Here are my spoiler free notes that I frantically texted Al and Percy yesterday at varying intervals. Enjoy.
Had so many people recognise me and call my outfit a "deep cut" and tell me that "no one else will recognise this that's awesome". I got handed a Mad Cap'n sticker by @sketchy-pebbles within 5 minutes of arriving. I'm pretty sure Tom made eye contact with me at one point and flinched, and you know what, I'll take it.
I was literally there for 12 hours, the Q&A finished at 10pm. It was incredible. It was like a super specific convention of a manageable size. I lost my voice midway through the screening from yelling too much. I got two business cards:
the fanartist who gave me the sticker
someone who works for my union who wants to find out who set up my union profile to blare out HE HIM PRONOUNS whenever you access it, because we both think that's hilarious
Things of delight:
so many trans people
photo booth
sheer amount of people in jet lag caps
Ben had a red pass and Adam had a yellow one, and maeve and friends had yellow passes
Badam had friendship bracelets that I assume a fan made for them
Cameos:
I passed maeve and my brain was like "haha that looks like maeve" and then I realised it was her and I managed to yell that I loved her comedy
Tristan was there!
No Matt, but Matt mention and they/them-ed! In reference to the ice lake incident >:)
PUB QUIZ (a fucking delight)
a mutual fucking won and then said "mad cap'n tom do you drink coffee because I don't". I don't, but my host for the night did, so he got it.
I got 20/41, winner got 27, so I am happy
The only answer I'm pissed off I didn't get was saure fucking gluwurmchen (iykyk) (if you are one of the people i spoke to in the front row that does now and showed me your spreadsheet, please send me the link to your spreadsheet)
There was a "subjective" round which was fucking hilarious. We had to guess which of 3 snacks Ben had never tried that he would like best. I of course was correct.
He also then tried to open the bottle of ribena one-handed by gripping the bottle between his thighs and twisting, which was interesting. He then gave up and asked Adam to do it for him
Tag 1 directors' commentary:
Sam packed so light for tag that he only took a normal razor and turns out he can't use those on his skin, so then he STARTED GOING TO THE GYM TO DO BACK EXERCISES TO CARRY A HEAVIER BACKPACK??
Ben "as soon as we got another editor I started filming way more because i don't care"
Ben "I don't know where my hips are. They're in there somewhere"
They do switch between running and walking but they generally only use the footage from running
Ben "you used to make a lot more sounds"
Adam "I still make plenty of sounds"
Sam "making sounds is your favourite thing to do"
Turns out Adam is constantly making sounds, in daily life, and Ben simply stopped noticing
Ben wrote an HAI script during circumnavigation???
Sam described Michelle as like a white hat hacker you hire to find the holes in your security system
Ben about John green "that was the internet gods giving us their blessing"
Them all having dinner with John green was apparently the most convoluted secretive affair and the only time they've ever all eaten together during a rest period
On screen Ben "we could just try to get as close as physically possible"
Irl Adam "aw that's sweet"
Ben "I was so miserable and then John green was like "you have to keep making jet lag" and I was like "yes sir"
Sam "We're looking for Adam or someone who looks insane"
Layover Game Design recording - coming out in a couple of weeks so I won't write anything now except:
"Now we reveal the rules" [wild cheering] "Britain loves rules"
There is a mechanic that involves luck and I have no idea whose luck takes precedence of Ben or Sam. Either a good or terrible thing for Atom
One of the challenges that didn't get used was "strengthen your relationship" and you had to write 5 sincere compliments about your partner and!! I didn't realise this at the time!! You have to write 5 positive things about YOURSELF as well and they have to MATCH WHAT THE OTHER PERSON WROTE
Key spoiler free episode info:
82 MINUTES LONG
filmed over SEVEN DAYS????
Atom spend a lot of it completely fucking drenched
There was some Atom insane eye contact of the two of them very close together to get in the same shot on a train
Many good tom sounds. Tom's scar is so prominent
Bam are adorable
A thing I was going to write as a joke but turned out to be way more spoilery than I imagined
Adam gets a very wet tom very messy
"those poor boys" (not telling you who said that about who)
EXTREMELY cute atom moment at the end of the ep
Q&A
Sam "I love all my employees equally"
Interviewer "was [x] hard?"
Tom "do you want to rephrase?"
Ben's favourite moment on a train was doing Lego with Adam
Audience question: "What would the vibe of team Ben and Tom be?"
[Ben nodding eagerly]
Tom "we would kill each other"
[Ben still nodding eagerly]
Tom saying the most important bit of info they told him as a guest was "remember it's a game" lol I don't think he did
Tom tried to taskmaster all the challenges
Tom got to Tokyo a week early! Interviewer said something like, and we all know what you were doing, riding rollercoasters?
Tom: "no, actually, I did that after filming. But I do have to say now because you Activated The Special Interest [rollercoaster thing]"
Final note to which I wrote "teeds...."
Adam: "it was really fun to have a new dynamic, be the host with the guest"
Tom "it would have been more fun with someone else"
Sam, Ben, and Adam sit on stage with their eyes closed, competing to count the closest to one minute. A member of staff stands to the side holding a phone up, displaying a stopwatch counting up in time.
shot up awake in the middle of the night with an urge to track down the rest of the Japanorama segment where Jonathan Ross talks about Robot Detective while dressed as K
The traditional art of ukiyo-e through modern images of some of the most famous music icons of the 20th century. Created in collaboration with Ukiyo-e Project, founded by Yuka Mitsui. @eshgallery
Random [but beautiful] kimono-girl; Kamakura, Japan por Alfie Goodrich
Por Flickr:
Did a great photowalk in Kamakura last Saturday with a lovely bunch of people. Superb shots from all [which will be up on japanorama later this week] and a great barbecue to round the day off. This lady was in the street with some of her family, just near to a little shrine we were shooting at. I had the tilt-shift camera on me and grabbed this quick shot of her. Seems to be a week for me shooting girls in orange kimonos.... currently sitting here editing up shots of Akiko from our shoot in Tokyo last week, which are for a new sushi restaurant in San Francisco. Will post some of them once the client has signed-off on the job :-) Mamiya 645AFDii Mamiya auto-bellows Mamiya ZD digital back 127mm f/4.7 Kodak Ektar lens Forward tilt to get this plane of focus.
OKAY now the Japanorama Layover is out I can talk about this (not particularly spoilery, just confusing if you don't know the game).
I've been thinking about a southern-to-northern point to point race across Great Britain (=UK Mainland, Lands End to John O'Groats) using the Japanorama game system, with county challenges inspired by Tom Scott's England.... and when I say "I've been thinking about", I mean, I really really really want to actually do this.
I'll post my thoughts on game design and stuff here, PLEASE give me input on how it could work etc., I really actually want this to happen!!
Current first thought challenge ideas from the England episodes released so far (these are all the like, 1 card version of a challenge):
Go to a national trust property
Listen to a church bell from inside the church
Remember DRABC
Find someone making something
Go to a hospital and donate to their friends
Fly a paper airplane from a trig point
Do an escape room
Go boating
Find your name in personalised tourist tat
Hold your breath through a tunnel
Take a long walk on a beach
Interactive exhibit at a museum
Feeding/petting zoo
Take part in a historical/cultural event
Ride a special train (mini, steam, lift)
Adult playground/clambers
Come up with a local conspiracy theory, with citations, without using your phone (library computers etc allowed)
Get a library card and borrow something (an e-book)
Cross a bridge/river not on the intended path
A random potential route I mapped whilst on a bus, for a very vague proof of concept:
Lands End (to Penzance) to Exeter
Exeter to Birmingham
Birmingham to Carlisle
Carlisle to Glasgow
Glasgow to Inverness
Inverness (to Thurso) to John O'Groats
Obviously the end points are both bus heavy, but they're not too far from train stations and you can get to the precise extremist points on both ends of Great Britain. (GB = mainland UK).
I think in terms of the Shinkansen Problem, we face the Major Hub problem (as seen in Hide & Seek UK). I think the card pull should have a "major hub use" or something, for going through London/Leeds/maybe Birmingham.
I think it would take about a week, could definitely fit it in a week off work e.g. Saturday through to the next Sunday, and that's if we're not doing the insanely punishing schedule the Jet Lag boys do. I'm disabled, I'm thinking more like 9am-6pm or something.
Money-wise, this is a commitment, hence I'm not planning it for like, the Christmas holidays. About £1,000 per person. Woof.
Roughly £100 a night for 2 people when booking on the day. 7 nights = £350 per person
Food £30 a day = £210
Travel £50 a day? £350
Whoof. I will do this. I promise myself this. Hopefully I'll find at least 3 other nerds who can be as bonkers about this as I am.
