A research team at Interval, a Silicon Valley think tank,studied why the video games that captivate boys don't appeal togirls, despite efforts to make the games gender-neutral. Theresearchers concluded that, contrary to conventional wisdom, thereason girls aren't attracted to most video games isn't that thegames are too violent, but that they're too boring.
'In most games, you just do the same idiotic thing over andover,' says research team leader Brenda Laurel. Boys are interestedin beating the clock, in beating each other, in seeing theirinitials on the high-scorers list of an arcade console. Girls wantcovert competition, narrative complexity and characters they canrelate to. (From: Feb. 23/March 2 New Yorker)
Quote of the week: Detroit Pistons player Brian Williams onthe NBA's decision to use female referees: 'I am for equal rights,I am for the National Organization for Women, I am for equal pay,and I have read Camille Paglia and Anais Nin. But this is utterbull. What happens when I run into one of them and break her headopen?' Well, probably the same thing that would happen if he raninto a male ref and broke his head open. Did someone say hospital?Which last we knew, treated folks of both genders. (From: Feb. 16Sports Illustrated)A nod to the past: We're kind of liking the tone set in aMinnesota anti-VD ad campaign that dates back two decades: 'Clap.In Minnesota, It's Not Applause.'That, and other gems from advertising are detailed in a newbook, 'Sex, American Style: An Illustrated Romp Through the GoldenAge of Heterosexuality' by Jack Boulware. (From: March Esquire)This fashion tip just in: The hot new jewelry item is calleda breastee. Uh huh, just like it sounds. It's a pendant on a 4-inchstem designed to be tucked into one's cleavage. The creator,designer Maybelline Williams, says they require a size C-cup orlarger, or a body-enhancer such as a Wonderbra. Otherwise, just puton a necklace instead. (From: Feb. 16 Newsweek)If that's all, we're there: The definition of being 'inshape' according to Dr. Barry Franklin, the director of cardiacrehabilitation at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich., is 'beingable to do your normal daily activities as well as activities thatrequire extraordinary efforts, such as running to catch a bus, witha minimal degree of disruption of physiologic processes or stressto the cardiovascular or musculoskeletal systems.' (From: MarchMen's Journal)
