How to Spot a Dangerous Man

It's superstitiously considered bad form to speak ill of the dead. I say 'superstitiously' because people act like the dead will have their revenge. Maybe it is just that people think it makes the person who does speak ill of the dead look bad themselves. That is true only if by speaking ill they are lying. But when someone dares to speak the truth of the dead, and that truth reflects poorly on the dead, then it is the dead person's fault not the speaker's fault. In case you've missed it there has been a bit of a bruhaha over the obituary for Dolores Aguilar. It first appeared in the Vallejo Times-Herald. It was yanked rather quickly by that paper but not before Aguilar's obit was picked up by the SFist.com, an online newspaper from Aguilar's home town, San Francisco. Then the rumors started to fly about how the obit was a hoax. Both SFist and a journalist from DailyBreeze.com did their research and were able to confirm the obit's authenticit...

I am convinced that part of becoming maturely healthy in heart and mind is learning to be copacetic with being alone. There is a difference between being alone and being lonely. The two are not necessarily the same. Let me wax wordy to try to make this point. I'll likely end up making other points along the way, and with some luck I might even make some good ones. Does this post mean I've come out of hiatus? Unclear. Stay tuned. It was the comments of a reader on an old post that spurred this one...who knows when the next spate of wordiness will strike. Creativity can't be scheduled. Ack. I flatter myself. It is in solitude that we are better able to take a good hard look at ourselves. It also makes a better environment for us to learn to stretch ourselves and grow in ways we haven't yet. Being alone can be used by you as a preparation time for learning to be the kind of person a healthy person would want to be with. Too often we fall back into what is famil...

First, make sure it is in the middle of the day. You're not truly relaxing unless your slacking off on a perfect summer day. Next, find that unmade bed. You know the one...the bed you didn't make because you were relaxing earlier in the day. Stretch out in your favorite position, like this: Okay. This last part is really important. Ignore the idiot with the camera and calmly close your eyes preparatory to the nice long nap you're going to take: Oh, yeah. Dat's it. Floating in the zone. If you did it right you'll look like this an hour later: These helpful de-stressing tips are brought to you by the Narcissist's Suck mascot, Sherbie. If you're lucky he'll grace you with more helpful tips in the future. Just remember: it's all about the naps. Zen, baby, zen. P.S. If you click on the pics they will give you a more life-like representation of this 22 pound ambulatory hair-ball.