Quis Fabricariet Ipsos Fabricares?

Dresden art dealer Petra Kujau was found guilty of forgery this week, after passing off three hundred paintings she had come into possession of as the work of her "great-uncle", Konrad Kujau. The 51 year-old singer turned dealer would add a facsimile of Kujau senior's signature to the paintings, then sell them on at a greatly inflated price.

So far, so mundane. What makes this story particularly WU worthy is that Konrad Kujau was himself a forger, and his self-proclaimed niece was selling her forgeries as "genuine forgeries" created by her famous uncle Konrad. It all begins to make sense once you learn that Mr. Kujau did not limit himself to forging paintings, but was also known to forge the odd diary or two, specifically those of one Adolf Hitler. Although ultimately unsuccessful, his forgeries of the Hitler Diaries were good enough to fool not just many newspapers and magazines, but also at least two historians, and the unmasking of the hoax caused many a journalist and editor a red face. But the notoriety afforded Konrad Kujau as the man "behind" the Hitler diaries meant that he could command considerable sums for something a small as Hitler's signature on a card, and original "Kujau forgeries" soon became enough of a collector's item that he could make a comfortable living from them after his release from prison in 1987.

After his death in September 2000 his business was carried on by Petra Kujau, who evidently decided that one forgery was as good as another, and began importing cheap copies of famous works from Asian suppliers and passing them off as eminently more desirable "Kujau forgeries", which in one sense they were. But soon the sheer volume of Kujau forgeries on the market aroused the suspicions of at least one collector, who tipped off the police to the double forgery.

Which just leaves the question, just where can I get hold of a genuine Petra Kujau double forgery? Now that's something I'd like to own!

Posted By: Dumbfounded - Sun Sep 12, 2010 - Comments (6)
Category: Art, Business, Crime, Frauds, Cons and Scams, Hoaxes and Imposters and Imitators

A Murder Of… Budgies?

The dark heart of a popular British pass-time was thrust into public view this week when allegations of sabotage, rustling and murder shook the world of... competitive budgerigar breeding.

On the eve of the prestigious Cornwall Budgerigar Show, the aviary of Andrew Pooley, one of South England's top budgie breeders, was broken into and 21 of his best birds were stolen. Worse still, several birds were badly injured and one, reigning "best of breed" title holder Penmead Pride, had been killed. Stamped on by the callous intruders.

Because their distinctive markings would be instantly recognised among the close-knit budgie fancying community, the score of stolen budgies are unlikely to ever make another show appearance. And that might suit the culprit just fine, if his intention was to eliminate the competition by fair means or (can't resist, sorry) fowl. Pooley had left the shed unlocked briefly when he ran an errand to the nearby town of Camelford from his home in Delabole in Cornwall, and only noticed something was wrong at 9.45 that evening, when he came to make a final check on his prized birds and was - in an suitably Harrissian moment - startled by the silence of the budgies. Police are still investigating whether this is the work of a competitor but Mr. Pooley is in no doubt.

"The person or people who did this must have known exactly which ones to take because they only targeted my show team," he told reporters (Daily Mail).

Posted By: Dumbfounded - Thu Sep 09, 2010 - Comments (17)
Category: Animals, Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Boredom, Contests, Races and Other Competitions, Crime, Hobbies and DIY, Obsessions

Shoplifting 101 - When NOT To Shoplift

In a move that would have fit right into the movie Dumb and Dumber, two young men were caught shoplifting... from a store full of more than sixty uniformed police officers. The annual 'Shop With A Cop' event in Portland marks the beginning of the school year as the officers take dozens of needy children to a local store to purchase school supplies. Store security notified the police that the two men were stuffing their backpacks with items. The men stated "we thought the police would be distracted." You can read more about it here.

Posted By: Nethie - Sat Aug 28, 2010 - Comments (8)
Category: Cops, Crime, Humor, Ineptness, Crudity, Talentlessness, Kitsch, and Bad Art, Stupidity, Your Daily Loser, Goofs and Screw-ups

The Girls of Murder City

I just read this book (pictured to the right, with link) which offers a rich and fascinating glimpse of a moment in Chicago when there were several female murderers simultaneously occupying the headlines and jails. This is always prime WU material in any era, and I don't believe you will be disappointed if you read this excitingly written historical account.

Why the video of an old song in this post? It's the tune that one of the murderesses played and danced to, over the corpse of her victim!

Posted By: Paul - Wed Aug 18, 2010 - Comments (4)
Category: Crime, Feminism, Music, Regionalism, Wives, Books, 1920s

I Feel More Secure Already

I stumbled across this essay quite by accident. I was laughing at the image to the right (seriously? snow globes? they must have watched that short by Pixar where the itty bitty plastic snowman tries to blow up his globe to reach the hot mermaid in the snow globe next to his and they thought it was reality TV). Under that image was a link to the following essay, Terrorism, Tweezers, and Terminal Madness: An Essay On Security. It's not a short read, but it is definitely worth reading if you want a pilot's perspective on what airline security has become since September 11, 2001. Perhaps even more interesting is the list of air crimes at the end of the essay, sorted by date, starting in 1970.

Posted By: Nethie - Sun Aug 08, 2010 - Comments (9)
Category: Crime, Destruction, Disasters, Explosives, Flight, Terrorism and Terrorists

Rugby Robbery Smackdown

If all rugby players carried chairs, then I can see crime significantly decreasing.



Martin Richardson later broke his arm in a rugby match. When he showed up later to receive recognition for this smackdown, he was in a cast. I'll bet he still would have beat this guy even if he had an arm in a cast.



Sorry for the commercial before the video -- but it is well worth the wait. Especially the last part.

All I can say is thank goodness for closed-circuit television!!

Posted By: gdanea - Thu May 20, 2010 - Comments (1)
Category: Crime

Crimebo the Clown

Read about Crimebo here.

Posted By: Paul - Sat May 15, 2010 - Comments (3)
Category: Clowns, Crime, Sightseeing

One Stop Weird News Shopping

Chuck might get an entire week's worth of material from this. Mischief makers, thefts, bear costumes, calling 911 because she was hungry, disturbances, one animal complaint after another, suspicious situations and more! I just want to say that after reading this police blotter from Cleveland, Ohio's Sun Star Courier, I feel much better about myself, and the small town in which I live.

(The image is from the July, 1946 issue of Popular Science.)

Posted By: Nethie - Thu May 13, 2010 - Comments (4)
Category: Animals, Crime, Stupidity, Urban Life, More Things To Worry About, Recurring, Goofs and Screw-ups

Amphibious Assault

Never let it be said that Florida is boring. In April, In Port St. Lucie, Carl J. Frost was arrested and charged with aggravated domestic battery - for hitting his roommate's son (Jason) in the head with a five pound ceramic frog. Mr. Frost is claiming self defense, of course, because Jason punched him first. One of the folks who left a comment on the article made a valid point: "You people shouldn't make fun of this situation. A five-pound ceramic object can be very dangerous. If the victim had been hit hard enough, he could have croaked."

Posted By: Nethie - Thu May 06, 2010 - Comments (10)
Category: Animals, Crime, Violence, Goofs and Screw-ups

Streets of Plenty

Streets of Plenty - TRAILER - Feature Documentary from Corey Ogilvie on Vimeo.

Man voluntarily strands self in slums wearing only a pair of skivvies.

But exactly how alone could he be, if someone was always filming him?

Posted By: Paul - Sat Apr 10, 2010 - Comments (1)
Category: Crime, Drugs, Documentaries, North America