Jockstrip: The world as we know it

Birds inaugurate new Wis. park

MILWAUKEE, July 20 (UPI) -- Birds don't seem to have a high opinion of Lakeshore State Park, judging by the number of complaints about bird droppings at Wisconsin's newest state park.

Nature officials are at a loss as to how to stop the birds from relieving themselves so prodigiously at the park, Milwaukee's WTMJ-TV reported.

The first attempt by park officials to control nature's call involved the use of plastic owls. But the seagulls and geese didn't seem to give a hoot about the imitation predators and the dirt piled up.

Officials are considering more drastic measures, the TV station said -- including the use of fences along Lake Michigan, adding chemicals to the park's grass to drive away the birds and deploying watchdogs.

Fancy Vegas hotel suite is $40,000 a night

LAS VEGAS, July 20 (UPI) -- A Las Vegas resort is setting the bar high for extravagant hospitality, offering a two-story "sky villa" with a Jacuzzi and a butler for $40,000 a night.

Located in the Palms Casino Resort, the Playboy-themed, Hugh Hefner Sky Villa is 10,000-square-feet and has a $700,000 Jacuzzi with breathtaking views of the Las Vegas Strip, as well as a bed that rotates beneath a mirrored ceiling, The Los Angeles Times reported.

The posh digs are the most expensive of 101 U.S. hotel suites featured in an annual survey conducted by Elite Traveler, a magazine for readers with average household incomes of more than $5 million.

Also making the list are the Hotel Bel-Air, the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, the Beverly Wilshire, the Setai hotel in Miami and the Palms' Hardwood Suite, which boasts half a basketball court and a locker room.

Room prices at the Hefner layout start at $1,500 and include various perks like an indoor pool, personal chef or use of a Maserati Quattroporte sedan.

Doug Gollan, editor in chief of Elite Traveler, said an "amazingly huge concentration of wealth" is creating a demand for the high-end suites.

Life is purrfect for four women's cats

LONDON, July 20 (UPI) -- Three women in Britain have gone to great lengths to ensure their cats have the best of everything -- even cat passports -- no matter the cost.

The women are spending anywhere from $19,000 to more than $31,000 on their cats, The Daily Mail said.

Vanessa Staples of Bishops Stortford has paid nearly $19,000 for her cat Freddy to date, including a Burberry collar and meals containing smoked salmon and tiger prawns.

London native Ashly Sloan-Brinkley has spent almost $22,000 to pamper her feline friend with such luxuries as a leather bed equipped with a cashmere blanket and a designer Burberry outfit -- for special occasions.

London's Angela Bruce has spent more than $31,000 on her two Bengal cats for such extravagances as designer cat baskets and special pet passports to allow them to travel, the newspaper said.

TV thieves foiled by blown tire

GRAPEVINE, Texas, July 20 (UPI) -- Grapevine, Texas, police said they chased down a group of thieves who cart-jacked a 42-inch flat-screen television outside a Sam's Club store.

Police Lt. Todd Dearing said three thieves took the TVs from the cart of a family that was preparing to load the box into their car, and then drove off in a Chevrolet Suburban, The Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram reported.

The thieves made it as far as the nearby town of Coppell before the sport utility vehicle blew a tire and officers arrested three suspects.

Dearing said none of the electronics were harmed, the Star-Telegram said.