Part 1:  Above the ground: 2050 CE 

Prologue:

This story speaks for inhabitants of the more Northern inhabitants of the planet Earth. We do not pretend to speak for the world as that would not present “The Truth.” 

Thirty years ago much of the world imploded sparking a change in the way humans live. 

Why? Eco-terrorism? Instability or imbalance in political or economic power amongst nations? You decide . . . it may have been a combination of many what we do know is that oil fields, refineries and distribution networks exploded adding to the pollutants that were rapidly changing the climate. 

I invite you to go back in time and play a game . . .  play Feed the Beast (Hydamacka, Irwin & Passaglia, 2020)  – to experience what our elders of the boreal forests of the world experienced in 2020 and think about the choices they made and what forced them to do so.

Click to play: Feed the Beast1

Fast forward to 2050 CE 

The world as we knew it imploded .  . .  we don’t know why they seemed to be targeted. .  but the technology and knowledge had  been preserved. We have become more conscious of how we live, learn  and how we sustain ourselves. 

School is no longer the way it once was . . . research is no longer primarily conducted by university PhDs but by young students . . . professor’s roles are to work in tandem with the elders, to mentor and guide the youth’s explorations in areas of interest.  

“Interest helps learners pay attention, make connections, persist, and engage in deeper learning” (Ito et al)  

Family units have reverted to a multigenerational living and teaching arrangement . . .  wisdom is delivered to youth by elders . . . First People and the Forests (Simard, 2016) have always known this is the way to teach.  Parents leave the responsibility of childcare and education primarily to grandparents while they work and/or continue their studies.  Daycares have proven to be too dangerous since the outbreaks of COVID-19 followed by COVID 20, 21 and 22.  Schools have also been deemed unsafe as well as  less effective in their delivery as project based, collaborative, self-directed studies evolved under the careful watch of the old ones.  Multi-age group students connect to each other in cohorts or work alone on their projects. Students work on real-world problems, solutions and designs for the future. Following Moussa et al’s (2013) earlier  suggestion, “Technologies for learners emphasize student agency by allowing users to select their own learning goals and the means that will help them achieve those goals” (p. 1).  Aikenhead & Ogawa (2007), also suggested “design thinking offers great potential because it aligns with traditional Indigenous understandings of knowledge as active, relational, and produced through the actions of humans, objects, and non-humans.” This is the hope for our new future. Later, you will come to see an example of the non-human which has been long ignored.

It takes a village to raise a child – unknown (possibly origin: the Igbo or Yoruba of Africa)

Youth remain under the tutelage of their Grans (grandparents) until their brains are fully developed at age 25-30 or until their research is completed or at least their first stage. Some will continue on with the help of a cohort of members studying similar areas and problems as well as mentors and elders in their “community of learning.” Grans will also be to connected to their children’s learning cohort.  

Elders also feel the benefit as they are valued as they once were as knowledge keepers and transmitters. Many also continue to study and learn alongside younger family members. Having a sense of purpose and being valued adds to their longevity which is not without problems as general health. vision, hearing declines.  Science and technology must strive to solve these problems.

As independent adults, humans will continue to either work in their chosen area of specialty or continue with research. Areas are interconnected and fluid in a more holistic approach. Humans may also choose to apprentice in areas of medicine, science, technology, environment etc. 

A family learning unit: Kaira and her Gran

Kaira was trying to understand a local protest and thought she could talk to her elder about it; maybe even clarify a few questions she had.  “Granny, can you tell me more about 2020?” 

“Sorry, Kaira, I can’t find my Memglasses©” the old one replied. 

While brain exercises and the stimulation of  tutoring have been helpful, the addition of Memglasses© has proven to significantly reduce memory loss and slowed the progression of dementia amongst the elderly. These glasses use facial and object recognition as well as auditory cues to aid memory which tends to deteriorate.

Memglassses© work by collecting visual and auditory information which is processed, catalogued and can be accessed automatically or by request. The visual information is projected on the glass lens while a small earbud whispers crucial information.

The user may also ask for information: such as “Mem, who was the last president of the United States of America?” Second thought, we may want to forget that one.  Glasses by SUNTECH and ASVP available on Amazon.ca – (yes it is still around!)

“Ya right, nice try. They are a short term memory aid not long,” Kaira snorted.  

“Manners, Kaira,” Gran chuckled. “You do need to dig deeper to understand things for yourself. How are you going to be able to complete your research if you don’t research?  Now, if I could only remember where those glasses went . . . “

Kaira let out a deep sigh, “Granny, did you set your “find my device” app to on? “

“Right.  Thanks for the reminder.  . . . Alli, find my Mems”  

“They are on your head” Alli chirped with a barely suppressed small giggle from Gran’s solar wristwatch/tracker/organizer/companion. Kaira fell on the floor roaring with laughter.

“Very funny you two,” Granny growled. “Lucky for you, I found them. They are reminding me to remind you to connect your interface to download some new knowledge.  After that, you will need to select from it what is important to your research.  Oh, and don’t forget to add to The History today. I received notification that it has been nearly a week since your last entry. 

“Ugh. Big brother is watching. Why do I need to add to The History?  What does it matter? Lots of other people are already adding to the it ” Kaira replied.

“Do I need to remind you what happened to the Democrats in the US election of 2016? Every voice counts, if only the democrats had used their voices!  They got stuck with Trump and an ineffective COVID-19 policy and riots in the streets. Did you know Australia would fine people who did not vote back then? The US should have done that,  Your voice represents your people . . . 

“Who? I am a Heinz 57 variety. Who are my people? No one” 

“You are primarily of Scandinavian descent, think Vikings, Swedes, Danes, and a wee bit of Sami along with the Heinz 57. You also represent the youth. If we rely on only a few voices to tell the truth or our stories, our history, we need to consider whose voices are left out .  .  .”

“The History” is a digital collection of voices and images of the world.  In the past history was written from the perspective of the dominant culture or the “winner” of various wars. We now try to avoid this but not without new issues. The final story is created through algorithms of the stories, filtering through to find commonalities or “the truth’ it would seem. It becomes crucial to have all people’s voices observing and creating this collective memory so that is reflective of all. However, there is a danger of digital assimilation or a melting pot. Has race become invisible? To avoid this multiple individual stories are highlighted in addition to the general consensus of the ‘true’ history of the world.

Now, maybe you should plug in that interface . . . and what exactly are you researching?”  Granny asked.

Kaira’s interface connects wirelessly to a massive network.  Next year, at the age of 12 and only after her and her family’s consent, a nanofiber will be inserted into her brain to connect wirelessly to the knowledge bases which she can search simply via her own thoughts. Despite the advantages of having access to stores of knowledge, there are also disadvantages as data mining of her own thoughts is one peril.  This data mining of thought is circumvented by an alarm system which alerts her to disconnect. The regulatory board also makes the use of “brain data” illegal. But . . . do you trust the system?  The interface is, of course, voluntary but has the added advantage of scanning the body systems for advance warning of medical issues. If one chooses not to have the fibres inserted they may rely upon the solar powered wrist device such as Gran wears. Solar is the way to go especially with the increased sun rays. One benefit of climate change, I suppose.

Kaira had a research plan alright: “I hear that there is a counter protest by the omnivores and carnivores against the Vegans happening today down by the courthouse. I’ve just found some interesting research on the language of vegetables.  And we already know that trees talk and care for each other.  Could be interesting. In one plant study (Thomsen, 2019) they cut stems and deprived of water finding that ‘the plants began to emit ultrasonic sounds between 20 and 100 kilohertz, which they believed could convey their distress to other plants and organisms in the immediate vicinity.”

There is a lot more about plant language that we now know. Plants’ behaviour, chemicals in their systems, gases and the subtle sounds emitted in addition to environmental conditions are used to create algorithms which are aiding in discovering the language of plants. 

“Yes, I remember crying when my mom thinned the carrots, thinking the babies are leaving their mothers! That is interesting.  But be careful! Sounds like things could get violent” Gran cautioned.

Off Kaira went to her Solar cycle, a single unit of human pedal power assisted by solar energy.

The Solar Cycle stores solar power to use or to assist on long trips, uphills or simply when the rider tires. The design features a comfortable recumbent cycling seat. By pedalling the cycle, the rider also generates power to store in power packs that replace the engine of a traditional vehicle of the past.  There is the additional bonus of physical exercise, of course. Each unit has multiple retractile connex or recepx (what we once called male/female plugs and receptacles) that allowed the cycles to be connected similar to Lego blocks allowing family or friends to travel together.  Standard features include oversized all terrain tires, early warning crash detection, rear back up camera, alarm system and an automatic demobilizer when safety harness and helmet are not used. Optional features include 2 wheel drive and autonomous mode when in solar drive.

Early artist rendition of prototype of Solar Cycle

It would seem that solar, in addition to wave power harnessed from the oceans have become the preferred energy sources. 

R.I.P car.    Photo by Ante Hamersmit

2050 CE: Below the surface: 

Have you ever laid down and looked up at the canopy of trees in the forest? They tree’s tops seem to form a circle – a literal social circle.

Foresters have now accepted  the language of trees and their symbiotic relationships with their environments that was proposed by pioneer forest researcher Suzanne Simard. Of course the language is not English, that would be presumptuous and we humans have become more humble in our views of superiority over living organisms.

As researchers have continued to study the trees, their DNA,  rhizomes, and miocene and the exchanges that occur, our views on communication have broadened.  The trees feel, not just the wind but also emotions such as fear. Imagine a tree in the middle of a wildfire season or when their closest neighbour becomes infected with pine or spruce beetle. They communicate that fear to each other through minute chemical changes and exchanges. Despite being powerless against the wildfire, now that we understand more of their language, forest services and fire crews have advanced early warnings.  

Why is this important?  We now appreciate the boreal forests. . .  all forests in fact  . .  as being the lungs of the world. Without them the CO2 emissions, although greatly reduced will overcome us all. 

Through research, we have also come to realize that all plants feel. People have been talking to houseplants since they first brought them into their homes. We have also discovered companion planting to promote better crops.  As early as 2019, a  research paper was published that revealed that plants feel pain.  

Research from Tel Aviv University in Thomsen, 2019:

When they were stressed they plants emitted barely discernible sounds.  But what about the vegetables that we consume? Researchers pursued the little known research on the language of carrots and using more sophisticated listening devices have discovered a range of sounds and chemicals released throughout the experiences of vegetables. So, what about the feelings of vegetables? 

Hence the courthouse protest: 

The placards read: Save the veggies!  Veggies have feelings too!  Cruelty free food!  

Peta was there: Prevention of the cruelty of animals. Eat vegetables. . . 

The odd carnivore was there: In your face Vegans. .  . you are just as cruel and heartless . . . .

The chicken was there: eat beef! . . .(just kidding but you get the picture).

Just imagine if carrots had arms  . . . would all vegetable organize or would the fight amongst themselves? What if they could write?

.

The ethical dilemma was once about how to humanely raise, and slaughter our animals for consumption.  

I think using animals for food is an ethical thing to do, but we’ve got to do it right. We’ve got to give those animals a decent life, and we’ve got to give them a painless death. We owe the animals respect. —Temple Grandin

Do we need to ethically harvest our plant-based food as well? The debate rages for weeks in the media after the results of further study into the language of plants. What is the best approach? Should we look for humane ways to grow and harvest food? All food -vegetable included.  Or should we turn to genetically developed foods such as the chicken nuggets grown from a chicken feather?  Could it be replicated in carrots and peas? Should it be? 

I will leave you to decide. The future is yours . . .

References: 

Ante Hamersmit. Rusted car photo. Unsplash

Defrenne, C. & Simard, S. (2019) The Secret Life of Trees.  https://youtu.be/V4m9SefyRjg

 Farrell, P. (August 29, 2019) Do Carrots scream? Communication is all around us but we fail to listen?  The Start Up.  https://medium.com/swlh/do-carrots-scream-f9b16e8d23f5

Hydamacka, R, Irwin, M. , Passaglia, S.  (Summer 2020). Feed the Beast1. Twine game created for ETEC 565S Digital Games, Learning and pedagogy.

Ito, M., Soep, E., Kligler-Vilenchik, N., Shresthova, S., Gamber-Thompson, L., & Zimmerman, A. (2015). Learning connected civics: Narratives, practices, infrastructures. Curriculum Inquiry, 45(1), 10-29. doi:10.1080/03626784.2014.995063

Mouza, C., & Lavigne, N. C. (2013). Introduction to emerging technologies for the classroom: A learning sciences perspective. In C. Mouza & N. C. Lavigne (Eds.), Emerging technologies for the classroom: A learning sciences perspective (pp. 1-12). London; New York: Springer.

Simard, S (2016).  How trees talk to each other. https://youtu.be/Un2yBgIAxYs

Thomsen, M. (9 December 2019) Plants feel pain too. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7773333/Plants-emit-ultrasonic-scream-stems-cut-water-short-supply.html

*please note the rambling nature of this post is designed to reflect my path through the frustration and confusion I felt as I navigated this task.

As a digital-immigrant and highly distractible (possibly ADHD?) individual it is quite difficult. As noted in ETEC 540 Module 1.5, “children who grow up with screen media will prove more adept at negotiating the image-based, multi-sequential learning environments of the present game website format.”  This language is one that I am learning and as I delve farther into the game, the “language” changes, no longer matching my understanding.

Did I win? Eventually. After much frustration.  Now, let me take you on my adventure in frustration.

User Inyerface Game –Round 1:  

Initially, I thought that this  User Inyerface “game” was a ploy to enslave my attention and waste my time. Tristan Harris and Zeynep Tufekci’s TEDx videos have set me up to be on guard against unscrupulous web practices.  I wonder what data is being collected and what will I be directed to later. (I feel a little bad about the nasty user name “Bagaarsucksx2). The game, for me started definitely as a “Baagar frustration.”

First, I immediately looked for the “form” to quickly fill out but which I could not see despite the prompts. I wondered, if the purpose to have people realize that they should not be carelessly giving out information. Maybe. 

Confession: I actually clicked on the big green NO button first. Was I really ready to quickly, and with little thought, give my information and data to a random site?  Not really. So I clicked on “NO.”  Then, I could not proceed. Clicking on “next” did not work. I was stuck.Was it because of the “NO” response, was there no going back to try again?  End of round 1.

Round 2:

Distracted I check emails, notifications . . .Mattermost.  . . .Why is Ernesto checking in on us regarding this task? I should be suspicious?   Hmmmmmm . . .

Still stuck on the first page of the game,  I changed my security settings to allow popups thinking that was the problem.  No.  Try again.  Avoid the “NO” button.  It still did not work. Very frustrated, I request help on Mattermost and am prompted to carefully read directions (thanks Earnesto).

I carefully read the directions: “Click here” means literally on the word “here” not on what appears to be a link!

We don’t read pages. We scan them — Steve Krug

Ahhhh! Yes, this is precisely what I had done, quickly seeing there was some sort of form, along with the click to proceed.  But I still wasn’t actually reading the page.

Next, getting to the first information screen, which along with each subsequent screen has a timer. By adding a time constraint the reader is encouraged to rush through without properly reading which has the potential of being considered a deceptive practice.  The password required is very specific in wanting at least one letter of my email which did not seem like a good idea but I proceed.  I am told in bright red colour text that the password I create is “not unsafe.” Seems rather odd wording. Then, I wonder what sort of spam mail, I will get after this or what YouTube suggestions and Facebook ads.

Even the terms of agreement check box is not worded in what I have been accustomed to as it is a “negative box” to tick to not accept terms of agreement.  This seems deceptive.  I clicked to read the terms of agreement which lead to a contract with no company name inserted.  It is a long agreement. According to Brignull, “people tend to start reading at the of a piece of text and as they advance, an increasing percentage of people give up and do not read to the end.” I keep reading. These terms seem sketchy.. . before clicking “not accept” rather than the usual “accept” is a really misleading tactic especially if this site, with no name is given, use of my comments and may edit them:

5.You hereby grant to [Insert company or website name] a non-exclusive royalty-free license to use, reproduce, edit and authorize others to use, reproduce and edit any of your Comments in any and all forms, formats or media.”

Seriously? They are going to edit my comments . . .I do not think so.

I have difficulty getting beyond this screen.  A further request for help, on the game site, gave me a “Please wait, there are 408 people in line”  Really? This annoying little screen keeps getting in the way. Popping up “In yerface.” I hit help several times just to watch the number of people in line go up.  I can be such a jerk. But is it real?  Maybe it is time to log out,   block the site, check security and dump cookies and take a screen break?

One of my many comments on Mattermost:

I think that it is an attempt to take my time and attention, sending me down a dark rabbit hole of nothingness. . . I will now read about the “Dark Patterns: Deception vs. Honesty in UI Design.” Grrrr . . . so glad you are apologizing Ernesto

The userinyerfac,com title reads “User Inyerface – A worst-practice UI experiment.”  So, not so much a game but an experiment to see just how we will “sell our souls” for grades, perhaps? Am I that desperate? What is the catch? According to  Brignull (2011), “deception is deeply entwined with life on this planet.”  I begin to think that this game is a massive deception in that it is not a game but an experiment. My trust has been broken.

I noticed “Baagar frustration” in text. Yes, I was frustrated. I was so done with this game.  Stuck on the first screen, I was not playing anymore,  . . . or so I thought.  But WAIT! Distracted, I noticed a logo or icon at the bottom left-hand side of the screen. I need to click it to explore . . . distractions abound online as we are encouraged to explore and some people explore more than others. I wanted to know more about this “Bagaar.”  Was it truly evil? What was its point with all of this torture? I spent quite a bit of time exploring.

I wonder if this side trip was intended by the game maker. Advertising for Baggar.  Clicking on the icon takes me to Bagaar’s site . ..  there is even an option to be their  “friend”in the top right corner as well as option to “Keep up-to-date with key industry trends and receive first-hand invitations to our events”   . . . just enter your email and . . .  “By submitting this form you agree that we may store and process some of your data. We won’t flood your mailbox, we promise” (Bagaar https://www.bagaar.be/) .  

Well, that is nice of them, but the game as well as course readings have already set me up to be not only annoyed but also suspicious. They are collecting data. So, what exactly is the purpose of the”game”? Is it to take me to this website so that I  might become their friend to be “processed”? I am torn. Do I like them for their honestly or does my distrust rise. At least they are upfront about their usage of data. 

Round 3: Back to the “game” . . .because

a) I am curious ( Can you tell why it took me so long? This is not a good game for the highly distractible) and

b) I am determined. I refuse to give up.

Adjusting my privacy settings, I am able to progress further.  And I am eventually rewarded. 😀 I was so excited I had to share this in Mattermost:

I got further into the game and is it ever upside down .. . sort of like Alice in Wonderland. Yikes!

This game is like an escape room.  Some of the directions are really literal. And much is unexpected.

The digital clock continued to tick up, adding the pressure to hurry. Nothing like a timer to make someone make hasty and sometimes bad decisions.  I expected clicking on “lock”  would temporarily stop the clock but it appeared to do nothing. At this point, it just seems to be an annoyance. Then, I am stuck. What fresh hell is this????????

Finally I discovered that if I lock the page, the clock keeps running but then clicking on unlock takes me to the next page!!!  I felt a celebration was in order.  (This is so sad and pathetic.)

A refresh (refresh becomes my “friend”) of the screen and I see this an unusual twist on  “cookies are collected prompt:

In bright, “can’t miss it,” red the top of the screen reads “This site uses cookies, is that a problem?”  With the choices  “Not, really no” or “Yes”   Yes, seems the obvious choice due to the web design.  I am really feeling disoriented at this point. The wording again, and the positioning,  is odd. How many  cookies have already been collected?  It seems sort of late to have this. But at least they are up-front about it. 

As I proceed through the screens I am thrilled to find a screen to give away my information. It is a good thing at this point they didn’t ask for my Visa card number because I would probably just fill it in in my haste to move the pages on.  Yet another tactic.

Throughout this game, the world as I know it has ceased to exist. Nothing is familiar: format, colours, wording. location.  I am so conditioned to expect what I already know which makes everything so much more difficult.  Filling in forms I am hit will a weird intermittent auto-correct.  Sometimes the text “inserts” and overwrites existing text. and other times it must be deleted first. The order of boxes is different than usual.  Strangely, the gender that I select does not match my title, um last time I checked Rebecca is a female and a Ms (no option) for that.  The form is also really oddly ordered to what I am accustomed to. Numbers scroll in the opposite directions, but I manage to “relearn how to enter info.” and am taken to the dreaded “I am not a robot” page. Select the word bow.  The selection boxes are in a different place (above rather than below the image) and the word “Bow” has 3 different meanings. So close to the end and yet so far. 

After about 3 attempts of approximately 20 minutes each and 3 final rounds of “I am not a Robot, success!  Finally! 

Oh, and I was redirected to apply for a job at Bagaar.  This was definitely an adventure in the unexpected.

So, I now wonder, what purpose did this text serve?

What was communicated in this task? What did I learn?

One of the main premises of this course, as Postman observes, is that language is a technology in the sense that it is a practical art—an invention to facilitate communication” (Mod 1.5 Thinking about Text and Language).

Fear and suspicion drove my impulses. My attention was very much hijacked in this task, but despite taking a great deal of my attention, in a weird way it is worth it. This task  helped me to understand the concept of Attention Economy and the subtle ways websites are designed to capture the viewers attention. In this case, it was to draw attention to the “language” of website design. It as draws attention to the ways companies extract information and direct information and compliance to their requests. Seeming “friendlier,” using double negatives, placement of buttons and use of “time limited” frames are just some of the tactics revealed in this “game.”

We learn this language of websites and then become complacent, perhaps skipping “terms and conditions” or clicking without reading all information, or being aware of our actions. We need to exercise caution, by very carefully reading all information and not assume anything. Just because one website works one way, another may be totally different. We are conditioned by our past experiences to expect text to appear in a certain way and when it doesn’t, we struggle.

Finally, the In yerface game has the potential to create many different emotions: frustration, amusement, suspicion, anger, appreciation, even despair and resignation as at one point I was reluctant to try any further, not really sure if there really was an end to the game.  A cautionary note for Web designers: avoid risk of alienating viewers with the tactics  employed, whether subversive or blatant.

Finally, this underscores that a sense of humour necessary for my survival.References:

Bagaar https://www.bagaar.be/.

Baggar. https://userinyerface.com/

Brignull, H. (2011). Dark Patterns: Deception vs. Honesty in UI Design. Interaction Design, Usability, 338.

The Golden Record NASA 1977

For this task I initially felt overwhelmed. This is an IMPORTANT task.  It seems impossible  to implode all of  humanity into 10 songs. I also wondered what if I  decided to select by lottery? Leaving all to chance seems the most fair in some ways. But I am sure this is not the intent of the exercise.  

What does one include and what does one exclude?  Are we looking to represent all cultures? Or countries?  No . . . not countries as they are often defined by arbitrary borders that change with conflict.  Styles and genres of music? Rhythms? Voices? Instrumentation? 

As I listened to the podcast and the aging voices quavering as they retell the story of the record, I am struck by the fact that this record has a date of the 70s. Considering what was important during that time period is different than what is valued today. Chuck Berry was early rock and roll which was grounded in Rhythm and Blues. Perhaps “That’s All Right, Mama” (1946)  by Arthur “Big Boy Crudup” should have been included instead as he was hailed as the king of rock and roll after Elvis did a cover of his 1946 version.  And why were the Beatles not considered?  According to Olivares (2017), the Beatles wanted to send Here comes the sun into space but they did not own the copyright.  (Olivares is an interesting read).

Back to the task, whose view do we go from? A Euro-Western perspective?  Who’s history are we telling and who’s are we leaving out? Should the recordings be taken from a more contemporary stance of the recognition and inclusion of cultures? For this reason, I started thinking along cultural lines and decided to eliminate some of the classical,  baroque, and opera music. So it became initially a matter of exclusion, then later one of inclusion. Some songs are selected for their titles, others for their stories, culture or uniqueness. As I reached 8 songs the selection became more difficult. Few of the chosen songs have vocals as I found I was drawn more to the instruments as I listened. Sadly, I now realize that I have no music from South America, China or Russia or Canada for that matter but I feel human emotions, musical tone and rhythms are well represented. 

An alien perspective?  Not all songs are chosen for their beauty but who knows, maybe to an alien they are beautiful. The songs were chosen because they are all different in instrumentation, rhythm, tempo, tone and volume. No one knows how another life form would look, listen or inspect this record or what tones they would hear, or even if they could hear. We would not know if they could see, or feel either. By selecting a variety of these elements of music, the grooves inscribed in the record would be minutely different and perhaps these grooves will form a language or text of a sort to be read in another way unknown to us. 

In no particular order of significance, the 10 Finalists: 

Dark Was the Night – Blind Willie Johnston 3:18  The blues are also a unique sound and the slow unwinding song and its title are well suited for an endless voyage into the dark void of space. There are no words to translate only emotions in the strumming guitar and humming and moaning Johnston that seems to represent the depths of human despair and the sorrows of centuries past and yet it has a soothing effect. It is from these roots of blues that rock and roll formed.

Navajo Indians, Night Chant, recorded by Willard Rhodes. 0:57  This music represents the continent of North America in its infancy prior to colonizations. The chant begins sounding almost birdlike and the chants rise and fall in tone. It is amazing that just voices and rattles can create such a musical sound. 

Mexico, “El Cascabel,” performed by Lorenzo Barcelata and the Mariachi México. 3:14  Chosen for its fast pace and energy combining music and voice. The culture and language form a unique and very distinctive sound earning a spot on the record. The stringed instrument(violins, guitars and guitarrons) sound amazing, making me want to see a performance. Further reading has confirmed this choice. 

Iziel je Delyo Hagdutin – Bulgaria 5:10  From Bulgaria and representing Eastern Europe.the tone of the opening measures  sends shivers down my spine. While bagpipes are a “hit or miss” sound these traditional Bulgarian pipes or Gaida are gentle as they mixing with the folksinger’s voice to create music that is hauntingly beautiful and unique.

Cranes in their nest-Japan(Shakuhachi) 7:58. Chosen for its meditative properties. The sounds of the flute are distinctive and singularly beautiful. There are no words or other background to clutter the sounds. The grooves of this song will be quite interesting to an alien life form, I believe.

Jaat Kahan Ho – India – Surshri  3:30 This “Hindustani Raga” was chosen because of its title and the artist singing it.  Jaat Kahan Ho Akeli Gori  translates to “Where are you going alone, fair maiden?” and seem to fit the unknown voyage of the craft. The artist, Surshri  with  “her rigorously trained sur and taal (tone and rhythm) . . .”  was celebrated in her time by Prime Minister Indira Ghandi and Kings of Japir (From Goa). 

Australia, Aborigine songs, “Morning Star” and “Devil Bird,” recorded by Sandra LeBrun Holmes. 1:26  Chosen for the unique sound of instrumentation and voice as well as the Yolngu people it represents. It is almost hard to tell if it is a human voice, a bird or instrument (didjeridu). The song that tells the story of the dead coming to the world of the Morning Star, a rebirth. This music has been described as the “mark of the resilience and adaptability of Aboriginal culture” (Gorman). 

Tchenhoukoumen, percussion Senegal   This is chosen for its lack of human voices; the rhythm speaks its own language.. It is light, lively and interesting. I have chosen it to replace a classical piece that I had first chosen as it has almost the same feeling. 

Tu u ite ana. Wasi Ka Nanara Pan Pipers  (Panflutes from Solomon Islands – Second Effort) 1:04   This song is chosen for its light, lively pipe music and beat. It conveys a sense of lightheartedness because not all earthlings are serious creatures. It also represents the Solomon Islands and the South Pacific. It is also a sharp contrast to the heavy Beethoveen’s 5th.

Beethoven, Fifth Symphony, First Movement, the Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer, conductor. 7:20   Chosen for its dramatic sounds and contrast to the percussion of Senegal. The powerful opening measures announce this piece as IMPORTANT. The softness of strings balanced by the mournfulness of the French Horns and the strength of the deeper tones. The music crescendos and decrescendos, rising and falling like waves in the ocean with sunlight dances over. Plant Earth.

Planet Earth: view from Apollo 10. NASA, 1969

References:  

5 Candidates for the First Rock ‘n’ Roll Song https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/30288/5-candidates-first-rock-n-roll-song

From Goa To Outer Space – An Interstellar Raga From India. Jaat Kahan Ho Archives   

Gorman, A. Iana. The Toronto Public Library blog. Arts & Culture
The Bulgarian folk song „Излел е Дельо хайдутин” in Space (Voyager Golden Record) ://torontopubliclibrary.typepad.com/arts_culture/2011/04/bulgarian-folk-song-izlel-je-delyo-hagdutin-voyager-golden-record.html

Beyond the morning star: the real tale of the Voyagers’ Aboriginal music. The Conversation.  https://theconversation.com/beyond-the-morning-star-the-real-tale-of-the-voyagers-aboriginal-music-18288

NASA. Music from Earth. Voyageur. Jet Propulsion Lab  https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/golden-record/whats-on-the-record/music/

NASA. https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/565/earth-the-blue-marble

Olivares, E. (Sept. 2017) The Cascabel: the Mexican song that we send to outer space. https://codigoespagueti.com/noticias/ciencia/el-cascabel-cancion-mexicana-enviamos-espacio-exterior/

Voyager Golden Record. Twenty Thousand Hertz. https://www.20k.org/episodes/voyagergoldenrecorhttps://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/golden-record/

These are my trails. 

I found this task difficult to start because we had already created a visual and a text to go with the bag which left me wondering what next?  So, here I have tried to capture the essence and meaning of my bag – a sanity saver and a way to decompress and relax.  It may be hard for some to relate to but it is what I do; as my friend says “I don’t understand people who do not run.”

And this is my bag

I have chosen to use iMovie as I am not quite savvy in its use yet and wanted to play with it and learn more. Today I discovered how to control the volume and multilayer sounds.  This allowed me to create a chaotic, noisy setting from which to escape. Our school holds about 500 students in a building designed for 300, hence the portables.  A big thank you to my colleague and fellow port dweller, Justin Nillson for his brilliant quote. The smell of mildew is overpowering and we are often locked out by the custodial staff who forget we exist. And yet, we are remembered when there are a multitude of meetings. We are also undergoing a restructuring. I really love my job but this year more than ever, I have need to take to the trails for a quick escape. 

While this task is not strictly oral one could close their eyes and simply listen. In addition to the audio-visual, I have used sound effects, dialogue and music to create the effects ranging from chaos and noise to peace. There was, however, one wee blip of excitement in the calm trail when a bear was encountered. While the photo of bear tracks did not result in a bear encounter, the dialogue is based on a true story. I actually met a mother bear and twins on the trails. She treed them and turn toward my friend and I and the dialogue is basically what I said, “backup, backup, it’s okay bear, it’s okay.” No bear spray was deployed.  Usually a bear bell will warn animals and sightings are rare. My only wish is that I could have shared the scents, there is something unsettling about the smell of a bear or moose close by but the freshness of the forest is wonderful. And yes, that really is the sound of a LifeStraw slurping up water. Actual sounds and photos that I have taken myself were used in the making of the video.  I turned the cellphone on and drove down the highway (that is my car stereo in the background.  The crowd sounds were a sound clip however, due to COVID-19 restrictions on crowds. 

In addition to the modes already mentioned, spatial and architectural design of the space is evident in the video. From the majestic spires of rock gates and turns  to the signage of  reveals a unique voice of trail builders. “What the Huck” and Angry Beaver” are my favourites. Angry beaver really did bite my butt at least 4 times this past winter. 

“ . . . there is something irreducibly unique about every person’s voice” (76)

Trail builder’s seem to have a very unique and quirky sense of humour and a culture of their own (as do trail runners). Bike parts become part of the signage on Dragon Mountain and the names on the Wonderland network reflect the history of the area: Sluice Box for the mining equipment  and Mucho Oro after a mine in the nearby Barkerville area.  Others like “What the Huck” meander or like“Angry Beaver” are just tough. “Mosster” is a monster of a trail. 

These trails were designed by professional trail builders who are mountain bikers. Theirs is a unique culture that is carving out language in the curves of the trails, the signage and the stacked rocks that signify a gateway or sharp turn. Other trails in my area are old trails along ridges that First People, the Dakelh, used. One such trail,  “Hog’s back” had an excellent view of the river and of any advancing enemies or strangers; as well as food caches. 

According to the New London Group (1996) “The redesigned is founded on hIstorically and culturally received patterns of meaning . . . At the same time it is the unique product of human agency” (p. 76). These trails are just that. 

On multiliteracies and multimodal text in the classroom: I have considered text as being not just writing for sometime now. My students read text, view audio-visual as well as audio books and create using text, audio, audio-visual and mix- media. Some of the best projects I have seen have been created when freedom of choice in representation is given. 

Students who “do” and “create” or redesign rather than memorize and copy actually learn. “Designing transforms knowledge in producing new constructions and representation of reality” (The New London Group, 1996, p. 76). 

Bonus feature: More of the Dragon Mountain Trail – There is another photo of a deconstructed bike redesigned into a signpost that I wanted to share.

Thank you to my Friends Justin, Veronica & Michelle (& pups Russell & Baxter too) for appearing in video or photo images.

References:

Applegate, C. (2012). The One and Only Ivan.  Harper Collins. p.3

The New London Group.  (1996). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social futures.   Harvard Educational Review 66(1), 60-92.

Title:

Plot:

Emoji story analysis:

Using the conventional emoji keyboard has led me to discover there is not emoji for meerkat or wildebeest which meant I was not going to be able to retell The Lion King, the last movie I had watched, so it was on to the last novel read. This was going to be a challenge because although the title was simple, the story itself proved to be more difficult. 

In order to guess this book title, you might need to be familiar with the book, if you are it should be easy to decipher. The plot might be as difficult to puzzle out as it was to write.  And so I began with the title and wrote in ideas or concepts and groupings of words or ideas rather than in syllables which are only bites of sound meaning little. 

The difficulties in my writing in emojis began with the plot of this story being circular rather than a linear plot line.  Many books that I have read lately seem to actually tend to do this more complex plot line. A colleague (English department head) recently told me that First Nation stories often have a circular path and yes linear, circular and iterative are indeed in the English Arts Curriculum. The story begins at the end, then flashes back to an earlier time in the character’s line in order to explain the final scene. There is also a point where the plot flashes back yet again, twice actually.  

Bolter claims that “[s]ince its invention, printing has placed the word effectively in control of the image” (48).  In the case of emojis, they are incontrol as they become the words.  Word choice is governed by the availability of emojis. I worried that I should not announce the gender of a character using a pink or blue shirt.  I soon discovered that babies did not come in all colours and races which although not central to my plot would have helped.  I tried to create groupings or “families” of character to make them more identifiable. Also missing were some occupations that I wanted as well as at least one  medical procedure. And where was the pregnant emoji?  Seriously? I was looking for that as well and was wondering how we petition for meerkats, wildebeests and pregnant people. 

What was omitted also was interesting: no punctuation, spelling or grammar to worry about, although, I did section ideas into sort of sentences or lines as well as adding spaces between lines to create some semblance of paragraphs between ideas and spans of time. It was easier to create the pauses using a lack of text or by using spaces than it was with the earlier voice to text task. It would have been interesting to simply draw or move the emojis around in different arrangements but the document demanded a line after line arrangement following the conventions of English language. My emoji story retelling still has the constraints of the conservative arrangement of a book that Bolter (2001) describes. 

Where do emojis fit into text? Kress describes written words and spoken to be a representation or “vague description” whereas an image is a more accurate representation. Bolter (2001) also makes an interesting point in that “ekphrasis sets out to rival visual art in words, to demonstrate that words can describe vivid scenes without re­course to pictures” . . . yet . . .  “in digital media and even in print, we get a reverse ekphrasis in which images are given the task of explaining words (Ch 4. P. 56). Writing in emojis is a space that exists in this tension, in a sort of “no man’s land” which is neither image nor word. The emoji are a representation of words and become symbols of words which are what words are.  Both are removed from the actual event and need to be interpreted by the reader. 

This writing experience was definitely a challenge. Emojis were designed to add emotion to text especially in shorter pieces of writing, such as in tweets, messages and chats, to avoid misunderstandings that could arise (Bolter, Ch. 4). It is so hard to tell sometimes if someone ‘s message is being terse or sarcastic or just plain nasty or maybe they are just in a hurry. We rely on more than just written words to convey meaning. This is all great but emojis are designed for these short bursts of text instead of having to rely on lengthy explanations, whereas a novel has the time it takes to set a stage or scene(s) and use multitudes of descriptive language to create meaning.  I have a text in my class library, YOLO Juliet and even it is not written in full emojis but more a rebus style with the odd emoji thrown in as well as being translated into a more modern slang version.  According to Bolter: “Digital media claim to achieve greater immediacy and authenticity by integrating images (and sound) with prose.” (2001, Ch.4, 47). Notice that Bolter says “with”? Emojis are images but to rely totally on them does not create a full story or even plot; they paint a simple picture of emotions and objects but only of those that are available. 

References:

Kress (2005), Gains and losses: New forms of texts, knowledge, and learning. Computers and Composition, Vol. 2(1), 5-22. 

Bolter, J. D. (2001). Chapter 4. Writing space: Computers, hypertext, and the remediation of print (2nd ed.). Mahwah, N.J: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. doi:10.4324/9781410600110

Shakespeare, W. & Wright, B.( 2015). YOLO Juliet.  Random House.

It was a dark and stormy night . . .

Please note: no animals were injured in the making of this story . . . (but maybe a few humans)

This amazing story is available through this shareable link from google drive which will allow you to first see the html language which is quite lengthy and impressive. Once you download it and open the file, you are ready to read!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_C2kJD3qghZ74fMNh4QGw4kqmBIEcYI4/view?usp=sharing

or you can unzip this file: It was a dark and stormy night (1) (1).html

The creation of this Twine story and a few thoughts:

The mapping of the Twine fascinated me as it showed all of the links between the passages. The connections of links are more obvious in the building of the story than they are in the reading.  It was even possible to link back to previous passages and have the reader re-live passages or scenes. I was fascinated with the building process and got a little over enthusiastic perhaps. It may be annoying to some; but not to my students who read choose your own adventure stories over and over again to see different outcomes.  I am reminded of how text has changed from words in books written in a linear fashion or a “complete or closed verbal structure” (Bolter, 2001, p.77) to a more circular rendition through the use of hyperlinks.

This reminds me of my English departments reporting comment bank which states: Student “can construct and create by choosing particular formats (linear, circular, and iterative) in the creation of story/text.” In the past we may have thought of a story or text being anything other than linear but to me that seems “unnatural.”  “The supporters of hypertext may even argue that hypertext reflects the nature of the human mind itself— that because we think associatively, not linearly, hypertext allows us to write as we think” (Ch. 3. 2001, p. 43).  Ted Nelson was one who thought “hypertext was natural to the mind” (Bolter, 2001, 42).  I know that my mind certainly works in circles of association -sometimes I even speak this way; words need to weave and twine around each other. Yes, the pun is intended as the Twine does just that as it circles back and steps sideways and forward.

There has been criticism that hyperlinks do not truly reflect all association. Bolter (2001) mentions supporters of books such as   Birkerts (1994) and Slouka (1995), claim that “as authors prescribe links, they deny the reader the choice of making her own associations . . . [by] letting them “choose links only gives the illusion of control (Ch. 3, p. 42). Indeed my own Twine appears to give choices to the reader and yet I force the reader to make a choice or manoeuvre them to circle back to the choice I want them to take. Sometimes, I did not even give a choice; choice is an illusion in this case.  Editors of encyclopedias decide what to include and what to exclude in both print and on the world wide web (Bolter, 2001, Ch. 5, p. 90).  Do you wonder what I have left out of my story?  There was much more but I will save that for a sequel – I really have enjoyed this experience that much.

The product itself, The Dark and stormy night twine, is rough but as I have said, I was much more mesmerized by the process. It was like a puzzle putting all the pieces together and to tie the ending up . . . well, sort of tie it up. I have included some of the twine statistics which I found quite by accident.  There were a total of 30 passages and 41 links which translates to quite a lot of circling back in for the reader, maybe until they got it right.  again, I emphasis the control that the reader thinks they have but actually do not.

I wondered if the process and being so focused on it was the reason for the grammatical errors which I would not have made if I had written the story in a linear fashion on paper. That would have forced my mind to focus on the mundane side of grammar rather than the creative. I had thought to edit them further but decided not to as a statement to the power of the technology. I know wonder if this might be why my own students seem to forget capitals, punctuation and spelling. maybe they are really focused on the creation. Or is punctuation changing – I had no idea that a ‘.’ or full stop was rude in a message, tweet of chat (Zaltman).

In addition to correcting grammar and spelling*, I might have also taken more time to get the formatting of each passage perfected. Again, I was more interested in the story than its appearance . . . except for the lovely dark background.  I did discover how to edit the formatting but chose not to as I think it suits the dark theme of the story.  I do not think Twine 2 is easy to download sound effects and graphics to (this according to the site) but the story is meant to be read in a dark, deadly quiet space.

The narrator “voice”was modelled after the Twine example of “The temple of No” with a cheeky humorous tone but with a bit cleaner language as I would like to share my Twine with my grade 8/9 classes. The narrator(s), maybe I was arguing with myself, I envisioned arguing throughout the story but this may have been hard to maintain. By using a second person perspective, and “you” in the story even more engagement is created along with the illusion of control. I think it is something students would appreciate and maybe even like to try. Last Halloween, we read a choose your own adventure in class using a google slide show with linked slides which was a big hit and later we participated in a BBC refugee simulation (a bit more serious) but the interactiveness of the activity was highly engaging for the students. To be able to create and understand linking and the opportunity to control it adds yet another layer to this educational process.

*some grammatical and spelling errors have now been corrected after sharing with a small group ( 2 students and 1 educator) for feedback. There were more errors than I had first thought. DIY and feedback are valuable.

References:

Zaltman, H. 102. New Rules: The Allusionist. podcast. with guest McCulloch, G.  http://theallusionist.org/new-rules

Bolter, J.D. (2001). Chapter 3: Hypertext and the Remediation of Text.  Writing Space: Computers, hypertext, and the remediation of print . Mahway, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. pp. 27-44.

Bolter, J.D. (2001). Chapter 5:. The Electronic Book.  Writing Space: Computers, hypertext, and the remediation of print . Mahway, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. pp.77-98.

Potato Printing: An exercise in humility

I chose this task because I had, as a child, done potato print stars with angular straight cuts; it should be easy.

Here is a quick preview of the process:

A detailed look at the process of potato printing:

First, there was planning to do including a day ruminating over word choice. A 5 letter word. Should it be one that could be recycled over and over toPotato make the maximum number of smaller words such as “twine” . . .twin. . . win. . . in . .. net . .. wine.    Or should it be a word of significance? The first book Gutenberg printed, after all, was the Bible so the word should be IMPORTANT. Thus a word go significance to me was selected, Raven, which reminded me of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven and my Raven house team at the Middle School where I work.

Might I soon be saying “nevermore” in frustration? Perhaps.

Benson & Carey. The Elements of Lettering.

Font selection: A suitable font for “Raven” was needed but not just any font. I consider fonts to be of particular importance as they can visually communicate an era, a style, an emotion or idea.  Gutenberg’s Bible, the first printed text, was done in Blackletter, also known as Gothic or Textura which appeared similar to the handwriting of medieval monks (The Printed 00:37:50) with its “strong vertical strokes and vertical appearance”(Cloud). Appearing remarkably similar to the monk’s writing helped to promote acceptance of Gutenberg’s work (The Printed 00:37:50). Further, Edgar Allan Poe’s genre of writing is described as American Gothic and so a modified Gothic style seemed appropriate for my Raven. I have done both the Blackletter and the Southern Gothic font in the past, using a calligraphy pen; however, I soon learned this would be a far more difficult task on a potato.

Next, there was the procurement of potatoes. Unfortunately my potatoes had sprouted and were planted in the garden the day previous so off to the store to purchase new potatoes. I selected russets which proved to be far too juicy and I wonder if the new white potatoes would be better as I thought of Gutenberg selecting the best metals to use for his moveable type press. (Harris, 00:36:54)

Tools: Gathered in anticipation were a Leather-man (not used), a steak knife (used extensively, a chef’s knife, a tape measure, a geometry set divider, a pen (which proved to be useless), a felt marker (nearly as useless as a pen), and some references (paper based and online) to check fonts.

Finally, at 7:02 pm the  actual carving process began. Individual letters were in mirror image  so they would appear oriented  correctly.  This I checked several times. I chose to carve in order of the spelling of the word; I am not sure why but suspect I was following the English convention of writing from left to right. The potato was halved and the letter “R” was carved in uppercase after several attempts with each on making a smaller and smaller potato “halve.”  This is when the decision to make a simple version of the font occurred. The potatoes were incredibly juicy making it messy as well as difficult to see to see the letters and whether too much had been trimmed off. Next time, I would try a dye on the surface to create more contrast. (Yes, I am excited to try this again!) 

The  letter “a” took only a couple attempts and was not the most challenging letter despite the interior cut that needed to be made. The letter “v’ was one of the harder letters because for some reason I could not get the right angle between each side making the letter too wide. I ended up cutting it off and starting again.  The style of the letters also dictate that there be some curves even to the seemingly angular letter “v.”

Interrupted by my spouse, I  envy the medieval monks in scriptoriums where “silence is mandatory” (Harris,  00:06:36). 

Even more troublesome letter was the “e” which was strangely was the most angular of all letters and should have been the easiest. The letter “n” was too large at first attempt and needed to be downsized which was done without incident.

Throughout the process, the divider was used to measure the height of the letters; I preferred the speed and ease over the tape measure that was initially used. Uniformity of font size would improve the finished look of the word. Again, I am reminded of the medieval people marvelling over Gutenberg’s uniformity of text (Harris) which drove me to attempt to perfect the uniformity of my letters. I chose not to trace them, thinking that would be “cheating” and instead carved freehand which made uniformity of size more challenging.

I then trimmed the sides of each letter so they would nest closer and flat beside each other as well as the bottoms so that I could line them up on a straight edge. Next time I will attempt to use a long skewer to join the potato pieces much like a typeset tray.

Ready to Print! Maybe . . .

The printing process stalled when I realized that my paint had been packed in one of 30 or more boxes in the process of renovations (never again during a course). A frantic search resulted in some lovely black acrylic and one stubby paint brush, both selected because they were all that was available but they worked well!  Success . . .almost. The first printing resulted in the  letter “a” appearing backwards which was puzzling. I was sure I carved it in reverse. I had even tested it on another potato half.   

Then came the realization that it was upside down; the style of the “a” made it possible to appear like a
backwards “a.”

Crisis averted, the black paint was applied and potato print blocks lined up ready to be placed ” carefully because they tended to slide and smear easily.  I discovered the letter “n” was not quite flat or level and needed to be rocked slightly to leave a full imprint. As I did this I thought of the monk’s letters, “crisp and  straight upon the page” (Harris, 00:10:18).

9:04  “Raven” was completed! 

Reflections:

I was quite pleased with the way the letters waved almost birdlike in their shape and the rough fill of the paint, all of which seems to suit the Raven of Edgar Allan Poe’s poem. And of course the “found” black seems like fate – perfect. Was I able to get the two words to match exactly? No, but that  uniqueness is reminiscent of the monk’s almost, but not quite perfect lettering. Potato printing seems to bridge the world of hand written manuscripts and the “mechanization” of the printing press, being not quite part of either world. Potato printing  is labour intensive initially but one can rapidly print once the printing blocks are completed.

At several points in the process I had even wished I had chosen to write a 500 word manuscript instead, envying the monks hunched over their writing but I soon became addicted to printing with my potato blocks trying different angles on the paper and curving letter arrangements. It became soothing as I derived pleasure from this simple act of printing. The almost 2 hour process of carving resulted in the ability to quickly print many more and I had extras to give to my colleagues and fellow Ravens the next day. An evening well spent! 

And then I decided to try Animoto to create a dynamic video of the process which need to be uploaded to YouTube which all took almost as long as the potato printing. It will go faster the next time . . . potatoes and new technologies!

References:

Benson & Carey. (1950). The Elements of Lettering. Toronto: McGraw-Hill.

Cloud, G. (July 12 2016). The Jenson Bible joins the Gutenbergs Bible’s page turning.  The Ransom Center. University of Texas. https://www.hrc.utexas.edu/ retrieved June 3, 2020.

Harris, B. “The Printed Book: Opening the Floodgates of Knowledge” How it Began: A History of the Modern World. podcast.

Julius – a short story

Rated PG for violence and horror

Leo in “Pet Sematary.” Paramount Pictures

Julius a story for the not so faint of heart show me warned there may be some scenes that may be disturbing to sensitive listeners reviewers apologies but the rest of you I hope you can enjoy the horror of the story story begins on the road in a semi rural area at a little house with a white picket fence set back down a long dirt driveway away from the I guess secondary Highway Novus Highway has an S curve just passed the house really great place I rolled my brother’s keep there when I was 16 oz cars tend to come down the hill Fairlane at least 30 to 40 km over the speed limit and the s-curve they cut the corners and yeah it was in my name so I get the chips that’s another tale though Archdale takes place a few years later my sister lived in the little house I’m a little house was beside my house it was great being Neighbors and my sister loved her cat Julius he was an orange striped nail Tom but he wasn’t a nasty Tom he was one of those nice friendly in your face kind of cats so you can imagine her concern when Julius went missing gone she looked everywhere for that cat she called Julius Julius where are you no cat after several days maybe a week or so or to my memory is not as clear as it used to be walking down the road past my sister’s driveway and I come to the S curve and as I’m coming closer to the hill I see a ball of fur off to the side of the road a crumpled mango body oh no! not Julius! There was Julius decapitated headless Josh his bloody stump of the neck it was horrific! my sister was away work and what was I to do I took a shower and carefully scooped up the body you do realize it was like summer and quite hot so I did what I had to do I took the body and no I didn’t put it in the refrigerator or the freezer that’s gross I actually dug a small grave close to my raspberry patch not in the raspberry patch that’s where the former neighbours buried the doll nasty children my sister came home I told her I found Julius and I told her that I had buried him and show her the grave she was so sad she was nearly inconsolable. Psy so about a week later you can imagine how to spell. Oh wait let me back up here a bit I forgot to tell you my sister was a fan of Stephen King and had recently read the novel Pet Sematary. space yes The Cat Came Back! there was Julius sitting on our doorstep licking himself very much alive. my sister scream in Terror! Okay she wouldn’t go near the cat she wouldn’t touch the cat she swore that that cat smelt like the dirt of the grave and walked with a bit of a flirt lurch the cat I’ve been raised from the dad dead! know if you’re unfamiliar with Stephen King impact stem Cemetery you won’t be too terrified or horrified.. but she had got cat was never allowed back in her house I might have told you another Tale Pier One perhaps but that’s tail has been taken old mr. Johnson and his cat the end. And now for the backstory in our neighbourhood there are at any given time at least three to five feral cats call Sharon similar genetics each card has its own doppelganger. got. Or do they? 

Story Analysis:

How does this story deviate from the conventions of written English? (Or what is wrong with the text?) To me the most obvious deviation is the lack of punctuation to tell the reader where I paused, dramatically, I might add. All of the expression has been lost as even if you yell into the microphone, THE CAT CAME BACK! or THAT”S GROSS! sadly, no emphasis is given. I see myself as a very expressive storyteller but none of that was conveyed in my story, although I did add a “exclamation mark” and it added an “!” (Is that allowed?) Okay, confession, I also may have said “period” or “sigh” which was translated to Psy.  A pause did not produce a period or comma or new sentence.  Structurally, the story is almost one long run on sentence which destroys the sense of excitement and horror as it visually appears to be “monotone” lacking in variety of sentence length or structure.  Conventions such as punctuation are needed in written stories to help to convey the features that oral language has such as tone, volume, inflection, pace and gestures.  This is where the voice to text really felt “wrong.”

Another deviation for the conventions of written English is use of proper spelling: however,  this might actually be word replacement rather than the misspelling of words as most words are spelled correctly. One such replacement was  “reviewer” for “viewer” in the second line and later “dad” for “dead.”  It was hard not to repeat the word in frustration as I watched it incorrectly appear. Sometimes the meaning is lost through this misspelling and replacement of words although the results were hilarious in places. Most disappointing was the intended  suspense and horror being lost.

What went right with the text?  The basic story remained intact despite the lack of guiding punctuation. Surprisingly, most of the spelling is correct and names of cats and people are recognized as such and are capitalized (although I have no idea who Sharon is in the final 2 lines). Homophones such as “tale” and “tail” are recognized by the voice to text tool, being used correctly.  Oddly, “crumpled mango body” created an interesting visual images that works despite the fact that it should have read “crumpled, mangled body.” Incidently, the  incorrect spelling of the word “cemetery ” is ironically correct in the context of the story as it matches the title of Stephen King’s “Pet Sematary.” In case you are wondering, according to Merriam Webster “King’s spelling of cemetery as sematary is intentional—it is a use of realism, which is the practice in writing to accurately represent real life.” To me this is an important point in my story (as well as King’s).

Ultimately, the mistakes of the text are considered mistakes because they alter the meaning of the story. “card” and “cat” are very dissimilar in meaning, for example. These mistakes include not only word misspellings and replacements but also the lack of punctuation which totally changed the pacing and the expression of the story.

Had I scripted the story, it may have been marginally more organized, and I would have included more descriptive details. I am sad that I neglected to include a few more details to set the story up and to describe my removal and burial of the body, and of my sister’s horrified expression. (I was worried it might be a bit too graphic). This is a true story and so the way it unfold is much as I have described it. Sometimes my stories ramble and go off on tangents much to the annoyance of my family. As a written story, understanding of the horror (and the humour) of the situation may have been aided through the use of conventions.  I prefer oral storytelling to written because of the ease at which one can create tension and excitement through pacing, tone of voice, inflections and use of sound effects (these did not transfer to written text well). Gestures also aid in creating meaning. Oral storytelling does not immediately translate to written.  In written stories, so many artificial or invented means are required to produce the same effects.

A few final task reflections:

This story was recorded with google docs voice recording, a new experience for me. First, I discovered that voice recording does not appear in the tool menu of google docs when using Safari browser; it must be in google drive. I can appreciate student frustration in using voice to text technology although it is, in my opinion, much more reliable than early versions of Dragon Naturally speaking. The story was an easy one to retell but I did neglect to tell it all as it occurred over a decade ago. I was only reminded of it by my sister, last week. In the retelling, I also felt that I might be judged by the content – for me this was worst than “baring all” in the “What’s in my bag?” task. Through this task, I can appreciate both story telling and writing as valuable but distinct skills.  I also see a need to create more video recordings of story telling, to be able to see and hear the rich weaving of words. With that, I leave your with Mr. Johnson’s cat.

NFB. The cat came back.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJl_4IsQJ2g

Merriam Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/the-spelling-of-sematary-vs-cemetery-in-pet-sematary

The video of Lera Boroditsky’s How the languages we speak shape the way we think has offered me a perspective that I had not previously thought of.  I feel like I tend to live in a little egocentric bubble until I heard her  lecture, thinking we generally, as humans, all think alike.  The first viewing was interesting but it becomes a richer experience after listening to the tap dancer, Anderson and the Shetlandic poet Christine de Luca.  A second viewing allows for more connections and deeper thinking although it was a bit difficult to listen and stop and read posts and reconnect to what the speaker, Boroditsky, was saying. 

The connections between thinking, language and culture did become clearer. The shaping of language and culture from our past histories or generations really resonated with me as well as the need to preserve dialects and appreciate their value. There was a passion evident in the tap dancer’s language and the Shetlandic that involve so much more than just words. They were building on existing language but changing it to make it their own. There is a theme of past, present and future emerging here for me. The idea that language is a living thing evolving over time speaks to me.  Language is more than just the building blocks of words; it is the way or patterns of words, symbols, text, gestures, sounds and tones woven together. 

Borditsky, L. (May 2017) Does language really shape the way we think, SAR lecture. https://applications.arts.ubc.ca/secure/educ/index.php?autoplay=true&cid=165&gid=3294&vid=%5Bsn%5DMpAlijDU17A%5Bsn%5Dhttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DiGuuHwbuQOg

MacDonald, A.  Oral Traditions in the Age of Smart Phones. TEDxFullbrightDublin.