MaxFunCon

Scroll to May 7th-9th for the tentative schedule for MaxFunCon 2010!

Labels: Education 2010, Entertainment 2010

Rian Johnson is the writer and director of two films, "Brick" and "The Brothers Bloom," the former of which won a Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision at the Sundance Film Festival. He also directed an album-length music video for the most recent release by The Mountain Goats.

Labels: Education 2010

Jad Abumrad, co-host and producer of WNYC's Radiolab, will be offering a talk at MaxFunCon.

About Jad:
The son of a scientist and a doctor, Jad Abumrad did most of his growing up in Tennessee, before studying creative writing and music composition at Oberlin College in Ohio. Following graduation, Abumrad wrote music for films, and reported and produced documentaries for a variety of local and national public radio programs, including On the Media, PRI's Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen, Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and WNYC's "24 Hours at the Edge of Ground Zero". The Ring & I, an insightful, funny, and lyrical look at the enduring power of Wagner's Ring Cycle which he produced and hosted, aired nationally and internationally and earned ten awards, including the prestigious 2005 National Headliner Grand Award in Radio.

Labels: Education 2010

Neal Pollack is a yoga instructor and the author of numerous books, including The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature and Alternadad. His newest book, to be published in the fall of 2010, is "Stretch: The Unlikely Making of a Yoga Dude." He'll be leading yoga classes at Lake Arrowhead - he describes his teaching style as "yoga for comedy nerds."

Here's some information from the publisher about his book:

Years after achieving literary stardom as the author of The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature, Neal Pollack has fallen into a rut. He’s overweight, the hair on his head is thinning, and the hair on his face is pretentious—all of which a New York Times critic points out while panning his second book, Never Mind the Pollacks. That review, combined with the complete failure of his attempt to become the frontman for a rock band, leaves Pollack lying facedown in a puddle of his own tears, pounding the mattress and sobbing into his pillow. His wife intervenes by saying: “You should do yoga with me.” “Yoga,” he writes, “didn’t occur to me, ever. Why would it have? EA Sports had never put out a yoga video game.”

Yet Pollack is desperate enough to try anything—even if it means trying to stand on his head in the exercise room of the Lance Armstrong 24-Hour Fitness in Austin, Texas. As he struggles to master the “alligator pose” and keep from kicking other people in the face, Pollack begins to feel better. Soon, he’s working his way through the chakra system and coming closer and closer, he mistakenly believes, to dharma megha samadhi, “a state of enlightened bliss where the ego separates from the self and the practitioner realizes that he's powerless to control the vagaries of an endlessly shifting universe.”

Pollack moves his family to Los Angeles and soon finds himself immersed in its “weird and circuslike” yoga scene. He takes part in a 24-Hour Yogathon, volunteers at his neighborhood yoga studio, attends a “yoga Olympics” in an airport hotel ballroom, becomes a reporter for Yoga Journal magazine, gets invited to yoga conferences and yoga rock shows, travels to Thailand for a two-week yoga retreat, and starts teaching yoga himself. Though Pollack mercilessly lampoons America’s seemingly omnipresent yoga culture, he also undergoes a profound personal transformation. His dedicated yoga practice, he writes, “has done more for my physical and mental well-being than anything else I've tried.”

Labels: Education 2010

Put This On is proud to present Will Boehlke at MaxFunCon. Will is one of the nation's foremost experts on men's dress, and the author of the men's style blog A Suitable Wardrobe. Will will lead a multimedia educational session on dressing for gentlemen (or the gentleman in your life).

Labels: Education 2010

Elephant Larry is a five-man sketch group based in NYC that has been performing to sold-out audiences, winning comedy awards, and gaining critical acclaim for the past six years. Their brand of humor focuses on fast-paced, high-concept writing, with refreshingly energetic performances. They'll be leading a seminar and performing during our Friday night sketch showcase.

They are: Geoff Haggerty, Stefan Lawrence, Chris Principe, Jeff Solomon, and Alexander Zalben.

Their sketches have been seen online millions of times and have been featured on YouTube, CollegeHumor, MySpace, Heavy, Jib Jab, iFilm, Funny or Die, iTunes, Daily Motion, Crackle, and many more.

Labels: Education 2010, Entertainment 2010

Labels: Education 2010, Entertainment 2010

Jenny Ryan is returning for her second MaxFunCon, leading our craft classes. Jenny is a writer, crafter, and event thrower based in Silver Lake, CA. She is a contributing writer and blogger for CRAFT magazine and is the author of a new how-to book called SewDarnCute: 30 Sweet & Simple Projects to Sew & Embellish (St. Martin's). Her handmade accessories and housewares have been featured in BUST, Knit.1 and Crochet Today magazines. She has appeared on two episodes of the DIY Network's needlecrafts show "Uncommon Threads" as well as on KNBC's "Your LA" morning show. Jenny also moonlights as the organizer of LA's popular indie craft fair Felt Club, and is the co-owner of Home Ec, a hands-on crafting workshop in the Silverlake area of Los Angeles.

Labels: Education 2010

Ted Haigh, better known as Dr. Cocktail, is one of the world's foremost experts on the history, lore and preparation of mixed drinks. Dr. Cocktail will be preparing libations for our welcome reception and Saturday night celebration. He'll also be offering a seminar on "10 Things You Didn't Know About Cocktails."

When Mr. Haigh slips the surly bonds of the workaday world, he transforms into Dr. Cocktail, a sort of super hero whose secret powers include Dewey Decimal System mastery, old bookstore/antique shop/flea market/yard sale/auction/liquor store/bar search prowess, bookworm magnifying glass wielding, and a muscular liver. He (meaning I) first revealed this heroic persona as the cocktails & spirits maven for America Online and later as co-proprietor of CocktailDB.com, The Internet Cocktail Database, a comprehensive online encyclopedia of mixed drink recipes, reference work, barware, and ingredients; catalogued, defined, and depicted. He is also the author of the book "Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails."

In 2004, he was profiled by MaxFunCon speaker John Hodgman for the New York Times Magazine. Said profile is available here.

Labels: Education 2010

Cooking instructor Julia Crookston will bring her unique verve to a second year of cooking instruction at MaxFunCon.

Julia Crookston began her culinary career in the Bay Area working with Joyce Goldstein at Chez Panisse Cafe in Berkeley , and at the Washington Square Bar and Grill , Stars Restaurant , and Little City Anti Pasti Bar in San Francisco. Chef Crookston was Executive Dining Room Chef for Sony Pictures , Chef/Manager of Pharmacia , and Executive Chef for Woodbury University. Most recently , she worked as Executive Chef and General Manger of Bon Appetit Management Company at California Institute of the Arts in Valencia , CA. She also taught at the California School of Culinary Arts. She is a member of the American Culinary Federation.

Labels: Education 2010