Jockstrip: The World As We Know It

HE BROUGHT HIS WORK WITH HIM

A New York City firefighter pitched in with his Honolulu colleagues when flames engulfed a home near his rented vacation beach house last week.

Danny Conklin, 34, a 10-year veteran of the FDNY, helped vent the burning Kailua-district home and then went inside the smoky structure to make sure everyone was out, the Honolulu Advertiser reports.

The two sisters who lived in the home managed to escape with their dog, Duke; however, the blaze caused around $100,000 in damage.

"We think he deserves some kudos," said Honolulu Fire Dept. spokesman Capt. Richard Soo. "A visiting firefighter from New York comes here and does his job."

The Advertiser said Conklin received plenty of compliments from local firefighters, although there was some good-natured ribbing about his pronounced New York accent.

"His quick action helped our guys," Fire Inspector Brett Lomont told the newspaper. "I told him, 'We'd be happy to have you work here, but you'll have to learn to speak.'"

THINGS WE DON'T UNDERSTAND

NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal knows what he wants to be when he grows up -- a lawman. "My goal is to eventually run for sheriff," O'Neal told reporters who cover his Los Angeles Lakers. Shaq said he would like to enforce the law in Louisiana, where he played collage ball for Louisiana State University, or Florida, where before joining the Lakers, he played for the Orlando Magic. He still has a mansion in Florida.

O'Neal probably won't be running in any bad guys for a few more years, since he is under contract to lay down the law on the basketball court for the Lakers through 2006. But he has already begun his training, working with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. "In the role of sheriff," said the big fella, "you really don't need police experience, because it's like a political position. However, if I'm going to do it and be with the troops and get respect from the troops, I want to do what the troops have done."

(Thanks to UPI Feature Reporter Dennis Daily)

NEWS OF OTHER LIFE FORMS

A girl has been born to Japan's royal family.

Crown Princess Masako gave birth Saturday to a girl -- bringing cheer to the royal family but disappointing the Imperial Household Agency, which had hoped for a male heir to the Chrysanthemum Throne.

Crown Princes Masako, 37, delivered the new princess at the Hospital of the Imperial Household. Officials said the baby weighed 7.8 pounds and was 19.3 inches long.

It was the first child for the royal couple, who've been married for 8 1/2 years.

The birth of a girl was expected to be well received by the Japanese public despite the desire of some loyalists for a male. A poll by the Jiji Press news agency in mid-November indicated that 55.2 percent of the 2,000 respondents favored a woman on the throne.

Had the child been a boy, he would have been second in line to throne directly behind Masako's husband, Crown Prince Naruhito, 41. Under the 1948 Imperial Household Law, only a male heir can ascent to the throne.

TODAY'S SIGN THE WORLD IS ENDING

Some suburban Detroit residents are upset at plans to burn a home and raze two others for a scene in a biographical film about Eminem.

Producers say it will make the movie more realistic to set fire to the empty house. But about 50 people held a protest rally as the Highland Park, Mich., City Council considered the moviemakers' request.

Those behind the film have promised to give a high school lecture about the film industry and make a $2,000 charitable contribution. Executive Producer Carol Fenelon says the movie will

be "really serious."

The city's emergency financial manager has suggested she'll give the needed approval, even though the city council has voted unanimously against the proposal.

The town of about 17,000 people is particularly sensitive about the scene because hundreds of buildings were burned and abandoned after an arson spree that lasted several months earlier this year.

(Thanks to UPI's Mike Cooper in Atlanta)

AND FINALLY, TODAY'S UPLIFTING STORY

Because of the anthrax-laden mail that has killed five people in Florida, New York and Washington since October, the Defense Department has restricted mail to deployed service members. Now soldiers, sailors and airmen may only receive mail specifically addressed to them -- ending a tradition of anonymous letter-writing campaigns by schoolchildren and other patriotic citizens.

However, one federal agency has stepped forward to fill the void. The civilian Office of Personnel Management has "adopted" the 5,500-member crew of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, a Norfolk, Va.-based aircraft carrier deployed Sept. 19 to the North Arabian Sea.

The adoption was the brainchild of OPM Director Kay Coles James, a former Norfolk, Va., resident whose son served on an aircraft carrier. OPM, with 4,000 employees, occupies the Theodore Roosevelt Federal Building in Washington.

"Director James understood the connection between our federal building and the ship, as well as the life of Navy families in Norfolk," OPM spokesman Scott Hatch told UPI. "She came in and said this is something we ought to do. We didn't really know where to start, but we contacted the Navy and they welcomed it."

So far, said Hatch, OPM has sent 42 boxes to the carrier that have included holiday catalogs and blank cards -- so sailors can send cards and gifts --- as well as magazines, books, microwave popcorn and videos. They plan to send boxes of compact discs in January, he added.

In addition, OPM has sent hundreds of toys to Norfolk for the annual Christmas party for children of deployed parents.

Other government agencies are looking into the possibility of adopting other military groups, Navy and OPM officials said. Meanwhile, the Navy has created two Web sites where anyone can send messages in support of service members: LIFELines2000.org or AnyServiceMember.Navy.mil.