PSGR is a solo effort by me, Rhiannon, a 23 year old from New Zealand. There's a lot to explore here, so take a look around and have fun!
Blog archives: September 2007
Friday September 28th 2007
Bits and bobs...and boobs and knobs
I've added to the NZ Ghosts forum pwn page in the "House of Pwn" section in scribbles, this time with a third section called "The Malicious Maltreatment of Meh", in which the forum grandmas attack a fully grown, dignified adult. Kudos for rightfully assuming that this fully grown dignified adult is not me! Anyway, for those of you who have been following the overall good times and supreme lulz that this ghost saga evokes, then check out the page by all means. Who knows, perhaps a random arrogant vigilante may invade the forum one day via an anonymous proxy?
Sorry I haven't been around for like, 48 hours ZOMIGOSH. It's spring here in New Zealand and the weather today has been marvelous - sunny, hot, without a single cloud in the sky. Therefore, I have been sunbathing. Yep. No, not topless, I've only done that once and the gas man ended up coming. I got an awful shock, but he told me he'd seen worse. I'm really looking forward to summer, which officially starts on the 1st of December...two days before my...ewww...23rd birthday. Don't worry guys, I'm going to promote my wishlist in a big way closer to the time. Obviously you'll all buy me whatever I desire, and in return I will send a personalised picture of myself in a sexual position, complete with my signature on the photo in a permanent marker. Frames are optional. Sorry, I jest, I jest. Just pullin' a Dakota is all.
Anyway, hope you're all well, and that you Northern Hemisphere folk are prepared for the cold winter ahead. I'll think of you all when I'm having mah phun in the sun, and I'll try not to laugh :P
Love you! Take care and have a great weekend.
PS - Just in case you were wondering how my blog title is relevant: Bits and bobs = the minor site updates mentioned, Boobs = my topless sunbathing, Knobs = Dakota. Churr.
Wednesday September 26th 2007
Ridin' the paranormal drama pony
ETA: Check out LOL Dakota's antics when he attempted to wreak havok at Snark. Can't say I don't bring you teh supreme lulz!
As expected by many (including myself), Dakota threw a post-review wobbly as a result of his 2 star QIS rating. It is unfortunate that he obviously did not read the guidelines about being able to accept criticism before he submitted, but oh well, can't win em all...
Interestingly though, Dakota is one of only two people out of 286 who has not been able to handle criticism. Why did you ask for a review?
I would quote everything he said here but, like Nellie, I have been blocked from his site. Something along the lines of how I am like a "trashy South Auckland KFC worker", "a dole bludger" (have never been on the dole), cannot afford broadband, blah blah blah...oh well, I know for a fact that I'm not the only one who finds Dakota totally obnoxious and babyish.
By the way, 'mate', your jewellery is shite, and I can name at least ten people off the top of my head who truly believe you are the most annoying, egotistical brat to ever surface on the internet.
He attempted to spam Nellie's blog a few minutes ago, and left this, directed at her:
Nellie, thank you for sticking me in your spam list because to be honest, I don't give a flying fuck whether I could leave comments on your blog or not.Those dreadful over weight photographs of your self on your about page were enough, you didn't need to block me to stop me from commenting.
Absolutely disgusting. With an attitude like yours, it's not hard to see why you are loathed online.
Edit: The blog in question has been deleted. Lame. I'll leave the rest up to you since I'm blocked...if you're in the mood and all. Perhaps I should feel honoured, having a lengthy blog entry devoted to me and my apparent lack of funds, job, and social standing...all because I said his site took a while to load. :)
PS - Some new developments in the NZ Ghosts vs PSGR and Nellie saga: click here for the treasury of pwn! Scroll down on this page for the latest.
My interview with Tom
A few days ago Tom asked to interview me, and of course I accepted. In case anyone is confused, there are two Tom's that come to PSGR. Tom M who interviewed me (and I believe he is also a member of Snark Forums?) and Tom H who I know quite well, who no longer has a site after it was deleted by his host, Dan of Farkoath.
For spatial reasons I'll be relocating the interview to a separate page later on today.
1) What do you find most rewarding about maintaining your website?
Without a doubt the most rewarding aspect is the visitors. In the past I'd always wanted a site that had a reasonable following. I used to run a personal site called Petshopgirl, which was generally a site that contained psychotic blogs about people in my life who had started shit with me. I even had a hitlist! I recently came across some old blogs from this site and it's safe to say that I was quite disturbed and shocked by the way I was coming across. Anyway, PSG received about 60 unique hits a day, which at the time I thought was pretty decent. I then became bored with having a personal site so I came up with Petshopgirl's Reviews, which was receiving 6-12 uniques a day. This obviously sucked, and I honestly thought that since it was only a review site, it wouldn't do very well. I wanted to change this though, so I improved my review quality and added some personal content and a few psychotic articles left over from Petshopgirl. Nowadays I'm getting anywhere from 350 - 450 unique hits a day from people all over the world who are coming by to see what I've been up to, and I love that. I love the fact that PSGR can be well known around the web without having to offer shitty graphics or complex tutorials. Through PSGR I have met so many wonderful people from all ages and all walks of life, so many people that I'd genuinely refer to as being my friend - online and offline. My visitors have helped me so much, in so many ways. Support, motivation, advice...I'm so very grateful to them all.
I get emails from time to time from random people that I don't know, saying that they 'need PSGR for their daily dose of entertainment' and whenever they have a shitty day at work they like to come home to PSGR and read about the latest drama that I've started or the latest whiny blog o'complaints that I've published. I love that. I may be coming across as bigheaded here, and I apologise as this is unintentional. I'm just proud of what I've done with this site and how so many people enjoy it - and for that reason I think that PSGR is one of the best things I've ever done. The people who visit PSGR really make the site what it is - after all, there's only so much that I can do, if no one's going to visit then there's really no point in even having a website. I know that people out there enjoy PSGR and that gives me the motivation to maintain it!
2) Do your friends and family know about your online activities? If so, what are their opinions?
My Mum and Nan (the only immediate family I have left) know that I have a site - Nan even renewed my Dreamhost plan last year and fortunately didn't ask for the URL or any questions regarding the purpose of my site. My Mum doesn't use the computer, but my Nan has an iMac and she goes online daily. If she were to come across PSGR I'd be mortified - probably because of the WBB / Myspace pages more than anything else. I've never sworn in front of my family and I had a very strict upbringing, so PSGR would come across as a complete shock. I know I'd have to delete it!
There are only a few people who visit PSGR that I have met in real life. My ex boyfriend James (I've gone out with two James's, and I'm referring to the first James) is a daily visitor who accesses the site via his sisters' computer. His family generally think that I'm the devil incarnate and they don't know he visits my site, let alone has anything to do with me these days. He's too 'scared' to visit PSGR directly so he searches for it on Google...although surely he could just access it directly and delete his history/cookies?
Bella is another person who I've met in real life who visits. She's an English teacher at a local university and I had the pleasure of attending her book launch about a year ago.
Sarah, a girl who I've known since I was four, used to come by PSGR when she had internet access at her flat. She's the closest thing to a friend that I've ever had, and although we constantly lose touch we always seem to come across each other from time to time and hang out for a while, before we lose contact again! Sarah's mum, Diana, has been visiting my website/s for almost four years and I believe she still comes by a few times a week to PSGR.
3) Who would you name as your biggest influence and why?
In web terms? I don't *really* have one, but I will say this - Amanda from JingWen inspired me to improve the quality of my reviews. I remember visiting Umb-Rella Reviews for the first time and reading Amanda's lengthy, analytical reviews that were written with a real pertinence. I wanted to be like that too - I knew that I'd never be able to cover coding matters until I actually developed a sound understanding of them (this is still to happen, haha) but I thought that I could still improve in some other way...and so I did. My reviews became longer and more detailed and it was all thanks to Amanda. She really set the standard for WPR sites and I believe that all reviewers should aspire to at least attempt to meet the quality of the reviews Umb-Rella offered in some way or another. Amanda also opened my eyes to accessibility, and this is something that I've increasingly become interested in over the past year.
4) In web terms, where do you see yourself in ten years?
I very much doubt that I'll still be reviewing - I'm sure I would have lost interest by then, and the thought of being in my 30's and reviewing teenagers sites...well, it doesn't seem 'right' to me. I'll probably be an active blogger though, and I'll always keep my current URL even if I'm not doing reviews. PSGR will always be around despite the fact that my interest in reviewing will inevitably wane. To be honest, I think they're starting to already and I would be reasonably surprised if I was still reviewing even 12 months from now.
5) Your opinions often cause drama (such as those expressed in your WBB articles). How do you think this affects your reputation?
At first I wasn't sure how my audience would react with the WBB's but surprisingly they've turned out to be the most popular aspect of PSGR, according to the results of a recent poll I conducted. I've therefore seen it as a positive effect on my reputation, the majority of people like the drama and general bitchiness and it's had a good impact especially in terms of exposure. Whenever I do a WBB I gain new daily visitors - people who come by several times a day. I don't do it for hits of course, I don't do anything for hits, but it's certainly something that you get when you're controversial and known as an e-bitch. To be honest I don't know why so many people enjoy this aspect of PSGR, but I do see it as a good thing! I'm under no delusion that I am mature and fair, and I know that I come across as an arrogant vigilante or a 'cocky, arrogant brat' (quote) in WBB's, but whatever - like I said, if I thought that this was a concern I wouldn't write them in the first place. To my knowledge there's only a small group of people who think I'm some BiGG BuLLii - a group of IE6 using, pixellated graphic making, Cutenews loving members of a forum called Splash MB. They bitch about online meanies regularly, myself included obviously.
If I was worried about how my reputation would fare I wouldn't express my thoughts and opinions the way I do. As I've stated in Cry Me A River, I'm not here to be liked, and I don't care about how others are perceiving me online. The same 'policy' applies to my offline life too - I'm not going to lie and tell you that I'm a completely different person offline because I'm not. In fact, I'd go as far as to say I am nicer online than I am off! A frightening revelation for some, I'm sure. I don't believe I'm a complete meanie though, and obviously some others realise this too otherwise no one would like me! My bark is worse than my bite.
The majority of my visitors come for the drama, the bitchiness, and the inadvertent hints of hypocrisy that are often expressed in the process. Thats what I'm all about - shits and giggles and cheap humour. If no one liked it, I wouldn't get a decent amount of visitors a day and I certainly wouldn't get emails from random people saying how much they enjoy my site.
6) Finally, what advice would you give to online newcomers?
Ditch the celebrity layouts for a start. You're not doing yourself any favours displaying unlawfully obtained images, and no one likes a copyright violator. Be original - don't give in and include crappy games, shitty celeb icons and generic reads in your Visitors section. Be original, be yourself, be honest, and don't be afraid to speak your mind. Don't try and sugarcoat your thoughts because you're worried about how people will perceive you. Just keep it real. Be aware of the fact that people aren't always going to agree with you - in fact, never ever state an opinion with the expectation that everyone is going to agree with what you're saying, just because it's your site. That's an idiotic notion if ever there was one, and if you honestly think this way then you've failed as a webmaster. It's healthy to express your opinions honestly and in turn it's healthy to have people debating said opinions with you. Accept this and you'll be fine.
Don't enter the blogging game assuming that you're going to be instantly respected, either. To gain respect from your visitors you have to earn it first - cater to them, treat them like gold - they MAKE your site what it is. Without visitors your site is nothing, so treat them with a bit of respect and you'll surely gain a dedicated audience.
Review 285: Sarah of Risque
What I disagree with however, is your statement "there's no need to be rude", and essentially, your entire "What are follow up articles?" article. A negative response from a reviewee in itself is not a crime, nor is it being rude. An immature negative response from a reviewee isn't a crime either. What is a 'crime' though, is not being able to understand that if you can dish out the constructive criticism, you should be able to handle the critique of the failings inherent in your criticism.
Read more?
Review 284: Dakota of The Dakota Life
What's with the "Cuppakawfee" feature, asking visitors to donate money towards a cup of coffee for yourself, in exchange for a photo of you with said coffee? No offense, but this has to be the most ridiculous attempt at gaining funds that I think I've ever come across online.
Support Dakotaism encourages your visitors to donate money to you if they enjoyed reading your blog. This is so wrong...what with the amount of money-oriented areas in your sidebar already I daresay some of your visitors are going to feel a little uncomfortable with the fact that you're making it so obvious that you desire funds from them.
Read more?
Tuesday September 25th 2007, 11.59am
Decisions, decisions
Reviews from today will be included beneath the poll!
What layout do you like best out of the ones below? I was originally going to put the classic multicoloured one back up again, but I've received some good feedback about this temporary brown number so I'm quite torn now. Help a girl out by taking a crusty poll? (Scroll down under images)
Monday September 24th 2007
Review 283: Claire of Minuit-Soleil
The third and final item of content here is a transcript from "Scrubs: The Musical". Ooo-kaay...someone obviously had some time on their hands when they created this page. Perhaps in future you could channel your time differently, by coming up with something a little more substantial and original instead of some copyrighted lyrics to an American medical sitcom. Stating the fact that the lyrics are copyrighted to NBC and listing the writers does not give you the right to reproduce them without explicit permission nor does it give you any reprieve for doing so. Granted, you have the Fair Use doctrine that allows one to use a limited amount (eg excerpts) of copyrighted material, but to my understanding, while copying some excerpts would be covered by Fair Use, providing the entire transcript is not. Chances are you could be served with a Cease and Desist order from NBC - and I'm sure you're familiar with these orders seeing as you received one from Jem a couple of weeks ago.
Read more?
Sunday September 23rd 2007
ETA: I decided to change the layout for a week or so, just for something different. I'll probably revert back to the rainbow one after that. Actually, scratch that, I will be changing back to the default layout, probably before the coming week is out. What little time I've spent online this weekend has been spent making an alternative layout that I was to use ala php styleswitcher. Trouble was, I couldn't get it working for me despite the fact that I followed the instructions to a tee. PHP header errors were spewed every which way whenever I clicked on the link to change the style. I'll try again later, but I decided in the meantime to put up the lay I had been working on, so that this weekend's net time hasn't been a complete waste.Oh and another update in addition to the ones listed in the original blog below - PSG: Historically has been added to the About Me section. This page contains photographs of me from 2002 onwards - PSGR aka natural hair colour and PSGR ala Big Momma!
Review 282: Sandra of Hush Diamonds
As for the other items on your sidebar, a calendar is...well, I've never seen the point of one myself, but others may not agree. To each their own. I do advise that you remove "My HushDiamonds" however, as that's something that's already on your hostees page and needn't be repeated on your sidebar. Tagboards are...so 2000. You do have a comment system on your blog, and a contact page, so I'm not quite seeing the reason behind having a tagboard.
Read more?
Cherry blossoms, forest sex, and nosebleeds
Heard the song "Cherry Blossom Girl" by Air? Well, yesterday I assumed the role of a cherry blossom girl - an itchy as hell, sandfly infested cherry blossom girl that is. No, this condition wasn't due to the torrid forest sex I had engaged in only a few hours earlier, it was due to the copious amount of sandflies and other water dwelling bugs that were present in the area that I took my photos. I've uploaded them to PSGR, so if you're interested in checking out my pics from yesterday, click here.
I've finally updated the Birthday Book too - wonders will never cease!
Just wondering - does anyone else around here desecrate library books? I got out a shitload of Beatles books a couple of years ago and I liked them so much that I refused to return them. I did eventually, a couple months later, but that's not the story. I was sitting on the rug in the lounge one day looking through one of the books and lo and behold - a nosebleed, a nosebleed! I knew I'd be booted down Shit Avenue if I bled all over my mum's expensive rug, so a bit of 'quick thinking' on my part resulted in me holding the library book under my nose. The blood from the PSGR Hooter flowed freely onto the yellowed pages - and not on the rug. W00t, result!! There was a girl I didn't like at school (whoa!) so I got a pen and drew an arrow pointing to the patch of blood and wrote "Sorry, period leak! Love Svenda" and put her phone number underneath.
I was reading "A Mothers Gift" by Britney and Lynne Spears one night in the bath, and obviously I dropped it in. Just as well the book didn't belong to me eh...like I'd really buy that book.
I'm betting that at least some of you are contemplating picking your nose and wiping it on a library book. We're all friends here (yeah right) and there shouldn't be any secrets...I'm not saying that I have done this myself, but I'm not saying I haven't either.
As iMandy.net would say, "tottles!"
PS - I had a dream last night that I made a new flower theme for my site. The flowers were brown, and the layout was named "Pooze".
Thursday 20th September 2007
Courier-a-spider
(EDIT: Some of you may have seen the potential drama unfold in this edit a few minutes ago. The situation with the copyright violation has been sorted now, and I thank Amy for her honesty, her explanation, and her extremely prompt reply to my cease and desist order. You are welcome here at PSGR any time.)
By the way, for those of you who hang out on my Extreme Tracker - and I know you do, because you've told me so (!!), I have got a new tracker because I could not remember the password to my old one. The reason being because from time to time Extreme change the version of their trackers and users are required to log in to change their code. I could not log in. So...hello new tracker. I kind of think that Extreme Trackers are tacky, but unfortunately I do not have access to the services of the uber-l33t awstats. So yeah....who's the sad one for even mentioning this shit? *looks in mirror*
* * *
Most of you know that I make a bit of money on the side selling things on Trade Me, New Zealand's answer to eBay. I've only told you that a thousand times, so I thought I'd mention it again.
I was at the Post Office today sorting out all the items into their respective courier parcels, and I started packing the tacky as hell Supre miniskirt I sold last week for $21. As I was putting it in the bag, I saw a rusty coloured, massive as fuck spider loitering rudely on the slutty garb. I thought it was dead because it wasn't moving, so I touched it, and it went ballistic. It was seriously MASSIVE. Had I encountered this ghastly arachnid at home I would have been screaming and attempting to stab it with the nearest instrument, but since I was in a public place, keeping my cool was essential. So I quickly stuffed the skirt in the bag, spider and all, and sealed it. Right now there is a miniskirt and a token spider winging its way across the country. When the girl who bought the skirt opens the parcel...well...I hope for her sake that she's not scared of spiders, regardless of whether they're living or dead.
Oh well, I always like to say that I give my customers more than they pay for.
PS - Don't worry, the questions page still exists - I've just moved it to the "About Me" section, under Further Reading. Seems more appropriately placed there, somehow.
PPS - Ah yes, nearly forgot. Louise is selling all of her domain names at $15 a piece (USD) - damnedrepublic.org and quarterxturn.org. If you're interested in purchasing one of these domain names, get in touch with Louise at possumkingdom@hotmail.co.uk .
Wednesday 19th September 2007
Tis been an interesting day
While I've been busy attempting to pwn psychic grannies (see long ass blog underneath this one), a fair bit of drama has been occuring elsewhere. Becky reports that Amanda (of WBB1 fame, Hurricane Katrina babe) has returned to the blogosphere. If you're into layouts that feature Sony Vaios (snazzy laptops) check out iMandy.net. Colleen's back, too!
There's been some drama going down at Pinupdoll.nu as well, over Bobbi-Lee's article on the World's Longest Sidebar. If you're interested in reading a thorough account of todays' events, check out Issue 2 of the Dramuh Llama at Jordie's site. Digging the drama bingo card by the way - it's the absolute shit.
Don't forget to check out Cry Me A River, if you haven't already. Feel free to refer it to anyone who gets mardy at you over your sheer e-bitchiness.
Reviews, you ask? What reviews? HUH? Oh...well, folks, some literature be comin' yo weii real soon. I promise. No really!
Anyway, hope everyone's doing well as usual, take care, and I promise to actually come up with something worth reading very very soon. Rock on.
Wednesday 19th September 2007
NZ Ghosts - a realm of middle aged bullies
Edit: BREAKING WAITOMO NEWS:
A guy that Nellie knew of sadly committed suicide in the weekend, the day after he spent some time cleaning at the hotel. His suicide note apparently read "If I come back as a ghost, I won't haunt you like the little boy at the hotel." It's possible that he experienced some freaky shit at the hotel which could have led to his overdose. After all, it isn't the first time someone has killed themselves due to this evil hotel. Whatever the reason though, whatever he was exposed to, I hope he will rest in peace.
* * *
You guys know how e-drama works by now. Well, how successful e-drama works. You see something on a website that you don't like - be it poor coding, bad attitudes, offensive ideals, or the fact that a website poses some accessibility issues. For me personally, I tend to play on the 'bad attitude' front - y'know, people who make disgusting comments about how superior they are and how much they hate 'fat and ugly' people, or those who bitch and whine about how hurricane victims received funds that they believe they should have deserved instead, to pay for a storage unit.
Drama should never be started when the person has not done a single thing wrong. Attacking someone for no reason is crossing the line and that is when it becomes bullying. Childish e-drama that goes on constantly in the blogosphere is entertaining, when it has been carried off successfully and there's actually an underlying reason why the drama has started in the first place. Someone says something, the person reacts (as they are fully justified in doing), blah blah blah. Petty? Hell yes. Pathetic? In some cases, yes. But it's not bullying.
Bullying is when a group of people, who usually tend to be much older than yourself, attack you as a person for something that you have never done. As I'm sure all of you know, I posted my experiences at the Waitomo Caves Hotel on PSGR, and around the same time I joined a forum at what I thought was a credible, friendly environment - the NZ Ghosts Forum. With the main group of posters (including the admin) being in the 30-50+ age range, I felt sure that my contribution to the board would be welcomed and I would seek the information I needed about a certain aspect of a picture I have of myself at this hotel. This was an image of me standing next to a door at this reputedly 'haunted' hotel, with my face looking strangely distorted. As a skeptic with a curiousity for the unexplained, I posted up this image looking for any possible explanation to why the picture turned out the way it did - for all I knew it may not have just been a matter of a camera malfunction or a double exposure. Perhaps there was more to it than that? Despite the fact that I am not a believer, I thought it would be interesting to receive a different point of view from those who claimed to be 'psychics' and 'sensitives'.
I posted my picture, and to my surprise the members of the board started pummeling me with absurd accusations. They have banned me from the board (because I voiced my displeasure in their attitude on my Waitomo Caves Hotel article) so unfortunately I have to paraphrase, but basically they asked me if I had been using drugs or alcohol when the picture was taken, and went on to state that they 'firmly believe they knew what I was doing when the picture was taken' and that I 'deliberately provoked evil spirits'. Miffed, I assertively stated (NOT aggressively stated) that I had not been under the influence of any substance, all I had done was stand in front of a door to get a picture taken. As for the absurdity of the fact that I could possibly provoke spirits - well, any fool knows to stay away from ouija boards and to steer clear of conducting seances if they have no professional knowledge or sound understanding of what they are doing. I stated this, yet they continued to attack.
When you join a forum, you have the option of giving your URL as part of your profile information. I did this, and soon enough (around the same time I was being attacked) I noticed an interesting link in my referrals - this link lead to a private thread at the NZ Ghosts forum which could only be read by administrators. The thread title was "Petshopgirl". I just assumed that they'd gone to PSGR, pulled the whole "disgusted with what I see, she must be evil" routine that most oldies seem to pull, and had a little whine about me. Then I find I am banned from the forum.
Fast forward to a few months later...when Nellie pasted flames about me who's length would rival that of a college admission essay. Flames and attacks by washed up, frumpy has beens who parade around as psychics. Then when someone objective comes into the fray, someone who is not going to lick admin pussy like the rest of the idiots at that forum, they react badly. They clearly have a high opinion of themselves and my comments on PSGR about their attitude clearly made them realise they're not as special as they make themselves out to be in their own minds. They make out to themselves that they're psychics, sensitives, healers and crap when in reality they're just a pack of arrogant unemployed losers who enjoy picking on people thirty years younger than themselves.
What do you do when you get bullied? What do you do when people pick on you when you did nothing wrong? You fight back, and you fight back hard. You may have tried to kick sand in my face, but believe me, I'm about to shove the entire sandpit up your paranormal ass. I'm going to be acting exactly like the, quote, arrogant cocky brat that you have portrayed me as. After all, I've pissed you off thus far, can't hurt to do it some more! Taunting bullies excites me more than the longing to engage in anal sex. Thanks Amanda :)
I'm really pissed off at this kid, she is a cocky, arrogant brat. I have read her PSGR http://www.petshopgirlsreviews.com/ what a crock of shit. Her Waitomo ghost story changes with each new post she makes, she has taken bits of several stories and included them into her story/blog. Then disses this forum for questioning her judgement and lack of experience and the dangers that she left herself open to.Pray tell, why would I include a link to your poorly coded, highly disorganised excuse for a paranormal website? The presentation of your site is shameful enough, let alone your attitude.Let her put a link to this forum. Her messages and the replies are here for anyone to read. I openly invite them to do so. Then comment in a rational and sensible way.
Come on Pet Shop Girl, add a link to NZGHOSTS. www.nzghosts.co.nz and the FORUM http://nzghosts.iphorum.com - let your audience make up their own minds. You have links to other paranormal sites, but not to the best in New Zealand.
My 'story' did not change with every 'new post' I made. The Waitomo Caves article and the blog I wrote whilst at the hotel are the only accounts of my experience available on my site. After the casually written blog was made, I assured my visitors that I would be coming up with a proper article on the matter, elaborating on the facts and situations I experienced that night. Everything had been covered in the blog, yes, but not to a great extent, hence my reasons for collating the events together to include in a more polished article.
What of the fact that I included some quotes from other people who experienced similar goings on at the hotel? It's called background information.
You're arrogant in thinking that your site is the 'best paranormal site in New Zealand'. To my knowledge it's the only paranormal site in New Zealand, and a sad excuse for one at that. It's absolutely hilarious that you design websites for a living. Look at your lame ass sack of shit! I wouldn't buy a design off you if I was paid to! Looking at your code, you don't even have a fucking DOCTYPE and your site has been created on Microsoft FrontPage 6.0. Lame. http://nzghosts.co.nz/Bio%20page.htm
By the way. You look like a man.
And now for 'asylum_souljah', second in command to the 50 something Oamaru based charlatan. This 'asylum_souljah' is a 40 something ass licker from my hometown, Palmerston North, who constantly sucks up to the admin. If "greyghost" says jump, asylum says "how high?" Gotta love playground antics by old age retards.
Since this flame is pathetically long, I'll be replying to each jibe individually, instead of all at once in the bottom. My comments are in plain text underneath the blockquotes!
I'm afraid I have to agree with you GG.
Shit, didn't see that one coming!
I discredited her 'exposay' on the Hoffman Kiln by dropping by one night after work. A true work of fiction her story is.
That comment just goes to prove how arrogant you are - dismissing my account of what happened to my partner and I at the Kiln just because you 'dropped by one night after work' and you didn't 'feel' anything. So you grace an abandoned brickworks with your wench-like presence and by doing so you proclaim that I am a liar. I have seen your images, and you look like a trainwreck, a homeless bum. I can fully imagine you walking down Broadway Ave in your tacky purple velvet garb, shuffling as you go along, hoping that there'll be enough money in your PSIS account to pay for the high calorie condiments you stuff your face with every night. You look like a farmers wife from the 1950's, ready to greet the Famous Five with a supply of cucumber sandwiches and lashings of ginger beer. You may discredit me and call me a liar all you want - I know the truth. I have never claimed at any time that paranormal entities exist within the boundaries of the Hoffman Kiln. All that happened was exactly what was documented in my article - I went there for shits with my boyfriend, we heard some funny noises and a few things were thrown at us from God knows where, we left, and I wrote about it. Discredit me all you like because your ugly face happened upon the venue and you didn't hear anything. Any ghost with sense wouldn't even bother performing for someone who is not only as hideous as fuck, but a complete and utter bully in the true sense of the word. Go to hell.
She is cagey and uncooperative and discredits her own information with almost every new post she makes.
Uh huh. Keep talking, ho. With a face like yours I bet your husband won't hesitate to cheat on your paranormal ass. I'm sorry that you're so insecure. NOT!
However - I dont think shes all that cocky - I think shes timid and scared, to face up to her own claims and tell people the truth about her 'adventures' and what really 'fuels' them - I have taken her at face value but dont discount drug and alcohol usage at all. She attacks the simple question of drug or alcohol use (a reasonable question given the topic and stimulus paranormal activity can have on the human brain) and calls it an 'accusation' in her review site, even having someone called an 'esteemed healer' say the accusation was unwarranted. WHERE in this thread was drug and acohol use an 'accusation'? In fact I posed that question, and as I have restated here - I cant discount it - given this individuals reaction to it. Surely this 'healer' has NOT read the thread here - and hasnt seen how uncooperative and cagey the author is to ANY line of questioning.
You randomly accuse someone of taking illegal substances when this has nothing to do with the conversation at hand. Of course I'm going to be offended. In your eyes, you see this as an admission from me that I am guilty of using drugs.
Damn fucking right Bella is esteemed. Unlike you. Bella, aka Becs, is a non-judgemental human being who I have met in person on several occasions. Do not bring my friends into this. Bella is a member of your tumbledown forum and read your attacks for herself, which in turn resulted in the comments by her that are present on my Waitomo page.
Oh, and in reply to your holier-than-thou spiel about how you're my psychologist: I think shes timid and scared, to face up to her own claims and tell people the truth about her 'adventures' and what really 'fuels' them -"....tell the truth? I do nothing but, bitch. What really 'fuels' them??? Oh yeah, the whole 'drugs' thing. I don't fucking take drugs. I have smoked marijuana a few times in my life and have taken salvia but I was not under the influence of ANYTHING when that picture was taken. Yea--aah, I'm going to go to a supposedly haunted hotel, get high as a kite, and get my picture taken next to a door, just for shits. I'm not as pathetic as you, sorry.
Her approach to Aquarius about joining PINZ and seeing what we are about will undoubtedly not be happening....this type of juvenile uncooperative carry on is exactly what we dont like or want.....she should perhaps enquire to joining paranormal teams that are in it for glory and giggles and buzz- thus far that would seem more her style.I dont apologise if I sound harsh. This looked at first to be an excellent opportunity to investigate further a well known paranormal stronghold (the Waitomo) and an excellent photographic record of paranormal potential. But this child has done nothing but lead anyone here up the garden park with her refusals to be forthcoming and even answer the simplest questions.
Her own site shows the fictional potential she has with words, but unfortunately nothing I have read on there leads me to feeling any differently about the author I wish her well in her future, whatever that may be - but your attitude is not welcome here in my opinion. To diss this site on her own made up forum, for all the concern she was shown about the situation she appears to be allowing herself naievely to be put in - what a laugh. How anyone could take that seriously from her after reading her 'lack' of responses to anything in this thread amuses me greatly.
After all, it was admitted that someone with her own paranormal group barely knew what channelling is? That blew me away - talk about dictating colours to the blind. Anyone who takes this child seriously on her other site needs to get out and see the world.
So you're insulting my fuck hott visitors now are you, wench? My visitors piss on your forum crowd in more ways than one. My visitors are intelligent enough to make up their own minds thank you very much. Some of them agree with me, some of them disagree - so what? That doesn't take away the fact that they're all a fucking awesome bunch of people from all walks of life. Friendly as hell, supportive...perhaps you should find yourself some better friends, since you're clearly so jealous of mine.
What is this paranormal group of mine you're constantly referring to? I don't have a fucking paranormal group, I'm not that much of a loser, unlike you. Even if I did have a 'group', my group website would absolutely shit on yours - http://www.geocities.com/paranormal_i_n_z/PINZMembers.html . Whoa....even Piczo sites piss on your poorly constructed, urine soaked excuse for an HTML showcase. White font against a black bg? Good one, tard. Perhaps instead of throwing around accusations and assumptions you should think about focussing on the presentation of your website, should you wish for your investigation group to be taken seriously. A nine year old could have done a better job than this.
My own made up forum? What the fuck are you on about now? Take that tacky gold plated crystal ball out of your massive asshole for one second and WAKE UP and look around - does PSGR look like a forum to you???? It is a WEB SITE. Two syllables. Repeat after me: web - site. No, not a forum. Snark shits on your forum, just like everything seems to shit on you, huh?
Simply put, Petshopreviews should NOT have brought her picture to a public forum, if she didnt want questions and discussion and analysis. This is not a feel good forum, we are not here to pat each others backs and accept each others words as gospel. This is a serious investigative and knowlege gathering forum - if you cannot play with the big kids - get out of the sandpit!
Simply put? You wouldn't know the meaning of the world, and neither do I. Don't kid yourself, fool - you're not coming across as cool here. You're coming across as a self righteous, pompous middle aged bully who is fully deserving of the bashing she is receiving from this equally self righteous, pompous 22 year old bitch. Haha. You smell soooo bad........neener neener.
Apologies to GG and Aq and our other members. This child has been irking me for a while now, and its better to be out of my system with my honest opinion. This sort of brazen stirring attitude is not warranted or acceptable at GOH.You started it! Ooh, what's that green goo coming out of your nethers? It's ghost sludge from one of your failed investigations. This is what happens when someone older than my mother accuses me of lying and insults me on multiple levels, all because I happened to rightfully defend myself against their attacks. When you bully someone many, many years younger than yourself, when you throw around accusations that someone is lying, when you insult people's friends...this is what happens.
I bet you're incontinent. (Wees pants spontaneously)
Nellie from Harlequin Girl was (she has now also been banned) also a member of this forum, and was banned for posting the following messages:
Wow. You guys are rude.To which she received this deluded reply:How did you expect someone to react when they're being accused of something they don't know much about (which is something you kept pointing out!)?
She wanted your help. Not your criticism and belittlement.
I believe your attitude towards her fully warranted the post about you on her website, regardless of the fact that she's a "cocky, arrogant brat". How someone portrays themselves on the internet and how they are in their day-to-day dealings is usually completely different.
She obviously came here as her offline self for help, but you abused her for her online persona.
Good on you. Seriously.
Hello twinklesque, you guys ? I dont believe that I was rude, as you can see from my posts, I simply pointed out what I saw in the pic.Fundamental, self righteous, Millers Fashion Club wearing, bed wetting pensioner.I havent seen what has been said on any website, I dont buy into any nitty grittys but I will reply to this ... that I abused no-one. I hope you make some more postings, good to see new members.
Nellie: Agreeing with something rude said by other people is equally as rude.Now asylum_souljah (pathetic handle much?) attempts to pwn Nellie:I wont be posting anywhere else but this thread. I don't see the point in supporting a website who's webmaster attacks it's forum members.
Especially a webmaster who is well past the age where one is meant to "know better".
Twinklesque, you have made in abundantly clear you have only joined this forum to muck rake in this particular thread that has be idle for some time now.Grandma Goat Fucker almost sounds like she's ashamed of herself...hiding her shame and revelation that she's a bully under long winded pompous vocab. Shame on thee.Good on YOU for continuing this, Im sure you are at an age where you should also know better.
The moderators and owners have nothing to defend themselves for concerning this thread, as you must well know since your interpretation of events goes further that those only obvious in this forum post. If we are such horrid people then surely theres no need for you to participate in this forum at all.
We usually welcome all new members, bar those who are obviously here to 'make a splash' when not privvy to all the facts available to others.
Thank you for raising this thread and furnishing us with your personal opinion - it is duly noted.
Nellie rebukes pwn and succeeds at life with:
Actually, I joined this forum a while back, if you paid any attention to my join date. I came back today after reading Ghost Hunt: True New Zealand Ghost Stories, to read up on more about each case.I remembered this thread which I hadn't seen from the third post on this page and I was shocked to see all the really rude posts made about Rhiannon, who didn't ask for what was said about her in the slightest.
The members of this forum started the 'flame war' by accusing her of being under the influence and accusing her of knowing what she was doing. She had EVERY RIGHT in the world to retort to that and she chose to do it in a public way, which warned others of the treatment she received here. You make a bad burger, people are going to tell others not to eat that burger.
Defending ones self should be done in a way that doesn't attack other people. Defence is simply fending off someone else's attack. The moderators and owners were ATTACKING Rhiannon. This is obvious, more than blatantly.
I am only continuing this because Rhiannon herself was unable to do so because the moderator of this board decided to ban her then bitch about her. She knows what you have written here and it upset her deeply.
You are not privvy to any more facts that I am, so don't go assuming you know more than I do.
And just as a closing statement, I'm 20 years old, around half the age of most of you. If YOU don't know any better, why should I?
So yes...that's what happened. I am not sorry for speaking the way I did, I felt that I was fully justified in doing so. You must always stand up for yourself when people attack you for no reason.
The owner of this website, greyghost aka Dorothy, has been cited in many NZ ghost books as well as having appeared on several TV shows. She has slanderous comments about me on her official website and has unfairly brandished me as a liar. I sincerely hope that I have managed to drag your name through the mud as much as you have done mine.
NZ Ghosts is a sham of a website. This is not only reflected in its poor construction and the fact that the 50 something year old owner sells website designs made on Frontpage, but it is also reflected in the bullying, self righteous attitudes of its members and the farcical accusations that occur when a newcomer brings their thoughts to the board.
Tuesday September 18th 2007
Edit: Remember the middle aged 'psychics' who accused me of being a druggie and an evil spirit invoker? (LOL!) Well, after they banned me from their forum they decided to go on a flaming rampage, not only attacking me but attacking Bella, a healer who I know and respect in real life. I'm hoping I can get a hold of all the posts via Nellie, but in the meantime check this out: Nellie's pwn of NZ Ghosts!
Jem is a cheeky dick who takes it up the website
It's been a long time since I've actually cried with laughter, but I did exactly that this morning when I saw the drama on Jem's QA page.The inane attack by the anonymous (aren't they all?) person was caused by the sheer mention of a site called Hidden-Elegance (can't be bothered linking to it, the site freezes my browser). I visited this site earlier today, but the text is all in caps...so yeah. I'm a font snob, sue me.
Nothing overly interesting to talk about today, guys. I wrote a disclaimer though, for the Webmasters Behaving Badly section. It's called Cry Me A River: The Obligatory WBB Disclaimer. Bobbi-Lee has included a new article at her site called the World's Longest Sidebar, and it's definitely worth a read.
Things are slow on the review front, and I apologise for that. With any luck I should have a few published this week.
Eh, what the hell, I'll probably be back later on tonight to add to this in some way. I'm off to watch Home and Away - god I hope Fisher's in it tonight, what a hottie...
PS - d00d, PSGR has been receiving some hits from Harvard. As in Harvard. Teh HonouR! Sup, Harvard? Rock with me. Baby.
Monday September 17th 2007
PSGR Photography now for sale
Finally, I've finished uploading all of my pictures. Forgive my coming across as a peddler, I'm just mentioning the fact that they are now for sale as I have had several people display an interest in purchasing my images. If you're interested in this, then by all means please view my gallery at Findapic.co.nz/phillips. Excellent.
In other news, I've come crawling back to Myspace - click myspace.com/psgrsquared. Oh dear.
All right, now I can get on with reviewing! Take care and talk to you later.
Review 281: Olivia of Letters To You
I've got a lot to say about these brushes too. You've got one set with major fashion logos, including Chanel. I can just see some Chanel lawyer busting you (not Karl Lagerfeld, he's above such things, I think). It wouldn't be so bad if the logos were just the brand names in different fonts, but these appear to be the actual logos. Not cool. There's also some pixel text brushes that say things like "fucking disrespectful wanker!!!" and "I'm not another teenage fucking whore!!!". Uh, wow. I've got a potty mouth myself, but these are kind of outrageous. If I wanted to proclaim to the world that "you gave me fucking butterflies you dickhead!!!", I'd type it myself, not download it as a brush. There's stuff that should be created and stuff that shouldn't.
Read more?
Sunday September 16th 2007
Rugby World Cup: NZ versus Portugal, 108 - 13
The All Black's second match of the 2007 Rugby World cup was against newcomers Portugal. Portugal are the only world cup debutants and are considered the minnows of the tournament. With the official world cup slogan in mind, Impossible is nothing, the Portugese gave it their all, playing with heart against The AB's - the top ranked team in the world.
A three figure win against the Portugese was predicted, although the AB's got off to a rusty start at the beginning of both halves, playing with a much lesser intensity than say, playing the Aussies or the Boks. Given the status of the Portugese side, it was unnecessary for the All Blacks to reach top gear.
It is not an insult when I say that the Portugese team is largely comprised of amateurs. Only four of the players play rugby as a career, with the rest being students, engineers, lawyers, or teachers. Taking on the number one team in the world is daunting enough for any team, let alone world cup debutants ranked 22nd in the world.
If the Portugese side were seeking respect, they can be assured that it was earned not just from the All Blacks but from the entire stadium at Lyon. The audience at the venue was lively and animated, and the atmosphere remained upbeat till the very end. The Portugese supporters turned out in their droves to support their courageous team, and continued to chant and yell words of encouragement throughout.
All in all another fantastic match, with New Zealand winning 108 - 13. A truly honourable effort from Portugal - you definitely deserve to be a part of the world cup and I wish you the best of luck for the rest of the tournament.
Tries (NZL): Joe Rokocoko (2), Isaia Toeava, Ali Williams, Aaron Mauger (2), Jerry Collins, Chris Masoe, Andrew Hore, Brendon Leonard, Nick Evans, Andrew Ellis, Leon MacDonald, Conrad Smith (2), Carl Hayman.
Conversions: (NZL) Nick Evans (14)
Tries (PORTUGAL): Rui Cordeiro.
Conversions (PORTUGAL): Duarte Cardoso Pinto
Penalties (PORTUGAL): Duarte Cardoso Pinto
Current world cup holders England have suffered a 0-36 loss against the Springboks - a record breaking worst world cup loss. The British side take on Samoa next weekend and a win is crucial in order to have a realistic hope of qualifying from Pool A for the last eight.
As I type this the Australians are taking on the Welsh at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales 13, Aus 25.
Ireland take on Georgia in Pool D later on today - good luck to the Irish.
Coming soon...New Zealand vs Scotland.
Saturday September 15th 2007
For the answers to the questions from yesterday, click here!
Friday September 14th 2007
It's the season of the wavoo...and if you're on the high priority queue then there's a good chance you will be reviewed very shortly. By the way, I've updated the My Computer and PSG: Possessively pages, and will be updating the Birthdays page later on. I'll be here all weekend for a change, so expect a decent amount of reviews to tide you through until Monday.PS - In case anyone was wondering, I did not delete you off Myspace. I deleted my account - it got boring and my profile was more or less dead anyway.
PPS - The semi-broken, 'beaded applique' Nintendo DS that I mentioned in Thursday's blog ended up selling for $125!
Review 280: Donna of Transcendent-xo
You'll have to excuse me if I skip the graphics. I used to own a graphics site, and I've seen too many enter signs and glitters to be able to stomach them. I'm sure yours are good, but it's just not for me. However, in your Rudeness rant you say that you hate the term "Shut Up", but you've got "Shut Up" glitters. Hmm...
Read more?
Review 279: Hillarie of Unbeknownst Music
I was at primary school, and I had it in for my teacher big time. He was a smelly old man called Mr Gore, and he looked like a version of Santa Claus gone wrong. As I'm sure you can imagine, I was dedicated to making his life hell. One afternoon he was sitting at a table, and unbeknownst to him I had crawled underneath said table. I got a pencil and jabbed him in the _ _ _ _ . Boy did he ever scream like a little girl!
Read more?
Thursday September 13th 2007
Review 278: Alyssa of Zombot.org
I'm one of those terrible people who have very little appreciation for poetry and creative writing, but I can say with confidence that you're a very talented writer and you have a way with words. In fact, I'm jealous. Every story I've ever written killed off at least a thousand brain cells of anyone who has the misfortune of reading them. I'm a much better non-fiction writer... and even then I fail miserably. Your opinion pieces are definitely more my speed. Your argument against left-wing politics is one of the better ones I've read. I know far too many conservatives who can't form an opinion that doesn't end in a personal attack on those who aren't, so your opinions were really refreshing.
Read more?
Act like a loser, earn money as a result
Calm down, this is not PPP. Do I really seem that desperate to you??
What is this "yes"?? Go away to the Visitors Corner and don't come back until you've learned your lesson.
Many of you know that I like to make a bit of money on the side on Trade Me - an auction site that is essentially New Zealand's answer to eBay. Trouble is, I had run out of things to sell. Since I've dropped a few sizes over the last couple of years, I had a massive load of clothes that no longer fit me, and I eventually sold them all on Trade Me. All that is, except a small pile of clothes that failed to sell, despite the fact that I'd been listing them almost nonstop over a period of many months.
I decided it was time to take a new approach - attract potential bidders to my auctions via moronic behaviour.
Example One: Von Dutch cap, $5
I'd tried at least ten times to sell this and my auction failed to receive any page viewers let alone bidders. So I decided to describe the cap like so:
Auction title: Shake that bootay! PINK Von Dutch cap. So feminine! The only feminine aspect of the cap is that it's pink, but hey - 57 page views sure beats the usual zero!
Auction write-up: Look good for the guys in your hood this summer :)
Someone (a guy, incidentally) has bid on this item, meeting the reserve. w00t!
Example Two: Star Wars Battlefront II (PSP Game)
I thought I was pushing it a bit by asking $40, PSP games in good condition usually go for $30 something on Trade Me.
Auction write-up:
Fight as a Jedi, battle in space..
13 *NEW* locationz and 3 exclusive campaignz
YODA SAYS: "Bargain alert, it is!"
R2D2 interrupts Yoda to add: "This was bought for a whopping $79.95 at EB Games yet it's YOURS for $40. OH. MY. GOD!!"
Get your light sabre into gear and put a bid on this TRULY AWESOME game NOW!!
Quick, before the dark forces intervene.
Psst! More funky games and groovy threads for sale on my other listings.
Yeeee-hawww! Another $40 easily made.
And now for the Roxy hot pants.
Example Three: Roxy Hot Pants
Back in the days when I was a size 12 (Am now size 6) I had a pair of Roxy jeans. I wore them almost every day, and they eventually got a little worse for wear. Holes appeared in the ass and everything! I was going through a tagging phase at the time and I had a spare can of hot pink spraypaint. I decided to cut the legs of the jeans into shorts and then spray random parts pink. I did this mainly due to boredom - there was no way the jeans cum hot pants would ever fit me again - not if I could help it, anyway! So....Trade Me it was! And would you believe that someone's bid $5 on them?
Auction write-up: Hubba hubba...look who's walking down the street!
It's you, in your Roxy hotpants - that look can't be beat
Admirers in the hood are in for a treat
As you swing your hips, and move your feet.
Move aside Wordsworth, PSGR is on the scene ready to take the poetic world by storm via mindless verse. Whoooo!!
I have bids that have met the reserve on all three auctions, plus a few more. One is for a Nintendo DS that kind of...doesn't work.
The charger doesn't seem to connect with it anymore, and I'm not sure if this is due to a loose connection inside the actual console or something solely related to the charger itself. The DS is pink, and a few years ago I spontaneously glued multi coloured beads on the front lid. As you do. I decided to take a chance and see if I could sell this - being sure to state the potential charging issues. I described the DS itself as having a "funky metallic pink shade featuring multicolore beaded applique." The current bid is $79 :)
Before I leave you all, may I be so bold as to make a recommendation?
Healtheries Cocoa Chai Tea.
Chai tea + you = a match made in heaven
Curious to take that next step further by purchasing this for yourself? Campers, campers, campers. There is no need to be wary. Purchase this tea in confidence! I give it my personal PSGR Satisfaction Guarantee. It's really very nice. Better than sex better than many other flavoured teas in your hood! So, don't delay, purchase this delicious beverage today.
Wednesday September 12th 2007
One for the stalkers
I was chilling out (aka snooping) on the Wayback Machine a couple of days ago. The Wayback Machine, in case you didn't know, is an internet archive site that takes snapshots of websites as a means of preserving them for some sad reason. Oh well, different strokes for different folks I guess. Anyway, I decided to see if I could track down my first website - Golf Punk, formerly known as Harrisongs. Please don't ask. The title was totally irrelevant to the content - it was just a page builder site with a bit of information about myself and a cut and pasted Beatles biography that I nicked from another website. What, you didn't think I was capable of stealing content? I take it you haven't read my Internet History page, then. (About Me >> Further Reading). Anyway, here is the link:
If you've just checked it out, you'll see a picture of me in the middle of my autobiography. The constipated looking girl next to me was someone I used to be friends with at school, but only during Form 3 when I was 13. Aparently she now works as a jelly wrestler at a strip club in the godforsaken hurricane ridden city of Wellington. If you can't see the pic, it's also at the bottom of this page, along with some additional pictures of myself when I was younger.
You guys have seen my second attempt at a website, right? Avantgarden? Please, if you go to this, bear in mind that it automatically plays midi music. The main page plays "Computer Love" by Kraftwerk. The images used in the layouts are 100% original, apart from a Pet Shop Boys layout once I've never needed to rely on celebrity images because I know I can come up with something original and legal instead. All the layouts were created out of items around the home that I'd scanned. I was ever so proud. I was feeling really upbeat when I made this site, because my Dad had just died and I no longer had to live in fear. Tears of happiness were definitely shed when he clocked off, that's for sure. I'll always have a soft spot for the Avantgarden. After that of course, Petshopgirl came on the scene - firstly with Petshopgirl.TK, Petshopgirl's Awards, Petshopgirl's Reviews, Petshopgirl's Listings, and then the new and improved Petshopgirls Reviews.Com, later known as PSGR.
Oh well...better get back to the reviews. I'm quite happy with the amount I've done so far this week, but there's no way in hell I'll be able to fulfill my "Dangerous Pledge" to write 20 reviews this month. I can try though, right?
Thanks again for all the comments on last weeks entry...59 must surely be a record for PSGR. I'm going to be returning every single comment I promise.
PS - Here's your plug, David!! Hope everything is cool with you.
PPS - There is something that I am hiding from you...all of you...bar one. Unfortunately this is the way it has to be at this point in time, for it is all in the name of research, undercover work, and secret missions. All will be revealed as soon as possible - however this project is dependant on the work of other people, so this may have to be kept a secret for a few weeks to come...
Review 277: Eean of Skytheory.Net
Dude, I think you may have been a little hasty in submitting your site for a re-review. Despite the fact that this is a brand new domain, you seem to have brought all the content over from your hosted site, bar the Ugly Betty icons which have been excluded thank goodness. The remaining content is fine, but I've seen it and reviewed it before! I cannot provide any further commentary on something that I have already reviewed, something that has not undergone a great deal of change.
Review 276: Anguish of fakexglitter
Your layout is weborexic to the skinniest degree and is suffering from a severe case of 'left-itus'. Do you have some sort of obsession with left alignment? I mean, hey, sod the rest of the bloody page, let's smush our layout as far into the left as possible, because it's what all the kewl kids do! Wake up - this look was in for a few months mid 2005 and it quickly went out of fashion. Get with the times. 2005 called, they want their fad back. Oh crap, accessibility guru Jakob Neilsen is on the other line, wait a sec...
Review 275: Hannah of No Foam
I did enjoy reading this though - very amusing. Not that is is completely related to the article, but what do you think about librarians in general? There's more to librarians than meets the eye, that's for sure. Underneath the dodgy apparel lurks a vicious individual, who no doubt engages in activities involving leather and whips in the bedroom. I've had some bad experiences involving librarians in the past, the most recent involving one at the central library in Christchurch. I went there a lot, and there was a certain librarian there who started hating on me for no reason. I dubbed this librarian "Mint Bitch", because every day she'd wear the same thing - a green woolen jersey and matching green spandex leggings, teamed with a massive medallion of sorts. She looked like a cross between 50 Cent and a Greenpeace supporter.
Review 274: Secret Designs of Secret Designs
So your site has just crashed my browser. Just saying is all. Your site crashed my browser. Your site crashed my browser. Talk about a causa mortis for my beloved Safari.
Review 273: Rachael of Calm Banana
Unfortunately I cannot write about your new layout with such enthusiasm, and to be honest I was quite disappointed when the page loaded this morning to notice that you'd made this change. I'm all for simplistic looks when it comes to layouts - some webmasters automatically deem basic, image free layouts as 'boring' but this is not always the case. In my opinion it's all down to your colour choices - choosing the right combination can be the deciding factor in whether a layout like yours could be simplistic and appealing, or plain and boring.
Sunday September 9th 2007
Rugby World Cup: NZ versus Italy
Like most of New Zealands population of 4 million and something, I am a die hard supporter of the All Blacks and last night at 11pm I tuned into TV3's free, live coverage of the All Blacks versus Italy - the AB's opening match of the Rugby World Cup. The Italian's fate was set in stone from the get go, and was confirmed when they stunned the Stade Velodrome by turning their backs on the All Blacks as they performed the Haka. This action from the Italians was a tactic - a tactic that I'm sure they regret now. The All Blacks led in a very strong first half, with Richie McCaw scoring two tries in the first seven minutes. As each AB try was scored, Kiwi music blasted from the speakers, making the New Zealanders in the audience feel right at home. Dave Dobbyn's Slice of Heaven was played, along with Crowded Houses' Something So Strong and I See Red, by Split Enz.
The final result was 76 - 14 to the All Blacks, with captain Richie McCaw voted in as man of the match.
TV3's commentary, led by Palmerston North born Hamish McKay was of a high standard. Poor picture quality plagued the first 25 minutes or so of the match, but the problem was soon rectified by the technicians. Great back up commentary was provided by AJ Whetton, Grant Fox, and Andrew Mehrtens.
Tries (NZL): Doug Howlett 3, Richie McCaw 2, Sitiveni Sivivatu 2, Jerry Collins 2, Mils Muliaina, Chris Jack
Conversions: (NZL) Dan Carter 7, Luke McAlister 2
Tries (ITALY): Marko Stanojevic, Mirco Bergamasco.
Conversions (ITALY): Bortolussi, de Marigny.
Show your support for the AB's and ROAR! Collective roars were recorded in the main city centres yesterday afternoon, and if you were not present to roar, then you can phone 0800 ROARLINE to record it over the phone. All the roars will be combined and presented to the All Blacks in weeks to come. To find out more about The Roar as well as All Blacks information and roaring tips, then check out the Roar-O-Meter.
Thursday September 6th 2007
Why Trade Me is a crock of shit
Trade Me, an auction site for New Zealanders ala eBay, has censored your kind hearted, non-judgmental and altogether uber-approachable reviewer1, aka me. Trade Me has a feedback system, in which feedback is placed by the buyer to the seller and vice versa, once the sale is complete. A few weeks ago I sold a zip up jersey, and heard nothing back from the buyer. Not really caring too much, I left it alone - I could just request a refund of my success fee and relist the item if need be. Every week or two I check my spam folder at the gmail website, and to my surprise I found zillions of abusive emails from the buyer of the jersey, going on about why I hadn't contacted them with my banking details and whatnot. Over a period of three days, he had sent me eighteen irate emails. One of the emails even said something along the lines of "I hope you know what you've done to my daughter, you've destroyed her, she was really excited about receiving this jumper". Heartless and unconcerned, I casually replied to the person telling them to calm down, and that my details (that had been sent out automatically) must have be in his junk mail folder or whatever. I assured the buyer that the item would be posted out immediately.
He left me bullshit feedback, so I returned the favour with this:
A psychologically unstable trader with a blatant disregard to the fundamentals of trading. Becomes irate if one does not reply to an email within a day. An unruly, abusive trader who seemingly enjoys distorting the truth.
And he replied on my feedback page with:
This member is distorting the truth alotttttt as there were 6 emails in total, 2 on Auctions end to say i had paid etc the rest were over a period of 7 days as there was no contact at all!!. Asking if item posted etc if thats abusive well alot of trademe members would be abusive!!! and cut off, as for you already told me, well how could you, as stated by you you could not get online so come on get your facts straight. my FEEDBACK speaks for itself, I have kept emails.I apologise if you found his comments hard to understand - unfortunately, the average New Zealander suffers from grammatical inadequacies and the inability to properly string a sentence together. Well, the majority of Trade Me users are complete idiots anyway, it's a well known fact.
Anyway, a couple of days ago I received an e-mail from the Trade Me staff informing me that the feedback I left this person was in breach of their Terms and Conditions, and that they had taken it upon themselves to edit said feedback, so that it now read like this:
A trader. Becomes if one does not reply to an email within a day. An trader.The above has not been edited in any way. I'm gagging to include my precious [sic]'s...but I shall leave it...for all to see...proof, that Trade Me is a douche magnet, an absolute douche magnet.
Still use it though :P
1. Try me before you buy me, babes! Much love!!