Sexy veggie
Dear Editor:
Thank you for your article about VCU student Micah Risk, winner of PETA’s “Sexiest Vegetarian Alive” contest (“VCU student crowned PETA’s ‘Sexiest Vegetarian Alive,'” Apr. 7).
Micah beat out hundreds of entrants from the U.S. and Canada to be crowned the “Sexiest Vegetarian Woman Alive.”
Why are so many cruelty-free cuties swearing off meat? Animal suffering in the food industry is the number one reason most people go vegetarian. Others do it because it’s heart smart (meat-free diets help ward off heart disease, cancer, obesity and other illnesses) and can heat up your love life (eating meat clogs up the arteries going to all your organs, fellas, not just your heart).
To read more about Micah, or for free recipes that will help turn you on to vegetarianism, please visit GoVeg.com.
Sincerely,
Paula Moore
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA),
Norfolk, Va.
Salon with a cause
Dear Editor,
I truly appreciated the Magical Touch Salon article (Apr. 11, p. 3). I know the Magical Salon does more than provide a service – it helps people heal
My local prosthetic wig shop made all the difference to my self-image when I started chemotherapy in October, 2004. I lost my hair, and the shop helped me use scarves, hats and a wig to cover my head.
Even though I felt perfectly comfortable at home without hair, facing the world with a head-covering reduced the vulnerability I felt during the chemo. Thanks for recognizing the magic in the Magical Salon.
As a former columnist for the Commonwealth Times, I am proud to see the paper continue to be a quality publication.
Tracy Ebbert Revalee
Liberty, In.
Contain your smoke
The smell of smoke truly offends some people. I shall relate one case in particular which I can only claim is hearsay, though it is not an uncommon scenario: A fine gentleman (I’m sure) was casually smoking in his room one day. His suitemate (indeed his assigned suitemate) caught a slight wisp of smoke and became quite agitated. So agitated, in fact, that he called up the Residential Assistant.
The R.A. was notorious for his aversion to the smell of smoke, so why he was called up is something of a mystery. Maybe misery loves company? Anyway, the R.A. ran into the suite, sniffing madly! Of course, a good deal of smoke smell immediately attacked his olfactory system, but what did he expect? Was he not specifically told that his least favorite smell was present? Perplexingly, the R.A. became enraged and immediately called the police.
Here we find another mystery, for the police are particularly adverse to the smell of smoke. The smell was undetectable by the time the police got there, but most unluckily, the police brought their dogs! Police dogs harbor more hatred for that smell than suitemates, R.A.’s and police officers combined! The dogs sniffed out the source of the smell (I wonder if PETA has anything to say about how the police forcing the dogs to smell these awful smells), and the police arrested the poor fellow for his odorous offense.
Needless to say, one must take precautions not to let the smell escape, as it might sorely offend an innocent passerby. There are several ways to keep your smoking discrete, but the best way is to never let any smoke escape into the atmosphere at all. That way no one will ever be offended by the smell, and everyone will be happy!
There are several kinds of smoking, but of course I’m speaking of the legal kind. If you’re smoking out of a bubbler, always cap the bowl with a bottle cap. The plastic cap from a 20 oz. bottle of soda works well. You can attach the bottle cap to your thumb with string for added convenience. If no bottle cap is available, use your thumb. Likewise if you’re using a pipe. Make sure that all openings are closed, including the shotgun hole (carb) if there is one, which can be covered with a finger.
The exhaled smoke needs to be eliminated as well. The simplest way to do this is to hold it in your lungs until it’s gone, commonly called “ghosting.” This is difficult for some smokers, however, because they will want to cough. It is also unhealthy, as more tar will stay in your lungs.
If you are worried about tar, then try the following technique: Fill a glass about half full of water. With the smoke still in your lungs, hold the glass to your lips as if you were going to take a sip. Blow bubbles into the water. Now drink the flavored water. If you aren’t good at it, use a straw. If you’re using a bubbler, simply blow the inhaled smoke back through the female receptor. For added cleanisng, have someone inhale the smoke again so that their lungs can filter the smoke out even more.
There are also several easily made devices to mechanically cleanse the exhaled air. A simple “smoke scrubber” can be made from just a bottle and dryer sheets. Poke holes in the bottom of an empty bottle, and stuff it with dryer sheets. After taking a big hit of tobacco, blow the inhaled smoke through the bottle’s opening: the dryer sheets will help to make the smoke less smelly. There are even more elaborate devices that bubble the smoke through alcohol to remove the smoke smell. This is more common in illegal marijuana smoke scrubbers, however, as THC is solvent in ethanol.
Smoking can be fun as long as it’s done safely and legally, but most importantly: odor-free. It is very inconsiderate allow your smoke to bother others. By practicing the above methods, it never will – in fact, it’ll almost seem like you don’t smoke at all.
Sincerely,
John Hewitt
Editor’s note: Please remember Virginia laws when taking these suggestions into consideration. The smoking age is 18.