Mad Mutterings

2 days ago8 min read

Land of the Free, Home of the Incarcerated

TL; DR: I love my country, but we are not Number One. Western democracy's in trouble right now, but well get through this somehow.

Dec 818 min read

Three Treasured Poems, Hunter Biden's Pardon, & Sundry Life Updates, Thoughts, Memories

Three of my favorite poems about life and death and some updates on what's going on with me, my methadone taper, and the blog.

Dec 21 min read

Made Me Smile

A mom with an 80's name leaves a review for an unusual wedding gift on Etsy...

Nov 176 min read

Turning 36: Main Character Syndrome Officially Over

Help, I've fallen, and I can't get up! Thoughts on my 36th trip around the sun.

Oct 276 min read

Ralph Waldo Emerson Was a Little Unhinged

In praise of my Negativity Rennaissance; my version of Ralph Waldo Emerson's famous definition of success.

Oct 1611 min read

Emma Wants to Live: Choice, Ritual, and Focal Anxiety in Addiction, EDs, and OCD

Reflection on the documentary Emma Wants to Live, which follows 18-year-old Dutch anorexic Emma during her final days.

Sep 111 min read

Community Update - New Article Coming Sunday (9/15)

Community update for the week of September 9, 2024.

Aug 96 min read

Snapshot: Does Anything Ever Really Change?

"In prosperity, our friends know us; in adversity, we know our friends" John Churton Collins

Jul 2518 min read

The More I See, The Less I Know: Three Flawed Models of Addiction

Meditations on what I consider to be the three primary models of addiction: The spiritual, the moral, and the medical.

Jul 2311 min read

We Need a Fellowship in Detox / Withdrawal Medicine

U.S. physicians are in dire need of specialized training in withdrawing patients from physically and psychologically addictive drugs.

Jul 1511 min read

July 2024 Life Updates: A Sick, Sad Summer

My Summer 2024 life updates, including progress on my methadone taper; my fiancé's immigration visa; and my stepfather's terminal cancer.

Jul 715 min read

Red, White, and Bummed-Out Blues: Uneasy Independence Day Reflections on American Politics in 2024 and American Decline in General

Four months from the 2024 presidential elections, as Americans describe themselves as unprecedentedly burnt out on our own politics, why...

Jun 3010 min read

Nietzsche's Eternal Recurrence: What If You Had to Live Your Life Over and Over Again?

A poetic reflection on Nietzsche's concept of eternal recurrence - living your life over and over again, exactly as it is and has been.

Jun 16 min read

Drug Dealer's Sonnet: People Helping People

A Shakespearean sonnet for all of the drug dealers through all of the years. Sorry for blowing you up, homeboys.

May 127 min read

Happy Mother's Day (From an Addict Son to his Long-Suffering Mom)

To the woman who taught me about the Golden Rule and the Rules of Evidence; how to walk the narrow path of righteousness and how to avoid...

Apr 44 min read

International Love in the Time of COVID: Are "Long-Distance Relationships" Oxymoronic?

Some reflections on what a year and a half of involuntary separation due to the COVID pandemic has taught me about my relationship with...

Mar 182 min read

What Shape Is Your Soul?

Thoughts on Japanese horror comic book writer Junji Ito's story The Enigma of Amigara Fault. A panel from the story. Check out the full...

Jan 305 min read

A PSA: Please Stop Using Cluster B Terms; They're Not the Own You Think They Are

Ready to call your ex-whatever borderline, a narcissist, or a sociopath? Think twice. Put simply, the person calling someone a sociopath...

Jan 41 min read

Narco-Karma

Do we deserve the epidemic of addiction that's swallowing the U.S.? Dark thoughts for a dreary day. Beijing hood. I lived around the...

Dec 12, 20234 min read

Why This Atheist Is Headed Back to Church

Why religion might be worthwhile even if God doesn't exist... Dome of St. Sophia Cathedral, Harbin, China – one of a handful of Christian...

It is still a beautiful world.

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