COMMENT OF THE DAY: INSPIRED BY DESTRUCTION “What a charming house, perfectly sized for the lot. I like the painterly exterior colors, terra-cotta and celadon with the touch of yellow in the tiles. Someone had a very clever eye. I avoid shelter magazines, as they only foster envy and discontent in me. It’s surprising how much inspiration there is to be found just in the soon-to-be-demolished houses on Swamplot.” [luciaphile, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: The Marshall Plan]
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Tag: Comments
COMMENT OF THE DAY: RECREATING GREAT MOMENTS IN BIG BOX HISTORY “Ironically the glass facade is strikingly similar to a designed, but never built Great Indoors store prototype that was slated to open in 2004. The prototype coincided with the merger of Sears with Kmart when all new concept development (and gross profit) for Sears ceased. Pity.” [Hdtex, commenting on Great New Indoors Replacing The Old Great Indoors]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: PLANS FOR HOUSTON “Houston didn’t develop organically. The original street grid was planned, the Heights was planned, Montrose and River Oaks and the Villages and Cinco Ranch, etc., all planned. At least 90% of the people who wax poetic about Houston’s ‘vibrancy’ and ‘free spirit’ probably live in a place that was very carefully planned. Our freeway system was the result of planning, and our organic twisty-turny roads were straightened out. Everything within 5 miles of Rice University was aggressively planned, and people love it. Property values in Houston are high in places that were planned, low in places that weren’t, which tells you what the market wants: Planning.” [Mike, commenting on ‘The Galleria Is My Idea of Hell’ and Other Houston Stories]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: TATTERS TALE “. . . I rather like greater Houston’s add-it-as-you-need it layout. I mean, I definitely see the distinct advantages that other cities have in their planning, so I’m not knocking them, but I think Houston has advantages, too. I couldn’t ever put my finger on why until reading this article, but I like that Houston doesn’t seem like some piece of created artifice, regulated in such a way as to preserve it in a frame. A “mediation between private homes and the impersonal corporate world†feels like some sort of sop. Like, if the city looks like something I see on TV, then everything must be fine here. No place is perfect, and no one should be lulled into thinking it is. Some more beauty would be nice (I can remember when this town had a lot more trees, for example), but our citizens are so disparate that I’m not even sure we can all agree on what ‘beauty’ is. We’re not homogenous, which gives us some great advantages, but it makes our public spaces kind of bland, even while the private ones are eye-popping. The city (including its many suburbs) wears its elbow pads on the outside of its jacket, showing off the tatters. It keeps the valuables on the inside, in hidden pockets. That won’t change for a long, long time.” [Sihaya, commenting on ‘The Galleria Is My Idea of Hell’ and Other Houston Stories]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: REAL ESTATE PHOTOS THAT ARE OUT OF THIS WORLD “I honestly love the house; it’s a very well-done renovation. But please, agents, quit with the HDR photos! I don’t know what looks stranger, the outdoor patio where the first floor appears to be in flames, or the close-encounters-of-the-third-kind turquoise glow outside every window.” [Dave102, commenting on Beaming with Built-Ins in Lakeside Estates]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: EXTREMISM IN DEFENSE AGAINST EXTREMISM IS NO VICE “Although I agree some of Ayn Rand concepts are a tad to the extreme, it is a necessary tool to combat the concepts on the opposite side which are even more extreme such as Carl Marx and the Occupy Movement. These days you cannot persuade people to your side by simply being centrist and laying out facts and figures, you HAVE to have a certain level of Theatrics and Overly Dramatized Dramatizations.” [commonsense, commenting on Comment of the Day: A Rand Retort]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: A RAND RETORT “I’m well aware of the resurgent appeal of Ayn Rand, after she had become mainly a stage passed through by the young, shallowly encountering her for the first time. Now her stock seems to be rising even as people have happily embraced statism. I don’t discount the lingering uncertainty about the direction we’ve gone, but I am sorry to see the fanatical Ayn Rand resuscitated as an alternative. Approaches may differ, but her hatred of tradition and, as Chambers noted, her materialism — her approving view of ‘naked self-interest’ — really mirrored that of Marx. The conservative movement was right to drum her out fifty years ago. For myself, I feel intuitively that anyone who wrote as badly as she does, can’t have a mind worth attending to. I’m afraid that is my prejudice, and I can’t defend it, but I’ll never depart from it. More signally, the doctrine of ‘aesthetic selfishness’ is dangerous more for its reach than its fancifully ‘logical’ foundations, whose weakness — nonexistence — others have convincingly demonstrated, although I grant you, that her ‘thought,’ once you get beyond the bright shiny part about individual freedom, is so ugly, eugenics and all, that it has not always brought out the best rigor in its opponents. Owing to my own particular concerns, the legacy of hers I dislike most is the idea that Industrial Man has such capacity to alter nature that he stands outside of nature; that we’ve come to the end of nature. Others have written much worse than she, perhaps, but even if one generously considers her only mediocre, it is disquieting that she has become the Bible for so many. . . . ” [luciaphile, commenting on Could Glenn Beck Bring Independence to Texas?]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE IDEAL CITY “If you really want to give people a taste of American liberty, why would you build a master-planned community, where decision-making is taken away from the residents? Build a normal town with democratic institutions of government — a city council, school board, zoning commission, etc. Lay out the town on a grid — that way, no neighborhood is closed off and people grow up there with the feeling that everything in life is within reach. The centerpoint is trickier — do you go with the traditional town square with courthouse, or does the typical imposing courthouse create too much sense of the power of government? The grand centerpoint in the rendering looks a little fascist to me; too much ‘bow down before this.’ Maybe center things on an avenue instead of a square or circle and that way diminish the power of any icons. The courthouse can be consigned to a side street. Actually, the original layout of Houston did a pretty good job of conveying American ideals.” [Mike, commenting on Could Glenn Beck Bring Independence to Texas?]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: I GOT YOUR HOT HOUSTON REAL ESTATE TIP RIGHT HERE “Hey, did you hear about that awesome new project happening over yonder? Too bad it’s misplacing that thing that some people like and others don’t. The architect/contractor/developer/use is still up in the air, but I’ll be sure to pass along any and all updates. Sincerely, Real Estate Insider” [RE Insider, commenting on A Terribly Vague Update]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHAT A GATE GETS YOU “I can tell you why I have a gate. It’s not to keep out someone that REALLY wants to get in (as I can hop over in about 5 seconds if needed). It’s to keep randoms from coming up and knocking on my door. I work from home a lot and hate when I get a knock on the door during the day (or at night when I’m spending time with my wife) only to go to the door and find some pandhandler ‘fundraising’ for a trip or other nonsense. And while I don’t subscribe to the fact they’re a big problem, I have heard warnings that people come by, knock on the door for a ‘legit’ reason, and if no one answers they target the property to break in. A gate will keep most of these fishing expeditions out. So a gate isn’t going to keep someone out that’s committed themselves to getting in, but it’ll be a deterrent to the passers by that want to bother you. Other reasons? I park my car inside the gated area (yet still outside) so I add some security there. I have furniture on my patio that is much more secure due to the gate. I have a daughter that’ll soon play outside and I like the idea of her not being able to run out to the street. If I had a dog I could let them run around without bothering anyone walking by or running into the street. There are several legit reasons for a gate. The least of which is a means to make your house impossible to access.” [Cody, commenting on A Preview of a $110K Modest Mod]
COMMENT OF THE DAY RUNNER-UP: STICKING UP FOR STUCCO “What’s with all of this unfounded hate for stucco? It’s actually a very good construction material, well suited for wet climates (if installed properly). One can have just as much water penetration and mold on a brick facade if flashings are not installed properly or weep holes are clogged. And unlike brick, stucco actually ‘ties’ the structure together by making the frame more rigid, whereas brick just sits there almost unconnected from the structure.” [commonsense, commenting on A Preview of a $110K Modest Mod]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: ODE TO A DOOMED ALABAMA PLACE BUNGALOW, WITH CAVEATS “Poor, poor 2205 Branard. I know the standard Swamplottian response is ‘if you’re so sad to see it go, buy it.‘ I know that it was built in 1939, and wasn’t necessarily meant to last past 1989. I know that it may have structural problems, need electrical updates, and have a tiny kitchen. I know all those things, yet I can’t look at this adorable brick house, this poor condemned soul with its neck on the chopping block, and not get a lump in my throat. What did this house do to deserve such a fate? Did it not bow down to the ballroom-sized bathroom trend? Did it refuse to tart itself up in stucco to suit the Tuscan-craving masses? Did it commit the crime of having only (gasp!) 8′ tall ceilings?! Perhaps it was simply the offense of having a pleasing ratio of height, fenestration, and visual interest that doesn’t say ‘screw you, street, I don’t care what I look like outside, because I have granite countertops, slate backsplashes and crown moulding!‘ Does this make me a house-hugger? Probably. Will this earn me a thorough flaming from other commenters? Definitely. [Pours some out for fallen soldier 2205 Branard]” [Jennifer Mathis, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: No, Virginia]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: INTRODUCING THE LA BRANCH ST. SHOPPING DISTRICT “La Branch Street is the answer. Make a linear ‘shopping district’ 5th Avenue style. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel — copy what already works. Instead of a cluster inspired district that will encourage development of a few blocks, the entire street will become synonymous with shopping in Downtown Houston. The street’s location has many benefits to creating a thriving retail shopping district: connectivity from the Northside all the way down to Hermann Park, ample empty parking lot blocks immediately adjacent ripe for development from the ground up, walking distance from all four of eastern Downtown’s major attractions (Minute Maid, Toyota Center, Discovery Green, and GRB), future MetroRail stops nearby (though an added stop between Austin and LaBranch would benefit such a district tremendously), and relative ease of location finding for drivers. A linear shopping district downtown would further accelerate residential development in all of eastern downtown, be it north, central, or south. No resident living on the eastern side of Downtown would have to cross more than three streets to get to La Branch. A cluster shopping district would only encourage development in its immediate vicinity; only so many residents could live within that three block range. The greatest advantage of a linear district is location finding — there’s no need to study maps and such to find where the Downtown retail is — just go park near La Branch Street and you’re there. Who really knows how to get to Houston Pavilions anyhow? No kitschy names that are created by focus groups — the La Branch Shopping District. Put up some new place identifier street name signs to be sure. Flags on light poles too. How many more out of town tourists/fans/convention attendees will be more likely to go shopping if directions will consist of ‘Walk thata way ’til you reach La Branch–You’re there.’? Create a TIRZ for the linear district to incentivize the retail pioneers until the tipping point is reached at which retail and residential will create growth off of each other. Perhaps make the focus of the TIRZ building mixed-use parking garages to replace parking lots — create such a vast, easily accessible, free quantity of parking that the current perceived barrier to venturing downtown is eliminated.” [Thomas, commenting on Downtown Would Like To Know If You Would Like To Shop Downtown]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: A SCOFFLAW’S URBAN CHICKEN PRIMER “I have 3 hens. I’ve had 3-4 hens for 15 years now. Don’t tell. Hens for Houston is not talking about roosters (I hope – they SHOULD be illegal). You don’t need a rooster; hens will lay almost-daily eggs with no rooster around. 2 – Hens make very little noise – they might crow a minute or two after they lay the mid-morning egg, that’s it. And they do make a great alarm – we always know when something unusual is going on. Once, one of our chickens came to the back door, squawking, and pecked on it to let us know that a sick possum had broken into the coop (about 60 feet away from the house). 3 – Personally, I think a limit of 5 birds would be reasonable. That’s 3-5 eggs per day. 4 – Composted chicken manure is gold. And it doesn’t smell. 5 – Most of my neighbors have no idea that I have chickens. The others have kids that have minded them for me when I’m out of town. 6 – They make a fantastic first pet for a child; introducing the concept of twice-a-day feeding and watering, putting them to bed each night and letting them out in the morning, without having to deal with litterboxes or accidents. . . .” [Practically_Yours, commenting on Chicken Ordinance Has Hens for Houston Seeing Way Too Much Red]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE SECRET CHICKENS NEAR DOWNTOWN “There are at least 2 coops very close to downtown, but they are hidden enough that you would never know they are there unless you walk right next to them. As recently as 2009, there were a couple roosters (from yet another, third location) that would roam the streets almost daily. I guess someone complained. This all happened less than 5 blocks from downtown.” [eiioi, commenting on Chicken Ordinance Has Hens for Houston Seeing Way Too Much Red]