To be continued.....

Welcome to the complex mind of a greatest average Joe.....

7:31 PM

Shortest short stories.....

Posted by aSwIn kUmAr | Labels:




Human’s imagination started with the advent of language. He invented words to express his emotions and sentences to covey the situation. He started with epics and poems, to express his imagination. As centuries passed by, there was a change in his mind. He thought “why we must say all the things to others…..let us make others to think “. He reduced the details in his stories to improve listener’s imagination. Thus Epics give way to novel, which evolved to short stories.
Ok, how far could you reduce a short story ….two sentences?? Two words? Lots of people tried to implement KISS [Keep It Simple, Stupid] principle in storytelling and succeeded to an extent.
Who was the first on to write the shortest story? The answer has been Fredric Brown's "Knock":

"The last man on earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door...."

It was considered as the best short science fiction ever. This appeared in the December 1948 issue of THRILLING WONDER STORIES.
Then Forry Ackerman claims he wrote the shortest one ever, titled "Cosmic Report Card: Earth" consisting of the single letter
"F". [Hope you got the meaning!]
Reading these, Hemingway once wrote a story in just six words, in his style:
"For sale: baby shoes, never worn."
Let us now see sci-fi, fantasy, and horror writers from the realms of books, TV, movies, and games to take a shot themselves.

FUTURISTIC:
Computer, did we bring batteries? Computer?
- Eileen Gunn
Internet “wakes up?” Ridicu - no carrier.
- Charles Stross
Epitaph: Foolish humans, never escaped Earth.
- Vernor Vinge

I’m your future, child. Don’t cry.
- Stephen Baxter
Lie detector eyeglasses perfected: Civilization collapses.
- Richard Powers
TIME MACHINE REACHES FUTURE!!! … nobody there …
- Harry Harrison
Time traveler's thought: "What's the password?"
- Steven Meretzky
THRILLER:
It’s behind you! Hurry before it
- Rockne S. O’Bannon
Tick tock tick tock tick tick.
- Neal Stephenson
SPIRITUAL:
It cost too much, staying human.
- Bruce Sterling
To save humankind he died again.
- Ben Bova
Heaven falls. Details at eleven.
- Robert Jordan
Nevertheless, he tried a third time.
- James P. Blaylock

SARCASTIC:
We went solar; sun went nova.
- Ken MacLeod
Bang postponed. Not Big enough. Reboot.
- David Brin
HUMEROUS:
Deadline postponed. Five words enough...?
- David Brin
Will this do (lazy writer asked)?
- Ken MacLeod
Finally, he had no more words.
- Gregory Maguire
There were only six words left.
- Gregory Maguire

The beauty in these stories lies in the fact that it makes us to write the remaining story. We are the story writers here. Our brain’s imaginative unit works more when we read this….Let us all try to write more like these. C’mon, it’s not that much hard….We are living in the age of SMSs. We can surely do it!!
[P.S] I tried myself, rewriting “knock” –
“The last human …..on Mars.” How was that??

[The Author humbly bows his head to the writers who wrote these stories. Including the last one, all rights are reserved to the respective writers. ]
To Be Continued………

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7:49 AM

WaYsIdE wAtChInG – an exotic way of time killing…….

Posted by aSwIn kUmAr | Labels:




Today morning, I was heading to my college by the college bus to lead my just another”just another day” .As I always used to do, I turned completely oblivious inside the bus and let my eyes and thoughts outside the window, to bond with the world.
I was often complained of being reticent while traveling. I don’t like using my mouth when I’m on a voyage. When we have an amazing sight outside, why should we ignore it? We may talk any time later but we may not see such sights later……
I was thinking of a name for such habit. Due to my bad vocabulary, I zeroed on “wayside watching”. What is there outside?? You think it’s just trees, houses, garbage and walking people??? Then you have missed a lot, guys…. Let me tell you what I saw today morning, outside the window railing.
1. A Couple outside a Temple: Let me remind you that I’m not a peeping tom. My memory processing unit doesn’t have the version of instantly remembering human faces. So I just ignore the passing humans. But I couldn’t do to this couple. They were just coming out of a temple. I don’t know who they are – They might be friends, lovers, or even married, but definitely not sibling. Because the boy was a south Indian and the girl was Nepali [I think so, I am not sure]. They were holding hands and tried to cross the road. They were really happy, that’s what their eyes conveyed (though I cannot see that Nepali’s eyes…). I wish they should sustain what was in their eyes….
2. Red Turbaned Sardarji: I can call him a mega serial on my Window TV. Every morning, I see this guy, with usual trademarks, around 8.35-8.40. He is in his late 50’s, always sports a red turban, an ordinary shirt with two buttons unbuttoned [err…weak grammar: D], and rides a brand old Hercules cycle. Sometimes he will be seen talking to some localites, which shows he can speak Tamil. I sometimes wonder what he was doing for his living, where he was hurrying, and so on. Today also we did the same routine – he cycling and me watching and thinking” why doesn’t he take a leave? Doesn’t he get any flu?”…..But nowadays I got bored of this recurring guy. Maybe a change in Turban color might work….[no offense]

3. SuperBoy [BGM:Fanfare] – Today I saw two kids, on their way to the school. They must be siblings. The elder of them is running forward, and crossed a small pit. He then called the younger one. The kid saw the pit with fearful wide eyes, went backwards, ran with full speed and jumped the pit. He was on at most joy, after he landed successfully. There was a mixture of joy and blush in his face, as he was running heads down. He reminded me of my younger days….
4. Posters and Banners: They are an important mode of communication in India. It conveys a lot about what’s happening around us – weddings, birthdays, deaths, movie releases, MP’s visit etc. Most of them are absolutely hilarious, especially the banners of politicians. The followers and admirers of the political personals show their ultimate love through the banners, giving us a great laughter show. The morphing effect they give for their leader will put the Hollywood in shame. But the problem is the cliche phrases they use [e.g.]”I’ve no age to wish him, so I praise him!”……. it’s really boring to repeatedly see such phrases. Today happened to be Bday of a MLA….need I say anymore???
5. Deforestation: Today I saw same people cutting down a palm tree. I don’t know how many penguins died at Antarctica due to this. Now a days I witness lots of trees which I used to see often, was missing. There was a tree near a cactus. That tree has no leaves. Together with the cactus and a crow, it will give a “horror-film-set-prop” feel. I thought the cement thing near it was a tomb, but later came to know that it was just a water pump. Even that tree was cut down. I and EEE Balaji used to call it a ‘Haunted cacti'. Now I really miss that tree….


There are lots more to tell you,-the houses painted in insanely stupid color [ one day I gonna enter one of the houses and bang the owner for his color sense] , a gaming centre with spidey portrait, crying kids entering school, girls, sky.... You asked me what’s outside?? There are moments….moments of life, which we may miss within seconds….Way side watching is something adventurous like treasure hunting….Here we hunt the moments. I have a companion too, my Apple iPod shuffle [As I’m doing final year now, I’ve decided to bend some rules]. It gives me a new experience while wayside watching……it’s like watching a movie outside a window with BGM…..Sometimes it plays the song relevant to the situation outside…..
Friends, you might be a ‘dhoom machale’ biker or an F1 racer…but for some time, just let others to drive and enjoy the surrounding guys..Enjoy wayside watching and have fun!!


[PS]
1. If you feel offended by this post, please pardon me.
2. Wayside watching doesn’t mean being peeping Tom… Have some boundaries and maintain it……
Pics courtesy: GOOGLE IMAGES

To Be Continued………

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5:32 PM

Am i missing something here????

Posted by aSwIn kUmAr | Labels:


If you have read my first post...You might've understood that I am a dreamer. I dream around the clock, irrespective of the surrounding. Throughout my life I've faced lot of face bumps, back slaps, reputation as "being sober" and lot more for dreaming.

In fact dreams are my compensating factor. I do lot of things in my dream than in my real life. I swing through the skyscrapers of Big Apple, have a morning walk at Marlinespike, fight the aliens……..so on. Normally dreams are bizarre and illogical, but I love it.

I agree that not all my dreams are of Disney type. Nightmares occasionally visit me, but stay in my mind for a long time than any other wonderful dreams I came across... [Even day dreams!!]. Let me share one of my funny nightmares with you......
[I remember only bits and pieces of it…don’t be a caviler, looking for logical errors…]

One day I was writing my school exam. My exam hall is located at 4th floor of a building and I was writing near a window. Suddenly the ink in my lucky pen [I call it 'my right hand'] reached its empty level. I involuntarily shake my pen to write more…. [Remember the previous post?] .And then it finally happened...

The pen just fell down through the window...OMG!!It is my lucky pen, my right hand, and I am in middle of the exam…I don’t have extra pen …my hands are shivering in haste and….Hey wait! Am I missing anything here???....I was confused and raised my hand to….but…..wha…Oh god…WHERE IS MY RIGHT HAND???? I suddenly stood up and saw through the window.....To my shock, MY RIGHT HAND is accompanying my pen!!! What the heck is happening??? I am in the middle of exam and I am sitting without my both right hands!!!!
I repot to the examiner that I lost my hand and ran away. The staffs are standing in height order and laughing at me……When I reached the place where it fell, I was shocked to see that the principal sister took both my pen and hand …and walking towards the office room ……
I ran towards her and pleaded her to return my pen or else my father will kill me. She scolded me and told me to pay the fine and collect it from store room. I wait for long time, answering the inquiring friends, for the staff in charge. At last he came…when I gave him the fine amount, he said “idiot, don’t you know manners? Give it in right hand”…..I got angry and shouted in dismay, but my voice suddenly changed…….I made a very strange noise. Suddenly it ring a bell…..I got it….it is a bell…no not a bell, an alarm.
I woke up in my bed room and found that it’s all a dream. Something struck my mind and I checked my hand...phew! It is there….not with that stupid store keeper, I got up and went to check my bag for my pen….but…wah….WHERE IS MY SCHOOL BAG????
To Be Continued………

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