I spent some time studying film in college before ultimately switching majors—to a much more pragmatic journalism/sociology combo—so the film geek in me was pretty excited to read the newest Sight & Sound poll.

Taken every 10 years, this survey asks professionals and critics to vote on the best movie ever made. Citizen Kane has been tops since 1962, but as revealed on The Telegraph, A.V. Club and other entertainment blogs, Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo is now regarded by the majority as the greatest film. Other picks include 2001: A Space Odyssey (my pick from the list) at number five, and film-school standby 8 1/2at number…

Plus: Our editors play the desert-island game and choose their favorite films »

You've probably heard of Kickstarter, the site where entrepreneurs can ask for funding from the world at large. The amounts of money they need are reasonable—we're talking a few bucks, not twenty million to launch a competitor to Facebook—and the projects are absolutely all over the map. When you pledge, you don't get a share of the profits. But you might get an… Read More >>

After reading about Wendy Weston's growing "European Style" picnic business, I decided I had had enough with my own soggy sandwiches, mushy potato salad, and warm drinks. I gave Weston a call to find out her secrets so I could bring a little Rome to my next rendez-vous. She shared:

1. Leave the real plates and silverware at home to cut down on bulk, but use recycled stuff so you ease up on the guilt.

2. Don't freeze your water bottles!"Place refrigerated water bottles on the… Read More >>

I will never be mistaken for an astronomy geek (though I did make an effort to see the super moon a few months ago). So when I heard about a recent midnight viewing party of NASA’s Curiosity rover landing on Mars, I did what most people with English degrees did: got a good night’s sleep.

Little did I know what an amazing event I’d missed. Not the actual landing, but the jubilation inside NASA’s mission control center the moment the rover touched down. "I couldn't hold myself back,” said Gregory Galgana Villar III, one of NASA's youngest engineers on the rover mission. “We were jumping up and down, hugging each other, tearing up."

Bobak Ferdowsi, a flight director for the mission, earned even more than a line on his resume. Hours after the landing, photos of NASA’s “mohawk guy,” went viral, prompting more than twenty Twitter marriage proposals. Says Ferdowski, “If my mohawk gets a few more people excited about science and this mission, that’s what it’s all about.”

Can’t get enough of the Olympics? Not to worry! You can enjoy the games throughout all of 2013, thanks to a forthcoming calendar, Guinea Pig Games 2013. Watch the little piggies dive, swim, bicycle, sprint, and more. Best of all, there are no annoying doping scandals or tape delays, just some adorable fur balls giving it their all.

Are athletes like McKayla Maroney, Galen Rupp, and Cullen Jones—who all recently won silver medals in the 2012 London Olympics—really happy about their victories? Perhaps not as much as you’d think, according to this interesting article on what second place feels like from NBCNews.com. Apparently, a Cornell psychology professor who studied the emotions of… Read More >>

There are quirky New York City moments—for example, commuting on a crowded subway next to a man clipping his fingernails—that, even as a lifelong New Yorker, really get to me. But according to a recent article in the Atlantic a new studytitled "Grin and Bear It" in the journal Psychological Science showed that even a forced smile can help relieve everyday… Read More >>

Best-selling author Jeffery Deaver (The Bone Collectorand others) has come out with the latest thriller in his Kathryn Dance series, starring the talented California Bureau of Investigation agent who is expert at kinesics—the ability to interpret body language. In this installment, Dance flaunts her skills to help track down a stalker obsessed with a young…

Deaver throws in plenty of his trademark twists and turns, building to a dramatic conclusion. I've got to confess, though, in the back of my mind I kept thinking how great it would be to have lie-reading skills while raising my five teenagers.

Salmon for its omega-3s. Avocados for their healthy fats. Nuts for their protein. And the newest superfood? Chia seeds. What you may associate as pet “fur” growing out of an animal-shaped terracotta potis a veritable health-booster, as more research shows this seed—packed with omega-3 fatty acids, protein, and fiber—can lower blood sugar, cut tummy flab, and more. In… Read More >>

Last week, I read this Forbes.com article about a company on a mission to make vending machines healthier: "[Sean] Kelly, a pre-med Biomedical Engineering student at Columbia University, searched for somewhere to buy water at his gym. Coming up short, he witnessed a woman purchase a soda to drink during her workout. 'She took a swig, put it in the cup… Read More >>