|| -------- -- -----  A E R I E   O B L I V I A N A . singular book of text wandertainment by Frank Edward Nora ------------------- ----------- OSOAWEEK--ISSUE 160--8/18/97 <-------  ||  OsoaWeek  ||  Issues  ||  Book 13  ||  -------> (Cup OWis160, Created v1 (4/27/99), Copyright 1999) = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = OsoaWeek Book Thirteen 4 "OsoaWeek160" by Frank Edward Nora, Lord of Obliviana, Tarb 6709 (8/18/97), copyright 1997 OBLIVIANA REGISTRY NEW REVOLVERS None NEW CUPLINES None NEW CUPS None *OW* LORD OF OBLIVIANA Mon 8/11/97 * 11:26 PM I want to talk a little about Stormjaunting, which is at the center of Obliviana. A Stormjaunt (SJ) is a little excursion into the unknown, which follows a set of simple basic rules. First of all, each Stormjaunt has a clearly defined start and finish, and you can only do one Stormjaunt at a time. Before you start a SJ, you have to decide on a "main" Friction Enhancer (FE) which will be your goal for the SJ. This FE will be the focus of the SJ, though other FEs, large and small, may be used. As well, it may be possible to set combined FEs for a SJ. Once the FE is established, you choose a Storm. The Forge of Wander (FOW) is a grid, 11 wide and 19 high, containing 209 squares, called "Storms". You will choose one and only one Storm to SJ "on". That is, you will be "on" the particular Storm you choose. The current Obliviana system for Stormjaunting utilizes Stormjaunt Scrolls and Jukewands. In the past, I have used different systems, but I feel that the current system is the best. A Stormjaunt Scroll (SS) is a little slip of paper with a FOW on it, as well a entries for the SJ data, such as date, time, FE, etc. You fill out the SS and put it in your Jukewand (JW), which is a little wand made out of brass piping, with two "nipples" (segments), one joiner thing, and two end caps. Once the SS is in the JW, you set forth on your SJ, seeking to accomplish your FE. Got it? A SJ is very much like a real storm. You start by building up situational forces, and get to a point where the situational forces will be "raging", which should bring about what I call "Stormjaunt Consciousness" (I just made that up), which is the unique feeling that accompanies Stormjaunting. Then, the Stormjaunt will naturally start to die down, and once you reach this point, you'll know that you should finish the Stormjaunt soon. To finish the SJ, take the SS out of thge JW, enter the final data, and put the SS in a safe place, and put it in your SS box as soon as possible. Wooden cigar boxes are excellent as SS boxes. Your SS box is a container that holds all your Stormjaunt Scrolls. At the time you put the SS in the box, you may also want to enter it into your computer, for use in the Little World of Racetracks (LWOR). What I have just described is the basic method of Stormjaunting, from a very general perspective. To get more specific, I have to get into the Friction Enhancers. Friction Enhancers are activities which seek to generate situational energy. The term "situational" refers to a basic aspect of nature, like time and space. This is a theory that I developed, that Situation is a basic aspect of nature, like time and space. You could argue that the situations we find ourselves in are products of our minds exclusively. But my experiences with Stormjaunting tell me otherwise. See, in Stormjaunting, I have found that situations develop which are beyond effects that I am causing. That is, you can perform actions which cause situations to occur. But in Obliviana, interesting Situations occur which you can't have directly caused. This is the phenomenon which leads me to believe that Situation is a force of nature, as opposed to an aspect of the mind. Basically, Friction Enhancers create situations which are out of the ordinary, and then, Reality responds with more out of the ordinary situations. The idea is that Reality is stimulated by your strange actions, producing strange actions of its own. I want to make it clear that Friction Enhancers involve mundane actions which are combined in unexpected ways. That is, Friction Enhancers do not involve bizarre or dangerous sorts of activites, but rather, very normal activites combined in unusual ways. Reality Tonic is a good example. In this FE, you combine three ordinary beverages and drink the resulting mixture. My favorite is "Actuality Classic", which mixes Yoo-Hoo, Welch's Grape Soda, and V-8. It may sound disgusting, but I believe that the resistance people feel toward such a beverage as this is more Situational than being "grossed out". That is, drinking these three beverages mixed together is very much outside the norm of Situation, but the act of drinking any one of these by itself would be entirely unremarkable. So then, this is the hallmark of the nature of Friction Enhancers--mundane activities combined in unusual ways, with the added aspect that these activites not be harmful or negative or nihilistic. With this basic formula, there are a virtually infinite number of possible Frinction Enhancers. In Obliviana, I have developed and will continue to develop a set of Wonderful FEs. The benefit of having an established set of FEs is that everyone in Obliviana will have a common FE base, for both cultural and reseach reasons. Now, Obliviana is a system that just about anyone can use. That is, no matter what your situation, (unless you're in a coma or something) you are constantly performing mundane activities, and these can be mixed to form Friction Enhancers. Different people have very different basic situations, though. So something like Mallball is great for someone who lives in an areas with lots of malls, who drives, has a car, and also some spending money. A lot of people aren't in situations that will allow them to do this, though. So, I want to develop eight basic types of Friction Enhancers. Tue 8/12/97 * 12:29 AM The eight basic types of Friction Enhancers are tied in with the eight Racetracks in LWOR. That is, each Racetrack is based on a type of FE. The Racetracks are themed, so the themes have to tie in with the FE types. An important philosophy to bring up here is that I do not want Obliviana to be all things to all people, but rather, be a very distinctive thing, with a wide appeal. There are certainly cultural aspects here. For example, one FEtype/Racetrack might be "night" oriented, and these "night" FEs could only take place at night. Another major aspect here is "places", as in all the different sorts of "mundane" places you can go. This refers to malls, shopping centers, parks, train stations, libraries, etc. Andother big thing is mode of transportation, such as car, bike, foot, mass transit, etc. There have to be FEs which can take place inside the home, as well as at work or school, and in transit. These FEs will have to involve you and the stuff you are carrying. And this brings me to another major areas of FE: thought. I have used thought FEs for a long time, and they seem to work very well. These are FEs that can be used just about anytime. And, with enough resources, reall cool FE's could be developed. That is, with a lot of money, you could do some really amazing stuff... But the focus of FE is stuff that cheap and easy. Easy, that is, in terms of the mundane actions. Combining such actions, and "going against" Corridor, which is my term for the "baseline" flow of event is not easy, but rather a challenge well worth braving. Tue 8/12/97 * 10:18 PM Cool Stormjaunt earlier. I want to get an overview of what I'm doing right now. 11:09 PM What I'm doing... Right now, my focus is on developing the Set of Eight, which applies to the eight Racetracks and the eight basic Friction Enhancer types. I have developed sets very similar to this several times in the history of Obliviana. Let me refer back to these sets... From OsoaWeek001: *********** In the Flowers (10001IF) is the weekly features that takes a look at what's happening in all eleven Flowers. Each one is a major area of thought and action in Osoa--as a whole, quite a fantastic realm of endeavor! Acquaint yourself with them, eh? [[10001IF]] In the Flowers The eleven Osoa Flowers are all the basic strategies of exploring Obliviana. Each has a unique focus and way of looking at the issue. Choose the one which you most identify with--and remember, choosing one doesn't preclude you from doing things in any of the other Flowers--and you can change your Flower in the future as well if you desire. So here are the Osoa Flowers, along with brief descriptions. See future issues of OsoaWeek for more a more detailed look at the Flowers. But for now, this should give you the general idea! FLOWER 1: Foxglove Plug The electronic realm, irrelevance of the physical, fonts, Classictronica (classic video games), clip textures, programs, utilities, and secrets. (red family--circle) FLOWER 2: Snapdragon Bite Short audiovisual segments, video and sound snippets, Xappen, other sorts of bites. (orange family--square) FLOWER 3: Daffodil Scribble Disorder, destruction, and confusion. Worn-out, crazy, random, and gibberish. Mixing all sorts of stuff together, such as beverages, foods, etc. Boxes'o'Stuff, cool assortments of things. Messy writing and out-of-control typography. (yellow family--triangle) FLOWER 4: Pussy Willow Harvest Obliviana Artifacts, gathering items, object historian, baubles, spheres connoisseur, books as items, collecting water from a variety of sources, and Super Objects. Confounder, cool little electromechanical diversions. Aversion to electronica and the virtual. (green family--rectangle) FLOWER 5: Dandelion Lost 209. Strange, night, clocks, chess, and mirrors. Weirdness engines, nothingness, holes, and shadows. Candles, incense, and smoke. Dashic, Friction Enhancer, and Wield of Transit. Swift, speeding along, and coffee. Wandering, getting lost. (blue family--crescent) FLOWER 6: Forget-me-not Stream Peaceful, rocks, wood, nature, beauty, serenity, sand, spider webs, visions. (purple family--hexagon) FLOWER 7: Crocus Basis Philosophy, philosophical combat, Actuality Destructor, and theories on the nature of reality. Severe Repair, and the realms of imaginary universes and their mechanics. (black & white--heptagon) FLOWER 8: Lupin Lazy The low-impact, easy way to play! Requires a minimum amount of attention and involvement. (gray family--oval) FLOWER 9: Honeysuckle Rover Exploring places, delving into different sorts of locations and comparing them. Finding all sorts of cool stuff and reviewing it for people. Irreverent, fun, brainy life. Halfevil Times and Hemisinister Review. (brown family--octagon) FLOWER 10: Lily-of-the-Valley Whim Little games, decks of cards, and diversions. Whimsical worlds, childishness, fairies, and wonders. Origami, cat's cradle, and meanderliterature. Blamnoom, Deluge of Primacy, Vamershee, and Buildings of Yontaro. (magenta/aquamarine--pentagon) FLOWER 11: Black-eyed Susan Crest/Aquamarine Sign and symbols, visual identity, and devices. Codingseeds, and all sorts of communication. Hidden messages, naming everything, overlay on reality, recording, and shows. (yellow-green/blue-gray--cross) *OW* ******************* From "Forge of Wander" #4 (January 1993): *********** OBLIVIANA BLUEPRINT--OBLIVIANA IS THE HARSH OCCULT WARGAME IN WHICH PLAYERS BATTLE TO DISCOVER TNOR (THE TRUE NATURE OF REALITY). THERE ARE EIGHT BRANDS OF OBLIVIANA (SHOWN AT RIGHT), EACH SETTING FORTH A SPECIFIC STRATEGIC TWIST ON THE GENERAL OCCULT VISION OF OBLIVIANA. THIS VISION REJECTS CONVENTIONAL EXPLANATIONS OF REALITY AND SEEKS TO GET TNOR BY CONTRADICTING CORRIDOR (THE NORMAL FLOW OF EVENTS), EXPLORING UNTIRED AREAS OF MUNDANE ACTIVITY, SEEKING OUT PATTERNS IN LIMITED SYSTEMS, LOOKING AT REALITY FROM WEIRD PERSPECTIVES, CORRELATING DISPARATE OBSERVATIONS, AND A WHOLE LOT MORE. COOL YOUR JETS WITH OBLIVIANA, DUDE! ACTUALITY DESTRUCTOR Raw ideas, reaching critical mass, will blow away the cover TNOR has so far enjoyed. BALBITYPE TNOR is reflected in all fonts & video games. By deeply examining these, TNOR will be revealed. DARK OF WHIMSY Reality being a system, its TN can be determined by creating small, manageable systems, and plotting them against reality itself, eventually deriving TNOR. HEMISINISTER REVIEW What is reality but the world around us? Let us surbey those parts of it both highlit and ignored, and see the forest of TNOR for the trees of the everyday. NIHILISTICA No conceivable method can uncover TNOR, so it must be attakced wildly and mindlessly, in the hope that a random stab will hit the target. STORM CODEX We are most always in corridor--the mundane stream of events. While here, TNOR is obscured. If corridor is mastered and we are able to move away from it, TNOR may well then be apparent. SEVERE REPAIR By authoring a detailed alternate world, and exploring vast arrays of concepts in this world, TNOR will be discovered. WIELD OF TRANSIT None of the other Obliviana Brand strategies is likely to get TNOR on its own, but through review and interpolation of the achievements of all the Brands, TNOR will be forced into the open once and for all. ******************* Wed 8/13/97 * 12:31 AM The "Harsh Occult Wargame" idea is interesting, but on the whole, very much against my current philosophies. The "Flowers" idea lists a lot of ideas that are very important in Obliviana, but it is not a very good set in that it does not divide these aspects very well. So I really do have to start from scratch here. I guess I should also go back to the set of eight Racetracks from the "Raceway" days... Raceway America Raceway Astronomy Raceway Arctic Raceway Aftermath Raceway Ancient Raceway Apparition Raceway Archery Raceway Aqua These set forth some basic themes, but they don't mesh very well with my current needs. Now, a big thing I have to remember is that by defining the Racetracks, I will be defining what the culture of Obliviana will be like. Going places and doing things. Situations very much exist in PHYSICAL REALITY, as opposed to being just in the mind. See I, unlike many thinkers, believe in physical reality as apart from the mind. Physical reality. Day and night. Seasons. Roads. Cars. Stores. Weather. These are all very basic basic aspects of physical reality. American civilization and its Contemporary Terrain. Malls and fast food restaurants and parking lots and movie theaters and libraries and parks... Go out into the mundane world you live in. What can we get from it? What parts are we gonna focus on? Nighttime. Bleak weather. Ice and snow. Forests. Woods. Trails. Mountains. Streets. Sidewalks. Roads. Highways. Parking lots. Libraries. Parks. Malls. Train and bus stations. (Public places). Home. The familiar. Your backyard. Your neighborhood. 7-11. Dunkin Donuts. Burger King. McDonalds. Taco Bell. Subway. Computer superstores. Home improvement superstores. Book superstores. Lakes. Rivers. Streams. Oceans. There's a lot of stuff out there. In Obliviana, I see both trees and streetlights, mountains and malls, rain and supermarkets, as aspects of our Contemporary Terrain. This is the world we live in. There are many aspects. Places: Night. Mass transit. Libraries. Small parks. Residential neighborhoods. Raining. Convenience stores. These are all places. And THINGS! Lots and lots of things... I guess one question is, how SPECIFIC are these Racetrack/FE definitions going to be? Could there be one that is focused on mass transit, on trains and busses and ferries, taking them to weird places and being in the various stations and surrounding environs? Mass transit is certainly going to be an aspect of a Racetrack. It may not be the SOLE aspect, but it WILL be an aspect. So maybe I should start listing aspects... a list from which I will construct the definitions I am seeking... Mass Transit Malls Night Bleak Weather Libraries Parks Parking Lots Strip Malls Toy Stores Movie Theaters. Fri 8/15/97 * 12:06 AM I've been doing a little work on Anything But Monday the past few days. I developed an ideas called "Nomadio", which I think is pretty good. Now, I have to get a grasp on Obliviana is general. 12:58 AM There are two sides to Core Obliviana. There's the creative side with Severe Repair, Zope, Superior, and Halfevil Graphics. And then there's the 209 side, with Octagon, Fonosta, Little World of Racetracks, Stormjaunting, Friction Enhancers, and Forge of Wander. One important aspect of the 209 Side is that one need not believe that 209 has any supernatural properties. The main goal of Stormjaunting is to have a good time, and to open up your horizons to new things. By doing Friction Enhancers, you are by definition doing new things and opening new horizons for yourself. LWOR adds another dimension to Stormjaunting, in the game aspects, which is also has intrinsic value and does not rely on being supernatural. But of course I do believe that 209 has supernatural qualities. The cool thing about the supernatural aspect of 209 is that if it is untrue, it doesn't much matter, and if it IS true, it makes things a whole lot better. The focus of the 209 Side is the Fonosta. A player's Fonosta is the record of his/her Stormjaunts. I used to use the term "record of achievements in Obliviana", but it really is a record of Stormjaunts. So let's look at this basic setup: A players Stormjaunts, and keeps a record of his Stormjaunts in his Fonosta. This setup requires a definiton of Stormjaunt. Stormjaunt is made up of 209, as represented by the Forge of Wander, and Friction Enhancers. Simply, choose a Storm, do a Friction Enhancer, and record the Storm and Friction Enhancer along with date, start and finish time, date, and location, along with a telling, be it brief or detailed, of what happened during the Stormjaunt. So, at this point, there is Stormjaunting, Forge of Wander, Friction Enhancers, and Fonosta. The other part of the 209 Side is Little World of Racetracks, and in this aspect, the Fonosta is made into a character in the Little World. The purpose of LWOR is, at one level, to encourage, motivate, and facilitate Stormjaunting along with detailed and consistent recordkeeping. Another purpose is to have fun, and add to the overall atmosphere of Obliviana. So: [1] Stormjaunt. [2] Record your Stormjaunts in your Fonosta. [3] Recorded Stormjaunts become Stormjaunt Cups, which are formed into sets of eight, making Octagons. [4] Octagons are used to "buy" Objects in the LWOR game world. [5] Playing the game of LWOR is a "reward" for Stormjaunting. Now, the Eight Divisions of Obliviana is another important aspect. There are eight Racetrakcs in LWOR, and eight corresponding types of Friction Enhancers. This makes me believe that there should perhaps be eight aspects to the Creative Side, as opposed to four. That is, eight creative endeavors which correspond to the eight divisions. I do have more creative endeavors. Ones that come to mind are: Super Object, "Nomadio" (Obliviana radio), Primitive (video games based on FOW), Antebellum/Devastating Nightscape, and Balbitype. That's five! If Severe Repair, Zope, Superior, and Halfevil Graphics are creative endeavors done my me alone, then the other four can be creative endeavors that some other people are involved in. Super Object is clearly one of these "other four" creative endeavors. "Nomadio" is another, but it's complicated by the whole ABM aspect. Primitive is something that's still just an idea, but which I think will be good, but it does overlap with LWOR a little. Antebellum/Devastating Nightscape overlaps somewhat with Primitive and LWOR. And Balbitype overlaps with Halfevil Graphics. And how could I forget the games! Obliviana Classic, Vamershee, Deluge of Primacy, and others. Hmmm... with Super Object and Nomadio as definite in the "other four", this leaves two openings. Primitive could include Antebellum/Devastating Nighscape. And Halfevil Graphics could include Balbitype. This makes the prelimary "other four" as Super Object, Nomadio, Primitive, and "Analog Games". So right now, each of the Eight Divisions will include: [1] Number [2] Color [3] Racetrack [4] Theme [5] Creative Production [6] Friction Enhancer Type 1:51 AM. Gotta go to bed. Get All Obliviana! *OW* -------> ------------------- ----------- -------- -- -----