The state of the culture

Gee, do ya think?

Young people's attachment to their mobile phones is eroding their personal relationships, according to a new study.

I was going to say something about "your tax dollars at work," but there's something even more irritating than the wasting of the truly insignificant (to the feds) sum of $100,000. It's the idea that a government study, if enough earnest researchers just push all the right buttons, can fathom the depths of human relationships and thwart all destructive behavior:

The boys in the band have become old men. Should the old men shuffle off the stage, or should their critics shut up?

What could possibly go wrong?

Two sex therapists have sparked outrage in the Netherlands by calling for 'virtual' child porn to be legalised to relieve the urges of paedophiles.

Well this is a cheery thought -- human intelligence "peaked thousands of years ago and we've been on an intellectual and emotional decline every since":

I've never been exactly all torn up about not being one of the Beautiful People. Now I can even feel good about it:

Happy National Cat Day!

Researchers once again discover the obvious:

Daily experience suggests that non-romantic friendships between males and females are not only possible, but common—men and women live, work, and play side-by-side, and generally seem to be able to avoid spontaneously sleeping together. However, the possibility remains that this apparently platonic coexistence is merely a façade, an elaborate dance covering up countless sexual impulses bubbling just beneath the surface.

I guess it had to happen:

In Superman issue 13, the Man of Steel's alter ego, mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent, quits the Metropolis newspaper that has been his employer since the DC Comics superhero's earliest days in 1940.

[. . .]

Two new books explore the phenomenon of a-holism:

An a-hole is not a psychopath, but he does feel a right to do what he does — cut to the head of the line, weave in and out of traffic, hijack the conversation — and is surprised by, or simply disregards, others’ objections to his behavior. Also, there is a pettiness to the a-hole’s deeds. And a-holism presupposes a level of intimacy and familiarity.