Don Toliver: The Prince of Hip Hop As Crowned By SXSW
Effy Phillips Effy Phillips

Don Toliver: The Prince of Hip Hop As Crowned By SXSW

SXSW comes to Austin every March, bringing movers and shakers, dreamers, and legends to town along with it. The people who put on this incredible showcase have their fingers on the pulse of everything on the rise in film, music, and tech well before attendees.

So when they sent an email announcing that Don Toliver would headline Billboard’s THE STAGE back in December, it should have been a sign that the artist’s January 30th album release of Octane was going to be a major hit.

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Chi-Raq: “This Is An Emergency”
Effy Phillips Effy Phillips

Chi-Raq: “This Is An Emergency”

Chi-Raq, a film directed by Spike Lee, is a serious satire film based off an older Greek play Lysistrata by Aristophanes. I was lucky enough to attend a screening and Q-and-A with the critically acclaimed director himself to gain more insight. Let’s talk about it.

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Little Shack of Wonders - North by Northwestern
Effy Phillips Effy Phillips

Little Shack of Wonders - North by Northwestern

From the outside, Shanley Pavilion looks like the kind of shed someone would store their lawnmower in during the winter. When you step inside the structure between performances, it’s devoid of light because every surface, even the windows, is painted black. Shanley looks like it was abandoned years ago. It’s hard to believe that anything exciting has ever happened in such a dark and small place, yet it currently hosts a constant rotation of fine arts performances, from comedy groups to dance troupes to theatrical productions.

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Food Made Simple: AI vs Machine Learning
Effy Phillips Effy Phillips

Food Made Simple: AI vs Machine Learning

It seems like every year there’s a new set of buzz words you just can’t seem to get away from. This year, those words seem to be ‘machine learning’ and ‘artificial intelligence’

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The Plant-Based Food Trend
Effy Phillips Effy Phillips

The Plant-Based Food Trend

The most divisive question of all time is whether tomatoes are fruits or vegetables. And whether or not it’s ‘tomāto’ or ‘tomăto’.

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On the Journey: Feeding the World
Effy Phillips Effy Phillips

On the Journey: Feeding the World

Take a second and think about your local grocery store. Think about the thousands of products and companies offering you food.

Now I want you to ask yourself how many of them care about feeding you real, delicious, better-for-you food. How many of the care about more than profits?

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Food Made Simple: The Future of Flavor
Effy Phillips Effy Phillips

Food Made Simple: The Future of Flavor

Very few things that are grape-flavored taste like grape. And if you’ve ever had a banana-flavored candy, you know that whatever makes it taste that way did not grow on a bush somewhere tropical, but in a lab somewhere else. While artificial flavors may not have negative health effects, they make for lower-quality, less authentic tasting products.

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Are you in my "League"? - North by Northwestern
Effy Phillips Effy Phillips

Are you in my "League"? - North by Northwestern

It can get awkward when you see your TA on Tinder.

Awkwardness aside, sometimes the people you see on these apps just aren’t up to your standards. Maybe they don’t go to a school you like, are only in town for the weekend or their bio just has the classic “420 friendly” and a leaf emoji in it. You might be a little frustrated because it seems like you can’t break into either the dating or the hookup game around here. If you relate to this, there’s a new app out there for you: The League.

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