Smoking Can Cost – Lots!

Mood: Huh?!?!

Here’s proof that there is a hefty price to smoking!

$US23 QUADRILLION FOR PACK OF SMOKES
July 16, 2009 | smh.com.au

JOSH MUSZYNSKI almost choked when he checked his Visa account online after buying a packet of cigarettes at a service station to find he was charged $US23 quadrillion.

Mr Muszynski, from the US state of New Hampshire, checked his account online a few hours after the purchase and saw the 17-digit number – a stunning $US23,148,855,308,184,500.

He told WMUR-TV that he spent two hours on the phone with Bank of America trying to sort out the string of numbers – and the $US15 ($19) overdraft fee.

The bank corrected the error the next day.

Bank of America said the card issuer, Visa, could answer questions.

Visa, in turn, referred questions to the bank.

— Associated Press

I have been smoking on and off since the day before my 16th birthday. By December this year, I will have been a smoker for 20 years. By December this year, I should be ready to quit for good, and J and I will be doing it together. Amongst many reasons for quitting (such as "it’s time" and "we wish to live healthier") is one associated with the rising prices of cigarettes.

I remember when I first started smoking, cigarettes were cheap, and anyone at any age could buy them. I remember being quite shocked and disgusted when I had to pay $5 for a packet of cigarettes a few years later, and aghast when they got to $10 a packet. I now pay an average of $12 for my Alpine Fines – yes, disgusting, I know; I now smoke menthols, just like I did when I was 16!!!

Smoking is something I’ve enjoyed over the past 20 years. I am more a social smoker than a regular smoker. I don’t pop out during a working day and have smoko like some of my colleagues do. On any given day, the most cigarettes I’d have is 3. I do smoke every day, but no more than 3 per day, unless I’m out drinking.

I smoke, a lot, when I drink or when I’m around a group of smokers. As J is also a smoker, we like to have a couple of cigarettes after work together on the balcony to catch up on the day. And we have enjoyed summer nights on the balcony, with our cold beers and our cigarettes and chatting about the news of the world.

I will miss smoking, but I’m almost ready to let it go. Almost. But if I get charged $23 quadrillion dollars for a packet of ciggies, you can bet your bottom dollar I’d be giving it up there and then on the spot!

The Birds & The Bees – In A Swimming Pool???

Mood: Oh Dear…

From the "WTF, You Must Be Kidding Me" files comes this incredible tale of a woman, her daughter, and an allegedly sperm infested hotel swimming pool. Thanks to my brother-in-law for steering me to this story.

And of course, as always, you can trust The Sun when it comes to reporting these groundbreaking stories with high levels of credibility and integrity.

I was kidding about that second paragraph.

TEEN PREGNANT AFTER ‘SWIMMING IN POOL’
By Hayley Doyle | Published: 09 Jul 2009 | thesun.co.uk

A WOMAN is suing an Egyptian hotel claiming her daughter got pregnant – from using the swimming pool. Magdalena Kwiatkowska’s 13-year-old returned to Poland from their holiday expecting a baby.

Magdalena believes the teenager conceived from stray sperm after taking a dip in the hotel’s mixed pool. She is now seeking compensation from the hotel.

A travel industry source said: "The mother is adamant that her daughter didn’t meet any boys while she was there.

"She is determined to go ahead with the case."

Tourist authorities in Warsaw, Poland, have confirmed they received the bizarre complaint.

Movie Review: Choke

Mood: Umm…err…

It’s been ages since I wrote a movie review. The last movie I reviewed was way back in February, for Taken. Since then, we have seen seven movies, so get ready for a deluge of movie reviews.

The next movie we saw after Taken was a black comedy called Choke. Emily organised a night out for us at the Moonlight Cinema at Centennial Park, and the movie that most people agreed on was Choke.

Prior to going to the screening that night, I had no idea what this film was all about. By the end of it, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know any more. Let’s just say this wasn’t exactly my cup of tea.

Here’s a brief synopsis of the film: Victor Mancini is a sex-addicted med-school dropout who by day works as a historical re-enactor at a Colonial Williamsburg theme park to keep his increasingly deranged mother Ida in an expensive private medical hospital. At night, Victor supplements his meagre income by running a scam to deliberately choke in upscale restaurants to form parasitic relationships with the wealthy patrons who "save" him and con money out of them. When he’s not pulling this stunt, Victor cruises sexual addiction recovery workshops for action. In a rare lucid moment, Ida reveals that she has withheld the shocking truth of his father’s identity, which sees Victor enlist the aid of his best friend, Denny and his mother’s beautiful attending physician, Dr. Paige Marshall, to solve the mystery before the truth of his possibly divine parentage is lost forever.

I distinctly remember not really liking this movie, although I did enjoy the performances by Sam Rockwell and Angelica Huston as Victor and Ida. I also thought Kelly Macdonald did a great job as Paige – she was endearing in a weird sort of way.

I will honestly admit that I "didn’t get it". It was really dark, and some of it was funny, but the story required too much thinking for my liking. I thought the twist was well done, even though in hindsight, I was kind of expecting it. But really, it wasn’t my cup of tea.

Rating:

So to continue on with the Kevin Bacon game, here are this film’s Bacon numbers.

Sam Rockwell has a Bacon number of 1.
* Sam Rockwell was in Frost/Nixon (2008) with Kevin Bacon.

Angelica Huston has a Bacon number of 2.
* Anjelica Huston was in Martian Child (2007) with Oliver Platt.
* Oliver Platt was in Frost/Nixon (2008) with Kevin Bacon.

Kelly Macdonald has a Bacon number of 2.
* Kelly Macdonald was in Choke (2008) with Sam Rockwell.
* Sam Rockwell was in Frost/Nixon (2008) with Kevin Bacon.

Brad William Henke (who played the role of Victor’s best friend Denny) has a Bacon number of 2.
* Brad William Henke was in Hollywoodland (2006) with Joe Spano.
* Joe Spano was in Frost/Nixon (2008) with Kevin Bacon.

Next movie I saw was Confessions of a Shopaholic with Suz, who got free VIP movie passes and decided to share them with me!

Things To Say During Sex

Mood: LMAO

This is seriously hilarious!!! Click on the picture to enlarge.

Crackers!!!

Mood: Feeling Cheeky

This is GOLD! It explains perfectly why I’m always swearing!

WORDS CAN EASE PAIN, I SWEAR
July 13, 2009 | SMH.com.au

SWEARING can lessen the feeling of physical pain, scientists have discovered.

Volunteers withstood pain for longer when they swore than when they used anodyne words, in a study at Keele University in the English Midlands.

Richard Stephens, who led the study, believes it may explain why most languages contain swear words.

He said: "The volunteers who swore had an elevated heart rate, so it could be increasing their aggression levels.

"Increased aggression has been shown to reduce sensitivity to pain, so it could be that swearing helps this process."

The researchers asked 64 students to submerge their hands in a tub of ice water for as long as they could while repeating swear words of their choice. They carried out the task again while repeating non-offensive words.

The volunteers who swore kept their hands submerged for an average of 40 seconds longer. When questioned about their perceived pain they rated it as being lower.

The researchers also measured the volunteers’ heart rate and found that it increased while swearing.

Dr Stephens said: "When my wife was in labour … she felt the need to eff and blind at one point, but was very apologetic afterwards. The midwife said they were used to that kind of language on the delivery ward, so it got me thinking.

"Our research shows one potential reason why swearing has developed and why it persists."

— Telegraph, London