Bill Brenner

Cancer Can’t Stop the Almighty Cashdollar

by Bill Brenner February 19, 2014 Inspiration

A friend and colleague announced via Facebook and Twitter that he has thyroid cancer. Larry Cashdollar — an Akamai security researcher I like to call “The Almighty Cashdollar” — was tested a few weeks ago, and I know he’s been worried. Now, at least, he knows what he’s up against. Mood music: He wrote: I have thyroid #cancer. I’ve been waiting for the last week for my biopsy results and the doctor called today. —…  [Read More]

Exploiting Tate-LaBianca Murders for Fun and Profit?

by Bill Brenner February 18, 2014 Communication Skills

Y’all know I’ve long been obsessed about the Tate-LaBianca murders. But let’s be clear: All those stories about the spirits of Sharon Tate and Jay Sebring haunting a house a few doors down from where the murders took place? I don’t buy any of it. Mood music: The claim has been made by David Oman, whose home has been the subject of a Ghost Hunters episode and several other news reports. Oman has been all…  [Read More]

A Birthday Message to Colin

by Bill Brenner February 13, 2014 Children's issues

A mom from Kalamazoo, Mich., created a Facebook page for her son called “Happy Birthday Colin.” She did so after he told her he had no friends to invite to his upcoming birthday celebration. Colin has issues that are similar to autism, though his specific diagnoses are not yet public. Given my youngest son’s challenges on that front — not to mention my own — this squeezed my heart. What follows is an open letter to Colin. Mood…  [Read More]

The Danger of False Memories

by Bill Brenner February 12, 2014 The stormy past

Since this blog is part memoir, I worry about misremembering the past when I write about it. I’m obsessed with truth and recall things to the best of my recollection. But I know that for every memory I share, someone out there will remember things differently. A Daily Beast article reminds me that I’m right to be obsessive about honesty. Mood music: The article notes how terrifyingly easy it is for therapists and investigators to…  [Read More]

An Anxiety Attack

by Bill Brenner February 11, 2014 Fear and anxiety

Friday afternoon I didn’t feel right. It was as if an anvil had been strapped to my chest. Breathing was labored. My face had that pins-and-needles sensation. I had to use the bathroom a couple times in short sequence. I’m pretty sure it was an anxiety attack. Mood music: I used to get them all the time, and overcoming them has been a central theme of this blog. I’ve largely controlled the attacks with Prozac…  [Read More]

Angry with CVS for Dropping Cigarettes? Smoke Another One

by Bill Brenner February 10, 2014 Uncategorized

When CVS Pharmacy announced it would stop selling tobacco products last week, most people were either supportive or indifferent. Then there were a few suggesting the chain is a loyal foot soldier of the so-called nanny state; telling people what they can and can’t buy. Mood music: Most of the discontent is over at Fox News, where The Real Story host Gretchen Carlson asked her guests, “Is it OK legally … to restrict tobacco availability in a private store like…  [Read More]

Coca-Cola’s “America the Beautiful” Ad and Misplaced Outrage

by Bill Brenner February 6, 2014 Communication Skills

I finally got around to watching the Coca-Cola “America the Beautiful” ad that made so many people angry. So now I ask you: What’s the big deal? I usually avoid debates about immigration and whether people should learn to speak English in order to live here. There’s no winning debates like that. It’s a classic liberal vs. conservative argument. Those who feel strongly one way or the other are set in their views and will…  [Read More]

The Addict Still Has a Responsibility

by Bill Brenner February 5, 2014 Addiction

Mötley Crüe and Sixx AM bassist Nikki Sixx has always been a hero of mine, largely because of the raw honesty he displays when writing about his addictions. Yesterday on his radio show, he discussed the death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman. Mood music: The hardest thing for Sixx to swallow is that Hoffman was clean and sober for more than 20 years before he relapsed. Sixx has been sober since 2001. Before that, he had…  [Read More]

Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Disease of Choice

by Bill Brenner February 4, 2014 Addiction

Some say actor-director Philip Seymour Hoffman doesn’t deserve sympathy. He didn’t have cancer or other diseases people get without choice. He died because he chose to shoot up. It’s the kind of statement you get from folks who have been fortunate not to have suffered from addiction. They may know people who are afflicted, but because they can’t identify with the sufferer, they delve into misconceptions. Mood music: Hoffman was found dead over the weekend from…  [Read More]

Sometimes, a Sex Song Is Just a Sex Song

by Bill Brenner February 3, 2014 Communication Skills

Columnists have gone nuts since Beyoncé and husband Jay Z performed “Drunk in Love” at the Grammys. The song is about them having steamy, drunken sex. Nothing more, nothing less. Yet we can’t help pontificating about what it says of their marriage. Here’s the Grammy Performance: Here’s the official video, which is dirtier: Debate over this song illustrates how we tend to overthink things. Alyssa Rosenberg raved about the powerful case Beyoncé and Jay Z made for marriage in…  [Read More]

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