VelvetJ

Ok, so should I even mention yesterdays game? OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!! Definitely one of the all time worst. The Texans snatched defeat right out of the arms of victory. What more can be said?

Hate is a strong word so I can't say I hate him. I can however, say I despise him. But hey kids, I'm starting to gain concern over the "Tom Delay Show" spinoff that may be coming to a town near us next year. And that is the ever increasing steam engine of the "Dan Patrick Hour". Giant billboards are popping up all over, and yesterday I saw my first Dan Patrick bumper sticker. There is no time for anyone to relax because if Tom Delay get's the boot, another wolf disguised in the cloak of morality and Christianity, who sucks almost as hard, could be waiting in the wings trying to work his way up to a place of power via the Senate. There is no time to rest.

Interesting theory but I will have to disagree with you. Hate is a very strong word. I have my own opinions on what I really think applies to probably most of the people you are lableling as "America haters". From my experience I think it is more of a sitatution of there are those that are aware of the fact that America isn't always the innocent angles we paint ourselves to be. As much as we love America, we know that America isn't ALWAYS right. We know that as great as our country is, this country has been greater to some over others. We are aware of the fact that there are times when our country can be unfair. We are aware of the fact that some of our companies will place making a buck over any and everything, including people. And although we are aware we are in the greatest country in the world, we know it isn't perfect and in some situations could do certain things better, and just overall improve in some areas. Most people that you think hate America in actuality just want the country to do and be better, and believe it or not, it is more than likely coming from a place of love. In a sense, it's sort of like my experience on this site. As most here know, I can be very critical of Houston. Some view it as my hating Houston and think I should just move. But the reality is, I just want better for the city and want Houston to be the best it can be, and it is because I love the city so. On another note, ferronfunctionals I agree with you on the fiscal conservative and cheap thing. Spend the money you need the first time, so one doesn't have to go back to re-do it because of fiscally cutting corners the first time. I think some, especially in this city, have to learn to understand that spending a lot of money does not always equate to wasting it. I don't think you can find a whole lot of people in this day that WANT to waste money. Ferronfuncitonals is correct in that EFFICENCY is the key. By the way, I have been described as a Democratic liberal with a visible conservative streak, a bed-wetting liberal, a moderate, and a conservative, so gather what you will from that.

Well, more money may be needed for all I want. Well this time, I will just stick to transportation. In no particular order: Commuter Rail out to the major suburbs (basically in the direction of most of our freeways) Widen 290 Light Rail along the perimeter of 610. Maglev to Intercontinental from Downtown Maglev from Downtown to Galveston, with one stop in Clear Lake (that has a shuttle from the station to NASA) Tunnel from Greenspoint To Downtown Light Rail through the Uptown Area with a indoor rail station attached to the Galleria itself. Suspended or elevated rail out Westheimer Elevated Rail to Hobby

Just looking at this project again, I could totally see a significant portion of Kirby one day looking like this from River Oaks down to the Rice Villiage. I could also see Westheimer at Post Oak having a similar type of development. Anyway, my favorite thing about this proposal is the details in it. I love the structure around the roof. I love that the top of the far left corner of the building looks as if it could be illuminated at night. I love the lamp posts. I love the awnings. Very exciting stuff. I only hope it can come to pass.

Love the Palm Trees. Houston should use more.

So Jupiter, do you have any idea as to exactly where this would be located?

Tuesday evening I had a errand I had to run on the Southwest Freeway after work and decided to take the Westloop to the 59 South. The traffic was terrible needless to say because it was rush hour but what I saw when I got to Westpark FLOORED me. The "new" Westpark Tollway was packed solid for as far as the eye could see. The cars were inching along just like the Southwest Freeway, but the difference is people were paying to sit in traffic on the freeway. I then took care of my errands, which took about 45 minutes, and headed home to the Westchase area. I reached Gessner and the Westpark tollway, looked up and saw the traffic still inching along. I then realized, the same thing has happened to this new road that has happened on the Sam Houston Tollway, and every other freeway that has been built or expanded in Houston. Even after all of the staggering amount of money spent on these projects, Houstonians are still stuck in bumper to bumper traffic like nothing has been done. I have lived on the Southwest side since I've moved to Houston and at some point in that period I have had to take the Southwest Freeway, The Westloop through Bellaire, as well as the West Sam Houston tollway daily to and from work. I suffered through the widening of the Southwest Freeway only to see it pile up once again within 2 years. I watched the Sam Houston tollway built from scratch and I watched how quickly it became a sickening traffic trap. I lived through the construction of the beautiful westloop through Bellaire only to see it packed solid very quickly after it was finished. Now, I observe the new Westpark Tollway during rush hour and see cars idleling. I expected it to fill but it seem to have done so at an incredibly accelerrated rate. I am now predicting the same thing is going to happen once the Widening of the Katy Freeway is done, and I fear it's going to happen much faster than many of us are probably anticipating. The moral of this is I suppose is just to express how interesting I find it that we have spent all of this money on easing traffic only to find ourselves in the exact same situation not long after the projects are finished, except this time people are having to pay toll to sit in traffic. What's the point? How has the Westpark tollway eased congestion? How has this new tollway helped improve our air quality? How many people has it taken out of their cars during rush hour? Were there any homes or businesses taken during the building and if so, was it worth it? Was all of this for naught for Houston as a whole? I can't say I was totally against this road, although I do belive rail should have been the first option on the rail tracks that were removed from Westpark in the late 90's. I know it is convenient for some during non-peak times, but was that the purpose of this toll road? From what I saw the other night, it already looks as if that road has already reached capacity and it's still new. What lesson can Houstonians learn from this?

I passed it yesterday, and it does seem like a fairly large development. It looks as if there will be a few retail stores connected to it.

I suppose I am basically with you Red. I think celebrities influencing people's vote is overrated. I am another who know very few people if any that has voted based upon what a celebrity thinks. Now if you want to talk about people who have voted for someone soley based upon a single subject, unfortunately I know of the type. Now THAT is a dangerous game that I think most of Americans have awaken to a little more at this point. Anyway, I really don't believe people vote based upon what Cher says, however I do find myself a little more concerned when it comes to those like Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity and the entire Fox News Network because they sell themselves as being actual legitimate news that is objective (can someone say "Fair and Balanced"?). That type of situation is more conerning to me with regard to voting influence than actors. One last thing, although Oprah has given money to both Republicans and Democrats in the past, I think it is fairly simple to figure out her party affiliaton. If it walks, talks, acts, hangs out with, and has a looooooooooooong history of being with ducks, not to mention a close relationship with the biggest duck family in the country , it's a duck in most cases. And Oprah is one in the most case scenario.

Good news.

Absolutely FANTASTIC! I have GOT to make a trip to Seattle.

Well, well, well Redscare, it appears you at least understand from where my criticisms of Houston are coming. Your post hit the nail on the head. I can say I agree with you Redscare, as well as crwm4, and Midtowner. My issue however, and the source of many of my frustrations with Houston is too many of our citizens won't seem to have a desire, or even understand the reason the city should have a vibe at all. And from past experience, we will probably "get it" or get a understanding of it about 20 years from now. Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating, but I think you get my point. As far as the Houston Pavillions, I still have hope and faith it will happen.

Nice video, thanks for taking the time to post citykid09. If anything maybe Houston could learn something from it. Or at least learn something from the pictures you posted. *note* Can someone say unnecessary attacking?

Are you kidding me with this? Do a search to find out the answers to your questions. But I will respond to one of them. Have you ever asked yourself how parents could punish their kids and still love them? Gary if you notice, most of the critics here have never stated they felt Houston was a horrible place or that we didn't like the place. Most here express wanting better for the city, asking why certain things are the way they are, attempt to address issues that we feel retard the city, and suggest ideas to make the city better. If you or anyone else think I registered at this site soley to criticize a city that I hate, you are mistaken and I think it's pretty obvious to the moderators here that is not my intent, otherwise I would have been banned a long time ago. If there is a thread that I feel necessary to list my issues and what we can do to address them, I will do so. But until that time, you will have to piece things together from my previous posts.

Midtowner, I just want you to know you have a supporter here. I understand what you are saying. It's clear others don't because they began to use the scapegoat of " if you don't like it leave". I'm surprised no one has pulled out the ol' reliable, "but Houston is so diverse". It is so interesting and a bit sad that so many here cannot seem to recognize that those of us here that criticize the city actually love it or like it. Maybe there is something in the water here, because it's like you stated, our citizens don't seem to even recognize there is much room for improvement. It's like we are slow or something. Some say those of us that criticize the city are insecure but IMO people or places that can't seem to take even the slightest bit of criticism is insecure. I'm with you Midtowner (and that does not mean I love Houston any less, to my detractors).

OK, so I had a heated debate lastnight with a friend that all started with our disagreement over whether the roof should have been open or closed during the World Series. I say it should have been closed, he says it should have stayed open due to baseball, as well as football, being designed to be played outside. He also didn't buy into the noise being a factor when the roof is closed. In fact he attended one of the games while we were playing Atlanta and he didn't understand why the roof was closed because the weather was so great outside. He feels the teams should just go out on the field and play solid baseball and the roof shouldn't be a factor one way or the other ( I agree the players should go out and play to be best of their ability by the way) .But that's not the issue here. While we were playing in Chicago this past weekend, I had another friend tell me that she thought Chicago had an advantage because they were use to playing in cold weather and the Astro's were not. Well I brought this up last night and my friend made a interesting point. He said for example, when teams from Florida go up to play in the north many times the northern teams are at an advantage, and the same is true in the reverse order when Green Bay travels to say Tampa or Miami and have to play in extreme heat. He also mentioned that no football team with a roof has ever won a superbowl. My quesiton is, is it necessary for Sports facilities in Houston to have any type of roof? Some make the argument that if the professional sports facilities in Florida don't need domes, why does Houston have them? If they can deal with the elements there, why can't we here? Is Houston and New Orleans any hotter than Miami, Tampa, and Jacksonville? If baseball and football were made to be played outside, why do we need domes in Houston?

My last post was sarcasm.

TJones ,none that I have seen. Maybe someone should spread the word.

Yeah, what Redscare said.

Jan Jeffcoat. Seriously, some of the Rockets as well as Comets and other NBA players that reside here in the off season. Jazzy Fey and Cee-lo were there yesterday. There is actually a hall of fame wall in the place of different celebs that have taken photos with the owner. Basically mostly hip hop stars from P.Diddy to LL Cool J. By the way, the clientel is almost as diverse as Houston itself.

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And Gary, while you are playing your violin and wiping your tears, I am shaking my head because you still don't get it. The fact that you brought up the AstroDome, The Williams Tower, and NASA, said it all. No more posts for me on this one. Peace.

Who cares what outsiders think of our skyline? Besides, isn't it expensive to have buildings illuminated with lights?