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You’re Not A Victim, You’re A Hero
I get extremely tired of listening to people try to paint themselves as victims. It seems like all political parties in this country routinely operate on this identity of victimhood. And if I may say so, it’s pathetic. Have some of us been wronged? Certainly! Some of us have been abused. Some of us have…
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The Anatomy of PEACE: Resolving the Heart of Conflict by The Arbinger Institute
I went into this book knowing nothing about it. As I was putting together my 2025 reading lineup, it happened to catch my eye at a used books store. And having read it, I can say that I’m very fortunate it did. There is a wealth of interesting material in here about the psychology of…
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Testing My Caprice With Bread
I’ve had a bit of an obsession the last few days. I want a bread machine. Or at least, I think I want a bread machine. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time I’ve pondered it. It sure sounds appealing. I could have fresh bread, any time. I could potentially save money by making my…
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Don’t Be A Slave To Fear
Unfortunately, as human beings, we are highly susceptible to fear. Fear plagues us. It probably goes back to our ancestors. Sometimes, being a coward probably helped them to avoid getting eaten, to survive, and to reproduce. I for one, am glad my ancestors weren’t eaten by tigers before reproducing, but I’m not a fan of…
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On Not Being a Tool
It seems like nobody should need to be told this, but sometimes, some people need to hear it: Don’t be a tool. It seems a sad waste of a life to spend it as a cog in someone else’s machine. Are all men not born with an innate purpose? Why should anyone live and die…
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Essentials of Psychology by Kendra Cherry
I read through this in the first half of January and thought I’d share some thoughts. It’s a relatively easy read, and I think I would recommend it, with a few quibbles. My single biggest quibble is the almost obnoxious lack of illustrations and diagrams, even in areas that would be so much better if…
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100 Acts Of Miscellaneous Heroism
I want to share the message that heroism is something everybody can participate in. You don’t need superpowers or riches. You just need the heroic spirit to DO things. To really live. Heroic acts can be mundane, courageous, mischievous, or any number of things. They can be team activities, or they can be entirely internal…
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Maxims I Would Like To Inspire In The Young (At Heart)
As many others do, I look out over our society. I see plenty of things I like, but I also see plenty of things going wrong. I see us not living up to our full potential. I’ve thought about some of the patterns of thinking and conduct that hold us back. The causes of some…
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The Diplomatic Bookshelf 2025
I decided that this year, I wanted to add some structure to my reading, and pick out a set of books to read over the course of the year. A couple of them are ones I’ve had in my tsundoku pile. Others are ones that I think will aid me in my diplomatic mission. 12…
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Manifestations of Fear
We have the word “fear” in the English language. It’s both a verb and a noun. It seems like a simple word, and yet it encompasses many different emotions with many different nuances. Today, I’d like to pick it apart a bit and remark on some of these different manifestations of fear, with both examples…