The HOUniversity of YOUston official seal and credo: “E Pluribus HOUnum”
The HOUniversity of YOUston
There doesn’t seem to be any promotional messaging in place for elections.
Candidates promote themselves. Parties promote themselves. Groups promote themselves and their interests.
But no one straight up promotes elections in the same way we do concerts, movies, and dish soap.
No one says, “Hey! It’s national decision-making day coming up! We may pray to zero-to-infinity different God(s) and not care a lick about each other on the highway — but this voting thing is about as unified and elemental as anything close to a common culture we can hope to share.”
It’s embedded in our existence as neighbors with fences and families.
It’s that time of year every year.
A personal self-education project. Just trying to get ready for 2023 elections in Houston, Harris County, TX. I’ll share what I learn here, and maybe touch on other related things too. My goal here is to coagulate some info, support some local civic action, and… gun to my head? Help develop a civic identity and pride in our little county. After all… We are HOU!
HOU else?
I look up to these folks not just because of their content, but also their consistent civic commitment on top of regular life:
| Name | Topics | Author |
|---|---|---|
| Off the Kuff | Houston & Harris County, some Texas | Charles Kuffner Cyber security |
| Emily Takes Notes | Weekly city council notes | Emily Hynds Artist, entrepreneur |
| Life at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center | County Criminal Courts | Murray Newman Defense attorney |
HOU am I?
My name is A.K. Rowling. I’m a former web, radio, and print journalist, copy and layout editor, producer, interviewer, columnist, cartoonist, etc etc. I’ve earned awards and accolades from the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association and Columbia Scholastic Press Association.
So I know some stuff, but I’m definitely rusty. Looking back, my favorite interviews have been:
- Herb Kelleher, co-founder and CEO emeritus of Southwest Airlines
- Sherron Watkins, whistleblower and fmr Vice President of Enron
- Kinky Friedman, satirist musician and candidate for TX Gov
- John Ashcroft, fmr United States Attorney General
- Annise Parker, iconic fmr City of Houston Mayor
- Tim Westergren, co-founder of Pandora Radio
- Frank Warren, creator of PostSecret
- Tim & Eric, absurdist comedy duo
- Caribou, musician and composer
HOU did this site?
I did with so much help. I’d like to thank Ruby, Jekyll ( Techno Tim for the tutorial, and the helpful Jekyll Talk community), Chirpy, GitHub, and of course the big G.