Silly News Items Not Covered In The Shoutbox That Don't Warrant Individual Threads

Australian drunk survives attempt to ride crocodile

A drunk man who climbed into a crocodile enclosure in Australia and attempted to ride a 5m (16ft) long crocodile has survived his encounter.
The crocodile, called Fatso, bit the 36-year-old man's leg, tearing chunks of flesh from him as he straddled the reptile.
He received surgery to serious wounds to his leg and is recovering in hospital, police say.
He had been chucked out of a pub in the town of Broome for being too drunk.
The man, who was not named by the police, climbed over a fence and tried to sit on the 800kg (1,800lb) saltwater crocodile.

"Fatso has taken offence to this and has spun around and bit this man on the right leg," Sgt Roger Haynes of Broome police told journalists.
"The crocodile has let him go and he's been able to scale the fence again and leave the wildlife park."
'Right mind'
Malcolm Douglas, the park's owner, said that the crocodile was capable of crushing a man to death with a single bite.
"The man who climbed the fence was fortunate because Fatso was a bit more sluggish than normal, due to the cooler nights we have been experiencing in Broome," said Mr Douglas.
"If it had been warmer and Fatso was more alert, we would have been dealing with a fatality."
"No person in their right mind would try to sit on a 5m crocodile, Saltwater crocodiles, once they get hold of you, are not renowned for letting you go."
The man staggered back to the pub bleeding heavily.
Pub manager Mark Phillips said staff told him that the man reappeared at about 11pm with bits of bark hanging off him and flesh gouged out of his limbs.
"They said he had chunks out of his legs and things like that," Mr Phillips told The West Australian news website.
An average of two people are killed each year in Australia by aggressive saltwater crocodiles, which can grow up to 7m (23 ft) long and weigh more than a tonne.

The German aquarium that owns octopus oracle Paul has rejected a number of bids for the celebrity mollusk from Spain.

Paul rose to international prominence by correctly calling the outcome of all seven of Germany's matches at the 2010 World Cup, culminating in their semi-final defeat by eventual champions Spain.

With many in his home country speculating how Paul would taste grilled in garlic butter, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero offered to send a security team to protect the two-and-a-half-year-old.

Meanwhile, officials from the Spanish town of O Caraballino tried to borrow Paul to promote a seafood festival and a businessman from the town also offered about Ł26,000 to buy him, but the Sea Life aquarium in Oberhausen declined.

Madrid Zoo then asked Sea Life if it would be willing to make a deal to bring him in - on either a temporary or permanent basis - as a tribute to the Spanish football team's victory, but that request has also been rejected.

It's totally out of the question to sell Paul or lend him out," said Sea Life spokeswoman Kerstin Kuehn. "Paul will enjoy his greatly deserved retirement in Sea Life in Oberhausen." (Associated Press)

Tom Cruise enjoyed being the "top gun" on the Top Gear racetrack, he said.

In between promoting his latest film, Knight And Day, in the UK, the Mission: Impossible actor, 48, found time to race around the famous track against co-star Cameron Diaz.

"It was fun, very fun. I like fast cars and motorcycles - I've always loved them since I was a kid," he said on the red carpet at the film's premiere in London.

The two Hollywood stars were racing one another in a Kia cee'd in a bid to complete the fastest lap, and the results will be shown on Sunday's Top Gear show on BBC Two.

Diaz, who glittered in a silver sequinned Stella McCartney minidress, admitted she was finding it difficult to keep their scores a secret.

"We did timed laps. It's very exciting - we know the score and we want to tell everybody, but we can't because we want them to watch the show," she said.
The 37-year-old added: "I love speed. What I love about it is that you have to live in the moment, and I love just being in the moment."

Cruise heaped praise on his co-star, saying: "Cameron is such a great actress to work with every day. She's someone who brings a smile every day, she's just someone who is very fun to be around."

Diaz returned the compliment, saying: "Tom is just amazing and so much fun. We had a laugh every day, and did the best work we could."

The high-octane blockbuster, directed by James Mangold, will be released on Friday August 6.

A movie buff who holds the world record for the amount of films that he has watched has died aged 65.

Gwilym Hughes was included in the 2008 Guinness Book of Records after having watched over 28,000 films. Hughes, from Dolgellau in North Wales, sat through up to 14 films a week.

He became obsessed with films after a childhood illness left him in hospital for two-and-a-half-years.

Remembering seeing 'King Solomon's Mines' during that time, he said in 2008, "You can imagine what it was like. I could only waddle my feet and move my hands and head.

"I was in an iron frame, and you saw these moving things in front of you. You just couldn't wait for the next time.

"They were so wonderful. It just clicked my imagination."

He kept a detailed record of all the films he watched, including a cast list and often newspaper cuttings about the movie.

Despite his love for films, he insisted that it never took over his life.

"People think that I'm glued to the television set 24 hours a day but I'm not because I'm a member of about ten organisations," he said.

"I watch films from about 9pm until about 12am. Sometimes I could set up one on the television in the study. It works out about 10 to 14 films a week."

His favourite film was David Lean's 'Lawrence of Arabia'.

Clint Eastwood passed on Bond and Superman
Clint Eastwood turned down the chance to play James Bond and Superman early on in his career.

The 'Dirty Harry' star recently let it slip that he passed on the chance to play two iconic roles.

When Sir Sean Connery decided to quit playing James Bond after 1971's 'Diamonds Are Forever', Eastwood was approached by the film series' bosses to don the famous tuxedo.

He told the LA Times, "I was also offered pretty good money to do James Bond if I would take on the role. But to me, well, that was somebody else's gig. That's Sean's deal. It didn't feel right for me to be doing it."

Years later, Eastwood was then asked to play Superman by Warner Bros president, Frank Wells. Again, he turned the role down.

"I was like, 'Superman’? Nah, nah, that's not for me.' Not that there's anything wrong with it. It's for somebody, but not me.

"I always liked characters that were more grounded in reality."

As one of Hollywood's greatest screen heroes, it's no surprise to discover Eastwood doesn't regret his decision.

"Believe me, I can get it out of my mind. I got it out of my mind back then. It was easy," he said.

Snoop to form band with Beckham's kids
Snoop Dogg is hoping to scoop the Christmas number one with a band comprising his kids and the Beckham boys, potentially going head to head with the ‘X Factor' winner.

The Doggfather is compiling a celeb-packed album, and hopes that he can hook up Brookyln, Cruz and Romeo with his sons Corde and Cordell to make a chart smash.

"With me, David and Victoria behind them they would be unstoppable. We're in talks for a Christmas recording," said Snoop.

"You got his kids and my kids, and we bring them together. I'm waiting for Becks to get back in town. I can't see why their first single shouldn't be out by Christmas."

Snoop seemingly has 11-year-old Brooklyn in mind to front the group. [Daily Star]

Xbox LIVE locks out ‘Fort Gay’ gamer

Political correctness takes a step closer to complete insanity, as Microsoft bans a gamer from Xbox LIVE just because of where he lives.

You see, Josh Moore, a 26 year-old unemployed factory worker with a penchant for first-person shooters, is a resident of “Fort Gay”. This diminutive West Virginian ‘burg dates back to 1789 and is thought to be named after an American Civil War nurse. Sadly, Xbox LIVE staff knew nothing of this and didn’t even bother to check the town’s existence. Instead they suspended Moore’s Xbox LIVE account when they saw what was considered to be an offensive term in his gamer profile.

Needless to say, Moore was somewhat dumbfounded, complaining: "At first I thought, 'Wow, somebody's thinking I live in the gayest town in West Virginia or something. I was mad. ... It makes me feel like they hate gay people."

You might think that such a simple mistake would be easy to fix with a quick phone call to Xbox Customer services. Alas, this only seemed to make matters worse: "I figured, I'll explain to them, 'Look in my account. Fort Gay is a real place. I told him, Google it - 25514!" said Moore, identifying the town's ZIP code.

However the Xbox LIVE employee responded with a stern warning that if Moore put Fort Gay back in his profile, they’d cancel his account and keep the two years’ subscription fee he’d already paid in advance.

Even Fort Gay’s Mayor, David Thompson, was unable to help, and was summarily informed that “Gay” was deemed an insulting term when used in any context. Which, of course, is complete nonsense – quite apart from its ‘Happy’ meaning, Microsoft itself has recently changed its policy, allowing Xbox gamers to express their sexuality in their profiles and gamer tags.

But it took Xbox LIVE’s director of policy and enforcement, Stephen Toulouse, to finally break the unfortunate impasse.

“Someone took the phrase 'Fort Gay WV' and believed that the individual who had that was trying to offend, or trying to use it in a pejorative manner. Unfortunately, one of my people agreed with that. When it was brought to my attention, we did revoke the suspension."

"In this very, very specific case, a mistake was made and we're going to make it right."

To which end, staff training has since been improved and senses of humour have been reset. At least until the next moronic misunderstanding hoves into view...

A number of witnesses swear they saw a man falling head first from the sky without a parachute or paraglider in New Jersey.
"You could see the arms and legs flailing," Kelly Hale told 6ABC. "There is no doubt that it is a person, we are 100 per cent sure."
Hale said her and two of her colleagues saw him drop behind trees into a forest across the road from their office.

Hollywood actor Randy Quaid is seeking asylum in Canada after claiming that he is on a ‘celebrity death list’ and fears his life is in danger.

Quaid and his wife Evi were arrested in Vancouver recently over allegations they broke into their former Californian home and caused thousands of pounds worth of damage.

However, the pair are desperate to stay in the country after fearing they are being targeted by "Hollywood star whackers" - a group of people Quaid believes are responsible for the death of Heath Ledger, 'Kill Bill's David Carradine and others.

Evi told officials at the Immigration and Refugee Board, "We feel our lives are in danger.
"Randy has known eight close friends murdered in odd, strange manners. We feel that we're next."

The couple's lawyer issued a statement in which they said, "Yes, we are seeking asylum from Hollywood star whackers."

Quaid, who has appeared in a number of films including the 'National Lampoon' series and 'Independence Day', worked with Ledger on the hit drama 'Brokeback Mountain'.
Ledger died in 2008 from an accidental overdose, while Carradine died from asphyxiation last year.

Randy and his wife are to attend a second immigration hearing later this week.