1. Where are you currently and why?

I am sitting at my laptop, it is early morning. Toronto, Canada. I sit
looking out at the street, through my front garden which is a wild leafy
place. It is cool out which is good because we are into our second week of a
garbage strike and if it's hot, it is getting really disgusting outside. I
am going to leave town, and the garbage and go kayaking for a while. I just
bought a Pelican case to store my camera. Now if I just don't tip while
using it...

2. Tell us your moblog story, how did it all begin for you, and do you have
any favourite posts?

I was looking for more news about the bombings in the London subway and I
stumbled on moblog. I lurked. When Alfie posted 'No Fear', I was enchanted.


I will never forget Alex Saville. Today it looks like we're going to have
another blog baby. We seem to be having lots of babies. And they're all good
looking and way too smart.

I have some favourite moments: alfie's no fear, the jump months, steve and
helen's trip to India, Xalieri's honeymoon in Hawaii, late night Mandy
conversations, JXL bouncing off the side of his truck, being bfish's friend,
rooting for various people to stay sane while doing exams, enjoying their
victories, SLG's oneaday, actually all the oneadays, Seaneboy patrolling the
driving-while-blogging, and the pixie dance, OJ's fabulous black and white
dress, Hildegard's Oscar, Spiderbaby and Crickson's eternal festivals in
Minnesota, almost anything Nige does, Liltiger's hardware store, Caine's
Almont, Mat's Lemmy, those Taniwha kids, the completely original
construction projects at the Rich/Mat estate, learning curious UK culture
like mushypeas and Jaffacakes, Viv's bathroom view, Minushaben's and
Maggie's political solidarity, Paintist's postcards and inspiration....and
many more.

3.How did you get into taking photographs?

Someone gave me a camera when I was a kid. I have a basement full of my
photographs. Once I talked myself into a job as a newspaper photographer
even though I didn't know how to develop film. I learned to develop film on
the phone with a friend, in the dark, eventually loosing the spring of the
roll and making a terrible mess of it. Eventually I got it. I like being in
situations where I am in over my head. Speaking of which, I have been going
to school, Ryerson University, for photography and I guess I am going back
this fall. I got into a Magnum workshop in May with Mark Power, of Brighton,
and it was probably the best thing I did in a while. It was brutal, the
daily critiques from other photographers and Mark were painful but
necessary.

4. What are you currently reading?

I read everything. I like a good junky book as much as something that I
think about for a long time. Last three books were 'Last Watch" by Sergei
Lukyanenko, 'Ring' by Koji Suzuki, and 'The View from Castle Rock' by Alice
Munro. I love science fiction, and non-fiction books about plants, and there
is a library on my corner where I spend a lot of time looking at expensive
art books and graphic novels. I loved "A Fine Balance" by Rohinton Mistry,
"Cat's Eye" by Atwood, and kid's books with Oscar. Current favourites are
'Scaredy Squirrel' and 'Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus'

5. What makes you happy?

my bike, having a lot of people in the house, fires, chaos, being outside,
honesty, tall men, avacados, cheese, good bread, food in general, taking
photos, making things, growing things, music, movies, animation, really big
rocks, my kayak, dogs, most people, the circus, public art, puzzles, trying
to figure out things, old clothes, big snowstorms with the fat big flakes,
my family and friends.

Last year I raised Russo, a puppy for Guide Dogs Canada. I am proud to
report that she has turned out to be a star in training and they really like
her. I can't do another puppy right now because I want to travel, so I am
keeping Guide Dog puppies when they need a place to stay. So far Garnet has
been here and at the end of the month, the truly adorable Frizzle will be
staying.

For those of you who followed Russo's buddies, Nikkita and Pel--both just
graduated, and are now working as vision companions to young university
students.

6.What's your strongest childhood memory?

I don't know. Montreal where I grew up, the ocean, my parents, nothing
important. I had a great childhood, a really interesting adolescence and
early adulthood. I did it all. no regrets. great memories.

7. What is the last thing that made you laugh?

my friend Laurie is always late. she arrived late and the annoyed chair of
the meeting said 'Why don't you get a watch?' Laurie replied: 'Then I'd just
know how late I am."

8. What are the 3 most valuable lessons you have you learned in life so
far?

I don't seem to have learned much over the years. I admire qualities I don'
t have--black curly hair, patience, listening, being tall, mysterious. I am
pretty much WYSIWYG.

9. Your house in on fire - what's the first thing you grab?

My house on fire? I have such a great old house here. Full of memories and
stupid little things we all like. If it went up in flames, there is nothing
and everything to save, so I'd grab any animal I had and run for it. Of
course, being old, this house is a continual money pit and ongoing repair
project, so I'd not have to deal with that anymore. Does anyone know a good
electrician?

10. So it's Desert Island Discs time and we're now choosing that one record
that remains after the hypothetical storm. What is that one record?

This is not a fair question. Too hard. It would not just be music, but film,
art, all kinds of good things. turtles. dogs. people. is there enough surf
for a board? I'd like to learn.

Posted by swamprose

1. Where are you currently and why? Where would you rather be on an ideal
day in an ideal world?

I'm in Zurich, Switzerland. I came here to visit my best friend on holiday,
fell in love with the city, and made it my mission to one day call this
place by home. That was nearly 3 years ago. It's 6.40am, and I have just
gotten home from working in a bar. It's light outside already and due to my
bad time keeping combined with technical difficulties, this is very late (even though I started writing it last Sunday). Shit! On an ideal day in an ideal world, I would be awake because me & my very large & shiny camera with it's large & shiny zoom lens would have to catch a flight to somewhere exotic I've never been before to take pictures I'm going to get paid for. OR I'd be awake because I'd spent all night dancing. Still awake because of work...not so much fun.

2. Tell us your Moblog story, how did it all begin for you, what purpose does Moblog have for you?

It started when I moved from Cape Town to England in 2005. I knew Alfie and he got me on to it. It started as a way to document my new life, and as a space to put old photographs so I'd look at them more often. It became an amazing source of delight & entertainment as I got to know the Moblog community - so many warm, open, insanely funny, creative, intelligent, & wonderfully inspiring people from around the world, the friends I made through Moblog were my saving grace that year in the English countryside..don't know what I would have done without you :)

3. What was your childhood obsession? What happened to it?

I remember being given a book on dolphins when I was about 12, and watching The Big blue, and wanting to be a marine biologist or a diver, I spent a lot of time seeing how many laps I could do in our pool while holding my breath. That was replaced by an obsession with Vogue magazine when I was about 13, I plastered every inch of my bedroom (including the ceiling) with it's pages. What happened? I was a fashion stylist for a few years, loads of frivolous fun. Now I live by a lake, not the sea..but it's enough, I need to
live by an expanse of water, it makes me calmer!

4. Name three things you would change in your life that would make you
happier?

a) I would find a way to cure cancer, in the form of an aspirin, with no
side effects whatsoever, while simultaneously giving the NHS a gigantic kick up their asses for giving my Mum the most shocking post operative care ever. Pure negligence. Disgusting.

b) I would be more self-disciplined - especially when it comes to doing the
things I know are good for me, more regularly.

c) I would talk less and act more.


5. How did you get into taking photographs?

I think it came from my dad, he was always snapping pictures, I think that's
what started my love for documenting life. Coupled with my first boyfriend
being a photography student when I was 17, we loved going on road trips in
South Africa, taking pictures together. Being a stylist gave me another
perspective, creating pictures, I started paying more attention to the
light, how different lighting can make the same face change so much.

6. What are you currently reading?

I have become terrible at starting books & not finishing them! I've just
started reading 'A New Earth' by Eckhart Tolle.

7. What's your motto? Your tagline? Your favourite saying?

Hmmm..'With our thoughts, we make our world'. 'Music is love in search of a
word'. What about my favourite punctuation mark? I use the ellipsis a
lot..too much...hmmm....

8. How would you spend a perfect Sunday?

Lazy morning in bed reading English newspapers (a luxury for me in
Switzerland), followed by breakfast at the Tearoom (great Moroccan
restaurant & lounge here that makes everything you could possible want for
breakfast, till 4pm), followed by a nap, followed by bike riding down to the
lake to have an early evening braai with friends in the setting summer sun.
Generally, lots of napping & food. & friends. Happiness.

9. So it's Desert Island Discs time and we're now choosing that one record
that remains after the hypothetical storm. What is that one record?

Coldplay - Parachutes. It doesn't matter how many times I've listened to it, it still moves me. So beautiful, so emotional. I can remember the first time
I heard it, who I was with, where I was - it's like having a musical
photograph. I've listened to it so many times in the last 9 years, and I
love the way I keep creating new memories to it.

10. Of all the places you have travelled or lived, is there one particular place that feels most significant?

The suburbs of Bergvliet in Cape Town. I grew up there with an amazing group
of girlfriends I'm still close to. Those times are such a big part of me, we were such a close-knit group, growing up together in such a beautiful part of the world. I'm so lucky to have had that experience.

Posted by Uber Spy

1. Where are you currently and why? Where would you rather be on an
ideal day in an ideal world?

I am in Macau/Macao in China overseeing the theatrical lighting
install for a brand new Dragone water show. I've been here for six
months and unexpectedly there is nowhere else that I would rather be.
It seems strange to write that and I certainly didn't expect to feel
this way about Macau. When I took the job I thought that I would just
be putting up with the place to make some money, but it has grown on
me and I love it.

2. Tell us your moblog story, how did it all begin for you, what
purpose does Moblog have for you?

I had a camera phone and a rapidly filling memory card, Moblog seemed
like the perfect way to do something with the images. What I didn't
expect Moblog to do was teach me how to take picture and give me the
opportunity to meet some of the loveliest people in the world. Moblog
helped me at a low point in my life and I will always be grateful for
the new sense of purpose and belonging it gave me. Since life has
become more hectic I have posted much less frequently, but I have
every intention of continuing. I guess I would liken Moblogs purpose
to "If a tree falls over in a forest and no one is their does it make
a noise?". If I take pictures that nobody sees is there any point?

3. What was your childhood obsession? What happened to it?

Anything Sci-fi, but more specifically:

Dr Who, what happened to it? They made the episodes slicker and
lighter, but shorter and less creepy.
Transformers, what happened to it? They turned it into a shit movie
franchise... I thought the cartoon movie was much better.
Super heroes, what happened to them? They became main stream and
respectable! I used to have to hang my head in shame whilst talking to
other geeks in dark corners, now every Tom, Dick, and Harry is
chatting about last nights episode of Heroes.

4. Name three things you would change in your life that would make you
happier?

1. I would completely get rid of my paunch, I'm half way there at the
moment and hope to have most of it gone by the wedding in November.

2. Laura and I would have a kid, we are working on this after
November... but we are still practising.

3. I would bring down Macau's humidity level.

5. How did you get into taking photographs?

I was on my first theatre tour and was spending a lot of time in new
places without my friends, having a camera gave me an excuse to wander
around a town on my own and not feel lonely or bored.

6. What are you currently reading?

I'm ashamed to say nothing. I just don't have the time or the energy
after reading and responding to emails all day. I do however listen to
"The Friday night comedy podcast", "The Mark Kermode movie review",
and the "BBC news" on my journey to work.

7. What's your motto? Your tagline? Your favorite saying?

"I don't eat anything with a Mum or a face"

8. You're a vegetarian, what's the most impressive dish you like to
cook?

It's always changing but my favourite meal at the moment is a
selection of Chinese style dishes. Aubergine in spicy garlic sauce,
Fried Gluten with carrot in Hosin sauce, Bok Choy fried in garlic with
a splash of soy sauce, Long pumpkin and mushrooms in oyster sauce,
these are then served with a flat bread.

9. So it's Desert Island Discs time and we're now choosing that one
record that remains after the hypothetical storm. What is that one
record?

I had a Ray Mears audio survival guide written on my list for a while
and then I decided that Jeff Wayne's War of the world would be better
company. But listening to "2 Many Dj's mix session 2" on the way to
work this morning convinced me that I would need to dance if I was
stranded on an island. I'm not sure if it is available as a disc, but
you can probably find it on your file sharing site of choice.

10. Of all the places you have traveled or lived, is there one
particular place that feels most significant?

That would be Vancouver Island because it is where Laura agreed to
marry me.

Posted by Steve

1. Where are you currently and why? Where would you rather be on an ideal day in an ideal world?
Currently in my office in Louth in Lincolnshire, I'm here because [short answer: It's where I work, I am a freelance web developer] [Long answer: We moved to rural Lincolnshire from Leeds so that my daughter could attend my Mum's Nursery/School which is about 15 miles away from here and is one of, if not the best Montessori education establishment in the country, I may be biased, but OfSTED agree.]
I'd rather be, in a quiet, dimly lit bar with a good Mojito and the company of friends.

2. Tell us your moblog story, how did it all begin for you, what purpose does Moblog have for you?
I found moblog (via google) when it was just a wee youngster and initially I saw it as a place to dump the pictures I took with my new cameraphone. It didn't take long for me to realise though, that the people here were of a very special ilk and it is those people and their humour/intelligence/photography skillz that have kept me coming back. It's a little more difficult to follow what everyone is doing here nowadays, the site moves a lot faster now than it did then, but it is no less fun or addictive than it was in 2004. Moblog has given me so much, from support, to prais, to proper, life long friendships with people I respect and love deeply...that and an EPIC 30th birthday party :)

3. What was your childhood obsession? What happened to it?
For as long as I can remember I have wanted to be a racing driver. My Dad was a petrol head of the highest order, and my Mum also has a passion for fast and beautiful cars, I have enduring memories of being about 5 or 6 and going for long and extremely fast drives on the winding country roads of Lincolnshire with my Dad in his Alfasud. "This is a proper driver's car" he used to say. My car purchases were no doubt informed by these experiences, the cars I've owned reads like a boy racers dream from a Renault 5 GT Turbo, to my current Subaru Impreza, I've always bought "driver's cars". I used to kart a lot, and soon realised that I had nowhere near enough talent to drive professionally, but I still have a fantasy of driving in the Gumball or something similar one day.

4. Name three things you would change in your life that would make you happier?
1)I'd move all the Leeds crew to Louth (I miss you all so much)
2)I'd get fit (I hate exercise)
3)Profit.

5. You know your food, noshninjas etc. What's your favourite meal? Or what was your most awesomest eating experience evar?
Hmmm thats a tough question. I think my fave dish to cook is lasagne. I can easily take 8 hours over it.

As for eating experience, my absolute fave restaurant in the whole universe is The Star at Harem. If you're ever in North Yorkshire and feel like eating some of the best food england has to offer, check it out. My younger brother and his fiancée are having their wedding reception there this summer...I can't wait.

6. Drums or bass?
I've played drums but never bass, therefore I must select the former, though surely one is not the same without the other?

7. What's your motto? Your tagline? Your favorite saying?
Gosh there are so many, I love quotations, and have a special love for Oscar Wilde's outbursts of unadulterated genius.
"We're all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars" is a particular favourite. Though I think for my motto I have to look to the great Keith Moon with "Sleep is for wankers."

8. Any favourite words of wisdom or life lessons to impart? The sort of thing that Leila can expect to hear when dad's laying heavy knowledge down on her eager mind? Not those sort of life lessons you filthy hound, this is a family interview.
It's funny, I always thought I'd have come up with a list of these by the time I became a dad, but I haven't.
I hope that Leila is a little less like I was as a child, and more like her mum was.
As a former skateboarder "look after your knees, you'll miss those when they're gone" springs to mind.

Or although I'll no doubt live to regret saying it, "question everything."

Oh and "don't eat yellow snow."

9. So it's Desert Island Discs time and we're now choosing that one record that remains after the hypothetical storm. What is that one record?
You are evil, this is so impossibly difficult to answer...I'd probably give a different response on any given day, right now I'd say The K&D; sessions by Kruder and Dorfmeister. It's one of the few albums I own that I've never really gotten bored with at any point. Failing that it would be Every Last Time by Gameface.

10. Of all the places you have traveled or lived, is there one particular place that feels most significant?
Leeds. I love Leeds, it is by some considerable margin, the best city on earth, and anyone who disagrees is either from Manchester or wrong. I miss it. Lincolnshire will always be home for me though, coming back was like putting on old shoes, I know all the shortcuts and backroads...and we make the best sausages in the world here.

Posted by Joe

1. Where are you currently and why? Where would you rather be on an ideal day in an ideal world?
Currently sitting in my prisoneresque ball chair in the corner of the living room. The view from my window is entirely filled with lush green springtime foliage with a sprinkling of blossom and bluebells. It was raining when I started this but it's got sunny again suddenly so the next sentence will probably be written some time after this one. Yeah, started raining again. Lovely while it lasted though, the old steam engine that sometimes drives past drove past, with it's customary tail of angry motorists behind it. Where would I rather be? I don't know. It's more about who you are and what you're doing that where you are. Although if we're talking ideal world then I'd be living in a big dome on Mars, like we were supposed to bloody have by now, with a sassy robot companion and telepathic girlfriend. I would probably settle for a jetpack, though.

2. Tell us your moblog story, how did it all begin for you, what purpose does Moblog have for you?
Funny story: My housemate built a website, and it turned into quite a big deal. From day one Moblog's been this crazy device that I saw being built in my living room which then brought images and interesting people from around the world and pumped them directly onto my monitor. 5 years and running and I'm still being surprised at what people do with it and use it for, the least being all the lovingly tailored spam I delete.

3. What was your childhood obsession? What happened to it?
Doctor Who. RTD's currently aiming it squarely at the lowest common denominator but it's a tough old beast so I remain hopeful that it can be dumbed up again.
Thing is, I became a fan of the show from the books. Back in the long long ago, before videos and DVDs and other such delights, they produced quickie novelisations of the stories that were a vital part of any fan collection. Now, as a kid I mostly didn't have a TV so I had never seen the show on TV. And because the writers seldom included details like how when characters shout loudly the scenery sways or how lasers look like unconvincing electronic effects I was under the impression that most Doctor Who was a lot better than it actually is. During the early 90s they started releasing more stories on video and they were also stripmined on UK Gold, which became a crash course on the limitations of TV production from the 60s to the 80s. Really, it's a wonder I still like it.

4. Name three things you would change in your life that would make you happier?
jet pack
time machine
sassy robot

5. You strike me as a reader, who is your favourite non fiction author and why?
Not necessarily non-fiction but Robert Anton Wilson was an author I read in that magical teenage time when things can really get into your mindspace and twist them in new directions, so I'd have to say pretty much anything by him.

6. What random piece of information or trivia fact do you use often to impress people?
Whatever random piece of information seems most appropriate at the time. Or whatever I've just read. Man, this is like being asked to tell a joke. My mind empties of all thought. Er. Biscuits are nice.

7. What's your motto? Your tagline? Your favorite saying?
I don't know. Now, am I saying that I don't know what my motto/tagline/saying is or that i don't know is my motto/tagline/saying? Makes you think, eh? Mmm? Isn't it?

8. I know you have a deft turn of phrase, would you or are you considering writing a novel/journalism/short stories?
I've got several files on this computer somewhere which contain quick ideas, sudden genius thoughts or turns of phrase that strike me. I should probably try and get better at expressing whatever it is that inspired me to save them because it's mostly just full of random stuff like "14 hats in Donald Rumsfeld??" that time has rendered completely meaningless. I don't think I've got anything particularly interesting to add to the world's surplus of words at the moment, so no.

9. What is your favourite TV show of all time? Please recap in your own words your favourite episode
See q3. I'm not really one for this kind of mojo-listmaking impulse. My CDs have never been organised, my DVDs all a-higgle and a-piggle and the state I keep my comics in has provoked anger and astonishment in propar collectorz. Also, there are over 150 stories which I've seen, heard or read all of at least twice (depending on whether the Beeb destroyed them), and there are literally only a handful of them that are truly bad. Most are fairly shonky, but occasionally manage to transcend the limitations of their production. Even at it's best you're never more than 3 seconds away from some unconvincing scenery/dialogue/acting/props/costumes/special effects/sound/music/trees/lighting/camerawork, picking out one episode out of several decades of cutting edge done on a shoestring is difficult. That said, the one with the statues was very good wasn't it?


10. Of all the places you have traveled or lived, is there one particular place that feels most significant?
Norwich.

Posted by Rich

1. Where are you currently and why? Where would you rather be on an ideal day in an ideal world?

>>Currently I'm sitting at my desk writing a presentation for a conference I'm at in Manchester next week. It's sunny outside. It's Sunday. Gah. Right now I'd like to be on a beach in Durban, South Africa. It's 27 degrees Celsius and there's a 5 foot swell achingly close to utter perfection breaking in 6 set waves just off the new pier, and I'm paddling in to the last, most perfect wave in the set.
>>
>> 2. Tell us your moblog story, how did it all begin for you, what purpose does Moblog have for you?
It's a bit random and sort of funny actually. I had been using Textamerica (which you may remember, it went under last year) for a year or so, moblogging away. I'd had a real interest in mobile technology for a long time, my first start-up being a site for video media for Palm devices. So anyway I was using Textamerica and then one day, for *no discernible reason whatsoever*, they deleted my account.

There was so much stuff there that I couldn't believe I'd lost. For example I'd recorded the pin hole surgery I had on my knee after a skateboarding accident - utterly unique bits of my life. I was so furious. Really, just utterly furious. I got it into my head to create a competing service, a better service, a service that would never behave that way to one of it's members.

I went to a forum I used a lot at the time and started chatting with friends about the idea, and asking people if anyone had been working on a mail parser for mobile blogging or would like to work with me on creating a mobile blogging site. That's when Mat and I got together and MoblogUK was born.

Moblog has been such an enormous part of my life since that beginning. It's been the child that you sacrifice everything for - in my case that sacrifice was living at the breadline for a long time and well, not sleeping an awful lot. But Moblog has given me so much more in return. It's been the proving ground for many of the ideas that I've had and have wanted to explore. It's taught me so much about community and people.

>> 3. What are your favourite moblog memories? from both your own and other blogs.

Wow. Bronxelf and Eversion, Dhamaka, Joe, and everyone coming down to the We're Not Afraid exhibition launch night was just amazing, as was working with so many mobloggers on actually running that site. Travelling up to a Moblog party at Geodyne's house in Oxford and getting us all thoroughly lost in the car. For me it's not particular posts that stand out (although there are plenty of those), it's the people and the things we've done together that are my fondest memories of Moblog.
>>
>> 4. Name three things you would change in your life that would make you happier?
A return to a high level of fitness (Im lazy)
Be able to take a year off and go surfing around the world.
Have greater financial stability (im working on this one).
>>
>> 5. Where do you see moblog in another 5 years time and what do you consider has contributed to moblog's success?
>>
gosh. this is just.. unanswerable... :) i really dont know.


>> 6. Are there any causes or principles you would be prepared to fight for? What form would your protest take?

When you say 'fight' what do you mean, like, fisticuffs? If you mean 'put all my energy into' I'd have to say that right now, no 'cause' really. That might sound cavalier or selfish, but let me explain. There's so much
wrong with the world right? There are *so many* things to care about, to take action on, to get involved in, that it's overload. And not only that, but in the vast majority of the cases when it comes to 'causes', addressing them doesn't address the root of the problem. I don't actively support major charities; they are so often basically *broken* bureaucratic entities that are no longer effective. For me, the *only* causes to get involved in would be addressing the root issues around global poverty and illiteracy.

But I'm an Optimist (capital O). I'm an optimist in the idea that our technologies will take us past the barriers our meat heritage imposes on our behaviour. Moore's law says that since the invention of the integrated circuit in 1958, the number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit has increased exponentially, doubling approximately every two years. So this law (very much a constant for the last 40+ years) means that by 2020 we should be able to buy the most powerful computer today for about £5. What does that *mean* for transforming the world?

Individuals are becoming super empowered through technology - a danger as much as there is potential for positive transformational shift in cultures and societies. It's an Asymmetric power model - so terrible things can happen, but it's the bargain we make because of the positive transformational potential. Just imagine, say, being able to create an antiviral HIV cocktail with inexpensive consumer available tools- imagine being able to just download an instruction set, feed it into a machine along with base compounds and in 5 hours have a years supply of the drugs. These transformational technologies along with education will lift the poor of the world to a place where they can feed themselves, heal themselves, and make sure the water that they drink is clean. Education is the greatest force for peace imaginable, and that's what Moore's law means for the future of our species. Mobile phones in the developing world are the first pervasive vector for educating the world, so I'm intensely interested in and actively keep abreast of projects and trends in this area.

So what am I saying to answer your question? A lot of the work that I've been doing lately (Britglyph, FindMe) has been exploring what I call Hypercontext - a property of the Semantic web. This idea that *everything* is or will eventually be connected, an internet not only of ideas but of places and things, and people. From this work I can see myself taking what I've learned and trying to apply that to problems of education through technology in the developing world. The reason for this long winded explanation is that there isn't a cause or principle I can honestly say I'd fight for - I think charities are mostly broken. What I *will* do is keep learning and keep applying what I've learned to making the world a more interesting place, and hopefully one day what I've learned can be put to true and effective use in helping the poor of the world gain access to the knowledge that will lift them out of poverty.

>>
>> 7. What's your motto? Your tagline? Your favorite saying?
Hmmmn. I don't really have one, but if I did, when asked where I work I often say "At the department for really moving things along" - a line from a Michael Marshall Smith book, 'Only Forward' (an author who I thoroughly recommend btw).
>>
>> 8. What question were you hoping to be asked? And what would your answer be?
Q "Where shall I send the cheque?"
A "As usual, wire it to my Cayman islands account".

>>
>> 9. What movie have you most often recommended to others and why, or what's your favorite movie?
Hmmn. Tough one. I mean, how do you answer it? A different 'top' movie should be recommended based on the context; I wont recommend Happiness to the soft of heart, nor Angel Heart to a Catholic Nun. Hmmn. There is one movie which stands out as one I recommend most often though. It's called Primer and deals with the ramifications and timeline of two friends who unexpectedly invent time travel. It's incredibly inventive and thought provoking, and requires at *least* 5 viewings to start to grok what's going on.
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>> 10. Of all the places you have traveled or lived, is there one particular place that feels most significant?
For me it will always be Durban, in South Africa, where I lived for some of my pre-teen and most of my teenage life. It's where all my strongest memories of growing up are, couched in soft and hot year-long-summers. It's a city of depressing extremes, and I lived both in Apartheid and watched it come down, and all the intense shifts that that revolution brought about. It's a city (in a country) where it's hard to be optimistic about the future, but it's just so beautiful and extreme, and the people are amazing.

Posted by Alfie

1. Where are you? Tell us the story that got you there.

I am at home at my flat in Leeds drinking tin and tonic. This is actually not where I should be. I’ve just got in after trekking on foot across town having abandoned my mum’s car (at a friend’s house) which was threatening imminent break down. I have had to abort my mission back to my parents house in the Dales where my boyfriend is and where I should be cat and dog-sitting. I suppose this was bound to happen after me spending the week complaining that the animal sitting had been boring and uneventful.


2. Why do you Moblog? And which of the posts on your Moblog are your favorite?

It all started when I worked at this pub called The Fav in Leeds. There was a small bunch of regulars and for a while they were practically our only customers, so we got to know them fairly well. One day in passing, I mentioned I had the same phone as one of the guys who spent more time in that pub than I did. He told me that if I had I camera phone then I should join this blog site thing. After some fairly extensive badgering I caved into curiosity and signed up. That guy turned out to be Joe and I've been great friends with him and his now wife Suzi (and their now daughter little Leila) ever since.

Many strange coincidences happened that first year on Moblog, including realizing that my sister Helen was already pretty closely linked to Moblog through another forum which was set up by some of the guys who started up Moblog and who Helen had inadvertently met whilst at university. Generally the world began to get a little smaller after I joined and people who frequented The Fav kept popping up on the site and this bizarre network of people who already knew each other unfolded.

I guess it was this intrigue that caused me to stick around for so long. That and the really great community here. It's been a great place to share... everything really. I could go on and on about Moblog, I think this place has got a lot of things right with regards to community and temperament and I find the environment a really inspiring place to share moments and ideas with interesting people who usually have their own ideas themselves, not to mention knowledge on a subject!

Oh! Favourite posts! One of my favourite posts was the day I tried to ban cat blogging on Moblog. Needless to say it seriously backfired. It's a shame you can't look back through Moblog chronologically because after this post http://moblog.net/view/54354/kill-the-cat-blog the place was littered with cats. Mainly I enjoy the posts that get people talking, there are some photos I'm pleased with but the really memorable ones are the ones that spark a conversation. I think Helen's Oh Buoy, Oh Buoy post (http://moblog.net/view/66625/oh-buoy-oh-buoy-oh-buoy) is the one that I recall making me laugh the most, but that one’s not mine (I'm sure there were more really awful pun posts but these are the only two tagged http://moblog.net/tag/really%20awful%20puns)




3. Tell us one thing that you've learned in the last week. Or maybe something that surprised you.

This week I’ve mainly been feeling like there are a lot more people that I like than I don’t like. This isn’t really something I’ve learnt specifically this week but it does constantly surprise me how I can swing from a week of thinking I don’t like that many people at all to being overwhelmed by just how many people I think are really quite good eggs. Or if not good eggs, not too bad in a cake mixture.



4. Imagine you would have to spend the rest of your life on a deserted island. Which three items (or people) would you take and why?


Sometimes I already feel like I'm on a desert island. How I stave off this feeling is mainly through amusing conversations and ideas sharing, physical contact and visual output. So those are probably the qualities I value for my existence... which I guess is what the whole point of the question is. There are certain people who come pre-loaded with these qualities enabled already but I'm not naming any names.



5. What did you do today? And what would you do in an ideal day?

Today I got up at 6am got ready and drove from the Dales to Leeds. The whole day feels like it has been fraught with error but in actual fact it’s not been that bad, just driving and parking and cars and stuff in general stresses me out. I’m not superstitious but I did twitch twice when I counted thirteen students this morning and found myself parking on the thirteenth floor.

On an ideal day I'd probably wake with a nice shoulder massage, start working on something -really- good and finish it before lunch. Have a tasty and refreshing lunch. Meet some friends, go to a natural water park and slide down some slides made of rocks, bob around in the water for a bit, chat, go for a tasty dinner al fresco with a beautiful view. Enjoy some live music in the dark with some fire in the vicinity. Get a little heady on some wine and lie staring up at the stars engaging in profound and yet superfluous conversation. Then go to sleep in some white clean sheets in a big comfy bed surrounded by wood and low light shining through canvas and cuddles and dull, possibly cricket noises singing me to sleep.



6. Are there any causes or principles you would be prepared to fight for? What form would your protest take?


Yeh, I think there are probably a lot. Things like equal rights and other things that in my head are a complete given tend to flabberghast me when I find the world isn’t quite like that. You can’t fight every battle but I think you can do your part, which could be as simple as just speaking up when you don’t think something is quite right with what the people are saying around you.

I went down to the "How to make news and influence people" talk that Moblog was involved with and some interesting things were said that kind of relate to how I feel about this. Charlie Beckett discussed the topic with regards to the general public's reaction to charity campaigns, he suggested we are kind of distanced through mass publicity and we consume rather than confront and that emotional appeal isn't the same as empathy. Anyway, basically he was suggesting that traditional media only asks us to consider what's in front of us and new media allows us to engage and interact with a subject.

So I think if I was fighting for a cause I'd probably use this networking skill I've been honing for so many years.

I'm not opposed to more traditional ways of 'getting things done' though. For instance, I got pretty fired up when I discovered our new supposedly quite eco-considered home had no recycling facilities and the council didn't have us on their recycling route and had no recycling areas within Leeds that I could walk to. It was reasonably quickly resolved once I got in touch with our local MP though and I can now recycle most things except organic waste (which still upsets me).


7. What's your motto? Your tagline? Your favourite saying?


"Everything’s fiiiine"


8. What question were you hoping to be asked? And what would your answer be?

“Where do you see Moblog in 5 years, will you still be blogging?”

Well, technology wise it’s hard to say. Community wise, I hope the place is still thriving. I think in general, the photo blogging format is a winner and I think that the original camera phone premise has enabled people to share images that they wouldn’t previously have deemed really ‘fit’ to share. Moblog is more than just sharing an aesthetic, it’s more about telling a story or setting a scene through pictures and I hope it can carry on doing this. I think this simple format appeals to voyeurs and creatives alike and by creatives I mean people who like to fill in the gaps, who are imaginative and interested. As long as it continues to attract those kinds of people it will continue to appeal to me. I’m really enjoying the short stories and photographic challenge blog at the minute, so yeah basically I’d like to see more of what everyone’s got to share.






9. What movie have you most often recommended to others and why, or what's your favourite movie?


At college I recommend a lot of Michel Gondry's work. I love the way he manages to visualise feelings, quite baffling, difficult and surreal concepts in childlike and experimental ways. He's a pretty good all rounder too, a crafter and a philosopher. I'm particularly taken with "The Science of Sleep" but really any of his feature films would do. I get a kick out of shared experience and sometimes when I'm watching his films I feel like Gondry is lifting the top of my head up and tapping on my brain to say "hello." I love those split second sparks that happen when you feel you've really connected with something.



10. Of all the places you have travelled or lived, is there one in particular
that you think everyone should see some time in their lives, and why?
Conversely, is there one you never want to see again?

I’ve been very fortunate to travel to many special places. I still have very fond memories of a small fishing town in the Basque area of Northern Spain called Mutriku. I’d love to go back there; I’m very nostalgic for it because it just seemed to be this really lively place where the locals really knew how to entertain themselves.

More and more I realise how lucky I was too, to grow up in the Yorkshire Dales, it’s an incredibly lush environment and so very green. You’d be hard pushed to beat the view from my parent’s bathroom window.

I’m not sure there’s anywhere I’d discount ever going back to. I had an unpleasant time in Hull once but even that has it’s charm. All those rotten seaside towns like Blackpool and Llandudno can be depressingly bleak but they’re still very interesting and I’ve hope for them, there’s too much ‘what once was’ for them to go unvisited.

Posted by beth

1. Where are you? Tell us the story that got you there.

Hurtling backwards through the Peak District writing this in longhand. Then at some point later I shall be sat at a laptop in Liverpool writing it up and trying to resist the urge to edit.

How did I get to be writing this in transit? Over the last few years I've worked in Sheffield, London, Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool and at present I find myself bouncing about between the most northerly three like a pinball. Still, the scenery is great.

2. Why do you Moblog? And which of the posts on your Moblog are your favorite?

Back in about 1999, perhaps 1998, I signed up for a photography course. It was the sort that involved an old K1000 permanently borrowed from my dad and much use of film and darkrooms. At the time I remember saying that I had always been such a linguistic person and I wanted to learn a new language, ie. to think in pictures.

Cut forward to late 2004/early 2005 and I was doing some research about online photography communities for a work project (A Digital Picture of Britain), ended up talking to Alfie, as you do, and the rest is history.

Now I moblog for lots of reasons ranging from immediacy to history - I've been here for over four years and have over 90 pages of photos - and back again.

My favourites are probably split between shots that encapsulate moments for me and are part of my personal archive - and those that are portraits of loved ones.

Moments like.... the Apparitions I met whilst walking with my pregnant sister in 2005. Feeling abstracted and emotional in 2006 or just plain through the looking glass in 2008.

Portraits: Beautiful wife, Brother, dear friend

And I've not even started on the wedding photos!

3. If you could take a year off, what would you do with it.

Realistically, I'd probably spend the first month panicking and trying to adjust to not having the imperative of work every day. Then.... Travel. Train for a marathon. Learn to do something new.

4. Imagine you would have to spend the rest of your life on a deserted island. Which three items (or people) would you take and why?

Presuming that all the necessaries to sustain life are provided for, I'd like to take my mobile phone, my wife and my cats please.

5. What do you actually do all day long?

Work wise it depends on what project and what role - I'm sometimes more of a journalist and sometimes more of a producer. So any mix of writing, editing, shouting at software (Avid, I mean you!), meeting people, shooting video, having meetings with other organisations to set up partnerships, managing other people, working with designers and developers, doing work with young people.

Outside work you know what I do, if you've seen my moblog. I run. I go to the theatre and gigs and various other arty happenings. I walk up hills. I spend time with my wife, my family, my cats and can usually be found by following a trail of books, newspapers and coffee cups.

6. What trait do you most dislike in yourself and what trait do you
most dislike in others?

In others? Apart from the obvious like fascistic tendencies, racism, homophobia, bullying, dishonesty....

I have the odd little bugbear which I worry away at. At the moment it's the difference between real friends and networking contacts. A few people don't know the difference and treat every personal interaction as a transaction for gain. That doesn't cut much ice with me. I'm a great believer in good faith and altruism. I'm probably very old fashioned.

In myself? Intolerance!

7. What's your motto? Your tagline? Your favorite saying?

But I digress....

8. What is your strongest memory from childhood?

Well if we're going to get all Romantic with a capital R, my strongest memories are probably isolated but terrifying incidents. Like seeing one of my parents grieve terribly when one of my grandparents died suddenly.

But I had a very happy childhood and remember things that were happening perpetually, like being a good big sister and looking after my clingy younger sister, who always wanted to hold my hand. Or being not such a good big sister and dressing my much younger brother up like a doll in the dressing up box.

9. What movie have you most often recommended to others and why, or what's your favorite movie?

There's no one favourite. Recently I've really enjoyed Milk, My Summer of Love and I've Loved You So Long.

Over the last few years I've probably recommended: Orlando, Far From Heaven, Les Liaisons Dangereuses and Blade Runner.

If there's a common thread to those, it's probably to do with visual style, artifice and how characters construct their identities through dress, makeup, outward appearance. If you care to look at any of the shots I post of myself, you'll notice that very few of them are "straight" look-at-me shots. As a woman I'm very aware that my appearance is constantly being judged and elided with all sorts of other issues about my social standing, so I always try to subvert the picture somehow.

10. Of all the places you have traveled or lived, is there one in particular that you think everyone should see some time in their lives, and why?

Conversely, is there one you never want to see again?

I'm not well enough travelled to make a pick from the whole planet. But all Brits who haven't already been should head for the North West Highlands and keep going north, up past Ullapool. The vastness, drama and relative emptiness of the landscape is a real eye-opener for all of us small islanders. And with the exchange rate as it is, it's cheaper than Norway.

I was not a fan of Beverley Hills and in fact spent most of my visit to LA being grumpy that I wasn't still in San Francisco.

Posted by OJ