Maggi64

I wonder why he still won't tell us where he's from? It's not like we could find him. Or does he think that the C.I.A. is vetting this page?

You need to do some research on this as it's not for the "benefit of the state" as you contend. Private corporations pay for people to take leave of absences to go to rehab. And private insurance companies cover it. So there's a lot of private money going into drug treatment in the West, not just govt money. The companies pay for it because they want their staff to be clean, sober and productive at work. It's also, quite simply, the humane thing to do.

There's much to criticize in our country, but our attitude toward drug addiction is very progressive, and so are our laws. For example, the court did not demonize Michael Jackson for being an addict, but went after his doctor instead. I don't know how much time the doctor served, but it made the point that having a medical license doesn't put you above the law. Politicians finally went after Big Pharma too after they turned millions into addicts w/oxycontin 20 years ago. That shit's now hard to get.

Yep. He'd be hot in Hollywood. And it isn't like the old days where there was only room for one Asian at a time (eg, Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan). In the past five years we have seen two different Asian movies win Best Picture (Korea's Parasite and Taiwan's Everything, Everywhere, All at Once). "Best Picture" is THE biggest award there is, and it's gone to Asian movies twice! A Japanese movie, Drive My Car, won for Best Foreign language film in between those two years. So that's three major wins.

The Asians have been sweeping up at America's most prestigious award show so I truly do think a hot Asian guy who also knows how to act would do splendidly here. It's a shame Lee Sung Kyun didn't come here before killing himself. American movie critics really respected him.

Dummy is a euphemism? You need to look up that word because you're using incorrectly.

What country are you from?

As for alcohol being a drug, it contains ether and I suppose ether can be regarded as a drug. But I still separate the terms "drugs" and "alcohol" because our laws treat them as 2 separate categories with one being legal and the other not legal.

Lastly, you may disagree with me but it's shocking for you to regard me as a "dummy." Even someone who vehemently disagrees with me can recognize that I am smart and well informed. Hence, calling me a "dummy" says more about you than me, because it means you're unable to recognize intelligence when you see it.

I agree that it's not a "disease" and I wish the 12-step programs would stop using that term. The clinical definition of "disease" does not fit. However, addiction is still an illness, no different than bipolar or depression, which also are not diseases but still very serious illnesses. In fact, depression and bipolar can be seen in the brain via chemical levels. So can addiction.

For example, addiction to pleasure inducing substances renders the brain less able to produce its own natural pleasure inducing chemical, dopamine (dopamine is known as the feel-good neurotransmitter). The more drugs and alcohol an addict consumes, the less dopamine the brain produces on its own. Then, in the absence of naturally produced dopamine ,the addict becomes reliant on outside substances such as drugs and alcohol. Which decreases dopamine even more. Which, in turn, makes the addict crave drugs and alcohol more and more. It's a vicious cycle.

But the operative point is that addiction is truly an illness that is physical and it can even be seen and located in the brain vis-a-vis decreased dopamine. This is why addicts get so depressed when they first quit. It takes months for the brain to adjust and be able to produce dopamine naturally.

Rehabs are about being a controlled environment until people get through this period of depression (and rehab is covered by insurance in the USA). People also engage in talk therapy in rehabs, and work on breaking old patterns. Rehabs do not give medications. Medications are prescribed for mental illnesses such as bipolar, schizophrenia, and clinical depression, but not addiction.

I give up on atom951. This is the 3rd time I've seen him toss around terminology about the rules of rhetoric as if he were teaching Freshmen Composition at a county college. He seems to think that knowing how to name a part of an argument is tantamount to winning an argument.

Besides, there was no strawman here. The poster said drug use effects one's business and another person replied that a business does not own you. So they did respond directly to the topic of businesses rather than create a strawman.

Also, the USA knows that addiction adversely effects businesses. That's why most companies give a paid Leave of Absence to those who go to rehabs for drugs or alcohol. The businesses pay because they want the addicts to get better and become productive again. It's better for everyone all around, and the civilized thing to do.

I don't know where atom951 comes from, but I suspect somewhere uncivilized.

By your logic, "every Tom, Dick and Harry" should be an alcoholic because alcohol use is not punished by law. Yet we know that some people drink, and some don't. Well, the same goes for drugs; some use and some don't.

That show is nearly 10 years old. So what you are seeing is a sign of aging, not a sign of drug use.

This page is not "full of communists" as you say. To the contrary, it's full of capitalists from 1st World nations such as the USA, the UK and Western Europe. Developed countries in the West regard addiction as an illness. That's why we cast severe judgement on drug dealers, but not on drug users.

Oh, and please tell me that you were using hyperbole when you accused the commentator of being North Korean. Because I doubt anyone from North Korea would even have access to a page like this.

If stats can be skewed by the UK what makes you think they can't be skewed by SK as well? I suspect you find SK's stats "honest" because, of course, you agree with SK's draconian drug sentences.

Moreover, the West has nothing to gain by pretending there's less addiction than there is. To the contrary, our culture is geared toward locating addiction as much as we can, and recognizing that it can exist anywhere, regardless of one's background. And treatment centers abound. In short, it's treated as an illness that only hurts oneself.

Drug dealing, on the other hand, means profiting off the addiction and misery of others. That's why the USA has such strict sentences against dealers.

A) your neighbors don't harm you with their use of pot, so it's not your business

B) your assertion that there's more violence, accidents, etc due to pot is sheer nonsense. Studies show that alcohol results in more violence and accidents. Besides, it's illegal to drive while under the influence of any substance: booze, pills or pot.

C) your entire comment is void of facts and, instead, full of speculation, pious judgement, and flat out falsehoods.

Why are commenters "arrogant" when nearly all have simply cited the fact that he needs treatment, not punishment? Addiction is a victimless crime, and this poor guy only hurt himself with his drug use. There's a reason why the West gives light sentences to addicts yet very HEAVY sentences to drug dealers who profit off the sickness and addiction of others.

LOL, I can't believe you made a reference to a blowjob with that cream on the face scene. I was just waiting for her to hand him a napkin because I'm anal retentive about food on my hands or face, but your response was far more amusing.

Agreed. I also checked their bios and they are only listed as "actors" and not as idols or singers with boy bands as so many BL stars are. You can tell the difference.

Yea, the scene of him with cream all over his face was a bit much. I kept waiting for the mom to hand him a napkin cuz that would've been the polite thing to do and more realistic to her character. Otherwise, he's supposed to be eager and child-like when eating.

If this were the final episode, I'd think, oh christ a fake kiss. But I think the show will have real kisses later on. Remember. there are 7 more episodes. I assume that this was shot as it was because the Japanese are so fanatical about being faithful to source material. I've gone to mangas after some of these shows and it's freaking bizarre how they replicate them word for word, panel by panel. The only J-BL that's differed is "Double Mints" -- and that's because it was a film, not a series, and it was directed by a man with artistic bonafides. All these BL series are directed by women who have no experience outside this realm.

As for the manga itself, I assume the kiss was not a full one because the character was just not ready for a deep, hot kiss.

I could be wrong, but I hope not.

This is a powerful short film that lingers in the mind long after it ends. As many noted, it's not a happy story, but it's a realistic coming-of-age story for a gay, deaf teenager.

One pleasant thing about it is that the lead actor truly is deaf. You can sort of tell because he speaks his lines very loudly, the way deaf people do because they cannot hear their own volume of voice.

btw, Production companies pay attention to online comments so they know the BL fandom wants to see genuine kissing scenes. Accordingly, they know that if they want a hit show they must include one. The production company knows it and the actors know it too.