Thank goodness. Landmark Theatres is back under old management and the Palo Alto Square theatre I mentioned a while back is renegotiating their lease. Cross your fingers. It sounds like the new old management has the right perspective to make the art house chain thrive again. (Thanks peterme).

Everyone is noting the Duck Tape Prom fashion contest, but delving a little further, I discovered that a couple from L.A. recently won a Duck Tape wedding. They will be married in Duck Tape wedding clothes. Canadian sculptor Todd Scott “will be making the bride’s and bridemaids’ bouquets, a Duck Tape wedding cake (to supplement the edible one) and an array of beautiful floral arrangements and decorations for this very unique wedding.” It’s September 29, 2001, at Universal Studios. Sticky jokes will abound, I’m sure.

It is often educational to think of something commonplace and wonder how it got that way. And with the Internet nearby, you don’t have to head off to the library to find the answers. Today I wondered “tuna in cans… how did that happen?” A few clicks later, I discovered that the tuna industry began “by accident” in 1903 when sardines became scarce. Albacore tuna had no market value at the time, but an enterprising employee at a San Pedro, CA sardine plant decided to can it instead. The public liked the taste and an American pantry item was born. San Diego was once the Tuna Capital of the World, ranking third in the local economy to the Navy and aircraft industry. Tuna headed for cans is cooked under steam pressure, both before canning and afterwards. These days, most canned tuna is produced by foreign countries, as the U.S. industry fell to competition, rising costs, regulation, and environmentalists. There are opposing views on the “dolphin safe” controversy. Some say activists exaggerated the dolphin issue and filmed an atypical boat and crew to generate highly emotional publicity. The truth, as I always try to remember, probably lies somewhere in between.

Perhaps you didn’t even know you wanted one of these: Cuisinart’s Two To Go. It brews coffee right into one or two travel mugs. I know a few people who could eliminate time-consuming steps in their morning ritual by getting one of these. Just don’t tell Starbucks.

Daring Marketers Add Fizz To Fruit, Milk, Cereal, Yogurt. Will this be the new trend in food? Will this encourage kids of all ages to consume more fruit (and burp more afterwards)? FizzyFruit plans to market a device that adds carbonation to fruit so you can make your very own bubbly pears. Texture plays an important role in food and drink, something that most people don’t realize as they are crunching on their new crispy M&Ms; or wondering why they like potatos mashed but not whole. I can’t see myself buying a FizzyFruit device for my kitchen, but I could probably convince myself to buy a fizzy bunch of grapes instead of a smoothie or frozen yogurt when I’m out for a quick nosh. Of course a smoothie or frozen yogurt with fizzy fruit in it is even more appealing (and, sigh, has more calories) (via Follow Me Here)

Via Larkfarm, the Mah Jong Cyber Museum displays tile sets of all sorts, including a lovely white jade set. I’ve only ever played with a modern plastic set, but I do love how those gently click together. When I was little, the green side of the tiles reminded me of yummy pieces of hard candy.

Santa Clara County’s Office of the Clerk Recorder provides PDF versions of their marriage license applications online. Applying for a marriage license in California is painless; probably the hardest part is fitting in time to appear in person with your spouse-to-be during their business hours. San Mateo County has started closing some offices on Fridays to reduce energy use, while increasing their hours other days of the week. Sounds great to me!

Just the other day I was wondering how much more radiation we get exposed to in an airplane, and the NY Times kindly obliged by publishing an article about it. Experts disagree (no surprise) on whether it is a big problem, but they do agree (wow) that “a pregnant woman could be exposed to enough radiation on a single flight to exceed government health guidelines.” The melanoma rate is higher among pilots, but some say that might be from other lifestyle factors. Radiation over the poles can be twice as high as over the equator, so those handy hops over the North Pole may not be a good idea. Only the Concorde carries radiation monitors and it doesn’t fly at high altitudes (or at all currently!).

Here’s a most nifty list of upcoming Broadway shows. Some new possibilites are musicals based on “Little Women”, “Blade Runner” and “Batman”. Yes, I said “Blade Runner”. No, I don’t think Harrison Ford will be in it. There are planned revivals of “Oklahoma” with choreography by director of the moment Susan Stroman, “My Fair Lady”, “South Pacific”, “Into the Woods”, and even “Flower Drum Song” with (probably a good idea) a new libretto by David Henry Hwang. (thanks BrainLog!)

The Federal Trade Commission makes sure that brides know what is legally required to be identified on a wedding gown. Some stores rip off manufacturer’s tags so that you can’t try on a dress and then order it elsewhere, such as the popular online discounters. Tag ripping is not entirely illegal, since the store can replace the label with one of their own as long as they supply four pieces of information: one business in the distribution channel (e.g. the store name, so they don’t have to tell you who made it), fiber content, country of origin, and care instructions.