Don Hall 1/10/23 Don Hall 1/10/23

Controlling Anxiety is All About Perspective

I get the anxiety some now. Not in any 'deer in the headlights' sort of way but a low-grade mumble in the back of my every interaction that asks Are you sure this isn't bullshit?

Don Hall 1/9/23 Don Hall 1/9/23

I Believe... [TikTok Illness]

...that when being austistic is somehow considered a thing of pride rather than affliction, TikTok has gone too far.

Don Hall 1/5/23 Don Hall 1/5/23

I Like to Watch | Babylon (2022)

It's rare to meet a genius.

The term is overused like hero or trauma or dangerous. To meet a bona fide groundbreaker, a genius in his own right, someone who created something that history has dictated is important scientifically or culturally, is rare.

Don Hall 1/2/23 Don Hall 1/2/23

I Believe... [AI Hypocrisy]

...that design artists up in arms about the AI art programs need to check their Spotify and BandCamp app libraries.

Don Hall 12/31/22 Don Hall 12/31/22

The Last Roll of the Dice Not Taken

There is that hope with feathers but my hope looks a bit like a scraggly chicken, one eye pecked out and a mangy rash on its neck, desperately foraging for seed amongst the rubble.

Don Hall 12/29/22 Don Hall 12/29/22

The Best of Literate Ape 2022

Like the Blockbuster's of old or any hip bookstore, I think I'll go the route of the Staff Recommendations this year and serve up a list for you to read that reflects my personal favorites for 2022.

Don Hall 12/26/22 Don Hall 12/26/22

I Believe... [Santa Brought a Job]

...that the best Christmas gift I got in 2022 was a freaking job that included PTO and benefits. Hell, I might even be able to save some cash that won’t be stolen by an ex-wife in 2023.

Don Hall 12/25/22 Don Hall 12/25/22

Unforging Marley's Chain: The Enduring Affect We Have on the Lives of Others

I don't see myself in Scrooge much—not wealthy or particularly skin-flinty with dough—and I'm not Republican in any way yet I'm finding a bit more appreciation for Bill Clinton-style centrism. For me, it's those fucking chains of Marley that give me pause.

Don Hall 12/21/22 Don Hall 12/21/22

A Merry Christmas Punch/CounterPunch On the Sensitive Topic of One Mr. George Bailey, Part One

But did that room full of people really know George Bailey? Did they fully grasp his horrible failure as a human being before throwing down the money he lost?

Who was George Bailey and why do we in the Age of Cancel Culture want to see him escape his tragic fall?

Don Hall 12/19/22 Don Hall 12/19/22

I Believe... [Trump Cards?]

...that $99 is a steal for a Donald Trump Official Digital Trading Card but the very person who would appreciate it most can’t work his phone and is still using a 2005 Dell desktop.

Don Hall 12/15/22 Don Hall 12/15/22

The Final Stage of Grief

Sunday, May 11, 2014 was the day things changed. All of the inspirational phrases, carefully set in creative fonts, became pronouncements of love.

Don Hall 12/13/22 Don Hall 12/13/22

When You Can't Tell the Difference Between Snake Oil and Hair Tonic

We are now in the Golden Age of the Grift.

Don Hall 12/12/22 Don Hall 12/12/22

I Believe... [Website Design is a Service]

...that if the government can compel a website designer to provide the service for a gay wedding, it can likewise compel another website designer to provide the service for a Neo-Nazi wedding and, in my opinion, it should in both cases.

Don Hall 12/8/22 Don Hall 12/8/22

I Like to Watch | The Best and Worst of 2022

Doesn't Schrader know that there was a rogue wave that hit a cruise ship and pulled a woman overboard? Is he aware of the fact the democracy is ending... what? It didn't end? What the fuck?

Don Hall 12/6/22 Don Hall 12/6/22

Law School Might Have Been a Good Idea If Money Was the Object of My Dreams

I look around and one of the professions cleaning up is law. Lawyers are making serious bank on stupid lawsuits designed to appease the moral indignation of people looking to game the system by way of legislation.

Don Hall 12/5/22 Don Hall 12/5/22

I Believe... [The Perfect Christmas Playlist]

...that Violent Night joins my perfect Christmas playlist along with Bad Santa, The Ref, and, yes, David Himmel, Die Hard.

Don Hall 12/1/22 Don Hall 12/1/22

To Manage Stress, Remember You Could Die in the Next Ten Seconds

No, dying is not that scary. It's unfathomable because it is a leap into a void of the unknown and unknowable, but not something which we should shy away.

Don Hall 11/28/22 Don Hall 11/28/22

I Believe... [Half Full Patriarchy]

...that without the patriarchy, hundreds of OnlyFans creators with no skills but great tits would have to get jobs.

Don Hall 11/26/22 Don Hall 11/26/22

I Like to Watch | Barbarian (2022)

This is a truly imaginative, risky film. The script is great, the performances (especially Campbell) are stellar, and nothing about this smart, idea-driven monster movie is anything but outside the box.

Don Hall 11/24/22 Don Hall 11/24/22

[Worth Revisiting] Trusting Hope Over Experience: The Shedding of the Old

“Everything I had built in the past 15 years just went up in smoke. It’s gone. I mean, what the fuck do I do now?”

My friend had gone through one of those tribulations that involved losing status within the community of artists he was a part of, losing his job on top of that, and flailing his now beaten down limbs in search of what he was supposed to do, who he was supposed to be, after the dust had settled.

I understood the feeling.