Tuesday, November 29, 2016

"separation" and "sooth"

While I can appreciate the concept that "Separation" was getting at, in terms of inducing empathy in the reader for people who have experienced RSI, the piece was incredibly frustrating. While the poem forced the reader to click away slowly, as people with RSI are instructed to do, it felt like torture - not just because of the purposeful pace, but because of the quality of the poem. Personally, I felt like the words were empty, meaningless, and were terribly confessional - if the words had been more interesting or significant, I felt like that would have balanced out having to wait awhile between clicks to progress in the piece. Also, while the last two lines definitely made the piece more intriguing, I still feel like it didn't do it for me; overall, I just really wasn't a fan of this piece, and I hope we can discuss its meaning further in class.

In terms of the piece "Sooth," I was excited with the idea of it. I liked the concept of each video correlating with interactive lines of poetry; however, after a few minutes of experiencing the piece, I felt just as uncomfortable as when we had read "Tailspin," but maybe even more so. While I think distorted sounds and creepy music are effective in shaping specific atmospheres, I wasn't sure how it was supposed to coincide with the poet's point in "Sooth." By the end of the poems, I wasn't too sure what it was about, and I think it would've been better if there was a more central idea and corresponding videos to go along with it. I think the author just went with videos that were easiest to loop for the effect that he wanted. 

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

hobo lobo of hamelin

Initially, I was not expecting that I would enjoy this piece - I think something about the title suggested it was "medieval" sounding, and if I'm being honest, that's not really my style. However, one of the first things the piece does is poke fun at its "medieval" origins by saying, "Once upon a time, where someone probably doesn't care about because of this old-sounding time period," or something akin to that. That's what started to grab my attention that I had pegged this piece as something completely different.

Additionally, the three-dimensional aspect of the art is incredible. I love the take of this fairytale pop-up style that turns into like an almost animated movie: I think it's aesthetically beautiful and creatively brilliant. Not to mention, the narrative itself is incredibly smart. Even though it takes place in a "medieval" setting, supposedly, the political crux of the whole story is completely relevant to what is happening today.

To add, it's presented in a way that could still be read to children; consequently, it's important to remember that fairytales themselves, while family-friendly, often have deep, underlying meanings behind them that are often a lot uglier and adult-oriented, rather than just being explicitly created for children. Hobo Lobo combines the fairytale elements to create a continuing visually appealing, entertaining, and intellectual narrative, and I wish that this piece of electronic lit had more for us to explore.

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

first draft of the revolution

Once I realized what this piece of electronic literature was doing, I was delighted! I loved this concept of rewriting and watching the draft in process - I think that's genius.

However, I got stuck very quickly, I feel. Maybe the piece is short, or maybe I just don't know what I'm doing, but I cannot get passed changing the last part of page four. It keeps telling me to change the last bit before she signs her name, and I keep doing it- it keeps cycling between three phrases, and there is no where else for me to click. I wish there was a help / guide button or something to tell me what to do in case I get stuck like this, because I feel like I'm not thoroughly experiencing the piece. Or, if it really is that short, I wished the author expanded more (however, I don't think that's the case.) I hope we can go through this more for class, as I want to know about this feminist revolution that we are helping our narrator draft.

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

thermophiles in love

This past week of the netprov has definitely been interesting! I enjoyed the concept of Thermophiles in Love, specifically the idea of have five different genders; in particular, it made you think outside the box of gender performance, and therefore embody and become something entirely new and different. I think the idea definitely points us in the direction to be more accepting in real life, and be open to various gender identities, or having more than one of them (or none at all). The gender Regardless of the gender you do end up performing, you're still just a person searching for love, which is significant to note after playing TiL.

Admittedly, though, I was actually out of my comfort zone throughout the whole process. To begin with, I know virtually nothing of any cellular biological vocabulary / terminology - the context and language itself is pretty confusing for me and makes me eyes glaze over from traumatic flashbacks from high school science lab. Because of that, I felt hindered when I tried to make posts. I felt jealous of everyone whose posts seemed perfect and fitting, as their use of the language was so eloquent and fluent that they could even make hilarious and scientifically sound puns. On occasion, I tried to do the same, but it either elicited no response or was just weak in comparison. Additionally, I felt parts of my own personality stopping me from truly being involved in the experience, because I don't know how to sell myself / flirt with other people! Even though it was a netprov, I think we all still had a bit of a personal investment in our cell characters. As a fac, which seems the opposite of what I would have identified with in real life, it made it twice as hard to come off as confident, or even deceitful.

However, I enjoyed the narratives going on around me, even if I couldn't make myself into a more prominent role as a fac. Like I said, the idea itself was very cool, but I wish the context of it would have been something less sciencey!