Mental health

#LulzSec Lesson: Narcissism Will Get You Every Time

by Bill Brenner March 6, 2012 Communication Skills

In my job as an information security scribe, I find case studies in mental distortion almost daily. Today’s news about LulzSec’s ringleader is no exception. Mood music: This morning we’re following the story of how leaders of the hacker group LulzSec  were rounded up this morning, with law enforcement acting on information apparently supplied by the group’s alleged leader — Hector Xavier Monsegur, nickname “Sabu.” What strikes me is how much this guy appears to have craved attention….  [Read More]

Beyond Boing Boing: Xeni Jardin Inspires Me

by Bill Brenner March 5, 2012 Courage

I’m a long-time reader of the Boing Boing site and have always been particularly fond of the work of editor Xeni Jardin. Her openness in talking about her breast cancer makes me appreciate her all the more. Jardin’s greatest strength as a writer has always been her ability to focus on the human side of technology, and she was doing just that in early December when she live tweeted her first mammogram. She poked fun at…  [Read More]

Recognizing Cries For Help In Your Friends’ Online Posts

by Bill Brenner February 29, 2012 Children's issues

For all the drama and groan-inducing crap we see on social media every day, there is a very redeeming quality in the social networking site. Mood music: It’s a good early-warning system for identifying friends in need. I’m not revealing anything you don’t know, but a New York Times article my wife sent me really drives the point home. Written by Times reporter Jan Hoffman, the article points out, among other things: For adolescents, Facebook and…  [Read More]

The Most Important Book Ever Written About Sharon Tate And The Manson Murders

by Bill Brenner February 25, 2012 Addiction

I’m reading a book called “Restless Souls: The Sharon Tate Family’s Account of Stardom, the Manson Murders, and a Crusade for Justice,” written by Tate family friend Alisa Statman and Brie Tate, niece of Sharon Tate. It may well be the most important book written on the Manson case. Mood music: The simple reason is that it captures a family’s grief and struggle to move on — something all our families have dealt with in various forms. I’ve…  [Read More]

The Right Drugs Will Set Her Straight

by Bill Brenner February 21, 2012 Addiction

Here’s an advertisement that pushes a lot of different thoughts into one’s mind. Mood music: A friend shared it on Facebook recently: In case you can’t see the wording of this 1967 masterpiece, the high point is this: Beset by the seemingly insurmountable problems of raising a young family, and confined to the home most of the time, her symptons reflect a sense of inadequacy and isolation. …Serax (oxazepam) cannot change her environment, of course….  [Read More]

Chain Smoking In Bickford’s Was The Best

by Bill Brenner February 17, 2012 Addiction

Though I no longer smoke or eat the kind of food they served, I’m feeling nostalgic about the days of old when you could sit in any of the dim, dank coffee shops in the local Bickford’s chain for hours, hanging out, chain smoking and drinking those awful, bottomless cups of black coffee. I blame The Doors for this trip down memory lane. I’ve been listening to their first album this morning and when “Soul…  [Read More]

In Marriage, Communication Gets Tougher As You Get Older

by Bill Brenner February 16, 2012 Communication Skills

I’ve never been good at the Valentine’s Day thing. Maybe I’m fulfilling the male stereotype, or maybe it’s because I feel more pressure to express myself. I do fine with written words. In person is another thing. When the holiday passed I Iet out a big exhale. Mood music: The fact of the matter is that I have a lot of love in my heart right now. I don’t need a holiday to feel it, though Valentine’s…  [Read More]

I Bet Health Insurers Would Gladly Cover Suicide Pills

by Bill Brenner February 13, 2012 Depression

The Catholic Church is bringing out its heavy artillery to fight a Massachusetts ballot initiative that, if passed, would allow doctors to prescribe lethal pills to terminally-ill patients that want to be put out of their misery. I’m with the church on this one. Mood music: Boston Globe columnist Scot Lehigh describes this quite nicely: An initiative petition to legalize physician-assisted suicide has been certified by Attorney General Martha Coakley. If backers collect enough signatures, and…  [Read More]

RIP: Whitney Houston

by Bill Brenner February 12, 2012 Addiction

As a rocker kid in the 1980s and 90s, I never really liked Whitney Houston. I always respected her talent and she seemed like a decent person, but that was it. Mood music: Whitney at her best… http://youtu.be/5jeUINzHK9o But I had kept track of reports in recent years about the drug use, the family dysfunction and the fall from musical grace, and it always made me sad. Everyone has a demon or 10 to fight….  [Read More]

Sorry, But You’re Wrong

by Bill Brenner February 9, 2012 Adventures in writing

I got a lot of response to yesterday’s post about possibly killing this blog (Thanks for all the support!). Everyone asked that I continue, but supported my idea of expanding the topics. I still have decisions to make, but y’all gave me some great ideas on how to take this forward. I did get one message to the contrary, though. And because I disagree with the writer’s point, I’m going to share it with you….  [Read More]

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