Archive - Dec 2009

So check out this fascinating little peice of image-based sociological research: Gender, Technology, and Toys R Us.

The author, Lisa Wade, checked out gifts for the geeky boys, vs gifts for the geeky girls using the Toy's R'Us suggestion centre. She points out that in terms of defining interests Toy's R' US gives very similar options for boys and girls ie; arsty, sporty, outdoorsy, techie etc.. But given that, the gift suggestions are very different. The breakdown is essentially this:

So that’s 13 building/engineering games (like Lego and KNEX), 3 ipod accessories, 4 portable DVD players, 2 MP3 players, and a few other things.

What do girls get? Seven ipod accessories, 5 portable DVD players, 4 MP3 players, 3 laptop computers, 3 cameras, and one building/engineering game. One.

It's a little too late for me to be writing a full-blown essay on this tonight. But I was just flipping through a photo essay from the Washington Post titled: Recession in the Rust Belt and became disturbed by what seems to be a poverty aesthetic.

Update: This morning Emily West, a prof at U Mass, posted this Slate article on Levi's new "Go Forth" ad campaign and it's use of iconic Walt Whitman verse, and dramatic imagery such as; "children playing in run-down neighborhoods, an embattled business executive surrounded by an angry mob, and young people frolicking in blue jeans", to produce a feeling of "squalor and anxiety" paired with what you might call a pioneer spirit.

After setting the ominous tone, the spot goes on to portray youth in distressed jeans, carrying heroic signage. Slate's Seth Stevenson proposes that the ad "acts as a galvanizing call to generational action: Times may be tough, but we've been here before, and America's youth will not be broken." Yes, and the first action will be Googling Walt Whitman, the second, paying full price for a pair of 501s.

Memory Tapes - Bicycle

This is the 3rd or 4th track by these guys that I have loved on Hype M. So I think I should go buy the album. I wish I could find Happy Cycling by Boards of Canada then my day would be complete.

Boards of Canada - happy Cycling

Update:Thank you Erin for the track, and thank you windchill for not attacking me this evening on the way home. I swear that was almost pleasant, I think the wind must have been at my back.

The blog where I saw this picture is all in Dutch, so Ik hep no idea who it is, or what, it *might* be Lil Wayne. I don't like his music, but this picture amply demonstrates why Hip-Hop is the genre of the future.

That is a powerful image.