by Phil Houseal | May 28, 2025 | All Articles, History, Music, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy
May 28, 2025–In high school I read the novel Bridge of San Luis Rey, and I revisit it at each stage of life. The story starts with the collapse of a rope bridge over a river in Peru, resulting in the perishing of assorted travelers who were crossing it. Through the...
by Phil Houseal | May 22, 2025 | All Articles, Education, Events, Music, People of the Hill Country, Venue
May 21, 2025–“Great music makes our lives better.” While the Lone Star State is revered for its western swing, outlaw country, Tejano, blues, and the whole Austin music scene, Joseph Kuipers is on his way to making it known for cello. Kuipers’ TexasCellos is launching...
by Phil Houseal | May 14, 2025 | All Articles, Education, Philosophy
May 14, 2025–What value do you bring? I’ve posited before that the key to success is maximizing your energy level. That is, recognize when during the day you feel the most energy; consume the food that creates the most energy, and discard relationships and activities...
by Phil Houseal | May 7, 2025 | All Articles, Philosophy
May 7, 2025–Don’t you hate when columnists write lists of disjointed observations? Me too. So you can skip this one. Still here? Okay, here we go… If your town or state is named “New” something, it is derivative and therefore gives you less reason to be proud....
by Phil Houseal | Apr 30, 2025 | All Articles, Education, Philosophy
April 30, 2025–Are you a shusher or a susser? An ongoing debate has revived about the best way to teach kids. The battle lines are drawn as: 1) Sitting kids in desks lined up facing the front of the classroom. Back to basics, rote and repeat, teacher lecturing. This...
by Phil Houseal | Apr 23, 2025 | All Articles, Education, History, Music, Philosophy
April 23, 2025–Was telling some youngsters about how my Music Theory final was to score out the melody to Jingle Bells without using an instrument. I don’t think I did very well. We used our knowledge of intervals to sing it in our heads. I could do it now with my...
by Phil Houseal | Apr 9, 2025 | All Articles, Education, History, Philosophy
April 9, 2025–A business guru recently proposed we could increase the global economy by 2-3% by installing large whiteboards in every home. This caught my attention because I am an inveterate wall scribbler. I have worked in offices where we truly believed if every...
by Phil Houseal | Apr 8, 2025 | All Articles, Philosophy
April 16, 2025–Round and round we go, cleaning house, sorting records, purging junk, burning memories. It never ends. No matter how many times we attack the piles, junk drawers stay junky. Bookshelves groan with tomes we’ll never read. Closets stay crammed with...
by Phil Houseal | Apr 2, 2025 | All Articles, Philosophy
April 2, 2025–There was a point in my life where I was in a position to receive a substantial financial windfall, entirely outside my control. The details don’t matter, and it was entirely legal and ethical. It didn’t happen, but it set me to daydreaming about what I...
by Phil Houseal | Mar 19, 2025 | All Articles, Food, Philosophy
Mar 19, 2025 Feels like the first time. Foreigner Everyone seeks pleasure. It is the one desire shared by every human being. Pleasure is so desirable we go to extreme lengths to obtain it. Seeking pleasure in a destructive manner with drugs is called addiction. With...
