Thought someone around here might find this amusing.

*retires back to lurker mode*

Nicky? Waarvan het jy gekom?

Have not seen you post in ages!

//sends some grondboointjiebotter for Dibs//

__________________________________
'We're all mad here. I'm mad, you're mad." [said the Cat.]
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "Or you wouldn't have come here."
- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures In Wonderland

This rings urban myth/ web hoax alarm bells.

You can't believe everything you read, but it did get picked-up by Reuters as well.

I don't know, it's no sillier than 'Sarah'

It didn't just get 'picked up' by Reuters, it seems to have emanated from there. The reporter, Philip Pullella, claims to have seen it on the front page of 'an Italian newspaper' (the phrasing rings alarm bells) but I've had no luck tracing it any further back than Pullella himself.

The child's name is, more accurately, 'Venerdi' (Italian for Friday) according to the story. In a variation on the linked article (see Nicky's post) Pullella names actual Italian judges who are quite high ranking - unusual for both web hoaxes and urban myths and an indication that it may be genuine.

On the other hand, one wonders if the judges are just a little *too* highly ranked - the Appeal process seems to have skipped from the equivalent of the local beadle to the highest court in the land.

Last (but not least),it was only a year or so ago that a Reuters reporter resigned in disgrace after admitting to making up the story of - wait for it - an Italian child who had been named 'Yahoo' because his parents loved the web site. A similar chain of events was described therein. When everyone else tried to pick up the story for a follow-up, the hoax was discovered. I'm wondering if the Venerdi story is celebrating the anniversary of that.

Curiously, that earlier reporter needed look no further than the catastophically untalented Australian actor, Yahoo Serious, for a real basis for a story.

And your name is one of my favourites Kitten.

Awwe shucks.
Oddly enough, Yahoo Serious was my first ever celebrity crush... It was the whole Young Einstine thing. I was young and stupid. er.

Hold on to your hats fforumites! I got this email in my hotmail this morning. My apologies and thanks (by the way) to Philip Pullella, who must have come across this thread in the course of his job (I hadn't contacted him):

Dear Sir, here are links of Italian newspapers, primarily La Repubblica, which ran the Friday/Gregory story. I then followed it up by calling the lawyer and mother directly from Rome on the same day that is appeared on the front page of La Repubblica, which is Italy's largest circulation mainstream newspaper.
Hope this helps.
Best regards
Philip Pullella



[www.google.it]


[www.repubblica.it]


[www.repubblica.it]


[espresso.repubblica.it]


[espresso.repubblica.it]

Here's a hopeful sequel:

Monday 27 March 2057

A new pope has just been selected. He is Italian and his family name is Gregory Germano. He has chosen not to be Pope Gregory XIV or whatever but on Friday he will be installed with the name originally chosen for him.

Pope Friday 1st.

Judges and magistrates will be expressly invited to the ceremony and will have their seats located in the position relative to the holy throne that the dock has in a normal court of law.


Let us pray!!!!!!!!

Now I lay me down to sleep...

We'd better start organising this now... Does anyone have a horseshoe shaped chair?

No but I've got a chair shaped horseshoe. Does this count?

It was made this way to get a better seating on the poor horse's hoof.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/24/2007 01:05PM by bunyip.

I do have a horseshoe shaped chair. Upholstered in blue velvet, no less. Long ago it used to be red courduroy, but mom had it redone because the cushions were causing too much damage during pillow fights...

*cough* I think you have a different type of chair in mind. THIS chair is designed to *stop* arguments...

That one did, too. I think my baby sister was actually knocked out once.

Gosh!