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Peter BarnesIdaho-born, Texas-naturalized freelance writer Peter Barnes contributes to a range of magazines and Web sites. His weekly Culturemap column on the great outdoors, though, is by far the most fun assignment he completes each week. |
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Inside the Crust
Could oil wells double as clean energy power plants? A Houston project goes to the depths of the earth to find out
By Peter Barnes
11.28.11 | 12:55 pm
What if there were an inexhaustible source of clean power right below us? In a sense, there is. Many of the oil wells that freckle the Texas landscape endure tremendous ...
Is it practical?
As prices drop 50 percent & red tape disappears, H-Town looks to become the Solar American City
By Peter Barnes
11.01.11 | 10:47 am
Intrigued by rooftop solar but turned off by the price a few years ago? It might be time for second look. The cost of home photovoltaic systems in Houston has ...
Consumerism's King
Steve Jobs was no deity: Just a smart guy who manipulated people into buying expensive stuff
By Peter Barnes
10.06.11 | 11:07 pm
At 56, Steve Jobs was at the height of his tenure as dean of digital culture in the 21st century. The sadness and tributes heaped upon his death are worthy ...
Big mountains, small budget:
Summer in the Italian Alps provides affordable access to the most famous peaks in Europe
By Peter Barnes
08.21.11 | 1:30 pm
You get what you pay for in Switzerland. Just watch Jungfrau’s ice-capped granite fill half the sky as cowbells waft though a half-timbered mountain village, and it’s obvious ...
Fast trains, slow politics
Is Texas finally ready to jump aboard a high-speed rail? Going faster takes a long time
By Peter Barnes
03.14.11 | 2:09 pm
After missing out on the last round of funding, Texas is finally in a position to spend some of the $53 billion the Obama administration recently proposed for a high-speed ...
Travelin' Man
Outdoor China: Away from the cities, breathtaking views & the best beer in the world
By Peter Barnes
02.05.11 | 1:00 pm
Shoulder through the subways for few days, and China's megacities take on personalities like familiar pets. Beijing comes off like a rottweiler: massive, proud and terrifying if it weren ...
Travelin' Man
Call girls and bedbugs in China's most fascinating city
By Peter Barnes
01.02.11 | 5:04 am
The prostitutes nearly ruined my meat on a stick. The Filipino barbecue — fat-moistened chunks of flesh practically dissolved in sweetly seasoned marinade — called to me like a street preacher intoning ...
Travelin' Man
Say cheese: In China travel, foreigners find themselves unwitting stars
By Peter Barnes
12.26.10 | 6:08 am
I quietly admired the old woman’s grin, which likely survived World War II, subsequent civil war, mass starvation during the Great Leap Forward and mass violence during the Cultural ...
The lessons of Ixtapa & Zihuatanejo
Little Mexico: A guide to the smaller resort towns where even Britney Spears soaks up the mellow (with video)
By Peter Barnes
10.23.10 | 1:25 pm
At some point before the squash soup — courtesy of flowering vines hidden in the sub-tropical hillside around us — an elderly German woman told me how her husband outran the Gestapo ...
Weekend Getaway
Offbeat D.C.: Washington's capitol buildings hide the naked woman in mud & a Legos city
By Peter Barnes
10.09.10 | 3:01 pm
If you happened to attend grade school in this country, you have a pretty accurate picture in your head of what the National Mall looks like. Most of us could ...
Leaving Town
For gamblers only: L'Auberge du Lac Casino Resort forces one to suspend disbelief
By Peter Barnes
10.02.10 | 3:01 pm
With its gold-tinted windows sheathing 26-floors of high-end accommodation, L’Auberge du Lac Casino Resort can’t help but look a little out of place. Beautiful as the Louisiana bayou ...
An East Texas getaway
High Island snubs the high life in favor of quiet, quirky beach
By Peter Barnes
08.28.10 | 5:04 pm
If you ask someone from out of town what East Texas is supposed to look like, they’d probably describe High Island. Sitting by its lonesome at the edge of ...
A Big Easy lure
Burlesque, gay pride and (boiled) crabs: Big events in New Orleans beckon (with video)
By Peter Barnes
08.15.10 | 11:08 am
As the final month of summer sneaks away like a fat-bellied raccoon from a campsite dumpster, the deadline looms large for planning a last-minute summer road trip. Might I suggest ...
The real wild town
New Orleans, your Las Vegas alternative: Fakeness not included
By Peter Barnes
08.07.10 | 11:57 am
Every so often, grownups like to remind themselves how great it is to be an adult. Men who haven’t smoked a cigarette since they were 15 will light up ...
No easy resale
How much does a free house cost? The Extreme Makeover Houston family faces tax realities that go beyond TV dreams
By Peter Barnes
08.05.10 | 11:17 am
Want a free yacht? I know where you can get one. Seriously. Sailboats that once sold for six figures now bob abandoned along the Intracoastal Waterway like sun-cracked mooring buoys ...
Convenience over ER tradition
Stand-alone emergency centers are the new health care craze, but they're not all regulated the same
By Peter Barnes
07.22.10 | 5:02 pm
Time was, if your kid managed to split his head open during a rock fight with his friends, you took him to the hospital. Emergency rooms always came with full-service ...
There's always Starbucks
Life with no health insurance: Where domestic violence is a pre-existing condition, rescission rules & haggling helps
By Peter Barnes
07.02.10 | 12:59 pm
One of my friends in Washington, D.C., just finished his PhD dissertation and interned at Amnesty International. He also works at Starbucks. Why would a guy who now affixes ...
An arms race of amenities
Houston apartment rents are low for now, but the shortage is coming
By Peter Barnes
06.29.10 | 6:08 am
The Houston rental market’s growth spurt finally tapered off this year. The last projects financed before the recession are now opening their doors and seeking tenants, which for awhile ...
The Great Outdoors
Sailing into the sunset: After almost killing my girlfriend, I'm outta here
By Peter Barnes
06.26.10 | 3:14 pm
I nearly killed my girlfriend the first time we went sailing. It was spring in northern Idaho, and a week earlier I’d giddily spotted a 15-foot West Wight Potter ...
THE GREAT OUTDOORS
Part-time rebels: Rent a Harley, scare the neighbors — the new monster bike trend
By Peter Barnes
06.19.10 | 9:24 am
There are people who spend their workdays distracted by the siren call of a flame-eating beast tamed only by a pair of leather-clad thighs. Motorcyclists for whom wind noise is ...
All articles by this author.
63 Results. Showing 1 to 20
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Style File pick for 05.15
05.20.12
06:15 pm
05.20.12
05:01 pm
05.20.12
03:36 pm
05.20.12
02:04 pm
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21 | may at 10:00 am
|
Tyke Hike at Houston Arboretum |
| Houston Arboretum and Nature Center | |
|
21 | may at 12:15 pm
|
Center for Performing Arts Medicine Concert: Russian pianist Luisa Splett |
| The Methodist Hospital | |
|
21 | may at 7:30 pm
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Bayou City Concert Musicals presents One Kiss: The Music of Sigmund Romberg |
| The Performance Centre at The Ensemble Theatre | |
|
22 | may at 11:30 am
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CanCare's 18th Annual National Cancer Survivors Day Luncheon |
| Westin Galleria |
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