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Side show
By SHARON FINK, Times Staff Writer HE'S STILL LIKE A STURGEON TO ME: It's not too late to get the time off: The third "Weird Al" Yankovic convention is April 26-27 in Elk Grove, Ill. Yankovic will not attend, Billboard.com says, but drummer "Bermuda" Schwartz will. He'll show what is billed as rare video footage and chat with conventiongoers. Also on the agenda: Look-alike and trivia contests, a lip-synch competition, "Sharko Bizarre's Gong Show," and "Al's Garage Sale," a charity auction of rare Yankovic items. The convention culminates with "the Demented Ball." It might be too late to get a date. THE PROBLEM WITH DEMOCRATS: One suggestion for the Democratic National Committee for its April 24 concert in New York kicking off a national voter registration drive: Get Michael Jackson off the bill. Isn't the point to encourage people to register Democratic? IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING: That $1-million the Survivor winner gets comes out to about $650,000 after taxes, the Fresno Bee calculates. Which means that the people on Big Brother and Fear Factor, who start out by getting much less, are humiliating themselves for pocket change. GIRL POWER SHORTAGE: One of the original members bolted for greener pastures while the group was at its peak and has done little but alienate the other four with her every move as she has hiked farther and farther into a field of weeds. The others haven't performed together in a year. They've been working on solo projects that haven't even created a spark toward setting the world on fire. Still, the fired and since rehired manager of the Spice Girls says the group will make a comeback to mark its 10th anniversary in 2004. "To me, the Spice Girls will always feel unfinished," Simon Fuller tells London's Sun. To the rest of us, they are finished just fine. SLOWER THAN THE SPEED OF MOLASSES: A British TV show that lets viewers bet on the result of bizarre stunts was stopped by police from filming the Queen Mother's funeral cortege Tuesday. The program's network refused to comment to the BBC on reports that a segment had been planned asking viewers to bet on the speed of the procession. Those reports said a speed gun was seen in the area. CRIKEY! THAT'S A LOT OF T-SHIRTS: Debuting highest on this year's list of top showbiz earners in Australia is the Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin. He and his producer-manager pulled in $16.3-million in Australian dollars last year, according to Business Review Weekly magazine. That's about $8.7-million in U.S. dollars, which is worth noting because American currency played a big role in putting him on the list. Irwin is much more popular elsewhere than he is in his home country, the Australian Associated Press says. MORE BIG U.S. BUCKS FROM DOWN UNDER: No. 2 on the list are the aging rockers of AC/DC (about $16-million U.S.), and they knocked Russell Crowe down to third ($15.4 million). At no. 10 is Bjorn Again, an ABBA tribute band ($4.7 million).
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From the wire |
