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I don’t know if this is supposed to make the rest of us feel like complete imbeciles or what, but India has just come out with a $35.00 laptop. I’m calling Apple stat!

This dream project is a Linux-based touch screen device that looks to be iPad inspired without the hefty price tag. The student project turned government innovation first emerged with a composition bill of $47.00, an incredible drop from the One Laptop per Child program’s $99.00 computer system.

At first the laptop was developed for the Indian government by research teams at the Indian Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Science. Now that the product is garnering so much publicity, it is already in talks with global manufacturers to begin mass production.

Once the Indian government finds a manufacturer for their product business is expected to skyrocket. The new design is just one of the latest low-cost manufacturing deals India has to offer the world. In the past few years the Indian government has released a compact Nano car for just under $3,000 U.S., a $16.00 water purifier, and a $2,000 open-heart surgery.

The most mind-blowing characteristic of the newly unveiled computer is that not only will it be profitable for investors, but it is making computer access more readily available to millions all across the globe. Falling hardware costs and intelligent design templates make such a cheap price tag a plausible idea.

The laptop doesn’t have a hard disk. Instead it uses a memory much like cell phones. The tablet design cuts hardware costs and the use of open source software adds to the savings.

The basic touch screen technology is designed with students in mind.

The project is part of an ambitious education technology initiative instated by the Indian government. They hope it brings Internet connectivity to 25,000 colleges and 504 universities so that study materials will be more accessible. The current prototype carries Web browsers, a PDF reader and video conferencing capability, along with room to add more components. It even includes a solar-powered energy saving option that is available at additional cost.

As of right now, 8,500 schools have been linked in, and nearly 500 online courses and video-based lectures have been uploaded for use on portals like YouTube. The ultimate hope is to have the product in classrooms by 2011 when the price could drop to a staggering $20. The subsequent goal is for the laptops to sell for no more than $10 each.

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I recently saw Toy Story 3. The movie is a huge success, grossing $167.6 million in its first week alone. I loved the first two growing up, and really wanted to see how it all would end. I went with my boyfriend who has an affinity for every Pixar movie. When we got to the movie theater, he asked the girl selling tickets if a lot of people like us (meaning 20-something college students) went to see the movie unaccompanied by children. She said, “Tons. I actually want to see it, too.”

It seems this is a growing trend with what used to be just kids’ movies. With the rise of Pixar and Dreamworks cartoon films, a larger adult audience has been drawn in as well. I find myself loving the Pixar movies I watch with my younger cousins as much as they do. These movies have storylines and elements kids and adults can relate to.

Take Dreamworks’ Shrek. There are plenty of adult jokes and allusions that kids aren’t old enough to understand. Kids seem to find the visual elements funnier than the actual commentary most times. Pixar’s movies also always seem to have more adult themes. Finding Nemo revolves around a parent’s love for his child, Ratatouille is about blazing your own trail in life, The Incredibles deals with a mid-life crisis and a wife’s suspicions of her husband’s affair, and Wall-E focuses on what impact we are having on the Earth and our environment – and those are only a few.

UP had me crying within the first 15 minutes. The visual montage that begins the story can hit home to so many. Childhood sweethearts Ellie and Carl are first united due to their love of adventure. The montage follows them as they get married and go through life together. They build their dream home, deal with their inability to have children and pursue their dream of travel. However, life gets in the way with bills and their savings constantly dry up. When they’re much older, Carl finally decides to surprise Ellie with their dream. But Ellie falls ill and passes away leaving Carl alone.

Although children may be able to pick up on what is happening (they build a nursery and no baby shows up; Ellie is there and then she isn’t), they haven’t had the life experience to truly relate which is why the stories are so endearing to adults. Adults comprehend loss, longing and working toward a dream. The storylines have these real-life issues but are light-hearted enough to be enjoyable.

If you still think kids movies are just for kids, think again. In my opinion, they are some of the most enjoyable movies out there. What makes it even better is that everyone can enjoy them. My whole family always gathers to watch one on our family vacations. So go out, rent one of these films and get in touch with your inner child. Your outer adult will thank you for it.

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Thanks to the stinky corpse flower the Houston Museum of Natural Science is seeing an influx of museum goers and a whole lot of green. In the past two weeks alone, ticket sales have topped more than a quarter of a million dollars as an eager public awaits the flower’s odorous bloom.

The flower in discussion is known as Lois. The exhibit has been gaining lots of media attention because of her rarity. Mildly reminiscent of Little Shop of Horrors, except for that whole carnivorous plant issue, Lois has become one of the most notable plants around town. The flower is an Amorphophallus titanium or titan arum, which has only bloomed 29 times in the U.S. This is the second corpse flower to bloom in the state of Texas.

The titan arum is known as a carrion flower or better yet as the corpse flower, due to its intense odor that is evocative of decomposed mammal parts. The plant’s meaty fragrance attracts carrion beetles and flesh flies that help pollinate it. Some have compared her scent from everything such as musty laundry to rotten pumpkins to dead fish, but that has not stopped faithful followers from flocking to see her. The museum has left its doors open 24 hours a day so that interested Houstonians can gather, take a picture and a whiff.

Taken from her natural tropical rainforest habitat in Sumatra, Indonesia, the Houston humidity seems to be a great fit for the blossoming beauty. The museum has taken further steps by creating a sauna-like preserve to increase growth and induce blooming.

Lois’s ridiculously large flower and column-like pillar in-between spans some six feet high. Research indicates that with enough sunlight and space she can grow up to 20 feet high, 15 feet across and 170 pounds in weight! Researchers are expecting her petals to fully bloom up to four or five feet within the next three to four days.

Lois has been steadily watched for signs of blooming. She has acquired so much publicity for herself and the museum that she even has her own live web cam stream and Twitter account! Interested parties can follow her progress online before spending $7.00 to visit the exhibit. Lois-mania has grown as distributors began selling Lois clothing and accessories. T-shirts and buttons can be purchased online or at the museum’s gift shop.

Lois has clearly been working on her own time frame though. Museum officials initially thought she would begin to bloom almost two weeks ago. To nudge things along, Lois’s caretakers have tried everything from plastic bags to composted fruit.

This past weekend, a Houston couple even had the rare opportunity to include Lois in their wedding as the ceremony was held in the museum’s butterfly center.

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I became a Gleek this summer. It hit me just within the past month. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Gleeks, it’s the name given to fans of FOX’s hit show, Glee. The show focuses around a group of talented high school misfits who just want to fit in and go about doing so by participating in the school’s glee club. I was hooked from the first episode I watched. I had the entire first season finished within a matter of days. Not only is the show funny, touching and entertaining, I can also relate. I was a member of my high school’s show choir all four years, so some of the situations on the show are close to home for me.

Although show choirs are a big deal in the Midwest (where I’m from), their popularity hasn’t spread far beyond. But Glee seems to be changing the way people view the arts and the show choir. Art organizations and summer camps are springing up with their own Glee-centric programs.

Many kids unfamiliar with show choir and musical theater seem to be catching the bug because of the television show. One high school in Washington instated a choir class focused on the show choir elements of dance, acting and singing after many students approached the choir teacher and asked him why a class like that wasn’t available.

A poll conducted by the National Association for Musical Education showed that 43% of choir instructors believed Glee has had an impact on students’ interest in their programs. At a school in Kettering, Ohio (the state where Glee takes place), some of the students who auditioned for show choir were finally persuaded to do so because of the program.

One student, Caitlin Dybvad, told the Dayton Daily News: “I was about half and half whether I would try out. ‘Glee’ convinced me. I wanted to try and be like them and what they are doing.” Choir directors who had show choirs before Glee don’t claim to see a huge difference in those auditioning for their groups, but they do see a trend of show choirs cropping up at schools that previously didn’t have them.

In a world where tight school budgets often lead to arts programs being the first to go, it seems that Glee may be just the thing to bring some interest to dying music programs. The show also may break stereotypes about who joins choir. In the show, four of the school’s football players join even though they endure ridicule from their teammates. More students may be influenced by the show’s messages.

Only time will tell what kind of impact Glee will have. It’s just in its infancy with one season, but has already caused a huge sensation. I think it’s already succeeded, however if it gets a few more kids to get involved that wouldn’t have before. That’s what the show is truly all about; creating a place for students to belong.

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There’s no doubt that social media has taken over our society. People are constantly plugged in thanks to the Internet and mobile devices. Social media can be a useful tool for businesses and a fun way to communicate. But it has been pounded into my head that once you reach a certain age, you should probably take a step back from the heavy tweeting and posting. Why? You never know who might see it.

I’m majoring in journalism and mass communication so naturally social media is something I’m well aware of. (I’m actually taking a class this coming semester on how to utilize social media effectively.) I’m also graduating in December, so I’m on the job hunt. One thing that’s been drilled into my head: clean up any social media sites you have. When you’re in college and sharing Facebook photos, posts and statuses with your friends, you don’t really think about how the outside world views it.

But social media sites are one of the first things employers are checking these days. According to a 2009 study from Harris Interactive for CareerBuilder.com, 45% of employers polled use social media to screen their candidates. Those party pics where you were wasted might not seem like such a big deal among your friends who do the same thing, but they look entirely irresponsible to an employer.

Over my family vacation, I was given proof of how important this is. My aunt and cousins work for a well-known insurance company. In the branch where my cousins work, two of their colleagues had recently been fired. The reason? Putting up Facebook posts and statuses complaining about work and divulging work information online. It got back to the boss, and they were let go immediately.

So what should you do to clean up your social media sites and keep yourself looking squeaky-clean to employers?

1. Take off those pictures of you in your naughty Halloween costume or doing shots. Employers don’t want to see you getting wild and crazy. It could give the impression that you aren’t reliable or responsible.
2. Don’t divulge every second of your day. People don’t need to know where you are and what you’re doing every minute. And using social media at work is a huge no-no unless you’re in charge of social media for your job.
3. Clean up the language. Using the F-bomb or discussing inappropriate subject matter won’t make you look funny. Employers will just find it distasteful. Any discriminatory language, and your application could be thrown out.
4. Keep it private. All of these sites have privacy settings. It may be beneficial to keep yours as tight at you can. Then there’s less of a chance that someone you don’t want seeing your profile will be able to.

Social media can be a great communication tool. However, it can obviously come with consequences. A word to the job-seeker: use with caution or it could cost you your job.

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Death is the inevitable end for all of us. Although we may have different views on the afterlife or if there is even a life after life, the fact of the matter is that death is something we all experience and not one of us can escape it. When children experience the loss of a loved one, their lives can be filled with challenges that make satisfaction, happiness, and understanding difficult to achieve.

Camp Erin, an organization funded by the Moyer Foundation, is the nation’s largest bereavement camp for adolescents. The camp caters to children six to 17 years old who have lost someone close to them.

The idea behind the camp is that death happens to everyone, but we all grieve differently. Camp Erin provides a caring environment, filled with activities to assist children and teens coping with loss. The camp takes place over one weekend filled with fun entertaining camp activities, indoors and outdoors. Encouraging discussion groups are also sprinkled in-between grief education and emotional support groups. Campers create a circle of trust that enables them to build their self-esteem and coping skills. All activities are sanctioned based on age-appropriate groups of children and teens to present an occasion for peers to meet with others who have had comparable feelings and experiences. Recreational activities allow for sharing time where campers can openly discuss their feelings and concerns while working on friendship-building and fun. That’s what’s great about Camp Erin. Everyone is going through similar situations. No one feels alone, and the environment is meant to be open.

Some of the relaxing and therapeutic activities provided by the Camp Erin staff include art therapy, swimming, music, story telling, nature walks and healing rituals.

Camp Erin was initially started after the death of Erin Metcalf of Woodinville, WA. Metcalf was one of Karen and Jamie Moyer’s Make-A-Wish recipients. At the age of 15, she had developed liver cancer that would end her very young life just two years later. While in the hospital Metcalf showed great compassion and often times worry for the siblings of adolescent patients. She felt that their feelings were oftentimes ignored or forgotten. After Metcalf’s death the Moyers established Camp Erin in memory of her loving and caring nature. The first camp opened in Metcalf’s home state of Washington in 2002. The program has been able to fund the openings of camps each year expanding outside the Northwest. Currently there are 36 camps in over 23 states including one in Canada. Camp Erin caters to nearly 4,000 campers nationwide.

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I’ve never been a skinny girl. My roommates jokingly call me a “wooty” after a song they heard (“wooty” means a white girl with a booty). I’ve never felt that I was overweight, just average. So I was little taken aback when I read an entry on a style blog a couple weeks ago. A writer had gone to the huge Forever 21 in Times Square. She wanted to buy jeans, but the sizes only went up to 10. When asked where she could find the next size up, the salesgirl directed her to the plus-size section.

The average woman in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is 164 pounds and 5 feet 3 inches tall. The average waist size is 37 inches, the equivalent of a size 18. Now I know some may argue there’s a problem with obesity and unhealthy living in this country, and I won’t disagree; a healthy lifestyle is important. But we also have a problem with being weight-obsessed, and our media has created the idea that a size 0 is the only size that qualifies as “beautiful.”

I can relate to the blogger. Stores that I thought were intended for teens and young adults seem to be skewing toward a much younger (and skinnier) demographic. While everyone else at my high school was flocking to Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister, I stayed away. Anywhere else, I would have been a medium, maybe a small, depending on the article of clothing. At one of those stores? I was lucky if I fit into a large or extra large. I doubt one of my arms could even fit into a small shirt. Even lately with American Eagle, a store I love for their jeans, I find it impossible to find a size 8 pair in the store (I’m also short so I need petite length).

Some clothing companies have turned to “vanity sizing.” As people have gotten larger, designers have changed what sizes used to be in order to make women (and men) feel better that they fit into a smaller size. So a woman may be a size 10, but depending on the store, she could be an 8 or even a 6. However, I’ve never seen this at stores for younger people. If anything, it’s the opposite where the sizes just keep getting smaller. I avoid American Eagle more and more because my 20-year-old self is always surrounded by girls who can’t even be out of middle school yet. I’m shopping at a store where the girls have barely hit puberty and are half my size.

If these stores want to continue to appeal to a younger demographic, they need to take into account that not every girl is a size 0 or 2, even if they are in middle or high school. At 20, I think I fit right in the young adult category so shouldn’t I still be able to fit into the clothes?

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There are questions in life that fuel the mind’s curiosity and have us mulling over life’s peculiarities in the ultimate quest for truth. Time is one of those quests that seem to continue without a definite interpretation.

A few days ago as I was browsing through my Netflix instant stream queue, and I came across a quirky little independent sci-fi love dramedy called TiMER. The plot of the movie revolves around these revolutionary bio-technological implanted soul mate wrist timers. The TiMER is an innovative device that counts down to the exact moment in which individuals will lay eyes on their soul mate, assuming that person also has an implant.

This all sounds ground-breaking and very profitable, but for Oona, the lovely protagonist who lives in a near future that’s not a super fantasy Gattaca-esque setting as you might suppose. The backdrop reads ordinary modern day, but the future is clearly evident. Oona is frustrated because her timer is blank. It was first implanted in her arm when she was 14, the legal age for implantation, and it has yet to ever click on, indicating that her soul mate has yet to receive a timer himself. Oona’s younger brother Jesse receives his implant and finds his mate within three days of implantation. I can barely decide what shoes I’m going to wear for the day let alone comprehend the meaning of my soul mate at 14! Just as frustrated with life is Oona’s stepsister, Steph whose timer reveals that she has a little shy of 15 years to wait for her mate.

It sounds a bit nutty, but the film got me thinking about love, dating and the uncertainty of it all. A huge theme in the film circles around having a timer and knowing that you’ll eventually meet Mr. or Mrs. Right. But what do you do until then?

The film was cute, poignant and the characters were real people. What I liked most however are the questions it brought forth. If you knew in advance the exact day you would meet your soul mate, would you be more likely to spend the intervening weeks or years remaining chaste for that future partner, or would you try to squeeze in as many one-night stands and random hook-ups that apparently mean nothing beforehand? What does everyone in-between you and the one mean? Which is worse, knowing that your soul mate is still many years in your future, or meeting him or her while you’re still in junior high? Is the timer real fate or is it just a self-fulfilling prophecy? Thank goodness it’s currently fiction, and I don’t need to have all the answers.

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There’s no doubt that the country has followed the Bristol Palin/Levi Johnston drama since the 2008 presidential race when Palin’s now infamous mom, Sarah, was up for the vice presidency, and Palin announced her pregnancy. Even more drama ensued after Palin and Johnston broke up. Johnston and Palin’s mom got into a media war, going back-and-forth with their comments and allegations. Now the two have shocked America once again by revealing to Us Weekly recently that they’re engaged!

This came as shock not only because it wasn’t really known that the couple was back together, but after the bashing between Johnston and Palin’s mother, it would seem the relationship was irreparable. Johnston said he apologized to Palin’s family privately and has issued a statement publicly.

According to Palin, the two reunited after discussing a custody plan for the couple’s son, Tripp. She told Us Weekly: “ When he left that night, we didn’t hug or kiss, but I was thinking how different it was. He texted me ‘I miss you. I love you. I want to be with you again.’…I was in shock.” Sources have said the couple only ended their relationship because of pressure from Palin’s parents. But is she making the right decision getting back together with a guy who left her a single parent while bashing her and her family?

Palin has already said her mother isn’t all for her engagement: “She’s apprehensive and concerned about this. She doesn’t want to see me get hurt again.” She added that her family has more concerns than well-wishes for her.

For many people, our family influences us in numerous aspects. They provide a foundation for who we will be. We grow up with some of the same ideals we were surrounded with as kids. I know this is true for me. People may come and go (and have) in my life, but my constant has always been my family. If a guy disrespected my parents or another member of my family, I’d be done with him.

My advice to Palin: don’t rush into anything. The two got engaged after being back together for only three months and plan to marry soon. Palin wants to be a family and have a father figure for her son, Tripp. However, Tripp will have a dad either way. Johnston was involved in his life before and still would be if they weren’t a couple. Although circumstances are different for everyone, I’ve known enough couples who have had a baby but aren’t together now. Nowadays, a family isn’t mom, dad and kids. It’s defined in so many ways, and children don’t lack anything as long as they have love.

I respect Palin for her decision to keep her child and go on as a single mom. If she and Johnston are for real, I wish them the best since it may be a long, bumpy road until their relationship, and impending marriage, is accepted.