Dear Penthouse,

I think he’s lying.

It’s strange that all of your “relationships” and the “nature of competition” examples are professional coaches bullying showing tough love to amateur players.

It is a pretty apt analogy though - people working at newspapers aren’t getting paid these days either.

“The two guys you are seeking to smear - Tom Izzo and Gary Williams don’t have 600 wins by luck”

You’re right, coach. When I think “accountability,” I think Michigan State.

The thing is, you can regain your swagger playing Chinese basketball, but you lose all your confidence again an hour later.

Beating yourself up over bad things that happen to you isn’t worth the trouble.   It’s really the sort of thing you should pay other people to do for you.

I hope he won’t beat himself up over this

My best friend and I share Mike’s problem, though without the weird self-righteous turn at the end. There’s a hyperbolic incredulity, especially if someone doesn’t share life experiences or tastes, that can be a bit alienating. The language used makes it hard to really discern true feelings, or to temper expectations…

The part where they just let you walk out the front door of the hospital carrying a real, living baby with you is pretty fucking weird.