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May 25, 2012
Mark Clayton: Is Hillary's State Dept. hacking Al Qaeda? Not quite
Erika Bolstad: Temple cancels Wasserman Schultz speech
The Kosher Gourmet by Ethel G. Hofman: The former president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, whose members included the likes of Julia Child, is back with contemporary Shavous cuisine: Ruby Fruit Soup, Sweet Noodle Kugel with Cheese, Key Lime Curd, Calsone Casserole Frittata with Wild Mushrooms, Sun-dried tomatoes and Olives, Baked Tilapia with Pepper Cheese Cream and Brown Sugar Shortbread
May 24, 2012
Jeff Jacoby: The peace process battered Israel's reputation
Michael Muskal: 'Pro-choice' position hits record low, according to poll
Chris Farrell: Are We in a Tech Bubble?
The Kosher Gourmet by Penelope Wall: PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS --- hold the steak!
May 23, 2012
Tony Pugh: More private colleges offering tuition discounts
Mary Beth Franklin: How to Choose the Right Annuity for You
Tina Susman: The wig wasn't enough: Man gets 13 years for posing as his dead mom
The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen:A simple way to do fish right
May 22, 2012
Warren Richey: Can US group challenge overseas surveillance act? Supreme Court to decide
Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
Oct. 4, 2010
26 Tishrei, 5771
Dorky Digital and the New Cool
By
Suzanne Fields
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Every generation seeks a hero or an anti-hero, a trend or counter-trend, a fashion or non-fashion to define itself in both politics and the culture, pop and otherwise. Recall Dustin Hoffman as Benjamin Braddock in the movie "The Graduate," lolling about in his parents' swimming pool, fins and all, with no place to go. Quintessential '60s.
Fast forward to 2010. Jesse Eisenberg plays Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, trying to connect with his girlfriend in the new movie "The Social Network," as she tells him with fatigue and exasperation, "dating you is like dating StairMaster." Swoosh. The devil as a dork.
Inside our speeded-up Internet, cyberspace, tweeting networks, technological change accelerates perceptions about who we are, where we're going and how we're getting there. Mark Zuckerberg may not like his portrayal in the movie because it's "lightly fictional," but his persona captures the Zeitgeist of the Geek with all of the Asbergy remoteness that allows one unlikeable genius to touch the nerve of a generation.
This guy with only one "friend" created a network of a half-billion friends, which, if it were a country, would be the third largest on the globe. Facebook, of course, is not a country, but that doesn't relieve its users of fretting about a Big Techy Brother making private information public.
Zuckerberg didn't help matters when he said that privacy was a changing "social norm." In reaction to criticism, he changed certain privacy settings to make them more secure. Still, it's difficult to understand why so many people choose to reveal so much information about themselves to so many people they hardly know, if they know them at all.
This is not "the culture of narcissism" so much as the culture of the superficial. In it, you see the social and psychological shifts that move from intimacy to interface, from touching moments to the touch of a keyboard, from eye-to-eye contact to virtual reality. People now boast of how many "friends" they have, as if quantity is quality.
While Facebook can be a harmless process for people to find out about people they once knew or would like to know, it cultivates a way of thinking and "connecting" that is veneer deep and that can be less than benign in the attitudes it fosters. More and more politicians use Facebook to be "in touch," and the phrase itself betrays a surface assumption. Ideas spread swiftly without substance. Offered as facts without verification. These network connections encourage daily bulletins to lots of people, suggesting a significance they don't have and a value they don't merit.
Marshall McLuhan famously said, "The medium is the message," suggesting that the way we get information is the information. That notion seems even more to the point today, as the space where the information is supplied becomes the message. A new Facebook feature even marks a user's location. We're frequently reminded that the digital age encourages transparency, but the reality is that there are merely more ways to see not very much. When the messenger wears no clothes, who can tell?
Sean Parker (played by Justin Timberlake), the co-founder of Napster in the movie, observes that a million dollars is no longer cool. "You know what's cool?" he asks. "A billion dollars." He doesn't say how the billion should be spent.
So it was a remarkable moment on "Oprah" when the real-life Mark Zuckerberg announced that he would give $100 million to the failing schools of Newark to "make a difference." His timing could have been self-serving — to counteract the negative portrait of him in the movie — but his motive seems to have matured. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is trying to change the education system in Newark by pushing parents to find better schools for their kids.
Newark charter schools now require children to win the lottery, literally, if they want to attend a school of their choice. As in most other cities, there are simply not enough spaces in charter schools for all those who want one. Christie recalls meeting a mom whose son won a coveted spot through the lottery who told him that the charter school would make the difference between her son "going to college or going to jail."
If the 26-year-old billionaire has learned something about charity in the transition from the callow Harvard dropout he was, then he may have moved from wading deep in the digital shallows to finding new depths of possibility. Like the devil, the dork is in the details. By building on Facebook to become a philanthropist, he's appealing to our better angels. You could call it "the new cool."
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Suzanne Fields Archives
© 2006, Creators Syndicate, Suzanne Fields
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