“…I’m leaving’ on a jet plane, Don’t know when I’ll be back again. Oh babe, I hate to go.” -John Denver (but I recall the Peter, Paul & Mary version more) I’ve written a lot about fear, no matter if it’s the allure of fear or conquring fear for various reasons. I even wrote an [Continue]
“When people think of the psychology of excellence, images of outstanding athletic performances often come to mind,” Daniel Gould and Kristen Dieffenbach asserted at the beginning of their article in the Journal of Applied Sports Psychology (Dieffenbach and Gould, 2002). While I would argue the word “often,” I can’t argue that people would think [Continue]
Indy reaches out his hand to take the idol—but wait, he see’s the trap. He hastily fumbles some dust into a pouch, judges the weight and again reaches out. He quickly flips the bag into the place of the idol, which glints in his hand. For a moment, before the boulder rumbles, he [Continue]
“You-you, sir, are playing a dangerous game! Keeping this much raw… ‘Viking-ness’ contained! There will be consequences!” –Hiccup, How to Train Your Dragon The fear was unexpected, but it was the fear which showed me that this moment was different. It hit me while sitting on a park bench at work, speaking to my dietician [Continue]
Blackbirds is a midnight page-turner of a road novel written by the nefarious Chuck Wendig. It will breathe his love of horror, concise, tense prose and savant vulgarity into your brain. Read it. (and click Blackbirds here or above to buy it—but if you read on now, you will find spoilers.) Miriam Black is [Continue]
You, constant reader, know I love flash fiction by now. But, if you don’t know that yet, click on over to the FREE WRITING NOW page and gain both knowledge and free entertainment. Today is a day of flash fiction, once again brought to you by the letter Qwampf and Chuck Wendig’s writing prompt of the week. Click [Continue]
“A vacation…from my problems!” -Bill Murray, What About Bob? Look. I’m starting this article on vacation, because that’s how much I love you. But don’t expect too much, okay? Pfft. I’m on vacation, here. I’ll share with you three of the most important lessons that I’ve learned in life and lived on this vacation. How [Continue]
Happy Anniversary! What?! You forgot?! Yep. This internet version of Lucy’s psychiatric advice booth has been up for two years. It’s been two very fine years and all of my thanks go to you, our ever-growing digital dysfunctional family.* Last year I spent a few articles giving this website a colonoscopy and inviting others to [Continue]
“Surrender: to give oneself up into the power of another…or to give oneself over to something (as an influence).” -Miriam Webster’s Dictionary I mentioned the concept of surrender in last month’s article on my decision to sign into a weight loss center. I began to chew on that concept, and re-realized how important to [Continue]
The words, innocuous—even inviting—leapt off the page and hit me like a viper’s nest in the face. “Meet the Treatment Team,” it read. The paper had been photocopied so many times that the edges of letters were worn and blurred, like windblown hieroglyphics. They set off a Bobby Brady firework explosion in my [Continue]
