Love is blind!  Engraving from Harper's Weekly magazine (April 28, 1883) shows an observer looking through a telescope apparently with no solar filter.  Such a practice would result in instant eye damage and likely blindness.  Do not let June 8, 2004, be your blind date--use proper observing equipment and common sense.

To observe the transit of Venus directly you must protect your eyes at all times with proper solar filters.  However, do not let the requisite warnings scare you away from witnessing this rare spectacle.  You can experience the transit of Venus safely, as the guidelines below suggest.

See http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEhelp/safety2.html for definitive advice on solar safety! 
The NASA web site describes both safe and unsafe techniques for viewing the sun.  

Eye Safety And Solar Eclipses
by B. Ralph Chou, MSc, OD
Associate Professor, School of Optometry, University of Waterloo
Adapted from NASA RP 1383 Total Solar Eclipse of 1999 August 11, April 1997, p. 19.

information courtesy transitofvenus.org