How Many Jargony Words Does It Take to Get to the Center of an Economic Crisis?

There's Got to Be a Metaphor Here

A sort of reasonable article about 20-somethings is up on Salon.com right now.

I pretty much read it the same way I watch horror films (between the fingers of a hand covering my face), but it does have a few good things in it to add to the table.

My only objections are these: First, the interviews for this book were completed before the recession hit.  And yet, it’s being marketed as the story of our times.  Alright, if you say so.

Second, there are so many metaphorical/possibly made up sciency terms for what is going on with us.  Are we “swimmers” or “treaders”?  Are we Gen Y or “Gen R” (R= Recession)?  Do you have “school of hard-knocks” parents or “helicopter parents”?  Honestly?  These ridiculous buzz words that really mean nothing are just detracting from what these people actually have to say.  Less is more, people.

Rut or Recovery Mix is “Slow Jam the News” for People Who Love Disappointment

Over at WNYC, Brian Lehrer staffer Jody Avirgan is working hard to document the economics of the boomerang generation.  Under the auspices of the It’s a Free Country project, Brian and Jody had recent grads call in last week to talk about how they’ve been finding the job market.  Then, they put it to music.  Warning: it’s the anti-Monday Jam.  Proceed with caution.

So basically the moral of the story is… what?  I’m not even sure any more.  I mean, we’re all in it together, but is that even a comforting thought anymore?  I don’t know — you tell me.

If you’d like to share your story with the Rut or Recovery project (I just did!), click here.  If you don’t know what Slow Jam the News is, click here.  And if you have any words of encouragement, click “comments.”

E-Cards for the E-Unemployed

I was just poking around my go-to e-card provider and found a treasure trove of encouragement cards for the underemployed.  I don’t know about you, but I’d be honored to receive any one of these winners:

Check out these (and more!) at someecards.

Thank You, Liz Lemon!

Last night on 30 Rock we found out Tracy Jordan is the catalyst for boomeranging! 

Leave it to him to point out the optimistic side of things.

Watch the clip here.

I Bet He Even Had a Conspiracy Internship in College…

Toothpaste for Dinner reminds us that no one can get a break these days.

Montessorous Rex

Posted by Jessica

I didn’t go to a Montessori school, but if it’s anything like what Toothpaste for Dinner is implying, I want in on this made up grad school.  Seems like I’d fit in.

toothpastefordinner.com

This Week in Intern News

Posted by Jessica

The “(Potential) Intern from Hell” strikes again!: Gawker followers will scoff at how much he doesn’t get the joke.  And talk about unprofessional… he was so mad he didn’t have time to spell check.  That being said, part of me really feels for him somehow.

Which “Special Relationship” are we talking about?: HBO has apparently cut the scene in which Bill Clinton divulges his affair with world’s most notorious White House intern, Monica Lewinksy, to his wife, Hillary, from its movie, “The Special Relationship.”  Surprisingly, and contrary to the title, the movie is about Clinton’s friendship with Tony Blair.

Sweet on a resume: The Onion captures the drive of a NASA intern, who has spent all spring semester putting the colder sodas in the front of the fridge just so he might get a shot at a space run.  We interns just want our work to pay off, okay?

I hear she’s really bad about taking phone calls: Lady Gaga has applied for an internship with couture hat designer Philip Treacy, the madman behind the various hair bows and lobster chapeaus that have earned Gags her press buzz.

Hey Kids! It’s Time For…Rejection Letter Madlibs!

CHALLENGE: Now it’s up to you to write a rebuttal madlib, with optional spaces for one particular adjective starting with the letter “F” and its variants.

Funderemployment News Roundup

Posted by Jessica

Not entirely your fault:  Millennials’ “failure to launch” is mostly about the disappearing middle class, not because we’re entitled slackers.

It’s a cruel, cruel, cruel summer: 80 percent of folks who were unemployed last summer still don’t have jobs, but I bet they have amazing tans

Grad school = more than a time waster: The Commission on the Future of Graduate Education says our country needs more people with graduate degrees.

Because the night does not belong to us: Turns out Patti Smith agrees with HuffPo.  She suggests Poughkeepsie.

Living at Home: So Hot Right Now

Posted by Jessica

Has anyone else noticed that “Boomerang” has become a total buzzword?  In the past week alone I’ve seen articles about Boomeranging in The Times, Double X (two, actually), and The Daily Beast.  Although the latter still thinks we’re “slackers,” the tone of most of the articles has been considerably forgiving, which is sort of cool to see.

And while I think my prediction about boomeranging becoming a hot media piece until it eventually flames out and becomes uncool is definitely still on track, I do think the label “boomerang” isn’t in as much L-7 jeopardy.  That’s because no one still seems to know what to call us.

Between the four articles I just linked, we’ve seen

1.  Boomerang Kids
2. Gen Y
3. Obama’s Slackers
4.  Go-go Generation
5. “Failure to Launch” generation

We also know that the Pew Center is calling us “Millennial”.  I have to say, I took their “How Millennial Are You” quiz the other day and only got a 49%, which is weird because that would mean I’m more like a Gen Xer (people born between ’65 and ’80) than I am Millennial.

Actually, I just took it again for kicks and got a 62%.  I think what changed is that I didn’t have time to read the paper yesterday and I sent a lot of text messages.

So, who knows?