Users can surf city streets of 320 AD
BBC Nov 13, 08 7:07 CST
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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 of old Rome, reports the BBC.
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Urban, coastal areas generally oppose Prop. 8; less-populated inland areas support it
San Francisco Chronicle Oct 22, 08 4:22 PM CDT
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California’s looming referendum on gay marriage is highlighting the cultural divide between coastal and inland regions, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Polls show 37% of voters in coastal counties supported Proposition 8—which would amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage—in a June poll, while 54% in the Central Valley supported it.
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Western imports ease daily stress, but fuel the fundamentalists' ire
New York Times Sep 7, 08 3:34 PM CDT
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Culture is the quiet battleground in Gaza, where Jennifer Lopez pouts on CD covers beside religious paperbacks on store shelves, the New York Times reports. Combating daily food shortages and feeling isolated, Gazans escape with soap operas, sitcoms, and music—homegrown or imported from the West. But recent incidents—from a party host beaten for serving alcohol, to a theater director held at gunpoint—have heightened cultural tensions.
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Those who partied in New Orleans could influence evacuees to remain next time
Christian Science Monitor Sep 4, 08 3:21 PM CDT
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As the thousands who rode out Hurricane Gustav in New Orleans boast about the hardy, and sometimes boozy, camaraderie to neighbors who paid in frustration for following evacuation orders, authorities are hoping those tales won’t keep residents from heeding warnings next time around, the Christian Science Monitor reports. “Some of those people will definitely say, ‘I'm not going to make that mistake again of leaving,’” one official said.
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opinion
Piracy, iTunes bad news for the bastions of US culture
Wall Street Journal Aug 9, 08 10:57 CDT
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The Internet is killing the two cultural exports that most define America: music and movies, Elizabeth Lee Wurtzel writes in the Wall Street Journal . Gone are the days of the old-fashioned rock star and the seminal album, replaced by one-hit wonders and an iTunes audience that craves singles. Gone, too, are the days when— Harry Potter notwithstanding—lines would snake around the block to see Star Wars or similar fare. Blame downloading for much of it. "Our movies and music are America," Wurtzel warns. "And the day the music dies, the party's over."
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How oddballs compete, from pole-sitting to goat polo
Times (UK) Jul 29, 08 2:00 PM CDT
(Newser)
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If curling strikes you as a strange sport, you've obviously never heard of wife carrying or bottle kicking. The London Times explores the weirdest pastimes from across the globe: Wife-carrying, Maine, USA: Wives hang on for dear life as husbands tote them through an obstacle course, upside-down. Winners receive the wife's weight in beer.
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Fearing for teens, Duma debates legislation to outlaw fashion, monitor websites
Guardian (UK) Jul 24, 08 3:55 PM CDT
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Fearing a threat to the wellbeing of its youth, the Russian Duma is going after what it sees as Public Enemy No. 1—emo. Lawmakers are debating legislation to ban all signs of emo culture—an offshoot of punk music—from schools and government buildings, the Guardian reports. Lawmakers see the trademark skinny jeans, black lipstick, and outré hairdos as “dangerous teen trends” that could lead to antisocial behavior and suicide.
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From popular to niche, selected for being fun and instructive
Chicago Tribune Jul 16, 08 12:19 PM CDT
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From US Weekly to a quarterly for Godzilla enthusiasts, the Chicago Tribune 's list of 50 favorite magazines both entertain and take readers to new places. The list includes: NME : A rock and roll crystal ball, this UK music mag forecasts tomorrow’s megastars Seed: Science never looked so glossy or sounded so thought-provoking
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ANALYSIS
Harvard prof questions theory that Internet fuels boom for niche commerce
Slate Jul 14, 08 4:23 PM CDT
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The "Long Tail" theory of the internet—that the Web's boundless democracy is enabling a boom in niche culture and commerce—is coming under fire just as its author releases the paperback version, Farhad Manjoo writes on Slate. After reviewing data that should back Chris Anderson's theory, a Harvard professor concludes that while obscure media sales are growing, they're still obscure.
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OPINION
New York Times Jul 4, 08 4:45 PM CDT
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These days China feels "both older and newer than any place on the planet," writes New York Times art critic Holland Cotter. And nowhere is that tension more palpable than in the country's museums, which use antiquities from the millennia-old civilization in service of a rising world power. In a trip across China, the critic discovers a different approach to museum display.
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Still, 'I'd vote for him,' she gushes
Daily Telegraph (UK) Jun 23, 08 4:57 CDT
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They may look like an always-happy couple, but France's First Lady Carla Bruni has confessed she doesn't agree with husband Nicolas Sarkozy's right-wing politics. She's not alone. Just a year after his election, polls have shown Sarkozy is the most unpopular president in six decades, reports the Daily Telegraph. "My instinctive reflexes are left-wing," Bruni told Liberation . She and her husband are not politically "joined at the hip."
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High schoolers embrace pricey US tradition, but some blast 'ghastly import'
Wall Street Journal Jun 17, 08 3:40 PM CDT
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Parents and traditionalists alike are feeling the pinch as expensive American-style proms migrate to the UK, the Wall Street Journal finds. Teens crave the stretch limos and extravagant gowns seen in US shows like The O.C . and My Super Sweet 16 . But some educators criticize the trend, including one headmaster bothered by "the ones who are excluded by cost."
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TRAVEL
Oddball traditions say plenty about a culture
Travel Leisure Jun 11, 08 1:39 PM CDT
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Forget museums and street markets. To truly understand a culture, travelers should take in its bizarre traditions. From fire walking to tomato hurling, Travel and Leisure looks at the world's most off-the-wall celebrations. Lopburi Monkey Buffet in Thailand: Each November, Lopburi's residents lay out a feast to appease the city's greedy monkeys.
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