Electronic Literature Collection Volume I

Translation by John Cayley

Dissonant music
text bits translating into different languages - then to photos before your eyes
Sprockets from SNL
Kind of BS
Take home: each language is a translation of all other languages
There is also translation between media

Birds Singing other Birds' Songs by Maria Mencia
Blue sky with clouds
Numbers 1-13 along the bottom, each with a play button and a stop button
Annoying bc you cannot read the words that some of the bird shapes are made of. Just when they almost come into view, they explode into letters or fly off screen
It's best when all the birds are turned on together. They don't seem to interrupt each other.

Star Wars, One letter at a time by Kim Stefans
A blank white screen. The noise of a typewriter typing and the bell ding at the end of each line. The script, I guess, of the original Star Wars being typed and displayed one letter at a time in some standard typewriter font. At first, I thought it was cool at first and was pretty amazed that I could actually read what was being typed, but it got on my nerves pretty quickly and I turned it off. I saw a warning on one of the pieces of electronic literature that said it could induce epileptic seizures and thought this one should have that warning, as well. I immediately thought of the readies machine.

Project for Tachistoscope [Bottomless Pit] by William Poundstone
I don't know what it was, but I don't like it! When you start, there are words in a nondescript typeface flashing almost too quickly to read until your eyes adjust and you are able to start comprehending a story of a bottomless pit that opened up near a worksite and swallowed lots of workers and equipment. The words are flashing on top of some line drawings of different symbols and household objects. At first, you can barely detect some color pictures or photos being stuck in so quickly that they are not consciously perceived. Then, as my eyes adjusted, I saw a face slipped in there and it scared the crap out of me, so I turned it off.

Lexia to Perplexia by Talan Memmott
First thing i notice is a broken link on the intro page and cheesy graphic design (i think intentionally so).

Hayles Preface & Chapter1

Talking Book History

AFB founded 1921
WWI - blinded soldiers = ^in blind Americans
Few ppl could read braille - poor library resources
Talking books = greater access for blind

1924, Talking books were being produced as 78 RPM (held 3-5 minutes/side) - mostly for those becoming blind late in life as it isharder for them to learn Braille
Robert B. Irwin, Exec. Director AFB discovered 33 1/3 Long playing record was being patented by Frank L. Dyer
15000 words/side of 12" disc at 33 1/3 RPM
Two men worked together to make "Talking-Machine Record" patented in May, 1927
Happening at a time when sound recording industry was blooming via talkies

Late 1920's, AFB is looking for studio to produce talking books, but not profitable enough > forces AFB to produce recordings itself

1928 - 20% read Braille, only 10% well enough to enjoy reading it

1932 - Carnegie Corp funds exploration of recording program to produce talking books for blind
Jackson O. Kleber was hired, former electrical engineer at RCA Victor recording laboratories to create affordable, durable solution for talking book
Design decisions - 12" records bc die presses were readily available 33-1/3 chosen bc that speed of motors readily available Sturdy cardboard mailing containers - 12# each original TB machine container made of plywood covered with gray plastic weighed 30#15" square and 11" deep/ could be carried like suitcase
First TB machines were electric, then spring driven machine created due to demand. Overseas models ran on batteries.

Result = 12" 33 1/3 rpm vinylite disc. = 12.5 minutes/side
150 grooves/inch and slower RPM speed allowed much more info to be stored than 78 RPMs grooves any closer together create overlap - ghost in the machine
1930 - Pratt-Smoot Act: bill requesting funds to produce reading material for blind. Helen Keller lobbied congress in support of bill
1931 - Pratt-Smoot Act becomes law authorizing LOC to designate local distribution centers for materials for blind - 18 libraries and 15 titles to be brailled
1932- Robert B. Irwin writes to LOC asking them to consider producing Talking Books
3/3/33 - law passes setting aside $10000. for production of Talking Books out of $100000 budget for blind materials for LOC
By 1934, 5000 Talking Book Machines were in 17 states, so LOC released funds for production of Talking Books
Royalties not required if titles recorded for blind only, nominal fee of $25./title collected
First books were Four Gospels, The Psalms, The DOI, Constitution of USA, Shakespeare, classic and popular fiction
1940's wide variety of talking books recorded
1935 - WPA created
3/31/1935- Helen Keller mysteriousy decides to support Talking Books
9/19/1935- FDR signed signed executive order alloting LOC over $200000. for manufacture of Talking Book machines as WPA project
12/1935 - 1942 AFB manufacture of 23505 machines, needles and repairing machines in Manhatten workshop employing sighted and unsighted workers
AFB does major research to improve fidelity since listening can tire a person out if elocution is not good esp. pt sounds = improved technology of vinyl recording
1936 American Printing House for the Blind starts to produce Talking Books for children
1942 WWII halts WPA project and production of machines. Congress approvfes $20000. for machine repair performed by AFB
5/15/1945 Congress holds conference to improve TB technology vis a vis blinded WWII vets
1946 AFB stops producing machines, still producing recordings along with APH, starts researching new technologies for TBs
1948 Long playing records made available to general public by CBS - last time blind are ahead in technology
1948 - Anne T. McDonald conceived Recording for the Blind (now RFB&D [recording for Blind and Dyslexic]) NYPL Women's Auxiliary got letters from wounded WWii vets. GI Bill guaranteed education, but textbooks inaccessible to blind - NYPLWA recorded textbooks on vinyl
1950's volunteers start to record book readings for blind via AFB and RFB&D
1951 LOC owns and loans 30000 TB machines it was possible for ppl to purchase machines at cost from LOC, as well
1951 AFB starts to use magnetic reel to reel to record, then transfer to vinyl = double productivity and 40% fewer mistakes
AFB improved needle technology = needles lasted through 40 records = about 4 books
1955 Eisenhower uses TB machine while convalescing from HA. First non-blind allowed to use machine.
1959 TBs produced as 10 inch, 16 2/3 RPM to enable 30 minutes of recorded info/side
Machines grew three speeds, detachable lids and freestanding speakers
In case design concern was lighter and sturdier
early 1960's - LOC Division for Blind starts to offer TBs on open reel magnetic tape not a successful medium since blind had difficulty threading tape themselves
1965 First 3 speed TB machine could play all incarnations of TB records
7/30/66 - amendment to Pratt Smoot extended TB service to all print disabled
1968- AE5 TB machine plastic case 12# with removable speakers with transistor
1969- NLS starts circulating TBs on audiocassette Initial test with cassettes = commercial tape players and BooksOnTape
Then GE produces TB tape machine with 4 trach technology = more info and not copyable
Initial cassettes had tone indexed sections, somewhat meaningless voice indexing only audible in FF
Voice indexing only way reference books - dictionary was possible
1973 All TBs being recorded at 8 1/3 RPM about an hour/side
Design concern - more info/side = less $ to produce and lighter to mail rechargeable nickel batteries for those sans electric recharged by NLS
Never produced reel to reel bc blind have dificulty threading and test reels came back a mess
1974 Oils hortage slows production of new TB tape machine via petroleum product shortage - plastic
1976-C-76 is produced with auto shut off, won't turn on when upside down and variable speeds
1978 LOC reorg TBs now under NLS/BPH
1978 R&D begins on a combo disc/cassette machine
1980's all TBs are recorded as 4 track recordings to stop copying and fit twice as much info on each tape
1980 C-80 tape machine buit in pitch restoration for all speeds never really works out
1981 E-1 machine sliding controls for elderly/disabled unable to operate other machines
1981 C1 machine has ff, rewind, end of tape sensor and trach selector switches
1981 NLS produces 200 solar powered machines for ppl in remote areas
1987 all new recordings produced on cassette tapes
1988 - idea for DTBs comes from Swedish Library of TBs and Braille (TPB) due to dissatisfaction with audiocassette formats
1992 - CT-1 First talking book machine and cassette player combo is produced automatic reverse and track switching, no user intervention needed. Push down on needle to retract = less damage to disc
1994 - TPB releases first DAISY prototypr
May 1997 NLS, AFB and other blindness orgs meet to develop digital TBs
2002 standard for DTBs (Digital Talking Books) developed by LOC, AFB and others
Batelle, HumanWare, Canada and NFB develop a player that will accomodate flash cards and easy use for diverse array of ability
2006 - DTBs download test launched DTBs are much preferred due to ability to access chapters, section markers, etc.
DTBs are still sent through mail in blue, smaller containers for those who do not download
Moves backward and forward by time increments and allows electronic bookmarking inc. "highlighting"
Titles are transitioning to flash memory cards - transition completed 2012
9/2007 DTB machine = Victor Reader Stream $329.
Tech savvy blinds love audible.com, but have a softspot for TBs from NLS
Current DTB standard is ANSI/NISO Z39.86-2005
Braille E-Reader concept raises E-ink dots via electronic impulse - no funding, of course

LaBelle, Shannon. (2007, March 27). Audiobooks and access to information for canadians with print disabilities. Retrieved from http://www.slais.ubc.ca/


Library of Congress, American Foundation for The Blind. (2009). Talking book exhibit New York, NY: American Foundation for The Blind. Retrieved from http://www.afb.org/talkingbook/talkingbookgallery.asp?GalleryID=37

Drucker&McVarish Chapter 14

Postmodernism in Design 1970's - 1980's and beyond
Postmodernism sought to discredit originality - but produced original work
"Anything Goes" approach to design
Simulacra: images without context-free floating signs
No logo movement
expensive ad campaigns covered true human costs of production (sweat shops, etc.)
Seemed like young ppl running amok, throwing out every design precedent inc. legibility
Antihumanism
Punk stylings embrace the void
Hip hop one of richest expressions of post-modernism
Apple by MacIntosh transforms the design world with Photoshop

Drucker&McVarish Chapter 13

Pop and Protest 1960's - 1970's
Ads begin to invert advertising logic
Coolness becomes a factor
consumers like to feel -in the know-
Fun, playful, clever
Counter culture erupts
back to the land movement
Consumers knew they were being manipulated
People became very concerned about their image
Medium was the message and also the massage
Pop style - illusion of freedom
Relative Sexual liberation
Youth culture bloomed
magazines began to be geared toward women and African Americans
Airbrushing images became norm
Mail Art begins
Psychedelic drugs influenced design aesthetic
Protests against Vietnam war began - graphic artists volunteered their services
Zines began operating outside print system
Revolutionary propaganda
Debord theorizes that we consume symbols
Postmodernism - the party's over
Learning from Las Vegas by Muriel Cooper exposed modernism as a style

Drucker&McVarish Chapter 12

Corporate Identities and International Style 1950's - 1970's
Graphic Designers start to work toward establishing corporate identities
large multi-national corporations attempted to make the public feel like they were one entity with one identity/brand
Branding of a corporation was more of a plan of action, type fonts, logos, packaging
An international smbol language was invented, included cultural biases
International style of graphic design, grid-based, Suisse created
Design came back into objects vs. mass produced sameness
Simplicity in design conveys a powerful presence
Kenneth Boulding's 1956 book "THe Image"
Graphic Design journals blossomed
Ads often focused on one word, fonted just so, to establish a brand
Publishers sought to differentiate their books from advertisements with design techniues

Drucker&McVarish Chapter 11

Public Interest Campaigns and Information Design 1930's-1950's
Large scaled, publicly funded information campaigns
Objectivity presumed in photojournalism
Public depended on information during wartime
Promotion of social norms as common sense, no thought given to stereotyping
WPA produced more than 2000 posters
Political agendas become obvious arian ideals, more concentration on the hwole v. individualism
Women were shown images of women working
Recycling efforts, rationing info, etc
Pictographic schemes developed - visual Esperanto
Information design
Information analysis and design process
Scientific strandards develop - graphs, charts, etc
Graphic representation of scientific principles was important to public understanding
Graphical info removes human component
Information design is propaganda
removes idea of error when scientifically presented
How can anyone argue with facts?

Drucker&McVarish Chapter 10

The Culture of Consumption 1920's - 1930's
Lifestyle fantasies are created by advertisers
Marketable design concepts differentiate bt similar products
Purchases began to indicate status vs. meeting needs
Avant Garde art stylings began to show up in advertisements
Futurism sneaks up on Constructivism
Heavy influence from Russian design apparent
Modern design is closer to engineering than decoration
Advertisers kept American dream alive even during depression
Outdoor advertising began
Market analysis is born
Women's bodies are used in different ways to advertise
Conformity = side effect of ads
Ad agencies start to adveritse for themselves
Times New Roman for London Times by Stanley Morison - 1932

Drucker&McVarish Chapter 9

Innovation and Persuasion 1910-1930
Modernists wanted a break from the past
Design without indication of historical context - not really possible
Futurists, Dadas - Avantgarde movements out to shock the bourgeoisie
Russian artists published their own avantgarde works without censorship
Dadas formed in Suisse used nonsense to protest war
Constructivists tried to define limits of art and design
Wanted to overturn oppressive sturcture of the world
Political propaganda posters take effect in World War I
Peaceful imagery on war time propaganda posters relax ppl into idea of conflict
Images of domesticity inspired soldiers
Propaganda also used to adjust societal roles of women: voting, driving, etc
Bauhaus established in 1919 inaugurated design as we know it
Based on manifesto by Walter Gropius
Established idea of design as a discipline
Closed by Nazis in 1933
Avantgarde principles were absorbed and applied to different art forms
"Art and technology! A new unity!"
Graphic designers were imprisoned and killed for anti-nationalistic typeface

Drucker&McVarish Chapter 8

Formations of the Modern Movement 1880's - 1910's
Backlash against mass production - fear that it is spiritually demoralizing
Arts and Crafts movement, William Morris and others
Belief in beauty of well-crafted everyday objects
Troy font - Morris
Arts and crafts movement spread everywhere
Japan opens to trade and Japanese influence enters design work
Art Nouveau
Movement that rejected elitism, brought about forms of common life with Japanese design techniques
Heavy natural elements
Jugendstil
Design journal from Germany: Jugend
Organic forms, female forms
Vienna Secession decided to display their work outside the fine art academy
Gustav Klimt was intellectual leader of movement
Viennese secession eschewed decorative excess
Loving Koloman Moser's work
Aubrey Beardsley illustrated Wilde's Salome
Professional journals begin to develop
Fine press movement works on typefaces, making them most legible
Search for universal language of form had begun

Drucker&McVarish Chapter 7

Mass Mediation 1850-1900's
Printed materials start to feel natural
Print technology improves
Electricity replaces steam
High speed automation increases production of print
Graphics pervaded culture
mass media forms entire social infrastructure
standardization was happening
subtexts of messages influence, behavioral prototypes
paper was ultra abundant
The design of this book is getting on my nerves
Linotype and Monotype machines innovate industry
Finest work of nineteenth century illustrators was happening just before advent of photos
Women enter workforce - design force
Photography is for everyone
paper money becomes widely used- print is valuable
Stamps worth postage
Telegraphy enhanced pervasiveness of media
Telephones changed consciousness
Electricity = many more products available, longer work hours, more needs
All fields underwent technological advancement, from accounting to hairdressing
Typewriters become ubiquitous
Unregulated advertising
Brand recognition begins
Advertising becomes a business, aware of itself & ability to manipulate
First celebrity graphic artists

Drucker&McVarish Chapter 6

The Graphic Effects of Industrial Production 1800-1850
Color appears in print - more woodblock type processes
Advertisements become common - create mass markets=new visual culture
publications began to mediate social values
Lord Byron = first tabloid celeb, "Mad, Bad and Dangerous to know."
Print became pervasive in society
Competition for readers begins
Standards of beauty and style pervaded
Newspapers became a cultural force
Labels, menus, etc
Gender based ideals and branding of magazines began
Idea of self-improvement reading takes hold
Printing becomes very inexpensive
First stereotypes created
Book are lavishly illustrated
Lithography is invented - more realistic images
Daguerreotypes offer even more realistic images
Photographs thought of as infallible
Railroad = wider dissemination of print materials
Bills were being posted everywhere
Chromolithography arrives - color lithographs
Fine art and graphic artists split
Graphic arts mediate the values of modern life same as fine art
William Blake survived on his graphic arts, creating books of fine art poetry
Press became powerful influence, socially, politically
Mass media culture becomes established

Drucker&McVarish Chapter 5

Modern Typography and the Creation of the Public Sphere
Print became a space for debate - the new Roman forum
Newspapers were sensationalizing violence during this period
Wide spread scientific information was beginning to banish superstitious beliefs
First "true murder" zines widely spread, gory details
Industry newsletters were the first forms of newspapers among bankers, traders, etc.
Coffee and newspapers were the big time wasters of the era
News bound the colonists together via perceived common experience
John Adams - Te revolution started in the hearts and minds of ppl long before the fighting via newspapers
Printers created a brand of independence via graphic design
Revolutionary papers began
Freedom of the press becomes an ideal
All factions tried to suppress their enemies' pov
England seems to be behind the curve on printing technology
Informational charts appear
Business cards appear
royal fonts used without permission = imprisonment
England finally got its own font, Baskerville
Bodoni, famous Italian graphic designer, mentee of Baskerville
Engravers copyright act passed in England