Hands

Posted on June 15, 2023 by Stupidity Hole

Here’s a photo I took a few weeks ago around the time I took some extra reference photos for this.

I was trying to make a hand combination that looked a certain way. I didn’t succeed, but I like the layering in this photo. I like how there’s a variance in space and contrast, and I think the shadows work nicely.

This is my submission into Leanne Cole‘s “Monochrome Madness” for this week. Participating is pretty straightforward and something I recommend. If you do, then include the tag “monochrome-madness” in your post. If not participating, then at the least check out Leanne’s photography as well as what other people submit.

A lot of what people are submitting will likely end up here.

I hope you enjoy.

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A Hill View

Posted on June 14, 2023 by Stupidity Hole

A view similar to this one, likely due to being taken from roughly the same location.

I feel like this photo has more of a rolling feel, and perhaps that has to do with a more prominent foreground.

I hope you enjoy.

 

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 1270: Gonna See, Getting Ready

Posted on June 13, 2023 by Stupidity Hole

Gonna see if I can get a bit of writing done around five minute again. There is no real point and it will probably hurt me more than it is worth doing, but that is what I want to do.

Getting ready to move and all of that and packing and cleaning and then doing some more packing, then driving and doing some more cleaning and packing and it just keeps on going on and on and it doesn’t stop, but at least I’ve got this rumbling music to keep driving me forward and so being driven forward is what I’ll keep allowing to happen and so on and on it goes and I just keep on driving on.

I think that there still is quite a lot to go, but there always is. It’s something that seemingly never ends until after it is done and then you realise but then you’ve got so much more to go through and then that doesn’t end. It’s a series of going through things to see what is worth keeping and what is worth throwing away, and you get on with it and keep on going and keep throwing stuff out and buy new stuff and then you’re moving again and even though you got rid of more than you acquired, somehow you’ve now got more stuff than you did before, and some of it you don’t even recognise but you still have it and you don’t know why, so you go back to throwing more stuff out the next time you move and somehow when you go and move after that you’ve managed to amass a small fleet of beds with no breakfasts.

I do not enjoy moving and I wonder if anyone does, but it’s what needs to happen and so it is what keeps on happening. I pack and move and then I’ll be in another place, but the only thing I can think of at the moment is not doing anything. It would be much lazier, but I don’t have that choice right now. I might later, but right now I don’t.

I am wondering as to when I’ll move next as there is no space for permanence. It’s just constant cost in a time where I’ll likely never be able to have my own place and just sit down and rest for a while, and I’m not looking forward to that. Had I more money it’d be less of an issue, although I should correct myself and clarify that what I mean is had I more money about ten, fifteen years ago it would be less of an issue.

So soon I will get back to packing and cleaning and sorting things and I’ll get to the end of the day and wonder where it all went and why I haven’t done much, but it’s still progress and it’s still getting something done so I’ve got to keep on going and keep packing and cleaning what I can.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 06:17:33

Slower than I hoped but probably a good thing right now.
I don’t think the writing is any good, but it does get something across pretty well, I think.

Written at home.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 1269: Expand Time

Posted on June 12, 2023 by Stupidity Hole

And so another day draws close to a close and once more I’m here, crapping on about something that likely doesn’t matter. I’m listening to music and I’m wondering what I’m doing with my life, and soon I won’t be wondering much more as I’ll be back into the swing of things, as they say. Soon it’ll be go time once more and I’ll be going through a series of things I need to do in order to get on with the rest of the evening.

I need to maximise my time and so I’m going to buy myself a device that will expand time. I’ll make use of this device so as to get the most out of my least and then I’ll be able to go from there. I’ll be able to enjoy the time that I have and in enjoying the time that I have I’ll probably end up being really lazy and not getting much of anything done.

Maybe I haven’t thought about this clearly enough.

I think that in thinking this I should think about other things. I should think about other things within this thing that will allow me to maximise the time that I have. Then I can go from there, but I can’t do much about lost time and so losing the time that I have is something I should try and stymie, but not worry about too much so long as I’m doing something with that time, even if it is just existing and getting on with getting on.

Maybe I should just think about other things.

There is the possibility that I could think about thinking and then go from there, but that won’t change the fact that the day is nearing its end and I’ve still much to do. I’ve still much to pack and I’ve much to think about and all that stuff, but I’ll get there. I’ll get to the end of this and then I’ll go on and do that and maybe I’ll do some of the other. Maybe I won’t, but maybe I will.

If there is anything at all that I should be thinking about at this present moment, it’s how I get this bit of writing finished and then move toward the next thing. There is a lot to pack and there is little time and all that other crap. You get the idea.

I guess with all of that being said it’s time for me to go on and accept responsibility and start doing things that I need to do before the moving commences, but there is a lot of that, but there will be a lot of doing and all that other stuff, so yeah. But it would be good if I could get that thing that will expand time as that will mean I’ve more time before the moving and… maybe instead I’ll just get on with doing things and all that other stuff that I keep writing about. Maybe.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 05:18:25

Quite happy with the speed.
What I wrote, not so much.

Written at home.

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Mould Spread

Posted on June 11, 2023 by Stupidity Hole

Behold! Mould! And it’s only a part of much more mould.
This is the photo I used for Shifting Mouldscape. Bit of damage visible, but not the worst part of it all, but probably the most concentrated, if that makes sense.

As a side note, I took this image with the camera upside down. The framing I was looking for involved trying to make the mould on the ceiling look “wide” in a sense and the wall mould look like it was rising rather than growing downward.

This is my submission into the two hundred-and-fifty-third Lens-Artists Photo Challenge. The theme for this one is “Fragments“.

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

Week 1 – Tina

Week 2 – Patti

Week 3 – Ann-Christine aka Leya

Week 4 – Amy

Week 5 – John Steiner

Week 6 – Sofia Alves

Week 7 – Anne Sandler

Week 8 – Donna

Week 9 – Guest host

Brian of Bushboys World is guest-curating this one. For the next one Tina is curating.

The challenges are fun to engage with. The themes are specific enough to keep some focus whilst loose enough to allow room for interpretation. I recommend participating as it’s a fun community to be engaged with and it’s a good way to focus on subject. If you don’t participate, you should still check out what others of the Lens-Artists community are submitting.

I hope you enjoy

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 1268: Limitations of my Prowess

Posted on June 10, 2023 by Stupidity Hole

Maybe it’s a little too late to start writing this evening. Maybe I’ve put things off for far too long and should be getting ready to rest instead. However, I must persist as that is what I do.

Well, I do a lot of things, but… yeah.

Alrighty, so it’s time to say something important and I can’t think of anything important to say and that’s my fault. I want to point the finger at others but it ends up directed at me and so I can no longer deny that not having anything important to say is on me and not anyone else. However, I still wish to avoid blame and scrutiny, but I’ve got nothing else to offer or say.

Perhaps it is during these cold nights that I’m realising the limitations of  my prowess and so it is now time to work within those limitations. It is now time not to stretch outward, but to stretch inward. It’s time to convalesce after a lengthy period of pointless contortion in the hopes of finding something new. The path that I need to follow has always been here; I’ve just refused to see it where it lies.

I’m realising my limitations and so in realising them I might be able to break free from the shackles of which I’ve allowed myself to be bound by. I can now finally and truly be free, but perhaps it is not freedom that I crave, for that is a strange and unnatural thing to me and so if I end up knowing it I may no longer be able to return to the familiar.

It is possible that I will float away and never know the comfort of the blankets I make use of where I can.

As a side note, I’m remembering the time when I was sleeping on a very small pile of roll out mattresses. That was not a good time in terms of emotional state.

Anyway, I would not have those blankets. I would not have the desk that I use whenever I bang out these lengthy and pointless ramblings. I might not even have my bucket hat, a vaunted item of mine for which I’ve had for quite the long amount of time.

Then again, in this freedom I may no longer have a need or desire for these material items, especially when any old item would do. But then maybe I also wouldn’t persist and that would be the end of that, and… yeah. That would be it and there would be nothing more.

So where do I go from here? I guess I just keep on accepting and go back to writing the same thing that I’ve always written which is different to the same thing that I’ve always written of late. Either that or I just start removing and reposting things I’ve done over the years in the hopes of getting some sort of “clout” of which I can then “deposit” for more “exposure”.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 07:26:08

More silly stuff.
I think had I stuck with the limitations stuff for the whole thing this would work. As it is it feels a bit all over the place, I think.

Written at home.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 1267: Meant to be Reviewing

Posted on June 9, 2023 by Stupidity Hole

So I’m meant to be finishing off a review of an album but right now I’m just trying to warm up. Well, I’m procrastinating but I’m listening to the album as I write this, so that’s some sort of progress into the finishing off the review.

Still riding the wave of productivity and hoping it takes me somewhere else, or something, but right now I’m listening to waves of cold guitar cutting through some sort of veil of… fog? I don’t know, but I know that this music is heavy, or considered heavy.

I think when some people hear metal they focus on the metal bit and don’t listen to the music itself. To be fair, that could be said about a lot of different forms of music. There’s so much out there that you might enjoy but you need to spend time listening to it and understanding it and hearing what is going on to get there, and sometimes that is easier and sometimes that is harder and all that other stuff, but you get the idea.

So I’m listening to this album I need to finish the review for and it’s going through this great passage of seeming atonality, and it’s dramatic and furious, but it’s creating this thick atmosphere that spreads out and sheds in chunks as the music keeps on charging forward, and it’s a harsh piece but it’s not an assault, if that makes sense. It’s probably the most linear piece in this album as there’s a fair bit of variation and familiarity throughout, but this one remains firmly itself until near the end when it starts transforming into something else whilst still remaining completely familiar. It’s an odd one in a way.

After this the songs will vary even more but everything remains familiar and resolute in its focus in terms of flow and progression, and it will remain interesting throughout the whole way. Some parts are more extreme than others and it works that way. It works with shifts and variation and it works with its heaviness. This isn’t just a metal album; that’s the most obvious label, but it’s doing so much and it’s changing and it has depth and tone and texture, and it’s dynamic.

It’s music with a rich history and it keeps looking forward. There’s confidence in change and there’s confidence in pushing outward as this group knows what does and does not work, and they know how to hold something for a long time without making it feel dull or boring. Everything is the right length and you get the idea.

Sometimes I wonder if music needs to change completely or if it is fine the way it is. It could be a good idea to tear everything down and start again, but there’s so much that we’d lose and there is so much change going on. Starting again wouldn’t necessarily change much of anything, but maybe we need to change how we approach and interact with music.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 08:44:32

I think there’s some good thinking in this, but I also think what I wrote is quite lacking.
Maybe I’ll expand upon this some time in the future.

Written at home.

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Ksenia Fedorova: Wave VII

Posted on June 8, 2023 by Stupidity Hole

I wanted to write about a song but I didn’t want to do an artist I was too familiar with so I looked for one I hadn’t spent much time listening to, and I’m not sure if it worked out. This is quite a minimal song and it leaves a lot of room for imagery, but instead of working with that I just described what was happening. As such, I think this bit of writing is lacking.

Ksenia Fedorova’s “Wave VII” is from Waves.

I hope you enjoy.

—

Keys rapidly rise and fall and pause, then rise and fall and pause again, and it loops. It’s not long before an additional key is pressed, almost emphasising the pauses. That extra key seems to get louder in places and almost counters the main melody.

There seems to be an idea of flow that comes through, or at least shifting, and it’s a slow shift heard over a compressed time and it continues on. There’s perhaps a stress and tension to it all, or maybe it’s a heaving of energy as it compresses and decompresses.

Eventually that extra key disappears and the focus remains on the rapid rise and fall, and it works with space until it stops and the song ends.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 1266: Bricks Changing Colours

Posted on June 8, 2023 by Stupidity Hole

I opened this to start writing and then I got distracted and that isn’t a good way to start things off, if I may be so blunt.

It also isn’t good to start off things swinging around a hammer and yelling about how the bricks are changing colours and all you know is how you’ve always been working toward someone else’s goal and now that the bricks are changing colours you can only wonder as to how superseded you are by technology and so now it’s time to get hammering on all the things around you as you no longer live in a reality that you recognise and there seems to be a bit more cheese than usual and so this is not something you will stand for because if you do stand for it you aren’t sure what else will happen.

It is now time to return to the familiar as you now understand that you’ve been hijacked and kidnapped and taken to the cheese dimension where the bricks change colour but somehow whoever it was that took you forgot to take away your hammer, or maybe they left it in your possession as a secret test of character but they didn’t realise you’d be willing to fail that secret test, unless their plan was to make sure you failed that secret test in another, even more secret test of character in which you’re doing well in as the idea was to reject illusion, or something that is different as you don’t want to work at understanding this different thing, but maybe it’s all evil or something as who would put a lot of cheese and color-chanigng bricks everywhere unless they were evil?

So you go about smashing everything with your swinging hammer and then suddenly the hammer is swinging of its own accord but that’s okay as you already knew this would happen as you’ve applied far too much centripetal force to it but that was alright and besides, the hammer will calm down eventually and when it does you’ll go back to swinging it so as to take out all the cheese and bricks and slowly, yet surely things are being revealed as the menacing illusion surrounding you that you may have thought they were and so you’re getting somewhere and you’re achieving things which is great as maybe you didn’t get to do all that you wanted when you were where you knew you were, but at least you got to take a book down to the water and fish in peace and read a book as that was a small pause in a life that was far more busy than you thought it could ever be, and now that you think about it maybe this new place isn’t too bad.

However, the truth must be revealed and so you keep going and then you’re back where you were, wondering what that was all about but not wanting to know, and you passed with flying colours.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 05:59:16

This was quite fun to write. It’s likely not fun to read, but it was fun to write.

I think I need to get out of the house.

Written at home.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 1265: Pointless Worrying

Posted on June 7, 2023 by Stupidity Hole

Finished work. What now? There are things that I’ll be doing soon but I’ve a little time to kill. Could spend it resting. Could spend it editing. Don’t really know.

Kind of a bit worried about my recent burst of productivity. Just riding it out and doing what I can. Need to stick to doing what I can without burning out and need to keep powering on as I know this burst isn’t going to last. So long as I can do a fair bit now I can probably ride it out gently and then maybe I’ll not lose so much steam. Maybe I won’t be down for another good few months, struggling to get anything done. Maybe.

However, now it is the end of the work day and I’ve time to kill but I don’t want to get into something I might not be able to finish before I tear off. I don’t want to get into the zone and then have to leave the zone, then force myself back into the zone later tonight. Maybe now is the time for rest and I’m not getting the most out of that right now as instead of resting I’m just wasting energy wondering about something that I shouldn’t spend energy wondering about and so now I think I should just go wander over somewhere and deal with things in a more productive manner, but there is no production happening here and so I’ve no produce to produce.

Perhaps I’m going about this the wrong way and instead I should be letting myself burn more energy so I don’t take a shift down followed by having to shift back up. If I keep the energy flowing then I don’t worry about having to stop resting. However, I can’t think of anything that would help to carry me forward in a way that would make sure the energy stays consistent and flowing and so I don’t know what I should do.

Maybe worrying about what I am and am not doing is what I’m meant to be doing, but it doesn’t seem very conducive to ensuring I’m making the most of my time before I need to head off. It seems like a bit of a waste and it seems like it would put me in a state of stress. Right now I need significantly less stress in my life. I need to unwind and turn into some sort of liquid and just flow toward a low point where I can be a puddle for a short amount of time.

Anyway, I think I’ve spent too much time rambling on right now. I won’t do more creating right now, but maybe I will later when I return. Keep riding the wave and not worry about that stuff right now.

Then again, maybe I will worry about not creating right now. Maybe I’ll do that and burn out and turn into a star from how intensely I burn out from all the worrying.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 07:34:64

Stumbled a bit with this ramble. I think it works well. It’s rough but it works well. However, I think I could’ve gone a bit further into talking about worrying as I kind of skimmed the surface.

Written at home.

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