News Round Up: Leopold Cafe, Hooking Up Is Bad (?), Teenagers Need Sleep (omg)

Boozy and Racous, a Cafe Defies Terror - NYTimes

In the two weeks since the attacks, this Mumbai neighborhood of narrow streets shared by street urchins and the well-to-do has staggered back onto its feet. But at the Leopold, it is often standing room only.

The restaurant has become a sort of shrine of defiance against terrorism. That, at least, is how Mr. Jehani portrays it. “I want it to go on the same way, as if nothing has happened,” he said.

Tourists come to buy T-shirts emblazoned with the restaurant’s logo. Sales are now five times what they were before the attack. Passers-by stop to peer at the bullet holes in the restaurant’s facade. And an eclectic clientele — some come out of curiosity, others to show their support — sits down for a meal and freely flowing beer.

This makes me smile. I suppose it could be considered crass and exploitative - a kind of rubbernecking - but in the context, I think Leopold's success is a good thing. They are Not Letting the Terrorists Win and that is excellent. Resilience is better then admitting defeat, even if it comes in the form of t-shirts and sight-seeing.

The Demise of Dating - NyTimes

Cry me a river. Although dating is theoretically a nice sweet sort of thing, it's really become an archaic practice, one that my generation has a minimal interest in.

I think the biggest shift here is that today's peer groups are comprised of a comfortable mix of men and women - having platonic buddies of the opposite sex is a total nonissue. I suspect that was definitely not the case back in the day when dating was the done thing - when meeting someone of the opposite sex required an awkward, delicate, behind-enemy-lines-type procedure.

Furthermore, women my age fully expect to earn money and support themselves - and we don't expect (or need) the man to behave like a studly and courtly walking ATM. I think most girls my age vastly prefer hanging out with/making out with guys we know through our friends or through our group of friends then we do making inroads on some random stranger. Furthermore, I'd wager knocking boots with someone who's been certified to not be a total asshole by one's peer group is a lot safer then going out on a date or random sexual escapade with some guy you met at the bar or on the internet - and this is supposed to be a bad thing? I'm not buying it.

Finally, plenty of young people do still have formal, lovey dovey relationships these days, but it is not the only way or even the best way to get a little lovin' on the side. Which I welcome: being a college student these days is stressful enough without having to worry about maintaining a Serious Relationship fraught with the requisite drama.

I also don't buy the author of the article's assertion that us delicate girlies are somehow "jilted" by hookups. According to my peer group, that's definitely not the case - it's a pretty rare 2008 college girl who's looking for a husband by her junior year. She would in all likelihood be considered a giant creep. Or possibly a Mormon.

People my age DO still go on dates, but the context has changed: dating occurs when two people actually like each other on a level beyond friendly boinking - dating is no longer a pre-sex test run but a gesture of sustained, mutual affection. This also means that dates that go nowhere and giant Awkwardness Spectaculars may be going the way of the dodo. This can only be good.

I think it's certainly a good thing that my generation can forge a middle road between having sex with total creepy strangers and Getting Engaged Forever And Ever- and hooking up is it. Damn kids these days!


Falling asleep in class? Blame biology - CNN

Very old news, but remains relevant. It's downright cruel to make teenagers attempt to learn anything at 7 AM, and as this study proves, can even be dangerous - car crash rates decrease when later high school start times are implemented. School districts should ignore the high pitched whining of parents and athletic coaches and make the change ASAP.

I do find it interesting that as soon as most teens hit college, the notion of a nine o' clock class is "inhuman" wherein they were