Facial

Of the many things that long-term alcohol addiction can steal -- careers, lives, health, memory -- one of its most heartbreaking tolls is on relationships. Alcoholics, researchers have long known, have a tendency to misread emotional cues, sometimes taking offense when none was intended or failing to pick up on a loved one's sadness, joy, anger or disappointment. The misunderstandings can result in more drinking, and more deterioration of relationships and lives. How does alcohol do all that?

The bumper crop of beards and mustaches we first noticed in full bloom during January's Golden Globe Awards is not only still with us, but the Fraternal Order of the Hollywood Hirsute seems to be inducting new members left and right. Oscars 2013: Nominee list | Ballot | Trivia | Timeline Among those joining the previously bearded Tommy Lee Jones, Bradley Cooper and Ben Affleck -- whose chin spinach apparently sprouted a parody Twitter feed in the last few days -- on the red carpet at the 85th annual Academy Awards tonight, are a suavely mustachioed Jason Schwartzman, a pine-needly Chris Pine and a mostly white-bearded George Clooney.

Toronto shortstop Tony Fernandez, who suffered a fracture of a small facial bone in his right cheek when hit by a pitch Friday night in Texas, will be out from four to six weeks, a club spokesman said. The Blue Jays placed Fernandez on the 21-day disabled list and replaced him with Alexis Infante, who was called up from triple-A Syracuse.

Philip Seymour Hoffman's mustache The movie: "The Master" The performance: Many wondered whether Hoffman's 'stache could make it on its own after being paired so often with its chin-whiskers partner. Not only does the mustache make it solo, it transforms Hoffman's mug into that of a debonair man, a scoundrel, if you will. Hoffman's writer/doctor/nuclear physicist/theoretical philosopher could never have been so hopelessly inqusitive, so effortlessly charming without its splendor.

At last, a story that makes a reader cry with happiness, not sadness. I refer to Dr. Michael Niccole ("A Dose of Mercy," Sept. 28) and all those who worked with him to relieve the misery of all the children in Argentina with facial and palate deformities. Keep these stories coming. However, are there not American children who deserve the same treatment? --DYANNE NELSON North Hollywood

Does the watching of an important ball game on TV have to include the constant close-up camera shots of the players doing the following: (1) blowing bubble gum, (2) spitting non-stop, (3) cleaning their noses, and (4) making assorted gestures and facial contortions. Most of these fellows are not exactly photogenic specimens. We can see much of the same at the San Diego zoo. Please, Mr. Director, spare us the "human interest" camera angles and give us back the game. BILL RETCHIN La Quinta

Hollywood inventiveness strikes again ["Heroes for Our Fraudulent Times" by Mary McNamara, Jan. 11]. Fox's new show, "Lie to Me," is about Dr. Cal Lightman, an investigator who can read people's facial expressions, voice inflections, posture, etc., to determine if they're telling the truth. My "Montezuma Strip" series, beginning with the story "Sanctuary," written in 1987 (and filmed for the opening episode of the SF Channel series "Welcome to Paradox"), is about the intuit Angel Cardenas, an investigator who can read people's facial expressions, voice inflections, posture, etc., to determine if they're telling the truth.

In his piece on "Bare," the new Annie Lennox CD, Phil Sutcliffe devotes an entire paragraph to describing the singer-songwriter's face: "frown lines between her eyebrows, smile lines around her mouth, small vertical grooves above her top lip.... " This, according to him, is evidence of the musician's nature ("She's Just Trying to Work Things Out," April 27). I'd laugh aloud, but I'm afraid I'll deepen my crow's feet. I'd rage against the inequitable standards women are held to in this culture, but I fear the consequence to my brow.

I read your editorial (March 2) about Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) and have now read his reply (Letters, April 19) about his "little Jew" remarks on the House floor. All of the Dornan rhetoric does not touch upon the main issue. The world is filled with those who think that actions are the only basis of judgment. Politicians and others cover up core feelings with deeds that are intended to camouflage the "real self." A good listener can learn a great deal about an individual by hearing the predicates that are used in everyday communication.

Re "Writing Your Own Ticket" (Feb. 3): Buying entertainment tickets is a good example of how politics works in this country these days and how consumers are all too often worse off for it. Imagine any other business being allowed to advertise a product at its wholesale price, and only at the end of the transaction reveal substantial additional markups and added fees. Recently, my wife and I received a gift certificate from Ticketmaster as a wedding present. You cannot redeem the certificates on the Internet or by phone; you must go to retail premises to do so. But when I went to the Northridge Tower Records, a kid with facial staples told me their machine was busted.

When it comes to judging a person's emotional state, we may not rely on facial expressions as much as we think. Instead, it's body language that tells the story. Of course, it's easy to tell the difference between a wide grin and a pouty frown. But according to a study published Thursday in the journal Science , the facial expressions that go along with moments of intense celebration or frustration, success or failure, may be harder to parse than the accompanying body language.

As the facial-hair-focused month of Movember draws to a close, we thought we'd revisit some of the beard- and mustache-themed merchandise that's come to our attention, including bacon-scented shaving cream, a stainless steel, mustache-shaped bottle opener and a book cataloging the cultural history of the 'stache. The most recent to cross our desk is J&D's Foods' Bacon Shaving Cream, touted as "the highest quality meat-scented shaving cream on the market today. " Justin Esch, a co-founder and "bacontrepreneur" at Seattle-based J&D's (the company, which launched in 2007, is responsible for a slew of bacon-flavored products such as Baconnaise and a bacon-flavored popcorn called BaconPOP)

By the time Joe Rosenkrantz took his seat in his company's conference room, a video camera had already handled the introductions. An image of Rosenkrantz taken as he walked toward his chair instantly popped up on a nearby TV screen. "FaceFirst has found a possible match," the caption read. "Joe Rosenkrantz, Founder and CEO. " The process took less than a second, a demonstration of a capability that developer FaceFirst says could transform facial-recognition technology into an everyday security tool.

LAS VEGAS -- California lived up to its Golden State nickname at the 2012 National Beard and Moustache Championships held Nov. 11 in Las Vegas, taking home six first-place wins and 17 medals overall from the 54 awarded across 18 different categories of mustache, partial beard and full beard.  More than 340 whiskered warriors from 44 U.S. states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and five other nations ( Austria, Canada,...

SACRAMENTO — California's policy barring beards on prison guards has come under scrutiny by the U.S. Justice Department after a discrimination lawsuit by a Sikh man who said he was denied a job because of his facial hair, which is part of his religious practice. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation settled the lawsuit last year by paying $295,000 to the plaintiff, Trilochan Oberoi, and giving him a $61,000-a-year administrative job. He had been told he would have to shave to be considered for a prison guard job. But the state has maintained its no-beard policy, citing safety issues.

Facebook Inc. has agreed to delete all the facial recognition data it has collected from European users and switch off the feature in Europe by Oct. 15. The move follows a review of the facial recognition feature that prompts users to "tag" friends in photos uploaded to the service. Ireland's privacy regulator Billy Hawkes said Facebook would not turn it back on without agreeing with his office on "the most appropriate means of collecting user consent. "  He said Facebook was "sending a clear signal of its wish to demonstrate its commitment to best practice in data protection compliance.

Underrated OBAMA ART Whether you support Barack Obama for president or not, he is inspiring some of the best political posters in years. Check out the offerings from Shepherd Fairey (obeygiant.com/post/obama), the Date Farmers (upperplayground.com/ 06/index.html) and Mac (upperplayground.com/06/ store_online.html). MAGIC GAS Perhaps the only gas station (1600 Echo Park Ave.) where you can fill up on unleaded and sip a fresh-made latte in the garden patio. L.A.'S CHEAPEST THRILL Grab the seat just behind the driver's compartment window on a Red Line train and watch as the twists of the tunnel turn your commute into Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

Wallets may be thin, but in these parts, that's still no excuse for a monobrow, dehydrated skin or, heaven forbid, legs in dire need of a good de-fuzzing. Responding to the inevitable cutbacks in people's beauty regimens as the economy rejiggers our priorities (rent before facials), the purveyors of all things beauty in Los Angeles have been nothing if not inventive. A growing number of spas and salons around town are offering the means for beauty buffs to get a great haircut or massage at dramatically reduced prices.

SAN FRANCISCO -- A German data protection official has reopened an investigation into Facebook's facial recognition technology. At issue: The Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection said that Facebook was saving images of  users' faces in a database without their explicit consent in violation of European privacy laws. Johannes Caspar said Facebook would have to delete all of the data unless it obtained approval from all users. Facebook says it notifies European users of the data collection.

A new app is being tested in Nashville, Tenn., that can check in people on Facebook and send them offers using facial-recognition cameras. Called Facedeals, the new service uses cameras installed at businesses' front doors to read people's faces as they enter. If the people who come in are users of the app, they will be checked in, and based on their "like" history, they would receive a customized offer. To use the app, people first have to sign up. The app will then work with users to verify pictures of them to get a better reading of their face.