ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

The New York Times Magazine has just published its annual ideas issue, where it lists forty or so interesting ideas that have emerged over the last year. I have to admit it’s a little weaker than last year, but it’s still definitely worth a gander. TUPNews presents you with edited highlights for the Xmas dinner party season:

1. The Hypomanic American

This is a genetic theory of American exceptionalism, which posits that Yanks are the way they are – competitive, energetic, exuberant - because they are all relatively recently descended from immigrant stock. People who emigrate are genetically more inclined to be risk-takers (even when things get really awful in a country, only a small percentage emigrate), and that risk-taking gene (which transcends race) is why America is such a bastion of free market capitalism, dog-eat-dog, red-white-and-blue etc. etc.

2. The Fleeting Relationship

From the book “Together Alone: Personal Relationships in Public Places”. This is kind of rooted in the “we’re all atomised” theory, but it basically suggests that the fleeting encounters with colleagues, service industry employees and the geezer next to you on the terraces actually provide you with important emotional sustenance, and should be appreciated as such. In one sense, a statement of the obvious, but it’s an obvious thing worth stating.

3. The Laptop That Will Save The World

You might remember the wind-up radio that they invented for Africa (it’s cheap and it doesn’t need batteries). Now they’ve invented a wind-up laptop that costs about $100. It’s very basic, of course, but it should have African children learning important IT skills in no time, providing they don’t drop dead of starvation or malaria first. “It looks like you’re composing a desperate plea for famine relief. Would you like some help?”

And these excellent ideas don’t require explanation:

Monkey Pay-per-view
Robot Jockeys
Two-dimensional Food
Zombie Dogs