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Feb. 27th, 2007
The Open Knowledge Foundation is running an event, Open Knowledge 1.0, in London on Saturday 17th March in Limehouse, London. It looks like admission is £10 on the door but that you should register in advance to secure a place. On the strength of the programme I'm definitely keen to go (this is the sort of cutting-edge stuff that makes me interested in intellectual property law) - any else interested?
Imperial Issues
Feb. 27th, 2007 10:01 amThe Guardian carries an interview today with Prof Richard Sykes, Rector of Imperial College. Although they don't call him that - he'd referred to throughout as the 'head', almost certainly because the fact that the senior academic at IC is a rector rather than a vice-chancellor is almost certainly one of the things that Prof Sykes wants to change about the place.
I'm aware that many people at IC are not that keen (to be diplomatic) on Prof Sykes' plans. As an IC alumnus myself I regret the loss of many traditional structures that he has swept away, such as the Constituent Colleges. But it's hard to disagree with some of his points, be they IC-specific (sixty-five people reporting directly to him under the structure he inherited?) or more general (pop-science GCSEs, or the current government's obsession with getting half the population into university). And I fully sympathise with his frustration about IC's lack of recognition. When I put IC top of my UCCA form, my headmaster was horrified; I was going to dent my schools Oxbridge admissions statistics!
I'm aware that many people at IC are not that keen (to be diplomatic) on Prof Sykes' plans. As an IC alumnus myself I regret the loss of many traditional structures that he has swept away, such as the Constituent Colleges. But it's hard to disagree with some of his points, be they IC-specific (sixty-five people reporting directly to him under the structure he inherited?) or more general (pop-science GCSEs, or the current government's obsession with getting half the population into university). And I fully sympathise with his frustration about IC's lack of recognition. When I put IC top of my UCCA form, my headmaster was horrified; I was going to dent my schools Oxbridge admissions statistics!
No New _Life on Mars_ Tonight :-(
Feb. 27th, 2007 10:29 amTonight's BBC 1 transmission of Life on Mars (which should have been Season 2 Episode 3) has been displaced by people kicking a ball around. Furthermore, BBC 4 is showing S2E1 again tonight, not episode 4, and from now on will apparently be showing the previous week's episode after the BBC 1 screening, not the next one.
On the one hand, grrr! On the other, it does mean that we will avoid an awkward spoiler problem when we run the Life on Mars panel at Eastercon. If both BBC 1 and BBC 4 had shown the final episode it would have rather deflated any discussion; even worse, if BBC1 hadn't shown it but BBC 4 had we would have had the Spoiler Headache from Hell to contend with!
On the one hand, grrr! On the other, it does mean that we will avoid an awkward spoiler problem when we run the Life on Mars panel at Eastercon. If both BBC 1 and BBC 4 had shown the final episode it would have rather deflated any discussion; even worse, if BBC1 hadn't shown it but BBC 4 had we would have had the Spoiler Headache from Hell to contend with!
Spoiler Policy at Convention Panels
Feb. 27th, 2007 11:19 amA question about spoiler policy when discussing TV shows on convention panels, prompted by an experience at Redemption 07 last weekend.
I watched one panel, and took part in another, that discussed Battlestar Galactica. In both cases, the spoiler policy was that we should not discuss Season 3 at all, because as it had only been broadcast on satellite/cable, and no DVD had yet been released, not everyone had had the chance to see it. I was a bit taken aback by this, as in my experience spoiler policy has usually been 'it is reasonable to discuss material that has been shown in the UK via the medium where most people will see it. In other words, if a series is previewing on cable but is going to be broadcast on terrestrial, it is fair to consider it spoiler-prone. But if it is only going to be on Sky for the foreseeable future, is that not how most people are going to see it? Given that the panel I was on was discussing politics, and some of the most interesting stuff in BSG happens early in Season 3 (as in blatant glorification of terrorism!) this was quite a constraint.
So, here are three different scenarios, depending on whether a series will show on satellite/cable then terrestrial, satellite/cable only, or where it's not due for a UK broadcast at all:
[Poll #936197]
I watched one panel, and took part in another, that discussed Battlestar Galactica. In both cases, the spoiler policy was that we should not discuss Season 3 at all, because as it had only been broadcast on satellite/cable, and no DVD had yet been released, not everyone had had the chance to see it. I was a bit taken aback by this, as in my experience spoiler policy has usually been 'it is reasonable to discuss material that has been shown in the UK via the medium where most people will see it. In other words, if a series is previewing on cable but is going to be broadcast on terrestrial, it is fair to consider it spoiler-prone. But if it is only going to be on Sky for the foreseeable future, is that not how most people are going to see it? Given that the panel I was on was discussing politics, and some of the most interesting stuff in BSG happens early in Season 3 (as in blatant glorification of terrorism!) this was quite a constraint.
So, here are three different scenarios, depending on whether a series will show on satellite/cable then terrestrial, satellite/cable only, or where it's not due for a UK broadcast at all:
[Poll #936197]
It's Crossover Time Again
Feb. 27th, 2007 08:43 pmOne of the programme items I didn't end up going to at Redemption 07 was "What Would Blake's 7 Be Like Not Set In Space?" On the basis of Ben Jeapes' description of his panel's suggestion it sounds like I missed out! I can't hep but imagine this as a steampunk-themed RPG scenario...
Personally, I think the US version of Life on Mars should eschew the cop-show format; inspired by the fact that there was a West Wing episode entitled 'Life on Mars', I want to see the spin-off where Josh Lyman is knocked over on Pennsylvania Avenue and wakes up in 1973 to find himself working for Richard Nixon. Bonus marks would be awarded for featuring guest appearances by an economics professor called Barlett and a Vietnam-veteran aerospace executive called McGarry.
Personally, I think the US version of Life on Mars should eschew the cop-show format; inspired by the fact that there was a West Wing episode entitled 'Life on Mars', I want to see the spin-off where Josh Lyman is knocked over on Pennsylvania Avenue and wakes up in 1973 to find himself working for Richard Nixon. Bonus marks would be awarded for featuring guest appearances by an economics professor called Barlett and a Vietnam-veteran aerospace executive called McGarry.