z v y x - too lau-ed?

Website - www.zvyx.co.cc

2008-05-18T14:31:00.002+10:00

I've bothered to make a web presence other than blogspot.

It's at www.zvyx.co.cc.

I'll upload the creative pieces there as well but at the moment it contains some programs I've created.

Try em and give feedback if possible ^^

Creative Writing - 10 Minutes - Bossy

2008-05-01T18:05:00.001+10:00

The military dormitory for first-years was far from luxurious.
The necessities existed; bunk beds with hard, one-inch deep mattresses, all covered in the greyish-greenish drab colour. Identical beds, forming row after row of ordered, neat, resting places.
And then there were the lavatories.
Utilitarian amenities they were; everything was white with the generic lemon fresh smell blanketing the atmosphere.
The military dormitory was at its most ordinary and regular plateau, and this was how the Sergeant liked it.
Let me describe my immediate superior.
His name is Jeffrey Wilkinson. We must address him either as 'Sir', or 'Sergeant'. I say 'we', since there are one hundred and thirty-nine young men, fresh out of high school, who are in the same position as me.
'We' are the recruits of the new century, and the army had accomodated for the generation.
In our messpit are televisions broadcasting the latest animated show, filled with the wit and satire all of us express in great quantities over the Internet.
However, our sergeant, Jeffrey Wilkinson, is not from our generation.
If we were Homo Sapiens, then he must be Neanderthal.
All his values are as old as roch and stone. He believes in the miracles of discipline, the punishment that arises from laziness, and a general avoidance from the new technology that so captures our generation's attention.
"Line up! Stop playing! Get into line NOW, whipper-snappers!" he would yell.
And so he'd continue,
Until one day his computer was hacked.
There was no-one to help him.

Creative Writing - 10 Minutes - Miser

2008-05-01T18:04:00.002+10:00

"One..two..three...PUSH!!" the doctor yelled, notioning for her to push.
And she pushed.
"ARGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" She pushed and pushed.
And huffed and huffed.
And pushed and pushed again.
Like that, it was all over.
A mess of pink and brown and red emerged from the depths of her body; it breathed its first breath.
And screamed.
To the mother, it was the most beautiful, poetic, amazing scream in the whole world.
To the doctor, it was yet another happy moment, relieved there was no Death Certificate to authenticate, no miserable documents to sign, and no messages of heartfelt apology to send out.
"Oh wow; oh wow!" The mother collapsed into happiness - no, esctasy - unguarded, unrestrained joy.
The mew-born baby was wrapped in the standard hospital towel, but that was fine.
She was in a room where everything was painted, drawn or lacquered in all shades of white, but that was fine.
Because she just had her first boy.
-
"What are we going to call him? the father asked.
"Oh, I don't know; maybe Eugene? After my grandfather?" the mother replied, still amazed by the miracle which nestled in her bosom.
"Hmmm..."
The room was silent, with the exception of the fan hovering above.
Just a cheap, white, ceiling fan; but that was fine.
"Well honey, remember, we can't spoil him."
The mother was slowly brought down from her summit of euphoria.
"I know dear. I remembered our plans."
"Great, great. Because we both want him to grow up to be a GREAT man, right?"
"Right." the mother nodded.
Your life, baby Eugene, will be vanilla.
But that's fine.

Creative Writing - 10 Minutes - Torso

2008-05-01T18:04:00.001+10:00

Where was I?
"You're in hell, my friend."
"Hello? Who are you?"
Silence.
Then:
"I am yourself."
Impossible. I can't see, I feel numb, I hear nothing, yet I hear this voice. Only I can't hear; I feel this voice. How could this be?
"This is hell. Nothing. For eternity." droned 'myself'
"Oh really? What did I do to deserve this?"
"You killed yourself. That's why you're here."
Puzzled, I pressed 'myself' on further.
"How? I'm not a bad guy. This can't be the afterlife, could it?" I asked with a hint of uncertainty.
"Well, it is 'your' version of hell. You fear lonliness, do you not? You also fear the deaf, and the blind. This is your own hell, that you created. Look at you."
"I can't..." But I looked down anyway.
Nothing, as I expected.
Then...
A glimpse of colour; a hue of the rainbow. It emerged and blossomed gracefully, and I started to see.
"What? I can see... my body?"
The 'me', disembodied outside, replied in the affirmative.
"That's your body. It's growing, slowly. You hate waiting, don't you?"
The uneasiness spread as the colour moprhed; the body grew until it was complete, in all its entirety.
Without the limbs. And without the head.
I saw my own body; a three-dimensional hologram of what was, and now ceased to exist.
"You can see the marks of your treatment, can you not?" questioned 'myself'.
"yes..." I mumbled.
I peered at it.
Knife slash after whip slash after sword slash.
Scars of every describeable kind.
"Murder to yourself is also murder. This..."
It paused.
"That is why you are here."

Creative Writing - The Black Dog's Trampoline

2008-05-01T18:02:00.000+10:00

He glanced at the TAG Heuer: 4’oclock - the sun was beginning to dip west.
A ledge.
It’s within reach…
-
“Good morning Senior Constable. I’m really worried about my husband. He went out rock climbing for the day, and he hasn’t come back home today.”
“Okay; will you take a seat, Mrs…?” Snr Constable Adams motioned towards a plush foldable chair.
“Li. Thank you.” Mrs Li descended onto the chair, stiff with anxiety.
“Do you know where your husband roughly is at the moment?” Adams reached forward, clasping a notepad and flipping it open.
“He went to Boronia Point. He was attempting the grade 34 climb - Mechanical Animals. ” Li stared at the blank whiteboard adjacent to her, attempting to bore a dent in the board.
“Pardon madam? What’s grade 34?” asked Adams, unsure of the supposed danger of the number.
“A grade 34 climb is one of the toughest in the world, and he’s been gone for 18 hours now, ” replied Li. “I don’t know what I should do, Constable.”
“Don’t worry, we’re here to help.” Adams assured her. “McFly!”
Marching in, Constable McFly wore thick black-rimmed glasses, still had remnants of pimples and was slightly overweight. Casually dressed, she was as cool as a cucumber drenched in boiling peanut oil, burnt, then incinerated.
“Yes Sah! Reporting for duty Sah! You look very sad, Miss!” McFly snapped to attention.
“Any more snappishness McFly, and your back WILL snap.” Retorted Adams. “Ring CareFlight and tell them there’s an emergency with 30% rate mortality within 24 hours at Boronia Point.”
“Yes Sah! Right away Sah!” McFly marched out, albeit slightly quicker.
“Well, there’s nothing more I can do now. Would you like something to eat and drink?” Adams asked Mrs Li, upon seeing her ashen face.
-
Shit. What the hell…
Steven Li slowly opened his eyes to see the sun rising.
Why is the sun rising? Is it morning?
Disorientated, Steven realised he was lying on tree branches. Grasping the nearest branch, he righted himself, and looked down at the forest floor. 30 metres below, with nothing to break his fall. He looked to his right hip where his GPS was; the screen was completely blank.
“Damn it, switch on!” Steven cursed at the satellite navigation system, enraged by its uselessness.
Think. Morning. It’s been..16 hours? I must have fallen with that boulder right next to me. Steven saw the belay hook embedded in the boulder; the thread snapped and the strands were speckled over his body.
Okay, think survival. Food… Steven realised he had one muesli bar. Uncle Toby’s too; none of the army surplus stuff that would last for hours on end.
Water. …crap; no water. Despair was starting to encroach on him as he despondently strategized a way of removing himself from this mess.
No water, one muesli bar, and 30 metres off the ground amongst the canopies of Eucalyptus trees is the best estimate I have of my location. Alright..
Steven began to analyse his situation, then tried to stretch. Immediately an earthquake erupted in his back; he doubled up and screamed as the clot around his broken spine reopened again.
-
“CareFlight 1045; there is an emergency situation at Boronia Point in the Blue Mountains; a man has been missing for 25 hours; there is a 30% mortality rate if he is not found in 18 hours. We must hurry. The co-ordinates of the location will be updated to the BK copter.” Dr Micahels briefed the team on the situation. “Good luck, men. It sounds like an ordinary mission, but remember; take utmost care. This is a human life we can save if this is done correctly. Farewell.”
The CareFlight copter was ready to run; Pilot Jamie gunned the engine, and the crew loaded the BK. Dr Savage, the leader for the flight, had dedicated over 6000 hours to CareFlight; his subordinates had clocked over 2000 hours each on other expeditions. Today was an ordinary day, and another person to save. They were becoming desensitized.
“Defibrillator, check. ECG Electrodes.. check. ABP Monitors.. HURRY UP AND LOAD IT!” Savage yelled, though without malice in his tone.
“We’ve got everything on board David. We better get moving.” Dr Lane motioned Dr Savage to hop in; Savage briefly reassessed the situation and ran to the waiting copter, clambering onto the edge and hoisted up by Lane.
“Okay, Jamie, send us away.” Dr Savage ordered.
“Yes sir. Co-ordinates received, we’re moving out.” Jamie throttled the BK 117-B2. Dr Savage sighed. It was only a missing person; shouldn’t take more than four hours, then time for some Texas Hold’Em, thought Dr Savage, grinning.
-
4 o’clock. It’s been 27 hours since I came to this God-forsaken place. Steven stared at his TAG Heuer, the only gadget that remained in operational condition since the fall. Depressed, he kept trying to think his way out of the canopy.
Jump down? No…
Find increasingly shorter trees to eventually get to ground? No…
Get to the ground? Impossible… And with that thought, he realised he could only survive 52 more hours; it had been 20 hours since his last drink. The pain in his back began to come back again; he felt the onset of a migraine and a fever, wondering how his situation could have been worse.
I can’t survive. It’s impossible. Implanted in his thought processes, he drifted off to an uneasy sleep.
-
“Pa! What’s Mechanical Animals? Can I play with it?”
“No, you can’t, Jing. It’s a very special… cliff that I’m going to climb today.”
“Wow… can I come pa?”
“Sorry Jing, it’s very dangerous. There are huge rocks that are ten times my size, and I have to climb around them. And there are very few places where I can stand and rest.”
“…Pa, will you come back?”
Steven smiled gently. “Of course I will, Jing. Don’t worry, I’ll come back, and I’ll develop the photo from the top of the cliff. Okay?”
“Okay pa. You better come back!” Jing ran back into the house.
“I will. Goodbye Jing!”
-
“Where is he? It’s been 5 hours. He must be somewhere nearby.” Dr Savage became increasingly worried.
“I can’t find him. I’ve looked all over Boronia Point, and I’ve encircled a 20km radius; we’re also running out of fuel. ” Pilot Jamie replied, noticing the blinking red fuel light switching itself on.
“How many more minutes can we continue to search for?” Dr Lane asked, patiently scanning the trees with the high-powered binoculars.
“We can’t stay any longer. 5 minutes more and we will not make it back to Westmead.”
-
Steven awoke to the sound of a helicopter’s blades slowly fading away.
No; come back! I need to go home…please…
He unhooked his radio, desperately searching for the right frequency.
“Save me! Please!”

Finally, static.
“CareFlight 1055; Copy. Over. ”

Creative Writing - Picture Frame

2008-05-01T18:01:00.004+10:00

A line trickled down my wrist. The metallic lustre was exactly like the others before it. A sense of satisfaction crept upon me as I watched the line thicken ever so slightly; a droplet forming on the underside of my skin. Shifting my gaze towards the scores of lines faded into scars, I tensed. One crevasse broke open; my nerves felt the pain but my mind didn’t. Maybe I’ll become stronger through this. Maybe I’ll look down one day at these lines, and remember the lustrous, beautiful blade and think “I brought myself out of that.” Maybe I will survive.
-
There are psychos, and there are psychopaths. And there is John. That’s a seriously bland name, but he’s like freaky. Worse than freaky. The goose bumps on your skin disappear in fear of him when your eyes make contact with his. Somehow though, Rianne manages to look at him. I think she likes him. By the way, my name is Sonia. It’s a cool name; it’s a like a gazillion times cooler than “John”. I attend St Patrick’s High School, which is a private Christian school in the heart of Adelaide. I guess overall we’re pretty smart and rich, so I don’t really know how John got into our school. I’m not vain, unlike other girls in my school who suck up to me, trying to be me. However I think I’m quite hot, judging by most of the looks on guy’s faces whenever they see me. I’m also quite modest; I’ve got a nice group of friends surrounding me like every day. John is a loner; I never even see him at school, not that I would like to. I still can’t believe he’s in our nearly-perfect school.
-
Sonia is like the biggest bitch in St Patricks, but everyone still seems to like her. She looks pretty hot, but underneath, her self-centredness really shows, and it gets so annoyingly boring to talk to her. All you hear is “oh, that guy is so hot. I want to be like Adriana Lima. She’s so hot.” My friends call me Matt, but my full name is Matthias Lewis. My internet alias is TheFly ; I’m known for quietly observing everything, then contemplating and constructing sequences and consequences to various events observed. I go fairly un-noticed at St Pats, I guess I’m part of the un-cool ultra-geek super-nerd no-girlfriend group, but I don’t mind. Secretly, I’m good friends with John. At first glances he appears to be a real lunatic, but he knows so much and conversations with him are always interesting. After four years, we’ve stuck together as the alienated people of St Pats, and even though we’re withdrawn, we know we can safely unravel all our problems to each other. Then I noticed the lines. Only a few at first; thin narrow scars on his wrist, usually covered by his long-sleeved shirt. Then more, and after a year had passed in this fashion, his wrist was prone to bleeding and the lines started frequently re-opening. I can empathise with him to a certain extent, but nowadays I don’t want to decipher what is going on inside his brain.
-
How can I get out? My avenues were opened, tried, and closed:
Alcohol – too weak.
Sex – too temporary.
Drugs – too expensive.
Meditation – did nothing.
Hypnotism – Off I go to the land of hell.
Martial arts – too weak - literally.
Smoking – bad coughs.
One by one, the proved useless to my quest; to dig myself out of my disease-ridden hole. There was only one option left – the most terrible of sins. Surely it must deliver me from myself – otherwise nothing will. I watched, detached, as my left arm once again scored the skin of my right; the blade now dull with use; the lines criss-crossed like one millimetre-wide railway tracks. I guess the blade will have a second use now…
“Breaking News: Teenage student Sonia Niang, 16, was found dead in a creek. The body was slashed multiple times all over her body. Adelaide Police are investigating the cause of the death. Stay with us: only the latest news at Channel Ten.” Announced Matthew’s television.
Well. What a disaster. I guess the bacteria living around there must be happy.
-
2 hours later
“This evening has turned from tragedy to disaster as two more bodies were found in another creek 800 metres away from the site of death of teenage student Sonia Niang. Police have been able to identify the two bodies; two female teenage students – Rianne Miachel and Denise Xu, both 16. Our sources have discovered that all three were close friends at St Patrick’s High School, an elite private High School in Adelaide CBD. The investigation continues.” Announced Matthew’s television.
Who would do such a thing? Man, my heart really goes out to those families. Ah well. I guess it’s time for my daily run. I’ve got to be beat my record: one hour for seven kilometres. Who would commit such a crime…
-
1 hour later
“Nationwide news on Channel Ten: Four students have been killed in Adelaide’s worse rampage ever since 1963. All four students attended St Patrick’s High School, a private school in Adelaide. Adelaide Police and forensic investigators are continuing the investigation into this disaster. Brandon and I, on behalf of the whole of Channel Ten news Australia, wish to extend our sincerest condolences to the families involved.”
Gareth motioned for the switchboard operator to start the advertisements, then beamed at Karen.
“Well done Karen, your on-screen charisma still hasn’t left you.” Gareth praised.
“I love this job; it’s so wonderfully easy, and Brandon certainly helps.” Karen replied, winking to Brandon.
“Well, as Gareth said, you did do fantastic. It looks like we’ve got material for the night.” Brandon replied, smiling back.
-
Blood covered my arms. Although, for the first time, it wasn’t mine. It came from the animals of our school. I hate them; they frolic around as if there wasn’t a single problem in the world. I watched them with fascination as I held them, possessed with a mad frenzy, cut them and watched them bleed. I stared at the castrated, dead sheep lying on the ground two metres from me. I remembered their cries. Oh, their cries! Something then, had understood my pain. My anguish. My desperation to escape; they experienced it, and I, for the first time in a year, saw a chink of light guiding my attempts to escape from myself.
-
The next evening
“Good evening, you’re watching Channel Ten news. I’m Karen Knightley and …”
“I’m Brandon Jones-Smith.” First on the evening news: Adelaide Police have found a suspect for the fatal student killings in Adelaide yesterday evening. The suspect has requested for his privacy to be maintained, however this arrest was not before the death of two more students, found hanging on two wattle trees near the creek where Sonia’s body was found: James DeJong and Aneth Visar, also both senior students at St Patrick’s High School, were hung by a fashioned rope; six students have now been killed in the space of 24 hours. Police are questioning the suspect at the moment, however DNA testing is impossible due to the storm that came at 2am this morning. Multiple slashes have been found on the students’ bodies, and a blade was found just a few metres from the creek. Witnesses have been asked to come forward and report to Crime-Stoppers on 1800 333 000 – the number is at the bottom of the screen - or Adelaide Police at 08 8463 7105. We, once again, offer our sincerest condolences to the families of these six students: Sonia Niang, Rianne Miachel, Denise Xu, Matthias Lewis, James DeJong and Aneth Visar.“
-
What am I doing here? Why am I here? I can see nothing but people surrounding me. Surely killing animals can’t be worth a life sentence… But my defence lawyer said it was. Something about six killings three weeks ago. The fingerprint tests on the inside of the waterproof jacket Matthias was wearing; I should plead guilty, suggested my lawyer.
“The jury finds the defence guilty.” Announced the lead juror.
“John Newlands, you have been found guilty. You are sentenced to a life sentence with no parole at the Adelaide Maximum Security Prison.”
My world was spinning. A judge had just sentenced me to life! Without parole! For a crime I didn’t commit… but it was useless to try and argue. The evidence was stacked against me; the blade cuts, which I had to admit I did to myself under the threat of perjury, and the fingerprints which I must have placed a month ago trying to reach Matthias’ wallet.
Is there any way to escape now?

Creative Writing - Polish

2008-05-01T18:01:00.003+10:00

“C’mon man, we’d all love to hear it! Please?” I pleaded.
I looked around the campfire for support and saw plenty; teenagers my age whose eyes, right now, flickered with anticipation.
“Well, I guess you’re not that young…” Tomasz mumbled, and sighed.
Tomasz told us one last story. He used his aged, ruined voice like an old man’s hands to pick the lock on his past…
-
“Tomasz! Hurry!” Tomasz heard his mother yell.
“Yes ma, hold for a moment!” Tomasz yelled back.
1939 was coming to a close – the Polish winter had arrived, and with it, the snow. Tomasz didn’t know whether to love or hate the snow; it brought back the memories of his father three years ago, when he just turned thirteen.
Ironic. It’s my birthday and it’s Christmas. Today should be the best day of the year. Tomasz reflected bitterly.
Clank! Tomasz lurched forward as his leg tripped over an object. Eh?
He retreated, then picked up the object. German, with a distinctive long barrel. The safety catch was off; he quickly closed it and pocketed the Luger, then ran towards his home.
“Tomasz! What’s wrong, boy? Hurry up!” his mother yelled.
Don’t make so much noise, ma.. don’t you know where we are? Tomasz picked up his pace, and arrived through the open door.
Tomasz’s mother closed the door behind him, and ushered him towards the back of the house. It’s dark…
The sound of metal boots hitting the cobblestones persuaded them to stop. Click-Clock…
Knock-knock!
“Umm, yes? Who’s there?” Tomasz’s mother answered tentatively in German.
“Keep your noise down. Okay?” A German soldier’s order floated through the house. We all knew better than to oppose it.
“Yes Sir, I will, I’m sorry.” Tomasz’s mother replied. Click-clock… click-clock… it faded off and with it, the tension.
“Keep going Tomasz! Go on in!” Tomasz slowly entered the back room; dazzling light blinded him as quiet sounds of joy and excitement greeted his ears.
“Happy Birthday Tom! Good man; you’re 16! Haha!” his grandfather exclaimed.
“Oh Tom; you’ve grown so big! Last time I saw you, you were this small!” his auntie Danuta grinned, moving her hand to her knee level.
Tomasz couldn’t really find the heart to show his true emotions, so he went with the crowd.
“Haha! Oh, I’m so glad you could make it auntie! Thank you everyone!” Tomasz looked around and saw beaming faces. Hey, why not. It’s my birthday after all…
Tomasz let himself be happy; be satisfied and grateful for all that he still had.
-
Tomasz walked out of the party to grab a drink of water. Nothing like pure tap water…what’s this? Tomasz’s eye caught a glint from the edges of his mother’s cooking book. He reached and picked it up, then flipped the book to the page that held the glint. And saw his first photograph of his father. The remains of tear droplets were scattered on the surrounding page; the photograph near the edge, depicting his father in his uniform.
Dad. Why? Why did you do it? It was so… foolish… the Jews could look after themselves…
They’d been respected. Honoured. Privileged. And his father just had to ruin it all. All for his friend. His friend! His friend who he had met just days before he was “reassigned”; his friend who just happened to be Jewish; his friend who so happened to be the leader of the Jewish resistance movement.
The Jews can fight for themselves. They’ve got a resistance movement and …everything. Why’d you have to step up?
We’re not even Jewish.
As far as he could see ,the Germans were alright. They were fighting their large war with other countries; we were first “conquered”, then left with some German patrols. Only problem was the amount of noise you could make… it was the quietest Christmas in a long time. The Jews were worse; irritating, annoying creatures who never seemed to do anything right.
Tomasz walked out to the snow. He felt in his right pocket and his hand met with the cool metal of the Luger barrel. Then he witnessed it.
Across his block of houses, there was a mini-village, populated with Jews. At that moment, there seemed to be an uprising; there were Jews crowding over some people; Tomasz couldn’t see who these people were.
Then a gunshot. Followed by more; the gunshots rang through the air, and the crowd scattered slightly. Tomasz could make out a German helmet or two in the throng, then gasped.
Tssscchhhh… a rifle bullet whizzed past his ear, deafening him. Tomasz found himself nearer to the uprising; it was now turning into a battle. He whirled around; a squad was coming to reinforce the outnumbered Germans.
Excellent. Now these Jews won’t be here anymore.
He turned back to the battle; it had spread out and there were two Jews only a few yards away from him. He looked at him; one of them smiled back, and his chest exploded out.
What? The Germans must have shot him…
The Jewish companion was stunned. He swivelled around and looked at the German reinforcement squad; he lost his mind and charged.
“What you doing here? We must go away now!” Tomasz was distracted from the scene of carnage by a Jewish girl; she lost no time in attempting to regain his senses. Slap!
“Yeah, what? Yeah ok. Right.” Tomasz fled with the girl, who was evidently an unaffected veteran of war. He turned around; the German squad were merciless against the sole Jew; he saw the other Jews in a similar state.
They’re Jews, right? Their lives aren’t worth anything.
But here he was, aided by a Jewish girl to help him. He wasn’t even a Jew.
-
“Are you okay? What’s your name?” the Jewish girl asked; simultaneously checking his pulse and his body for injuries.
“Tomasz. What are you doing?” Tomasz felt disconnected with the world.
“My name’s Maria. You’re not hurt. You’re fine.” Maria stated. She grabbed at her flask, opened it and swilled it before consuming the contents in one gulp.
“You’re a Jew… I’m a Pole. Why didn’t you help your compatriots?” Tomasz enquired.
“I did. But I happened to see you lying there, as if you were day dreaming. And no matter where you come from, you’re a human being. Unlike those Huns.” Maria replied, looking straight at him.
The Germans. The Huns. They weren’t so bad… they weren’t so bad??
They massacred people.
Real people; with a family, with a life that was glistening with potential – toyed with, disfigured, murdered.
“Hello? Are you ok?” Maria looked at Tomasz; his eyes were glazed over.
“Hello? Tomasz?” Maria enquired, concerned.
“Yeah, I’m here...” Tomasz replied hazily.
Was that the reason behind my father’s actions?
He saw the suffering; the torture – he must have wanted to help people.
Like Maria.
Like someone who would risk their life to save another.
Could I change?

Creative Writing - The Chess Game

2008-05-01T17:55:00.001+10:00

We sit down at table 20, one at each opposing side. I glance at the familiar equipment set up on the table before me. I look up at my opponent, who also glances. He fiddles with his king on the board though, and then his footmen. Typical hallmarks of nervousness.
He glances towards the dual-timer chess clock, set to a minute per player per game; the main judge of our game today.
This will be one of dozens of games I will play today, one of hundreds of games I will play a month, one of thousands of games I will play a year.
The game has been part of my life for decades.
I watch my opponents’ little face contort, and then calm. He could be my son.
A quick peek at my watch told me it was just after midday.
Finally, one of us broke the silence.
“Hi.” My opponent offered.
“Hello.” I replied as genially as possible.
I guess this encouraged him; my apparent age must have intimidated him.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Norton. And yours is Henry?” I replied, remembering the draw for the first round.
“Yea.”
“Alright. Shall we play?” I asked.
I offered my hand across the table; his nervousness communicated through his already sweaty hands. I smiled.
“First time playing a tournament?” I asked gently.
“Yea.” He smiled back.
As he was White and the first to move, I was obliged to hit the start button on the clock.
The game started.

His nervousness prior appeared to be an act; he moved the footman in front of the king quickly and confidently.
At the end of each player’s turn, he would press the button closest to him, which would stop his time and start his opponent’s, thus measuring the exact time that each player had spent playing.
However, it was soon to be discovered that little Henry’s nervousness was still apparent.
“Umm, you haven’t pressed the clock.” I warned.
He flushed, then pressed his timer. He had already lost precious seconds.
His move was mirrored by my side; a sole footman marched to be just in front of White’s footman.
And I pressed the clock, naturally.
A footman shuffled slowly to stand diagonally in front of my footman, now threatening my sole footman.
Alas, chess was a turn-based game.
Move, kill! I thought. With the aid of my hand, the little Black footman took White’s.
He forgot to tap his clock again; this time I let it go.
Henry’s visage drooped; I guess he felt the loss of the footman quite acutely. For me though, it was nought but plastic taken many times over.
His brave knight hopped over one of his many footmen, now threatening to end my footman’s victorious afterglow. With that thought in mind, he remembered to press the clock.
Never fear. I thought. Our knight is here!
So it hopped over, lending moral support to the footman, for nothing really stopped him being retired by the White knight.
Sure enough, the knight moved and retired the footman from active duty. I looked up; Henry was grinning now.
Apparently, he wasn’t aware of the piece value either.
Pfft, I thought. This will be a brutally short game.
As planned, our knight honoured the footman’s dying wishes heard only by him, and slew the offending knight.
I looked up again; Henry was unperturbed.
The sound of bells rang in my ears as I heard the White bishop approach. Slowly, it inched towards the knight who had tasted blood already.
Clop-clop. My second knight in shining armour appeared, bound to protect his fellow.
The sound of chanting rose as the Bishop converted my brave knight.
I cursed; a pacified knight was useless for me and the battle.
My anger invoked, the supporting knight leapt into action to remove the cowardly bishop.
A decapitation solved everything.

Impossible, I thought.
Yet my eyes did not lie; the White queen, the gracious, powerful and most precious being, that most would never order to move so early, had already donned her joggers and was making her way to stand right next to my knight.
There was no escape, and no one could support him in time. His face betrayed nothing; the least I could expect from one of such nobility.
I shook my head with regret, and vowed to avenge his fate. My bishop moved to the other side of the field, with promises of conversions yet to come.
I looked away from my knight to Henry; I could barely see him a hundred yards away; yet he was distinguishable from the smirk plastered on his face.
I heard my knight shuffle away to the side of the field. The queen was grinning; I wondered what transpired between them. No doubt promises of riches or other tantalising prospects were offered.

I ignored the queen for the moment, as my bishop cast his influence upon the lowly footman a few yards; but the White queen was irresistible, for she was now making her way towards enemy territory.
She glided right up to my footman just in front of my castle.
And proceeded to work her wiles.
The footman didn’t have a chance. Or probably a wife.
I was petrified; stunned.
I couldn’t believe both the stupidity of my opposing general, and my army’s luck.
The veteran castle moved towards the Queen; its men ready to welcome her to the depths of the castle’s dungeons.
She won’t be able to keep her promises now, I thought.
I looked up at Henry, who looked to my left.
I looked to my left.

Behold, there was the chess clock.

“Your time’s up.” Henry pronounced gleefully.
I looked back at the pieces; they were black plastic, as they should be.
I didn’t press the clock.

Theatre - The Real Inspector Hound - Tom Stoppard

2008-05-01T17:48:00.002+10:00

Genre: Crime Fiction/Comedy
SubGenre: Send-up of intuitionist
Main Characters: Moon and Birdboot as critics, Felicity, Cynthia, Magnus, Simon, Mrs Drudge, Inspector Hound
Produced by: Riverside Theatre at Parramatta
Notable For: Excellent acting by Moon as the rather eccentric and pompous second-string critic. Innovative curtain call with suitable score. Used a camera and live feed to act as the mirror, worked but not as effective due to video delay of about a hundred milliseconds. Brought the play to life and was generally very well received.

Film - Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy [2003-2007]

2008-05-01T17:21:00.004+10:00

Genre: Action/Adventure/Comedy/Fantasy
Subgenre: Talking Animals?
Characters: Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann, Captain Jack Sparrow, Captain Barbossa, James Norrington
Notable for: A different twist on the Action/Adventure genre. Killer soundtrack, especially main theme song. Light-hearted comedy and excellent acting from Depp especially. Brilliant visual fx in all in the series, but especially Dead Man's Chest - second in series. At World's End was slightly tedious but probably expected given its running time.

Film - Alvin and the Chipmunks [2007]

2008-03-15T18:49:00.003+11:00

Genre: Animation/Comedy
Subgenre: Talking Animals?
Characters: David Seville, Alvin, Simon and Theodore, Ian Hawke
Notable for: Cyuute chipmunks!!! :) Lee is very likable as a bumbling yet caring father figure; Cross being exactly the opposite as a cunning music producer executive. To be honest, the plot is really rather cliche (some lines I could predict before they had been said) and takes some of the fun away, but its a rather cute animation. Great for kids; maybe not so much for adults. It's also based on a real band "Alvin and the Chipmunks" although the chipmunks were imaginary (of course)

Film - Devil Wears Prada [2006]

2008-03-01T21:26:00.004+11:00

Genre: Comdey / Drama
Subgenre: Fashion / Career Ladder
Characters: Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), Andrea Sachs (Anne Hathaway), EmilyCharlton (Emily Blunt), Nigel (Stanley Tucci)
Notable for: Based on the book of the same name. Excellent acting by Streep - playing the hard, multi-tasking superwoman. Interesting concept - the boss takes over the employees life by the demands they place on them. Superficiality of the fashion world (in itself, the essence of superficiality), excellent metaphor for the vanity and self-consciousness in human nature. During the film, you hated Miranda; then sympathised, then hated again; she's like Simon Cowell in female form, but still manages to outdo him in terms of pure evil. An appropriate name for the film/book - devils do look like angels to those who don't know them.

Film - Dead Poets Society [1989]

2008-02-26T16:21:00.003+11:00

Genre: Teenpic
Subgenre: Boarding School
Characters: John Keating (Robin Williams), Neil Perry (Robert Sean Leonard), Todd Anderson (Ethan Hawke), Knox Overstreet (Josh Charles), Charlie Dalton (Gale Hansen), Richard Cameron (Dylan Kussman), Steven Meeks (Allelon Ruggiero) and Gerard Pitts (James Waterston)
Notable for: Awesome source of inspiration for a rebellious age group. Moving characters, especially Neil and his parents. Main theme is rebellion against tradition.

9th Book - The Pelican Brief - John Grisham

2008-02-11T18:50:00.002+11:00

Genre: Crime Fiction
SubGenre: Legal Thriller/Government
Main Characters: Darcy Shaw (protagonist and sleuth; 24-year-old law student), Thomas Callahan (Darcy's professor/lover), Justice Rosenberg and Jensen (initial victims), Victor Mattiece (antagonist), Gavin Verheek (Lawyer for FBI and friend of Callahan), Gray Grantham (reporter/investigator for Washington Post), The President (of USA), Fletcher Coal (second-in-command after President; holds the real power), Mr. Voyles (head of FBI), Khamel (professional assassin)
Notable For: Set in modern America. The concept that making money is directly opposed to helping the environment. Real page-turner and suspenseful action. Darcy herself is extremely smart in regards to avoiding her pursuers. Real-to-life set of characters; personally the relationship between Darcy and Thomas is very emotional and touching.

8th Book - True Evil - Greg Iles (ILES)

2008-02-08T22:55:00.001+11:00

Genre: Crime Fiction
SubGenre: Hard-Boiled/Biological warfare
Main Characters: Alexandra Morse (detective), Grace Morse (sister, victim, murdered), Chris Shepard (victim), Andrew Rusk (lawyer, accessory to crime), Glykon (aka Eldon Tarver MD, genius behind murders)
Notable For: Interesting concept of using undetectable, yet slow ways to kill a person by injecting them with a virus, causing cancer that takes a few months to develop, then a further year to kill. Marketed to people looking for free divorce without splitting their assets. Tarver claims to be a partiot, thinking of spreading the virus to China, with estimated kill rate of 90% due to mass spread before diagnosis - benefits American economy.

7th Book - One Night At The Call Centre - Chetan Bhagat

2008-02-08T22:49:00.001+11:00

Genre: Comedy
SubGenre: Romance/Slice of Life
Main Characters: Shyam (protagonist), Priyanka (Shyam's love), Vroom (Shyam's best friend), Bakshi (overbearing boss), Shefali (Shyam's love distraction), Esha (wannabe model)
Notable For: Set in a call centre in India, which receives outsourced calls from America regarding support for appliances. Absolutely hilarious. Rather interesting characters, especially Shyam, who is a bit of a coward. Also, there is a call from God. Literally.

6th Book - Emma - Jane Austen

2008-02-08T22:45:00.002+11:00

Genre: Romance
SubGenre: Society/Slice of Life
Main Characters: Emma Woodhouse (protagonist), Mr Woodhouse (father of Emma), Isabella Knightley and Mr John Knightley, Mr Knightley(elder brother of John Knightley), Harriet, Mr and Mrs Watson, Robert Martin, Mr and Mrs Elton, Frank Churchill, Jane Fairfax.
Notable For: Unusually long sentence structure, insightful commenting on social structure of 19th century (book published in 1816) and making insignificant events feel so much more significant.

5th Book - Sweet Danger - Margery Allingham

2008-02-08T22:41:00.001+11:00

Genre: Crime Fiction
SubGenre: Intuitionist/Hard-Boiled
Main Characters: Pontisbright family (victims), Albert Campion (detective), Brett Savanake (antagonist)
Notable For: Blend of some supernatural, hard-boiled and intuitionist style (set in country village, but detective is pursued and knows how to defend), crime is not murder but taking over the rights of a small country.

4th Book - The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Agatha Christie

2008-02-08T22:35:00.001+11:00

Genre: Crime Fiction
SubGenre: Intuitionist
Main Characters: Roger Ackroyd (deceased), Doctor Sheppard (narrator), Hercule Poirot (detective)
Notable For: Extremely unexpected twist (controversial), classic intuitionist crime fiction book.

3rd Book - The Sylvia Game - Vivien Alcock

2007-06-10T11:49:00.001+10:00

Alcock, Viven - The Sylvia Game

Fun:6 Thought:8 Memorable:3

Overall: 6

The characters (kids) in this novel are well defined by the author and personally, I think the ingenious actions of kids and the viewpoints used are very interesting. Touches on issues such as the need of money, friendship, and the differences of social classes. Sounds intellectual, but it is a very good read; I was absorbed by the intriguing plot weaved by Alcock.

2nd Book - What Friends Are For - Carol Adorjan

2007-05-15T21:09:00.001+10:00

Adorjan, Carol - What Friends Are For

Fun:5 Thought:4 Memorable:0

Overall: 3

This book is for 6th graders; or maybe year 7s. Really easy read; it can be, at times, sympathised with. Definately not something that will burn inside your head for ages; if you're lazy then this is a great book for MS Readathon etc (only has 100 so pages in very large font).
Fairly soppy storyline, but I guess that was what the author was intending to convey (hormones rampaging, false accusations, jealousy). Although I don't agree about where the author says through the persona's thoughts where a guy who likes a girl tries his best to stand out; I was exactly the opposite with my year 5/6 crush; deliberately stayed a long way away. But thats just me; lol :p

Gotta get a new book :D

Busy

2007-04-26T17:10:00.000+10:00

Been busy for a very long time / been lazy for a very long time and thus I'm extremely lazy in terms of this reading thing; it also doesn't help that the next book is 300 pages and in small print. ><

Anyway, might close up the blog's commenting to bloggers only; depends on my mood.

Random thought: Being selfish is what we were meant to be; otherwise we wouldn't strive so hard to get good results (if you don't, then you let someone else beat you and let them feel happy), or compete in sports (I mean, isn't the other team more deserving than you?)

1st Book: Aaron, Moses - Elijah Greenface

2007-03-29T19:09:00.001+10:00

Aaron, Moses - Elijah Greenface

Fun:5 Thought:10 Memorable:10

Overall: 9

Elijah Greenface is not particularly an easy quick read, and at the beginning it was not immersive. At the half-way point there had been anything memorable either, however it all ties up nicely at the end.

Aaron covers many relevant issues for young people in this novel: teenage angst, bullying, power play and the respect of authorities.

In addition, he covers quite important issues regarding other members of the audience as well: grief, anger, hate, suicide, and the thought processes related to these emotions.

Elijah Greenface is not your typical book and deserves a read right through to the end.

2007-03-26T20:41:00.000+10:00

My bad; I forgot to borrow a book today, so I'll make it up by borrowing two tomorrow. Also Chemistry and Maths are slowing me down a bit..
Two books, I promise. By Tuesday.

2007-03-22T18:18:00.000+11:00

Well today I went to the library, and calculated that there were ~2400 fiction books (give or take a few hundred). Thus it would be nearly impossible to finish those books in 576 days.
Thus, I will attempt to read every 6th fiction book (~400 books) in the library.
I will start on Monday 26th March 2007.

Cheers, Luke

Good Evening..

2007-03-21T18:32:00.001+11:00

Well, I've decided to post all my review of books somewhere, and here it is.
There isn't really a way to sort reviews in terms of rankings and all that, but I've got a little txt file on my computer that will keep track of everything.
Feel free to comment, but please don't post childish comments.

Luke