Cash Family Draws Line Around 'Ring of Fire'

It may be an obvious match-up, but Johnny Cash's classic "Ring of Fire" won't be used to sell hemorrhoid-relief cream anytime soon.

The Tennessean of Nashville first reported late last month that a Florida TV production company wanted to pitch the idea of using the classic song in a commercial for Preparation H or similar products.

Merle Kilgore (search), who wrote the 1964 hit with Cash's wife, June Carter Cash (search), told the newspaper he was mightily amused by the idea when the production company called him. After all, he used to mock-dedicate the song "to the makers of Preparation H" whenever he played the song live.

But Cash's daughter Rosanne said she and her siblings were less fired up.

"There is no way we will ever let that happen," Rosanne Cash (search) told the newspaper. "We would never allow the song to be demeaned like that."

The script for the commercial would have featured Kilgore's own rendition of the song, not Cash's, but the Cash children still hold veto power through June Carter Cash's songwriting credit.

"He [Kilgore] started talking about this moronic tie-in without talking to any of us," Rosanne Cash added. "The song is about the transformative power of love and that's what it has always meant to me and that's what it will always mean to the Cash children."

June Carter Cash died a few months before her husband last year.

"I certainly didn't want to upset the Cash family because I love them," said Kilgore, who now manages Hank Williams Jr. "I just thought it was kind of funny."

"Ring of Fire" may not be associated with hemorrhoids, but the Out There editors definitely remember it being used in a British TV ad for very spicy foods a few years ago.

Town Votes to Keep 'Slaughter'

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A truckload of veggie burgers wasn't enough to get a small Oklahoma town to change its name to Veggieville.

Members of Slaughterville's town council amicably heard presentations by members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (search) before voting against the suggestion Tuesday night.

As reported by Out There a few days ago, PETA officials contend the current name conjures up images of violence against animals.

"It was almost as if it was a comedy hour," said Ravi Chand, PETA's campaign coordinator, who is also a corporal in the U.S. Marines and an Iraq war veteran. "They didn't applaud at my speech, but they did applaud the fact that I was a U.S. Marine."

More than a dozen people at the standing-room-only meeting offered opinions on why the town should keep its name, said Chand, of Sacramento, Calif.

Residents of the town of 3,600 point out that the town was named after a grocery store run by James Slaughter in the early part of the 20th century.

PETA had promised $20,000 in veggie burgers to the local school district if it agreed to a name change.

Before the meeting, PETA gave away veggie burgers, but residents of Slaughterville gave away hot dogs and held up signs that said, "Beef: It's what's for dinner."

Students Encounter Tricky, Um, Richard

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Three classes at Iowa State University — two of them in the past two weeks — have been interrupted by a man who flashed students and then ran.

A man wearing nothing but a trench coat, a Richard Nixon mask and tennis shoes entered a class auditorium Friday just as a meteorology exam began, said freshman Erik Triggs.

The man opened his trench coat, danced around and ran from one door to the other while yelling, Triggs said.

The previous incident happened Feb. 10 when a man fitting the same description interrupted a sociology class, said Brent Bruton, a sociology professor.

The man ran from the north side of the stage to the south end, with his trench coat open to roughly 400 students, Bruton said. The incident took less than 10 seconds.

Iowa State University Police Capt. Gene Deisinger said on Dec. 10, 2003, a man entered the Molecular Biology Building and exposed himself. The man was described as college age, with a black trench coat and a rubber mask.

If arrested, the man could be charged with indecent exposure and disorderly conduct, Deisinger said.

Soccer Fans Give Ref a Red Card

MADRID, Spain (AP) — About 30 fans plan to sue a referee for awarding a last-minute penalty against their team in a Spanish league match.

The Valencia fans hold Pedro Tristante Oliva and the Spanish soccer federation responsible for the "penalty mistake" in which Real Madrid (search) was awarded a penalty kick against Valencia. They are asking for one euro per person in damages, or $1.29 each.

"We want the error to be publicly acknowledged and compensation paid as professional negligence has been committed," Andres Sanchis, the lawyer representing the fans, said in the sports daily As on Wednesday.

Tristante Oliva ruled defender Carlos Marchena fouled Raul Gonzalez in injury time of the match last Sunday. Valencia was leading 1-0 and about to move past Real Madrid into first place in the standings.

Luis Figo converted the penalty to tie the match and prevent Valencia from being the first team to defeat Madrid at home this season.

Tastes Just Like Chicken, Though

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Fear of catching bird flu from eating chicken has prompted some people in northwest Cambodia to resort to eating rats, a newspaper reported Tuesday.

Rats have been fetching good prices in Battambang province during the last two weeks, according to Rasmei Kampuchea, or the Light of Cambodia.

The newspaper said villagers catch the rodents in nearby rice fields and sell them for up to 35 cents each to market vendors, who resell the meat for about 20 cents a pound.

"I started selling rat meat over two weeks ago when people became afraid of eating chickens for fear of getting infected with bird flu," Chhun Sarom, a 38-year-old vendor, was quoted as saying.

There have been no reported human cases of bird flu in Cambodia, but three cases of the virus were confirmed in animals near Phnom Penh and at a zoo south of the capital.

Chhun Sarom said he sold up to 130 pounds of rat meat a day. Mao Say, 50, told the newspaper that she and her four children catch about 18 pounds of rats in the rice fields daily.

People eat the rat meat with rice or as a snack while drinking alcohol.

Compiled by Foxnews.com's Paul Wagenseil.

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