heathervescent

Hbombtastic Events

I can't stop myself. I am compelled to create these spaces, these experiences. I hope you'll join me if you are into these same things.

• June 7: Ignite 3 in Los Angeles
• June 12-13: Humanity Plus Summit (ps. I'm speaking!)
• June 15: Geek Dinner REDUX @ Canters
• July 24: Save the Date for Xmas in July

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Ignite3

When: June 7, 7:30pm
Where: V Lounge (2020 Wilshire Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90403-5608)
What: 5 Minutes. 20 Slides. 15 Seconds per Slide.
Cost: Free
RSVP & Details

Speakers get only 5 minutes to give an amazing, inspiring talk. In LA, there are tons of different communities at the intersection of tech, academia, art, green/sustainability, entertainment, unique lifestyle design, entrepreneurship, digital/collaborative media, and social action that don't know each other but should. Think of Ignite as a set of trailers for exciting projects people are doing that you should know about.

LA Geek Dinner REDUX

The LA Geek Dinner returns for one night.

When: Tuesday, June 15, 2010, starting around 7:30pm
Where: Canters Deli, Mid-Town on Fairfax near Melrose
What: People who self-identify as geeks
Details

How does it work: Show up, order a drink, some food, be open and friendly, meet some new people, have some interesting conversations, eat some pastrami. It’s a chill scene. No uber networking, self-promotion or company promotion. Just be cool. We’re all friends you haven’t met yet. RSVP on our old friend Upcoming

XMAS in JULY: Santa Needs A Vacation

Save the date for Xmas in July: July 24th. Suggestion: Santa like red bikini's! Planning meeting soon.

The Caveman Picnic: Saturday May 8th

A couple years ago, when I was dressed as Santa and slightly inebriated at a bar in Silverlake, I was reminiscing how awesome the LA Brea Tar Pits were as an Icon of Los Angeles. And I wanted to throw an event there. But what would be the perfect event at bubbling vats of tar in the middle of LA? Why, a Caveman Picnic! Two years later, I'm finally getting around to organizing it. After careful consideration, I decided to move the picnic from the tar pits, to the Old Zoo in Griffith Park - which has actual "cave" enclosures which look straight out of a caveman film set. It's very cool.

So I invite you to come on out to the 1st Annual Caveman Picnic in Griffith Park this Saturday.

Noonish until 4 or so.

How to get to the old zoo picnic area? Park in either:
- Lot 2 for the Carousel
- Old Zoo Picnic area

Then walk a short while up the path to an open green with picnic tables and old zoo enclosures. I will try to put up signs in the old zoo picnic area.

I will have signs posted around the Old Zoo/Carousel 2 parking lot.

This is a BYO Everything/Pot-luck:
You may want to bring

• a folding chair,
• extra cups,
• ice,
• sangria,
• plates,
• trash bags,
• a blanket,
• hula-hoops,
• instruments,
• games,
• big foam clubs,
• extra caveman attire.

Unfortunately there are no BBQ grills allowed where we are picnicking.

If you have extra caveman attire, games, clubs, animal costume heads, a mammoth, etc, bring them.
Activities may include: club fights, hiking, riding the carousel, galavanting, scavenger hunt, mammoth hunt, etc. 

Prepare to take a trip back in time: pre-history Los Angeles, where Giant Sloths and Mammoth's better watch where they step otherwise they'll end up on display in a museum hundreds of years in the future.

Introducing the first annual Caveman Picnic. Wear your caveman or cavewoman finest and join us at the Griffith Park Old Zoo for an afternoon of froliking about caveman style. Roll out your fur blankets and bring that bucket of KFC. We'll reinvent the wheel and play some caveman games.

BYO Everything. Be discrete about your beverages.
No Stoves, BBQs, fire where we are picnicing

You can RSVP on Facebook if you are so inclined.

March Cacophonista

People participate in cacophony-esque events for a variety of reasons. I do it because I like the absurd, interrupting the normal and because life is a stage. Here are some events you can participate in this weekend:

Los Angeles's Impov Everywhere Group
(facebook event link) (@glaimprov)

When: 12pm (noon), Saturday, March 20th, 2010
Meeting Point: Sunset/Vermont Metro station for the briefing. When you arrive, please check-in with us. There will be signs at the station showing you where to check- in.

Bring: Classy Party Attire. Party favors and party hats, but nothing that leaves a mess.

LA Bunnyhop
(facebook event link) (@labunnyhop)

Starts Saturday at Noon at Vermont and Sunset (joining the Countdown)
It's been five years since the last LA Bunny Hop... It's time again. I got a wild hare and decided to gather all you down bunnies for a day of bar-hopping good times... by metro of course. Keep your ears up for more updates.

1. Dress for the occasion. (Bunnies!)
2. Prepare for an easter egg hunt. Bring goodies or something to carry goodies.
3. Follow the LA Bunny Hop on twitter. Stick with your bunnies, but the "schedule" is open to liberal interpretation.
4. Invite all the bunnies you know.

LA Marathon Zombie Stop
(facebook event link) (@heathervescent)

Sponsored in part by Zombies without Borders, the LA Marathon goes through Hollywood and let's make it weird! The LA Marathon is Sunday. Why is everyone running? Zombies of Course! We are the zombies.

--->March 21: Sunday: LA Marathon Zombie Run: 10:30am~2 Mile 12: Gardner &Sunset in West Hollywood Bring cocktails, twinkies, beer, lounge chairs, wear zombie attire

RSVP privately for complimentary zombie makeup time/location nearby. This is an official LA Cacophony Event. Support your local Cacophonistas and be one yourself.

2010 Themes

Oh, it's going to be a year of burning. Burning Desire that is. I'm sitting here in my office, (which I hope I will not be sitting in next year) looking at my mindmap of goals for 2010. I've tried different techniques in the years I've blogged, chucking out the old for the fresh and new. This year, I'm returning to some tried and true, and mixing and mashing up my techniques.

You probably know by now, that I'm very goal focused. But sometimes goals are not what is needed. Being goal orientated can sometimes be too rigid. To not allow for the magic and spontaneity to express itself. To lose an opportunity because you ignore it. Goals fixate you. (And this is a double-edged sword.)

This year, I've got several mindsets I'm remembering, some very specific goals, some vague goals and stretch goals. I'll share one from each bucket.

Mental Mindsets: Yes, and...

Several years ago, I started a start-up company with an actor. He had interesting ways of thinking about things, and one thing I learned from him was this concept of "yes, and." I remembered learning it in an improv class. You see, when you're improving with someone, for it to be good, to flow, you have to accept what they have given you, and then take it from there. You can't deny what has been given to you, even if it's something utterly ridiculous. You say yes, and take it where you want to take it from there.

The Specifics: Throw a party at my desert property

On New Years Day, I visited my property in the desert. It's been through it's fair share of drama in the short time I owned it, so I have kept it fallow. This year, my simple goal, is to invite a select group of friends out to my land and break it in. It might be next month, it might be July, it might be October, but Heather is going to throw a raging desert party on land I own in 2010.

The Vague: Cultivate Relationships that Fulfill Me

I've done an inconsistent job of picking friends, colleagues and collaborators over the years. I've made a lot of great friends. I've done a lot of cool things. And I've got a past filled with long-term friends and collaborators, and those who did not make the cut. I want to cultivate more of those long-term friends. Friends who stick with you through the disagreements and bumps. Friends who put their own perspective aside. Friends who align with my vision, values, morals; and those that strategically oppose mine. Friends that challenge and engage. Friends I can grow and nurture.

The Stretch: Essays on the Future

Do I dare to expose a dear stretch goal on this open blog? Oh, why not. One of my stretch goals is to write an essay each quarter on some topic that vaguely has to do with the future. I do not see these essays as predictions, but rather topics that have been knocking around in my mind. There is a high probability that one or several of these essays may include wildcards and black swans.

And that, my readers, is a taste of what I'm shooting for 2010. Unlike other years, I am not publishing my full list. I have a few projects on it that shall remain secret until it is time for their unrevealing.

So, how about you, what are your mindsets, specific, vague and stretch goals for 2010?

Clothing-"optional" Swap

I am in need of something more powerful than the all-mighty Naked Lady Party. Returning from the open desert full of exploded propane tanks, burned out tired and ancient mine shafts (that entropy ate for lunch over the past 4 decades) I have decided I have too much stuff.

Add to that I prefer clothing swaps to garage sales and finding renewed life for my stuff in my friends house - I am having a massive "clothing-optional" swap.

What the ef is a clothing swap aka a Naked Lady Party?

It's where you go through your closet (all of them or even your house) and pull out the stuff you don't wear, don't want, thought you would wear, that stuff you will never fit into, that belt from an x-boyfriend, that bracelet from the x-friend who stabbed you in the back, those random shoes left at your house after your barely rememberable (although memorable) party last year.... etc.

You get it. The stuff that still have life in it, and someone to love it, but it's not you. Your love for it is dead. But, you're guilt-tripped by the eco-friendly world we live in and can't just throw it in the dumpster. And you could take it to the Salvation Army (or Out of the Closet or the Women's shelter) but, it's just been sitting in the trunk of your car for three weeks already.

Jeeze. I have a lot of baggage.

And it can be yours. I already have 6 bags of stuff, including some stupid books from the web 1.0 era (um, webeconomics anyone? Does anyone remember 1:1 marketing?), three sheets to the wind (and an amazing amount of flannel pillowcases, I can only imagine are from my bay area days that have not yet made it to the camping gear). Amazing beauty products that promise to turn you into a supermodel in 5 days (but I got bored of them after the first night). Random burning man costumes and true vintage 70s Polynesian dresses. Let's not even get started on my random box of electronics, wires, old phones, usb hello kitty dancing delight.

OK. So you may not be interested in any of this stuff. But in the small chance that you are interested, I will sell it to you for the amazing price of .... FREE. Just show up. I'll tell you a story about it and maybe you'll give it a new life. Or maybe you'll just take it to the desert and put it out of it's misery.

If you would like to add any of your stuff to the free swap, bring it - but be sure to take it home if no-one else does. (Or maybe we can organize a mass Out of the Closet run afterwards.)

The bottom line:
Optional: Bring shit to swap. (And bring a bag)
Required: Take something cool home!
Optional (but preferred): Bring a drink (cocktail or not) or snack to share.

Sunday, January 10th, 2010!

Ladies only until from 12-2.

Guys come on by after 2pm until about 4pm.

Details and RSVP here.

Winners!

Big thank you to Dominik, Sam, Kelly and our weekend welder Dave - the Junkyard Dogs Racing Team - who put hours of long effort to make the "Mad Max" car the Judges Choice at our first 24 Hours of Lemons.

I felt like of the runt of the pack - trying to help and stay out of the way. Sitting back and letting others make decisions. It wasn't my car. I hadn't put in the long hours welding the cage (although I did work on the car - it was mostly the guys). I was just excited to have my own racing suit and (third) helmet. (Apparently my motorcycle helmets can not be used for car racing.) I was nervous and anxious before the race. It would be a few hours before my turn behind the wheel. So I decided to sit down and chill out. My time to cram into the 5 point harness, neck brack and helmet would come.

And then it did. I was strapped in. Driving through the paddock to the hot pits. One final check and I was on the track. One thought barely flitted in my mind - that maybe I was scared - but like the bulldozer on the minivan Sunday afternoon - that thought was gone as I braked for my first turn and put the wheels to squealing.

I felt the tactile nubs on the steering wheel. My right foot went from accelerator to brake. My eyes analyzed the track, my brain calculating the curves, bank and how and where to enter them. I didn't notice the pressure from centrifugal force moving me to this side and that. I heard the rev and popping of engines. I smelled burned oil, brakes and fuel. I was calm, relaxed and one with the car.

I pushed it through the turns gaining what little speed I could. I swung the back end with a not always small fishtail (that more than once turned into a 180). I watched how the more expert racers (who were driving almost twice my speed) set themselves up for the curves and hills - and I tried to stay out of the way when the pack descended upon me passing on all sides through the straightways or the curves. I wasn't phased by them. I just wish I had someone to race with. I didn't pass one car the entire time. It seems we forgot to bring a racecar to the race. :)

Nevertheless, I've lost my racing virginity and gotten bitten by the bug. I foresee many cars and tracks in my future.

Help my favorite art gallery/collective

In case you missed my email blasts last night about Machine Project on the geek dinner lists and facebook, I'm posting it here on the blog.

Hi geeks and tech lovers,

Today I got some very sad news in my email box. Machine Project was supposed to get a $35k grant this month - but it's been canceled. For an organization of their size - this is great loss as they were planning to use the funds to rent and their one full time operations manager (who kicks major ass!).

They reached out to their Lacma show volunteers (which I was and how I found out) to help raise the needed money by donating $50 today. I'm going to give them at least double that and probably 10 times that. (I've been a 1024 bit level member in the past). So I am personally asking you - fellow lover of technology and part of the LA tech community to donate at least $50-100 to Machine Project. They are in my mind, one of the most innovative, unique, awesome, interesting cool, stamp of heathervescent approval organization I know of worldwide.

Machine Project hosted the geek dinner last year. They host dorkbot. And they recently took over LACMA doing to the museum what I have always dreamt of doing to museume.

Please help Machine raise the $35k they need to continue. It's easy and they have an ASCII Unicorn.

==> Donate now: http://machineproject.com/lacmafriend/
==> Become a Member (askii unicorn and a lot more): http://machineproject.com/membership/
==> Give a class gift certificate: http://machineproject.com/store/

In case you're not aware - the FRY-B-Q is this Sunday from 8-11pm, and now features pie! Machine will also be screening videos from the LACMA show all night, next door at the Echo Park Film Center. 

Please give what you can. Spend the $50+ you would usually spend on tech events and drinks in LA for January and give it to Machine. I promise you'll achieve enlightenment and all your dreams will come true if you help.

Michele also posted on metblogs. I know together we can raise enough for Machine to survive. I'll see you at the fry in a few hours.

2009 Theme

It hit me earlier this week. The theme for 2009.

I was thinking about how I really rocked the 2007 theme, which was pimping and promoting, which was a really hard practice but amazing.

Then, I was thinking about how I am sucking at the 2008 theme, which was/is "Going Mainstream." But am I really sucking at it? I've worked/launched on multiple projects (for clients) that are far from underground. My strategy for going mainstream was in supporting the individual subcultures, maintaining their authenticity and introducing them to a wider (potentially mainstream) audience - all while not diluting the original subcultural identity.

So in that sense, yes, I am rocking it. I helped Jonathan launch his book to a wider audience and at Crowdgather we have many individual authentic subcultures/niche cultures/alternative mainstream communities and they're all going bigger and better, all while maintaining their identity.

Besides, "going mainstream" is not something you can do in one year. It's a long term strategy. 2008 was the first year I put focus on it. (Instead of giving the mainstream the bird and lurking in the dark alleys and blue highways, as I previously have done.)

But 2009. What are you going to be all about? Something much more material, physical and selfishly close to home. And probably some of the most fun I have had in a long time.

You'll have to wait several months to find out my new theme, but I haven't been this excited in a November in years. 2009 is going to be a lot of fun and I am very much looking forward to it and the adventures it brings.

Born to love Volcanoes

Two dreams on my Superviva life list have to do with Volcanoes.

1. See a Volcano up close and personal
2. Roast a marshmallow on hot LAVA

And what a wonderful opportunity I have since I am going to Volcano on the big island of Hawaii tomorrow! I'm about to start my packing which will include a bag of marshmallows! Because here's an opportunity to have a dream come true.

Dream come true, new dreams

Sam was driving us back from the Reptile Breeders Meeting today. We were in my convertible, the top was down, it was about 85 degrees, I had the A/C on. The new Orb album was revering bass in my seat. And it hit me - this is my dream - one of them at least.

When I was a college student in Cedar Falls, Iowa - home to -50+ below windchill weeks in the winter, I dreamed of having a Saab. It seemed so far out of reach for me. When I lived in Berkeley and needed a new car, I bought a practical Camry. I still dreamed of my fancy car. One company founder had a dark green saab convertible and I drooled over his car. Loved it. Loved it.

When I moved to LA, I decided I needed to have a convertible - because I was in LA now, right?! ;) I had forgotten my Saab dreams and loves until, like a veil I remembered. I made it happen. And now, every day, I drive around in my dream.

It's been four  years. I had forgotten gratitude. I had forgotten that this dream did not always exist. That I worked hard for it to come true. And here I was, being driven on the 5, in Southern California at sunset, top down, wind blowing, my favorite music playing on my stereo system. I was living my dream.

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Somewhere in the past 6 months or so, my dreams changed. I've gotten caught up in day to day drama - work and relationship - and have forgotten about the big stuff. I remembered this watching Southland Tales. There's an undercurrent about manifesting in life the things that were scripted. That's dreaming and stalking for you. Anyway, it reminded me that I used to do a lot of this. A lot of being in control of my reality, pro-actively creating my life. More recently I've been caught up in winds I don't control - nor can control myself in them.

It's very discombublating.

However, now that I have realized this, I can get back to living life the way I like to. Pro-actively. Focused on an end-goal, that I don't necessarily know exactly how I'm getting there. After, the journey is the destination, and once I know where I am going, getting there is the fun.

The Success Mind

This is a great article about visualization. Goes right in line with some of my current thoughts. (Not so sekret tip to a blogreader - try regarding your current deadline. I dare you to see yourself talking, writing, interviewing and getting it done just under the wire - as perfectly as it can be.)  For everyone else (and my own blog history) here's some good reminders:

Imagine success. Enjoy the sensation. Fill in details, either in your mind or in writing.

Work backwards from that image to where you are now: create a roadmap. Identify the goals required at each stage and write them down.

Anticipated problems are opportunities in disguise: they are alerting you to a need for information, skills, or resources. Identify what you need and incorporate obtaining it into your roadmap.

Do not be derailed by negativity. Everyone has moments where they feel they cannot possibly succeed. Bruce Lee liked to imagine writing down negative thoughts on a piece of paper, crumpling it up, and throwing it away.

Manage stress. Allowing stress to get out of hand limits creativity, imagination, persistence, and energy. It doesn’t matter whether you meditate, exercise, listen to music, cook, or engage in some other relaxing activity: give yourself a break and a chance to think about something other than the problem at hand.

Get enough sleep. This may seem obvious, but I have found that the biggest “duhs” come from the people struggling to stay awake. Lack of sleep will very quickly interfere with creativity, judgment, and motivation.

Celebrate successes. Periodically review your progress and see how far you’ve come. We are motivated more by seeing how much we’ve accomplished than by how much we haven’t. Seeing progress increases optimism and motivation. Dwelling only on how far we’ve fallen short does just the opposite.

The Success Mind is not the province of a few top people. It can be developed by anyone who puts in the time and effort. To someone who has truly developed a Success Mind, even major failure is merely a temporary setback.
- Source

Art Show!

The I am a Heather art show I am involved in opened in Pittsburgh today at Future Tenant. !!! This is so cool and I'm really excited to be included in it! Here's a photo of the materials!

Meditations on Mercy // At the mercy of Mercy

I'm listening to the Sisters of Mercy researching mercy. Coming from a legal family (4 generations in Law, including my grandfather who was a high level state Judge) it's surprising that I have and yet have not understood this concept. Law is about judgment - where is the mercy in that? And yet, a judge has the possibility of great mercy. In looking back, I can see where my legal family has been merciful - and also judgmental. It was very inconsistent (I'm not talking about any personal experience here) and you never knew when you would get the ax of judgment or the aura of mercy.

I resolved this issue by taking the "high" road on myself and creating the pressure to live up to my own hardest judgment. And to any possible judgment that any other could have of me. No one could judge me harder, than I.

I took this attitude to create the strongest chain mail, with not one chink, constantly re-strengthening the armor. The armor against any possible judgment. If no mercy for myself, why would I consider being merciful to anyone? And why would I be merciful to myself? Leave me to sharpen my ax, to practice target shooting. I know that's a hard line of thinking.

This morning I was pondering all this, and it occurred that teachers must be merciful to their students that make mistakes. In fact, many who teach must be merciful.

So how does one be/do mercy/iful? Is it like being impeccable? (In that it is difficult at best to explain and different for everyone.) Then, when do you know when to be Mr Tough Guy vs A Sister of Mercy? Does mercy exist where judgment doesn't? If there is nothing to judge, what is there to mercify? Who benefits more from the mercy? The bestower of the one bestowed? And where does the mercenary (a descriptor I have used for myself multiple times) fit into all this? 

This is a tricky sublime meditation. And these are and not rhetorical questions.

2 Years of LA's Geek Dinner!

Next week will be the 2 year anniversary of the LA Geek Dinner. This is really exciting for me, because tech communities and bubbles come and go. I lived through the first bubble 1.0 in the Bay Area and watched it blow up and then blow out. I've worked really hard to make the geek dinner sustainable and long-term. Two years doesn't seem that long, but it is big landmark!

Anyway, come on down to an awesome geek dinner. Just be sure to buy your tickets in advance.

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The Geek Dinners are a monthly gathers of Internet technology lovers in Los Angeles. Anyone who has an interest and passion for technology, the internet, internet technologies, software or you just know you're a geek is welcome.

OUR LOCAL SPONSORS
Mike Prasad of Bullspot is covering the drinks: http://www.bullspot.com/

Boris Epstein of BincSearch is hosting the "Ask a Recruiter" table and bringing cupcakes. Check out: http://blog.bincsearch.com/
-------------------------

You must buy a ticket to attend. http://geekdinner24.eventbrite.com
$20 and good karma in advance, $25 and bad karma if you pay at the door.

This month we're at BLANKSPACES - LA's 1st co-working space.

It's also the 2 year anniversary of the LA Geek Dinner!

GEEKEST T-SHIRT CONTEST
We're also having a "geekiest t-shirt" contest with prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. So wear your geekiest t-shirt!

Update: The Winner will take home a $50 gift certificate from Threadless. So you can increase your geeky t-shirt collection even more!

And we're having some exciting press coverage, so come and celebrate with us.

Purple Tornado Sponsors ROFLcon

I like to put my money where my mouth is and support things I think need to happen - ROFLcon is one of those things, so threw down some of my cold hard earned cash (from PT, my company) to help make it happen.

Anyway, here’s another triumphant and relevant coup for ROFLCon - Purple Tornado, a great marketing company in LA, is helping us out for realz! They focus haaardcore on internet marketing and have a real solid understanding of the potential for new media advertising and PR. They’re also just cool people, and will be coming to the ‘Bridge to schmooze and mingle with all y’all in April. Just six weeks to go. Yeah seriously. We’re so stoked, and you should be too. Link.

Maybe see some of you there.

Checkmark Carkill: Another dream come true

• 20 hours in the car +
• A private ranch outside of Reno +
• Practicing my stunt car moves on a dry lake bed +
• Enough guns and ammo for a Hollywood blockbuster +
• 5 cars with death written all over them +
• The usual assortment of fire accelerators =
• A dream come true.

Kudos to remember

Yesterday I got one of the best compliments I think I have ever gotten, and from the one and only David Allen himself!

I was showing him my GTD methodology (which was strange and embarassing in itself, because what do you say when you are talking to the man who documented the method which changed your life?!) which includes my:

1. Calendar - a weekly moleskin calendar book
2. My GTD notebook - a modified large moleskin book
3. My notes book - a composition notebook
4. My 2008 Guidebook - meditations on my yearly topic (this year "the mainstream")

I also have my GTD methodology online on two sites

1. My GTDed gmail (which honestly gmail sucks for GTDing, but I'm migrated there and the pain, the PAIN to switch....
2. Basecamp Project list

Anyway, I was showing David Allen my GTD book and calendar and he responded with glee in his eyes "You're the biggest train wreck of left and right brains I've ever seen!" We all laughed and were having a good time.

In fact, yesterday was one awesome day. Everyone I met at DavidCo was great and I'm revitalized and ready to implement a better weekly review, Agenda and Project list. Oh, and I think I've finally seen the power of mindmaps.

I also found out that my YouTube videos on GTD had been sent to the entire company! Talk about a strange feeling of embarrassment and delight.

Thanks Dave Patrick, Rachelle and of course David Allen. 

Naked Sushi in the Press

The photo accompanying this story was taken at my Naked Sushi Birthday Party last year. You can see more of Kevin's photos here. I know, I know this is totally fun and kicks so much ass. What a trendsetter you are Heather. The funny thing is, two people I used to be friends with will probably see this and have no clue the connection. What an obscure funny world it is we live in. I LOVE IT!

Enjoy this shot from the evening.... I'm in the blue.