the growth of the day (2020)
two concerns:
1 - covid;
2 - how the meaning of the same word/phrase grows out of recontexturization of its surrounding.
text - gpt2 trained with:
Albert Camus - "the Myth of Sisyphus" (trans. Justin O'Brien) and,
Albert Camus - "The Plague" (trans. Stuart Gilbert),
covid-related covid news dataset aylien.com/resources/datasets/coronavirus-dataset)
sound/music
digital signal processing on the reading of the first sentence, "the day began, the day ended."
​
full text below:
The day began.
The day ended.
​
The day began.
It was not a day to celebrate, I know.
The day ended.
​
The day began.
It was not a day to celebrate, I know –
first it struck in the temples.
The day ended.
​
The day began.
It was not a day to celebrate, I know –
first it struck in the temples, then in the ears, then in the limbs –
course of the disease was as unpredictable as it was uncalled-for.
The day ended.
​
First the day began - it struck in the temples,
then in the ears, then in the limbs.
Course of the disease was as unpredictable as it was uncalled-for.
Take, for instance, the case of men who, suddenly finding their temperature up, were put into quarantine, and had their limbs stretched out as far as possible.
The day ended.
​
First it struck the temples, the day began.
Then in the ears, then in the limbs – course of the disease was as unpredictable as it was uncalled-for. Take, for instance, the case of men who, suddenly finding their temperature up, were put into quarantine, and had their limbs stretched out as far as possible…
But the most striking feature of the scene
was the silence it preserved.
The day ended.
​
​
First it struck the temples, then in the ears, then in the limbs.
The day began.
Course of the disease was as unpredictable as it was uncalled-for.
Take, for instance, the case of men who, suddenly finding their temperature up, were put into quarantine, and had their limbs stretched out as far as possible. And the air was heavy with their breath, like that of a plant that has had its leaves cut off, filling the room with the smell of their blood…
But the most striking feature of the scene was the silence it preserved –
the mournful silence,
of men dying for something they can't see.
“That’s all there is to it.” That was as far as he was concerned.
The day ended.
The day began.
“Men die for something they can’t see.”
“But we have it totally under control.” – first it struck the temples;
“Men die for something they can’t see.”
“The only ones that are losing their heads are the press.” – then in the ears;
" Men die for something they can’t see.”
“The 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero.” – then in the limbs.
Course of the disease was as unpredictable as it was uncalled-for. Take, for instance, the case of men who, suddenly finding their temperature up, were put into quarantine, and had their limbs stretched out as far as possible.
“I think the virus is going to be… it’s going to be fine. “
But the most striking feature of the scene was the silence it preserved –
the mournful silence of men dying for something they can't see.
“Men die for something they can’t see. That’s all there is to it.”
That was as far as he was concerned.
The day ended.
​
The day began.
(it struck the temples, then in the ears, then in the limbs)
Course of the disease was as unpredictable as it was uncalled-for –
(it struck the temples, then in the ears, then in the limbs)
“Looks like by April, you know in theory when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away.”
(it struck the temples, then in the ears, then in the limbs)
Take, for instance, the case of men who…
(it struck the temples, then in the ears, then in the limbs)
suddenly finding their temperature up, were put into quarantine,
(it struck the temples, then in the ears, then in the limbs)
and had their limbs stretched out as far as possible.
(it struck the temples, then in the ears, then in the limbs)
“It is very much under control… Stock market starting to look very good to me!”
(it struck the temples, then in the ears, then in the limbs)
And the air was heavy with their breath,
like that of a plant that has had its leaves cut off
(it struck the temples, then in the ears, then in the limbs)
filling the room with the smell
(it struck the temples, then in the ears, then in the limbs)
the smell of their blood (then in the ears, then in the limbs).
“No, I’m not concerned at all. We have a perfectly coordinated and fine-tuned plan.”
“Just stay calm. It will go away.” (then in the limbs). “That’s all there is to it.”
“That’s all there is to it.” The day ended.
​
“The Virus could be airborne” – the day began,
“The mask is the most dangerous thing you can wear” – the day ended,
“The virus is not just bad for the elderly” – the day began,
“Many of those cases are young people that would heal in a day” – the day ended,
“The virus can be transmitted from person to person” – the day began,
“If you look at children, children are almost – and I would almost say definitely – but almost immune from the disease” – the day ended,
“The virus continues to spread, killing over 3,000 people” – the day began,
“The number of cases goes up, because of GREAT TESTING, while the number of deaths goes way down.” – the day … “And I say, and I’ll say it all the time: We’re rounding the corner. Under my leadership, no country in the world has recovered …” – the day… “the way we’ve recovered economically or otherwise, not even close” – The day ended.
​
It struck the temples, then in the ears, then in the limbs – the day began,
it struck the temples, then in the ears, then in the limbs – the day ended.
Finding temperature up, put into quarantine – the day began,
limbs stretched out, the air was heavy – the day ended.
Its leaves cut off, the room with smell – the day began,
the smell of blood, the most striking silence – the day ended.
Die for something they can’t see – the day began,
that’s all there is to it – the day ended.
Just as in those moments when one is most disposed to believe – the day began,
thoughts turn away from the eternal in order to enter in again the realm of the irrational – the day ended.
Just when one is again disposed to believe – the day began,
the world is inhabited instead of emptied of its contents – the day ended.
​
I know it was not a day to celebrate – the day began.
We were alone and we were afraid – the day ended.