Fruitless Trawling

Every time I mention a specific corporate entity -- or even a particular class of business -- in this blog, I get some for of spam comment that's a none-to-thinly veiled attempt at shilling. At least that's how it seems.

A short whole ago, I posted about an exceptionally odd item I saw in one of the catalogs Oriental Trading Company sends me. (I once -- once -- bought glowsticks from them for Folk Fest, and they keep sending me catalogs. I get them at work, as well, as a result of having bought something for a show several years ago. At this point I'm almost certain that they've spent more in sending me catalogs than they ever made from my purchases.) I put often the catalogs in the can for amusing toilet time perusal. I just as often toss them into the recycling bin direct.

What do I then find as a comment on that post? A criticism of Oriental Trading Company and a recommendation for a competitor. "Marissa" -- if that is her name, which it almost certainly is not -- tells me that Oriental Trading's CEO used to do cocaine. I can't even be bothered to guess at which is the most intense of the seven different kinds of I-don't-give-a-fuck that fact inspires in me. "Not very family friendly," she says. Sweetie, I'm not very family friendly (and I grow less so every time I hear the term). And the folks at Century Novelty are paying for this?

Okay, I did go to their site, but only for the sake of making the link above. At first glance their site looks less cheesy than Oriental Trading's. Based on the tack of their viral marketing, I suppose that their CEO never did drugs; he's probably into whores -- that seems to be a preferred vice of the "family friendly" crowd.

Still, I think I'll be going to Oriental Trading for my rubber ducky needs for the foreseeable future. I suspect the family friendly folks at Century Novelty might have objections to carrying some ducks.