Hard-Bitten Aussie Pines for Pet

--Now that exploits with crocodiles from Down Under are a hit on the movie screen, Australian sugar cane farmer Alf Casey will bring his version of the story to U.S. television screens. Casey, who lost his left arm after being attacked by his pet crocodile, will recount the adventures of a real-life “Crocodile Dundee,” which is the name of the hit Australian film starring Paul Hogan, in interviews at a New York station owned by Fox Television Network. Fox is sponsoring the trip. Meanwhile, Casey said, he is trying to get the 6-foot, 6-inch saltwater crocodile Charlene back from the farm where she was banished after the attack a month ago. “I really want to get her back. The attack wasn’t her fault,” he said of the reptile that had been his pet for 23 years. Casey said he was attacked by the crocodile as he was about to feed her in front of visitors. Charlene was well-known throughout the Proserpine district because Casey would load her in the back of his car and take her to the local hotel bar for drinks. “She used to like a few beers,” a patron of the hotel said, “but then she laid 23 eggs and the trips to town stopped.”

--Deciding that rock ‘n’ roll is not music to accountants’ ears, Lansing, Mich., officials have voted to repay the $45 fees paid by more than 30 people who failed the state certified public accountancy test after taking the first part on May 7 in the Civic Center, where rock star Ted Nugent’s concert was booked. Hundreds of the would-be accountants were taking the exam when Nugent’s tour members started tuning their instruments about 3 p.m., said Alvan Knot, acting city attorney. Officials heard complaints from about 150 of the disgruntled test-takers. The City Council approved the repayments and waived the $3,000 rent for the test given in November. “It’s an embarrassing situation which the city is glad to have worked out so the test will continue to be administered here as in the past,” Knot said.

--The women gave the judges a lot of lip, but then that was the whole idea of the contest. After it was all over, a 28-year-old makeup artist had won the crown of “Ms. Magikist.” “It’s better than being Miss America. I don’t have to be wholesome,” said winner Lisa Mosenson of Chicago. Women hoping to land their name and lips on company billboards sent more than 3,000 lip prints to the carpet products manufacturer. Judges then invited 23 finalists to a popular Chicago nightclub where they stood behind a cardboard wall with only their lips exposed through a hole. Mosenson, who last summer won a best-legs contest in Jamaica where she worked with a reggae band, this time won a free trip for two to Hawaii, a year of hair care and will appear in a television commercial.