Or at least according to Minneapolis Star Tribune writer Rick Nelson, who analyzes some of the recent restaurant PR pitches he's received in a column today.

His favorite:

Pracna on Main played host to the 1892 Republican National Convention held in Minneapolis and has been waiting all these years to be the site of your landmark RNC party in 2008!"

All of the other pitches mentioned in the column did not catch Rick's eye (for good reasons, at least). Read the full list here.

Is your company, or for you agency folk, are your clients involved in the virtual world of Second Life? Now, Google has their own version, dubbed "Lively." And the media are already bracing for an onslaught of PR pitches regarding this new virtual world.

Advertising Age's Ken Wheaton does not want to receive these pitches. He makes the case with a post today in the AdAges blog:

The first one of you who sends me a press release announcing a party or a conference or a store in virtual world Lively (from Google) is going to get a real-world office visit, complete with a real-world baseball bat. The only thing that will stop the ensuing rampage will be a real-world offering of Jack Daniel's on the rocks.

Hey, we never accused Ken of not getting straight to the point! Make sure you have some whiskey, folks. You have been warned.

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New York Times "Executive Suite" blogger Joe Nocera recently received a PR pitch that was, according to him, "so brazen, so craven, so mind-bogglingly inane that I feel compelled to share it with others."

The issue? Pitching children as "fashion accessories."

From the pitch, which was promoting Phil & Ted's, the premiere maker of juvenile products:

Children have become fashion accessories to parents who take them out and show them off not only in the park, but also in restaurants, chic resorts, and places that used to be the bastion of couples; which necessitates chic accoutrements to make them more mobile, like strollers, portable cribs and playpens.

Joe went so far as to out the offending pitchee, which we won't do here. Are you offended by this pitch?

PR people put that phrase in a lot of e-mail pitches. Why? Whenever one contacts a journalist, as a PR person, it would seem that it is implied the journalist may call or e-mail you with questions if they're interested in what you have to offer. A lot of pitches come into PRNewser with that phrase, and while we definitely appreciate the offer, we will usually ask questions regardless.

Maybe we can file this in the same category of over used phrases, including "Hope you're doing well." (Ok, so we still use that one from time to time.)

As we've mentioned before, when you pitch via email, imagine you are talking to that person in real life. What would you say to them?

RELATED: How to Pitch PRNewser

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Is your office closing early tomorrow? Or, will you be working with reporters to help them fill in the enormous news hole that is the holiday weekend?

I mean, how many stories on travel issues and rising gas costs can one do?

The benefits can be two fold: you provide reporters with a newsworthy quote, nugget of information or in-studio guest when they need it. Second, you be-friend the junior reporters who tend to work the holiday shifts, and maybe reap the benefits of those relationships once they get promoted down the line.

Do you have a "slow news day" or holiday weekend pitching success story? Share it with us.

Do the words you use in your press release or media alert matter? Of course they do. But, just how much?

In today's NY Times, JoAnne Kaufman looks into how, "Strategic word selection can catapult an announcement about a study, a product or a "breakthrough" onto the evening news instead of to its usual destination - the spam folder or circular file."

The story features quotes from a number of PR pros, as well as David B. Armon, the president of PR Newswire.

PR pro Tom Gable, a former editor at the San Diegon Union, compiled a list of words we all hear to much and will not help any announcement: "solutions," "leading edge," "cutting edge," "state of the art," "mission critical," and "turnkey."

Click here for the full story.

We recently received an e-mail pitch forwarded from a reader where the opening line read as follows:

(Publication's) Editorial Director is (name), a smart and beautiful veteran of 25 years is one of the most respected editors in the magazine world.

As you can see we've removed all identifying info. The reader sent us the pitch along with this note:

This struck me as inappropriate and questionable. Does the female editor-in-chief in question know she is being pitched to media on the basis of her 'beauty,' as well as her experience? It seems terribly ignorant and sexist, and if this guy were my publicist, I'd want him fired since I'd bet dollars to donuts he's not pitching male EICs as being handsome or anything tied to their looks. Wanted to share it with you so you might expose the sexism that's alive and kicking.

What's your take? Have you ever been asked to send a pitch like this?

As PR pros, we're always looking to insert our client into the news story or trend of the week.

Sometimes it's done right and makes sense, for example if you represent a promintent intellectual property lawyer and pitch him to comment on the latest online content lawsuit.

However, there are other times when not only does it not make sense, but it is distasteful.

Well, another agency got in on the act this week, trying to work into the stories around George Carlin's death. We know the agency, and for the most part, they've sent us great pitches. So, we're not going to "out" them, but we will post the offending pitch, which offered an editor to comment on "media culture" and how it relates to Carlin's death.

Read on for the full pitch.

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Who doesn't want front page story? Whether it's in a newspaper, magazine or trade publication, scoring a cover story will be sure to make your client - or boss - happy.

But how do you do it? Well, first off, you have to ask. Without a good pitch, a cover story you shall not receive.

Former Microsoft marketer turned consultant, Whitney Keyes, writes in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer how she secured a front page story for a Web TV show she hosts and co-produces.

Whitney's tactic? A targeted pitch to a single writer, referencing a series of stories she was producing and suggesting a relevant topic for a future story. It took several months, but Whitney got her front page story.

Scanning our Publicity Corner forum recently, we came across the topic, "What travel writers really do with your press kit," which contained a link to a TravelWriters.com message board discussion.

Some helpful tips for PR pros looking to send swag or press kits:

I am most appreciate of PRs who are thoughtful enough to send the kit *before the trip. I rarely read these things when I'm actually on the road and sometimes, if I get the info before hand, I can take a look and make sure I can ask more targeted questions and look for specific things.

In light of most US airlines charging for the first bag, press kits will have to be condensed to CD/DVDs or zip drives. I know that if I get overloaded with press kits at this point, I cull them down to CD only and biz card to save space. Sometimes I'll keep the few necessary papers.

When do you send press kits? Do you still even use them, or is almost all promo done online?