Local tech news in a compact, digital format. Web Based Business Startup School The Houston Technology Center is starting a series of classes on Web Based Businesses. The first class is Wednesday, March 12, 2008 from 12pm to 1pm. The guest speaker will be Kevin Lacobie Founder and Chief Officer of Agoric Source, LLC. Seating is limited so make your reservations now. Living The iLife Next Saturday, the Houston Area Apple Users Group will......

Good morning, Houston. Sure, the national economy may be going to hell in a handbasket, but look on the bright side: Houston's housing market is remaining pretty strong, so at least you homeowners have something of value! According to a new report, the median home value in Houston fell just $500 between the end of the third quarter 2007 and the end of the year, to $119,300 from $119,800 — still a gain of......

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......

We’ve got a busy week on the concert front. Our favorite duo from New York arrives at The Meridian tomorrow night. They Might Be Giants have been making quirky alt/pop songs for grown-ups over 20 years now, and a few albums for the kids that us grown-ups enjoy, too. Wilco’s Friday night show at Verizon Wireless Theater is sold out, but if you’re willing to pay a little, you can still get your hands......

Internationally acclaimed artists, architect, and weirdo Vito Acconci will be lecturing at the MFA tonight. Over the course of his almost fifty year career in the art world Vito has stuffed marbles in his face, bitten himself, and whispered lewd remarks to strangers while inappropriately touching himself in public for the sake of his art. In the 1990's Vito turned his artistic talents to the fields of architecture and landscape design. And has developed......

Yesterday was the second of the Super Tuesdays for this Presidential Election year and included primary elections in Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas and Vermont. Houstonist could careless about who wins. We're just excited to see the record turnout at the polls. We all win when that happens. Congratulations, Houston, and all you Texans that don't live in our kickass town. According to Wikipedia - stop laughing - Super Tuesday...refers to the Tuesday in February......

Up and coming singer/songwriter Alice Smith [pictured] is scheduled to perform on the Ellen DeGeneres show this week. Monday -ABC, 11:05pm: Jimmy Kimmel Live, Maroon 5 Tuesday -CBS, 10:35p: Late Show with David Letterman, Lenny Kravitz -NBC, 10:35pm: Tonight Show with Jay Leno, John Fogerty Wednesday -CBS, 12:05am: Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Collective Soul -NBC, 2:05am: Last Call with Carson Daly, A Fine Frenzy -CBS, 10:35p: Late Show with David Letterman, Ayo -NBC,......

If you prefer 90’s music over today’s, there are a few shows this week that’ll be right up your alley. Tomorrow night, Matchbook Twenty and Alanis Morisette play a sold out show at Toyota Center (MuteMath opens). For rap fans, check out Too $hort at the Meridian Friday night and Snoop Dogg returns with new material at Warehouse Live Saturday night. Finally, Marilyn Manson gives you an alternative to Sunday night church this weekend.......

The Queen of Hip Hop Soul, Mary J. Blige takes the stage at the latest installment of Vh1 Storytellers, airing tonight at 7pm on Vh1. Monday -Vh1, 7pm: Vh1 Storytellers, Mary J. Blige -NBC, 11:35pm: Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Super Furry Animals Tuesday -ABC, 7am: Good Morning America, Janet Jackson -CBS, 10:35pm: Late Show with David Letterman, Chingy with Ludacris -NBC, 10:35pm: Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Lupe Fiasco -ABC, 11:05pm: Jimmy Kimmel Live,......

You know what they say, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. That certainly seems to be the case for the Houston Rockets. Local hoops fans will recall that the Rockets’ marketing staff attempted to appeal to the gentler sex a month back through the use of a Ladies Night Out gimmick. Well those wacky folks are at it again, and this time they’re seeking out a few good men. For......

Good morning, Houston. Remember the city's smoking ban, which went into effect in September? Well, so does KPRC. The station checked around and found something that will shock you to your very core: Houstonians are still smoking in bars and restaurants! No, really. One of the bars Channel 2 visited was Henry Hudson's Pub on the west side, where reporters found customers and the bartender smoking — and "we even bought a pack of......

Tonight, catch Grammy award-winning R&B vocalist, singer/songwriter Jill Scott at Verizon Wireless. Frequent visitor Bob Schneider makes his trip from Austin a little bit shorter tomorrow by playing at the Cypress Saloon in northwest Houston. Local faves Orange Is In is opening, which makes for a great double-bill. Another local act, The Mighty Orq, will be presenting a lot of new material at his CD release show at the Meridian Friday night (you’ll probably......

::Chitra Divakaruni reads and discusses her latest novel:: Houston's own award-winning writer Chitra Divakaruni will be at Brazos Bookstore reading from her newest novel, fresh from the printers, entitled The Palace of Illusions. Besides being a Houstonian, Ms. Divakaruni has written fourteen books of fiction and poetry and has been published in over 50 magazines. Her books have been translated into 16 languages; two of them have been made into movies (The Mistress of......

• A fatal accident occurred this morning on Chimney Rock near Highway 90A. As of 7:30 A.M. the area around the accident has been cordoned off and traffic was being diverted. No further details are available as an investigation is under way. • Health officials are calling this latest round of the flu a "moderately severe epidemic." Flu cases are up 31% over last year and three children have already died as a result.......

Did we miss something? Let us know. Here’s the full week line-up. Local bands are noted by an asterisk (*): Wednesday • The Leo Trio/*The Haymakers/The Mighty Orq – rock | 9 p.m. at Rudyard's • Dead Meadow/*Sharks and Sailors/Southern Bellugosi – indie | 9 p.m.at The Mink Thursday • Bob Schneider/Mothers Anthem/Jake Andrews – pop/rock | 8 p.m.at Warehouse Live • Jimmy LaFave – folk/Americana | 7 p.m. at Mucky Duck • *Backbeat......

::The Houston Center for Photography´s 2008 Print Auction:: These are some pretty gorgeous photographs and who'd believe they're all up for sale to benefit one of the coolest organizations in all Houston? Houstonist (a fan of photography, as you well know) was drooling over this one, and this one and this one too. The photographs are on exhibition right now at the HCP galleries until Wednesday, February 13th, and the auction is this Friday......

Houstonist is really looking forward to the Over The Rhine show tonight at the Mucky Duck. In an intimate setting like the Duck, their sopisticated art-pop sound will probably cause shivers down your spine. Did we miss something? Let us know. Here’s the full week line-up. Local bands are noted by an asterisk (*): Wednesday • Over The Rhine – folk/art-pop | 7 p.m. at Mucky Duck • *Whiskey Boat – Americana | 10......

::Edward Grigassy Trio - Gypsy Anthems:: We just love Da Camera. And we especially love the free lunchtime concerts. Pack your own and take in some beautiful music at lunch today -- so much better than killing time on the internets. Guitarist Edward Grigassy plays throughout central and east Texas, as well as teaches guitar at Bellaire High School. He has studied classical guitar at UT Austin and received his masters from the New......

The Foo Fighters, Beyonce, Rihanna and many others are set to perform at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards airing next Sunday on CBS at 7pm. Tuesday CBS, 10:05pm: The Late Show with David Letterman, Sheryl Crow Wednesday ABC, 7:00am: Good Morning America, Lenny Kravitz ABC, 10:00am: The View, Fergie CBS, 10:05pm: The Late Show with David Letterman, A Fine Frenzy Thursday CBS, 12:05am: Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Dierks Bentley Friday CBS, 12:05am: Late......

This is your last week to check out shows at The Proletariat before it closes for good. They packed their schedule with some great local bands. Be on the lookout for more information on these shows soon. Did we miss something? Let us know. Here’s the full week line-up. Local bands are noted by an asterisk (*): Wednesday • *Over Sea Under Stone/Geisert 8/*Judas Bear/*Antarctica Starts Here – indie/rock | 9 p.m. at The......

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......

This week marks the debut of the new location for Super Happy Fun Land. They have moved to 3801 Polk Street, and you can join their "Grand Opening Polka Party" (get it?) Friday night. Monday night, the Van Halen returns to Houston at the Toyota Center. We're hoping that Diamond Dave and boys don't have the same tuning mishap that they had at the beginning of their tour. Did we miss something? Let us......

Three day weekends are a beast. You end the previous week by slacking in some fashion on Friday, since you're planning all the shennanigans you'll be committing over the weekend. Then you pick things up after the weekend with the realization that you've got to fit five days of work into four. Plus, it's cold and depressing (like a Packers fan on Monday) and that pretty much explains why a Monday feature is appearing on......

Unfortunately, our pick of the week has already aired. Kimya Dawson and Adam Green of the Moldy Peaches performed our favorite song from the Juno soundtrack, "Anyone Else But You," on The View this morning. We're hoping it'll pop up on The View's website or on Youtube soon. Monday -CBS, 10:35pm: The Late Show with David Letterman, Ringo Starr -NBC, 11:35pm: Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Subways -ABC, 11:05pm: Jimmy Kimmel Live, Velvet......

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: Celebrate the work and life of Dr. Martin Luther King today at the Houston Children's Museum (1500 Binz) - reduced $3 admission gets you in for live performances (like a mock Civil Right rally and Dr. King's 'I Have A Dream' speech), art......

OneRepublic’s lead singer Ryan Tedder knows a thing or two about pop music. After all, we have him to thank (or to blame) for having written and produced hits sung by Hilary Duff, Ashley Tisdale, and Jennifer Lopez. But Tedder wrote a different formula for success when it came to his own band, opting to create melodic radio pop with a refined twist (when was the last time you heard a cellist on KRBE?) Myspace......

Local tech news in a compact, digital format. Apple Swap Meet Next Weekend It's coming! The Houston Area Apple Users Group semi-annual swap meet is happening next weekend, January 26th at the UH Hilton. Please check the HAAUG site for registration information and fees. Good luck finding that Apple Newton or Lisa you've been looking for! Sprint Nextel To Close 35 Retail Stores In Houston From the Houston Business Journal come this interesting news......

::Spacetaker's Artist Saloon: Gene Morgan, Skeez 181, and Cory Wagner:: The salon and the saloon meet at the Winter Street Studios Gallery. Artists and art afficionados gather for drinks and an informal converstaion about art. Artists will present and give a short talk about their work. After the artist talk there will be the opportunity to ask questions/begin a dialogue with the artists. About The Artist Saloon Every third Wednesday of the month, Winter Street......

Today the Rice Design Alliance kicks off this years spring lecture series 30N 60S: Latin American Architecture Revisited with guest speaker Francisco Liernur. Proffessor Liernur is Chair of the School of Architecture at Di Tella University in Buenos Aires, Argentina and has been a visiting professor at Harvard, Princeton, Sci-Arc, and Columbia University. His books include Writings on Twentieth Century Architecture in Latin America and Architecture in Latin America 1965-1985. Following lectures will focus......

The Mars Volta will be performing on Letterman this week, mostly likely in support of their upcoming epic, The Bedlam in Goliath. Too bad the intellectual prog-rockers with Texas roots currently have no shows in the Lone Star State scheduled on their winter tour. We kind of think that's cold-blooded. Monday CBS, 10:35pm: The Late Show with David Letterman, Maroon 5 Tuesday ABC, 9am: Regis and Kelly, KT Tunstall Wednesday CBS, 10:35pm: The Late......