People in the News for February 20, 1998

Friday, Feb. 20, 1998 | 9:29 a.m.

Here at People in the News, nothing takes the champagney, life-is-a-party sparkle out of our Friday like a good anthrax scare and the rainy wrath of El Nino. Luckily, nothing puts it right back in like news involving the Spice Girls and erotic Hindu sculpture: To the chagrin of some, the Brit-pop tarts are planning a November performance in Khajuraho, an archaeological site in India known for its sexy temple statuary. While it sounds like just the thing -- the condescending appropriation of another culture's antiquity, set to bad music -- to restore a bit of flash to the Girls' pan, resistance in India is stiffening. Noted dancer Geeta Chandran has asked the government to prevent the show, saying it would "marginalize the delicate spiritual context in which the temples were constructed nearly 1,000 years ago. ... The eroticism of Khajuraho is part of the larger Hindu view of the cyclicality of life." Other performances have been banned from the site. "The profile of the Spice Girls does not match that of the temples." If she's actually suggesting the Spice Girls lack spirituality, clearly she has not bothered to peel away the onion-skin layers of meaning in such hits as "Wannabe": "I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want/ I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want (repeat)." No official rebuttal yet from the Girls, who would undoubtedly say, ... "Marginalize the delicate spiritual context"? Wot the bloody hell? Speak English, luv!

Beers to you

The question you want to ask yourself as you hoist another stein of Clint Eastwood's new signature beer, Pale Rider -- has it been five brews or six? To tell you the truth, we've kinda lost track ourselves -- you wanna ask yourself, do you feel lucky, drunk? Well, do ya? Pale Rider, named for the 1985 Eastwood western, debuted in Texas this week. "It was important that he love the beer," says the brewer commissioned to concoct it. "He does." How does it taste? According to the label: "rich, full-flavored ... with a crisp finish." Eastwood has said all profits from the beer will go to charity.

Modest Olympic proposal

It's the question all of America is asking: "There are Winter Olympics this year?" To best answer the question of how to cover the games in a way that will get America tuned in, we could ask eminent TV critics -- including the SUN's own sagacious Steve Bornfeld -- but why bother when you can ask a currently unemployed former Olympic broadcaster? Enter Kathleen Sullivan. "The triple-cast is really the way to go," says Sullivan, who's seeking a job in talk radio. "There needs to be three channels of uninterrupted coverage. After all, we cover presidential speeches that way." Her idea to spiff up the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake? "I would love to see all the experienced Olympics broadcasters (from all networks) give their two weeks to Salt Lake City, where we could ... do some bang-up Games." Bang-up games? Count us in! And so ends another rain-soaked, anthraxy Friday here at People in the News -- rich, full-flavored, with a crisp finish, as always. If only our delicate spiritual contexts weren't so darn marginalized!

Compiled by Scott Dickensheets