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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
Dec. 30, 2011/ 4 Teves, 5772
The Social Medium, Not The Message
By
Suzanne Fields
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
This is the week that pits the old fogies against the rising generations in determining "what's in" for 2012 and "what's out" for 2011. Fashion and political opinions have traditionally made for a showdown at Generation Gap, but now, as we move into a new year, there's a communication gap, too. It's as much about process as substance in how we see the future.
Some compare the generational conflicts in terms of speed — what's slow and what's moving in the fast lane, what we can reflect on and what we must experience urgently in the moment. From this point of view, how we receive information becomes as important as what we know. This pits the digitally hip texters with smartphones and Facebook profiles who get their reading material from the Internet against the older among us who cling to information derived from paper in books and newspapers. The older condescend only occasionally to read on a Kindle or an iPad.
Making matters worse are the Internet activists in the living room who reduce communication to 140 characters and never look up while making plans. Their attention is always somewhere else. Those who want to engage them in extended conversations about the past, such as what happened yesterday, learn they might as well be asking why Joan of Arc was burned at the stake.
It's a truism, which continues to be true, that you only know — really know — your own generation up close and personal. We see that mostly in the pop culture, with questions about favorites in music, art and books. Huge nostalgia gaps in the culture are determined by the era in which you were born.
The same goes for political events. "You're not a baby boomer if you don't have a visceral recollection of a Kennedy and a King assassination, a Beatles breakup, a U.S. defeat in Vietnam, and a Watergate," writes P.J. O'Rourke, an aging boomer whose generation for one short minute boasted that it would never trust anyone over 30. The culture gave them a pass. There were too many of them for frightened and intimidated adults to assert themselves.
Now that the boomers are far beyond 30, nestled among the 50- and 65-year-olds, they've got a record we can at last evaluate. If, as O'Rourke suggests, they can most easily be blamed for having screwed up the culture, trashing everything from love and marriage to the economy and politics. But he doesn't want to stop there. Writing in The Weekly Standard, he shows there's lots of blame to spread around currently for the stupidity of the pop culture, including all those unmemorable memoirs and "self-helplessness" tracts created and consumed across generations. It's the clever criticism of hindsight, but his argument is more than a demonstration of wit.
Every generation chooses the fight it wants to win against the generation preceding, even when it's not sure what that fight ought to be about. This was the idea captured in the 1953 movie classic, "The Wild One," before the boomers put their stamp on the pop culture. When a pretty girl asks Johnny, the hipster on a motorcycle, played by Marlon Brando, "What'cha rebelling against?" Brando replies, "What'cha got?"
As we move into the new year, it may help those over 30 to recognize they've still got the ability to scorn bad ideas. The new social media is neither as revolutionary nor as earthshaking as the pop pontificators may think. The focus for criticism shouldn't be on the technology, but how technology is used, and for what.
The Economist magazine finds parallels in today's social media with the way people pushed the ideas in the 16th century that ushered in the Reformation. The printing press helped to put ideas quickly into pamphlets easy to circulate, but it took a network of willing traveling merchants, traders, preachers and sympathetic citizenry to carry the pamphlets from one town to another. Like tweets, ideas spread spontaneously. Instead of downloading music, poets composed impious lyrics and parodies to familiar folksongs and hymns, easily sung in communal choruses as "newsy" ballads for the reformers.
Debates found a forum even for the illiterate, who heard arguments repeated by their friends and families in inns, taverns, markets, guilds and homes. The academic allies of the pope, who wrote in Latin, fought a fierce rearguard battle against the popularizers. Still, the reformers wouldn't have succeeded if those who got the message hadn't agreed with Martin Luther about corruption in the Roman church.
The medium isn't the message, it's merely a tool. No matter what age, what'cha rebelling against depends on what'cha got. We should keep that in mind when we decide what we keep for 2012, and what we toss out.
Happy New Year.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
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Suzanne Fields Archives
© 2006, Creators Syndicate, Suzanne Fields
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