BECKY SHER | Hype Taking the Pulse of electronic style

If you're planning to upgrade the Walkman you've had since seventh grade, now's your chance. Target stores have teamed up with Virgin to create a new line of electronics that is totally hip and modern without breaking the bank. The Virgin Pulse collection includes MP3 players, portable CD players, cordless phones, a clock radio and more. The only thing that might be out of your price range is a portable TV/DVD player -- it's a pricey 500 bucks.
We're thinking more along the lines of the three CD players in the collection, including one with MP3 playback. The cheapest is $40, and they're a whole lot better-looking than some of the portable electronics we've seen. These are sleek and smooth, with no crazy colors or fancy bells and whistles to weigh them down. We also get a kick out of the CD clock radio, with its top-loading CD slot and wedge-like shape. Totally Starship Enterprise.
Look for Virgin Pulse products at Target stores this fall.
Kitchen capers
Think your risotto is to die for? Do you make chocolate torte with the best of 'em? Show off your culinary prowess (and maybe even win some scholarship money) in The Art Institutes' Best Teen Chef competition. Whipping up a batch of chocolate-chip cookies won't do -- this grueling contest is only for serious cooks. But if you know how to make soaring meringue and tender Cornish game hen, maybe it's worth a try.
The competition starts with 19 local events in March 2004, held at the Art Institutes' schools around the country, where budding chefs will prepare a menu chosen in advance. Winners head to California in May to cook up a West Coast-inspired menu for a panel of judges. The winner gets a $30,000 full-tuition scholarship to the Art Institutes, and all the glory that comes with being the nation's Best Teen Chef. Check out www.artinstitutes.edu/nc for a competition brochure and application -- the deadline is Feb. 13.
XBecky Sher writes Hype for Knight Ridder Tribune News Service. You can write to her at bsher@krtinfo.com.