One Thousand Word Challenge 273: An Easy Day

Posted on April 6, 2026 by Stupidity Hole

What a day. What a day it has been.

So shortly after getting the previous rambling up, I left my place. I was heading to a café where one of my favorite baristas work. Was going to catch the bus, decided to walk there instead.

Normally public transport would be fine, but in this particular instance I was able to do the walk in less time than it would have taken to wait for the bus, then walk from the bus stop. It was a walk slightly over forty minutes, too. Normally fifteen minutes to drive there, too. At most.

It was a nice enough walk. Good tunes playing, pleasant temperature, all those things. And it was quiet, too, which was also appreciable. Just a nice, quiet and easy walk.

I walked through Campsie and went past a place there a bunch of people I used to know lived at one point. This is going back years ago, and I spent a bit of time there. Probably not as much as I think I may have, but it was enough. It looked mostly the same, just a little bit older. A little bit more worn out. I’d been past the place a good few times over the years, and this time it was more just a place I had been to a few times than it was anything else, and I could appreciate that. I could appreciate it not being much of anything to me, but those memories will come back at some point, I imagine.

What affected me was walking past Cooks River. I saw the pathway that runs along it, and whilst I still live near the river, it’s not the same. I realised I missed the area of Croydon Park that I was walking through, and I missed being able to walk that bit of the river freely. Where I am now, it’s fine. It’s nice. It’s not the same. Never is, really.

But I thought about the space, and I remember during lockdown walking along there and seeing more birds out than I previously had, and it was quite wonderful to witness. It was incredibly pleasant. And the space was pleasant at almost any given time, anyway. A breeze blowing through felt better than in other areas, somehow.

But I found myself missing it heavily, and wanting to be back there, freely. Be back there with a person I no longer know, walking along, taking it all in. Appreciating the space for what it is and appreciating that time I’d have with them, and the only aim is to just head to a point and head back, and take it easy. Take it all in and be at ease in life, because that’s about all that would need to be done, walking along there, seeing some other people. Walking along and hearing birds and seeing some, and enjoying life as it is. It’d be wonderful. But things change, and the areas we leave are images we remember. They’re not the same when we return.

And so I got to the café and spoke with the barista a bit, and then I walked back, once again doing the walk faster than I would have if I waited for the bus. A bus I could’ve caught did go past at one point, but I still managed to get back to where I live faster than if waiting for the bus I was “meant” to wait for.

The walk back was as uneventful as the walk there. Nothing too interesting. Not many people around still. Just an easy walk back to where I live, albeit a rather sweaty one. I was pretty wrecked by the time it was all over, and then I head to head out once more, this time to look at a vehicle, and that was less eventful than the walk. Less draining, too, which was fine by me. I prefer to be less, rather than more drained. Not sure why I’d want to be feeling things more when I can be feelings things less, though I’m feeling the drain quite heavily right now. The way it goes and all that, really. And now I sit here, going on about nothing, trying to stave off fatigue for a little bit longer so I can try and make sure the day hasn’t been a waste of sorts.

That walk took it out of me, but it was necessary, I think. I’m feeling it. I’m feeling exhausted. I need more exercise. I’ve let myself go a bit too much, so it’s time to get back into the swing of things. Just get back into being fit and staying fit. And healthy. Need to stay healthy, too. Need to try, at least. Doing an absolutely awful job of that at the moment, but I will keep trying.

I need to probably stop thinking about the past so much, too. What was was, and I’m still here. I’m still alive, trying to get on with the getting on. Trying to keep my head above water. Trying to not slip into some sort of obsolescence. Just need to keep going and not think of times that perhaps I consider as being better than where I currently am. Just need to keep on going.

And so, what else is there to say? I was hoping to get a bit more out of talking about walking, but  maybe I should’ve written this earlier in the day. Had I done so, I imagine I would’ve gotten a better result. But sometimes these things happen. Sometimes you think you’re gonna get something done and then you don’t, and when you get to it the moment has passed. There are worse things in the world, really. This is okay. The day was good, it started well. There was some sadness and a good deal of joy, and now I’m here, taking it easy. And soon I will be asleep, potentially dreaming up some sort of experience.

The time it took to write one thousand words: 16:54:78

Bit slow and the writing is quite lacking.

Written at home.

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One Thousand Word Challenge 272: I Should’ve had More Sleep Before Writing This

Posted on April 6, 2026 by Stupidity Hole

Early morning. Time to get started. Big day. It needs to be a big day. I need to find my way through all the broken hours of sleep and all the fatigue, and finally wake up to the morning.

It is yet to be six, and it is closer to five. Soon it will be closer to six, however. And I have to wonder as to why I’m awake. It’s not to be productive, but there will be productivity. At least, I hope there will be productivity.

So sitting in a dark room, shutters closed, lights on. Sitting here trying to pick up from where I left off. Going to do a rather ridiculous amount of writing today. Going to get it all done, all tidied up, and then I’m running free. Or something. Might not be. Have plans, have ideas, they will be thrown away like all good ideas and plans are. But we’ll see what happens.

So I’m just trying to warm up right now and I’m trying to shake out all the mess of words that currently flood my head. Mainly I want to write about how close to the end I am, but I don’t want to do that at the same time. Finality has its time and place, and its price, and I’m not willing to pay right now. That can come later.

So today is going to be a productive day. So what? Who cares? Other than me and the other people who care? No one, of course. And I’m already running on fumes. Running on empty. Or not, as actually I’m being quite aware of the time as I need to leave and head off soon. There are things I’m taking care of this morning and I really want to take care of them. Then I need to come back and take care of other stuff. And then I lock down and just hammer our words upon words, and I do that between everything, too. But today is the start of an intense week of just producing words upon words, and getting it all done. And then I have next week, too. It’ll not be fun, but I’ve set out to do it and it’ll be interesting to see if I can actually do it. Good prep and all that.

And then what? Where do I go from there? Weeks of words, weeks of mess. Weeks of thoughts spinning in and out of frame, finding their viewpoint, finding their position. All coming together in an image that doesn’t look good, but makes sense.

Why did I decided to do this now? I have so many other things that I could be doing.

It’s now closer to six than it is five and I’m needing to get ready. Also needing to go to the bathroom. I can hear a little bit of bird outside and that’s a nice way to get into the swing of things. That’s a nice way to feel that the morning is here, and the morning is here so I need to start getting ready and get into it all. Need to leave soon. The sun is rising and I want to be able to get a glimpse of that. See it come up and poke its head through the dark, though the dark will be gone by that point so what does it matter anyway? It’s gonna look nice regardless.

I’ve a few things to get through and I’ve already said this so why am I saying it again? The only thing I should be concerning myself with at the moment is going forward into the tomorrow of today and going for a long walk that will lead to sore legs, but it will be worth it. It always is. And then I get to the other stuff and… maybe I shouldn’t me writing on a lack of sleep.

Feeling tired, feeling it all, feeling nothing, but at least I’ve got Pearl Jam playing. I’ve got music going and I’m in a good position in life. I’m here, I’m ready, and I’m ready to get on with the getting on. I’m ready to find my way and find my way through a busy and intense day. There will be things happening and I won’t be able to enjoy them as I need to lock down, and I will be locking down on all of the words.

Alright, I think the reason why I’m writing this crap right now is just to warm up. But I can feel my cranium rattling, but what’s in there is not an idea, but rather a a bit of trash that is having difficulty getting out of there, so I rattle some more. I rattle and rattle and I rattle some more, and I shake and shimmy and some other things that will help me pad this out so I can get to the target, and then it doesn’t come out and I’m left here wondering as to what I can do about the whole thing. The only thing I can do, I guess, is not look at the keyboard and type away which is what I’m currently doing, and now I’m looking again and this really is the pits. This really is the lowest of the low.

I’m hurting language. I’m damaging words. I’m causing irreparable harm to the eyes and that’s the way I don’t like it. I’m still listening to Pearl Jam and now I’m thinking “Alright gents, you can stop now”, but it’s me who has the power to stop them from playing. All I have to do is switch the music off and then that will be done. That will be that. I still let it play, however, as I enjoy it, but right now is not the best time. Right now could be a better time, but I’ve left one song on repeat and so I’m just hurting myself now and I’ll keep hurting myself until I stop.

The time it took to write one thousand words: 11:40:08

Fun to write, but just trash.

Written at home.

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One Thousand Word Challenge 271: Mental Health Stuff

Posted on April 5, 2026 by Stupidity Hole

It’s still the afternoon and I’m still driven, so I might as well churn out some more. Might as well keep on going, try to find more space to churn out more words and drive, drive on to wherever it all leads.

I’ve been feeling like absolute shit for a good few weeks. Just rough, horrid, all those things. I’ve been feeling it and going through the motions. A lot of dark thoughts. A lot of potential no going backs, and I have to say, I’m glad I did not take those steps. But I’ve been in a retched state, my mind flipping and churning and tossing and taking me to places I don’t want to go. Places I never want to go to. But I’m still here,.

There are a lot of rough times in my life, and I’ve gotten through them all. It doesn’t get easier, but it doesn’t get more difficult, either. The way to handle them changes, and if you’re not handling them in a healthy way, then they are going to get more intense over time, unless you’re lucky, in which case, I’m glad you are.

I can sit here and say this without much issue as I feel I’m fine, but there’s a good change that I’;m not out of the woods as of yet. There’s a good chance that I still have a long way to go to get through it all and keep on going. But you know, there’s no point in stopping, for me. There are some who will over time, and that’s tragic, but there are reasons why they choose to exit early. And you try and help, but if they choose to do that, they are not selfish. They are struggling and have come to a point where they genuinely believe that it is for the best. But you have to try where you can, because these are people who deserve better in their lives.

We all deserve better, really, and perhaps we do not allow ourselves enough to get better. It’s never as good as we want it. And we should make sure it is better for others. Life, that is. There’s too much shit, too much suffering. Too much pain and misery that we let slide on by for no good reason, and I don’t know why we keep letting it happen. It doesn’t make sense to me.

It’s always good to try and help others where you can. I’ve had some frie3nds help me through the absolute shit I’ve been through, and especially over the last year and the last few weeks. But I was doing awfully, and it was tough.

It was tough to get through all of that heavy emotion, all that weighted pain that I was carrying upon myself. As said just before, there’s a good chance I still have a long way to go, but I’m getting there. If I’m not fine now, I’m getting there.

It’s all a journey and all that other crap that people say, but the thing is it feels more like an ordeal. A constant raining down of rage and ruin, and pain blossoms like nothing else. It just keeps on going and you’re pressed down, crushed, subjugated by what’s affecting you. It just keeps going and it doesn’t stop, and it’s tiring. It’s so incredibly tiring, but you have to keep going if you can. And that’s what I’ve done and that’s what I’m continuing to do.

To speak a bit more personally, I’m going through the process of getting a mental health plan organised. It’ll help, I hope.

To speak a bit more personally. As though this already isn’t quite personal.

But I got lucky. I got lucky in getting at least to a point where I can write the way I’m writing right now. Where I can churn out words like tomorrow is not coming. Where I can get things done. There are so many people who aren’t lucky in that regard. So many people forgotten about because they’re fine, no need to check up on them. But you need to check up on people. You need to make sure that they are okay. There are so many who aren’t and there are so many who see things like R U Okay? day as a chance for people to make incredibly token gestures, and it doesn’t help. You need to actually check on people. Check on your friends.

What if the reason your friends’ attitudes are getting a bit iffy is that they’re going through hell? What if it’s because they’re suffering and no one checks in on them and instead all that people do is react? Sometimes it’s fucking hard to reach out to people. Sometimes it feels like the hardest thing in the world, and yeah, we have an obligation to seek help where we can, but we also have an obligation to make sure the people in our lives are okay. And maybe they are, which is awesome. And maybe they aren’t, and your reaching out of your own accord just to check in on someone is what might’ve given them the little bit they needed to be able to go reach out and seek help.

This stuff can become too much to hear, that is true. We still try where we can. We try and we keep going, and we keep working at it.

Sometimes I feel so worn down and broken. Sometimes I feel hopeless about where my life is going, and sometimes I crash. Sometimes I don’t see a way out. I’m lucky. I’m lucky I’ve got the people in my life that care about me and are there for me when I need them and there for me when I don’t. I’m lucky that I get to see them and talk to them, and I’m lucky that I’m not spiraling right now. But it’s early days. Always is, and so I just need to keep on going.

The time it took to write one thousand words: 14:24:79

Bit slower, bit more thoughtful. Still a mess. I think I’m getting across what I was hoping to get across, however.

Written at home.

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One Thousand Word Challenge 270: An Exercise in Gibberish

Posted on April 5, 2026 by Stupidity Hole

Usual don’t know what to write about crap and you know how all of that goes, so I’m not going to go on about it. Instead, I’m going to complain about one of my housemates and their usual showers that go for around forty minutes. Regularly. Frequently. Like clockwork.

It’s annoying and that’s all I have to say about it, really.

But I’ wondering if I will finish this before they finish their shower. Probably not. Yet to find out. Only one way and all that other stuff that sounds good when put into writing.

So I sit here and there aren’t many days left. A lot of writing to go, still. A lot of cleaning up to do. Can get it done, but probably won’t and now I’m kind of okay with that, to be honest. Getting there, getting through the things. Getting through it all, trying to think about other things. My mind is elsewhere right now and that’s not a good place to be. I’ll get there though. I’ll get through it all and I’ll get my say in and then that will be that, and I’ll move to wherever next. Whatever comes next is whatever is on my plate. Whatever is on my plate is actually quite a lot of writing about things and those things getting put down onto paper and then that paper going into the mail and that mail being found by the right people at the right time so it can be disposed of in the proper way. That’s the way it ways, or so they say along the way.

But I need to think about the next few hours. I want today to be bloated and it most certainly isn’t/ This is an issue as I’m trying to create more mess and more work, and if I don’t have the bloat here with me, or with you, then how am I creating enough mess? All I’ll have is a pleasant tidiness and that is most definitely not what I want.

I’m gonna be so burned out at the end of this all.

So now I need to think about things and how those things go here and there, and there and here, and I wonder as to when they will find a way to collide with each other and how they will do that and the other things that they will do, and now I have to wonder if I’m really saying anything at all. I mean, I know I am saying something, but I still want to actually say something rather than what I have been saying, which is very little. I want to find the right words at the right time and get it all said and done and then get on with my life. Still, plenty of things to do and places to be and other things to find along the way, and maybe, just maybe, I will get to the bottom of the nothingness that fills my heart with silence when the moon shines its greying light upon a vast ocean that reaches far deeper than I’ll ever know. It’s the way it goes and sometimes on Sundays the weather reveals where the real path into the depths lies, and realistically it;s all internal stuff anyway.

But of course that doesn’t really say much of anything at all. That’s just a bunch of words thrown together, and sure, they’re thrown together well enough, but that’s all that is. Nothing more, nothing less. The way it goes and the way it will be. And then there will be other things, too. So therefore… yeah.

I know I’ll be writing more crap after this, and I’m glad I’m actually getting started, but I already want to take it easy. I’ve been relaxing all afternoon, so I don’t think I can justify it, but I want to be able to justify it.

Housemate finished showering.

But I want to be lazy for the rest of the day, and to be honest I want to stop doing this now. But I’ve got a target and it’s not too far away, and I’m gonna hit it and then that will be that. Nothing more, nothing else. All good times, bad times, and I know I’ve had my share.

So for now I keep on racing forward. I keep racing to whatever lies into tomorrow, and I take my time and do what I can to get there in all the pieces that are known as one. I know that come tomorrow, I’ll be ramping things up considerably as I don’t have much of a choice, but I can get there. I’ve been through worse in my life. I’ve done a lot with my life and made the most of a lot of time. I can get to whatever lies ahead and whatever lies in tomorrow. I can do that without much issue, I hope. I really do hope.

Regardless of what happens, I’ll he here beavering away. I’ll be getting all the things caught up and tidy and that starts today, really. Well, it starts now as most of today is gone but I suppose that still constitutes today, but you know how these things go.

Soon I’ll be back on the road and I’ll be making my way around, through things, through places, through spaces… all of those things. I’ll be getting on with the getting on and on I will be getting on with the on getting, and then sometimes it will be the other way around. Or it won’t. Who knows?

So this has mostly been an exercise in gibberish, but that’s okay. It’s okay to write absolute shit sometimes, so long as you keep working on getting better with your writing. So long as you keep working on your craft. So long as you do that, you could very well be fine. Or you could not. There are many ways things could go, and it depends on approach.

The time it took to write one thousand words: 10:44:35

Much faster than the prior one. Not great writing, but still much faster and I’m happy about that.

Written at home.

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Mercury, Part 2

Posted on April 5, 2026 by Stupidity Hole

So here’s part 2 (part 1 here). Decided to share the whole thing because why not. It’s not good writing, though participating in NaNoWriMo was never about writing well, but rather (among other things) getting a workable draft manuscript that could then be worked into a presentable one.

I hope you enjoy.

—

Harvey had been twiddling their thumbs for a while now. It was a day off, or at least a month off and it was well earned – paid too – and it looked like it was going to end up extending farther. They were waiting for some news to come through about fixing their mixing interface, and sure, they could’ve read something, but they didn’t feel like reading much. It was a listless day and they were most certainly feeling listless.

Plenty of time was spent staring at the ceiling of their bedroom, and some time was spent on the couch without switching on the TV. They thought they’d try and watch something to pass the time but they couldn’t think of anything they wanted to watch. Sometimes the days felt like they dragged into years into decades, and they certainly did, but not in the way that they felt to Harvey at that particular point in time.

It was a calm and quiet afternoon, and perhaps the first bit of time when Harvey felt like there was a true silence, or at least whatever idea of silence their tinnitus would allow them to believe, for it was something they could no longer remember, though they certainly could imagine an idea of what silence sounded like.

As they were plodding around Cave woke up, came out of their room and made their way to the kitchen. Coffee was brewed, for it was an evening day for Cave, and soon coffee was had. They parked themselves next to Harvey and spoke.

“You know, isn’t it interesting that when Mercury is in retrograde, technology doesn’t work as well as it usually does?”

“That’s a load of shit. You know that, right?”

“No, it’s true.”

This was a conversation that Harvey didn’t feel much like having, but they were drawn in in the way that they usually were. It was not something worth fighting. Cave had their beliefs, and regardless of how fallacious they were Harvey knew it was not possible to get Cave to think of the alternatives that had dispelled the beliefs that people once held about the planets. It was not a hill worth dying on, and yet Harvey would, more often than not, fall into this argument. It was almost as though Cave were intentionally trying to bait him, to get Harvey to fight, and sometimes it was also as though Cave was happier to have the argument.

Harvey wondered if Cave held some sort of power over him in this regard, as though he had the ability to command Harvey into a pointless argument. Harvey wondered if Cave knew about this power, and wondered if it was intentional. Maybe it wasn’t but there still was some sort of compelling about it that he could not get past, and so, instead of getting off the couch and walking away, he bit.

“The planets do not affect how technology works.”

“But haven’t you noticed that your phone doesn’t work as well when Mercury is in retrograde?”

“Cave, Mercury Retrograde refers to a pattern where Mercury looks like it is moving backward in the sky. It is not a real thing other than a slight optical illusion. It is not the planet actually moving backward. The planet is far away; it’s not in the sky, but we are able to see it with the right tools. It does not affect technology. It just does its thing and then fucks off.”

“Then what about your interface?”

“Mercury wasn’t in retrograde when it died.”

“You were having problems beforehand though, and they’d always happen at specific times.”

“They were increasing over time and it was due to the interface being old and my not giving it required maintenance. That has nothing to do with Mercury.”

“So you say, but it happens all the time. You just don’t want to notice it because it’s a routine thing.”

At this point, for once, Harvey found an out and they took it. They told Cave they were going to go for a walk to kill some time, got off the couch and left.

The air was brisk and crisp, and it made for a pleasant experience. Harvey’s pace was firm and steady, but they didn’t feel much like doing the walk as it was. It was more just the only chance they felt they had to get away from Cave and so they had to take it. They were hoping they’d hear back about his interface sooner rather than later. Having it break just as they were on paid leave was the worst time. More time than usual to work on music, and an inability to make much of it meant more conversations they were being drawn into that they did not want to take part of.

On that particular evening Mercury was going to be in retrograde once more, as it always was, and it was something they started to think about. Maybe they’d go check it out; maybe not, but they knew that it would come up again the moment they got home and so they did their best to buy more time.

They looked at some nearby playground equipment, quiet due to school hours still being quite in at that particular time of the day. They walked past the shops, past the local pub, past their train station and they kept on walking. They almost walked out of town, though it was easy enough to leave from the shops. They thought about walking to the observatory but decided against it, gave up and headed home.

When they got there they saw Cave reading on the couch and decided to head back out.

“I’m gonna head off.”

“You just got back.”

“I’m gonna go see Mercury in retrograde.”

“Thought that wasn’t your thing.”

“I don’t mind the planets. I mind the woo you attach to them.”

“Not my problem if you refuse to accept what is right in front of you.”

“They’re not right in front of me. I’m gonna go watch it. You can come if you want, but not a word.”

Cave was taken slight aback by this but accepted the offer. Soon the two of them were off, walking along to a clear viewing point. It was dusk and it stretched itself out.

The sounds of locusts were heavily audible, though it also seemed as though they were reaching across over a distance that was unable to be discerned. It matted little, but for a moment Harvey felt that they’d be able to remember silence if they pictured the place without the sound of locusts.

Eventually they found a good spot and just in time as Mercury began its movement across the sky, long and drawn out, though quite quick and efficient. The two stood there, staring out into space, watching the planet make its slow dance across the sky.

When Mercury began the retrograde path began to glow a little brighter than usual and sit began to leave a trail, or more accurately, Mercury seemed to grow in length, stretching out from the starting point of the retrograde path.

As the planet did this it went on with its usual appearing to go backward through the sky, but it seemed to also go backward in a forward motion. Understandably this is how it would normally appear, but on this particular path it seemed more so like that description. Harvey was perplexed by what they were witnessing, though they didn’t quite see everything. Cave was shocked and felt a deep sense of foreboding as the planet behaved in a way they didn’t expect.

Eventually Mercury’s path was complete and once it left the retrograde path it cut off from its elongated body, seeming to tear away. As it floated away the body disintegrated and it was as though it was never there. There was a deep silence between Harvey and Cave as they thought to themselves about what just happened. Individually they tried to recapture the image in their minds, but it seemed to reshape itself.

“You just saw that, right?”

“Yeah. That was amazing. You ever see anything like that?”

“No, never.”

“Maybe there is something to this Mercury retrograde crap. Maybe I can see why you believe such bullshit.”

“No, that was weird. Look, beliefs or not, that was weird. I… I don’t know what the make of that.”

“Yeah, but it was still nice. That has to be some sort of rare cosmic phenomena.”

“Yeah, maybe. Maybe we should speak to the eggheads in the observatory about that.”

“How unlike you. Anyway, maybe their technology didn’t work as well.”

“Yeah, you can stop now.”

“Alright. Look, how about we go get some food? Go get something to eat? Go to the pub and give some time to work out what we just saw?”

“Yeah, okay.”

And so they walked home first as it was on the way, and they tried to discuss what they saw, to try and make sense of it, but as they tried the more questions they had. Of course, they weren’t astronomers and lacked the terminology and understanding to make sense in a completely scientific manner. They were both artists of different types and styles and so the way they talked about what they saw came across in the form of logic that they themselves knew and understood. In this way they were able to interpret in an artistic exploration without issue, and through there they may have reached an answer, but ultimately they were no closer to understanding than they were when they bore witness to what they saw, and so they stumbled.

The closer to home they grew, the more impassioned their discussion became. Harvey was unable to divine through logic and Cave knew of no attached symbolism to the event, let along knew of the event they witnessed as existing before this evening. They even questioned if they had really seen anything or if they had both just happened to imagine the whole thing. Still, it was now over and they were hungry and felt a desire to drink, but they couldn’t shake the sense of foreboding.

As Harvey and Cave went to the pub, Cave couldn’t help but wonder if that same foreboding was creeping its way into Harvey.

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Perspective

Posted on April 5, 2026 by Stupidity Hole

Whilst wandering around the dunes I was at a few months ago I took a photo of this person around this spot. Checked it, realised how it looked, then (if I remember correctly)  I asked the person to stay where they were and got the photo.

I really like this as it’s a perspective trick, and whilst it could be better, I think the photo turned out really well. We were in a massive area which helps the person look smaller than they are, and I like how that smallness comes through. It’s a big world out there.

This is my submission into the three hundred-and-ninety-second Lens-Artists Photo Challenge. The theme for this one is “Framing Your Shots“. Specifically, it’s based around using the fore, middle, and background together to frame the scene.

In this instance most of the framing is comes from the foreground with the vegetation cutting into the middle and background. The slope of the dune in the background helps to make the vegetation feel larger and more enclosing as it goes into the branches. The middle ground being mostly uniform creates a lack of depth is also important here as it’s part of what helps make the person feel small.

The host of the Lens-Artists challenges cycles weekly between the following people:

Tina

Patti

Ann-Christine aka Leya

John Steiner

Sofia Alves

Anne Sandler

Egídio

Ritva

Beth

This one is curated by Patti. The next one is curated by Sofia.

I recommend joining the community and participating in the challenges. They’re pretty straightforward, allow room for interpretation, and provide a good way to think about photography in general. If not, however, then at the very least you should check out what others submit to the challenges.

I hope you enjoy.

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One Thousand Word Challenge 269: Rambling About Deep Forest

Posted on April 4, 2026 by Stupidity Hole

I’m listening to Deep Forest’s Deep Forest, an album (or at least some of the songs on it) that a good few people around my age are aware of as it’s music we heard when we were very young children, and “Sweet Lullaby” was used on SBS quite a lot through the nineties. It was used so much that some people consider the song SBS’ theme song, or at least associate it with SBS more than anything else.

I can’t defend listening to this album. It is rather problematic when it comes to cultural misrepresentation. I can only imagine that Deep Forest had good intentions, but there’s a clear ignorance here, and the result is an album that puts forward culture and peoples as exotic. It’s also music that often is employed, unthinkingly, by people firmly entrenched in cosmic woo, and who often have shitty beliefs tied into their embracing of cosmic woo. Not all people, but it occurs often enough.

So I can’t defend listening to an album that, for all of its hokey sound and how it puts forward other people, I still enjoy. It’s a cheap and tacky album. Deep Forest were in a position to try and say something genuine and ask questions, and maybe that was part of their intent. Maybe they were trying to highlight the music of other cultures and how it wasn’t all that different to Western cultures. I don’t know. I don’t know what the whole intent was here, but it doesn’t land. And I can’t defend my enjoying it, either.

I’m not trying to defend Deep Forest, or Deep Forest for that matter. I feel that that’s not a good idea for a number of reasons. However, I do want to say that I do enjoy the album as it is enjoyable, despite what it is. There’s something about it and the way it is crafted that appeals to me, and sometimes it really makes me feel things. Right now it’s making me feel things and I don’t like that too much, but what can I do? I could listen to other stuff of course, but this is what’s on my mind. This is what my ears want to hear and so this is what I’m going to listen to right now. Of course I have choices, but right now it’s this. Later on it’ll be something else, assuming I even get around to something else. I could just stick to this and put it on repeat a few times.

For me, a lot of this album is about the sound of it and the way the sounds integrate with each other. Everything seems to fit quite well, which I guess is fortunate for the group, because if it didn’t this album would be worth more criticism. Then again, it probably would also be forgotten.

Listening to Deep Forest makes me wonder as to how much music we listen to that’s problematic that we’ll hand-wave any criticism because we enjoy it. How far will we go to defend the indefensible? I wonder about this, and I think it’s important to think about. I don’t think it’s something we think about enough, because we often engage in a lot of problematic content and often that is unknowingly. It’s quite easy to be an active participant in supporting issues we’re not aware of, and if we spent a bit more time thinking about what we consume, I imagine that this would start changing a bit. Or at least, I’d hope it’d lead to some changes.

What I think is important is that, if you are going to engage in problematic media, you have to be willing to discuss the media itself, why it is problematic, what those problems lead to, the history of them… all that stuff. If you’re willing to get deep on something that you like or engage with, you should be willing to get deep on how it fits within the cultural landscape and how it might contribute to various issues. Otherwise if you’re going to get defensive about enjoying a work, you might just not be mature enough to admit that you could be contributing to issues, or you might not be willing to be accountable for your own actions.

On a personal level, it can be a tell of who would be better to avoid and who would be better to keep in my life, because something I’ve found is that often people who aren’t willing to discuss issues are the same people who will spout heinous shit without thinking, then proceed to try and defend it.

This might seem a bit moralistic, but I do place a lot of importance on this stuff. I think it’s important as it can help people grow and be informed, and people who are informed can make better decisions.

So I’m listening to Deep Forest’s Deep Forest and I’m enjoying it, but I will not defend it. There is a good chance that it did have some positive impact and did bring a general awareness of other cultures out there, but I don’t know how significant that impact would have been, if indeed it had an impact at all. Sure, it was a massive album, but a massive album does not mean massive awareness. Sometimes that just doesn’t happen. Still, if it meant a few more people started thinking about things on a larger scale, then that is some positive change. That is some awareness gained, and so that’s a good thing, I think. But that doesn’t make the album any less problematic.

Where does this album sit now? Where does it sit in the present, against contemporary music? Has it been influential on the shape of sound? I don’t know. It came and went, and it lasted a while in some places. In Australia, as a child I heard it a fair bit, or at least a few of the tracks, and so did many people around my age.

The time it took to write one thousand words: 20:58:32

Slow. I was thinking too much about what I was writing and how to get it across. Happy with what I said, but not happy with how I went about saying it.

Written at home.

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One Thousand Word Challenge 268: Plough Through

Posted on April 3, 2026 by Stupidity Hole

Waking up at four in the morning wasn’t great, but it happens. Choosing to stay awake instead of going back to sleep was, however, a bad idea. It’s not like I didn’t feel tired, either. I just chose to stay awake.

My thinking was that I’d get started on a productive day. Just give myself an hour or two to relax, take it easy, then go from there. Well, it’s now late into the afternoon and I’ve done nothing. I’ve paid the price for my own transgressions and I have no one to blame other than myself, and in this instance I am going to do nothing beyond blaming myself.

Well, I’m also going to get started on things, but other than that I’m not going to do anything else beyond the blaming of myself.

But yeah. What a day. What a loss. Sitting here trying to get started and failing miserably. It’s taken a lot of time and I’m now here, but at least I am starting. But I definitely have reckoned with my decision and I’ve felt I’ve let myself down. At the very least, someone is being let down. That’s a good thing. Or a bad thing. Or a thing.

So I get to sit here and crap on about how tired I am and about how I’ve screwed up by losing a day. I’ve still three more to plough through, howsoever. I can get back on track and getting back on track is what I intend to do… if I actually bother. I don’t know. I think I’d rather let the lack of sleep carry me away to wherever, and that wherever is likely to be somewhere down, sinking. Sinking into a deep sleep on a nice and comfortable bed of my choosing. One of the right materials and make and all of those other things, and that’d be quite exciting, actually. I could get behind that, or in front of that. It’s something I definitely could, but not always.

But yeah. Tired, carrying on, going forward one stumble at a time. Doing this in a brightened room as the light outside is not powerful enough to get inside enough to not warrant using the light at this particular time of the day, thus forcing my hand and so therefore I am forced to use the light if I want to not strain my eyes. This is not something I want to do as it means I have to admit defeat. The time of day has defeated me and now I can’t do much about that. I just have to keep on going, keep on hoping for the best.

But how can I hope for the best when the best is so far beyond me and my meagre understanding? How do I hope for something that I do not know. How dare I deign to hope for something greater than what I am, which is merely adequate?

I don’t know why I keep putting myself into this position. I don’t know why I allow myself to keep on having a certain feeling that leads to me thinking that the best is attainable in my life when all I will do is miss it. It’ll come to me and go “Hey, I’m the best” and I’ll just keep on walking by. I need to switch off my blind spots and switch on my seeing spots and actually use my eyes.

Alright so not that that bit of silliness is out of the way, I can focus on whichever is the next bit of silliness. It’s one of those things that is yet to be determined. I have no idea as to when it will arrive, and that’s even if it does arrive. There’s so many things getting in the way. So many things to consider. I have no idea. I am not a silliness detector… which is a lie because of reasons. Yes, reasons. I cannot go into them for other reasons that I also cannot get into, and it’s all a pointlessly complex web of things and events and other stuff that’s not worth getting into that makes it so, and so therefore I just need to go with it all, and so do you.

And anyway, who really wants to know why things are the way they are and lead to the things when really we just want to know the things at the end of it all? Who has the time for full and lengthy explanations that go nowhere, or could go somewhere? Who really has the time for that? I don’t think anyone does. We’ve got so much to get through every day and yet we are expected to listen to things that take precious seconds, minutes, or hours! And potentially a combination of the three. So don’t worry about the explanation. I’m not going to get into it as it’s just a waste of your time. It’s also a waste of my time.

This is not a place to waste time. This place is only a place to fill and use time efficiently and effectively. Wasting time is a waste of time and that’s not something I want to be doing to people, if I may be honest. We all have our days to get on with and we all have our evenings to return to, and there’s not much day left, anyway. That also means that soon I will be sleeping and sleep is the thing that I do so very much enjoy when I get it… if I get it.

It’s going to be a long night, or a short night, or roughly the length an average night is, and maybe I’ll sleep heavily and maybe I won’t. It doesn’t matter, anyway. What matters is that I am detecting the silliness between now and later, and I will find it somehow. I will come across it in some manner. I will come across it through the power of brilliant detection.

The time it took to write one thousand words: 11:32:31

Not the best work I’ve done, but I am happy with the result.

Written at home.

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One Thousand Word Challenge 267: It’s Mostly About “Waterloo”

Posted on April 3, 2026 by Stupidity Hole

So I just scrapped two bits of writing that I started a few days ago. They were challenge writings, they were done when they were done, and I could barely remember them. Of course you’re not expected to remember everything you write, but I felt it write to just toss them away. Mood shifts and all that, and I’m feeling better right now. I might not be soon I’m listening to “Waterloo” on repeat whilst I write this, but I am feeling better at the moment.

So I tossed these two bits of writing away as I felt I couldn’t go back to them. I felt I could do better, and I am confident that I can do better than what I had put forward in them. I am going to try and do better. I want to try and do better. One always wants to do better. I think I can say better again. That’s better.

Better.

So I’m here. Not too long left now. Not much left to write. Going to be an absolute hell, however. A lot of writing to do over the next few weeks. Barely even a few weeks, however. Not too long to go and that’s the way I want it. Bit scared still, but also more relieved and more concerned about what I’m going to do to myself in churning out all of these words and the words to come. It’s a lot of work that doesn’t need to be done but I want to do it, so therefore it is what I will be doing. Will it go well? I don’t know. Probably won’t, but just might.

It’s not much time, but at the same time it is quite a lot. There’s only so many hours in the day and it’s easy to burn through them, but it is sometimes also easy to have far too many on one’s hands. I’m in the latter, rather than the former, situation. I’m considering this a bit of good luck at the moment. It’s going to turn into a curse, but gotta make the most of what I have. Going to burn out, but I will burn out brilliantly.

So… where too from here? I’m already getting tired of “Waterloo”, but it’s helping me write so I’m leaving it on. I could be doing so many other things right now. I could be editing the bits of writing I am intending to get published today. I could do that. I could do so many other things with the time that I have. Instead I’m making myself annoyed at a song and In could easily change it, but I’m not. I do be a silly person sometimes. All the time. Half of all the time and never not any of the time.

And I’m already struggling. There’s another thing that I’m doing today and maybe it will reveal itself. Maybe it won’t, but I’m going to try. The best one can do is try and so trying is what I am doing. Hoping is also what I am doing. No hope would not help, so have to have some hope. A little bit on the side with a healthy breakfast. Could go a long way. Could go nowhere. No point in wondering or asking questions, but questions are what I’m asking and those questions are “Why am I still doing this to myself?”, and that’s where they stop. So really, I’m just asking myself one question.

Let me tell you, “Waterloo” is, as the kids say, a banger. Such a strident, excited track. Just absolute confidence oozing out in this expression of feelings of romance. Strong and joyous, and just celebratory of both the medium of music, the form of song and the sensation of feelings. Of choosing to give into those feelings. Happy stuff. Perhaps a little scary, too, but it’s nice. It’s glorious.

I didn’t intend to set out tow rite about “Waterloo”, but it really is just a wonderfully wonderful song. ABBA are owed a lot of respect, I feel, and they probably get it. However, most of my memories of them aren’t their music, but the incessant advertising of them in a few short periods of time that I bore witness to when I was growing up, and it was always for something like The ABBA Collection, or whatever it was called. And that didn’t help me want to listen to them either, partly because I was a kid and I didn’t understand.

Now I listen to them of my own accord, and there’s so much of them that I feel I need to listen to. Or rather, I am interested in listening to, because it’s a rich world of music out there and ABBA are a group I want to experience more of. That’s what I hope to do. I’m good at getting distracted, however, so I don’t know if I will give myself the time to experience them properly. But I will try. And I’ll keep looking for other music, too. See what lies out there. See what tickles my ears.

I probably wouldn’t have written that had I not been listening to “Waterloo” at the moment, but that’s what happens sometimes. Maybe I wouldn’t have written it in the way that I did, and maybe not at this particular juncture in time. But I did, it’s written, and it’s time for me to try and move on. It’s time for me to find what else is out there and write about that, and then go from there to somewhere else far beyond what could be written about anything, ever. And then write stuff that will be forgotten about as I’m not careful and considerate with my words, and that’s a real problem. ABBA, however, are, and their music is quite enjoyable. I know that some of their stuff is not as strong as it could be, but hey, that;s the way it goes sometimes, and that’s how it is.

The time it took to write one thousand words: 13:24:15

I wrote this yesterday morning, thinking that it’d be a highly productive day. It wasn’t and I should’ve gotten this up yesterday instead of now, but… yeah.

Written at work.

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Light Set

Posted on April 2, 2026 by Stupidity Hole

This was taken at the bridge where this pelican was spotted. I was trying to get a photo with a lot of space, and I feel I succeeded.

This is my submission into Leanne Cole‘s “Monochrome Madness” for this week. PR of Flights of the Soul hosts the next one, and she has chosen the theme of “Minimalism”.

This challenge is open to all, and I recommend joining in. If want to, check out more information about it here, and include the tag “monochrome-madness” when you share your photo. If you’d prefer not to join in, then at the least check out Leanne’s photography, and what other people submit.

I hope you enjoy.

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