Well, got an email today from poetry.com saying how great my poetry was and how I'm such a great person, etc etc.

Having grown up in the internet age, my cynicism immediately kicked in and set off a warning alarm in my head. I would post the email, but you can get the gist of what it said pretty easy. Why, you say I'm accepted into your semi-finalist round?! Why, I can get published in the book for a modest fee of 50 dollars?! Would I like to buy this wonderful book full of my poetry!? Of course!

[link]

Yeah. Like every damn thing nowadays, it's a fucking scam. It's a hell of a world we live in where somebody hands you a dollar and you ask yourself "What's he after? What's wrong with it?"

It's a horrible life for an optimist. You put faith in the good and get a your wallet cleared out in return. To be honest, if those publishers clearinghouse people came to my door one morning with a big check for whatever ridiculous sum of money, I'd be hesitant to accept it.

There's no such thing as good luck anymore, just a scam waiting for somebody to bite.
...
Still plenty of bad luck to go around, though.