You are loved, you are cared for

[altariel]

So the smoking ban is one of those things where I'm brought face to face with the limits of my own philosophy of civil liberty. Because I'd defend to the death my right to die in a ditch in complete anonymity, but I see no good reason why some b*gg*r should be smoking at me while I do it.

Someone on the news (possibly our Malory Towers headmistress health secretary) made a comparison with the seatbelt legislation that came in whenever it was. What's interesting about that is that I remember Liberty spokesgnomes being out in force during that debate, and I don't think I've heard a peep from them over the smoking ban. Of course, they're very preoccupied at the moment trying to prevent schemes like stamping barcodes on all new born babies or eradicating tedious bits of red tape like trial by jury.

Just before Life on Mars there's a programme on benefit fraudsters that I keep on missing. Has anyone seen it? Is it all: "Remember! Responsible citizens shop their neighbours to the authorities!" I'd like to see a jolly and informative programme that says: "Remember: Reponsible citizens groove at the political process!" That would surely be a challenge for a documentary maker.

Comments

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Thanks for being so good-humoured about my early morning grump of a post *g* Good to get another perspective. Isn't there a Stephen King short story where all the people who go outside to smoke (the Ten O'Clock People) survive by all being outside of the building when whatever horror it is hits? I do think that probably one reason why I never acquired the habit of seeing much live music is because of not wanting to be in smoky places - but I suspect my behaviour patterns are set now and a smoking ban won't alter that.

One of the saddest sights I ever saw: stopping over in LA on a flight between London and Sydney. A fellow passenger falls out of the plane and asks one of the airline staff where she can smoke. "Honey," it's explained to her, "this is the state of California."

[vulgarweed.livejournal.com]

Oh, I didn't find it particularly grumpy. I hear worse things said about smokers 100 times before breakfast. :)

Isn't there a Stephen King short story where all the people who go outside to smoke (the Ten O'Clock People) survive by all being outside of the building when whatever horror it is hits?

I haven't read this short story, but all my New Yorker friends had it as gallows-humor conventional wisdom that the vile habit must have saved many lives on 9/11/01.

[sherlock1.livejournal.com]

Actually the plot was a bit grimmer than that. Something to do with the nicotine causing some kind of chemical imbalance in the brain that meant that smokers were the only people who could see that half the people they worked with were actually horrifically disgusting aliens. To the non-smokers, they looked like other human beings.

It's one of his short stories that I wish he had expanded into a novel! Speaking of which, are you planning on getting "Cell" when it comes out next week? Entertainment Weekly had up the first chapter, and to say it whetted my appetite would be an understatement!:
http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,1150884_5_0_,00.html
Very cinematic.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I like the way my subconscious suppressed most of the plot of The Ten O'Clock People.

That is a really cool start to Cell! And I loved the illustrations that grew in horror as the pages went on. Is it another online project, or one of yer actual books?

And would you finally like to see some of My Dreaded Novel?

[sherlock1.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's a proper print novel, out very soon. Apparently it's not a door stopper this time.

I would love to read some of the Dreaded Novel! Please send it through asap. I'm going to be cheeky and email you a v. brief prologue to Twisted Wing that I've written in a vain attempt to persuade the reader to wade through the introductory guff till the first murder!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's a proper print novel, out very soon. Apparently it's not a door stopper this time.

Ooh, good! I do tend to like his shorter novels more, I have to say.

And please send the prologue along! I shall email my chapter 1 over.