Memories for Life Colloquium: The Future of our Pasts

http://www.memoriesforlife.org/colloquium06.php

British Library
London
12th December, 2006

The Memories for Life Network announces a colloquium, to be held at the British Library Conference Centre (Euston Road, London) on 12 Dec 06

The colloquium, sponsored by the EPSRC funded M4L network and the British Library, will consist of a series of panel discussions, intended for a general audience, a poster session, and keynotes.

Memories for Life (M4L) is a project that brings together a diverse range of scientists, academics and experts to study and understand how memory works and to develop the technologies needed to enhance it. In today's technology-rich society human memory is supplemented by increasing amounts of personal digital information; emails, photographs, Internet telephone calls, even GPS locations and television viewing logs. The challenges that lie ahead include the development of prosthetic memories, the storing and retrieval of a lifetime's worth of digital memories and the issues of trust and privacy. This is a problem of international scope, and beyond what can be achieved by a single research team or research grant, and offers the possibility of revolutionary advance. As such, Memories for Life has been recognised as a Grand Challenge for computing, by the United Kingdom Computing
Research Committee.

The Future of our Pasts, on the 12th December at the British Library, will bring together representatives from all the fields involved in the M4L project including psychologists, neuroscientists, sociologists, librarians and information professionals, and computer scientists in one of the most wide-ranging gatherings of memory and information experts in recent years.

For detailed information on the Colloquium, see the website above.

To register and confirm your booking for the colloquium please email your name, organisation, contact details, and any special dietary requirements (eg vegetarian) asap and not later than 30th November 2006 to

info@memoriesforlife.org

Attendance is free, but the audience is strictly limited to 200 places. Lunch will be provided.

A friend's just sent me these photos in an email called: 'Why dogs hate Halloween'. My favourite has to be the hot dogs, although the spider's mighty cute too...

There's an interesting interview on NPR with William Zinsser, author of the classic guide On Writing Well, about the challenges of writing personal history. One of the quotes from his essay, How To Write A Memoir, feels particularly useful:

"My final reducing advice can be summed up in two words: think small. Don't rummage around in your past -- or your family's past -- to find episodes that you think are "important" enough to be worthy of including in your memoir. Look for small self-contained incidents that are still vivid in your memory. If you still remember them it's because they contain a universal truth that your readers will recognize from their own life."

But it's what he has to say about readers that really makes me think:

"Who is this elusive creature the reader? He is a person with an attention span of about twenty seconds. He is assailed on every side by forces competing for his time: by newspapers and magazines, by television and radio, by his stereo and videocassettes, by his wife and children and pets, by his house and his yard and all the gadgets that he has bought to keep them spruce, and by that most potent of competitors, sleep. The man snoozing in his chair with an unfinished magazine open on his lap is a man who was being given too much unnecessary trouble by the writer.

It won't do to say that the snoozing reader is too dumb or too lazy to keep pace with the train of thought. My sympathies are with him. If the reader is lost, it is generally because the writer has not been careful enough to keep him on the path."

Barthes said writers had to 'cruise' the reader; I guess it would be a pretty poor seduction if the seductee went off to make a cup of tea, or even fell asleep during the fireworks.

Welcome Laurie Stolarz's new book, Bleed - which is visiting my blog today as part of its Girlfriends Cyber Circuit tour.

Bleed


Ten teens, one unforgettable day

Over the course of a single day, the lives of ten teenagers will intersect in powerful and unexpected ways.

Among them are Nicole, whose decision to betray her best friend will shock everyone, most of all herself; Kelly, who meets the convicted felon she’s been writing to for years; and Maria, whose definition of a true friend is someone who will cut her. Derik discovers his usual good looks and charm won’t help him get the girl he really wants, while Joy, a fifteen year old waitress, hoping for true intimacy, narrowly escapes a very dark fate.

Seamlessly woven together, this collection of interconnected short stories paints an authentic portrait of today’s teen experience that is at once funny, moving, and often very haunting.


What the Critics are Saying:

“Stolarz expertly weaves a combination of stories the reader will remember for a long while.” – Anne Keller, RandomReads

“The reader is swept along in this masterful plotting of characters as their lives intertwine in most unexpected ways. Laurie Faria Stolarz has captured perfectly the angst and folly of the teenage world.” – Teenreads.com

“…a funny, yet poignant book of interconnecting short stories in which the lives of 10 teenagers are seamlessly woven together….The author demonstrates the ability to identify with today’s teen experience…” – School Library Journal

Hyperion Books, September 2006
Hardcover $15.95
ISBN 078683854X
Ages 14+

Also Available by Laurie Stolarz:

The Blue is for Nightmares Collection
Llewellyn Publications
0738709883
$29.95
Ages 12+

Nightmares. Dark Secrets. Premonitions of Death.

Welcome to Stacey’s World!

With over 250,000 books sold, the Blue is for Nightmares Collection is now available as a boxed set, including a copy of Stacey’s spell book, filled with some of Stacey’s favorite home remedies.

It begins with the dreams. White lilies, the death flower. Being chased through the woods, knowing she cannot outrun her pursuer forever. Visits from the spirit of a girl who was murdered. Threats and taunts from an unseen assailant.

But that’s only the start. When the dreams begin to spill over into Stacey’s waking life, that’s when the nightmare really begins.


About the Author:
Laurie Faria Stolarz grew up in Salem, MA, attended Merrimack College, and received an MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College in Boston. She is currently working on Project 17, the companion novel to Bleed, also for young adults. To learn more about Laurie, please visit her website: www.lauriestolarz.com.

A public debate on political writing
...with Gautam Malkani, Dee Jarrett-Macauley and Nina Steiger

Is all writing a political act?

Whatever you write, whether it's fiction, poetry or plays, you've almost certainly dealt with political issues in your work. But how do writers approach political issues in their work? Do they have a responsibility to tackle these issues and to what end? What are the key components of political writing?

If you've ever wanted to tackle these issues then come to Politically Speaking. Through this public debate our panel of established authors will explore all these questions.

Followed by a question and answer session - come prepared to probe!

Chaired by Judith Vidal-Hall, the panel includes Gautam Malkani (author of Londonstani), Dee Jarrett-Macauley (Moses and Me), and Director of Soho Theatre’s writers’ centre, Nina Steiger.

DATE: Thursday 9 November, 7pm – 8.45pm
VENUE: Stephen Lawrence Lecture Theatre
Greenwich University, off King William Walk, London SE10 9HY

Nearest station: Greenwich (Tube) or Cutty Sark (DLR)

TICKETS: £5 / £2 concessions (inc. students)
in advance or on the door.


BOOK YOUR PLACE BY CALLING 020 7735 3111
Find out more by visiting us at www.spreadtheword.org.uk

I have become obsessed with Buffy. When she's on TV, even in the oldest repeats, my children know to call me and I will come running, no matter what I'm doing. When Buffy's on, I don't hide my eyes, or shout out 'No, do NOT go in there'. I don't need to. Buffy can do it. She's the girl. I'm with her every step of the way, willing out more and more ghouls to come and get us. Just let them try.

Although I keep begging her, my daughter refuses to watch it with me. She says I enjoy it too much. That I become blood-thirsty when Buffy's on. She's right.

After each episode, I feel exausted. I need to sit down.

'You've been sitting down,' my son points out.

'I want to sit in quiet,' I say. 'Turn this rubbish off.'

He does. No one crosses me for at least half an hour after my Buffy dose. They don't dare.

WELCOME to Leading the Dance, my collection of short stories from Bluechrome which has the auspicious official publication day of November 5th. Nice to know that, each year, the anniversary of the book's publication will be remembered with such a blaze of glory (despite not being grown up enough to have an Amazon sales ranking just yet):

Work on the novel has been sloooow today, but I have not despaired. I have usefully filled in my hours working out my age on other planets. Who ever said the internet encouraged people to waste time obviously had no idea what they were talking about. Actually, I'm puzzled - why when I filled in my date of birth correctly, does it give my earth birthdate for 2007 as one day later? Am I missing something, or is this some dire warning for me?

So, when you go to exhibitions do you read the descriptions first, or do you look at the art? There are definitely two categories of visitors - well, actually there's a third - the ones who are glued into the earphones and have that superior look that tells you how you should have got the 'tour' too because they're finding out so much more than you, and because they have to press certain buttons at certain points they have to stand in front of certain pieces so you can't see them. Truth is, I'm a 'nervous' art appreciator, although I'm learning to just relax and enjoy.

Anyway, the David Smith exhibition at the Tate Modern has definitely been one of my highlights of the year, because I forgot to bother about what I 'should' be thinking and just started feeling. And, yes, I also read the descriptions and was pleased I had with certain pieces such as the Home of the Welder.

Home of the Welder was made shortly after the Second World War, and reflects Smith's personal circumstances. He had just been released from his wartime job as a welder, which he believed had restricted his creative work. Like a coded autobiography, various elements in this sculpture relate to his dreams and frustrations at the time. The millstone, for example, was identified by Smith as representing his job, while images of women and children may reflect tensions in his childless first marriage.

But most of all I loved the energy of it all. It was interesting watching people came out - we bounced, although those of us who were particularly skittish slid out thanks to Karsten Höller...
This is what David Smith said about his work:

I like outdoor sculpture, and the most practical thing for outdoor sculpture is stainless steel, and I make them and I polish them in such a way that on a dull day, they take on the dull blue, or the color of the sky in the late afternoon sun, the glow, golden like the rays, the colors of nature... They are colored by the sky and the surroundings.

or...

Climate March, Saturday November 4th 2006

The 4th November is the Saturday before the UN Climate Talks (COP 12/ MOP 2) in Nairobi (6th-17th November). On this day there will be demonstrations and events, demanding urgent action on climate change all round the world ( see www.globalclimatecampaign.org ). In Nairobi, itself, there will be a demonstration a week later on Saturday 11th November, midway through the Talks, whilst the delegates are actually present.

Only coordinated international action has a chance of averting the massive threat posed by the catastrophic destabilisation of global climate so these Talks are a critical opportunity for world leaders to act. Their failure to do so, so far - due especially to the spoiling tactics of the US under George Bush’s fossil-fuel industry dominated administration - is something that threatens the lives of billions and even the very existence of life on earth.

Timetable:

10.00 am Cycle protest assembles at Lincoln’s Inn Fields, South side (Holborn/Temple tube) For more information on the cycle ride click here.
11.30 am Cyclists arrive at US embassy : musical protest with "Seize the Day".
12 noon Rally at US Embassy, Grosvenor Square.
Speakers include George Monbiot, Colin Challen MP, Caroline Lucas MEP, Norman Baker MP, Zac Goldsmith.
1.00 pm March for Global Climate Justice from US embassy to Trafalgar Square
1.45 – 2.00 pm March joins “I-Count” Mass Gathering in Trafalgar Square
1.00 - 3.00 pm “I-Count” Mass Gathering in Trafalgar Square See further www.icount.org.uk . First hour is 'warm-up' & 'arrivals' up to main event 2-3 pm.

A snippet in my daily newspaper today starts with the assertion that most pre-school children want to be a celebrity when they're older. Not for doing anything, you understand - or at least what that might be is not revealed - they just to be famous. But what's more shocking to me is that the article goes on to say that this is what the parents were saying their kids would choose as a career, not the kids themselves. Admittedly the survey was only for pre-schoolers, but even so. It just seems to suggest such a lack of ambition - although at least becoming an astronaut was the fourth choice. Joining the fire brigade was second, and most strangely of all, architect was number three. But then I started to wonder if it was because kids get their ideas from TV rather than the 'real world' - X-factor, Fireman Sam, Bob the Builder. Mind you, David Cameron seems to be on TV every time I turn it on these days, but strangely he wasn't mentioned.

I've been looking for poems about writing recently. Any suggestions welcome, but in the meantime, could I do better than this one?



The Circus Animals' Desertion
William Butler Yeats

I

I sought a theme and sought for it in vain,
I sought it daily for six weeks or so.
Maybe at last, being but a broken man,
I must be satisfied with my heart, although
Winter and summer till old age began
My circus animals were all on show,
Those stilted boys, that burnished chariot,
Lion and woman and the Lord knows what.

II

What can I but enumerate old themes,
First that sea-rider Oisin led by the nose
Through three enchanted islands, allegorical dreams,
Vain gaiety, vain battle, vain repose,
Themes of the embittered heart, or so it seems,
That might adorn old songs or courtly shows;
But what cared I that set him on to ride,
I, starved for the bosom of his faery bride.

And then a counter-truth filled out its play,
'The Countess Cathleen' was the name I gave it;
She, pity-crazed, had given her soul away,
But masterful Heaven had intervened to save it.
I thought my dear must her own soul destroy
So did fanaticism and hate enslave it,
And this brought forth a dream and soon enough
This dream itself had all my thought and love.

And when the Fool and Blind Man stole the bread
Cuchulain fought the ungovernable sea;
Heart-mysteries there, and yet when all is said
It was the dream itself enchanted me:
Character isolated by a deed
To engross the present and dominate memory.
Players and painted stage took all my love,
And not those things that they were emblems of.

III

Those masterful images because complete
Grew in pure mind, but out of what began?
A mound of refuse or the sweepings of a street,
Old kettles, old bottles, and a broken can,
Old iron, old bones, old rags, that raving slut
Who keeps the till. Now that my ladder's gone,
I must lie down where all the ladders start
In the foul rag and bone shop of the heart.

Via Patry's blog, there's some interesting thoughts on writer's envy here. (Is that triple-blogging I've just done there?)

The British Council's New Writing initiative have just issued their latest theme, Memory. Check out Abdulrazak Gurnah's short story, My Mother Lived on a Farm in Africa. It's a magical example of using the fluidity of time and memory in writing.

Nothing to do with writing (well, maybe my shopping collection of poems!), but some November sample sales...

What: Temperley London Sale
Why: Up to 80 per cent off past season’s stock.
When: 1-4 Nov. Wed., 2-7 p.m.; Thurs., 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Fri., 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sat., 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Where: 20th Century Theatre, 291 Westbourne Grove, W11 2QA (020 7229 7957).

What: Macmillan Christmas Market
Why: One hundred and fifty stalls selling organic produce, linen, handmade toys and knitwear, from £5.
When: 6 & 7 Nov. Mon., 6-9 p.m. (£20); Tues., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. (£5). Ticket proceeds benefit Macmillan Cancer Support.
Where: Royal Horticultural Halls, Vincent Sq., SW1P 2PE (020 7795 0055).

What: Pringle of Scotland Sale
Why: Seriously discounted clothing and accessories, from £50.
When: 7-10 Nov., Tues., 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Wed., 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Thurs., 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Fri., 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Where: Pringle of Scotland, The Courtyard, 255a Pavilion Rd., SW1X 0BP (020 7259 1660).

What: Orla Kiely Sale
Why: Past season clothing and accessories at discounted prices.
When: 16-19 Nov. Thurs. & Fri., 11 a.m.-7:30 p.m.; Sat., 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sun., 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Where: Studio Voltaire, 1a Nelson’s Row, SW4 7JR (020 7819 0159).

What: British Designers Sale
Why: Clothing for men and women, including Jenny Packham, Marithé + François Girbaud, Alexander McQueen, 120% Linen. All from £20.
When: 24 & 25 Nov. Fri., 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sat., 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Where: Chelsea Old Town Hall, King’s Rd., SW3 5EE (020 7627 2777).

What: Browns Bridal Sample Sale
Why: Up to 60 per cent off wedding dresses by the likes of Monique Lhuillier, Reem Acra, Badgley Mischka and Roland Mouret.
When: 26 Nov. Sun., 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Where: Browns Bride Shop, 59 Brook St., W1K 4HS (020 7514 0056).

What: Ann Louise Roswald/Lou Lou and Law Sale
Why: Up to 80 per cent off previous season fashion and accessories.
When: 27 & 28 Nov. Mon., 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Tues., 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
Where: 11-13 Corsham St., N1 6DP (020 7250 1583).

To work, to work on the new novel, but before I do, let me just remind myself of this all over again:

"Writing's not terrible, it's wonderful. I keep my own hours, do what I please. When I want to travel, I can. I'm doing what I most wanted to do all my life. I'm not into the agonies of creation." Raymond Carver

Desperate writer needs .... Ooops, I really didn't mean to come across quite so needy as in my last post - it was supposed to be a clever link to the article about personal ads, but thanks for the comments and emails anyway! And just in case you're looking for loving links - and one of the best things about blogging for me has been seeing who other people are reading/enjoying and following trails from there - let me direct you to the following beauties. This is an eclectic list, no rhyme or reason or anything, and I know already I'm leaving lots out, so more will follow ...

For fun and inspiration - try Swissmiss. The treadmill dance in particular has made my half hour several times already. Watch it...

For feeling like you've had one of those really good meaningful talks when you come away with at least a dozen book recommendations - there's Dove Grey Reader. (And thanks to her for two of my new finds - Rachel Unthank and Selvedge Magazine.

For some the best photo essays around - Clare Dudman is hard to beat. I bookmarked her recent seaside one immediately. Know I'll return to that for writing
inspiration.

Because her book is going to be fantastic and I want to say I was there at the beginning - Susannah.

For pure indulgence - Cream Puffs in Venice. I feel like I've been on holiday every time I click here.

Because I wish they were my friends - Muse to Muse. Oops am sounding needy again, but these women rock!

I've liked everything Myfanwy's recommended so far, and learnt about lots of good new writers.

I paused about putting in Secrets of a Sugar Mummy, because it does make me feel a bit 'had' - it's supposed to be a 'best-selling female novelist of a certain age' and the suspense must be working because I do keep running through possibilities in my mind. My number one choice is apparently wrong, but I'm not sure. I just really really don't want to be like this when I'm sixty. OK, I'll take the best-selling and certain age bits and even if the worst comes to the worst, the younger man, but not all that angst. I want to be content in my skin, and too busy writing, hiking and reading my Selvedge magazine to bother about what people think of me. Oy, young man, I'll shout, get yourself away and stop knocking at my door unless you're bringing something useful like chocolate, gin, the latest hardback Martin Amis and some good blog recommendations.

And others I'm reading, in no particular order, are - Feministing, Susan Hill, Ros Barber, P A Moed and Inner Minx and Me and My Big Mouth.

Lonely Needy Blog Seeks Readers.

Too busy writing to have a shower? I have just the thing for you. A site called Compactimpact is selling chewing gum that freshens your whole body. Now how healthy does that sound?

"Chewing gum just to freshen your breath is a thing of the past. Now with an innovative new gum from Japan, gum can freshen your whole body. Approximately an hour after chewing the gum, the special aroma component is emitted from your skin through the use of the new substances geraniol and linalool.

Available in three different flavors, Fuwarinka fresh citrus, Fuwarinka fruity rose, and Otokokaoru rose menthol for men, this unique gum will be available starting July 21st from CompactImpact.com."

And just in case, you don't quite get it right, the site is also selling these handy animal themed gauze masks. I like the pig, but you can choose from gorilla, jaguar, monkey or tiger too.

I wonder how Napoleon would have reacted if Josephine had chewed a few of these sticks before he came home.

And don’t forget to book for

True or False? with Alexander Masters and Jon Ronson



Tuesday 21 November, 7:00pm



‘Reality literature’ is an increasingly big part of the literary scene. Alexander Masters won the Guardian First Book Award in 2005 for his real-life depiction of a young homeless man in Stuart: A Life Backwards. Jon Ronson, whose new book Out of the Ordinary: True Tales of Everyday Craziness is published in November, has been writing for years about real eccentrics, not least himself. Together they discuss the challenge of writing of writing about real people.



Time: 7.30pm

Tickets: £5.00 PEN Members; £7.00 non-members (includes a glass of wine after the talk)

Venue: The Guardian Newsroom, 60 Farringdon Road, London, EC1R 3GA

How to book: Call 020 7713 0023 or visit www.englishpen.org/events/