THE LEFT LANE
Don't try this at home

To outsmart the spiders, Cruise immerses himself in a bathtub filled with ice water, but a bubble of air escapes from his nostril and a spider, about to leave the room, pauses with perfect timing, and goes back for another look.

"That air bubble was NOT a computer effect," Cruise said. "Steven said, 'I need one bubble to come out of this nostril,' and I thought, forget about CGI, I can get a bubble to come out. The things an actor does."

Lee Tonouchi has come up with a typically counterculture way to promote his collection of pidgin short stories, "Da Word": a bumper sticker. He and artist Ryan Higa of workspace gallery collaborated on the rather elaborately named "Pidgin Awareness Sticker."

The $2 sticker says, simply, "Da Word iz out!" It's available at workspace gallery, where Higa exhibits, and at all Hybolics and Bamboo Ridge Press events.

Seeking short shorts

Who's got short shorts? Uh, short short films, that is. Organizers of this year's 'Ohina Short Film Showcase are looking for less lengthy submissions for the noncompetitive film fest. Films no longer than 30 minutes will still be accepted, but executive director Jeff Katts strongly encourages directors to try to keep their entries less than 10 minutes in length.

Screenings of selected films will be held Oct. 18-19 at the Honolulu Academy of Arts Theater. Entry forms are available at Blockbuster Video locations at Ala Moana Center, Market City Shopping Center and Kailua. A $10 entry fee is required.

The deadline for submissions is Aug. 2. For more information, call 951-4413.

Matching teens, jobs

Six out of 10 teenagers in the United States will be looking for jobs this summer, but who might hire them?

An online job matching service called Teens4Hire (www.teens4hire.org) surveyed more than 1,000 potential employers to find that besides the usual fast-food restaurants, hardware stores, hotels, golf courses, gas stations, parks, childcare providers, museums, construction companies and healthcare centers would give teens a summer job.

The best thing for a teen to do is ask. "Ask to speak directly with the hiring manager," said Renee Ward, founder and executive director of the site. "Have a profile or resume of your work, education and extracurricular activities handy to fill out an application. Complete the application neatly and spell words correctly. Employers want to see this type of attention to detail."