As I wrote on my other blog, I’m competing in the Yukon Arctic Ultra this coming February. 300 miles overland in -40˚C, non-stop, self-supported, and that usual silliness. Ben Saunders suggested the event to me, so we can all blame him. But still, asking why is one of those pointless questions: if you have to ask, as the cliché has it, you’ll never understand. I’m not entirely sure myself, but the whole thing makes me ridiculously happy when I think about it. I’ll be writing about the training over the next few months, perhaps on another site. Meanwhile, I’ve put back online something I wrote after writing the Marathon des Sables in 2004.

An out-take from last week’s big shoot - currently in post-production - as I slowly admit defeat to the bug that’s going around. Blergh.

Snapshots from the casting

I’ve been commissioned to shoot Lindka Cierach’s Spring/Summer 2008 collection next Thursday. There are 16 pieces to do, from daywear to evening gowns, and it’s going to be something of a day. My team and I need to have just the right model. Today was the casting, which meant seeing the twenty or so models that we’d requested, putting them in some of the clothes, and seeing who worked well, with the designer, with me, and with the clothes.

It’s a hard job for the models - you turn up, get undressed in front of strangers, get stared at, get criticised behind your back, and then get to go home. Or not: some of the girls were on their sixth casting of the day, with more ahead. Anyone who thinks models have an easy life is dead wrong.

Next week, once we’ve got confirmation that the girl we want is available, we’ll start work on designing her makeup and styling. And I’ll storyboarding each outfit’s shots, so we know where the lights need to be for each one. With so much to do on the one day, having a game plan is the only way to do it.

Announcing…geeKyoto 2008 - Living In The Changed World 10:00 - 16:30 - Saturday 17th May 2008. Conway Hall, London. £20.

We broke the world. Now what?

Mark Simpkins and Ben Hammersley announce a one day conference in central London, with designers, technologists, artists, architects, policy-makers, explorers, economists and scientists, and clever people like you, to discuss the future and how we’ll live in it.

Inspired by TED and last year’s Interesting2007 event, we are holding our own conference in London to look into the theme that interest us: change in the world.

We have curated a day that will be inspiring and insightful. We think you’ll leave having learnt something new, with new ways to look at the world and how it changes, and new strategies and models of thought for further action.

geeKyoto 2008 is a cross-discipline event, targeted at everybody with an interest in the world we live in.

Speaking so far we have:

• Adrian Hon - ARG Games Designer, http://www.sixtostart.com/ & http://mssv.net/)
• Christian Nold - Artist (http://www.softhook.com)
• Gavin Starks(http://www.amee.cc/)
• Alex Haw - Architect
• Ben Saunders - Explorer, Speaker (http://www.bensaunders.com/)
• DIY Kyoto
• Richard Sandford - Futurelab
• Adam Thorpe - Vexed Generation & Design Against Crime (Central St. Martins)

With more to be confirmed. Book your tickets here.

Jean, from Paris, in his first London sitting, this afternoon in my studio. Mais oui.