April 24, 2005

GEETHA Lakshminarayanan says it is easy for her to figure out which guys to blow off at a bar. They are the ones who approach her by asking, ''What are you?'' or ''Where are you from?'' ''It's always nice to be seen as attractive, but I don't want people to date me because I'm exotic, like an animal at the zoo,'' said Ms. Lakshminarayanan, 22, who works for an organization in Ann Arbor, Mich., that teaches management skills to nonprofit groups. Ms. Lakshminarayanan, whose heritage is white and Asian Indian, is mistaken for Latina or Filipina because of her olive skin and straight black hair. ''It's like they're taking a walk on the wild side,'' she said. ''I don't trust them.''

Despite dire predictions that the streets would be awash in military-style guns, the expiration of the decade-long assault weapons ban last September has not set off a sustained surge in the weapons' sales, gun makers and sellers say. It also has not caused any noticeable increase in gun crime in the past seven months, according to several metropolitan police departments. The uneventful expiration of the assault weapons ban did not surprise gun owners, nor did it surprise some advocates of gun control. Rather, it underscored what many of them had said all along: that the ban was porous -- so porous that assault weapons remained widely available throughout their prohibition.

The Nets know firsthand what Shaquille O'Neal is all about in the playoffs. In the 2002 N.B.A. finals, O'Neal, the 7-foot-1, 325-pound center, was a one-man wrecking crew, averaging 36.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.8 blocked shots to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a four-game sweep of the Nets.

The Jets took Mike Nugent, a kicker from Ohio State, in Round 2. The Giants picked cornerback Corey Webster in the second round. Aaron Rodgers, left, the Cal quarterback once seen as a possible top pick, fell to Green Bay at No. 24. Denver took Maurice Clarett. On the Web: projections, player profiles and real-time coverage. COMPLETE COVERAGE, PAGES 8-9

STROLLING through SoHo last week wearing a pink dirndl skirt, Debbie Korb was the picture of spring, the only thing marring that vision being the flicker of pain on her face. ''These shoes are brand-new,'' explained Ms. Korb, a broker at Sotheby's auction house in New York, pointing toward dainty sandals embellished with mother-of-pearl. ''It's the first time I've worn them, and already I have Band-Aids on my feet.''