Tilting It: Gem Theater Gets Radical
Yesterday, July 28, 2012, the historic Gem Theater was host to one of the most valuable movements of the 21st century. The slogan for Tedx18th & Vine was "Radical Openness." Nothing could describe the event better. People came to the event with open eyes and minds, keeping in mind our directive was to take what we saw and apply it to advancing our city. I asked Laveda Tyler, an American Jazz Museum employee who went to the event, which talk was her favorite or which talk stood out to her. She had this to say: "I liked the lawyer who dealt with teenagers being tried as adults. I feel like they should keep it age appropriate. It won't help anyone incarcerating them at such a young age. They don't know how to express themselves. It doesn't do anyone any good to take away their young lives." She was talking about a lawyer who dealt with kids around age 13 who were deemed by a judge to be tried as adults. Specifically, ones who faced life imprisonment. The talk opened up with a young virtuoso who killed the melodica. After his song's unusual (but beautiful) opening, he sat at the piano they had onstage. He crooned a snazzy jazz lament about a young lady who was unfortunately on a table in a mortuary. I'm thrilled some of my fellow American Jazz Museum workers were involved in this Ted Talk, too. A fan of good music, but especially jazz would love to hear it. (It's not posted yet, but be sure to check back here. I'll put a link to his performance when Ted posts it.) The founder of the percussive guitar movement also performed. He and his young protégé tore up those guitars. If you like Khaki Kings, you would love to see this performance. (Again, check back. I'll be sure to put a link of that video, too.) A talk I thought was amazing was one about new micro chip technology called Arduino. It's open sourced, which means the hardware is out there for anyone with a good idea and a working knowledge of electronics engineering. The truly amazing part was when he talked about gloves someone had designed, which were programmed to read the motions of sign language, interpret the information, and then speak it; a simple idea that allows millions of people to transcend the boundaries of language. Sharing these immense, incredible innovations isn't the only purpose of Ted Talks. They are meant to inspire. We are meant to take the invigoration we get from hearing these ideas worth spreading and incorporate them into bettering ourselves, our community, and our world.
~Tobe
