For a bunch of reasons I won’t go into here, I’ve been thinking lately about a book review I read several years ago (technically a book review… barely mentions the book). The review was by Christopher Caldwell, of all people, and it responded to the book The Paradox of Choice. The book [...]
Archive for the ‘Culture/Trends’ Category
Generations, choices, and duties
Posted in Culture/Trends, tagged 1920s, 1930s, 1960s, choice, Christopher Caldwell, community service, duty, Gen X, generations, George Bailey, military, national service, paradox of choice, sacrifice on July 30, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Rowhouse land
Posted in Cities, Culture/Trends, tagged beer, generation, gentrification, hipster, introversion, rowhouse, self-esteem, small talk, yupster on July 11, 2009 | 2 Comments »
I live in rowhouse land. A city block in an old part of an old city – mostly gentrified and made hip in the early part of the decade, but with enough longtime residents, shops, and local customs to have kept some measure of authenticity. I’m part of the gentrification boom. I’m [...]
Frank Capra’s America
Posted in Culture/Trends, Media, Patriotism, Politics, Top, tagged Depression, FDR, Frank Capra, Gary Cooper, Jimmy Stewart, Jon Stewart, Kevin Williamson, Michael Kazin, New Deal, patriotism, Scream, Stephen Colbert on February 14, 2009 | 2 Comments »
In the mid-90s, a mini-comeback of slasher films was ignited when Kevin Williamson wrote the screenplay for Scream. Rather than taking credit for reviving the genre, Williamson always insisted that he had actually driven the final nail in the coffin by exposing all of its tricks. See, we were the Blockbuster Generation, too [...]
Blue State Eleanors, Red State Kaitlyns
Posted in Culture/Trends, Names, tagged baby names, Blue State, Joseph, nell, Red State on January 21, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
A more comprehensive theory for “The Joseph Map” – this one in honor of the inauguration…
Right now, I’m digging Joseph and Nell.
The Joseph Map
Posted in Culture/Trends, Names, Top, tagged baby names, Blue States, demographics, Ethan, Joseph, Logan, Red States, Wiliam on September 14, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Earlier this week, I read this post about the red state and blue state division on baby names, and decided to do a little research project of my own. The overall concept – that red staters prefer unusual or invented names and blue staters are more likely to choose a classic or Biblical name [...]
The stock market of baby names
Posted in Culture/Trends, Names, tagged baby names, England, laid back, scruffy, suburban on May 5, 2008 | 4 Comments »
A couple of months ago, I posted about baby naming trends, and also listed my favorite names:
Personally, I like Nell and Rosie for my daughters, and Gus and Mack for my sons. Most of these would have formal versions (Eleanor, Rose, and Augustus… I think Mack would stand alone), but they would always go by [...]
The Starbucks Cycle
Posted in Culture/Trends, Top, tagged business, Foosball, McDonalds, Starbucks on May 2, 2008 | 3 Comments »
There are few things in life I find less interesting than business news. One of the many advantages of Tivo is that it allows me to fast forward the business updates that break into my otherwise engaging political shows. But I do like studying trends, so when I, despite all of my efforts [...]
