Bill Brenner

Why I Hate the Saying, ‘Taking Inventory’

by Bill Brenner November 10, 2010 Addiction

A lot of my 12-Step brothers and sisters have a saying: “I’m taking inventory.” It’s supposed to be about reflecting on your own growth and behavior. But it’s really about trash talking other people. Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTwNkyKKgAI&fs=1&hl=en_US] One of my friends in the program always follows the sentence “I’m just taking my inventory” with a long tirade against everyone who stared at him the wrong way that day. I give him crap about it every…  [Read More]

The Priest Who Failed, Part 2

by Bill Brenner November 10, 2010 Faith

Monday’s post about the priest who allegedly stole church money for porn, got quite a response. To my surprise — or maybe it’s relief — I’m not the only one who sees Father Keith’s story as one of addiction and suffering more than one of personal evil. Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrLk4vdY28Q&fs=1&hl=en_US] Some of the more powerful comments came by way of LinkedIn, one of the social networking sites where this blog appears. I wanted to use…  [Read More]

Duncan Likes Pink. So What?

by Bill Brenner November 9, 2010 Children's issues

Duncan is raising a few eyebrows in church and school because his favorite color is pink. Apparently, it’s only OK for girls to like this color. Right off the bat I’m annoyed, because girls don’t get the same crap for wearing a so-called boy’s color like blue. Duncan has a pink winter hat and a pink knitted coin pouch. When a priest saw him wearing the hat last year, a look of concern came over…  [Read More]

The Priest Who Failed

by Bill Brenner November 8, 2010 Faith

Father Keith LeBlanc, a former priest at my parish and most recently pastor of St. John’s across town, left in a hurry earlier this year after it came to light that he was being investigated for mishandling church dollars. It turns out he was using the money to feed an addiction to porn. Here’s the story from The Eagle-Tribune: HAVERHILL — The Rev. Keith LeBlanc is charged with stealing $83,147 from St. John the Baptist…  [Read More]

Asking to be Assaulted?

by Bill Brenner November 7, 2010 Communication Skills

Sometimes people say things that make me feel sorry for them. A few years ago I might have called them an idiot or something more Revere-like. Today I can only shake my head and feel pity. Here’s an example from the NerdChic blog. Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie3NinwlX6A&fs=1&hl=en_US] Noirin Shirley writes in her blog, NerdChic.net, that she was sexually assaulted during a conference late last week. She names the guy who allegedly did it to her, and goes…  [Read More]

Little Things That Count

by Bill Brenner November 7, 2010 Gratitude

After a moody Friday, things are looking up. It’s kind of a big deal because usually one day of feeling low was never enough. It always had to be several days of feeling low. Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spAs1b6x_qQ&fs=1&hl=en_US] This time of year is usually tricky. As the days get shorter and the weather gets gray, it gets to me. It’s one of the many byproducts of having OCD, and it has often led to vicious spikes…  [Read More]

Saturday Soundtrack: Mood Swing Edition

by Bill Brenner November 5, 2010 Music therapy

Been having some mood swings the last 24 hours, and my musical selections reflect that. These are songs to listen to when frustrated. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGhZ6mH7P-g&fs=1&hl=en_US] [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGSw9zNw8Y8&fs=1&hl=en_US] [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxrd_jZJxkg&fs=1&hl=en_US] [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8SUqzB94lQ&fs=1&hl=en_US] [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukHqzqZOe7g&fs=1&hl=en_US]

The Voke

by Bill Brenner November 5, 2010 The stormy past

A few days ago my friend Kevin Littlefield coaxed me into a little field trip to our old high school, Northeast Metro Tech — the Voke, as we call it. It was my first time back in about 20 years, and it gave me more than a little hope about the future. Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43WrkfnoISc&fs=1&hl=en_US] I have good and bad memories of the place. –It’s where I grew my hair long and cemented my love…  [Read More]

Facebook Follow Friday, 11-5-10

by Bill Brenner November 4, 2010 Gratitude

I know it’s only Thursday, but since I put a lot of time into the Twitter Follow Friday thing, I wanted to take care of this first and keep my new tradition on track. Here are some folks I follow on Facebook and why… Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukbbPJirTaE&fs=1&hl=en_US] Greg Walsh and Harry Zarkades: Harry I only recently connected with, but I’ve seen him play his bass and sing many times over the years. Greg has been…  [Read More]

Me and My Wall

by Bill Brenner November 4, 2010 Addiction

When I get tired and angry, I have this wall I put up. Erin is usually the one who crashes into it. Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpAbUvl3eTk&fs=1&hl=en_US] She’s been building a freelance editing business for the past year, and the hours she puts in would kill a lesser person. I’ve taken on a lot of extra things around the house to help, and for the last week or so the fatigue and frustration has set in. Not…  [Read More]

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