The Mind Works in Strange Ways

Written by Smoke Signals | 31 August 2012
Posted in Articles

The Mind Works in Strange Ways
SMOKE SIGNALS MAGAZINE - September - October 2012

If you're like us, much of your "fetish satisfaction" follows a familiar path, at least day-to-day. You may visit your "regular" membership sites, you may surf the web looking for new material, you may watch your favorite DVDs, clips or those well-preserved videotapes you've had for years. You may read stories, you may relive special memories, you may still (although it's awfully difficult now) go out looking for real-life sightings, or you may (if you're fortunate) indulge with a smoking partner.

But every so often, something happens that is totally unexpected - and it may just remind you that there are fetish triggers deep in your memory about which you'd completely forgotten. One such occurrence happened a few weeks ago to us. It started with a quick email from Vesperae, pointing us to a Daily Motion video. Without giving it much thought, we clicked on the link - and were almost immediately transported to a fetish wonderland we hadn't even remembered.

The link to was a music video: "I Feel the Magic" by Belinda Carlisle. It's certainly not from one of our favorite musical genres; we don't even remember the music itself. But even so, we were immediately transported back to the mid-80s. That's because once upon a time, we were just walking by the TV and caught a brief glimpse of the video on MTV (or perhaps VH1) - in which a very cute Belinda was singing while holding a smouldering cigarette.

At the time, we were with someone who had no idea of our smoking fetish, and couldn't stop walking and talking, let alone stare at the screen to watch the entire video. We had no idea what song it was or what album it came from - and of course, there was no internet on which to search in a more private moment. Later on, however, we did spend hours and hours scanning MTV and VH1 hoping to see the video again. We never did, despite several years of a "Holy Grail" type of search. Did Belinda hold the cigarette for the entire video? Did she inhale? Did she, even better, ever exhale a thick cloud of smoke in the video? We had no idea.

We weren't exactly fixated on finding the video again - but for quite a while, the video search was something we never gave up. It just because less and less important as we entered the age of online chat rooms, smoking video and everything that followed. And eventually, we forgot about the Belinda Carlisle video. Until a few weeks ago. The excitement, the anticipation - it was almost as if we were back in the late 1980s, watching with baited breath just hoping to see something magical.

It was, as most things unfortunately are, anticlimactic. She only held the cigarette for brief moments scattered throughout the video, and never inhaled, let alone exhaled. But the excitement of actually "finding" a fetish grail, and watching it, transported us back to a time when we weren't quite as jaded, nor quite as overloaded with smoking fetish video filmed in perfect light with exceptional smokers. It was, in a word exciting.

And it led us to wonder in amazement at how the mind works. We didn't just remember that we had seen the few seconds of the video; we didn't just remember that we had tried in vain to find the rest of it; we didn't just recall the sense of excitement we had at the time. We immediately felt the same feelings, emotion, anticipation and excitement we had felt 25 years ago, as if no time had passed at all.

And it led us to wonder: is the fetish that strong - or it simply that the mind is that amazing?

If you're interested in seeing the video, you can find it here.

And enjoy the September-October issue!

Smoke Like A Lady

Written by Smoke Signals | 30 June 2012
Posted in Articles

Smoke Like a Lady
SMOKE SIGNALS MAGAZINE - July - August 2012

We recently saw an article that caught our attention: a company called "Skinnygirl Cocktails" is launching a new ad campaign for their new products: Skinnygirl Vodka with Natural Flavors, Skinnygirl The Wine Collection and new ready-to-serve cocktails. The ad campaign includes TV commercials that will run on Bravo, HGTV, Food Network and E! as well as print.

The theme of the campaign might interest readers of this space: "Drink Like a Lady."

The company says that “Skinnygirl consumers are smart, savvy and successful ladies who are leaders — not followers — and they connect with Skinnygirl because it’s a brand that continues to blaze new trails and is solutions-driven. This campaign has been created exclusively with these women and their social circles in mind.” And the ad agency says that "the campaign celebrates women making their own rules, as they enjoy each other’s company and 'Drink Like a Lady.'"

Can you imagine the possibilities if the anti-smoking forces hadn't been so successful in demonizing smokers over the last couple of decades? Just substitute the word "smoke" for the word "drink."

Virginia Slims, anyone?

What makes this story even more frustrating, is that one of the biggest electronic cigarette companies in America is preparing to launch a new product line in July: Vapor Couture. The "fashionable" e-cigs are slim, come in designer colors and patterns, and even come with a clutch purse to accomodate the batteries, cartridges and chargers.

These campaigns are obviously based on extensive market research, which says to us that a "new" Virginia Slims campaign would be an enormous success - had the anti-smoking lobby not demonized cigarette smoking to the point of near-extinction. (The continuing success of hookah lounges, and the recent statistics showing that more young people smoke pot than cigarettes, makes us believe that it's not smoking itself that is viewed as evil - it's just cigarette smoking.)

Designer E-smoking, and "feminine drinking" as lifestyle and fashion statements, have convinced us more than ever that the golden age of smoking could well still be with us, if it weren't for outside forces. What a shame.

Enjoy the July-August issue!