One FP 3.0 initiative is to slowly grow our publication list with contributions from FPC members and their associates. Following an online video zine, D-Normal/V-Essay (3 issues), the 368-page book+video Manifesto 2, small print unique exhibition catalogs, and various zines contributed by Winnie Yan, Michael Leung and friends, two new entries are two creative monographs from new member Ray LC, both available at FP’s sales corner (our little shop).「據點。句點」新成員羅銳的兩個小量印刷的單行本。一本是作者自行與開源的機器學習協作的詩本創作，探究私密的情感在語文句法的衍生變奏上會變成甚麼。另一本則是對環保認知普及化的回應；收集，遊說，敘事化，一個核心，多方的場景、面貌。請來據點小店購閱。
**feature image: Drizzle, image courtesy of Ray LC | 廣東話版接英文版之後
Machine-learning and human-machine co-authored…
IMITATIONS OF IMMORTALITY: IMITATIONS OF IMMORTALITY are two sets of variations in deep structure of classic poems of diverse forms and themes, written by RAY LC and by GPT-2 (Generative Pre-trained Transformer 2), an open-source AI machine-learning text generation model (OpenAI, February 2019). The human-written works draw inspiration from events in the author’s own life, but written as variations on not only the meter and rhyme scheme and diction of each classic work, but also deep variation on its semantics and purpose. What is the extent of machine capabilities in writing deep emotional and purposive variations as humans do? I trained GTP-2 on each of the 8 works, and fine-tuned each poem with my own variation to teach it to create variations by learning to variate. The resultant book shows the intricacies and challenges of getting machines to write like ourselves.
cover and a page from online version of Imitations of Immortality”
Climate change as personal stories and narrative episodes
Drizzle: Drizzle is a climate change comic book that doesn’t talk about climate change. Climate change is difficult to grasp due to the remote nature of its action compared to immediate timeframes and surroundings, so arguments and statistics about its occurrence can fall on deaf ears, especially for science skeptics and climate change deniers, who interpret such persuasive strategies for political rhetoric. True change of people’s opinions and habits requires not debates and data, but rather personal stories that align the viewer’s own objectives with those of climate change action. To show the consequences of climate change in data form that is palatable to climate change skeptics, we adapt a narrative strategy to show the data of climate change, creating a covert visual narrative in manga form showing both the ideals espoused by climate action and the climate change data in a visual narrative framework. These comic stories are presented for particular goals of climate action, such as individual responsibility, long-term vision, and collective conservation strategies, utilizing design fiction to narratively engage antagonistic viewpoints. Drizzle collects these manga stories designed for climate action but free of climate content. Stories include “Sonia McDougal,” about a shoe entrepreneur who must decide between research development or going to market; “New Revolia,” about being stranded in Anartica with limited resources; “Redemption Park,” about a theme park with plastic-injesting animals; “VO,” about a virus researcher’s individual quest; and “Every Flash of Light Is the Sum of Another World,” about an astronaut in quarantine.
image courtesy of artist
機器學習：永續變奏的詩歌？…
IMITATIONS OF IMMORTALITY：IMITATIONS OF IMMORTALITY 喺多種樣式同主題嘅經典詩歌深層結構中其中2套變體，由 RAY LC 同 GPT-2 合作編寫。（GPT-2 ，呢個喺一种開放源碼的機器學習文本生成模型。）人手寫作部份從作者自己嘅生活中獲得靈感，但喺追求寫作嘅變異唔單止涉及每個經典作品嘅韻律、格律同措辭上，仲有同語義上嘅深度變奏。機械喺書寫人類深層次情感同目嘅變化方面能力到底有幾大？我喺八個作品裡面用咗GPT-2進行訓練，兼且用我嘅變體調整咗每首詩嚟教導GPT-2 透過學習變奏嚟創造變體。結果顯示咗俾機器寫作嘅錯綜複雜性同挑戰就好似我哋人類自己一樣。
Imitations of Immortality online version — table of content
氣候問題：個人故事，敘述場景
Drizzle: Drizzle 喺一本冇提及過氣候變化但喺內容關於氣候變化嘅漫畫。氣候變化嘅行動通常好難掌握。因為佢同當下時限和身邊周圍環境相比算喺幾遙遠嘅事，關於其發生嘅論點同埋統計數據可能會被忽視，對於科學懷疑論者同埋否認氣候變化事實嘅人就零舍反感，佢哋會認為呢啲不過喺政治語言所玩弄出來嘅遊說服策略。如果想真正改變大眾嘅觀點同習慣，我哋需要個人故事去結合觀眾嘅目標同埋氣候行動嘅目標嚟代替刻板嘅數據同論據。為咗可以呈現一個能夠令氣候變化懷疑論者接受嘅氣候變化數據嘅故仔，我哋必須要調整一下敘事策略並創作，於是創作咗一系列隱底裡不張揚哋闡述氣候變化數據嘅漫畫雜誌。呢啲漫畫版故仔喺根據引發氣候行動嘅特定目標而創作嘅，利用設計小說敘事吸引懷疑對立觀點嘅人，比如喺個人責任、長期願景同埋集體保護策略。Drizzle 收集咗呢啲為氣候行動而設計但唔明講氣候內容嘅漫畫古仔，其中包括 「Sonia McDougal」，講述咗一個必須喺研究開發同市場需求之間做出抉擇嘅企業家；「New Revolia」講述喺資源匱乏嘅情況下被困喺 Anartica 島嘅古仔；「Redemption Park」喺一個主題公園，嗰度棲息住吞噬塑料維生嘅動物；「VO」講述嘅喺一個病毒研究人員嘅個人追求；以及「Every Flash of Light Is the Sum of Another World」，講嘅喺一位太空人隔離期間嘅事。
an excerpt from Drizzle (2021)
*Special thanks to Lilian Song (Song Zijing) for facilitating the publishing of this post.
