At TED2006, architect Joshua Prince-Ramus held our rapt attention as he deconstructed the process of building the Seattle Library, peeling back the collaborative “hyper-rational” process layer by layer. It was clear to us then that Prince-Ramus — U.S. director of Rem Koolhaas’ architecture firm, OMA — was poised to make a name for himself, independent […]
Not being a regular viewer of Oprah, I somehow missed this a couple weeks’ back. An appearance by the remarkable pianist Jennifer Lin. Two years ago, when she was just 14, she lit up the TED Conference with an astonishing improvisation. (Click the second link on this page.) Her Oprah appearance included some brief clips […]
This week, TIME Magazine puts their annual stake in the ground, naming the 100 most influential people of the moment. As usual, a number of TED veterans among them: Al Gore, Bill (and Melinda) Gates, Bono, Freakonomics author Steven Levitt, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, the “Flickr founders” and the “Skype guys.”
Banal, yet eye-grabbing science story of the day: U.S. physicists have demonstrated that water droplets can run uphill, propelled by their own steam.
Alan Bennett’s fabulous new play The History Boys opened on Broadway last week at the Broadhurst to uniformly wonderful reviews after sold-out runs in London and Sydney. Set in Thatcher-era England, History Boys takes place in a state school where sixth form boys are preparing to take exams that will admit them to their fantasy […]
I had the pleasure of catching the very first public performance of Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, now playing in San Francisco (April 25-May 21) and coming to Toronto (May 27-July 2) and Chicago (July 5-16) on its way to an August 10th Broadway debut. Written by Short and the hysterical Tony Award-winning musical team […]
From today’s New York Times: Thomas Dolby entered pop eternity in the guise of a bespectacled, wild-haired mad scientist, with the 1983 novelty hit “She Blinded Me With Science.” He returns after a long absence — in his other life he has been an innovative creator of ring tones — with a tour that finds […]
Tonight’s episode of South Park was an entertaining parody of Al Gore and the anti-Global Warming message he has been promoting. The episode stars a South Park version of Al Gore warning of the impending doom that will be caused by the ManBearPig (part man, part bear, part pig) which will be ravaging South Park […]
All you need to know about everything current told to you through the mind of TED’s favorite funny man. Ze Frank has a daily show. Check it out.
First Vanity Fair, now Wired. VP-turned-global-warming-warrior Al Gore is clearly the cover model of the moment.
At TEDGlobal, Yale Professor Yochai Benkler gave an illuminating talk on the emergence of sharing as a key economic driver. Everyone emerged from that session (which also featured Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, NYU’s Clay Shirky and UK writer/thinker Charles Leadbeater) with new ways of thinking about cooperation. Benkler’s just-published book, The Wealth of Networks, builds […]
The NY-based TED team spent much of last week in San Francisco, remembering just how much we love that gorgeous city. It seems a fine moment, then, to share another of our favorite ads, which screened at TED2006. Many of you have no doubt seen this spot (a testament to its wide appeal, since it […]
Where can you find a man riding a giant giraffe robot, a fire-spewing electric cart equipped with sheep’s wool seats, a plug-in Prius that gets 100 mpg, teams playing Segway Polo, model rocket launches, fashion shows with inflatable dresses, and parents and children enjoying every minute of it? Why, at Make: magazine‘s first ever Maker […]
At TED, we’ve had the great privilege to watch Herbie Hancock improvise: Both solo and with others, like pianist Makoto Ozone. Now a new documentary exposes the jazz legend’s creative process: tracing the dozen or so collaborations behind his latest album, with behind-the-scenes footage and interviews. Anyone with an interest in creativity or collaboration will […]
After the screening TerraPass CEO Tom Arnold (not to be confused with Roseanne Barr’s former husband) hosted a reception down the street at Trellis restaurant. TerraPass is a new startup that lets you buy carbon offsets for your car. TerraPass lets you calculate the amount of carbon your car emits and then you pay TerraPass […]
TEDsters spotted at the An Inconvenient Truth Screening: (from left to right Truth Producer Lawrence Bender, V.C. Vinod Kholsa, now investing in alternative energy, and the lovely Gwen Campbell; TED Curator Chris Anderson; TEDPrize 2006 winner Cameron Sinclair; former American India Foundation exec Lakshmi Pratury, who is starting a new conference about the best of […]