Disclaimer: This is a fictional follow-up to my fictional review of a fictional game: "Octopodes and Car Crashes" The original article can be found here: http://www.destructoid.com/blogs/tangoliber/review-of-octopodes-and-car-crashes-2-10--167072.phtml



Last night I received this email, in response to my review of "Octopodes and Car Crashes."


Begin Email...

"I am the girl in Octopodes and Car Crashes. In case you didn't notice, the entire population of "Rimbaud's city" are clones, so I am really all of the girls. Rimbaud showed up at my apartment in Dubai about one year ago with a Asian friend/employee of his. I had no prior knowledge that they were coming. The stayed for about an hour, photographed me from every angle imaginable and then left.

Although I didn't know who Rimbaud was, and didn't know how he found my address, I never wondered why he sought me out. Lots of people are familiar with my face. I'm one of those girls who posts photographs on the internet and has a modest flickr following.

Don't ask me why I do it. It's just what I do.

Rimbaud was a little peculiar, I suppose, but there was nothing really memorable about him. His beard is a little patchy, and I suggested that he would look better shaved. He is of somewhat diminutive stature – but then I am something of an Amazon, or so I have been told. His Asian friend/employee was really much better looking and better dressed them hes was. His friend also seemed to know more about photography than he did. His friend also seemed to talk for him. Rimbaud hardly ever spoke.

I had a complete collection of the "Real" Rimbaud's poetry on a shelf. I asked him which one he liked, and he said he never read poetry. He asked if he could have a glass of water, and I pointed the way to the kitchen. Later, after they left, I noticed that half of my refrigerator's contents was missing. He must have stuffed them into his camera bag.

I didn't hear from him ever again. He didn't even send me a link to the download; one of my flickr followers forwarded it to me. I'm not much for computer games, but I felt that watching myself was a very relaxing experience. I usually let the game run while I sleep.

I'm sorry if you were hoping for some more information. But this is all I know."

End Email...



What is interesting to me is the similarities and contrast between her own photography and the octopodes' photography. Her flickr account explains that she typically places a camera somewhere in her bedroom and leaves it to take snapshots at random times throughout the day. All of the selections are completely random (unlike the Octopodes selection which is governed by some form of "good composition algorithm", probably the most impressive and the only original technology in the Octopodes and Car Crashes.)

She puts a lot of value on the randomness, and yet I find that the pictures never manage to appear random. Take a picture of her at any "random" moment and you can find contrapuntal form, as if her body was always splitting into two individuals mimicking two melodies, right side or left side, or upper body and lower body. She always contains something poignant and something labyrinthine in her posture. Except when she smokes, at which point she becomes uncharacteristically flat.