Peter Bihr

Atoms&bits has officially kicked off on Friday and will be going strong until Sunday, 27 Sept. Whenever I have a look at the event list, more cool stuff pops up. On the last count (Sunday, 8pm) the list showed 55 events in 32 locations in 11 cities in 3 countries. (And I’m seriously thinking a few events just aren’t listed yet.) This really blows my mind, taking into account how small this all started.

Time to sit down and pick some personal highlights to see what I really don’t want to miss out on. This list is, of course, just personal preference.

• Reading of Cory Doctorow’s MAKERS (TUE 22 Sept, 8pm at Studio70)
  From the teaser: “What happens when hardware hackers get tangled up with microfinancing venture capitalists in the aftermath of the financial crisis? The answer: a fast-paced witty novel whose ending the public doesn’t even know.” Cory Doctorow, sci-fi author deluxe and co-author of BoingBoing, has been publishing bits and pieces of MAKERS first on Salon.com (in a series called “Themepunks” at the time). It’s a great story, and it gives a bit of a glimpse into where we might be headed, what with MakerBots and RepRaps and the net. Timewise it clashes a bit with the last of our a&b preparation meetings, so I’ll have to see how that works out. But I’ll try my best to see that.
• Screening of RIP – A Remix Manifesto (THU, 24 Sept, 8pm at Betahaus)
  I love RIP – A Remix Manifesto. Had the chance to meet director Brett Gaylor at a screening in New York, and certainly won’t miss out on that one. It’s a celebration of remix culture and not to be missed, not just because of the great soundtrack featuring plenty of DJ Girl Talk.
• Pecha Kucha (FRI 25 Sept, doors open at 7:30pm at IMA Design Village)
  At Pecha Kucha (what’s that?) a presenter shows 20 images for 20 seconds apiece, for a total time of 6 minutes, 40 seconds. It’s a great way to get inspired by the projects presented in a fun and quick way.
• Rebike Workshop (SAT, 26 Sept, 10am-6pm at Betahaus)
  Chances are I won’t be able to really participate here because I’ll be at a&b Camp next door, but the Rebike is an awesome project, and here some will be built: The Rebike (debut at reboot11) is a bike pimped out with a solar energy source and wireless network, i.e. it’s a totally mobile, largely self-sustaining coworking module: transportation, energy and internet all wrapped up in one.
• AMY – A Streetart Game (weekend 26/27 Sept, starting at Betahaus)
  I don’t really know anything about this beyond the teaser, but it sure sounds like some cool augmented reality project that’s played all over the city. Won’t be able to participate since I’ll spend my weekend around IMA Design Village for a&b Camp, but this is certainly worth checking out. (Make sure to check in advance if you can participate in English, too.)
• Washing Machine: Reloaded (weekend 26/27 Sept at Betahaus)
  Sounds like fun and certainly is: A challenge to upcycle your washing machine. Tinkerers, geeks and designers are invited to take an old washing machine and build something cool out of it. I probably won’t be able to participate in this beyond the occasional glimpse, but I’m certainly stoked to see the results.
• atoms&bits Camp (weekend 26/27 Sept at IMA Design Village
  This barcamp-style conference is where I’ll be spending most of the weekend. As one of the organizers, this is kind of my baby, so of course I’m very excited to see how it’ll work out.
• Wahlsonntag (SUN 27 Sept, 4pm at Betahaus)
  Right after a&b Camp is finished we’ll quickly clean up and head over to join Wahlsonntag, where Tim Pritlove and Philip Bahnse will be hosting a live show all about the election day and the web: what’s being discussed online, what’s the parties take on the net, what’s relevant in terms of net politics? All that and more will be featured in this show. Perfect way to relax in a nice and interesting atmosphere.

Seriously, sleep dep or not, I can’t wait. And I can always sleep after the weekend, right? ;)

Ps. If you’re still planning sessions or events, drop any of us a line, you’ll find our contact data on the a&b website.