Chances are, the weather outside is downright hot and humid. It is, after all, Houston and summer. Cranking the AC down to Arctic keeps some folks cool, but for those of us that are looking to save (money or the environment), thankfully, there are other options out there for energy reduction. The Simple Dollar suggests some handy "ceiling fan hacks" that will allow you to save some energy: A typical central air conditioning unit uses......

Good news, Houston! Not only have we finally Jenny Craig'd our way out of the "Fattest City in America" title, we are also steadily becoming less sweaty. That's right: Houston has managed to stay relatively dry in the latest rankings of the Sweatiest Cities in America, a yearly list complied by Old Spice and their parent company, Proctor and Gamble. For 2008, Houston came in at ninth-sweatiest out of 100 other contenders across the nation.......

::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......

So, normally here at Houstonist, we try to promote events--arts and otherwise--that are open and (ahem) FREE to the public. Every now and again, though, something costing cash-o-la is so cool, so fun, SO important, that we simply MUST promote it. In this case, well, there's a lot of cash-o-la involved. But it's for such a good cause!!! We are not necessarily flush with cash today...or, well, any other day. But YOU, dear Houstonist......

Dammit, Houston *is* a literary town! Here's a slew of readings happening this week, from the hilarious David Sedaris to the wry Nick Hornby and the unbalanced Lisa Belkin. Her word choice, not ours. We love books. Wednesday, October 24th at 7:30PM William Henry Lewis and Justin Cronin at DiverseWorks 1117 East Freeway, *FREE* Two heavy-hitting writers with a bucket of awards apiece. Lewis is the author of In the Arms of Our Elders......

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......

Plenty of good music in town this week to..uh...wet your musical whistle - if you will. Tonight you may want to check out some alternative hiphop at Warehouse Live with Del the Funky Homosapien or relive the 90's at Verizon Wireless with Live and Collective Soul. Later in the week the wild and whacky Blue Man Group is playing at Toyota Center -or- you could see Rilo Kiley at Warehouse Live -or- release your......

Many bands had to change their names to avoid legal problems with existing bands with the same name. Most find new names or add a modifier, like “U.K.” to distinguish themselves from the other similar named band from another country. Chicago’s The Academy Is… (formerly, The Academy) decided to add a verb and ellipsis. After all, they consider themselves an indie/punk/rock band, they must keep you guessing. The Academy Is…, who first received recognition when......

There was very little else for Londonist to be concerned with when the threat of a Tube strike became a very unpleasant reality. The inconvenience was extreme: there aren't many alternatives to the Tube in London despite the best efforts of the Londonist team to get everyone from A to B. Brighter news came in the form of the first ever female Yeoman Warder, or Beefeater as the position is more commonly known, and......

Today’s Photo of the Day comes from flickr user and Houstonist photo contributor p3t3rt. What an amazing and crisp shot of downtown from Eleanor Tinsley Park near the bayou. The colors and sharp image make this shot and easy choice for Photo of the Day. If you have a passion for Houston and photography, consider joining over 360 of Houston's best photographers in the Houstonist Flickr Photo Group. If Houstonist uses your photo for......

Triple Threat Edition So we couldn't decide on one event for tonight, so we're giving you three. We are so damn generous some times. Besides, this week has been so long we figured you needed an extra long Friday to make up for it. Well, of course there's the Txt Me L8r SPIN Party at HCP that we'll all be at. Two of your favorite Houstonist contributors (wait, you have favorites, right?) will be participating......

Today’s Photo of the Day comes from flickr user and Houstonist photo contributor Blue Kingdom. This beautiful summer shot was taken in the shade of Hermann Park. Take a look at 101 Fun Things In Hermann Park. If you have a passion for Houston and photography, consider joining over 345 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......

Actually this is event is a time to celebrate - even though the Dynamo lost a tough SuperLiga battle last night against CF Pachuca. The Dynamo are inviting you, the fans, to come celebrate this season’s achievements with them as part of their Summer Soccer Ball (haha…get it?). The party starts at 7pm tonight at Planeta Bar-Rio, where there will be drink specials (including orange margaritas!), door prizes (for the early party-goers), and a big......

Some people consider Sunday the beginning of their week, we usually like to look at it as a great lazy way to wrap up a hectic 7 days, and prepare for the next round. We've decided to pull together a list of events that are ending today, so now's your chance to catch these before they are gone for ever. Kinda like last week. Bwah-ha-ha. Thoroughly Modern Millie | Playhouse 1960 The Sound of Music......

"Summertime and the livins easy" until you mow the lawn and sweat your ass off in the process. Why not relax and let the kid down the street mow your yard? They could use the money to pay for their iPhone service plan and you could use the break. Wouldn't it be satisfying to sit in the shade sippin' a cold beverage while s/he sweats to death? All you need is the perfect drink.......

Last Night to check out Murder Mondays Since June 25th, the Alley Theatre and Angelika Film Center have presented Murder Mondays. A film series that complements the Alley Theatre’s ExxonMobil Summer Chills production of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile (July 6–July 29). Screenings are held at the Angelika Film Center and introduced by James Black, director of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile. Tonight will be the final film in the series: Death on......

HMNS Hosts Mixers & Elixirs Can't decide whether to see a movie, get a drink, go to the musuem, or see some live music tonight? Why decide? Do it all the the Museum of Natural Science's Summer Series "Mixers & Elixirs." Each Friday night during the summer, the museum hosts a gang of party goers in a true social science experiment. Mixers & Elixirs features cocktails, dancing under the dinosaurs, an IMAX movie each hour,......

No, it's not by driving as fast as we can around loop 610, but it does include city-wide celebrations, all hoping for the same thing: No rain. Here are a few of the events we'll be checking out tomorrow. Where will you be? Tell us, maybe we'll ditch our plans and join you. But probably not. >>Freedom Over Texas Festival Houston's Official 4th of July Celebration. Chevy presents a concert and Independence Day celebration at......

What with Paris Hilton's release earlier this week and the upcoming celebration of American Independence (sorry, Londonist!), we've been thinking a lot about freedom. Freedom to vote, freedom to choose, and most importantly, freedom to blog. Here are a few things we're happy we've been free to blog about this week. Being the nation's capital, DCist felt especially proud to let freedom ring this week by exposing the really important issues, like how sad they......

Women of Wardrobe Membership Drive "Ladies, all the Ladies..." We usually aren't too gender specific with the Daily-ist, but heck, we've been known to break the mold once or twice. This one's for the ladies. Join the Women of Wardrobe tonight for their Membership Drive as they collect donations for Dress for Success Houston. About Women of Wardrobe Women of Wardrobe (WOW) is a group of young professional women forty years and younger whose mission......

Okay not really…except kind of…well, yes. Let’s explain. So as you know 4 Houston Dynamo players are out due to national team play in the CONCACAF gold cup. Pat Onstad and Dwayne De Rosario are playing for Canada while Brian Ching and Ricardo Clark are playing for the U.S. team. Both teams have advanced to the semi-finals and are set to play each other tonight at 6pm. This should be an excellent match as both......

The earth will ceased rotating on it's axis, or at least it will appear to have done so, briefly at 1:06 p.m. CST tomorrow, June 21st. That is precisely when Summer Solstice occurs. We hope that ups our odds for a date, because it's not exactly getting colder so we don't anticipate any "freeze overs" anywhere. What this means, in addition to your having a midsummer's night's dream (seeing fairy's and goblin's and the like)......

Houston Symphony Summer Nights The Symphony must have heard what you said about Miller Outdoor Theatre, readers. Tonight they will perform a concert at the auspicious venue, and - like all Miller events - it's totally free. It might be a little wet, so remember that tickets for the covered seating area are available at the Miller Theatre Box Office between 11:30 am and 1:00 pm on the day of the performance. Remaining tickets are......

Alright folks...get your funmeter ready. You told, we compiled. Here y'are- Houstonist Top 10ist Outdoor Experiences: 1. An evening concert at Miller Outdoor Theater (and) Hermann Park and the reflecting pool 2. Drinking Lonestar at the West Alabama Ice House 3. Biking on the Memorial Park trails 4. Lounging in Menil Park 5. Open stadium games at Minute Maid Park 6. Rice University running track 7. The backyard at Hans' Bierhouse 8. The patio at......

Local bands don’t usually have the funs to make their own video. That’s where aspiring film makers come in. Local band Paris Falls now has a (partial) video for their song “Walk Away,” thanks to a not-so-local aspiring film maker WarriorSouthpaw. The Australian created an action packed video for the song, using Lego's. It’s kind of a strange mix between a western and Star Wars. Speaking of Paris Falls, they are one of the......

Dance, Dance. Double-header Dancing tonight in the form of two of Houston's best dance companies: The Metropolitan Dance Company and City Dance. >>>Summer Dance with the Houston Met Dynamic, exhilarating and high-energy. It’s how critics and the public alike describe the performances of Houston Metropolitan Dance Company. To complete their stellar season they are brining their artistry to Miller Outdoor Theatre for a free performance, Summer Dance: The Best of the Houston Met Season tonight,......

Here are some recently announced concerts. Tickets will go on sale this weekend: The Format (7/18 @ Meridian) Marilyn Manson/Slayer (8/31 @ Reliant Arena) The Killers (9/15 @ Reliant Arena) – win tickets from us in advance! This week, we think the show to see is The Hold Steady at Walter’s on Thursday night. Sure, their new stuff resembles some of early Springsteen’s best work, but it’s damn good. Legendary Scottish folk singer (you......

Today’s Photo of the Day comes from flickr user, drive-in enthusiast and Houstonist photo contributor paper by design. That's right, that is a drive-in movie theater and it's just up the road in Tomball. According to paper by design it's affordable and the kids love it. Truly some great summer fun! If you have a passion for Houston and photography, consider joining over 270 of Houston's best photographers in the Houstonist Flickr Photo Group.......

We don't know about where you are, but it seems like spring can't decide whether or not to happen. Some days are warm, some days are cold, and sometimes you aren't sure which. Baseball may have started up (and soccer/football winding down) but it still seems cold out there. Unless it's not. Anyways, onto the -ists. Austinist happily anticipated fall's Austin City Limits, even though they're not fully recovered from South By Southwest. In......

This Saturday is the Inner Art Corridor's Second Annual Open Studio Tour. That means that all artists in the warehouse and private art sector will open their studios to the public. This is a great opportunity for artists and art lovers alike to see new works of art and to meet and chat with artists at their studios. The tour is made up of twelve studios and countless artists. Hot spots include David Adickes' studio......