‘By the way—I am an actor!’

The story of my week; how I managed to clear customs in Rome with Michael Madsen as his spouse and shared Gezi protest memories.

Arrived in Fumicino airport in Rome, the new terminal, majesticly large, but yet exactly three passport control officers. I am prepared for this everytime I come here, so quietly attended the very well organized que. Until when around 300 Russian speaking people swarmed around me, bypassed the entire que and lined up in a mass hysterical manner in front the by now invisible control points. I tried to hang in there for some ten minutes till I thought I was about to faint from lack of oxygen, smell of sweat and children bumping to my laptop bag. Then I decided to skip the whole thing and go back to find a chair alone and started stressing about how to make it the press meetings and rehearsal for my speech I need to deliver at the opening of Maker Faire tomorrow.

A very tall man came and sat close to me. We were the only two people who refused to stand up in the line or even take the chance, and as I was huffing and puffing and making frantic phone calls, he was doing the same. After a while we started chatting on solutions. We tried various options, appropriate and inappropriate which all proved to be not working. By this time stranger was looking all very familiar, he was wearing very peculiar snakeskin boots, many rings and certainly was fresh out of Los Angeles Melrose Avenue. I gathered he is some sort of actor that I have seen in my previous life but just could not gather who it was.

I was chatting with half of the Alitalia officers by then at the airport anyway to find a way out. We plotted on how we get assistance.. If he just could not walk… I said they wont buy it. He said ‘I am an actor’. He said just tell them you are my wife and I will say my knee popped out. I asked him his name, he said Michael Madsen. Then it all came to me… He was the man in my favourite ever movie Reservoir Dogs. He was the guy at Kill Bill. So there I went for some half hour, running around, convinced Alitalia that my husband who was coming from LA via London popped his knee out and could not walk and we needed assistance badly; and by the way he was a very famous American actor who came in for George Clooney wedding (not sure where that came from).

The New York Times / Intel and Opening Ceremony Collaborate on MICA, a Stylish Tech Bracelet

Tech, Meet Fashion

Intel and Opening Ceremony Collaborate on MICA, a Stylish Tech Bracelet

By NICK BILTONSEPT. 3, 2014

It’s time we stopped calling the current crop of gadgets “wearable tech.” Instead, I propose we start giving them a more appropriate name: “ugly tech.” Because let’s be realistic, most wearables today are really, really ugly.

Take the Pebble, a smart watch with a black-and-white screen, which first had its debut on Kickstarter in 2012. While geeks love the watch for its ability to show text messages and emails, the device itself looks like a small Kindle strapped to your wrist. Smartwatches made by LG, Samsung and Sony aren’t much better, with cheesy faux leather or rubber straps, and thick masculine watch faces that look as if they’re supposed to be paired with a pocket protector.

The Neptune Pine watch is so large, with its 2.4-inch screen, that at first glance it appears to be a joke product meant to poke fun at other gadgets. (Alas, it’s very real.)

But this genre of ugly could be on the precipice of change. On Tuesday, Apple, the venerable leader of cool, is expected to unveil a wearable iWatch that will, given the company’s track record, likely be the opposite of ugly.

The less-glamorous Pebble shows text messages and emails. CreditNatalia V. Osipova/The New York Times

While we don’t have much of an idea what the coveted iWatch will look like, I was able to glean one small detail from people at Apple who work on the company’s wearables.

I spoke at the TxT/The Details

I spoke in New York at the  Tech and Taste makers event on September 3 at New York Swiss Institute. I spoke on future of wearables and what internet of things will mean for consumers. It was organized by Details magazine, and brought a number of fashion, style, technology professionals from various industries.

I spoke at the re:MAKE

I got together with maker women in San Francisco on September 12 at Fort Mason Center. It was a very lively bunch and incredibly creative too! I spoke about the future of wearables as well as internet of things; and how these technologies will create an opportunity for individuals to be entrepreuners.

I also showed MICA! MICA is a bracelet which has is a jewellery piece with cutting-edge technology. And introduced Edison, our new platform to make all things smart!

Brit + Co is an online media and e-commerce platform that provides tools to teach, inspire, and enable creativity among women and girls. From traditional crafts to high-tech manufacturing, we connect millions of users with makers, designers, chefs, and inventors, together building a community of creativity.

You can find more on Brit here: http://www.brit.co/about/

Here is the Brit.co story on MICA from a few days ago as well: http://www.brit.co/opening-ceremony-intel-wearables/

Intel ve Opening Ceremony’den kadınlara hem şık hem akıllı bileklik: MICA

Intel ve Amerika’nın önde gelen moda evi Opening Ceremony, New York’ta gerçekleşen Fashion Week kapsamında düzenledigimiz Opening Ceremony İlkbahar/Yaz 2015 Defilesi’nde beklenen akıllı bileklik MICA’yı gün yüzüne çıkardi: “Benim Akıllı İletişim Aksesuarım”

Intel ve Opening Ceremony, New York’ta düzenlenen  Opening Ceremony İlkbahar/Yaz 2015 Defilesi’nde birlikte geliştirdigimiz akıllı bilekliği ilk kez sergiledik. Adını “My Intelligent Communication Accesory (Benim Akıllı İletişim Aksesuarım)” ifadesinin baş harflerinden alan MICA, Opening Ceremony tarafından tasarlandı ve Intel tarafından üretildi. Gelişmiş iletişim yeteneklerinin yanı sıra eşsiz tasarımıyla kadınsı bir aksesuar olan MICA, üretim sürecinin başından sonuna kadar bir moda tasarım markası ve küresel bir teknoloji şirketinin ortak çalışması sonucunda ortaya çıktı.

Nolita/soho digs, New York City.

Places to eat: The General’s Jazz room Asian food. The Mercer Hotel bistro appetizers. Phebe’s IPAs. Chobani, prince street,  breakfast a la Turk! DBGB’s (old punkrock establishment CBGB’s replaced via giant city block and a restaurant), burgers, on Bowery. New York classic pizza at Lombardi’s. Isola café/bar at the Mondrian, spritz. No time left: Cuban at Habana café, and Nolita Taco café. Places to stay: The Standard, east village, on cooper square. Coolest: Bond street. Elizabeth street park. The New Museum.