Leading a full life

Nobody can say that Steve Dunne, who teaches most of our digital PR courses, leads an uneventful life.

We only get glimpses of it here in the office, but we recently heard that he had been off to South Carolina to deliver some motivational speaking to Americans, was returning from addressing a conference in Hong Kong on the same day that he delivered an e-PR strategy course for us, had to put a strict time limit on a breakfast meeting because he was due to address a House of Lords committee on transport policy, and was unavailable on one day because he was working as a speech writer to an MP.

So we weren't too surprised when we called his mobile recently and discovered that he was in Ireland. Conference? Cyber crisis? Briefing the Dail? No. It turned out he was researching his genealogy and the trail took him to Ireland.

I suppose it fills in all that spare time.

Students strike back

Last month we brought you some barbed comments from school reports. That, of course, is only one side of the story. This month we bring you a gallery of examples of school pupils not taking the world of academe too seriously.

Click on the picture to open the gallery. Some of the student work you will find there betrays an intelligence that might have been better targetted at doing it right. But then we wouldn't have had a giggle.

We are a bit suspicious. A lot of the handwriting looks a bit similar. But it made us laugh anyway. And I wish I had had the nerve to answer like this when I was at school.

Funny but false

No suspicions needed for this one. It is definitely false. But it is funny.

The story reaches us about US politician Harry Reid. As the story goes, a genealogy researcher discovered this photo of Senator Reid's great-great uncle - Remus Reid. On the back it said: "Remus Reid, horse thief, sent to Montana Territorial Prison 1885, escaped 1887, robbed the Montana Flyer six times. Caught by Pinkerton detectives, convicted and hanged in 1889."

Senator Reid's version of his great-great-uncle's life and death is said to be: "Remus Reid was a famous cowboy in the Montana Territory. His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Montana railroad. Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his life to government service, finally taking leave to resume his dealings with the railroad. In 1887, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Remus passed away during an important civic function held in his honor when the platform upon which he was standing collapsed."

Wouldn't that be delicious? Unfortunately, the photograph is of someone else entirely and the same story has been circulated featuring: Hillary Clinton; Al Gore; George W Bush; Republican Senator Ted Stevens; Robert Dion, leader of Canada's Liberal party; and current US Vice-President Joe Biden.

Much as we would love to believe it, I don't think they would all use identical wording. Would they?

And finally...

Some weird news snippets from America. No idea how true they are:

An Illinois man, pretending to have a gun, kidnapped a motorist and forced him to drive to two different automated teller machines, where the kidnapper proceeded to withdraw money from his own bank accounts!

To Los Angeles where a robbery suspect just couldn't control himself during a lineup. When detectives asked each man in the lineup to repeat the words: "Give me all your money or I'll shoot," the man shouted: "That's not what I said!"

Steven Richard King was arrested for trying to hold up a Bank of America branch in Modesto, California. He didn't actually have a weapon. Instead, he used a thumb and a finger to simulate a gun. Unfortunately, he failed to keep his hand in his pocket.

A couple in California, bought their first boat - a brand new 22 footer. However, it was very sluggish, no matter how much power they applied. So they put into a nearby marina, where a thorough topside check revealed everything in perfect order. The problem was revealed when someone jumped in the water to check underneath. There, still strapped securely in place, was the trailer!