Photo by Iflwlou

You guys aren't going to believe this, but Abercrombie & Fitch? They are into hardbody types.

So this week everyone got really upset at the CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, Mike Jeffries, after a seven-year-old Salon article surfaced in which he stated the only customers he's interested in serving are the "cool kids" and that "a lot of people don't belong" in his clothes or store. Further, according to Robin Lewis (a "retail expert" and consultant), Jeffries is only interested in catering to young, attractive clients.

The Internet exploded, naturally, and Mike Jeffries became one of the most hated guys-you-never-heard-of-before just about overnight. My initial reaction to this attitude -- conflating "coolness" with thinness, and the blatant use of "otherness" as a branding strategy -- was shock and anger.

But my question is this: Have you ever been in, or even walked past, an Abercrombie & Fitch? If the answer is "yes," you should honestly have been ready for this level of douche-ness.

More »

Annette Funicello was hot. Very hot. As star of all those beach movies in the '60s, she gave all the other girls at the time a run for their money, and it wasn't hard to see why Frankie Avalon demanded they have plenty of shoots on the sand. Or why millions of young were in love with her.

Pop Culture Icon Annette Funicello Dead At 70

We found out that she passed away yesterday at the age of 70 after a long battle with multiple sclerosis, which she announced she had back in 1992. Her once bubbly demeanor was slowed down by the disease and she retreated from public life.

Any dialog about the best pin-ups of the '60s includes Funicello, who was the wholesome alternative to Sophia Loren and Ann-Margret, or at least one partially sanctioned by the Disney people. Walt Disney didn't want her in two-piece bathing suits while she was under his thumb even.

More »

Annette Funicello, who came to prominence as a teenager as a Mouseketeer on the Mickey Mouse Club before becoming the pre-eminent beach bunny with co-star Frankie Avalon, has passed away at the age of 70.

Funicello had been living with multiple sclerosis since 1992. Her public appearances had been scarce the past 20 years, aside from a few special charity spots. She helped raise money and awareness for those suffering with the disease these past two decades.

Her run of beach movies with Avalon made her a pin-up for men all over the world, and a bikini icon for gals, too. The movies were fun fluff, with just the right amount of double entendre to keep the heads happy.

The duo came back together in 1987 for Back to the Beach, which saw their characters returning to their old stomping grounds with a family in tow.

Funicello, born October 22, 1942, in Utica, New York, moved to the West Coast with her family when she was four years old and became a child actor at the age of 12 after years of beauty contests and advertising spots.

More »

Photo By Mark Britain

George Takei meets fans at last year's Comicpalooza.

Last year's edition of Comicpalooza at the George R. Brown Convention Center was a success all around, giving Houstonians three days to mingle with one another and meet some of their favorite sci-fi idols, and, of course, to buy plenty of collectibles to fill their homes with.

The organizers have begun to announce this year's special guest appearances, and so far they have some fun names signed on to appear.

SLIDESHOW: Comicpalooza 2012

REWIND: Hottest Cosplay at Comicpalooza 2012

The names include Michelle Rodriguez; Cary Elwes; Peter Mayhew; Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Avery Brooks and Armin Shimerman; comic-book legend Bernie Wrightson; René Auberjonois; fifth Doctor Who Peter Davison; Ian McNeice; Teen Wolf dad James Hampton; Sam Huntington; Craig Parker; novelist Kevin J. Anderson; and Alan Dean Foster.

My Little Pony voice actresses Andrea Libman and Tabitha St. Germain will no doubt be the favorite attractions of the local Bronies.

More »

Hangover II sucked. It was a cash-grab, which doesn't mean that The Hangover was some sort of cinematic classic, though I could watch the first one endlessly.

Oh, the days when Zack Galafianakis wasn't overexposed.

Before this movie, young men came to the city of Las Vegas to spend thousands of dollars to get drunk and fail at getting laid on bachelor party trips. Now every supposed "wolf pack" from disparate parts of the world come to Vegas to set fires, get shot, and steal tigers. And you can get movie merch in every gift shop.

Here comes the teaser trailer for the supposed end of the series. The Hangover Part III is due to hit theaters in time for Memorial Day, May 24.

More »

On this date in 1988, Harris Glenn Milstead, known as the drag queen Divine to fans of trash cinema and people so filthy that they became glam, was found dead from complications of an enlarged heart. He had died in his sleep. He was just 42.

Divine would star in nine films for director John Waters, a fellow native of Baltimore, Maryland. Divine was there virtually from the beginning of Waters' career.

The most controversial of these movies would be 1972's Pink Flamingos, a tawdry tale of a woman hellbent on maintaining her title as "The Filthiest Person Alive" at any and all costs. It's a fun and dirty exploration of what qualifies as bad taste.

If you have seen the last few minutes of Flamingos, you know what I mean.

Divine's last Waters role would her turn as Edna Turnblad in 1988's Hairspray. John Travolta would take on that role nearly 20 years for the big-screen musical remake of the flick.

More »

We all know that the Houston Pavilions has had a dodgy past, with a revolving door of restaurants and bars coming through since it opened in 2008. There was that book store that seemed like a great idea, but dang if we don't like walking more than ten feet, to buy a book nonetheless.

Comcast Sports is based partially in there now, and it always fun to walk by the live studio see what Calvin Murphy is wearing while walking to see a show. NRG Energy is there too, but they don't wear clothes nearly as flashy as the former Rocket.

Per a press release we received today, on April 4 the would-be downtown shopping/drinking/eating/concert mecca will be revealing its new name and plans for the future, with a party starting that afternoon at 5:30 p.m.

New name? What is wrong with the Houston Pavilions moniker? It's....apt. To most folks from outside the Loop, it is known as "the building where the House Of Blues is" quite honestly.

More »

From Tuesday until Saturday next week in Austin at SXSW, Sailor Jerry Rum (yum) is taking over the address at 1504 East Sixth Street, opening up two pop-up tattoo shops for the inking pleasure of festival goers, with one featuring legendary tattoo artist Oliver Peck, from TV's Ink Master, on board once again as the resident artist.

Here's the kicker.

One shop will be for anyone at SXSW who wants to throw a dart at a dart board and get whatever it lands on tattooed on his body. A bulls-eye scores you whatever you want on the board. If you miss the board, well, maybe you aren't meant to have a tattoo.

This excites me immensely. Some people get tattoo work done simply by pointing at a piece of flash on a wall. With the dart board you only have fate to blame.

The other one will be a Peck private sesh for assembled press and artists, where he will be able to freestyle and work off of Sailor Jerry flash collections.

More »

Photo courtesy of nea.gov

Van Cliburn and Barack Obama at the White House in 2011

Kilgore-raised Houston Symphony Orchestra alum pianist Van Cliburn has died at the age of 78, according to the Dallas Morning News. Sources say he passed away early this morning in Fort Worth, which he had called home these past 27 years.

A former child prodigy, Cliburn was a worldwide sensation after winning the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow at age 23 in 1958. He came home to a ticker-tape parade in New York, the only one ever given a classical musician. His win at the Tchaikovsky Competition (reportedly approved by then Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev) is credited with bridging that icy gap between the United States and the Soviet Union when tensions were at a high. (Cliburn would eventually play at a White House dinner with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in attendance in 1987 during friendlier times between the two countries.) No doubt the story of how this "Texan Conquered Russia" will be retold over and over again this week.

More »

Photos By Christina Uticone

This past weekend I -- Craig Hlavaty -- took fellow Art Attack writer and New York native Christina Uticone on a trip to one of my most favorite shops in Houston, the Texas Junk Company, in anticipation of RodeoHouston season here in the Bayou City.

Located in the center of Montrose and owned by Robert Novotneys since 1979, the shop sells everything from vintage and ragged cowboy boots, pearl snap shirts, dusty vinyl, pop-culture artifacts, and enough authentic Lone Star State stank to make any Texan bow in reverence. I feel at home there.

The purpose of our trip was to get Christina ready for rodeo season, which will be her first here in the city since she moved here from Alaska. I figured that the Texas Junk Company was a good place to begin her journey, er, trail.

More »