images text & concept David Patrick c. 2012 david@baskervilleoldface.com

THE VOICE OF MY ALARM

noun 1. sudden fear; excitement caused by fear of danger; fright. Ex. The deer darted off in alarm. (SYN) apprehension; consternation. 2. a warning of approaching danger. Ex. This is no false alarm. 3a. a signal giving such warning. Ex. a fire alarm. b. a bell or other device that makes a noise to warn or waken people. Ex. a burglar alarm. 4. a call to arms or action. Ex. Paul Revere gave the alarm to the towns near Boston. 5. (Fencing.) appel. v.t. 1. to make uneasy; fill with sudden fear; frighten. Ex. The breaking of a branch under my foot alarmed the deer. He was alarmed because his friends were so long in returning. 2. to warn (anyone) of approaching danger. Ex. Alarm everyone quickly; the house is full of smoke. 3. (Obsolete.) to call to arms.

Every morning my alarm clock comes on and plays the radio for 59 minutes and then turns itself off. It is set to BBC Radio 4, an almost exclusively talk based station. The Alarm by turning itself off intervenes on the person speaking, cutting them off, regardless of who they are, what they are saying or if they are finished. The Alarms strict adherence to its function creates a new sentence out of these final words..with new possible meanings. The silence after this final sentence gives it an isolated & philosophical quality. Very often paranoid, confessional, involving or impenetrably cryptic. Since January 2011 I have kept a written record of these daily messages. Using a sound editor I have created audio transcriptions of myself reading these records.

Updated Mon-Fri

Friday 18th May 2012