Two Mommies Are Better Than One, Apparently

Why researchers say lesbians make the best parents, how the Internet is affecting your brain, and why Americans are no rugged individualists. All this and more on today’s list.

On a regular basis, Truthdig brings you the news items and odds and ends that found their way to Larry Gross, director of the USC Annenberg School for Communication. A specialist in media and culture, art and communication, visual communication and media portrayals of minorities, Gross helped found the field of gay and lesbian studies.

The links below open in a new window. Newer ones are on top.

Venerable British Museum Enlists in the Wikipedia Revolution The British Museum has begun an unusual collaboration with Wikipedia, the online, volunteer-written encyclopedia, to help ensure that the museum’s expertise and notable artifacts are reflected in that digital reference’s pages.

How the English Language Became the World’s Language Last month, as volcanic ash drifted across the skies of Europe, I found myself in a van travelling from Dubrovnik to Antwerp with a Belgian, a German, a Turkish couple living in Holland, a Russian studying in Dublin, a Chinese woman heading to Beijing via Amsterdam, and two Croatian drivers whose services we had hired. How did we communicate? In English, of course.

Technology changes how art is created and perceived Through the Internet, video games, YouTube, Twitter, et al, original art is sampled and re-envisioned by anyone who can master the computer skills. But where does art end and amateurism begin?

Sweet land of … conformity? … Are Americans really so uniquely individualistic? Are we, for example, more committed individualists than people in those socialist-looking nations of Europe? The answer appears to be no.

The Secret to Having the Perfect Child: Be a Lesbian A study that has been following children raised by lesbian parents for the past 24 years has concluded that not only are the children healthy, they’re generally smarter, nicer, and better behaved than those raised by male-female couples.

How Do Stereotypes Affect Us? Dr. Claude Steele, provost of Columbia University and recognized leader in the field of social psychology, spoke at DiversityInc’s March 2010 event on how negative stereotypes perpetuate the achievement gap between Blacks and whites and limit the workforce talent potential.

Marriage as an Antidote to the Gay Lifestyle

What The Internet is Doing to Our Brains Nicholas Carr’s lucid if tendentious book improves on his essay in the Atlantic a couple years ago, which was more memorably—and misleadingly—titled with the self-answering question, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”

Arizona Immigration Law Is Reminder of Past Sweeps Police and Border Patrol agents detained U.S. citizens and legal residents along with illegal immigrants in 1997. Many fear the new law will make history repeat itself.

Using Facebook, Mom Finds Kidnapped Kids A San Bernardino mother whose children were kidnapped 15 years ago was able to finally track them down using Facebook.

Rush Limbaugh’s 4th Traditional Marriage — and Elton John … Proving that everything and everyone has a price, Elton John performed at Rush Limbaugh’s fourth wedding this weekend. For a cool $1 million, John, an outspoken gay-marriage advocate who has even served as a guest host on ABC’s The View, entertained the conservative radio commentator and 400 guests at the Ponce de Leon ballroom of Florida’s Breakers hotel.

Congrats to Rush Limbaugh on his fourth traditional marriage So as Newt Gingrich does while standing next to his third wife (who, as was true for Gingrich’s second wife, was previously known as his “adulterous mistress”), Rush Limbaugh will now crusade for Traditional Marriage with his fourth wife (and counting) at his side.

What May Change in Upcoming College Rankings I just returned from the 50th annual meeting of the Association for Institutional Research in Chicago. The annual meeting of college researchers and analysts was the largest in the association’s history. …

New Federal Law on Textbooks and Syllabi College bookstores are reporting early successes in complying with new federal rules designed to reduce textbook costs, but some faculty members say the new procedures have burdened them with busywork.