by Phil Houseal | Jun 24, 2020 | All Articles, History, Philosophy, PR Tips
June 24, 2020–Note: This column is not a metaphor for any current situation, nor is the writer responsible for any lesson readers may take away. M&Ms have always been my favorite candies. So much so that when I was banished overseas for two years, it was one of...
by Phil Houseal | Jun 17, 2020 | All Articles, Education, History, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy
June 17, 2020–When I first moved to the Hill Country, I was not prepared for how seriously Texans take their history. Growing up in one of the 49 non-Texan states, I arrived unaware of the colorful story of how this 6-flagged region became the Lone Star State....
by Phil Houseal | May 20, 2020 | All Articles, History, Philosophy
May 20, 2020–I’ve always held the controversial opinion that no one knows the true extent of our cash economy. All those reports of retail activity, employment, GDP, etc., are based on data of transactions taking place within the official economy. They don’t include...
by Phil Houseal | May 13, 2020 | All Articles, Education, History, Philosophy
May 13, 2020–During my lockdown-compliant travels through my silverfish-invested bookshelves, I came across a timely trilogy from the 1990s–The Tightwad Gazette, Volumes I, II, and III. These 300-page tomes were compilations of a popular newsletter produced by Amy...
by Phil Houseal | Mar 12, 2020 | All Articles, Education, Events, History, People of the Hill Country, Venue
Mar 11, 2020–Why have puppets fascinated humanity throughout history? Why do they continue to fascinate us? Because they cut across every culture, era, language, and age, according to Rob D’Arc, who will be building them at his workshop this weekend during the Llano...
by Phil Houseal | Feb 25, 2020 | All Articles, History, Music, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy
Feb 26, 2020–Sometimes an idea is so elegant, it is discovered more than once. Such is the case with the “cello podium.” This platform cum amplifier started as a rumor uncovered by Ken Freudigman when he was a cello student at Eastman School of Music back in 1985. The...
