June 12th, 2023 Mark O'Brien
In the Friendship Bench conversation that took place on Thursday, June 1st, JoAnna Baanana and Kamla Dasrath facilitated an engaging discussion of astrology. During the session, Roger Martin asked how it was that the placement of the sun, the moon, and other celestial bodies at the moments of our births could influence the human beings […]
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June 9th, 2023 Marc Joseph
My wife and I many times look at each other and say, “Why can’t I remember her name, or where actually did I put down my phone”. Memory loss is a common concern among seniors, and we are always looking for ways to improve our cognitive function and somehow enhance our memory. While some degree […]
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May 29th, 2023 Marc Joseph
Every month of the year has pet awareness events. For instance, June is National Adopt a cat month, it is National Zoo and Aquarium Month, and National pet preparedness month. June also has National hug your cat day, International Corgi Day, World Pet Memorial Day, National take your cat to work day, Ugliest dog day […]
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May 29th, 2023 Mark O'Brien
As I’ve written previously, I have a very difficult time separating hate from ignorance. I take hate to be a subset or a symptom of ignorance. Ignorance can scale, of course. It can be as small as one Hibernophobe burning down my house. It can be as large as one power-mongering lunatic attempting to create […]
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May 29th, 2023 Mark O'Brien
Author’s Note: As I was creating the video that appears at the end of this post, I was recalling a piece I’d written some years ago, inspired by something I’d witnessed in a gym. Thanks to a portable floppy-disc drive and my pack-rat compulsion to hang on to my old floppy discs, I was able […]
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May 22nd, 2023 Mark O'Brien
After seeing the phrase, toxic narcissism, for about the two-millionth time, I did a search on signs of a narcissist. Since the browser I use is Brave, and since Brave doesn’t use Google, I don’t know how many hits I got. But I did learn this: Depending on the source you choose, there are between […]
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May 18th, 2023 Marc Joseph
Baby Boomers think that we are the best generation to come along in this great country of ours. We have been running the government for the last 6 years and look at the chaos we have created. Our children are dying in record numbers from this opioid overdose epidemic and what have we done to […]
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May 15th, 2023 Mark O'Brien
Notwithstanding the myriad of political diatribes I occasionally author in this column, it isn’t my intent to comment on politics particularly or exclusively. Politics is part of a larger discourse — even an inseparable part — but it is no more than a part. Because of my curiosity about all things behavioral and linguistic (and […]
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May 3rd, 2023 Marc Joseph
In today’s world of instant information, uncertainty, cruelty, and differences in ideas, what is the true role of parents? Obviously, parents provide their children with food, clothing, and a place to live. They also are to provide financial support, medical care, and the opportunity to receive an education. And they are to protect their children […]
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April 27th, 2023 Mark O'Brien
Don’t look now, kids. But it just got okay to be real people. Yes! Psychology Today published an existentially affirming article entitled, “Quit Feeling Guilty About Not Being Present”. Think of it! This may be all the reassurance you need about the fact that, as a human being, you’re blessed with a memory and the […]
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