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......

Local tech news in a compact, digital format. No New Timing System For Houston Marathon Officials for the Chevron Houston Marathon have opted not to use a new timing system by Michigan-based SAI Timing and Tracking after it failed to operate correctly during a marathon in Honolulu. Chevron Houston Marathon officials have decided to stick with ChampionChip, the timing system it has used since 2000. Early Warning: HAAUG Swap Meet Mark your calendars, the......

::Double Header at AvantGarden:: A great double-book tonight at AvantGarden: Terell James opens his "Neoformalism 1" exhibit, followed by FrenetiCore's production of "Exile", a dance film. "Neoformalism" Terrell James Terrell James' paintings and prints evoke nature rather than depict it. With minimal contour line, gestural rubbing, and reserved color her works describe the landscape through abstraction. James' work is included in numerous collections including Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, Museum of Fine......

Perspectives 159: Superconscious, Automatisms Now December 14, 2007 – March 9, 2008 Opening reception December 13, 2007, 6:30-9:00 p.m. Sigh. This is Houston's last hurrah with Senior CAMH Curator Paola Morsiani, and we are sad. Having been with the CAMH for over eight years, Morsiani is heading north to become Curator of Contemporary Art at the Cleveland Museum of Art, an internationally renowned encyclopedic museum in the midst of a $258 million renovation and expansion.......

After speculating about unearthing former head coach Jack Pardee, the University of Houston Cougars decided today to go with Oklahoma University assistant coach Kevin Sumlin as their replacement for the departed Art Briles. At OU, Sumlin rose to the rank of "co-offensive coordinator, passing game coordinator, and wide receivers coach", which has to be the damn longest job title in the world, short of Elizabeth II. He's been a journeyman, having coached at five other......

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......

::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......

It isn't often that we find a dessert that claims to be non-fat and delicious. And after falling in love with LA's Pinkberry, we were on the prowl to find something just as delicious. Enter Swirll. For those of us studying for finals or working from "home", free wi-fi becomes a must for studying, writing papers, reading Houstonist, doing "work" . . .the usual. And when we found out that Swirll not only had fat......

The Biomimicry Guild and the AIA Committee on the Environment will host a lecture this Wednesday (12/05/07) on Biomimicry its uses and applications. Dayna Baumeister, PhD, and co-founder of the Biomimicry Guild, will give the evening lecture which will then be follow by two workshop sessions on Thursday and Friday. For those less familiar, Biomimicry is "a new discipline that studies nature’s best ideas and imitates them to solve human problems." But wait, aren't......

Some pret-ty, pret-ty, pret-ty cool stuff opening this weekend, kids. Check it out: Jeanne Cassanova / Reginald Rachuba The Joanna Gallery "Those in attendance can be assured a multi sensory onslaught of 'image spillage'." Oh, really. We have to admit, the term "spillage" sort of scares us, but the image at right is so cool, we're willing to risk it. Both Cassanova and Rachuba pull from contemporary images and create narratives woven between each other......

Calling themselves "Houston’s most unusual string ensemble performing all original music," Two Star Symphony is aiming for another Houston national first starting November 30: to be the only string quartet performing with a matched set of instruments created by luthier Anton Krutz of K.C. Strings. The Russia-born Krutz, who began making violins when he was 12 years old, actually crafted the instruments from the same batch of wood and put them through the same varnishing......

Apparently competing to find the most thankless college football head coaching position in the state of Texas, University of Houston head coach Art Briles today accepted the Baylor job that was made vacant by the firing of Guy Morriss last week. Briles' contract with Baylor will extend through seven losing seasons at $1.8 million dollars per losing season. Cougar athletic director and all around quote machine Dave Maggard has said that Briles will leave immediately,......

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......

Filled up on turkey and dressing? Here's some event stuffing fer youse. add event to your Google Calendar view all events on the Houstonist Google Calendar [26 MONDAY]Double Feature: Monday Movies at MFA and Domy BooksMemories of Irving Berlin (last Monday)Bayou City Concert Musicals | doors at 7pm, ensemble Theatre ($20) [27 TUESDAY]Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison: book signing and discussion | 3pm, Barnes & Noble Town & Country (free)Rice Humanities Lecture: An Ordinary, Everyday......

::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......

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......

::FREE MUSIC MONDAY!:: Yep, two chances today to catch free music from two great local music organizations. Did we mention FREE? Thought so. Just checking. If you're calling it an early day at the office, or happen to be hanging around the Rice University campus at 4:00pm today, stop on by Brown Hall (Room 113) to experience a treat for your ears (and brains---which is technically a part of your ears.) Rice University Shepherd School......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • 28 miles per hour seems to be the magic speed when cruising downtown. • Insurance regulators approved a 10% hike in coastal wind insurance rates, that's an increase of about $84. • Rice University has transplanted over a dozen oak trees, including some over 100 years old, in order to make way for new dorms. • The Dynamo take on DC United......

::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......

In October of 2005, there were many voices to be heard in Houston calling Brad Lidge to be shipped out of town or worse; two years later, those voices were heard. Tonight, the Astros finalized a trade to send Lidge and utility infielder Eric Bruntlett to the Phillies for center fielder and University of Houston grad Michael Bourn, relief pitcher Geoff Geary, and third base prospect Mike Costanzo. This marks the Astros' first serious move......

Houston Mod Board members Jason Smith, Robert Searcy, Ben Koush, Michael Brichford, and Stephen Fox were included in an article in Tribeza magazine about Houston's modern architecture. The article highlights Smith's renovation of his William Jenkins-designed home in Willow Bend, and also touches on Houston Mod's mission and goals of education and awareness of Houston's modern architecture. “It’s really a waste,” laments Searcy. “We are filling our landfills with works of art—and replacing them with......

::Lucy Lecture at HMNS:: Tonight is your chance to catch the discoverer (how weird does that sound?) of the infamous, Lucy, now on display at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Special Lecture: Lucy's Legacy The Houston Museum of Natural Science Distinguished Lecture Series presents Lucy's Legacy, presented by Donald Johanson, paleoanthropologist and discoverer of Lucy. Lucy continues to be a diadem in the crown of hominid fossils and serves as an important touchstone......

Local tech news in a compact, digital format. So, Nobody Reads Your Blog? Mike McGuff sits down with Rick Calvert, CEO and co-founder of the BlogWorld & New Media Expo and they discuss how to get your blog read. Free Software Linkfest Grand Stream Dreams has collected a few Freeware links that he feels you should know about. Software ranging from password managers to dead link removal tools. There are quite a few links......

Houston vs. Dallas. Does anything else need to be said? Robertson Stadium, which is located on the campus of the University of Houston, will be hosting two different versions of this great Texas rivalry. Tonight, the 2006 MLS Champion Houston Dynamo will take on FC Dallas in the second game of this home-and-home Western Conference semi-final playoff game. In the first game, which FC Dallas hosted, the Hoops took game 1 of this aggregate-scoring......

The big question heading into the Texans matchup against the San Diego Chargers has nothing to do with Matt Schaub's hip, Andre Johnson's knee, or Gary Kubiak's recent coaching decisions, but when and where the game will be played. As you're no doubt aware, George Bush started a series of fires in Southern California to distract attention away from the Iraq war, and a lot of people around the San Diego area were forced......

With so many fun and interesting gallery openings this evening, we thought we would briefly give you a few options and let you, dear readers, decide which one to attend...or maybe gallery hopping is your thing! Eating, drinking, being merry, viewing art and what-not. Either way, there is much interesting work on view this beautiful fall evening in Houston. First up is the opening of Jack Zajac A Survey: 1967-2007 at Gremillion & Co. Gallery.......

Today’s Photo of the Day comes from flickr user and Houstonist photo contributor ixo. The hallowed halls of Rice University, dramatically lit at night, provide todays Photo of the Day. If you have a passion for Houston and photography, consider joining over 315 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......

Local tech news in a compact, digital format. Dwight Roundup Here's what Dwight Silverman over at the Chronicle has been blogging and writing about recently. Apple Leopard, what will be your next computer, analog TV's, gibbons and leopards, Firefox updates, software freebies and Comcast throttling customers. HAAUG and OS X Leopard The Houston Area Apple Users Group and Dreux Ste. Marie will bring you a review of the new Mac OS, Leopard. This event......

In case you weren't familiar, there's a large university in Austin, with orange and white for their colors, and a big, drugged cow for a mascot. You may have also heard that their football team is usually pretty good, and that a couple years ago, they actually won a national championship in football. Their quarterback that year kinda flew under the radar, so you may not have heard about him, either: regardless, he was......