Piven's out of "Plow"

Well, it certainly looks like my little trip down NYC last month to see "Speed-the-Plow" was well timed. Jeremy Piven, one of the three mega-stars in the play, has bowed out completely due to a high level of mercury. David Mamet, the playwright, commented that Piven was leaving show business to pursue a career as a thermometer--seriously, I couldn't make up a line that funny!

In a very weird connection of events, I am currently reading a book by Neal Stephenson called Quicksilver, which uses mercury to weave together its narrative thread--so to speak. Any mercury-ologists out there that care to comment?