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I pressed myself to the wall to more fully hear the muted sound, music like nothing I had heard previously. The mysterious player was creating harmonies previously unknown to me. Their unknown instrument possessed a bright timbre and otherworldly tone, generating notes that were monsterful.
I returned every night that week to the small crawlspace where I stored my objects of sentiment and out of season clothing to be serenaded by that fascinating sound. Each night the piece was different. As the week wore on, the sounds became dark and ominous, finally becoming so terrifying as to preclude my returning.
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Friday, May 30, 2014
100 Words a Day 621 27 Delightful Obsolete Words It's High Time We Revived 18/27
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“You’re such a beef-witted douchenozzle!” Cassidy shouted at Grady, who stared at the floor.
“Don’t you have anything to say? How could you do this to me? I thought you loved me.”
Grady kept silent.
Cassidy continued her tirade against her contrite boyfriend until she was interrupted by her phone. It was her friend Sara.
“Sara, you will never guess what happened. I found lipstick in Grady’s pocket. I can’t believe he was cheating on me.”
There was a pause. “What? Yeah, it’s an Avon product.”
Another pause.
“What! He’s been selling Avon and was too embarrassed to tell me?”
“You’re such a beef-witted douchenozzle!” Cassidy shouted at Grady, who stared at the floor.
“Don’t you have anything to say? How could you do this to me? I thought you loved me.”
Grady kept silent.
Cassidy continued her tirade against her contrite boyfriend until she was interrupted by her phone. It was her friend Sara.
“Sara, you will never guess what happened. I found lipstick in Grady’s pocket. I can’t believe he was cheating on me.”
There was a pause. “What? Yeah, it’s an Avon product.”
Another pause.
“What! He’s been selling Avon and was too embarrassed to tell me?”
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Bad Ass with a Mysterious Past
Shadow, Wolverine, Boba Fett. Everyone has their favorite antihero or villain with a mysterious backstory. They are rugged, independent, pay lip service to the law, and don’t play well with others. Basically, they are everything a social outcast, (i.e. a nerd, before it was cool), from a country of pioneers that revolted against the motherland would want to be. While their mysterious past is rarely the main appeal of such a character, it certainly is a key part of what makes them interesting.
It would perhaps be wrong to say people love mystery or they love to solve puzzles. Rather, people have a need to figure things out, an urge to find some kind of resolution. The desire is so strong that it compels them to create the missing pieces of the puzzle, or it drives them insane. For evidence of this, look up some of the theories about the secret meanings of Don Quixote.
This compulsion has the unfortunate tendency to ruin characters for whom mystery is part of their allure. When Shadow, from Final Fantasy Six, is first introduced, we are informed that “he’d slit his mama’s throat for a nickel,” and “He owe allegiance to no one, and will do anything for money. He comes and goes like the wind.” If one finishes the game without learning his backstory, they are left with little beyond this initial impression, and the less said, the better. It allows the player to imagine a vague backstory as they will while focusing on the core of Shadow’s character, his awesome ninja skills and killiness.
When the player learns Shadow’s backstory, he ceases to be this ruthless badass with some vague past and becomes a guy who robbed a train, fathered Relm and then ran from his guilt over abandoning his partner in crime. He moves from being an awesome, killy ninja assassin guy to a man fleeing from his past, which detracts from his characterization as a badass. It leaves the player with a vaguely unsatisfied feeling when Shadow’s background fails to live up to the nebulous backstory they have constructed for him. The same is true for Wolverine, Boba Fett, or any other character antihero or villain with a mysterious past.
So, let’s leave the background of the badass, independent guy alone. It’s better that way, unless you want him to turn out to be a clone, or a depressed train robber, or a farmer from Canada.
It would perhaps be wrong to say people love mystery or they love to solve puzzles. Rather, people have a need to figure things out, an urge to find some kind of resolution. The desire is so strong that it compels them to create the missing pieces of the puzzle, or it drives them insane. For evidence of this, look up some of the theories about the secret meanings of Don Quixote.
This compulsion has the unfortunate tendency to ruin characters for whom mystery is part of their allure. When Shadow, from Final Fantasy Six, is first introduced, we are informed that “he’d slit his mama’s throat for a nickel,” and “He owe allegiance to no one, and will do anything for money. He comes and goes like the wind.” If one finishes the game without learning his backstory, they are left with little beyond this initial impression, and the less said, the better. It allows the player to imagine a vague backstory as they will while focusing on the core of Shadow’s character, his awesome ninja skills and killiness.
When the player learns Shadow’s backstory, he ceases to be this ruthless badass with some vague past and becomes a guy who robbed a train, fathered Relm and then ran from his guilt over abandoning his partner in crime. He moves from being an awesome, killy ninja assassin guy to a man fleeing from his past, which detracts from his characterization as a badass. It leaves the player with a vaguely unsatisfied feeling when Shadow’s background fails to live up to the nebulous backstory they have constructed for him. The same is true for Wolverine, Boba Fett, or any other character antihero or villain with a mysterious past.
So, let’s leave the background of the badass, independent guy alone. It’s better that way, unless you want him to turn out to be a clone, or a depressed train robber, or a farmer from Canada.
100 Words a Day 620 27 Delightful Obsolete Words It's High Time We Revived 17/27
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It was a puzzling case, the one that currently had Inspector Colt perplexed. It looked like a double murder and a suicide, but something did not add up, as these things tend not to when a protagonist is involved, and that bothered Colt. The narrative of events seemed a bit too obvious, the kicked in backdoor, the note, even the placement of the weapon.
Colt paused in his walk when he reached the lakefront. He removed his pipe from his mouth and refilled it with sweet tobacco. After relighting it, he set off again, continuing his lunting and his thinking.
It was a puzzling case, the one that currently had Inspector Colt perplexed. It looked like a double murder and a suicide, but something did not add up, as these things tend not to when a protagonist is involved, and that bothered Colt. The narrative of events seemed a bit too obvious, the kicked in backdoor, the note, even the placement of the weapon.
Colt paused in his walk when he reached the lakefront. He removed his pipe from his mouth and refilled it with sweet tobacco. After relighting it, he set off again, continuing his lunting and his thinking.
100 Words a Day 619 27 Delightful Obsolete Words It's High Time We Revived 16/27
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I emerged from the dark recesses of the forgotten cave and found myself in the red and purple twitter-light. The mountainside was silent, but that meant nothing. Many explorers had learned, to their folly, that the natives of this terrible place could move as shadows when it suited. I squinted into the fading light. Seeing nothing, I bent all my efforts to penetrating the wall of silence, hoping to hear the sound of shifting stones that would indicate another presence, I heard nothing. It was when I reached my climbing gear that I heard a pebble bouncing down the mountain.
I emerged from the dark recesses of the forgotten cave and found myself in the red and purple twitter-light. The mountainside was silent, but that meant nothing. Many explorers had learned, to their folly, that the natives of this terrible place could move as shadows when it suited. I squinted into the fading light. Seeing nothing, I bent all my efforts to penetrating the wall of silence, hoping to hear the sound of shifting stones that would indicate another presence, I heard nothing. It was when I reached my climbing gear that I heard a pebble bouncing down the mountain.
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
100 Words a Day 618 27 Delightful Obsolete Words It's High Time We Revived 15/27
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I arrived to the station to find chaos, everyone rushing about. Every desk was covered with papers, some loose, some in three-ring binders. Someone had forgotten to close the blinds in the conference room. It was obvious they were engaged in furious debate on the current crisis.
I made my way through the tangle of people, hearing snatches of conversation as I did so. Most of it had to do with what would come to be called The Event, but as I passed the water cooler I heard two of my coworkers brabbling furiously over some morsel of celebrity gossip.
I arrived to the station to find chaos, everyone rushing about. Every desk was covered with papers, some loose, some in three-ring binders. Someone had forgotten to close the blinds in the conference room. It was obvious they were engaged in furious debate on the current crisis.
I made my way through the tangle of people, hearing snatches of conversation as I did so. Most of it had to do with what would come to be called The Event, but as I passed the water cooler I heard two of my coworkers brabbling furiously over some morsel of celebrity gossip.
Monday, May 26, 2014
100 Words a Day 617 27 Delightful Obsolete Words It's High Time We Revived 14/27
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Curglaff, that is what I experienced when I did a cannonball into the pool at the Parador in Jaen. It’s a hotel in a castle on top of a mountain, or tall hill I suppose. I wouldn’t really be able to tell you the difference. The pool was without a doubt, the coldest body of water I have every experienced, even in the summer; though I am sure this is no longer the case as their more upscale clientele no doubt demand warmer water. And I am saddened by that. Nothing made you feel tough like jumping in that pool.
Curglaff, that is what I experienced when I did a cannonball into the pool at the Parador in Jaen. It’s a hotel in a castle on top of a mountain, or tall hill I suppose. I wouldn’t really be able to tell you the difference. The pool was without a doubt, the coldest body of water I have every experienced, even in the summer; though I am sure this is no longer the case as their more upscale clientele no doubt demand warmer water. And I am saddened by that. Nothing made you feel tough like jumping in that pool.
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