culture

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'Long' Countries Protect Languages Better: Study

Jared Diamond's 'Guns, Germs and Steel' inspires quirky study

(Newser) - Speaking an indigenous language in Chile or Italy? You're in luck. In Turkey or Russia? Not so much. So say researchers at Stanford University, who studied 147 countries and concluded that those with a wide west-east axis (as opposed to a long north-south one) tend to eliminate smaller languages...

We Don't Hate the Rich, We Hate the 'New Upper Class'

Charles Murray says this powerful group calls the shots in the US

(Newser) - Americans see tensions over income inequality growing, but Charles Murray thinks they've got it all wrong. "Income inequality isn't really the problem," the libertarian author writes in Time . "A new upper class is the problem," a group denoted not by its wealth, but by...

Christmas Bombings Spark Unrest in Nigeria

Some fear escalating violence ahead of elections

(Newser) - State police are swarming into central Nigeria following a series of Christmas church bombings that killed 38, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Following Saturday's explosions, angry youths barricaded roads and attacked people passing by yesterday, and houses and a truck also were set ablaze. UN chief Ban Ki-moon blasted the...

When Did Halloween Turn Sexy?

It all started in Greenwich Village in the '70s

(Newser) - Ever wondered when Halloween shifted from spooky to sexy? Somewhere in the 1970s, explains Juliet Lapidos for Slate. New York’s Greenwich Village launched its annual Halloween parade in 1973, an event that quickly became popular among the local gay community, who largely attended in drag and other sexy outfits....

'Cupcakists' Find Happiness in a Simple Pastry

Cultural movement extols the virtues of butter and frosting

(Newser) - Johnny Cupcakes operates stores that sell cupcake-themed merchandise—shirts and stickers bearing a skull-and-crossbones logo with a cupcake instead of a skull—but not cupcakes. Johnny Cupcakes sells the idea of cupcakes, a symbol of an uncomplicated, untouchable childhood pleasure, safe from the stresses of adult life, writes Jennie Yabroff....

We Need More Armstrongs, Fewer Jackos

Apollo astronauts exemplify what US celebs should be

(Newser) - It’s unfortunate that American celebrity typically comes in the form of “uninteresting, detestable, loud, or unaccomplished people” like Michael Jackson and Paris Hilton, writes Bret Stephens in the Wall Street Journal. What society needs is more heroes like the Apollo astronauts—celebrities with “the right stuff,”...

Kindles, iPods Spell Tragic End to Snobbery

How can we show off taste when it's onscreen?

(Newser) - On the subway or in a cafe, taking a peek at what others are reading has long provided a convenient way to judge them on the spot: a mindless crime-novel fan? A Joyce-toting member of the intellectual elite? But with the Kindle, we’re left guessing, observes James Wolcott in ...

Who Killed Dignity? Ask Sanford, Jacko, Palin ...

Today's celebs would make George Washington blush

(Newser) - Carrying himself with honor and restraint was of utmost importance to George Washington and Americans for generations afterward—but for today’s public figures, the premium on dignity has faded, says David Brooks in the New York Times. Washington’s conduct “during times of temptation” made him “a...

'He-Cession' Is Death Knell for Male Dominance

Recession has sped end of 'era of male dominance'

(Newser) - Macho men caused this recession, and they’re going to pay the price: for the first time in history, they’ll cease to be the dominant force in society, writes Reihan Salam in Foreign Policy. Signs of the turning tide can already be seen in the US, as male-dominated industries...

Even as a Kid, Michael Changed the Game
 Even as a Kid, Michael 
 Changed the Game 
opinion
Jun 26, 2009 6:53 AM CDT

Even as a Kid, Michael Changed the Game

Black community adopted him as pioneer

(Newser) - Michael Jackson took Hollywood with Ben in 1972, at a time when few black Americans had shaped the industry. “Little Michael landed upon the mindset of film-hungry black America when its citizenry was starved for identity on the big screen,” writes Wil Haygood in the Washington Post. The...

Italy's $4M 'Michelangelo' Triggers Furor

(Newser) - Did Michelangelo actually create a small (16-inch) wooden carving of a crucified Jesus or did the Italian government get taken for a $4 million ride? Some experts believe passionately that the piece, now on exhibit in Naples, is the work of the master. But as the BBC reports, others blast...

Backward 'Brain Drain' Calls Indians Home From US

Economy exerts pull on well-educated thirtysomethings

(Newser) - While much of the world suffers economic meltdown, India’s economy is comparatively healthy—and that may be reversing a longstanding “brain drain” of Indians to American shores, Sandip Roy reports for NPR. “It’s the hottest topic at potluck dinners all over Silicon Valley—which friend or...

Welcome to Remedial Web Trends 101
 Welcome
 to Remedial 
 Web Trends 101 
OPINION
May 7, 2009 2:04 PM CDT

Welcome to Remedial Web Trends 101

David Pogue searches for the meme canon

(Newser) - When the New York Times’ tech guru admitted on Twitter to only recently having heard of “Rickrolling”—the Internet prank in which a link promises something desirable but delivers the video for Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up—his followers blasted him for being “so...

Cinco de Mayo Marginalizes Non-Mexican Latinos

(Newser) - Cinco de Mayo has become a very visible celebration in the US, but the Mexican holiday’s prevalence is just one indicator of the marginalization of other Latino immigrants, the AP reports. The Mexican-American population is almost equal to that of all other Latin American immigrants combined, resulting in a...

Why Today's Heroes Are So 'Effed Up'
Why Today's
Heroes Are
So 'Effed Up'
analysis
Mar 29, 2009 7:36 PM CDT

Why Today's Heroes Are So 'Effed Up'

'Powerless' America wonders if 'good is up to the task'

(Newser) - Heroes and villains have clashed in American pop culture since D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation in 1915, but today's heroes are oddly at war with another foe—themselves, Jeff Jensen writes in Entertainment Weekly. Like Lost's castaways, modern heroes are "flawed or messed up," reflecting...

Half the World's Languages Will Vanish by 2100

More than 2400 tongues at risk of extinction, as last speakers die out

(Newser) - Globalization has many benefits, but the preservation of the world's languages is decidedly not among them. Ever since the invention of agriculture 10,000 years ago, smaller tribes have assimilated into bigger ones and seen their native tongues lost, and the process has been speeding up, reports the Washington Post....

Wall St. Braces for Lower Pay, Less Risk-Taking

Gov't, public pressure forces shift in expectations

(Newser) - With the new president joining the chorus of outrage against bonuses for bailed-out Wall Street firms, bankers are grappling with the notion that long-held pay expectations will have to change, the Wall Street Journal reports. Eager to avert government crackdown, firms are expected to shrink and perhaps defer bonuses, to...

Lab Is Top US Dog, 18 Years and Counting

Yorkshire terrier is second; bulldog now at No. 8 and gaining fast

(Newser) - The Obamas’ pup could change things, but for now the playful Labrador retriever remains America’s most popular purebred, the American Kennel Club calculates. It's the Lab’s 18th consecutive year as king; the Yorkshire terrier and German shepherd are second and third, Reuters reports. Bulldogs moved up two spots,...

Manners Killed Titanic's Brits as Yanks Fled: Study

British were more likely to line up for lifeboats, researcher contends

(Newser) - British passengers aboard the Titanic were most likely to die because their sense of propriety inclined them to line up for lifeboats while Americans elbowed past to save themselves, claims an Australian researcher who is studying how people react in life-threatening disasters. Americans were 8.5% more likely than other...

Psychologists: Victorian Novels Helped Us Evolve

Victorian literature upheld cooperation, personal sacrifice

(Newser) - Victorian novels didn't just tout moralistic values of 19th-century British society, they helped altruistic genes flourish, a study claims. Evolutionary psychologists say classic characters such as Mr. Darcy and Count Dracula helped instill and promote a sense of right and wrong in society, the Guardian reports, specifically the notion that...

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