I think that this project is just hilarious from start to
finish! I compliment the originality. It's always interesting
to look at past conventions of any kind from within the
perspective of our own contemporary culture. I think that the
inclusion of sketches from past etiquette manuals is great.
Did you consider possibly including sketches or photos from
today's teenage magazines? Not sure if that would have a
positive impact on the focus of your project, but it might be
interesting to see them side by side. (Aside: If any of you
have Pearl Jam's "Vitalogy" CD, this project reminds me of the
lyric book that accompanies it. Even the "head." Take a look
at it if you have it and are interested.)
Problem: "Unable to open
http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/~ensp482/htbin/imagemap/phrenology?
etc..."
--I couldn't get anywhere from the head of your project. I
just kept getting this error message. This is probably just a
mapping error or something that is easy to fix. Otherwise, I
like the idea of using the human noggin as a user interface.
I'd be interested to see how it works when you get it fixed.
Will this head be linked to the "server push?"
Since I brought it up, I realize that the "server push" script
is an integral part of your project. I think that its a great
way to force people to "pay attention." However I also begin
to resent the lack of control when it really gets going fast
there at the end. But then, maybe that's what you're after,
huh. The increasing pace of the progression IS, after all,
analogous to the culture that you are exploring, if you think
about it. The "push" starts out slowly, but then by the end it
becomes frantic and frenzied (like today's technocratic culture,
if you will). "By forcing the reader to view the contrast
between the two forms of control in quick succession, the
reader will be forced to reflect on the differences between the
two approaches." Yes it does that, indeed.
Last point: you make good use of color in your server string
of "do's and dont's" yet the sample pages are without
backgrounds. Don't know what you would use, but a background
might have an interesting visual effect with the yellowed
pages. Maybe not?
Enjoyed the trip.
Adam
-- Adam Winters winters@virginia.edu