MikeLigalig.com

cool.  mahimong di na ko mokumpisal, hehe.

ngiaow!  gigutom ko nga gatan-aw sa piktyurs.  lamia manungkab uy.

it feels like reading a mills and boon book; only one is enough.

Quote from: Lorenzo on March 28, 2012, 10:30:44 AM
oh, id like to see this movie ! hehehe, daghan man diay'g guwapong pelikola sa unang panahon.

at your own risk.  just like bollywood, the actors end up singing and dancing at the end.  i feel stupid watching, honest. 

i understand this is the same congressman who proposed to have edsa changed to cory aquino ave.?  it looks like he operates on a different plane.  meanwhile, it would be nice to hear from the dilg provincial head, lorenzo's aunt.

One of the alleged ringleaders who was identified only by the initials "I.T." is wanted by authorities in Romania for crimes linked to prostitution, the statement said.

The women were controlled at all times to ensure "money was taken off them immediately," the statement said.

Sex is a multibillion-dollar industry in Spain, with colorfully lit brothels staffed mainly by poor immigrant women from Latin America, Africa and eastern Europe lining highways throughout the country.

Prostitution falls in legal limbo: it is not regulated, although pimping is a crime.  The northeastern city of Barcelona plans to introduce regional legislation in coming weeks banning prostitution on urban streets.

http://www.emirates247.com/offbeat/

All those arrested were of Romanian nationality and had forced the women to hand over part of their earnings, the statement said.

The women were tattooed on their wrists if they tried to escape, the statement said.  Police also seized guns and ammunition.  It was not immediately clear when the raids took place.

Police seized â,¬140,000 ($185,388) in cash, which had been hidden in a false ceiling, a large amount of gold jewelry and five vehicles, three of which were described as luxury cars.

The gang was made up of two separate groups, referred to as "clans" in the statement, each dedicated to controlling prostitution along fixed stretches of a street in downtown Madrid.

http://www.emirates247.com/offbeat/

Pimps tattoo women with bar codes
Police arrest 22 Romanian suspects

By AP
March 26, 2012



Spanish police arrested 22 suspected pimps who allegedly used violence to force women into prostitution and tattooed them with bar codes as a sign of ownership, officials said Saturday.

Police are calling the gang the "bar code pimps."  Officers freed one 19-year-old woman who had been beaten, held against her will and tattooed with a bar code and an amount of money - â,¬2,000 ($2,650) - which investigators believe was the debt the gang wished to extort before releasing her.

The woman had also been whipped, chained to a radiator and had her hair and eyebrows shaved off, according to an Interior Ministry statement.

http://www.emirates247.com/offbeat/

higante tingali ni sa una, unya naay nagkawat-kawat ug amputate sa tiyan.

another rendition of the iconic vietnam war photo:

Eulogy

I won a Pulitzer Prize in 1969 for a photograph of one man shooting another … The general killed the Viet Cong; I killed the general with my camera.  Still photographs are the most powerful weapon in the world.  People believe them, but photographs do lie, even without manipulation. They are only half-truths.  What the photograph didn't say was, "What would you do if you were the general at that time and place on that hot day, and you caught the so-called bad guy after he blew away one, two or three American soldiers?"  General Loan was what you would call a real warrior, admired by his troops.  I'm not saying what he did was right, but you have to put yourself in his position.

…This picture really messed up his life.  He never blamed me.  He told me if I hadn't taken the picture, someone else would have, but I've felt bad for him and his family for a long time.  I had kept in contact with him; the last time we spoke was about six months ago, when he was very ill.

I sent flowers when I heard that he had died and wrote, "I'm sorry. There are tears in my eyes."

--Eddie Adams


Eddie Adams at the Vietnam conflict and during his later years:


http://super-photo.blogspot.com/

General to Pizza Cook

When the South Vietnam fell to the north in 1975, Loan at almost the last moment made it out of the country on a South Vietnamese plane after being denied help by the fleeing Americans.  He settled in the United States eventually opening a pizzeria in northern Virginia.  He lived a quite life until he was forced to close his restaurant in 1991 when his identify was discovered.  In 1998, at 67, he died of cancer but is survived by his four children his wife, Chinh Mai; and nine grandchildren.  "The guy was a hero.  America should be crying," Eddie Adams response when he learned of Loan’s death.

http://www.famouspictures.org/

What effect did the photo’s fame have on General Loan?

It became an opportunity for his political enemies to go after him.  But he was wounded in action a few months later, and that’s when he was removed from his job.  His leg was shot up to the point where it was later amputated, and he couldn’t do his job anymore.



Later, when he came to the United States, the Immigration and Nationalization Service (INS) wanted to deport him on the grounds of moral turpitude based on the photo.  But Eddie Adams came to his defense.  When the INS asked him to testify against Loan, he said: No, I’ll testify for him.  He got to know General Loan after Tet and found he wasn’t a bad guy; he was just in a bad situation.  So Loan was not deported and he lived in northern Virginia until 1998, when he passed away.

http://failuremag.com/

Philip Jones-Griffith: Mrs. Nguyen Thi Lop, 56, the widow of Nguyen Van Lem,
murdered by General Nguyen Ngoc Loan during the Tet Offensive in Ho Chi Minh City

South Vietnamese sources attested that Lém commanded a Việt Cá»™ng death squad, which on that day had murdered South Vietnamese National Police officers, or in their stead, the police officers' families; these sources said that Lém was captured near the site of a ditch holding as many as thirty-four bound and shot bodies of police and their relatives, some of whom were the families of Loan's deputy, and six of whom were Nguyá»...n's godchildren.  Lém's widow confirmed that her husband was a member of the Việt Cá»™ng and that she did not see him after the Tet Offensive began.  Shortly after the execution, a South Vietnamese official who had not been present said that Lém was only a political operative.

wiki/

There is [also] some dispute as to the identity of the man who is being executed in the photograph.  It has been claimed that he was either Nguyá»...n Văn Lém or Lê Công Nà, a similar looking man who was also a member of the Việt Cá»™ng and died during the Tet Offensive.  The families of both men claimed that the Viet Cong officer in the photo looks very similar to their relative.  Neither family could say for sure.  Lém was captured and brought to Loan, then Chief of National Police of the Republic of Viet Nam.  Using his sidearm, a Smith & Wesson Model 38 "Bodyguard", Nguyá»...n Ngọc Loan summarily executed Lém in front of AP photographer Eddie Adams and NBC television cameraman Vo Suu. The photograph and footage were broadcast worldwide, galvanizing the anti-war movement; Adams won a 1969 Pulitzer Prize for his photograph.

wiki/

The man who was shot was Bay Lop, who had beheaded people, been caught in the act of gunning down policemen, and killed the family of one of General Loan’s friends.  That doesn’t necessarily justify what Loan did.  But when stripped of context, it looked like someone from the South Vietnamese national police gunning down some helpless guy, and that was not the case.  Bay Lop was the leader of a sophisticated assassination team that was attempting to knock off all the top leaders [of South Vietnam], and General Loan was on their list.

http://failuremag.com/

"Hey, hey, LBJ -- How many kids did you kill today/"
An anti-war protest in San Francisco - 1968
Robert Altman
Evans, p. 542

The image became an anti-war icon. Concerning Loan and his famous photograph, Adams wrote in Time:

“The general killed the Viet Cong; I killed the general with my camera. Still photographs are the most powerful weapon in the world. People believe them, but photographs do lie, even without manipulation. They are only half-truths ... What the photograph didn't say was, 'What would you do if you were the general at that time and place on that hot day, and you caught the so-called bad guy after he blew away one, two or three American soldiers?"

wiki/

spidergirl?

The photo shows General Loan, arm outstretched, shooting a prisoner who looked like a civilian, though he was actually a Viet Cong guerrilla. The picture was front-page news and ultimately won the Pulitzer Prize for spot photography. But Eddie Adams later said that the picture didn’t tell the story and that he was sorry he took it.

http://failuremag.com/

(1930-1998)

Taken out of context, the photo seems to evince a senseless act of brutality, which explains why it was later used in support of the moral argument that protestors made against the war. But the reality is that the shooter (General Nguyen Ngoc Loan), was executing a ruthless Viet Cong assassin (Nguyen Van Lem, aka Bay Lop), who was leading a team that had targeted the general himself.

http://failuremag.com/

Saigon Execution
The real story behind Eddie Adams’ iconic Vietnam War photo.

(excerpts from an article written by Jason Zasky)

“Saigon Execution” is one of the most recognizable photographs in military history, and it played a contributing role in turning public opinion against the Vietnam War. The imageâ€"by combat photographer Eddie Adamsâ€"captures the moment a uniformed South Vietnamese officer fires a bullet into the head of a man who appears to be a civilian.

http://failuremag.com/

dia pa...



kun ing-ani lang intawon unta ang nahitabo nga giitsahan lang siya ug coca-cola. 

naa na pod.  one more entertainer who wants to be a lawmaker.  hohum.

Austrian saws off Own Foot to avoid Work - Report

March 27, 2012

(Reuters) - An unemployed Austrian man sawed his foot off, apparently to avoid being found fit to go back to work.

Hours before an appointment on Monday for the labor office to check on his health, the 56-year-old man held his left leg against an electric saw in his home workshop and severed his foot just above the ankle, Austrian broadcaster ORF reported.

Bleeding profusely, the man from the province of Styria then threw the foot into an oven, hobbled to his garage and called an ambulance. An emergency operation was unable to reattach the foot, ORF said.

http://www.mb.com.ph/

Aquino urged to veto bill criminalizing prostitutes

March 27, 2012

MANILA, Philippines - A lady lawmaker today urged President Benigno Aquino III to veto a consolidated bill that proposes to decriminalize vagrancy and criminalize women in prostitution.

Gabriela Rep. Emmi de Jesus said in a statement that the consolidated version of Senate Bill 2726 and House Bill 4936 that proposes to decriminalize vagrancy violates Republic Act 9710 or the Magna Carta of Women.

"A consolidated bill amending the Anti-Vagrancy Act while continuing to criminalize women in prostitution violates the Magna Carta of Women or RA 9710 which clearly recognizes prostitution as a form of violence against women, and prostituted women as victims and as among the most vulnerable women in society," De Jesus said.

She said that the consolidated bills have passed the level of Congress and has been submitted to President Aquino. The bill will lapse into law on Saturday next week or on April 7.

“To continue treating prostituted women as criminals which this consolidated bill will guarantee if not vetoed by the President, is a clear violation of their right to be protected from abuse and violence. Prostituted women and girls are victims," reiterated the lady lawmaker.

She said that instead of treating women in prostitution as criminals, the government should protect them through "economic empowerment" and "social reintegration" programs.

De Jesus also urged President Aquino to push for the passage of a law that would give protection to victims of prostitution and punish "buyers" and owners of prostitution operations.

http://www.philstar.com/

Quote from: hubag bohol on March 26, 2012, 09:07:31 PM

DSL = Deretso Sa Lubot...

ang imo Deretso Sa Lagay. 

Quote from: Lorenzo on March 27, 2012, 02:13:33 PM
sleep is always good, isles. i'm about to hit the sack right now. its' 1:12 AM over here in chicago. good night to everyone. sweet dreams and may each of your guardian angels watch over you all.

Love,
Lorenz

and may the angels sing you to your sleep... 

Quote from: Lorenzo on March 27, 2012, 02:09:49 PM
Hahahaha! Doctors getting sleep? C'mon! We eat sleep for breakfast

at least, unlike our senator miriam santiago here before, you don't eat death threats for breakfast.

Quote from: Mike Ortega Ligalig on March 27, 2012, 01:59:36 PM
When such cases are brought to court, I'm sure there is nothing to be settled anymore."

meaning, hands down daug na ang baye sa korte?  is this what it means?

Chocolate products are often rich in sugar and fat, contributing to assumptions that chocolate boosts BMI. This study does not obviate the possibility that some chocolate-containing products do so, that some chocolate consumption profiles do so, or that for some people, even frequent modest chocolate consumption does so. Moreover, since findings are cross-sectional, causality in the observed association cannot be presumed. However, the finding fits with the literature suggesting benefits of chocolate for other metabolic factors, and they failed to identify a link of chocolate to key BMI-relevant confounders in a direction to explain the finding. (http://thinksteroids.com/)

yikes.  technical writing of sorts, though the piece is sincere and isn't out to confuse.  to try to translate to english... 

chocolates are thought to increase weight because they often contain sugar and fat. 

the study does not remove this possibility of weight increase. 

the cause (chocolate consumption) and effect (lower bmi) observed in the results cannot just be taken as true without more proof because the study covers a representative set of a population (which is different from a random set). 

but the findings fit with existing write-ups about the advantages of chocolate to other fat-burning functions.

the study fails to link the findings to key bmi processes in a way that could explain the results.

 

en ader words, wa pa kuno niy klaro. 

di na pod ko manglaba kun gabii na, hehe.

purya, pagmata nako ganina i was terrified.  baho na diay kaayo ko.  kahilakon ko kay naunsa na man ni nga tinuod man diay nga mawos nga ginamos sa taga sa balingsya na man gyod diay tawon ko.  sa naulian na kog buot, whew, lipaya nako uy nga di diay ako ang nanimaho.  nagprito diay si banana republic ug buwad danggit, nanimaho ang tibuok balay, hahaha!

woke up after a full seven-hour sleep, after a long time.  maybe i'll keep away from my laptop after 10 pm from now on.  that will lead me not into temptation.  maybe magdokdok lang kog tb kun gabii na kaayo if the banana republic has a function somewhere and i have to stay up to wait.

Quote from: Lorenzo on March 22, 2012, 02:30:38 PM
Isles, in the hospital, when it is my turn to "sleep" during on-call hours, i try to switch around on the sofa chair. 2 hours on one side, then 2 hours on the other. Luoy pod kai we are only allowed 4 hour sleep during our 36 hour on-calls.

and you manage to keep yourself sane?   or are you?

Quote from: bugsay on March 27, 2012, 11:25:23 AM
palwa sa pechay ang kahamis.....pero palija ang taste..

see?  kahibawo man gani ka sa taste...

Quote from: bugsay on March 27, 2012, 11:25:23 AM
hehehe...si Hubag lage dayon.

oops, plural ang sinabi koh, hehe.

Quote from: chicogon on March 22, 2012, 12:54:17 PM
Sa Cabanatuan nako na experience o nadungog in the mid 80's ang expression nga "pechay" to mean "monay" as in female organ, nga poborit topic sa ubang TB members hehehe 

hehe, obyus kun kinsa na silang mga krokongho.  nag-pechay envy tingali.

despite this, the local BIR guy still "dared" to question him?  yet he must have some basis or he wouldn't have dared.  one thing is sure, being a congressman now without any trouble with the current administration, he won't be hounded the way corona is being hounded.

grabe.  mao pay gibuhi, purya.  wa pa gyod koy nahibaw-ang estoryang maayo tungod sa palabig inom.  haraw ma-life sentence siya.

di ko ani.  maunay man sad ta.  what if i'm my own boss?

patas baya pod tingali sila ug kinusiay na lang.

duha ray buhaton ani ni bai bugs sa iyang arsenal of weapons of mass destruction: 

kidhatan, unya palibat-libatan; libog si lady badibildir to distraction, di makabantay nga sabunotan dayon siya ni bugsay ug kusion iyang tangkugo. 

laing trick of the trade ning atong tb badibildir is to go for broke.  diretsog kapyot sa shorts ni inday, ius-os padung sa tuhod; da, di na si inday kapatid, di na kadagan. 

easy, or his name is not bugsay. 

Quote from: hubag bohol on March 27, 2012, 09:27:16 AM
He he, member man ni siya sa Chicago Outfit...

you mean, first name basis ni sila ni al capone?

Quote from: bugsay on March 27, 2012, 08:49:13 AM
karon, mas daghan pa ang mangongo-ot ug mga snatcher kay sa mamalitay....

Quote from: hubag bohol on March 27, 2012, 09:22:11 AM
Naa puy mga mamamag-id...

bantog rang di na mo mamalik.  daghan na man diay mog karibal.

Quote from: hubag bohol on March 26, 2012, 08:14:59 PM
Hahay, kadaghan sa manorya. Burgis lang jud ka...

burgis sa imong kigow... abi ba lang kay di nako kayang mohatag ug christmas gifts sa tibuok barangay.

Quote from: Raquelproud boholana on March 27, 2012, 05:46:36 AM
Agree kaayo ko sa murag way isout permi pero ang closet perting daghana ug sinina. Ganahan ko magsegi pamalit sinina pero ambot nganong balik balikon man nako ug suot akong favorite nga naa man untay uban wa pa masuot

hahaha!  pareha man diay tag sakit, raqz.  nagreklamo na god si banana republic sa una nga naa diay kuno koy uniform kay dihay panahon nga kada gawas nako mao ray akong sul-obon tong akong paborito. 

lately, diha koy giganahan nga blouse, unya kay unbelievably barato man gyod intawon, da, gipalit nako ang lima nga pareha ra.  kun naay mo-comment nga unsa ba ko mao ra man kanunay akong gisul-ob, makaingon gyod ko sa tinuoray nga tua pay upat ka ingon ani sa amo.

Quote from: chicogon on March 26, 2012, 01:16:22 PM


Gipanag-iya ni Ms isles 

thanks, fr chic!  hahay.  gagmay pa gani, nag-makeup na.  nganong manundog man tawon sila nako uy nga babies pa man ni sila...

Quote from: chicogon on March 26, 2012, 01:22:27 PM


Mao ni akong binuhi nga liwat sa tag-iya 

kun kyutay ang hisgotan as babies, lupig gyod ani si lorenz.  ing-ani diay ang hitsura ni marlon brando sa baby pa...

one of these days, mapugos gyod tingali kog adto.  naa nay mall sa divisoria and one of the stores within the mall is the best source of candle-making materials.  a friend who tipped me off about this (because she taught me this hobby) said we have to go at 6:00 a.m.  well, it's been 5 months, and still i can't seem to wake up that early... 

wa pa gyod ko kaadto bisag curious ko aning lugara.  karong panahona, di na hinoon nako kaya per my assessment.  maayo untag 20s pa akong edad kay naa pay sense of adventure.  karon kun molakaw pa kog layo kay wa gyod kunoy makasulod nga sakyanan, sureness ko kuyapan na ko sa tungatunga. 

another thing, maayo lang kuno moadto kun binulto ang paliton, meaning nga imong negosyo buy-and-sell, o di ba panahon sa pasko unya tibuok barangay imong tagaan ug gifts.

Quote from: chicogon on March 26, 2012, 01:26:03 PM


On top of John Hancock Ctr 1987

gawas sa posing ug tilt sa nawong, morag way kalainan ning duha ka ritrato da...

Quote from: hubag bohol on March 26, 2012, 03:50:56 PM
He he, naa koy kaila, tibuok pamilya ingon ani jud og expression... 

unsa may breed anang pamilyaha?

more life-saving eyes:

Quote from: hubag bohol on March 26, 2012, 03:29:42 PM
Kini kay successful suicide...

magpasalamat ko ani nga wa ka-timing ang puppy.  tiaw bay madat-ogan.

life-saving eyes.  take your pick.

Quote from: islander on March 26, 2012, 02:29:30 PM

Getty
Just one ray of light.

And one crack in that wall might be all it takes to turn things around and begin the long, tough job of tearing the whole thing down.

bisan ang buslot sa bungbong nga hinimo ni bugsay kay mamoso unta siya, may puruhan nga dako nag matabang.

Quote from: islander on March 26, 2012, 02:29:30 PM
The moral here is not to go around giving puppies to depressed people, because surprise gift puppies are always a bad idea.  The point is that a person is driven to suicide by a whole bunch of different things, which build a wall around them, piece by piece, until the last piece falls into place and the wall is sealed so that there's no way out.  Sometimes we look at all the problems that build up someone's wall of hopelessness and think there's no way any of the insignificant things we could do would be able to take it all down.  But to break the illusion of there being no way out, you don't need to take down the whole wall, you just need to make one crack in it.  One puppy lick, one phone call from Laila Ali, one corny song, one Internet stranger, one old Australian guy asking if you want to come in for a cup of tea.


Getty
Just one ray of light.

And one crack in that wall might be all it takes to turn things around and begin the long, tough job of tearing the whole thing down.

how awe-inspiring; just one ray of light to blaze again the dying embers of a life.

The moral here is not to go around giving puppies to depressed people, because surprise gift puppies are always a bad idea.  The point is that a person is driven to suicide by a whole bunch of different things, which build a wall around them, piece by piece, until the last piece falls into place and the wall is sealed so that there's no way out.  Sometimes we look at all the problems that build up someone's wall of hopelessness and think there's no way any of the insignificant things we could do would be able to take it all down.  But to break the illusion of there being no way out, you don't need to take down the whole wall, you just need to make one crack in it.  One puppy lick, one phone call from Laila Ali, one corny song, one Internet stranger, one old Australian guy asking if you want to come in for a cup of tea.


Getty
Just one ray of light.

And one crack in that wall might be all it takes to turn things around and begin the long, tough job of tearing the whole thing down.


http://www.cracked.com/

He opened his eyes and found Cheyenne, the puppy he had adopted a few months ago, staring at him with her head cocked to one side.  Now I can tell you that it is very hard to go through with the action of killing yourself when a puppy is looking at you.


Getty
I'm not suggesting you test it out, but I mean, that feels about right, doesn't it?

"Who's going to take care of me?" Sharpe imagined the dog saying to him, even though she was probably saying, "I'm hungry." Or possibly, "Is it not OK to lick your ear? Is that one of those 'boundaries' we talked about?" But Imaginary Cheyenne Voice had a good point, and Sharpe put the gun away.

Later, he found out he could talk to the dog about everything that had happened to him, without lashing out or feeling defensive or worrying about being judged.  He could talk about the survivor's guilt he felt without being told he shouldn't feel that way.  The dog might lick her genitals occasionally, but she'd never blurt out some kind of well-meaning but infuriating cliche.


See, this doesn't happen.

Not only did Cheyenne save Sharpe's life, but Sharpe is saving other lives by starting P2V, a program to hook up pound dogs with traumatized vets, so someone else can have their face licked when they're putting a gun barrel in their mouth.


From P2V
Or preferably, before that point.


http://www.cracked.com/

#1. A Puppy



Air Force veteran David Sharpe was suffering from severe PTSD and anger issues.  He was picking fights, self-medicating with booze and punching holes in walls, and anyone who tried to help him was told to f*** off.  One day he hit bottom, put a gun in his mouth, closed his eyes and was ready to pull the trigger when a puppy licked his ear.


http://www.cracked.com/

And the most amazing thing is that he's not the only guy doing this.  Halfway around the world in Japan, Yukio Shige hangs out at a popular suicide cliff, and not only talks people out of suicide on the spot, but later helps them with their family problems and tries to help them find jobs.


BBC
And this is what a Japanese saint looks like.

On days when you just want to watch the world burn, remember that for every dickhead in the world bullying gay teenagers there is a guy like this.


http://www.cracked.com/

Now, while you or I would decide sooner or later that this is a f***** depressing place to live and find a better house, Don Ritchie has lived there 50 years, and instead of trying to avoid these sad, stressful situations that would send any of us running the other way, he goes out there every time and talks to them.


From Gawker.com

He's saved 160 lives by some estimates.  He hasn't been able to save everyone and has watched people jump to their deaths right in front of him, but that doesn't stop him from going out there again and again, every time.

And after talking to hundreds of suicidal people, I don't know about you, but I'd be tempted to start yelling at each new person about how the 100 people before them all said the same thing and where do they get off thinking their problems are so unique.  But Ritchie manages to treat each person like they matter.


From HappyNews.com
Apparently this is what a saint looks like.


http://www.cracked.com/

#2. A Really Nice Guy That Lives by a Cliff



So you might have heard this story about this Australian dude that happens to live by a picturesque cliff that a lot of suicidal people want to throw themselves from.


http://www.cracked.com/

On the flipside, of course, for every good deed, there is a dick crying sour grapes.



Not only Blizzard but Twitter communities have quickly put aside their usual Internet dicking-around to track down a suicidal user and get her some local help.  Even the Cracked forums have responded numerous times to posters thinking of ending it all, with the most cynical, goatse-posting, snarky assholes offering a listening ear or a shoulder to cry on, or sharing their own experiences from rock bottom.  In the most dire cases, people have dropped everything to track down the poster and call local emergency services to make sure they're safe.


The thing about the Internet is it is REALLY weird to say, "Thank you Wonkypops for sharing something so personal," or "I was inspired by DizzleDrizzle's wise words."

And sure, when it comes to the Internet, there are a lot of trolls, or just lonely people, who might pretend they're suicidal just to get attention, but if you get tricked by them, who actually loses? When trolls trick you into clicking on a spam offer or a promised porn link, maybe they prove you're greedy or a pervert, and it makes you feel stupid.  But if they trick you into saying something nice to an imaginary suicidal person, what does that prove?  That you have a heart and care about human life?  Ha ha!  That troll sure exposed you!

Even if nine out of 10 threatened Internet suicides are trolls or attention-getters, I don't care about looking stupid nine times to save one person's life.


Getty
As long as I don't have to wear a fruit hat.  If I have to wear a fruit hat to save you, your life is in God's hands.


http://www.cracked.com/

#3. Blizzard Customer Support



Most online gamers think of customer support as the annoying hand of The Man which is never there when you are being harassed by a horrible troll calling you inexcusably offensive words like "faggot" when you steal his herbs, but is always getting in your business when you totally justifiably toss someone a harmless insult like "faggot" for stealing your herbs.

And sure, customer support's main job is to fail to respond to your concerns about PvP balance or give you delayed, inaccurate updates about server outages.  But you tell them a guildmate was talking to you about suicide right before abruptly signing off, and they are right on it, tracking him down and sending emergency personnel to his house.


http://www.cracked.com/

Getty
And you PICK UP when Laila Ali calls.

Muhammad Ali's daughter was calling him because they were friends, from co-starring on American Gladiators, and she just wanted to see how he was doing because he had seemed sad on the set.  She wasn't calling to grill him on "what was wrong" or ask if he "needed help," but just wanted to say hi and see how he was feeling.

Hogan was just sitting in his empty house all alone, having lost his wife, not knowing if he was going to lose his son, and facing a future with nobody in his life except Brooke Hogan.  He had hit rock bottom.  Then Laila Ali called just to say hi, and it suddenly hit him that other people out there care whether the Hulkster lives or dies.

There's a real strong message there, which is that if you have a friend who you know has been depressed, or is thinking suicidal thoughts, all it takes is a couple of minutes out of your day to see if you can get Laila Ali to call them.


Getty
If you can't get a hold of her, maybe ask T.I. to go over and talk to them.


http://www.cracked.com/

#4. A "Just Because" Phone Call



Hulk Hogan is probably the last person you would imagine trying to kill himself, since he is basically a cartoon character.  It would be like finding out Bugs Bunny had depression.


From Steven Salvatore
Probably after seeing the most recent attempts to "reboot" him.

But after his son got into a terrible car accident while his marriage was falling apart, the Hulkster decided he had enough, and holed up in his home with pills, booze and a gun.  He kept telling everyone who called that he was all right (like soldiers, Hogan is a manly man) until Laila Ali called.


http://www.cracked.com/

By USGS, via Wikimedia Commons
Wheeeeeee!

Anyway, hard-luck story Vangelis Kapatos, dealing with a nervous breakdown and facing eviction, jumped from his ninth story apartment and happened to land right in one of those massive piles of garbage, saving his life.  Keep in mind this was still a nine-story fall.  He was taken to the hospital in critical condition -- but still, he was alive.

It's nice to know that after hearing the story, the city's papers were able to find just the tone needed for such a bleak, tragic story of human suffering.


CapitalNewYork.com
All class.


http://www.cracked.com/

#5. A Massive Pile of Garbage



Apparently, last winter there was a huge snowstorm in New York, leaving conditions so shitty that nobody could pick up garbage.  Bags of garbage started to pile up on the curbs and all the Febreze in the world couldn't do a thing about it.  Serves them right for living in a place where it snows, is what I say.  Sensible people prefer to take the risk of half their state falling into the ocean.


http://www.cracked.com/

Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
I couldn't pick it out.  Also I'm pretty sure this is the wrong gun.

His roommate, Albert Godding, walked in and found Sanders panicking, asking where his firing pin was.  Godding asked him exactly how he happened to discover it was missing, at which point Sanders put two and two together and broke down.  Godding had heard his roommate talk about killing himself earlier that day and quietly removed the pin.

I'm not sure what Godding's plan was for if Sanders didn't try to kill himself before he went back on patrol or whatever, but the point is that instead of dying, Sanders went to see the army counselor, got a lot better and is engaged again.

Apparently it's a big problem for a lot of soldiers to ask for help, since as manly men, they should just be able to rip a truck in half whenever they're down, and feel better.  That's probably why Godding felt like he had to do the pin trick, since just asking his friend to open up about his feelings probably wouldn't have worked.


Getty
"What's wrong, buddy?  I just want us to share about feelings.  That's your favorite thing, right?"

But not everybody knows where a firing pin on a gun is, so I think it's a good idea for manly men to try to ask for help.  At the very least, it will save your family from breaking your gun when they are trying to find the firing pin.


http://www.cracked.com/blog/

#6. A Firing Pin



Now I don't know a lot about guns, and gun parts, but I gather that the "firing pin" is a part of the gun that makes the gun fire.  This is important, because when Joe Sanders, a soldier worn down from the stress of fighting in Iraq and the recent news that his wife was leaving him, put his M-4 carbine to his chin and pulled the trigger, the firing pin was missing.


http://www.cracked.com/

Getty
You young kids do not even START asking who Run DMC was.  Look it up.

As he was being driven home from the airport, Sarah McLachlan's song "Angel" started playing on the radio.  Yes, the song that manipulates you into helping abused kittens and puppies.  Anyway, they didn't have that commercial in 1997, so DMC wasn't thinking about how he should adopt a dog, but how life was worth living after all.


Getty
Although the two concepts aren't completely unrelated, as you'll see in entry #1.

He put away his suicide plans and just started listening to a whole lot of Sarah McLachlan.  A while later, he found out he himself was adopted, and finally life made sense for him.  His adoption had put him in the right place at the right time to meet Run and Jam Master Jay and form Run DMC and resurrect Aerosmith by recording "Walk This Way" with them and all that business.  And the point of this remarkable destiny, DMC decided (other than helping Aerosmith), was for him to use his street cred to promote adoption and help foster kids.

As part of that mission, he asked Sarah McLachlan to record a "Cat's In The Cradle" cover with him, telling her the whole story of how her music changed his life.  Turned out she was also adopted.  Hell, maybe that's why she wants people to adopt cats and dogs.

So instead of killing himself, now DMC is helping foster kids and listening to a lot of Sarah McLachlan music.

Anyway, something to think about next time you make fun of a friend for listening to music "for pussies."


http://www.cracked.com/

#7. A Sarah McLachlan Song



So DMC, or Darrell McDaniels, of Run DMC, was at the top of his game in 1997, on tour in Europe, when he fell into an "Is this all there is?" funk.  You people who have sold multi-platinum albums or purchased Greek islands know what I'm talking about.  It wasn't just a mild feeling of something missing either -- he'd actually decided to commit suicide when he got home.


http://www.cracked.com/

Quote from: hubag bohol on March 26, 2012, 11:16:14 AM
Of course. But I suppose at the back of your mind you were reminded of the notion that cats are supposed to have nine (9) lives?

my mind has no back today, considering my shoulder pains.  also, nine lives belong to a certain battery brand.  my cats may be supple, yogis that they are, but they are so vulnerable to the ravages of life and the savages that humans can be. 

From What's On Xiamen

"Look at me," she told him.  "I've been there and I'm now here."  Then, knowing every 16-year-old boy's kryptonite, she gave him a hug and kissed him.


From What's On Xiamen

In this state, he was more than willing to let the cops take away the knife he was wielding and haul him to safety.


From What's On Xiamen

Later, they exchanged phone numbers and she promised to call him and check on how he was doing.  Though they probably didn't hook up due to their age difference, he may have realized that killing himself would have taken away his future, which very possibly might contain sex.  Oh yeah, and probably he also realized how he wasn't alone and other people knew what it was like.   But also sex.

Now if your take-away from this story is that you can threaten suicide in the hopes of getting a girl to kiss you, that's clearly one possibility.  But for every Liu Wenxiu, there's one of these impatient assholes that will actually help push you off the bridge.


http://www.cracked.com/

Something like ...


#8. A Kiss



The 16-year-old Chinese boy in this story was having a pretty shitty time.  His mother was dead and he was convinced his stepmother hated him, probably because she stole all his dad's money and left the two of them homeless and scrambling to stay alive.

So he decided to jump off a bridge.  The police came, and hundreds of onlookers gathered to watch the show and not try to help at all.  Then Liu Wenxiu, a 19-year-old waitress passing by, saw what was going on.

She was a quick thinker and got past the cops by making up a story on the spot about how she was his girlfriend and this suicide was over her.  She didn't try to talk the boy out of it, but just listened to his story and then showed him her scarred right wrist, which got his attention.  Then she told him her story about her equally shitty home life, and her own suicide attempts.  "He had to be saved," she said later, "because I've been there before and I knew exactly how it was."


http://www.cracked.com/

after that prologue, here goes:

8 Tiny Things That Stopped Suicides

By Christina H
August 23, 2011

There are stories every day about some rescuer heroically stopping a suicide attempt -- breaking down a door, scooping someone off a ledge or cutting a noose down with a ninja star.  But sometimes there's no strapping fireman or hero cop or friendly ninja, just one little silly thing between life and death.


http://www.cracked.com/

don't worry.  it's just an advert.  and while i do have more than 20 cats, they're not up for kidnapping (or catnapping, which invariably changes the meaning so the word is not advisable in this context).  that's why if i must tell you about my cats, i'd rather be vague about it.

back to why some suicides fail; the help in their failure sometimes comes from the most unlikely source.  this here thread will try to present these unique sources, also sourced from another unique source on the internet highway.  you can go to this source if you may; i'm posting these unique helps here just the same for the following reasons:

1.  your comments can be read by other tblanders
2.  there is no tblander contemplating suicide
3.  tblanders wish to live forever; anyone who reads tb would wish to

this is one area where to fail is to succeed.  or to be lucky.  or to be blessed.  whatever.  it's great to know that some who attempted to end their lives ended up not ending their lives at all in their own sweet time.  that is why it pays never to end it at all.  whatever.

but first, an ad worth copying:

Quote from: hubag bohol on March 26, 2012, 08:32:48 AM
Asa na bitaw to silang Scarb ug Aspo. Hmm, wa ba kaha sila pangawaya ni Bugsay...

gaduda pod bitaw ko...

Quote from: hubag bohol on March 26, 2012, 08:31:01 AM
Sigi lang, ha, kay arrows dipped in mawos nga ginamos nga taga Balingsya bitaw...

hah!  lupig pa anay poisoned arrows sa yanomami amazon tribe.  baki ra man ilang gamiton as poison, pero mas toxic tingali ang pinaborit ginamos mo.  take care...

wa man tawon koy hallucinations uy.  pangutan-a pa ang pari nga akong kumpisalanan.  delucinations (delusions + hallucinations) hinoon naa... nag-delucinate ko nga mora kog si shamcey supsup, yes, after her noselift, unya nipuli ko kang queen elizabeth.  nasuko god si hillary clinton, iya dayong gisulong si imelda marcos, hahaha!   

sa ato kuno kay ang kuwang lang sa 1k note kay si kris aquino ug ang iyang anak nga si joshua.  kun wa pa sila magbuwag ni james, apil pod unta si james ug ang iyang basketball.

hehe, mabarato o momahal ba kaha ang exchange rate ani?

ugh.  here we go again, debunking through some research what are supposedly given verities.  i wonder what they will come up with next.  in the end, the safest way to go is moderation in everything.

grabeh!  ing-ana diay ang lsd?  majority black and white?  but if it's all about the wavy movement of lines, just look at maggots.  labaw pa na sa lsd trip.  bali god imong tiyan.  makasuka ka pa, yuck.