Give Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving!


There are a lot of things to be thankful for this year. Here's just a few of the things on my ledger.....


My family - Especially my wife, who's learned to put up with last-minute blog meet-ups, poker trips, political rants & long nights researching for blog posts. Not to mention standing in line at Downtown Spec's for an hour making sure I get three six packs of the latest Divine Reserve. Yup, pretty great she is. (And a huge football fan, which does NOT make the Fall and early winter suck)



BlogHouston. Kevin, Anne, Callie and everyone over at bH were my first contact with the Houston blogosphere, back when I was writing Isolated Desolation just for the fun of it. Over the next several years I've developed friendships with all of them.



Living in Houston - Yes, during the Summer, the weather sucks, but it's late November and we're all going to be wearing shorts (until tomorrow). There are tons of things to do, a vibrant restaurant scene, and the economy is (relatively) good. The Government is entertaining enough to keep a local blog in content, and (last but not least) there's an ethnic diversity in this town that rivals anything you'll find in the South. I love Houston, and I'm always reminded how much I love living here.


ChronBlog - Yes, I constantly give them grief, and they're standard of journalism has fallen over the years to barely above that of a College newspaper, but I look at the Chron as a bloggy-type version of job security. If they ever go down, I'm betting 1/2 of Houston's blogosphere disappears right behind them.


The Houston Press - You can tell a lot about the soul of a City by taking a look at the health of their alt-media. Houston's alt-weekly is chugging a long with a bare-bones staff of professional journalists while increasingly leaning on the, upper-middle class sensibilities of a growing group of amateur bloggers. The result is a homogenized, relatively bland, trend-chasing product that fails to push the envelope and fails to offer up much but cliches. Amazingly, in Houston, it's the same groups that are behind the movement to "re-make" Houston into a reduced, less culturally deep, less original, version of New York City. That alone makes it a great resource for watching the dismantling of the things that have made Houston great.


Texas Watchdog. - Houston's #1 shop for hard-hitting, investigative journalism. They're also a great advocate of citizen-journalists and local blogs. One of Texas Watchdog's missions is to provide support and training for local bloggers. This is a great resource that I encourage everyone to take advantage of. I've also made many friends at Watchdog for whom I'm very thankful. Great group. (Even Lynn Walsh, who's an Ohio fan but I don't hold that against her too badly)


Texas Tribune. Without whom I'd be ignorant in regards to eye-wear options for the young and hip. Oh, and their Lege reporting is pretty good as well.


Chris Bell - It's always good to be thankful for a content driver. (See also: Dan Patrick, Bill White, Houston Metro, the InterLeft, Bloggers O' the Right, etc.)



Miller Outdoor Theater, The Houston Zoo and Houston's Museum District - Hours of low-cost (or free) entertainment that was helpful after my wife got laid-off and the entertainment budget was reduced.


And finally....My two (or so) regular readers. Thanks guys for following me around from blog to blog. I realize my writing style is not conducive to a big audience. That you've stuck around speaks volumes.



Happy Thanksgiving all. Take some time today to remember what exactly you're thankful for, and leave the political arguing to the truly sad and hollow. I'm off to eat some turkey and stuffing.