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Want to become a celebrity personal assistant? A class at The Learning Annex will teach you how. 'Hot Summer Classes' at the Annex By Michelle Goldberg Obviously the Learning Annex, a private San Francisco company offering all manner of career and self-help classes, isn't exactly the Ivy League, but the seminars in the August/September catalog make most correspondence courses seem like Oxford. Catering to a city abounding with New Age gullibility and frightfully diminished life expectations, the Learning Annex instructs eager students on such topics as "How to Get Booked on a Talk Show." There to teach you how to turn your private degradations into public humiliation is Laura Fried, a booker for Oprah Winfrey, Hard Copy and Jerry Springer (where she helped launch the Too Hot for TV! series). Will she offer pointers on thumping your sexual rivals without breaking a nail? Find out for only $39 plus a $10 "registration fee." For those who prefer a more behind-the-scenes glimpse of fame, the Learning Annex also offers "Become a Celebrity Personal Assistant," with instruction from a panel of experts, including assistants to Danny Glover, John Lee Hooker and Edward James Olmos (in the flesh!). If your interests are more spiritual than sycophantic, try "Buddhism for Beginners," "Discover Your Past Lives" or "Tantra: The Art of Sacred Sexuality." Not feeling quite so Zen? Indulge the bitterness born of years of failure and desperation with classes like "How to Get Anything on Anybody" or "How to Marry Rich," which includes tips on "where the money is." A hint--not here. [ San Francisco | MetroActive Central | Archives ]