I recently finished working through David Burns’ book ‘Feeling Good Together: The Secret to Making Troubled Relationships Work.’ I say ‘working’ because I read the book cover to cover once even though the author comments several times in the book that anyone reading through it should work through the exercises that he has in eachContinue reading “Feeling Good Together”
Author Archives: brianbrownnrg
US Returning Soldier Acclimatization Therapy
Yesterday the news headlines read ‘US Soldier Suicide Rate Soars!’ It’s a horrible tragedy that soldiers returning from extended tours of duty overseas are given little support and training so that they may happily reenter civilian life. Several years ago, I returned to my hometown after being away for 10 years. The last year ofContinue reading “US Returning Soldier Acclimatization Therapy”
Strength Training for Male Dancers
Male ballet dancers require all the strength attributes of their female counterparts in addition to the ability to lift said counterparts in many different ways. The type of strength required by male dancers can be developed using Olympic weightlifting training techniques. Like ballerinas, male dancers need to have strong “core” muscles. The core muscles areContinue reading “Strength Training for Male Dancers”
30 degrees below zero!
This morning the outside temperature where I live was thirty degrees below zero! The typical low for this time of year is 5 degrees F. Fortunately my pipes froze and I had to shovel the drive — two good reasons to bundle up and go outside in the REALLY cold weather. I live in anContinue reading “30 degrees below zero!”
Lao Tzu’s Utopia
I was recently re-reading the Tao Te Ching. I was struck by the verse titled ‘Utopia’ which I reproduce here without the permission of Lao Tzu, who passed away in the 4th century BC: ‘Let your community be small, with only a few people;Keep tools in abundance, but do not depend upon them; Appreciate yourContinue reading “Lao Tzu’s Utopia”
Olympic Weightlifting without Bumper Plates (with Cast Iron Plates!)
Olympic Weightlifting is a fun sport and makes for an excellent workout. For optimum safety, one should do the overhead lifts with rubber bumper plates. With bumper plates, after completing a lift the weight can just be dropped in a controlled manner and no energy is wasted on the descent as you do when usingContinue reading “Olympic Weightlifting without Bumper Plates (with Cast Iron Plates!)”
Hypermilin’ It!
A few years ago I tested some hypermiling techniques and computed the miles per gallon on a few tanks of gas in my vehicle. The results were quite impressive. I’ve been using some of these methods ever since and with good results. Hypermiling (www.hypermiling.com) is the deliberate use of fuel saving driving techniques to maximizeContinue reading “Hypermilin’ It!”
Ballerino — ME!
A few months ago I rehearsed for and danced in a ballet. My friend’s daughter has been involved in ballet for a long time. For the past few years his wife has asked me if I wanted to be in the ballet as there is a perennial shortage of males for the ballet. I’d vaguelyContinue reading “Ballerino — ME!”
The Passing of a Childhood Friend
Today I attended the funeral of a neighbor and friend from my childhood. I read his obituary yesterday in the newspaper (which was unusual because I don’t usually read the newspaper, much less the obituary section). The day was the most beautiful, breezy, sunny, puffy-white-clouds-sailing-by day that one could ever wish for. And this personContinue reading “The Passing of a Childhood Friend”
Wonderful Amsterdam and Paris
Last month I had the good fortune of visiting an old and dear friend in beautiful Amsterdam, Netherlands. I arrived at Schiphol Airport at about 9am local time after getting about two and a half hours of sleep on the plane trip (the Netherlands is about six hours ahead). After passing through customs my friendContinue reading “Wonderful Amsterdam and Paris”
Brian Brown 