Redhead74

But i said that, its just accessibility isnt it, things are more conveniently purchased, so you dont need to have 'x' catalogue for some clothes-store or whatever and you can just get it online. Thats not really a change of any sort, theres nothing you can buy online that you couldnt get anyway, it just means you dont have to get up and look for it.

That's a far too simplistic view of things. You could then really say that nothing has changed since the beginning of civilisation because people's needs haven't changed because the needs are just inherent in being a human being. By your theory the invention of cars didn't change anything because even though we can get somewhere faster than by horse and carriage, we're still ultimately just getting to the same place, but faster. And horse and carriage didn't change anything that a single horse or our own legs couldn't achieve. Planes didn't change much because before then we could get on a boat and still get to the same place........etc, etc, etc.

We have always worn clothes, we've always needed to get places, we've always eaten food, we've always listened to music, so yes it's ALL just a matter of convenience and accessibility, right?

I totally disagree. In the process of doing everything I just mentioned, invention brought us new ways to do it and over time that has changed the way we live our lives. In just the small space of time since its invention, the Internet has changed the face of education, it has changed the face of employment, it's changing the face of research and development. Yes, the human brain is the driving force behind all those changes but the implications of these changes are massive and will continue to change the world.

I think we haven't even seen the half of it yet. That's why you say "it's not the industrial revolution", because we're still in the middle of it, the full scope has not been completed.

the internet hasn't given you something that wasn't there before, it's all just...information has been centralised and certain conveniences have been put in place that are just to do with ease of access more than anything, i don't really think it's different to where you could actually say life was different is some kinda substantial way.

You're not a female living in Australia with Internet accessibility.

PLENTY has changed: asos.com

That's all I'm saying. Just send that post to the Australian retail industry and we will see how it stands up. Hehe!

Melbourne's prime shopping district from the 90s is a former shadow of itself. Sooo many shops left empty and vacant because retailers can't afford the rent nowadays and shop owners haven't yet accepted the reality that their highly prized retail space isn't worth what it once was due to online shopping. Of course, time will correct that. But to say that the Internet hasn't had a direct affect on many people's way of life is ridiculous. Lots of businesses in this country are going under because of their inability to adapt and respond quickly to the vastly changing face of doing business. Even Australia's major department stores have taken a hit, their falling share prices have reflected it.

Aside from the negativity there's been a major positive as well. People living in remote Australia previously had to travel hundreds of kilometres to visit a doctor. Now with Internet access they are able to communicate directly with a doctor via webcam, which is vastly more convenient than what their life was. Prescriptions can be sent instantly to chemists and the patient saves themselves hours of travel, and time to get on with their day which in terms of regional farmers can be a huge deal for them financially.

There's actually plenty of lives that have been changed for better or worse from the creation of the Internet.

Groghan, Redhead and others, if life was so great without internet why are you on this internet site so much every day?

Because now I have to work on the computer all day, I have no colleagues and all my friends have to work too

Exactly. We were KIDS! I definitely don't have as much carefree fun as I did back then but being on the Internet has nothing to do with it.

The funny thing is I remember how exciting certain things in life were back then and I don't see today's teenagers getting nearly as excited about anything at all these days and definitely not about the simple things that would have me beaming from ear to ear when I was growing up. Maybe it has something to do with the ability to have instant gratification that has taken all the excitement out of life, and it's a shame because something has definitely been lost.

And if you had time without friends, you used your brain to be creative....rather than relying on technology to be creative for you.

Exactly. I've posted this before but it's exactly what you were referring to. I made this after school back in 1988 and now what I do for a living is a direct result of making it:

I played the violin years ago and even from violin strings you build up callouses.

Playing a musical instrument (or any technical craft or skill for that matter) is not something that you can just rush and load in the practice and get good at in a few months. It takes years and should be something you do as part of your life and you get better at it over time. It's like sport, you start slowly and build the skills.

5 hours of practice every day probably isn't going to be 5 productive hours either. If its not productive you're wasting your time. An hour or hour and a half will probably be enough.

It was great. Your world was your friends who were real people with real faces and you'd hang out on weekends at each others houses listening to Guns n Roses and pouring over music mags and collecting posters of skinny Axl.

After school you'd hang out in your room with the walls plastered with Slash and skinny Axl and talk to your friends using the house phone, for hours. Of course that meant that your parents' friends could never contact your mum and dad because all they got was an engaged tone for hours on end.

And I remember always having a VHS tape ready to go when I watched Video Hits and recording all the music videos that I loved. Paradise City, WTTJ and SCOM were almost in audible and unwatchable after a while from overuse and they always had those funny grey static bars in between each video or at a point where you'd rewound the tape over and over to watch one little bit (usually skinny Axl doing something really sexy ).

I love it too. She has a beautiful body. I don't see any reason not to show it off. Aside from a bit of nipple she's not showing anything more than someone in a bikini on the beach does. Breast outline is still very apparent in a bikini, just not the nipple itself.

Oh my god! Rihanna has nipples! Jesus Christ, the last time I saw anything as explicit as that was...........this morning when I got out of the shower and saw my reflection in the mirror!

i can imagine redhead as my math teacher...and after i've failed one too many

tests decides to tutor me privately after school....slowly she unbuttons her blouse...

Well my maths skills are totally appalling so it wouldn't surprise me if I had to resort to such behaviour.

So I'm surprised we've not discussed this yet

I think she looked amazing, and more power to her for being comfortable enough with her body to show it off like that.

What's to discuss?

I actually wish there were better shots of her shoes.

NYC is fucking rockin'. I've loved that place every time I've been. Vegas just seems so crass in comparison to New York. So shallow and so lacking substance, which makes sense considering its just there in the middle of the desert. There's doesn't seem to be any proper reason for its existence. NY on the other hand has so many layers, so much diversity, so much history. It's just a fucking great city.

I don't have a current passport.

It's not hard to get one, you know? Fill in the form, attach a photo, send in form >>>>>> passport arrives in letter box.

Yeah, but he has to work in 3 weeks... It takes a few weeks here to get it so... Don't know about the US though.

Who needs to go overseas? There's plenty of fun at your doorstep. Or a short domestic flight away.

Go to Vegas, Nate. I reckon you'll love it and there are plenty of opportunities in such a social place to meet some cool people and just hang out. Plus, there's lots of alcohol. Sounds great to me.

I don't have a current passport.

It's not hard to get one, you know? Fill in the form, attach a photo, send in form >>>>>> passport arrives in letter box.

I have a work friend who lives alone (she never married) and she will often go on holidays by herself. In fact the times she has travelled with someone else has been the least successful trips she's had. There's nothing worse than travelling with someone you don't know like a brother or sister. There's always those personality flaws that you never need to experience when you hang out with someone for a few hours at a time. At best: rather awkward. At worst: fucks your holiday!

I think travelling alone is a great thing to do when you're young, especially if you stay at hostels. I travelled around Europe with my 'husband' for a year. Some of that time was in private accommodation, some of it was in hostels. We had BY FAR the best time in the hostels. There was such a communal environment and in the evenings we met so many awesome people. I have no idea where all those people are now but in those evenings we had together it was really memorable and takes you out of your comfort zone, out of normal routine. It's great and I think it would do you a world of good Arnold.

Read the next sentence of my post.......FFS Dandenong is in aLiberal seat now. WTF?!

I know it's hard to face but even die hard Labour seats are declining the current face of Labour. With good reason. They fucked themselves.

What do you expect? Some people voted for an ACTUALLY functioning economy.

Adriftatsea, PM me anytime.

Gracii! There's never a shortage of events to get dressed up for. YOU decide when and where you want to get dressed up and don't let anyone tell you otherwise!

And you inspire me and make me proud at the same time. A pirates outfit for the Prom? I LOVE IT! It sounds like something I would have done.

Well chosen. And yes life does go on with many opportunities to get dressed up.

Personally a lot of the bullshit doesn't affect me, so whilst I care about Australia I hope all the dumb fucks that voted for his government suffer.

Don't you get it? A lot of those who voted for him aren't suffering! It's the traditional labor voter who is going to suffer most by this latest budget.

I recently read a fascinating article in the paper from a traditional liberal voter who was educated back when education was free, got a job when jobs were plentiful, bought a house when property was cheap. Basically she said "I'm sitting pretty, I'm the prime candidate for budget punishment". But she wasn't punished at all. Wasn't in the least bit affected. Which she thought was a bit unfair, a bit harsh.

That's the point.

Happy Birthday cheeky boy.

What are this kind of dresses called? What's the style/era?

i think they are mostly from "fantasy" era as well as the rest of the show

but i can totally imagine girls wearing some of those dresses to prom

That particular dress above is actually pretty spot on Jacobean.

The hair is all wrong but the dress isn't.

Thanks for the answer

I think the dress is stunning.. or the whole outfit actually. Is there anything similar to that that doesn't look like someone's trying to look like heroine from a tv-show or something..? Just asking 'cause the outfit's certainly my fantasy era . But I wouldn't like a girl have a cosplay outfit on her..

Unfortunately we only have a choice between the pouty girls in TV shows or the pasty faces of the portrait ladies. There's really nothing inbetween because fashions changed and those dresses are actually very expensive to reproduce. They've really only ever been made for movies and TV and some stage productions. It's always been my intention to make one one day, but time and the financial reality has always prevented me. I made an 18th century corset for one of my subjects when I was at fashion school and that's the closest I've come. It's my fantasy era too.

I still have the dream of one day working on costumes (it'll be the next thing I do when I get sick of brides and making wedding dresses) and the ultimate would be to work on a film like 'Elizabeth'. Or for the ballet. I'd be more than happy with either.

Yeah it depends on the environment you're in. I live in a very urban, city environment where pretty much anything goes, any time. If I'm in town or just at work I'll wear them with a skirt and more casual top/jacket/cardigan, or a playsuit. It's much easier to wear them day or night if they're flat. I was tossing up between flat and heels and I bought flat in the end because they go with a lot more.

Yeah mine are heels

I live in a city too and probably could get away with wearing them around town whenever (my best mate certainly does) but it's just not really my style, you know? My friend looks great in hers just out shopping or whatever, but she usually dresses quite smartly anyways so it doesn't look unusual...I usually save mine for evening or more dressy daytime events because I'm used to dressing much more casually so I'd feel really odd and overdressed otherwise.

I know what you mean. Some things just feel weird or wrong for YOURSELF. Everyone has their personal style and also their personal routine. Your friend might feel OK wearing that due to what she does for a job/study (like I do) yet others don't. I imagine that vet studies don't have much need for thigh high boots and I don't remember ever seeing my vet rocking a pair during a consultation.

That's the caveat there. The fact that at the point in time when these people travelled they were not completely contagious yet but were already carriers. It's absolutely fascinating. I imagine that's also why airports were so intensely anal about the whole thing. If you had even a slight temperature you were detained until further tests could be done. That would have contained the virus significantly I think because I know that in Singapore alone a couple of people were prevented from entering and were hospitalised. By the sounds of things that would have been enough to spread the virus throughout the country.

It's equally fascinating the way the bubonic plague spread throughout medieval Europe and the fact that certain people who came into close contact with plague sufferers DID NOT contract the virus, yet others were bowled over and dead within days. It came down to the Delta 32 gene that only some people are born with. Anyone who had the Delta32 gene present were completely immune from the plague. Absolutely fascinating!

I prefer stay ups. Stockings with suspenders are a pain in the ass. They look lovely but it's hard to go to loo when you can't get your knickers down below the straps. And they look and feel crap with your knickers over the straps.

But I only wear stay ups when I'm wearing a knee length skirt. I wear a lot of mini skirts (my legs being far more attractive than my flat chest ) and so if its cold there no option but pantyhose/tights. And even then I have to get 'sheer to the waist'. I FUCKING HATE those control panel ones with the ugly line at the upper thigh.

I agree.

But then with shorts/minis there's always the option of thigh-high socks, which can look great and are sooooooo toasty I especially love the look of black thigh-high socks with matching booties

Even toastier is tights/pantyhose with thigh high boots.

Yes, but not always appropriate in more casual settings I love my thigh-high boots but sometimes they just feel too 'dressy' for daywear.

Yeah it depends on the environment you're in. I live in a very urban, city environment where pretty much anything goes, any time. If I'm in town or just at work I'll wear them with a skirt and more casual top/jacket/cardigan, or a playsuit. It's much easier to wear them day or night if they're flat. I was tossing up between flat and heels and I bought flat in the end because they go with a lot more.

I prefer stay ups. Stockings with suspenders are a pain in the ass. They look lovely but it's hard to go to loo when you can't get your knickers down below the straps. And they look and feel crap with your knickers over the straps.

But I only wear stay ups when I'm wearing a knee length skirt. I wear a lot of mini skirts (my legs being far more attractive than my flat chest ) and so if its cold there no option but pantyhose/tights. And even then I have to get 'sheer to the waist'. I FUCKING HATE those control panel ones with the ugly line at the upper thigh.

I agree.

But then with shorts/minis there's always the option of thigh-high socks, which can look great and are sooooooo toasty I especially love the look of black thigh-high socks with matching booties

Even toastier is tights/pantyhose with thigh high boots.

Maybe I'm just a woos though.

I don't enjoy a drafty crotch. And I'm in Australia.

I think the key is getting the XTall size.

Chilli, alcohol, hot dresses, ARQy's crotch. Thread can't lose.

Just another day in The Dress Thread

I prefer stay ups. Stockings with suspenders are a pain in the ass. They look lovely but it's hard to go to loo when you can't get your knickers down below the straps. And they look and feel crap with your knickers over the straps.

But I only wear stay ups when I'm wearing a knee length skirt. I wear a lot of mini skirts (my legs being far more attractive than my flat chest ) and so if its cold there no option but pantyhose/tights. And even then I have to get 'sheer to the waist'. I FUCKING HATE those control panel ones with the ugly line at the upper thigh.

There's just something about this photo that screams meme.

What cocktail Red?

I want a meme!

I can't remember the name of the cocktail, it's a special of one of the bars near my work. It's passion fruit something-or-other, with a touch of chilli added to it! I normally hate chilli but this cocktail is amazing.

Amazing. I always thought that these new viruses became so rampant because of the fact that not only were they so severe in symptoms but because no one has any defence over them. Common colds and flu have so many mutations that you can come into contact with someone that you can be resistant to if you have already been exposed to that particular strain, but when a virus is completely new, literally no one has any resistance to it. And if its aggressive you're gonna be goner.

The other thing I find fascinating is the fact that Liu Jianlun travelled to Hong Kong carrying the virus. Was there no reported cases of him passing the virus on by his means of travel? And the Canadian woman would have travelled by plane back to Canada by air, and anyone who's travelled by air knows that aeroplanes are like disease feeders, especially for airborne germs. Why was it not spread by the plane's air conditioning system to other passengers given the fact that the virus was virulent enough to travel through the air conditioning system to other guests? Maybe it was and it wasn't reported. Who knows?

I was in Singapore during the SARS outbreak and travelled quite a bit by air over that period. Yet I never came into contact with a single person that came down with the virus or knew anyone who knew anyone that contracted the virus. The surveillance was heavy duty though. Special detectors were erected at customs which monitored body temperature as you walked through it and anyone with a higher than normal temperature was detained until it was proven that SARS was not a possibility. I guess that is why Singapore never suffered the virus breaking its shores.

My greatest affect from SARS was that I had tickets to see David Gray and he cancelled the show due to the SARS outbreak (what a pussy) and the cancellation was advertised in the Chinese newspaper but as I didn't read the Chinese newspaper I didn't know it had been cancelled. I turned up on the night and wondered why no one else was there.