If we’re going to have the big mental health conversation, there’s something that we need to get out of the way first. It’s a hard conversation. I mean really hard. And I’m not talking about all the baggage that comes with it like the embarrassment, stigma, shame, resentment, and all that. Those are real and…
Last year, I wrote a piece for a friend’s website called “The Conversation Around Mental Health Is Long Overdue – and We’re Screwing It Up“. I said we were making two mistakes. The first was that we are focusing too much on celebrity in this conversation. I talked about Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles in…
I published this piece last year, shortly after the Olympics, on Mentriz.com. I’m not sure what happened, but Mentriz no longer seems to exist. So, I’m reposting it here for the time being. The past year and a half have been seemingly great for mental health advocates. Starting with the onset of the global pandemic…
There’s something I’ve been thinking about lately. It might sound strange to some people, but why isn’t the harmonica a more popular instrument? It’s often seen as a kid’s toy or lame or dorky. People dream of becoming a guitar hero, a pyrotechnic drummer, or a groovy bassist. They fantasize about being a hot DJ,…
I’m not exactly sure why I’m writing this. I think I mostly just feel like arguing about some really low stakes stuff. I’m looking for fun arguments. So, if you respond, please keep it fun. I should also note that this is not an exhaustive list and I’m not going into a lot of detail….
The second Sunday in March is the worst day of the year. It is the day that, here in the US, we switch from standard time to daylight saving time. We won’t go back to standard time until November. The entire eight months is worse than it would be if we didn’t switch, but the…
There is nothing more pointless in this world than televised coverage of the State of the Union address. Nothing surprising will happen. Nothing interesting will be said. No one will learn anything. It’s kind of like Oscar night for politicians, but it doesn’t even have silly little statues and most of the people involved aren’t…
What are the potential consequences of wearing masks a little bit longer than is absolutely necessary? What are the potential consequences of wearing masks for a little less time than is absolutely necessary?
The embedded Tweet is from one of my state’s Senators, Richard Blumenthal. He used to be our state’s Attorney General. He made his name and career fighting against price gauging, rogue polluters, unfair labor practices, corruption, and things like that. Maybe he thinks that’s what he’s doing with this legislation. He would be wrong, but…
There’s this common occurrence where headlines have nothing whatsoever to do with the articles that they top. I’m fascinated by it. There are many ways to write badly but having a severely misleading title should be number one. Normally it is the case where the editor puts their own title on something, often without the…
