THIS IS ALL CHANGING!

Begining late March I will release a new podcast called Joe Hilliard's Corpus Christi with partner-in-crime, Seth Caylor.

In a few days this outdated, never-updated blog will vanish.

More details soon.

20 THINGS TO DO 2011 - THE LIST

In 2011, I'm doing 20 more things I've never done in and around Corpus Christi to further determine whether or not people are accurate when they say 'There's nothing to do in Corpus Christi."

This is a continuation of my original 40 Things to do in Corpus Christi which began in 2010 - See that list here.

Part of this adventure is designed to encourage you to get out there and do more. The year's list will unfold throughout the year so that you can do as many things as possible as well. Here you go. All future, scheduled dates and events are subject to change.

COMPLETED

January 1. See a show at Aurora Arts Theater info - Footloose, January 22 2. Go to a Corpus Christi Crabs Rugby Game info - January 29

February

3. Golden Gloves Boxing Tournament info - February 10-12

March

4. Take a trip on KARMA, The Floating Classroom info - March 19

SCHEDULED

April

5. Go on a Guided Tour of Old Bayview Cemetery - April 9

6. Port Aransas Sand Fest - info - April 15-17

7. Buc Days Miller Lite Pro PRCA Rodeo - info - April 20-23

May

8. Rockport Festival of Wine & Food - info - May 28-29

June

9. Go Surfing

July

10. Go Kiteboarding

August

11. Go on a Dolphin Tour

September

12. Go Fishing

October

13. Go camping within 30 miles of my house (where, though?)

December

14. Visit the Ingleside Renaissance Faire info

DATE NOT YET SET

15. Visit the CCA/CPL Marine Development Center - info

16. Take a ride on the RTA Water Taxi

17. Visit the King High School Planetarium info

18.

19.

And Finally:

20. Serve my Commmunity

Bonus: Eat at 10 local restaurants I've never been to.

1. Yalee's Asian Bistro - January 10

2. Bullchicks - January 24

3. Hester's - February 1

4. Cafe Maya - March 19

5. Mac's #Fore - March 24

CRAFTING THE LIST:

Here are the solid 'maybe's:

NAS Air Show - April 9-10

Realms Con Anime & Video Game Convention - October 7-9

Visit Big Tree at Goose Island State Park in Fulton

Go on a self-guided Selena Tour (Statue, gravesite, museum if it is still open)

Swim at the City Natatorium

Take a Ferry Boat to Explore San Jose’s (St. Joe's) Island- info info2

Take a Day Trip to Rockport: Art Galleries/Fulton Mansion/Maritime Museum

40 THINGS 2011 - IT CONTINUES

When I started the 40 Things to do in Corpus Christi idea, who would have known it would become what it has? The Caller-Times Column, the Facebook page, the analysis.

I believe the interest speaks not only about people’s desire to know what’s going on, but also about the need for honest discussion about the city, our quality of life and the ‘whys’ and ‘why nots’ of it all. This goes directly to the initial goal of the page: to use the answers to those questions to make the city better. Doing the 40 things, I’ve learned more about Corpus Christi this year than I thought I could. I have theories about why the city doesn’t grow and why we seem stuck with a lack of ‘things to do,’ but we’re not even close to having anything figured out.

In 2011 I will continue what I've started with some modifications/enhancements.

--I will not physically be doing 40 new things due to the time commitment; that was the 2010 kick start. Instead, I will be doing 20 new things I’ve never done in 2011 and I want you to do them with me. This will force me to get creative and help tell stories that need to be told. I will need your help to create this list.

--I will continue to post and highlight interesting events that are off the original 40 and new list of 20 on the Facebook page.

--I will attempt a ‘REAL’ 365 Things to do in CC list. ‘Real’ instead of advertiser-driven or robot-created or coupon-driven nonsense sites which have popped up (and failed) throughout 2010. These will be posted daily (time permitting), one per day. I will require your help to fill this list out.

--I want the fans of the site to step up and attend more things. Report and critique the things you go do. Go to more things and take your friends.

--I want to encourage you to create more things. 40 of them in fact. In 2011, the fans of this page will create 40 new things to do in Corpus Christi

--I want to promote deeper analysis and discussion of why we do and don’t do the things we do here so get your brain ready.

--The goal will be 10,000 fans on the Facebook page by year-end 2011 and I hope the content here will encourage you to get your friends on the page.

One more note, as other sites emerge the need to highlight events here is diminishing. I think you should add Caller Entertainment to your feed. Sarah Acosta is doing a great job there highlighting the music scene almost daily as well as other events. You should also add The Coastal Wave. Their website is the most comprehensive of all things to do locally.

GOING OUT FOR A DRINK

Early on in the 40 Things list I included go out to a few watering holes. My thoughts were to create a pub crawl downtown. I've enjoyed a drink or two downtown over the years I've been back with the most time spent at House of Rock. Pub Crawls when run well are a load of fun, but, if done poorly, they get a bad rap. They are also usually as fun as the people you're with.

Here it is December and I'm in 'Best Intentions Country'. My Pub Crawl just isn't getting done. If I thought about it for a few minutes I'd get resentful of the fact that I have to create these events to begin with. Why can't SOMEONE ELSE create a pub crawl?

Well they did so I was able to add the It's A WONDERFUL NIGHT LIFE pub crawl to the list. December 9, 2010 beginning at 6:30PM at Aria. There you will receive a wristband that will take you to:

Tavern on the Bay: Complimentary 30-min Christmas Light Cruise aboard the Japonica with beignets, coffee, and hot chocolate. Plus $1 discount on all signature cocktails.

Aria: $2 well and $1.50 Dos XX Amber and Modelo

Havana Club: $3.75 Arroz Con Pollo and $5 Cosmos

Morgan's Sports Bar and Grill: $3 appetizers, $2 pints, $2.50 call

Cassidy's Irish Pub: $3 Irish coffees and $3 draft beer

House of Rock: $2.25 New Castle plus free drawing in the Brown Bag Challenge Art Show

Mulligan's: 50cent draft beer refills

And much more!\

Hope you can make it.

I'm Reading Every Stephen King-written Word

I am a reader.

From a very young age I've been in love with the written word. To my recollection it began with Ramona Quimby and moved to Encylopedia Brown to Superfudge to Blubber to The Great Brain to The Three Investigators, I read every word I could get my eyes on.

In 9th grade I read two books that actually accelerated my journey into early adulthood. Books have that power. The first was King Rat by James Clavell, a book I reread every couple of years. Ms. Barnett, my history teacher, assigned us a list of 'historical fiction' novels to choose one book to read and do a report on. King Rat had a cool name. Little did I know how much an impact it would have on me: so this is what books can be. It's a great read; check it out.

After that, I shunned anything one might consider 'young fiction.' My eyes had been opened and while Henry and Ribsy had provided a solid foundation for narrative and serial and characterization, only adult books with their introduction to adult themes would do. Eventually I found Stephen King's novella, Rage written under his psuedonym, Richard Bachman. Four novellas written under that name had been collected in a work called The Bachman Books. I'm not going to describe or synopsize these stories, but they changed me. My eyes were opened to the power of the written word, and from that point on I began reading every word SK wrote.

I found Rage and The Bachman Books in 1986. This gave me 11 novels to catch up with. I read them out of chronological, but rather in the order I got my hands on them. At the end of that year, after reading a majority of those novels along with three collections of short fiction, IT came out.

It remains one of my favorite novels of all time.

Then I caught up with The Stand.

It remains one of my favorite novels of all time.

I could go on and on.

Not too long after this, though, his work began to deterioriate. I find Tommyknockers and The Dark Half almost unreadable. King attributes this deteoriation to his alcohol and drug abuse at the time. Around Gerald's Game or Rose Madder I gave up on reading every word. Since then I've picked up a book now and then with several highlights (The Green Mile and Hearts in Altantis leap to mind). Dude still has it...from time to time.

Recently, I was looking for a book to read and decided to reread Rage. Luckily I was able to find my old copy as Rage is not available in print in the US anymore given its similarities to Columbine-style school shootings. SK decided that the responsible and respectful thing to do would be to pull it from the shelves.

Around then I also had a random thought trying to remember SK's first novel (Carrie) and then which he followed it up with ('Salem's Lot). Having read both forever ago, I decided to reread them too. Between the two, I got a wild hair:

What if I read everything he ever wrote in chronological order of writing it?

What if, indeed.

Web research and one kickass Excel Spreadsheet later, I dove in.

The first thing SK wrote was a short named Jumper for his brother's homemade newspaper, but I didn't get to read it until 7 months after the first work I read (a short named The Reaper's Image) written 10 years later.

This journey began on 2/23/10 and has several stops and starts. Time is my biggest excuse and crutch. I did take a break to read The Passage by Justin Cornin (which I really enjoyed). I'm currently skipping way ahead to SK's newest release, Under the Dome, but then I'm right back in it.

I'll keep you posted.

Too Many Ideas; Too Little Time

I made the mistake of telling a local filmmaker about an idea I had. I has nothing to do with film, but rather me participating in an experimental band.

Huh?

Ever since then he asks if I've moved on it. Meaning: have I gotten the band together? The answer, of course, is "No." I will never get the band together. It's an idea that will never see the light of the day. Not because it's not good. It's stellar. Rather, it will take too much effort and time--the rarest commodity.

I have more ideas than I have time to execute them. Rather, they ferment and gestate and one or two, eventually, will become reality.

Ideas that are percolating that will most likely never see the light of day:

The long in development feature horror screenplay
The long in pre-writing development feature jazz screenplay
The recently almost complete horror short screenplay
The underground band
The no blank walls project
The open mic comedy night
The 40 Things website
The answer to no radio show

And that's just a 3 minute brain dump.

SHOW NOTES - 7/24/10 - DESTINATION BAYFRONT

Destination Bayfront, huge meeting this Wednesday - the website.

Destination Bayfront on Facebook

The Coastal Wave, the premier calendar of events for the Coastal Bend - Click Here