An Entertainment Weekly magazine reader poll showed that almost a third of those surveyed between 18 and 34 years old said they’d rather watch election coverage than reality television, because the politics this season are more entertaining. Another one in five of them said they watch election coverage because they are sick of old-school reality shows.

Perhaps one of the greatest consolation prizes for a failed political career is television stardom, and now couldn’t be a better time. After Mike Huckabee lost the primary, he was courted by one of the top five talent agencies and now has his own show on Fox News called, Huckabee.

And Sarah Palin brings the stuff that television stars are made of: ratings. Palin’s appearances on Saturday Night Live and CBS Evening News increased their ratings by double-digits, according to the Hollywood Reporter [www.hollywoodreporter.com].

“Sarah Palin would be great. The passion she has on each side, love and hate, makes television people say, ‘Wow, imagine the viewership.’” said morning-show producer Steve Friedman.

But unfortunately for her, if she and McCain lose the election on November 4, she won’t be able to take her talent to the small screen. An Alaska law [www.politico.com] prohibits her from taking a job on television while she is still in public office in Alaska. So where does this leave Palin? “Shakin’ things up” back in Anchorage for two more years, with either a presidential run or a television career practically guaranteed in 2012.

–Jamie Wong

In our constant attempt to make folks feel old, we thought we’d mention that not only is 2008 the year Neutral Milk Hotel’s “In The Aeroplane Over The Sea” reached the decade mark, but on 4/14 (4/15 in North America, bub), Air’s “Moon Safari” makes it into double digits, too. The French duo, or more likely their label, have set up a special site [www.moonsafari2008.com] to honor the milestone. Right now it’s basically an advert for the 2-disc, 1-DVD 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of the album, but we’re hoping some more content goes up on the actual birthday. Some possible clues: There’s an atomic counter set up at the band’s MySpace [www.myspace.com] and three weeks ago someone set up an official Air channel [www.youtube.com] at YouTube. Nicolas and Jean-Benoit, we’re waiting.

The whole “less is new more” ideal isn’t just another movement destined for the fringe; it’s started to catch on in places other than the blogs and online resources, though the ‘net has certainly helped foster the movement. TreeHugger’s pals at Apartment Therapy have been holding a “Smallest, Coolest Apartment” [www.apartmenttherapy.com] contest for three years now. Not necessarily because it’s greener, but out of necessity; the New York City-based blog knows that many New Yorkers live in shoebox-sized apartments, and need design advice to make the most of their diminutive space. But that’s just the beginning.

Image credit: Peter DaSilva for The New York Times
The king of newspaper media, the New York Times, has even caught on, embracing the “tiny house movement” with this article [www.nytimes.com] about people building sensible second homes whose square footage can number in the double digits:
“A wave of interest in such small dwellings — some to serve, like the Shepherds’ home, as temporary housing, others to become space-saving dwellings of a more permanent nature — has prompted designers and manufacturers to offer building plans, kits and factory-built houses to the growing number of small-thinking second-home shoppers. Seldom measuring much more than 500 square feet, the buildings offer sharp contrasts to the rambling houses that are commonplace as second homes.
“This reduction of scale makes sense for a lot of people. Second homes are often geared toward outdoor activities, so for several months of the year interior space is superfluous. Minimal square footage means reduced maintenance costs, less upkeep and reduced energy consumption. Prefabricated and pre-built models can require little or no site preparation, which means no anxious weekend drives to the country to make sure construction is moving along. Add to this an element of instant gratification (once the planning stage is over, most houses go up in days, even hours, and many are delivered, turn-key, to the site).”

The “smallest, coolest” wave even washed over Oprah [www2.oprah.com], whose interior design guru, Nate Berkus, was tasked with making over a 250 square-foot NYC apartment to create a functional, livable, fun space for a show:

“Nate says his ‘biggest challenge ever’ was rewarding because it made him reprioritize some things in his life. ‘I mean, how much space do we really need?’ he says. ‘I thought to myself there was so much joy coming out of those four walls, that it really motivated me to do the best I could do—literally the best I could do.’”

Back in the online world, this ideal is nicely summarized by another TreeHugger pal, Harry Wakefield at MoCo Loco [www.mocoloco.com]:

“The bottom line, don’t be a slave to high mortgages or rent, you can live well with less than you think. An idea we’ve been advocating for a while now, in fact, it goes further than that, we feel it’s really about “less is the new more”. It’s a surprising statement from a blog that generates a non-stop stream of objects made to be consumed. The twist? Consume objects gracefully. Spend more money, buy an item that’s made to last, that’s multi functional and sustainable, that brings beauty and art into your life. Then stop. Take some time to think before buying the next thing.”

Taken separately, these stories are simple examples of one person making a difference; considered together, as a whole, they offer a blueprint for a new, greener way to live your life.