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354-------------------OSOAWEEK Ezine of Obliviana Issue 354, 5/10/01 (Book 28, No. 3 / Tarb 14863 / Year 7) by Frank Edward Nora, Lord of Obliviana ----------- ------------------- LORD OF OBLIVIANA ----------- Tue 5/29/01 * 8:40 PM This past weekend was Memorial Day weekend. I spent the 3-day weekend pretty much working on Bluffcosm. And yesterday, I started working on Severe Repair again... it's been about 2 years since I worked on Severe Repair. Now, my goal with Severe Repair is to make it into a book or series of books that could be published. Now, right now I'm in kind of a bad mood. I really shouldn't be in a bad mood, because there are so many wonderful things in my life. But I'm in a bad mood nonetheless. Well, I want to do Obliviana full-time, and having to work the "day job" while continually failing to make Obliviana a reality is a somewhat constant source of annoyance. But I do have a great opportunity... being in the right place at the right time... for The New Computerized Audio Entertainment... to be a big part of it... Well, right now I have a lot of computer and Internet-related problems. Bluffcosm.com was down for a week or two, and then it came back up, and then a day or two later, the site was there, but it could only be gotten to via obliviana.com, not bluffcosm.com. I have tried again and again to contact the damn web host company about the problem, but they are unbelievable fucked up, like so many technology companies these days. My home Internet access has been gone for well over a month. I'm waiting for cable modem to be available here... I don't want to go back to DSL hell. Last week, a Cablevision person told me first week of June. Today a Cablevision person told me end of June. Great. More 14.4 AOL dialup fun. My computer is doing better, but for a while there, it was having problems too. I took a day off work just to back up the hard drive onto CD-R... So, I finished the May 2001 Wave of Blufftoons yesterday. I'm still in the process of putting it up on MP3.com... they changed the way they handle uploads, and I had to delete all 7 Blufftoons I had uploaded... and I had to upload them again... I pretty much did all the Live365 stuff... all the new Blufftoons are streaming... including Blufftoon Time on its own channel. And of course... I have no listeners... Bluffcosm was mentioned last week on Static Internet Radio... but pretty much a day or so later, the bluffcosm.com domain lost its "link" to the site, so people who tried to go there would get a damn error message. So why am I in such a dark mood? It really doesn't make sense... or maybe it does. The years of pressure... of Obliviana never "taking off"... it's really wearing on me. So I'm depressed because things haven't worked out the way I wanted them to with Obliviana. And also, I guess I have lost some faith and hope in the whole thing. I have had amazing faith in Obliviana. I really believed it would take off "any time now". I guess you could say I am a deluded, introverted weirdo. But... I really do produce some amazing creative work. I've just been holding it back from an audience... it's one of those mental things... not wanting to lose the pristine creative state of being my own fanbase. Yeah, I analyze myself and I keep analyzing. Yet, here I am, in a pretty decent place in my life, and I'm all in a blue funk and shit. Well, I really need to focus on the promotional side of Bluffcosm. Because right now, I have no clue how I'm gonna get an audience for Bluffcosm. I have a mental block of some kind with this promotion shit. And also, the idea of a website with original entertainment has really lost its sheen from a year or two ago. On the subject of promotion, I read somewhere that it is very important to have a single idea to promote. Sat 6/2/01 * 3:07 PM Well, I feel quite a bit better now. And I do want to pursue this idea of a single idea. It does make a lot of sense to have one thing, and promote the hell out of it. I think that with Bluffcosm, the one idea is going to have to be one form of distribution. I need to be able to describe Bluffcosm in one sentence, and it has to be compelling. Well, I'll work on it. Get all Obliviana. ------------------- THE BLUFFCOSM REPORT ----------- Like 3 months ago I wrote this list for the Fuzzy Daupner fan website, "Transit Shivers"... but it still hasn't gotten posted, so I figured I'd just present it to y'all right here! ***** FRANK EDWARD NORA'S TEN BEST ALBUMS 2001 2/25/01 [1] Led Zeppelin, "Physical Graffiti" Led Zeppelin is the best band ever. The 6 CDs of their 2 box sets represent all of their studio recordings, and I have listened to these hundreds of times, always getting more out of the songs than the last time I listened. As far as their albums go, Physical Graffiti is my favorite. It drags you into many weird depths... [2] The Beatles, "The Beatles" (White Album) The Beatles are the best band ever, but I can't exactly say that they're better than Led Zepplin. I love all of The Beatles' songs, and all their albums, but I have to say the The White Album is the best, because like Physical Graffiti, it drags you down into an amazing and dark place. It is the sound of the love jam of the late Sixties turning sour. [3] Nirvana, "Nevermind" I resisted Nirvana for a few years. Then, in Utah, driving around by myself for a few days, I bought a cassette copy of Nevermind and listened to it over and over again. This album is on the same level as Led Zeppelin and The Beatles, but Nirvana's other works are not quite on this level. [4] Tori Amos, "Boys for Pele" A sprawling epic that takes you on a deep trip, Boys for Pele is an album that rewards repeated listening with constant surprises and pleasures that weren't previously apparent. [5] Donald Fagen, "Kamakiriad" Donald Fagen is one half of Steely Dan, and I could have put the Steely Dan box set on the list, but I've decided to let this solo album represent the totality of Sttely Dan on this list. It's a sci-fi concept album with a heck of a lot going on in it. I never get tired of listening to it. [6] Rush, "A Show of Hands" I love Rush! They have numerous awesome albums, but this live one is probably my favorite. [7] Duran Duran, "Seven and the Ragged Tiger" Duran Duran is a very misunderstood band. They have a unique vision, and even though their first 3 albums are their best, they have been continuously releasing albums... even their latest, "Pop Trash", is pretty good. [8] Men Without Hats, "Rhythm of Youth" This album contains the one song that everyone knows, "The Safety Dance". But the whole album is awesome! [9] Ned's Atomic Dustbin, "God Fodder" This album is absolutely amazing. I didn't realize how good it was till years after I first bought it. An early-90s masterpiece. [10] Vasen, "Whirled" Swedish folk instrumental music with a powerful edge. I've tried to get other people into this album, but no one else seems to "get" it. There's a lot of music in this genre... check out www.noside.com for more! ***** ------------------- SUPERIOR REVIEW ----------- SUPERIOR 354 I am America--she does down on me--thirteen arrows bold--I'm blown into yesterday. The freedom they died to grant--her nipple feels on my tongue--the Washington monument--my thumb feels inside of them. (((From OsoaWeek063--10/6/95))) ***** I remember being in my Jeep in the parking lot of my apartment in Plainsboro, NJ, and thinking about writing lyrics to a song... and this was it. It was supposed to be "she goes down on me", but I think that the mistake here is actually better. I guess my idea here was to mix patriotism and sex. And, um, the result is... not all that great. But there are a few parts here that are decent. "Thirteen arrows bold, I'm blown into yesterday." is good, on its own. (Reviewed 6/2/01) ------------------- SUPERIOR 3: DUSKAWAY ----------- DUSKAWAY 155 * 6/2/01 * 1005 There, damn error message would make her hair lovely. As jottable on as a dream calendar. Vague tobacco ashes. We all feel we are lord of world, but world disobeys, and makes us mad. ------------------- END -----------
355-------------------OSOAWEEK Ezine of Obliviana Issue 355, 5/17/01 (Book 28, No. 4 / Tarb 14905 / Year 7) by Frank Edward Nora, Lord of Obliviana ----------- ------------------- LORD OF OBLIVIANA ----------- Sat 6/2/01 * 4:42 PM Well, the May 2001 Wave of Blufftoons is completed. And the Bluffcosm.com website is back, after several weeks of being down. And I've started work on the next phase of my sci-fi novel (or more likely series of novels) Severe Repair. My next goal in Bluffcosm is to come up with some way of promoting it, a single idea that I can push forth with. I also really want to make like an 80-minute CD with the best of Bluffcosm... or maybe 60 minutes... I really do need to define the audience for Bluffcosm. And I need to start getting people into it. But there is still a technological barrier... computerized audio is still hard to get to people over the Internet. I would like to think that the audio, the content of Bluffcosm could be completely independent from its distribution method... but I think that the distribution method is integral to the whole thing. So what IS the distribution method? Well, ultimately, it will be streaming... but streaming that is more advanced than what we have today. There is an alternative to streaming, which is for files to be downloaded first, and then played. The thing is, I don't want people to have to do it manually. It is certainly feasible to have a program that could be programmed to download certain audio files automatically, and then play them on demand. This could be a better system... but I don't think I'm gonna be able to involve myself in the mechanics of the infrastructure... I don't have the resources... I'm a content guy... Hmm... so CAN Bluffcosm audio exist apart from the distribution method, in terms of promotion? That is, is it okay to have a number of channels of distribution, while still maintaining a simple idea to promote? Well, I'll work in it. Get all Obliviana. ------------------- THE BLUFFCOSM REPORT ----------- ***** The Blufftoon Report 5/24/01 by Frank Edward Nora So... Bluffcosm... what's going on...? Well, the past few weeks have been somewhat stressful for me. I think that part of the stress is from the "status" of Bluffcosm right now, and how it relates to the recording of "Blufftoon Time #1" 12 days ago. Blufftoon Time is a show that is "hosted" and which plays Blufftoons. It's a lot like listening to DJs on the radio, introducing and playing music, and also talking about it. You get the idea. Well, Blufftoon Time came from my thinking about what direction Bluffcosm should take. And I thought about this idea... an idea that is kind of an obvious evolution for Bluffcosm. And... by recording it... and then editing it... I did get a taste of what Bluffcosm might someday be... Someday... that's a big part of it. Bluffcosm is, right now, the major thing in Obliviana. Obliviana is a project I have been working on continually, under several different names, since about September 1987. I have always very much believed in Obliviana as the right creative outlet for me. With Obliviana, I rejected the idea of going to an outside publisher... I was going to be both the creator and the publisher of my work. Well, almost 14 years later, I have produced a lot of work... but I have had no success in publishing. Now, I have spent countless hours analyzing WHY I have failed in this regard... maybe it's a fear of success... maybe it's just too much for one person to handle... maybe it was just the wrong plan, and I should have gone to real publishers. I don't know. But 14 years is a long time... 14 years. I think this is definitely a big factor in my current mental state. The weight of the expectations I have had over the years. Up until late December 2000, In pretty much all of the 13.5 years, I felt that success was just around the corner, just a few months away. I finally "gave up" believing this to some extent in December. Well, one thing is clear. I am quite talented, and I produce great work. But looking back over all the years, I really have been avoiding "getting it out there". Now of course, there are great benefits to not having it out there. No criticism, no one to tell you what to do, and complete, COMPLETE creative control over everything. So I've had a tiny audience... friends, family, a few strangers... but the #1 fan of Obliviana has always been ME. Wow, this is pretty depressing. Anyway, I am in my endeavors at a "blank slate" kind of place. Right now, I have to power to decide where my creative endeavors are gonna be heading. I have the freedom to decide what the future of Obliviana will be like. I would certainly have LESS of this sort of "power" if Obliviana had fans and relationships with publishers and licensers and stuff like that. Another thing here is that the medium I have chosen... computerized audio entertainment... is, to me, a very exciting medium that is in its early stages. So it is an exciting time to be doing what I'm doing. But... the bridge to success... to getting an audience, fans, money. This is the part that is the source of a lot of stress for me. On the one hand, Internet entertainment content is a business that looked good a year ago, but has since suffered a severe slump. On the other hand, there's my own "mental block" as far as success goes. And, of course, I refuse to conform... I want to do exactly what I want to do... and people will have to make an effort to see where I'm coming from and get into the work. So, there seems to be a lot of factors going against me. But there are also a lot of things going for me. I truly believe that Bluffcosm is a viable "brand" of entertainment. And right now, there doesn't seem to be anything else out there that's like it. So the content is good. But the technology is still a major stumbling block. But I think the tech in this area... getting sound to people's ears via computers and networks... will be advancing swiftly over the next few years. So perhaps my situation with Obliviana is not all that terrible. I am in a pretty cool place and a cool time... maybe the "right place at the right time". Yeah, I think I should open my eyes. I have a very major opportunity here. Yeah, this is a pep talk for myself. And I need it. Boy, do I need it. ***** ------------------- SUPERIOR REVIEW ----------- SUPERIOR 355 Mendel is isn't it. Imperial the Scout Lounge. Try motion and ski Neptuna. Financial and ethical skinny dipping do the kid. Matrimonial erase, indrenction. Dark storm campfire running, the mellow flicker, dark wave campfire strolling. Spokes. (((From OsoaWeek063--10/6/95))) ***** Well, this is certainly one of the best Superiors of all time. It's absolutely amazing... but I guess that nonsense word, "indrenction", kind of takes away from the Superior a little. In any case, this is an absolute classic -- most likely one of the top ten Superiors! (Reviewed 6/2/01) ------------------- SUPERIOR 3: DUSKAWAY ----------- DUSKAWAY 156 * 6/2/01 * 1006 There is notes, crest, overhill from stimulation to saturation. Lot of video tapes to watch. The ceiling getting hair washed at salon. Joy of rainfall, joy of mall stroll. Music is every direction. ------------------- END -----------
356-------------------OSOAWEEK Ezine of Obliviana Issue 356, 5/24/01 (Book 28, No. 5 / Tarb 14947 / Year 7) by Frank Edward Nora, Lord of Obliviana ----------- ------------------- LORD OF OBLIVIANA ----------- Sat 6/2/01 * 5:22 PM So I am somewhat confounded on the issue of promotion. But I feel there must be an answer. I am not happy with the idea that I am asking "What is Bluffcosm?" just like I used to always ask "What is Obliviana?" Bluffcosm is something that is pretty well-defined... well, maybe not. Is is a comedy group? A radio station? Something that can be syndicated? 6:02 PM Well, I suppose that the audio content in Bluffcosm is in need of a context. Fri 7/27/01 * 7:40 PM Oh, hello there! It's 55 days later. And let me tell you, a lot has changed in these past 55 days. And a complete record of what happened will be presented in OsoaWeek issues 358 thru 364. It's the writing that I did to get to where I am now. So where am I now? Well, I have decided to make 209 my priority. Specifically, I have redefined "Obliviana" to mean the process of Stormjaunting, with Thinkfang, FOW, Dashic Deeds, 209, etc. And my central goal now is to get people into Obliviana... get them into 209 and Stormjaunting. I will continue with Bluffcosm and Severe Repair and everything else... but the 209 aspect will be at the center of everything. And I have also determined that 209 is indeed KIVO, the Keystone Idea. So, I have discovered KIVO... finally. Tomorrow is Obliviana Day, and I have a lot of OsoaWeeks to put together and write... in fact, I'm gonna try and do it all tonight! So, this will be the last Lord of Obliviana feature till I reach issue 364... the last issue of Obliviana Phase One! See... starting tomorrow... Obliviana Phase Two begins! Get all Obliviana. ------------------- THE BLUFFCOSM REPORT ----------- ***** The State of the Bluffcosm Address 5/26/01 by Frank Edward Nora Welcome to the State of the Bluffcosm Address. I am Frank Edward Nora, Lord of Bluffcosm, and I'm gonna be talking about the current state of Bluffcosm, and where it is headed in the future. First off, a broad overview. Bluffcosm is a part of Obliviana Super Occult Amusement. Obliviana is my personal project, and in it I have aspired for well over a decade to become both the creator and the publisher of works in a wide variety of media. And overall, I have produced a great deal of work that I feel is excellent, but I have not made much progress at all in the publishing side. Bluffcosm is currently my major project within Obliviana. Bluffcosm is all about computerized audio entertainment. Its medium is sound, sound that is distributed via the Internet. In the early days of Obliviana, I aspired to conquer all forms of media: writing, magazines, comics, video, music, audio, computer games, websites, etc. And indeed, I have produced work in a very wide variety of media. But I think that for a number of reasons it became clear to me that I should narrow the focus of the media I was working in. The Internet has been both a blessing and a curse for my work in Obliviana. My work in Obliviana since 1995 has been pretty much 100% Internet. But the Internet has a lot of negatives. First of all, people look down on Internet content, because it is well-known that anyone can have a website. So having a website does not carry any prestige at all anymore. Maybe back in 1995 it had a little weight... But let's look at me, Frank Edward Nora. I'm very talented, and yet I have been travelling a path where I have no audience and no possible way of making money from my work. I have shunned the idea of going to publishers with my work. The benefit to me is that I have total control, both on the creative side and on the business side. But the business side has not been successful at all. So I find myself at a strange place here in 2001. I'm 33 years old and married. And I have this whole Obliviana thing. Back in Demember 2000, I reached the end of my patience for Obliviana, and I decided to gove up on what had been the main focus of my work in Obliviana: a complex game with occult overtones, which also seemed like it could get somewhat cultlike. So I decided to focus on Bluffcosm, and thus far I have made great progress in Bluffcosm in the first five months of 2001. But I have reached a point where I need to step back and chart a new course. I want to also mention that a big part of my creative life for the past few years has been the band Fuzzy Daupner, which I worked on with my wife Denice and her sister Carrie. And now it looks like my involvement with the band is going to be a great deal less than it has been. So I will have some more time to devote to Obliviana. And I have decided that computerized audio is my central medium in Obliviana. So let me talk about the medium itself a little bit. The New Computerized Audio Entertainment. That's what I call this medium. TNCAE... "tincay"? Anyway, this medium is first of all entirely audio-based, and its primary form of distribution is via the Internet. The audio itself is stored in computer audio formats. As far as content goes, TNCAE is focused on audio entertainment that is not music. This is not to say that music has no place in TNCAE, but music is not the focus. Old-Time Radio is the existing form of entertainment that is closest to TNCAE. The idea of creating a wide variety of entertainment in a pure-audio format... that's what TNCAE is all about. TNCAE is still in its infancy. I have been scouring the Internet for examples of TNCAE, and I have found that there's a good deal of stuff out there, but not much that's very good. Technology is very much a stumbling block right now. Quite simply, getting computerized audio over the Internet today is riddled with difficulties and annoyances. But I think that these technical issues will be tackled swiftly over the next few years, making the medium of TNCAE very accessible to a huge number of people. What I'm talking about is the ability to get an Internet-based audio stream to your ears just about anywhere you go, with very little effort. Imagine being in your car, and saying out loud "Let me hear Bluffcosm", and a live Bluffcosm stream starting immediately. This is something that will be a reality in a few years. Audio as an entertainment medium has a very curious history. From about 1920 to 1950, what we now call "Old-Time Radio" was an amazingly successful medium. An amazing variety of programs were produced in audio-only format. Then, around 1950, television pretty much destroyed Old-Time Radio, and the variety of audio-only entertainment was seriously reduced. So, for 50 years, audio-only entertainment has been in a real slump. It's something that I really don't understand, because audio and video are such fundamentally different formats. Audio has several major advantages as format. First of all, audio entertainment requires less attention from the audience. Simply put, you can do others things while listening to audio, which is not the case with video. Another major advantage is that audio leaves the visuals to the imagination of the listener, creating what I believe to be a much richer entertainment experience in many ways. So, we have this really great medium that has been essentially dormant for 50 years. And with the advent of computerized audio, this medium seems to be on the verge of coming back. And with Bluffcosm, I have a chance of being a part of this comeback. This is very exciting! I think that I am now at the right place at the right time. So I must take advantage of this situation. Okay. So, the State of Bluffcosm... I currently have almost 25 hours of audio online, with at least 4 more hours coming in less than a month. I have a large archive of recorded work that I have been "mining" for material... and I have been producing new material. And, I have all of Obliviana as a basis for new material. And there is a great deal of stuff in Obliviana that can be made into audio, or be made the basis of audio programming. So, I do feel confident in the quality of the work that I have already produced, and I feel equally confident in my ability to produce new work. So the big question is in the business side, the publishing side... getting an audience and making money. I have been working on the audience and money thing for over a decade with little success... so this is a big issue for me. But I think that I have learned a lot over the years... and I think that I am capable of handling this side of things. So let me now discuss the state of Bluffcosm, in a specific way, and then I'll get back to the business side of things. Right now, Bluffcosm exists as a website, Bluffcosm.com. In terms of referring to Bluffcosm, I used to make sure that I said Bluffcosm.com all the time, and maybe I should continue with this. In this address, I have been saying Bluffcosm without the .com. I think that part of this is that the term ".com" has become something of a stigma. And as well, I look forward to the time when people can listen to Bluffcosm without having to go onto a website at all. On the website, I have a homepage which presents several options for listening to Bluffcosm. First of all, there are 6 streams, running off of Live3654.com. Then there is the MP3.com, with 70+ downloadable/streamable Blufftoons. And, there is "Laser Hinterland", and page which allows download of some Blufftoons directly from my site, in lo-fi MP3 format. There's also a news page, and OsoaWeek, my weekly ezine, in which you are reading this right now. And, there is the old Obliviana site, with a number of offerings, including my online book Aerie Obliviana, which contains the current version of my sci-fi novel Severe Repair. And there's a lot of other stuff too. In terms of infrastructure, I would say that the free services of Live365.com and MP3.com are very good. I don't think that these services will remain free forever, but for the moment, they are quite good. So if a person had the desire, they do, right now, have access to the Blufftoons. Now, there have been several technical problems with Bluffcosm.com this month, May 2001. The site was completely down for about 2 weeks, and now the site is back, but it must be accessed by entering "Obliviana.com". "Bluffcosm.com" does not work right now. But hopefully this will be resolved soon. If not, I will have to go to another web host. So in terms of producing material, and making it available online, I think I have been doing a pretty good job. The problem is that very few people know about Bluffcosm, and even those that do would have to put a lot of effort into listening to the stuff. So this is the big issue... publishing. Telling people about Bluffcosm... and getting them interested once they check out the site. Getting an audience and making money... Well, over hte past few years, a lot of people have been trying to make successes out of websites with original content. It seems that getting an audience is something that can be done... with enough money. But even those folks who have had huge amounts of money to invest have been having an incredibly hard time making any money. Now, I am faced with having essentially no budget at all... and the task of getting an audience and making money. Well, I think that getting an audience is something that is feasible. As far as making money... that is something that is very confounding. In terms of making money, my philosophy is that overhead must be kept to a bare minimum, so that less money will be needed to make a profit. So how can money be made in the realm of TNCAE? Well, there are several different pathways to making money: subscription fees, advertising, and selling products are three major avenues. My thinking on this issue has focused on selling products, since the other two are not, at this point, very viable. As far as subscriptions go, there is great resistance to such fees on the Internet. Online advertising is something that has not been working very well for those that have been doing it. As well, I need a plan that is scalable. I need to be able to start doing it, and scale it upwards. In terms of advertising, it really cannot be done until I have an audience of a certain size. So advertising is not something that I can incorporate into my business plan at this level. And I do not think that a subscription model is at all viable in the current environment. I think that I run the risk now of putting a great deal of effort into getting an audience without any consideration of making money. To me, it would be a monumentl acheievement to get several hundred fans, but this feat would not mean very much if there wasn't some kind of business model. An idea I have been working on for quite some time is "Vending Yamp". Simply put, it is collectible works on paper that are bought, and that are related to online content. This is an idea that I think has some viability. And selling this and other products, such as Super Objects, via mail order, seems to me to be one of my options at this point. This is a scalable option... But, I must address the audience issue right now as my main focus. And in order to that, I need to format the user experience. Here is another issue where the Internet is both a blessing and a curse. In other media, the basic nature of the medium is a guiding limitation. In broadcast radio, you have basically one signal per station, which can be picked up by radios in a certain vicinity of the radio tower. In books, you have books which must be printed... but with the Internet, there are a huge number of options... Well, I have limited myself by choosing the medium of audio. So I have to look at how audio is now delivered on the Internet, and also look at how it WILL be delivered. My goal is to create a scalable format. Right now, my format is the Blufftoon. Blufftoons are pieces of audio that vary in length right now from 6 seconds to 4 hours each. Two weeks ago, I recorded Blufftoon Time #1. This show has a group of hosts talking about and playing Blufftoons... it's a big step toward where I want to be with Bluffcosm. But I need to decide a few things. First of all, I need to set the level of interactivity. Right now, Bluffcosm is very random-access. There are 6 streams, and there are 70+ MP3 downloads. If there were one stream in Bluffcosm, it would be like a traditional radio station. The user experience is to tune in and listen... but there is still the issue of a different level of interactivity... which in traditional readio would be calling in to the show, requesting songs, talking on air, getting involved with contests, etc. I think that establishing a "community" is essential. Idea: some kind of feature that relates directly to the listener community, like a weekly idea or something... So, I think there are 2 major types of interactivity. First, the nature of the listening experience, and second, direct interaction with the programs. There is also a third aspect of interactivity that is a bit of a tangent, but something I should definitely talk about: the audio-only computer game. There is a service right now called TellMe (or "1-800-555-TELL"... I think they may have changed it). It is an audio-only interactive information service, which has at least one game... blackjack... which is completely audio in nature. I am very interested with the possibility of creating audio-only games. Though there is the issue of input and output. In terms of such games, I think that output is audio-only, but there is a question with the input. Of course, input can be audio-only, with voice recocnition systems... but a few buttons would also make for good input, I think. But... I think that being that I am focused on a pure-audio interface, perhaps I should focus on a completely audio-only interface! Hmm... that last paragraph is a bit redundant... Anyway, the idea of audio games is cool... but I think a bit outside where I should be focusing right now. Such games are something that could be a part of Obliviana in the future... but not something I should be focusing on right now. Yes. I do get distracted easily. So... let me reiterate what I need right now. I need to establish a format now which is scalable, and which is conducive to a good user experience. So I need to answer a few major questions. First, the two types of interactivity. As far as interaction with programs, I think this is a good thing, and I do want to pursue it. Next, the direct interaction with what is heard... should there be just one stream? Should individual Blufftoons be downloadable? And there is also the idea of audio CDs and CD-ROMs. All of the Blufftoons right now could easily fit onto one CD in lo-fi MP3 format. And yet another idea, the idea of audio that is controlled by a sequencing program, where a certain amount of recorded material can be "stretched out" and made much longer through creative repetition and sequencing. Right now, I have available to me pretty much: [1] Downloading MP3s. [2] Streaming audio. [3] Audio CDs and CD-ROMs. Now, there is also the whole idea of getting Bluffcosm audio played on people's shows on broadcast radio. I would think that college radio stations would be a possibility in this regard. But this would be tangential, I think, to my major focus. So I have to consider my audience. What would be the nature of the experience of a person listening to Bluffcosm? This is a very difficult question for me. Bluffcosm is not yet really defined... in terms of the boundaries of its programming. So let me look at the content that I now have. Right now, the 6 streams pretty much define the major categories of content: [1] Blufftoon Shuffle. This is a collection of audio pieces that are wide-ranging in their content. [2] Beublin A. Richardson. This is a "Bluffcosm Original Series", which is ongoing. [3] The Evil Farm. This is a "Bluffcosm Original Series" that is not ongoing... is is really more of an "audio movie". [4] Train Crap & Blood. This is a program that was similar to a "Howard Stern" style show... people talking, doing funny bits, etc. [5] The Motor Excursion Ruffians. This is the successor to Train Crap & Blood... with the hosts travelling around as opposed to staying in one place. The first show was over 4 hours long. [6] Classictronica. This is a show about video games... the first show was over three hours long. [7] Blufftoon Time. Soon to premiere. Hosts talk about and play Blufftoons. First show is over 3 hours long. Hmm... I think that what Bluffcosm lacks is a "center". That is, there is all this content that is essentially disconnected. Blufftoon Time is a step in the right direction, toward a "center"... I think that... hmm... a single stream, broadcasting live 24 hours a day from a broadcasting center, with live hosting possible... this is cool... Or maybe... a central channel where there is program information, and people chosse which program to listen to... Okay... let's put it this way... looking at the 3 categories above, download, stream, and CD, it's pretty clear that streaming is going to be the big one in the future... or is it? I think that having a single stream is a good idea... but supplementing it with random access... I think that several major online radio stations do this... like eyada.com... they have live stuff for much of the day, and they also have archives available... but is this necessarily the best way to go about things? I guess it all comes down to deliberate choice vs. serendipidy. Listening to music radio, you don't control the music that comes on, that there is a benefit to the randomness... hearing stuff you wouldn't choose to put on yourself... not having to put forth the effort of managing and playing your own music... But of course, the random-access of having your own collection of recording has its benefits too... hear what you want, whenever you want. But I think the "want" is a key issue here. People are motivated in a number of ways into "wanting" different things. This is what promotion is all about... making people WANT something. Availability is a major factor in terms of want. A TV show like "The Sopranos"... they showed one epsiode per week... and so the want was focused... you have to watch at a certain time... or record... um... Such a thing is not available until a certain time. A new epsiode of The Sopranos is not available until its debut. Before that, it is known about, but not available to view. Knowing about something but not being able to experience it can create a very potent WANT in a person. The lack of availability focuses the want... This is one big strike against the idea of total random access of content online. Okay. Here I am, in a self-created mire. All of these nebulous questions, none of which have clear answers. I have to break through, I have to move forward! I have to get out of the mire! I think I need to focus on a subset of the content and promote it. Like the idea of albums... a limited amount of material promoted madly. Now I do have two CDs now available on MP3.com, but they are not very good as collections of work. I need a razor sharp, specific product to promote. ***** ------------------- SUPERIOR REVIEW ----------- SUPERIOR 356 Tell more in the series. And, the expression of a "need" in a sliding "may I" banterness, was cumlicious. Go away, for, you have great breasts but are evil. May, a fancy, rich family's room, much wood, I am lost in a forest and I am a loser from 1986 with limited intelligence who thinks he's the Messiah. Go home. Please go there. (((From OsoaWeek063--10/6/95))) ***** Hmm... hmm... This one... I'm not all that familiar with... but it is quite good. Some Superiors I read over and over again and think about over and over again... and some, I write and then kind of forget about. Yeah, this one is really good. It implies an interesting story. I like it! (Reviewed 7/27/01) ------------------- SUPERIOR 3: DUSKAWAY ----------- DUSKAWAY 157 * 6/2/01 * 1007 Left neon wet, cigarette teardrop, preened and insulted. Think that techno music is tribal, drugs are windows into the universal place. I think screensavers shall revolutionize life. Car horn, drunken stumble, sexual gunshots. Wake up and you're older. ------------------- END -----------
357-------------------OSOAWEEK Ezine of Obliviana Issue 357, 5/31/01 (Book 28, No. 6 / Tarb 14989 / Year 7) by Frank Edward Nora, Lord of Obliviana ----------- ------------------- THE BLUFFCOSM REPORT ----------- ***** BLUFFCOSM PRODUCTION NOTES May 2001 Wave of Blufftoons by Frank Edward Nora 6/2/01 I tellya, this is a good Wave, the May 2001 Wave of Blufftoons. There's a variety of interesting productions... both newly recorded, and newly reinvented stuff from the past. So join me, won't you, for a stroll through the stories and, um, tales of each and every one of the Blufftoons from May 2001! -------- Blufftoon 116: Blufftoon Time #1 -- (3:23:28) Imagine listening to a radio station where they played Blufftoons instead of music... and here ya go! Frank, Pete, and Jay play your favorite audio masterpieces... semi-live on tape from lovely Howell, NJ! -------- This was recorded on Saturday, May 12, 2001. It's a very significant Blufftoon, because in it there is the first glimmer of what Bluffcosm might evolve into... the idea of hosts bantering and playing Blufftoons... I think the final outcome was pretty good, and I plan on doing more Blufftoon Times in the near future. Now, as far as the production goes, it was recorded in and around Video Game Conenctions, a store in a strip mall in Howell, NJ. The tape recorder has a "clicking" problem which can get a bit annoying at times during the recording... but I did eventually fix the problem (but not that day). May 12 started out with me going shooting at a gun range with my friend Andrew. I recorded some of the shooting for my own sound effects library, and also to play during Blufftoon Time. But even as I drove down to meet my friend, I still didn't know exactly what I was gonna be recording for Bluffcosm. When I finally thought about doing Blufftoon Time, I realized that I didn't have a list of Blufftoons handy... so I printed out the MP3.com page at my friend's house after shooting. I had considered doing Blufftoon Time by recording the Blufftoons to be used onto a CD-R, and actually playing them during the show. But it didn't work out that way, so we recorded the show without hearing any of the Blufftoons. And I didn't even have the full list of Blufftoons before we started recording. Between segments, I decided which Blufftoon was gonna be next. It was a pretty chaotic way of handling things, but it worked out pretty cool. There was about 90 minutes of Blufftoon Time "hosting"... which I had to digitize, and then edit in the actual Blufftoons. I created a new "bumper" to play at the end of the Blufftoons. I used the "standard" Bluffcosm ID at the start of each one. For parts 1 and 2 of the final version, the "bumper" was shorter, and I changed it to be a little longer in parts 3 and 4, because I thought it sounded better. For future Blufftoon Time recording, I have to think about whether or not I'd play the Blufftoons during the taping. I think that in any case, I'd edit them in afterwards. It would just be for the hosts to be able to react to stuff in the Blufftoons, which would be cool. -------- Blufftoon 117: Weird October Beast -- (2:20) It's a Weird October at Weird University... and there's something wrong with Will! And whatever happened to Maureen...? -------- The four Weird October Blufftoons are from a video I made back in October 1986, called "Weird University 3: A Weird Halloween". Let me give you some background on the video... In February 1986, me and my friend Mike Massotto started the Anything But Monday comedy show on the Drew University radio station. A few months later, we were kicked off the air... and then we started Anything But Monday Magazine. In the Fall semester, we got our show back, and we continued the magazine, and we also created a video series called Weird University. Weird University was conceived of as an alternate reality version fo Drew University. Me and Mike co-created the first two epsiodes. Then, we got into major trouble with ABM Magazine 3, and I did Weird University 3 by myself, while Mike focused on our defense with the magazine thing. Weird University 3 was very different from the first two. I was starting to get into a real "artistic" phase back then. It was the last Weird University video, and overall, it was not very good. I edited in horror movie trailers, and I overdubbed a lot of music over the original parts. In any case, I decided to go back to the original footage and recreate this video from the ground up, in audio. It was a very involved process which took a long time... but in the end, I am VERY happy with the results. The original video was conceived with 4 characters: Beast, Dreamer, Hitchhiker, and Spirit. The first three characters each had their own segment, and the Spirit appeared in all the segments (which is only heard in the audio version here in Dreamer, with the Spirit saying "hello, hello"). The final segment has all four characters together, with the 3 asking the Spirit who he is, at which point he implies that he is the "Spirit of Halloween". So, the first segment, "Beast". I didn't have too much to work with here, but I think that the audio version is much better than the video version. I added sound effects to imply the supernatural activity. In the video, Will puts on a monster mask when he turns into the Beast. -------- Blufftoon 118: Weird October Dreamer -- (4:31) It's a Weird October at Weird University... and why does Rob keep having these strange dreams...? -------- I had my doubt about turning this segment into something worthwhile in audio... but in the end, I was truly amazed at how well it came out. This one took a LONG time to record and edit. I added some sound effect in this one also, to imply going into and coming out of the dream. The very end of this Blufftoon was a very happy accident. Rob says "Voices.. voices..." and then "It's only my own voice...". And then, I edited in him saying "This is good." And I have to say that it just works... and it makes this Blufftoon very special, in my opinion... a true gem. -------- Blufftoon 119: Weird October Hitchhiker -- (8:06) It's a Weird October at Weird University... and John's a waiter who gets abused by customers, and then has to hitchhike home one day... -------- This is the Weird october segment that has the most going on, in terms of a story. It was also very challenging to edit... but I think that in the end it came out very well. There's a lot of stuff included here that wasn't in the original video version, especially in the food-ordering part. At the beginning, you can hear John saying "Welcome to Unfriendly's", but it's a little hard to hear. In the Weird University Universe, Friendly's Restauarant is called Unfriendly's, you see. The part where someone says "Hey John, Otto just left without you" was recorded with a pair of headphones, since I didn't have my microphone with me, for some reason. That's why it sounds the way it does. The car heard at the end is the BMW 2002 that I drove back then. I didn't appreciate that car back then... I didn't realize how damn cool it was... -------- Blufftoon 120: Weird October Spirit -- (1:58) It's a Weird October at Weird University... and Will, Rob, and John meet a mysterious stranger that they could all swear they've seen before... -------- This is the final segment in Weird October. I decided not to number the segments, however, because I felt that the titles would be better without the numbers. And besides this one being last, there is no real order. I consider the alphabetical order to be the best order, though. -------- Blufftoon 121: Beublin 21: Anthony and Hazy -- (11:37) The last of the early '90s Beublin outtakes! Hear Melter Pluto guitarist Hazy Nopperty complain about Beublin! Hear additional footage from the Halloween party! Hear Anthony Neuro... um... talk about Beublin! -------- Over the past few months, I have been working on creating Blufftoons out the outtakes from the original Beublin video from 1990 and 1991. This Blufftoon this the last of these "retro" epsiodes of Beublin, which also include: "Beublin 18: Pro-Establishment Drake", "Beublin 19: Horrible Waters", and "Beublin 20: Horace Doom". This one is kind of the "bottom of the barrel", and I decided not to upload this one to MP3.com because its level of quality is a bit lower than the average epsiode of Beublin. Even so, it's still pretty interesting, and it does add some interesting information to the Beublin universe. -------- Blufftoon 122: Beublin 22: All My Helicopters -- (11:00) A brand new episode! Beublin A. Richardson gets thrown in jail and meets his old friend Horace Doom and ice-cream-store-bomber Gene Bossel. -------- I recorded this on May 12, 2001, right after I recorded "Blufftoon Time #1". Beyond the "clicking" problem with the tape recorder, I managed to lose a whole segment that was recorded... I guess I didn't press record right or something. The part that was lost was the initial encounter between Beublin and Horace, and I'm pretty bummed that it was lost. I used this epsiode to update the various storylines that have been in Beublin over the years, and in this capacity I think that it's pretty good. I created a "Radio Edit" of this Blufftoon, which cuts out about 6-and-a-half minutes, and which I think is better. Becuase of this, I decided to leave this one off of MP3.com, also. I added a reverb effect to make this one sound like it was recorded in a jail cell, even though it was recorded outside. Also, I added the "door closing" sound that can also be heard in "The Bluffcosm 5-Minute Vacation from Sanity #2". -------- Blufftoon 123: All My Helicopters (Radio Edit) -- (4:34) A streamlined version of Beublin 22. Beublin A. Richardson gets thrown in jail and meets his old friend Horace Doom and ice-cream-store-bomber Gene Bossel. -------- This is the streamlined version, as I mentioned above. -------- Blufftoon 124: The Famous Cameracorder -- (1:45) Now that you got your car started, can I have some food? Listen, this world runs on a capitalistic sort of system. You are an alms beggar. I have no need for you. -------- This was recorded right after the "Weird October Dreamer" original taping. The magazine referred to is, of course, "Anything But Monday". And the "J-board" thing refers to the trial me and Mike Massotto had to go through because of "offensive" content in the magazine. -------- Blufftoon 125: The Arkanoid Player -- (1:59) Step back in time to Drew University in October 1986... the campus arcade... with Galaga and Eight Ball Deluxe in the background... Bryan is playing... playing Arkanoid! -------- The Arkanoid player is my friend Bryan Cassidy, who also played the Spirit of Halloween in the "Weird October" series. This piece was recorded in the same time period, October 1986. -------- Blufftoon 126: Pineapple -- (2:08) An alternate take from the original footage of the Blufftoon "Weird October Hitchhiker". John is a waiter who gets abused by his customers... -------- As the description says, this is an alternate take of the food-ordering part of "Weird October Hitchhiker". -------- Blufftoon 127: The Sophomore Bathroom -- (5:06) Shyboy, Mink, and Wolf tell their tales of trouble and narcotics. From the beginning of the tape that ends with the Blufftoon "Throat Ripper Scene". -------- With this Blufftoon, "The Interesting Man", and "Throat Ripper Scene", pretty much the entire "The Throatripper" video is now in Bluffcosm in audio. -------- Blufftoon 128: The Interesting Man -- (16:44) Wolf, Shyboy, Lee, Mink, and Frank--five teenagers in approximately 1987. Hear Frank trying to be deep and artistic, and sounding like an absolute fool! From the middle of the tape that ends with the Blufftoon "Throat Ripper Scene". -------- This Blufftoon is pretty embarrasing. I really do make a fool of myself here. -------- Blufftoon 129: The Bluffcosm 5-Minute Vacation From Sanity #4 -- (5:00) Get 'em on film. Uh-oh. Hey Robert. What's up? Get your underwear back? No. Damn! Damn the system! -------- There's a lot of outtakes from the "Weird October" series here, and also a lot of other stuff! ***** ------------------- SUPERIOR REVIEW ----------- SUPERIOR 357 Thent. No way handle mess mare wasn't glass juke box nuts from the beyanx thray. Science fiction club. Years. Get into it Mary. Not knowing where you are. Excuse me sir. All you gotta say. Emyuviant. What is the joy of randomness. (((From OsoaWeek064--10/13/95))) ***** Okay. Some nonsense words here. Thent, beyanx, thray, emyuviant. Overall, this one is not very good. It's okay... it has the "feel" of a Superior... but it has very "low energy". Yeah, it doesn't work too well. Like I've said before, they can't all be winners. (Reviewed 7/27/01) ------------------- SUPERIOR 3: DUSKAWAY ----------- DUSKAWAY 158 * 6/2/01 * 1008 Pipe tobacco embers like orange stars on my black jeans, blinking out, getting spent. And on the blue-green carpet, orange stars in ocean, blinking away. ------------------- END -----------
358-------------------OSOAWEEK Ezine of Obliviana Issue 358, 6/7/01 (Book 28, No. 7 / Tarb 15031 / Year 7) by Frank Edward Nora, Lord of Obliviana ----------- ------------------- THE BLUFFCOSM REPORT ----------- THE NEW DIRECTION FOR BLUFFCOSM.COM Part 1 of 5 ***** THE NEW DIRECTION FOR BLUFFCOSM.COM 6/8/01 by Frank Edward Nora There is a new medium of the horizon... "Computerized Pure Audio Worlds" (CPAW), as I decided to call it today. My goal is to make Bluffcosm a leading player in this new medium. CPAW is in its very early stages right now. There are a number of technological hurdles to cross before "the planets align" and it hits big... so right now is the "right time" to get moving towards CPAW... the right place and the right time. So what is CPAW? Basically, CPAW is computerized entertainment which is purely (or almost purely) audio-based. In such a system, the output is sound, and the input is either sound, or some kind of simple controls (like buttons, jotsticks, etc.) One major aspect of such a system is the audio "world". Such a world is an environment defined totally by sound, with different locations containing different thing, which can be navigated via the controls. Another defining characteristic of CPAW is being Internet-based. CPAW systems could exist without a network connection... but CPAW as I see is absolutely networked. Now, just today, I did some research, and found several projects online which have elements of CPAW. The most interesting example was a completely sound-based game, set in the old west, which is geared toward the visually-impaired and blind. It has a 4-button input scheme, and pure audio output from what I gather. I heard several MP3 samples of the game, and it was very, very intruiging. Also, I found a project online of creating a 3-D audio space to move through, using a controller. This was also very intruiging. Another example of a pure-audio interface, which I have mentioned before, is TellMe (or 1-800-555-TELL). This is a telephone-based service, which is information-centric, but which does have one game... blackjack (which the western game has too). CPAW will not be telephone-based, but rather, based in computer hardware that is connected to the Internet. I see the hardware itself being able to store sound and run CPAW worlds, with Internet access allowing for the dowloading of new world information, as well as streaming, for use of remote servers and of "live" content, such as live broadcasts, audio chat, live game shows, live "radio plays", etc. All of the elements for CPAW seem to be in place... but they are not powerful or versatile enough yet. Streaming audio is riddles with annoyances and problems. And there is mobile Internet, which is key to CPAW, which has a long way to go before it offers affordable, reliable, broadband connections, which would be needed for CPAW. I know that TellMe offers some kind of service to offer customized audio interaction via some implementation of XML. I should look into the nuts and bolts of this a little further... I have no doubt that CPAW is going to be a hugely successful new media. But in order for Bluffcosm to be a "major player", I need to focus on where it will fit in the scheme of things in CPAW. *** Y'know, many years ago, like in 1994, I talked about a new medium called VIAT... it was basically 3-D computerized worlds connected over the Internet. And though "VIAT" (my term) has been implemented (in Everquest and Asheron's Call, for example), it has not become the "huge" thing that I was so sure it would become. I thought that everyone would be into VIAT... but it has just been implemented in a game context... So, what about CPAW? Are my projections accurate? Well, I think I am in a position to help make CPAW into something great. That is, I am not merely an outside observer this time... I can be a part of the development of CPAW. Now, I have no money and limited time to invest... so what the hell can I do? Well, I do have time for a long-term plan. And I think I can "scale" Bluffcosm up. And I think I can start to introduce some CPAW elements into Bluffcosm in the near future. *** There is a void in entertainment. Old-time radio died in the 1950s, and with it, the variety of audio-only programming was seriously reduced. Also, with computers, the technology has existed for a number of years now to make high-fidelity interactive audio games... but very little has been done in this regard. So there is a void. And CPAW will fill that void... in a big way... and I wanna be a part of it! *** 6/9/01 So... let me go over some aspects of CPAW... [1] First of all, CPAW is a subdivision of what I would call Pure-Audio Computing (PAC). Right now, there are voice mail systems, and services such as TellMe which are examples of PAC. Note that right now, such PAC methods use audio input as well as output, but use the telephone buttons as a back-up means of input. For example, a week or two ago, I called TellMe to check on movie times for the movie Shrek. I said "Shrek" over and over again, but it just couldn't understand, and I finally had to type in the name on the telephone buttons. [2] PAC has, and will have, a wide range of applications. Up till now, the main application of PAC has been information-based. MovieFone is a good example that has been around for a long time. Telephone based, computer driven, and information focused. [3] The MP3 revolution, and the (until recently) virtually "music on demand" of Napster is an example of PAC, in that the output of the process is sound. And so, music on demand is certainly one of the things that will be a part of PAC in the future. [4] In addition to MP3's, streaming audio is an example of PAC. There is a wide variety of content available for streaming now, including Bluffcosm.com! But the interactivity is limited. [5] Interactivity is a very confounding issue, because it needs to remain in a "safety zone"... that is, not too little, and not too much... to preserve apositive user experience... [6] When facing the World Wide Web in a web browser, you have millions upon millions of destination available by typing a URL. The issue of content management has been tackled by many websites... the whole "portal" thing... and then there are "destination" sites... which contain content. [7] For CPAW, I envision a site like Bluffcosm being a "destination". I see Bluffcosm being a world which contain a huge variety of content and activities. [8] In terms of the nature of the content... I think that computerized audio content can be divided into two major areas: information and entertainment. The information side is a "no-brainer", and hundreds of millions of dollars have already been poured into this side. So I think it is clear that Bluffcosm will focus on the entertainment side. [9] In terms of computerized audio entertainment, there are two major division: music and non-music. Again, computerized music has been the focus of hundreds of millions of dollars of investment... so this, also, is not a good focus for Bluffcosm, because there's too much competition... [10] So, Bluffcosm is focused on computerized audio non-music-centered entertainment. This makes business sense, and it is also what Bluffcosm happens to have been focusing on, which is cool. [11] Now, I want to establish a very important concept in Bluffcosm: Bluffcosm will have both an interactive and a non-interactive side. It will have a "world", which will be a place that you can travel around, interact, play games, chat, etc. Then there will be one or several streams, which are like traditional radio stations, in the the extent of interaction is turning them on and off ("calling in" or participating in the "world" side is... well, on the "world" side..) [12] In fact, I see the Bluffcosm world as being a rich source of content for the stream or streams. But the structure shall remain: there will be both the interactive and non-interactive user experiences in Bluffcosm. [13] Now, there are a number of potential conduits for the "reception" of Bluffcosm content: [a] Non-interactive streaming (could involve remote control program, computer resident control program, or a combination, or something like RealPlayer) [b] Interactive streaming (could involve remote control program, computer resident control program, or a combination) [c] Non-streaming interactive (files resident on hard drive, delivered on physcial media or over the Internet) [d] Non-streaming non-interactive (such as MP3 files on hard drive, delivered on physcial media or over the Internet) [e] Non-computer audio (CDs, cassettes, LPs, 8-tracks, etc.) [f] Traditional radio [g] Real world Site-based (ie, a place where you go to hear and maybe interact with Bluffcosm audio) [h] Live performances (which would, of course, also be recorded and possibly streamed) [14] Now, the content and the delivery methods are very much intertwined. But in Bluffcosm I am conceiving of a wide variety of content. Yet is it important for Bluffcosm to have a clear identity, across all the kinds of content and all the delivery methods. Sun 6/10/01 * 11:55 AM Recorded Classictronica #2 last night. It was a somewhat depressing night. Anyway, I do need to get specific in this new direction and new idea. I think that this idea is solid... but I need to face the reality of it, rather than bask in the pleasure of the idealized imagined version of it. Now, I would say that this idea, Bluffcosm as a computerized audio destination world kinda thing, is absolutely a direct continuation of all my work in Obliviana. Ah, the thought just struck me... my work of a year or two ago, about people wanting to create worlds... and I just thought that it could be done in audio... Anyway, this is a continuation of Obliviana. The thought has even crossed my mind that this could be the "Keystone Idea", but I am not wont to go down that road. But I think I have to be careful not to let this idea BECOME an impossible quest, like KIVO. So I have to beware of this: a set of requirements, and then the task of creating something that fulfills all those requirements. That was the situation with KIVO, and it led to a big dead end. So, with Bluffcosm, I have to balance the reality and the idealism of it. I can have far-flung plans, and visions, and all that... but it also has to always be really moving forward, as it has been, with a new Wave of Blufftoons every month. I think that #14 above is a very tough issue. Trying to come up with a clear identity... Now, I need to get specific. For example, I'm saying that I want an online audio world. Well, clearly, in order to implement something like that you'd need a heck of a lot of money. But the tech and infrastructure isn't quite there yet, anyway. So I need to have a plan that can "scale". Could I have an audio message board, with people uploading audio clips? How many people have microphones on their computer? And what is the state of audio chat today? I know I checked out the AOL audio chat... very primitive... but it does work on dialup... Well, as I mentioned before, I don't think I'm gonna be the guy to develop the tech and infrastructure... I'm a content guy. But I have to leave open the possibility of being involved with tech and infrastructure development. Walt Disney was a tech innovator, and this is part of what made his company so successful. Now, I want to start to really get some specific idea down... so here's the working code name: Bluffcosm World (BW). BLUFFCOSM WORLD IDEAS: [1] Okay. First of all, there's the idea of a computerized virtual world, which is completely audio-based. The output is ideally pure-audio... no graphics or displays or anything. Input would be audio as well as via simple controls. The idea here is that a few buttons could make for much more effective input than saying things. I foresee BW being portable in that it can be "played" just about anywhere... in your car, walking down the street, at home, etc. In a lot of situations, it would be more comfortable not to have to say things to the computer. I know I feel awkward talking to TellMe with other people around. And a few buttons (from 1 to 4, say) would allow for a wide range of input. [2] I think it would be appropriate here to quote from the original Bluffcosm web graphic of 11/19/99: "The Bluffcosm awaits, that imaginary universe of intense little virtual theme parks, a place where your dear sojourns are rewarded with strange and wonderful computerized treasures. Enjoy!" And, the end of the parapgraph written below: "Obliviana. Stay tuned for Number 1 of the Cosm, "Jadehead Bluff"." [3] Up until recently I did not think the the original idea for Bluffcosm had any bearing on what it has become. But amazingly, things have come full circle... indeed, I am now conceiving of Bluffcosm as an online world. And the name itself, "Bluffcosm" implies a "universe of Bluffs". [4] "Involvement activities"... Bluffcosm trivia... top ten lists... comparing Blufftoons... "collecting" Blufftoons... etc. [5] I have always been fascinated by the potential of games that used a simple text interface, like the earliest games, with a text "report" and then text input. Zork, Hammurabi, etc. Well, such games are pretty much directly implementable in sound... with good speech recognition. Or, like a few games I've been working on a little over the years, with just a simple 2-4 button interface. [6] Idea... along the lines of "treasure", have short sound effects represent different objects, and play them in quick sequence to identify the contents of some container... unknown sounds may merit risk through curiosity, etc. [7] Now, thus far in Bluffcosm I have produced Blufftoons... I have done none of this game-type stuff. I think I should create some simple games using METAL... it should be feasible. [8] I like the idea of people getting together online in an audio environment to debate and vote on things... organize, build, argue, etc. [9] I think that the Bluffcosm World will be based on a theme-park kind of theme. The major locations will be called "Bluffs". And there will be numerous activities in each Bluff. I think also that Blufftoons should be subdivided by Bluff. [10] This idea is very similar to Little World of Racetracks, where each Racetrack contained a major aspect of Obliviana. A big question for me is the "fate" of LWOR... [11] I like the idea of a game which involves moving along... Devastating Nightscape... "Warace" (a game I started like 20 years ago on my TI-99/4A)... so again the Racetrack idea... but what's up with LWOR in this new scheme of things? *** 2:10 PM Well, I have some idea of where I want to be. So how do I get there? What can I do in the next few months to begin moving towards my goal? This is a difficult question, and I am overwhelmed by emotions relating to Obliviana and everything that has gone on with it, and I feel like just laying down and not dealing with it... but I have to continue on. Is it that I am afraid to truly move forward, afraid to succeed? Well, consciously I certainly want to succeed. Why all this subconscious bullshit? I gotta move forward! Well, there is no doubt that I have to get people into Bluffcosm. And I do have a good sense of what people will get into... and I realize that Bluffcosm as it exists now is not something that people are gonna get into. It is too difficult to actually hear the stuff, and there is no context, and no community... no nothing... nothing but great content... but that is not enough. Here is the plan in broad overview: I must make Bluffcosm successful at the level I am at right now, and then scale it up. The level I am at now is with the limited resources that I have, in terms of time and energy and money. And the definition of success at this level is getting and retaining a small audience... a few hundred people that are "really into it" and stay into it. My time and energy and money are really, really thin at this point. I have already given up a lot of the aspects of a "normal" life for Obliviana, and it does piss me off. Now, I am embarking on a project that will be a greater strain on my life... but I want to do it... I do believe in it... Today, right now, June 10, 2001, I have an amazing opportunity. I have forseen a major new medium that is being pretty much ignored by the world right now. I have the talent, and I have the resources, to become a part of this new medium, and to make a living at it. But I have to "carpe diem" and get moving. I know that at some level I like the sense of being lost and directionless in Obliviana. It absolves me of immediate responsibility. But in the long run it is somewhat miserable to be constantly striving for something and never getting any closer. So I need to wake up and get moving. Given my history, I really don't know if I'm gonna be able to "wake up". But if I don't take this opportunity, what the heck chance am I gonna have going on into the future? My dream of Obliviana has been burning brightly in me since 1986, when I was 18 year old. Last December, I really started to give up on the dream... but now the dream has been rekindled... In less than two-and-a-half years I'll be 36... twice as old as I was when I started on this quest. And as it is, I've been at this quest for over 15 years now. This past Thursday was the 15th anniversary of the start of Halfevil Graphics... Tue 6/12/01 * 7:32 PM So... what am I doin'? The New Computerized Audio Entertainment. I think it's clear that I'm gonna need to get into some kind of authoring language to start to do some interactive audio stuff. I've been looking at the program METAL... and it is very simple... but its sound-playing capabilities are limited... but maybe not, if it can do QuickTime... But there is also the interactive stuff that doesn't need programming... like trivia, contests, top ten lists, etc. 10:07 PM In general, in the past week or so, it feels like everything associated with Obliviana has come to a halt, a pause. And I guess it kind of has... this big new idea has arrived... and with it, the whole issue of the Keystone Idea is back... I have been thinking that maybe this whole audio thing is indeed KIVO. But I am a bit scared that I am looking at too much of a "big picture" with the New Bluffcosm... it does seem to be a little short on specifics. Okay. So here's a challenge... write a story that describes someone's experience listening to and participating in Bluffcosm. Well, let me begin! I was driving down the highway in my car. It was September 2005. I got this new car in March, and it came with PAWCS (Pure Audio Wireless Computing System). It's like... compare a TV set to a computer with Internet... that's what this is to radio... PAWCS is a system which can deliver sound over the Internet, wirelessly, to my car. And it can also hear me, and it understands (to a degree) what I say. Just by talking, within a matter of moments, I can be hearing just about anything I want. I have a customized "agent", which is the "voice" of the computer. I opted for a "young woman" named Saskia. When I got into the car this morning, she greeted me, saying "Good morning Todd. I hope you slept well. Just let me know if there's anything I can do for you today!". If I asked her not to greet me like that, she wouldn't. Saskia is an "artificial intelligence" that is quite a bit more sophisticated than the old computer program "Eliza"... but her intelligence is still like that... no real intelligence, but clever programming that makes her seem to be aware and thinking. I've even talked to her about problems, and gotten what seemed to be some genuinely insightful comments, though I know there was no "real" insight involved... beyond the programmers' insight. Anyway, Saskia is included in the "basic service plan" I get from Verizon. Unlike the regular Internet (and especially the regular Internet of a few years ago), PAWCS consists mostly of pay services. I can totally understand this. And while there are a few online "radio stations" that are supported by ads, most of the cool stuff doesn't have a big enough audience to get by on ads alone. Of course, these ads are a bit different... a lot of them ask "Would you like us to send you a free sample?", and all you gotta say is "yes" and it'll show up in the mail a week later... the basic service has my address, and as long as I allow the option, it will automatically forward that information to the advertiser. So pretty much, if you wanna get access to cool content on PAWCS, you gotta pay. The alternative is ad and commerce driven content... which is not anywhere near as interesting as what some folks are doing on PAWCS. And I really like the "subscription" plans that some of these sites offer. Basically, they say that you'll pay UP to $20 a month, depending on usage. So if you listen all the time, you'll pay a maximum of $20, but if you tune in a few times a month, you might get charged a dollar or two. I feel this is a lot fairer than demanding a lump sum no matter how much you use the system. For a lot of the "stations" I subscribe to, there's no way I'd pay the full $20 for a month of service, even though for a lot of them, I do use them enough to pay the full $20. One really cool aspect of PAWCS is that you can talk to other PAWCS users, in what are loosely termed "audio chat rooms". And this is where subscribing to a specific station is really important... because you get to talk to other people interested in the same thing. Finding quality people to chat with is really, really important. There's a lot of people out there on PAWCS... both in their cars, at home, or on a mobile device, maybe walking around a city somewhere. And to me, I don't think I'd want to talk to a lot of people out there, judging from some of the experiences I've had. But I do find myself looking forward to "getting together" with some of the regulars in the place I hang out... other people in their cars, driving into work, for the most part. And you can even leave message for people in chat rooms... if they say your name, the message will play. I really like this part of the service... it really promotes relationships. Since PAWCS is completely audio, things have to be organized quite a bit differently than on the World Wide Web. For example, "pages" don't have any meaning in audio. So, instead of pages, PAWCS stations have "places". I think that PAWCS is the first really effective implementation of "virtual reality". Because with a short description and some audio cues, your mind takes over, and you really get a sense of place. It's a truly immersive experience. Now I get what people used to say about Old-Time Radio... that it was much more involving because you had to imagine all of the locations yourself. With a visual medium, the picture always pales in comparison to what you would have imagined. So, on a lot of stations, there are vast "worlds" to explore. I guess it's kind of ironic that with all the 3D games and applications out there, that a system without any graphics at all would be the most "3D". Beyond chat, there's an awful lot of stuff to do. I find myself planning my day in PAWCS when I'm getting ready for work. There are the basic information services, but these I access mostly through Saskia. News headlines, weather, stock quotes, movie times, driving directions, traffic alerts, etc. And I do check in on the major information first thing every morning. I get a concise overview from Saskia by saying "So what's going on?" to her. It's funny. At work, I find myself saying "So, this morning Saskia told me that...". It's weird to have this kind of "relationship" with an artifical intelligence. And I really believe that it is the audio medium that makes this sort of thing possible. Talking is a lot more natural than typing in a traditional chat room. I've heard about folks who get a bit more intimate with their PAWCS AI's... I guess it's like phone sex, but you're talking to an AI instead of a real person... kinda scary. But then again, you have to accept that wherever technology goes, porn is always on the leading edge... One thing I really like are the games on PAWCS. These range from simple trivia games to complex, ongoing role-playing games. I've been playing a game called "Heavy Wartime" for awhile now. I "play" a president, and every day I get briefings from the heads of the various branches of my armed forces, and I have to make decisions about how to deploy troops, sign traties, etc. It's cool, because you can actually talk to the opposing presidents and other politicians, or leave them messages. I like the whole spying aspect. When I lose one of my spies, I feel genuinely upset... I wonder if real leaders feel like that? When it comes to music, the recording industry has embraced PAWCS, because they can keep track of the music, and make sure there's no "piracy" going on, since PAWCS is mostly a streaming service. Of course, people can record songs they hear on PAWCS... but since it's really pretty cheap to subscribe to the major music service, you can pretty much get music on demand... so why go through the hassle of pirating? As long as the users are paying, even a little, it becomes the kind of thing where the more popular the service is, the more money they'll make. But beyond music, there are a wide range of audio archives to delve into. A new one I've been checking out is the Howard Stern archive. Thousands upon thousands of hours of audio, searchable by subject or guest or date. It's a real blast to step back in time and hear what was going on back in the 80s or 90s. It even keeps track of what you've heard... my goal is to hear the entire archive, even though it could take many years... then I can say that I've heard every last second of Howard Stern there is to hear (especially since he's not on the air anymore). Another archive is Old-Time radio, from the classic period stretching from somewhere around 1920 to 1950. Unfortunately, most of the classic shows from this time are lost... but there's more than enough surviving to get a real sense of what radio was like back then. And it's darn addictive! ***** ------------------- SUPERIOR REVIEW ----------- SUPERIOR 358 Maybe the ultimate bad elevator dream. Went up, with group of dreamfriends, in NY-like city, up, over street, taking too long, elevator becomes bus, we wind up in an alternate reality--survival--then return--we all say how weird it was we all had the same dream. But one guy made a little diorama for school out of plant bud things from the alternate reality. This was September 19, 1995--early morning. (((From OsoaWeek064--10/13/95))) ***** This Superior is a description of a real dream I had. The first sentence is quite good, but the rest of it is quite weak. The last sentence is interesting, saying when I had the dream... but in the scheme of things in Superior, this one is not very good. The new Superior presented this issue (Duskaway 159) refers to "escalator dreams". I just wrote this Superior a little while ago, and I was not thinking of Superior 358... but I did see it when I copied it in here... so maybe I was subconsciously inspired... (Reviewed 7/27/01) ------------------- SUPERIOR 3: DUSKAWAY ----------- DUSKAWAY 159 * 7/27/01 * 1009 Far and awash with escalator dreams and thought, the damaged territory may be only desolate and not hurt. World is not horrible. And pipe dreams and fantasies of wealth and fame, by the losers of the centuries, are beautiful things. ------------------- END -----------
359-------------------OSOAWEEK Ezine of Obliviana Issue 359, 6/14/01 (Book 28, No. 8 / Tarb 15073 / Year 7) by Frank Edward Nora, Lord of Obliviana ----------- ------------------- THE BLUFFCOSM REPORT ----------- THE NEW DIRECTION FOR BLUFFCOSM.COM Part 2 of 5 ***** Wed 6/13/01 * 8:48 PM I'll get back to the story later. Right now, I want to talk about the situation a little. Basically, my "day job" right now is kind of not the kind of job that I could ideally have with my level of skills and learning. I have always put my "career" second to Obliviana. I always felt that the jobs I worked were just temporary until Obliviana took off, which for most of the time since 1990, I felt was "just around the corner". Well, it's just about 12 years since I graduated college, and Obliviana has not "taken off", and I'm 33 going on 34. I have no "career" to speak of. I have a job that is undeniably pretty good, relatively speaking. But it is a far cry from where I "should" be, considering my talents. Well, there is no mystery to this situation at all. I never took work seriously. Obliviana has always been my main "work". Now, with Obliviana, I have always BELIEVED that it was going to work out. I had FAITH in Obliviana, almost to a religious level. And now I'm at the point where my patience is wearing out. Let me say that I realize that there is a standard explanation for this kind of situation. The situation I created was a project that was always in preparation, never moving forward. Because it never moved forward, it was never really tested. And thus I only had myself to answer to. And I got to bask in my fantasies of success that were invariably more wonderful than what the reality would have been. And I was spared the difficulties of actually moving forward. In this analysis, the "religious" faith is just a part of the way I can justify the situation. Implicit in the faith issue is the idea that there is some force beyond my conscious self driving the development of Obliviana. This also absolved me of responsibility for the ultimate failure of Obliviana. Even now, I feel bitter because "Obliviana failed me", rather than the other way around. So... there's the standard explanation. Um... so what's wrong with it? Well, I still believe that there are "supernatural" powers surrounding me. I believe that in a previous existence I was involved in many things... and my life in this world is affected by stuff from that past existence. And, in temrs of the whole 209 thing, I am convinced that there is something to it. It could be a very good thing to introduce to the world, and I am the one to do it, maybe. Also, it can be argued that if there is a "force" behind the development of Obliviana, that there is some virtue in waiting. For example, looking back over the past few years, I think that I might well have gotten Obliviana entangled in the whole Dot-Com boom and bust. If so, Obliviana may well have risen high, only to fall hard, and right now, today, Obliviana would be in shambles. Obliviana is poised and ready to release its payload... and timing is indeed very important. Now, beyond all the analysis, I am faced with my current situation. Basically, I want to launch Obliviana, and make a living from it. And I want Obliviana to be a cool thing in a lot of people's lives. But my faith and my patience is wearing thin. Even with this whole new PAWCS idea... today I was wondering how Obliviana is gonna fit into the scheme of PAWCS, if indeed it happens like I am projecting it to happen. That is, how do I get from here, with no money, to being a major player in PAWCS? Specifically, I want to have a PAWCS "station" that people will pay to subscribe to... a lot of people. Well, I have all of Obliviana to draw upon. As has been one of my guiding principles, I do indeed still have total control over Obliviana. So... is this the keystone idea? To make Obliviana predominantly PAWCS-oriented? Well, right now, the only aspect of Obliviana that seems to be outside that plan is Severe Repair... I am planning on getting the first novel together and sending it to publishers. I am sure that I'll get a bunch of rejections before it gets accepted by a publisher. But really, I do not want to be in the business of publishing books. So as long as I can retain the rights to Severe Repair, publication is not at odds with my overall plan. Specifically, I need to retain the audiobook and audio dramatization rights, as well as the overall right to the books. So in terms of an "all-PAWCS" Obliviana, the only hurdle seems to be those aspects of Obliviana that cannot be fully represented in audio. But I think that I need not preclude non-audio productions... I just need to make audio my central focus. And I think that Obliviana can predominantly be presented in interactive audio. On a side note, I have an alternate acronym for PAWCS. The main one is "Pure-Audio Wireless Computing System". The alternate is Pure Audio World-based Computing System. Um... Anyway, I have been thinking that this new direction for Obliviana is my "last chance" to get Obliviana going before I get too demoralized to go forward. When I say that, I mean going forward with the Obliviana project as I have conceived of it over the years. Even if this new direction does not work out, I will still pursue many of the individual aspects of Obliviana. So... last December I officially "gave up" on the overall Obliviana project. Now, it is back. See, I already "gave up". But 5 months later, I am ready for another go at it. But the idea has given me pause. Do I really want to move forward with the full Obliviana? Should I instead just focus on some specific aspects? Well, my judgement now is that I should go forward. I have the framework of a viable plan. And it would seems that I am in the right place at the right time... PAWCS is in its infancy, and I do have time to position myself into a place of prominence in the field. So, right now, at 9:20 PM on Wednesday, June 13, 2001, I will offcially say that I am going to go forward with the PAWCS-based Obliviana. That declared, I have to address a major hurdle to moving forward: money. If I had some investment capital, and if I could quit my day job, I am confident that I would be able to bring the PAWCS Obliviana to the marketplace. But, in my current situation, where I absolutely cannot quit my day job, and with only minimal money to invest (ie, enough to pay the web host, b apes, etc.), I have to question the path I am going to take to get Obliviana to where it needs to be in a few years. If there is indeed a "force" behind Obliviana, now would be the time for that force to influence events so that I am in a position to work on Obliviana full-time, with the necessary funding. But I cannot rely on such a force. So, assuming that such a "force" will not be a factor, will I be able to do what I am setting out to do? 9:32 PM Well, I have thought about this question for awhile, and I have to say that with my current demoralized mindset, I cannot succeed. I am going to have to change my attitude significantly in order to succeed. Right now, I feel like everyone besides my thinks of Obliviana as a joke. And I feel that it would be difficult for me to start to convince people that Obliviana was worth taking seriously. But this is just a "symptom" of my demoralized state. Atthis moment, I do not feel very confident about this project, though I am commited to it. So, my attitude has to change. I need to end this chapter in Obliviana, and start fresh. It was just a little while ago that I was willing to accept that Obliviana is nothing more than a hobby. And indeed, if I don't change my attitude, it will absolutely BE nothing more than a hobby. So, I need to change my attitude, if this project is to succeed. And if I do change my attitude, I am convinced that I can make Obliviana a success. So... can I do this, can I change my attitude? I think that it is possible, but certainly difficult. Of course, the "force" could make things happen without me having to change my attitude. And if I had the right "fortune", I think it would very much help my attitude to change. For example, if I won the lottery and had millions of dollars to invest in Obliviana, I think that my attitude would certainly improve. But I must move forward assuming that fortune will not "smile" upon me. I have a plan. I need to keep on making the plan more specific, and I need to change my attitude. That's it. Thu 6/14/01 * 8:41 PM Well, what's going on with this whole issue? Last night, I knew that it was going to be difficult to change my attitude. And indeed, I have done little, if anything, to change my attitude in the past 24 hours. So what can I do? I can get myself excited about the project. I can keep on developing the project. I can keep getting more and more specific about things. But what will all this do aboput my attitude? My attitude right now is contradictory. On the one hand I think that Obliviana is the greatest thing ever, and that tons of people could potentially get into it. At the same time, I seem to think that no one is going to take Obliviana seriously. I have thought about getting funding for Obliviana, and I feel completely horrible about asking anyone for money for Obliviana. Family or friends, banks or investors, I have no confidence in my ability to portray Obliviana as something that is even remotely worth investing in. I guess I fear that everyone would view Obliviana as a total joke no matter what I did or said. So, on the one hand I think that Obliviana is really great, but on the other hand I believe that everyone else is gonna view it as a joke. But somehow, I think it will "take off" and tons of people will get into it, and then finally, everyone will see that it is not a joke. Wow. My delusions and other mental mechanisms have really jammed me into a corner, eh? I clearly have a major "mental problem" when it comes to Obliviana. But indeed, I think that I have something of value in Obliviana. So this "mental problem" is a major roadblock. So I have to solve the problem. Can I overcome this problem? Or will Obliviana truly be just my hobby, and not a business venture, and not something which will have any audience to speak of? I guess I could say that my mental state is a device my mind has come up with to deal with my day-to-day life. That is, it makes no sense, but it "soothes" me with pleasing fantasies, and absolves me of responsibility through the "supernatural" side, and puts off hard work because people "think it's a joke". Well, I don't know about all that stuff I just wrote... but it's clear that I am thinking things that really don't make any sense. Delusions. Now, delusions are not intrinsically bad. In fact, I think that the only people without delusions are the severely depressed. Delusions make life livable. But like just about anything, too much can be a bad thing. I thought earlier about if someone presented a PAWCS-Obliviana-like idea to me, I would have a lot of ideas about the business. But I am "too close" to Obliviana maybe to make such observations. Now, Obliviana as it stands today is just about completely at a standstill. I have been working very hard this year producing Blufftoons, but hardly anyone is listening. Now, being that things are at a standstill, I think it is a good time to make a "fresh start". But I need to address my delusions. I need to tear all the delusions down. I need to start from scratch. First of all, I need SPECIFICS. I have been getting somewhat specific lately, but I need to get A LOT more specific. Also, I think that I have to declare that the "first phase" of Obliviana is done. And I think that Obliviana day 2001 would be a good day to make that change. It will mark the completion of seven years of OsoaWeek. And it is the end of the line for the "old" Obliviana. 10:06 PM I have to say that the idea of "ending" this phase of Obliviana does appeal to me. This "phase", that began on July 28, 1994, has indeed run its course. And I am tired of this phase. And even the Bluffcosm of today is a part of that phase. So, what will it actually mean to "end the phase"? Well, I think that it will mean that all work on all projects in Obliviana will cease. But, as the new phase dawns, work will begin anew on many of the aspects of Obliviana. In the case of Bluffcosm, the "changing of the phase" may not be that big a change... I do think that OsoaWeek should continue on. Should it continue in audio? That is a good question. So, in general, Obliviana Phase 2 is all about audio. It is about Blufftoons, and recordings of stuff I have written, and ultimately a PAWCS-like system. So... OsoaWeek... continued in audio? I am not sure. But clearly, for something like 209, I will want it to be audio-based. Or at least, audio-centered. So... what do I see at the initial structure of the Obliviana Phase Two (Op2)? Well, I see the production of Blufftoons continuing. I see OsoaWeek and Superior continuing. I see Severe Repair moving forward. And I also see 209 moving forward. And I have to deal with the Audio World aspect. I need to get more specific here. And more focused. And things need to be absolutely focused on audio. So with OsoaWeek, there will be an audio version, even if the "master" is a text version. That is, I'll write it first, and then record myself reading it... Now, here is an important idea: audio is now much easier to store and distribute than it ever has been before. In 24kbps MP3, over 60 hours can be stored on a single CD-R. This is a lot of audio! So the idea of reading OsoaWeek, which would produce lots of recording time, would be fairly easy to store, and to distribute via physical media. But it is the listener experience that I must focus on. I might hand someone a CD-R with 60 hours of audio on it, but what are they gonna do with it? And I think OsoaWeek should change. It shouldn't just be a reading of a text. It should include recordings from the week. Interviews. Interesting locations. Observations. Etc. OsoaWeek should be re-invented in audio. So... Obliviana Phase 2 is the reinvention of Obliviana in audio. Now, I have to decide how far I am going to go with this idea. At the extreme end of the idea, Obliviana would be PURELY audio, and nothing would be produced outside of audio... no text, no graphics. Of course, this is not possible right now, because PAWCS does not exist. People will have to go to the Obliviana website. And right now, I don't have the resources to craft a pure-audio computing system to support Obliviana. But I could decide to have all my major content in audio, with the HTML-based text and graphics as a way for people to get to that audio. But graphics have always been a big part of Obliviana... well, I am entering Phase Two... and this is going to be an audio phase... And Phase Two is going to be very much focused on audio. This does not mean that I will not do graphical stuff in the future... but in this phase, graphics will definitely be de-emphasized. Now, if PAWCS existed, I could do Obliviana as absolutely pure audio. But it doesn't exist. So I need to adapt to what is currently available. I think that I will have to tackle some kind of programming system. Flash is certainly a possibility. Flash... playing audio at the click of a button on a web-paged-based graphical interface... OsoaWeek 364 will be in text. 52*7 = 364. OsoaWeek 365 will be in audio. This is the foundation of Phase Two. So... Obliviana Phase Two... continuing with Blufftoon production... and OsoaWeek changes to an audio format. I think that the World aspect also needs to be a part of the initial implementation of Phase Two. I think that the World will initially have to be Web-based. I think that I will have to get into Flash. The audio 209 will come later, as will the audio Severe Repair. Well, I have taken the first steps toward Phase Two. Phase Two begins in 44 days, 1 hour, and 22 minutes. Cool! Sat 6/16/01 * 4:23 PM Recorded in my Jeep earlier, about all this stuff. I have definitely decided to enter Phase 2. But I have a number of decisions to make before I can get there. Here is an overview of what I am gonna be doing to get Phase 2 going: [1] Blufftoon production continues. [2] OsoaWeek changes to audio format. [3] Online world and interactive sound. Web-based, maybe Flash? This would be the initial implementation of what would eventually be pure audio. [4] Severe Repair writing. Audiobook aspect... [5] Continue with stories about PAWCS, and continue with SPECIFIC concepts for a Pure Audio Obliviana. [6] Interactive aspect right from the start. Opportunities for people to interact. Now, there are several big questions: [1] What is the overall project going to be known as: Bluffcosm or Obliviana? [2] Will the older stuff remain on the site (ie, Obliviana School, ZopeTV, etc.)? [3] How will the "old" Bluffcosm structure be transitioned into the new "World" structure? What about MP3.com, Live365.com, and Laser Hinterland? Okay. I think that in general, it would be a good idea to start fresh. That is, wipe out the entire existing website, and start over. I wanted to try and do an experiment, and imagine if I was asked for advice by someone else doing something like Phase Two... let's see... Well, you want to create a Pure-Audio Interactive-Computerized World. Okay. But the technology is not here yet. So you wanna get started. Well, first off, the technology does exist to create a CD-ROM-based implementation of what you're talking about. One CD can hold 60+ hours of 24kbps mono MP3 audio, which is of acceptable quality. So it seems to me that there is nothing stopping you from authoring such a system. It would mean getting a programmer to work on the actual programming and stuff, but you'd be able to hand someone a disk with the interactive audio world. And then, once an Internet-based system became more feasible, you could transition the project to the Internet. Now, it seems to me that there are several ways to structure such a system once it is online. You could have it all server-based, requiring a constant connection to the server, and it would basically just be streamed audio back and forth. You could do the same thing over the phone, like TellMe does. But it seems to me that a clent-based control program is optimal. Basically, you have a program on your computer that handles the input and output, and can function apart from the Internet. That is, just like the CD-ROM, the computer-based program is Independent, and sound is stored on the hard drive. With a program like this resident, the user experience could be smooth no matter what kind of Internet connection problems are happening. And there could be intelligent caching schemes, so as to limit interruptions due to networking failures. In fact the system tell you that there are network problems and start playing something else while you're waiting. This hybrid system could also allow switching to a completely server-based audio service, while intelligently monitoring what is going on, and responding to problems. Now clearly, artificial intelligence is a key issue here. And the Holy Grail of this kind of system is natural language "understanding", and this is still a few years off. But I think that the system will have to be flexible enough to allow for upgrades in system "intelligence". Of course, a big question also is whether or not, and then when big companies are going to be doing the basic tech work in such a system, to take some of the pressure off you. You don't want to have to pioneer all the systems... ideally, you could be a content guy, without all the tech stuff. But I think you're going to have to be very clear from the start with what you are presenting to people. It should, from the start, be structurally the same as what it will grow into. That is, There is no reason there cannot be the interactive and world-based aspects right from the start, regardless of the tech level. Input is a big issue, too. Clearly, audio-only input is the preferable method. But button-based input could also be very useful. I can imagine a small device that has buttons and emits different sounds for each button, allowing for button-based in a pure-audio input environment. On a computer, such a system could be "virtual", in that is triggers the sound but the input is apart from the sound. So there could be a consistency throughout the process. In a pure-audio audio computing environment, places and worlds are the natural compnents of an interactive system. So the audio nature of "places" is very important. Background noise is vital here, as is reverb. Different places have different ambient audio backgrounds, and also, sounds produced in a place have reverb characteristics. That is, talking in a small room is gonna sound different than talking outside on a beach. I think that the more work you do on this subject, the more likely it will be that someone will want to fund the effort. ***** ------------------- SUPERIOR REVIEW ----------- SUPERIOR 359 Ethrock--ethical rock music--we are all into it. Michael Jackson--slice apart his pictures. Amazing pine symbols--beond Xmas and Lebanon. We were there when the supermodel walked in and knew we'd be telling our friends about it hora. (((From OsoaWeek064--10/13/95))) ***** I like this one. "Ethrock" is just sompletely made up. "Beond" is an intentional mispelling of "beyond". Also, there is no secret behind "hora" at the end... but it does mean "hour" in Spanish, and "ahora" means "now". The pine symbol thing refers to "Xmas and Lebanon". The Xmas reference is about pine trees, Christmas trees, ass that. Lebanon, I believe they have a pine tree on their flag. Yeah, this one is pretty good, overall. (Reviewed 7/27/01) ------------------- SUPERIOR 3: DUSKAWAY ----------- DUSKAWAY 160 * 7/27/01 * 1010 Trying to find a book in a bookstore, maybe the answer is in a book, or a book could be the spark for the answer. All those tarot cards. ------------------- END -----------
360-------------------OSOAWEEK Ezine of Obliviana Issue 360, 6/21/01 (Book 28, No. 9 / Tarb 15115 / Year 7) by Frank Edward Nora, Lord of Obliviana ----------- ------------------- THE BLUFFCOSM REPORT ----------- THE NEW DIRECTION FOR BLUFFCOSM.COM Part 3 of 5 ***** Sunday 6/17/01 * 10:34 PM Today, I did a good deal of work on Classictronica #2, and I also finished the lyrics to a new song called "Snowflaw Car". Yesterday I bought some answering machines with tapes at the Meadowlands flea market, but I haven't listened to them yet. I threw the answering machines out. Okay. So I need to keep up the "pressure" in this new project, Obliviana Phase Two. So let me go over some of the specifics... [1] This project is working towards a goal that is several years off, both because of the work I need to do, and the need for technology advance. I see this technology dawning into widespread use around 2003 to 2004. This is the wireless Internet, used for sound. Cost is a factor... the idea of it being Internet-based is two-fold. First, it has the potential to be much cheaper than using a celphone connection. Second, it will allow for flexibility in terms of user-computer-based control, caching, and streaming at different fidelity levels. I do not think that there will be affordable broadband wireless access by 2004... but it is always possible. I think it is likely that there will be affordable wireless broadband by 2010 (ie, $50/mo. unlimited access, or less). But PAWCS as I see it will be scalable and flexible. So it can grow as technology advances. [2] I do not know how PAWCS will develop over the next few years. I think that I am going to have to strike forth on my own, and maybe I can even influence the development of PAWCS. So I think I should define my vision of PAWCS: [a] PAWCS (this is a tentative term) is a computerized audio entertainment system. [b] PAWCS is ideally a pure-audio medium. In terms of output, non-audio aspects (such as "control screens") should be limited to the control of audio content, and ideally, there will be no non-audio output. In terms of input, the use of "buttons" is probably going to part of the system. I favor the idea of using a device, electronic or not, that produces simple sounds that the "parser" can "read". For example, a simple non-electronic "clicker" is possible. Even if buttons are part of a computer system, they should produce sounds. Of course, voice-based input is going to be involved, but I think that voice-only input will be too awkward for all situations. [c] Privacy is a very important issue. One computing path will involve a microphone that sneds digitized sound across the Internet to a remote server for interpretation. This raises serious privacy issues. So I favor the idea of microphones that have a hardwired on-off switch, allowing users to easily turn them off. Otherwise, there is no guarantee that privacy can be guaranteed. On a personal computer, for example, one could imagine a virus that would allow remote users to eavesdrop on users without their knowledge. [d] One hallmark of the PAWCS experience is a reliable user interface. This means that the process cannot be marred by delays, "parser" inadequacies (ie, inability to understand words), crashes, etc. It needs to be as reliable a radio or TV. It has to work reliably. Turn it on, and it goes, and there's no funny stuff. To me, this means that there will need to be a complete computing system on a device in the user's possesion. That is, even without a net connection, the system will function perfectly. Such a system could inform users of net outages, and ideally the right caching scheme could elimiante many problems. [e] I do not see a purely remote-server-based computing path for PAWCS. First and foremost, such a system could never guarantee a reliable user experience. In the best-case scenario, there would be cheap, reliable, high-quality "celphone" communication... and there would certainly be a temptation to ultimately have the computing system be completely server-side. But I think that privacy issues will always be an issue. Beyond a microphone that can be easily turned on and off, I think that it might be good to be able to turn the net connection on and off. I fear that PAWCS could be used for evil purposes, such as "New World Order" and "Mark of the Beast" type stuff. [f] Here's an example of a possible non-entertainment PAWCS use. Driving, and a Burger King is a few miles away. Contact the Burger King's computer, and order and pay for your food, so that when you get there all they have to do is hand it over to you. This seems good on the surface, but what are the drawbacks? Well, first, a record of where you were and when is stored somewhere. And even the specific food you ordered is stored. I believe that such data being stored is dangerous. If an oppressive government is checking the data, might they eventually check your medical records, and deny you certain foods as being unhealthy? Records such as this are dangerous to privacy, and are very useful for a government to get more intrusive. So a PAWCS system in a car could contribute to enslavement to an intrusive government. Therefore, anonymity is very important. [g] Even in terms of entertainment, if records are kept of what someone is listening to, an intrusive governemt could use such data for evil purposes. So anonymity is very important. Data about what a user has listened to is important for the system... but it should be kept on the computer owned and in the physical possession of the user, not on a remote server. This is another reason for the system not to be remote-server-based. [h] I think that ideally, anonymous "electronic cash" should be used for transactions. Even in terms of an hourly-rate system with a "cap", ie, $1 and hour, with a max of $20/mo., could be done anonymously. [i] In terms of audio chat rooms, anyone in the chat room could be recording, so obviously such an environment is subject to recording. This is disurbing in that government intrusion is possible. Vast archives of audio chat could be searched for "voiceprints" or even speech patterns, if "vocoders" are used to mask the voice. But I think that audio chat could be constrained if the audio data in encrypted, not recorded, and thus only recordable by the involved parties themselves. Such a system could indeed stymie prying government ears. Of course, some chatrooms will be subject to recording, but the recording status should always be clearly announced. [j] In this analysis, I am seeing a lot of problems with privacy. One solution would be for the system to be "one-way", and not involve a lot of outgoing data. This would mean no remote-server stuff, no audio chat, etc. But I think that the idea of a "shared audio world" is extremely important for PAWCS. The question is, is such a system feasible in terms of providing protection from oppressive government? Is this question of government instrusion overstated? I'm not sure. Mon 6/18/01 * 9:19 PM Last night, weird hornslike power, visions, Last Action hero and a giant hollow bear. Okay. Anyway, I have been laying out a vision of a new technology. Now I need to figure out how I am going to fit into the technology. Firstly, I need a flexible plan. I don't see Obliviana making car-based PAWCS hardware. Obliviana is about content, about software... If I had the money, I think I would embark on a project of creating audio games right now, today. But I don't have the money, so I can't embark on that project. In fact, lack of money is a major issue here. It's gonna be hard to embark on any kind of a project without money. And if indeed fortune will not smile upon me, what the hell am I gonna do? Well, I can do what I can do. I can try and get people excited about what I'm doing, get people to invest, all that. I need to be able to define Obliviana/Bluffcosm as a single, compelling idea. And yet, I am still a little unsure of this whole idea... Doubt. Yes. I wonder if it's worth going down this road again. Well, if I start off down this road with the intent to fail, then it is indeed not worth travelling. My attitude sucks. Maybe Obliviana has indeed run its course. Is this whole audio idea really a good idea? Are people gonna embrace audio in the way that I think they are? I think that people will embrace it. And I think that what I am tentatively calling PAWCS is a medium that will bring people together with an energy and excitement, like the hippe movement, or something like that. It will be something special. And I can be a big part of that, and that would be very cool. Or will I just sit on the sidelines and watch as all my ideas are implemented by someone else? No. Right now I have to make a choice. And I choose to move forward with this project. I still feel that my ideas are somewhat vague, so I want to make a special effort to continue writing fiction that explores specific ideas in PAWCS. But I am in a bad place right now. Obliviana at a standstill, money tighter than ever, motivation low, feeling old, feeling like a loser. And it's very hard to conceive of getting from here to the success I envision. But I do see here a juncture. I could very easily give up on Obliviana. Or I could keep going with it. I guess one big question is, do I want to get a lot of people involved with the production of Obliviana, eventually? Or do I want to do it all myself? Because, the Vision of Obliviana has a lot of people involved in the production. Well, whatever, the "first round" is over, and I have lost. Of course, looking at the situation from a different perspective I could see the situation as being quite winning. That is, I am now well-prepared in many ways for the "next round". So I guess it all depends on how ya look at the situation. Or could... could there be... like a THIRD plan? The first one would be to go forward with the PAWCS idea, continue with Obliviana with a focus on audio, and go all out. The second plan would be to completely drop the Obliviana Visdion and move forward with Severe Repair and Bluffcosm and other individual elements of Obliviana. So... what could a third plan be? And do I want a lot of other people involved in the production of Obliviana? Well, it's clear that I have to make some choices. But I think that my choice is clear: go with "Plan One". Move forward, full steam ahead, Obliviana continues, focused on computerized audio... But can it work? I do have my doubts. And I have to set forth a much clearer plan. But without a doubt it has to be able to make money, the plan. Just now, I was seeing Obliviana as a crashing plane... and I thought about what it would be like to just give up on it totally, at least for a time. That is, do no work at all on Obliviana for an extended period of time. Wow. I never thought it would come to this... the idea of throwing it all away seeming so appealing. But Obliviana has been a real drain on my life. In its current form, it is going nowhere but DOWN. This much, I have no doubts about. Obliviana is crashing. The phase is over. Seven years... and eight years before that. So how many phases have there been, really? [1] Childhood. Super 8mm movies. Early sci-fi writing. Early recordings. Dr. Who movie. Big New Ark... and then came... [2] February 1986. Zope and Anything But Monday. Halfevil Graphics, national publication, MTV To Go, all that. Crashed big time around November 1989. 3.75 years. [3] The Early 90s. Three whole years without a girlfriend (90, 91, 92). Experimental publications. rED aLLEY eARTH, Zope, Forge of Wander, etc. Beublin A. Richardson. Train Crap & Blood. And then came... [4] July 1994. OsoaWeek. Obliviana. Obliviana.com. Many, many things. Bluffcosm.com. And it is now crashing, and I see it fully crashing next month, July 2001. But is is a "crash" or a "and then came..."? Ah! This is the big question! [5] ... ??? What comes next? Hmmm... looking at things with this perspective... very interesting. Yes, indeed, what comes next? And... maybe... should OsoaWeek end with issue 364...? How much of a break from the past should this be? Indeed, this is a time for a major decision. And that decision is... should I continue on, or give it all up? I will not give it all up. But if I do not have a good plan, then Obliviana might indeed fizzle away, whether I want it to or not. So I need a good plan. And at this moment, I do not have that plan. Now, the problem is not with all the wonderful content I have created. The problem is the plan on how to take the content to the next level. Clearly, the "Phase 4" plan has not worked, and I must abandon this plan, one way or another. So I need a new plan. I need a good plan. Specifically, this plan must get my work an audience, and also make money for me, so I can fdo Obliviana full-time. I have a lot of experience, and times have changed. The whole "dot-com" thing has crashed... and yet the "dot-com" thing is continuing on... So I need a plan... Well, I do not think that the World Wide Web is the medium for Obliviana. And luckily, I have an alternate medium in mind with PAWCS. Wed 6/20/01 * 9:25 PM I got the album "En-Tact" by The Shamen today. It is representative of a cultural movement from the early 1990s that was totally wiped out by the late 1990s. Techno-paganism, virtual reality, smart drugs, cybersex, etc. Multimedia, optimism, positivity, etc. Raves, ingenuity, innocence, etc. So what happened to this whole trend? Intelligent positivity... nature and technology... magic and machines... Well, this all happened as technology was cresting past a certain level, and there was a great deal to be optimistic about. Voyager was a CD-ROM company from back then, and they made a lot of very ambitious, cool. intellectual totles, and they didn't last. So maybe the whole "smart" aspect was part of what dragged the whole thing down. Smart people rallying the masses about how cool it is to be smart... but the masses aren't smart. Interesting... I hadn't thought of this angle before... Well, I am very much fascinated by the early 90s. The song "Groove is in the Heart" has been going through my head a lot lately. So now, back to Bluffcosm! I got fan mail yesterday! From a girl named Courtney. She found Bluffcosm on MP3.cpm searching for her name, and she seems to be really into it. It was quite encouraging. So... where am I at in this whole Obliviana Phase Two thing? Well, I recorded gameplay sound from 4 Gameboy Advance Games last night, with the idea of creating a new Hemisinister Review... maybe one-minute reviews of all sorts of things... So now... I really do want to make a new start with Phase Two. And I do really want to have a single vision for what I am doing. I have been presenting the multifarious nature of Obliviana for many years... and it has ultimately been confusing and off-putting. I need to realize something... I am creating things, and certainly amusing myself. But I want to get other people into what I am doing. And there are other rules that are involved for something like this. I have extensively analyzed why Obliviana has not worked. But whatever the reasons behind it being in the state it is in, the fact remains, Obliviana is not engaging, and it is fantastically confusing. Obliviana Phase... um... what's up with the Phases again? Well, I'll call 1994-2001 "Phase One", and the coming Phase "Phase Two"... Anyway, in all of Phase One, Obliviana was never really very engaging. And this is ultimately the reason that it failed. Now, in Phase Two, I have chosen a medium that has traditionally been looked down on and ignored. Sound only entertainment is predominantly music in sales of recordings, and in terms of broadcast, it is predominantly music, news, and talk. I see a huge void... the return of Old-Time-Radio-type shows... the realization of the potential of sound-only computer games... And yet, the fact remains that computerized audio non-music entertainment is not big right now... but it might be... so it could be a good thing or a bad thing... if it remains unpopular, then I will have again wasted a lot of effort, in terms of reaching an audience. If it does become popular, I could have a big head start, and potentially be a major player in this new field. Am I setting myself up for failure yet again? Or is this a reasonable gamble? Okay. I am very confident that PAWCS will be big... but in terms of the interactive aspect... well, it has to be done right. One really great thing about audio is that it gets away from the ugliness of HTML. The Web is ugly. There's no two ways about it. I have often noted that I've hardly ever seen or designed a website that I felt was "good". Sound... it's a very cool medium. It's awesome. So I must move forward. The idea of being a "portal" for computerized audio entertainment... as I started with my "Internet Audio Links"... should I do this? Should I be an advocate for the format? Well, I want to be a content creator... not a review site or portal. So I must focus on the central thing. Creating and publishing entertainment content. How does it make money? Well, PAWCS will be a much different ad medium... and I think a better ad medium... but I cannot rely on ads to make money. So there is also fees, subscriptions, etc. Maybe since the medium is so new, people will get used to paying for content here... Also selling my own products... and also keeping overhead low so that the gross needs to be less... MTV... 20th anniversary... the spirit of early MTV... ***** ------------------- SUPERIOR REVIEW ----------- SUPERIOR 360 Loont looent. V pyramid. Coming back cabin hay! my brain! Yeah and... Kaj Wimdering. You have a sense of fun lantern in a fun dream theme park in total darkness. Hum. (((From OsoaWeek064--10/13/95))) ***** Weak. "Loont looent" is a very mediocre nonsense phrase. "V pyramid" is mildly interesting. The lowercase "my" is lame. "Kaj Wimdering" is an okay character name. The idea of being in a pitch black theme park with a lantern is kinda cool. Overall... LAME! (Reviewed 2/27/01) ------------------- SUPERIOR 3: DUSKAWAY ----------- DUSKAWAY 161 * 7/27/01 * 1011 Fine and dandy, relative things, relative goals. The puzzled present you, at how the past you didn't appreciate a cool thing at the time. Get dressed and everything and go out, into the world, anyplace, any store. Driving, frustrated, coffee, and depressing walks through malls. Yeah, the fabric of the game. The mission and the powerful hero. And the frequent amusing thought. ------------------- END -----------
361-------------------OSOAWEEK Ezine of Obliviana Issue 361, 6/28/01 (Book 28, No. 10 / Tarb 15157 / Year 7) by Frank Edward Nora, Lord of Obliviana ----------- ------------------- THE BLUFFCOSM REPORT ----------- THE NEW DIRECTION FOR BLUFFCOSM.COM Part 4 of 5 ***** Thu 6/21/01 * 11:53 PM Severe Repair, serialized new chapters, in audio... Anyway, here it is: I need to make Bluffcosm "presentable", so that I can start to promote it. I am moving toward a completely audio format... and all the old stuff is gonna either be de-emphasized or taken totally offline. I am going to create a new thing, a fresh start. But it needs to be user friendly. Type in "bluffcosm.com", and the page that comes up has to communicate what Bluffcosm is. And the user experience has to be cool. I need to address the whole issue of user experience. A listener's atttitude toward Bluffcosm, "mental model" of Bluffcosm, desires in Bluffcosm, etc. At first, it will require some effort of a listener's part to hear Bluffcosm audio... so I need to motivate deisre so that people will put the effort forth. And from Day One... July 28, 2001... Bluffcosm has to be simple and engaging. It can be as simple as having a 20-minute show per week to download. But it has to be clear... it has to be defined... it has to be ONE THING. And I have to promote it. Sat 6/23/01 * 1:28 PM Okay. Let's get the show on the road. Here's an idea. Thinking about trying to change the past, or change elements of the past to change the present, or sending information into the past to help you past self... I think that maybe the situation I am in right now could possibly be the result of such things. At least, it does resemble what such a situation might be like. The main characteristic of where I'm at now, with the ending of "Phase One" is that I prepared for something a whole lot, but never got to that thing. Things could be a lot worse. And also, I have a strong feeling about the future of computerzed audio. We all have thought like "if I only knew such-and-such a few years ago"... well, right now, maybe I do have that such-and-such, and far enough in the "past" for it to do some good! So, Obliviana Phase One, 1994-2001. What the hell? Lots of development, lots of ideas. But no real "launch". There were a few weak attempts at a launch, like with Xappenshard Craze, and Fonosta, and several others. In fact I think that if I go back and examine what I have done in Phase One, I will find that I accomplished a great deal. But the Obliviana of Phase One is something that has to be ended, so that it can be born anew in Phase Two. I saw a movie last night, called "Time to Go", I think, a movie by Billy Graham. From the early 70s, it seemed pretty cool. Then toward the end the characters hear a Billy Graham sermon... and then at the very end Billy Graham talks directly to the viewer... And let me tell you, I was impressed by his selling ability. One charismatic person can sell a lot... and he used what I recognized as "hypnotic" techniques... like "we have all been waytlayed on the road of life, we have all had problems..." and then, when the person is thinking about their problems and getting upset, throw in "Jesus is the answer." It could just as well be "Scientology is the answer", or "Rev. Moon is the answer". The information gets into the mind, slipping past rational examination... Manipulating emotions. That's what it's all about. Advertising, evoke a positive emotion, show the product, and voila!, person has a positive emotional assocation with the product, based on deliberate manipulation of emotions. But I realize that I need to be a good salesman for Obliviana. And I need to learn from the examples that are out there. See, in Obliviana I have this thing called Thinkfang (which has gone by a number of names), and it is something that is somewhat occult, and I want to get people into it. And I think that I can. And I do, by the way, truly believe that it is a good thing. So the question is, should I use it as a way to promote the Audio Obliviana overall? On a side note, I called TellMe last night for movie times. As soon as it answered, I was barraged with a phone sex ad that went on and on, and couldn't be interruped. I called HeyAnita, and their movie times thing is not available yet. Then I called BeVocal, and got the movie time, but it turned out to be wrong. TellMe has also gotten into connecting people to psychic hotlines. Home sex, psychic hotlines... I have to assume that TellMe is desperately trying to make money any way they can, and destroying themselves in the process. Of the 3 services, TellMe is the only one not accessible from a payphone. Voice Portals... they still have a long way to go... So, back to Obliviana. I had the thought of Obliviana being like the Thinkfang radio station... something like that, in a vague way... but the idea is to have a single idea, which encompasses the whole thing. I am inspired by early MTV... so what was their simple idea? Simply, "music television". Rock/pop music videos, a whole channel devoted to them. This basically took several well-known ideas and reconfigured them. A music radio station turened into a TV station. Audio-only songs with added video. A TV station that is like a music radio station, playing these videos. All of these ideas were well-established. Radio station, TV channel, rock/pop songs. So, what is Obliviana/Bluffcosm? Damn! I gotta get into using a single name for this! I'll use just "Bluffcosm" for now. Or... maybe I should call it "Thinkfang"? Hmm... Anyway, I don't think that I have quite as simple a formula for arriving at Bluffcosm. MTV = music radio made into TV channel by adding video to rock/pop songs. Bluffcosm = ??? 4:31 PM Simple... clear... Well... it's gonna have to be more than "The New Computerized Audio Entertainment". That is not a description that conveys a clear image. And also, I aspire for Bluffcosm to be more specific. That is, I do not want Bluffcosm to be all things to all people. I do not want it to focus on music or information, or even talk. Now, if you look at computerized audio on the Internet today, music/info/talk is a huge portion of what's out there. In defining Bluffcosm, I must use existing cultural "landmarks" so that people will be able to "get" the idea. "Radio Reborn", "Old-Time Radio meets classic video games"... um... Clearly, one cultural landmark is going to be "radio station". The idea of a radio station based in a location with a bunch of cool DJs and people there... like "WKRP in Cincinnati", etc. "Internet Radio Station"... "Internet Comedy Radio"... well, "comedy" in this context has its own set of connotations, such as stand-up comedy, and maybe not as much the Howard Stern type of comedy... I would like to NOT use the word "Internet" if possible. Because "Internet" implies the World Wide Web, and I aspire to be away from the We (though still on the "Internet", technically). A new kind of radio station... Weird Luck Charm radio... Thinkfang/209 radio... people's Thinkfang Stormjaunts are recorded and played... Hmm... This is very interesting, the idea of bringing 209 to the forefront with Bluffcosm. Powerful ideas... basis for a new cultural trend... Thinkfang... Thinkfangers, like hippies, punks, goths, etc... Hmm... Well, this is certainly an option. It is something that seems to be a good idea... um... Let me put it this way. The Stormjaunting aspect, of using your freedom, is 100% cool. That is, it is 100% justifiable and understandable, and I think most people would react positively to it. Now, as far as the supernatural side goes, it is a little harder to sell... but I can "tailor" it to me more occult or less occult. Because I am writing this knowing I am going to "publish" it in OsoaWeek, I want to be very clear about the whole supernatural side of things in Obliviana. I believe that there is something supernatural going on with the whole 209 phenomenon. But I do not know the "mechanics" behind it. I have found that pretty much every time I used "209 energy" cool things happened to me. So, when I talk about "tailoring" the presentation, it just refers to the way I am going to present it to people. I don't think that 209 is necessarily "supernatural" or "occult" in the way people understand these words. What I am sure of is that by using 209, it makes cool things happen. Now, one explanation could be that it affects the ways our brains/minds perceive the world around us. This explanation falls short in the cases where events occur that are not a matter of interpretation. For example, I have absolutely observed an increase in the occurrence of coincidences when using 209. Like, meeting someone you know in some random place. It seems to me that unless you can establish some kind of subconscious ability to make coincidental-seeming things happen, this phenomenon would have to reamin "unexplained". Anyway, I really like the idea of promoting freedom, and people recording their Stormjaunts, and playing these Stormjaunts on Bluffcosm. In fact, no matter what direction I go in for the "simple image" of Bluffcosm, I am going to pursue this direction. "A new kind of radio station about a new kind of freedom" Hmm... Well, one thing is clear. I am going to be starting a new project and going in a new direction. Now, in terms of the technology... getting sound to people's ears... and calling it a kind of radio station... I think it is unavoidable that I am going to have to use a number of delivery techniques at first. What is available to me? [1] MP3 download. I can offer limited lo-fi download right off the website. Also, services like MP3.com... [2] Streaming. Right now, I can't do streaming off my site. I could for additional monthly fees, but for only a few streams. Services like Live365.com and MP3.com... [3] CDs. Audio CD, data CD containing MP3s. [4] Interactive audio. I don't have the capacity to this in any form just yet. But I think that I will be able to in the near future. [5] Web-based, such as Flash or Java... again, maybe in the near future... [6] "PAWCS"... ultimately... [7] Live performances, sound "installations"... [8] Cassettes, LPs, 8-track, MD, etc. 5:40 PM Okay. So... what exactly to I have to do? Um... well, I have to finish OsoaWeek in text up to issue 364. And then I have to launch Obliviana Phase Two. 5:59 PM Okay. So I am getting close to the new idea. Now, as far as OsoaWeek goes, I am gonna continue with it, in audio, starting with issue 365. Osoa = Obliviana Super Occult Amusement. And no matter what, that is the name of my company. So... it seems like right now I am still undecided in terms of what to call the new project: Obliviana, Bluffcosm, or Thinkfang. I am talking about the one name I am going to use as the overall name of the project. And the name has to help to represent what Obliviana Phase Two is all about. So, one cultural landmark is the radio station. What is another? Well, what is Op2 all about? It start with Bluffcosm, and the range of material there. Add the audio OsoaWeek. And the audiobook Severe Repair. Thinkfang Stormjaunts. Hemisinister Review. And then the audio games. And the overall audio world. Audio Zope. So... a variety of audio content... not focused on music/info/talk. But I still need to have a single idea behind it... Cultural landmarks... Op2 is gonna be a kind of radio station. There's a website out there (I forget the name) that uses a slogan like "really cool audio content". See, this is too vague. Um... It's "thedial.com", I think, that has that slogan... Anyway... I think that paragraph above where I describe Op2 content is insufficient, in terms of its range. I need to be able to motivate people to listen. Also, Op2 is a direct continuation of the core Obliviana project, and as such, there will be a game aspect. And the occult aspect (via 209). I think I can use the work I have done already on Obliviana to help guide me in this new project. First of all, let's look at Fonosta. Fonosta was a person's identity in Obliviana. I tried to implement the system several times, but it didn't really work. Here's an idea... Fonosta is an audio world that a person creates, and that other people can visit. Little audio worlds... now THIS is a good idea, and directly related to existing Obliviana concepts. The whole "world-building" idea from a year or two ago... 9:54 PM Dumped pasta in sink by mistake... some weird bad luck today... Now. I am charting my future. What is before me is a challenge and a direction... and I got to it through a complex series of steps... or was I "destined" to get here, and no matter wheat happened it would lead to this? I just want feel that I am in total control. The whole 209 thing is something I need to... like, make sure is a good thing. Like, I don't want to "release" 209 if it's a bad thing. And my involvement in 209... I want to make sure that it is something that was either an accident or that the force behind it is ultimately myself or a friendly force. This supernatural stuff is hard to get a grip on, because there are so many ways that things can be happening... and we can't perceive the true nature... No doubt, right now is a turning point in my life. I need to make the right choices. I think that it is a good thing to continue on with Obliviana. And that is what I am gonna do. So... today is June 23, 2001. I have a feeling that I'm gonna have a few more shitty months before things start to work out for the better. Of course, I have to MAKE things work out. So... the old Obliviana will be "shut down", and the new Obliviana will start up. So... a simple idea. "Keep it simple."... um... An X radio station... X... The whole "wild pioneer" idea... wild pioneer radio... cup frontier... frontier radio... Simple! Simple... come on... What kind of idea will folks embrace? I need young people here. The new generation. Generation Y. What will they respond to, these damn kids who hate everything? Well... they seem to like things that are crude and base and sexual... nasty and cruel... um... am I being too tough on the kids? I know they're not all like that. And I don't have to appeal to all of them. Just a decent percentage. Something that kids on college radio would be inspired to play on their shows... that people would go through even a little bit of hassle to listen to... The IDEA behind it needs to be compelling. "Regain your lost freedom." "You have the freedom, you've just forgotten it..." "Don't waste your money on drugs, Thinkfang is just as good and it's free." Um... "Is your life meaningless? Does your life suck? Are you being driven to drugs and religion? Hey! There's another way! Thinkfang! Take back the freedom that you've forgotten!" Um... Do I want to go in this direction? Is it gonna be like a cult? Well, it would be good if it had a "cult" following. But I don't want it to become like an evil cult. But I think that I do need a powerful idea behind Op2. I have to get people to care. And it just so happens that I DO have a powerful idea in what I now call Thinkfang. Thinkfang Radio... Thinkfang Radio System... Um... 10:28 PM Okay. I think that I have to look at the name issue from the perspective of what is going to work the best for communicating the core idea, and being compelling. I think that between Obliviana, Bluffcosm, and Thinkfang, that Bluffcosm is the least compelling of the three in this context. So... Obliviana... or Thinkfang... Obliviana Radio... Obliviana Super Occult Amusement... Radio Obliviana... Radio Thinkfang... This is getting aggravating. Sun 6/24/01 * 12:52 AM I think my life may have been edited... um... just a weird feeling that I may have experienced other permutations of my life... in this incarnation... I guess that sounds kind of weird. But did you ever wish you could change something in the past... of course, we've all had thoughts like that. Well, if such a change was really made, you wouldn't know it... if like you go back with each edit... back into the past, with the changed permutation, but with a trace of memory left from the other path... Ah, just musings. Anyway... what's up with the plan? Let's try and be logical here. I'm getting tired, but I want to make some headway. First of all, I need this definition myself... I need to be clear on what Obliviana is all about. Lift the veil, clean the window, throw back the curtain. I don't want to be confused anymore. I'm talking about taking the basic idea of a radio station and expanding and transforming it. ...the feeling of the place... not o much based on Thinkfang... boxes... personal boxes... get a lot of people to listen... um... this vision sucks... I think that the Thinkfang angle is the best. Get people into the idea of new freedom, and people record their "Obliviana journies"... this will serve to really, really get people into the whole thing. As far as the other content goes, I think that it all fits into the same overall feeling of a new freedom... Okay. So let's go with this direction. Basically, a 209-based radio station? Or... Super Occult Radio... Anyway... I'm quite tired now... but I think that it is clear that the Thinkfang idea is the best idea. But I still need to come up with a clear, simple explanation. 9:26 AM Let me think... in terms on me sitting down and HAVING to come up with an idea... what's my track record? Well... in this case, I think that... well, I don't need to hit a bullseye necessarily... I just need an idea that can get people excited and that I can market... I think I can come up with something... Something I can feel confident telling people about... Just spilled a lot of iced tea on my table here... 2:58 PM ...and blasted a potted plant with hot shower water... A lot of chaos around me. Then this might make sense... I am laying plans to bring 209 to the world. I think I'll set a Storm now... I'll start with 5... Thinkfang 5... cool... Okay... "A cool X radio station." What is X? Okay... what do I need to accomplish? [1] Establish the name and simple concept of Op2. Um... that's it... the one big thing I'm after... Something I can promote, and people hearing or reading a few seconds will get the idea... Like, a radio station for real-life "superheroes"... radio from the edge of reality... a new view of reality... Like, you know what a radio station is. Well, this is like a radio station but it's different... What was the big idea with MTV? You'll be able to see your favorite rock and pop stars now, and not just hear them. Something you already like, made "better". So what can I say, "like The Independent Film channel, just without the visual part"...? Like, "here is cool entertainment, listen to it"...? I think that the medium has to be a little de-emphasized, and also the content. So the whole thing will rest on an idea... an idea that people are gonna like. Obliviana Super Occult Radio... OsorWeek? No! But... Obliviana Super Occult Radio... hmm... OSOR 4:27 PM Hmmm... Obliviana Super Occult Radio... I think this has possibilities. Okay... So, what are some of the pros and cons for this name? PRO: [1] True to the tradition of Obliviana. Taking the longstanding name "Obliviana Super Occult Amusement" and changing just one word. [2] The name itself is compelling, and it does communicate the idea. CON: [1] Might people mistake it for a band name? [2] The word "occult" may turn some people off, and give some people the wrong impression. Um... Obliviana Super Occult Radio Amusement? Hmm... OSORA 4:47 PM Well, which one is better? Obliviana Super Occult Radio or Obliviana Super Occult Radio Amusement ? ... Without a doubt, the one without the "Amusement" is better. So... OBLIVIANA SUPER OCCULT RADIO This is now officially the working name of Obliviana Phase Two, and it may well be the final name. Mon 6/25/01 * 8:31 PM Well... I've decided to change the name... to... OBLIVIANA SUPER OCCULT AMUSEMENT Yeah yeah, full circle, yet again. I just didn't like that way the "Radio" sounded... and I also realized that to some extent, "Radio" implies music. And OBLIVIANA SUPER OCCULT RADIO does sound like a band name. So... retaining the existing name... Well, I have been promoting Obliviana as "Obliviana.com" for quite a while now. At this point, I am happy to get the damn ".com" out of the name. So... Op2 will be called, and promoted as, "Obliviana Super Occult Amusement". Well, this also has its good and bad points: PRO [1] It's a "new" name and an old name... new for promotion, but "old" in that it's been around since the beginning of Phase One. [2] It's a dynamite name. CON [1] It does confuse me a little, in a time when I need to get fully behind a new idea. But I think it will be okay. [2] It does not refer specifically to radio, but I think that this also might be good. Like I said, the word "radio" these days implies music... which is not what I want to imply. Okay. So, I have to get back on track. This "new" name has a lot of "emotional baggage" that I have to get rid of... But it also has the full weight of the history of Phase One behind it as well... So... I have to say that I am befuddled now. It's like, this whole work on development for Phase Two has come full circle... Well, Obliviana Super Occult Amusement is going to be concerned with computerized audio entertainment, oh yes! Obliviana Super Occult Amusement... check it out at www.obliviana.com... Haha, the purging of the ".com"... Yeah, okay. I gotta pull myself togeth, man. In the long run, I want Osoa to be a major player in computerized audio entertainment, focusing away from music/info/talk. "Talk" in this context refers to the range of talk shows on radio today. I do not aspire to be the next eYada.com! Of course, there will be some music/info/talk content in Obliviana, but it will not be the focus. See, I'm using "Obliviana" as the short form of "Obliviana Super Occult Amusement". I have to remember that virtually every single human being on Earth has never heard of Obliviana in any form, so it is new to just about everybody, just not to me. And now... I want to figure out how I am going to structure the existing stuff... [1] Phase One Stuff besides Bluffcosm. Aerie Obliviana. Classic Zope. ZopeTV. Severe Repair. Obliviana School. Etc. I have to decide whether to keep this stuff online or not. Right now, I'm leaning toward taking it all off. This is not to say that I won't ever make it available again, but all this stuff is "emotional baggage" to me, and is not audio, and has been the source of great confusion for me and pretty much everybody that has checked it out. Now, what about OsoaWeek? Well, I'm not sure... OsoaWeek will be continuing... and what about Severe Repair? I think I'd like to take the current Aerie version offline, for several reasons: I am working on the new version, and I'm going to be doing it in audio. Superior... I want to do Superior in audio too... Well, I have a lot of decision to make with this stuff! [2] Bluffcosm. Bluffcosm shall continue on. With Obliviana now being an audio thing, Bluffcosm is a part of Obliviana now. The content in Bluffcosm shall remain in Bluffcosm... and the online audio world shall be the Bluffcosm... [3] Thinkfang. This can be introduced "fresh". Okay. 9:08 PM La la la. Obliviana Super Occult Amusement. Yeah yeah yeah... Thu 6/28/01 * 8:10 PM Okay. I have a few issues to resolve before Op2 is solid. [1] In the existing Bluffcosm material, the endeavor is referred to as Bluffcosm.com, as in "You're listening to Bluffcosm.com". In changing the name of the main thing to Obliviana Super Occult Amusement, what happens to the name "Bluffcosm.com"? [2] Starting with a "blank slate"... how exactly am I gonna present Op2? Okay. 2 quite tough issues. The first issue is a matter of two names vying for supremacy. In the end, one or the other will win, or they will co-exist. Like, Could Osoa be the main thing, with Bluffcosm being a part of that thing? Or is that too confusing? Side note: I read some of OsoaWeek001 the other day. Reading OsoaWeek001 is somewhat torturous for me. But I did see that the endeavor back then was indeed called Obliviana Super Occult Amusement ("Osoa" for short). And, the name used does have a effect on the presentation, and vice versa. Now, being that I have decided to keep the name Osoa, what has changed...? Um... the whole thing is going into audio. And it is starting fresh. So, stuff that is not in audio is not gonna be a part of the new Osoa... stuff has gotta be made into audio first! Bluffcosm is the aspect of the old Osoa that is going to "come though" into Op2 more or less intact. But still... the need to choose... OBLIVIANA SUPER OCCULT AMUSEMENT BLUFFCOSM.COM "You're listening to Obliviana Super Occult Amusement's Bluffcosm.com"... Um... What am I gonna call it, and how am I gonna present it...? Well, the calling issue is a choice... but what about the presentation issue? THE PRESENTATION ISSUE [1] First of all, there is the "ideal" presentation, and then the one that is feasible in the here and now. [2] The ideas and structures behiond the content are vital here. There are a number of ways to get audio... if people WANT it, they'll get it. [3] This is why marketing and promotion are so important. One important idea is to have a single idea, a single message. Now, in terms of marketing, I think that "Obliviana Super Occult Amusement" could be a better name than "Bluffcosm.com". But, on the other hand, I have very much established Bluffcosm's identity... OK. If I go with Bluffcosm.com as the ONE NAME, then I can simply take the existing Bluffcosm and expand it... If I go with Osoa, what then? Will "Bluffcosm" be used at all anymore? Or, would Bluffcosm be the audio aspect, with there being other aspects as well...? Um... Bluffcosm Super Occult Amusement? No. Osoa... Bluffcosm... Osoa... Bluffcosm... Thinkfang? No... not as the name of the endeavor... Osoa... Bluffcosm... Osoa... Bluffcosm... ***** ------------------- SUPERIOR REVIEW ----------- SUPERIOR 361 Pain. I understand what a color is, clouds have feelings too, I was an environmentalist just to get laid and it worked, but I need a woman less like a general marshaling imaginary forces of idealism. They say every little action trips an ever-widening cause-and-event domino-chain reaction. But, being that EVERY event is a little event, isn't there an awful lot of overlap? Aren't there any actions which mean nothing? (((From OsoaWeek065--10/20/95))) ***** This one is interesting in its structure. Starts off with a meandering musing... switches to a character saying something stupid, and then goes into an observation about a philosophical idea. But, overall, this one is just awful. (Reviewed 7/27/01) ------------------- SUPERIOR 3: DUSKAWAY ----------- DUSKAWAY 162 * 7/27/01 * 1012 Duskaway keep on going on. Hear about new available product. The dear mental image, the quest to get the thing. The powerful haze of youth, denial of harsh reality. The slow waking into being kinda old, and having a whole lot of stuff. Make it better. ------------------- END -----------
362-------------------OSOAWEEK Ezine of Obliviana Issue 362, 7/5/01 (Book 28, No. 11 / Tarb 15199 / Year 7) by Frank Edward Nora, Lord of Obliviana ----------- ------------------- THE BLUFFCOSM REPORT ----------- THE NEW DIRECTION FOR BLUFFCOSM.COM Part 5 of 5 ***** Sat 6/30/01 * 10:25 AM Osoa... Bluffcosm... I'm still thinking about this issue. But the issue of presentation is more vital. This issue is... I have limited resources... so I need a plan that's just right... and I've been here before... the keystone idea... Well, let me analyze the issue... [1] I seek to make audio entertainment, create it and publish it, and I seek an audience to listen to it, and I seek to make money from it so I can make a living at it. [2] I have to get the audio to the audience, and I also have to get an audience and keep them wanting more. In terms of getting it to people, I am going to focus on Internet and MP3. Sound can be streamed or downloaded. Downloaded sound can be played on portable players. Also, CD-Rs of MP3s... or CD-R of CD audio... [3] The delivery methods are now a bit shaky, but they will continually get better. In terms of getting and keeping an audience... that will be the realm of promotion and content. Promotion to get people, content to keep them. And of course, good content is also promotion. [4] In terms of promotion, I need to have pretty much a single idea to get behind. And it needs to be a compelling idea that can be explained in a few seconds. So, the content has to be such that it can be described in such terms. [5] So, the "core simple idea" and the nature of the content are tied together. Part of the "core simple idea" is the name of the endeavor. So, the puzzle I am working to put together is made up of pieces from all aspects of this project... hmm... Okay. I do not want to be paralyzed by the need of some idealized keystone idea. So let's put it this way. I will come up with a working idea. And this will be THE idea until it is superceded by another. So... let me make up idea #1... IDEA #1: Audio OsoaWeek every week. It will include previews of the new Blufftoons available that week. The overall project will be called Bluffcosm.com. Simple, eh? This is the idea, and it will remain so until it is superceded or altered. So I have a plan now. Haha! Okay. So what about the audio OsoaWeek? It will contains sections. The sections will be defined, whether or not they are "random access" at first. I think that a sense of "boundary" is important here. What are the boundaries of Bluffcosm.com? A home base... is OsoaWeek that home base? 11:41 AM So... the idea is for OsoaWeek to be like the "home base", the thing to listen to every week to see what's going on in Bluffcosm. Is it realistic for it to be weekly? Will I be able to do it? And what will OsoaWeek contain, as opposed to contain a preview for? I think that OsoaWeek can contain a bunch of things. OsoaWeek has a history and a tradition. And I will continue Blufftoon production... and preview them on OsoaWeek... This is the plan for now. 12:50 PM Plan. I need to really use this plan as the working plan. I do not want to be paralyzed into inaction by the neverending work toward an unattainable "keystone" idea. So Idea #1 is the plan. But I can add to and modify the plan. So let me look at it. Okay. First of all, I'm gonna be doing all the work in Bluffcosm into the foreseeable future. So the plan has to be workable. Idea: OsoaWeek as weekly, and requiring minimal work... and then some kind of regular Bluffcosm thing...? Like a "Bluffcosm Release"... kind of like the monthly Waves... yeah, what's gonna happen to the monthly Waves? Maybe I could keep the monthly Waves... Here's another idea. Basically, keep things as they are. Obliviana Super Occult Amusement is the overall nedeavor, and Bluffcosm is the audio aspect. This is the way it is now. If I put more focus on Bluffcosm... then Obliviana will be more audio. Do I want to be pure audio? Do I want Osoa to be only audio? Well, no, I think that there are aspects of Osoa that should be in a medium apart from audio. But I can put a heavy focus on audio. And all this... this is the "status quo"... So I have to decide... keep the "status quo", or re-invent Osoa as an all-audio thing... And also, is Op2 going to conceived of as a continuation, or a new beginning? Well, let's look at Thinkfang. I do want Thinkfang to have a big audio component... but I think that graphic and text-based info will be a vital part of it. And the idea of downloading PDF checklist and such for Bluffcosm... So there really is a question of continuation or rebirth. And this question is made more difficult perhaps by the fact that Obliviana has "ground to a halt", at least in my perception of it. See, it would be a good time for a rebirth, but also, just because it's halted does not mean it could not continue on... Difficult issues. But one aspect here is absolutely vital: Phase Two is focused on getting an audience... well, Phase One was too, but it failed... I think that, as one aspect of Phase Two, that I should not depend on existing material... that is, I don't want to refer people back to things from the past... I want to introduce everything anew. "A little audio world for you to hang out in..." Sun 7/1/01 * 12:52 AM I think I'm gonna try and get people who I don't know into Op2... it's very hard getting people you know into something like this... because they know who you are, and someone you know can't be as mythical as someone you don't. It's an image thing. Simplicity. The idea I have now still isn't simple enough. Bluffcosm Super Occult Radio? Um... I think I figured out one of the reasons that Old-Time Radio died... it has to do with the circumstances under which people listen to audio entertainment. In the old days, people would gather around the radio to listen... but with a TV in the house, people would gather around the TV. So, gathering together to experience entertainment in the home, for long periods of time... TV. And once people got used to TV, I imagine that it would have seemed "weird" to gather around a radio. It would certainly seem "weird" today for a family to gather and listen to radio programs. But today, it seems like families don't gather as much... everyone is in their own little world of entertainment. This is a sad thing, but it could indeed bode well for computerized audio entertainment. Listening to computerized audio entertainment might be much more a solo thing than a group thing. Shows like Howard Stern, Sifl & Olly, Opie & Anthony, etc. create the illusiuon that you are in the company of others when you are alone. Well... I think I can back that up. The conversational tone, like you're there and hearing the conversation... So... people increasingly alone... Op2 needs to have a sense of company, a sense of... dare I say the buzzword... community. A sense of belonging... the original idea in Osoa, of belonging, Fonostas, etc. But community that comes from being in agreement with the philosophy... not necessarily by "joining" in any way. Thus, the definition of something like being an "Osoan"... maybe... "Bluffcosmic?", "Are you Bluffcosmic man? I'm Bluffcosmic." Bluffcosm.com... the super occult radio! The new X radio. Super Occult Radio. Super Computer Occult Radio. Altered Radio. A Sick Little Radio Universe. "Bluffcosm.com... a sick little radio universe." ! Sun 7/1/01 * 7:43 PM Planning tomorrow's "Tap-a-Mall". I'm gonna go to 21 or more malls tomorrow, and tap each of them with my Jukewand, and I'm gonna record the whole thing. It should be quite interesting! Now... A Mellow Little Radio Universe... No. An Addictive Little Radio Universe. Hmm... Plan is OsoaWeek... Plan is OsoaWeek... So, it's July, and no June Wave of Blufftoons yet. I was thinking of making the May Wave the "May/June Wave"... Well, I think I need to focus on Op2... it's okay if I skip this Wave... I don't even know if I'm gonna keep the "Wave" structure exactly as-is. The main thing I have "in the works" right now is Classictronica #2... I'm planning on working on it on Tuesday... So... where am I at? The plan. Audio OsoaWeek every week. Previews of new Blufftoons. Will there be new Blufftoons every week? Will all audio pieces in Obliviana be Blufftoons? Will I retain the strucutre where Osoa is the overall thing, and Bluffcosm is the audio part? I still have some decisions to make. But let me say that in IDEA #1, the current working plan, these are the answers: New Blufftoons - undecided, all Blufftoons? - yes, Osoa overall, Bluffcosm audio part - yes. Will OsoaWeek be good in audio? Might it be better to continue OsoaWeek in text and come up with a new central show? Hmm... Okay. Welcome to indecision central. Um... Why am I so indecisive? Why is this so complicated? What the heck is going on? I gotta make things simple! Think about the listneing experience... people will listen by themselves... will people listen in a group? Yes... if they are all interested in something. Interest... puzzles, contests, release of new info, stories, characters, etc. Reality shows... Thinkfang journies... Jukewand tappings... I want to establish what Bluffcosm is... what there is in it... and I want to make it clear what is coming... I need coming attractions... build up excitement... So... a central show... Streaming and download... The content is what matters... I mean, the nature of the programming. As long as people WANT to hear it, they'll put up with some annoyances... Conceived of as "a little radio universe"... "a X little radio universe"... sick, crazy, wild, mellow, psychotic, addictive, freaky, groovy, decent, the next... A Little Frontier Radio Universe... Um... Hmm... Welcome to our little frontier radio universe... A Little Super Occult Radio Unverse Um... A Deep Little Radio Universe A Silly Deep Little Radio Universe A Silly Dark Little Radio Universe Bluffcosm Little Radio Universe Okay... come on... come on... The New Computerized Audio Entertainment But wait a minute... what is the goal here? What do I aspire for Bluffcosm to be? Okay... Hull TV... the ongoing soap opera-type thing... actors also "DJs"... interviews with people involved... behind the scenes... premieres... previews... building excitement... Thinkfang journies... challenges issued... trivia... puzzles... mysteries... I could also get people to try and find weird audio at garage sales and stuff... people could get involved... and also search their own tapes for cool stuff... The whole Thinkfang thing, and the whole original drama thing, and the whole cool home recording thing... These do suggest different areas... different places in the little radio universe... Tue 7/3/01 * 5:42 PM I did "Tap-a-Mall" yesterday... it weas awesome! Anyway, here's the deal. In a little over three weeks, I need to launch Obliviana Phase Two. And depending on the nature of the launch, the future of Obliviana will either be better or worse. In other words, it's vital that I get moving! So... what the hell. Why am I so screwed up? This doesn't have to be so complicated. Let me go over the elements that are well established. Audio entertainment, not focused on music/info/talk. Modern computer technology is opening up a new delivery channel for audio, and there will be room for more variety of entertainment. To clarify, audio entertainment has had two main channels of distribution: radio and recordings. Radio is limited by enormous cost and limited availablility of frequencies. Recordings are limited by length, and cost. In terms of recordings, from LPs to CDs to tapes and all the other formats, each physical piece of media is limited to tha amount of audio... from around 45 minutes to 120 hours (on cassette). CDs can handle 80 minutes. So, to play longer audio with recordings, a number of pieces of media are required. For audiobooks, which can run into the tens of hours, it can be a bunch of cassettes, which are played one after anotherm requiring work on the part of the listener for each switch... Um... sorry I'm writing in such a weird manner. I slept most of the day away, and I'm trying to wake up here... So... in terms of radio, which provides easy and continuous sound, you gotta take what is given. And you gotta listen to commercials... So, computerized audio entertainment has the potential to be a vastly improved means of delivery of audio. First of all, the length of physical media audio is less of an issue... right now, today, you can store 60+ hours of audio (albeit lo-fi) on a single CD-R. Think about DVD, and new compression techniques, and you could store weeks and weeks of decent-quality audio on one DVD... Physical media is just one part of this. Streaming over the Internet, as well as downloading of audio files... damn I'm writing funny... I gotta wake up man! In any event... there are a variety of ways computers can handle sounds... one thing I am excited about is the idea of creative sequencing, where a set of audio files can be sequenced in different ways to make for an ever-changing listening experience. For example, one hour worth of audio, creatively sequenced in different ways could make for a very interesting user experience. What I am trying to say is that this is an exciting new medium... and I want to produce entertainment for it. And I want to produce entertainment that is not focused on music/info/talk focused. 9:11 PM Man. I can't get moving today. I'm starting to get distressed. It seems like as much as I move forward, I move back more... Or rather, gethering my strength and my resources, and making progress, and then time passes and I get confused about it all and chaos and confusion set in. This sucks. I'm trying to move to the next level in Obliviana. But I am failing thus far... What the fuck is going on? All these years of struggle and effort, and now I'm older and it's like all falling apart. So, do I give up? Do I have it in me to continue on? Yes. I can continue on. But... I have been operating under the assumption that the world around me would "cooperate" a little bit, rather than putting up continual resistance. Like, I keep trying and trying, years and years, and at some point I'm just gonna give up. Like I said, this sucks. I'm losing it. So... is it possible... possible to launch Obliviana Phase Two? Or should I just "phase it out"... 9:29 PM I feel like I'm "down and out" in life... but I have no excuse... no drug or alcohol problems... no bad childhood... so what's wrong with me? Over the years I've thought that I have supernatural powers... and I have tried tremendously to use the powers to better my situation... get successful with my creative work... but apparently to no avail. I am sure there is superna Wed 7/4/01 * 7:50 AM Yeah, I left off mid-sentence last night. I was saying that I'm sure something supernatural is going on, but I don't know what it is specifically. And if I have powers, I can't seem to use them to change things in my life. Oh, I could use twisted logic to say that I have avoided potential problems... and that I am still in the "before" of Obliviana, rather than the "after"... like, if I had gotten sucked into the whole dot-com thing, Obliviana might have briefly risen up, only to fall apart... so in this perspective, it's lucky that Obliviana hasn't gotten anywhere yet... So it's the 4th of July. Back in 1985, when I first discovered 209, America had its 209th birthday. Now it's 225. So... almost 16 years of 209... and it was 16 years ago, that summer, that I was making the Dr. Who movie... Am I a bitter old loser? Well, that remains to be seen. If I fail to take Obliviana to the next level, then I might be called that. But I haven't failed yet. I guess I'm getting a sense more than ever that the world is "broken". But... it seems... that it is my attitude that is broken... So... what do I need to do? I guess I need to create that short, sweet explanation of the project, that people will understand. "The New Computerized Audio Entertainment" is good, but it does fail somewhat to describe what it's all about. "A New Computerized Universe in the Tradition of Old-Time Radio"... interesting... "Wild-Time Radio Universe"... interesting... "A Wild Computerized Radio Station With a Whole New Idea in Entertainment, Not Focused on Music/Info/Talk"... um... I think I need something more of a "gimmick". Like, "Radio for Interdimensional Travellers" or something. "Super Occult Radio" IS pretty darn good... "Bluffcosm Super Occult Radio"... "Obliviana Super Occult Radio"... See, this is really frustrating. "Little Radio Universe"... "A Sick Little Radio Universe"... "A Wild Little Radio Universe"... "Radio Wandertainment"... "Radio Wandertainment Universe"... "A Little Wandertainment Radio Universe"... 8:27 AM "Obliviana Super Occult Amusement" is the best "slogan"... But I need to define the nature of the listener experience... I have said that people are gonna need to WANT to hear it... so I think there will be some kind of game experience, or other elements to garner involvement... Now, this element smacks of "KIVO", the "Keystone Idea of the Vision of Obliviana". And it was the fruitless quest for KIVO that drove to me "end" Obliviana last December. That is, end the quest for KIVO, and try and do simpler stuff... So... am I back to KIVO? No. I just want to figure out ways to make Bluffcosm involving... Involving. Like, having a Fonosta? NO! Um... So... it needs to be involving, it needs to be simple, it needs to be audio... Perhaps the overall thing should be preseted as less... grand. That's what I was driving at with the whole "gimmick" thing. Rather than being the "Ultimate Wandertainment Audio Universe Game", something more reserved, like "Zope's Weird Little Radio Station"... 10:18 AM Idea of getting people I don't know into Obliviana... an idea I had was to focus on different places, like colleges in different areas... to get people into it. Of course, in order to get people into it, the thing itself needs to be compelling enough for people to "get hooked" after one visit. That is, if the site is lame, people will try it once and never come back. 10:27 AM So... am I gonna make a big change in Obliviana with Phase Two? Or is it gonna remain pretty much the same? I have to pull myself together. It is this kind of miserable twisted thinking that has gotten me to this point. Am I capable of doing what I have set out to do? Am I capable of being both the creator and the publisher of entertainment? Man! This is frustrating! Why should I feel so deadlocked, so much like I'm painted into a corner? Obliviana hasn't achieved ANYTHING yet... it's still pretty much a tabula rasa. And yet in my mind... the whole thing is an intertangled mishmosh of ideas and dead ends. So... I still have to decide: [1] Go ahead with Obliviana Phase Two, audio focused. [2] Take a break from Obliviana, and work on Severe Repair only. Now, this just refers to what I'm gonna do starting on July 28, 2001. Options are open for the future. I have to say that option 2 is looking pretty attractive. But it would be horrible to abandon Obliviana, to abandon Bluffcosm! Let me say this. It is my attitude, my mental state, especially over the past few days, that is leading me in this direction. I WANT to be motivated for the Phase Two. I WANT to get moving. But I am just a mess. My mind is all muddled and confused. And when I'm trying to figure things out, I just go in circles. So really, what's wrong with me? Am I having a nervous breakdown? Are the inherent contradictions is all my fantasies and delusions finally collapsing under their own weight? Is it that Obliviana is crap and always has been, and it's my delusions that have been keeping believing that it's worthwhile? Damn. Look at this. Look at where I've gotten to! This just really sucks. And I thought 2001 was gonna bring positive changes with it. The start of the new millennium. Yeah. Great. Well, Obliviana is falling apart. But isn't that the whole idea, for it to fall apart and start fresh with Phase Two? Maybe I really need to "let go" of Phase One before I can get into Phase Two... There. Great. "I need X before I can work on it." Excuse. Excuse. 1:05 PM Okay. I'm feeling a little better now. Here is what's up with the name situation. I think it would be best to use the name "Obliviana Super Occult Amusement" as the ONE name. This is because it's a fantastic name, and also quite descriptive. This the puts the name "Bluffcosm" into question, and all the existing audio where I say "You're listening to Bluffcosm.com..." But let me say this. Whatever solution I come up with, I am gonna use "Obliviana Super Occult Amusement" as the name of the project. The name rocks... it kicks ass... and it's the same name I've been using for 7 years! Of course, at some point I started using "Obliviana.com" instead of "Obliviana Super Occult Amusement". Today, I'd rather not have the ".com" in the name. I know I talked about this earlier in this document. But it really is the case. ".com" has a lot of negative baggage right now... So, I've made the decision. "Obliviana Super Occult Amusement" ("Osoa" for short) is the name of Obliviana Phase Two. Now, I think that I can say that Osoa will not be 100% audio going into the future. I do want to focus on audio, but I will not abandon all of the non-audio stuff that has been in Obliviana. So, for the new beginning... what am I gonna do? Will OsoaWeek be in audio? I think that Bluffcosm will remain the audio "division" of Osoa. So... so far this sounds a lot like Obliviana Phase One. Well, I do want to have an element of involvement. But I do not want any kind of Fonosta, registration, or anything like that. I think I should look at what I have in Obliviana... and try and figure out what the new Obliviana is gonna be like... Well, first of all, it will be audio-centered. So, aspects that are non-audio will be talked about in the audio part. OsoaWeek will be in audio, and it will be the "home base" of the whole project. But still... I need a simple premise... I think it can be based in Thinkfang principles... and I think that Jukewand is gonna come back. Maybe use beads... beads... put beads into Jukewand to set Storms... 3:29 PM Ghost cat: Phosphorous... Okay. So I am getting closer to the new idea. Obliviana Super Occult Amusement. Activities surrounding use of Jukewand... Stormjaunts... Friction Enhancers... Light atmosphere... whimsical... "super occult amusement"... I see it... Jukewand... cool... gotta figure out the best way to get people to get Jukewands... sell them? Or just give the instructions? "Head on down to Home Depot, it'll be less than $15..." But in general, the idea of "super occult amusement"... Thinkfang principles... and just plain fun... "Entertainment packages"... a set of Stormjaunts, Friction Enhancers, and entertainment to experience. Do a set... name each set... cool... cool... Is this the idea? I think it is! Wow. Okay. So put a bunch of things in a set. The challenge will be to experience all these things, and then you'll have "done" the set. And once you do it, put it in your Fonosta...? Wow. I think I finally have the idea. It's a very good idea... PDF single sheet to print out, checklist... Now... what are these "sets" gonna be called? 3:54 PM Well, I am giddy with excitement. But I have to make this idea a reality. I am very pleased with the initial idea... but I need to go through the difficult process of making it a reality. See, at this stage, the idea is vague, and in my imagination, I fill in the vague parts with perfect twinkling light of inspiration... I've been through this many times. Then, when it comes time to bring the thing in question into reality, the vague parts need to be clearly defined, and the thing loses its "glow"... But this idea... it's a very good idea... but I have to get specific. The idea: Define a set of things to do to complete each "set". Each set will have a name, and there will be a checklist of things to do in order to complete the set. Once the set is complete, the person then "has" that set. And I think it's something that could be done more than once... In terms of the checklist, I see it being in PDF format... with JPEG or GIF also possible... something that can be printed out... written on... and kept as a record. In terms of the things to be done, listening to Blufftoons will definitely be one thing to do. And some Friction Enhancers could be mixed in there... and other stuff in Obliviana... like Zope, Superior, etc... Having these sets established, the old stuff and the new stuff will be meaningful for people who are experienced in Obliviana and also new to it. This idea implemented will make Osoa involving... "Welcome to the world of Obliviana Super Occult Amusement..." Now, what about the ratio of audio to non-audio stuff? Should I try and do all audio? Or should I mix it up? I think that it will be cool to mix it up... and have stuff from all of Obliviana... Idea of choosing things... like, on the day you start, choose one thing from this page... and on the next day, choose another... players make choices... In this context, trivia games will make more sense... when certain sets of Blufftoons are listened to more... And... I could tell players that if they make websites about their progress, I'll link to them... in this way, it will not be too draining for me to "administer" the system... The idea of... certain "rewards" after completing a certain number of sets... such as certain "medals"... Also, for each set, setting a time that should pass before doing it again... Wow. I think I finally got it. Is this KIVO? Time will tell. But let me tell you, this is something that I DESPERATELY needed! 4:14 PM Idea: Text Wandertainment games... play ONLY while doing a set... and record where you end up! Fri 7/6/01 * 10:39 PM Well, 2 days later now, I think that this new idea is definitely a candidate for "KIVO". That is, it could very well be the "Keystone Idea". So, I have decided to move forward and implement the idea, and to introduce it on Saturday, July 28, 2001... just 3 weeks from now. The key to this idea is the "set", which I really need to come up with a name for. The idea is that a set is a set of things to do, and once the things are done, the set is "gotten". Sets are represented by one side of an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper... a "checklist", and more... Each set will have a "glyph" associated with it. These glyphs will be made available as JPEGs or GIFs, and people can use them to display all the sets they have done. There will be different kinds of sets, and different areas... maybe LWOR will come back? This new idea is very much a continuation of all my work in Obliviana. Sat 7/7/01 * 11:27 AM Okay. I have the idea. Now I have to implement it. And perhaps, that means starting a new document. So let me end this document with the stuff that has "accumulated" at the bottom... --- Sasha writes: "9000000000p" ".,," ropad secific secific ropad audio of movies audio movies Bluffcosm! MP3 playlist-based game? --- These are notes I made and stuff. Sasha is one of my two kittens, and he did write that "one-trillion-p". So, onwards! On to the implemenetation of the new idea! ***** ------------------- SUPERIOR REVIEW ----------- SUPERIOR 362 There was a strong smell of lemon cookies in the dimensional alley. Wow, that would be a good first line of a book. New York City in the rain--nice cliche, but there was no one there for me to share it with. (((From OsoaWeek065--10/20/95))) ***** As is referred to in the Superior, the first line is quite good.... maybe I'll use it in Severe Repair sometime... The whole New York City part is okay, but not great by any means. But overall, this one isn't that bad. It's decent. (Reviewed 7/27/01) ------------------- SUPERIOR 3: DUSKAWAY ----------- DUSKAWAY 163 * 7/27/01 * 1013 Forced into a scheme of action. So imperfect, yet so aware of what it would be like to be a lot closer to perfect, you and everyone else. Give me a meander, okay, give me a gift. The facade. Going to sleep with the happy fantasies, adrift, but next day will have to continue to figure the world out. ------------------- END -----------
363-------------------OSOAWEEK Ezine of Obliviana Issue 363, 7/12/01 (Book 28, No. 12 / Tarb 15241 / Year 7) by Frank Edward Nora, Lord of Obliviana ----------- ------------------- THE BLUFFCOSM REPORT ----------- ***** OBLIVIANA PHASE TWO by Frank Edward Nora, Lord of Obliviana Sat 7/7/01 * 11:41 AM Here's the situation. 7 years ago I started Obliviana Super Occult Amusement, with the release of OsoaWeek 001. In that ezine, I set forth a plan... a plan which never really worked. 6 months ago, I was still looking for the elusive "Keystone Idea of the Vision of Obliviana" (KIVO for short), which would bring all the disparate elements of Obliviana together. And then I decided to give up. The quest for KIVO had been taken a toll on my life, and there was no end in sight. So I decided to focus on individual projects in Obliviana, and to forget about KIVO. Well, I did forget about KIVO... and I decided to go forward with Obliviana Phase Two, starting on July 28, 2001... the beginning of Year 8 for OsoaWeek. My plan was to move forward with an audio-only Obliviana. And this was my plan up to a few days ago. Last Wednesday, July 4, 2001, I was working on ways to promote the audio-centric Obliviana, when I came up with an idea... an idea which I have decided is a candidate for KIVO. And with this idea, I have shifted my plans, away from the audio-only Obliviana, and back to Obliviana in a number of different media. So, I went from planning on wiping out the old Obliviana to make way for the new one, to a plan of keeping all the old stuff and expanding on it. This shift came very suddenly... and I am wary, because I have had ideas before which I was sure were KIVO... but ultimately turned out not to be. And it has only been 3 days... but I am confident enough in the idea to move forward with it. So here's the plan: I want to launch Obliviana Phase Two 3 weeks from today, on July 28. And it will introduce the new idea. The new idea. I am still working on the terminology, but I have some new working words. Okay. The basic idea is to establish the "Foray", which is a set of things to do in Obliviana. The Foray is represented by one side of a letter-sized sheet of paper. The "Foray Sheet" contains a list of things to be done, which are checked off, and there will also be room to write dates and times and other things. And there will be the ultimate "DONE" to check off and date. Once a Foray is "done", it is "gotten", and it goes into the player's "Fonosta". In terms of practical recordkeeping, the Foray printouts can be kept in a folder. And I do intend for people to print out the Foray Sheets on their own. I will make the Foray sheets available online as PDFs, and perhaps also as GIFs or JPEGs... I see these printouts as being in color, since most computer users today have a color inkjet. Beyond the paper record, there is the idea of the Fonosta Glyph. Each Foray will have a colorful glyph to identify it. This glyph will appear on the printout itself... and the glyphs will also be available as JPEGs or GIFs online. And the idea of a Fonosta Glyph is very simple: a graphic which includes all the Foray Glyphs that the player has completed. So, at a glance, a person that is into Osoa will be able to see what another player's experience in Osoa has been. I want to note that most of the ideas I am talking about here have been a part of my Obliviana development over the years... but never in this exact "alignment". I have had the idea of a Fonosta Glyph in the past, but the nature of the component Glyphs were never as straightforward as they are now. "Obliviana Super Occult Amusement" is the perfect name for this endeavor. It strikes a balance... there are supernatural things involved, but in a whimsical way. The supernatural side is, of course Thinkfang/209/Stormjaunting... Before I get into the specific compoents of Forays, I want to be very specific about the nature of Forays. Forays are all "of the same kind", no matter what their requirements or prerequisites. One Foray = one Foray Glyph. And a Foray is either complete or not complete. I want to keep the basic system very "clean"... very simple... Call the Fonosta Glyph a "magical symbol"? I do want to refer to things in terms that people can understand. Now, there will be a wide variety of Forays. They are all "of the same kind" and "at the same level" in terms of each one resulting in a Foray Glyph, but I foresee there being a great diversity of Forays. So... what are some of the basic "rules" of Forays? First, they need to strike a balance in terms of the amount of time and effort they require to complete. I think that each one should take several days and a number of hours to complete. I like the idea of "Day One", "Day Two", etc. But they can't be TOO long and hard to complete... or people will lose interest. I think that the concept of the "scavenger hunt" is potentially useful in describing Osoa to people in relatable terms. I do want to make Osoa understandable. In this endeavor, there are two main levels: The level of the Forays, and the level of the specific stuff "inside" the Forays. At the Foray level, there are several main issues. First, the establishment of the concept of "building your magical symbol", ie, "working on your Fonosta Glyph". Then, there is the idea of the different kinds of Forays... I have always wanted there to be a "good-natured rivalry" thing going on in Osoa. And from the start in OsoaWeek 001, I established a number of different things to choose from, to help create different groups... Idea: Will there be any meaning to the arrangement of Glyphs in the Fonosta Glyph? Ie, will there be ways to express approval and disapproval...? In pasts Fonosta systems, I have incorporated the idea of choosing things, such as, in OsoaWeek 001, "Quanxactive Teams", "Flowers", etc. Well, in this new system, there will be no arbitrary "choosing"... everything will be done on the Foray level. And choice will be apparent in the nature of the set of Forays completed. Now, there will be an element of "prerequisites". That is, for some Forays, there will be a certain number and type of previously completed Forays required. The idea of making choices within a single Foray could affect future Forays. For example, entering into a "Text Wandertainment" and recording the ultimate outcome... and that outcome then affecting future Forays... Now, in terms of the overall structure of the range of Foray kinds... I must figure out how Little World of Racetracks figures in... First of all, I want to establish that in this new idea, all of the existing work in Obliviana will be potentially "included". So, LWOR will absolutely be a part of the whole thing... it's just a question of the way it will be involved. This issue relates to the "top Foray level". That is, will LWOR be involved at the top level, or not? The basic idea in Osoa is going to be "building your magic symbol". "Minisymbols" as the element description...? So, pertinent to this issue, is the question of how the overall "areas" will be defined. That is, certain Forays will be more related to each other than others. I see "series" of Forays, and "higher level" Forays with prerequisites in a certain series, or perhaps from two or more series. The idea of "character classes" from Dungeons and Dragons is an idea that establishes a set range of "types"... and I want to do something in a similar vein. This has long been an idea in Obliviana. And, in Obliviana, there are a number of clearly-defined "aspects". Note: "Osoa" is short for "Obliviana Super Occult Amusement". I use the terms "Osoa" and "Obliviana" interchangably. Defining the range of Obliviana aspects is something I have spent a lot of time on in my work on Obliviana. From the 1987 "NACHUZM", to "NIACHUZM" of a year or two later, to the most recent LWOR work, I've been working on this topic. 12:54 PM I'm checking out Get All Obliviana 2, Part 4. This writing is from the days before Obliviana Day 1999... two years ago... and it is VERY interesting. I was in much the same position as I am now... but I think I'm in a much better position today... Ah yes! I knew I needed to go into the past of Obliviana a little. The "Fonosta Glyph" should of course be called "Your Fonosta Device"!!! Here's something interesting. I've worked a lot on the idea of a simple game that is scalable. In the past, I viewed this game as a real game, like tic-tac-toe or chess. But in the context of the new idea, the game itself is to complete Forays to add to Your Fonosta Device... it's that simple! Forays... Quests... Obliviana Challenges... Trick Sojourn... The Octagon-based Glyphs... very interesting... Okay... my Obliviana Day 1999 release was "High Glyph Overland", a game idea that was very sketchy, and that I never played with anyone, to this day, and that I never really developed. I see in retrospect that the game element, ie, a specific little game, was not the right idea. 1:11 PM Wow. 2 years ago I was really deeply obsessed with the game idea and the formal structure of 11x19=209 and 8x2x5=80. With the new idea, none of this stuff is part of the "big idea". The "big idea" now is to build your magical symbol, called "Your Fonosta Device". It is built up from "Foray Glyphs", which are gotten by completing Forays. So, the question remains... what is the structure of the types of Forays? From GAO2, Part 5 (Sat 8/7/99): --- MAJOR [A] Racetrack Arctahojast--Severe Repair [B] Racetrack Voodholo--Superior [C] Racetrack Pilcansas--Halfevil Graphics [D] Racetrack Hucaway--Devastating Nightscape [E] Racetrack Moodbruc--Zope [F] Racetrack Roptoon--Welcome to the Weasel Village Mall [G] Racetrack Inhusto--Super Object [H] Racetrack Fogoncs--Trash the Airport Meadow WAY [x] Railway Stunposso-- [o] Waterway Jincafurhee-- MINOR [1] Racetrack Owltoco--Stormjaunting [2] Racetrack Wroohoots--Friction Enhancer [3] Racetrack Twahokum--Fonosta Device [4] Racetrack Quonchaw--Jukewand [5] Racetrack Barolcoo--Scrip --- 2:10 PM I've been going over the "Fonostagon Glyphs" from May and June 2000. These are the glyphs made from Octagon-80 and Octagon-112. And I do think that these glyphs should be the graphical basis for the glyphs in the new system. Now, in general, I want to avoid getting stuck in the "muck" of the super-coomplex and convoluted system in Obliviana's past. Specifically, at the "top-level" of the Forays. Idea: Foray --> Fray. So, at the "top level" there exist a set of Forays, and each one you complete adds a Glyphs to Your Fonosta Device. The big question right now about the top level is the nature of the structure. That is, categories, divisions, etc. 2:26 PM I want to keep the "top level" as simple as possible. So in terms of divisions, they will have to be simple. And there will have to be some very simple Forays to complete. I think that some Forays should be completely made up of "drinking in" various entertainment productions. It is this "top level" that will make or break the system. Now, along with the "top level" is the "archive", which consists of all the stuff that I currently have online. I do plan on keeping the archive online, and allowing people to get to the stuff they need on their own. That is, in terms of listening to Blufftoons that are on MP3.com, for example, a player can go there on their own and find the Blufftoon to be heard. This is a big part of the system. The "delivery methods" vary and require some work on the part of players... and the motivation comes from the "game aspect" of building up the "magical symbol". I think that in terms of top-level structure, the simplest Forays will need to be the most easily-accessible. I think that different "branchings" of Forays should be accessible via different "levels" or "pathways"... The idea will always be that of the "challenge". Each Foray is a challenge... and accepting the challenge brings ego into the whole thing. That is, a player, upon accepting the challenge, then has ego issues at stake in terms of completing the challenge. If completed, the player will get a sense of satisfaction... in the case of failure... well, the player will feel, um, "bad"... But will it be possible to fail at Forays? That is, there is a set of things to do... can't these things eventually be done? Will there be a time limit? I think that there should perhaps be a limit of doing one Foray at a time. And within the challenge, there will be "Day One", "Day Two", etc. Idea: Foray --> Osoa Challenge 3:13 PM In terms of my confidence level, I think I am still "stung" from so many years of failure, and I am extremely reluctant to tell people who I've tried to get into Obliviana before that it's back again. But, thankfully, there is a world full of people who have never heard a thing about Obliviana, and they will be hearing about it for the first time. So I should not fret about being shy about telling the few-hundred people about the new Obliviana... I don't have to tell them. Not that I'm gonna keep it a secret, but I don't need to push it onto the people that I know. 3:22 PM I just checked out the email I sent out 3 years ago... reprinted in OsoaWeek 347. It's refers to the "Obliviana Revival"... and also refers to several unsuccessful attempts in the past to get Obliviana going, because my ideas "weren't yet 'there'". So... what about Obliviana Day 2000? What was I doing last year? Let me check... 3:29 PM Okay. Last year, I was pretty mellow. I launched ZopeTV, and decided to put the game/occult-type stuff on the "back burner". I was also reading some Duskaways from a year ago... some good stuff in there. So, what about the question of division in the top level? Well, first off, these divisions are going to be based on the nature of the challenges in the Forays. I see some being completely entertainment-based, and some being completely Thinkfang-based. And some being more of a mix of things. But there is a clear division of stuff in Obliviana, both stuff that is existing and that I am planning to create. 3:50 PM Yes. This is the big question. The nature of the way Forays will be presented and organized at the top level. 4:28 PM I've been trying to think of a good name for "Foray"... Wander Quest, Wander Trip, Obliviana Trip, Wander Challenge... 4:35 PM Well, after some research, it seems to me that "Trick Sojourn" is a very good name for "Foray". Could be shortened to "Trick S" or "Trick-S"... or "Trick-So"... "hey man, you wanna go on a Trick-So with me?" 4:48 PM I did some searches online for "Trickso" and "Trixo"... and there's not much out there... so I think that "Trick Sojourn", shortened as "Trick-So" is cool... "Little challenges called 'Trick Sojourns'" "Trick Sojourn" is a term that has been in Obliviana for a long time... I know that the most recent meaning was a 13-week period... but where did it start...? OK... started off as a Codingseed... then was an OsoaWeek feature with reviews and stuff... Here's an excerpt from OsoaWeek 088: --- Sat 3/23/96 * 3:07 PM * home * Tarb 3627 I decided to call Eons Trick Sojourns. Okay. --- So that when I started using the term for the period of 13 weeks... also known as "OsoaWeek Books"... But now, Trick Sojourn has a new meaning...! "Trick-So" is a very cool word. 5:14 PM Trick-So... cool... "Trick-So #15"... So... I still need to answer the question about the structure. Well, I think I'd like to let the content dictate the structure to some extent. So... let me take a look at the various "divisions" within Obliviana... like I have so many times before... Okay. Let me take a look... [1] Bluffcosm. Audio. [2] Thinkfang. 209. [3] Zope. Comics. [4] Superior. Poems. [5] Severe Repair. Sci-fi. [6] Text Wandertainment. Ciffipur Pathways... [7] Board Games, Card Games. [8] Hemisinister Review. [9] Humor. ABM. Etc. [10] Vending Yamp. Scrip. [11] Super Objects. [12] Computer Games? [13] Little World of Racetracks. This is an initial overview of the current situation. I want to re-introduce the idea of buying things via mail order. Some Trick-So's will require stuff to be bought... it will be completely voluntary if someone want to do these kind of Trick-So's. Note: "Trixo"? No. That spelling does not have the same connotations as "Trick-So". I also want to have the idea of puzzles, secrets, etc. Remember Xappenshard Craze! Trick-So idea: Listen to Blufftoon Shuffle, for 1-hour a day over the course of 3 days. I think that I will probably start the system off "small", with a few Bluffcosm-based Trick-So's. But I need the system to be fully established... So it will indeed be a very scalable system. Tue 7/10/01 * 9:55 PM Okay. First of all, I came up with a new term for the sets: "Dashic Deed" or "Dashic Deeds". Trick Sojourn / Trick-So is out, as far as this term goes. The set itself and the piece of paper is called a "Deed". And the individual things done are called "Deeds". Is this cool? Since I came up with "Dashic Deeds" the other day I have been very happy with it. Then I realized the whole Deed/Deeds thing. Or could I just call the thing "Dashic Deeds", as opposed to "Dashic Deeds". I mean, it is a list of Dashic Deeds to do. Just for the record, I came up with the term "Dashic Deed" yesterday morning at 7:50 AM. "Dashical Symbol", "Dashical Scroll"... Okay. So, I need to come up with the... like the core idea here... and it seems like the whole thing could have a tongue-in-cheek magical aspect to it... with some real magic in there as well... The idea of a single idea is still very important. So, something like: "Obliviana Super Occult Amusement. Download and print out magical scrolls of psycho-psychic-psychedelic entertainment." Um... "A seriously strange new kind of magic..." So the core activity is the Dashic Deeds... downloading Deeds... and doing them... and then getting a new Dashical Symbol for Your Fonosta Device. The whole Deed/Deeds thing... the confusion arises in terms of referring to the set itself, as opposed to the individual activities it contains. "Dasic Deeds Deed"...? No... too silly... "Dashic Deeds" is a very cool term... I don't want to ruin it... "Scroll of Dashic Deeds" (SODD). Um... I think it could just be called "Dashic Deeds", with the activities listed, and referred to as "Deeds". Maybe call it "Dashical Symbol"? Hmmm... Say that #1 is gonna be called "The Evil Farm", and the Dashic Deeds are/is to listen to all 10 episodes of "The Evil Farm". It could be called "Dashic Deeds #1: The Evil Farm"... or "Dashical Symbol #1: The Evil Farm"... um... the first one sounds a lot better. Yeah, it's gotta be called "Dashic Deeds". "Do your Dashic Deeds", "Have you done your Dashic Deed(s) for the day?" Side note: This new system satisfies my longstanding requirement that the system would have been feasible in a pre-computer environment. So... the system... In Obliviana Super Occult Amusement, players gotta do Dashic Deeds. Each Dashic Deeds you do gets you a new Dashical Symbol, which you can put into Your Fonosta Device, which is a graphic consisting of all the Dashical Symbols you have earned. Each Dashic Deeds can be printed out on your inkjet printer, and as they are completed, the "scrolls" go into a folder or whatever, called your Fonosta -- your personal record in Obliviana. Just call it "Magical Symbol"...? I don't want to dilute "Dashic Deeds" with stuff that sounds lame. "Magical Fonosta Symbol"... YES! Sarcastic, psychedelic, "down home"... great! So... a rundown of terms: [1] OBLIVIANA SUPER OCCULT AMUSEMENT. The overall endeavor. [2] DASHIC DEEDS. Sets of activities and challenges, printed out on paper. [3] MAGICAL FONOSTA SYMBOL. The symbol you get when your Dashic Deed is DONE. [4] FONOSTA. The folder that you keep your done Dashic Deeds in. [5] YOUR FONOSTA DEVICE. All of your Magical Fonosta Symbols, shown together in one big super-symbol... all your Obliviana accomplishments laid out, for all to see... [6] BLUFFCOSM. The radio station of Obliviana. [7] SUPERIOR PARKING DUSKAWAY. The weird little poems of Obliviana. ...um... maybe that's a good idea... calling Superior "Superior Parking Duskaway". Or maybe not. Maybe just keeping it "Superior" is better. Yeah... just "Superior" is better. It works better in this context. So... [7] SUPERIOR. The weird little poems of Obliviana. [8] ZOPE. The deranged little cartoon character of Obliviana. [9] LITTLE WORLD OF RACETRACKS. The lame little virtual reality of Obliviana... you'll love it! [10] THINKFANG. The little occult freedom generator of Obliviana...? [11] SEVERE REPAIR. The science fiction epic of Obliviana. (The Star Wars of Obliviana?) Thu 7/12/01 * 9:07 PM Well, the "bubble" has burst. I have found a major flaw in the Dashic Deeds system, and now I'm back to square one... I need a new "Keystone Idea"... and I'm running out of energy for this process of revelation and then knockdown. The problem is, there is no real context to doing Dashic Deeds, or to building up Your Fonosta Device. People will ask "Why should I do this checklist thing to get magic symbols? Why do I want magic symbols? I can just check the stuff out without a checklist." And I have no answer. So... what the hell. Where do I go from here? Should I lunge after the new "Keystone Idea", or should I cut my losses and go back to the whole audio idea? 10:07 PM Well, my "normal" response to this situation would be "let's go full stream ahead and solve the problem, get the Keystone!" But I am burnt out peeling the layers off this onion. The issue here is that in order for Obliviana to succeed, I need a REALLY REALLY good idea. I have no money to promote Obliviana. It would need to be so good that people get into it through buzz and word of mouth and all that. This is why I need a "Keystone". I really thought I had the right idea last week... but I was wary, and I am not surprised that the bubble has burst. But am I being too tough on the idea? No. The lack of a greater context is a major problem. I thought of possibly taking away the Fonosta aspect, and just keeping the whole Checklist idea... but at that level the idea is weak... really weak. Now, I way as well "probe" a little for an answer. I think that clearly, if there is an answer, it lies with Thinkfang/209. But... I really need to make a decision. Obliviana Day is just 16 days away... and groping for another goddamn "Keystone Idea" is not necessarily the best course of action. It sucks, because I have been crafting my plans in line with the new Dashic Deeds idea. So now, going back to the audio idea is going to be hard... So let me try and work this out. I need a larger context. A reason for people to do Dashic Deeds, to care about their Fonosta Device. Man... thinking about it... there is nothing compelling in the plan. People are gonna not be at all interested, if I introduce the plan as it is laid out so far. I need an idea where people, upon hearing about it, would say "Oh wow, yeah! That sounds cool! I'd like to try that!" At this moment, I am wondering what the new Keystone is, and I'm also wondering if it's worth pursuing. Larger context. Hmmm. The audio idea was not bad, not bad at all. Up till today, the whole Dashic Deeds thing was going along VERY well. Everything seemed to be falling into place, till I hit the brick wall of context... Looking at the Dashic Deed idea I printed out last night... I realize... I cannot let go of this idea... I must work through this problem... and if I don't get a new Keystone... just release it "as is"... who gives a fuck if anyone cares about it. I gotta move forward, and maybe by moving forward I'll get some insight into the "New Keystone". "It's Super Occult Amusement... a new kind of entertainment... combining cutting-edge content with an innovative supernatural system. Gotta check it out!" Now, this is interesting... "Combining entertainment with the supernatural..." (Hence, the name... Obliviana Super Occult Amusement) Hmmm... could this be the "New Keystone"? Maybe... I gotta push the supernatural side a bit more... the Thinkfang/209 side... I gotta stop being shy about it! But is 209 supernatural enough to satisfy the implication in this concept? And can I keep things light and tongue-in-cheek while pushing the supernatural side like this? "If you think there's nothing new in the world of the "New Age", you're wrong! Obliviana Super Occult Amusement is a system which has a lot of new supernatural ideas! It's a system whose power rests in YOUR hands alone. No vague "cosmic powers", no "praying to spirits"... none of that. When you learn about Obliviana, you'll see that it's legit. We don't make outrageuos claims... and once you know more about the system, you'll see that it makes sense." Sat 7/14/01 * 10:21 AM 2 weeks to go. And I am still in turmoil... Last night I went to bed to "rest" at about 8:30 PM... and I slept all night... over 12 hours of sleep. I'm getting depressed over the situation in Obliviana, as well as my financial situation. But I cannot despair! I must move forward! I've been recording a tape in my Jeep parked across from my bus stop over the past few days, talking about these issues, the finances and the Obliviana stuff... Anyway, I've realized that I haven't really spent a lot of time in the past trying to gauge how people will react to Obliviana. So I think I need to come up with a "top level" of Obliviana Super Occult Amusement, apart from the content, that will CONNECT with people. 10:58 AM First of all, the name Obliviana Super Occult Amusement implies many things. I think that the name itself is going to make many people receptive to hearing more about it. On a side note, I want to say that for some reason, whenever I am dwelling on the issue of the Keystone Idea, I get visions of the Lyndhurst Bridge, which I cross twice a day on the bus going to and coming back from work. So this is what I want: a simple idea that people will say once they hear it "Wow, yeah, that sounds really cool! I'll definitely check it out." Well... saying that SINCERELY in any case... I know someone could say that in the course of blowing something off, or trying to be nice. Also, this top-level thing is going to provide the lacking context of what the system is "really" all about. Why should someone spend/waste their time with Obliviana? Idea: The original Octagon vision... each "object" having eight aspects, such as architectural elements in buildings, etc. Magical Fonosta Symbols are now graphically Fonostagons, which are bounded by an octagon. In Super Occult Amusement... combining entertainment and the supernatural... you become an Osoan... an Oblivianan... a Dashician... a Thinkfanger... an Obliviana Freak... But another direction would be to make Obliviana like a cool "channel" like MTV or something. And another idea is the rivalry between the different aspects of Obliviana... The idea of an entertainment "channel" based on Dashic Deeds... where the entertainment system is a combination of entertainment and the 209 supernatual system... one example might be "read Superior collection #3 in a shopping center parking lot at night". "Want to have strange and exciting experiences? There a whole world out there! You can have exciting and weird and cool adventures NOW! You can be a part of something awesome NOW! Go on adventures... you can even tape record them for others to listen to in Obliviana! Let's go!" 11:20 AM Just talked to Pete. Gonna get together with him tomorrow to record a new Blufftoon Time with him and his friend Dave. Cool! Anyway... I think that last thing I wrote hits pretty deep into this issue. I think that this is the right idea... the idea of not waiting anymore to have cool adventures... there is a world to explore all around us! No matter where you are, you can explore the mysteries of reality... you can have real adventures! And in Obliviana, you can choose what sorts of experiences you want to have. You can sit back and check out weird and exciting entertainment... or you can step into the action and go on adventures yourself! You can even tape record your adventures for others to hear! 12:18 PM OK what shall I do now? Okay. This is a good idea, this stuff. But look at me. All exhausted with work and Obliviana development and financial problems. And now I have this ambitious project I want to get started. I am overwhelmed. This vision for Obliviana is big. A lot of stuff going on. Am I up to the task? Well, I think I am. And I am going to implement it in stages. So the overall vision need not be overwhelming. But I do need to distill this new idea down to a single simple idea. I think I'm gonna reread this document right now, from the beginning. 12:39 PM Idea: Dashic Deeds Minisymbol...? Idea: Little FOW-based games on the Dashic Deeds itself... Reading... the "Big Idea"... start exploring the systeries of reality, start having adventures RIGHT NOW! But it needs another element... like a specific way of doing it... something to make it distinctive... like maybe the idea of taking little trips "away from reality" (without drugs)... Vending Yamp, specifically the idea of people making it and selling it and trading it... very cool. Idea: Dasic Deeds Trip. Dashic Deeds Minitrip. Dashic Deeds Mini-Trip. Hmmm... Dashic Deeds Mini-Trip... hmmm... "Explore the mysteries of the universe by going on Dashic Deeds Mini-Trips!" "Be a wild pioneer on the edge of reality!" 1:12 PM Well, I didn't get all the way through... but I have a cool new idea in the concept of the "Dashic Deeds Mini-Trip". "Obliviana Mini-Trip"? Dashic Deeds would still be the things to do inside the Obliviana Mini-Trip. This is a possibility. "Obliviana Super Occult Amusement. Be a wild pioneer on the edge of reality by embarking on Obliviana Mini-Trips! There are numerous Mini-Trips to choose from!" 3:37 PM 8 types of Mini-Trips I think. The whole 8 thing is very important. "Dashic Deeds Mini-Trips" vs. "Obliviana Mini-Trips" vs. "Dashic Deed Mini-Trips" vs. "Minitrips". Well, I think that "Obliviana Mini-Trips" wins here, for the sake of clarity. The Dashic Deeds are the things to do within the OMT's. I do want to establish the 8 thing. This relates to Octagon and to LWOR (8 Major Racetracks). It has been in Obliviana for a long time... So the 8... Obliviana Mini-Trips are little journies you go on to the explore the fringes of reality. There are a number of different trips to choose from... and you can be embarking on your first trip in just a little while! Why go on Obliviana Mini-Trips? Why go on cool little adventures, exploring the fringes of reality? It's a lot more exciting than sitting around and watching TV, or aimlessly meandering through the Internet... 7:44 PM Went to a party... I was feeling depressed. I know why I'm feeling depressed. The double whammy of financial problems and the continuing lack of success in Obliviana. But, as you can see, I'm continuing on, trying to make Obliviana into something. But I'm losing enthusiasm. I've felt for a long time... since I graduated from college in 1989... that my life was "on hold" till Obliviana took off. Now here I am in 2001... and though my life is certainly not fully "on hold", things have not turned out the way I was hoping they would. So, the thought of a successful Obliviana now is kind of a weird thought. It's like... like the time for Obliviana is over with, and if it takes off, it'll be like... I don't know. I've always known that to succeed with Obliviana would take perserverence. And it is irrational to think of the time of Obliviana to be "over". But like I said, the situations around me are making me depressed, and feeling that some things are "over". Financially speaking, I'm gonna have to adopt a different lifestyle for between 3 and 5 years to get out of debt. So I'm staring down the road at years of crap. I can't delude myself and be in denial about that... I can't have this darn delusion that "in a few months Obliviana is gonna take off and I'll make lots of money and everything will be okay". So I know that I'm facing years of crap, and that is upsetting, and therefore I am upset. Now, it does seem that I am making progress in Obliviana, and as you can see I am pressing forward. But I have little "faith" in Obliviana anymore. "Faith" that I would have good luck, and that things would "go my way" and that Obliviana would "come together". Now, I realize that I have to make Obliviana work, or else it's not gonna work. And realistically, something like Obliviana is going to be extremely difficult to get off the ground, especially since I'll have even less money to put into it in the next few years than I have been able to over the past few years. But I have decided to keep on going with Obliviana. Right now, I don't know exactly what direction I'm gonna be going with it... this current direction, with the Obliviana Mini-Trips, seems like a pretty good direction, but the Audio Obliviana idea is good too. 9:49 PM Yeah, I feel like crap. I am distraught over the situation, and I realize that being upset is making the situation worse. My confidence in Obliviana is very low. I can hardly imagine it working and people getting into it. And after so many years of working on it, it sucks to be feeling this way. It's like, after trying so hard, why have I wound up here? But I do have some hope. I always have, in the back of my mind, this faith... but it seems very far away. Well, in terms of the financial situation, I have no choice but to do what I have to do... that is, tighten the belt, a lot. And I will. And it upsets me a lot, looking forward to what the next few years are gonna be like. But in this I don't have choice. In terms of Obliviana, there are a lot of choices. Obliviana is not a factor in my financial situation. It doesn't cost much, and it's not likely to make any money in the next few years. Right now, it's just my hobby. Of course, I'd like for it to become my full-time job, and be able to make money at it... but that does not seem too likely in the near future. So, the only sense of urgency comes from the impending Obliviana Day, and the end of 7 years of Obliviana... and the start of Obliviana Phase 2. I want to start Year 8 off on the right foot. But I realize now that Obliviana is just a hobby. I've tried for a long time to make it something more, but for a variety of reasons it has not become something more. I have blamed Obliviana for my financial state... and for my lack of a career, since I always felt that Obliviana was "almost there", so I did not put a lot of emphasis on developing a career. But also, it's just my personality, it's who I am... the thought of giving up on being "special", and accepting being one of the masses... I just can't do it. It has been the delusion of Obliviana being constantly "very near" success that has kept me cheerful and optimistic. That delusion was also probably responsible for Obliviana never getting anywhere. When you add it all up, it makes me look at myself and see... well, kind of a failure. I know I've created a lot of cool stuff in Obliviana... and I know I have some cool new ideas... but I have failed, in many respects. Now, I have to pay the price for my failure... specifically, living a more austere life to be able to get back on my feet financially. So, like I've said... several years of crappy times. But it is the price I am paying for the bliss of living high in the clouds of my delusions. And I have to wonder, is it time to just fucking pack it in with this goddamn Obliviana? I don't know. I feel like I should continue on. My new ideas seem SO good. But I've been here before... and the "good" ideas go sour... and I'll more than likely be back to searching for the Keystone Idea yet again. Y'know, I think I was smart back in December to give up on the fucking "KIVO". Now, I'm back to it again. Well, I may as well see this new idea through to its logical conclusion. I'll move forward... and it'll seem cool for awhile... and I'll patch something together for Obliviana Day... and then it'll all fall apart. That's the way it's been... Am I being overly gloomy? Am I exaggerating, hoping that the "Murphy's Law" element will kick in? That is, I act like I'm all dejected, and then something good happens, unexpectedly? Ah, I'm just getting disgusted with this whole process. This whole thing with Super Occult Amusement, Octagon, LWOR, 209, etc... the whole occult/game thing... I can't get away from it. I GAVE IT UP in December, and now I'm back doing it again. Why? Why? I'm thinking, maybe it'll work out this time. Well, I think I will keep on working on this new idea, until it either fails or succeeds. But I have to say, I really think it's gonna fail. Fuck this. I'm gonna stop fucking working on Obliviana for tonight. Better luck tomorrow. 11:12 PM Well, I'm back. I am concerned at how upset I am. So I have made a decision, and I felt it was important to write that decision down here. I have decided that I am not gonna put pressure on myself to get something done for Obliviana Day. I am not saying that I'm abandoning anything in Obliviana... just that I am not going to go crazy (literally?) trying to get something new going on July 28. So... the pressure is off. The future of Obliviana is wide open. But Obliviana Day is most likely not gonna be the start of a new direction. Phase Two will come... in its own time. So that's it. Phase Two is delayed indefinitely. I'm gonna record Blufftoon Time #2 tomorrow. And maybe I'll also work on finishing Classictronica #2. So, no pressure. I'm the only person that'll know the difference anyway, as far as Phase Two on Obliviana Day goes. But the financial situation is very stressful, and I just can't take the added stress of needing to "deliver" for Obliviana Day. Call it giving up, whatever. I don't wanna push myself over the edge. Wow. This document has gotten kinda intense, kinda personal, eh? Whatever. Goodnight. Wed 7/18/01 * 7:44 PM Went to a presentation thing today, Edward Tufte. Prety cool. So... where am I at... Let me go over my new idea. It's basically to make Bluffcosm CD's. These CD's will be very simply called "Bluffcosm 1", "Bluffcosm 2", etc. Each CD will contain a variety of material, and will be produced with the idea of people listneing to them over and over again. My idea is to produce these CD's as easily and cheaply as possible, and also promote the idea of people copying them for their friends. I developed a simple scheme of how to mark the CD itself... a square around the central circle, smaller square on top of the big square, sharing left sides. The number (or other identifier) to the right of the big square, and the word "Bluffcosm" below the square. So, this idea is exceedingly simple... just try and get these CD's in people's hands... get people to listen... and copy... I also think that I should try and get Deadhead / Phish / Jam Band-type people into it. I see there being no other markings, just a CD with the descibed markings in Sharpie. But, what about the other ideas and stuff? Well, first of all, I think that the whole Dashic Deeds / Obliviana Mini-Trips idea is GOOD. But considering my current constraints on time and money, it is unfeasible. This year, my plna was to work on Bluffcosm and Severe Repair, and OsoaWeek and Superior... and Fonjo a little. Well, I have gotten a lot of work done on Bluffcosm, very little on Severe Repair. I don't see myself having the time to devote to a massive Obliviana Mini-Trips structure. That said... it is a shame to have to put all the new ideas I've gotten about Osoa in the past few weeks on hold... so is there any way to go ahead and launch the whole Dashic Deeds thing? Well, I don't see it. And there is also the element that I don't WANT it. This whole game/cult thing... I did reject the idea last December. It came back. And I'm pretty much rejecting it again. But should I try and hold on? Should I try and adopt a "compromise", as in... using the Obliviana Mini-Trip idea, along with a predominantly audio idea? Well, first of all, the plan has to be workable. I know that in the past I have relied on the "then a miracle happens" thing. But I can't rely on miracles. So I have to plan for the way I realistically see things going. And the way things are going, I'm gonna have even less time and money for Obliviana than I have in the past few years. That stated (why am I using the terms "that said" and "that stated"), I want to say that right now, the future of Obliviana is very much in flux. I don't know exactly where it's gonna go. I mean, I could just go with the Severe Repair plan, putting everything else aside till the first novel is done. Or I could try and hobble together a version of Obliviana Super Occult Amusement with Dashic Deeds. Or I could go for the Bluffcosm "head trip CD" idea. I am committed to establishing the new direction, whatever it may be, on Obliviana Day, ten days from now. So I pretty much don't have a lot of time left. At this moment, I really don't know which direction to take. I have a lot of ideas, and a lot of stuff I've created, and I haven't been able to connect with people in any significant way. I have not connected with people. Years and years. Have I been sabotaging myself with a fear of success? Or am I just fucking bad at connecting with people? Idea for CDs: "Audio Trip". The whole thing with the CD idea is to establish an understandable "unit" of Bluffcosm audio entertainment. Um... in terms of all this stuff I have in Obliviana, I think maybe if I establish one aspect, and get success, I can start to push more of the stuff. Again, the "scalable system, starting with a seed". That's what I need, a seed. A seed that will grow from nothing into a huge and successful enedeavor. Thu 7/19/01 * 9:15 PM This morning, on the ferry from Hoboken to Manhattan, I had a vision: I have to move forward with Obliviana... I am on the edge... if I don't hold onto Obliviana, it will slip away. Then on the bus going home, right as it was leaving the Licoln Tunnel, at just around 7:30 PM, I came to a realization: 209 is the key to Obliviana. Specifically, 209 and Stormjaunting and all that has to be the central endeavor in Obliviana. It must be the purpose behind Obliviana. I have a lot of things to say about this realization. First of all, this is 100% the Keystone Idea. This is KIVO. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind. Now, it may seem that this idea, of 209 being the key, has been staring me in the face all along. And to someone intimately knowledgable about Obliviana's development (pretty much just me, at this point), it might indeed seem like the answer was always there. But I have been reluctant to bring 209 to the forefront, and it seems at least partially to be some kind of mental block. And I have often talked about my fear of starting a cult. I feel that cult leaders are victims of the cult phenomenon, just like followers are. But at this point, I think I know enough about cults to be able to know when to steer clear of danger. How did I get to this point? I'd much rather create an Obliviana without a focus on 209. But I have some to a point where it seems to me that I must use 209 as a means to get ahead. Since the beginning of Obliviana, I have never had much money to invest in it. At any time along the development of Obliviana, and especially in recent years, if I somehow got a lot of money, I would have almost certainly pursued a non-209-centered Obliviana. So, it seems that this financial "squeeze" is one of the elements that has gotten me to the point where I accept that 209 must be the center. Time is also a factor. Obliviana really got its start in 1986, and this was 15 years ago. 15 years of failure is hard to take, and the weight of the failure has been growing over the past few years. I want success... and till today, the situation has seemed bleak. Now, I see the way forward. And I am not all happy and giddy. I am facing a grim reality. I'm going to have to do something that I really don't want to do: introduce 209 to the world. Now I want to be clear: I think that 209 is a truly wonderful thing that will bring joy and wonder to the lives of many people. But I don't really want to be in the position of being the person who is introducing such a thing. Now, this brings up a difficult issue. There seems to be a "plan" working. It could all be chance, but it does seem to be a plan. And it seems to be a plan that has me introducing 209 starting in 2001. Looking at the sequence of events, it seems that things have happened for a reason. So, the question is, where did this plan come from? Before I answer that, I want to say that all the stuff I have created in Obliviana will continue to be a part of it... it will all kind of revolve around 209 now... So... where did this plan come from? Or is it really just chance that has gotten me here? It seems to me that if there is a plan, it comes from some supernatural source. I would like to think that the source is myself, and the plan conceived before I was incarnated here as Frank Edward Nora. In this case, I would have created the plan, and then created the forces that would shape events to assure the desired outcome. But of course, there is another possibility, that the plan is supernatural, but not created by me. This idea bothers me. I don't like the thought of being someone's pawn, especially since I don't know what the ultimate purpose of introducing 209 to the world is. In fact, whether it's my plan or someone else's, I don't know what the purpose is, and whether it is a good or bad thing. And this is troubling. And there are a few other possibilities. One is that my discovery of 209 was indeed an accident, but that due to the nature of 209, my involvement in it created this set of circumstances that appears to be plan-like. In this case, perhaps the impetus for introducing 209 to the world was a plan that was conceived long ago, to affect anyone who got heavily into 209. I like this idea better than the other plan ideas, because it doesn't target me specifically... it's just by chance that I got involved and am now the messenger. And yet another possibility is that there is no plan at all. 209 is a legitimate thing, but any perception I have of "plans" is just my way of interpreting a lot of unpleasant situations to help me make sense of them and deal with them. In this case, I did accidentally "discover" 209... but there is no plan beyond my own plans. And since my attempts at creating an entertainment production company have failed thus far, I'm turning to 209 as a kind of "last resort". And the final possibility is similar to the previous one, except that my belief that there is a supernatural force associated with 209 is false. In this possibility, the whole 209 thing is just a massive delusion that I have created for myself, and the whole "plan" aspect is just another part of that delusion. But beyond all this these "plan possibilities", there is the reality that 209 is a VERY good way of introducing all of Obliviana to the world. And there is a very large aspect of 209 that is not supernatural at all: the idea that we can consciously regain some of the freedom we have but have "forgotten about". And yet... I feel reluctant to move forward with a 209-centric Obliviana. But right now, I feel that I have no other choice. It's funny... I just got finished reading Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" book one, in which the concept of a "preordained" series of events is a major element. It's not "determinism", but rather, the setting up of a situation in which the overall outcome is predictable, with only a small possibility of failure. In the book, the Foundation comes to "crisis points" where only one path is possible. In effect, the Foundation is "forced" to make a certain choice because it is the ONLY choice in the given circumstance. Well, I have certainly reached a "crisis point" in the past month, and I realize that I only have one way to go. Now, I do plan on including all this writing in OsoaWeek... and I want to clarify some things so people don't get the wrong idea. Basically, I want to say that I believe that 209 is a good thing. My reluctance to introduce it comes from my not wanting to be the person who brings the information to people. There's something real heavy about supernatural stuff... but I think the process will be tempered with the whole "Super Occult Amusement" aspect, where 209 is surrounded by cool, irreverent entertainment... and it is this irreverent entertainment where my real passion lies. Now, IF there is plan behind 209, if it is my own plan, I would like to think that it is for good purposes. If it is the plan of some other being, and I am a pawn of some sort, then I have to say that I do not know the ultimate goal of doing this, of introducing 209 to people. But I'm just exploring all the possibilities. My gut feeling is that the introduction (or perhaps "reintroduction") of 209 is long overdue. I want to point out that I do not know WHY 209 works. In my theory of cult development, a person presents an idea that they cannot be sure is valid, and then other people start to "believe" the idea, giving credence to the idea in the originator's mind, And with the originator believing more, they become more confident in the idea, and are able to convince more people, and it becomes a kind of feedback loop, where an unverified concept becomes fervently believed in by both leader and follower. With this in mind, I have to wonder whether or not it's a good idea to even talk about my pet theories about 209. These theories are completely unprovable; they are just ideas. Well, I'll outline my idea here. I believe in Creation as opposed to evolution, though I don't subscribe to any specific religious idea of who did it and when they did it. I think that 209... the ability of a person of influence the "shape" of situation around them via their "Thinkfang" was a part of the original design of human beings. And I think that the early humans did use 209... but 209 was forgetten at some point. This is not the reason I created the name "Obliviana", but it does seem awful appropriate in light of this theory. So, according to this idea, in presenting 209 to the world, I would be "reintroducing" people to a part of themselves. Or perhaps, just "introducing". But this is just my idea, and I have no proof for it, so it should not be "believed in" by me or anyone else. Ideally, it can be kept as one possible explanation of 209... but NEVER as THE explanation, unless it is absolutely proven. 10:05 PM I have decided to move forward with the introduction of the new 209-centered Obliviana Super Occult Amusement, to premiere in 8 days and some hours. I am completely convinced that this is KIVO, this is the "Keystone". I have none of the doubts I have had about previous "KIVO candidates". I am 100% sure that this is it. I guess I should be happy. And I am happy, at least hat the "Quest for KIVO" is over. It's just that the ultimate "identity" of KIVO is a bit unexpected. Is 2001 a good year to start to introduce KIVO? How would, say, 1991 have been? Well, 209 is something that I think NEEDS the Internet. So since 1991 didn't have the Internet, it wouldn't have been the best time, perhaps. So, what about, say, 1996? The Internet was established, and a new idea like 209 would have been able to spread... I don't know. I think that the key to 209's success is the young people of today. I think that today's teens are facing a much more meaningless world than the teens of past decades. And 209 is something that is "occult" but not "religious". 209 does not involve contacting any sort of supernatural entities, while almost all religions do. So, I will say that Obliviana is absolutely NOT intended to be a religion or cult. I hope it will have a "cult following", but not any real cult stuff. Sat 7/21/01 * 10:58 AM Went to a flea market today in Lyndhurst... got an answering machine and a tape recorder, each with tapes in them. I feel like doing audio work today, but I have to work on 209. Let me recap the situation: Ever since about September 1987, I have been trying to create a multifaceted entertainment production endeavor, where everything is intertwined. Back then, the project was called "Nomadi Entertainment". Now, it is called "Obliviana Super Occult Amusement". So I've been at this particular thing for almost 14 years. And the thing really started to get going in 1985... but it was in 1987 that I set forth the specific idea of a multifaceted entertainment company. This idea, which I have called my "Core Endeavor" has been a huge thing in my life ever since it began. In 1989, I was publishing a comic book that got national distribution, and I also wrote freelance for a magazine called "MTV to Go". But everything fell apart and by the end of 1989, I was back to square one. And I think it was at least partially because I was still focused on the "Core Endeavor". Well, the 1990's had their ups and downs as regard the Core Endeavor. On July 28, 1994, I started Obliviana Super Occult Amusement, with a weekly ezine called "OsoaWeek". A year later, I started the obliviana.com website. One week from today, exactly seven years will have passed since the start of Obliviana Super Occult Amusement. In this time, I have made a lot of progress, and I have done a lot of growing up. But I was never able to "launch" Obliviana. Last December, I decided to abandon the Core Enveavor, which I was by then calling "KIVO" (Keystone Idea of the Vision of Obliviana). I was questing after an idea that would bring all the disparate elements of Obliviana together, and propel it to success. I decided to focus on some of the specific elements of Obliviana, rather than try and bring them all together. And this lasted till a few weeks ago, when on July 4 I got a new idea, and the whole KIVO thing came back. Then, that idea kind of fell apart... and then... just a few days ago... last Thursday, 7/19/01, at around 7:30 PM, as the bus was leaving the Lincoln Tunnel... I realized that the Keystone Idea is to make 209 the central thing in Obliviana. In other words... introduce 209 to the world. When I realized this, I had no doubt at all that this was the answer. But I was not, and I am still not, very happy with that answer. I would ultimately rather not have to try and introduce people to 209, because it seems like it will be a lot of trouble, and it is not where my primary interests lie. So I don't "feel" like doing it, but I "know" that I must do it. The reason I have to do 209 is that it is the only aspect of Obliviana that is compelling enough to the the "engine" that drives the whole endeavor. See, I still plan on developing all of the disparate elements of Obliviana... but with 209 at the core. My task is clear: introduce 209 to the world, starting one week from today. So I think I will need to focus on the whole 209 for awhile. 11:18 PM Like I said, I really don't feel like doing this whole 209 thing... but I have to, because otherwise I will continue to wallow in failure. But let me take one last shot... what if I just do the audio thing? Would that work? Ah, the audio thing with 209 to back it up would be a heck of a lot more compelling. Oh well. I guess it's time to end this document, and start on some serious 209 development. --- Sasha: "9------------------------------------------------------------------------------" 76:50 AM bloamed bliff ***** ------------------- SUPERIOR REVIEW ----------- SUPERIOR 363 What do you write when your girlfriend moves out? About the guilt at your feeling of freedom, or the mental anecdotes, of events from the relationship, that make you feel like you can't live without her, but which get weaker and weaker. Makes it sound pretty bad. Before, I felt like I had to resist other women, now I feel like I gotta go after them, maybe just to prove a point. Look at me--the supposed creative genius--getting caught up in the same childish games as everyone else. But wait a second--why should a creative genius be any different? Yeah, cliches about experiencing life before you can write about it. Like wow, you're Mr. Smug, you've been there, looking at me like I'm a fool. I am not a fool. You act like your life is so cool. Maybe it's you who are the loser, having been through so many relationships, acting so "knowing". You're the one who's the fool--just look at your current surroundings--right here, right now--where are you, reading this? Yeah, and you think I'm the fool. Go and have a coffee. (((From OsoaWeek065--10/20/95))) ***** Well, this is certainly not a typical Superior. And it is certainly kind of lame, but it has a certain charm. Judging from the date, it was written after my girlfiend of the time moved out... and she never moved back in... we broke up for good a month or two later. (Reviewed 7/27/01) ------------------- SUPERIOR 3: DUSKAWAY ----------- DUSKAWAY 164 * 7/27/01 * 1014 Breaking away from the careless fleet of vehicles, Tarla smashed a soft rock with her weapon. ------------------- END -----------
364-------------------OSOAWEEK Ezine of Obliviana Issue 364, 7/19/01 (Book 28, No. 13 / Tarb 15283 / Year 7) by Frank Edward Nora, Lord of Obliviana ----------- ------------------- LORD OF OBLIVIANA ----------- Fri 2/27/01 * 9:41 PM Hey. Obliviana Day is just a few hours away! And I've gotten caught up with OsoaWeek, hooray! Right now, I feel like I'm getting a cold. I'm very tired, and I'm getting a little congested, and I feel like I may have a fever. Well, this sucks. I have a lot of work to do! Maybe I should go to bed... and get up bright and early tomorrow and get the new website done and everything! Sat 7/28/01 * 8:40 AM Happy Obliviana Day! Not only is today the 209th day of 2001... it's also the 209th day of the 21st Century... and... the 209th day of the Third Millennium! Each Obliviana Day in the past 7 years has brought changes... and on this Obliviana Day, I'm making the biggest change yet! The first seven years of Obliviana are Obliviana Phase One. Today begins Obliviana Phase Two! Since this is the last issue of OsoaWeek in Phase One... let's look at some milestone dates in the history of "my core endeavor"... Summer 1985. I participate in making a Dr. Who home movie. The United States celebrates its 209th birthday. September 1985. I discover 209. February 1986. Anything But Monday Radio Show starts. I create Zope. Spring 1986. Anything But Monday kicked off the air. ABM Magazine starts. I participate in the Demon/Psychic Wars. Summer 1986. Halfevil Graphics begins. Fall 1986. ABM continues as magazine and on radio. Weird University videos. November 1986. First Stormjaunt. Jan 1987. Evil Farm video. Little Frankie Nora music. Fall 1987. Nomadi Entertainment established. "Steering Zonebook Thozien" published. 1988-1989. Anything But Monday Magazine becomes a nationally-distributed comic book. It fails after 4 issues. 1990-1993. Experimental publications. Beublin A. Richardson video. Train Crap & Blood audio. July 28, 1994. Obliviana Super Occult Amusement Established. OsoaWeek begins. Oblviana Phase One starts. July 28, 1995. Obliviana.com website begins. November 19, 1999. Bluffcosm.com established. March 2000. Bluffcosm begins "broadcasting". December 2000. I give up on trying to find the Keystone Idea of the Vision of Obliviana. July 4, 2001. A vision of a "checklist" type of printout leads over the course of a few weeks to... July 19, 2001. I decide to make 209 and Stormjaunting and all that the center of everything. July 27, 2001. Obliviana Phase One ends. 9:55 AM Well, there's a little overview. 16 years of effort... and here I am... at the dawn of a new era in Obliviana... Obliviana Phase One was a success. Even though Obliviana did not get successful, I did establish something that stuck. OsoaWeek has been published now for 7 years. Yes, there have been long periods where I neglected it... and there are many issues which were "skipped over"... but it has survived, and it is going to continue on! Well, I guess that's about it for this issue. I have a lot to do today! I still have to finish the site update... and I have to do OsoaWeek365! A new Phase of Obliviana! The first Obliviana Day of the Century! Oh yeah! Get all Obliviana. ------------------- THE BLUFFCOSM REPORT ----------- ***** THE RETURN OF 209 by Frank Edward Nora Sat 7/21/01 * 11:21 AM I have decided that my main project is going to be to introduce the world to 209, and get people into it. So, I need to get into the issue. Let me start with a history. I was always interested in the supernatural. As a teenager I was obsessed with trying to get the power of interdimensional travel. In September 1985, the first day of college at Drew University, I overheard a fellow freshman saying something like "I'm interested in delving into the mysteries of the universe." I said, "Oh, I am too." His name was Bryan Cassidy, and we got to talking, and it turned out we each lived in roon 209 of two connected dorms, Brown and Tolley. I had Brown 209, and Bryan had Tolley 209. I was 18 years old. This was almost 16 years ago. We playfully got into the number 209. We were gonna start something like "The 209 Club", where we'd collect piles of 209 things, stuff like that. 1986 was a VERY interesting year. It brought the start of my Zope comics, Halfevil Graphics, Anything But Monday radio show and magazine, and the "Demon Wars". The "Demon Wars" was some kind of psychic war that I was involved with in some way, which lasted from around February to May. I still don't know what the heck happened. Then, on around November 9, 1986, Bryan and I went on a trip to the comic book store in Morristown, but it was closed. At a turn, I decided to go the other way than the way back to college, and we wound up having a wild adventure, which I attribute to our year of focusing on 209. In January 1987, I made a video called "The Evil Farm", and I began to develop my idea of "Reality Zones". In October, I published a "minicomic" type publication called "Steering Zonebook Thozien", in which I presented the whole 209 theory for the first time. Between then and now, I published a few more minicomic-type things about Zoning, I changed the names and terminology, I wrote some stuff about it in my zines and ezines, and I introduced some people to it. But I never made a concerted effort to introduce it to a wide audience... till now. So I think I should begin to establish "where I'm at" with 209. Like I said, my ideas and practices in 209 have changed over the years. So here's where I'm at... 12:09 PM Firs tof all, I want to establish that I am going to be developing a completely new 209... I am going to be rebuilding the whole thing from the ground up. Okay. So, 209 is a kind of magical way to do something. Basically, there is a part of a person's being called a "Thinkfang". This Thinkfang's normal state is to be completely dormant. The whole idea of 209 is to stimulate your Thinkfang so that it becomes active. 209 is a number which has but 2 factors: 11 and 19. So there are 11 of one kind of thing and 19 of the other. I call the 11 things "Flips" and the 19 things "Dires" (pronounced "Deers") Collectively, the 30 are known as "Pilferids". But focusing on one Flip and one Dire, there are 209 possible "Storms" that can be "activated". These Storms stimulate the Thinkfang. Note on Thinkfang: Thinkfang is a part of a person. I cannot be sure the exact nature of Thinkfang. It could be anything from an aspect of the imaginative mind, to a part of a person's "situational body". The Thinkfang affects situation. Situation includes the "feeling" of a place and time, what happens, and how we perceive it. Luck and coincidence are big factors here. Now, 209 involves two major idea: activating the Thinkfang, and doing "Dashic Deeds". "Dashic Deeds" were previously known as "Friction Enhancers". Doing Dashic Deeds with an active Thinkfang constitutes going on a "Stormjaunt", and "Stormjaunting" is the central activity in 209. I should actually say that it is the central activity in Obliviana, since I am going to be referring to the overall thing as Obliviana Super Occult Amusement, "Obliviana" or "Osoa" for short. Now, it is possible to stimulate the Thinkfang without doing any Dashic Deeds, though the act of stimulating the Thinkfang in itself is a Dashic Deed to some extent... But on the other side, it is certainly possible to do Dashic Deeds without stimulating the Thinkfang. I think, however, that doing Dashic Deeds does stimulate the Thinkfang to some extent. Perhaps the whole 209 thing can be seen as a very potent kind of Dashic Deed, which directly stimulates the Thinkfang. So, the two main ideas are very much intermingled. So, Stormjaunting is the central activity in Obliviana. And a Stormjaunt involves setting a Storm (or two Storms to form a "chorded Storm"). And it involves doing Dashic Deeds. Dashic Deeds are activities which one would not normally do. It is very important to point out that Dashic Deeds should not be things which one would normally avoid as being dangerous... just things that are out of the ordinary. The hallmark of Dashic Deeds is that they can be done in "regular" situations. That is, you don't need to go to great lengths to do a Dashic Deed, as you would to go on a vacation, for example. There are some basic observations about life that are very important in relation to Dashic Deeds. Basically, most of us have a great deal of potential freedom, but we use only a tiny subset of that freedom. The world we live in is full of a dizzying array of possibilities, which is certainly overwhelming. But on a day-to-day basis, we are not overwhelmed by choices, because we have our own personal "Corridors" carved out, which make going about our daily activites easy. For example, we go to school or work on a daily schedule, and even in leisure time, we choose from a very limited set of options, as exemplified by the classic "What do you want to do tonight? I don't know, what do you want to do?" These "Corridors" are very much double-edged. They make our decision much easier, but they also restrict our activities. The main thing that Stormjaunting does is to open up our range of choices, and "loosen" the grip that Corridor has on us. Being that all of us are so tightly bound by Corridor, it's no wonder that life can seem "empty" and "meaningless". By loosening Corridor's grip, the world is opened up, and life becomes much more interesting. There is certainly a parallel here to "taking drugs". People often take drugs to "open their minds". But Obliviana offers an alternative which does not require drugs. On the subject of drugs, I have personally experienced the effects of certain drugs on Obliviana. I don't do illegal drugs, so I only know from personal experience the effects of legal drugs. I have observed that alcohol has a VERY bad effect on Obliviana, so much so that I have completely stopped drinking for several years now. At any rate, one should not mix Obliviana and alcohol at all. On the other hand, I have observed that smoking cigars (the tobacco kind, not the "weed" kind) seems to enhance the Obliviana effect. But I will stress that no drugs of any kind are required to do Obliviana. 12:59 PM Obliviana is not just this whole Stormjaunting thing... it also offers entertainment in several different media. This idea is that the Stormjaunting thing is at the center, with a world of content "revolving" around it. But, as I have established, the whole Stormjaunting aspect is going to be the central aspect. Stormjaunts have a definite beginning, middle, and end. So, going on a Stormjaunt is something that can be seen as the "basic unit" in Obliviana. And this is where some of the ideas I was wroking on in the past few weeks come in. Basically, there is the challenge of deciding what kind of a Stormjaunt to go on, and also recording the Stormjaunt. It is very import to keep records of Stormjaunts, for the purpose of better understanding the phenomenon, which is very much a mystery. That is, I know that it works, but WHY does it work? Also, with 209 different Storms, and a vastly higher number of "chorded Storms", it has long been my intention to try and "map out" the Storms and see if different Storms have different effects. Obliviana entertainment content can be seen as being "out of the ordinary" and therefore I see it as being the basis for Dashic Deeds. That is, drinking in Obliviana entertainment is a Dashic Deed. I would say that any kind of art or entertainment that is out of the ordinary could be used in a similar manner... as opposed to the idea that there is something special about Obliviana content... well, there is something special about it, but to say that it is so special that no other entertainemtn has the same quality would be moving Obliviana in a "cultlike" direction, and I do aim to remain honest in the whole process, and keep Obliviana from being "cultlike". So, I think I have discovered something important here. The stimulation of the Thinkfang via 209 and Dashic Deeds are not separate things, but rather, aspects of a single thing. And that thing is exemplified by Stormjaunting. So, all of Obliviana can be seen as "one thing"... going on adventures away from Corridor. Now, Obliviana does have the potential, at higher levels, to uncover various mysteries of reality. And I myself am an explorer just like everyone else involved. Okay. So I have established the basics. Now I need to begin to figure out how I am going to present it and structure it. The central activity in Obliviana is going on Stormjaunts. In order for people to go on Stormjaunts, they need to: [1] Learn about Obliviana and Stormjaunting. [2] Get the info they need to go on a Stormjaunt, like specific Dashic Deeds, Storms, etc. [3] Have a way to record Stormjaunt. [4] Have a way to share information about Stormjaunts. So, here are my thoughts on these topics: The recording of Stormjaunts should take the form of, ultimately, a sheet of paper. One sheet of paper per Stormjaunt. This is pretty much the whole "Obliviana Mini-Trips" idea of a few weeks ago. Using paper, and the stuff to be printed on the paper can be downloaded and printed out by poeple going on Stormjaunts. I also think that the idea of "getting" a glyph for each Stormjaunt is a good idea. I made progress in this direction also in the past few weeks, using the "Fonostagon" glyphs, based on Octagon. I also want to establish the idea of making audio recordings of Stormjaunts, which can be shared with others via Bluffcosm. I would like to establish eight different kinds of Stormjaunts. This will be the basic subdivision structure, and it also begins to establish the whole Octagon aspect. Unlike my past attempts to define the 8 subdivisions, these are now going to be directly defining types of Stormjaunts. And, these can also be directly mapped to the sides of the Octagon. I see the eight subdivisions as being immutable. That is, any Stormjaunt can be classified as "fitting" into one of the eight divisions. 3:04 PM It's interesting how this new idea, of Obliviana with 209 at the center, seems to naturally growing into the "Vision of Obliviana". However, I want to note that I am still reluctant to go in this new direction... I would much prefer to focus on just Bluffcosm and Severe Repair. But I feel that it is very important for me to pursue the whole 209-centered Obliviana. So, I have this reluctance. But I have made my decision. I am moving forward with 209. And my next task is to define the 8 Stormjaunt types. This task of "defining the 8" is something I've done many times. 3:30 PM I'm looking at OsoaWeek151, from 6/14/97. In it, I reprint something I wrote on 1/22/90 called "The Eight Areas in Detail". I think I'll try and read a lot of this stuff now... it related directly to the task at hand, both the stuff from 1990 and from 1997. 3:34 PM WOW! Check this out! *** Mon 6/9/97 * 12:00 AM Hone. I am at the "honing" stage in my development of Obliviana. This means that I now have the right idea, and I can go ahead and develop it. It's taken almost exactly 11 years to get to this point. If you read the last issue of OsoaWeek, you can see the complexity of what I'm dealing with in the development of Obliviana. My plan, though, is to make Obliviana very easy to deal with once I release it "for real". At the center of Obliviana are "Stormjaunts". A Stormjaunt is a period of time in which you endeavor to accomplish some goal, with the added factor of being "on" of the 209 "Storms" of Obliviana. A Stormjaunt has a very specific start and finish. *** Damn! Look at that! Over 4 years ago I was on the right track! What the heck happened to "derail" me back then? Here's some more from 151: *** [a] Classic Friction Enhancer (Mallball, Pebbleswitch, etc.) [b] Traditional Game (as opposed to the untraditional overall game of Obliviana) (Obliviana Classic, Vamershee, etc.) [c] Creation Games (Deluge of Primacy, Yargo drawing, Blamnoom, etc.) (also writing and comics?) [d] Passive Entertainment (as in, you drink it in, but don't interact much) (Severe Repair, Zope, etc.) [e] Active Entertainment (as in, you drink it is, and then do something with it) (SR Cuppaths, Superior selecting and using (as in "displaying" it on a side of one of your buildings, etc.), etc.) [f] LWOR "Cyber" (Game activities played with your Fonosta "Guy" in LWOR) [g] Obliviana Artifact (vague idea right now, but using Super Objects, Modern Saplings, etc. in some way) [h] Meeting (vague idea right now, but deals with interacting with other players in reality) *** Whoah. I was very close to where I am now, way back in 1997. And here: *** The Eight Areas in Detail 1/22/90 * Frank Edward Nora OTHERGRID GRAPHIC: (((Note: this part was originally a picture. I have converted it to text here.))) 1357 2468 -1- FLIP activity capacity, (encyclowhim, hypothetplace, systems), DISORDERTYPE -2- RATIONAL language capacity, (runes/letters, wordtypes, meanings), GLOTTOZH -3- IRRATIONAL language capacity, (motif, object, ism), FOCUS -4- DIRE activity capacity, (building up), nodes, super object), BAUBLE -5- interaction with SURROUNDINGS, (fuelmethod, navigationstyle, zoneways), ZONING -6- interaction with OTHERS, (webtype, interstyle, options), INTERWEB -7- interaction with YOURSELF, (designations, areas, zodiac-type), DOSSIER -8- interaction with BEYOND, (visions, dreams, imagination), SOTUMOTA END OTHERGRID GRAPHIC [1] FLIP activity capacity / Disordertype ? (The idea here is to practise a sort of flippant, spur-of-the-moment, childlike kind of game, art, craft, etc., doing the things for no reason other than to do them. Also, the idea of building something over time, according to a set of general rules. (flippant arts / Moshose)) ? * DISORDERTYPE. Chaotic script / fast writing / mad calligrapher / mirrored text, etc. / Disorder Typography / (w/graffiti?) --> now, related = * Silly talk -- gibberish -- but -- enunciating spontaneous good-sounding nonsense is hard -- maybe good as 30ART. (& also -- nonsense words) (& also -- voweling (speak in all vowels)) * Dark Whimsy (Carrolian? Manholian?) -- (stand-up storytelling?) -- (& Fables.) also --> * Meanderbook / Meandertome / Meanderlit(erature) * Reality Poetry * Wonderful Reality Show * Mean-Spirited Book * 'Hypothetical Place'-- The nomad records on paper with diagrams, drawing, and text the nature of an imaginary location or place, getting as detailed as is wished. * LTR = Little Tiny Reality (as Meander/Permu book? or other? or multi?) * The Hypothetical Place -- virtual reality * 'owning' places? * "owning" characters, interacting w/other characters, etc. * Systems * Voarfez <<(i.e. cloudbow -- with Black, Checker, Silver, Grey, Clear, Grid, White)>> * Fake reference / Deep reference / +++ Encyclopedia +++ (Encyclowhim) * Documents --> Document Holder --> (related to webs?) --> no -- not really, as documents should have specific rules as to what can be on them ----- but specifics? * Hand Outlines w/ logo switches )force switches) for each finger -- for whateverŠ ? [2] RATIONAL language capacity / Glottozh The idea here is to examine language, and in this create a mini-language which contains words whose meanings are either of an extremely basic nature, or of a nature where no words exist in 'real' languages to express that idea. This mini-language is a supplement to real language, and to be used as such. Coining terms here is also an open-ended thing, as the groundwork for innumerable possibilities will be opened up. Also included is a symbolic alphabet, and phonetic system to incorporate 'real' words. (nomadi mini-language) * 'Learn It'-- The nomad learns the basic mechanics of glottozh through various techniques, such as learning the alphabet, the basic meanings, etc. * Words / Explanations * zhTalk / Runes / 26 Cleona (but -- is it 30ART?) (& zhSigning; hand gesture/symbol) * Cast shadows / shadows / hand shadows / (or as ism?) -- hand gestures * Linetypes -- i.e. -- with certain dashes, circles, etc. thru them, i.e. -- : [ [ [ , O ) , N { } ( , etc. (& connect w/ certain phrases/meanings.) * Logos and symbolics (glyphics?) * Word types -- phonetics, syllabic, words, 209 words, etc. [3] IRRATIONAL language capacity / Focus The idea here is to take a specific subject, like an object, a type of object, an idea, a motif, or whatever, and focus upon it, dealing with it, obtaining examples of the focus, writing on them, using them, etc. (also motif and "obsession") * The basic focus concept,,,--- * 'Bedeck'-- The nomad carries many decks of cards around and becomes familiar with them, writes about cards, makes up decks of his/her own, and generally focuses on the idea of a deck of cards, discovering new uses, turning other people on to them, etc. * Decks of Cards -- Bedeck * Spheres (spherics -- spherism) -- collecting, comparing, etc. -- (as zhObsession?) (& also circles and ?) * Nanobook * Cat's Cradle / Ignotwine / etc. / String Figure * Origami / Vamershee / (flexagon) / Paper Model / etc. * Cut out and build * Pinball -- zhMotif * Scariness / Scareism (obsess?) * Wood theme as zhObsession (also -- spider web theme (INTERWEB)?) (or B&W?) (etc.?) or Iconic humans (pirate, indian, robot, etc.) Shiny? etc. ~~~ * Very Voidy ~ (on nothingness) ~ Voidism ~ (as zhObsession?) * 'On Time' -- clocks, hourglass, sundial, etc. -- like examining -- being obsessed by -- etc. Time -- but specifix? (i.e. -- "That's the tickest, man!") -- clockism * Chess "moron" -- zhezz -- involving chess pieces -- etc. ---- * TeaŠ * Coffee? Caffeine? (as zhObsession?) * Spoon Magic (or Spoonism (obsession)?) also --> spoonerism talk * Checkerboarder -- checkered patterns * About the body (i.e., funnybone, inside of mouth environment, behind the knees, etc.) As what, though? Body explore? * Isms -- (as separate thing, i.e., 30ISMS? or -- whatever) -- examples: Mockism, Coldism, Terriblism, Blatantism, Cuckooism ("You must all go cuckoo!"), Complickism, Silentism, Mammockism, Nicenessism, Orgasmism, Scissorsism (and whole phayryArea), etc. [4] DIRE activity capacity / Bauble ? (The idea here is best initially described as "a great fake encyclopaedia", as the idea is to invent things, such as objects, theories, places, systems, people, etc. in a reference-type environment, for no real reason other than to deal with these imaginary things. (systems & learning) ? * Bauble -- (like -- revering small objects? Dealing with small objects and "baublize" them? Rel. to object historian , revering stuff , and Super Object * Giving things more importance than they deserve / revering / admiring / etc. * Object Historian (& collect water, dirt, flora as well -- like water from Indian Ocean, etc.) * Super Object * Weirdness Machines (like Super Object (? or more complex Mock-Machines?) * specific existing books -- like Finnegans Wake -- reading -- reorganizing -- 'baublizing' -- etc. -- -- ? * zhParaphernalia -- (types of objects) -- i.e., flea market crap, etc. * Boxing / Box-O-Stuph / (ref: Holly Hobbie lunchbox) --i.e.-- containers with cool things inside -- for zoning -- or whatever (but as art?) ---- < [5] interaction with SURROUNDINGS / Zoning The idea here is to do things and think things which disrupt the flow of reality, causing reality to alter around you as you take zonal trips, for purposes of entertainment, enlightenment, curiosity, and things such as that. (fuelmethod, navigationstyle, etc.) * 'Zonal Trip'-- The nomad goes on a little 'jaunt' by choosing a zoneway and then fueling or powering the endeavour by doing odd things. * Fuelmethods * Navigationstyles * Description * Walking Cards (i.e., hold & look at while walking or whatever; travelling) * Recording -- (audio - video - written) -- as in whateverŠ ? * PresentingŠ (whatever) * Mixing -- foods (edible) -- or other products (inedible) -- or whatever -- mixism -- cool recipes -- etc. --Š? -- supermarket zhAlchemy, etcŠ.. and mixing other things -- like magazines, etc.? * Irrational Applications (i.e. base on software?) * "400" (was like a new drug or something) (".4K") but what could it be? ~~-- * Rubbery Technology (i.e., creative use of new technology) * Naming (everything/anything) -- like naming and recording (names thereof) of such as columns in a malls, trees in a park, bookstores, etc. Š * "As" -- see one thing as another -- definite zhFuelmethod, but as 30ART? * Other older zonal fuel items -- think backwards, addressing, etc. --> but again, as 30ART? * zhSense(s) -- one zhSense -- or many fake senses? (see more as FUELMETHOD) * "As If" (i.e., as if we were in Scotland, as if this were a warehouse, etc.) -- -- -- ? * Place Connosieur -- i.e., railroad station, supermarket, library, roadside, etc. * Places = supermarket, mall, library, airport, etc. -- but more of a FUELMETHOD really. (?) * Getting Lost --~ * Regarding (&zonify w/ zoneways (ref: Pixies concert)) -- fuelmethod -- addressing things ~~~~~ * Chair Noticing * Pretend! * Rational Madness * AvoidanceŠ ? * Insincere Disdain * Delaying * Relaying * Get All [6] interaction with OTHERS / Interweb The idea here is create specific works of art/literature/and the like, called 'webs', which you then copy and send out to other people, who do likewise for you and other, so there is an interactive flow of creative material, which both serves to help one in his or her art, and also to help others, and also as a medium of intercourse with others. (webtypes, conversationtype) * 'Create Web'-- The nomad decides upon a web format, such as one-page short story, and then goes about writing or otherwise creating it. * Webtypes * Interweb System * Interweb / webs / concept of creativing and experiencing the created as means to zone (thought -- all arts as webs? Or what?) * Communication in all forms -- graffiti, phone, mail, and all else ---- also -- filler content just to facilitate communication in some cases? * Conversation in all forms -- in voice, mail, graffiti, etc. * Severe Repair -- audioworks / Weird University -- videoworks * Archivism --~-- Idea Bank * Pleasant Little Publications [7] interaction with YOURSELF / Dossier The idea here is to create a set of personal information and designations, which help to define one's identity, and also can be compared to others who have similar sets of information, as a basis for conversation, interaction, and perhaps friendly argument and factionalism. (dossiertypes & styles) * 'Designation List'-- The nomad uses a set of designations and chooses a personal entry for each designation, creating a personal portfolio compatable with those of other nomads. * Work Types * <<-- zhFables? --part of DOSSIER?>> * refer to idea of 'interactive page' -- with designations (like, 'write a stupid sentence', 'draw a picture of your distorted cube', 'list five most unrelated things', etc.) (also -- create your own designations?) -- also * based on already-existing info, akin to zodiac signs, etc. (dossier = personal set?) [8] interaction with BEYOND / Sotumota The idea here is to explore the area of ones percetion beyond the physical world, and deal with the visualization of images in the mind, vision which appear, dreams, imagination, ways of inducing visions, other spiritual states which we can experience (all without naming or even attempting to define the cause of any of this), and to philosophize about the beyond. So what we want to deal with here is not the cause behind these experiences, but simply the experiences themselves. (also, deja vú, hypnogogic, etc.) But important to keep open mind, explore what could be beyond, whether or not your mind is made up. This practice should reaffirm religious beliefs, since you can get a broader view of the whole area of "the beyond", and not just blindly accept beliefs. (beyond-styles) * 'Vision Construction'-- The nomad begins with a blank space, names it, and then, over a period of time, visualizes it and develops the contents, until it is a realistic and detailed vision. * Thoughtfamilies * Visions * Thought families / Veins of logic -- for zh (nomadi) -- but as 30ART? * Visions/symbols -- idea of short descriptions for a person to visualize in his or her own mindŠŠŠŠ. (also -- building up specific visions in your mind over time. (--> DOSSIER?) * MentalmeanderŠ * Is this all a card game? (i.e., all of Noyage) * Philosopher (in similar role as psychiatrist) * Dire/Flip Yaw * Make-believe obliteration *** Wow. I see that a great deal of the ideas that I have now, 11.5 years later, I also had back in 1990. Man! What the heck! I keep going in circles... but I keep making progress. Here's something else, from 1997: *** Wed 6/11/97 * 9:40 PM Last night and today were tough, as if reality were all fucked-up. I think that when I started working on coming up with a list of Friction Enhancers, it was a real indication that I had indeed completed the foundational development of Obliviana. This, after my hypnopompic vision of "HONE", which was a BIG indication that I had indeed arrived at the right foundational idea for Obliviana. So I'm on my way. *** Again, wow. The whole HONE thing has been a big thing with me -- an indication that I was close to "arriving" at the right plan for Obliviana. And look! Back in 1997 I DID have the right plan, but somehow it got derailed... More: *** [1a] Involves travel and freedom of movement. [1b] Movement is not important. [2a] Player is actively involved in what is going on. [2b] Player is passive (as in, drinking entertainment). [3a] Activity takes place in reality. [3b] Activity takes place on computer. [4a] Game involving competition (ie, Obliviana Classic, Vamershee, Deluge of Primacy) [4b] Game involving cooperation in the seeking of a common goal. [5a] FE results in a new artifacts (ie, Mallball, Deluge of Primacy, etc.) [5b] FE results in no artifact. [6a] FE is difficult. [6b] FE is easy. *** And even more: *** 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) *** In 1997, I was specifically trying to figure out the 8 kinds of Friction Enhancers. And, I was talking about the "Octagon Transformation", where Stormjaunts are made into Octagons! This is really unexpected... I had forgotten all this 1997 stuff... Here was my "final list" from 151: *** [1] Fun With Reality Through Mixing [2] Cool New Games and Activities [3] Drinking Entertainment [4] Creating Entertainment. [5] Racing in the Little World of Racetracks [6] Octagon/Fonosta Work [7] Interact with Other Players [8] Everything Else *** Okay. I see what happened to derail me in 1997. It was my focus on LWOR, basically. And my website from back then, with the "Opmarquees" and all that. So... that's what happened... I had the right idea... and then I got totally sidetracked... Well, I don't want to get sidetracked again. So let me get this "8 kinds of Stormjaunts" thing movin'! 4:30 PM So that's the answer... I got completely derailed by the game aspect of LWOR. Wow. Now, being that things have come so full circle, I am again feeling reluctant to continue on in the 209 direction. I don't know. It's tough. I feel like, on the one hand, I have the opportunity to fulfill the dream that has eluded me for so long. On the other hand, I've "been down this road before". And I just don't feel like doing the whole Stormjaunting thing. I really just don't feeling like doing it. So what the hell? I keep vacillating. Back and forth, back and forth. Like, I arrived back at "point X" from a different direction. And just before I arrived, it seemed like it might be cool. The whole 209-centric thing... then to see it arrive back at the "starting point"... I really don't know what to do. I feel like just saying fuck this whole Stormjaunting thing for now. I really don't want to do it. Maybe in the past I got away from it by distracting myself with other stuff. But now, I can specifically say that I do not want to introduce the whole 209/Stormjaunting thing to the world. But still, I think that I SHOULD do it. But come on, Stormjaunting is a good idea. So why am I so reluctant to pursue it? Well, if I'm gonna pursue it, I better get my act together. Reading all that stuff from 1990 and 1997 was a real downer. 9:01 PM I had a good long nap and I just watch Big Brother 2... and I'm gonna try and take another stab at this issue. I feel very strongly that I should move forward withthe 209 thing. I mean, I really do think that the 209 thing is the ONLY thing that could propel Obliviana forward to become what I have envisioned it becoming. And I think that from the start, 209 was meant to be the core of Obliviana. It really is surprising to me to look back 4 years and see what happened... that I had the right idea, and the HONE message... and then it all got derailed. I think that perhaps it was my subconscious reluctance to move forward in the 209 direction that led me into the distraction of the LWOR game world. I guess part of the reluctance is telling people to do something. Telling people to go on these Stormjaunts. But I do believe that Stormjaunting is a good thing... so I shouldn't feel weird about telling people that it would be cool to do it. 10:31 PM So I'm thinking about the whole PDF thing. I think this is essential... that people be able to print out sheets of paper to use. And it makes total sense that a sheet of paper could serve multiple purposes in Stormjaunting. Specifically, I see there being a FOW on each sheet, and to set the Storm, the Storm and the Pilferids could be circled. And there could be a "Start" and "Stop" checkbox. Amd once the Stormjaunt is over, the sheet can be retained as the record. And I think that I do need to have a "basic" and "advanced" Obliviana. The basic should be very simple... and I think that having it be paper-based is a very good idea. "Obliviana Stormjaunt Scroll" as the name of the sheets of paper? "OSS"? I think this name is pretty good. Now, I think I see my clear to designing the OSS... but the whole Octagon angle is a stumbling block. I don't know if I can come up with a good set of 8 subdivisions. 10:50 PM Okay. I was looking at some Fonostagon Glyphs. I think it would be a good idea for each OSS to have a Fonostagon Glyph. But the question is whether or not the specific patterns in the Glyphs should relate to the content of the OSS. Looking at the Fonostagon Glyphs, I think it would be good to present them within the octagonal border... but in terms of their eventual inclusion in a FOnosta Device, I think they should be without a border. So, the question is, should I subdivide all Stormjaunts into 8 categories, and should the patterns reflect the subdivision. And, in temrs of related Stormjaunts, should the patterns be related? Well, on the one hand, the patterns could be unrestricted. That is, they could just be cool patterns, one per OSS. On the other hand, they could be highly structured, with specific aspects of their patterns having a meaning. Actually, I think that the borders should be retained when the glyphs are incorporated into the Fonosta Device. Color is going to be an integral aspect of the designs, since the entire process is going to be based on color inkjet printers and computers. I still need to decide on whether I'm going to use the 80 or 112 Octagon, also. Also, should the orientation always be the same, or can there be the 2 different orientation, flat-top, and point-top? Okay. here are some initial decisions. I'll go with 112, but I'll only allow the one orientation, the "flat-top". So now, the big decision is whether to create a complex "Fonostagon Language" of pattern and color... or on the other hand, keep it open, and allow patterns and similarities to emerge. This is a tough decision. But in terms of getting the system going in one week, I think that an open-ended system is the only realistic way to go. I think that it may not be necessary to pigeonhole all Stormjaunts into 8 categories. So, with an open-ended Fonostagon scheme, I am ready to begin designing the OSS. What are the drawbacks of an open-ended system as opposed to a structured system? Well, this would relate to the creation of OSS's. With a complex system, it would be possible for people to create their own OSS's and create the matching pattern. But I think it would be better for me to keep control of the OSS system, as opposed to letting people create their own. This is because as a producer of entertainment, I think it is ultimately unfair to ask people to create the entertainment they are drinking in. This is not to say that people will not be able to customize their Stormjaunts... just that I will control the whole system, and create the glyphs. For example, I can see the potential for very customizable OSS's that still follow a certain structure, and will have specific glyphs. Now, each OSS will have a name, and perhaps a font and a color scheme. Ie... a logo. Sun 7/22/01 * 1:45 AM So, a unified OSS structure. People can print out PDF of the OSS's. So, what about teaching people about how do do Stormjaunting? Well, having a FOW on the OSS will allow for the setting and then "zeroing out" of Storms. Perhaps such a method is less powerful than the "finger method", but it should work. I think that probably the most important thing is to get people to understand, in general, the idea of the Thinkfang. Perhaps I can include a brief overview on each OSS. 3:28 AM So, is this going to work? This whole new idea? Will people get into it? Well, I think it has a chance of catching on. I really do. Sun 7/22/01 * 6:04 PM Well, I've been working on designing the OSS... and I have made progress. But I am getting a little disheartened. Well, like I've mentioned in the past, pure ideas in the mind are always much more enjoyable to think about... when it comes to manifesting the ideas in reality, they become... difficult. Right now, I have the "Dashic Octagon" on the OSS, as well as a complete FOW. I have the phrase "Stimulation of the Thinkfang" at the top of the left side (the OSS is now "landscape", meant to be folded in half. I will move forward... at this point, I have to keep reassuring myself... I just have to TRY and go in this direction. If it proves to be fruitless, I can revert to just working on Bluffcosm and Severe Repair again. 6:13 PM Yeah, so I'm discouraged. Could I perhaps hold off on the whole 209 thing, and keep it in mind for the future? Well, the whole idea of using 209 is to be the "engine" to move Obliviana forward. So... does this mean that Obliviana could not move forward without 209? I think that... it is probably true that 209 is my best chance of getting Obliviana moving. 6:18 PM Okay. I think that my main problem right now is the nature of the content of the Dashic Deeds of the OSS's. That is, I have pretty much made all the other major decisions I need to make. Now, I have to figure this out. I just set Storm 5 using my latest OSS prototype printout. And I'm definitely feeling it. Looking at the "Dashic Octagon" does seem to help stimulate the Thinkfang in the Storm. 6:44 PM Okay. I did it. I listened to "The Evil Farm #1", did a Neverbeen (part of the apartments here I've never been to). I added the "doodle in the doodle space" and did that. Let me finish it now... And sign it... Okay. So I have done a Stormjaunt. And it was pretty cool. I think I should definitely move forward with this idea. Okay. Cool. Wed 7/25/01 * 8:41 PM "Have you ever dreamed of having magical powers? Well, if so, you should know about Obliviana Super Occult Amusement. In Obliviana, you will be able to awaken and wield a long-dormant mystical power that is already within you. Skeptical? Once you hear about Obliviana, you'll see that it doesn't make outlandish claims. The magic in Obliviana may not be as impressive as that of witches and wizards on TV and in the movies, but it's REAL. And no one really knows the limits of the powers in Obliviana... who knows... YOU might be the explorer who discovers new facets of the Obliviana power! So come on... this is for real!" Thu 7/26/01 * 9:16 PM HOW TO DO OBLIVIANA OVERVIEW So, you're interested in Obliviana, eh? Looking to get some cool magical powers? Well, this is the place to be. In this guidebook, you'll learn everything you need to know to get started with your Obliviana powers! Obliviana is all about freedom and adventure. CORRIDOR Look at the world we live in. It's a world of space and time... of matter... of people and places... but there's one aspect we take for granted... the realm of situation. Indeed, no matter where we are, no matter what we're doing, we're in a situation. And situation is the key element of nature that Obliviana deals with. So what is situation? On the surface, situation deals with our understanding of what is going to be happening in the future. You wake up... you have to go to work... the situation is, "I'm at home. I have to get ready, and then go to work. Then I'll come home, and eat dinner, and watch TV, and go to bed." Of course, if you look at a day from a neutral perspective, the number of possible things you could do is absolutely immense. You could get into your car and drive in any direction you wanted, and wind up in one of hundreds of thousands of different locations, and have one of millions upon millions of different experiences. But today, you have to go to work... You gave to go to work because there is a situation in your life... you need money to live on, so you need to go to work. You CAN'T just go off on one of millions of different adventures, because you have to go to work! But if you have a day off... If you have a day off... you can go on an adventure... one of millions of different adventures... Um, well... we all have days off. We all have leisure time, time where we can do pretty much what we want (as long as no one gets hurt)... so why do we all spend our leisure time watching TV, going to the movies, going out to dinner, or one of TENS of different things? We have the freedom, but we do not use it. WE HAVE THE FREEDOM BUT WE DO NOT USE IT! Freedom. We all have freedom. Some of us have more of it than others, but we all have it. And yet, instead of squeezing every drop of adventure out of the freedom we have, we inevitably get stuck in ruts, and instead of choosing from millions of different journies, we choose from tens of different possible journies. This is clearly illustrated by the classic "What do you want to do tonight? I don't know, what do you want to do?" Why is it like this? Well, part of the answer is that as human being, we have limitations. We can't think about millions of different things at once... it's easier to think about just a few things. Every day, we have to make a huge number of little decisions. Thousands of little decisions every day. Maybe tens of thousands. So how do we do it? How do we make all these choices? Well, if we were dealing with total freedom, every second we would have to choose from literally millions of possible choices. This is obviously not feasible. Facing such a problem, the obvious answer would be to narrow the range of choices to a manageable level. Instead of choosing from millions of things at every turn, it would be better to only have to choose from a far lower number of different choices... it would make life much more manageable... And what would be a good tool to limit choices? Situation! As human beings, we are forced into some basic situations. We each have a body and a mind and a spirit... and we need to attend first to our basic needs. We need food, clothing, and shelter. We need to stimulate our minds and satisfy our spirit, our emotions. These needs are at the core of our basic situations. Having situations allows us to limit our choices to a manageable level, and satisfy the basic needs of our survival. But, for some reason, this system seems to go to far. Our situations become oppressive. We get into ruts, and we wind up doing the same things over and over again, with slight variations. Look at your life. Think about the situation you're in right now. Look at what you did yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that. There's a wide wonderful world out there, but each of us is trapped in a "personal tunnel", and we trudge through that tunnel day after day, with slight variation. I call this tunnel idea "Corridor". Corridor. Get up, go to work. Come home, go to sleep. Leisure time, choose from 20 or 30 different basic activites. And on and on. Corridor is a very good thing in that it allows us to live our lives without having to face overwhelming amounts of choices. The thing we should "do next" is usually easy to determine. But Corridor is also a bad thing, because it insulates us from the wonderful freedom and adventure that we should be able to enjoy. We are all trapped by Corridor... we are prisoners... and yet it is a "situational" boundary, not a physical one. So we should be able to break free from Corridor for periods of time... but how? DASHIC DEEDS Could we break free from Corridor by being aware of it, and consciously moving in a different direction? Could we can deliberately create situations for ourselves that strike out away from Corridor? Yes. This is possible. So why don't people do it? Well, this is a tricky issue. People do try and do different things... like going on vacations, hanging out with different people, joining different groups, etc. But these things could be seen as choices being made within Corridor. Corridor is flexible... But here's a simple experiment. Observe yourself at any time, and anticipate what you're going to do next. By observing yourself, you'll see that things flow, one thing comes after another... So, think about what you're going to do next, and then do something different. If you travel or school the same way every day, observe the way that you look at different things along the way, and try and look at something you wouldn't normally look at. Doing this is a basic "Dashic Deed", as I call it. A "Dashic Deed" is an activity that purposefully goes "against Corridor". I think that natural reaction to a Dashic Deed would be, "Why would I want to do that?" And indeed, this seems like a good question. Why do something like that? It seems that moving against Corridor is generally uncomfortable. That is, it's not rewarding. So what about the idea of the wonderful freedom that we have but don't use? Does this mean that the "wonderful freedom" would be uncomfortable? Well, yes. And this whole issue might end here except for one thing... Thinkfang. THINKFANG There is a part of you called your "Thinkfang". Just like you have a face, and feet, and thoughts, and feelings, just as these are parts of you, you also have a "Thinkfang". I do not know the exact nature of the Thinkfang, but I know that it exists. It could be a part of your mind, a part of your imagination, a part of your aura, or a part whose nature we don't understand at all. But it's there. And your Thinkfang is dormant. It is inactive. It is "sleeping". So what does the Thinkfang do? Quite simply, it gives us the power to move away from Corridor. It opens up our world of wonderful freedom. It opens the door into a world of adventure that is normally locked tight. So... you have a Thinkfang... but it is frozen... inactive... in suspended animation. Wouldn't it be great to know how to stimulate your Thinkfang? Wake it up, activate it? Well, in Obliviana I have developed a means of waking up and activating your Thinkfang. And the key to doing this is the number 209. Now, let me stop a minute here and talk about how I came to all these conclusions. I didn't start off with the idea of Corridor and Dashic Deeds and Thinkfang. I actually started off with just the number 209, and all of this came from my investigation into the properties and nature of 209. 209 I first got into 209 in early September 1985. It was my first day of college and I had dorm room Brown 209. At orientation, I overheard a fellow freshman, named Bryan, talking about "exploring the mysteries of the universe". We got talking, and it turned out he lived in Tolley, a dorm that was connected to Brown... and his room was Tolley 209. That's how it all got started. So I started getting into 209. I quickly noticed that 209 has only two factors: 11 and 19. 11x19=209. After about a year of playing around with 209, Bryan and I wound up going on a very strange spontaneous adventure in mid-November 1986. We set out to go to a comic book store, but it was closed, and instead of turning back toward school, I decided to go the other way. We went to a supermarket and bought weird foods and drinks. We went to a strange little mall. And we went to a music store. The two people working there said it was haunted... then we followed, after dark, them to a graveyard which had some names on the graves the same as a number of the dorms at our school. It was a really weird trip. My interpretation of what happened is this: by focusing on 209 for over a year, our Thinkfangs were stimulated, and, with stimulated Thinkfangs, we "slipped away" from Corridor for a time. In the years that followed, I continually developed the system of using 209. Back then, I called the system "Reality Zoning". PILFERIDS AND STORMS By the Fall of 1987, I had developed the basic framework of the "Zoning" system. And from then to now, I have refined the system considerably (and renamed it as well). The basic idea is that there are 209 "Storms". The Storms are arranged on a grid (called a "Forge of Wander", "FOW" for short) 11 squares wide and 19 squared high. The 11 columns are called "Flips", the first one on the left being called "Flip 1", and the last "Flip 11". The 19 rows are called "Dires" (pronounced "deers"), the top one being "Dire 1", and the bottommost one "Dire 19". The 30 Flips and Dires are known collectively as "Pilferids". Each Storm on the grid corresponds to one pair of Flip and Dire. By focusing on one Storm and its Flip and Dire coordinates, the Thinkfang is stimulated. And with 209 Storms, the Thinkfang can be stimulated in one of 209 basic ways. Over the years, I've developed a number of different methods for "setting a Storm". The simplest method is to have a Forge of Wander printed on a piece of paper, and circle the Storm and the Pilferids. Also, there should be checkboxes signifying the beginning and end of the Storm. The most advanced method involved using your fingers and thumbs. There is also a method using a special deck of cards called a "Storm Codex". STORMJAUNTING "Stormjaunting" is the basic activity in Obliviana. Stormjaunting brings together all the elements I've discussed so far. In Stormjaunting, you start by setting a Storm, which stimulates your Thinkfang. You then do Dashic Deeds which begin to steer you away from Corridor. This also further stimulates your Thinkfang, and the adventure begins! In a Stormjaunt, the Thinkfang is stimulated, and the stimulation rises as the adventure continues. At some point, the stimulation will begin to wane, and the adventure will begin to move to an end. At some point when the stimulation is waning, the Storm is "zeroed out" (stopped). The stimulation of the Thinkfang will continue for a time... even several days. I have certainly noticed major effects of a stimulated Thinkfang a day or two after the last Stormjaunt. You can do a Stormjaunt pretty much anytime, but you do need to concentrate and give attention to the beginning of the process. In a Stormjaunt, your perceptions will change, and interesting things will happen. I have observed, for example, an increase in coincidences during a Stormjaunt. But the main thing is the adventure... the joy of freedom... of experiencing new places and situations. THE FUTURE So, this whole thing, 209 and Stormjaunting and Thinkfang and everything, is known collectively as "Obliviana". I've been doing Obliviana for over 14 years now... but still, I beleive that I have only scratched the surface. Now, I am finally making a concerted effort to tell people about Obliviana. It is my hope that a lot of people start exploring Obliviana... who knows what we'll discover! Fri 7/27/01 * 7:27 PM Well, here I am, only hours from the completion of seven years of Obliviana. So... what is the situation with the new site? Well, I have made a lot of progress. I think I can piece together the new site... the home page, news page, and "Intro to Obliviana" page. But what about OsoaWeek? Well, let's see... Issue 353 is the last issue completed. To get current, I need to get to 364 to finish Obliviana Phase One, and then do issue 365 to start Phase Two. I think it is very important to achieve this update of OsoaWeek for tomorrow, Obliviana day. So, if I can "piece together" the website, and get OsoaWeek up to date, things will be cool. So, that's it. I have arrived at the entranceway to Obliviana Phase Two. See you on the other Phase! --- 6:64 PM ***** ------------------- SUPERIOR REVIEW ----------- SUPERIOR 364 Can you imagine the city streets like spikes, and a cigar erasing lucidity? I want to make a movie about bridges. That was just an impulse, I guess I want to see things connected. The funniest thing is that I'm finally becoming like a normal guy. I always thought of myself as being so weird. The times are catching up with me. I am better than most people, in creative productions at least. So why am I one paycheck away from being homeless? Cuz I gotta be free when the Digital Superworld hits--I can't be held back by connections to the old world. (((From OsoaWeek065--10/20/95))) ***** The first sentence is an absolute classic; it has resonated strongly with me for a long time. The second and third sentences are also very, very good. But then the Superior swerves into introspection... embarrassing in parts. But the last bit about connections relates to the bridge part a little. Overall... not bad. Not bad at all. (Reviewed 7/27/01) ------------------- SUPERIOR 3: DUSKAWAY ----------- DUSKAWAY 165 * 7/27/01 * 1015 Green perfect day lawn and leaves, and stabbed with the mundane life. Devastated remnants of video arcade, whole ruined continent, a smile but it is ignorant. ------------------- END -----------
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