Don Hall 6/14/21 Don Hall 6/14/21

I Believe... [Going Nuclear]

I believe… that, if we truly want to turn back climate disaster, an embrace of nuclear power is absolutely necessary. It’s clean, abundant, and contributes a zero sum carbon footprint.

Don Hall 6/12/21 Don Hall 6/12/21

The Intolerance of Tolerance and Why Being Uncomfortable Sometimes Helps Us All

"The irony is that in order to practice tolerance, you must be willing to sit with things that upset you or make you uncomfortable. Yet, if your adopted ethic is that no one should ever be upset or uncomfortable, then you make any sort of tolerance impossible."

Don Hall 6/10/21 Don Hall 6/10/21

The Need for More Placebo Buttons

You know those buttons you press to indicate you need to walk across a busy intersection? They do not affect the "walk" sign in any way whatsoever. They are placebo buttons that gives us the illusion that the stoplights are somehow under our control.

Don Hall 6/7/21 Don Hall 6/7/21

I Believe... [Same Culture Wars, Different Decade]

...that the culture wars ongoing are no different than the culture wars fought in the 90s except with social media the exponential growth of extremist crackpots makes it seem so much more pressing. We didn’t know how many idiots were out there in the 90s because we weren’t subject to their crazy yet.

Don Hall 6/5/21 Don Hall 6/5/21

Centrism: Not an Embrace of the Status Quo But of Pragmatic Solutions That Reject Rhetoric

Today's centrist is, according to the billions of fucking surveys done in an attempt to explain how a failed real estate trust fund baby and has-been reality TV star managed to be elected president, more Left than Right and more inclined to disagree with tactics than goals.

Don Hall 5/31/21 Don Hall 5/31/21

I Believe... [Time>Money]

...that volunteering your time and energy is more helpful than your money or your social media approval.

Don Hall 5/30/21 Don Hall 5/30/21

Cancellation is Now an Equal Opportunity Equation

When Disney gets hit with people completely apoplectic about one of their Star Wars actors comparing her existence with Holocaust survivors? "Thanks for your concerns. While a completely stupid thing to tweet as Holocaust survivors rarely got million-dollar contracts to play a space ranger, we think we'll just yell at her some for being a public dipshit and leave it at that."

Don Hall 5/27/21 Don Hall 5/27/21

I Like to Watch | Promising Young Woman (2020)

Travis Bickle was a young man traumatized by war and the abandonment he felt as society realized he was fucked up by a system designed to fuck him up. Cassie Thomas is a young woman traumatized by a system in place designed to fuck her and discard her like a piece of trash.

Don Hall 5/25/21 Don Hall 5/25/21

Coping with Stress and Anxiety is a Life Skill Worth Learning

In 2021, the dangers are far less likely because dinosaurs only exist in movies and we are the über-predators on the planet. Our biggest danger is ourselves and our over-active imaginations.

Don Hall 5/24/21 Don Hall 5/24/21

I Believe... [The Venn Diagram is Just a Circle]

I believe... that, ironically, the Venn diagram between calling for the destruction of the world's only Jewish state and calling other citizens "Nazis" is simply a solid circle.

Don Hall 5/20/21 Don Hall 5/20/21

Refusing to See the Grey is the Achilles Heel of Modern Americans

So what prevents us from recognizing that the cat is gradually becoming a dog? Anti-intellectualism that goes back to pre-Enlightenment times. The battle between religiosity and scientific inquiry has been raging since the atheists and agnostics determined that living in a closed off, black and white binary is the road to authoritarianism. Allow the 'truth' to be dictated by a few and those few will gain and wield enormous power.

Don Hall 5/17/21 Don Hall 5/17/21

I Believe... [Children Listen]

I believe... that if you treat people like children, they learn to behave like children.

Don Hall 5/13/21 Don Hall 5/13/21

Mooning the Crowd and Waving Your Balls was Funny—Until It Wasn't

Have you seen a dick? They're hysterical! Like a flabby mushroom connected to a flesh bag. Or a skinny turtle out of his shell. A turkey neck without feathers. Who designed this, an idiot? The vagina is far more practical.

Don Hall 5/11/21 Don Hall 5/11/21

The Basecamp Dilemma Facing the Desire for Self-Expression

The 80's has been labeled the "Me" decade. Pursuit of selfish interest became the mantra of the day. Today is the "Look at Me" decade, when establishing a personal brand is tantamount. The concept of subsuming your brand identity (and your identifiers in sum) is off the menu. Corporations aren't loyal to the labor, why should the labor be loyal to them?

Don Hall 5/10/21 Don Hall 5/10/21

I Believe... [Defining Hate]

I believe... that speech you hate is not “hate speech.”

Don Hall 5/4/21 Don Hall 5/4/21

I Like to Watch | The Walking Dead

At the (long) tail-end of the pandemic, the rest of the 10th season of The Walking Dead resumed airing and I found myself undeniably un-inspired. I didn't really care much for The Whisperers and after they bumped Rick Grimes off and then carted him away on a helicopter, the show sort of fizzled. I couldn't figure out what was missing (besides Rick) so I decided to go back to the beginning and watch the whole thing again.

Don Hall 5/3/21 Don Hall 5/3/21

I Believe... [Parsing Out Sensitivity]

I believe... that we should all be more sensitive but not be more sensitive. The former is about simple politeness, the latter is about myopic self-centeredness.

Don Hall 5/2/21 Don Hall 5/2/21

A Cruel Summer in Need of Some Hugs...Or Something

We need some de-escalation techniques of our own.

Don Hall 4/29/21 Don Hall 4/29/21

When You Misuse a Tool, the Tool is You

Out of rage or fear or petulance, we misuse a lot of handy tools at our disposal.

Don Hall 4/27/21 Don Hall 4/27/21

Recognizing the Smell of Cat Piss When You Live in a Zoo

The biggest issue with cats is that they are feral creatures who shit and piss in a box inside your home. One cat and the smell is noticeable but still manageable. Three cats? Not so manageable. Five cats? You stop smelling the horror and get used to it.