Dr. X's Free Associations

Knuckleball

I'm giving a strong recommendation to the 2012 documentary, Knuckleball, directed by Annie Sundberg and Rick Stern. Anyone who is even minimally a fan of baseball will surely enjoy this film about the knuckleball pitch and the tiny confraternity of men who've made their professional careers throwing the knuckleball.

I imagine that anyone who understands the basics of the game, even if not a fan, would also enjoy this documentary. I watched it with a non-fan who was hooked at the outset by some arresting visuals in the opening minutes of the film.

Your Lyin' Eyes

Via Eric Zorn, AP reports:

BEIJING -- The online version of China's Communist Party newspaper has hailed a report by The Onion naming North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un as the "Sexiest Man Alive" -- not realizing it is satire.

The People's Daily on Tuesday ran a 55-page photo spread on its website in a tribute to the round-faced leader, under the headline "North Korea's top leader named The Onion's Sexiest Man Alive for 2012."

Quoting the Onion's spoof report, the Chinese newspaper wrote, ""With his devastatingly handsome, round face, his boyish charm, and his strong, sturdy frame, this Pyongyang-bred heartthrob is every woman's dream come true."

 

Recording Police Is No Longer A Crime In Illinois

Chicago Tribune:

The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from the Cook County state's attorney to allow enforcement of a law prohibiting people from recording police officers on the job.

The justices on Monday left in place a lower court ruling that found that the state's anti-eavesdropping law violates free speech rights when used against people who tape law enforcement officers.

The law set out a maximum prison term of 15 years.

Coyotes Settling Into Yuppie Digs

Spotted outside Wrigley Field on Chicago's Northside. They're getting very comfortable around people, which probably isn't good.

Whither Psychotherapy?

Lori Gottlieb (NY Times) writes about difficulties developing and maintaining a psychotherapy practice in an age of branding, coaching and marketing gimmicks.

One day right before Christmas, I got a call from a man in his early 30s about coming in for therapy. He explained that he wanted to figure out whether to marry his girlfriend, and he hoped we could “resolve this” quickly because Valentine’s Day was coming up and he knew he either had to produce a ring or she’d bail. I explained that I could help him with clarity but couldn’t guarantee his timeline. The day before our appointment, he called again and told me he found a relationship coach to help sort things out. She gave him a four-session-package guarantee.

There’s not a lot I can do when this happens, primarily because therapists, governed by a board, can’t make outcome claims the way coaches can. One popular parenting coach, for instance, posted this on her site: “You will feel empowered and at peace. Handling the day-to-day struggles will be a breeze. You will be able to rest assured, knowing that you have provided your kids with the foundation they so desperately need in order to be successful in all areas of their future.”

Earlier today, this was the most emailed story in the Times.

Reader Shots

Photo by A Bear. Comox Glacier, Vancouver Island.

Lost Thanksgiving Culture, 1910-1915

Before there was Halloween, costumed Thanksgiving "maskers" would go door-to-door begging for coins or fruit.

Photos: Bain News Service.

Painting the face of a 'masker.'

 

Masker begging for fruit and coins.

Scrambling for pennies.

Sensory Overload In Autism

From the Interactive Autism Network, Miguel Jiron attempts to convey the experience of sensory overload that can lead to a meltdown. Video below the fold.

Austerity and Unemployment

Paul Krugman:

Transatlantic Divergence: pursuing the theme that America is doing the least worst among major economies, here’s a chart…. In the early stages… unemployment rose more rapidly in the US than in Europe. This mainly reflected differences in institutions: it’s much easier to fire people in America. From some point in 2010 onward, however, the US situation has gradually improved; initially some of the drop in unemployment was basically people leaving the labor force, but more recently there have been solid though modest gains in the ratio of employment to the relevant population (you have to adjust for aging). Meanwhile, Europe has gotten much worse; now formally in recession, but the truth is that it has been going downhill all along.

Why the divergence? The obvious answer is that the austerity stuff broke out in 2010, and the austerians took over policy much more completely in Europe than in the United States.

NPR Headline: Former Bears Coach Mike Ditka 'Feels Good' After Minor Stroke

I know what they mean, but it just doesn't sound quite right to me.