It's been a sad few months for those of us who grew up on local TV: Last summer, KTRK's Marvin Zindler died of pancreatic cancer, and today we heard that KPRC veteran Ron Stone has died at the age of 72. Stone, who spent more than 30 years on the air in Houston, also lost a battle with cancer. Stone anchored at KHOU before he moved to KPRC, where he manned the desk from 1972......

It's looks to be a good week for new music. We highly reccommend that you check out Tuesday's Goldfrapp perfomance, since "Happiness" has probably one of the most smile-inducing videos we've seen as of late. If you weren't able to buy your Radiohead tickets weeks ago, catch them on Wednesday night on Conan. Finally, keep an ear and an eye out for Estelle, who visits the States to promote her new album, Shine, which is......

Good morning, Houston. If the dearth of new TV in the wake of the writer's strike has left you willing to watch anything, we've got some news for you: HTV, the municipal station, is launching a new program! Woohoo! Entertainment Houston, a 30-minute show, will focus on — wait for it — Houston's facilities, included the Wortham Center, Jones Hall, the George R. Brown Convention Center and the not-quite-finished Discovery Green. A new episode......

You know what they say, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. That certainly seems to be the case for the Houston Rockets. Local hoops fans will recall that the Rockets’ marketing staff attempted to appeal to the gentler sex a month back through the use of a Ladies Night Out gimmick. Well those wacky folks are at it again, and this time they’re seeking out a few good men. For......

Most Memphis Tigers fans consider tonight's game against Houston just another bump in the road to a perfect season, but to Houston head coach Tom Penders, tonight's match-up against No. 1 Memphis could be the key to unlocking their ticket to the NCAA Tournament with an upset win. Houston (18-4, 7-1) travels to Memphis (23-0, 9-0) to meet for the second time in two weeks. Although the Cougars are off to their best start......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • A Fort Bend Co. teenager is dead after an argument led to his fatal shooting. The incident occurred on Orchard Mist near Westmoor. • An Alvin teenager is dead after portions of a carnival ride that was being dismantled fell on her. • A wrong way driver on West Bellfort near Dairy Ashford crashed into a fence after swerving into the wrong......

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......

Superbowl Sunday is right around the corner and if you have been wondering with whom you were going to watch the big game, wonder no more! The fabulous ladies of Houstone Roller Derby are hosting a par-tay, resplendant with food, games, prizes and drink specials at The Grab. Now, you can go hang out at your buddies house and try finding a good vantage point from which to stare at his big 19". Color TV,......

En route to a fourth-straight victory, the Houston Rockets defeated the scorching hot Portland Trailblzers to the tune of 89-79 at the Rose Garden on Friday night. The Blazers entered the contest having won 12 consecutive home games, thanks to the heady play of such stars as guard Brandon Roy and former Texas Longhorn LaMarcus Aldridge. However, the game remained very much undecided until Houston coach Rick Adelman elected to infuse the starting lineup......

::Martin Luther King Jr. Grande Parade:: And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free......

• The woman who left her six children home alone while she ran off to Africa to meet a man she met on the internet is headed back home. Shanell Monique Mosley has been charged with child endangerment and abandonment and authorities will be waiting for her when she arrives. • A man who backed up into an HPD car during a car chase last night after a traffic stop got away by fleeing......

The Mars Volta will be performing on Letterman this week, mostly likely in support of their upcoming epic, The Bedlam in Goliath. Too bad the intellectual prog-rockers with Texas roots currently have no shows in the Lone Star State scheduled on their winter tour. We kind of think that's cold-blooded. Monday CBS, 10:35pm: The Late Show with David Letterman, Maroon 5 Tuesday ABC, 9am: Regis and Kelly, KT Tunstall Wednesday CBS, 10:35pm: The Late......

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......

Staying in for New Year’s Eve? Log on to the internets at 11pm to watch Radiohead perform their new album, In Rainbows, on Current TV. The webcast will air three more times on Tuesday for those of you who spend the night out on the town. Monday ABC, 9pm: Dick Clark’s Primetime New Year’s Rockin’ Eve 2008 CBS, 10:35pm: The Late Show with David Letterman, Alanis Morissette NBC, 11:35pm: New Year’s Eve with Carson Daly......

Happy Holidays Houston! If you can stand more excitement after all of the festivities this week, we suggest tuning in for a re-airing of Justice's awesome "performance" on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and a brand spanking new Austin City Limits with Bloc Party and Ghostland Observatory. Monday -CBS, 4pm: Oprah Winfrey, Tony Bennett, Josh Groban, and Carrie Underwood -NBC, 10:35pm: Gospel Christmas -ABC, 11:05pm: Jimmy Kimmel Live, Jay-Z Tuesday -NBC, 8am: Today Show, KT Tunstall -ABC,......

Local tech news in a compact, digital format. NASA Plans TV Coverage Space Station Holiday Delivery NASA Television is planning to provide live coverage on Wednesday, December 26th when the International Space Station will receive a post Christmas gift, a new shipment of food, fuel and supplies as well as holiday gifts. Check your local listings for coverage of this event. Grand Stream Dreams Grand Stream Dreams has been busy this week. He's got......

Rice junior Matthew Wilson, 20, is still missing, and while authorities are not treating the case as foul play, concern is growing. Wilson, whose car is gone but who left his cell phone in the apartment he shares with a roommate, often goes into near-isolation around finals period, say those who know him. His roommate, upon not seeing him for several days, assumed he had merely missed him on his way to or from the......

We do a lot of impromptu cooking and baking. Typically it'll strike us at some late hour of the night when we're debating the merits of watching bad reality TV versus just going to bed, when suddenly we realize that our lives will not go on unless we make a spicy peanut stir fry or strawberry shortcake cupcakes or whatever else right now. And then we plunge headfirst into creating Second Dinner or Third Dessert......

Al-Star games are a funny thing. Just like presidential elections, they're largely popularity contests based on name recognition and TV friendliness rather than real hard data. But that doesn't mean that good decisions aren't made from time to time; that the Texans' DeMeco Ryans will be the starting middle linebacker for the AFC in the 2008 Pro Bowl is one of those good decisions. DeMeco has anchored the Texans defense all year, even in spite......

It was weird. Sunday rolled around, and there wasn't a Texans game to watch. So we just chilled and ignored the TV for a change; what else were we going to do? Watch the Cowboys' game? What are we, Jessica Simpson? Between the Astros trades, the Texans resurgence, and the Mitchell Report, there was a lot to blog about this week. Everyone grab your number 2 pencil for the review: - The Miguel Tejada trade......

So Colbie Caillat is scheduled to sing on the Ellen DeGeneres Show this week. We mention this mainly because the lyrics to her hit song, "Bubbly," make us chuckle. Monday -CBS, 10:35pm: The Late Show with David Letterman, Travis -NBC, 10:35pm: Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Alan Jackson Tuesday -NBC, 12pm: Ellen DeGeneres, Colbie Caillat Wednesday -NBC, 8am: Today Show, Patti LaBelle -CBS, 10:35pm: The Late Show with David Letterman, Bonnie Raitt -NBC, 10:35pm: Tonight......

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......

Despite the likely assumption, Cary Brothers is not a musical group comprised of gifted singing and/or dancing siblings with matching haircuts. Rather, first name: Cary, last name: Brothers [pictured], is an up-and-coming singer/songwriter who is opening for Ben Lee at the Meridian tomorrow night. Brothers has been a fixture on the L.A. music scene for years, but his big break came when his hushed lullaby, "Blue Eyes," was featured prominently in Zach Braff's directorial debut,......

There have been many epic songs (think "Paradise by the Dashboard Light”) and videos (think "November Rain”) in our lifetime, but no one has taken it to the extreme that R. Kelly has. Two years ago, R. Kelly released chapters one through five for his epic “Trapped in the Closet.” We’re bringing you those first five chapters, but if you want to see the remaining 17 chapters (you have nothing else to do this......

When a bye week is one of the highlights of your team's football season simply because no one got hurt, you know that the rest of the season won't be much to write home about. Given that this is exactly the position that Texans fans find themselves in, it's at least comforting that they're coming out of the bye week to face a team almost as disappointing as the Texans. After an inspiring 2006......

It’s like Divas Las Vegas 2007 this week, but in a good way! Celine Dion, Alicia Keys, and the Queen of Soul all have new albums debuting on the charts. It took us a little longer than usual to warm up to Alicia Keys’ new single, “No One” from her latest album, As I Am. But now that we’ve heard it endlessly on the radio and on TV, and it’s formed its own repeat loop......

The Dynamo Dynasty? Yeah, that sounds pretty good. The Orange are headed for their second consecutive MLS Cup appearance after shutting out the Kansas City Wizards at Robertson Stadium on Saturday night. However, the win did not come without a high cost. Forward Brian Ching, who has been one of the cornerstones of the franchise since its arrival in Houston last year, went down with a calf strain in the 69th minute with the game......

Looks like it's going to be slim pickings for awhile, folks. A reader informed us last week that all late night shows are in repeat mode for the duration of the writer's strike. Bummer. Recommended viewing this week includes any TV appearances by Alicia Keys, and Nicole Atkins' (pictured) wonderful Letterman performance in case you missed it the first time around. Monday -CBS, 10:35pm: The Late Show with David Letterman, Ryan Adams Tuesday -ABC, 7am:......

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......

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......