|| -------- -- -----  A E R I E   O B L I V I A N A . singular book of text wandertainment by Frank Edward Nora ------------------- ----------- GET ALL OBLIVIANA--ISSUE 001--PART 8 <-------  ||  OsoaWeek  ||  Get All Obliviana  ||  Issue 001  ||  -------- (Cup OWga001h, Created v1 (4/27/99), Copyright 1999) = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 3/18/99 Wr. I have to get into specifics. And I know how things get messy when they get specific. It's a journey, with a beginning, middle, and end. And during it, you should experience some new things, discover some new things about yourself, etc. The sequence of Wr should be established in Bo. This morning, I was thinking that Wr should be called Ciffipur. Maybe Ciffipur should be a document, describing the whole thing. "Don't waste your time..." CIFFIPUR Clothing For Your Presence (CFYPr) [1] Ciffipur is a new way of spending time. It is very simple and can be used in many different situations. [2] Think of it as going around a racetrack. Start, race, and finish. [3] Ciff (short for Ciffipur) has 5 (or some other number) distinct phases. It's a little adventure. [4] Different kinds of Ciffs--games, Wanderings, entertainment--all have elements in common. [5] Racing around a track... you end up right where you started, but you are a little different. The race angle... [6] Maybe a Fow, and fill in one square for each Ciff... [7] When you want to do a Ciff, you look for means to do it... Ciff is the end, and the specifics are the means. -------- Back to 3/22 now. I've been thinking about this issue, and now I see it as... you have a Fonosta as a part of your self, and... you have to "feed" it Ciffipurs to get it going...? I definitely think that the basic structure of a Ciffipur--a sequence of experiences, needs to be the basis for Obliviana. Ciffipur has to fit into my overall view of what Obliviana is--specifically, a part of the numan being that has been forgotten. The name for the part that has been forgotten is Fonosta. It has a name, but how can I describe it, how can I make people believe in the possibility that it exists? So now, Ciffipurs... "stimulate" the Fonosta? The Fonosta is a situational thing. Ciffipur and Stormjaunt are possibly the same thing, but variations of the same thing. From Obliviana theory, as I have developed i over the years, "Corridor" is the normal "at rest" state of the Fonosta, where there is little or no direct control over the situational direction a person is going in. A good example of what Corridor is about is the cliche "What do you want to do tonight? I don't know, what do you want to do?" This shows how limiting Corridor can be. The traditional solution for the restrictions of Corridor is, in general, entertainment. Call them "side Corridors". A game of Monopoly, for example, is a sequence that takes people on a little "side journey". "Pirates of the Caribbean" at Walt Disney World is another example, even more direct--you get on a little boat, and go on a little journey. I'm seeing a pattern here. And videogames are very similar. All the things I am fascinated with are related to Ciffipur. Games, theme parks, movies, etc.--all of these are related to Ciffipur. But Ciffipur adds something to these experiences. What? Clothing for your Presence. That's what Ciffipur means. Clothing--warmth, protection, decoration. Identity. People already embrace Ciffipur-types things very strongly. Sports, comic books, wrestling, opera, antiques... these are very much a part of identity. Something like... traditional entertainment is like life support, and Ciffipur is breathing and living on your own. Being paralyzed and in a wheelchair as opposed to walking and moving about freely under your own power. I have had Stormjaunting as an idea and a practice for a long time. What is my current system of Stormjaunting lacking, that it hasn't "caught on", with me or with anyone else. I say me, because I don't do it regularly, though I have gone through times where I have done it pretty regularly. 11:36 PM Yeah. Got a little sidetracked with an idea for a compilation CD. But now I'm back to the issue at hand. Even just looking at View-Master reels... the sequence... the sidetrack... The chaos of it all... am I seeking a taming of the chaos? No... a harnessing... In order for Obliviana to be something that a great number of people can get into, it cannot be overly complex to get into. I want it to be simple to learn and understand, but highly expandable. So, you have to be "pushing" with your Fonosta during the sequence, the Ciffipur. How do you "push" thus? 209 may be the key here. After the Ciffipur... this seems to be... to be... to be where I am lacking right now. Is it simply recording, as in adding a Glyph to Your Fonosta Device? Or, is there some key element that I am missing? Ciffipurs as a way to exercise your Fonosta... Just... Ciffipurs... just... entertainment with your Fonosta "on"... It makes it special, it being "on"... The jacket visualization... So, doing stuff with your fonosta turned on... Jukewand... how about it... with your Jukewand together, it's on... This idea of Fonosta on and Fonosta off... Hmm... Tue 3/23/99 * 12:00 AM I just found my Jukewand after a little searching... With it together, Fonosta is on... apart, Fonosta is off... but how is such a connection established? Maybe even... piece of paper... placed in Jukewand... representing the Ciffipur? And the mobius crochet bag... to keep the five pieces in... Well, that's it for tonight. I need a smaller mobius crochet. Goodnight. 11:11 PM Okay. This is the idea. There is a way of doing Obliviana--you put your Jukewand together and put a "Scrip" inside of it, listing the Ciffipur. The scrip is in two parts. Once the Ciffipur is done, the Scrip is ripped or cut into two pieces, one for the player's records, and one for trading purposes. 11:49 PM Working on that MP3-CD idea again. Maybe I'm just distracting myself from the issue at hand here, which is that I may indeed have arrived with the right idea for Obliviana. The ritual of doing a Ciffipur involves a physical object--the Jukewand--and an integral system of recordkeeping--the "Scrip". The big idea here is that nothing you have done up till the time you do your first Ciffipur is a Ciffipur, and that Ciffipurs are very clearly defined--each one results in two pieces of Scrip--one to keep, and one to trade. I think that this new organization of Obliviana is very good. It does, on first inspection, hit all the right buttons. But I need to define the system more--specifically, the Scrip, and its relation to Fonosta Device. Goodnight. Thu 3/25/99 * 12:14 AM I'm feeling pretty good about where I'm at with Obliviana. But of course, I've been here before, feeling good, only to discover that I'm not there yet. But now, I think I'm there, at least in terms of the bedrock idea. Okay. Jukewand, Scrip, Ciffipurs. Ciffipur Scrip? Hmm... Keeping the Jukewand in an apart state, and assembling it only when "Ciffing" is really cool. It evokes elements of putting a gun together. It's awesome. The two-part Scrip idea is phenomenal. Creativity, ego, identity, collecting, trading. Wow. And the idea of a whole new kind of activity--Ciffipur--which is totally recorded, with the set of all "Keep Scrip"--the half of the Scrip that you keep. The dates, the sequence, the nature of all Ciffipurs you have done. Wow. So maybe I have actually broken through. So what now? I have to design the Scrip parameters, and I have to establish the whole System by which it will all work. I think that web-based registration is still gonna be necessary. This new idea is a little bit different from Bo, the pen-and-paper game, in that it is NOT totally portable and transferrable--it requires some degree of sanction--at least the registration of Fonostas, to give Scrip a strong basis. I will of course continue to pursue Bo, but it will probably not be the focus anymore. Now, I really have to delve into the issue of Ciffipur, and come up with an initial set of Ciffipur-types. Goodnight. Mon 3/29/99 * 12:07 AM Flea market yesterday, "Computer Crazy Keychains", etc. I am thinking of Obliviana--these new ideas that I have--and I realize that the idea is one thing, and getting people into the idea is another thing entirely. So, lacking the will to make another attempt at getting people involved, knowing the resistance people are going to have, I decided a few days ago to start off by fictionalizing Obliviana--to totally develop Obliviana, but with fictional people testing it out, instead of real people. As fiction. it would take the pressure off people as far as its "coolness" goes. In other words, if I say to people, "here, this is cool" the natural reaction is going to be rejection. But if the idea is introduced in the context of fiction, and if the audience likes the fiction, the idea is, I believe, much more likely to be embraced. Now, I have come to a major question. If I am to do this Obliviana fiction, and I also want to continue with Severe Repair, aren't these things going to be almost the same thing, and could the Obliviana fiction be a part of Severe Repair? Idea: A hypertext work, called "Obliviana", which is the central work in Obliviana, and which encompasses Severe Repair, Zope, Superior, Obliviana (the game), etc. Simply, the hypertext work is the core, and work in other media, such as audio, video, graphics, games, etc. would be revolving around the hypertext work. One big book. And the nature of the work pretty much demands a hypertext format. It will be huge, with main areas and backwater areas (Abaxial Usufruct, perhaps)? One big book. I'm sure I must have had this idea before, but now it really makes sense to me. One big book, written by me. So, the focus is not people getting involved, but rather, the book itself, as something to be read and enjoyed. I like this idea. I think I will go forward with this idea. Two major issues: the name of the book, and its format. The format of the book should be straight HTML. And its name should be "Obliviana". Its basic form will be pure text, and as such, one CD-R could hold the whole thing, probably even in its entirety, even if that is many decades from now. Should Obliviana (I should probably come up with a code name, like BOO (Book of Obliviana), to distinguish it from everything else Obliviana has been, and I have used this acronym before, also) really be pure text? Or should I allow graphics and sound to be a part of it? I think that graphics and sound and other thing will definitely be related to BOO, but I like the idea of a pure text work. So I will go with the idea of a pure text work, for now. I need to come up with a standard formet for BOO right at the outset, since I don't want to have to go back and rework everything with a format change. Hypertext formatting is something I have dealt with a great deal, with the numerous incarnations of the Obliviana website. And once I decide on the format, I will be converting a rather huge amount of text over to that format. So I want the BOO format to be very solid before I get going. THE BOO FORMAT HTML, straight. No graphics. It could be framed, but BOO itself will have no graphics. I will use a system similar to the Severe Repair Cup system. Individual HTML files, each containing a piece of text. The length of each file... what should the parameters be? I would prefer NOT to use "#" internal links. I am thinking of archival issues of OsoaWeek in this context. In the first Obliviana website, the first 13 issues of OsoaWeek were broken down into individual files for each feature. next, I had each issue of OsoaWeek in a single file, with those # links. But space is not going to be an issue. BOO will be huge and there is no reason not to include the full text of every OsoaWeek, even if much of its content is repeated elsewhere. I need to focus on the new way I want to format all the major stuff. Cup, Cupline. This is the way I format Severe Repair. But BOO will have to have more levels of hierachy. One thing I want to be able to do is to produce a BOO Cup as an HTML file and then not to have to change it in the future. So, the overall organizational system has to be in place. For such a huge and varied work, there will have to be a level of guidance, as in an index/table of contents. But I want there also to be a "voice" which helps "interpret" BOO for people, and maybe several voice. Maybe areas which are bases for the exploration and drinking in of BOO from different perspectives -- I know I've had this idea before, in the context of Severe Repair. There should be many weord and interesting features, such as pages of random links, weird little backwoods, stuff deeply hidden. Exploring will be a major part of BOO. Maybe... at the head (or foot) of each Cup, a list of numbered links, so that there could be directions to a secret place given like "2-4-2-1-5-14-13-22-2-2-1", which would be the link to take at each new page. Of course, while some Cups would be able to remain the same, some will be changing. And I do not want broken links. BOO should be released in major releases, not a little bit every few days. And each release should have no broken links to "future" stuff. Each release of BOO will be archived itself. But each subsequent release will of course encompass everything that has gone before, but with revisions, expansions, etc. The latest version of BOO is THE version, THE work. BOO will start off with a "homepage" or "homecup". This page will be the lauching point for the entire work, and I think that every Cup should have a link back to the HomeCup. Should I relate BOO to the FOW grid? I don't know. I think that simplicity should be the key to BOO. Do I want to keep SR on the Forge system? Again, I don't know. How many kinds of ID will each Cup have? Will each Cup have an overall sequential number? Maybe, maybe not. I think that there should perhaps be multiple introductions, which would indeed relate to the idea of multiple guiding "voices". What about the issue of other authors, such as my brother's work in OsoaWeek, the "Life Mysteries", or Mike Massotto's work on the "Words of Wizdumb" features? I think that those works which are a part of OsoaWeek will have to be a part of BOO. And what about a letters section for BOO itself? I don't see why not. BOO has the "comfort" of space, as the size of a CD-R at 650MB can hold vast amounts of text, and the hard drives that new computers come with right now can hold numerous CD-Rs worth of data... So space will not be an issue. I don't think I should worry about "other authors" too much. I will certainly credit any work that is wholly or partially by another author. But I want to keep such stuff at a minimum, because BOO is absolutely by me, and is MY work. Games, ads, secrets. There could be hypertext games in the defined format very easily. Also, I like the idea of "ads", such as a link which says "Take a sci-fi break, check out Severe Repair!". Also, I like the idea of secrets, puzzles, etc. For example, perhaps a devious puzzle whereby a link to a page takes to you one that is very similar, and could be mistaken for the original, but which is subtly different. I just shaved before and used Old Spice aftershave for either the first time ever, or at least the first time in a long time. Now's that for a non-sequitor? I would like to release BOO001 at the start of the next Book of OsoaWeek. Let me figure out when this is going to be... OsoaWeek Book 20 begins on April 27, 1999, with OsoaWeek 248. Hmm... 248 divides by 2 down to 31, andd 4/27 add up to 31... Okay. So BOO001 will be released on April 27, 1999. 31 days from now! Wow, 31 all over the place. Cool! So basically, I have one month in which to produce the first version of BOO, BOOv1. Okay. Letter IDs for links, like A, B, C, etc. Also, I would like to limit links to one set in each Cup--and not within the text itself. There will be places where links would naturally go, but I reeaaly prefer to limit the links to a "block" to keep everything "neat", which is very important, as it relates to stimulation and attention span. I took two Solgar Kava Kavas before writing this session. I was at my in-laws most of the day. Wow. This is the breakthrough. I can say this with confidence. This is it. I am ready for the challenge. Let's go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tue 3/30/99 * 10:23 PM I was going to end the file there, but I decided to keep it going. First of all, another 31 thing, I'm 31 years old! Also, yesterday the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 10,000 for the first time ever--the same day I made the BOO breakthrough! Wow. Yesterday I left work, lit up a cigar, walked down the west side to the park, took the ferry to Colgate Pier, took the PATH to WTC, got some inari for Denice, and took the E to Port Authority, and took my bus home. Last night I developed the color scheme for BOO. It's a very dark blue background with light yellow text. It looks good--it's very reserved and pleasant to look at. Also last night I did some work on links. I've been unhappy for a long time about the lack of control over what links look like. But I discovered HTML code to not only get rid of the underline (in 4.0+ browsers), but also control the color of link text in regular, active, and visited modes. So, I could conceivably have link text which looks no different from the rest of the text. But I think that some color variation might be called for--I want BOO to be easy to navigate and use. Links are really a major design issue with BOO. Since Cups will vary in length, some being very long, it makes sense to have all the links at the top of the page. This idea does preclude links elsewhere, such as in text which refers to other parts of BOO. And this is an issue I am stull deciding on. One of the cornerstone design philosophies I have about BOO is that its FORM must be very conservative and limited. I want to keep the form from adding to the kind of stimulation that burns away attention span. Links in the text... this is an idea that seems to be good, but I think that the negatives most likely outweigh the positives. First of all, "mental neatness" is a big factor is my design of BOO. Being able to fully comprehend the scope and nature of BOO. If every Cup has a set of links at the top of the page, and nowhere else, the subject of links in BOO is very mentally neat. I am thinking of ending every Cup with "-------- -- -----", 8-2-5. I could all an 11-19 thing, and make: -------- -- ----- ----------- ------------------- or -------- -- ----- ------------------- ----------- The secind one looks cooler. Or maybe, start and end with it: -------- -- ----- ------------------- ----------- CUP ------------------- ----------- -------- -- ----- And how about putting the links right up there: -------- -- ----- A B C D E F G H I J K... ------------------- ----------- or -------- -- ----- A B C D E F G H I J K... ------------------- ----------- Copyright 1999 Frank Edward Nora Hmm... Interesting. -------- -- ----- a.Next... b.Previous... c.Home... d.SevereRepair... ------------------- ----------- e.Cool... f.Secret... g.Part5... h.Part6... i.Part7... j.Chapter35... k.Introduction or -------- -- ----- ------------------- ----------- LINKS: a.Next... b.Previous... c.Home... d.SevereRepair... e.Cool... f.Secret... g.Part5... h.Part6... i.Part7... j.Chapter35... k.Introduction... I like the idea of stating the word LINKS, so there is no confusion. The letter-coding is for navigation purposes, to be able to represent dirctions to a particular cup as a series of letters, like "bcaddabcbe". Wed 3/31/99 * 12:01 AM The basic formatting of BOO is something I really need to get done before I can start on the content, but I have to get the formatting right, because changing it later would be extremely difficult and disastrous. Each Cup has two major parts--the actual content, and the extra stuff--links, copyrights, titles, etc. I think it makes sense for all the extra stuff to be at the top of the page (except the "end of page" thing I'm going to use, probably the 19-11/8-2-5). So, the top of the page is going to have to contain all the extra stuff. I do not want the extra stuff to take up too much space, though. BOO Cups are going to be designed to be able to weather any number of changes in the overall environment, and as such, they cannot contain links that might change--like my email address, for example. So what are the elements that must be in all Cups? [1] Each Cup must identify that it is a part of BOO, and also the part that it is. I have to develop a system for coding each Cup. [2] The header and footer, as discussed above. These delineate the start and finish of each Cup. [3] Links. Every Cup has a set of links (at least one). [4] Author/copyright. It could be as simple as "by Frank Edward Nora. Copyright 1999. Copy for personal use only." [5] Origin/Revision information. Each Cup is originally created in a BOO version. If it is revised, it will also be revised in a BOO version. Of all these elements, the links are the biggest design challenge. Basically, they have to LOOK good--and be functional and easy to use. The letter-codes in the links is based on the idea of a navigational code, as discussed above. A certain Cup might be at "aabcade". The question is, can this path change from version to version? If not, the code should be presented in the Cup itself. If not, then the letter-code system may not be called for. Also, Cups will potentially be reached by numerous routes. But I do want an easy way for people to let other people know how to get somewhere. This whole issue is based on the BOO organizational system, so I should work on that. BOO ORGANIZATIONAL SYSTEM [1] Each Cup is an HTML page with links. There is a starting Cup, and all Cups can be reached through a series of links from the starting Cup. [2] BOO encompasses a wide variety of content. Cups are related to each other in different ways. A Severe Repair Cup, for example, is in Severe Repair, and in a Cupline. [3] A hierarchical system is absolutely called for, but this does not mean that all links have to be hierarchical. But in general, I think that the links should reflect levels of hierarchy. So, SR Cupline "Office Complex" Cup 3 would have the hierarchy: HOME--SEVERE REPAIR--OFFICE COMPLEX or BEGIN--SEVERE REPAIR--OFFICE COMPLEX These links would be in the Cup, and the links would show where the Cup is relative to other Cups. [4] What about the issue of many paths to a Cup? For example, a "cool links" Cup, which would have links to Cups in different hierarchies--does this present a problem? Well, in this case, the destination Cup would not have a link back to the "Cool Links" Cup. Rather, it would have its own hierarchical links. "Cool Links" could be gotten back to via the BACK button. [5] I think it might be a good idea to separate hierachical links from other links. For example, "Cool Links" would have its own hierarchical links, and then its set of other links. [6] "Cool Links" is a good example regarding link structure. If all Cups have all their links at the top, then "Cool Links" would have to have all the links at the top, and then the description of the links below. So, upon choosing the link to go to, the reader would have to scroll back to the top and click the appropriate link. The alternative would be to allow links in the content area itself. This is a major decision I have to make. The Home Cup will have a great number of links--all of the "level 2" Home Cups will be linked-to there. [7] I think that there may have to be a distinction between Hierachy Cup and Content Cups. But I would prefer to have all Cups of the same type, so that means that links-in-text will have to acceptable. [8] I think that I will have to create a BOO prototype before creating version 1 (or A), since a lot of these design issues are hard to visualize. 10:16 PM The nature of the links. The way that BOO is organzined. On the one hand, there is the strict hierarchical system, and on the other hand, there could be a more gamelike, exploration kind of system. BOO is identified as a boom, Let me start again. That was a typo that deserves to be preserved. BOO is identified as a book, and as such it should be somewhat booklike. A hierarchical system would seem to make sense--very similar to other systems I have developed. The first level of organization would be the Revolver. And then within each Revolver there could be one or more levels of organization. Severe Repair, for example, is a Revolver. Cuplines are the next next level. And individual Cups are the last level. But now, is something like the "SR Character Guide" going to be at the same level as the Cuplines? The forces surrounding the linking and the organization are: [1] Utility. The system must be easy to understand and use. [2] Uniqueness, Wildness. The system must reflect the overall nature of the work to some extent. A boring hierarchical system is probably too dull and restrictive. [3] Ease of implementation. The system has to be easy to work with. The HTML file names are a big part of this. I would like to stay within the DOS "8.3" file naming system to assure maximum compatibility. But, this may not be possible if I also want to keep the file name understandable without a cross-reference. There are several different major kinds of Cups: [1] Content Cup. Contains actual content. [2] Guide Cup. A Cup which contains information about Content Cups. [3] Navigation Cup. A Cup whose primary purpose is getting the reader to a particular place. I am thinking of having two navigational system coexisting--the hierarchical, and the wild. I like the idea of "advertising" one section in another section, of promoting a Content Cup and then taking you there. There could also be Wild Content, which would not be accessible by simple hierarchical steps. I think this idea is very cool. Hierarchical and Wild. Two system existing side-by-side. The hierarchical system is easy to use, and can get you anywhere in the system very quickly, but it lacks unpredictability and the lure of the hidden and the out-of-reach. As far as hierarchical goes, the set of Revolver Homes is the basic set of launching points. The Opening Cup (or Home Cup or Starting Cup) will have links to all the Revolver Homes. It sshould also have an entrance into the Wild system. The Wild System is a subset of Cups unto itself. It will hahve links to other Wild Cups, and also to Hierarchical Cups. Wild links will not be as reciprocal as hierarchial links. Perhaps most WIld links will NOT be reciprocal--that is, the destination Cup will not have a link back to the originating Cup. So, this brings up another kind of Cup, the Wild Cup. I still maintain that I want to keep all Cups under the same basic rules, with the variations existing in the way the Cups are used. So, the most basic system will exist at a lower level than any implemenetation. Hierarchical Cups should have links at the top leading back to each level of the hierarchy they are a part of, as in an example above, for an Office Complex Cup: HOME--SEVERE REPAIR--OFFICE COMPLEX Wild Cups will not have any such set of links. Wild Cups are non-hierarchical by design. The only consistent link they will probably have is back to the Starting Cup. I like this idea of the two systems coexisting, because they balance each other out. Wild Cups serve the purpose of adding a serendipity, browsing, surprising, unpredicatble element to BOO. Also, another aspect of Wild Cups is wildly promoting a Cup or Cupline and then providing a link there. But also, there will be Wild Content, which will encompass games, weird stuff, secret stuff, etc. There could be Wild Groups, to help me in organization. but then again, such an imposition of order would be somewhat against the nature of the Wild Cups. Entry points into the Wild System will exist in Hierarchical Cups--maybe even ALL hierarchical Cups. The whole interlinked nature of BOO brings up the issue of Cup "firmness". This is the nature by which a Cup will never HAVE to be updated in a new BOO version. SOME Cups will have to be updated with new links to accomodate new Cups, but no Cup will HAVE to be changed. Related to this, I will not have any "broken" links in BOO. So, if a Cupline is to be continued, the last Cup will have to be updated with a link when new Cups are added. CUPLINES Cuplines are a set of Cups in sequence. For these, I think that NEXT (and PREVIOUS) links would be good at the top AND the bottom, so that the reader will not have to scroll up to continue on. Okay. Obliviana Central. Obliviana Archive. Anything But Monday. Radio Transcripts. This is more levels than Severe Repair has. I think that levels should be flexible. Thu 4/1/99 * 12:03 AM I have to go to bed soon, but I just want to get a handle on where I'm at. I think that I have to come up with the most basic system so that I can put together a prototype, and then develop the system further with the benefit of the prototype Sat 4/3/99 * 3:23 AM The linking system. This is really where I'm stuck right now. I'm wondering if there is another way than the plan I have now--the hierarchical system and the wild system. One issue is the location of the links in each page. Right now, my model has BOO as a set of Cups, each with its own set of links to other Cups. An alternative would have the links OUTSIDE of the Cups. This could be achieved through frames, or through interlinked navigation pages which open a new page with each link. I think that the frame system is the only viable option in this regard--the other idea is not too good. So--do I really want to get into frames? I don't think so. Anyway, another issue is the idea of publishing BOO as a real book. It's not something that's going to happen in the near future, but I do want to keep it in mind at this stage of the design. That is, I want to design BOO in such a way that it COULD be published as a book. If I stick with the idea that each Cup has its own set of links, then such a system could be implemented in a real book, with the links being references, similar to the "Choose Your Own Adventure"-type books. In fact, I have had visions of this sort of book for a long time. I think I even wrote down idea about such a book possibly over a decade ago. So let me focus on the idea of each Cup having its own set of links. Instead of HOME, I thought about using AERIE instead, driving back from Sukeroku Japanese Restaurant earlier, where I picked up sushi (all vegetarian, of course) for my wife and I. An aerie is like an eagle's nest high on a cliff, or a stronghold on a height. The American Heritage lists three alternate spellings: aery, eyrie. and eyry. But I think aerie is the best looking of the lot. With the idea of real book compatibility, the links should have the codes for each destination. Could this take away from the Wild side of things? Maybe. But it all depends on the nature of the codes. Codes are necessary no matter what, since each Cup is an HTML document, and each need a file name. Sequential numbering absolutely going to be a part of the system. What I have to determine is what further identifier are going to be in the system. The codes could be purely numerical, starting with 00000001.htm, with 99999999.htm a hundred-million Cups later. This is assuming that I'm going to try an keep the filenames in the restrictive DOS mode of 8+3. The problem with a purely numerical system is that it required extensive cross-referencing. So, I think instead I'll use 2-letter codes for Revolvers, and perhaps further 2-letter codes. I have used this system in the past. So, with simply the Revolver code, there could be, for Severe Repair, SR000001 thru SR999999, with a million possible Cups. This number is totally excessive, so the use of another 2-letter code is warranted. So, the SR Cupline "Goodbye Popcorn" would be SRGP0001 thru SRGP9999, with 10,000 possibilities, as opposed to the 1,000 with three digits. In the latest HTML implementation of SR, I have three digits, since it is very unlikely that a Cupline will need 1000 Cups, though it is quite possible that a Cupline may go over 100. Leaving sequential numbering to the higher levels keep the lower levels free of the sequential "feel". So, even though Revolvers may be numbered, at the code level, Revolvers are all kind of "even". So, I think that this 7-character code system, "XXYY123.htm", is a candidate for the BOO code system. The question is, will this system be sufficient for all instances? From above: "Okay. Obliviana Central. Obliviana Archive. Anything But Monday. Radio Transcripts. This is more levels than Severe Repair has. I think that levels should be flexible." Well, now I think that levels should maybe NOT be flexible. A Goodbye Popcorn Cup would have this Link Hierarchy: AERIE--SEVERE REPAIR--GOODBYE POPCORN And, in fact, under the proposed system, all Cups would have the same level of hierarchy. A possible alteration of the system would allow one more level of hierarchy, which could be represented by a single letter, since the current system has just the 7 main characters. So maybe: AERIE--SEVERE REPAIR--STORY--GOODBYE POPCORN SRsGP001.htm But this system falter with the ABM example: AERIE--OBLIVIANA ARCHIVE--ANYTHING BUT MONDAY--RADIO TRANSCRIPTS OAaRT001.htm The problem here is the single character at the second level of hierarchy, which, in the case of Obliviana Archive, will not be sufficient to encode all the possible sub-Revolvers within the archive. 4:22 AM Just wrote Parking 111. The first since December 18, 1998. There are 676 2-letter combinations. So the thought occurs to me that filenames perhaps need not refect the overall hierarchy, so that: AERIE--OBLIVIANA ARCHIVE--ANYTHING BUT MONDAY--RADIO TRANSCRIPTS Can simply be: oart001.htm or oaat001.htm 5:16 AM The last implementation of the Obliviana Website, specifically the Severe Repair and Superior sections, are very close to the system I am now developing. In fact, that system overall is very similar to BOO, but it lacks the philosophy of "oneness" that BOO has. Idea: Use graphics, but with the same yellow-on-blue color scheme. Headers could be really cool within these limits. Also, I have to come back to the issue of illustrations. Illustrations could exist in Cups by themselves... I don't know. I know that in general, all of the implementations of the Obliviana website have been disappointed graphically. It's not that the individual graphics were bad, but rather, that they fit together badly. Back to the header idea, I could use 1-bit 72 dpi images, GIFs with just the two colors, and no anti-aliasing. But I think I should continue forward with the general rule of no graphics. So--what do I have to do to get to the point where I can make a prototype? I think that I may be close to being able to do that. The prototype should have a few Revolvers, and have the Hierarchical as well as the Wild system. I think that at this point a prototype is needed to help me make the deeper design decisions. I think it would be fun for the prototype to have all "fake" content. Let me go back to OsoaWeek001 for some inspiration. Here: GAOHID Gaohid 1: Appomattox Flight Gaohid 2: Power Jolt Parkway Gaohid 3: Lont Gaohid 4: Hethlene Gaohid 5: Piperspace Gaohid 6: Lime Stiander Gaohid 7: The Girl Afterall Gaohid 8: Pony Ultimate Freedom Gaohid 9: Beam of Clevers Gaohid 10: Lestrin & Behinda Gaohid 11: Going Sleek the Pleasures Gaohid 12: Cedarblasting Gaohid 13: Sunject Gaohid 14: Opened & She Was Everwhat Kim Gaohid 15: Railroad Chroncross Gaohid 16: Phone Unbooth Leaves Gaohid 17: Raining Outside Chamber Gaohid 18: Ball Bearing Waterfall Method Gaohid 19: Bad Subway Conjectura Gaohid 20: 8:08 AM Worlds Fair Gaohid 21: Spap Noodeg Gaohid 22: A Spangle of Coolant Gaohid 23: Half-Awaker Dazed Character Gaohid 24: Loom Have High Wondphilosph Okay. Here are the five fake Revolvers: 8:08 AM Worlds Fair (WF) Hethlene (HL) Lime Stiander (LS) Ball Bearing Waterfall Method (BB) Half-Awaker Dazed Character (HA) 7:06 AM Well, gotta go to bed now. Goodnight. Tue 4/6/99 * 9:03 PM Just wrote a few Parkings. I decided to call BOO "Aerie Obliviana". It'll be "Aerie" for short. It will be all text, and I am thinking of a green link color. I don't know if I'm gonna do the fake stuff above, but let me write down the ideas I had for the fake content. 8:08 AM Worlds Fair (WF) Listing the different pavilions. Hethlene (HL) Listing new fake substances. Lime Stiander (LS) Gen X coolness parody. Ball Bearing Waterfall Method (BB) About a fake company making such a procuct. Half-Awaker Dazed Character (HA) Fucked-up character. Maybe combine all these idea? "Lime Fair"? 9:22 PM Aerie Obliviana. I decided that I wanted to named BOO something other than "Obliviana", since it would cause confusion, both to me and to everyone else. "Aerie" is now also the nickname of the book, superceding "BOO". Aerie will be entirely text, and all of it will have the same color scheme--dark blue background, light yellow text, and (possibly) green links (I haven't experimented with the greens yet). So now, I have to get back to the nitty gritty, the low-level stuff, codes and conventions and such. One thing is the way Aeire will be organized, specifically, will there be sub-folders? I think this might be a good idea, in that there will certainly be thousands of files. On the other hand, not having folders would make linking a little easier. But I know from experience that folder with thousands of files in them can take a long time to open, and I don't even know what they might do to the various other computer systems out there. So, I think that I will adopt subfolders. Now, as far as the hierarchical system goes, the first level is the Revolvers, and then, the question is whether to have a set number of levels, or to allow any number of levels. I think that allowing multiple levels is preferable. The other side to this is the idea of maintaining consistency, but I think that the workarounds to conform to a restricted system are potentially very cumbersome, so I think that a flexible system is preferable. Filenames would conform to a standard: rrcc123.htm, with "r" being the two-letter Revolver code, and "c" being the two-letter "content" code. The idea is that if there are more than two levels of hierarchy, only the first and last are in the filename. The three digits allow for 1000 Cups in each content area, which should be sufficient, and even if one content area goes above 1000, a new content area could be created. This file-naming system conforms to DOS standard for maximum compatibility. The only disadvantage to structuring names like this is that they cannot be as descriptive of the content as longer names can. But I don't see this as a problem. The other possibility is to add a fifth letter, which would go between "r" and "c", which would define general areas within each Revolver. For example, Severe Repair could have "s" for Story, "r" for reference, "c" for commentary, etc. RRsCC123.html. An example would be "SRsYH001.htm", for the first Cup of the Cupline Yellowhaus. SRsYH001.htm SRYH001.htm sryh001.htm srSyh001.htm SRYH_001.htm sryh_001.htm The first name is the best looking, but the fifth and sixth are interesting. The 5-letter system could be useful thus: SRsYH001.htm (story content) SRcYH001.htm (commentary content) The question is, are 26 (or more, if I allow numbers and other characters) enough to encompass all the possible categories? I think it will be, and I could even use "-" in the case that there are no obvious subdivisions. Okay. I think that this naming convention is the best. SYnCH... words could be made... Now... LINKING I have agonized over the linking system over the past week. But I think that I should loosen the restrictions I had considered. By this, I mean that links in text are okay. I do want to have the hierachy at the top of the page where it makes sense. TITLE -------- -- ----- AERIE OBLIVIANA by Frank Edward Nora ------------------- ----------- This (or something like this) will be at the top of EVERY page. The words "AERIE OBLIVIANA" will link back to the "homepage". WILD I am still very much in favor of the Wild system. "Wildcup", "WildCup"? Wildcup System. This will be a Revolver which is structured differently from other Revolver, though in terms of formatting, Wildcup Cups will follow all the same conventions as every other Cup, except that there will not be the same kind of hierarchy. Wed 4/7/99 * 10:03 PM Aerie Obliviana is very much content-oriented. The hypertext form is just a means to an end. This regards the issue of hypertext hype. Form vs. content. Content is more important than form in Aerie. I am at a point now where I think that I can begin to create Aerie. So what do I have to figure out before I can actually go ahead? I've been working on the "slogan" for Aerie Obliviana. (I've been misspelling "Aerie" as "Aeire" typing fast...) I want the slogan to end with "by Frank Edward Nora" and be descriptive. I want to communicate what Aerie is all about, at least in a very general way. The latest one I have is "A Wild Universe of Text by Frank Edward Nora". This is a little long, but it's headed in the right direction. "Unfolded Book"? Hmm... that's interesting... "Dimensional Book"? Hmm... 10:25 PM Just wrote a few Parkings. Anyway, I want this tagline. I want to define Aerie as a thing unto itself, existing above all the content. Like "a very cool thing to read and experience". "Endlessly Entertaining." Endless Entertainment. Endless Wandertainment. Text Wandertainment. "Text Wandertainment by Frank Edward Nora" 11:44 PM Well, that seems to be it. I did a WWW search for "Wandertainment" and didn't get any hits. It is very descriptive, and it lets people know that I am the creator, as opposed to it being a group effort. -------- -- ----- AERIE OBLIVIANA Text Wandertainment by Frank Edward Nora ------------------- ----------- or -------- -- ----- AERIE OBLIVIANA. text wandertainment by Frank Edward Nora ------------------- ----------- or -------- -- ----- A E R I E O B L I V I A N A . text wandertainment by Frank Edward Nora ------------------- ----------- I think the lowercase "text wandertainment" works better, giving the phrase more of a matter-of-fact feel than the potential perception of pretension with it capitalized. Thu 4/8/99 * 12:05 AM I was just checking out some more of Abaxial Usufruct. Definitely pretty cool--I'll definitely put in in aO-1 (first use of this nomenclature). I have 20 days to do aO-1. Or maybe I'll just call it Aerie-1. That's better. I need to decide what I'm gonna put in Aerie-1. I think that my first priority has to be a full set of OsoaWeeks. Then Superior, Parking, Abaxial Usufruct. THEN Severe Repair. I have also decided that I will be more flexible in my updates to Aerie. I don't want to limit myself to once every three months. Especially in the early going, it will be necessary to update when I have completed a significant update. I think that my goal for Aerie-1 should be OsoaWeek and Superior. Goodnight. Thu 4/8/99 * 10:04 PM I'm currently working on bringing together an OsoaWeek archive, and this file is certainly a part of it. So, I think that it is finally time to finish this file and move on to Get All Obliviana 2. It's really strange, my researching into my own fairly recent past. It turns out that I did produce several documents like this one, as issue of OsoaWeek--specifically, 177 and 191. I think that now it is very apparent that OsoaWeek and Get All Obliviana have split. OsoaWeek will very much continue on, but it is not the place for this sort of writing. 177 and 191 (and a few other similar issues) were very much like Get All Obliviana. But I will retain the formality, and put 177 and 191 in OsoaWeek, while this document, represent eight months worth of writing, will go into into its own "sub-Revolver", Get All Obliviana. This file is over 420K, so I'll probably split it up into several smaller segments. Also, there is a bunch of stuff below this, which I'll probably present as well, just as it is. Well, that's it. This file that I've been writing in for over 8 months is now officially done! It's been a very interesting time, with the Obliviana "Launch" at the beginning of the file, and then the disintegration of that initiative. But along the way, I developed some very awesome stuff. That game I developed a few weeks ago, which I thought was gonna be the big thing, is something I really have to go back to, because it's an awesome idea. At work for the past few days we've been talking about my "Figurine Dream" idea from Severe Repair. I brought it up because of an article in Wired Magazine about new, cheaper kinds of "object printers. It's an interesting idea, but in Aerie Obliviana I have something far better--the Obliviana "Breakthrough". That's it! Get All Obliviana!!!!! --------------------------------------------------- 4/6/99 Bnitty Sicth Bnittysicth Bnitty Sicth 3/31/99 FAKE: artist: Valtaputer Vix album: Blasting a Breeze 3/29/99 Firxt! Ffirxt! Najorcluff (remember: Najordean? (in SR?)) 3/22/99 visuational YurgaMist YurgoMast frrely Shannon's thing, like "Jujo9jj" or something... she forgot... but there was a number in there somewhere... 3/13/99 SR: Giant train thing--train makes its stops, people going only a few stops would stay in the areas closer to the exits, and those with a longer trip would go deeper into the train, for entertainment, hotel rooms, restaurants, etc. 3/9/99 Put sound the... 3/8/99 Art of these creatures with their torsos in a hole, cartoony, variations. From dream or bedtime musing. 2/28/99 simplivity 2/10/99 File had just gotten over 300K last time I wrote. Vusu 2/1/99 Sebset, Events needed ----- Yadirf naming So I think that the various actions should be represented on the board in some way. ----------------------------------------------------------- 1/3/99 Dream phrase: "The Asshead of Eras" (plural of era, not the typeface) 1/2/99 game: "Singe Sector" (ie, magical fire game?) 11/30/98 overlkapping 11/29/98 I want to to kick ass, and be understandle. The was painfully beautiful. The Us Hounds, bathroom wire brush artist. -------------------------------- amendments, horiz 209, alcohol 11/8/98 side by side, a freckle and a burn ----------------------------------------------------------- [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] [][][][][][][][][][][] Stuff to do: Name the Tarbs (8/2/98) Buttons for main page (8/2/98) More Shack Bluff Fonosta Listings (8/2/98) More School Lessons (8/2/98) Get updated LWOR School graphic (8/2/98) DONE--GIF anim. of LWOR--LuckyStorm and sequence of all Racetracks (8/2/98) Transportation Center! (8/2/98) Index--remove GIF animations, add XC Message Board link. (8/23/98) Storm Pelter Pages! (8/23/98) OsoaWeek Archives! GAO! (8/23/98) 8/15/98 A Xappenshard may read "Stonehenge Math". This is a very difficult puzzle. The Clue would read "Stonehenge Math means to use pi--3.1416. Specifically, perform a mathematical function, like addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division, on the given numbers with pi." SECTION A PRIZES A101--Four Xappenshards 4 A102--Fonosta Upgrade! 8 A103--A Few Clues! 6 A104--Pair of Trading Cards 3 A105--Instant Fame!12 A106--A Few Clues! 7 A107--Artifact Prize Package! 10 A108--Four Xappenshards! 5 A109--Pair of Trading Cards! 2 A110--EMPTY! 13 A111--Fonosta Upgrade! 9 A112--Pair of Trading Cards 1 A113--Artifact Prize Package! 11 ----- http://www.winjammer.com/wjsw.htm 8/19/98 The Conion That 8/23/98 megative Devastating Nightscape as web-based game 10/5/98 monor setba 10/16/98 Sequention 10/18/98 I think that I need to further reorient myself Toward the Unified Format Forest frocing -------- -------- ------------------- ----------- -------- -- -----