YFCF Neckhair Chronicles: Birdflock
Good evening, this is the 10 o'clock report.
Tragedy in London's busy streets today with the death Sally Wheeler age twenty-five.
Miss Wheeler died almost instantly at Bloomsbury Gardens this morning when an unauthorised vehicle was making its way into the park for a routine garbage pick-up.
Miss Wheeler was struck by the vehicle while leaving the park by entrance number five.
Miss Wheeler failed to hear the alarm which the police speculate has been out of operation since last Wednesday due to a mechanical failure.
Miss Wheeler was a recent inhabitant of Chelsea where she took up residence after joining a team of ornithologists here in London to study and simulate the flight patterns of blackbirds.
No one at the London Park's Safety Association was available
for comment today.
choir 1
in trees. over the highways. over buildings. in parks. in cemeteries. on benches. on fire-escapes. over water. over your head.
in wintertime. in the daytime. over churches. over the fields.
on cars. on roofs. on clotheslines. on statues. on fences.
over the wires. over the courtyard. in the backyard. on ledges.
on trucks. over the hills. into the sunset. on boats. on the grass.
in the rain. on porches. over construction sites. on piers.
in the woods. on hats. on boxes. in the wind. on balconies.
in the station. on reeds. on posts.
in the attic. on lines. over the chimneys. in puddles. on tv antennas. in alleys. in squares. over bus-stops. on sidewalks. on walls.
in fountains. on the market-place. in springtime. in the morning.
(whispering)
"I can't see a thing"
"stay away from the window"
"she is home from her night job"
"don't turn on the light"
narrator
When observing blackbirds as they travel in groups or 'Flocks' scientists at London's Chelsea Institute discovered that the phenomenon of bird flocking can be simulated through a model which allows the generation of complex behavioural patterns to be computed with a simple set of rules.
At 5 locations throughout the city a group of international scientists observed blackbirds for a 25 month period noting flocking patterns which they would latter try to simulate through computations
in their laboratory.
These computations are based on three primary components of individual behaviour: a clumping force, a separation force and the ability to match velocity so that the flock moves together.
Only recently have scientists begun to deal with this idea of re-creating the behavioural patterns of animals artificially in their laboratory
in order to study animal behaviour in situations that might otherwise be impossible to capture in nature. Indeed the simulation of animal behaviour in a laboratory environment allows scientists an endless amount of possibilities. How would the phenomenon of bird flocking
be applied for instance to the flight patterns of blackbirds on the moon?
Just think of it.
Dr. Wheeler, head of the divisional project based in Bloomsbury commented "they think we are here to collect the garbage" in humorous response to one local resident who questioned the appearance of large green bags in which the scientists carry their equipment.
v1 [bprofessor]: The Data
wednesday 10:29 AM.
A flock of blackbirds can be seen approaching the area from the east dividing into 2 groups consisting of approximately 25 birds each and alighting on several gravestones in the area of section 5.
wednesday 10:46 AM.
The 2 groups of birds A and B regroup into 1 large flock C as a result of a disturbance encountered in the form of loud noise generated by an alarm at the cemetery's entrance as the electronic detection device signals the approach of an unauthorised vehicle. The birds flew up as two and then down again as one. The area in which flock C re-alights appears to be at central point between the two original locations.
wednesday 11:15 AM.
Man in a black suit enters the area. The man is moving slowly through section 5 into 6. One bird lifts off for several seconds and then lands again on the same gravestone. Otherwise Group C seems unaffected by this disturbance. (Note possibility of birds relation to the colour black. Is it because they are blackbirds?)
wednesday 1PM.
After lunch which consisted of 1 pastrami sandwich and 2 whitebread ales. Something strange seems to be going on as there are several police cars at the entrance to the grounds. People passing by on the street stop to look at something lying on the ground. The birds don't seem to take notice and continue flocking as usual.
v2 [Mina's dream]: The Walk
It was a nice morning and I decided to go for a stroll.
After crossing several streets I walked along the gravel path and stood at the entrance. The large iron gate was half open. I read the sign on the front which listed the hours during which visitors were allowed in.
I looked at my wristwatch.
When I entered I stood at the edge of the grass and took off my shoes placing them carefully in my rucksack. The wind had come up and the wet grass beneath my bare feet gave me a chill. As I walked among the graves I noticed five of them had been decorated with fresh flowers.
I thought about my friend Sally who had taken a job recently in London at a popular news agency. I thought about the expensive flat she had chosen in Chelsea and the colour of the wallpaper in the toilet under the stairs: green.
My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a young woman laughing. Although it sounded as if she were several meters away
I saw that she was sitting just next to me. It was a young girl with long blonde hair and a yellow and white checked dress. She didn't seem to take any notice of me as she sat there and continued to laugh and laugh and laugh. I found her behaviour to be quite inappropriate.
Suddenly a man appeared.
In his black suit he looked old enough to be her father but I could sense that he was not. When her eyes met his she stopped laughing abruptly.
Although I felt that it was rude I continued to stare.
I realised after a while that something serious had happened between them. When he took twenty-five cents out of his pocket she stood up. Just at this moment an alarm went off at the front gate.
I looked at my wristwatch.
I turned and continued back in the direction I had come.
choir 2: The Photographer
I was standing outside the large iron gate for quite sometime before
I entered the park.
It was Wednesday morning 7AM.
I followed the windy path down to a pool shaped like a clover leaf
with stone lions flanking both ends.
I set my camera up on the tripod.
At the edge of the water I looked at my reflection in the pool.
A group of birds flew into the wind.
I set up my tripod in the usual spot.
I checked my watch.
It was 7am.
I knew they would be coming soon to cut the lawn.
I rushed down to the pool to take pictures of the lions.
I reached the edge of the water and pulled two salami sandwiches out of my coat pocket.
A group of birds flew into the wind.
It was 7am.
I was standing outside the large iron gate for quite sometime before
I entered the park.
I stood at the edge of the pool and stared at my reflection in the water.
I saw that my expression had changed.
I pulled two salami sandwiches out of
my coat pocket.
I walked back through the trees and opened a letter from my mother.
I checked my watch.
It was 7am.
I was standing outside the large iron gate for quite sometime before
I entered the park.
I sensed I was near Paris.
I pulled two rolls of film out of
my coat pocket
I loaded my camera.
As I walked along the familiar path an autumn wind was blowing the leaves across the lawn.
I was ravenously hungry.
I found a letter from my mother in
my coat pocket
I walked down to the edge of the pool and looked at
the reflection of the sky.
I saw that my expression had changed.
I took the letter from my mother out of
my coat pocket.
It smelled like the perfume she bought in Paris.
I hurried down the familiar path towards the lion statues burdened with my heavy equipment.
I set up the tripod at the edge of the pool and took pictures of
the reflection of the sky.
All this material is property of Young Farmers Claim Future and may only be abused with permission:
Young Farmers Claim Future
Herbert Van de Sompel & Guy c. Jules Van Belle & Robin Ford
Herbert.VandeSompel@rug.ac.be
