Life imitates art. I once confused Ashworth (DETC-accredited) by calling them "Ashcroft." But now we have what looks like a major new phony, called Ashcroft University. I've got an inquiry from a reader, regarding a 'celebrity' in his area (Florida) offering high-level professional services as a Doctor, with an Ashcroft degree. What's the policy here on website-listing? Is there one? Should there be? Obviously anyone can do a Google search and find it at once, so I don't see harm -- but if inappropriate, I trust moderators will moderate. http://ashcroftuniversity1.netfirms.com/
This quote off their site reminds me of an old Amos 'n' Andy episode where The Kingfish opened a school and Andrew H. Brown was his one and only student. He told Andy he could get a degree in a few weeks. When questioned how this could be the The Kingfish told Andy because he won't be doing all the "smooching" and other things that take so much time. All in all a very funny episode.
James Bond and Heriot-Watt University: prize offered for information During the time I was doing marketing for Heriot-Watt, someone asked who the famous Heriot-Watt graduates were. I put the question to their publicity office, which replied with a reasonable list of prominent academics, business people, politicians, writers, etc. When I later spoke the writer of that letter, he said that in fact the most famous alumnus did not exist. He said that in the Ian Fleming oeuvre, it is mentioned that James Bond went to Heriot-Watt. You'd expect a Scottish spy to go to the main technological university. I mentioned this in a newsletter, and someone sent me the actual reference from a James Bond novel. But that letter, with all the other files, went off to Pearson when they bought our business, and moved it to the World Trade Center. Now I'd really like to have that reference again. Short of reading through all the Fleming books (and, I think, there were post-Fleming ones as well), I don't know how to do this. Any thoughts on this? I happily offer any three books from my own oeuvre (education, cooking, computers, consumerism, bestsellers, etc.) to the first person who finds the reference. My expectations are low, but my hopes are high. John Bear [email protected]
> But now we have what looks like a major new phony, called Ashcroft University. This new phony dates back to at least May 2002: http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=4ih6dusj01ml59kks71p6rqbpimbbqhnba%404ax.com In June 2002, Dr Bear wrote: "Indeed, there is a big new phony called Ashcroft University -- and there is a legitimate, DETC-accredited proprietary Associate-granting school called Ashworth." http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=3CFE98AC.36127685%40ursa.net The new phony itself claims to be even older. http://www.ashcroft-university.org/ and http://ashcroftuniversity1.netfirms.com say: "This website is Copyrighted ©1990, ashcroft-university.org". The Wayback machine doesn't know about it, though. And, of course, few people had even heard of the World Wide Web until about 1993. And it says: "Ashcroft University is a tertiary level institution founded in London, England, in 1972, by Dr. Harold Ames." http://www.ashcroft-university.org/faq.htm The phrase "a Prosperous Future, Money Earning Power, and the Admiration of all" (http://ashcroftuniversity1.netfirms.com/) is a trademark of the Romanian mill, isn't it? The variant "Obtain a prosperous future and secure the admiration of all for as little as $125" dates back to at least June 1998. http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=35892281.7E1B%40signal.dera.gov.uk > offering high-level professional services as a Doctor, with an > Ashcroft degree. "Ashcroft University fully complies with ruling international legislation, meaning, we do not award degrees in academic areas which are subject to separate European legislative regulations, related to the profession of physician and specialist, general nurse, dentist, midwife, veterinarian, pharmacist and architect." http://ashcroftuniversity1.netfirms.com/faq.htm
Re: James Bond and Heriot-Watt University: prize offered for information It is interesting to note that the best actor ever to play James Bond is also a Heriot-Watt “alumnus.” Sean Connery has honorary doctorates from both St Andrews University and Heriot-Watt University.
John Bear wrote: > Now I'd really like to have that reference again. I have it on good authority that this was mentioned more than once in the novels. http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=4FCS5.467%24_N3.361903%40den-news1.rmi.net > Short of reading through all the Fleming books [...], I don't > know how to do this. I've just posted this query to the "Absolutely James Bond" Website. Let's see what response we get. http://www.ajb007.co.uk/index.php?topic=16072
If memory serves, Bond went to Cambridge -- could it have been the Edinburgh school (Heriot's College?) that he went to ? I think the reference is in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", but I'm not sure.
Bond did go to high school in Edinburgh, but it was Fettes College, not Heriot's. "September, 1938. Bond, now thirteen, enters Eton [...] June, 1940. James Bond is expelled from Eton September, 1940. Bond enters Fettes, in Edinburgh, his fathers old school Spring, 1941. While on holiday in Paris, James loses his virginity and his wallet on the same night. [...] late November, 1941. Seventeen year old James leaves Fettes and claiming an age of nineteen - with help from Fleming - enters what becomes the Ministry of Defence." -- http://members.tripod.com/~Bond_MI6/chrono.html
This, of course is the well-known standard Bond bio. To this I would add some additional trivia. Fettes was not only his father's old school, but Tony Blair’s as well. Bond was kicked out of Eton for fooling around with one of the maids. In the movie version of You Only Live Twice, it is briefly mentioned that Commander Bond majored in Far Eastern Studies at Cambridge (this is not in Fleming’s book, however). At least one source (see here) claims that Robbie Coltrane, who played Valentin Dmitrovich Zukovsky (one of the more colorful Bond characters) in the movies Goldeneye and The World is Not Enough (as well as Hagrid in the Harry Potter movies) is honourary president of Heriot-Watt University. The Heriot-Watt University Students Association has been known to run a James Bond Casino Night at the Union on the Scottish Borders Campus (SBC), Galashiels. Perhaps the most comprehensive biography Fleming ever provided of James Bond was in You Only Live Twice. This novel is the source of much of the information about Bond’s early years, especially the obituary penned by M that appeared in the London Times in November of 1962 (Bond was thought to be dead after attacking Blofeld).
Ashcroft University is most notably known for its course, "Civil Rights Subjugation in the Early 21st Century." Tom Nixon
It seems that Ashcroft is also a member of the World Wide Web Chamber of Commerce. The WWWCC is responsible for promoting "responsible" internet business........do they know that one of their members is a dud?
Re: James Bond and Heriot-Watt University: prize offered for information Dr. Bear, I know this is a little off topic here, but would you be able to post a short list of prominent alumni of Heriot-Watt?
jerryclick: Dr. Bear, I know this is a little off topic here, but would you be able to post a short list of prominent alumni of Heriot-Watt? John: This whole topic is 'off topic' since I somehow asked the James Bond question in the middle of the Ashcroft thread. Sorry about that. The answer is no. We kept lists during the 7 years we did marketing for them (1991-98), but all those files are in a New Jersey landfill, having been moved to Pearson's offices in the World Trade Center. There was no one world famous. Lots of excellent titles: CEOs and CFOs and COOs and senior VPs of many large corporations. Sort of what you'd expect from a school with many thousands of MBA graduates, a well-respected science and engineering program, and the preeminent university in degrees in distilling sciences.* A former provost or other top officer of MIT. A prince of Norway (I think it was). Muriel Spark attended in the pre-degree-granting days. The 'father' of horizonal drilling, a technology used (under HWU supervision) to put out the oil fires after the first gulf war. __________ * I think, but am not certain, that my Scottish friend who was manager of the Crabbies Green Ginger Wine manufactory did a degree there. Please do not judge the university based on Crabbies, one of the more, um, unusual things I have willingly put in my mouth. Give me Diet Irn Bru any day. Or a haggis chip milkshake.
