One Thousand Word Challenge 127: Finally Under Nine Minutes

Posted on August 1, 2021 by Stupidity Hole

Alright so I’m going to attempt this again, just because I feel the drive to do so. I don’t know if I will be able to get to the end in the allotted time of which I have chosen, but perhaps I will. there is only one way to find out, however, and that is through the power of trying.

Maybe I will need a break in the middle somewhere, but who knows. Who knows how this will all go? I don’t know and I don’t imagine that anyone else will. We just have to see as to what will happen and how long it will take for me to get there.

Maybe I will make it, but maybe I won’t. Either way, what matters is that I try. I imagine that if I typed with all of my fingers, then it would be a lot easier to make sure that I could get this done in the time of which I have selected, but of course I don’t really know fi that is the case. What it requires is speed and patience and a few other things.

Sometimes I do wonder as to why I do these things. I don’t think that they are the best thing to do, but perhaps it does somehow bleed into some sort of creative pool of which I regularly draw from so as to be able to keep on pushing forward and producing the things that I do indeed produce, and on a regular basis too. Maybe that is why I do these things, but to be honest, right now I don’t know why.

I don’t want to feel that this is purely a test of skill, but maybe it is. Maybe it is nothing other than a way for me to find a way to boast about how fast I can type, but that doesn’t add much to anything and I don’t feel that that is the case. What I do feel is the case, however, is that right now this is hurting my hands and I haven’t gone too far and so I need to be at least a little careful and make sure that I don’t hurt myself too much.

Would probably be better with an ergonomic keyboard, but you work with what you have and all those other things, and so I shall continue on and hope that somehow I can get to the end of this i0n one piece. Would rather be in one piece than  multiple pieces, but you do what you do and you do it to the best of your ability and all those other things.

Maybe I am typing too loudly right now. That is possible and so I should try to be a little bit more quiet. However, that will not happen as right now I am racing and soon I will get to the end of all of this and then when I am at the end I will read over what it is that I have written and think to myself “wow, this is worse than usual”. However, I have made the bed today and therefore I shall lie in it, or something. Then I will remake it so it is more comfortable than before and then when that is done I can lie in it again and realise that it still remains uncomfortable.

Alright, now that that is all out of the way, I guess it is time to knuckle down and take this far more seriously than I normally would. I soon will be sweating and in that sweat I shall find the aura of existence that drivers me on and spurs me forward, but then again so long as I keep a steady bow toward the sun that refuses to set, I shall find my path glowing under the midnight stars that show the path ahead and taunt me in the most irritating of ways. I will find myself feeling irritable and I will find myself annoyed, but I will press on until I reach the ocean and there is where I will find my quarry, which just so happens to be the ocean itself. I will then go for a swim and it will be a pleasant day, but I cannot spend the whole day there, for there are other things that I will need to do at home and therefore I shall go on a journey that concludes the journey as the overall journey, rather than the journey that concludes the first half of the journey, though it certainly does that.

Now, where was I? I think I was going on about something and trying to make sure that this all makes sense, but I don’t think much of it does and so I will continue on what whatever it is that I am going on about, but I am nearly at the end of all of this and this is the final stretch, so I need to make sure that I can get there and I don’t think that I will ever do this again. Once is enough, but I have attempted this far too many times to claim that it has only been once and therefore this shall be the last time, unless I fail, in which case it then won’t be the last time that I do this, so therefore I am only creating this problem for myself.

Not the worst problem to have though.

So I think that I can do it and I think that I can get there, but now that I think about it, perhaps I should sabotage this and stretch it all out in the hopes that something changes, but even if there is not change, I should at the very least try and finish this off in the hopes that it is all done and I never have to worry about it again, but of course I will, but not today. There is always tomorrow for that.

The time it took to write one thousand words: 08:49:47

Well, I got there.
Maybe next time I will aim for under eight minutes, but right now I’m happy to not think about this for a while. Probably will think about it sooner rather than later, but sometimes that is the way that things go.

There’s probably too much repetition in this and I think that comes from trying to get under nine minutes rather than trying to write in a stream-of-consciousness manner.

Also makes for an awkward read.

Written at home.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 975: Rambling on a Sunday

Posted on August 1, 2021 by Stupidity Hole

Alright, so the connection to The Internet here is a bit erratic, but that’s not much of an issue to be honest. There still remains plenty of which needs to be done and I am just the person to do it all, or something.

Anyway, today is a slow day, but a slow day is good as it means that sometimes you get a bit more done. Therefore, I shall continue to do things and consider this bit of writing merely a small stop. It is a breather for me to take whilst I continue on toward the destination that is the target of the goals of today, but I am yet to work out what that is and so I shall continue along the way and finish this little rest and then get back on with the whole “getting on” thing that I usually do.

It’s been a little longer than I would have liked since the last time I did one of these things, but sometimes that is the way things go, I suppose. Could be worse. could be better. It’s somewhere in the middle and that is fine. All of the days float on by at the moment and I make do how I can and where I can. Sometimes there is no making of the do, but instead the doing of the making takes precedence and then something else happens. This might lead to some sort of explosion in creativity following a direction that I had not originally anticipated, but sometimes that’s the fun part of going on a journey, even if the journey doesn’t involve any journeying at all, but I think I am getting ahead of myself with this one and instead should try and focus on what it is that I want to say, though really there is nothing at all that I want to say at the present moment and instead will keep on racing toward the end and hope for the best.

Maybe instead of that I should try and slow down a little and think a little bit more about what it is that I am saying at the present moment. I don’t want to think about that, but maybe I will as maybe it is time that I do a little more thinking. Maybe. I’d rather just keep on doing for the time being so instead of thinking I will just keep on doing and so therefore with the creation of this bit of writing you understand my intent for the bit of writing, but instead of fully explaining and exploring anything I shall continue to touch on what it is that I am trying to touch upon, which is nothing, so therefore there is nothing to glean from this other than the fact that this is a bit of meaningless writing that is going nowhere, but perhaps with all of that being said it does reveal something at the end, but only in knowing that it reveals nothing.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 05:15:25

A mess. A great big mess.
Could’ve been messier really.

Written at home.

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Buildings by the Quay

Posted on July 31, 2021 by Stupidity Hole

Here’s a photo of some of the buildings near Circular Quay.
Not much to say about this one. It’s neat enough. I think I could’ve done better, but I do like that there’s a sense of depth, and that the lights from the buildings aren’t too bright.

I feel like there’s more a focus on shape than there is detail in this one.

This is my submission into Leanne Cole‘s “Monochrome Madness” for this week.
I suggest checking out Leanne’s photography, as well as checking out what other people submit.

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

I hope you enjoy.

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Nobuo Uematsu: A New World

Posted on July 31, 2021 by Stupidity Hole

This one took five listens.
It was a bit of a struggle to write which may have to do with being tired at the moment.
Probably should’ve taken to it earlier.

Nobuo Uematsu’s (植松 伸夫) “A New World” (“新しき世界”) is from Final Fantasy V Original Sound Version which, surprisingly enough, is the soundtrack for Final Fantasy V.

I hope you enjoy.

—

Cautious bass, gentle percussion, a twinkle and something akin to a guitar fade in. The music begins and beckons a sense of mystery in a place new in the form it is meant to be. However, rather than uplift and herald a new era of discovery, melancholy hangs in the air. The music rises and falls slowly, with space and with carefulness. It carries forward, facing a grave situation and it keeps on going.

The guitar keeps its notes simple and accentuates whilst the bass follows the rhythm and fills out the space that it can. Strings appear, first in the background and later in the foreground, somehow expanding range whilst narrowing focus. There is little groove here and the song seems to keep itself flowing through pieces that compliment each other.

Mood remains thick, but there still is a sense of beauty and wonder here, though it only comes through for a brief period for there are more pressing things than marveling at the new.

As the music progresses it alternates in its fullness and keeps things calm. Sounds stretch out and remain gentle, though what they express is not quite. They keep this going, even as the song ends.

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Jesu: Terminus

Posted on July 30, 2021 by Stupidity Hole

I hit a roadblock with this one. Ended up scrapping the whole thing and starting again, though some of what I originally wrote made it in.

I don’t think I did a good job with this one. I got across what I felt needed to be said, but I think I could’ve been much more effective in saying it.

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.

—

When Jesu’s Terminus came out I listened to it once. I felt that once was enough; everything the album had was plain to see. Despite how emotionally affecting it can be in places, the album had little to offer. As far as Jesu went, it did not present itself as Justin Broadrick’s finest hour.

I didn’t revisit Terminus for a while as there were other things that I needed to cover and, to be honest, I just felt that it wasn’t worth the time. In no longer postponing the inevitable, I’ve found that there are some interesting things going on with the album, but it feels like an identity crisis.

Generally the stronger stuff is more experimental. “Alone” feels like this dreamy, gliding pop thing that, even though (relatively) energised, doesn’t compromise on its expressiveness. “Consciousness” has a detached, vague and fragile sound that works well its ethereal atmosphere. “Give Up” closes the album with this sort of welcoming, enveloping sound that comes off as sentimental, accepting and soothing.

“Don’t Wake Me Up” also feels dreamy, but it’s on the more on the gentle and relaxed side of things which almost feels deceiving due to the nature of the song’s lyrics. Toward the end it shifts into something a bit more climactic and cathartic, but still feels dreamy as it retains its muted instrumentation.

The experimental songs sound and feel more inspired than the others on Terminus, in part due to their doing something with mood and atmosphere whilst also remaining lean and fully developed. “Don’t Wake Me Up” oversteps a bit, but generally thee others feel the right length; they don’t overstep, they don’t waste time, they don’t feel bloated.

Terminus is at times slow and rather sombre in places, but it’s not trying to beat you down. However, the more straightforward feels like it meanders and stretches for length rather than warrants it. “Terminus” draws both of its halves out too long; you could argue that it needs to due to the emotional journey of some sort of realisation and acceptance, but you could also argue that the journey ends before the song. “Sleeping In” feels like a winding down and transition from “Terminus”,  and works well in this capacity. The shift from guitar-driven to synth-driven helps ease into the remaining songs, though once more it excessively drags itself out, diminishing its impact.

“Disintegrating Wings” sounds similar to “Terminus” and “Sleeping In”, though much more lullaby-like. It’s calmer, quieter and gentler, and holds some rather cutting lyrics. It’s pleasing, but its being between “Consciousness” and “Don’t Wake Me Up” makes it feel like it offers little that the other two don’t do better.

“When I Was Small” opens Terminus really well, being familiar and yet different. Much of the album focuses on mood and atmosphere over anything else, leading to an often somber and sparse feeling. “When I Was Small” gets this across effectively. Unfortunately the shift toward its closing segment feels awkward and forced. Perhaps it’s offering a lightness of sorts, but it doesn’t quite pull it off.

The thing is, broken up into parts Terminus works; especially with the lengthier stuff which feels more justified and ends up flowing better with the other songs. As such, as a whole the album feels a bit directionless. Parts of it feel more like an extension of Opiate Sun and Ascension, whereas other parts feel like a progression of Jesu both in terms of meaning and sound. It’s as though Justin Broadrick wanted to put these songs out, but wasn’t exactly certain as to how. Sure, in terms of themes they fit, but in the context of an album too much drags.

That said, the atmosphere of Terminus works well. The songs carry emotion well and the album’s overall calmer, quieter sound helps to carry the feeling that its reflective. There’s good stuff here, and as a whole it’s better than so much out there. However, perhaps it would’ve worked better as two releases rather than one.

Terminus is available here.

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Nobuo Uematsu: Unknown Lands

Posted on July 30, 2021 by Stupidity Hole

Three listens for this one.

Here I was just aiming to write about the music in any way possible. As such I don’t think I gave much of an idea of the song itself, but still managed to describe it to some extent.

Nobuo Uematsu’s (植松 伸夫) “Unknown Lands” (“未知なる大地”) is from Final Fantasy V‘s soundtrack, Final Fantasy V Original Sound Version.

I hope you enjoy.

—

A string staccato whilst another instrument repeats a rise and fades into the background. bass comes in, slow and deliberate. Percussion also joins, playing both minimal and full and almost echoing in parts. The introductory instruments continue on, forming part of the melody and rhythm.

Atop the melody a woodwind slowly glides through unfamiliar and perhaps mysterious lands. As it continues its exploration the strings expand and underscore the journey, signalling a sense of uncertainty.

The instruments rise and in that rising there comes urgency at the edge, though it comes down with the conviction to press on, and in that moment some warmth comes through and so the journey in unfamiliar territory continues. The instrument repeating rises to follow, arpeggiating and reinforcing the mood. It does not fade here; instead it continues without abatement. It too looks to continue on and face adversity.

As the song returns and loops, all that was is reinforced, though as the lands themselves become more known the sense of focus increases. Whilst the unfamiliar remains, it becomes less of a distraction; It’s no longer as otherworldly as before and more so in a state of healing from devastation, and so the journey continues to prevent further impact as the song ends.

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A Poem About a Long Day

Posted on July 29, 2021 by Stupidity Hole

This was very much rushed, but it was rush in starts and stops, if that makes sense.
Not sure if I was trying to get anything across other than the shape and I think I did that, but in a rather bland manner.

I hope you enjoy.

—

A long day stretches out
Almost as though as highway
Riding hills and cutting paths
That seem endless upon approach

The only way is forward
What is behind is no longer there
For it constantly disappears
And so I must keep moving

So much of it seems engaging
Yet blends into itself
And the moving through
Becomes an amorphous blur

When the day seems endless
One corner reveals a stop
And a long day no longer is
Until the morning returns

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Nobuo Uematsu: Four Valiant Hearts

Posted on July 29, 2021 by Stupidity Hole

This was written over four listens.

Outside of describing the snare at the start I didn’t have any particular idea in mind of how I wanted to approach this. I think that, considering the length of the song it might’ve helped to have gone in with some idea.

Nobuo Uematsu’s (植松 伸夫) “Four Valiant Hearts” (“４つの心”) may also be known as “Four Hearts”. It’s a song featured in Final Fantasy V, as well as on its soundtrack album, Final Fantasy V Original Sound Version.

I hope you enjoy.

—

A snare appears, rolls and then it’s off to adventure and discover. A mix of sounds follow the percussion as muted brass weaves its way along the melody, rising and falling, looking for the new and continually looking forward. It creates its path and looks onward through valleys, atop cliffs and over the ocean. It looks onward in many ways.

Bass and extra brass punctuate and accentuate the percussion and help keep the song feeling lively and moving. It’s light and easing into an adventure; it’s fun.

Soon the song shifts into a new phase and it expands. The muted brass continues and seems to glide even more whilst harp arpeggiates and strings draw out the mood a bit more. It hints at mystery as the brass keeps moving through, perhaps looking for answers, though it’s only a small stop and the adventure continues on with optimism and carefreeness, even as the song ends.

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Frame Around the Bridge

Posted on July 28, 2021 by Stupidity Hole

Here is what the title says. I think.

I like the contrast between the shaded and more lighted part of this bridge. It almost feels as though it’s meant to be inviting in a way, but the shaded area isn’t necessarily unwelcoming.

I also like how the contrast implies a greater visibility in the frame, but it’s a little too far away to make out smaller details with clarity. The shaded area seems as though it is meant to be less detailed, but it’s easier to find distinction and clarity in the shapes and angles.

I hope you enjoy.

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Nobuo Uematsu: Searching for Friends

Posted on July 28, 2021 by Stupidity Hole

Three listens for this one.

The approach here was much looser. Sort of aimed for a blend but also didn’t. Just let it all happen and… yeah. The below result.

Nobuo Uematsu’s (植松 伸夫) “Searching for Friends” (“仲間を求めて“), is from the soundtrack for Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy VI Original Sound Version.

There’s a reason as to why I’m writing about certain pieces written by Nobuo Uematsu at the moment. The plan I have only came to me today, so we’ll see if it comes to fruition once I get through what I’m currently doing.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

—

Strings rise and bass follows before dropping. A hi-hat fades in and the main melody begins.

The strings soar and glide as woodwind floats on top of them and bass moves in a varying way underneath. There is a drive here and even though the instruments are moving in different ways, they unify almost as one thing. The percussion too, though it never becomes more than the hi-hat and remains gentle. Something mixed in with the hi-hat follows along, barely audible, but still there.

The melody shifts and it continues its flow, perhaps with a bit of questioning in it, but there remains a sense of hope permeating. Not all is lost and there still is determination to work toward a better today. Muted sounds seem to operate with the woodwind as a form of call and response, and it is here that the woodwind rises above and looks forward, much like those that face a new dawn in a world that no longer as it was and continue on, resolute in their conviction.

The world may no longer be familiar and perhaps it now is more hostile, but that does not mean as though there should be giving up, for life continues on. Things are worth fighting for, regardless of the hopelessness of the situation, for all can be improved and so into a rising wind and with the determination to see things through, the journey continues as the song ends.

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