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Studio executives expected their biggest summer ever this year as they loaded their lineup with huge action movies and superhero franchises.

What they got were two colossal blockbusters - The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises - a handful of backup hits and plenty of duds that just didn't deliver, resulting in what may prove the lowest summer movie attendance in 20 years.

While domestic revenue is projected to come in as the second-best ever, the number of tickets sold shrank to about 532 million from the first weekend in May through Labor Day, down 4 percent from summer 2011, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com. If that holds by the time final ticket sales are counted through today, that would be the smallest audiences Hollywood has packed in for its busiest season dating back to 1993, the earliest summer revenue data maintained by Hollywood.com.

Cook from scratch. Eat foods in season. Buy locally. That is the conventional wisdom on what Americans must do to become healthier.

Ben Gardner does not agree.

The founder of Linkwell Health knows that Americans, especially those with chronic diseases, should eat better. Consumers with diabetes buy twice as many candy bars and more than twice as much Mountain Dew as their healthy peers, according to the research firm Nielsen, while patients with heart disease buy 10 times as many frozen dinners. But instead of trying to persuade these customers to purchase fresh produce and prepare a home-cooked meal, Linkwell offers them coupons for more healthful frozen dinners or diet soda.

In short, Linkwell doesn't let the ideal be the enemy of better eating, and the strategy is working.

Baggage Check

Q: My ex of one year recently called me to chat. At first things were friendly, but then he dropped a bombshell that he had broken up with his girlfriend - the one he ended up dumping me for - because he suddenly developed intense feelings for me again. But I'm over him. So how do I tell him that I've moved on and no longer want him in my life?

A: After all you've been through with him, I find it rather interesting that you didn't want to shout this out with a bullhorn. But in short, the answer to your question is very simple.

You open your mouth and form those exact words to him. And if you're having trouble saying it, you explore within yourself what the emotional block is: Do you feel guilty? Doubtful that you really mean it? Angry enough that you want to string him along? Sad that you're basically telling him it's over? There's some psychological hurdle there, and figuring out what it is will make it easier for you to break things off, once and for all.

Czech Republic Five free things to do in capital city

Prague is a vibrant city, with a lively nightlife that attracts lots of young tourists. But while cafes, busy streets and good beer draw plenty of visitors, among the most beautiful and appealing attractions in this trendy capital are its historic and cultural sites, in the Old Town, in churches and castles dating back centuries. And many of them can be enjoyed for free. Here are five suggestions:

Old Town Square

When you hear the crickets chirping, cool weather is near

Green leaves are fading and some are starting to turn red. Children and teachers are heading back to school. Many signs tell us that the seasons are changing. Some of those clues are the prominent sounds of crickets and grasshoppers as they perform their late summer swansong.

Spring is usually thought of as the time for courtship and reproduction, but for crickets and grasshoppers, now is when mating and egg-laying occurs. That is why we hear their calls, mostly created by the males, as they attempt to attract females and intimidate competitors.

The sounds, like bird songs, are specific to each species. When a male calls, the female of his kind will respond and approach him. After mating occurs, she deposits her fertilized eggs in the ground, or sometimes in plant material, where they will remain for the winter. In the spring (or summer, depending on the species) the eggs will hatch and begin to grow.

Avant-garde composer inspired and outraged

To many artists, he was one of the most inspiring figures of the 20th century. To some musicians, he is underrated: branded, unfairly, more important as a thinker than a composer. And to a large segment of the public, he's a charlatan: a man who convinced some people that sitting onstage in silence for four minutes and 33 seconds could be construed as performing a work of music.

John Cage - composer, philosopher, visual artist, mushroom enthusiast - would have been 100 years old Wednesday. This week, Washington, usually somewhat conservative in its musical tastes, is challenging its own image with an eight-day celebration, opening Tuesday and spread throughout some of the city's flagship arts institutions, that may be the largest Cage centennial in the country.

Requirements differ along all borders

I adore interesting statistics and the September issue of Conde Nast Traveler has a fascinating mega-display of international travel stats (pages 95-98). Would you believe New Hampshire made the display?

Seems that while the number of Americans holding passports has tripled to almost 13 million, the percentage of residents holding valid passports varies greatly from state to state. New Hampshire is fifth at 43 percent, just behind four other Northeast states. New Jersey is first with 50 percent and Mississippi is last with 13.1 percent.

Heartening news for the world of international travel - but is a passport all you need to head for another country or continent? No! You might need a visa, too.

To most people, a garden is a company of plants - one that may include flowers, shrubs, trees, vegetables, landscaping, architectural oddities or just using the natural features of the land. A garden can be created with artful expression, such as an herb garden or a water garden that speaks of tranquility and unique beauty, and formal gardens can be traced back to centuries of study and intrigue. The term "to garden" itself describes the activity in which the person is performing the care and nurturing of the assemblage of particular flora, with the goal to attain greatest result. But, consider for a moment the vegetation itself. Why don't plants receive credit for any of the success even though the performance they give is usually thought of as a series of acts choreographed and credited to the gardener. Do plants get to have any individual input?

Concord School's latest schedule packed with opportunities

What song is running through your head right now? Come on, be honest. Hey, there's no shame in admitting to an earworm by Justin Bieber or Carly Rae Jepsen (okay maybe there's a little shame if your kids haven't commandeered the car radio). But if the shift from summer's flip-flop-and-Slurpees mindset to fall's more wholesome mood has you thinking it might be nice to add some new dimensions to your musical life, September is the time to check out the Concord Community Music School. A variety of classes, workshops and lessons are starting up this month, offering numerous ways to learn about, enjoy and create music.

For the first time this year, the music school will be conducting a fall open house, which will be held Sept. 15, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event will include demonstrations, an instrument "petting zoo" and a chance to meet the teachers and chat about the various programs.

Concord Downtown venue's fall offerings define eclectic Embed multimedia (photos, galleries, audio, map):  blacksuitbangoplaying

Where can you see a host of glitzy young women competing for the miss Capital Area crown, a harmonica-playing Mark Twain impersonator and a holiday dance extravaganza (not all at the same time, mind you)?

Hint: It's a Concord fixture that's been around longer than the oldest person reading this article.

If you guessed the Concord City Auditorium, you're right, and your prize is . . . really cheap tickets. Actually the Audi has a long tradition of keeping admission affordable, so everybody gets cheap tickets. But hey, you have the satisfaction of knowing you earned them.

Here are some highlights from the Audi's upcoming season:

• The Audi will host its annual Gala Party and Arts Fair and Gala Variety Show on Sept. 23. The party begins at 6 p.m. with an Arnie's ice cream social and exhibits by area arts groups. The

Concord Comedian's pointed standup slated for Cap Center

Outspoken and outrageous, comedian-activist Margaret Cho will perform at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord for the first time Sept. 30. Her "Mother" tour started this month and will continue throughout the country and in the U.K.

In a phone interview, Cho said that the "best part is now. In the beginning (of the tour), you can do anything. anything. . . . (It's) always in motion, always in progress."

Unlike a play in which the lines are fixed, her act is constantly evolving.

She's keeping busy offstage, too. Cho has been shooting for an internet-based reality show, In Transition, and recently hosted "Keep the Promise," a rally urging the U.S. to uphold the President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief.

Cho's TV career is flourishing; she plays Teri Lee, the legal assistant to Jane Bingum, the attorney and main character of Drop-Dead Diva on Lifetime.

FX is ordering 90 more episodes of Anger Management, Charlie Sheen's TV comeback vehicle after being fired from Two and a Half Men.

The unusually large order reflects the original agreement that FX made for the sitcom that stars Sheen as a therapist.

As part of the deal, FX set a ratings target for eight of the first 10 episodes of Anger Management. The show reached the threshold, earning an automatic 90-episode order, the channel said.

The round figure of 100 episodes is the benchmark for series syndication, and that's the future for episodes that have shown first on FX, said producer Debmar-Mercury, a Lionsgate subsidiary.

Anger Management will go into syndication in September 2014, the company said Wednesday. It's a model that Debmar-Mercury used with the Ice Cube sitcom Are We There Yet? and on Tyler Perry's House of Payne and Meet the Browns.

Reissue of Mark Bittman's 1995 'Leafy Greens' can help you go beyond the lettuce Embed multimedia (photos, galleries, audio, map):  Food-Mark Bittman

Not so long ago, the admonishment to "Eat your greens!" generally focused on lettuce, maybe spinach. And that's about as adventurous as it got.

Today, it's hard to flip through food magazines or watch television shows without seeing someone sauteing chard, roasting kale, wilting mustard greens or swooning over watercress. You even can get collards and kale washed, chopped and bagged at big box stores and niche grocers, like Trader Joe's.

It's a change for the better, says New York Times food and opinion columnist Mark Bittman. And it's happening because more people are listening to messages about what is good for them to eat.

The simple and butterific version of this dish has been served at the Maine Diner in Wells, Maine, for the past quarter-century or so. Here, we made the shopping list a bit easier on your wallet by adding a bit of moist, grated vegetable to the lobster filling. And we cut back on the butter.

If you buy lobster that has been freshly steamed at the store, the preparation is clean and simple; if you choose to boil your own, you'll need the meat from two 1¼-pound lobsters.

The green tomalley augments the lobster flavor here, but it can be omitted.

If you're not pressed for time, the dish can be assembled, covered and refrigerated up to 8 hours in advance. Allow to come to room temperature for 1 hour before baking.

Ritzy Lobster Pies

Meat from 2 1¼-pound cooked lobsters

1 teaspoon lobster tomalley (optional)

2 lemons

1 medium yellow squash or zucchini

Grated carrots and dates combine in a delicious salad sweetened with honey

When Rosh Hashanah - the Jewish new year - rolls around, sugar, and specifically honey, often is on the menu. It's a kind of edible prayer, a hopeful way of attracting sweet things to one's life in the year to come.

That's why this salad is based on a sweet vegetable - the carrot - and flavored with honey and dates. But you don't have to celebrate Rosh Hashanah to love this recipe. Refreshing and simple to prepare, it's a great and healthy end-of-summer treat no matter what your faith.

Technique-wise, I borrowed a trick I learned for beets: I grate them.

For years, I hated beets. To me, they tasted like dirt. And the little devils start out hard as rocks, so hard you have to boil them for an hour before you can even think about cutting into them.

One day it occurred to me that I might be able to make beets more user-friendly by running them through the grating disk of a food processor.

Kelly, the heroine of The Apparition, seems pretty happy with her boyfriend, Ben. He's handsome, thoughtful and good around the house, which happens to be a new Spanish-style tract mansion in an almost entirely unoccupied development in the Southern California desert. Life seems stellar for the young couple, who wisely chose to rent rather than buy.

But you know how guys are with their little secrets. It turns out that Ben has never told Kelly about Lydia, the college girlfriend who got away. That is, literally got away - she was sucked into the nameless void during a high-tech seance conducted by Ben, Lydia and their pompous friend Patrick, who looks eerily like Draco Malfoy.

Fast facials and group sessions become part of travel plans

Parties at the spa, treatments for stressed and time-pressed consumers, cross-cultural traditions, and a whole lot of purple - from lavender-scented treatments to mauve nail polish - are some of the trends and services that were shown off at the annual International Spa Association meeting held Aug. 16 in New York. Here are some details:

SPA-RTY: Rejuvenation at the spa need not be a solitary pursuit. "A trend we've been seeing is private events called 'spa-rtys' getting booked in the spa space - for weddings, corporate events, etc.," said Lauren Clifford, a spokeswoman for the Regent Palms Turks and Caicos, which has a 26,000-square-foot, indoor-outdoor facility at the Caribbean island resort.

A second cruise line has agreed to buy lobsters from local suppliers when one of its ships visits Maine in September and October, U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree said Wednesday.

Celebrity Cruises has agreed to purchase about 3,800 pounds of lobster when the Celebrity Summit visits Bar Harbor and Portland, Pingree said. The 965-foot ship carries more than 2,000 passengers.

Officials said last week that Holland America Line agreed to purchase locally caught lobsters for its cruise ships when they visit Bar Harbor several times this season.

Warner restaurant a pleasant outing

Anyone who thinks the American Dream is no longer achievable should visit the School House Cafe in Warner, where sisters Caleen Fisher and Kathy Skinner-Shifrin are making the dream come true.

The sisters share a history of working in the food industry, and this month, they celebrated one year since they opened their own restaurant.

The parking lot is usually full, the tables are usually full, the public enjoys outstanding meals at very fair prices. The food is all fresh - the dishes homemade, baked goods are homemade, soups are homemade. Their chicken salad is something special, and the corn beef hash is the best I've ever had - equal, I'd say, to my own.

Boscawen Ghost peppers and jalapenos lead to food challenge failure Embed multimedia (photos, galleries, audio, map):  Tim vs. the Inferno Burger Tim vs. the Inferno Burger

I've made some bad decisions in my life. Celebrating my love of taffy minutes after costly dental work, taunting a 6-foot-4 meaty-fisted bouncer, letting the glassy-eyed older brother of a friend "cut" my hair with rusty shears. Michael Dukakis. But this one tops them all. This time I may have gone too far. I've just finished my first mouthful of the Inferno Challenge burger, and I can't feel my face.

It didn't take much for me to accept this dare. There's a place out in Boscawen that'll put your picture on the wall if you finish a super-spicy, 1-pound burger in 20 minutes. So here I am at the Smoke Shack Southern Barbecue restaurant ("Where the Swine is Fine") with my two kids, hoping they don't see me burst into flames.