Alcohol - who really needs it?

Originally posted by morder1
If you ask me, its the Opiate of the masses...

Keeps you dumb and uninterested...

Might as well drink all the fluoride you can, and take every single vaccine also...

Drink up on your Victory Gin(1984 reference for those who dont know what I mean)

i disagree...being drunk doesnt make you dumb...theres a difference between drunk and stupidity...when im drunk i can still do maths, name capital cities of the world, speak the little bit of other languages i know or play guitar...infact i play better when im drunk lol

My problem with beer is that is so delicious.
If I have no beer, I don't drink beer, but find myself looking for a stray can, if I have it, I drink it.
I never seem to be able to save the rest of the case until next weekend.

What I mean is just having beer around causes the cans to talk to me, "drink us" they say, and then I do.
If you have an alcohol problem, just have it not so available all the time, buy just enough for your little binge and be happy with that.

Unfortunately I just bought 4 dozen beer on sale, and my bro picked up 4 cases more for me thinking I could not make it to the liquor store due to working.

Ahhh, self restraint! So fragile!

A little song video for you metalheads out there.

Die With A Beer in Your Hand!

I enjoy Beer for it's flavor

I learned to drink in Germany As well as how my Grandparents advised me to.

I drink beer for it's Flavor and not necessarily to get drunk.

In Germany They always eat plenty and especially if they're going out to to drink.

No hangover as a result. The fats from the diet are balanced by the alcohol and vice versa.

Generally if one stuck to Beer only, there was never a problem. But Schnapps will make you Ill.

So that has been my mainstay, BEER. Beer is only 5% alcohol and 95% water. Water IS good for you.
Beer also contains Vitamin B12 and the hops prevent kidney stones.

I even brew my own specialty beers on occasion aging them in my cellar for the specialty beer types that aren't readily available here in the US.

As a connoisseur of fine wines and dining, I often cook with wine (the alcohol cooks out) and drink wine with certain types of foods still.

I cook with beer as well. The malt sugars help to balance the acidity of the spices....as used in Mexican cuisine for example. For the same reason as to why carmelizing onions adds to the flavor of cuisine by extracting the natural sugars.

But primarily I drink Beer for flavor and not for a buzz per se. For example, I have 2 cases of Munich Lowenbrau in my cellar at the moment which will last me for quite a long time. It's one of the few Bavarian style beers available here in the US. Becks is no comparison....they use Hop concentrate and one can tell.

Zum Wohl !

Well, technically alky is a class A carcinogen, one of the greatest causes OF cancer.

reply to post by chi_z

Simply being alive causes cancer nowadays.
So what does one do?
Crack open a beer.

I never drink, and I can't understand why anyone would ever want to. I've been black-out drunk before, and stories of my wild stupor are reason enough to never want to do it again.

No desire for alcohol at all. Same for cigarettes / tobacco. Same for drugs. I simply do not have any desire or craving for them whatsoever and it completely boggles me why anyone would want to enslave themselves to a vice that is expensive and unhealthy. Sex is enough of a stress reliever for me. It's free, and on demand.

That said, I almost immediately lose all respect for anyone I'm hanging out with, the second I see they are drunk or high. I value my sharp instincts, perception and wit. Why on Earth would I do anything to put myself at a disadvantage in the company of anyone else?

Smoking in particular boggles me. Expensive as hell, and does absolutely nothing for you.

Forgive me for saying this, but you've got to be really dumb to pay for a handicap.

Definitely makes you forget about # when your ex gf dumps you lmao

Personally, I can go out and have a few drinks and not drink again for a month or two. I've had the same 3 or 4 beers in my fridge since early January because I don't drink at home or alone and I'm a bachelor.

Originally posted by yourignoranceisbliss
I simply do not have any desire or craving for them whatsoever and it completely boggles me why anyone would want to enslave themselves to a vice that is expensive and unhealthy.

Um, because for many it's not a conscious choice? Alcoholic tendencies or substance abuse can be hereditary. I don't think anybody consciously thinks, "I think I'll enslave myself to a vice that is expensive and unhealthy".

If you don't get that, then there's nothing I can say to clue you in. You live in a black and white world.

Originally posted by caladonea
reply to post by James1982

 

There are many people in society that are social drinkers....they are not alcoholics...they are responsible adults and can handle it....you are a good example of such a person.

I am a good example of an alcoholic.....I cannot handle it...so I choose not to drink alcohol.

Everyone has a choice and a responsibility.

Awesome attitude towards the whole thing.
Realizing that there is an issue, taking responsibility for it & choosing to do something about it & then actually doing it.
Again I say, anyone who tackles this is neither trash nor weak minded.
I'm not anti-alcohol, I just learned the hard way that it simply isn't for me.

reply to post by General.Lee


I'm sorry but that's a cop-out. Everyone in my family drinks, some casually, some hardcore. Everyone in my family has been or still is seriously addicted to smoking. I can trace this behavior back to my grandparents.

My post wasn't meant as a claim of any kind of superiority, either. I am just strongly convinced that willpower has alot to do with being unable to control your vice. Claims propagating the myth that your heredity has anything to do with you yourself being unable to control your actions, substantiated or not, only reinforce the truth that it's personal irresponsibility that ultimately dictates your lack of self control.

Ever hear that saying "man with big stomach has small head"? Yeah, kinda like that.

When you run out of people to point the finger at, because no one wants to be near someone who has spun out of control, can you point the finger at yourself? Figuratively speaking, of course.

You can rationalize anything, if you try hard enough.

Watch this - from Hungary, 1967
(Ó, Miszter Alkohol)

www.youtube.com...

I still remember an experiement our sociology professor did back in school.

He had a list of drugs, which listed all their short-term effects, long-term effects, withdrawal symptoms, etc.

But, here's the trick - the names of the drugs were missing.

Based on the above information, we were supposed to classify the drugs as legal, illegal, or possibly prescription.

Guess what, EVERYBODY in the class (including me, a boozer at the time) made alcohol illegal.

Pot was legalized. Aspirin was made prescription.

(All the obvious ones were illegal - crack, etc.)

I don't know about the rest of you, but I've learned to never get drunk around a lot of people you're unfamiliar with. I normally only drink with my closest of friends.

I tend to talk way too much, which usually ends up with me wanting to punch myself in the face the next morning. As far as being addicted goes, I might chain smoke but at least alcohol has no claim on me. Some times I'll drink quite a bit, and other times I'll go for months without drinking a drop.

I do drink, Ive been doing so since a very young age. However I seem to possess something that many other people do not.. Self control. I can control myself around alcohol, if I decide im not going to drink then that is the final word. Mind you I do like to have a bender every now and then, although i tend to stay somewhere between totally blind drunk and blacked out drunk

However when I do drink 99% of the time its in social situations and thats only if Ive decided to drink, these rare social situations would be special occasions.. Birthdays and such. There was a time when I needed alcohol to loosen up at clubs, I used to drink to shoo away my fear of being judged/watched while on the dancefloor. Nowadays im usually the first to jump onto the dance floor as soon as we arrive.. no alcohol needed and not a single care given to what people think about me or my dancing lol.

reply to post by ExCommando


Interesting stats.

After reading all that, I need a drink.

j/k


I used to drink a lot too. Going to the bar after work, and getting drunk was a daily occurance for about six months, last year. When I quit my job though, was when I had to stop. Now the last time I had a drink was about a month ago. Before that, it was in February.

Looking back at it all, I've concluded that it's just a pure waste of money. Sometimes it wasn't even that much fun. But given the type of work I was doing, with the type of people I was working with, I have no regrets about it.

Now I just smoke the wacky tabacki. At least from that, I see some benefits. However, I only do it once a week. Everything in moderation.

I hate alcohol, the feeling is not fun i hate being out of control, it tastes horrible,you feel terrible the next morning, and it makes people violent.

Weed on the other hand is great, quick and easy, tasty, no hangover, can still drive, the list goes on and on.

reply to post by Jrocbaby


I agree about the taste of some types of alcohol. Although I partially disagree about alcohol making people violent, Thats not entirely true, alcohol simply brings out what lies beneath the surface so to speak. If a person is naturally violent, the alcohol brings that violence to the top. For example I know when I drink I turn into what some call the "I love you guy". I become much more friendly and talkative than when sober, that especially applies to meeting new people, usually im the quiet, shy type of guy, likewise my friends are all like that as well, mind you we become more loud than usual but thats not really that strange lol.

My point is, its not the alcohol that makes people violent, the alcohol simply reveals said peoples true nature.

I was thinking about this thread last nite, and had an interesting thought - they used alcohol to control the slaves, right? They tried prohibition because of people's behavior and "moral values" and health and it didn't work, right?

Maybe TPTB used prohibition as an experiment to see how the slaves would react if they took away alcohol - they revolted and the problem became worse, thus re-enforcing the fact that alcohol makes a dumb slave - can't have slaves thinking for themselves....

Then along came marijuana prohibition.....

reply to post by nh_ee


Wow! I was ready to type up a reply and reading the pages and came across your post. We are much the same my friend. With the exception that I usually have some Weise in stock.

I have been called a beer snob. I've told folk that I could never be a alcohilic because I can't afford the beer I buy. $14.00 USD a six pack=YIKES! But then again, if I won the lottery....

And when it comes to cooking, I keep a 22oz Miller in the fridge for that, I have experimented with various beers while cookingand find that Miller is a good alternative to higher priced beers, and I won't drink it as I just don't like it.

I also keep a bottle of Merlot or Cabernet Saugvigon handy for when I cook Italian or a guest comes over. Not a big wine drinker as more than one glass will give me a headache.

I have also used alchol as a means to a end. I'd take my co-workers out for beer and wings from time to time. It's a great way to loosen up their tongues. I don't get them smashed, just put them in a more informal setting. I have implemented many of their ideas (giving them the credit) that never would have been brought up due to fear or nervousness and I have also foiled internal politics before they could do any damage.

Alcohol does have it's advantages and disadvantages. It's all in moderation.