Etc. TED Talks.

I first got introduced to TED by my friend Joel, who sent me a video of a brain scientist talking about her stroke, and how she lived through the experience knowing every single thing that was happening in her brain at that moment. In her words, "In the course of four hours, I watched my brain completely deteriorate in its ability to process all information." (And yep, that's her holding a real brain up there.) The talk was simple, personal and mind-blowingly (pun not intended) enlightening; the kind of lecture you wish you could get every day in school (but probably didn't/don't).

But now you've got TED. The non-profit began as a conference to bring together those in Technology, Entertainment and Design, and over the course of 25 years has featured speakers such as Bill Clinton, Jane Goodall, Richard Branson, Stephen Hawking, Steve Jobs, Moshe Safdie and John Hodgman, just to name drop to a few. Basically anybody who's done innovative work in those fields above has spoken for TED at their annual, nearly impossibly-to-get-into conferences--one of which is going on right now in Long Beach, and welcoming the likes of James Cameron, Andrew Bird, Valerie Plame Wilson and Bill Gates.

But don't feel left out. TED's motto is "Ideas worth spreading," and they stand by it by posting up intellectual and awe-inspiring videos every week. I've yet to be able to peruse all 500 currently on the site, but some of my favorites are J.J. Abrams, Dave Eggers and Malcolm Gladwell. Spend some time on the site, and you're sure to find something that touches you.

Time to get inspired, BEATs!

-- Chau Tu