mkultra25

53 minutes ago, Twinsanity02 said:

I will never understand economics and commerce. I can see Houston to Havana flights making sense financially, but Houston to Holgun? 

As I understand it, Holguin is a popular tourist destination, particularly among ecotourists. But it does seem surprising that there'd be a sufficient number of travelers from Houston to justify adding a route there. 

9 hours ago, Blue Dogs said:

(Houston City Council District H: Open)

Castillo: 8,398 (64%)

Reyes-Revilla: 4,752 (36%)

This runoff was Castillo's to lose, but Reyes-Revilla, likely desperate to gain some ground on him, sent out an ill-advised mailer containing an anti-gay dogwhistle (contrasting a picture of her and her family with one of Castillo and his husband/partner). After several high-profile endorsers called on her to apologize, she instead doubled down with a robocall that started with "Did you know that Mario Castillo is gay?" Predictably, this led to endorsements being unceremoniously pulled and a drubbing nearly as bad as the one Whitmire inflicted on SJL.

I think this may have been posted here before, as I had another copy of it saved, but this version is far more legible when viewed at full size. 

Another one, from a somewhat earlier era:

12 hours ago, august948 said:

Went to the one in Katy a few weeks ago.  The donuts and coffee were ok, not spectacular, but decent enough.  They keep their donuts cold and we discovered the next day that the frosting on the donuts left over melted at room temp.

I don't think cold would work too well for this particular donut.

This has been used as the residence of Rice's president since 2004. Prior to that it had been vacant for 25 years. It was renovated in 2003 before the president moved in, and currently some additional, comparatively minor renovations related to accessibility and sustainability are wrapping up.

Rice University Wiess House

President’s house construction nears completion

One of my closest friends was half-Cuban (his father was Cuban and his mother was Spanish). When we were in high school we used to occasionally go to Piquet Market to grab a Cubano and a cafecito in the small restaurant area you mention. If memory serves the restaurant area was pretty spartan - just a handful of formica-topped tables  adjacent to the main market. 

On 11/9/2023 at 2:25 PM, steve1363 said:

I’ve never heard of Jennifer Knesek but if she’s a Republican then it’s understandable she would not care for Hollins.

She's a Republican political consultant/PR flack who is currently a staffer in the Texas Senate. So I wouldn't expect her to be favorably inclined toward Hollins, to say the least.

Willy's statue was removed from its central location in the academic quadrangle yesterday as part of the planned redesign of the quad. It was also announced on Monday that the quad will be closed to pedestrian traffic until April due to the construction to implement the redesign.

Academic Quad closed Nov. 6, redesign to be completed April 2024

7 hours ago, Tumbleweed_Tx said:

yes, then right after they scaled back plans for the "city of tomorrow," half of the Rust Belt moved to Houston.

I used to have a bumper sticker that said, "Will the last person leaving Michigan please turn off the light?"

That, and the ever-popular "Drive 70 and freeze a Yankee."

6 hours ago, steve1363 said:

I still think of the SPCA on Studemont!  I guess old images die hard.

Ha! I do as well. When I was in college my then-girlfriend worked there for a few months, and I'd occasionally have to drop her off or pick her up, so I was probably going there more frequently than most people. 

But I think of the old rice silos at Studemont and Allen Parkway more often.

Photo credit: Larry Harris on Flickr - more here.

On 11/4/2023 at 9:06 PM, steve1363 said:

Odd that this location is still being referred to as "King Biscuit."  It wasn't iconic or anything like "Fitzgerald's."  😀

Depends on your point of reference, I suppose. While it was certainly nowhere near as well-known or iconic as Fitz's, I'd bet there are plenty of longtime Heights residents who still think of King Biscuit whenever they pass by that building. 

15 hours ago, hindesky said:

Old Sid Richardson college building is down except the slab.

Alumni Weekend (homecoming + reunion) was this weekend. I'd bet more than a few former residents of Old Sid experienced cognitive dissonance as they gazed upon that vacant slab.

On 10/28/2023 at 10:04 PM, steve1363 said:

Barbara Jordan would be appropriate.  I hope you are right.  I personally believe Barbara Jordan belongs on Houston’s Mt. Rushmore along with Jesse H. Jones and Roy Hofheinz.

There should be four, in keeping with the number of presidents on Mt. Rushmore. So who could the fourth be? Maybe Albert Thomas?

23 hours ago, mkultra25 said:

The Watkin books and the first Staub book are out of print, but used copies can be found relatively easily, and they should be also available at university or public libraries (or via interlibrary loan).  The Watkin brochure used to be available in its entirety as a PDF in Rice's Digital Scholarship Archive, but the link is dead now - they appear to be retooling the Archive as the Rice Research Repository, so perhaps things are being moved around. Might be worth contacting someone at the Woodson Research Center and asking about it:

https://digitalprojects.rice.edu/wrc/watkin/exhibits/show/watkin/item/1338

Found it:

https://digitalcollections.rice.edu/Documents/Detail/brochure-of-the-work-of-wm-ward-watkin-architect/328910?item=328965

Looks like the Woodson's collections are available at https://digitalcollections.rice.edu/ now, but be forewarned the search engine is s-l-o-w. Hopefully this gets fixed as part of the upgrade process, as I never had any performance issues with the old Digital Scholarship Archive.

For Watkin:

https://www.amazon.com/William-Ward-Watkin-Rice-Institute/dp/0884150127

https://www.amazon.com/Brochure-Work-Ward-Watkin-Architect/dp/B075DBRZJ5

This is the standard reference on Staub:

https://www.amazon.com/Architecture-John-F-Staub-Houston/dp/0292740123

And this one is specific to Staub's country houses:

https://www.amazon.com/Country-Houses-Staub-Lindsey-Humanities/dp/1585445959

The Watkin books and the first Staub book are out of print, but used copies can be found relatively easily, and they should be also available at university or public libraries (or via interlibrary loan).  The Watkin brochure used to be available in its entirety as a PDF in Rice's Digital Scholarship Archive, but the link is dead now - they appear to be retooling the Archive as the Rice Research Repository, so perhaps things are being moved around. Might be worth contacting someone at the Woodson Research Center and asking about it:

https://digitalprojects.rice.edu/wrc/watkin/exhibits/show/watkin/item/1338

13 hours ago, Triton said:

Ugh! Looks like the photo is gone.

postimg.org is gone, but fortunately the Internet Archive has a snapshot of that page/image. Probably worth checking the Wayback Machine whenever you run across any other photos that were hosted by postimg and no longer accessible.

1 hour ago, august948 said:

Hillary Clinton endorses Sheila Jackson Lee for Houston mayor, joins list of high-profile supporters

As if we really needed another reason not to vote for her.

Who could have thought this endorsement was a good idea? The left/progressive defections from Hillary's base in 2016 due to her not being ideologically pure enough to suit them likely cost her the election, and the right's fervid antipathy for her is well-documented, to say the least.

SJL is a known quantity, and given that most people have long since formed an opinion of her, I can't see such a lightning-rod endorsement doing her much good. 

1 hour ago, Highrise Tower said:

The premier features were a Big Doll House (Screen 1)

Because when you need a compelling feature for the grand opening of a multiplex, nothing beats a women-in-prison movie starring Pam Grier. That'll put butts in seats! 

11 hours ago, august948 said:

Haven't seen anything remotely like Mad Max out there yet, but I'll let you know if I do.

I was just telling my wife the other day that the optimum vehicle for Houston freeways is a late 70s/early 80s Toyota Hilux pickup with an M2 mounted in the bed. If it's good enough for Mogadishu, it's good enough for I-45.

8 hours ago, august948 said:

I remember Lloyd Bentsen.  He was no Nolan Ryan.  😜

Stalin: How many divisions does the Pope have?

HAIF: How many no-hitters did Lloyd Bentsen have?

4 hours ago, wilcal said:

"clean diesel" . ok

In this case they're not just blowing smoke (pun fully intended). Although nothing's going to beat an EV in terms of emissions, newer-generation diesel engines are far removed from the old-school, smoke-belching ones that everyone's been stuck behind at some point. 

https://www.newflyer.com/bus/xcelsior-diesel/

Not a fan of the switch from serif to sans-serif font in the Eyewitness News logo. But I guess the change makes it consistent with everywhere else onscreen text is displayed.

Might be time for the Chron to retool an old favorite again. Hey, it worked once before...

This is very briefly mentioned on Gordon Edge's son Bill's website. 

Quote

He started his own restaurant in 1946 about where 610 and Bissonnet meet today. He decided to expand the building and the neighbors sued for deed restrictions. He lost the case and always considered that the best thing that ever happened to him was going broke in Bellaire. He reopened near River Oaks in 1948 and operated a restaurant close to River Oaks the rest of his life.

The "restaurant close to River Oaks" was longtime Houston fine-dining establishment The Confederate House, which later became the State Grille before closing in 2008. 

Gordon Edge Sr 

7 hours ago, samagon said:

not at all believable though, T-Rex skeletons have never been discovered in the Houston area.

Yet. Hope springs eternal.