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Thursday, June 28, 2012 – Daily News FEATURES Husband seeking Internet thrills Dear Annie: My husband and I are in our late 40s and have been married 30 years. (We mar- ried young.) ''Eugene'' has started looking at a lot of porn and seems to have compulsion about it. We have enjoyed adult videos as a couple and still do, but Eugene now watches porn on the computer by him- self. I feel betrayed, and it damages my trust. When I told him I don't like that he looks at Internet porn so often, he became hostile and defensive. He angrily told me that ''after 30 years of the same old thing, a guy needs to look at something different.'' a Annie's Mailbox by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar I've had trouble getting past it. For a lit- tle while, Eugene backed off the porn, but now he's sneaking around. Today, I discovered he has logged on to live chat rooms and Internet porn dating sites. When I confronted him about it, he was nonchalant, saying those sites just ran- domly pop up. But I know that's not true. He's visited those sites numerous times. That comment hurt me deeply, and his behavior is normal. But, Annie, the fact that he's sneaking around is enough for me to know it's not accept- able. Do you think Eugene is looking for an affair? — Not Comfortable with Eugene says I'm too sensitive and My Future Dear Not: We think your husband is looking for some thrills, and he's being quite a jerk about it. This could be a typical midlife crisis: He's approaching 50 and needs to feel young again. But such juvenile behav- iors can damage a marriage beyond repair. Please ask Eugene to go with you for counseling. Tell him you want to work on the areas of your marriage that are at risk. If he won't go, go with- out him. Dear Annie: My son is getting married next year at a somewhat remote and tiny resort. Due to the dis- tance, some guests will be arriving at the resort the day before the wedding. The rehearsal dinner is the night before the wedding. I plan to pay for the dinner, but my wife thinks we should pay for any guests that happen to be at the resort that night. Is she right? It could be awkward if we don't include them and have to see them in passing. The resort is small. What is the proper way to handle this dilemma? — Unsure in Illinois Dear Unsure: All members of the bridal party, including parents, grand- parents and officiants, are included in the rehearsal dinner. It is not mandato- ry to include all out-of-town guests, although if there aren't too many of them, it would be both appropriate and kind to do so. Otherwise, please be sure there is hospitality provided at the resort specifically for them that includes some type of food (snacks, drinks, etc.). Dear Annie: This is in response to the letter from ''Pennsylvania,'' who asked about the etiquette of announc- ing a death via email. band's sister emailed that an aunt had a stroke, and she said she would keep us posted. Several weeks later, I was throwing out an old newspaper and spotted the aunt's obituary, too late to attend the funeral. No one in my hus- band's family called him. When I confronted his spacey sister by phone, she said she meant to send a follow-up email but forgot. When my husband confronted his mother, she said, ''Your brother-in-law was sup- posed to send you an email.'' It turns out that the brother-in-law offered to do so, but said the email bounced back with the wrong address. It never occurred to him to then call us. So don't rely on email. Sometimes it gets lost in cyberspace, bounces back or goes into spam, and some people don't check their email often. I guess this is less a comment about the eti- quette of sending an email to announce a death and more of a comment on my husband's ditzy family. — Also in Pennsylvania A couple of months ago, my hus- Annie's Mailbox is written by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar, longtime editors of the Ann Landers column. Please email your questions to anniesmailboxcomcast.net, or write to: Annie's Mailbox, c/o Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254. 'Ted': Crude talking toy shows us how stupidly the rest of us are behaving (MCT) —There are moments in Seth MacFar- lane's new comedy "Ted" so flagrantly vulgar — bits involving parsnips and hand lotion and human excre- ment (though thankfully not all together) — that you are inevitably reminded of John Waters, the maestro of bad taste who held up a fun- house mirror to America in the 1970s and '80s, in movies like "Pink Flamin- gos" and "Polyester," show- ing us that we are not nearly so upstanding as we would like to pretend. that Waters never came up with anything like the title character in Ted, a pot- smoking, four-letter-word spewing, anthropomorphic teddy bear who also hap- pens to have a mean right hook. "Ted" is a symphony of the crass. Pity the pour soul who wanders into this movie unawares (at the end of the screening I attended, I saw two women wearing expressions of relieved ter- ror — like they had just sur- vived a carjacking). Every- one else, though, gets to rel- ish the most sustained, deli- ciously weird assault on middle-class American val- ues since the original "Jack- ass." But then you remember know, MacFarlane is the creator of the cult hit ani- mated sitcom "Family Guy," and "Ted" hews almost exactly to the model of that show: There are inex- plicable non sequiturs, chockablock pop-culture As devoted fans already Pacific Gas and Elec- tric Company (PG&E) offers the following time-proven tips to help customers be aware of summertime hazards that come with hot, dry weather and certain out- door activities. Live!" Use caution and keep fireworks, bal- loons, kites and toys (such as high powered water guns or remote control aircraft) away from overhead electric lines. Contact with lines can lead to serious injury, fires and outages. •Never attempt to Summer safety tips: • "Look Up and retrieve any type of bal- loon, kite or toy that becomes caught in a power line. Leave alone and immediately call PG&E at 1-800- it references; at the center of the story is a presumably nonverbal figure — a dog on "Family Guy," a child's toy here — whose ability to talk like a 40-year-old man doesn't seem to faze anyone. In stretching out the con- ceit of a 30-minute show to 106 minute movie, "Ted" sometimes feels strained; many of the scattershot gags miss the mark, or come off as unnecessarily mean-spir- ited. But MacFarlane's larg- er achievement is undeni- able: He's invented a pop surrealist storytelling style that is unlike anything else coming out of Hollywood right now. In a prologue, narrated with mock sincerity by Patrick Stewart, we learn the story of John Bennett (played by Bretton Manley as a boy), who one Christ- mas night wished that his new teddy bear would come to life so they could be best friends forever. The next morning, Ted is walking and cheerfully talking. Within weeks, he's on the covers of magazines, a bonafide celebrity. Flash forward 25 years or so, though, and Ted has been forgotten by the public. He is still best bud- dies with the now-adult, rudderless John (Mark Wahlberg), but they live together in a state of arrested adolescence, as John's girl- friend (Mila Kunis) looks on in frustration. Wild) feels familiar: Like "The Hangover" or the col- lected works of Adam Sander, this is another "tam- ing of the man-child" come- dy that indulges its charac- ters' most juvenile fantasies before setting them on the righteous path. Yet whereas a funda- mental conservativism ani- mates movies like "The Hangover" — the men are basically taught a lesson to never stray too far from their wives and girlfriends — "Ted" pushes into more extreme territory. At various points, Ted hires a group of hookers and plays a scato- logically-themed game of Truth or Dare; he has sex with one of his co-workers at a grocery store; and he whips John's bare behind with the antennae from a television set. The biggest knock to be made against "Ted" is that the central conflict (the screenplay by MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin and Wellesley 743-5000 to report the problem. •Never go near a MacFarlane has reached the limit of transgressions for a mainstream Hollywood movie, he serves up a scene like the one that finds the teddy bear jacked-up on cocaine, performing karaoke to Hootie and the Blowfish's "Only Wanna Be With You." Is "Ted" just a bunch of shock for shock's sake? Per- haps, but shock has its place in our cultural history. Waters' classic movies func- tioned as a kind of call-to- arms; they asserted a place within the blandness of Apple Pie America for the freaks and the outcasts. "Ted" doesn't quite have as coherent a vision _ the vil- lains in Waters' films were Each time you think power line that has fall- en to the ground, is dan- gling in the air or appears to be damaged. Always assumed downed electric lines are energized and danger- ous. Stay away, keep others away and imme- diately call 911 to alert the police and fire departments. • Observe local laws. Contact your local police or fire department to make sure fireworks are allowed in your area. If so, keep a bucket of water or a water hose close by. •Pay attention to overhead power lines when using long, alu- minum poles to clean your pool. Watch where the other end of the pole is located in relation to power lines. •Avoid playing around overhead power lines and power poles. •Never climb trees right-wing, censorious prigs. The villains here are a standard-issue corporate toady played by Joel McHale and a twitching sociopath played by Gio- vanni Ribisi. But there's no mistaking the angry satire that under- lies the film: MacFarlane gleefully mocks our obses- sion with celebrity (Norah Jones, Ryan Reynolds and Tom Skerritt all make extremely strange cameos); and our politically correct anxieties when it comes to talking about race and sexu- ality. In his vision, only a crude talking toy can show us how stupidly the rest of us are behaving. 3B Easy symptoms of chronic bronchitis with these strategies DEAR DOCTOR K: After years of smoking I've developed chronic bronchitis. Every morn- ing I cough up lots of mucus. What can I do to control this cough? DEAR READER: Chronic bronchitis is a common form of chron- ic obstructive pul- monary disease, or COPD. COPD refers to a group of disorders that damage the lungs and make breathing increasingly diffi- cult over time. Most cases of COPD are related to ciga- rette smoking. In chronic bronchitis, the lungs' airways become inflamed and their mucus- producing glands become enlarged. These enlarged glands produce too much mucus, triggering the cough you described. Over time, you're likely to produce more mucus, over longer stretches of the day and longer periods of the year. Your mucus will prob- ably change from thin and clear to thick and discolored. You may also have wheez- ing, breathlessness and rapid breathing. inflammation. For flare-ups, an oral corticos- teroid called prednisone can help. Dr. K by Anthony L. Komaroff, M.D. improve lung function. That's because regular exer- cise encourages your tissues to use the limited amounts of oxygen they receive more efficiently. Regular exer- cise will improve your quality of life, but does not directly — Exercise. — Fluids. Drinking enough fluids can help keep mucus watery and easy to drain. — Supplemental oxygen. This will help get enough oxygen into your blood. Other things you can do to minimize your symp- toms: — Avoid outdoor activi- ties when air pollution levels are high. — Avoid contact with And speaking of that puppet, he's a feat of techni- cal artistry, brilliantly inte- grated into the live action. The actors, especially Wahlberg (who at one point engages in a brutal, bloody hotel-room fight with Ted), work wonders to make you believe this pint-sized toy is actually alive. Kunis, lovely as she is, isn't given nearly enough to do — a common refrain in the man-child genre. Ted's voice, meanwhile, is provid- ed by MacFarlane himself, tossing off observations so outlandishly filthy that you instantly start giggling. This movie wins no points for subtlety, and that's exactly what makes it so special. ——— TED 4 out of 5 stars R (crude and sexual con- tent, pervasive language, drug use), 106 min. PG&E offers tips for safe and cool summer growing near or touch- ing overhead power lines. can visit PG&E-support- ed Cooling Centers to escape the heat, free of charge. For information on Cooling Centers, or to find out if there is one in your neighborhood, contact your local city or county. • "Call Before You Dig" – Before starting outdoor projects that require any type of exca- vation, large or small, call 811 to ensure you know where gas and electrical lines are buried underground. Even small digging pro- jects around the house for planting or fence posts require a call to 811. tips: • When temperatures are unusually high, you Hot weather safety Unfortunately, no treat- ment can fully reverse or stop COPD. Instead, treat- ment aims to relieve symp- toms, treat complications and minimize disability. The first and most critical step is to quit smoking. If you continue to smoke, your symptoms will get worse. Quitting smoking is most effective during the early stages of COPD, but it is never too late to quit. Your symptoms can still improve. Other treatments that may help include: — Environmental changes. Avoid exposure to dust or chemicals at work, outdoor air pollution and secondhand smoke. Also avoid other airborne toxins, such as deodorants, hair sprays and insecticides. — Medications. Bron- chodilators open up the air- ways. Daily inhaled corti- costeroids can reduce airway anyone with an upper respi- ratory tract infection. Even a mild cold can trigger a flare- up of bronchitis symptoms. — Wash your hands fre- quently to prevent illness. — Get vaccinated against influenza and pneumococcal pneumonia. Because your lungs are weakened by COPD, they are more severely affected by these infections if you get them. Above all, if you're still smoking, do everything you can to quit. You can do it. Of course, it's not easy. But it can be done. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are more former smok- ers alive today in the United States than there are current smokers. Dr. Komaroff is a physician and professor at Harvard Medical School.To send questions, go to AskDoctorK.com, or write: Ask Doctor K, 10 Shattuck St., Second Floor, Boston, MA 02115. Sofia Coppola, before Julie Delpy and Kasi Lemmons and Nicole Holofcener, there was Nora Ephron. She was a rare woman writing and directing in what was (and still is) the male-dominated industry of filmmaking. Ephron staked out her spot on the cinematic landscape with a distinctive voice and formidable wit. Now, she leaves behind a legacy of classic moments and quotable lines after succumbing to leukemia Tuesday at age 71. The very mention of her name calls to mind a certain kind male-dominated industry LOS ANGELES (AP) — Before Nancy Meyers, before Ephron blazed trail in of movie, something you can't say about many filmmakers, regardless of their gender. They were romantic comedies, yes, but ones for smart women, about smart women, with characters who had both bite and vulnerability to them. Maybe they were a tad too hyper-analytical or neurotic, but they were always highly verbal and, more often than not, destined for the kind of happy ending they deserved. Meg Ryan forged and reinforced her status as America's Sweetheart with roles in movies Ephron either wrote or wrote and directed: The best of these was 1989's ''When Harry Met Sally ...'' (directed by Rob Reiner), followed by ''Sleepless in Seattle'' in 1993 and ''You've Got Mail'' in 1998, both with Tom Hanks in winning form as Ryan's lik- able everyman co-star. Decades later, you can still say the line, ''I'll have what she's having,'' and everyone will instantly know what you're talking about. That's how lasting Ephron's work has been and will remain. If your neighborhood does not have a Cooling Center, plan trips to public places with air conditioning such as libraries, movie theaters or shopping malls. •Avoid strenuous water and avoid alcohol or caffeine when the weather is hot. •Pay attention to your body. Muscle cramps, dizziness and nausea may be signs of a heat-related illness. activities in hot, direct sunlight. • Drink plenty of was a rare fellow female filmmaker — and since has gone on to become the only woman to win an Academy Award for best director, for ''The Hurt Locker'' — but she's focused on action pictures. Barbra Streisand also tried her hand at directing around this time with ''Yentl,'' ''The Prince of Tides'' and ''The Mirror Has Two Faces.'' But Ephron con- tinued on and endured, for better and for worse. If we're being honest, some of her later work didn't come close to the level of her best-known and best-loved films. ''Hanging Up'' from 2000, which she and sister Delia co- wrote and star Diane Keaton directed, felt shrill and slap- sticky. ''Bewitched'' (2005), a big-screen version of the 1960s sitcom which she directed, wrote and produced, seemed like a gimmicky strain. But her final film, 2009's ''Julie & Julia,'' ended her career on a stronger note. Ephron directed Meryl Streep to one of her 17 Academy Award nominations for her joyous, pitch-perfect portrayal of pioneering chef Julia Child. And it was Streep who would play a version of Ephron herself in one of the earliest films she wrote, 1986's ''Heartburn,'' based on her own scathing novel inspired by her marriage to Washington Post reporter Carl Bernstein. Ephron was a three-time Oscar nominee for the screen- plays she wrote or co-wrote for ''When Harry Met Sally ...'' and ''Sleepless in Seattle'' as well as for her first produced script, for 1983's ''Silkwood." Back in the late '80s and early '90s, Kathryn Bigelow