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Picnics have become very fashionable and specially designed plastic dishes are selling like hotcakes. "Flash picnics" are also organized: A bunch of people text message each other via their mobiles about a meeting place and time, and gather for picnics anywhere. In France, it's not unusual for more than 50 or 60 people to gather at once.

Madonna and Britney (See photo above. Photo by Reuters) may have enjoyed greater visibility, but girls (particularly young girls) kissing in public have been a big thing for a while now in Norway. The fad can be seen in music videos, ads, on the dance floor, and at parties.

What used to be relegated to the hippie-anarchist crowd has suddenly become "family friendly." Drum circles are cropping up everywhere from urban clubs and coffee houses to parks and Fortune 500 companies. Beyond sheer fun, practitioners claim that drumming has the power to heal body and mind. Also on the rise, drum circles' second cousin: belly dancing.

More and more museums are taking a cue from the Guggenheim's "The Art of the Motorcycle" by creating exhibits that draw upon pop culture themes.

Among the options available in the U.S. last past summer: "Monster Trucks: The Science of Extreme Machines" at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry and "Chocolate: The Exhibition" at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

Retro-'80s style and culture is back and being adopted in countries that never experienced the Technicolor, asymmetrical fashions the first time.

Miniskirts, heavy jewelry, and brightly colored shoes are all in right now. Any recent visitor to St. Petersburg has noticed that leopard-spotted hotpants and high heels are all the rage.

And retailers like Express, Bebe, Esprit, and H&M are stacking shelves with such '80s style icons as off-the-shoulder, belted sweaters and leggings.

Plenty of websites have sprung up around the trend, including www.80snostalgia.com and www.nostalgiacentral.com.

Our trendspotters report that speed is the new old drug on the party scene. In mellower locales, drugs are going organic with the reemergence of mushrooms. And in the most retro move of all: Alcohol is the new black.

The natural: Perfect teeth? Perfect nails? Perfect is passé, natural is new. Everyone loves the Cuervo Gold Girl with the big gap in her teeth. Unkempt, disheveled, askew: a clear rebellion against the manicured look we've seen for so long.

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