A view of Houston cityscape
In Houston, Texas the roads are wider and the buildings are more impressive. People don't come to Houston for its beauty or its climate; on the contrary, they come for the business of the city. Houston isn't the prettiest city but she gets work done. The city is always active because there is so much to do in such a big place (taking up more than 500 square miles making it slightly larger than the size of New Jersey). Houston is where the big boys come to play, and when I say big boys I am referring to the fact that Houston is home to the second largest number of fortune 500 companies (second only to New York City). Houston is an international power house for energy, being that it is the largest city in the state that first struck oil. Also, Houston has unrivaled medical facilities which many people flock to in search of the newest and best treatments for illnesses. This innovative city is not for everyone though. Some might say that Houston is a gross place and its design is not aesthetically pleasing to them. Houston is a moving active city that could be seen as over populated and its traffic seeming to go on forever. The climate is hot and humid. There is so much pollution from the surrounding industry but this, to me at least, makes the sunsets all the more beautiful with colors that didn't paint the sky until after the industrial revolution. Just as every coin has two side so does every city have two views.
"the surrounding industry" of Houston and a sunset over Houston
Evey I really like the language and tone of your blog. I feel that it was really personal and funny to read. One thing I would like to point out is how you referred to the city as a person: "she gets work done." This feels to me that you have a personal connection with the city, which you obviously do because you live there. In addition, you pointed out two side of Houston: an active city (economic power house), but at the same time people feel claustrophobic (the traffic, etc). However, even though the traffic and pollution bothers other people you pointed out how you feel about it personally and that your opinions differed from the rest and that was really unique. Good work.
ReplyDeletespeaking of the beauty of industrial waste, the photo that i use as background for the class blog is an image of an oil refinery along the ship channel outside of houston! when i lived there, i too found the toxicity of a houston sunset somehow strangely aesthetically pleasing.
ReplyDeleteIt's sort of fascinating to actually look at the beauty of Houston. I guess I always kind of think of it as a huge ugly metropolitan city. But to think about the polluted, but beautiful sunsets, and to actually look at the skyline is really cool. O )
ReplyDeleteI liked how you were able to take something that people can see as bad, and turn it around into something positive; the way you said that the sunset colors were from the pollution really put a positive spin on it. It's important to focus on makes a city amazing, as well as what it should improve on. The allegorical tone makes the post really fun to read too!
ReplyDeleteI have never been a fan of Houston, but you made the city seem quite pleasing in the big busy bustle of it all. I also like your comparison that just like there are two sides of a coin every city has two views. I liked the images you chose, that is a really pretty sunset and really interesting that those colors didn't start to appear until after the industrial revolution.
ReplyDeleteThese pictures remind me of some of the set pieces in Blade Runner. To me, Houston and future L.A. are similar in that they both have futuristic skylines that loom over a diverse and economically active community. Furthermore, both cities are very industrial, and contain factories that spew waste into the atmosphere.
ReplyDeleteAnother image these pictures remind me of: http://obeygiant.com/images/2008/10/gal_artist_78_2992_shepardfairey-20-500x380.jpg
I like how you show the two side extract of Houston in such short text but really interesting. I also like the sunset picture and how you relate and show even there are industrial/pollutions going on but the sunset still true and kind just like people in Houston. Love the line "Just as every coin has two side so does every city have two views."
ReplyDelete