TED Talk Thursday – A Tail of Two Americas by Anand Giridharadas

According to TED.com : “Ten days after 9/11, a shocking attack at a Texas mini-mart shattered the lives of two men: the victim and the attacker. In this stunning talk, Anand Giridharadas, author of “The True American,” tells the story of what happened next. It’s a parable about the two paths an American life can take, and a powerful call for reconciliation.”

“Anand Giridharadas is a writer. He is a New York Times columnist, writing the biweekly “Letter from America.” He is the author, most recently, of The True American: Murder and Mercy in Texas, about a Muslim immigrant’s campaign to spare from Death Row the white supremacist who tried to kill him. In 2011 he published India Calling: An Intimate Portrait of a Nation’s Remaking, about returning to the India his parents left.”

“Giridharadas’s datelines include ItalyIndiaChinaDubaiNorway, Japan, HaitiBrazilColombiaNigeriaUruguay and the United States. He is an on-air contributor for NBC News and appears regularly on “Morning Joe.” He has given talks on the main stage of TED and at Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, Yale, Princeton, the University of Michigan, the Aspen Institute, Summit at Sea, the Sydney Opera House, the United Nations, the Asia Society, PopTech and Google. He is a Henry Crown fellow  of the Aspen Institute.”

A Tail of Two Americas by Anand Giridharadas

For those of you not familiar with TED Talks here is a brief summery from www.ted.com: “TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with two annual conferences — the TED Conference in Long Beach and Palm Springs each spring, and the TEDGlobal conference in Oxford UK each summer — TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Project and Open TV Project, the inspiring TED Fellows and TEDx programs, and the annual TED Prize”

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I look forward to your thoughts and comments!

TED Talk Thursday – Rob Forbes – Ways of seeing

According to TED.com : “Rob Forbes, the founder of Design Within Reach, shows a gallery of snapshots that inform his way of seeing the world. Charming juxtapositions, found art, urban patterns — this slideshow will open your eyes to the world around you.”

“A decade ago, if you wanted to buy a piece of classic modern furniture for your house — say, a classic Eames chaise longue — you had basically two options: make friends with a commercial office designer who could order you a piece from the supplier, or wait until your neighborhood psychiatrist redecorated his office and put all the 1960s-vintage Eames chairs out on the curb. Rob Forbes, a potter with a background in retail, saw a market for clean, modern design made available to regular people, and turned this idea into the brilliant nationwide chain and catalog Design Within Reach.”

“Along with new and classic home goods, DWR became a platform for Forbes’ way of seeing. The early-2000-vintage DWR newsletters were packed with colorful images from Forbes’ travels and news about designers he loved. And this is not to forget each holiday’s annual champagne chair contest — in which DWR fans were challenged to create a miniature modern masterpiece from the foil, wire and cork of a bottle of bubbly.”

“In July 2007, Forbes left DWR to focus on a new project, PUBLIC, which designs and sells urban bikes.”

Rob Forbes – Ways of seeing

For those of you not familiar with TED Talks here is a brief summery from www.ted.com: “TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with two annual conferences — the TED Conference in Long Beach and Palm Springs each spring, and the TEDGlobal conference in Oxford UK each summer — TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Project and Open TV Project, the inspiring TED Fellows and TEDx programs, and the annual TED Prize”

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TED Talk Thursday – Ross Lovegrove – Organic design, inspired by nature

According to TED.com : “Designer Ross Lovegrove expounds his philosophy of “fat-free” design and offers insight into several of his extraordinary products, including the Ty Nant water bottle and the Go chair.”

“Ross Lovegrove is truly a pioneer of industrial design. As founder of Studio X in the Notting Hill area of London, the Welsh-born designer has exuberantly embraced the potential offered by digital technologies. However, he blends his love of high tech with a belief that the natural world had the right idea all along: Many of his pieces are inspired by principles of evolution and microbiology. ”

“Delightedly crossing categories, Lovegrove has worked for clients as varied as Apple, Issey Miyake, Herman Miller and Airbus, and in 2005 he was awarded the World Technology Award for design. His personal artwork has been exhibited at MoMA in New York, the Pompidou Centre in Paris and the Design Museum in London. Lovegrove’s astonishing objects are the result of an ongoing quest to create forms that, as he puts it, touch people’s soul.”

Enjoy this creative talk.

Ross Lovegrove – Organic design, inspired by nature

For those of you not familiar with TED Talks here is a brief summery from www.ted.com: “TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with two annual conferences — the TED Conference in Long Beach and Palm Springs each spring, and the TEDGlobal conference in Oxford UK each summer — TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Project and Open TV Project, the inspiring TED Fellows and TEDx programs, and the annual TED Prize”

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