Textual Poaching: Remix By Any Other Name

In the age of television and books, fans idly consumed texts. However, with the rise of digital technology, those passive fans have been replaced by what Jenkins himself calls “active” readers. These readers have become active participants in producing content using, inspired by, and centered on the texts they enjoy.

Touchy: Man Meets Machine for Art’s Sake

Eric Siu created “Touchy,” an art project focusing on the importance of human contact in a world that is surrounded, and often blinded, by technology.

New Media, Naturalized Media

The way we interact with our media is changing. Facebook, Amazon, and Pandora cater to our lives and tastes, making our online interactions, purchases, and music more personal. There is also a trend in the hardware world of doing the same.

Hardcore Gaming Kitties

Dad is downloading a song he liked in his youth. Mom is getting her daily workout on a Wii Fit. Little Johnny and Sallie are upstairs playing shoot ‘em up games on their Xbox. And now, the family cat needn’t miss out on the digital fun!

Beware of the Man in the Browser

Zeus has a new bag — he is invading computers all over the world stealing banking information and money. Times must be tough in Greek god business.

Zuckerberg Does It Again

The world is interested in knowing if Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram is for evil or good? Marian Brewer speculates below.

The Future of Our Cars

It often seems that Americans want to do anything but drive — texting, eating, talking, and fiddling with the stereo seem to be more important. Maybe it’s time we let the car drive us?

Facebooking Beyond the Grave

Death can’t even stop you from updating your Facebook wall. Those you leave behind can still get your updates.

Science Fiction

The Architecture of Destruction in “The Terminal Beach” and “The Machine Stops”

by Shanna Dixon

Shanna Dixon argues that J.G. Ballard’s “The Terminal Beach” and E.M Forster’s “The Machine Stops” illustrate attempts at reconciling inner-space and outer-space and maintain that science and technology will ultimately lead to humanity’s non-existence.

Relinquishing Control in “‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman” and “The Grand Inquisitor”

by Brandi Oates

Time and religion have always served as means by which humanity satisfies its preoccupation with order and purpose. However, in Ellison’s “‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman” and Dostoyevsky’s “The Grand Inquisitor,” humanity’s obsession with structure has forced it to become subservient to the elements that were intended for its own advancement.

The Artificiality of Human Emotion in Dick’s Androids

by William Lindberg

In the prophetic novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick projected into the future a vision of a world where the subtle differences distinguishing androids from the humans who created them disappear to a point where the protagonist, Rick Deckard, begins to discover difficulties in killing the androids.

Big Jelly

Science Fiction, Futurism, Technoculture