As the Astros start their Spring Training schedule today in Osceola County, the college baseball season has been underway for a couple of weeks now. The annual Houston College Classic returns to Minute Maid Park this weekend as one of the premier regional showcases of top-level NCAA baseball. Starting on Friday and continuing through Sunday, the Juice Box will be host to an almost non-stop flow of games. The teams participating in the tourney are:......

Ah, Nielsen's Deli - home of Houston's most luscious, and best ever homemade chicken salad and one very mean deviled egg. For over 55 years, Nielsen's has been the Afton Oaks area's source for deli sandwiches and salads, homemade desserts, stuffed jalapenos, luncheon trays, finger sandwiches and homemade soups. This lunchtime jewel is located on Richmond Avenue, just inside Loop 610, near the Galleria. It's convenient from downtown too, peeps! Open 7 days a week,......

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......

Houstonist told you about Continental's new mobile boarding pass service in last week's Tech Buzz. This week we tested the service. Step 1: Check-in via the Continental PDA web site (http://pda.continental.com/) Assuming you have web access on your PDA (duh), you should be able to complete this on the shuttle ride from the parking lot like we did. Navigating to the mobile site was painless. And, the email containing our boarding pass hyperlink hit our......

::MFA Projection Bomb!:: We caught wind of this earlier this week and couldn't resist reposting. Introducing the first guerrilla drive-in theater on the roof of the MFA parking garage this Thursday night. Be part of a smart mob for a 20 minute projection bomb. Bring a car full! Details below, poster attached. (Good attendance would really help my thesis project). Thanks! Clint - - - - - - - - - - - - -......

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......

::Nights on Blue Bayou: DeKam vs Nalepa:: We know, we know. You're ALL gonna be at the Houstonist 2nd Burfday Happy Hour tonight at Monsoon. So why should we bother even telling you what else there is to do tonight? Why? Because, well, you gotta have somewhere to stumble to when our tab runs out. A spectacle beneath the bridges of the Sabine Promenade on the banks of the Buffalo Bayou, this environmental light and......

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. 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......

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......

Do you find yourself a little scared to venture downtown these days, for fear of what you may or may not find? We'll admit, it's not out first pick for happy hour, what, with all the awesome parking opportunities and diverse bars, clubs, and retail? So we are looking forward to giving it a chance tonight, as ArtsHouston hosts a Meet & Greet (Hello, downtown, my name is ______) tonight at Butterfly High (705 Main......

There are so many freaking cool things happening this weekend -- here's just a list of what Houstonist has on hand. Please send us the rest. Thursday November 29th HOUSTON. IT'S WORTH IT. Book Launch Party At the Lawndale Parking Lot, 4912 Main Street 6:30PM-9PM Images from the book will be projected on North wall of Lawndale art center. DJ Pooks spins the tunes and there will be refreshments. Proceeds from sales of the......

Houston - Parking Garage by p3t3rt ________________________________________________________________ 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.......

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......

Looking to grab some last-minute groceries for the crowd you're entertaining this Thanksgiving? Consider ditching the bored-looking security guards at the supermarkets this week and going local at a farmer's market: Houston Farmer's Market has all the leafy greens you'll need to complement your turkey, as well as okra, shelled peas, and much more. They'll also have fresh chicken, beef, and lamb for less traditionalist cooks. Planning on being on the receiving end of......

::Nights on Blue Bayou: City Soundscapes:: Tonight brings us the second installment of the Buffalo Bayou Partnership's Nights on Blue Bayou series. An awesomely unique event, that brings Houstonians to the banks of Buffalo Bayou for a neighborhood block party-esque event under the stars. Nights on Blue Bayou: CITY SOUNDSCAPES is a multi-dimensional series of events on the banks of the bayou, beneath the historic Sabine Street Bridge, presented by the University of Houston Cynthia......

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......

Today’s Photo of the Day comes from flickr user and Houstonist photo contributor qianshuo who took this gorgeous sunset from the Hobby Center parking garage. __________________________________________________________ If you have a passion for Houston and photography, consider joining over 444 of Houston's best photographers in the Houstonist Flickr Photo Group. If Houstonist uses your photo for Photo Of The Day, submit it here. For more great photography check out the Houston Photobloggers.......

::Official Houston Launch of Skirt! Magazine:: A few skirt-y things have come outta Houston in the last few months, and we are thrilled our lovely ladies are making their mark in Houston business. First, Houstonian and hilarious blogger, Laura Mayes, co-founds sk*rt, a social media ranking site that caters to the female persuasion (think Digg, but for chicks). And not to be confused with that sk*rt, this last month launched the Houston market of Skirt!......

Do you plan your day's meals before you turn off your alarm clock? Do you know where to get the best breakfast tacos in town? Does the thought of braised chicken feet intrigue you? When you taste something divine, do you need a moment of silence? Tickle your tastebuds pink, Houstonist is looking for food writers! One of the best things about living in Houston is the awe-inspiring number of restaurants and diversity in......

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. 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......

The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art is kicking off its Fall with a fantastic afternoon for families, children, artists and all very cool persons who enjoy art cars! Saturday, September 29th from 1-4pm, head on over to Munger Street, home of The Orange Show Monument, for food, drinks and the return of the 2006 winner of the Mayor's Cup - Atomic Dog, created by Waltrip High School. Those of you who hit the Art......

During our daily scrummage though Houston's many local music blogs, we ran across this event brought to us by HoustonSoReal. We'll just let you hear it from Sonzala... Thursday Sept. 27th Witnes and I are bringing DJ Queen Majesty and Grimy Styles to the Proletariat for a Punky Reggae Party. For those who don't know, Punky Reggae is a term, I think coined by Bob Marley and/or Lee Scratch Perry, anyway it was their reaction......

Good morning, Houston. Want to hear something weird? Investigators say a North Texas man had a stolen bone implanted in his neck. The man, Jim Livingston, had a herniated disk in his neck; in 2005, a surgeon replaced it with a small bone from a donor. Everything was fine until last year, when Livingston got a call informing him that the bone was believed to have been stolen from a body at a funeral......

Need to know just a little bit about something? Ask a dilettante. [All of today's questions are from "JB" of Houston. Thanks for writing in, JB! As for the other eleven Houstonist readers - I'm still waiting to hear from you.] Who should have control of what we watch on TV at home - my roommate, whose TV it is, or me since I own the house? Assuming your roommate is paying rent and thus......

Protest over national vs. regional chains, the never-ending debate over the place of cars and bicycles in our metropolises, professional sports scandals, remembering a solemn day, and being issued a search warrant - it all happened across our sites this week! Another banner week at Chicagoist started off with daily reports from food writer Lisa Shames on her attempt to eat only locally grown and raised foodstuffs all week as part of a farmers market......

Next time you are in the mood for an extraordinary lunch that does not involve valet parking you should hop on over to Yo Mama's Soul Food Restaurant on Antoine between 43rd and Tidwell. Yo Mama's (tee hee) has been slanging the groceries for 13 years now will not be closing any time soon judging by the lunch crowd. Folks from neighborhoods near (Oak Forest) and far (Sugarland) were waiting patiently in line to pick......

OK, so we know it isn't really a residence — at least not right now — we couldn't resist highlighting this incredible contemporary structure on Gallery Row. The building was designed by Albert Marichal Studio of New York and now houses mix. No, we're not sure what's going to happen to the store, but the property is being marketed as a residence, a private office building or (we assume) retail space. We're going to......

If you didn't like the idea of our beloved Astrodome becoming a fancy hotel, then you won't be happy that a hotel plan is still in the works. The difference this time around, though, is that the new convention hotel will not incorporate the "historic" Texas themes which could have included an Alamo facade, faux courthouse, and a bunch of other corny things. The new plan, which doesn't yet have detailed renderings, opts for a......