Shotgun

Hmm, did Portland steal that slogan from Austin, or did Austin steal it from Portland? Either way, at least Austin knows how to spell "weird."

If little boys could get pregnant.... You know, it's sort of mind-boggling to think how that would change the course of almost everything in human history. I mean, patriarchy probably wouldn't exist, and therefore institutions such as, well, the Catholic Church would probably not exist. And birth control might not even be necessary because there would probably be a lot less sex going on. And hmm, men on their periods....

Dude if we ever meet, the first thing I'm gonna do is knee you in the nuts and sock you in the jaw for that one... I think it would be better if you just shot his laptop.

There is a liquor store near my house that has a big poster on the storefront about where to get help for gambling addiction (I guess because they sell lottery tickets), but nothing about addiction to their main product. I don't know... do we put warning labels on everything or nothing? Seems very inconsistent right now. When I pick up any prescription medication, I get a multi-page insert that tells me how to use it, every possible side effect it might have, and what to do in the event of an overdose. And most food products I buy tell me the ingredients, the serving size, calories, and nutritional value (but no warnings about obesity, diabetes, etc.). And if I buy a bottle of alcohol, I get very little information - just the %alcohol and a warning that it's not good to drink if pregnant and that it might impair my driving. No list of ingredients, no serving size/calorie information, no warnings about overdose or even how much would be considered an overdose. Hell, they don't even include a warning that consumption of their product will make me think I am more interesting and attractive than I actually am. Go figure....

Donating it to charity would have made more sense to me, but it wouldn't have made a very good YouTube video. But I'm sort of skeptical about the authenticity here anyway... smells a bit like balloon boy.

Typo In Proposition 8 Defines Marriage As Between 'One Man And One Wolfman' OK, it's old, but....

I love you rehmwa, but you're so freaking pedantic at times.

Amen.

It's not so much that I'm a partypooper; it's just that weed nor alcohol would be at the top of my list for ways to "party." They're both kinda downers, man.

Neither. After years of research, I've concluded that they're both pretty lame.

Good to "see" ya, Chuck. Take care of your bad self.

We're doing the Tofurky this year. I'm making fresh cranberry sauce and a lot of veggies to go with it.

OK, I watched this since you suggested it, and I usually like your film suggestions. It was entertaining, and I was surprised several times during the story, which is always good. I don't know about being Oscar-worthy for the screenplay, but maybe for the direction. (Not that I know much about what is Oscar-worthy or not.) Anyhow, it was different, and something I probably wouldn't have picked out to watch, so thanks for the suggestion.

Ah, the old turn signal thing is still my biggest annoyance, especially when I am a pedestrian. I've mostly gotten over all of the other "stupid" things that people do while driving ("stupid" meaning "not the way _I_ would do it" ), but the turn signal thing still drives me to abhor the fellow members of my species. Hmm, perhaps this is what is blocking me from my enlightenment. I shall go now to pray for people who do not use turn signals, that I may have more compassion and understanding for them. Thank you, wise lawrocket, for reminding me of this deep fault that I hold on to.

It seems to be human nature to look for other people's faults that make us feel better about ourselves. Drug addicts provide that service for a lot of people. Me? I look at self-righteous assholes and think, "Well, at least I'm not a self-righteous asshole."

Yeah, well your ignorance is rather unfortunate...but fuck it...if people wanna paralyze their neurons, fine...I just hope your son understands the ramifications of such stupidity... What are you suggesting that Bill is ignorant about?

I'm not going to vote because I don't know. I've seen so many people list this as one of their favorite movies, but I just don't get it. Maybe there is something wrong with me . . .

The focus in AA is alcohol. I was just referring to the fact that Mr. Wilson also struggled with his cigarette addiction and that his friends tried to get him to use the "steps" to overcome the addiction. Apparently he never tried, though today there is now a Nicotine Anonymous (along with Everything-else Anonymous), so it seems that some people are using the twelve steps for that as well. But yeah, all things considered, nicotine addiction is nowhere near as harmful as addiction to alcohol (or some of the other hard drugs).

I know at least one person who used a twelve-step program to quit smoking. Whatever works. Unfortunately, Bill Wilson was never able to kick his smoking addiction, and it contributed to his death. He never even tried using the twelve steps, despite the urging of some of his friends. Actually, he really never worked the "twelve" steps to quit drinking; he already had a few years sober before he wrote them. The program that was originally passed along orally contained about six distinct steps, but he changed it to twelve when he was writing the book because he wanted the program to seem more formal, and he liked the number twelve because of the "Twelve Apostles." In my opinion, the main thing that the original AA'ers stumbled onto was the idea of alcoholics joining together to help other alcoholics. It seems to be pretty common knowledge nowadays that when we have a particularly difficult problem, it is often helpful to get support from others who share that problem. I think there are a lot of people who get help through twelve-step programs but who don't necessarily take the steps literally, and some members who don't even use the steps at all. Again, whatever works.

So, if a program has the approximately the same rate of success as any of the others, including not even attending a program, what does that tell us? I don't think there is any way to accurately determine a "rate of success." How would you get statistics on people who get sober by not doing anything (where would they be accounted for)? And how would you get accurate statistics from an "anonymous" program that doesn't keep records of its members? No "rate of success" needed here. If some alcoholics are getting sober by ways other than AA (and they are), then the statement is wrong.

Which is actually quite meaningless. For instance, Tarot cards have been around for about 700 years. That doesn't mean they work True, but I don't think there is any doubt that many people have gotten sober through AA (whichever aspect of it worked for them). They have also gotten sober through SOS, SMART Recovery, Lifering, Women for Sobriety, Rational Recovery, and other programs. Some have gotten sober through individual or group counseling, or perhaps even on their own. And I suspect many have combined a lot of these methods to find what works for them. But I don't think there is any way to get accurate statistics on which program (or lack thereof) works better than another.

OK, while I wouldn't call the 12 steps "bullshit," the rest of this statement is not true.

I suspect that most people posting in here are doing so out of boredom and not because they really care what anyone in SC thinks about their religious beliefs.

You sure do post in a lot of these religious threads for someone who doesn't care. I think it is just your belief that you do not care.

So cute! I always like to see the mini versions of my friends.