Subdude

The real question is why did the chickens cross the road?

Good to see this. Hooray for grids!

Very James Bond super-villain.

Bond version:

Talk about irony and an interesting point. They seem to be trying to shed the "Chinatown" moniker, yet their new name sounds like a significant period in Asian history, AND they are putting (I assume) Chinese symbols on the street signs.

There's a picture of the Chinese character street signs on the marketing website. I don't think they are trying to get rid of the "Chinatown" name, since it is unlikely many people would call the area "Chinatown" to begin with. On the contrary, it seems they are trying to resurrect the former Chinese character of the area, even if it effectively vanished 50 years ago, to add a little ethnic cachet. It's just another shallow marketing gimmick.

You know, a couple of years ago some clown was pushing the "SoDo" name for Midtown, and people have tossed "NoDo" about, and now these nitwits have dreamed up "EaDo". What is it with this city anyway? Do lots of people just feel that we will never be complete as a city until there is a neighborhood or two ending in "Do"? Do people really believe that would confer coolness or world class status? How much more insecure could we possibly act? It's like my mother used to say: "When you try to make an impression, that's the impression you make."

Haven't there been news stories though that satellite radio is bleeding money and may not be long for this world?

I hate to disagree with the estimable Stephen Fox, Houston architectural historian and fellow of the Anchorage Foundation of Texas, but if the post office is distinguished architecture, then I am General Robert E Lee.

Are the Themes really relevent?

Not especially. They typically will have some representative music or dance from the theme country, but 95% of it seems to be the same from year to year. Still, there's not a lot of downside to having a theme country, except that without one the festival wouldn't be international, so they would have to ditch the "iFest" tag.

I just wish they could find an effective way to get all of the northbound SW fwy/59 traffic to stay to the right when approaching the downtown spur. It's hopeless, I know, but it does add quite a bit of time to my drive home, just wading through the last-minute lane changers.

Those last-minute lane changers, the ones who drive to the front of the queue in a turning lane...there's a special place in hell for them, and it burns a little hotter there.

Something y'all may find interesting: http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_atlas.php

Interesting site.

To me one of the most indecipherable accents is Scottish. For about a month once I shared an office with a Scot, and it must have driven him crazy because I kept asking him to repeat everything. Finally I gave up on trying to comprehend and just relied on smiling and nodding to everything he said.

"EaDo"? "EaDo"? Oh good god, you MUST be kidding. Calling it lame barely scratches the surface of the inanity here. How clueless can these people possibly be? Don't they see how embarrassing this sort of thing is?

Is it too late to ask the marketing consultants for the money back? Do you think it was from the same firm that came up with "iFest"? Maybe they specialize in derivative names they try to pass off as "hip".

h2obuff has a lot to learn about dealing with anti-sprawl zealots. He has yet to figure out that you folks couldn't care less about the environment--it's only a politically convenient line of argument (coupled with unsubstantiated accusations of obfuscation, misrepresentation, projection, or exaggeration) supporting their totalitarian point of view that people with tastes and preferences unlike theirs ought to be deprived of the right to them.

And still more from the Department of Sweeping Generalizations.

I hear a multitude of blue collar British accents, but I hear them on British TV. They've become popular among politicians recently. MPs that used to speak with a clipped, "received pronunciation" seem to have adopted "estuary english" almost overnight.

I would guess that American pronunciation - and even more so intonation - has changed significantly over time as well. If you watch old movies from the 1930s there is a noticeable difference in accent from what is common today.

I hear a multitude of blue collar British accents, but I hear them on British TV. They've become popular among politicians recently. MPs that used to speak with a clipped, "received pronunciation" seem to have adopted "estuary english" almost overnight.

Isn't it just that the received pronunciation became increasingly rare over time? A year or so ago there was a story about how the BBC was having a difficult time casting the role of a girl before World War 2 because it was so hard to find "gaels" who had learned that pronunciation.

Reguarding #4, if you look at the satalite images on google maps you can see alot of the concrete foundations still present which makes me think that the buildings were razed due to fire.

Apparently not now, but the concrete foundation of the I&GN Station (#10) used to be visible. The rounded tower on the left was very apparent.

I did find it interesting to hear that the Brits like an American "accent", even though we don't have one! I got that all the time. "I Love your American accent." What accent?

Actually there is a very distinct American accent. It is hilarious to hear non-Americans do American accent imitations.

Isn't the term "Brits" somewhat an Americanism?

It's funny, though, you never hear the more common blue collar British accent just about anywhere. It's painfully annoying.

Oi!

The "i" does give it a certain Apple-esque or high-tech sound.

Arguably, but it's a municipal festival. You don't need to sound high-tech when you are a place people go to eat greasy turkey wings.

I suspect it was an attack of marketing consultants.

I do like the font in the "iFest" logo though.

Houston has bigger aesthetic issues than billboards.

Meaning that people shouldn't care about anything less than the biggest aesthetic issues?

Ever notice - just mention bicycling in a topic and people start complaining about bicyclists.

I would have to keep calling it International Festival. Supposedly clever constructions like "iFest" make my teeth hurt.

Should this thread be combined with the 'Houston Dynamo Stadium Talk' thread in the 'Sports and Stadia' section?

Done.

Oozing Through Texas Soil, a Team of Amoebas Billions Strong

After producing superlatives like the world

Stimulus Ideals in Conflict on the Texas Prairie

Michael Stravato for The New York Times

WALLER, Tex.

This week's Economist has an article about the Texas economy that is illustrated by a shot of downtown construction cranes.

Four minutes, 14 seconds per day.

This is the one that surprised me. It must mean that a whole lot of people end up here just checking a search, take a quick look, then go back. I would guess that even when committed membership is low, there is at least probably a fairly high HAIF-awareness in Houston, just from the number of people who have briefly stumbled through.

But parking is usually a nightmare, spilling into the surrrounding neighborhoods. It cannot stay that way... it needs to be redone, in a way that caters to the pedestrian as well as the automobile.

But how can you cater to both pedestrians and cars at the same time? I'm not saying all of Houston needs to be turned into some urban village, but keeping some areas walkable is going to mean that they are less car-friendly. Having to walk a couple of blocks to park is hardly the end of the world.