The Benefits of Insomnia

Took another midnight to 8 a.m. shift tonight. Otherwise, I would've just spent money doing something else. It seems like that's all I do nowadays - if I want to have fun, I have to be willing to lay down some green for it. Yes, I'm willing to sacrifice some cash now and then in exchange for a good time, but that good time doesn't have to be all the time. There were instances, i.e. my high school days, where my friends and I didn't need to burn a hole in our pocket - we didn't even think to. We just liked being in each other's company, and that was good enough. And ideas were put in by every person of the group, so the decision on what to do was unanimous. I often feel now as if I'm pulling teeth, or even dragging someone into something they don't find "fun". While I fear pulling all the strings will make me seem like a selfish individual or that those decisions won't measure up to shrouded standards, I'm then instead blasted for being an "indecisive" person, for not thinking of enough to do - a vending machine full of candy with no coins going through the slot.

There, my rant about Skittles is finished. Now onto...death! Actually, this tiny excerpt is taken from another article on Noel Martin, the paralyzed man seeking assisted suicide from an attack of neo-nazi youngsters in Berlin in 1996:

Figures obtained by 5Live shows he is one of 725 British people registered with the clinic. The UK now has the third highest number of people on the suicide list - after Germany and Switzerland

Seven hundred and twenty-five people. I was floored by this number, so I did a quick search on this clinic based in Switzerland. On my way, I came across an article discussing the concern with the area's appealing "death tourism". The article also mentions that the clinic has euthanized 453 people from the clinic's foundation in 1998 to November 2005.

Here's another article with the founder of the Swiss facility, speaking about his job as Doctor Death: Explaining Assisted Suicide

If you're digesting these madly like I am, here's another with 60 Minutes and their report on Switzerland's Suicide Tourists, focused on Ernst Aschmoneit, an 81-year old retired German engineer with Parkinson's Disease, and his final journey to the other side at the "infamous" clinic.

In an extremely rare and random find, it appears that Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne have agreed on a suicide pact, saying they have "drawn up plans to go to the assisted suicide flat in Switzerland" in case either of the pair is afflicted by any kind of brain disease.

"If Ozzy or I ever got Alzheimer's, that's it - we'd be off," said Sharon in the Daily Mirror report. Sooner than you think, Mrs. Osbourne. Read the article here.

Travel back, if you will now, to the period surrounding the French Revolution. Did you know Marie Antoinette's husband, Louis XV, suffered from a disorder known as phimosis? This malady of the penis causes the foreskin to wrap tightly around the penis, which does not loosen when the organ stiffens - this, as you will have guessed, leads to very painful sex. The French ridiculed Louis for his inability to conceive the next heir for the throne and the situation certainly did not benefit Marie either. Hooot.

Since I've been randomly whirling through cyberspace, I thought I might share this as well: The War of Jenkins' Ear/English-Spanish War. You've probably heard of it when you were little, but, like me, you might need a refresher. While it wasn't the cause of the declaration of war between the two powers, Jenkins' ear did stir up some existing friction between England and Spain. Then again, I've heard of more ridiculous things that have sparked wars between countries. Once again, HowStuffWorks.com is amazing.

Just couldn't resist...





"...living on a diet of Spam and Cinnabuns.” Love that man.

Stemming from a recent conversation I had with my friend, Jess, I found a great video discussing Che Guevara and his wide-spread popularity here in America as a t-shirt hero. Definitely watch this short, Killer Chic, to get a better understanding of who Che was and what exactly he stood for.

Apparent with the last two videos, I'm really starting to like the website http://reason.tv/ . Check it out - it has a lot of different things to get into.