Today is all about mass customization, making things yourself and doing it with others...

Mind over-stimulated by hours of McLuhan theory at the Canadian Embassy - can't even remember the interesting points I wanted to mention except in general the idea that technology rewires our neurons and affects us emotionally, something about touch beyond skin and what else, I forget...

One joke: What do you get if you cross a Mafioso with Marshall McLuhan?

A thug who will make you an offer you can't understand.

Boom Boom.

Today I discovered that there is an Association of Professional Futurists.
Seriously.

Reading Marcus Westbury on the decline of serendipity... The way our filters and networks keep us from bumping into things or ideas or experiences that we may have otherwise been exposed to accidentally

Which led to the Filter Bubble and Ten Things You Can Do to POP IT!

I've overcome the travel writing block and happily making things up about places I've never been...

So maybe I can make it through the summer without completely falling through the gaps in funding.

The next phase of Global Bridge Symphony is slowly coming into focus, it's multi-strand (typed 'strange' just then, Freudian slip!) and involves various potential international production partners - extremely complex, have a nice conversation underway with Lilia in St Petersburg CISR about cultural space on bridges... Yes!

Tonight is the opening of an exhibition on Mass Customisation at a newish creative centre in Berlin called... something I'll look up in a second... Planet Modulor, which sounds like an interesting bunch of people, philosophy and space (really cool old photos of Moritzplatz).

Before that, meeting the gorgeous Drew and Jack from Reclamation at Betahaus to go see Jay and the Open Design City crew for the Bausteln Montag mash-up of Arduino & Wearables - lots of ideas to explore about making soft furry bridge instruments...

Also scoping out potential walls to entice a friend here who wants build an 'art climbing wall'.

It's gotta be better than social climbing, that's all I can say. Have been a terrible networker later, just getting trashed instead of making useful contacts. Or maybe while making useful contacts - who can tell, it's all a blur to me now... Still I have a walletfull of cards from the Canadian Embassy, and do remember some very nice chats, with Stephen and Nina and DJ Spooky and the Ambassador...

Took the afternoon off and went to Andy Holtin's BBQ, lovely communal hof-party with ping-pong and more excellent conversation; Tobias managed to convince me that sewing is actually a transferable skill and I may actually be able to construct other things as well. So that's a step in the right direction to my 'making things myself' aim for the summer - and going to visit the ODC again has gotta help.

No need to rely on men with golden hands, when you can have sparks flying from your own fingertips!