THE LEFT LANE
The power of papaya

Advertiser Staff and News Services

It must be a sign that cosmetics makers are picking up on what people in the tropics already knew: Papaya is good for dry skin. Used all by itself, papaya can be used as an exfoliant to soften your skin. It's also good for treating sunburn, acne and minor skin irritations.

Take a Longs look

The local theater group is presenting Lee Cataluna's "Folks You Meet At Longs" in August and has parts for three local females and two local males; adults of all ages are welcome.

Tryouts will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. July 13 and and 14 at Kumu Kahua, 46 Merchant at Bethel Street, and will consist of cold readings from the script, some improvisation, and simple movement work. You should arrive early and remain for the duration of the auditions. Scripts can be borrowed with a $10 cash deposit at the theater. Details: 536-4222.

Desperation dating

We'd like to be able to tell you for sure that www.coincidencedesign.com — a Web site that claims it can find a man a dream wife for a mere $80,000 — is a hoax. ("You can't STALK her," the site says, "But WE CAN.") It claims it can shadow someone, research her quirks and arrange "chance" encounters that could lead to marriage. Trouble is, the site has no contact information and won't answer questions from the media.

The Vancouver (British Columbia) Sun determined the joke would be on anyone loaded, shallow and desperate enough to try it. According to the Web domain-name service Whois.Net, the Coincidence Design site is based in Dallas, not Chicago, as the site claims, and is listed under the name Jason Bourne and a phone number that turned out to be a Nissan dealership.