In a thread titled "No Shroom at the Inn": icequeen84: I believe in legalization of all drugs, and if an adult isn't responsible enough to care for themself after taking a mind altering drug, then screw them. davew: I think you'll find that's called 'date-rape'.
In a thread titled "Admit it" in Old Skool: Ponystatic5: Guilty pleasure: Can't think of anything really that I feel guilty about indulging in (except alcohol, which I've given up). Shameful secrets: I've a few, but not many. I once prayed to God that my husband would die. Either by natural causes, suicide or murder. I didn't care which. And (very recently I've made this public to YT, but only 2 in RL) I want to be a clown. wiseNsexy: I'm guessing the murderous impulses and the whole clown thing are related.
In a recent NEWSLETTER thread: travbowman: Here's the annoying part--every time I re-upload the thing, it looks just fine for me: (image) stevesloth: I can't see that. It's too small. jdappleton: Boy, if only you had a nickel for every time you've heard *that*. stevesloth: I was waiting for that comment. jdappleton: I'm glad that I didn't make you wait too long. stevesloth: If only you got a nickel for every time someone told you that.
In a thread discussing parenting techniques and what types of bottles to use: Hammysammy: And we run our bottles in the dishwasher. Not hard to clean at all. HawaiianPyxi: That's what we've done with my step-daughter since day one. Matthias: Poor thing.
In the 'Movies' forum thread about 'Van Helsing':: Alexis01: After seeing all the negative comments, I just want to cry! This movie is "Lord of the Rings" meets "Star Wars", both of which are great! kyry: Could you insult Star Wars or LotR (and, for that matter, totally miss the point) any more? What next? "Problem Child 2" is "Silence of the Lambs" meets "It's a Wonderful Life"?
Joke of the Week
route 22
Sitting on the side of the highway waiting to catch speeding drivers, a State Police Officer sees a car puttering along at 22 MPH. He thinks to himself "This driver is just as dangerous as a speeder!" So he turns on his lights and pulls the driver over. Approaching the car, he notices that there are five old ladies - two in the front seat and three in the back - wide eyed and white as ghosts.
The driver, obviously confused, says to him, "Officer, I don't understand, I was doing exactly the speed limit! What seems to be the problem?"
"Ma'am," the officer replies, "You weren't speeding, but you should know that driving slower than the speed limit can also be a danger to other drivers."
"Slower than the speed limit? No sir, I was doing the speed limit exactly...Twenty two miles an hour!" the old woman says a bit proudly.
The State Police officer, trying to contain a chuckle explains to her that "22" was the route number, not the speed limit.
A bit embarrassed, the woman grinned and thanked the officer for pointing out her error.
"But before I let you go, Ma'am, I have to ask...Is everyone in this car ok? These women seem awfully shaken and they haven't muttered a single peep this whole time." the officer asks.
"Oh, they'll be alright in a minute officer. We just got off Route 119."
The member of the week is blue_flame. A member since December 2003, Blue_flame's entry (pictured above) in the 2007 Pumpkin-carving contest finished second to previous MOTW Tamahau. He may not be a very verbose member, but his skills with gourds cannot be questioned. Congrats!
JoeInterview's Member Feature
This week's interview features mudassar. This interview was conducted by Chips2001 and travbowman.
JoeInterview: How/where/why did you find YT?
mudassar: I can't really remember how I found YT. The earliest I remember using YT was during my free periods at school. I lurked for AGES reading journals, questions and jokes. I wasn't a big fan of forum sites, i'm still really not to this day but something about YT and it's layout just clicked and I kept coming back. YT is the only forum (I like to think of it as an internet community ) that i have been an active member of for more than a few months. It's been my addiction ever since. I have no free time, it's all taken up by YT.
JI: You've just returned from a trip around the world. Is travelling the mind-broadening experience that people say it is?
MA: Absolutely! When you are traveling you meet and talk to people every step of the way. In my first week of travels I met Australians, Americans, Germans, Isrealis, Japanese, Chinese. It was just fantastic. You practically have to talk to people because you have no 'safe base' of people. You are completely out of your comfort zone so you work to build a new one. I spent a few days with, and chatted to a neurological Surgeon, I would never in my wildest dreams have imagined I would have anything in common with him.
You learn so much about yourself and other people. Meeting people from different classes, cultures, backgrounds and locations just knocks any preconceptions and stereotypes right out. Except the Japanese. They always move in groups with a camera around the neck of anyone who is old enough to push the button. I've only spoken about meeting other travellers! I could go on for ages. I will say though, seeing so many different cultures and ways of life just totally gob smacks you.
From the friendly taxi drivers of Australia to the street merchants of Thailand. Everyone left an impression I will not soon forget. I couldn't do it staying in hotels though, you have to 'backpack', it's the only way to really enjoy it.
JI: Tell me about a blissful moment and a stressful moment.
MA: During my travels? I'm going to have to Enie Meanie Minie Mo on the blissful...Fiji would have to top my blissful list. I went out to one of the resort islands (Leluvia) for two days which was fantastic. I turned up in a little boat and they had a welcome party and did some singing and put a necklace around my neck. I unpacked and went to the main beach which was EMPTY. I had a typical Fijian paradise island all to myself. Bliss.
It got better though. I was upgraded for free from a dorm room to a special fijian Bure (traditional Hut) which had beach views. Clear sunsets and sunrises were only topped by one thing. The lunar eclipse. Sat on a paradise island, warm waters lapping at my ankles, gentle breeze in the trees and an awesome view. I can close my eyes and relive it.
The most stressful time on my travels had to be my journey to singapore. I took an overnight bus from Malaysia, for some strange reason i didn't ask where it would drop me of in Singapore. (bad move). We got to border control and had our passports stamped that we were leaving Malaysia and then back onto the bus. 5 minutes later we stop at Singapore imigration, they want to see our bags. We get of and put our bags through the checks and get out and our coach is gone. Apparantly that was the last stop. This was at 4.30AM. So i wait about hoping the coach will show up but nothing.
I remember meeting a couple of Singaporeans earlier and they said it was easy to get around on the MRT (Mass Rail Transit), so i waited at a bus stop and a lady told me which bus to get on to go to the main station and helped me out with money (I only had Malay Ringits). I remember picking up a card for a hostel and it said 'near xyz MRT station' so i thought sweet.
Little did i know things where going to get a lot worse. I had to change MRT's so i was riding that for about an hour got of at what i thought was my station (which it kinda was) but 'a short walk away' turned out to be a good half an hours trek. I've got my entire life on my back and it is starting to get tiring. I manage to find the place and it turns out it has moved. Only down the road but it was still frustrating. Even more so when i found out when i got there that they had no vacancies. At this point if a bum had offered me his sleeping bag i would have been hard pushed to say no. I walk in the direction pointed out to me and the two places i try are full aswell. By this time i have given up.I need to lie down.
I try 2 hotels that i come across and they are full too. I could have cried with frustration. Thankfully the second hotel lady gave me a tourist map and pointed me to the hotspot of hostels. It was 15min down the road but i just couldnt walk, so i hailed a cab, FINALLY found a place with vacancies but the check out time was 11.30 so i wouldnt get a room for another hour. I just crashed on the couch. Being on my feet and carrying all that weight for so long actually made me slightly ill. I was aching all over and had a fever that night. I was quite dissapointed because it marred the little time I had in Singapore.
JI: What does travelling teach you about yourself?
MA: I think it very much depends on the person you are. If you are quite the spoilt 'everything is good, only if it is my way' type person then you don't learn anything about yourself, you learn about other people. The fact that they are all jerks and never do anything right.
If you do realise things and develop yourself then i think travelling really highlights your ability (or inability) to be sociable. You work at and discover new skills it is fantastic. It also shows you the truth, you may think you can live without some of the common amenities, whether that is a reality or not is to be discovered.
I discovered i can go without a bath for a good week and not smell as much as i thought i would.
JI: And what's the best thing about being home?
MA: That's a tough one, it assumes anything is good about being home in the first place! I'd MUCH prefer travelling. I met people that were travelling for two months and were tired of it. I loved it. The impulsive ability to just get up and go. I should stick to the question...I'd have to say the best bit is being around family again. Having my laundry done, food on the table for me. Knowing i can go and have a warm shower on demand.
JI: Describe your favourite local restaurant.
MA: To be completely honest, I'm a student. i haven't seen the inside of a local restaurant in the past 3 years. Even back at home nothing beats the home cooked Asian foods that my mum makes. She will always be my local restaurant.
JI: How did you celebrate Eid?
MA: Non stop eating. Well kind of. Eid only really starts after you have gone to the Eid prayer congregation, which i did. Then when i got back i 'greeted' my family, that would usually include a gift for younger siblings/relatives in the house. I'm still a student so i'm excused. Then we phoned every single living relative that is still alive wishing them a happy Eid. It's kind of a ritual thing that we go to my uncles on eid, so we did and went to have lunch there, it was roast chicken, rice and Rasmalai for dessert. Yummy.
JI: Tell us what Ramadan means to you.
MA: Ramadan for me is a time where everyone tries to better themselves and become better muslims. It provides the opportunity to catch ourselves doing the small little things that we all do but know could do without. It's a time to be close to other people through solidarity, you have the smae routine as every other muslim you meet, you can sympathise. It's also a time for me to practice being a proper muslim, i really make an effort not to use vulgar language or let my anger get hold of me.
I also stress less in this month, i just let go of wanting to dictate/control every little thing which usually goes wrong, like being stuck in traffic etc. I also see Ramadan as a time to ask for forgiveness. By my own standards i am a poor muslim, i try and use this time to develop my understanding of islam and better myself. Which i will now try and carry on through out the year.
JI: What are you studying at uni?
MA: How to be a bad, bad social worker. My university is so badly organised it couldnt (to use a crappy colloquialism) organise a piss up in a brewery.
JI: What appeals about social work? And what area do you think you might specialise in?
MA: The most appealing thing about Social Work is working with people. A new and different challange everyday. I don't think i could handle a regular 9-5 job. I have a few ideas of what i would like to specialise in, the first being CSF (Children, Schools and Families) not really specialising though, just the particular area. Maybe work in a Specialist Adolescence team. I'm also interested in learning and developing my skills working with domestic violence cases. In particular amongst ethnic minorities.
JI: Have you seen any cases so far which made you think "Maybe this line of work isn't for me"?
MA: Not at all. In fact, the more difficult and horrible the case is the more determined it makes me to carry on. I want to at least TRY and help.
JI: Are the social problems that have attracted you to your line of work caused more by nuture or nature, do you think?
MA: It can be a mix sometimes, but i think it is mainly nurture. I have been going over a case in which over three generations of the family have been on the child protection register. The mother and father where taken from their parents as children and placed in care, down the line thier child is going through the same thing. In another case a child who was under protection because of domestic violence has had Child protection conferences regards to her child and her violent (successive) partners. It's a cycle, finding out where it begins is the problem.
As a social services department we do not increase a childs life chances when we remove them from a family, in fact they have the same chances if they were to remain in a family. The only thing we due is reduce risk of injury. We focus on helping change the environment and give the parent 'nurturning' skills but it requires cooperation and dedication, which not many people are willing to give.
JI: How do you teach someone parenting skills?
MA: You stick them in a room and give them some milk, a bottle and a heating method. You make them do it over and over until they dont heat the milk up so much that it melts the dummy. Voila parenting skills! (honestly, some people have difficulty managing that)
Some phe parenting classes are run by specialised departments such as Psychologist so they are analysing the person and what they find difficult and tailor the information. So they work out what exactly, for example, terrifies the mum about changing a nappy or how to deal with a crying baby at night without getting stressed.
JI: Let's change gears...What music is currently getting the most play from you?
MA: I dont really listen to much english music, if i do it is radio and i never really listen to who the artist is etc. Recently i've been finding stuff off of youtube and listening that to death and then moving on to other music. Mid yearish i was mainly listening to Goo Goo dolls, ghosts, The fray.
I'm currently listening to some stuff that was reccomended to me such as (wait for it) Sean kingston, Rhia and my current favourite song is 'hey there Delila'. Now, i could have made up something that would have made me look slightly interesting but thats me. I don't really have any specific taste in music, which most people find odd.
JI: What was the last good thing you read?
MA: I'm quite dissapointed in my reading habits, i havn't read nearly as much as i would like. The last book i really enjoyed was 'Killer Dreams' by Iris Johansen. I really enjoy suspense/thriller type books. The only problem is if i enjoy a book i find it difficult to put down, hence rarely picking one up.
JI: What is your idea of the perfect way to spend a Sunday?
MA: The perfect sunday for me is getting up after having the perfect amount of sleep, theres just no time for that, you just know when it happens. This has to be followed by an awesome breakfast that just makes you feel so satisfied. The rest of the day is spent just relaxing, listening to some music, reading maybe just watching a movie. Sundays are only perfect when you have no set routine or agenda, and you're able to fullfil any whim and go to bed feeling content.
JI: Your favourite celebrity is coming over for dinner. Who is coming, and what do you prepare for him/her?
MA: It'd have to be David Tennant, mainly becaues I don't really follow celebrities 'real' lives but he was on the local radio and he sounds like a class guy, I also really like his acting. I'd probably do something like a Thai curry, it's one of the best things i have ever tasted and it isnt really too difficult to make. Of course there would be some sort of cake for dessert.
JI: What is your best trait as a friend?
MA: my best trait... um, I'd have to for with the cliche 'good listener'. I've found that throughout school everyone found it much easier to talk to me, and to an extent, share their secrets. I used to spend hours on the phone doing most of the listening and it never really bothers me, i genuinely listen.
JI: What would you say is your worst trait as a friend?
MA: Excuse you. All my traits are equally as good as each other. To be frank, in my personal opinion, it's not seeing the negative in people. I always look at the world and friends through 'rose tinted glasses, as one friend put it. So it just means i piss off one friend when i dont join in on the bitching session about the other friend.
JI: Any final words of wisdom to share with your fellow YTers?
MA: Don't argue with idiots. They take you down to their level and beat you with experience. If you think everyone else is an idiot, it's probably because they are busy not arguing with you.
Bannings This Week
Bannings: peoplehateme, emlovesjoe, jsizzle352, tpaintoocool, jayld123, avirl, hyuuganeji, MRMIKSTER, R_Zero (permanent), dont_care (permanent).
Link Section Link of the Week
As a comic book lover, I feel they deserve respect...
Excerpt: I just discovered that in the mid nineteen hundreds,someone wrote a book depicting comic books as a bad influence on young children. I do not believe this to be a true statement.I believe that comic books are stories just like any other books.
