All Things T

Hi, I'm actress and writer Taryn O'Neill. But my blog posts have probably nothing to do with either. I like to tackle big ideas, am an inspiration and science junkie, all while trying to curtail an online shopping addiction. Join me as I chronicle my adventures in Hollywood and storytelling in our ever changing digital world. For all acting related materials, head to www.tarynoneill.com. To follow my daily life, head to twitter: @tarynoneill. And if you want to get punched in the face, www.operationBABE.tumblr.com. xo T

[allthingstaryn]

 "The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity."

Albert Einstein

[allthingstaryn]

"We are rare and precious because we are alive, because we can think. We are privileged to influence and perhaps control our future... We live in a vast and awesome universe in which, daily, suns are made and worlds destroyed, where humanity clings to an obscure clod of rock..."

Phenomenal post on Carl Sagan's contribution to the LIFE book 'The Meaning of Life'...  from Brain Pickings 

[allthingstaryn]

From one of my favorite curation sites of beauty fashion and culture, a video that finds a unique way to reveal our culture of consumerism...

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“I see myself forever and ever as the ridiculous man, the lonely soul, the wanderer, the restless frustrated artist, the man in love with love, always in search of the absolute, always seeking the unattainable”  ― Henry Miller

[theimpossiblecool]

“If you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for a moment.” 

Georgia O’Keffee.

photo by Alfred Steigletz

[allthingstaryn]

So magical!! Wish there was a place like this for us creatives in LA. (lovely music @dexterbritain)

[allthingstaryn]

Spectacular new 'Shots of Awe' vid from @jasonsilva about the need for more spaces that encourage awe -- with a big shout out to @andersen. (And here is the link to @andersen's beautiful essay on Hubble.)

[natgeofound]

Porters transport a car on long poles across a stream in Nepal, January 1950. Photograph by Volkmar K. Wenztel, National Geographic

[allthingstaryn]

      "In times of pain, when the future is too terrifying to contemplate and the past too painful to remember, I have learned to pay attention to right now. The precise moment I was in was always the only safe place for me. Each moment, taken alone, was always bearable. In the exact now, we are all, always, all right... I am breathing in and out. Realizing this, I began to notice that each moment was not without its beauty."

Julia Cameron, THE ARTISTS WAY.

[allthingstaryn]

I just finished the first chapter of Ramez Naam's new book (released in April) THE INFINITE RESOURCE: The Power of Ideas on a Finite Planet and I've already highlighted almost half of what he's written -- it's that poignant, relevant, thought provoking, etc etc. I can't wait to dig in more. I believe his ideas are important, and if you follow me because of my tweets and blogs, I think you'll agree. (And in case you haven't read NEXUS -- read that too --scifi futurist action thriller).  

t 

[allthingstaryn]

Wow, I love blogging, but holy hell I need to find a way to consolidate them all! I have Op BABE (where many of my recent Asia trip pics and posts are), my website, here and now Ms. In the Biz! As I am a weekly blogger for them, all my new blogs are living over there. So if you want to read about being a brainy badass please subscribe to them and join in the community. It's fantastic. Hope to see you there!

t

[allthingstaryn]

As I work on my new T & Her Brain posts (which will ultimately live on a new Women in Entertainment blogging site initially), I want to link to an amazing photo exhibit taking place this weekend at Paramount Studios: Paris Photo. Photography is an obsession of mine and I can't wait to be inspired by all the work. Great to see more cultural events hitting our fair city!

[allthingstaryn]

T & Her Brain #6

Elon Musk made me write this post. 

Well no, not really... but I was watching his keynote Q&A with Chris Anderson live streaming from SXSW and there was an opportunity to tweet in questions to him, which I didn't out of shyness, which I now regret. What would I have asked Elon? This: What are his thoughts on Artificial Intelligence and Kurzweil's Singularity, and its impact either positive or negative on his future attempts at reaching Mars? (And what are yours?) Elon resides amongst both the intellectual and financial elite thus I'm sure he has given at least some thought to the 'rise of the robots' and machine super intelligence. Thus my phantom question became a nagging tap on my back… to write a new T & Her Brain post, starting with an article that illuminated a new set of parameters from which to think about synthetic intelligence… and from there our own consciousness and humanity. 

And down the rabbit hole we go!

1. Humanity's Deep Future: OMENS" by Ross Anderson for AEON Magazine 2.25.13

      "Human cognition is only one species of intelligence, with built in impulses like empathy that color the way we see the world and limit what we are willing to do to accomplish out goals…" 

I haven't loved an article to this extent in a long time and I am thrilled to have found this writer. Ross Anderson takes us from the image of the first dinosaur fossil, to a futurist Think Tank at Oxford, to an imagined super computer locked in an Alaskan mountain, to the outer reaches of space. And along the way, inspires us to think, BIG. The centerpiece of his piece is his interview with Nick Bostrom, a philosopher who runs Oxford's Future of Humanity Institute. This is a man whose job it is to predict potential scenarios for the end of humanity. Fun yet bleak right? Bostrom runs through a trove of historical data (usually of the geological sort) to pull indicators from our past that could help spell out our future, and all the information is fascinating. But where this article gets into virgin territory, for me at least, is the shaky uncertainty with which he views Artificial Intelligence. As a curious, well read, scifi loving person (much like you I'm sure), I can joke about the dangers of Skynet, but I am usually of the Kurzweilian mindset that Artificial Intelligence will only play a positive role in our future; Bostrom argues that, if it achieves true sentience, it probably will not. Vast, mind bending senarios are laid out, and then the article 'takes off' into space and explores Fermi's Paradox and the idea of a 'great filter'…I could (and might) write a 'long reads' post myself on this article, but for now, just click on the link and treat your brain, even if it will be momentarily terrified. 

2. Nexus by Ramez Naam

The OMENS article above, in its cautionary take on AI, indirectly brings up the topic of futurist technology restrictions. Should there be limitations on technological advancements if it could hypothetically challenge the superiority of the human race?  Should cognitive augmentation and enhancement be outlawed? (But aren't we already cyborgs?) These questions are presented in a fast and furiously entertaining scifi (though I'd call it science future) read by first time author and former Microsoft engineer Ramez Naam. Naam has fictionalized a nano-drug that allows human minds to be connected, both to each other and to the web… and it is deemed a threat to Mankind by many countries. A young scientist who secretly has optimized Nexus is captured and used by the US government to run a dangerous mission (along with a super soldieresque female agent) abroad to infiltrate one of the most powerful and dangerous 'minds' of China. The book is action packed, often bloody, but there are some incredible, ethereal sections where Naam steps back and shines a glowing orb on the beauty of evolved consciousness. The passages where people 'connect' through Nexus and or mediate through it are stunningly rendered on the page… both evocative and heart wrenching. I cannot wait to see how Raam's writing evolves. I strongly encourage you to buy this book. 

3. "Successful Brain To Brain Interface In Rats": Duke University Medicine News

As the universe often does, I finished Nexus the day that the results were published on this 'telepathic' rat interface. what was even more serendipitous was reading Ramez Naam's 'Extras' section where he credited his initial interest in brain computer interface technology to Miguel Nicolelis, the very Duke University scientist who is responsible for the the brain rat interface above. Crazy coincidence right?! Not to mention that I went to Duke :) This article is a fascinating read, but should also be considered from a humane angle as well: When I tweeted this article and relayed my excitement, a follower chastised me for supporting animal cruelty and cc'd PETA on the tweet. To what lengths will we go in the lab to better the human body, mind and experience?

4. "The Mirroring Mind": VIDEO by Jason Silva (in collaboration with CITIZEN)

Which brings me to the video portion of this week's rabbit hole: Jason Silva's new video on consciousness. Jason is one of my very favorite 'big thinkers', a hyper active, passionate cognitive video mirror to the existential jumblings of my own mind. He articulates that which I can only understand in the abstract. If you'll remember, my last post was a number of articles and videos on the evolution of consciousness so this video was incredibly timely. His new piece tackles his interpretation of the ideas behind 'Godelian Loops (aka Strange Loops)' as written about in the '79 book Godel, Escher, Bach…  how these loops of self enforcing pattern observation have shaped sentience and how the more self aware one becomes the more in touch with the greater whole one can be. It's just RAD. (Plus his use of this book alone blew my mind as I JUST bought it as research for a script I am about to start, and only because of a very random discussion I had with a crew member on the show I am acting in -- talk about the Collective Consciousness at work!) With Jason's videos, you just have to watch it… then watch it again. You feel it as much as you see it. 

5. BuddhistGeeks.com

And at our final point down the rabbit hole, at least for today, because of the themes of the brain and collective consciousness brought forth by these articles, I thought I'd link to this Buddhist Geeks website. I haven't had time to explore it much, but due to both my current research and my new acting teacher (who takes us through lovely (and challenging) meditations), I've become more and more intrigued by the Buddhist beliefs... and it's a pretty cool idea to merge technology and Buddhism.I stumbled across this site from an article in Fast Company I think (by the way, you must read the current edition of the top 50 Innovative Companies!). If you've listened to the Buddhist Geeks podcasts or been to their conference let me know!

Hope you enjoyed this week's T & Her Brain -- share it if you like it. I have a treasure trove of new articles and videos bookmarked that I can't wait to discuss with you. And make sure to follow these authors on twitter - they're all fantastic and I'm excited to now be crossing digital paths with them.  And thanks for your continue support in all that I do and aspire to. 

Taryn

[allthingstaryn]

T & Her Brain #5

Greetings fellow journeymen. It's Saturday and I'm at one of my favorite places, in front of my computer. I'm knee deep in a spec pilot script and research for a feature script that I'm about to start outlining, but luckily my research has taken me to many a wondrous site where I have stumbled upon a post or a video that has inspired me, jump started a new idea, or simply filled me with joy. As my life is all about 'story', whether writing it or acting in it, I've picked four articles and videos that I've found this week to touch upon the general theme of THE CREATIVE NARRATIVE… who are we as storytellers in this year 2013, how did we get here, and why is a shared narrative important. With it being Oscar weekend, it is an especially relevant topic. I hope you enjoy. 

  1.  TED Salon: The Shared Wonder of Film by Beeban Kidron.

It was a tweet to a post to another post that lead me to this amazing TED Salon Talk filmed in London. I've watch fit three times already. Beeban Kidron is a director known for the 2nd BRIDGET JONES movie but also co-founded FILMCLUB, a now very popular film program for school children in the UK.  The genesis of this program was the topic of this video: what is the narrative that we are imparting to our youth? Why are we not using great films to educate and inspire them when parables and stories have been the unifying element of community throughout history? ("we honor reading, why not honor watching"). She argues (with the most sublime of words) that championing the films where story, not sensation, is king, can influence and help this fragmented generation of children… and she has the proof from her program. What this video really did, for me at least, was articulate my deep seeded belief that filmmaking is Important (and yes I mean with a capital I). A great film has the power to rewire your brain, challenge your beliefs, enrich your soul and tie us to our fellow man through a shared experience, both relating to the characters on screen and as an audience member watching it.  Every element of this video made me proud to be involved in storytelling and reminded me of those seminal moments when I fell in love with film. 

2.  The Art of Screenwriting: An Interview with Billy Wilder. The Paris Review, Spring, 1996.

I could get lost for days in the archives of The Paris Review. In pursuing work as a writer but never having had 'formal training' (thus a fiery passion to self educate), I consume as much content about writing and writers as my brain will allow. Billy Wilder is an American cinematic icon but I confess to not knowing his background and work as well as I might. His insights as a writer within the studio system, and his frank discussion on the occasions that lead him to directing are fascinating. And I absolutely loved his thoughts on actors and was inspired by his anecdotes of Jack Lemmon; someone who was both naturally gifted and who worked hard… Someone who was a lot like Billy Wilder.  

3. VIDEO: 'Our Brain in the Cloud' by Ray Kurzweil. BigThink.com

I consider myself an amateur futurist. I am constantly living in the future, at least my imagination is. And for us futurists, Ray Kurzweil is our bold leader. This video articulated my passion for our ability to better ourselves through the information and connections available to us on the web (I've discussed this topic before). Mr. Kurzweil takes this a step further and points to the power of our collective brain in the cloud. He points to our smart device not as a handheld phone and internet, but as a gateway. Once that connectivity is fused into our body and access to this cloud of information is immediate, what growth will we see creatively? For many people, it is a scary thought, but for me, I marvel at what a connected future could bring. (Click above for video - wouldn't embed).

4. 'The Evolution of Creativity' by Heather Pringle. Scientific American, March 2013.

Which leads us to a fascinating article which just came out on the evolution of the creative mind. Current research has now pushed back the date of 'creative' Homo Sapiens to around 75000 BC (meaning they constructed weapons, tools and even insect repellant bedding) This date is nearly 35000 years earlier than had been previously reported, where research pointed to the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic period 40000 years ago when there was an apparent 'creative 'big bang' due to an evolutionary mutation. But new digs have suggested otherwise.  This article dives into the use of symbols and language, the size of our ancestors brains and how the increased size of the H.S. brain and the development of the pre frontal cortex allowed for free association. Once our ancestors didn't have to worry so much about survival and staying in an analytical state, they were more free to reside in this nebula of creative ideas called the associative state. A point of research that blew my mind, and tied back to the video above, was how the larger the hunter gather group was, the greater the chance that one member would dream up an idea to advance their technology. Talk about relevance to our explosion of new ideas and technology today, where our hunter/ gather group is the entire connected world. 

5. Last but not least, I wanted to give a shoutout to Phil Plait for his new science and technology webseries TWIST, a great recap of the week's scitech news. And if you haven't already heard, the new Google Glass is up for beta testing to some lucky people who Tweet or Google+ why they should get this game changing tech (with a $1500 price tag) . The future is here, just jump on board. 

Have an inspired weekend and feel free to tweet me questions or thoughts at @tarynoneill! 

xo T

[explore-blog]

There may be more that unites artists and scientists than divides them. Practitioners of both search for answers – Truth with a capital T, even – hoping to invent or discover or craft something that shakes up old thinking and makes a lasting impact on the world. They both employ analytic and synthetic approaches, take risks, and engage in sophisticated thinking in uncharted territories. There are a lot of happy accidents. Both art and science can be filled with passion and frustration, setbacks and breakthroughs. But, most importantly, the work is never meant to exist in a vacuum: whether it’s receiving a vaccine or being moved by a painting, it is the audience that completes the picture.

This quote pretty much sums up my life:

Beautiful essay on science and storytelling by artist Rachel Sussman, who for the past eight years has been photographing the oldest living organisms in the world.

Complement with Sussman’s moving photoessay about visiting early polar explorer Ernest Shackleton’s grave. 

(via explore-blog)

[allthingstaryn]

"We have to start acting as one species, with one destiny..."

I am so overdue to a T & Her Brain post, but in the meantime, I strongly urge you to watch this awe inspiring and thought provoking video on our seeing our planet 'from above' and the perspective it gives to our life and future:

OVERVIEW (by Planetary Collective)

[allthingstaryn]

T AND HER BRAIN #4

Okay, it’s a Saturday, and who ever posts on a weekend, but for the few of you online, here are some articles and a video that I found especially inspiring and/or thought provoking this week, partially due to the election results (yay!). Here is some brain food to infuse your weekend with goodness!

1. BRAIN POWER: From Neurons to Networks. By Tiffany Shlain (with accompanying book published by TED)

The above video is from Tiffany Shlain, filmmaker and co-founder of the Webby Awards. It’s a phenomenally insightful, simply laid out and emotionally impactful short film about the parallels between a child’s brain and the internet, both in its hyper growth infancy. I found the message of being mindful in what you expose your brain to online especially poignant. It also compounded my belief in how hands on one should needs to be as a parent in shaping the growth of a child, as well as the severe long term effects of childhood stress (yes, stress is a real health issue for everyone, but especially to a child where their neural networks are forming).

2. THE SCIENCE OF COMPASSION: By James R. Doty.

Along the line of mindfulness, I stumbled upon the site for the Center of Compassion and Altruism Research at Stanford University. Just the fact that this center even exists is phenomenal and you should explore it, but the specific article I found was also posted on Huff Po. It was written by one of Stanford’s Neuroscience Professors who works with the Center, James R Doty. It brings to light the counter intuitive problem that US society (and I’m sure many others) is facing in that we have all of our basic needs met (and then some), are hyper connected, yet we face an epidemic of loneliness. I know all too well how our online personas encourage us to always be ‘fantastic’, when the truth is far from. Dr. Doty’s remedy is a meaningful one. A short, mindful read.

3. Barack Obama and the Death of Normal: By David Simon.

Speaking of meaningful, I was overwhelmed with gratefulness that President Obama was re-elected. And I was even more moved by the various marriage equality measures passed. Now, let me just stand on a soap box for a moment and say that I don’t think all of Obama’s economic policies are puppies and rainbows. I live in the very expensive to live in state of California and it’s now going to get even more expensive. I hope that people heed the words of his victory speech and realize they have to be part of the active solution. But I strongly supported the President because he supports and respects our changing social landscape. As I wrote in last week’s post, everything changes, we have to stop holding on to the past. I believe David Simon’s post linked above captures my thoughts and views of our ever changing country. Also make sure to read the comments and explore those views that vehemently disagree.

4. ELON MUSK’S MISSION TO MARS: By Chris Anderson, WIRED Nov. 2012

If you follow me on twitter, it should be of no surprise that I am including this article. I have stated many times how inspired I am by the work that Elon has done with Space X and Tesla, and now with Solar City. This article, written by the venerable, now former editor of Wired, Chris Anderson (and founder of TED), explores Elon’s early inspirations for his now revolutionary work in space and how his entrepreneurial smarts helped him along the way. A must read.

5. SUPER EARTH DISCOVERED: By Irene Klotz, DiscoveryNews.com

Speaking of space, and in case you missed it, the HARPS team (Europe’s High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher) has released data that indicates a ‘super earth’ has been discovered 42 light years away. The data suggests that the planet resides in the ‘habitable zone’, meaning that water could exist in its liquid form on the planet, a precursor to hosting life. Read more about this awesome discovery above.

Have a great weekend!

t