Tag Archives: videos

A few primary resources for you

Posted on February 18, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Early voting is underway, and there are a lot of races to think about. If you’re still pondering some of them, here are a few guides to help you along the way. You can find all of the Houston Chronicle’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Say goodbye to 2025, Mel Torme

Posted on December 25, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

And an even bigger good riddance this time. Today is Christmas Day and that can only mean returning once again to Mark Evanier’s Mel Torme Christmas story. As with the “Twas the Night Before Christmas” video from yesterday, I never … Continue reading →

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Wednesday video break: The Tuba Christmas before Christmas

Posted on December 24, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I can’t figure out how to embed this from Facebook, but here’s the 2025 TubaChristmas Austin performance, for those of you who like this sort of thing (and you know who you are). Remember that these are volunteers, many of … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: A crooked jerky jockey riding on a crooked hoss

Posted on December 20, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

There are lots of good covers of “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” out there, but this one features Weird Al Yankovic and a badass trumpet solo: I’ve become a big fan of the Middle Aged Dad Jam Band, both … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Thanksgiving video break: Age restrictions can’t stop me

Posted on November 27, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

You may notice something funny about the familiar video embedded below: You’ll have to click the link to watch it on YouTube if you want that comforting ritual of “Alice’s Restaurant” this year. I’m sure someone has figured out a … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Who wants to Save College Sports?

Posted on November 8, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

If you’ve watched any college football this year, you’ve seen some version of this ad, probably a million times: I have wondered on more than one occasion what this is all about and whether I should in fact support this … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: AV Undercover is back

Posted on May 10, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Very good news. Since 2010, AV Club has been inviting artists to cover songs from a list chosen by our readers. Once a song has been chosen, it’s crossed off the list for that season, leading to fewer and fewer … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | 1 Comment

The measles outbreak is going to go national

Posted on March 22, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the concern, anyway. With its measles outbreak spreading to two additional states, Texas is on track to becoming the cause of a national epidemic if it doesn’t start vaccinating more people, according to public health experts. Measles, a highly … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

You reap what you sow

Posted on March 17, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I have one thing to say to this. In early February, the Texas Farm Bureau defended President Donald Trump as he moved to enact tariffs on foreign goods coming into the United States, saying they trusted him to “protect the … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Beware the egg smugglers

Posted on March 1, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I admit, I giggled a little at this. Since January, Texas area CBP officers have encountered more than 90 people attempting to import raw eggs from Mexico. As egg prices in the U.S. are hitting record highs, the price of … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Solar For All grants caught in a trap

Posted on February 18, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

They can’t get out, at least not at this time. More than $400 million in federal funding for Texas-based organizations to implement clean energy programs remains frozen, jeopardizing efforts to expand access to rooftop solar panels and battery storage systems in … Continue reading →

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Recycle those Christmas lights

Posted on December 26, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Public service announcement: Houston’s Solid Waste Management Department has asked residents to recycle their discarded holiday lights in a very particular way. Instead of leaving them in a recycling bin, they are asked to bring them to either the Westpark … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Christmas Eve video break: Revisiting my manifesto

Posted on December 24, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I often have occasion to revisit something I wrote years ago on this site, and I’m happy to say that more often than not, the archived post still holds up. I say that because I just re-read my Christmas music … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Thanksgiving video break: Goodbye, Alice

Posted on November 28, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll have a link in my Sunday linkdump, but Alice Brock, the woman who inspired the song “Alice’s Restaurant”, passed away a few days ago. Let us pause to remember her and give thanks for her life and the music … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | 2 Comments

The principal shuffle

Posted on August 1, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Seems like a lot. Since Mike Miles was appointed as HISD superintendent in June 2023, there has been widespread principal turnover across the district. The Houston Chronicle has been tracking the leadership changes at HISD campuses through a series of … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Flooding in Texas

Posted on July 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

We have a lot. We’re going to get more. Any questions? The combination of rising sea levels and sinking land along the Texas Gulf Coast has made the region one of the most frequently flooded in the country, according to … Continue reading →

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On cover songs

Posted on July 4, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

It’s almost certainly because of Luke Combs and his amazing cover of Tracy Chapman’s classic “Fast Car”, but cover songs are back in the conversation now. I’m an aficionado of covers, I love a good one, so this is all … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Hope we have enough water this summer

Posted on March 26, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Not looking great for some parts of the state right now. Two consecutive summers of brutal heat and drought have left some parts of Texas with notably low water supplies going into 2024. A wet year or a well-placed hurricane … Continue reading →

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It’s a matter of trust

Posted on December 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is a long story that recaps what incoming Mayor John Whitmire promised to do as Mayor, with a bit of analysis about how and when he might try to do them. It’s a good review for anyone who slept … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Christmas Eve video break: It’s the time of the season

Posted on December 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Time once again for a revered tradition around here, the best reading of “A Visit From Saint Nicholas”: As noted before, I’ve been posting this for over a decade, I watch it every year, and it remains one of my … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: The boys of the NYPD Choir still singing “Galway Bay”

Posted on December 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I will have a note on his passing in the Sunday linkdump, but for obvious reasons the first thing I thought about upon hearing of Shane MacGowan’s passing was this: As a part-Irishman, I’m an absolute sucker for a sad … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Thanksgiving video break: It’s about Alice

Posted on November 23, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We don’t have many traditions here but we like the ones we have. I am as always thankful for my family and friends, my health, the fact that I still get enjoyment from things I’ve done for a long time … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Saturday video break: CityNerd visits Houston

Posted on October 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

An urban planner who has mostly heard negative things about Houston visits our city for a couple of days, and finds quite a bit about it that he likes: Found via Evan Mintz. It’s about 20 minutes (there’s about two … Continue reading →

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Private dam proposal withdrawn

Posted on October 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. After months of opposition by communities along the Llano River, the former CEO of Houston-based energy company Phillips 66 has withdrawn his permit application to build a private dam on his ranch in Edwards County, according to state … Continue reading →

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Cruise cars are out on our streets

Posted on September 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

From Axios. Cruise is testing autonomous vehicles without safety drivers in Houston ahead of a planned expansion into commercial nighttime service by the end of the year. Driving the news: A spokesperson for the autonomous vehicle company confirmed to Axios … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Paxton calls on Phelan to resign

Posted on May 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The last few days of a legislative session are always the dumbest days of the session. Attorney General Ken Paxton said Tuesday that state House Speaker Dade Phelan should resign, accusing him of presiding over his chamber “in a state … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Chron editorial board interviews Mike Morath

Posted on March 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

There’s video and a transcript here. After explaining that he missed the initial TEA community engagement sessions because he was “under the weather”, he gets asked the key question: Lisa Falkenberg 1:55 Mhmm. Okay, and then, so, we’re trying to … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Mammoths and dodos

Posted on February 12, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

How you feel about this will likely depend on how strongly you identify with that Ian Malcolm quote from Jurassic Park. The Texas entrepreneur working to bring back the woolly mammoth has added a new species to his revival list: … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: The year of Olivia

Posted on December 31, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

By “Olivia” I mean Olivia Rodrigo, though it was my Olivia who first introduced me to the latter’s music. They share something in common besides their given name, and that’s a love of Billy Joel. My Olivia came back to … Continue reading →

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Christmas Eve video break: The luster of midday

Posted on December 24, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Hope you’re staying warm and that your pipes haven’t frozen. To celebrate, or to commiserate as the case may be, here once again is my favorite rendition of “A Visit From Saint Nicholas”, as performed by cartoon and voice actors: … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: A brief manifesto about Christmas music

Posted on December 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Been awhile since I’ve done one of these. Maybe I’ll work a few in next year, we’ll see how it goes. I was inspired by the Slacktivist re-running his own Christmas music manifesto from a few years ago. I broadly … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Thanksgiving video break: A return to something resembling normalcy

Posted on November 24, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s spend a few minutes with an old friend: The day may come when I will get tired of that video, but that day is not today. I am as always thankful for my family and friends, my health, my … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Endorsement watch: Starting out with Susan

Posted on October 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron kicks off endorsement season with a fulsome recommendation of Susan Hays for Ag Commissioner. Hays, 53, lives in Alpine, where she and her husband purchased land several years ago to grow hemp and hops. Her background is as … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Stogner for Warford

Posted on September 27, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. Sarah Stogner, the former Republican candidate for railroad commissioner who forced incumbent Wayne Christian to a runoff and made waves for riding a pumpjack almost naked in a memorable campaign ad, is backing the Democratic nominee for the seat. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment