Glendale Cemetery Next To Houston Ship Channel—The Dead Are Not Bothered By The Smell

As you can see from the picture above and from the picture below, the dead at Houston’s Glendale Cemetery are at eternal rest in close proximity of the Houston Ship Channel.

If you click the link above, you can read a brief history of the place and see pictures of the gravestones.

Glendale is Houston’s oldest cemetery. It was begun in 1826.

You might think it is noisy and smelly near the Houston Ship Channel.

Sure—But if you are dead those kinds of things don’t bother you so much.

(Photos copyright 2011 Neil Aquino.)

View From A Houston City Park

Here is the view from a Houston city park in the proximity of the Houston Ship Channel.

Just another day in the big city.

(Photo copyright 2011 Neil Aquino)

Bolivar Ferry In The Houston Ship Channel—How About A Tea Party Citizen-Navy?

When the boats that are part of the Bolivar Ferry service need some repairs or a tune-up, it seems that they are taken to the spot you see above in the Houston Ship Channel.

The red boat and the yellow boat in the picture are each part of the Bolivar Ferry.

The Bolivar Ferry is a free government service offered by the State of Texas that takes folks between Galveston Island and Bolivar Peninsula.

The Bolivar Chamber of Commerce has no objections at all to this subsidy.

The Houston Ship Channel receives all sorts of government funds to stay up and running.

I’m not aware of any large industrial concerns complaining about socialism at the Houston Ship Channel.

Maybe Tea Party cells and small government advocates could muster up volunteer crews to run the ferry and to operate the Houston Ship Channel.

Surely the Tea Party has considered raising a citizen-volunteer navy to go along with all the talk of citizen militias and defending freedom.

(Photo copyright 2011 by Neil Aquino.)

I’ve Found What You’ve Been Looking For

For those who have been looking where to find marine propellers and a washing machine on the same lot, I have found the place for you.

(Here is a history of washing machines. Here are facts about marine propellers.)

This lot is near the Houston Ship Channel.

As those of you kind enough to read this blog on a regular or semi-regular basis may gather, I often drive around the area of the Houston Ship Channel.

I don’t suppose this is normal behavior. Though keeping a daily blog is not normal behavior.

One thing I like about the Houston Ship Channel and the industrial areas around the channel, is that life goes on no matter how polluted the water in the channel may be and no matter how bad the air may be on a rough day.

While I don’t like the pollution, I am glad for the metaphoric point that we can still be productive and energetic even in less than ideal conditions.

There are many interesting things to see in the vicinity of the Ship Channel. Below is a picture I took over last summer of a chopped-up school bus and some tires that have been placed in boats located on a vacant lot.

It looks to me almost like it was arranged with some aesthetic in mind.

You never know where in life you will find a measure of order where at first glance something makes no sense.

Every place has value. Every place has some purpose.

Classic Houston Scene

Above is a classic Houston scene.

The picture shows sea birds flocking on the periphery of the Houston Ship Channel and in front of an auto demolition lot.

To ignore either the natural aspects of Houston, or the industrial landscape of the city, would be to miss the full story of Houston.

In my travels around the city, I try to take it all in.

The natural world and the man made world give value and meaning to one another. Both are essential for people to have productive and enjoyable lives.

(Photo copyright 2011 Neil Aquino.)

Snow In Houston?—Winter Weather Links

Some snow is expected in Houston this upcoming Thursday night/Friday morning.

(Update 2/4/11–We got ice rather than snow.)

(Above–A 20 inch snowstorm hit Houston in 1895. This picture was taken at the intersection of Travis and Prairie in Houston.)

Here is a list of Houston snowfalls since 1895.

(Update--Here is my rolling blackout post.)

At least one inch of snow is possible in Houston. Though just how much snow we get, and if we get any ice, will be determined by the course of the storm.

While that might not be big news in much of the country, it rarely snows in Houston.

While the bad weather in Houston will pass soon enough, it is good opportunity to learn more about snow and winter weather.

What is snow? Here are basic facts about snow from Clouds R Us.com–

“Snow forms if the air in a cloud is below freezing. The water vapour then turns to ice instead of rain and the tiny ice crystals stick together until they form snowflakes. When they get heavy enough to fall, they drop out of the clouds. At this point though, we still don’t know whether they will end up as rain or remain as snow. This depends on the temperature of the air they travel through on the way down to the ground. If it gets warmer, they turn into rain, but if the air stays close to freezing all the way down, then the snowflakes will make it without melting and so fall as snow. If this occurs in a mountain area, it is possible for snow to be falling on the mountaintop while lower down in the valley the air is warmer and so it is raining instead.”

The National Snow & Ice Data Center has plenty of information about–yes–snow and ice.

Snowcrystals.com will tell you all need to know about snowflakes.

Here are tips about surviving a blizzard.

Here are 22 tips for driving on an icy road.

No matter where you are, please be careful on the roads.

And no matter what anybody says, don’t believe the false logic that winter weather in a warm place means that global warming is not true.

In fact, 2010 was the warmest year on Earth so far recorded. 2010 was part of trend that has gone on for some time now.

(Below–Picture I took at Houston Ship Channel during December 4, 2009 snowfall. Photo copyright Neil Aquino.)

Two Flags Over The Demolition Yard

I’m not reflexively against consumption. I consume things. I discard things.

I own a car. When I am done with my car–After I drive it as long as it will run–I will discard the car.

People need jobs making and selling things. There are many valid reasons that people want to make use of material things.

I’m not looking to make a softball point that our Texas and United States flags stand in large part for our right to use stuff and then to toss it away.

Yet there is the picture as seen at an auto demolition yard near the Houston Ship Channel. There sure are a lot of cars in that lot.

So make of it what you will. See the picture using both nuance, and a recognition of what the photo shows–Even if unintentionally–clearly enough.

(Photo copyright 2011 Neil Aquino.)

Houston Ship Channel Springtime—The World Around Us Has Value

Above is a picture that I call “Ship Channel Springtime.”

It is a picture I took at the Houston Ship Channel early last spring.

The man you see in the picture was walking down the grassy slope towards the Ship Channel.

Why was he walking towards the channel?

I don’t know. I’d have been crazy to ask.

Why would anybody be hanging around the Houston Ship Channel?

Except in my case.

I hang around the Ship Channel sometimes and I’m plenty normal.

Right?

Below is a wider view of the scene above.

You see your springtime scrapyard. Your springtime ships and barges. Your springtime industry.

You can embrace the world around you and learn about the world around you , or you can be angry all the time and feel out of place all the time.

The Ship Channel is a big part of Houston. Industry, production, and transportation are essential to Houston.

It’s great to study and to learn about the things that are around you.

Here are some facts and history about the Houston Ship Channel.

A Houston Ship Channel Springtime may not be your ideal experience of spring—Yet every place has merits and every place has a purpose.

Without losing sight of the facts of matter and without ever relenting in efforts to make life better , it is good and hopeful if we can see the best aspects of the world around us.

(Photos copyright Neil Aquino.)

Drydock

Time for a day in drydock.

That’s all I got for today.

The Seemingly Separate Aspects Of Our Lives Tell One Story—Ideology, Metaphor, Advocacy & Biography

Because all things are connected, here is four-in-one post that involves ideology, metaphor, advocacy and biography.  Seemingly separate aspects of existence and of our lives are in fact all part of the same story. These connections are found in simple day-to-day observations about the world around us and are found in how we live our lives each day. The things we need to be creative and hopeful are all around us. With effort, these things are accessible to all of us.

Ideology —Because day-to-day acts and viewpoints require context.

We need government to protect citizens from hate crime attacks such as the recent one in New York City where a gay man was mauled by a gang of young people. We need government  to investigate these crimes when they take place and to punish the wrongdoers.

Metaphor—Because it is the shadow that sells the substance.

Like the ships in the Houston Ship Channel, we have the ability to stay the course even in polluted waters.

(Below–The Houston Ship Channel on a rare cold day in Houston.)

Advocacy—Because everyone is able to do their best to make a difference.

In this time of big money in politics, Linda Chavez-Thompson brings a real working person’s perspective to the race for Lt. Governor of Texas.  Please consider Ms. Chavez-Thompson in 2010.

Biography—Because understanding ourselves help us connect with the world.

I was born in 1967 in Worcester, Massachusetts. My parents met while working as reporters for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.

Two Short Videos—The Creative And The Practical Are One In The Same And Draw Meaning And Substance From One Another

1. While politics and democracy are sometimes called the “art of the possible”, I feel these things are at core acts of creativity and imagination.

2. In political life, and in the larger sphere of our democratic freedoms and responsibilities, something is imagined as a desirable outcome and steps are planned to reach that goal.

3. Thought comes before action.

4. Also, in my view of politics and democracy, all people have the ability to understand complex things. People have more ability than they realize.

5. It is, of course, not a given that people will make the effort to try and understand complex things or that outcomes in a democracy will be positive outcomes. Believing in democracy can require a measure of nihilism.

6. What you can do about possible bad outcomes in society is do your best to be a part of society and the democracy.

7. With our minds, with effort and self-discipline, and with technology that is accessible to many, we can convey our beliefs in both a creative and practical manner. There is no contradiction between the creative and the practical.

8. There are few contradiction of any kind. Though to say this does not imply that we cannot hold strong beliefs.

9. At the top of this post are two short videos that I filmed in Houston. In each video I list a few points I’ve observed about democracy. It would not take you more than two minutes total watch both videos.

10. I made the videos with my little Flip Camera and have posted them on my blog that I get for free from WordPress.

The things we need are around us and they are accessible with effort and self-discipline. Every time is the right time to talk about freedom and democracy. All people can understand complex things and all places have value and meaning.  Good outcomes are never a given and people are often brutal. The creative and the practical are one in the same and draw meaning and substance from one another.

Eight Points About Democracy In Front Of A Car Demolition Lot

Here is a video I made a few days ago. I filmed this video in front of a car demolition lot near the Houston Ship Channel. This video lasts 58 seconds.

In this video, I list eight points I’ve observed about democracy.

These are not hopeful points, but you have to move ahead.

A car demolition lot near the Houston Ship Channel might not be seen by all as a nice place, but it is a place that has a purpose. All places have a purpose.

All people matter. All places have a purpose. You can believe these things and still have no illusions about the world.

Creativity can be found in expressing plain facts about everyday life in the places where everyday life occurs.

Here is a 72 second video I made on a Houston street corner listing other points about democracy.

What Shall I Do With My Day?—Houston Ship Channel Leads Out To A Wide Sea

I’ve got the day to myself and there are things I plan to accomplish.

1. I’m going to make a blog post. The blog is a daily demand and I sometimes assess if it is worth the effort. I feel it is worth the effort for the moment because it  allows me to have a voice in the world. Even when I am out doing other things, the blog is getting traffic. I view it sometimes like that record playing on the Voyager space probes that transmits facts about the Earth as the Voyagers fly off into space. My message is out there.

(Below–Voyager. Here is the Voyager web home at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.)

2. I’m going to have lunch at Brady’s Landing which is located on the  Houston Ship Channel.

I enjoy driving down historic Harrisburg Blvd. in Houston. That is how I will get to the Ship Channel. I think about things that once were and how these things are connected to the present day. All things are connected.

The Ship Channel is both organic and man-made. It is the widening and deepening of an existing body of water. You and I are both organic and man-made. We are who we are and we are the creation of the world around us.

Also, the Ship Channel is a narrow body of water that leads out to a wide sea. I find that hopeful. You never know what something will lead if you make an effort.

On my ride, I’ll take my camera and my Flip video camera in case inspiration hits. You never know when you will have a good thought.

(Below–The Houston Ship Channel)

3. I’m going to take a walk in Memorial Park here in Houston. There is a jogging/walking trail in this park. Jogging is not civilized. While I’ve never done any jogging, it looks jarring. All that wear and tear. On the other hand, a nice thoughtful walk  will make me a better husband, friend and citizen.

(Below–Memorial Park.)

4. I have a bunch of other stuff to do as well. Boring stuff like laundry.

If I sit here all morning with the blog, I will never get to any of those things—So now I’m hitting the road.

Thanks for reading the blog and please have a hopeful, creative, and liberal day.

This Brother Of Ours Is Fishing In Houston Ship Channel Because He Needs Something To Eat

Above you see a brother of ours—we are all connected—fishing in the Houston Ship Channel.

I took this picture yesterday.

I’ve got a better picture of the guy, but just in case he was skipping work or fleeing the law I don’t want to get him in trouble.

You’ve got to be out of your mind to fish in the Houston Ship Channel.

Or—Maybe you need something to eat.

That man knows full well that the Houston Ship Channel is not a clean body of water.

There are specific guidelines for how much fish you should eat from the Houston Ship Channel.

Yet I can’t imagine that this man would eat fish from the Houston Ship Channel if he felt he had other options.

People do what they feel they must do.

Two Pictures Of Your Friendly Blogger—Contrasting Aspects Of Our Shared Existence

Here are two pictures of your friendly blogger.

I know I don’t look so friendly in these pictures. You’ll simply have to take my word for the fact.

In this first picture I am at Burnet Woods in Cincinnati, Ohio on what was a very cold day this past February.

In this next picture, I am at the Houston Ship Channel just a few hours ago. This was a much warmer day in Houston then the day you see pictured in Cincinnati.

Burnet Woods and the Houston Ship Channel are places with both organic and man-made elements.

These are aspects of existence that are found in each of us.

We are partly our own creation and we are partly a creation of things beyond our control.

I dig both these aspects of our existence.

I took these pictures by myself with my iphone.

The ability to be alone, and still to be able to share what I’ve done alone with others is yet another contrasting aspect of the existence we all share.

What an interesting world and existence we all share.