Braille translation

Last week I was at a five-day training session at a local university.  During a break, I noticed that the fabric wall hangings in the hall were actually Braille writing -- although just printed dots, not tactile.  And, it turns out that most of the wall hangings were upside-down!!!

I took a snapshot, and over the next few evenings I translated them.

There were some peculiar errors:  the Braille characters were corrupted in the middle of most of the rows of text, and it appeared to use quote marks to indicate the end of sentences, instead of the Braille character for a period.

Anyhow, I persevered, and managed to come up with the following: 


///the best voice possibx I try to speak in the best voice///

///achieve posshumoousjle, as if I were to achieve possh///

///ould be copied and d - ,  fame and my tapes would be copied///

///th I world  "  when if distributed around the world  "  when  if///

///o the previous year th ,  inish listening to the previous year///

///ed minute break bef - j  "  hs tape , I take a ten minute break bef///

///material i will lis  -  ???  ore recording the material I will lis///

///uring those ten min  ??? ten to next year  "   during those ten mi///

///n the past nor in  th ???  utes i am neither in the past nor in th///

///in a narrow gap , whi ??? future  "  I am stuck in a narrow gap , wh///

///l the present "  osawabch some people call the present " osa///

///ce every day and lis -  ???  record my own voice every day and li///

///year later  "  I  ((capitalization character)) ??? veb ?? sten to it exactly a year later " I ((capitalization character)) ??? ve//

///??? leven years "  I spe ??? ??? ??? en do ??? ng this for ??? leven years " I sp///

///nly recording eve - ??? nt the first year only recording eve///

///w cassette tape andiry day I bought a new cassette tape an///

///n I wrote the date on l  ??? spoke into it  ?  "  then I wrote the date o///

///since the beginni  -  a the  tape ((capitalization character)) ???  s label  "  since the beginn//

///r , I have been list -  ???  ng of the second year ,  I have been lis///

///ng  "  every night bef  ???  bening a reording "  every night bef///

///the tape for that d  -  iore bed  ,   I take out the tape for that d///

///rst listen to it sc  -  ???  ky of the year  "  I first listen to it sc///

///recorded a year ago k  .  urrent , which was recorded a year ag///

///en I record my curre ??? a on the  same day  "  then I record my curr///

///me to live a life pa ???  ???  shelf  "   this allows me to live a life p///

///year ago  "  the only  ??  larallel to my life a year ago "  the onl///

///arybi  "  I only list  -  e exception is february bi  "  I only lis///

///yers  "  I keep it se - c  ??? en to it every four ye[space]rs  "  I keep it se///

///er cfe tapes and the parate from  the other cfe tapes and t///

///four times longer  "  ek a recording time is four times longer///

///recordings vary , j ??? m the co ??? dtteyts of my recordings vary  ,///

///e write in journals  ???  ust like what people write in journal///

///are self conscious  p  ,  vary  "  some people are self consciou///

///eir journals  "  I am  s  -   a  when they write their journals  "  I am///

///n I record me voice  ???  ???  elf conscious when I record me voice///

///e best voice possibx I try to speak in the best voice possi///


The "garbage" in the middle seemed to indicate where the phrase started and ended, so I re-wrote the above phrases in a more organized manner.  I then found what seemed to be the start of the narrative, so I moved that to the beginning.

Here is the result:


[I] record my own voice every day and li-
sten to it exactly a year later.  I've
been doing this for eleven years.  I sp[e]-
nt the first year only recording.  Eve-
ry day I bought a new cassette tape and I
spoke into it.   Then I wrote the date o[n]
the tape's label.   Since the beginn-
ng of the second year, I have been lis-
[t]ening [to?] a re[c]ording.  Every night bef-
ore bed, I take out the tape for that d-
ay of the year.  I first listen to it c-
urrent, which was recorded a year ag[o]
on the same day.  Then I record my curr[ent].
This allows me to live a life p-
arallel to my life a year  ago.   The onl-
y exception is February 29 ["b i" and "2 9" are the same pairs of characters].  I only lis-
ten to it every four years.  I keep it se-
parate from the other tapes and t-
ake a recording.  Time is four time longer.

The con[ten?]ts of my recordings vary, j-
ust like what people write in journal[s].

Some people are self consciou-
s when they write their journals.  I am
[s]elf conscious when I record me (sic) voice.

I try to speak in the best voice possible,
as if I were to achieve posthumous
fame and my tapes would be copied
when if distributed around the world.

[I] finish listenting to the previous year-
's tape, I take a ten minute break bef-
ore recording the material I will list-
ten to next year.  During those ten min-
utes I am neither in the past nor in the
future.  I am stuck in a narrow gap, wh[i]-
ch some people call the present.


I wondered whether this was a well-known quote, was created specifically for this work of art (the fabric panels, displayed as wall hangings), or whether these were the reflections of an actual person.

This is apparently "The Braille Project" (http://www.ilias.com.au/the-braille-project_listen-and-record.html):  an artistic endeavor which was released first in Japan (November 2007), then Europe (September 2008). 

Okay:  curiosity satisfied!  :)


--GG

Third floor men's room

Yeah -- this one probably seems a little random...


One of my peculiar hobbies is happening across small spaces (e.g. elevators, bathrooms in restaurants), and thinking, "Hm! You could totally remodel this into a perfectly usable micro-studio apartment..."

I found this one earlier this week, in the third floor of a government building where I'm helping out on a special project for a week or two:  it's the men's restroom.




As indicated by the paper towel that I put on the floor, each tile is 30cm by 30cm. I'll transfer the measurements to graph paper, and do some sketching.


 --GG