The Left Lane
Cloning 'Star Wars'

The next installment of George Lucas' science-fiction saga will be called "Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones."

The name joins chapter titles for the four previous films: "A New Hope," "The Empire Strikes Back," "Return of the Jedi" and "The Phantom Menace." The newest "Star Wars" film had been known only as "Episode II"; it's expected in theaters next spring.

Giving each installment a chapter title "harkens back to the sense of pure fun, imagination and excitement that characterized the classic movie serials and pulp space fantasy adventures that inspired the 'Star Wars' saga," Lucasfilms said in an announcement on its Web site.

"Attack of the Clones" picks up 10 years after the action in "The Phantom Menace." Ewan McGregor returns as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Natalie Portman is back as Padme Amidala.

Hayden Christensen joins the cast as the young adult Anakin Skywalker, who evolves into villain Darth Vader.

Spotlighting poetry

Award-winning New York writer and poet Philip Lopate, in town for a series of creative-writing workshops, will read from his current work in progress along with Hawai'i writers who participated in the local retreats, 7 p.m. tonight at Native Books Kapalama, 1244 N. School St. The reading is free.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Lopate declared himself nevertheless fascinated by Hawai'i, "not only because of its staggering physical beauty but also because of its complex history and present contradictions, which make for a mentally stimulating environment."

Brooke Berrington says refrigerating a shirt before ironing it really works.

The Advertiser's fashion forum, a group of young people who help us track style trends, also likes to test theories and stuff they've "heard around." So Brooke Berrington decided to experiment with the idea that a shirt placed in the fridge before ironing comes out neater. She dampened a French Blue cotton shirt with water, rolled it haphazardly and placed it in a bowl in the fridge. When she ironed it in the morning (no starch), she found that "it looked neat and pressed without feeling starchy. It had a soft feel and smelled very fresh for some reason, like it was fresh out of the dryer."