About Project #3

For my first set of texts, I have used the lyrics of theme songs for some television shows that everyone is probably familiar with: The Brady Bunch, and Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. I translated them numerous times, into different languages, using Google’s translator tool. I chose these two texts because they are something that everyone is familiar with, and probably finds some sort of comfort in, as well. By seeing these texts in a different way, it makes the reader really consider the texts original meaning. It is also strange when the generated texts produce negative images/thoughts, or strange images/thoughts, because the original texts are so inherently wholesome (like “Kinky and the youngest one” and “Not-Not-Please, do not you my neighbor? I think that it is these types of juxtaposition that add the most interest.

For my second text, I chose an excerpt of a short story that I really haven’t done anything with for a while (i.e. edit it, finish it…). The algorithm I applied to this text was like the N+7 method we did in class once, in which we went either seven, or beyond to the first noun not containing the root word of the original word. I used my OED for this, and I really like the way that it turned out. I like it better than the original. It has a strange quality to it, mix its mix of familiar and unfamiliar words. (There are like three or four different kinds of strange fish in there!) The N+7 makes the story seem mystical and haunting, in a way. Some of the phrases generated were neat, like “We didn’t even eat dinosaur” and “Chattering pepperboxes, probably sitting on the pork, relaxing.” Some really bizarre things come up! Overall, I liked the way the N+7 worked, and how it gave an almost alien quality to the text.

Lastly, I did a recipe “cut up.” I really like how recipes turn out with the cut up method. I like the way that the numbers visually break up the text. I think that it adds texture, and gives the reader a break from all of the jumbled words/letters. I like the silly words that come up using cut ups. I went through ten or twelve different combinations before I found one that I liked (that contained some good silly words!). I love the words like “seasocrumbs,” “mediucrease,” and especially “Tabascokle!” I didn’t really like cut ups at first, because they seemed boring. I like them much more now. I like the element of silliness that you can get from them.

Overall, I like the way my texts turned out. I appreciate how the changes generated by the algorithms complement each one, either in meaning or visually. This was very interesting and fun.