Anjou: Sighting

Posted on August 16, 2022 by Stupidity Hole

The other day I was going through some music to put on whilst I worked as I didn’t have a firm idea of what I wanted to play. As I was going through things I saw Anjou and decided to put their album on as I hadn’t listened to it in a fair while.

When this song came on I felt it would be fun to write about and so I put it aside. Didn’t do so until about twenty minutes ago. As I was writing about “Sighting” I did my best to switch off and just write and I feel it worked. Until recently I think there was a period where I was overthinking the music I was writing about when the whole idea is to write as it happens and try and not overthink. As such this is an improvement over others. There was a part where I was trying to find the right words rather than just keep writing, but otherwise I feel this reads well enough.

Anjou’s “Sighting” is from Anjou.

I hope you enjoy.

—

Releasing steam whilst low sounds hum with a coldness. Steam releases again and the cold humming remains. What could be machinery beeps and buzzes and draws out whilst something seemingly reveals itself. Something begins to unfurl and spread out and try to cover things, but it cannot and it ends up following a lead.

Closed off is an expansiveness and thoughts turn inward whilst more unfurling occurs, but it seems more gentle and more dramatic than before. It seems to be layering though it is replacing its old forms.

Gradually a sense of melody reveals itself through a delicate touch though it pulls away and reveals more electronic buzzing. The coldness is gone and machinery sounds in an enclosed space. Shortly after that humming returns and it returns with the unfurled sound sliding along with it, and it seems to clear all. Melody further develops in tones and texture whilst steam as static releases for a brief moment.

There is something that is as emotionless as it is emotional that comes forward among the sounds and further inward it seems to move. A low pulse resembling a beat suddenly comes in and it reshapes the form. It gradually develops and takes a slow and steady bouncing back and forth whilst other sounds seem to linger quietly, allowing space for the beat to take stage.

Shifts and long flashes of sounds that could create something grandiosely melodic find themselves coming in and out at slow rates, suggesting more than announcing and an eeriness reaches out and through, though unsteady gentleness remains. Almost a sense of meditation cleanses all and thoughts spill out, though they are difficult to parse.

Eventually the percussion finds itself alone and soon after stops as the song ends.

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One Thousand Word Challenge 191: Getting Away From a Mess of Thoughts

Posted on August 16, 2022 by Stupidity Hole

I think it is time to begin with the getting on and the writing. Going to try and power for a bit though a bit is not as much as I’d like but I’ve got to make the most with what I have and so making the most with what I have is what I will do and so I am now doing what I can with what I have.

The day draws long and compresses and I sit here and bang away on the keyboard. I think about what I am doing and I think about what is playing on the speakers. There is something gluing me to this seat and that glue is the power of laziness, though maybe it is actually the power of being really tired. I am yet to work it all out and maybe I don’t want to work it all out. Maybe what I really want is a sense of progression but that sense of progression is already here; I just do not recognise it.

I try and collate my thoughts into coherent patterns but nothing comes forward as something cohesive. What comes forward is a jumbled mess that is slowly pouring out due to a mad rush toward the way out. The only way that they can flow freely is by expressing a bit less of a push and backing out, but that isn’t going to happen.

The ones that are free race around my head and eyes and keep dodging my attempts to grab them and work them out. They move far too fast for me to be able to do anything and so, after a while I just try and ignore them and sit down and get back to doing things. However, they keep getting in the way and they keep obstructing my view. There is little I can do about this and so I keep on trying to ignore them.

Eventually I realise the folly of my attempts and instead try to move on with other things. Really though that is just trying to find something that will distract me enough and so when that inevitably fails I then try to pay attention to the mass of noise that is moving around me.

It is impenetrable and anything that resembles a thread to grab onto leads to something imperceptible for there is no rest. There is no slowing down and it just keeps on going faster and faster and faster.

Eventually I decide that I have had enough and so I go outside. The day is sunny and the weather is nice and warm, though there remains a lingering coldness that I cannot shake. It brushes my skin and holds fast and so I try to shake it but I cannot. However, I do not try for long as the aim is to go for a walk. The aim is to get out of the house and get away from my thoughts rushing all over the place. They try to follow but it is easier to deal with them as I walk. Maybe after walking they will grow tired and allow me to organise them into forms that allow for perception and understanding.

The streets are quiet which lends a weird sort of unsteady peace to the surroundings. I try to imagine what these places looked like before forced reshaping took place and it is difficult to imagine. What I see is something considered traditionally Australian bushland; I don’t know if it is an accurate representation of what this area once looked like. It probably is closer to the original appearance than a series of houses and roads and developed park area.

Still, the air seems nice and the sound of birds carries on a gentle breeze and I find myself smiling, if only slightly. It is easy to move through the space around me and I feel at ease. I feel as though I’m getting somewhere and things are forming in my mind. There is no forming from nothing but rather forms from combination and slowly the blockage and mass shrinks down and all begins to come forward in ways that make sense.

I look to the river and see how much of it is still bounded by construction. I see that there is rubbish in that river but I also see the attempts to restore it to how it may have once appeared. The attempts to make it healthier are working. It is taking a lot of time but it is a change and that people are dedicated to improving the river and the surrounding small pockets of ecosystem are working. I think to myself about how this will be beneficial not just to the areas that this river flows through, but also Sydney as a whole and I carry a little hope in my heart for our ability to change and become better, not just for ourselves and our communities, but also the environment as a whole.

I find some shade and appreciate it, but the cold still lingers. However, it is fading. It may fade slowly but it is indeed fading and so I feel myself moving a little quicker but no less relaxed.

It is an easy day and the afternoon draws long whilst I walk. I appreciate that as it feels like I have more time. In truth I have the same amount of time as I did before, but there is a way that time stretches out when doing things that makes it feel like you’re getting more done.

I head on home and I think about the small clouds that frame the area I’m walking through. I think about how they either may grow large or completely disappear, and their temporary, yet seemingly eternal existence gives me a lot to think about in terms of what I am doing with what I have.

I get home and I take stock of what I have around me, and I begin to write.

The time it took to write one thousand words: 13:48:80

I found this to be a bit of a struggle until I sort of unseated myself.
I’m mostly fine with the result. It’s pretty plain and doesn’t say much which is nothing out of the ordinary here, but it’s also nice and mostly smooth to read, I think.

Written at home.

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Final Fantasy III Pixel Remaster

Posted on August 15, 2022 by Stupidity Hole

I knocked out a rough draft for this between February and May; I can’t remember specifically when. Anyway, I was planning on getting an article up on Culture Eater today and ended up deciding to do this, thinking it was pretty much done, which it wasn’t. Been a few busy hours of editing and I got the intention across but what I wrote is really flat.

Most of my interview and review work now appears on Culture Eater.
My colleague and I set up a Patreon to further develop Culture Eater as a source of good quality arts coverage from both ourselves and our contributors.

We’re looking at what we can give to supporters as we don’t want to set up a one way relationship, so suggestions are welcome. Podcast Eater is one of the things we’ve got going and (aside from the next few weeks) new episodes are available through there first.

Please consider supporting, or at least sharing the Patreon page with others. Please also check out what our wonderful contributors are contributing.

I hope you enjoy.

—

Long being elusive but not of the Joe variety, Final Fantasy III, the third game of the mainline Final Fantasy games may be the least re-released of the mainline Final Fantasy games. Sure, it got a remake in the form of the DS game which then got ported a bunch of times, but playing the original in a language other than Japanese wasn’t possible… unless you dabbled in unsavory methods of acquisition, but that’s neither here nor there.

Anyway, the pixel remaster series – a series of re-re-re-releases of the first six Final Fantasy games banking on nostalgia with some small changes – deigned it appropriate to revisit the first six Final Fantasy games, including the third one, Final Fantasy III. What with this being an updated version of the original game more than a remake, it’s the first time we’ve seen the original in English in an official capacity.

The plot is thus: Verily! The beings of darkness gnash at the hearts of the innocent and create terror within those that dare resist by the very act of living freely. It is up to those chosen by the crystal to bring light back to the world and thus after falling into a cave it is you, the one chosen by the crystal, but actually four, to restore balance.

From there you go about gallivanting through the countryside, slaying the demons and rescuing the peoples from devastation.

Final Fantasy III focuses less on plot and more on gameplay. However, the plot builds well upon itself whilst remaining noninvasive. The way it unfolds is simple which is unsurprising, but it doesn’t feel clunky which is appreciable. That said, at times it makes the game feels like a “Go here now go herenowgohere” world tour type of thing at times.

Compared to I & II Final Fantasy III‘s world feels quite linear… for a little while. It does open up in places but early on the geography regularly guides your movement. With the rate of leveling and the game’s length it means that it’s easy to seldom think about grinding. It also means that more often than not it’s easy to find the next location at a quick pace.

This time around towns feel more like a representation of towns and less like a place to advance plot, find some items, stock up on stuff and move on. Of course that’s pretty much all you do with them but here they feel more considered. Additionally inns return to having set prices, staying relatively cheap throughout the game. As tents and cabins are not available for purchase, it keeps inns useful without being a drain.

Dungeons are once more where a lot of the game takes place. Sometimes they offer a bit of challenge and look varied enough to not feel dull in appearance. However, once more they hold the same issues as the previous games; eventually it’s easier to mostly use auto-battle which, in conjunction with encounter rate, makes getting through dungeons a chore. That said, having auto-save takes a lot of pressure away from getting through through them. Neither the original nor 3DS versions had saving in dungeons; considering the length of some this is a massive boon. It’s much easier to put the game down when things start to drag.

The main goal in combat is to stay active whilst rendering your enemies inactive. Magic charges return and there are no restoration items for them which leads to some minor strategic play. Among other reasons, it means regular battles can be a bit variable; sometimes they’re tough and sometimes they’re not. Bosses are a bit the same, though relatively more challenging than not, especially toward Final Fantasy III‘s end. That said, this depends a lot on which jobs you’re using at the time.

Speaking of jobs, Final Fantasy III expands on I‘s system, allowing you to swap to any job you’ve obtained. Doing so is free of the constraints the original and 3DS versions had, giving more incentive to experiment. Some seem superfluous; Most have their own interesting abilities but some seem less worthwhile than others, either due to few equipment options or perceived weakness. However, job levels help mitigate this.

Job levels are separate from character levels in that they essentially determine a job’s effectiveness. Mages cast their spells more powerfully, monks punch harder, scholars get more effective with items, et cetera. They level based on amount of actions taken and so it’s very easy to grind them out. This makes it easy to make a seemingly pointless job viable. It’s also easy, though perhaps time consuming, to make jobs overpowered.

Character levels impact stats for each job. Whilst most gains are static, HP growth is based on a job’s vitality. As such it has some randomness to it but it is manipulable. Character levels are also more time consuming to grind but as previously mentioned it’s seldom something to think about.

Much like the previous (and following) pixel remasters Final Fantasy III looks fine enough. Everything looks appealing; there’s a nice vibrancy that works for the game’s atmosphere. The sun shining on the ocean in conflicting places remains but it remains a small issue. Otherwise the enemies look nice, as do the characters and locations. Of all the pixel remasters this one gains the most from updated graphics. They really help sell the idea of the game being an adventure but there’s not much else to say. Ultimately much like the others the look evokes nostalgia whilst having a somewhat modern sheen.

The music has a breezy and sometimes whimsical feel to it that fits Final Fantasy III‘s look nicely. The different sounds sit comfortably with each other and flow with ease, reinforcing atmosphere rather than taking away. It’s all good stuff that doesn’t overstep, but a real highlight is the battle themes. They go all in with guitar, bass and percussion as the main sounds. It’s just the right amount of cheese to be quite fun and dramatic without being verbose.

In some ways both II and III are where Final Fantasy started developing its own identity. Much like II, Final Fantasy III introduced a few things that would become staples, but it feels like a game playing it safe. Maybe that’s relative to II, but it’s hard to deny that III feels more like a sequel to I than it does something following the prior game.

That aside, whilst likely influenced by lack of exposure, of all the pixel remasters Final Fantasy III is one of the easiest to recommend. It plays like a game confident in itself most of the time; Most of the time as, among other things at times there is heavy coercion to try some jobs you might not normally touch. That said, the gameplay is solid, the plot is there but unobtrusive and overall the game provides a mostly lighthearted and fun experience.

Final Fantasy III Pixel Remaster is available on Steam and various app stores.

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Rocks Breaking Water

Posted on August 14, 2022 by Stupidity Hole

Another photo taken in the La Perouse area. I was trying to capture waves crashing against the rocks and I didn’t quite get what I was aiming for, but I like the result. There’s a bit of spray and the spray is pretty visible which is nice, but also there’s a sense of water moving that comes through.

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

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 – Guest host

This one is hosted by Patti. Amy hosts the next one.

I recommend participating in the challenges. They’re enjoyable and allow room for interpretation of the theme without straying too far. If you don’t participate, then I recommend that you at least check out what others of the Lens-Artists community are submitting.

I hope you enjoy.

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Max Cooper: Hope

Posted on August 14, 2022 by Stupidity Hole

This one I think I was focused more on what the song was doing. I think. Maybe I wasn’t but I know I was mostly switched off whilst writing.

Some parts are smoother than others which is unfortunate as I’d rather it be even, but overall I think the writing works.

Max Cooper’s “Hope” is from One Hundred Billion Sparks.

I hope you enjoy.

—

From nothingness comes forth a long hum buzzing away with a sharpness that does not cut. Underneath something wavers forward and the hum disappears. This new form is lower, more muted and blunt. It carries warmth as the hum comes back in and soddenly there is no sharpness, or at lest it is curved away.

Harmonies come forward as sounds shift and morph. They slowly seem to morph, though maybe it is just things coming in and out suggestion a moving forward.

Low bass seems to gently thump away and it is almost as though morning has come. It is almost the start of the day. Other sounds pull back and let a smallness be suggested as there is almost a minimalism to this even though it remains full. Percussion is light and steady; it is focused and it feels like it is allowing a drive and build.

Eventually what sounds are present look upward and there is less of a dreamlike state now. There is more of a sense of being aware and being alert, though still at ease. A sense of determination starts rolling on through as the sounds gently, yet firmly continue their movement toward expression.

They remain focused and they push on forward with little effort. They carry comfort and they carry certainty and they carry it with an ease, though no grace. Something seems to be pushing through as the sounds slowly move through a cycle and all harmonises. It is distant and not always there, and perhaps it isn’t coming at all. Maybe it is lost in the coalescing of sounds; it is difficult to tell.

Seemingly all is building toward something but it never goes so far as to make that a statement and so all remains big in a small way. It remains as such as sounds gradually peel away, leaving a warm warble to fade out as the song ends.

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Linckoln: Chicago

Posted on August 13, 2022 by Stupidity Hole

This was really easy to write and I’m happy about that.
I think I could’ve written a bit different though. This is pretty vague but I think something about the song was captured well enough. Mostly its feel.

Linckoln’s “Chicago” is from Dew.

I hope you enjoy.

—

Steady the beat pounds whilst waves lap at the shore. Some more percussion and the beat fills out and suddenly some light and airy sounds come through. There’s a joy and perhaps a plastic feel to it all as it all moves on with such a strong sense of the idealistic. Synths upon synths move around, over and through each other whilst a driving beat and bassline keep on moving along and anchoring everything.

It’s all sunny and nice and gliding along. It gets moving and keeps on moving and it just drives on really well whilst some sounds find themselves added in and it almost feels like a scene very far removed perhaps from what it suggests. Maybe it is entirely appropriate, but it just feels really fun and lively and perhaps it is all really a dream and an illusion. Perhaps it is all surface and maybe when the drone comes in it is peeling away the thin veneer of shining and joyous sounds. The sounds fade away and disappear as the drone moves on through, removing all until the sound of waves return as the song ends.

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Trees Under a Dulling Sky

Posted on August 12, 2022 by Stupidity Hole

I really like how this image turned out. In a way it feels dramatic and moody but I feel that those are muted, much like the colour in the sky. This is close to night and so there’s a little bit of light left, but it’s getting quiet; at least it is in terms of assigning meaning.

I hope you enjoy.

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Hiroki Kikuta: Another Winter

Posted on August 12, 2022 by Stupidity Hole

This was sort of easy to write and sort of not. There were parts where I stumbled and parts where I was able to switch off. As such I think some of this captures something about the song really well, but there are parts that do not.

I think overall this is a bit of an improvement, though also a step back. Very much neither here nor there.

Hiroki Kikuta’s (菊田 裕樹) “Another Winter” (“別の冬”) is from Seiken Densetsu 3 Original Sound Version, the soundtrack for Seiken Densetsu 3.

I hope you enjoy.

—

An open space allows a sense of small and quiet to come forward. Strings firmly staccato whilst percussive sounds twinkle on down. Soon a bit more sound comes in, muted. There is more percussion and it seems rolling whilst something akin to woodwind draws out with a gentle flow.

The quiet is there and perhaps there is something that seems magical about all of this. There is plenty of space and there is plenty of openness but there is a focus. There’s also some whimsy, even as the sounds move through different sections, coming in and out as required. The sounds are specific and what they conjure is also specific.

Soon something almost like a sense of looking outward comes forward. The sound of a bell among others cradle an answer and a destination and it all seems vast and quiet, and perhaps even closed off. It is difficult to tell.

The sounds continue on with their movement toward something they need to walk toward and there’s a cold that creeps on in. The strings continue their stepping forward and the percussion continues its twinkling. Other sounds continue building and falling away and eventually they fade out and the song ends.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 1138: A Load of Tired

Posted on August 12, 2022 by Stupidity Hole

Once again I am tired and once again I need to get through a whole bunch of things so I can get a few other things done. This is what I do to myself and I need to stop doing it but I likely won’t. However, I can confirm that there was little, if any procrastination today.

There is going to be no hour of power this evening but I am going to try and power through the next thirty minutes. Maybe even more minutes. I’m not sure and it depends on a few things and I’m going to try, but I’m not trying to get a load of things done. I can take my time if I so wish.

Sometimes I wonder if there is any value in what I do and create and the answer is that there is and there is not. As that is all I wanted to say on that matter I’m just going to talk about other things now.

Trying to relax soon and there certainly will be relaxation. I’ve less to worry about this evening than I have in a good long while and so I’m pretty chuffed about that. However, there still are things I need to worry about. I need to write and then I need to do some chores and cook and slowly I will disappear into the banal and become something less interesting though I likely already was uninteresting and just deluded myself into believing otherwise. It’s a thing that happens and I’m good at it, but maybe I’m not and what I’m saying right now is a smokescreen of sorts.

However, that doesn’t matter. What does matter is that I need to try and find the context to all of this and it is a journey that has no end as there is no context beyond the context that I’m not going to bother writing about at the present moment due to being tired and lazy, or something. Anyway. as the journey has no end it is more about the journey than the destination and so therefore it is about learning and growing and becoming a greater person.

Then I will return and I will throw my hands up in the air and admit the defeat I’ve been handed, but of course I will truly be a victor as I gained so much during the journey and maybe I’ll go on another one. However, the other one will have an end but it won’t be the end I thought it would have, so therefore things change and take form and shift and all that other stuff, but it ends up mostly being the same thing anyway and sometimes that’s a nice thing. Sometimes a bit of repetition is fine, but it always depends on the kind of repetition that you’re getting and so I don’t want to get the wrong kind of repetition going.

Maybe it’ll not be repetition but will be subtle in its change. Who knows?

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 05:37:07

Bit of a struggle but I think that’s more due to being tired than anything else.
A messy evening ramble so nothing special, but it feels familiar which is… fine?

Written at home.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 1137: Closing An Hour of Power Again

Posted on August 11, 2022 by Stupidity Hole

Technically I finished the hour of power with enough things to consider it a success but I decided to keep going for a little bit longer. Not sure if that was a good idea but it is what I have done and so I am still going now, but I think this will be the last thing to go up for at least a few hours as I’ve a few reviews I need to work on and that’s going to be a fair bit of intensity as there are very few hours I have available to get them done, but we’ll see what happens.

I think that doing these bursts of creating are good some of the time. If it was what I did all of the time I’d probably get really good at doing them in terms of efficiency, but I also think I’d get really bad at actually creating. Some people are good at making heavy use of repeated activity that forces creativity; I don’t think I am one of them. I think that sometimes I need to rest and step back a bit from things because I spread myself thin and I get little done.

I think that this was pretty fruitful this time around, however. I just got through what I was doing with a great deal of ease and some of the stuff from this run I think works well within the context of said run. Outside of that I’m not sure and maybe that is a good thing. Sometimes it is good to have a bit of uncertainty about things as it can help with growth. Sometimes you don’t learn at all and you just accept that.

Who am I to say what is better in any given situation? All I can do is make suggestions and inferences and hope that I’m not going in the wrong direction.

So anyway, I think in saying all of that I can get on with other things as there are other things to get on with, but there are always other things to get on with, I just keep getting on with them and then I’ll come back here and do some more things, then get on with other things and so on and so forth and it just keeps on going on, but life is full of things to do and it is a good thing to keep on doing them. Sometimes it is good to take a break and sometimes it is good to work, but few can do either constantly without burning out.

I feel like that was patronising to write.

I’ve a few words left and I’m unsure as to how I should use them, but I will use them in a way that implies that I am not unsure. I don’t want anyone thinking I know not how to use words and so I need to keep up the image of an expert on the use of words, even though I’m not.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 06:54:43

This was easy to write but there was a bit where I got stuck for longer than I desired.
Such is the way of things.

Reads kind of okay. It’s not hard to read but there definitely is some drawing out in places.

Written at home.

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