Results tagged “japan”

::Rice University's Second Annual Asian Film Festival::

Pack your bags, grab your passport, check your visa. We're taking you outside the loop for a taste of Japan, folks. Houstonist, on the wise recommendation of the Fearless Critic, recently made the trek out to Westheimer and Fondren to dine at Sasaki. The restaurant is incognito in a dumpy strip center, nestled right next to your typical shady cell phone store, an insurance office and a hair salon (with 100% real human hair extensions!). When we walked in, we were struck by how many Japanese patrons were chowing on bento boxes, hot plate dinners and sushi. We promptly ordered some nimono (cold cooked vegetables, $5.95), shishamo (grilled salted smelt fish, $4.95) and a bowl of ramen. Of course, we put in an order of assorted sushi. The nimono isn't outstanding, but recommended if you are an adventurous in the vegetable department. We could only identify two vegetables out of the modest serving, but all of them were tasty. The shishamo is another adventurous order. The smelt fish comes out whole, two small fish to a plate. The entire fish is edible so if you can't stomach the head and tail, don't order this dish. For the intrepid, the smelt offers a great flavor and great texture. We were especially excited about the ramen. The broth was mild and flavorful, but the star of the dish was definitely the soft, chewy ramen noodles that were reminiscent of the instant variety, but definitely upgraded. We got that nice cozy feeling of nostalgia for those midnight cravings in college but this time, we were all grown up.

December already? Everything is reversed from the summer: back then, the Astros were dead in the water, the upcoming Texans season looked promising because of some new additions, and the Dynamo were gearing up to defend their MLS Cup title. Now, the Texans are DOA, the Astros are looking exciting next year, and the Dynamo, well, at least someone's consistent. Here's what's been going on this week in the Houston sports blogosphere: - The Dynamo...

Local tech news in a compact, digital format. Local blog roundup Grand Stream Dreams has some defrag tools for you. Mike McGuff is back from Japan, check out the videos on his site. jkOnTheRun has some new reviews and apps for you to check out. HAL-PC Prepares To Party If you've been thinking of joining HAL-PC, now is the time because HAL-PC is getting ready for its annual Christmas party. The party will be...

The pumpkin is underestimated. It is underestimated and under-utilized like a trophy wife and a kept man. There is so much more that can be done than just gutting, carving and displaying (the pumpkin, that is). There's nothing that rings in the holidays better than the pumpkin. Since Thanksgiving is Houstonist's favorite holiday (all's to do is eat, drink, watch football and take naps...what's not to love?), we wanted to share with you all the...

Oni-Con is Houston's original anime convention and it's held once a year. If you are not familiar with anime, please allow us to bring you up to speed. Anime is a drawing and animation style that originated in Japan and has been popular in America for quite some time with shows such as Pokemon, Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z. Maybe you've seen these animated shows on Cartoon Network late at night while channel...

::Rice University Visual & Dramitic Arts Lecture:: "Development of Japanese Contemporary Prints in the Twentieth Century" Tonight, Rice University Department of Visual and Dramatic Art presents a lecture by Japanese Printmaker, Akira Kurosaki, entitled "Development of Japanese Contemporary Prints in the Twentieth Century." Mr. Akira Kurosaki, the Dean of the Department of Printmaking at Seika University in Kyoto, has been very active as the top woodcut artist in Japan for the last thirty years. Rice...

Was your head feeling like someone was pounding on it this morning, like ours was? We keep forgetting that Thursday nights, are not Friday nights. There's that whole having to wake up to a screaming alarm, while fighting a hangover on Fridays, but not Saturdays. Ugh. Well, since pounding started off our day, we figure we'd just continue the trend. We love themes. Tonight, Miller Outdoor Theatre hosts Kaminari Taiko, and all weekend long, at...

Spent all your cash on girlie drinks and shattered dreams again this weekend, didn't you? No worries - Thriftster gives you the lowdown on cheap stuff to do until Paycheck Friday. Monday: Strut your inner rock star at Guitar Hero Mondays at Fitzgerald's (2706 White Oak Dr.) where you can air guitar your way to everlasting glory. Just think of the pick up lines you'll have for the bar next weekend - chicks dig faux-musicians...

"Creative Crowdsourcing Through Mobile Technolgy" We couldn't have said it better ourselves, and you'll have to see this to believe the awesomeness of it. This has been on our radar for quite some time and we are so excited it's finally here. The Houston Center for Photography and Aurora Picture Show band together this summer to present the 3rd annual summer SPIN Party and Exhibition Txt Me L8r on August 24 from 8-11pm. On July...

Goodbye hump day, hello rain. Did anyone else have a sucky Wednesday? And to top it off, the current monsoon over our office is making us have flashbacks of the beginning of the summer. What happened to our 108 degrees and sunny?! We are on a mission to make the most of this wet and soggy day, so we are heading to the Museum of Fine Arts tonight as they present Artful Thursdays. Because...

With vivid colors and stylized storylines, anime has amassed a worldwide cult following. This contemporary Asian animation genre has its origins in Japanese manga comics, and the MFAH presents a sampling to accompany the MFAH exhibition RED HOT — Asian Art Today from the Chaney Family Collection (now through Oct 21st). Featured are a family favorite from South Korea distributed by the Houston-based company ADV Films, plus two instant classics from Japan. Tonight's Film...

The other day Houstonist popped into the Houston Center for Photography, that haven and support for all things filmic, to see a show entitled, "Japan." What especially intrigued us was the fact that the photographer, an HCP fellowship recipient, had been travelling in Japan while reading some of our favorite contemporary Japanese writers: slightly surrealist Haruki Murakami, cult-star Yukio Mishima, and the spare/smart Kenzaburo Oe. Says Amelia D'Entrone in her artist's statement, "A sense...

Kevin Russell Performs Solo Show with Fried Ice Cream at Under The Volcano A big thanks to one of our loyal readers, Chris Sarrat, for bringing this awesome event on our radar. If you have not heard the new Gourds record, you'll be surprised to hear horns on the first cut "How Will You Shine." Tonight, Houston-based 9-piece funk, R&B, and jazz group Fried Ice Cream's horn section will be playing with The Gourds' singer...

Mixed Media Series at MFA It's baaaaaack! Yep, for the last few months every time an email from the MFA popped up in our inbox we hoped and prayed it was an annoucement of a new Mixed Media series. This week we were rewarded! Whoo-hoo! [The Deets] Find where art and music intersect on select Saturday nights at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. DJs spin and bands play against an arresting backdrop of...

The Path Taken: A Collector´s Walk through the Landscape of Chinese Painting

Need to know just a little bit about something? Ask a dilettante. There are two male penguins at Moody Gardens who are raising an abandoned penguin hatchling. Finally. New York has had its gay penguin celebrity couple for years now. It's about time we had one down here. Uh, you didn’t ask a question. Anyway, Dilettante was a bit behind the times on her penguin sexuality, so she googled “gay penguins” (without the quote marks)...

A Conversation with Sir Sidney Poitier Sidney Poitier is known the world over for his sensitive and powerful portrayals in such socially charged films as Cry, the Beloved Country, The Defiant Ones, To Sir With Love, In The Heat of the Night, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Lilies of the Field (for which he received his first Oscar) and many others. This actor, director, best selling author, husband, father, grandfather and quite recently, great-grandfather has...

Good news for one of our favorite works of art in Houston: Jay Baker's "Light Spikes," the collection of eight 24-foot-high flag pillars created for the 1990 Economic Summit. The pillars originally stood in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center, but were moved to Intercontinental Airport when the summit ended — and they've remained there ever since, sitting alongside the airport's main drive. Problem is, the work was never intended to be permanent,...

It's a big week for DVD releases — two of this week's movies, , won Academy Awards earlier this month, but it'll be hard to tear yourself away from the Ingalls clan. Head to your local movie store to rent these:

The Guardian Angels, the red-bereted citizen patrol formed in 1979 to make the Bronx safer for residents, may be coming to Houston to patrol Sharpstown, the Chronicle reports. Sharpstown resident Jeff Schmidt called the Angels because he was tired of crime in his neighborhood: