Deductible Junkets
If You're Headed to Los Angeles for the Conferences
What hasn't already been said about this urban sprawl of pink bungalows, clotted freeways, and rented Porsches? The City of Angels is a myth unto itself - its aura emanating from hundreds of smoggy square miles and a myriad of walled cities, spewing the promise of stardom or being "discovered" in a crowd, unctuous under its veneer of tans and surgically altered bodies.
However, buried beneath the rolling hills of rhinestones is a trove of weirdness that thrives and breathes beyond the pale. The city is flecked with many good movie theaters, such as The Bruin on Le Conte Avenue. If you're stuck in line, amble across the street to Stan's Donuts. For a journey back in time, have a seat in The Silent Movie Theater on Fairfax in Hollywood - the only theater we know of that shows Keaton, Chaplin, and Laurel and Hardy with live piano accompaniment. For movies at home, bring your plastic to Mondo Video a Go-Go on North Vermont. Here, you can rent everything from drooling-late-night-TV-preacher programs to super-low-budget schlock horror films. Next, travel a few blocks to Dresden's, a local bar that was a jumpin' steak house about 25 years ago. Complementing the divey decor of plastic plants and faux boulders, you'll find an endless parade of lounge lizards - both on stage and off. Truly a Twin Peaks experience.
To cleanse yourself of the surreal ooze, travel back to Fairfax and squeeze into Olive. Not as hip as it was in recent years, this is still a comfortably cool place to drink, eat, and stargaze. Try the mondo pu pu platter for a taste of the wacky, and don't miss their killer martinis! Continuing into the dark and smoky, make a reservation at Dominick's on Beverly Boulevard. Sit among small tables of people who look like they're probably famous, enjoy steaks or glacial martinis, and don't forget to bring spare quarters for the juke box , which boasts an impressive selection of old jazz and blues 45s.
If all the public posing of the restaurant/bar scene gets tiresome, bring your eyeglasses and thirsty ears to Compact Disc-Count on West Pico. Thumb through rows and rows of discs, and read the spines of everything from recent releases to cheesy oldies. Great bargain bins, too! If you're more interested in the interactive, here in the city of rock stars, wander into McCabe's, a guitar shop with neat rows of metal folding chairs and a tiny stage, sometimes graced by such performers as John Doe, PJ Harvey, and Pere Ubu.
For an outdoor break and maybe even a beautiful sunset behind the smog, motor out to Zuma Beach or Malibu - before the mudslide season. But as you're admiring all those dudes and babes, remember these words of warning...body by Nautilus, brain by Mattel. - Kristin Spence
Hugs and air kisses to Mark Frauenfelder and Carla Sinclair; righteous thank-yous to Dave Yasuda (a.k.a. Jimmy the Java Crazed Chimp). You rule!
TED5
Monterey, California
(February 24-27)
The fifth of the TED series - a convergence of technology, entertainment, and design - will focus on learning and communication. Speakers include Bill Atkinson, chair of General Magic; Jay Chiat of Chiat Day; Nicholas Negroponte; Trip Hawkins of 3DO; Herbie Hancock; and Oliver Stone, to name a few. (John Sculley and Chairman Bill will also be there.) As in past years, Richard Saul Wurman emcees. Expect to see only the biggest and brightest at this get-together, as admission is US$1,450 a pop. Continuing the "thinking conference" agenda, TED will focus on cutting-edge projects that will guide our future. Call: +1 (401) 848 2299, fax +1 (401) 848 2599, e-mail wurman1@applelink.apple.com.
Technology and Persons with Disabilities
Los Angeles, California
(March 16-19)
More than 300 speakers and upwards of 100 exhibitors will converge on the Los Angeles Airport Hilton for this ninth annual event. This year, Lawrence Scadden, director of programs for persons with disabilities at the National Science Foundation, will deliver the keynote address on "The Electronic Highway." The conference will also spotlight virtual reality, as it has on past occasion. "Preconference day" fee: US$150. General session fee: US$235 (includes reception coinciding with the opening of the exhibit hall the eve of March 17). Contact Dr. Harry J. Murphy at the Center on Disabilities: +1 (818) 885 2578, fax +1 (818) 885 4929, e-mail hmurphy@vax.csun.edu.
Computers, Freedom & Privacy (CFP'94)
Chicago, Illinois
(March 23-26)
CFP'94 boasts a roster of sponsors (such as the EFF and ACLU) that would impress any activist. In its fourth year, CFP'94 will continue to focus on personal privacy and corporate security in the context of our information society. This year, the scientists, scholars, and hackers will hole up to examine the benefits and burdens of communications technologies, looking pointedly at minimizing their scarier implications. US$145-$420. Contact George Trubeau: +1 (312) 987 1445.
Sumeria
San Francisco, California
(March 30-April 1)
Sumeria, or more specifically "The International QuickTime & Multimedia Conference and International Film Festival," will bring together all multimedia technologies and products available for the desktop. Registration fee includes technology tutorials, how-to sessions, product sessions, and an international film festival - open to the public Friday, April 1. Over 100 multimedia products will be exhibited and sold on the floor. US$249. Call: +1 (415) 904 0808, fax +1 (415) 904 0888, e-mail sumeria@applelink. apple.com.
New Media Expo
Los Angeles, California
(April 12-14)
April will mark the maiden voyage of this event, sponsored by the same folks who bring you Comdex. The crowd will consist of business and technical executives, interactive information providers, distributors, and professional users. On the floor will be a kaleidoscope of hardware platforms, communications gear, consumer electronics, and infotainment software. US$75-$495. The Interface Group, Public Relations Department: +1 (617) 449 6600, fax +1 (617) 444 4806.
Toward a Scientific Basis for Consciousness
Tucson, Arizona
(April 12-17)
Invited to this interdisciplinary event are representatives from fields such as psychology, computer science, physics, neuroscience, and philosophy. The conference is sponsored by the departments of psychology and anesthesiology at the University of Arizona, and will feature a host of speakers, covering issues of quantum coherence, dendritic microprocessing, pharmacology, and Jungian synchronicity and consciousness. Truly a highbrow affair for higher brows. Contact Jim Laukes: +1 (602) 624 8632, fax +1 (602) 621 3269, e-mail jlaukes@ccit.arizona.edu.
