In addition to a night of wrestling action, a special press conference will be held earlier in the day that will unveil a big announcement concerning WWE wrestling in the Bayou City. (Look for more on that to be posted tomorrow.)

Ticket prices range from $20 to $70
# Toyota Center Box Office
# Via Phone: 866-4HOUTIX (866-446-8849)
# TDD: 1-877-820-0008

photo courtesy of HoldThatTiger

Tonight the Art Dept. at University of Houston is having their student show opening at the Blaffer Gallery. The opening is from 7 to 9 in the Fine Arts building on the UH central campus (Entrance 16 off of Cullen, near Cullen & Elgin).

In addition to the works shown in the gallery proper, tonight all four floors of the building will be opened up for touring the studios of the various disciplines and media within the department.

From the Blaffer’s website:

The 2007 School of Art Annual Student Exhibition showcases a broad variety of artistic approaches by including work by students in their first to third year. Held every year, the student exhibitions offer a mix of fresh and ripened ideas and allows for many new discoveries. It includes work from all disciplines taught at the School of Art including painting, sculpture, photography/digital media, graphic communication, interior design and jewelry.

The show in the Blaffer will run until Dec. 15th.

For those of you not familiar with Dubai, it has become a hotbed for foreign investments due to their lax investment and tax laws. Oh and the mad shopping that happens there–tax free!
Check out the Dubai metblog here.
What are you thoughts on this move?

If you answered yes to any of the above, then you should hook up with us at the Houston NetSquared meetup on 7pm Tuesday, February 13th at the Stag’s Head Pub and chat with Silona Bonewald of the League of Technical Voters!

I know there are some Metblog readers with a political bent, so this might be a really good discussion for you to join. The League of Technical Voters is basically trying to change the future of policymaking by connecting lawmakers and voters with technology to keep everyone informed, motivated and action-oriented.

Surely you have an opinion on this – so come and share it… and drink some beer. Accessibility technology guru Sharron Rush from Austin’s Knowbility group will also be there to touch on other technology issues. Good times.

But I have heard some outrageous stories of how people waking up like 4 in the morning just to be the first in line and then scrabble and hustle toward the most coveted items they want to get before it’s all gone! Talk about survival of the fastest, or is it the most strategic?

Known as Black Friday, the origin of this holiday is unknown, or at least that’s what Wikipedia says. I didn’t know that there are this many stores participating.

You can check them out with these two links below:

http://www.blackfriday.info/
http://bfads.net/

Good luck with the rush of the shopping frenzy! I’m not sure if the crowd is too nice on this day. If you all see a 5-foot Asian girl hidden under a stampede of feet, yeah, that’ll be me… *winks*

Participating museums are:

o Buffalo Soldiers National Museum
o The Byzantine Fresco Chapel Museum
o The Children’s Museum of Houston
o Contemporary Arts Museum Houston
o Holocaust Museum Houston
o Houston Center for Contemporary Craft
o Houston Center for Photography
o Houston Museum of Natural Science
o The John C. Freeman Weather Museum
o The Health Museum
o The Jung Center of Houston
o Lawndale Art Center
o The Menil Collection
o The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
o Rice University Art Gallery
o The Rothko Chapel

When: Saturday, September 16 from 10 AM to 5 PM.
For more information, you can go to http://www.houstonmuseumdistrict.org/ for more details.

Hope to see you there! I’m booking this on my calendar!

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…

It isn’t all about the booze and our concept of another fireworks-filled holiday with the “drink, and be merry” motto, but the fact that America, to many people, really is the land of the free. Generations of families have come here to start a better life without oppression and discrimination. For others, to actualize the dreams of opportunities and chances they weren’t able to have in their homelands as well as to overcome hardships. Whatever the reason, we are not only celebrating independence, but diversity, for America is home to many races, cultures and ethnic groups. Oftentimes, we take for granted that out of this independence comes diversity in people. Sadly, even today, some people still encounter and harbor prejudices from and against others… And sometimes I wonder: when will it all end?

Anyway, I once asked a kid who was about 9-10 years old what the 4th of July meant to her.

“It’s all about the firecrackers,” she said.

“That’s it?” waiting to see if she was going to elaborate.

“Well… It’s Independence Day, so America is free, right?” she smiled.

“Yeah…” I answered absentmindedly.

Well, what do you know, maybe our Founding Fathers would be disappointed in us. The first thing that comes to mind for the 4th of July is firecrackers, followed by booze (I asked lots of people). Perhaps the full patriotic feeling of freedom has been lost or significantly diminished over the centuries, but I hope we will continue, not only as Houstonians but as Americans, to always remember an important holiday like the 4th of July, especially that this freedom is something cherished. Many countries, especially “Third World countries,” do not have this privilege; so we shouldn’t be complaining (at least not too much)!

Finally, Francis Scott Key didn’t write “bombs bursting in [the] air” for no real reason in “The Star-Spangled Banner.” This song was written for America and its people and their fight for freedom.

I hope that with all the picnics, barbeque, parades, fireworks and booze will remind us that this holiday is more than the festivities we have planned, but the people we share our lives with, the things we do for others, and the diversity we have through freedom in America–the things we sometimes take for granted. I hope everyone takes this holiday (or this week) to ponder about how America, though not perfect, has come a long way to really be a country for people to take pride in, to make it a better place for younger generations and for future generations to come.

Happy 4th of July once again! Stay safe and be careful not to burn firecrackers within city limits! You can get fined for that and violate some safety hazards!

*Note: Photo courtesy of Al Ruscelli Photography.