendary rocker Joan Jett signed the Girl(s) to her Blackheart Record Label, and the ladies have been tapped to go on tour early next year with their idol, Morrissey. It’s easy to see the reason for the band’s good fortunes. Lead singer......

Good morning, Houston. Are you a local news junkie? Do you already know all the headlines we're covering here? If so, we'd love to have you: Houstonist is looking to build its news staff, and you're invited. You should keep up with what's going on in and around Houston and be able to put up a couple of posts a week, at least; some background in journalism is always a plus. If it sounds......

What would be the obvious career path for someone who went to Harvard for undergrad and Yale for law school? Well, write and publish restaurant guides, of course. Duh. Houstonist had the opportunity to sit with author/entrepreneur/foodie/publisher/world-traveller Robin Goldstein and his managing editor/foodie/marketer/public-relations-exec/S.O. Alexis Herschkowitsch. Robin has just released his Houston restaurant guide – Fearless Critic, Houston Restaurant Guide (one of the very first complete printed guides in Houston - and no, Zagat doesn't count).......

With all the excitement surrounding the new Wu-Tang Clan record, what are some other bands you'd like to see return to the spotlight? We still say a prayer for a Fugees' comeback album, even though we know it's a lost cause. 8 Diagrams is the long-awaited new album from Wu-Tang, featuring the much-talked about Beatles' sample and guitar work by John Frusciante. Group members Ghostface and Raekwon have been vocal about their dissatisfaction with the......

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.......

The incredibly talented and modest Mlee Marie Suprean has to be one of the hardest working musicians in Houston. Juggling five musical projects (including the fantastic Hearts of Animals) at the same time can’t be easy for anybody, but even while recovering from a nasty cough, Suprean still made time to talk to the Houstonist about what’s on both her mind and plate. Mlee is an interesting name. Where did that come from? My......

Each week Houstonist checks out the Missed Connections on Craiglist. Here's a few that we found interesting. today it used to be our day, some were great and some weren't but atleast i was able to spend it with you. i'm still so lost as to what i'm supposed to do. my heart tells me never to give up. you say you love me and you wish we could be together, isn't true love......

So, if Thanksgiving is all about pie, pie and more pie, Christmas is all about cookies, for us, for Santa, for everyone we can pawn them off on give them to. Here at Houstonist, we love food, cooking it, eating it, telling you how to make it and where to find it. We'll even let you know if it's all "meh" not so much. Holiday desserts are the best and the calories do not count......

"Houstonist. What do you want?" ... "Oh, hey. What up?" ... "Hell, yeah. Our birthday party is tomorrow night!" ... "Tomorrow night at 6. Downtown." ... "AT MONSOON WOK. Thought you said you read the first post?" ... "You'd better show up or we'll beat your ass." ... "Love you, too." Houstonist Birthday Party 6 PM on Thursday, December 6th Monsoon Wok (McKinney @ San Jacinto) --- Photo: flickr user princessrica.......

It isn't often that we find a dessert that claims to be non-fat and delicious. And after falling in love with LA's Pinkberry, we were on the prowl to find something just as delicious. Enter Swirll. For those of us studying for finals or working from "home", free wi-fi becomes a must for studying, writing papers, reading Houstonist, doing "work" . . .the usual. And when we found out that Swirll not only had fat......

Houstonist is pleased to see that the holidays haven't lessened the amount of folks who seem to be "a sandwich short of a full picnic basket." Still in doubt? Read on. Amazing Sex .... Why didnt i get your number? - m4w - 28 We made eye contact in the grocery store. You waited for me outside then we had amazing sex in your mini van. It was a blast and i would love......

Houstonist is two years old. We have made great strides during our second year. We are proud to have showcased the city and the work of many talented photographers during 600 sq mi. And, we are also proud and very relieved to have safely hosted over 60 folks on the Light Rail Pub Crawl. Thanks to our 11 veteran readers and our one new recruit. We love you. You're the jam in our jelly......

Here we go, the big mother of all holidays. Love it, or hate it – it’s nearly December and whether you’re into Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa or whatever else you may be into, December is a really bigass month. If nothing else, the streets are more congested, people drive even crazier than normal and the average Houstonian is pelted with food, drink and festivities. Yeah, we hate drinking and eating, we know how you feel......

After stuffing ourselves silly on Thanksgiving, Houstonist vowed to take it easy on all the eating. We dutifully held our promise for a few hours, until our friend called us for lunch at Southwell’s. We don’t know whether our friend calculated that we would never turn down Southwell’s Hamburger Grill (despite binging just twelve hours earlier). Our friend, the pickiest eater we've ever known, had us at "Southwell's." We’ve been eating at Southwell’s for years......