The Houston SPCA is having a party……err…..a painting party that is. They need help getting their new building (the property next door formerly occupied by Carrier – now called “The Annex”) up to snuff… and, they’re asking for your help.

As if that weren’t enticing enough, you’ll get to hang out with Bryan Caesar and Charles Jantzen of Animal Cops: Houston fame. So, come on down Sunday, July 30th from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and paint. They’ll provide the pizza, drinks and music. Oh, and this is a great time to get your family and friends involved. As long as they’re over 15, bring em! Its a great way to make a deposit in your “warm fuzzies” bank.

Got an active dog? Does your pup pal have waaaay too much energy for most social doggy situations? Fear not, the Houston Active Dog Meetup Group is here. The group is made up of dogs and their owners that just love to get out and meet others.

The meetup group offers many opportunities to get together and you can join in all or a few. Here are some of the upcoming ones:

Challenge Day 2006-Get moving Houston
When: Wednesday, May 24, 2006, 6:30 PM
Where: Post Oak/Hidalgo Across from Transco Towers/Williams Co. 2800 Post Oak Blvd
Houston , TX 77056

Fido Fest 2006
When: Saturday, June 3, 2006, 10:00 AM
Where: George Bush Park 16756 Westheimer Pkwy
Houston , TX 77082

Come on out and meet some great dogs and oh yeah… some cool people too!

Fact or fiction?

Although Dan Brown’s DaVinci Code (from here on, DVC) is one of the best-selling books in the nation, it is now attracting controversies. Why? Because this famous book is under the works of being produced into a movie, and people are protesting against this.

First of all, let me be the first to say that this book is fiction and is meant to entertain. It does not hold the truths to the Bible or to the teachings of the Church. Or to any religion for that matter. Why? Because I have watched a documentary of Dan Brown some time long ago (I forgot on which channel). This book, he says, is merely his views and interpretations of the Bible (according to that documentary). He states that he isn’t forcing anyone to believe what he believes. It is just what he thinks about the Bible. Nothing more.

For me, personally, I think people shouldn’t take this book seriously. It’s just fiction, and definitely not reality!
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There is a new online Museum of Houston being built up by various institutions in town…

This online museum is a cooperative effort among Houston’s leading educational institutions, cultural organizations and public archives to create a digital storehouse of diverse materials relating to Houston’s rich and colorful past. As the museum develops, collections that major research institutions have taken decades to assemble will be available at the click of a mouse.

Houston’s public and private archives contain a treasure trove of information, but concerns about safety and security often mean these materials are not available for wide use. Thanks to recent technological innovations, the Internet offers real promise for making historic resources accessible to the largest possible audience, while preserving and protecting irreplaceable documents and artifacts. By providing broad public access to digitized materials, the Museum of Houston will allow you to conduct individualized searches at your convenience without requiring extensive visits to several different locations.

It’s good that Houston is finally getting serious about archiving its historical resources instead of knocking them down to widen freeways or throw up more strip-malls and stadiums, but here’s an even more important question: Why is the domain museumofhouston.org instead of houston.museum?
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Community Emergency Response Team – CERT

(Time: 1:11)

206-202-3644 Call in your news!

Cause for Paws Radiothon
Join the all day radiothon benefiting Special Pals – win prizes, earn warm fuzzies!

(Time: 1:02)

206-202-3644 Call in your news!

This Sunday, October 23rd, there will be a NO Tragedy in NOvember vigil at Spotts Park in the Heights.

This vigil will have national media attention, including CNN.

Location: Spotts Park, 401 S. Heights @ Memorial Dr.
Time: Sunday, October 23rd, 2:00pm (14:00)
1) Register to participate via e-mail (here), or phone (713-522-4372), or just show up.
2) Get a “Tragedy Mask.” These can be found online, or at local costume stores. For a $10 donation, one will be provided for you at the vigil (limited to 100), OR, you can paint on a tragedy mask using face paint, or create one of your own from paper. Be creative!
3) Show up on October 23, wearing all black clothing, and bring your tragedy mask. You will be given a sign with one of the 1,138 marriage laws (provided free).

Immediately afterwards (at 3:30pm), there will be a post-Vigil meeting to hear a new strategy for the campaign (and pick up new merchandise, if you wish) at Star Pizza, 77 Harvard (one block east of Heights & Washington, 713-869-1241 for directions, or see this map (START indicates Spotts Park. END indicates Star Pizza).

This event is sponsored by:
Foundation for Family and Marriage Equality
3400 Montrose Blvd, #509
Houston, TX 77006
713-227-1717
www.familyequality.org

For more information, contact the above number, or Emily at emily@nononsenseinnovember.com, or 713-522-4372.

Best Blog – Okay, I should be self-serving and pick mine… but come on, it is definitely Houston MetBlogs! (Wow, now I sound self-serving and a suck-up) haha

Best Community Theatre – Theatre Southwest (This group of folks doesn’t have the best location and certainly do not have the largest budget, but they PUT OUT when its showtime!)

Best Movie Theatre – Landmark River Oaks (I think the Houston Press and I agreed on this one. The atmosphere is just hip enough without being so hip is sucks. And come on, the only theatre in town that competes with it for selection is the Landmark Greenway Plaza)

Best Photographer – Genesis Photographers (David Postma is a Houston institution and has photographed everything from Presidents to newborns. They provide excellent service and just about any party worth attending has someone from Genesis clicking away.)

Best Dog Park – Millie Bush Bark Park (This doggie wonderland is without comparison. It was voted the #1 dog park in the COUNTRY!! Fun place to take your furry friend.)

There you go… a few off-the-wall bests.

This Week in Houston is looking for more citizen journalists! The podcast feed has been getting rave reviews, but the one criticism is that the listeners want MORE! They want more news about things happening in and around Houston and the whole Central Texas area.

You can be a part of TWiH without a huge investment in recording equipment or even much time investment. Simply share news and stories with your fellow Houstonians. Here are the submission guidelines:

Content:
Audio submissions must have some Houston or Central Texas angle to them (i.e. about an event/place/person that affects us)
Family friendly submissions only (this is a resource for all Houstonians, including our children)

Audio:
Clips can be submitted in one of two ways 1) emailed to cdoelle AT gmail.com in .mp3 format or 2) phoned in via our voicemail line (206) 202-3644.

MP3 recordings should be formatted as follows:

Bit rate 96kpbs or 128kbps
Sample rate 44.100 kHz
Time limits 1 – 6 minutes (roughly)

Signoff “For This Week in Houston, this is Joe Blow”

Do’s and Dont’s:
Do not mention the date of the recording in the audio post itself as it may run a day or two after submission. Feel free to mention dates of future and past events.
Do not reference your podcast or website in the audio.
DO provide that information as it will be included in the show notes.
Do not submit overtly political audio posts. *
Do attempt to stick to just the facts. *
Do submit often and on numerous topics
Have fun and enjoy your role as citizen journalists!

* The audience is intelligent enough to figure out your politics

All audio reports are simulcast on Houston Metblogs so you get DOUBLE the audience!

This Week in Houston has officially launched. This podcast features news items from around the Houston area. The reporters are “citizen journalists” who record their own audio and send it in for inclusion in the podcast. TWiH covers a wide range of topics including all of those covered by typical media, but with a decidedly grass roots edge. Gone are the overhyped media stories – gone are the rave reviews about corporate sponsored events and products. Gone is the “if it bleeds, it leads” mentality. TWiH and podcasting in general is bringing the people back into the news.

You can participate! Want to get news of your organization or event to Houston listeners? Want to share that story of the interesting person down the street? How about a little-known oasis of fun in the middle of our concrete jungle? You can record your stories and/or reports in .MP3 or .WAV format and email them in OR you can simply call in your story to the voice line 206-202-3644. (Sure, its long-distance, but most cell phones get free long distance anyway.) And the best part? If you flub it up – you can record it over!