Category: Beliefs


One Less Thing To Stress About

Filed Under: Beliefs by Wayne Hall — Leave a comment
August 19, 2010

I guess we all think that where we live is the most stressful place around. Turns out I was wrong thinking that Washington, D.C., or even New York topped the list. Instead, that honor goes to a top vacation spot–Las Vegas.

Here’s the article about it from Forbes via Yahoo:

>>America’s Most Stressful Cities 2010

Francesca Levy, Forbes.com

Aug 17, 2010

Anxiety levels are running high in these metros.

Every day overwhelmed Las Vegas residents flood the Stress Management Center of Nevada, looking for relief from their problems. They often complain of irregular work hours that keep them away from their families, and tensions that result from family health crises.

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Are Children Really This Stupid?

Filed Under: Beliefs, Comics, What-everrr! by Wayne Hall — 1 Comment
August 18, 2010

Over at SciFiPulse.Net, I wrote a Comix Portal column about a child psychologist’s dislike for Iron Man and some other recent super-heroes. One of the things that I disagreed with the lady about was the apparent feeling that children (particularly boys) are way too stupid to figure out that bad behavior shouldn’t be emulated on their own–they need comics to preach to them about what to do and what not to do.

Right on the heels of that story comes another one about groups failing to understand just how smart and imaginative kids can be. Here’s an article about protesting toys of the Fantastic Four now being given out at McDonalds restaurants by Dan at themovieblog.com:

>>Alright, so I stumbled upon a press release for CCFC (Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood) while reading a few articles on Cinematical’s website this morning.

The CCFC is targeting Happy Meals at McDonalds with good reason, their goal is to prevent McDonalds from using toys to entice kids into eating at their restaurants. Now so far I’m on board somewhat, I do think it’s a good idea to stop McDonalds from using toys as bait for children but then again if a kid does eat the crap at McDonalds don’t you think they deserve at the very least a cheap toy as a reward for keeping it down?

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Back To School Was Never Like This!

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August 17, 2010

When I grew up, we bought new clothes and supplies for school, like pencils (remember them?) and paper. I knew things weren’t the same, but just how different it has become surprises even me.

This article was originally from the New York Times, but it comes via CNBC.com:

>>Back to School? Bring Your Own Toilet Paper

When Emily Cooper headed off to first grade in Moody, Ala., last week, she was prepared with all the stuff on her elementary school’s must-bring list: two double rolls of paper towels, three packages of Clorox wipes, three boxes of baby wipes, two boxes of garbage bags, liquid soap, Kleenex and Ziplocs.

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‘Minimum Effort, Maximum Benefits’

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August 16, 2010

As I interact with more and more folks, I keep being impressed by the following slogan: “Mnimum Effort, Maximum Benefits.”

What that means is: do as little as possible, then expect as much as possible in return.

I started to notice this when people, including me, didn’t use the walkways to cross the busy city streets, but instead cut through traffic to minimize the time it takes to get somewhere. We can’t be bothered to burn the extra minute or two we’d need to do it the “right” way.

Another example of this is cutting through parking spaces in parking lots when driving. Would it really hurt to drive in the designated lanes more?

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Talking About TV On ‘Monsters And Critics’

Filed Under: Beliefs, Television/Movies by Wayne Hall — Leave a comment
August 15, 2010

Yesterday, I posted here on this blog my first column for the great website MonstersAndCritics.com. Not long after that one ran, my second column, about television in general, appeared on the site at this link. If you just want to sit back and read it here, venture forward!

>>The mercurial nature of television, treasure what you love while it’s here

Everything on television is a fad. Every show or family of shows comes, runs its course, then goes away … eventually.

Just what is a “fad?” The dictionary defines it as “a temporary fashion, notion, manner of conduct, etc., esp. one followed enthusiastically by a group.”

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It’s A Guy Thing To Be Nervous, But This …

Filed Under: Beliefs, What-everrr! by Wayne Hall — Leave a comment
August 13, 2010

You just can’t make this stuff up!

Now, I know that being a guy means that we can get nervous when we are involved in something important. But read the story below to see just how bad a situation can get, from wbztv.com:

>>$9,000 Engagement Ring Lost During Proposal

When Matt Cawley popped the big question to girlfriend Stacey Scanlon, it’s fair to say it could’ve gone better.

“Just another chapter in the book,” said Cawley.  “I was like ‘Here we go!'”

“I feel like it’s a story that’ll be passed along in our families forever,” added Scanlon.

They’re talking about the loss of a $9,000 diamond engagement ring — a family heirloom.

Cawley’s plan was to surprise Scanlon with the ring during a romantic walk along Lighthouse Jetty in South Yarmouth on Monday morning.

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We Need A Better Economy!

Filed Under: Beliefs by Wayne Hall — Leave a comment
August 12, 2010

I don’t know a person who isn’t struggling financially these days, including me. Higher taxes and bigger government don’t seem to be working! Here’s an example from ajc.com:

>>30,000 line up for housing vouchers, some get rowdy

Thirty thousand people showed up to receive Section 8 housing applications in East Point Wednesday, suffering through hours in the hot sun, angry flare-ups in the crowd and lots of frustration and confusion for a chance to receive a government-subsidized apartment.

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Magazines Not Bouncing Back

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August 11, 2010

With the advent of the Internet, newspapers (like the one I work for) and magazines have really taken it on the chin. In times past, I couldn’t wait for full-color, slick-paper magazines to arrive at my home so I could read them from cover to cover.

Now, with the Web, it is tough to keep printing a publication. The cost is becoming prohibitive. Add to that the fact that the moment a publication is printed, it is out of date. The Web is instantaneous, so one can always update a Web page as soon as something happens.

There was some speculation that magazines would bounce back after the initial hit, but that doesn’t seem to be happening, according to this article from The Financial Times website:

>>Magazine circulation fails to rebound despite rise in ads

By Kenneth Li in New York

Published: August 9 2010 21:24 | Last updated: August 9 2010 21:24

The two-year slide in U.S. magazine circulation accelerated in the first six months of 2010, in spite of a gradual recovery in advertising spending.

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Entry #100: Diversity

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August 10, 2010

I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to explore my little corner of the blogosphere! I was never sure I’d post 100 entries, but here we are! The entries with the highest number of views were about my Mom (on Mother’s Day) and Dad (on Father’s Day). I can understand that–I let my emotions out more than usual on those two days.

I’ve been thinking about what to discuss this time, and I want to talk about something near and dear to my heart–diversity. The dictionary describes “diversity” as “the state or fact of being diverse, difference, unlikeness, variety, multiformity (whatever that means), and a point of difference.”

What intrigues me about the word is that it means things that aren’t the same. And yet, when we use the word today, we seem to mean a certain type or area is valued above others.

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Entry #99: Our Personalities Set By First Grade?

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August 9, 2010

One of the discussions educators have been having for years is: What is more important–environment or heredity?

Well, it might be that our early years with our families are more important than we previously thought.

Check out this article from livescience.com:

>>Personality Set for Life By 1st Grade, Study Suggests

Our personalities stay pretty much the same throughout our lives, from our early childhood years to after we’re over the hill, according to a new study.

The results show personality traits observed in children as young as first graders are a strong predictor of adult behavior.

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