Tabloid Trash

The tabloids create their own stories about people's lives that don't exist.

Elizabeth Olsen

I’ve never understood the fascination with tabloids and tabloid journalism (an oxymoron in term if I ever heard one). Why people crave lies and innuendo designed to shock (and hurt) is beyond me. Yet, the public has an insatiable appetite for this garbage which in turn fuels these tabloids and gossip shows. If everyone would stop buying them, they’d fade away; but that’s clearly not going to happen anytime soon.

My mother, an intelligent octogenarian with all her marbles, frequently tells me tabloid stories that she’s read or heard. As much as I try to explain that this is all crap, she is not to be deterred. I refuse to let her near the tabloids in the supermarket but she is drawn to the headlines like a moth to a flame. The only saving grace is that she’s too cheap to buy them, so her exposure is limited.

Here are just a few randomly selected headlines from The Globe and the National Enquirer. How can anyone take this garbage seriously?

The Globe: Queen dying! Camilla’s evil plot to seize the throne.

National Enquirer: Kim Kardashian lost 75 pounds in three weeks post-pregnancy.

The Globe: Michelle breaks down over Obama gay scandal!

National Enquirer: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s secret divorce papers.

The Globe: Kate crowned queen.

National Enquirer: Nixon killed JFK and stole his brain!

National Enquirer: Oprah: Only 3 years to live!

People who read the tabloids deserve to be lied to.

Jerry Seinfeld

Yesterday I was shocked (and very little shocks me). My niece and her boyfriend are visiting from Calgary and we were all at my mother’s place. My mother mentioned some piece of tabloid garbage and my niece knew all about it. Apparently my beautiful, intelligent niece reads the tabloids when she’s on cardio equipment in the gym. I don’t expect anyone to read War and Peace on the treadmill, but tabloids?????? Members of my own family are supporting an industry that should have been shut down years ago. Unfortunately, it appears that I am in the minority. Call me an intellectual snob if you like (my mother does), but there is no way in hell I’m ever going to read that crap.

Supermarket tabloids and celebrity gossip shows are not just innocently shallow entertainment, but a fundamental part of a much larger movement that involved apathy, greed and hierarchy.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Make someone smile today.

Geri

Online Predators Are Trolling For You!

Online dating is just as murky and full of lemons as finding a used car in the classifieds. Once you learn the lingo, it's easier to spot the models with high mileage and no warranty.

LAURIE PERRY

You probably watch Dr. Phil and see women whose lives have been ruined by online dating predators. And, I’m sure that you think that it can’t happen to you; but it can happen to anyone. Online predators are out there on every dating website, and they’re trolling for you.

Just yesterday I got a message from an online predator. They’re usually pretty easy to identify and this one was no exception. English is supposed to be their first and only language, yet their profile and messages are clearly not written by a native English speaker. Below is the profile of the online predator that contacted me. Read the highlighted portions out loud and you’ll see what I mean.

Predator’s online dating profile:

I am positive, romantic, sensual and affectionate. I love my life so much! I like active life. I am loving, caring, reliable, funny, playful and very romantic. I like being playful and enjoy the moments life offers. I am really open person and always ready to help people who need me! I try to be always in a good mood. To tell the truth I like everything beautiful - nature, poetry, beautiful paintings! I dream to be a tender flower in hands of my beloved. I am intelligent, clever and well-mannered person. I am open to new people in my life and very communicative. A lot of women are really materialistic so I understand how difficult it might be for men to find a good woman.I would better support and love my partner! I really adore traveling and would be happy to visit many beautiful places together and have many romantic evenings! I am a romantic and a dreamy person. I like sitting somewhere near the sea and enjoying a really amazing landscape! I am a good friend and a good listener so you may not hesitate and write me because I am the one you need. For me the most important thing in life is love. I want to love and to be loved. I think love should be mutual and I hope to find my love here!

Most online predators are widowers and this one was no different. However, the most damning piece of evidence was his blatant identity theft. He used a photo that wasn’t his. How did I know that? You can search images on Google (Go to Google images and drag and drop the image into the search bar). I did an image search and found that the photo that he posted belonged to a British soldier at his Millie Award ceremony in 2012.

Below is the message that he sent me.

Hi gorgeous how're you doing out there ? I just had a look at your profile so i thought of sending you a message. I'm a widower and in the Canadian Army for 28 years.I'm currently stationed in Iraq where we are undergoing a secret mission.I've been here for 3 good years and will be coming home for good by the end of February 2016. When i come home i live around Ajax Ontario but i don't mind relocating or meeting you anywhere i can if the chemistry works out properly. I have one lovely daughter and two adorable grand children..Have a nice day and will be looking forward to read a message from you soon.Warn regards. Bryan

This is too ridiculous for words. Can you imagine a Canadian soldier on a secret mission in Iraq sending a message to anonymous person on an online dating site, telling them that he’s on a secret mission?

Beware of online predators. Always do a Google image search and pay attention to how the profile and messages are written. It's better to be safe than sorry. Good luck and happy dating!

So his profile said Thai, Indian and Chinese. He wanted a mail order bride, not dinner.

Tokki.com

Make someone smile.

Geri

Are You Shopping the Boxing Day Sales Online Today or Braving the Crowds Tomorrow?

Once again we find ourselves enmeshed in the Holiday Season, that very special time of year when we join with our loved ones in sharing centuries-old traditions such as trying to find a parking space at the mall. We traditionally do this in my family by driving around the parking lot until we see a shopper emerge from the mall, then we follow her, in very much the same spirit as the Three Wise Men, who 2,000 years ago followed a star, week after week, until it led them to a parking space.

Dave Barry

Are you an online shopper? Or do you love the thrill of fighting your way through the crowds to score a deal? I really don’t know why anyone bothers engaging in mortal combat with Boxing Day sale crowds when almost all of the retailers started their Boxing Day sales online on today - Christmas Day. Like it or not online shopping is a juggernaut and more and more people are climbing on the bandwagon every year. Forester Research predicts online sales will grow significantly faster than the Canadian retail market overall. They forecast a compounded annual growth rate of 12.3% in the next five years for online sales, as compared to a 2.6% growth rate for retail in general. 

New statistics from FedEx Canada found:

• 77% of Canadians shop online because it’s convenient

• 62% love the ease of price comparisons online

• 41% are sure there are better deals to be found online.

• 51% appreciate the selection and variety online

So, what will you do? Sit at home today and shop online at your leisure or head out tomorrow, primed for battle. I’ve already checked out the online sales. If you’re going to brave the crowds tomorrow, get those elbows up and keep your chin down.

Shopping is better than sex. If you’re not satisfied after shopping you can make an exchange for something you really like.

Adrienne Gusoff

Make someone smile today.

Geri

Do You Make New Year’s Resolutions?

My New Year’s resolution should have been to stop kidding myself that I’ll make a lifestyle change this year. No one likes cheap, skinny, sober bitch anyway.

Vitamin-ha.com

I never make New Year’s Resolutions. It seems pointless really. If there’s something that I want to do, I just get on with it. I’ve never understood the point in waiting for January 1^st. Considering how low the follow through is with New Year’s Resolutions (only 8% of people who made resolutions actually achieved their resolution), it’s really setting yourself up for defeat; but that doesn’t seem to stop many people from doing it anyways.

Here were the Top 10 Resolutions for 2015 (according to the Statistic Brain Research Institute). I’m sure that you won’t be surprised; these themes don’t seem to change from year to year. Let’s be realistic, everyone wants to lose weight, have more money, fall in love…

1. Lose weight
2. Get organized
3. Spend less, save more
4. Enjoy life to the fullest
5. Staying fit and healthy
6. Learn something exciting
7. Quit smoking
8. Help others in their dreams
9. Fall in love
10. Spend more time with family

If you’re serious about your New Year’s Resolutions, here are some tips from Psychology Today to help you succeed: 

1. Focus on one resolution, rather several and set realistic, specific goals. Losing weight is not a specific goal. Losing 10 pounds in 90 days would be
2. Don't wait till New Year's Eve to make resolutions. Make it a year long process, every day
3. Take small steps. Many people quit because the goal is too big requiring too much effort and action all at once
4. Have an accountability buddy, someone close to you to whom you have to report          
5. Celebrate your success between milestones. Don't wait the goal to be finally completed
6. Focus your thinking on new behaviors and thought patterns. You have to create new neural pathways in your brain to change habits
7. Focus on the present. What's the one thing you can do today, right now, towards your goal?
8. Be mindful. Become physically, emotionally and mentally aware of your inner state as each external event happens, moment-by-moment, rather than living in the past or future

 

I don’t call them New Year’s resolutions. I prefer the term, “casual promises to myself that I am under no legal obligation to fulfill”.

Dumpaday.com

Make someone smile today.

Geri