Potrait of a TEDx’er: Austin Kleon
Austin Kleon. Artist; writer; TEDx’er.
“I don’t have many words, but right there in front of me are millions of them—and they’re ripe for the taking,” said poet Austin Kleon during his talk, “Reimagining Poetry” at TEDxPennQuarter, describing the stack of newspapers piled by his desk that willed him out of writers’ block.
The Ohio native and current Texan was suffering an extreme case of the block when, unsure of where to look for inspiration, his recycling bin caught his eye, and he realized that he didn’t have to worry about finding words—the words had found him.
The moment kids start to lie is the moment storytelling begins.
They are talking about things they didn’t see. It’s amazing. It’s a wonderful moment…It calls for celebration. For example, a kid says, “Mom, guess what? I met an alien on my way home.” Then a typical mom responds, “Stop that nonsense.” Now, an ideal parent is someone who responds like this: “Really? An alien, huh? What did it look like? Did it say anything? Where did you meet it?” “Um, in front of the supermarket.”
When you have a conversation like this, the kid has to come up with the next thing to say to be responsible for what he started. Soon, a story develops. Of course this is an infantile story, but thinking up one sentence after the next is the same thing a professional writer like me does. In essence, they are not different … a novel, basically, is writing one sentence, then, without violating the scope of the first one, writing the next sentence. And you continue to make connections.
Take a look at this sentence: “One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in his bed he had been changed into a monstrous verminous bug.” Yes, it’s the first sentence of Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. Writing such an unjustifiable sentence and continuing in order to justify it, Kafka’s work became the masterpiece of contemporary literature. Kafka did not show his work to his father. He was not on good terms with his father. On his own, he wrote these sentences. Had he shown his father, “My boy has finally lost it,” he would’ve thought.
And that’s right. Art is about going a little nuts and justifying the next sentence, which is not much different from what a kid does. A kid who has just started to lie is taking the first step as a storyteller. Kids do art.
—Novelist Young-ha Kim in his TEDxSeoul talk, “Be an artist, right now!”
TEDx Interns’ Picks 2012: 10 great talks that might make you smarter, but won’t get you school credit
(Not actually what TEDx interns do. Illustration by Amanda Schutz)
As 2012 comes hurtling to an end (and hopefully not the world with it), two of the fearless TEDx interns have come together to pick their favorite TEDx Talks of the year. From NASA research for family dinner conversations to the musical performances they listen to during lunch, TEDx interns have got the 18-35 year-old demo on lock for 2013.
And now, the Intern Picks 2012:
From Dan, TEDx Talks Screening Intern, who watches so many talks a day that he now knows 5 languages, how to program a series of robots, and which countries have the best bike lanes — 4 favorite talks of 2012:
All your ideas are bad; a letter to myself: Brian Crosby at TEDxYorkU
Ira Glass, host of NPR’s This American Life, spoke of a gap between taste and ability that all creative people must close in order to craft great things. In this hilarious yet compelling talk, Brian Crosby revisited the cringe-worthy failures of “young Brian” to inspire anyone with a creative passion to get working — right now.
Fighting cancer with nanotechnology: Sylvain Martel at TEDxUdeM
In 2012, we saw a wave of medical breakthroughs that might represent a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel for diseases like HIV/AIDS and cancer. At TEDxUdeM, Sylvain Martel shared a promising new nanotechnology treatment for cancer that is being developed and tested as we speak.
How music is like language: Jarrod Haning at TEDxColumbiaSC
Jarrod Hanning explored how the brain interprets music and language in real time. Since I joined the TEDx team, I’ve screened nearly 1,000 talks. The uniqueness and creativity of this presentation really stood out to me, and there’s a message here that’s meaningful for almost anyone.
Climate change is simple: David Roberts at TEDxTheEvergreenStateCollege
Events this year like widespread droughts, the D.C. derico, and Hurricane Sandy have pushed the reality of climate change back into public consciousness. In his easily accessible — and ominous — talk, David Roberts recapped what climatologists know now and what they project for the future if mankind fails to take action.
And editorial intern Hailey, who reads so many descriptions of events that she now knows some geography, with her picks:
Image is powerful: Cameron Russell at TEDxMidAtlantic
No matter how much you think you can ignore it, as a girl/woman you constantly get inundated with updates on how the media think how you should look, and it can get exhausting. This year, Cameron Russell, who just so happens to be a Victoria’s Secret model, changed that for me — giving one of the most frank, honest, and compelling talks on “looks” that I’ve seen in a while.
Her assertion that photos of her modeling are not photos of her at all — but something completely different — constructions of an aesthetic ideal that entire teams gather together to create — may seem obvious, but helped me to see fashion photography through a whole new lens, one focused more on art than reality. Though, I still stand with TEDxWomen’s Julia Bluhm and Izzy Labbe, who stood up to Seventeen Magazine and demanded that they change their use of Photoshop on models.
Jonathan Trent: Fuels and tools for a sustainable future
Jonathan Trent works for NASA, and his team at OMEGA: Offshore Membrane Enclosures for Growing Algae are doing amazing things: namely, devising a plan to to reduce the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels by cultivating microalgae in floating farms—contained enclosures that blend into ecosystems and utilize natural, renewable sources of power. Watch it — it’ll give you something interesting to talk about at that next family party or awkward coffee date.
Bonus: He also gave a talk at TEDGlobal this year, which is equally awesome.
The hope we saw: Anthony Shadid at TEDxOKC
This talk from late NY Times correspondent Anthony Shadid on change in the Arab world is charming, eloquent, and absolutely beautiful. It articulates the power of journalism and the oft-quoted Margaret Mead, “thoughtful, committed citizens” remark perfectly. Only expands my appreciation for journalists who dedicate their lives to telling stories, even when their own lives are put at risk.
Stagger the vote, disrupt democracy: Nynke Tromp at TEDxDelft
Nynke Tromp believes that campaign season distracts politicians and citizens from the real issues voters face when we head to the voting box — politics. Campaigning creates a media maelstrom, she believes, one that rewards buzz over substance, and encourages myopic goals and superficial statements from political candidates. Though I don’t exactly agree with her solution (have every citizen vote on his or her birthday), I understand her concern, and after the wild and crazy election season that has been the last many months in the US, I think this talk is a good place to start.
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And now the final 2 favorites of 2012 — What we watch on our lunch break:
Being an intern takes a lot of energy, and for the TEDx interns, that means relying on a lot of soup, bubble tea, and jalapeno poppers to keep going. While we’re munching on our salads or carrot sticks, we like to keep ourselves entertained — and here’s what we watch when we do this:
Hoop dancing: Lisa Odjig at TEDxSenecaCollege
Dan: This deserves credit as the TEDx that did the best job of winning me over. At first it’s a little confusing, but by the end of the video I think you’ll agree: this girl can hoop.
Hailey: I’m pretty sure all of those hoopers at dubstep shows wish they could be as amazing as this girl. Makes you feel guilty for ever feeling awesome after you broke 100 on a Skip-It.
Ahmed Algaily at TEDxKhartoum
Dan: I have never seen anything this smooth on TEDx before or since. The costumes, the pageantry…wow! What a TEDx!
Hailey: Dan and I still can’t figure out why the audience at this event don’t love this as much as we do. At 1:45, when things really start going, it’s awesome. Bring chimes into anything and I’m sold. 12 minutes of solid harmonica jams.
