AX Mina is an artist and culture writer exploring contemporary spirituality, technology and other sundry topics. She co-produces Five and Nine, a podcast about magic, work, and economic justice, and serves on the board of the Rabkin Foundation.
Art
LOS ANGELES — They fly over us everyday, photographing and documenting us with startling regularity. We've seen our homes and some of us have spotted our cars, but only rarely are we able to get enough detail that we can see ourselves. Bemysatellite.net, a new initiative from Los Angeles artist and
Opinion
LOS ANGELES — New in the Apple Store this month is the Smithsonian Channel's iPad app, which lets you play videos from the Channel's extensive programming. It includes short clips for a quick burst of knowledge during the day, as well as longer documentaries for an extended viewing.
Opinion
LOS ANGELES — We have so many ways of remotely viewing the world. From webcams of zoo animals to data sets about weather, it's so easy these days to take a peek at what's happening somewhere else. I recently came across "Tele-Present Water," an installation by artist David Bowen that taps into data
Opinion
LOS ANGELES — Most of us want to fly. And while we've generally figured out that human beings best fly through a gliding mechanism, Leonardo Da Vinci famously tried to mimic the way so many other animals fly but he never did get off the ground.
Art
LOS ANGELES — Masterpiece Cards are a new art learning system from Susan Benford, who heads up the company. Benford developed the cards as a learning tool of those studying art history.
Opinion
LOS ANGELES — I don't know about you, but sometimes :) and :( just don't cut it. Happy and sad? That's it? There are so many more human emotions, with nuances between anger and frustration, surprise and elation. Perhaps this is what's behind the hype around emoji for iPhone: finally, a better way to
Books
We all use social media. We tweet, Facebook, tumble and pin away, and some of us even make art on these platforms. Social media have been explored in countless talks and essays, as everyone from sociologists to artists to technologists have come together to explore just why these new media are so in
Opinion
LOS ANGELES — Satirical maps have a powerful way of stereotyping the stereotypes people have. Which is why Bulgarian graphic designer Yank Tsvetkov's map designs have a particular bite. His Mapping Stereotypes series claims to be "The Ultimate Bigot's Calendar," with perspectives of Europe and the w
Opinion
LOS ANGELES — This video has been making the rounds on Twitter amongst TED fans, and I have to write about it and share it with you. The TED Conference, which ran this week in Long Beach, has been the usual "nerd fest," at least from what I've been hearing from attendees.
Opinion
LOS ANGELES — We all know what it's like. You're at a party, and the music's great, but you wish they'd play a different song. But maybe other people won't like that song. And then someone more vocal jumps in and suggests some other song that's not so great. Okay, maybe it's not that complicated. Bu
Art
LOS ANGELES — Deep in western China, in the deserts of Xinjiang Province, artist Lisa Ross photographed curious and colorful memorials, and she's showing them this month at UC Berkeley.
News
LOS ANGELES — The POETRY App has been selected as a finalist for a National Magazine Award for Digital Media. As their press release noted, this is remarkable because the award basically recognizes that poetry — at least in the form of a cool app — has utility in our lives.