Tonight, a number on the calendar will flip and Millions of people will head out to bars where they'll pay much money for pedestrian sparkling wine in clubs that are too crowded to dance in while other people who have overpaid for the same sparkling wine will slosh it all over them.
This apparently, is all done in the name of fun.
We like fun here at Your Drink Order Please and wish everyone well in having it, we hope that those of you who are of a clubbing persuasion as the year rolls over take the time to pre-plan your revelry and designate a driver or procure a limousine or a cab for the evening. Safety first ladies, gentlemen and the rest of you. Safety first.
For many, the New Year is a time of resolution, a chance to make promises to yourself for a better life or, if you work for the media, a time to make promises regarding the tax money of others. It's also a time for predictions (which, if they come true, require no apologizing for), remembrances and some mile lecturing. The thread running through all of these is that they, on some level, hope for things to be "better" provided you define better as "the way I want things to be" that is.
Now, you might think this post is yet another missive on how horrific New Year's Eve really is. You could not be further from the mark. I like New Year's because it's the best day in the world for College Football (at least, it used to be, before ESPN ruined it.) it's a day for most to spend with family (and, given the state of society we NEED time with our families) and it's a time of hope (we all know we need hope). So New Year's for me is a grand thing. I just choose to spend it at home, marveling at the devolution of New Year's Eve television.
All of this brings me to the point of this post, which are things that I'm hoping to see in the New Year. These are not predictions mind you, or resolutions. Instead they're hopeful thinking on my part.
First, I'd like to see the return of common sense in society. We've devolved to a point where it's not all that common to find common sense any longer. I'd also like to see a modicum of professionalism in our politicians. I'd like to see a return of the media in a true watchdog role, and I'd like them to remember that they're supposed to have a natural distrust of the system. I'd like to see a return of civility, and the ability of people to admit when they are wrong. It'd be nice to see an end to the forced apology, but even my optimism has limits. I'd like to see Houston's leadership remember the things that got it on all of those "best cities" lists and try to partially return to them. Finally, what I'd most like to see is America remember what it is that made her great, and take some real steps to return to those principles.
Minus that, I'd like to see more of the inside of a gym, and for someone to finally invent a calorie-free pizza that tastes great. Hangover-free alcohol would also be on the list. I'm not getting any younger.
For the blog, I'd like to see a time when I can turn comments back on. I don't miss them but I do miss letting people weigh in with meaningful talk, rather than just passive-aggressive chastisements that I don't think as they do. I'd also like to see many fun stories that will keep me in content. I've a feeling I won't be let down on the latter.
Happy New Year, thanks for reading.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Monday, December 30, 2013
It took a while but, finally, pictures from St. Thomas
The wife and I visited St. Thomas for our birthdays in October. Yes, I'm finally getting around to uploading the pictures. You can see them here:
St Thomas Image set 2013
Overall I liked St. Thomas. The people were friendly and the climate was great. The food and customer service on the other hand were, unfortunately, sub-standard. Most of the waiters/bartenders are mainlanders who have relocated to the Isle because it's known as a party destination. So while they're going to be friendly, there's also a very slim chance they understand the basics of customer service. In other words, you're going to have to wait a minute to get a refill on your water, and your drink might run dry while they're talking/flirting with someone at the other end of the bar.
The restaurants in St. Thomas are 100% geared toward the mostly older crowds coming in from the cruise ships. This means that things tend to be bland, and the menus are surprisingly Lower 48 American. Gone are the island staples that you might want to try, replaced with hamburgers and chopped beef "steak" and dry grilled chicken. You can still find conch fritters but they're watered down to the point that you might as well be eating a hush-puppy. The food is edible, and in some places outstanding, but you're not going to find the island classics there that you wanted to find.
Amazingly, the best food we ate was at The Bluebeard's Castle Resort specifically The Greek food at Room with a View, (it's off menu, typically offered as a special) and the breakfast at the pool bar. The huevos rancheros at the pool bar, cooked in the back, on a skillet and hot plate FWIW, were among the best I've ever had.
Great places to visit include Bones Rum in the central shopping district of Charlotte Amelie, and Duffy's Love Shack in Red Hook the former for their pour your own rum drinks and the latter for their arrangement of specialty rum drinks that come with their own glass you can keep. Right across the street from Duffy's is a pretty decent Irish Pub, with good bar food to provide you with some much needed filler to soak up all the rum you're going to drink.
Overall my takeaway from St Thomas was this: God did his job, making the Island stunningly beautiful, and then man came along and messed it up with terrible poverty and a high crime rate that make most of the island an undesirable place to be at night. Outside of duty free shopping, the biggest industry on the island appears to be pan-handling, at times this can get aggressive. While we were there (over 4 days) there were 5 reported assaults of different types at night. It's too bad because St. Thomas has a lot of natural beauty.
So, if you go, be sure to stop in at most restaurants that appear to be dives, take lots of pictures of natural beauty, buy duty free and take a trip up to Bluebeard's and eat some food. You're better off buying a bottle of rum at duty free and a 2-liter of Coca-Cola to drink in your room then you are heading out to a bar at night. You'll save money and it's a lot safer. Nothing good happens on St. Thomas after midnight.
It is stunningly beautiful (in parts) during the day though, especially when the sun is shining and the water is blue.
St Thomas Image set 2013
Overall I liked St. Thomas. The people were friendly and the climate was great. The food and customer service on the other hand were, unfortunately, sub-standard. Most of the waiters/bartenders are mainlanders who have relocated to the Isle because it's known as a party destination. So while they're going to be friendly, there's also a very slim chance they understand the basics of customer service. In other words, you're going to have to wait a minute to get a refill on your water, and your drink might run dry while they're talking/flirting with someone at the other end of the bar.
The restaurants in St. Thomas are 100% geared toward the mostly older crowds coming in from the cruise ships. This means that things tend to be bland, and the menus are surprisingly Lower 48 American. Gone are the island staples that you might want to try, replaced with hamburgers and chopped beef "steak" and dry grilled chicken. You can still find conch fritters but they're watered down to the point that you might as well be eating a hush-puppy. The food is edible, and in some places outstanding, but you're not going to find the island classics there that you wanted to find.
Amazingly, the best food we ate was at The Bluebeard's Castle Resort specifically The Greek food at Room with a View, (it's off menu, typically offered as a special) and the breakfast at the pool bar. The huevos rancheros at the pool bar, cooked in the back, on a skillet and hot plate FWIW, were among the best I've ever had.
Great places to visit include Bones Rum in the central shopping district of Charlotte Amelie, and Duffy's Love Shack in Red Hook the former for their pour your own rum drinks and the latter for their arrangement of specialty rum drinks that come with their own glass you can keep. Right across the street from Duffy's is a pretty decent Irish Pub, with good bar food to provide you with some much needed filler to soak up all the rum you're going to drink.
Overall my takeaway from St Thomas was this: God did his job, making the Island stunningly beautiful, and then man came along and messed it up with terrible poverty and a high crime rate that make most of the island an undesirable place to be at night. Outside of duty free shopping, the biggest industry on the island appears to be pan-handling, at times this can get aggressive. While we were there (over 4 days) there were 5 reported assaults of different types at night. It's too bad because St. Thomas has a lot of natural beauty.
So, if you go, be sure to stop in at most restaurants that appear to be dives, take lots of pictures of natural beauty, buy duty free and take a trip up to Bluebeard's and eat some food. You're better off buying a bottle of rum at duty free and a 2-liter of Coca-Cola to drink in your room then you are heading out to a bar at night. You'll save money and it's a lot safer. Nothing good happens on St. Thomas after midnight.
It is stunningly beautiful (in parts) during the day though, especially when the sun is shining and the water is blue.
Friday, December 27, 2013
Today's Texas Bowl Exhibit A in Argument for Reducing Number of Bowl Games
Today's 27-21 victory by Syracuse over Minnesota in the Texas Bowl was arguably the most boring bowl game we've seen so far this year. Neither offense was any good, the coaching was atrocious, and the defenses were nothing spectacular despite having some good numbers. What marked this game was bad play, bad football and bad TV played out in front of a 1/3 full Reliant Stadium on dodgy turf in a spectacle that didn't do much to promote Houston, or Texas for that matter.
The argument FOR these games is simple, they're to reward the players for a successful season. Just remember, successful in the upside-down world of College Football is .500. Because of this there are 35 post-season games, all but one being meaningless. It's time to cut that number in half, raise the minimum standard of "bowl-eligible" to 8 wins and bring all of the games within 48 hours of New Year's Day again.
Back when bowl season was bowl season, you had 9-10 games on New Year's Day. The holiday would consist of waking up early in advance of your hangover, watching the Tournament of Roses parade and then spending the remainder of the day with multiple TV's or picture in picture trying to get in as much College Football as humanly possible. This was fun, it improved the remote control skills of many a growing boy and helped beer sales across the country.
Today, we're saddled with "Capital One Bowl Week" which, like Houston Restaurant Week, is really Bowl Week(s) and removes from us the ability to watch another, good, game while the dog is on another channel. So now we're saddled with 35 bowl games only 5 or 6 of which are going to be very good. We're stuck with teams of middling quality who only are in the game because the slot needed to be filled. Even worse, the population of bowl representatives with bad polyester coats is getting out of control. In many cases these are public-private partnerships which means that some of your tax dollars might have gone to buy Fred Hilden, President of the local Chamber of Commerce, a bad jacket that he's only going to end up spilling cocktail sauce on at the after party.
I would say that it's imperative this stops and we get back to bowl sanity but this is never going to happen because of one thing: Money. For the most part these bowls make tons of it and, for lack of anything better to do, people watch. Until we all ban together and tell the bowl committees that we're not going to put up with it any longer these things are never going to change.
I nominate the Texas Bowl to throw themselves on the sword first. Let's end this mess of a bowl and go back to just watching instead of rolling out the red carpet for a couple of major conference teams with sub-five hundred in-conference records. If nothing else, it'd be MORE world class to NOT have the game than it is to play it. And we all know how much Houston loves anything perceived to be world class right?
The argument FOR these games is simple, they're to reward the players for a successful season. Just remember, successful in the upside-down world of College Football is .500. Because of this there are 35 post-season games, all but one being meaningless. It's time to cut that number in half, raise the minimum standard of "bowl-eligible" to 8 wins and bring all of the games within 48 hours of New Year's Day again.
Back when bowl season was bowl season, you had 9-10 games on New Year's Day. The holiday would consist of waking up early in advance of your hangover, watching the Tournament of Roses parade and then spending the remainder of the day with multiple TV's or picture in picture trying to get in as much College Football as humanly possible. This was fun, it improved the remote control skills of many a growing boy and helped beer sales across the country.
Today, we're saddled with "Capital One Bowl Week" which, like Houston Restaurant Week, is really Bowl Week(s) and removes from us the ability to watch another, good, game while the dog is on another channel. So now we're saddled with 35 bowl games only 5 or 6 of which are going to be very good. We're stuck with teams of middling quality who only are in the game because the slot needed to be filled. Even worse, the population of bowl representatives with bad polyester coats is getting out of control. In many cases these are public-private partnerships which means that some of your tax dollars might have gone to buy Fred Hilden, President of the local Chamber of Commerce, a bad jacket that he's only going to end up spilling cocktail sauce on at the after party.
I would say that it's imperative this stops and we get back to bowl sanity but this is never going to happen because of one thing: Money. For the most part these bowls make tons of it and, for lack of anything better to do, people watch. Until we all ban together and tell the bowl committees that we're not going to put up with it any longer these things are never going to change.
I nominate the Texas Bowl to throw themselves on the sword first. Let's end this mess of a bowl and go back to just watching instead of rolling out the red carpet for a couple of major conference teams with sub-five hundred in-conference records. If nothing else, it'd be MORE world class to NOT have the game than it is to play it. And we all know how much Houston loves anything perceived to be world class right?
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Houston: An unevenly regulated mess whose elected leaders have forgotten basic services
On a recent business trip to Denver the rental car company messed up and assigned me a minivan with no GPS system to guide me around town. As a result of this mix-up, with an assist from some calm protestations, I wound up with a BMW 528i for the few days I was in town. By any measure, this is a great car. Easy to drive with tons of power and, for the most part, good on fuel economy I enjoyed the climate control, heated leather seats and comfortable ride when I had the traction control set in "comfort" mode.
It only took me a couple of minutes to figure out that "Sport" mode was not going to work. Not on Denver's roads. After a few miles of pot-holes I decided to make a change, so I turned the traction control system off. This didn't work either so I went with the Comfort setting and found myself easily navigating Denver's spotty freeway system. For a City like Denver, dodgy pothole repair is unfortunate but at least somewhat explainable. While I was there the temperature was in the 60's and the recent heavy snowfall was still piled up on the side of the road. Given that the next storm was fast approaching I wasn't surprised to find pothole work done as if the repairman poured in a bag of Quickrete and evened it out with the back of a garden rake before moving on.
The problem is that you don't just see this in Northern cities such as Denver, but in relatively mild-climate cities such as Houston as well. This is a problem because, if you're not lucky enough to drive a BMW 528i set to comfort on Houston streets you run the risk of self-homogenization. Seriously, you could churn butter on some Houston streets right in the back of your car. Then, when I come back to Houston I notice a group of news stories that (partially) explain the situation.
Over the last few days we've seen that a Houston jury granted residents near the Ashby High Rise $1.7MM in damages that haven't occurred yet apparently, a large portion of citizens think this is a good thing. I'm willing to bet (although I have no proof) that many of those in favor of such events are also proponents of re-making the near North side, and displacing those without sufficient incomes to put up a legal fight. On top of this, we find that our non-gay-rights-spokesperson Mayor is facing lawsuits over her very gay-rights-vanguard policy that appears to run counter to both the City Charter and existing State Law. We also find out that several anti-human trafficking groups have serious issues with the 16 strip clubbribe settlement that allows them to resume lap-dancing and eliminates the 3 foot rule in favor of some handy cash payments to the Houston Police Department. This settlement brings an entire new meaning to "Pay to Play".
And still, Houston's roads look more similar to a picture of the moon than something indicative of a first world transportation system in a city that touts itself as a place "where business gets done". One thing that's not getting done are audits from the City Controller's office. Remember during the election when, then candidate, Ronald Green announced a flurry of audit findings after being questioned about not doing them? Of course then, as Candidate Green, he ASSURED you that the timing of those audits weren't political. I'm sure it's just a coincidence that we have gone back to not hearing a peep from him since he got re-elected as well. Given his prior history I think you can say there won't be much from Green's office until he decides to run for office again. It's an open secret that he wants to be the next Mayor, and I've a feeling he might win should he run.
Why is that you ask? Houston's current Mayor didn't really distinguish herself as a fiscal watchdog during her stint as Controller. Green is just taking a page out of the Up-the-Houston-Political-Ladder playbook.
Taken on their own, each of these examples reveal a stunning lack of focus among City of Houston elected officials in the area of basic services. Public Works is a travesty, the "rain tax" fund is collecting piles of money, but has yet to roll-out any projects, and for all of the magazine accolades about Houston a real, meaningful point is always overlooked: The infrastructure and regulatory environment in the city are getting worse, not better.
Normally, if things were falling apart, I'd turn to the media to fulfill their watchdog mission and report on these issues fully and in a forthcoming manner. In this case, we live in Houston and the former newspaper of record seems content to inundate us with odd anti-male rants, missives that things are grand despite several warning signs that may not be doing that fine after all and a continuing flood of sex and Side Boob! pictorials.
And we can't even blame snow fall and de-icing chemicals for our bad roads.
It only took me a couple of minutes to figure out that "Sport" mode was not going to work. Not on Denver's roads. After a few miles of pot-holes I decided to make a change, so I turned the traction control system off. This didn't work either so I went with the Comfort setting and found myself easily navigating Denver's spotty freeway system. For a City like Denver, dodgy pothole repair is unfortunate but at least somewhat explainable. While I was there the temperature was in the 60's and the recent heavy snowfall was still piled up on the side of the road. Given that the next storm was fast approaching I wasn't surprised to find pothole work done as if the repairman poured in a bag of Quickrete and evened it out with the back of a garden rake before moving on.
The problem is that you don't just see this in Northern cities such as Denver, but in relatively mild-climate cities such as Houston as well. This is a problem because, if you're not lucky enough to drive a BMW 528i set to comfort on Houston streets you run the risk of self-homogenization. Seriously, you could churn butter on some Houston streets right in the back of your car. Then, when I come back to Houston I notice a group of news stories that (partially) explain the situation.
Over the last few days we've seen that a Houston jury granted residents near the Ashby High Rise $1.7MM in damages that haven't occurred yet apparently, a large portion of citizens think this is a good thing. I'm willing to bet (although I have no proof) that many of those in favor of such events are also proponents of re-making the near North side, and displacing those without sufficient incomes to put up a legal fight. On top of this, we find that our non-gay-rights-spokesperson Mayor is facing lawsuits over her very gay-rights-vanguard policy that appears to run counter to both the City Charter and existing State Law. We also find out that several anti-human trafficking groups have serious issues with the 16 strip club
And still, Houston's roads look more similar to a picture of the moon than something indicative of a first world transportation system in a city that touts itself as a place "where business gets done". One thing that's not getting done are audits from the City Controller's office. Remember during the election when, then candidate, Ronald Green announced a flurry of audit findings after being questioned about not doing them? Of course then, as Candidate Green, he ASSURED you that the timing of those audits weren't political. I'm sure it's just a coincidence that we have gone back to not hearing a peep from him since he got re-elected as well. Given his prior history I think you can say there won't be much from Green's office until he decides to run for office again. It's an open secret that he wants to be the next Mayor, and I've a feeling he might win should he run.
Why is that you ask? Houston's current Mayor didn't really distinguish herself as a fiscal watchdog during her stint as Controller. Green is just taking a page out of the Up-the-Houston-Political-Ladder playbook.
Taken on their own, each of these examples reveal a stunning lack of focus among City of Houston elected officials in the area of basic services. Public Works is a travesty, the "rain tax" fund is collecting piles of money, but has yet to roll-out any projects, and for all of the magazine accolades about Houston a real, meaningful point is always overlooked: The infrastructure and regulatory environment in the city are getting worse, not better.
Normally, if things were falling apart, I'd turn to the media to fulfill their watchdog mission and report on these issues fully and in a forthcoming manner. In this case, we live in Houston and the former newspaper of record seems content to inundate us with odd anti-male rants, missives that things are grand despite several warning signs that may not be doing that fine after all and a continuing flood of sex and Side Boob! pictorials.
And we can't even blame snow fall and de-icing chemicals for our bad roads.
Monday, December 16, 2013
A short break and (by the way) this Texans team has quit.
I'm going to be taking a short blogging break to attend to some stuff in the real world, and to enjoy the Christmas season with family and friends. No, I will not be having a health care "conversation" with them. Sorry Obama, Christmas is about more than your petty politics.
One quick observation before I focus elsewhere: This Texans team has 100% quit. Yes, they're saying the right things after losses, talk about how gutted they are and how frustrating it is, but the performance on the field is that of a team that just doesn't care. Between a flood of penalties and missed assignments lies a deep streak of who gives a f.......?
Sure, it's safe to say that Wade Phillips hasn't quit. He's trying everything to eke out a win or two and prove he deserves the head job. Case Keenum hasn't quit, he wants to be the QB of the future, but the evidence is piling up that he's not up to the job. Ben Tate hasn't quit, he's running for his next contract with another team after all, but the O-line in front of him has shipped it in and the rest of the offense seems to be going through the motions. The defense is a shambles, with only JJ Watt really playing but being nullified by double and triple teams, while everyone else is either a penalty or blown assignment waiting to happen. When things do go right it almost feels if it's done by accident.
I didn't watch all of Sunday's game, I decided my day would be better spent doing other things, and I doubt I'll watch another game this year. When the team has quit on you, then I think it's OK, as a fan, to quit on them.
So to all of you, Texans fans and no, enjoy the Christmas and Holiday season and remember to not let it get to you too badly.
After all, there are plenty more important things in life than football.
Merry Christmas all, if I'm not posting before then.
One quick observation before I focus elsewhere: This Texans team has 100% quit. Yes, they're saying the right things after losses, talk about how gutted they are and how frustrating it is, but the performance on the field is that of a team that just doesn't care. Between a flood of penalties and missed assignments lies a deep streak of who gives a f.......?
Sure, it's safe to say that Wade Phillips hasn't quit. He's trying everything to eke out a win or two and prove he deserves the head job. Case Keenum hasn't quit, he wants to be the QB of the future, but the evidence is piling up that he's not up to the job. Ben Tate hasn't quit, he's running for his next contract with another team after all, but the O-line in front of him has shipped it in and the rest of the offense seems to be going through the motions. The defense is a shambles, with only JJ Watt really playing but being nullified by double and triple teams, while everyone else is either a penalty or blown assignment waiting to happen. When things do go right it almost feels if it's done by accident.
I didn't watch all of Sunday's game, I decided my day would be better spent doing other things, and I doubt I'll watch another game this year. When the team has quit on you, then I think it's OK, as a fan, to quit on them.
So to all of you, Texans fans and no, enjoy the Christmas and Holiday season and remember to not let it get to you too badly.
After all, there are plenty more important things in life than football.
Merry Christmas all, if I'm not posting before then.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
You're either for Texas Monthly, or with the chili terrorists.
In the often absurd world of Texas political media it's sometimes hard to tell whether a news agency is seriously considering leading a meaningless charge or just trying, unsuccessfully, to use sarcasm and hyperbole to mock the Texas system. The Texas Monthly drive(?), led by diminishing political writer Paul Burka, to right the wrongs of the 77th legislature and replace chili with brisket as the official dish of Texas is one of those times. Maybe they're serious, maybe they're not? Any suggestion that they aren't is sure to draw a quick insult but no real clarification. That's the thing about these imported New Yorkers, they don't handle sarcasm well at all. (Obviously I could care less if people subscribe to them or not, and I obviously would not call for people to cancel their subscriptions over chili.)
Whatever the cause, there was reason enough for The Chili Appreciation Society, International (who knew?) to write to Burka telling him to go stick his head in a smoker. This resulted in Burka reaffirming the intention of Texas Monthly (another of the many fading Texas institutions) to push for an actual legislative change in 2015.
As for me, I like both chili and brisket. This is not an issue where one has to choose sides, as in the Gubernatorial election. Nor is it fair to call either names. While the Democrats and Republicans have given us Governor good hair and abortion Barbie, when it comes to chili there's no reason to go passed either "A Bowl of Red" or "wet" (as opposed to "dry"). Why we would need to tie up resources to change something this inconsequential is beyond me but, whatever floats your political boat.
On a positive note, if Burka is preoccupied during the next Legislative session with this issue, maybe he'll be too busy to provide us with his on again/off again anger at the inner workings of the chambers, and we can spend more of our time focusing on the devolution of the Texas Lock-Step Political Media into full-on News-ish mode? With Hearst Corp all but ceding Austin coverage to the Texas Tribune and the DMN, it will be interesting to see where the future of (sub-par) Texas political coverage settles. My bet is an increase in advocacy in place of journalism. No longer are young, idealistic, progressive reporters going to be satisfied reporting the news, when they've been told by older, idealistic, progressive editors (with out-sized egos and pretty impressive eyewear) that they should instead focus on driving the agenda, to make the news.
To conclude however I think it's best to take a strong, hard look at this chili/brisket issue. I note that this was silent until the revelation that New York City now considers itself a Bar-B-Q Mecca surpassing Texas. When your political reporting is driven by a longing for attention from New York and DC, it only makes sense that your political causes would reflect their current tastes.
Of course, at the end of the day none of this really matters, much like most reporting from Texas Lock-Step Political Media. After all, what we're all waiting for is the old white vote to die-off, thus ushering in a wave of Democrats so bent on fixing the Republican damage that they fail to realize what's actually been working. This reporting might speed things up however, chili being more nutritious of a meal than is fatty brisket.
Wait.....So they ARE trying to kill of Republicans..........
Whatever the cause, there was reason enough for The Chili Appreciation Society, International (who knew?) to write to Burka telling him to go stick his head in a smoker. This resulted in Burka reaffirming the intention of Texas Monthly (another of the many fading Texas institutions) to push for an actual legislative change in 2015.
As for me, I like both chili and brisket. This is not an issue where one has to choose sides, as in the Gubernatorial election. Nor is it fair to call either names. While the Democrats and Republicans have given us Governor good hair and abortion Barbie, when it comes to chili there's no reason to go passed either "A Bowl of Red" or "wet" (as opposed to "dry"). Why we would need to tie up resources to change something this inconsequential is beyond me but, whatever floats your political boat.
On a positive note, if Burka is preoccupied during the next Legislative session with this issue, maybe he'll be too busy to provide us with his on again/off again anger at the inner workings of the chambers, and we can spend more of our time focusing on the devolution of the Texas Lock-Step Political Media into full-on News-ish mode? With Hearst Corp all but ceding Austin coverage to the Texas Tribune and the DMN, it will be interesting to see where the future of (sub-par) Texas political coverage settles. My bet is an increase in advocacy in place of journalism. No longer are young, idealistic, progressive reporters going to be satisfied reporting the news, when they've been told by older, idealistic, progressive editors (with out-sized egos and pretty impressive eyewear) that they should instead focus on driving the agenda, to make the news.
To conclude however I think it's best to take a strong, hard look at this chili/brisket issue. I note that this was silent until the revelation that New York City now considers itself a Bar-B-Q Mecca surpassing Texas. When your political reporting is driven by a longing for attention from New York and DC, it only makes sense that your political causes would reflect their current tastes.
Of course, at the end of the day none of this really matters, much like most reporting from Texas Lock-Step Political Media. After all, what we're all waiting for is the old white vote to die-off, thus ushering in a wave of Democrats so bent on fixing the Republican damage that they fail to realize what's actually been working. This reporting might speed things up however, chili being more nutritious of a meal than is fatty brisket.
Wait.....So they ARE trying to kill of Republicans..........
Monday, December 09, 2013
Something Jeff Smisek and United don't want to hear.
It's bad enough for your company when your recent merger keeps popping up in media reports on the competition's merger as a cautionary tale but now United Airlines (floundering under the leadership of Jeff Smisek) has this fact to consider......
No fare hike if......CEO of New American Airlines. Matthew J. Belvedere, CNBC.com
Given that United has fallen behind the industry when it comes to installing wi-fi, still has planes flying with NO In-Flight Entertainment and is decreasing not only the hard product in economy but also diminishing the value of their customer loyalty program, you would think they don't want to hear that flying has now become a commodity where price and perceived value are the top determinants of the buying decision.
Maybe that "second-tier" strategy isn't sounding so smart right about now?
No fare hike if......CEO of New American Airlines. Matthew J. Belvedere, CNBC.com
American as well as United and Delta have global strength with access to the main business centers of the world. So airline competition will be based on how good the in-flight experience is for travelers, Parker said on CNBC's "Squawk Box."
The "Squawk on the Street" crew discuss the close of the U.S. Air and American merger creating the world's largest airline and what it means for investors. Also, a United passenger has an unfortunate experience. "The three of us have now the ability to take people pretty much anywhere in the world. What used to be a business where it was purely on schedule, if you have the ability to take people everywhere, you have to compete on product. And we're prepared to do that," said Parker, who had been the CEO of US Airways before the merger.
Given that United has fallen behind the industry when it comes to installing wi-fi, still has planes flying with NO In-Flight Entertainment and is decreasing not only the hard product in economy but also diminishing the value of their customer loyalty program, you would think they don't want to hear that flying has now become a commodity where price and perceived value are the top determinants of the buying decision.
Maybe that "second-tier" strategy isn't sounding so smart right about now?
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