November-December projects and ideas
leila johnston
Collaboration appeals
I have it in my head that I'd like to put on an event or series of events called The Event about catastrophic apocalypses. Let me know if you'd like to be kept in the loop about this or be involved in some way. I want it to be in January, and am quite keen for it not to be shit. Sponsorship would be a dream, even if it's just enough to bus one of my speakers down from Hull (ATR fans remember Ralph Harrington?), and another up from Brighton... Or maybe it's not a live show, maybe it's a radio experiment. What do you think?
The Recent Past
The last month has been eventful, literally! The Mr Mobbles mobile event was good fun. I spoke about magicians and hackers, and how the interesting thing about both is that understanding is just... out... of... reach. The slides are up.
Using Twilio, hacksmith Tom and I added a hotline to Extreme Acts of Kindness. It's the cost of a London call, and you get to talk to a robot. Give it a go: 0203 475 2785. Co-writer Tim and I wrote some new ones for Remembrance Day but in the end decided it wasn't worth upsetting the elderly enough to put them up. Still, if you're interested in seeing them, drop me a line. We'll be doing something special for Christmas, too, since Christians are famously impossible to offend.
Last week I did an interview about EAOK for the radio choice of the internationally moneyed, Monocle, which was fun. The DJ was really good and introduced both me and the site very well, but his questions were a bit crazy, I was totally unprepared! "Have you become less kind since you started doing the site?" Went OK though, I think. I told him I think I've always been pretty unkind and that these ideas, they come from a dark place.
True me-completists might like to know the company I work for has been treated to a massive six-page spread in the new issue of Computer Arts magazine. Actually, the reason it's particularly cool is that my colleague Duncan and I have been pushing for officiation for an experimental in-house 'labs', and this gets a mention. They also came to our studio with a camera crew a few weeks ago and have made a magnificent short film about the company, which isn't up yet but which I'll share, I guess, in the next newsletter.
At the weekend, I spoke at James Ward's counter-conference, Boring 2011. It was good, but you can read my thoughts more comprehensively on my blog if you're sufficiently interested/bored. I spoke about a rabbit hole I fell down a couple of years ago: finding all the filming locations in the 2002 film About A Boy (slides). Boring has garnered a good amount of attention from the national and international press, the majority of which includes a fleeting mention of my About a Boy talk, leading with a photo of Hugh Grant. This is all very new to me... I feel responsible for something, and I'm not sure it's good.
Coming up
I've just remembered I've promised to write something about time travel for the skilled imaginator James Hogwood. He's printing a newspaper on the subject in December, and I thought I'd do something about real time travellers. I mean, what's better than that? Google John Titor. One day I'd like to go to the MIT's Time Travel Convention, in 2005.
On December 2nd I'm in Oxford speaking at an event called Oxwords, then on December 7th it's the third installment of the interdisciplinary storytelling conference I co-organise with Sara from work, storywarp. The theme is "other people's stories" and the panel is <strong>.
On January 24th I'm speaking at Helen Arney's Domestic Science new material night, not sure what about yet. Possibly The Boredom of Space, which seems to be the place where all my talks are converging. Not real space, obviously, I don't know anything about that! Science fiction. It'll be taking place at the Green Man in Riding House Street
I'm sure I've forgotten things. There's more on finalbullet.com. Thanks for tuning in – see you next month!