Bill Brenner

The Beatles’ ‘White Album’ and Charles Manson

by Bill Brenner October 22, 2013 Communication Skills

I’ve been listening to The Beatle’s White Album a lot lately. I played it relentlessly in my younger years, admittedly out of curiosity. I had just read Helter Skelter for the first time and wanted to hear the songs Charles Manson used, along with the Bible, to brainwash his followers. Mood music: It’s been several years since I listened to the album; most days I prefer classic heavy metal. But I’m currently reading Manson: The Life and Times of Charles…  [Read More]

The Power of Admitting Ignorance

by Bill Brenner October 21, 2013 Fear and anxiety

I’ve often gone through my career feeling like an impostor. I work with some ridiculously smart people and know many more in my industry. They seem interested in my opinion on things, and I try to deliver. But many times I don’t know the answer. So I sit wondering how the hell I got here. I know people who can bullshit their way through the answer to a question, but I lack that special talent….  [Read More]

Lies in North Andover Teen Drinking Case?

by Bill Brenner October 18, 2013 Uncategorized

I’ve gotten a few messages since writing about Erin Cox, the North Andover High School senior punished by school administrators after driving to a teen drinking party to pick up an intoxicated friend. They suggested that I fell for a fabrication weaved by the girl’s lawyer, that she was in fact drunk and I should be prepared to rewrite my post. Mood music: The feedback I received is that the girl was in fact drinking…  [Read More]

Depression Takes Another Friend

by Bill Brenner October 17, 2013 Depression

Thomas John “TJ” Leduc was a constant companion during my childhood in Revere. I swam in his pool and slept over his house. The first time I was weirded out by the sight and sound of Boy George, it was during one of those sleepovers, when we were eating popcorn and watching Solid Gold, puzzling over the girl on the screen who sounded like a man. Mood music: TJ had a sunny personality that was…  [Read More]

North Andover School Policy Trumps Common Sense

by Bill Brenner October 16, 2013 Communication Skills

Friendships between teens is a tricky thing. Sometimes your friends are up to no good and the right decision is to stay away. Helping friends steal hubcaps off cars or start fires are examples that come to mind. But when a friend drinks too much at a party and has the good sense to call you for a ride instead of choosing to drive drunk, you should help them out, even if the party might…  [Read More]

Binging a Path from Hilltop Steakhouse to Augustine’s

by Bill Brenner October 15, 2013 Compulsive behaviors

Many of my friends and family are sad to hear about the planned closing of Hilltop Steakhouse on Route 1 in Saugus, Mass. I’m not gonna lie: I never understood the affection people had for the dining experience there. I always found the food mediocre at best, particularly in later years. But I did do my share of binging there because it was close by and affordable. And I can’t argue the place’s significance as…  [Read More]

Neuropsychological Testing Sounds Scary, But It Isn’t

by Bill Brenner October 3, 2013 Uncategorized

I’ve told you about our challenges helping our son Duncan manage ADHD. We recently ratcheted up our efforts by getting him neuropsychological testing. When his pediatrician suggested it, I wasn’t particularly happy. It sounded scary. I pictured our boy hooked up to electrodes with his brainwaves being scrutinized on a bank of computers. The experience turned out to be nothing of the sort. He spent three hours with the specialist, who walked him through a bunch…  [Read More]

Getting The Band Back Together (Sort Of)

by Bill Brenner October 2, 2013 Music therapy

As some of you know, I sang in a band called Skeptic Slang in the early 1990s. I’ve also been playing guitar religiously for the past year. A former bandmate has decided to start playing again as well, which can mean only one thing: The band is back together. Mood music: Well, sort of. We don’t plan to go in a studio and record an album, or line up a bunch of gigs. This will…  [Read More]

Hope and Happiness Amid a Government Shutdown

by Bill Brenner October 1, 2013 Fear and anxiety

Forget about the effect the government shutdown has on mental health services; government mental health services suck anyway. Instead, let’s focus on keeping ours head on straight when political horror stories send our fear and anxiety into orbit. Mood music: http://youtu.be/lpRzYEHwnUo I mentioned last week how I used to latch onto world events as if my life depended on it. TV media reports political squabbles as it would report about war: loud graphics, chilling music….  [Read More]

Objects in the Media Are Often Smaller Than They Appear

by Bill Brenner September 25, 2013 Communication Skills

After yesterday’s post on the Washington Navy Yard massacre fueling the stigma around mental illness, I got the usual assortment of feedback after that post published. If you’re for gun control, you told me I was minimizing the reality of gun violence by suggesting more gun control laws will accomplish nothing. Those of you who don’t see this as a gun control issue took me to task for picking on NRA Chief Wayne LaPierre for suggesting…  [Read More]

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