Don Hall 3/4/19 Don Hall 3/4/19

I Believe… [Give No Tantrum a Cookie]

…that when you reward petulance in order to avoid the conflict, the conflict will be ever-present. The tantrum-throwing child (or adult) should never be given the cookie to placate them.

Don Hall 3/3/19 Don Hall 3/3/19

The Dogma of Measurement and Metrics: When #Hustle Defines Who You Are

Success in any field is definitely a numbers game but, aside from hard income versus expenditure, the rest is just made-up nonsense designed to sell you the idea that by devoting your every waking hour to the job (or jobs or side jobs or avocations) you will be the model of success.

Don Hall 3/1/19 Don Hall 3/1/19

Your Life Is Not Like the Movies Part 2

A couple of years ago I penned a piece that broke down some basic ways movies distort our version of ourselves because, face it, like most storytelling, movies are made of lies we really want to be true. Looks like it’s time for another take on this idea:

Don Hall 2/27/19 Don Hall 2/27/19

If You Believed the Lie, It is not the Liar’s Fault

My belief was not about him or his lie. My belief was about me and my perception of myself. Are we becoming like that segment of Trump supporters who hate the other side so much that they’d accept the blatant lie out of spite?

Don Hall 2/25/19 Don Hall 2/25/19

I Believe… [Getting Lost is the Road to the New]

…that the best way to discover a new city is to put the GPS away, hop in the car, and drive until you are hopelessly lost. You look around and see the corners and turns, the businesses and people, then find your way back. Repeat.

Don Hall 2/21/19 Don Hall 2/21/19

A Surly Serbian Marie Kondo Broke My Shit

To provide indisputable proof that life is chaos and there is no justice in the world, Matthew’s four boxes filled with nothing more than more empty boxes made it unscathed.

Don Hall 2/18/19 Don Hall 2/18/19

I Believe... [“Fragile” is an Invitation for Abuse]

...that the height of delusional expectation is demonstrated most clearly when you write “Fragile” on a box being moved 2,000 miles cross-country. It’s like the box is a fat kid with a perpetually snotty nose in tight yellow Adidas shorts and a stutter — the bullies get in line to toss him under a couch.

Don Hall 2/12/19 Don Hall 2/12/19

Farewell to Chicago [1989–2019]

Don Hall 2/11/19 Don Hall 2/11/19

I Believe... [We’re All Just Lazier Than Ted Bundy]

...that our collective fascination with serial killers is fucking morbid and shows us all to be the monsters who think — a lot — about murdering people but lack the gumption.

Don Hall 2/10/19 Don Hall 2/10/19

The Archeology of a Rolling Stone

I’m not nostalgic for the place but I feel that tug of melancholy leaving behind the memories. Yet the best part about memories is that, at least until I get that delicious dementia, they come with me.

Don Hall 2/9/19 Don Hall 2/9/19

Progressive Unity in the Face of MAGA

"OK. To start off, I want to open up the discussion with a simple question. Was a vote for Donald Trump a racist act? If he ran his campaign on racist rhetoric was the act of voting for him a sign that you are a racist as well?"

Don Hall 2/7/19 Don Hall 2/7/19

The Roller Coaster Bluff and James T. Kirk

Confidence isn’t a super power or a magic trick. It’s a delusion that can reap amazing benefits in the real.

Don Hall 2/5/19 Don Hall 2/5/19

I am so Woke that it Seems like I’m Asleep but I’m not Because of My Wokeness: I’m Ready For 2020

The ramp up to Election 2020 is exactly what a cisgender, straight, white male ally needs to gin up the outrage and pick apart any hope for a Leftist Revolution to occur.

Don Hall 2/4/19 Don Hall 2/4/19

I Believe… [Why Billionaires Shouldn't Run For Public Office]

…that the notion that billionaires are more qualified than others to run the country is founded on the capitalist belief that CEOs are somehow better leaders due to their success in swindling others to amass an unnecessary and obscene fortune. Creating wealth is a fundamentally selfish pursuit; civil service is a selfless occupation. We shouldn’t mix the two.

Don Hall 2/3/19 Don Hall 2/3/19

Fifty Three Years and A Shot

In the annual tradition of penning a list of things I learned in the year, year 53 has been a doozy.

Don Hall 1/31/19 Don Hall 1/31/19

Take Risks. What Else Are You Here For?

I know a thousand people terrified to jump out of a plane, tell a story onstage, quit a job they aren’t suited for, move away from an established stomping ground. I know a thousand people and they all know a thousand people who, in turn know another thousand who fear risking humiliation or failure than to step up and step out and do something risky or stupid or both in pursuit of a goal that may not seem reasonable.

Don Hall 1/28/19 Don Hall 1/28/19

I Believe… [No. You Come See MY Show...]

…that in the wake of goodbyes and farewells associated with leaving Chicago, your request that I come see your show before I leave is just so baldly self-promotional it renders me cold and crunchy.

Don Hall 1/23/19 Don Hall 1/23/19

The Lack of any Viable Alternatives Makes the Smirking Kid Cement His Ideology

Yeah, I hear you. You were far more evolved when you were sixteen. You were whipsmart and filled with the lazy cynicism and biting wit of every episode of The Gilmore Girls. Instead of reacting with fear or rage or righteous indignation, you’d be the Martin Luther King of teenagers and calmly put the thing to rest.

Don Hall 1/21/19 Don Hall 1/21/19

I Believe… [154 Days Per Bullet]

…that six and three-quarters years is not a sentence for sixteen shots.

Don Hall 1/19/19 Don Hall 1/19/19

Did I Say “Hot Room?”

A Parent/Teacher Conference. Mom stands next to Dad, looking slightly annoyed. Dad, on the other hand, looks pissed. And the eighth grade turd who frequently stirs up trouble in class and is thereby the target of some of my more creative punitive measures, is looking so pleased that Mr. Hall is finally going to get it.