Too Cool For Words?
I am at a loss sometimes for words to describe some of the things that I see when surfing through the World Wide Web. Or, better, perhaps I am not at a loss for words, more at a loss to understand how some people can allow such things – photographs, text, videos, whatever – to ever see the light of day, to creep out from under a stone and present themselves to an otherwise happy audience.
Photo Source: linguee
I mean, what sort of (polite) words come to mind when confronted by such a self portrait? Who is it aimed at and, perhaps, who on earth would find such a photograph even remotely inspiring? You’d need to have a really perverse love of chocolate sauce to find anything inspiring here!
Love & Kisses, Viki.
Quality Time
If there’s one thing we all need, regardless of who or where we are, it’s Quality Time, both for ourselves and for those around us. Time to just settle back and relax, to spend with friends and family, with loved ones and – for those who have such things – with children. With my hectic life at the moment I’ve hardly had a moment to myself, hardly had time to look at all the wonderful things around me and just be me for a while, and this loss has hit me quite suddenly. Tiredness, that inner tiredness we get when the body is still active but the mind has gone over the top a little too many times, makes itself felt and, like so many others, I just feel like sinking into the depths of my bed and not coming out for a few months.
That would be fine if it were winter; I could hibernate for a while and come out again when the spring flowers begin to show their heads above the fertile earth, but spring has already been and gone and we’re into the first days of summer. Now is not the time to disappear, but it is the right time to just take a step back and reassess things, look to the future as well as to those around you. Not that there is anything that I wish to stop doing, but perhaps not quite is such a mass as I’ve been doing recently. We all need that little break, that time of calm and relaxation, the period between storms of activity and action. For me this is also a time when some of my ideas can be worked over and new vitality brought into life, and so that’s what I plan on doing now. A little less time in front of the computer screen, a little less time learning for college, a little less time with one or two other things.
A little bit of peace and quiet.
Love & Kisses, Viki.
Google Spammed Me?
I still fail to understand the mentality behind spammers, as I am sure we all do. Fine, they’re trying to get back-links, trying to get their (often faked) product out onto the market, trying to make money. I think we can all agree on that. But why, if that is the case, would anyone write and post a spam to a blog such as this advertising Google?
It’s not as if Google needs any form of advertizing, it’s there and we all know that it is there. You can’t turn anywhere on the Internet these days without seeing some reference to Google or one of its subsidiaries such as YouTube.
So why send in a spam linking directly to Google and having a live link to Google as the comment? It defies imagination, especially when any good commenting system automatically includes the IP of the poster, and that IP can be checked in a matter of seconds giving out this:
[Querying whois.arin.net] [Redirected to rwhois.limestonenetworks.com:4321] [Querying rwhois.limestonenetworks.com] [rwhois.limestonenetworks.com] %rwhois V-1.5:003fff:00 rwhois.limestonenetworks.com (by Network Solutions, Inc. V-1.5.9.5) network:Class-Name:network network:ID:LSN-BLK-64.31.0.0/18 network:Auth-Area:64.31.0.0/18 network:Network-Name:LSN-64.31.0.0/18 network:IP-Network:64.31.40.112/29 network:IP-Network-Block:64.31.40.112 - 64.31.40.119 network:Organization-Name:Hong Gao network:Organization-City:Wuhan network:Organization-State:OT network:Organization-Zip:430074 network:Organization-Country:CN network:Tech-Contact;I:abuse@limestonenetworks.com network:Admin-Contact;I:abuse@limestonenetworks.com network:Updated-By:admin@limestonenetworks.com network:Class-Name:network network:ID:LSN-BLK-64.31.0.0/18 network:Auth-Area:64.31.0.0/18 network:Network-Name:LSN-64.31.0.0/18 network:IP-Network:64.31.0.0/18 network:IP-Network-Block:64.31.0.0 - 64.31.63.255 network:Organization;I:Limestone Networks network:Tech-Contact;I:ipadmin@limestonenetworks.com network:Admin-Contact;I:admin@limestonenetworks.com network:Created:20080129 network:Updated:20080129 network:Updated-By:admin@limestonenetworks.com %referral rwhois://root.rwhois.net:4321/auth-area=. %ok
Now, correct me if I am wrong, but I don’t believe that Hong Gao from Wuhan in China represents Google, does she? And I am fairly sure that Limestone Networks are also not a part of the Google empire.
Perhaps it’s a conspiracy, a new ploy by Google to get their name out there in the world of the Internet, to raise their profile, make them popular. I’m sure there are a few (adolescent) conspiracy theorists out there who could play this into something big. In the meantime, it’s just spam and has no place here whatsoever.
[Edit: If you want to know more about Limestone Networks, here's a conversation from March 2012 on WebHosting Talk which, as far as I can see, doesn't seem to have been resolved by Limestone's representative Mike.]
Love & Kisses, Viki.
Prime Example
The other day I wrote about tattoos, good and bad, in my post Inked Beauty. Here’s a prime example of what I mean by Nooooo:
Photo Source: mybestcv2
I cannot see any way of ever, ever improving this abomination, and it’s there for life.
Love & Kisses, Viki.
A Spam Which Fits?
Either someone was very lucky indeed, or they really did read the post they spammed. Or perhaps you feel that the spam doesn’t match the original article and posts? Either way: on my post Upholding God’s Law today:
Everyone loves it when folks get together and share ideas.
Perhaps if a few more people would get together and share ideas we wouldn’t have so much stupidity in the world. And fewer deaths too.
Love & Kisses, Viki.
Upholding God’s Law
It’s a well known fact that you can use extracts from the Bible – and most other religious texts – to justify absolutely anything you wish either through a modern interpretation of the text or through a traditional interpretation, depending on which one turns out more to your favor. And you can use extracts from these religious texts in absolutely any context you wish, providing you neglect to mention other extracts which fit the bill perfectly too or which, as in this case, expand it.
The former Bishop of Rochester, Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, tells the Daily Mail that sanctioning gay marriage in the United Kingdom, signing a bill into law, would breach the Queen’s sacred vows to uphold God’s Law in the country and, because of this if nothing else, she shouldn’t be presented with the legislation by Parliament to sign. This, as anyone who knows the first thing about the Bible, is using a small selection of text extracts to justify a case while leaving many others which speak against out of the equation.
If the Bishop wishes to enforce this small part of God’s Law then he must also be prepared to justify enforcing all the other bits and pieces which have fallen by the wayside over the last few centuries; those ‘laws’ which justify slavery (which would be a very bittersweet pill since the Bishop is colored), which justify the death penalty for minor offenses, which forced thousands of deaths at the sword for idolatry, which demands the death penalty for wearing mixed fabric clothing and so on. The Bible is full of such examples, all of which fall under God’s Law, this very jealous god who demands, in his forgiving manner, so much death and destruction.
All I can say, dear Bishop, is you need to take a stance on the whole of God’s Law and not just the little bits which appeal to you at any one time. Either you’re for it, or you’re against it, rather like Sharia Law – and that, in essence, is what the complete Law of God is.
And should the Messiah be glancing down from his heavenly throne to the right hand side of this vengeful god, I am sure that only one reaction would be forthcoming from him as he witnesses the abuse performed by mere mortals who should know better in his and his father’s name. It’s in the Bible too: John 11 : 35.
- Viktoria Michaelis.
Humor?
It’s a good thing that the article at least has the word ‘humor’ in the title, although I suspect that most people would have overseen this single word and might take the article as a true representation of the facts. Sharon Stone, Yahoo! says, is a suspect in a jewelry robbery in France whereby jewels worth several millions have been stolen, and not for the first time, from one of the celebrities at the Cannes Film Festival.
When you read the article, ignoring the title for a moment which – I suspect – has been updated and is not the original, there is no hint that this is satire. Unless you happen to click through to the original article. Or, to be a little bit more accurate, unless you had clicked through to the original article while it was still on the celebrity satire site Hollywood & Swine, because now it’s gone.
In the original article, but not the Yahoo! version, there was far more information which made it clear that the whole was a satire, a bit of humor at the expense of someone else. The writer outlined reasons for suspicion that Sharon Stone might be involved in the heist, amongst other things that she hadn’t had a hit film in many years and the events surrounding the robbery matched some of the acted scenes in her older films, such as Basic Instinct. There was talk of her being interviewed, and performing the now famous crossing legs scene for the ‘real’ police officers.
Does the addition of a single word – ‘humor’ – make the plagiarized article on Yahoo! any better? Does the lack of an author on Yahoo! – it’s marked as being by Hollywood and Swine – make it any more humorous? satire is one thing, but taking an article and repeating it in such a way can only bring problems, especially when it isn’t clear – on Yahoo! at least – that this is pure satire, is quite another.
- Viktoria Michaelis.
The Best Cure
As we all know, the actor Michael Douglas was diagnosed with cancer of the throat a few years ago. We all also know, how can you miss it when he’s back in the news with his latest film, that he beat cancer and there is a 95% chance it will not recur. What seems to be new is what caused the cancer in the first place, and what he claims is the best cure for it.
Michael Douglas claims that cunnilingus – oral sex – was the cause of the cancerous tumor in his throat and not excessive drinking, smoking or the fact that he might have taken drugs in one form or another – bearing in mind that both alcohol and nicotine are drugs of the worst kind.
Fear not, however, since he also claims that the best cure – not the one he used, but still – is cunnilingus.
Of course, there are other opinions on the matter, but at least it is something of a relief to know that what makes you ill can make you better again, and there is no need to dump your favorite occupation simply because of a little throat trouble!
Love & Kisses, Viki.
Bustin’ Out
Let’s just skip the underwear bit, shall we? I mean, there are some sights which are good and some which remind us that we really need to take out the trash, or that we shouldn’t have eaten that last whatever it was for breakfast because it’s not going to look good coming back out through a gag and heave.
Photo Source: ausschnitt
With summer staring at us once again – perhaps not quite here, but visible on the horizon – all the beautiful fashions are going to make their appearance on the streets again, and we’re going to be confronted with those spectacular views of tanned, untanned, white lines and, perhaps, a little bit more. It’s time for the ritual mating dance once again, and early summer, if it’s warm out, is the perfect time to show what we have to offer as far as outward signs go.
What I Mean
Just to be clear about my underwear post from yesterday:
Photo Source: faz
The fashion looks better on women, and there are limits.
Photo Source: rp-online
Some of those limits you simply do not want to be confronted with!
Love & Kisses, Viki.
How Far?
We’ve seen baggy pants which hang down to men’s knees, weird constructions which defy description on the catwalk and thongs which tend to rest more under a person’s armpits than on their hips. Underage teens showing off their panties in order to get a modelling job and all sorts of low-cut blouses which leave little to the imagination.
Photo Source: errthing
Do we have to get a full view of a woman’s underwear now? Is this the latest fashion fad?
I sincerely hope not!
Love & Kisses, Viki.
Inked Beauty
It’s not for me, to be perfectly honest, simply because my tastes change all the time and once I have a tattoo on any part of my body it is there forever. But, I do sometimes appreciate the inked work on other people, not very often – there are many tattoos out there which aren’t worth the skin they’ve embellished – but now and then an image will grab my fancy.
Photo Source: jimdo
They have to be good, though, and well thought out otherwise, since it is for life, they bring nothing but bitterness and regret.
Publicizing Cheese
For those who happen to find their way here by searching for milk product marketing, sorry, you’re at the wrong place. That doesn’t mean you have to leave here right away – hold back on that mouse move buddy! – but I’m not in the business of selling cheese or even, much as I love it, promoting cheese. That said:
Photo Source: Free-Picture
this is one of my favorite cheeses, amongst very many others! A slice of hot buttered toast in the morning with a creamy cheese on top, crackers in the evening with a harder, flavored cheese, nothing to compare!
No, this is about a different form of cheese, the kind that you can only find in cheap magazines and on the Internet.
Lucky In Love
In theory, if you happen to be superstitious, a black cat brings luck just as much as a pinch of salt thrown over the shoulder wards off bad luck. I write in theory because I am sure no one can tell me, without a good deal of forethought, exactly how this works.
Photo Source: Free-Picture
Is it good luck when a black cat crosses your path from left to right, or from right to left? And what happens when this lucky black cat has a few gray hairs, does it still count?
Customer Service Fails
You must have come across them more then once, service industries (shops, restaurants, general businesses online and in Real Life) who boast of high things, and then fail miserably. I came across it personally just the other day, going into a store I use three or four times a week because I needed to use the toilet and finding it locked, asking for the key, being told ‘No idea’ and having someone turn their back to you in order to carry on a conversation with another member of staff. And these are exactly the companies which have massive signs hung all over the place boasting of their customer service (in this case a claim to be one of the Top Three in Germany on a billboard outside the store).
Luckily for us, the customer who doesn’t receive the service we should, there are plenty of other options. Here we have four major stores in the one town, another just a mile away and over ten more within a seven mile radius. Not happy with the service? Change where you shop. Easy.
What about online though?
Wish List Amazon Germany
Wish List Amazon USA
