Sunday's Best

I love the Sunday New York Times. The amount of news and information in it probably equates to a full week of the Arizona Republic. The Arts & Leisure section alone is worth the price. There are several interesting articles from today's paper that tie into that generational gap that I blogged about last week. Several articles address generational differences on things like cell phone habits, play and games, and political involvement.

• Anyone remember the Spriograph? Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys and all the other great toys of decades past? The inventor of the Hula Hoop died this week and this article looks at fads and The Joy of Silly.

**"...modern toys, for all their technological sophistication, tended to lay down the rules, where the wacky toys of yore tended to be more open ended. A Hula Hoop lets you make up your own dance; Dance Dance Revolution gives you the steps. A guitar lets you create; Guitar Hero “is really well defined.” **

• Can you imagine writing a book completely on your cell phone? Or reading one? Cellphone Novels are a growing trend in Japan.

**The affordability of cellphones coincided with the coming of age of a generation of Japanese for whom cellphones, more than personal computers, had been an integral part of their lives since junior high school. So they read the novels on their cellphones, even though the same Web sites were also accessible by computer. They punched out text messages with their thumbs with blinding speed, and used expressions and emoticons, like smilies and musical notes, whose nuances were lost on anyone over the age of 25.**

• Humorist Streeter Seidell challenges Liberals who want to guilt the younger generation for not being more politically involved:

**“Studies” by “scientists” are claiming that we’re the “look at me” generation — that we’re all a bunch of self-absorbed, egotistic narcissists hell-bent on being the center of attention at all times. We’re flattered you’re talking about us but I believe that honor belongs to our mentors: the generation responsible for the boob job, the tummy tuck and jogging. The most self-absorbed thing we’ve invented is a secret language that cannot be understood by anyone over thirty and l00k5 5om3th1n6 l1k3 th1s.**

• Dave Eggers writes about college students who are attracted to the positive and idealistic message of Barack Obama but fear he will have to "go negative" to win the Democratic nomination.

**But for a lot of young people, electing the next president shouldn’t require the kind of campaigning that gives rise to violent analogies — body blows, drawing blood, war rooms. This is exactly what Luisa fears, that to shave a few points off Hillary Clinton’s numbers, Mr. Obama will have to get mean. “That would be the end for me,” she said. “Then he’d be just like the rest of them.” **