skwatra

well i got a quick reply from Mr. Luck, i never mentioned that i would not support the team so i'm not sure where he got that from, i simply stated that i supported the name Housotn 1836 and did not think there should be any controversy. here is his reply to me: "Thanks for the e-mail. I appreciate your passion on the matter. Since the name was launched last month I have heard from a number of folks and institutions in the Mexican-American community as well as in the Anglo. African-American and Asian community. We have hit a "raw nerve" in the Mexican-American community with our decision. I do not see it as a white-black-brown issue at all. Soccer, as you well know, is a game that is enjoyed across the globe by virtually every ethnicity. Houston has always been a city in which the ethnic groups get along well. We want to contribute to that. Our intent is to unite the soccer fans of this great city. It was becoming clearer to me that we would have an extremely difficult time doing this given the passionate feelings that exist. I hope that you will reconsider your position on supporting the team. We need everyone in this city who cares about the sport to be supportive. I would be happy to meet with you if you are so inclined. Again, a sports franchise ought to exist to bring people together and given the depth of the feelings that we encountered this goal would have been difficult to achieve. I respect your opinion but I hope that you reconsider. Believe me, I was very tempted to "stay the course" but after a lot of reflection from the league, the ownership group and the local folks here in Houston we decided that a change was necessary. At the end of the day it was a business decision about what is best for our long term business prospects. Oliver Luck"

this pisses me off as well. Houston 1836 grew on me, i like the logo, and i like how its different. if we end up with something "Texas" themed that's really going to suck. And shouldn't that offend the Mexicans as well?? you think i can find an 1836 at Academy? If i do i'm going to wear it to the CONCACAF Championship game next week at MMP (Mexico vs Jamaica).

drove by around 2:30am saturday night and saw 4-5 people in there. i'll have to check it out this weekend.

but are either of these open late or even at all on the weekends?

i visited Toronto last fall and loved it. it has all the energy and diversity of NYC, but more laid back with friendlier people. i found it pedestrian friendly, we walked all around downtown with ease, and there were tons of people out everywhere we went.

and here's a new guide that's out for bars/clubs in houston, still in work but good for maps and what type of scene: http://barstoolmag.com/

no one has mentioned the village which is fun on friday nights. not as much action as downtown (especially when it comes to clubs), but a different scene. two rows is a good brewpub, mi luna for tapas and good drinks (try to sangrita, bring your cc). gingerman and little woodrow's for local bars with lots on tap, baker's street for a trendier bar, and bronx and o'neills for good music and hot girls. rice village bars on citysearch saturday downtown is the best place. warren's for some predrinking, really stiff cheap drinks. check out la carafe for an old unique quiet place for beer and wine, then wander to main street where you'll find everything. M Bar usually has good music (hip hop) and dancing, really good looking girls, though i haven't been for a while. Suede/Mercury can be good too. I would just walk around and try to find the action. Flying Saucer is a chill bar with great atmosphere, with any beer you could want available. some great live music venues with good crowds are Sammy's on Main and Sky Bar on Montrose (with a great view of downtown).

aren't they transitioning to CNG buses? i've seen a few out there and those are much quieter. not going to help with the driving skills but it's a start.

ok, it was found offensive by many, from a chron article:

that's fine, they can have the nickname "36ers" my point is, on San Fran and Phillie's birth certificate, it says "49ers" and "76ers" - its their given name, not a nickname. there are teams out there that have nicknames, like the knickerbockers. but i like Houston 1836 better, goes more with the sport if you ask me. from everything i've heard and read, 1836 (in this case) represents the founding of Houston. there's never been any mention of the Alamo or Independence related to the teamname. Hopefully it will not alienate anyone, nor should it.

that's because those aren't their names. the 49ers were what people who came for the gold rush were called. the team names were never 1849 or 1776. this should stay Houston 1836 i would hope. it also follows the style in Europe, goes more with soccer. 36ers doesn't sound right if you ask me. but then again, i don't hear myself saying, "hey, you want to go to an 1836 game?"

No prob, that's actually necessary in order to have a good discussion. you just came out blasting on a brand new member, so i was just defending what i think looks like a great project. but they can obviously handle it on their own. Van's has since closed i believe.

^well good luck, and keep us updated with progress reports here!

yeah, they are there already, skating through parks and garages downtown. maybe if we build a place designated and designed for skating, it would cut down on the illegal skating. though skating backwards away from fat parking garage rent-a-cops as they chase you is a lot of fun and may keep them coming to garages, not that i ever did that. and when i used to skate downtown, i was with a bunch of normal, 20-something skaters who were just looking for a place to skate.

hodge

and Continental is the first domestic airline to place an order for 787's, we'll have to wait and see how many will fly out of houston.

mike1, i'm not knocking the tunnel system, i think its great, and if i worked downtown in a building with access, i know i would use them. i didn't even know they existed until over a year after i moved back here... i still think downtown should accommodate those on a leisurely Saturday stroll as well. if i'm going to a show or game, i'm not going to go into the tunnels to find a place to eat or grab a drink, that's just not appealing. they're good for what they were built for. what does this have to do with an underground garage again?

i don't work downtown, but i spend a lot of time there in the evenings and weekends. and i've been in the tunnels once, because they are never open when i'm there. so no, i don't find myself using them, because i can't. but i do find myself walking the streets of downtown often, and wish there was more activity. and i don't know how different the weather is in downtown, but that 70% doesn't make sense to me. i'm sure the number of days a year that its "bearable" to walk outside in houston is similar to chicago or new york. but i guess that depends on your definition of bearable.

probably, if you were there before astros games or at 2:30am... though when the firehouse existed, i wasn't very active on this board. any chance i could swing by the Heights and get one of those phillies??

maybe we can build it on the superblock in midtown.

i agree the lineup is disappointing, but i don't really care since i'm not into the whole country western "Texas" thing, and i definitely don't like the music. but last year, i was excited about the rodeo, because of who played. i know lots of people who would never usually go, but went for certain artists and realized they enjoyed the rodeo stuff as well. they reached out to people who would normally laugh at the concept of the rodeo. i understand where some of you are coming from, it is a Rodeo and livestock show, so you play that kind of music. but over the past few years, its become a lot more then just a rodeo. if they want to go back to all country, and don't like what they created, that's up to them. whoever they are.

great to hear. definitely keep us posted, i'll be out there with a bunch of my heavy drinking hockey buddies.

^D'Amico's Italian Market Cafe?

so what's the status of the Maple Leaf? drove by the other day and it doesn't look close to being ready to open. any one know what's up?

is the astrodome completely out of the question? what if they kept the existing infrastructure, gutted the inside to create a more intimate properly sized stadium using half the dome which could be against one side, and went forward with retail/hotel or whatever on the other side? yeah i'm dreaming...