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Voicemails for Isabelle: Attachment, Detachment, and Nonattachment
[DISCLAIMER] *Voicemails for Isabelle (2026) spoilers contained herein. Photo credit, property of Sony Pictures, Escape Artists, and Netflix, fair use Since my youth, I’ve enjoyed the romantic comedy (rom-com) genre of films. For instance, during high school, a family took me in to live with them from a children’s home. They had a daughter (“Antebellum”) who was of similar age, and with whom I was passionately in love. She and I would eat scrambled egg and grilled chees
Deric Hollings
2 days ago17 min read
The Sheep Detectives: Repression and Suppression
[DISCLAIMER] *The Sheep Detectives (2026) spoilers contained herein. Photo credit, property of Amazon MGM Studios, Sony Pictures Releasing International, et al., fair use A Sucker for Anthropomorphism Admittedly, I’m a sucker (a person irresistibly attracted by something specified) for anthropomorphism (the ascribing of human personality, appearance, conduct, cognition, or other attributes to non-human entities, often including non-human animals). Allow me to explain.
Deric Hollings
Jul 517 min read
Spilled Milk: Tolerance and Acceptance
[DISCLAIMER] I invite you to consider that one source states, “We’ve all heard the phase before – ‘Don’t cry over spilled milk.’ It’s a classic saying meant to remind us that getting upset over things we can’t change won’t do any good,” using milk as a symbol of something valuable, yet easily lost. Sometimes expressed as “there’s no use crying over spilled milk,” the meaning of this idiomatic expression infers that there’s no point in being upset over something that has a
Deric Hollings
Jun 1817 min read
Life Goes On, and So Does Death
[DISCLAIMER] I’ve just heard about the reported death of singer Oliver Tree. His song “Life Goes On”, from the album Ugly Is Beautiful (2020), has served as content for many electronic dance music (EDM) remixes. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed both the original track and its modifications. According to one source, “Tree stated in an interview that ‘Life Goes On’ is about ‘a problematic relationship where one person treats the other person badly […] shouldn’t waste time on to
Deric Hollings
Jun 145 min read
It Won’t Matter, Because You’ll Be Long Gone
[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. Ancient and modern Stoics tend not to shy away from the topic of death. Colloquially speaking, someone is said to be “gone” once they die. After a relatively lengthy period of time has passed, one
Deric Hollings
Jun 137 min read
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
Jun 719 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
Deric Hollings
Jun 57 min read
Let Freedom Ring, and Then Go Rest High on That Mountain
[DISCLAIMER] While serving in the United States (U.S.) Marine Corps, one of my military police (MP) buddies who knew I mainly listened to hip hop music discovered that I also enjoyed country music. Apparently, he shared appreciation for both musical genres, as well. Additionally, my MP friend was surprised to learn that although I was baptized into the Churches of Christ faith during my freshman year of high school, I also hung out with gang members after a family with wh
Deric Hollings
May 3115 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
Deric Hollings
May 299 min read
The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat: Veneration of the Dead
[DISCLAIMER] I’m a fan of Wu-Tang Clan, a hip hop collective consisting of lyricist RZA, lyricist GZA, lyricist Method Man, lyricist Raekwon, lyricist Ghostface Killah, lyricist Inspectah Deck, rapper U-God, rapper Masta Killa, and, until his death in 2004, rapper Ol’ Dirty Bastard. Therefore, when enlisted in the United States (U.S.) Marine Corps, serving in Okinawa, Japan (1997-1999), I purchased the group’s second studio album Wu-Tang Forever (1997). It contained the t
Deric Hollings
May 259 min read
I Can't Make It Out Alone
[DISCLAIMER] When providing psychoeducational lessons on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), I teach people about the ABC model of self-disturbance (how people upset themselves through use of irrational beliefs). Now, I’ll address a finer point of this psychotherapeutic model of wellness. For context, REBT uses the ABC model to illustrate how when an undesirable Action occurs and you Believe an unhelpful narrative about the event, it’s your unfavorable assumption, n
Deric Hollings
May 117 min read
Doing What I Can Before My Ride Shows Up
[DISCLAIMER] A little over a decade ago, nitape’skw (nee-dub-besk) told me about the life and death of Santee Sioux Nation author, poet, actor, musician, and political activist John Trudell. I miss the contact I had with nitape’skw, as I remain grateful for her having introduced me to the work of Trudell. In one of the most subjectively memorable exit announcements from life, Trudell’s family member reportedly posted on Facebook, “My ride showed up.” and “Celebrate Love.
Deric Hollings
May 106 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
Deric Hollings
May 27 min read
Avatar: Aang, the Last Airbender - Unconditional Acceptance
[ DISCLAIMER ] * Avatar: Aang, The Last Airbender (2026), also known as The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender (2026), spoilers contained herein. Photo credit (unofficial movie poster), property of Paramount Pictures (Paramount+), Nickelodeon Movies, and Avatar Studios, fair use When providing psychoeducational lessons on mental, emotional, and behavioral health (collectively “ mental health ”) within my blog—which predominately focuses on Rational Emotive Behavior T
Deric Hollings
Apr 1614 min read
We Gotta Rock It, Don't Stop... Until We Die
[ DISCLAIMER ] Because I don’t have many social media apps on my smartphone , regarding most sites such as Reddit, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and so forth, I often miss up-to-date news about celebrity deaths. This is as I prefer things to be in my life. Still, earlier today, when searching for material online for daily practice of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) I discovered that one source reports, “Influential musical artist Afrika Bambaataa died in Penn
Deric Hollings
Apr 1011 min read
How Could This Happen to Me?
[ DISCLAIMER ] On the second studio album Still Not Getting Any... (2004) by Canadian rock band Simple Plan is the song “ Untitled (How Could This Happen to Me?) ”. Describing the video for the track, one source states: The music video tells a story of a car crash on a rainy evening where a young male drunk driver crashes his Toyota Camry head-on into a Trans Am driven by a female, resulting in her death. The drunk driver, however, survives relatively uninjured, and en
Deric Hollings
Apr 510 min read
Either You Live, or You Die: It's Cut and Dry
[ DISCLAIMER ] When providing psychoeducational lessons on Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), I teach people about the ABC model of self-disturbance (how people upset themselves through use of irrational beliefs ). Now, I’ll address a finer point of this psychotherapeutic model of wellness . For context, REBT uses the ABC model to illustrate how when an undesirable A ction occurs and you B elieve an unhelpful narrative about the event, it’s your unfavorable a
Deric Hollings
Apr 29 min read
Fog of War: Are Your Family's Affairs in Order?
[ DISCLAIMER ] Photo credit (edited), fair use Regarding daily practice of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), by which I search for at least one undesirable event for use of the ABC model and unconditional acceptance , I recently discovered a Reddit source , an X source , and a Substack source which all address the same topic. A letter purportedly by United States (U.S.) Marine Corps Lieutenant General Leonard F. Anderson IV to Marine reservists (an exp
Deric Hollings
Mar 289 min read
Is There No Standard Anymore?
[ DISCLAIMER ] When serving in Okinawa, Japan (1997-1999), a fellow member of the United States Marine Corps military police invited me to listen to a song on his MiniDisc player. “How are you from Texas and don’t know about this band?” he asked while handing me his headphones. My ears were then battered when listening to the song “ Walk ” by Texas-based heavy metal band Pantera , from their album Vulgar Display of Power (1992). In part, the lyrics state: [Verse 1] C
Deric Hollings
Mar 217 min read
We All Gon' Go One Day
[ DISCLAIMER ] Irrespective of whether or not I’m working with clients on any given day, I practice Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)—even in my dreams. For instance, I continually remind myself about the importance of tolerance and acceptance regarding most conditions in life. For context, REBT uses unconditional acceptance (UA) to relieve self-induced suffering . This is accomplished through use of unconditional self-acceptance (USA), unconditional other-acce
Deric Hollings
Mar 124 min read
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