Sean Mortenson, MS, MDiv, LPCC
@smortenson.bsky.social
psychotherapist, former pastor, former architect
I keep getting concert ads for pop country singers named Dylan Earl or Slade Coulter or Easton Corbin or Waylon Wyatt or Luke (whatever) and ... are these AI generated human beings?!
May 23, 2025 at 3:08 AM
I keep getting concert ads for pop country singers named Dylan Earl or Slade Coulter or Easton Corbin or Waylon Wyatt or Luke (whatever) and ... are these AI generated human beings?!
Look, we’re not here to judge, but the woman in front of me at McDonald’s just ordered a large coffee with five creamers and six sugars.
May 20, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Look, we’re not here to judge, but the woman in front of me at McDonald’s just ordered a large coffee with five creamers and six sugars.
There’s a long list of things conservatives say they value (free speech, anti-corruption) that they obviously don’t care about. I saw the same thing in the church (humility, depth).
In both places people just want a strongman to win for them and create a safe cocoon. Everything else is negotiable.
In both places people just want a strongman to win for them and create a safe cocoon. Everything else is negotiable.
May 19, 2025 at 6:21 PM
There’s a long list of things conservatives say they value (free speech, anti-corruption) that they obviously don’t care about. I saw the same thing in the church (humility, depth).
In both places people just want a strongman to win for them and create a safe cocoon. Everything else is negotiable.
In both places people just want a strongman to win for them and create a safe cocoon. Everything else is negotiable.
Just thinking about how universal healthcare, walkable cities, and good public transportation would save the average American family literally thousands of dollars a month.
May 19, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Just thinking about how universal healthcare, walkable cities, and good public transportation would save the average American family literally thousands of dollars a month.
Legitimately almost got run into three times in the span of two minutes. Like very nearly serious accidents. I’m convinced driving skills, like movie theater etiquette, somehow vanished around the pandemic.
May 18, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Legitimately almost got run into three times in the span of two minutes. Like very nearly serious accidents. I’m convinced driving skills, like movie theater etiquette, somehow vanished around the pandemic.
The real bitch of it all is that coming up in evangelicalism you’re taught fulfillment comes through a life of quiet faithful service to God, not chasing the experiences life has to offer.
And by the time you realize that’s bullshit the door has closed on much of what life has to offer.
And by the time you realize that’s bullshit the door has closed on much of what life has to offer.
May 17, 2025 at 2:57 PM
The real bitch of it all is that coming up in evangelicalism you’re taught fulfillment comes through a life of quiet faithful service to God, not chasing the experiences life has to offer.
And by the time you realize that’s bullshit the door has closed on much of what life has to offer.
And by the time you realize that’s bullshit the door has closed on much of what life has to offer.
Brainstorming a new model of community for men. Group therapy / support group / fraternal order / dive bar hang. I’d love feedback if anyone’s curious.
www.union-lodge.com
www.union-lodge.com
Union Lodge
www.union-lodge.com
May 17, 2025 at 1:10 AM
Brainstorming a new model of community for men. Group therapy / support group / fraternal order / dive bar hang. I’d love feedback if anyone’s curious.
www.union-lodge.com
www.union-lodge.com
I love going to live shows in small venues, but it’s like the epicenter of no personal space douchebagery.
May 11, 2025 at 4:29 AM
I love going to live shows in small venues, but it’s like the epicenter of no personal space douchebagery.
Opened the app to read this after a total cluster at our school this morning, brought to you by a pristine ocean liner of a truck and a Tesla.
Oh wow there she goes. The only person to ever know how a school drop-off works
May 1, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Opened the app to read this after a total cluster at our school this morning, brought to you by a pristine ocean liner of a truck and a Tesla.
I know the therapy profession is fucked because I get more emails from prospective consultants and “industry experts” about how they can help me than I do from people wanting treatment.
May 1, 2025 at 2:06 PM
I know the therapy profession is fucked because I get more emails from prospective consultants and “industry experts” about how they can help me than I do from people wanting treatment.
Yep, go see 'Sinners'. Smart and fun and sexy and violent. You have to love a big creative swing that 100% lands.
April 25, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Yep, go see 'Sinners'. Smart and fun and sexy and violent. You have to love a big creative swing that 100% lands.
Yes, private equity ruins everything. But PE is just a symptom of a deeper spirit, one that strips life itself of substance for scalability and market share, tossing whatever it inevitably destroys in the bin, then moving on to exploit the next thing.
www.thenation.com/article/econ...
www.thenation.com/article/econ...
The Story of Late Capitalism as Told Through Panera Bread
It used to make on-site sourdough. Now, the private-equity-owned chain is better known for its (allegedly) killer lemonade.
www.thenation.com
April 24, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Yes, private equity ruins everything. But PE is just a symptom of a deeper spirit, one that strips life itself of substance for scalability and market share, tossing whatever it inevitably destroys in the bin, then moving on to exploit the next thing.
www.thenation.com/article/econ...
www.thenation.com/article/econ...
In a contentious time, “all things to all people” just means “lukewarm for profit”. Be substantive instead.
April 17, 2025 at 3:29 AM
In a contentious time, “all things to all people” just means “lukewarm for profit”. Be substantive instead.
One scale at the Y says I
weigh 150 and the other says I weigh 210. Thankful for precision instruments I can rely on in my training.
weigh 150 and the other says I weigh 210. Thankful for precision instruments I can rely on in my training.
April 15, 2025 at 10:40 PM
One scale at the Y says I
weigh 150 and the other says I weigh 210. Thankful for precision instruments I can rely on in my training.
weigh 150 and the other says I weigh 210. Thankful for precision instruments I can rely on in my training.
For all the times I had to listen to “God Stories” where people couldn’t find their keys then found them after they prayed I’m tempted to start a #godstories thread about all the times I just needed a simple thing to stave off a full depressive episode and got a targeted kick to the nuts instead.
April 14, 2025 at 1:21 AM
For all the times I had to listen to “God Stories” where people couldn’t find their keys then found them after they prayed I’m tempted to start a #godstories thread about all the times I just needed a simple thing to stave off a full depressive episode and got a targeted kick to the nuts instead.
I 👏🏻 do 👏🏻 not 👏🏻 want 👏🏻 your 👏🏻 AI 👏🏻 assistance 👏🏻.
April 14, 2025 at 1:00 AM
I 👏🏻 do 👏🏻 not 👏🏻 want 👏🏻 your 👏🏻 AI 👏🏻 assistance 👏🏻.
What do you do if you’re grounded, centered *reality* lacks meaning, connection, safety, or agency? How regulating can it be to re-center to that?
April 12, 2025 at 10:38 PM
What do you do if you’re grounded, centered *reality* lacks meaning, connection, safety, or agency? How regulating can it be to re-center to that?
Everyone is constantly (re)writing their own *meaning* as they go. Religious systems are tempting because the meaning comes ready-made with an added bonus of *belonging*. They also allow people to deflect responsibility for the direction of their life and simply trust, which alleviates anxiety.
April 12, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Everyone is constantly (re)writing their own *meaning* as they go. Religious systems are tempting because the meaning comes ready-made with an added bonus of *belonging*. They also allow people to deflect responsibility for the direction of their life and simply trust, which alleviates anxiety.
My family growing up was entirely devoid of self-awareness and meaning. I spent my life trying to find people who valued the pursuit of depth, but found myself disappointed time and again that all anyone really wants is a bubble of comfort.
April 12, 2025 at 5:04 PM
My family growing up was entirely devoid of self-awareness and meaning. I spent my life trying to find people who valued the pursuit of depth, but found myself disappointed time and again that all anyone really wants is a bubble of comfort.
Got a gimmicky new lens that repurposes disposable camera lenses for modern digitals. I dig it so far.
April 11, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Got a gimmicky new lens that repurposes disposable camera lenses for modern digitals. I dig it so far.
Disturbing to see folks treat AI as an inerrant authority that can give uniquely profound answers to life's deepest questions. It's legitimately like they're praying to AI and/or receiving its output as some definitive revelation.
April 11, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Disturbing to see folks treat AI as an inerrant authority that can give uniquely profound answers to life's deepest questions. It's legitimately like they're praying to AI and/or receiving its output as some definitive revelation.
Purposefully, uniquely out of fashion is the best place to be.
April 11, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Purposefully, uniquely out of fashion is the best place to be.
I would watch the hell out of a “college radio” documentary.
April 10, 2025 at 2:46 PM
I would watch the hell out of a “college radio” documentary.
Once again, new coffee shop opens and it’s immediately overrun by pastors. Not a single seat. It’s like a goddamn infestation every time a new public space emerges.
April 1, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Once again, new coffee shop opens and it’s immediately overrun by pastors. Not a single seat. It’s like a goddamn infestation every time a new public space emerges.