LOLIF NEWS SERVICE

Choosing the easy way out

2007-01-23T11:54:48Z

Yes, I am too lazy to come up with original thoughs so I'm using this from
nimnod

I tried to create an "evil" chick - but the site is WAAY to perky, so this is the best I can do. Just to sum up my mood for the day - tired and overworked.

Where do you live? (country and city)
SA, Cape Town

What do you like best about LJ? (e.g. meeting new ppl, the fandom stuff, a way to waste time at work, etc)
That I can talk about MEEE once every few days and pretend people care

What do you do with your time? (if you're studying, what level and whats subjects and where, and if you're working, at what and where)
As an in-house journalist for a property company (in-house newsletters, press releases, bla bla)

Cat-person or dog-person?
None of the above - I know

Harry Potter - love it or hate it?
Only watched two movies so far... liked what I saw

Got a driver's licence?
Also only after my third try (seven years ago - getting OLD)

Religious? If so, what?
Yip, Christian

Favourite alcoholic beverage (or non-alcoholic if you're teetotal)?
WINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Favourite movie and why?
Changes often, mmmm, at the moment..... Little Miss Sunshine (because it made me laugh so hard, I cried) and James Bond (because it made me feel like I can conquer the world)

What sort of thing do you like listening to, musically?
Anything - I just don't like too much house music or metal.

Biggest fear?
Heights

One weird fact?
Weird? I'm not weird. I'm probably the most normal person on the planet.

Geek/nerd/jock/other (specify)?
~~Jock~~ *Laughs at own joke* Drama Queen

Favourite book?
The Island (Yes, I don't the author)

Single/married/dating/not interested in romantic relationships with others?
Single

Hobbies/interests/sports?
I like the theatre, movies, reading and exploring new places, experiencing new things

Favourite chocolate?
Chocolate is the new enemy *see my New Years resolutions*

Things that make you happy?
Hearing from old friends unexpectedly, good luck (yes, it happens sometimes) and Cape Town summers.

Cheese is ____.
The new enemy *see my New Years resolutions*

If you could have a super-power it would be?
Doing 30 things at the same time - MULTITASKING

Tattoos are ________?
Scary to get; I would like a temporary one! (If I wasn't such a pissy)

I feel like I've won the Lotto

2007-01-19T06:06:16Z

I feel like I've won the Lotto...

Yesterday I got to work early (I have a meeting early every Thursday) and lo and behold... there was a special being advertised on kulula.com. I quickly went on the site and made the booking (after switching to a different PC, Firefox didn't display the pages correctly) and guess how much I paid for a return flight to Jozi? R248!!! That is actually ridiculously cheap and I've been giddy ever since. The ticket was booked for my first wedding in Potchefstroom in April - BARGAIN!

After that I floated on a happy cloud for the rest of the day, and as a result of the automated high I was on, I didn't really feel up to work and therefore had a lovely unproductive day at the office.

We didn't have any powercuts yesterday, so hopefully I'm not going to be hit with them over the weekend.

BONUS: It looks like we're going to have stunning summer weather over the weekend, so I will definitely be hitting the beaches (as budget is a bit limited for the last week of this l-o-n-g month and you don't need ESKOM to go the beach)

lolif @ 2007-01-09T12:43:00

2007-01-09T10:46:56Z

I sent this email update to my friends today - so thought I might as well put it up on the blog. It covers my progress on the healthy lifestyle resolution, as well as an impression of a Afrikaans club in JBay.

My belangrikste resolution (waarmee ek gister begin het - dis 'n moeilike een OK) is om Meer Gesond te leef. Dit behels om actually weer te begin gim (ek is nogsteeds lid, maar die mense sien my maar min daar) en beter te eet. (Maw, minimum chips, chocolates, kaas, aartappel en al daai ander heerlike verversings wat blykbaar geen voedingswaarde het nie, maar kalorieë bevat wat gelykstaande is aan drie buffet etes!)

Dit gaan in 'n mindere mate daaroor dat ek nie 1,56mx1,56m wil word nie, maar eerder meer oor die feit dat ek nogsteeds nie ordentlike medies het nie en nie regtig my eerste kardio-vaskulêre episode voor 30 wil hê nie. (Outjies, "Sodium" is die geheime vyand - pasop vir hom in sogenaamde "gesonde" snacks by Woolies i.e the single women's best friend)

So ja, nou is ek op Dag 1. Vir aandete gisteraand het ek slaai geëet. Dit is nou slaai met laevet Feta (EEUUU - sal dit NIE aanbeveel nie - maak 'n moerse verskil aan tekstuur en smaak), tamatie en komkommer. GEEN olywe, salad dressing of enige ander goodies wat remotely lekker is nie. Dit is toe dat ek tot die skokbesef kom dat ek nie van slaai hou nie. (Ek hou van kaas en salad dressing!)

Needless to say was dit die mees depressingste ete van my lewe.

Verder probeer ek ook nogsteeds meer water drink, but Rome wasn't built in a day - Hello!

Die uiteinde is nou dat ek nou al konstant honger is van gister af, en nou ook 'n effense kopseer ontwikkel (seker onttrekkingsimptome). Nou drink ek maar Milo (en water) en probeer vir myself sê dat dit alles die moeite werd is.

GENOEG OOR KOS....

Die vakansie het ek die voorreg gehad om die Jolly Dophin in JBay te besoek. Picture dit: Dit is 30 Desember in JBay. Ten minste 60% van die Vrystaat en Gauteng is in die klein dorpie (met 'n permanente populasie van 10 000 - dalk minder). Van hierdie 60% is ten minste die helfte in die Jolly Dolphin. Ek daag effens benoud op (ek hou mos nou nie eintlik van die leeuloop-skarumba bende nie en ek kan nie langarm nie), maar stap steeds die plek dapper binne. Dit het nie lank geneem of vas te stel dat niemand gaan langarm nie (gebrek aan spasie), wat natuurlik beteken dat ons nou na Afrikaanse techno moet luister. Vir die rekord: ek het nie EEN liedjie geken nie, maar gelukkig bestaan meeste net uit een sin - so ek kon vinnig leer! Natuurlik is die gesegde mos "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" baie waar, so toe het ek nou maar gesing en gedans op vreemde lirieke en die techno stamptreffers wat aan my gebied is. To the untrained eye het dit dalk gelyk of ek myself geniet het, maar dit was 'n mental endurance toets van begin tot einde.

Voetnota: Wat is die storie met De la Rey (enigste bekende liedjie by Jolly Dolphin)? Wanneer 'n groep Afrikaners (groep=meer as twee) saam na hierdie liedjie luister, kry hulle skielik daai vreemde kyk in hulle oë (amper soos 'n jagter van ouds) en begin hulle haastig na hulle ou Suid-Afrikaanse vlae gryp terwyl hulle hande om die lyf saamsing en wieg.

Ek het egter 'n voëltjie hoor fluit dat hierdie nie die hele verhaal is nie. So danksy aan Koos Kombuis (op Litnet) is hier nou vir julle 'n paar feite om oor die kombuistafel te bespreek. (Skip die rooi deel as julle nie wil lees nie)

Feit nommer een: Koos de la Rey was die laaste Boere-generaal wat oorlog toe gegaan het; hy het tot op die einde probeer werk vir ’n vreedsame oplossing.

Feit nommer twee: Koos de la Rey het, saam met generaal Piet Joubert, Paul Kruger se anti-uitlander-beleid teengestaan uit vrees dat dit tot ’n gewapende stryd sou lei.

Feit nommer drie: Koos de la Rey was, ten spyte van sy hoop op ’n diplomatieke oplossing, nie bang vir oorlog nie. Toe oorlog eindelik onafwendbaar word, het hy hom hart en siel in die stryd gewerp. Van al die Boere-generaals het hy die hoogste slaagsyfer gehad en ook die langste staande gebly.

Feit nommer vier: Koos de la Rey het guerrilla-oorlogvoering ontdek en hy was die eerste ou wat ontdek het wat die waarde is van loopgrawe. Hy was ’n taktiese genie.

Feit nommer vyf: Anders as die Engelse, het De la Rey sy krygsgevangenes met respek en deernis behandel. Toe hy die gewonde Britse bevelvoerder Methuen in hegtenis neem, het hy hom dadelik teruggestuur na die Kakie-linies toe in die hoop dat hy daar beter mediese hulp sou kon kry.

Feit nommer ses: Na afloop van die oorlog het De la Rey hom tot die politiek gewend, waar hy, in kontras met die meeste van sy ou oorlogskamerade, Louis Botha se pogings gesteun het om vrede te maak tussen Boer en Brit.

Feit nommer sewe: Koos de la Rey was ’n teenstander van Hertzog. Hy was nie ’n Afrikaner-Nasionalis nie. Hy was ’n ware Suid-Afrikaanse leier, met ’n groter visie as die eng, etniese en rassistiese ideologieë van ander Afrikaner-leiers.

Feit nommer agt: Ergste van alles, De la Rey het gesterf op ’n eg Suid-Afrikaanse manier: hy is getref deur ’n dwaalkoeël by ’n padblokkade. Die victim van ’n drive-by shooting. Soos Brett Kebble.

Feit nommer nege: Dit is ’n feit soos ’n koei, en Bok van Blerk is reg as hy daarvan sing: ons het vandag, meer as ooit, leiers soos Koos de la Rey nodig. Of hulle wit of swart is. Of hulle Afrikaans of Engels of Xhosa of Zoeloe is. Want De la Rey was die perfekte Afrika-takhaar-ghoeroe. Hy was die ideale sintese tussen PW en FW.

Feit nommer tien: Hy was ons Steve Biko.

En dis van hierdie ou wat Bok van Blerk sing wanneer julle hom hoor wanneer julle braai-partytjies hou van Malmesbury tot Mpumalanga. Hy sing nie van Eugène Terre'Blanche nie. Hy sing nie van Marthinus van Schalkwyk nie. Hy sing nie eers van Adriaan Vlok of Jake White of Hannes Nel of Trompie nie. Hy sing van ’n man van durf en daad, ’n man van aksie, ’n man met gewete, ’n ware leier wat, indien hy vandag gelewe het, nie net ons volk nie, maar die ganse Suid-Afrikaanse nasiedom sou help vorder het tot by daardie wonderlike land wat die Nuwe Suid-Afrika nog altyd veronderstel was om te wees.
Dit is waaroor hierdie veelbesproke lied gaan.

Moenie sê julle het nie geweet nie!

Some funnies for the new year

2007-01-08T14:30:46Z

Yes - I know you've seen all of this before, but it's still funny. Even after the 50th read!

Two fish swim into a concrete wall.

One turns to the other and says "dam"

Two peanuts walk into a bar
One was asalted.

A jump-lead walks into a bar.
The barman says "I'll serve you, but don't start anything."

A sandwich walks into a bar.
The barman says, "Sorry we don't serve food in here."

A dyslexic man walks into a bra.

A man walks into a bar with a slab of tarmac under his arm and says:
"A beer please, and one for the road."

Two aerials meet on a roof, fall in love and get married.
The ceremony wasn't much but the reception was brilliant.

Two cannibals are eating a clown.
One says to the other: "Does this taste funny to you?"

"Doc, I can't stop singing 'The green, green grass of home'."
"That sounds like Tom Jones syndrome."
"Is it common?",
"It's not unusual."

Two cows standing next to each other in a field, Daisy says to Dolly
"I was artificially inseminated this morning."
"I don't believe you," said Dolly.
"It's true, no bull!"

Two hydrogen atoms walk into a bar.
One says, "I've lost my electron."
"Are you sure?"
The first replies, "Yes, I'm positive..."

A man takes his Rottweiler to the vet and says, "My dog's cross-eyed, is there anything you can do for him?"
"Well," says the vet, "let's have a look at him" So he picks the dog up and examines his eyes, then checks his teeth.
Finally, he says "I'm going to have to put him down."
"What? Because he's cross-eyed?"
"No, because he's really heavy"

I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day but I couldn't find any.

I went to the butchers the other day and I bet him 50 quid that he couldn't reach the meat off the top shelf.
And he said, 'no, the steaks are too high.'

My friend drowned in a bowl of muesli. He was pulled down by a strong currant.

Our ice cream man was found lying on the floor of his van covered with nuts & hundreds and thousands.
Police think that he topped himself.

What do you call a fish with no eyes?
A fsh

Two fish are in a tank
One says to the other "I'll man the guns, you drive"

Drumroll please...

2007-01-08T14:15:39Z

Yes I am making a first post of 2007.

After reading everyone else's latest posts on my friends page - I have decided to add my two cents worth (because I can).

On the subject of resolutions.... I haven't made any REAL resolutions this year, but nevertheless want to exercise more, eat less snacks, do more things I enjoy (going to the beach, movies, reading, etc) and on the long-term list, I would like to start travelling around SA and also climb Table Mountain (still this year). I'm also planning a trip to Robben Island over Easter Weekend (when my parents come to visit), so hopefully they've fixed the damn ferries by then. Basically I just want to experience as many things as I can (but this has always been a focus point).

Other news is that three of my friends got engaged in December. (In a group of 10 that is quite a few!) So yes, I have been getting the expected panic anti-wedding attacks where I'm losing all my friends to a domesticated life (and they want it), whereas I'm still floating around in selfish, single paradise. To me this is great, but most of my couple friends are becoming increasingly anxious about my single-state. (It's been almost two years lolif, don't you even have an interest?) Obviously they don't ask this directly, but I know this is what they're thinking. How do I know this? If people haven't seen me for over six months their second question (after: How are you?) is: Have you met someone? (wink wink). Obviously you spot the train of thought there?!

On the workfront, things are slowly picking up to its normal "I have no time for LJ posts or emails" pace... but I'm a little bit relieved (don't tell anyone), because sitting around doing nothing can become a bit draining after two weeks.

So here's to another great year - some people are jokingly referring to it as the year of the "007" - action-packed and full of surprises and I actually like that connotation. (Not that I want too much action: last year's 3 relocations, 2 insurance claims
and lots of other surprises were MORE than enough for me)

Blogging is for everyone

2006-12-21T13:40:08Z

Golden oldies take to blogging

There was a time when the internet was almost the exclusive domain of youth, but a growing number of seniors are turning to blogging.

Paris - There was a time when the internet was almost the exclusive domain of youth. But that sort of ageism will soon be irrelevant, judging by the small but growing phenomenon of seniors turning to blogging.

The greying of the web recently hit the spotlight in Britain, where a 79-year-old grandfather - who goes by the handle 'geriatric1927' - jumped straight on to the latest trend in blogging: vlogging (as in video blogging).

The widower has found fame as the oldest active member on YouTube, the video hosting site owned by Google on which he recounts to the camera stories from his own grandparents who lived in Victorian England (www.youtube.com/profile).

In France, the residents of an old people's home in Brittany contribute to a joint blog called "Alleuxnautes" (www.alleux.over-blog.com), and a "storytelling grandma", Laurence Lamiable, has found success on www.abreuvetascience.net.

A retired Belgian woman, Annie (www.blog.syrie.be), has also been giving glimpses of her life in Syria, where she has been living for the past four years.

Right now, they and other senior bloggers are on the fringe of the internet revolution, and stand out from the majority of their peers, many of whom remain dumbfounded by anything more complicated than e-mail.

But studies show their number is growing, especially in the 50-70 year age range.

A French poll by the Ipsos institute carried out in October on 2 200 web surfers in five European countries (Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain) found that 14% of those aged 45-54, and 11% of those between 55 and 64, read blogs and forums - not far from the overall average of 17%.

'For the young, the blog is a showcase...'

"Certainly, the tool is much more common among the young, but the gap between the 25-34 year-olds and the seniors is not as big as that," said Alexis Helcmanocki, the head of Ipsos's new technologies division which organised the poll.

"This is the first study we've done of this, and we didn't expect to see such a high proportion of blog readers among seniors," he said.

Indeed, clicking on to blogs is more popular in the older generations than cellphone text-messaging or internet instant messenging, he added.

CHRISTMAS IS HERE!

2006-12-19T11:55:27Z

HOW MANY CHRISTMAS IMAGES DOES IT TAKE TO MAKE MY BLOG LOOK CHRISMASSY AND COMPLETELY KITSCH?

Yes, the Christmas spirit has found me... after a long delay. (Approximately 17 days). I put up my Christmas tree on 1 December and only felt the happy, happy, joy, joy feeling this weekend. And now it has finally sunk in that I am seeing family and friends this weekend and I can't wait. (GOING BACK TO MY ROOTS....)

I'm still here

2006-12-19T11:32:13Z

Yes, even it looked as if I disappeared from the face of the earth / went on a long holiday / FINALLY met my millionaire and got married, all of the above is not true.

I have actually been here, in the Green House working like a ~~slave~~ efficient employee. Hence, the silence.

But yes, it is the week before Christmas and finally everyone is ~~giving up~~ settling down for 2006 and starting to make their "To do" lists for 2007. Yeah! As I am not going on leave, this is wonderful news for 2 slow weeks at the office.

There has actually been quite a few exciting events over the last couple of weeks, but as I have delayed posting them for too long they have become Old News. And this news service is not interested in Old News.

Here follows a summary:
1. I do three people's work
2. I catch a cold (in summer)
3. We have battles in the Green House
4. My sister crashes into a tree with her car
5. One of my best friends got engaged
6. I travel along the West Coast
7. I do shopping in a near-empty mall a week before Christmas

The rest is so old that I have forgotten about it already. Alas, my memory is not as good as it used to be.

I'm supposed to be working

2006-11-29T14:47:36Z

Scorned girlfriend hijacks lover's page

A woman got revenge on her cheating boyfriend by hijacking his MySpace page. Sam Deakin found out Matt East, 25, was having an affair with one woman and trying to date another 20. So she changed the welcome note on his page to say: "I'm a pathological liar. I cheat regularly."

She then mimicked the Mastercard TV commercial, reports the Sun. She wrote: "Dinner in a posh restaurant...$100. Night in a top hotel...$200. Finding out your boyfriend is a lying scumbag and changing his MySpace page so everyone can see...PRICELESS."

She changed his password so he couldn't hack in and alter what she had done.

The site received more than 250 000 hits in five days with women slagging off Matt as a "total loser". Mum-of-two Sam, a website designer from Bournemouth, Dorset, said: "I wanted to show him up for who he is." Sam revealed he asked one girl: "You, me, handcuffs, whipped-cream. How about it?"

The site has been closed by MySpace.

Matt, of Bournemouth, said: "I admit I cheated. I'm just a man." - Ananova.com

Ha ha ha

My list....

2006-11-24T13:38:31Z

I was tagged by nimnod and [info]miss_tibbles .... Oh the pressure! (Yes, I have only recently discovered how to change my font colour) 1. I have a very short attention span. This means that I get bored with tasks practically as soon as I start doing them.     This of course creates serious challenges in a workplace, as I'm almost permanently bored with whatever I'm busy     doing at the time. A logical next step is of course that I never think of only one thing at a time, which creates even more     concentration problems. But surprisingly enough I got through school OK.. so its not ADT. 2. As a child I was extremely hyperactive. As a result, my parents got me a leash. Yes, of one those that you put around your      body. This was to prevent me from running away in public places, eg. malls etc. Needless to say, I broke my leash on      the first day, so my parents had to make due without it. Luckily they discovered that I had an internal homing device, so      whenever I ran away (in grocery stores), they would just let me be and eventually I would return to them.  Obviously I wasn't      left to wander the streets alone, so please don't call social services! 3. Do other people talk to themselves? I play out scenario's in my head all the time, either as a daydream/practicing my reaction     in certain situations. Is that weird? I don't really know... 4. I've always had a dream of being an actress. Not the Hollywood starlet version, but the type that performs in excellent productions     whether it is in dramas or comedy shows. Sadly, i get stage fright when I have to sing in public, so this makes cabarets and Broadway     shows a bit tricky! 5. I had this very strange method of eating pies when I was in primary school. I would open it up and first eat the filling, after which I would     proceed to take the pastry apart and eat it layer by layer. (With my hands) It used to drive my mom crazy. I have since stopped eating it     that way, as I soon realized that you couldn't enjoy a pie like that in public. 6. Sometimes I miss the most obvious things and completely embarrass myself. (This characteristic becomes progressively worse when     I'm uncomfortable or preoccupied.) It normally involves something with a mechanical nature, but the sad truth is that I just sometimes can't be bothered with the details... Last week I tried to open a    screw-top wine bottle with a cork opener (I hope the English is right), as I failed to notice the difference.   7. I am terrified of moths. All shapes and sizes. If one is flying around in my room, I can't fall asleep, so then they have to die (apologies [info]miss_tibbles)
    At varsity, I had one the size of bird in my room (Real-life drama). I awoke with the sound of flapping wings, thinking there was a bat in my room,
    we had bats in our res... only to discover the gruesome truth. I'm not going to elaborate further, suffice to say that I had to sleep in a different room
    for the rest of the evening.

8. I'm a compulsive planner. I like to think ahead and map out my future and I constantly spend mental energy on this. The funny thing is that I change
    this plan (esp my five-year-plan) often (at the moment at least once a year). But I like to feel in control and having a Plan gives me that.

9. Almost at the end.... I suffer from chronic hair loss. And have for most of my life. The scary thing is that I think that it is starting on my eyelashes. NOOOOO!

</font>10. I have the most uncanny ability to remember insignificant details... esp re: current affairs. Not the whole story, but segments of it. This comes in quite useful
      when you need to pretend that you are "well-read." And luckily I can fake it so well that I can cover-up my lack of knowledge most of the time, unless of course, I'm with true specialists who uncover
      my secret!</div>

Great advertising

2006-11-22T10:10:50Z

A very successful ad campaign launched solely on the Web.

Enjoy!

ARTICLE FROM BIZCOMMUNITY: (FYI or go to links below to view ads!)
Getting it on with virals

Inventor Willem van Rensburg has chosen public relations and viral marketing over a costly advertising campaign in order to inform the world about his new Proudly South African innovation, the under three-secod Pronto condom. Two virals were developed by FoxP2, using two of South Africa's most talked-about political figures... and their controversial issues around HIV/AIDS.

Comment Justin Gomes, Andrew Whitehouse and Noel Cottrell, creative directors of FoxP2, "The ironic use of Jacob Zuma and Manto Tshabalala-Msimang as spokespeople for the Pronto condom brand have gone down a storm with both the local and international public. In just over three weeks, the virals have been viewed over 800 000 times on the Pronto website alone, and by the millions on other local websites.

"On YouTube , one of the international video forum websites, the ads were viewed 450 000 times and viewers gave the ads five star ratings with comments like 'Holy Christmas! Gotta get me one of those!' The great response has stirred up substantial interest from potential international backers. When it comes to advertising effectively on a limited budget, viral ads are definitely the quickest way to get it on."

According to van Rensburg, with a viral campaign, "you really can have overnight success because it spreads just like a real virus. Literally, overnight Pronto condom virals were being watched around the world. It's an amazing way of exposing a brand to a large number of prospective clients and investors.

According to www.alexaradar.com, which measures visitor traffic to websites in cyberspace, the Pronto condom website is currently ranked as the second most popular site under the movers and shakers category, with a massive 2000% increase in hits over the past two weeks.

LINKS TO THE ADS

http://www.prontocondoms.co.za/jacob.htm

http://www.prontocondoms.co.za/manto.htm

Stinky in the Green House

2006-11-21T06:17:29Z

It is another GREAT day in the office. Our air con is still not working properly and it is now becoming unbearable. The office permanently smells bad.... no person should work like this! The fact that the office is completely overpopulated doesn't help either.

The worse part is that I have just been informed that the Green House bug is once again starting to travel through the office! It starts on one end and makes everyone sick. The bug is caused by our terrible ventilation system... and of course this terrible ventilation system then ensures that the entire office gets the bug. Great.

Google image search

2006-11-20T11:59:38Z

I finally got around to doing my Google Image Search - so here goes. (I got the tip from miss_tibbles)

I'm only putting down the relevant ones here.

1. The age I will be next year

2. My favourite colour

3. A bad habit

4. My favourite fruit

5.My favourite animal

6. The City where I live

7. My pet's name (deceased a l-o-n-g time ago)

8. A friend's nickname

9. My first name

10. My surname

There goes - quite an interesting selection!

Rich text mode

2006-11-16T11:12:22Z

MMMM... Hierdie gaan 'n baie eksperimentele entry wees.

HERE GOES:

mjvr83

Ja, ek is net besig om random knoppies te druk om uit te figure hoe werk die site.

Wat doen die knoppie?.

Ok - genoeg vir nou. Dink hierdie opsie wys potensiaal...

My interests

2006-11-16T09:21:54Z

I'm not sure what these are supposed to represent, but it looks funky so I'm not complaining too much.

lj-cut text="My Interests Collage!">

Create your own! Originally Written By ga_woo, Hosted and ReWritten by darkman424

On blogs

2006-11-16T09:13:34Z

As a newcomer to the "blog industry", I read this story with interest on Bizcommunity this morning. Is society really busy changing the channels of interaction? I still prefer 3D though, but enjoying my new creative outlet. (Granted - not THAT creative, but at least a start)

The other day I was feeling so creative that I actually started doing fridge poetry again, after I stopped for a long time. That is good sign right?

Half-baked - the Stork margarine blogging advert
By: Mike Stopforth

Well done to Stork and the agency behind its new TV ad for picking up on a progressive trend - blogging - and attempting to reach a target demographic with it. But I must agree with a friend's sentiments that they have lost out on an enormous opportunity to capitalise on the significant Web buzz created by the first few screenings of the advert.

The transcript:

Blogging... blogging. On the Internet, Mikey set it up for me. Kids these days know everything. It's like your own website where you can speak up, play, inspire. I know, I used to find the Internet intimidating too. But this is amazing. It's... my space where I can just express myself and when you sit back and read what you've written its like, Wow! This is me. My creativity.

People love blogs

Ordinary people love blogs (David Sifry's recent analysis of the State of the Blogosphere report indicates that blogging continues to enjoy widespread adoption and usage).

Some love blogs because it gives them the opportunity to publish information, opinion and just general content to the Web in such a way that has never been offered them before. Others just want to tell their story, and blogs are an ideal medium. Others use blogs as a cost-effective marketing tool and still others use it as a money-making device.

Regardless of why you're blogging, you choose blogging because it offers you something you didn't have before - a channel, a network, a conjuit, a repository, a medium.

Stork (or at least Unilever or Stork's agency) seem to get this. They understand that there are hundreds and thousands of housewives around the world that are telling great stories online - finding an identity and occupation - through blogs. They've chosen to associate that feeling of discovery, creativity and empowerment with their product. Brilliant. But that's where it's ended.

My top 5 fears

2006-11-14T14:54:59Z

1. HEIGHTS (It's not natural for humans to go climbing, flying or jumping off high places. - I can't state this clearly enough)

2. BALLS (And don't read more into this - I've had this conversation too many times - get over it. I'm talking about sports. Squash is the worst... a combination of running, enclosed spaces and balls.)

3. SNAKES (Name one person who likes snakes... and I'm not talking about celebs or circus artists. A real person, that you've had a conversation with)

4. SCARY MOVIES (Yes, I can't watch scary movies. I'm the "sensitive viewer" that they warn you about on the news and Carte Blanche)

5. UNIFORMS (My friends will know why. People dressing alike - creepy.)

I knew it

2006-11-13T12:02:47Z

I knew I was meant for great things - this is the proof:

Your Chances of Being a Multimillionaire: 80%

You have a good chance of being a multimillionaire. Better than most people.
You simply have a natural knack for money and the personality for success.

Will You Be a Multimillionaire?

Ha ha ha

2006-11-13T11:46:17Z

Who new - head hunters out there... please take note of the findings below! (The results were not rigged in any way)

Your Career Personality: Hard-Working, Ethical, and Orderly

Your Ideal Careers:

Business attorney
Chef
Dentist
Financial officer
Hollywood agent
International business person
Police officer
Project manager
Publicist
Stockbroker

The Quick and Dirty Career Test

And just because a girl has to know...

Your True Love Is a Capricorn

Why you'll love a Capricorn:

Hard working and driven, a Capricorn will work overtime to win your heart.
Be prepared to get wined and dined, even once you're convince that your Capricorn is the one!

Why a Capricorn will love you:

You don't rush things. You know it will take a while for a Capricorn to trust you, and you can wait.
Social and outgoing, you can introduce normally shy Capricorn to a great circle of friends.

What Sign Is Your True Love?

My wêreldreise

2006-11-09T14:13:48Z

create your own visited country map

Ek doen maar sleg, volgens die kaart het ek net 4% van die wêreld al besoek. Nou ja - dit gee my darem nog baie om te doen! (Maar wil mens ook nou regtig al die lande sien?)