travelogue - Visiting Post-recession USA - Part 3–Texas
travelogue
Visiting Post-recession USA
Part 3 – Texas
Faizul Khan Tanim writes the third instalment about Houston in the 'Lone Star State' of Texas
All Photos by the Writer
Did you know that Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State to signify it as a former independent republic and as a reminder of the state's struggle for independence from Mexico? The ‘Lone Star’ can be found on the Texas state flag and on the Texas state seal even today.
There is an abundance of green and just not deserts and sand, a common misconception people often have about Texas, from watching the Hollywood Westerns.
The economy of Texas is mighty strong and the pack of Camel Crush cigarettes which cost US$ 12.5 in New York is just US$ 5.5 in the Lone Star State.
Landing on Houston William P. Hobby Airport, it was good denims, cowboy boots and hats galore. I learnt several things like the NASA space control centre is in Houston and the contemporary word Yuppie is floated around freely.
It is an informal word for (Y)oung (U)rban (P)rofessional, or Yup, turned into yuppie in the 1980's. The term is used to describe someone who is young, possibly just out of college, and who has a high-paying job and an affluent lifestyle.
On arrival, my friend described, due to a relatively stronger economy, low cost of living and better facilities than other US states, Houston in Texas is attracting more and more fresh graduates to settle there from all over. And what used to be a Republican stronghold state is shifting towards becoming more liberal day by day.
Republicans control all stateside Texas offices, both houses of the state legislature and have a majority in the Texas congressional delegation. This makes Texas one of the most Republican states in the U.S.
Despite overall Republican dominance, there remain some cities and regions with strong Democrat beliefs. Austin, the state capital, El Paso, Rio Grande Valley, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio are Democratic strongholds and centres of progressive political activism.
Located in the South Central United States, Texas shares an international border with Mexico to the south, and borders the US states of New Mexico to the west, Oklahoma to the north, Arkansas to the northeast, and Louisiana to the east. Texas has an area of 268,820 square miles (696,200 square kilometres) and a growing population of 25.7 million residents.
It has a growing number of South Asians settling there.
The term ‘Six Flags over Texas’ was coined because of the fact that several nations had ruled over the territory. Spain was the first European country to claim the area of Texas. France held a short-lived colony in Texas. Mexico controlled the territory until 1836 when Texas won its independence, becoming an independent Republic. And only in 1845 it joined the United States as the 28th state.
Texas is a mammoth state; statistics show that it is ten per cent larger than France and almost twice as large as Germany or Japan.
Houston as a region is best known for its universities – University of Houston and Rice University; hospitals, medical and cancer research facilities; and NASA Space Centre. Rated as a global city, Houston's economy has a broad industrial base in energy, manufacturing, aeronautics, and transportation. It is also leading in health care sectors and building oilfield equipment.
Remember the famous Apollo 13 movie audio ‘Houston we have a problem’? Originally a genuine report of a life-threatening fault, it is now used humorously to report any kind of problem.
The phrase refers to the NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston. It is NASA’s control centre and plays key role in the operations with the space crafts once they take off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
Johnson Space Centre Houston's unparalleled exhibits, attractions, special presentations and hands-on activities tell the story of NASA's manned space flight programme. SCH is the only place in the world where visitors can see astronauts train for missions, see a real moon rock, shuttles used in missions, and take a behind-the-scenes tour of NASA.
At Space Center Houston, guests can understand the past, experience the present, and be a part of the future of the space program by watching documentaries or reading the literature on the side of the artefacts.
Once you are there, do not forget to visit the Rocket Park. Space Center Houston is home to this extraordinary field and space artefacts and hardware including all the different kinds of space suits used in different missions that evolved from the beginning until the last; Mercury 9 capsule (Faith 7), Gemini 5 capsule, Apollo 17 command module, Lunar Rover Vehicle trainer, Skylab trainer mock-up, Lunar Module Test Article 8, Saturn V spacecraft and more.
Houston is high on music, arts, culture and sports. The Toyota Centre hosts exclusive games of their basketball team Houston Rockets and features the memory of one of the greatest player of all time Hakeem Olajuwon. Olajuwon is a retired Nigerian-born basketball player who rose to stardom with the Houston Cougars on a collegiate level, and then with the Houston Rockets in the National Basketball Association.
Today, his number is retired by the Rockets organization, and a statue of his jersey stands outside of Toyota Center in downtown Houston, where the Rockets play their home games. Olajuwon is a devout Muslim and refused the creation of his statue, instead a bust was made portraying his jersey he used to play for the Houston Rockets.
This article was first published in The Independent's Weekend Magazine Friday May 11 2012 - http://www.theindependentdigital.com/index.php?opt=view&page=52&date=2012-05-11
Part 3 – Texas
Faizul Khan Tanim writes the third instalment about Houston in the 'Lone Star State' of Texas
All Photos by the Writer
Did you know that Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State to signify it as a former independent republic and as a reminder of the state's struggle for independence from Mexico? The ‘Lone Star’ can be found on the Texas state flag and on the Texas state seal even today.
There is an abundance of green and just not deserts and sand, a common misconception people often have about Texas, from watching the Hollywood Westerns.
The economy of Texas is mighty strong and the pack of Camel Crush cigarettes which cost US$ 12.5 in New York is just US$ 5.5 in the Lone Star State.
Landing on Houston William P. Hobby Airport, it was good denims, cowboy boots and hats galore. I learnt several things like the NASA space control centre is in Houston and the contemporary word Yuppie is floated around freely.
It is an informal word for (Y)oung (U)rban (P)rofessional, or Yup, turned into yuppie in the 1980's. The term is used to describe someone who is young, possibly just out of college, and who has a high-paying job and an affluent lifestyle.
On arrival, my friend described, due to a relatively stronger economy, low cost of living and better facilities than other US states, Houston in Texas is attracting more and more fresh graduates to settle there from all over. And what used to be a Republican stronghold state is shifting towards becoming more liberal day by day.
Republicans control all stateside Texas offices, both houses of the state legislature and have a majority in the Texas congressional delegation. This makes Texas one of the most Republican states in the U.S.
Despite overall Republican dominance, there remain some cities and regions with strong Democrat beliefs. Austin, the state capital, El Paso, Rio Grande Valley, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio are Democratic strongholds and centres of progressive political activism.
Located in the South Central United States, Texas shares an international border with Mexico to the south, and borders the US states of New Mexico to the west, Oklahoma to the north, Arkansas to the northeast, and Louisiana to the east. Texas has an area of 268,820 square miles (696,200 square kilometres) and a growing population of 25.7 million residents.
It has a growing number of South Asians settling there.
The term ‘Six Flags over Texas’ was coined because of the fact that several nations had ruled over the territory. Spain was the first European country to claim the area of Texas. France held a short-lived colony in Texas. Mexico controlled the territory until 1836 when Texas won its independence, becoming an independent Republic. And only in 1845 it joined the United States as the 28th state.
Texas is a mammoth state; statistics show that it is ten per cent larger than France and almost twice as large as Germany or Japan.
Houston as a region is best known for its universities – University of Houston and Rice University; hospitals, medical and cancer research facilities; and NASA Space Centre. Rated as a global city, Houston's economy has a broad industrial base in energy, manufacturing, aeronautics, and transportation. It is also leading in health care sectors and building oilfield equipment.
Remember the famous Apollo 13 movie audio ‘Houston we have a problem’? Originally a genuine report of a life-threatening fault, it is now used humorously to report any kind of problem.
The phrase refers to the NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston. It is NASA’s control centre and plays key role in the operations with the space crafts once they take off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
Johnson Space Centre Houston's unparalleled exhibits, attractions, special presentations and hands-on activities tell the story of NASA's manned space flight programme. SCH is the only place in the world where visitors can see astronauts train for missions, see a real moon rock, shuttles used in missions, and take a behind-the-scenes tour of NASA.
At Space Center Houston, guests can understand the past, experience the present, and be a part of the future of the space program by watching documentaries or reading the literature on the side of the artefacts.
Once you are there, do not forget to visit the Rocket Park. Space Center Houston is home to this extraordinary field and space artefacts and hardware including all the different kinds of space suits used in different missions that evolved from the beginning until the last; Mercury 9 capsule (Faith 7), Gemini 5 capsule, Apollo 17 command module, Lunar Rover Vehicle trainer, Skylab trainer mock-up, Lunar Module Test Article 8, Saturn V spacecraft and more.
Houston is high on music, arts, culture and sports. The Toyota Centre hosts exclusive games of their basketball team Houston Rockets and features the memory of one of the greatest player of all time Hakeem Olajuwon. Olajuwon is a retired Nigerian-born basketball player who rose to stardom with the Houston Cougars on a collegiate level, and then with the Houston Rockets in the National Basketball Association.
Today, his number is retired by the Rockets organization, and a statue of his jersey stands outside of Toyota Center in downtown Houston, where the Rockets play their home games. Olajuwon is a devout Muslim and refused the creation of his statue, instead a bust was made portraying his jersey he used to play for the Houston Rockets.
This article was first published in The Independent's Weekend Magazine Friday May 11 2012 - http://www.theindependentdigital.com/index.php?opt=view&page=52&date=2012-05-11
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