Don Hall 3/7/22 Don Hall 3/7/22

I Believe... [Rushin' Cancellations]

...that cancelling Russian food, Russian television show, Russian dressing, rushin’ around in traffic is a sign that Americans are a bit too dense to enter any European wars anytime soon.

Don Hall 3/2/22 Don Hall 3/2/22

Seven Things Learned from Taylor Sheridan's '1883'

1883 is the tale of the Dutton ancestors traveling along the Oregon Trail (just like the early video game most of us GenXers played on ancient home computers) on the way to Montana to settle the Yellowstone/Dutton ranch. Featuring Sam Elliot, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, and Isabel May, I gained an appreciation for Sheridan's work (he is the sole writer of every episode) and just finished it last night.

Don Hall 3/1/22 Don Hall 3/1/22

[From the Archives] America is Not the Amityville Horror or Poltergeist House

The house that is the United States, if it were an actual house, has plenty of flakey hemoglobin on the grounds.

Don Hall 2/28/22 Don Hall 2/28/22

I Believe... [Taiwanese Anxiety Disorder]

I believe... that the most nervous government on the globe right now is Taiwan.

Don Hall 2/21/22 Don Hall 2/21/22

I Believe... [Nevada—Dumb But Fun]

...that Nevada has a worse record in education than Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi which supports the conclusion that only the dumbest people gamble on the regular. We do have lots of booze and exposed boobs, so there’s a plus side, right?

Don Hall 2/20/22 Don Hall 2/20/22

I Like to Watch | Inventing Anna (2022)

Why did any of these people believe in her bullshit?

Because she didn't care if you liked her. Unlike everyone else among our affirmation-addicted bunch of apes, the Anna Delvey of Shondaland didn't give two shits what you thought of her or even if you bought her bullshit.

Don Hall 2/15/22 Don Hall 2/15/22

When the World is On Fire, Who Can Laugh About Anything?

What I miss most is the opportunity to just throw down and fucking laugh like an idiot about, well, anything.

Thank god for Jackass. I appreciate the not-so-gentle reminder.

Don Hall 2/14/22 Don Hall 2/14/22

I Believe... [Legitimate Political Discourse, My Ass]

...that justifying disruptive protests, riots, and looting as ‘legitimate political discourse’ cuts both ways and is horseshit regardless of which side claims it.

Don Hall 2/12/22 Don Hall 2/12/22

If Trust Builds a Society, the Absence of Trust Destroys It

I’m an optimist at heart. I also believe without finding a way to trust a few more people today and a few more tomorrow, to openly seek out those we feel we can trust, we’re fucked as a nation.

Don Hall 2/8/22 Don Hall 2/8/22

I Like to Watch | Magnolia (1999)

When I went to see Magnolia I discovered a film that captured this concept more clearly, more beautifully, than I could have ever conceived of myself. I was transcendent.

Don Hall 2/7/22 Don Hall 2/7/22

I Believe... [Not Nihilism. Clarity]

I believe... that, at half a century plus, one starts to see how much of the world’s issues are bullshit. This is not nihilism. It’s clarity.

Don Hall 2/5/22 Don Hall 2/5/22

A New Not-for-Profit is In Town

So, it's official. Literate Ape is now Literate Ape Press, Inc. a 501(c)(3) Nevada Corporation.

Don Hall 2/3/22 Don Hall 2/3/22

The 56th Year in Lessons Learned | Notes from an Old-ish Man

I was born on February 3, 1966. I have just completed my 56th stroll around the calendar and walking those dirt roads toward the inevitable. What have I gleaned from those 365 days that merit sharing here?

Don Hall 2/1/22 Don Hall 2/1/22

The Point of Democracy is Populism

Democracy is dependent upon populism. The more of the population who casts a vote in one direction or the other determines who wins power. It's not a complicated idea. Part of the bargain requires that win your side loses, you accept the loss. We're not quite so good at that part lately.

Don Hall 1/31/22 Don Hall 1/31/22

I Believe... [Omicron is COVID on Tinder]

...that Omicron is the Tinder version of COVID—it’ll fuck anybody once, every night, and move on to the next swipe.

Don Hall 1/27/22 Don Hall 1/27/22

Masterpieces in Sand

Roy looked down from the cliffs at the man drawing in the sand. The picture that started to emerge startled him. It was an extraordinary face, not realistically rendered, but seemingly viewed from many angles at once. In fact, it looked much like a Picasso.

Don Hall 1/24/22 Don Hall 1/24/22

I Believe... [1619 + 1776 = A Fuller Picture]

...that the 1619 Project is some solid reading and, while not a definitive history of the country’s founding, a brilliant parallel view to understanding the brilliance of the Founding Fathers creating the republic. Both are true and together provide a more complete comprehension.

Don Hall 1/23/22 Don Hall 1/23/22

It's in the Pragmatic Solutions that Salvation Awaits

While I look nothing like Joe Biden (I've been told I look like Al Franken, which is the closest to any former political seat of power I'll ever be, I suppose) I believe that most of our cultural and political issues are easily solved with some common sense, aw-shucks pragmatism.

Don Hall 1/22/22 Don Hall 1/22/22

I Like to Watch | Tree of Life (2011)

It's about the molecular connection we all have with the planet and the universe and each other. It's about primordial soup evolving over time into weeds that Jack is instructed to pull from the root, not just the top. It's about the brief glimpse of a human life, filled with pettiness and violence and sex and love and hate.

Don Hall 1/18/22 Don Hall 1/18/22

Performative Trauma is a Devil's Bargain

Complexity and marketing are not compatible lovers.