Big Skeleton

Back in 2000, there was a huge craze in the internet world. People found these pictures of an 80 foot human skeleton being excavated in India.... No one knew what to believe until looking closely....If you look closely, the shadows of the skull do not match the rest of the picture. Later, they found the picture that it resulted from:
It was actually just the excavation of a mastadon by some Cornell students in New York.

Anyway, here are some more wonderful imaginative pictures of the giant skeleton. The people who released this into the internet must have thought it was such a hoot. They actually grabbed the attention of the paranormal investigation center at the headquarters of Rationalist International.

so sad...

From Chosun:

The case of an eight-year old Korean girl who was adopted and later dumped by a Dutch diplomatic couple has caused an international outcry. Born in Daegu, Jade is now in danger of ending up a displaced orphan in Hong Kong, as her adoptive parents allegedly decided she did not “fit in” seven years after they adopted her as an infant. Jade was adopted at the age of four months in January 2000 by the Dutch diplomat, who was working in South Korea, and his wife. At the time, the woman reportedly believed she was infertile, but the couple have since had two children of their own. They moved to Hong Kong in July 2004 and early last year decided they did not want Jade any more and left her in the care of Hong Kong’s Social Welfare Department.

Since then, Jade has been shunted from home to home, living sometimes at the home of a foreign missionary or at a welfare center. Since September, three people including a South Korean woman married to an American and a Hong Kong resident of North Korean descent have expressed interest in adopting Jade. But their wishes were frustrated due to complicated adoption requirements. Jade was for some reason not given Dutch citizenship by her adoptive parents, nor does she have residence rights in Hong Kong. She cannot speak Korean, only English and Cantonese.

The case made international headlines when the Hong Kong and Dutch press published the story together with the names and photographs of Raymond Poeteray (55) and his wife. Dutch daily De Telegraaf said Jade had been discarded like “a piece of household rubbish.'" The South China Morning Post of Hong Kong on Saturday carried an interview with an Indonesian woman who worked as a nanny for Jade in Jakarta, where Poeteray was posted before coming to Hong Kong, in 2004. She said the couple treated Jade quite differently from their own children and the woman rarely hugged the girl.

Hilbrand Westra, a coordinator for United Adoptees International Netherlands, said the Dutch government was now responsible for the girl's fate and welfare. Global Overseas Adoptees' Link (GOAL) urged both the South Korean and Dutch governments to conduct a thorough investigation, saying, "Children are not refundable. Adoption is a lifelong promise."

The Poeterays have written to the Telegraaf in their defense. "After our daughter came to our family we found it was hard to make real contact with her... in 2004 Hong Kong medical specialists diagnosed that she suffered from fear of bonding in a severe form," they wrote. "Despite what was written in the media we are not trying to get rid of our daughter and have not formally given her up.”

But the Dutch Foreign Ministry last Friday temporarily recalled Poeteray, a vice consul at the Consulate General. A spokesman for the ministry said the matter was “a private and domestic matter” and there were no legal concerns. However, the decision was apparently triggered by to the glare of international media attention.

Meanwhile, Korean residents in Hong Kong are furious. They are demanding the Poeterays tell the whole truth or the Dutch government apologize. They also urged the South Korean government to treat the matter as a diplomatic issue.

It is amazing how cold some people are. They just totally ruined a little girl's sense of home and family.

Think twice

In this day and age, one must be VERY careful about what to believe.
Not only are words and facts omitted, but images are skewed.

Before the advent of photoshop, images were already being altered. People don't realize that not only are images changed to enhance beauty but to portray political views.

Original:
Edited:

Ukrainian photographer, Yevgeny Khaldei, didn’t just stage this photo of Soviet troops raising the flag over the Reichstag in 1945 (the first flag had gone up after dusk). He also heightened the smoke and removed the two watches from the wrists of the soldier on the lower left. Good Soviet soldiers don’t loot.

Most of the time, images are altered for vanity reasons. The French president gets some digital lipo and he's less pink and more sun tanned.
And Oprah Winfrey might not have complained about this August 1989 cover of TV Guide either. It’s Oprah’s head all right but according to CNet.com the body belongs to actress Ann-Margret. Ann-Margret’s fashion designer recognized the dress and spotted the fakery.

Photo altering can be very evil however. Here, it is used to change Kerry's image.

Usually, it’s the photographer who does the editing, either because he thinks he’ll get a better picture or because he believes it will deliver a stronger message. This fake cutting that circulated during the 2004 Presidential primaries was the work of neither of the two photographers whose images it featured. The shot of John Kerry was taken by Ken Light at the Register for Peace Rally in June 1971. Jane Fonda was photographed by Owen Franken as at a political rally in Miami Beach, Florida, in August 1972.

The collage was a dirty trick designed to derail John Kerry’s campaign.

This last one is of a merge of two pictures to give a more politically explosive message. You get the point.

SMART!! so SMART!!

A HOOT!

Oh... This made me laugh... This is hilarious.

I probably won't be spending $50 for a wig for either of my cats. I think they are pretty well adjusted as is...
But, amazingly, the hair looks ok and like it fits on their heads... It's amazing what some people come up with.

Here's the LINK to the kitty wig webpage where you can order or browse.

Fake and Real

ugh... Sometimes, I feel like Holden in The Catcher in the Rye.

It's weird... I was so carefree in high school, and now, I see hypocrisy, phoniness, and everything just seems so fake... (sigh) I think it also has to do with the fact that I'm not exactly going through a fun part of my life right now. I do not care to share, btw.

Everybody knows the stupid burger in the magazine or commercial is not what it really looks like, nor is it even real! So, why does everyone believe in media so much still? Ads are fake; the pictures are completely altered.. media is fake... so Why has CNN become celebrity news? Who cares about fake news? Does no one care about what is happening to our collapsing economy? Does no one care about the rest of the world?

ugh... and women... Does anyone else see that there is a huge promotion for women to be fake... LITERALLY.
There's that stupid show... ugh... what is it called? The housewives of Orange County... or something.. I don't know. It's a reality show about these old ladies that all have fake boobs, fake hair, fake stomach, fake cheeks, fake everything... I mean, some of those ladies (sigh) look like their faces are going to melt. But, that's portrayed as luxurious and cool.
STUPID STUPID...
So many women are just like children.
Husband, husband, buy me this ring, and that sparkly rock... ooo...

I just don't get it. By the time I'm 70, women won't look like humans anymore. Don't women get it? We're not supposed to be proud of being so superficial.

And, men... they're pretty bad too. They love having women be objects. I don't even need to explain this. I have never been hit on for being smart. NEVER! Yet, almost every day, some creepy guy thinks it's important for me to know that he thinks I'm hot. But, I remember getting a little turned on when a guy could do something impressive, like figuring out a clever way of solving a math problem or being an amazing swimmer.

Women are superficial about themselves. Men are superficial about women... I don't know which is worse...

I guess I'm a bit superficial also... but I don't think I'm at the extreme that most women have come to these days... At least I realize that most everything I hear and see is like the hamburger... completely glossed over and manipulated...

Most women have not read anything other than celeb magazines and romance novels (like 3rd grade reading level except with lots of words like pen**, bosom, and co**, which many 3rd graders don't know) since college. Some women know the names of celebrities' babies. But, they haven't done any research when it comes to voting for the next president.

And, I do think there are a few people who are completely not like this... but, for the majority, people are just so shallow and so EASILY manipulated by media.

ugh... I haven't been very happy lately... I guess that's the reason for all the miserable posts. sorry... but I don't care. It's my blog.

Differences

It's weird... I had no idea until today that one of my co-workers got a divorce recently. I guess other than the bosses, I'm the first to know.

He's an attractive guy who's in his late 30's but look like he's only 30. Hey hey now... don't jump to conclusions. I have zero interest. Anyway, I would have never guessed that he was having these issues.
Apparently, his wife had an eating disorder and was a crazy workout lady. He, himself, is pretty athletic, being an expert swimmer and such. But, anyway, this caused a drift between the two of them. She refused to eat with the family, and she and her husband slept in separate bedrooms. And, then, the divorce papers were issued to him all of a sudden, out of nowhere.

I guess he doesn't understand. He says that people usually break up due to addictions to gambling, to drugs, etc. But, in his mind, things were still workable, fixable... and I agree.
He also said that once you make the commitment of marriage that you're supposed to grow together, not go and try to seek individuality. I don't think he knew for sure if that was right to say, but that's what came out... and it makes sense. Marriage, I guess is making promises that are sometimes also sacrifices.

It's interesting how some people just want to give up all the time.

How do you know that the person you marry won't change after a given amount of time?

I guess the most important things about a person really are: Commitment, Honesty, and Ethics.

miss world 2007

oh... so on my girly blogs, I found out that Miss World is Miss China! yay!

She is very pretty. But the second and third place are kinda ick and Mexico looks kinda fake (if you know what I mean)... and Angola was chunky and fake... so weird. Yes... I'm pretty mean... which will totally not make any sense when you read the next paragraph.

Anyway... I'm a hypocrite...
I'm a huge advocate of promoting universal beauty. And, given that Asians are so misrepresented both in numbers and beauty in the Western world... I actually like the fact that Miss Universe is Miss Japan, and Miss World (the top Miss title) is held by China. But, I hate pageants. I think they promote the ugliest aspects of human. Not only do they make it which country has the most beautiful woman, but they also promote so much plastic surgery and natural beauty is thrown out the window. If you have ever watched Miss Teen USA, you'd notice that half of the girls (at least) have bulging new implants that are hard hard. It's so sad that women feel so badly about their natural beauty... I really feel sorry for them. This year there was a poll in the Miss Universe pageant. All contestants except 4 admitted to at least one plastic surgery. But, most of all, it objectifies women... It's just reprehensible. Plus, I swear they promote stupidity in women... Have you ever heard them talk?... Almost always, the contestants are completely oblivious to world affairs and academics.
ugh... so I'm so confused right now... how can I possibly think "oo... that's cool," when I saw the miss world is miss China...
I'm so vain but I so don't want to be... I really wish I was more level headed.