Tip Sheet

By Tara Wiengarten

You could hop in the family Volvo, tour the countryside and call it a driving vacation. Or you could jump into a sports car and whip around hairpin turns like Michael Schumacher. High-performance driving schools that put you in luxury cars and Formula racers are the hottest trend in motor sports.

For beginners, your best bet is the Porsche Driving Experience in Birmingham, Alabama, a two-day U.S. school that divides participants into groups based on driving experience ($2,495 plus accommodations, porsche driving.com). Attilio Brillembourg, from Geneva, Switzerland, recently enrolled with his son. “We both like to drive fast,” he says. “But we’ve got no place to do it without getting a ticket.” Students learn the nuances of braking and steering, and spend a full afternoon lapping on a twisty racetrack at the immensely challenging Barber Motorsports Park. After a couple of days with a Porsche driving instructor–all of whom have professional race-car-driving experience–chances are you’ll never spin out again. Porsche also runs driving schools in Italy, Japan, France, Brazil, Spain and Australia–check porsche.com for details.

Or try the Formula Experience racing school (formula experience.com), near La Manga del Mar Menor, Spain. It offers one- or three-day courses on the 13-corner Cartagena Circuit, taught by professional instructors (from 600euro for one day with full car and crew) in Opel-Lotus Formula cars that hurtle from zero to 100 kilometers per hour in 3.5 seconds. The three-day course concludes with races against your fellow Andretti wanna-bes.

To combine racing with relaxation, check out the Monaco in Sonoma package at the Jim Russell Racing Drivers School (jimrussellusa.com) in Sonoma, California. You’ll get three days of track time in a Formula race car, excellent instruction in small groups and three nights’ lodging at the Sonoma Mission Inn (including two spa treatments or a couple of rounds of golf, plus dinner for two; $3,595). And since drinking and driving don’t mix, you should plan on staying a few extra nights to explore the surrounding California wine country.

The Aintree Racing Drivers School, at the Three Sisters Race Circuit in England, offers a host of racing options, from an introductory trial (115 pounds) to a complete Formula One Driving Experience Day (1,199 pounds, racing-school.co.uk). With the latter, you begin your day in civilized fashion, with tea and biscuits. Then you progress from practice laps in an MG ZR sports car, to instruction in a Formula Ford, to an afternoon spin in a Formula 3 car, to the final treat: 10 adrenaline-packed laps in a 1996 Formula One car.

Want to take a spin Down Under? The Ford Racing School in Auckland, New Zealand (fordracingschool.co.nz), puts you behind the wheel of Ford KA racing saloon cars at the Pukekohe Park Raceway. The full-day Introduction to Racing courses ($295) run on weekdays, with no experience needed, and teach you expert techniques like the “heel and toe” technique for gear shifting. Or try a shorter “ride and drive” V-8 race experience with an instructor, for $115.

With Jonathan Adams

Sports: Rugby Rules

The 2003 rugby World Cup in Australia starts Oct. 10 and should draw a cumulative television viewership of more than 3 billion. But few will actually understand what’s going on. Here’s what to watch for as the flankers flatten the fly-halves and the scrum-halves sell dummies to the hookers:

Must-see matches: The biggest neighborly grudge matches–New Zealand vs. Australia, England vs. France–won’t take place until the knockout rounds. But before that, No. 1 in the world England vs. eternal contenders South Africa will be the match to watch. Or, to learn a lesson in sheer determination, catch Japan’s inevitable loss to France on Oct. 18 by a score of something like 90 to 15. Somehow, they’ll never look like they’re beat.

Superstars with supermoves: Look for Englishman Johnny Wilkinson’s kicking; Kiwi Richard McCaw’s omnipresence on the field; Aussie George Smith’s stunning counterattacks–and dreadlocks; and every earth-shattering Samoan tackle, whether legal or not.

–Malcolm Beith

Medicine: Don’t Fret the Soap

No need to wring your hands over stocking the bathroom with antibacterial soap. A few years ago when scientists warned that bacteria were becoming resistant to antibiotics, some speculated that antibacterial cleaning products were partially to blame. But there’s no link between antibacterial soaps and “superbugs,” according to Brigham Young University’s Eugene Cole, lead author in a new study published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology. (The research was sponsored by a maker of cleaning products, though it was peer reviewed.) A major culprit is overuse of prescription antibiotics, Cole says. It’s good to know antibacterial soaps aren’t harmful, but they might not be very helpful, either (springing for a name brand’s your best bet). When it comes to killing germs, other studies comparing antibacterial soaps to plain bathroom bars have found it’s a wash.

–Elise Soukup

Travel: Out of Site

Is the Eiffel Tower really what Paris is about? If you’ve ever felt like you’re not getting the sense of a place by marching from monument to museum, Frenchman Joel Henry, founder of Latourex (Laboratory of Experimental Tourism), has the answer. Henry, 48, a TV screenwriter in Strasbourg, has devised dozens of offbeat ways to explore a city. Tour Tokyo with a 19th century guidebook (“anachronotourism”) or walk from London’s first street alphabetically to its last (Abberley Mews to Zoffany Street)–a route that takes you past the Houses of Parliament and the British Museum and gives you the chance to see some of the smaller streets and squares inhabited. Or try one of Henry’s favorites: “ceci-tourism,” Latin for “blind.” Here, you explore a city blindfolded, with a friend as your guide. “You experience a city by its feel, its smells, and through the images you form with the descriptions they give,” he explains. Latourex (latourex@free.fr) organizes one or two trips per year. Soon an online guide will make its ideas available to all would-be adventurers.

–Liat Radcliffe

Health: Salads and Fries

To address wide-spread criticism (and the possibility of legal judgments) that their food is making people obese, fast-food chains are testing new health-conscious products in America. This fall McDonald’s, which has already introduced fruit packs and salads in many of its international branches, is testing a new adult version of its Happy Meal. The Go Active meal includes salad, bottled water, a nutrition booklet and a clip-on pedometer to encourage walking. Not to be outdone, Burger King last month unveiled a line of Lite Combo Meals that come with a grilled chicken baguette, salad and bottled water. The new food options are helpful, but some salads, like McDonald’s Crispy Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad, can contain more fat than a Quarter Pounder. So, before you get in line, go online to check calorie counts. Fast food doesn’t have to mean fat food anymore.

–Jennifer Barrett

Style: Pocket Squares

Want to know the easiest way to spruce up that old suit? Try a folded handkerchief or “pocket square.” Yes, that Renaissance symbol of refinement is cool again, gracing everything from Ralph Lauren’s new Purple Label suits to mannequins along New York’s Fifth Avenue. “We’ve been selling so many of them lately,” confirms a salesperson at the French boutique chain Faconnable.

Worried about how to wear it? Fear not. Online retailer Neckties.com sells pre-folded cotton ones for $7.95. It also provides how-to diagrams to help the fumble-fingered master shapes like the Cagney, the Presidential and the Puff. Tip: never match a pocket square exactly to your tie.

–John D. Sparks

Spirits: A Brewing Debate

U.S. president George W. Bush drinks nonalcoholic beer now and then, but should you? If you’re a minor, a pregnant woman or a recovering alcoholic, maybe not. Brews like Sharp’s, O’Doul’s and Buckler actually contain some alcohol–though it’s less than a tenth of the amount in a regular beer. Many Alcoholics Anonymous members and substance-abuse experts worry that even this tiny amount can trigger cravings and relapse in part because staying on the wagon involves changing lifestyles. Alcoholics should “absolutely not” be drinking “non-al” beer, says John Schwarzlose, president of the Betty Ford Center. Other experts say the brews may help some people consume less alcohol. Young adults, especially college students, may feel less social pressure to drink heavily if they’re holding something that at least resembles a beer. But if you want a grown-up-looking drink that’s truly alcohol-free, go for a seltzer on the rocks.

–Karen Springen

title: “Tip Sheet” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-16” author: “Melissa Cleveland”

Breast Cancer’s ‘New Era’

Breast-cancer patients deserve good news, and they got a nice helping of it last week when a large, international clinical trial was halted early because the drug being tested was found to dramatically reduce the risk of relapse. The findings for the drug, letrozole–manufactured by Novartis and sold under the brand name Femara–electrified researchers and prompted them to abort the double-blind study of 5,187 women with early-stage disease and offer the treatment to the 2,594 patients who had been receiving a placebo. “This is the beginning of a new era in breast-cancer therapy,” says Dr. Paul Goss, of Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, who directed the project.

Stopping such a big and important study is exceptional, but so were the results: letrozole reduced the risk of recurrence among older women by 43 percent. (Most of the 1 million women worldwide diagnosed with breast cancer each year are postmenopausal.) Goss and his colleagues in the United States and Europe were testing the drug as a follow-up treatment. The women in the letrozole study had recently completed (after surgery) the standard five-year course of tamoxifen, a powerful and widely used drug that eventually loses its effectiveness as, researchers believe, tumors become resistant to it. Until now, breast-cancer patients who finished tamoxifen treatment could only wait and hope that their cancer wouldn’t recur–which it does, within five years, in up to 20 percent of such cases. Letrozole, previously approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for advanced breast cancer, and readily available, offers an exciting new option for extending treatment of early-stage disease. “If it raises my chances even 1 percent, I say sign me up,” says Debbie Lloret, 46, a New York City mother and breast-cancer survivor who has undergone two lumpectomies, a mastectomy, chemotherapy and is currently in her third year of tamoxifen. “I am so excited about this I can’t even tell you.”

Letrozole, like tamoxifen, works by interfering with the hormone estrogen, which feeds some breast-cancer cells; tamoxifen blocks estrogen receptors on the cells, while letrozole inhibits the creation of estrogen. (Letrozole is not effective when given alone to premenopausal women who ovulate, because they produce much more estrogen than postmenopausal women.)

Letrozole has side effects similar to what women experience during menopause, including hot flashes and osteoporosis. The study recommends that women receiving letrozole therapy take calcium and vitamin D and have a doctor monitor their bone density.

The news about letrozole is an exciting development for breast-cancer patients, but it is not the last word on the drug. An editorial accompanying the report (released early by the New England Journal of Medicine) notes that while “letrozole is generally well tolerated, concern about the consequences of long-term use remains.” Goss points out that the study was never intended to examine long-term effects. His research group will continue to track the patients in the study, he says, and adds that so far there is no evidence of serious toxicity. New studies will have to be done to look at the potential risks and benefits of using letrozole for periods of longer than five years.

All of which means, as breast-cancer patients and their families know so well, proceed with caution. “This is no magic bullet and it is not the end of the journey,” says Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, director of the National Cancer Institute, which led the study in the United States. “There is much, much more to do. It is one step, but it is an important step.”

Clubbing

Diamonds That Glow

Upscale Hong Kong clubgoers are ditching glow sticks in favor of something pricier: diamonds. Fluorescent gems, which contain traces of the element boron, cost 10 percent to 20 percent less than nonfluorescent stones because they can have a cloudy appearance. But shine a black light on them and they glow like a blue flame. The effect has inspired Barney Cheng, Hong Kong’s premier couturier, to design his first jewelry collection around fluorescent diamonds. Among the made-to-order pieces are ID bracelets in pave settings (barneycheng.com; prices start at $3,300 for silver and $20,500 for platinum). Under a black light a secret message, like a name or a heart, emerges. Tip: If you want stones that glow especially brightly and don’t mind a slightly milky look, choose ones with a fluorescence grade of “strong blue”–and check them under a jeweler’s light first.

Travel

A Bum Rap

Why ski when you can slide down the slope on your bottom? Resorts across Europe are busy adding new toboggan runs, and sleds are on offer at almost every ski-rental store. Some top picks:

Val-Thorens, France: The highest run in Europe opened last year at the custom-built resort in Savoie. Start at 3,000 meters and drop to 2,300 in a vertiginous six-kilometer plunge. Not for the kids.

Sesto, Italy: A bending, five-kilometer run that follows a forestry road through the spruce woods in one of the most dramatic patches of the Dolomites.

Grindelwald, Switzerland: The longest toboggan ride in Europe, this 16.5-kilometer course can take half an hour to complete. And it’s not for slackers: the cable car only reaches halfway up the mountain.

Bleckenau, Germany: A superscenic, 4.5-kilometer swoop through the Bavarian countryside that starts at the old royal hunting lodge of Bleckenau and passes beneath the walls of Neuschwanstein, the showpiece neo-gothic castle.

Schladming, Austria: Perfect for nighttime thrills, this seven-kilometer run stays open until 10 p.m. Dine at the restaurant on the peak, then slide home to bed in the valley.

Food

A Sweet Sampler

October is the sweetest month, at least in Perugia, Italy, home of the 10th annual Eurochocolate festival, which opens this week. Tip Sheet tested some of the new chocolates recommended by organizers:

Ethnic Chocolate (www.domori.com): We liked the Green, a mix of chocolate liquor, cocoa butter and green tea. As an added bonus, the makers vow to leave endangered cacao varieties unharmed. Is this truly guilt-free chocolate?

Chocolate di Bruco (cioccolatodibruco.com) won last year’s “best handmade chocolate” award. Of their five varieties of cacao infused with essential oils, we recommend the Dark Chocolate with Anise.

Spiced Chocolate by Streglio (www.streglio.it) includes unusual flavors like ginger and hot pepper. Go for the cinnamon.

ICAM (icamcioccolato.it) and Sugar Company (sugarcompany.it) offer a line of sugar-free sweets. Stick to the real stuff. What good is chocolate without a little remorse?

Ask Tip Sheet If you’re feeling under the weather, should you continue with your exercise regime, or will it make you sicker? I’ve heard conflicting advice.

If you’ve just got a head cold, exercise is a fine idea. It may not be pleasant at first, but it’ll restore your energy. If it’s the flu that’s troubling you, though–especially if you have muscle aches, fever or a phlegm-producing cough–skip workouts that leave you short of breath and stick to gentle stretches only. (Or just lie on the couch. Hey, you’ve got an excuse.) Whatever you do, drink plenty of water, since exercise and sickness can both leave you dehydrated.

Movies

Going Ga-Ga For George

Intolerable Cruelty," the Coen brothers film starring heartthrob George Clooney, is rolling out worldwide this month. If it hasn’t yet reached your shores, check out these Clooney videos while you wait.

Solaris: There was some serious schadenfreude when this prestige picture tanked. Now it’s hip in Hollywood to say the space-age film was robbed. Believe the hype, this one deserves another watch.

Ocean’s 11: Clooney starts and ends this heist film in a tuxedo and stays classy all the way through. Come for Julia Roberts, stay for Elliott Gould.

O Brother, Where Art Thou? Even a Grammy for its soundtrack couldn’t make this Coen brothers film uncool.

Three Kings: Get over your rightful shame in renting a movie with Mark Wahlberg on its cover. This 1999 sleeper about soldiers after the first gulf war resonates today.

Out of Sight: ‘One of J. Lo’s best’ may sound like faint praise, but seriously, Cloonifer rocks.

The oldies: That villa at Lake Como didn’t pay for itself. Before he was famous, Clooney brought in the bucks with roles in stinkers like “Return of the Killer Tomatoes,” and as a “lip-syncing transvestite” in “The Harvest.”

Gardening: Autumn

Fall is the new spring: horticulturists say it’s the perfect time to plant most trees, shrubs and perennials. So put down that rake.

Thompson & Morgan This Suffolk, England-based company has one of the world’s largest seed catalogs. They ship worldwide.

thompson-morgan.com

Crocus Home to more than 4,000 plant varieties, from irises to fig trees. Its detailed tips, including predesigned borders, will have you hoeing in no time.

crocus.co.uk

Forest Farm The place for year-round color. Get peonies or poppies for spring blooms; autumn crocus or snowberry for early winter bursts.

forestfarm.com

Brent and Becky’s Bulbs Bulbs R Us. Some 200 kinds of tulips alone, or try mixing alliums and hyacinthus.

brentandbeckysbulbs.com

title: “Tip Sheet” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-09” author: “Juan Hilyer”

By Tara Wiengarten

With Jonathan Adams

Sports: Rugby Rules

–Malcolm Beith

Medicine: Don’t Fret the Soap

–Elise Soukup

Travel: Out of Site

–Liat Radcliffe

Health: Salads and Fries

–Jennifer Barrett

Style: Pocket Squares

–John D. Sparks

Spirits: A Brewing Debate

–Karen Springen

title: “Tip Sheet” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-22” author: “Donald Gantt”

It’s the eternal holiday question: what are you going to get your spouse, your kids–that prized business associate? Each year, catalogs pile up on doorsteps like snowdrifts. Glad offerings from e-tailers arrive in your in box. It seems as if there have never been so many gifts to choose from or so many ways to shop.

That’s where tip sheet comes in. We’ve searched malls, cyberspace and a few secret sources for this year’s hottest gifts–from mopeds to antique maps, spike heels to sports cars. Know a gearhead? In technology, it’s a season of extremes: TVs are getting bigger and wider while gadgets like MP3 players are getting smaller. We’ve found goods at both ends to please even the technology challenged. Has your wife or husband been very, very good this year? Then earrings from Verdura or a Saab convertible are the kinds of jaw-dropping luxuries she or he deserves. How about a tween or older kid who doesn’t want video or computer stuff? Well, fear not: there’s a range of imaginative gifts that don’t involve electronics–like an old-fashioned foosball table. On the following pages you’ll find suggestions in every price range for everyone on your list.

Vespa ET4 Vespa Easy to ride and the ultimate in urban chic. $3,999; vespa.com for dealers.
Muji CD Player Muji From Japan’s purveyor of sleekly designed household goods comes this CD player that hangs on the wall like a painting. The speakers are built into its body; to play a disc, just pull the cord gently. Available only in European Union countries. $130 at mujionline.com.
Sirius Satellite Radio Audiovox Satellite radio isn’t just for your car anymore. This plug-and-play system can be used at home, in the car or on the go. Tuner, $99.95; vehicle and home docking station, $69.95 each; at sirius.com.
Byzantine Pendant Ear Clips Verdura Blue topaz, peridot and gold earrings from socialites’ favorite jeweler say “I love you” loud and clear. $7,500 at Verdura stores; 212-758-3388.
Wi-Fi Finder Kensington With this pocket-size gadget, the push of a button lets you know if there’s a wireless network nearby, so you no longer need to cross your fingers as you wait for your notebook to boot up. $29.99 at most stores that sell computers.
Bordeaux Alligator Pumps Manolo Blahnik The official name of these beauties is Maripum, but we say “Merrylujah!” $2,400. Call 212-582-3007 to order.
Plasma TV Samsung While thin may be in, wider is better with this 127-cm widescreen set. Just over 7cm thick, it’s still easily wall-mounted. $7,999 at samsungusa.com.
Rose Petal Jam Treats from the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, a Hong Kong institution, make great gifts, and it takes international orders by phone and fax (852-2825-4892). We suggest the yummy Rose Petal Jam, which appeals to eye and palate alike.
Saab 9-3 Aero Convertible Not only does it have a 2.0-liter, 210-horsepower, turbocharged engine, but it comes in lime green! And did we mention a six-speed manual transmission, a 13-speaker audio system, and that it comes in lime green? $43,175, including delivery.
Shirt, tie and cuff links Even if you buy him a shirt and tie every year, Thomas Pink’s striped cot-ton shirt ($130) and Newcastle Spot silk tie in pink and sky ($85) will make him feel special; at thomaspink.com. Splurge on Classic Oval cuff links ($110) from Links of London for an extra dash of class. linksoflondon.com.
SporTrak Color GPS Magellan Accurate to three meters, this handheld device comes with maps of North America or Europe (you can download other databases), so you’ll never get lost again. $379; go to magellangps.com for stores.
Ottoman Empire map For the traveler who has everything, a beautiful antique map is proof that he or she has conquered the world. This 1665 version by Dutch master cartographer Frederick De Wit depicts Arabia, North Africa and Persia, and includes an elaborate cartouche in the lower left-hand corner of the emperor brandishing a rifle. $675 at geographicus.com.
Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra Creative This slim player is a good iPod alternative. The 60-gigabyte drive can store 16,000 MP3 songs and works for 14 hours. And if you need to back up your PC, it doubles as an external hard drive. $399 at creative.com. 14. Ginger Flower room spray Shanghai Tang This beautifully packaged bottle from the luxury Hong Kong-based design house will infuse anyone’s home with a spritz of elegance. $35 at shanghaitang.com.
Photo albums Simply Life The Shanghai retailer fuses traditional Chinese silk and contemporary design to create these luxurious, handmade photo albums with matching boxes. $30 to $46 at simplylife-sh.com.
TravelMate C110 Tablet PC Acer Use it like a clipboard by writing directly on the screen; when you’re ready to use the keyboard, just rotate the display and you have a notebook computer. And it’s only 1.5 kilograms. $2,199 at acer.com.
Portable Foosball Table Restoration Hardware Kids can be competitive without a TV or console. This classic sport table packs up so parents can take it anywhere. $129 at restorationhardware.com.

Raise a Glogg to Handicrafts

If you’re bored by the fare at your local department store, visit one of Europe’s legendary Christmas markets and get your goodies from the source.

Stockholm: At the Skansen Christmas Market you’ll find Swedish crafts and you can sample authentic glogg. From Nov. 29 to Dec. 21. www.skansen.se.

Dresden, Germany: Dating back to the 15th century, this market offers traditional pottery, gingerbread and intricate woodcarvings. Nov. 29 to Dec. 24. dresden.de.

Bath, England: This lovely Georgian city attracts top artisans. At the Aqua Glass stall, workers use an ancient Roman technique that brings out the oxide in the glass, turning it turquoise. Nov. 27 to Dec. 7. bath christmasmarket.co.uk.

Budapest: In the capital’s main square, one of the buildings (with 24 windows) is turned into a giant Advent calendar. Traders sell leather goods, candles and angels made from corn husks. Dec. 1 to 24. budapest.com.

Salzburg: Munch on baked apples, toasted almonds and roasted chestnuts as you check out the nativity figurines and handmade toys at Mozart’s birthplace. Nov. 20 to Dec. 24. salzburg.info.

–Ginanne Brownell

title: “Tip Sheet” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-29” author: “Steve Wilson”

Racing through fresh powder at Colorado’s Steamboat resort, snowboarder Julie Paller weaved through the forest, dodging trees left and right. The run was untouched, and all she could hear was her board brushing against the snow. In that moment, the mountain was all hers. There were no annoying beginner skiers, no lifts overhead–and best of all, the course didn’t look like the freeway at rush hour. It was as if she were “floating on a cloud.”

At one time, only daredevil skiers ventured into the trees and onto the untouched powder. But thanks to snowboards and wider skis that give more control and float through deep snow, more intermediate ski bums are skipping groomed trails and heading for the trees.

The ski resorts couldn’t be happier. While no statistics exist on the number of resort visitors skiing the trees today versus in the past, experts agree that more skiers of all abilities–not just experts–are trying it every year. Though off-piste skiing is plentiful in Europe, this year even American resorts like Vail, Breckenridge, Keystone, Solitude and Aspen are creating more “glades,” or cleared trails through the woods for less experienced (blue) skiers. They’re a throwback to the first days of skiing, before resorts cut wide swaths of trees, and machines rolled and packed the snow.

Even if you’re a first-timer, the best place to learn is France’s Chamonix-Argentiere (www.chamonix.com), the mecca of off-piste skiing. Several companies, like Ski Weekend (skiweekend.com, 33-08700-600-615), offer specialized courses there for beginners. If you’re headed for the States, you’ll also have plenty of runs to choose from, such as those at Breckenridge’s Peak 7 (breckenridge.com) or Jack Rabbit Alley at Colorado’s Beaver Creek resort (beavercreek.com). Vermont’s Stratton Mountain Resort (stratton.com) even has beginner glades with extra-wide spaces between trees. While the trees are tightly spaced and thus more dangerous in expert glades, intermediate trails allow for less exacting turns. But they both require some new techniques; take lessons, and wear a helmet. On the packed snow found on the big runs, skiers pressure an edge to turn, but in deep powder, skis never touch a hard-packed surface, so turning requires a kind of rhythmic bounce with even pressure on both skis. “Learning to ski powder is like learning to ride a bike,” says Breckenridge COO Roger McCarthy. “At first you wobble and only get 10 feet, but once you can go 100 feet and link four turns, you’ve got it for life.”

Don Mathes may be proof. At 70, he has tried almost every glade run at Steamboat but says it always feels different because “I go where the trees direct me.” If he takes multiple runs through the same glade, he moves over eight meters every time so he’s always in untracked powder. Even so, his retiree friends don’t get his tree obsession. “My 70-year-old buddies think I’m crazy,” he says. “It’s the trees that keep me young.”

MUSIC Surfing For Tunes

Looking for cheap music on the Internet that won’t land you in jail? tip sheet found several sites that offer easy and fun downloads. They aren’t free like the peer-to-peer networks, but at least they’re legal.

iTunes Music Store (apple.com/itunes): Apple’s digital-music jukebox charges 99 cents per tune and offers free 30-second song previews. Choose from rock, rap, jazz, blues, pop, Latin, New Age, folk, inspirational and reggae.

Classical Music Online (personal.classical.com): This site allows unlimited hours of listening for $4.99 per month. For $9.99, it throws in 10 downloads. And if you are fussy about listening quality, opt for the premium monthly subscription ($14.99), which works best with high-speed connections.

Dotmusic on Demand (dotmusic.com): This European site offers dance, pop, rock, indie and reggae; [Pound sterling]4.99 buys a month’s worth of downloads (about 50). For now, though, the site supports only PCs.

Vitaminic (vitaminic.com/main): The Vitaminic network targets young European music fans and offers tunes by some emerging artists free of charge. Subscriptions that include unlimited downloads and online listening range from $39.99 for six months to $69.99 for a year.

TRAVEL | A Ho-Ho Holiday

If taking your kids to see Santa at the local shops has lost its excitement, then why not visit Mr. Claus in his natural habitat? No, not in the North Pole but in Lapland, Finland. Tour companies offer packages where families can meet Santa; go on reindeer, husky or snowmobile rides, and visit Santa Village, where elves busily sort mail from children around the world. Families can stay for a long weekend (starting at about [Pound sterling]550, including flights) or take a single-day excursion (about [Pound sterling]250) into the snowy woods. Trips to Lapland have become increasingly popular, and this year the Finnish Tourist Board is expecting about 100,000 visitors in December alone. And it’s not just fun for the kiddies; according to Steve Mitchell, director of sales for tour operator Emagine, several prospective grooms have popped the question in front of Santa’s sleigh. There are loads of tour packages–Emagine (santa tours.co.uk) and Canterbury Tales (canterbury-tales.com) are two of the most established operators. The tourist board also has details of trips on www.visitfinland.com.

FOOD A Seedy Pleasure

The pomegranate is a truly maddening fruit. Served chilled, its juice-filled seeds burst in your mouth with a delightful, tart snap. If only they weren’t so difficult to extract from their rubbery, bitter white skin. Fortunately, there is more than one way to eat a pomegranate. Tip Sheet gathered some novel serving suggestions:

ENTREES: Andrew Dornenburg, coauthor with Karen Page of the cookbook “The New American Chef,” suggests coating fish and meat with pomegranate powder before cooking. “It adds an extra zing, and it’s also beautiful,” he says. Reduced pomegranate juice can also be used as a glaze to finish off meats, or in salad dressing. Juice and powder are available in grocery stores or at kalustyans.com.

DRINKS: The pomegranate martini is the latest “it” drink on the New York City bar circuit. The gourmet site star chefs.com suggests combining 60ml of pomegranate juice, 60ml of vodka and 7.5ml of simple sugar syrup. Then shake with ice and strain.

DESSERT: Sprinkle pomegranate seeds over cheesecake or flowerless chocolate cake–anywhere you might use raspberries in summer.

Tiny Crib, Big Sound

On one side of your apartment is the kitchen. The other side doubles as your living room, bedroom and movie library. Your home theater? It’s that small TV set at the foot of your bed. If this sounds anything like your apartment, listen closely: you can turn that little set into a surround-sound mecca even if you don’t have room for five speakers–much less a microwave.

That’s where inventor Niro Nakamichi comes in. His Niro 1.1 Pro system ($799 at www.niro1.com) consists of a single front speaker, subwoofer and DVD player. But when we tried it, the sound seemed to come from five discrete locations–something that normally requires a true multichannel speaker system. While home-theater buffs probably won’t replace their 5.1 systems any time soon, it’s a great solution for those who want to be surrounded by sound, not wires.

IN THE NEWS Superstatins To The Rescue

Most patients who take statins to lower their cholesterol probably don’t know why they’re on one brand instead of another. Truth be told, neither do their doctors. Until last week there wasn’t much evidence that one brand was better than the other. But the results of a Cleveland Clinic study released last week showed that patients’ average LDL levels dropped to 110 on Pravachol and an astounding 79 on Lipitor–and some doctors are now switching to Lipitor as their prescription of choice. That doesn’t necessarily mean you should switch if you’re on another statin, though. “A lot of the media coverage said drug A was better than drug B,” says Dr. James Cleeman, coordinator of the National Institutes of Health’s National Cholesterol Education Program. “But you can’t conclude that from this study. It wasn’t a head-to-head comparison.” Patients took either 40mg of Pravachol or 80mg of Lipitor (which was already known to have a stronger milligram-for-milligram effect). The Lipitor patients had lower C-reactive protein levels, lower cholesterol and less arterial plaque. But both drugs reduce the risk of fatal heart attacks. The upshot: if you’re new to statins, ask your doctor about Lipitor. If you’ve already got a drug that works for you, stick with it–but keep an eye out for more studies.

title: “Tip Sheet” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-03” author: “Shawn Cooper”

A VERY WHITE WINTER

It’s official: this fall and winter the new black is… white. Or so it seems, judging by the crisp winter white that has made its way into most High Street and pret-a-porter collections in London and New York. From Donna Karan’s ivory cashmere skin-tight dress to an embellished white fur coat by Alexander McQueen, to Karl Lagerfeld’s White Light collection for Chanel, which includes boots, adorable miniskirts and spunky leg and arm warmers–both sides of the Atlantic are awash in the color of snow.

The timing, however, is slightly off. Traditionally, this time of year designers (in the Western and Northern hemispheres, at least) embrace the darker and richer color palette, reflecting the changing season. In the United States, wearing white after Labor Day weekend in early September was considered a major faux pas for years. And in Britain, while there was no official ban on white, fall collections were usually cast in berry reds, purples, camels and, of course, black.

But this fall things are different. “Fashion is always looking to break the rules,” says Cindi Leive, editor in chief of the U.S. edition of Glamour magazine. “Not wearing white in the fall was one of the few remaining ones.” Now that that rule is gone, fashionistas can finally appreciate white’s versatility. It feels fresh. It complements most colors and skin tones. And it carries a subliminal message: “White is purifying and cleansing,” designer Donna Karan, who regularly explores the color in her work, told NEWSWEEK.

White also evokes luxury. Think Jackie Kennedy’s ivory Inaugural gown and Audrey Hepburn’s white-frame glasses and helmet hat. And for that extra dose of glamour, few outfits can compare with a white satin dress a la Jean Harlow.

And, of course, white is essential in the graphic exuberance of the Mod trend in fashion, where it often plays off black. “We see a lot of white and black combinations in outerwear, footwear and accessories,” says Lina Basma, designer-fashion buyer for Harrods in London. To capture the 1960s spirit, she suggests pairing a white dress with black boots (or vice versa).

The many facets of white make the color particularly appealing to fashion designers. White is a classic color, and even though wearing it in the fall is a jump to the opposite end of the color spectrum, it’s not too big a fashion risk. “You can have a wrong red, but you can’t have a wrong white,” says Marshal Cohen, senior fashion analyst at the NPD Group, which does consumer and market research.

For Olga Neiman, an artist, white is a way to wear something risque–like her new pair of white, ruched stiletto boots–risk-free. “If they were black, they would look like dominatrix boots,” she explains. In white, they capture the tension between innocence and impropriety. But isn’t she concerned about the autumnal muck? “I don’t mind marks and dirt on the boots,” she says. “They add to the patina.”

DESIGN

Feng Shui India Style

Just when crystals, Zen rock gardens and mini waterfalls overflow home-decor stores, feng-shui-inspired accessories from China have hit a brick wall. The new contender? Vastu, India’s ancient science of design and architecture. Created centuries before feng shui, vastu is reputed to be the original practice of holistic design. It is linked to ayurveda, the traditional Indian science of medicine and health. And like its sister art, vastu heals naturally. Following its principles, you can improve the quality of your life simply by rearranging spaces in your home or office.

The central idea is that a person’s energy force should harmonize with those of a building’s designs. You don’t need expensive redecoration to reap vastu’s benefits. Just altering the position of everyday objects can affect your life: change the location of photographs, free the center of a room of heavy furniture so creative juices can flow. Natural elements like air, water and fire–even flowers–can be creatively combined to carve out auspicious spaces. Some Tip Sheet tips to get you started:

Adventure

Top Gun For A Day

Tired of endless highways? Why not take off into the wild blue yonder? Air-combat schools can make you a fighter pilot with no license required. You’re typically paired with former military fliers who take care of takeoffs and landings but let you do up to 90 percent of the in-air flying.

At Air Combat Europe, at the ex-military Alsonemedi Air Base outside Budapest, you get simulated combat using laser weapons against another Russian YAK-52, or a mock attack run over valleys just 30 meters below ($675, www.ifpa-fly.com).

Air Combat USA runs out of Fullerton Municipal Airport in California and uses Italian SIAI Marchetti SF260s and Extra 300Ls. The half-day basic course gets you six duels ($995, aircombatusa.com).

For a taste of World War II-era air combat, head for Fighter Combat International in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. Duke it out over scenic Niagara Falls in open-cockpit 1941 Stearman biplanes ($755, fightercombat.com/canada).

BOOKS

Beyond Bros. Grimm

In the west, the most popular children’s fairy tales hail from medieval Europe. That may change with the help of Asian books that have just been translated into English. Among the best to hit bookstores (and online retailers like amazon.com) this fall is “On My Way to Buy Eggs,” by Taiwanese author Chih-Yuan Chen ($15.95). The striking illustrations that combine collage and line drawings are reminiscent of Ezra Jack Keats. From Japan, the vibrant scratch art of “One Stormy Night,” written by Yuichi Kimura and illustrated by Hiroshi Abe ($16), gives a fresh look to a timeless tale of enemies who accidentally become friends. And then there’s “Goodbye, 382 Shin Dang Dong,” written by Korean-American sisters Frances Park and Ginger Park ($16.95). It tells the story of Jangmi, a young Korean girl struggling to say goodbye to her neigh-borhood as her family prepares to move to the United States. It’s the perfect cross-cultural story for an increasingly globalized world.

title: “Tip Sheet” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-21” author: “Robin Chung”

By Malcolm Beith

Each year, we vow to do something special for New Year’s Eve. But by the time most of us get around to calling the travel agent, flights and hotel prices are through the roof, the in-laws have arrived and a mid-holiday food coma has set in. So, rather than nodding off in front of the TV with a single sparkler in hand, Tip Sheet encourages you to plan ahead. Consult sites like whatsonwhen.com or timeout.com for listings of global happenings. Or try one of these destinations:

Rio de Janeiro: Join 2 million revelers to bask in the moonlight on Copacabana Beach. What more could you want: sand and samba, four stages of live bands, fireworks, the warm waves beckoning… paraiso. Tip: do as they do–throw a flower into the Atlantic on Dec. 31 as an offering to Yemanja, the deity of the seas. Bonus tip: if you can’t afford a hotel room on the beachfront itself, get there early. When we said 2 million people, we meant it.

Tokyo: Celebrate the Japanese way outside a local Buddhist temple: put the past behind you as you eat toshikoshi soba (buckwheat noodles that symbolize lasting life), drink sake by the bonfire and await the 108 bells at midnight. The reverberations should dispel those 108 human vices from your soul, leaving it sinless for another year.

Beirut: During 16 years of civil war, Beirut never took off its party hat. And now, with the city center rebuilt and U.S. visa policies turning off jet-setting Arabs by the planeload, it’s attracting more tourists than ever. Bop away at the superhip club B018, court danger at Atlantis, where live piranhas swim beneath the dance floor, or head to the mountain resort of Faraya-Mzaar and mingle with the Mideast apres-ski set.

Port-au-Prince, Haiti: Vibrant, tropical and oh-so-unpredictable, the capital of the world’s first black republic will be one big party in the buildup to the 200th anniversary of the country’s independence on Jan. 1, 2004. Boogie down in the main square opposite the presidential palace, where live bands will have hundreds of thousands of Haitians hopping all night. Book a room at the enchanting gingerbread-style Hotel Oloffson (rooms start at $68; reserve at oloffson.com) of Graham Greene’s “The Comedians” fame.

Ouarzazate, Morocco: Forget New Year’s resolutions–wish upon a –star under the Sahara night skies. Take an eight-day tour of Morocco and watch the old year fade away over an oasis with www . iriqui.com (tours start at $600). Don’t forget to cover yourself up out there. Not because of Islam’s laws, but because of Mother Nature’s–Arabian nights can get pretty darn cold.

Edinburgh: About the only time of year Edinburgh gets hot is during the year-end pre-Christian festival of Hogmanay. (Advance tickets are at edinburghshogmanay.org.) Bundle up, watch the torchlight procession on the 29th, eat some battered haggis and join Edinburgh’s famous Dec. 31 street party to sing “Auld Lang Syne” with people who actually understand the words.

Road Test: Fiat Panda

A Roomy Supermini

Finally, there is a car that makes traffic as notorious as Rome’s almost tolerable. The new Fiat Panda is a sensible drive with lots of features for very little cash. Billed as a supermini, it’s actually roomy. In fact, the seats are so high you almost feel like you’re in a little SUV. Its design is eye-catching, although a little boxy. In one weekend of driving in Rome, four different people waved me down to ask what it was. The Panda was powerful enough to keep its speed when climbing Rome’s seven hills and even had a “hill holder” safety feature for starting the car on steep inclines without having to use the brake. The semi-independent rear suspension made jiggling down even the roughest cobblestone streets comfortable. Plus, it was narrow enough to park on the sidewalk without impeding pedestrians. The benefit of the car’s small size hasn’t compromised comfort: two full-size child seats can easily fit in the back. And the trunk is 206 liters, but somewhat oddly shaped–I couldn’t squeeze in anything longer than a collapsible umbrella stroller or of greater volume than a couple of grocery bags. Still, that shouldn’t rule it out a sensible second family car for the city.

Tip: Spend a little more to get the 1.3 16-valve Multijet and the Skydome sunroof.

–Barbie Nadeau

Style: Sleek and Curvy

Young southeast Asian designers are rethinking steel-and-leather minimalism with breezy, tropical charm. The Filipinos making this remarkable stuff call themselves Movement 8 (named for infinity turned on its side), and they find inspiration everywhere from Danish modern to the human body. “Industrial materials like steel are cold. Natural materials give warmth,” says Kenneth Cobonpue, a furniture maker from the central Philippines who took the design sensibility he honed at the Pratt Institute in New York and married it with local materials. His steel-and-hemp Pigalle chair ($1,450; muleh.com) is all squishy, sinuous curves, and his walnut colored Voyage canopy bed made of Manila hemp, steel and the spines of palm leaves (about $1,700; kennethcobonpue.com) recalls a fishing boat.

Jewelry designer turned furniture maker Ann Pamintuan takes the tropical-meets-modern equation and turns it on its head: she gives her steel furniture the fragile texture of orchid roots or ribbons of seaweed, as in her spherical cocoon chairs ($350; email: b-athome@mozcom.com). Watch this space: a new proposed free-trade zone for Southeast Asia will mean the Philippines’ best design minds can soon start adding Laotian silk and Burmese hardwoods to their luxuriously spare furniture.

–Erin Prelypchan

Kitchen: All Frothed Up

If you can’t afford an espresso machine to make cappuccino, try the newest alternative: a milk frother. Tip Sheet tested three popular models so you wouldn’t have to.

The Froth Au Lait

A clunky electric pitcher with mesh “blades,” the Froth Au Lait (frothaulaitstore.com/StoreFront.bok; $39.99) takes three minutes to heat and whip milk into a froth with peaks rivaling those of perfectly beaten egg whites. Still, the result looked too much like a Starbucks dessert drink rather than a classic cappuccino.

Bodum’s Aerius

This glass, French press-style pot (bodum.com; $9.95) requires plunging the milk “between 60 and 90 times.” Our tests took more like 300 times, yielding a bubbly mess and no froth. Plus, the milk leaked, the beaker is fragile and the cold milk still had to be zapped in the microwave. The verdict: too much heavy lifting before the day’s first dose of caffeine.

The Aerolatte

It may look more like an electric toothbrush, but the compact Aerolatte (aerolatte.biz; $25.32), a battery-operated whisk, is the hands-down winner. Petite and easy to clean, it whips milk into a flawless, fresh-from-a-Paris-sidewalk-cafe froth. The downside: milk has to be heated separately. But it’s worth it for that perfect cafe creme.

–Beth Kwon

title: “Tip Sheet” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-28” author: “Charles Ballesteros”

Playstation 2 Gets An Eyeful

Who says women don’t play videogames? Last August, Meredith Viera wowed her fellow hosts and a studio audience with her demonstration of EyeToy ($50; www.us.playstation.com), a brand-new accessory for the PlayStation 2. While Sony Computer Entertainment America researcher Richard Marks explained EyeToy’s motion-tracking technology to the crowd, Viera proceeded to take down an army of miniature martial artists in a game called Kung Foo, using only her bare hands. In other words, “Look, Ma, no controller.” “Getting to go on ‘The View’ was great,” says Marks, who led the four-year development of EyeToy. “She practiced on the easy level, but when she did it live, we put her on medium. It was a lot more frantic, but she handled it in stride, and really got into the game.”

For a (mostly male) generation that grew up on Nintendo, then graduated to PlayStation, the PS2’s black controller is practically an extension of the human body. For everyone else, just picking up the 15-button device can be intimidating. EyeToy promises to change all that. When you connect the EyeToy to your PS2 via a USB port, your image appears on screen. The camera lets PS2 track your movements, which means that you can now use your hands, knees, feet and other extremities to interact with games that take advantage of this new peripheral.

The camera ships with EyeToy: Play, a collection of minigames that showcases what EyeToy can do. In Soccer Craze, you use your head and knees to keep a virtual soccer ball up in the air. In Wishi Washi, you use your hands to wipe the muck from a series of dirty windows as quickly as possible. And in Boxing Chump, you slug it out with a robot. If it sounds silly, it is, and that’s the point: it’s meant to be a fun and competitive activity for groups of people, like Twister, as opposed to the solitary experience of many videogames. “It’s like karaoke,” says Kaz Hirai, CEO of Sony. “Once you’re up there doing it, you have a great time.”

Since the 12 minigames in EyeToy: Play only scratch the surface, Sony gave NEWSWEEK a behind-the-scenes look at future possibilities. EyeToy can track your body movements without showing you on screen, so it could be used in a first-person shooter like Doom to let you look around corners or peek over obstacles by simply moving your head. EyeToy can also recognize special reflec-tive materials, mean-ing that it could be used to create everything from a Harry –Potter game that lets you use a wand to cast spells, to a real-life version of the hand-controlled screens in Steven Spielberg’s “Minority Report” (we saw the demo, and trust us, it’s way cool). When it comes to Sony’s EyeToy, see-ing is definitely believing.

MUSIC

Rebels In A Box

The result may horrify purists (Joe Jackson on a punk collection?), but makes for a big, raucous tent, with room for such tunes as the Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer” and the Cure’s “Boys Don’t Cry,” along with classics (the Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop,” Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life,” the Clash’s “White Riot,” the Dead Kennedys’ “California Uber Alles”) and plenty of lesser-known gems (the Damned’s “New Rose,” the Undertones’ “Teenage Kicks,” the Buzzcocks’ “What Do I Get?”). Think of this as the ultimate ’70s mix made by your music-snob friend, except with better sound quality. A handsome 114-page book included with the set traces punk rock from its early-’70s New York City roots, to Thatcher’s England, to the West Coast of the United States, and offers snappy track-by-track blurbs.

The one glaring absence is the Sex Pistols, who in true punk form said “no thanks” to being on the collection, according to Stewart. “It hurt,” he said. “But I’m hoping the 99 percent of the glass that’s full is worth the purchase price.” Never mind the Sex Pistols–this set rocks, and it’s worth every penny.

BEER

Stout Hearted

When it comes to beer, darker is healthier. That’s the result of a recent study that compared the effects of Guinness Extra Stout and Heineken on dogs and found that the darker brew has three times as many flavonoids–organic compounds that help widen arteries and reduce the formation of blood clots that can lead to heart attacks and strokes.

But that doesn’t mean you should go on a dark-beer bender–the health benefits come with moderate drinking (about two drinks a day), says John Folts, the University of Wisconsin professor of medicine who led the study. tip sheet, aided by Realbeer.com’s Stan Hieronymus, scouted a few flavonoid-rich alternatives to Guinness, the standard-bearer of dark beers: the Japanese lager Asahi Black Draft, the German black beer Kostritzer Schwarzbier and Alaskan Smoked Porter, available every November in the western U.S. and the U.K. Drink up.

‘Dear Santa, I Want A Pony, A Dolly and A…’

No parent wants to feel like Scrooge. But what do you do when your 5-year-old has her heart set on an $85 doll and it doesn’t fit into the family budget?

It’s fine to say no, experts say, as long as you make children feel that you’re being as generous as you can. Say, “I would if I could. I’d lasso you the moon if I could, but it’s not realistic,” says child psychiatrist Elizabeth Berger, author of “Raising Children With Character.” Of course, if you’re tooling around in a BMW, you should spring for those $80 Rollerblades your 9-year-old wants. Otherwise, you’re teaching your kids they aren’t worth as much as you are.

If your child still believes in Saint Nick or is too little to grasp the family balance sheet, say, “Santa’s got a budget,” advises Neale Godfrey, author of “Ultimate Kids’ Money Book.” Then visit the store together and help her write a wish list that comes in under budget. Don’t feel guilty: experts say it’s a good way to teach your kids that there are limits in life. Tell kids, “We really would love to get you as much as we can, because you’re a terrific kid,” says child psychiatrist Alvin Rosenfeld. “To say ‘We’re not going to eat for a month so you can have a pony’ is nuts.”

INTERNET

Virtual Radio

Whether you are looking for Adalat from Azerbaijan or roots music from Zambia, Internet radio has become an online souk for world beats. Thousands of niche and local stations now offer an eclectic range of musical styles that can be streamed from your computer free of charge. Want to add a little chicka-chicka-boom to your day? Check out cafemusic.com.br, which has a looping playlist of 274 songs, providing more than 21 hours of purely Brazilian music. If klezmer is more your groove, then try AOL, which has individual music channels dedicated to eclectic tastes ranging from Bollywood soundtracks to Celtic folk songs.

With so many options, search functions on Real Network’s (realnetwork.com) and WindowsMedia.com’s radio tuner sites can help users navigate the choices. Can’t decide? Radiotower.com offers a random link that directs you to a new station each day. Go ahead, surprise yourself.

title: “Tip Sheet” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-10” author: “Richard Monge”

Tosiyuki Nakamura speaks fluent Portuguese and Japanese. Recently, the 50-year-old So Paolo-based accountant began traveling more to the United States and decided to learn English, as well. But with his busy schedule, he needed a flexible program that he could fit in between business meetings. Instead of enrolling at a bricks-and-mortar school, Nakamura logged on to Englishtown (englishtown.com; $20 to $50 per month), one of the world’s largest online language schools. The site offers customized lesson plans and 24-hour access to native-speaking instructors and student chat rooms, via a headset and microphone attached to Nakamura’s computer. Now, he says, in halting but clear English, “I can choose the times I learn.”

Nakamura isn’t the only student turning to technology. In the past two decades, foreign-language learning has moved from a prep-school indulgence to a business necessity. And, as students’ requirements have morphed and simplified, so, too, have the classes being offered. Instead of an emphasis on grammar translation–reading Caesar’s “Gallic War” in the original, for instance–real and virtual instructors are emphasizing conversation and interactivity over book learning. “One of the big debating points is if you should teach grammar at all,” says Bryan Fletcher, editor of onestopenglish.com, a news site for the English-education industry. Without rigorous grammar drills and rote memorization, learning at home becomes far easier. And recent technological advances–from streaming video to voice-recognition systems that grade a student’s pronunciation skills–can help you turn your living room or office into a virtual classroom.

When choosing a program, look for one with good visual cues. Language learners benefit from seeing and mimicking the way native speakers form words. Michael Long, director of the Center for Advanced Language Study at the University of Hawaii, Manoa, also suggests students choose a program that will help them quickly catch and correct their own errors. “The basic rule of feedback is: the closer the feedback is to the performance, the more effect it has,” he says. So, if you have the discipline to go it alone, here are a few other tip sheet picks of top learning tools:

Pimsleur Language Programs of Simon & Schuster Audio (simonsays.com; $19.95 to $345) uses a unique teaching method that involves graduated interval recall, a technique that helps students remember their lessons by reinforcing the information in increasing increments of time until reminders are no longer necessary. This subconscious memorization occurs through regular conversation exercises in which students learn grammar and vocabulary by orally responding to questions on the audiocassette or CD.

With Transparent Language’s Japanese Now! 9.0 (transparent.com; starting at $39.95), you’ll start immersing yourself in Japanese–or one of 14 other languages–through sound and video clips of actual conversations and pronunciation drills. Students use a microphone as well as games and sentence-construction lessons that expose them to more than 5,000 words.

Or try Berlitz’s New Basic Spanish CD Edition (berlitzbooks.com; $39.95), which will teach you effective communication skills by immersing you in the everyday sounds of native speakers on CD; it comes with a 136-page book. (Also available on cassette and for learning German and French.) Add the Rush Hour CD Edition ($24.95) to your tutorial and during your commute you’ll be able to sing along to catchy tunes that help you learn useful phrases.

But no matter which type of at-home program you invest in, discipline is the most important tool you’ll need. It’s like Mom used to say about those dreaded piano lessons–practice makes perfect.

TRAVEL

WEEKEND ESCAPE

Dubai is one of the fastest-growing tourist destinations in the world. Currently under construction: a luxury underwater hotel, manmade archipelagos visible from space and islands shaped like a map of the world.

Stay Sleep in Bedouin-style tents at the luxury Al Maha Desert Resort (al-maha.com). In the city, stay at the Royal Mirage on Jumeirah Beach (oneandonlyresorts.com).

Eat Fine dining at Al Muntaha on the 27th floor of the Burj Al Arab (pictured), said to be the world’s only seven-star hotel (9714-301-7777).

Shop Low import duties and tax-free facilities make for a hot shopping destination. Dubai’s famous Gold Souk in Deira handles a fifth of the world’s gold bullion every year and sells it at rock-bottom prices. Haggle–and bargain with cash.

Play In the footsteps of Tiger, take to the greens of the championship Emirates Golf Course (9714-380-1555). Or, at Wild Wadi water park, hurtle down the 80kph water slide on your butt–with your eyes closed (wildwadi.com).

CHARITIES

COW BELLS RING…

A host of inventive charities have put the fun back into philanthropy. If you can’t bear to give your dad another sweater this holiday season, why not try something a little different? Like a cow. With Send a Cow ( www.sendacow.org.uk) you can buy cattle ($1,290 apiece), a goat ($215) or some bees ($69) for a family in Eastern Africa. They will benefit from the food the animals produce and from the income they generate. Or how about sending an ark of animals? A $5,000 gift with Heifer International (www.heifer.org) includes two sheep, two llamas, two camels, two flocks of geese… you get the picture.

While a $10 box of nails may not be the most romantic gift, at Habitat for Humanity (www.habitat.org), it will help a family build a house. For $35, you can provide shingles, and $100 buys a kitchen sink.

You can also protect the environment this holiday season. My Acre of Africa ( www.myacreofafrica.com), promoted by Nelson Mandela, is constructing a miniature map of Kruger National Park out of “bricks” that can be bought (from $49 to $500 each) and inscribed with your friend or relative’s name. The money collected will build up an endowment fund to support conservation projects in southern Africa.

Finally, for that toy-obsessed niece or nephew, the World Wildlife Fund (shop.wwf.org.uk) offers a free stuffed animal when you “adopt” a panda, a tiger or an orangutan ($51). It certainly beats sweater No. 16.

HEALTH

STAYING FLU-FREE

Have you had your flu shot yet? Here’s what you need to know before you get vaccinated.

It’s not too late. The shot takes about two weeks to start working, so those who got immunized early were wise to do so. But you can still play catch-up–flu season runs until May. And if you do get sick, there’s still hope–antiviral drugs given in the first few days can quell symptoms.

Kids come first. If your whole family needs the shot, let children go first. Kids under 9 who are new to the shot need two doses one month apart. And if your child has fever, aches and chills, get him or her to the doctor pronto for diagnosis.

Even if you’re not at risk, you should still get vaccinated. The flu can be fatal for children, seniors and the immunosuppressed. But that doesn’t mean you should skip the shot if you’re not in those groups. It’ll save you from a nasty week in bed; more important, it could keep you from spreading the disease. Unless you’ve reacted badly before or you’re allergic to eggs (they’re used in making the vaccine), you’ve got no excuse. And an egg-free vaccine may be ready by 2007.

The vaccine isn’t perfect, but it won’t hurt you. You can still get the flu if you’re vaccinated–the shot doesn’t protect from all strains–but it’s a lot less likely. And there’s no way the shot can make you sick, since it’s made with dead viruses. The worst side effect is a sore arm.

title: “Tip Sheet” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-16” author: “Shaun Young”

It’s All Smooth Sailing

It’s a seductive fantasy as winter darkness falls across the northern world: you’re at the helm of a sleek 15-meter yacht as it cuts through warm crystalline seas, a steady trade wind filling the sails. In the breeze, the clinking halyards whisper: “You can buy this boat, have somebody else maintain it and get a guaranteed double-digit return on your investment.”

If that sounds too good to be true, you may want to look into the latest twist on the time-share condo: boat charters. A growing number of companies are using a combined appeal to hedonism and fiscal prudence to entice would-be sailors to buy boats as an investment. It works like this: you buy a brand-new yacht from a charter company. For four to 13 weeks per year, it’s yours, and the rest of the time the company rents it from you at a rate that’s supposed to earn you a tidy profit. During the charter period–typically from three to six years–the company also provides a mooring in an appropriately idyllic spot like Majorca, the Seychelles or Tahiti; performs the constant maintenance that can sour the pleas-ures of boat ownership–often free of charge–and manages a rental program to holidaymakers who can pay up to $6,000 for a week of sailing during peak season (summer in the Mediterranean, winter in the tropics). Unlike buyers of land-based time shares who merely “own” the right to a few weeks’ use of a vacation property, charter-boat owners own the actual boat, and at the end of the charter period they can choose to keep it for their personal use, trade it in for a new charter boat or sell it.

Among the offerings at U.K.-based Sunsail (sunsail.com 800-817-0807) is a 14.3-meter Beneteau Oceanis, which can comfortably sleep up to eight people. It comes loaded with pricey but essential extras like heavy-duty rigging, an inflatable dinghy and a bimini top to protect you from all that tropical sun. You put down 25 percent of the $273,000 purchase price and finance the rest over 15 years at 5.75 percent. Sunsail then rents your new boat from you at a rate of $2,500 per month, paying you $105,000 over the 42 months of the charter period. After you’ve made your monthly payment, you’re left with a hypothetical monthly profit of $650.

Some large-fleet companies also let you swap time with other boat owners. At The Moorings (moorings.com, 800-521-1126), owners can trade use of their boats for any of 650 yachts in 25 worldwide locations, ranging from the South Pacific to the Caribbean. Sunsail lets you take some of your weeks at a posh shorebound resort or on a gourmet barge trip through Europe’s canals.

So, is chartering for you? To help you decide, visit sailon line.com, which offers financial worksheets and advice from veteran boat owners. Will you use the boat enough to realize the savings in charter fees? Do you plan to keep your boat at the end of the charter period? –a smart idea, as the sale price –most likely will not recoup your total investment. Also, find a good insurance policy and insist on having your boat inspected regularly by a qualified marine surveyor.

The bottom line is: do it for the love of sailing, not money. “Anybody who uses the words ‘profit’ or ‘investment’ is probably misleading you,” admits Scott Farquharson of Virgin Islands-based Tradewinds (Tradewindyachts.com, 800-825-7245). Chartering will work for you if you want a break on buying the boat of your dreams. If you’re a European blessed with the vacation time to enjoy all your available sailing weeks, you could save $200,000 in charter fees over three and a half years. And you can’t island-hop through the Caribbean in a T-bill.

Wine

A Guide To Faking It

Few things are more uncomfortable than standing in a room filled with wine snobs bandying such phrases as “This Shiraz is so feral,” while your undisciplined palette can only muster up “Yummy.”

Of course, you could drag along a wine book but that might be too obvious. Now, you can discreetly carry the “Essential Wine Tasting Guide” ($8.70; essential winetastingguide.com), a fold-up cheat sheet developed in Australia and sold around the world.

The business-card-size handbook is packed with helpful hints, including varietal descriptors that list the typical aroma and bouquet found in wine ranging from Chardonnay (“Vegemite”) to vintage port (“nutty”). Add to that a list of ways to detect faulty wines, a wine scorer and a temperature serving guide and this tiny catalog will turn you from a bumbling buffoon into an awesome oenologist. Just don’t forget to spit.

Spirits

One For The Ages

Want to really impress your dinner-party hosts? Show up with 160-year-old Scotch. Macallan claims its 1841 and 1861 “replicas” imitate whisky found in a couple of well-preserved 19th-century bottles. How’d the company do that? It sampled the old flasks with hypodermic needles through the cork. No one knows if it really succeeded in re-creating them–outside a few good folks at the distillery–but in our tasting, the 1841 ($190) is quite fruity with layers of sweetness and a complex, spicy finish, while the 1861 ($180) tosses in bits of nuts and smoke and lavender before reaching a somewhat peppery conclusion. Real or marketing ploy–they seem like good years to us.

Quirky Perks: Hotels

Any hotel can offer amenities like Lilliputian soap; Tip Sheet found places that go beyond the evening pillow mint.

Serrano Hotel, San Francisco, California. Play a hand of blackjack with the check-in receptionist. If you win, you’ll get a free room upgrade or restaurant discount. If you lose, the hotel asks that you make a small (voluntary) donation to a local charity. From $179; serranohotel.com.

London Hilton on Park Lane, London. Here, women executives concerned with safety have their own floor, complete with Vogue magazines, floral arrangements and high-powered hair dryers. No men allowed. From 253 pounds; hilton.com.

Hotel Parisi, La Jolla, California. Feeling blue? A speed-dial button on room phones patches you instantly to a local shrink. From $295; hotelparisi.com.

Soho House, New York, New York. Bored with the usual? Each room comes with a “play drawer” filled with condoms, a Kama Sutra Kit and a copy of “The Erotic Guide to New York.” From $250; www.sohohouseny.com. -T.W.

They Light Up Our Lives

In his new book “Holiday Lights,” David Seidman defends people’s inalienable right to go completely bonkers decorating their homes for the season and even offers a little advice. TIP SHEET’s Raina Kelley caught up with him for an illuminating chat.

Why do people like holiday lights so much?

Everyone likes bright colors. And nostalgia. And people are amazed that someone would do something so elaborate and beautiful for so little gain. How should people begin their own displays?

Very small and very simply. Before you pick up a single light, draw a design. Remember, you have to take down all that stuff. And talk to other people who do this stuff. The “lights community” is not shy. I recommend planetchristmas.com.

How do you feel about inflatable Santas?

Love ’em. I have no problem with any of the decorations people put up. It’s weird and wonderful and doesn’t hurt anybody. It’s a spectacle. Bring ’em on!

Where would you go to see holiday lights?

Definitely Austin, Texas.

What’s your house like during the holidays?

I don’t put lights up on my house. I’m too lazy.

Health

Produce Wash Out

It may sound like a bad B-movie sequel–“Attack of the Killer Scallions!”–but there’s no better way to describe a recent food scare in the United States. Mexican scallions have killed three people and infected hundreds more with Hepatitis A in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area, joining Guatemalan raspberries (which can carry cyclosporiasis) and Mexican cantaloupes (salmonella) in the ranks of potentially toxic raw produce. As trade in fruits and vegetables has increased, so have cases of produce-borne illness, possibly because of divergent farming standards. But one can’t predict a product’s purity by origin alone; a 1999 attack of salmonella-bearing tomatoes originated in the United States. Better to worry about the food when you get it home. Take Mae West’s advice: peel it and remove any leaves. Always wash before you eat. (Food and hands, please.) And when in doubt, cook it.

Music

Almost Like Live

Wish you could fly to Boston to catch Wynton Marsalis’s performance of his “All Rise” with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Hall this week? Try the next best thing. The BSO’s Web site, bso.org, will teach you more than the average concertgoer knows. Music lovers can hear interviews with Marsalis and conductor Kurt Masur and an analysis of each section of the 12-movement work, as well as selections from it and other jazz, blues, gospel and modern classical selections that influenced Marsalis’s composition. And you can even create your own blues with the selection of interactive riffs. While this is only the BSO’s second Online Conservatory (last year’s with composer Tan Dun drew more than 500,000 visitors), other orchestras are taking note. Soon enough, you’ll be the know-it-all at the company water cooler.

title: “Tip Sheet” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-23” author: “Haley Laughlin”

Think Outside The Briefcase

By Jaime Cunningham

Youngjoon Park, an attorney at a Manhattan law firm, just wanted a decent-size bag where he could carry his cell phone, personal organizer and a book. “I didn’t have enough space to carry my knickknacks, and if you stick everything in your coat pockets, it bulges,” he says. But the messenger bag he’d been using was bulky and uncomfortable on the crowded subway, and most of the smaller bags he’d looked at seemed too feminine. “I would love to wear a backpack to work,” says Park, “but I think that just doesn’t look right.” Finally, he laid eyes on a small black bag by Tumi and was sold.

After years of stuffing their pockets with cash, keys and eyeglasses, men finally have some options. A boom in high-tech accessories like PDAs, iPods, cell phones and personal organizers has spawned a parallel revolution in carrying cases. So, how does a guy choose a masculine-looking bag that fits his style? “Suede or leather messenger bags are rugged and handsome-looking and they have a lot of character,” says Carson Kressley, the fashion guru on the American male-makeover show “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.” “They look great with jeans and they can also look cool with a sportcoat or suit.” Kal Ruttenstein, senior vice president of fashion direction at Bloomingdale’s, says leather and canvas men’s bags are a hot seller this holiday season–“and the more classic-looking they are, the better they seem to be doing.” Here are some tip sheet picks, from the sober and practical to the colorful and hip.

Need to carry your laptop around along with other essentials? Tumi’s ($195; tumi.com) Expandable Flap Messenger Bag can help you pack away your computer, cell phone, house keys and a PDA. It even includes a water-resistant umbrella pocket for those wet days.

For an urban professional look, shop no further than Jack Spade. The Dad Field Bag ($125; jackspade.com) is smooth-looking on the outside, but has numerous compartments and ample storage space on the inside. Or try the smaller Nylon Canvas 10-inch Messenger for $80, available in gray, navy, tank and orange.

For a more traditional style, try Cole Haan’s Maggiorie Canvas Messenger Bag ($365; 001-415-391-1760). Handmade from cotton canvas, with Vacchetta leather trim, it has a rich maroon lining and plenty of compartments for a PDA, business cards and a phone. Best of all, there’s a small handle on top for when your shoulders get tired.

Coach’s soft Trans-atlantic leather Map Bag ($328; coach.com) is weather resistant and sports a generous main compartment, so you can store that ultra-slim laptop and slip those designer pens into any of three smaller compartments.

For ultra-versatility, check out Eddie Bauer’s Convertible Briefcase ($69; eddiebauer.com), which can be worn as a tote or a backpack. This bag can hold legal-size notebooks, your Discman and a spare set of clothes, while safely stowing all your smaller items in multiple pockets.

Are you feeling like sporting something bolder and brighter? Check out the Chrome Commodore Laptop Bag ($95; chromebags.com) Available in a variety of colors, in glittery shades and nonglitter canvas, the Commodore comes with a padded laptop insert and hidden straps that allow you to convert it into a backpack.

With so many options, there are a few key rules to keep in mind. “If you saw it sitting unattended at an airport, would you want to call the bomb squad or steal it? If you’d want to steal it, that’s a great bag,” advises Kressley. One look to avoid? “Anything that attaches to your waist is wrong. The fanny pack is not a good look–it never was and never will be.” So, if you already own one, it’s time to trade up.

DRINKS

BEYOND EGGNOG

Want to spice up your year-end party? Serve an unfamiliar holiday beverage. Poncho de Crema (see grace foods.com for recipe) is a Trinidadian spin on eggnog. Gluhwein is a Mitteleuropean ski-season classic and can be made cheaply and easily with Pompadour Gluhfix packs, available for $2.99 at germandeli.com. Or try Swedish glogg:

1/2 tsp. cardamom seeds, crushed

cinnamon sticks, to taste

1 dozen cloves

3-in. piece of ginger, peeled, sliced thin

Zest of 1 orange

( cup vodka

1 cup sugar 1 bottle light red wine Raisins and blancB almonds for garnish Combine cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and orange zest in a glass container. Add vodka, seal and store unrefrigerated overnight. Strain vodka, discarding spices. Pour wine and spiced vodka into a large saucepan, add sugar, cover, and heat until sugar dissolves. Serve with raisins and almonds.

John D. Sparks

TRAVEL

Holiday Retreats

Spending time with family and friends is fun. Cleaning up after them isn’t. This season, why not have a hotel set up the festivities for you? A growing number are offering special perks for the holidays.

The Ritz Hotel, Paris ($8,100; ritzparis.com). The two-bedroom Coco Chanel Suite comes with VIP shopping. Gifts are wrapped and placed under the Christmas tree in your room.

Kahala Mandarin Oriental, Oahu, Hawaii (from $425; mandarinoriental .com). Celebrate Chanukah with the lighting of the menorah and party games. Santa arrives by surfboard to read “A Christmas Tale.”

Four Seasons Resort, Great Exuma, Bahamas (from $595 per night; foursea sons.com). The price includes a personal shopper, and the front desk organizes Secret Santa games. The Las Vegas Four Seasons will fill a suite with teddy bears for your kids.

Le Meridien Limassol, Cyprus ($175; lemeridien .com). Make Christmas cards with the kids and help decorate the tree for the lighting ceremony. The spa demonstrates make-up tips before the Christmas Eve gala.

Sana Butler

PHOTOGRAPHY

Magnum Opus

With digital rapidly replacing old-fashioned film photography, traditionally-printed pictures have become the hippest art to collect. The best place to start is the Print Room at the prestigious Magnum Photos agency in Paris. The Print Room offers modern and vintage prints by Magnum photographers past and present. That includes famous black-and-white images, like Cornell Capa’s Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable on the set of “The Misfits,” and Stuart Franklin’s Tiananmen Square.

All images are available as new prints of the original negatives and come in various sizes, always signed by the photographer or with an estate stamp, for about $1,000. Vintage prints run from $2,000 to $20,000. Check out Magnum’s impressive archives of 150,000 images at magnumphotos.com, and to order, contact India Dhargalkar at india@magnum photos.fr.

Dana Thomas

BOOKS

Try This At Home

Falling in love with a new cookbook is one of those relatively inexpensive life-altering experiences. Suddenly you see dinner in a whole new light.

The Apprentice: Early tales of Jacques Pepin’s coming of age in the kitchen will chasten today’s born-yesterday chefs. Pepin’s experience reminds us that we are all but young cooks.

Land of Plenty: Sometimes it’s good to devour a cookbook you have no intention of cooking from. Fuchsia Dunlop’s mastery of Sichuan Chinese means you’ll never order blind again.

The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen: Our kitchens will be redolent with Seven-Hour Garlic Crowned Lamb if Paula Wolfert has her way. And she should. This is what we want to cook.

Cooking by Hand: The hands-down favorite read of the year by the brilliantly obsessed Paul Bertolli. Maybe you won’t make sausages, but you’ll trust the recipes from one who does.

Celebrate: Ever since “The Silver Palate Cookbook,” Sheila Lukins has taught the post-Julia generation an easier way to cook. Here she offers accessible and complete menus for 43 special occasions.

Dorothy Kalins

title: “Tip Sheet” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-10” author: “Gene Harwell”

The American Indian College Fund

Provides college scholarships and raises money for tribal schools. With your $50 gift, Mom will get a CD by Ulali–a native women’s a cappella group. collegefund.org

Noah’s Lost Ark

Home to Ming, the tiger raised in a Bronx apartment. Giving $49.99 makes your cousin a sponsor–she’ll receive letters with health updates, pictures and free admission (once). noahslostark.com

The Lower Eastside Girls Club

Offers girls leadership skills and job training. Its bake shop will send Dad a gingerbread brownstone with any $25 gift from you. girlsclub.org

The Sierra Club

Promotes the enjoyment and protection of America’s wild places. A $25 gift gets a membership card and a cool backpack. sierraclub.org

title: “Tip Sheet” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-05” author: “Clarence Tibbits”

HOPE SPROUTS ETERNAL

Ken Washenik, 44, uses every available weapon in his battle against baldness. More than 15 years ago he started rubbing Rogaine onto his scalp twice a day. Five years ago he added the pill Propecia to his daily regimen. And over the past two years he’s relocated 2,200 follicles from the back of his head to the sparser region on top. His next step? Washenik, a New York University dermatologist who recently took over as medical director of the hair-transplant company Bosley, is tackling the holy grail of hair loss: trying to figure out how to clone the cells responsible for hair growth.

OK, so curing baldness won’t save lives. But it will undoubtedly ease the emotional suffering of millions. Each year those 80 million follicularly challenged men and women pour $2 billion into the quest for the magic pill, medical procedure–or at least the perfect wig, says Chris Webb, editor of The National Hair Journal. tip sheet offers a guide to what’s available now–and what’s on the horizon:

MEDICATIONS. Buyer beware. So far, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved only two antibaldness medications: minoxidil, sold over the counter as Rogaine, for both men and women, and finasteride, a prescription pill sold as Propecia, for men only. Both drugs are pricey: a year’s supply of Rogaine costs about $200, Propecia about $720–and, like other baldness treatments, they’re not coveredby insurance. For best results, many men have combined both drugs. Check theNorth American Hair Research Society’s Web site (nahrs.org) for more information.

TRANSPLANTS. The good news is that surgery no longer means obvious plugs: clumps of 15 to 20 hairs replanted like a cabbage patch. Today doctors can move hairs like blades of grass–one to four follicles at a time. Each year 100,000 Americans opt for the procedure, which typically costs about $6,000 and requires a local anesthetic. But don’t expect miracles: you’ll probably still look as if you have thinning hair. “There’s no way we can create a hairline like when [you] were 12,” says Robert Leonard, past president of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ishrs.org).

CLONING. For patients with truly shiny pates, there may not be enough hair on the sides of their heads to cover what they’ve lost up top. “It’s basically taking from Peter to pay Paul,” says Duke University dermatologist Elise Olsen. With cloning, there would be an unlimited supply. Even the genetically blessed could thicken their tresses with regenerated cells–a surgical alternative to hair extensions. “There would not be a theoretical limit other than space on your scalp,” says Washenik, who hopes to clone follicles within five years, though other doctors say the technology is farther away. Hurdles include making sure the cloned hairs match the originals in color, texture and direction of growth.

GENE THERAPY. No one knows how long it will take, but someday doctors hope to be able to manipulate the genes that cause hair loss. Unfortunately, there’s more than one gene involved. “Male-pattern hair loss is what we call a complex-trait disease,” says Columbia University geneticist Angela Christiano, who has discovered three baldness genes so far.

COVER-UPS. Americans alone still spend about $600 million on semipermanent hairpieces that bind to your natural hair and need to be adjusted every three to six weeks as your own hair grows. In the meantime, men might consider simply accepting their fate. As celebrities like Vin Diesel and Michael Jordan have shown, bald can be beautiful.

TRAVEL: FANTASY ISLANDS

Flee the freeze by jetting off to a tropical paradise. These private-island resorts will wrap you in the warmth you’ve been missing back home. But be warned: bliss doesn’t come cheap.

North Island, Seychelles

www.north-island.com

With just 11 villas tucked into the forest or lining the beach, this 500-acre resort needs no menu. Instead, the chef speaks personally to each guest for inspiration.

FROM $1,350 PER PERSON PER NIGHT

Necker Island, Caribbean

neckerisland.com

Splurge like a mogul at Sir Richard Branson’s private hideaway. There’s room for you and 25 friends to explore the inland mangrove lakes–or just meditate.

FROM $1,385 PER PERSON PER NIGHT

Mnemba Island Lodge, Zanzibar

ccafrica.com Lie on the soft sand while traditional dhows breeze past. Or if you’re the type who gets bored reading and sunbathing, explore the coral- and dolphin-rich waters.

FROM $520 PER PERSON PER NIGHT

Soneva Gili, Maldives

sixsenses.com/soneva-gili

The villas stand on wooden stilts above a turquoise lagoon. And your bathroom’s glass floor affords a perfect view of the reef sharks circling below.

FROM $645 PER TWO-PERSON VILLA PER NIGHT

FITNESS

HOT AND HIGH TECH

Humble long johns have come a long way. Now called “base layers,” these high-tech undergarments are made of synthetic fabrics or itch-free wool, and wick away sweat to keep you warm and dry on the slopes.

Fleur d’hiver The Emily top ($54) and Veronica bottoms

($54) sport futuristic fabric with a feminine touch;

fleurdhiver.com.

Snow Angel Doeskins V-Waist bottoms ($48) sit low on the hips, while the crewneck top ($54) is made of plush micro-fleece;

snow-angel.com

Lowe Alpine Dryflo Seamless Crew ($59) and tights ($55) encourage extra vapor transfer from the body’s sweaty spots, while holding heat in cooler zones; lowealpine.com.
Smartwool Made of the softest New Zealand merino, the Versa-Wear Zip-T ($89.95) speeds moisture away from your skin; smartwool.com.
Arc’teryx The Rho LT Zip ($75 each for top and bottom) holds heat and flatters trim physiques, while the chest pocket is the perfect stash for cash; arcteryx.com.

KIDS

SPACE & TRAVEL

With Mars and new voyages to the moon captivating young minds, space is cool again. Regular tourists won’t be lifting off any time soon, but enthusiasts can experience some of the trials and wonders of space travel at astronaut camps being set up around the world. In the United States, the original Space Camp opened in Huntsville, Alabama, in 1982 (spacecamp.com). Today campers can strap on a jet pack, train like shuttle astronauts, and eat, sleep and even go to the bathroom in a low-gravity environment. (Cost range: $100 to $900, depending on age and duration of stay.) More recently the organization has set up satellite campuses in Japan (space world.co.jp), Belgium (www.eurospacecenter.be), Turkey (space campturkey.com) and Canada (spacecampcanada.com). A new U.S.-style Space Town is in the works near Pusan, South Korea. And the best news? Adults can go, too.

TECHNOLOGY

PHONE FUN

In Asia, talk–as in mobile-phone minutes–may be cheap, but short-text messaging (SMS) has become the preferred mode of communication for many. It’s been loads of fun for those who don’t mind using the English alphabet. But for the fast-growing Chinese market, the tedious process of pushing multiple buttons just to build a single character makes repartee slow and tedious. Nokia has found a solution. In a new feature that has set China and Singapore abuzz (and is likely to become standard fare elsewhere), the keypad of its new 3108 model slides down to reveal a Palm device-like handwriting pad. The 3108 is programmed to recognize both Chinese and Latin characters, and to predict which word you are attempting to create. Now the only button you need to push is the one to send your message.

title: “Tip Sheet” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-10” author: “Ann Thompson”

Last month, China’s state news agency reported that two thirds of the Great Wall had been destroyed by tourists, commercial development and local pillaging. Other historical and cultural monuments are also in danger, says the World Monument Fund (wmf.org). The top five heritage sites you should see–while you still can:

Dampier Rock Art Complex: An estimated 200,000 rock carvings of animals and human figures were etched on this Western Australian archipelago over 10,000 years by the now nearly extinct Yaburara tribe. Industrial development has destroyed about a quarter of the art already and petrochemical pollutants threaten to erode the rest.

Nineveh and Nimrud: Located near Mosul in northern Iraq, these two ancient royal capitals date back to Assyrian times nearly 3,000 years ago. Looting and vandalism have deprived the sites of many irreplaceable cultural relics.

Bandiagara Escarpment: This sandstone ridge in southern Mali has been home to the Dogon people since the 15th century. Inspired by a unique mythology, each Dogon village is laid out along a north-south axis in the shape of a human body–that of the great ancestor Nommo. The Dogon’s traditional culture and natural environment is being threatened by the encroachment of tourists and modern ways of life.

Yaxchilan and Piedras Negras: These barely excavated rival Mayan cities face off across the Usumacinta River valley between Guatemala and Mexico. Dating to the eighth century, they may soon be submerged under water if a proposed a hydroelectric-dam project is approved.

Shackleton’s Expedition Hut: This temporary wooden hut was built by Sir Ernest Shackleton’s British team of Antarctic explorers during their Nimrod expedition in 1908. Though unexpectedly surviving nearly a century of blizzards, the cabin and its artifacts are slowly being eaten away by sea salt and wind. They’ve also been damaged and partly pilfered by tourists.

Travel: Moving Marvel

Every fall, hundreds of millions of monarch butterflies from the Great Lake region of the United States and Canada undertake a 2,000-mile migration to their winter digs in the mountains of central Mexico. The journey is a scientific marvel, considering each flock is five generations removed from the butterflies that last made the trip. Not only do the monarchs return to the same few patches of forest, but often to the exact same trees, bending the branches with their collective weightlessness and darkening the sky with swarms of orange and black.

Visitors can see the monarchs in butterfly reserves in Mexico from mid-November to mid-March. The Mexican towns of Angangueo and Zitacuaro offer modest hotels and access to the reserves, although day trips can be arranged from more upscale Morelia. Emerald Planet (emeraldplanet.com) and the National Wildlife Federation (nwf.org/expeditions) organize impressive five-day butterfly tours, and there’s even a seven-day biketrip (ecotravelmexico.com/monarchbutterfly.htm). For more monarch information, visit monarchwatch.org.

Books: To Read or Not to Read?

This season a plethora of books have made it to the big screen. With “Lord of the Rings” contending for numerous Oscars later this month, tip sheet investigates whether the old adage that the movie is never as good as the book still holds true.

Cold Mountain: Brilliant book, good movie (though not enough to sway Oscar voters to nominate it for best picture). The book is so compelling and well loved that it was an impossible task for any filmmaker to carry it over to celluloid.

Girl With a Pearl Earring: One of those rarities where the book and the movie are both good. Seventeenth-century Holland is stunningly recreated onscreen and Scarlett Johansson truly is Griet. The endings of the movie and the book are slightly different; check them both out to see which you like best.

Seabiscuit: The movie is up against “Rings” for best film. And it’s good. Still, it’s hard to beat Laura Hillenbrand’s style of getting into the heads of all four characters–including the horse.

The Human Stain: Nicole Kidman as a janitor is a little too unbelievable in this film about political correctness and racism in America. The movie lacks emotional depth. In the book the irony of the plot twist leaves you reeling; onscreen, the revelation falls short.

House of Sand and Fog: Ben Kingsley has been given an Oscar nod for best actor for his portrayal of an Iranian immigrant in a property battle against Jennifer Connolly. On the other hand, the book, though well written and thorough, is a slog to get through. Go for the popcorn.

title: “Tip Sheet” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-17” author: “Terence Campbell”

95 $49 Quinta do Vale Meao Douro 2000 This stunning red, one of Portugal’s best, has robust flavors of dark plum, cherry and spice. It needs a few years in the cellar.

89 $27 Quinta do Portal Tinta Roriz Duoro 2000 Tinta Roriz - called Tempranillo in Spain-yields this seductive wine with aromas of blueberries and red fruit flavors.

87 $10 Casa Santos Lima Alicante Bouschet Estremadura 2000 This medium-bodied red has good structure and intensity. Plus, it’s a great value.

87 $14 Luis Pato Baga Beiras Casta 2001 Winemaker Pato is a Portuguese rising star. This red, from the Baga grape, offers cherry, currant and bittersweet chocolate notes.

85 $7 Eborae Vitis e Vinus Alentejo Singularis 2002 The Alentejo region produces many value wines. This one has plum flavors and is a fine match with grilled meats.

title: “Tip Sheet” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-23” author: “Barbara Wallander”

New Rules For A Safe Pregnancy

The nine months between conception and delivery are filled with anticipation, and with confusing advice: cut out alcohol, don’t dye your hair, avoid Brie. Here’s the latest thinking on everything from soft cheese to hot tubs.

Planning ahead. Most birth defects occur three to six weeks after conception. To be safe, begin taking a daily vitamin that contains at least 400 micrograms of folic acid and not more than 5,000 units of vitamin A two months before stopping birth control. Avoid herbal formulations. (See motherisk .org.) And make sure you’re immune to German measles and chickenpox, which can cause birth defects.

Weight gain. Don’t eat for two. In a 2002 report, the Institute of Medicine recommended that women not increase their food intake in the first trimester. Overweight women should gain no more than 15 to 25 pounds; average women, 25 to 35 pounds; thin women, 28 to 40 pounds.

Food. Spend calories wisely. High levels of mercury in shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish may harm the developing brain, so the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends that pregnant women avoid them. In March the FDA advised that pregnant women limit their intake of albacore tuna (the kind found in most cans) to no more than six ounces a week. (See Physicians for Social Responsibility’s new guide to healthy fish at mercuryaction.org/fish.) Also avoid soft, unpasteurized cheeses (such as blue-veined ones), deli meats and uncooked hot dogs that can carry the listeria bacteria, which cross the placenta. And be wary of uncooked seafood, which can carry hepatitis A. Peanuts are a good source of folate and protein, but pregnant women with a family history of allergies may want to avoid them. (See foodallergy.org.)

Drink. Until researchers establish a safe level of alcohol consumption for pregnant women, moms-to-be should avoid it. Women should also switch to decaffeinated coffee or limit intake to one or two cups a day. Diet sodas containing NutraSweet appear to be safe.

Meds. “If you can avoid using drugs in pregnancy, avoid them,” says Massachusetts General Hospital’s Laura Riley, chair of the committee on obstetric practice for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Check with your doctor before taking aspirin and ibuprofen; acetaminophen appears to be safe.

Lifestyle. The current issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology reports that casual airline travel poses little risk of radiation exposure. And, contrary to conventional wisdom, it’s OK to dye your hair and polish your nails. “There’s not really any data to suggest it’s harmful,” says Riley. But don’t smoke, and avoid hot tubs and saunas, which can increase the risk of miscarriage. Ordinary tubs and showers are fine.

Chill. The vast majority of all babies are born healthy. So don’t worry. But as any pregnant woman knows, that’s a lot easier said than done.

DINING

Height Cuisine

A lofty location is no guarantee of a culinary hot spot, but everything tastes better with a view. For dinner with altitude, tip sheet recommends:

Swiss Re Building, London: The restaurant atop this new, torpedo-shaped tower is open only to tenants–though it can be booked for private functions.

Montparnasse Tower, Paris: Where better to watch the light change than from Le Ciel de Paris, Europe’s highest restaurant, 200 meters up?

Jin Mao Tower, Shanghai: Chomp Asian tapas on the 87th floor of China’s loftiest skyscraper.

Yokohama Landmark Tower: Ogle Mount Fuji as you lunch on sushi in the Sirius Sky Lounge.

World Trade Center, Mexico City: Bellini’s 44th-floor restaurant revolves to give each diner a view of the city and hills.

Burj al Arab, Dubai: This six-star hotel features the opulent Al Muntaha, 200 meters above the sea. –William Underhill

Ask Tip Sheet

–Katarina Nemcokova, Banska Bystrica, Slovakia

You’re right. Even with a feather, we can’t crack ourselves up (trust us, we tried). Neuroscientists at University College London discovered that a part of the brain called the cerebellum differentiates between sensations we create ourselves and ones generated externally. Our brains automatically know to ignore “expected” sensations that are produced by our own bodies, like the vibration of our vocal cords when we talk. Self-tickling won’t fly because your brain already knows what’s about to happen and prepares itself for the attack. –Olivia Ma

title: “Tip Sheet” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-25” author: “Sara Raines”

The most recent addition is Mar Hall (slh.com/ marhall; $250-$880 per night), a beautifully restored castle near Glasgow, Scotland, that opened earlier this month. Fifty-three princely suites have been carved from this 164-year-old edifice; amenities include an Aveda Concept Spa, formal gardens and several restaurants for your sumptuous feasts.

The worldwide tour company Globus (globusjourneys.com) added several new escorted trips this year focusing on castle hotels, including a week’s stay at the romantic medieval Rheinfels Castle & Villa on the Rhine ($1,493). For a more Moorish take on palatial living, the company is offering its Andalusian Luxury trip to the 14th-century fortress Parador de Carmona in Spain, which includes sightseeing in Seville and Cordova ($2,000; nine days).

In Ireland, several companies including CIE Tours (cietours.com) offer self-drive trips with several knights–oops, nights–at places such as Kilkea Castle and Dromoland Castle, both of which feature 18-hole golf courses and leisure centers ($120 and up).

Europe doesn’t corner the market on lavish living. The Samode Palace (samode.com; $88-$485), located 42km northwest of Jaipur, India, is a meticulously restored example of Rajput-Mughal architecture where you can enjoy the desert province’s natural beauty and rich history. Or try La Mamounia (mamounia.com; $260-$3,400), set in the gardens once belonging to Prince Moulay Mamoun, son of a 17th-century sultan of Marrakech. And in the United States (yes, America has castles!), consider a visit to The Castle on the Hudson (castleattarrytown.com; $310-$750), a Norman-style castle–complete with wood-burning fireplaces and manicured grounds–but located only 30 minutes north of Manhattan.

If you prefer not to stay with the great unwashed, you can even rent an entire castle for you and your royal court. A self-catered week at the Chateau de la Guillonniere (a-castle-for-rent.com) near France’s Loire Valley starts at $3,500. And that doesn’t even include use of the indoor swimming pool and fitness room. After all, you might not need to be a prince to stay at these castles, but you can’t really be a pauper either.

TRAVEL FRANCE’S PORT OF PRIDE The French national anthem is named after Marseilles, the country’s oldest city and biggest port. It’s also one of France’s most cosmopolitan towns.

Visit the Panier, the city’s oldest neighborhood, which includes a maze of narrow streets and steps. Stop by the museum La Vieille Charite to see antiquities like shrunken heads from the Pacific islands (2 rue de la Charite, 011-33-491-145880).

See Chateau d’If, a 16th-century fortress on a small isle where Alexandre Dumas’s Count of Monte Cristo was incarcerated.

Drink local aniseed liqueur,

pastis, served at Le Bistrot Plage, a waterside bar (60 Corniche Kennedy, 011-33-491-318032).

Eat fresh shellfish or hot pizza at Chez Jeannot in the teeny Vallon des Auffes Harbor, full of brightly colored fishing boats (011-33-491-521128).

Sleep at Le Petit Nice-Passedat, on the cliffs of Corniche Kennedy. It has a gorgeous patio and plunge pool overlooking the Mediterranean islands. –Michelle Jana Chan

TECHNOLOGY COOKING SHOWS Remember when a refrigerator with a built-in icemaker was the height of luxury appliances? Now the hot new item on every homemaker’s wish list is a refrigerator with a built-in television. The TV fridge is great for someone trying to maximize space in the kitchen, usually the most-trafficked area of the home. LG’s TV Refrigerator has a 34cm LCD screen in the door, and an FM radio, a TV tuner, two built-in speakers and a cable hookup. The model, currently available in South Korea, Mexico, the United States, Spain and England, sells for $3,149. Samsung has introduced a more-amped-up model, the HomePAD, for a whopping $4,999, which allows you to surf the Internet (look up recipes!), leave voice, text and video memos (a grocery list perhaps?), watch TV and even take digital pictures or display your digital album. Who needs refrigerator magnets to hold up photos anymore? –Karin Bennett

SOUVENIRS OLYMPIC DESIGNS If a simple Olympics cap, button, mug or T shirt is just too lowbrow for your taste, luxury-goods makers may have just what you need. The Sarantis cosmetics company, for one, has produced a special line of scents called Olympic Spirit, featuring sage, laurel, cedar and freesia. Men can smell like Heritage or Fair Play, while women’s fragrances are called Celebration and Participation (22 euro, 75ml bottle; Olympic Store, Athens).

Clotheshorses have been snapping up the contemporary yet classically inspired Olympic designs–like draped dresses, tops and skirts–of Sophia Kokosalaki, a young, high-end London designer of Greek heritage ($300 and up; Sophia Kokosalaki, London). (Olympic organizers have also commissioned her to come up with costumes for the opening and closing ceremonies in Athens next month–but they remain a secret.) The French luxury company Celine, a member of the Louis Vuitton group, is providing its own kitschy line of Olympic goods: printed T shirts, shoes, swimsuits and sporty handbags feature the colors of the Olympic rings and symbols such as laurels and the year 2004 ($200 and up; Celine, Paris). Too bad shopping isn’t yet an Olympic sport. –Alexandra A. Seno

STYLE CATCH THE WAVE If you love the ’80s, you’ll be happy to know that perms have returned. “They are back, but in a totally different way,” says colorist Carolyn DePalma of New York’s Frederic Fekkai Salon and Spa. While the ’80s were about height and volume, today’s look is a soft, romantic curl. Wavy-haired celebrities like Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (right) inspired the trend, and DePalma now gives two to three perms a day, up from just five a month last year. For curls circa 2004, not 1984, make sure to show your stylist photos of the look you want, ask him not to roll the curlers to the root and never perm dry, damaged hair. But don’t take the ’80s revival too far: a mullet is still a mullet. –Anne Taulane

title: “Tip Sheet” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-07” author: “Andra Nero”

The return of attention-grabbing graphics for walls is only the latest sign that minimalism is dead. Austere, Zen-like spaces, so popular in the 1990s, are giving way to bright colors and witty designs. The ICFF was brimming with examples, like LED lamps that looked like stacks of yellow, orange and blue children’s blocks (glide-inc.com), furniture made from loose change (johnnyswing.com) and chandeliers decorated with gilded leaves and flowers (artecnicainc.com).

Plain, painted walls are the last bastion of restraint. “Customers are going for a more complete, decorated look,” says Kathy O’Brien, a vice president at home-furnishings supplier F. Schumacher & Co., which has seen an uptick in sales of wall decor over the past two years. But this time around, clients will use the stuff more sparingly, predicts Gregory Herringshaw, assistant curator of wallcoverings at New York’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.

Perhaps that’s because designers are creating patterns –that are wilder than ever. London-based Tracy Kendall ($180 to $350 per roll; tracykendall.com) stitches or tags buttons, sequins and Post-it-like squares onto paper. Jon Sherman, founder of New Orleans-based Flavor Paper, hand-screens psychedelic 1970s prints onto Mylar ($150 to $250 per roll; flavorpaper.com)–and just installed some in Lenny Kravitz’s Creole cottage in Louisiana. Kyra Hartnett of Brooklyn, New York-based Twenty2 also has unveiled new Mylar prints ($111 to $175 per roll; shoptwenty2.com).

Other designers are creating do-it-yourself wallcoverings. Wallpaper-by-Numbers ($114 per roll, including acrylic paints; 2jane.com) lets patrons color in gerbera daisies or flying dogs. Philadelphia-based Jaime Salm of Mio showed panels of sculpted, recycled cardboard ($28 for a box of 12 square-foot tiles; mioculture.com). “You can paint it,” he says. “You can rotate the tiles to create new patterns.” Up next, says Salm: wallpaper on the ceiling.

Travel: Great Drives

Fill your tank, grab your map and take off along the world’s greatest coastal roads. TIP SHEET suggests where and what you should be driving.

Amalfi Coast, Italy: From Sorrento, take Statale 163 to Salerno, thundering around hairpin bends and squeezing onto cliff edges. Wheels: Ferrari 246 GTS Dino

Great Ocean Road, Australia: From Melbourne, steer toward Torquay, passing the glorious rocky islands known as the Twelve Apostles. Wheels: SS Holden Ute

Ring of Kerry, Ireland: Base yourself at Kenmare and drive counterclockwise around the cliffs of Iveragh Peninsula. Don’t lean too far to the right. Wheels: MINI Cooper

Highway 1, California: Tour the Pacific coastline, where the road cuts from pine forests to beaches. Wheels: Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Classic

Garden Route, South Africa: Stop for oysters and beer by the Indian Ocean near Cape Town. Wheels: VW Beetle Convertible

Gadgets: Kitchen Wizard>

If you want something to be simple, you have to work extra hard. That’s the lesson British designer Jasper Morrison learned while designing a new line of kitchen appliances for the French housewares company Rowenta. The effort paid off. Morrison’s coffee maker is slim; his toaster is lever-free–a motorized tray lowers and lifts the bread automatically. Morrison used thicker-walled plastic to give the products more solidity while at the same time banishing any unnecessary bells and whistles. “Consumers don’t want arbitrary styling,” he says. His only concession to added features? A croissant-warming heater on top of the toaster. The Rowenta coffee machine ($150), electric water kettle ($125) and toaster ($135) will be available in design shops like Moss (mossonline.com) and Conran’s (www.conran.com) in July.

Style: No Socks, Sir

Men: Don’t spend all summer sweating in loafers. Here are some cooler options.

Merrell Rapid Sandals have sticky bottoms for better traction. $60 at llbean.com.
Tommy Hilfiger’s Formula slides might get you some street cred. $59; tommy.com for stores.
Sperry’s Top-Sider Thongs are made with antimicrobial insoles for obvious reasons. $60 at eddiebauer.com.
Reef’s Abreojos flip-flops are a surfer’s favorite. $12; reef.com for stores.
Chaco’s Z/1 Colorado sandals protect your arches while you hike. $90 at rei.com.

In the News: Make Mine Rare

All right, so maybe Atkins wasn’t a nut. Two papers recently published in the Annals of Internal Medicine report that low-carb diets help patients lose weight faster than conventional plans. In a six-month study of 120 obese people, those on a low-carb diet lost an average of 11.7 kilograms, compared with those on a conventional low-fat, low-calorie diet, who lost just 6.3 kg. In a 12-month study, however, the carb counters lost about the same amount as those on a conventional diet–though they tested slightly better on triglyceride and blood-sugar levels. “The take-home message is that, in the longer term, there isn’t a whole lot of difference in weight loss between a low-carbohydrate and a low-fat diet,” says Dr. Christine Laine, senior deputy editor at the Annals of Internal Medicine. An editorial accompanying the studies says it’s fine to experiment with reduced-carb diets–as long as you maintain weight loss and eat “healthy sources of fat and protein and incorporate regular physical activity.” So order a small steak, skip the butter and hit the gym.

title: “Tip Sheet” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-29” author: “Phyllis Pinera”

Canon Powershot A75; $299

The 3.2-megapixel A75 is the successor to Canon’s ultrapopular A60 camera. Its updates aren’t all that revolutionary, but are still good to have: a larger, higher-resolution LCD display and several extra “scene modes” for automatic adjustment in different lighting conditions.

Olympus C-60 Zoom; $449

The C-60 (known as the X-3 in Japan) is Olympus’s foray into the increasingly crowded six-megapixel market and has the company’s iconic all-metal, clamshell design. What makes the C-60 special is its extensive shutter-speed range, from 1/1,000th, for action photography, up to eight seconds for night and sunset scenes. Moreover, the 198-gram shooter has an onboard “turbo” processor that gets it started quickly and keeps annoying shutter lag to a bare minimum.

Nikon Coolpix 8700; $999

Boasting a whopping eight-megapixel sensor and the best optical zoom in its class, the Coolpix 8700 has the gravitas of a traditional 35mm camera. But it also has enough helpful doodads–including 12 picture-taking modes, ranging from fireworks to panoramic vistas, and a Best Shot Selector (which chooses the sharpest photo from a series of consecutive images)–to make even the klutziest beginner look good.

Leica Digilux 2; $1,850

It may be pretty pricey for a five-megapixel camera that won’t let you swap lenses, but the Leica brand means this is one superbly constructed machine, with a magnificent lens that is second to none. Add to that the analog-style rings on the lens barrel that let you zip through setting exposure, focus and zoom, as well as an oversize LCD, and you’ve got the Humvee of cameras: fast, agile and built to last.

TRAVEL GOING SOUTH BY LINDA STERN This summer, cheap currencies mean destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean are more attractive than ever. TIP SHEET’s recommendations:

Be contrarian. Summer is the Caribbean’s off-season, which means you’ll get low rates, beautiful beaches, some nightlife, mild breezes–and a quiet beachfront hammock all to yourself. Expedia.com is selling packages to an all-inclusive resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica, from 921 euro per person, including airfare from New York City. Or try Grand Bahama Island, with its crystal-clear waters, windsurfing, snorkeling and requisite swim-up pool bars for 166 euro round trip (and 125 euro for kids).

For more adventure, head farther south, to Argentina or Chile, where the seasons are reversed and you can go skiing. In Santiago, Chile, a one-week lift ticket costs 126 euro.

The euro goes even further in Costa Rica. The country is naturally abundant–the Poas Volcano National Park and La Paz Waterfall are dramatic–and easily navigable. Bargain hunters, enjoy.

DOG FOOD Paws Off The Carbs Dogs tend to look like their owners. So what to do when you’ve Atkinsed down to a size 4, but your pooch is still enormous? The pet-food company Pedigree has a solution: low-carb dog food. “We saw the trend in human food and said, ‘This is something we need to look at for our pets’,” says Chris Jones, a Pedigree spokesman. The resulting diet, Pedigree Weight Loss, contains 50 percent protein and is designed to slim down Fifi by 10 percent within 12 weeks.

There’s definitely a need–the American Veterinary Medical Association estimates that 30 percent of dogs are overweight but is Atkins the answer? The theory’s sound, says Bonnie Beaver, the AVMA’s acting president. “Dogs in the wild would exist on Atkins, so there is certainly a good strong basis for it,” she says. “But it’s also probably a marketing ploy.” Some think that’s all it is. “Although it’s the lowest-carbohydrate diet out there, it’s probably not low enough to lead to ketosis [a metabolic state that causes weight loss in low-carb diets],” says Diane Levitan, an internal-medicine specialist at the Center for Specialized Veterinary Care in Westbury, New York. In the end, Pedigree’s weight-loss secret might not be low-carb, but good old-fashioned low-cal: the new product contains 20 percent fewer calories than the brand’s regular dry food. Effective, but not nearly as trendy.

FITNESS Pavement Pounding Spring’s gorgeous weather robs us of excuses for not exercising. If you’re a jogger, here are a few tips on finding the perfect shoe. Think on your feet: are you flatfooted or do you have high arches? Flat feet need stability; high arches require flexible shoes. If your dogs tend to roll, get shoes that compensate for your foot’s propensity to tilt in or out. How to tell? Most specialty vendors will watch you jog around. Try on several pairs to see what works for you. Can’t get to a good store? Check out roadrunnersports.com, fill out a profile on the Shoe Dog page, and they’ll fetch tailored recommendations.

No single brand delivers the best value–or the best cushioning. Look for shoes in the range of $80 to $100. Cheaper ones tend to offer less support and can cause injuries. And since your feet tend to swell throughout the day, shop in the afternoon. Just do your homework before working out.

title: “Tip Sheet” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-14” author: “John Yarbrough”

The weather’s finally warming up. Now what do you need to really enjoy your holidays this year? Tip Sheet took a quick look and found a number of things we can’t live without. A sampling:

3-in-1 Shampoo, Conditioner & Body Wash Philosophy Heat up that outdoor shower. With “flavors” like Key lime and raspberry sorbet, you can skip that trip to the ice-cream shack. $16 at philosophy.com.

Beach outfit Dropped your ice cream? Look cute whining about it. Hat: $37; see www.petit bateau.com for stores. Swimsuit and terry slides: $22.50 and $16 at gymboree.com.

Waikiki hat Helen Kaminski Stash the Uggs and try on this Aussie beauty. $168 at delmarhat.com.

C-4 Outdoor Cooker Viking Make the neighbors green with envy. Not only does it grill hot dogs, it smokes turkeys and bakes pies. From $4,350; vikingrange.com for stores.

iPod speakers Altec Lansing Build a tiny stereo with big bass sound. $149 at apple.com.

Philippe Starck watches Fossil Brainy and beautiful, with two alarms and water resistance to 30.5 meters. $95 at fossil.com.

Cell-phone bag Mixx Even cell phones need summer clothes. Keep yours sand-free and stylish. $15 at flight001.com.

Men’s ties If you haven’t noticed, bold, striped ties are in, and Thomas Pink and Charles Tyrwhitt make some of the best. $95 each at www.thomaspink.com; $80 and $59 at www.ctshirts.co.uk.

TRAVEL

Beyond Partying

Amsterdam, where 80 percent of residents travel by bicycle, has a decidedly slow pace. A guide to a laid-back destination:

EAT. At INES ISPC, a restaurant-cum-private club known for great Mediterranean-Asian fusion. (31-20-6392899).
DRINK. Sip cocktails while lounging on thick mattresses at the Supper Club, before the tempo brings everyone to the floor (31-20-6380513).
SLEEP. Seven One Seven is the address for serious pampering. The dream room is the Picasso Suite, overlooking Prinsengracht Canal (from $464, www.717hotel.nl).
SHOP. Meander around the leafy Jordaan neighborhood with its quirky boutiques and quaint cafes. For high-end shopping, head to Pieter Cornelisz Hooftstraat.
SEE. The Van Gogh Museum (www.vangoghmuseum.nl), of course, but also the contemporary art gallery Stedelijk (stedelijkmuseum.nl) or the classic Rijksmuseum (rijksmuseum.nl).

Touring: Sights By Scooter

On your next trip to Paris, skip those double-decker sightseeing buses and hop instead on a Segway “personal transportation device.” A four-hour tour starts with a 40-minute demonstration of how to use the Segway, a self-balancing two-wheeler with tilt sensors. Its steering is impressive, too; the Segway can make a 360-degree turn on a centime.

An informative guide leads the group like ducklings, weaving through crowded streets and stopping occasionally to impart useful bits of information: the Pont de la Concorde is made of the stones from the toppled Bastille, for instance, or the cavity under the dome in the Invalides was used to hide U.S. pilots shot down during World War II. Reaction among the local population is mixed; Segway riders are regarded alternately as celebrities, aliens or lazy out-of-towners.

City Segway Tours offers day and night tours of Paris and Nice (parissegwaytours.com, 70 euro); tours in New Orleans, Washington, D.C., and Chicago are coming soon. Other companies are offering similar tours elsewhere, including London (segways.co.uk ); Bangkok (thailandsegwaytours.com ); Minneapolis (humanonastick.com); and Hawaii (segwayhi.com/tours).

Road Test: BMW 645ci

Topless Fun

You might as well call that little black Sport button on the 645Ci’s center console the car’s very own jet pack. And when I pushed it, it felt like afterburners on the Batmobile kicked in; I was thrust back. And no wonder–it’s the same big, 4.4-liter, 325-horsepower V-8 engine found on the heavier 7 Series. Cheap thrills? Not really; it is, after all, a BMW.

Bimmer fans have waited 15 years for the relaunch of the 6 Series, known to be the luxury sport model. With a shorter wheelbase than the 5 Series, and wearing more lightweight components, the 645Ci is deft and powerful, with balletlike handling. The back seat is roomy enough for two passengers, though maybe not for long trips. And trunk space is surprisingly generous. But all is not perfect. The convertible’s design is an odd combination of bland and chunky, with large pieces of sheet metal contorted into inelegant configurations. And that nasty iDrive computer system makes it hard to program the radio stations–much less the air conditioning. But when that alluring low grumble emanates from the dual tailpipes, I smile and all is forgiven.

Tip: For a sleeker look, opt for the coupe and save $7,000.

Health

Patch Up That Scar

Unless you’re Harry Potter, friends probably don’t admire your scars. So make them go away. Over-the-counter “scar sheets” from brands like Neosporin and Band-Aid are proliferating. But do they really work? Most of the adhesive patches contain silicone, which studies show can soften scars (the sheets aren’t meant to be used on open wounds, so let them heal first). Two caveats: the patches are more effective on raised scars. And they must be worn for at least eight weeks. Of the topical gels that claim to reduce scarring, Mederma “probably works best,” says Dr. Hayes Gladstone, director of the division of dermasurgery at Stanford University. Experts advise you to keep a new scar in the shade; apply sunscreen and a moisturizer, or vitamin E, regularly. If it doesn’t improve after several months, a dermatologist may be able to flatten and fade it with a laser. That way you won’t be scarred for life.

title: “Tip Sheet” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-06” author: “Steven Escobedo”

STAY at the Conrad Hotel, the newest five-star to open in the city center. Reachable from the sky train, it has topnotch amenities, plus the hot nightclub 87.

EAT at Lana Thai off Sukhumvit Road in the heart of the city. Featuring sumptuous Thai dishes, this new restaurant is surrounded by a garden and waterfall.

DANCE at Bangkok’s newest nightclub, Mystique. It’s a trip back to the ’70s with funk, disco, blues and hip-hop in an up-market, three-story venue that looks like Dracula’s castle.

SHOP at Suan Lum Night Bazaar, which features clothing, antiques, ceramics, silk, handicrafts and electronics, as well as restaurants, beer gardens and entertainment–including Thai dancing and puppet theater.

Those craving air conditioning can hit Siam Square and the nearby Discovery Centre, which have hundreds of stores.

title: “Tip Sheet” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-19” author: “John Myers”

Trips For Trailblazers

If you relish beating the crowds to up-and- coming destinations, you should be looking at central Africa, and at Libya. The North African nation has long been popular among British, German and Italian tourists. Now the Americans are coming. Since Washington lifted a 23-year-old travel ban to Libya in February, more than a dozen U.S. tour operators have begun organizing trips. The Libyan Embassy in Canada, which currently accepts North American applications, received more than 60 U.S. requests in March alone.

There is plenty of reason to go. Libya boasts five World Heritage sites–including Leptis Magna, the largest and best-preserved Roman city outside Italy–and Cyrene, an ancient Greek city that’s home to the temples of Zeus and Apollo. The accommodations are improving, too; Tripoli has the five-star Corinthia Bab Africa Hotel, and the Netherlands and Italy recently announced plans to build resorts along the Mediterranean coast.

Adventurers have been heading to war-ravaged Uganda and Rwanda since the United States and Britain lifted travel restrictions nearly two years ago. The chief attraction: tracking the region’s 650 remaining mountain gorillas. Rwanda issued 7,305 gorilla-trekking permits in 2003–up from 2,155 in 2001.

Such trailblazing trips are not for the faint of heart; Rwanda recently boosted its military presence in Volcanoes National Park after a fire fight between Rwandan rebels and the Rwandan Army near the gorillas’ habitat. But they can be rewarding. A sampling of tours:

Primate Safaris (prima-tesafaris@rwanda1.com) Arrive in shape for four days of gorilla trekking in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park; it can take hours of hiking up volcanoes before you find a gorilla family to watch. From $1,450.

Volcanoes Safaris (volca noessafaris.com) The Classic Uganda and Rwanda 12-day safari includes rare overnight stays in all three gorilla parks–Bwindi and Mgahinga in Uganda, and in Rwanda. Professional trackers follow gorillas at night so guests can see them in the morning. From $3,600.

Dragoman (Dragoman.com)

The North Africa, Libya and Cairo trip begins with three weeks in Libya. After visiting the ruins, you cross the Sahara by camel and jeep, then decamp in Egypt. From $3,015.

Bestway Tours & Safaris (www.bestway.com)

The 13-day Libya: From the Sahara to the Mediterranean tour stops frequently at local markets and mosques. Libyans even invite groups into their homes. From $2,800.

DUBROVNIK

Adriatic Jewel

George Bernard Shaw called Dubrovnik, Croatia, paradise on earth. The rest of Europe has caught on; this gem on the Adriatic is the in place to be this summer. Tip Sheet paid a visit before the crowds to check it out:

STAY at the Grand Villa Argentina (hoteliargentina.hr), which is close to the Old Town and boasts a private beach, gorgeous rooms, a spa and indoor and outdoor pools.

EAT next door at the Taverna Rustica for delicious seafood and a fabulous view of nearby Lokrum Island. Or try Dundo Maroje, a cramped but cozy local favorite in the Old Town.

SHOP at Dardin Gallery for gorgeous (if overpriced) chunky jewelry. Excellent art galleries–like Studio 57 and Gallery Sebastian–are scattered through the Old Town.

TOUR the city walls–the most dramatic in all of Europe–for exceptional views. From here you can see how the city’s been refurbished since the shelling ended in 1992. (Nearly 70 percent of all Old Town buildings took at least one direct hit.)

BEAUTY

HAIRCUTS FOR LESS

A quality cut and blow-dry don’t come cheap. Fortunately, several upscale hairdressers have student salons to ease the pocketbook pain:

Trendy Toni & Guy has academies from London to Tokyo, where a cut and blow-dry cost $9 (normally $86; www.toniandguy.co.uk).

Custom color treatments at Vidal Sassoon’s schools in the United States, Germany, Britain and Canada start at $30 (normally from $45; sassoon.com).

Ecofriendly Aveda Advanced Academies–in Berlin, London, Minneapolis and Toronto–will cut your hair at no cost (aveda.com). The catch: you must be “open-minded.”

TECHNOLOGY

Reruns On The Go

Couch potatoes are so ’90s. With Sharp’s Wireless Aquos liquid-crystal TV, you can catch “Friends” reruns while wandering the house. The LC-15L1U-S model ($1,800) has a 15-inch screen with up to three hours of battery time. The set comes with a Wi-Fi transmitter for easy hookup to cable feed, camcorder or DVD player. But you have to stay within 50 feet of the box.

HEALTH

A Thorny Pastime

Ah, the joys of gardening: spring sunshine, muddy knees, gorgeous pink peonies. It’s good for both body and soul. But tending to your flower or veggie bed can also do damage–especially to your back and joints. Before you even start the digging, do a five-minute warm-up: stretch your arms and legs, take a quick walk around the yard. Reduce your odds of strains and sprains by avoiding the squats and bends as much as possible. Long-handled tools limit the awkward stretching that can hurt your back, which should be flat, not twisted. Cushioning pads or a sitting stool will reduce pressure on the knees. And shears with soft grips can help ward off repetitive-stress problems. Be sure to mix up the tasks. “Dig one or two holes, then do some pruning,” says horticulturist Charlie Nardozzi of the U.S. National Gardening Association. “That way you’re not stressing the same area of the body over and over again.” Wear a hat and gloves, drink lots of water and slap on the sunscreen. And, of course, don’t forget to smell the roses.

title: “Tip Sheet” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-08” author: “Calvin Barrett”

To calculate how many steps you take, buy a pedometer, a motion-sensitive device that resembles a tiny beeper and clips onto your waistband. “It’s a great motivator,” says Dixie Thompson, the study’s lead author. Penn State University exercise physiologist Guy Le Masurier recommends the Walk4-Life LS2525 ($29, available at walk4life.com) and the Yamax Digi-Walker SW-701 ($24 to $30, at thepedometer company.com).

Track the number of steps you take on an ordinary day and work up to your goal. Aim for a brisk pace of 100 to 150 steps per minute. But don’t fret if you walk slower–anything beats sitting on your couch and eating ice cream.

title: “Tip Sheet” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-24” author: “Philip Vasquez”

Flying “business” used to entitle employees not just to unlimited wine and legroom but also to pampered, restriction-free travel. That meant a personal trip planner and the flexibility to take an earlier flight if the conference got boring. Then came the 2001 terrorist attacks, the global recession, the war in Iraq and SARS. Businesses, which used to account for 70 percent of airlines’ revenue, slashed their travel budgets, replacing face-to-face meetings with videoconferences and luxury air travel with trains. Meanwhile, low-cost carriers drove down standard ticket prices so much that economy-class fares are now on average six times cheaper than business class.

With the recession lifting and cross-border business booming, business travelers are starting to see the end of box-lunch coach travel. The first quarter of this year saw the greatest upturn in business travel budgets since before 9/11–15 percent more than the first quarter of 2003, according to the American Express Business Travel Monitor. “Business-travel confidence is coming back very strongly everywhere,” says Alex Kyriakidis, Deloitte & Touche’s head of travel and tourism. But corporate travel managers haven’t forgotten the lessons of the recession: business travel is a controllable expense. “What we’ve seen is smart policies staying in effect as the standard,” says Melissa Abernathy, chief of public affairs at AmEx’s business travel center. Translation: to fly business, employees will have to keep costs down, and the accoutrements–flexibility and a personal trip planner–are probably gone for good.

To manage costs, businesses are firing their travel agents and logging themselves on to the Web: last year, 23 percent of corporations booked their travel online, a figure that U.S.-based market researchers PhoCusWright expects to rise to 34 percent by 2005. Fueling this trend, many travel sites have launched services aimed at business-travelers. Expedia.com’s Expedia Corporate and Orbitz.com’s Orbitz for Business offer savings of 60 percent to 75 percent on transaction fees by eliminating the human intermediary. Mark Jones, the CEO of Lastminute.com’s new corporate arm, Travelstore.com, says that having employees book their own flights “saves money across the board.” In addition to slashed transaction fees, the business-class tickets are generally 10 percent to 15 percent less; when people make their own arrangements, what the industry calls “visual guilt” often prevails, and they’ll book themselves onto the cheapest flight.

That doesn’t mean business travelers have to give up all their luxuries, though. Even if your company refuses to shell out extra to buy a business-class ticket doesn’t mean you have to fly economy. “Just in time” deals are cropping up–particularly on airlines in the developing world–to allow economy travelers to upgrade at the airport on the day of travel for very reasonable prices. No matter how cheap your baseline economy ticket, for example, you can dish out an extra 400 on Thai Airways (for a London-to-Bangkok flight) or $300 on Ethiopian Airlines (for almost any flight) and ride business class one way–a savings of at least 50 percent on business tickets bought prior to the day of travel.

Elite carriers are also cashing in on the idea. But to avoid deterring business travelers willing to pay full fare, they’re keeping quiet. Cyprus Airways and Aer Lingus say last-minute upgrade deals are common when business class isn’t full. Passengers should ask. Whenever United Airlines has open seats in business class, it hands out free upgrades to its frequent flyers, whose fidelity pays off in the long run. British Airways admits to a policy of selling cheap upgrades at the “discretion” of the check-in manager: “It’s something we do, but it’s not something we advertise,” says a spokesperson. Now you know.

Take A Break For Shopping

Do Buy In Dubai

The millions of business travelers who pass through this Gulf sheikdom can while away their down time at one of 30 outsize shopping malls, which peddle everything from cars to couture. TIP SHEET went on a shopping spree:

Some pocketbooks take their biggest hit at Dubai International Airport, where the vast duty-free store ranks among the world’s top five for turnover. Don’t miss the new gold shop, where prices are set by weight and craftsmanship.

Or try the Deira City Centre, with a whopping 240 stores under one roof, including international names like IKEA, Virgin and Carrefour. Big spenders with a weakness for classy labels can head for Wafi City Mall, home to Chanel, Givenchy, Chopard and many more. Tightwads can just admire the architecture, notably the giant glass pyramid.

A tad more relaxed is the 300,000-square-foot Burjuman Centre, undergoing a massive expansion. Coming soon: Saks Fifth Avenue.

Still got the urge to splurge? Now on the drawing board is the 150-story Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest tower. Its centerpiece? The world’s largest shopping mall, natch.

AIRPORTS

Layovers To Love

Not every layover has to provoke boredom, annoyance or overcaffeination. Tip Sheet’s favorite airports to be stuck in between flights:

Amsterdam (AMS): Spend your layover with the Dutch masters at the Rijksmuseum’s free mini-gallery at Schiphol (schiphol.nl). Or gamble at the Holland Casino.

Abu Dhabi (AUH): Fore! Between flights, squeeze in an 18-hole (par-71) golf game on the sandy turf at Al Ghazal Golf Club. Or hit a few balls at its driving range (clubs provided), only 500 meters from the airport (addf.ae).

Munich (MUC): Enjoy live music at the airport (www.munich-airport.de) microbrewery, Airbru. If you’re with kids, Kinderland has free child care.

San Francisco (SFO): The modern and airy airport (www.flysfo.com) boasts 20 art galleries with rotating exhibits, an aquarium and an aviation museum.

Singapore (SIN): At Changi (www.changi.airport.com.sg), erase the stresses of travel with massage, aromatherapy and reflexology treatments, a swim or a stroll through the gardens.

Toasts

Put On The Ritz

The civilized way to cinch a business deal in London is over a glass of Grandes Marques champagne. But where can you find tete de cuvee champagnes by the glass? Try the Ritz London (www.theritzlondon.com). As its centennial celebration in 2006 approaches, the hotel’s restaurants and bars will feature bubbly by the glass, bottle and magnum by a different top champagne house. “You can try four different cuvees from one house and not have to buy an entire bottle,” says the Ritz’s Jeremy Dowmer. Among the offerings later this year: Moet & Chandon and Dom Perignon. “We’re just releasing the [Dom Perignon] 1996 vintage, which is forceful and muscular,” says Richard Geoffroy, the company’s wine maker. “It’s the perfect complement to a successful business dinner.”

Books

Tips To Travel By

One thing about traveling: it gives you plenty of time to read. Tip Sheet found some material that can help make the rest of your trip go a lot smoother:

In Guerrilla Travel Tactics (272 pages. AMACOM), authors Jay Conrad Levinson and Theo Brandt-Sarif answer such critical questions as how to book last-minute airfares without paying a fortune and what’s the optimal way to use Internet travel services. Peter Greenberg’s Hotel Secrets From the Travel Detective (292 pages. Villard) offers practical guidelines, like how to tell whether your room is really clean and what foods you should never order from room service. For the novice business traveler, The Itty Bitty Guide to Business Travel (127 pages. Chronicle Books) provides helpful tips, from figuring out what your goals for the trip are to compiling checklists that help you get out the door. Never Again: A Self-Defense Guide for the Flying Public (186 pages. Brown Books) aims to help you arrive safely at your destination, with illustrated examples of how to “de-escalate” minor confrontations as well as when and how to get involved in case of a major attack. In these security-conscious times, a little knowledge can go a long way.

Fitness

Exercise Options

Exercising can be tough when you’re on the road. But with a lightweight item or two, you can pack a workout that still packs a wallop. Walking is a simple way to stay in shape as you travel. To amp up your routine, try the Fittrek System (fittrek.com; $160), collapsible walking poles that attach to a power belt to give you aerobic and resistance training in one workout. Or bring along the Traveling Trainer (SpriProducts.com; $40), a gym-in-a-bag kit that comes with three Xertube exercise bands of varied resistance, a door attachment and a 26-minute exercise video. For weight trainers, taking a pair of 10kg dumbbells on a business trip might seem like a dumb idea, but with AquaBells (aquabells.com; $50) it holds water–literally. Deflated, they weigh less than 737 grams and fit in your briefcase, but fill them up with water and you can keep those biceps bulging.

title: “Tip Sheet” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-04” author: “Hal Harrison”

Cold Comfort Indeed

All the flu going around in the past few months has eclipsed that usual winter complaint: the common cold. But sniffles and coughing have one problem the flu doesn’t. While antivirals can quell multiple flu symptoms in days, the common cold has no cure–only a host of sprays and syrups promising to temporarily soothe its many individual symptoms. Now, as alternative medicine has started earning acceptance (though somewhat grudgingly) in modern medical circles, scientists are starting to look closely at the dozens of alternative cold remedies on drugstore shelves. Should you spend your money on any of them, or just wait out the symptoms until you can breathe easy again?

Of all the potential remedies, vitamin C is probably the best known–and it comes in tasty drops. But as for effectiveness, it gets an F. The C myth was started by the otherwise brilliant chemist Linus Pauling, who became convinced that large doses could stop a cold’s symptoms and shorten its duration. Early studies hinted that Pauling might be right, but scientists now say those results were evidence of little more than a placebo effect. (Patients who knew they were taking C fared well, but those who took it unknowingly did no better than the control group.) Everyone seems to agree that large doses of vitamin C cause only one thing: diarrhea.

The results on zinc are less clear. In some studies it cut colds short and reduced several symptoms by as much as half; in others it did nothing. “It’s been very difficult to reconcile,” says cold researcher Ron Turner of the University of Virginia. He thinks there may be a placebo effect at work here, too. But many doctors swear by zinc, so it may be a good bet. And though traditional zinc lozenges do taste–how shall we put this?–disgusting, Zicam has a new quick-dissolving chewable that’s much more palatable. For the squeamish, there’s a nasal powder.

As for herbs, you might as well just use most of them to season your chicken soup. Goldenseal, first used by the Cherokees, can interfere with anticoagulants, so it’s best to avoid it altogether if you’re on those medications. Astragalus and elderberry aren’t bad for you, but there’s little research indicating they’re good for you, either. The only herb favored by science is echinacea–and even that is controversial. A new study from The Journal of the American Medical Association shows that it keeps kids from getting colds, but others suggest it’s useless for adults. Echinacea comes in three forms that may vary in effectiveness. Because the herbal industry is almost completely unregulated, there’s no way to know which one you’re getting.

Big Pharma has a big hole to fill. Because colds are caused by many germs, they’re difficult to target with pharmaceuticals (heavy side effects are unacceptable when treating a relatively innocuous disease). But a few drugs are in the pipeline, including pleconaril, an antiviral that targets many different cold germs. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration originally shot down an oral version of pleconaril because it interfered with hormonal birth control. Drugmaker ViroPharma hopes a new nasal form will be safer; if it wins approval, it could be available by 2006. Until then, though, you’re probably best off relying on the only “cures” known to work for everyone: time and chicken soup.

WASABI

NOT JUST FOR SUSHI ANYMORE

You know that spicy green goo that sits so nicely in a dish of soy sauce? Well, wasabi, or Japanese horseradish, is breaking out of the sushi bar. It’s turning up as a topping for hot dogs, popcorn and salad. Wasabi-flavored cheese is even rumored to be in the works. TIP SHEET asked the folks at Wasabi Watusi–a California-based company named after the “dance” your nose does after you taste the potent plant–for ways to put your wasabi to use. (For more details, go to wasabiwatusi.com.)

Peanuts

Forget salted or unsalted. Put out a bowl of wasabi-flavored snacks and introduce your dinner guests to some real nutty action.

Wasabi Asian oil

It’s hard to concoct this one yourself. But it’s worth the trip online, or to your local specialty shop. It can be dashed on almost anything, and is especially good on mashed potatoes.

Popcorn

Take wasabi paste (it comes in a tube) and add it to the butter.

Wasabi mayo

It works great on sandwiches. Mix your own, or buy it off the shelf.

HEALTH

New Year’s Health Resolutions

Remember all those big promises you made to yourself last week to kick off the new year, like quitting smoking and getting in shape? If you find yourself slipping a bit already, check out myGoals.com. Think of it as a next-generation personal planner, translating your goal into a detailed plan. It also nudges you along with regular e-mails, links to online info and advice on how to overcome obstacles (think boredom, laziness, potato chips). Much of the site is free to start, including some standard plans like the popular “lose 10 pounds.”

For continuing help, you’ll need to spend $5.95 a month, or $49.95 a year. Then you can set as many goals as you’d like. Weight-loss is the one most frequently chosen by regulars, who agree to follow dozens of specific baby steps (keep a food journal, drink eight glasses of water a day, etc.).

Joe White, 28, is a fan. He’s ripped, and he credits myGoals.com. The site helped White lose 10 kilos over three months, relying on its constant coaching to push him through a rigorous body-building program. “I worked really hard, and you’ve got to inspire yourself,” he says. “But the site kept me going.”

Site founder Greg Helmstetter says everyone can use help. “A goal without a plan is wishful thinking. Once you’ve got marching orders, you know exactly what to do on Monday morning.” Hint: it’s not Twinkies.

TECHNOLOGY

Secret Hideaway

The clipdrive bio, from Memory Experts International, is the first memory key chain with a built-in sensor that scans fingerprints to decide whether a person is authorized to access its contents. Plug it into a USB port and it acts like an ordinary disk drive, but with two halves: hidden, which only fingerprint-matched people can access, and public. This 007 gadgetry isn’t cheap; the ClipDrive Bio ranges from $120 for 64MB, to $900 for two gigs of storage.

ASK TIP SHEET

Why does scratching make you stop itching?

This question has puzzled scientists for years. Not much is known about itching, but it likely evolved as a defense mechanism, alerting the nerves to possible harm. When an irritant touches your skin, many nerves send a signal racing to your cerebral cortex. The same nerves transmit pain. By scratching (i.e., causing yourself mild pain), you distract them from the itch. By the time the pain subsides, the irritant is usually gone–unless it’s something like a bug bite, which is why scratching those works only for a minute or two.

FOOD

Orangey Blossom

What’s good about January? Wrong. The Winter Olympics aren’t ’til 2006. This is (drumroll, please) the only month when you can get honeybells. This cross between a grapefruit and a tangerine is a must-have to perk you up after the holidays are over. Fans of the bell-shaped fruit call it the juiciest, sweetest citrus around. You can order 30 pounds (13.6 kilos) for $42.95 at alsfamilyfarms.com. Or try baby bells at palmbeach groves.com. Our tip: eat ’em over the sink.

ONLINE

SWM Seeks An Edge

We’re not sure when online dating went from creepy to cutthroat, but those snarky ads posted by single hipsters are suddenly ubiquitous. How to compete? Easy: a growing cottage industry wants to help you score. “I can’t tell you how many profiles I see saying, ‘I am just as comfortable in a little black dress as I am in jeans’,” says Dave Evans, CEO of profiledoctor.com. For $35, he’ll edit your ad. Be specific, he advises: Are you a George W. Bush fan in a big sedan? Or are you a motorcycle-riding free spirit, who thinks he’s daft? For $100, Evan Marc Katz of e-cyrano.com will write your profile for you (after he interviews you). “It’s more competitive than ever out there,” he says. Still, sounding clever is moot if your online photo says “mutt.” Need a touch-up? SoulmatePics.com does photo sessions in 15 U.S. cities from $129. Beware: a great profile may lead to first-date overload. “I wasn’t getting enough hits,” says Susan Levine, 49, of life before a $125 photo session with Single Shots.com. “Now I’m always dating. That’s the problem.”

MEDICINE

Beware This Buzz

After a government regulatory body in the United States announced last week it would ban ephedra, many retailers said people rushed to stock up on “ephedra-free” replacements. It’s best to avoid these dangerous stimulants altogether, though. Most of the new–and untested–products combine ingredients like synephrine, green-tea extract, yerba mate, kola nut or guarana with caffeine, which can cause stimulative effects similar to ephedra. The mixture may carry risks for people with high blood pressure, coronary disease or diabetes. Have a shot of espresso instead.

title: “Tip Sheet” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-25” author: “Clyde Laporta”

While working as a photojournalist in Africa during the summer of 2000, Joseph Kultgen ran into problems sending out mass e-mails to his friends and family back home. For one, he was limited in the number of people he could include on each list. Sometimes, messages bounced back because intended recipients didn’t have enough space in their inboxes. And some of his photo attachments simply didn’t get opened for fear of viruses. So he decided to set up his own travel Web site, uploading his photos himself, posting updates as he pleased and editing all the content. Then he had an epiphany: “I thought, ‘If everyone could do this, we could create a community’,” he says. And so, with the help of cofounder Jeremy Ahrens, Kultgen launched trekshare.com in October 2000.

Over the past few years, self-publishing Web sites that allow travelers to do everything while on the road–from uploading photos to posting “Hi Mom” notes to writing actual travelogues–have become increasingly popular. Trekshare.com’s membership has grown at a rate of 20 percent a month and now totals more than 10,000. (Ninety percent of users opt for the free package; 10 percent pay $7.95 a year for the privilege of using an advanced search engine and uploading digital video.) It now boasts 75,000 photos and 15,000 travelogues, which anyone can view after they’ve logged in. But Web sites like trekshare.com aren’t only for aspiring photojournalists or Paul Theroux wanna-bes. For sheer practicality, they can’t be beat. If you don’t want to clog your friends’ inboxes with silly pictures of you in scuba gear in Aruba, or waste valuable Himalayan-trekking time trying to resend e-mails, use one of the following sites to keep in touch with your loved ones while you’re away:

trekshare.com: It features easy-to-use and well-designed page templates and offers a monthly top-20 home-page list, which helps if you’re looking to keep up with the competition. There’s an interesting forum for discusion, too.

virtualtourist.com: When 57—year-old Geoff Wright from Cornwall, England, left for Los Angeles in May last year, he knew he wouldn’t be logging on for a day or so. “But my dear wife posted a message on [VT’s] forum [saying], ‘Where’s Geoff?’ " says Wright. “Several members replied, all saying that I was perfectly well, and for my wife not to worry.” That capacity for comfort through an online network, coupled with an extensive database of travelogues and handy traveling tips (broken down by region and including everything from health warnings to nightlife advice) makes virtualtourist.com a real find. It’s free as well. No wonder 400,000 people from 219 countries have signed up.

igougo.com: This free site is much more focused on travelogue writing than on quick notes to your buddies. Those lacking the patience to read a friend’s lengthy tome about So Tome should just turn to the message boards for the cut-to-the-chase “Hey, how are ya!” But it does include a rare treat: a special section for cruise-trip travelogues from sophisticated seafarers.

sharemytrip.com: A very basic nonpaying site, and appropriately simple to use. The no-frills approach pays off: many will appreciate the home pages’ lack of clutter for fast and easy readability.

mytripjournal.com: A top-notch site that boasts really cool maps and will automatically notify your friends and family when you update your site. But there’s a catch: prices range from $29 for a 60-day basic package to $99 for a 180-day premium package. The only real advantage to paying the big bucks is that you can upload as many photos as you like.

Shopping: Going Uptown For Discounts

Despite December discounting, holiday sales proved “very disappointing” across Europe, says Keith Church of Oxford Economic Forecasting. “Retailers are gloomy.” Not bargain hunters, however. A guide to the goodies:

London: Bagging bargains doesn’t have to mean standing in dressing-room queues at Selfridges. Go upmarket. Classy Old Bond Street–with its spacious designer stores–has slashed its prices. At Stella McCartney’s luxurious boutique, the fall/winter collection is half price; thigh-high boots are down from 375 to 137. At Ballantyne, timeless cashmere sweaters in a rainbow of colors soften the racks at 130 (down from 260). The quiet boulevard offers everything from classic Burberry and Dunhill to Alexander McQueen, where the temptress bustier dresses are half price.

Rome: Skip the famous shopping streets like Via Condotti and head instead to the capital’s newest outlet mall, Castel Romano, located near the suburb of Pomezia. This gaudy outdoor replica of imperial Rome consists of 90 designer-outlet stores. If you can overlook the bad decor and the “shopping empire” puns, you’ll find Gucci bags for as low as 30 and Guess jeans for around 20. No wonder Prada’s outlet is packed; shoes are marked down to an irresistible 35 a pair.

Paris: It’s illegal in France to hold sales except during two months a year: July–and January! Recent mild weather means winter jackets are plentiful at Printemps and Galeries Lafayette: a purple Cacharel coat goes for about 390, marked down from 779, and a gray Vanessa Bruno is just 198 (down from 330). A pair of Dolce & Gabbana pumps will set you back a mere 147.50. True bargain hunters will fare even better at La Vallee Outlet Shopping Village in Marne-la-Vallee–30 minutes by car from Paris–a Burberry swimsuit can be had for as little as 32. Or head out to the town of Troyes, home of the Marques Avenue’s 240 outlet stores. You’ll need one of the free maps to negotiate the dizzying array of post-Christmas bargains.

Fashion: Name Games

Style snobs like their secrets. For today’s discerning men and women, it’s hip to have bespoke shirts embroidered with one’s initials–where no one can see them. At Hong Kong’s Jantzen Tailor, Ricky Ho says his most tasteful clients are asking for monograms on the yoke or at the bottom edge of a garment. “They want custom-made shirts but don’t want to be too obvious,” says Ho. “It’s like the most expensive brands that don’t put a logo–but you know.” People who put their initials on shirt pockets or cuffs risk being labeled old-fashioned or, worse, arriviste tacky. And colorful embroidery is being replaced by the most discreet monogramming imaginable: white stitching on white fabric.

Health: Blowing Smoke

If you had resolved to quit smoking this year, you’ve probably already given up. But a new Cornell study of almost 2,500 smokers ought to encourage you to keep trying, especially if you’re female. The results show that women are twice as likely as men to get lung cancer. They’re also more likely to die from it. “We’ve got to reach out to these women,” says Dr. Claudia Henschke, the study’s author. “They shouldn’t start smoking, and they really need to stop.” Why they’re so vulnerable, no one knows; they may be more susceptible to carcinogens. Whatever the reason, the situation is grim for both sexes. Lung cancer is the most common cancer worldwide, accounting for 1.2 million deaths each year. It’s also largely preventable; those numbers are far too high.

title: “Tip Sheet” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-28” author: “Jerome Schwartz”

SUMMER SLIM

In the dead of winter, who can be blamed for settling into the couch with a six-pack of beer and a plate of those brownies from the holiday party? Now, though, it’s time to confront our bloated waistlines, contemplate the skimpy bathing suits we’ll wear this summer and… panic. Never fear, though. Each year gives rise to new diet products and fads–some effective, others simply strange. tip sheet surveys the latest trends around the world:

Exercise London boasts some of the most bizarre ways to get fit. At the hip fitness club Gymbox (gymbox.co.uk), the “Shag Workout” is gaining converts. The class offers 30-minutes of pelvic squeezing, thrusting and rotating, pulling moves from yoga and erotic dancing. LA Fitness (lafitness. co.uk) is planning a “sexercise” class with hip-lifts, and inner-thigh-strengthening exercises. In February, health-club chain Holmes Place launched a “speed-dating yoga,” where young singleites swap partners for each stretch (holmesplace.com). Romance buds sitting across from each other, eyes locked, legs spread, and feet touching, while pulling each other’s arms.

Diet products In Asia as well as Europe, a number of new products claim to facilitate weight loss without the hassle of actual effort. Contrex water, owned by Nestle, has moved into third place in the French bottled-water market, largely by claiming its high calcium and magnesium content spurs weight loss. Health experts are skeptical. A better solution may be Japanese “petit fasting.” Replace one or two meals a day with enzyme-rich vegetable juice or ginger tea. A growing number of online stores (great-antonio.jp/fasting_diet fasting.jp) are offering products to help give you the nutrients of a meal without the calories, such as nutritionally balanced vegetable juices.

Retreats In China, the Aimin Fat Education Hospital in Tianjin is drawing a growing number of foreign clients by offering a weight-loss plan blending Eastern and Western techniques, such as acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicines.

Chocolate The diet fad that promises the most adventure is the new Italian wine-and-chocolate reduction diet. (cercasalute.it/migliaccio/Dieta1.htm)

At a conference in Rome this month experts from prestigious universities like Rome’s La Sapienza agreed that chocolate not only keeps you younger, but makes you feel better and even improves libido. Sample menu: a breakfast of cappuccino with one teaspoon of sugar, and a croissant; for lunch, an 80-gram piece of bread with 40 grams of chocolate (or one ice cream cone); the mid-afternoon snack is one 20-gram bar of chocolate, and dinner includes one portion of meat or fish (not fried), 250 to 300 grams of vegetables, 30 grams of bread and a glass of red wine. We’re not sure if it works, but it sure sounds like fun.

TRAVEL

MAGIC SIENA

Florence isn’t the only beautiful city under the Tuscan sun; Siena boasts similarly impressive history, architecture and the region’s wondrous landscape (and wines). Highlights:

The Villa Scacciapensieri (villascacciapensieri.it) Located only 2.5 kilometers outside Siena’s city walls, it’s the perfect place to relax. Their glorious pool and gardens overlook the rolling hills and olive groves.

Enzo (39-0577-281277) Enjoy complimentary champagne when you dine at this famed fish restaurant. The Parmesan mousse with Parma ham and truffles is a culinary gem.

Piazza del Campo Sip wine and take in the sites at any number of wine bars and cafes that line the medieval square.

The Basilica of San Francesco It’s worth visiting because of its simplicity. Afterward, take in the over-the-top Duomo or cathedral, housing treasures by Donatello and Michelangelo.

title: “Tip Sheet” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-13” author: “Benjamin Cooper”

Syria Lam spent $300 for a wine-red, velvet Simonetta suit for her 3-year-old son to wear to a wedding. She considered it a good investment. “He was potty-trained,” says the Hong Kong mom of three, “so I didn’t worry about accidents.”

Never mind that he only wore it a few times. Increasingly, the best customers of designer labels are the parents of those in (or just out of) diapers. Indeed, the children’s market is one of the few clothing sectors left with room for big growth. Over the past five years, sales of kids’ attire have risen 30 percent in the U.K. alone, up to nearly 5 billion pounds, according to a 2004 report by Mintel International, a London-based market-research company. The report cites luxury labels as the driving force. “Even though people are having fewer children, they are spoiling the ones they have,” says Mintel’s Jenny Catlin.

High-end designers are keen to cash in. In the past year Dolce & Gabbana added a babies’ line to its kids’ collection, and Roberto Cavalli started one for junior boys; Giorgio Armani–who dropped his U.S. children’s line in 1995–decided to bring it back. Versace Young and Moschino added newborn and baby clothes to their youth collections. “Mothers spend more for themselves than their children,” says Linda Watt, a mother of three who recently bought Our Kids Boutique in London. “You feel proud when a stranger says, ‘Don’t they have lovely clothes!’ " Another London children’s boutique, Peppermint, expects to sell out of its D&G sheepskin jacket with rabbit trim, starting at size 2T. Price: $1,600.

New York schoolgirls Isabella and Sophia Barco, 6 and 3, have labels in their closet that many grown women would kill for: an Hermes red quilted jacket, a black Gucci dress and red Mary Janes by Moschino. “Most are for special occasions, like dinner at their grandparents’,” says mom Samantha. Isabella’s everyday favorite is a frogs-and-lily-pad dress by Moschino. “It is more age-appropriate,” says Samantha. “How many 6-year-olds do you see in a little black dress?”

Rather than reinvent the wheel for tykes, most designers simply reproduce kids’ versions of their adult lines, creating what many call “Mini-Me’s.” In Hong Kong and Shanghai, Abebi, which used to carry women’s handbags, sections off a corner of the children’s boutique to sell matching women’s shoes. Lam, who shops there three times a week, spending $100 to $300 each trip, sometimes walks away with more than shoes. “I am slim, so I can get lucky and find pants and dresses for myself in size 14 or 16,” says the 1.63-meter-tall woman.

If TIP SHEET’s kids were worth it, we’d buy them: Simonetta’s yellow-cardigan-and-plaid-skirt ensemble; a motorcycle jacket from Roberto Cavalli; Moschino Layette’s precious pink quilted skirt and jacket with hearts and question marks. Too bad our progeny spills chocolate ice cream on everything.

ART Broadway

Spring is busting out all over, and Broadway wants you to come inside and sit in the dark for a couple of hours. Here are our nominees for the Great White Way’s hot-test shows.

ASSASSINS by Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman: opens April 22 at Studio 54. Originally scheduled for 2001, this musical about presidential assassinations was too hot for a post-9/11 New York.

CAROLINE, OR CHANGE by Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori: opens May 2 at the Walter Kerr. A musical set in 1963 that examines the friendships between an African- American maid and her employers.

JUMPERS by Tom Stoppard: opens April 25 at the Brooks Atkinson. This classic features a corpse in a closet, rousing philosophical debates and a naked lady on a swing.

A RAISIN IN THE SUN by Lorraine Hansberry: opens April 26 at the Royale. Come for P. Diddy’s Broadway debut, but stay for three-time Tony winner Audra McDonald.

SIGHT UNSEEN by Donald Margulies: opens May 25 at the Biltmore. This tale of lost love told backward finally gets a

Broadway bow.

JEWELRY Bold Baubles

We never thought we’d say this, but diamonds are out. In Asia this season, semiprecious stones are in. “People like big rings but they don’t want to spend so much,” says Hong Kong jewelry designer Sandra D’Auriol. Bye-bye, girl’s best friend; hello citrine, amethyst and aquamarine.

SPIRITS THE REAL STINGER

Sorry, guys. Eating the worm doesn’t make you cool. But it shows you’re savvy enough to sample tequila’s older brother, mescal. The best, like Del Maguey ($65- $210), are wormless and taste smoky. Only recently has the quality stuff been widely exported. But beware Scorpion ($44-$63), which lives up to its name.

TRAVEL Gold-Medal Guides

With the Olympics set to drop into their ancient birthplace this August, publishers have issued a flood of new or Olympified guides to the Greek capital. If you’re planning on attending, make sure to pack copies of “TimeOut Athens” and the “Lonely Planet: Best of Athens,” which deliver hip-but-not-too-hip tips on the usual diversions, plus comprehensive listings of events, stadium charts and ways of snagging last-minute tickets to prized events. Lonely Planet also includes handy foldout maps to help you navigate the Olympic maze. Looking for some history and culture in between javelin tosses? Browse Fodor’s new “Athens: The Collected Traveler.” It’s a beguiling roundup of some of the best travel writing on the city, including a paean to Grecian olive oil and quirky insights into Athenian manners. Richard Stoneman’s “A Traveller’s History of Athens” offers a lively journey into the past, as does George Sarrinikolaou’s forthcoming “Facing Athens: Encounters With the Modern City.” Both show how today’s smoggy metropolis sprouted from the golden city of yore-and offer some welcome perspective on the Olympics themselves.

title: “Tip Sheet” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-17” author: “Monica Meyer”

LIVING LA VIDA LATINA

By Malcolm Beith

So you wanna salsa? Join the club. Salsa–the music and dance, not the condiment–derived from the traditional Cuban son in the 1950s. It later underwent various stylistic changes in New York, Miami, Puerto Rico and Colombia, among other places. In recent years salsa has undergone a second revolution, becoming the hottest hobby to take up from Seoul to Seville. (There’s now even a blossoming salsa scene in Beijing.) Aspiring salseros around the world are signing up for lessons in droves, then hitting newly opened salsatecas to dance the night away. But if you want to experience the real thing, head to one of these salsa hot spots to learn from true masters.

Havana: This year’s Festival Caliente, a salsa extravaganza held every March, has already come and gone. But there are still plenty of good clubs where you can practice your moves or just watch the best in the business. For tourists and richer locals, the Casa de la Musica clubs (the original is in the upscale suburb of Miramar, but a new one’s opened up in the center of town), which offer spectacular live performances and lots of opportunities to dance, are numero uno.

San Juan, Puerto Rico: If you can, hit July’s Puerto Rico Salsa Congress, a nine-day performance and competition extravaganza ($400 for a full pass at www.prsalsacongress.com), and watch some of the world’s top salseros show off. When you feel inspired, polish your own footwork at the various workshops.

New York: The New York Salsa Congress from Aug. 19 to 22 is the Big Apple for competitors. (Tickets, including workshops, are $300 at nycsalsacongress.com.) But New York boasts plenty for the average salsero, too. The Copacabana nightclub in midtown has got the Latin spirit down–from the stiff cover charge and metal detectors at the door to the made-up, scantily clad nenas inside. This place sizzles even in midwinter.

Cali, Colombia: Like every other city with a little ritmo, Cali calls itself the world’s “capital of salsa.” But Cali at least works for the title. Avenida Sexta boasts more than a dozen salsatecas like Las Cascadas de la Sexta and Las Brisas de la Sexta, which in turn boast no cover charge. The best venue though, especially for those who like only to watch, is Chango in the suburb of Juanchito. The grace and agility of the dance-floor regulars will sweep you off your feet.

Specialty tours are another way to satisfy your salsa cravings. Check out www.danceholidays.com or cubasalsaholidays.com for more info on package tours of salsa hot spots. The trips usually cost about $1,000 or more–which might sound a little pricey, but everything’s normally included, from your flight to dance lessons with local salseros. Some sites, like salsacrazy.com, even organize cruises in the Caribbean for salsa aficionados (eight days of dancing off the Mexican Riviera from just $799–azucar!)

If you don’t plan on visiting the bastions of salsa, don’t worry; chances are salsa has already come to where you are or where you’re going–salsapower.com and salsatecas.de offer comprehensive listings of worldwide salsa clubs. Or just Google “salsa club” or “salsa festival” and your hometown. Besides having its own great salsa bars, almost every major city in the world, from London (our recommendation: La Finca, in Islington) to Bangkok (our fave club: La Rueda, on Sukhumvit, which offers classes, serves a mean mojito and doesn’t have bar girls), now hosts its own festivals each year. They’ll make it easy to find your footing.

Sublime in Summertime

Jazz lovers will find a host of cool grooves across Europe this summer. Some of the highlights:

The Blue Note Jazz Festival, Paris, France (bluenote europe.com), April 5-May 1. Wynton Marsalis, Medeski Martin and Wood, and more.

Montreux Jazz Festival, Montreux, Switzerland (montreuxjazz.com), July 2-17. The Continent’s oldest festival; no public lineup yet.

Molde Jazz Festival, Molde, Norway (www.moldejazz.no), July 12-17. Branford Marsalis, Stevie Wonder and jams along a fjord.

San Sebastian Jazz Festival, San Sebastian, Spain (jazzaldia.com), July 24-29. Herbie Hancock and Van Morrison are expected.

Vilnius Jazz Festival, Vilnius, Lithuania(www.vilniusjazz.lt), Sept. 16-19. Eastern European greats and jazz masters like Finland’s Quintet Moderne.

LEISURE

Cooling Cocktail

One of the best ways to stay cool as the weather heats up is to sip an inspired cocktail. Here are suggestions from some of the world’s hippest bars:

London: At the Electric Brasserie try the litchi-rose martini, a mix of litchi vodka, litchi liqueur, rose syrup and the exotic fruit itself.

Dublin: At Cocoon the potion is called paradise: gin mixed with apricot brandy, a dash of lime and a shot of orange juice.

Moscow: At Santa Fe, a Tex-Mex restaurant near the Moscow River, strawberry Margaritas are the order of??the day.

Paris: At the Ritz’s Hemingway Bar, the Benderitter–champagne, ginger extract and a twist of orange–is the drink to sip.

Rome: Try the cucumber cosmo martini with vodka, fresh cucumber, cranberry juice and triple sec at the posh Stravinskij Bar.

Tokyo: The Orchid Bar’s Diva, with champagne, mangos, amaretto and shochu, is delicious.

title: “Tip Sheet” ShowToc: true date: “2023-01-26” author: “Ethel Brown”

Ritzy Rooms For Less

Business travelers used to be the cash cows of the hotel business. Armed with corporate credit cards and expense accounts, they’d happily lay down hundreds of dollars per night for the privilege of a Godiva chocolate on their pillow and a sunken whirlpool tub in their bathroom. But just as prolonged corporate belt-tightening has forced road warriors to use budget airlines, more and more of them are now eschewing five-star lodging in favor of cheaper accommodations. “Top executives used to be able to spend whatever they liked on a room,” says Alex Kyriakidis, managing partner in charge of travel and tourism for Deloitte & Touche. “Now even the top business-travel spenders like IBM or Goldman Sachs are putting stricter controls on where their employees stay.” Indeed, earlier this year the U.S.-based National Business Travel Association released figures showing that 61 percent of corporate travel managers planned to book their people into lower-priced hotels in the coming year.

Here’s the good news: penny-pinching is translating into better deals at cheap and upmarket hotels alike. Services at middle-market hotels are rising to accommodate a new wave of more demanding corporate customers. And luxury hotels are working harder to keep business travelers coming, offering lower rates, special packages and extra services. Even though business-travel volume is set to rise by more than 4 percent in 2004 after three dismal years, hotels will continue to be under pressure–in large part because a weak dollar is forcing American business travelers (the richest chunk of the market) to search for value.

Some of the best deals are coming from the big chains. In January Starwood Hotels announced it would upgrade its global middle-market brand, Four Points, by rolling out free high-speed wireless Internet access in all guest rooms, adding plusher beds (with 200-thread-count sheets) and stocking each room with complimentary mineral water. On the flip side, upscale brands like InterContinental and Ritz-Carlton are selling empty rooms at discount rates via online services like Expedia.com or Lastminute.com. That has the knock-on effect of depressing luxury-room prices, because corporate travel managers can now demand that hotels match their own discount prices all the time. InterContinental hotels in France and Germany have been hit so hard that they are actually repricing their rooms to reflect rates before the dollar began falling. Upscale hotels like Waldorf-Astoria, Sofitel and W are also trying to offer extra services, like expanded luxury shops that sell everything from silk carpets to motorcycles.

But beware new, hidden fees. In an effort to make up some of –their lost revenue, hotels are starting to charge corporate travelers for things that used to be free–including breakfast, banquet or meeting rooms, or the use of fitness facilities. “Companies should be on the lookout for these, and remember that they have leverage to negotiate them away,” says Bjorn Hanson, head of PriceWaterhouseCoopers’ travel-and-tourism division. The same goes for rates; the National Business Travel Association says many of its members are locking in current room rates not just for the usual one year but for two or three.

Aside from saving companies money, the trend in frugal business travel may give rise to a whole new market segment: the buy-to-let hotel room. Last week in London, British property developer Johnny Sandelson launched GuestInvest, a boutique hotel in Notting Hill where users can purchase a room for [Pound sterling]235,000, use it for a maximum of 52 nights a year themselves, then rent it out the rest of the time to make extra money. It seems an idea whose time has come: GuestInvest says it has already fielded hundreds of calls from business people interested in making a cheaper hotel their second home.

Beyond The Gray

Latin America’s premier business destination is overgrown with big, boring luxury hotels. But tucked among the gray monuments lie a few gems:

The newest is the Fasano, a handsome, 25-story neo art deco slab with a great clock on its front. The 68-room hotel has a health club on the roof and a hushed lobby with plump easy chairs and a reception desk hidden behind the jazz bar.

Hotel Unique is shaped like half a watermelon and sheathed in metal and steel. A minimalist lobby ends in a horseshoe bar, set beneath 16 shelves of colored bottles. Up top the Skye bar opens onto a deck with a panoramic view of the city.

Hotel Emiliano is a petite granite stylus of a building so understated it has no sign. After a welcome glass of champagne, guests are initiated into the wonders of plasma TV and heated toilet seats.

HEALTH | TRAVEL FITNESS

Stress-Free Flying

In this era of heightened alerts, cramped seats and increased security, flying is often anything but relaxing. To combat the tension, TIP SHEET spoke to Bess Abrahams, a certified yoga instructor and coauthor of “Airplane Yoga” (109 pages. Riverhead), who suggests airborne execs try the following onboard exercises:

EAGLE STRETCH: Position yourself in the aisle or lavatory as shown. Move your elbows away from your chest and upward. Stretch, but don’t strain.

WRIST STRETCHES: Roll up a barf bag with your hands slightly apart. Breathing in and out, pretend you are wringing out a towel.

OVERHEAD COMPARTMENT TWIST: Inhale and lift your arms as shown. Exhale and twist your body to the right. Complete five full deep breaths. Repeat to the left.

TRAY SHOULDER RELEASE: Sit as shown. Exhale and gently press your palms underneath the meal tray as you drop your shoulders down.

STYLE

Lounging In Luxury

Business travel doesn’t have to be all hassle. Airport lounges have been getting more and more plush in recent times. tip sheet’s favorites:

Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong You won’t find many noodle bars that top this one. Eat in a lounge chair with your own TV. Then soak in a private room with a tub for two. Even if you weren’t waiting for a flight, could life possibly get any better?

Japan Airlines, Tokyo You’ve entered massage country. So why not get one from a professional–after sipping a brew at the English-style pub? You could even head to the theater and catch a flick on the giant-screen television. Start your vacation even before you leave the airport.

Virgin Clubhouse, Heathrow, London This lounge’s 5,000-volume library is worth checking out. Pick a good book and head up to the rooftop conservatory, where you can watch the planes take off and contemplate some Shakespeare or Jane Austen. Perhaps you have time for a little sprucing up? You can change your whole look with a new hairdo at the Virgin Clubhouse’s Salon–and get a manicure, too.

British Airways, Heathrow, London Comfy chairs shielded by mesh screens offer the privacy you might need to relax. And the opulent setting–with burnt-plumsofas and tan leather recliners–lends this lounge an aristocratic feel. If that’s not enough to put you at ease, head to the therapy center for body-jet-hydrotherapy showers and massages.

Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse, JFK, New York Sip a cocktail and pick from an extensive and lavish buffet while watching the 42-inch plasma-screen television. Or you can kill some time on a Sony PlayStation, at the salon oron the Internet.

SECURITY

Safety On The Road

In the age of terrorism, corporate security has become a growth industry. Security consultants today offer a range of services, including intelligence briefings and in-depth “self-protection” seminars. Prudential and the World Bank go so far as to track every employee on the road.

iJet Travel Risk Management, in Annapolis, Maryland, has more than 400 customers, up from barely a dozen in 2001. In addition to providing employee-tracking services, iJet furnishes intelligence on everything from hurricanes to SARS to impending coups.

Kroll Inc.–a large, global risk-consulting group–is expanding its 88-acre Crucible training center in northern Virginia to teach executives how to stay safe on the road–in part by detecting surveillance and blending in while away from home. All the planning in the world won’t help in the event of another 9/11. But in the more common scenarios, a little preparation can go a long way.

ENTERTAINMENT

Taking A Breather

For downtime between meetings, look beyond the hotel bar:

many hotels now offer CD, VCR or DVD players in each room, as well as films and CDs. The Hotel Le Beauvallon in St. Tropez, France, and The Scotsman in Edinburgh also offer private screening rooms. The new Mandarin Oriental in New York equips each guest room with a 74-cm flat-panel LCD screen and Dolby Surround sound system. The Metropolitan in London and Bangkok offers guests their own yoga mats. Golfers can perfect their swing on the enclosed rooftop driving range at the Ritz-Carlton Seoul.

WOMEN TRAVELERS

Anticipating Every Need

It’s taken a long time, but hotels are finally getting the hang of catering to female business travelers. Which makes sense, especially since this segment of travelers has increased by 70 percent in the last decade. Some hotels, such as the London Hilton on Park Lane and the Hamilton Crowne Plaza in Washington, D.C., set aside women-only floors and “community tables” in the restaurant. But overall, the industry now understands that it’s the little things–name-brand amenities, a large selection of pillows, chenille robes and healthier snacks in the minibar–that keep businesswomen coming back. In Buenos Aires, the Park Tower offers a personal shopper to advise women on culturally appropriate clothing and on Argentina’s best-quality goods. The Loews Hotel chain across the United States has a “Did You Forget?…” closet that makes available things guests typically forget–including the all-important black evening bag. And for security-conscious joggers, Denver’s Hotel Teatro will provide an exercise escort. That’s getting a run for your money.

GADGETS

Gear On The Go

Tip Sheet’s must-haves: for carrying convenience, it’s a suitcase, it’s a chair, it’s the EZ-Swany Stick Chair Cart! This innovative piece of luggage unfolds into a small seat for the weary traveler ($199.99; ezswany.com). If you take your laptop everywhere, try Magellan’s Dual Access Computer Case (magellans.com). It’s a rolling suitcase that has a padded side pocket to store your PC ($115).

For memories you can fit in your shirt pocket, Panasonic’s digital video camera, the SV-AV100, weighs in at a scant 154 grams ($999.95). The portable DVD-LS5 player is perfect for a personal, in-flight movie ($499.95; panasonic.com). Need to scan on the go? DocuPen makes a portable scanning wand that can hold 100 images ($199; planon.com).

title: “Tip Sheet” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-24” author: “Jon Kelley”

Label Over Location

For the truly status-conscious, it’s not where you go that matters; it’s where you stay. A handful of luxury hotel chains offer a pampered paradise to the wealthy–complete with in-room shiatsu massage and fresh-squeezed mango juice. “[People] don’t call up and tell me where they want to go,” says Alice Daunt of the exclusive U.K. travel agency Earth London. “They just say, ‘I want to go away in April,’ and expect me to come back with an amazing hotel. There are the Aman junkies, the Como junkies, even the Four Seasons junkies.”

Aman resorts was the first “destination hotel” chain, founded by Indonesian entrepreneur Adrian Zecha in the 1980s. The chain now has about 500 rooms across 15 resorts–and more than 100,000 repeat guests, some paying as much as $3,000 a night.

Another comparable chain is Singaporean businesswoman Christina Ong’s Como empire, which stretches from Parrot Cay to London’s sleek Halkin Hotel to the Metropolitan in Bangkok. “People are really curious where’s next,” says PR head Nigel Massey. (Answer: Bhutan and Bali.)

If tip sheet could afford it, here’s where we’d go:

Amanpulo, Philippines: Fly south from Manila to the coral island of Pamalican, rimmed by pristine coral reefs. Forty cottages are discreetly set back from the beach behind a tangle of bush. Book a private BBQ dinner on your own strip of sand, covered with a Persian carpet and furnished with silver service. Or lounge on white mattresses at the Beach Club, serving up fresh snapper and tuna ($525 to $2,950 per night; amanresorts.com).

Parrot Cay, Turks and Caicos, British West Indies: Ong’s private island resort boasts beach houses with white and teak interiors and five kilometers of white sand. But the hottest spot in Parrot Cay is Shambhala Retreat, which hosts the world’s top yoga teachers. The chef prepares low-fat organic menus in addition to sophisticated haute cuisine ($380 to $4,800 per night; parrot-cay.com.

Soneva Fushi, Maldives: Upon landing at this elegant resort on the island of Kunfunadhoo, visitors must store their footwear in a cloth bag that reads no shoes, no news. Each wooden villa is set within dense, lush forest, ensuring ultimate privacy ($330 to $1,925 per night; sixsenses.com/soneva-fushi).

Kwandwe Ecca Lodge, South Africa: Six intimate suites with stone-and-mesh gabion walls and topped by corrugated iron roofs have expansive decks over the bush. Lodge rangers and local Xhosa trackers offer game drives in 4-by-4 vehicles, or rhino tracking on foot ($336 to $723 per night; ccafrica.com).

Accessories: Handbag Heaven It’s All In The Bag Prints and patterns are big this spring. Tip Sheet’s favorites:

Charlotte Pearl, founder of Pink Lining (pinklining.co.uk), says her whimsical collection was inspired by English gardens and the seaside.

Irish designer Orla Kiely (orlakiely.com) draws on bold, 1970s-style flowers and polka dots. Her red-flower-stem print yoga bag (94) will put a spring in anyone’s step.

Prada uses a picture postcard of Venice on three designs: the hinge bag (starts at 455), the canvas bowling bag (350) and a transparent plastic tote (260).

The French design house Chloe (chloe.com) offers a cheery yellow flowered print (384 with one strap; 584 with two).

Food: Best Bakeries

The Staff Of Life

Paris is the birthplace of the baguette. Yet in this city of 1,300 bakeries, many simply don’t rise to the occasion. Lucky for us, this spring brings two new guides. “Le Guide des Boulangeries de Paris” (Editions de l’If) rates everything from croissants to service, while historian Steven Kaplan’s guide, “Cherchez le Pain: Guide des Meilleures Boulangeries de Paris” (Plon), lists the top baguettes in town. Tip Sheet tasted, and found the best:

Le Boulanger de Monge, 123, rue Monge, Fifth Arrondissement. The only baker to earn top ratings from both guides, Dominique Saibron sells flavorful breads and pastries with an emphasis on organic products.

Poilane, 8, rue du Cherche-Midi, Sixth Arrondissement, and 49, boulevard de Grenelle, 15th Arrondissement. The most famous bakery in France still deserves its reputation .

Boulangerie Poujauran, 20, rue Jean Nicot, Seventh Arrondissement. A delectable selection. And the best fougasse aux olives in town.

Laurent Duchene, 2, rue Wortz, 13th Arrondissement. Duchene is a bread master but his cakes–like the Parizi or the mille-feuille–will send you over the top.

STYLE

Vegan Dressing

Just because they don’t use animal products doesn’t mean vegans can’t be stylish. Today’s vegan designers are so far from Birkenstocks, even carnivores are craving chic accessories like these: Moo Shoes offer stylish kicks that are leather-free but don’t look it. Queen Bee makes ultracool vinyl messenger bags and wallets in an array of bright colors at affordable prices. And the groovy belts and guitar straps from Sparkle Craft will keep you rockin’ long after you’ve forgotten why you still eat meat.

Singapore: Fling

There’s a lot more to this high-tech Asian city-state than towering skyscrapers and obsessive cleanliness. Tip Sheet checks out some of the local hot spots.

STAY at the Ritz-Carlton, with original contemporary art throughout its public spaces and sensational views across Marina Bay or of the skyline (from $298; ritzcarl ton.com/hotels/singapore).

DINE al fresco at Pierside Kitchen and Bar, a fusion restaurant on the trendy waterfront that serves seaweed-wrapped tuna tempura and roasted miso cod ($40 per head, 65-6-438-0400).

DRINK heady vodka martinis at the trendy Post Bar in the neoclassical Fullerton Hotel. Sip a Sling at the Spirited Bar, or lounge to the sounds of the Music Room.

SHOP Orchard Road, stocked with glassy malls like high-end Ngee Ann City. Check out multilabel boutiques like upmarket Inez, vintage Potion and Club 21. And don’t miss the electronics stores with their sleek cell phones and featherweight laptops.