| Ben Goldacre at Odyssey |
[May. 29th, 2009|03:46 pm] |
Odyssey is pleased (and slightly over geeked) to announce that journalist and blogger Ben Goldacre of badscience.net will be attending Odyssey as a guest speaker on the Saturday. For those that don't know here's a bit about Ben from his own website (www.badscience.net):
Ben is a [coughs] award winning writer, broadcaster, and medical doctor who has written the weekly Bad Science column in the Guardian since 2003.
He appears regularly on Radio 4 and TV, and has written for the Guardian, Time Out, New Statesman, and the British Medical Journal as well as various book chapters.
“Bad Science” the book (4th Estate) is out now, it’s sold out in many bookstores but the publishers have ordered an emergency second print run which will appear in two days.
He has won numerous awards, including “Best Freelancer” at the Medical Journalists Awards 2006, the Healthwatch Award in 2006, “Best Feature” at the British Science Writers Awards twice, for 2003 and 2005, and the Royal Statistical Society’s first Award For Statistical Excellence in Journalism (£250 and an engraved crystal paperweight!).
I do not present myself as a “leading expert”, and I rarely even mention being a doctor, on the grounds that “arguing from authority” is one of the biggest problems in the way that science is misrepresented by the media. However, if you were to ask my mother, she would tell you that Ben studied Medicine at Magdalen College Oxford where he also edited Isis, the Oxford University Magazine. He left in 1995 with a First: before going on to clinical medicine at UCL, he was a visiting researcher in cognitive neurosciences at the University of Milan, working on fMRI brain scans of language and executive function, worked at Liberty the human rights organisation, and was also funded by the British Academy to do a Masters degree in Philosophy at King’s. |
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| Live Twitter Panel Programme Item Idea |
[May. 16th, 2009|07:07 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | @ Home | ] |
| [ | mood |
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Hi All,
Had an idea for a novelty panel item which I would be glad to host. I'm hoping that with nearly 10 months to Odyssey, that possibly enough con going folk who are gadget freaks like me, might by then have mobile internet devices and have access to Twitter on them.
Using the Radisson's free Wi-Fi, I thought that with a little help from the opps dept and a powerpointlike projected large screen display. We could set up a Twitter account just for the event and then have a live Tweet Q&A discussing anything relevant including Twitter itself!
Do you think it could work?
Thanks! |
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| A new Eclectic21 panel |
[May. 16th, 2009|12:57 pm] |
Another Eclectic21 panel requiring volunteers:
- Is the new Trek a Trekkie's Trek?
To be on this panel, please reply including your badge number?
Thanks :-)
****UPDATE: Panel now filled - thank you!**** |
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| Eclectic21 Needs You! |
[May. 15th, 2009|10:08 am] |
As usual, Eclectic21 is looking for panellists for our panels (unsurprisingly!).
Reply to this if you're interested in being more vocal than usual on any of the following subjects :-) We look forward to hearing from you :-)
1) America has a habit of “re-imagining” UK and old US shows, but are these happy remakes or tragic mistakes? - UPDATE: This panel is now full :-)
2) Watchmen, was it worth the effort?
3) Will The Losers be a winner?
4) Grand Theft Brokeback: Why we need more gay videogame characters!
5) How to bust an RPG system - making your GM cry - swap tips on breaking your friend's hard-planned role-playing campaigns
6) Bizarre Breasts: Why can’t comics artists draw women?
7) New Characters, Old Shoes: To what extent is it okay to kill and “replace” characters in shows? |
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| Gilbert and Sullivan - musicals |
[Apr. 29th, 2009|07:48 am] |
Are you a Gilbert and Sullivan fan? How about musicals?
Would you like to take part in a workshop to help people write comic songs?
(G+S tends to lend itself very easily to writing alternative versions - "Oh I am a cyber king, I am a cyber king, and it is it is a glorious thing, to be a cyber king") |
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| Any tax specialists reading this? |
[Apr. 26th, 2009|05:16 pm] |
We've got a volunteer to talk on taxation issues for writers (royalties, tax deuctions, etc) and she suggested that it might be useful to have someone with her to cover other tax issues of interest to fans - eg. inheritance tax on large book collections.
Can anyone help with this? |
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| Dance Workshops |
[Apr. 19th, 2009|11:07 am] |
I'm planning a dance workshop every morning. I've had two offers (gratefully accepted) of belly dance workshops.
I was wondering if anyone was able to teach a line-dancing or salsa or jazz dance session? |
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| Last chance before price increase... |
[Apr. 16th, 2009|02:51 pm] |
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Please remember that the Odyssey 2010 prices go up by £10 tonight so if you haven't registered yet now's a good time. |
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| Odyssey price rises |
[Mar. 31st, 2009|08:18 pm] |
Prices for Odyssey are due to rise on 16 April. These are the rises:
Adult membership goes up from £45 to £55
Unwaged membership goes up from £35 to £45
Supporting membership goes up from £20 to £25
Junior membership goes up from £20 to £25
Euro prices also rise in line with these increases.
You can book online at:
http://www.odyssey2010.org |
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| A question about hotels... |
[Mar. 20th, 2009|11:23 am] |
Maybe I am being dumb, BUT ...
I just noticed that the website allows you to make a hotel booking when you buy a membership.
What happens if you bought a membership first, and now want to book your hotel as a separate action? This is surely very common, but there seems no form or guidance information for this scenario?
Colin Harris |
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| Quiet Room |
[Mar. 1st, 2009|11:10 am] |
At Odyssesy 2010 we will be having a Quiet Room, (inspired by the Diogenes Club from Sherlock Holmes), available for fans who want a break from the noise and activity of the convention. It will be a place to chill out, read a book or newspaper, relax, and avoid conversation for a time, while still remaining in the company of other fans.
Holmes described the Diogenes Club thus: "There are many men in London, you know, who, some from shyness, some from misanthropy, have no wish for the company of their fellows. Yet they are not averse to comfortable chairs and the latest periodicals. It is for the convenience of these that the Diogenes Club was started, and it now contains the most unsociable and unclubable men in town. No member is permitted to take the least notice of any other one. Save in the Stranger's Room, no talking is, under any circumstances, allowed, and three offences, if brought to the notice of the committee, render the talker liable to expulsion. My brother was one of the founders, and I have myself found it a very soothing atmosphere."
We will ask our members to respect the rule of silence in the Quiet Room and remember that people have come to this room to avoid conversation and to recharge their batteries. |
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| Guest Announcement! |
[Dec. 20th, 2008|08:40 pm] |
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I am delighted to announce that writer Iain M Banks and artist Carlos Ezquerra will be joining Alastair Reynolds, Liz Williams, Mike Carey and Fran and John Dowd as our guests of honour at Odyssey 2010. |
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| Odyssey 2010 Forum |
[May. 19th, 2008|11:50 am] |
Our forum is now up and running, so please do take a moment to register and join in our discussions about the convention.
To prevent ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) gaspodex being exposed to postings too graphic for his sensitive nature (and to keep the spam bots away), we are activating forum users manually. Please do bear with us if you don't get activated immediately. gaspodex and I will process activations as fast as we can, but let me know here if you're still on hold after 24 hours. |
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| Odyssey 2010 Registration Live. |
[Apr. 27th, 2008|05:41 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | cheerful | ] |
Hi all ...
Just a quick note to let you know that the Odyssey website is starting to go up and most importantly the online registration form is live and available.
Given the time it has taken us to get all the memberships we took at con processed we have decided to keep the at con price for a short while longer - until April 30th in fact. The prices will change from the 1st May.
So check out www.odyssey2010.org to join up and keep an eye on the website for a major announcement later this week |
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| Normal service will be resumed... |
[Mar. 25th, 2008|09:59 pm] |
Hi All ...
Back from Orbital and about to flake out.
First just to confirm
Odyssey 2010 will be held 2-5 April 2010.
Current confirmed guests of honour are Alastair Reynolds, Liz Williams and Mike Carey with Fran and John Dowd as Fan Guests.
The venue will be the Radisson Once again.
The website is hosted at www.odyssey2010.org. It will be going fully live in a few days but we can be contacted by email at enquiries@odyssey2010.org for any questions or registration queries.
Once live, registration will be available on line or by mail. We have experienced some problems with the site and email, but these have now been rectified, If you mailed us before Tuesday evening please contact us again as a few mails may have slipped through the net. Give us a few more days to recover then we can fill you in on what’s been happening. |
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| Arthur C Clarke |
[Mar. 18th, 2008|10:29 pm] |
We have just heard the news of his passing. Although not a suprise after his fairwell video at xmas, it's still very sad news.
It just makes me glad we picked the name Odyssey for the Eastercon 2010 bid - hopefully it can become a fitting tribute if sucessfull |
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| Odyssey 2010: A bid to run the 2010 Eastercon |
[Mar. 16th, 2008|08:07 pm] |
Odyssey 2010 is a bid to run the 2010 British National Science Fiction Convention. The bid will be voted on at ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) orbital_2008 in Heathrow over Easter 2008.
On the committee at the bid stage are Rita Medany, Fiona Scarlett and Judith Proctor. We are talking to other potential committee members, but
wanted to keep some flexibility to allow people the chance to contact us
at Orbital if they wish to get involved at a committee level.
Our post bid website will be:
http://www.odyssey2010.org and you can email us at enquiries at odyssey2010 dot org
We would really appreciate your support at the bidding session, so please come along and talk to us about our bid :)
EDIT: Edited to clarify how our the comittee will progress. |
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