Call it what you will--the Great Recession or the New Depression--the current economic crisis is an unknown territory. With wholesale layoffs eroding family income, retirement accounts shrinking in an unstable market, and adult children increasingly asking for financial help, the retirement landscape is rough. The result? "Revolving retirement," says Fox Business, a new wrinkle in which retirees move in and out of the workforce. There are lots of intriguing conclusions and contradictions in the story, based on research cited by the Insured Retirement Institute.

As long as we're passing along new terminology, here's the Four Horsemen of the Job-pocalypse, a job scene analysis from the ever-erudite Atlantic Monthly.

Older boomers can remember a time when lifting weights for exercise was considered an exotic, if not slightly freaky, pastime practiced by a few burly fellows who spent a lot of time screaming and grimacing as they hoisted barbells packed with car tire-sized York 45-pound plates and even more time ecstatically gazing at their flexed deltoids and pectorals in the mirror afterward.

These days, however, pumping iron has become such a mundanely ubiquitous activity for midlife Americans of both enders that it's hard to walk through your local fitness club or Y without having some graying bodybuilder drop a dumbbell on your foot.

There's a reason you don't see many products marketed as "senior-friendly" or "good for boomers"--nobody would buy them.

People who are middle-aged may have failing eyesight, receding hairlines and legs that can't run a 10K as fast as they used to. But no way do they want to be reminded of it by special packaging or marketing pointing out those deficits.

Hot enough for you? In 17 nations, the answer is a resounding (and weary) "yes." From the United States and Latin America to Russia, Africa and the Middle East, this summer's sizzling temps have shattered records. Add in unusual levels of rain--Iowa just logged its wettest 36 months in the last 127 years, while catastrophic floods have left one-fifth of Pakistan under water--and the summer of 2010 is one for the record books. Scientists say it's climate change in action and we'd better get used to it.

While technology can't do much to change the weather, it can show us the repercussions. Check out this NASA video at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's website, which shows how far the pollution from Russia's runaway wildfires reaches around the globe. And here's that massive, 97-square-mile iceberg that just broke free in Greenland.

We tend to think of second acts as a modern phenomenon. After all, it wasn't so long ago that the average person worked at the same company for life and then aspired to travel or play golf in retirement, not start a business or take a bridge job.

In reality, second acts have been around since the early days of the country. You could say they're as American as George Washington.

Hard on the heels of the breakthrough news about a spinal fluid test that's accurate in diagnosing Alzheimer's comes word of a new generation of DNA tests for colon cancer, says The New York Times. Cancer of the colon is slow-growing and, when caught early, easily removed. But the colonoscopy (did you just wince?) is such an invasive procedure that many patients refuse to have one. Doctors say the new DNA tests can detect cancers that a colonoscopy could miss, as well as pre-cancerous polyps.

As long as we're talking research, here's another interesting revelation--a light sleeper who wakes at every noise has a brain that's different from the person who can happily dream on, even as the house comes down around him.

After all the prescriptions and publicity comes the question: Are statins really all that effective? The answer, according to the Los Angeles Times, is mixed. For people hoping to prevent a second heart attack, the outlook is good. But as a preventative measure, the jury is still out on drugs such as Lipitor, Crestor and Zocor.

As you may have read in the news, multibillionaires Warren Buffett and Bill Gates' Giving Pledge organization has obtained pledges from 40 of the richest people on the planet--many of them boomers--to give away at least half of their fortunes to philanthropic and humanitarian causes.

Professional investor Buffett, who is leading the way, actually has promised to donate 99 percent of his wealth, which is currently estimated at about $40 billion. While it's difficult for most of us to imagine giving away virtually our entire personal worth, Buffett doesn't see it as such a big deal. In a letter on the Giving Pledge web site, he explains his thinking:

Americans are aging--not exactly headline news. But what does it mean for the nation? U.S. News & World Report checks out a new study from Stanford University, which asks provocative questions about the future. The report, "New Realities for an Older America," delves into issues such as the fallout from ever-longer retirements as baby boomers out-live previous generations, the changing demographics of the U.S. population (expected to be a majority Hispanic in 30 years) and the ever-shrinking worker-to-retiree ratio. "Soon, our nation will have more old people than children," says Adele M. Hayutin, director of the Global Aging Program at Stanford's Center on Longevity. "Our economic prospects depend, in large measure, on how well our leaders--in government, business and communities across the nation--incorporate these tremendous population shifts into their policies and business plans."

One thing we do know: Baby boomers' high expectations are driving change in the area now nearest and dearest to their hearts--the aging process. Expect to see innovations in everything from housing and health care to financial services and leisure activities. The good news? Everyone benefits, according to CNBC.com.

More good news: The World Health Organization says the H1N1 pandemic is officially over. This season, just one flu shot should shield you from multiple strains.

If you're looking for work or want a bridge job to fill the gap between a career and retirement, you've probably had career counselors recommend applying for a temporary position.

Workplace experts say some of the hottest jobs for people over 40 are positions offered through temp agencies, which place workers in positions on a part-time, full-time or project basis.

Hear the term "planned community" and suburban sprawl comes to mind, with cookie cutter homes arrayed around flat, bland parks, their acres of precision-clipped grass passing for open space. But thanks to a pair of developers in South Carolina, both nearing the end of successful careers, a brand new way of thinking about building in bulk is beginning to emerge.

Instead of selling off the prime property around a lake for high-priced homes, the duo set it aside for open space. McMansions are unwelcome, with strict zoning codes enforcing maximum house sizes. Unlike some planned communities, where nonresidents are kept at bay by gates and guards, the public is welcome. No fences--what a concept.