“Who are we? We’re just an upright, walking, big-brained, super-intelligent ape. ” – Paleontologist Louise Leakey “The first thing we do when we’re born is we breathe in, and we cry. And the last thing we do when we die is we breathe out, and other people cry.” – Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, […]
(Running notes from the TED2008 conference in Monterey, California.) Short videos — funny, interesting, spectacular — are used at TED as interstitial between speeches or between sessions. Here two that the TED audience got to see today. "Frozen Grand Central", by ImprovEverywhere (listen carefully, towards the end, to what the guy in the cart has […]
Before the formal opening of TED2008, TED@Aspen-ites gathered early in the gorgeous Doerr-Hosier Center to answer their own Big Question. Today’s question: How’d you get that scar? Lining up on either idea of the stage, TEDsters rushed up to tell their stories in 30 seconds or less (at :30, the music comes up and cuts […]
(Running notes from the TED2008 conference in Monterey, California. Second session.) The second session of TED2008 asks "What is our place in the universe?" and it cogently opens with a sneak preview of an amazing piece of technology under development at Microsoft: the World Wide Telescope, a powerful new web-based tool for exploring the universe […]
Investor Steve Jurvetson talks about his awesome hobby — shooting off model rockets. With gorgeous photos, infectious glee and just a whiff of danger. (Recorded March 2007 in Monterey, California. Duration: 03:22.) Watch Steve Jurvetson’s talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances. […]
On stage at TED2008, Roy Gould and Curtis Wong just presented a preview of the Microsoft technology that made Robert Scoble cry: the WorldWide Telescope, a powerful and collaborative way to view our universe. Look for more on this in coming days; blogger reaction starts now. Today, Microsoft opened its technology preview site at WorldWideTelescope.org, […]
(Running notes from the TED2008 conference in Monterey, California. First session.) TED2008 goes under the theme "The Big Questions", and it opens with THE big Shakespearian question: "To be, or not to be". Actor Michael Stuhlbarg offers a stunning interpretation of the entire soliloquy from "Hamlet": To be or not to be, that is the […]
(Running notes from the TED2008 conference in Monterey, California.) The conference will be on in just a couple of hours. Attendees are lining up at the registration desk to get their badges. Then some head for the Google Café for a free latte, but most get into a new line in front of another station, […]
The Aspen Institute’s Devlen Watkins (at right, above) reports from the One Laptop per Child table at TED@Aspen: Steve Howard (at left, above) is from AMD, which provides the processors for the laptops. If you have seen the earlier models, they had a crank sticking out. They have since done away with that design, because […]
Join a global audience and watch online as the 2008 TED Prize winners, Dave Eggers, Neil Turok and Karen Armstrong, share their inspiring visions, followed by the moving and infectious music of Vusi Mahlasela. It will be an evening of big ideas, bold plans and audacious wishes — and you’ll hear ways to help grant […]
Here’s the list so far — and if you’re blogging your impressions of TED2008 or TED@Aspen, photoblogging, Twittering, … drop an email to contact (at) ted.com and we’ll add you to the list: Live-blogging + The mighty Ethan Zuckerman live-blogged every sessions of TED2008 in Monterey at … My Heart’s in Accra. + TED’s European […]
It’s time for TED 2008. Most of the TED team — helped by a vast contingent of electricians, decorators, and other skilled craftspeople — is in Monterey, California, preparing the conference, which will start on Wednesday. Our colleagues are in Aspen doing the same (see previous post): in a TED first, the two locations will […]
The TED@Aspen team is busy setting up the gorgeous Doerr-Hosier Center at the Aspen Institute. A few behind-the-scenes pics, from top left: rigging the lighting; Matt, Kelly and Sean go over the schedule; the view from Blogger’s Alley; a new TED friend.
Conde Nast Portfolio, a sponsor of TED2008, has a great package of pre-conference stories about TED2008. Look for interviews with the three 2008 TED Prize winners — Dave Eggers, Neil Turok, and Karen Armstrong — as well as a TED news feed, slide shows and a backgrounder, “Ahead of TED.” Read more here >>
TED’s Musical Director, Thomas Dolby, is blogging about his preparations for the conference — choosing music, working with the amazing house band and special guests … And he plans to blog about TED music regularly from Monterey, throughout the conference. As he writes: So what’s the role of music in all of this? Well, imagine […]
Illustrious jugglers the Raspyni Brothers (who’ll be in residence next week at TED@Aspen) show off their uncanny balance, agility, coordination and willingness to sacrifice (others). Now, if you’ll just stand completely still … (Recorded February 2002 in Monterey, California. Duration: 15:33.) Watch the Raspyni Brothers’ performance on TED.com, where you can download it, rate […]