[DISCLAIMER] The James Talarico Fiasco In my personal and professional practice of care for mental, emotional, and behavioral health (collectively “mental health”), I sometimes encounter the unhelpful effects of stigma—which the American Psychological Association thusly defines: [T]he negative social attitude attached to a characteristic of an individual that may be regarded as a mental, physical, or social deficiency. A stigma implies social disapproval and can lead un

[DISCLAIMER] I Was Once a Girl Dad, Wife Guy, and Feminist When serving in the United States Marine Corps (1996-2007), I met a female Marine (i.e., woman) who was physically separated from her male Marine husband (i.e., man). Together, they had a daughter (i.e., girl) who was six-months-old at the time when I first met her. After finalizing her divorce, the woman proposed to me and I accepted her hand in marriage (2002). Thus, her daughter became my stepdaughter. Althou

[DISCLAIMER] As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) was formed by the late psychologist Albert Ellis, who reportedly developed the first cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) psychotherapeutic modality in 1955, this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding his book, Ask Albert Ellis?: Straight Answers and Sound Advice from America’s Best-Known Psychologist. Now, as the matter pertains to this blogpost, the American Psychological Association (APA) defines social l

[DISCLAIMER] Ain’t No Fun (If the Homies Can’t Have None) – Sexual Assault and Rape When I was in high school, rapper Snoop Dogg released his debut album Doggystyle (1993), which turned out to be a subjectively phenomenal joint serving as a soundtrack to the later portion of my sophomore year. It was a quintessential West Coast hip hop and g-funk classic! Noteworthy, the anthology contained the track “Ain’t No Fun (If the Homies Can’t Have None)” which featured the late

[DISCLAIMER] On Canadian lyricist Classified’s fifth major release, Tomorrow Could Be the Day Things Change (2018), is the song “Accept It”. Personally meaningful, he states on the second verse: He was searching for some work, referred to the reserves Took it further, got deployed to serve his country undeterred His wife worried, crying, when she hugged him and said goodbye Told his kids he had to leave, but they never understood why, no Active duty, overseas, saw some th

[DISCLAIMER] When practicing Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), I use personal responsibility and accountability (collectively “ownership”). For improved understanding, responsibility is defined as the quality or state of being responsible, such as a moral, legal, or mental accountability. Here, “responsible” is defined as liable to be called to account as the primary cause, motive, or agent, and being able to answer for one’s conduct and obligations—something, suc

[DISCLAIMER] When practicing Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), I use personal responsibility and accountability (collectively “ownership”). For improved understanding, responsibility is defined as the quality or state of being responsible, such as a moral, legal, or mental accountability. Here, “responsible” is defined as liable to be called to account as the primary cause, motive, or agent, and being able to answer for one’s conduct and obligations—something, suc

[DISCLAIMER] What’s Culture? What’s War? And What’s That About Cleavage? I used to enjoy discussions with other hip hop aficionados about whether or not the element of society in which we partook was a culture or a mere subculture. For context, the American Psychological Association (APA) thusly defines culture: 1. the values, beliefs, language, rituals, traditions, and other behaviors that are passed from one generation to another within any social group. Broad definit

[DISCLAIMER] When practicing Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), I use personal responsibility and accountability (collectively “ownership”). For improved understanding, responsibility is defined as the quality or state of being responsible, such as a moral, legal, or mental accountability. Here, “responsible” is defined as liable to be called to account as the primary cause, motive, or agent, and being able to answer for one’s conduct and obligations—something, suc

[DISCLAIMER] While listening to an electronic dance music (EDM) DJ set by Amëriko Nunez, I heard him spin the track “What You Said” by Maddow, featuring vocals by Manela, from the album Back in the Club (2021). On the song, Manela disempoweringly states: What you said Is all over my head What you said Is all over my head Is all over my head Don’t make me sad What you said What you said Is all over my head For context, the American Psychological Association (APA) defines

[DISCLAIMER] Magic and Magick At an early age, I learned of magic. I’m not talking about magic (illusion) as “a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means.” Rather, the American Psychological Association (APA) defines magic as: [A] system of practices in which humans attempt to manipulate natural or supernatural forces through such means as rituals, incantations, and spells. Magic

[DISCLAIMER] I view many events through the proverbial lens of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). Herein, I’ll provide a psychoeducational lesson that involves thinking and believing which is rational (in accordance with both logic and reason), or not (i.e., irrational), as it regards REBT. Here, “logic” is the interrelation or sequence of facts or events when seen as inevitable or predictable, and “reason” is a statement offered in explanation or justification. Fo

[DISCLAIMER] In spring 2025, I saw a social media post that addressed The Modern Day Knight Project (MDK). Of this matter, one source states, “Men who say they struggle with self-esteem issues can pay $18,000 for a three-day course of water hosing, truck pulls and hand-to-hand combat.” Regarding MDK and similar hyper-masculine endeavors, I stated in LARPing as Military Personnel, “Given my subjective view, it’s personally distasteful when people live action role-play (LAR

[DISCLAIMER] Photo credit, fair use Defining Terms When listening to the latest electronic dance music (EDM) DJ set by Roksana—who’s not yet produced a mix that I haven’t thoroughly enjoyed—I heard her spin the hard techno/Schranz song “Domination” (2025), by Holy Priest and REKKT. It damn near melted my face off /s! For context, in common parlance, domination is defined as supremacy or preeminence over another, exercise of mastery or ruling power, and exercise of prepo

[DISCLAIMER] Photo credit, property of New Line Cinema, fair use I recall when the hip hop comedy film House Party (1990) was released. As I was a fan of duo Kid ‘n Play (lyricists Christopher “Kid” Reid and Christopher “Play” Martin), I laughed quite a bit at their comedic antics. Among my peers, recitation of House Party lines was common. This included one scene in which members of R&B group Full Force confronted singer George Clinton (of music collective Parliament-Fun

[DISCLAIMER] Water Underwear – Why so beeg? As summertime is in full effect, I’m reminded of a conversation that I once had with friend X about bikinis (two-piece bathing suits worn by women, which do not cover the midriff). She laughed when I referred to these popular swimwear items as “water underwear.” Somehow, people are supposed to abandon thoughts (the process of thinking, an idea, image, opinion, or other product of thinking, and attention or consideration given

[DISCLAIMER] A Real-Life Scenario “Whoa, it’s your stop sign,” I said aloud when having taken my turn to proceed through an all-way stop intersection after having completed my weekly grocery store run this morning. A vehicle to which I signaled with my hand slowed down, rather than stopping, at a stop sign. Fortunately, the driver of the vehicle then stopped midway through the intersection, allowing me to proceed with my right-of-way direction of travel. As I stopped at