(no subject)

[bubosquared]

Fannish Link of the Day

Snape fans on my friends list may want to avoid clicking this link, in which alicambs brings up a number of really good points about Snape. I've also spotted a bunch of interesting threads in the comments, but I've not had a chance to actively read through and comment yet, myself.

Political ramblings

I was going to just drop this link and walk off shaking my head, because caribbeanblue's done a great job of pointing out the ridiculousness of the whole thing. Then I remembered an article I read once about this sort of thing. This was a UK-based "camp", and only for guys, so there wasn't any of the "Put on a bra and shave your legs and armpits, you HIPPIE LESBIAN FREAK!" stuff, but on the other hand, I distinctly remember rules about tight trousers (forbidden!), jewelry (ditto) and "certain kinds of music, such as ABBA, Queen, the Pet Shop Boys, and Cher" (VERBOTEN!).

It'd all be so fucking hilarious if only I could forget these people are seriously for real, and people enroll in these brainwashing programs because they've somehow been convinced that being queer will send them to hell, or that it is, at the very least, a mental disease they need to be cured of.

In light of that, there's this:

"We put warning labels on cigarette packs because we know that smoking takes one to two years off the average life span, yet we 'celebrate' a lifestyle that we know spreads every kind of sexually transmitted disease and takes at least 20 years off the average life span according to the 2005 issue of the revered scientific journal Psychological Reports," Rev. Bill Banuchi, executive director of the New York Christian Coalition told the Mid Hudson News.

Now, first of all, sex spreads every type of sexually transmittable disease. Gay sex, straight sex, threesomes, orgies, any unprotected sex can and will spready every type of STD. That's why they're called STDs! Yeah, anal sex increases the risk of infections, but not all m/m couples have anal sex, and anal sex is not only had by queer people. Consider, for random example, the number of girls who have only anal sex so they can be virgins on their wedding night!

I don't know where how trustworthy the 20 years claim is, but even if that's a reputable publication, ditto study, and actually what the study claims/concludes, I still want to know what other factors play a role there. The stress of having to live in a world with bigots like the good Reverend Banuchi, for example, is sure to knock more than a few years off my life expectancy.

And as something of a sidenote, I actually think those warning labels on cigarette packs are ridiculous, too. We know smoking is bad for us, people, we don't call them "cancer sticks" for nothing. Has anyone ever really started smoking because they thought it was good for them? It's not that we don't know, it's that we don't want to kno, because we don't think that kinda stuff happens to us, only to other people, and all the warning labels in the world won't stop that.

Er, yeah, speaking of cancer sticks ...

I'm trying to quit smoking (er, again), so if I act twitchy and nervous and overly productive and talkative this week, that'll be why.

Comments

[wibbble]

Actually, people did start smoking because they were told it was good for them, and no one knew, or believed, that cigarettes were bad for you.

I think those warnings are needed, otherwise people /wouldn't/ know. You might know it now, but kids starting smoking don't, unless they're told.

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

I dunno, even my mum's generation of smokers started when they already knew it was bad for them, and I know that most people who smoke, even the ones that started smoking at, like, nine, knew it was bad and just figured "Won't happen to me."

And it's not that I'm against awareness campaigns, far from it, but treating smokers like children isn't going to make us any more likely to quit, y'know?

[wibbble]

No, it won't make you quit, but I don't think that sort of thing is aimed at /you/. I think it's aimed at people who /are/ children, or people who are stupid. Smarter people decide to do something knowing the risks, that's their call and there's not much to be done about it (although I do suspect that if 'Smoking! OMG BAD!' wasn't everywhere, you might not be so inclined to try and quit now) - it's the young and the stupid that they're trying to influence.

Anyway, good luck with quitting. If nothing else, it'll save you loads of money. :o)

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

True, true. It's really mostly that even actual kids won't react well to that kinda thing, and there's really better ways to go about it, IMO.

Thanks. :) I'm down to half a cig a day to allow me to sleep, right now, but in a few days I should be able to quit entirely. (Sleep deprivation + nicfit + not a lot of work at work = me not being very likely to stick with this.) And yeah, the money is one of the biggest reasons I'm quitting, that and the fact that I want to start running again, and I can't do that while I'm still smoking and expect to survive. :D

yesyes, we can do talkative too

[ashenmote.livejournal.com]

Rev. Bill Banuchi is an idiot and someone should apply a warning label about idiots on him. With a branding iron plz.

Last weeks I saw a cigarette pack with a "If you consider stopping to smoke, you can call [some telephone number]" on it that I found cool. I do not know if said hotline is good or useful in any way, but I thought it was a nice change from the usual scare-the-people-into-quitting approach.

All I can say is that all the 'OMG stop it's dangerous and unhealthy and by the way have you seen this pic of a cancerous lung!!!!1!!' was lost on me - as opposed to addressing me like an adult whilst saying 'Know what? Actually you don't need to smoke. No, really!', that I found quite helpful.

Also? I don't know about you, but I secretly think that healthy lungs aren't that pretty either, and what can I do about that? Nobody seems to know.

Re: yesyes, we can do talkative too

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

*nod* That's pretty much what really annoys me about the whole thing, the fact that I feel talked down to, the idea that if I smoke, it's obviously because I'm uninformed and need to be guided towards the light. I mean, I know it's bad, hence why I'm quitting, so lay the fuck off, mkay?

I like the "This is where you can go for help with quitting" thing, yeah. The one that amuses me is "Smoking is addictive; don't start." Yeah, really helpful to put that on a pack of cigarettes! *facepalm*

Re: yesyes, we can do talkative too

[ashenmote.livejournal.com]

*stern look*
You weren't supposed to buy that one unless it was your first pack of cigarettes, silly. Perhaps by buying it you condemned some ill-informed kid to a smoker carreer! OMG! Make up for it! Redeem yourself! Buy lots of those and distribute them among likely-looking twelve-yrs-olds in your neighborhood!

Re: yesyes, we can do talkative too

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

Fortunately, the only child in my neighbourhood (at least that I come in contact with regularily) is Very Pink Girl across the hall, who is barely five and whose mother will probably break me in two if I try. :D

Re: yesyes, we can do talkative too

[wibbble]

Are you joking? A five year old? She's probably selling E to her classmates! ;o)

Re: yesyes, we can do talkative too

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

You don't want to know how long it took me to realise you meant the drug, and not your wife.

Re: yesyes, we can do talkative too

[wibbble]

*laughs*

Now there's something that would've probably squicked her. ;o)

Re: yesyes, we can do talkative too

[elfiepike.livejournal.com]

healthy lungs are gorgeous, yo, all squishy and red and filled with oxygen. oh, they make me hot. mmm, lungs.

...slightly more on topic: go melle! you can do it!

[jamaisneutral.livejournal.com]

"takes at least 20 years off the average life span according to the 2005 issue of the revered scientific journal Psychological Reports,""

Funny, as a psychologist you'd think I might have come across "Psychological Reports" once or twice at Uni, but I don't remember it.
Lesbians may have a shorter lifespan than straight women because of higher poverty, suicide risk, risk at breast and cervical cancer, etc. Gay men because of HIV and suicide risk. I mean, if you have two people, one lives to 80 and the other kills himself at 20, you'll have an average lifespan of 50. Wahey! Point proven!
Twits.

Men have a shorter lifespan than women because of their behaviour and their poor genes (XY), I guess this proves being a man should be considered highly perverted.

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

Suicide, gaybashing, I'm sure there's a bunch of other stuff I'm not thinking of ... And of course getting "cured" and living a straight life would so alleviate any depression that might lead to suice, and increase your life span again, right?

I hate people. HATE!

[rsadelle]

Your icon: I looked it up. There are only 16 chapters in Mark. I think you want Mark 12:29-31.

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

Ack! So I do. *facepalm* Thanks, I'll change that ASAP.

[jamaisneutral.livejournal.com]

and OMG how dare they presume Pet Shop Boys is gay music! OMG! OMG8!!8

[i-amthecosmos.livejournal.com]

That "clinic" or whatever the hell they call themselves gave me nightmares all night.

We must stop them. It seems that the guy running it is a convicted child molester-GREAT IDEA PARENTS, SEND YOUR KIDS TO BE "DE-GAYED" BY SOMEONE WHO WANT TO SLEEP WITH THEM.

I hate the human race now.

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

Ugh, seriously? I never heard of the "clinic" before, just found that link through MetaQuotes, but ugh.

Yeah, the concept of those things is just. Nauseating.

[rsadelle]

Good for you with the quitting smoking. *hugs* You can always email me if you need to talk.

[bubosquared.livejournal.com]

Thanks, and I will. *hug* Right now, I'm channeling the twitchiness into cleaning madness and things like that. :D

[rsadelle]

Hey, as long as you're productive...