The Peculiar Visitor, a short story I have brought out of storage

(Before we begin: What follows is a short story that I (re)wrote around two and a half years ago. It is based on a very similar short story that I wrote a little before that, in a time that I sincerely wish I could erase from my life. Apart from previously unnoticed spelling errors and some formatting to clarify the text, none of what you see in this document has been edited or altered in any manner. I hope you find the content enlightening or even enjoyable.)

When people want a free lunch…

My first experience of electronic mail and what it promised to be was in 1988, when I went with family to what was called the World Expo. This “expo” was a collection of displays and exhibitions from around the world that represented the culture of each nation, big and small. Aside from the fact that Australia’s representation therein should be considered embarrassing, the exhibition demonstrating what electronic mail was and how it was supposed to work proved interesting to say the least.

What we need for the future of media, all media.

It was a few days ago, but after linking to this article on TNL.net, and now this one, I got to thinking a wee bit. During my lifetime, we have seen a massive deregulation spree, the birth of the home computer market, and the acceleration of communications technology to the point where it is now cheaper to “speak” to someone across the world than it can sometimes be to speak to someone across town. But as with all advances in technology such as home viewing, the prospect of improving the Human condition or situation in future is being threatened. Not by an enemy with ill intent, but rather by an element of stupidity, thoughtlessness, or carelessness within our own ranks.

Television a more mature medium than cinema?

A few years ago now, I was told to go and buy the Blu-ray Disc boxed set of a little television show called True Blood. Normally, when others recommend a film, television series, or pretty much anything for that matter to me, I need to be convinced that there is something to warrant my attention. True Blood, as media exhibitions go, was actually a pretty easy sell when the person telling me about it said the magic words. Anna Paquin was in it. So a couple of days and a substantial number of dollars later, I was sitting in front of my display unit (a forty-two incher at the time) and watching a television show called True Blood.

The difference between “saw” and saw, in a nutshell.

I forget exactly when it was, but I made an allusion to the fact that seeing and seeing, as it were, are two different things. Because there is an ever-growing threat to the increase in quality of visual presentation, the time is good to explain what this difference is.