1. FUCK David Byrne

2. Justin is mostly right about the “oil money made manifest” line. It’s a well-turned phrase that bears no relationship to reality. Money is money. Kilian says that Houston is an oil town “because you have to drive and drive and drive to get anywhere for one thing.” Dude, have you ever been to Phoenix? Or Denver? Or DALLAS? Atlanta is a little bit nicer than Houston, but not because you have to drive less. Sprawl in the South and West results from the time period in which they evolved coupled with the existence of money, not the source of the money.

However, there is one area in Houston where the oil industry is made manifest, if not the money itself, and that’s the petrochemical corridor on the southeast side of the metro area. Heavy industry is, of course, one of the things that makes an urban area diverse and livable, by providing living-wage jobs to a population without the financial resources to break into white-collar professions. . . something a New Yorker born after, say, World War II would know little about. Heavy industry is also among the most picturesque elements of an urban landscape, if one of the most viciously destructive to its environment and the health of its populace.

3. Again, contra Kilian- sorry, man- but at this point Houston is anything but a boomtown. It has a much more diversified economy than most people think, and although the petrochemical industry is still the primary driver of the economy, that will probably get a lot more lucrative, not less, before a gradual decline, assuming that we eventually move toward a less oil-dependent society.

Not to mention, Houston is full of people who own property and have long-term, stable employment. It doesn’t have a lot of conspicuous consumption, not like Miami. And, it’s got 4 million people. A society that large does not shift quickly in any direction.

4. Houston may soon be the first major city in America to elect a lesbian as mayor. By contrast, the mayor of New York is a development-crazed billionaire who got the city council to repeal term limits so that he could stay in power. Its last mayor was one of the more notable assholes in recent American history. Look at the mayors of New York and the mayors of Houston and tell me which city you’d rather live in politically.

5. One more for the road: FUCK YOU DAVID BYRNE

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/09/houston_101_frankly_my_dear_i.php

In the same way, I’ve never been one to bang on other cities. Mostly because I’ve not spent enough time in any particular city to feel as if I know it well. I’ve spent about a month total in Chicago (my longest time in any town except Myrtle Beach and Waco), and I like it quite a bit, but I noticed it was dirtier than our town and that to live in a neighborhood like Montrose near the center of the city, it would cost considerably more. Still, I don’t feel like I can have an informed opinion on the city’s charms or dismiss it smugly as if knew all I needed to know.

At the same time, I must admit much of my good opinion of Chicago probably springs from its treatment in films and from its good reputation as a city of myriad awesomeness.

I suspect that much of Allen’s and Byrne’s opinions of Houston comes from this second type of “knowledge” rather than the first type, which would have been formed from brief encounters (probably less than one month total).

I’ve known a very few folks who lived here a few years and dislike Houston. Their opinion is of more use to me. I’d be more inclined to learn of their experience. Since I can be more sure they actually know what they’re talking about and aren’t relying on proxies or repeating an opinion they know to be widely held among their peers.