heathervescent

The Future of Transactions: A Study

In January, I began studying disruptive technologies in the Financial Sector. The most interesting areas I found were in Lending, Transactions and Alternate Currencies. After completing a high-level baseline forecast and several future concepts of those areas in May, I decided to explore the Future of Transactions in more detail this fall. 

Transaction is an area to watch with the changes in the global financial markets and mobile technology trends. My own participation in non-hard currency transactions like the gift, barter and swap economies along with tracking the stock markets, global financial meltdown, gold and commodity price fluctuation leads me to believe there is a possibility of transaction disruption.  Much like the slow but eventual creative/destruction blog publishing platforms had on traditional publishing.

Last week, I launched a public survey asking the question: How will we pay for things in the future? The response has been great with almost 200 participants. I plan to use the data to create multiple future scenarios and will share the data and these scenarios in a report in a few months. 

To everyone who has taken the survey: THANK YOU! You're really blown my mind. There were several technologies and ideas I specifically left _off_ the survey (didn't want to go too future out there, ;) ) that several folks wrote in. Thanks for validating the viability of those ideas. I hope you're as excited about the future as I am. Let's co-create it! Oh wait, we already are. ;)

Big thanks and shout out to everyone who forward the survey, via email, twitter, FB and word of mouth. Kudos to the following folks who RTed or forward the survey via Twitter. Check em out and follow them. 

• therefore (did you hear my silent thank you?)
• helenyung
• iftf (The Institute for the Future)
• openp2pdesign
• cole_tucker
• artbrock (Extra thanks!)
• metacurrency
• jerrymichalski
• umairh (Thanks!)
• CoCreatr
• AnalPoet
• suzieis
• poweressence
• gavinho
• mrosas (Hi Margaret!)
• nuance_intel
• Firqby
• smokeymtnholler
• ydn
• And to those of you who forwarded it via email. THANK YOU.

I will be expanding and extending my Impossible Futures and look forward to sharing them with you in a few months.

In the meantime, the survey will be open until November 15th.  Please feel free to continue to share it until then.

See you in our co-created Future!

H arches driving
Originally uploaded by heathervescent

British Rule Best Practices by P. Denlinger

My twitter friend, @pdenlinger / Paul Denlinger, made an interesting comment in his tweet stream reminiscing about the British Rule of Hong Kong. I like following Paul because he's got an interesting, macro economic Asia emphasized but global focus. Asia is one place of the world I have not directly experienced, and I have always dreamed of going to Hong Kong. 

I asked him to enlighten me to the British Rule Best Practices, and he responded with these 6 items.

 1. Using minorities to rule such Chinese in SE Asia, Indians as police in HK, Shanghai

2. Ruling with very light hand

3. Letting brown people kill yellow people and vice versa so that Brits could avoid blame;

4. Not fighting directly

5. Allying with local businesses, biz community; building local relationships

6. Playing role of bestowing democracy

And, relying on use of force only as a very last resort, and then only reluctantly

These are very strategic (and brilliant) moves. 

As we enter another age of expansion (OuterSpace and further development of EarthSpace) it will be interesting to see the attitudes and strategies utilized - and which ones give the most success given our zeitgeist. 

Thanks for the Hong Kong/British Rule Perspective, Paul!

You're not on Facebook?

Not Gonna Suffer Assholes

I've been having a long-standing argument with the boyf about assholes. I am sick of being civil, considerate, understanding to assholes. If someone is being an asshole, they've disqualified themself from being human. So why do I have to act considerate or nice or eat their shit?

 Is there a good reason to be nice and considerate to people who are assholes? Cause I'm done with them.

Morning Connection Redux

I've wanted to revisit my post about Non-Technological Mornings recently because of a few good comments. Mkat's comment this morning asks two important questions.

"How were you able to make the shift to the slowness/awareness? Are you able to sustain it currently?"

Mkat, since I wrote this post, I have practiced and felt both the same and also fallen back into old ruts of rushing and competition with my fellow humans.

How does one make the shift to slowness/awareness? It is simply, taking the time to breathe. This is easier typed than done, because it takes discipline and self-remembering. Remembering what is important to you. Discipline to not get swept up under/into the influence of someone/trend/idea that you do not want to be in/that is not true for you. (e.g. The rat race, the 60 hour work week, the genius student, self-important, ego-centric, etc. etc.)

Spending time directly exposed to Nature (not watching discovery channel) can profoundly slow you. It can be sitting in your tiny backyard garden. Expose yourself to Nature. Do not DO anything in it. Just BE. If you can't directly experience Nature, find a picture you took of a beautiful natural place and remember your experience of being there hypno-visionary style.

Doing this can bring a sense of calm that continues when you go to engage with other beings and technological entities. 

 

Are you able to sustain it currently? I must admit, I am currently having some trouble maintaining this relaxed connected calm. I am somewhat currently over-extended, what with my ~50 hour a week job and 2 graduate classes for my Master's degree. In addition, I can not help but continue to move forward slowly on my other projects, passions, research desires.

It is not that any of these activities is particularly hard, it is the time they require to be done well. I am able to get these done with a satisfactory ability, but it is not at my level of excellence. Knowing I am not producing my best work, but necessary to hit deadlines (or nearly hit them). Do I go with "Better Done than Half Begun?" worrying about Good killing Great? Or do I kill myself with perfection, pushing the deadline, never satisfied? 

 

So the answer to that question, more recently, is no, I have not been able to sustain it. But there are times, like this morning, when the earth is fresh after a night of rain. The sun is out, it is cool, the sidewalks still moist as the dog clicks his nails on them. The wind blows freshness across my body and I feel rejuvenated. Enjoying my work at home day, I open all the windows and let the wind into the house, bringing it's crisp clean moist smell. And here, while I sit at my computer, I am connected again. To the earth and nature and even to you in answering your questions.

 

The Lean Bird

I could not resist the overnight in Moab, Utah on the return of my voyage to the edge of the great plains.  I had spent the morning traversing the rockies, eyes taking their fill of the mountains of rock, the golden aspens streaking the sides of mountains and had descended into the great Utah plateau. Dry land expanded as far as my eyes could see, a plateaued mountain range off in the distance stood under a thin line of glass table top clouds. My road was a ribbon of black electrical tape, stretched across the land.

I turned south and in a short time, was surrounded by red rock cliffs, arches, gorgeous jagged plateaus bathed in the glow of late afternoon. My legs ached from driving, so I went in search of hiking and found it in the nearby National Park. As I drove that ribbon road, I was reminded of the first time I saw this land. Prehistoric. Unreal. It was just as gorgeous.

I found myself on a short hike through walls of rock. The ground was moist from the morning dew. The air still cool, and birds flitted and swooped. I stopped to watch one, perched in the top of a pine. His blue contrasted with the dark green tree and orange-red rocks. The bird was lean and perfectly proportioned.  I thought of Wallstreet's greed. What would those people look like metaphorically transformed into a similar bird? I thought of something, a professor had said the previous day. About the end of the world, and resilience being more important than sustainability in the short run. He's right, of course.  My mind wandered to alternate scenarios of the future riffing off one of my favorites: Logan's Run. (A financial logan's run, whereas after you have made $N (500k?) you must die.)

I'm worried for Americans. We do not seem to be as resilient as we used to be. But then I look at the world, the animals, people in third world developing nations, and that's where the resilience is. I have no fear for humanity, the earth. True, we are fragile. We have lived in harsher times, in harsher conditions. From those harsh mines, machines were forged, electricity discovered and an improved quality of life. But Americans have become like fat Gods. They/We/I have forgotten the harsh times, the hard labor and the difficulty of manifesting an idea in our world. This forgetting concerns me.

There is much much more to discover. To create. We must become like the learn bird and shed our fat indolence.

Bad Habits of the Technologic

Technology has generally improved my life. But there is one activity where it has definitely screwed me up. Since using communication technology (specifically mostly text and voice without video) I have seriously increased my interrupting. I've been watching it increase significantly over the past 6 months, floundering, not knowing what to do. I hate it when I am interrupted, and even more so, hate it when I catch myself doing it. Sometimes you have to on a conference call, since there are no non-verbal cues. But more recently... I am bulldozing into conversations and sentences without a concern for who is talking... and I blame it on (well besides myself) my significant use of text communication. 

Yes. Increased text communication has increased my interruption of people, even when I am face to face. The text communication has shifted the way I communicate on a core level. Here's how. (And why.)

Background: I spend a significant amount of time in text chats on Skype. I would say, at least 10-20 hours a week. (That's probably an under-estimate.) Since I am in a geographically dispersed team. I spend another 10+ hours communicating in extremely clear emails or email conversations. These are not dissimilar from the skype chats, except that the conversations take days.

In both these situations, I am in control of when and what I communicate. I do not have to wait my turn to write and send an email. There can be 3 people texting in the group chat at the same time. Sure, I have to wait to get my answer, but if someone asks a question, we are not limited to one response at a time. Two people can respond (or in the face to face world, would be speaking) at the same time. However in the speaking world, you generally notice your error and someone stops. One can't parse two voice streams at the same time. However one can parse two (or more) typed streams.... and we are doing this more and more.

Threaded, nested and parallel conversations are not out of the ordinary. Many of us have these all the time. On our cell phone, smart phone or mobile device, text, twitter, email, gchat, work email, facebook. We are all getting very good at parsing and following multi-level/threaded stories and conversations.

<Reminds me of the time I was having three conversations with two other people. I was in Brasil and my broth was visiting me. He did not speak any Portuguese. We were out with a friend who didn't speak any English. I was have a conversation in English with my brother, in Portuguese with my friend and translating the conversation between my brother and my friend into the appropriate Portuguese or English.>

Back to my interruptions. Being exposed, living and creating the environment where it's all text, there are no verbal cues, where there is never an interruption (or alternately, it's all an interruption) has completely fucked with my ability to wait to hear what other people say. 

It's not that I don't want to hear what they have to say. I'm just used to not having to wait to hear them. That, I can say what I want to say, while they are saying (typing) what they want to say. This breaks down in verbal words, where one must wait for another to finish speaking.

This is exacerbated by the soapbox. Once you get on a roll, and no one is interrupting you, well, it's hard to stop. It's like being stuck in a traffic jam and then suddenly all the traffic went away and you have the clear, wide open road.

I don't like interrupting people. But I don't know how to stop. I know how and why I got sucked back into interrupting. (The technology re-programmed parts of my communication methodologies), but.... how to get back. How to show the respect to those who are speaking, those who I _want_ to hear.

It's a problem of switching mediums. Of switching the accepted communication methods. The primary method become the default. And unfortunately for my verbal conversations, that has changed.

Atone

Burned Joshua Tree
Originally uploaded by heathervescent

On this day of Atonement, I bring you the Earth-inspiration for the Shrike.

I believe in an (actually multiple) intelligent (encoded with data) energy (ies) that flows through everything in the universe. Call it God if you like the old paradigm. Call it a force. What we name it, does not change it.

This year, I'm done with the tree. I'm coming down. No more suffering. If I'm as self-actualized as I say I am (and have been in the past), then I (as braided intelligent encoded energies) proclaim the next year to be prosperous.

It has been written.

Testing

Testing from the handheld collective consciousness.

Self-Responsibility / Responsibility for Self

My Twitter Friend TechnoShaman, pointed me to this brief post this morning, which I later had a fun conversation with CoCreatr: 

[W]illing to be wholeheartedly accountable for ourselves—for who we are and how we are. Heroically, we must be ready to accept unconditional responsibility for the seen and unseen consequences of everything that has ever happened to us.

What a wonderful sentiment, such easier said/typed than practiced. It's easy to take responsibility for all the great things you help happen, contribute to, motivate. But what about your shitty self? Even most aware people are not aware when they are acting like a jerk. (And yes, everyone acts like a jerk.) I had a wonderful learning opportunity in area recently. 

Most people have trouble taking responsibility for their crappy moves, behaviors, words.  I have trouble myself. I don't want to acknowledge that I wasn't acting at my highest, most enlightened level.  Part of this is because it's much easier for people to remember the bad experiences. One negative thought outweighs twice as many great ones. Taking responsibility for our crappy selves acknowledges that we are not always the picture perfect person we think we are. And while that is a great thing for us as individuals taking responsibility. However there is the response. 

What is your reaction, your response, when someone, who has acted less than enlightened for a moment, takes responsible for them-self and their actions? 

Drinking from the Same Font

I wrote about influence earlier. Drinking from the same font sometimes looks like influence, but is decidedly not.

Several years ago, when I first began blogging, I was constantly compared to a certain well-known blogger. It was uncanny how similar our topic focuses were. It irked me to no end that I was so often compared to her, because part of my core identity is authentic uniqueness. I am not happy being one in a million. I want to be one for all time. I want there to be no one remotely like me now, in the past, or the future. A pattern unrepeatable. So, you can see that, even though those people were just trying understand me, they pissed me off.

The comparison caused me to go more underground. If I had joined forces, I could have become one in my own right (and I did some secret collaboration).

In retrospect, I realize we were drinking from the same font. There was no cross-pollination. No cross-influencing. We each arrived at the same font from different paths.

Enlightenment Hierarchy

We were joking around a few weeks ago, my colleagues and teachers. I was jesting that I was really getting in tune with my asshole self (after a series of completely fucked up non and mis-communications that painted me in the biggest asshole picture possible.) Instead of blaming someone else's lack of communication or understanding on the mis-hap, I just owned my assholeness. Someone quipped that you could see my teacher's discipline for exact body placement as bitchiness, which she duly owned and played up. If your foot is off 1 millimeter, believe me, you will hear about it. (Used to drive me crazy!)

After our conversation I got thinking. About a messed up hierarchy of enlightenment. Whereas after certain years of diligence you reach the asshole level. Then if you continue to work hard, you can reach the bitch level. And then if you dedicate your life and work really hard, you can finally reach the top level: Self-Righteousness.

I like to think of it as the backward walk to enlightenment. Hell, I've been enlightened for almost a decade or more and where has it gotten me? I still have to deal with all the same shitty people in the world. And now, I get to see with such clarity when I am a shitty individual myself. Whoo-wee! I'm an enlightened self-righteous bitchy asshole!

You'd better get out of my way and drive!

ps. Enlightenment is not something that is attained once and for all, but practiced and revealed.

Influence

Have you ever been in the presence of someone who changed you? When you were around them, you had awesome ideas, things just clicked, you had an epiphany, something made sense, you felt extra creative, motivated, felt like you could do anything? Just understood things? Everything fell into place? Or maybe you were motivated to follow some idea? Or maybe an idea just popped into your head and your life changed! You now have a reason to live. You're suddenly fascinated in something that you never gave a second thought.

You're under the influence.

Those things in your head. They are not you. They did not come from you.

Yes, you were receptive. (Or maybe the ideas were just flying off someone else). But they are not your ideas.

Ideas can not be owned. They can only be executed. Ideas flow into this world, asking to be made real. Anyone who is a true conduit of ideas, knows they do not come from them-self. They come from somewhere else. Nebulous. Undefined. Possible. Conduits to the ideas that flow, like water.

Flow.

Until they are captured. Pooled up. Executed. Realized.

Before realization though, there is definition. There is crystallization. There is plucking the possibility and pulling it into the probable and then finally all the challenges of execution and real-ization. Manifest-ation.

Usually the person who (successfully) executes an idea gets the credit for the idea. This makes me sick. And, while yes, execution is a difficult task, often not-successful. The messy, nebulous, focusing, defining, initial steps are CRITICAL, pre-requisites before one can even step to the starting line in the race to execution. To realize the idea.

That's what some people do. They influence.  

The mere fact of them being present changes you. Causes you to think differently. Causes you to see things. To find meaning. To be motivated. You snap up the idea. You run with it. You execute on it. You think it's your idea. You _make_ it your idea. You don't see the influence.

On ReFinding Passion

I'm a passionate individual. I get really excited about things I should probably not be so excited. But lately, I've felt sucked dry. I've got this list of items in my life to change and as I was reviewing them, it occurred to me they were all external changes. A shifting of my environment to affect my mood, motivation, perception of reality. 

Jeeze, what a lot of work! And then, who knows how much an impact those things will have. So better to self-motivate internally. It's time to refill my flask from the font of heathervescent. To tap into the part of me that positively energizes and inspires me.

Solid Ground

I use metaphors to motivate myself and make sense of my life. This year I have been in an active identity change cycle, although having trouble shedding some of the previous successes and baggage. I kept thinking that I want to get on solid ground, to be grounded. So I did a thought experiment. I started thinking about the universe. How is the universe grounded? Then I thought about the moon. How is it grounded? Then I thought about the earth. How is it grounded? I saw the universe full of these spinning spheres. It's not laying on a tabletop somewhere - and the earth is certainly not sitting on the back of some elephant dancing on a turtle through the stars of the universe. The planet is grounded in its core. At the center of the spinning somewhat organized elements is the center. The ground.

That's a good metaphor. You can't look to something else to ground you. Something for you to stand on. We're each all spinning in the universe. There is nothing above, nothing below. But there is something inside, and that's where you can find your strength. And I guess, that's where I have to look to find my solid footing.

Kicking Dust

The wheels turned off the pavement to dust. We bounced over the transition. The road was level, no washboarding and I accelerated painting a trail of dust to the mountain. I follow the girls names, zigzagging and fish-tailing the back, never mind the sloshing gasoline.

The dust line ends at my gallows gate. Beyond it is a metaphor and a lot of hard work. I roll the wheels beyond and stop. The road noise is swallowed by the sweltering heat. And it is sweltering.

I pull the thermometer from its packaging and watch the red line rise. Inside the house it stops at 108. Despite this number, the desert is alive. The wind blows, hot as an oven. There is the constant hum of insects and the birds we've displaced chirp and twitter. 

We sit inside, in that heat, drinking effervescent wine. I look around at the bare beams, the crumbing insulation, the buckling floor, the jerry-rigged windows. My eyes soak in the view, looking for clues in the rusty nails, the window frames. My mind works the ratiocination. My imagination creates stories of the past, possibilities of the future. My body suffers in the heat and calculates the effort of these possibilities. For now, enjoying the cool bubbles.

Coyote Fear

I am constantly amazed at how resilient we humans are - and yet so fragile. How beautifully contradictory.

As the boyf was out of of town, I decided to take the opportunity to spend some quality time in the desert at LoriLisa, my little scrap of Mojave wasteland. I knew it was going to be hot: 90+ degree hot, but I was not dismayed. My plan was to work in the evenings and mornings and lay low during the hot afternoon. 

I headed out early afternoon on Friday in time to arrive for a spectacular combination sunset and moon rise. Truly only planetary bodies can compete with the expansive geological scale of the desert. Mountain ranges eroded into prehistoric effluvial plains. It was over one of these ranges a blue-ivory moon rose from the desert haze. I was racing the clock. Flooring the pedal that flogged my combustion engine faster. I could not reach my destination fast enough.

Behind me the I saw the red-orange rays of the sun setting behind a past range. In a moment, the pavement gave way to sand and my tires kicked up a line of dust as I headed to the far edge of this sparsely populated civilization. We were bumping and jumping through the washes and fish-tailed the back tires a bit just for fun. 

The tires stopped, the radio silent, I stepped out into the cooling desert.

 * * *

We sat in my front yard, splayed out on a retired bedspread watching the planets shine and the moon rise, getting smaller and whiter as the night progressed. That's when the coyote's started their howling. I had forgotten to pack my pistol and had only my small knife on me. When packing for the trip, I had considered exit strategies for mere human (redneck/meth-head) predators - and had completely forgotten about natural ones. It was a lesson in city living. It's gotten to me. I felt tamed. 

Out in these places I have heard the lone or two coyotes calling out his brethren, often far far in the distance. Not this time. This was a large pack - I would expect at least 7 or more. And it sounded VERY near. Intertwined with the coyote's barks and howls, I could hear a dog. It was easy to hear the difference. I expected the pack to visit LL any moment. For hours the coyotes barked in the near-distance. We watched and listened to the desert, no safety of the firelight. (I had opted against a fire because the moon was so bright.)

The planet set and the moon carved an ecliptic pathway across the sky, outshining the milky way and all but the brightest stars. The howling subsided and that's when I noticed the strange rasping sound of the wind in the creosote bushes. My vision was shifting and everything took on an underwater illuminated pointillism.

Moonshadows lept from my fence posts, my house, my legs. I was not quite brave enough to do my midnight walkabout - one of my plans for the evening - with that pack of coyotes and my pistol left at home. So I strayed not far from my land. 

The wind caressed my skin - soft warm and comforting. The upside of an unbearable desert day is a warm night. What does one do out here, I pondered? What can one do, but watch and think and see and listen and be silent. To be present. To feel the wind. To see the moon shadows. To hear the coyotes. To smell the air. To taste fear and comfort. To be present in the moment for hours.

Fairfax Morning

I'm accelerating as I take the left turn onto Fairfax. I glance over and I notice the dog pressing and leaning into the passenger seat. He's learned to lean with my race car driving, even I take it down a notch when he's with me.

I shift up and put my foot down on the accelerator.

I decide to stop at Mani's for coffee. Then I look in the mirror. I've skipped applying make-up this morning in my rush to get into the office prior to our long engineering meetings. I think, darn, what is the fun in stopping in for coffee if I look like I just rolled out of bed. I think, if I lost 30 pounds, I would be mistaken for a star. And I remember, several years ago that was indeed the case.

However, I've got a long engineering meeting ahead of me and I need some nourishment lest I lose focus or get irritated. So I tell myself, if there is a spot immediately out front, I'll stop. There is. So I don my huge purple Versace shades (brand names just end up in your regular wardrobe after living in LA for a few years), put the car in neutral and slide into the spot. The pup is still chilling in the passenger seat. 

As I jump out, I notice a guy sitting at a sidewalk table. He stands out to me. Something about him shines. I'm feeling self conscious in Navy: boots dress, jacket, and fumble with my coins at the parking meter. It's so obvious he's checking me out, that he states the obvious aloud to me and his dog. I must be a whirlwind of energy. As I leave, I ponder dropping my business card, but I don't want to necessarily indicate I'm interested in him... too bad I don't have one of my purple tornado stickers with me.

* * *

I'm sitting at the traffic light, my hands folded in my lap like a buddha meditating. I am in some ways. My gaze softens, I take in the entire scene around me. The 99 cent truck trying to pull out into traffic. The white SUV in front of me. The black mazda sportscar to my front left. The orb is quietly pulsing on my stereo. The light turns and traffic moves. Without thinking my hand connects with my stick shifter, my left foot engages in a dance as I accelerate through the levels. I feel glazed wood under my hands. The woman who ordered my car opted for the luxury package and my dash, wheel and stick are walnut. I feel a soft lick. Pup's attention is on my hand. He knows where the action is and he wants to be in it.

How WE Create I

If you are interested in my Humanity Plus Summit Talk and missed it, well, technology is in your favor. The presentation slides are up on slideshare, a rough document of my talk is here, and the streaming video can be found here (you'll have to fast forward to 25:39.)

 

I'm pretty happy with the way the presentation went, even though I got a little flustered when the time guy told me the times. (The timer clock on the podium was very wrong and it showed me as having more time) so unfortunately I rushed through the end of the slides. But I felt it was a solid talk about a topic (Identity Creation) that I think about an awful lot. I got a decent enough response that I'd like to talk about this topic some more and dive into the nitty gritty in the future. Thanks to everyone for the support!

Ignite3 Line-up

I'm really excited about our 3rd Ignite here in Los Angeles on June 7th. We had a record number of absolutely AMAZING submissions. It took a lot of deliberation to select the speakers. Our only consolation for those awesome submittions not on stage this month, is ... you're on the short-list for IgniteLA4!

A note about our venue, V Lounge. We selected a larger capacity venue from our previous Ignite. We loved CineSpace, but wanted to offer a longer program and increase attendance capacity. However, even with the increase, we expect standing room only. We encourage you to arrive in plenty of time and we're working on an even larger venue for next time.

The event is FREE, but please register and support the event by having a cocktail or some snacks at V Lounge, they're donating the space. Space is first-come, first-serve. (Registering helps us plan future IgniteLAs.)

When: June 7, 7:30-11pm, talks start at 8:15pm
Where: V Lounge, 2020 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90403 (in West LA)
Cost: Free to attend, but you are responsible for paying for your own food/drinks.
Parking: Valet or neighborhood street parking (decent)

To spark your interest here's a partial list of our June 7th topics and speakers:

• Directed Evolution, Frances Arnold, Caltech
• Another Earth, Amir Give'on, NASA JPL
• Write How To Make The Best Of Living In A War Zone, Liz Grover, Writer/Filmmaker
• Financing the Future, Glenn Yago, Exec Dir of Financial Research, Milken Institute
• An Amazing History of Awesome Stuff Underground, Molly Steenson, Design Researcher
• Asking a girl out with PPT, Jason Porath, Professional Effects Artist and Technical Director
• Mechanical Olympics, Xtine Burrough, Media Artist & Asst Prof CSU Fullerton
• Meditation and Consciousness, Pedram Shojai, Taoist & Qi Gong master, Wellness Expert
• Collaborative Filmaking, Sheila Hardy, Filmmaker,  Eve's Lime
• Teaching Kids Programming, Lynn Langit, Microsoft Evangelist & Digigirls
• The Internet in China, Christine Lu, CEO, Affinity China

If you've been sparked by the above topics, we hope you'll join us on Monday, June 7th at V Lounge to hear about interesting projects by passionate people.

The IgniteLA Organizers,

• Dan
• Heather
• Michael
• Social Animal

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

********************************************

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.

Future of Space Travel Analogy

The breakthrough came this morning:

Birds are to the Earth as Humans are to Space.

The analogy is not as simple as it may seem. There is a new Nature report out describing a type of internal GPS/internal avian magnetic compass that birds use to navigate their migrations.

Wouldn't it be cool (and perhaps it is necessary) for humans to create/develop a similar sense to navigate to cosmos?

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.

Cracked Earth

The gunshots reverberated on the mountain range. I could see the sound rolling and curving around in the shape of the mountains. It sounded just like a jet airplane. Hours earlier, we had hiked to the top of one of the rocky fingers. Humanity shrinking as we took in the view. The landscape expanded and I swept my gaze on it, like licking an ice cream cone. The line between dry lakebed and chaparral was obvious. The El Nino rains have been good to the desert plants. The creosote responded in kind, with bright green leaves and yellow flowers. They made the mountain and desert plains greener than I have ever seen them. 

It was easy to see the underground stream in the lakebed by the line of flowers growing in the middle of it. Later, pup and I walked out to explore and sat in the dry cracked dirt filled with yellow flowers of the stream. I noticed shadows moving around us. High above us, between earth and sun, sever dark birds circled us. I stared up at them, wondering were they crows or buzzards. I watched their circling swarming method. Then one broke off. Slowly the rest of them followed the leader as it made it way over to the next mountain range. The wind brought my attention back to the ground.

There's something out being out there. Out in the wind. The heat. The starkness. It reflects. I don't like sharing it with other people. It's like an oasis I like to keep secret. It's like going to another planet - you go there to experience a different reality. But if you bring your whole reality with you, it contaminates that you are trying to experience.

Shotgun Wedding 
Originally uploaded by heathervescent

Shotgun Wedding

Shotgun Wedding
Originally uploaded by heathervescent

Time will tell whether the wedding dress remains, or rather it is merely remains. This piece is entitled: Shotgun Wedding: BYOShotgun. I fully know that it may (most likely) be used as target practice, but I hope it is enjoyed in the spirit in which I left it.

Competition vs Collaboration

I've been trying to come to terms with a (business) world that is fixated on competition, crushing and winning. My own inclinations are to collaboration - building something together. I've about given up on being successful because the moment competition gets added to the mix, I lose interest and walk away. Should I not give away this weakness? Do I lack the drive to be truly successful? I wonder. Anyway, I decided to do a little research on the matter and found this really nice comment on this post. I too, have studied aikido (about a decade ago) and it made an impact on my worldview.

I was a younger woman at the time, in my early 20s and, while we did have quite a few women aikidoists/aikidota, most of my practice partners were men. And some of them were big assholes (or going through an asshole phase).

I really like what this guy says here:

When I exert power OVER someone else in order to win, actually both the winner and the loser are weak. Whereas when I connect powerfully WITH my opponent (partner), we both become more powerful. 

That's what I'd like to see. Collaboration joins forces... sometimes for an instant, rarely for eternity.

Power over vs. power with

 Posted by michaelwolff at Jun 23, 2009 05:06 PM

In Western culture there is a sense that when I compete and win I am therefore stronger, more powerful and more successful. In the same culture, when I collaborate, I do so out of weakness because I do not have the power to win. 

Practising an Eastern martial art (say aikido) one learns that the opposite is true. When I exert power OVER someone else in order to win, actually both the winner and the loser are weak. Whereas when I connect powerfully WITH my opponent (partner), we both become more powerful. 

Connecting powerfully WITH someone is the willingness to extend oneself for the purpose of nurturing one's own and another's well being. So in this respect, where collaboration is the process of connectinv powerfully with each other for the mutual benefit of the collaborating parties, then clearly this mode of behaviour is preferable to competition. 

Poems

I wrote these a decade ago and they have been rattling in my head a bit more than usual the past month. I put them here to remind myself.

I went,

I went and took.

What did I leave in return?

My Change.

(upon my first visit to Foz de Iguacu / South America, 1995)

*     *     *

I'll give you what you want,

mind,

body,

soul.

Except one thing,

I have to escape.

This poem is pretty much the crux of my existence. I can't explain it. You just have to get it on another level. The closest thing that comes to it is the phrase "ghost in the shell."

A French Surrealist

I'm lurking in the back of the gilded theatre. Surrounded by drunk techno-wannabes and some truly innovative engineer-future-hacker-developers. I'm irritated at the 20 something asian chick playing the black guy and the indian guy off each other. The art on the screen reminds me a long lost "friend" - and the status of his projects - awareness smacking. It pulled me out of one of my existentialist crisis a decade ago. But not today. In that decade I've traveled down the caverns in Brazil into the sacred city of the Euboise, fought Innana and the Piper at the Gates of Dawn, lost my golden fleece and retreated to the city of Angeles to strategize archetype creation.

I hate crowds. Large groups of anonymous. Faces forward to the spotlight. I'm trying to enjoy myself, but failing. I feel like my time would have been better spent working on my forecasts at home. But then I remember I have friends here. It's just the stage takes the spotlight. I never liked art in museums. I preferred them in the grungy artists studios, painting stacked against the wall.

I like individuals. The people. You meet. That's why I'm here. To eat at a different table. To expose myself. To bullshytte like that coquettish asian chick. To remember the world is more than that I create in my mind. That the future is not up to me.

---

I'm turning over rocks. I'm rolling thought experiments on the backburner. I've recently had a break-though.The trend: the world is flat, the earth is the center of the solar system (universe). Those are concepts that were well believed - before science proved them incorrect. I've been looking for these incorrect current beliefs/understandings all my life. I love thinking about what we believe in today - the truth so hidden - but will be so obviously false and untrue in the unveiling. I found one of those the other day. It's revolutionary and radical and yet, I can look back and see the pathway glimmers. The outer edges of the concept. It has to do with view, perception, reality and the world. 

The understanding and concepts of energy will have dramatic breakthroughs and shifts.

---

I'm enjoying the cool air. The tobacco smells strange to me. I miss the smoke of cloves. The evening has passed. I'm speeded down the Hollywood freeway. And as angsty as I've been tonight I realize, I'm really happy with who I am. I am exactly what I want to be. And I wouldn't change places with anyone.

Misunderstood

When I was 14, I would spend copious amounts of time in the library. Mostly the philosophy and religion sections. I clearly remember one of these sections. There was a thick book - I have no idea the author or name of the book - but it clearly dealt with the individual and society. I don't remember really the words, but I remember what I took from reading a few of the passages. (It was a decision to be neither a leader nor a follower.)

Several years later, I went back to find that seminal (to me) book. To remember and read the entire thing, to know the author, to acquire a copy of the book for myself. But when I went back and found that book - and read the same passage - the words were different from what I remembered. I wondered, how could I have so misunderstood the author those years ago. Reading them then, they had the opposite meaning from what I remembered. So much for the rally cry I had heard in my head.

I placed the book back on the shelf and left that library - never to return. (I had moved to another town.) But I wondered, how did that just happen? How can one read a book at one time, and then at a later time - and the book means different things? The words do not change; however I do. And the same words can have different understandings, as you change.

A new kind of Stress

Usually I hold it in my body. I tense up, it gets stuck in various places. But this is changing. It's hard to put a finger on it, but I feel more stressed than ever before, but, I'm relaxed. Balls are (almost) dropping, things are soon to be cut out, work is not up to my high level of perfectionist quality. The pressure is on. I see the vision, what I want to create, but I'm stuck down here slogging it out with a broken machete and my reinforcements haven't arrived and they're 45 days late and I've almost stop thinking about the future.

That's what sucks about being a futurist, having to live in the present. Being stuck living in the present. The present not evolving, moving forward fast enough to get to the future. Having limited time, managing distractions, juggling changing priorities. What have I gotten myself into?

Everybody Wins?

Homeless receive presents in form of clothes/etc on Xmas from Companies donating them. Company feels good about helping the homeless.

Homeless person sells item on the street to random person. Person buys present from homeless for cents on the dollar. Person gets a deal on the item. Homeless person buys hard drugs.

Everyone feels good.

Or do they?

or watch this video, after our humble narrator smokes crack (and shoots up) for the first time. (Really a must watch)

Great Art

"They’re accessible and subversive at the same time. If that isn’t the definition of great art, what is?" (source)

YES!!! Accessible and subversive. Open and Closed. Displaying both sides of the coin, along with the coin, and the limitations of a coin. Opening the art to outsiders to experience and express it their own way. To make what is not theirs, theirs and thusly important.

Stress-fighting Sleep

I got a Zeo for my birthday and I absolutely love it. I've been having a lot of fun learning how to use and gather data on my own sleep schedules. I'll write a long review post soon, but I wanted to share something I learned about stress and sleep.

The two highest ZQ scores I got (104 and 106) were the nights of days I was completely stressed out. I got my highest one last night after a fairly difficult/stressful day. My stress ranges from work (I'm a workaholic), eating too much sugar/coffee, emotional, etc. Yesterday had a bunch of those.

I've been working to release our next product and the bugs have been troublesome. Then there was some other somewhat stressful work news. Then I ate too many cupcakes. Later I had a drink with a friend where we talked about some pretty deep things, and by the time I got home, I was delirious and unable to make a decision on where to go for dinner. It was the deadline for an art grant, which I decided to try for 1 day prior and had to create a brand spanking new artistic CV in 24 hours. Yeah, I like pressure.

They boyfriend crammed some food into me, gave me a massage and I was in bed by 10pm. I was in deep sleep 20 minutes later and awoke to chimes and a 106 ZQ about 7:30am this morning. I feel like a million bucks and ready to take on the day. (I've actually been taking it on for several hours already.)

So I know for certain, when I am stressed, the best way to deal with it - get 9+ hours of sleep. 

I'm a big proponent of sleep and I hate getting less than 7 1/2. I know that's not always possible, but if you're dying of stress and you need a break, go to bed early. Your body knows how to take care of itself if you just give it the time.

Anti-environmentalist??

I'm second guessing myself again. I'm trying to come up with all kinds of reasons to debase my feelings of negativity about the growing focus on "causes" and "saving the world" and "doing good" and being sustainable and green and blah blah blah hippy bullshit. 

I've blamed my contrarian nature. I blame negative associations with supposed save the worlders. I blame myself getting old and curmudgeon and turning into someone that I would despise. I blame my inner troll. Really, I'm just trying to understand why all these so-call supposed good and green things make me want to go out and start dumping oil into the fucking ocean or exploding nuclear waste in flames or something equally stupidly retard and self-destructive in response to all the green save the world energy.

Tonight, as the boyf and I were cooking dinner, I asked him if I was really some shallow red-neck uneducated person who doesn't give a shit about the earth, the world? And he shot right back at me without a seconds breath - it was the self-righteousness. He of course hit the nail on the head. There is this holier than thou, this, I am doing such good to/with/for the world - and you should too - or if you're not I am a better person. It really turns me off. 

This self-righteousness is used as marketing, as a ploy to go "green". It's another way to stupidly compare/value yourself to someone else - and shore up that perceived lack with our easy green products! Lucky for us Americans, we can buy our way into not feeling bad that we live in the nation that uses the most resources. Yay!

This week I have been doing a lot of thinking about values - mine and the worlds. These two filmmakers /save the world types grabbed me in the TJs parking lot yesterday. I don't usually bother talking to anyone with a clipboard, but last night I was feeling ... I don't know... more open than usual. So I chatted with them. They were doing a "noble" job of getting people to sponsor children's clean water or education. I started grilling them on why they were doing this gig since both of them were in the film biz. They responded that it was a way to spend a day they weren't doing anything else doing, make a few bucks and feel good about helping these kids. I questioned them, couldn't they do better, more effective work applying their craft to this mission? But that did not fly. (I still think they needed the cash and yes it did make them feel good, but I bet they wouldn't do what they were doing for free!)

I admit, I baited them with some radical thoughts (why not let these children die? The world is too overpopulated as it is? Isn't it better for these kids to die young and allow a sibling a better chance of survival? I admit, it's a harsh line, and not one that I necessarily believe in. But I tried the idea on for a moment to see what it was like (and hear there responses).

Walking home, I thought about our conversation, and what I really believed. I know from my recent grad school studies that it's the underdeveloped nations that have the worst time of it - overpopulation, disease, lack of education. And to decrease world population you have to improve conditions through health and education before you see birth rate go down. And even then, I question whether with education and health improvements, population really does go down?

But back to values. I realized that I operate under a different value set from the one those guys were operating under. I didn't want to save every life possible. I mean, I used too, but that was too stressful and didn't matter that much in the long run.

I thought about my plants, and how sad I get when one plant is not doing as well as another. When my tomatoes last summer got infested with aphids it pained me to throw them out after I tried for weeks and weeks with natural and finally chemical pest treatments. My aunt remarked upon this, you have to always plant some for the insects. Now I'm not necessarily comparing these children to my plants, but why do I have more empathy to these growing/non-human things and not children. (Well, I do think children are alien energy suckers, but that's a different story.)

It was my values of saving every pedaco of life in my tomato plants that gave me stress. I was stressed out that I wasn't a good plant mom. That I did something wrong to attract the aphids. That I should have caught them earlier. That I felt bad they were suffering by having their energy literally sucked out their stems. If I had not tried to save the one plant that was infested first then all my others would not have ended up in the trash. (Well, not as fast at least.)

And is that so bad? I mean, a tomato plant is going to die eventually either from aphids or something else. Who am I to interfere with the world flow? Am I some God that thinks I can bestow immortality on my tomato plants or at least a longer growing cycle via Miracle Grow?

I don't _want_ to save the world. In fact, I don't believe the world needs saving. It's humans that need saving. (Oh Jesus, you were right!) The world will to continue to exist, whether or not us humans continue to exist. And some day, us humans will cease to exist - completely. Everything that exists now will no longer exist. All so-called artifacts or buildings or anything that is created by any of us will cease being in the form it is in. (I sometimes wonder what kind of oil our refuse will create.) Humans are some pretty fucked up animals. But then again, we're pretty amazing too.

Which is why I believe that to truly "change the world" you have to (and I quote Michael Jackson) start with the man in the mirror. Clean up your shit at home. God only knowns that's what us Americans need to do right now. Stop saving the world - and start saving yourself. But if you don't want to do that, that's fine with me too.

Personally, I'm rooting for the world. I don't think us humans can do it, although I'm trying my best. When it means the end of humanity as we know it, well then, it's been nice knowing you and living in the best of all possible worlds. I'll see you on the flipside of eternity either way.

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.

Energy Cornfield

I've been doing a lot of thinking about green energy and environmentalism. I hate to admit it, but when someone starts talking to me about green business, sustainability or green energy, my eyes glaze over and I stop considering them a serious individual (with a few very rare exceptions for a few of my extraordinary friends). The whole green energy/conservationism/savetheworldbandwagon makes me sick. It's hard for me to see it as something other than a bunch of white $$shame trying to save the world but only from their worldview/valueset.

I've felt very conflicted (and wrong and bad) about this attitude, wondering if I'm anti-conservation/green? Maybe it's just my contrarian tendencies. Is it about control? (I don't want anyone telling me how or where I should get my energy or how to use it, thank you very much.) But here's the thing - I actually think conservation and reducing energy use is the exact opposite direction that we as a human species should be going.

It hit me this week. Energy conservation and the development of solar and wind energies is akin to caloric restriction. Sure, it has been scientifically proven to help you live longer, but you certainly can't be a body builder on it. Nor can you express your human potential on it. (Unless that is living long enough for the Singularity - a noble cause in it's own, but one I care not to achieve.) Sure solar and wind will give us some energy, but they just help us put off dealing with peak oil. The amount of energy in oil is so highly concentrated and it is so easily chemically manipulated. We are not going to stop using oil and coal before we use them up no matter how much solar, wind and bio-fuel energies are available.

Based on my studying and my gut feelings, it is CRITICAL that we have excessive amounts of free/cheap energy to evolve to the next level. It is the difference between hunter/gatherer existence, and the Iowas cornfields I drove through this afternoon. With excessive amounts cheap energy many many things will become possible and be invented that can not possibly exist today.

It is the difference between an outdoor cooking fire and the electric plug in your wall that your electronic device "breathes" from.

I'm not saying we shouldn't develop wind, solar or vegetable based energy: we should, but I do not believe that these methods of energy capture/harnessing will be the difference between the metaphorical hunter/gatherer and cornfields of Iowa. Those energy models will merely maintain the existing paradigm. (And they will only prolong our dealing with peak oil. We're gonna use all the oil in this earth sooner or later.) Which is fine, but not something I am particular interested in. I'm focused on blowing past our current place in time/space/culture/history (not maintaining it) and creating the path to the future.

Analogies:

• Caloric Restriction is to Solar/Wind/Bio Energy as Best Life Possible is to Human evolution/paradigm shift
• Fire is to Hunter/Gatherer as Electricity is to Agriculture as Cheap usable Energy is to the next human paradigm shift (space? singularity?)
• Solar/wind energy is to aspirin as Energy is to broken arm

Ps. Lainie, Evoamo, Hippy Steve - forgive me for this post. I still love you all and your greening ways!

Tracking Vectors

An astute observation about launching innovative technology from last month's NYTimes article on the ipad. When launching a product, innovative technology or novel concept, timing isn't everything; but it can be the difference between you personally having success with that technology - and someone else with different (later) timing. Its one of the things that feels so unfair in new technology: that the earliest adopters, the earliest users, evangelists and sometimes even the original creators & inventors do not get the monetary or fame that goes along with the breaking innovation.

Timing is essential to make such big steps ahead. Carver Mead, a leading computer scientist at the California Institute of Technology, once said, “Listen to the technology; find out what it’s telling you.”

Mr. Jobs is undeniably a gifted marketer and showman, but he is also a skilled listener to the technology. He calls this “tracking vectors in technology over time,” to judge when an intriguing innovation is ready for the marketplace. Technical progress, affordable pricing and consumer demand all must jell to produce a blockbuster product.

This is something I have watched happen many times, and it is a well known phenomenon in some VC funding and technology circles. It's the difference between financial success (and the ability to fund later innovative ventures) and (for me) feelings of failing the technology. (In the end though, the technology will make it to the mainstream, through a meandering and strange path, possibly obscure.)

As I work on my Masters in Technology/Future Forecasting, these trends are something I am watching like a hawk. I want to understand and predict/forecast when society is primed and the time is right for launching these technologies. I know these answers in my gut, but gut is not empirical evidence.

Ignite Returns to Los Angeles: March 1

IgniteLA is back in LA after a short hiatus. I helped launch Ignite in Los Angeles last year with Dan Gould, the local wrangler, Brady Forrest from O'Reilly and Matt Forrest, (yes they are related) at Social Animal.

Starting Monday, March 1st, we in Los Angeles are kicking off Global Ignite week. That means cities across the world will host local Ignites. We have a great lineup of speakers here in Los Angeles. But first, the details:

• Monday March, 1st, starts at 7pm until 9pm
• Location: Cinespace in Hollywood (1st 50 folks who registered (and show up first) get free valet), 6356 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028 (map)
• Tickets are Free, but please register.
• On Twitter: @ignite2la
  
• Ignite LA Facebook Group
  

And now, our wonderful speakers (in no particular order):

• Karen North, USC, Social Media
• Eric Gradman: Through the Cloudmirror
• Adam Sadowsky: OK Go & the Grand Machine
• Mike Flynn: Something really cool
• Chad Catacchio: How Crisis Commons is Helping Haiti & Chile
• Sasha Chock: Something really neat
• Kasey McMahon: Breaking the Mold: Pattern Recognition, Art and Nanobot Housecleaning Services
  
• Lisa Remmington: Social action through film
• Sekou Andrews: Spoken Word
• Dena Plotkin: Working with difficult people
• Kurt Daradics: Something cyborgy
• Jenny Funkmeyer: Remote Viewing
• Chris Spurgeon: Mapping India: A True Tale of Balls-out 18th Century Science. With Tigers.
  

Note: If you are any of the above speakers, contact me to add your bio and link to your site.

Ignite2LA is organized by Dan Gould (@dgould), Michael Liskin (@rhetor), moi, Heathervescent  (@Heathervescent), and Matt Forrest.

It is co-sponsored by USC's Annenberg Program on Online Communities (@APOCusc) and Social Animal who are graciously managing production--and will put the talks on the YouTube.

Ignite was started by Brady Forrest at O'Reilly. This event is part of Global Ignite Week, March 1-5. As part of Global Ignite Week, there will be Ignite events on six continents in 60 Cities with 600 Talks, encompassing 10,000+ Igniters.

Black n White Tights

Black n White Tights
Originally uploaded by heathervescent

Another pair of my current fav tights.

Classic

IMG_2384
Originally uploaded by Marino

That's moi, wearing Travis' classic wool-mink coat with two guys who totally inspire me.

Tights

IMG_2331
Originally uploaded by Marino

I'm king of into crazy tights these days.

Suicide Girls Radio

I'm spending a little studio time with the Suicide Girls Radio team tonight and joining them on their show about Social Media and the Internet Premier of We Live In Public (you might remember this as one of the films I was obsessed with last year).

I'm bringing some of my favorite mash-ups to play along with my radio wit and social media delight.

Be sure to tune in on Indie 103 Internet Radio! And if you missed it, grab the podcast here!

What does the World Want?

Do you know what the world wants?

How about the earth?

How about the United States? What are our goals as a nation?

I've been thinking about these things since I started my first grad class, World Futures. People have so many assumptions about what they think is right or correct or the way to do things. Today I read an article about biofuels that posited that increased focus on biofuels would increase poverty and hunger.

The only reason global warming is a problem is because it might be a problem for humans. It might make the earth not optimal for the human race (and possibly a bunch of other animals). But in the scheme of the universe, does this really matter?  I mean, what does the earth want?

Let's assume that the earth wants life on and around it. If that's that case, then it really doesn't matter in the long run whether or not an animal (human, plants, etc) is extinct now or later. Everything dies. The human race will cease to exist at some point in the future. Life will continue. But what kind of life does the earth want? What kind of intelligent life (if any)?

I often think about pollution and destruction of the environment in the same frame of mind as ingesting drugs or other "poisonous" items. To much drugs of any kind can often kill you, or do irreversible damage. That sucks for the person who damaged themself, but if they survive, they will still live, still have experiences, life. Life wins. If they kill themselves by drug usage, well then, their life transforms and lives on another way - sometimes that energy lives on in their stories.

Recently I have become obsessed with economics and have started reading copious quantities of financial reports and documentation. I started wondering, what is the goal of our nation - the United States. And I sadly could not identify any goal. It made me think that perhaps our past goals (set by our founding fathers) have been achieved, and we are in the state of confusion, waffling, figuring out where to go and what to do next. We've gotten our priorities confused, gotten bit by the hierarchy bug, forgotten our values, taken drugs.

This makes me very sad. And I wonder, is it possible (yes, of course the possibility it there, but how high the probability is it) for a country, a nation, to have goals?

And if a nation can, what about a world?

Tech Crunch and Women's Entrepreneurs

TechCrunch_WomenEntrep_Ling
Originally uploaded by heathervescent

It's not a new lament - where are the women leaders in technology companies? It is a problem - and it's certainly not helping serving up half naked women in lingerie ads on the same page.

Great Job Tech Crunch.

The Best of all Possible Worlds

"Things worked out. But because we made them work out. The best we could for the circumstances. Because we implement solutions, and in the best case, dreams."

Remembering

I just wanted to see if this still worked.

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.

2009: A Narrative Review

What a wildcard year! A contrarian year. A year of Black Swans.

• Peru: mindblowing beautiful
• Lost wallet = 1000 miles at 100+mph
• Cancer
• Winners: Judge's Choice @ LeMons
• Utah: mindblowing beautiful #2
• Death
• Writing again
• Winners #2:
• Singularity U, financial fail
• Depression & Failure
• The Work
• Cancer begone
• Utah part 2: A roadtrip with pup and boyf
• A Return to work I love

Pretty much everything I planned, didn't happen. Stuff I didn't do, stuff that didn't happen. On some levels I felt like this year sucked, and I failed. It was one of the worst years where I returned to a low I had not visited since high school divorce/family drama days. On other levels, I realize this was a massive re-calibrating year. A transitional year. A year of challenges and adventures. Yeah, I hit new lows, but I've begun to return from them.

2009 started like most of my years, but it very quickly went veering off track into the unknown, last-minute extreme possibilities. At the end of January, I found myself with a lot of time on my hands, so after detoxing with my first master cleanse, I hopped a flight to Peru and had a mind blowing couple weeks. After returning to Los Angeles, (with a full blown customs sift through my bags in Toronto) I roadtripped to Texas for SXSW. But on that trip, a misplaced wallet in an isolated (no phones!) city in AZ led to a 1000+ mile 100+mph day. I arrived to the clusterfuck that was SXSWi, realizing that I could not stomach the inside circle jerking of what had become of the tech/social media community. I lost myself in the dark film rooms and found two gems: We Live in Public and Monsters from the ID.

I left SXSW with stories, ideas, plans to write a screenplay, make some music videos, etc. etc. I continued my roadtrip from the heart of Texas to the Heartland and then west, into the most gorgeous land in the US - Southern Utah. I felt re-invigorated, my faith restored - and then my mom was diagnosed with Cancer. And there was that drama. I steeled myself to say goodbye to her for good by the end of this year - by now. And after that, I couldn't take any job/work interview seriously. I actively sabotaged them - and it worked. I had no work.

I thought I wanted to be a scientist, and with the launch of Singularity University, I considered going back to school, although I could not wait to get out of it more than a decade ago. I worked hard, I thought I was a long-shot: I didn't expect to get in, I have no steller background in robotics or biotech.  (But I know what it takes to take an idea and make it real - something much more practical.) But my lack of funds stopped me there (although I got on the waitlist. I asked for a full scholarship.)

Ah, and then, I took a brief departure from the Heathervescent you know. I descended into failure. For several months. I felt betrayed by my work. By the people I enabled - those known and unknown. Of course, add a couple of real betrayals to the mix helps steep that. I took a free fall dive into the darkest places in my soul. And fuck you world, I was not coming out.

Until, I did decide it was time to come out. I can only take so much of my own dark night of the soul. I felt like a feeble fawn, re-entering the world. I was (and still am to some extent) shell-shocked and untrusting. Yes, 2009 was the year I lost my trust - in the world, in people: and only saw it in the beauty of nature and solitude and driving fast on empty roads.

But, hermit, I am not. 

I decided to try to get into a real Master's program on Future Forecasting at University of Houston (think - NASA Houston). To do so, I had to face a ridiculous, but deep seated fear: the standardized test. I failed this so miserably when in high school (having something to do with the divorce/family drama); afterwhich my failure led me to take an IQ test (which put me in the 95% bracket). Good for my intellectual pride, which I have since spent years convincing the world I have any. My recent standardized test scores now mirror the IQ ones from my teenage years. Vindicated!

Once I decided to come out of the dark pit of my soul hell, things turned around. I found (and convinced them to let me join them) a group of amazing entrepreneurial women. My mom had a miracle response (and still yet lives). And I returned to Utah with a pumped up truck, boyfriend and dog. My favorite highlight is when we got caught in a canyon in a flash thunder & lightening storm. My eyes could not hold the gorgeousness of the land. I sucked in the beauty like the desert in a rainstorm.

I returned to LA, intent on building a new business, but wildcard Craigslist delivered a surprisingly perfect opportunity. Cleverly disguised as a PM job, was exactly what I had been looking for: an opportunity to work with a company changing the paradigm of an industry. Even better, I had every skill in my toolkit to tactically and strategically do it.

What a crazy year. Crazy as in random. Massive fluctuations between high and low points. Super high points (peru, roadtrip, winning trophies), and super low points (cancer, SU, dark night of the soul).

Conjecture.

2009 was the wildcard year. After this year, I feel very intimate with wildcards. They have shown me both of their sides: the up and the down. The positive and the negative. I have had experience after experience of them: and have chosen how to respond to them: and I have responded with a variety of emotions/actions/responses: both re-active and respond-sive.

Writing this narrative recap, reminds me of my high school chemistry class. My teacher (who had received awards for her teaching) would make us do experiments prior to explaining the concept the experiment was supposed to prove. We'd come into class one day and the lab would be set up. She would tell us nothing, give us our lab books with the experiment recipe. We were supposed to figure it out. Write up our notes and observations. The next day, she would give a lecture explaining what it was we did, and why we should give a shit about it.

Thinking about 2009 that way, it was my lab in Wildcards.

It's perfect timing actually, because my "academic" area of study is in wildcards and paradigm shifts.

Santacon 2009, Remembering Cacophony

I heard of Cacophony Society in 1996 when I had just moved to the bay area from the pure cornfields of Iowa. I think it was Karen Marcelo who convinced me to show up at Tommy's Joynt on Geary back then on a rainy night in SF.

I was introduced to a whole new world of interpretation, absurdity, possibilities. Things and people that made perfect sense to me, although I had never met them, heard about them. I spent many an anonymous night in Cell space, I kept to myself, participating in the cacophony, but not leading. Not knowing I passed among myths of men.

Years later, after burning out of my corporate life, I move to Los Angeles. Los Angeles was a myth to me. It was where the true cacophony lived. Where the mythical Reverend took LA Cacophony to new levels - never seen, nor experienced in NorCal. But I arrived to the desert that is the LA Basin. LA Cacophony had self-destructed. Annihilated. It was a post-cacophony world. Only a few fragments of it's former glory remained: the LA Marathon Stop and Santacon.

This year, I have tried to bring Santacon back to the roots, the essence I experienced, remembered from my early bay area days. I have listened to the landscape of Los Angeles, to the swakings of cacophony, difficult to distinguish from the trappings of web 2.0 social media I am so awesome marketing.

Cacophony is open to anyone. You do not have to be an old skooler, hacker, jaded distinguished individual: you only need to buck the system. The system however, has arrogated many of the original ideas and inspirations of cacophony into claptrap marketing. It's time to take it back. It's time to return to the roots of cacophony.

And that is exactly what Santacon Los Angeles 2009 is attempting to do. Or rather, what I would like to see it do.

- Reposted from my FB