Don Hall 6/26/19 Don Hall 6/26/19

Independence Day: The Dance of the Vicious

There are things for us to celebrate but perhaps we should put the party off for a few years while we get our shit together, clean up our own house, and strive to be the country we believed we could be rather than the nation we have become.

Don Hall 6/24/19 Don Hall 6/24/19

I Believe… [You Are Not Your Credit Score]

...that if you judge your own success by your credit score, I’d like to point out there is a Kool-Aid stain on your shirt.

Don Hall 6/24/19 Don Hall 6/24/19

The Conflicting Case to Do Away with Facebook

It was a Black Mirror episode that triggered me.

Specifically, Smithereens, and more directly a monologue/rant by Andrew Scott about everyone looking down at their smartphones constantly. It hit me like a two-by-four in the gut: I am that guy. I’m on my phone far more than I should be and I’m almost paralyzed in my distractions.

Don Hall 6/23/19 Don Hall 6/23/19

I Like to Watch | The Perfection

I believe that, when creating fiction-based mass entertainment that also addresses major sociopolitical issues, filmmakers need to pull back a step and tell a great story first with the over-the-top social commentary present but in the background.

Don Hall 6/20/19 Don Hall 6/20/19

Practicing Yoga in Your Mind

Don Hall 6/18/19 Don Hall 6/18/19

Running the Marathon Rather Than the Sprint

The problem with being a sprinter is the misconception that a marathon is just a series of sprints making up twenty-six-point-two miles. It doesn’t work that way. Sprinting uses up all the energy for short term gains and is unsustainable for twenty-six miles in any genuine fashion. A marathon requires planning, patience, and a sense of perseverance that eludes the sprinter.

Don Hall 6/17/19 Don Hall 6/17/19

I Believe… [Gambling is Basically Buying Hope]

...that nothing is more desolate than an empty casino; nothing is more exciting than a full one. A whole room full of people buying bits of hope is a gas.

Don Hall 6/17/19 Don Hall 6/17/19

An Open Letter to a Late Stage Incel

I hear you, sitting in your room, typing furiously away about how lonely you are and how angry it makes you that, for some unexplained reason, women don’t find you companionable.

I mean, instead of looking hard at yourself and your behavior, your borderline social retardation, your obsessive compulsive mania, it’s just easier to find someone else to blame.

Don Hall 6/10/19 Don Hall 6/10/19

I Believe… [Pride Should Be Justified]

…that one should demonstrate pride in something accomplished rather than mere existence. Thus, Gay Pride (because of the accomplishments over generations of stigma) and not Straight Pride (because what the fuck did we have to overcome except the lazy task of consistent acceptance?). I mean, I’m straight but I can’t say it’s necessarily anything to be proud of.

Don Hall 6/10/19 Don Hall 6/10/19

I Like to Watch | Dark Phoenix

Less than technological advances, I’d argue the primary reason superhero movies are the Big Gorilla in cinema today is about the casting.

Don Hall 6/9/19 Don Hall 6/9/19

No Chains, No Imprisonment

"Unless there are actual chains and bars, your imprisonment is in your mind."

Don Hall 6/7/19 Don Hall 6/7/19

Whose Idea Is It Anyway? The Terminator, The Infinite Wrench, and BUGHOUSE!

The format [curated open mic storytelling] is a rich canvas for the different shows to create new improvements on the skeleton and flesh it out in their specific artistic way. The format wasn’t stolen or plagiarized in these cases so much as stripped of specificity and re-clothed in improvements, making wholly unique live experiences for a completely different audience.

Don Hall 6/5/19 Don Hall 6/5/19

Americans LOVE Their Larger than Life Outlaws which is why Trump is Our Bruce Wayne

Take the billionaire who pretends to be one thing through lies and subterfuge and then breaks a list of laws to combat what he sees as crime and corruption. We love that guy. He’s a hero, right?

Who doesn’t love Batman?

Don Hall 6/3/19 Don Hall 6/3/19

I Believe… [Your Delusion is Showing]

…that if you see the world as an Either/Or proposition, a place of definable Good and Evil, and a belief that the righteous will prevail, you’re living in a delusion fueled by comic books, blockbuster movies, and religious propaganda. Go watch Requiem for a Dream, Glenngarry Glen Ross and Magnolia, and grow up.

Don Hall 6/1/19 Don Hall 6/1/19

Demand Accountability or Take Responsibility

Accountability is about making someone else do what we want them to do.
Responsibility is about making ourselves do what needs to be done.

Time to make a choice.

Don Hall 5/30/19 Don Hall 5/30/19

Finding Three Pain Points — How to Sell Progress

My brief stint selling window replacements did garner me some insight on the process that, as I look out into our divided country, I can’t help but wonder if the technique used to get people to spend $30,000 to replace their windows might have some value in selling our most untenable ideas to one another.

Don Hall 5/28/19 Don Hall 5/28/19

The Quest For a Mistake-Free Life

In this society, we are no longer allowed to make mistakes.

There is a paradox at play in that we are encouraged to gain experience in order to be employable yet the only path to truly valuable experience is to make mistakes and learn from them. No mistakes equals no genuine experience and Mobius Strip circles us like the spectre of failure writ constant.

Don Hall 5/27/19 Don Hall 5/27/19

I Believe… [#trumpisjustareflection]

…that the internet is the most sophisticated communication tool invented to date and the best we can figure out to do with it is to piss and moan about our pet causes and bully one another. #trumpisjustareflection

Don Hall 5/26/19 Don Hall 5/26/19

Not That Big of a Deal Yet | Happy Birthday, David Himmel

David Himmel turns forty today. As usual, he didn’t plan ahead and botched his own birthday article. Enjoy!

Don Hall 5/25/19 Don Hall 5/25/19

I Like to Watch | John Wick Chapter 3 — Parabellum

Aside from my obvious enjoyment of the story of an ex-assassin, known by the Russian mob as Babayaga (The Bogeyman) and spoken of in whispers of his legendary focus, determination, and will, mourning his dead wife and being gifted by her beyond the grave a puppy only to be thrust back into the game by a Russian mobster’s son, I found myself conflicted in two specific ways.