Not-so-fresh off the heels of last year's Wild Mountain Nation, Portland's Blitzen Trapper swings by the Bayou City tonight at Walter's on Washington. Even though they're painfully under the Houston musical consciousness' radar, it'll do you some good to check their set out. Released on Sub Pop Records last year, Wild Mountain Nation proved to be one of the strongest releases of 2007, although somewhat overlooked considering the heavyweights that ended up dominating the ridiculous......

Robert McKiver exploded for 52 points last night as the Houston Cougars (21-6, 10-3) ripped apart Southern Mississippi (15-12, 7-6) for a much need 95-67 win. McKiver's 52 points was the most by a NCAA Division I men's player for this season and was also a C-USA and Hofheinz Pavilion record, breaking the mark set by Indiana's Larry Bird (1977) and UNLV's Bob Florence (1973). For the night, McKiver was 17-for-34 from the field......

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......

::Rice University's Second Annual Asian Film Festival:: Rice Cinema has put together an amazing lineup films this weekend to round out the end of its Second Annual Asian Film Festival. Houstonist would go to them all if we could. There's an erotic thriller, animation, documentary and a film based on the novel by Houston's own Bapsi Sidhwa. Go forth and prosper! Friday, February 8, 7:30pm Lust, Caution Ang Lee’s lush spy thriller set in......

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......

The Super Bowl is on Sunday, and naturally we'll be watching the game (and the commericals), but the real news around town is the up-and-down season the Rockets are having. They win with T-Mac, they win without T-mac, they definitely lose without Yao. If Rick Adelman can get everyone on the same page,they could still be formidable in the playoffs. Otherwise, we're looking at another five-and-out in the first round. On to the links: -......

Texas schools came out of Saturday's college basketball action with a collective 3-2 record, spread across two different conferences. (Big XII and Conference USA) The premier showdown of the weekend pitted the 12th ranked Texas Longhorns against Bobby Knight's Red Raiders of Texas Tech. With an outstanding defensive effort put up by head coach Rick Barnes' boys, the Longhorns were able to run away with a 73-47 victory in Austin. Texas won its 12th straight......

::Sonja Roesch Gallery Talk: Jac Leirner:: “I try to find a place for things that don’t have a place.” - Jac Leirner Join art lovers and lovers of installation art for a gallery talk with Toby Kamps, Senior Curator at the Contemporary Art Museum, about Jac Leirner's exhibition at the Gallery Sonja Roesch: January 23, 2008, 6pm Jac Leirner creates installations, sculptures, and mixed media pieces using everyday objects like business cards, plastic bags, cigarette......

Houstonist found this week's crop of Missed Connections sweet & torid but relatively dull until we found the Springer-tastic posts listed below. Looking for ROBIN - m4w - 52 Robin, we dated in 1991/1992 and then lost track of each other. You are from New Orleans, worked at the VA hospital and lived on South Main. I was living in Pasadena and worked at the Transco tower. We met at an Olive Garden because......

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......

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......

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......

We realize that we're almost a week late on this, but as the only media outlet in the city unafraid to actually directly quote the incident in question, we felt it was our duty to follow up on the story of the Rice MOB's halftime show against Tulsa this past Saturday. For both of you who follow Rice athletics (Houstonist fun fact! Rice has sports teams besides baseball!), you know that after making a bowl......

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,......

Finding new homes for old homes While these were listed as demolitions, it may only be partial - both 2506 Morse in Montrose (picture) and 347 W 27th in the Heights had steel beams outside waiting to lift and carry them away. While house moving isn't unheard of in Houston, we are (pleasantly) surprised, and also curious about where these smaller homes will end up since we all know the current trend is "build big"......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • A World War II era ship that Texas A&M-Galveston used as a classroom at sea has been sunk in the Gulf of Mexico to create an artificial reef. • HPD is cracking down on ID Theft. Here's a story that focuses on one recent bust. • Hey, what do you know...people like public transportation. • The U of H Cougars beat Marshall,......

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......

A rumble in the medical center If you live in the Southgate area, you were either violently awoken by the sound of exploding dynamite around 7:10 this morning, or you were standing on Travis St. witnessing the destruction of the Crowne Plaza Hotel by Cherry Demoliton (just like its near neighbor in June 2006). The building was recently appraised at a high value and was only about 34 years old, which is one of the......

Your Houston Dynamo are now just two wins away from their second consecutive MLS Cup, but they first have to get through the Kansas City Wizards before facing the New England Revolution for the Cup. The teams have played each other twice this year already, with the Orange defeating the Wizards in KC and one tie in Houston as the results. The showdown will take place on Saturday at 7:30pm at Robertson Stadium. The Wizards......

Last week the AIA hosted their annual home tour, and tomorrow the Downtown Houston Alliance is giving folks a chance to see residences in some of Houston's most historic and moneyed buildings. The Live Downtown Home Tour is from 10am to 5pm on Saturday, November 3rd. Stops on the tour include Commerce Towers, The Beaconsfield (not the Savoy across the street!), the Four Seasons, Hogg Palace (no, not this place), and several other loft properties.......

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......

::MFA Presents Movies Houstonians Love:: "Singin' in the Rain" Guests Speaker: Lauren Anderson, Houston Ballet We are big fans of this MFA series, as past participants include Bun B, Barbara Bush, Larry Dierker, and Mayor Bill White. Tonight's film, "Singin' in the Rain," will be presented by principal ballerina, Lauren Anderson, who danced with Houston Ballet from 1983 to 2006, starring in classical ballets, appeared across the world to critical acclaim. In January, Anderson assumed......

The Dynamo's playoff run in defense of their MLS championship begins 7pm on Saturday against FC Dallas in Dallas, and while the Texans flounder and the Rockets are just getting warmed up, the Dynamo stand as Houston's last best chance for a successful team this year. The Orange start the playoffs as the second seed in the Western Conference, behind Chivas USA, but still one of the favorites for the MLS Cup. Now that......

The Dynamo won an ugly match in Salt Lake City last night to set up a showdown with MLS juggernaut Chivas USA in the last game of the regular season. In a game reminiscient of the Rockets' matchups against the eternally dirty Jazz, two players were ejected and several Dynamo players face suspensions for accumulated yellow cards. Defenders Ryan Cochrane and Eddie Robinson will miss the finale against Chivas but will be eligible for the......

With the wounds from the Texans' loss to the Jaguars still fresh this morning, let's browse the blog world and see if there's any good news to be found. - Here we go. Rick Adelman + Rafer Alston = BFF. OMG ROFL. ;) - The Chronicle picks up a new blogger/editiorial columnist. It's always amusing to watch a non-Houston native try to put their finger on the pulse of this city's schizophrenic sports fans. It's......

Houstonist noticed about a month ago that something was missing near the corner of Bissonnet and Mt. Vernon streets, just west of Montrose Blvd. The house didn't seem to fit in, but it sure caught our eye - unfortunately it was recently demolished by the current owners. The house was located at 1 Waverly Court and was designed by Glassman Shoemake Maldonado Architects and built in 1999 to replace a beaten-up 1950s contemporary home by......

Let us eat cake, well, cupcakes - lots of them, at Dessert Gallery Bakery & Cafe. Yep, head on over to any Dessert Gallery location, either at 3200 Kirby Drive, 1616 Post Oak Drive or, at the newest location 2260 Lone Star Drive at Sugar Land Town Square (read: fake downtown). A donation of ten percent of the purchase price of every pink ribbon cupcake sold will go to M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Specifically, to......

This has been making the rounds on the sports blogs this week, and we were a little hesitant to show it here lest we rile up any University of Houston grads. But we're feeling sassy today at Houstonist, so here's a clip from the sidelines at U of H's opener at Oregon: Um, when you get your legwarmer-wearing ass kicked by someone dressed like a refugee from Disney World, it's time to reconsider the importance......

Another reminder about 600 sq mi, Houstonist's photo show? Well, now that you mention it, yes: The show's on display now at M2 Gallery in the Heights, and the opening reception is 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday at the gallery. Which brings us to our point: If you picked up this week's Houston Press, you might have noticed the listing for the show in the Night & Day section. It's amazing — including a big......