Not even skin deep

I saw this picture in some news article – linked below.  It’s not the first time I’ve seen her, but it is the first time I felt really sorry for her.  I don’t know why, either.  You’ve probably seen pictures of her before too, and lots of other people who’ve had their faces just mangled by too much plastic surgery, or bad plastic surgery.  I think it really hit me when Michael Jackson died and the media was reporting that he had to be buried without his prosthetic nose.  I’m pretty sure there’s not a grain of truth to that – but I don’t even know if he did have a prosthetic nose.  If he did, I’m sure it made it into the casket. 

Usually when I see people like this, I feel a dual sense of pity and disbelief.  Something along the lines of, “Wow, don’t you realize how weird you look?”  I mean really.  How could they not see it?

But they don’t, I guess.

I guess they so hated what they saw in the mirror before that what they see now seems better to them somehow.  Their self-image is that distorted, like an anorexic who thinks they’re fat.  

And I see this woman who now looks like some kind of freak side-show horror, and I see the picture of how she used to look … and for some reason it simply makes my heart break a little.  She was pretty … before.  And she hated her face so much that she did that to it.  That’s just so sad.

Sure, most of us aren’t happy with our looks for one reason or another, and some of us even have a bit of surgery to “fix” something.  But I do think that when we get to the bare bones of it all, even if we had the chance, most of us would probably stick with what God gave us.

And I feel so sad for all those who think their beauty has to come from the outside, so much so that they destroyed what beauty they did have at one time.

It’s just tragic.

Bloated Bride of Wildenstein looks more frightening than ever

 

Virtual Murder

I had laughing fits when I read the story below.  His avatar married her avatar, and then when his avatar divorced her avatar, she killed his avatar.   The part that’s not funny though is that the woman was arrested for hacking.  Now, I ask you, if she got into his account because HE’D given her his password when they were “married,” how in the world is that “hacking”?  And then the guy has the nerve to call police??  Idiot should have just changed his password!  “She killed my avatar!  It’s murder!”  Talk about a waste of police resources!  Not to mention getting a little too carried away with a game! 

Well, you know what they say: Hell hath no fury like that of a woman scorned – and that includes virtual women with virtual fury who’ve been virtually scorned, too.  

 

Online divorcee jailed after killing virtual hubby

By MARI YAMAGUCHI, Associated Press

TOKYO: A 43-year-old Japanese woman whose sudden divorce in a virtual game world made her so angry that she killed her online husband’s digital persona has been arrested on suspicion of hacking, police said Thursday.

The woman, who is jailed on suspicion of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating electronic data, used his identification and password to log onto popular interactive game "Maple Story" to carry out the virtual murder in mid-May, a police official in northern Sapporo said on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.

"I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry," the official quoted her as telling investigators and admitting the allegations.

The woman had not plotted any revenge in the real world, the official said.

She has not yet been formally charged, but if convicted could face a prison term of up to five years or a fine up to $5,000.

Players in "Maple Story" raise and manipulate digital images called "avatars" that represent themselves, while engaging in relationships, social activities and fighting against monsters and other obstacles.

The woman used login information she got from the 33-year-old office worker when their characters were happily married, and killed the character. The man complained to police when he discovered that his beloved online avatar was dead.

Sucks to Breathe in Chicago

I’ve said in the past that Chicago is one of the worst cities in the country for people who suffer with asthma.  It wasn’t a secret, but one or two over on my Chicago Sucks post disagreed with me.  Now I have even more evidence.  Tribune Watchdog report: Chicago’s toxic air 

Lovely view, no?  This is why I laugh when Chicago defenders go on about how “clean” the city is.  Really?  Compared to what?  A gas station bathroom?  Now, it’s not a secret I don’t consider myself an “environmentalist” by any means, but this is ridiculous.  And just because I don’t think of myself as an environmentalist doesn’t mean I don’t believe in being responsible about our environment – it just means we might disagree on the best way to go about that – but that’s for another blog.  My point here is that there are agencies designed to prevent this sort of thing from occurring.  I think one of the most telling lines from the article says a lot about life in Chicagoland:

Illinois environmental regulators haven’t turned to the data to help focus their efforts, either. In his Sept. 18 reply to a Freedom of Information Act request from the Tribune, a state lawyer wrote: "The Illinois EPA has no information about the [database], and has not used it in any way."

©DarcsFalcon

THAT’S battery?

It’s funny, the little things that strike you as humorous.  I caught this article West Virginia Man Charged with Assaulting an Officer.  I don’t know why I clicked on it – the headline wasn’t really like a huge news event or anything.  Guys assault cops quite a bit, I’m sure.  But as I read the article, I busted up laughing.  Go ahead, read it!  I’ll wait!    Humming a merry little tune, hum hum hum … see?  It was short. 

I couldn’t tell what was funnier – the fact that the accused broke wind on the cop, or that the cop charged him with battery for it!  Good grief!  If I’d known that passing gas was a battery offense, I’d have had more than one person arrested in my life!  Heck, I might have gotten a larger divorce settlement had I known that!  Can’t you just see it now?  The Flatulence Police.  The Foof Squad.  ROFL – that sounds like a new crime show!  From the Mod Squad to the Foof Squad.  The Fart Patrol.  The Odor Beat.  Oh my gosh, it’s just too funny!  Maybe cops should keep a can of Lysol handy now, along with the pepper spray?  I’m just sayin’. 

more animals

©DarcsFalcon

An Obituary

When I first read this story, half of me wanted to laugh, and the other half was saddened.  No doubt, this woman got exactly what she asked for.  I mean, if you can’t even generate a modicum of grief in your children upon your death, how bad of a mother must you have been in life?  Did she believe that after her death her children would still put “Beloved Mother” on her tombstone, even if they didn’t mean it?  If she did, she was badly mistaken!

At the same time, I wanted to laugh because I so admire the cajones of this woman to print the obituary she did.  It takes a lot to announce to the world that you won’t lament the passing of your mother.  So many would be appalled – and then they’d argue.  “Oh, I’m sure you don’t really mean that, about your mother.”  “Oh, what a terrible child you are, to speak ill about your mother that way!  And to speak ill of the dead on top of it!  How dare you!”  Yeah, those people are out there, and you know who you are.  And you can STFU.  Somehow there seems to be this idealized notion that being a mother means instant saint, and nothing could be further from the truth.  You know those silly signs, “A mother holds her child’s hand for a while, but holds their heart forever,” or some such drivel like that.  I mock it because I know it’s not true.  The major inflictor of child abuse and/or death, is the mother.  (See here and here if you’re interested.) 

So to the woman who had the stones to write the obituary she did about her mother, I say this: I’m sorry you had the kind of mother you can’t even mourn.  I’m sorry you grieve more for a notion than a person.  My heart goes out to you and your family, and I pray you find the peace you need so much.

As for the rest of us moms out there, some of you are so successful at mothering you make me green with envy!  I applaud you!  Us other moms?  We need to try just a little harder.   We should never stop trying to be just a little bit better at this mom thing.  Ever.  AND encouraging every other mom we know to do the same thing. 

Dolores Aguilar 1929 – Aug. 7, 2008

Dolores Aguilar, born in 1929 in New Mexico, left us on August 7, 2008. She will be met in the afterlife by her husband, Raymond, her son, Paul Jr., and daughter, Ruby. She is survived by her daughters Marietta, Mitzi, Stella, Beatrice, Virginia and Ramona, and son Billy; grandchildren, Donnelle, Joe, Mitzie, Maria, Mario, Marty, Tynette, Tania, Leta, Alexandria, Tommy, Billy, Mathew, Raymond, Kenny, Javier, Lisa, Ashlie and Michael; great-grandchildren, Brendan, Joseph, Karissa, Jacob, Delaney, Shawn, Cienna, Bailey, Christian, Andre Jr., Andrea, Keith, Saeed, Nujaymah, Salma, Merissa, Emily, Jayci, Isabella, Samantha and Emily. I apologize if I missed anyone.

Dolores had no hobbies, made no contribution to society and rarely shared a kind word or deed in her life. I speak for the majority of her family when I say her presence will not be missed by many, very few tears will be shed and there will be no lamenting over her passing. Her family will remember Dolores and amongst ourselves we will remember her in our own way, which were mostly sad and troubling times throughout the years. We may have some fond memories of her and perhaps we will think of those times too. But I truly believe at the end of the day ALL of us will really only miss what we never had, a good and kind mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. I hope she is finally at peace with herself.

As for the rest of us left behind, I hope this is the beginning of a time of healing and learning to be a family again. There will be no service, no prayers and no closure for the family she spent a lifetime tearing apart. We cannot come together in the end to see to it that her grandchildren and great-grandchildren can say their goodbyes. So I say here for all of us, GOOD BYE, MOM.

Read the true story here —>>snopes.com: Dolores Aguilar Obituary

Tombstone picture was generated by me at Tombstone Generator

©DarcsFalcon

More post stew

Okay, I just had to tell you about this one.  I was browsing the news and I saw this article, about Internet security.  Giant Internet security hole threatens the basic act of typing in a Web address.  We need to be on our toes and paying attention to the sites we visit – especially banking and credit card sites.  A line from the article says,

"This is the mother lode all right, from the point of view of Internet criminals looking for easier access to other people’s money and secrets."

I thought I’d let you know, in case you hadn’t seen anything about it.  Vigilance! 

Did you notice I made a new page?  Probably not, so here’s a link: Stamps, etc!  It’s about the stamp envy I’ve had about all the subscribers over on DeviantArt.  I can’t use stamps over there because I’m not a subscriber, so I made a page here.  Stamps are – to me – like bumper stickers or T-shirts with sayings on them.  Check it out!

I also wanted to tell you about a neat little tool that Firefox has, called Zemanta.  What Zemanta does is it hooks itself into your posting page on WordPress and it offers you relevant links to other articles about the subject you’re posting about, as well as pictures.  Now, it does not work in Windows Live Writer *cries softly* but only works on the “Write Post” page.  It’s a nifty little tool though and I highly recommend it, especially for those of you who like to find other links and pictures to include in your blogs.  It can make blogging fun, seeing what kind of links and pictures come up in the suggestion box.  I believe Dwight once mentioned something about the research he put into his blog, so maybe he’ll check out Zemanta when he comes back.    (Come back tomorrow for a brief review of another Firefox add-on!)

Speaking of Dwight, he was in a generous mood yesterday and sent out a video to a few folks.  I’m claiming it!  It’s funny!  I hope you check it out!  Thanks for the fodder Dwight!  Oh, yes, it’s work-safe! 

It’s Hump Day – smile!  And hump something! 

Fonts

 

Watermelon – it’s what’s for dessert!

Ah, summertime!  Potato salads, cold fried chicken, watermelon … know what I read about watermelon?  Check this out!  Watermelon Said to Have ‘Viagra-Like’ Effects  Well I knew it was popular but I had no idea why!  I love articles that make me chuckle!  Do you think the companies that make those commercials will change their scripts to now say, “Eat watermelon!  No side effects like you can get with our pills!”  Yeah, I didn’t think so either. 

I wonder if it matters whether or not it’s seedless or seeded watermelon?  I hate seedless watermelon, it’s not nearly as sweet as the ordinary variety.  And did you hear about the girl who was stung by a scorpion while picking through a watermelon bin?  *Shudder*  That’s almost as bad as tarantulas in the bananas!  Yikes!  That was sort of a big thing when I was a little girl – you always heard about someone who knew someone who had a tarantula crawl up their arm while picking through the banana bin at the grocery store.  I know it’s really uncommon now, but I still kind of give the banana bin a fairly wide berth.  And somehow I got from Viagra to tarantulas.  Go figure! 

Anyway, a short one from me today – I have an important day tomorrow and I need to make a cake.   

Incest? So what!

That’s what the dad said anyway.  I kid you not!  Just read it here! –>> Australian Father, Daughter Reveal Sexual Relationship That Led to Birth of Two Children  I was more than a little sickened by his attitude.  Does it matter that his daughter was a “consenting adult” when they began their sexual relationship?  To that I say, “So what!”  It’s just wrong – in so many ways, wrong!  And after their first child died from – guess! – congenital birth defects (big surprise!) they went on to have another child!  And how sick do you have to be to end your marriage so you can have sex with your parent/child? 

And their poor child!  When friends come over to play, will he/she say, “This is my mom-sis, and that’s my dad-grandpa”?  After their first child died from birth defects, do you think they gave any consideration to maybe preventing the possible birth of another child so it wouldn’t be born with birth defects too?  Apparently not!  Apparently just having sex with each other was of prime importance – the hell with birth defects!  The hell with psychologically scarring our child for life!  The hell with creating an impossibly awkweird social situation for our child!  We just wanna have sex and so what!

And they want “respect and understanding”?  Did they have any for the potential offspring they might have?  Did they have any for other family members who might be horrified by their behavior?  Did they have any for the law?  I just luuuuuve the father’s statement to the host of the talk show they were on: “I knew it was illegal.  Of course, I knew it was illegal but you know, so what." 

Respect and understanding?  Sure dude, that’s what folks usually give people who deliberately break the law, without regard to the consequences.  I got your respect and understanding, right here.