Good morning, Houston. Sure, the national economy may be going to hell in a handbasket, but look on the bright side: Houston's housing market is remaining pretty strong, so at least you homeowners have something of value! According to a new report, the median home value in Houston fell just $500 between the end of the third quarter 2007 and the end of the year, to $119,300 from $119,800 — still a gain of......

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......

West Texas, specifically Marfa, may be No Country for Old Men, but it certainly seems to be the place for making Academy Award winning films. Speaking of winning, one lucky Houston Fiesta shopper hit it big in the Texas Lotto. >> TSU's president calls for entrance standard: The Chronicle reports that new TSU president John Rudley is moving toward more stringent admissions standards for the embattled university. President Rudley is taking over the helm......

24-hour Laundry People by out_of_rhythm ________________________________________________________________ If you have a passion for Houston and photography, consider joining a whole bunch of Houston's best photographers in the Houstonist Flickr Photo Group. If Houstonist uses your photo for Photo Of The Day, submit it here and for more great Houston photography, check out the Houston Photobloggers.......

Okay! So! Earlier this week, People.com reported that a "well placed" source said a New Kids on the Block reunion was gonna happen. But then elsewhere on the internets, an even BETTER placed source said that's not true!!! So what does this all mean?!? And why are people comparing the New Kids to the Beatles?!?!? And should grown men really be called Kids when they are pushing forty?!?!?!?!?!?! We don't know! But! This has given......

Three female singer/songwriters who march to the beat of their own drums are releasing albums this week, including a 20 year old British musician with a penchant for colorful language named Kate Nash [pictured]. Singer Kate Nash’s debut album, Made of Bricks, is already a hit in her native England, and today it is being released stateside. Nash matches witty and honest lyrics with playful piano chords much like another young star, Regina Spektor. -Read......

Most of the late-night talk shows are back with new shows this year, proving that scripted comedians can actually be kinda funny on their own! This week, electronic rockers MGMT [pictured] are scheduled to perform on Letterman. Like what you hear? Be sure to catch the duo when they come to town to play at Walter's on Sunday, January 20. Monday ABC, 11:05pm: Jimmy Kimmel Live, Velvet Revolver Tuesday CBS, 12:05am: The Late Late Show......

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......

Good morning, Houston. As we were sitting around Monday morning contemplating using a witch's extremity to keep warm, we started to wonder exactly how cold it's gotten in the city before — and, thanks to the Internet, we know! According to the National Weather Service, the record low temperature for Houston was 5 degrees Fahrenheit, which we hit on Jan. 23, 1940. Maybe more interesting, though, is the Houston snowfall record: Turns out we......

Kermit, you’re wrong. Jeff Kaplan, owner and founder of New Living -- an eco-friendly home supply store, is out to show us that in fact it’s quite easy being green. But, honestly Kermit can’t be blamed. Times have changed and surely back in the ‘80’s being eco-friendly wasn’t such a piece of cake. New Living, the “Healthy Home Essentials” store will open in the Rice Village sometime early this week, and offer customers the......

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......

Raise your glass and raise some funds for the HERO project -- a humanitarian campaign of the United Nations Association (USA) dedicated to providing comprehensive, school-based support to orphans and vulnerable children living in HIV/AIDS-affected communities in Africa. All you have to do is show up at New Gallery/Thom Andriola (2627 Colquitt) tomorrow, Wednesday the 12th between 7 and 9PM. Taste some wine, admire the art, and feel good knowing you're doing something for other......

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).......

::NetSquared Meet Up: Careflash:: Ever wonder who the rowdy group in the back room at Stag's Head is every 2nd Tuesday of the month? We did, too. So last month we barged in. Ok, we were invited. And we found out where all the big hearted techies have been hiding, at the NetSquared Meetup! The mission of Net2 is to spur responsible adoption of social web tools by social benefit organizations. There's a whole new......

::Social Media & Web 2.0 Happy Hour:: Do you spend more time on Facebook than you do reading a book? Do your sentences end with, "I'm SO Twittering that."? Do you scour the internet begging for invites to Beta testing of new sites? You're not alone. And there is help and support for people like you. Join your kind tonight at Sonoma Wine Bar as Houston's Social Media Community celebrates the season at the Houston......

Local tech news in a compact, digital format. City Duped By New Court Technology City officials are threatening a lawsuit against Maximus Inc, the company that was hired to supposedly make things easier for the municipal court system. Officials are giving the company until Thursday to come up with a plan to work out the bugs. The city has already dropped a cool $10 million into this flawed system. Continental Allows Cellphone Check In......

Last second shopping anyone? If you are sitting at home bored today - or just feel in the mood for some locally -inspired retail therapy - head on over to the very first Houston Underground Arts Market today from 2-6pm. Houston artists, artisans, crafty bastards and threadheads will be selling their wares giving you ample opportunity to buy unique and funky gifts for your friends and/or enemies. Find locally crafted soap, clothing, stained glass, jewelry......

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......

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......

When you first hear Katie voice, you know that you've hit the goldmine. That's probably why she quickly won local music awards not long after moving back to her hometown, Houston. Katie Stuckey and the Straggler, her band, will be performing tomorrow night at Rudyard's. It'll be a great show, and a good chance to see her in a smaller venue: We know she'll quickly outgrow these small venues. We bounced some questions off......

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......

So successful in it's White Linen Nights venture, the heights is bringing back the merriment and cheer of getting together with neighbors and retailers, to create a sorta national night out. Well, sorta. During the day. Stop by lots and lots of Heights area retailers for a shopping extravaganza. "The event showcases the Heights faithfully - profiling the people, the shop owners, the artists and the businesses that make the Heights a classy, progressive,......

The Houston Rockets three-game winning streak came to a close last night after the Golden State Warriors ran circles around them resulting in a disappointing 113-94 loss. The game began with an 8-0 run by the Warriors with the Rockets starting off 0-7 from the floor. Both teams were playing the second game of a back-to-back, but the Warriors had a higher intensity as they continued to penetrate to the basket while the Rockets did......

With this colder weather hitting us, what better way to stay warm than with a nice glass of wine? We have some great events coming up. Food, wine, and maybe a little of bit of fun thrown in makes for a happy Houstonist. Check out the upcoming events! Sempre Vive Wine Dinner at 1926 BICE Ristorante Wednesday, December 5, 2007 6:00-11:00 PM, $125 Sempre Vive is hosting a wine tasting paired with a delicious......

The Dynamo are in a quandry. On the heels of winning their second consecutive MLS Cup, they're at the center of a dispute with the MLS. The Orange are owned by AEG, an entertainment conglomerate owned by Phil Anschutz. AEG used to own close to half of the teams in MLS, but are now down to just our all-conquering hometown boys, and the pretty boy-signing LA Galaxy. The MLS is ready for AEG to shed......

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......

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......

The thought may have crossed your mind once some balmy spring day in early March, pre-heat, as the flowers start to bloom but the mosquitoes haven't yet returned. Or perhaps you realized it some fall evening as you relaxed on a patio having drinks while people in the northern half of the country listened to their radiators clank like a death knell. "Houston's not so bad, in fact, despite the [_____], it's worth it." Okay,......

::Movie Monday - Double Feature:: Two series we love return tonight: Monday Night Movies at Domy Books, and Movies Houstonians Love at the MFA. Liquid Sky, 1983, 112 min Domy Books | 1709 Westheimer 8:30 - 10:30pm FREE Drugs, 80s Art Punks, and Aliens translated through director Slava Tsukerman would be the easy way to describe Liquid Sky. The hard way would include the endless amount of unlikable characters (including the two leads played by......