code.poetry::executables

P o e m b y N a r i

code.poetry::e x e c u t a b l e s

000::take back your art

001::jack and jill

Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2001 23:44:12
To: webartery@yahoogroups.com
From: Ted Warnell <warnell@memlane.com>
Subject: Re: A conference I'm not going to...

<HTML>
  <HEAD>
    <SCRIPT language="JavaScript">
      var a0 = 'Jack and Jill';
      var a1 = new Array (
        'went up the hill', 'went to the beach', 'went by the way' );
      var a2 = new Array (
        'to fetch a pail', 'to catch the wave', 'to say to say' );
      var a3 = new Array (
        'of water.', 'of snails.', 'of men.' );
      var a4 = new Array (
        'Jack fell down', 'Jill jumped up', 'They fell apart' );
      var a5 = new Array (
        'and broke his crown', 'and teased her hair', 'and tore off a quickie' );
      var a6 = new Array (
        'and Jill came', 'and Jack came', 'and they both came' );
      var a7 = 'together, later.';
      var b = new Date();
      var c;
      function d() {
        return Math.floor( Math.random( b.getTime() ) * a1.length);
      }
    </SCRIPT>
  </HEAD>
  <BODY>
    <SCRIPT language="JavaScript">
               document.write( "" + a0 + "<br>" );
      c = d(); document.write( "" + a1[c] + "<br>" );
      c = d(); document.write( "" + a2[c] + "<br>" );
      c = d(); document.write( "" + a3[c] + "<br>" );
      c = d(); document.write( "" + a4[c] + "<br>" );
      c = d(); document.write( "" + a5[c] + "<br>" );
      c = d(); document.write( "" + a6[c] + "<br>" );
               document.write( "" + a7 + "<br>" );
    </SCRIPT>
  </BODY>
</HTML>

Jack and Jill
went to the beach
to catch the wave
of water.
They fell apart
and teased her hair
and they both came
together, later.

Pretty lite-duty machine, I know.
Apologies for the poetry.
Ted.

>A hypertext with random links is implicitly a non-deterministic finite state machine. You start at a node, then branch off to a node connected to it, output something at the node, then repeat the process until you reach a terminal node. A normal hypertext is a finite state machine where the user chooses which among the accepted paths to take. There is an equivalence between finite state machines and regular expressions such as you have in programming languages and shells. For example, the machine whose node says "a" and which has one arrow connecting itself to itself is equivalent to the regular expression /a*/ (output any number of a's or alternatively if you are thinking of it as a test to match against, successfully match a string with any number of a's). The finite state machines are typically used to describe grammar, natural and artificial. You can easily draw one which makes sentences with fairly complex grammatical structure.
>
>In the finite state machines I am programming, each node chooses randomly from one of a series of texts and then links to another random choice object etc. So that you could make a particular grammar with a choice of vocabulary (like the subject node could choose between one of several nouns). I am actuallly interested in putting larger sections of text in and doing poems where you get a different one each time you run the machine, but they make sense because only lines planned to follow each other do so, unlike just choosing from the same list of random texts over and over again. These machines can be made with Robert Kendall's system too, if you are willing to have each bit of text on a separate page. Otherwise you need to fool around a bit, which he kindly showed me how to do. So I might make my program output Web pages using Connection System components. The advantage of the program is that you interactively design the machine and can specify it by commands that refer to the whole structure in one small bit of script instead of spreading the definition over dozens of pages. (You define nodes and connect them to each other by name.) Mind you, you can do all this better with a GUI-based hypertext system and you don't even have to think about math. But then you lose half the fun!
>
>Millie

010::jack and jill revisited

Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 00:45:52
To: webartery@yahoogroups.com
From: Ted Warnell <warnell@memlane.com>
Subject: Re: A conference I'm not going to...

<HTML>
  <HEAD>
    <SCRIPT language="JavaScript">
      var a = new Array (
        'went up the hill', 'went to the beach', 'went by the way',
        'to fetch a pail', 'to catch the wave', 'to say to say',
        'of water.', 'of snails.', 'of men.',
        'Jack fell down', 'Jill jumped up', 'They fell apart',
        'and broke his crown', 'and teased her hair', 'and tore off a quickie',
        'and Jill came', 'and Jack came', 'and they both came' );
      function b() {
        return Math.floor( Math.random() * 3 );
      }
    </SCRIPT>
  </HEAD>
  <BODY>
    <SCRIPT language="JavaScript">
      document.write( "Jack and Jill<br>" );
      document.write( "" + a[b() + 0] + "<br>" );
      document.write( "" + a[b() + 3] + "<br>" );
      document.write( "" + a[b() + 6] + "<br>" );
      document.write( "" + a[b() + 9] + "<br>" );
      document.write( "" + a[b() +12] + "<br>" );
      document.write( "" + a[b() +15] + "<br>" );
      document.write( "together, later<br>" );
    </SCRIPT>
  </BODY>
</HTML>

Jack and Jill
went by the way
to catch the wave
of snails.
Jill jumped up
and broke his crown
and Jack came
together, later

optimized for fewer variables.

ted.

each node chooses randomly from one of a series of texts and then links to another random choice object

make a particular grammar with a choice of vocabulary (like the subject node could choose between one of several nouns)

you get a different one each time you run the machine

they make sense because only lines planned to follow each other do so

011::for millie

Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 01:18:51
To: webartery@yahoogroups.com
From: Ted Warnell <warnell@memlane.com>
Subject: Re: A conference I'm not going to...

<HTML>
  <HEAD>
    <SCRIPT language="JavaScript">
      var a = new Array (
        '...', '...', '...',
        '...', '...', '...',
        '...', '...', '...',
        '...', '...', '...',
        '...', '...', '...',
        '...', '...', '...' );
      var b = '<br>';
      function c() {
        return Math.floor( Math.random() * 3 );
      }
    </SCRIPT>
  </HEAD>
  <BODY>
    <SCRIPT language="JavaScript">
      document.write( "...<br>"
        + a[c() + 0] + b + a[c() + 3] + b
          + a[c() + 6] + b + a[c() + 9] + b
            + a[c() +12] + b + a[c() +15] + b
              + "...<br>" );
    </SCRIPT>
  </BODY>
</HTML>

brevity counts.

t.

100::for jorge

Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 01:53:56
To: webartery@yahoogroups.com
From: Ted Warnell <warnell@memlane.com>
Subject: Re: A conference I'm not going to...

<HTML>
  <HEAD>
    <SCRIPT                      language="JavaScript">
      var a =                    new Array (     ///// --  ++
        'a..',                  'b..', 'c..',    /////////////*;
        'd..', 'e..',                'f..',    ////////////*/;
        'g..', 'h..',              'i..',    ///////////*//;
        'j..',            'k..', 'l..',    //////////*///;
        'm..', 'n..',          'o..',      ///////*////;
        'p..', 'q..',        'r..' );    // ++  --
      var b =      '<br>';             // sla/sh   .
      function    c() {              // m()vie   :
        return  Math.floor( Math.random() * 3 );
      }                          // m() * ///;
    </SCRIPT>
  </HEAD>
  <BODY>
    <SCRIPT language="JavaScript">
      document.write( "0..<br>"
        + a[c() + 0] + b + a[c() + 3] + b
          + a[c() + 6] + b + a[c() + 9] + b
            + a[c() +12] + b + a[c() +15] + b
              + "1..<br>" );
    </SCRIPT>
  </BODY>
</HTML>

for Jorge /t

> A language under a language like Saussure's statements: words
> under words. Ted's programming language becomes a under-poem
> of nowadays. Another metaphor. Another Pound's imagisms in our
> century. Mez and her written symbols (and also with her Net
> art/poetry, or Web art/poetry). Different ways to reach and
> express the hypertextuality always present that construct
> the tissue of meaning.
>
> Jorge

101::for carolyn

Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 03:13:11
To: webartery@yahoogroups.com
From: Ted Warnell <warnell@memlane.com>
Subject: Re: A conference I'm not going to...

           <HTML>
           <HEAD><SCRIPT language="JavaScript">
      var a=new Array( ////--++>>>>>>>>> sla/sh
     'a..','b..','c..', ////--//////*; " The spatio-temporal elements
     'd..','e..','f..', ///////////*/; > that are added in the nonspace
     'g..','h..','i..', //////////*//; > of cyberspatial works are much
     'j..','k..','l..', /////////*///; > more than just a connection
     'm..','n..','o..', ////++//*////; > between parts. They are part
     'p..','q..','r..'); //++--  ////; > of the syntax of the form.
      var b='<br>'; //sla/sh.**  ////. > " -- Carolyn Guertin
      function c(){ //m()vie://  ////: >>>>>> movie//
return Math.floor(Math.random()*3);} //m()*//;m0v1e/
</SCRIPT></HEAD><BODY><SCRIPT language="JavaScript">
      document.write("0..<br>"+a[c()+0]+b+a[c()+3]+b
      +a[c()+6]+b+a[c()+9]+b+a[c()+12]+b+a[c()+15]+b
      +"1..<br>");</SCRIPT></BODY>
                           </HTML>

great quote, c - t

110::for steve

Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2001 07:06:05
To: webartery@yahoogroups.com
From: Ted Warnell <warnell@memlane.com>
Subject: Re: A conference I'm not going to...

<HTML><HEAD>
      <SCRIPT language="JavaScript">var m=new Array(
             'The','spatio-temporal','elements',  //The
            'that','are',               'added',  //added
              'in','the',            'nonspace',  //nonspace
              'of','cyberspatial',      'works',  //of
             'are','much',               'more',  //more
            'than','just',                  'a',  //than
      'connection','between',          'parts.',  //connection
            'They','are',                'part',  //part
              'of','the',              'syntax',  //of
              'of','the',               'form.'); //form.
      var c='<br>';function g(){ ///////////////////
return Math.floor(Math.random()*3);} //sla/sh m()vie
</SCRIPT></HEAD><BODY><SCRIPT language="JavaScript">
      document.write("/ /<br>"+m[g()+0]+c+m[g()+3]+c
      +m[g()+6]+c+m[g()+9]+c+m[g()+12]+c+m[g()+15]+c
      +m[g()+18]+c+m[g()+21]+c+m[g()+24]+c+m[g()+27]
      +c+"/ Carolyn Guertin /<br>"); //4 sd</SCRIPT>
                                             </BODY></HTML>

// sla/sh m()vie 4 sd [ & w thx 2 cg 4 th thots ] /t

>just been running your poems, in various ways, ted. excellent.

111::carolyn's quote

code.poetry::executables
includes writings by participants on the Webartery poetics discussion list:
Millie Niss, USA; Jorge Luiz Antonio, Brazil; Carolyn Guertin, Canada; and Steve Duffy, UK -- with thanks.