Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe BARENAKED LADY It's been barely two weeks since voters in Georgetown, Colo., turned Koleen Brooks out of office in a recall election but the latest twist in the tale of the stripper-turned-politician has her posing for Playboy. Advertisement Last week, Brooks was in Chicago to pose "au natural" for photos that'll soon appear on the Playboy magazine Web site. She told UPI's Capital Comment that posing for Playboy "was one of my life's dreams and I am very happy about it." Despite being recalled by a substantial margin, Brooks nevertheless is considering another run for mayor in the next election. Asked if the photos will be a plus or minus in her future political efforts, she said: "I am simply continuing on with my promotions of Georgetown and if (the photos) hurts next year when I run again, then so be it." In the mid-1980s, Brooks worked as a stripper in a Denver-area nightspot, so the idea of public nudity is not new to her. Following her election last year, she allegedly flashed her breasts at a victory party at a local pub. Advertisement BIG FOOT The big news in Britain these days isn't the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the U.S.-led war on terror in Afghanistan. It's about The Foot. The condition of David Beckham's left foot, to be specific. The English soccer star broke it last Wednesday playing a game with Manchester United, and may well be out of the World Cup soccer championships in June. Whether one calls the sport soccer or football, there is no dispute Beckham is one of its biggest international stars. Captain of England's team, husband to singer "Posh Spice" Victoria, father to baby Brooklyn (named after the borough of New York City, where he was conceived) Beckham's every change of hair style, fashionable clothes, cars and homes are watched closely by millions of sports fans around the world. And if he isn't able to play in the World Cup in Japan and South Korea, business analysts believe many millions of dollars in advertising revenue, television rights and ticket sales will be lost. So important to England is Beckham's injury that Prime Minister Tony Blair interrupted a Cabinet meeting Thursday to let it be known that "nothing was more important to England's arrangements for the World Cup than the state of David Beckham's foot." Advertisement The Foot was the lead news item on all British television and radio news late last week, and the national tabloid press went hysterical. "The Foot: A Nation Holds its Breath," bawled the single headline in the Mirror newspaper next to a photo of a foot and instructions to turn to pages 4, 5, 6 and sport. "Beck us Pray" ran the rival Sun's headline, urging its 2.8 million readers to place their hands on a front page photo of his foot at the stroke of noon and pray for a speedy recovery. Oh, and also turn to pages 4, 5, 6 AND 7 and sport. Beckham was not front page news in the left-of-center Guardian newspaper, but he was in The Times and the Daily Telegraph, with the Independent newspaper using an image of a skeletal left foot under the headline "The Day of the Metatarsal." England is scheduled to play Argentina in Japan on June 7. Experts are divided on whether Beckham will be healed in time. (Thanks to UPI's Peter Almond in London) REASONS TO CELEBRATE THIS WEEK: MONDAY: Today through April 21 is Astronomy Week. It's also Families Laughing Through Stories Week, National Credit Education Week, National Minority Cancer Awareness Week and Young People's Poetry Week. Advertisement This is Income Tax Pay Day. And it's Patriot's Day in Massachusetts and Maine. TUESDAY: Today through April 20 is Consumer Awareness Week. (Web site: econsumeradvocate.com) The Confucian observance known as the Qing Ming Festival, honoring the dead, is today in China and Korea. Denmark celebrates Queen Margrethe's Birthday today. And this is Remembrance Day, or Yom Ha'zikkaron, in Israel, honoring Israeli war dead. WEDNESDAY: This is Blah, Blah, Blah Day -- the day to quit smoking, start a diet, quit your job or whatever. (Web site: wellcat.com) It's Thank You, School Librarian Day. Today is Verrazano Day, celebrating the discovery of New York Harbor by Italian navigator Giovanni Verrazano on this date in 1524. This is Flag Day in American Samoa. And both Israel and Syria celebrate their Independence Day holiday today. THURSDAY: This is National Teach Children To Save Day. (Web site: aba.com) Today is Pet Owners Independence Day. Stay home from work and send your pet in your place. (Web site: wellcat.com) And it's Independence Day in Zimbabwe. FRIDAY: This is John Parker Day, honoring the Minuteman captain who advised his troops at the Battle of Lexington and Concord in 1775 to "stand your ground. Don't fire unless fired upon; but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here." Advertisement It's National Youth Service Day. (Web site: SERVEnet.org) Sierra Leone celebrates the day it became a republic in 1971 with a national holiday today. Today is the King's Birthday, a national holiday, in Swaziland. King Mswati III was born on this date in 1968. And this is Landing of the 33 Patriots Day in Uruguay. The national holiday commemorates the arrival in 1825 of exiles that resulted in indepence from Brazil three years later. (Thanks to Chase's 2002 Calendar of Events) BY THE WAY... How much did a McDonald's hamburger cost when the first restaurant opened on this date in 1955? 15 cents.
