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Saturday 9 January 2016

Daily Prompt: Worse Case Scenario

Of all the awful possibilities, what’s the worst possible thing that could happen to you today? Now, what about the best?


The worst possible thing is receiving a warmed up prompt from 2nd May 2014 which is so unimaginative and boring that you do not know what to write. The best would be to receive a new prompt with a good idea that would prompt you to write.

window view

Even the view from my window is uninspiring: a dull day, rain and everything bare. Yes, it suits the daily prompt. How am I supposed to compose a prize winning piece of blog with no inspiration? Nothing is happening. There is a guy walking around outside wearing a black cloak with a scythe in his hand and he just walked passed the door. He looked in my direction and shook his head “wrong house” he muttered through his skeletal teeth. I suppose every day has a silver lining and that is probably the best thing that will happen today.

I just realised what a dull and boring life I live with no inspiration: even the daily prompt is an unreliable option. Of course I can think positive  I have two computers, but there again nothing to write because the daily prompt has only a boring idea of what to write.

On the other hand I could tell you about a very good book I have just finished reading “Ready Player One” by Ernest Cline. I was pleasantly surprised and got the idea of the book from a forum site I belong to where it is currently a choice of discussion. Did anyone here play games, mainly in the 1980’s? This book brings back memories of Arcade games: classics like Pac Man, Donkey Kong etc. as well as Dungeons and Dragons being played on Commodore and Atari computers amongst others. I remember Boulder Dash, Koronis Rift, Wizzball and of course Tetris.

Here is a description of the book taken from “Goodreads”: 
“In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the  OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.”

The inventor of the game has died without heirs to his vast fortune and the player that finds the hidden egg in his Oasis game wins it all. The players in the game only appear on the screen in their avatar form. They get to know each other, but do not know each other in real life until ….. I don't want to spoil the book, but read it, it is good. Ernest Cline did an excellent research job on the details.

I got my game education from my youngest son who played them all with his colleagues, he was a child in the eighties and a lot in this book brought memories back of the games he would play.

It seems Steven Spielberg is preparing the film, probably being released only in 2017, and I will definitely be watching it. I enjoyed the book very much, which I never thought I would. There was a lot of nostalgia in its pages.


And that is all I have to write today having such a boring, lazy prompt.

2 comments:

  1. I guess the worst thing that could happen today is Earth being wiped out by a passing asteroid. Best thing? Earth NOT being wiped out by a passing asteroid!! Yeah, silly answer, I know, but it's all a matter of scale.

    I've not read that book, but I've heard of it, and am interested to see the movie when it's completed.

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    1. I am glad I already read the book. I wonder what Spielberg will do with it. I can really only recommend it. As far as the asteroid is concerned, I don't really want to know. I love surprises, especially if I don't notice them.

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