The Houstonist

Adventures in Backyard Zoology

2009-03-29T11:54:00.001-07:00

This little fellow showed up in a sunny spot yesterday afternoon. I fed him an old Ike-tomato, and as quickly as he arrived, he was gone. God speed, friend tortoise. Wherever you may be, I hope the tomatoes are small and tasty.

Houstonista in the Sunshiny State

2009-03-15T09:09:00.001-07:00

A momentary victory in the ongoing struggle to capture vivid blue sky

I need to learn photoshop.

Flowers are easy.

I'm totally in love with this shot. There's so many elements to it - the red, the curb, the not-quite accurate blue of the sky, the reflection in the bumper - this is one that I could do a lot with, if I only knew how...

huh?

2009-03-11T20:56:00.000-07:00

"Sittin', thinkin', sinkin', drinkin'/wonderin' what I'll do when I'm through tonight"

arty, but washed out

A lot of effort went into this bench no one uses.

Deliciously Delay-ed

2006-04-04T06:40:00.000-07:00

Tom Delay is history. In a statement last night, the embattled former majority leader from Sugar Land announced that he will be resigning his position sometime in May.

While I do not agree with Delay's politics and generally find him despicable, I must tip my hat to this ultimate show of gamesmanship. Delay knew he was facing a fight that he might very well lose. Rather than run the risk of losing to a Democrat, he steps aside and thereby deflects all of the partisan angst that would surely be heaped upon him by the rabble-rousing hoardes of leftists hell bent on his demise.

With the 800-lb gorilla now out of the mix, the race returns to the most fundamental of all political truths: it will likely be a cold day in Hades when a Democrat wins the seat in District 22 - the mother of all gerrymanders. A suburban, upper-middle class, SUV driving, gay-marriage hating, god fearing White people's congressional district. Good luck, Mr. Lampson.

Now that the hammer will sounf the final nay, an interesting question arises as to who will fill his spot on the ballot come November. Even the GOP hierarchy in these parts is at a loss. Today's Chronicle has this from Harris County Republican Party Chairman, Jared Woodfill, "We'll have a little bit of time to figure it out. We have our lawyers looking at it."

Well, yours truly has been looking at it for about twenty minutes this morning, and some questions emerge. Given my exhaustive expertise on the Texas Election Code, I'm led to the conclusion that these particular circumstances implicate Chapter 145, appropriately titled "Withdrawal, Death or Ineligibility of a Candidate." There is no doubt that Delay can withdraw, but the question of how the GOP executive committee is to name a replacement candidate remains.

Section 145.036 grants authority to the appropriate executive committee to nominate the replacement candidate following a withdrawal only if 1) the candidate withdraws because of illness (not applicable, unless greed and avarice counts) itical party that held primary elections has a nominee for the office sought by the withdrawing candidateas of the time of the withdrawal (not applicable); or, 3) the candidate has been elected or appointed to fill a vacancy in another elective office (also not applicable). How then, to get around this provision?

I'm sure there's a way, and I'm sure they'll figure it out in no time. But for now, the best we can hope for is that the the Democrat Party realizes that getting Delay out of Congress is not as important as getting Nick Lampson in. It's time to go to work.

Kids make the darndest faces

2006-01-10T14:30:00.000-08:00

I don't know what to say about this other than "yeah."

US v. China, Round 1

2005-11-22T19:16:00.000-08:00

Just the other night, I was reading a news report of the Chinese spy ring in Los Angeles. The authorities recently busted up a spy ring of two naturalized citizens and a foreign national which had successfully transferred copius amounts of sensitive information, including the Navy's Aegis system, to the Chinese governent. I observed, and mused to my colleagues, that the PRC has the upper hand in the espionage game: as a totalitarian regime, it can easily do away with perpetrators with little or no scrutiny. The United States, on the other hand, constrained by the rules of the "civilized western world," is obligated to conduct the affair in an open and transparent manner - trials and such.

Apparently my pragmatism is contagious.

I'm a Deadbeat

2005-11-10T18:28:00.000-08:00

Some random stuff from the travels:

The tower at the National Air & Space Museum

Portsmouth Harbor at night

Should be self-explanatory, no?

Not Quite H-Town Proper

2005-10-03T17:31:00.000-07:00

But Holllis, NH definitely qualifies as an H-Town in its own right. The leaves are unchanged, but the apples are ripe as rain. Is that cliche correctly stated? I thought not.

And now, for your viewing enjoyment, Mr. and Mrs. Houstonist's sojourn into the northeast, as they live free in lieu of dying...

Fork me? Fork you.

Awwwww, mama

2005-09-21T19:24:00.000-07:00

Can this really be the end?

Curiously realizing I'm soon to become an evacuee myself. The Dish is down, the plants are in, and the barbecue is resting comfortably in the living room.

We're going west tonight, hoping that will do some good to stave off obliteration until Monday, at least.

This is a first for me.

God speed, fellow citizens.

ECN

Deadbeat Bloggerdom, Come and Gone

2005-09-02T09:57:00.000-07:00

Golly, I've been busy...

Crepe Myrtle at Bayou Bend. If you haven't been, go.

Amendments and Errata

2005-07-21T07:51:00.000-07:00

According to the Houston Chronicle, the building I incorrectly named as the Chevron Tower, properly known as Heritage Plaza, was recently sold to Goddard Investment Group for between $125 - $130 Million.

The tower, located at 1111 Bagby in downtown Houston, will be 70% vacant by year's end. It's a renter's market down there, to be sure.

Glenwood Cemetery

2005-07-16T13:42:00.000-07:00

Glenwood Cemetery at 2525 Washington Avenue is one of the most awe-inspiring places in Houston, that is, if opulent monuments to the very wealthy and very deceased happen to inspire your awe.

Sometimes referred to as the "Necropolis of the Metropolis," Glenwood was built in 1871 by Alfred Whitaker.

Although the cemetery is populated with names familiar to Houstonians - Allen, Binz, Settegast, and Rice, to name a few, its most famous resident is, by far, a reportedly-strange fellow named Howard Hughes.

Glenwood also is home to one of the finest live oaks in Texas, which really must be seen to be believed.

2005-07-13T15:54:00.000-07:00

The Hermann Park pigeon (Hermannus Maximus) is a ferocious beast, known to feast almost constantly on grain, leftover fast food, and the occasional two year old.

Before it was adopted by bad men

2005-07-11T13:49:00.000-07:00

This Crane Steel logo appears on a valve which currently rests outside our friendly neighborhood archaeologist's office (who, by the way, are very tight lipped when asked about this). Thankfully, my pedigree affords me slightly better-than-average sleuthing skills, and I was able to determine that Crane Steel used the swastika as its company symbol up until the time when the National Socialists adopted it etc., etc. Interestingly, it appears that during and after the war, Crane Steel ceased using the symbol, and went to great lengths to eradicate all traces of it from the products produced before the war. So then, it seems yon valve has some archaeological significance, indeed.

The Japanese Garden

2005-07-09T10:11:00.000-07:00

Bark on a pine tree at the Japanese Garden in Hermann Park. The garden is a lovely spot located to the west of the reflecting pool.

2005-07-08T13:51:00.000-07:00

The Houston Armillary Sphere superimposed on the Chevron Tower, Houston's fifth? tallest building.

For more on the history of armillary spheres in general, see here.

Where it all begins

2005-07-07T14:19:00.000-07:00

Across the street from the Apartment sits this fairly well known and oft-photographed sculpture in the Allen Parkway Greenbelt. In the distance is, of course, the metropolitan center from which the Houstonist draws his moniker.

2005-07-07T14:12:00.000-07:00

Here it is. Your tour guide on this voyage into the dark and often unseen side of the fourth largest city in the US. (Ed. Note - thanks to the League for pointing out my overzealous carelessness.)

For the most part, I intend to forego that which might otherwise be considered your typical Houston fare, opting instead for the strange, eclectic, and bizarre points of interest uncovered through many a voyage of discovery in this fair city.

Atop the trusty old Diamondback Moosehead with merely a single gear to its humble frame, Canon A95 in hand, I bring you the Bayou City through the eyes of...

THE HOUSTONIST

Is this the Launch?

2005-07-07T13:32:00.000-07:00

Another day, a terrible awakening.

My deepest sympathies go out to the people of London.

Let us not forget that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance.