Don Hall 11/21/22 Don Hall 11/21/22

I Believe... [Be Fucking Grateful]

...that the holiday isn’t about the food or the genocide—it’s about being fucking grateful. Practice a bit of gratitude and maybe you won’t be such bitter, partisan sonofabitch. Also, grab a plate of root vegetables and offer your indigenous neighbors a blanket covered in small pox cuz covering all bases is the American way.

Don Hall 11/17/22 Don Hall 11/17/22

I Like to Watch | Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

His leading actor died. Instead of replacing him or finding a convenient way to deal with it, Coogler embraced the death as a part of the narrative, effectively honoring both Boseman and T'Challa in one fell swoop. I'm so goddamned impressed with the depth of creativity and feeling.

Don Hall 11/7/22 Don Hall 11/7/22

I Believe... [GenX Kids Were Monsters]

...that, if you’re honest with yourself, you know that you and your prepubescent friends would’ve beat E.T. with rebar and hammers, would’ve absolutely ostracized Edward Scissorhands, and would’ve taken Rick Moranis’s shrunken kids and put them in a mason jar with a firecracker.

Don Hall 11/3/22 Don Hall 11/3/22

If Not Biden, Who?

Yeah, politics has become a Bizarro World version of the wrestling world of ridiculous hype and flexing muscles but it still actually matters.

Don Hall 11/1/22 Don Hall 11/1/22

The Easy Gullibility at the Heart of Self Proclaimed Identity

In the parlance of a generation a few beyond my own "I don't care what you call me as long as you don't call me late for dinner."

Don Hall 10/31/22 Don Hall 10/31/22

I Believe... [Leaving Elon's Twitter]

...that the same people screaming that they’ll be leaving Twitter because Musk owns it are the exact same people who vowed to move to Canada if Trump was elected and guess what? They are full of shit. We know they’re full of shit so do we take their admonitions about anything else seriously?

Don Hall 10/30/22 Don Hall 10/30/22

Farewell to Las Vegas

It wasn't supposed to go this way but the universe giggles when we make plans.

Don Hall 10/30/22 Don Hall 10/30/22

When Your Ideas Become Your Identity, Disagreements Become Personal Attacks

The more each of us aligns our identities with orthodoxy, the harder it is to separate ourselves from the talking points of ideology.

Don Hall 10/27/22 Don Hall 10/27/22

Who Are 'The Working Class' and Aren't Most of Us Already Them?

Beyond the hyperbolic rhetoric that states quite clearly and with great repetition that a vote for pretty much anyone of any ideological stripe is the final nail in the coffin for our democratic way of life, there is the drumbeat that gives us that delicious rhythm of the Great Abandonment of the Working Class.

Don Hall 10/25/22 Don Hall 10/25/22

I, Substitute

The job description should read “Must be able to hand out papers, sit bored out of your skull, make sure the lunatics don’t take over the asylum with no authority, no hope for respect from the inmates, and no real idea if they are lying to you when they tell you that their regular class work involves smartphones and flaming hot covered salt lick snacks.”

Don Hall 10/24/22 Don Hall 10/24/22

I Believe... [Cutting Edge Health Advise]

...that all the ‘cutting edge’ health advice is obvious and in direct contradiction to the health industry’s reliance on drugs and treatment. “Go outside”, “get some sun”, “wake up early”, “sleep on time”, “be active.” In other words, get off yer ass, you sloppy sacks of lard.

Don Hall 10/23/22 Don Hall 10/23/22

Masculinity is Just Fine. People in General? Not So Much

The common denominator of toxic people is not their chosen tribe or the identity assigned by the folks that love that sort of thing. The common element is power—either the possession of it or the overwhelming desire to acquire it.

Don Hall 10/20/22 Don Hall 10/20/22

A Boat Adrift Is Still Going Somewhere

A lot of my recent past is due for some serious reframing.

Don Hall 10/18/22 Don Hall 10/18/22

Spending the Decades After My Death in the Tackiest Places on Earth Seems Fitting

I figure, in keeping with my bizarre rolling stone trajectory to date, these objects (lamp, moon dust, and figurine) will be sold, sit in some of the tackiest homes in America, resold at other garage sales, and on and on. I will still be dancing through the world like an idiot.

Don Hall 10/17/22 Don Hall 10/17/22

I Believe... [Soupy, Soupy Night]

...that, if the goal was to destroy a Van Gogh, the children failed. If it was gain attention for themselves and their stated cause, they knocked it out of the park. Effective protest is effective theater.

Don Hall 10/16/22 Don Hall 10/16/22

Compassion and Deference Rarely Mix Well...

For the same reason elevating the status of children to functioning adults in deference to some need to validate ideology it is likewise counterproductive to infantilize racial minorities as if they are simply too burdened by historical horrors to know the difference between right and wrong.

Don Hall 10/11/22 Don Hall 10/11/22

A Tale of Two Malls: At Least We'll Still Have Dildos and Plastic Vomit

When I was in high school in the 80’s, it was Spencer’s Gifts that provided the Whoopee Cushions, the palm-sized squirt guns, and anything you could imagine covered in glitter. It was like a Nirvana for Morons.

Don Hall 10/10/22 Don Hall 10/10/22

I Believe... [Free Shasta Grape!]

...that the Chicago Sun-Times announcing that they’re giviong away their articles for free and sans paywall is sort of like Shasta Cola announcing free soda for anyone interested in C-level drinks.