by Phil Houseal | Jul 19, 2018 | All Articles, Education, History, People of the Hill Country
SPECIAL: PRE-LAUNCH BOOK REVIEW July 18, 2018–Like many who grew up in the 1960s, I was a NASA nut. I followed every launch, and have vivid memories of the Mercury flights, the Gemini rendezvous, the Apollo moon landings, and the shuttle saga. I memorized the names of...
by Phil Houseal | Jul 12, 2018 | All Articles, Education, History, Philosophy
July 11, 2018–How much of your current knowledge can be traced back to a filmstrip you saw in 5th grade? Anyone old enough to remember watching Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color on Sunday evenings will remember filmstrip Fridays–or “naptime”–in elementary school....
by Phil Houseal | Jul 4, 2018 | All Articles, Events, Music, Venue
July 4, 2018–The first thing you notice when listening to Suzy Bogguss do a song like Night Rider’s Lament is the bluesy tinge to her strong clear voice. Now I grew up in a small town in the Midwest just 75 miles from the small town in the Midwest where she grew up....
by Phil Houseal | Jun 28, 2018 | All Articles, Education, Events, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy
June 27, 2018–I’m going to write about guns. More specifically, the training to get a license to carry a gun. This is not advocacy. If you have strong feelings about this issue, on either side, you might want to skip this one. For context, I, as did anyone growing up...
by Phil Houseal | Jun 21, 2018 | All Articles, History, Philosophy
June 20, 2018–I have a confession: I never absorbed mythology. Lord, I tried. I really did. I read about the travels of Ulysses, and the Minotaur in the labyrinth. And as a curious kid, I started to learn about the pantheon of gods, mainly through comic books. They...
by Phil Houseal | Jun 14, 2018 | All Articles, People of the Hill Country, Venue
June 13, 2018–In the midst of hellish Texas heat, doesn’t 150 degrees below zero sound divine? You can literally immerse yourself in that thrilling chill at CRYOTHRIVE at root•ology. “We want people to have a great experience,” said Cynthia Kemp, owner of CRYOTHRIVE....
by Phil Houseal | Jun 7, 2018 | All Articles, Music, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy
June 6, 2018–For a bunch of guys who call themselves “Off The Grid” they sure seem to be “on the stage” a lot. They don’t even know how many gigs they have every year. “We’re somewhere every weekend,” said “Otto,” the accordion player. “We will go wherever there is...
by Phil Houseal | May 31, 2018 | All Articles, Events, Music, Venue
May 30, 2018–Twenty-five years after starting out as a “weekend warrior,” Pat Green is a weekend warrior again. Only now it pays much better. “I’m the luckiest fool that ever walked on two legs,” said the Texas singer/songwriter during an interview about his June 2...
by Phil Houseal | May 24, 2018 | All Articles, Events, Venue
May 23, 2018–No matter which political primary you prefer, you can’t deny Ann Richards brought a true Texas persona to the Governor’s office. That is what actress Libby Villari portrays in the nationally-touring one-woman show ANN, by Holland Taylor, presented at...
by Phil Houseal | May 17, 2018 | All Articles, History, Music, People of the Hill Country, Philosophy, Venue
May 16, 2018–It is iconic. Especially for a door. Come back with me to 1973. A relative newcomer to the music scene named Jerry Jeff Walker decided to record a live album at a little town in Texas called Luckenbach. That record contained future classics such as...
