sometimes I feel that I should go and play with the thunder

How odd. One of my blog entries is up for some kind of award. I have no idea, but I entered it.

My luck, it'll turn out to be one of those poetry contest things..."Absolutely free! And when we publish your winning poem, the hardbound book will only be 129.95! To have and treasure for always!"

Phhht.

Somewhere out there in the wide sparkling net, is a site called Villainess. Apparently, they sell soap of all things, though they're slowly branching out into perfume oils and body creams.

They even have one named Wasabi Whipped...though it doesn't have any wasabi in it. (Truthfully, that's probably a good thing.)

From their Manifesto:

We approach things a little differently at Villainess. Our customers are educated regarding their skincare needs, and informed about the issues. Rather than sell the latest market-trends, we're meeting them on equal ground and frankly discussing the challenges we face. We are committed to:

* Candor - We operate on a full-disclosure policy regarding the quality, origins and purpose of every component in our formulas.

* Accountability - We refuse to use animal products that involve cruelty, and screen potential components for their animal-tested history. We contact each of our suppliers to inquire if they've tested or commissioned testing, and trust that they're asking the same questions.

* Safety - We consider the pH balance, possible irritants and potential sensitizers in each of our products and tailor those considerations for the application (we screen "natural" components as vigorously as their "synthetic" counterparts). The end-user's application of bath products takes place in a warm, damp environment - a breeding ground for molds, fungus and bacteria - and we preserve our hydrous products accordingly. Preservatives are (by their very nature) toxic, so we've chosen preservatives with track records for the least potential irritation and no long-term effects.

* Efficacy - Skincare should be a pleasure, not a chore. We employ emulsifiers, surfactants and emollients to ensure our products perform with zero fuss on your part. We often talk about making "the right compromise" in formulation; selecting a key synthesized molecule to optimize product performance, and limiting its concentration.

* Indulgence - You, and your skin, are worth the best possible ingredients. We use raw and unrefined components - vegetable fats, nut butters, fruits, herbs, essential oils and precious absolutes - as often as we can. Most of our formulations resemble desserts because we believe you should treat yourself.

Damn. I like their style. Toss in that and the 'steampunk' feel of their typefonts and their page backgrounds--and some of their products, their "Antihero" perfume is described as "[w]ell-worn sweaty leather, the acrid smoke of cigarettes, and a soft side of honey and vanilla"; for their Chloroform perfume, they used "[c}risp cucumber, sickly sweet green vegetation, a dizzy whiff of violets, mind-numbing plum, and a stiff shot of anesthetising vermouth". Even their signature scent, the Villainess scent itself, walks very much out of the machinist's workshop into the opium den; described as "all ball gowns and combat boots. Raw, smokey leather and sweet vanilla musk engulfed in a sheer haze of exotic florals - ylang, neroli, jasmine, lilac and tuberose."

Wau.

In other news, I'm rather snappishly upset at Technorati.

Remember a while back, there was a casual urging to join up, so I went over and perused? And tried to claim my blog? And failed?

Well, they asked me to send a letter to their support department. I did so. I got back a letter saying my note to them could not be delivered:

This is the mail system at host mail01.technorati.com.

I'm sorry to have to inform you that your message could not be delivered to one or more recipients. It's attached below.

For further assistance, please send mail to (postmaster)

If you do so, please include this problem report. You can delete your own text from the attached returned message.

So I did. And at the top of the "problem report" I attached this snippier missive:

This message was delivered two days ago and lodged in my spam filter, of all places. Apparently the technical support page you mention using when people have problems claiming blogs is buggy? This might explain the staggering lack of response to me, and to friends who have attempted to claim their own blogs--and failed to do so.

I then got another response back saying they couldn't deliver the message! So I sent one to the admin account (if one existed); the postmaster account; and to "rtsupport" for both rt.technorati.com and technorati.com:

SOMETHING in all this has to get through.

I want to claim MY OWN BLOG. Why is this so difficult?!?

So I got a blurb back that the admit email bounced; the rtsupport bounced, both sides; and postmaster bounced again. I was on the verge of giving up entirely.

Then, today, I got this from their mailer redelivery system:

THIS IS A WARNING MESSAGE ONLY.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO RESEND YOUR MESSAGE.

Delivery to the following recipient has been delayed:

rtsupport@rt.technorati.com

Message will be retried for 2 more day(s)

For the love of all things...WHY IN THE HELL IS THIS SO HARD?!? It is claiming a blog! I can do this on Google in two minutes; Yahoo takes three; Altavista takes five. Why in the hell is this suddenly brain surgery just to claim something I already own?!?

Currently, all of their support pages are out of reach during their 'server relocation'. Grand. So while all this is going on, I can't claim the blog you invited me to claim, and in the process, making me check my spam filter daily on the chance that something came through that dropped in there because it looked like it was written by a spammer!

Technorati? You are fail at support for your service. FAIL.