The Odd Truth, April 21, 2005

The Odd Truth is a collection of strange but factual news stories from around the world compiled by CBSNews.com's Joey Arak.

Mayoral Candidate's Switcheroo

SAN ANTONIO - Mayoral hopeful Julian Castro really wasn't in two places at once. His twin brother took his place in a parade this week, waving to the crowd of thousands.

Castro told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he had a conflicting event and didn't intend to deceive anyone.

"We can't help that we look like each other," said Castro, a City Council member and leading contender in next month's election.

Retired state appeals court judge Phil Hardberger, one of Castro's opponents, said he believes the parade appearance was dishonest and deceptive.

"If you're 18 years old and having a date, it might be a youthful prank when you swap out your brother. But when you're running for mayor of a city with 1.3 million people and sending in your brother as an impersonator ... I do see a problem with it," Hardberger said.

Julian Castro said his brother usually accompanies him in the parade, and they are rarely mistaken for each other when together.

Attorney's Double Duty

LOS ANGELES - Criminal defense attorney Ronald S. Miller does more than file briefs -- he also takes them off.

Miller has spent days in front of a judge and nights in front of a camera as Don Hollywood, a porn star. His wife, a former accountant, is also a porn star.

"My whole life, I've been one of those people who sees the wet paint sign and has to go up and touch it to see if it's wet," said the 56-year-old Miller. "I want to experience everything, try everything."

He has appeared in more than 90 films in the past seven years.

Miller said he tells his clients about his night job and has had no trouble balancing the careers.

Ethics expert and attorney Arthur Margolis said Miller isn't breaking any rules moonlighting as a porn actor.

"There isn't anything more unethical about that than being an actor or a novelist or somebody who sells frozen yogurt," Margolis said. "The only thing you have to be careful of, as you would in any other industry, is you don't do anything criminal or unethical in the sense of dishonesty."

Full Moon Inside Courthouse

PANAMA CITY, Fla. - A defendant who bared his backside in court and told a judge "I am going to the moon" has been ruled mentally competent for trial.

Cornell Jackson, 31, tried to persuade Circuit Judge Michael Overstreet that he was crazy and not faking mental illness at a hearing Tuesday but to no avail.

"I ain't in my right mind," Jackson insisted. He also told the judge: "I am going to the moon. The spirits are gonna take me to the moon."

Jackson is facing a retrial on charges he beat his girlfriend. He was convicted of armed burglary, aggravated battery and aggravated assault at two trials and was sentenced to 33 years in prison.

He declined to attend the first trial and was removed from the second in July 2003 after shouting "cuckoo" and displaying his bottom to jurors.

The 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee last year reversed the convictions because Jackson never received a formal hearing to determine his mental competency.

No new trial date has been set.

Paper Fakers Booted From Conference

BOSTON - If you were planning on attending the Ninth World Multi-Conference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics in Orlando to hear a presentation on a paper called "Rooter," don't bother.

The paper is a hoax cooked up by three M.I.T. graduate students who wanted to show what kind of gobbledygook gets accepted at academic conferences.

The paper came from a computer program the three wrote to generate fake papers. It works a bit like "Mad Libs," using random sentences from real papers, but leaving words blank. Then it substitutes buzzwords from computer science.

The students have been disinivited from the Florida conference, but they still want to go. Says one: "We wanted to go down there and give a randomly-generated talk."

The Force Is Long With This One

LOS ANGELES - This is for film fans who can't get enough "Star Wars" and can't wait until the final chapter in the six-movie saga opens May 19th.

All six "Star Wars" pictures will run back-to-back at London's Leicester Square on the 16th. The marathon ends with the new one, "Revenge of the Sith."

It's set to start at 7 a.m. and run about 14 hours, plus meal breaks. It takes place across the street from the movie's London premiere, which will be attended by director George Lucas and members of the cast.

Tickets go on sale Monday at the box office and online.

"Revenge of the Sith" chronicles the last steps that turned Anakin Skywalker into the villainous Darth Vader.

Pot Bust, Butt...

GRASS VALLEY, Calif. - A bullet in the butt has led authorities to a pile of pot. Brandon Sanders called for help after being shot in the rear end. Deputies and paramedics in Grass Valley, California, found the wounded Sanders sitting in his car in a parking lot. Sheriff Keith Royal says a deputy smelled a strong odor of pot in the area. Royal says officers followed a trail of blood to three large bags of marijuana hidden in some nearby bushes. Deputies say they also found a large roll of cash near the car. The investigation continues, but Royal says Sanders hasn't been the most cooperative victim.

Cross-Dresser Can't Rob Bank

STERLING, Va. - She was really a he. And authorities say he's a would-be bank robber. Investigators in Loudoun County, Virginia, are looking for a six-foot-three man, who was last seen wearing a flowery dress, a dark wig and white gloves. According to deputies, the cross-dressing bandit walked into a northern Virginia bank and handed a note to a teller that implied he had a weapon. But the man's purse was still empty when he walked out of the bank. The teller refused to give him any money and he walked away.