Well, I've fallen behind in this class. I just got up to date on the blog entries-- great stuff. The book sculptures are amazing, and I'm a trivia addict, but even I learned a few things. (I loved the "You have 'em; I'll entertain 'em" quote from Dr. Seuss-- I'd never heard that before.)
I know I said last week that I wasn't going to do another revision of Brave New World, but I did anyway. (In addition to my other reprehensible qualities, I'm also a liar.) The new copy has some improvements over the first, but it also has its own unique flaws which you'll see in class. I gave it the old college try, at least, but it just goes to illustrate why I'm better off sticking to computer-aided design. (My father is a skilled carpenter, but he never taught me how to work with my hands.) Rather than trying my luck with the lab cutter again, I took this one to Office Depot for trimming and was charged nearly $5 for the privilege-- I think I was charged per cut.
I think I found a book that lends itself to hypertext adaptation: Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Part of the story's structure is predicated on two letters, the contents of which aren't revealed until after the conclusion of the narrative. If a reader were so inclined, she or he could read the letters out of context, perhaps chronologically, and thus "experience" the story in a different way, albeit without Stevenson's intended surprise ending. (Of course, the story has entered popular culture such that the ending was spoiled long before any of us had the chance to read the original, but the ending is meant to come as a shock.)
Finally, I just returned from the North American Discworld Convention 2013. Discworld is a series of fantasy novels by Sir Terry Pratchett (I believe I've mentioned them in class before), and this, in Baltimore, was only the third Discworld convention to be held in North America (prior conventions have been in Madison, WI, in 2011 and Phoenix, AZ, in 2009). The convention was somewhat melancholy, as Sir Terry had to cancel his appearance at the last minute. Officially, this was because he is hard at work on the fortieth Discworld novel, Raising Steam, but privately all of his fans are worried about his health. Fortunately, Sir Terry was able to find the time to join us remotely for a video chat, allowing us to greet him and have a question-and-answer session that way. Sir Terry's novels have meant a great deal to me over the years, more than I can properly express here, so I was very glad that I was able to thank him personally. I admit I got a little choked up.
I also asked him a question, which won't mean much to you if you're not familiar with Discworld, but I wanted to share it with those who are. I warned Sir Terry that my question was somber, but it had been preying on me, and I asked, "When Granny Weatherwax meets Death for the final time, what will she have to say to him?" I think he became a little choked up as well, and he told me that he thinks she'll say, "Thank you."
