Trends for February 26, 2001

Lisa Ferguson

Monday, Feb. 26, 2001 | 8:53 a.m.

Lisa Ferguson is the Sun assistant features editor. Her Trends column appears Mondays. Reach her at lisa@lasvegassun.com or 259-4060.

Smelling a rat

Call them what you will vermin, pet, even Ben but, love 'em or hate 'em, rats are a fact of life.

They're also the stars of "Rats The Film," a 74-minute tale by little-known director James M. Felter, who is working to get his story about the rat infestation in Washington, D.C, to the big screen.

Meanwhile Felter, presumably to boost interest in his work, is content to share more than a few creepy facts about rats:

Party animals

At least popcorn isnt on the rodents' favorite-food list. Good news for the folks at Jolly Time, who are looking for families not pests to share their ways for beating the winter blahs.

The company is sponsoring the "Search for America's Most Fun Family." How does a family qualify? By doing such things as hosting "family story time," wearing goofy hats to the dinner table, dressing like the Flintstones for outings to the bowling alley or having a silly theme song. The "fun" possibilities are seemingly endless.

Entries including a family photo and a written explanation of the fun in 100 words or less should be sent by May 31 to Jolly Time Pop Corn Search for America's Most Fun Family, P.O. Box 64306, Chicago, IL 60664-4306. Submissions can also be made at jollytime.com. The winning family will receive an "adventure vacation" in Maui, Hawaii.

Sweet prizes

Don't have a family? Don't worry Samsung hasn't forgotten about you.

The electronics company, coupled with computer equipment retailer CompUSA, recently announced its "Choose Your Destiny" sweepstakes, playing off of the recent release of the Charlize Theron/Keanu Reeves flick "Sweet November."

Not much skill is required to win this one, people. Just visit a Comp-USA store (there are two area locations) or go to samsungmonitor.com and fill out an entry form.

The "Free Spirit" category winner (presumably a movie fan) will receive a trip for two to the romantic Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas. The "Career Driven" winner (likely a technology junkie) takes home a Samsung computer monitor, cell phone and laser printer.