I thought that primer was very interesting. I was particularly interested in the way time travel worked in the movie. There was a set of rules. They could only go back in time and had to stay in the box and away from their doubles. When Aaron eventually broke the rules paradoxes were created in time. Doubles of the charters were brought into existence and they could not get rid of them unless they used their failsafe box to go back to the very beginning of their time traveling.
All of these rules shifts in time, and paradoxes remind me of the hypertexts we have read. In most of them there is a set of rules that the reader has to operate within to get the story. There are shifts in where links will take you and almost like time travel certain links will take you back and forth within the story.
I did think that the movie was kind of hard to follow as a plot. I had to look up some extra information after watching it. Parts were missing or not explained fully. I did not really understand why they wanted to stop the gunman from not shooting anybody at the party. Rachel’s father who used the box somehow. I also felt that they left out the creation of the failsafe and how the doubles were created but maybe I just missed that.
The way that the plot went was also reminiscent of a hypertext though. The gaps in the plot only made me more interested in what was going on and how the story was being told in particular. Were there reasons that they left out these important scenes? It added to the confusion that the characters may have been going through. Not knowing what would happen to them as they time traveled. What the consequences of their actions may have been.
While researching to try and figure the movie out I found this timeline for the events. http://www.freeweb.hu/neuwanstein/primer_timeline.html I thought it was interesting because it looks like the contents of patchwork girl withal the different places that the story goes. Very similar to hypertext as I have already said.
The way that they explored the time travel reminded me of the way that Navidson and his friends explored the house. At first they just went for a couple hours testing the travel and how it works. Then they went further attempting to use it for their own personal gain. Eventually they went to far like Holloway and got trapped within the paradoxes that they created with no way to go back and change what they had done.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Primer
I thought that primer was very interesting. I was particularly interested in the way time travel worked in the movie. There was a set of rules. They could only go back in time and had to stay in the box and away from their doubles. When Aaron eventually broke the rules paradoxes were created in time. Doubles of the charters were brought into existence and they could not get rid of them unless they used their failsafe box to go back to the very beginning of their time traveling.
All of these rules shifts in time, and paradoxes remind me of the hypertexts we have read. In most of them there is a set of rules that the reader has to operate within to get the story. There are shifts in where links will take you and almost like time travel certain links will take you back and forth within the story.
I did think that the movie was kind of hard to follow as a plot. I had to look up some extra information after watching it. Parts were missing or not explained fully. I did not really understand why they wanted to stop the gunman from not shooting anybody at the party. Rachel’s father who used the box somehow. I also felt that they left out the creation of the failsafe and how the doubles were created but maybe I just missed that.
The way that the plot went was also reminiscent of a hypertext though. The gaps in the plot only made me more interested in what was going on and how the story was being told in particular. Were there reasons that they left out these important scenes? It added to the confusion that the characters may have been going through. Not knowing what would happen to them as they time traveled. What the consequences of their actions may have been.
While researching to try and figure the movie out I found this timeline for the events. http://www.freeweb.hu/neuwanstein/primer_timeline.html I thought it was interesting because it looks like the contents of patchwork girl withal the different places that the story goes. Very similar to hypertext as I have already said.
The way that they explored the time travel reminded me of the way that Navidson and his friends explored the house. At first they just went for a couple hours testing the travel and how it works. Then they went further attempting to use it for their own personal gain. Eventually they went to far like Holloway and got trapped within the paradoxes that they created with no way to go back and change what they had done.
All of these rules shifts in time, and paradoxes remind me of the hypertexts we have read. In most of them there is a set of rules that the reader has to operate within to get the story. There are shifts in where links will take you and almost like time travel certain links will take you back and forth within the story.
I did think that the movie was kind of hard to follow as a plot. I had to look up some extra information after watching it. Parts were missing or not explained fully. I did not really understand why they wanted to stop the gunman from not shooting anybody at the party. Rachel’s father who used the box somehow. I also felt that they left out the creation of the failsafe and how the doubles were created but maybe I just missed that.
The way that the plot went was also reminiscent of a hypertext though. The gaps in the plot only made me more interested in what was going on and how the story was being told in particular. Were there reasons that they left out these important scenes? It added to the confusion that the characters may have been going through. Not knowing what would happen to them as they time traveled. What the consequences of their actions may have been.
While researching to try and figure the movie out I found this timeline for the events. http://www.freeweb.hu/neuwanstein/primer_timeline.html I thought it was interesting because it looks like the contents of patchwork girl withal the different places that the story goes. Very similar to hypertext as I have already said.
The way that they explored the time travel reminded me of the way that Navidson and his friends explored the house. At first they just went for a couple hours testing the travel and how it works. Then they went further attempting to use it for their own personal gain. Eventually they went to far like Holloway and got trapped within the paradoxes that they created with no way to go back and change what they had done.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
blog 11
The interactive fiction violet was a interesting way of telling a story. I got stuck at the BREAK THE STOOL. Part which was frustrating because I wanted to finish the interaction but could not figure out how to do it. I did not really identify with the character who was very easily distracted. I don’t think anybody gets that distracted where they need to lock there Ethernet cable in a cabinet and then hide the key and make sure you cant get to it. It all got a little old after a while.
Most of the things I typed in didn’t do anything. Some of the keywords didn’t have to be spelled correctly. A lot of the things you had to do were things that the reader didn’t know such as when you were tired you had to find something to get yourself up. But I would have never know to look in the drawer for the key to get in the cabinet and drink the bottle to wake myself up. Most of the things you had to type were like that and kind of frustrating.
Outside of the window there are zombies, pirates, and aliens. I don’t really know what this had to do with anything except that it was another distraction from writing. It was interesting that you had to write all the actions you wanted to do as your character was supposed to be writing. I enjoyed the interaction part and really wish I could have figured out how to break the stool. The interactive fiction is very similar to a game. You have a set of rules that you must operate within and try to reach a goal ( in this case writing a paper so that you Australian girlfriend wont move away) this game atmosphere is fun and makes the reader want to get to the end of the story to solve the puzzle to reach the goal and keep your girlfriend.
Compared to other hypertexts this was very similar. Broken story, offshoots that have nothing to do with the actual story. it was different in the fact that you had to do certain things to get to the end and usually you could only do one thing to advance.
Most of the things I typed in didn’t do anything. Some of the keywords didn’t have to be spelled correctly. A lot of the things you had to do were things that the reader didn’t know such as when you were tired you had to find something to get yourself up. But I would have never know to look in the drawer for the key to get in the cabinet and drink the bottle to wake myself up. Most of the things you had to type were like that and kind of frustrating.
Outside of the window there are zombies, pirates, and aliens. I don’t really know what this had to do with anything except that it was another distraction from writing. It was interesting that you had to write all the actions you wanted to do as your character was supposed to be writing. I enjoyed the interaction part and really wish I could have figured out how to break the stool. The interactive fiction is very similar to a game. You have a set of rules that you must operate within and try to reach a goal ( in this case writing a paper so that you Australian girlfriend wont move away) this game atmosphere is fun and makes the reader want to get to the end of the story to solve the puzzle to reach the goal and keep your girlfriend.
Compared to other hypertexts this was very similar. Broken story, offshoots that have nothing to do with the actual story. it was different in the fact that you had to do certain things to get to the end and usually you could only do one thing to advance.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
blog 10
I read the Jews daughter as well as carving in possibilities, star wars one letter at a time, red riding hood, and self-portraits as others. All these hypertexts chosen by the ELO as important hypertexts used similar styles as joyce’s an afternoon. You could click or in most cases just move your cursor over a certain area on the screen to access new information. I found this style a little confusing. I would be reading and then accidently go over one of these spots and be taken to a different screen or given access to new text.
The Jews daughter used this technique best by highlighting the words that would change the text. I also liked how this text used the system. When going over the word only part of the text would change on the page leaving parts of the old text and doing what hypertext does best, creating new meaning with the same text.
Some of the other texts on the ELO site I felt were more like videos than actual hypertexts. Red Riding Hood was one of these. The hypertext was a flash video that allowed you to click on certain parts of the screen, usually only one spot would advance you in the video. Riding Hood also incorporated a choose your own adventure style. At one screen you could allow riding hood to sleep or wake up. This was pretty much the only choice you came across for the entire video though
My favorite hypertext form the ELO page was Carving in Possibilities. This hypertext presented you with a rough rock image of micalangelos David. When you moved your cursor around the screen you unlocked text as well as slowly carving out the face of David from the rock. The hypertext used many different font styles, sizes and type colors to create different segments within the text. I thought that was interesting as well as using text, which offered more insight into the psychology of the carving, and its subject, which was then used to unlock portions of David’s face.
Star wars one letter at a time was just a video the star wars screenplay flashing by one letter at a time. The title explains it all not much mystery there.
I think that a lot of the hypertext I have read thus far were able to interest me and show me new ways to think about literature and these new ones were no exception. They used a variety of styles some of them not even using text but rather sticking primarily to video. I don’t know if I would classify those as hypertexts but the were interesting non-the less. The use of flash in the hypertexts was a new trick that I think worked very well with the hypertext style. More randomized changes in text. The user does not always know where moving the mouse will take him next.
The Jews daughter used this technique best by highlighting the words that would change the text. I also liked how this text used the system. When going over the word only part of the text would change on the page leaving parts of the old text and doing what hypertext does best, creating new meaning with the same text.
Some of the other texts on the ELO site I felt were more like videos than actual hypertexts. Red Riding Hood was one of these. The hypertext was a flash video that allowed you to click on certain parts of the screen, usually only one spot would advance you in the video. Riding Hood also incorporated a choose your own adventure style. At one screen you could allow riding hood to sleep or wake up. This was pretty much the only choice you came across for the entire video though
My favorite hypertext form the ELO page was Carving in Possibilities. This hypertext presented you with a rough rock image of micalangelos David. When you moved your cursor around the screen you unlocked text as well as slowly carving out the face of David from the rock. The hypertext used many different font styles, sizes and type colors to create different segments within the text. I thought that was interesting as well as using text, which offered more insight into the psychology of the carving, and its subject, which was then used to unlock portions of David’s face.
Star wars one letter at a time was just a video the star wars screenplay flashing by one letter at a time. The title explains it all not much mystery there.
I think that a lot of the hypertext I have read thus far were able to interest me and show me new ways to think about literature and these new ones were no exception. They used a variety of styles some of them not even using text but rather sticking primarily to video. I don’t know if I would classify those as hypertexts but the were interesting non-the less. The use of flash in the hypertexts was a new trick that I think worked very well with the hypertext style. More randomized changes in text. The user does not always know where moving the mouse will take him next.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Blog 9
House of leaves was a very interesting book. Form the content to the layout everything carried some sort of meaning and moved not only the story along but the reading. From the very first page I was sucked into Truant’s struggle with the ominous book that he had stumbled across. I was curious to find out what it the book Zampano had written but I was also very cautious and a little frightened by Johnny’s tail of getting lost in the book.
The layout of the pages was very interesting to me. On page 425 the writing on the page begins to take on the form of the endless hallways of Navidon’s house. The boxes of text get smaller and smaller mirroring Navidon’s journey through a tight passage. When he reaches a large room Danielewski uses just one word on a page to illustrate Navidon’s smallness in the immense maze that he is caught up in. this use of text as illustration appeals to me because I see thing in a more visual way.
Similarly on pages 468-483 small bursts of text appear almost randomly on the page. This shows Navidon’s aloneness as well as the darkness that he has encountered.
The illustration, broken text, footnotes, and the scattered appendices are all-similar to styles used in hypertexts on story space and others. This added reading to the normal book all goes to make a more emissive experience when reading. I also found myself looking things up online. Mostly the references to see if some were real. And to try and make some sense out of why they were used. Most of them weren’t real. Although in some books this would create something unreal but the way that Danielewski used them constantly referencing back and in between made up author created a reality all its own.
Truant’s story followed Navidon’s very well and although he was in the real world he was just as lost and obsessed as Navision in his search for answers revolving around Zampano’s book. Both of these main characters were haunted by their obsession with the house/text. And in the end they could not escape from their obsession.
The layout of the pages was very interesting to me. On page 425 the writing on the page begins to take on the form of the endless hallways of Navidon’s house. The boxes of text get smaller and smaller mirroring Navidon’s journey through a tight passage. When he reaches a large room Danielewski uses just one word on a page to illustrate Navidon’s smallness in the immense maze that he is caught up in. this use of text as illustration appeals to me because I see thing in a more visual way.
Similarly on pages 468-483 small bursts of text appear almost randomly on the page. This shows Navidon’s aloneness as well as the darkness that he has encountered.
The illustration, broken text, footnotes, and the scattered appendices are all-similar to styles used in hypertexts on story space and others. This added reading to the normal book all goes to make a more emissive experience when reading. I also found myself looking things up online. Mostly the references to see if some were real. And to try and make some sense out of why they were used. Most of them weren’t real. Although in some books this would create something unreal but the way that Danielewski used them constantly referencing back and in between made up author created a reality all its own.
Truant’s story followed Navidon’s very well and although he was in the real world he was just as lost and obsessed as Navision in his search for answers revolving around Zampano’s book. Both of these main characters were haunted by their obsession with the house/text. And in the end they could not escape from their obsession.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
blog 7
From the current reading it is very apparent that materiality is something that is very important to Hayles. She discusses the importance of materiality in pretty much every chapter of her book Writing Machines. All this talk of how important this concept is culminates in chapters five through seven where Hayles discusses Artist Books. Artist books use the medium of the book and in most cases the materiality of the book.
I was very interested in these chapters I have had several opportunities to explore and even create artist books in a few classes that I have taken. I have also seen many artist books at the artist book collection on the fourth floor of the library. This was a topic that I found I could relate to and understand much more than previous chapters of the book. Artist books rely heavily on the materiality of the book. From the examples that Hayles wrote about and the books that I have seen many of them can be sculptural in there making and rely on the way the book is made and put together. from the covers to the pages and layout of the letters everything has meaning and creates a message. Using this idea with hypertext makes the reader think about not only what he is reading but how what he is reading was made and why. Also you have to think about what you are reading from whether you are reading on a laptop or a desktop or a projected screen all these can change the way a hypertext is read and interacted with.
I think that materiality is very important for reading or interacting with any literature. All the different ways a book can be put together using different fonts and different sentence structures can all be very important to the themes and meaning of the literature. If the book is old and worn it can carry meaning to a certain person who may have fond memories about the book. The old sayings don’t judge a book by its cover comes to mind. Maybe it is time to judge a book or any literature by its cover rather than just the words inside it.
I was very interested in these chapters I have had several opportunities to explore and even create artist books in a few classes that I have taken. I have also seen many artist books at the artist book collection on the fourth floor of the library. This was a topic that I found I could relate to and understand much more than previous chapters of the book. Artist books rely heavily on the materiality of the book. From the examples that Hayles wrote about and the books that I have seen many of them can be sculptural in there making and rely on the way the book is made and put together. from the covers to the pages and layout of the letters everything has meaning and creates a message. Using this idea with hypertext makes the reader think about not only what he is reading but how what he is reading was made and why. Also you have to think about what you are reading from whether you are reading on a laptop or a desktop or a projected screen all these can change the way a hypertext is read and interacted with.
I think that materiality is very important for reading or interacting with any literature. All the different ways a book can be put together using different fonts and different sentence structures can all be very important to the themes and meaning of the literature. If the book is old and worn it can carry meaning to a certain person who may have fond memories about the book. The old sayings don’t judge a book by its cover comes to mind. Maybe it is time to judge a book or any literature by its cover rather than just the words inside it.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
reading
In if on a winters night a traveler Calvino was giving the reader so many different tangled experiences and in each chapter was very explicit explaining in detail what the reader was supposed to be experiencing while reading each different chapter or page or sentence. Calvino attempted to play with the reader’s emotions and see if he could guess or maybe control the reader’s thoughts. While he did this he also allowed the reader to make his/her own choices and come to their own conclusions regarding how they approached the novel.
In the last chapter Calvino talks about all the different ways of reading. He writes about this in other chapters as well, ludmillas style of innocent/childlike reading, lotorias analyzed reading, the editors controlled reading etc… I the last chapter Calvino writes mainly about reading that takes you away from the book as an object bring your mind away from the words written on the page to discover what is behind the words or in between them to bring your own experience to the book and then take that further somehow. Reading a few lines and then breaking off on a tangent to think about not only what those lines mean in the story you are reading but also in the larger context of the readers life and beliefs. I feel that when I have read at different times and with different books I have used everyone of the reading styles that calvino writes about in “if on a winters night a traveler” when reading Calvino’s book I approached it in the way that lotoria would have analyzing each sentence and attempting to desern some sort of meaning from the words that Calvino had written. On other occasions I have approached reading in ludmillas innocent child just waiting and watching the story unfold as I read it not taking time to think to much into the work. I have read like the editor when proofreading my own papers checking the grammar and spelling and making sure it all makes sense. I have also read in the focused distracted way that is talked about in chapter eleven. Taking all my experiences and injecting them into the story rather than just taking what the author has written by itself.
On separate occasions I have read in these separate ways. Most of the time I read though I use a mixture of these which is the way that I believe Calvino was trying to get his readers to read his novel.
In the last chapter Calvino talks about all the different ways of reading. He writes about this in other chapters as well, ludmillas style of innocent/childlike reading, lotorias analyzed reading, the editors controlled reading etc… I the last chapter Calvino writes mainly about reading that takes you away from the book as an object bring your mind away from the words written on the page to discover what is behind the words or in between them to bring your own experience to the book and then take that further somehow. Reading a few lines and then breaking off on a tangent to think about not only what those lines mean in the story you are reading but also in the larger context of the readers life and beliefs. I feel that when I have read at different times and with different books I have used everyone of the reading styles that calvino writes about in “if on a winters night a traveler” when reading Calvino’s book I approached it in the way that lotoria would have analyzing each sentence and attempting to desern some sort of meaning from the words that Calvino had written. On other occasions I have approached reading in ludmillas innocent child just waiting and watching the story unfold as I read it not taking time to think to much into the work. I have read like the editor when proofreading my own papers checking the grammar and spelling and making sure it all makes sense. I have also read in the focused distracted way that is talked about in chapter eleven. Taking all my experiences and injecting them into the story rather than just taking what the author has written by itself.
On separate occasions I have read in these separate ways. Most of the time I read though I use a mixture of these which is the way that I believe Calvino was trying to get his readers to read his novel.
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