Speaking of subtitles, I bought a cheap asian copy of 'Butterfly Affect', in English, which had English subtitles which couldn't be turned off despite the menu option to do so. They're distracting enough to draw one's eyes at least occasionally. Holy cow. A deaf person watching this version would have been very confused indeed. At one point Ashton asks his girlfriend if they'll be together forever or something and she says "That's the plan, Hell or high water". The subtitle is something like "It's a plant. How do I water?" Then he says something like "I was just checking" and the subtitle is "It's a big tree". It's pretty funny stuff, but only on the second viewing if you actually want to follow the plot. -O-

Perilla I believe. Here is a link that might be useful: Perilla

Yes, used is the way to go. I got mine at Cooper Furniture in Chicago, which sells used hotel furniture. Most of the time, it's stuff that loks like it came from Motel 6, but every once in a while, the good stuff will show up. My sofa came from a hotel lobby in NYC, and when I bought it, it was upholstered in Brunschwig & Fils' "La Portugaise" chintz, which was Mark Hampton's favorite pattern, but which I find hideous. But I figured I couldn't go wrong with a Baker sofa for $100, even if it was ugly, so I hauled it home & painted it. Problem solved. Except for the fact that I didn't paint the underside of the cushion, and you can just make out a hint of the pattern peeking out. Oh, well. And as far as the Empire/Biedermeier sofa thing goes, if you see one you like, you better buy it now. The Milwaukee Art Museum is opening a big Biedermeier show this fall--the first ever in this country--and considering what happened to prices for Arts-&-Crafts & Mission-style pieces after the big museum show back in 1971 or 1972, these babies won't be cheap for long. Get 'em while they're cold. Which is exactly what I did last weekend. I forget who it was, but somebody on the board had a spectacular late Empire-style sofa upholstered in pale blue a few weeks ago, and I had been thinking about it ever since. And after the nonsense around here a few weeks ago, I decided to take a break,soIwent up to wisconsin to see my dad, and when I walked into my favorite antique shop in his little town, there, dead center in the store, was the cool sofa's twin, upholstered in olive-&-pink striped bengaline. Yowza! It was like spotting a supermodel at the county fair. The colors are perfect for my place--which is good, since I don't ever bother reupholstering anything--but it won't fit into my tiny apartment, and although the scale & size & age are perfect for my dad's stone & log house, such a high-style piece would look totally out of place with the well-worn look he has going on, but those are petty concerns and I certainly didn't let any of them stop me from buying it. Anyway, so now it's mine. Now all I have to do is figure out how to juggle everything around at home to make room for it. And then go get it. But that's OK. Beauty sometimes requires sacrifice. Regards, MAGNAVERDE.

jscozz, What was the title of your thread (so I can go review it?). I do have a bit of a problem following threads I'm interested in, cuz things move so fast on this forum. I also haven't been able to keep anything in 'my clippings'. I think I had them there for awhile, but they're all gone now- not sure if I'm missing something...? The one good thing about the company I am dealing with (I am the GC on our reno), is that they seem to be bending over backwards to make sure everything goes OK. Allright- it HAS been six months since I ordered cabinets and granite, and I STILL don't have all cabinets yet... but the manager has taken over our account personally and has probably spent close to 6-7 hours here (now I know that sounds excessive- but 2-3 hours of that was a second trip cuz we changed our minds about the overhang to go back to 9"- and when he came out to remeasure- he assured us he could do the 12" with rodding and it would be supported well enough- so we went back to the 12" again), just measuring and trying to figure out how he is going to fabricate/cut the granite. He prefers to overkill to make sure everything lasts a lifetime- and I really appreciate his enthusiasm and his attitude- just not totally confident in his lack of experience.