Bill Brenner

Worth Your Time

by Bill Brenner March 20, 2013 Mental health

I’ve written about my battles with mental illness at length here, but to fully understand how this beast works you have to see other points of view. Concord Monitor reporter Annmarie Timmins offers some powerful testimony in a piece she wrote as part of a larger series on mental illness.  Read it. All of it. Below: Monitor reporter Annmarie Timmins is reflected in the mirror at her gym in Concord.  (ANDREA MORALES / Monitor staff)

Satan’s Tic Tacs

by Bill Brenner March 20, 2013 Uncategorized

I’m Bill Brenner and I approved this message… Why, you ask? Read the following: The Bad Pill Kept Me From The Good Pill The Migraine What’s Crohn’s Disease Got to do With it? A Boy’s Life on Prednisone: A Class Photo History A Link Between Prednisone, Mental Illness    

Five Takeaways from Steubenville Rape Case

by Bill Brenner March 18, 2013 Crime and punishment

After taking in some of the outrage among friends over the seemingly sympathetic coverage CNN gave to two Steubenville, Ohio, teens convicted of raping a young girl, I decided to watch the specific report that generated all the fuss. Mood music: [spotify:track:4NOsHwVqjELCPWiY72bao5] People are often conflicted over stories like this because the convicted are two kids who did what a lot of kids are capable of doing when they had too much booze. Reporters seemed heartbroken…  [Read More]

Don’t Let Your Anxiety Inhibit Your Children

by Bill Brenner March 15, 2013 Guest posts

The following is a guest post from Jessica Lavery Pozerski, a friend from the information security industry. She was most recently PR manager for security vendor Sophos, and is about to take on a new role handling PR for Vericode. She hails from Billerica, Mass. Anxiety is something I’ve always suffered with. Even as a child I would become get nervous about a test or walking to school, seemingly out of nowhere. This isn’t normal…  [Read More]

Will the Catholic Church Lighten Up Under Pope Francis?

by Bill Brenner March 14, 2013 Faith

After the world got its first gander at Pope Francis yesterday, the inevitable “Lighten up, Francis” jokes started flying. But there’s more than a cheap joke in all this. The question of whether the Church will lighten up under Pope Francis is a legitimate one. Mood music: [spotify:track:7GCBUUTGCGYKwx0kpVay60] I’m a devout Catholic, which is to say I follow Jesus and believe he’s my savior. But I’ve often turned my nose up at the Vatican bureaucracy and…  [Read More]

Cannibal Cop’s Morbid Fantasy Crossed the Line

by Bill Brenner March 13, 2013 Compulsive behaviors

The New York Times published a story about the conviction of Gilberto Valle, a police officer who apparently plotted to kidnap, torture and eat several women. He never actually abducted or killed anyone. It was mostly talk in seedy online chat rooms. Which begs the question: Should a person be tried and jailed for dark thoughts that percolate in the mind? Mood music: [spotify:track:54YmspVxT9aeIxQ7YvG9Or] Valle’s trial highlighted some of the darkest corners of cyberspace, where, as the NYT noted, “fetishists hide behind…  [Read More]

RIP, Renee Pelletier Costa

by Bill Brenner March 12, 2013 Courage

This morning I received the sad news that Renee Pelletier Costa passed away after a long and courageous battle against cancer. Mood music: [spotify:track:3UjJmliWxuobgMSdX5bN3R] Updates:  Renee’s memorial service will be held Saturday, March 23, 1:30 at Faith Lutheran Church, 360 South Main St., Andover MA 01810 In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the: Renee L. Costa Memorial Fund, account #8371787589 Care of: TD Bank 280 Main Street Groveland, MA 01834 or any local TD…  [Read More]

The Real Problem With Bloomberg’s Soda Ban

by Bill Brenner March 12, 2013 Political discourse

A state judge has struck down New York City’s large-soda ban, which was set to take effect today. Judge Milton Tingling of the New York Supreme Court called Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s public health measure “arbitrary and capricious.” I agree, though not necessarily for the same reasons. Here’s what I jotted down last year, when Bloomberg first announced the ban. It’s my perspective as a recovering binge eater… NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg has generated lots of noise…  [Read More]

My Revere Attitude

by Bill Brenner March 12, 2013 The stormy past

I could tell you I’m a real bad-ass because I grew up in Revere, Mass. But that would be a lie. Since I’ve reconnected with quite a few of my old Revere neighbors of late, it seems appropriate that I feature some of the blog posts that focus on my Point-of-Pines childhood. Mood music: [spotify:track:52WD5z0tEbVr3NCk9JJJu2] THE LOST GENERATION OF REVERE: Some say my generation of Revere kids was cursed. AND THE SEA WILL SAVE YOU: The…  [Read More]

Don’t Mistake Remission for a Cure

by Bill Brenner March 8, 2013 Crohn's Disease

As someone who suffered badly from Crohn’s Disease as a kid and still deals with the effects today, I find the story of Ari Meisel inspiring. The NYC resident tells Fox News that he found a way to beat the disease, which is considered incurable. Mood music: [spotify:track:5yH11HAtcLVaZ63t8HPlBR] A friend sent me the article and asked what I thought of it. The headline thrilled me: “Curing Crohn’s? Man says he found way to beat incurable disease.”…  [Read More]

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