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    Week five

    Something's fishy in Norway for Team Houston on The Amazing Race

    Tarra Gaines
    Oct 24, 2010 | 11:56 pm

    Sunday night means it’s time to check in with Team Houston, The Amazing Race’s Michael and Kevin Wu from Sugar Land. They’ve run quite literally hot and cold the past four weeks, landing in fourth place last week in the stark, but beautiful, Swedish Lapland.

    Episode five begins on the border of Sweden and Norway, with teams instructed to cross the border and head for Narvik, Norway. Team Houston begins about a half hour behind the first place team, doctors Nat and Kat.

    In this episode’s opening interview, Kevin explains that, since he’s away at college now and will be leaving home once he graduates, this is a chance to spend time and travel with his father. This interview is a good example of why the team is so endearing, as Michael makes a funny face of triumph when Kevin talks about moving out and Kevin makes an equally hilarious face of “Eww” as Michael explains this is their last chance to “eat together, sleep together, and pee together.” Fans of Kevin's YouTube Videos will know that Michael will make sure that pee is clear.

    At the top of the mountain they find their next clue, instructions drive to Skjombrua bridge. They also find the offer of a fast forward, but decide against it, figuring an earlier team was probably already on their way.

    The fast forward is a task any team can perform, but the first team, and only the first team, to complete it gets to head straight to the pit stop. The doctors take it since the Nat half of the team is afraid of heights. Unfortunately, the Kat half of Team Doctor has been a vegetarian for 22 years and their fast forward task is to eat an entire sheep's head. They accomplish this fairly quickly and are sent to the pit stop and out of the episode mid-way through.

    At Skjombrua bridge, the roadblock requires one team member to have “strength, stamina, and guts.” Kevin takes this, as Michael self-deprecating jokes he has none of those qualities.

    In their interview with CultureMap before the season began, Michael admitted he is afraid of heights, so any high roadblock challenges will probably always go to Kevin.

    Using a mechanical ascender, Kevin rappels from the bridge down to the water, sets down on a waiting boat to get the next clue and then ascends 130 feet back up to the bridge deck. The trip down is accomplished by most racers, including Kevin, swiftly but the ascend back up requires both upper and lower body strength. Kevin makes it up first and the team leaves the bridge in second place, since elsewhere Team Doctor has already devoured their sheep’s head.

    Team Houston next drives to what The Amazing Race route designers simply call a “remote field” in Harvika, Norway for their detour challenge: Bike or Boat.

    For Bike, the teams must ride mountain bikes along a mountain course and back. The scenery is beautiful, but the course is not difficult enough to jostle racer placement, nor is it funny.

    Team Houston picks Boat instead, because Kevin is worried that the bike course might be too much for Michael. This is not a good choice for race placement, since it will take longer than Bike, but it is much more entertaining for viewers. Once on a trawler, they have to use a map to navigate for the captain until they find a marked spot on shore. There our team climbs a slippery embankment and up a fairly steep hill to a summer lodge. The catch is they have to carry two 20 pound cods and a chainsaw. If they’re replicating some kind of summertime Norwegian cod/chainsaw ritual with this task, Phil Keoghan never says. It does allow Michael ample opportunity to tease his son about his fishy smell.

    Though they arrived at the detour first, the two other teams who chose Bike complete their task faster, so Team Houston falls behind by choosing Boat, but they seem to have a good time. They also get a little lost on the way to the pit stop, Ankenes Marina. They arrive in fourth place, ending exactly as they began this leg.

    This Norwegian leg didn’t provide much drama, unless viewers find a vegetarian eating sheep eyes particularly Shakespearean, but it did reenforce Team Houston as one of several fun, good-natured teams. With the exception of the interchangeable bickering-couple teams, who blur together now, the Amazing casting department did a terrific job this season.

    Next week, Russia, and it looks like someone gets to wear a babushka. We hope it’s Michael.

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    These are the 14 best things to do in Houston this weekend

    Craig D. Lindsey
    Jul 16, 2025 | 6:30 pm
    Goo Goo Dolls
    Photo courtesy of Goo Goo Dolls
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    This weekend, it’s all about music, comedy, celebration, and getting free chicken.

    The Goo Goo Dolls and Kam Franklin will have live concerts. Mo Amer and Kym Whitley will be doing back-to-back stand-up shows. Little Jewford will pay tribute to Kinly Friedman with a live show. Karbach Brewing is bringing back Frida Fest. And Nando PERi-PERi will salute Nelson Mandela Day by giving free chicken and fries to whoever donates some canned goods.

    So, let’s ease on down the road and see what’s popping this weekend.

    Thursday, July 17

    Little Jewford's Sentimental Journey: Remembering Kinky Friedman
    Little Jewford's Sentimental Journey will highlight songs from Kinky Friedman's catalog and the Great American Songbook. Little Jewford will also share a few of his favorite memories of Kinky and stories from their travels. Little Jewford was eight years old when he met Kinky Friedman at Echo Hill Ranch in 1958. They began a friendship and musical pairing that would last more than 60 years. Little Jewford is also an accomplished pianist with a unique, entertaining style all his own. 7 pm.

    River Oaks Theatre presents Film Strip: Barbarella
    Grimm and Ghoulia, headmistresses of The Sisterhood of Lili St. Cyr, present another monthly screening of a cult movie, preceded by a rotating cast of burlesque beauties. This time around, we have Jane Fonda starring in this erotic, space-age, comic-book adaptation from 1968, where she’s a space traveler tasked with finding and stopping the evil Durand-Durand. BTW, quoting and singing along with the film is encouraged. Surprise gags and performances may take place during the film. 8 pm.

    Goo Goo Dolls in concert
    You can go back to the 2000s this weekend, as rock band Goo Goo Dolls will be performing in Sugar Land's Smart Financial Centre. Currently on the road for their Summer Anthem Tour, the Grammy-nominated, diamond-certified rockers (best known for “Iris,” one of many millennial pop ditties guitar-playing frat guys played for sorority girls at parties back in the day) are also at work on their 15th studio album. Dashboard Confessional, another rock outfit who rose to prominence during the Bush II era, will be the opening act. 8 pm.

    Friday, July 18

    Nelson Mandela Day at Nando’s Peri-Peri
    In honor of Nelson Mandela Day on Friday, Nando’s Peri-Peri is turning compassion into action with a nationwide food drive, rewarding guests with free flame-grilled chicken and Peri Chips in exchange for non-perishable food donations. At the Houston locations in Post Oak and Katy, donations will go to Second Servings, the city’s only perishable food rescue organization. Second Servings is also collecting donations to support those affected by the devastating floods that recently impacted Central Texas. 3 pm.

    Mo Amer: El Oso Palestino Tour
    Palestinian-American stand-up comedian (and hometown boy made good) Mo Amer may have wrapped up the second and final season of his acclaimed Netflix show Mo this year. But that doesn’t mean the man hasn’t stopped bringing the funny. Before he heads off to do two back-to-back shows at the Dubai Comedy Festival, he’ll do an early show right here in H-Town, as part of his El Oso Palestino Tour. As of press time, only a limited number of standing room only tickets remain. 7 pm.

    Punch Line Houston presents Kym Whitley
    Kym Whitley knew she was blessed with the gift to make people laugh after Redd Foxx told her she had “the comedic goods.” The comedienne and former host of BET talk show Oh Drama! has appeared in such movies as The Nutty Professor and Next Friday. She’s also done guest shots on My Wife and Kids, Two Broke Girls, That’s So Raven, and Curb Your Enthusiasm, on an episode that saved a man from going to death row. She even appeared in a Netflix documentary about it. 7:30 and 9:45 pm (7 and 9:15 pm Saturday).

    A.D. Players presents The Wizard of Oz
    Since we’re all still in a Wicked frame of mind, A.D. Players presents a stage version of the L. Frank Baum classic. Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tinman, the Cowardly Lion, and Toto travel the universe of Dorothy’s imagination, crossing over the rainbow to the beautiful land of Oz. To find her way home, Dorothy must follow the yellow brick road to find the Wizard. But the Wicked Witch of the West threatens to destroy these newfound friends as they make their journey. Through Sunday, August 10. 7:30 pm (2 and 7:30 pm Saturday; 2 pm Sunday).

    Saturday, July 19

    Houston Pets Alive! And Trust Guss Injury Lawyers present Puppy Palooza
    Houston Pets Alive! and Trust Guss Injury Lawyers team up for Puppy Palooza this weekend, at the Houston Pets Alive! headquarters. Houstonians are invited to a family-friendly adoption event where attendees can meet up to 50 adorable puppies of all sizes, breeds, and personalities, looking for their forever homes. The event not only offers a chance to welcome a new furry friend into your life, but also supports Houston’s local shelters by helping reduce overcrowding and giving at-risk pets a second chance.

    Moody Center for the Arts presents Summer Jam
    Moody's annual Summer Jam will feature art activities, galleries to explore, an indoor farmer’s market, local food vendors, and more. The event includes access to Figurative Histories and Collective Memories as well as programming with Black art/culture reference library The Reading Room. In addition to a scavenger hunt, face painting, and bubble play, Red Bird Press will lead a printmaking activity for the duration of the event. Noon.

    Karbach Brewing Co. presents Frida Fest
    Karbach Brewing Co. is bringing back its annual Frida Fest, a two-day celebration honoring art icon Frida Kahlo through art, fashion, and community. In partnership with nonprofit MuXerhtx, Karbach’s biergarten will transform into a vibrant cultural hub. Saturday’s festivities will include an art show, a fashion show, and a lookalike contest, while Sunday will have a mariachi performance, a flower-making workshop, and a DJ playing beats. Saturday attendees will get first access to exclusive Frida Fest glassware. 1 pm (11 am Sunday).

    The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Houston presents Iolanthe
    The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Houston, Houston’s longest-running opera company, will present Iolanthe, a hallmark of Gilbert and Sullivan’s signature satire that cheerily blends fantasy and pointed social commentary. It skewers the British legal system, the House of Lords, and Victorian sensibilities with clever wit and a charming score. Iolanthe (pronounced "eye-oh-LAN-thee") is a comic opera sung in English and is enjoyable for all ages. Through Sunday, July 27. 7 pm (7 pm Friday, 2:30 pm Sunday).

    Sunday, July 20

    National Ice Cream Day
    National Ice Cream Day is this Sunday, and these are just some of the several places around town marking the occasion with deals and specials. The Sunrise House in Montrose has both an ice cream-topped waffle and an affogato. Both locations of The Pit Room will take $2 off any creation made with Blue Bell ice cream. Asian American diner Agnes and Sherman will be serving root beer floats and banana splits. Houston-area locations of Lick Honest Ice Creams will donate 10 percent of sales to Buffalo Bayou Partnership. All four Houston-area locations of Jeni’s will add its new sundae fudge sauce for free to any scoop. (Times and locations vary.)

    The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore
    Marlee Matlin became the first deaf actor to win an Oscar for her performance in Children of a Lesser God. In this new documentary, she discusses her personal and professional struggles — including her meteoric rise to fame in a predominantly hearing industry, a tumultuous high-profile relationship, getting sober, and years of being overlooked by Hollywood. Through split-screen interviews with both deaf and hearing contributors, the film weaves a poignant narrative of Matlin’s career, highlighting her tireless fight for inclusion. 5 pm.

    Dan Electro’s presents Kam Franklin & Friends
    Kam Franklin and a bunch of her musical pals will be performing this weekend at Dan Electro’s. Best known for belting powerful vocals as the lead singer of Gulf Coast soul band The Suffers, this dynamic interdisciplinary artist is also a passionate activist for justice and equity — amplifying Black, queer, femme, and non-binary voices across the arts. She’ll be joined by Sergio Trevino, Louis Morales, Sara Van Buskirk, Uncle Tino, and Blacknintendo. 7:30 pm.

    Goo Goo Dolls
      
    Photo courtesy of Goo Goo Dolls

    Goo Goo Dolls will play in Sugar Land July 17, 2025.

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