Rubber

Quentin Dupieux's "Rubber" remains one of the most ridiculously inventive movies of recent years, an alternate universe horror film about a tire that gains telekinetic powers. But the writer-director's new work, "Wrong," never finds quite the right course. "Wrong" centers on a grown man who goes looking for his lost dog. In one sense, that's all the story there is, but because Dupieux is interested more in stream of consciousness than straightforward logic, the film is crammed full of incidents and characters.

Home workout products made of resistance cords, including stretchy rubber tubing and retractable nylon cables, usually don't get much respect from hard-core fitness freaks. The innovative products below could change that. Often inexpensive and portable, they get the job done and would complement anyone's normal 20-mile run and super-set dead-lift session. Knockout workout Perfect Punch: Padded mixed martial arts fighting gloves attached to a rubber stretch cord that drapes behind your back and adds resistance to all punches.

'Vulcanized rubber.' Brendan Shanahan, Detroit Red Wing forward, when asked what went through his mind when he got hit in the face by a puck

German-based Bayer won a judge's approval of a $250-million settlement of civil claims that it colluded to fix U.S. rubber prices from 1995 to 2001. U.S. District Court Judge Martin Jenkins in San Francisco said the accord with buyers of rubber chemicals was "fair, adequate and reasonable." Bayer was accused of colluding to fix prices of chemicals that are mixed with raw rubber to make finished rubber.

Summer's here, and you know what that means: Lying on the beach and ducking dozens of colorful rubber and plastic projectiles. If you can break away from your Corona and dog-eared copy of "50 Shades of Grey," get up and join the fun. Playing ball games that involve hitting and throwing build coordination and flexibility and burn calories like crazy. And when you've worked up a good sweat, collapse back on your towel. There's a great one reviewed here too. Bad badminton Speedminton Fun Set S70: The new racquet sport, invented in Germany, features an extra-heavy badminton-style birdie called a "speeder" (shown above)

Into making a fashion statement? It can be a snap with the hottest new accessory: rubber-band bracelets, which have been showing up on the wrists of Hollywood celebs, Olympic athletes and trendsetters. The printed, candy-colored wristlets bring outfits attitude with such phrases as "Princess," "I got voted off the island," "Don't harsh my mellow" and "What would Scooby Do?"

Mobay Corp., a subsidiary of Bayer USA Inc., said it has agreed to acquire Denka Chemical Corp. of Houston for an undisclosed sum. Denka, which has sales of nearly $100 million and employs about 400 workers, has plants in Houston; Duluth, Minn.; Carteret, N.J., and Little Ferry, N.J.

On a parched field near Hansen Dam, about a dozen men gather under a blazing sun to play a ritual ball game handed down to them by their ancient Aztec forefathers. It is pelota Mixteca. This match pits the San Fernando home team against a team from Santa Barbara. Team members tape their hands and put on guantes, oversize mitts made of thick leather with hundreds of nails driven into them.

Soon after I read the Field Guide about the rubber boa [Sept. 6], I ran into one. My buddy John Balbino and I were hiking back from Garnett Lake when John decided to stop to fly-fish. A brown snake swam across the river toward us and then slowly made its way up a branch to sun itself. I took pictures and showed them to the local rangers, who didn't know rubber boas were there. FRANK GALLEGOS Boyle Heights