Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD! The lead singer of the heavy metal band Slipknot is moving to one of Des Moines, Iowa's ritziest neighborhoods. The Des Moines Register reports Corey Taylor, 28, will close Friday on the purchase of a five-bedroom brick Colonial. Advertisement With his tattoos and long reddish-brown hair, the rocker admits he's sure to stick out in a neighborhood of doctors, lawyers and bankers, where the average home price tops $300,000. "I just hope once they get to know me, they'll understand that -- besides the blood worship on Thursdays -- I'm an average guy," he said, laughing. Slipknot is composed of nine Des Moines-area natives known for their extreme metal music. The band they started in an Urbandale basement in the mid-1990s has captured two Grammy nominations and sold millions of CDs around the world. Eight of the rockers still live in the area. Advertisement Taylor said he found the house while browsing online and liked it immediately because it offers privacy and plenty of space. "Stylewise, it's a house you could have great parties or raise a family," he told the newspaper. The news of Taylor's home purchase -- for more than $350,000 -- came as a surprise to some members of the Linden Heights Neighborhood Association, who learned about it at a business meeting Sunday. When it was announced that the future homeowner was a musician, one woman said she was "hoping it would be a clarinetist." Taylor said he is a "quiet, keep-to-myself" kind of rock star but acknowledges that his new neighbors might be concerned. How should they react? "Horror first, then desperation and a deep need to buy me out," he said. DUH! As the generation gap between today's rising young stars and the industry's older ones widens, it's more and more difficult to make allusions to the past -- as points of comparison. The younger ones often don't know what you're talking about. Witness a recent encounter between Fox News reporter Roger Freidman and cutesy couple Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake. Freidman is said to have asked Timberlake, of 'N Sync, whether he identifies the goals of the band as being more aligned with the Beatles or the Rolling Stones. Timberlake emphatically told the reporter: "Beatles! Beatles! Beatles!" Then, prompted by the singer's answer, Friedman asked a follow-up question. "Is Britney your Yoko Ono?" Spears reportedly responded: "Who?" Advertisement After an additional reference to Linda McCartney also went over the heads of the young duo, Spears noted: "I'm very young." (Thanks to UPI's Dennis Daily) HECK OF A PLACE FOR A SWIM A 24-year-old Romanian woman who fell overboard from the cruise ship SS Norway is recovering after treading water for 12 hours before being rescued. The unidentified room stewardess was spotted by the ship's crew in 2-3 foot seas about 135 miles northeast of Great Inagua, Bahamas, the Coast Guard said. It's not known how she fell overboard and officials are waiting until she full recovers before interviewing her. She was reported to be exhausted and dehydrated from her ordeal. Susan Robison, director of communications for Norwegian Caribbean Lines, said the woman was reported missing at about 10:30 p.m. EST Monday. After a thorough search of the ship, the crew notified the Coast Guard and retraced their track back to where the ship had been when she was reported missing. "Fortunately, sea conditions were not as bad as they could have been. The seas were only 2-3 feet," said Coast Guard Petty Officer Danielle De Marino. "Again it was in an area of the Bahamas and not as cold as it would have been in other areas." Advertisement The seven-day cruise will continue, although it will go to St. John's in the U.S. Virgin Islands instead of St. Martin's in the Netherlands Antilles for the sake of making up time lost during the search. The ship left Miami Sunday. REASONS TO CELEBRATE TODAY: WEDNESDAY: Today through March 12 is National Procrastination Week, touring the benefits of putting off until tomorrow whatever you can today. This is Learn What Your Name Means Day. It's Stop Bad Service Day, by celebrating those companies that offer professional service. And Ghana celebrates its Independence Day today. The country achieved independence from Britain in 1957. (Thanks to Chase's 2002 Calendar of Events) BY THE WAY... What was Michelangelo's full name? The prolific Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect and poet was born Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni on this date in 1475.
