30:Ta68,md`*ramble* applies itself to prose. It allows a long sentence with already a convoluted, rambling syntax to wander further afield ‘on a walk or expedition’ while largely respecting its syntactic epicycles. It uses a number of functions built into Howe’s RiTa library, to find similar words for most of those in its authored language, words whose meanings are not exhausted by their grammatical, syntactic function. Replacements may rhyme, ‘sound like’, or ‘look like’ in terms of spelling. The replacements are further constrained so as to be able always to occupy the part of speech which pertained to the corresponding word in the authored sentence. Other fine-tuning adjustments have been made to the basic algorithms provided by RiTa. *ramble* walks out and then also, at a certain point, returns. It has retained a \`history\` of its ramble and it returns in a shuffling order through this \`history\` from its furthest point to its beginning. It sets out immediately once more, and so, depending on the position of the highlighted words and the attention of the reader, comprehending the initial, authored *ramble* may not be entirely straightforward. The first few sentences encountered by the reader, presented separately, are an epigraph to *ramble*. The artists owe their discovery of this epigraph to Renee Gladman, who calls it, “the most comprehensive description of what prose does that I’ve thus far encountered.” It is from Virginia Tufte, *Artful Sentences: syntax as style*, 2006, p. 271. Some readers may insist that when we say, with Tufte, that prose ‘moves’ there is something essentially and, they may argue, *necessarily* metaphorical or figurative about what we have said. A transcription of what an author wrote does not (should not?) *literally* move. Implicitly, this movement is assigned to something like the mind or to the phenomenological experience of the reader. In *ramble* the prose is preserved as syntax and some of the movements that we witness and, perhaps, that we may *read* are quasi-random within bounds that are realized by natural-language-processing expressions. Do movements of this kind correspond in any way with the art of Tufte’s artful sentences and the ‘movement’ that she reminds us to find in them? The artists propose that they do. Quasi-random semantics – even constrained by ‘similarities’ – take us, very quickly, very far from the sense of any composed sentence, but so do even the word-level associative experiences of human reading, when we let them, as and when we always already do. If texts can move, literally as well as figuratively, why should they not?`31:T5a6,reader = async (ele, numWords = 999999) => { let reading = true; let readerix = 0; let readerMillis = 2000; let readerSpans = []; // see the comment in the display cell above // for notebook only, the following line would not be necessary let spans = Array.from(ele.children); for (let i = 0; i < numWords; i++) { if (mutable skipEpigraph) break; await Promises.delay(readerMillis).then(() => { let iOfLast = mod(readerix - numberOfVisibleWords, spans.length); let lastCl = spans[iOfLast].classList; if (lastCl.contains("visible")) { lastCl.remove("visible"); // used to create readerWindow for testing: readerSpans.shift(); } let cl = spans[readerix].classList; cl.add("visible"); // used to create readerWindow for testing: readerSpans.push(spans[readerix].innerHTML); // readerWindow.innerHTML = readerSpans.join(" "); // TESTing // overall reading speed can be changed by adding millisecond basetime arg to timeToRead(word,basetime) readerMillis = timeToRead(spans[readerix].innerText); readerix = ++readerix % spans.length; return; }); } if (mutable skipEpigraph) { mutable skipEpigraph = false; return; } // cleanup for (let i = numWords - numberOfVisibleWords; i < numWords; i++) { await Promises.delay(readerMillis).then(() => { spans[i].classList.remove("visible"); }); } }32:T650,// choose a random word to replace update = () => { if (!updating) return; let next, pos, idx, word; // ramble on if (state.outgoing) { let r = Math.floor(Math.random() * words.length); // loop from a random spot for (let i = r; i < words.length + r; i++) { idx = i % words.length; word = words[idx].toLowerCase(); pos = partsOfSpeech[idx]; if (word.length < 4) continue; // len >= 4 // preserve some grammatical words if (stopWords.includes(word)) continue; // find related words let rhymes = RiTa.rhymes(word, { pos }); let sounds = RiTa.soundsLike(word, { pos }); let spells = RiTa.spellsLike(word, { pos }); let similars = [...rhymes, ...sounds, ...spells]; // only words with 2 or more similars if (similars.length < 2) continue; // pick a random similar next = RiTa.random(similars); if (next.length < 4) { continue; // skip if not >= 4 letters long } if (next.includes(word) || word.includes(next)) { continue; // skip substrings } if (ignores.includes(next)) continue; if (/[A-Z]/.test(words[idx][0])) { next = RiTa.capitalize(next); // keep capitals } words[idx] = next; // do replacement state.history[idx].push(next); // add to history break; // done } } else { // ramble back let data = restore(); if (!data) return; [next, idx, pos, word] = Object.values(data); } updateDOM(next, idx); let num = updateState(); console.log(`${num}) ${word} -> ${next} [${pos}]`); }33:T7be,supplyText = "by the time the light has faded, as the last of the reddish gold illumination comes to rest, then imperceptibly spreads out over the moss and floor of the woods on the westerly facing lakeside slopes, you or I will have set out on several of yet more circuits at every time and in all directions, before or after this or that circadian, usually diurnal, event on mildly rambling familiar walks, as if these exertions might be journeys of adventure whereas always our gestures, guided by paths, are also more like traces of universal daily ritual: just before or with the dawn, after a morning dip, in anticipation of breakfast, whenever the fish are still biting, as and when the industrious creatures are building their nests and shelters, after our own trials of work, while the birds still sing, in quiet moments after lunch, most particularly after dinner, at sunset, to escape, to avoid being found, to seem to be lost right here in this place where you or I have always wanted to be and where we might sometimes now or then have discovered some singular hidden beauty, or one another, or stumbled and injured ourselves beyond the hearing and call of other voices, or met with other danger, animal or inhuman, the one tearing and rending and opening up the darkness within us to bleed, yet we suppress any sound that might have expressed the terror and passion and horror and pain so that I or you may continue on this ramble, this before or after walk, and still return; or the other, the quiet evacuation of the light, the way, as we have kept on walking, it falls on us and removes us from existence since in any case we are all but never there, always merely passing through and by and over the moss, under the limbs of the evergreens, beside the lake, within the sound of its lapping waves, annihilated, gone, quite gone, now simply gone and, in being or walking in these ways, giving up all living light for settled, hearth held fire in its place, returned"34:T7df,targetText = "by the time the light has faded, as the last of the reddish gold illumination comes to rest, then imperceptibly spreads out over the dust and rubble of the craters on the easterly facing bankside heights, you or I will have rushed out on several of yet more circuits at every time and in all directions, before or after this or that violent, usually nocturnal, event on desperately hurried unfamiliar flights, as if these panics might be movements of desire whereas always our gestures, constrained by obstacles, are also more like scars of universal daily terror: just before or with the dawn, after a morning prayer, in anticipation of hunger, while the neighbors are still breathing, as and when the diligent authorities are marshaling their cronies and thugs, after our own trials of loss, while the mortars still fall, in quiet moments after shock, most particularly after curfew, at sunset, to escape, to avoid being found, to seem to be lost right here in this place where you or I have always wanted to be and where we might sometimes now or then have discovered some singular hidden beauty, or one another, or stumbled and injured ourselves beyond the hearing and call of other voices, or met with other danger, venal or military, the one tearing and rending and opening up the darkness within us to bleed, yet we suppress any sound that might have expressed the terror and longing and horror and pain so that I or you may continue on this expedition, this before or after assault, and still return; or the other, the quiet evacuation of the light, the way, as we have kept on struggling, it falls on us and removes us from existence since in any case we are all but never there, always merely passing through and by and over the dust, within the shadows of our ruins, beneath the wall, within the razor of its coiled wire, annihilated, gone, quite gone, now simply gone and, in being or advancing in these ways, giving up all living light for unsettled, heart felt fire in our veins, exiled"35:[] 2e:{"title":"ramble","cells":[{"id":0,"value":"html`

ramble

DANIEL HOWE & JOHN CAYLEY, MAY 2021

${LAOB} / THE WORK

`","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":829,"value":"$30","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":8,"value":"display = html`

`\n/* the (mutable) state of a piece like this resides in the innerHTML of this element\nit is not embedded in the webapp version, it is copied and pasted into the index.html file\n*within* the notebook it could be referenced by its display binding, but in the webapp\n(and for testing) you should use: let display = document.querySelector(\"#display\") */","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":1027,"value":"viewof skipButton = skipEpigraphButton()\n// DH: be nice to right-align this with para, and hide for the ramble (I guess it is primarily for the web-view where it looks fine)","pinned":true,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":708,"value":"embedAutoPlay = placeHolderSequence()","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":847,"value":"mutable withEpigraph = true // if false, puts system in debug mode","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":735,"value":"placeHolderSequence = async () => {\n let display = document.querySelector(\"#display\");\n\n if (withEpigraph) {\n mutable updating = false;\n display.classList.add(\"epigraph\");\n spanify(epigraph, display);\n await reader(display, display.children.length);\n if (!mutable skipEpigraph) await Promises.delay(4000);\n display.classList.remove(\"epigraph\");\n document.querySelector(\"#skip\").classList.add(\"none\");\n }\n spanify(supplyText, display);\n document.querySelector(\"#display\").classList.remove(\"none\");\n reader(display);\n\n if (withEpigraph) {\n // word replacements start after a minute of reading\n Promises.delay(40000).then(() => {\n console.log('toggle updater');\n mutable updating = true;\n });\n } else mutable updating = true;\n}","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":303,"value":"$31","pinned":true,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":504,"value":"timeToRead = (word, basetime = 150) => {\n const syltime = basetime / 2; // most significant accumulator: these milliseconds per syllable\n if (RiTa.isPunct(word)) {\n return word.match(/[\\.\\?!]/) ? basetime * 3 : basetime * 1.5;\n }\n let syls = RiTa.syllables(word); // array of syllables\n let time = basetime + syls.split(\"/\").length * syltime; // syls * basic unit\n time += syls.split(/[\\/-]/).length * (syltime / 12); // add 1/12 of a syltime for each phoneme\n time += word.match(/[,;:—]/) ? basetime : 0; // add basetime to a punctuated word\n time += word.match(/[\\.\\?!]/) ? basetime * 2 : 0; // or add more for the end of a period\n return time;\n}","pinned":true,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":444,"value":"// modulus that can handle negative numbers: used in reader()\nmod = function(number, modulus) {\n return ((number % modulus) + modulus) % modulus;\n}","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":214,"value":"// parameter for the reader()\nnumberOfVisibleWords = 13","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":887,"value":"ignores = [\n \"jerkies\",\n \"nary\",\n \"outta\",\n \"copras\",\n \"accomplis\",\n \"scad\",\n \"silly\",\n \"saris\",\n \"coca\",\n \"durn\",\n \"geed\",\n \"goted\",\n \"denture\",\n \"wales\"\n]","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":886,"value":"stopWords = [\n \"over\",\n \"have\",\n \"this\",\n \"that\",\n \"just\",\n \"then\",\n \"under\",\n \"some\"\n ]","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":966,"value":"// viewof controls = startStop() // for debugging: toggle word replacing","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":965,"value":"updater = {\n while (updating) {\n await Promises.delay(state.delay).then(update);\n yield replacements();\n }\n}","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":964,"value":"mutable updating = false","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":963,"value":"state = ({\n outgoing: true, // are we going out or coming back\n history: words.map(w => [w]), // a history array for each cell\n maxReplacements: 160, // when to start returning\n delay: 100 // millis between updates\n})","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":1164,"value":"","pinned":true,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":962,"value":"replacements = () => {\n // number of replacements made\n return words.reduce((acc, w, i) => (acc += state.history[i].length - 1), 0);\n}","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":961,"value":"// choose a random word and reverse one timestep\nrestore = () => {\n let choices = words\n .map((next, idx) => ({ next, idx }))\n .filter(o => state.history[o.idx].length > 1);\n\n if (!choices.length) return; // nothing to do\n\n // pick a changed word to step back\n let { next, idx } = RiTa.random(choices);\n let pos = partsOfSpeech[idx];\n let word = words[idx];\n let hist = state.history[idx];\n\n next = hist.pop(); // select last from history\n words[idx] = next; // do replacement\n\n if (hist.length === 1 && next !== hist[0]) {\n hist.push(hist[0]); // hack for last incoming\n }\n \n return { next, idx, pos, word };\n}","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":15,"value":"$32","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":958,"value":"updateDOM = (next, idx) => {\n // update the one span that has changed\n let ele = document.querySelector(`#w${idx}`);\n if (!ele) {\n console.warn(\"NO ELE FOR IDX: \" + idx);\n return; // shouldn't happen\n }\n\n ele.innerText = next + (RiTa.isPunct(words[idx + 1]) ? '' : ' ');\n\n // highlight updates as they happen\n if (!withEpigraph) {\n ele.style.backgroundColor =\n state.history[idx][0] === next\n ? '#fff' // original\n : state.outgoing\n ? '#fbb' // outgoing\n : '#bbf'; // incoming\n }\n}","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":957,"value":"updateState = () => {\n let changes = replacements();\n if (changes >= state.maxReplacements) {\n state.outgoing = false;\n } else if (updating && changes <= 0) {\n state.outgoing = true;\n }\n return changes;\n}","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":956,"value":"// assigns each word to its own span with unique id\nspanify = (data, selector) => {\n let tokens = Array.isArray(data) ? data : RiTa.tokenize(data);\n let reducer = (acc, w, i) => {\n acc += `${w}`;\n if (!RiTa.isPunct(tokens[i + 1])) acc += ' ';\n return (acc += ``);\n };\n let spans = tokens.reduce(reducer, '');\n let ele = selector;\n if (typeof ele === 'string') {\n ele = document.querySelector(selector);\n }\n ele.innerHTML = spans;\n}","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":913,"value":"words = RiTa.tokenize(supplyText) // split into words","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":954,"value":"partsOfSpeech = RiTa.pos(supplyText) // pos for each word","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":22,"value":"$33","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":1004,"value":"$34","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":602,"value":"epigraph = \"Prose is linear. It is read and is said to move. It must by nature, therefore, generate a symbolics of spatial or temporal movement widened by its context beyond the limits of the actual sentence read from left to right in so many seconds. In whatever context, the movement may resemble accumulation or attrition, progress or other process, even stasis, or any one of these interrupted, turned, reversed. In space or time or both, it can go in any direction as continuous or repetitive, accelerated or retarded, smooth, halting, or halted.\"","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":1045,"value":"mutable skipEpigraph = false","pinned":true,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":1010,"value":"skipEpigraphButton = () => {\n const skip = html``;\n skip.skip.onclick = event => {\n mutable skipEpigraph = true;\n document.querySelector(\"#skip\").classList.add(\"none\");\n document.querySelector(\"#display\").classList.add(\"none\");\n };\n // skip.value = true;\n //\n // skip.value = true;\n // event.preventDefault();\n // RiTa.tokenize(supplyText).forEach((w, i) => (words[i] = w));\n // spanify(supplyText, '#display');\n // state.history = words.map(w => [w]);\n // state.outgoing = true;\n // mutable updating = true;\n // };\n return skip;\n}","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":951,"value":"startStop = () => {\n const buttons = html``; // from https://observablehq.com/@a-lexwein/two-buttons\n buttons.value = true;\n buttons.start.onclick = event => {\n buttons.value = true;\n event.preventDefault();\n RiTa.tokenize(supplyText).forEach((w, i) => (words[i] = w));\n spanify(supplyText, '#display');\n state.history = words.map(w => [w]);\n state.outgoing = true;\n mutable withEpigraph = false;\n mutable updating = true;\n };\n buttons.stop.onclick = event => {\n buttons.value = false;\n event.preventDefault();\n mutable withEpigraph = false;\n mutable updating = false;\n };\n return buttons;\n}\n","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":205,"value":"css = html``","pinned":true,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":883,"value":"(RiTa.SILENCE_LTS = true)","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":131,"value":"RiTa.VERSION","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":927,"value":"import { LAOB, laob_notebook_css } from \"@laob/imports\"","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":945,"value":"RiTa = require(\"rita@2\")","pinned":false,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"},{"id":929,"value":"laob_notebook_css","pinned":true,"hidden":false,"mode":"ojs"}],"files":"$W35","stdlib":"1","titling":"auto"}