"One of the tensions that I've encountered when writing a story about people who are in recovery from alcoholism is that they sort of have to be screwing up in order for me to have a story." --Dan Barden
Category: Random
Blame your language for being broke and fat
Does language shape behavior? Here’s the idea: Languages differ in the devices they offer to speakers who want to talk about the future. For some, like Spanish and Greek, you have to tack on a verb ending that explicitly marks future time—so, in Spanish, you would say escribo for the present tense (I write or I’m writing) andescribiré for the … Continue reading Blame your language for being broke and fat
The limits of empiricism
While listening to On Point last week I was struck by an argument on a show that focused on Charles Murray's new book. I have no interest in arguing the merits of his thesis here, but he believes that, for a variety of reasons, America has been dividing by class and he is profoundly concerned about the … Continue reading The limits of empiricism
Dr. Drew accepted pharma money?
Here are the details. No response from him yet.
The monoculture and addiction
The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice. And because we fail to notice that we fail to notice, there is little we can do to change; until we notice how failing to notice shapes our thoughts and deeds. —R. D. Laing I just started reading Monoculture … Continue reading The monoculture and addiction
the root and foundation of many other enormous sins
From England in 1606, An Act For Repressing the Odious and Loathsome Sin of Drunkenness: "Whereas the loathsome and odious sin of drunkenness is of late grown into common use within this Realm, being the root and foundation of many other enormous sins, as a bloodshed, stabbing, murder, swearing, fornication, adultery and such like, to the great … Continue reading the root and foundation of many other enormous sins
Christmas, capitalism and drugs
A nice illustration of how capitalism and drugs can be a toxic combination:
The confines of culture
I recently read a series of great posts that had no direct relationship to addiction or recovery but they got me thinking about the power of culture as a sustaining force in addiction. The series was sparked by a Forbes blogger who wrote a post entitled, If I Were A Poor Black Kid. It inspired … Continue reading The confines of culture
The wager
The passing of Christopher Hitchens caused me to reflect on libertarian thinking about drugs and alcohol. I don't like to get into reading other's minds, but, in spite of all their pragmatic arguments for libertarian drug policies, I've always thought pragmatic considerations were an afterthought and that their motivations were much more philosophical. They bristle … Continue reading The wager
Eleven Steps Forward…
"Humility—the acceptance that being human is good enough—is the embrace of ordinariness." —underlined by David Foster Wallace in his copy of Ernest Kurtz's The Spirituality of Imperfection. (source) People who know me well know that I've been thinking a lot about David Foster Wallace's 2005 commencement speech at Kenyon University. I think it has profound implications for … Continue reading Eleven Steps Forward…
Recovery Review 