The Left Lane
Britney's beasties

This time, it'll be animal skin she's showing

In the last few years, the next day's water-cooler chat has focused on whether Britney's nearly naked dance seemed erotic or desperate. And whether Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst dissed Christina Aguilera in their dishy duet. (Or was it the other way around?)

For this year's show, which takes place at 3 p.m. today on MTV, rumor has it that Britney will perform her song "I'm a Slave 4 U" surrounded by circus animals. In between other hijinks, MTV actually will hand out some awards. This is the 18th time MTV has given out its top prizes — and the second in three years from the highbrow stage of the Metropolitan Opera House.

The remake of "Lady Marmalade" from the movie "Moulin Rouge" and featuring Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya and Pink as prostitutes is up for six Moon Men (as the awards in the shape of MTV's old astronaut symbol are known). So are Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott's herky-jerky "Get Ur Freak On" and `N Sync's kaleidoscopic "Pop."

Part-time Kaua'i resident Jill Marie Landis has published her first hardcover, "Summer Moon" (Ballantine, $15.95), which Publishers Weekly called "a breezy, beach-blanket read, offering up well-developed characters, a compelling plot line and a pleasing slice of Americana."

Landis, who divides her time with her husband Steve between Kaua'i and Long Beach, Calif., will be in the Islands for a promotional tour at Borders Ward Centre (Sept. 15), Waikele (Sept. 16) and Lihu'e (Sept. 22) before digging her toes into the sands of the Garden Island to write her next tome.

When not writing (she has completed 15 novels), Landis admits to kayaking off the Na Pali coast, raising orchids, playing the 'ukulele, quilting and serving as a literacy tutor. And living the role of an ambassador of Hawai'i, too. For more on Landis, check www.jillmarielandis.com.