During filming in a remote area of Italy earlier this year for the controversial Mel Gibson film \"The Passion of Christ,\" the actor who portrays Jesus was struck during a lightning storm, according to an October report in the trade paper Variety. Also struck was assistant director Jan Michelini, who had been struck by lightning at a previous shoot for the film, in Matera, Italy. None of the strikes created a serious injury. The film's portrayals of Christ and of Jews are expected to make it extremely controversial. [BBC News, 10-23-03] News of the Weird has reported several times on police officer wannabes who don uniforms and perform free-lance traffic stops (usually limiting their work to merely lecturing the motorists). However, faced with recalcitrant drivers, police imposters Jeremy Lepianka, 22, in Syracuse, N.Y., in September, and Donald Sebastian, 54, in Cleveland, Ohio, in November, took an extra, bold step: They actually called headquarters for backup. In both cases, the incidents eventually led to the imposters' arrests. (Asked for an explanation for his obsession, Sebastian said it was just his way of giving back to the community.) [Syracuse Post-Standard, 9-29-03] [Plain Dealer, 11-11-03] For more, go tohttp://www.newsoftheweird.com*you hear it *scratch* first.