The end of narratives

The story is dead.

The basic unit of currency that nearly all of journalism has
traded in since it began is finished.

And it's dead because of big things we've all seen
happening, but that we've been reluctant to put together to come to
the inevitable conclusion - that the story is dead.

It's obvious why we're reluctant to come to this conclusion:
the story is at the centre of everything that we do.
What’s the first question we always ask? 'Is it a good story?'
The language we use about our journalism comes back to the
story.

'Get the story.' 'Tell the story.' 'It's a lead story.' The thing we
tell young journalists to focus on above all else: 'Be a good
storyteller.' 'Use the touching detail of the story to tell a bigger truth
about the world.'

The story has become everything that we do. It lies behind
all our rites and rituals. The things we think make journalism.
Scoops, deadlines, headlines; accuracy, impartiality, public interest
– they all lean on the fundamental assumption that we do our
business in stories.

Journalists have extended 'the story' way beyond what
it was once useful for. It's a great way of learning some things
about the world – but it's rubbish for many other forms of public
communication.

In spite of that, we have stretched 'the story' as a format and
sub-genre further than it could ever really go. And we did that to
create the whole idea of journalism and journalists as a trade and a
tribe apart. We did it to define ourselves. Only journalists could
spot stories; only journalists could find the top line that could
compete for the attention of mass audiences.

Download ebooks on http://www.frenchtheory.com/ - See that post with different algorithms in metabole - See the journal French Metablog with today different posts-Enter Jean-Philippe Pastor


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1100 text spaces

The GRAMMATRON project is a "public domain narrative environment" developed by virtual artist Mark Amerika in conjunction with the Brown University Graduate Creative Writing Program and the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Graphics and Visualization Center as well as with the support of many individuals without whom none of this would be possible.

The project consists of over over 1100 text spaces, 2000 links, 40+ minutes of original soundtrack delivered via Real Audio 3.0, unique hyperlink structures by way of specially-coded Javascripts, a virtual gallery featuring scores of animated and still life images, and more storyworld development than any other narrative created exclusively for the Web.

A story about cyberspace, Cabala mysticism, digicash paracurrencies and the evolution of virtual sex in a society afraid to go outside and get in touch with its own nature, GRAMMATRON depicts a near-future world where stories are no longer conceived for book production but are instead created for a more immersive networked-narrative environment that, taking place on the Net, calls into question how a narrative is composed, published and distributed in the age of digital dissemination.

The GRAMMATRON project has been exhibited at many international museums and festivals including Ars Electronica, The International Symposium for Electronic Art (ISEA), SIGGRAPH 98, The Telstra Adelaide Arts Festival (South Australia), Virtual Worlds 98 (Paris) and the International Biennial of Film and Architecture (Graz).
GRAMMATRON was one of the first works of Internet Art to ever be included in the prestigious Whitney Biennial (2000).

You can enter GRAMMATRON now or visit the companion theory-guide called Hypertextual Consciousness or, if you prefer, go to The Alt-X Online Publishing Network to see where this all started.
For essays and articles on the developmental process behind GRAMMATRON, see Mark Amerika's Amerika-Online column at Alt-X.

- Download ebooks on http://www.frenchtheory.com/

- See that post with different algorithms in metabole

- See the journal French Metablog with today different posts

- PHONEREADER Library -

- Jean-Philippe Pastor

Novel for internet

A novel for the Internet about London Underground in seven cars and a crash

253 ? Why 253 ? describes the ground rules of the novel.
The Journey Planner provides links to the first four cars and individual passengers.
About this Site tells you a bit more about 253 and the author.
Select The End of the Line to read about the end of each carriage's voyage.
Another One along in a Minute describes the sequel you are invited to help write.
On each car section, advertisements appear. These are deeply serious and should be read with great attention.

Simply click on the option of your choice. Relax! It's so easy, travelling with 253.
In cyberspace, people become places.

Download ebooks on http://www.frenchtheory.com/ - See that post with different algorithms in metabole - See the journal French Metablog with today different posts - PHONEREADER Library - - Jean-Philippe Pastor

Textual history

The business of figuring depends on the work of bibliographers, who piece together the story of which edition appeared when.

Most important medieval works, for instance, survive in many manuscripts, no two of which are quite the same. The business of sorting out the variants among the surviving witnesses and determining which readings are likely authorial and which are corrupt can be very complicated. James Joyce's Ulysses, for instance, has a notoriously complicated textual history, with ??? bibliography.

Download ebooks on http://www.frenchtheory.com/
See that post with different algorithms in metabole
See the journal French Metablog with today different posts