How Blog Spam is Generated

I’ve talked about blog spam a lot, because I get a lot of it here. Akismet takes most of the pain away automatically, for which I love them, but the occasional piece of camel ejecta filters through which I must designate as spam manually.

I happened to browse the comments on another blog post today, and I found the following script core, posted by a less-than-careful blog spammer. Something went wrong, and instead of delivering a single randomized comment, the entire database was posted. I thought this was interesting, because I have received/seen pieces of this script in my own blog and many others.

I’m sharing it because I thought you might find it interesting as well.

{
{I have|I’ve} been {surfing|browsing} online more than {three|3|2|4} hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours.
{It’s|It is} pretty worth enough for me. {In my opinion|Personally|In my view},
if all {webmasters|site owners|website owners|web
owners} and bloggers made good content as you
did, the {internet|net|web} will be {much more|a lot more} useful than
ever before.|
I {couldn’t|could not} {resist|refrain from} commenting.
{Very well|Perfectly|Well|Exceptionally well} written!|
{I will|I’ll} {right away|immediately} {take hold
of|grab|clutch|grasp|seize|snatch} your {rss|rss feed} as I {can not|can’t} {in finding|find|to find} your {email|e-mail} subscription {link|hyperlink}
or {newsletter|e-newsletter} service. Do {you have|you’ve} any?
{Please|Kindly} {allow|permit|let} me {realize|recognize|understand|recognise|know}
{so that|in order that} I {may just|may|could} subscribe.
Thanks.|
{It is|It’s} {appropriate|perfect|the best} time to make some plans for the
future and {it is|it’s} time to be happy. {I have|I’ve} read this post and if I could I {want to|wish to|desire to} suggest you {few|some} interesting
things or {advice|suggestions|tips}. {Perhaps|Maybe} you
{could|can} write next articles referring to this article.
I {want to|wish to|desire to} read {more|even more} things about it!|
{It is|It’s} {appropriate|perfect|the best} time to make {a few|some} plans for {the future|the longer term|the long run} and
{it is|it’s} time to be happy. {I have|I’ve} {read|learn} this {post|submit|publish|put up}
and if I {may just|may|could} I {want to|wish to|desire to} {suggest|recommend|counsel} you {few|some} {interesting|fascinating|attention-grabbing} {things|issues} or {advice|suggestions|tips}.
{Perhaps|Maybe} you {could|can} write {next|subsequent} articles {relating to|referring to|regarding} this article.
I {want to|wish to|desire to} {read|learn} {more|even more} {things|issues} {approximately|about} it!|
{I have|I’ve} been {surfing|browsing} {online|on-line} {more than|greater than} {three|3} hours {these
days|nowadays|today|lately|as of late}, {yet|but} I {never|by no means}
{found|discovered} any {interesting|fascinating|attention-grabbing}
article like yours. {It’s|It is} {lovely|pretty|beautiful} {worth|value|price} {enough|sufficient} for me.
{In my opinion|Personally|In my view}, if all {webmasters|site owners|website owners|web owners} and bloggers made {just right|good|excellent} {content|content material} as {you did|you probably did}, the
{internet|net|web} {will be|shall be|might be|will probably be|can be|will likely be} {much more|a lot more} {useful|helpful} than ever before.|
Ahaa, its {nice|pleasant|good|fastidious} {discussion|conversation|dialogue} {regarding|concerning|about|on the topic of} this {article|post|piece of
writing|paragraph} {here|at this place} at this {blog|weblog|webpage|website|web
site}, I have read all that, so {now|at this
time} me also commenting {here|at this place}.|
I am sure this {article|post|piece of writing|paragraph} has touched all the internet {users|people|viewers|visitors},
its really really {nice|pleasant|good|fastidious}
{article|post|piece of writing|paragraph} on building up new {blog|weblog|webpage|website|web site}.|
Wow, this {article|post|piece of writing|paragraph} is {nice|pleasant|good|fastidious}, my {sister|younger sister} is analyzing {such|these|these kinds of} things, {so|thus|therefore} I am going to {tell|inform|let know|convey} her.|
{Saved as a favorite|bookmarked!!}, {I really like|I like|I love} {your blog|your site|your web site|your website}!|
Way cool! Some {very|extremely} valid points!
I appreciate you {writing this|penning this} {article|post|write-up}
{and the|and also the|plus the} rest of the {site is|website is} {also very|extremely|very|also really|really}
good.|
Hi, {I do believe|I do think} {this is an excellent|this is a great} {blog|website|web site|site}.
I stumbledupon it 😉 {I will|I am going to|I’m going to|I may} {come back|return|revisit}
{once again|yet again} {since I|since i have} {bookmarked|book marked|book-marked|saved as
a favorite} it. Money and freedom {is the best|is the greatest} way to change, may you be rich and
continue to {help|guide} {other people|others}.|
Woah! I’m really {loving|enjoying|digging} the template/theme of
this {site|website|blog}. It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s {very hard|very difficult|challenging|tough|difficult|hard} to get that “perfect balance” between {superb usability|user friendliness|usability} and {visual appearance|visual appeal|appearance}.
I must say {that you’ve|you have|you’ve} done a {awesome|amazing|very good|superb|fantastic|excellent|great} job with this.
{In addition|Additionally|Also}, the blog loads {very|extremely|super} {fast|quick} for
me on {Safari|Internet explorer|Chrome|Opera|Firefox}.
{Superb|Exceptional|Outstanding|Excellent} Blog!|
These are {really|actually|in fact|truly|genuinely} {great|enormous|impressive|wonderful|fantastic}
ideas in {regarding|concerning|about|on the topic of} blogging.
You have touched some {nice|pleasant|good|fastidious} {points|factors|things}
here. Any way keep up wrinting.|
{I love|I really like|I enjoy|I like|Everyone loves} what you
guys {are|are usually|tend to be} up too. {This sort of|This type of|Such|This kind of} clever work
and {exposure|coverage|reporting}! Keep up the {superb|terrific|very good|great|good|awesome|fantastic|excellent|amazing|wonderful} works guys I’ve {incorporated||added|included} you guys to {|my|our||my personal|my own} blogroll.|
{Howdy|Hi there|Hey there|Hi|Hello|Hey}! Someone in my {Myspace|Facebook} group shared this
{site|website} with us so I came to {give it a look|look it
over|take a look|check it out}. I’m definitely {enjoying|loving} the
information. I’m {book-marking|bookmarking} and will be tweeting this to my followers!
{Terrific|Wonderful|Great|Fantastic|Outstanding|Exceptional|Superb|Excellent} blog and {wonderful|terrific|brilliant|amazing|great|excellent|fantastic|outstanding|superb}
{style and design|design and style|design}.|
{I love|I really like|I enjoy|I like|Everyone loves} what you guys {are|are
usually|tend to be} up too. {This sort of|This type of|Such|This kind of} clever work and {exposure|coverage|reporting}!
Keep up the {superb|terrific|very good|great|good|awesome|fantastic|excellent|amazing|wonderful} works guys I’ve {incorporated|added|included} you
guys to {|my|our|my personal|my own} blogroll.|
{Howdy|Hi there|Hey there|Hi|Hello|Hey} would
you mind {stating|sharing} which blog platform you’re {working with|using}?
I’m {looking|planning|going} to start my own blog {in the near
future|soon} but I’m having a {tough|difficult|hard} time {making a decision|selecting|choosing|deciding} between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal.
The reason I ask is because your {design and style|design|layout} seems different then most blogs
and I’m looking for something {completely unique|unique}.
P.S {My apologies|Apologies|Sorry} for {getting|being} off-topic but I had to ask!|
{Howdy|Hi there|Hi|Hey there|Hello|Hey} would you mind letting me know which {webhost|hosting company|web host} you’re {utilizing|working with|using}?
I’ve loaded your blog in 3 {completely different|different} {internet browsers|web browsers|browsers} and I must say this
blog loads a lot {quicker|faster} then most. Can you {suggest|recommend} a
good {internet hosting|web hosting|hosting} provider at a {honest|reasonable|fair} price?
{Thanks a lot|Kudos|Cheers|Thank you|Many thanks|Thanks}, I appreciate it!|
{I love|I really like|I like|Everyone loves} it {when people|when individuals|when folks|whenever people} {come
together|get together} and share {opinions|thoughts|views|ideas}.
Great {blog|website|site}, {keep it up|continue the good work|stick with it}!|
Thank you for the {auspicious|good} writeup.
It in fact was a amusement account it. Look advanced to
{far|more} added agreeable from you! {By the way|However}, how {can|could} we communicate?|
{Howdy|Hi there|Hey there|Hello|Hey} just wanted to give
you a quick heads up. The {text|words} in your {content|post|article} seem to be running off the screen in {Ie|Internet
explorer|Chrome|Firefox|Safari|Opera}. I’m not sure if this is a {format|formatting}
issue or something to do with {web browser|internet browser|browser} compatibility but I
{thought|figured} I’d post to let you know. The {style and design|design and style|layout|design}
look great though! Hope you get the {problem|issue} {solved|resolved|fixed} soon.
{Kudos|Cheers|Many thanks|Thanks}|
This is a topic {that is|that’s|which is} {close to|near to} my heart…
{Cheers|Many thanks|Best wishes|Take care|Thank you}!
{Where|Exactly where} are your contact details though?|
It’s very {easy|simple|trouble-free|straightforward|effortless} to find out
any {topic|matter} on {net|web} as compared to {books|textbooks}, as I found this {article|post|piece of writing|paragraph} at
this {website|web site|site|web page}.|
Does your {site|website|blog} have a contact page? I’m having {a tough time|problems|trouble} locating it
but, I’d like to {send|shoot} you an {e-mail|email}. I’ve got some {creative ideas|recommendations|suggestions|ideas} for your blog you might be interested in hearing.
Either way, great {site|website|blog} and I look forward to seeing it {develop|improve|expand|grow} over time.|
{Hola|Hey there|Hi|Hello|Greetings}! I’ve been {following|reading} your {site|web site|website|weblog|blog} for {a long time|a while|some time}
now and finally got the {bravery|courage} to go ahead and give you a shout out from {New
Caney|Kingwood|Huffman|Porter|Houston|Dallas|Austin|Lubbock|Humble|Atascocita} {Tx|Texas}!
Just wanted to {tell you|mention|say} keep up the {fantastic|excellent|great|good} {job|work}!|
Greetings from {Idaho|Carolina|Ohio|Colorado|Florida|Los angeles|California}!
I’m {bored to tears|bored to death|bored} at work so I decided to {check out|browse} your {site|website|blog} on my iphone during lunch break.
I {enjoy|really like|love} the {knowledge|info|information} you {present|provide} here and can’t wait to take a look when I get home.
I’m {shocked|amazed|surprised} at how {quick|fast}
your blog loaded on my {mobile|cell phone|phone} ..
I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. {Anyhow|Anyways}, {awesome|amazing|very good|superb|good|wonderful|fantastic|excellent|great}
{site|blog}!|
Its {like you|such as you} {read|learn} my {mind|thoughts}!
You {seem|appear} {to understand|to know|to grasp} {so much|a lot} {approximately|about} this, {like you|such as you} wrote the {book|e-book|guide|ebook|e book} in it or something.
{I think|I feel|I believe} {that you|that you simply|that you just} {could|can} do with {some|a few} {%|p.c.|percent} to {force|pressure|drive|power}
the message {house|home} {a bit|a little bit}, {however|but} {other than|instead of} that, {this is|that is} {great|wonderful|fantastic|magnificent|excellent}
blog. {A great|An excellent|A fantastic} read.
{I’ll|I will} {definitely|certainly} be back.|
I visited {multiple|many|several|various} {websites|sites|web sites|web
pages|blogs} {but|except|however} the audio {quality|feature} for audio
songs {current|present|existing} at this {website|web site|site|web page} is {really|actually|in fact|truly|genuinely} {marvelous|wonderful|excellent|fabulous|superb}.|
{Howdy|Hi there|Hi|Hello}, i read your blog
{occasionally|from time to time} and i own a similar one and
i was just {wondering|curious} if you get a
lot of spam {comments|responses|feedback|remarks}?
If so how do you {prevent|reduce|stop|protect against}
it, any plugin or anything you can {advise|suggest|recommend}?
I get so much lately it’s driving me {mad|insane|crazy} so any {assistance|help|support}
is very much appreciated.|
Greetings! {Very helpful|Very useful} advice {within this|in
this particular} {article|post}! {It is the|It’s the} little changes {that make|which will make|that produce|that will make} {the biggest|the largest|the greatest|the most important|the most significant} changes.
{Thanks a lot|Thanks|Many thanks} for sharing!|
{I really|I truly|I seriously|I absolutely} love {your blog|your
site|your website}.. {Very nice|Excellent|Pleasant|Great} colors & theme.
Did you {create|develop|make|build} {this website|this site|this web site|this amazing site}
yourself? Please reply back as I’m {looking to|trying to|planning to|wanting
to|hoping to|attempting to} create {my own|my very own|my own personal} {blog|website|site} and {would like to|want to|would love to}
{know|learn|find out} where you got this from or {what the|exactly what
the|just what the} theme {is called|is named}.
{Thanks|Many thanks|Thank you|Cheers|Appreciate it|Kudos}!|
{Hi there|Hello there|Howdy}! This {post|article|blog post} {couldn’t|could
not} be written {any better|much better}! {Reading through|Looking at|Going through|Looking
through} this {post|article} reminds me of my previous roommate!
He {always|constantly|continually} kept {talking about|preaching about} this.
{I will|I’ll|I am going to|I most certainly will} {forward|send} {this article|this information|this post} to him.
{Pretty sure|Fairly certain} {he will|he’ll|he’s going to} {have
a good|have a very good|have a great} read. {Thank you for|Thanks for|Many thanks for|I appreciate you for} sharing!|
{Wow|Whoa|Incredible|Amazing}! This blog looks {exactly|just}
like my old one! It’s on a {completely|entirely|totally} different
{topic|subject} but it has pretty much the same {layout|page layout} and
design. {Excellent|Wonderful|Great|Outstanding|Superb} choice of colors!|
{There is|There’s} {definately|certainly} {a lot to|a great deal
to} {know about|learn about|find out about} this {subject|topic|issue}.
{I like|I love|I really like} {all the|all of the} points {you made|you’ve made|you have made}.|
{You made|You’ve made|You have made} some {decent|good|really good} points there.
I {looked|checked} {on the internet|on the web|on the net} {for more info|for more information|to
find out more|to learn more|for additional information} about the issue and found {most
individuals|most people} will go along with your views on
{this website|this site|this web site}.|
{Hi|Hello|Hi there|What’s up}, I {log on to|check|read}
your {new stuff|blogs|blog} {regularly|like every week|daily|on
a regular basis}. Your {story-telling|writing|humoristic} style is {awesome|witty}, keep {doing what you’re doing|up the good work|it up}!|
I {simply|just} {could not|couldn’t} {leave|depart|go away} your {site|web site|website} {prior to|before} suggesting that
I {really|extremely|actually} {enjoyed|loved} {the standard|the usual} {information|info} {a person|an individual} {supply|provide} {for your|on your|in your|to your} {visitors|guests}?
Is {going to|gonna} be {back|again} {frequently|regularly|incessantly|steadily|ceaselessly|often|continuously} {in order to|to}
{check up on|check out|inspect|investigate cross-check} new
posts|
{I wanted|I needed|I want to|I need to} to thank you for this {great|excellent|fantastic|wonderful|good|very good} read!!
I {definitely|certainly|absolutely} {enjoyed|loved} every {little bit
of|bit of} it. {I have|I’ve got|I have got} you {bookmarked|book
marked|book-marked|saved as a favorite} {to check out|to look
at} new {stuff you|things you} post…|
{Hi|Hello|Hi there|What’s up}, just wanted to {mention|say|tell you}, I {enjoyed|liked|loved}
this {article|post|blog post}. It was {inspiring|funny|practical|helpful}.
Keep on posting!|
I {{leave|drop|{write|create}} a {comment|leave a
response}|drop a {comment|leave a response}|{comment|leave a response}} {each time|when|whenever} I {appreciate|like|especially enjoy} a {post|article} on a {site|{blog|website}|site|website} or {I
have|if I have} something to {add|contribute|valuable to contribute} {to the discussion|to the conversation}.
{It is|Usually it is|Usually it’s|It’s} {a result of|triggered
by|caused by} the {passion|fire|sincerness} {communicated|displayed} in
the {post|article} I {read|looked at|browsed}. And {on|after} this {post|article} Most Crowded Beach | The Titanic Awards.
I {{was|was actually} moved|{was|was actually} excited} enough to {drop|{leave|drop|{write|create}}|post} a {thought|{comment|{comment|leave
a response}a response}} {:-P|:)|;)|;-)|:-)} I {do have|actually do have} {{some|a few} questions|a couple of questions|2 questions}
for you {if you {don’t|do not|usually do not|tend not to} mind|if it’s {allright|okay}}.
{Is it|Could it be} {just|only|simply} me or {do|does it {seem|appear|give the impression|look|look as
if|look like} like} {some|a few} of {the|these} {comments|responses|remarks} {look|appear|come across} {like they are|as if they are|like}
{coming from|written by|left by} brain dead {people|visitors|folks|individuals}?
😛 And, if you are {posting|writing} {on|at} {other|additional} {sites|social sites|online
sites|online social sites|places}, {I’d|I would} like
to {follow|keep up with} {you|{anything|everything} {new|fresh} you have to
post}. {Could|Would} you {list|make a list} {all|every one|the complete urls} of {your|all your} {social|communal|community|public|shared} {pages|sites} like your {twitter feed,
Facebook page or linkedin profile|linkedin profile, Facebook page or twitter feed|Facebook page, twitter feed, or linkedin
profile}?|
{Hi there|Hello}, I enjoy reading {all of|through} your {article|post|article post}.
I {like|wanted} to write a little comment to support you.|
I {always|constantly|every time} spent my half an hour to read
this {blog|weblog|webpage|website|web site}’s {articles|posts|articles or reviews|content} {everyday|daily|every day|all
the time} along with a {cup|mug} of coffee.|
I {always|for all time|all the time|constantly|every time} emailed this {blog|weblog|webpage|website|web site} post page to all my {friends|associates|contacts}, {because|since|as|for the reason that} if like to read it {then|after that|next|afterward} my {friends|links|contacts} will too.|
My {coder|programmer|developer} is trying to {persuade|convince} me to move to .net from PHP.
I have always disliked the idea because of the {expenses|costs}.
But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using {Movable-type|WordPress} on {a number of|a variety of|numerous|several|various} websites for about a year and am {nervous|anxious|worried|concerned} about
switching to another platform. I have heard {fantastic|very good|excellent|great|good} things about
blogengine.net. Is there a way I can {transfer|import} all my wordpress {content|posts} into it?
{Any kind of|Any} help would be {really|greatly} appreciated!|
{Hello|Hi|Hello there|Hi there|Howdy|Good day}!
I could have sworn I’ve {been to|visited} {this blog|this web
site|this website|this site|your blog} before but after {browsing
through|going through|looking at} {some of the|a few of the|many of the} {posts|articles} I realized it’s new to me.
{Anyways|Anyhow|Nonetheless|Regardless}, I’m {definitely|certainly}
{happy|pleased|delighted} {I found|I discovered|I came across|I stumbled upon} it and I’ll be {bookmarking|book-marking} it
and checking back {frequently|regularly|often}!|
{Terrific|Great|Wonderful} {article|work}! {This is|That is} {the type of|the kind of} {information|info} {that
are meant to|that are supposed to|that should} be shared {around the|across the} {web|internet|net}.
{Disgrace|Shame} on {the {seek|search} engines|Google} for
{now not|not|no longer} positioning this {post|submit|publish|put up}
{upper|higher}! Come on over and {talk over with|discuss with|seek advice from|visit|consult with} my
{site|web site|website} . {Thank you|Thanks} =)|
Heya {i’m|i am} for the first time here. I {came across|found} this board
and I find It {truly|really} useful & it helped me out {a lot|much}.
I hope to give something back and {help|aid} others like you {helped|aided} me.|
{Hi|Hello|Hi there|Hello there|Howdy|Greetings}, {I think|I believe|I do believe|I do think|There’s no doubt that}
{your site|your website|your web site|your blog} {might be|may be|could be|could possibly be} having {browser|internet browser|web browser} compatibility {issues|problems}.
{When I|Whenever I} {look at your|take a look at your} {website|web site|site|blog} in Safari, it looks fine {but when|however when|however, if|however,
when} opening in {Internet Explorer|IE|I.E.},
{it has|it’s got} some overlapping issues. {I just|I simply|I merely} wanted to {give you a|provide you with a} quick heads up!
{Other than that|Apart from that|Besides that|Aside from that}, {fantastic|wonderful|great|excellent}
{blog|website|site}!|
{A person|Someone|Somebody} {necessarily|essentially} {lend a hand|help|assist} to make {seriously|critically|significantly|severely} {articles|posts} {I
would|I might|I’d} state. {This is|That is} the {first|very first} time I frequented your
{web page|website page} and {to this point|so far|thus far|up to now}?
I {amazed|surprised} with the {research|analysis} you made to {create|make} {this actual|this particular} {post|submit|publish|put up} {incredible|amazing|extraordinary}.
{Great|Wonderful|Fantastic|Magnificent|Excellent} {task|process|activity|job}!|
Heya {i’m|i am} for {the primary|the first} time here. I {came
across|found} this board and I {in finding|find|to find} It {truly|really} {useful|helpful} & it helped me out
{a lot|much}. {I am hoping|I hope|I’m hoping} {to give|to offer|to provide|to present} {something|one thing} {back|again} and {help|aid} others {like you|such as you} {helped|aided} me.|
{Hello|Hi|Hello there|Hi there|Howdy|Good day|Hey there}!
{I just|I simply} {would like to|want to|wish to} {give you a|offer you a} {huge|big} thumbs up {for the|for your} {great|excellent} {info|information} {you have|you’ve got|you have got} {here|right here} on this post.
{I will be|I’ll be|I am} {coming back to|returning to} {your blog|your site|your website|your web site}
for more soon.|
I {always|all the time|every time} used to {read|study} {article|post|piece of writing|paragraph} in news papers but now as
I am a user of {internet|web|net} {so|thus|therefore} from now I am using net for {articles|posts|articles or reviews|content}, thanks to web.|
Your {way|method|means|mode} of {describing|explaining|telling} {everything|all|the whole thing}
in this {article|post|piece of writing|paragraph} is {really|actually|in fact|truly|genuinely} {nice|pleasant|good|fastidious}, {all|every one} {can|be able
to|be capable of} {easily|without difficulty|effortlessly|simply}
{understand|know|be aware of} it, Thanks a lot.|
{Hi|Hello} there, {I found|I discovered} your {blog|website|web site|site} {by means of|via|by the use of|by way of} Google {at the same time as|whilst|even as|while}
{searching for|looking for} a {similar|comparable|related} {topic|matter|subject},
your {site|web site|website} {got here|came} up, it {looks|appears|seems|seems to
be|appears to be like} {good|great}. {I have|I’ve} bookmarked it in
my google bookmarks.
{Hello|Hi} there, {simply|just} {turned into|became|was|become|changed into} {aware of|alert
to} your {blog|weblog} {thru|through|via} Google, {and found|and located} that {it is|it’s} {really|truly}
informative. {I’m|I am} {gonna|going to} {watch out|be careful} for
brussels. {I will|I’ll} {appreciate|be grateful} {if
you|should you|when you|in the event you|in case you|for
those who|if you happen to} {continue|proceed} this {in future}.
{A lot of|Lots of|Many|Numerous} {other folks|folks|other people|people} {will be|shall be|might be|will probably
be|can be|will likely be} benefited {from your|out of your} writing.
Cheers!|
{I am|I’m} curious to find out what blog {system|platform} {you
have been|you happen to be|you are|you’re} {working with|utilizing|using}?
I’m {experiencing|having} some {minor|small} security {problems|issues} with my latest {site|website|blog}
and {I would|I’d} like to find something more {safe|risk-free|safeguarded|secure}.
Do you have any {solutions|suggestions|recommendations}?|
{I am|I’m} {extremely|really} impressed with your writing skills {and also|as
well as} with the layout on your {blog|weblog}. Is this a paid theme or did you {customize|modify} it yourself?
{Either way|Anyway} keep up the {nice|excellent} quality writing, {it’s|it is} rare to see a {nice|great} blog like this one {these days|nowadays|today}.|
{I am|I’m} {extremely|really} {inspired|impressed} {with your|together with your|along with your} writing {talents|skills|abilities} {and also|as {smartly|well|neatly} as} with the
{layout|format|structure} {for your|on your|in your|to your} {blog|weblog}.
{Is this|Is that this} a paid {subject|topic|subject matter|theme}
or did you {customize|modify} it {yourself|your self}? {Either way|Anyway}
{stay|keep} up the {nice|excellent} {quality|high quality} writing, {it’s|it
is} {rare|uncommon} {to peer|to see|to look} a {nice|great} {blog|weblog} like this one {these days|nowadays|today}..|
{Hi|Hello}, Neat post. {There is|There’s} {a problem|an issue} {with your|together with your|along with your} {site|web site|website} in {internet|web}
explorer, {may|might|could|would} {check|test} this? IE {still|nonetheless}
is the {marketplace|market} {leader|chief} and {a large|a good|a big|a huge} {part of|section of|component to|portion of|component of|element of} {other folks|folks|other
people|people} will {leave out|omit|miss|pass over} your
{great|wonderful|fantastic|magnificent|excellent} writing
{due to|because of} this problem.|
{I’m|I am} not sure where {you are|you’re} getting your
{info|information}, but {good|great} topic.
I needs to spend some time learning {more|much more} or
understanding more. Thanks for {great|wonderful|fantastic|magnificent|excellent} {information|info} I was looking for this {information|info} for my mission.|
{Hi|Hello}, i think that i saw you visited my {blog|weblog|website|web site|site} {so|thus} i came to
“return the favor”.{I am|I’m} {trying to|attempting
to} find things to {improve|enhance} my {website|site|web site}!I suppose its ok to
use {some of|a few of} your ideas!!\

As you can see, the script is designed to leave randomized comments in other people’s blogs, usually with an embedded backlink to improve (supposedly) one’s own search results at Google or Yahoo or Bing or other search engine services.

The mouldy camel droppings that do this need to find a different planet to live on, if you ask me.

The Old Wolf has spoken.

Coney Island, July 4, 1946

M0movUs

That’s a lot of people. Made me think of similar pictures of crowded beaches in China – the linked ones are of China’s Qingdao Huiquan Beach. The brochure photo probably looks a lot different:

crowded-beach-2

But when it’s hot in the City and you want to get away, that’s the price you have to pay. I grew up in New York in the 50s and I don’t ever remember visiting Coney Island when it was that massively crowded, but this was, after all, a holiday shot.

♬ When the sun is shining  brightly
And there ain’t no ice cream cones,
It ain’t no sin to take off your skin
And dance around in your bones. ♬

The Old Wolf has spoken.

The first public phones in Los Angeles, 1899

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Seen at /r/HistoryPorn, additional information from Retronaut.

“228 So. Spring St.. The first telephone line between San Francisco and Los Angeles had just been opened, and long distance calls to the Bay City were being stimulated. The young man, Roy E. Jillson, was messenger boy then and was still an employee of the telephone company in 1934.”

Depending on which inflation calculator you use, 50¢ turns out to be hideously expensive for 1899. $13.78 per minute… that would basically mean you didn’t want to call San Francisco unless it were a matter of life or death.

For the curious, here’s what the area looks like right now:

spring

It’s a neighbor to the LA Times building.

The Old Wolf has spoken.

Avoid businesses that blog spam

“I am genuinely thankful to the holder of this website who has shared this fantastic article at here.”

Look at that great grammar. So commented “Bad Credit Car Finance,” an outfit in Orlando, Florida, which has a raft of videos on YouTube hawking their services. That in itself is not a bad thing, but blog spamming is the mark of an unethical and/or outright criminal enterprise. As I’ve written about before, this is a scummy tactic used by shadowy enterprises the world over.

A few years ago I set up a bulletin board that never really saw a lot of use, and then I forgot about it until last month when Google kindly gave me a heads-up that it was infested with user spam. There were over 75,000 spam comments from automatically-generated “user” bots, most of them for knockoff goods and penis enlargement products, porn, dating services, and anything else disreputable that your imagination could come up with. A quick perusal was enough to verify an already-known fact: If someone is leaving spam comments on your blog (or someone else’s), that person or business has neither ethics nor morals, and should be avoided like the plague.

junk

It’s worth mentioning that Joe Oliver, the man who apparently runs this outfit, has a talent for making the most hideously poor-quality advertising videos I’ve seen in a long time. That in itself is worth some sort of “razzie.”

The Old Wolf has spoken.

Clovis Fernandez, Brazil’s “12th Player.”

Clovis 1

News media published this image of a sad Brazilian fan, Clovis Fernandez, shown crying.

What they did not publish was this image:

Clovis 2

This beautiful picture shows Senhor Fernandez handing the trophy to a German fan. He was quoted as saying “Take it to the final! As you can see, it is not easy, but you deserve it, congratulations” (Roughly translated) With thanks to redditor /u/keyboardbitch

Mr. Fernandez is Brazil’s quintessential fan. Below is a video of his story:

I recall Italy’s loss to Brazil in 1990 after Roberto Baggio’s disastrous goal-post kick; I was, of course, devastated – but it’s nice to know that Mr. Fernandez took so much joy from that event.

Good sportsmanship is always a pleasure to see, and there’s far too little of it out there.

The Old Wolf has spoken.

 

Progressive Insurance Company: Run away, run away fast.

scam-alerts2

Aside from complaint pages like you see behind the link, Progressive has now totally destroyed any semblance of reputability by posting blog spam, one of which I just received.

I was wondering if you ever considered changing the layout of your site? Its very well written; I love what youve got to say. But maybe you coud a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having 1 or two images. Maybe you could space it out better?

This is typical of the kinds of camel ejecta that blog spammers send out. They try to make it look as legitimate as possible and usually include mis-spellings and bad grammar, but they include links to their website and use a bogus email address and user name, in the hopes of creating backlinks to their website, thus boosting their page rankings in search engines. There are even unethical businesspeople out there who teach others that this is a valid way of increasing your SEO rankings, which I think is disgraceful.

Stay away from any business that does this. It will not serve you to have unethical enterprises in your circle of influence.

The Old Wolf has spoken.

Phishing Spam

Phishing

Of course, the pox-ridden drones don’t even read their own email, but sadly there are just enough people out there who will fall for their phishing scam and log in to the fraudulent page, happily providing not only their PayPal info but also credit card numbers and pins, their vital information including date of birth and social security number, and then – once they have become the victim of identity theft, will spend years trying to clean up their records.

Oh, and my name’s not “Sean.”

Please be careful out there.

The Old Wolf has spoken.

Keeping the debate real

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OK, I have now seen several posts on Facebook about supposed “independent confirmation” that the Sandy Hook shooting event was a hoax, a drill orchestrated by the Obama administration as an excuse to tighten gun restrictions or eliminate guns altogether. The best statement I’ve seen on this topic comes from a Calgary Herald article dated 15 January 2013, now archived:

“…But the latest conspiracy movement seems custom-made to underscore the need for a national debate on mental illness.”

They’re not talking about Adam Lanza’s mental health, folks, or the mental health of those who perpetrate such well-documented atrocities; they’re talking about the mental health of the conspiracy theorists and by extension, of Americans in general where such cognitive dissonance finds such a ripe breeding ground.

I cannot iterate strongly enough – and make no mistake, I support the Second Amendment – that conspiracy theories of this nature are the abomination of desolation: unkind, unhealthy, ungodly, inhuman, twisted, disrespectful, sad and pathetic. They are unworthy of our nation.

Let’s be clear: There are certainly people entrenched deep within government who are neither ethical nor moral, perhaps a larger percent than would be expected from a statistical cross-section of our society, who are there for personal enrichment or power or aggrandizement. But such people are found everywhere. There is no star chamber. Despite the widening gap between rich and poor and the growing political influence of the ultra-wealthy (a separate problem and a separate debate), America is not being run by the Bilderbergs, or Jews, or Bill Gates, any other shadowy cabal. There is much illness in our society, but there is also immense amounts of good, and I declare that good will prevail. I call on those who stand on the side of truth and justice, whichever side of the political aisle you live on, to keep the discussion real, and not descend into the realm of madness.

The Old Wolf has spoken.

Don’t sit that close to the TV, you’re ruin your eyes.

In a previous post, one of the things I reminisced about was television, and that’s what my mother always told me. I guess she didn’t happen to see this picture

Mother and two children sitting on floor of living room

which shows a mother and her two children watching TV in 1950. Happily, science has given the lie to this old wives’ tale.

That said, the image is from a wonderful LIFE magazine photo essay entitled “World Television Day: LIFE watches TV.” The entire essay is intriguing; the very first image shows RCA executives watching a prototype television in 1938:

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Notice that the image is being reflected in a mirror, the screen being on the top of the set instead of in the front. Charles Addams drew a set like this once, and I always thought it was very strange, never having seen a television like this.

73 - AddamsOutOfTheRefrigerator

But however it looked, TV was a big part of my life for as long as I can remember. When I was around 4 or 5, I’d watch Superman religiously:

Superman

That theme music would come on, and I’d stand on my chair:

Chair

With my legs on the arms, in the same position as George Reeves (my mother had even made me a wonderful Superman costume that I would put on for the event) and along with Superman, fight for truth, justice, and the American Way.

When I wasn’t watching Superman, there were other shows: Popeye cartoons by Max Fleischer, Mighty Mouse, Gerald McBoingBoing, Tom Terrific, just to name a few. And there was Winky Dink, which featured in the LIFE essay:

wp_50394926

Six-year-old girls use a “Winky Dink” drawing kit on their home TV screen as they watch the kids’ program, 1953. The show, which aired for four years in the 1950s, has been cited as “the first interactive TV show,” especially in light of its “magic drawing screen” — a piece of plastic that stuck to the TV screen, and on which kids (and, no doubt, some adults) would trace the action on the screen.

had one of those. I remember using that kit to help Winky Dink save the world on more than one occasion.

As I grew older, mom was gone a lot and I recall fondly watching The Late Show (there were also the Late Late show and the Late Late Late show, which I would sometimes make myself stay up for), as well as the Million Dollar Movie, which often featured monsters and horror, as you can see in this lovely tribute:

New York television had its own home-grown kids’ shows:

bolton-swift

Here we see Captain Allen Swift from the Popeye show (I cried when he was replaced by Captain Jack McCarthy), Officer Joe Bolton from the Three Stooges, and of course, Bozo the Clown.

Chris and Sandy Becker - Website, 1957

Then there was Sandy Becker – the photo above also appears on the Wikipedia article, and happens to feature yours truly as a guest on the Sandy Becker Show, thanks to some judicious string-pulling by my theatrical mother. Sandy’s show was introduced with Bert Kaempfert’s “That Happy Feeling” – if it sounds strangely similar to “Swingin’ Safari,” that’s no coincidence, since Kaempfert wrote that one too.

kirschner

Not to be forgotten was Claude Kirschner’s Three Ring Circus, proudly sponsored by Junket Rennet Custard (which I don’t think I ever tried), Cocoa Marsh, a competitor to Bosco (that’s Kirschner doing the voice-over), and Bonomo’s Turkish Taffy, the latter of which has made a miraculous and most welcome comeback. Like many of the TV shows of the era, a lot of it was live and impromptu, and when cartoon time came around, Claude would often not know what was being shown; I recall he’d make something up on the fly like “Clowny’s Friends.”

But one of my very favorites was, of course, Captain Kangaroo – my generation’s “Mr. Rogers.”

“Puffin’ Billy” will forever conjure up images of dear Bob Keeshan in my mind.

This is a rabbit hole I could follow forever, the memories just keep coming back in waves. Rabbit hole? Why, that makes me think of Crusader Rabbit… but I’ve got places to go and a dairy assignment to fulfill, so I’d better wrap this up or I’ll be here all day.

The Old Wolf has spoken.