Flipped out over Pokemon? Why, exactly?

Pikachu. Bless you.

Whether you know it or not, Pokemon is the biggest craze to sweep the nation since Tamagotchi. There are Pokemon trading cards, video games, stuffed animals, and I've even seen Pokemon underwear -- for girls!

If you're a fan, you'll be glad to know that a full-length Pokemon movie will hit theaters later this fall.

Now, am I the only one who doesn't get it? It's just bad animation and annoying animal voices. What's the big deal?

Speaking of annoying toys: It looked too much like a Gremlin, Tiger Electronics (its maker) got sued and yada, yada, yada, Furby got a new face.

But, if you were lucky enough to get your paws on an original Furby, he may be worth some money in the near future. Toy collectors and trend experts are naming Furby as one of the hottest collector items of the decade and some Furbies are selling for as much as $1,000 on the Internet.

Give me liberty or give me dye: Teenagers have rights. We have the right to express ourselves, within reason, which includes the right to dye our hair unnatural and inhuman colors, do we not?

Not if Massachusetts Rep. Thomas Kennedy has his way. After hearing a "tragic" story about a 10-year-old girl who dyed her hair and couldn't wash it out (cry me a river), Kennedy proposed a bill to ban the sale of all exotic hair colors, including blue, green and magenta, to minors.

Rep. Kennedy: Lighten up and try passing some legislation that isn't a joke.

Sticking it to teen drivers: You know those stickers on big trucks that say "How's My Driving?" How would you like to cruise around town with one of those plastered to the bumper of your car?

A company called Call My Mom Inc., stationed in Virginia, produces bumper stickers parents can buy and attach to their teen's car. The stickers come complete with a hotline number other motorists can call to report reckless driving. Please.

Staying on the road: Eighteen states (mostly in the South) have passed laws that give the Department of Motor Vehicles the power to temporarily suspend a student's driver's license if he or she drops out of school, is flunking a class or is consistently truant. Washington has not adopted any such laws...yet.

However, making a connection between school and driving may just be the way to encourage some students to pull up their grades.

* Compiled from press releases, magazines and the Internet.

Copyright 1999 Cowles Publishing Company
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.