The Axe Effect -- Faking News...

Now, here is a story that is worth a read, true or not. It should be remembered that this story is on the same site that brought the world the news that Shahrukh Khan was going to star in the first ever gay James Bond movie (includes a movie poster).

The story appears on "Faking News" (www.fakingnews.com) and relates to a legal suit filed by an unhappy Unilever customer. Unilever is the company that makes the "Axe" range of grooming products for men. Axe or, more specifically, the 'Axe Effect' has seemingly failed dismally in helping this young 26-year-old Indian from finding a girlfriend or even scoring a single solitary date.

The crux of the case rests on false and misleading advertising which has subsequently resulted in the plaintiff suffering mental anguish at his inability to score a date despite doing everything in the manner that the advertisements show. In essence, the plaintiff liberally applies the products and goes in search of a girl (seemingly any girl) but never manages to get what he is looking for.

I am still chuckling as I write this. I have watched the ads for Axe products and those relating to the Axe Effect. Now, I would be noting that in the ads the roles are always played by beautiful people. Perhaps this suggests that the axe effect will not work for everyone. For example, if you are so unattractive (for whatever reason) that women avoid you or resist your advances, then it is unlikely that any amount of axe is going to change their mind.

There are some great pictures on the internet associated with the "Axe Effect".

There are some truly creative people out there in the world. And it is this level of creativity that restores faith in the idea that we as human beings have great capacities to think outside the box. That might seem a little out of place in this post. However, think about it, if someone can come up with the idea to sue Unilever because they used a product for false and misleading advertising because he remains without a girlfriend after seven long years of almost religious use of the Axe product, then imagine if that creativity was put to more serious endeavours...

Still shaking my head at the thought of this possibly being real :)

A Black Bond?

This past week or so has seen a few firsts, and first among these is the election of Barack Hussein Obama as the first black President of the United States of America. Obama showed the world what charisma, hope, and a disciplined message can achieve.

Just the weekend before the F1 world saw Lewis Hamilton become the first black F1 Champion of the World. In Hamilton's case it was all about someone giving him a shot, a shot that he had earned coming up through the ranks, and his driving skills took care of the rest.

This has led the current James Bond, Daniel Craig to suggest that it is about time there was a colored Bond.

Actually, what Craig said was, "After Barack Obama's victory I think we might have reached the moment for a coloured 007."

A black Bond would be not outside the realm of belief. I do not recall anyone saying that MI6 or whatever it is now being an exclusively Anglo or white employer.

Relationship Enders

These were written by a fella named David Wygant. I do not know who he is and I am too lazy to do an Internet search to find out. These six relationship breakers were written for "daters" but I figure they would apply to married couples as well.

Happy Reading!

1. Prying into private info. If you suspect your partner of betrayal, does that give you the right to start reading your partner's email? To listen to his/her voicemail messages? To hack into his/her online profile? The answer to all of these is "no!" You should never dig through your partner's personal emails or listen to your partner's voicemail messages. You should never dig through your partner's personal emails or listen to your partner's voicemail messages. By doing this, you violate not only your partner's trust, but also the trust your partner has with anyone who left those voice messages and emails.

2. Lying for the greater good. Lying is never good in a relationship, although we've probably all been guilty of doing it. Lying to your partner in an effort to avoid hurting him/her or to avoid confrontation may seem like a wise decision. Regrettably, you will end up digging a deeper hole for yourself when that lie is exposed, which is almost always inevitable. When caught in this situation, you end up hurting your partner anyway, and whatever you were trying to protect your partner from -- by lying to them -- will be even worse because of your deception. I recommend honestly communicating with your partner from the get-go.

3. Pulling a "James Bond." You should never snoop in your partner's private things (drawers, wallet, filing cabinet, or private records -- such as bank or credit card statements). Furthermore, nothing justifies snooping. No matter what you have a "hunch" about, snooping through your partner's things should never be pursued to confirm or deny your hunch. Your partner's possessions and personal records should be kept private unless he/she gives you permission to look at them. Spying on your partner is one of the most blatant violations of your partner's trust and will achieve nothing except having your partner never trust you to be alone near his/her things ever again.

4. Designating yourself "Magnum P.I." Another ill-advised way some people try to verify suspected bad behavior by their partner is to take on the role of private investigator by attempting to "catch their partner in the act" of doing something. Whether this takes the form of searching for your partner's car by driving by his/her house, work, or gym or it takes the form of following your partner in your car, this is something you should never do. Even if you have a convincing hunch that your partner is hiding something from you, stalking is the wrong way to address it. If your partner finds out you've been "tailing him/her" in your car, he/she will no longer trust you.

5. Sending others to do your dirty work. Don't ever send a friend or anyone else to gather information for you about your partner or to spy on your partner for you. This means, don't send a friend to go hang out where you know or suspect your partner will be. Don't have your friend try to eavesdrop on your partner's conversations in places he/she goes. Don't ask your friends to use their cell phone to snap covert pictures of your partner. All of these favors from friends not only violate your partner's trust, but also reveal your total lack of trust in your partner.

6. Checking up constantly. One of the biggest ways to reveal that you don't trust your partner is to manifest that distrust with paranoid and obsessive behavior. While calling your partner regularly is quite normal, calling him/her incessantly to "check up" comes off as obsessive and will drive your partner away. If, for example, your partner is unable to answer his/her phone for a few hours and by the time he/she accesses it he/she discovers you've called 50 times, you not only come off as being paranoid and obsessive, but you clearly communicate to your partner that you distrust him/her. Also, when you panic every time 10 minutes go by without a reply from your partner by a phone call or an email, it sends the exact same message.

Man Boobs (aka Moobs)

Man boobs are not sexy on any man and it seems that the Court of Appeal of the United Kingdom sitting in London agrees. The effect of the decision means that it is legal to not only look at moobs but to photograph and video them till your hearts content. Simply, moobs are not deemed in the legal sense to be "private parts" and are therefore not sexual in nature.

The reason this case was heard was that a gentleman by the name of Kevin Bassett was found guilty in a lower court of voyeurism for filming the moobs of a fella taking a shower after a swim. The filming took place at a public pool in the changing area where once someone has had a swim there are open air showering facilities made available to wash off the chlorine.

The charges were laid under the 2003 Sexual Offences Act and voyeurism requires that the breasts be exposed for the charge to be made out. The Court of Appeal made a distinction between the breasts of a woman and the moobs of men. Moobs are not deemed to be private parts.

Interestingly, this was not an open filming but rather a hidden camera (in a bag) and there were plenty of children about. Mr. Bassett is a middle-aged man. So, when the camera was spotted you can imagine that there was a heated exchange between Mr. Bassett and the other pool goers. However, part of the Bassett defense was that he was a homosexual man and not interested in filming the little children but only the adult men. In light of the charges brought against him the video must have borne that out and there must have only been images of adult men!

The Court of Appeal ultimately held that the lower court judge had erred in allowing the jury to consider that the images were ones of breasts in the manner intended under the 2003 legislation. The Court quashed the conviction.

So, any fellas out there with moobs -- you might want to keep your shirt on!