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| Topic: Society |
11:50 am EDT, Jun 4, 2004 |
"We must learn to view the world through a social capital lens." This project, despite its goofy name and its public 'message' being a bit on the corny side, has its heart in the right place, and it enjoys sound, solid backing in the form of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. It should be rechartered with an international scope. In his national best-seller "Bowling Alone," Robert Putnam decried the collapse of Americas social institutions. But while traveling to promote the book, one question came up at every appearance: what can we do to end the atrophy of Americas civic vitality? What can bring us together again? Better Together |
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| Topic: Society |
9:15 am EDT, Jun 2, 2004 |
Las Vegas is at the center of a population boom that has transformed the American desert over the last three decades. This series will examine what a few typical dreamers have found in this place of unmatched opportunity and extreme dysfunction. In the Las Vegas stripping world, the work can be a springboard to something better or an abyss of drugs, alcohol and prostitution. The Lure of Las Vegas |
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Adolescents in Adult City |
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| Topic: Society |
9:28 am EDT, Jun 1, 2004 |
City elders tried marketing Las Vegas as a family destination. The scheme was jettisoned for a new campaign that hypes Las Vegas as America's grown-up romper room, the center of sin and indulgence. Now the hotel rooms are full, and people keep moving here. Las Vegas grows at a supersonic rate. But within this growth lie seeds of conflict. One in four Las Vegans is a minor. Who needs high school anyway? teenagers ask. Not when valet parking attendants tell stories about making $100,000 a year. Here, stripping and blackjack dealing are viable career choices. To a teenager, adult life in Las Vegas can look easy. IT? Who needs IT? Adolescents in Adult City |
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Ghost in the Drum Machine |
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| Topic: Society |
5:48 pm EDT, May 29, 2004 |
Modern pop music is to pre-70s pop music as pro wrestling is to professional boxing. "LL Cool J is not Marvin Haggler. LL Cool J is Hulk Hogan." Ghost in the Drum Machine |
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| Topic: Society |
2:11 pm EDT, May 29, 2004 |
One would think "makeover" shows like this would be as boring as watching paint dry since they sometimes consist of watching paint dry. But viewers are enthralled! So the shows proliferate. These shows began in a fit of BBC/PBS high-mindedness. But, of course, all entertainment concepts must be run through the Vulgarizer. Den of Dreams |
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What Adolescents Miss When We Let Them Grow Up in Cyberspace |
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| Topic: Society |
2:06 pm EDT, May 29, 2004 |
Thanks to e-mail, online chat rooms and instant messages, adolescents have at last succeeded in shielding their social lives from adult scrutiny. But this comes at a cost: teenagers nowadays are both more connected to the world at large than ever, and more cut off from the social encounters that have historically prepared young people for the move into adulthood. People allow low-quality relationships developed in virtual reality to replace higher-quality relationships in the real world. This essay doesn't have much to say about the promise of social software. MemeStreams should think about how it could be part of the solution. What Adolescents Miss When We Let Them Grow Up in Cyberspace |
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