by TheGibberingMadman
on April 5, 2016
image: Lion Guard© Uschi Hering | Dreamstime Stock Photos
“Legend holds that the Golden Lion guards the entry from those who would trespass upon the grounds of the Duke of Wormetshire. There are tales of unexplained deaths in the area near the Golden Lion and the gateway it is said to protect. Pretty scary, yes? If you’ll follow me this way, I’ll lead you to the gardens …”
The tour guide led the rest of the gawkers on towards a lush and borderline overgrown garden. Lawrence stayed behind, staring at the Golden Lion.
“People come up with the craziest stories sometimes.”, Lawrence muttered. read more
{ }
by TheGibberingMadman
on April 1, 2016
image: Cat © Jon Hembree | Dreamstime Stock Photos
It happened again. Perfect plan, perfectly executed … up until my minion decided to go all mouse-brained.
I had it all worked out. I was going to corner the world anchovy market and use the profits to fund my undersea base of operations. It was brilliant and fool-proof. Or at least it seemed fool-proof.
The simplicity of it all should have precluded any error. My minion managed to secretly amass a majority stake in almost all the anchovy wholesale companies worldwide. With the majority stake in hand, a series of leveraged buyouts and mergers would consolidate the anchovy wholesale market to a handful of regional companies. With less competition, and in reality no competition as I would have controlled all the anchovy players worldwide, prices for those delectable morsels would skyrocket. read more
{ }
by TheGibberingMadman
on March 30, 2016
image: Suspension Bridge in Sunrise © Anatoly Tiplyashin | Dreamstime Stock Photos
Times are tough, that is for sure. Even for those of us who have held onto the same position for years can eventually find themselves underemployed due to changes in society or technology.
My job is certainly an example of that.
For ages it was pretty steady, but when technological developments sped up, change started creeping in. I did my best to try to keep up, to adapt. I even went to school, hoping to gain an edge. I am certainly more well spoken now (thanks to Mrs. Bebelbraun for her excellent public speaking class and Mr. Henshaw for his eye opening creative writing class), but it did not really help in the long run. read more
{ }
by TheGibberingMadman
on March 29, 2016
image: Chess... (1) © Scarf_andrei | Dreamstime Stock Photos
“Mr. Wainscott, it is time.”
Jeff Wainscott jumped at the sound of the voice behind him and turned to face the shrouded figure. The skeletal hands gave Jeff a moment of pause, but the scythe really made him freeze in his tracks.
“Mr. Wainscott? Mr. Wainscott? Oh come on man, I don’t have all day. Plenty of other folks out there dying to make my acquaintance. Get it? Dying to make … oh never mind.”
A skeletal hand reached out and slapped Jeff. Jeff replied by uttering a blood curdling scream. read more
{ }
by TheGibberingMadman
on March 28, 2016
“So I was at the flea market, you know the one out on highway 25, and I found this little table off in the corner, covered with all this weird stuff that was being sold by this old Chinese guy and …”
“Terry, what the hell did you buy now? I swear, winning that cash has been the worst thing for you.”
“What? Why would you say that? I got the new truck, and some other stuff.”
“Yeah, let’s look at that other stuff, Terry. You got the lottery ticket bronzed. Bronzed. It’s not like the text is visible anymore. It just looks like a bronze rectangle on a wood base.” read more
{ }