Banani Dey Music Festival: Introduction

In the spirit of the Renaissance ideas we have discussed on the blog throughout this year, we will do something new for the next few weeks … a music festival. We’ve never done this before, but I am delighted to introduce you to an artist whose mastery of two major genres of Bengali music – Nazrulgeeti and Rabindrasangeet is significant. Yes, Banani Dey is a relatively unknown artist, an undiscovered talent. She lives in Calcutta, and is not a full-time musician. She is a PhD in Chemistry, and a good example of the kind of left-brain and right brain thinking that spurs Renaissance thinking.

I hope you enjoy this series. And if you like the music, please share with your friends.

Menlo Park Renaissance (Part 4)

If we can bring together the Silicon Valley–style entrepreneurship, with taste, style, culture, food, wine, and art in a well-thought-through city center, Menlo Park can indeed become that eclectic creative cauldron so rare and elusive. Housing this creativity should be a series of great public spaces, terraces, patios, plazas and boulevards.

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A Night With William Carter

On Wednesday evening, I will be at a very special book reading at Kepler’s book store in Menlo Park.

Menlo Park Renaissance (Part 3)

Parts of Silicon Valley are extremely beautiful. My favorite is Woodside. However, other parts of Silicon Valley are plain vanilla. San Jose, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, San Carlos, and Redwood City – these towns have no style and not much to offer in terms of aesthetics. Silicon Valley has never really paid attention to style or aesthetics. The culture here emphasizes understated. It is an asset, this emphasis on substance over showing off. However, style and aesthetics – a moral commitment to beauty – are not synonymous with showing off.

Thus, our third positioning point is to build here the culture and style capital of Silicon Valley.

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Menlo Park Renaissance (Part 2)

Perhaps of all the American states, California, because of its wine country, has placed the most emphasis on cultivating a food and wine culture. Among our natural advantages, we count great local produce and local wine. In fact, Napa Valley has become one of the country’s greatest tourist destinations. >>>

Menlo Park Renaissance (Part 1)

When I first wrote the piece Silicon Valley: The Next Decade, I did not think that an opportunity to implement the ideas expressed in it would come so soon. Even as I wrote the follow-on piece, The Next European Renaissance, I had not yet started the subsequent discussions with the Menlo Park City Council. However, in just a few weeks, I find myself in a rather interesting place. The city of Menlo Park is in the midst of designing and planning a revival of its downtown and city center to prepare for the changes that are bound to come with the housing of the Facebook headquarters here. They are taking a serious interest in the kind of ideas I wrote about. >>>

Steve Jobs: The Renaissance Man Who Changed Our World

All over the world, all across the Web, tributes to Steve Jobs are flowing in. The man who has created a future no one else envisioned is stepping down from the helm of Apple. It’s a sad, sombre moment. A moment of concern for his health. A moment of reflection for most of us in the industry.

I haven’t written much on the topic yet, but I have had some private conversations with my husband Dominique Trempont, who worked closely with Steve for five years running NeXT.

In this post, I will offer you an edited collection of some of what I have read this morning, along with some commentary.

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Silicon Valley Renaissance with The Menlo Park City Council