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A Phoenix woman reportedly sent a man she met on a dating website more than 159,000 texts – including one stating that she wanted to turn his kidneys into sushi. According to police documents obtained by the Arizona Republic, Jacqueline Ades allegedly sent the man the messages over the span of nearly 10 months. She had originally been accused of sending him more than 65,000 text messages but the number was reportedly more than double that. The arrest records listed the woman as “showing signs of mental illness,” the newspaper reported. Ades reportedly met the victim, a Paradise Valley man...

Enlarge ImageShoot more, see more. Playing action video games improved contrast sensitivity. Credit: Americasarmy.com Video games, long maligned for promoting violence, may also have a good side: improving eyesight. Gory "first-person shooter" games, in which players must act quickly to kill their virtual opponents, seem to have lasting effects on a key aspect of vision, a new study shows. In 2002, Daphne Bavelier, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Rochester in New York state, found that playing action video games improved visual attention skills (ScienceNOW, 18 April 2002). This time she compared avid gamers with nongamers on a...

Cameras roll on final Star WarsBy MICHAEL OWEN-BROWN 30jun03THE republic is crumbling, the forces of evil are massing and a legion of science-fiction fans are quivering in anticipation. The last chapter of Star Wars starts filming today at Sydney's Fox Studios. Almost 1000 crew will work on the $173 million production, which stars about about 60 Australian actors. Fans can watch parts of the filming on webcam. The film, due for release in 2005, will focus on young Jedi warrior Anakin Skywalker being seduced by the dark side of the Force on his way to becoming Darth Vader. Also, Senator...

Last night, I had the pleasure of attending a midnight showing of The Two Towers. What follows is my attempt at a spoiler-free review. Of three books of the trilogy, "The Two Towers" was always my favorite - I looked forward to the movie in fevered anticipation. I decided to throw caution to the wind and go to the midnight showing; I knew I would be hurting at work today (quick nurse, my caffine IV is low!) I was very surprised to get to the theater in our small city and find it utterly packed, my friend and I were...