"their purposes are entirely opaque to me, as are the purposes of so many others"
April 4, 2012 12:10 PM   Subscribe

"their purposes are entirely opaque to me, as are the purposes of so many others" was the first (eerily self-descriptive) 'card' I got in Strategies, a bot in the tradition of Brian Eno's Oblique Strategies but with most content fed from horse_ebooks. Although, I think that is a quote from a terrifying Cronenberg student film, Crimes of the Future. The 'purpose' of this bot, according to the description is "for use when you're lacking inspiration, or make your own game of it."
posted by aretesophist (23 comments total) 28 users marked this as a favorite
 
build a pathetic city


.... ok
posted by codacorolla at 12:20 PM on April 4, 2012 [3 favorites]


misused reef knots have caused more deaths and injuries than all other knots combined

I guess that's back to the drawing board for me.
posted by TwelveTwo at 12:24 PM on April 4, 2012


Oblique Strategies, Previously on MeFi
posted by the man of twists and turns at 12:26 PM on April 4, 2012


kids worship the darndest things
posted by JHarris at 12:30 PM on April 4, 2012


I'm off to exercise glands I never knew existed.


A slightly terrifying idea, since my "card" was "Painfully Wide Stools".
posted by dubold at 12:35 PM on April 4, 2012 [1 favorite]


"Learn the names of God"

Sure! Any advice?

"without breaking any locks"

Well, dang. So much for that plan.
posted by wanderingmind at 12:35 PM on April 4, 2012 [1 favorite]


These come across more like Eeyore than Eno.
posted by tommasz at 12:39 PM on April 4, 2012 [1 favorite]


There was some amusing discussion of a MeFi-based Oblique Strategies deck in MetaTalk a little while ago. I'm particularly proud of this comment, if I do say so myself.
posted by Rock Steady at 12:46 PM on April 4, 2012


spend money on garbage.

Yessir!
posted by Splunge at 12:49 PM on April 4, 2012


Painfully Wide Stools

w/ Useless Pieces of Shit and Blood Spasm @ Club Congress, 7 PM, all ages.
posted by bongo_x at 12:50 PM on April 4, 2012 [3 favorites]


Mongolian Clock

wat
posted by jquinby at 12:53 PM on April 4, 2012


These are terrible.
posted by xmutex at 1:18 PM on April 4, 2012


the concept of this is depressing
posted by This, of course, alludes to you at 1:40 PM on April 4, 2012


"shit in thread"
posted by speicus at 2:05 PM on April 4, 2012 [1 favorite]


Darn, looks like someone beat me to it.
posted by speicus at 2:06 PM on April 4, 2012 [1 favorite]


There was some amusing discussion of a MeFi-based Oblique Strategies deck in MetaTalk a little while ago.

FWIW, this discussion is still going on in my own mind almost constantly. I keep threatening to myself that I'll just start culling comments from Mefites and putting them in a spreadsheet for the next 6 months or so and then secretly create my own deck of cards which I may or may not share with anybody else.
posted by Doleful Creature at 2:27 PM on April 4, 2012 [1 favorite]


you can't put shit on syrup and call it pancakes

Huh, I guess that's true, you can't...wait, what?? Have I been operating pancakes improperly ALL MY LIFE?

*headsplode*
posted by Lyn Never at 2:44 PM on April 4, 2012


Once you have learned the basics of Aromatherapy, there will be no stopping you.
posted by belarius at 3:05 PM on April 4, 2012


The Rougeian Ascendancy...
posted by steinsaltz at 5:05 PM on April 4, 2012


humans are no longer needed for the creative enterprise

the loop has closed, entropy prevails over all
posted by This, of course, alludes to you at 5:45 PM on April 4, 2012


"make certain you don't waste blocks of your time surfing the internet"
posted by maishuno at 6:19 PM on April 4, 2012


Ahh, excellent timing! A friend and I once hid plastic easter eggs containing Oblique Strategies quotes, along with the occasional origami, around our dorm's quad.

We heard that everybody loved them but amusingly the eggs remained for quite some time because people replaced them after finding an egg and read it's message.

I suppose the family kids who's parents held an easter egg hunt in our quad might've found the candy-less eggs confusing, but whatever.
posted by jeffburdges at 6:26 PM on April 4, 2012


humans are no longer needed for the creative enterprise

Is the point really that... well, oblique? These are aleatoric prompts, for humans. They don't pre-empt the creative process, they aid it.
posted by speicus at 1:07 AM on April 5, 2012


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