I couldn't decide if I should cut my wig or stop smoking, or both. So I came here to make a compromise - cut my hair with one of these buzzing machines ... and continue smoking. It was the fourth of July, Independence day here in the US. The Brits got booted then, but they still have a grip on our throats. Colonies never change charisma, and face it, the US is a colony at heart. They never parted properly after the tea-party in Boston was spoiled. Sure, Washington and others did a great deed, the modern formula of Democracy was born, retrieved from a concept that was inaugurated in ancient Greece. Where am I going with this? I actually don't know.
All I know, is that the State of the Union on this 4th of July is still shaky - that Democracy in the general population is still phrased with that "what can I have next?" question - instead of looking at the slogan "how can we share sensibly what we have?"
But fireworks will distract that mission, let us not come to our true senses. And forget the smokes, which oh so insensitively escaped from my cigarette and escaped as whimsical puff into the bedroom of my brothers wife's son. I got reprehended twice for smoking outdoors "close to vicinity" - while the grill was spewing monoxide and other goodies into the air.
I hate nerds, especially on independence day, when all the people of New York State payed a fair price to finally get back into the crown of the statue of Liberty. It is now open again. But climbing stairs just a bit higher leaves no warranty towards freedom. You see, the difference between Democracy and Freedom is such: Democracy is a concept, Freedom is a vision.
On that note, Happy celebrations for Independence Day.
Sunday, July 5
I couldn't decide
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18 comments:
You really should quit smoking though Zee! There is absolutely nothing therapeutic about them. Nothing. Cigarettes are 100% poison. Just start a rigorous daily exercise regimen, while continuing to smoke, and if you pay attention to your body, you will see, and experience without a shadow of doubt, just how much tobacco impairs your performance. This is absolutely true, I speak from personal experience.
Great resource to read:
http://www.environmentaloncology.org/smokingtoxicity
Hey bro, great to see you briefly on the 4th. I liked the haircut although I might prefer you stop smoking. Don't worry I won't reprehend you again, but what is this "brothers wife's son"? How about nephew or brothers son? Part of the problem was he spent the entire weekend coughing due to what else, smoke inhalation from a campfire, causing your brother's wife to worry. But now that he is back in PA, he seems to be ok.
CYM
Cym, I am a chameleon, I change color depending on situations and placement. I don't want to defend cigarette smoking per say, but I do wish to see a balanced view on this 100% poison thing. There are so many poisons around us which we either voluntarily or else involuntarily absorb without even blinking an eye, poisons who have far more reaching consequences for generations to come.
The reasons why smokers got singled out as culprits, is that statistically it is so much easier to keep records and to do computed reports. Smoking becomes the villain, while at the same time factories spew out trillions of the the amount of carbon-monoxide and such, and distribute it equally across the globe, for non smokers and smokers alike.
The number one death-sentence in our time is STRESS, not cancer, nor fatal accidents, nor war or Aids, or any other kind of diseases.
Stress is fatal, because it leads either to cardiac arrest or a stroke because your brain does not compute correctly anymore.
As I said before, I am not advertising smoking, and if you don't get hooked, the better for you.
But for the ones who are left, they actually might live longer by perpetuating their smoking habits, because they eliminated stress, the king factor to kill you before the scheduled time is up.
Ahhh... Zee... it's hard to quit smoking if you like it. I guess if really wanted to quit, you'd just learn to like it less and less. I read in the paper today that NYC is going to start an all-out war against smoking. Do you ever catch the anti-smoking commercials they have here with the woman whose fingers were cut off because of cigarette smoking, or even worse, the guy with the hole in his throat after he got throat cancer. If you haven't, you're lucky in a way because if those commercials don't get someone to stop smoking, I'm not sure anything will.
Vote Projector (AL)
OK Al, you intoxicated your son at campfires, smoked him up an entire weekend, giving him asthma and things, while camping, burning fires that left him coughing (being at the wrong side of the campfire). Then I arrive at Mom's and get the the spiel: "Don't smoke in-front his window" - that wasn't you, that was your wife. I thought it was a bit overkill.
As the 200 pounds of daily toxins move towards the North East from the Mid West by coal energy manufacturing plants, my three milligram contribution of a two second temporal state while I smoked in front of a window that adjourns, then gets whisked away in that next breeze - is doomed to be painted as your sons maladies, it occurred to me that this kind of a hysteria is called STRESS, a situation that has nothing to do with the actual facts of what I was doing.
Your son needs help, but I can't cure it by not smoking outside. Your wife Al was a bit too much for me this time around. She didn't understand the physical implications and instead gave me a mental reprehension. I am cool with that if it has merit. If not (as in this case) I discard it.
You be well, let's keep up the fireworks, your stuff is awesome.
Love Lukas.
Hi NoVa, nice to hear from you!
You know, I am just tired of the hypocrisy that is going on. For example, you go and sit outside at a cafe smack-on and adjoining 7th Ave in the Village, no smoking outside!! ... while 100 poisonous spewing cars drive by and extract their exhaust right into your face, delivering the monoxide equal of a pack of ciggs every minute while people are worried about "outside-secondhand-smoke" from a cigarette. It's absurd.
The "war against smoking" is just a distraction and an exercise to humiliate and control the common man.
What really kills are wars. Thousands of army people are dead due to the Iraq and Afghanistan adventure, but what is almost worse, hundred thousands will come back, crippled, arms and legs blown off, blinded, collapsing of post war stress, going insane, unable to function in society any longer.
Instead of this petty "war on smokers", we should engage in a WAR AGAINST WARS!, but that of course would abolish the power of the state. So this will never happen.
Cancer, as you intimately know, is a mysterious disease that hits randomly without rhyme or reason despite the research that gives probability results for certain groups in the general population.
In the mean time, STRESS and car accidents are the prime killers in western society.
Perhaps we should (besides the war against wars) also perpetuate a war against CARS and STRESS :)
And by the way, obesity has topped smokers and is now the number one killer in the US. What you gonna do about that? Declare a war on fat people????
Half of the population would have to be "adjusted" or else getting rid off - a nasty proposition indeed!
I see you’re no longer able to let your hair down!!
I hope we all free to share more with one another – we will need to do more of that as the reality of the hard road ahead becomes even more evident. Best wishes
Make sure you have a cigarette handy before you read this! (but I am not sure about your stess reduction theory). You make a good argument for all the toxic stuff out there and we feel bad about the campfire, but we learn from our mistakes. And as you picked up on, I find it ironic that the polluted skies of Pennsylvania are more friendly to my son's asthma (if he has it) than the country air of the Berkshires.
But I have to say what I really worry about is that my kids don't start smoking as it can result in a whole host of drawbacks in life, not just health issues. So for me that is the #1 reason to not smoke in front of the kids, since like it or not they look at you as a role model.
But I was not looking to continue the smoking debate here. Was great to see you! Love Alex.
Wise words again from Lindsaylobe -
After this cut it will grow again, I am tired of crew-cuts even though they are practical.
Was great to see you too, ALEX,
and I respect that "role model thing", that is actually more important than analyzing the mixture of toxic fumes around us, that potentially affect all of us. You might wish to protect your wife and take all the blame, but you can't really. She acted like a paranoid flutterbug when it came to scorn me for smoking outside.
Look, I am finally grown up and so I can handle criticism, but I can not handle false pretense. That is when I get tense - and perhaps need an other smoke!
Love you too, bee well and regards - Lukas.
HI Zee, the reason why I commented is because coincidentally I was just having the very same discussion with my aunt the day before, about quitting smoking, and so it was still very fresh on my mind when I read your post. She has all sorts of health problems, many of which are directly connected to and worsened by smoking, and would be much alleviated if she would only quit. Of course, you must want to quit, nobody can force you to do it. My dad is a smoker too, and I know how annoying it is to have someone constantly getting on your back to quit, when perhaps you truly have no interest in quitting.
I agree with you that smoking is only one of many other larger sources of cancer causing agents of dis-ease, many of which get very little attention. And yes there is much hypocrisy, where there is more blame placed on individuals, while the biggest polluters come from corporate industrial processes, and in many cases the biggest polluter of all comes from the U.S. Military.
And I agree that Stress is the number one killer, which is often the precursor to the majority of degenerative diseases, perhaps in its role in weakening the immune system. And I would argue that it is Stress which leads you to smoke in the first place. You say that smoking relieves stress? Well you know a crack addict would say the same thing about crack, and an alcoholic about alcohol, and a sadomasochist about pain. But the point is that there are healthier ways to relieve your stress. It would really be worth your while to explore other methods of relaxation and stress reduction, methods that do not harm your health, or reduce your lifespan. But of course, its ultimately your choice.
You should revisit that link I posted above, and peruse the rest of that website run by epidemiologist Devra Davis, PhD, MPH, author of The Secret History of the War on Cancer.
My wife can stand up for herself (as you know) but I do support her on this! Love Alex
hair today, gone tomorrow.
cool hair. it suits you.
freedom has its consequences, but then doesn't everything?
smoke if you need to smoke, but really its better if you don't. at least you have the freedom to choose.
and hair, unless you lose it, always grows back.
Oh, Sera... you are the only one to mention freedom! Thanks!!!
GrannyFiddler
You're right... it is the in-between stages that are painful. Next time around I'll try a hippy-look.
Nice hairdo! Tough to quit smoking, even if you want to.
The world needs you Zee - as long as possible. That's my only advice on the smoking...
Hi Zee,
One more thing on the smoking topic, and I promise not to mention it again unless asked.
I have a new series on my blog I started where I give frugal living tips. Just did a post about how to quit smoking, that maybe you'd like to read.
Frugal Lifestyle Tip: How to Quit Smoking
Take Care
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