In the summer of 2005 I was living in Spain as I watched the Katrina train wreck in slow motion, all the while thinking: they know what is going to happen, why aren’t the people being evacuated? Of course tragedy ensued and we saw what happens at the crossroads of a natural disaster, apathy, poverty […]
Catch Him If You Can
I graduated from Texas A&M and have always been an avid though reasonable fan of our sports teams – not part of the 98% but not a “2 percenter” either (you’d get that if you know enough about the school). We’ve had our ups and downs, we’ve had our scandals, we’ve had our share of […]
Shahriar “Shah” Yekrangi 1974-1999
I lost my brother I close my eyes and I swear he’s here His infectious smile His warm embrace His disarming humor Young and old captured by his mischievous charm God blessed us with His gift for just a moment Yet a moment that was lived to its fullest He seized the day and made […]
Houston Legalizes Pot . . .
Potholes that is. Officials held a news conference today to announce a City-wide campaign called Potholing. While most residents have been aware of the growing number potholes for some time, today the practice became a City ordinance. “We want every Houstonian to experience the joy of at least one pothole every day.” “We’ve got two […]
National Space Museum
The Honorable Barack Hussein Obama II President of the United States of America Dear Mr. President, I hope you and your family will have a wonderful Christmas and New Year’s. You have a lot on your plate and I don’t expect you to personally tend to my suggestion below. I do hope you will direct […]
the Rise and fall and Rise and fall of houston architecture
In January of 2012, METRO – Houston’s transit authority – and the Downtown Management District, held a competition for the design of Central Station-Main; a light rail station in the heart of the city where two of the newest tracks would meet. The event was held in an unfinished floor of what is now BGG […]
Giving Thanks
My family emigrated to the Unites States during Thanksgiving week, 1978. I have many things for which to be thankful: family, friends, freedom. We didn’t have to walk across border at night and spend months or years in one country hoping for a visa to a third – I know many who did. I look […]
Spirit Airlines
I flew on spirit airlines for the first time over labor day weekend. I think I figured out the premise for their name: the published fare only guarantees your SPIRIT a spot on the plane – for anything with mass, there is an additional fee: the seat, checked bags, carry-on bags, water, pillow, blanket (don’t […]
Hila Sedighi
Here is my attempt at rendering Hila Sedighi’s poem in English. I prefer the word “render” instead of ”translate” since these words are not always the literal meanings of the original. And of course some ideas are lost; for example autumn carries the meaning of sadness and while the word for the first month of […]
United Airlines
Better Business Bureau of Chicago 330 N Wabash Avenue Suite #2006 Chicago, IL 60611 Dear Sir or Madame, On August 11, 2011 I flew on a $525 round trip Continental/United flight from Houston to San Francisco prior to which I paid $25 to check in one bag. During the 3 1/2 hour flight, which […]
the City 