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I recall my mom taking me to see Platoon in the theaters. I specifically asked her to, because my older brother and his friend convinced me about how bad-ass it was. If you've seen Platoon, you may be thinking my brother got the exact opposite idea about the film than was meant. (He did.)

At any rate, she took me to the theater to see the movie. The employee at work, God bless him, asked my mother if she was sure she wanted me to see this movie. She looked at me and said, "Do you really want to see this movie?" Of course I looked up and said, "Yes." So we went in and watched it.

Here's the thing, I was born in 1978. Platoon was released in 1986. That means I must have been eight years old, at most nine. Naturally, I probably shouldn't have seen that movie, but I understood the point of it. More so than my older brother, to say the least.

It shocked me a little bit when I later figured out how young I must have been when I saw the film. What surprises me is how I assimilated it. I wasn't scarred or disturbed for having watched it, it was just another film in the many I've seen.

Of course, I can't hear "Adagio for Strings" without getting chills.

Uh....

Gamera vs. Viras OR
Gamera vs. Guiron?

Bilal is a potential spammer, and probably needs to be deleted.

As to the original post, I don't remember the "arm in the wall." But I've seen all the Amityville movies, and the second is probably the sleaziest. Not only because it is based on the actual DeFeo murders and not the subsequent "haunting" garbage, but because it also depicts familial child abuse and incest for our entertainment. (And Burt Young is far too convincing in his role.)

Anyway, the second film was a rip-off of The Exorcist. The idea is that Ronnie DeFeo was inspired to kill by evil presences in the Amityville House. Any weird stuff in the film was designed to propagate that idea.

I'm not familiar with Straight-Edge culture as it practiced today, so this is an outsider's observations.

From what I see, the Straight-Edge usually shows up in subcultures where drug/alcohol use is prevalent. The primary example is of course in punk culture, but by no means is this the only example. Where excess is abundant, there will always be the backlash.

If you decide on a strict anti-drug policy, I whole-heartedly applaud you. It does take work to maintain that, especially if you are generally involved in a culture where it is prevalent. If anybody's opinion of you is dependent on what you put in your body, f**k 'em.

However, I think that the prevalence of drug/alcohol abuse is greatly exaggerated. I would venture to say that the vast majority of people never even have to consider this an issue. A good friend of mine, a Marine, can say that he has never taken drugs or drunk alcohol. He doesn't even take aspirin. He also does not call attention to this, it's just a choice he made early on in life. No judgment for the people that do, he just doesn't.

But, since my main point of study is medicinal biochemistry, or the reaction of chemical compounds in the body, I can tell you that everything your body ingests is a drug. Eating an inordinate amount of sugar will change your body's chemistry, as any diabetic can tell you. Certainly, some compounds are more popular among those who seek an escape or high, but the boundaries of what is a harmful drug and what isn't are in no way clear cut.

So I agree that you don't really need any of the popular chemical compounds people use to get through their week (and there are some compounds that are clearly a very bad idea). But the idea that all drugs are bad does not necessarily follow. Alcohol to regular excess is not a very sharp idea, but that does not mean that all alcohol intake is the end of the world. A beer or two every now and then will not kill you. Related, if you have a specific health problems, anti-inflammatory drugs are a good idea.

So I view the Straight-Edge outlook as very akin to vegetarianism. Both ways of living have quite a few benefits to them, but it's not the be-all-end-all of how to live. Not being one or the other isn't the worst choice you could make. Unfortunately, both vegetarianism and straight-edgers have their irrational militants.

In case I didn't make myself clear, I applaud your choice. If that's the way you choose to live, continue doing so. Like you said, it's a lifestyle choice.

During the years prior to the First Animal Rebellion, their Fifth Column of infiltrates helped thousands of farm animals to escape to Canada.

 

 



Terrible I know.....

Hey. By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you'll be happy. If you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher.
I am from Oman and too bad know English, please tell me right I wrote the following sentence: "In procedure to this, a process electrophylic considerable footswitch in treatment to what satisfaction will be darkened to look your kits is another peroxide, teeth whitening."

With respect :-D, Bilal.

What!?? Maybe I'm drunk but I am almost positive that made no sense

Hey. By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you'll be happy. If you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher.
I am from Oman and too bad know English, please tell me right I wrote the following sentence: "In procedure to this, a process electrophylic considerable footswitch in treatment to what satisfaction will be darkened to look your kits is another peroxide, teeth whitening."

With respect :-D, Bilal.

This is just my opinion from my analysis of the world situation which is I admit imperfect at best but.... I actually think the recession will get worse, the wealth gap will increase and more people will live in poverty, that is the outcome of neo-liberal economic policies the world over. They do not benefit anyone except the top 1%, cause they have the most influence, they set policy cause money talks. And Paula all that s**t on TV is there to make you believe that the fabled "American Dream" has ever been or ever will be a reality for the majority of people, propaganda really, to keep people supporting policies that are actually harmful to everyday working people but helpful to CEO's and shareholders. It's class war through economics. Rant over

Aren't you a slice of sunshine?

Sadly, I agree.  We haven't seen the worst of this yet. I am a Democrat, but I had a bad feeling things were gonna go this route. But, to be realistic, Obama is getting blamed for the carry-over from the last administration's excesses. I hope he is smart enough to balance things out in the next couple of years, but I doubt it.

Man there is always hope, and it is definitely not Obamas fault, just like it wasn't Bushs, it goes deeper than one presidential term, it is an accumulation of many different factors and Americas* seemingly unalterable self perceived role as the center of the universe, this goes for other countries as well.

*Government and Industry, not the Citizens, though I'm sure some do.

Why are the hot babes always going with these skuzzy looking guys?

dude, he's got to be the one holdin...only reason she's with him.