By Grant Smith, RP Staff, on Wed Jul 13, 2011 at 11:00 AM ET The Politics of Generation Y Revisited On June 15th, my esteemed colleague, Zac Byer, published a thoughtful piece on generation Y’s place in the world. Most importantly, he zeroed in on Gen Y’s strong attachment to nostalgia.
Perhaps most insightful, he theorized that this attachment to nostalgia is potentially rooted in a generational fear that what lies ahead may not be as bright as what has already passed.
At risk of sounding like a pessimist, one has to wonder, “what if the pessimists have this one right?” What if Gen Y – financially speaking – is destined to end up as a new “lost generation?”
Let’s look at what is coming down the road: student loan debt that surpasses credit card debt; risk of inflation from multiple rounds of quantitative easing; the end of Social Security and Medicare as we know it; the list goes on and on.
Like the credit card shopper who splurges at the store, only to wind up with the bill months later, Gen Y is very likely to be the generation who receives the credit card bill in the mail from a previous generation or two. Unlike the credit card shopper who at least got to enjoy their products, Gen Y may get all of the tab, but none of the goods.
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Grant Smith: The Politics of Gen Y Revisited – A New Lost Generation?
By Robert Kahne, RP Staff, on Tue Jul 12, 2011 at 3:30 PM ET
Incubus has a new album out. If you are a bigger fan of their soft, mellow, Morning View-esque albums, this new disc is probably right up your alley. Here is their first video[If Not Now, When?]
Beyonce‘s new album has been out for awhile now. It took me a while to try it out, but I really enjoy it. It’s super funky and fun. The best part? Andre3000 raps on a song. The things I would do for a new Outkast album are unspeakable. [Party]
Did you like the NBC show The Voice? If so, was Blake Shelton part of the reason why? If not, do you like Blake Shelton anyway? If you answered yes to any above questions, you ought to check out the new Blake Shelton album. Here is the first video. [Honey Bee]
The mellow songstress Colbie Callat is back with a new disc. In this song from the album, she talks about her desire to get married. [I Do]
New Sub Pop darlings Washed Out have released their first full length album. Its all synthy and weird, like a good Sub Pop album should be. [Eyes Be Closed]
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Mon Jul 11, 2011 at 3:00 PM ET
A collab-oration that includes several large ISPs has recently been announced. The plan would call for the ISPs, including Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, Time Warner, etc., to slow down, redirect, or possibly even cut off internet access for people accused of copyright infringement. [Wired]
If you have never heard of Dropbox you should know they are taking the time to do right by their users. They recently updated their TOS to be explicitly clear: your stuff belongs to you. A direct quote from the new TOS: “You retain full ownership to your stuff. We don’t claim any ownership to any of it.” Companies like Facebook that intentionally write in vague and broad language into their TOS should take a page out of Dropbox’s book and realize that users appreciate honesty and privacy. [Dropbox Blog]
Bob Lutz, the former Vice chairman of General Motors, has stated that his way to get the economy going is to take the power away from the MBA’s and give it back to the engineers. Personally, I find his argument that consumers are best served by a product-driven philosophy very agreeable. [TIME]
A group of 90 law professors has banded together to oppose the Protect IP Act that is making it’s way through Congress on the grounds that it violates the First Amendment right to free speech. [ars technica]
By Sandra Moon, RP Staff, on Mon Jul 11, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET
Shopping for a new religion? The social enterprise group The Blood Foundation has a way for you to test-drive Islam in their “Muslim for a Month” program. [BBC News]
The United Church of Christ, a denomination that has been a long time advocate for gender neutral God language, updates its bylaws to replace the term “Heavenly Father” with “Triune God,” and in doing so, draws criticism from many Christian websites. [USA Today]
The last movie in the Harry Potter series premieres in theaters this week. While some religious groups condemn the series as promoting witchcraft, others have embraced the series as promoting the ideals of love, forgiveness, and grace. Here is one article that examines Harry Potter based on Christian theology. [Huffington Post]
(For those of you who need something to tide you over until Friday, click here to watch the official trailer of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.)
By Grant Smith, RP Staff, on Mon Jul 11, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET
What’s in a name? Google+ is your “plus one.” [Mashable]
How many millions are already using Google Plus? [ZDNet]
Google makes Facebook look socially awkward. [Washington Post]
Full court press? Google also unveils a new Youtube interface. [Mashable]
The history of Polaroid camera craze. [Technologizer]
By Grant Smith, RP Staff, on Fri Jul 8, 2011 at 3:00 PM ET
Two United States Senators from ethanol-producing states propose legislation to immediately end corn-based ethanol subsidies. [CNBC]
Rupert Murdoch shutters “News of The World” amid continuing fallout from the phone-hacking scandal. [Forbes]
Fortune Magazine releases their latest Global 500 list of the 500 largest corporations in the world. [Fortune]
The editors of Cigar Aficionado Magazine report on their latest trip to Cuba. [Cigar Aficionado]
Final space shuttle launch will be the end of an era. [Washington Post]
By Chris Schulz, RP Staff, on Fri Jul 8, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET The Politics of the Planet A dust storm disrupts air traffic in Phoenix, watch the video of it arrive. [wsj.com]
A list of the top beaches in US national parks. [yahoo.com]
California is using wasps instead of insecticides to fight wasps. [latimes.com]
Another Exxon Mobile spill, this time from a pipeline in Montana. [latimes.com]
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Fri Jul 8, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET Maybe this Time magazine article should actually be titled “Ladies, Your Gaydar Is Real.” [Time]
Families with surrogate mothers, sperm donors, and same-sex parents are more common today, so family tree mapping is a little more complicated than it used to be. [NY Times]
Can’t get away from work for a vacation this summer? Eat some Vitamin D rich foods instead. [Psychology Today]
Scientists in the UK are researching innovative sunburn treatments… by starting with human test subjects. [Wall Street Journal]
Yet more scientific proof that we need to go green: a new study reveals that air pollution is linked to memory issues and depression. [Psych Central]
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Thu Jul 7, 2011 at 3:00 PM ET
Here is a really nice article explaining how the feud between ESPN and Comcast/NBC is killing the already sputtering sport of Indycar racing. Even though Indycar racing in America is old and well-established, in today’s sports world if you aren’t making money, you’re out. [The Daly Planet]
A street-legal, modified Ford GT set the record in a newly-established category for the Guiness Book of World Records: “standing-mile speed by a street-legal car.” The official record time is 223 mph, even though this car has reached speeds of up to 267 mph. [Jalopnik]
If, for some reason, you are not acquainted with rally car racing – this is the article for you. It explains, in detail, why this sport is “The Toughest Motor Sport in the World.” [My Ride Is Me]
This week’s ESPN NASCAR power rankings feature Kyle Busch taking over the top spot, his brother Kurt falling to #5, with Harvick, Edwards, and Kenseth in the middle. [ESPN]
For the first time in 10 years NASCAR’s Sprint Cup will race at a new track: Kentucky Speedway in my home state. After adding around 40,000 seats and selling a total of 107,000 tickets, it’s safe to say that the Bluegrass state is plenty excited to see it’s first Sprint Cup race at Kentucky Speedway. [ESPN]
By Grant Smith, RP Staff, on Thu Jul 7, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET
Pressure rises on British Prime Minister David Cameron as the Rupert Murdoch phone-hacking scandal explodes in the press. [New York Times]
Will there be a Texas show-down between Governor Rick Perry and former President George W. Bush? [CBS News]
President Obama holds a “Twitter Town Hall.” [Huffington Post]
President Obama skirts questions about the 14th Amendment’s place in the debt-talks. [Wall Street Journal]
Senator Cornyn dismisses any talk of invoking the 14th Amendment in the debt debates as “crazy talk.” [Politico]
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