David Thompson at The Atlantic wrote an article about some of the themes that emerged on Sunday from the notoriously funny/shocking/expensive  Super Bowl commercials. Somehow, these once-a-year ads have a way of communicating the national mood better than an anthropologist could.  Mr. Thompson is the first to say that he doesn’t quite understand what has caused the shift in our attitudes toward environmentalism, femininity, etc., but he senses it, and after reading his article, so do I.

Below is the introductory paragraph, but go here to read the entire thing and watch some of the commercials that he is referring to:

“What did I learn from watching the Super Bowl advertisements last night? Men are turning into girls. It’s good to be green, but even better to laugh about environmentalism. The Super Bowl is an acceptable place to talk about baby politics and compoundable interest on the debt. Also, we’re all going to die, so we might as well drink Bud Light.”

“Questions continue to abound about the quality of basic education that is being provided to Ugandan children even as the government moves to offer new subsidies to cover education related costs.”

This company claims to be “part sustainable water company, part art project, part philanthropic project, and completely curious.”

Ignorance may be bliss, but knowledge is power.

The Ugandans are here for the Legacy Tour and their first 3 days Stateside have been full of introductions, anticipation, and, of course, a first-time visit to the ocean.

Bob Dylan mourned his death. Know who this man was.

Because of your votes, 12 more girls will receive university scholarships.

“What I fear the most, however, is not this group with the metal badges on their chests, or those under cover who write reports, but the coercive police inside all of us.”

“If citizens in peaceful countries are not interested in what is happening in conflict-torn areas…their political leaders will have no incentives to make efforts for the victims.”

“Invest in me, take my equity”: give this young man $300,000 up front, and get 3% of his income for the rest of his life.

“Most people here know they will never get rich from oil. But oil could make them less poor than they are now. And for many, that would be enough.”

Fifty people in New York City were asked this question, and their answers were refreshingly candid.

If you ever wrote a confessional letter to J.D. Salinger explaining that he is the only one who understands you, he never saw it.

Red Gold is documentary about the Bristol Bay region of Southwest Alaska, where the most prolific sockeye salmon runs left in the world are under direct threat.

How would you tell who you are in 6 words?

“If genocide charges are now brought, they will be the first to be issued by the ICC against a sitting head of state.”

Here is a great graph showing how our gov’t has spent money in terms of percentage of the budget.

We have to make Senator Coburn vote YES on this bill. Here is our plan…

According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Lord’s Resistance Army attacked the village of Mabanga in north-eastern DRC on 13 January.

We’re seeing it. Then spray painting something counter-consumer-culture and brilliant on your face.