FLASH LITES: RIP ‘N’ READ POP CULTURE RECAP
FLASH LITES: RIP ‘N’ READ POP CULTURE RECAP
AUGUSTA, N.J. (Wireless Flash) – First, the boy band O-Town disappointed fans by skipping out on a concert in Michigan last week. Now followers say they’re being ripped off with cheap O-Town T-shirts. Several New Jersey fans paid $30 for T-shirts they claim are worth less than half the price. Says one disgusted mother: “This is a mean thing to do to your fans. They’re just kids. How can you rip them off like this?”
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Here’s some big news for the Green Bay Packers: Flex magazine has selected Defensive Tackle Gilbert Brown as the NFL pro with the worst physique. The six-foot, two-inch Brown brings a lot to the table: 345 pounds to be exact.
LIMA, Peru – A unemployed Peruvian man who lopped off his penis last year to draw attention to his plight has cut off one of his testicles in front of the parliament building. The man says he decided to up the ante after his demand to see the president of Peru’s congress was denied.
SANTA MONICA, Calif. – How’d you like to take a bite out of this: A cookbook signed by movie cannibal Hannibal Lecter. MGM is auctioning off three copies of The Joy of Cooking signed by Hannibal star Anthony Hopkins.
HAVANA, Cuba – A Cuban cigar maker hopes to smoke his own record for the world’s largest cigar. Jose Castelar Cairo is in the process of molding a monster 49-foot-long cigar to beat his previous record of 36 feet.
NEW YORK – Skinny minnie Gwynnie Paltrow admits she felt “humiliated” wearing a fat suit for the upcoming film, Shallow Hal. The willowy actress tells W magazine she walked through a New York hotel lobby while strapped into the suit and no one would make eye contact with her. “It was so sad,” she sighs.
LONDON – John Cleese may be loyal to the queen, but he finds U.S. comedy better than British. He tells BBC Radio that he has no plans of quitting work in England, but says, “it is absolutely true that most of the well-paid work I get is in America.”
NEW YORK – Russell Crowe is rubbing elbows with the singers behind “Who Let The Dogs Out.” The actors’ band, Thirty Odd Food Of Grunts, has been signed to the same record label that released the one-hit wonder by The Baha Men. Artemis Records will release the Grunts new album, Bastard Life of Clarity, on September 11.
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Postal Service may be biting off more than it can chew with its newest stamp series: Carnivorous plants. The stamps are of insect-eating plants including the Venus flytrap and the Cobra lily. The stamps go on sale tomorrow (Aug. 23).
DALLAS – Venus Williams may have the trophies but sister Serena has the hearts. According to a survey by Match.com, 49 percent say Serena is the most eligible female in tennis but only 22 percent desire Venus and only 4 percent find Anna Kournikova attractive.