Ben Saunders

Chris Jordan – 'Intolerable Beauty: Portraits of American Mass Consumption'.

— Filed under Aside

The Abyss

I was on the verge of writing a post on how busy/stressed/tired/ill I am when I remembered John Ridgway's wise words about the dangers of 'gazing into the abyss of self-pity'.

So, instead, here's a funny picture. I'll write something sensible tomorrow.

— Filed under Inspiration

Whitepod, James Bond and Paninis

The good news: I spoke at an event for the Discovery Channel last night, but it was about as far removed from the usual hotel conference centre as you can get – the venue was the breathtaking Whitepod 'eco camp' in the Swiss Alps (see wobbly cameraphone shot). It was a very intimate event, with a fantastic mix of (mostly Scandinavian) guests and by the time I did my bit in the evening, it felt like I was addressing a bunch of friends. I was booked on an early flight from Geneva back home this morning and I was treated to a high-speed dawn skidoo ride to meet a waiting taxi further down the valley. (Cue James Bond fantasies of ducking bullets, skydiving off cliffs and yanking open Union Jack parachutes…)

The bad news: I didn't actually get to sleep in one of the Whitepods – they were all full and I crashed out on some sofa cushions, on the floor of the chalet next door. I have a stinking cold, I've nearly lost my voice, the flight home was delayed for ages and when we did get airborne, it was full of screaming kids and the soggy bacon and egg 'panini' we were served gave me flashbacks from our journey through Siberia last spring. The Bond fantasy didn't last long.

— Filed under Speaking

Incredible snowflake photography.

— Filed under Aside

Notes from California

I've just got back from speaking at TED in Monterey, California, and what an event it was. I don't think I've ever met such an incredible community of people under the same roof, and I can't imagine that there's anything quite the same anywhere else on the planet. The awesome Pop!Tech came close, but the two are very different; Pop!Tech had a cosy, welcoming, laid-back atmosphere whereas at TED I felt a little intimidated by the whole affair when I first turned up.

The sheer level of intellect, achievement and, well, money that was hovering around was almost overwhelming. The founders of Google, eBay and Amazon.com were there. The co-discoverer of DNA was there. The head of General Motors was there. The creator of The Simpsons was there. U2's Bono spoke to the audience (via a very snazzy near-holographic satellite link) for nearly an hour. David Blaine was playing card tricks on guests. And I had to get up and speak to all 1,000 'TEDsters' on Thursday afternoon.

After my 20-minute talk, however, everything changed – like the survivor of a rite of passage, I was sucked right into the heart of TED. My mind is still spinning, but I'm going to try and pick out a few of the highlights for me over the next few days.

The first has to be the contrast between the stunning (and often shocking) photography of Ed Burtynsky and the phenomenal vision, optimism and energy of the designer Ross Lovegrove and the architect William McDonough. Sustainability is a bit of a buzzword right now, but the work these visionaries are doing utterly reaffirmed my faith in the human race. Moving stuff indeed, and I now have a few exciting ideas to do with this year's expedition bubbling away. I'll write more soon.

Elsewhere, I've just noticed that those fine fellows over at StyleGala.com have included my site in their 'worth a visit' section – wahey!

Last but not least, there are some TED2005 photos on Flickr. There's one of me in there somewhere…

— Filed under Speaking