Crime and punishment

Guilt: The Blessing and the Curse

by Bill Brenner April 7, 2011 Children's issues

Everyone struggles with guilt from time to time. Guilt is good in that feeling it means you have the desire to right a wrong. But when you mix it with OCD, the results are catastrophic. MOOD MUSIC: “Step Outside” by 360s I’ve always had a powerful guilty conscience. For the most part it has served me well. In my moments of anger, hatred, depression and despair, it has kept me from going too far in…  [Read More]

Vince Neil Makes Me Sick

by Bill Brenner March 2, 2011 Addiction

Updated Dec. 20, 2011: Vince Neil suggested in an interview that he might leave Motley Crue next year. Maybe they’ll let John Corabi back in. I always liked the album he did with them… I’m a big Motley Crue fan. Their music helped me process all the anger of my teens and in adulthood Nikki Sixx’s story of sobriety inspired me to take a long, hard look in the mirror. But as I watch a…  [Read More]

More on Kids and Divorce

by Bill Brenner December 22, 2010 Children's issues

Yesterday’s post on children and divorce hit a tender nerve for a lot of you, so I feel a few clarifications are in order. Mood music: http://youtu.be/kJHFaU0lpZ8 Here’s what yesterday’s post WAS NOT: –A rebuke of single parents. I know a lot of single parents who bust their ass and give their children a lot more love than some of the married couples I’ve met in my day. –A plea for people in troubled marriages…  [Read More]

Screwing Your Kids in the Divorce

by Bill Brenner December 21, 2010 Children's issues

When people you know go through a divorce, much is made over who gets what and who loses what. The ex-wife gets the house. The ex-husband gets full custody of the kids. But here’s a constant that’s most upsetting: The kids almost always get the shaft. Mood music: http://youtu.be/gvkvJo2VRJc Parents don’t usually mean for this to happen. They start out determined to shower the children with love and shield them from the ugly stuff as…  [Read More]

Fear and Loathing in the TSA Line

by Bill Brenner November 23, 2010 Communication Skills

It’s rare that I connect the things I write on CSOonline.com with this blog. The two are separate entities dealing with different subjects. But once in a great while, the two intersect. The uproar over the TSA’s more “invasive” security tactics is a good example. Last time the two intersected was over the summer when I got hassled by the U.S. Secret Service (the cops on bikes, specifically). I look at this TSA controversy and…  [Read More]

The Amityville Obsession

by Bill Brenner September 28, 2010 Children's issues

Part of my obsessive-compulsive behavior includes a study of the more morbid pieces of history. The Manson murders is one example. The Amityville murders is another. Lately, I’ve been obsessed with the latter. Mood music: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72rWAe0pUdQ&fs=1&hl=en_US] The match for the fire is a book I just read called “The Night The DeFeos Died” by Ric Osuna. The book goes a long way in crushing the bullshit hoax about the house being haunted. I watched “The…  [Read More]

The Pedophile, Part 2

by Bill Brenner August 5, 2010 Addiction

A childhood-friend-turned-convicted-pedophile was kicked off Facebook a few days ago, much to my relief. But his case makes it uncomfortably clear just how dangerous social networking can be in the hands of an addict — including me. Mood music:  Before I go further, here’s the original blog post I wrote about this guy about a week ago. That’ll give you all the background you need for what follows. After talking to him on the phone,…  [Read More]

The Pedophile

by Bill Brenner July 23, 2010 Addiction

Some people deserve to spend life in a box. But even they have a shot at redemption. As a dad, I have zero tolerance for anyone who hurts a child. So when I discovered someone I’ve known for many years spent a decade behind bars for pedophilia, It was like a knife in the gut. Further complicating matters is that as a recovering addict, I can’t help but feel bad for this guy. But only…  [Read More]

What the hell? My Manson Obsession Resurfaces

by Bill Brenner June 5, 2010 Crime and punishment

Over the years, people have viewed my obsession over the Manson Murders as an oddity. How could I blame them? The murders took the concept of gore and evil to new heights and dealt the hippie counterculture a body blow it never fully recovered from. Some will fight me on that point, but really — the 60s counterculture’s vision was never the same after Aug. 9, 1969. So why am I bringing this up now…  [Read More]

My Personal Ground Zero

by Bill Brenner May 19, 2010 Courage

A walk past Ground Zero takes the author from the darkness to the light. Mood music for this post: “The Engine Driver” by The Decemberists: If ever there was a day when I could relapse my way into McDonald’s to down $40 bags of junk and wash it down with four glasses of wine, this was it. My mood took a deep dive this afternoon. And the source was the last thing I would have…  [Read More]

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