hal tweets ·7:42 AM
A short piece I wrote for AOLnews about why Peep culture trumps privacy online. http://bit.ly/bQECsC
Documentary
2008,
19:53 GMT
Hal Update: Book, Doc, 1000th Friend Photos and Me Love Blob!
Posted by: Hal
I haven’t updated much lately. No excuse, really, except that I’ve been both busy and lazy, a devastating combination, but one that many feel with the onset of winter and holidays. Snow flurries outside, a guy on the radio talking about selling plastic ice surfaces to Quebec townships(!), and, well, it’s already halfway through December.
So lots on my blog agenda. First off, I had lunch today with Amy Holmes who presides over the Open Book Toronto website. She’s cool and it’s cool so check it out.
In Peep Diaries news, I’m happy to announce that I’m in the editing stage of the game, the feedback from my editor at City Lights is good and things are coming together nicely. The book is on schedule to be published in May. There’s a cover now, it’s great, and I’m going to reveal it early on in the new year. In the meantime, wish me luck on the re-writes. Actually here’s the sick truth: I love editing. Writing is annoying but editing I find incredibly peaceful. I can only write for an hour or so at a time, but I can edit all day. Is that weird or what? I guess it’s going to be a blissful rest of the month, cutting, pasting, inputting changes, adding new developments…
In Peep documentary news, it looks like the funding has finally come together to make the documentary – in which I attempt to be the most peeped man alive – and to put together the ultra-cool Peep interactive online project that will both stand on its own and be integrated into the documentary. We’re meeting on Thursday next week to talk about our plans for the website, and general timing. I’ll keep ya posted.
Well what else to tell you? I took E. my three year old to the TINARS For Tots Holiday Reading last weekend. It was fun and we picked up a copy of CTON’s Super A-maze-ing Year of Crazy Comics by Clayton Hanmer, who also did the cover of the summer Broken Pencil How-To issue! It’s a really funny book and E. is super into it, particularly a maze involving trick-or-treating and a giant monster attacking the candy store. We love you blob!
Finally, before I forget, I also want to update you on my 1000th friend, Marie Angell of Baytown, Texas. She received the box of goodies I sent her and sent back a bunch of pictures of her and her wonderful family opening up the stuff. Now, Marie, I’m waiting for book reports and a review of the mixed CD of indie Canadian bands I burned for ya. Hanukah came early to the Angells of Baytown, as you can see by following this link to Marie’s slideshow .
2009,
23:47 GMT
What I Have Been Up To: A Quick Hal Update
Posted by: Hal
So for those who caught my status update on twitter/facebook (I’m using ping by the way now, which I recommend for those who want to update status on multiple platforms), I spent the weekend on my own with E. We had a pretty good time…in two days we managed to do ballet (her, not me), swimming, skating plus grocery shopping and making Jello. We put grapes in it, yum. I’m getting into this whole fatherhood thing. The only downside was a trip to my brother’s house, 45 minutes each way only to find out that his daughter, who E really wanted to play with, wasn’t even home. Plus they didn’t seem to really want us there. Ah family, whattya gonna do?
Now it’s back to work. Had an editorial meeting with my publisher this morning. We had a great talk about the remaining stuff to be done to the Peep book. So it was back to it today but maybe because we’d just had this very intense discussion, I found I couldn’t focus. Sometimes I need a little time to mentally digest ideas. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be able to fully focus.
In the meantime, the publisher has lined up some great blurbs for the book, which I’ll be sharing with everyone shortly including the official presentation of the cover.
Other news: The Peep documentary is getting serious, we’ve got a long meeting scheduled for thursday where we’re really going to start getting into the planning of the who-what-where-when. Exciting. Plus we’ll be looking at the prototype of the Peep website which will be a super cool interactive site that encompasses the documentary, the book, and it’s own web-only components.
So that’s my update. Gotta go convince the kid to get into bed. I will use my newfound daddy skills.
ps – anyone want to hang out with me? I’ll be at the Ice Cream Social this Wed. We’ll be informally launching the new issue of Broken Pencil and hanging out.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009 6:30pm – 11:00pm
Habesha Club
875 Bloor St. West
upstairs
Toronto, Ontario CA
With RM Vaughn, a. rawlings, Derek McCormac and others…the iCE SCReAM SoCIAL, an evening of literature, music, Valentine’s crafts, door prizes and (you guessed it) ice cream. The festive occasion will be held at Habesha Club (Bloor and Ossington) on Wednesday, February 4. 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. Craft Time! Make Valentines. Eat Ice Cream. Social-like. Authors 7:30 p.m. Bands 9:00 p.m.
2009,
20:59 GMT
They Want to Watch Me Where I Pee Pee: Surveillance in Hal’s House
Posted by: Hal
On Friday the producers of the upcoming documentary based on my upcoming book dropped by along with a surveillance camera expert. They wandered around my house discussing the best places to put surveillance cameras. The plan is for there to be two weeks this summer when the camera streams will be live on the web for all to see. Meanwhile, I’ll be blogging and ruminating about what it’s like to live life in a fish bowl. And you’ll be posting comments about my bed head and absent minded propensity for nose picking when I think nobody else is around.
First Jennicam, then DotComGuy, and then…me? As the Peep Diaries book makes clear, despite my attempts to enter into the Peep world and reveal myself, I never quite managed to do it. Obviously, the documentary is going to take things a step further by, for instance, installing cameras in my house and broadcasting live to the web. Will I like this? I suspect it will be pretty annoying and I won’t like it all. But I think I’ll also like it quite a bit. Oh dear.
Anyway, there were a few tense moments, like when we got down to the nitty gritty and producer Jeannette started talking about cameras in the bedroom and bathroom. (You can read her more polite post about all this here.) At which point I had to remind her that W. had already announced that because of her work (she works in mental health) she cannot be actually seen on camera, and we’d have to obscure her face. This, I think, was a factor that Jeannette was hoping to just ignore until it was dropped. W. isn’t going to drop it, of course, so we needed a work-around. How can Hal be on camera 24/7 for two weeks, but not his wife (and his kid, for that matter?).
The answer: Hal moves into the basement. Yes, for two weeks this summer I’ll live in the basement. I’ll move my office down there (I work from home) I’ll sleep down there and there’s even going to be a bathroom cam to capture my doings in the basement bathroom (which already lacks a door anyway, so I’m used to that). And there’s got to be infrared, announced Jeanette. I want to see him while he sleeps!
In the end, Jeannette was happy to just monitor the basement and first floor and leave the upstairs to W. and the kid, especially when she found out how much each camera was going to cost. So everyone’s happy. Except, uh, me.
Anyway, it’s begun.
2009,
20:30 GMT
Failed Facebook Party on Radio Netherlands
Posted by: Hal
A radio essay based on my failed Facebook party is now online and circulating radio stations around the globe courtesy of the very cool Radio Netherlands show The State We’re In. Check out my essay here, and the whole show here.
2009,
19:52 GMT
Peep Doc - Fact Versus Fiction in the Basement
Posted by: Hal
So the Peep documentary is starting to get into full swing. And things are starting to get…uh…interesting. Right now, the doc people are redoing my basement so I can move my office down there. My actual office on the second floor is too small to film in. Also they want something sleeker, more modern looking. So I’m going to have an entire wall blackboard and a glass desk that glows.
Of course we all know that in documentaries reality is manufactured, but it’s interesting to be part of it, and have an opportunity to chronicle the journey.
Another interesting fake-real thing: Sally Blake, one of the producers, has been worried about the chronology. You see, in the doc, we’re apparently going to pretend that I’m just now starting to explore peep culture. So she keeps trying to find things that I haven’t done yet. Sally: Do you have a webcam? Me: yes. Sally: Ah…too bad. They’re very excited that I don’t have a smart phone yet, key component of Peep (haven’t needed one because I never leave the house) so one of the first things they’ll be filming is me getting a smart phone next week.
It sucks when the truth gets in the way of the story. So we are going to massage the truth where necessary. Does it matter? Does it mean the the documentary will be ‘fake’?
Time will tell.
The Bloggist
Hey, I’m Hal Niedzviecki. I’m a writer/thinker who lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada with my wife and daughter. Up till now I’ve always considered myself a private person. But at the same time I’m fascinated by people who effortlessly open themselves up to the whole world. So I’ve… more...
A short piece I wrote for AOLnews about why Peep culture trumps privacy online. http://bit.ly/bQECsC
New content on the Broken Pencil website! Short fiction: Shack the Clam Girl + How to Make Your Own Game Cabinet http://bit.ly/b6CHLP
Tag Cloud
Archive Months
August, 2010
July, 2010
June, 2010
April, 2010
March, 2010
February, 2010