For someone who campaigns endlessly for the unraveling of any kernal of doubt... surely you should not only trust Google for serving the ad... but take it as a recommendation from them to try it? I see the headline "Toby test drives all his adverts. Who thought all those drugs would give me a heart condition"

Poppers are to drugs what wrestling is to homosexuality. Linked but not very clearly. Keep the ad and clean the readership.

Hmmm....I'd think that since some of your readers probably have their dicks out, poppers in hand and a butt plug up their ass while they read your blog that a poppers ad is completely appropriate. I know I do! ;-)

Keep the shit. Its funny.

The fat naked guy with the Gucci bag is what disturbs me. But "Rush" uhm...it's so porn site'ish. I'd probably forego the $30 commission on the ad and take it down.

i'm glad you feel comfortable referring to yourself in plural now.

TOBY SAYS: Um, when did I refer to myself using the Royal We?

I'm no fan of poppers but I also believe in a free market place. You were right to accept the ad. People somewhere make their living on poppers and plenty who seem to enjoy it. Who's to judge? Popper ads on your blog is no more outrageous than an ad for "Guys Gone Wild" during South Park (a very hot ad which happens almost nightly btw). Even if it were illegal I have come to realize that if the govt says it's bad it's gotta be good.

I was actually really shocked at the advert for the poppers. I started to write you about it, but figured that since I've never supported your blog monetarily, then I had no room to complain about what ads are used to support it.

This might be a strange way of looking at things, but don't people put up with spyware and bad porn ads in order to download free music (LimeWire)?

I think the ad is in incredibly poor taste, but I'm willing to put up with it to keep your blog up.

Maybe I'm too cheap to donate $20.

people still use poppers? are they still using the hanky code too?

Poppers and unprotected sex go and in there, helping to contribute to the spread of STD's. Therefore, I say ditch the ad. Listen to me, I have the AIDS!!*

*lie

OMG, that's funny! Legal or not, it's brilliant that a quasi-illicit substance is advertised on a blog like yours! I'm all for it, if only for the visual.

Let's face simple facts of life here...people will do what they want whether or not it is "illegal". Poppers on your site? Well why the the hell not? It's not like you're trying to get folks to an advertisement for crack.

I say leave it unless it bothers you.

I'll take the bait: as a hard-left, gay, secular humanist liberal musician, I don't give a shit whether it's illegal or not. Nor do I care what the prudish body-fascists currently in control of the United States--or their minions--think of any sort of "gay" sexual practice or paraphernalia...we're all on the express train to hell, anyway. Live and let live is, interestingly enough, the way thinking, evolved (!) members of Western civilization move the human species forward, rather than shoving it back yard-by-yard.

However...as a friend-in-absentia of yours, I personally think it's a little tawdry for your site. So there. Don't give a shit about anything else, but my crush on you says it doesn't belong there. :-)

Well, considering that poppers are probably illegal in those same localities that have outlawed Brokeback Mountain, I wouldn't be looking to any legal standard in determining whether the ads stay.

I would, however, note that most people under the age of 25 probably have no idea what poppers are (as you amply demonstrated). They're for old folks who can't have sex unless they're a little fucked up. If that's the demographic you're aiming for, by all means..

nitrates actually, not nitrites. Nitrites would be decidedly less erotic and more fatal. The drugs itself is basically the same stuff your grandparents spray under thier tongue when they get angina. Something to look forward to perhaps...

TOBY SAYS: According to WIkipedia, it's nitrites.

hey! why didn't they pick my blog to advertise rush on too? i want to facilitate gaping manholes also! i have no problem with the ad. i just hope that on their site they remind people not to mix viagra and poppers cause that can totally kill you for real. one constricts blood vessels. the other opens them up. bad combo.

"Here at Vividblurry, WE learn something..."

TOBY SAYS: Yes. "We" as in "you and I" - douche bag.

Although I haven't done in quite a while, I used to enjoy the occasional popper. This was back in the days when I was a regular coke, K, and G user.

One day, I was looking through the fridge, and I found this small brown glass bottle labeled Jungle Juice. My roommates - who were boyfriends - told me that they were poppers. One of the two of them had a very large dick, and the poppers aided in anal entry. They told me that when the dick is about to go in, they take a big whiff, which causes the body to go numb for a few seconds. Amazingly, I didn't ask if I could try any, but they told me I should do it. They knew my tolerance of other drgs, so they brought out "the good ones" that they sprayed on a rag and I huffed. OMG I was giggling like crazy and rolling around on the floor. It was fucking fun.

A few months later, I, 22 at the time, was pursuing a 17-year-old boy, (who looked at least 21) who was pretty innocent as far as non-organic drugs went. A bunch of us were gathered at my apartment, and I suggested we pass the poppers around. (That sounds so trashy in retrospect). Thus I invented the game Pop-Potato, where the 10 or so of us would take a big huff, then toss the poppers to someone else.

Another few months passed and my friend Erica and I were bored, so we made a trip to the porn store to buy some poppers. We were drunk as fuck, and when we walked in, I said, "Do yall have any of those smelly things?" and made a very obvious huffing motion. We were kicked out, but went the wrong way and almost ended up in the theatre area. Finally, we bought some at the gay porn store for the low price of $30.

End of story.
http://churchofannette.blogspot.com/

Shouldn't the Scientology ad still be running, though? I'm sure John Travlota and Tom Cruise love the poppers.

TOBY SAYS: The Scientology ad was a joke - a joke that few people got, apparently.

Compared to the Scientology ad, the poppers are a blessing. I'd much rather have a small laugh over "RUSH" than be afraid Xenu is reading over my shoulder.

You can use them for a sexual high? Damn. I thought they were only good for cleaning the heads on my VCR.

I have purchased poppers once in my life and I remember saying to the clerk at the adult bookstore...I can't believe this is legal! His reply, "Of course it is not illegal to buy or sell videohead cleaner." I said, "ahhhhhh..." So there you have it. I guess it depends on the use. It isn't illegal. I say leave it!

Toby, you did not know anything about poppers until recently? Thought you'd find some at Crew Club? Am I wrong? ;-)

R-

KEEP THE AD!!

I certainly know that many a night of disappointing "fun" has been brought to a delightful *ahem* climax with the aid of "VCR Head Cleaner" or "Room Aromatizer" and a rather cumbersome piece of silicone & plastic.

Not really. Regardless, you've got my 2 cents worth.

I'm with Charlie. The Gucci guy is freaky. Poppers, not my thing, but who cares? Besides, if you buy four you get one free... The fat dude doesn't offer such a deal!

Oh god to the person who said poppers and STIs and AIDs go hand in hand...poppers are not more than "video head cleaner"....when an ad appears saying to take Crystal, then I would be starting to get worried about that!!!
-T

i personally dont like poppers cuz they smell like nasty sneakers but what the hell lotsa guys i know do em when we're er uh um, u know doin the dirty. :)

Maybe just one thing to complain about: the poppers and the scientology ad appeared in the wrong order. the other way round it would make sense: look, folks, what comes out when you use too much of it. although it don't really know on what drugs l.ron hubbard was when he invented this scientology crap.

Ha, yeah I actually noticed that yesterday, I was a little suprised, but then sometimes I assume you are going for a shock value so I just went on about my reading.

I know here in Indiana you can buy them as "air freshners" at bookstores and such. Not that I have any. *cough* But I also do not consider them a drug.

take it down. the ad lessens your credibility.

The bastard took it down !

Hey Toby - Great Site.

As someone who doesn't use any other kind of drug, I have to say Poppers fall into that "grey" area. They do kind of smell bad, and will give you a headache, but DAMN! when they kick in it really hypes up the sex act. Especially if you are bottoming for someone far above average in the size dept.

I think the reason that one guy related them to the spread of AIDS is because they open up your blood vessels, and if you are barebacking, it increases the chance of you getting HIV if you partner has it.

Some people are really into them, some people really hate them. If you choose to use them make sure you don't spill them.

And whatever you do don't do what a friend of mine did and rub them on your ass.

I don't think I would have known what they were either.....

This is all just so very sad.

Who knew there would come a time when a gay guy would admit to NOT knowing what RUSH is (or what poppers are)?

What's wrong with this picture? I mean, has there ever been a gay porn magazine published that didn't have an ad for RUSH in it?

Toby @ vividblurry.com you are hereby De-Gayed (tm). No gay for you!

While I'm no stranger to poppers, it was the first time I'd ever seen an advertisement for the stuff on your site yesterday. Until then, I'd never seen them publicly advertised.

I thought it was funny.

RE: the legality of poppers

Amil Nitrate is an inhalant, and it is illegal in all 50 states to "huff", or inhale substances for the purpose of getting high.

That's a very loose explanation, but a sufficiant one. It would be just as illegal to spray your bug spray into a paper bag and suck it up.

I know it was a joke, Toby, as was my comment. :-)

Hey, I'm just jealous the popper people don't advertise with me.

I think it's hilarious that one of your most famous posts was the porn-star dildo test-drive, but you think poppers are in "poor taste." (Sale of dildos is illegal in some areas.)

Hey, maybe you would have had a better time with the dildo if you'd taken a hit of poppers.

That said, I wouldn't want a poppers ad on my blog. I don't want any ads on my blog. But that just me.

TOBY SAYS: Wow, you are so noble!

Toby:

Just curious, anyone say they ever used them "as advertised"?

I'm a huge incense fan but poppers as liquid incesne is absurd isn't it?

It's all about brain cells and lobbyists. Both drinking and poppers play pac man with the gray matter. Some poisons are legal and some are not...but trying to determine whether one is right and one is wrong on the basis of a cash driven legal system seems a waste of time.

Sodomy was illegal in many states until quite recently...how many gays stopped doing that in deference to moral sensibilities? I'm all for everyone choosing their own poisons...but I'm often troubled when people begin affixing moral equivalence.

It's your call Toby...no judgment here one way or the other.

Just thought I would offer one clarifiation. The original poppers (back in the day) were in fact amyl nitrate, a prescription drug used to treat angina. What is commonly found in bookstores or such is often a nitrite derivative.

I believe it's very difficult (and illegal) to obtain the original product without a script (if at all). If I'm not mistaken the original was actually less toxic than the current products that remain technically legal (for a different purpose), albeit more dangerous when used for the unintended purpose.

Thank goodness the government is looking out for our welfare.