IN LIFE AS IN THE DANCE : GRACE GLIDES

ON BLISTERED FEET.
---Alice Abrams

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Manic Monday - Lie

My friend, Mo, has done it this week: I'm stumped! I've got so many ways to go with this, I didn't know which way to go...So here it is:

I get the goofiest e-mail from well-intentioned friends who would never think of lying but are propagating lies, just the same. My former sister-in-law still thinks that the board of Proctor and Gamble are Satan worshippers, all because of the moon and stars in their logo. Have you ever received that e-mail? Sheesh! Any person with a brain (sorry, former sister-in-law) wouldn't forward that crap, but they do. Then there's one going around now about the Pepsi can. It seems that Pepsi decided to remove the words "Under God" from a patriotic soft drink can. Heaven forbid! (Didn't happen!)
And then there are those that tug at your heartstrings: A story about a 6-year old girl who, while on a visit to Wal-Mart with her brother, gets trapped in a bathroom during a fire. At first her family assumes she has died but they later learn she's in the hospital, is severely burned, and needs surgery. The family can't pay for it, but you can help because AOL is going to give $2 toward her medical care for every email that is forwarded around the Internet. FICTION!
I know you've all seen these things. Some of them promise tons of money by big companies if you just forward an e-mail. Sure enough.
I was always taught to verify stuff before I passed it along as truth. So once I got my first Nigerian prince e-mail, I learned about "Truth or Fiction" and "Snopes" , where you can verify any story making the rounds. In fact, both sites are fascinating reading! It is amazing what gets passed around out there! And they also have some pretty amazing doctored photos, too.
So, the next time you get an e-mail from weird "Cousin Eddie," and you're just not too sure about it, check out "Truth or Fiction" or "Snopes."
And just for fun, here's a photo of Katie lying down with her "baby."

22 comments:

Unknown said...

I really enjoyed reading your piece on the MM 'LIE'! Thanks for the link, I shall bookmark it and place a link on my blog.

I have a question. In visiting other blogs, I've noticed that some of the comment links don't say comments, but rather something else. Yours for ex: says 'echoes' (but you already knew that).How Did you change it? I'd appreciate the tid-bit and that's no lie!

~smile~

Claire said...

Ermm your stumped? Well this is a bloody good stumped post!

Durward Discussion said...

Does everyone have at least one "e-mailer" who believes EVERYTHING they receive not to mention all the chain letters. I love my cousin to death, but the woman shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a computer. :-)

Jersey - The Furry Diva said...

I wanna lie down next to Katie, Miss Gracie =)

Happy MM
*woof*

Empress Bee (of the high sea) said...

sigh... yes i have two of these people myself! great post gracie!

smiles, bee

Sarge Charlie said...

That is a good one Gracie, you have a cute dog also.

Unknown said...

Excellent, Gracie! Thanks for introducing those sites. I went to "Truth or Fiction" immediately and searched for an email I recieved 4 days ago. It was about "Parasites infecting breasts" and the included picture (larva) made me throw up... although I knew it was photoshoped (badly). The mentioned picture remains stuck in my head. Couldn´t eat since I saw it.
However, this email is up at "Truth or Fiction" already... of course it was an "urban story" - a big fat lie...

Anonymous said...

Gracie, what a wonderful take on today's theme!

I have several folks who forward these inane emails...Despite the fact I email them back the truth or fiction response, I STILL get more false ones from them then true ones...

Miss Katie is a cutie pie...
Yes, I vote for more furbaby pics.

Anonymous said...

what a wonderful looking companion you have there--great post, Gracie!

Sandee said...

I use Snopes all the time. I too have a full email box of lies and more lies. Even after you send them the Snopes link to check they still send the junk. Great post Gracie. Have a great MM. :)

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Mo and The Purries said...

I really hate those faux-mails that purport truth (like the Satanic symbol in the P&G logo -- sheesh!) - and yes, I get about a half dozen spam-a-lot UK Lottery "you won" e-mails a day. Unless Claire is buying me lotto tickets, I'm guessing these are just big LIES.

katherine. said...

great post! I never believe everything I read...or hear...or see for that matter...smile


ambre: this a great blog you can learn all kinds of things.
Blogger Tips and Tricks

Alice (in BC Canada) said...

Great post, Gracie! I wish more people would check them out before sending them on, but know they mean well. I've learned about Snopes, and now thanks to you I have a second site to check.

Happy MM.

Alice (in BC Canada) said...

Reba is too busy to come lie her paws upon the keyboard, so has asked me to please tell you she hopes to see you on her dog blog. Sigh... the silly girl is having a lie down just now.


http://rebasrun.blogspot.com

Linda said...

Sometimes people will believe anything that shows up in their mailbox - real or virtual. Thanks for pointing out the places to go so that people can know truth from lies.

Now if you'll excuse me I have a young child in Ohio that needs my email forwarded so her family can get money to send her to modeling school ...

Travis Cody said...

For being stumped, that turned into quite the excellent post.

Happy MM!

Bobby Griffin said...

The results are in!! Check em out and see where your blog ranks!

K.M. Saint James said...

Love your blog and the music.

Great post.

It makes me crazy the number of "YOU JUST HAVE TO KNOW THIS" emails I get from friends. What a waste of time.

And anything that starts with or ends with 'forward this to # of people right now or the skies will open up and Chicken Little will fall on you' ends up in my Trash basket as fast as I can hit the delete key.

Sarge Charlie said...

just so you know, i tagged you

A Friend said...

Great information. I am so glad I stopped by!

Carrie said...

I'd never heard of Snopes until recently I posted something on a forum that looked like it was written by Jay Leno. I got hazed about it and directed to Snopes, where I learned that the bulk of the writing was by another author, and he had included a quote by Jay Leno at the end, but as the information got forwarded around, the whole thing eventually ended up attributed to Jay Leno.
As for some of the other stuff.. it's amazing how gullible people can be!