I am not worried about the rise of the cultural conservatives. I am worried about the disappearance of an internationalist, pro-American business elite.

C.E.O.'s, M.I.A.

Already, four shopping malls in China are larger than the Mall of America. Two, including the South China Mall, are bigger than the West Edmonton Mall in Alberta, which just surrendered its status as the world's largest to an enormous retail center in Beijing. And by 2010, China is expected to be home to at least 7 of the world's 10 largest malls.

China, New Land of Shoppers, Builds Malls on Gigantic Scale

Through all the changes that have swept Hollywood over the years, one thing still endures: strategic love.

This story makes for an interesting entry in the selfishness vs. altruism file, if nothing else.

I Love You With All My Hype

Somebody said to me the other day that the entitlement we need to get rid of is our sense of entitlement.

You can always count on Thomas Friedman for a good turn of phrase.

(Note that if you're actually going to read this article, make sure you start at the beginning ... this URL is for page 2!)

Why the World Is Flat

The most important thing you can learn in this era of heightened global competition is how to learn. Being really good at "learning how to learn" will be an enormous asset in an era of rapid change and innovation, when new jobs will be phased in and old ones phased out faster than ever.

Of course, this should be completely obvious by now, but apparently a lot of people still don't get it.

In today's flat world, Intel can be a totally successful company without ever hiring another American.

Tuning in to Jon Stewart

Efforts to convince Muslims not to hate Americans need to be combined with efforts to convince Americans not to hate Muslims.

The Muslim Ghetto

The overwhelming majority has an informal religious attachment that is individualistic and exists without the reinforcement of institutional religious commitment.

The watchwords are decentralization and disintermediation.

OMG!: How Generation Y is redefining Faith in the iPod Era

How can religious institutions innovate and evolve to meet the spiritual needs of this generation? And what are the implications for religious and civic life as this generation matures?

Faith and Youth in the iPod Era

I have recently begun to wonder whether I am completely out of touch with the mainstream, and if so, what that implies.

When Sentiment and Fear Trump Reason and Reality

Fat people hate music.

This section presents statistics on the various information and communications media: publishing, including newspapers, periodicals, books, and software; motion pictures, sound recordings, broadcasting, and telecommunications; and information services, such as libraries. Statistics on computer use and Internet access are also included. Data on the usage, finances, and operations of the Postal Service previously shown in this section are now presented in Section 23, Transportation.

This is the source referenced by The Big Picture. There is a lot of interesting data here.

If you look at the Bureau's projections for Table 1125, you'll see that recorded music is expected to continue its decline:

Recorded music: 238 in 2001 (actual); 228 in 2002; 219 in 2003; 211 in 2004; 203 in 2005; 195 in 2006 (projections)

Video games, Internet, and home video are rapidly on the rise. Television, radio, and box office are expected to hold steady. Newspapers, books, and magazines are on a slow, modest decline far less dramatic than that of recorded music.

It's no surprise that Internet use is still in a growth period. But to see usage of recorded music drop by 20 percent in the span of 5 years, after decades of accumulated consumer experience with the medium -- that's something that should be a serious concern to those in the industry and to musicians especially.

For the fatsos^h^h^h^h^h^hskeptics out there, consider this alternate theory to explain the decline of recorded music: the "on-air personalities" of broadcast radio are downright awesome! (The census numbers do support this theory. In fact, the increase in radio exceeds the decrease in recorded music.) Think about it -- the ever-expanding blight of heavy traffic, the outrageously funny antics of middle-aged people, insufficiently attractive for the much-vaunted career in movies, who majored in "communications" and labored unjustly through so many unremembered years as the graveyard shift 'jockey' (read: IT administrator/mouse clicker) at that stupid station no one listened to. What's not to love? They deserve your affection, your admiration, and your unbounded gratitude!

Nobody needs those cocky rockers, what with their beautiful bodies, great hair, fine fashions, and craptacular cribs!

Support your local on air personalities! They're Ordinary Americans, just like you. Except they have hugely successful radio shows, and, um, well, you don't.

US Census Bureau | Information and Communications [PDF]