The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in NYC is one of my favorite museums to visit. I especially love seeing the impressionist's paintings when I am there. I am so thrilled that I can now see all my favorite paintings at home for less than the cost of the cheapest poster reproductions. MoMA 50 Masterworks From the Collection in DVD or Blu-ray allows me to view 50 of the museums best works as a slideshow.

Each picture is displayed for approximately 30 seconds and the slideshow runs in a continuous loop. Optional soothing music plays in the background. You will see works of Monet, Cezanne, van Gogh, Pollock, Mirot, Kandinsky, Chagall and more. It is also a great way to help your teens develop an appreciation of art.

I can't even begin to tell you how much I love this. I often just keep MoMA 50 Masterworks From the Collection running when I am home and every time I look up or walk by I see a beautiful picture. It is such a wonderful way to brighten up a dreary day.

Full disclosure: I received a copy of the DVD to watch for review purposes. This is no way influenced my review.

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1. 22 iPad Apps for New iPad Owners
2. Legal Drinking Age 21 Does More Harm Than Good
3. Final Jeopardy: Man vs. Machine - Book Details TV Competition
4. Educational Video Game Creation in Gamestar Mechanic
5. Jeopardy, Watson and IBM - Behind the Scenes in Final Jeopardy
6. Engineering for Teens and Tweens at Design Squad Nation
7. 3D and Vision: Harmful? Hear from the Experts
8. Hunger Games for Beginners: 25 Things to Know
9. 5 Reasons National Parks are Perfect for Parent Teen Vacations
10. Talking with Teens about Prom
11. Online Video Games Can Improve Our World
12. 10 Ways Parents Sabotage Job Search and 5 Ways Parents Can Help
13. Moms Talk Video Games at PopCap Luncheon
14. Teens, Technology and Aging at Forward with Ford 2011
15. MTV New Comedy Awkward is a Winner
16. Lessons From a Tech Savvy Education Conference 140edu Day 1
17. Education and Technology #140edu Conference Day 2
18. 8 Back to School apps for College Students
19. Beatles Video on Why Music Matters
20. YA Authors and Musicians Take On Bullying
21. KidzVuz - Tweens Create Video Reviews on Their Own Online Community
22. 15 Halloween Movies for Teens
23. Technology's Role in Sex Education
24. Best Holiday Gift Posts Compilation
25. Goodnight iPad the Video of the Ann Droyd Book Parody
26. TEDxWomen - Teenage Girls Harmed by our Culture

See also:

Top Best of 2011 Entertainment and Tech Lists

Google Zeitgeist Year in 2011 Video

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I love my iPad. Since it is small and light, I certainly don't need my laptop desk when using it. However sometimes it does get tiresome holding it for long periods of time. That is, until I found ePillow. ePillow is the perfect and most comfortable way to hold your iPad, eReader or any type of tablet for any length of time.

You just put your soft ePillow on your lap and then put your iPad into the ledge in the pillow. You no longer have to hold the tablet, it is raised and sturdy on the pillow. There is even a little pocket in the ePillow in which you can hold reading glasses or a stylus.

Watch this video to see for yourself:

The ePillow is available in both twill cotton and synthetic leather. It also comes in a variety of color combinations or solid colors (I chose the one above which perfectly matches by bedroom). And for only $29.95 they make great last minute holiday gifts. They are perfect for a dorm room, back seat of a car or any room in your home. Using your iPad or eReader will be more enjoyable than ever with the ePillow.

Full disclosure: I received a free ePillow for review purposes, however all opinions are my own.

See also: Powerbag for Teens, Travelers and Techies

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One of the things I look forward to most in December is the year-end "best of" lists. I've compiled a bunch of them below so that you don't have to search the Internet, especially for some of the more unusual ones below.

Books
Best Fiction of 2011 - Kirkus Reviews

10 Best Books of 2001 - NY Times

Music
The 50 Best Albums of 2011 - Paste Magazine

The Funniest Music Videos of 2011 - MTV

Critics' Picks: 20 Best Singles of 2011 - Billboard

Movies
The Best Films of 2011 - The New Yorker

10 Best Movies of 2011 - Rolling Stone

The Best Movies of 2011 - Moviefone Blog

TV
Best TV Shows of 2011 - HuffPost TV

The 20 Best TV Shows of 2011 - Paste Magazine

Video Games
Top 10 Video Games - Time

Top 10 Video Games of the Year - Wall Street Journal

Miscellaneous
The 10 Best Commercials of 2011 - Adweek

Top 10 Best Tweets - Time

Top 10 Social Web Products of 2011 - ReadWriteWeb

The 10 Best Ted Talks of 2011 - ReadWriteWeb

Facebook's Top Memes of 2007 - Atlantic Wire

100 Best Products of 2011 - PC World

Comprehensive
Best & Worst 2011: The Year in Review - EW.com

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Once you have had a computer for a while, it begins to get sluggish. Unless you are a techie and are comfortable getting into your computer and knowing what to delete, you are probably living with a PC that gets progressively slower. System Mechanic 10.7 will fix it for you in no time.

I actually got my product to review about two months ago, so my review was of System Mechanic 10.5. The newer version just came out last week. When I was asked to review System Mechanic I jumped on it, since my computer has been getting so sluggish it has been driving me crazy. And as much as I consider myself a techie in many areas, I am not comfortable deleting and playing around with my hard drive.

System Mechanic does it all for you. You just download the software and it gets to work. It:

• Fixes errors, crashes and freezes
• Boosts internet speeds
• Speeds up Windows start time
• Restores system stability
• Cleans out clutter and junk files
• Prevents slowdowns and bottlenecks
• Plugs security holes
• Clears out private data
• Improves gaming experience

System Mechanic is only good for one year but you can use it on up to 3 PCs. It is the winner of over 100 Editor's Choice Awards. And my computer is running faster than ever since I used it, so I am a big fan. And here's a hint on how you can save money. System Mechanic 10.7 is currently selling for $39.95 on iolo industries website, however you can get System Mechanic 10.7 on Amazon for only $23.99. Since you can use it on 3 computers, that comes out to $8 per PC. Sounds like a great deal to me.

Full Disclosure: I received a free download of System Mechanic software to review. However, all views are my own and I was not compensated monetarily for this review.

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After watching this wonderfully edited 2011 Year in Review video put together by Google based on its most popular search results from the year, I just had to share it. Not only is a picture worth a thousand words, but when you add beautifully appropriate music to it, it soars.

 Enjoy:

This video is part of the Google Zeitgeist year in 2011. Visit Google Zeitgeist to see the top searches in 2011. I'll give you a hint as to the number one search of 2011. She sang a song about Friday, and it isn't Katy Perry. That's right, Rebecca Black is number one on the Google Zeitgeist list of most searched in 2011, beating out Google+.

See also: Top Best of 2011 Entertainment and Tech Lists

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This is the time of year where it just seems like you should be reading inspirational books. Here are three new books, all of which can be read by teens through adults, that are inspirational in their own different way.

1. An Invisible Thread - Both a heartbreaking and heartwarming story of the lifelong friendship of a busy sales executive and a disadvantaged young boy that begins when she takes him to lunch after she sees him panhandling at age 11 on the streets of NYC. They continue to meet and change each others lives.

An Invisible Thread is a true story of Laura Schroff and Maurice. Maurice's life is not always so easy to read about, and there is only so much that Laura can do. Yet she opens Maurice's eyes to a world outside the only one he ever knew, that of poverty, crime, drugs and violence. He came to love simple things such as having a bagged school lunch made for him and eating dinner with a family. So many of us donate money or even our time to charitable organizations, but Laura Schroff directly saved a human life with her kindness.

2. Smile: The Astonishing Powers of a simple Act - Smile is based on a TED talk by Ron Gutman that has been viewed by millions. It is a short digital book that will inspire you to do just what the title says - Smile. Smiling is a language we all Share. It is universal. We feel happier when we smile. Smiling is the first expression that babies learn to control. We smile at smiling people. Scientists have even found health benefits to smiling. Smiling people are more pleasant to look at.

You will learn much more about smiling in Smile: The Astonishing Powers of a Simple Act, and in a much more interesting way. Everything you learn is told in a story with many, many pictures to go along. Ron Gutman is a fascinating speaker and writer and this is a fun and inspiring book to read. I would love if everyone in the world read it. Wouldn't it be great if everywhere we went we saw only smiling faces?

3. Laughing at Wall Street - Do you ever feel like only Wall Street insiders can make any money in the stock market? Well think again. Chris Camillo tells his story in Laughing at Wall Street: How I Beat the Pros at Investing (by Reading Tabloids, Shopping at the Mall, and Connecting on Facebook) and How You Can, Too. Camillo is not a stockbroker, analyst or hedge fund manager, yet he made a few million dollars in the stock market from 2007 to 2010, not booming times.

Chris Camillo lets you in on his everyman way of choosing investments - look and listen to the world around you. It is a fascinating, yet practical read that inspires. Whether you plan on investing or not, it is worth reading to see another very interesting real world way to look at investments. I always thought of the stock market as extremely dull, yet Laughing at Wall Street made it three dimensional and fully alive.

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A new DVD, Shanti Generation: Yoga Skills for Youth Peacemakers helps teens discover and cultivate their own power and potential to shape their world. This transformational new yoga program helps teens and tweens, ages 7-16, develop confidence and strength while cultivating inner peace and mindfulness.

"Shanti" means peace in Sanskrit. The Shanti Generation Yoga program is specifically created for adolescents and is designed to empower teens to cope with real life challenges, including bullying. The program was developed by yoga youth expert Abby Wills, MA, with the directed input of seven teens and tweens. A program was created which talks to and not at their peers.

Yoga Skills for Youth Peacemakers can be used at home or in the classroom. Yoga is already known to help combat obesity and support academic achievement and has helped children with ADHD, Autism and chronic disease stay physically active and mentally focused. If this program can now help teens battle the many stresses in their lives, especially bullying, it is well worth trying.

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I don't even know how to begin describing the PS3 video game Little Big Planet 2 except to say that it is the most amazingly creative video game I have ever seen. And better yet, it is a game that people of any age will enjoy - children, teen, young adults to baby boomers. Therefore it is a great game for families and for parents and teens to connect.

Little Big Planet 2 can be played alone or with up to 4 players. It is a puzzle platforming game with over 50 levels. In addition to playing through the storyline, a new set of tools was built into the 2nd version of Little Big Planet to allow players to create their own games within the game. You are given a variety of tools to work with to bring your games and characters to life.

Since I am still not a skilled enough gamer to fully do a review of such an intricate game justice, please watch this video review from GameSpot:




I can't recommend a game more highly. Creating video games has educational value. Little Big Planet 2 is therefor not only extremely fun and creative, but also very educational. Young children love the characters, especially Sackboy (I've become quite taken with him myself). Teens and Young Adults love the challenges and parents love the educational and creative value.

Little Big Planet 2 is only available on the PlayStation platform. It is available on the PlayStation 3 and the PSP and will be available on the PlayStation Vita, coming in February. For the PlayStation 3, there is also a LittleBigPlanet 2: Collector's Edition, a Little Big Planet 2: Special Edition and a LittleBigPlanet 2 Special Edition Move Bundle. I can't think of a better holiday gift for any family member or friend.

Full Disclosure: I was given a free copy of LittleBigPlanet 2 as part of my position in the PlayStation Family. I was not paid for the review and all thoughts are my own.

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Is there any easy way to access all of your music on any device without cables? There is now with MyMusicCloud, which enables users to sync their iTunes and other media players across virtually every type of mobile phone or tablet or PC, automatically, without the need for a USB or a 'sync' button.

MyMusicCloud is a new cross-platform cloud music service. Unlike streaming only services such as Pandora and Spotify, MyMusic Cloud enables streaming and synchronization for online and offline playback. Take a look at this music service comparison chart to see how MyMusicCloud differs in features from other leading music services.

Watch this short video on MyMusicCloud here:




Although MyMusicCloud is free, if you need more than 2GB of storage, you need to purchase it for $10 a year for an additional 5GB. Songs are also available for purchase from the store at prices beginning as low as $0.19. It definitely is worth trying out, especially if you have iTunes on your computer and have a non-Apple mobile device, such as a Blackberry or android.

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Wouldn't it be great if you could keep your teens interested in LEGOs and the skills that come with physically building with their hands. Knowing how teens today love everything digital, LEGO has created, LEGO Life of George, a fully integrated digital-to-physical gaming experience merging apps and a bricks game set.

You buy the LEGO product, which contains 144 bricks, a mat to build on, and a getting started guide. Then you download the free app from the iTunes store. The app is compatible with the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Players can play in Game or Creation mode.

In either mode, LEGO Life of George works by pulling up a picture on the app and then creating it with the actual LEGOs. The levels within the game are focused on different themes/locations in George's album and are comprised of models of varying difficulty based on number of bricks needed and building techniques.

LEGO Life of George is recommended for ages 14+ and sells for $29.99. You can buy it at LEGO stores, on the LEGO website and at Amazon.com. It would make a wonderful holiday gift for any teenager.

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Understanding the teenage brain helps us understand teenagers. It is just as important for teens to understand their own brains. In a book written directly to teens, The Owner's Guide To The Teenage Brain, author Derek Pugh explains to them how they can maximize their brain capacity.

Since it isn't always easy getting teens to read non-fiction or self-help books, I think this would be a great book for schools to add to their high school health or science curriculum. It is written at a level for teens, but contains a great deal of interesting science and health information about the brain, what its made of and how it works.

The Owner's Guide To The Teenage Brain is also a very practical book. It is filled with suggestions on preparing your brain for learning. The five areas discussed in this section are getting enough sleep, exercise, water, prioritizing breakfast and eating a healthy diet.

Pugh then goes on to discuss hormones, stress, risk and the difference and male and female brains. He tries to get teens to see that even that if they are aware of their bodies and hormones they can better control their impulses.

Filled with fun cartoon images and notes to parents and teachers, The Owner's Guide To The Teenage Brain, has everything you could ask for. If you can get your teens to read it, they might learn more about their own brains than they do in school.

See also:  How to Help Teens Reach Their Full Educational Potential

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If you are looking to buy some great tech gifts for your teens, here are a few that will make even the coolest teenager show excitement.

1. An iPad or a Kindle Fire - If your teen will mostly be using the tablet for media - books, movies, music and games, then the $199 for the Kindle Fire will suffice. However, if you have an older teen that might be using the tablet for education and more and will need access to a variety of apps, then the iPad (beginning at $499) might be a better value in the long run if it is in your family's price range.

2. PlayStation 3 320GB Move Bundle - If you dont't own a PlayStation 3, this is a great time to purchase one. You can buy a new 32O GB version that comes with a DualShock 3 wireless controller, PlayStation Eye camera, Move Motion Controller, and the PlayStation Move game, Sports Champions (a family favorite). The Playstation 3 is also a Blu-ray player with access to movies, music and TV streaming. $349

3. Xbox 360 Holiday Kinect Bundle - Microsoft is also running a promotion which includes a Xbox 260 S Console, a Kinect which allows you to play controller free, 2 Kinect games - Kinect Adventures and Carnival Games: Monkey See Monkey Do, an Xbox 360 wireless controller and a 3 month Xbox Live Gold Membership. Xbox Live incudes access to movies, TV streaming sites, and more. $399

4. 3M Mobile Projector - Attach this to any Apple device, such as an iPhone or iPad and you can view videos, movies, games, etc. from your device in a big-screen format. Project the images onto any flat surface such as a blank wall. This is a great way for teens to share media from their iPhones with their friends. $299

5. Microsoft Touch Mouse Artist Edition - Made exclusively for Windows 7, all tasks become more natural, fluid and intuitive. Superior comfort in a multitouch mouse designed to fit your hand. And it is beautiful.

6. Roku LT Streaming Player - The Roku box has been around for a few years now. It allows you to stream media from your computer onto your television set in HD and wirelessly. All you need do is plug it in to your TV and an outlet, connect to your wi-fi network and it is ready. Why am I just recommending it now. Because it is cheaper than ever to buy. They have just added this new LT model which is only $49.99 and still includes almost everything that the more expensive models do.

7. Hulu Plus Gift Cards - You can find more videos of current seasons TV episodes on Hulu Plus than anywhere else. If you do not have a DVR, or if your teen is away in college and doesn't have access to one, Hulu Plus Gift Cards could be a great gift. You can give a month, a few months, a year, etc. You create the card online and then either email it or print it out.

Full Disclosure: I received a free Microsoft Touch Mouse Artist Edition to review and I have a PlayStation Move Bundle on Loan from Sony as part of my PlayStation Ambassadorship.

See also: Best Holiday Gift Posts Compilation

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If you are looking for one item that you can buy a golfer that could improve their game instantly, and costs less than $100, the SensoGlove, is the perfect gift. It instantly corrects any golfer's grip for a smoother more powerful swing.

My husband, as anyone who knows him can attest to, is a golf addict. I had him explain to me how the SensoGlove works and had him test it out. He was extremely pleased with the way it works. This is what I learned:

1. In golf, grip is very important. You need to have just the right pressure, which is a light grip. Most golfers grip with more pressure than they should.

2. The SensoGlove has a built-in digital computer that monitors your grip with sensors placed throughout the glove. If your grip is too tight, sensors will warn you before you swing so that you can loosen your grip.

3. You can test to see the amount of pressure that is best for you and set your glove accordingly. You can also change pressure settings for different situations.

4. A lightly gripped club will lead to a more effortless swing which will give the golfer more power and lower scores.

The SensoGlove certainly sounds like a great gift for a golfer to me. You can purchase them on the SensoGlove website in both mens and womens sizes. 

If you have teenagers that are just starting to play, or you are a golfer and are trying to talk them into taking up the game, the SensoGlove would be a great gift to teach them how to grip the club correctly from the beginning. Then you and your teens can have a great time playing golf together.

Full Disclosure: A received a SensoGlove free to review.

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The other day I attended the TEDxWomen event at the Paley Center for Media in NYC. The speakers were all leading-edge innovators with powerful ideas and I was thrilled to cover the conference in depth for Technorati Media in a 4-part series.

However, I wanted to bring to my Connect with your Teens audience, the relevant areas of the conference that dealt with teenage girls. TEDxWomen dealt with the issues of women at all ages levels.

Rachel Simmons is the author of bestselling books about girls, Odd Girl Out and The Curse of the Good Girl. She took the stage with Claire Sannini, a 13 year old girl from NJ.

Claire spoke about how her life had changed in 7th grade when her entire group of friends dropped her and she was completely alone. It took a full year before she stop trying to get them back and realized that she needed to make new friends.

Rachel then said that we have to give girls the resources to manage relationships. Girls outpace boys in test scores, enrollment rates and leadership positions in high school. However they have very low rates of self esteem in adolescence. Girls are under pressure to please everyone, be perfect, be liked by all. This is coming from our culture. Their psychological resumes are lagging generations behind. Women are leery of being considered the best. This begins in teenage years.

Relationships can provide an in-house classroom to girls on how to be a better leader. If you give a 10 year old girl the skills to tell a girl to stop bossing her around, you are giving her conflict skills. Girls need to build their "inner resume" for future career strength.

Advice from her mother that helped Tan Le, a Tech Entrepreneur and business executive was "Just do it and don't be what you're not. You need a lot of crazy ideas to get a few brilliant ones."

Jennifer Siebel Newsom  is a filmmaker, actress, spokesperson and advocate. She wrote, directed and produced the documentary film Miss Representation, which debuted at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

Miss Representation shows us that the media is sending dangerous messages to young people. Women are brought up to be fundamentally insecure. How do we change it? Women must write their own stories. The media can be an instrument of change. It depends on who is piloting the plane.

Jennifer discussed how gender roles are so normalized that we are desensitized to them. Media is the most powerful cultural messenger of all and reality TV has made it worse. Kids are especially vulnerable. Children's brains aren't fully formed until their early 20s. "Media is killing our daughters ambition and destroying empathy in our sons. Let’s demand a media that uplifts us all. It is up to us. But it requires action and it requires it now. Each of us has the capacity to represent change."

If you are interested in other issues involving women, such as health, aging, economics, social injustice, and more, see my Technorati articles, TEDxWomen Part I - Resilience, TEDxWomen Part 2 - Relationships, TEDxWomen Part 3 - Rebirth and TEDxWomen Part 4 - Re-Imagining.

See also: Geena Davis on Gender in Media at The Paley Center

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