Who knew it was International Photoshop Day today?

And it's International Acrobat Day this Thursday. Didn't you get the email?

Kris -- I've been clamoring for a local Seattle SU get-together for a while. I'm all for it.

And if some of you losers would go to the national AIGA conference, we could totally party the house down.

I'm going, Armin's going, Debbie's going (I think), etc...

And this is how, as history will show, Speak Up eventually became the Sundance of the Design world and Armin launches the Speak Up channel.

And if some of you losers would go to the national AIGA conference, we could totally party the house down.

I'll be there... just tell me where the Speak Up private lounge is and send me the secret password.

People, please, you are getting ahead of the game here. Off-line ventures will be coming up soon.

This "Meet Up" place I have to say, that even though it sounds cool, I won't support it. I know it sounds harsh. I highly encourage people getting together and doing geeky design stuff with geeky designers. Eric Larsen organized a trip to see Art Chantry's work in NY (not sure how it went) with some of the Speak Up authors. We can use the News and Events section to organize these gatherings, and I think it would be pretty cool for authors to have the initiative to start some of them.

What I'm trying to say is that if we want to organize gatherings like these they should be done through this site only. It's all about brand consistency.

Sorry Kris. Don't mean to rain on your parade...

Obviously everybody is free to do what they want, but I don't see Speak Up as an "interest group."

Not one to just offer criticism and no action, I will prepare the news and events section to accomodate comments (currently it doesn't allows comments) and I'll set up all th authors with access to it, so they can organize all types of gatherings whenever they feel like it.

Just give me a few hours.

Armin - I totally agree. I didn't clarify—I didn't intend to organize these gatherings through meetup.com

Doing it through the Speak Up site is what I had in mind.

Ok, then Mr. Brand. I agree -- let's keep the SU community in-tact. By posting a thread, I think Kris was trying to do just that -- stir up interest to get you to put even more stuff on SU.

And I didn't intend to associate Speak Up with "interest groups." I just got the idea after visiting meetup.com

Sorry everyone!!! I'm a bastard.

NYC Speak Up crowd (authors) have met twice now in various incarnations. I'm all for it. Felix, prepare the slush...

>to get you to put even more stuff on SU.

That's why I have to work on the weekends.

On a separate note, has anybody else experienced slower service from the site? slower page loads and longer refresh times?

On a separate note, has anybody else experienced slower service from the site? slower page loads and longer refresh times?

Yes, I thought it was because of my gradually slow(ing) connection.

Yes, definitely a little slower.

i think some ISPs are still having a couple leftover virus problems perhaps?

yes - and sometimes it hasn't even resolved.

On a separate note, has anybody else experienced slower service from the site? slower page loads and longer refresh times?

Yes, since the change over.

Well I live in Vancouver (sortof), so I think it would be great to meet during AIGA. I'll be attending a GDC/ICOGRADA hosted "meet & greet" on Fri. Oct. 24th at 9pm, so we could either piggyback offa that, or do something else.

Oh well, let's see if it gets better. If not I'll complain.

> just tell me where the Speak Up private lounge is and send me the secret password.

We will be all set up in our own VIP lounge provided by the AIGA with complementary copies of the Why brochure. Password will be: david and goliath.

not sure where to post this-i'm sure this is the wrong place, but anyway;

there's an event organised by tokion magazine at the cooper union in n.y. on 6th/7th september called 'creativity now'. tickets are $40 per day (i think). peter saville, john jay, ryan mcguinness among many others. i'll get hold of a flyer and post more.

armin-if this should go elsewhere let me know; i think it looks a lot more interesting than most things of this nature.

of course-type www.tokion.com, click on 'english', and you get a lovely pop-up dedicated to the event. if anyone in ny fancies it, maybe we should hook up.

> just tell me where the Speak Up private lounge is and send me the secret password.

Marian -- I look forward to seeing you there. You too Dan.

Armin and I will are staying at the Granville Island Hotel -- and so are a number of other AIGA/GDC people. The Island has a bunch of good bars, including one in the hotel. I'm sure they'll be a get-together on one of the nights.

AIGA will also have a bulletin board next to the registration table. Armin -- I'm sure you can post a SU flyer/invite where you can coordinate something and where fans can leave messages.

>AIGA will also have a bulletin board next to the registration table

What? I want a bulletin board exclusively for Speak Up.

Graham. I'm setting up the news and events section so you can coordinate this fanciful event. I'll let you (and everybody else) know when it's ready).

Thank you

Customer Support

it's ready, head on over to News and Events section. You can now also comment on past news and events if you so fancy.

Oh well, let's see if it gets better. If not I'll complain

Oops. sorry.

Let me rephrase that: Love to meet y'all at a secret, password-access-only, SU-branded event/locale in Vancouver (if you happen to be there for AIGA), but on Fri. the 24th at 9 I have to do this other thing, so although I know that my needs are, like 200th on the list (being new to Speak Up and all) I just thought I'd mention it.

apologies ... grovelling ...

> but on Fri. the 24th at 9 I have to do this other thing

I'm sure Matt and co. organized the GDC/ICO thing to coincide w/ the AIGA schedule. Sounds like there will be lotsa parties and chances for international goodwill passing between attendees...among other things....

I was hoping that they would get their shit together and offer a studio tour on Thursday afternoon, before the conference begins in the evening. Oh well.

So but, back to Kris's original idea of open-to-the-public gatherings of Speak Up readers: are folks more inclined to want to hang out at a bar or to do activity-type things like go to a gallery or exhibit. I suppose the bar part would naturally follow such activities. All in all, it seems like a good idea--kind of a cross between The Uniform thread and Flash Your badge.

Is that Tokion conference another example of the "new decorative mood in design" that Poynor mentioned?

Yeah, good idea Sam, what ya'll think?

Well, you can all come over to my studio on Bowen Island on Thurs afternoon ... a little ferry ride in the rain ... I'm kidding. Kindof.

I'm in favour of a hang-out kind of thing, but there will be a show of Canadian graphic design at the Pendulum Gallery (in a Bank) downtown on Georgia St., so if you wanted fuel for conversation (like you need any), there is that.

I'm in favor of hanging out with a purpose. I don't want to just meet a bunch of online strangers at a bar to get shitfaced. But I also don't want to do anything too deep -- it'd be nice just to meet and talk face-to-face. No lectures. Conversation at a gallery sounds nice. Or maybe meet at someone's studio or something.

I'm all for gettin' together. Galleries are a good idea, or maybe the Design Triennial for the NYC folk who haven't gone? The problem is summer weekends are tough to schedule - lotsa vacations, fewer gallery shows 'til fall, etc. I think an after work thing might be better.

So who's going to the Tokion NYC event? I'm still debating.

I think it is a great idea. I have been out of the loop with designers for a while, it would be nice to meet a few, even if it was for a few beers, at a gallery, the like. Yeah, I could meet people and keep involved via AIGA - but I am not a member...funds too low at this moment in time..and i am recently single - looking for things to do for me! :)