LONDON: Always on the look-out for a new trend, product or stimulant in which to over-indulge, the capital's City types have latched on to a legal '90s answer to the drug-crazed '80s - and everyone else is eagerly following suit. Described as the 'best legal high available', and by far the easiest way to legally and safely achieve a cocaine-like effect, is a tipple made from an energy drink called Red Bull. Non-alcoholic but with loads of caffeine and sugar, and tasting a bit like fruit juice, Red Bull is mixed with either champagne or vodka to produce cocktails now famous for their ability to put life into any boring after-work party. The caffeine and sugar content ensures a sudden rush of energy and converts hail the drinks' effects as 'sublime'. Would-be tipplers be warned, though: the cocktails taste so much like soft-drinks it is easy to quaff far too much. hangover? sue quinn PARIS: Pedal power has hit the streets of Paris. Faced with chronic congestion and a dire shortage of taxi ranks, a new rickshaw business is doing a brisk trade from a stand near the Eiffel Tower. The service doesn't count as a bona fide rickshaw - a man on a bicycle tows the 'taxi' around town - but it's the next best thing to the Indian version. The two-man open carriage allows tourists to get a much more leisurely view of the city's tourist attractions than from the city's juddering public buses. There are only two drawbacks. First, the air pollution levels in Paris are dangerously high - on a hot summer's day would-be passengers will need masks over their noses and mouths. Second, the cost is prohibitive - the 110-franc (HK$137) fare for an hour's tour means that only the most well-heeled will be able to throw out their Metro season tickets. anita chaudhuri NEW YORK: In a city famed for the aggressiveness - sorry, assertiveness - of its residents, shy types often don't get very far. Phrases like 'Er, excuse me ...' and 'Would you mind if ...' are almost worthy of translation in a place where people think nothing of jumping queues and hogging the only available seat on the bus with their bags. According to The New York Times, there are now several things on offer to help combat this social impediment, including at least three support groups and various one-on-one treatments. Dr Diane Briton, one of several psychologists to offer 'shyness counselling', says there are as many shy people in New York as anywhere else but they probably need extra help because they have to deal with 'aggressive New Yorkers'. Charles Di Cagno runs a shyness support group in which participants try out their social wings - making conversation, doing fake job interviews and pretend work presentations. Attendees swear by it. But the extremely bashful will probably never benefit: they'll be too shy to turn up. tessa souter VANCOUVER: Even before ice-hockey star Wayne Gretzky's retirement, Pokemon (Pocket Monster) trading-card fever had superceded the more traditional Canadian schoolyard activity of hockey-card collecting. Last month, the principals of many schools decided to fight back against the Pokemon frenzy that has been disrupting classes, causing fights and tears. Based on characters that appear in a Japanese television cartoon show and in Nintendo and Game Boy editions, the Pokemon phenomenon has been around for several years but has taken off recently. The cards, which sell for about C$5 (HK$26) for a pack of 11, are widely sold out in British Columbia. Swapping has been fierce, with teachers often being called on to mediate 'unfair' trades. The value of individual cards fluctuates wildly (up to $20 a card). There are 150 cards to collect, each with the name and attributes of a Pokemon. Many public schools now have bans on the cute little monsters - the cards, not the kids. j.p. williams TOKYO: With so many new products, trends and technologies, the Japanese language just can't keep up. How do you say 'computer program', 'digital' or 'sports club' in the vernacular? You've guessed it: with slight modifications, they're just the same as in English. The same goes for job descriptions. Why bother to render 'reflexologist' into Japanese characters, when a borrowed multi-syllable word will do? Not all the English terms mean the same in Japanese. A TV news reader or anchorperson is known as a 'caster'. If your feet hurt from ill-fitting shoes, you go to a 'foot counsellor'; you get designs painted on your fingernails by a 'nail artist'; and 'face planners' advise customers on cosmetics. All self-respecting department stores employ wine (and more recently cigar) 'advisers', while 'green coordinators' make recommendations on where to locate your houseplants. The strangest terminology of all, of course, is 'talent' - a word used for any airhead who appears regularly on television. robbie swinnerton SYDNEY: With just 18 months to go until the Olympics, Sydney is in the grip of Games fever. Construction cranes dominate the skyline, traffic jams clog half-built roads, newspapers are filled with Olympics news. But not everyone is enamoured with the forthcoming extravaganza. The recent decision to build a mega-stadium on Bondi Beach for the Olympic beach volleyball events has prompted locals to take to the streets. The plan is to close part of the beach for nine months to allow the construction of a temporary, 10,000-seat stadium. Last weekend, hundreds gathered along Campbell Parade - Bondi's main boulevard - to voice their concern and plan future protests, including standing in front of bulldozers. Already, thousands of cars are sporting stickers saying 'Keep Bondi For Visitors Not Olympic Events' and 'They Play, We Pay', in reference to the millions of taxpayer dollars being ploughed into the Games. 'This is just the beginning,' warned one protest organiser. 'We'll fight to the end.' They've got eight months: construction is due to start in December. nicky briger
