by Phil Houseal | Jul 3, 2019 | All Articles, Philosophy
July 3, 2019–Time for my sesquiannual purge of ideas that don’t rise to column-worthiness. Finally figured out why I so viscerally hate puns. Because they impede communications. Puns are annoying distractions from whatever you are trying to say. Plus they never end....
by Phil Houseal | Jun 27, 2019 | All Articles, Education, People of the Hill Country
June 26, 2019–I’ve long held the theory that everyone should learn to act. After all, we take lessons to drive a car, cook a soufflé, or play piano. If you think of your body as an instrument, doesn’t it make sense to learn how to use it? Yet many of us are...
by Phil Houseal | Jun 20, 2019 | All Articles, Education, Events, History, People of the Hill Country
June 19, 2019 The 1960s–what a time to be a geek! In one decade you could follow the golden arc of the U.S. space program, from its struggles to leave the launch pad through the triumph of walking on the moon. Every year there was a magical achievement. The...
by Phil Houseal | Jun 13, 2019 | All Articles, Education, Events, Music, People of the Hill Country, Venue
June 12, 2019–It was a gazillion years ago, but I was able to accomplish a rare financial feat–to finish college with more money than I started with. How? First, I was an extreme cheapskate. I lived in a one-room apartment with no appliances. I used the space between...
by Phil Houseal | Jun 6, 2019 | All Articles, Events, History, Music, Philosophy, PR Tips
June 5, 2019–While trying to schedule a date for a new event in Fredericksburg, it became a challenge finding a reasonably open weekend. It wasn’t that long ago you could count on a soft time of year where you could slip in a concert or fundraiser when there wasn’t...
by Phil Houseal | May 30, 2019 | All Articles, History, People of the Hill Country, Venue
May 29, 2019–I’ll bet many of you have driven through the town of Hye, Texas, and not even realized you were passing by a 100-year-old dance hall. I know I’ve made that journey between Stonewall and Johnson City countless times, and only had eyes for the old...
by Phil Houseal | May 23, 2019 | All Articles, Events, Food, History, Music, People of the Hill Country, Venue
May 22, 2019–I first came to the Texas Hill Country in 1978. Yet I’d never visited Castell. Last weekend, I fixed that. The Castell General Store–which is essentially Castell–was celebrating its Testicle Festival. As auspicious an event as any for finding out...
by Phil Houseal | May 16, 2019 | All Articles, Philosophy
5/16/2019–I have embarrassed my ancestors. I am just coming off a week of roughing it and made a poor accounting of myself. The saga started while our team at SystemsGo headed off to launch rockets at Smith Point, Texas, a jut of land below Anahuac in Southeast Texas....
by Phil Houseal | May 13, 2019 | All Articles, Philosophy
5/8/2019–I am a lister. Not an “A Lister.” Just a “lister.” It is a habit I learned from my dad. He kept lists of chores that needed to be done around the farm. They would end up on the fridge or tacked to a small bulletin board at the kitchen door. You couldn’t leave...
by Phil Houseal | May 2, 2019 | All Articles, Education, Events, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy
May 1, 2019–Years ago I had the idea to create an athletic competition that required no athleticism whatsoever: Der Sitzenfest. Competitors would vie for prizes by sitting comfortably in their favorite chair, rocker, or recliner. It was all an idle (very idle)...
