COMMENT OF THE DAY: WITHOUT ALL THAT DEMOLITION AND NEW CONSTRUCTION, THE HEIGHTS WOULDN’T BE THE HISTORIC DISTRICT IT IS TODAY “What do you think was driving the value of the property in the Heights up? It was the builders, and their extensive work improving the area! It certainly was not the pleasant atmosphere the preservationist[s] created in the neighborhood. The average homeowner has no interest in the headaches of an expansive remodel. The builders took the risks and improved the area…all of a sudden the area became safer, and the preservationist[s] roll in, now – everyone gets to play under their new rules becuase someone else did all the hard work and took all the risks.” [Marksmu, commenting on Houston’s Historic Districts Will Remain as They Are]
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COMMENT OF THE DAY: HOW TO POUR CROWDS INTO HOUSTON PAVILIONS “. . . What usually gets me downtown is free weekend street parking, beer specials at certain bars, and discounted or free (handed-down) arts and Astros tickets. Oh – and formerly, the Angelika. I like to think most middle-class Houstonians share my tastes, summed up by: cheap Mexican food and free parking. Put that into the mix and the number of visitors would double.” [Superdave, commenting on Comment of the Day: How Tough Would It Be To Turn Houston Pavilions Inside Out?]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: HOW TOUGH WOULD IT BE TO TURN HOUSTON PAVILIONS INSIDE OUT? 
“This was mentioned before with the Pavilions…but worth mentioning again—who designed the layout? I agree with other posters—if you drive by you hardly notice the Pavilions exist. The stores face inward so things may be noticeable if [you’re] passing (i.e. walking) through it….but not if you’re driving by from the streets. This is Houston…we don’t exactly walk outside. If the Pavilions had the resources, they should spend it on revamping the outside so people can see what businesses are there from the streets.” [Chris, commenting on Books-A-Million Bailing out of Houston Pavilions; previously on Swamplot] Photo of Pavilions model: Jim Porter [license]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: COLD CASE, RICE VILLAGE “Seems to me a little backwards math could figure this one out. The trajectory (calculated from point of entry through roof vs point of breakage of the glassware) and size of object thrown (amount of melting can be estimated based on size of ice recovered vs time and temperature) should be able to figure out very close which balcony the blocks came from.” [tanith27, commenting on Iced Again: A White Christmas Comes Early to Hans’ Bier Haus]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: HOW KIDS CAN HELP MAKE WAY FOR MORE ALCOHOL SALES IN AND AROUND THE HEIGHTS “If HISD closes Hogg [Middle School] (it’s been identified as one of 66 struggling schools), that may open up some of the Studewood/ 11th area for liquor sales. How far do you need to be from a church to get an alcohol permit?” [Holster, commenting on The Rush to White Oak: Is the Corkscrew Next?]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE SOUND OF SUGAR SHAKING OUT OF SUGAR LAND “I’m going to assume that the building is no longer since at 7:01am [on Sunday] I heard a rather low but loud boom followed by my desk shaking a little. I’m about 10 miles away as well.” [geequeue, commenting on Sugar Land Sugar Box Implosions Back on for This Sunday]
FACEBOOK COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHY THERE’S NO BRICK AROUND THE BACK SIDE OF THE HOUSE “Masonry-front houses [are] the reverse mullet of housing — party in the front, business in the back.†[Alice Pavlak, on Swamplot’s Facebook page, commenting — and voting — on Favorite Houston Design Cliché: The Official 2010 Ballot]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: ANOTHER WESTWOOD GARDENS WELCOME “Sylvia, welcome to the WG Homes community. I am very sorry to hear about your cats. Yes, there are stray dogs outside our community (the first trailer home on Gessner). It is very sad indeed. Yes, it does feel a lot like a community, and it is going to go uphill from now on. No looking back. Hope you enjoy your stay.” [Westwood G Resident, commenting on Westwood Gardens Still Life: A Photo Tour of Half-Built Houston Homes; previously]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE MODS AND THE BANKERS 
“My fiance and I have wanted to purchase this home for over a year. We’ve heard the banks won’t approve financing due to the foundation problems; we’d love to restore it to [its] original glory, it needs a MCM loving family–maybe you’re an investor who’d like to help us out? We don’t want this house to get into the wrong hands, it’ll break our hearts.” [Jessica Define, commenting on Scouting Report on a Walnut Bend Mod]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: YOU WOULD CRY TOO IF IT HAPPENED TO YOU “ALAIISEBY: pronounced ‘Alayzbee’. As Long As It’s In Someone Else’s Back Yard. This is the principle of land use in Houston. No one gives a crap that a builder/developer is going to do something that adversely affects a homeowner as long as it is in someone else’s back yard. Homeowners think that no zoning is great because their back yard is just fine. And when something happens to someone else’s back yard, it doesn’t matter. Thus, instead of coming together around attrocities like the Ashby High Rise and the Heights Walmart, homeowners cast scorn on those who are affected by bad land use decisions because it is someone else’s back yard and doesn’t matter. Let the West End take one for the team so people can [buy] bb guns at 3 am at Walmart. Southhampton should have to live next to a highrise because they make too much money and deserve a little taste of how much Houston sucks. Homeowners who do not live within the protective confines of deed restricted developments should come together and support some sort of land use restrictions in Houston. But they don’t because it doesn’t matter as long as it is in someone else’s back yard.” [ALAIISEBY, commenting on Riverside Terrace Assisted Living: Whatever It Is, You Should Be Against It]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WOULD MAKE A MORE PROPER HOUSTON WELCOME “All that said, I still regret that we didn’t put up two enormous inflatable gorillas, standing on either side of JFK Blvd., like the statues of [Isildur] and Anárion flanked the river Anduin in The Lord of the Rings.” [RWBoyd, commenting on Here’s Your Splashy New Welcome Sign, Houston]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: DONUT RUSH HOUR IN OAK FOREST 
“That Shipley’s must draw folks from miles around. Theres almost always a long line of cars, often extending out onto Ella. I am always amazed too at the long lines late at night…who eats donuts at 11pm? I guess they’re night shift workers.
Yep, they need to re-do that whole shopping plaza and center it around that Shipleys, providing tons of drive-thru space :)” [JRo, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: The Ella Square Deal] Photo of Shipley’s Donuts, 3410 Ella Blvd.: Chad & Susan Harris
COMMENT OF THE DAY: LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS “Humanity’s job is to cover over everything and rebuild every 100 years. That’s why we have archeologists.” [Bill Shirley, commenting on Comment of the Day: Must Have Lost Something in There Somewhere]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: MUST HAVE LOST SOMETHING IN THERE SOMEWHERE “It’s depressing to see that little house in the Bing aerial view, ready to be swallowed by a sea of parking lots, overpasses and beat-up Crown Victorias. All its neighbors are gone, the once residential area turned into a decaying urban Houston at its worst. I guess I’m nostalgic for a past I never lived in and wasn’t really all that great without today’s comforts, but oh well. Why didn’t the city ever just tear it down to build a more cohesive tarmac? When/who was the last inhabitant?” [Rodrigo, commenting on Ready To Be Hauled Away: Under the Freeway, in the Back of the Parking Lot]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: SUGAR LAND SHOPPING OUTINGS, BETWEEN INNINGS “Maybe this is a new suburban form of mixed use development. Who says you can’t pick up your prescriptions, grab a venti latte and watch a ball game all at the same place?” [Matt, commenting on New Sugar Land Minor League Stadium Easily Assembled from Standardized Suburban Parts]