circle of concern | Hollings Therapy

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What Dies, Kids? Everything, and That’s No Hokum.

[DISCLAIMER] *Hokum (2026) spoilers contained herein. Photo credit, property of Image Nation Abu Dhabi, Neon, et al., fair use I recently watched the supernatural horror film Hokum (2026). Succinctly summarizing the plot, one source states, “A horror writer visits an Irish inn to scatter his parents’ ashes, unaware the property is said to be haunted by a witch.” Before I continue any further, I’ll note that this was my first time seeing Irish actor Florence Ordesh in a

Deric Hollings

7 days ago19 min read

What Song You Gonna Play When the Hearses Bump?

[DISCLAIMER] On the 2014 album The Tortoise and the Crow, by talented hip hop producers and lyricists The Grouch and Eligh, is the melodic track “So Complicated”. Noteworthy, I stated in a blogpost entitled Complex Systems vs. Complicated Systems: The term “complex” relates to a group of obviously related units of which the degree and nature of the relationship is imperfectly known. As an example, my cellphone is a complex system of components. Also, the American Psycholo

Hip Hop and REBT

Deric Hollings

Jun 57 min read

I Don't Care: Ambivalence vs. Apathy

[DISCLAIMER] Realizing that the Electronic Daisy Carnival (EDC) recently took place in its home of Las Vegas, Nevada, I took to YouTube so that I could watch and listen to DJ sets from the largest electronic dance music (EDM) festival in North America, as I saw one of my favorite modern DJs perform. During his DJ set, French EDM producer and DJ going by the name of I Hate Models spun the track “4 by 4 Beats (I Don’t Care)” by Belgian EDM producer and DJ going by the name

EDM and REBT

Deric Hollings

Jun 317 min read

It Is What It Is

[DISCLAIMER] “Son,” my dad told me when I was a child, “I don’t know why I brought children into this world when it’s so wicked [morally very bad; evil],” per 1 John 5:19. He went on to explain that anyone with knowledge of the Bible would do well to reconsider the desire to have kids. This was a revelation to me, as my dad had four children! Furthermore, his admission was contrary to what my late stepmom told me when saying it was an “abomination” not to abide by the bib

Hip Hop and REBT

Deric Hollings

May 299 min read

Step to My Girl: But Ask Yourself, Homeboy, Why Is That?

[DISCLAIMER] I’m a fan of Oakland, California-based underground hip hop collective Hieroglyphics, also known as the Hieroglyphics Crew and Hiero, consisting of lyricists Del the Funky Homosapien, Casual, Pep Love, and all four members of the group Souls of Mischief (lyricists Phesto, A-Plus, Opio, and Tajai), as well as DJ Touré and producer/manager Domino. In 2001, Hiero released the album Hiero Oldies Vol 1 that contained the 1990 track “Step to My Girl” by Souls of Mis

Hip Hop and REBT

Deric Hollings

May 2812 min read

Back in the Day

[DISCLAIMER] I was born and, with exception of about two years, raised in Amarillo, Texas—colloquially known as Bomb City. From my sophomore to senior years of high school, I attended Amarillo High School (AHS)—home of the Sandies (mascot name, short for the “Golden Sandstorm”). During my junior year, when he was only 18-years-old, rapper Ahmad released his album Ahmad (1994) which contained the track “Back in the Day”, featuring a sample of the Teddy Pendergrass song “Lo

Deric Hollings

May 276 min read

Idealistic Versus Realistic: Welcome Home

[DISCLAIMER] In Existentialism: Meaning Versus Meaninglessness, I discussed a fellow military police (MP) patrolman from the United States Marine Corps, when assigned to Camp Kinser (1997-1999), to whom I referred as “Jugador.” He and I were fairly close when stationed in Okinawa, Japan. Jugador and I wound up again being stationed together when I was assigned to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (2001-2003). Unfortunately, he and I lost touch around the time when I experi

Hip Hop and REBT

Deric Hollings

May 266 min read

Take Me Back

[DISCLAIMER] On the intro of “Take Me Back”, from the album Tha Truth, Pt. 3 (2017), Houston, Texas rapper Trae tha Truth states, “Say, you remember that shit? Talmbout them days, nigga. We pull up, nigga. Sta-Flo, starched down!” If you’re unfamiliar with Texas hip hop, then you may be lost. The phrase “talmbout” is a conjunction of the words “talking” and “about.” Also, Sta-Flo is a potent liquid starch which people from the South use when pressing (i.e., ironing) creas

Hip Hop and REBT

Deric Hollings

May 256 min read

Displeasing: Choose How You Will Suffer

[DISCLAIMER] The American Psychological Association defines the term suffering as “the experience of pain or acute distress, either physical or psychological, in response to a physical trauma or a significant event, particularly one that is threatening or involves loss (e.g., the death of a loved one).” When providing psychoeducational lessons on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), I differentiate between physical and psychological trauma, as well as separating disp

Hip Hop and REBT

Deric Hollings

May 1811 min read

When Things Are Screwed Up, Change What You Can, and Accept Everything Else

[DISCLAIMER] In common parlance, suggesting that something is “screwed up” means that someone or something is acting or functioning in an erratic, confused, or otherwise undesirable way. A grittier version of this phrase is to say that something is “fucked up,” also “messed up.” In hip hop, the expression “screwed up” may also reflect music of the late and legendary Houston, Texas pioneer DJ Screw, who’s best known as the creator of the chopped and screwed DJ technique. I

Hip Hop and REBT

Deric Hollings

May 176 min read

Another Night, Another Dream, but Always You

[DISCLAIMER] Regarding professional care for mental, emotional, and behavioral health (collectively “mental health”), there are many psychotherapeutic modalities available. My preferred model is Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) which aims to help people get better, not merely feel better. For instance, the American Psychological Association (APA) defines catharsis as “in psychoanalytic theory, the discharge of previously repressed affects connected to traumatic ev

EDM and REBT

Deric Hollings

May 1310 min read

What's Love Got to Do With It?

[DISCLAIMER] *What’s Love Got to Do With It (1993) spoilers contained herein. Photo credit, Property of Touchstone Pictures and Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, fair use My now-deceased mom was a fan of the late Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock). As such, my mother owned a vinyl record of Private Dancer (1984) and played the song “What’s Love Got to Do with It” loudly from a stereo when cleaning our home. The chorus states: What’s love got to do, got to do with it?

Hip Hop and REBT

Deric Hollings

May 1117 min read

Focus On What You Can Control

[DISCLAIMER] As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy, this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman. Regarding Stoicism, I invite you to consider that REBT uses unconditional acceptance (UA) to relieve self-induced suffering. This is accomplished through use of unconditional self-acceptance (USA)

The Daily Stoic

Deric Hollings

May 116 min read

Eighty Years Here, We Live and We Die, It's Like a Blink of an Eye

[DISCLAIMER] When they were assembled, before apparently going on to pursue solo careers, the group Tragic Allies reminded me of golden age hip hop. Therefore, I still appreciate the album 14 Forms: The Book of Estee Nack (2015) by former group members lyricist Estee Nack and producer Purpose. As a side note, Estee Nack has more self-ascribed nicknames than any other rapper or lyricist of which I can think. A personal favorite is “Nacknuggets.” In any event, on the aforem

Hip Hop and REBT

Deric Hollings

May 27 min read

The Great Dictator: More Than Machinery, We Need Humanity - You Are Not Machines!

[DISCLAIMER] *The Great Dictator (1940) spoilers contained herein. Photo credit, property of United Artists, fair use When listening to an electronic dance music (EDM) DJ set by Alythia Kwan, I heard her spin the song “Sauce (Redspace Remix)” (2026) by Juan Vazquez, Maximo Gambini, and Martin Di Sciascio. It has an audio sample of The Great Dictator (1940), about which one source states: The Great Dictator is a 1940 American political satire black comedy film written, d

EDM and REBT

Deric Hollings

Apr 2711 min read

A Cause for Concern Doesn't Cause Concern

[ DISCLAIMER ] I invite you to consider a psychoeducational lesson on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) which involves how I practice Stoicism regarding a current event. Although you may be tempted to pass by this post, because you don’t care about media stories, I encourage you to stay. I don’t necessarily like or love current geopolitical events, though I make an attempt to daily practice REBT—which involves facing matters for which I have little appreciati

Deric Hollings

Apr 2011 min read

The Future's Not What It Used to Be

[ DISCLAIMER ] When listening to an electronic dance music (EDM) DJ set by Allia Sounds and Dimitri Aless , I heard the duo open with the song “ The Future ” (2025) by Ankhoï and Luch . In repetitious order, the lyrics states: We hold hands, as if nothing has changed I go forward, you come back to me We don’t have long to rearrange The future’s not what it used to be While viewing these lyrics through the proverbial lens of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT),

EDM and REBT

Deric Hollings

Apr 135 min read

A Matter of Concern: Loss of a New START

[ DISCLAIMER ] Photo credit (edited), fair use My primary military occupational specialty (MOS) when in the United States (U.S.) Department of Defense , enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps (1996-2007), was military police (MP). My secondary MOS was Marine Security Guard (MSG). Both positions were of a federal nature. Overlapping my military service, I became a subcontractor with the U.S. Department of Energy when working at Pantex (the primary U.S. nuclear weapons ass

Deric Hollings

Feb 57 min read