Comments on: Poetry for Seiko Messagewatch

Poetry for Seiko Messagewatch

krysalist — Mon, 07 Feb 2005 12:51:34 -0800

The Seiko Messagewatch may have been one of the few elements gunned down by the Y2k hype, but, in it's wake, a new form of poetry has emerged.

By: afiler

afiler — Mon, 07 Feb 2005 14:20:46 -0800

For those whose eyes bug out when trying to read the LCD text: Sundials Persist Eternal Cycles Unfair Gods Lazy Coders Youth Departs Absense Is Felt Great n Nobel Letter Hourlog Beautiful, though I'm afraid I have trouble comprehending the last two lines -- perhaps I misread a character, but I can't think of any other permutations. Apparently M, W, X, Z, V, and K are displayed "ambiguously" -- V must look like U, and K like H, I'm guessing. This is similar to Calculator Haikus but without having to turn the device upside-down, and with the benefit of more characters.

By: cortex

cortex — Mon, 07 Feb 2005 15:15:45 -0800

"Great and nobel Letter hourlog" That is, this timepiece and palimsest: great, nobel. Also, the casual link to Eunoia ate up a decent chunk of my afternoon. Reminded me of (that portion of an English translation I once read of) George Perec's "La Disparation", which isn't surprising since Eunoia references it directly in Chapter E. I suppose it shouldn't be surprising that google turned up a few reviews (1, 2) of the Perec translation following the same restriction -- no "e"s whatsoever.

By: jeffj

jeffj — Mon, 07 Feb 2005 21:31:27 -0800

It seems the messagewatch was not a victim of y2k hype, but of actual y2k bugs in their transmission system that they were unwilling to spend the money to fix. Or maybe that was just a good excuse to stop supporting a system that wasn't selling them many watches. done in by bugs not just hype or perhaps the bean counters stingy brutes

By: Eideteker

Eideteker — Tue, 08 Feb 2005 07:14:10 -0800

(My friend captured that from the Waking Life DVD extras.)