The way the car rental market is right now, you're lucky to get a rate lower than $50 a day. Companies like Avis, Budget, Alamo, and Thrifty are squeezing their customers but good. However, if you're super-flexible and want to take a road trip, there are deals to be had. If you've ever wanted to go to Disney World or Key West or Miami, and you happen to be close to the Houston, Boston, or Providence airports, and (the kicker) you have the time to make a southern/eastern road trip between now and November 15, this is the deal for you. Should you fit into all those rigid requirements of geography, inclination, and time off, you can drive for just a dollar a day (plus taxes, gas, lodging, hookers, etc.) from Texas or New England down to Florida.

Forbes trotted out a "Most Toxic" survey, and proudly crowned Atlanta the Queen of Dirty, with Detroit coming in as runner up (can they ever be the best at anything?), and Houston, Chicago, and Philly rounding out the top five. And by "toxic" they don't mean backstabbing and trash talking, so unfortunately they're not referencing NeNe, Kim, Lisa, Kandi, or Sheree. Instead, the survey focuses on air quality and the amount of toxic chemicals released into the water and air in the metro areas. Atlanta takes the top spot because of its dirty immediate neighbors -- Forbes is quick to point the finger at Sandy Springs (holla Sheree!) and Marietta.

Randall Jamail, president of Justice Records (Trail of Dead, Willie Nelson, Ian Moore) knows a thing or two about the recording industry -- also about SXSW, one of the biggest music, film, and tech festivals of the year. With a twang as slick and steeped in Texas roots as a lap steel guitar, the troubadour spoke with us about his not-so humble beginnings, his second start, and what it was like to party as a 10-year-old with football demigods and the Red-Headed Stranger.

Like the saying goes, things are bigger in Texas. And David Adickes -- sculptor, painter, octogenarian -- aims to make sure that statement stays true. He's the creator of the Presidential Parks & Gardens, located in the Waterlights District in the Greater Houston Metropolis. The park, which broke ground last President's Day, mostly consists of giant 20-foot busts of all the United States Presidents. Adickes spent 6 years creating these 42 busts after a trip to Mount Rushmore, where he wished he could get closer to the statuesque monuments.

Just in time for the holidays, the Houston airport is setting up karaoke booths for travelers to belt out Christmas carols (and other little ditties) while they wait to catch their flights. For the past two years, the airport has featured high school bands and choirs around the holidays, adding to the cacophony of chaos in the airport (or adding holiday cheer, depending on how you look at it). Apparently small prizes will be awarded to singers, such as being allowed to finally leave the airport.

Mie Olise Kjærgaard traveled to the North Pole to investigate the Pyramid, an abandoned Soviet-era coal-mining town. The obvious artistic consequence of such a retreat might be work that could fit in squarely with an exhibition like "Paradise Lost". However, instead of focusing her work around the blatant ennui of the locale, she uses the town's architecture as a foundation to craft a more resilient utopian society, ironically by exploring and recasting pieces and concepts of the Pyramid. "Penetrating Pores of Construction" creates a frustrating sense of longing -- remaining open-ended in its exploration of this erstwhile utopia, a community that, though failed, still possesses potential through Kjærgaard's vision. "Construction" is currently on display at the Barbara Davis Gallery in Houston through August 9.