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......

Houstonist interviewed St. John's High School Senior, Evan Winograd a few weeks ago just before he traveled to Seattle to try out for the US Junior National Team. Evan joined other youths from around the US vying for a chance to compete in the 2008 World Ultimate Championship being held in Vancouver in August. Well, the results are in. Evan's heading to the big show. "This is a great accomplishment, especially given the well established......

St. John's High School Senior, Evan Winograd is well known in the Houston and Texas Ultimate community as an outstanding player. If all goes well this weekend, he may get the opportunity to showcase his athletic talent with the world watching. Evan was invited to the Juniors team trials being held in Seattle this weekend. There he and other premier players aged 19-and-under will audition for the squad in an event that is similar to......

When you think of New Jersey, wistful romance may not immediately come to mind. But it's there - after all, the Garden State is the birthplace of Frankie Valli and Frank Sinatra. It's what inspires singer/songwriter and Jersey native Nicole Atkins' music, which carries a certain flair for both nostalgia and matters of the heart. Atkins has become quite the critic's darling, and with good reason. Her dramatic smoky croon and searing lovelorn lyrics are......

Rumor has it that Joe Williams shared the stage with the likes of The Rapture and Black Dice back in 1999. That would mean that at 15, Williams shared the stage with some of the most innovative indie electro acts of the time. Eight years later, he continues to rub elbows with some of the finest names in the industry, including Dan Deacon, Greg Gillis of Girl Talk and Battles, only this time as White......

She's back Houstonist! Taucha Hogue has advanced to the championship round for College Cheerleader of the Year and she needs your vote! Taucha squares of against Arkansas' Laura Cole and she currently trails 54% to 46% as of Monday night. Ok, Taucha, here we are in championship round. Are you starting to feel the pressure of being in the BIG game? There is pressure out there for the fact there are so many people......

The Foo Fighters are one of the few rock bands out that you can always count on to bring you solid albums (along with funny videos -- check out their latest, "Long Road to Ruin"). They released their sixth studio album last year and are enjoying as much popularity and acclaim as they received when their debut album came out 13 years ago. We talked to Chris Shiflett, guitarist for the Foo Fighters, as he......

Houstonist interviewed the darling of the Bayou City last week, Taucha Hogue, as she was in the quarterfinals for the College Cheerleader of Year Award. Now, after a convincing win over Mississippi St., Taucha has advanced into the Final Four against Kansas. Houstonist will continue to follow Taucha as she looks to capture the coveted crown as Cheerleader of the Year. Congrats on moving on to the Final Four. Do you find yourself doing......

CBSSports.com hand-picked 16 cheerleaders around the nation and decided to hold a College Cheerleader of the Week Playoff system with the winner being crowned College Cheerleader of the Year on January 21. UH's Taucha Hogue defeated what Southern Cal had to offer in the first round and now she's in the quarterfinals. Hogue took time out of her busy schedule to chat with Houstonist. First off, please give us some information about your high......

We mentioned it in our interview with Mlee Marie Suprean, but our favorite local music blog The Skyline Network just released the poster for the Hootenanny, which only further solidifies the fact that we have to be there. So what's the Hootenanny? You've probably seen something like it before, but never done like this. Some of the strongest names in local music treat us to some of the classics, a treat that we'll selfishly......

This looks to be the last big release week of the year, and 2007 is going out with a bang. We'll see you in '08! The Cool is Lupe Fiasco's follow-up album to last year's fantastic Food and Liquor. The record is filled with clever and forward-thinking tracks like “Dumb it Down” that manage succeed on both an underground and commercial level, and features noteworthy contributions from Snoop Dogg, UNKLE, newcomer Matthew Santos, and Food......

With all the excitement surrounding the new Wu-Tang Clan record, what are some other bands you'd like to see return to the spotlight? We still say a prayer for a Fugees' comeback album, even though we know it's a lost cause. 8 Diagrams is the long-awaited new album from Wu-Tang, featuring the much-talked about Beatles' sample and guitar work by John Frusciante. Group members Ghostface and Raekwon have been vocal about their dissatisfaction with the......

The incredibly talented and modest Mlee Marie Suprean has to be one of the hardest working musicians in Houston. Juggling five musical projects (including the fantastic Hearts of Animals) at the same time can’t be easy for anybody, but even while recovering from a nasty cough, Suprean still made time to talk to the Houstonist about what’s on both her mind and plate. Mlee is an interesting name. Where did that come from? My......

When you first hear Katie voice, you know that you've hit the goldmine. That's probably why she quickly won local music awards not long after moving back to her hometown, Houston. Katie Stuckey and the Straggler, her band, will be performing tomorrow night at Rudyard's. It'll be a great show, and a good chance to see her in a smaller venue: We know she'll quickly outgrow these small venues. We bounced some questions off......

We know that American Idol Mania is almost a religious experience in certain parts of this country, but we will not, cannot recommend that you buy Blake Lewis’ new album. We just… can’t. Sorry. What have you wrought, Doug E. Fresh?! Listening to Alive 2007 will give you a sense of what the Daft Punk concert experience is all about. Well, you won’t have beer spillage on your shoes, or dudes smoking trees all up......

The thought may have crossed your mind once some balmy spring day in early March, pre-heat, as the flowers start to bloom but the mosquitoes haven't yet returned. Or perhaps you realized it some fall evening as you relaxed on a patio having drinks while people in the northern half of the country listened to their radiators clank like a death knell. "Houston's not so bad, in fact, despite the [_____], it's worth it." Okay,......

Chris Simpson has worn many different hats in his musical career. He's first and foremost a songwriter, but he's been behind some of the most influential Texas bands of the last ten years. From emo pioneers Mineral (back when emo wasn't a dirty word) to the highly evolved rockers The Gloria Record, Simpson has cast a long shadow over the Austin musical scene. But eventually, you just want to hang out with your friends and......

The Day After Thanksgiving (aka Black Friday) has got to be one of the most stressful days of the year, with pent-up aggression and lingering turkey hangovers spilling into the crowded aisles of retail centers all over the city. After a day of fighting the unwashed hordes, you'll need a place to unwind and release some of that stress. If a cup of oolong and a Bach concerto isn't the antitode you're searching for,......

Let's talk Quakers (aka: The Religious Society of Friends). First images that may come to mind: oatmeal boxes with that friendly looking guy in a suit, horse and buggies, interesting hats that tie at the chin... But it turns out that WE are seriously out-of-date. Today, the Live Oaks Meeting House (1318 West 26th St.) hosts a variety of events for an even larger variety of people. They rock out everything from breakdance competitions to......

Henry Dittman and Joan (justjoan) are the hosts of the Internet-based travelogue called The Smart Show sponsored by Holiday Inn Express. By now you're probably familiar with the H.I.E. ads that purports to convey savant-like intellect on its patrons. "I'm not a vascular surgeon, but I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night," says a broke writer after requesting a scalpel from the O.R. nurse. Despite having a title sponsor, The Smart Show does......

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:......

Tonight, catch Soviet-born Regina Spektor and her unique "anti-folk" style at Warehouse Live. Tomorrow, catch Houston's own pop/rock outfit Prodigal Son at Rudyard's. Friday night is a tougher choice: you have Grupo Fantasma at the Continental Club (see our interview with them and win tickets), Ghostland Observatory at Warehouse (more details on them tomorrow), or if you're a club-goer, you may want to catch Paul Oakenfold on his "Greatest Hits" tour at Planeta Bar......

Houstonist interviewed Beto from Grupo Fantasma this week, in preparations for their show this Friday night at the Continental Club. The large, Austin-based band, who puts on a hell of a live show, gave us some insight into their music and other work that they are doing. If you'd like to see Grupo Fantasma Friday night, we have a pair of tickets just for you. Send us an e-mail with your name and phone number......

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......

Good morning, Houston. It's November now, and you know what that means: We're at the beginning of nearly two straight months of Christmas. Retailers put their holiday decorations up early in hopes that shoppers will see them and get in the buying mood — but will it work? Not necessarily, if most shoppers are like Sharon Baker, who the Chron found at Macy's downtown. "I do like Christmas, but I need time to celebrate......

Today Houstonist brings you an imagined interview with Derek J. Mortimer, the owner, founder, and visionary behind Hotel Derek. We recently sat down with Mr. Mortimer in the lobby of his flagship hotel to speak with him about his career. Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Mr. Mortimer. Or do you prefer-- --You may address Derek as Derek. Okay, Derek. Could you talk a bit about what inspired you to go into the hotel business?......

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......

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......

The party is at Rudyard’s tomorrow – you know - THE party. The Black Math Experiment’s CD Release Party for “All You Need is Blood”, at which a couple of other bands will be performing. La Sed will bring some progressive rock courtesy of Puerto Rico and Mk Ultra adds politically-minded psychedelic punk to the mix (political as in the song writing may focus on fighting military culture and the 9/11 conspiracy). This should be......