I was lucky enough to be ‘matched’ as a mentor to dynamo of ideas Eny Bawse by the Resolve Foundation on their 2022 fellowship, Wellbeing Re-imagined, and our friendship has only strengthened since then. Yup, Eny is now officially my mentor!

Eny’s TEDx talk for Tin Hau Women in 2023 has been posted on TED’s official YouTube channel – and I couldn’t be prouder of her! Get inspired by her powerhouse performance on why we should all be championing wellbeing for our foreign domestic helpers! She is planning to give her second TEDx talk at HKU later this year – GO ENY!!!

Thank you to the curators of TEDxLPCUWC Youth for inviting me to speak at their TEDx event at Li Po Chun United World College yesterday! The best thing about doing a TEDx is meeting and listening to the other speakers interpret the same theme in their own unique way. The theme for this one was A Fractal of Perspectives, which meant the first thing I had to do was google ‘fractal’ and the second thing I had to do was google ‘how to use fractal in a sentence’. (The speech kind of wrote itself from there.)

I’m so grateful to have had this experience that was inspiring, uplifting and often hilarious! Congratulations to the student organisers and volunteers who did such an incredible job, coping with technical difficulties, and thanks to the amazing audience! This included my pal Philippe who had travelled all the way from DB to remind me “Just remember to stand in the big red box!” Unfortunately, I have never managed to stay in the box my entire life – and this experience proved no exception.

Most of all, thanks to Joanna Jayalakshman Mohan for coming to the WiPS launch of Imprint 22 at the HK Lit Fest, which kickstarted my TEDx interlude, and for bringing it to a fitting conclusion with the following conversation:

Me: Hey, we should meet up for a drink some time!

Her: Sure, that would be great as soon as I turn 18!

Me: 😮

(If you want people to guess you’re underage, here’s a tip: don’t use words like ‘fractal’! 😂 I had just assumed they were young-looking PhD students…)

So, that’s how my first TEDx ended. Not with champagne but with the creeping realisation I had been caught corrupting a minor. 🤣🤣🤣

https://www.ted.com/tedx/events/56987

A deadly podcast about Death by Anxious Showman Mat Ricardo is poignantly paired with American actor Dan Davies presenting the weather forecast… in Wisconsin. It may be Spring, but Winter is Coming…

Death & The Frozen Tundra broadcasted live on RTHK Radio 3‘s 123 Show May 14! Download the podcast via the links below! On next week’s Mental Ideas Podcast, I’m joined in the studio (not just on Skype!) by Virtual Reality Dance-maker Eugenia Kim, who’ll be explaining to me how her bipolar disorder has fuelled her creativity. Virtually Eugenia broadcasts next Thursday (May 21) @ 2.30 HKT on RTHK Radio 3!

Meanwhile, Mat and Dan will be back on Mental Ideas in a couple of weeks time talking about internet trolls in Trolls Anonymous. Don’t miss it!!!

Death and The Frozen Tundra on RTHK Radio 3

Links!

Dan Davies on IMDb

Dan Interview – USA Today

Mat Ricardo’s website

Mat Ricardo TEDx Talk

https://mentalideas.org

Hmmmmmmmm, slightly regret referring to this week’s episode of Mental Ideas as my “award-losing podcast” in the official RTHK blurb. In fairness, it hasn’t been entered for any awards, so even describing it as “award-losing” is a delusion of grandeur. 🤣 🤣 🤣