Self love

Technology has made it too easy for selfies (self-portraits taken at arm’s length or with a mirror) to grow and multiply.
It wouldn’t be that bad if the impulsive young adults (?) doing so could pause for a minute and resist the urge of immediately posting their artwork on the Internet.

When you post something on the Internet, you make a Faustian bargain. You exchange you soul for very few worldly gains.
Immediately after set free, the selfie takes a life of its own and spreads like wild fire.
Like a wicked boomerang it can fly and come back at the speed of sound and smack you when you least expect it. It might go around the world a few times, but like a homing pigeon it will never get lost.
It knows where you live and will find you.

Even after burning, a Phoenix-like selfie will rises from its ashes and come back to haunt you.
Taking a picture of your private parts and sending it (in confidence of course) to a “friend” is always risky business.
Some politicians learned this at their own expenses.

Photo on 3-24-14 at 3.21 PMA “safe” selfie, is no selfie at all.
But if you absolutely cannot resist the urge of going public, post a camouflaged selfie.
Or a picture showing only the face. Boobs, bums and zizis are verboten. Unless you are Kim Kardashian (who thrives on commercializing her assets), anything below the neck can be and will be used against you.

Very few things today can remain private.
If you “google” yourself on the Internet, you will be surprised to discover how much of your private life has become public knowledge.

Before posting a selfie on the web, sleep on it.
In the morning, send it to yourself and try to figure out the effect it will have on “friends”, relatives and frenemies.
You might even show it to your dog. If he yawns it might safe to proceed. If he wags his tail, watch out.

Alain

PS: Even after sleeping on it, I couldn’t resist the urge of posting a selfie. I am pretty confident that nobody will recognize me.

Sonoma 4 balls singles. To look at some  photos of this event and listen to accompanying background music, turn the sound on, and click on the link “My Photos” located on the right side of this page.

The laughing grass

Liking it or not, marijuana is now as common as dirt. And it is here to stay.
Unless you have been living under a rock, you should not be the least surprised to catch a whiff of Acapulco Gold, even in your own backyard.
To most people, the aroma of “broccoli” is now as familiar as the smell of garlic bread.

Nothing seems to be able to stop the ineluctable march forward of the Locoweed.
Its popularity is abundantly illustrated by the hundreds of slang terms alluding to it.

So since Wacky Weed is so popular, why is its sale still illegal?
There are many pros and cons regarding that question, but many people have come to realize that, like alcohol previously, the sale of Yerba Buena cannot be held back forever.
The question is not if but when the sale of cannabis is going to be legit.

Brent MillerProhibition was an experiment that few people would care to repeat. It did not stop the consumption of alcohol and only benefited criminals.
Common wisdom is now starting to say, “If you cannot lick them, join them!” Instead of fighting an increasingly losing battle, it would seem much smarter for the authorities to join the fray and try to regulate the sale of cannabis.

In North America marijuana ranges from about $150 to $400 an ounce and according to statistics, there are at least 17 million users.
That’s a lot of moolah!

Instead of letting drug dealers be the sole beneficiaries of that commerce, let legislators regulate and tax the catnip. The extra income would go a long way to fund much needed social programs.

KillerdrugBoth sides of this debate have valid arguments against and for the legalization of marijuana.
Although activists are claiming that smoking pot has no negative effects, some scientists believe otherwise. But there are no definitive answers.
As with alcohol, nobody denies that marijuana can impair vital cognitive functions.
Smoking and driving (or operate any kind of machinery) should be an absolute no-no punishable by stiff penalties.

But if marijuana can alleviate suffering in severely ill patients, they should be able to obtain it. And I surmise that it is probably less harmful than morphine.
In the same vein, if “puffing the dragon” can reduce the stress of overburdened citizens, so be it.
The key as always is moderation.

In my humble opinion, puffing on an occasional doobee is no major crime and should not be criminalized.

Alain

PS: Slaving on this little piece has exhausted me. I think that I might have a stress reducing session with Dona Juanita.

 

Humour quand tu nous tiens

“Atheism is a non-prophet organization” George Carlin

When I was a young gay blade* chasing flirtatious lasses, my pre-requisite for starting a relationship was a shared sense of humor.
I don’t deny that T & A ranked high, but it came only close second to a woman’s innate ability to laugh at things and people.

More than anything else, it was a ready smile and an easy laugh that first attracted me to a woman.
If my date proved unable or unwilling to laugh at my jokes she was out. No ifs or butts!

This pre-requisite still holds true today.

People incapable of appreciating humor rank low in my circle of acquaintances.
It is laughter that distinguishes us from animals, and if you are incapable of laughing, what does that make you?
To be true, I am not sure that dogs do not have a sense of humor. If they didn’t, why would they pee on your leg?

Sharing humor provides a sense of complicity, of belonging.
If you can laugh at the same things you have something in common and it augurs well for the future.
If you cannot, it is better to part ways quickly instead of lingering in an unhappy relationship.

practing jewIn humor there are no taboos.
One ought to be able to joke about anything; even about God (she would not mind) or religion. Especially religion! There is always a crying need to skewer this antiquated charade.

Some people are incapable of recognizing humor when it stares them in the face.
It is not just words or images that make something funny. It is their unexpected juxtaposition and context.

To appreciate humor you need to be informed. And to be informed, you need a broad vision of the world.
You cannot tune in to a single channel to have a balanced view of events.
You cannot understand jokes about the Oscars if you have not seen the Oscars.

Putin by himself is not funny. Putin riding bare-chested might elicit a smile. But Vladimir wrestling a bear should make you laugh. If you don’t, you don’t have a sense of humor and you are prime material for joining the Communist Party.

It is said that Conservatives have a much less developed sense of humor than liberals.
I wonder what humor is like in Saudi Arabia?
If you cannot joke about sex, politics or religion what is there left to laugh about?
The weather? Miley Cyrus? The Infidels?

If you are apathetic, depressed or cannot see humor around you, you need treatment.
For a modest fee I could oblige.
But you probably will not like me, for I will laugh at most of the things that you hold sacred.

No matter what, na zdarovye my friends!

Alain

*It is not what you think.
A gay blade originally referred to a dashing swordsman whose sword was often upright and at the ready. Later it was applied to any gallant young man.