Roddy's Ramblings

Thoughts and tales; some of them may even be true.

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Location: Australia

Hopefully whatever there is to know about me will come through whatever is written below - whatever that may bring...

Monday, February 13, 2006

A Tale... The Windfall

I could never really believe that it had actually happened. But I can see myself fading in and out of my surroundings. I can see the cheque arriving, the look on your face and I can feel how excited I was. The possibilities that lay before us. Knowing that everything was to change. The new house, the new leisure time that we had to do things that had always been put off and, the new cars. The sports car, of course. Not a red sports car, it was too cliché, but a fast one; very fast. One that roared when you put your foot down. No, I hadn't wanted red, but it was red now.

I hear a voice, like someone speaking quietly at the other side of a class room, “Don’t move; we’re getting you out of there.” Who is he talking to? I want to be where I am, I deserve it, don’t I? I can see his eyes still staring at me, only for a split second before there was nothing but a splash of red on the windscreen where his face was and the spider web spreading across the glass before it implodes inwards. My wife is screaming beside me, the car is swerving I can feel it. Piercing screaming, then I can’t hear it through the tearing of metal, my whole body is forced forward; I can hear my ribs snapping in me and the copper taste of blood filling my mouth. I can’t look beside me, but I know she is there; twisted and broken. I caught a glimpse of her as the dash board..., her beauty replaced by savage terror and pain that I never knew existed...

I can see the show rooms, each brightly lit with eager salesmen descending like vultures or approaching individually like a snake. We were eager and there was nothing that we couldn’t really afford, but we wanted the best. No, not red we told them; racing green. And we drove it out of the forecourt like royalty in a carriage; too cold to have the roof down, but summer would be here eventually. Pushing the peddle; feeling the engine straining at the leash; so used to the old car and not thinking, I pushed my foot down on the accelerator at the roundabout and the car leapt forward, the steering fighting against me, tyres spinning, clouds of smoke rising out of the back of the car; panic rising inside me and losing control.

I’ve killed her, the only person I didn’t want to harm and didn’t think I could. Broken. Even somebody I didn’t even know; seeing his eyes briefly then red. Red then blue then red, again and again. Sparks erupt; I can hear metal screaming again and I’m back there, turning to see her blood spurting from her mouth in a choked scream; her chest forced in by the dashboard, looking away, a final crunch and the last thing I can feel is the hot blood running down the side of my face and I can’t brush it away; my trousers wet and clinging to my broken legs, arms useless in front me. The chair buckles behind me then the pain disappears. The distant voice again, I don’t know it, soothing me. Don’t. Don’t touch me; it’ll stop and I deserve it, I’ve killed her. But they are not stopping and I can hear things around me but can feel nothing until something flexes in front of me

Background... The Windfall

This was another 'write a story from this title'. All I could think of was a lottery win and really didn't want to go into an emotional metaphor or any of its surrounding relatives. This was another experiment that I had always wanted to try which was capturing a single moment in time from a first person point of view. If it actually works, then drop a comment. If not, keep it to yourself and I'll just pretend.

Scratching the surface

For those keeping track, its been almost a couple of weeks since the last post and a few revelations during that time have been added to the track record. What they actually are; it'll take a wee while to sort out, but until then - have a few more tales...

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

The existence of truth

We live today with an inconcievable wealth of information which is very accessible by anybody with a technological base who would wish to do so; whether at home or through a common access point like a library. With this much information available it makes it possible to find a counter point of view for any given subject, regardless of its basis or merit. Therefore, if every piece of information has its opposite, is there such a thing as truth anymore? Does every fact become a factoid?

Does anybody else see these things...?

I have just passed a rather large poster for a new television series about to be aired in Australia. It's called 'Commander in Chief' and is basically a show about a women president of the USA. 'Fair enough.

The thing that got me though was the slogan. 'The world needs a woman's touch'

Hang on, did I miss something? So the USA is now de-facto 'the World'? If this is on a poster in Australia, does this imply that the Bush administration is now attempting a subtle re-branding of the world's perception? Or is it just plain old dumb ignorance?

Game Review... Electroplankton (NDS)


Where to start with this one?

I am absolutely enthralled by it and I'm not sure if any description I can give of it will really do it justice. There are basically 10 methods of making notes, tunes or melodies using the titular planktons on their related screens. Great stuff and perfect for the Nintendo DS console.

It is a great way to relax and play with the left hand side of your brain.

The only concern that I do have is the lack of a Save function when you get everything just so with a perfect rhythm; but that really just encourages endless variation.

I cannot recommend it enough - although, as with all glowing reviews of left-of-field games, it all means very little as very few people will be able, or willing, to shell out $70 just to try something out.