Arts and Culture
Short Takes: Walt Mossberg
Walt Mossberg is the author and creator of the weekly Personal Technology column in The Wall Street Journal, which has appeared every Thursday since 1991. He is also the co-creator and co-producer of the technology industry's most prestigious annual conference, D: All Things Digital, hosted by the Journal each spring.
Short Takes: Matt Mason
Mason began his career as a pirate radio and club DJ in London, going on to become founding Editor-in-Chief of the magazine RWD. In 2004, he was selected as one of the faces of Gordon Brown’s Start Talking Ideas campaign, and was presented the Prince’s Trust London Business of the Year Award by HRH Prince Charles. He has written and produced TV series, comic strips, and records, and his journalism has appeared in VICE, Complex and other publications in more than 12 countries around the world. He recently founded the non-profit media company Wedia.
Short Takes: Andy Robin
Andy Robin is an award-winning film and television writer, director, and producer. After graduating from Harvard College in 1990, Robin began his career at Saturday Night Live, where he co-wrote the popular "Copy Machine" sketches with Rob Schneider and helped launch the careers of Adam Sandler, David Spade, and Tim Meadows. When Jerry Seinfeld hosted SNL in 1992, his producers invited Robin to write for their then-cult sitcom Seinfeld. Robin moved to Los Angeles and began a seven-year stint on the blockbuster show. While at Seinfeld, Robin penned over a dozen scripts, including "The Fatigues," which garnered the 1998 Writers Guild Award.
Short Takes: Tim Westergren
A musician's musician, Pandora.com Chief Strategy Officer & Founder Tim Westergren is obsessed with helping talented emerging artists connect with the music fans most likely to appreciate their music. Tim is an award-winning composer, an accomplished musician and a record producer with 10 years of experience in the music industry. He has recorded with independent labels, managed artists, scored feature films, produced albums, and performed extensively. Prior to co-founding Pandora, Tim owned and operated Nightfly Studios, a commercial digital recording studio.
Short Takes: Stephen Andrade
Stephen Andrade is Chair and Associate Professor of Computer Graphics & New Media at Johnson & Wales University. He has been active in the field of technology and higher education for 25 years. Prior to joining Johnson & Wales Stephen worked at the Institute for Research in Information and Scholarship (IRIS) and at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. He has served as a policy advisor to the White House and the US Department of Commerce on technology issues. He is currently working to bring new curriculum for creative digital media to the School of Technology at JWU.
Short Takes: Seth Bernard Minkin
Seth Bernard Minkin's paintings show a private world of improvisation, spontaneity, humor, pathos, exaggeration and abandon. The images are often figurative, organic, personal totems reflecting his travels, and his interest in antiques and children's art. In close view, they can become highly abstract. He develops his paintings without preconceptions, letting the paintings take form from a matrix of inner-outer dialog, observation, and chance discovery. The paintings record a mnemonic journey; a metaphor rich with possibilities of surprise and reiteration.
Steven Johnson at BIF (Excerpt)
It was a great pleasure to welcome Steve Johnson to BIF on March 16, 2009 for a conversation about his new book, "The Invention of Air." In a forum with a few dozen members of the BIF community, Johnson discussed the story of Enlightenment-era innovator Joseph Priestly and the emerging social networks that enabled his ideas to flourish. Here's a quick video of Steven talking about the book.
John Abele at BIF-4
As a leader of the Grunion expedition, Abele recently rediscovered the WWII submarine his father disappeared on in 1942.
Paola Antonelli at BIF-5
The MOMA senior curator gives her take on the design process and it's ability to understand the increasingly complex nuances of consumer preference.
Robert Ballard at BIF-2
As a child Bob Ballard was spellbound by “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea”. Fiber optics and telepresence helped the oceanographer discover the Titanic and reach his dream of walking on the bottom of the ocean.