New App Aims to Simplify Urban Mobility in Los Angeles

I recently learned about a new mobile phone app introduced by the City of Los Angeles and powered by Xerox. While there are many trip planning apps on the market, this one stands out because it enables users to seamlessly mix and match personal / public transportation options, including walking, biking, bus and rail transit, […]

Kinetic Art LA – Convergence of Art and Technology

I’ve long been a fan of kinetic art, which as the name implies is art that incorporates movement. I was therefore very excited to learn about a new exhibition set to open at Arena 1 this weekend. The show is entitled Kinetic Show LA and it’s curated by art duo Wendy Marvel and Mark Arnon Rosen […]

L.A. Noire: The Game

I don’t spend much time playing video games, but when I first heard about L.A. Noire, a new title from Rockstar Games, my interest was piqued. Scheduled for release tomorrow in the US (20 May 2011 in Europe), L.A. Noire appears poised to set a new standard for realism, plot generated gaming and the use of a historically accurate setting.

JPL’s 2011 Open House

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In early January I took a tour of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and wrote about my experience. At the end of that post, I encouraged others to visit the Lab because the tour provides an excellent overview of a fascinating facility that plays a central role in our space program as the leading US center for the robotic exploration of our solar system. Now you have a great opportunity to delve even deeper into the Lab’s work by attending its annual Open House, which takes place in just a few days.

Nick Didkovsky’s electric guitar mashup

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If you’re into electric guitar and fascinated by the intersection of music and technology, there is a lot to love about this upcoming event. Tomorrow evening, Machine Project hosts Nick Didkovsky at their Echo Park gallery and performance space. Didkovsky is a New York based composer, guitarist, bandleader and principal author of the computer music language Java Music Specification Language who teaches computer music composition at NYU and Columbia. He’s also well known for his Black Sabbath guitar lessons on YouTube.

Los Angeles Public Library Virtual Resources – History at your Fingertips

The Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) is an incredible resource for anyone interested in southern California history. Like most people, however, I don’t have the time to visit the library in person whenever I want or need to research a particular topic or find that amazing historic photo of some person, place or event.
To help address this problem, the library has made a concerted effort to make its vast collections more readily available to the public through an ambitious digitalization project. It has also put portions of select library exhibitions online for those who were unable to see them when originally on display.

ProjectFresh Presents: A Discussion on Government 2.0

Whether at the federal, state or local level of government, policy makers are struggling to address myriad challenges, including soaring deficits, global warming, terrorism, skyrocketing health care costs and poor performing schools, just to name a few. At the same time, new and emerging technologies, such as social media, mobile technologies, web and cloud computing hold out the promise for government to become an open platform that enables individuals to engage more fully in political debate and decision-making, leading to innovative solutions that can evolve over time through continual dialogue and coordination of collective action.