A book suggestion I have is The Craving Brain, by Ronald Ruden, M.D. It's a book that goes into detail about the specifics of addiction. For instance, there is much information on dopamine, serotonin, and norephinephrine.
It's a book that takes a compassionate look at addiction and gives some practical tools to help with addiction.
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A good book I'd like to recommend is Happier by Tal Ben-Shahar, PhD. It is a book that looks at subjective well-being (or happiness) from a scientific standpoint.
It's easy to read and a pleasure to read. The author has done much research on the topic and it comes through on every page.
Take care.
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I just read the book The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, by Haruki Murakami. I find his writing to be delightful--easy to read and it conjures up a strong existential milieu.
The book did end quite unexpectedly. I ordered a study guide to help me make better sense of the novel. I think there is deeper themes that I missed.
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I just wanted to post about words and list words that are not used much in writing. I love to read essays or articles where there are many uncommonly used words. Here are some that I have recently come across.
--phalanx
--austerity
--connoisseurship
--craggy
--unpeopled
--fermata
--chthonic
--Svengali
--decant
--flex (noun)
--protean
--procrustean
--wind-pummeled
--behatted
--bespout
--deus ex machina
--greedflation
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I have been reading again about some states loosening child labor laws. As I first started to read these articles, I found it amazing that we as a society could be moving so far backwards.
It just seems like a punch in the gut to progression in our society.
I am reading a number of articles about it now and, hopefully, I can have some opinion pieces published on the topic.
***
I am continuing to read The Wind-Up Bird and I'm greatly enjoying it. It is good escape reading and it's teaching me about how to write fiction.
It is easy to read and has a surreal element to most of the book. I am halfway through the book.
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I'm still reading Haruki Murakami and still enjoying it. He does an amazing job setting the existential tone of his stories. Before you know it, you are escorted into a vertiginous world where everything is off-balance and things are slightly un-real.
It's like our world, but minutely different.
***
I have been reading a book by Haruki Murakami. It's a book I started a year or so ago and kind of forgot about. It was enjoyable the first time, but seeing that the book is about 600 pages, I sort of lost hope of finishing it.
This time I will do my best to finish it. The book is The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. It is, I would say, an existential mystery novel.
He is a unique writer, that Murakami.
***
I thought about what is on my mind and I found it was many things all at once, simultaneously. Which seems the essence of one with ADHD.
The swirling bits and pieces of entities are corraled as best as possible and thoughts are followed through as much as can be.
I felt like writing in a stream-of-consciousness manner. It felt good, in a way.
***
I have been getting back into meditating. That is, I already do it every day, but I periodically try to meditate for longer periods ( 1 to 2 hours). It's not anywhere as difficult as it used to be. In fact, I find it quite relaxing and healing.
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The heat has let up. One can go outside and not burst into flames.
The earth may now be cooler than Hades. We hope.
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I just saw an article that talked about how the roots of country music are not necessarily conservative. It sounds like an interesting article.
I never really thought about it, but it seems like almost every country song has a conservative bent. Not all, but nearly all.
Why is that?
***
It seems like people in most of the U.S. are only talking about one thing--the heat, the dreadful heat. In society, most of us are implicated in most of society's ills. Though, with climate change, I see many conservatives at fault.
Many Republicans have paid little to no attention to the warnings about climate change. But even worse is many in the fossil-fuel industry who try to cloud the scientific data so their profits can continue unmitigated.
Indeed, we all pay.
***
Former president Drumpf (the Trump family's earlier name), I read, is considering trying to put the blame on some of his former attorneys for the January 6th uprising. I've got to say that Trump, no matter his age or what he's been through, does have an indefatigable spirit. It's just a big shame that that energy and creativity is used solely for his and his family's gain.
Also a shame is the amount of pain it inflicts on other people--sometimes called "collateral damage." But that's just a euphemism. And I think many of the people who support Trump, deep down, realize that.
***
I may have written about this before--the topic of probiotics. In any case I have taken probiotic supplements for a few years (fairly consistently), but over the past 5 weeks I have taken them every day and have usually taken probiotics in a food form (yogurt, kefir).
I have noticed that I do feel more energetic and more alert. I will post more on this in the future.
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In an earlier post, I mentioned I was reading The Marriage Clinic by John Gottman, PhD. It's a good book but not an easy book. So the reading is slow going.
But I will perservere.
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The temperatures here in the Greater New Orleans area have been comparable to Hades, though, I think, we have more humidity. Even the home A/C cannot keep pace with the rising mercury.
To me, it's global warming making its presence known. Scientists have been telling us for a few decades about global warming.
Now nature is telling us.
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I think reading the Gottman book I mentioned in an earlier post is going to take a lot longer than first thought. It's a big book and I'm reading it slowly and carefully.
It seems to be paying off. I will keep you posted.
***
I just came across some articles that talked about what is called The Terror Management Theory. This theory tries to explain how former president Trump could still be held in such high regard by his devotees even though he is being indicted on some very damning charges.
The theory argues that when people are made to think of their own deaths they become much more open to authoritarian leaders who offer certainty and clear answers.
I hope to say more about this theory as I read more about it.
***
John Gottman knows his stuff. That is, he knows about couples and their relationships. I am reading his book, The Marriage Clinic, and am coming away with a wealth of knowledge, and some nuggets of wisdom.
And, with relationships, solid knowledge and bits of wisdom are much to be thankful for. I say that because there is a lot of information out there on relationships, but it is usually presented as all of equal value.
It's not. Most of it isn't backed by empirical evidence. But Gottman stresses the empirical.
***
Maybe I'm a nihilist, but I sense in my hot bones (because of the extreme heat in the New Orleans area) that this weather will yield an intense payback. That is, it seems like the lack of rain and the intense heat continue to not bode well for the intensity of storms.
I've said that for years, and the storms do seem more intense. Indeed, you can feel it in the air.
***
I was just reading some flash fiction and thinking about writing some. I have written some and found it rewarding. Though, what I wrote might be better called "microfiction" or "hint fiction." These terms represent fiction that is extremely short--maybe 50 words of less.
Flash fiction seems to capture the periodic absurdity of life.
***
I just wanted to post, but I have nothing to say (some would say that sums up a lot of my previous posts).
One thought, though, did come to mind. Clarence Thomas. One would think because of recent disclosures, that his days on the Supreme Court are numbered. But the powers that be will not go gently into that night.
But we will see.
***
Trump's Judgement Day seems to be within our ken. There will many--and mighty--gesticulations on the former president's part (especially through his highly-paid legal proxies).
But, ultimately, they will be a tale told by an idiot, signifying, well...nothing.
The _____________ (fill in the blank--Revolution, D-Day, Judgement Day) will be televised.
***
This school shooting took place in Nashville. It was committed by a woman in her mid-20s who had once been a student at the school.
I sense--and have sensed--the clock is running out for the NRA and its henchmen (and henchwomen). The time draweth nigh (as they said in olden times).
***
It seems like Trump will soon get what is coming to him (at least the preliminary part). He has said he expects to get arrested early next week.
Of course he is calling on his supporters to take to the streets and bellow his innocence. I don't think much of that will happen. Many of his supporters have forgotten about his pie-in-the-sky promises. They are probably watching videos of Ron DeSantis trying to backpeddle out of ever supporting Trump.
The whole spectacle will be interesting.
***
I'm not sure if I have written about "adaptogens" before. What these are are herbs that help the body better deal with stress (plus they do a lot of other things).
I started taking some about 10 days ago. It no doubt has made a difference in my ability to handle stress. I plan to say more about these herbs in upcoming posts.
***
I would like to pass on a great article from The New York Times. The name of the article is "Alone and Exploited, Migrant Children Work Brutal Jobs Across the U.S."
It is eye-opening. Yet, it brings home the well-worn notion that greed will make some of us treat humans--even children--as animals.
***
I was amazed to read about Mr. Musk's recent behavior.That is, where he fired 30 workers the day after a union drive announcement.
These Tesla workers in Buffalo, though, have filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board "accusing the electric carmaker of firing at least 30 workers in response to their union organizing efforts" (nbcnews.com).
Musk, we must admit, does not like unions. It seems he will do whatever it takes to demolish them.
Maybe, just maybe, they may in turn, demolish him.
***
I have been reading some interesting material on climate change and worker safety. Over the last decade or so over 300 people in the US have died from heat while working outside. And there are presently no laws that employers have to abide by to mitigate this.
Hopefully, under the Biden administration that will change. In any case, the chances of the law changing for the better under Pres. Biden is much greater than under the former president.
***
I have been reading and thinking about unions lately.I am just plain surprised that there are not talked about more and pined for more. What they can do for workers are priceless.
I will definitely talk more about unions in future posts. And I will be reading, thinking about, and writing about unions a whole lot. And why not? They are extremely important, though, society seems to portray a different view.
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I am surprised at how much the news contains certain elements almost every day. One element is how much power the wealthy have over society. I read today an article in The New York Times about how the Nat. Restaurant Association, in certain large states, mandates that restaurant workers take an intro class on food safety. The worker usually pays for the training themselves.
The ironic thing is the money for the trainings goes toward the Nat. Rest. Association's lobbying budget. And one of the things the association lobbies for is to keep the federal minimum wage what it is.So the workers are paying money, in part, to fight for things against their best interests.
Indeed, another example of the wealthy/powerful rigging the system.
***
An excellent book I'd like to recommend is The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want, by Sonja Lyubomirsky, PhD.
The book is a clearly written, yet science-backed book on how to obtain more happiness in your life. The book, to me, is one of the few self-help books that is actually backed by tons of scientific studies.
It could, all hype aside, change a person's life in a major way.
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