crunchtastic

you almost made me spit out my drink! Tim Heller doesn't pee sitting down. Of course, I think his high-pants are permanently attached to his body, thus he doesn't bend at all.............but that's another story. Indeed. Where is the damn front? My a.c. just kicked on again. At 77.

Speaking of the streets--stashing a stray cart or two for later use is not a bad idea. Ya never know when they might be a key element in a new informal- living arrangement.

That new/old red brick on the library in Chicago reminds of a little of the Federal Reserve here. It's such an ugly building, we could at least have fun with it--add some gargoyles holding bags of money.

I'd bet on HEB knocking that store out way faster than Whole Foods.

You created the kick-ass stock picking spreadsheet last fall, right?

Ha! Gotta put the short ribs on a 5-hour braise, and mow the lawn. Good thing I have the day off!

Keep being awesome!

wow. That's an impressive record. The Astros need a manager--are you interested?

LOL. So it was true about 'plastics'.

I'll be there at 5.

OK, kids. It's official. In honor of Mr Nova Lomax at the Press recognizing our hipness and outing one of our gathering spots, this Friday's HAIFy Happy Hour will be at the 'enjoy it while we can' Lone Star Saloon.

I still have not been to Stephanie's, even though it's right there. I am not shy about skeevy bars, but the Happy Go Lucky gives me pause, I must admit.

Christ, the hipsters are hell bent on taking over. Nowhere is safe. The D&W is mere blocks from my house, in fact me and a certain HAIFer who lives in my hood were discussing swinging by for drinks in the near future. The Lone Star Saloon was actually the site of a well attended HAIF Happy Hour this past spring. In fact, the Lone Star is currently on the short list for this week's HHH. Does this mean we'll be crashed by partypeople? Not making the list was the infamous Happy Days Lounge, site of two (three?)previous HHHs. You kids have it lucky, let me tell ya! We didn't have the Press to tell us where to go drink. No cameraphone shots of the jukeboxes. No tweets to alert us that the guy we were trying to shake just pulled in to the Roll-N parking lot! Trial and error was all we had! But bad bars made us tough. We had to earn our divebar stripes!

I highly recommend Eric Schlosser's (Fast Food Nation) book called Reefer Madness. He has a great section on the War on Drugs, federal minimum sentencing effectively placing judicial decisons in the hands of federal prosectors, etc. It's a little outdated, in that it pre-dates the rise in the open medical-marijuana trade in California. (The book also contains a really good, short history of the growth of the modern US porn industry.)

The Best Website in Houston sounds like the cry room at church.

While it's not an example of block-busting per se, the 4th ward/Midtown immediately comes to mind.

We do deserve much better, but I suspect the average taxpayer would be quite happy to let the jail crumble to the ground with the inmates still inside. It's rather embarrassing that this had such a short useful life. Critics would call it symptomatic of sterotypical Houston impermanence.

I heard from a usually reliable source that some of the new Calhoun Lofts tenants are planning to sue the University for changing the grad student-only policy. They signed leases on the assumption that the lofts would be a grad student facilty, as advertised, and instead are living around underclassmen. Interesting. Unless the policy is spelled out in the lease, I can't see having a case. In any event, will try and find out more.

The carts at the Gulfgate HEB are the worst. There's a special coating alright, of nasty! I know the new gray ones you mean, though. They do have a few new ones, and I have taken to cruising my preferred side of the parking lot on foot to try and find one. If you have the misfortune of going on a Saturay or Sunday afternoon, you can barely find a cart at all. It's madness. The Kroger is no better. It's just a toss up between screaming children everywhere and no carts, or cellphone shouting AWBs and no carts.

Of course you're not an idiot! But i still think it's true that men and their egos ruin lots of things. Although, I must admit I'm sort of enjoying RedScareGate. .... not quite the Atlanta Housewives, but close. Me and the cap'n are having fun trying to figure out who is the HAIF's NeNe. It's certainly more interesting than a thread about a new texmex-flavored Sysco restaurant in midtown.

Dude! Ricco, I can't believe you've missed all this. I think you have summed it up: egos. Your goddamn men, tend to usually ruin it for others.

Yes. But why is your font so tiny?

I have learned something new today--had no idea there was a coming out day. Happy anniversary, Bryan! Two of my best friends didn't come out until they were in their early 30s and early 40s, respectively. I can't imagine life sucking for that long. Happily, it's a little easier for some people now.

I work for AIG and I love Thievery Corp. Incompatible? I think not. You can dance to it, and that's all that really matters, isn't it?

You exhibit a commitment issue with music. The way to best enjoy a certain artist is a more lengthy listen. Are you ADHD? You need more funkiness in your life. The JBs, (box set) and an obscure New Orleans band called Porter Batiste Stolz. -- when the Meters broke up and all the Neville Bros left in the early 70s, they left George Porter, who after a series of bands ended up with a new funk jam-band trio.