This Saturday (the 1st) from 2pm-4pm is your chance to have an afternoon filled with fun and loveliness, whilst also raising money for Cancer Research UK. Simultaneous Cruel 2 B Kind's are being held in London, Manchester and Plymouth as part of Operation: Sleeper Cell. The game is simple, but you've never played anything like it before. Grab a couple of friends and head to Plymouth City Centre (you could pop into Dingles to do some shopping whilst you're there, thus having a bird in the hand and another in the bush for later), London's trendy South Bank (because I know you're cool) or Manchester's Picadilly Gardens (they're lovely and I personally guarantee it won't rain - if you're heading there from Liverpool, I know Manc is slumming it, but it's for a good cause ;) ).
For full information on how to play and sign-up see: www.operationsleepercell.com/c2bk It costs just £4 (a pittance!) to play, all of which is going to Cancer Research UK. Places are limited so sign up soon!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Proverbial Sandboy
Someone calling themselves Agent Kirby made this video for Operation: Sleeper Cell. I'm currently so out of touch with the game what we made (I've been watching The Good Life, which makes me think of Morecombe and Wise) that I have no idea whether it's produced by a player or by Law37, but it tickled me. Found via Juliette's Twitter feed.
Operation: Sleeper Cell is unique - you've heard that before haven't you? "First charity ARG", "First tea and biscuit centric ARG" - but I don't mean all that stuff (though it's brilliant and you should play). I'm referring to the fact that our brief, our remit is there for all to see at Let's change the game. Everyone knows what it is that we're supposed to be doing:
Another Serious Game that's around at the moment that I've got my eye on is Jane McGonigal's Superstruct . Players tell the stories of their lives in 2019 through whatever medium they like with respect to six future problems. The Superstruct team (and the World Without Oil team before them) create sandboxes and set the players free. However, the game can't be the unconstrained creative area that it seems to be initially as it also has a purpose: research. From the Superstruct FAQ's:
The Ten Year Forecast team at the Institute for the Future will analyze the player-created game content. We'll prepare an official Superstruct Report featuring our top collective insights about the year 2019, and the best tactics for superstructing society. Highlights from the report will be emailed to all registered Superstruct players in April 2009. Meanwhile, the Superstruct site will stay live and open to the public as an immersive archive, so you can continue to show your friends, family and colleagues the future you helped invent.
It would be really interesting to know what the brief was that the Superstructers received from the Institute for the Future and how exacting it was. They're going to have to analyse the results of game and draw conclusions, but they've got to give the players free rein too. I wish I had enough time to play it.
Anyway - enough idle musings. I've finally realised that black on a white background is much more pleasant to read so I've ditched the old template for the blog. Also, my dead in the water science blog Bacterium I've decided to completely mothball, so expect microbial ecology posts popping up here occasionally, the only thing that was even vaguely pleasing was the type-face for the heading and that photo (taken in Llandudno just before lashing ice-cold rain hit - typical holiday!).
Operation: Sleeper Cell is unique - you've heard that before haven't you? "First charity ARG", "First tea and biscuit centric ARG" - but I don't mean all that stuff (though it's brilliant and you should play). I'm referring to the fact that our brief, our remit is there for all to see at Let's change the game. Everyone knows what it is that we're supposed to be doing:
- Raise money for Cancer Research UK
- Raise awareness of cancer and the work that Cancer Research UK does
Another Serious Game that's around at the moment that I've got my eye on is Jane McGonigal's Superstruct . Players tell the stories of their lives in 2019 through whatever medium they like with respect to six future problems. The Superstruct team (and the World Without Oil team before them) create sandboxes and set the players free. However, the game can't be the unconstrained creative area that it seems to be initially as it also has a purpose: research. From the Superstruct FAQ's:
The Ten Year Forecast team at the Institute for the Future will analyze the player-created game content. We'll prepare an official Superstruct Report featuring our top collective insights about the year 2019, and the best tactics for superstructing society. Highlights from the report will be emailed to all registered Superstruct players in April 2009. Meanwhile, the Superstruct site will stay live and open to the public as an immersive archive, so you can continue to show your friends, family and colleagues the future you helped invent.
It would be really interesting to know what the brief was that the Superstructers received from the Institute for the Future and how exacting it was. They're going to have to analyse the results of game and draw conclusions, but they've got to give the players free rein too. I wish I had enough time to play it.
Anyway - enough idle musings. I've finally realised that black on a white background is much more pleasant to read so I've ditched the old template for the blog. Also, my dead in the water science blog Bacterium I've decided to completely mothball, so expect microbial ecology posts popping up here occasionally, the only thing that was even vaguely pleasing was the type-face for the heading and that photo (taken in Llandudno just before lashing ice-cold rain hit - typical holiday!).
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Pickled Tink
This morning we got up at 06:00. Yes it is Sunday. And I'm not sickening for something.
We had plans to have a proper breakfast at Mama's on Washington Square; they open at 08:00, they're only little and there's always a line outside waiting to get in. We left Mission Bay at 07:00, not really conscious, wondering where all the people were (as it turns out they were all in Chinatown, which was already bubbling) and arrived at 07:50 to a queue with about twenty people already in it. We watched a man lift up a car on his own and take it away to pass the 15 minutes before we got in and chose our breakfasts.
I had Eggs Florentine (like Eggs Benedict, but with spinach), Bluessinger had French Toast (which is apparently eggy bread with fruit and icing sugar) and Holly, who's staying for the week, had scrambled eggs and bcaon. Because we couldn't resist them we also had pancakes.
It was the best breakfast I have ever had.
I like food, I eat it every day and seldom don't enjoy it.
It was the best breakfast I have ever had. If you find yourself in San Francisco at ten to eight in Washington Square, just go. If you're anywhere else, make your way there for about that time.
I can't stop smiling.
So to continue the feeling of glee, I'm off to make sock puppets, re-enact Playschool and pickle my knees (in cheese of course).
We had plans to have a proper breakfast at Mama's on Washington Square; they open at 08:00, they're only little and there's always a line outside waiting to get in. We left Mission Bay at 07:00, not really conscious, wondering where all the people were (as it turns out they were all in Chinatown, which was already bubbling) and arrived at 07:50 to a queue with about twenty people already in it. We watched a man lift up a car on his own and take it away to pass the 15 minutes before we got in and chose our breakfasts.
I had Eggs Florentine (like Eggs Benedict, but with spinach), Bluessinger had French Toast (which is apparently eggy bread with fruit and icing sugar) and Holly, who's staying for the week, had scrambled eggs and bcaon. Because we couldn't resist them we also had pancakes.
It was the best breakfast I have ever had.
I like food, I eat it every day and seldom don't enjoy it.
It was the best breakfast I have ever had. If you find yourself in San Francisco at ten to eight in Washington Square, just go. If you're anywhere else, make your way there for about that time.
I can't stop smiling.
So to continue the feeling of glee, I'm off to make sock puppets, re-enact Playschool and pickle my knees (in cheese of course).
Monday, October 06, 2008
A very nice weekend
Which is what it was.
The MP3 Experiment was altogether quite good fun. We arrived and met up with Kei and Ed who were mad enough to join in and Bluessinger (who is too sane to join in, but had fun of her own with a texan - see link) started dropping ominous hints about physical contact with strangers.
We turned on our MP3s at two and started obeying instructions. The first part was the most fun; we were told to do things like stand up, point to Nicaragua, hug an inanimate object (obviously I chose a tree - who wouldn't?), all whilst interspersed with civilians. It was their reactions of mild curiosity that made it interesting. The physical contact turned out to be an embarrassed hug and a thumb war, so not too much for my resolutely stiff upper lip.
The second, and main part brought us all together for games that were reminiscent of warm-ups for GCSE drama classes. I was hoping for something a little more dramatic like this. Still it was enjoyable (and involved balloons and umbrellas) - we got photographed (that's me through a fish-eye lens not John Belushi - thanks James) and filmed, (not yet available, but bound to appear here) and then went for beer.
Sunday was nicer. I went to see Neil Gaiman read chapter six of The Graveyard book, you can hear exactly the same reading below - or if you like head to his blog to hear each chapter in order and what amounts to a free book - he reads really well. So far I've read only chapter one of the signed copy that came with the ticket, and it's odd that having no knowledge of chapters two to five hasn't impaired the experience at all.
I'm looking forward to the rest of it, though I wish I could have held off reading it long enough to enjoy it for hallowe'en. We also got a sneak peek at some exclusive Coraline footage, an introduction by Vincent Price, some questions and answers, and the Danse Macabre on banjo and cello. Definitely a very nice weekend.
The MP3 Experiment was altogether quite good fun. We arrived and met up with Kei and Ed who were mad enough to join in and Bluessinger (who is too sane to join in, but had fun of her own with a texan - see link) started dropping ominous hints about physical contact with strangers.
We turned on our MP3s at two and started obeying instructions. The first part was the most fun; we were told to do things like stand up, point to Nicaragua, hug an inanimate object (obviously I chose a tree - who wouldn't?), all whilst interspersed with civilians. It was their reactions of mild curiosity that made it interesting. The physical contact turned out to be an embarrassed hug and a thumb war, so not too much for my resolutely stiff upper lip.
The second, and main part brought us all together for games that were reminiscent of warm-ups for GCSE drama classes. I was hoping for something a little more dramatic like this. Still it was enjoyable (and involved balloons and umbrellas) - we got photographed (that's me through a fish-eye lens not John Belushi - thanks James) and filmed, (not yet available, but bound to appear here) and then went for beer.
Sunday was nicer. I went to see Neil Gaiman read chapter six of The Graveyard book, you can hear exactly the same reading below - or if you like head to his blog to hear each chapter in order and what amounts to a free book - he reads really well. So far I've read only chapter one of the signed copy that came with the ticket, and it's odd that having no knowledge of chapters two to five hasn't impaired the experience at all.
I'm looking forward to the rest of it, though I wish I could have held off reading it long enough to enjoy it for hallowe'en. We also got a sneak peek at some exclusive Coraline footage, an introduction by Vincent Price, some questions and answers, and the Danse Macabre on banjo and cello. Definitely a very nice weekend.
Saturday, October 04, 2008
MP3 Experiment San Francisco
I have my balloon (bright blue, like my shirt will be). I have my ipod (my brother's wedding present - thanks Davey!) and the MP3 is on it and ready to go. I've synchronised my watch to an atomic clock somewhere (had to correct a z that crept into synchronised there - I must make sure not to say howdy at any point this week and I should be fine) and feel like a spy. I've got my umbrella (which will be useful for the rain that looks likely - we had our first Californian rain yesterday. It was wet like British rain, but it seemed to come from higher up and wasn't as hard or cold).
I'm all set for MP3 Experiment 5 on tour in San Francisco. If you're going, see you at 14:00 (exactly) in Mission Dolores Park!
If you're not going, you can entertain yourselves with Operation: Sleeper Cell and I'll tell you all about it when I get back.
I'm all set for MP3 Experiment 5 on tour in San Francisco. If you're going, see you at 14:00 (exactly) in Mission Dolores Park!
If you're not going, you can entertain yourselves with Operation: Sleeper Cell and I'll tell you all about it when I get back.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Solve puzzles and raise money for Cancer Research UK...
Operation Sleeper Cell is the world's first massively multiplayer game designed to raise money for charity. It involves a "grid" of puzzles of varying difficulty. Players can solve on their own or in teams, and they can donate money to unlock further puzzle cells -- and get a head start on solving them.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
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