hi

1. The FBI's Famous Cases & Criminals archive (fbi.gov/history/famous-cases) has detailed breakdowns of real fraud cases, Ponzi schemes, and confidence operations. The language they use is clinical and precise, which is perfect for getting the procedural details right.

2. The FTC Consumer Sentinel Network publishes annual reports on the most common fraud tactics in the US. Great for understanding how modern scams actually work and what makes people fall for them.

3. The Smithsonian's American Art Museum has a free digital collection of forgery case studies. If your character forges documents or art, this is gold.

4. Court Listener (courtlistener.com) is a free legal database where you can read actual court transcripts from fraud trials. Want to know how a real con artist talks under oath? This is where you find out.

5. The Internet Archive's collection of old newspaper crime sections. Search for "confidence man" or "swindle" in papers from the 1920s through 1960s and you'll find incredible real stories that would feel too dramatic for fiction.

Bonus: The Psychology of Fraud section on the Association for Psychological Science website has accessible articles about why people trust, how deception works cognitively, and what makes someone a convincing liar. Essential reading if you want your con artist characters to feel psychologically real.

And he raised his eyebrow at me. We'd been discussing addictive medications a few minutes before, like the Tramadol I finally got from the pain specialist to take once a week or so to give me a break from my chronic pain, so I reassured him that methylpenidate (Ritalin/Concerta) is not addictive (at least not in people with ADHD).

His response? To raise his eyebrow even harder and say "Well it sure SOUNDS like it's addictive!"

And I had to explain to this man - who works in a healthcare related job by the way - that just because medication makes you feel good and helps you, just because you look forward to taking it, that doesn't make it addictive or dangerous. And he wasn't convinced.

The simple fact that I was excited to take a daily pill that has literally changed my life, after decades of fighting to get that medication, made him think I shouldn't be taking it so often. That it must inherently be dangerous.

I'm not even in America, but I'm pretty sure this attitude began there and then spread over here to Europe. This Puritan idea of "if something feels good, you must beware of it. Pleasure is dangerous, it is sinful, it is addiction, it is evil."

I know too many people who subconsciously believe that pleasure = addictive = dangerous = bad. Joy is a slippery slope to hell.

So here is your reminder for today that you don't need to be afraid of feeling good. If something improves your life, use it. Even if it is addictive - learn what that addiction means, whether the addiction is inherently dangerous or not, and whether the benefits outweigh the drawbacks and risks.

My ADHD meds are, in fact, not addictive. But I will take them every day because they make my life orders of magnitude easier. I will enjoy them every time I take them.

My tramadol is addictive. I will still take it. I will keep it on a schedule to avoid becoming addicted, primarily because addiction in this case would mean reduced effectiveness. But I am not afraid of my painkillers. They are life changing.

The entire medical industry is unhappy with the notion that some people need lifelong medications.

Note: Of course, they aren't at all worried that you need lifelong food, and lifelong vitamins, and that you have to drink water every. damn. day. That's normal, after all.

And they aren't dismayed that some people put their shoes on EVERY SINGLE DAY of their lives, and even look forward to having these little contraptions on their feet that protect them from cold and getting their feet cut by rocks and glass and stuff. None of them say, "shoes, well, I guess if you have to, BUT you really should try to break the habit, at least a little bit, spend a few days with your feet in their natural condition, stop forcing them into a particular shape. Are you really planning on wearing those things every day? You could move somewhere warm, with lots of open fields, where you don't have to! Toughen your feet naturally and only wear them sometimes, when you really need to, and then maybe stick to sandals? Maybe you should switch to sandals now and work towards not wearing shoes at all on some days, mmkay?"

None of them will question you about the Assistive Devices strapped to your feet and ask when you plan to stop relying on them so much.

But pills? OMG, you have pills that make your life better, and you want to take them - and you don't plan to stop?

There is a gang war in LA. The first gang to get to 100 kills, gets to take over that part of the city. You NEED to be careful, Mark. You could be at high risk because of your high status. PLEASE be safe, everyone in or around LA, and please reblog this to get it to the youtubers in LA.

I just worry about their safety.

markiplier