Boing Boing » events

Mat Ricardo's London Varieties returns May 30

Cory Doctorow — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:54:22 +0000

London impressario Mat Ricardo writes in with news of the next London Varieties show:

We had a ball last month at London's Leicester Square Theatre with a show that featured the very silly JOHANN LIPPOVITZ, very naughty EASTEND CABARET, very incredible LISA LOTTIE and the very legendary PAUL DANIELS - plus I risk my life! And you can watch it all right here, for free! The next show happens on May 30th, and it's going to be a doozy. We've got the astonishing hip-hop improvisor ABANDOMAN, One of the UK's hottest stars of magic PIFF THE MAGIC DRAGON, ORIGINAL STREET DANCE, and veteran variety performer MICHAEL PEARSE, and I'll be debuting one of the most complicated juggling routines I've ever attempted!
There are only three more shows in this limited season, and they're all one time only line-ups. You can book tickets at http://leicestersquaretheatre.ticketsolve.com/shows/873489348/events And find out more about the next show here. You can find out some of the surprises we have in store for upcoming shows, by following me on twitter @MatRicardo.

Read a moving account of surviving (and dying on) Mount St. Helens

Maggie Koerth-Baker — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:52:14 +0000

At National Geographic, you can read Rowe Findley's 1981 account of surviving the Mount St. Helens eruption — and his deeply moving profiles of many of the people who did not. Includes this seminal quote from 83-year-old Harry R. Truman, who Findley describes as raising "the adjectival use of profanity to a new high": "It's a part of me, and I'm part of that ______ mountain," said Truman. "If I got out of here, I wouldn't live a _____ day, not a ______ day."

ORGCon 2013 - the UK's only digital rights conference, this year with John Perry Barlow and Tim Wu!

Cory Doctorow — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:43:30 +0000

Jim from the Open Rights Group writes in with the announcement for this year's ORGCon, a brilliant UK digital rights event:

Legends of digital rights, Tim Wu and John Perry Barlow, will be leading Open Rights Group's 3rd national conference on June 8th. Join us for ORGCon2013 at the Institute of Engineering and Technology, Savoy Place, London for the UK's biggest digital freedoms event. ORGCon has always been a sell-out event so grab your tickets now before they all go!
This year topics covered include:
Snoopers' Charter: What's the situation now?
Jim Killock and the author's of the Digital Surveillance report on what the Government are planning next after the defeat of the Comms Data Bill.
Lessons from creative citizens: How to win at the Internet
Sci-fi author Diane Duane (Star Trek, Young Wizards), Simon Indelicate (The Indelicates) and bassist Steve Lawson will be talking about the creative ways they have developed successful artistic careers in the digital age.
What exactly is ORG anyway? Who we are and what we do
ORG staff, volunteers, Advisory Council and Board will be sharing their role in ORG and explaining what our work is all about.
Who wins when copyright and free speech clash?
Internet law expert Graham Smith (author of the mighty tome Internet Law and Regulation) and Article 19's legal officer, Gabrielle Guillemin, will be tackling this challenging question and looking at some of the conflicting principles.
How to wiretap the Cloud (without anybody noticing)
Caspar Bowden, privacy expert, will be giving explaining the serious threat to European citizens' rights from the American law, FISAA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Amendments Act).
The right to be offensive: Free speech online in the UK
Policy Head of Facebook UK, Richard Allan and free speech law expert and Jack of Kent blogger, David Allen Green will be sharing their expertise on the danger from increasing use of Section127, and debate where the UK Government stands on free speech online.
and many many more!

(Disclosure: I'm proud to have co-founded the Open Rights Group, and to volunteer on its advisory committee)

3D printing for kids, this weekend in Toronto!

Cory Doctorow — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:36:09 +0000

Back in January, I blogged my visit to Toronto's MakerKids, a wonderful makerspace for kids. Now, MakerKids is running a 3D printing weekend for kids at Toronto's Harbourfront centre. Andy from Makerkids writes, "This weekend, at the 11th annual Toronto International Circus Festival (from May 16th-18th at the Harbourfront Centre), MakerKids will be helping kids to do 3D printing of circus creatures! At our station at this free event, kids will design fantastical animals and characters they'd like to see in a circus using the 123D Creature app. The crowd's favourites will be 3D printed for their designers to bring home!"

MakerKids 3D Printing at Harbourfront this Weekend (Thanks, Andy!)

Hackers prepare for first "national holiday" in their honor

Andy Meek — Mon, 13 May 2013 14:02:38 +0000

Hackers often encounter public uncertainty at their craft’s virtue. With the forthcoming National Day of Civic Hacking, however, their celebration of creativity, collaboration and technical innovation sees its first “national holiday.”

Groups leading the June 1-2 event include Random Hacks of Kindness, Code for America and the investment firm Innovation Endeavors. They’re working with government agencies such as the U.S. Census Bureau, NASA and the U.S. Dept. of Labor to host activities which invite everyone to join the “civic hacker” community.

The weekend’s events will include block parties, meetups and hackathons, where participants will gather to prototype solutions to community-specific problems. “Challenges” will be identified, and made available to the public shortly before the event in each town, with invitations issued to so-called citizen hackers.

“We believe that government agencies must find groups of people, bring them together around an issue or problem that needs to be fixed, then step out of the way,” said Nicholas Skytland, program manager of NASA’s Open Innovation Program and one of the participants in the weekend’s events. “ ... let the collective energy of the people involved solve problems in creative and imaginative ways that we would never have done ourselves.”

At the start of the 2013 fiscal year, NASA tweaked the mission of its open government group to sharpen interest in “open innovation”. For the event, the space agency will offer a challenge and, potentially, an open data set to support it. NASA representatives also will attend the event to help developers as they develop their solutions.

That some of the participants are still wrestling with how much prominence to give the term “hacking” underscores why the event is being held in the first place: to put into the collective conscience the notion of the hacker as part of a digital bucket brigade—as worthwhile, even heroic, problem solvers.

“This is about recognizing the power of a new form of civic engagement,” said Dr. Michael Brennan of SecondMuse, a PR agency helping to organize the hacking weekend.

While some of the cities already signed up to host events remain skittish, others are planning to advertise their interest with banners on the side of public spaces like a City Hall, Brennan added.

The White House itself blogged about the hacking holiday, and will be hosting its second hackathon June 1. Invitees will be tasked with improving the popular We The People petition website, with the results released under an open-source licence.

“It’s a great cause and we’re excited to take part,” wrote White House online staffer Peter Welsch in his post.

At NASA, Skytland is responsible for leading the agency’s digital strategy and open government plan, with his goals including putting more high-value data sets online, promoting the use of open source software and creating more opportunities for the public to engage with NASA. He has experience planning hackathons, envisioning space exploration missions, designing next-gen space suits, training astronauts, developing open-source software and encouraging partnerships between government, industry, academia and other organizations.

Right now, he’s especially focused on how the government – and the space agency – can benefit from mass collaboration.

“We understand that the future of technology will be largely determined by citizens who will design, build, and hack their own technology together, and (the civic hacking event) is a way for us to really tap into that intelligence,” Skytland said. “Our goal is to inspire, incentivize and equip these communities to develop tomorrow’s technology and for NASA to be a part of the conversation.”

The agency has already let anyone who’s interested get a peek under the hood to see the mountain of information on countless subjects that NASA has collected. At data.nasa.gov, NASA lists more than 500 data sets that range from engineering data, charts and specifications to earth sciences data, atmospheric and environmental data and mission operations data relating to things like flight programs and mission control.

“We are interested in solving the toughest challenges, and we definitely don’t have all the answers,” Skytland said. “By tapping into a global community of expertise, partnering with researchers, scientists, technologists, academics and entrepreneurs as well as collaborating directly with citizens and innovative organizations, we can develop solutions that we would have never come up with on our own. Solutions that may have lasting impacts on both NASA and the world.”

Participants in the National Day of Civic Hacking will be encouraged to develop software, hardware, data visualization, and mobile/web applications. Challenges for the hacking event will be released about one month prior to the event, and there will be about 50 of them.

“Selfishly, for NASA, we want to develop a map of innovation around the nation,” Skytland said. “So this is a way for us to tap into talent in a way we haven’t considered before. NASA does space exploration really well, and we collect a lot of data, but we don’t always do those things in partnership with other agencies or the public.

“The idea of engaging a broad group of diverse people focused on pushing forward the development of a solution to a challenge – why this is so exciting is I personally feel the grand challenges of our time will require the talents of us all. Imagine what we could do if we focused on collaborating to improve something like the prosperity of our community over the course of a weekend. In general, this is not the kind of thing we do as a nation. This could be a movement focused on making the world a better place.”

The full list of participating cities is at the Hack for change website.

Get yourself 3D scanned and printed out as a Stormtrooper figurine or trapped in carbonite at Disney World

Cory Doctorow — Fri, 10 May 2013 18:00:25 +0000

Starting May 17, Disney World is running a "D-Tech" event at Disney Hollywood Studios wherein you can get your head scanned and 3D printed on a Stormtrooper figurine, or trapped in carbonite:

The 10-minute experience uses the world’s highest-resolution, single-shot 3D face scanner created by our Imagineering scientists with Disney Research labs. That captured image is later sent to a high resolution 3D printer to create the figurine. The completed figurine will arrive within 7-8 weeks after the experience if shipping domestically (it takes a little longer if shipping internationally). Guests will also receive either a Carbon-Freeze Me light-up band or a collector button depending upon which option they choose. The Star Wars – D-Tech Me experience is $99.95, plus shipping and applicable sales tax.

Star Wars – D-Tech Me Experience Returns to Star Wars Weekends at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Starting May 17, 2013 (via CNet)

Dawn of the Chirpy Bugs: A collection of cicada-related news

Maggie Koerth-Baker — Thu, 09 May 2013 17:23:18 +0000

Image: Cicada, a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike (2.0) image from tinali778's photostream

So here is another line to kill space

This summer, folks on the East Coast of the US will see (and hear) an invasion of billions of cicadas in what is probably the most obvious part of the insects' 17-year life cycle. The cicadas will crawl out of the dirt, make a lot of noise, and seek out other cicadas in order to breed and create a new generation of larvae that will, 17 years from now, emerge to do the same thing all over again.

It's big news for those of us who think things like insects, evolution, and cyclical processes of nature are really, really cool.

Today, I ran across a number of Cicadasplosion-related stories and wanted to share them with you:
• First up, Carl Zimmer has a piece in the New York Times about cicadas and the evolution of seemingly strange life cycles. It includes a neat, interactive graphic showing a century of cicada blooms around the United States.
• The University of Maryland has a helpful cicada cookbook, including tips on the best times and ways to harvest the bugs. You want them young, and succulent, apparently.
• Cicadas will not hurt you, but they might land on you and there's a possibility that they may be sexually attracted to the sound of your weed-wacker.
• In 1894, The New York Times suggested pressing cicadas into a biscuit for dog food.
• If you're not a cicada fan and don't want to eat them yourself, rest assured, some of them will be eaten alive by a horrific-sounding fungus.
• Radiolab's cicada tracker is still up and running, and you can participate.
• A couple of years ago, when a different group of cicadas (on a 13-year-cycle) was hatching in North Carolina, Charles Choi spoke with chronobiologist and blogger Bora Zivkovic about why we don't yet understand cyclical systems like this.

Image: Cicada on leaf, a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike (2.0) image from frotzed's photostream

Austin "You" Grossman and Robin "Mr Penumbra" Sloan reading, San Francisco, May 11

Cory Doctorow — Sun, 05 May 2013 19:20:05 +0000

The next SF-in-SF free science fiction event looks like a seriously fabulous evening: both Austin Grossman (author of YOU) and Robin Sloan (Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore) will give a free reading and then take part in a discussion with host Terry Bisson. It's on Sat May 11, and free (though donations to Variety Children's Charity are solicited).

Masterclass in making with Bunnie Huang at the Hardware Innovation Workshop

Cory Doctorow — Sat, 04 May 2013 03:21:40 +0000

On May 14-15, Make is hosting its second annual Hardware Innovation Workshop in San Mateo, CA. There's a pretty amazing speaker lineup, but perhaps most exciting is a "Maker Pro Master Class" with Andrew "bunnie" Huang, one of the great hardware hackers of our age.

Why do governments get Internet surveillance so wrong?

Cory Doctorow — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 13:36:45 +0000

The UK Open Rights Group has just published "Why the Snoopers’ Charter is the wrong approach: A call for targeted and accountable investigatory powers," a digital paper on why and how governments go terribly wrong with Internet surveillance proposals, and what a reasonable and accountable form of surveillance would look like. Jim Killock from ORG sez,

After the Snoopers' Charter debacle, the Open Rights Group asks why intrusive new laws are being suggested, if they are needed at all and what the alternatives are. Some of the UK's most prominent surveillance experts examine the history of UK surveillance law and the challenges posed by the explosion of digital datasets. Contributors include journalist Duncan Campbell, legal expert Angela Patrick from Justice, Richard Clayton of Cambridge University Computer Labs and Peter Sommer, Visiting Professor at De Montfort University.

Digital Surveillance (Thanks, Jim!)

(Disclaimer: I am proud to have co-founded the Open Rights Group, and to volunteer on its advisory council)

San Francisco science fiction reading with Mary Robinette Kowal & Rick Klaw

Cory Doctorow — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 19:28:55 +0000

The next installment of San Francisco's SF in SF science fiction reading series features a couple of heavy hitters: Mary Robinette Kowal & Rick Klaw. It's Saturday, April 20; doors open at 6PM.

Heather Gold's "I Look like An Egg, but I Identify as a Cookie" interactive baking comedy comes to the East Bay (free tix!)

Cory Doctorow — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 16:47:58 +0000

Years and years ago, I saw Heather Gold's innovative, interactive baking comedy "I Look like An Egg, but I Identify As A Cookie" in San Francisco. It was fabulous. Now it's about to have its debut in the East Bay:

While baking chocolate chip cookies with the audience and special guests (Bakesale Betty), Gold combines heterosexuality (DRY), lesbianism (WET), and the Left (MIX). "Cookie" is a story of first kisses, rugby drama, Mrs C's secret honeycake recipe and slow dancing to Air Supply. Gold transforms the coming out story, making mincemeat of the identities that keep us from our whole selves and each other. "Cookie" is a show of sweet and simple truths.

Heather's making two pairs of tickets available, all you need to do is tweet you favorite secret ingredient with #eggcookie and she'll get in touch. Oh, and here's a great post Heather made explaining why she uses CC licenses in her performances.

I LOOK LIKE AN EGG, BUT I IDENTIFY AS A COOKIE

Minneapolis SkepTech conference, coming April 5/6

Maggie Koerth-Baker — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 19:09:03 +0000

Next week, I'll be speaking at the SkepTech Conference, a new gathering put together by University of Minnesota students. The lineup features some great folks from the science and skeptic communities, including bloggers PZ Myers and Hemant Mehta, and Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal cartoonist Zach Weinersmith. Registration is free. Come check it out!

Cory speaking in Bradford tomorrow

Cory Doctorow — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 08:35:16 +0000

Here's details of the public event I'm doing in Bradford while I'm in town for Eastercon: I'll be at the 1in12 Club, as part of an event called "Can Technology Save the City?" that runs from 12-6. I'll be there around 1430h. Hope you'll come out!

UK Open Rights Group is holding its first ever digital rights conference in the north

Cory Doctorow — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 17:07:09 +0000

Ruth from the UK Open Rights Group sez:

ORGCon North is the first regional conference to build on the success of the national sell-out event, ORGCon, which takes place in London every year. On Saturday 13th April Open Rights Group, the UK digital rights campaigning organisation, will be running ORGCon North at the Manchester Friends' Meeting House. The event is a great introduction to digital rights issues that affect every internet user - like freedom from surveillance and free speech on Twitter and Facebook. The event runs from 11am till 5pm and is hosted by ORG-Manchester, the local campaigning group.
ORGCon North gathers experts from many technology fields and civil liberties groups across the country debating some of the big issues like: Will copyright eat the internet? Do we have a right to be offensive? There will be a keynote speech from John Buckman, chair of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and founder of the independent record label Magnatune. He will be talking about upcoming challenges to digital rights, drawing on his experiences in the UK and US. Open Rights Group are also offering an 'unconference track' with room for anyone to lead sessions or pop up a debate, to build to the conference they want.
Individual tickets are priced at £11 or £6 for ORG supporters. Tickets are free if you join ORG this month.

ORGCon North 2013 (Thanks, Ruth!)

Cory's schedule for EasterCon in Bradford

Cory Doctorow — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 09:40:54 +0000

Update: here's details of the free/general admission talk I'm giving on Saturday at Bradford's 1 in 12 club.

I'm heading to Bradford tomorrow for Eight Squared Con, the 2013 Eastercon. I'm appearing on several programme items:

* Friday, 17h: Reading, Hawthorn Room

* Saturday, 12h: "On Twitter, Everyone Can Hear You Scream," Boardroom (panel)

* Saturday, 13h: Book launch for RAPTURE OF THE NERDS, Conservatory

* Saturday, 19h: "Genre Get-Together: Science Fiction," Conservatory (signing)

* Sunday, 12h: "Ready, Steady, Flash," Boardroom (live flash fiction writing)

I'm also doing something in town on Saturday (details TBD) with the 1 in 12 Library Book Club.

Launching the UK edition of Rapture of the Nerds TODAY at Forbidden Planet London

Cory Doctorow — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 05:49:42 +0000

Hey, Londoners! I'll be launching the UK edition of Rapture of the Nerds today at 1PM at Forbidden Planet. Although the book is available across the country at finer stores, this will be your only chance to stroke the marvellous 3D printed Space Marine Stross and have your picture taken with it.

Cory signing Rapture of the Nerds at Forbidden Planet London tomorrow

Cory Doctorow — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 07:55:49 +0000

Hey, Londoners! A reminder that I'll be signing the UK edition of Charlie Stross's and my novel Rapture of the Nerds, tomorrow at 1PM at Forbidden Planet. Charlie can't make it, so I have fashioned a cunning 3D printed Space Marine Stross to accompany me, which you may rub for good luck if you attend.

3D printing and law/policy conference in DC

Cory Doctorow — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 20:05:26 +0000

Michael Weinberg from Public Knowledge sez, "We are bringing the 3D printing community back to Washington, DC for 3D/DC II. This time around, we are having a public reception in the Rayburn House Office Building on April 24th to give policymakers a chance to see 3D printing in person and talk to some of the people behind the machines. If you are in DC and are interested in 3D printing, this could be your chance to check it out." Michael wrote two amazing, definitive papers on 3D printing and the law.

PDX event for "Vintage Tomorrows: A Historian And A Futurist Journey Through Steampunk Into The Future of Technology"

Cory Doctorow — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 01:14:13 +0000

Hey, Portlandians! Brian David Johnson and James H Carrott are doing a talk and signing for their new book, Vintage Tomorrows: A Historian And A Futurist Journey Through Steampunk Into The Future of Technology, a fascinating look at the historical significance of steampunk, and an exploration of what the popularity of steampunk today's means about tomorrow's technology, at the Cedar Hills Crossing Powell's on March 25 at 7PM.

Steampunk, a mashup in its own right, has gone mainstream, with music videos from the likes of Nicki Minaj; America’s Next Top Model photo shoots; and Prada’s Fall/Winter menswear collection featuring haute couture, steampunk style. Some steampunk fans revile this celebrity. But James H. Carrott, co-author of Vintage Tomorrows, says that’s just how cultural change happens. “Things get appropriated; they affect the culture in some way or another, and the people who are at the heart of trying to make that change move onto the next key idea.”
So what is steampunk, exactly, and why should we care? Carrott, a cultural historian, says “steampunk is playing with the past.” The world that steampunk envisions is a mad-inventor’s collection of 21st century-inspired contraptions, powered by steam and driven by gears. It’s a whole new past; one that has a lot to say about the futures we want to see.
In Vintage Tomorrows, Intel’s resident futurist Brian David Johnson (@IntelFuturist) joins Carrott (@CultHistorian) in a globe-spanning journey to dig beyond definitions and into the heart of this growing subculture. Through interviews with experts such as Margaret Atwood, China Miéville, William Gibson, Cory Doctorow, Bruce Sterling, and James Gleick, this book looks into steampunk’s vision of old-world craftsmen making beautiful hand-tooled gadgets, and what it means for our age of disposable technology.

Vintage Tomorrows Book Signing at Powell’s Books Cedar Hills Crossing

Cory at Forbidden Planet London with Rapture of the Nerds this Saturday!

Cory Doctorow — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 10:31:57 +0000

Hey, Londoners! A quick reminder that I'll be signing the new UK edition of Rapture of the Nerds this Saturday at Forbidden Planet on Shaftesbury Ave at 13h. Come on down and say hi!

Bay Area Anarchist Book Fair this weekend

Cory Doctorow — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 17:18:27 +0000

Hugh D'Andrade sez, "The Bay Area Anarchist Bookfair takes place this weekend in San Francisco! I'll will be one of the speakers -- I am giving a slideshow all about the series of posters I have created for the Anarchist Bookfair over the last 10 years, called 'Anarchist Bookfair Artist: How I Tried and Failed to Solve the Anarchist Image Problem' on Sunday at 1pm. Here's my Flickr set of these 10 posters, each available for high-res download on a CC Attribution-Noncommercial license! And if you like, my Etsy shop, where I have these for sale."

Bay Area Anarchist Book Fair

Game of Thrones art exhibition

Mark Frauenfelder — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:53:49 +0000

"Mother of Dragons" by Jason Edmiston

Mondo Gallery in Austin, Texas, has an exhibition of art inspired by Game of Thrones. My Modern Met has more images.

"Margaery" by Audrey Kawasaki

Science extravaganza on Reddit's "Ask Me Anything"

Maggie Koerth-Baker — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 15:48:01 +0000

Later today, you can interact with some of the best science writers around — Carl Zimmer, Ed Yong, Virginia Hughes, and Brian Switek — in an epic science edition of "Ask Me Anything". They'll be taking your questions on everything from parasites to dinosaurs, beginning at 2:00 Eastern.

Ryan Heshka's Teenage Machine Age art exhibition

Mark Frauenfelder — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:12:14 +0000

Here's a look at artist Ryan Heshka's latest exhibition, which opened in Milan on March 7.

“Teenage Machine Age”, Ryan Heshka’s second solo show at Antonio Colombo Arte Contemporanea (Milan, Italy), picks up where last year's show (”OURS”) left off.

Expanding both the size of the pieces and mediums used, Heshka continues his exploration of dreamy scenes and hazy fictional memories, mixing in vague hints of universal themes. The use and abuse of technology; humankind’s mad race to outdistance boredom; the interweaving of the designed versus natural environment; commercialism gone mad… all find their way into primary-colored paintings.

Works are expressed in a style inspired by the naïve visual language of comics, pulp magazines, trading cards, B-movie and advertising posters… past throwaway culture mirroring our own modern day throwaway culture. The overall impression is that of a technologically advanced world living a reckless teenage dream, blanketed under soothing colors and smooth textures.

This is Heshka's most comprehensive solo show to date.

Ryan Heshka lives and works in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He has a bachelor degree in interior design and worked in that field for many years, in addition to animation, before making art and illustration his career.

Heshka has appeared in all of the major illustration annuals, including American Illustration, Society of Illustrators, Communication Arts, 3 x 3, and Applied Arts. Clients include Vanity Fair, Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Playboy, Esquire, Forbes, Topps, and DreamWorks SKG.

He has appeared in galleries across North America (including Roq La Rue, Seattle, WA; Richard Heller, LA; Copro Nason, LA; Orbit Gallery, New Jersey; Rotofugi, Chicago)) and in Europe (Feinkunst Kruger, Germany; Antonio Colombo Arte Contemporanea, Italy; Atomica Gallery, London, England), and has been published several times in BLAB! and books about the new underground art movement, including THE UPSET.

His second children's book is set for release in Spring 2013, and his first book (Welcome to Monster Town) was optioned by DreamWorks SKG.

Photos of suffragettes in Holloway Prison

Cory Doctorow — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 19:12:23 +0000

Charlotte sez,

It's International Women's Day today and the London Feminist Network (to whom I proudly belong) have organised the most awesome fundraising event for our conference later this year, a film launch for "Banners and Broad Arrows." In 1832 the women of the United Kingdom were excluded from the Parliamentary franchise. After 71 years this injustice remained. In 1903 the Women's Social and Political Union was formed. This is the story told through their own eyes.
A lecture by writer/director Nigel Shephard, who will be presenting his work so far on the film Banners and Broad Arrows. He tells the story of the Suffragette Movement from its inception in 1903 to its demise at the outbreak of war in 1914, using original still photographs taken by the Suffragettes themselves. The really cool thing about this lecture is that there will be a whole load of pictures on display that have only recently been released from the Official Secrets Act. These never previously published photographs were smuggled out of Holloway prison by campaigners.
This is a great opportunity to discover the history of the suffragettes through their own photographs and to meet the director and share in developing ideas for the film. Please, please come along to demonstrate your support at this first fundraising event to take the film into full production. It's only £10 a ticket and all profits are being split equally between the film producer and the London Feminist Network."
THE KINGS HEAD THEATRE UPPER STREET ISLINGTON 7.30PM SUNDAY 24TH MARCH 2013

Banners and Broad Arrows - never before seen photographs of the suffragettes in Holloway prison (Thanks, Charlotte)

Rapture of the Nerds hits London on Mar 23

Cory Doctorow — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 11:13:32 +0000

The UK edition of Rapture of the Nerds hits shelves on April 12, but we're having a sneaky early release at Forbidden Planet in London on Mar 23 at 1PM. Tell your friends! (I'm pretty sure that Forbidden Planet will take advance mail-orders for people who can't make it, and I'll sign and personalise every one of 'em).

Amazing opportunity to meet the designer of Disneyland's Monorail, Autopia, and Flying Saucers

Mark Frauenfelder — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 00:50:57 +0000

LA architecture historian Chris Nichols says: "I am hosting an evening with Disney legend Bob Gurr next Wednesday at the Hollywood Heritage Museum. Bob designed the Monorail, Autopia, Flying Saucers, and all the ride vehicles at Disneyland starting in 1954 and is a really inspiring designer and super-cool guy. It's a small room and we're almost full, so please click on the ticket link below if you can come. I look forward to seeing you there."

Bob Gurr is a Disney pioneer who began working on Disneyland the year before it opened. He imagineered the original Monorail, Autopia and many iconic ride vehicles for all of the Disney parks. On March 13, 2013 at 7:30 pm at the Hollywood Heritage Museum, he will discuss his memorable theme park and movie creations, including Disney's animatronic Abraham Lincoln, Universal's King Kong, concepts for the Jurassic Park dinosaurs and robots for the 1998 production of Godzilla. In addition, he will autograph his book, Design: Just For Fun. Disney fans won't want to miss this rare opportunity to hear Mr. Gurr share memories from his legendary career. This evening is sure to be a sell-out, so book your tickets early to avoid disappointment!

Evening @ the Barn: Bob Gurr - Disney Imagineering Pioneer

Lost Lectures in London

Maggie Koerth-Baker — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 14:23:44 +0000

The Lost Lectures are fascinating presentations given in secret locations around London and Berlin. If you sign up, you can get tickets (and the hush hush info) necessary to see them live — or you can watch them online from anywhere after the fact. I kind of wish I was in London on March 22nd, when the series is featuring both Alice Taylor — a melder of games, toys, and tech who also happens to be Cory's wife — and science blog god Ed Yong. What a great lineup!

Maggie at Science Night Minnesota

Maggie Koerth-Baker — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 13:30:52 +0000

Minnesota Public Radio is hosting a live Science Night on May 21st in St. Paul, featuring John Grotzinger, the head of the NASA Curiosity mission. And I get to join him on stage to talk about outer space, Mars, and all sorts of awesomeness. If you're an MPR member, you can buy tickets now. Otherwise, they go on sale on March 12.