I know young people are supposed to be hip and tech-savvy (and by using the terms "hip" and "tech-savvy" I do, in fact, realize I've outed myself as neither), but sometimes I find myself genuinely overwhelmed with how quickly technology is advancing and all the crazy cool possibilities that come with it. Here I am, still flabbergasted that you can pay for your Starbucks coffee using a QR code, while artist Yiying Lu is already ... Read More

Do you think technology helps or hinders our relationships? Do pictures capture fake smiles? Can a conversation over a computer or a phone compare to spending time with someone in person? This is the theme explored in Small, Beautifully Moving Parts, a new movie that opened May 11th. Written and directed by Annie J. Howell and Lisa Robinson, it has been honored at several film festivals this year.   Viewers follow the main character, ... Read More

The weather is getting colder and the ultimate cuddle buddy is primed for its comeback: a book! Sometimes, a girl wants one to stretch the horizons of her brain (and not just her heartstrings--I'm talking about you Harper Collins Romance!), so it's great that books like New Art/Science Affinities exist.  The book, co-published by Carnegie Mellon University's Miller Gallery and the STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, is 190 pages of ... Read More

Tiffany Shlain, the filmmaker who brought us reproductive rights documentary Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness and explored American Jewish identity via Barbie dolls in The Tribe, is back with Connected: An Autoblogography About Life, Death, and Technology.  It’s a film that touches on topics near and very dear to Shlain; as the founder of the Webby Awards, a ceremony recognizing the best of the Internet since 1996 (do ... Read More

According to the New York Times, less than 15 percent of Wikipedia's hundreds of thousands of contributors are women. And the issue isn't simply that more entries are written by men, but the distinct lack of information on "feminine" topics: a big deal, considering Wikipedia has become a huge source of how people get their information. The Times points out how topics like baseball cards or video games get huge pages, while friendship ... Read More