Bill Brenner

Godspeed, Barney Gallagher

by Bill Brenner April 12, 2012 Adventures in writing

Update: Barney Gallagher passed away this morning. He was a wonderful man who lived his life in a way we should all learn from. Godspeed, Barney. Like everyone else who has worked at The Eagle-Tribune, my life has been touched by Barney Gallagher, an old-time journalist who reminded us young ones what the profession was about. Mood music: I’ve been informed that Barney is gravely ill. This post is to honor the man and ask that…  [Read More]

Depression Takes Another Life: Ronnie Montrose

by Bill Brenner April 11, 2012 Addiction

Depression has claimed another victim. Published reports confirm that legendary guitarist Ronnie Montrose’s March 3 death was a suicide. Many of you are unfamiliar with him, but his playing left a lasting mark on a lot of mega-star musicians, including Eddie Van Halen, who recorded four studio albums with original Montrose singer Sammy Hagar. Mood music: Montrose’s wife, Leighsa Montrose, described how badly he suffered in an interview with Guitar Player magazine: “Ronnie had a very…  [Read More]

I Pity The Fool — Especially When The Fool Is Me

by Bill Brenner April 10, 2012 Communication Skills

“I don’t know how much more I can take.” I’ve told myself that a million times, as I’m sure you have. We say it in times of desperation, pain and blueness. But here’s an uncomfortable truth — Sometimes we like feeling this way. Mood music: There’s something about feeling bad for oneself that’s so satisfying. Maybe it’s that on some level you’ve made peace with your seemingly miserable existence. It helps us get through a…  [Read More]

Working-Class Hero Syndrome

by Bill Brenner April 9, 2012 Addiction

I’m a sufferer of working-class hero syndrome, a condition that makes me look down on everyone who doesn’t work as hard as me, all while wasting hours on work that proves fruitless. Mood music: My favorite cinematic version of a working-class hero is Quint from the movie JAWS, who relentlessly needles boat mate Hooper for being rich and having a bunch of excess gadgetry to do his job. Of course, Hooper survives while Quint gets…  [Read More]

For Those Who’ve Fought Depression, Mike Wallace Was A Hero

by Bill Brenner April 8, 2012 Depression

CBS newsman Mike Wallace has died at 93. The most amazing thing about the age he lived to is that severe depression nearly cut his life short. Mood music: Wallace has always been a huge journalistic influence for me. He had guts most of us in the business envy. As Morley Safer writes this morning, “He lectured Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, on corruption. He lectured Yassir Arafat on violence. He asked the Ayatollah Khoumeini…  [Read More]

Crude But True

by Bill Brenner April 4, 2012 Addiction

This pic, making the Facebook rounds, is crude. I’ve always hated the “T” word. But the overall message is the truth. McDonald’s is where I binged again and again when my compulsive overeating was at its zenith. But I’ve never blamed the fast-food chain. Buying their food — my heroin — was my choice and responsibility. When you have young children, you have far more control over what they put in their bodies. If you’re…  [Read More]

Don’t Let Anger Blind You To What Really Matters

by Bill Brenner April 4, 2012 Children's issues

The front office at my kids’ school is mad at me and another parent for complaining about something on the school’s Facebook page. I don’t think they saw yesterday’s post in this blog. That would make them angrier still. Mood music: I’ll admit I was angry when my wife told me the principal and office administrator got after her about my behavior. It’s not like I jumped up and down on Facebook yelling obscenities and calling…  [Read More]

MomDay Monday – School Daze

by Bill Brenner April 3, 2012 Children's issues

Please indulge me while I contribute to this pile-on. Personally, I love the school my kids go to. The teachers and support staff are wonderful. I’ve made some of the best friends ever among the parents. I adore the fact that my children are in the same school their mom and aunts attended. And, most importantly, the kids are being infused with a faith that will carry them through all the difficulties that await them…  [Read More]

‘Break On Through’ Is Precisely The Idea

by Bill Brenner April 2, 2012 Communication Skills

When my cousin Faith saw the new OCD Diaries banner I unveiled yesterday, she said she immediately had The Door’s “Break On Through” running through her head. Mood music: My reaction was a satisfied smile, because that was exactly what I was going for when I enlisted another cousin, Andy Robinson — creator of the original banner — to make a new one. When I started this blog, the idea was to come clean about…  [Read More]

New OCD Diaries Banner

by Bill Brenner April 1, 2012 Faith

We’ve been working feverishly on the new OCD Diaries site. Spotify-based mood music? Check. New design and platform? Check. Now, we have a new banner. The idea was to replace the background — which symbolized OCD and addiction, specifically — with something that more accurately captures the broader, darkness vs. light flavor of the blog. Many thanks to Andy Robinson for coming through with a kick-ass design — again. For a look at more of…  [Read More]

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