The negatives can take years to develop — I used to love alcohol. It seemed to enhance my life in so many ways and acted as a general cure for a multitude of ills. The hit that I got from those first few glasses of wine each evening were magical. I could literally feel the stress and agitation…

This one’s a dead giveaway — In the world of drinking, there is often confusion and debate as to who has alcohol issues and who doesn’t. Part of the problem is that there’s a stigma attached to addiction generally, and the term: “alcoholic” in particular. This contributes to what the psychologists call “denial,” where a person…

5 reasons that his detractors use to prove he’s a villain — Kanye West is one of the most famous and successful musical artists and cultural figures in the world. His fans love his musical output, unpredictable behavior, outspoken pronouncements, as well as his unique and larger-than-life personality. His detractors point to flaws in his attitudes and behavior, often highlighting the numerous…

The discomfort is part of the process — In my experience, almost any type of change or disruption that a person comes up against in their life will bring about some degree of unease. The discomfort that I ran into when I quit alcohol can be divided into two categories: When you’ve lived an alcohol-orientated life, removing the…

Regular heavy drinking just gets harder and harder with each year that passes — Drinking was fun for me in my younger days, but over time, the negatives associated with my alcohol consumption gradually increased. Eventually, I came to question why I continued doing something that no longer seemed to enhance my life. If anything, it was causing me more harm than good. Below…

The prevailing scientific explanation fails to properly account for consciousness, according to Penrose — Understanding the nature of human consciousness has been a major issue for philosophers and scientists for many centuries. My own fascination with the topic began when I was introduced to the work of Rene Descartes during my Philosophy of Mind class at university. The dominant contemporary scientific explanation is rooted…

He’s a pseudo-intellectual narcissist — Russell Brand divides opinion. While he has many loyal fans who adore him, there are also many who strongly dislike him. This article highlights what his critics see as Brand’s main character flaws and gives examples of his bad behavior. Brand first came to prominence as a comedian in the…

I treat my abstention from alcohol as a series of choices — When many people quit, they make a commitment to stop permanently. I’ve opted not to do that. Instead, I leave open the possibility of drinking again, it’s just that every time I consider consuming alcohol, I say no, not now. I think about resuming my drinking career on a regular…

The war in Ukraine is becoming uglier and more dangerous, here are four ways that Putin might use nuclear weapons to intimidate, escalate… — This article is purely speculative. There’s also no indication at the time of writing that Russia has any intention of using nuclear weapons in a first-strike attack. That said, Putin has made both veiled and direct threats against the West in regard to the use of nukes. He’s also raised…