Episode #15: “A Politician Voters Deserve” (aka, Ode to the “Little People”), from True’s 14 September 2008 issue.
Obliviots/Idiots
Weird News Video #4 — Thong Bandits
Episode #4: “Don’t Swipe Your Disguise From Your Girlfriend”, from True’s 29 June 2008 issue.
Weird News Video #3 — Visionary
Episode #3: “Visionary”, from True’s 22 June 2008 issue.
Duct Tape Robber
In last week’s issue there was the story of an alleged robber who wrapped his head in duct tape as a disguise. But I forgot that I had photos of this brain surgeon to show you! But first, the story, from the 9 September issue:
Echo! (Echo!)
(Heh! When I hit ‘Save’ on this entry, there was a net.burp and, for the first time ever, I got a duplicate post. Figures it would happen with that title, eh? 🙂 )
Cassingham’s Laws
After tagging a story with “Cassingham’s Second Law”, I got a pile of email asking me to post what my first law was. So here you go.
Pretend PETA Apologist
I really had to chuckle when I got this whine — it’s not from a reader, but rather an apologist for an organization I wrote about last year. Deborah, who didn’t say where she is, stumbled across the page on my site about the “controversy” and wrote:
Why Publish Letters from “Idiots”?
Now and then there’s a story or item that brings a nearly violent response from a small subset of readers. Even though they are usually represent a very small minority of my readers, I’ll often publish such letters. Why?
Should Readers be Exempt?
My conversational style brings lots of response from readers. Usually, that response is intelligent, thoughtful, and sometimes even very entertaining. Now and then, the response is stupid, ill-thought-out, and sometimes even very entertaining. While I obviously love the first kind, it’s a lot more fun to deal with the second type.
Story Subject Demands Deletion
For the first time in years, someone featured in a This is True story has complained about it.
It took Samuel Saraiva nine years(!) to learn about the story where he’s featured and call me on the phone with the complaint.
Tattooed & Screwed
Each month, Premium subscribers get an extra story without a tagline, which they’re invited to supply — otherwise known as the monthly Tagline Challenge.
Make a Run For the Border
You’ll no doubt have questions after reading the story and seeing the photo, from the 5 December 2004 issue.
Dick Ebersol’s Plane Crash
You may have heard about the plane crash last weekend (November 28, 2004) in Montrose, Colorado, mainly because a “celebrity” was aboard (NBC Sports head Dick Ebersol; his wife is actress Susan Saint James).
Proof I’m a Stinking Liberal?
Ronald Reagan died last week. I didn’t happen to mention that fact in last Friday’s free edition — which “naturally” brought a grumpy complaint from Jeffrey in Florida:
A Failure to Grasp Reality
You know I write about idiots every week, but it’s not all that often that I have to actually deal with them one on one, in real time. But I had one today. My “other” publication, as you probably know, is the True Stella Awards, which details real-but-stupid lawsuits.
Home Schooling Looks Better Every Day
Sometimes I write taglines with the intention of provoking readers a bit, but usually they don’t rise to the bait. Other times, I’m astounded at what does trigger complaints. A good example of the latter is this story from the 15 February 2004 issue:
Politics is a Dirty Business
In the 25 August 2002 newsletter, there was a paid ad for an anti-Bush bumper sticker. The ad’s headline: There’s Dirt Under Every Bu$h. That led to (ahem) several reader letters:
Diamond Girl
The following story is pretty good. What happened after could only happen in the Twilight Zone of the Internet.
Not Just Dumb, But Hella Dumb
When reviewing the logs for my autoresponders I sometimes find people arguing with them, even though the messages they get clearly say that they are an automatic response to the email they sent. I thought you’d like to see an example.
Grasp Of The Obvious
Email makes it easy to complain. Too easy. I find people will literally complain about anything they see online.