VelvetJ

Well this is sorta sad for me. I grew up with Krispy Kreme and remember when they were the size of Shipley Doughnuts and came in a box lined up vertically like Shipley. And believe it or not the icing was not as sweet and it was all over the doughut instead of just on top like current day KK's. I also think the atkin's diet played a huge role in KK's trouble's. Oh well, maybe next go around.

WesternGulf, this will be my last post on this particular thread because no matter what I say some people's minds are already made up, so there is no point in continuing. But seriously, you don't know the facts of what is going on here. Just on a basic level lets be fair and honest about something. You don't know this woman, or anything about her or the ministry. You haven't even been to a church service. You seemed to have missed a vital point in that those gifts are NOT REQUIREMENTS. It is totally volutary. If someone chooses to give her the types of gifts she has asked for, it is TOTALLY up to them. YOU are not required to do so, nor anyone you know, so how can you try to vilify this woman because you believe it's ok for Christians to have expensive things just as long as they are not pastors? If you were a member of this church and had issue with the things this woman has, then I could understand that on a certain level. But this is someone that has no importance in your life nor anyone you know and you have taken this to a level it should not be. You said she is probably on a higher economic status than most people in the church, how do you know this? How do you know what any of the 20,000 members can afford? Did you ever consider there are a lot of people that can afford to give such gifts? Do you know how many millionaires are members of the church? Do you know how many famous recording artists are members of the church? Do you know how many professional athletes are members of the church? Do you know what comes with that $100 ticket? Do you know if she will recieve gifts that are NOT from those places like every other birthday she has had? Dude there is just too much that you just don't know. I will say, I have actually been shaken by this thread, as well as by the thread on the other website that was started about her. No Christian is perfect and I have made judgments about people and things that I knew nothing about as well. Maybe this whole thing was a message for me to be more conscious of myself, because I have just watched folk unfairly and wrongly judge people that I know first hand are good people, without any facts whatsoever and have created situations where they even have people around the country who had never even heard of this woman before now, do the same. It is so funny because I just had a conversation about prejudice without all of the facts with a co-worker on yesterday morning. Then I come to this website and what do I see? Oh yeah, I've got the message. I encourage everyone to try to at least attend a service. Peace.

WesternGulf, what do you think is going to happen if she doesn't get those things? Again, you must not loose sight of the fact this is voluntary. And if you think all of her gifts will be from the places on that site, no you do not know her and have never been to the church like you stated. Do you know how many people have learned Christians should prosper and have since prospered through that ministry? Do you know how many lives this woman has personally touched all over the world? Have you any idea how many lives have been turned around because of this ministry? I will tell you that my own life has been so blessed by these people with visible results, if I had a million dollars to give to them as a thank you, I would in a second. And with all due respect, just because something comes across tacky to you or your mom, does not change the facts or the truth. Dude, you know I got respect for you, but just as sure as I am about my name, you are off base on this.

Again, I am a member of this church and guess what I'm getting her for her birthday? Just guess. One IMPORTANT point some of you are missing is this is VOLUNTARY. I'm not going to get into a debate but I do not believe Christians are suppose to be poor. Before I became a Christian, I enjoyed a certain type of cologne that happens to be pricey. Since I became a Christian, do you think I stopped buying that cologne with the mindset that that money could be going to charity? No. Does anyone know the type of lifestyle this woman had before she became a minister? Does anyone know whether this woman has another job? Did some of you know that all pastors do not believe they should give up all of their posessions like priests? Do you believe Jesus himself was poor? Don't get me wrong, I certainly understand why people are suspicous and are turned off to ministers and Jim and Tammy Baker are examples of that. So it's a persons personal responsibility to check things out for themselves. That is what I did and I encourage everyone to do the same.

Redscare, That was great but I suppose that wasn't the answer I wanted to hear however it was expected. Though not you, I knew some would take my post as my saying, "Houston is a piece of crap and should be wiped from the face of the earth". I knew someone would begin to tell me how great the Menil Collection is and how great our weather can be in January. I knew someone would compare Houston to places that aren't even in our league (who cares about Tampa) and make Houston come out on top in the comparison, which is so easy to do. I knew someone would suggest I want Houston to be the next Orlando or Las Vegas, which is not true. I am aware of those things but that was not my point. With all due respect, Redscare there is no point in telling me how current day Town Centers lack authenticity. There is no point in telling me how much you would appreciate cleaner air and water in Houston. I would LOVE to see our network of Bayous upgraded to canoe in and to have dinner alongside them all over the city. If the city wanted to add another park to it's system, hey I'm all for it. You would not get a fight from me on any of those things. I suppose my issue is the number and variety and quality of attractions in this city. Many times we can get so distracted by telling people how great we are, we loose sight of the fact that there is a ton of room for improvement. That's why whenever this discussion comes up people take it as an insult or begin to overrun the thread by trying to tell me how large the Galleria is. Another point adding to my frustration though I really have no control over and what Redscare is right on about, is the time situation. I know many of these things are going to take time, however my feeling is it doesn't always have to take as long as it does for Houston. Our contemporaries (Dallas and Atlanta......no other city belongs on that tier by the way) both are "new" cities like Houston but are more tourist friendly and both recieve more leisurely visitors than Houston, yet they are years ahead on the hottest things now such as mass transit, mixed-use development, and the creation of people areas, while we are just trying to get out of the starting block. Why is that? No, Houston doesn't have a lot of old established attractions but neither do our counterparts, yet their tourist element thrives when compared to Houston. Yeah we can bring up how many business travelers come here but don't we want as many visitors for leisure as well? Why can't we have both? The largest cities in America, let's see.....New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston. Compare the entertainment/tourist elements of the four. Can anyone see what's wrong with that picture? Over the Christmas Holiday, I was watching the Price is Right and part of the Showcase Showdown of a contestant was a Trip to Chicago, Boston, and (GASP) Atlanta. Now before anyone goes off on me trying to explain why Houston shouldn't want to be on the Price is Right, the point is I remember thinking either a.) Atlanta is doing a great job of improving it's tourist element or b.) they have managed to fool the heck out of us. And the strange thing is I couldn't imagine Houston being a destination for a prize on the show. If visitors to the city can go the beach then turn around and go snow skiing in the AstroDome, then go shopping at the Galleria, then spend the day exploring high quality Musuems, then spend the night club hopping on foot downtown, then canoe on Buffalo Bayou, then attend the opera, then go to the largest and best Theme Park in Texas, then go fishing out in the Gulf of Mexico, then do a little shopping on 19th Street in the Heights, then store hop via foot or shuttle down the Harwin shopping district, then rolling over to New ChinaTown, then catching a Train down to NASA, then go to a Rockets or Astro's Game, all while eating some of the best food in the world? Why not? Why fight a train to Galveston? In a Metro area with over 5 million and growing, many of which are families , why be content or ambivalent about Houston not having an Amusement Park? Why not a museum about the oil industry? Why not monuments to space exploration at our airports? How about a day when students aren't turned off to Rice University simply because it's in Houston? How about the Sharpstown Mall area becoming a giant multicutural mixed use development that reflects, arguably the most ethnically diverse section of this huge city if not Texas? And where are the plans to make it easy to get there by train? The issue isn't so much what we have is bad, as much as we can do so much better. But the first step is realizing we actually have a need to be so much better.

So I see this thread and I am appalled by what I see. No, not about the link but to how the people here have responded, considering no one here has stated they know these people, have attended their church, nor know what they are about. 1. I am TERRIBLE with gifts and every year ask my friends and family what they want. Dare I say they ususally specifically tell me what they want? 2. Everything on that link appears to be voluntary. If someone has the means to afford to buy someone a Gucci bag if they so choose, what is the big deal? Besides, do we know if someone gave her a nice purse that wasn't Gucci she would throw it away? Do you think she would throw a watch from Hermes away because it wasn't specific to what she asked for on the list? 3. Televangalist? Why don't some of you write the church and ask who pays for the Television time. 4. It would probably be a good thing to also ask how they make their money or better yet attend their church to find out how they make their money. 5. I am a Christian and if I made a half million dollars a year, would it be un-christianlike to purchase a Mercedes if I so chose? 6. Oprah Winfrey is a Christian as well, and I have seen some SERIOUS bling on her ears. Is the un-Christian like? 7. Who here knows this woman or what she is about? 8. Who here knows the history of the church and what they do for Houston? 9. As I often hear people say about Christians, I say the same to the critics on this board...."Don't be so quick to Judge" because you don't know what is going on with these people. 10. I am a member of this church and pretty much am aware of how it functions more than most on this site.

Although I believe Redscare is correct, I understand what you are saying Houstonmacbro. For the longest time, I have been preaching about how Houston should focus on tourism more. But just recently I realized I was missing the mark and have since changed my tune. I realized Houston must FIRST have a solid REASON to focus on tourism before we do it. What is the point of pushing tourism when there is hardly anythng to tour that's truly different from other cities. The thing that made me change my tune was finding out I had the task of having to entertain 6 teenage boys from Long Beach California ranging in ages from 14-17 for a week this summer. They are very excited to "see Houston and see Texas" for the first time. I started to think about showing them Houston and became anxiety-filled. I really did not want to do the Movie/bowling/Mall thing because they can do that at home. I realized I couldn't come up with a whole lot and became slightly discouraged. I did come up with the Galleria naturally, NASA/Kemah (although I personally have always found NASA to be boring), and Galveston. Sometimes I hear Houstonians say things like, " we have museums ,and we the zoo, and we have parks, and we have professional sporting events, and a ton of restaraunts". Whenever I hear hear this I always think Duh, we are suppose to have those things considering we are the 4th largest city in the country. IMO, those things are a automatic for a city our size. In a way I see it as Houston patting itself on the back for things we are SUPPOSE to have. Houston lacks attractions. That is not the same as saying Houston has NO attractions. I'm just saying Houston should have more than it does. Some of us may role our eyes and scoff at places like Medieval Times, Ripley's Believe it or Not Museums, Movie Studio Tours, Bungee Parks, and other attractions in the DFW area, but I think it's important to ask why there isn't a market for such things in Houston. They help quality of life more than they hurt it. Many people that visit Texas want to see a little of that stereotype of Texas they have burned into their brains and like I hear often, "want to see a cowboy". Where is Houston's Stockyard like in Ft. Worth? Where is Houston's pride in our Space heritage besides NASA itself? Where is our tribute to the oil industry which is so much a part of who we are? Is there another place that shows off Houston's diversity besides sitting at a traffic light and looking at the ethnicity of the drivers of the cars that are passing in front of me? Although Houston is Texas' largest city as well as it's least tourist friendly, we should not focus on tourism more because there is no need to just yet. More attractions, then more focus on tourism. But the city is moving nonetheless but not quick enough for me as Redscare pointed out.

Good everytime for me.

This has been a crazy week for me so far and this thread is proof of that. Parrothead, I have finally found something that I agree with you on . I had the same experience with regard to this Raising Cane's place. The first time I tried it, it was the day after Hurricane Rita and it was the only place open. I tried it and thought it was too pricey for what I got. I decided to give it another try for whatever reason a few weeks later and I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed it. The chicken is so tender and I fell in love with their Cane's sauce ( I didn't know you could get more than one...thanks for the tip). The toast, the fries, etc. are all very good. And my goodness, have you tried their sweet tea? Good grief it's soooo good. I love this place now. It was my second visit that did it for me as well Parrothead. Maybe those that have tried it once should try it again.

I posted my thoughts before I actually read this thread and my mind has been made up about certain forumers here for a while now. But to actually read ignorance despite the fact that one knows it always manages to show it's ugly face on this board, no lessons the annoyance of it.

I will typically cry at the drop of a hat ( one of the things I wish I could change about myself), but I suprisingly did not cry at this one. However, I saw this movie on yesterday and have been haunted ever since. I couldn't sleep last night from thinking about this film. I haven't had a movie to touch me like this in a while. Very moving.

I'm with you DJ V Lawrence, Houston doesn't really have a tourist trap at all and IMO that's not a good thing for a city our size. It's time for Houston to drop the small town mentality and be the city it's suppose to be. Houston has a extremely low tourist element, you know, things that make visitors to the city go "wow that's cool". But hopefully the Pavillion will be a key into turning that around. Maybe this will be the thing that will open our eyes into WHY a city our size should have a stronger tourist element and how it can help the city on so many levels.

I'm sorry for straying but I have to. If what is in that picture can be done, so could a subway or a tunnel from Greenspoint to Downtown. Flooding who? I'm sorry, you may resume.

Thanks for the links sevfiv. You may have saved me from going to jail . I guess we will be purchasing those plasic red cups and hope skwatra is correct about there not being any "No Alcohol Permitted" signs in Hermann Park. Anyone have any mayo suggestions for me? There seems to be all sorts of mustards in the supermarkets but the mayonnaise selections are very limited. I need a good quality mayo.

How about a seperate residential ferry for residents of Bolivar and Galveston ONLY. They could pay for a seperate ferry via tax money themselves since they would be the only ones using it. And with tax money they could keep up the maintenance on their boats. They could have a seperate lane and a residential I.D. or a sticker they can use to board the residential boat, just don't take away the free ferry. There is nothing like that wind slapping you in the face in the middle of a cool fall night. Or keeping an eye out for dolphins during the day as you are crossing. This is truly one of my favorite things in Texas. It would be a shame if we lost it. WesternGulf, dude you have got to experience the free ferry ride across before any concrete plans are in place to end it via toll road or something else. Once you make the trip you will understand why it shouldn't go and how it being free makes it so special. You can park your car in the parking lot and just walk on board and go up to the top level, or you can drive your car on board and get out and look overboard as you are crossing. Either way, you've got to do it.

I'm glad Houston will finally have a House of Blues. I don't want to come across as ungreatful but I would have loved to have a stand alone building. That HOB in Chicago looks great. So does the one in L.A. I'm happy nontheless.

I thought I would start a thread where people could just ask random questions and hope someone can answer them. I couldn't really think of a place to ask this particular question, so I decided to create a place. Here goes. What exactly are the alcohol laws in Houston with regard to public consumption? If a friend and I wanted to have a picnic in Hermann Park and we wanted to pack wine glasses and a bottle of wine to go along with our lunch, could we do so? The last thing I would want is to have a police officer ruin a great picnic. That would be worse than ants . Would anyone happen to know the answer to this? On another note, can anyone recommend a really good mayonnaise other than the typical Helmann's/Miracle Whip, and where could I find it in Houston?

Redscare, thank you for the empathy, I've been fishing for it from you for a while now . With regard to your first point, what is the point of paying millons for new BRT vehicles and upgrading the the bus stops to fit them, when METRO could just lay the tracks and use the buses we currently have on the routes? From what I have seen there virtually isn't any difference between current buses and the BRT vehicles except for the obvious cosmetic difference. We are replacing a bus with a bus, which is not going to give people incentive to ride it, possibly stagnating the possibility of rail getting to those areas at all. That would also mean the BRT vehicles will not be able to be re-used in the furthuring of the system because they will more than likely never leave the Harrisburg/Southside areas. On your second point, I wasn't really trying to suggest NO concrete should be in our future or that all current freeway projects should be halted. In fact, I actually supported expanding the Katy freeway, and lord knows 290 needed an expansion YESTERDAY. It's just I hate for those in the powerful decision making positions in this city to do things without thinking them through to conclusion. And for those "our tax money" voters in John Culberson's district to allow themselves to be persueded that including a rail line for the near future instead of two toll roads on the Katy Freeway, was a bad idea. Lastly, you are correct about Americans and the crowbar between the eyes thing. I suppose I just want Houstonians to be smarter than other Americans. I mean clearly, proactive thinking doesn't seem to be one of our strengths in Houston in recent history, but can't we be a little bit better about it? Waiting to the last minute will come back to bite you in the butt at some point. Don't we know that? Waiting until Katrina is knocking on our door before we decide upgrading the levee system is a good idea is dangerous isn't it? Didn't we know that? Oops, sorry about the stray. I can accept we are no smarter than anyone else but I would expect us to at least be no dumber. Note- I am not trying to be argumentative as much as I like to always think I'm right.

It's funny you brought this up ( I promise to go back to subject but), I have asked this question before about the Sugarland commuter rail but never really heard anyone address it. I wonder how the ridership of the Sugarland commuter train will be? When it opens, The Southwest Freeway will be completed, The South Main 90-A Super Road, which will basically be a freeway from the 610 South loop down to Murphy Road will be completed, and a large portion of the Ft. Bend Tollway will be done. Basically there will be 3 freeways connected to Southwest Ft. Bend County before commuter even arrives. Commuting to and from Ft. Bend will have so many viable road options, I wonder if people will take advantage of commuter rail like they would if the other options didn't exist. With so many ways to get to Sugarland/Missouri City etc., I hope it doesn't result in Sugarland Commuter trains showing low ridership, therby giving rail opponents amo to fight commuter rail proposed for other parts of the city. However, on the other hand gas prices will probably be so insane, METRO won't have enough commuter trains to keep up with demand. WEsternGulf- You brought up a great point about the BRT conversions. Yeah, why would METRO spend so much money on something they were only going to keep for a couple of years? I think we may have to face BRT being more of a long term thing, despite what we've been told. From what BRT appears to be, it is absolutely no different from a regular bus, which is no reason for ridership to increase. It's as simple as pie. Western, I too get so frustrated with not only the leaders of this city but our citizens as well. One can see our "issue" with gas/oil in the future coming like a freight train, yet we are still allowing more concrete to be persued more agressively in our future than anything else. We sit back with our arms folded and smiles on our face feeling proud and progressive because 25-30 years from now, there will finally be commuter rail out to the Woodlands. If I may quote you, "what the hell is going on here?"

These are the photos I did not post earlier with regard to whether the driver will or will not have to actually guide the bus.

Metro has opted to include BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) in Houston's future to the chagrin of a number of Houstonians. Although light rail is suppose to eventually take the place of BRT by the laying down of rail tracks underneath the concrete of the BRT guideway, some wonder if it's even worth the trouble of dealing with BRT at all. When METRO revised the new plan (without input or knowledge of voters) we were told how great BRT is and the benefits of it. As an example they pointed us to Las Vegas who already have them implemented into their Mass Transit System. Is BRT what we were led to believe they are, or were we sold a bill of goods? Take a look at the photos and comments of a person who recently experienced them. (Photos and comments are courtesy of queetz of SSP) He stated: "The one thing that intrigued me about the city was not the mega hotels and casinos, the never ending entertainment, etc. But rather that Las Vegas has got to be the dumbest city to ever implement the worse kind of transit system there is known to man! The dreadful optically guided bus known as the Irisbus Civis. :uhh: I had a chance to see and experience the enemy of LRT proponents face to face myself and trust me, the Irisbus Civis is a joke! Behold!!! :speech: Irisbus Civis coming out of its bay in the Las Vegas Downtown Transit Centre Interior of the guided bus Here is the guided bus stuck in traffic. So much for "Bus Rapid Transit"... The Irisbus Civis isn't guided all the way but only uses the white guiding lines when docking in the station. Note how easily it fades away.... One of the marketing ploys of Irisbus is how the guided bus docks so close to the station that it would look and feel like a tram or metro. But that is so untrue as seen in the pics... And probably the greatest achilles heel that I've discovered is despite claims that the guided bus does not require the driver steering the vehicle when in guided mode (in this case, when docking in the station), that is absolutely not true as the bus driver still steers the bus when it docks to the station platform. X-will post later X-will post later X-will post later Given its technological flaws, the Irisbus Civis must not be explored further for any city that is considering it as a substitute for the ever reliable LRT." Now, I think it's quite obvious the guy is biased, however does that necessarily mean his facts and examples are untrue? Will we have the same results in Houston? Will we end up eventually having to spend more money in the long run because we have once again allowed ourselves to be fooled into thinking that in Houston anything other than the absolute cheapest way is being fiscally irresponsible and a waste of tax payers money? How will these be different from the buses that already run along the routes?

Well maybe my lying eyes played a 30 second trick on me. I know I saw that commerical on channel 11 during their morning show. Is there another witness out there?

So what you and some others are saying is because of the "pop and other" acts, you don't/didn't have enough country/western concerts to attend? What exactly is the issue here? Is this a a complaint that the HLSSR don't have ENOUGH country and Western acts, or is it a complaint that there are too many that are not? There is a difference between the two. Since I have been in Houston, I have noticed that Houston has changed a heck of a lot. We all know what the Rodeo is but even that has changed along with Houston. Money is to be made and if that means attracting more people, then what's wrong with that? Although I personally am not a huge Hip Hop fan and am actually happy with this years lineup, I know a Jay Z/ Mary J Blige combo would attract a HUUUUUUGGGGGGEEEEEEE Crowd and the Rodeo would make a TON of money. Again, is this a situation of Country and Western Music fans feeling they don't have enough concerts to attend? Is there now a lack of Western Heritage at the Rodeo? If so, then the Rodeo should do something about that but not at the expense of the Rodeo's new fans. Whether we want to face it or not, the Rodeo has evolved much like Houston has. Making money is now just as much a part of the Rodeo's Heritage as The Western Heritage itself, whether is should be that way or not.

Last night I saw a news story on Channel 11 regarding a new TV Ad regarding Tom Delay. At the end of the story, Greg Hurst read a statement from Tom Delay's office threatening any local TV Station with legal action if they chose to run the advertisment. Later, as I was flipping, I came across the same story on Channel 13, and after their story, the anchor read a statement from the station manager that basically said they reviewed the commercial and chose not to run it. I'm not even sure if Channel 2 even covered the story. This morning as I'm getting ready for work, I see this new commercial airing on channel 11 and before I knew it, I was clapping my hands and yelling at the set. Not so much because it was an ad that Tom Delay would view as negative, but in victory of KHOU not allowing themselves to be bullied by someone who has a reputation and track record of being one of the biggest bullies in politics. I say Bravo Bravo Bravo to channel 11 for this action and for solidifying my opinion that it is the most objective of the major news outlets in this city. If it has a particular "leaning" it does a great job of covering it, which is something I wish I could say for a couple of other stations, whom I feel are too much of one or the other. I love a TV station with guts.

Dude/Dudette, what are you talking about? I didn't say I was against them, I thought I inferred I had issues with the AMOUNT of them, that's why I said, "enough already". And to take it a little further, I can't stand the fact they are being built in the parking lots of businesses now. Back in the old days , they used to build them on empty parcels of land. Now, you will see a strip center with a DIY carwash in the middle of the parking lot. Drive down South Gessner and tell me it isn't so. Shucks, let's take it even further than that.....there are now business that share space. There is a restaurant on Gessner near Bissonett where half of the parking lot is used for parking for the customers of the restaurant and the other half is used as a Used Car Lot. Now what would our elitist brothers in the NYC think of that? WesterGulf, those storage facilities have been a thorn in my side for exactly 3 years now because it was 3 years ago that one of my favorite bootleg football fields was converted into one. Curses. What happened to garage sales, what happened to the Goodwill, what happened to just giving stuff away, what happened to selling stuff from the trunk of your car in the parking lots of abandoned businesses? We've all done that, right? These young whipper snappers need storage facilities. I spit on storage facilities. That does remind however, I haven't made my monthly payment on my stuff in storage. Despite my bitter disposition, I'm really a happy guy.