Thanks!
[Image: From Kevin Slavin's talk last night at the BLDGBLOG Book launch party; there is an interview with Slavin in the book – don't miss it! Photo by Matt Jones].I'll be on the road again for nearly two days, presumably without internet access, flying down to Sydney for Urban Islands.
However, I had a blast last night at The BLDGBLOG Book launch party and so I wanted to say thanks to everyone who came out. Even with last night's Tube-flooding rain storms, we managed to pack the place out.
Kevin Slavin, who appears in a previously unpublished interview in The BLDGBLOG Book, kicked off the whole thing with a fantastic introduction to his own work – covering urban games, homesickness, the digital uncanny, payphone hijacking, and even shark clamps. Matt Jones has already uploaded a few pictures of Kevin in action. I was also excited as hell finally to meet Siologen, of the sadly now-missing International Urban Glow, after being blown away by his photos for so many years – some of which appear in the book – as well as to meet Magnus Larsson of Dune fame, novelist Clare Dudman, P.D. Smith of Doomsday Men, designer Anab Jain, blogger Andrew Ray behind the excellent Some landscapes, and all the other people I got to see again.
So thanks – it was a great night.
It also seemed like a well-timed launch, as I'm still reeling from the fact that the book was chosen just this week by Amazon.com as one of their "Best Hidden Gems of 2009... So Far."
In any case, huge thanks, as well, to the Architectural Association, Wired UK, and Liam Young for teaming up to make last night happen.
Also, I forgot to mention the other day that July 5th was BLDGBLOG's 5th birthday – so happy birthday, little mo', and thanks for being there to host my writing.
Regular posts will return soon...
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Congratulations on the success of the BLDGBLOG book, Geoff! I've been sending friends copies as birthday presents--just doing my bit for the cause. Btw, at least two of the other books designated by Amazon as "Best Hidden Gems of the Year...So Far" are also pretty great. For someone with your rhizome of interests, I imagine that David Kilcullen's The Accidental Guerrilla would be fascinating. And Bernard Beckett's Genesis is a solid little one-sitting read. Very short, very interesting science fiction novelette about the foundations of utopia, the "birth" of artificial intelligence, and the role of historicism in constructing narratives of power. I found it in the Young Adult section of Powell's Books, which seems as good a place for it as any. May it sit there like an idea grenade, waiting for its pin to be pulled so it can go off in the mind of a 12 year old!
Fantastic to finally meet you Geoff. Wishing many more birthdays for BLDGBLOG, thanks for all the inspiration.
Cool that Silo was able to make it out.
Is there going to be a US event?
I hope Siolo didn't say anything too inappropriate, though I'm sure he did. ;)
Geoff it sounds cheesy to say it but that was an extraordinary honor, and I'm still chewing on most everything from your presentation.
One thing to say is that the work was all of Area/Code's, not mine alone or specifically. Some of it, too, was work I just really admire, like Payphone Warriors. It's genius.
Thanks for making that happen, thanks for bringing me to it, thanks for the everything, really.
Great evening - your enthusiasm was infectious. I was forced to think laterally about the urban environment myself upon arrival at the AA, having forgotten my bicycle lock. I eventually half-hid, half-wedged my bike beneath the AA fire escape. Re-appropriation of aspects of the built environment to provide unexpected functionality - a micro-reburbian moment.
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