Press releases of the day: Jim Rose's ambiguous brawl, and how to find the man on the street

by Jay Gabler | 7/20/09"It is with our deepest regrets," Magnum PR announced this afternoon, "to report the news that Jim Rose of Jim Rose Circus received a brutal beating with a metal chair, wielded by WWE wrestler Kizarny, at the Galaxy Theatre in Santa Ana this past weekend." This beating, the press release continued, injured Rose's "already fragile" neck, forcing Rose to postpone planned stops on his freak-show circus's tour.

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A little Googling informed me that Rose had been serving as impresario for a show involving Kizarny, and being an exceedingly credulous person (despite what previous blog entries may have led you to believe), I imagined that there had been some sort of labor dispute. I wrote to impolitically named Magnum rep "Sioux Z" requesting further details, and was candidly informed that in fact the injury was accidental. Kizarny had simply been "teaching Jim chair tricks after the show on Saturday and that's when Jim got hurt. He'll be all right, just needs to take 3-4 weeks off." Not very hard-core after all...but I did learn from the return address on the second e-mail that the Z stands for "Zimmerman," suggesting that maybe there's another story there. Forbidden love on the Iron Range? Meanwhile, I'd received an ad from an organization called Reporter's Source, "a free and easy to use service connecting reporters with sources." What kind of sources? "We have a large database that includes experts, small and large businesses as well as the man and woman on the street." Whoever that man and woman are, they must get a lot of phone calls. Above: If that didn't impress Jim Rose, no wonder he wanted to learn some new tricks. Photo by Jeff Gunn (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.)

Previous Press Releases of the Day: • The edge of Tomato • Nothing scandalous, just some booze and Jenga • Robots fish for prostates • The Rake Angel • Listening to dirt • Reindeer games at the Red Stag • Does St. Paul owe the Pope $3.4 million? • Tonic Sol-fa visit the Don Shelby Radio Show • Rybak proclaims Tonic Sol-fa Day in Minneapolis • Ruddy ducks, Autoharp warriors, boozing ladies, YogaSoul, Quincy Jones, and the hateful warmongers who are Tonic Sol-fa • A post-pop Pocahontas • There will be dogs • Feather ticklers and seduction sashes • Black mold and Spud Too Tight • Faux-tinis and Canada's culinary queen • Nienstedt got game • Keith Urban grills white bread, exclusively for the Daily Planet • Your #1 exotic animal Christian presentation • Via Tania, by the book • Guess who's coming to dinner with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit • Is that a giant lipstick in your lap, or are you just happy to see me? • Mr. Bubble, a barbershop legend, and unlimited spam

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