No Comment - a journalist practicing conceptual interviews - this and other items are discussed - Brief Article

Conceptual Lying

From a Reuters on-line article datelined Los Angeles on Swiss journalist Tom Kummer and his series of made-up intimate interviews with top Hollywood celebrities such as Sharon Stone, Courtney Love, and Brad Pitt: "Kummer himself was defiant, calling his work `conceptual art' in a letter to his editors. `It's all about entertainment, and you know it.'" Kummer had invented a Pitt quote that said, "Sometimes, something will be hanging out of my nose ... for days."

Outside the Robe

From a Reuters on-line article datelined Houston on State District Judge Lon Harper, who was reprimanded for cleaning two Colt Model 1873 revolvers during a capital murder trial last year: "`Almost all the judges carry guns. I just should have kept mine under the robe instead of outside of it with a screwdriver,' said Harper."

Ad Libs, Take 1

From The Orlando Sentinel on-line edition on the football team the Orlando Predators and its controversial billboard campaigns: "Two season-opening ads that feature a woman's breasts and the words `Fake left, fake right ... Predators football is back!' will be removed ... when the lease expires."

Communication Gap

From an article in The Wall Street Journal, datelined Irvine, California: "In Irvine, where most domestics are Mexican immigrants--legal and illegal--a popular book titled How to Communicate with Your Spanish-Speaking Help offers phrases like `Don't pour grease down the garbage disposal,' and `How long are you planning to stay in the USA?'"

Nuclear Knickknacks

From an article in The Capital Times of Madison, Wisconsin, on an Energy Department inspector general's report noting that used bomb parts from the former Rocky Flats nuclear plant in Colorado were being made into candy dishes and paperweights: "The items, taken from trash bins after weapons production stopped at the plant in 1989, were not radioactive. `Some folks want to have a souvenir or memento of what happened here,' said Paul Golan, the Rocky Flats deputy manager."

What's in a Name?

From a Reuters on-line article datelined London on a group of English villagers who turned down a proposal to rename one of their town's streets called Cowshit Lane: "The name stirred controversy when the village of Golant in southwest England decided to have a map drawn up for visitors. `I live there, and I have no objection to the name,' local council chairman Alistair Barr was quoted as saying by the Times. `Some others have suggested renaming it Cowslip Lane, which I don't agree with.'"

Ad Libs, Take 2

From a Reuters on-line article datelined New York City on the financial news and information web site called TheStreet.com, Inc., and its new advertising campaign created by DeVito/Verdi: "The ads feature eye-catching, innuendo-laden wordplays.... `38 Double D's. Flock of geese. High-flying techs. Eventually, they all start heading South.' ... `We're making a point in a smart, witty way. It's ignore us at your own risk,' said Ellis Verdi, president of DeVito/Verdi."

Pass the Dramamine

From a press release sent out by the Lady Slipper Press of Tustin, Michigan, citing some explanations editors have given for their decision not to review the book The Women's Great Lakes Reader: "Couldn't find a woman reviewer; editor gets seasick easily; newspaper readers aren't interested in women's history; too regional."

Readers are invited to submit No Comment items. Please send original clippings or photocopies and give name and date of publication. Submissions cannot be acknowledged or returned.

COPYRIGHT 2000 The Progressive, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group