Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Happy Mardi Gras! However you celebrate today, remember...it's all about the beads.

Bah Humbug!

I'm not sure what the official grunt is for Valentine's Day so I chose the one for Christmas.  Don't get me wrong, I like Christmas.  I don't really care for New Year's Eve or Valentine's Day.  So much so, in 1992 a friend of mine helped me put on the Bitter Queens Ball.  We REALLY need to ressurect that party.  I forced a smile and forced Calvin to pose for this picture.

So to all you love birds, don't let my bitterness poop on your parade.  Tomorrow it will be February 15, just another day in the life of a single person.

P.S. Calvin is not on steroids.  He was close to the camera.

Dealing With The Devil

There is something that I don't like about Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys.  He has a look that I don't trust.

Today in Arlington, Texas, at Cowboys Stadium Super Bowl XLV will occur. The Green Bay Packers take on the Pittsburgh Steelers. I don't have a dog in the fight so I really don't care who wins. All I know is that I have three parties to attend!

Anywho...back to Jerry. I can't remember all of the details but the City of Dallas and Dallas County wouldn't work out a deal to keep the DALLAS Cowboys in Dallas. So Jerry made a deal with the City of Arlington and probably Tarrant County to build Jerry's World in Arlington. Promises were made and so far I think the only promises that were kept are: 1) A stadium was built; and 2) there would be a Super Bowl brought to Texas again.

The last time a Super Bowl was held in Texas was Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston at Reliant Stadium...more on that later.

Anywho...$$$ danced in everyone's heads and from what I can tell, this has been an economic bust. You see...when you deal with the devil (Jerry Jones) something is going to go wrong.

First of all, the logistics don't make any sense. The parties are occurring in Fort and Dallas. The NFL Experience (I think that is the name of it) is occurring in Dallas but ESPN is making Fort Worth smell like rose by broadcasting from Sundance Square. You have too many people spread out over a large area to create a central festive zone.

Second, everyone who lives in the North Texas area knows that it is prone to ice and snow in January and February and if you want guarantee that it will happen book an event during Fort Worth's Stock Show & Rodeo...you'll get ice.

So...God don't like ugly and just to prove he rained iced all over Jerry's parade so to be speak. However, I think God does have a sense of humor and he decided to let the weather clear up starting yesterday. In the meantime, the $$$ will not be what was anticipated.

I'm sure after the weather fiasco leading up to Super Bowl XLV, people will forget Nipplegate at Super Bowel XXXVIII.

photo credit: Patrick Schneider

Fido

A dog, 'Leao', sits for a second consecutive day, next to the grave of her owner, Cristina Maria Cesario Santana, who died in the week's catastrophic landslides in Brazil, at the cemetery in Teresopolis, near Rio de Janiero, on January 15, 2011. Brazilians Saturday braced for more rain, fearing further catastrophic landslides after walls of muddy water tore through towns and claimed some 550 lives in the country's worst flood disaster on record. (Getty Images/Daylife)

This picture has made me cry.  Seriously.  As I compose this, I'm crying because it is the true meaning of the word fidelity.  The name Fido is a bastardization of the word fidelity.

In Jan Van Eyck's wedding portrait Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride, a dog is positioned between the two humans to represent fidelity.  The painting is full of symbolism the most notable being the pregnant bride.  This isn't an indication of her current state but it represents fertility.

This has been a rough six weeks or so when it comes to dogs in the family.  Right before Christmas, my brother had to put to sleep one of his dogs.  On Friday, my parents found out that there dog (who is only 5) is having kidney and liver failure. 

I'm going to sign off and give The Calvinator a big hug!

This Just In

Last night was the kick-off party for AIDS Walk Houston 2011.  It was held at The Chelsea Grille on Montrose (at Chelsea).  Trevor Eade is the host of a new program produced by JCPTV1 titled What's Happening Houston.  The first episode was filmed at the party and for a split second you can see STR8 Up With A Twist. Enjoy!

I Feel For You

Do you ever get a song stuck in your head?  If so, you know how I feel right now.

I woke up this morning singing:


You see...

Chaka Khan will be in Houston, TX, on January 15, 2011, to peform at Cabaret For A Cure.  This event benefits HIV/AIDS programs at Legacy Community Health Services.  I will be working the event that night and can't wait to hear her sing I'm Every Woman and I Feel For You.

Tickets are still available and can be purchased by clicking here.

It Really Works!

A few months ago I purchased a Tide To Go stick and threw it in my desk at work.  Fortunately, there wasn't a need to use it...until yesterday. You see...

I had a Grande Pike Coffee with some peppermint syrup, one Sweet 'n Low and some non-fat milk.  I was wearing an off-white sweater vest and as I was getting out of the car to drop off some information for someone, some of the coffee spilled onto my vest.  Well...

I couldn't walk into this office building with a fresh coffee stain so I zipped up my (new) leather jacket and made the delivery.

When I arrived at the office I found the Tide To Go stick and asked Mallory if she had ever used one?  She said yes and told me how to use it.  Guess what?  It really works!  There was a wet spot for awhile but I will take that over a coffee stain!

So...I highly recommend the Tide To Go stick.  I need to buy more.

Happy 12th Day of Christmas!

Today is the day that goes by different names: Feast of The Epiphany; Feast of The Three Kings; Feast of The Magi; The 12th Day of Christmas; The Beginning of Mardi Gras Season, 12th Night.

Many people believe that the twelve days of Christmas are the twelve days leading up to Christmas when actually the first day of Christmas is December 26.

In the Christian tradition, The Three Kings arrived twelve days after the birth of Christ. Remember, they traveled from afar bearing gifts and stopped to ask Herod about the birth of the new King...so it took awhile for them to get there.

Today also marks the first day that we can eat King Cake! Now that will give you something to smile about.

Restaurant City

I tried to find statistics on the number of Houstonians who eat out.  Houston is the 4th largest city in the United States and has oodles of restaurants...some good; some bad.  Unlike New Orleans, we don't have a standard.  For instance, in New Orleans if you can't make a good gumbo, you're going out of business.  And New Orleans is known for it's Cajun and Creole cuisine.  Boston is known for it's seafood and Italian cuisine.

Houston is so diverse, we don't have a standard cuisine.  This makes us a formidable player when it comes to cities that have the best restaurant scene.  Tex-Mex.  Barbecue.  Asian.  Italian. Southwestern.  Seafood.  Steaks.  The list goes on and on.

So we got a nod from Esquire Magazine who ranked Houston #7 in the top 10 of America's Best Restaurant Cities.  Thanx for the nod Esquire!

What are your favorite restaurants?  My list includes (in random order): Cyclone Anayas; Tony's; La Griglia; Paulie's; Jax; Phil's Barbecue; Barnaby's; Reef; Cafe Ginger; Mo Mong; Americas...just to name a few.  There is one restaurant that I still mourn its closing: Anthony's.  There will forever be hole in my heart.  Many a good meal was shared there.  And not dis chains, I do love P.F. Changs but you can find one of those in every big city...and I do!

So readers, let me know.  What are your favorite restaurants?

How Did You Spend New Year's Eve?

I opted to stay home.  Harris County was continuing it's No Refusal Weekend.  I didn't want to have an adult beverage or two and then get stopped and go through the drama of dealing with a cop on NYE.  So The Calvinator and I stayed home and watched Kathy Griffin and Anderson Cooper report live from New York's Times Square.  I was also flipping over to Andy Cohen's House Party on Bravo.  At midnight, a wig dropped from the ceiling and Kim Zolciak sing Tardy For The Party.

Here in Houston, it was the ingaugural Gloworama.  On Thursday evening, I watched a portion of the tech rehearsal.  It looked like a fun, free, family evening.

I hope that 2011 is great for you and your family!