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Slayer of Dragons
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Why not perpetrate some shameless self-promotion? My book Practice, Practice, Practice: This Psychiatrist’s Life will make you aware of the view from my side side of the couch. Spoiler Alert—the following YouTube video, a seven minute speech which I gave at my local Toastmaster’s club, is based on one chapter from the book.
Mery X'mas!
I wrote this piece years ago, when Donald Westlake was my favorite author. (Today, he is one of my favorites.) I admit that reposting it now carries a whiff of nostalgia—COVID has changed my shopping habits. I shop less, and go during off hours so as to spend the least time with the most social distance. That protects my health, of course. But it sacrifices the fun of eavesdropping. I miss that.
Enjoy this brief hop back to a COVID-free holiday season, and the excerpt from one of Westlake’s best, Bad News, featuring Dortmunder, and the regulars at the OJ.
Holiday Family Gatherings a Contributing Factor to Yearly Flu Epidemic, Study Reports
Every competent physician regularly reads the professional literature to keep abreast of the latest research. Also, to accumulate the mandated 30 CME’s (Continuing Medical Education credits) a year to stay licensed.
This excerpt from my memoir, Practice, Practice, Practice: This Psychiatrist’s Life is one such study—if that’s what it is. The research was done well before COVID, but the findings are robust enough, Dr. Fauci says, that they apply to any viral assault, including the current pandemic.
Yes, this is such an insanely useful study—your world will be rocked. Guaranteed. Call me Santa. You’re welcome. By the way, the book makes a great gift. (hint hint) Get vaxxed. Stay masked. Happy holidays!
Holiday Family Gatherings a Contributing Factor to Yearly Winter Flu Epidemic, Study Reports
By D. Essem
December, DweebMD, Internet Medical News. A landmark study published last month in the esteemed science journal Family Hell asserts that holiday revelry with relatives “is so stressful to the immune system, it collapses like a building seeded with dynamite,” says I. M. Trapt, M.D., primary researcher and family member.
“Extensive research has already concluded
Book Review: Becoming Duchess Goldblatt: A Memoir, by Anonymous
This is one of the best books I’ve read, ever. It’s simply beautiful, a work of art that transcends its genre. The author’s journey exemplifies cartoonist and MacArthur Genius Grant recipient Lynda Barry’s contention that “We don’t create a fantasy world to escape reality. We create it to be able to stay.”
How does the author keep going when she loses everything that makes her life meaningful and worth living?
Shoes: A Marriage Morality Tale
Storage. That’s my problem with Hubby’s shoes. They pile up. They drift. They wander into places where they shouldn’t be. How many times have I tripped over one?
A Witch’s Work Is Never Done
Halloween is upon us and as usual, it’s cold and windy, nasty and sleety. Terrible weather for taking the old broom out for a ride. Far colder than my witch’s heart above the roof line, especially when flying at speed. But needs must when this devil drives. Hee hee hee.
Tough though, to keep that slim silhouette against the yellow moon—
My Bouncing Baby Book Is One Year Old!
How time flies when you’re having a pandemic! While bookie and I never got out of the house for a launch party or book tours, some very nice things happened.
My favorite—
Bon Mot: We’ve Got Your Word Needs Covered
Dear Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop (EBWW) 2020:
Thank you for choosing Bon Mot as your personal moniker shopper. We appreciate the opportunity to help you choose the appellation that accentuates your positives.
We spent the weekend browsing the hangers in your word closets in #virtualErma and private facebook group. Using proprietary algorithms, we culled the following arty creations for further analysis:
Ermite
Ermas
Ermazon
Erma Nation
These are all superior to the generic Hey you, Yo gurlfriend and Ladies! Ladies! However, if there can be only one, let it be
I Got Fed Up and Fired My Contractor. It Felt Terrific.
Eugene was intelligent, did good work and charged reasonable rates. He was also obnoxious (“Yeah, I’m a douchebag.”) and noisy, with a carrying voice. Worst of all, he never completed a job from start to finish. The man had a bad habit of
Six Reactions I Get When People Learn I'm a Psychiatrist
I’ve discovered Medium. Totally addicting. A reader’s paradise. And writer’s too. Check out the piece I just
Book Review: Boomer on the Ledge by Molly Stevens
Slim, Funny and Good Looking. That would have been the lede of my Amazon review of Molly Steven’s Boomer on the Ledge but alas, the Overlord Purveyor of Everything has arbitrarily blocked, excuse me, is “not accepting” my feedback. I was distressed, as was my ever empathic doll (“not a child’s toy” designed and handmade by the author). But where there’s a blog, there’s a way.
Ever wondered what shrinks do all day? And after hours?
You’d be surprised. Or, maybe not. It’s amazing how much trouble I get into with patients (and elsewhere), and even more amazing how often I manage to be helpful. It’s a knack. Kidding. Problem solving while panicking in free fall is a skill set, one we need now more than ever.