Owner: Blogga-Looba! URL:http://bloggalooba.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2007 22:46:29 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: A collection of inspiring and often humorous essays and observations about life, parenting, politics, culture and personal growth by an experienced psychotherapist, humorist and stumbling student of life. Site statistics:Click here
Global Climate Change and Child Abuse Dynamics 2007-07-26 08:57:00 As I continue to struggle to come to terms with the emerging global climate crisis I’ve come to realize that many people who argue against the issue engage in a set of denials that I often experience as a psychotherapist when dealing with abuse dynamics. It seems there are three stages of denial a person must work through in order to fully accept responsibility for inappropriate behavior. I think Read more:Global
, Climate
, Change
, Dynamics
, Child Abuse
YouTube Debate vs. Live Earth Concert: 2007-07-25 12:26:00 I watched the CNN/YouTube
Democratic debate earlier this week. While the politicians regurgitated their same old speaking points, I found the format of citizen questions to be refreshing and innovative. I'm looking forward to the Republican YouTube debate in the near future. As always, the most trenchant political analysis of the emerging techno-political culture can be found on comedycentral.com Read more:Debate
, Earth
, Concert
, Live Earth
, Live Earth Concert
Television Turns of Phrase 2007-07-20 23:39:00 I notice certain words and phrases on television that I don't think most people catch. At least my wife is generally oblivious to them while they grate on me like nails on a chalkboard. Here are a few brief examples: 1. Anderson Cooper says "I mean" way too often. For an obviously intelligent man this CNN anchor can sure talk like a high school sophomore sometimes. I'm convinced that his Read more:Television
, Phrase
Mini Van Man 2007-07-18 21:45:00 I have finally entered Minivan Nation. For years we drove only 4-cylinder sedans but it became obvious that my family needed a larger vehicle. After methodically narrowing our choices (including weeks of learning about various options and ferreting out detailed information about exactly what people have been paying nationwide) we finally settled on the Honda Odyssey. It's a nice vehicle. We got
Magic Bullet Infomercial 2007-07-17 21:42:00 One of the small joys of my life is when I stumble across another opportunity to watch the 30 minute infomercial for the Magic
Bullet, the “personal versatile countertop magician”, which I’ve probably seen 50 times. Sometimes I troll the cable channels looking for it, often striking paydirt early Sunday mornings.
For the uninitiated, this fascinating commercial doesn’t just promote the product ( Read more:Infomercial
More Therapeutic Distinctions 2007-06-20 21:30:00 A few weeks ago I wrote an entry entitled Therapeutic Distinctions" which included some thoughts about various important concepts that I find useful to address at different times with some of my psychotherapy clients. I've continued reflecting on this topic and have thought of a few more closely related concepts that I find useful to distinguish. Caring vs. codependent – For many years I hardly
Don Imus and Bunny Foo Foo 2007-04-14 21:12:00 The phrase “politically correct” is a pejorative term used by people who resist the evolution of linguistics toward a greater cultural sensitivity. As a therapist who often helps couples heal damaged relationships, I carefully choose my words to be congruent with the viewpoints of my clients. As a person who promotes a progressive perspective on many contemporary social issues, I support the use Read more:Bunny
Come Together, Right Now, Over Me (And You) 2007-04-03 21:24:00 It's a common human tendency to frame an argument in such a way as to miss a deeper approach to its resolution, such as dividing complex emotional and ethical dilemmas into two mutually exclusive categories. Two common examples are the long-running and tiresome “creationism vs. evolution” debate and much of the public discourse related “global warming.” As so often happens in our "argument Read more:Right
Drawing On The Walls 2007-03-28 21:47:00 In 2004, I sold the house where I had lived for 13 years and moved with my wife and kids into a friendly intown neighborhood. The purchaser of my property was a developer who bought it along with several others on the street in order to level the land and build a tract of townhomes. Since there wasn’t a need to leave the house in a livable condition, I gave both kids magic markers, cans of spray Read more:Walls
3 F's and 3 R's: Consumption Junction 2007-03-15 22:19:00 I realized recently it's been almost twenty years since I became vegetarian. I don’t remember exactly when or even why I stopped eating dead animals -- the decision was partly ethical (how can I eat them if I'm not willing to kill them?), partly health-related, and partly because I just lost the taste for them. The process happened slowly, starting with a gradual phasing out of flesh, then Read more:Consumption
, Junction
Confessions of a Former Hummer Tagger 2007-03-14 21:28:00 It took me almost five years, but I’ve finally used up my supply of bumper stickers that I purchased from an environmental activist group. Their message proclaimed “I’m Changing the Climate – Ask Me How!” and I kept a stash of them in my glove compartment for placing onto the back of behemoth sport utility vehicles such as Grand Cherokees, Armadas, Navigators, Denalis, and Escalades. Working the Read more:Former
, Hummer
Laughing For No Reason 2007-03-10 22:20:00 My daughter and I recently attended our first laughter yoga session. This is a weird and wonderful blending of yogic deep breathing, stretching exercises, and sustained group laughter. The session we attended was facilitated by a wonderfully upbeat and affirming instructor who helped me feel immediately at ease. This was a great relief because I went into the room concerned that I would feel too Read more:Laughing
, Reason
Waking From a Dream Where I Can't Talk: A Progressive's Journey From Darkness 2007-03-08 22:21:00 I feel like I’m undergoing some sort of gradual, weird and ultimately affirming spiritual awakening. This feeling is different from previous times when I’ve felt intimately connected to my Higher Power, that essentially nameless “I Am That I Am” cosmic consciousness that has uplifted me in more times and ways than I can count or even fully know. The feeling I’m currently experiencing has some Read more:Dream
, Progressive
, Journey
, Darkness
Al Gore For President! 2007-03-07 22:23:00 Today is March 7, 2007. This is important for me to note not just because it's my 49th birthday but because my formerly apolitical self would never have imagined what I am about to say, even though I think more people will come to the same conclusion as the months go by. Here it goes: I want the man I'm willing to concede Al Gore might actually be (see below for what I mean by that) to finally Read more:President
Musical Taste Buds 2007-03-03 22:24:00 I love my satellite radio. I love being able to listen nonstop to endless varieties of music without having to endure any insipid commercials. I love the fact that I can listen to very specific genres depnding on my mood at the moment: classic rock, 60’s soul, reggae, folk, bluegrass, jazz, classical, and on and on (French pop hits, anyone?) I love hearing a song I haven’t even thought about in Read more:Musical
He Likes You, He Wants to Fight You! 2007-02-25 22:33:00 I'd be surprised if you recognized that the title of this piece comes from the original Rocky movie. A fight promoter utters the line while convincing Rocky that the world heavyweight boxing champion, Apollo Creed, wants the "Italian Stallion" to enter the ring against him. The quote came to my mind when I was remembering how much I used to enjoy mixing it up in 3-minute sparring rounds.
It
My Cat Says It's Your Fault 2007-02-23 22:34:00 I grew up in dog country. I didn't even know anyone with a cat until I was a high school senior, and I never had one in my life until my first marriage. Since then, sundry kitties have sauntered into and out of my life. The most notable among them has been Cowboy Bob, solid black and full of himself. Here, among other feline tales, is the story of how he lived and died more than once.
Before Read more:Fault
Therapeutic Distinctions 2007-02-19 06:55:00 I’m pretty eclectic in my therapeutic work with clients: different theoretical approaches work best in different situations. Depending on an individual’s personality and needs I may be very directive (“do this”) or simply supportive (“wow, that sucks”). I might spend a lot of time working on how a client interacts with people or primarily focus on intrapsychic processes, i.e. what’s going on
Whatever You Will Do Next, Weep First 2007-02-18 22:36:00 (Originally written February 18, 2007)
This feels like a difficult topic to address, even though I recognize deep inside me that it's both necessary and time to do so. There are lots more light-hearted subjects I'd rather write about, but sometimes what we want to do is not nearly so important as what we're willing to do, so here we go. My goal is to bring tears from deep inside your soul, out Read more:First
They Call Me MISTER Mom! 2007-02-14 20:40:00 After functioning as the sole breadwinner of our household for most of a decade, about five years ago I reduced my counseling practice to part-time and became the primary at-home parent during the week. The reason this dramatic change took place was that my wife began full-time employment at an HIV clinic after earning her masters degree as a nurse practitioner. This shift in roles has become a
Babalooba's Bible Stories 2007-02-12 20:41:00 My recent essay about Jesus and anger has caused me to think about posting some more perspectives on famous Bible passages which make more sense to me than the traditional intepretations. I sure don't think of myself as a Bible scholar or even a traditional Christian as conventional society seems to define that term. And yet I find myself increasingly comfortable sharing my personal version of Read more:Stories
Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired Jesus 2007-02-11 20:43:00 There's an acronym popular in various recovery programs known as "H.A.L.T.", which stands for "hungry, angry, lonely, tired". It warns that basic human needs for sustenance, rest, companionship and emotional balance are crucial to keep from falling into unhealthy behaviors that can leave us with dire, unintended consequences. As I often say, this might be simple but it sure isn't easy. So I was Read more:Hungry
, Lonely
, Jesus
Good Blog, Sam 2007-02-05 20:44:00 Tonight I happened to see my son Lincoln toss a book from his bed to a chair across the room. Without thinking I said "Good throw", to which he immediately replied "Sam." We both laughed and he remarked that he didn't even mean to say the magic phrase, that it just came out of his mouth without thinking. The in-joke here is that around our household variants of the phrase "Good swing, Sam" have
Aquasaur, Thy Name Is Patsy! 2007-02-01 20:45:00 For Christmas my 7 year old daughter wanted an "Aquasaur" kit that she saw advertised in a catalog. In very carefully penned block lettering she beguilingly wrote "May I pretty PLEASE with shugar on top get this for Christmas?" You would no more refuse her innocent longing than I did. And besides, the ad says "With flat heads, three eyes, skeletons on the outside of their bodies, sharp lateral Read more:Patsy
Beating Them Bongos With a Stick 2007-01-29 20:46:00 The title of this piece comes from a children's book called "Those Can-Do Pigs", who could do almost anything worth doing. It contained a memorable line asking if you wanted to see them "play piano with a stick/or beat them bongos with a brick?" The phrase stuck around and took up residence around our household as so many in-jokes and eventual pets tend to do. But this piece is about something Read more:Stick
The Future Creates Its Own Past 2007-07-28 12:12:00 It's universally accepted that the past helps to create, or at least shape, the present. There's a poem by Gerald Manley Hopkins titled "The child is father to the man" that poetically captures the idea that what happens to us in earlier stages of our lives has a profound effect on how we deal with the events and feelings that we experience in the here and now.
This is one of the cornerstones of Read more:Future
, Creates
The 20-60-20 Rule 2007-06-28 21:15:00 I'm not sure where I got the idea for the "20-60-20" rule. A web search came up with several concepts that aren't the same as how I use the term. (Perhaps I didn't dig deep enough down in the results.) What I'm referring to is the idea of a useful ratio for helping to keep in perspective the ebbs and flows of how life seems to be treating us at any particular time.
The basic idea is that 60% of
On Boredom 2007-05-28 21:08:00 The concept of boredom is supposedly a relatively recent development in the history of mankind. According to this idea, humans were historically so focused on toil and survival that to experience what we know as boredom was unfathomable. This theory holds that boredom is a byproduct of our post-industrial age. Like our ability to produce atomic energy, we are unequipped to appropriately dispose Read more:Boredom
The Perfect Babaluba: Heaven's Egg Salad Sandwich 2007-05-05 20:34:00 Warning: this post is all about an egg salad sandwich that has been named after one of my nicknames. This is not Proust, who can turn dipping a pastry into a cup of tea into many pages of transcendent narrative. My tale contains no great meditations, reflection or revelations. Just egg salad.
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It's not easy for a vegetarian to order a sandwich, although a few possibilities exist. Blimpie Read more:Perfect
, Heaven
, Salad
, Sandwich
Why I Love "Little Miss Sunshine" 2007-03-28 22:53:00 It’s very rare for a movie to enter my heart and stay there. Gina is content watching just about any drivel that makes its way to the screen, but most movies bore me. They are either too derivative of past films or so contrived that they leave me restless and preferring to peoplewatch the other members of the audience. But “Little Miss
Sunshine” worked its charms on me immediately and has held Read more:Little Miss Sunshine
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