Straight outta TX-22 and in front of the microphone: Rep. Nick Lampson is teaming up with the Veterans Service Office and communications students at UH to help document the stories of American veterans for the Library of Congress. From the department of Did You Know?: “Houston is proud to have the largest concentration of veterans in the United States. We are obligated to do all we can to honor their service,” Lampson said. “The Veterans......

::Inprint Brown Reading Series Featuring Dave Eggers and Chimamanda Adichie:: Houstonist just finished reading the new books by both these authors and was *blown away.* HALF OF A YELLOW SUN, Chimamanda Adichie's novel about the Biafran War in Nigeria in the late sixties, follows the political and military developments through the eyes of several civilians, painting a human and devastating portrait of war. Similarly, Dave Eggers' fictionalized autobiography of the very real Valentino Achak......

Tonight, Houston will host the U.S. debut of the first Western-style interpretation of the classic Chinese opera, Farewell My Concubine. With performances only today and tomorrow at the Wortham, this is a rare opportunity. The original Chinese opera will be performed by a Chinese cast and sung in Mandarin. Chinese opera has come to the United States so very infrequently that if you have any interest in Chinese music, art, opera or culture, you should......

::Diverseworks Exhibit Opening Night: Two exhibits we are particularly looking forward to seeing both open tonight at Diverseworks. An opening reception will feature a special performance by Brent Green's 3 Piece Band, MK Guth's Ties of Protection & Safe Keeping Interactive Sculpture, and the DiverseWorks Silk Screen Station where you can build you own t-shirt. And everyone loves t-shirts. Flicker Fusion Since 1914 when the first animated film was made, artists across the globe have......

::Touring Taste of Dance Salad Film at MFA:: Ok, so you're perplexed on what to watch now that Dancing With the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance have both finished their seasons. We feel your pain. I mean, how else are you supposed to practice your movers for the company holiday party? Well, dance friends, you are in luck. If you missed the 2007 Dance Salad Festival, catch a special (read: free) screening......

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......

::Water For People Fundraiser at St. Arnold's Brewery:: Who are we to deny an event that let's us drink beer and better the lives of people all over the world? We usually like to tell ourselves that every time we drink, but this time we don't have to kid ourselves. Water For People is a nonprofit, charitable organization in the United States and Canada that helps people in developing countries obtain safe drinking water. Water......

Good morning, Houston. Looks like there's another tropical disturbance out in the Gulf of Mexico — this one is called Invest 90L, and it looks like it could be headed for the upper Texas coast. The Chron's Eric Berger is keeping an eye on the system, which is located west of Florida and is headed in a general northwesterly direction; Berger reports that it could become a tropical storm by tomorrow, but isn't likely......

Good morning, Houston. In the mood for a really, really bad promotional video? It's your lucky day: May we introduce you to "The Metro Report", a quasi-Colbert Report-style production in which a host, Elliot Roberts, "interviews people on the street" about why they love riding public transportation. Which makes us wonder: Where'd Metro find all these people? Oh, right, they're actually actors — and, according to KTRK's Wayne Dolcefino, this bit of self-promotion cost......

Good morning, Houston. How many of you knew what Monday was? Anyone? Anyone? That's right: It was the 220th anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution. To mark the anniversary, the nation had a little holiday, Constitution Day — but how many people actually knew about it? Not many, apparently: Though federal law says students at public high schools should be taught about Constitution Day, a recent survey of students found that......

Good morning, Houston. Pardon us, but we seem to have lost our phone number. Can we borrow yours? Yeah, we know — it's lame. And apparently we're not the only one with a bad pickup line: Houston is the country's 14th best city for singles, according to Forbes magazine. We lag behind Dallas-Ft. Worth (No. 9) and Austin (No. 12), but we're far ahead of San Antonio (No. 28). On the bright side, Houston......

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......

Last week, Urbanist showed you all the hidden jems that lie in the Lower Montrose area. One of those, the Jung Center, tonight presents innovative multimedia artist Cameron Sands and dancer Paola Georgudis on an exploration of the the spiritual possibility in every corner of our city. Is there truly creative potential in every space? What about the concrete area around a trash dumpster in an alleyway – or a place you pass by every......

While SFist cringed at the fatal dose of crime littering the Bay Area, it found solace in Hillary Clinton's San Francisco campaign headquarters opening, which featured loads of exposed mammary glands. In other news, SF Taxi Commission ruled that Satan's cab must keep its (in)famous medallion number, 666; and in an un-fashion-forward frenzy, San Francisco Fashion Week (chortle) bars bloggers from covering and getting smashed at their shows and parties, respectively. Also, they found a......

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......

Good morning, Houston. As we prepare for the rain chance to increase again — yeah, sorry, we hate to be the bearers of bad news — we're stopping for a second to realize just how much it's rained so far this month. Officially, we've had 8.34 inches of rain so far in July, smashing the 2.34-inch average for the month and making this the eighth-wettest July on record. And there's still a week left......

Remember Dan Duncan, the founder of pipeline company Enterprise Products Partners and the richest man in Houston? He's in the news again today, but this time it isn't for his wealth. Instead, Duncan may face criminal charges connected with a 2002 hunting trip in Siberia; it seems Duncan shot and killed a moose and sheep from a helicopter during the trip, a practice that's illegal in Russia. And though no complaints or charges were filed......

Good morning, Houston. You might want to grab a drink before you get started on this morning's news: According to KHOU, a shift toward growing corn in Mexico could lead to a spike in the price of tequila. It seems a lot of Mexican farmers are getting rid of their blue agave fields to make way for corn, which is in demand thanks to the growing popularity of ethanol — and as the amount......

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......

US Air Guitar Championships @ Scout Bar Yep, folks. You read it right. Tonight, Scout Bar will hold the local round of the US Air Guitar Championships. The local winner gets a trip to the US Finals, and the US winner gets a trip to the World Championships in Finland, where the contest has been a part of the Oulu Music Video Festival in Oulu, Finland since 1996. The first organized air guitar competition in......

If you happen to be wondering where Dynamo star-forward, Brian Ching, was for Thursday night's Dynamo win over the Colorado Rapids, he was supporting the US Men's National Team in a win over Trinadad and Tabago. Not only did the National Team chalk one up with a W, Ching scored his fifth international goal in the 29th minute off a long pass from Justin Mapp. Eddie Johnson doubled the lead in the 54th, scoring his......

Good morning, Houston. If you've ever dreamed of designing a neighborhood marker, now's your chance: The Sixth Ward Property Owners group is looking for someone to come up with a sign to mark the historic area. "Right now we have markers in the neighborhood and they're in bad shape," Maria Isabel of the SWPO said. "It would be great to redo those." The design specs seem pretty open — the location and materials are......

"A World of Walls Series: Do Fences Make Good Neighbors?" Rothko Chapel Lecture, by Dr. Tony Payan Walls—visible and invisible—are going up in communities, cities, and countries around the world. Tonight, the Rothko Chapel presents A World of Walls, a series exploring the cultural, political, and human rights ramifications of these human barriers. An adviser to political groups on both sides of the border, Dr. Tony Payan is an assistant professor specializing in international......

You don’t have to be a tortured artist to thoroughly enjoy the fantastic poetry of Mary Oliver or Billy Collins, both of whom are coming to Houston next week. Mary Oliver’s 24 books of poems use imagery from wildlife and the natural world to talk about, well, everything. Her reverence for the seemingly incidental makes you remember why being in nature can be, dare we say, powerful and transcendent. Inprint is bringing her to town......

Houston City Council Member M.J. Khan of District F will be traveling to Doha, Qatar April 6-13 as a representative of the State Department's Speaker and Specialist Program. Council Member Khan will be meeting with local businessman, dignitaries, academics, students, and politicians from the region. During these visits, he will discuss topics ranging from Houston council business to the American political process and living as a Muslim in the United States. He will visit students......

We could go on with tennis puns all day, but we're aces at getting to the point. This afternoon, play will begin in the River Oaks International Tennis Tournament. Did you know that the tournament is the oldest event in the United States still played at its original site and on its original surface? It's been around for 72 years, but doesn't look a day over 65. In all seriousness, the River Oaks really is......

Two internationally acclaimed artists join the Houston Chamber Orchestra for a diverse program tonight at the Hobby Center. Pianist Charles Asche performs as soloist in Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58.” Asche has performed throughout the United States, in Russia and South America and is currently on the piano faculty at the University of California at Santa Barbara. He was among the first American pianists to perform in the......

Today’s Photo of the Day comes from flickr user and Houstonist photo contributor slight clutter. I'll let the photographer's comment on this image speak for this photo... Beyond Borders Just a little tidbit about the place I call home... Often overlooked as a world-class city, Houston is one of the most culturally-diverse cities in the United States with a demographic in which everyone is part of a population-based minority (37.9% Anglo, 37.8% Hispanic, 17.8%......

Dynamo back-up goal keeper Zach Wells made an incredilbe P.K. save yesterday vs. Puntarenas FC, but it didn't serve well enough to make the win. The Dynamo was in Coasta Rica for the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. By winning the 2006 MLS Cup, the Houston Dynamo secured one of two MLS spots representing the United States in the Champions Cup, the other being D.C. United. In addition, the Dynamo becomes the first......

We'd like to start this week's run-down by wishing a very happy birthday to parent blog Gothamist, which turned four on Friday. If it wasn't for them, the rest of us wouldn't be here. They celebrated their birthday by nabbing an interview with Entourage star Adrian Grenier, who misses NYC public transportation when he's working in LA. They also reported on NYU students protesting a band whose name is also known as a slur,......