30 Things We Need — and 30 We Don't by Tony Schwartz

Do you have the feeling, as I do, that in the tsunami of everyday life, we're getting too much of stuff we don't need, and not enough of what we do? Herewith my first set of suggestions about how to redress the imbalance:

WE NEED LESS: WE NEED MORE:
Information Wisdom
Shallow billionaires Passionate teachers
Self-promotion Self-awareness
Multitasking Control of our attention
Inequality Fairness
Sugar Lean protein
Action Reflection
Super sizes Smaller portions
Private jets High-speed trains
Calculation Passion
Experts Learners
Blaming Taking responsibility
Judgment Discernment
Texting Reading
Anger Empathy
Output Depth
Constructive criticism Thank-you notes
Possessions Meaning
Righteousness Doing the right thing
Answers Curiosity
Long hours Longer sleep
Complaining Gratitude
Sitting Moving
Selling Authenticity
Cynicism Realistic optimism
Self-indulgence Self-control
Speed Renewal
Emails Conversations
Winning Win-win
Immediate gratification Sacrifice

 

Antonio Ortiz

Antonio Ortiz has always been an autodidact with an eclectic array of interests. Fascinated with technology, advertising and culture he has forged a career that combines them all. In 1991 Antonio developed one of the very first websites to market the arts. It was text based, only available to computer scientists, and increased attendance to the Rutgers Arts Center where he had truly begun his professional career. Since then Antonio has been an early adopter and innovator merging technology and marketing with his passion for art, culture and entertainment. For a more in-depth look at those passions, visit SmarterCreativity.com.

A Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra

Amazing how comprehensive this hour long program is, while also being incredibly funny. Another great find by Open Culture.

Bill Bailey’s Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra, an hour-long musical special “conducted” by one of the UK’s most popular performers, is also one of the funniest hours of television you can watch with kids in the room. The wildly inventive comedian (see his bio here) weaves in jokes, music history and orchestral rearrangements of everything from classical pieces to ringtones to music from TV news shows. Keep an eye out especially for his jazzified version of the “Doctor Who” theme. (One more reason to love Bailey: He’s an avid sci-fi fan who named one of his children after a character on “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”)

Antonio Ortiz

Antonio Ortiz has always been an autodidact with an eclectic array of interests. Fascinated with technology, advertising and culture he has forged a career that combines them all. In 1991 Antonio developed one of the very first websites to market the arts. It was text based, only available to computer scientists, and increased attendance to the Rutgers Arts Center where he had truly begun his professional career. Since then Antonio has been an early adopter and innovator merging technology and marketing with his passion for art, culture and entertainment. For a more in-depth look at those passions, visit SmarterCreativity.com.

The TED2011 opening titles

This is, well, wonderful.

From the blog of +1 Amsterdam: Last year we designed the opening title for TEDxAmsterdam. This work came to attention of Chris Anderson, the international TED curator. He was impressed and asked us to work on the opening film for their ‘flagship conference’: TED2011 in Long Beach, California.
This year’s theme is ‘The Rediscovery of Wonder’ and their briefing was “…Give us a sense of wonder! It’s clear you know how to do that…”. We teamed up with some of our most talented friends, and the result you can enjoy …

Antonio Ortiz

Antonio Ortiz has always been an autodidact with an eclectic array of interests. Fascinated with technology, advertising and culture he has forged a career that combines them all. In 1991 Antonio developed one of the very first websites to market the arts. It was text based, only available to computer scientists, and increased attendance to the Rutgers Arts Center where he had truly begun his professional career. Since then Antonio has been an early adopter and innovator merging technology and marketing with his passion for art, culture and entertainment. For a more in-depth look at those passions, visit SmarterCreativity.com.

MoMA's Paola Antonelli on Humanizing Objects and "Talk To Me"

We may not think about it consciously on a day to day basis, but objects around us are always talking to us in both explicit and implicit ways. There’s the obvious directive of a stop sign or a traffic cone, but there’s also the unspoken messaging conveyed via the ATM machine, the alarm clock, and that shiny new iPad. Objects have always been designed with the idea of communicating their use and meaning in mind, and it’s this relationship that MoMA’s Senior Curator of Architecture and Design, Paola Antonelli, seeks to explore in her upcoming exhibition, Talk to Me, slated for summer of 2011.

Antonio Ortiz

Antonio Ortiz has always been an autodidact with an eclectic array of interests. Fascinated with technology, advertising and culture he has forged a career that combines them all. In 1991 Antonio developed one of the very first websites to market the arts. It was text based, only available to computer scientists, and increased attendance to the Rutgers Arts Center where he had truly begun his professional career. Since then Antonio has been an early adopter and innovator merging technology and marketing with his passion for art, culture and entertainment. For a more in-depth look at those passions, visit SmarterCreativity.com.

PressPausePlay: a documentary about fear, hope and digital culture

A film about 'fear, hope and digital culture', new documentary PressPausePlay will debut at the South By Southwest Film Festival in Texas in March

The film aims to look at the impact of the digital revolution on the creative world and the opportunities (and threats) it has brought.

"Over the last decade creativity and talent of hundreds of millions of people have been unleashed in an unprecedented way, forever changing human culture. Our film is a humble contribution to the debate," says Charlotta Ribbefjord of the Swedish team behind the film. "PressPausePlay is a documentary film about hope, fear, and digital culture based on interviews with some of the world's most influential creators of the digital era such as Moby, Robyn, Sean Parker and Seth Godin, among others."

Also interviewed in the film are Behance founder Scott Belsky and Bill Drummond of the KLF.

It is directed by David Dworsky and Victor Köhler. "After working in the creative industry for a number of years we got a bit tired of the loud complaints regarding the disappearance of business models due to pirating and continuing profit losses. These subjects had been discussed to death at media panels and in newspapers around the world. We felt that an important part of the story had been lost - the unprecedented cultural impact. Sure, there are lots of industry problems caused by technological innovation but there are also enormous new opportunities for creation," the say.

For more details, see the film's website here

Great to have a conversation about creativity at the threshold of so much change.

Antonio Ortiz

Antonio Ortiz has always been an autodidact with an eclectic array of interests. Fascinated with technology, advertising and culture he has forged a career that combines them all. In 1991 Antonio developed one of the very first websites to market the arts. It was text based, only available to computer scientists, and increased attendance to the Rutgers Arts Center where he had truly begun his professional career. Since then Antonio has been an early adopter and innovator merging technology and marketing with his passion for art, culture and entertainment. For a more in-depth look at those passions, visit SmarterCreativity.com.