This weekend, I'll be wrapping up my US/Canada tour for Makers, my new novel, with a weekend at Philcon, near Philadelphia. I'll be signing books, doing a reading, giving a speech, and appearing on several panels. Hope to see you there!

Important note: I had previously announced a couple of readings tomorrow at the Philadelphia Free Library. It turns out that these are not open to the public (they're for school groups, which no one told me until last night). Sorry about this, folks.

Philcon: Nov 20-22
The Crowne Plaza Hotel, Cherry Hill, NJ

US/Canada Tour

Hey, New Yorkers! I'm reading from and signing my new novel Makers tonight at the Borders in Columbus Circle at 59th Street, starting at 7PM. Hope to catch you there! Philadelphians, you're next -- Philadelphia Free Library on Friday, then Philcon (in Cherry Hill, NJ) over the weekend.

US/Canada Tour

Hey, Bostonites! I'll see you tonight at the Harvard Bookstore (1256 Mass Ave) at 7PM for the US launch of my new novel, Makers! (New Yorkers, and Philadelphians -- see you later this week!)

US/Canada tour

Tonight, I'm launching my latest novel, Makers in Canada, at the excellent Toronto sf reference library, the Merril Collection, at 239 College St. (3rd floor), east of Spadina. The event starts at 7PM, and I'll be doing a reading, taking questions, and signing books.

Books are being sold by Bakka Phoenix, and if you can't make it tonight, they're happy to take your pre-orders for signed, personalized copies -- I'll sign them tonight and they'll ship them out right away. They're at +1 416 963 9993 or inquiries@ bakkaphoenixbooks. com.

Hope to see you there!

US-Canada Tour

The last of this year's excellent "SF in SF" reading series is coming up on Nov 14, at 7PM:

Jeff VanderMeer, recent Guest of Honor at the World Fantasy Convention 2009, is touring for his final novel in his Ambergris Cycle, "Finch," published by Underland Books, and for his writers' guide "Booklife," published by Tachyon Publications. His associated Booklifenow website focus on sustainable creativity, and is a unique writing guide to sustainable careers and sustainable creativity - the first to fully integrate discussion of the role of new media into topics that have always been of interest to writers.. With his wife, Ann VanderMeer, he's edited the charity anthology "Last Drink Bird Head," "New Weird," and "Steampunk." His short fiction has appeared in Conjunctions, Library of America's American Fantastic Tales, and several year's best anthologies. He writes nonfiction for The Washington Post Book World, Omnivoracious, The New York Times Book Review, the B&N Review, and many others.

S. G. Browne, is the author of "Breathers: A Zombie's Lament," a dark comedy about life after undeath told from the perspective of a zombie. His second novel, "Fated," is a dark, irreverent comedy about fate, destiny, and the consequences of getting involved in the lives of humans. His take on zombies, "So what happened to make them so popular today? I'll tell you what happened. Zombies were taken out of their proverbial archetypal box. No longer are they just the shambling, mindless, flesh-eating ghouls we've known and loved for most of the part four decades. They've expanded their range, become more versatile. More well-rounded. And who doesn't enjoy a well-rounded zombie?" Introduce the modern complications of a zombie trying to find himself in this mad, mad world, and how best to bring your undead girlfriend home to meet mom, and you've got yourself a story!! Check out the blog on http://www.sgbrowne.com, and ask him your own zombie apocalypse questions.

Seating is limited - first come first seated

The Variety Preview Theatre
The Hobart Bldg., 1st Floor - entrance is between Quiznos & Citibank 582 Market St. @ 2nd and Montgomery, San Francisco
phone, night of event - 415-225-7445

SF in SF Reading/Event (San Francisco, CA) (Thanks, Rina!)

Mark blogged earlier the very special benefit event for Machine Project taking place on the evening of Saturday, November 7 at Mister Jalopy's personal studio in LA this weekend -- and, well, dammit, I'm blogging about it again.

I stopped by the space a few days ago to see how preparations were going, and HOO BOY, if you can afford the fundraiser tickets (I know times are tough for many), they're really going to great effort to construct what is sure to be an amazing event. And, of course, all proceeds benefit one of the world's coolest independent tech-art institutions. If you love something like that, you have to feed it, and Mister Jalopy's going to feed it lasers and pizza.

For starters, Jalopy's "awe-inspiring Silverlake studio is almost never open to the public," as Mark said, but I saw the stuff they're constructing: laser mazes, fake museum ID creation stations, an industrial pizza oven, all kinds of crazy crafty Maker pranky goodness.

More about the event from Dinosaurs and Robots...

James Hughes sez, "The Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies is holding a seminar on the 'Biopolitics of Popular Culture' December 4, 2009 in Irvine, California. The seminar will explore the biopolitics that are implicit in depictions of the future, enhanced humans and emerging technology in literature, film, gaming and television. Speakers include Annalee Newitz, Richard Kadrey, Natasha Vita-More and Jamais Cascio, as well as writers for TV and film, game designers, artists and culture critics."

Biopolitics of Popular Culture Seminar (Thanks, Jim!)

I'm giving two talks in the UK this week -- the first in Cambridge, as part of the Arcadia Seminar, held at Robinson College; the second is at Sheffield, as part of the DocFest premiere of RIP: A Remix Manifesto, a documentary on copyfighting and art that features some interviews with me. Hope to see you at them!

Cambridge: 3 November 2009, 6PM
Arcadia Seminar: 3rd Nov. "Thinking Like a Dandelion: Cory Doctorow on copyright, Creative Commons and creativity"
Umney Theatre, Robinson College, Cambridge. Please email mh569@cam.ac.uk if you are planning to attend.

Sheffield: 5 November 2009, 2:25PM-4:30PM
RiP! A Remix Manifesto
Showroom 1, Sheffield DocFest (tickets)

Update: CORRECTION -- I'm at Sheffield Doc/Fest from 1425h-1630h, not 1600-1800h as previously stated!

Somebody is going to lose the World Series. It's true. I have heard this is how these things work. But, when the inevitable happens, where do all their commemorative hats, T-shirts, shoelaces, giant foam hands, etc. go? After all, nobody knows which team will win. To meet the instant, post-game demand, manufacturers have all that championship memorabilia--for both teams--made up and sitting in a warehouse before the final game is even a twinkle in an announcer's eye.

If you guessed that it ends up in a dump, you'd be wrong. Mental_floss investigated and found the World Vision, an international Christian charity, gets the losing gear from baseball, football and basketball.

The merchandise doesn't go to waste, people living in poverty receive new, clean clothes, and the clothing makers recoup some of their losses--they get tax credits for the charitable donations. Why don't the clothes go to needy families in the United States? Overseas donation is part of the agreement between World Vision and the leagues. The farther away the clothing is, the less likely it is to offend a losing player (or heartbroken Buffalo Bills fan).

In fact, fear of fan alienation used to keep the MLB from donating. Up until two years ago, they required all inaccurate championship clothing be destroyed.

As promised, here's the details on the short Canada/US tour for my novel Makers in November:

November 12, 7PM
Toronto, ON, Canada
The Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation, and Fantasy
239 College Street, 3rd Floor, +1 416 393-7748
Books by Bakka Phoenix
(you can pre-order signed copies from them if you can't make it).

November 16, 7PM
Cambridge, Mass
Harvard Bookstore
1256 Massachusetts Avenue

November 17, 7PM
New York City, NY
Borders Columbus Circle
10 Columbus Circle (@59th St and Central Park West)

November 20, 11AM and 1PM
Philadelphia, PA
Free Library of Philadelphia
1901 Vine Street

November 20-22
Philcon, Cherry Hill, NJ

If you're with the press and you'd like to arrange an interview, please contact Justin Golenbock (USA) (Justin.Golenbock@tor.com/646.307.5413) or Katherine Wilson (Canada) (Katherine.Wilson@hbfenn.com/905.951.6600 x271).

I'm speaking at London's Battle of Ideas this Saturday, Oct 31, on a panel called "Rethinking Privacy in an age of Disclosure and Sharing." The event goes 1:30-3:30 and there are still a few tickets left!

The increasing reach of information technology into all areas of life, from social networking websites to data sharing in public services, has thrown up a number of questions about privacy. Information about our medical records, financial circumstances and shopping habits is increasingly likely to be stored in electronic media that are out of our control. Some critics worry more about Tesco's data-gathering than any 'surveillance state'. The controversy about Google Maps' Street View function, which captured thousands of unwitting people walking or standing on the streets, is a reminder that new technology constantly raises new questions about our privacy. So how worried should we be? Does the convenience of easily accessed information outweigh the danger of abuse? How are our conceptions of privacy changing? And following the success of the Pirate Party in Sweden, can we expect privacy to move up the political agenda in the UK too.

Rethinking Privacy in an age of Disclosure and Sharing

I've written about Machine Project on Boing Boing many times before. It's a Los Angeles art/technology space that holds amazing events and workshops. (See the write ups of the Picklefest 2008 and Krautfest 2009 workshops I co-conducted there).

My friend Mister Jalopy is also an ardent supporter of Machine Project. On November 7th, he is hosting a lavish benefit for Machine Project at his awe-inspiring Silverlake studio, which is almost never open to the public.

From Dinosaurs and Robots:

On November 7th, Mister Jalopy's personal 4000 square foot studio will be host to the first Machine Project benefit.

Proceeds from this once-a-year event will enable Machine Project to continue welcoming any and all to free Machine public events in 2010. Tickets start at $75 for members, or $100 for non-members, with a Benefactor level ticket available for $250, which includes entry to a special pre-event reception and more. 90% of the cost of all tickets is tax deductible.

Have you been curious about the Los Angeles heroes that call themselves Machine Project? With over 20 participating artists, technologists and musicians, the 2009 Benefit will pack a month's worth of events into a single intimate evening. What to expect? Opportunities to steal art from a laser-protected, action movie-style set, wager on microscopic slime mold races, try your hand at gold panning to prospect for real gold nuggets, stay late to huddle around the firepit to make 'smores, partake from the amply stocked wine and beer bar, have a wood-fired pizza from an on-site brick pizza oven, enjoy music from four different acts, replace your old Getty Museum fake ID, participate in head-to-head speed soldering contests and eat noodles supplied by Kwong Dynasty Noodle Cart.

A rare opportunity to enter the secret workshop of Mister Jalopy. This is a very uncommon event.

Tickets can be purchased at Machine Project, in person at Machine Project or Coco's Variety at 2427 Riverside Drive, Los Angeles. Alternatively, mail a check to Machine Project at 1200D North Alvarado, Los Angeles, CA 90026.

Machine Project Benefit! Colab with Mister Jalopy x Machine Project

Michael from the Open Rights Group sez, "Open Rights Group has lined up Bruce Schneier for its next fundraiser event on Friday 4 December. The title is 'The Future of Privacy: Rethinking Security Trade-offs' and he'll be explaining why data is the pollution problem of the information age and how we should deal with it."

We live in a unique time in our technological history. The cameras are ubiquitous, but we can still see them. ID checks are everywhere, but we still know they're going on. Computers inherently generate personal data, and everyone leaves an audit trail everywhere they go.

Bruce Schneier, internationally-renowned cryptographer, technologist and author, will share his vision of current and future technologies' effects on privacy. Schneier rejects the traditional "security vs. privacy" dichotomy in favor of a more subtle and realistic one.

Data is the pollution problem of the information age and we need to start thinking about how to deal with it.

When? Doors open at 1830, Friday 4 December 2009

Where? St Albans Centre, 18 Brooke St, London, London EC1N 7RD (More info here)

Come see Bruce Schneier talk in London (Thanks, Michael!)

Hello Kitty turned 35 this week, and to celebrate, a birthday party was held for her last night at Royal/T in Culver City, Calif. I took my daughters with me to the opening of "3 Apples: An Exhibition Celebrating 35 Years of Hello Kitty," expecting a quiet affair with madeleine cookies and chamomile tea. I was surprised to see the line around the block waiting to get into what turned out to be a booze-fueled celebrity bash.

There was an art show with works by Boing Boing favorites like Tim Biskup and Gary Baseman, lots of cosplay characters, go-go dancers, Hello Kitty themed maids serving drinks and snacks, a commemorative Hello Kitty Airstream travel trailer (which will be auctioned on eBay, check here for details), and lots of new Sanrio merchandise (my wife was fond of this dress).

The exhibition will run at Royal/T until November 15th.

Arrested Motion has more photos.

Update: Please note correct date -- Thu, Oct 29! Sorry!

My latest novel Makers comes out next week, and I'll be launching it in the UK with a signing on Friday night, Oct 30 Thu, Oct 29!, at Forbidden Planet London from 6-7. Forbidden Planet's happy to take your pre-orders for inscribed copies if you can't make it, and they'll cheerfully ship 'em wherever you are.

Forbidden Planet Megastore: Cory Doctorow signing Makers

I'll also be coming to Canada and the US next month for a quick book-tour, kicking off with a signing and reading at the Merril Collection in Toronto (Nov 12, 7pm, The Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation, and Fantasy, 239 College Street, 3rd Floor, Toronto, Ontario M5T 1R5, +1 416 393-7748), and Bakka Books, the bookseller, is also glad to take orders for inscribed copies beforehand. I'll sign them all for shipping on the day.

After that, I'll be coming through NYC, NJ, Boston and Philadelphia -- details are still a little shaky, but if you drop me an email, I'll send you a mailout once I have them in hand.

Here's a little more about Makers, courtesy of Publishers Weekly: "In this tour de force, Doctorow (Little Brother) uses the contradictions of two overused SF themes--the decline and fall of America and the boundless optimism of open source/hacker culture--to draw one of the most brilliant reimaginings of the near future since cyberpunk wore out its mirror shades. Perry Gibbons and Lester Banks, typical brilliant geeks in a garage, are trash-hackers who find inspiration in the growing pile of technical junk. Attracting the attention of suits and smart reporter Suzanne Church, the duo soon get involved with cheap and easy 3D printing, a cure for obesity and crowd-sourced theme parks. The result is bitingly realistic and miraculously avoids cliché or predictability. While dates and details occasionally contradict one another, Doctorow's combination of business strategy, brilliant product ideas and laugh-out-loud moments of insight will keep readers powering through this quick-moving tale. (starred review)"

And, of course, I'll have a site up in a couple of days with free, CC-licensed downloads of the whole text.

Brian sez, " The third annual Ontario GNU Linux Fest will be this Oct 24th in Toronto at the Days Hotel and Conference Centre Toronto Airport East. I've been making the trip from Rochester, NY every year and wouldn't miss it. We've got a van full making the trip up this Friday. They've modeled the event after Ohio Linux Fest so it's not a vendor-centric sales pitch event. There's something for everyone take a look at the the list of talks. The most difficult choice is which talks you're willing to miss while attending another one."

Ontario GNU Linux Fest 2009 (Thanks, Brian!)

Darren sez, "350.org, one of the coolest bottom-up, grassroots activist orgs around, is running a huge International Day of Climate Action this Saturday, Oct. 24. They have, at last count, over 4000 actions (parades, protests, flash mobs and so forth) in 170 countries. They're trying to cover off every country on the globe, but they're missing 22 (North Korea may prove particularly tricky). From the site:"

"Below you'll find a list of the UN-recognized countries where as of yet there is no action registered. Do you know someone in any of these countries. Does your church or synagogue or mosque or temple have contacts there? What about your professional society? University alumni group? Would you be willing to send an email like this to them, explaining 350 and asking them to join in by organizing some event, large or small, for the 24th of October? Can you imagine the kind of message it would sound if every country on the planet joined in actions on Oct. 24th?"

1. Angola
2. Bahamas
3. Turkmenistan
4. Comoros
5. Djibouti
6. East Timor
7. Equatorial Guinea
8. Eritrea
9. Guinea
10. Guinea-Bissau
11. Kiribati
12. Lesotho
13. Liechtenstein
14. Luxembourg
15. Mauritania
16. Micronesia
17. Monaco
18. Namibia
19. North Korea
20. San Marino
21. Sao Tome and Principe
22. Seychelles

170 Countries! (And the "Missing 23") (Thanks, Darren!)

Rebecca from the Electronic Frontier Foundation sez, "Join the Electronic Frontier Foundation on Thursday October 22nd at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco in a fundraiser honoring the 2009 Pioneer Award winners. Awarded every year since 1992, the Pioneer Awards recognize leaders who are extending freedom and innovation on the electronic frontier. This year's winners include hardware hacker Limor 'Ladyada' Fried, e-voting security researcher Harri Hursti, and public domain advocate Carl Malamud. EFF will also present a 2009 Cooperative Computing Award to Mersenne Research, Inc., Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search, for finding a record breaking prime number. Tickets are $60."

I am a previous Pioneer Award recipient and was doubly honored this year to be a Pioneer Judge. Congrats to all the winners on their much-deserved honor!

Join EFF for the 2009 Pioneer Awards fundraiser honoring: Limor "Ladyada" Fried, Harri Hursti and Carl Malamud

Rina from the excellent, free SF in SF reading series sez,

Eric Simons is the author of the wonderfully quirky "Darwin Slept Here" based on his own journey to see the people, places, and legends that interested Darwin, and what they're like now.

Saturday, Oct. 17/Doors and Cash Bar open 6:00pm/Readings start 7:00pm

Readings will be followed by Q & A moderated by author Terry Bisson.

The Variety Preview Room Theatre
The Hobart Bldg., 1st Floor/582 Market St. @ 2nd & Montgomery San Francisco, CA

Don't drive! Take BART or Muni to Montgomery St. Station; we're right outside the exit.

Bar proceeds go to Variety Children's Charity of Northern California; learn more at www.varietync.org

Kim Stanley Robinson & Eric Simons (Thanks, Rina!)

Molly sez, "Home Movie Day (Oct 17) is a celebration of amateur films and filmmaking held annually at many local venues worldwide. Home Movie Day events provide the opportunity for individuals and families to see and share their own home movies with an audience of their community, and to see their neighbors' in turn. It's a chance to discover why to care about these films and to learn how best to care for them. Check out www.homemovieday.com for a location near you! 'Home Movie Day is important because our lives, our recollections, and our truth is recorded in home movies. One day, what the heck, c'mon!' -Steve Martin"

Home Movie Day 2009 (Thanks, Molly!)

I'll be in Waterloo, Ontario on 22 Oct 2009 for the Perimeter Institute's Quantum to Cosmos event, which will also feature Neal Stephenson, Stewart Brand, Neil Gershenfeld, Stephen Hawking, Tara Hunt, Jaron Lanier, and many other distinguished scientists and writers. I'm doing a solo talk on copyright at 4PM and then a panel on AI and robotics for TVO's The Agenda at 8PM.

Quantum to Cosmos

Quantum to Cosmos tickets

On Saturday night, I staggered over to downtown Minneapolis for the 5th annual Zombie Pub Crawl, a celebration of creative horror makeup and playful kitsch. I'd gone to the Crawl once before, in 2007. On that outing, it was enough to just show up in (blood covered) street clothes and zombie makeup. This year, however, featured some fabulous new directions in themed zombies. Thanks to the excellent work of my friend and photographer Leah Shaffer, I'm able to bring you a sampling of the Twin Cities' finest in zombie couture...

What do we want?
Brains!

When do we want 'em?

Brains!

Open source banjo maven Patrick Costello writes,

We have been hosting folk musician retreats for the last couple of years here in Crisfield, Maryland. The idea is to bring musicians together in a funky old house on the banks of the Chesapeake Bay to jam and share ideas. From our very first event we have been able to draw musicians from all over the world and the mix ranges from rank beginners to seasoned professionals. When we started the project we were charging a registration fee to cover food and lodging, but as the event started to grow we realized that we had to rethink how we running things.

For our last retreat on September 17-20 2009 we decided to take a risk and make the event free - food, lodging and access to the event all at no charge. We simply passed the hat and asked folks to contribute what they could to keep the event going. (Canada Goose Records has released a soundscape of our April 2009 Retreat under a CC-license.) This probably won't surprise you, but we wound up bringing in enough to cover a good deal of the expenses for our next retreat on May 6-9 2010.

So we are going to continue running the Crisfield Folk Musicians Retreat as a pass-the-hat funded event. Four days of amazing music, fellowship, good food and amazing scenery for whatever you can afford to throw into the hat.

The Crisfield Folk Musicians Retreat 2010

(Attentive readers will remember that Patrick had been legally and painfully deaf for some time, and recently had corrective surgery via a BAHA implant; he adds, "My Baha implant is amazing. I can hear! For the past month I have been wandering around like a little kid listening to birds and crickets. Most of all I can hear my instruments again. It has been so wonderful being able to just kick back with my guitar and play without struggling to make out the sounds or having to hunch over and rest my teeth on the upper bout. My father caught the activation of the device on video. I have a hard time watching the bit where I hear my guitar for the first time in years. Technology is just grand!)

I'm speaking at a Hoxton LibDems dinner in London on Oct 19 at 7:30PM, at the Hoxton Apprentice in Hoxton Square, near Old Street Station. The event is open to the public -- though they will try to get you to join/donate to the LibDems, whom I support for many reasons, not least because they're a national party who don't expect me to carry a biometric radio-enabled ID card as a condition of my spousal visa. Not surprisingly, I'll be talking on "Privacy, Civil Liberties and Technology - Is Privacy Possible in the 21st Century?"

Date: Monday, October 19, 2009
Time: 7.30pm - 10.00pm

We have a top speaker for our autumn dinner this year, the science fiction writer and civil liberties campaigner; Cory Doctorow. The theme is; "Privacy, Civil Liberties and Technology - Is Privacy Possible in the 21st Century?". Find out more on our website where you can book in advance at the cheaper rate of £10 (£12 on the door).

The venue is just 5 minutes walk from Old Street tube in near the City in Central London.

Hackney Lib Dems autumn dinner in Hoxton Square near Old Street tube, with special guest speaker Cory Doctorow

I'll be in Brighton, England next Saturday, Oct 17 for a Battle of Ideas event entitled "The Future of Collaboration: Sharing and Work in the Networked Age." I'll be on a panel with Michael Bull from the University of Sussex and Nico Macdonald, chaired by Robert Clowes of Brighton Salon. It's at 8PM in the Jubilee Library and tickets are £7.50 (£5 concessions). Hope to see you there! (I'll also be doing a London Battle of Ideas event on Oct 31, "Rethinking Privacy in an age of Disclosure and Sharing")

The 21st century looks set to be age of online collaboration. While old forms of community and solidarity have waned, leaving us apparently more fragmented and individualised, the social web enables many of us to work, play and organise with others in ways previously unimaginable. Technologies like Flickr, Delicious and Wikipedia evidence new means of sharing information and working together. Many suggest these technologies will have far-reaching social implications, and even presage a new form of production and work outside the market system. While traditional free market capitalism is compromised by the worldwide recession, the world wide web is said to promise an exciting alternative. Wired's Kevin Kelly suggests we are entering a new collectivist epoch, a 'New Socialism'. Technology guru Howard Rheingold sees these developments as disruptive, and will change the way people 'meet, mate, work, fight, buy, sell'. Charles Leadbeater, author of We-Think, sees the new means of networked collaboration as presaging a new production model: 'Mass Innovation rather than Mass Production'.

The Future of Collaboration: Sharing and Work in the Networked Age

Type design legend John Berry writes in about his upcoming panel on Web font embedding: "It's all about getting new fonts onto a web page, so the content doesn't all end up in default Times or Arial. After a wide-ranging but inconclusive panel on web fonts at TypeCon in July, this time around some of the browser makers will be represented -- and the focus will widen to include *how* fonts are used on the web. "

I hope they put this on the web afterward!

Where: Typ09, the 2009 ATypI conference, Mexico City
When: 26-30 October (web-fonts program on Thursday, 29 October, at Anáhuac University campus)

Web fonts: the talk of Typ09 (Thanks, John!)

Wil Wheaton's Dungeon-Mastering a pair of Dungeon Delves (45-minute speed-dungeons) at RinCon next weekend in Tucson, at $50/head to benefit Child's Play, a charity that sends toys, games, books and cash to sick kids. Sounds like a blast!

First, some history: Way back in the olden days, when 8 bits were enough to blow your mind on a 13-inch television and digital watches were a pretty neat idea, the concept of the Dungeon Delve was born. It's pretty straightforward: a group of players and a Dungeon Master sit down together, and the players have 45 minutes or so to make it through the end of a short dungeon, while the Dungeon Master does his best to kill them. The delve ends when the players defeat the final boss (or solve the final puzzle, or something like that), the time limit is reached, or the players all die horrible but noble and heroic deaths.

It's different from the collaborative storytelling experience that we experience in my regular D&D games, but it's still a hell of a lot of fun, and the time limit makes it perfect for running at conventions.

Wil Wheaton's 2009 Dwarven Dungeon Delve of Doom! Benefitting the Child's Play Charity

Rina writes,

Saturday is Litquake Day! And we have a very special reading for you.

Color Me SF: The Science Fiction Worlds of Octavia Butler and Carl Brandon

Our guests reading will be Jewelle Gomez & Claire Light. There will also be discussion on Butler and Brandon,and Q & A moderated by Terry Bisson. We will be charging $5 at the door, with all of the money going to the Octavia Butler Scholarship. Bar proceeds for the night will also go to the Scholarship. Tips, as usual, will go to Variety Children's Charity of Northern California.

At The Variety Preview Room, The Hobart Bldg., 582 Market St. @ Montgomery, 1st floor of The Hobart Bldg. Entrance is between Quiznos and Citibank
Doors Open 6:00pm
Readings start 7:00pm
Seating is limited; first come first seated; we will have the event miked so that you can hang in the lounge and listen.

Saturday is Litquake Day

Warren Ellis has put an open call out to Whitechapel readers who have Etsy stores for their crafts to pimp their offerings for early Xmas shopping. So far, we've got wool candy, steampunk jewellery, surreal paintings, paintings of demon cats, handmade jewellery, custom toys, fashion, goggles, felted dissected animals, hand-dyed wool, chainmail, etc etc. Instant clicktrance!

Warren's Pub Table: [Sticky] Etsy People Stand Up (late 2009)

(Image: Knitted Fetal Pig Biology Project)

Churba sez, "Leeds Hackspace is holding an Open Hack Day on Oct 10 at Old Broadcasting House, all tickets are free, with various events such as a Scrapheap Challenge, Micro-controller Workshop, the OpenLeeds Code-a-thon, and lightning talks, where anyone who knows about a topic can give a ten minute presentation about it. All are welcome, tickets are free, And Leeds Hackspace is Desperately Seeking New members, as they're one of the smaller hackspaces in the UK, and only recently started."

Announcing LHS HackDay! Saturday, October 10th 2009 (Thanks, Churba!)

Doctor Popular says,

Today is 24hour Comic Book Day. Cartoonists all over the world will be taking part in the challenge of creating an entire 24 page comic book in just one day. Robots Don't Know Anything About Twitter, which was featured on BB a few weeks ago, was created as part of last years 24HCBDay!

Here are some links: Nationwide, in SF, in Minneapolis, in Albuquerque

Image: snapshot from 24HCBDay in New Mexico in 2006, by baaadasssscomics. Also, here's a Flickr pool.

Allison sez, "Creative Commons, KALW, and Chicago Public Radio's Sound Opinions present Chicago Tribune music critic and author Greg Kot in conversation with music journalist David Downs on October 15 in San Francisco. Kot's new book, Ripped: How the Wired Generation Revolutionized Music, explores the changing face of the music industry. Downs and Kot will discuss the book, as well as how digital sharing and participatory culture are shaping how music is created and consumed. Audience questions and discussion will follow the conversation."

Announcing October's ccSalon SF! (10/15/09) (Thanks, Allison!)

Jesse Brown, a BoingBoing guest blogger, is the host of TVO's Search Engine podcast. I'm on the bill tonight (along with wino Kathryn Borel Jr. and others) at HEEB Magazine's Toronto installment of their popular Storytelling event. It's at the Drake- come check it out!

Details here (link).

I'm headed to Canada for some speaking gigs in the coming week, in PEI, Ottawa, and Waterloo:

Waterloo: Sat, Sept 26, 2:30-4PM, University of Waterloo, Arts Lecture Hall. Free, open to the public. Sponsored by the Independent Studies Programme, where I'm a Scholar in Virtual Residence.

Ottawa: Mon, Sept 28, 7PM, Ottawa Writer's Festival, Saint Brigid's Centre for the Arts and Humanities, 314 Saint Patrick Street (at the corner of Cumberland). $15/$10 Student or Senior (Free for Festival Members and Carleton Students)

Charlottetown, PEI: Tues, 30 Sept, Hackfest, $30 for conference registration.

Charlottetown, PEI: Wed, 1 Oct, 8:30-9:30AM, Access 2009, "Copyright vs Universal Access to All Human Knowledge and Groups Without Cost: The State of Play in the Global Copyfight"

I love coming home to Canada, and it's a delight to be getting out of the usual Toronto/Montreal/Vancouver rut. I'm looking forward to seeing you!

Johannes writes in with the news of this year's sex/tech Arse Electronika conference in San Francisco:

We may not forget that mankind is a sexual and tool-using species. And that's why our annual conference Arse Elektronika deals with sex, technology and the future. As bio-hacking, sexually enhanced bodies, genetic utopias and plethora of gender have long been the focus of literature, science fiction and, increasingly, pornography, this year will see us explore the possibilities that fictional and authentic bodies have to offer. Our world is already way more bizarre than our ancestors could have ever imagined. But it may not be bizarre enough. "Bizarre enough for what?" -- you might ask. Bizarre enough to subvert the heterosexist matrix that is underlying our world and that we should hack and overcome for some quite pressing reasons within the next century. Don't you think, replicants?

Arse Elektronika 2009 (Thanks, Johannes!)

James sez,

Four Hackerspaces in Ontario have joined forces (Hacklab.TO from Toronto, think|haus from Hamilton, diyode from Guelph, and Kwartzlab from Kitchener-Waterloo) to put on a mini hackerspace conference!

On Friday evening October 2nd and all day Saturday October 3rd, think|haus will host talks, how to sessions, and a projects gallery at which anyone who is interested can give a 20 minute talk on something related to creating projects, show people how to build/take apart/modify something, or show off their cool projects.

Some confirmed talks so far are: You Let Your Kid Do What? / A brief story about children and taking advantage of applied engineering skills in a positive way.

* Intro to Kite Aerial Photography / Come learn about the kinds of kites you can use to fly your camera, what you need to build your own kite, and how to modify your camera to take pictures automatically.

* RF Countersurveillance / A primer on monitoring police and security frequencies using a trunk-tracking scanner, and how it can assist in penetrating a targetMo< * OpenWRT Demo / Unboxing, flashing, and demonstrating OpenWRT on an Asus WL-520GU

* Intro to Electronics Hardware Design By Someone Who Isn't an Expert / It's not nearly as hard as you think it might be, I'll show you the steps and tools you may want to take, and warn you of some of the potential issues you may face.

Southern Ontario Hackerspaces / Makers Mini-Conference (Thanks, James!)

Wouter sez,

From October 29 till November 1, the international Forum on Access to Culture and Knowledge in the Digital Age is organised in Barcelona. Exgae, Networked Politics and the Free Knowledge Institute, three renown and respected organisations working in the field of civil rights are behind this important event.

The Forum will be a major international meeting of the most relevant organizations and individuals working on the international scene, who are engaged in reflecting on the social and economic challenges of the dissemination of culture and knowledge in the digital age.

While the European Union discusses legislation and self-regulation proposals, at the state and community level, the forum aims to articulate the valuable proposals that are emerging from civil society, so that it too can participate in this legislative process. The forum is based on the idea of finding ways to harmonise the recognition of creativity, innovation and investment with the civil rights of access to knowledge and culture and with sustainable development.

Free Culture Forum: Organization and Action (Thanks, Wouter!)

Toby Slater, impresario for London's fabulous White Mischief steampunk nights, sez, "Dressed in neo-Victorian finery and draped in accessories handmade from watch parts, the Clockwork Quartet is formed around instruments such as a Steamdrone, Stroh violin and bass banjo and staffed by musicians who by day work as everything from two luthiers, a jeweller and a sculptor to a doctor of zoology.

"The collective will be transforming London's Horse Hospital into a Victorian music hall between 15th and 17th October. Their music - each song of which tells a different story painting a portrait of a troubled character - is free to download but fans will be able to purchase an extravagant illustrated book as well, of course, as delights from the band's official in-house chocolatier."

We recommend: The Clockwork Quartet (Thanks, Toby!)

The fine folks at Flux will show the animated short "Logorama" in their screening lineup at the Hammer museum tonight.

The entire universe of this film, even the characters within (a talking "Pringles" man, and a villainous Ronald McDonald), even the city of Los Angeles itself -- are all composed of repurposed corporate logo art, all of which is used without permission.

If you're in LA, you really must head over there tonight. There's a great post (with video clips) about the making of Logorama over at Creativity Online.

Jonathan Wells of Flux tells us,

The short was created by directors within H5, a French graphic studio renowned for its CD front covers (Superdiscount, Air, Demon...) and artistic direction (Dior, Cartier, YSL...). Members François Alaux, Hervé de Crécy and Ludovic Houplain directed many music videos (Alex Gopher, Massive Attack, Goldfrapp, Röyksopp...), and are regularly invited to exhibitions for their artistic talents (2007 Nuit Blanche, Beaubourg, MoMA). Logorama is their first short film, and premiered at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival where it won the Kodak Short Film Discovery Prize at the 48th Critics' Week. The short was *four* years in the making, and features a voice cameo by filmmaker David Fincher as the Pringles man.

More stills after the jump!

Jesse Brown, a BoingBoing guest-blogger, is the host of TVO's Search Engine podcast.

poster by Emma Segal

If you live in Toronto, come have a drink with me at the launch party for the new season of my podcast! It's tonight at The Ossington (61 Ossington) from 7pm on.

If you can't make it, you can still have fun with us by putting words in my mouth: I'm crowd sourcing my toast, and will hold forth with whatever 400 words end up here.

I will illustrate my speech with a slideshow using whatever pix end up here.

Here's a sample of what's up there so far:

"I'm Jesse Brown, and this speach (sic) is a dream come true...And it goes out to the ladies. To Search Engine! [Chewbacca sound here]"

Matthew sez,

Media Awareness Network (MNet) and the Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF) are once again joining together to host the fourth annual Media Literacy Week, November 2-6, 2009. The purpose of the week is to promote media literacy as a key component in the education of young people and to encourage the integration and the practice of media education in homes, schools and communities.

This year's theme -- Media Literacy in the Digital Age -- emphasizes the multiple literacy skills needed by today's youth for accessing, evaluating, repurposing, creating and distributing digital media content. Although young people easily acquire the skills to navigate new technologies, they still need to develop the critical thinking skills they need for responsible and engaged online citizenship. Critical thinking and other digital literacy skills are essential for young people to be able to decode and confront the advertising, propaganda and misinformation that are so common online; digital literacy is also key in helping youth become fully engaged online citizens.

Media Literacy Week - November 2-6, 2009 (Thanks, Matthew!)

Grad Conn sez, "My wife -- Suzy Conn -- is heavily involved in musical theatre as a lyricist, composer, and librettist. This fall, she is working with local Seattle musical theatre star Rich Gray to launch a new cabaret show called 'COCKTAIL NUTS with your host Rich Gray.' Rich and Suzy's dream is to bring back the sophisticated era of fancy cocktails, good food, and excellent entertainment that was common in America in the '50s and '60s. The show is designed to profile artists from local productions, and to offer support to the theaters and actors. For this first show, the show is sponsored by ACT Theatre. Rich and Suzy are doing a pilot show on Monday, September 28 in ACT Theatre's Bullitt Cabaret. ACT Theatre is located at 700 Union Street (Union & 7th)."

"COCKTAIL NUTS with your host Rich Gray" is where cabaret meets TV variety show. Hosted by long-time Seattle-area favorite, composer and performer Rich Gray, COCKTAIL NUTS is a cross between the spontaneity of Jim Caruso's Cast Party and the sophistication of Feinstein's at Loews Regency, with a nod to Merv Griffin and Mike Douglas.

Elegant cocktails and snacks provided by VESSEL, the local Seattle nightspot that Esquire magazine has called one of the "Best Bars in America."

Cocktail Nuts-Landing the Gig (Thanks, Grad!)

Rina sez,

SF in SF & Tachyon Publications present Nalo Hopkinson & Michael Kurland

Saturday, September 12
Doors and cash bar open at 6:00 PM

Authors read at 7PM; followed by Q & A moderated by Terry Bisson, and schmoozing and booksigning will be in the lounge afterwards

$5 suggested donation goes straight to Variety Childrens' Charity - drop it in the donation box, or buy a beer!

The Variety Preview Room Theatre
The Hobart Bldg. 1st Floor - entrance between Quiznos and Citibank
582 Market Street at 2nd & Montgomery
San Francisco
Phone night of event - 415-572-1015
Questions? email sfinsfevents@gmail.com

I've never heard Michael read, but Nalo is an astounding performer of her own work (daughter of an actor, runs in the family). It doesn't hurt that her work is so goddamned good.

September Reading: Michael Kurland & Nalo Hopkinson

Randall Munroe, creator of the awesome XKCD webcomic, is coming to San Francisco to give a benefit appearance and reading for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Now that sounds like a kick-ass evening.

Monday, September 21st will be the second Geek Reading event to benefit EFF, at 111 Minna in downtown San Francisco. This time, the author in question is Randall Munroe, otherwise known as the writer and cartoonist behind the brilliant webcomic xkcd...

Reddit and Breadpig founder Alexis Ohanian will be emceeing the event, which will include a visual presentation as well as an interview portion, with questions culled from the top-voted comments on Reddit. Randall's new book "xkcd: Volume 0" we be available for purchase and signings as well.

The main event starts at 7 and tickets are $30. But you can also join the VIP reception ($100 donation) a bit earlier, at 6, for some extra face time with the man behind the most complex stick figures ever drawn. Numbers are limited, so get your tickets now!

Geek Reading: xkcd creator Randall Munroe
Monday, September 21, 2009
VIP Reception: 6:00
Reading: 7:00
111 Minna Gallery, 111 Minna Street, San Francisco

EFF's Geek Reading: xkcd Webcomic Author Randall Munroe

Once again it's time for the annual Sysadmin of the Year award, and nominations are open. Of course, my vote -- as always -- goes to our very own Ken Snider, the very epitome of everything wonderful about sysadmins. Ken is level-headed and calm, technically skilled, bright and quick, tireless and impassioned. He cares about the systems and he cares about the people who use them. He has beaten DoS attacks, tuned and maintained our hardware to a startling level of reliability, and has gotten out of a warm bed more times than I can count to battle demon entropy. What's more, Ken cares about systems in general, with a deep commitment to justice and freedom on the network. Thank you Ken, you're the sysadmin of the century in my books.

We're talking about sysadmins here--the unsung rock stars of IT. The kind of sysadmin that plays the network blindfolded and upside down like Stevie Ray Vaughn, makes ch, ch, changes faster than David Bowie, smashes hackers like Pete Townsend does with guitars, keeps the show going like Bill Graham, and does it all with Ringo's good humor.

Sysadmins can really rock your world. Now it's time to rock it back.

The 2009 System Administrator of the Year contest is your opportunity to launch your organization's sysadmin rock star to superstardom. Simply nominate your sysadmin or IT rock star here. Be prepared to write a thoughtful, detailed description of why your sysadmin rock star deserves global acclaim.

About - Sysadmin of the Year Contest (Thanks, Barak!)

Tickets for the second installment of Pop-Up Magazine, a live event on Sept. 25 in San Francisco, go on sale today at 12 noon PST.

What is Pop-Up?

A 75-minute reading/performance highlighting two dozen writers, photographers and filmmakers whose work appears in places like Wired, This American Life, New York Times Magazine, New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly and Harper's. The evening is structured just like a magazine: short front-of-the-book bits, reviews, essays, columns, mini-features, photo essays, and features.

Issue 1, which debuted last spring, featured Michael Pollan, the Kitchen Sisters, Larry Sultan, Todd Lappin, Lisa Margonelli and more. While I can't reveal Issue 2's lineup, I will mention that once again I've been handed the Gallagher slot — i.e. the gadget portion of Pop-Up.

Tickets sold out fast last time. If you want to attend this intimate event at San Francisco's Brava Theater on Friday, Sept. 25 at 7pm, then I recommend you head on over to Pop-Up Magazine today at, or soon after, 12 noon PST. Tickets are $15. Oh, and If you do attend please be sure to come say hi after the show! UPDATE: Tickets for 9/25 sold out in 1 hour, 44 minutes. To be put on the wait list should any tickets become available and/or to stay tuned for the next Pop-Up, email the following address:

info AT popupmagazine DOT com

Tomorrow (Thursday) night, I'm appearing on stage in London with my fellow sf writers Gwyneth Jones, Ian Watson and Matthew de Abaitua for an odd live event called "The BAD IDEA Butcher's Shop: FUTURE HUMAN." Here's the pitch:

The Butcher's Shop is a unique writers' workshop and theatrical experience. Hosted by BAD IDEA's editors at the Old Operating Theatre Museum in London, short stories submitted by guests are dissected, chopped up, and improved through an intensive process of live editing and debate.

It's £12 to attend, and attendees are given free gin (!), and it runs 7pm - 9pm at the Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret, 9a St. Thomas's St., London SE1 9RY.

Hope to see you!

The BAD IDEA Butcher's Shop: FUTURE HUMAN

I'm seeing a number of tweets from participants and organizers of the recent PAX (Penny Arcade Expo) which indicate at least one case of swine flu has been confirmed, and more feared.

PAX is a three-day game fest for tabletop, videogame, and PC gamers, and took place September 4-6 in Seattle. Perhaps folks more familiar with the details than I can update us in the comments here. Organizers are using the hashtag #paxflu to track updates on Twitter. Of course, this could also be a very crafty viral marketing campaign. Seriously, though: to those who contracted it or are at risk, get health care pronto, and get well soon. (via @willsmith)

Jesse Garrison sez, "Powerhouse is a non-traditional biographical piece about Scott, told through a combination of puppetry, movement, swing dancing, physical comedy and live action. It follows the inverse paths of Scott's fall from success to obscurity and cartoons' (that used his music) rise to prominence in every American home."

It's 1936 and 27 year-old Harry Warnow has it all -- a beautiful wife, a hit record, a recording company, a publishing company, his very own swing orchestra and a new name: Raymond Scott. But in 30 years he would be virtually unknown. Secluded in his home studio, he would spend his time writing commercials and inventing futuristic music machines. Unbeknownst to Scott, however, his music had become imprinted on the minds of millions. For years, the animators at Warner Bros. had been scoring their Looney Tunes cartoons with Scott's life's work. This would be his legacy -- and he never knew. Due to its success, both critically and at the box-office, it's been granted an extended run in the Fringe Encore series.

At the Fringe: 'Powerhouse' (Thanks, Jesse!)

Casey from the Future of Music Coalition sez:

It's been nearly a decade since the digital music genie burst out of its bottle, changing the game for virtually everyone in the music ecosystem. Future of Music Policy Summit 2009 features practical, musician-focused workshops, keynotes from leading artists, managers and policymakers and inspired panel discussions with the sharpest minds in the music/technology/policy space.

Among the ranks of stellar speakers and panelists are:

U.S. Senator Al Franken (D-MN), who will speak about net neutrality.

Daniel Ek, founder of Spotify -- the potentially game-changing music service that's sweeping Europe and generating incredible buzz in America, where the service is expected to launch this year.

Brian Message -- a partner in Courtyard Management, the team that represents Radiohead, Supergrass and the 22-20s.

Throughout the Summit, prominent musicians from a variety of genres will also give their direct thoughts about how they're adapting to an increasingly networked (and noisy) world. Artist participants in Policy Summit 2009 include jazz pianist Vijay Iyer, Wayne Kramer of MC5, Dave Allen of Gang of Four and Mac McCaughan, co-owner of Merge Records and member of Superchunk and Portastatic.

Music, Technology, Policy and Law Go Back to the Future