"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."
Amen.
This set of blackboards with various words of wisdom on them is 75L this weekend at Molto Bene. In fact, everything at Molto Bene is 75L or less this weekend. Cute houses, cute skyboxes, cute stuff — that's exciting!
And now, on a WTF note, the award for Keepin' It Classy on 9/11 goes to . . .
-- drumroll --
Natas Designs, for distributing this notecard that made me say, "Whaaaaaaa?":
"FREE BISTRO SET FOR 9/11
Enjoy this darling bistro set for 2 while you remember those who were lost in 9/11."
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . . I'm thinking no.
And it's got an American flag as a tablecloth, nonetheless! Now you can even put your dirty forks and coffee-stained cups on the stars and stripes while you contemplate one of the most horrific days in American history!
I try really hard not to get preachy here, but unfortunately the preacher in me is wailing at this one. Please don't use 9/11 as an excuse to pimp out your stuff. If you're giving out a commemorative T-shirt or something, I can live with that. But a BISTRO set?
That's so damn patriotic, I can hardly stand it.
I'm not running a picture of it. See it for yourself HERE if you so desire. I'm sure people will say that the creator had pure and good intentions behind this gift, and perhaps English isn't her native language. Points noted. And for the record, I actually really like that store. But it still gets a giant "WTF" from me today. Don't put the words "darling bistro set" in the same sentence as "those who were lost in 9/11." Just don't.
[UPDATE: Please note creator Natasha Shoteka's response to this blog post in Comments. She makes valid points and I appreciate the fact that, while sharing her perspective, she did not a) call me names, b) round up a bunch of people to call me more names and drop nasty notecards in my inventory, and c) ban me (and anyone in Comments who agrees with me) from her store. Refreshing! That really is keeping it classy. She pretty much just bitch-slapped me with a big slab of classy . . . and I liked it!]
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13 comments:
I STRONGLY and RESPECTFULLY disagree with you! This was done in honor of those who were lost in the horrible tragedy that happened 10 years ago today. Many many people are doing remembrance items in honor of those lost, and in an act of pure unselfishness, are NOT charging for their remembrance items. To me, this bistro set, which I fully intend to go get, is FAR classier than the "grave sites" I have seen given out by others. It is something that people can use, and sit at in reflection on time past, and hope for the future! Would you have complained had she given it out for the 4th of July? Which, might I remind you, LOTS of people died to have occur. Get your head unstuck, and be thankful that someone was classy in their tribute to the lives lost in that tragic attack!
Also, might I remind you, not EVERYONE makes clothes, some folks make FURNITURE, as well as other things, and this is the way they can show their respect.
Thanks for your moronic post, because of it, I found this lovely little bistro set, as well as a wonderful furniture creator! As for it not being classy, it is indeed classy, whereas, you are not!
I have to admit, a lot of the commercialization and spam around 9/11 does disturb me, too. Not to mention the irony of turning the American Flag into clothing and tablecloths in direct opposition to the actual Flag Rules for the flag... that type of "patriotism," ignorance of the flag code, always sets my teeth on edge.
People should be able to mourn any way they want, but most of this seems less to be mourning and more to be attention-seeking rudeness, like the posts above and the "911 truck" I've seen spammed in several groups. I have friends who still tear up and struggle to speak about their experiences on that day, and personally count myself lucky for only being afraid for the morning that my mother was on one of the planes that crashed - though in her case I was worried she was in the one which crashed into the Pentagon. We also shouldn't forget the people who took the plane down over Pennsylvania; their bravery is impressive.
Thank you, Deoridhe - I've given up on people respecting the Flag Code in SL. It sucks to see our country's flag being used as a tablecloth or, even worse, stuffed up somebody's pixelated crotch as a bikini. There are other ways to use red, white and blue besides using the flag itself.
My friend's mom was on the plane that hit the South Tower, and I went to school with one of the brave men on Flight 93. For me, this is a rather solemn day. Encouraging people to relax in a "darling French bistro set" while we think about the people who died that day rubs me the wrong way. I don't think it's an appropriate remembrance item. I knew people would disagree with this opinion, but I stand by it. Maybe it was the cheery tone of the notecard, but it just seemed like a tactic for getting people to the store. (The rest of the notecard extolled the virtues of all the great furniture there.)
Gannah, I do think it would be more appropriate as a Fourth of July gift. Yes, many people died for our freedom, but we still traditionally celebrate that holiday with joy. I would have still cringed at the flag-as-tablecloth, but like I said, I've given up on expecting the Flag Code to be respected in SL, particularly since many people are unaware of it.
Thanks for weighing in!
I am not sure what you are WTFing exactly. Out of all the things to get weird about you pick a free furniture set with no strings attached.
Let's start with the first point. I didn't provide any sort of eating or drinking devices. It is simply a table with a candle on it. It also comes with two chairs that contain a modest amount of animations. There is a prop sit, in which you can attach any sort of object with animations if you so desire. Really - could be anything. You will also find a rope of paper lanterns, all with textures I created and uploaded myself.
The "intention" is geared to having a nice set you can enjoy while sitting and talking with friends. If the tablecloth is a problem, the easy fix is to not eat at the table. Since nothing of that nature is provided - it is really up to the owner how they want to use it. An even easier fix is just not use it. It is essentially just decoration, and all it was designed to be.
On to the second point. I don't make clothes. I make furniture. I wanted to do something nice. I didn't go over the top, and I didn't make make it something useless. I don't make crap, even if it's free. I just don't. I stand by my brand regardless of the financial outcome. I was leaning toward just the paper lanterns, and a good friend of mine suggested I make it all. I thought, why not?
Which leads me to this.
I don't give out freebies. Ever. I try to support keeping the market leveled for designers. Customers are not driven to my shop because of freebies. It is solely dependent upon my designing and marketing skills. That is the choice I made, and it will never change.
I do however give out group gifts. You have to join the group to receive them - and that is once a month. You don't get bombarded with group joiners when you land in my shop, nor do you find yourself being harassed by signs encouraging you to join. The joiners are there and located in just about every room - but in no way or fashion are they ever overwhelming and annoying. You actually have to want to be in the group and look for it, or you come across it as you scan the room.
This was another choice I made.
I didn't make this 9/11 set for business. I made it because I wanted to do something nice. There is nothing required of anyone to receive it. You don't have to walk around my store to find it nor join the group. Opening the package does not spam you with group joiners. The only thing extra you will find is a landmark. That's it.
You can simply TP in, grab it and go. Never look back, ever. As far as I am concerned you don't have to remember me at all. I just wanted you to have something of quality today - that didn't cost you a thing. Not even your name.
On to the last point.
Adjectives. You have a problem with the use of adjectives in the sentence.
I think its darling, personally. I supposed I could have used another adjective - such as horrible, ugly, stupid, nice, lovely, silly, cute - you get the point.
I used darling. Tie me up and burn me on the cross. I didn't feel like the whole sentence needed to be weighty and full of sadness. It is a "darling" table and it was meant to think about "those who were lost".
It is really as simple as that.
If you would like to come by and offer services for adjective use I would be more than willing to listen.
I am a one (wo)man show and I could use all the help I can get.
You have done nothing wrong Natasha, the gift you made for us is lovely, and I for one, say THANK YOU! As for the folks claiming to be so set to the way the flag is used, if they pay attention to the, "code," they will see that is referring to the ACTUAL flag, not to replicas, which, obviously, the tablecloth on your able is. People use replicas of the flag for everything in RL as well as SL, this is simply a case of someone being upset that they did not think of something nice to do for people on a day such as this, so don;t you worry about it one iota. Thank you for being so kind, and helping us continue to heal after this tragedy!
I like your work, Natasha. If you look at your past transaction histories, you'll see that I've shopped at your store on several occasions.
Your notecard was passed to me by three different people who were equally as turned off by it. It was also discussed in one group. As I said in an earlier comment, I was thrown off by its cheerful tone, and the connection of a bistro set to 9/11 seems random to some people – so random that many people are interpreting it as a thoughtless marketing tactic.
Look, I'm just not feeling it. But as you can see from the ticked-off-at-me comments here, I don't speak for everyone. I really do appreciate the fact that you stopped by to clear up the misunderstanding. Your passion for your work and the intentions behind your gift are clearly evident now. I'm sorry that we don't see eye-to-eye on this one.
I can understand that. I have a template notecard and I do a lot of plug and play.
I can respectfully understand where I could have used more thought in the overall design of the message.
And thank you.
Anonymous:
"this is simply a case of someone being upset that they did not think of something nice to do for people on a day such as this"
No, actually I was quite clear on why I was disturbed by the Flag table cloth, and the other shows of... whatever an ASCII truck saying 'never forget' is supposed to represent.
If it makes you feel better about yourself to straw man me, to not read my post, and weirdly to carom shot me (I mean.. it's not like this is a huge discussion or my name wasn't printed right above where I posted), then by all means feel free.
Emerald, I think we talked about this once, I believe that there are many "creators" here in SL who make and donate items for a good cause, and sadly, some of them, will abuse that "good cause" just to get their name out. All in the name of charity, but the logical consequence is, they are getting traffic/attention and therefor more money from it. A darling bistro set does not sound like something to give out for 9/11. Imagine a firefighter wife who lost her husband during that day. Just an example. Wanna give her a "darling bistro set" so she can sit down with her children, eat and drink and remember that horrible day? How on earth can this sound right to you? Sorry, it just doesn't and I think IF you REALLY care, you could sell the bistro set as simply "a bistro set" and put the earned Lindens onto your RL account AND DONATE to a REAL donation fund for 9/11
without a word of advertising for your shop.
Mmmm, classy bitch-slap - my favorite~!
I do agree; her comportment on this matter was fantastic. I haven't honestly checked out her store, but I think this show of class might lead me there.
Its so refreshing to witness two people with a difference of opinion conduct themselves with such class. Bouquets for Em and Natasha. Good for you girls.
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