Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Anyone have anything nice to say about Houston?

This is topic Anyone have anything nice to say about Houston? in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://ft-forum.com/ft/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=004633

Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 05-09-2006, 08:01 PM:

I'm just curious because Brad Miller, Dwaye Caldwell, Jeremy Spracklen, Ethan Harper and I do not.

Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 05-09-2006, 08:23 PM:

It's hot and wet there, which is nice unless you're talking about the weather.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 05-09-2006, 09:10 PM:

It has that NASA place. I toured it and swiped some important-looking stuff when they weren't looking. Probably shouldn't have as something blew up on their next mission. Oh well at least I have a neat souvenir as a result and that's what really matters.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 05-09-2006, 09:40 PM:

Matt Stone, of South Park fame, was born in Houston. My brother was born there too, so I guess that cancels out that cool point.
[evil]

Jaclyn Smith (of Charlies Angels), racing legend A.J. Foyt, filmmaker Wes Anderson and actors Randy and Dennis Quaid are all from Houston.

I don't know, there must be something nice about Houston. There's only 2 million+ people living within its city limits and millions more in the suburbs. Maybe they all love traffic.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 05-09-2006, 11:28 PM:

One of my ex-employees lives there and she's probably one of the best-looking girls in that city. (Kym, if you happen to read this, it is too true.)

Posted by Mike Heenan (Member # 392) on 05-09-2006, 11:38 PM:

You know what's great abotu the death penalty in Texas? Less Texans... (sorry, Carlin rules!) [Big Grin]

Posted by Josh Jones (Member # 447) on 05-10-2006, 12:25 AM:

no, been there once, it sucks, smells funny too [bs]

LOL and I live in fargo....

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 05-10-2006, 12:52 AM:

I agree with Bobby...it's a great place to be "from". [Wink]

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 05-10-2006, 02:07 AM:

Greetings from Houston.

With you were here. Wish I was there (anywhere).

Posted by Mark Ogden (Member # 43) on 05-10-2006, 02:31 AM:

quote: Bobby Henderson
Jaclyn Smith (of Charlies Angels), racing legend A.J. Foyt, filmmaker Wes Anderson and actors Randy and Dennis Quaid are all from Houston.

How could you leave out Archie Bell, of Archie Bell and the Drells ("in Houston, we just invented a new dance called the Tighten Up. This is the music you Tighten Up with!").

I heard an interesting thing about Texas in general once. Apparently in Texas, you can get away with anything, and I mean anything, including banging the mayor's underage daughter on the hood of a pick-up truck on Main Street at high noon, if you are related to the high school quarterback.

Is this true?

Posted by Jason Winn (Member # 3568) on 05-10-2006, 02:46 AM:

quote:
I heard an interesting thing about Texas in general once. Apparently in Texas, you can get away with anything, and I mean anything, including banging the mayor's underage daughter on the hood of a pick-up truck on Main Street at high noon, if you are related to the high school quarterback.

I don't know if you can get away with ANYTHING in Texas. Maybe if you play high school football. High School football is like a religion in Texas. If you're the star quarterback, people treat you like you're the pope.

I've lived in the Dallas area my whole life. I've never been to Houston before. Judging from what I hear about it, that's probably a good thing. I'll try to stay away from Houston.

Posted by Floyd Justin Newton (Member # 1316) on 05-10-2006, 08:01 AM:

Uh... I was born and raised in Houston. It's BIG and TALL. unlike some cities I know. I lived on the west side of
town (Spring Branch). I worked at the Bellaire Theatre (1200
seat house. Now, it's bigger than when I was there (what isn't);
traffic is bumper to bumper; everyone is on cell-phones...mayhem
like anywhere else. I DO miss it, though. GREAT city!! [thumbsup]

Posted by Mitchell Dvoskin (Member # 751) on 05-10-2006, 08:11 AM:

Never been to Houston, but had the misfortune to spend a week in Waco once. The high point of that week was seeing Howard The Duck in some generic mall multiplex. As a result of that week in Waco, I have never set foot in Texas again.

Good steaks though...

Posted by James R. Hammonds, Jr (Member # 673) on 05-10-2006, 09:31 AM:

Aside from NASA we also have The San Jacinto Monument and The Battleship of Texas for historical attractions.
John Manlove, the Mayor of Pasadena (which is basically a part of Houston), is working with neighboring areas like La Porte to expand upon the history of the area and build it up into a big tourist attraction.
Hopefully this will work, but they will need to do something about that Pasadena smell along Highway 225 that people will have to drive along.

As far as recreation, we really don't have squat that you can't find anywhere else.
for the last 7 or 8 years Astroworld was open, it was nothing to get excited about.
we have a water park called Splashtown but it's your average run of the mill water park.

I don't pay much attention to sports, but this city sure does.
I know the Houston Texans are an embarrassment of a football team, but the Astros have done really well the past couple of years.
The Rockets have done well in the past, but I don't know how they are now.

As far as music goes, there is some talent out there, but how you perceive it depends on your taste.
There was a kid from The Woodlands on American Idol this season who was supposedly pretty good.
Destiny's Child is from here.
It seems lately though, that all we have been known for are our rappers. [puke]

We have a handful of actors (Bobby mentioned a few).

Generally speaking, our people are very nice and hospitable.
Remember, just last year, we invited in survivors of Hurricane Katrina and housed them in the Astrodome and George R. Brown Convention Center when their city flooded and they had nowhere else to go.

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 05-10-2006, 10:05 AM:

My cousin and his family live in Houston (Tomball). He is a geologist at Exxon-Mobil.

Posted by Emma Tomiak (Member # 1862) on 05-10-2006, 10:30 AM:

No. All I have to say about Houston is "Eww."

Posted by Dick Vaughan (Member # 540) on 05-10-2006, 11:49 AM:

quote: Jason Winn
If you're the star quarterback, people treat you like you're the pope

You mean they hire Eastern European secret service agents to shoot you [Confused]

Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 05-10-2006, 03:24 PM:

All of you had best be careful...Walker Texas Ranger...is being sent to bring back all the papers that JR stole from his visit the NASA.

I gave him JR's address in Colorado.

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 05-10-2006, 03:27 PM:

So, anyone remember who shot JR?

BTW Bob, Walker's a pussy! Brad told me he can kick Walker's ass blindfolded!

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 05-10-2006, 06:32 PM:

quote: Jason Winn
I don't know if you can get away with ANYTHING in Texas.

One thing you can't get away with in a number of places in Texas is speeding. Seriously. Be VERY careful when driving through certain places. The Texas Department of Public Safety doesn't play around. Through most of Oklahoma I can push it 5-10 over the speed limit without worry. When I'm on my way to Dallas and driving through Montague County on US-287, I lock in the cruise control at the posted speed limit. After three different speeding tickets there, I ain't taking anymore chances!

I did bust on Houston's traffic, and they do have it in spades. But it's not like they're doing nothing about it. Some truly colossal sized roads are getting built around there. Take a drive down Katy Freeway to the west of I-610 and get a view of the expansion project under construction for I-10. Of course, as the joke goes, by the time the project is finished they'll need to build it even bigger.

Posted by Chad Souder (Member # 343) on 05-10-2006, 07:04 PM:

quote: Josh Jones
smells funny too

That smell is most likely Roger Clemens. He is a big turd.

Posted by Mike Heenan (Member # 392) on 05-10-2006, 07:11 PM:

Careful speeding in Texas,or this guy will chase you [Wink]

Posted by Jason Winn (Member # 3568) on 05-10-2006, 11:33 PM:

quote: Bobby Henderson
One thing you can't get away with in a number of places in Texas is speeding.

Yeah, tell me about it. I just got a speeding ticket a few weeks ago. The speed limit was 30. I was going 47. I got a $246.00 ticket! I live in Mesquite, which is in Dallas County. Dallas County loves writing tickets. I hate cops!

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 05-11-2006, 12:54 AM:

I got a speeding ticket when I was driving from DallASS to Houston once. I just figured it was because I was from out of state. One great thing about TexASS is that if you say you're an illegal immigrant and refuse to provide ID because of that, they'll let you go no matter how bad you infringe upon the law! If you are a legal citizen, they do not like you and will do evrything in their power to make sure you pay.

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 05-11-2006, 01:28 AM:

Many times I have driven US-287 from Interstate 40 in north Texas to the DFW Metroplex and it has many 1 or 2 stoplight hick towns like Childress, Hedley, Memphis, etc.

When approaching the 2-bit town, the posted speed limit drops every 100 feet from 65mph to 55 mph to 45mph to 35mph, etc. Then passing thru the 500 ft long town, the speed limit jumps back up to 65.

The whole thing is a speed trap to fill the lame city's treasury!

You BEST heed the signs!

Posted by Josh Jones (Member # 447) on 05-11-2006, 02:13 AM:

I have heard that as well.

Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 05-11-2006, 05:29 AM:

Ut Oh! Now I feel sorry for poor Cordell. Phil, please use your influence with Brad and help save Walker's life. Alex Cahill, Dallas Assistant District Attorney would appreciate your concern.

By the way, I like Houston.

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 05-11-2006, 12:14 PM:

Ah, small town America. The drive on the old LA Highway from here used to be like that before I-15. Get pulled over in Baker and they'd ask, "How much money you got on you?" followed immediately by, "That's the fine!"

I liked Houston too, once I got past the smell, the smog, the humidity, and the traffic. I used to live in the harbour district of Los Angeles (Motto: San Diego by sea, San Pedro by smell) and work in El Segundo (Motto: Where the sewer meets the sea) - if you can handle those bouquets you can live anywhere. (Old SoCal South Bay joke: "She said, 'Kiss me where it don't smell so good', so he drove her to El Segundo.")

Good things? Don Sneed is from Houston, well, Texas City. Close enough. And the largest US importer of anime titles AD Vision Films is there.

Hopefully Brad has found some good trainable dinner theater projectionists to make up for having be in Houston.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 05-11-2006, 12:55 PM:

I wish US-287 from Amarillo to DFW was a full blown Interstate (it ought to be for all the trucks and other traffic on it). But it wouldn't make much too much difference on avoiding tickets from the state troopers.

The road through Bowie, TX is an interstate-style expressway, but I managed to get three different speeding tickets on it. That was also before 1996 when the speed limits were changed. If you drive at 55 or under on that wide road it seems like you're just slowly crawling along.

US-287 north of Amarillo to Dumas ("DumASS, TexASS" for Joe) is another stretch crawling with cops.

Posted by Jennifer Pan (Member # 2035) on 05-11-2006, 05:46 PM:

My cousin and his family live there... but then again I haven't visited in years.

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 05-12-2006, 05:03 AM:

I lived in Houston from '85 to '87, and I absolutely loved it. Maybe it was different then, but I could dig it. The people were great, local TV was cool (Maaaarvin ZINDLerrrrr... EYE-WIT-NESS NOOOOZE!), radio was still radio (Oh, KFMK and Paul Berlin.. my kinda music!) and there were some fantastic places to eat. I discovered Fudrucker's there (back when they were better than they are now), Ninfa's was good, and James' Coney Island was to die for! There was a wonderful little Texas BBQ place somewhere on lower Westheimer, but I can't remember the name of it now. And a great ham radio store down off the SW fwy, where the convention center is now...

Met some cool chicks there, who didn't get offended if you complimented them. Made some really good friends, who I am in touch with today.

Got married there, and my late daughter was born there, too.

I installed the GCC Point NASA 6 in Friendswood, just south of town. It was my very first installation from top to bottom. I took a cue from FT-er Louis Bornwasser, though, and didn't mention this fact until opening night, as the suits were all huddled and the shows were running. It was good for some dropped jaws. So much so that, ever since then, I used that line on EVERY install.

Posted by Joshua Waaland (Member # 287) on 05-12-2006, 06:51 AM:

It's funny this topic should come up. I have been to Houston three times this year and January was the first time I was ever there. There is just something about Houston that I don't like. I can't really put my finger on it but I know I don't like it. I can see why Brad and Chris don't like it. After being to Dallas several times too, I would choose Dallas any day. Dallas is more spread out and nicer to look at. Houston seems to be too crowded together.

Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 05-12-2006, 07:34 AM:

I can't say anything about houston itself, I've never been anywhere near the place, but I will say this. Flying's a horrible way to travel, but Continental Airlines do seem to make an effort to reduce the unpleasantness of it as far as they can, and they're based there.

Posted by James R. Hammonds, Jr (Member # 673) on 05-12-2006, 09:54 AM:

Tim, we still have Marvin Zindler, but I haven't watched him in a while.
I've heard that Dave Ward sometimes rolls his eyes at him in response to some of his comments.
I guess that senility is kicking in.

Paul Berlin still lives here, but pretty much retired from radio after Clear Channel flipped 790 KBME from Adult Standards to Sports.

We still have good eatin' though.

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 05-12-2006, 05:28 PM:

Cool, James! I'd purely love to go back there someday. Ol' Marvin's gotta be pushin' 100 by now. [Smile]

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 05-12-2006, 11:34 PM:

I don't have much to say about Huston. I was in the airport once, switching planes. The airport was OK. The restrooms were reasonably clean. Some people walking around the airport were actually wearing cowboy hats.
Hope that helps.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 05-14-2006, 08:15 AM:

I've been to Houston twice on installs. Traffic is bad there, but there are a couple of good antique malls and at least one good restaurant that I was able to find that was'nt Tex-Mex or just Mexican.....

I never did find the NASA place Joe...... Are you absolutly sure they didn't have to close it down permanently after you were there and stole the shuttle operations manual....?

I hope I never have to go back [Roll Eyes]

.

Michael... Ya wanna see "real" cowboy hats go through any town along route 80 in Nevada. The number of them seems to be infinite at each stop.

Clearly... Elko Nevada has way more going for it than Houston Texas does! There are no 11,700 foot peaks Houston......

Mark

Posted by Keith Peticolas (Member # 971) on 05-16-2006, 06:46 PM:

But...Houston, Alaska is the only place to buy real good fireworks in the entire state.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 05-18-2006, 05:13 PM:

quote: Michael Schaffer
I don't have much to say about Huston.

He directed The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and The Misfits.

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 05-18-2006, 05:31 PM:

Leo, you forgot some others... these are among my favorites:

Myra Breckinridge
The List of Adrian Messenger
Key Largo
The Maltese Falcon

Plus several others... [Wink]

Posted by Mike Heenan (Member # 392) on 05-18-2006, 06:47 PM:

Along with being a great director... a pretty funny actor too, he was great in Winter Kills.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 05-19-2006, 02:48 PM:

...and a powerful actor, in Chinatown (one of the few screen 'villians' you're both invited to hate and feel sorry for at the same time - and he pulls the role off, perfectly).

As director, I also forgot The Battle of San Pietro and The Man Who Would be King...

Posted by Robert Burtcher (Member # 3227) on 08-19-2006, 04:32 AM:

quote: James R. Hammonds, Jr
Tim, we still have Marvin Zindler, but I haven't watched him in a while.
I've heard that Dave Ward sometimes rolls his eyes at him in response to some of his comments.
I guess that senility is kicking in.

Oh, God. Marvin Zindler. What a character. He's the only "good" thing I remember about my time in Houston.

SLIIIME IN THE ICE MACHINE!!!

My experience with the Houston area is summed up simply: It SUCKS. I lived in The Woodlands with my parents... EVERY SINGLE PERSON I was exposed to in the Conroe Independent School District simply didn't give a crap about anyone but themselves. I was the social outcast, bullied over a school newspaper article that wasn't about me but unfortunately used my first name (The topic discussed did apply to me, however), had maybe one friend the entire time I lived there... Turned in a kid for tripping his balls off in class to the point of being disruptive, and nobody had anything good to say about me for it...

I did enjoy the actual physical neighborhood. The bike trails were nice, and the pine trees trapped pockets of cool air that felt really nice to ride my bike through. And when I was stupid and wrecked my bike, scraping up my knees pretty badly, one person driving by was nice enough to stop and help me up and get me home... but that was the only other good thing I remember from that place.

Posted by Jeremy Fuentes (Member # 2135) on 08-19-2006, 07:31 PM:

I've been to Houston once. Had to go through a toll-way, then I took the wrong exit and had to go back through the same toll-way. I dont carry change alot, so for that reason alone, I havent been back.

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 08-19-2006, 09:01 PM:

Nope! Louis

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 08-19-2006, 09:05 PM:

As I said B4, Houston is a GREAT PLACE... ummm to be FROM!

Posted by Charles Greenlee (Member # 3856) on 08-20-2006, 12:52 AM:

quote:
Anyone have anything nice to say about Houston?

Nope.

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 08-20-2006, 03:50 AM:

I lived in Houston for a little over a year when I was 19yr old. It was a time of firsts. Got married there, got divorced there. Yup, the math you are doing in your heads is correct -- I was married for just about 8 months. The bitch left me when I was dilerious with a fever of 106 because she said she couldn't stand having to take care of sick people. First time I had ever heard THAT as a reason to walk out on someone. A friend broke down the door and got me to a hospital. The first theatre I worked with in Houston showed Spanish language films and I could't figure out what to play because the manager wrote everything down in english on the time schedule. I'd be forever calling up the girl in the box office...."How do you say, "Our discount books make great gifts"? The theatre was named the Venus and it's the first time I had ever seen people pissing in the isles. I got beat up in Houston by a bunch of red-necks who heard a group of us talking about the war and because I wore my hair long with a whip-tie in the back which they claimed was "hippie shit" and worse, I had a Yankee accent...that was a first as well, getting beat up becasue of the way I looked and sounded. And it was the first time I had ever seen roaches the size of Buicks....inside....in my apartment (no, not the red-necks, real roaches). And I discovered that they were capable of flight!...onto your bed...when you were freakin sleeping!!

I hated Houston.

Here in NYC we have a street called Houston; I am very happy that we pronounce it House-ston.

From Houston I hitch-hiked to a small town of Caldwell and got a job at the Matsonian DI, and then the Matsonian harttop (nicknamed by the staff "the Ratsonian" for reasons easy to imagine). It still had a side door with a sign above it, COLORED ENTRANCE. This was in 1967. I spent some time in Galveston, and that's the only nice memory I have of Texas cause I got laid at Tuts Shores down there. Then I moved on to Bryan-College Station and worked at the Campus Theatre right at the edge of Texas A&M. Those other Texas towns were pleasant enough, but Houston....it was the gawdawful pits.

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 08-20-2006, 12:59 PM:

quote:
got beat up in Houston... because... I had a Yankee accent...

That's awful, Frank! [Frown]

I'm very sorry to hear that happened to you, you're such a good man.

Well, maybe I'm not doing too bad, then. I only get stereotyped because of my Southern accent; people assume I'm an ignorant hillbilly and unsophisticated -- and treat me accordingly (anything from constantly interrupting me when I speak, to downright condescension). I've had more people here ridicule the way I talk than anywhere else I've lived.

And I guess I must be the odd-man out on Houston. I had some of the best times of my life there. Like any other big city, of course, there were areas of town that you needed to avoid at all costs, but for the most part, I really liked it. I like Dallas a lot more, certainly, for a lot of the reasons others have cited... but I didn't dislike Houston at all. [Smile]

Posted by Joshua Waaland (Member # 287) on 08-22-2006, 09:03 AM:

Damn! I think you guys jinxed me. Now I have to go to Houston today for the rest of the week! [Wink]

I still have jet lag from my trip back from Australia and the other salesman I work with promised my customer while I was gone that I would be down there first thing monday. I bought myself a day at least to try to get some of my personal business caught up. How does a guy figure that it's okay to promise someome else's time away especially when they have been out of the country for two weeks and just spent 24 hours in a plane and now have to fly for over four hours again?! [Eek!]

I have grass to mow, bills to pay, tons of personal business to catch up on and then of all places to have to go.......Houston. UGH!

[ 08-23-2006, 09:27 PM: Message edited by: Joshua Waaland ]

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 08-22-2006, 02:37 PM:

Do what I do...if driving, fill up on the way IN; if flying do not move very far from the airport...and by all means reconfirm that outbound flight....you don't want to be stuck there. Louis

Posted by Joshua Waaland (Member # 287) on 09-06-2006, 09:38 PM:

Okay, this is my third freaking week straight in Houston! [Mad]

CANNOT wait to go home! Leaving early tomorrow morning and I have already checked into my flight on Southwest.com so I know I will be headed out for sure. [beer]

Why can't I ever have business somewhere that has nice beaches and better things to do?

BTW: I could not find the thread on bad projectionists and bad theater experiences but I had one tonight. Shame on you Cinemark Tinseltown 17 in Jacinto City, Texas. While I found the floor staff extremely polite (most polite theater staff I have ever encountered), the presentation by the Usher-B was lacking. The film was scratched on the last 10 minutes (big solid vertical green line probably from the film jumping a roller) and the picture was out of focus at the bottom and there was a square light on the middle of the screen from the booth lights coming through the glass. That kind of scratch should never happen if you are checking on the projectors regularly. Inexcusable.

I was surprised to see that even though it was an older Tinseltown (bright colors) it had the same layout as the newer Cinemark near us except for an enclosed front lobby. I guess they wouldn't need that in Houston like we would in Ohio in January.

[ 09-07-2006, 05:05 AM: Message edited by: Joshua Waaland ]