Blog #1

Blog assignment #1: Describe some of the strategies you used to "read" Twelve Blue. Indicate what you did + what you hoped to achieve - and what you got out of doing whatever you did. I am hoping you will dig around in this text long enough to try out more than one strategy.

My strategy was to read the instructions given at the beginning “Once past the first page, click the threads displayed on the left or hyperlinked words to progress the narrative” and then to jump right in.  I clicked on “Begin” on the left hand side and freely went for it.  Once I clicked on the link on the first page, and read its content, I clicked the back arrow to check out where the threads would direct me.  After continuing to click the back arrow a few times, I felt like I was cheating the author a bit.  I feel Michael Joyce would be disappointed if he knew I wasn’t losing myself in his literature.  Therefore, I went back to the beginning and started clicking at random.  I was clicking every other thread, and then I mixed it up and would click on the underline words…no real strategy.  I really lost interest when a picture of who knows what popped up.  I tried staring at it for a while to see if something would come to me, but I still have no idea what it was.  Then I continued to go through the links to see if some other picture would pop up and I reached the finally (I think) which was after I clicked on the “…” and showed me a picture of what looked like grass. 

I started again and took the link that said “click here for help with this reading”.  It said “The story threads quite obviously along its edges, like frayed cloth, in the left window. You'll find links there. There are passing links within the text on the right as well, but these, once followed, go away.  You'll want, I think, to open the space so all twelve threads show, diurnally ( a not terribly obscure word for the weaving and unraveling of time). Their progress is measured in the stories and their occasional proximities are meaningful.  The words work best with serifs and space enough (14 point is preferred). There are two hundred and sixty nine links here among ninety six spaces.  Twelve blue isn't anything. Think of lilacs when they're gone.” This still left me confused.  It looks like a riddle to me, but I can’t really put it together.  I did try opening each thread in a new window, and I was paying attention to the titles, but saw no connection.

I’m not really sure if I got anything out of this, but I am interested in hearing the ideas behind why he did this.  Also, it might be fun to create a project like this just to be out of the norm and to create confusion.