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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: culture

culture stories: 49 news summaries

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pop culture

 'Cupcakists' Find 
 Happiness in 
 a Simple Pastry 

Cultural movement extols the virtues of butter and frosting

Sep 28, 09 4:57 PM CDT
(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.... More »

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America • culture • recession • cupcakes • Johnny Cupcakes

OPINION

 We Need More 
 Armstrongs, 
 Fewer Jackos 

Apollo astronauts exemplify what US celebs should be

Jul 21, 09 9:52 AM CDT
(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,”... More »

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entertainment • Paris Hilton • culture • celebrity • Michael Jackson • Apollo missions • values • Neil Armstrong

GLOSSIES

 Kindles, iPods Spell 
 Tragic End to Snobbery 

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

Jul 8, 09 2:40 PM CDT
(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 ... More »

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iPod • culture • record • book • Kindle • album • snobs

OPINION

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

Today's celebs would make George Washington blush

Jul 7, 09 8:51 AM CDT
(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... More »

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ethics • culture • Michael Jackson • David Brooks • Sarah Palin • George Washington • Mark Sanford • President Obama • dignity

OPINION

 'He-Cession' Is  
 Death Knell for 
 Male Dominance 

Recession has sped end of 'era of male dominance'

Jun 29, 09 2:45 PM CDT
(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
women • men • culture • recession • revolution • male • alpha male • dominance • women's issues

opinion

 Even as a Kid, Michael 
 Changed the Game 

Black community adopted him as pioneer

Jun 26, 09 6:53 AM CDT
(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... More »

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music • race • culture • black culture • Michael Jackson • women's issues

(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... More »

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art • Italy • sculpture • Christ • culture • Florence • Michelangelo • Jesus Christ • crucifiction

Backward 'Brain Drain' Calls Indians Home From US

Economy exerts pull on well-educated thirtysomethings

May 19, 09 2:10 PM CDT
(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... More »

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Silicon Valley • India • culture • reverse brain drain • brain drain • economy

OPINION

 Welcome
 to Remedial 
 Web Trends 101 

David Pogue searches for the meme canon

May 7, 09 2:04 PM CDT
(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... More »

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Internet • YouTube • culture • memes • Rickroll • Twitter • Rick Astley • David Pogue

(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Latin America • Mexico • culture • immigrant • holiday • El Salvador • Cinco de Mayo

analysis

Why Today's
Heroes Are
So 'Effed Up'

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

Mar 29, 09 7:36 PM CDT
(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
film • culture • hero • movies • villains

Half the World's Languages Will Vanish by 2100

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

Mar 16, 09 11:11 AM CDT
(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.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
globalization • culture • extinction • UNESCO • language

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

Gov't, public pressure forces shift in expectations

Jan 31, 09 9:13 AM CST
(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... More »

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Wall Street • culture • compensation • bailout • business models • Obama administration • President Obama • TARP

 Lab Is Top US Dog, 
 18 Years and Counting   

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

Jan 21, 09 4:25 PM CST
(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,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • America • culture • German shepherd • bulldog • Labrador Retriever • dog • trend • President Obama • purebred • Yorkshire terrier

Manners Killed Titanic's Brits as Yanks Fled: Study

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

Jan 21, 09 4:12 PM CST
(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
British • culture • psychology • Americans • Titanic • altruism • stranded passengers

 Psychologists: 
 Victorian Novels 
 Helped Us Evolve 

Victorian literature upheld cooperation, personal sacrifice

Jan 14, 09 6:07 PM CST
(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Dracula • culture • English literature • Britain • society • morality • greed • progress • Victorian novel • classics • Pride and Prejudice • Middlemarch • Wuthering Heights

OPINION

 What's In and Out for 2009 

A new year, a new inane list of trends that are sure to look dumb by December

Jan 1, 09 2:36 PM CST
(Newser) - The New Year is here, and that means it’s time to clean out the cultural wardrobe. Hank Stuever of the Washington Post offers his annual take on things that are so last year, and others sure to be cool in the next 12 months:
  • Out:
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
fashion • iPhone • Michelle Obama • Alec Baldwin • culture • LOLcats • Mad Men • Garfield • Mickey Rourke • New Year

glossies

The Best of the Bush Years:  Cultural Edition

Newsweek picks most emblematic TV, music, movies of last 8 years

Dec 14, 08 4:57 PM CST
(Newser) - The Bush years have been their own little era, sparking artistic dissent and encouraging elaborations on new national themes. Newsweek had its top critics pick the piece from their field that seems most indicative of this decade:
  • American Idol: "Like Dubya, the show makes a virtue of its
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Bush administration • American Idol • culture • artistic expression • Jonathan Franzen • Borat • Jeff Koons • Caryl Churchill • Battlestar Galactica

OPINION

 How Cereal Shaped America 

Charting the evolution and influence of the grain-based breakfast

Dec 14, 08 10:01 AM CST
(Newser) - We might be eating hockey pucks for breakfast if a 19th-century kitchen accident hadn’t turned John Kellogg’s “barely edible” biscuits into today’s far-tastier flakes, Ian Lender writes in Mental Floss. “The cereal flake is the perfect consumer product,” he says, looking at how cereal... More »

MORE ABOUT:
advertising • Kellogg • cereal • pop culture • culture • breakfast

 Google Unearths 
 3D Ancient Rome 

Users can surf city streets of 320 AD

Nov 13, 08 7:07 AM CST
(Newser) - Google Earth is providing users the opportunity to surf the streets of Ancient Rome via a 3D virtual reconstruction of the city as it was in the 4th century. Users can "enter" the Forum, stand in the sands of the Colosseum, or swoop over any of 6,700 buildings... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Google • Internet • Google Earth • Rome • Ancient Rome • culture • Colosseum • forum • Plastico di Roma Antica • ancient history

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