Death of an Industry

Today, most viewers don’t count themselves as “fans” at all. Clarissa Smith, a researcher at the University of Sunderland in northeastern England, has spent years collecting data on thousands of Internet porn users. When she crunched some preliminary numbers from a voluntary online questionnaire of 5,490 men and women, she noticed a schism between young and old consumers. Both male and female users in their teens and 20s viewed porn frequently but not passionately. They accessed it through downloads and tube sites and amateur portals when they were either horny or bored. And out of all porn viewers, those aged 18-25 rated pornography as least important to their lives. When porn is free, we want it more, and we value it less.

Full SLATE article HERE.

Vaping Confidential

This is one of those subjects I've avoided writing about on this blog because too many people fucking read this blog who really shouldn't... but who fucking cares.

I haven't had an actual smoke in a few months now. Some people may not even realize that I smoked because I wouldn't smoke in front of them, but I had a steady habit, especially when writing. I didn't really intend to quit smoking. I just switched from smoking to vaping.

That's what they call it in the e-cigarette community. Vaping. Doesn't really have a ring to it. "Vapor" is nowhere near as cool as "Smoke". But it is a lot healthier -- which is to say, less unhealthy -- than smoking. And, more importantly, it's absurdly cheaper.

For the uninitiated, there are e-cigarettes that closely resemble regular cigarettes ("analogs") that you can buy over-the-counter at any 7-11. I started out with those because they're dead simple to use out of the box. But I immediately switched to a more serious vaping rig which looks nothing like an analog. It's got a bigger battery -- lasts longer and produces a stronger vapor. You fill it with e-cig juices that you can buy from various mail-order shops. Finding one you like can be trial and error but I've found one that does the job. You can choose the percentage of nicotine and gradually ween yourself off nicotine altogether. Right now, what I'm using is generally a similar amount of nicotine that you'd find in other smoking cessation products, like gums or patches.

What's stranger is that I've vaped in front of non-smoker friends who haven't even asked me about it. Even though my current e-cig looks NOTHING like an analog. I don't know if they've just assumed it was a different kind of cigarette or what. Perhaps just a sheer lack of curiosity. Smoking, vaping, same thing.

In any case, it's better. And if I weren't so fucking run down by the hours and nature of this godforsaken gig I've been on for the past slaughter of months, I bet I'd feel a lot better right now.

Mid-February. Mid-February, this gig ends. We'll see if I can get something better set up before then...

FX's Three Minute Recaps

Hey, FX. I've already set my DVR to record every new episode of JUSTIFIED. Why do I need an additional three-minute recap of every episode every week? So I can have an extra thing on my DVR to delete without watching every week? Is it an attempt to lure in people who aren't watching JUSTIFIED?

I remember this happening with DAMAGES when it was on FX. Maybe THE SHIELD. For some reason, they don't have one for AMERICAN HORROR STORY. Typically, they air in the wee hours of Sunday morning. On the DVR, it appears that you've got an extra episode of the FX drama you've been watching, but no -- it's just an extra 3-minute recapper, for some reason.

What purpose does this serve...?

Conrad Bain Has a Posse

Conrad Stafford Bain
February 4, 1923 – January 14, 2013
Conrad Bain has a posse.

Elsewhere, Charlotte Rae and Todd Bridges are battling with swords...

This is 37

Time is no longer on my side.

Revisionist Blogging: Comedy Cellar

This is just for my own files. A way to remember the date something happened when I didn't explicitly get to blog about it when it originally happened.

Today, we had an impromptu, belated-birthday surprise for our friend EPF. A night at The Comedy Cellar, which he'd been wanting to go to for a while.

Had dinner with EPF and his wife before the show. EPF wasn't expecting me to show up but I still managed, somehow, to keep him from suspecting anything because his birthday was a month gone and MY birthday was a few days away -- so everytime he accused me and his wife of planning this in advance, I accused HIM of planning a surprise for ME. Which would have been more appropriate! This kept him discombobulated enough to not expect other friends to show up later.

The "surprise" fell apart slightly when we got to the Comedy Cellar and EPF had to take a little time to find parking. But it was still a surprise. And Aziz Ansari showed up at the club to do a surprise spot, which was a sweet bonus. He did some riffs on texting and relationships that were... quite well-observed! Oh, we laughed.

The End.

The Medusa Tree

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, friends and frenemies, strangers and enemies, BEHOLD...

... the Medusa Tree!

The Christmas tree that stares back at YOU. Gaze too long and you'll turn to stone.

I don't know where it came from but once I thought of it, I had to waste a few hours making this GIF. Something to launch the new year properly.

2013. We're on borrowed time, now. We have to make this year matter.