I remember hearing a rockstar once say that his alcoholism comes in handy onstage for his nerves. Alcoholism is a negative, we can all agree that it destroys lives. But to twist something around and say it's a performance enhancer, all of a sudden this makes it somewhat justifiable. The same thing with steroids. Steroids don't kill as many Americans yearly(maybe 3, as the movie, bigger faster stronger* cited) as alcohol does(770,000), yet citing steroids as an evil and giving alcohol a break beckons a question. Do the fans really care what their idols are taking to perform better?
I couldn't help but think of musicians that were pressured to try heroin and LSD because other musicians had tried those drugs. John Lennon wrote some amazing pieces. Bands like Nirvana and Sublime lead singers tragically hooked on heroin. Motley Crue, ACDC, KISS, and the cocaine epidemics. These musicians, oddly enough, also claimed that the drugs would help them perform better onstage. Were the fans just too ignorant to that fact?
I don't think so. We go to a baseball game and secretly wish for that home run. We hope that the PHISH guitarist will play a solo that will bend our minds. We don't find standup comedians with performance anxiety to be very funny. Strippers that are shy won't be making tips.
Now let's get one thing straight. Steroids don't hit those home runs. These are full grown men using these drugs, not kids being reckless. If you took the same steroids that Barry Bonds used, your chances of smashing his record is miniscule. Heroin and LSD don't write great songs.
Performance enhancement is merely a side effect itself, of a larger problem. An idea where beauty, financial success, and popularity is more important than human relationships. We are willing to sacrifice it all to achieve what we believe will make us happy, when in fact, it's just bullshit.
So I say, if you need something to help gain an edge, go for it. As far as what substance you choose, be weary. The dangers of steroids are way blown out of proportion, and while my jock friends I will never fully understand their macho behavior, I can safely bet that their steroid use isn't killing them like drug use kills my favorite musicians.
And now I will grab my energy drink. take some Ginko Biloba, and kick ass at some online video games. Maybe later I will slug down a few beers or smoke a joint and finish up my lyrics for our recording next week. Tomorrow morning I'll take a thermogenic for my jog and slam down a recovery shake afterwards.
I couldn't help but think of musicians that were pressured to try heroin and LSD because other musicians had tried those drugs. John Lennon wrote some amazing pieces. Bands like Nirvana and Sublime lead singers tragically hooked on heroin. Motley Crue, ACDC, KISS, and the cocaine epidemics. These musicians, oddly enough, also claimed that the drugs would help them perform better onstage. Were the fans just too ignorant to that fact?
I don't think so. We go to a baseball game and secretly wish for that home run. We hope that the PHISH guitarist will play a solo that will bend our minds. We don't find standup comedians with performance anxiety to be very funny. Strippers that are shy won't be making tips.
Now let's get one thing straight. Steroids don't hit those home runs. These are full grown men using these drugs, not kids being reckless. If you took the same steroids that Barry Bonds used, your chances of smashing his record is miniscule. Heroin and LSD don't write great songs.
Performance enhancement is merely a side effect itself, of a larger problem. An idea where beauty, financial success, and popularity is more important than human relationships. We are willing to sacrifice it all to achieve what we believe will make us happy, when in fact, it's just bullshit.
So I say, if you need something to help gain an edge, go for it. As far as what substance you choose, be weary. The dangers of steroids are way blown out of proportion, and while my jock friends I will never fully understand their macho behavior, I can safely bet that their steroid use isn't killing them like drug use kills my favorite musicians.
And now I will grab my energy drink. take some Ginko Biloba, and kick ass at some online video games. Maybe later I will slug down a few beers or smoke a joint and finish up my lyrics for our recording next week. Tomorrow morning I'll take a thermogenic for my jog and slam down a recovery shake afterwards.
Virginia Woolf
GREEN
THE POINTED FINGERS of glass hang downwards. The light slides down the glass, and drops a pool of green. All day long the ten fingers of the lustre drop green upon the marble. The feathers of parakeets their harsh cries sharp blades of palm trees green, too; green needles glittering in the sun. But the hard glass drips on to the marble; the pools hover above the desert sand; the camels lurch through them; the pools settle on the marble; rushes edge them; weeds clog them; here and there a white blossom; the frog flops over; at night the stars are set there unbroken. Evening comes, and the shadow sweeps the green over the mantlepiece; the ruffled surface of ocean. No ships come; the aimless waves sway beneath the empty sky. It's night; the needles drip blots of blue. The green's out.
BLUE
The snub-nosed monster rises to the surface and spouts through his blunt nostrils two columns of water, which, fiery-white in the centre, spray off into a fringe of blue beads. Strokes of blue line the black tarpaulin of his hide. Slushing the water through mouth and nostrils he sings, heavy with water, and the blue closes over him dowsing the polished pebbles of his eyes. Thrown upon the beach he lies, blunt, obtuse, shedding dry blue scales. Their metallic blue stains the rusty iron on the beach. Blue are the ribs of the wrecked rowing boat. A wave rolls beneath the blue bells. But the cathedral's different, cold, incense laden, faint blue with the veils of madonnas.