debmartin

i was going to nominate the roach but couldn't remember if his name was buddy or bubba... debmartin

my son takes pictures all over the med center - before christmas we were stopped and harassed insided the lobby of md anderson for shooting a fountain. after listening to the security guard's tirade for about 10 minutes i decided to embarass him by mentioning that my son is a patient there. he mumbled something about terrorism, homeland security and finally something lame about protecting the privacy of other patients. then he snapped to how that sounded and said he was new to that lobby and had never seen us before. i took it up with the administrative offices and learned there are no restrictions on taking pictures except the one about needing releases and permission if shooting people. we've come a long way from the days of snapping pictures of interesting people, places and things. debmartin

photobucket has a free user service but it's better to upgrade to premium for more space and fewer banners. it's just $9 for 3mos but you can get a year for $25. debmartin

("I didin't take the post from Deb Martin personally I was trying to figure out why she seemed to accuse everyone on the thread of not understanding the stated deffinition of "cosmopolitan". Maybe I should have explained myself better. ") ("I didn't take the post personally I was simply asking why she lumped every poster on this thread into one statement. I probably should have made my comment more clear." (quote, gary) gary, please allow me to explain myself better and make my comments clear. for starters i never accused ANYONE on this thread of not understanding the stated definition of cosmopolitan, nor did i lump every poster together into one statement. my comments were directed only to houston19514, and i was taking him to task for saying "you people" should look up the definintion in the dictionary because i felt HE was accusing everyone on this thread of not understand the definition of cosmopolitan. for clarification purposes i was reading the posts on this thread, and the editor shared his thoughts about what makes a city cosmopolitan. i felt his ideas reflected my own and instead of restating what he said i simply quoted his post and said that i agreed. it is not uncommon on this forum to do just that, but for some reason it caused a problem for houston19514, and the editor responded with some dictionary definitions. for the record this thread has covered everything from houston vs. dallas, hockey, feeder roads and zoning so i saw no reason not to second a post that put it into perspective for me. if you read my post below there is no way you can believe i ever "lump" anyone together. (quote, debmartin) "i was calling attention to the childish post of "you people" which is rude and condescending. sorry i do not subscribe to "the world according to houston19514" and my impression was this was an open thread, replying to the question "what makes a city cosmopolitan". instead of letting everyone weigh in with their own idea you kick and scream "you people should look the word up in the dictionary" if the definition does not match your own. how boring life would be if we all thought alike - aren't we here to share ideas?" unfortunately houston 19514 chose to be a divider instead of a uniter, and invited me to share a thought, should one ever occur to me. this type of flaming makes me sad, but i've been on this forum for over a year now and from time to time this happens and you just have to shrug your shoulders and move on. i hope this clears things up for you. debmartin

thank you editor for putting an end to all this nonsense. debmartin

"If by "us people," you are referring to yourself, then, frankly, no. When you choose to make a post relevant to the discussion of "what makes a city cosmopolitan," that in some way relates to the actual meaning of the word "cosmopolitan," then you'll be "worthy of this thread" (Your words, not mine)" (quote, houston19514) i was calling attention to the childish post of "you people" which is rude and condescending. sorry i do not subscribe to "the world according to houston19514" and my impression was this was an open thread, replying to the question "what makes a city cosmopolitan". instead of letting everyone weigh in with their own idea you kick and scream "you people should look the word up in the dictionary" if the definition does not match your own. how boring life would be if we all thought alike - aren't we here to share ideas? debmartin

"These discussions would be helped immeasurably if everyone could use a dictionary to look up words before they start bloviating, or, in this case, just read the dictionary definition helpfully posted by kzseatlle. We are all entitled to our own opinions, but we are NOT entitled to our own definitions." "will you people PLEASE read the definition of the word "cosmopolitan"? If each person on the board goes on posting using their own personal (and, I might add, incorrect) defintion, we'll have a proverbial tower of babel, and a huge waste of time." (quotes, houston19514) by chance are you now satisfied that "us people" are worthy of this thread? debmartin

this is obviously a hoax. debmartin

"I think being "cosmopolitian" is largely about options. Do I have the option of going to both the symphony and the rodeo? Do I have the option of walking to a neighborhood cafe? Do I have the option of leaving my car at home and still getting all of my errands done? Do I have the option of escaping to a nice park without having to drive into the countryside?" (quote, editor) this would be precisely my definition of a cosmopolitan city, but alas houston is not quite there yet. debmartin

i object to being called white..... my skin tone is an even beige.. debmartin

"...seems like old times. " (quote, dalparadise) also a great movie with chevy chase and goldie hawn. debmartin

i hope you missed me too. debmartin

"Thus I feel nothing but the ludicrousness of somebody giving $400 million dollars to buy art for a museum. In a couple days though I am sure I will recover to my normal, de-sensitized self." (quote, h-town man) h-town i can feel for you - i was in a taxi when i heard the news, talking on my cell to someone in austin trying to lobby for the children of texas who were kicked out of the chips program. but the feeling passed as i'm sure it has for you. i simply reminded myself that art is one aspect of life that encourages civility and often uplifts humanity. i also remembered that someone's last wishes must be respected and one of my grandma's favorites, "charity begins in the home" which reminded me that houston was indeed fortunate to be the recipient. the mfa does sponsor several art projects including the glassell school which includes many generous scholarships. well enough said, i just wanted to let you know you were not alone in your initial thought. debmartin

now, now.... if you two could just have your cookies and milk and play nice, you wouldn't have to pick up your marbles and go home. debmartin

"i have good drinking genes." (quote, jmancuso) i do too......my dad is italian and my mom is irish, both from houston. they met at a dance over drinks. debmartin

"i'd rather read words that come from the heart, with conviction and passion instead of a spell-checked, toned-down version." (quote, debmartin) "One should be able to type the same words he/she is able to pen on paper. People assume that since it's electronic, that it doesn't matter." (quote 27) 27 i wonder if you have adult adhd which causes you to skim over words instead of reading for comprehension or if you and i just cannot connect. in my sentence above i'm trying to say that some people are less inhibited when they type their thoughts without trying to set them down in proper form. i never said they wrote with the presence of mind to assume because it's electronic it doesn't matter. in your sentence above you say one should be able to type as one writes with pen on paper, making the assumption that everyone can write correctly with pen on paper. i have worked with adult ABE students with literacy issues, everyday people employed in a variety of fields who are able to articulate adequately but fare worse trying to write. one of the best ways to help people overcome writing problems is to encourage them to write, period. so many people are ashamed of their writing capabilities they would rather reply with a word or two - others jump right in and just write what comes to mind to get their thought across. writing pen on paper is almost a thing of the past, which is a big help for those with writing problems like dyslexia. i was only trying to make the point that you should overlook poor writing technique whenever possible to preserve the meaning. and don't for one minute think that someone who writes poorly is unaware of that fact and needs to be reminded - believe me, they know. debmartin

"Okay I know my spelling and grammer is bad. I cannot hide that. But I have never been very good at putting down to writting what I want to say. LOL. We can only do our best with what we have." (quote, hunter) well stated hunter. personally i feel it is inconsiderate to call attention to someone's spelling and/or grammar on a forum because it is designed to be completely informal. in almost every case you can still understand the point or meaning, and picking apart the post for errors takes away from the message, or perhaps that's the point. to focus on the way something's being said is a good way to distance yourself from what is being said, especially if what is being said does not line up with your own point of view. i'd rather read words that come from the heart, with conviction and passion instead of a spell-checked, toned-down version. debmartin

sad to say it's all about the $$$ whether you're talking about electing a mayor, gov or president. political machines are fueled by money and not by the energy of quality candidates. the government should belong to the people and not to elite special interest groups who expect favors and appointments in return for their support. i think it'd be great if candidates were not allowed to spend any money on campaigns - let'm use public access and the internet. "yeah how about locking all their kids in a room and making them hash it out...." (quote, lowbrow) great idea...without all their idiot parents around they'd probably get to talking about the mtv awards and do just that. debmartin

houston got the first section of light rail up and running with local funding, yet we're still fighting for our fair share of federal funds - fighting with the two morons who represent our interests in washington! its clear that we'll never get a fair shake until we get rid of these two good ol' boys. why is this so hard for people to understand? debmartin

"Of course this is just my opinion, but I don't know why people insist on having a brand new home that is crap when they could buy an older home in a stable neighborhood and fix it up." (quote, rps324) i can think of two reasons right off. first, many people have been brainwashed that they need to "escape" the city and move away from crime, the schools and other ills of society. they do not consider the fact that buying an older home would be investing themselves into the neighborhood, school and community as well as investing their money into the property. second, new home developments employ hard-core sales, marketing and p/r personnel to agressively move their homes, just like car dealerships move cars. they have financing options lined up, even crazy ones like "pay only interest and lower your payments". they also urge prospective buyers to take on as much mortgage as they can qualify for instead of reminding them they may need to reserve some of their monthly income for repairs or any number of life's unexpected surprises. many buyers that fall for this "special" financing never look into goverment subsidized programs, many which are especially designed for community redevelopment. sometimes this is because buyers are turned off by the requirement to attend educational homebuying seminars, even though the classes explore every source of available funding while explaining the mortgage process. about the shoddy construction, just consider how these homes are thrown together instead of being property built. instead of employing true craftsmen many of these companies drive over a truck of day laborers which keeps their costs down and profits up. and texas has some kind of crazy law that prevents buyers of new homes from holding the builders responsible when things start breaking down, even if it's just a year later. buyer beware! debmartin

this may sound loony but isn't there something you could do to your home to improve on the outside noise getting inside? my home is so full of noise and loud music the noise of a train could not compete (one of my kids plays the drums) although we recently were able to sound proof and make it enjoyable for all. noise pollution is a problem all around - many times i have to put my hands over my ears at an intersection because the car next to mine is booming with thumping bass. i love music and went to thousands of concerts in the 70's where i came home with my ears ringing or i could not hear well the next day and i still cannot comprehend the music that comes out of someone's car like that. how about car alarms? they go off everywhere and nobody even glances over to see if a car's being stolen or broken into - we've become so accustomed to the noise even though it's loud annoying. i personally would not buy a home real close to tracks because of the noise and vibration, also because of the crime factor associated with the lax safety and security of the railroads. different people are affected to different degrees by nuisences, those who can ignore do so and those who cannot will probably have to relocate to find peace. don't look to government (city, state or federal) to sympathize - they are generally unconcerned about quality of life issues like homelessness, hunger, healthcare for the uninsured or lack of budget for police and firefighters. guess how little they are concerned with noise pollution? debmartin

pineda, what a coincidence, i spoke to a chron reporter who turned in a story about two idiots up in austin aruging over whether to name three closed off blocks around the capitol after w or reagan. did i forget to mention these two idiots are elected officials? anyway, i told this reporter that it was unprofessional to print such a story when we are at war and so many of our young americans are dying every day. unless of course he had the guts to print the real story, about lawmakers who argue about pointless bs and reporters who fail to honor soldiers. i will not hold my breath waiting for that story. debmartin

"AND, as for the Medical Center traffic increasing since light rail service began... what a bunch of %#$*. If there has been a noticeable traffic increase, which I highly doubt, I would blame not light rail but the fact that since 2000, there has been a MAJOR EXPANSION OF FACILITIES in the TMC!" (quote, kinkaid alum) well, which is it, a bunch of %#$* or is traffic increasing due to expansion? frankly i find your replies hostile to others stating their views. my view is just that, "my" view, its worth what you paid for it, which is nothing. nothing shuts down dialog faster than hostility, and dialog is important in a city as diverse as houston. that said, rethinking the med center traffic i would agree that the majority of the increase could be attributed to construction, rennovation and the like. i disagree however that the rail has not affected the traffic. how could the traffic not be affected when the trains come through every 6 minutes forcing traffic to stop? debmartin

"As for the light rail--what a joke. My husband works in the medical center and has seen absolutely NO improvement in traffic--if anything, it's WORSE!" (quote, parrothead) i sympathize with drivers in the med center over the increase in traffic caused by the light rail. i commute to the med center several times weekly from the galleria area and from the museum station to dryden cars are stacked up all the way down fannin. i enjoy walking on a good day and have seen times when i can stay ahead of traffic on foot, from methodist to hermann. i'm not sure if the number of riders metro anticipated actually materialized but during morning and afternoon rush hour the trains are standing room only. perhaps eventually more drivers will be able to utilize the light rail and escape the traffic. i do know that as crazy as it may sound jumping on an express bus from the hilcroft transit center to wheeler station and riding the rail to dryden has taken most of the stress away from my trips to the medical center. i used to fight the traffic on 59 and around the med center (before the rail & during the construction) plus pay $10 to valet the car - or self park and sit in a long line of cars to exit a garage, then fight traffic all the way home. now i can read, listen to my ipod or just close my eyes and think on the journey and then exit the train at the front door of the hospital. my kids also enjoy med center excursions now because i'm less stressed out and we can stop along the way at the zoo or park without having to park, or just as easily grab lunch downtown, catch a movie or shop. of course this does nothing for someone like your husband just trying to get back and forth to work, but eventually houston should have light rail to get around all over town and people will be able to give their cars a rest once and awhile. debmartin

houston has experienced a female mayor, police chief and school superintendent, and there was a female governor several years back, so i guess we could be considered progressive to a certain degree. debmartin