I thought it was cool how Janet Murray really thought out unique ways that the computer could tell a story, epitomized in the three versions of a tragic suicide that she gave: "mind as tragic labyrinth" (176), "web of mourning," (177) and "simulation and destiny" (178). I think it would be a very interesting experience to occupy all those points of view for one situation--first person, third person other character, and omniscient third person. Having the power to enact some sort of chanage (while being omniscient) is further engaging because you contribute. The one that got me most was the "mind as tragic labyrinth" because it recognizes the fundamental connection between a computer's programming and how our brains are configured. For example, Murray talks of blocked off or fading happy memories. Memories do actually got blocked, such as in people who are traumatized. Unlike a stream-of-consciousness novel, digital narrative could actually simulate this neurological activity. I must admit that, as much as I am frustrated by disorienting experimental stuff like this (or like Michael Joyce's "Afternoon"), I do think this literature is uniquely beneficial in the end. It's an experience, not an analysis, and once I realize that, I can enjoy it more. Yeah! I think I'm caught up on my blogs for a while!

I hope everyone liked the presentation our group gave for Hamlet on the Holodeck. I had a lot of fun--and not just with the wine. I thought it was cool that we could integrate so much real-life stuff into the theoretical dissections of literary development. I am thinking, in particular, of "Duck Amuck"--the Daffy Duck cartoon.

This cartoon was fun to watch because I felt like I was a kid again. That's involuntary, associative memory for you. In another class, I just had to read all about Proust's feelings on the unique power of involuntary memory. For him, it was a cookie, not a cartoon, that brought back childhood memories that he couldn't make himself remember. At any rate, there is power in the object that can do that: awaken emotions and visceral memories that the intellect and just words can't reach.