One Thousand Word Challenge 86: It’s Warm so I’m Rambling

Posted on November 20, 2020 by Stupidity Hole

It’s morning and it is all of that stuff and maybe today will be a scorcher. Do not know, do not care. Gotta do the work that gets me the money so I can put food on the table and pay my bills and keep a roof over my head and all of that other stuff that money helps with doing, though only sometimes and not always as it seems to be the case of, or something.

I think I may have overstepped on that sentence.

Anyway, yesterday I went for a walk and it was a nice walk. It wasn’t the best of walks that I have undertaken, but it sure was nice. It was through the city and I was among far too many people without masks, but once I got to The Royal Botanic Garden, it became much more open and thus I was around less people not wearing masks, which of course was a pleasant feeling. It was also nice to be among a lot of plants and birds.

The way back featured someone coughing freely whilst on the train. No covering of the mouth; no seeming concern or awareness. Nothing. That was fun. Sow as the overcrowding on the bus to go that last little bit of the way home. A lot of not mask wearing and seeming indifference to the situation we’re in. Oh well. Not much I can do about that other than keep on looking after myself and all of that other stuff.

So at this point I’m nearing the end of NaNoWriMo and still I am yet to come up with a coherent narrative, as is the way of things I suppose. It could be much worse, but I’m sitting here and I’m trying to write something but… yeah… probably not the best idea that I’ve had, to be honest. All this writing could be focused on other things, but sometimes that is the way that the things go and it is up to me to persevere and try to get to the end. It hasn’t been a total disaster, but it certainly has been a drain on my ability to come up with stuff, though to be fair my coming up with stuff is already pretty limited, but you take what you can get and you do the best with it; At least that is what I am trying to tell myself at the moment so I feel a little bit better about my writing prowess, or lack thereof.

AT the same time doing the event this year has helped trim some things down and get stuff out of the way so I can spend more time focused on writing about music and all that other stuff that I write about, so it’s not all bad. I’d like to believe that that is in fact a good thing as being able to narrow down on stuff and get more focus going is a good thing. Maybe I’m meant to write more and not less, but the more writing needs to be the getting rid of all the pointless stuff rattling about in the brain so the focus can come later. Perhaps somehow I can turn that pointless stuff into something coherent, so long as I practise and practise and practise some more. Need to make sure that I practise the right stuff, however. Don’t want to practise the wrong stuff and then cause issues later down the track. Would rather be a better writer and not a worse writer. Don’t know if being better will ever be something that I get to be, but maybe one day I will be able to pull it off. If I can, then I most certainly will be a happy camper, though of course I’m not camping and realistically I’m just sitting here writing away in the hopes that something good comes of it. Don’t know if it will, but the hope is there and hope is important, just as action also is important.

Anyway, now that I have that out of the way I think I don’t know what else there is that I can possibly say. I think I do need to discuss other things… well, I don’t, but to be more accurate I think there are other things that I want to say, but whether I say them or not is another story entirely. I need to do that getting ready for work thing that I do around this time of the day as soon I will be commencing work and work needs to be commenced, so that will be a thing that I do. Other things that I also need to do throughout today, but whether they get done or not is another story entirely. I do know that there will be a lot fo working and working will be something that comes in great quantities. Would rather work on other things, but that need for money to survive is unfortunately far greater than I would like.

Still, I get to do something now and that’s alright. It could be much worse. Could be better, but could be worse.

Somehow that felt like where this should end, and perhaps that really is where this bit of writing should have ended, but I’ve still got a bit of space, so instead of doing something worthwhile I’m just going to fill this bit with this lengthy sentence in the hopes that somehow it ends up making the whole bit of writing that I have written this morning better through recontextualising the detail and meaning inherent in the subset of words of which I have “carefully” chosen in order to convey the scenery and imagery of discussion and interpretation in a certain light so as to make sure that everything is put forward in a way that gets what I want to get across across to you in the way that I want what I want to get across to across to you.

The time it took to write one thousand words: 10:17:94

Rough time. Might be a few seconds off as I cleared the time without checking that I’d put it down. Had started work by that point, thought I’d put it down, but didn’t. Oh well.

This is mostly ho-hum, but I do like the final sentence.

Written at home.

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Concentrated Ripples

Posted on November 19, 2020 by Stupidity Hole

Whilst taking photos at Cowan Creek I saw ripples forming in specific places on the water’s surface. They would appear and stay around for only brief periods. I suspect there was some sort of creature (or creatures) either feeding or doing something not related to feeding.

I like how the ripples create a disturbance in the reflection as they smear it, so to speak. It makes things feel a little more vague.

I also like how they disturb the water’s surface as they give a stronger sense of the surface not being completely flat.

I hope you enjoy.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 811: Fish Rodeo

Posted on November 19, 2020 by Stupidity Hole

So there is a place where some people go, but not all people go. It is a place most secret and foul. It resides by the sea and sometimes it floats away after a few days, but it is one that is appreciated by those that visit.

You see, in this particular location there is a blood sport that occurs. It is considered highly illegal due to the dangerous dangers of which it provides and creates. Some people who shun this particular thing refer to those who visit it as degenerates, but some visit purely due to the danger and excitement, for some wear suits and ties and some consider themselves as being sophisticated aficionados. It is easy to refer to the people who become invested in it as degenerates, but they are people who just so happen to enjoy what this sport provides.

And this particular sport? Well, it is one of the most dangerous of all time. It is known by the name of “fish rodeo”.

Now you see, the thing with fish rodeo is that you have to ride on a fish and usual the fish is rather agitated, and rightfully so. I’d be pretty pissed off too if I had to deal with a bunch of people trying to sit on my back and stay on me whilst I have to deal with not being anywhere near a level of comfort that I’d like to have.

These fish are fish that do get returned to where they came from, but the issue is that they don’t like the tedium of dealing with people trying to ride on them. It really gets under their gills, and so they’re more irritable and they get angry and thus it becomes much more VIOLENT and dangerous for the people who ride. This is the first thing.

The second thing is that there is no saddle or apparatus that you get to wear. You have to do the thing bareback. Now the particular fish have low traction so you really have to know what you’re doing in order to be able to last a little bit without getting severely injured, though sometimes you can get severely injured and still last. Those that don’t get any injury whatsoever are a rarity and considered the champion of riders.

The thing with fish rodeo is that it often sees a lot of death and not for the fish, for the fish are powerful and mighty and this is something that a lot of people don’t seem to realise. The other thing about fish rode is that it draws in a lot of money as people seem to want to bet on what essentially amounts to a blood sport.

It also doesn’t smell the best, though some find the smell of fish fine, so good on them for being able to resist the musk of many a fish.

One day fish rodeo might become more, or might become less. However, right now it just is.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 07:17:53

I struggled a little toward the end. When I finished writing I realised I could’ve written some more, but I feel that stopping at the five-hundred word mark was better as I need to rest my wrist.

Anyway, this is silly and doesn’t really go anywhere.

Written at home.

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Green Scream

Posted on November 18, 2020 by Stupidity Hole

Maybe it’s more of a growl.

In this photo is the frontman of Bongzilla doing the vocal thing whilst playing guitar. I think it’s nice to see that the frontman doesn’t look like he’s struggling at all, and now that I think about it, this photo kind of undersells the performance a little. The music was heavy and so was the vocal performance, but this shot makes things look a little more understated… I think.

Here are three other photos featuring Bongzilla.
Also, the gallery and review for this show can be found on Culture Eater here and here.

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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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 810: Some Stuff About Clouds

Posted on November 18, 2020 by Stupidity Hole

Alright, so today we’re talking about clouds as that is an easy subject to cover and it doesn’t mean that I have to go full bore on the typing in order to discuss clouds. I still might just, but I’d rather not, but we’ll see what happens of course.

So clouds; they are a thing that exists. In fact, they exist in our atmosphere and in other places too, depending on what form of cloud you consider to be a cloud, but that is beside the point. The point is that they do indeed exist. I could see some early from the little bit of blue sky I can see from my window if I lean in the right way, but that also is beside the point.

Sometimes they obscure the whole sky and sometimes they obscure only some of the sky. Sometimes it seems as though they do not exist at all, and that is fine. However, there are plenty of times when they appear in the sky as their own separate entities rather than as one large, amorphous thing which also is fine. That has little to do with the writing of today.

Sometimes rain falls from clouds, as rain often falls from clouds rather than rises from the earth. Whilst still kind of the same thing, it is condensation that rises from the earth and rain that falls to the earth.

Wait: Condensation is when the water vapour turns into liquid. Evaporation is when the liquid turns into water vapour. Anyway, you get the idea. Pardon my incorrect statement.

So anyway, sometimes rain falls from clouds and then clouds appear to disappear when this happens, though only sometimes, for sometimes they do not appear to disappear at all. However, it does not always rain when clouds are above and covering the whole sky, so that’s a thing of which needs to be contended with sometimes. Not all of the time.

Clouds are good at trapping in heat rather than letting it escape off to wherever heat goes when it leaves the surface. That can cause issues, though sometimes it is alright. Not always the worst of things to deal with if I am to be complete honest with the thing that I am saying.

So anyway, sometimes the clouds grow legs and go bounding across the landscape. This is a bit of an issue as their legs are rather hairy and unsightly to see when attached to clouds. It’s also a bit goofy. When the clouds grow legs and instead decide to keep on floating to wherever they are floating off to, which is something that requires them to ride the air currents, the dangling limbs look more terrifying than they do goofy. The terrifying is a little more preferable, however, as it is less damaging to what has and has not been developed, both by human hand and by nature. However, I guess if they’re bounding through nature, that then is nature in action with nature.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 06:26:38

Kind of silly, but I’m happy with that.

Written at home.

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One Thousand Word Challenge 85: Work in Heat

Posted on November 17, 2020 by Stupidity Hole

Heat spreads outward and inward and compresses itself upon all, making sure that somehow the end seems so far away and causes a sweat to break out and caress the skin in vain attempts to cool down the body, and they certainly were vain attempts as in a blazing heat there is little way to cool down other than get out of it, and of course all of the other ways there are to cool down in a blazing heat, but we’re going to pretend that they don’t exist as it makes it easier to tell a story that will derail itself shortly.

So you see, it was a hot day and in this hot day there were people trying to get things done. They needed to get things done before it got too hot as once it got too ho t it would be difficult to do any more, and so they needed to work early and fast. They didn’t want to have the pressure of the sun beating down upon them whilst they worked hard and worked tirelessly, and so it was better to be efficient and take advantage of the morning hours rather than keep on working into the late morning and then the afternoon when the sun would be at its peak position in the sky.

Of course it already was warm in the morning and so sweat was pouring fast. They needed to move quickly but already everything was against them. They knew not how much farther they could go, but they had to keep on going and keep on pushing forward.

However, there may have been a breeze coming along and if so, it was something desperately raved, for it could provide a bit of a refreshment and perhaps help things to come along much faster rather than much slower. There was no telling; all seemed still in the air, and there was no movement in vegetation that was visible, so there likely was no breeze nearby, but of course there was always hope that things would change.

So they kept on working throughout the heat and pushing on. They’d been working since before the sun had risen from somewhere far beyond near the horizon line, but they’d keep on working after the event known as sunrise had occurred and after the first rays were a fading memory, unless of course it was a particularly strong sunrise, in which case there was a good chance that it would be remembered for a good while to come. However, they were not able to pay much attention to the sunrise as there was a great deal of work that needed to be done before the sun hit its peak, for there was little desire to work in extreme heat.

The days had been getting warmer for a while now, and what with the lead up to summer, things were feeling especially rough. This was something most definitely note desired to be experienced. The cold was preferable as often it meant that it would be easier to work throughout the day. They were not strangers to the heat; it was something they had dealt with many a time in the past. However, this particular season seemed to see it become rather unbearable and this of course was an issue. The work days were growing shorter by necessity and due to this the work in the morning was much harder and draining.

In part they did want to avoid working in a heat most undesirable, but also they had little choice about the whole thing. If they left things not being complete enough, all it would do is create more pressure to get more done the following day, and so on and so forth, and so they needed to make sure that as much was done before they could no longer work.

The pressure was great, but instead of lashing out they kept on working, though often they would desire to lash out as it would make things feel better, even if it would not necessarily make things better, but they denied themselves the opportunity as there was no telling as to how much time it would cost them. There were more important things to do; getting angry and frustrated openly about things was not high on the list of priorities. It could wait.

And so they kept on working and trying to whittle things down where they could and there was some good progress being made. The cloudless sky did not help matters and so the sun had a good shot of scorching the land, and so the sweat became so profuse that it was no longer noticeable.

Unfortunately, well before they could complete as much was necessary they had to go inside, for it became far too warm to get any more work done. They dropped what they were doing and went inside and hoped that somehow there would be a reprieve to come along and reduce the sun’s impact, but of course there was little, if any on offer.

A breeze did come along and it was one that would have been nice earlier on in the day, but by the time it had come everyone was inside and all it was doing was moving hot air around. There was no reprieve. There was no respite. All there was was the continuation of the prevention of getting things done with less pressure. This all did not bode well, but all they could do is keep on going and hope for the best. They could at least relax a little until the following day, in which more work would need to be done.

Once more they would try to do as much as possible and hope that the work load would diminish a little, but for now all it was was waiting and resting, as there was little else to do other than hope that the following day would not provide another unwanted increase in temperature.

The time it took to write one thousand words: 13:02:24

I think that perhaps I may have stretched this out farther than necessary again.
I think I am finding it easier to write at this length, however.

Written at home.

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One Thousand Word Challenge 84: Just Some Rambling

Posted on November 17, 2020 by Stupidity Hole

Crashing crush and roll over and hope for the best and all of that stuff.

Pushing through the pain, should rest though. Should do a lot of things, but resting is the priority, but that is not what I am doing right now, Pushing past the pain to present something, then perhaps I will once more disappear into my cone of silence in the hopes that there is a little more silence in there, or out here, as it were.

The heat has absconded with itself and so there’s a nice coolness in the house and that is something that right now I appreciate as I prefer to work without sweating profusely. Sweating through the result is more satisfying than sweat through the process of being too warm, I think, though of course it all depends on what you think and how you feel and all of that other stuff.

Anyway, it’s nice and cool and it has been a nice day and there was little done in the way of productivity, but sometimes that is the way that things go and that is something that one has to accept in order to be able to keep on going with the way of things in order to become a better person, or something. At least a more productive person. There are gonna be times when the body needs a rest and that is something that should be heeded.

However, this was not a day that was not productive due to rest. It was not productive due to work and also due to overestimating my abilities once more.

You see, I went for a cycle to go grab an order I placed for a couple of drinks and I felt that if I was going to get alcohol, then I should at least make it worth the journey and cycle to where I ordered it, and so I placed the order for a place that was about seven to eight kilometres away. Not that far a distance, but considering my low effort when it comes to cycling frequently, it was something to take it out of me, and it certainly did. The whole trip was meant to take an hour, but it took closer to two. There was a lot of stopping and there was some walking. This is of course not an efficient way to cycle, but when you’re unfit and being lazy about it and hop onto a bike which is heavy and in need of servicing, then maybe it makes the art of cycling a little more challenging than it needs to be and of course that is all on me. However, I still did so and I don’t regret the act, but I am constantly reminded of my need to look after myself better than I do, which of course is on me. And so there you have a little bit of my life of which occurred today.

Kind of put so many things to the side and now I’m feeling a little tired and sleepy, but I think I will get through it as I need to as I still need to cook dinner soon and I still need to do a bit of writing and also do some more writing.

This might just be a bit of a busy evening and that’s fine. I can get through it. I can get to the end of it and then sleep and hopefully not wake up really early as that is something I much don’t enjoy, unless I have a reason to.

Now, where was I going with all of this? I think that there was a point that I  was trying to make, but now I’m not so sure and now I need to work out as tow here I go from here, other than toward the end as fast as possible as that often is the goal, though to be more correct it is part of the goal rather than the goal.

Anyway, now I don’t know what else to say. To be honest, I wasn’t really planning on saying anything about what I did today, but that’s what happened. There wasn’t much to say and that’s alright, but now I have all of this space and I don’t know how to fill it. I don’t want to waste the space, but I don’t know how to utilise what I have and perhaps that is a slight issue. Need to find a way to make the most of it and get to the end of this, but I don’t want to waste your time as then I’m wasting your time.

Now I’m wondering as to just how much of what I’ve written is  a waste of time.

Correction: How much I’ve written that I’ve also released to the public. Probably more than I would like to believe. Oh well. That has now been done and now I am doing this and I guess it could be much worse, but of course it could be much better.

I think that I need to just find a way to wrap this up so that I can go and cook  as I am feeling a little bit peckish. Bit of an issue if I don’t do anything about it, but I will be. Make something easy and all of that other stuff. Just be lazy about the cooking and then do the cooking and thus the food is cooked and then there will be the eating and then there will be more resting, but knowing me I’ll probably spend more time writing so that I can then have written more. Can’t take a break from NaNoWriMo just yet. Got to wait until I finish it before I can rest.

Well, now that that all has been said and I managed to fill more of the space, I think it really is time for me to go and cook, so I’m going to do that instead of continuing this.

The time it took to write one thousand words: 11:10:26

I think I stretched myself thin with this one.

Written at home.

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Passionate Screaming

Posted on November 16, 2020 by Stupidity Hole

This is the vocalist of Diamond Construct.

I think this is an alright shot. I think the light is balanced really well and you get a good idea of the power going into the vocals here.

I like the shot. I don’t think it’s great, but I like it.

I hope you enjoy.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 809: Man and Machine

Posted on November 16, 2020 by Stupidity Hole

He was a sharp dressed man, always in the finest of looking suits, always with the right haircut. He oozed the coolness before coolness was even a thing, even though it had been a thing long established before he was even born. He was just cool, however, and there was no denying it. Calm, collected, smooth, all those things.

Everyone he met could not help but like him and his excellent and most responsible nature, as there seemed no flaw within his being. However, he did have one enemy in his life and, even though no one but him knew about this, it was something that struck at his very core whenever he had to engage with it, for it was a problem.

He was always careful to make sure no one saw him when he would become something he considered beneath him and his carefully calculated appearance, for engaging with his enemy always led to something he considered primal and unbecoming of proper behaviour. He did not want people to see his flagrant display of improper emotion, and so he would always make sure that the coast was clear.

His enemy did not care much for him other than what he would put into it. If it did not give anything to him, that was his problem and not its, for it did not care. It was just doing its job as it was not something that was alive. It had no dog in the fight, but he did, and he had invested far too much into it to be able to easily let go.

Every time he had to engage with it he would start getting angry. If people were around he would make sure that he stayed as composed as possible. Sometimes he almost failed in keeping up the façade, but most of the time it was easy enough, for people had bought into him and so he was able to buy into himself much more easily.

One day when he was alone, he approached the focus of all his anger and rage and confronted it as he usually did. As far as he was aware, it had been fixed and so he could get something from it without issue this time around.

He gave it money, and so it began the process of dispensing desired goods. Of course the fix didn’t really fix anything and, as per usual, the goods became stuck. He didn’t question why he kept doing this dance with a vending machine; nor did he question why he was putting so much anger and thought toward said machine. This was an issue as this time, despite all of his efforts, he completely lost his cool and started yelling at and hitting the vending machine.

The vending machine, being a vending machine, did not retaliate or react and took all the anger and rage in its stride.

Those who were looking on saw someone not cool, but instead displaying serious anger and self-control issues.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 08:43:30

I had the idea of something silly and this is mostly silly, so… it was a success?

Written at home.

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A Poem About Stretching

Posted on November 15, 2020 by Stupidity Hole

I tried to write this as quickly as I could.
I think it shows in the phrasing.

Perhaps there is a good idea in this and I should work on it and try and improve it, but if I do it likely won’t be for a while.

I think that at least the meaning gets across.

I hope you enjoy.

—

Stretching until I cannot stretch
And then I somehow stretch some more
My reach is weakened, my grip softened
Too thin am I to properly build

Despite how aware I may be
Of what I now have created
I dare not allow myself rest
For there remains more to cover

And so I stretch and stretch some more
Far, far more than I should allow
Covering much, yet seldom well
Surface is as far as I go

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