Trends for January 29, 2001

Lisa Ferguson

Monday, Jan. 29, 2001 | 9:01 a.m.

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

Screen idols

Love is in the air. Well, sort of, seeing as how Valentine's Day is just a couple of weeks away. The folks at Harlequin, arguably the most famous maker of trashy romance novels, have gotten a jump start on the holiday by releasing the 2001 Harlequin Romance Report, featuring a slew of results from all sorts of romantic surveys.

This year Harlequins "experts" (code word for editors) chose 10 female and as many male celebrities and deemed them "the most romantic bachelors and bachelorettes in North America" (though they may not even call the continent home).

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow landed the top spot among the ladies, followed by fellow screen stars Cameron Diaz and Minnie Driver, model Tyra Banks, singer/actress Jennifer Lopez, actresses Lucy Liu, Charlize Theron, Christina Ricci and Winona Ryder, with pop tart Britney Spears rounding out the list.

As for the guys, Paltrow's ex, Ben Affleck, nabbed top honors, followed by the future king of England, Prince William, Latin loverboy Ricky Martin, Affleck's buddy Matt Damon, Yankees' shortstop Derek Jeter, Martin's music competition Enrique Iglesias, teen heartthrob Freddie Prinze Jr., Hollywood's leading men Harrison Ford and George Clooney, with golf great Tiger Woods in the No. 10 spot.

Acting the part

And if you can't land one of these single celebs, you may as well flirt like them. So says Jill Speigel, flirting lecturer (there is such a thing) and author of the books "Flirting for Success" and "Flirting with Spirituality."

Speigel says celebs are "great flirting role models because they exhibit so many styles" of flirting. The late Princess Diana, similar to actor Robert De Niro, was a shy flirt. Meanwhile talk-show hosts Regis Philbin and Oprah Winfrey are outgoing flirts.

The author's tips for successful flirting: Copy the flirt techniques of the star who most matches your style. "Positive flirting starts with a positive attitude." Also, act as though the new faces you meet are really old friends. "Warmth ignites a connection."

Roll over?

So what if you can't find a mate? At least the cat still loves you. If only you could teach it a few new tricks.

Apparently, you can, according to cat-food maker Eukanuba. The company has some techniques for teaching your feline friends how to, well, act more like dogs.

Want Fluffy to shake hands on command? Sit her down, touch her paw and say "shake." When the cat lifts her paw, you shake it and then praise her for a job well down. Sounds easy, right?

Try this: To get a cat to wave, hold a treat in front of its nose, just out of reach of its paws. Move the treat back and forth while saying "wave." The cat should wave its paw in response. Either that, or scratch out your eyeballs. And wouldnt that be a hoot at parties?