by Phil Houseal | Jan 24, 2024 | All Articles, Education, Philosophy, PR Tips
7/24/2024–Who are you competing against? Wrong. Most of the time, whether in business, entertainment, or romance, we misidentify who the opponent is. Let’s start with romance. Take the hypothetical of a high school guy trying to win over a high school girl. He...
by Phil Houseal | Jan 17, 2024 | All Articles, Education, Philosophy
Jan 17, 2024–“Are you busy Saturday night?” This question is the poster child of vagueness. An informed response requires additional context. If you want me to help you move and to bring my pickup, then yes, I am busy. In fact, I am so busy, beavers and bees will...
by Phil Houseal | Jan 10, 2024 | All Articles, Food, History, Philosophy
Jan 10, 2024–I have come to the conclusion there is no more perfect universal human food than the egg. For some of you this might seem obvious. But it’s a case of forest and trees, as most of us grew up with eggs everywhere, so much so that we don’t see them. It...
by Phil Houseal | Dec 29, 2023 | All Articles, History, Philosophy
Jan 3, 2024–I was recently making conversation with humans from different generations. They were fondly reminiscing about their “growing up” years, incredibly the obscure past of the 1990s. As they discussed how laughable it was that “today’s kids” were baffled when...
by Phil Houseal | Dec 27, 2023 | All Articles, Education, History, Philosophy
Dec 27, 2023–Memories of our favorite toys are as faulty as the toys were. When we grow up and don the mantle of Santa, we are excited to pass along our favorite toys from childhood. Through cloudy mists of memories, we re-visit those idyllic days, model trains...
by Phil Houseal | Dec 20, 2023 | All Articles, Education, History, Philosophy
Dec 20, 2023–A hobgoblin is a mythical sprite that plays impish tricks at night, stealing keys, hiding utensils, unraveling seams, and generally making you question your sanity. My house is infested with them. In the the past few weeks, many of my precious “tools”–or...
by Phil Houseal | Dec 13, 2023 | All Articles, Education, Philosophy
Dec 13, 2023– “Are you blind!” “She traveled!” “C’mon ref… that was a foul!” Such was my soundtrack while at a high school basketball game. I like to sit on the visitor side, as that is usually where the most open seats are, and it keeps me from having to listen...
by Phil Houseal | Dec 6, 2023 | All Articles, Education, Music, Philosophy
Dec 6, 2023–As I grow wiser, I believe more and more that art and beauty lie within the spaces between. Graphic designers refer to it as “white space.” Given a 3-inch by 4-inch ad border, for example, amateurs tend to cram it with images and copy. Experienced...
by Phil Houseal | Nov 29, 2023 | All Articles, Events
Nov 29, 2023–Gift giving creates such a quandary. What can you possibly buy for someone that they can’t get for themselves? I’m not talking about kids or grandmas, those are easy. For kids, get toys. For grannies, pick up anything from Cracker Barrel. It’s those other...
by Phil Houseal | Nov 15, 2023 | All Articles, Philosophy
Nov 15, 2023–My 8-year-old grand taught me a life lesson on the way to her dental appointment. She couldn’t wait. Like most of you, going to the dentist is right up there with getting tased while standing in a puddle of stagnant water. So I asked her why she was...
