Sometimes I hate not thinking in words. Usually it’s a superpower. But right now I’m struggling to explain something that I see as…gestalt is the best word I can come up with. Stayed up all last night trying to find the words. Sometimes words would bubble up and I can explain a piece of it, … [Read more…]
Saw an ad offering “No Bulls**t” self defense training. That’s laudable. That’s the goal. For that matter “No bullshit” should be a goal for training and talking and thinking and living. But it’s not that simple. The no-bullshit life is a goal, but if you ever think for one second that you’ve achieved it, you’ve … [Read more…]
I’m a big believer in ‘Use your words.’ Starting with if someone is fuckin’ furious with how words have been used to hurt and abuse them, it’s probably a good idea to stop using those same words — especially if the guy is about to shoot you in the face. Perhaps a different choice of … [Read more…]
From what I see on my Facebook feed, there is a huge uptick people expressing their feelings of contempt. Prior to the election, my image of a person expressing contempt was that of a teenager displaying her (or his) lack of interest in an activity with the facial expression of “that’s stupid” written all over … [Read more…]
Are you interested in making America strong? Here are my thoughts on how you can help do it. Making a strong America requires having more strong Americans. What does it mean to be a strong American? It means to be a strong person. What does it mean to be a strong person? Being a … [Read more…]
There’s something I’ve written about, thresholds, and it’s not quite right. Experience with violence rewires you. The person who has survived a violent encounter is not the same person as they were before the violent encounter. Five encounters later, there’s another definite change. Then another and another and another. Six discrete stages is as … [Read more…]
I teach ‘self-defense.’ As such I can tell you locus of control is the elephant in the room. Which is kind of funny because everyone is arguing over the elephant poop problem, but denying there’s an elephant standing there. If I may beg your indulgence I’d like you to do two actions. First, hold … [Read more…]
Part of my study of history was what was required to survive. Not in the fighting sense, but everyday requirements, limitations and getting what you need to survive. (For example, there’s a great scene in “Deadwood,” where someone rides up to the Doctor’s home and Doc’s outside spitting firewood. It doesn’t matter that he’s educated, … [Read more…]
Working on a model. A lot of things have puzzled me for the last several years, especially things that look, to me, like people fighting against their own self-interest; people blind to the disconnect between their own peaceful words and violent actions; people arguing and even rioting against their own civil rights (WTF, people?); … [Read more…]
There’s a lot happening in the world right now. More than you know, but probably less than you fear. Take a breath. Tension, fear and anger all make you stupid. And the resultant stupidity is a tool for someone else. Don’t be a tool. People learn through story. News outlets make money through advertising. People … [Read more…]