fact or fiction

Is it a fact or is it merely fiction? Fact or Fiction explores relationship myths and truths to get your head out of the clouds and back into romantic reality.

They Called It “Shame Lips.” Now the Dutch Dictionary Has a Different Word.
Shari Klein stands on a street in Amsterdam. She wears red trousers and a blue shirt. Over her clothes, she wears a merkin, a pubic-hair wig. She holds a microphone. Behind her is a large blue-and-orange cloth banner. One sign reads: “After all, there are no ‘shame testicles.’” Another reads: “Name it, don’t be ashamed of it.”
By Jin20 days ago in Humans
I Had 487 Contacts and Nobody to Call
Pinned Five People I had 487 contacts in my phone. I remembered that number for three years, the way you remember a locker combination you never use but are afraid to forget.
By Jin20 days ago in Humans
The One Test That Tells You Who Someone Is
I One test matters. When someone can take advantage of you, bully you, and face no consequences, watch what he does. Being nice to you normally proves little. Nice words cost nothing. A milk tea, a compliment, a friendly chat are easy. Even someone who does not respect you can act sincere when he needs you.
By Jin21 days ago in Humans
The Chemistry of Chaos
True happiness in life isn't the absence of pain, but rather that pain doesn't stop you from growing. Living means confronting pain, uncertainty, and continuous effort.
By Emily Chan - Life and love sharing21 days ago in Humans
The NPD Trait That Explains Almost Everything
When people hear narcissistic personality disorder, they picture bragging, arrogance, a hunger for praise. Those traits are easy to spot. The harder part sits underneath. A person with NPD often cannot hold a complete picture of you in their mind. They see pieces. They see what you can do for them at this moment. They do not see a whole person with a history, limits, and a separate life.
By Jin22 days ago in Humans
Loving as an Ability
The only way to become love is to practice it. Love is neither a promise nor a fleeting feeling. Love is a set of abilities that enable understanding, respect, responsibility, giving, protection, and mutual growth.
By Emily Chan - Life and love sharing22 days ago in Humans
Your Eyes Can't Fake a Smile
Here’s a small warning b efore you read on: once you know this, you can’t un-know it. The next time you’re at the grocery store, a bubble tea shop, or a job interview and someone smiles at you, it will pop into your head on its own.
By Lucy Guo23 days ago in Humans
Before You Become Who You Are
Spiritual practice begins with respecting your "unaccomplished" self. Over a century ago, Nietzsche predicted the spiritual dilemma of our time: as the external world grows ever more powerful, human awareness diminishes. The pressure is immense and inescapable.
By Emily Chan - Life and love sharing23 days ago in Humans
Maybe There Is No Secret Shadow Government—Maybe It’s Just Us
Like a lot of people who grew up in the 1990s, The X-Files probably had more influence on me than it should have. Back then, I was convinced the world was run by some secret shadow government—a mysterious group of ruthless, intelligent people who knew things the rest of us didn't. They were supposedly hiding advanced technology from the common man and working toward some larger goal that might have been benevolent, or might have been completely sinister.
By mark bradley (mark45xxx)23 days ago in Humans
At 100, He Led a Flash Mob in Worcester. Then He Asked, “Are We Practising Next Tuesday?”
The hundred-year-old lead dancer The speaker sat on the paving stones of Cathedral Square in Worcester. A cable ran out from behind a black case, flat against the ground, looping around several stones polished by years of shoes. Bernard Gilbert stood in front of the speaker. He wore a bright red shirt and a white tie. The tie clip was silver and small. He raised his hands and clapped twice. The crowd did not go completely quiet, but some people picked up the beat. A woman pushing a pram stopped and leaned the handle to one side. A man in a work jacket put down his bag. Two teenagers lowered their phones for a moment, then raised them again.
By Jin23 days ago in Humans
The Crack in the Door
Friday nights are my favorite because my granddaughters come to stay the night. They love playing games with me and I am old but not too old for them. I never will be, I would do anything for them. I cook for them almost as much as my wife does. She’s an angel on earth but I don’t say that out loud, it’s not what men are expected to do. We are expected to provide and protect and I have done that for several decades, through all of my kids lives. I used to drink but God changed that. I am a better man because of Christ. I am a hard worker and I used to show my anger with my large, tough hands. But even that was love, or I thought it was. I thought I was teaching them how to behave. I was wrong. Now I work with the same hands to provide, to cook, the play hide and seek with grandkids. To cut wood for fire to keep them warm. And sometimes, when no one is looking, bring my wife a coffee and tuck her in with a blanket. Because she really is an angel and even a tough old man like me can show her gentleness sometimes.
By Raine Fielder24 days ago in Humans
She Paid $170,000 for a Boy Who Didn't Exist
Filling the Session Xiao Huang first walked into that shop when she was fourteen. A classmate told her there was a script, one-on-one, and the DM would keep looking at you the whole time. The air conditioning ran cold that day. The hallway was narrow, the walls covered with posters for murder-mystery games. The DM wore a black shirt and held a cup of warm water. She was afraid of the dark. The script had a lights-out section, and she dug her nails into her palm. He handed her the warm water. The cup wall touched her fingers. He said, "It's hot, slow down." She didn't drink. She held it, and her palms grew sweaty.
By Jin24 days ago in Humans