Don Hall 4/26/22 Don Hall 4/26/22

The Eye of the Beholder

"I guess I feel lonely. Or alone. I don't feel like we are on the same page as a married couple and I can't figure out why."

Don Hall 4/25/22 Don Hall 4/25/22

I Believe... [That Third Time Charm Stuff is Bullshit]

I believe... that it’s incredibly difficult to appreciate a wonderful meal if it ends with a pile of shit on a banquet plate. The final course determines the meal.

Don Hall 4/23/22 Don Hall 4/23/22

The Improbable Dangers of Candle Wax

He could hardly make himself say it. He sat on the couch—she was just sitting there laughing about a dumb YouTube and the sound of her hoarse giggles was like music—lit up a cigarette—she hated these things but I think I need them right now—and stared hard at her shoes on the floor.

Don Hall 4/19/22 Don Hall 4/19/22

No Steak Knives for Me

For myself, I've answered the question about separating the artist from the art.

Don Hall 4/18/22 Don Hall 4/18/22

I Believe... [#BookTok is an Oxymoron]

...that using social media to sell books is as pointless and unforgiving as selling bibles in a brothel.

Don Hall 4/16/22 Don Hall 4/16/22

Solutions are Easy; Wresting Control in Order to Implement Them Is Another Thing Altogether

I wonder how many genuine solutions to current problems get bogged down in meetings demanding a certain power-hungry consensus.

Don Hall 4/14/22 Don Hall 4/14/22

Tribal Allegiance Didn't Save Anyone from COVID

I'm not into tribes these days. Tribalism did not save one person who contracted COVID and died from it. It won't save the next, either.

Don Hall 4/11/22 Don Hall 4/11/22

I Believe... [Dying Breath]

...that, if one spends more than a few minutes a day being anxious about money, a serious re-evaluation of what is and is not of value is in order. No one expends their final breath to brag about their credit score.

Don Hall 4/10/22 Don Hall 4/10/22

Sometimes You Just Gotta Buy a $6 Million House

BLM Co-Founder Patrisse Cullors says she's thriving. No shit.

Don Hall 4/5/22 Don Hall 4/5/22

Masculinity is Not the Problem

Where are the lines between masculinity (nature's way), hyper-masculinity (the ego's way), and toxic masculinity (the villain's way)?

Don Hall 4/4/22 Don Hall 4/4/22

I Believe... [Supporting Dictators with Food Choice]

...that if you’re canceling Russian dressing but not Korean BBQ, Chinese egg rolls, or Middle Eastern Falafel, you’re a dietary dictatorship apologist.

Don Hall 3/31/22 Don Hall 3/31/22

American Jobs—Cleaning Up Bars on a Graveyard Shift

It felt like I was living two lives. Each day surrounded by hopeful, enthusiastic, and highly dramatic college students. Lots of chatter, lots of noise. Each night it was as if I had transported to a movie about the dystopian end of mankind.

Don Hall 3/28/22 Don Hall 3/28/22

I Believe... [Bullies Always Gotta Punch the Little Guy]

I believe... that Chris Rock was the victim of assault and still held his poise. Will Smith was the much bigger kid hitting the class clown for making fun of his wife like any other garden variety bully. And the room gave him a standing ovation for it like the cheerleaders after the high school quarterback punches out the drama kid.

Don Hall 3/24/22 Don Hall 3/24/22

American Jobs | Waiting Tables for the Son of Satan

"So what's the worst customer story you have?" I asked.

Don Hall 3/21/22 Don Hall 3/21/22

I Believe... [Cartman as Greek Prophecy]

...that South Park turned out to be the funny Cassandra prophesying our fate.

Don Hall 3/17/22 Don Hall 3/17/22

I Like to Watch | Nostalgia Porn

As a GenXer, I've started to notice what can only be called Nostalgia Porn as it is the practice of taking cherished memories of movies and recreating them with the same actors playing the same roles with a fresher coat of technological paint.

Don Hall 3/15/22 Don Hall 3/15/22

Excerpt: My Kind of Corporal Punishment

The following is an excerpt from the book "Strippers, Guns, and The Holocaust Museum: OR: How I Survived My Time as a Chicago Public School Music Teacher"

Don Hall 3/14/22 Don Hall 3/14/22

I Believe... [Public Education, My Ass]

I believe... that you either give teachers appropriate compensation or authority in the classroom. One or the other. Take away both and you get completely unqualified babysitters searching on their phones while your kids become a modern version of the boys in Lord of the Flies but with TikTok.

Don Hall 3/13/22 Don Hall 3/13/22

Things Discovered Upon Quitting That Cushy Gig

The easy road is to accept that age is a prison. You become obsolete over time. Just resign yourself to that obsolescence and retire to a corner, whittling stick figures and rocking in that chair. I've never been one to take the easy path and I'm starting now.

Don Hall 3/9/22 Don Hall 3/9/22

You Don't Mess Around with Jim (after COVID and he has a gun now)

And you don't take a completely irrational population, after spending a few years in lockdown in fear of an invisible virus and prone to yelling at each other for either wearing or not wearing a cloth mask in a Sbarro, and give them unfettered access to the largest arsenal of personal weapons in history. It's just dumb. It's dangerous. It's catastrophic.