Generations

Already the signs are there, in the most unexpected and disparate places. "60 Minutes," which for recent years has seemed something of an anachronism, is suddenly a ratings juggernaut. On Fox's "24," Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) finds himself in a less cowboy-worshiping-and-torture-tolerant nation.

When 28-year-old Janet Nguyen was elected to the Garden Grove City Council in November 2004, she became the youngest elected official in Orange County. But a little more than two years later, Nguyen, who is now running for a seat on the Board of Supervisors, has been eclipsed: In Santa Ana, newly elected Councilwoman Michele Martinez is 27, and in Buena Park, new school board member Jerry Kong is 26. They are not alone.

Asian American churches are going through a "crisis of leadership" because seminaries are not preparing a new generation of pastors to work in multi-generational and multicultural settings, Asian American Christian leaders say. The problem, the leaders say, affects churches throughout the country but is particularly pronounced in California.

THE young gays and lesbians stream from subway stops dressed in their flashiest gear: rainbow sunglasses, 6-inch-high gold wedge sandals, a fatigue-printed hoodie, a rhinestone-studded pink Playboy bunny bag. Hundreds of them make their way through the West Village -- home of the gay liberation movement of the 1960s and '70s -- toward the pier overlooking the Hudson River, where a drag queen in a platinum-blond wig and gold bamboo-style earrings swishes past a group of boys in baggy jeans.

Mike males is talking about his generation. They think they're going to live forever, he's complaining. They're in unbelievable denial about their vulnerability. Look at the numbers: dying of drug overdoses in this state at more than twice the rate documented in 1990. Fastest-growing age group for felony and violent felony arrests in California. Biggest demographic for HIV and AIDS cases. One in three not just overweight but obese.

You don't get much more mainstream than Muhammed Abdul Munim. After emigrating from Bangladesh as a boy, he earned a master's degree in management and now gets up at 6 a.m. to work as a currency trader for JP Morgan. Yet even Munim, 24, gets hot under his dress-white collar about what he sees as the failure of an older generation of Muslims to stop mistreatment of co-religionists around the world. And, he warns, the elders will continue to get an earful from the emerging young generation.

Arjun, a college senior with a wispy beard and forthright manner, breaks the rules just about every time he walks onto campus. He doesn't have to say a thing, or act out in class, or pick a fight. He only has to do what comes naturally to him every morning: Pull on a pair of jeans. That's enough to make him a habitual scofflaw here at Anna University, whose administrators have ordered students to toss out the T-shirts and jettison the jeans, at least on campus.

Dallas 115, at Milwaukee 113 (OT): Dirk Nowitzki won it with a fall-away 18-footer as time expired. The Bucks' five-game winning streak ended despite rookie Brandon Jennings' 25 points in his first game since scoring 55 Saturday against Golden State. at Orlando 97, Charlotte 91: Rashard Lewis had 10 points for the Magic in his first game back from a suspension. The Bobcats have lost five straight.

CANNES, France -- The thunderous roar from thousands of fans when Harrison Ford arrived at the "Indiana Jones" premiere at the Cannes Film Festival could be heard three blocks from the Grand Theatre Lumiere. The test now is whether the fourth film in Steven Spielberg's adventure series will show the same resonance at the multiplex. There is no doubt that "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" will enjoy one of the year's biggest movie openings following its stateside release today.

Re "The upside of hard times," Opinion, Dec. 15 On a cold, rainy Monday morning, drinking my third cup of coffee while trying to get the week underway, I read Gregory Rodriguez's Op-Ed article. Oh my, I needed that! Surely current generations "can show as much courage under duress as previous ones have." It's not just silver-lining talk; I believe that our new Greatest Generation will meet the challenges of this terrible recession and unrest. Let each generation fully join them with their wisdom and hope.