Bill Brenner

From Beyonce To The Tragic Manipulation Of Milli Vanilli

by Bill Brenner January 23, 2013 Mental health

Revelations that Beyonce Knowles lip-synched “The Star Spangled Banner” at the inauguration this week remind me of how shallow people can be. Shallow in their expectations of others. Shallow in their need to rip others apart instead of putting themselves back together. Mood music: [spotify:track:4xP6YtLiFJpRUrKwqDPXka] I’ve always found it silly how people explode when a performer is caught lip-synching. We have this idealistic picture of how musicians should carry on when they perform in front of…  [Read More]

The Snow Day Has Been Cancelled

by Bill Brenner January 22, 2013 Coping tools

Weather forecasters said we’d get a lot of snow, but only a dusting fell around here. School is on after all, and the kids will surely be disappointed. It goes to show that sometimes life doesn’t work out as planned. Mood music: [spotify:track:4wLjdZD9khhahbzhb3RxtJ] As a man with OCD, I’ve learned this lesson the hard way. When you have a brain that never stops thinking, you tend to expect certain things out of your day. When…  [Read More]

Friends Of The Gifted Need To Learn Suicide Intervention Tactics

by Bill Brenner January 17, 2013 Depression

One thing I’ve learned over the years: Some super-smart, super-gifted, ahead-of-their-time people often battle with depression and eventually lose their war. So it was for my best friend who took his life 16 years ago. So it has been for far too many of my industry peers. Mood music: I’m thinking of them and for those who continue to struggle with depression daily. I’m grateful, particularly in my industry, for those who have stepped up…  [Read More]

When Conspiracy Theorists Become Bullies

by Bill Brenner January 16, 2013 Political discourse

Conspiracy theorists usually don’t bother me. Hell, I even subscribe to the notion that Lee Harvey Oswald had help assassinating JFK. But a new breed of conspiracy theorist has emerged in recent years. They make threats and act like the schoolyard bully, and they make my skin crawl. Mood music: [spotify:track:0JhAglbb3Ca9Cp2OflPKPi] The clowns who argued that 9/11 was an inside job are one example, though to my knowledge they never actually threatened anyone. Now there’s…  [Read More]

I Was Wrong About Lance Armstrong

by Bill Brenner January 15, 2013 Lessons from the past

A few months ago I wrote a post called “Lance Armstrong Was Robbed,” in which I opined that he didn’t deserve to be stripped of his seven Tour de France titles. I’m back to tell you I was wrong. Like most Americans, I’m a sucker for stories about people who overcome serious adversity to achieve great things. Those stories have given me the extra push I needed over the years to bring my own demons to…  [Read More]

Aaron Swartz and How to Deal With Suicide

by Bill Brenner January 14, 2013 Grief management

I read many articles this weekend about the suicide of Internet prodigy and activist Aaron Swartz. Most were about how we should view his legacy in the face of charges that he used MIT’s computers to gain illegal access to millions of scholarly papers kept by JSTOR, a subscription-only service for distributing scientific and literary journals. Mood music: [spotify:track:2UaBnTuNF4pSBHZDRhzvMy] Some call Swartz a hero who stood up for Internet freedoms. Others point out that he…  [Read More]

Why Do Americans Die Sooner?

by Bill Brenner January 11, 2013 Medicine

CNN reports that despite spending more per person on healthcare than any other country, Americans are getting sicker and dying younger than our international peers. Why is this? Because Americans are too high strung and overworked. You could say the stress is killing us. Mood music, ironically sung by a couple of Brits: [spotify:track:45Zo6ftGzq6wRckCUrMoBJ] Here’s the takeaway from CNN: Data from 2007 show Americans’ life expectancy is 3.7 years shorter for men and 5.2 years…  [Read More]

Comparing Politicians to Hitler Is Stupid

by Bill Brenner January 10, 2013 Political discourse

The debate over firearms is bringing out extreme levels of stupidity in people. Right-wingers who think gun control means taking away everyone’s right to bear arms are comparing President Obama to Adolf Hitler. Left-wingers did the same to President Bush over his war policies. It’s the lowest common denominator; the dumbest of the dumb. Mood music: [spotify:track:4AlIvHv7kHmhi8aDvn2ctK] On the Drudge Report, Obama’s picture was lumped in with images of Hitler and Soviet dictator Josef Stalin…  [Read More]

Two-Alarm Fire at My High School

by Bill Brenner January 9, 2013 The stormy past

There was a two-alarm fire last night at Northeast Metro Tech, the place where I attended high school. Back in my day, it was called Northeast Regional Vocational High School or, as most of us called it, the Voke. Mood music: [spotify:track:0oO29Ht2H9AiENqRsq3zIT] I have good and bad memories of the place. It’s where I: Grew my hair long and cemented my love affair with metal music. Truly started to understand, for the first time, that I…  [Read More]

Stop Whining and Learn From Your Pain

by Bill Brenner January 8, 2013 Communication Skills

In my early 20s, I adored the Pretty Hate Machine and Broken albums from Nine Inch Nails. I still listen to them on occasion, but for the most part I grew tired of them because all Trent Reznor’s screaming about pain, loneliness, depression and rage got old. He never told us how to go from hopelessness to wisdom and personal growth. Mood music: [spotify:track:5ttpMaPCxRceWlR1kziBDZ] That’s how Kerry Cohen, an author I’ve come to admire, feels about Elizabeth…  [Read More]

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