Textual Media

When turning my Calvino incipit into a hypertextual medium, for the most part I found a word in my piece and decided to google it.  When I came up with something I didn’t like or lost interest in it, I went to a different word.  Once I found something I did like, I stuck with it.  Only a few times did I try to put meaning into the word I was creating a link to.  Other times I tried to play off the words that I used, for example picking a picture or site that had an opposite meaning to the word. 

An example of this is when I chose to link the word "sliced" to a picture of sliced bread.  The meaning of the word in the context of the story had a very different meaning than the picture I linked it with.  Another example of playing off words and presenting another meaning to them is when I chose to link the word "sentence" to a web site on how to form sentences in Hungarian.  In the context of the story, "sentence" was referring to a jail-term.  My link to a picture of Cain and Abel is meant to reflect what the story was pretty much about — one brother killing another for his own personal gain.  (I think that’s what Cain and Abel was about).  I linked the name of the main characters’ brother — Cimbrian — with an artists’ rendering of Cain and Abel. 

For the Cain and Abel example, I feel as if I were successfully able to convey the message behind the story and what I was trying to get across.  It really is the only serious link I have in my piece — other than the two I linked to other’s incipits.  I tried to have those links have some meaning as well.  For example, I chose to link the word "sheild" to Jennifer Parker’s incipit entitled, "Cowering in the Darkest Chasms."  A character in the story was trying to hide from the Gorin gang, sheilding himself if you will from them and uncertain death.  I’m not sure if this would come across as clearly as maybe the Cain and Abel link, but it is what I was trying to convey. 

The general methodology for choosing the links were based on word association, word context, possible historical significance.  For example, I made a reference to German light armor, therefore I created a link for the word “armor” to a WWII Nazi Flag that was found on a Panzer tank; this is a logical translation.  Another step that I took was to take a word that multiple meanings.  I used “icebreaker” to describe a breaking of social silence; however, I made a link to a literal icebreaker: liquid mints(http://www.hersheys.com/icebreakers/).  I used another play on pop culture by making the word “captain” a link to Captain’s Morgans rum(http://www.captainmorgan.com/en-us/).  Lastly, I selected another student’s piece(http://mason.gmu.edu/~rford1/assignment_files/swimming.html) which mentioned the same town upon which my incipit was based as a connection.  This student’s piece is also associated with “defiance” which is an underlying theme in my own work.

If I had made all the links historical, a virtual footnote persay, then I think the piece would have been taken more seriously.  Due to the choices I made in selecting the links, I believe it made the work somewhat more creative, but in a much more comical way, which was not the original aim of the story upon its creation.  As a result, the reader will most likely be confused when a story with a serious and depressing backdrop has links to such trivial items.

Most of the links that I inserted into my Calvino "incipit" were done so to enhance the story.  I didn’t want the link to be completely pointless and have some incredibly vague connection.  Instead, I chose links that would give the viewer some sort of a visual image of the word of phrase I was linking to.  In the case of clasemates incipits that I linked to, each had either a common word or common idea between them.  I wanted a direct, clear relation to be found in what I was linking to.

Take my "yelling in my face" link for example.  The line from my incipit was "My eyes shot open, and I found a very large man in my face, yelling in my face, although my face wasn’t quite sure what he was yelling about."  Clearly, the link to yelling in my face has a very graphic example of someone yelling in another persons face, bringing a sort of visual enhancement to the story, making it feel a bit more intense.

With another link that I inserted, the "escape plan" link, I wanted the reader to see that "escape plan" can refer to more than just escaping from something.  The line from my incipit reads "Being stuck on a bus doesn’t afford many opportunities to devise an escape plan, I was stuck."  Obviously everyone knows what escaping from a bus is, and an image of a bus or of someone running or escaping wouldn’t add too much to the story, since it wouldn’t convey the point very well (that is, that the "I" wanted to escape but that he was stuck and couldn’t).  Instead, I chose to link to a wallpaper for a band "The Dillinger Escape Plan".

Another link that I included came in the sentence "This was good, since I no longer had a large, angry man trying to turn my head into what would resemble a lump of dough, swelling and taking on funny shapes."  With this link, I figured a visual image of a lump of dough being worked over by a pair of hands would be a great visual image to supplement the line of text.  My thought was that it would give readers a great idea of what I was aiming to get across with my writing.

The last link that I included in my incipit came in the last line and reads "And that is when all hell broke loose, or, I should say, all hell slammed into the front of a crowded building."  With this one, I wasn’t quite sure if readers would clearly get the point that I was referring to the bus hitting the front of a building, and so I wanted to visually represent that with an image.  Like a lot of my links, I was aiming to add visual stimulation to the story.

So did my links work?  I think that most of, if not all of them, worked fairly well.  I was mainly trying to convey a meaningful addition to the story, giving the reader another tool in enhancing what they were reading, beyond their own imagination.  Some of my links were a bit more vague, but I feel that they all make sense if you take at least some time to think about them.

 

The methodology that i used to choose my links was fairly simple.  First i looked at words within my text that i thought would be interesting or eye appealing to search.  Once I had chosen my words, i googled them and checked the outcomes for the one i felt was best.  I guess i wanted them to be as simple as they could be so they would be appealing to every person that experienced them.  My favorite link is the one for the word Philadelphia; for this link i chose to like a picture of the city skyline becuase it is where much of my family is located and the Philadelphia skyline brings back fond memories.  For September i chose to link a picture of a space image of the Pentagon after 9-11; i did this because when most people think of 9-11 they think of New York, I feel that the Pentagon should be remembered just as much.  For the word drive i linked the BMW website, their slogan has been "the ultimate driving machine" for many years and it was the first thing that popped into my head as i was doing this project, plus i love the cars.  For the word puppy I linked a picture of a Newfoundland Dog because this is my absolute favority dog in teh world and i hope to get one soon, and picture was just so damn cute.  I feel i was very successful in my project, i was not trying to get tricky or deep, i was just trying to show some good images and express some of my loves into the project, and, honestly, i simply wanted to complete it in a reasonable amount of time!!

Marie -Laure Ryan mentions computer games in the discussion of interactive texts and ergodic literature.  I had never really put computer/video games in this light of an interactive drama before. She notes that although the player does not contribute text, but skills such as shooting, jumping, diving, problem and riddle solving require far more active participation that selecting items from a menu as would be done on a preprogramed webpage or virtual reality art display.  In many games today, especially role-playing games, the plot and subsequent series of events often depends on the actions of the player(i.e. which door is opened or which items are picked up in the room).  Video games are often overlooked as a form of interactivity with text.  In the future, it will be interesting to see how much games will evolve depending on the decisions of the player.  Thus making reality more blurred perhaps?

The Drawn Pavement of October Nights

Briefly, you question why he’s even sent you to such a place. Without an interpreter to aid or guide you, you silently pray that your instincts have proved you right. The coffee table remains cluttered from previous travelers. Your hand sticks to the counter, picking up the residue of day old ketchup stains, and Lord knows whatever else could possibly land on the counter of an abandoned diner in the middle of no-man’s land.

          It doesn’t make sense to you. It shouldn’t. You’ve managed to make it thus far in the game. But still, no leads to what you’ve been called for- why they’ve sent you here. They came rushing, with an army of green men and walky-talkies; the smell of rust and dried apricots trailing behind them that one October night. Already confused as to how these men have found you, you let go of the intriguing trace of apricots wafting into the room of your still and odorless city loft, and focus on the present scare. With swift and heavy feet, they assemble you into the bolts of green jacket. This, of course, is installed for their security from yet another outburst. Your heart beats, fluttering beneath the skin of your chest.

          Why have they done this, you ask reader? Well, perhaps the proper question would be, for what do they have to gain as a result of your kidnapping?

          You pass by an old warehouse. You remember its dingy doors, heavier than its appearance should allow. And yet, this very passage, where deals and transactions were executed; where dealers, courted by your wittingly priceless charm, landed you in the very position you presently face. You’re at the mercy of a handler you’ve never met, and perhaps will never meet.

          This memory is brushed away by a torn hand stained by day-old condiments. Sweeping it across the back of your head, you’re hoping that your memory fails you. It doesn’t. You stretch your hand in hopes of the pain escaping sharp cuts and bruises; you continue wondering if the plotted memory of its abuse will ever escape your haggard mind. Sure, you hit him hard, but he hit you even harder- and still, it feels good to conjure that sudden scene of personal retaliation, an outburst that should’ve been prevented by brass nuts and bolts of a stray jacket.

 The diner clock reads 11:56 pm. She’s always late. She should’ve been here 56 minutes ago- and still, you wait. Do you love her? Possibly. Noooo. You would never wait for anyone this long. Does she love you? I don’t know. Reader, I’m not sure. Should she love him? What kind of love purposefully allows the one you adore waiting center stage in a danger zone?

She does, I have decided. She makes you wait for the purpose of testing you. Do you love her? Then you’ll continue waiting. If not, you would have left an hour ago, or perhaps would have never even showed up. She watches from the cold window of a ‘72 rusty green Camero. She rubs her hands on her thighs, warming them, she hopes; out of anticipation even, she rubs them. But fear keeps her caged in even longer.

The car mirror flips open. Painted lips become even deeper. The heavy door slams. Green paint from the car flickers off of the wet pavement, as her black boots march beneath her.  “Hi ma’am, do ya’ need a seat?” You’ve spotted her.

She’s always so mysterious- that’s what annoys you about her. But then again, that’s what mystifies you, intrigues you, even, to stay. As she takes the seat across from you, you get a whiff of her perfume- she’s wearing your favorite. “So what- you take three showas again?” She doesn’t answer, but moves her head right to left. She smiles and you smile back. Wow, you really love her. “Why did you want me here?” she asks. Her hands are pink from rubbing them. They’ve been mounted on the table, mocking the same rubbing motion committed during stake-out. It’s a sign— she’s nervous. “Want you here!… I was ordered to meet here at 11… I follow orders Cammi……. I just—-follow—–orders.”

What you don’t interpret is the sarcastic tone in her voice. Unaware, you’ve also failed to realize that this mysterious handler you’ll never meet, the very handler, that has assumed the position of decisively turning your quaint life of journalism completely upside down, tangles you in a web of deceit through the scent of her body and neck- your favorite perfume on a woman.

After reading the final portions of Italo Calvino’s (“Calvino”) book if on a winter’s night a traveler, I have a much clearer understanding of interactive text. The book was thought provoking in the way it shifted story lines, presented newly created words, and contained all the book’s format in a weaved circular pattern. The book allows you to think of possible new ending to each story’s plot.

I was impressed when begin the 9th chapter relating the airplane to a metallic uterus. The uterus holds the life of an unborn fetus until delivery time; while the airplane holds its passenger until arrival time. The book’s text implied ways that a person could eliminated writers block by just writing and weaving a story with the experiences of you life, someone else’s life, or just vision from your mind. And, if that is not enough, you could mix all or part of the elements listed combining them in any form you desired and continue your story. Calvino did just that when he visualized Lotaria and incorporated her into many different personalities.

The characters she represented are as follows: Lotaria – Corina – Gertrude – Ingrid – Alfonsina –Shelia – Captian Alexandra. Calvino begin reading a book to get the girl, ended his novel with the revelation that he love the girl, and chapter 12 married the girl. He could have asked her to marry his in the first few pages, but instead he took the reader on a textual journey.

I felt somewhat disappointed in reading this last sections of Calvino’s If on a winter’s night a traveler. All along I was intriqued by the mini-stories inserted within the general narrative, even if they do not have an ending, and the quest of the readers to find the complete volume; however when I read this last part the novel somehow lost its appeal. I think it might be due to the fact that the plot become too chaotic that it no longer resembles the style or characters that was presented to us in the first half of the book. Only at the last fifty pages there the events are completely strange and bizzare. The mini-stories between the narratives I already expected to be different, but now even the general narratives are twisted. In addition, there are lots more generalized thoughts and insights that the feel of the novel become more philosophical, metaphysical pondering on the act of reading experience instead of a story. It seems like Calvino, knows that he is wrapping up the novel, so therefore if we haven’t already grasped the vision that this novel is resembling something like “ergodic literature” idea, it’ll be stated all the more clearly.