Missing penis makes Royal Opera blush
London: Britain’s Royal Opera House agreed to stop using a picture in its advertisements after an actor complained that his penis had been air brushed out of a nude image. Argentinian Juan Pablo Di Pace, who stars alongside Meryl Streep and Colin Firth in the new film version of Mamma Mia!, appeared to have no penis at all in the full-frontal shot used in publicity material for a production of Verdi’s Rigoletto. The actor complained to the opera house via his lawyer that the photograph, taken during a 2001 production of the same opera, was used to promote shows six years later, even though he no longer worked there. “In his letter he expressed a concern that, to Juan’s embarrassment, his penis had been airbrushed out,” said a Royal Opera House spokesman. “We explained in our correspondence with him that we had legal reasons why we had to do that because we are not allowed to display posters with nudity.” The picture features a nude and seemingly unconscious Di Pace supported by a woman in the centre of a busy scene. In posters for the show, which appeared at London Underground stations, the actor’s modesty was covered by a cloak, while in brochures and leaflets his penis disappeared entirely. The Royal Opera House, established in 1728, said it would not use the image again.

No more howlers for Dinky
Sydney: The curtain is set to fall on Dinky, the singing dingo, who has been serenading tourists from all over the world for years, as his owner plans to sell his roadhouse in outback Australia and take the canine with him. Dinky’s ability to howl to piano tunes has turned his home in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory into a tourist attraction and has raised thousands of dollars for charity with his performances, local media reported. His owner, Jim Coteriell, who saved the dingo from a baiting programme eight years ago, has decorated his inn with clips and photos testifying to Dinky’s fame. “He loves Fuer Elise. When people start playing it, he pricks his ears up and he’s ready to go with it,” Coteriell said. “This is all self-taught stuff. He did it because he wanted to do it. I did not drag him up there and say ‘you are going to do it’.”
Reuters