On the heels of my previous post about the wildlife in Houston, I got a head’s up (in the form of a suggestion) about a contest that the TWRC would really, really, double really like to win. From the TWRC:

“The top 4 national organizations which bring in the most individual donations (by donation count not total dollars raised) are awarded $50,000 each for their organization. We have been running in the top 10 nationally (were in 3rd place at one time), and are now in 6th place. This challenge ends January 31. For us to win $50,000 in this event would bring quite a bit of attention to Texas, Houston, and to wildlife rehabilitation. We are in the process of looking to expand our facility so that we can rehab more on site, and enlarge our Baby Bird Program.

They have a donation page on their website where you can also grab the code and put the badge on your own blog.

I saw this video on YouTube and just wanted to share. The actors in this video were not paid. They are in fact lucky to be alive thanks to the efforts of the Texas Wildlife Rehabilitation Coalition.

With Houston being the enormous metropolitan that it is, it’s easy to sometimes get “stuck at Starbuck’s” and forget about the nearby resources we have to enjoy nature, the way nature intended ;-). So, here are some locales where you can go that shouldn’t take more than half a day to get there:

1. Memorial Arboretum
2. Armand Bayou
3. Houston Audubon Society – Bird Sanctuaries

Obviously not an exhaustive list so if there is any other place in or around Houston you can think of, please do a favor and leave it in the comments!

Next month there will be a gathering of the social media gods of Houston. Peanut Butter Media, PopLabs, and Startup Houston are sponsoring a conference designed to help business owners take advantage of current offerings in social media.

What is social media? Glad you asked!

Social Media is about People – Not Technology.*

Here is a link to their agenda.

* Erica O’Grady – http://gotsocialmedia.com/

Happy Holidays!!

Photo courtesy of Paul McRae

Football in the Houston area was full of "ups" and "downs" this weekend. The highest "up" had to be the Rosenberg Lamar ConsolidatedMustangs winning the 4A Division I Championship 20-14 over Copperas Cove. Jacquizz Rodgers is the undisputed King of Rosenberg Football as he led the Mustangs to a title by rushing for 240 yrds and scoring all 3 TD’s. In addition Rodgers recorded 6 tackles, caused a fumble, recovered a fumble and blocked a kick. The Mustang defense also played a great game by holding Cove to 289 yards of total offense and stopping Copperas at the 2 yard line as they went for it on 4th and goal.

One of the "lows" came when the Dayton Broncos fell to the Austin Lake Travis Cavaliers 49-13. This looked like a wild one after the 1st quarter with Lake Travis leading 14-13 with over 270 yards of combined offense. The Cavalier defense then played as well as their offense holding Dayton to 68 total yards in the 2nd & 3rd quarters while Junior QB Garrett Gilbert (one of LSG’s top three in the state) passed for amazing numbers. At one point Gilbert had 23 straight completions and finished the night with over 480 passing yards. Click below to hear the show. 

Another "low" for the Houston area came when the Galena Park North Shore Mustangs lost to the Converse Judson Rockets 28-7 at Rice Stadium. Turnovers were the name of the game. The Rockets converted all four Mustang turnovers into touchdowns enroute to the win. Click below to hear the show. 

Another big "up" came when Lone Star Gridiron‘s preseason #1 Katy Tigers (LSG was the ONLY one in the state to rank them #1) earned a spot this week to compete for their 5th State Championship due to their 66-21 victory over San Antonio Madison. The game was tied 14-14 midway through the 2nd quarter and then Katy broke it open and scored the games next 52 points. The Katy offense rolled up 477 yards of total offense. Katy will take on a tough Pfugerville Panthers squad in the title game at the Alamodome this weekend.

PLAYOFF TIME IN TEXAS BABY!!!

According to StartupHouston.com, The Planet is taking up residency in Bayou Place, square in the heart of downtown. Straight from their blog, they plan to go head to head in competing with Silicon Valley for new tech business. Their recent donation of $25000 to the Houston Technology Center is an awesome step in that direction. It’s exciting to see the tech industry growing here in H-Town.

Hey everyone! It’s been a while…

I’ve finally decided to devote the time & energy to make my private Graffiti Photo collection public. I’ve got hundreds of shots from around 2005-2007. As time allows I will be uploading in batches of 10 to the following flickr page. The master plan is to display images from other cities once I’m done with Houston. Probably starting with NYC.

These humans have created some beautiful imagery over time and I feel very fortunate to have captured their work because most of it is non-existent at this point. I hope you enjoy these and derive as much inspiration from them as I have:

http://flickr.com/photos/shumate/sets/72157603437263331/

photo courtesy of HoldThatTiger

Tonight the Art Dept. at University of Houston is having their student show opening at the Blaffer Gallery. The opening is from 7 to 9 in the Fine Arts building on the UH central campus (Entrance 16 off of Cullen, near Cullen & Elgin).

In addition to the works shown in the gallery proper, tonight all four floors of the building will be opened up for touring the studios of the various disciplines and media within the department.
Read more

The Houston area had some great games this past weekend as teams fight to be the regional representative in the championships. These are the games I saw this weekend along with links to the audio created with my cohosts, Mike Wright and Ronald Oswalt of Lone Star Gridiron.

First off, Rice stadium was packed with more fans than attend a Rice game when the Katy Tigers took on the Strake Jesuit Crusaders. The fight was a lot closer than the 51-18 score suggests. The wheels fell of the Strake Jesuit wagon with 8 minutes left in the game. Click to hear coverage

Next up was a trip over the Robert Traylor Stadium to catch the La Marque Cougars versus the El Campo Ricebirds. La Marque, behind a big receiving day by Desmond Haynes (5 catches 157yds) wins over El Campo as EC was in the red zone 4 times and only came away with 6 points. Click to hear coverage
 

Our third game of the weekend was a thunderstorm – literally! The Mayde Creek Rams and the Cy Falls Eagles met up at Rhodes Stadium in Katy, Texas to decide who would move forward and the game was delayed at halftime for an hour and a half when lightning and rain halted play. Mayde Creek put up a valiant effort, but the passing game of Cy Falls (Kolby Gray had 6 TD passes with 4 of them going to Darius Bolden) was waaay too much as they ran away with it 50-7.
 

The fireworks in H-Town have just started though. Here are some of the key games this upcoming week:

Cy-Fair (7-4) vs. Lamar (10-1) )
Galena Park North Shore (11-0) vs. Pearland (10-1)
Port Neches Groves (8-3) vs. Lamar Consolidated (9-2)
Cy-Falls (9-2) vs. Stratford (8-3)
Beaumont WestBrook (10-1) vs. Fort Bend Clements (11-0)
#1 Katy (11-0) vs. Madison (7-4)
Dayton (8-3) vs. Texas City (10-1)
Waller (8-3) vs. Yates (10-0)
Lumberton (10-1) vs. La Marque (9-2)
West Orange Stark (10-1) vs. Giddings (11-0)

PLAYOFF TIME IN TEXAS BABY!!!

I love this cooler weather now, cycling is so much better. And what luck! We’ve got two big events this weekend that let you take advantage of your set of wheels.

The October Critical Mass

Dress up, come out and ride! Critical Mass rides are self-organized, non-commercial and non-competitive, just fun. Starts at Tranquility Park on Friday the 26th at 6:30pm to ride at 7:00pm. Find out more at Critical Mass’ Myspace

Moonlight Ramble 2007

Saturday night/Sunday morning brings us the Moonlight Ramble, an all-ages annual rolling bike party through the city. Costumes, bikes, noise, people all night long. A ride with your choice of 8 or 20 miles, starting at 2am (the second one) and rolling from the GRB Convention Center downtown and path through the city.

Registration for the Moonlight Ramble is $30/person and all proceeds benefit Bike Houston. Find out more info on the flyer [pdf] and the FAQ.

So, come out and support cycling, fun and great people. And remember to dress warmly, its gonna be in the low 50’s.

One thing I love almost as much as eating, is getting things free. I just found a way to get both at once.

In celebration of three successful years in Houston, Krystal, the fast food restaurant known for its tiny burgers with big taste, is giving away two free hamburgers to Houstonians on Saturday, October 27. As a long-time consumer of said burgers, I am excited to be getting two free ones Saturday. Okay, its not like they cost a lot in the first place, but damn – it sure is a great excuse to go and scarf a few down.

The two free Krystal hamburger give-away is going on at the restaurant located at 1623 FM 1960 Rd W in North Houston anytime during store hours (drive-thru is open 24 hours and in-store dining is open 6a.m. – 11 p.m.) on the 27th. You will receive two of the famous hot, fresh, small, square hamburgers that have made the restaurant a cultural icon across the South and trust me, you’ll be hooked.

West Fest – Houston, Oct. TX 2007
Originally uploaded by Mr. Waldo.

I really love the Waldo wheatpastes all over Houston. It really makes the city more enjoyable.

I know street art tends to divide people. Something like Waldo this is not really destructive and it provides and interesting flair that is quite unique. Is that a crime? Is it tasteful? What do you think of it?

While covering a football game in Deer Park for Lone Star Gridiron, my friend Mike (pictured) and I discovered a great restaurant. I just felt I had to share. The name of the place is The Udder Place and all I can say is WOW!

Pictured is one of the normal burgers, but they offer one calle “The Udder Burger” that weighs out at FOUR POUNDS! The menu includes things like pork chops, potatoes, cabbage, chicken fried steak, heck, just click the link cause I can’t remember everything.

The other cool thing about The Udder Place is the ownership. We met Sue Bujan and her husband and were instantly taken with how nice they were. It really did feel like going to Mom’s house for a dinner. If you’re tired of the plastic benches and same boring menu, take a drive out to Center Street in Deer Park and tell them Chris & Mike sent you by.

I’m really looking forward to the ride to Austin on the BP MS150, and apparently I’m in good company. As of yesterday, 9 days after registration opened, 84% of the spots were full. Wow you people know how to sign up for stuff. So, if you’re planning on joining in on this fantastic opportunity, you had better get busy registering!

Oh? You don’t know what the BP MS150 is? Well then, the MS150 is a two day bike ride from Houston to Austin to raise money to support research into the cause and treatment of Multiple Sclerosis.

So, get out there, sign up and do some good! And then start training like mad.