Jockstrip: The World As We Know It

'STAR WARS': THE EMPIRE BOUNCES BACK?

It's official: a confidential Lucasfilm marketing pitch to Hasbro dealers about part two of the new "Star Wars" trilogy, obtained by Newsweek, states in boldface type that "The last movie did not live up to expectations."

In the April 29 issue of the magazine, Associate Editor Devin Gordon reports that writer and director George Lucas has two jobs on the new film, "Attack of the Clones" -- which opens May 16 -- make a better movie than "The Phantom Menace," one that recaptures the magic of the original trilogy, and woo back a jittery fan base.

Even though "The Phantom Menace" is the fourth highest-grossing film of all time and even though it made almost $1 billion worldwide, the movie was a dud for Lucas. It was a lame kiddie flick and the dialogue hurt, said Gordon.

After "Menace" finished its run in theaters, Lucas knew he had work to do. In his opinion, sources said, his chief blunder was allowing the merchandise tie-in bonanza to get out of control. But he also realized that his film-making skills were "rusty" on "Menace" -- his first directorial effort in 22 years -- and that its juvenile tone alienated many devoted fans. "George is now much smarter about what he should do and should not do," said one associate with no stake in the sequel. "He's not a stupid man. He doesn't want to hurt the franchise."

The Hasbro marketing pitch promises that "Attack of the Clones" will be an action-packed movie with a "darker feel, closer to the original saga" and "no silly characters or kids." Yes, Jar-Jar Blinks is in the second movie but his role is greatly reduced.

As to merchandise tie-ins, Lucas reportedly has sliced the number of licensees for "Attack of the Clones" by two-thirds. The tie-ins will still be everywhere, but not quite as obnoxiously everywhere as last time. There will not be a soft drink sponsor as there was for "Menace" and Hasbro -- according to Jim Silver, publisher of trade magazine The Toy Book -- has scaled back dramatically.

THINGS WE DON'T UNDERSTAND

Nearly half a century after his death, the fearsome Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin is about to have a monument erected in his honor in a place that he fled during exile in the second decade of the 20th century.

Authorities in the town of Narym in Siberia's Tomsk province announced Saturday that they would build a monument to Stalin, whom they called the "most colorful figure ever to visit the town." Head of the administration in the Parabelsky district, Nikoali Kobelev, visited a local branch of the Artists' Union Saturday to order a statue titled "A Young Stalin, Sitting on a Bench," RIA Novosti news agency reported.

In 1912, Joseph Dzhugashvili was sentenced to three years of exile in Narym for his Communist activities. However, after 41 days in Narym, he staged an escape that was foiled by security agents and earned him and fellow-revolutionary Yakov Sverdlov a transfer to an even more remote exile located to the north of the polar circle. It was during his years in exile that Dzhugashvili began calling himself Stalin, a derivative from the Russian word for steel -- "stal" -- used to depict his mental strength.

NEWS OF OTHER LIFE FORMS

Male starlings don't just sing to attract mates, they sing to signal their reproductive fitness, according to a report in the April 22 issue of the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London.

Starlings are one of the most common birds in North America. Their singing ability is evidence that they have a healthy immune system, perhaps explaining why female starlings take singing into account when choosing a mate.

"Understanding the function of mate choice is essential to understanding evolution," said Greg Ball, professor of psychological and brain sciences at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md. "Females clearly have an important role in mate selection in the wild, and this selection process has a big effect on what genes will appear later in the population."

(Thanks to Jim Kling, UPI Science Writer)

TODAY'S SIGN THE WORLD IS ENDING

A survey by the polling company finds that less the one-third of the nation knows how many justices sit on the U.S. Supreme Court and 64 percent of those surveyed could not name a single one of them.

The best known of the justices is Arizona's Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman on the court, who was identified by 24 percent of respondents. The least well known is Justice John Paul Stevens, President Gerald R. Ford's only appointment to the court. He was identified by two percent, less then the poll's margin of error.

Of the 800 Americans surveyed, only five people -- two men and three women -- could name all nine. By contrast, a whopping 75 percent of those participating in the survey knew that there are three Rice Krispies characters and 66 percent could name them -- Crackle being the best known.

For the record, there are nine justices and they serve for life.

(From UPI's Capital Comment)

AND FINALLY, TODAY'S UPLIFTING STORY

Single mothers may find the challenge of looking for and finding a potential romantic partner overwhelming at times but there's good news, according to a recent online survey. It found single men are very open to dating single women with children.

In a recent Match.com poll, 41 percent of the more than 3500 singles responded to the question "Do Single Moms Make Better Matches" with a resounding "Yes! Their patience and compassion is a big plus." Another 33 percent stated they would be open to dating a single mom if she could be "The One."

"When single moms are considering re-entering the dating scene, they should remember just how special they are and how much they have to offer," said Trish McDermott, Match.com's Vice President of Romance.