MaggieMay

We like using the alternate names because it's fun to confuse newcomers. The smart ones figure out what we mean. (Mostly--some of us remain enigmatic.) The really good ones even demonstrate senses of humor. Welcome!

Lobbyists for the Texas beer distributors contribute millions to Our Legislators to keep the highly lucrative system in place. Jessica Farrar says she'll sponsor a new bill in 2011; she's my rep & I'll keep voting for her. (Not just for the beer!) After visiting the fine new St Arnold brewery & sampling some beer, folks will drop by the gift shop. Where they will find a selection of t-shirts for sale. Perhaps some of them will write their representatives about their desire to support Texas businesses!

Perhaps, someday, we'll be allowed to actually buy beer at the new brewery. Jessica Farrar's bill to allow direct sales to consumers at breweries died last month, per the Houston Chronicle. Last October, the Houston Press's Robb Walsh explained the ridiculous Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code--which cripples microbreweries, for one thing.

I remember my Mom dropping my brother off at the raceway on weekends; I never stayed, myself. But I did get to go with him & my uncle to see the Rod & Custom Show, a couple of times. In the Coliseum? I'd already been reading his hot rod magazines & still have a Rat Fink! Some of the artists involved showed up doing underground comics & psychedelic posters a few years later.

Did the gallery invitation have a date & address? Invitations usually do. Maybe it's sooper seekrit. I found a blog of truly spectacular opacity. No information was forthcoming but there's prose. Here's a snip: Somebody's been reading The Marcel Duchamp Joke Book.

There really is such a thing as mental illness. When one is not able to handle the problems you list. Or--even worse--when the mind creates problems that a "sane" person cannot see. When one cannot think beyond those problems or try to get help. Or even sees himself as a burden to loved ones. Of course, suicide causes pain for the survivors. And the suicidal act can harm others physically. Just because somebody gets through each day without a Pollyanna attitude, why instruct them to kill themselves?

The nice folks who created that presentation want TMC traffic to stay inside the TMC. But the neighborhood was built between the main TMC & the VA hospital. So it was always really within the "greater TMC." Which will continue to grow. Your suggestion sounds like a good way to keep some of the residential area intact. And the homeowners who sell should certainly be well compensated.

Hey, according to that map I live on or very close to the grounds of the Bayland Orphanage. Coming West on Bayland from Houston toward Studewood, after you cross Julian the fine homes of Woodland Heights become the more modest cottages of a subdivision built later. That little cluster of shops is the edge of an area destroyed when I45 went through; surely one of them was a pharmacy. Did the freeway take the route of Montgomery Road? According to Wikipedia: I'd definitely love to see some old pictures of the neighborhood. Including those shops teetering on the edge of the freeway....

Indianola, down on Matagorda Bay, was Texas's second biggest port in the 19th century. Until it was destroyed by a hurricane in 1875. They rebuilt, but another hurricane struck in 1886. During the storm, most of the town burned. So Indianola was abandoned. Read about it here. During Hurricane Rita, a fire broke out in Galveston. The HFD helped--driving their topheavy trucks over the causeway in heavy wind. All sorts of bad stuff can happen during a big storm. If somebody's going to commit arson, they can find a more convenient time than during a hurricane. And I doubt they'd bring along a 4 year old. It's just you.

I agree. The Heights area was inhabited during Art Deco's heyday, so the style isn't out of line. White Oak isn't exactly a museum of exquisite architecture; it's quite an eclectic area. But we don't need a tower blotting out the sky over Onion Creek. It's a matter of size & scale.

John Carrick & his Mom ran Sand Mountain. I was a bit young to make The Jester, but did go to the Mountain. John was in San Francisco at the time & he'd sent back a copy of Jefferson Airplane's first album, which was often played between sets. (Just on the cusp of Folk Rock.) Janice Joplin was making a name for herself Out There; she'd played the Mountain--again, just before my time. Mrs Carrick was heard making unkind comments about her (ahem) orientation. Townes, Guy & Jerry Jeff weren't "big name performers" back then; they were just beginning. Jerry Jeff went off to DC to form Circus Maximus (more "Folk Rock"). Just before he left, he played a brand new song--"Mr Bojangles." Which made his fortune. And he made it back to Texas in time for Cosmic Cowboy days... And I remember Townes, debuting the first serious song he'd written. It was "Waitin' Round to Die."

That was not just any "sex toy shop." That was Condoms Galore!

I remember the Hall quite well. There's an earlier discussion here: http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...?showtopic=5088

I think the cemetery predates the current church considerably. The article I linked above said the last burial was a Polish count--in 1927. So the priests & nuns who've served there are buried elsewhere. And none of the current parishioners can look forward to resting there.

According to this article, there was an effort in the 1960's to clean up the cemetary. "Families of those buried here had an association once but the survivors are so far away they can no longer keep it up." Perhaps some of those "survivors" could show up & get to work! Or at least knock on the rectory door & see what's needed. When you've set something up, post a request for volunteers. My own folks aren't buried there, but I'd be glad to help.

At Houston's Museum of Printing History: Now Playing Houston: The Liberty Hall Poster Show http://38.100.66.22/events.html