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).......

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......

Football on a Thursday? Does this mean we have to skip 30 Rock? Damn, this is a hard decision. Gary Kubiak vs. Jack Donaghy. Sage Rosenfels vs. Judah Freidlander. Texans Cheerleaders vs. our completely defensible crush on Tina Fey. Tracy Jordan vs. Travis Henry's illegitmate children. Mike Shannahan's hair vs. the Sheinhart Wig Company. Who are we kidding? You can watch 30 Rock any time on NBC's website. It's like Tivo for poor people! The......

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......

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......

VS As shopping season is about to kick into high gear (yes, Thanksgiving is right around the corner which means that crazed shopaholics, uhh, we mean dedicated parents, come out of the woodworks to get a little violent for good deals) and Houstonist plans to be in the midst of all the hubbub at the Galleria. Yes, the parking will be crazy. Yes, the mall will be packed. Yes, we'll spoil ourselves to a......

Each week buscept last week Houstonist checks out the Missed Connections on Craiglist. Here's a few that we found interesting. 37 Llamas....if its you you know what im talking about!! - m4w - 20 That was the funniest thing i have ever heard!! Well email me back, you sound like a really cool girl... tell me what you were looking for!!Run away! Houstonist Rule of Dating #323: be very afraid of anyone who likes......

Good morning, Houston. We admit that we have a thing for interview shows, so we thought we'd take a second to note that NBC's Meet the Press, the king of Sunday morning TV news, made its television debut 60 years ago today. Meet the Press began life as a radio show in 1945 and moved to TV a couple of years later, and it hasn't stopped since. Now, MtP is the longest-running show on......

Good morning, Houston. It's November now, and you know what that means: We're at the beginning of nearly two straight months of Christmas. Retailers put their holiday decorations up early in hopes that shoppers will see them and get in the buying mood — but will it work? Not necessarily, if most shoppers are like Sharon Baker, who the Chron found at Macy's downtown. "I do like Christmas, but I need time to celebrate......

Need to know just a little bit about something? Ask a dilettante. I just saw a commercial for a cereal, I think it was Total, that used a Canned Heat song as the background ditty. It really bothered me for some reason, and I'm not sure why. -- Abbie H., Chicago Though you didn't really ask a question, Abbie, I get your drift. The growing number of 60s rock songs in TV commercials right now......

So, normally here at Houstonist, we try to promote events--arts and otherwise--that are open and (ahem) FREE to the public. Every now and again, though, something costing cash-o-la is so cool, so fun, SO important, that we simply MUST promote it. In this case, well, there's a lot of cash-o-la involved. But it's for such a good cause!!! We are not necessarily flush with cash today...or, well, any other day. But YOU, dear Houstonist......

Beginning today and running through Sunday - the party is ON in Galveston! It is time for the Lone Star Rally, one of the largest AMA sanctioned events anywhere. Where to start? There will be a humongous amount of activities going on, and stuff. We'll highlight a few and let you bang the link to the website for the full list. First, there will be the Leather and Lace Ball and Halloween Costume Party at......

Okay, photographers, try to ignore the painfully tight jeans and embarrassingly mop-like 'do for just one moment - '80s arena rocker and power balladeer Billy Squire wrote a song just for you. You got it. Everybody wants you. Oh, you're so used to being in such high demand, aren't you? And who wants you now, pray tell, Houstonist? Well, none other than the United Way of Greater Houston. "But Houstonist," you ask, scratching your head......

After months of anticipation and one of the best off-seasons in recent memory, the Rockets will begin their 2007-08 campaign tonight in LA against the Lakers. With a new frontcourt featuring Argentine sensation Luis Scola and a fully healthy Yao, the Rockets will be able to give the Spurs and Mavs a run for their money as the best team in the state. The focus tonight, however, will be on the matchup between Tracy McGrady......

The Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo publicly stated opposition to the proposed redevelopment of the Astrodome into a hotel and convention center. Giving the reason that it would have negative effects on the Texans and the HLSR, spokesfolks didn't actually release details yet to back it up. Since the Astros' abandonment of the Astrodome, it has been tough to try to agree and finance good uses for it year-round. The hotel and......

Good morning, Houston. Suppose you're trying to keep up with piles and piles of government reports. How can you tell when there are too many? Simple: You ask for a report, of course. That's what the Texas State Library and Archives Commission did — and in a 668-page report, the commission has declared that the state is over-reported. The commission looked at more than 170 state agencies and universities and found more than 1,600......

Local tech news in a compact, digital format. Keyboard Reviews Dwight Silverman over at The Chronicle has reviewed a couple of keyboards. One from Microsoft and another from Logitech. Check out his article for the lowdown on this new hardware. Raawwr! Leopard Unleashed The latest OS from Mac, Leopard 10.5 is on the loose. JKOnTheRun, Dwight Silverman and Dr. Mac have all recently run articles on this revolutionary new operating system from Apple. Metro......

Get your Halloween partay kicked of a little early tonight at the Houston Museum of Natural Science at "Spirits & Skeletons", the spooky special edition of the Mixers series. See and get yourself seen tonight, beginning at 8:00 p.m. where the night kicks off with Danse Orientale Belly Dancers, questions answered by Fatima and her band of merry Psychics (Miss Cleo? Nah, she's busy with her hotline - Fatima has it all going on, anyway......

Good morning, Houston. Here's one of those things that ended up selling for much more than we would have expected: A Rosenberg man bought a lock of Che Guevara's hair yesterday for $100,000. Bill Butler, a bookstore owner, was the only bidder; he said he collects items from the 1960s and that the hair will fit in well. "A lot of his writings are still worth reading today," Butler said of Guevara. Gustavo Villodo,......

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......

In a fight trying to reinstate a fraction of what the city had miles of before 1940, the Metro Board has voted on the future placement of the controversial University Line - west: Richmond-Cummins-Westpark-Hillcroft transit center, and heading east on Richmond/Wheeler and terminating at the Eastwood transit center. The other main west contenders were Richmond-Greenway-Westpark, Richmond-Kirby-Westpark, or to can it altogether. There is still more work and fighting to do, though - Metro must still......

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,......

Good morning, Houston. There's a new weapon in the battle to make Houston the most beautiful city in America: Beginning next week, commercial property owners will have to hide their Dumpsters behind a building, wall, fence, berm or shrub. Officials said they hope the rule — which City Council approved six months ago — will help increase property values and make properties safer (and, of course, prettier). Anyone who violates the ordinance can be......

Attention Lance Lovers! Texas' most famous cancer survivor will be visiting Houston tomorrow to lobby in support of Proposition 15. You can click here to read it in its entirety, but it's not any kind of Engrish that we recognize. The short story is that Prop 15, if passed, would result in a constitutional ammendment allowing for obligation bonds to raise money and establishing the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. Lance explained......

Good morning, Houston. Have you ever been lounging around on the couch, curious about how the state of Texas spends its money but frustrated because you can't hop online and find out? Well, cheer up: Now you can, thanks to a new feature on the state comptroller's website. The database allows users to search the $74.5 billion in expenditures from fiscal 2007 by agency, payee and spending category. For folks with the ability to......

Feel like it's time to give back? Someone did someone nice for you and you haven't paid it forward? You screwed someone over and now you've gotta get your good karma back? We've got the answer - treat yourself to a gourmet 3-course dinner! It's not often that eating out can be considered charity work. This week in Houston, your dining escapades can actually do some good for the world. Houston's annual Restaurant Week......

Houstonist's 'Heart of Gold' is a regular feature that gives a little love to the people that make a difference. Yes, we randomly get that touchy-feely. So sue us. And share your ideas with us too! Because shaving is just so uncharitable, Houston is holding its very first Mustaches For Kids fundraiser event. Didn't think kids needed mustaches did you? Well, think of it like a walkathon where the walking is replaced with facial hair......

Abejas, next door to Azuma off of Kirby, is a boutique with New York style and New York prices.. If mod and rustic had a baby, it would be this store. The smells draw you in with lavish feminine scents from diffusers placed all around. The clothes are organized by color so all black, brown, or white articles can be found on the same rack. If only Abejas could come to our closet and make......

Good morning, Houston. If you've ever thought that Halloween needed a little more, uh, spice, you might want to check out HauntXXX, "Houston's most titillating haunted house." The titillating part apparently has to do with nearly naked women wearing neon body paint — and as for the haunted part, well, we're not so sure (maybe these are some super-scary sexpots we're talking about). The haunted house isn't sitting well with some of its neighbors,......

Rice Gallery Opening Exhibit: Kirsten Hassenfeld's, Dans la Lune Among the many reasons we are happy that our quaint abode sits blocks from Hermann Park and Rice University, we add to that list our proximiity to the always excellently exhibited Rice Gallery. When we first heard about this installation, we knew we had to see it to believe it. Rice Gallery's current exhibit, Kirsten Hassenfeld's, Dans la Lune, utilizes the most ordinary of materials, paper,......