Monthly Archives: August 2011

Federer Plays Erikson, Round 1

Posted on August 31, 2011 by hessd

The U. S. Open tennis tournament has begun.  This is my first chance since Wimbledon to play with my idea that the seven rounds of the tournament are (almost) like the eight stages in Erik Erikson’s developmental scheme—in a narrow … Continue reading →

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The Erikson Tournament: Stage 7 Explored

Posted on August 30, 2011 by hessd

This is going to be a busy sort of post.  I recommend it to people who are thinking of retiring, to fans of Erik Erikson’s epigenetic stages, and to anyone who has been following these posts and who thinks I … Continue reading →

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My Opponent is Really Really Stupid

Posted on August 26, 2011 by hessd

President Obama doesn’t really need to be Superman to win a second term, says Timothy Egan, in a New York Times op ed piece.  He does have “Republican craziness” to run against.  One of the examples of this craziness Egan … Continue reading →

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Is It Just Will Power?

Posted on August 26, 2011 by hessd

So how do you feel about “will power?”  Old fashioned? Crucially necessary?  Both?  John Tierney wrote a really wonderful piece about will power in the New York Times recently.  You can see the full article here.  I’m going to reflect … Continue reading →

Posted in Political Psychology | Tagged , | 83 Comments

John and Bonnie Gray, Just Doin’ Their Jobs

Posted on August 19, 2011 by hessd

I want to poke just a little today at the way John and Bonnie Gray illustrate what communication between a husband and a wife ought to look like.  John Gray is the founder of the now vast Mars/Venus industries: books, … Continue reading →

Posted in Love and Marriage | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Highballs and the High Road

Posted on August 18, 2011 by hessd

Imagine that this is one of the notorious “Washington Cocktail Parties.”  Maybe it is.  I don’t know.  My son, Doug, found it for me after I had spent a week looking for one.  I wanted one that played up the … Continue reading →

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The Touch of a Really Good Author

Posted on August 18, 2011 by hessd

Some part of the genius of Ursula Le Guin is that she hides the crucial evidence in plain sight. In her Tales From EarthSea, Le Guin gives us a little girl named Dragonfly. She first appears in a subordinate clause … Continue reading →

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The VIP Treatment

Posted on August 16, 2011 by hessd

I’m going to take a look today at practicing being old.  You can laugh, but it isn’t as simple an idea as it appears.  I have placed it in my set of categories as “Getting Old, but being old isn’t … Continue reading →

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Grounds for Hope

Posted on August 14, 2011 by hessd

Joe Nocera, the New York Times columnist shared with us today that Starbucks has an idea that might help us all.  Here’s the short version. In effect, Schultz thinks the country should go on strike against its politicians. “The fundamental … Continue reading →

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TMI

Posted on August 13, 2011 by hessd

I want to think out loud about TMI today—“too much information.”[1]  I think we do give too much information sometimes, but I suspect that most of the time that particular way of saying “Shut up!” really means something else.  This … Continue reading →

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