Steve Jobs: Words of Wisdom

Steve Jobs' Stanford commencement speech in 2005...

Call For Writers: Artist Residency

CALL FOR WRITERS

Artist Residency at the

Annenberg Community Beach House  

The City of Santa Monica, Cultural Affairs Division, seeks applications from writers living in Los Angeles County for a residency at the Annenberg Community Beach House in Santa Monica. The Artist Residency offers a large private office in the historic Marion Davies Guest House for ten weeks to complete a work in progress.

The Residency begins Monday, January 16, 2012 and concludes Monday, March 26, 2012 for a total of 10 weeks. As an acknowledgment of the public benefit of the Resident to the community, an honorarium of $1500 is offered.  
 
Application Deadline: Friday, November 4th, 2011 @ 5 p.m. For questions about the Residency, please leave a message for Naomi Okuyama, Cultural Affairs Coordinator at 310-310-0187 or email isanaomi.okuyama@smgov.net

String Theory

STRING THEORY
 
With Special Guest David Poe
 
At the 
The Ford Amphitheatre
  
Thursday, September 15th
8:30 p.m.
 
Purchase Tickets

Experience a truly one-of-a-kind performance as the cutting-edge music and dance ensemble known as String Theory transforms the entire Ford Amphitheatre into a harp-like sonic sculpture. Extending the entire length of the venue, the audience will literally be sitting inside the instrument while enjoying an evening of eclectic music, video installations and dance. 
  
Singer/songwriter and composer David Poe guests, as String Theory premieres new works ranging from Renaissance to rock and electronica to experimental, accompanied by a series of contemporary dances. They'll also premiere their latest film collaboration with filmmakers Shane and Sean McAllen ("Mission of Monkeys"), performing the score live. Get a taste here

String Theory accompanies their harps with cello, Theremin, violin, saxophone, bass, guitar, keys, saw, accordion, tablas, flute, samples, a myriad of exotic and invented percussion, and vocals. Their music ranges from 15th century Renaissance to rock, electronica and experimental.

The evening will also include a special performance by students in the Education Through Music program which serves disadvantaged youth in the LA area. Audience members are encouraged to bring unwanted cellos, guitars or violins to the event to donate to the organization.

Kick off this intriguing event under the stars by bringing a picnic dinner to enjoy on the grounds before the show.

Don't miss String Theory in this rare public performance. Buy your tickets today!  

* * * * * 

String Theory was founded by instrument designer/builder and composer, Luke Rothschild; choreographer/director, Holly Rothschild; and cellist, composer, Joseph Harvey. They have performed at the 2010 TED conference, The Eli & Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica, the 2006 Grammy's, for the Opening Festivities of The Walt Disney Concert Hall, and  at The Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC.

Trans Artists

Trans Artists is an online hub for artist-in-residence opportunities that offers full details about international artist-in-residence programs as well as other places for artists to stay and work elsewhere 'for art's sake'. It operates mainly from the artists' perspective and usually cooperates with a wide range of partners in all world regions, increasingly in more depth with European countries. Trans Artists makes the enormous worldwide residential art labyrinth accessible and usable to the artists through its website, newsletter, research and workshop programs.

JK Rowling: Words of Wisdom

JK Rowling's Harvard commencement speech:

On the fringe benefits of failure, and the power of imagination.

Watch it here 

Getting to the Core

The 7th Annual Topanga Film Festival

July 28-31, 2011

Topanga, California

In addition to the slate of films, here's a salon discussion you don't want to miss:

"Getting to the Core" Salon Discussion - Friday, July 30th, 3-4:30 p.m.
Church of Cinema, 269 Old Canyon Blvd., Topanga 90290
Panelists: Karin Gutman, Laura Milner, Joan Schekel, and Dr. Robert M. Bilder

This salon discussion explores the human urge toward story, and how to go about unlocking the stories that need to be told. The panelists will offer various perspectives on the creative process from the very inception of our story ideas through their cultivation and development into a form that can be shared with others. Dr. Bilder, a neuropsychologist and the Director of the Tennenbaum Center for the Biology of Creativity, will describe what is going on in our brains during this creative process.
See full details and buy tickets

The Art of Close Reading

"Improving as a reader is something you need to do to improve as a writer."

~ Jim Shepard

Award-winning novelist Jim Shepard shares his 5-step process of analyzing work towards the improvement of your own skills and craft as a writer--direct from the 2010 Sirenland Writers Conference in Positano, Italy.

Thank you to Dani Shapiro for her Twitter post!

These Women!

Join the Institute for Cultural Change  

for a once in a lifetime gathering to honor

"THESE WOMEN!"

June 24-26, 2011 - Santa Barbara, CA

Pat Berry, Lyn Cowan, Christine Downing, Nor Hall, Ginette Paris,

Hendrika de Vries, Mary Watkins, and Marion Woodman

See full details

You are invited to experience an extraordinary weekend of dialogue, exploration and dynamic conversation with these seminal voices. Their writings and teachings unleashed our imaginations, steeped our lives in symbolic understanding, and guided us in trusting our emerging feelings and knowings. Their life work has shaped and expanded Depth, Archetypal, and Jungian Psychology.

This gathering is designed to be interactive, giving the audience an opportunity to ask questions and share reflections on a few turning points in their own lives that have been meaningful.

Read the brief bios for these amazing women authors, thinkers and cultural shapers of this century. Your sponsorship of any one of these women will permit you to attend the event at no charge.

Creative Efficiency

Take care when analyzing and editing your creative work... you may cut out its very essence.  As Aristotle once said, "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts."

Family Matters

FAMILY MATTERS

Tuesday, April 26th @ 7 p.m.

Diesel, A Bookstore

Brentwood Country Mart - 225 26th Street
Santa Monica 90402

Join memoir authors Jennifer Lauck (Blackbird, Found), Dinah Lenney (Larger than Life) and Hope Edelman (The Possibility of Everything, Motherless Daughters) as they read from their recent work and discuss the ups and downs, ins, outs, screeching halts and gymnastics involved in writing about family.

Find full details here