Episode 54 - The Great Unlearning

The horror-show hiccups that ended the last episode, reminding listeners about registering for Vote Forward, the impressive range of the lost dog posters for "Ponyo" in my neighborhood, recounting my brief ownership of a lost dog years ago, my girlfriend's need to see family, exploring the concept of compromise in relationships, the relative values of "fairness" and "happiness," therapy as a means of identifying who you live to please, the similarity between families and cults, and struggling to advocate for my own needs in my relationships.

Music by Disasterpeace.

Episode 51 - No Unnecessary Action

Trouble sleeping, the cognitive dissonance of the James Legge translations of the Chinese Classics, the anxiety of tossing and turning, considering stepping away from therapy for now, not trusting my judgment when it comes to the big decisions in life, the difference between being funny and being smart, getting mired in unnecessary action, living up to an externalized expert's standards, and practicing courage to make the right decisions when they really count.

Music by Disasterpeace.

Episode 37 - Fatal Flaw

Suffering the current heat-wave, ruminating about a recent mis-step with my girlfriend, wrestling with my occasional need to be alone, preferring to be isolated for most of my life, trying to tease out my natural tendencies from maladaptive behaviors, anxiety as a tool to identify areas of your life that need attention, the plot-twist of therapy, learning to trust my own judgment, reconciling myself to the reality of my life currently, reframing my fatal flaws as valid parts of my personality, needing my life to unfold the way it has, and nobody else being able to tell you what work you are here to do.

Music by Disasterpeace.

Episode 34 - Porpal Trauma

My limited capacity for the podcast recently, a vow to never address negative criticism of any kind again in the future,  the human vs. porpoise population and the plot-twist or non-linear trajectory of therapy, the art you consume vs. the art you create, the emotional avoidant aspect of chemical dependence, tensions mounting between neighbors during the shelter in place, the slow aesthetic of Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" vs. the boredom of Tarkovsky's "Solaris," Matthew Barney's use of film as a medium, an outlier in David Lynch's oeuvre ("The Straight Story"), glaring problems in Paul Thomas Anderson's late films, Denis Villeneuve's "Polytechnique," and the scarcity of true friends in life.

Music by Disasterpeace.

Episode 31 - Plot Twist

A circuitous conversation about failing my most recent Chemistry exam, the pain of failing at something you don't even care about, the resiliency required to navigate life, watching yourself do something you know you will regret later, the bias of successful people toward those who aren't, the responsibility of taking control of your life, the privileged class of aspiring creatives, the plot twist of therapy, and qualifying for whatever you want for yourself in this life regardless of how "well" you are.

Music by Disasterpeace.