THE LEFT LANE
Wedding central

Advertiser Staff and News Services

That's why Karen and Roy Kawaji opened the Wedding Cafe in Manoa Marketplace as a one-stop resource center for planning a wedding, complete with a library containing books, magazines and business cards.

At free workshops from 6 to 7 p.m. each Wednesday, brides and grooms can meet vendors and ask questions on everything from hair and makeup to catering. (The topic changes every week.)

Live in a tiny apartment and need a place for an engagement party, bridal shower or rehearsal dinner? The Wedding Cafe can help.

Hours: Tuesdays- Sundays, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. 988-1005 or theweddingcafe.net.

No surprises, please

Think twice before you sneak up behind someone to yell "Boo!" It might be dangerous. Startling movements, especially for older people, can increase risk of a stroke, according to Tel Aviv University researchers.

Abrupt changes in body position caused by sudden loud noises, calls for help or other unexpected events were found within two hours of a stroke in one of five patients, Silvia Koton reported at the annual meeting of the American Stroke Association.

Negative emotional stress or anger had the second-highest linkage to strokes. The researchers suspect sudden movements somehow trigger stroke-causing blood clots, much like the way they can trigger heart attacks.

It used to be easier to surprise comic-book readers. Except for perhaps a "next-issue" blurb in their favorite comic, they generally had no idea what to expect. These days, the Previews catalog from Diamond Comics Distributors (previews.diamondcomics.com) serves as the comic-book world's version of TV Guide — with roughly 500 pages of details on comic books coming a couple of months down the road, plus info on toys and related items.

But readers will notice a change in Previews: Story summaries are absent for Marvel Comics. Instead, there are just the basics: creator credits, costs and page counts, along with a few sparse nuggets of data. It's Marvel's attempt to bring back that air of mystery.

BILL CLINTON

Ten years after appearing on MTV as a candidate for the White House, former President Bill Clinton will make another appearance. The subject matter this time, however, will be far more serious than whether he wears boxers or briefs. Clinton is one of several panelists at a forum titled "Staying Alive: A Global Youth Forum on HIV/AIDS" today in Barcelona, Spain, held in conjunction with the International AIDS Conference there.