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

The Phrase That Pays in the Age of Massive Conspiracies and Tribalism

In order to be shared values, people within the culture have to find agreement on the fundamentals of the narrative. No agreement, no shared values, and the result is a series of competing cultural narratives. The result is a whole room full of people screaming at each other their sometimes bizarre, sometimes lunatic tribal memes.

Don Hall 1/18/21 Don Hall 1/18/21

I Believe... [in Public Dildo Stories]

...that the problem with telling a dildo story in a off-shoot casino bar and grill is that there might be a kid somewhere in the room who will overhear it. On the other hand, any kid today who hasn’t heard about dildos is far too sheltered with the ideological plastic helmet to survive past ten years old.

Don Hall 1/12/21 Don Hall 1/12/21

The Rise and Fall of Free Speech: What Big Tech Giveth, Big Tech Taketh Away

Zuckerberg and Dorsey have the power to melt our faces off with their laser eyeballs and we either trust that they won’t use that power on the wrong people when their having a rough morning or regulate their power in ways that no longer leave it up to their whim. Because that’s why Trump has been de-platformed. The whim of two men in charge of the most powerful communications networks in the history of mankind.

Don Hall 1/11/21 Don Hall 1/11/21

I Believe... [Switching Out Identifiers Exposes the Game]

I believe... that if changing “white” to “black” or “men” to “women” in your polemic makes you suddenly sound like a Southern politician from 1950, you’re a bigot and a sexist.

Don Hall 1/10/21 Don Hall 1/10/21

Advice Unsolicited | STAY AWAY FROM THE HOUSE!

The movies are fiction. Most of us know and accept this. While they are fiction, many can be instructive in our own non-fiction lives…

Don Hall 1/8/21 Don Hall 1/8/21

The Demagogues Are Here (and They're Smarter Than Trump)

The demagogues of 2021 have been watching. They've been fine-tuning their approach to power and are constructing their own Big Lies to spread. Unlike Trump, they aren't supposed captains of industry and have no designs on public office. They've seen the constraints of political power and know those obstacles are not the clear road to dominance.

Don Hall 1/7/21 Don Hall 1/7/21

There Are FOUR Lights, Douchebag!

Like Madred, Trump simply keeps repeating his completely unfounded conclusions as fact over and over. I wonder if Rattensperger at some point in the conversation started to believe that maybe there were five lights. I wonder how tempting it would be to cave in just to get the man to stop talking.

Don Hall 1/5/21 Don Hall 1/5/21

I Like to Watch | Gerard Butler Movies

Less enchanted by the romcoms in his IMDB (P.S. I Love You, The Ugly Truth, or Playing for Keeps) or even his super badass phase (300, RocknRolla), my Gerard Butler jam happens once he gained a bit of weight, got the slightly droopy underchin, and did his level best to do one of the least convincing American accents since Kevin Costner tried an English accent in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

Don Hall 1/4/21 Don Hall 1/4/21

I Believe... [Ted Wheeler is a Bit Late]

I believe... that after ten months of the Antifa crowd burning Portland to the ground at the drop of any ideological excuse, Mayor Ted Wheeler’s admonition for the continued vandalism under the guise of persistent protest seems a bit late to the game.

Don Hall 1/3/21 Don Hall 1/3/21

Advice Unsolicited | Misinterpreting Rowling

I want to let my youngest enjoy the world of Harry Potter without supporting a bigot and disappointing my oldest.

Don Hall 1/2/21 Don Hall 1/2/21

I Like to Watch | True Crime Television

True Crime is not so much a genre of how terrible some people can be. It is a genre that acts as the mirror to society as it is rather than as we hope it is.

Don Hall 12/31/20 Don Hall 12/31/20

The Throwing Caution to the Wind When Caution is Warranted

As we stand on the precipice of 2021, maybe it's time to look hard at those risks and determine to throw caution to the wind. I mean, seriously, what have you got to lose? Death is inevitable, life is a choice.

Don Hall 12/28/20 Don Hall 12/28/20

I Believe… [Bitcoin Slots]

I believe... that cryptocurrency, the stock market, and throwing money into a slot machine are all identical processes for gaining wealth without working.

Don Hall 12/26/20 Don Hall 12/26/20

Conspiracy Theorists Are Simply CosPlaying to Avoid Crushing Reality

Conspiracy theories grow during times of institutional failure. If you can't have the life you were promised by your personal and flawed interpretation of the "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" clause at least you can paint yourself as a hero struggling against a greater evil. You can be a knight or a superhero or a great revolutionary.

Don Hall 12/25/20 Don Hall 12/25/20

Unforging Marley's Chain: Redemption is Possible

For me, it's those fucking chains of Marley that give me pause. Link by link, and yard by yard. The chain we forge in life.

Don Hall 12/21/20 Don Hall 12/21/20

I Believe... [Bisexual Marvel]

...that making Starlord from “Guardians of the Galaxy” bisexual presents a conundrum for Chris Pratt: continue to “act” the role or do some method preparation and fellate at least three dudes for some sort of ideological purity?

Don Hall 12/17/20 Don Hall 12/17/20

The Highest of All Arts and the Path Away from Trump

The highest of all arts, indeed.

Compromise is about building something rather than destroying something. It is about looking past the obvious differences and finding the more substantial similarities. It is humanist rather than racist or sexist. It is a stretch of the perspective to encompass all of us rather than some of us. Compromise and the commitment to do so is a rebuke to othering, aversion, and moralizing.

Don Hall 12/14/20 Don Hall 12/14/20

I Believe… [Why Parler Failed]

...that it turns out people who troll on social media are not addicted to sharing ideas but to calling each other names. Hence, the rapid rise and rapid fall of Parler.

Don Hall 12/12/20 Don Hall 12/12/20

The Pandemic Was Foretold by the Wachowskis

This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill—the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill—you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes. Remember: all I'm offering is the truth. Nothing more.

Don Hall 12/8/20 Don Hall 12/8/20

I Like to Watch | I’m Thinking of Ending Things (2020)

“I’m Thinking of Ending Things” is the most Charlie Kaufman film in his canon.