September-October projects and ideas

[leila johnston]

Hi everyone,

Late one this month, I expect you were really worried. Let's keep it short.

The big news is that I've just bought a house. It's in Sheffield. The whole process was suspiciously easy and quick. It's a 1900 stone terrace with a good garden so I'll be filling it up with animals. I'm moving in properly next week and I'm desperate to show it off, so you're all invited round for tea. I'm thinking of doing a boring tumblr and circulating photos of small quirky details every few weeks, in the way people circulate their boring photos of kids. "Look at that adorable bit of pointing!"

WRITING 

A few weeks ago, my writing buddy Tim and I started something called "Elspeth and Lottie's Printer Letters", in which two Victorian ladies exchange news of their friends from long-running 20th Century TV shows, using their arduino-powered thermal printers. It's probably easiest to look at the webpage.  http://finalbullet.com/printerletters.html – we've sent quite a few SAEs out already. Join the club!

We've also had some interest in our mythological hacker interspecies romcom musical Minotaur! The Moosical. It feels like it has a bright future: http://minotaurthemusical.com/

EDITING

I was asked to edit a one-off newspaper about Happenstance for our final FINAL FINAL (really this time) debrief event, which happened last week at NESTA and was good fun. Caper are the masters of the universe and if they're not on the WIRED 100 I'll want to know why. There's a PDF of it here, isn't it: http://t.co/m3gXRv0E

I'm still the editor of The Literary Platform – a website showcasing new digital storytelling stuff. Send me your pitches, don't be shy.

SPEAKING

It was the Brighton Digital Festival in September (feels like just yesterday doesn't it?) I was invited to talk at the Improving Reality event at the Dome Theatre, hosted and organised by Honor and Miriam at Lighthouse. It was thoroughly enjoyable. I talked about the Millennium, and how we should be focussing on the present rather than talking about how we live "in the future". See the text from my talk, and the slides. I was on a panel afterwards with Anab Jain, Joanne McNeil and Warren Ellis. Here's a nice pic: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lighthouse_arts/7979215287/ 

Then I spoke at the equally-excellent-in-a-different-way Brighton Maker Faire. I love maker faires. I did Making Things Fast. Then I went to a part-ay and ran into a load of Shift Run Stop fans.

Speaking of which, Roo and i have been doing some recordings. Stand by for updates, but there might be something in your ears as "soon" as the end of October...

TECHNOLOGISING

I *think* I've invented the world's first BBC Basic instagram simulator. I'll probably talk about the code and stuff on Shift Run Stop.

>>>>OCTOBER

I'm trying to cut back on all this "work" nonsense, I really am. I've just agreed to do a version of Making Things Fast at Matthew De Abaitua's "Monday Club" in some trendy part of London where they're all wearing yellow swimming goggles on their heads or whatever, on October 29th. You may recall I was supposed to do Ada Lovelace Day Live. Sadly they messed up the scheduling, and given the time constraints now, it's probably for the best. You should go though, some of my very favourite women are speaking.

Let's talk about Hack Circus, Pennycon, and UK Comedy Hackday next year, maybe... The house is going to be my thing for a while now. Come round! Everyone likes hearing someone go on about their house all the time.

Till next month,

Leila

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finalbullet.com