Search results matching tags 'Opinions' and 'Charlotte'

This Could Only Happen In North Carolina

jayson.knight — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 05:05:00 GMT

A while back, the story about inhaleable alcohol broke over the internet (I can't find the specific link, but this was announced several years ago in 2004). Fast forward to today, and there's an article floating around stating the machines have been banned in my home state of North Carolina (in addition to 21 other states). My home state is at the very center of the bible belt, and is also a haven for commercial televangelism so it's not a huge surprise until you factor in the following:

The company that distributes the Alcohol without Liquid machines is headquartered in North Carolina
The reasoning behind the ban has nothing to do with the actual imbibing process, it's the fact that hangovers are averted and thus the user isn't "punished" for committing what most Christians consider to be a sin: Over consumption of alcohol.

From the article:

Indeed, the main knock against AWOL in the U.S. is the absence of a hazard (hangover) usually associated with alcohol consumption, an apparent advantage that, to the horror of moralists like the Rev. Creech, divorces sin from punishment.

According to the Christian Action League, the North Carolina bill, which was unanimously approved by the state Senate in April and unanimously approved by the state House yesterday, "makes it unlawful to inhale fumes for the purpose of intoxication, or to manufacture, sell, give, deliver, possess or use an alcohol vaporizing device. It also makes it illegal to possess or sell ethyl alcohol for the purpose of inhaling." So if you pick up a bottle of vodka in North Carolina and announce, "I think I'd like to inhale some of this," you have transformed an otherwise legal beverage into contraband.

What happened to separation of church and state? Down here in the South, that phrase is largely an oxymoron...the church wields huge influential power over local government and politics. The reasoning behind this ban is ridiculous.

Sidenote: This story has zero impact on me; I don't drink (or in this case, inhale) alcohol. I'm also not a bible thumping southerner.

Recent Band Discovery -- The Cinematics

jayson.knight — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 04:15:30 GMT

It's hard to sift through the crapola that is the music industry as of late...95% of the stuff that's out now is pure junk IMO. And who has time to go to the music store these days? Sometimes I wish I was a DJ so I could get paid to listen to music. Regardless, I've been trying to branch out some lately; TLC and I recently discovered a late night show on Fuse TV that caters more to indie rock and whatnot...The Dive. It comes on reeeeaaaallly late though. Speaking of which...

It's unreal how hard it is to find music channels that actually play music videos any more. Even fuse has started showing movies and other non-music related BS.

Regardless, a recent discovery is a Scottish troop: The Cinematics (MySpace profile with sample songs here). Even better is that they are coming to Charlotte on the 22nd of March...very much looking forward to it.

Yoga Will Kick Your Ass

jayson.knight — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 05:42:00 GMT

I used to be a physical guy when I was younger. I played tennis and soccer competitively throughout high school, and was an avid skier for about a decade. I used to rock climb, hike, camp out, and even went through a running phase for about a year where I ran between 10-20 miles 3-4 times a week. I also raced mountain bikes for a few years (until my bike was stolen around the age of 16). I even lifted weights for a bit (though you'd never know it by looking at me today).

All of this came to an abrupt stop about 5 years ago when my career kicked into overdrive and I started devoting most of my time to computers and learning (among other stuff). So, as part of the JK v2 initiative I'm doing as of late, I decided to try something new.

Yoga. No, it's not just for chicks anymore. Truth be told, I probably never even would have considered taking a class except for the fact that my father (who (as regular readers know) I am living with for the time being) started getting into yoga a while back and ended up opening his own studio about a year ago (he retired from a career in commercial photography at the ripe old age of 45, which was 10 years ago). One of the perks of being his son is that he offered me free classes for life, so I finally decided to take him up on it and had my first practice earlier this evening.

An hour and a half of yoga kicked my ass like it's never been kicked before.

Ok, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration (or maybe it isn't?)...but I'm quite out of shape and about as flexible as a 2x4. I will definitely be sore in the morning, but it's nice to be getting back into physical activities. Even better is that yoga exercises your mind just as much as your body, which is something I'm in dire need of. I'm already hooked and can't wait until the next session. If any Charlotteans are looking for a nice, clean, relaxing (and conveniently located) studio to practice in, come down and see us sometime!