Corey Haim, dead at 38 - a waste

Death and taxes are the 2 things we all know are coming for us all (even certain politicians). None of us know when our final moments will come, but we hope for that time to be long away.

Drug users don't really fit into that category. The nature of what they are addicted to shortens their lives, and limits the quality of the life they do get to have. Sadly Corey Haim was an example of how short life can become and how wasted the opportunities become.

I don't mean to pick on Haim. But perhaps in his death a lesson to others can be found.

Haim was on a fast track to stardom in his youth. He was well known, a teen heartthrob. He was in popular and good films. His acting abilities were solid and growing. He had a path wide open for his future. And then he became addicted to drugs.

Ultimately the drug addiction took his life. But along the way it destroyed his career, taking him from making movies like Lost Boys, to Snowboard Academy, to being without work and bankrupt. The drugs also strained, let's be honest it broke friendships and business relationships.

But when he was able to steer clear of the drugs, the talent and inner Haim won back many friends. He was able to get work again, in major movies like Crank: High Voltage and The Pick Up (to be relesaed in 2010), because people wanted to help him. But the addiction never let him go. It finally killed him today, along with his chance at a comeback and to the dismay of friends.

Right now there are tens of thousands, maybe millions listening to a rap song glorifying drugs. There are countless movies and music videos promoting drug use as "normal" or "harmless". There are movements across the country trying to get some or all drugs to be legalized. In each case the effects of drugs on people like Haim, Amy Winehouse, and millions of regular people are glossed over.

Corey Haim didn't win any Oscars. He was not the greatest actor ever. But he might have been, we will never know now. He died at 38, an age far to young for anyone to end their life at. He leaves behind a legacy that includes several very good films, the television show The 2 Corey's which gave a glimpse at the difficulties drugs create and his attempt at redemption, and friends.

He has also left us a sad reminder that life is too precious to throw away with drugs.

My condolences to his family and friends.

Lollipipe: Introducing kids to drugs

Of the many products I have seen over the years, I have run into few that are as exploitative and potentially dangerous as the Lollipipe. And when I say dangerous, I mean promoting drug use in minors. When I say exploitative, well just read on.



The Lollipipe is the invention of Kzee Novelty Products LLC. It is marketed as a tobacco pipe, but the shape of the product makes it clear that it is intended for marijuana. Add to that the fact that it is sold exclusively, to my knowledge, in “head shops” – places that sell drug paraphernalia under innocuous names.

The Lollipipe is designed in bright playful colors that will attract the youth. It is also designed with flavors like Watermelon, Green Apple, Grape, Strawberry, Peach, and Blueberry. Again this is a marketing trick that targets the youth. It has a claim that the Lollipipe will not melt from flame being applied to it. It is completely edible.



Thus in effect we have a product that targets young teens or even smaller children. It is designed to make them feel like drug-adled adults and/or cool. It will give them the sugar buzz that all kids love. And while hard to purchase, in some places, it is not illegal. Add to that the ability for the product to be consumed, so as to hide its use from even the most attentive parent.

I am disturbed by this product. I am reminded that the Tobacco companies were sued for tens of billions of dollars to advertising and marketing programs that never dared to go this far. Yet I have not heard one word about this product.

IF colorful packaging is enough to cause the Tobacco companies to lose in courts, this product should be at the top of DEA and consumer boycotts. Yet I doubt most parents even know of its existence. In fact, I bet there are more than a few liberals, and/or those in the hip hop community, that think it’s a great idea.

This must be a huge hit with those that want to legalize drugs. I guarantee that your local drug dealer likely has dozens of these Lollipipes that they are giving out to kids in playgrounds across the country. Yes, even your kids in the suburbs and small towns where you might not think there is a drug problem. Yet. But the Lollipipe is a great introduction into a life of drug addiction.

I can only imagine what will be next from this company. Maybe a Peppermint flavored crack pipe? How about an edible syringe? Heck, why not a kid-sized mini meth lab.

Obviously there is a market for this product. Irresponsible parents and family of infants/children that are given hits of drugs as seen on Youtube and the major media will flock to these products in droves. Word of mouth will likely fill elementary schools. Hey, do you think pedophiles will stock up on this stuff too?

What a way to make a buck.

This is disgusting. It is my fond desire to learn one day that Kzee Novelty Products LLC has failed and become bankrupt. If there is anything I might be able to do to help this company fold, I will surely do it. Because there is nothing that is positive about their existence in my opinion.

By the way, their website is not yet done. They currently have a static image of their product – tastefully packaged to provide as little direct knowledge of the contents as possible. And just to make sure they are capturing as wide an audience as possible, the company promotes the product on their joke of a webpage as “Eco-Friendly”. I am sure that global warming fanatics will be happy to add this company among the roster of those touting change.

I cannot think of a better warning right now than what I have already mentioned. But I would love to hear from anyone that would defend this product. And I will be sending a copy of this post to Kzee. I wonder if they will have the balls to respond?

Imus is gone part 2 - 4.12.2007.2

Continued from Part 1...

It’s time that such deragatory comments stop being uttered by anyone. The meaning doesn’t change when a person of color says it, nor when it is put to song. These oppresive words are a poison in the Black culture without regard to who the person stating them is. The fact that they have become somewhat commonplace is similar, to me, to an ebola-like virus eating away at it’s host without any attempt to end the destruction.

We cannot demand that Mr. Imus be held to a standard we do not hold ourselves to. The reason that Mr. Imus had to go is that as a figure of influence he espoused hatred and racism to millions across the country. Gansta rap music entertainers are figures of influence that attempt to entertain millions with the promotion of hatred, racism, drug addiction, and criminality. If we have anger with Mr. Imus, and obviously we have, then we can have no less anger at the current state of rap music.

This does not just end with rappers. They must accept the responsibility for their comments, as has Mr. Imus, and there should be a change. I will not demand that gansta rap should be removed, though I think that would be best, as I do not agree with censorship. Entertainers, as well as all people, deserve the right to the First Amendment, given that their use of this right does not inflict harm to other individuals. You cannot scream fire in a movie theater, you cannot call non-public individuals prostitues and racial slurs just because. Comedians and singers and entertainers deserve the right to ridicule and caricature the society in general and in its parts. But the blatant use of offensive, inflammatory words who’s only purpose is to lessen the humanity of an individual is hurtful in my mind.

But as I stated, rappers are not the final part of this equation. The record companies and radio station owners are equally at fault, if not more so. Before 1992, there were several sub-genres of rap music. Some were more political, some more playful, others with mixed meanings. All during this time rap was considered a fad, and was barely promoted or given significant radio airplay as well as being virtually non-existent in music video airplay. With the emergence of N.W.A. and other gansta rappers there was a decision made by executives that has affected millions since that day. Rap became an official music category, and promotion of this singluar sub-genre became all encompassing. Music videos glorifying violence, the de-humanizing of women, massive drug use, and criminal activity hit the masses in a volume never before seen.

I’ve mentioned before that there are words (particularly the N-word) that these executives could not say without losing everything, but they have made tens of millions promoting music that let others say this for them. The responsibility for morality that every media outlet maintains was thrown to the wind for the sake of money. That is insulting. That so many would do these things for mere money is also troubling and insulting. And this insult was compounded with the almost complete exclusion of any other form of rap. Because of that the record companies are responsible as much as those entertainers that utter these words.

Concluding in Part 3...