TED Community » Ellen Stiefler

More About Me

I'm passionate about

plein air art, turned wood bowls, Kubota kimonos, integrative medicine, nature, mountain climbing, family, friends, dogs, music

Talk to me about

transmedia storytelling, Integrative Medicine, summiting Kilimanjaro in a 30 yr blinding blizzard

People don't know that I'm good at

violin (Juiliard-trained)

Comments

• TEDCred score: +245.10 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

• A comment on Talk: Omar Ahmad: Political change with pen and paper

  May 5 2010: Omar, this is great practical advice, funny and inspirational too.
  I'm sending your talk to all my children as something they won't learn in school, but should be taught.
  Thanks so much for sharing.
• +5

  A comment on Talk: Philip K. Howard: Four ways to fix a broken legal system

  Mar 26 2010: I can relate to what Philip is describing from an insider's perspective. I'm a lawyer by training.
  Before you shoot me, let me tell you that I was raised by two lawyers who were like Atticus Finch - lovely, decent, kind - which helps me maintain my optimism for what is possible in the profession of law.
  Still, it's sad that there's no greater professional compliment I hear than "you're such a non-lawyer lawyer."
  As it happens (and it happens too often), this morning I'm revising a contract from one of the "lawyer lawyers" that would leave you feeling as if you'd better count your fingers after shaking the other guy's hand.
  That says a lot about how law can be misused, and about what has to be changed.
  Fortunately, we know the client on the other side of the transaction and he is a good guy. We recognize that it's his lawyer who has taken his good intention and almost killed the deal with this weapon of a contract. We will work it through and after we’ll send him this TEDTalk.
• +3

  A comment on Talk: Eric Lewis plays chaos and harmony

  Mar 26 2010: Here are videos of a Post-TED concert Eric gave at my house. I want to share them for you to enjoy too.
  http://bit.ly/dhd7Df - "Heartbeat"
  http://bit.ly/9Q98EX - "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
  http://bit.ly/a4Z1Hl - "Mr. Brightside"
  http://bit.ly/9XtxvL - "Georgia"
  http://bit.ly/94qj7T - Breaking Bejamin, "Diary of Jane"
  http://bit.ly/bgLCzA - what he ended with after everyone went home, pt 1
  http://bit.ly/dB8UIC - what he ended with after everyone went home, pt 2
• +3

  A comment on Talk: Eric Lewis rocks the jazz world

  Mar 26 2010: Here are videos of a Post-TED concert Eric gave at my house. I want to share them for you to enjoy too.
  http://bit.ly/dhd7Df - "Heartbeat"
  http://bit.ly/9Q98EX - "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
  http://bit.ly/a4Z1Hl - "Mr. Brightside"
  http://bit.ly/9XtxvL - "Georgia"
  http://bit.ly/94qj7T - Breaking Bejamin, "Diary of Jane"
  http://bit.ly/bgLCzA - what he ended with after everyone went home, pt 1
  http://bit.ly/dB8UIC - what he ended with after everyone went home, pt 2
• +4

  A comment on Talk: Robert Gupta: Music is medicine, music is sanity

  Mar 26 2010: Robert "played real good for free" at the Westin music jam late one night at TED too.
  Here are links to his two performances there: http://bit.ly/94Bj7v and http://bit.ly/d8py3V
  Enjoy!
• +7

  A comment on Talk: Temple Grandin: The world needs all kinds of minds

  Feb 24 2010: Temple Grandin's TEDTalk illustrates the point (as did Aimee Mullin's) that "disabilities" are just differences. There are advantages to being able to think in pictures (or being able to wear prosthetics to make your legs long or strong). Vive la difference!
• +3

  A comment on Talk: Tod Machover and Dan Ellsey play new music

  Jun 17 2009: Tod's talk at '08 TED, with the talented and joyful Dan Elsey, still stands on the short list of most inspirational and moving TEDTalks of all time in my humble opinion. I did have to wait in a line behind people like Al Gore and Robin Williams to thank them after their performance, so my guess is that I'm in good company thinking so. Don't miss this Excellent talk!

• A comment on Talk: Aimee Mullins: Changing my legs - and my mindset

  Jan 29 2009: Aimee's true "disability" is when people treat her or label her as a disabled person. She competes at every level as a non-disabled person. The greatest disservice to Aimee, or anyone with her courage and self-confidence, would be to label or marginalize them based on our perceptions of their having a disability.
  Think about how it is with children growing up. Every one of us has relative abilities and disabilities if we stop to compare ourselves. But we all do better if we believe in ourselves and that develops if others believe in us.
  With children, this starts with parents and others who care for them believing in the child's abilities. If the caretakers label a child as being "disabled" and starts treating him as having a disability, he will more than likely never exceed this diminished expectation.
  In Aimee's case, I'm guessing her parents told her that she could do anything she wanted to accomplish. If every child, with all degrees of ability and disability, had that same kind of support, wouldn't it be wonderful!
  There are days - like after I climbed Mt Kilimanjaro, or after I climbed Mt Whitney up and down all in one very long day - that my "abled" legs were worked-over and I wished for another set of legs to change into. The issue isn't how strong or weak or injured or unique our legs are....it's what we do with them - and that goes for all our gifts!