This Week in Ideas

December 30, 2011|Josh Rothman, Globe Staff

The history of American Christmas cards: Mark Feeney: "The Christmas card uniquely rests at the intersection of aesthetics and communication, cultural memory and custom. In their cheery red-and-green way, they provide an index of how Americans’ tastes, values, and assumptions have (or have not) evolved."

Iran's Daily Show: Meet the makers of "Parazit," "a kind of Farsi-language mash-up of 'Beavis and Butthead' and 'The Daily Show'... It is beamed into Iran by the Voice of America’s Persian News Network... It covers public stonings, government hypocrisy, and political repression--but it does so using Lego restagings, toilet humor, and a punk rock soundtrack."

And don't miss: The surprising history of the -mas suffix; a map of where Boston news happened this year; and how being powerful can make you think you are taller.

Advertisement
Advertisement
|
|
|
|