Not since Elvis got the GI look have young folks been so obsessed with a pop stars hair cut. And so freaked out when those locks were cut.

I saw this today on CMT.com News. This is NOT me writing…

I saw the Justin Bieber movie Never Say Never over the weekend. And I think I speak for most girls when I say, “Oh! My! God!” He is seriously talented and completely adorable. Especially that signature shaggy side-swept hair of his. But then when he was hanging out with Rascal Flatts on Monday (Feb. 21), he posted a picture of himself on Twitter with a new haircut.

What gives? He reportedly told TMZ, “I just got sick of it. It was like in my eyes, and I just wanted it kind of out of my face. So, I just kinda wanted to change up.” And then in a move that could only be pulled off by a 16-year-old with 7.5 million Twitter followers, he said, “yeah so it’s true … i got a lil haircut … i like it … and we are giving all the hair cut to CHARITY to auction.

Details coming soon.” I have absolutely no doubt that those hair trimmings will bring in thousands of dollars. What I’m more excited about, though, is seeing how Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney back Bieber in his video for what he calls an “epic” remix of his pop hit, “That Should Be Me.”

I really need to get out and see them before they are all grown up. But until then a big thanks to the folks at the Houston Zoo for the video updates.

Dora and Diego, the Houston Zoo’s maned wolf pups, are five weeks old and growing fast. Keeper and clinic staff continue to care for them 24 hours a day, including spending the night on a cot in the clinic right next to them. They are now eating a combination of food and formula and their fur is just starting to show some grown up characteristics.

I love these things…little stories that show how smart kids are. So when my first boyfriend from 1st grade sent this along the other day in an email I knew I had to share.

A first-grade teacher, Ms Brooks, was having trouble with one of her students. The teacher asked, ‘Harry, what’s your problem?’

Harry answered, ‘I’m too smart for the 1st grade. My sister is in the 3rd grade and I’m smarter than she is! I think I should be in the 3rd grade too!’

Ms.. Brooks had enough. She took Harry to the principal’s office.

Read more…

I’ll admit until I saw this video I wasn’t sure if I cared to see “Hall Pass” the new Owen Wilson movie. (I love him usually…but this seemed a bit sophmoric even for him.) Sometimes you just have to have it explained to you in terms that makes sense.

When I first moved to Houston 21 years ago I spent the first few weeks in the Allen Park Inn on Allen Parkway. Sadly they tore that great old hotel down. As I drove into Houston my first feeling was actually, “Holy crap, what have I done?!” I was on 59 during 5 o’clock traffic. But once I got off on Allen Parkway I saw art along the bayou and suddenly had a change of heart. I loved the city at that moment and have ever since.

So when I started seeing info on the new art going up along the parkway I was thrilled.

Barcelona-based artist Jaume Plensa’s septuplet of sculptures, “Tolerance,” was dedicated last week, accompanied by addresses by Mayor Annise Parker, former Mayor Bill White, Mica Mosbacher, a representative of the Aga Khan Foundation and the artist himself.

Photos by Steven Thomson

Houston great city blog Culture Map has a slideshow of the new installation.

Tolerate more

Nothing puts a damper on a serene afternoon’s kayaking like the sight of a primeval sea monster.

That was the rude lesson for Tom Pickles and Sarah Harrington, who’d taken their watercraft out on the foggy waters of Lake Windermere, only to encounter what appeared to be “an enormous snake” swimming by. The interview and story comes from Yahoo news.

“It was petrifying and we paddled back to the shore straight away. At first I thought it was a dog and then saw it was much bigger and moving really quickly at about 10 mph,” the 24-year-old Pickles told The Telegraph. “Each hump was moving in a rippling motion and it was swimming fast. Its skin was like a seal’s but its shape was completely abnormal—it’s not like any animal I’ve ever seen before.”

Nessie’s Sister Sighting?

Houston managed to get rid of the red light camera tickets in the last election. So how should the city make up the big (The city is facing a $54 million shortfall in this year’s budget and a projected shortfall of $120 million in the fiscal year that begins July 1) over draft?

Mayor Parker is talking about the city is getting tough on users of its services who have racked up nearly $1 billion in unpaid fines and fees and unveiling an aggressive collection program that is expected to make frequent use of litigation. I have no problem with making some of these deadbeats pay their fines – inlcuding one lady with several thousands dollars in late fees at the library.

But where else could the city make money?

Let’s take a look at one way the Bayou City is helping to keep your taxes low.

If you drive you may already know…

Seriously? I heard on the news the other day that Mickey Rooney has had a restraining order set up to keep his stepson away from him. Seems he is is accused of withholding food and medicine from the 90-year-old veteran actor and meddling in his personal finances.

Mercury News reports:

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Reva Goetz approved the order after attorneys for Rooney sought protection for the Academy Award-nominated actor, claiming he lives in fear of stepson Chris Aber.

Dang! Read more…

Saturday night a friend and I went to see Lewis Black at the Hobby Center. We had become fans of his over the years through his cable specials.

His material at this show was mediocre and his delivery lacked the usual power and emotion. I lost a lot of my “like” for him. It was as if he called it in…but that’s not what I want to blog about here.

I want to talk about meeting – and having to sit in front of – the most annoying woman in the world.

She was there alone…and once you hear how annoying she was there’s no doubt she had no friends to attend with her.

How annoying was she?