Friday, April 22, 2011

Houston Might Become Better/Weirder By Addition of Single Person

He won't be attending the downtown campus (where a particularity fantastic professor teaches), but  actor/writer/bong smoker James Franco was accepted for the the University of Houston's writing program Fall of 2012.

I look forward to the addition of his "unusually high metabolism for productivity ...the opposite of ADHD: a superhuman ability to focus that allows him to shuttle quickly between projects and to read happily in the midst of chaos." *

The breathless internet tweeting, blogging and facebooking of his every move if he comes to town should make for fun reading.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

"Socialist Preach Failure & Abortion" - Civics and Grammar Lessons From A Willowbend Neighbor

A new sign went up in the neighborhood, to replace a previous message.


It was unclear if the message is a patriotic one, the flag should clear up any doubts, which was missing from the first one.


Sunday, April 03, 2011

No-Tsu-Oh Needs to Come Back: A Late Fall Mardi Gras for Chemical City

Recently, the idea of a Houston Mardi Gras has been floated. But instead of a new tradition, may I suggest the revival of a uniquely Houston one.



Houston used to have a Mardi Gras-like festival called No-Tsu-Oh. It started in 1899 and ended the outbreak of WW1. To quote the Handbook of Texas Online,

"The festival, designed to stimulate commerce by bringing people to the city, customarily filled a week in November and featured parades, balls, and a football game between the University of Texas and the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M University). The carnival was characterized by much backward spelling. No-Tsu-Oh, for example, is Houston spelled backward; black citizens celebrated the De-Ro-Loc (colored) Carnival; and King Nottoc (cotton) reigned over the early festivals until King Retaw (water) replaced him to celebrate completion in 1914 of the deep-water channel to Houston..."

Like Las Vegas' Helldorado celebration, a modern No-Tsu-Oh has the promise to contain all the eccentricity and strangeness that Houston has to offer. Combine the Art Car Parade with debauchery of St. Pat's and the guilt-free paganess of Halloween and that would be my dream.

With backwards spelling part of the tradition, I offer up these suggestions as a starting point for the new festival.

Sir Buh
Erised
Y Loc Nolem

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