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Community Is All of Us
I have a confession that I think we can all make: There have been times that I have taken community for granted. I have thought of it as simply something that’s “there”, that somebody else takes care of. But that’s wrong. Community is a living thing that we all have a place in. There are…
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Dependability And Mea Culpas
I strive to be dependable, both to others and to myself. For others, I think I have a pretty sterling record. For myself, not as much. Back in 2024, I wrote this article about dependability and why it’s important. I also stated there that one of my goals was writing an article a week. Whelp,…
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Normal Is Just A Word
We have this odd tendency to think that being normal is a good thing, and being weird is a bad thing. If you think about it, deep down we’re all pretty weird, and it’s impossible to define normal anyway. Being weird or unusual isn’t a sin. It’s not even a flaw. If God had intended…
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100% AI-Free
I feel like a lot of people are getting sick of looking for things online, and having their time wasted by sites filled with AI-generated garbage. If you think of your time as one of the most precious things you have, having somebody waste it is frustrating, at best. I’m predicting there will be more…
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What It Really Takes To Oppose Political Violence
In the shadows of yet another recent act of political violence, there are numerous calls for self-examination and, naturally, finger-pointing. Unfortunately, by my figuring, plenty of the people making these calls and accusations have themselves contributed to a culture of political violence. I think it’s beyond time to come to terms with what it really…
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The Inner Hero vs. The Inner Loser
Sometimes I feel like, within us, we have an inner hero and an inner loser. They fight for our actions. Sometimes we do what the hero tells us, but sometimes we blow it and follow the loser. Like, let’s say you’re on a diet, staying away from sweets after supper. The loser tempts you to…
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A Sign of Language Progress
As I was studying my Russian, I came across a familiar experience I haven’t felt since I was immersed in Japanese studies. I thought it’d be cool to share it here, since I’m sure numerous language scholars can relate. I was looking at a Bible passage, Mathew 5:40, in Russian: “Е́сли кто захо́чет с тобо́й…
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Where Have You Been Man?
I haven’t posted anything in a while, it’s true. We superheroes, much like everyone else, often get sidetracked by life. However, I feel obligated to at least give some idea of the things I’ve been up to, exciting and mundane. I’ve made it a point this Spring of fixing up things around the Fortress of…
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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…