House Hunting: Breaking & Entering Edition


at The Art Guys Museum, originally uploaded by Shawna Mouser.

A little while ago, wife and I were driving Houston, house hunting in new neighborhoods. We hit the lovely and almost-affordable Meyerland area. We have a love of ranch-style houses and that part of town has a nice collection of them. When we saw an unloved house for sale, we stopped by and broke in. Well, the door was open. The place was trashed, with the clear smell of cat and garbage all over. Must have been built in the 60’s, with old fixtures and lightswitch covers. Oh, and a large pile of bullet shell casings near the bathroom. It had the appearance of a rental gone horribly wrong.

With great rooms and loads of square footage, this would be someone’s dream house in the right hands. But it’s being sold as land and would be a money pit to transform it back to its former glory. Most likely the house will be a scrap-off resulting in another oversized, pseudo-Mediterranean, beige monstrosity taking its place. Which is just what Houston doesn’t need but will get.

In the meantime, our adventures in Houston real estate will continue.

(Photo found on Swamplot.)

Wednesday NIght Photo Post: Rice University Gallery

Last few days have been spent working at Rice U.’s art gallery. Ever since seeing the Kirsten Hassenfeld show (pictures here,) I had hopes of working the gallery space. And so I have on a few recent occasions.

The latest show is the gallery’s summer show. While the venue is closed, an installation is chosen that can be viewed through the glass front of the exhibition space. This summer, artist Mark Fox was invited to show his installation piece “Dust”. A visual catalog of almost his material possessions, the show is a massive collection of drawn items pinned to the wall. An expansive beauty of a show, and I got to work alongside the artist.

Rice does no favors for the art-loving public wishing to visit, as paid parking is the only option. That being said this a show that will be up for the summer months and well worth the couple of bucks that will be charged (on debit or credit card.)

More info:

Rice Art Gallery campus location, info and map – Google Maps

Pictures, Posts and Auto-Publishing

Hooray for scheduled blogging!

Years ago, Blogger allowed for post-dated posts and auto-publishing, but they broke it. Now, they’ve reintroduced it. So, with that there will be a new feature on my blog, “Wednesday Night Photo Posts.” Every Wednesday (an arbitrarily chosen day,) a new post with a Flickr picture of mine. I had been reluctant to post some Flickr pictures in the past due to my layout mangling the photo display. That problem was solved, and now with auto publishing, more pretty pictures of mine will be making a regular appearance. I may also be doing a semi-regularly photo-posts of other peoples Flickr pictures. So much good stuff out there.

For my few readers, enjoy.

Historical Houston


Roll-N at night, originally uploaded by ThisIsIt2.

 

 

A late-night Google search for info on the Roll-N Bar led to the discovery of Houstorian, a nice blog about historical things Houston. The Roll-N was part of Houstorian’s attempt to discover the oldest bar in town. That title goes to Leon’s, another of the city’s watering holes that I have yet to have a drink in.

No to Comcast! & Photography Playday: Assorted Houston Sights, Lawndale Art Center,

Comcast decided last Thursday that I was undeserving of internet access, and has purged my modem from their database, rendering it a blinking paperweight. A thank you to my neighbor for the much needed internet fix. And a thank-you to Crystal, the rare Comcast rep who not only returned the phones call she promised, but left messages with details about the situation, and a phone number that went directly to a person and not an automated message system. It’s been a week with no resolution and we may not be Comcast customers after this, but Crystal will be getting recommendation sent to her department.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

The following are assorted pictures of Houston taken while an escape from sweet wife and adorable child. They recaptured me and now I am cooking and cleaning for the women who love me most. They have promised to let me out on occasion for additional field trips.


Fire Fighter Memorial 2, originally uploaded by Mr. Kimberly.
 
 

S. Main Baptist Church 2, originally uploaded by Mr. Kimberly.

 

Key Maps Inc. – W. Alabama, Houston, TX

After driving to the Neon Gallery, I parked across the street. The gallery’s neon windmill wasn’t lit, so I was happy to take aim at the Key Maps sign, before I left.