Come speak at BIL March 7th/8th (sat/sun)
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Just some of our speakers
(38 slots and counting)
Hosts
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 Spearheading BIL 2015
Christy
Christy Fair fell in love from the first BIL event she attended. BIL 2012 LA she started as Main-stage Timelord. The next year at BIL 2013 Space Czar – placing, wrangling speakers, handling Merch, and interfaced with sponsors. Last year she kicked it up a notch and traveled to the Bay Area for the wonderfully successful BIL 2014 SF.
She has a B.A. in Communication Studies from LMU, and is a licensed Massage Practitioner through C.H.A.C. A groundbreaking class for her at LMU was "High Touch in a High Tech world." When she's not organizing BILs or working she's a bit like Where's Waldo with adventure. You can find her at Burning Man, dancing, jumping from planes, snowboarding, and wakeboarding.
Christy is an ENTP and has a flair for hugs. Please step up and introduce yourself if you happen to catch her at a moment when her feet are touching the ground. If you need a spreadsheet made, redirect to Fedje Lang.
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 Spearheading BIL 2015
Fedje
Fedje first participated in BIL 2012 as a Main Stage MC, and has since MC'd 2013 and 2014 SF as well.
Fedje studied Theater at Oberlin College and the National Theater Institute at the Eugene O'Neil Theater Center. She currently resides in Los Angeles.
When she is not doing BIL things, she has been known to do some rock climbing, some professional organizing & some not so professional stand-up comedy. You may find her working on her craft nightly behind the bar at the Tripel in Playa del Rey.
Fedje is an INTP. If you happen to step up and introduce yourself, please redirect all hugs to Christy Fair.
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Keynote
Bring It to The World and Beyond
(Address Opening Saturday Morning:)
Alex Lightman
William Gibson said, "The future is here, it's just not evenly distributed", but this isn't entirely true. The future isn't here until we bring it. This talk will look at four ways we can have fun, make money and make a difference if and when we bring it together.
1. Bring the Food - Now is the time to reinvent the entire system from end to end, from making fertilizer via sunshine, air and water instead of natural gas, to using 3D food printers to maximize healthy fresh eating.
2. Bring the Water - Brazil has 14% of the world's water and 2% of world's population, but its largest city rations water and has only 60 days of that. Now is the time to reinvent our way to deal with water before things get dusty all over. And what's up with putting Keystone XL over a massive aquifer?
3. Bring the Light - One of the great opportunities of our age is replacing the 80% fossil fuels with renewable energy. What new ways can we do this?
4. Bring the Biosphere - Why does Elon Musk want to take people to Mars when there are still problems on earth? Because even if we bring it 100% and solve all problems on earth, there are still existential threats to earth. The talk concludes with how we can all be part of backing up the biosphere and making ours the first space-faring generation.
BIO Alex Lightman has been a BILder since 2009. He is an award winning author, entrepreneur, and futurist. He wrote “Brave New Unwired World” (the first book on 4G wireless), as well as “Reconciliation: 78 Reasons to End the US Embargo of Cuba", which played a not insignificant role in the recent shift in US/Cuba policy. He has consulted for numerous national governments and written national innovation plans for the current administrations of both the US (on behalf of the White House OSTP and IDA) and Mexico (on behalf of CONACYT).
His books to be published in 2015 are "Food Security via Clean Energy" and "The Future Engine: How Science Fiction Catalyzes Technology and Transforms Society." In 2010 he was the recipient of the first Economist magazine Reader's Award, the first globally crowd-sourced award of its kind, for "the innovation most likely to radically change the world", on behalf of 4G wireless.
Read much more Wikipedia
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 Special Guest
How BIL Tunisia became the leading uncoference in Tunisia.
Karim Benabdallah
I will be talking about how I started BIL Conference Tunisia, and how this ended up to a permanent 300 + volunteers mostly young students and across 5 towns.
How we are managing events with or without sponsoring.
Skill management was a success key to lead to all this as we are coaches, designers, photographers, etc... cutting down costs to sometime like just $50.
Right now, BIL Conference did officially crash down TEDx (by far)!
We are not anymore a simple competitor, but rather we are the leading Unconference here in Tunisia :)
BIO In Tunisian Karim Benabdallah is a full-time communications specialist, Blogger (since 2002), Social Media evangelist, Photographer, camper, and couchsurfer for the rest of what's left.
BIL Conference Tunisia founder and curator and former member of the first TEDxCarthage team (2010), host of Ignite Tunis, Edcamp Tunis, Tunis Book Club and Tunis Social Media Cafe and co-found of Social Media Club Tunisia, UN foundation Plus Social Good local ambassador and member of the UNDP initiative Mobiles4HD, official leader of Foursquare, Instagram and Eyeem communities in Tunisia.
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Speakers
Transforming Bricks into Beauty: A story of PTG
Alexis B.
There is a saying "We build out walls out of the bricks that were thrown at us." And for a long time I've been learning how to transform those metaphorical bricks into something that opens us up, rather than disconnects and shuts us down. Alexis gives a personal example of this phenomena, and shares information along the way about trauma and PTG. Most of us have heard of PTSD, but not many have heard of PTG. This talk includes a brief overview about PTG.
BIO Alexis has been a BILder since the beginning in 2008. She is a psychotherapist, event organizer, and a consultant for small e-commerce companies in health and lifestyle management. As a psychotherapist intern for 6 years, recently licensed, her focus has been on traumatized populations- sexual assault, veterans, adult survivors of child abuse, homeless, former inmates, drug addiction and bereavement. As an event organizer for 15 years, she has created experiences for 10 - 500 people with a variety of themes. For the last 4 years she has also been a consultant for small e-commerce companies she has helped companies grow over 4x, managed multiple aspects of inbound marketing, put in place measurements for ROI, created campaign strategies for product launches, and on-boarded new management.
No, really, pi is wrong: The Tau Manifesto
Michael Hartl
Author, Rails Tutorial
Founder, Softcover
With the "Pi Day of the Century" coming up on 3/14/15, it may surprise you to learn that pi is, in fact, wrong. Building on the work of the mathematical heretics who preceded him, Michael Hartl published The Tau Manifesto on Tau Day (6/28), 2010, thereby launching what has become an international movement for mathematical sanity. Come explore the reasons why pi is wrong—that is, why pi is a confusing and unnatural choice for the circle constant—and meet its replacement, tau. Skeptics beware: by the end of the talk you may be surprised to find yourself converted to the new faith of tauism.
BIO Michael Hartl is the founder of Tau Day and author of The Tau Manifesto. He is also the author of the Ruby on Rails Tutorial and founder of the Softcover self-publishing platform. Michael is a graduate of Harvard College, has a Ph.D. in Physics from Caltech, and is an alumnus of the Y Combinator entrepreneur program.
Cross Conflict Communication:
How To Eliminate Communication Breakdowns Before They Eliminate Your Relationships
Den Bradshaw
Most studies show that quality of life is in direct proportion to the quality of our relationships. And the quality of our relationships are largely a result of our ability to communicate effectively... after all, a relationship is about "relating." In our increasingly insulated society of disembodied email conversations, inflection-free text messaging, virtual offices, virtual friends, and virtual relationships, the ability to communicate effectively in person is a muscle that is used less and less. Like any seldom-used muscle, without exercise and proper training, in person communication skills can atrophy, or never develop in the first place. And when communication breaks down, stress is increased, relationships sour, and a vicious cycle ensues. But it doesn't have to be this way.
In this fun, engaging and enlightening talk, Den will explore some of the most common communication challenges and hurdles, and provide simple, tested and highly effective techniques and concepts that will help you break through communication barriers, avoid conflicts in your relationships, and quickly fix problems when they arise. If you'd like to have better relationships in your personal or professional life, this talk is for you!
BIO Den is the founder of Team TuneUp, a corporate training and team building company based in Los Angeles. A member of MENSA and UC Regent's Scholar, he's provided corporate training for many Fortune 100 companies, including Google, Microsoft, Boeing, Exxon Mobil, Coca-Cola, Merck Sorono, Philips, Mars, AEG, Humana, and many more. As former marketing consultant for Tony Robbins, T. Harv Eker, Eben Pagan (David DeAngelo) and other self-help gurus, Den specializes in interpersonal dynamics, communication, and behavior styles. He's also an avid adventure enthusiast, former character animator, published author, martial artist, scuba instructor, photographer, and author of numerous blogs including the GuySurvivalGuide.com.
The End of Aging
Maria Entraigues-Abramson
We have always aged without having any realistic approach to stop it - until now. At SENS Research Foundation, we believe that a world free of age related disease is within our technological grasp. Aging not only brings wisdom and experience to our lives, but ever-accumulating damage. That damage causes ever-increasing degeneration, sickness and suffering, until we finally succumb. Even with the best treatments available today, if you live long enough, you will eventually develop Alzheimer’s, cancer, Parkinson’s, cardiovascular disease, and a litany of unavoidable conditions caused by this accumulating damage.
At SENS Research Foundation, we are already making progress on our unique seven-point road-map to conquer aging by repairing this damage through regenerative medicine. We are pioneering an engineering approach that repairs the underlying damage that causes aging. We call it Rejuvenation Biotechnology, and our mission is to not only prevent these diseases, but to reverse and eradicate them altogether. We are not talking about merely looking young and beautiful, and we are not talking about the defeat of death, but instead in increasing our total health to such an extent that our robust and healthy lifespans will be radically extended.
Through our hard work in outreach, research and education we intend to help build an industry that will bring aging under medical control in our lifetime. Do you want this? If so, please come to my talk and help us achieve it!
BIO Global Outreach Coordinator at SENS Research Foundation (www.sen.org), co-founded by biogerontologist Dr. Aubrey de Grey; author of Ending Aging. www.sens.org
I’m a singer-composer, science and technology advocate and pilot. Part of my focus in life is facilitating Radical Exponential Change and supporting disruptive technologies that will help the world. I like focusing on the solutions to challenges rather than on the problems.
The Massive Hole in Local News Coverage
Pat Kitano (@pkitano)
Local news is incomplete. Traditional local news follows a well worn formula of crime, car crashes, traffic, weather, and sports. The challenge is finding news revolving around topics like social impact, ethnic news, the environment, and civic sustainability, that aren’t well covered by traditional local news media. Topical news resources don’t exist at the local level because there is no sustaining business model based on monetizing a tiny reader base defined by limited geography and audience of a niche interest.
The only sustainable way to deliver topical news is a curation methodology that pulls from four "buckets" of writers and thinkers, both national and local, to create comprehensive topical news feeds across 100 cities.
BIO Founder, BNN Networks and The Breaking News Network (BNN) Patrick launched The Breaking News Network in 2009 based on the concept that local news should be a community service giving voice to both the traditional news media and community social media. After more than five years, the BNN is now the largest community news network in the world with the most comprehensive coverage of local news in over 400 cities worldwide, outlasting similar local news network efforts by AOL and Gannett. He's applying the same methodology to the development of topical news networks that span across 100 cities.
The Future is Psychedelic: Medicine, Social Change, and Cognitive Liberty
Ashley Booth
Did you know psychedelics are making a comeback?...And they are not just for hippies anymore! Ashley will guide listeners through the latest research on psychoactive compounds, progress on the legalization front, and their potential impact on the future of humanity. She will use her scientific background to break through the "war-on-drugs" rhetoric and guide listeners in a rational and scientifically-based conversation about responsible applications of psychedelic substances.
BIO Ashley Booth, M.S. is a scientist, philosopher, and advocate. She is the founder of a Los Angeles based community education group called the Aware Project (awareproject.org) and the co-producer of the monthly Psychedelic Awareness Salon series and the first Bicycle Day event in Los Angeles (www.bicycleday.la). She has given numerous talks at festivals and conferences to balance the public conversation about psychedelics, spread accurate information, and give a new face to psychedelia. She believes that the conscious use of psychedelics is an important tool to be utilized in medicine, creativity, and the creation of a more peaceful world.
www.AshleyBooth.net @FACEBOOK @TWITTER
Biomimicry and Innovation Inspired by Sharks
Colin Mangham
ColinMangham.com & LinkedIn Profile + BiomimicryLA.org
Sharks have been around for about 400 million years; they even pre-date the dinosaurs. By contrast, anatomically modern humans have only been around about 200,000 years. In that respect, sharks are – and indeed should be – looked to as mentors. They've thrived far-far longer than we have, and on biological strategies including the unique microtopography of their skin, which is effectively self-cleaning.
Sharkskin is now inspiring solutions to major challenges we humans face including hospital acquired infections, which account for nearly 100,000 deaths every year and over $30 billion in excess healthcare costs. I will share some of these brilliant case examples of biomimicry, innovation inspired by nature.
BIO Colin Mangham is an unapologetic marketer, driven to help people exchange value. He's supported the success of a couple dozen Fortune 500 companies as well as 100+ early-stage ventures. His career-long fascination with how things work and why people do what they do led him to discover biomimicry, innovation inspired by natural forms, processes, and systems. He's now a bright-eyed advocate (and humble student) of bio-inspired solutions, and he's eager for you to join him on his learning journey.
TALK: BREAKING THE SILENCE USING BOOKS: How Art & Writing Can Be Used as Weapons Against Rape Culture
Mirabelle Jones
For the past four years, I have been working as an artist and advocate to fight rape culture using an unlikely weapon: books. The books I make are not your traditional books: they contain few words, are not glossy or perfect bound, and you can't find them in book stores. These books are artists' books: limited edition books that are more like sculptures painstakingly hand-crafted using antique equipment (letterpress), modern technology (laser-cutting), and the occasional weird improvisation (like hand-made paper with glass inclusions). The books are also unique in their content and mission: they share the true narratives of sexual assault survivors to raise funds for rape crisis centers. My upcoming project, Survivor Manual, is the compliment of my artists' books, a freely-distributed zine which shares the insights I've learned as a survivor and an advocate with the goal of empowering our survivors and allies with resources and avenues for support. In this presentation, I'll discuss the process and goals for each project, as well as how you as an artist or writer can use your skills to speak out against rape culture.http://www.mirabellejones.com/jarring
BIO Mirabelle Jones is a writer, performer, and queer feminist art warrior born in the Bay Area and currently living in Los Angeles, CA. She is an Artist-in-Residence at The Hive Gallery and Studios where she is a regular presence at Downtown LA Art Walk. Previously, she has served as Artist-in-Residence at Women’s Studio Workshop, The Foundry Nights, KALA Arts Institute, The Stone Soup Collective, The Koz Collective, and ABCO Art Space. Currently, she operates as an organizer for Hollaback LA! and serves as a sexual assault and domestic violence advocate. She has received awards from The Pollination Project and theCollege Book Arts Association for her project JARRING III, a collection of survivor narratives with proceeds benefiting rape crisis centers. In 2011, she founded the collective Art Against Assault, encouraging the development of artistic works that depict sexual assault and domestic violence survivor narratives to raise funds for survivor resources. Her works have appeared in exhibitions throughout the United States, including Maker Fair & the Codame Art & Tech Festival. She has lectured at the College Book Arts Association, Academy of Art University, presented at the Southern Graphics Council International Conference and Mindshare LA. The first woman to ever graduate in the Fiction concentration with an MFA in Book Art & Creative Writing from Mills College, she is the Founder & Editor in Chief of The Book Art Blog and a docent at the International Printing Museum.
With Great Responsibility Comes Great Power - Dancing With the Magic of Synchronicity
Byron Go
When is the last time you noticed the hand of fate in your life? What did you call it? Coincidence? Destiny?
Whether you called it fluke or flow, part of our human experience is noticing the unexpected and often elegant confluence of patterns that weave together our lives. The realization of synchronicity is enough to elicit surprise, wonder, joy, celebration. And for many, it stops there.
Well what if that was just the start? What if there were tools and clear perspective shifts that you could apply in the moment, to leverage your moment of alignment into personal momentum. What would your life look like with that superpower?Together, we will explore what becomes possible the moment you realize that you're not just the leaf on the water, but that you are the river itself.
BIO I am a Dot Connector, a Life Artist, and a Professional Champion of You. I love to show people their souls through photography, and their gorgeous truths through coaching and compassionate ass-kicking. I specialize in lifting above the fog, lighting up all the dark corners, and believing in the provable and quantifiable transcendent excellence that you are capable of, right now. Looking to heed your call? Ring, ring? This is my number. (818) 207-7591. Love.
The Importance of Narrative and Character Development Across All Platforms
Alexis Nelson and William Mark McCullough
The current state of television and film is continuing to show how important quality narrative and character development is. This is apparent with digital platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon, and will continue this way as entertainment grows onto more platforms like Oculus Rift. The future of the entertainment industry may be relying more heavily on mobile, tablets, virtual reality headsets, and gaming devices, but the urgency behind the need for riveting characters and powerful narrative will continue to be the guiding force in content development.
BIO (Nelson) is an EMMY-Nominated producer based in Los Angeles, CA. She is currently in pre-production on the feature film A Savannah Haunting as co-founder of production company Fort Argyle Films, and founded Visual Effects Company HOAX Films in 2010. Alexis has worked on long form projects such as Fast 5 and Spike TV’s Deadliest Warrior, to short form for the upcoming PlayStation release Killing Floor 2 teaser film, and award-winning digital content for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and Game of Thrones.
BIO (McCullough) is an accomplished filmmaker who specializes in intimate, character driven stories. He is the co-founder of the production company Fort Argyle Films that is currently producing A Savannah Haunting, a film Mark wrote and will direct. In addition to writing and directing, Mark is an actor who has worked opposite Kate Beckinsale, Ryan Phillippe and John Schneider.
Evolution In Architectural Design: Form Follows Function 2.0
Jenda Michl
Futuristic Sci-Fi (printed) buildings are just around the corner. Sculptural projects like Frank Gehry's Disney Concert Hall in LA are just the beginning, and in just a few decades cityscapes will look entirely different. An explosion in powerful 3D modeling software and fabrication is enabling the realization of alien looking architectural forms which until now have been restricted to the digital realm. This talk will explore the architectural design process and now real possibility of buildings whose form and design are the result of a symbiotic relationship with their context and the environment. You will see how new technology and software enable the application of genetic fitness tests and simulated evolution to the design process has opened the door to a monumental shift in architecture.
BIO An artist whose chosen media is architecture, Jenda Michl runs the architecture company Vertu Studio, with projects that landed on the front page of Dwell.com and exhibited at the Architecture + Design Museum. Look for his FlexSit bench at BIL this year. A great proponent of sharing and cooperation, he is also working to create an architectural 'nerve center' to unite and empower the amazing design talent Los Angeles attracts.
Robotic fashion and intimate interfaces
Anouk Wipprecht
A talk about a merge of fashion and technology by Dutch fashiontech designer Anouk Wipprecht
What does fashion lack? "Microcontrollers" according to Dutch based fashiontech designer and innovator Anouk Wipprecht. As she is working in the emerging field of "fashion-tech"; a rare combination of fashion design combined with engineering, science and interaction/user experience design, she created an impressive body of tech-enhanced designs bringing together fashion and technology in an unusual way.
She creates technological couture; with systems around the body that tend towards artificial intelligence; projected as 'host' systems on the human body, her designs move, breath, and react to the environment around them.
Embracing Singularity and How it can give us our Humanity Back
Tasha Dixon
Art, literature, and film predicted technology would eventually overpower and dominate the human race. With technological advancements being achieved at exponential acceleration, this generation that will likely see computers surpass the intelligence of the humans that created it. Rather than fearing the future, items such as wearable tech are allowing us to reach for our best forms of humanity.
This talk will reveal ways in which man melding with machine is allowing alterations in hormones, increased firing of synapses, and opening of chakras to allow a person to be more in touch with their emotions, creativity, and body awareness.
BIO Tasha Dixon is a film maker and author who is a graduate in Interdisciplinary Film and Psychology. She is a successful actress and owns her own health and wellness company. In addition, Dixon writes for tech blog Geeky, Kitschy, Cool and works with major companies on ways of combining creative endeavors with cutting edge technology.
Kayne West and the Media of Possibility
Devin O'Neill
Kanye West is a massive force in contemporary culture, but nobody seems to know why. I’ll bring my personal and professional experience to bear in an attempt to explain “the Kanye situation”, and— perhaps more importantly— what that situation can teach us about how we each engage with and create culture ourselves.
Devin O’Neill began in public relations and branding before founding The Armageddon Club, a storytelling collective, and joining Blue Sky Black Sheep, a venture dedicated to honoring the creative spirit. Along the way he realized that any productive creative act involves burning the rulebook, so now burning rulebooks is his job.
Planting Perspective: A Gardener's Guide to Being a Better Human
Veronica Flores
So often I meet people who claim to have a black thumb when it comes to gardening, but the reality couldn't be further from the truth. As with many other things in life, the ability to learn a new skill often begins with reorganizing the voices inside your head and shifting your perspective of what you think you're capable of doing. In this talk, we'll explore three crucial mindsets that are necessary for cultivating a successful garden... and a more fulfilling life in general.
BIO Veronica Flores is a gardening coach and consultant, flavor explorer, food waste activist, and culinary educator who is endlessly enthralled by and excited about all things edible. As a byproduct of five generations of grocers, bakers, ranchers, chefs, and restaurateurs, she adamantly believes that life is only as good as the last meal you ate and the people you were lucky enough to enjoy it with. She frequently shares her revelations about cooking, gardening, and life at www.foodishowisayiloveyou.com as well as @veronicainla across the social web. She will be releasing her first digital book on gardening in late March.
The Importance of Making
Chris Lopez
We're living in an increasingly disposable and rarefied society. The skills of making and repairing everyday goods become more distant with each passing generation.
Fun fact "no televisions are made in the United States." What happened to our country's once-formidable manufacturing prowess? Where are all the garage tinkerers inventing aeroplanes and motorcycles?
The "Maker Movement" is experiencing a tremendous growth surge right now, with makerspaces appearing in every major city, These collectives provide everyday access to previously unweildy-to-own tools like 3D printers, laser cutters, and so on. "Maker" resources give us the ability to tinker locally, to repair our everyday objects, to create collaboratively in completely innovative ways, with like-minded folks. From circuit hacking, robot building, toolmaking and programming, having local resources to focus the creative energy of geeks gives us a venue to expand our own skillsets, but more importantly, to bring society out of the proverbial dark cave, one blinky LED project at a time.
BIO I am a machine that knows how to machine. 23b alumnus, 3D printer geek, hacker extraordinaire
E-Waste: the Skeleton Elephant in Our Collective Closet (main stage)
Isa Gordon
Everyone attending BiL most likely knows what "electronic waste" is, and also that it's a huge problem. After all, we're a group of individuals who are highly techno-literate, with a tendency towards environmental awareness and social activism. But as I researched the issue to seek personal solutions that would prevent me from being Part Of The Problem, I quickly realized how much bigger the issues are than I'd been aware. Given my discoveries, what really surprised me is how little it's being discussed in any of the "hack-tivist" type communities which intersect around me. So here I am, starting that discussion. My talk will include a brief overview that highlights some big scary numbers, powerfully moving images, and unexpected revelations; it will then move quickly into a discussion of solutions that can be undertaken at the personal, local, and community levels.
Using the Mind to Retrain the Brain (side room)
Need a mental reboot? This small-room session will begin with a brief overview of simple strategies to effect change in brain and body, emphasizing practical techniques borrowed from systems of meta-thinking, neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) and ideokinesis. The overview will be followed by a series of guided meditations that use visual, tactile and semantic imagery. I have meditations written to help elevate mood, focus mind, manifest change, heal disease, or re-pattern neuromuscular habits. Those attending will help decide which full meditations I'll guide.
BIO Isa Gordon is an artist, designer and entrepreneur whose works explore themes of transformation, technology and hybrid identities. She lectures and exhibits internationally and, much to her own surprise, is considered a leading expert in wearable technology. Isa is perhaps best known for her cyborg alter-ego performance persona, Psymbiote, and as founder of the SIGGRAPH CyberFashion Show, which she curated and produced from 2002 through 2005. She's also the inventor of PodBelt, a modular personal cargo system, and is currently working on a line of "upcycled" fashions and accessories branded EntropyEye Reclaimation: scavenging materials out of urban detritus to adorn the body, from discarded clothes to defunct cell phones.
The Technology of Money
Joseph VaughnPerling
Money is memory, lest we forget.
BIO Joseph Vaughn Perling has been involved in security, privacy, identity management, forensics, law and business development spanning three decades. His involvement in alternative currencies bridges the physical and the virtual as the project lead of the Bitcoin Specie project and Managing Director of the New Liberty Dollar LLC.
Joseph has almost 30 years of experience in the telecommunications and data processing industry and served on the board of directors for telecom companies as well as Senior Applications Architect, Staff Support Manager, Senior Computer Scientist, Computer Technologist, Chief Technical Officer, Computer Analyst and Technical and Software Consultant for Global Fortune 500 companies. Currently Mr. Vaughn-Perling is designing and implementing global communication infrastructure systems and the applications that power them including several in Financial Technology space.
How Cosplay Diversity Creates Unity
Ashphord "ashi_chan" Jacoway
With new media, The Geeks are Inheriting Hollywood and one thing is certain, Cosplay is the new 'Chic'. However, how does this translate in the sub'culture? With the underrepresentation of People of Color in popular media , the stigma of cosplaying outside of one race has becomes a phenomena. After rejection on and offline , Black Cosplayers came together and formed groups to celebrate their Hobby without racial ridicule. Can a sense of all encompassing unity blossom from this struggle? Learn how the Geek and Entertainment industry directly affect American Culture.
BIO Ashphord Jacoway is a Cosplay Artist, Activist, and a Founding Sister of Chocolate Covered Cosplay. Born in California and Educated in Virginia, she graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a BFA in Theatre Performance, minoring in Political Science. She knew she must make change with her art.
Settling in Los Angeles, Ashphord has been involved in the local Cosplay Community for 5 years. From local events to competing in the World Cosplay Summit Prelims, where she and her partner Ginger Burton, became the first African American team to place top 10. Ashphord's cosplay has appeared on EW.com, Crunchyroll Live, Harakjuki Kids, Call to Cosplay, and many conventions all over the county. She and Chocolate Covered Cosplay have been invited to speak on Diversity as Guests to Anime Los Angeles, Anime California, and Anime Conji, as well as returning to Anime Expo as Cosplay Sempai's.
Admits all this, She toured her solo performance "I Wish My Life Was an RPG" to Katsucon, Meltdown Comics, Gam3rCon during SDCC, and The Hollywood Fringe Fest, creating dialogue about race and gender relations within the geek community. Later becoming a Host/Personality for EXMedia (Formerly AX Live), NerdCaliber.com, and currently HipHopGamer.com where she is continuing the conversation of diversity in gaming. She is Excited to share her passion for honesty Dialogue and Educating Humanity.
Meta-Modernism: A Design Methodology for the 3rd Industrial Revolution
Leslie Oliver Karpas
A look at recent technological shifts in engineering and additive manufacturing are reshaping how we should approach industrial design.
Leslie Oliver Karpas is passionate about revolutionizing the world of design through 3D technology. His career has combined elements of architecture, robotics, holography, and industrial design; leveraging 10 years of experience with 3D printers, manufacturing engineering, and the use of parametric algorithms for the creation of complex one-off structures built with mechanized fabrication equipment.
This has culminated in the creation of the medical device startup Metamason, where he leverages this experience with 3D technologies to create uniquely customized, user-oriented products via their ‘Scan Fit Print’ platform. The flagship product of which is Respere: on-demand, patient-specific CPAP masks via 3D scanning & printing which are perfectly ergonomic, beautiful, and personalized.
Everyday Anarchy: Lessons in constructive subversion from the food sovereignty front.
Sabrina W.
We are nine meals from anarchy. (If you disagree, think Katrina.) Instead of large-scale, system failure that brings more harm to the most resource poor among us, why not pursue a system overhaul that brings benefits?
Grassroots efforts in food security have moved towards a “food sovereignty” approach. It requires critiquing the systems that allow food insecurity and also creatively imagining alternatives and bringing them into being. But how? Activist paralysis makes waiting for some anarchist tipping point a folly. How do we walk the walk in a way that gets more participation, creates meaningful outcomes and maintains the soul of subversion to sustain a movement?
Many people in need are dissidents at heart – never indifferent to the inequity around them. Nonprofits and community organizations are often the first line of engagement in distressed communities, and often, long-term staff find their own subversive souls diluted. Will more self-organization, even of the less than radical type, reactivate the revolutionary within?
BIO Sabrina is, at heart, a community organizer who has worked with low-income groups in 40 states. She’s also a mediator, food justice champion, university instructor, homeschooling mom and director of home&community, inc. -- who never considered herself an instrument of the people. But, for 25 years she’s worked closer than she ever imagined with every form of rabblerouser, instigator and agitator and keeps finding herself surrounded by, supporting and activating acts of constructive subversion – small and big.
Patterns of Adapting to Health
Dr. Frederick Navarro
How many times have you been frustrated because you started a diet that you couldn’t stick with? Or made New Year’s resolutions to exercise but was forgotten by February? And think of that someone you know whose very life depends on a few simple changes that they just can’t seem to make. The truth is, there’s a powerful force that puts us on a PATH that we simply can’t break away from unless we understand what it is and how it works.
Dr. Frederick Navarro is a health psychological researcher with a PhD in health psychology. His work has focused on the modeling of adult health-related behavior and its relationship to diverse health outcomes. Developer of the Patterns of Adapting to Health or PATH covered in his book, Pattern of Health, Dr. Navarro will talk briefly about the PATH, and their influence individual and population health.
How To Make Dating in LA a Fantastical Experience
Erin Tillman
Most singles in LA hate or avoid dating which has always baffled dating expert Erin Tillman, also known as The Dating Advice Girl. What if we could change our mindset about what dating is 'supposed to be' and get more enjoyment out of it? In this talk, Erin will show you how to have fun connecting with potential love-interests when on dates while simultaneously falling in love with our city, Los Angeles, in the process.
- Why YOU hate dating
- Why dating should be FUN
- Are you CLEAR about your dating/relationship goals
- How YOU can start enjoying the dating process TODAY
- How to fall in LOVE with LOS ANGELES while on dates
BIO The Dating Advice Girl, Erin Tillman, is a dating expert, social life consultant, author, speaker and radio host based in Los Angeles, California. Over the past 7 years she has helped singles successfully navigate through the early stages of dating through her book, The Dating Guidebook (www.TheDatingGuidebook.com), over 100 dating-related articles for various lifestyle and dating sites, radio and TV segments and through her weekly radio show, The Dating Advice Girl Radio Show on 99.3 KCLA FM (voted one of the Top 10 Best Dating Podcasts on the Web in 2013 and listed as one of the Best Places for Dating Advice on Twitter). She has hosted singles events in and around Los Angeles, has participated in dating and self-help workshops and seminars, has gotten and given dating tips to celebs on at events and on red carpets and has collaborated with several networks, production companies, radio stations, and magazines including Lifetime, Men’s Health, WGN 720 AM Chicago, 700 WLW Cincinnati, and KHOW 630 AM in Denver. www.TheDatingAdviceGirl.com
Storytelling, Technology and the Future of Myth
Kate Ludicrum
In every culture, communication is defined by the technology available. From campfires to podcasting, from Gutenberg to Twitter - what we say to each other is shaped by how it can be said. Our culture has birthed an extraordinary explosion of connection, and new platforms are appearing rapidly. How will the stories we tell reflect the channels that convey them? How will our era be remembered when our stories, whatever form they take, are all that remain?
BIO Kate Ludicrum is a BIL veteran, neural engineer, inventor, circus alumna and raconteur. Her company Ludicrum Labs is currently developing an AI storytelling companion for the children of tomorrow.
Problem Solving With Different Voices In Your Head
Justin Dudek
Facing a difficult problem at work, at home, or in your relationships, but just can't seem to find the right answer? Stop looking outside of yourself; the answer resides within you. Well, some part of you. It may not be a part you're familiar with, but, answers are there. They've always been there.
Albert Einstein never said, but is often quoted as saying, "No problem can be solved from the same consciousness that created it."
In this brief talk, we're going to review Consciousness 101, then practice a simple exercise you can access any time to change your "consciousness". When you become someone else, if even just for a few minutes, you see problems in an entirely new way, with completely new opportunities and solutions. It's simple, it's silly, and it's the most important skill I've practiced this year.
BIO Justin Dudek is obsessed with how the mind works, and studying human behavior. He's been a student of Psychology his whole life. After diving head first into the Quantified Self movement, and tracking his daily behaviors, habits, sleep, stress, and diet every day for close to a year, he's made a few discoveries about what makes him tick. When he's not studying or contemplating how the thoughts in our heads impact our lives, he's typically busy selling coffee, ballroom dancing, consulting entrepreneurs, meditating, or resisting the awesome powers of ice cream.
Justin has never been featured in Rolling Stone, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur Magazine, CNN, or Fast Company.
The Actor’s Lens; the Art and Science of Keeping an Open Mind
Eden Harman Bernardy
Eden explores the ideas and tools actors use to create authentic connections to characters with vastly differing points of view. This work keeps a person’s mind flexible and allows for extraordinary collaborations between individuals with drastically different view points. We are not a fixed set of ideas and intellectual constructs but rather a wonderfully mobile array of beliefs and ideas that shape our relationships, behavior, and thinking.
Change your thinking, change your life. Understanding the “lens” through which we view the world gives us all the power to make profound shifts in our daily lives.
BIO Eden Harmon Bernardy: After 30+ years as an acting coach and 20+ years as a writer she's have had the opportunity to work with thousands of film and theatre artists. Working with Academy Award winning actors, writers and directors to actors just discovering the craft she has learned a tremendous amount about human behavior and the tools that allow us to access the kind of truth that resonates on film and with audiences. The daughter of the renowned psychologist and a famous acting coach, she grew up in a fascinating world of artists and scientists and never developed the notion that the two were distinct. Eden enjoys helping actors employ our current understanding of Neural Pathways in creating authentic characters and creating healthier lives. Working with neurologists, ophthalmologists, psychiatrists and researchers currently involved in studies exploring the nature of perception Eden has been able to harness a wide array of concepts that help actors develop a better understanding of the mind/brain and it’s role in developing complete “lives” or “characters”.
Money and Consciousness
Joshua Whiton
What do money and consciousness have in common? Sadly little, today. And what is money anyway? What is consciousness? In this talk Josh will offer a new metaphor: money is a neurotransmitter. And consciousness? Well... consciousness is everything, but humanity is still waking up to that. The talk will end with the unveiling of a curious plan to divert more of the neurotransmitter called money toward the elevation of consciousness.
Bio Sometimes Josh starts things, like a transit tech company for which he received an award from the Whitehouse, or a productive urban farm that is transforming communities while boosting food security. Sometimes he invests in positive startups improving our lifestyles and infrastructure. Sometimes he conducts self-experiments in pursuit of longevity and performance, or delves deep into the psyche looking for the keys to elevated consciousness. In trying to strike at the root of problems he routinely discovers outdated and misguided regulations rendering a better future illegal.
Creative Thinking and Global Consciousness
Shawna Cupples
How do we begin to cultivate, nurture, and celebrate each unique perspective in a world where our current infrastructures are unable to successfully support the diversity of our growing populations. Explore evolving from an animalistic "Survival of the Fittest" mentality to a creative, forward thinking humanity that reveals value and greatness in every existence. Ms. Cupples offers a powerful, theatrical performance intended to stimulate ideals, ignite passion, and herald the possibility of a Utopian society.
BIO Shawna Cupples is a poet, futurist, performing and fine artist. She has over 30,000 views of her debut music video, "Dusk of Dawn" and has recently released songs from her "Shameless Love" EP. She is a socially minded artist who has received a Certificate of Recognition from Mayor "Kit" Bobko of Hermosa Beach and recently the "Support the Heart of a Family Award." Her passion is theater and psychology,
Shawna studied at Playwrights Horizons Theater School at Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.
The Race to the Robot Revolution has Begun
(Will Southern California be Left Behind?)
Eric Shuss
The next few years will usher in a new wave of technologies and social change as robots enter our lives, homes and workplaces. Our children will be playing with smart toys, drones will be performing new and more advanced tasks and health-care will be changed fundamentally by a new generation of human and non-human looking robots. Where will these technologies be developed and manufactured? Will Silicon Valley remain atop the tech centers of the world or will there be a seismic shift to new geographies and new talent pools.
This talk is a wake-up call to business leaders, politicians and workers in Southern California that there is an opportunity and a path to change the future of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence.
BIO Mr. Shuss has been actively involved in running high-tech companies for over thirty years. He has owned and managed successful companies from start-up to thriving on-going ventures including I.T./ERP sales and consulting firms, high-tech manufacturers, retail operations and distributors. He has over 25 years of business management experience with a keen understanding of how technology impacts today’s business. His lifelong passion is bringing new technologies to market in the Robotics and Artificial Intelligence arena.
Seeing in 5 dimensions
A fuzzy perspective from the world of artificial intelligence.
Lauren Barghout Ph.D.
In celebration of the 50th year anniversary of Fuzzy Set Theory invented by Lotfi Zadeh in 1965, I will discuss work inspired by a question he asked my over a decade ago regarding computer vision.
It took me over a decade to answer his question and it led to a novel approach to machine vision a subset of the field of artificial intelligence. Join me for a fuzzy perspective on machine vision that requires "seeing in 5 dimensions".
BIO A scientist, inventor and serial entrepreneur, Dr. Lauren Barghout holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Vision Science from the University of California at Berkeley and a Bachelors degree in Physics from Hampshire College. She is an expert in the use of fuzzy set theory in representing Visual Gestalts and inventor of the Gestalt-based image segmentation and labeling technique that underpins the natural vision processing system used by several companies.
Title to be inserted here
Todd Huffman
Talk description coming soon.
BIO Todd Huffman is the CEO of 3Scan, and has been working with the technology behind 3Scan since 2005. Todd Huffman worked with the late Bruce McCormick, who pioneered the KESM technology. Dr. McCormick saw connectomics and meso-scale neural architecture as a key to understanding human computation. Fearing that the technology would languish after the death of Dr. McCormick, Todd decided to develop 3Scan Corp to enable its continued development.
Protecting the Dream: IP & Legal Issues.
Victoria Burke, , Esq.
When creating a project--whether it is creating a brand, written work, or some other artistic endeavor--keep in mind the importance of protecting your legal rights before you begin or go public. Oftentimes, people are in a rush to get a project out to the world, but forget that taking a few simple steps could prevent them from losing the rights to their creative dream. Also, if you plan on crowdfunding your project, be aware of some issues that could potentially arise from such an endeavor.
BIO Victoria is an Attorney-at-Law licensed to practice in both California and the District of Columbia. She specializes in intellectual property, such as trademarks, copyright, and fashion law.
Victoria is a member of the Beverly Hills Bar Association’s Executive Committee of the IP, Internet & New Media section where she has served as program chair for several successful CLE programs, as well as moderating the recent Fashion Law & the Global Runway program and serving as speaker on the ICANN! Learn Everything I Need to Know About Top Level Domains panel. On behalf of the American Bar Association, Victoria is the Co-Chair of the Fashion Law Committee, incoming 2015-16 Vice-Chair of the Trademark Litigation Committee, actively chairs the CLE Presentations Subcommittee, and formally served as the Resolution Task Force Subcommittee Chair. She also frequently authors law articles on a range of topics for various legal publications. Since 2011, Victoria has regularly volunteered her time serving as a moot court judge for the Pepperdine University School of Law’s Annual National Entertainment Law Moot Court Competition. Victoria may be contacted at: VictoriaLBurke1@aol.com
Groucho Fractal: DIY eco-tech mutant engineering and vegan snacks.
Scott Beibin.
This is a presentation about a presentation: a touring interdisciplinary educational presentation called Groucho Fractal. Artist, inventor and systems designer Scott Beibin travels around the planet with an interactive performance exploring the environmental and social impact of technologies through a show-and-tell of prototypes, including bicycle powered electrical generators, 3D printers made from recycled materials, brain computer interface devices, as well as other bio-sensors and much much more. Groucho Fractal is usually presented at schools, libraries, museums, autonomous spaces, galleries, and festivals. During the show audiences are encouraged to have fun while sharing knowledge, solving problems and thinking in free and boundless ways while being active participants in their own lives.
BIO Scott Beibin thrives on exploring the energetics of the human spirit with true interdisciplinarian zeal. As an artist, activist and technologist, his work integrates environmental sustainability and systems design. His background in varying fields and his do-it-yourself ethos combine in Groucho Fractal: an experiential hands-on performance intended to inspire and empower the next generation of Sustainable Futurists. Scotts academic focus was in Anthropology and Linguistics, specifically in the study of transformational autonomous nomadic cultures. However, he has become a self-taught engineer, currently researching alternative energy, natural building, fused filament fabrication, and human-machine interaction. He is also the co-creator and core developer of the Function is the Key 3D Food Printer as well as the Goostruder. Influenced by environmental and social movements, radical street theatre, 90'€™s DIY Punk, puppetry, zines and other independent media, as well as maker/hacker culture, Scott has been involved in many projects. He's been the host and VJ of the Lost Film Fest and Scientists Are The New Rockstars. He's the co-founder of the Evil Twin Booking Agency (representing Vandana Shiva, Boots Riley, and The Yes Men). He's also the founder of the seminal 90's indie label Bloodlink Records and was a musician and puppeteer in The West Philadelphia Bike Orchestra.
Electric cars are here to stay.
Gadget
Gadget will talk about how car conversions have gone from being rolling science fair projects, to fully functioning automobiles with good range and function. He'll relate from his own experience of converting cars since 2004, the technologies available then. To the technology bleeding in from the major car companies now, as well as the small companies cropping up to fill in the rest of the conversion puzzle.
BIO Gadget welded together his first car starting at 15, so he would have a car of his own design to drive when he got his drivers license. He has been a contractor, an art metal fabricator, furniture designer and a dancer. Many of the sculptures he fabricated can be seen around town and on metro rail stations. His furniture is in museums as well as the encounter restaurant at LAX.
He has been seen on many discovery channel shows such as, BIG! and Smash lab. And working as the head engineer on the such shows as "the colony", and "the big brain theory". He was featured in both, "who killed the electric car" and "revenge of the electric Car".
How Science Fiction Saved My Life!
David Dean Bottrell
Everyone comes to a crossroads at some point in their lives. Sometimes we have no choice but to reinvent ourselves and take a new path. David Dean Bottrell (“Lincoln” on “Boston Legal”) shares his story of career evolution from art teacher to stage performer to playwright to screenwriter to TV actor to producer of a brand new Science Fiction festival.
BIO David Dean Bottrell is the creator and producer of Sci-Fest LA: The Los Angeles Science Fiction One-Act Play festival which debuted last year to full houses and critical acclaim. He’s also a screenwriter (“Kingdom Come”), a monologist (“David Dean Bottrell Makes Love: A One-Man Show”) a teacher (American Academy of Dramatic Arts) and a TV actor (“Boston Legal”). Recent TV appearances include: “True Blood,” “Justified,” “Mad Men,” “Criminal Minds,” “Bones,” “NCIS,” “CSI” and others. His next TV appearance will be on the new USA Network show, “DIG.” More information at www.SciFestLA.com or contact him at DavidDeanBottrell@gmail.com
The Hacker and Maker Movement
Anil Pattni
In this talk I hope to share my 5 year entrepreneurial journey building OCHackerz with no money, experience or leadership skills. Now a grassroots community of 740 of the most revolutionary, interdisciplinary individuals focused on solving problems through collaboration and innovation.
Throughout the talk I hope to highlight some key areas such as: The importance of finding your purpose, How I supported the community, How the community supported me, What it took, the process involved and lessons learned. Also, details on what we've accomplished and the impact we've had so far in taking a century of institutionalized thinking and flipping it on it's head!
BIO Anil Pattni is an entrepreneur, student mentor, community leader with a strong background in International Business and Technology. He has held senior positions at the Retail, Corporate and Government level for many firms. As President of OCHackerz started in 2010, One of the first community focused startup incubators focused around Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Hosting 110+ events over the past 5 years, now 700+members and growing, .. Also one of the main drivers for OCMiniMakerFaire with 2000+ attendees.
More recently Mr Pattni is Vice Chair of the OC Entrepreneur Network and LA/OC Consultants Network at IEEE, the worlds premier organization for technology professionals.
Details at www.anilpattni.com www.ochackerz.com www.ocminimakerfaire.com contact me at ochackerz@gmail.com
Intersection of empathy, design, and social justice (panel)
Timothy Huffman
Tim Huffman, Chris Franco, and Tamara Chacon look at the intersection of empathy, design, and social justice. They make the case that including people in the creative production of their own solutions is the best chance we have for making the world better, particularly for the people who need it most. This talk outlines an empathy-based social justice project called Thinking With (http://bit.ly/thinkingwith).
Bio Tim has a genetic predisposition for unconferences. In addition to general hyperactive helpfulness, he and members of Thinking With curated and organized speakers for the Design, Empathy, & Social Justice Stage.
The Harmony of the Human Procedure with the Nature Of Existence.
Alex James
Intellectual researcher and absurdist
I am excited to share my wealth of Insight about the Nature Of Existence, Absolute Structure and Joy. From the structural foundation of David Bohm's Implicate Order to the wistful imagination of Albert Einstein to the focal point of Hawking's Singularity I will be sharing the elegant structure and meaning of the programmable reflexive expanded Life. More specifically, expatiated Life. I will unfold my original notion and content of "Expatiation" as a fundamental intuitive procedure of the Human condition in flowing phase with the Nature of Existence.
This talk will be an explicate of harmony where the participants will see the intuitive relationship of themselves with Undivided Existence in all its fascinating manifestations. The structure exists absolutely and it's fantastic. I look forward to sharing in the consensus Joy of BIL to explore, envision and discovering new and exciting ground with open vistas in the progressed intellectual pursuit of Life. This is what excites me and I looked forward to the shared intent.
Comments (5)
Reichart said
at 9:21 pm on Feb 6, 2015
I will be checking in here from time to time to help clean things up.
Alec Peters said
at 8:50 pm on Feb 9, 2015
OK, not quite sure how to post about my talk. I signed up for an account. Where do I insert my info per your template?
Shawna Cupples said
at 10:14 am on Mar 5, 2015
Oh dear I sure hope so.
Reichart said
at 12:46 pm on Feb 15, 2015
Hello Alec, you click on EDIT (assuming you are logged in on this page)
And you copy the template profile with the blue outlined BIL person with BIL logo T-Shirt down one.
And insert your talk and photo.
Post here if you get confused, I will help clean it up :)
Devin O'Neill said
at 2:04 pm on Mar 1, 2015
Hey, guys! For anyone having trouble working with PBworks, Reichart made a neat little instructional video, because gosh darnit he cares about you. If you're a speaker, this should walk you through making sure your info and photo show up properly.
https://www.prolific.com/qwiki.cgi?mode=previewSynd&uuid=FV4V6QYA1A3TW3Q1MEKCPMEK62QT
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