NAME: LAYLI SAMIMI-MOORE
TITLE: PHOTOGRAPHER / CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION SPECIALIST / JEWELRY DESIGNER & BLOGGER EXTRAORDINAIRE
BLOG: www.samimi-extremie.blogspot.com
PHOTOGRAPHY: www.samimi-extremie-photography.tumblr.com

Today at LA’s Downtown Independent, a very diverse, engaged group of individuals gathered to enjoy a TEDx event sponsored by Goldstar. Goldstar’s CEO Jim McCarthy’s introduction was extremely welcoming & inviting. McCarthy says,  “TED is all about getting good ideas out in the world…always looking for how we can improve and make the world a better place. In the true spirit of a TED event, its really important to reach out to the people sitting next to you, to engage in a dialogue about what you are listening to today. You have an opportunity to reach out and connect with others. We are all as important and have as much to share as those that are giving the actual TED talks”.  What a good point. And that is exactly what we’ve been doing all day - reaching out and connecting with one another.

I think we all felt extremely lucky to be attending today’s event; our TEDxGoldstar group was one of the 70 TEDx groups around the world - from switzerland to sudan. Don’t we feel lucky?!?

At the beginning of the live TED event in Long Beach, the TED host starts out by saying, “Who are we? Its perplexed humanity for as long as humanity has thought”. This is the basis for TED - to ask these important questions - to ALWAYS be asking the deeper questions.

Through this TEDxGoldstar event, the mystery of life, the big questions explained and topics and questions that you may have never considered before are brought to reality.

Lunch was filled with great dialogue, unique connections were made and thoughts & ideas were shared.

It is hard to share & summarize with you, a detailed version of what each of the AMAZING TED speakers shared today (there were 19 in total! [so great!]), instead, I will share with you what I call today’s TEDxGoldstar’s “Take Away Quotes”:

»>BILL FORD:
“a GREEN traffic jam is still a traffic jam” - Bill Ford talking about our quality of life being severely compromised
“the biggest consumers of fuel are from people driving around trying to find parking in urban areas”
“i believe we’re at our best when we’re confronted by big issues”

»> JULIE TAYMOR - DIRECTOR & DESIGNER:
“you must be true to what you believe as an artist all the way through. but you also have to be aware that the audience is out there and will see your work. “

»ANTONIO DAMASIO - NEUROSCIENTIST:
“a self - we are not passive exhibitors - we own our minds, we have a sense that every one of us is experiencing this. a conscious mind is a mind with a self in it.”

»>FELISA WOLFE - SIMON - GEOBIOCHEMIST:
“are we alone? and how did we get here? we dont know the answers to those questions. thinking deeply about what we do and dont know, life as we’ve never seen before might be right here in front of us.”

»>AARON O’CONNELL - PHYSICIST:
“you hear a lot of talk about quantum mechanics being about Interconnectedness. its actually deeper, your connections to all those things around you, literally define who you are.”

»>MAYA BEISER - CELLIST:
“i become the medium through which the music is chanelled. at the end the music is transformed, and so am i.”

»>MORGAN SPURLOCK - FILMMAKER:
“don’t be afraid of opportunites that might scare you. embrace fear. embrace risk. and ultimately you have to embrace transparency. a little honesty goes a long way.”

»» INDRA NOOYI / CEO PEPSI CO. :
“you can’t have performance with out purpose. consumers like brands that have a soul, have purpose. every generation strives to leave a better place for the next generation - they want to refresh the world.”

»» GREAT FACT: sao paulo banned advertising for the last 5 years - no billboards or advertisements WHATSOEVER.
»» ONE OF THE MOST MOVING PARTS FOR ME TODAY: seeing the TEDx participants in Khartoum, all waving, so excited.
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Up next: renowned street artist JR [who’s work I LOVE], among other greats!
Thank you TEDxGoldstar for the opportunity to gather a great group of dynamic individuals to share our thoughts, our fears, our hopes and dreams.  Also, for the unique opportunity to be able to participate in such a truly educational simulcast experience with TED 2011 in Long Beach!