Robert Jenkin
14-09-2006, 02:02 AM
c u n wow
Introduction
‘Thou art as wise as thou art beautiful’
All around him the groundlings roared with laughter, but Thomas stood silent, spellbound like Bottom.
‘Not so neither: but if I had wit enough to get out of this wood …’
‘Out of this wood do not desire to go …’
Just then Tom sensed rather than saw a disturbance behind him. Glancing back he registered with apprehension his own father, shouldering a way through the press in the yard with a face like thunder. Alderman Joseph had strong views about the Globe, although, his son suspected, this was the first time he’d ever stepped inside. Tom knew those views: the place was a danger to young people’s morals and their education, it was irreligious, and worst of all it, it distracted boys lucky enough to receive a free education from their Latin grammar.
His father, a London Councillor had made him read the official statement by that body about the evils of such entertainment. However, going by his own experience, he had no idea what the official statement meant. While seeing every play at the Globe that he possibly could, he had never seen “the alluring of good citizens' children under age, to privy and unmeet contracts” or “the publishing of unchaste, uncomely, and unshamefast speeches and doings.” He came to see the plays, and this one was about to be interrupted. Was there the remotest chance his father would let him stay to see the end, for which he had paid a whole penny? It was only half over! With desperation he looked back to the stage, where Titania was speaking now in dulcet tones:
‘Be kind and courteous to this gentleman; Hop in his walks and gambol in his eyes; feed him with apricocks and dewberries ….’
Large fingers seized Tom by the ear.
“Come with me boy!” - a furious whisper.
Still struggling to see and hear as much as he could, Tom was dragged unceremoniously to the nearest exit.
Hilary High
“I’m worried about Fasi. He seems tired when he gets to school. What time does he usually go to bed Mr Austin?”
“Well, I wouldn’t know. Late, sometimes.”
“Why is that?”
The young teacher knew the answer already and the boy’s father knew she knew it. He had to tell the truth, but she would not approve.
“He likes playing games.”
“Computer games?”
“Yes.”
“Games on the internet?”
“Yes. We can’t ever use the phone. No-one can ring us either.”
“Should he be playing on the internet so late at night? If it’s affecting his schoolwork?”
Glumly the man shook his head.
“What kind of games are they?”
His eyes went sideways. She had him in a corner.
“Fighting games?”
He looked down.
“Are they?”
A reluctant nod.
“Games like that often reinforce negative stereotypes, especially regarding gender bias, and violence. There’s been some troubling research. In any case they have little or no educational value. And they are making him so tired he can’t concentrate when he comes to school. I suppose you know the kind of dangers children face, unsupervised, on the Internet?”
Unsupervised? The games were in the kid’s room, and the kids didn’t miss much. If Fasi did anything bad, he’d soon get snapped. But Mr Austin didn’t venture to explain. Once more he nodded.
“So maybe it’s time to step in, as a parent. Wouldn’t you say?”
He looked surprised but didn’t say anything. He hadn't come here to be told what to do by this young woman.
Shadowglen
Turgon was tall and muscular, with blue hair and dark leather armour. A wooden buckler hung at his back. Arwin, who was of slighter build, wore lighter gear. Her hair was green. They both had swords, but Arwin also had a bow and quiver of arrows. He was an elven warrior, and she a huntress.
The forest where they ran was dappled, bright and dark. Strange lights played over them, glimmering on their bare legs and arms as they passed luminous flowers or emerged briefly from the shadows of the giant trees. Strange creatures moved among the purple tree trunks and in the leafy glades.
“Will you help me on my quest?”
Fasi had to use the keyboard to reply, but since Arwin was automatically following Turgon, he didn’t need to use the mouse. He had to look for each letter. He guessed the spelling for the first word and copied the second. While doing it he glanced frequently back at the screen, checking where they were going. He was slow, but had improved since he started playing wow.
“wat quest?”
“Dirania says Iverron is missing, near the spider cave to the north. We have to find him.”
Reading was easier than writing. Lorraine used hard words, but mostly he understood them. Dirania and Iverron were elf names and the rest was easy.
“ok”
They came to the cave. Lurid green spiders of monstrous size patrolled the entrance. They were in range. Fasi clicked on one and pressed 2 for auto-shoot. Arwin nocked an arrow and loosed just as Turgon ran up to attack. He battled the great spider with sword and buckler, while Arwin’s shafts, one after another, found their mark. Soon, with a despairing rattle, the creature reared and fell back, it’s legs curled up.
Hilary High
“I have to teach the whole syllabus, and some children really want to learn. I’m concerned for some of the girls, whose time is being wasted. Fasi has often been a nuisance and he has some quite sexist attitudes. As an example: Today we were reading parts from ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream.’ It’s a play. By William Shakespeare?”
She looked enquiringly at Mr Austin, who was wondering what sexist attitudes were and what they had to do with Fasi. Shakespeare? Some Palangi fella. He nodded, and she continued.
“One of the girls, Lorraine, was reading the part of the elf queen, Titania. It would have been quite difficult for Fasi. But she respects his Fa’asamoa, so he should respect her Pakeha culture, don’t you think? He was laughing and distracting her. Then, after she sat down, he threw this.”
From a folder on her desk she took a piece of paper. It had first been crumpled, then carefully smoothed out. She handed it to Mr Austin. He read it quickly, smiling to show he understood it. The smile was not well received. Abruptly, she demanded it back.
“I need that. Lorraine’s father wants to see it.”
As she said it, she realised it wasn’t strictly true. What Mr Anderson had said, in a short and rather odd phone conversation, was that Lorraine ‘wanted her note back’.
What on earth did Mr Austin have to smile about? She glanced again at the incomprehensible and to her rather suggestive biro scrawl.
‘c u n wow’ it said.
Shadowglen
Inside the cave, they slew many of the monsters. Fasi enjoyed playing as Arwin, the shadowy huntress, friend and companion of Lorraine’s warrior, Turgon. If anyone at school compared him to a girl he’d have to hit them, but that was school. This was a pleasant change. He let Lorraine’s warrior, Turgon, do most of the fighting, helping with arrows. Being a female was cool in wow. The abilities for males and females were exactly the same anyway.
Turgon was named after an Elvish King, in some book Lorraine had read. Arwin was named after that elf princess in the Lord of The Rings movies. They had now flattened the spiders in this part of the cave. Maybe if he started a warrior of his own he would call her Titania. That was a good name. Where was that missing fella they were supposed to find?
“were is he” Fasi typed.
“I don’t know. He doesn’t seem to be here. Let’s go back outside.”
“ok.”
They found Iverron in a narrow valley to the west. He crouched, weak and helpless, as the elf huntress approached.
‘I'm glad you found me, Arwin.’
Turgon arived and they both knelt beside him.
‘Ughhh... I was bitten very badly while exploring the spider cave. I have been seriously poisoned. Please tell Dirania Silvershine. She will be able to help me.
Fasi had not quite finished reading as the words faded on the screen. He wasn’t quite sure what had happened to Iverron, but Lorraine would be, and Turgon would tell him.
“He was poisoned” the warrior announced. “We have to go to Dirania.”
Fasi knew what he wanted to say, and took most of a minute saying it, as they ran back to Aldrassil.
‘ok turgon
im rite bhind u’
Hilary High
As he left the classroom Mr Austin kept his head down, since he couldn’t help grinning about that vale teacher. She couldn’t read Fasi’s note. Why should he help her, when she made him feel so musu.
Anyway, some teacher! ‘c u n wow’ – ‘see you in World of Warcraft’. It meant the game. Fasi wanted to play with that Palangi girl. How come the teacher couldn’t read a simple thing like that?
Introduction
‘Thou art as wise as thou art beautiful’
All around him the groundlings roared with laughter, but Thomas stood silent, spellbound like Bottom.
‘Not so neither: but if I had wit enough to get out of this wood …’
‘Out of this wood do not desire to go …’
Just then Tom sensed rather than saw a disturbance behind him. Glancing back he registered with apprehension his own father, shouldering a way through the press in the yard with a face like thunder. Alderman Joseph had strong views about the Globe, although, his son suspected, this was the first time he’d ever stepped inside. Tom knew those views: the place was a danger to young people’s morals and their education, it was irreligious, and worst of all it, it distracted boys lucky enough to receive a free education from their Latin grammar.
His father, a London Councillor had made him read the official statement by that body about the evils of such entertainment. However, going by his own experience, he had no idea what the official statement meant. While seeing every play at the Globe that he possibly could, he had never seen “the alluring of good citizens' children under age, to privy and unmeet contracts” or “the publishing of unchaste, uncomely, and unshamefast speeches and doings.” He came to see the plays, and this one was about to be interrupted. Was there the remotest chance his father would let him stay to see the end, for which he had paid a whole penny? It was only half over! With desperation he looked back to the stage, where Titania was speaking now in dulcet tones:
‘Be kind and courteous to this gentleman; Hop in his walks and gambol in his eyes; feed him with apricocks and dewberries ….’
Large fingers seized Tom by the ear.
“Come with me boy!” - a furious whisper.
Still struggling to see and hear as much as he could, Tom was dragged unceremoniously to the nearest exit.
Hilary High
“I’m worried about Fasi. He seems tired when he gets to school. What time does he usually go to bed Mr Austin?”
“Well, I wouldn’t know. Late, sometimes.”
“Why is that?”
The young teacher knew the answer already and the boy’s father knew she knew it. He had to tell the truth, but she would not approve.
“He likes playing games.”
“Computer games?”
“Yes.”
“Games on the internet?”
“Yes. We can’t ever use the phone. No-one can ring us either.”
“Should he be playing on the internet so late at night? If it’s affecting his schoolwork?”
Glumly the man shook his head.
“What kind of games are they?”
His eyes went sideways. She had him in a corner.
“Fighting games?”
He looked down.
“Are they?”
A reluctant nod.
“Games like that often reinforce negative stereotypes, especially regarding gender bias, and violence. There’s been some troubling research. In any case they have little or no educational value. And they are making him so tired he can’t concentrate when he comes to school. I suppose you know the kind of dangers children face, unsupervised, on the Internet?”
Unsupervised? The games were in the kid’s room, and the kids didn’t miss much. If Fasi did anything bad, he’d soon get snapped. But Mr Austin didn’t venture to explain. Once more he nodded.
“So maybe it’s time to step in, as a parent. Wouldn’t you say?”
He looked surprised but didn’t say anything. He hadn't come here to be told what to do by this young woman.
Shadowglen
Turgon was tall and muscular, with blue hair and dark leather armour. A wooden buckler hung at his back. Arwin, who was of slighter build, wore lighter gear. Her hair was green. They both had swords, but Arwin also had a bow and quiver of arrows. He was an elven warrior, and she a huntress.
The forest where they ran was dappled, bright and dark. Strange lights played over them, glimmering on their bare legs and arms as they passed luminous flowers or emerged briefly from the shadows of the giant trees. Strange creatures moved among the purple tree trunks and in the leafy glades.
“Will you help me on my quest?”
Fasi had to use the keyboard to reply, but since Arwin was automatically following Turgon, he didn’t need to use the mouse. He had to look for each letter. He guessed the spelling for the first word and copied the second. While doing it he glanced frequently back at the screen, checking where they were going. He was slow, but had improved since he started playing wow.
“wat quest?”
“Dirania says Iverron is missing, near the spider cave to the north. We have to find him.”
Reading was easier than writing. Lorraine used hard words, but mostly he understood them. Dirania and Iverron were elf names and the rest was easy.
“ok”
They came to the cave. Lurid green spiders of monstrous size patrolled the entrance. They were in range. Fasi clicked on one and pressed 2 for auto-shoot. Arwin nocked an arrow and loosed just as Turgon ran up to attack. He battled the great spider with sword and buckler, while Arwin’s shafts, one after another, found their mark. Soon, with a despairing rattle, the creature reared and fell back, it’s legs curled up.
Hilary High
“I have to teach the whole syllabus, and some children really want to learn. I’m concerned for some of the girls, whose time is being wasted. Fasi has often been a nuisance and he has some quite sexist attitudes. As an example: Today we were reading parts from ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream.’ It’s a play. By William Shakespeare?”
She looked enquiringly at Mr Austin, who was wondering what sexist attitudes were and what they had to do with Fasi. Shakespeare? Some Palangi fella. He nodded, and she continued.
“One of the girls, Lorraine, was reading the part of the elf queen, Titania. It would have been quite difficult for Fasi. But she respects his Fa’asamoa, so he should respect her Pakeha culture, don’t you think? He was laughing and distracting her. Then, after she sat down, he threw this.”
From a folder on her desk she took a piece of paper. It had first been crumpled, then carefully smoothed out. She handed it to Mr Austin. He read it quickly, smiling to show he understood it. The smile was not well received. Abruptly, she demanded it back.
“I need that. Lorraine’s father wants to see it.”
As she said it, she realised it wasn’t strictly true. What Mr Anderson had said, in a short and rather odd phone conversation, was that Lorraine ‘wanted her note back’.
What on earth did Mr Austin have to smile about? She glanced again at the incomprehensible and to her rather suggestive biro scrawl.
‘c u n wow’ it said.
Shadowglen
Inside the cave, they slew many of the monsters. Fasi enjoyed playing as Arwin, the shadowy huntress, friend and companion of Lorraine’s warrior, Turgon. If anyone at school compared him to a girl he’d have to hit them, but that was school. This was a pleasant change. He let Lorraine’s warrior, Turgon, do most of the fighting, helping with arrows. Being a female was cool in wow. The abilities for males and females were exactly the same anyway.
Turgon was named after an Elvish King, in some book Lorraine had read. Arwin was named after that elf princess in the Lord of The Rings movies. They had now flattened the spiders in this part of the cave. Maybe if he started a warrior of his own he would call her Titania. That was a good name. Where was that missing fella they were supposed to find?
“were is he” Fasi typed.
“I don’t know. He doesn’t seem to be here. Let’s go back outside.”
“ok.”
They found Iverron in a narrow valley to the west. He crouched, weak and helpless, as the elf huntress approached.
‘I'm glad you found me, Arwin.’
Turgon arived and they both knelt beside him.
‘Ughhh... I was bitten very badly while exploring the spider cave. I have been seriously poisoned. Please tell Dirania Silvershine. She will be able to help me.
Fasi had not quite finished reading as the words faded on the screen. He wasn’t quite sure what had happened to Iverron, but Lorraine would be, and Turgon would tell him.
“He was poisoned” the warrior announced. “We have to go to Dirania.”
Fasi knew what he wanted to say, and took most of a minute saying it, as they ran back to Aldrassil.
‘ok turgon
im rite bhind u’
Hilary High
As he left the classroom Mr Austin kept his head down, since he couldn’t help grinning about that vale teacher. She couldn’t read Fasi’s note. Why should he help her, when she made him feel so musu.
Anyway, some teacher! ‘c u n wow’ – ‘see you in World of Warcraft’. It meant the game. Fasi wanted to play with that Palangi girl. How come the teacher couldn’t read a simple thing like that?