remote viewing

The world according to Liz Lemon: How 30 Rock taught me everything I need to know about life

Good God, Lemon, it’s over. Wrap yourselves in a slanket and slice up some night cheese, 30 Rock fans, because NBC’s cult favorite wrapped its seven-season run Thursday night, taking with it my hopes, dreams and a whole lot of "blergh."

Premiering in 2006, this show about a show took quirk to a new level. It plucked Alec Baldwin from his movie star status and cemented him into comedy TV greatness. It pulled Tina Fey out from behind the "Weekend Update" desk and into the show-creator’s chair.

It provided for a slew of secondary characters that have emerged as some of the most quotable in TV history. It introduced us to the best mentor/mentee dichotomy that ever was: that of Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghy.

Last but not least, 30 Rock pretty much provided us with the roadmap by which to live our lives. I promise.

And last but not least, it pretty much provided us with the roadmap by which to live our lives. I promise.

Liz Lemon is one of the first television characters I’ve truly identified with. Sure, I don’t run a writer’s room, nor do I possess the desire to constantly wear socks with sandals. But I say the wrong thing, talk without thinking, I and definitely have a fondness for low-budget snack food. She’s at the top, and she’s not quite able to handle it (“SOMEBODY BRING ME SOME HAAAAAAM!”), but she’s sure as hell going to do her best to go about it. Even if it’s the most awkward journey you’ve ever witnessed.

And while Lemon’s attempts at normalcy are one of the show’s central gems, I posit that there’s a 30 Rock answer to everything — from ill-advised haircuts and wealth to paint colors. So let’s go through and pick the best tidbits of Liz et al., and maybe we’ll all have life figured out by the end of it. Or at least we’ll know to avoid the Sabors de Soledad.

When in doubt, consider sandwiches

“All of humankind has one thing in common: the sandwich. I believe that all anyone really wants in this life is to sit in peace and eat a sandwich.”

Age ain’t nothing but a number, especially if you’re well-to-do

“50 is the new 40 for men. 50 is still 60 for women.” – Jack, to Liz.

“Rich 50 is middle class 38, Lemon.” – Jack. Never were truer words spoken.

Questionable food choices are the best food choices

“You take a hot dog, stuff it with some Jack cheese, and fold it in a pizza. You’ve got cheesy blasters!”

Seriously, though... that Carp Po' Boy with Extra Chuckle from Fatty Fat’s Sandwich Ranch wasn’t her finest moment.

Sentence structure is irrelevant

Because “I want to go to there” is pretty much the reasoning behind any human desire, and “What the what?!” communicates every aspect of confusion.

Getting out of jury duty is easy as pie

Just pretend to be a hologram.

Dealbreakers are a real thing

“Yeah, there's no such thing as bisexual. That's just something they invented in the '90s to sell hair products. Deal breaker!” – Liz

There’s nothing wrong about being alone. Maybe

“I was going to take this class called Cooking for One, but the teacher killed himself.” – Liz

The harsh reality of one-too-many eye rolls is one we all must consider

“I want to roll my eyes right now but the doctor said if I keep doing it, my ocular muscles might spasm and eject my eyeballs.” – Liz

Who needs bipartisanship, anyway?

“I don’t vote Republican or Democrat. Choosing is a sin, so I always just write in the Lord’s name!” – Kenneth

Live every week like it’s Shark Week

Enough said.

No role is too small

Remember The Rural Juror? Jenna does.

Birthday gifts are a no-brainer

Don Cheadle on a bed of rice.

There you have it, dummy. Life’s commandments, as brought to us by the cast and crew at TGS. I’m going to miss this show more than I care to admit, but I’ll always have Meat Cat. Lemon out. Forever.

unspecified

it echoes

Montrose bar sounds off with two stories of nightly DJs and live music

Photo by Rebekah Flores

Music is the main priority at Echoes.

From Tuesdays through Sundays, Montrose cafe Echoes prides itself on being a spot that offers live music on a nightly basis. But the music always differs.

Nights have saluted a wide array of artists: soul legends, pop stars, jazz pioneers, on-the-fringe performers, and more. On Thursday, August 27, they’ll pay tribute to jazz great Alice Coltrane with mixed-genre group Aurum Son playing Coltrane tunes. The following night, several DJs will be part of “Pan-Afrikan Discotheque,” an evening of Afro-Caribbean tunes in memory of Jamaican political activist Marcus Garvey’s 139th birthday.

“We do that with all types: Greek music, Turkish music, Mexican music, jazz, funk, Japanese city pop-type stuff,” owner Georgeos Kazilas tells CultureMap. “We did a Radiohead night the other night. We do trip-hop nights, Italo disco kind of nights. Yeah, I'm just someone that just loves all types of music.”

Since opening up on June 7, 2022 — Prince’s birthday, BTW — Echoes has been a place where music is the main priority. The spot didn’t even start serving food until a year later, when Kazilas snapped up husband-and-wife chefs Armando Ramirez and Ana Stanciu to oversee the Greek-Mexican kitchen.

“I guess I always wanted to have a space dedicated to exploring all types of music,” he says. “And, primarily, the idea was this was gonna be a music-concentrated space. And having a bar was kind of a means to an end, a way to make a musical space financially viable, or self-sustaining.“

It started when Kazilas invited rhythm-and-blues band Curley Cormier and the Gladiators, a staple of historic Fifth Ward lounge The Silver Slipper (where Kazilas saw them perform), for a regular residency. He then reached out to more local musicians about doing themed nights.

“As you start to meet more musicians, you kind of see what they want to do and, also, what they're capable of doing,” he says. “And I would push them outside their comfort zones a little bit and speak to them and be like, ‘Hey, what do you think about doing this type of music?’ And they would listen to it and be like, ‘Yeah, I can do that.’”

While Echoes has live music at its upstairs location, customers can also get dance tunes playing below, courtesy of Ice House Radio. Originally a mobile pop-up, the online radio station now broadcasts from a space that was formerly a car wash tunnel, with various local DJs spinning tunes live.

Ice House co-founder Jackson Allers is grateful to Kazilas for giving his radio station a home. “Georgeos understood our vision when we were still in our van in the spring of 2024 and, as a result, when we moved into that old car wash space down below Echoes, we were allowed to push the musical boundaries like no other space in Houston,” says Allers. “And, our Ice House Radio community has really been allowed to flourish with Echoes. The owners and the entire staff have been diehard supporters of our little experiment.”

Kazilas continues to schedule evenings where people can sample great food as well as music they may or may not have known about.

“Again, I started this place as a music space, dedicated to exploring all types of music, and I think the mission kind of remains the same,” he says. "What I'd like people to take away is that, almost every night, you can experience quality music, as well as quality food and drinks. You know, you might get exposed to a new type of music or new songs — whatever it is.”

echoes live music ice house radio houston