piquant: July 2014

30 July 2014

DOUBLE DECEPTION

DOUBLE DECEPTION : COSMETICS & LIES
© Farouk Asvat

The double deception of actresses: not only do actresses deceive us into believing they are someone else (which is a legitimate technique); but now these very actresses who earn millions from their movies or tv series, also deceive in reality by acting for cosmetic companies.

From Natalie Portman for chanel, to Julia Roberts for lancôme; from Brad Pitt for chanel (perhaps the worst ad ever done by a celebrity), to Halle Berry for revlon; to Andie McDowell (who seems to have left acting for advertising), to Jane Fonda, to Diane Keaton (all for l'oreal): they are all doing it - to earn some money.

The company that seems to spend the most on advertising cosmetics is l'oréal: the shampoo ad with Aishwarya Rai, for instance, boasts about the fantastic quality of her hair, and the small print boasts that Aishwarya Rai is wearing hair extensions.

Every ad for eye lashes, from maybelline to Penelope Cruz, boasts (or conceals) that artificial extensions or enhancements have been used, to get the effect they desire.

All of which simply means that the products do not actually do what they claim to do. In simple words, the cosmetic companies and the actresses are lying.

And all these cosmetic ads' claim to fame is absolutely outrageous : for instance, that 12 women had been tested across the globe with an 80% positive response. Scientifically it would be dismissed as utterly preposterous - it is so ridiculous that it would be laughable if it were not tragic. (Scientific studies require a sizeable population as subjects, with efficient controls, and cross-over double-blind studies to be credible).

All these ads use young women who have flawless skin or beautiful natural tresses in any case, so that women and girls (and these days men too) who have a poor self-image - thinking they might not be as beautiful as they have been blessed with - rush out and support these companies that make billions.

A clear skin and mane requires only the simple things that were learned in primary school: a healthy, balanced intake of food (proteins, carbohydrates, fat and fibre - 2500 calories for an adult), sunshine (free), plenty of water (virtually free from the tap) - for a healthy skin) and 20 minutes of exercise a day (also free outdoors): - these are daily requirements - there is no magic solution, and there definitely is no need for fancy expensive products.

Nothing can reverse the aging process, not even a woman's face - it is against nature.

work in progress

posted 29.04.2015 [30.07.2014 (10 +1)]

original composed: 2010.

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

Sadness In The House Of Love: the first NOVEL by Farouk Asvat
is now available on amazon: paperback @ $17.50 & kindle @ only $5
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

the anthology The Wind Still Sings Sad Songs by Farouk Asvat
is now available on amazon: paperback @ $10 & kindle @ only $5
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

the anthology A Celebration Of Flames by Farouk Asvat
is now available on amazon: paperback @ $10 & kindle @ only $5
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

the anthology The Time Of Our Lives by Farouk Asvat
is now available on amazon: paperback @ $10 & kindle @ only $5
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

the anthology Bra Frooks … by Farouk Asvat is now available
on amazon: paperback @ $10 & kindle @ only $5
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

Farouk Asvat asserts his moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means whatsoever, or transmitted in any form or any means whatsoever, mechanical or electronic, including recording, printing, photocopying, or via any computerised means or media, including the internet. This publication shall also not be stored in a retrieval system. And the writing shall not be sold, lent, hired, resold or circulated in any form or binding or cover other than that in which it is published,

without the prior permission of the author in writing.

Permission to publish or reproduce the writings in any format can be obtained from the author.

Reproduction of this work without permission, except for scholarly & nonprofit purposes,

is liable to a payment of 10, 000 ren men bi or US$ 1,500.

farouk asvat can be contacted at: farouk.asvat@gmail.com

[] please check out my blogs @:

farouk asvat - poems: www.faroukasvat-poems.blogspot.com

weapons of words: www.faroukasvat-viewpoint.blogspot.com

piquante ! : www.faroukasvat-piquant.blogspot.com

books by farouk asvat: www.faroukasvat-books.blogspot.com

[] also link up on:

google+ : https://plus.google.com/116303232543019349765

linkedin: www.linkedin.com/pub/farouk-asvat/42/6b6/52a

twitter: www.twitter.com/faroukasvat

facebook: www.facebook.com/faroukasvat

amazon kindle author @ www.amazon.com/author/faroukasvat

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

#love #literature #fiction #novel #poetry #books #cosmetics #make-up

www.faroukasvat-poems.blogspot.com

www.amazon.com/author/faroukasvat

23 July 2014

TALK SHOWS & SOCIAL MEDIA

TALK SHOWS & SOCIAL MEDIA

Talk shows and social media sites merely give the illusion that people actually have a say in their lives. Just as western democracy gives the illusion that people actually have a say in their affairs.

These are the ultimate weapons to create the illusion that the people are doing something about their situation. Not only does it waste an inordinate amount of time, it detracts people from actually doing something meaningful about their situation.

In most communities around the world, which are largely communal, (unlike the West), the old methods of word-of-mouth and the telephone still serve the same purpose (especially in highly repressed societies).

And it is not social media that facilitates uprisings - it is the injustice, oppression and poverty in society that spark revolts.

In fact, the introduction of the internet has not reduced tortures, massacres, the killing of civilians, wars, the invasion of countries, or the re-colonisation of the world. It merely gives the illusion that people 'know' what is happening in the world.

So what do all these people who have all the information at their fingertips do, except surf the web with the latest gadget at their disposal?

SILENCE IS A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY.

"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil,

but by those who watch them without doing anything."
● Albert Einstein

work in progress

posted 22.04.2015 [23.07.2014 (19 +3)]

original composed: 2010.

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

Farouk Asvat asserts his moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

without the prior permission of the author in writing.

Permission to publish or reproduce the writings in any format can be obtained from the author.

Reproduction of this work without permission, except for scholarly & nonprofit purposes,

is liable to a payment of 10, 000 ren men bi or US$ 1,500.

farouk asvat can be contacted at: farouk.asvat@gmail.com

[] please check out my blogs @:

farouk asvat - poems: www.faroukasvat-poems.blogspot.com

weapons of words: www.faroukasvat-viewpoint.blogspot.com

piquante ! : www.faroukasvat-piquant.blogspot.com

books by farouk asvat: www.faroukasvat-books.blogspot.com

[] also link up on:

google+ : https://plus.google.com/116303232543019349765

linkedin: www.linkedin.com/pub/farouk-asvat/42/6b6/52a

twitter: www.twitter.com/faroukasvat

facebook: www.facebook.com/faroukasvat

amazon kindle author @ www.amazon.com/author/faroukasvat

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

#love #literature #fiction #novel #poetry #books #politics #internet #talkshows #social media

www.faroukasvat-poems.blogspot.com

www.amazon.com/author/faroukasvat

16 July 2014

TV TIT-BITS

TV TIT-BITS
© Farouk Asvat

AMERICAN CRIMES:

AMERICAN CRIMES is the most realistic show on tv at present. One actually hates some of the characters, and one really sympathises with many of the characters, in spite of their misfortunes, or prejudices. The directing is superb, and the acting fantastic. The photography is unusual, but lends itself perfectly to the way the story is told.
#americancrimes

TWO AND A HALF MEN:

Once Charlie Sheen was forced to leave TWO AND A HALF MEN, the series degenerated into farce and repetition.
#twoandahalfmen

THE BIG BANG THEORY:

The last few seasons of THE BIG BANG THEORY has largely deteriorated into slapstick and repetition.
#thebigbangtheory

ARROW:

The ARROW loses all credibility when Malcom Merlin is not killed by Oliver Queen, in spite of Oliver's repeated claims that "You have failed my city"; especially when Malcolm Merlin was responsible for the murder of the largest number of people (in fact a massacre). The series loses more credulity after Thea's father comes back from having being killed in a much earlier episode; and especially when Oliver survives being stabbed by a sword through the abdomen, falls off a high cliff, lies in the snow for an unknown period, and is still miraculously alive.
#arrow

THE DOVEKEEPERS:

The DOVEKEEPERS is a sensationalisation of fornication - a mixture of Jewish history, shades of grey (whatever that means), and the Bible, without much purpose or morality.
#thedovekeepers

THE FOLLOWING:

THE FOLLOWING ceases to be a dramatic story. The initial innovative episodes of linking the series to the stories Edgar Alan Poe, with extremely evil, credible and identifiable villains at first - from the chief perpetrator, Joe Carrol, to his lovely evil pixie, lover and chief disciple, Valorie Curry, to the mother of the twins, Lilly Gray - all formidable characters, has become just another hunt for serial killers, another humdrum series about love affairs and side stories. Except for the leader of the sect, all the chief antagonists were killed off in the last series.
#the following

UNDER THE DOME:

UNDER THE DOME loses its effectiveness, when the main heroine, Angie McAllister (Britt Robertson), who is supposed to be the link to the butterflies, and the saviour of the people under the dome, is killed off at the end of the first season.
#under the dome

ALICE IN WONDERLAND:

ALICE IN WONDERLAND was perhaps the best photographed series with extremely beautiful close-ups of the very strong characters. However it had a short-lived run - with only one season, Alice being married off in the end. And so a potentially beautiful series comes to an end.
#aliceinwonderland

ONCE UPON A TIME:

ONCE UPON A TIME, on the other hand, a hodge-podge of everything from A Thousand And One Nights and the stories of the brothers Grimm, from Sleeping Beauty to the adventures of Peter Pan, is completely unoriginal - a total lack of imagination, combined with plagiarism - and yet it continues … .
#onceuponatime

DOWNTON ABBEY:

Amongst the plethora of violent and crime series, the resurrections and the superheroes, DOWNTON ABBEY, remains a series dealing with day-to-day human problems, from those of the aristocracy to those of the servants. Because of its subtlety, and identification with its characters, the most devastating rape scene imaginable is the one that is not actually shown.
#downtonabbey

NASHVILLE:

NASHVILLE remains the only American series that deals effectively with human problems, albeit many of them being those of superstars. And except for the gratuitous murder of the mayor's girlfriend (which remains unexplained), and some of the gratuitous sexual encounters, especially the one of Scarlet O'Connor (Clare Bowen) with her producer, and Juliette Barnes (Hayden Panettiere) with the mercenary, heartless producer (Jeff Fordham/Oliver Hudson), the series confronts the characters' problems realistically.
#nashville

GRACEPOINT:

GRACEPOINT was another series that slowly unraveled the misconceptions and misleading clues over nine weeks, without revealing the any clues until the very last episode: but that was perhaps its only downfall - it was too sudden to be effective.
#gracepoint

MURDER ONE

The slow disentangling of a murder was best done in MURDER ONE: it pursued the solving and prosecution of one murder over an entire season of 13 weeks. (when a season was a season in the United States).
#murderone

LACK OF LOYALTY

The LACK OF LOYALTY of many of the actors and actresses these days is evident from them suddenly being killed off suddenly, so that they can star in a more lucrative career, in a movie, or take part in a more prominent role in another series. This is the collapse of so many series, including Under The Dome and The Following. The poaching of accomplished actors from one series by other companies and channels for tv or film seems to be quite succesful.
#lackofloyalty

ps I only have the public channels: ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, CW to watch; and a plethora of Christian, Spanish, shopping, and now some European and Asian programmes at my disposal.

SILENCE IS A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY.

work in progress

posted 15.04.2015 [16.07.2014 (10) ]

original composed: 2010 - 2015.

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

Farouk Asvat asserts his moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

without the prior permission of the author in writing.

Permission to publish or reproduce the writings in any format can be obtained from the author.

Reproduction of this work without permission, except for scholarly & nonprofit purposes,

is liable to a payment of 10, 000 ren men bi or US$ 1,500.

farouk asvat can be contacted at: farouk.asvat@gmail.com

[] please check out my blogs @:

farouk asvat - poems: www.faroukasvat-poems.blogspot.com

weapons of words: www.faroukasvat-viewpoint.blogspot.com

piquante ! : www.faroukasvat-piquant.blogspot.com

books by farouk asvat: www.faroukasvat-books.blogspot.com

[] also link up on:

google+ : https://plus.google.com/116303232543019349765

linkedin: www.linkedin.com/pub/farouk-asvat/42/6b6/52a

twitter: www.twitter.com/faroukasvat

facebook: www.facebook.com/faroukasvat

amazon kindle author @ www.amazon.com/author/faroukasvat

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

#love #literature #fiction #novel #poetry #books #tv #television

www.faroukasvat-poems.blogspot.com

www.amazon.com/author/faroukasvat

9 July 2014

the LIKE ME! generation

"I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction.

The world will have a generation of idiots."
● Albert Einstein

The LIKE ME! generation: - is it narcissism, vanity, or just a terrific lack of self-esteem?

And it is not only individuals who want to be liked, but also major corporations and multinationals.

In society, anyone who insists on being liked, would be considered rather strange - it would display a complete lack of dignity.

Narcissism, the excessive preoccupation with oneself, must be the ultimate conceit. Psychologically, it is tantamount to a grandiose view of oneself, one's looks, one's talents (if any), or one's accomplishments, with an unhealthy craving for admiration.

This vanity, this self-preoccupation, this need for approval is ultimately self-centred and selfish.

(And selfies are just an obvious extension of this phenomenon.)

This need for 1 million or 1 billion views is just another manifestation of the imbecilic pursuit of the lowest common denominator - there is nothing original or individualistic about it.

work in progress

posted 08.04.2015 [09.07.2014 (10) ]

original composed: 2010.

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

Farouk Asvat asserts his moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

without the prior permission of the author in writing.

Permission to publish or reproduce the writings in any format can be obtained from the author.

Reproduction of this work without permission, except for scholarly & nonprofit purposes,

is liable to a payment of 10, 000 ren men bi or US$ 1,500.

farouk asvat can be contacted at: farouk.asvat@gmail.com

[] please check out my blogs @:

farouk asvat - poems: www.faroukasvat-poems.blogspot.com

weapons of words: www.faroukasvat-viewpoint.blogspot.com

piquante ! : www.faroukasvat-piquant.blogspot.com

books by farouk asvat: www.faroukasvat-books.blogspot.com

[] also link up on:

google+ : https://plus.google.com/116303232543019349765

linkedin: www.linkedin.com/pub/farouk-asvat/42/6b6/52a

twitter: www.twitter.com/faroukasvat

facebook: www.facebook.com/faroukasvat

amazon kindle author @ www.amazon.com/author/faroukasvat

[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]

#love #literature #fiction #novel #poetry #books #likemegeneration

www.faroukasvat-poems.blogspot.com

www.amazon.com/author/faroukasvat