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

ge banks at the expense of smaller ones . It gives the regulators more independe

nce . And it strictly enforces the $ 100,000-per-account insurance limit . Georg

e Kaufman , professor of finance and economics at Loyola University in Chicago ,

 would love to see that limit dropped to $ 40,000 ( I 'd like to see it cut to $

 10,000 per person the size of the average U.S. bank account ) , but he admits t

hat politics precludes such a move . So far , he says of the new system , `` it 

's worked quite well . '' Which is probably why we haven't heard much about it .

 Success , especially in the world of money politics , gets little attention the

se days . But look at the numbers : Annual bank failures have declined from 168 

in 1990 to 42 last year to four so far this year ( those four , in April and May

 , involved small institutions ) . S&L failures have dropped from 315 in 1990 to

 27 last year to 14 so far in 1994 . It 's true that low interest rates have aid

ed this amazing turnaround , but it 's also true that banks have a penchant for 

snatching defeat from the jaws of victory-by recycling their profits into dubiou

s ventures such as Third World loans , junk bonds and slick land deals . Who kno

ws ? A real test of how the new , improved system stands up under fire may be cl

oser than you think .

 The rankings for hard-cover books sold in Southern California , as reported by 

selected book stores : FICTION 1 . THE CELESTINE PROPHESY , by James Redfield . 

2 . THE CHAMBER , by John Grisham . 3 . INCA GOLD , by Clive Cussler . 4 . REMEM

BER ME , by Mary Higgins Clark . 5 . THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY , by Robert J

ames Waller . 6 . THE ALIENIST , by Caleb Carr . 7 . `` K '' IS FOR KILLER , by 

Sue Grafton . 8 . LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE , by Laura Esquivel . 9 . FIST OF GOD

 , by Frederick Forsyth . 10 . THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW , by Allan Folsom . NONFIC

TION : 1 . IN THE KITCHEN WITH ROSIE , by Rosie Daley . 2 . EMBRACED , BY THE LI

GHT , by Betty J. Eadie . 3 . MEN ARE FROM MARS : Women Are From Venus , by John

 Gray , Ph.D. . 4 . STANDING FIRM , by Dan Quayle . 5 . MAGIC EYE II , by N.E. .

 Thing Enterprises . 6 . BEYOND PEACE , by Richard Nixon . 7 . MAGIC EYE I , by 

N.E. . Thing Enterprises . 8 . BOOK OF VIRTUES : A Treasury of the World 's Grea

t Moral Stories , by William J. Bennett . 9 . THE HALDEMAN DIARIES : Inside the 

Nixon White House , by H.R. Haldeman . 10 . REBA : My Story , by Reba McEntire w

ith Tom Carter .

 CyberSurfing : Potholes , perturbations and predicaments observed on the inform

ation superhighway : Most visitors to Paris are satisfied with their little Eiff

el Tower souvenirs , but that 's obviously not enough for Michael Hayward , who 

seems to be an unusually sentimental sort . `` I 'd like to locate a source for 

the benches which are found everywhere in Paris city parks , '' he wrote in a re

cent posting on the Internet newsgroup soc.culture.french . `` The older design 

.. . ( is ) shaped like an elongated ` S ' with narrow ` slats ' ( roughly squar

e in cross section ) running lengthwise . The supports ( legs/backs ) are a some

what ornately designed cast iron . As I recall , these benches are ( always ? ) 

painted a distinctive shade of high gloss deep green. .. . Has anyone else got f

ond memories of these benches ? Has anyone else made an attempt to track down a 

source ? '' From France Olivier Clary responded with the lyrics of a popular son

g : Les amoureux qui s ' becotent sur les bancs publics/ bancs publics/ bancs pu

blics/ en s ' foutant pas mal du r ' gard oblique/ des passants honteux . ( `` T

he lovers kissing on the public benches/ the public benches/ the public benches/

 don't give a damn about the nasty glances/ of the shameful passersby . '' ) Par

isian Gregory Miezelis , however , actually had an answer : The first place to l

ook , said Miezelis , is Les Domaines , a French government agency that auctions

 off surplus equipment . He also suggested checking the Paris flea market 's man

y antique dealers . Selling price ? About 950 francs plus 10 percent tax , or ro

ughly $ 200 , although cybernaut Miezelis said he saw one sold at auction for on

ly 350 francs . Evan Roth evanr ( at ) aol.com GETTING THERE : Once you 've gain

ed access to the Internet , go to Usenet or Newsgroups and type : soc.culture.fr

ench . On America Online , for example , go to the Go To menu , click on Keyword

 and type in Newsgroups . At the Newsgroups menu , click on the Expert Add icon 

. Type in soc.culture.french in the blank space and click Add . When asked if yo

u want to add the newsgroup , click Yes . When the menu returns , click on the M

y Newsgroups icon , and you will see soc.culture.french added to the list . Doub

le-click on it and you 're there . -0- They Want His mtv.com Adam Curry wants hi

s mtv.com . Curry , a longtime video jock for MTV , set up a music-news bulletin

 board on the Internet a year ago , using his home computer and the address mtv.

com . Now he 's being being sued by his ex-employer for copyright infringement .

 Curry uses mtv.com to dish industry gossip ( `` cybersleaze , '' he calls it ) 

, and offers concert schedules , band interviews and commentary . He estimates 3

5,000 log-ins daily . Many of those users are now following the saga of Curry vs

. MTV-from Curry 's viewpoint only . The cable music network , which prides itse

lf on up-to-the-minute hipness , isn't `` jacked into the net , '' as Curry put 

it in a recent missive to his supporters . The on-line faithful have been flamin

g MTV as `` totally lame '' and `` a pitiful network of corporate pigs . '' Wrot

e a user named Daredevil : `` DON ' T LET THE LAMERS GET YOU DOWN ! '' Curry cla

ims mtv.com began with the `` blessing and support '' of MTV execs , but after h

e resigned April 25 , `` things got ugly . '' ( It probably didn't help that Cur

ry posted a resignation letter on the Internet accusing MTV of selling out the `

` M '' in its name . ) In federal court in Manhattan in May , MTV 's lawyers arg

ued for an injunction against Curry 's use of mtv.com . Further hearings are sch

eduled . `` This has nothing to do with Adam 's departure , '' says an MTV spoke

swoman . `` We 've tried unsuccessfully for a year to get Adam to stop using the

 MTV trademark to market his services . '' Said the defiant Curry in e-mail : ``

 mtv.com will always exist on the net . '' Richard Leiby leiby ( at ) aol.com GE

TTING THERE : To follow the Curry case using America Online , select keyword Int

ernet ; then select WAIS & Gopher databases ; then select category Music ; then 

select the MTV Gopher folder ; then brainwaves.txt .

 Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould : Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (

 Sony SK 46686 ) . With one exception ( Toscanini conducting the prelude to `` T

ristan und Isolde '' ) , this soundtrack focuses on Gould playing the piano or o

rgan , and it profiles his musicianship and quirky personality with as much vari

ety and fascination as does the film . Besides the expected Bach selections , th

is album features interpretations of Richard Strauss , Sibelius , Hindemith , Pr

okofiev and Schoenberg . Like the movie , this disc is an excellent promo for So

ny 's massive `` Glenn Gould Edition '' series . Ned Rorem : Piano Concerto for 

Left Hand and Orchestra ; 11 Studies for 11 Players ( New World 80445 ) . Rorem 

is known almost entirely for his songs , which deserve the praise they have rece

ived , but his instrumental works merit equal attention . These examples , compo

sed in 1991 and 1993 respectively , reveal him to be a master of modern styles ,

 with a penchant for impressionistic and late romantic flavors . These recording

s were made in the Curtis Institute , Philadelphia , with a student orchestra wh

ose professionalism matches that of piano soloist Gary Graffman and conductor An

dre Previn . Mahler : Symphony No. 4 ( London 440 315 , with text and translatio

n ) . This beguiling celebration of youthful innocence and joy is an ideal intro

duction to Mahler 's symphonies ( even more so than the muscular struggles and s

harp-edged ironies of his more-popular First Symphony ) . Ernst von Dohnanyi and

 the Cleveland Orchestra precisely capture the music 's Viennese lilt and the su

btlest details of phrasing and dynamic accent . In the final movement , Dawn Ups

haw 's is the angelic voice that quaintly proclaims the joys of heaven . Monteve

rdi : Arie e Duetti ( Capriccio 10 470 , with texts and translations ) . Soprano

 Mieke van der Sluis and countertenor Axel Kohler give unusually well-styled per

formances of music that demonstrates the range of the Renaissance master 's geni

us : short sacred works with Latin texts , duet madrigals and dramatic monologue

s , and the nurse 's aria and final duet from `` The Coronation of Poppaea . '' 

Four instrumental numbers are played by the German ensemble Lautten Compagney , 

which also plays accompaniments . Ravel : Gaspard de la Nuit , La Valse ; Liszt 

: Ballade No. 2 in B Minor ; Prokofiev : Sarcasms ( Connoisseur Society CD 4195 

) . Pianist Sergei Babayan has chosen a program bristling with technical challen

ges , but he never indulges in technique for its own sake . He is a musician ded

icated to small nuances and atmospheric subtleties which are also crucial elemen

ts in these pieces and he has the skill to make the music 's difficulties seem n

onexistent .

 CAMBRIDGE , Mass. . In a first floor office next to John & Nick 's gas station 

, Karen Fox is looking for a few good sperm . Harvard sperm . MIT sperm . Smart 

little swimmers from the Ivy League . `` If our customers wanted high school dro

pouts that 's what we would get , '' said Ronda Wilkin , spokeswoman for the Cal

ifornia Cryobank , which operates the sperm bank here that Fox manages . `` No o

ne has proven that Harvard , MIT , Princeton or Yale sperm produces smarter chil

dren , but people like the idea . '' Wilkin said single women or married couples

 searching for a sperm donor base their decisions on an anonymous resume and pro

file , and some find assurance in men who have a college degree . At the Cryoban

k , a vial of sperm costs $ 135 to $ 165 , and there 's `` no extra charge for t

he Ivy League , '' she said . There are now more than 100 sperm banks in the cou

ntry , most located near selective universities . The Cryobank , one of the nati

on 's largest , has locations near the University of California at Los Angeles (

 UCLA ) , Stanford and Harvard . Specialists in the reproductive fields say the 

number of single women who want babies and couples with infertility problems is 

growing , and more people are turning to sperm banks . As more men and women tal

k openly about their fertility struggles , the mystery is fading from the banks 

that store vials of sperm in liquid nitrogen . Many of these people are deciding

 that the 1990s conception of choice is academically correct sperm . Sperm banks

 like the Cryobank say they are responding to the demand and aggressively recrui

t on college campuses , where they rank among the largest advertisers at campus 

newspapers such as the Harvard Crimson . Nobody knows how many men have donated 

sperm ( each bank 's supply is kept secret ) or how many babies are born thanks 

to donor sperm . But about 65,000 babies were born through artificial inseminati

on in 1987 , the most recent year for which reliable figures are available , sai

d Joyce Zeitz , spokeswoman for the American Fertility Society , which issues et

hical guidelines in the field . Of those births , 35,000 were from pregnancies u

sing the husband 's sperm , and 30,000 were from donor sperm . Since then , expe

rts in the field say they believe the number has risen . `` Seems like everyone 

who you talk to has fertility problems , '' Fox said . `` The field of fertility

 medicine is growing fast . '' As it does , women have more sperm to choose from

 . `` I had a lady who wanted to know if we had a mathematician , '' Fox said . 

`` We did . '' Fertility specialists say it is not new that the anonymous donors

 who are being recruited for sperm banks are not average Joes . The first record

ed use of frozen sperm for artificial insemination was in 1953 , according to Ze

itz , who said in those early years it was not uncommon for fertility experts to

 use the sperm of medical students or other doctors . The field has expanded dra

matically and some sperm banks have less rigorous academic qualifications for do

nors . But the Cryobank will not accept sperm from men who are not attending or 

did not graduate from a four-year college . Even then , the bank says it refuses

 95 percent of men who apply to be donors . Rejection can come for low sperm cou

nt ( not enough millions per milliliter ) , low motility ( does not swim well ) 

or because some sperm is too difficult to freeze . Heart disease is a disqualifi

er . And men over 34 or under 5-feet-9 can forget it , because young and tall ar

e requirements too . `` We don't get requests for short men , '' Wilkin said . D

onors are anonymous , known only by a number . Customers select them by flipping

 through a catalogue that includes extensive profiles of the men , from their me

dical history to their musical talents . The catalogue also list the men 's alma

 maters , as well as their scores on Scholastic Achievement Tests ( SATs ) . Of 

course , much of this has been criticized as elitist . Another sperm bank , the 

Repository for Germinal Choice , known as the Nobel sperm bank , was nationally 

criticized for trying to breed a superior race when it sought out only Nobel lau

reates as donors . One of that bank 's donors even spoke about the inherent or g

enetic superiority of some people . This `` genius '' bank still exists , but it

 has since lowered its expectations : mere scholars now suffice . Cryobank says 

it is different from banks that have an IQ-cutoff . It takes sperm from donors w

ho attend state schools , and it requires no intelligence tests . Cryobank offic

ials say they are simply seeking the kind of donor that women want . Stephen Fra

nk , opinion page editor of the Harvard Crimson , is not as worried about the of

fspring as he is about the donors . He has written a column , `` Dollars for Spe

rm , '' that questions whether this is a wise part-time job . Donors can earn $ 

105 a week for what can amount to three 15-minute visits . While Frank says this

 is good pay for what some would hardly call work , he wonders whether sperm ban

ks take advantage of young donors , who might regret their choices later in life

 . To limit the chance of accidental incest or a chance encounter with a strikin

gly similar person , many sperm banks retire a donor 's sperm supply after its h

as produced 10 children . But Frank is not sure those safeguards make much diffe

rence . `` When I am 40 years old and have a family of my own , '' he said , `` 

I personally wouldn't want to have other kids running around who look like me . 

''

 Get out your calculators . You 're going to need them to keep up with rising ca

r prices , especially on best-selling cars and trucks . Take the Chevrolet Camar

o . When the 1994 model was introduced last fall , it carried a base price of $ 

13,399 . By Jan. 10 this year , that price rose to $ 13,499 . On May 9 , the pri

ce went up $ 250 to $ 13,749 . Yet , the sporty Camaro and its companion Pontiac

 Firebird continue to sell at a brisk pace . Current sales are almost four times

 what they were in 1993 . So what 's going on here ? Partly it 's the end of rec

ession . People are buying cars again and that 's creating high demand , which i

s leading to higher prices . Partly it 's manufacturers such as General Motors C

orp. scrambling to find money and ways to expand production . And partly it 's s

hifting exchange rates putting pressure on Japanese companies to raise prices . 

`` We 're having the opposite side of the problem that we had two years ago , wh

en we were shutting down plants because we couldn't sell enough cars , '' said J

ohn F. Maciarz , GM 's marketing spokesman . `` Now our demand is so high , we c

an't build enough cars and trucks . '' Oddly enough , Japanese automakers with t

heir factories of legendary efficiency are experiencing similar capacity problem

s , although their prices are rising faster than those of their American rivals 

. Since Oct. 1 , 1993 the beginning of the 1994 model year Japanese auto prices 

have risen an average $ 991 , or 5.8 percent , over what they were for comparabl

e 1993 models , according to the latest pricing survey by Automotive News , a De

troit-based industry trade journal . By comparison , prices for GM , Ford Motor 

Co. and Chrysler Corp. have risen an average $ 416 since last October , or 2.2 p

ercent . Yet , the Japanese share of the car and truck market in the United Stat

es for the first four months of this year stood at 23.1 percent , up two-tenths 

of a percentage point over its 1993 level . Domestic auto companies held a 74.2 

percent share , down six-tenths , according to figures compiled by Autofacts Ear

ly Warning Report , another industry trade journal . `` That sort of pokes a hol

e in the argument that higher prices necessarily mean lower market share , '' sa

id Joel Pitcoff , an industry analyst for Ford . `` In spite of their higher pri

ces ( and ) our increases in quality , in spite of the fact that more Americans 

are beginning to buy our cars , the Japanese are still making gains ; and we 're

 not taking them lightly . '' However , some analysts have argued that U.S. auto

makers could gain more share if they absolutely held the line on prices , or low

ered them . But that conventional wisdom assumes the U.S. companies have enough 

capacity to meet even existing demand for their products , said Chrysler spokesw

oman Karen Stewart . Chrysler is losing sales , and chances to increase market s

hare , largely because it is having a hard time building all the cars people wan

t to buy , Stewart said . Chrysler 's much-in-demand Neon car is an example . Th

e company has a backlog of about 35,000 orders for the subcompact , Chrysler off

icials said . Chrysler so far has raised its 1994 car and truck prices an averag

e $ 389 , 2 percent higher than they were last year . But , as is becoming commo

n with Japanese and U.S. car manufacturers alike , those Chrysler increases came

 in steps an average $ 244 in October 1993 , and mini-hikes totaling an average 

$ 145 since then . The strategy is to avoid turning off consumers with one , big

 price jump , Stewart said . ` ` .. . People tend to deal with price increases m

uch better if you keep the increases moderate and spread them out over time , ''

 she says . Consumers still will be able to find bargains in what has become a s

eller 's market , industry officials said . But those bargains most likely will 

be found on slower-selling models . Also , a best-seller in one community may be

 a dud in another , where the price might therefore be lower , some industry off

icials said .

 If an icy comet strikes a large , gaseous planet while everyone is watching , d

oes it make a sound ? Well , yes in a way . It 's this summer 's buzz . Comet Sh

oemaker-Levy 9 , which resembles a string of pearls , is on a collision course w

ith Jupiter . On July 16 , the first of the comet 's 21 major chunks will plumme

t into the planet 's gassy atmosphere . For the following five days , piece afte

r icy piece dives into Jupiter . What happens next , scientists aren't sure . Th

is kind of comet is the first one astronomers ever have seen-in fact , this is t

he first time humanity will witness space real estate smacking a planet . Caroly

n and Gene Shoemaker and David Levy discovered this one-in-a-thousand-lifetimes 

comet on March 25 , 1993 , at the 18-inch Schmidt telescope at Mount Palomar Obs

ervatory near San Diego . The trio found the comet by studying pictures taken wi

th the telescope two nights earlier . In the photographs , Carolyn found what sh

e called a `` squashed comet . '' To verify it , Levy and the Shoemakers wanted 

to see it again . But the night was cloudy in Southern California . Levy contact

ed Jim Scotti at the Spacewatch Telescope at Kitt Peak , Ariz. Scotti aimed his 

telescope at the object and reported a few hours later : `` Have you got yoursel

ves a comet ! '' It featured multiple nuclei and tails . Astronomers conclude th

at eight months earlier , on July 7 , 1992 , the comet passed Jupiter and the pl

anet 's gravity tore the comet into 21 major bits . Apparently , the comet chunk

s will mostly hit on Jupiter 's far side , but the planet spins fairly fast , gi

ving scientists some hope to catch residual events . To see it , you 'll need a 

telescope large enough to capture Jupiter 's detail .

 `` I heard NBC was initially interested but wanted to play down the suicide and

 the drugs , '' says Dave Thompson , author of the quickie unauthorized bio `` N

ever Fade Away : The Kurt Cobain Story . '' Thompson is referring to newspaper r

eports that network television had considered a movie about the short life and s

udden death of Nirvana 's lead singer . In the wake of three `` Long Island Loli

ta '' and two Menendez brothers movies not to mention just about every sweeps we

ek special in recent years such restraint is probably more indicative of Attorne

y General Janet Reno 's attentions than late-blooming industry conscience , thou

gh a Los Angeles Times report noted that the networks weren't particularly inter

ested in the youthful demographics of Nirvana fans and felt that older audiences

 wouldn't know who Cobain was and probably wouldn't care . Thompson is an intere

sted observer because the film rights to his paperback book have been picked up 

by Los Angeles-based Paradigm Talent , which is talking to interested producers 

and has already assigned one of its clients , Richard DiLello , to write the scr

ipt . DiLello , who has written scripts for `` Colors '' and `` Bad Boys , '' is