A clue that it might be time for me to sunset my Delicious account prompted me to look back to the first few links I bookmarked there, back in May 2005. Given the prevalence of linkrot round these parts it's a pleasant surprise to find three links still very much alive, and ones I'd still … Continue reading My first three bookmarks on Delicious, five years on
Green Sand and Subterfuge: the video evidence
The Interesting North team have done a brilliant job on the video of my Matthew Murray and James Watt presentation, "Green Sand and Subterfuge". After you've watched it, why not read more about Murray and the Good Engines newspaper that I made to go with my talk, or relive some of the other Interesting North presentations.
A park in your imagination
There's a patch of wasteland near my work that some people say could be a city park. I'm not sure if this is even the right place for a park. As Jane Jacobs wrote in The Death and Life of Great American Cities: "Parks are volatile places. They tend to run to extremes of popularilty … Continue reading A park in your imagination
Aramis, or the Love of Pedalling
Interesting North presentations by James Boardwell and Toby Barnes plus an all-too-short chat with Tom Armitage in the pub after the event prompted me to rescue this post from my blog's permanently-in-draft folder. I'm not sure it's finished yet, but make of it what you will. Originally it was going to be a sober and … Continue reading Aramis, or the Love of Pedalling
Seeing Interesting patterns
I love going to conferences, and I love writing about them, but I hate doing those write-ups that march relentlessly through the speakers in the order they appeared. If you wanted that kind of experience of Interesting North my best recommendation was to go to the conference yourself. Or click the links on Lanyrd.com, which … Continue reading Seeing Interesting patterns
The Makers of Leeds
Notes for my TEDxLeeds presentation, "The Makers of Leeds". The Prezi version is here. It starts with the amazing view from the top of the TEDxLeeds venue, the Mint, which looks out over Leeds on all sides. The American architect Hugh Newell Jacobsen said: "When you look at a city, it's like reading the hopes, aspirations … Continue reading The Makers of Leeds
Fun with tight briefs, or how few tomatoes does it take to make a newspaper?
A few months after Orange bought Ananova a bunch of us gathered in a fifth floor meeting room at Marshall Mill to reflect on our relationship with the new parent company. As the creators of the world's first virtual newscaster we quite fancied our ability to make our own weather. Now we were expected to … Continue reading Fun with tight briefs, or how few tomatoes does it take to make a newspaper?
Bee meets bonnet: the Other Fourth Plinth
If knowledge and enthusiasm are the raw materials of our post-industrial society then The Culture Vulture is proof of the rich seam of the stuff that runs beneath Leeds and Bradford. It's all the more amazing because it's the independent, unfunded achievement of one person, Emma Bearman, who routinely marshals a large and eclectic mix … Continue reading Bee meets bonnet: the Other Fourth Plinth
Who wants to be a story millionaire? Some thoughts on the value of Patient Opinion
So, narrative capital. The social scientist has it like this... ... the power [research participants] have to tell the stories of their lives. This ‘narrative capital’ is then located in the ‘field’ of social science research and Sen’s capability approach is introduced to prompt the question: What real opportunities do research participants have to tell … Continue reading Who wants to be a story millionaire? Some thoughts on the value of Patient Opinion
A bath, a clock and a giant walking robot – it’s Heritage Open Days this weekend
It's Heritage Open Days from 9-12 September, a once-a-year chance of free access to properties that are usually closed to the public or charge for admission. Buildings all over England will be open, except in London where you have to wait a week for Open House on 18-19 September. Like every year I'm spoiled for choice with … Continue reading A bath, a clock and a giant walking robot – it’s Heritage Open Days this weekend
On a faster horse: meanders heading home from dConstruct
OK, so I have to get this stuff down by midnight before my head turns into a pumpkin. dConstruct was a day well-spent, listening, tweeting, scribbling and discussing design and creativity - with nine of the most thought-provoking talks we'll hear in the UK this year. And some of my smartest colleagues and former colleagues … Continue reading On a faster horse: meanders heading home from dConstruct
On the way to dConstruct: a social constructionist thought for the day
A desire to put some theoretical acro props under my vague unease with the determinist narrative of so much of our technology discourse has led me to the writing of the French anthropologist Bruno Latour. His work on the social construction of science, an ethnography of the R&D lab, has a special resonance for me, … Continue reading On the way to dConstruct: a social constructionist thought for the day
Matthew Murray: what next?
Sorry, I couldn't resist. Interesting North is "a one-dayer of interesting, unexpected and original" stuff at Cutler's Cutlers' Hall, Sheffield, on Saturday 13 November 2010. It's like the other Interestings, only in the North. Credit to Tim Duckett for making it happen. Among other things there will be talks about Eyjafjallajökull, cake, riding side-saddle, feral children … Continue reading Matthew Murray: what next?
The Best Thing in the Helsinki Design Museum
A day in Helsinki with my wife and three lively sons included a visit to the Design Museum. We enjoyed the permanent exhibition on the ground floor. It raised questions about what is designed and how. Also, what belongs in a design museum: Aalvar Aalto, kitchenware, ceramics, chairs, lots more chairs, and - being in … Continue reading The Best Thing in the Helsinki Design Museum
Service Design Leeds, from Drinks to Thinks
There are lots of reasons to come along to Leeds Service Design Thinks on Tuesday 14 September. So many that it's hard to know where to start. I could begin with the chance to meet and chat with some of the smart and passionate service designers who made it to our first Service Design Drinks … Continue reading Service Design Leeds, from Drinks to Thinks
Matt Edgar writes here 