COMMENT OF THE DAY: JUST CHECKING 
“As a member of the board of the College Park Cemetery Association and ‘head volunteer’ for the cemetery the past few years, I felt comfortable opening the new coffin at College Park on a visit yesterday. Unfortunately my hopes for a large cash donation towards the cemetery’s restoration were dashed when I found the box was empty.” [Randy Riepe, commenting on Caught on Camera: Mysterious Coffin, Out and About in North Montrose Cemetery; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Courtney Zubowski, KHOU 11 News
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COMMENT OF THE DAY: REPORT FROM THAT NEIGHBORHOOD SOUTH OF THE RIVER OAKS SHOPPING CENTER THAT NOBODY KNOWS WHAT TO CALL “Who says this is going to be townhouses? This is my neighborhood. While there are certainly plenty of townhouses in the area, the overall trend has moved decidedly toward single family homes. As I type, there are at least a half dozen new single family homes under construction within a few blocks of this site. While this house appears to be quite nice, I’m guessing whatever replaces it will be much nicer. I know it’s standard operating procedure for Swamplotters to hate everything new, but the single family homes (and even the townhouses) being built in this neighborhood are typically quite nice. This demo is more the exception than the rule. Most of what gets torn down around here is garbage.” [Bernard, commenting on Tiny Done-Up Woodhead Cottage Is Townhome Fodder]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: A SPOONFUL OF SUGAR MAKES THE ASKING PRICE GO DOWN 
“Who thinks $300,000 is completely unaffordable? Seriously? I won’t be dropping that on this unique piece of history, but that’s a remarkable price for that house. You’ll have to put in another $300,000 to make it livable, but in a city where West U bungalows with 2 bedrooms and one bath go for that much, or a simple 4/2.5 goes for a cool million, that folly is a steal. All it needs is a dedicated, kooky restorer/designer and a ninth fence! From that top platform, you can see enough to pretend you’re in another neighborhood, or even Admiral Boom himself!” [Meg, commenting on Wichita St. Mystery House Goes on the Market Today: Your First Peek Inside]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: A COLOR ANTHEM “You know what? Pink is UNDER rated. I’m not being sarcastic. Its period appropriate. Its Pantone’s color of the year (Honeysuckle). If I had $695K I would ROCK this house AS IS! Except for the carpet in the bathroom. BUT i would replace it with pink rugs FOR SURE! Replace the Hollywood Regency furniture with updated pieces and this place would be badassssssss!!!! Why do people bag on pink so much? Because it takes a super awesome person to pull it off and most people can’t decorate beyond copying the latest Pottery Barn catalog. Pink is bold! Pink is unique! Pink is more than a song from Funny Face or Aerosmith!! Pink for the WIN!” [brilliant.girl, commenting on 1956 Ranch from Del Monte Says Yes to Pink]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: HOUSTON’S GIVE AND TAKE “. . . COH is required by very clear and strict regulations to treat sewage to standards which make the effluent suitable for discharge into a waterway which can than have water extracted for purification into drinking water. A huge number of communities get their drinking water and discharge their sewage effluent into and from the same body of water. Think of the Trinity River. It’s no big deal.” [Spoonman., commenting on Comment of the Day: Bayou Overlook]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: BAYOU OVERLOOK “Everyone I know thinks I’m crazy, but I canoed Buffalo Bayou from Highway 6 to downtown a few years ago, and it was surprisingly clean and natural. The best part was the stretch through Eleanor Tinsley Park, at the end of the trip, where the downtown skyline suddenly pops into view. In April of this year, a friend and I took a ride on the little-known public pontoon boat ride offered occasionally on Buffalo Bayou near the Sabine Street Bridge. It was a really, really neat experience, and there were only 4 people including us that were there for the ride. The city is so different from the water. They even show you the ruins of a family tomb that was used as a foundation a bridge that still exists, and there is a point where a heavy stream of clean water pours into the bayou from an uncapped artesian well under a street a few blocks away. The weather was perfect that day, and I was shocked at seeing only a few dozen people utilizing the landscaped trails and green spaces along the bayou. I’m sure on the same day, Memorial Park and Hermann Park were packed – why not this place? I wish the Bayou had a more prevalent place in Houston’s image and culture.” [Superdave, commenting on Banks Report: Tex Hex Graduates from Buffalo Bayou Movie Scene, Gets Ready for Official White Oak Bayou Premiere]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE GANG THAT COULDN’T EAT CHAMETZ “Biker gangs in Meyerland? Girl what part of Meyerland did you live in? We lived there for 12 years on Indigo St., the part between Endicott and Rice, and never once experienced biker gangs or ANY undesirable folks at all. Even with our close proximity to Meyerland Plaza, we never saw such people. The only gangs we saw were families walking to temple, especially during Passover. That is one of the most homogenized neighborhoods in Houston, next to Bellaire. Biker gangs? Yeah, right.” [MarketingWiz, commenting on Wichita St. Mystery House Goes on the Market Today: Your First Peek Inside]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THERE’S A NEW DRY BUFFALO LAKE IN MY BACK YARD 
“I just did a google maps search of my place and I noticed the giant lake that they dug out in my ‘backyard’ for this mysterious Buffalo Lakes project. You would never [have] guessed something was going on back there because of the heavily wooded area. No water filled in yet but they cleared out the entire tract. I kept hoping something would develop back there and looks like there is finally some activity. . . .” [Chris, commenting on Gardening from the Sky] Plan: Kirksey Architecture
COMMENT OF THE DAY: OBEDIENCE TRAINING WITH ANIMAL-SKIN RUGS “‘Sarge behaved a lot better after he saw what Paw did to Duke.’†[Eric, commenting on Houston Home Listing Photo of the Day: Floor Coverings]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHEN THAT SECOND MASTER SUITE COMES IN REALLY HANDY “Its for when the inevitable divorce comes and they split the house between the east and west wings. Its alot cheaper than a fire sale and in a house this big, they could drop a wall down the middle and still have plenty spacious living. I’m sure the pool table room and the kitchen are in opposite wings for this same reason.” [Lost_In_Translation, commenting on Houston Home Listing Photo of the Day: Enter, Stage Upper Right]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THOSE HIGH-PRICED TEARDOWN MCMS ARE KEEPING MODERN ARCHITECTS IN BUSINESS “There’s another million dollar factor that is killing the mods — people who dig MCM self-identify as being “very into Design.” When it comes time to put down some real money, they look at all the mods available in the 1 million and up range, and then after much gnashing of teeth they spend 2-3 times what they thought they were going to spend to hire an architect and build their own.” [Harold Mandell, commenting on Comment of the Day: The $1 Million Problem with River Oaks Mid-Century Moderns]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE $1 MILLION PROBLEM WITH RIVER OAKS MID-CENTURY MODERNS “River Oaks MCMs *always* go for lot value and get torn down. Sentimental owners think they should get a premium for the good architecture but it never happens. If they really care about the building they should price it at 900k and put a no teardown easement on it. Instead, they will lower the price by 100k every 3 months and 3 years from now it will be a Tuscan villa. (As a point of comparison, 59 Tiel Way, a Kamrath beauty which had a much larger, insanely off the hook lot, bigger, nicer, renovated house, was similarly priced – for 3 years he lowered the price slowly, and eventually was offering it on Ebay for 950 minus commission. No one bit and now, sadly, it is a clay lot that will likely sell in the mid 800s). Another comparitor is the MCM on North BLvd, also priced like this, slowly reduced for 3 years, now at 899k until the listing expired again. People like to admire MCM architecture but they don’t like to pay $1M for it. In Houston, at least.” [CAHBF, commenting on 1960 Preserved: River Oaks Mod Box Jumps into the Market]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHERE ARE THE MODS, WHERE ARE THE MODS, WHERE ARE, WHERE ARE, WHERE ARE THE MODS? “I think this house might survive because of the neighborhood. It’s like the one neighborhood in Houston where they tear down houses in order to build modern replacements. On Colquitt, for example, I only recall one non-modern house… And it was for sale, last I looked.” [Robert Boyd, commenting on Behind Those Pink Walls in Ferndale]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: FREEING YOUR MIND AND YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD FROM THE SHACKLES OF THE RAT RACE “Reading these comments . . . I am stunned at the level of hyper-consumerism displayed by those who claim to be enlightened and conscientious stewards of our urban landscape. Every post regarding anything in the inner loop unleashes a torrent of demands for more retail…but only the RIGHT kind of retail…and only the RIGHT size and location. There are always several nuanced posts about what type of consumer good is the RIGHT one to buy, what type of purveyor is the RIGHT one to patronize, and what type of building is the RIGHT one to house said consumer goods. It strikes me that there is precious little attempt at limiting over-consumption, simply demand for the type of consumption that befits one who is attempting to burnish one’s green or socially conscious bonafides. Several years back, as I tired of competing for attention with the products that I purchase or wear, I noticed that once I limited my consumption, the concern over what type and location of the stores around me waned as well. I certainly do not care if the clerk selling me a $3 bottle of wine wears a Hawaiian shirt or a blue one, especially knowing that the company selling the wine engages in the same cutthroat business practices as all of the other retailers . . . This is why it matters not whether Walmart builds in the neighborhood, or Whole Foods, or Trader Joe’s. I spend so little at any of them that they aren’t moving here for me. Any of those stores (minus Trader Joe’s) would fulfill my weekly shopping needs, and the 1 mile drive once a week that I make isn’t hurting the environment nearly as much as the apparent daily shopping trips to buy the RIGHT products that many of my neighbors apparently make.” [Dave, commenting on Trader Joe’s Is Now Looking To Open Stores in Houston]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: NOTHING TO FEAR BUT AN ATTACK OF ZOMBIE PIRATES “You expected they would swim in from the Gulf?” [Ian V, commenting on Galveston, You Have Been Warned: Zombies Will Come from the North]