Charles Waldheim, visiting Cullinan Professor at Rice, and Associate Dean and Director of the Landscape Architecture Program at the University of Toronto, will be at Anderson Hall on Rice's campus Monday, March 10th at 5:00pm. Professor Waldheim is known for his pioneering work in landscape architecture, and urbanism. He is editor of the Landscape Urbanism Reader, Post-Fordist Public Works, has published numerous articles, and spoken and lectured at major US and international universities. Now,......

Photo by Andy Sternberg/LAist A posthumous tribute wall dedicated to singer/songwriter Elliot Smith sat defaced by graffiti for months on end -- LAist said enough, so did the fans and city council.SFist was surprised to learn that chronic presidential candidate Ralph Nader picked former San Francisco Supervisor Matt Gonzalez as his running mate.Phillyist explored the possibilities of green cleaning.In the latest edition of Reel Toronto, a bi-weekly feature looking at films shot in Toronto......

Former Houston Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon has been named amongst the 15 finalists for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Arguably the face of Houston sports, the Dream has been synonymous with the Bayou City since first emigrating from Nigeria in 1980 as a skinny prospect with a world of potential. Local sports fans know all about Olajuwon’s storied career, which commenced at the University of Houston and progressed onwards to the Houston......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • An experimental pediatric heart pump is being tested in 12 hospital clinical trials including Texas Children's Hospital. • The state Democratic primary will be missing one name on the upcoming ballot. That name will be Dennis Kucinich. • A Harris County Sheriff's office captain has been accused of sexual harassment and has been relieved of duty Friday. • Ten years after annexation,......

For once, there's a reason to watch 60 Minutes beyond Andy Rooney's senile rants. Everyone's favorite hometown anti-hero, Roger Clemens, will be featured on Sunday's episode of the ABC news magazine, talking with his personal friend Mike Wallace about the steroid use allegations that surfaced as part of the Mitchell Report last month. Ever since the report came out, Clemens has issued a series of denials, starting with a press release, working up to a......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • Seven people are in custody after a SWAT standoff on Saturday in southeast Houston. • Five people were injured Saturday morning when a police chase ended in a wreck near downtown. • Traveon LeBlanc was laid to rest on Saturday with hundreds in attendance. Traveon was the 12 year old who was killed after attempting to run across the Gulf Freeway. •......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • A bicyclist was killed early Friday evening after being struck by a van on Old Katy Road. • A new three million dollar ad campaign to enhance the city's image is set to launch in February. The ad campaign will feature celebrities such as Beyonce and heart surgeon Dr. Denton Cooley. Expect to see these ads in The Wall Street Journal, USA......

Today’s Photo of the Day comes from flickr user and Houstonist photo contributor el en houston. from the photo description on flickr "rarrr! eh, Rarrr! take off hoser! Rarr! This is a rare view of the never before filmed, elusive Canadian Toronto-saurus-Plasticus." __________________________________________________________ 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......

LAist was comped front row seats by the Dodgers due to Malingering being struck by a foul ball last week, and she came back with some great photos, and earlier made fun of 4th of July on Venice Beach. But the biggest stories of the week was that the Mayor's Hot Tamale was revealed, and that a Kwik-E-Mart was erected in Burbank. Phillyist was busy doing the Fourth of July up right, exercising their......

If you are a fan of Dynamo soccer, July is going to be an exciting month. Coming off of an undefeated six game streak, the Dynamo are set to play 7 games this month (not including the MLS all star game). If that weren’t enough, the team’s lineup has changed slightly with 1) the recent return of Ching and De Rosario (among others) from international play, 2) the unknown fate of mid-fielder Brad Davis who......

The Houston Rockets are set to re-acquire point guard Mike James in a trade that will send Rockets forward Juwan Howard to the Milwaukee Bucks. The deal, which is pending, could happen as early as today could include more players. James played for the Rockets in the 2004-05 season, helping lead the Rockets to the playoffs. After an early playoff exit to the Dallas Mavericks, James was dealt north of the border to the......

Seattlest has a talk with the photographer from last week's "Segway Mom" and then experiences some dissension in the ranks over the question of wine vs. beer. It's not West Side Story, but about as close as they'll get. They're also still waiting on some inbox relief after a spammer is arrested. As Chicagoist counts down the days to its third anniversary party, they found all-organic pizza to be underwhelming amidst the hoopla, tried......

The Dynamo have traded forward Alejandro Moreno to the Columbus Crew for mid-field forward Joseph Ngwenya. While Moreno has been struggling this season, he was huge asset to the Dynamo during last season’s championship run, with several key assists during the playoffs. Ngwenya, originally from Zimbabwe, was impressive last season for Columbus with 5 goals and threee assists and is known for his “versatility and speed”. This move comes after a dreary start to the......

There's so much going on across the Ist-a-Verse that it's almost impossible to keep track these days. Fortunately, we do it so you don't have to! Londonist took a walk through Oliver Twist's London, thanks to a gorgeous map layer for Google Earth. They also caught up with modern-day fictional London, with the Fantastic Four and 28 Weeks Later. It was a week of insanity over at DCist. They started the week off with......

The consensus of people at an urban planning workshop on the Main Street corridor Monday? In short: It needs to be more urban. The Planning Partnership, a Toronto firm hired to create a development plan for Main Street, held the workshop, which was meant to get the public's input on how to guide future construction along the corridor. Because the MetroRail line is already in place and major buildings already stand along Main, planning will......

The Houston Dynamo announced that the club has traded defender Kevin Goldthwaite and a first round SuperDraft pick in the '08 MLS draft for two time all-star Richard Mulrooney of Toronto FC. Mulrooney, who will be available for Saturday's showdown vs. NY Red Bulls, will be reunited with head coach Dominic Kinnear and eight members of the Houston Dynamo. Mulrooney was part of the San Jose Earthquakes for six years and the championship teams......

Between fake terrorist alerts and scandals big and small, this just might be the Best Best of the -ists ever. We're exhausted just thinking about it. First up, SFist, who saw their little 'ole site be the center of what was a nice little scandal (even getting their editor on TV) only to find their scandal dwarfed by the even bigger scandal caused by their Mayor boffing one of his aides' wife. We're not......

Fed up with all the publicity and laughs garnered by Snakes On a Plane, scorpions have boarded planes. In the latest incident, a scorpion wound up in a Vermont man's pants and stung the man twice on the leg during a trip from Chicago to Vermont. It is believed that the scorpion boarded the United flight during the previous flight from Houston to Chicago. This follows on the heels of Monday's traveling scorpion incident during......

Happy Holidays! Chances are, you're reading this the day after Christmas, back at your day job after all-too-short a holiday, and the last thing you want from us is stuff about the holidays. But that's just too bad. Because, see, here in the Ist-A-Verse, we do things ahead of time. It might be December 26 for you, but that's what you get for not checking your Favorite Local Blog on Christmas Eve. Austinist is......

Before we begin, we'd like to extend our deepest sympathies to the family of James Kim. We are not, by any means, trying to discount that tragedy by juxtaposing posts about the Kims with more light-hearted posts. It's the nature of doing a compilation such as this one: we're trying to give a full slice of the goings-on in the Ist-a-Verse: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Londonist wants you to know where to......

If you're hiking, consider charging up your iPod, as Seattlest finds out that a man lost during a hike was found by the glow of his iPod. That cleverness seems to be devoid in cops who were using police cruiser instant messaging clients - although we imagine IMs "so are you nakie" to be included in cop shows, just for realism. If only the cops were busting the Hummer-driving jerk who made a poor......

On Tuesday, the American -ists will be celebrating democracy and hitting the polls, letting politicians know what they really think. It just made us wonder: if it were up to the -ist-a-verse, what would we be voting for? Londonist votes for better skincare, alternative spaces for art, cute little birds and the men who keep them, and concrete. Lots of concrete. Shanghaiist votes for one of the Bee Gees and Air Supply (it's a double-ticket),......

Let's take a look back at a week that raised this Zen koan: if Kevin Federline got into a wrestling ring with a wrestler, who would you root for? Austinist was in an entertainment state of mind as they covered the dickens out of the Austin Film Festival, depicted all the Big 12 football coaches as South Park characters, and interviewed Jose Gonzalez. Chicagoist talked about the passion as they bid adieu to Bell......

As fall settles in and another calendar page gets turned, thoughts turn from bbq's and vacations to holidays and the realization that '06 is coming to an end. With all that going on, with change in the air, we wonder what is it that made that makes the -ists ponder? Phillyist is concerned that the war on Trans fats could affect it's beloved cheese steak sandwiches, something for which we should all be concerned.......

Even though we are way way past school age, we still get a little melancholy at the close of summer. Fortunately, our friends across the -ist network know that the shenanigans don't need to end just because the big yellow buses are back on the roads. So, grab your sunscreen and your favorite hangover cure, as we take a tour of end of summer fun from -ist cities all over the damn place. SFist Tourist......

Celebrate Ben Franklin's 300th birthday with the Bikini Bandits and Phillyist! (NSFW). Speaking of Mr. Franklin, send in a picture of Ben (or Ed Rendell) with a red tongue and win a free t-shirt. And they might have the next YearlyKos in Philly. You know who's going to be upset about those Bikini Bandits? The Houston school system. Houstonist also reports on some redevelopment shenanigans over a landmark theater. LAist's sex advice column on......

If it weren't for our life as an -ist, we're not sure we'd ever leave our apartment. Fortunately, to fully -ist, one must seek out the new, the fresh, and the unknown. Brand new, or just new to us, that's what we're all about this week. Phillyist keeps it fresh by getting a new motto, learning to prioritize, and taking in an experimental indie rock show. Torontoist does their first post in franglais, gets ready......

The Dixie Chicks' new album Taking the Long Way is appropriately titled, considering the winding route their tour has taken — particularly if you're in Houston. The Chicks have officially announced that they are cancelling a number of tour dates including the stop at the Toyota Center originally scheduled for Sept. 30. Other cities on the tour that have had shows cancelled include Kansas City, Memphis, St. Louis and Knoxville; the band is pushing back......

Even as the stores sport back to school sales (which depress us, even now), summer lingers on your friends the -ists. This week's collection of links provides some of the best, worst, and oddest bits of summer fun. So, bring your laptop up onto the roof, make yourself an umbrella drink or ten, and enjoy this week's choice posts from across the Gothamist network. Torontoist (where it's 75 degrees F as of this writing)......

Torontoist immediately wins our heart by using the word "Jackass" in a headline. In fact, we love their use of it so much that we're going to use it as much as possible throughout this post. For example, it looks like there are Toronto-area jackasses besides those who misuse the sidewalk: look at the crap on