The robots are moving in to take away all the repetitive jobs: filing paperwork, sweeping streets, driving trains, mowing lawns, bagging groceries... they’ll dominate the world without us even noticing. Now that they’re able to perform maintenance on themselves, they’ve become totally self-sufficient. Say goodbye to your local apple farmer. There’s a robot that can … Continue reading The Robots
We stick together - me and my buddies. If we didn’t, they’d call us “fried rices,” not “fried rice." There was once one among us though, who went against the grain. Can you imagine eating us with chopsticks if you had to pick us up one by one? Well, the one of us who had … Continue reading The Grain of Rice
Franklin Xavier-Moore pulls out his rip-stop nylon compression sack and unbuckles the polyethylene clips. He tugs and out pop the carbon fibre tent poles and 5000mm polyurethane coated inner-tent. The polyester tent fly is stuck in the stuff sack with the titanium pegs and Kevlar guy wires. A shake of the stuff sack liberates them … Continue reading Top of the Line
Looking over Florence with the sun on your back is amazing. The breeze in your hair makes you feel alive. A little imagination makes the experience so much more enjoyable. You’ve heard all the hype about seeing this part of the world, and the hype is justified. You don’t feel the need to take a … Continue reading Reality
My girlfriend is building a wall. She’s taking her time, and adding each course of bricks very slowly, but one day the wall will be complete and impenetrable. She’s doing a good job of it too. I get home from work one day and I’m tired. She sees this and pounces. “When are you going … Continue reading The Wall
I wait out the front of my Venetian hotel for a water taxi. I have most of my belongings in a small suitcase and a camera hanging around my neck. Suddenly a beautiful, tanned Italian girl approaches. Her English is perfect. “Would you like me to take your photo?” “Oh... Uh, no don’t worry, that’s … Continue reading Venezia
The cuckoo sings in the trees outside and the glint of the morning sun catches the silver picture frame on the dressing table. Lorenzo blows a kiss to the photo of his wife before rising for the day’s chores. Nothing has changed for the last six months. Lorenzo has always wanted to follow a daily … Continue reading Lorenzo’s Loneliness
I paint, I clean, I water the plants. The cycle never ends. The dirt accumulates on the wooden floors and I sweep. Then I need to water the plants again, so I go outside and bring back some dirt. So I sweep again. It prides me to make the little house presentable. The light-shades gather … Continue reading Painting the Wall
I hopped on the bus and the penguin said “hey.” It must be hard driving a bus without opposable thumbs. I took a seat next to the albatross. I wouldn’t normally have chosen a seat next to such a large creature, but all the other seats were taken. At least, being a bird, a conversation … Continue reading A Leap of Lemmings
“There’s something on my fork, waiter.” The man with the long face gestures towards the waiter to move closer. “Look there, waiter. Right up close. There’s something on my fork.” The long-faced, musky-smelling man has the fork laid on the tablecloth with the prongs facing upwards. “See, waiter? There’s something on my fork. Look closer.” … Continue reading The Fork
Tandi Tales 