A prep course for the month-long World Cup soccer tournament, a worldwide pheno

rniture what accessories are to fashion affordably priced additions that stretch

 the life span of the major , expensive pieces . And they 're the fuel that fire

s yard sales of the future . Where a furniture style can take five to 10 years t

o max out , a decorating theme might come and go in a matter of months . With tw

o years on the scene , celestial items have had a long run . There is no consens

us on its exact flash point , but early signs of the celestial look include a sn

ow globe at a German gift fair , a cotton throw at a New York gift show and need

lepoint pillows at a New York craft fair . Within a few months of those isolated

 sightings in 1992 , the sun , moon and stars motif began appearing on everythin

g from clocks , dishes , candles , linens , napkin rings and watering cans to sh

ower curtains . As prices go , the merchandise leans toward the low end . If the

 celestial theme came out of the blue , the reasons for its popularity are equal

ly obscure . The brilliant yellow and orange graphics on a dark blue background 

hardly enhance the favored furniture styles of the day , such as Mission , nor d

o they complement the reigning palette of faded colors . `` Perhaps it has a sen

se of mysticism , or escape , '' Berger suggests . `` When it was at its peak , 

we were in a recession . '' Mystical iconography had another brief fling last wi

nter when angels sprouted wings and took off , seemingly overnight . They rated 

a Time magazine cover before degenerating into swap-meet fodder . Now , though ,

 angels appear to be getting a second life . Moons , stars and suns in pastels a

re being mixed with angels for some fairly rococo combos . American country is m

oving toward fussy Victorian style , and cherubs and moons fit right in with the

 lacy furbelows . Design trends have traditionally trickled down from such high-

end sources as a furniture style , a designer 's line or even a museum show , bu

t these days they often start , as the celestial theme did , at the mass-market 

level . `` The middle level is where all the action is , '' says color consultan

t Leatrice Eiseman of the Eiseman Center in Seattle . `` We have a three-tier sy

stem of price levels . There is the high end , or designer realm , the middle gr

ound and then the low end , discount-price level . Now that it is trendy and per

missible to talk about saving money and shopping at Price Club and Target , ther

e is a lot more attention being paid to the middle level . The mass market is ge

tting more attention , and new things are being introduced at this level . '' Su

nflowers were another graphic phenomenon that bloomed midfield , as part of the 

American country look of several years ago . Cows and gingham also figured into 

the farm scene , but sunflowers ultimately struck out on their own to bedeck rug

s , teapots , vases , linens , coffee mugs and candlesticks . Some are designed 

to look like folk art , others are done in dark , muted colors to complement Mis

sion-style furniture , and still others are as garishly bright and sickeningly s

weet as daisies and happy faces two overused devices from decades past . The sun

flowers are also starting to fade . ( Begin optional trim ) Chili peppers , ivy 

and fruit have also been popular in the middle-price range but will probably hav

e disappeared by this time next year . On an ascent are African-inspired items .

 Such fabrics as kente cloth have caught on in the textile and fashion markets a

nd fueled a growing selection of African-like prints on linens and dinnerware . 

`` I think African-themed items will be a fairly important classification , '' s

ays Mary Morris , vice president of Ross-Simons , publishers of the home-wares c

atalog Anticipations . Society seems to moving toward a greater appreciation of 

ethnic influences , she says . ( End optional trim ) Also on the rise is a home-

wares trend influenced by a furniture style referred to variously as Bloomsbury 

chic , palace trash , neo-ancestral and shabby chic . About two years ago , the 

severely trendy began collecting old chairs with moth-eaten , worn , velvet upho

lstery and displaying them just like that decrepitly shabby . The idea was to ha

ve furniture look as if it had been in the family for generations as in old fami

ly , old money . The decorative bits accompanying this theme are intentionally m

ismatched , worn and patched . The plates are different from the soup bowls , th

e mirrors need re-silvering , and the sofa cushions are upholstered in one fabri

c , the back and arms in another . Now , furniture manufacturers are reproducing

 the look . `` It 's in the $ 1,000-sofa range now , '' Berger says . `` I 've s

een slipcovers with incredibly creative mixes of fabrics . One piece of upholste

ry may have six fabrics on it . '' ( Optional add end ) The shelves of American 

Rag Maison et Cafe in Los Angeles are stocked with like-minded items . `` We are

 going for a mixture of things , rather than one look . Stripes and patterns on 

pillows . We mix two different types of plates things from cafes and things from

 flea markets , '' owner Margot Werts says . At stores with more moderately pric

ed merchandise , wine glasses with mismatched stems come as a set and pillows ha

ve a mix of patterns . The Pottery Barn , for one , offers a sofa upholstered in

 ticking stripes combined with faded cabbage roses .

 The most promising element of the Clinton administration 's ambitious new plan 

`` to break the cycle of homelessness and prevent future homelessness '' is the 

amount of money requested from Congress . The administration seeks an unpreceden

ted $ 1.7 billion , which would more than quadruple the funds now available to h

eavily impacted areas . Washington would not dictate how the new money would be 

spent . Rightly , that would be a local determination . By law , nonprofit organ

izations the key players in the recent assault on homelessness must get 51 perce

nt of the funds . That mandate would allow groups that have long provided scarce

 social services and built affordable housing to collaborate rather than compete

 for crumbs . The administration 's plan is expensive because the Clinton team h

onestly acknowledges the scope of homelessness , and the complexity of the multi

ple challenges . The federal plan cites recent studies finding that between 500,

000 and 600,000 people are homeless on any given night . Christopher Jencks , a 

sociology professor at Northwestern University and the author of the new book ``

 The Homeless , '' believes that the number of the `` visible homeless '' who li

ve in shelters or public places like doorways , parks and cars is between 300,00

0 and 400,000 . Jencks links the recent increase in the numbers of aggressive pa

nhandlers and confused or babbling men and women pushing shopping carts in large

 part to the proliferation of cheap crack cocaine and government 's failure to p

rovide adequate mental health treatment . Two of three single adults who agreed 

to the voluntary and anonymous drug testing requested by the Cuomo Commission at

 New York shelters tested positive for cocaine , according to Jencks . In family

 shelters , 16 percent tested positive . Jencks puts overall drug use at 25 perc

ent , and notes that it makes the users even less employable , deprives them of 

money for rent , drives away friends and family members who could give them shel

ter and in general prolongs their homelessness . They need drug treatment , job 

training and additional low-cost housing . One of three homeless people is sever

ely mentally ill , according to Jencks . Many wouldn't be on the streets if stat

es still operated the warehouse-like mental hospitals that were common in earlie

r generations . According to Jencks , these people require hospitalization , out

patient programs , rent vouchers to pay for board-and-care facilities or governm

ent support for relatives willing to provide care . Despite these daunting chall

enges , Henry G. Cisneros , the head of the Department of Housing and Urban Deve

lopment , promises to reduce homelessness by one-third . Helping sick people who

 hear voices , fear others and are prone to violence is difficult . As the Clint

on plan and the Jencks book indicate , they need more than a place to live . Pro

viding treatment , services and financial aid will require a long-term commitmen

t from Washington . The Clinton administration deserves credit for tackling a th

orny social problem with a request for significant new funds and a well-thought-

out plan of action that is long overdue . Now does America have the political pa

tience required to make this plan successful ?

 NARBERTH , Pa. Lynn Duffy has been writing real-estate ads for so long she coul

d compose them in her sleep . A spacious home in an upscale , secluded setting n

ear jogging trails conjured up phrases like `` executive living , '' `` sports e

nthusiasts take note , '' `` quiet neighborhood . '' But that was before the `` 

red-light words . '' Duffy Real Estate now avoids the term `` executive '' ; it 

could be racist , since most corporate executives are white . Singling out `` sp

orts enthusiasts '' could discourage the disabled . `` Quiet neighborhood '' cou

ld be a code for `` no children . '' Duffy knows of firms that are even avoiding

 `` master bedroom '' ( it suggests slavery ) , `` walk-in '' closet or `` spect

acular view '' ( some homebuyers cannot walk or see ) . Real-estate agents in Ph

iladelphia 's affluent Main Line suburbs are not suffering an attack of politica

l correctness . Like their counterparts in many states , they say they are afrai

d of being charged with housing bias by increasingly vigilant , local fair-housi

ng groups and individuals who are filing more and more discrimination cases over

 real-estate ads in newspapers . Most complaints concern blatant violations of t

he federal Fair Housing Act and state and local housing laws such as ads seeking

 `` adults only '' or `` no children . '' But a complainant listing her religion

 as `` non-Christian '' has charged a Gannett newspaper in Salem , Ore. , with r

eligious discrimination for an ad published on Easter Sunday under a logo of a b

unny in a flower basket bearing the words , `` Happy Easter . '' The Department 

of Housing and Urban Development is investigating . And a Pennsylvania fair-hous

ing official said a real-estate agent recently pulled an ad for a `` rare find '

' in Chester , Pa. , after a reader complained that it was racist to describe as

 `` rare '' a nice house in a largely black community . National civil-rights le

aders are as upset about these complaints as are real-estate agents and newspape

rs . They say they consider them a `` trivialization '' of the act 's intent and

 a diversion from the fight against real housing discrimination . University of 

Pennsylvania law professor Lani Guinier , who has become a national voice on civ

il rights since the furor over her failed nomination to a Justice Department pos

t last year , sees the struggle as a symptom of national confusion over how to c

ommunicate in an age of growing sensitivity to individual differences . `` We ha

ve to find a way to establish the legitimacy of people 's concerns without allow

ing every concern to define the debate , '' she said . Asked this month at a Sen

ate hearing whether HUD would prosecute the use of terms such as `` master bedro

om '' or `` walking distance to '' trains , assistant HUD secretary Roberta Acht

enberg , who oversees Fair Housing Act enforcement , said firmly : `` HUD has ne

ver taken any such position , and we would not under my administration . '' `` I

f one of my members brought a complaint like that , I 'd choke them , '' said Sh

anna Smith , executive director of the National Fair Housing Alliance , which wo

rks with local fair-housing groups across the country . But Achtenberg and Smith

 cannot stop individuals who feel aggrieved from bringing complaints to state or

 local human-relations commissions , regional HUD offices or state or federal co

urts . Tim Kearney , program co-ordinator for the Fair Housing Council of Montgo

mery County ( Pa. ) , said that he hopes one day to test the law by suing over g

ray-area words . `` If somebody didn't pick up the phone ( to respond to a housi

ng ad ) because they felt excluded by the wording , you have a complaint , '' he

 said . `` All day long some people suffer stings and pangs of discrimination , 

and it adds up . That 's what civil rights is all about . '' And a senior offici

al of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission , which enforces the state hou

sing law , said there is no way of knowing how a hearing officer would rule on a

ny complaint , even `` master '' bedroom . `` We say to the newspapers and the R

ealtors , '' said the official , who insisted on anonymity . ` When in doubt , l

eave it out. ' ' ' This ambiguity is driving time-consuming efforts by real-esta

te agents and newspapers to anticipate even far-fetched claims of liability unde

r the Fair Housing Act . While the financial penalties are not always severe , t

he litigation costs of cases that go beyond the complaint stage often reach tens

 of thousands of dollars . And housing-law violations are grounds for revoking a

n agent 's license in some states . The federal act bars housing discrimination 

in all forms , including any notice or ad that `` indicates any preference , lim

itation , or discrimination because of race , color , religion , sex , handicap 

, familial status or national origin or an intention to make any such preference

 ... '' Lawyers for associations of real-estate agents and newspapers say they r

eceive calls every day from clients around the country , asking , `` Can I use t

his word ? '' `` In Hawaii , some people say , ` We can't say the house has a Ja

panese garden , ' ' ' said Fred Underwood , vice president of the National Assoc

iation of Realtors . `` I answered , ` Do only Asian Hawaiians like Japanese gar

dens ? '' ' The main problem , he said , is there is no way to list all discrimi

natory words , because many are in the eye of the beholder and there are so many

 beholders . `` A real-estate concern called two HUD offices in New Jersey and a

sked about ` walking distance to synagogue and deli , ' ' ' Underwood said . `` 

One office said it 's fine ; the other said no , '' because it constituted relig

ious steering . The Philadelphia Inquirer now urges advertisers to say `` conven

ient to ( shopping ) '' rather than `` walking distance . '' The Baltimore Sun i

nstructs its advertisers to say , for example , `` three blocks to ... '' Numero

us newspapers and real-estate agents around the country have foresworn phrases l

ike `` convenient to jogging trails , '' for fear they discriminate against disa

bled people , `` ocean view '' in deference to the blind phrases cited in a 1991

 complaint in Oregon or `` ideal for empty nesters , '' which could be discrimin

atory against families with children .

 The year was 1969 . The site was Berlin . The circumstance was the election of 

a new German president , a largely ceremonial post . The stakes were nothing les

s than control of the Bonn government after election of a new Parliament and a c

hancellor later in the year . On that occasion , the Cold War was much in eviden

ce as Soviet and East German officials harassed the arrival of delegates to the 

election assembly from all over Germany . But the ceremony went ahead . And when

 it was over the election of the first Social Democratic president since the Wei

mar Era in the '20s proved to be a harbinger for the triumph of that party 's le

ader , Willy Brandt , in late summer . The key to Brandt 's victory was the libe

ral Free Democratic Party , which switched allegiance from the conservative Chri

stian Democratic Union to the Social Democrats . It was to reverse course in 198

2 , putting in office the current chancellor , Helmut Kohl ( but that is another

 story ) . What happened this week in Berlin was another presidential election ,

 this one in which the Free Democrats , reluctant and divided as ever , stuck wi

th the Christian Democrats rather than risk political oblivion . Chosen presiden

t was Chief Judge Roman Herzog of the Supreme Court , Kohl 's choice but hardly 

a favorite in the country . The question now in German political circles is whet

her , as in 1969 , the Free Democrats will prove again to be the decisive elemen

t in German politics . Only this time , as Herzog 's victory indicated , the FDP

 has determined to keep leaning right to support Kohl rather than swing left to 

align itself with his SPD challenger , Rudolf Scharping . Latest public opinion 

polls indicate that Kohl , though still behind , is gaining as the economy impro

ves . Whatever the outcome , Germany is about to be denied the leadership of its

 most popular politician . Not Kohl . Not Scharping . Not the FDP 's Klaus Kinke

l . Rather , the nation will lose the services of Joseph von Weizsaecker , who i

n his 10 years ( the limit ) as president has come to embody the conscience of a

 country that still feels `` abnormal , '' a nation haunted by its Nazi past . P

resident von Weizsaecker has constantly warned against neo-Nazi eruptions and ag

ainst intolerance toward foreigners . His successor , despite a bumbling beginni

ng , must do nothing less . Distributed by the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post

 News Service .

 WASHINGTON A growing number of Americans are being caught up in securities liti

gation and are being forced to make potentially important decisions with little 

understanding of what is going on or what is at stake . It is common today for i

nvestors to find in their mail a document filled with dense language and fine pr

int telling them something about a company they have invested in . Figuring out 

what it is , and then deciding what action to take is mission impossible for man

y investors . But those decisions may make the difference between recovering mon

ey and going without . Often , as in the case of a failed company , a class acti

on is investors ' only hope of restitution . But sometimes , as with Humphries ,

 joining the suit , intentionally or not , may prevent them from participating i

n a better deal that may have been worked out by a regulatory agency . Such prob

lems have become so widespread that the subject was taken up at last week 's mee

ting of the Securities and Exchange Commission 's newly formed consumer affairs 

advisory panel , said Louis M. Thompson Jr. , president of the National Investor

 Relations Institute , an association of corporate investor relations officials 

. `` When investors are informed of a class action , ( the notices ) are so lega

listic they can't even understand what they are getting involved in or are not g

etting involved in , '' Thompson said . Thousands of investors apparently just t

hrow these notices away , but that in itself is a form of decision . Typically ,

 when a class action is brought seeking monetary damages , the courts employ wha

t is called an `` opt out '' procedure , meaning that anyone who fits the defini

tion of the class is automatically included unless they take action to opt out ,

 said Stephen J . Toll of Cohen , Milstein , Hausfeld & Toll , which handles man

y class action suits . This makes it easy if you want in , but can be a pitfall 

for the unwary or for anyone who for some reason doesn't get the notice . People

 who don't get the notice , who throw it away as junk , set it aside but forget 

it or otherwise don't respond , will be swept into the class . And when the case

 is decided or settled , they will be bound by the result . In many cases , Toll

 said , investors first receive a notice that the suit has been filed and that t

hey may opt out if they wish to . Later they may receive another notice that the

 case has been settled , and that they may file a claim . Sometimes , he said , 

the second notice offers another chance to opt out , but generally not . If not 

, then the investor is locked into the settlement . If the investor doesn't file

 a claim , he or she willn't get any money , but will still be bound by the sett

lement . Sometimes when a case is settled before the class is certified by the j

udge , the notice and claim form are combined , and an investor may opt out at t

hat point , Toll said . If you get a class action notice , Toll and others sugge

sted thinking about it this way : How big is my investment and how good is my cl

aim ? If your investment is large and your claim strong , Brenner said , `` you 

're probably better off out of the class '' so you can sue on your own . Since c

lass actions lump weak and strong claims together and give both kinds of claiman

ts the same settlement , the good claims to a certain extent subsidize the weak 

ones . If your claim is strong , but your investment small , you are probably be

tter off in the class because it is not economically practical to bring your own

 case . And , of course , if your claim is weak , you are definitely better off 

in the class . In general , said Toll , `` the only reason to opt out is to pres

erve your rights '' to sue . Still , critics charge that many class action lawsu

its are frivolous . The stock goes down so somebody sues . Some studies indicate

 that the plaintiffs individually don't get much money in these cases . `` I ten

d to be rather skeptical ( of such suits ) because the law firms that bring them

 tend to make a bundle and the shareholders who would be participating wouldn't 

get that much out of it , '' said Maria Crawford Scott of the American Associati

on of Individual Investors in Chicago . In most cases , if an investor has suffe

red a loss because a company or partnership went under , regulatory agencies do 

not become involved and the class action suit may be the investor 's best hope o

f salvaging something from his or her investment .

 Death by violence was at least 50 times more common among ancient peoples than