Random Thoughts

[sdelmonte]

1. The headline on the New York Post, describing Derek Jeter's paiful shoulder injury, calls it "agony" and "disaster." Guess no one at that newspaper has been reading any of what's in the news.

2. It's April Fool's Day, and I can't imagine what kind of gag would go down well this year. I'm all for humor, even in wartime, but the kind of joke that I find funniest might not work too well in the overheated environment of the day.

Maybe it's time to try that "you'll never believe but Jim Morrison surfaced today" idea, but who would even care if he did? (Had a roommate in college who would have fallen for it, though, but that was in 1986.)

3. Got the Nigerian e-mail today. I wonder if anyone ever replies with something as elaborate and fake, to see how the scam artist reacts.

4. Rewatched "The Truman Show" last night. Amazing how prescient it was in terms of the reality TV boom. Still can't understand why Carrey didn't get an Oscar nomination, or why Ed Harris didn't win one, or why this wasn't a runaway hit. Well, at least it won the Hugo.

Comments

humor and e-mails

[greenbaron.livejournal.com]

You're not the only one who got an African e-mail scam (the sad thing is somebody falls for it).

Powell Explains U.S. Belief in Fake Iraq Documents
(2003-03-15) -- Intelligence documents that claimed Iraq had purchased uranium from an African nation may have been false, but Secretary of State Colin Powell said the U.S. and Britain should not be blamed for believing them.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said the documents were "obvious fakes," but Mr. Powell said they seemed genuine at first.

"We received what we thought was sound intelligence," he said. "The document indicated Iraq may have purchased 500 tons of fissionable materials from the African nation."

To further justify the Bush Administration's early belief in the documents, Mr. Powell handed out a copy of one, which took the form of an email. Here is part of the text of the formerly-classified message:

FROM:MRS. M SESE-SEKO

DEAR FRIEND,
I AM MRS. SESE-SEKO WIDOW OF LATE PRESIDENT MOBUTU SESE-SEKO? I AM MOVED TO WRITE YOU THIS LETTER, THIS WAS IN CONFIDENCE CONSIDERING MY PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCE AND SITUATION...I ESCAPED ALONG WITH MY HUSBAND AND TWO OF OUR SONS TO ABIDJAN, COTE D'IVOIRE WHERE MY FAMILY AND I SETTLED, WHILE WE LATER MOVED TO SETTLED IN MORROCO WHERE MY HUSBAND LATER DIED OF CANCER DISEASE. HOWEVER DUE TO THIS SITUATION WE DECIDED TO WE WERE LEFT WITH MOST OF MY HUSBAND'S COLLECTION OF URANIUM...WHAT I WANT YOU TO DO IS TO INDICATE YOUR INTEREST THAT YOU WILL ASSIST US BY RECEIVING THE 500 TONS OF URANIUM ON OUR BEHALF...I WANT YOU TO ASSIST IN DELIVERING THIS URANIUM TO SADDAM HUSSEIN, IN BAGHDAD, IRAQ, BUT I WILL NOT WANT MY IDENTITY REVEALED..."

Mrs. Sese-Seko could not be reached for comment.

That my friend is from Scrapple Face, an amusing blog version of the Onion.

As for a demented April Fool's day joke, I was thinking of sending my mother a telegram about me being killed by a landmine, but I'm not that evil :)

As for the Oscars, I really could care less about them. Then again, the Nobel Peace Prize lost all credibility with me when Arafat won it.