NPR: Recession May Affect How Gadgets Pitched At Expo

Going in, the recession is the No. 1 worry, but consumer electronics is a retail industry that is in better shape than many others. The reason, marketers say, is called nesting. When the economy is bad, people want to stay home to be entertained by their electronics.

BBC: Tech show bucks global downturn

Big themes for the show included a big focus on mobile video, location services via handsets as well as net access and broadcast technologies for cars.

WIRED: Cheap Thrills: Gadget Makers Bet on Budget Gear in 2009

A few titanic, feature-heavy SLRs (Exhibit A: Canon 5D Mark II) will sail through CES but so will a fleet of thrifty shooters that anchor cheap thrills by way of thoughtful touches. Look for small shooters that incorporate printers, Wi-Fi, and web browsers.

Romenesko reports that the salaries of bosses at Village Voice Media have been cut by 15 percent. That news comes on the heels of another announcement, that long-time columnist Nat Hentoff -- and two other employees -- got the ax.

This whole industry is suffering, trimming jobs, looking to -- or wincing at? -- an uncertain future. When things get dismal, it helps to reminisce. If you've got a few minutes to spare, read this piece -- or as much of it as the gatekeepers at newyorker.com will allow -- by Louis Menand, on the storied history of the Village Voice.

We've been unsuccessful so far.

The reclusive author of The Catcher in the Rye turned 90 on New Year's Day. How did he celebrate? With cake in his cabin, in Cornish, New Hampshire? Who knows?

In The Guardian, Nicolaus Mills, who teaches English at Sarah Lawrence College, muses on Salinger's literary legacy: "If we want to put Salinger in historical context we need to think of him like Ernest Hemingway -- an American writer who was profoundly changed by war." Mills points to his short stories, which he says are too-often overshadowed by Catcher.

Some-58 years after Salinger's first novel was published, what do you think of the author and his oeuvre? Have you read his short stories? How has his work affected you?

In our first hour, Israel. The U.S. government has long had a policy of supporting Israel to the tune of about three billion dollars a year in military aid. Those are dollars on top of considerable political and diplomatic support. So, we'll have Stephen Walt and Aaron David Miller on to opine on what sort of influence that translates into, and how the U.S. should use it. We'll follow that discussion with something altogether different: Who owns that recipe? I read recently about a dispute between a food blogger and America's Test Kitchen over a recipe the blogger revamped then posted on her website. America's Test Kitchen asked her to take it down, prompting our conversation on the ethics and legality of printing and sharing recipes. When do you get to call a recipe your own? Strike that! Turns out the dispute may not have gone down how we thought. Still an interesting issue, but we're working on something else instead. Stay tuned!

In our second hour, sit back and just listen. We're celebrating the 70th birthday of Blue Note Records, with three fantastic guests -- Bruce Lundvall, Blue Note's current president; jazz historian and archivist Michael Cuscuna; and Blue Note musician Bill Charlap. They'll regale us with stories and insight, and we'll also hear plenty of the label's amazing releases. Enjoy!

New year, new pyramid.

Source: Copyright (c) 2008 Harvard University.

 

New Year, old resolutions. Found this pyramid from the Harvard School of Public Health, and couldn't help but notice it looks awfully different than the one I remembered from my youth. My actual pyramid has an awful lot of string cheese at the bottom, I gotta be honest. But what cracks me up about this one -- helpful as it no doubt is -- is that it sort of looks like socks are the main component of a healthy diet. Well, they do have a lot of fiber...

That's "Sleepy Kitty 10," rated on scale of 1-5, 4 for cuteness and 3 for sleepiness by site creator Nick Malis. Whether you've got seasonal affective disorder or simple malaise, that's just got to make things a little better.

A combination of the cold weather, economic gloom and end to Christmas festivities will leave workers battling the January blues. It will leave people more likely to become irritated by the slightest things. According to researchers the most common complaints are the sounds of colleagues eating noisily, which annoys nearly a quarter of people. This is followed by sniffing, an irritant to 26 per cent and talking too loudly on the phone, which was cited by 21 per cent.

Ok, so it's not the most scientific poll, but if you were on vacation for the last week or so (like me), and are back in the cubicle for the first time today it rings true. One bit of career advice, though: the article mentions "releasing tensions through shouting and screaming." You might want to wait till you get home.

A delicious deal.

Source: Matt Cardy/Getty Images

A pub chain in Britain has announced "indefinite" reductions on beer, wine and spirits -- to 99p. I highly recommend you read the article in its entirety, as it includes a competitor using expressions like "bloody nose" to describe the imminent price war. Of course, with 99p beers, there may be an actual bloody nose somewhere along the way. It made me think what recession pricing would really get me stoked? 99 cent coffee? Hot dogs? Movies?

President-elect Barack Obama meets with congressional leaders later today to discuss a $775 billion economic recovery plan that aims to create 3 million jobs while providing tax relief. In our first hour, we'll talk with two economists, to hear what they think the stimulus plan should include. Then, on our opinion page Clarence Page, syndicated columnist for The Chicago Tribune, will explain why he feels Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is playing to white guilt in choosing Roland Burris to fill the Senate seat left vacant by Obama.

In 2006, Norah Vincent spent the year disguised as a man. The deception triggered a brutal bout of depression and she checked herself into a mental institution. In our second hour, Vincent will talk about committing herself into three separate mental institutions, each with different ways of treating patients. She documented her experiences in her latest book, entitled Voluntary Madness: My Year Lost and Found in the Loony Bin. Following that, Scott Shane, a reporter for The New York Times, will talk about his profile of Bruce Ivins, a suspect in the 2001 anthrax mailings. In his article, Shane describes Ivins as an "amateur juggler with mental illness, alcoholism and secret obsessions with hints of violence."

Today's first hour is our annual obit show. We use it as a chance to have guests on to talk about the lesser-known but no-less-important people who passed away this year. If there's someone you'd like to remember -- someone you knew, or someone you admired -- please call in for a chance to do so on air, or leave your remembrance on the TOTN page once the segment shows up. I'll try to remember to update this entry once there's a link. In our second hour, the year in culture. What was the best music you heard, video game you played? Plus, we'll have Brian Raftery on his book Don't Stop Believin': How Karaoke Conquered the World and Changed My Life.

Tomorrow's still largely up in the air, but as of now we plan to bring you a roundup on the blog world. Things have changed a lot since blogs got big, and there are some new standard-bearers and some "deep cuts" you might find entertaining. Finally, in the second hour tomorrow, Henry Alford joins us to talk about his 2008 book, How to Live: A Search for Wisdom from Old People (While They Are Still on This Earth). Does he find it? You'll have to tune in to find out! Happy New Year!

What do you think of the news? What is your reaction to his pick?

NB: The estimable Ron Elving, NPR's senior Washington editor, will join us in our second hour, after the press conference, to give us an on-air update.

In our first hour, we'll look at how history will view the Bush administration. We'll talk with two guests: Bob Woodward, associate editor of The Washington Post and author of, most recently, The War Within; and Barton Gellman, investigative reporter for The Washington Post and author of Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency. And we want to hear from you. Tell us one thing you think the Bush Administration will be remembered for.

Following that, Mark Bowden, a national correspondent for The Atlantic magazine, explains why he feels President Bush should ask the Iraqi government to pardon journalist Muntadhir Al-Zaidi, for throwing his shoes at him.

Then: your letters (including your nominations for most influential people of 2008).

In our second hour, author William Davies King will talk about his new book Collections of Nothing and his collections, which include almost 18,000 food labels, 7,000 dictionary illustrations, and 500 bottle caps. We'll ask him why he has a passion for collecting so many of the things most of us throw away.

Then, we'll talk to Chicago Tribune columnist Dawn Turner Trice about the controversial song, "Barack the Magic Negro," and the debate surrounding the term "magic negro." Is the term used to describe an African-American who is able to blur the cultural barriers between blacks and whites? Or does it describe an "exception" in black culture?

In his article, Stetler quotes Michael Yon, an Iraq-based blogger (whom we've interviewed on TOTN several times). In Yon's estimation, the change in coverage reflects an anticipated change in American foreign policy: "Afghanistan was the forgotten war; that's what they were calling it, actually," he said. "Now it's swapping places with Iraq." For many months, the networks didn't keep bureaus or correspondents in Afghanistan. Now they're ramping up there.

What do you think of the changes? Do you rely on network television news? Do you care if they have a reporter on the ground in Baghdad? Or Kabul?

I've got nothing against capitalism, but I was sort of surprised to see the many ways people have come up with to avoid it. From GOOD magazine's website, nine ways people have gotten around it, including creating their own discounted local currency. (I love that one. Don't like the economy as is? Create your own!)