June-July projects and ideas

[leila johnston]

Hello! 

It's that time again. Hope you're enjoying the weather, there's a lot of it around today. I'm in London for meetings tomorrow and will be at a loose end for various bits of the day – it would be nice to catch up with anyone London-based if you are similarly lonely. 

Here's the recent and the forthcoming:

What have you missed?

Sadly, Happenstance has just finished. It was a *brilliant* experience for me. I left my full-time job, and moved to Sheffield for this 3-month interdisciplinary experiment that no one knew very much about other than it would involve digital world people and art galleries. But it's paid off in loads of ways. I've talked and blogged about it quite a lot, for example The Internet of People and We make things so we can make more things. 

I'm still spending most of my time in Sheffield and no, I'm not moving back "to London" not just because, of course – haha – I actually live in a village in Hertfordshire near St Albans, but because Sheffield and I get on really well. A lot of London people seem intrigued, but it's the easiest move I've ever done. I grew up in the north, my family are there. I'm going home. Never say never to anything, though. I'm just trying to tread lightly and see what happens. I don't make plans about these things. Everything will be OK.

James and I spoke at TEDx Sheffield about our Happenstance experiments. I don't think there are videos up yet, but trust me, it was ace. We met so many fantastic people. As with all the best nights, I ended up in a stranger's house with a war artist, a ziner and a rollergirl listening to a woman singing a song about being a lesbian, and getting an impromptu pole dancing lesson. 

Oh and we had our final public Open House event at the Site Gallery. James and I were interviewed about innovation and stuff, by James Boardwell, our impressive mentor – the founder of Folksy – for several hours, in front of a friendly, patient audience.

On the 8th, I took our favourite Go Free Range thermal internet printer, Heathcliff, to Sheffield Dorkbot. He was admired by lots of nerds. Yes, everyone admires Heathcliff, he is so expressive and unpredictable, but they don't have to live with him.

I went to the launch of this new Science Museum exhibition celebrating the centenary of Alan Turing. I was invited by author/Turing campaigner/Babbage rebuilder John Graham-Cumming, who tweeted this eBay/escort style review of me afterwards. There were lots of other interesting people there, including some of the former Shift Run Stop guests you'd expect, plus actual spies and everything. Turing's work helped the Bletchley Park code breakers to shorten the war by years, and the canapes were certainly cryptic.

...and what's coming up?

Well done for getting this far. My calendar is looking misleadingly blank for the rest of the summer.

I'm heading to the Dublin Maker Faire with my old Made by Many Labs co-scientist Duncan on July 14th. We're developing a, uh, "puppet experience" with some assorted robot madness and a bit of A.I and circussy stuff. Who knows what will happen. I mean really, what were we thinking? The whole thing is completely demented. It will be really good fun.

I'm wrangling some stuff for Wired, as ever – and I think I have some other more well-paid freelance writing work in the bag for a bit.

Sarah and I have just been gently reminded that we've promised to bring something to the British Science Festival in Aberdeen, this September. We're probably going to be hosting something a bit Protect and Survive-ish at their "End Of The World Party".

Roo and I met up in London this week and recorded some stuff. Making an episode of Shift Run Stop is a far more delicate art than you'd ever think, listening to it. With luck and rigorous editing, we'll have something decent out in the next couple of weeks. 

I've been thinking about something else – something a bit more ambitious involving entertainment and tech, with the emphasis on entertainment. I feel very protective of it, because I think there's something really good in there, but the protectiveness is starting to get in the way of me just getting on with it. I should take my own advice and get it out there as soon as possible, particularly while I'm feeling so excited about it. But I already know it's going to be difficult, and I vaguely remember finding NEVER AGAIN written on my bathroom mirror in blood after The Event. I've made books and magazines and games and conferences, but I've never made This. So I will do it. I'll need some help from some of you. I might roll #pennycon in, but then again, maybe #pennycon stands alone, a tossed coin that lands on its end, stubbornly failing to give up either heads or tails. What we need is a little earthquake.

Lx

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