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Demitasse Dance at Té House of Tea

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 02:43:41 -0500

Come out and join all the lovely friendly Houston dancers Saturday, July 31, at Té House of Tea, 1927 Fairview, Houston. 9 p.m. to midnight. Great tea and food too. A variety of music that we're calling 'groovy swing'! FREE! Just be open to listen/dance and be a good customer or drop a dollar in the tip jar. DJ Michael will set the mood, 9-10:30, then DJ Z (that’s me) will bring it home, 10:30-Midnight. Learn to dance from Second Cup Swing.

Tucked away on the corner of Woodhead and Fairview, Té House of Tea boasts over 130 different teas and a myriad of interesting dishes from Panini to Korean Barbecue.

"chat n' chow at Té" -- Dancers come early to meet up for dinner every week about 7:30pm ... come join us! BYOB: They don't have a license to sell alcohol, but they're completely fine if you bring your own - they have a small corkage fee, and plenty of wine and champagne glasses for your convenience.

Dancing @ Houston Museum of Natural Science

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:02:08 -0500

Mixers & Elixirs: Friday evenings this summer, mingle, clink your cocktail glass, and break out your best dance moves. On July 30, Yelba & Latin Fire will perform you favorite Rock, R&B, and Latin dance hits. Start out in the Grand Entry Hall at 6 p.m. with a live DJ and a cocktail. Doors open at 7 p.m. for the live band, dancing under the dinosaurs, complimentary appetizers, and a cash bar. Admission is $17. Google Map. Ride MetroRail to the Museum District Station. The remaining bands for the summer series are:
7/30: Yelba & Latin Fire
8/6: The Chromatics
8/13: Grupo Ka-Che

The Big Show @ Lawndale Art Center Opens Friday

Fri, 9 Jul 2010 23:16:25 -0500

Friday, July 9, join artists and art lovers for the opening reception (6:30-8:30 p.m.) of Lawndale Art Center’s “The Big Show”, an annual celebration of Houston area artists. This open-call, juried exhibition has been an important venue through which emerging and under-represented Houston area artists gain exposure since the show’s conception in 1984. Guest Juror Paul Middendorf, Co-Director for galleryHOMELAND, Portland, Oregon, reviewed 976 submissions by 396 artists and selected 114 works by 85 artists for this year’s exhibition. Don’t miss it! Lawndale Art Center, 4912 Main Street. Ride MetroRail to the Museum District Station, then walk north on Main Street for about 6 blocks.

The Drug War: A Civil Rights Issue

Tue, 6 Jul 2010 19:54:35 -0500

The California NAACP supports marijuana legalization due to racial disparities in enforcement. “A report issued by the Drug Policy Alliance to coincide with the NAACP endorsement finds that blacks in California's 25 largest counties are two to four times as likely as whites to be arrested for marijuana possession, even though survey data indicate they are no more likely to use the drug.”

Are cops racist? Not exactly:

“Police departments deploy most patrol and narcotics police to certain neighborhoods, usually designated ‘high crime.’ These are disproportionately low-income, and disproportionately African-American and Latino neighborhoods. It is in these neighborhoods where the police make most patrols, and where they stop and search the most vehicles and individuals, looking for ‘contraband’ of any type in order to make an arrest. The item that young people in any neighborhood are most likely to possess, which can get them arrested, is a small amount of marijuana. In short, the arrests are racially biased mainly because the police are systematically ‘fishing’ for arrests in only some neighborhoods, and methodically searching only some ‘fish.’ This produces what has been termed ‘racism without racists.’”

Scott Morgan states it succinctly: “If young white men were given criminal records and subjected to profiling and police harassment at the same rates as people of color, the criminal justice system would quickly come to a crashing halt. The drug war was built on a foundation of fundamental unfairness, and mitigating its catastrophic impact on communities of color requires measures far more drastic than telling police for the millionth time that there's more to their job than searching young black men all day and night.”

Poem: If Homelessness Were Genetic

Mon, 5 Jul 2010 00:25:10 -0500

The poem “If Homelessness Were Genetic”, by psychiatrist Sean Spence, appears in the July 2010 issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry. Read it here:
If homelessness were genetic, Institutes would be constructed With tall white walls, And ‘driven’ people (with thick glasses) Would congregate In libraries
And mumble.
If homelessness were genetic Bright young things Would draft manifestos ‘To crack the problem’,
Girls with braces on their teeth Would stoop to kiss Boys with dandruff At Unit discos
While dancing (slowly) To ‘Careless Whisper’.
Meanwhile, upstairs, in the offices Secretaries in long white coats And horn-rimmed spectacles, Carrying clipboards, Would cross their legs And take dictation:
‘Miss Brown, a memo please,  To the eminent Professor Levchenko,  "Many thanks indeed  For all those sachets you sent to me,  Of homeless toddlers’ teeth."’
If homelessness were genetic Rats from broken homes Would sleep in cardboard shoeboxes Evading violent fathers, Who broke their bones, While small white mice With cocaine habits Would huddle in fear, Sleeping in doorways, Receiving calibrated kicks from gangs of passers-by
(A ‘geneenvironment interaction’).
If homelessness were genetic Then the limping man, with swollen feet, A fever, And the voices crying out within his brain Would not traipse Between surgery and casualty Being turned away For being roofless
Because, of course, Homelessness would be genetic
And, therefore,
‘Interesting’.

Tibetans: Fastest Case of Human Evolution

Sun, 4 Jul 2010 17:00:09 -0500

A fascinating report in the July 2 issue of Science “comparing the genomes of Tibetans and Han Chinese, the majority ethnic group in China, the biologists found that at least 30 genes had undergone evolutionary change in the Tibetans as they adapted to life on the high plateau. Tibetans and Han Chinese split apart as recently as 3,000 years ago.”

“Genetic differences between Tibetans and Chinese are a potentially delicate issue, given Tibetan aspirations for political autonomy.”

Captain Kirk Reads Preamble to Constitution

Sun, 4 Jul 2010 15:34:29 -0500

In the Star Trek episode “The Omega Glory”, the USS Enterprise encounters a planet that developed a parallel Earth-like culture, but a past war devastated the civilization. Nah, we don’t have Captain James T. Kirk reading the Declaration of Independence. Happy Fourth! Watch here.

Haniwa Horse at LACMA

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 11:18:16 -0500

I was so captivated by this image of the Haniwa Horse that goes on view today at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, that I had to share my excitement. “Haniwa -- which means ‘circle of clay’ -- are hollow, unglazed sculptures that adorned the surfaces of the mounded tombs of the rich and powerful in 4th through 7th century Japan.” The MFAH has a marvelous Haniwa Warrior.

Video: Mister Squirrel Eats A UFO Peach

Thu, 3 Jun 2010 23:49:11 -0500

On June 1, 2010, I caught this squirrel sampling the ripening fruit. Guess this is nature’s signal that the UFO peaches are ready to eat. “The UFO peach was created by adding a gene that creates extra-firm flesh to an existing saucer-shaped peach that has been popular in Asia for hundreds of years, said Wayne Sherman, a professor with University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. ‘This peach was a favorite of Chinese emperors because they could turn it around in their hand and eat it without dripping juice in their beards,’ Sherman said.”

American Student Shot By Israeli Soldier Loses Eye

Wed, 2 Jun 2010 00:45:04 -0500

On Tuesday, June 1, Jewish-American student Emily Henochowicz, 21, lost her left eye when an Israeli soldier fired a teargas canister at her as she protested the raid of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. Below is some of Emily’s art from her blog. If any other army on Earth did this, the White House and all the news media would be decrying it and asking for accountability, but Israel is sacrosanct even when its government sheds American blood. “Henochowicz is the second American in so many years to be critically injured while protesting in Israel. California-born Tristan Anderson, 38, sustained permanent brain injury after he was shot in the head by a high velocity teargas canister fired by Israeli forces on March 13, 2009. Despite Anderson sustaining severe injury at a civilian demonstration, the Israeli Ministry of Defense declared the incident ‘an act of war’ and denied liability for damages -- including over seven months of hospitalization and intensive reconstructive surgery to Anderson's skull.” In 2003, American student Rachel Corrie, 23, was deliberately crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer. The bulldozer driver “ran over her, and then reversed and ran over her again."

Skin Color Affects Ability to Empathize

Thu, 27 May 2010 00:07:16 -0500

The study, which appears in the journal Current Biology, “suggests that humans tend to empathize by default unless prejudice is at play,” says the lead researcher, Alessio Avenanti, PhD, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Bologna. We see this everyday in America.

“People of Italian and African descent watched short film clips that showed needles pricking black- and white-skinned hands. As they watched, researchers measured the participants’ empathy (i.e., their nervous-system activity) by monitoring sensors attached to the same spot on their hands. They also tracked the participants’ heart rates and sweat-gland activity, a common measure of emotional response. ‘White observers reacted more to the pain of white than black models, and black observers reacted more to the pain of black than white models,’” said Avenanti.

“The researchers also showed clips of a needle pricking a hand painted bright purple. Both the Italian and African participants were more likely to empathize with this intentionally strange-looking hand than with the hand of another race, which implies that the earlier lack of empathy was due to skin color, not just difference.”

The Sarah Palin Endorsement Tour

Wed, 26 May 2010 01:11:56 -0500

Sarah Palin “has shown she still has the attention span of a hummingbird on a nectar jag. She does not do basic homework. Never has. The result is a string of endorsements for people whose lives are living contradictions of their stated philosophies.”

Apple Reverses Its “No Cash” for iPad Policy

Wed, 19 May 2010 22:51:26 -0500

Diane Campbell is disabled and on a fixed income. She needed a computer and when the iPad came out she found that it would fit her basic needs and her budget. So she took $600 in cash to the Palo Alto Apple Store, excited to take an iPad home with her. But the store told her they would only accept a credit or debit card. So Ms. Campbell went home disappointed and empty-handed. The bad publicity has forced Apple to change its policy. I’ve believed for the past 10 years that the long-term cost of ownership (monetary and psychic) for a Mac is less than the average PC (my support for this supposition is purely anecdotal), when you take into account ease of use, software/hardware reliability, the lack of virus/malware issues, the availability of the Genius Bar to solve common problems, and the helpful Mac user community. This makes a Mac better long-term buy for fixed- and low-income families. Apple could do more to market itself to that demographic. Watch the video from Palo Alto’s KGO Channel 7.

Hand+Made: The Performative Impulse in Art and Craft

Thu, 13 May 2010 22:30:31 -0500

Hand+Made: The Performative Impulse in Art and Craft, opening Friday, May 14, 7-10 p.m., features twenty artists who innovatively expand the traditions of art and craft through the incorporation of performance. The exhibition features a series of on- and offsite performance events, including crochet nights at the Museum in which visitors are invited to crochet works from an installation created by Sheila Pepe, a performance of Anne Wilson’s Wind-Up: Walking the Warp, and a series of public events around the city in which Gabriel Craig creates small articles of jewelry for those he encounters. A complete schedule of dates and locations will be available on the Museum’s website.

World's Greatest Art Car Parade, Saturday, May 8

Sat, 8 May 2010 02:18:17 -0500

The 23rd annual Art Car Parade! Watch as over 250 motoriffic wheeled mobile masterpieces turn concrete into a colorful canvas that celebrates the artist in everyone! FREE!

The greatest Art Car Parade on Earth rolls at 1 p.m. (but get there early for a good viewing spot) on Allen Parkway between Taft and Downtown, first it travels east then turns around at Bagby, and travels west. Expect a HOT day, so bring a hat, a folding chair, water, and find some shade. I sit under the 45 over pass. The cars start lining up at 9 a.m. Come early and get a preview that's up close and personal. Vendors and refreshments on site.

FREE EVENTS:

SATURDAY: After the Parade: "Art Car Fun Zone" at Sam Houston Park. Parade-goers will find activities aplenty: sand castle creations, arts and crafts, Art Car painting, food, drinks.

SUNDAY: Art Car Artists Awards Ceremony & Brunch: Sunday, May 9, 11am-2pm; The last blast of the weekend takes place on Sunday afternoon, this year at the Continental Club, 3700 Main Street. This event is free and open to the public.

ART: Will Michels at Houston Center for Photography

Fri, 7 May 2010 13:33:06 -0500

Made by Will - Selections From Four Portfolios, is the first comprehensive exhibition of Will Michels’ intimate photography work comprised of self-portraits, studies, environmental portraits, and busts. It contains seminal works made by the photographer in the last 15 years. Houston Center for Photography, 1441 West Alabama Street, Houston, 77006.

Suns wear 'Los Suns' to protest AZ immigration law

Wed, 5 May 2010 23:12:08 -0500

If you think sports has no place in politics, you haven’t been paying attention to history, or noticed that minor quadrennial political spectacle called the Olympic Games. Mike Wise puts it best: “As an owner of one of Arizona's four major pro sports franchises, Suns owner Robert Sarver in effect was making a choice no matter what action he took. Doing nothing would have been silent acquiescence.”

“When asked for approval to wear the jerseys, the NBA ‘was all for it,’ said Suns general manager Steve Kerr. NBA Players Association executive director Billy Hunter issued a press release, denouncing the law.” Phoenix may lose the 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Protestors were at Minute Maid Park for the Astros vs. Arizona Diamondbacks. Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick and his family are major contributors to the Republican Party.

British Spoof of the 2009 Star Trek Movie

Mon, 3 May 2010 00:00:31 -0500

Perfectly hilarious no-budget amateur spoof of the J.J. Abrams blockbuster.

Congressman Poe Compares Mexicans to Grasshoppers

Sat, 1 May 2010 23:00:07 -0500

U.S. Representative Ted Poe (R-Texas, 2nd District) is an absolute disgrace to what it means to be an American and a U.S. Congressman.

Betting against the subprime-mortgage bond market

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:42:54 -0500

When 32-year-old Michael Burry “spotted the huge bubble in the subprime-mortgage bond market, in 2004, then created a way to bet against it, he wasn’t surprised that no one understood what he was doing.” This is an excerpt from The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, by Michael Lewis: “A bond backed entirely by subprime mortgages, for example, wasn’t called a subprime-mortgage bond. It was called an ‘A.B.S.,’ or ‘asset-backed security.’ If you asked Deutsche Bank exactly what assets secured an asset-backed security, you’d be handed lists of more acronyms—R.M.B.S., hels, helocs, Alt-A—along with categories of credit you did not know existed (‘midprime’). R.M.B.S. stood for ‘residential-mortgage-backed security.’ hel stood for ‘home-equity loan.’ heloc stood for ‘home-equity line of credit.’ Alt-A was just what they called crappy subprime-mortgage loans for which they hadn’t even bothered to acquire the proper documents—to, say, verify the borrower’s income. All of this could more clearly be called ‘subprime loans,’ but the bond market wasn’t clear. ‘Midprime’ was a kind of triumph of language over truth.”

Promise seen in drug for fragile X syndrome

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 22:55:19 -0500

“The surprising results, disclosed in an interview this week by Novartis, the Swiss pharmaceutical giant that makes the drug, grew out of three decades of painstaking genetic research, leaps in the understanding of how the brain works, the advocacy of families who refused to give up, and a chance meeting between two scientists who mistakenly showed up at the same conference. ‘Just three years ago, I would have said that mental retardation is a disability needing rehab, not a disorder needing medication,’ said Dr. Thomas R. Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, who was told of the Novartis trial results. ‘Any positive results from clinical trials will be amazingly hopeful.’”

Eisenhower biographer accused of fabrication

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 09:32:29 -0500

Historian Stephen Ambrose’s book Band of Brothers was turned into a highly praised TV series. Ambrose was President Dwight D. Eisenhower's official biographer and wrote or edited more than a dozen books about him. Ambrose claimed to have interviewed the former president for "hundreds and hundreds of hours."

"I think five hours is a generous estimation of the actual time they spent together," said Tim Rives, deputy director of the Eisenhower Presidential Library. “The discovery came to light almost by accident. The museum had been planning an exhibition exploring the relationship between Ambrose and Eisenhower. Rives found that the records showed that Ambrose and Eisenhower had met only three times, and never alone.”

How Chimpanzees Deal With Death

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 22:32:22 -0500

Two new papers published in the journal Current Biology provide rare glimpses of chimp rituals. Watch video of chimp reactions after the death of an elderly female. Video caption: “Three adult chimpanzees gather around an elderly chimpanzee as she dies peacefully. They contact her and closely inspect her face at the presumed moment of death. One chimpanzee in particular manipulates the dying females head and shoulders. In the absence of signs of life, two of the chimpanzees leave. The remaining chimpanzee remains for longer, forages, and then moves away.”