by editor | May 17, 2012 | Lifestyle
With an article title like this, one might assume that I am ready
to tell you some extraordinary news about a new dating
environment. Sure, the Internet has introduced one more way for
people to meet, but does that actually change the dating scene?
Interestingly, a friend of mine met his current wife online, but
not from across country, rather from across town. The two of them
lived just five miles apart. Jokingly, we have talked about it
from the standpoint of “you could have met, if only you had been
willing to get out more.” But it was not that easy. Sure, in
theory they probably could have met when they were out and
running around, but if you talk to both and ask them the places
they go and the people they know, the chances of actually having
met were entirely unlikely.
He is a Baptist and she is a Catholic. He is a blue-collar
worker, and she works for a dentists’ office. He goes to
football games and hangs with his friends, and she used to go to
the bar with the girls. Although they both lived in the same
small town and graduated from the same high school, none of his
friends had ever met her, and none of her friends had ever met
him or his friends.
The two of them were so close, and yet so far apart from one
another.
The Internet was instrumental in bringing the two together. They
were introduced to one another through their respective personal
profiles on dating websites. After a couple of exchanged emails,
they turned first to Yahoo Chat, and then they orchestrated a
personal meet for dinner at a local restaurant. I guess you can
say the rest is history.
After a nine-month courtship, the two were married, and they have
been married now for two years.
Lessons To Be Learned
Ah yes, I am one of the guys who write about online dating. So, I
got the idea to start asking questions. I wanted to know what if
anything could have impacted this hookup in a negative way. Now
and again, I will ask a question and wish later that I had just
kept my mouth shut. In a way, this was one of those situations,
and you will see why in a minute.
Both indicated that a picture on a profile is absolutely
essential. Neither was willing to talk to anyone who hid behind a
computer on the Internet. Had either one not included a picture,
neither would have responded to the others’ email.
Both had been doing the online dating thing for a couple years.
So, both had scars from the experience.
She said that one should never lie in a profile. She said that
when she chatted guys online or met them in person, she was keen
to listen to everything she was told. She was looking for
discrepancies between what was said in chat, in person and in the
profile. She said that when she first started the online dating
thing, she did not pay much attention to those things, but she
later found that these little red flags were a good indication of
bigger red flags that she would not want to discover later.
Both suggested one of my standard pieces of advice was completely
valid. I have always said that we should get to know one another
a bit better, before we start making commitments to one another.
She said that guys, who were quick to jump into a commitment,
were not only nerdy, but also desperate for a good reason. He
said that girls were quick to declare love or commitment usually
turned out to be scammers looking to make a quick buck. He said
that within days of the first declaration of love, she would
always be asking for money, and she would pitch a fit if you told
her no, after all she would say, the two of you shared something
special.
She said there was two emails that she dreaded receiving from
guys. She said any email that employed cheesy pick up lines would
not be answered ever. She said that if I guy wanted her
attention, he would need to give some thought to his emailed
words. Second, she said that if she wanted to see a guy’s male
part, she would invite him to her house for the night. She did
not want to see him in an email message.
He said there was two emails that he also dreaded receiving. He
did not want to hear “I love you” at all, nor did he want to be
spoken to in a condescending way. I asked him what he perceived
to be “condescending”. He said words like, “sweetie”,
“dear” and “honey” were immediate turn-offs, as he perceived
those women to be professionals looking to get paid for their
dates.
All Went Well To This Point, And Then…
You know I am the type of person who is not easily embarrassed.
The interview had been going well, and then I asked the wrong
question to the wrong person. And it all changed, just like that.
I asked my friend and his wife whether they had ever got together
with someone just for fun, like a one-night-stand type
arrangement. Both had said yes, and then I regretted having asked
the question. My friend’s wife indicated that she had one real
good “friend with benefits”, and as a single guy, I might enjoy
some of the activities they liked doing.
If I had stopped here, then everything might have been all right,
but I asked what she meant.
Immediately, the alarm went off in my brain signaling too much
information! I turned beet red and she laughed. And to this day,
I have never lived down that moment in time.
How Dating Has Changed In The 21st Century
Copyright (c) 2008-2012 Lance Metzger
NSA Dating Site
http://www.nsadatingsite.com
by editor | May 17, 2012 | Lifestyle
CHECK IT OUT
Joan, the town gossip and supervisor of the town’s morals recently
accused George, a local man, of having a drinking problem because
she noticed his pickup truck outside the town’s only bar one
morning. After all, she reasoned, it was a logical assumption.
George stared at her for a moment and said nothing. Later that
evening, he parked his pickup truck in front of her house and left
it there all night.
Why is it that so many of our logical assumptions are just plain
wrong? And why do we want to act as if they must be true?
In an age long before the Internet, a young American at a banquet
found himself seated next to the eminent V. K. Wellington Koo, a
Chinese diplomat. Completely at a loss as to what to say to someone
from such a different culture, this young man ventured, “Likee
soupee?” After all, he assumed, don’t all Chinese speak in broken
English?
Mr. Koo smiled and nodded. Later when called upon to speak,
Wellington Koo delivered an eloquent talk in exquisite English, sat
down while the applause was still resounding, turned to the young
man and whispered, “Likee speechee?
Another assumption that was completely wrong. And I can relate. I
regularly assume things and act as if they must be true.
Do you know one of the reasons why red roses are so popular? Men
keep buying them. They ASSUME that all women prefer red roses when
flowers are in order. And when asked their partner’s favorite color
of rose, men usually say it’s red.
But what do the women say? When women are asked what color of rose
is their favorite, they are more likely to answer that they prefer
yellow, white, black, peach or lavender. And when asked what kind of
flowers they would prefer to receive from that special person, the
answer is generally not roses at all. Try daisies, tulips or
gardenias. The age-old assumption that most women like red roses
best is simply not true.
Sometimes I think it has taken way too long, but I’m learning to ask
about these things I always KNEW were absolutely true. At least I
assumed so. When my wife is silent, I’ve always assumed she was
angry with me. But now I’m learning to ask. And I’m discovering that
her aloofness sometimes actually comes from the fact that she is
worried about something not related to me at all.
Assumptions. We all make them. They’re too often wrong and can
easily get us into trouble.
So here is what I’ve learned: when in doubt, check it out. And if
I’m not in doubt, I still check it out. I’m sure I know what she
likes? I check it out. I believe I know what the silence is all
about? I check it out. It’s only logical? I still check it out.
We may think we know. But what we know may not be so. Best to check
it out.
This may sound simplistic, but I am always amazed how often we are
in distress over things we assume to be true. Yet nobody has checked
them out. And I also know that when I check my assumptions out, I
can expect to be surprised.
– Steve Goodier
__________
Find Steve Goodier here: http://stevegoodier.blogspot.com/.
Newsletter: http://LifeSupportSystem.com.
by editor | May 17, 2012 | Lifestyle
AUDI STAR CREATION 2012 HAS ITS TOP 12
Fashion designers from 7 countries make the cut, including Japan, Singapore and South Korea; scramble to ready collections for the May 14 runway showdown begins
7 March 2012, Singapore – The 12 aspiring fashion stars who will face off on the runway at Audi Star Creation 2012 have been picked from over 250 submissions for the regional fashion design competition. The strongest showing this year came from South Korea, which produced four finalists. Singapore and Malaysia have two finalists each, and China, Indonesia, Japan and Thailand complete the seven countries that will be represented at the finals.
The 12 finalists for Audi Star Creation 2012 are:
Liang Wang, 27, China
Natalia Kiantoro, 22, Indonesia
Tatsuya Tsukahara, 24, Japan
Ling Siu Gin, 21, Malaysia
Vincent Wong, 22, Malaysia
Eugenice Chen, 20, Singapore
Jaslin Ong, 21, Singapore
Kim Mina, 24, South Korea
Kim Soo-Jeong, 25, South Korea
Kim Yong Woo, 27, South Korea
Ko Youngji, 32, South Korea
Soravit Kaewkamon, 23, Thailand
Singapore is fielding this year’s youngest finalist – Temasek Polytechnic Apparel Design and Merchandising student Eugenice Chen, 20. The oldest contender comes from Korea – 32-year-old Ko Youngji. Details of the collections that all 12 will present on the runway are appended.
Aspiring designers from around the region were challenged to come up with six original, creative and commercially viable designs based on the theme, “Fashion Without Frontiers”. The competition was open to designers between 16 and 35 with less than two years of experience in the fashion industry, and after an intense month of judging, these 12 have been chosen to transform their ideas into catwalk-ready collections.
The final face-off takes place at the Asia Fashion Exchange’s Tent@Orchard on May 14. Three of the 12 winners stand to walk away with a $10,000 cash prize from Audi Singapore, a one-year internship with leading fashion retailer FJ Benjamin and the chance to develop a capsule collection that will be launched at Audi Star Creation 2013. Of the three, the one whose collection best embodies Audi’s design spirit of innovation, technology and progression will receive the Audi Young Designer Award (AYDA) – an additional $10,000 cash prize. This is the third time the AYDA is being presented.
Three-time Audi Star Creation judge and Vice-President of the Textile and Fashion Federation (Singapore), Mr David Wang, says this year’s judging was significantly harder given the sheer number of entries and the rising standards of submissions. This year saw a record number of 255 entries from 13 countries.
“The theme was deliberately chosen to allow for a wide interpretation, but we were surprised at how far some designers were able to push it while still infusing their collections with both personal and cultural styles. This year, we’re going to be treated to everything from military-inspired womenswear to bold and unorthodox draping. It is going to be quite spectacular,” said Mr Wang.
Audi Singapore, which has increased its stake this year in Star Creation to be the competition’s presenting sponsor, will again also be presenting the Audi Young Designer Award to one of the winners.
Mr Reinhold Carl, Managing Director of Audi Singapore, said: “Since 2010, we have kept an eye on the winners of Star Creation to give out the Audi Young Designer Award. This goes to the designer who best embodies the progressive spirit of our brand in their designs, and the past winners of the award, Daniel Ngoo and Hiroyuki Watanabe, have wowed us with distinctive twists in their work. I am most excited to see how these qualities will be embodied in the collections of this year’s participants.”
by editor | May 17, 2012 | Lifestyle
Austrian base jumper visits UK following successful completion of 71,000ft. test jump last month
LONDON, UK – WEDNESDAY 25th – THURSDAY 26th APRIL 2012: Felix Baumgartner, the Austrian BASE jumper aiming to break the speed of sound during freefall from the edge of space, has arrived in London as he makes final preparations for his record attempt later this year in Roswell, New Mexico, USA.
Fresh from the successful completion of a 71,581 ft. test flight last month, Felix now has his sights set on his final jump (120,000 ft.) which will see him attempt to break the 52-year-old world record for the highest ever freefall.
Joining him on his London visit is Colonel USAF (Retired) Joe Kittinger, the man who has held the world freefall altitude record since 1960. Felix and Joe will also be joined by Art Thompson, Technical Project Director of Red Bull Stratos, who heads up the team of scientists, meteorologists and engineers who have spent five years developing the project.
On March 15th, Felix successfully completed a test flight to an altitude of 71,581 ft. in a capsule attached to a helium balloon. After a 90-minute ascent he stepped off the platform, and proceeded to freefall for three minutes and 33 seconds, reaching a top speed of 364.4mph, before deploying his parachute at 7,890 ft. above sea level. Just over four minutes later, he landed safely 30 miles away from the original launch site in Roswell.
The test flight represents a major landmark for the project, marking the first time that the manned Red Bull Stratos capsule has crossed the Armstrong Line (approximately 62,000ft.), where low atmospheric pressure causes liquid to boil in the unprotected human body. It has also enabled Felix to freefall from more than twice the height of his previous personal best of 30,000 ft. whilst experiencing stratospheric conditions similar to those he is likely to experience when he makes the final record attempt.
Felix’s world record attempt will take place in Roswell, New Mexico and is currently scheduled to launch in the summer of 2012.
by editor | May 17, 2012 | Lifestyle
Stars of ‘The Avengers’ celebrate imagination at their New York Premiere
Stars from the summer’s most hotly anticipated film celebrated imagination at the New York premiere of ‘The Avengers’.
Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Cobie Smulders and Tom Hiddleston reflected on their experience of making the film and bringing the comic book series to the big screen.
Bombay Sapphire announces the launch of their Imagination Series Filmmakers Competition at Tribeca Film Festival this week, hosting the exclusive after-parties of Emily Blunt’s ‘Your Sister’s Sister’, Chris Rock’s ‘2 Days In New York’ and the closing premiere, summer blockbuster ‘The Avengers’.
To celebrate filmmakers around the world, Bombay Sapphire, in association with Tribeca Film Festival, is offering budding filmmakers the chance to make their own short film, using their imagination to interpret Oscar-winner Geoffrey Fletcher’s short film script.
Oscar-winning scriptwriter Geoffrey Fletcher today announces a new competition to find a rising star in filmmaking to bring his script to life.
From the 26th of April, budding filmmakers can view the script at www.imaginationseries.com and can submit their interpretation of the Geoffrey’s script on this site from the 8th of May 2012. A global judging panel, including Geoffrey Fletcher and industry leaders put together by the Tribeca Film Festival, will select five winners from a shortlist of entries who will then go on to produce and direct their own individual films and view these at a star-studded international premiere early 2013.
For more information visit www.bombaysapphire.com | www.facebook.com/BombaySapphire
