Meta Obliviana #3 -- 2/12/02

Meta Obliviana #3
2/12/02
by Frank Edward Nora, Lord of Obliviana

Okay. here's what's going on in Obliviana.

First of all, my brother is still proofreading and making comments on the manuscript for the Severe Repair novel.

I must say that my level of enthusiasm for Severe Repair is somewhat low right now. But I do want to put forth the effort to send the manuscript out to publishers or agents or whatever. It's been my goal in this project to get at least one rejection letter this year, and I think this is a pretty realistic goal. But I better submit it to somebody soon, cuz I know it takes some places 6-9 months to respond.

Yup. Dealing with the mass media. Guess you can tell it's something that I just so love contemplating. Yeah... no punctuation mark for sarcasm... what the fuck...

Um... anyway, I really don't like the idea of plugging into the mass media machine. But why not? Why not go with the mass media? Make some money? Get famous?

Well, first of all, it's fun to be a loser. I get to be bitter about my failure, and write stuff like this talking about my lack of success. And fantasizing about success is a very pleasurable experience. Pleasurable... it makes happiness. Happy in fantasy.

So, being a perpetual loser, I can complain and fantasize and have all sorts of fun. Yeah, and always working on Obliviana... challenging my mind... keeping myself sane.

So do I want success? Success in creative productions?

Well, let's look at a couple of scenarios.

Success as a science fiction author. Um, doesn't really excite me. Not that I'd reject it if it happened, but it's not my greatest dream.

Okay. How 'bout success as Lord of Obliviana, the whole 209 thing, kind of like a pseudo cult leader, but a good cult, not a bad cult. Um... this idea also rubs me the wrong way. I don't want to be a cult leader like that, good or bad. Not that I'd be really like a cult leader... you know what I mean.

Well, those are the two projects that I'm currently working on. Well, not exactly. Because Bluffcosm is rising again in my thought. So okay, let's look at another scenario.

Success in Bluffcosm. The New Computerized Audio Entertainment. Creating something like a radio station, but with computerized audio. Many different shows, many different types of audio entertainment. Audio computer games, audio interactivity... And bringing all of Obliviana into this audio realm, including Severe Repair and 209. Well... THIS is my passion. THIS is my dream. THIS is what I want to do. Totally. Completely. 100%.

So, what's the problem then? Why don't I just pursue this?

Well, as I talked about in the last issue of Meta Obliviana, 209 is the keystone idea. And Bluffcosm is something which has very little chance of success.

My new ideas for computerized audio entertainment go beyond what I have done in Bluffcosm. But... are they still as hopeless?

And you might ask, why not combine 209 and Bluffcosm? Well, I tried that in one way, back in November 2001, with Stormtoon. And it was not a success, because Stormtoon is a very inaccessible thing, and not the kind of thing that's gonna get people into my stuff.

Now, let me tell you what I've been doing for the past month or so. I've been doing a lot of experimental work in 209, and I've been getting excellent results. I've refined my 209 technique, and it is now much more effective. And I have been having some excellent little adventures with 209.

But what about my feelings about sharing this information with other people?

Well, from the start of the whole 209 thing, I've been very open about it, wanting to tell people about it and get them into it. But...

Well, I guess I'm still missing something in the system. I'm missing a context. And I think I know what that context is... a social context. Sharing my Stormjaunts with other people. I think this is a vital aspect of the whole 209 system, and right now, I really don't have very many people to share my experiences with, and probably no one who can relate to my Stormjaunts more than, "Wow, that's cool. And weird."

So, a social context. And I think computerized audio is the key. I've been recording Stormjaunts. And I'd like to share my recorded Stormjaunts. I want other people to record their Stormjaunts, and share them.

That friggin' Marshall McCluhan... or however you spell the fucker's name. He talked about something like radio's potential to "re-tribalize" society. Whatever, I don't want to obsess on that guy like so many people do. But I do think that a radio-like implementation of computerized audio could somewhat "tribalize" a group of people. That is, create a social group, with computerized audio as the medium.

And at the heart of this audio endeavor would indeed be 209.

Stormtoon "failed" because of its format, not because there cannot be a marriage of 209 and Bluffcosm.

"New Bluffcosm / Obliviana Radio". This should be my goal in Obliviana now.

And the two projects I started out the year focusing on, Severe Repair and 209, can be major elements of this new project.

But hey, this isn't really a change in direction. It is a way to realize the 209 project. And, it is what I want to do. It is my passion.

Now, "New Bluffcosm / Obliviana Radio" are names that I am using in my development work. The project will be officially named, and presented to the public as "Obliviana Super Occult Amusement", "Obliviana" for short.

Obliviana has indeed "ground to a halt" in the past few months. But I now see my way clear to Obliviana rising again. Rising for real. Wow, it'll be interesting to see an Obliviana that is not itself in complete oblivion.

Get all Obliviana!