Some Original Old English Poetry I have nowhere else to put.

Enjoy three short poems, plus a middle english interpretation of a section of Beowulf.

“On Wyrmsele”

On Wyrmsele, Sæt-ere gesæt wið hete.

Se helsceaða wæs þone hlaford;

He, þe gefeormod hæfde mancynn.

Helwara Gastas gangon in wanre niht,

Wælhrēowan men þe gehīoldon

Heteðoncol torn to þam Ælmihtigan.

Hī gebiddaþ for niwan blisse,

Būton ne cymeð to hiera ferhðum.

“Se Gyst”

Se Gyst hæfde goldbeorht helm.

He wæs manna won and gastlic.

On his sidan, heold reðe swurd;

Hit wæs wælhreow wæpen fram helsceaðan.

Ealdhettend clipode hit “Helle Bryne.”

Se Gyst com on niht, gegongan manna Gastas.

Ne wæs foldbuende. Wægun guðfanan helle.

Cristes leoht ne colode his cræft.

Cristendom cwiðdon ða synleawa mancynnes:

Hit wæs ðone tide. Geweald Godes gebræcon.

“Mattheus”

Mattheus wæs wealthreowan deor.

Ðæs niht-hræfn geman mancynnes blod und

He dranc Þæt mandrinc deofolcunda.

In handa, se neat heold banlocan und

His Eagan wæron gimmas niðes.

Beofulla Antecrist furhogode

Ealle Godes godena bearna.

Earmlic ellorgast lædde cild on niht.

Dæges leoht wæs anne wæpen Þæt

Se grundwæg hæfde astyntan his yfel.

Beowulf Lines 778-790

Old English

þæs ne wendon ær         witan Scyldinga

þæt hit a mid gemete         manna ænig,

betlic ond banfag,         tobrecan meahte,

listum tolucan,         nymþe liges fæþm

swulge on swaþule.         Sweg up astag

niwe geneahhe;         Norðdenum stod

atelic egesa,         anra gehwylcum

þara þe of wealle         wop gehyrdon,

gryreleoð galan         Godes ondsacan,

sigeleasne sang,         sar wanigean

helle hæfton.         Heold hine fæste

se þe manna wæs         mægene strengest

on þæm dæge         þysses lifes.

Middle English

“Er this, the wisse men of the Danes thoughte nat,

Ne founde any Knyghtes who myghte fordoon that.

Who myghte pulle asonder with an heep sleighte,

The riche house and halle apiked with perles white

and gloweden with the lighte of the Fader and Crist.

Myghte oonly falle if Sathan sente the fyr from his brist.

But soun roos up, muchel new; al thogh horrible fere

Yet dwelled with the Danes, ech of hem. Hem over there,

Herde wepynge. Goddes Adversarie syngyng a soun:

A song of drede, a cry in los. Hit was herde in every toun.

Beowulf with strong hond helde Helles caytyve.

He, with Hooly herte, and strengthe diffynytyve.”

Some Fun news

I don’t know if anyone is looking at this anymore, but figured I’d share a little tidbit of news with y’all. A while ago, I brought up the Angry Video Game Nerd in my discussion of Virtual Reality. Well my friend and I, under the moniker of Slaymaker, recorded a cover version of the nerd’s theme song. This song was on his web page, but now it recently got featured in his new video. Our hardcore punk version of the theme serves as the background soundtrack for an epic battle in the video. It comes on around the 15 minute mark. Just thought this was pretty fun because this guy gets millions of views and has tons of fans. I think I have officially joined the technological age. The video can be found here: http://www.gametrailers.com/player/33161.html.

Cheers
Louis

Blog Post #20: Recognizing some Patterns

So i guess it is appropriate that we read this book toward the end of the course and bring it full circle to the beginning. Throughout reading this novel, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Pynchon. However, I must say that I liked this much more than that novel. Although Pynchon was very interesting, there was just more resolution in this novel, and I just missed that complete quality in The Crying of Lot 49.
As for this novel on its own…
I guess one of the first things that struck me about Gibson’s work was the setting. It felt so alien and so ordinary at the same time. Gibson sets up his protagonist to be this jet setting piece in a giant global machine. Cayce travels all over the world in a manner of weeks. Gibson portrays this world of intense globalization where everyone is connected, and it almost seems ridiculous. Wherever Cayce goes, she feels welcome and sort of at home. I can understand the interconnectedness in relation to the subculture of the footage, but the interconnectedness outside of that culture just feels a little incorrect. Gibson seems to portray a world where cultures are secondary to technology. I just don’t know how I feel about that.

My biggest qualm with the book is the ending. I just felt like the “love story” aspect was completely unnecessary. I understand that the reader wants Cayce to be happy, but come on. I like Parkaboy better when he was just some concept on the internet. The whole knight in shining armor thing felt so wrong to me. Cayce has been looking for peace the whole time, and I thought the ending implied that Parkaboy was necessary to that-bullshit. I liked Cayce better when she was running from the Michelin Man and trying to deal with her inner demons.

Her demons…I liked the concept of her allergy to brands. I thought this was a rather interesting aspect for anyone who cringes when they pass the overly scented Hollister store in the mall. I nearly almost vomit when i pass by that establishment. Furthermore, I still get uncomfortable in the stomach area when i see the brand name. So I can relate to her. However, many of Cayce’s problems seem to stem from her inability to deal with the real personal issues in her life. Her father’s death seems to be almost a footnote compared to the phobia…however, this changes as she experiences more traumatic events.

Is the story set up to be about the personal disconnect we all experience from traumatic events? Perhaps. Cayce loses her father, and sees the buildings fall, and yet she is still afraid of a marshmallow man. It seems so ridiculous. However, I think the novel has its point. Sometimes we favor anonymity rather than facing the issues at had: Cayce immediately emails back over banal items, but ignores her mother.

I guess its a coming of age set in the mid-thirties age range. However, I like it and I think it works.

Blog Post #19: Secondary Sources

Just so everyone knows, I am exploring the virtual applications of the “World of Warcraft.” I originally intended to show the game as both “fake” and “potential” at the same time. Now, however, I am still doing that, but also leaning more toward the potential side. I will illustrate how the benefits outweigh the negatives of the virtual world. I am focusing on several issues including gold-farming, health study, game addiction, and economics.

Here are some of the sources:
* Formatting went crazy when I brought this from Word.
Barboza, David. “Ogre to Slay? Outsource It to Chinese.” The New York Times . 9
December 2005.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/09/technology/09gaming.html?ex=1291784400&en=48a72408592dffe6&ei=5088>

-This article outlines the gold-farming business that is growing in China. Chinese laborers play online games to accumulate virtual gold and sell it to gamers worldwide for real world profit. This helps illustrate the real world impacts of virtual gaming: both positive and negative.

Bryant, Todd. “Using World of Warcraft and Other MMORPGs to Foster a
Targeted, Social, and Cooperative Approach Toward Language Learning.”
Academic Commons. 26 September 2006.
< http://www.academiccommons.org/commons/essay/bryant-MMORPGs-for-SLA>

- This posting by a Second Language teacher illustrates how it is possible to use online gaming to teach students the use of a SL in context. The games demand reading about quests, and maybe more importantly, communicating with team members. Students may be able to learn quickly when they are forced to use a second language to use the game.

Buss, Emily. “Game addiction: Kids get lost in virtual world.” Knight Ridder
Tribune Business News. 16 July 2007.

-This article addresses the issue of game addiction, and parents’ concern over it. The author highlights the recently hot topic of addiction to MMORPGs. She argues that while there may be addiction in several extreme cases, the standard gamer does not get addicted; and even if they do, it is far better than the alternatives to games. This article contributes some background, and some of the potential negative aspects of gaming.
*There are several other studies about this idea. They vary by both denying and enforcing the existence of “game addiction.” I have not chosen the main ones yet.

Castronova, Edward. Synthetic Worlds: The Business and Culture of Online Games.

Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005.

-Castronova’s book covers the gaming industry from both economic and cultural perspectives. Several topics include the allure of immersion, and the impact of the gaming industry on the real world economy. I am using Castronova several times to illustrate both sides of the argument.

Mortensen, Torrill Elvira. “Me, the Other,” in Second Person: Role-Playing and

Story in Games and Media. Harrigan and Wardrip-Fruin, eds. Cambridge:

MIT Press, 2007.

-Mortensen’s essay deals with the concept of the virtual character of real world participants in virtual worlds. The author analyzes what this type of virtual representation means for the participant, and the potential implications of being immersed in a virtual world. This essay is being used to illustrate the relationship between the gamer and the virtual world.

Ryan, Marie-Laure. Narrative as Virtual Reality: Immersion and Interactivity in

Literature and Electronic Media. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press,

2001.

- This text functions as both a primary and a secondary source. I am exploring Ryan’s two opposing views of the “virtual as potential” and the “virtual as fake” and applying them to the World of Warcraft. I am illustrating how the game both steals away from the real while also creating opportunities that would otherwise not have been available to the users. I am now arguing that the potential outweighs the negative aspects.

Tynes, John. “Primatic Play: “Games as Windows on the Real World,” in Second

Person: Role-Playing and Story in Games and Media. Harrigan and Wardrip-

Fruin, eds. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2007.

-The author describes MMORPGs as “engagist” rather than “escapist.” The way users engage a game has real world potential although set in a fantasy setting. The author highlights the usage of online game for educational purposes and for social situations. Gaming allows a user to try out situations in a virtual setting that they may take to the real world-such as romance, etc.

Villacampa, Alexander. “The Economics of the ‘World of Warcraft.’”

LewRockwell.com. 17 July 2006.

<http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig7/villacampa1.html>

-This student article outlines several of the in-game features of the “World of Warcraft.” It deals mainly with the function of economics within the world. Villacampa describes how the market in the game resembles the real world in ways. I will use this article to show real world applications coming from the virtual world. For example, gamers learning market trends from the game’s various auction houses.

“Virtual Game is Disease Model.” BBC News Website. 21 August 2007.

< http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6951918.stm>

- This article outlines how several researchers at Tufts have begun using the outbreak of the “corrupted blood” virus as a virtual study of human behavior during epidemics. The immersion factor of the game made many people act as if the threat of the virus was real. Researchers believe this study may help in understanding human behavior in the real world, even though based in a fantasy setting.

Ward, Mark. “Deadly Plague Hits Warcraft World.” BBC News Website. 22

September 2005. < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4272418.stm>

- This article gives some background on the “corrupted blood” virus that killed many of the virtual characters in the game. This article is pretty much just for background, but will connect to another article for real world potential of the game.

Blog Post #18: A Patchwork of Filmtext

Alright, so these two readings were by far my least favorite of the entire semester. While I think that the Jackson piece was rather intriguing, I still do not know what to make of Mark Amerika.

This is the installation in the Guggenheim I was talking about in class:

Here text is used as a form of art. I suppose that the random sayings spread throughout the display may add up to an overall theme. This is most likely the case with Filmtext. I will the first one to admit that I did not give Filmtext as much attention as Patchwork Girl. I really tried to get into it, but I ended up just getting frustrated. I felt a similar frustration when dealing with Jackson, but that piece at least had a sense of accomplishment to it. I was able to draw themes out of the work, and to connect all the links into a somewhat cohesive story.  However, there must be something appealing to Amerika that I just don’t get. Apparently Amerika has published novels according to Wikipedia. He then went on to create various net art such as Filmtext. His goal was apparently to expand writing into new media technologies….which I think we can agree he definitely did.

Perhaps the problem with Filmtext is that the linearity has gone completely out the window. Patchwork Girl was not linear, but it very much could be if navigated correctly. Does Amerika want us to be scratching our heads and trying to piece together some sense  of a narrative?

I feel like I am merely going to repeat myself in this blog, so I am going to wrap up early.

Bottom line: I don’t get Filmtext, but if you do…more power to you. I’ll stick to some good old fashioned linear text.

Blog Post #17: What the…?

First of all…I’m a little upset I spent like 15 bucks on one 1 megabyte of information on the Jackson cd-rom. Anyway…

I thought Patchwork Girl was an interesting experience. I am not really sure how I should describe it outside of that. I actually found the ability to go off on tangents to be rather unsettling and injured my ability to appreciate the actual work itself. Despite this, I thought the endeavor was quite original. Linking on the internet may lead a reader down paths completely unnecessary to the main narrative line they are following. Jackson’s work, however, is meant to be read in sections; and thus, the tangents combine to form the overall monster of a hypertext.

The monster herself was a nice touch I think as well. She appears to be the physical manifestation of the various lines of narrative pieces coming together in one entity. Her body is a patchwork of various parts which have independent qualities.  The edges where they join one another may become torn or separate, but they may be repaired and maintained with care. The individual pieces also have a history of their own. Their backstory makes the tale of the monster more unsettling. The girl is assembled of so many memories, but they are now focused on new goals which they never had before.

The scars and beauty are obviously important issues as well. The work is scarred up and chopped into several different pieces strung together by links. Like the monster, we do not know what to make of it, but it can still be beautiful. If I remember one section correctly, there is mention that the stitch work made the  monster all that more attractive during a sexual encounter. She, like the text, is the joining of so many things that the beauty is justpart of her being-like any other part from the graveyard.

As for Mark Amerika…

I do not know what is going on here. Is there a great message in here, or is this weird for weird’s sake? I guess I can say that the website was well designed. The random little bugs who come down and say something like “raise the dead” were undoubtedly entertaining. I just couldn’t get into it. However, I guess this Filmtext was supposed to be a cross-media project. This including music, art, etc. Perhaps If I experienced this project fully, I would be able to be a better judge.

Blog Post #16: The Diamond Age is over…

Alright…I’m late!!

 I have to admit, I am a little upset we will not be reading anymore of Stephenson this semester. This was my favorite book that we read ths entire semester. Stephenson is an author after my own heart. I don’t know what it was exactly, but the combination of historical precedence and bleak worldview made this a very interesting read.  More than that, the novel had so many elements that we discussed in relation to the overall theme of our class.

Since we didn’t discuss the Drummers all too much I thought maybe I should explore them a little bit more. The Drummers were obviously one of the most interesting entities in the story. While both the Victorians and the Confucians were relatively strange phyles, the Drummers were definitely the most jarring of all. They represent a pure bestial nature. They do not have the “civility” of the other phyles, but they contribute the most to the world at large. The only thing that comes out of the Victorian and Confucian phyles is war. The Drummers are working toward creating a liberating Seed that will equalize the world’s playing field. Will this be disasterous? Very possibly. Despite this, there is something upsetting about the Drummers.

 These people are mindless and purely instinctual. It seems wrong that they should be the great creators. This gets even more confusing when you factor in Nell. She is also a great liberator like the Drummers; and in the end, she is able to overcome this group with her own technological achievements. Is the message that collective thinking is beneficial as long as we do not lose our own identities in it? Or is it that one unique mind is greater than the sum of lesser collectivised ones? I am not really sure. I think Stephenson falls probably in the middle of these two thoughts. The Mouse army is very important, and so are the Drummers. I do not think Stephenson would want to throw these groups out the window. There is a symbiotic relationship between the hive mind and the individual. They require one another to move forward.

You’re a little bit country…

My new two man band Slaymaker took a crack at covering the Angry Video Game Nerd Song. I mentioned the nerd in my project last week. Our hardcore rendition can be found at the myspace link above.

 Update: it will be added to his website shortly. God, the internet moves fast!

Blog Post #15: Diamond Age Reloaded

There was a revolution after all. I think I feel a little fulfilled after all that reading.

Honestly, this book was a dream come true. Science fiction intermixed with the history of modern China. I guess the whole message is that regardless of how society changes, human behavior remains the same perhaps. I mean we have a futuristic China being exploited by a powerful West. Then we have a rebellion against that power. Awesome.

Now as it relates to class. There are many ideas that connect to what we’ve covered. The drummers as a form of collective intelligence really stuck out. Dr. X connects Hackworth with these other people to combine their various thinking abilities to create new technologies. This collective intelligence brings about the creation of things that we’re not thought entirely feasible.

In addition to these drummers, there is also the concept of the turing machine. Turing machines are apparently ” extremely basic abstract symbol-manipulating devices which, despite their simplicity, can be adapted to simulate the logic of any computer that could possibly be constructed.” Nell is constantly able to overcome these machines and therefore surpass the logic and intricacies of a system. Her human reasoning is able to beat anything that an artificial intelligence can throw at her. I thought this was an interesting little bit. Despite the overload of technology, Nell is still able to surpass the problems presented to her by a machine.

Hmm… I guess we should also discuss the climax to Nell’s interaction with the Primer. The Primer has become integral to who Nell is. However, she has realized that it was the human connection that helped her, not solely the computer. The love she felt for the book was directed toward Miranda, and not toward the technology. Nell immersed herself into the technology, but felt a connection for the women on the other end. In the end, that was one of her main goals. She had to liberate Miranda from the drummers. Nell had become a strong and independent girl with an amazing tolerance for pain. She suffers rape and torture by the Fists, but is able to maintain a clear head. The relationship and the lessons she learned from the Primer were definitely responsible for this.

She becomes the leader of a new phyle, and no longer needs to fit the mold of another group. She is a Princess in her own right. Her fantasy became real. Is this the virtual as potential? She has realized the Primer was a tool and used to better herself. Rather than lose herself within this false reality, she uses it as a means to defining her real self. Not only does she become a strong women, but she becomes a leader. That’s one hell of a Primer.

Going down to South Park?

Alright I’ll be honest… I love South Park. I was there in the beginning, and with the shows continued airing, I have not been disappointed. Where can I put this often hated show into ideas we have seen in class?

Considering there are about 170 episodes or so, there is so much to choose from. Even if you aren’t familiar with the show, I am sure you have been privy to news coverage about the controversies surrounding the show. I have been thinking for the past day about some ideas that could tie in to these controversies.

Obviously, there’s the Scientology episode, the Censorship episode, the any number of profane or religiously offensive episodes, and most recently, the use of the “n” word.

I have been interested in the concept of convergence since we read Jenkins book. After doing some research, I have become more interested in what Trey Parker and Matt Stone are doing behind the scenes, rather than on the screen.

Here is an editorial I found in the Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/28/opinion/28tue3.html?ref=opinion

South Park has gone from being a lowbrow show to being a monster of a multimedia. It has spawned a feature film, fanfiction, online forums, mobile phone technology, itune downloads, etc. South Park Studios has become a digital hub that can be experienced through a plethora of other media. Of course at the heart of this is the creators and the fans.

Now how can I approach this? I’m still a little early on, but I suppose I am interested in the relationship the show has spawned with its fans. The creators encourage discourse between fans and have even supported the pirating and sharing of their show. I want to do research into their multimedia approach to immersing the fans. Specifically, how the fans experience the show, if the multimedia approach does it for them, and if this convergence creates a richer experience for them. It’s going to be in the style of Jenkins and see if South Park and their multimedia approach is part of the lifeblood of the show.

I think there’s something here. I will engage specific episodes, but overall I want to get a sense of the online community-of which I am not a part. I’ve been a passive fan, but I want to know what the benefits of interactivity are?

Any suggestions?

Louis