Over Coffee® | Stories and Resources from the Intersection of Art and Science | Exploring How to Mak

Over Coffee® | Stories and Resources from the Intersection of Art and Science | Exploring How to Mak

By Dot Cannon: Public Speaker & New-Media ReporterSociety & CultureEducationArts
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Over Coffee® | Stories and Resources from the Intersection of Art and Science | Exploring How to Mak episodes

  • The Lessons of His Craft
    Hanging upside down and staying in character wasn't difficult for gifted actor Jeffrey Weissman.
    Neither are directing, interacting with audiences as historic characters, teaching, or creating a one-man show.
    While his international fanbase remembers Jeffrey best for his role as "George McFly" in Back to the Future: 2 and 3,   he's been involved in numerous other projects since Marty Mc Fly zoomed back and forth through time.
    Jeffrey creates historic characters, including Groucho Marx and Stan Laurel, for interactive events.
    He's also writing a one-man show about an aspect of Mark Twain that most people don't know.
    Roles in environmental theatre are an area in which he excels (here he is as Mr. Jingle in the 2014 Dickens Christmas Faire).  Jeffrey is currently in the pre-production process of several independent films.
    As Back to the Future celebrates its 30th anniversary, he's also coordinating an exciting project--which benefits Parkinson's research!
    Jeffrey talked about his journey as an actor, his experiences portraying George McFly in the second and third installments of Back to the Future, and the lessons he's learned from his career (hint: one tip he shares applies, not only to acting  but to practically any creative venture!).
    54 min
  • This is NOT Mardi Gras
    Carnevale and  Mardi Gras are two different things.
    Carnevale is a Venetian masquerade that started in the 11th century.  In 2012,  Long Beach Carnevale organizer Joseph Mascheratti brought the festivities to Southern California.
    Long Beach Carnevale,  a free celebration outside the Long Beach Aquarium, is scheduled to start at 11:00 tomorrow morning, Saturday, March 7th.    There will be live music all day, free hair and masks by beauty experts at noon and a dance party at 6:00 that evening--and you're invited!
    Just a few weeks after 2014 Carnevale (when the weather was less than cooperative), Joseph talked about Carnevale, his experiences bringing it to Long Beach and what attendees can expect for Long Beach Carnevale 2015.
    23 min
  • How to Train Your Robot
    About all this robot isn't doing, is asking, "Do you want fries with that?"
    (Notice the ketchup and mustard containers at the top of this display, on the exhibit floor at the recent Automation Technology Expo West.)
    And Les Graham, who is Epson's Western Regional Sales Manager, says this exhibit is geared towards making people see robots in a different light.
    Les would know about robots--after serving in the Air Force, he was offered a job in Epson's then-new robotics division.   Thirty years later, he's teaching students to program--and educating the general public on the ways robots can be incorporated into their lives.
    At ATX West, Les talked about his experiences in robotics, trends in his field and the skills needed to succeed in robotics, and, especially, how to train your robot.
    13 min
  • A Robot Within Reach
    Programming a robot takes--how long?
    Well, if we're talking about a simple task--and this robot--a couple of minutes.
    This is Baxter, a robot created by Rethink Robotics.  Baxter's original purpose was to take over repetitive industrial tasks.
    But--he's proving to be much more average-person-friendly than that.
    At the recent Automation Technology Expo West, in Anaheim, Rethink Robotics' Manager of Product Marketing and Marketing Communications Eric Foellmer talked about Baxter's origins, the ways in which teachers and students are programming the open-source version, and the ways Baxter could be helpful in everyday life in the future.
    16 min
  • The Spirit of “Carnevale”
    Costume designer and model Clio McClure is looking forward to February 28th.
    That's  the date she returns for her second year as a costumed model, for Long Beach Carnevale 2015.
    Long Beach Carnevale, now in its third year, is a free event which brings the traditions of Carnival of Venice to Southern California.   Clio will be one of a number of exquisitely-costumed "joy bringers" (her original phrase) welcoming guests to the celebration, which includes all-day live music and a dance party that evening.  After last year's torrential rains cut the festivities short, the 2015 edition of Carnevale is themed "Theatre in the Sunshine".
    Clio talked about her experiences with Long Beach Carnevale, her costume for this year (designed by Long Beach Carnevale organizer Joseph Mascheratti)--and even offered her professional expertise on assembling a Carnevale costume on short notice!
     
    Long Beach Carnevale, a free all-day event, begins at 11:00 am, Saturday, February 28th outside the Aquarium of the Pacific, located at 100 Aquarium Way, just south of West Shoreline Drive.  Here is their program schedule--and you don't have to be in costume, but it does add to the fun!
    17 min
  • The Stories Behind the “Mystery”
    As Dr. Gay Toltl Kinman travels all over the world, she's usually plotting a murder.
    Gay, who has been honored for her work in law and community service, has  eight award nominations for her writing.  Her books include mystery novels, children's books and nonfiction.
    Just one of the ways in which she's made an impact, as an author, is through her creation of the children's book Gilly's Divorce, which is a guide to coping with a parents' divorce, as seen through the eyes of a twelve-year-old.
    Recently, Gay published an anthology of seventeen mysteries, entitled Death In..., which features locales ranging from a Belgian monastery to the Las Vegas Strip.   The book's centerpiece is the novella, Death In Hamburg 1974, which transports her protagonists (and readers) to a bleak period in history, as part of an ingenious plan.
    Gay talked about the creative process behind Death In...,  her other books, including Gilly's Divorce, and some of the tricks that work well for her as a writer (she never has writer's block!).  She also offered a look inside her latest book, Flowers (A Little Romance), published in December.
    23 min
  • Towards a Sustainable Future
    Sustainable living, designed to evolve over the next hundred years?
    In a nutshell, that's the vision at the core of the world's first sustainable smart town: Fujisawa, located twenty-seven miles from Tokyo.
    Developed as a collaborative project by Panasonic Corporation, Fujisawa SST is now open, with approximately four hundred families in residence.   Self-creation of energy, water conservation and mobility for driving and non-driving residents, are among Fujisawa's goals.
    And this new "smart town" is planned as a prototype for future communities--including one soon to be under construction in the U.S.
    At 2015 International CES, Panasonic Vice-President of Corporate and Government Affairs Peter Fannon talked about the creation of Fujisawa and the ways this new smart town, opened in November of 2014, is shaping the future.
    17 min
  • “Educational” Was Never More Fun
    This robot is about one-third the size of your coffee cup.
    Called Ozobot®, it can "dress up" with its own style--including red-white-and-blue glittery dreadlocks, as exhibited at 2015 International CES®.
    And it's the world's smallest programmable robot,  being used to teach basic programming skills to kids (and big kids), in all areas.
    At CES in January, Ozobot® Digital Marketing Manager Sean Degroot and Vice President of Business Development David Sassano demonstrated Ozobot®, which won multiple awards at this year's show (including the 2015 Kids At Play award and Reviewed™.com's Editors' Choice award).
    12 min
  • A Vibrant Mix
    by Dot Cannon
    Electric guitars, piano synthesizers and Argentinean folk music?
    Award-winning indie rock band Salt Petal makes them all work together.  And they throw in elements of 60s rock, blues, cumbia and Brazilian tropicalia.
    The result is an exhilarating blend that gets listeners up and dancing--or suddenly turns pensive, with haunting vocals and a soft but relentless rhythm, as they explore some of the aspects of love, fear and struggling towards a dream.
    Autumn Harrison and Rodrigo Gonzalez are co-founders of Salt Petal, which has played venues from SXSW to the Make Music Pasadena Festival, and which recently won first place in  World Music Network's "Batttle of the Bands" competition for their song, "Por La Luna".
    Autumn and Rodrigo talked about their backgrounds, their experiences with Salt Petal, and most of all, their music.
    31 min
  • Creativity in 3-D
    by Dot Cannon
    Think 3-D printing is a new technology?
    What Keith Ozar, of 3D Systems, has to say, might surprise you.
    From the exhibit floor of 2015 International CES®, Keith talked about today's most creative uses of 3-D printing--and some exciting innovations happening in the near future (think: later this year!).
    8 min

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Would you like to know more about the art of twenty-first century "cool stuff" that's changing our world? Such as: robots, space exploration, new media, wearable technology and other innovations that…