Alessandra Villaamil
Sheiva Rezvani

UNCONDITIONAL

UNCONDITIONAL is a poetry generator using Craigslist Missed Connections and New York Times Terms of Service.

http://alessandra.io/UNCONDITIONAL

Classes
Reading and Writing Electronic Text


The code is written in python and uses a markov generator and n-ram analysis to cut-up and remix original source text into a new passage that is layered with regenerated meaning. The original source text is comprised of Craigslist Missed Connections and New York Times Terms of Service, with particular attention made to the section comprising of user generated content (submissions including comments, reader reviews, etc.). The code finds and replaces specified words with new content (i.e. "the services" = "my body,""Terms of Service" = "this relationship,""NYT/New York Times" = "I,""the site" = "our friends,""the Content" = "our love,""your account" = "this relationship").

The resulting text is open to interpretation, but could be understood as Missed Connections personals posted by New York Times comments, being that they are quite lonely sitting within the confines of the Comments Sections of article pages, one on top of the other. The text below is their plea to find love and companionship from other comments scattered in and around The New York Times.