THE LEFT LANE
'Matrix' just a tease

Advertiser Staff and News Services

Well, "Matrix" faithful, the wait is over. Even though "The Matrix Reloaded," and "The Matrix Revolutions" won't arrive in movie theaters until 2003, the creators of the films have put together a teaser with shots from both of the films.

To get a sneak peek, visit www.thematrix.com.

Like a natural woman

The natural look is in — when it comes to women's breasts, that is. So say most American men responding to a new national survey.

The random-digit telephone survey conducted by Harris Interactive of 1,000 adults ages 18 to 65 found that 47 percent of men think women look sexier without artificial breast implants. Only 21 percent of the males surveyed (that's one out of five, by the way) think women look sexier after getting implants.

Women were less convinced about the natural look. While 37 percent of the women surveyed think that natural breasts are sexier than implants, 31 percent said they weren't sure.

The survey was sponsored by Adam & Eve, a mail-order distributor of erotica.

Sweden, celebrated and sometimes denigrated in pop annals as the home of lightweight pop since ABBA's heyday, now can lay claim to a new distinction: Garage-Rock Central.

That's in large measure because of the funnel cloud of hype surrounding the Hives.

The quintet, from tiny Fagersta (population 12,000), about 100 miles northwest of Stockholm, "are better than Nirvana because there isn't just one brilliant boy," said Courtney Love at this year's South by Southwest Music Conference. "This is not a novelty, this is new garage, and it's here."

But the Swedes are hardly alone in celebrating the down-and-dirty virtues of garage. New York is in the midst of something of a rock renaissance not seen since the heyday of CBGB's, circa 1977, thanks to fresh new bands such as the Strokes, whose 2001 debut album, "Is This Is It" (BMG), is approaching 1 million sales.

Eat your folate

High intakes of dietary folate, a B vitamin, can reduce a person's risk of having a stroke by about 20 percent, researchers have found.

Folate is found in citrus fruits, tomatoes, leafy green vegetables and pinto, navy and kidney beans, as well as wheat products. The study by researchers at Tulane University included nearly 10,000 people and lasted 20 years. It was published in Stroke, a journal of the American Heart Association.

The American Heart Association urges people to consume at least 400 micrograms of folate daily.