• by John Gaffney , June 20, 2003

OPRs For June 20.

They Forgot Bassmasters: From SF Gate Morning Fix: Wal-Mart just recently decided to cover up the covers of other, less garish but apparently equally "naughty" women's mags like Elle and Cosmo (which, BTW, is owned by Hearst, as is SFGate) and Mademoiselle due to racy or suggestive images -- but will not, presumably, cover up the truly dangerous and psychologically debilitating mags like Better Homes & Gardens, Mary-Kate and Ashley and Cake Decorating & Dog Mange Monthly. Go figure.

So Much For Advertising Environment: A Portland, OR pizza chain called Pizza Schmizza has hired homeless people off the street to promote the product. They are paid in pizza, soda and a few dollars. According to published reports, instead of going Dumpster-diving for maybe a half-eaten sandwich and some cold fries, Peter Schoeff, a 20-year-old homeless man, was served a slice of hot pizza dripping with cheese. All he had to do was hold a sign for about 40 minutes that read: "Pizza Schmizza paid me to hold this sign instead of asking for money."

My Favorite Spam of the Week: An email Thursday showed up from a guy named Paul Liar (no kidding). It was titled "Need your assistant." It read: "I am Simon P. Liar jr, the only son of Col.Paul Liar, one of the senior officials of revolutionary united front of Sierra Leone...."

But I'll Bet They Can Name All Four "Friends:" Nearly two-thirds of American adults cannot recall the names of any of the nine justices currently serving on the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a new national survey. The survey conducted by FindLaw, the leading legal Web site, found that only 35 percent of American adults could name at least one current Supreme Court justice. Less than one percent could correctly name all nine justices. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court, was the justice most frequently identified, followed by Justice Clarence Thomas, and Chief Justice William Rehnquist.