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Kiplinger.com: No. 1: Houston, Texas, 2008-July, by Jane Bennett Clark: It's the city of big plans and no rules, beat-the-heat tunnels and loop-the-loop highways, world-class museums and wiry cowboys, humidity that demands an ice-cold martini and the biggest damn liquor store on the planet. How could you not love Houston?
Rice University News: Designer 'nanobatons' could be used to trap oil, deliver drugs. 2008-May-30, by Jade Boyd: In a development that could lead to new technologies for cleaning up oil spills and polluted groundwater, scientists at Rice University have shown how tiny, stick-shaped particles of metal and carbon can trap oil droplets in water by spontaneously assembling into bag-like sacs.
Houston Chronicle: Downtown library ready to show off renovation, 2008-May-30, by Allan Turner: The renovated library features stylish furniture and carpeting in bold colors. By relocating some administrative offices to a satellite location, architects were able to add more than 12,000 square feet of usable space to the building. Removal of the offices also made vast segments of windowed exterior walls accessible for the first time, providing leafy vistas and flooding the library floors with natural light. Significant changes include major expansions of the children's and teens' sections, which now are equipped with computers and entertainment stations. The teen area, spreading over 7,600 square feet, features 24 desktop and 30 laptop computers, a collection of more than 11,000 items, eight Sony PlayStation 3 consoles and three Nintendo Wii consoles. In other changes, elevators and a four-story "master stairway" have replaced the library's old, unreliable escalator. A special computer lab for patrons with disabilities will feature machines with foot-controls and braille printers, and a Careers, Opportunities, Resources and Education Center will offer assistance in starting and operating businesses or non-profit organizations.
Houston Arts Alliance: Vibrant: Houston Arts Alliance, on behalf of the City of Houston, is currently producing Vibrant: Houston Artists in City Halls which will run from May 28, 2008 through February 20, 2009. The exhibition showcases Houston’s thriving visual arts community.
32 different artists’ works were chosen from the open call. ... The artworks will be located in various locations around City Hall. Viewing of the art is open to City staff, visitors, and general public Monday through Friday from 8AM to 5PM. In order to access City Hall, passing through a security checkpoint and the showing of ID is required.
Houston Chronicle: Origami artist Joan Son's works inspired by a dream, 2008-May-26, by Eileen McClelland: Son's first corporate commission in 1993 was designing origami figures for the display windows of Tiffany & Co. in the Houston Galleria. Her gift items, including greeting cards and butterfly pins, have been carried by museum shops including the National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. (Her cards are also available at Tansu in the Heights and the Houston Museum of Printing History.)
Houston Business Journal: Houston team rolls dice in health gaming industry, 2008-May-23, by Monica Perin: A Houston medical researcher and Houston design studio ArchImage Inc. have made the opening move on a fledgling Web site that is part of a national trend in health gaming. "Food Fury," a computer game that teaches kids about healthy eating, has become the first game to go live on Playnormous.com. Dr. Cynthia Phelps, a researcher at The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, and the team at ArchImage collaborated to develop Food Fury and Playnormous.com with a grant Phelps got from Hartford, Conn.-based health insurance giant Aetna Inc.
Houston Chronicle: The latest proposal for the Astrodome? Movie studio, 2008-May-20, by Maggie Galehouse: Transforming the Astrodome into a huge production studio would preserve the landmark, create jobs and pull revenue from other parts of the country, say Elise Hendrix and Cynthia Hand Neely, the brains behind the latest idea for the aging sports venue.
As a production studio financed by independent investors, they argue, the Astrodome could be used 24/7, rain or shine. "Hollywood has these huge soundstages, and we have some soundstages in Texas, but none are big enough to build a whole city in or to create an entire neighborhood," says Neely, who sits on the board of directors of the Texas Motion Picture Alliance and is president of Women In Film & Television Houston. "There could also be periphery support outside the building for equipment rental, costumes and a number of individual businesses." So far, though, this is a dramatic proposal waiting to attach itself to some big investors and architects.
NyTimes: Son of a Gun, Hollywood Has Big Fun on the Bayou, 2008-May-20, by David Carr: When the local economy [of Shreveport] went bust in the 1980s, a lot of jobs in heavy industry disappeared. But the city was left with a substantial infrastructure, with varied architecture and numerous highways, nice characteristics if you’re making a movie. And when Hurricane Katrina came along in 2005, many productions working with state tax credits in New Orleans had to scramble for both higher ground and a place to finish their films.
And though there are no direct flights to Shreveport from Los Angeles and New York, city officials try to overcome what would seem to be a deal-breaker by doubling down on the hospitality. Lampton Enochs and Alissa Kantrow are partners in Louisiana Production Consultants, and they manage Mansfield Studios, a converted former Western Electric building with 26-foot-high ceilings and 120,000 square feet of production space. “Shreveport was not a city I was familiar with,” said Mr. Enochs, whizzing around the space in a golf cart. “But when the storm came, we were in New Orleans and a month away from production on ‘Thief’ for Fox. The crews came up, and then we found this amazing old downtown and all of these great neighborhoods with turn-of-the-century homes. The costs were low, the weather was good, and when you’d shoot in somebody’s home, some of them even bake cookies for the crew.”
Cleverley's Houston Restaurant Blog: Scott Tycer Weaves Together Past, Present & Future with New Restaurant, 2008-May-19, by Cleverley Stone: Scott Tycer, owner of Kraftsmen Baking and co-owner of Gravitas restaurant, is sending shockwaves of delight through Houston's foodie community with the announcement of Textile, his new signature restaurant that will open August 1st in the new Kraftsmen Baking facility at 611 West 22 Street, in The Heights area of Houston, Texas. Located in [one of] Houston’s oldest buildings, a turn-of-the-century textile mill from which the restaurant derives its name, Textile will be a 30-seat, 1200 square foot venue designed by celebrated architect Ferenc Dreef, who also designed award-winning Gravitas.
Houston Chronicle: Houston producer Laurie Foxx is a good fit at Cannes, 2008-May-20, by Ron Dicker: Laurie Foxx is walking through it at the Cannes Film Festival, hoping to never look back. While she awaits word on whether the nearly finished Open Road gets sold for distribution in the festival's marketplace, she has taken meetings with more than a dozen potential movers and shakers for several projects, including Parasites Rule. The story of four friends who discover a revolutionary weight-loss secret, Foxx co-wrote it with Houstonians Gracy Hall and Dare O'Donnell. "I just want to keep the momentum going," Foxx says ... She says she built a successful enterprise called Containers Unlimited after graduating from the University of Oklahoma. "I'm very self-motivated," she says. ... She now shuttles between Houston's Memorial neighborhood and Los Angeles...
Houston Chronicle: Woodlands Waterway putting the urban in suburban, 2008-May-15, by Renee C. Lee: The Woodlands downtown area is emerging as a live, work and play destination, said Jeff Taebel, director of community and environmental planning for the Houston-Galveston Area Council. Many places in the area, including Sugar Land and Midtown Houston, are adopting a similar concept, he said. And while suburbanites want a taste of urban living, they want the experience to be one that's not heavily dependent on a car, Ward said. The waterway provides that with pathways, water taxis and a trolley system that runs on streets alongside it. People can park and ride or walk the downtown area. The transportation corridor, envisioned by The Woodlands founder George Mitchell more than 30 years ago, also has become a catalyst for development.
Houston Business Journal: City Beat: Marathon to pick up pace with news sponsor in the race, 2008-May-9, by Greg Barr: The Chevron Houston Marathon will add more runners and roll out a team division concept in 2009 after securing a fourth major corporate sponsor. ABB Group has a one-year deal to sponsor the ABB Team Challenge. The new team competition consists of three divisions. A corporation or group of friends can enter between three and six members per team to run in either the marathon, the half marathon, or in the open division which places team members in all three races. The 37th running of the marathon is set for January 18, 2009.
Houston Business Journal: Latin Grammys to spice up Houston economy, 2008-May-9, by Ford Gunter: The Latin Grammy Awards are expected to have an economic impact of between $15 million and $30 million when they take the stage in Houston this fall, according to a new study. ... The Latin Grammys will take place at Toyota Center on Nov. 13, and will be broadcast live on the Univision Television Network to 80 million people in 100 countries. Houston was named as host city earlier this year, following in the footsteps of high-profile cities such as Los Angeles, New York City, Miami and Las Vegas.
Houston Business Journal: Houston plugs into coworking cooperative concept, 2008-May-9, by Monica Perin: Houston's first 24/7 coworking facility -- the Caroline Collective -- is taking shape at 4820 Caroline St. in the Museum District, with a grand opening planned for June. The Caroline Collective is the brainchild of bioengineer Matthew Wettergreen and architect Ned Dodington, who had worked together on other multidisciplinary projects as graduate students at Rice University. Their business partners in the venture are Adam Brackman and Jeff Kaplan, both commercial real estate brokers with Houston-based Wulfe & Co.
Houston Chronicle: Energy magnate donates $35 million to M.D. Anderson, 2008-May-15, by Todd Ackerman: With the $35 million gift, M.D. Anderson is establishing the Duncan Family Institute for Cancer Prevention and Risk Assessment. It will bring together experts from disciplines such as epidemiology, behavioral science, biochemistry, molecular biology, computer and information scientists and cancer clinics.
M.D. Anderson already debuted a cancer prevention building in 2004, but the push to prevent cancer before it starts is still in its nascent phase, slowed by the complexity of cancer and a scarcity of funding. M.D. Anderson officials said they think the Duncan gift is easily the biggest ever for prevention.
Houston Chronicle: Robert Rauschenberg's art expressed a love of life2008-May-13, by Lisa Gray: Rauschenberg's last museum show, at the Menil, coincided with a show of Rauschenberg's recent photo collages at Texas Gallery. "He loved to work," said Fredricka Hunter of Texas Gallery. "He never wavered from that," even after two strokes left him unable to use his right hand. He attended the 2007 gallery opening in his wheelchair, still a charismatic, powerful personality. "He was probably the most important 20th-century hero that I'll ever know," Hunter said.
We have much to ponder in the recent Racket column about the frustrating early experiences of McMurtry and Willie in Houston. They were unable to establish themselves here in the late 50's and early 60's, but their art developed because they had opportunities. (Lomax says Houston has grown more imaginative.) Houston Press: Larry McMurtry and Willie Nelson in Houston, 2008-May-1, by John Nova Lomax: In his 1968 essay collection In a Narrow Grave, Larry McMurtry wrote that Houston was "a city with great wealth, some beauty, great energy, and all sorts of youthful confidence; but withal, a city that has not as yet had the imagination to match its money."
TheatrePort: Fringe Festival Proposals due by May 30, 2008:: FrenetiCore Performance Space is launching the 2008 Houston Fringe Festival to be held in August 2008 at their Houston venue. The Houston Fringe will consist of Film, Music, Dance and Theatrical events to be held the weekends of August 15th thru August 30th with an ‘Anything Goes’ event on Sunday, August 31st. The theater portion is a juried event – so the call is now out for eclectic, original and off-the-wall theater artists to submit finished scripts for consideration.
James Beard Foundation Awards: America's Classics 2008: If you want to get elected to public office in Houston, you’d better be seen at Irma’s, Irma Galvan’s downtown Houston breakfast and lunch spot that’s become a community gathering place. Among the knick-knacks, kitchy artwork, and memorabilia that plaster the walls, business honchos and blue collar workers sit side-by-side enjoying authentic, high-quality Tex-Mex dishes like breakfast soft tacos and beef and ancho chile gravy, served with Irma’s famous fruit-laced lemonade.
Texas Medical Center News: DeBakey Sisters. 2008-May-1, by Ronda Wendler: For decades Selma and Lois, both professors of scientific communication at Baylor College of Medicine, have given seminars and symposiums around the world to help doctors become more articulate, precise, and clear.
"We teach the logic and language of medicine," explains Selma.
The sisters began curing doctors of terminal gibberish decades ago at the suggestion of their older bother, noted heart surgeon Michael E. DeBakey, M.D. "Early in his career, our brother noticed that his colleagues, who were some of the brightest and most learned people in the country, had problems speaking and writing simple, clear English," recalls Selma. "He suggested that with our education and training, Lois and I could pursue a career helping physicians communicate better." So they did.
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Creative Houston promotes the creative capital and innovation habitat of the Houston metropolitan area. We cultivate the growth of ideas, experimentation and innovation in Houston by promoting awareness and collaboration in the creative industries, both non-profit and for-profit. Learn more
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