Don Hall 8/2/19 Don Hall 8/2/19

The Neighborhood Watch is NOT the Richest Guy on the Block

Earlier in the year, Tom and Jack kind of went to war against each other. First it was just namecalling and that sort of thing but then Jack keyed Tom's boat and all hell broke loose. Vandalization of property begat slashing of tires and eventually, Tom and Jack, their wives and kids, were routinely out in their yards, hurling shit at one another and generally disturbing everyone on the block.

Don Hall 7/30/19 Don Hall 7/30/19

Bridges That Only Go One Way Probably Need Burning

In your daily walk, you will encounter, and perhaps, befriend a lot of people. Some of those people require nothing from you and you require nothing from them and, if given time, a bridge of simple mutual enjoyment is built. Others will need things from you and you will find that you need things from them and both fulfill those needs through transaction of time and talent and another bridge of a different sort is built.

Then there are the one-way bridges.

Don Hall 7/29/19 Don Hall 7/29/19

I Believe… [Impeachment Plans Are Pyrrhic]

…that impeachment has always been a pipe dream and the more time wasted pissing and moaning about it, the more attention paid to it, the less energy there will be to actually vote the fat fuck out of office. There is nothing noble about a Pyrrhic victory.

Don Hall 7/27/19 Don Hall 7/27/19

I Like to Watch | Designated Survivor, Season Three

Of all the many things that got me through the eight years of George W. Bush (rage, vitriol, a massive sense that things had gone completely wrong in the country, a belief that Cheney would figure out how to install himself as dictator, the horror of a pre-emotive war that was protested by more people than the Viet Nam conflict, and writing about all these things daily) was Martin Sheen, Aaron Sorin and The West Wing.

Don Hall 7/23/19 Don Hall 7/23/19

Insight from the Desert on the Coming Presidential Election

Working in a casino just off the Strip means I run into a lot of odd types. It also means I’m pretty much prohibited from responding with my own views on politics when guests decide its time they discuss their own.

Don Hall 7/22/19 Don Hall 7/22/19

I Believe… [No One Is Above Law, Right?]

…that no one is above the law except brutal police, billionaire hedge fund managers, a percentage of rapists, and undocumented immigrants. Apart from that, no one else. Oh. And the president.

Don Hall 7/21/19 Don Hall 7/21/19

The Schizophrenic Nature and Failure of Generation X

Generation X was presented with a choice and about half chose the conventional wisdom of adulthood and the other half did not.

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

What to Do When There is a Bigoted Rapist Running the Show

The poorly handled House condemnation of Trump’s words as racist did exactly one thing: it made it just a bit more difficult to vote him out of office.

Don Hall 7/18/19 Don Hall 7/18/19

A Few Bad Apples (and Rampantly Unhygienic Ones, Too)

Keep in mind that the homeless in the 1930s were sort of quaint and charming (and mostly in black and white or sepia toned). They wore suits and had dreams of rabbit farms and getting back on their feet. If you had a job, who would you give a buck to: Burl Ives or Ratso Rizzo from A Midnight Cowboy?

Don Hall 7/16/19 Don Hall 7/16/19

Free College with a Bullet — Earn Those Freedoms or Zip It

Ultimately, the question posed is what are you willing to do and be responsible for in order to earn those rights you bellyache about each and every day?

Don Hall 7/15/19 Don Hall 7/15/19

I Believe… [Optimism is a Choice]

...that, at some point, you must choose whether or not to see your past as the glory days or see your future as the best days to come. That choice will determine how bitter or optimistic you become as you grow older.

Don Hall 7/8/19 Don Hall 7/8/19

I Believe… [The Benefits of ManScaping]

...that manscaping in Chicago was hipster and an attempt for a middle-aged man to attract younger women but manscaping in Las Vegas is merely an attempt to keep my balls from boiling like Georgia peanuts.

Don Hall 7/8/19 Don Hall 7/8/19

What's Beneath the Rhetoric? Mark Twain Answers the Question

As we continue to stroll down the path of some of us in thrall with the myth of American Exceptionalism and a few others in disgust at the country we have become despite all the riches and advantages otherwise, it occurs to me that behind the rhetoric there is so much unspoken which reveals our darkest intents.

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

Sloppy, Stupid Journalism is the New Black

There are a host of positives when it comes to the expansion of citizen journalism. A truly democratic collection of voices and opinions, voices previously unheard from now present, the ability to publish articles that a major house wouldn’t. On the other hand, there is the new tendency of lesser known publications to publish click bait shit and fudge facts in favor of hyperbole and impact.

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

I Like to Watch | Midsommar

Thus began my fascination with cinema made by the most fucked up white people about the most fucked up white people ever imagined.

Don Hall 7/5/19 Don Hall 7/5/19

The Guide to Excellent Customer Service

In The Shawshank Redemption, the character of Brookes Hatlin is released after decades behind bars. The world has changed. It's faster. Cars are faster, technology is faster, people seem to be in so much more of a hurry than when he was convicted. The speed of things and the lack of familiarity in simple day-to-day living pushes him further and further into a corner that he can only find one means of escape from - a rope.

Don Hall 7/4/19 Don Hall 7/4/19

The Reasons Behind the Celebration

“In our personal ambitions we are individualists. But in our seeking for economic and political progress as a nation, we all go up or else all go down as one people.”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt

Don Hall 7/1/19 Don Hall 7/1/19

I Believe… [College Isn't Mandatory]

...that while I completely agree that college should be tuition-free in the United States, asking for previous student loans to be forgiven is a bit much. College is optional, not mandatory and anyone who signed up for a loan to go knew exactly what they were getting into.

Don Hall 7/1/19 Don Hall 7/1/19

Repost: Playing Dead in the Face of Responsibility

Human beings are among the most vulnerable creatures on the planet. No armor, no big claws, can't fucking run fast, not particularly strong. Even the strongest man on the planet (you know, the redneck fucker who can pull a tractor with his teeth or hang an anvil from his balls) is just a thin-skinned hot dog meal to a mountain lion.

So we compensate with misdirection.

Don Hall 6/30/19 Don Hall 6/30/19

Corporate Sexual Harassment Training is a Hamfisted, Poorly Thought Out Necessity

Yes, we watched another video of clueless idiots harassing each other with a dumbfounded obtuseness that defies how actual humans behave. In my time in the workforce, I think I’ve seen five of these videos and none of them are repeats which begs the question: how many fucking Sexual Harassment Training videos are in existence and can we have a mini-film festival featuring the best or worst ones?