The New Am I The Only One Thread

[fuzzygobo]

I'll even admit more.
Throughout my college career, beer and pot were a constant presence. But I didn't let it interfere with my studies. Still hit the books, still made the Dean's List, still graduated with honors, was vice president of a business honor society, so I studied as hard as I partied.
As far as drinking goes, I enjoyed getting buzzed, but never got sheet-faced, fall down, puke-and-pass-out drunk. Never had a hangover, because even if you partied Saturday night and crashed on Sunday, Monday will be here before you know it.
I've seen too many abuse drink too, and it's a heavy price to pay.
Same with hard drugs. Never did coke, heroin, any pills, never tried sniffing glue, nothing stronger than weed.
Never took acid. I was terrified of the possibility of uncontrollable hallucinations.
Ironically enough, some of my psychedelic heroes- Syd Barrett, Skip Spence, and Sky Saxon, all of whom I covered their songs- all fried their brains on acid, and basically turned themselves into vegetables. Loved their music, but didn't want to share their fate.

College is a risky time and place. Young people- not kids, but not quite adult yet- many away from home for the first time, away from Mom and Dad, left to their own devices, plunge in headfirst to the party scene.
People my age were brought up with films like "Animal House", where the goal of going to college is to get drunk, stoned, and laid. And all of it is there for the taking. Rolling Stone used to put out an annual issue of the Top Ten Party Schools. Montclair State University never made the list, but man, we tried our best to live up to that ideal. 8)

I survived college and my partying times in spite of myself. But I wouldn't recommend anyone to follow in my footsteps.

Playing in a band, by all means, let it rip. But it is better sober.

 

[LittleJerry92]

I honestly started smoking pot cause of stress, and it has definitely changed my life more positively.

Occasionally I'll take a hit if something is bugging me, but only if it's something minor and not something I have to constantly think about. Otherwise, I just like to do it for fun. I have a friend who's usually high, but only because it helps get him through college quarters (him and I attended the same college, same major, I was two quarters ahead but we were previously roommates at Landmark college). He has add so it does help him concentrate on work.... Which surprises me. I tried working on a documentary under the influence and it didn't mix well.

Overall though it is good to take breaks because it will get boring after a while and lower your motivation to do anything. And I'm thankful it can also be used as a medicine (depending on the strain).

As for beer, i've only once gotten drunk and it isn't something I want to do again. I felt very moody when I sobered up.

 

[D'Snowth]

I could never get drunk whether I wanted to or not: I cannot tolerate carbonation, it irritates and stings my throat something awful, I can't even swallow anything with carbonation in, which is why I never drink sodas or anything of that nature.

 

[ErinAardvark]

I'm beginning to feel like the only one who doesn't think Matt Vogel has a Jim Henson sound to Kermit.

 

[fuzzygobo]

The worst side effect I had from drinking was "The spins". It doesn't happen to everybody, but you lie down on the bed and the room is spinning at a dizzying speed. The only way to stop it is sleep with one foot on the floor. That's your anchor.
Again, just like with drugs, beer was usually the strongest thing I'd drink. Never liked vodka, never drank too many cocktails, and at parties, I stayed away from punch bowls, because God only knows what they threw in there.
I always kept my beer in my hand (usually a can or bottle, no Red Solo Cups yet) because people LOVED to try to spike your drink.

Two beers was usually my limit. I never tried to set any drinking records, never won any chugging contests, and once I reached that nice comfortable (and manageable) buzz level, I didn't need to push it further.
Today, thirty years later, the extent of my drinking is a glass of wine with dinner (White Zinfandel will go well with practically any dish) or, instead of dessert, a cup of coffee with a shot of Amaretto or Kahlua.

I don't drink very often, but when I do, I really want to enjoy it, not get hammered.

 

[D'Snowth]

I'm beginning to feel like the only one who doesn't think Matt Vogel has a Jim Henson sound to Kermit.

I don't either. I don't think he has a Steve Whitmire sound to him either. He sounds like his own character - there's a distinct Matt Vogel sound to his Kermit

 

[LittleJerry92]

I don't either. I don't think he has a Steve Whitmire sound to him either. He sounds like his own character - there's a distinct Matt Vogel sound to his Kermit

Honestly I feel like I don't even know what to really make out of it anymore.

 

[MikaelaMuppet]

I don't think Matt sounds like Jim and Steve at all when he does Kermit.

 

[fuzzygobo]

Trying to find people to replicate the voices of characters created by Jim, Frank, Jerry, etc., is such a tall order.

It was deemed necessary for Steve to fill Jim's shoes as Kermit, and others to replace Frank and Jerry (sounds like a good name for a cereal, doesn't it? Frankenjerry!) but there will always be comparisons. "That doesn't sound like Jim/Frank/Jerry/Fran/Richard/etc."

I wonder if they ever considered starting from scratch and create a new cast of characters. Break in a new show. These are puppets created under the auspices of Jim Henson's workshop, but the puppetry and vocals are the domain of the performer. If this performer leaves, the character gets retired.
I dunno, just a random thought.

Back when Jim and company performed on the Ed Sullivan Show, (some twenty times over five years) it wasn't twenty different Kermit skits. They were Muppet skits. Each time Jim showed up there might be some different character, sometimes Kermit, other times something completely new.

The other reason why those skits worked was having such a small cast.
Anything more than four characters was a lot. But it focused on the few characters that were there and made their impact greater.

Back when The Muppets performed "The Weight" a couple years back, yes, you got to see Kermit, Fozzie, Piggy, etc., but their screen time was severely shortened, and each character only got a few words to sing, because that was the only way you could include everybody. Otherwise there would be people crying "They left out Walter! They left out Beaker!" But if you watch it again, waiting for your favorite character, don't blink or you might miss him.

I'm afraid if the Muppets ever did another song/skit like that, with such a large ensemble cast, it would have to follow the same formula, or somebody won't be happy for their fave getting shortchanged.

 

[LittleJerry92]

Am I the only one who gets super bugged when people post their sob stories online, especially when it's done on a regular basis?

Not that people don't have the right to have depression because of what's happened to them, but when I see people post personal depressing stories online all the time and try and get people to be sympathetic for them, I just roll my eyes and end up taking them off my social media accounts.

Like, basically statuses like "Nobody understands what I go through!" Or "I can never find the right someone!" And granted, I vent about stuff online myself, but if it's a personal issue, that's where I refuse to share it to the public. At the end of the day, stuff like this I feel like should only be discussed with people you trust, like a therapist or a close friend, etc.