Etc...
Ah, it'll never happen to me
You know, you just can't make stuff like this up: In New York's borough of Queens last week, restaurant co-owner Josephine Napolitano and her husband were watching one of those funniest-moments-caught-on-videotape TV shows when it turned to the tale of a man who'd become stuck in the chimney of a building he intended to burgle. Not long afterward, the Napolitanos' telephone rang. The police were calling because a would-be thief was wedged in the chimney of - yes - their eatery. He had to be freed with drills and a jackhammer. Alas for him, the cash register is left empty after closing. And the chimney leads only to the cellar.
Then there's the case in Vietnam's An Giang Province of a swindler who conned three men into paying $64,000 for a fake lump of black bronze - a metal that, when authentic, is used in high-end jewelry and objets d'art. Now, everyone involved is on trial for fraud. But why the buyers? Because their cash proved to be counterfeit.
Actress Jennifer Aniston, a star of the NBC sitcom "Friends" who recently appeared in the big-screen comedy "Bruce Almighty," dethroned pop star Britney Spears as the No. 1 celebrity in 2003, according to Forbes. For its Celebrity 100 list, the magazine took into account earning power plus how often a star's name turned up in broadcast and print media and on the web. Forbes' top 10 celebrities, their fields, and rank last year, if applicable (in parentheses):
1. Jennifer Aniston, actress (28)
2. Eminem (with producer Dr. Dre), musician
3. Tiger Woods, pro golfer (2)
4. Steven Spielberg, movie director/producer (3)
5. Jennifer Lopez, actress (12)
6. Paul McCartney, musician
7. Ben Affleck, actor (15)
8. Oprah Winfrey, publisher/ talk-show host (8)
9. Tom Hanks, actor (10)
10. Rolling Stones, musicians
