Not too far from Houston is the town of Lumberton. It's a small and friendly community where everyone knows each other. It's also the hometown of Crystal. Of all the thousands and thousands of beautiful women who entered Maxim's Hometown Hottie Contest, Crystal was one of the elite few who made it to the semi-finals. Houstonist had a chance to talk with this Texas beauty last week on her new found fame. Crystal, can......

>> Wintry mix blasts Panhandle, North Texas with sleet, snow: They came from the north and helped freeze your tootsies. Yep, those darn north winds are to blame for the uber chill around town today writes Meteorologist Tim Heller on the Houston Weather Blog. The same system that blanketed North Texas with nine inches of snow and caused Dallas-Ft. Worth airport to cancel 200 flights will share its chill with Houston. "This type of......

Each week Houstonist checks out the Missed Connections on Craiglist. Here's a few that we found interesting. help! just dyin to find the lady that hit me and left - 24 Hey here is hoping anybody out there can help. I was biking home last saturday when a woman hit me from behind and knocked me of my bike into the street. She asked if I was okay and I said no but to......

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......

Yesterday was the second of the Super Tuesdays for this Presidential Election year and included primary elections in Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas and Vermont. Houstonist could careless about who wins. We're just excited to see the record turnout at the polls. We all win when that happens. Congratulations, Houston, and all you Texans that don't live in our kickass town. According to Wikipedia - stop laughing - Super Tuesday...refers to the Tuesday in February......

:: Exiles in Paris Concert by Da Camera :: At the turn of the twentieth century, musicians, choreographers, writers and painters from all over the world converged in Paris and began sharing their work and ideas with each other with the goal of revolutionizing their artistic disciplines. (We at Houstonist are expecting the same thing to happen here at any moment.) Da Camera made a series of two concerts highlights the work of these......

Every March, Houstonist takes a little pilgrimage up to Austin to check out our favorite music conference: SXSW. With over a thousands artists playing in about a hundred venues, we know we can’t catch them all. So, we decided to dedicate this month’s Houstonist iMix to those acts that we’re looking forward to seeing this year (since we limited our iMix to 16 songs, we’re only including 1% of the artists performing). Again, their music......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • A man crashed his car into a Sugar Land home on Lynnwood at Oak Wood early Saturday morning. No one in the home was injured and the driver is in the hospital in stable condition. • The Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo is 76 years old. • An 84 year old Puerto Rican man with dementia is missing after walking out of......

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on Houstonist. The 2009 Toyota Corolla, which encourages you to "Live the Dream for Less Coin." Gallery Furniture, where you can win $25,000 in furniture in their video contest. Obama for America, remember the Texas primary on Tuesday. Joe Jackson's Rain, available now on Amazon.com. Busted Tees, which introduces three new designs a week. If you're interested in advertising on Houstonist or any......

Happy bissextile day, Houston. If you're reading this from jail — we're actually not even sure if you can use the Internet in jail — well, don't feel alone: According to a new report from the Pew Center on the States, 1 of every 100 American adults are behind bars today. Good lord. The good news: Texas is one of the states that has tried to slow the growth of its inmate population through......

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:......

Hola, Houston. It's rodeo time. Everyone get happy. Throw ya hands in the air if you love Hannah Montana! Musical acts like Montana, rather the lack of Tejano acts on the rodeo bill, are just what have folks around Houston up in arms. Former State Senator Gonzalo Barrientos is calling for "friends across the whole great state of Texas not to attend the Houston livestock show, period." According to the ABC13.com story, the issue......

After a brief hiatus to undergo a lengthy bout of detox due to excessive margarita consumption, we’re back and better than ever! The next stop on the road to unearth Houston’s best margarita was Canyon Café, positioned in a strip mall near the corner of Post Oak Lane and Westheimer. Restaurant Ambiance Judging solely by its exterior, Canyon Café possesses an inordinate amount of flair and gusto. From the lengthy outdoor staircase that patrons......

Good morning, Houston. When it comes to politics, we suppose there's a lot to be said for the shock factor — which is why Brian Klock, a candidate for Congressional District 22, is getting some attention. Klock, one of 10 people vying for the Republican nomination for CD 22, has put up a billboard showing downtown Houston being destroyed by a huge explosion. "The Threat Is Real," the billboard reads. "Ask Brian Klock." And......

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......

Yeah, yeah, we know — Shelterporn has slacked off, and in recent weeks you've had to look for your own dream real estate listings. We're awfully sorry to have put such a burden on you and are making a Chinese New Year's resolution to be more regular. We'll do better at keeping up with Shelterporn, too. All of which brings us to the home we couldn't ignore: the Frame house, located off Memorial and......

>> Two Houston Area Offshore Drilling Companies Win Big: The oil and money are flowing freely for two drilling companies based in Houston. A report in the Houston Business Journal, lists 2007 revenue for mammoth behemoth, Transocean closed out at $3.1 billion. The company also announced a $586 million contract extension with client Anadarko, another Houston company. The HBJ also reports that The Rowan Companies also inked a three year deal. The Rowan deal......

Good morning, Houston. Remember the city's smoking ban, which went into effect in September? Well, so does KPRC. The station checked around and found something that will shock you to your very core: Houstonians are still smoking in bars and restaurants! No, really. One of the bars Channel 2 visited was Henry Hudson's Pub on the west side, where reporters found customers and the bartender smoking — and "we even bought a pack of......

>> City offers $15.5M for possible stadium site: The Chronicle reports that the city has said it'll pay more than $15.5 million for five downtown blocks that could become the site of a stadium for the Dynamo. The parcel is bounded by Texas and Walker on the north and south and Dowling and Hutchins on the east and west; it's just east of the Lofts at the Ballpark and immediately south of a vast......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • An elderly woman was rescued by firefighters during a two-alarm fire at her southwest Houston condo Saturday morning in the 12000 block of South Dairy Ashford. • A 17 year old girl became trapped under a minivan after the vehicle crashed through the walls of her room in a southeast Houston apartment complex. The girl survived the incident virtually unscathed. • "The......

::Inprint Brown Reading Series Featuring Dave Eggers and Chimamanda Adichie:: Houstonist just finished reading the new books by both these authors and was *blown away.* HALF OF A YELLOW SUN, Chimamanda Adichie's novel about the Biafran War in Nigeria in the late sixties, follows the political and military developments through the eyes of several civilians, painting a human and devastating portrait of war. Similarly, Dave Eggers' fictionalized autobiography of the very real Valentino Achak......

Did we miss something? Let us know. Here’s the full week line-up. Local bands are noted by an asterisk (*): Wednesday • The Leo Trio/*The Haymakers/The Mighty Orq – rock | 9 p.m. at Rudyard's • Dead Meadow/*Sharks and Sailors/Southern Bellugosi – indie | 9 p.m.at The Mink Thursday • Bob Schneider/Mothers Anthem/Jake Andrews – pop/rock | 8 p.m.at Warehouse Live • Jimmy LaFave – folk/Americana | 7 p.m. at Mucky Duck • *Backbeat......

How difficult is the Western Conference? Well, your hometown Houston Rockets just defeated the Portland Trailblazers tonight to notch their 11th victory in 12 games. With a 31-20 record to their name, the Rockets nevertheless continue to find themselves battling it out with the Golden State Warriors for the eighth and final playoff spot. Despite the grim outlook in the hyper-competitive conference, citizens of Houston can take solace in the fact that they are currently......

The Houston Rockets returned home last night, fresh off of an eight game road winning streak, to host the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers in a nationally televised match up. With Western Conference foes such as the Suns and Lakers making headline roster moves to improve their stock in an extremely competitive Western Conference, the Rockets were quickly becoming an afterthought as they fought for the final playoff seed. However, a 92-77 victory over the Cavs......

The Houston Business Journal reported that the Texas State Hotel has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Currently in the building is Club Quarters Hotel, but they weren't mentioned by name in the brief article even though the company applied for the register listing. The Texas State is a the corner of Fannin and Rusk and opened in 1929. Joseph Finger was the primary architect, and the cast terracotta detailing he often......

National Signing Day proved to be a disappointment for Texas Longhorn fans, as star high school running back Darrell Scott chose to enroll at Colorado by signing a letter of intent this afternoon. Scott, the second ranked ball carrier amongst 2008 high school recruits, spent the past several weeks debating between the merits of the two Big XII universities. Ultimately, the California-bred halfback went with the Buffaloes, leaving an entire burnt orange nation in......

Nolan Ryan, Astros franchise icon and co-owner of two of the team's minor league franchises, today exited his personal services contract a year early to assume the team president position offered by the Texas Rangers. Ryan will oversee the daily operations of the floundering Arlington-based team, working with mercurial owner Tom Hicks. The fate of his owner's stake in the minor league affiliates is up for debate, but the assumption is that they will remain......

::Edward Grigassy Trio - Gypsy Anthems:: We just love Da Camera. And we especially love the free lunchtime concerts. Pack your own and take in some beautiful music at lunch today -- so much better than killing time on the internets. Guitarist Edward Grigassy plays throughout central and east Texas, as well as teaches guitar at Bellaire High School. He has studied classical guitar at UT Austin and received his masters from the New......

Darrell Green, a product of Houston's Jones High School, was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this past weekend. Green, who was selected No. 1 overall in 1983 by the Washington Redskins, played 20-years with the same team, an NFL co-record with the Rams' Jackie Slater. During his 20-year career, Green was arguably the greatest cornerback of his time. He intercepted 54 passes for 621 yards and returned six of them for......

We find the new Miss America reality-show a rather trite snoozefest, but there's another pageant going on in Houston tonight that actually does more than just drive TV network ratings and plastic surgery sales. Meet the beauty, brains and wheels of Ms. Wheelchair Texas - a pageant dedicated to celebrating the lives of (gorgeous) mobility-impaired Texan women and promoting accessibility/disability education and initiatives. The pageant event is going down tonight 6:30pm at the Crowne......