Comic relief for today: from The Business of America is Business, a link to Tuesdays with Mantu, a new book about a copywriter, Rich Siegel, who decided to string a Nigerian 419 scam artist along for seven weeks. He creates an alias, Mr Richard Inhande (geddit?) and, in the process, invents circumstances of his own. Then he compiled it all into a book, available at Amazon.
   From his introduction at his web site:

I had no idea the correspondence would continue for the next seven weeks. Or that I had four daughters. And a wife, Maude, with a bad case of Verticulitis of the Ovum. I had no idea I’d be quoting the literary works of Brian Boitano. Or bowling against the Modesto Nipple Twisters. I had no idea I’d be forging passports, booking flights to Togo or writing my own obituary. I had no idea I would be re-incarnated as Ukrainian emigrant Boris Beecha Kockoff or the curmudgeonly Holden McGroyne.

   Mr Siegel had to fake a decapitation to end the correspondence, though he also used a forged letter from one ‘Joe Mannix, PI’ to get out of another transaction (not published in his book). In the letter, Mr Mannix states that Messrs Barnaby Jones, Baretta and Colombo concur with his findings about the suspect dealings of the Oblowo & Oblowo law firm, though one Insp Clouseau happened to disagree.
   Mr Siegel is generous, too: he ‘is generously offering half of all book royalties to these co-authors. All they need to do is apply for an American visa and meet him at 419 Tinkerbell Lane, Fantasyland, Disneyworld, USA.’ Posted by Jack Yan, 04:37  permalink

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