The production and subsequent popularity of the “Midd Kid” song shows there is an interest in unraveling the layers, peeking behind closed doors and glossy magazine pages to catch a glimpse of what life is really like. Here are a few articles worth reading this week that peer deeper into issues like poverty, big business and politics. But caution, as the “Midd Kid” song also shows, what is revealed is likely just one perspective, not the entirety, of the truth.
- DAVID & GOLIATH: Damian Kulash of OK GO finally explains why you can’t embed some YouTube videos on your blog, roughly how much money his band makes per stream and exactly how idiotic major record labels are in reality.
- TABLOIDS: John Edwards may not have helped the Democratic Party with his little affair, but he did help The National Enquirer, which is now in the running for a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the scandal.
- POVERTY: Speaking of Edwards, it looks like his message of the poor and “two Americas” may not have been off-base given that the recession has given a whole new meaning to being poor.
- CRIME: Poverty may be increasing, but crime is not. Is it because of abortion, Democrats, Republicans or jail?
- POLITICS: Senator Evan Bayh of Indian is leaving the Senate because it’s rampant partisanship makes it dysfunctional, but Arianna Huffinton says only the best changes are made under times that are “too partisan”. Who’s right and who has the extra agenda?
- CONSERVATIVES: It was easy to say that the Tea Party movement is just a fleeting political phenomenon, but the incendiary remarks of Glen Beck, caustic attacks on the Democratic Party by Ann Coulter, and presidential straw poll win of Ron Paul, all at CPAC this weekend, make one think that activism in the Republican Party is here to stay.
- FASHION: Sometimes, in the fashion world, there are geniuses like the late Alexander McQueen, but, for the most part, the fashion industry is shaped by women like Anna Dello Russo of VOGUE Japan and Li Edelkoort who have worked 15+ years not just predicting trends, but setting them as well.
Video of the Week: The Big Green Screen. Prepare yourself. I bet you had no idea just how many outdoor scenes were filled against a green screen.
