The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 36

D2 THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER Thursday, August 13, 1998 m. newsmakers By W. Speers Woodstock anniversary will have a very '90s feel Woodstock originals Richie Havens, i i Order of Merit. It has but 24 members Woodstock originals Richie Havens, 1 In divorce, dads sometimes do best parenting Dear Ann Landers: We hear a lot about dead-beat fathers. What about all those deadbeat mothers who are collecting huge amounts of child support, but rarely spend any of that money on the kids? Their children go to school with holes in their shoes and clothes they outgrew two years ago.

Meanwhile, the mothers are dressed to kill. My ex-husband and I decided it would be best for our children if A fc. in f'TA (t '4. 1 they lived with their father on his farm. I live in the city and pay their father child support.

He takes very good care of the boys. It is evident that we made the right decision. They are growing up beautifully. Their father's schedule is more flexible than mine. I am now dating a .1 Ann Landers Vancouver Province LES BAZSO The Spice Girls (from left) Sporty, Posh, Scary and Baby performed at General Motors Place in Vancouver on Tuesday.

sale 10 a.m. tomorrow. K.R.O., a Philly rock and blues band, will play free 7 p.m. tomorrow at FrankfordStyle's Summer Stage, Frankford Avenue and Unity Street. Ars Futura, a diverse foursome, will do Debussy, Faure, Bizet and others 3 p.m.

Sunday at the Art Alliance, 251 S. 18th St. Tix: $15. Couples Mira Sorvino and salsa star Marc Anthony have declared an end to their summer mating ritual. And in a simultaneous move telegraphing possible reconciliation with old flame Quentin Tarantino, the actress' rep and the director's publicist issued statements months after their breakup saying that the two never Ten Years After and Pete Townshend will be there, but this weekend's 29th-anniversary concert marking the "first attempt to land a man on the earth" at Max Yasgur's old Upstate New York farm just won't be the same.

There's a camping ban, crowds are limited to 30,000 a day, performances during the three-day fete will end at 7 p.m., security will be tight, and outside food is prohibited as the organizer seeks to lure drivers of BMWs and Mercedeses instead of Volkswagens. Rain, you say? Tents imported from the Netherlands will cover two acres. The site 100 miles northwest of the Big Apple, in Bethel even has a parking lot for 10,000 cars. "We have prepared an area that is very, very safe, very, very welcome and very, very comfortable," said big-bucks bizman Alan Gerry, 69, who made his kitty as a cable TV pioneer and heads the weekend gig called "A Day in the Garden." Eventually, Gerry, who now owns the hallowed Woodstock ground, wants to turn the place into a year-round entertainment attraction with golf and convention facilities, theaters, restaurants and shopping. "We're waking up the site after 29 years," he said.

"It's like dressing your kids to send them out into the world." Markings Rocker Scott Weiland was sentenced to three months in drug rehab yesterday after pleading guilty to heroin possession in an L.A. court. The judge, who also put the Stone Temple Pilots frontman on three years' probation, told him that he'd be jailed if he left the rehab facility for any reason. It's Weiland's third drug arrest in three years. The Backstreet Boys are talking split, according to a Brit tab.

A spokesman for the quintet told the Daily Star: "The boys want to do their own thing now. They've achieved phenomenal success as a band and now want to achieve the same as individuals." In what fields? In a D.C. celeb poll, where 1,000 respondents nationwide were asked to rate their respect level for people on a l-to-10 scale, President Clinton scored a S.2 while Monica Lewinsky got a 2.7, same as Linda Tripp. Hillary Rodman Clinton's rating was highest at 5.5. For comparison, Richard Nixon once scored 5.0 and Jimmy Swaggart, 2.8.

Others: Larry King, 4.8, Matt Drudge, 4.4, and Kenneth Starr, 4.3. Yes, there's a lower score than LewinskyTripp 2.4. Locally connected Elton John will play the First Union Center Sept. 23. Tix on sale 10 a.m.

Monday. Bucks County-raised country duo the Kinleys will play Glenside's Keswick, 8 p.m. Aug. 29. Tix $12.50, on and somebody can get in only when one of them dies.

The ex-husband of late American poet Sylvia Plath has been Britain's poet laureate since 1984. The royal watch A new book on Princess Diana's death was dismissed yesterday by Buckingham Palace as "complete fantasy." A royal spokeswoman said Christopher Andersen's The Day Diana Died is "completely inaccurate and without any foundation whatsoever" and "deeply hurtful" to the royal fam. The book depicts a callous Queen Elizabeth expressing sole concern for royal jewelry Di may have been wearing at the wreckage site and trying to discourage Prince Charles from going to Paris to claim the princess' body. The spokeswoman said the family was "treating this book with the contempt it deserves." A Di death tour is now being offered in Paris. Starts at the Ritz Hotel, goes through the tunnel, and ends at La Pitie Salpetriere hospital, where she died.

By bus $23. By Mercedes $480. Takers have been asking drivers to slow down at the fateful pillar. Flowers in the Park, a 96-page book featuring photos of the 15 tons of flowers plus messages and other stuff left outside Kensington Palace following the Aug. 31, 1997, death, will be out this week.

Celebrity docket Farrah Fawcett, in testimony sounding like a blow-by-blow fight broadcast, tearfully gave a Santa Monica court details about her January bout with ex-boyfriend James Orr at his battery trial Tuesday. Said she threw the first blow was an argument over after finding a letter from an old girlfriend in the trash. Said he disarmed her of a baseball bat and threatened her with a bar stool. Said he "hit my head on the asphalt." Said she kicked out one of his house windows after he called her a four-letter something. Said Orr, 43, director of the movies Father of the Bride and Three Men and a Baby, stopped bashing her when she called: "Time out.

I think I'm bleeding. I think I'm really hurt." Said she drove off but returned to break another window. Came back the next day and broke more. Fawcett, 51, briefly interrupted her testimony to complain of people at the back of the courtroom making faces at her. Orr's lawyer said the filmmaker was just trying to deal with a "dominating" woman out of control and was only "guilty of a relationship with a wild woman." This story contains material from the Associated Press, Reuters, New York Post, New York Daily News and USA Today.

LOOSe PartS really said those nasty things about each other that were reported apres-split. You'll recall he was widely quoted as saying she was "needy and dependent" and she, just as widely reported, said he "just can't keep his fly zipped." Their stance now is that they "hold each other in the highest regard." Whatever! Kathy Najimy, Olive on TV's Veronica's Closet, last weekend quietly wed Dan Finnerty, father of her girl, Samia, 2, and frontman for the comic rock group Damn Band. She wore a cream-hued gown. Poppers Lenny Kravitz and Natalie Imbruglia have called it a wrap mere months after meeting ata London record company party. A bud of his blames "relationship pressure and the strain of his workload," noting he "finds it really hard to get close to people" and is still grieving over his breakup with Lisa Bonet and the recent death of his mother.

Says Imbruglia: "I am busy, I am single." Joshua Morrow, Nick on the TV soap The Young and the Restless, has split with longtimer, teacher Tobe Keeney. "They seemed so compatible," said a bud. "She didn't even mind when he would go off for hours to play golf with his buddies." Ah-Hal Lit lights Lawrence Ferlinghetti, one of the last living charter members of the Beat Generation, has been named San Francisco's first poet laureate. He'll get $5,000 from a private group to give readings and meet with aspiring poets. "My poems are easy to understand," said Ferlinghetti, 79.

"Any fool can understand them." Ted Hughes, 68, has been named by Queen Elizabeth to the highly exclusive Li' 4 wonderful man. He is an excellent father who is paying a lot of money for child support. Unfortunately, his children are not having their physical or emotional needs met by his ex-wife. It is obvious that she is incapa ble of raising them and the only thing she wants is the money. He has tried to get custody but has failed.

Why can't society see that sometimes the best place for children when there's a divorce is with their father? Sick of It in South Dakota Dear South Dakota: I agree wholeheartedly and hope your letter will open some hearts as well as some eyes. For the sake of the children, I hope all divorced mothers will read this and learn from what you have written. Dear Ann Landers: I would like to add another voice to the argument that "once! a cheater, always a cheater." My husband and I have been married for nearly 20 years. The early part of our marriage was good, but gradually, our relationship deteriorated. Our attention to each other was diverted to our children and my husband's demanding medical career.

"Marcus" and I were in our own little worlds, feeling lonely and misunderstood. Both of us took solace in the arms of another person. When I discovered my husband's affair, I was hurt, but I could hardly be self-righteous, since I was in the same position myself. I confessed my affair so he would know he wasn't the only one who had behaved badly. We agreed to forgive each other and find out what was missing in our relationship and fix it.

That was two years ago. Our marriage is now stronger than ever because of our honesty and willingness to forgive, and we are grateful to have gotten through this together. I would like to know how others managed to maintain a long-term relationship after things had gone sour. Still Married in Vancouver Dear Vancouver: Your candor is refreshing. And now I hope others will accept your "invitation" to share their "forgive and forget" stories.

Dear Ann: You recently printed a "how we met" letter about Blanche, who sat on Harry's lap in a taxi on a hot summer day and left the imprint of her polka dot dress on his trousers. My wife and I had a great thrill out of that story, even though it had nothing to do with us. You see, our names are also Harry and Blanche. In our case, one look was enough to know we were in love. So far, we've been welded together for 47 years.

Harry and Blanche in Oregon Dear Harry and Blanche: I'm sure that same-name couple will get a kick out of your letter. I certainly did. Cape Cod Times VINCENT DeWITT Former first lady Nancy Reagan waves from a van in Nantucket, on Monday. She was a guest aboard Steve Forbes' yacht. Peopletalk By Liz Smith Actress posed for Playboy while pregnant Well, whatever problem anybody else might have, probably Gandhi and Amelia approve.

Heidi Klum, this year's Sports Illustrated cover girl, will play herself in the season premiere of Michael Fox's ABC-TV sitcom, Spin City. Klum will appear in a three-episode arc as Fox's love interest. Great things seem to happen to women who guest-star on Spin City. Courtney Thome-Smith got Ally McBeal, Paula Marshall got her own ABC series, and Raquel Welch got engaged! Cybill Shepherd will put aside her "I love those ads for the Macintosh computer when they show Gandhi and Amelia Earhart and it says, 'Think I've always felt that way." So says actress Lisa Rinna, who appears six months pregnant and naked as a jaybird in the September issue of Playboy. (She gave birth to a daughter, Delilah Belle, in June.) Rinna also tells Heather Dean that she had a surprisingly good time doing the shoot (her first nudes) and adds: "Why are we so afraid of our sexuality to begin with? Why isn't that OK? Why is there a problem with showing your body?" feather pen and her remembrances of things past for a while (she has been busy writing her sure-to-be-sizzling memoir, Cybill Disobedience).

Next month, Cybill begins a two-week stint at Rainbow and Stars, her first New York cabaret appearance in four years. It will be an evening of music and stories from her fabulous up-and-down-and-up-again career. A lot of her material is to be culled from Talk Memphis, her last CD, as well as Cybill Show, a forthcoming song collection. 8-13 Oittt GuvISMM DM uMfcqmlmttSyiacM The good news is you'll have a well paying position here. The bad news fire marshal Have a question or a comment? Write to Ann Landers, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Box 11562, Chicago, III.

60611-0562. Senior Forum By Kent s. CoWm Encouraging the finicky eater Ms' (alll Im 1 mu'W; .11 8 III.IHI.IIIIILHJ1I Ac r'" ftmammm With Peter Mucha less likely to fix the menu for his better health. Serve up smaller portions of more food items. A huge pile of potatoes, a big slab of meat might seem overwhelming to a guy who is guarded in his eating.

Have a question or comment? Write to Kent S. Collins, The Inquirer, Box 8263, Philadelphia 19101. His column appears each Thursday in this section. to that crazy croaking. After seeing Titanic, I was wondering how icebergs are formed.

Paul Causey, St. Peter School, Potts town A Some cold parts of the world are covered with sheets of ice called glaciers. The ice comes from snow piling up over many years. These glaciers move slowly downhill. At the ocean, huge chunks can break off and float away.

Those chunks are icebergs. In the northern Atlantic Ocean, almost all icebergs come from Greenland. QDo tornadoes always turn the same way? Terry Bondenson, Woodbury Junior High School, Woodbury, Minn. A No. In the northern half of the world, all hurricanes spin counterclockwise or with the north part moving west.

That's because they're huge and build slowly, so they're all affected by the Earth's spin. But tornadoes are smaller and form quickly. So some do go clockwise in the northern hemisphere. Since his heart attack, my husband has lost interest in eating. At breakfast, lunch and dinner, he toys with his food, stirs his plate, and eats only about a fourth of what's served.

How do I get my sweet old man to eat properly? I worry about his health. A Try the tactics of the experts, the dining-room supervisors at nursing homes and senior-care facilities. This list is based on an article by Dorothy Foltz-Gray in the July issue of Contemporary Long-Term Care magazine: Be positive about the food. Taste it. Explain how it was prepared.

Describe the ingredients. Keep your husband company. Make mealtime a social event, a hus-band-and-wife thing. Good conversation goes with good food. Make the dining room comfortable or serve him somewhere else.

Set the temperature to suit his sitting, not your cooking comfort. Play music. Tune into a TV baseball game. Set the lights brighter or softer. Talk about the food on the dinner table.

Seek feedback. Find a reason to lengthen mealtime, not shorten it. A relaxed situation might encourage him to eat more. Be patient with the process and take complaints as well as compliments. If you react so that We won't commentcomplain again, you're Here are some questions from past columns.

QDo TVs really explode if lightning hits the house? James F. Cooke 3d, SS. Simon and Jude School, West Chester A Lightning rarely hits a house and wrecks an appliance, but such problems have happened, and even caused fires. A TV won't really explode, though, unless maybe if lightning hits it directly. The problem is that the energy of lightning can travel through wires.

After all, lightning is a powerful kind of electricity. So if lightning hits a wire coming into the house, something hooked up to that wire could get ruined. (If an electrical wire hit, any plugged-in appliance could Tornadoes can spin either to the right or to the left. QHow does a frog make noise? Maggie Walmsley, St. Andrew School, Drexel Hill A First, frogs, like people, have vocal cords.

These strips of tissue stretch across the throat. When a frog forces air past them, they vibrate, making sound. But another trick is needed to make little frogs so loud. Some frogs, mostly male ones, have sacs that can be blown up with air. There's either one big sac under the chin or one on each side of the head.

These sacs make sounds louder. They can also force air back and forth between the lungs, getting moretnoise out of the vocal cords. It all adds up To sing for a mate, a frog tunes up its vocal cords. be hurt. TVs are just one possibility.

Some wires, though, such as antenna or cable lines, come in just for TVs. So if lightning hits one of them, the TV could be in trouble. TVs and cable boxes have some built-in protection against electrical surges, but not enough to handle all lightning. Even plugging the TV into a device called a surge protector doesn't make it completely safe. That's why some experts tell people, if they're worried, to unplug expensive TVs and computers during thunderstorms and long vacations.

The chance of a lightning probleni is very small, though. Word Watcher By Morton S. Freeman QHow should the word total be treated, and how does one know how to treat it? A Consider total a singular word when preceded by the total was not Consider it a plural when preceded by a total of five were all we could QThe sentence read: "The peas are on the right shelf, while the beans are on the left." Is the sentence written correctly? A The sense of the sentence is clear. But it is preferable, rather than while, to use and as a conjunction to connect words, or clauses of equal tank. Dear Kids, send your questions to: Kids' Talk, The Inquirer, Box 8380, Philadelphia 19101.

Or use e-mail: kidstalkphillynews.com Be sure to give your name, schofcl, its town and state..