This is a great talk. The elements of this talk have been discussed or come-up often with many of my friends (Mike). To plug in, to unplug, to just go off the grid and get back to whatever we did before, pagers, cellphones, two way pagers, sidekicks, desktops, laptops, net-books,  i pads, tablets, blackberries, smartphones etc… something to consider

This a half of a of a Ted Talk by Louie Schwartzberg – titled : Nature. Beauty. Gratitude. I was torn between showing the entire talk and this portion. Obviously I went with this portion, but this is something we might consider each and every day. For the entire talk check out this link. http://www.ted.com/talks/louie_schwartzberg_nature_beauty_gratitude.html

 Charlie Todd causes bizarre, hilarious, and unexpected public scenes: Seventy synchronized dancers in storefront windows, “ghostbusters” running through the New York Public Library, and the annual no-pants subway ride. At TEDxBloomington he shows how his group, Improv Everywhere, uses these scenes to bring people together. If memory serves me correctly – I believe I posted the no pants subway rides in nyc – I think!!!  

Ron Gutman reviews a raft of studies about smiling, and reveals some surprising results. Did you know your smile can be a predictor of how long you’ll live — and that a simple smile has a measurable effect on your overall well-being? Prepare to flex a few facial muscles as you learn more about this evolutionarily contagious behavior. :)

 “I would like to bring art to improbable places, create projects so huge with the community that they are forced to ask themselves questions.”

JR, Beaux Arts Magazine

Working anonymously, pasting his giant images on buildings, trains, bridges, the often-guerrilla artist JR forces us to see each other. Traveling to distant, often dangerous places — the slums of Kenya, the favelas of Brazil — he infiltrates communities, befriending inhabitants and recruiting them as models and collaborators. He gets in his subjects’ faces with a 28mm wide-angle lens, resulting in portraits that are unguarded, funny, soulful, real, that capture the sprits of individuals who normally go unseen. The blown-up images pasted on urban surfaces – the sides of buildings, bridges, trains, buses, on rooftops — confront and engage audiences where they least expect it. Images of Parisian thugs are pasted up in bourgeois neighborhoods; photos of Israelis and Palestinians are posted together on both sides of the walls that separate them.

JR’s most recent project, “Women Are Heroes,” depicts women “dealing with the effects of war, poverty, violence, and oppression” from Rio de Janeiro, Phnom Penh, Delhi and several African cities. (2 post/videos down)

Ted in Toronto – Yeah Buddy!!! – The 3 A’s of Awesome by Neil Pasricha – Very simple steps to a more enjoyable today and an even better tomorrow.

Political cartoonist – Patrick Chappatte draws serious jokes that are witty, thought provoking and meaningful. He turns the statements, “there is a bit of truth in every joke” on its head. Take a moment – Enjoy.

I love this Ted because I can relate to the constant battle to find “slow space” – space to slow down, stop, ,detach, do nothing, relax, put your day to day on pause for a few minutes, hours or days. The battle continues… (Got to go - Stuff to do – ehhh!!) Enjoy

I really enjoyed this Ted because Chris Bangle taps into an idea which actually became a running theme or throughline at Canvas - the ability to find and highlight the artistry in everything that we look to bring into the shop. Cars, sneakers, apparel, books, photos, canvases are all art (sometimes good and sometimes bad) - if you take the time to see it. Funny aside - the design teams he is speaking of chose Malibu as their design studio homebase. Enjoy

I love this  Ted because sometimes we need a coach(a friend, a stranger, a Ted, a movie, a David Blaine)  to remind us of our capacity for the mental toughness need toachieve our goals inspite of… . I try to remind myself by using that line from the “Untouchables” where Sean Connery looks at Kevin Costner and says ‘SO WHAT ARE YOU PREPARED TO DO NOW’. We have the capacity to do…

Side Note - I think the sneakers David is wearing in this talk are the Generic Man Army Re-Edits that he bought at CANVAS. The coolest part of his stop into the shop were the magic tricks he did for my friend Evan kid’s(Ella and Hudson). Pure Magic!!