Five-Hundred Word Challenge 1548: The Same Questions as Always

Posted on December 4, 2025 by Stupidity Hole

What am I going to write? I’ve been lazy over the past few weeks and I’ve been so lazy that I’m rusty. Either that, or I just don’t miss doing this, and that’s fine. So I guess I’m going to drag myself through this and work through everything and slowly trudge my way to the finish line, wherever that lies. If I even care.

I think that, perhaps, over the last decade and more, I’ve been writing because I enjoy it and I’ve been looking for something, but maybe, just maybe it also was a coping mechanism. I don’t know. I still have a joy for it, but I also don’t and I’m just forcing this right now. That’s not good. But maybe it needs to be done. Or something.

Why am I breaking down my sentences so much?

So anyway, sitting here at Duoly Rob. Thinking about things. Wondering if I don’t have it in me anymore. Wondering if I should just stop now. You know. All those things. What’s my value as a writer? Do I have any value? Have I offered anything? So it’s the usual questions and the usual questions are being asked in the usual manner.

I’m wondering why I do this to myself, and I’m wondering why I continue. Right now, maybe it’s difficult. I haven’t had enough sleep, but I’ve had a good breakfast. But also, I don’t feel the need to write. I don’t feel the drive. I’m still going to write today, and I’m going to write a lot, but right now I don’t feel it. I don’t feel compelled to write. And that’s okay.

Still, I’m going to push on for a few more months. Just until the end of this space. Maybe I’ll feel better after all of that. I don’t know. I could. I might. But I’m not trying to think that far ahead, because I just want to focus on what I’m doing now, which is churning out a lot of crap and doing a good job of being crap at churning out crap. This place is full of it; might as well keep on going and get it all out there. Get it all done and written and then move to wherever and whatever comes next, which is already here but it’s a bit asleep at the moment.

I think that I’ve probably spent too much time talking crap, and have done so willingly, and maybe lockdown did more damage than I thought it did. I know I was fine for a good while, but bad habits have a way of cementing themselves if you don’t keep them in check, and I’m quite certain I didn’t.

Anyway, today is going to be a good day, and I imagine that, by the time I get to work, I’ll probably feel a bit better. I’ll probably feel a bit better about some, and not all things, and then I’ll crap on for a while and then head home.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 06:57:97

Could’ve been better.

Written at Dirty Red

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Knuckle Eyes

Posted on December 3, 2025 by Stupidity Hole

This was taken a few weeks ago with the person I’m seeing; their hand being the one on the right. It’s interesting hand stuff to me, with the way there’s sort of a smoothness to our hands in terms of form. Almost organic. What really interests me though is how my knuckles look like eyes. It’s a bit uncomfortable.

This is my submission into Leanne Cole‘s “Monochrome Madness” for this week. The next one is hosted by me, and I have chosen the theme of “The Space Between”.

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

I hope you enjoy.

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Leaves From Underneath

Posted on December 2, 2025 by Stupidity Hole

A little late again, but here’s my submission into Leanne Cole‘s “Monochrome Madness” for this week. This one is hosted by Dawn of The Day After, and she has chosen the theme “Leaves and / or petals”.

I took this photo for the theme and procrastinated a bit, hence the late submission. Life and all that.

Anyway, these are leaves from the prunus x blireana I have. After getting it back from my friend I’ve been watering it a bit. He’s had a lot on his plate and so, understandably, plants weren’t a priority. It’s producing a lot of leaves at the moment, but they’re staying around the base rather than spreading out which does concern my a little, but the thing is still alive, so not all bad.

I was taking photos and decided to get under the tree, see what I could get which is the below result.

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

I hope you enjoy.

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Bruford Levin Upper Extremities: Deeper Blue

Posted on December 1, 2025 by Stupidity Hole

One listen.

This was a really moody piece, and I found it to be quite interesting in how it progressed. I don’t think all of what I wrote represents the song well, but I am happy with what I wrote.

Bruford Levin Upper Extremities’ “Deeper Blue” is from Bruford Levin Upper Extremities.

I hope you enjoy.

—

Bass rising and falling, almost like breathing, almost like descending. And then it continues its pattern but on a different feel, and changes, and percussion shimmers before brass calls out into the bass space.

There’s a lonesomeness here; a sadness, perhaps. Quiet, isolated, and something shines in the distance, and seemingly approaches. Steadily, carefully, and doesn’t approach at all. Stays gentle in the distance. But comes back stronger, and percussion returns, and there’s something building, but everything remains on the spot. Everything is going down together, into this deepness.

A change and bloom, and sounds gently crash and rumble, and play busy, sinking further, sinking deeper, rising and blooming and flowing within and throughout, and playing out, getting it all out before returning to the calm and the sinking.

Playing gentle, playing careful, playing blue, playing floating, and eventually on its own again, as it started, though this time getting to a point where the last note holds and stops at the song’s end.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 1547: More Writing and Churning

Posted on November 29, 2025 by Stupidity Hole

More writing churning and once more I am racing as much as I can. Need to stretch the hands; have very little to do right now and if I do do it, then I’m gonna be screwed as I’ll have even less to do. I’ll have nothing, and if I have nothing I have no job to work for the day. Might be a good thing, but that’s not a concern right now. What is a concern is trying to get this done as quickly as I possibly can. I think. Or something.

So I can already see the words that I have churned out and there are a few. Is this a good thing? Is this a bad thing. Is this a thing that even matters? What matters? Matter is important, and so things mattering should also be considered important. But things that are important that matter are only here and there some of the time, and so that is something that needs to be accepted… some of the time. Not all of the time. You don’t want to be accepting whatever, whenever and wherever you go.

So I don’t know what I’m going on about and I’m hearing some music that is interesting, but has some of the most draining vocals I’ve ever heard. Constantly breathy, but it’s without a sense of passion or dynamics. Now vocals don’t need to be passionate, but these lack a lot of the feel that perhaps they should have. They feel expected, rather than warranted, if that makes sense. And it’s annoying as to how monotonous they are in comparison to what is happening with the music, and I don’t know as to how I will ever cope with this and woe is me and all of those other things.

However, it does annoy me as this could be so much better and it’s not. These vocals really are letting the music down which isn’t anything special, but is at least interesting. Is at least warranted and worth it and all of those other things that sound good to me, because I think there is something in the music, but it’s being held back.

Anyway, I’ve slowed right down and I don’t know if I can recover from this, but that’s okay. I’ll still have this done in under five minutes. That is, the minutes of five and that’s cool. I think that’s cool. It’s not cool; it’s not even noteworthy. I write better when I slow down, anyway. Or do I? I don’t know and I don’t care enough to know. That is life and that is my life and now it is your life, too. You’re living it and I’m on hiatus, or something. I’ll be back to reclaim my life at a later date, so you better treat it well. If you don’t, I’ll be upset and I don’t want to be upset. Not right now, anyway. Not when there’s sound to enjoy and lacking vocals to not enjoy.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 04:44:45

Tried to get under four minutes. Didn’t get there. Wrote a mess.

I wrote this ten days ago and it took that long to get to sharing, and I’ve been slipping behind but it’s been a good time. About to pick things back up, however.

Written at work.

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Bruford Levin Upper Extremities: Cracking the Midnight Glass

Posted on November 28, 2025 by Stupidity Hole

One listen.

This song gave time for thought and I think that was good for what I was listening. I think that the writing may have been better were I to completely switch off, but I also think thinking wasn’t bad for what I was hearing as I didn’t feel I had to try and keep up.

Bruford Levin Upper Extremities’ “Cracking the Midnight Glass” is from Bruford Levin Upper Extremities.

I hope you enjoy.

—

A hum and a shimmer, and it holds and fades. The dripping of percussion fills moments between an empty space, echoing, becoming busier, but not by much. It’s slow, echoing, seemingly reflecting itself. The hum and shimmer return and change this from something dark and tense to something perhaps more work-like; that is, of the process of working.

The hum and shimmer disappear and not long after they are replaced by guitar, bright and muffled, playing something joyous, almost. Something definitive, striking, full of slow movement, and a shimmering of insects come in and cover and fade a little and take the sounds with them as they fade away and the song ends.

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Rise to the Sky: Levitating Towards the Sky

Posted on November 27, 2025 by Stupidity Hole

One listen, went into it, knocked it out. Tried to capture the awesome power of cheese in the song. Didn’t quite, but still got a good idea of it down.

Rise to the Sky’s “Levitating Towards the Sky” is from Moonlight.

I hope you enjoy.

—

Keys play descending, then back up. An underscoring soon after, by guitar. A calm noise sits in the background for a bit whilst the guitar fills out, and fills out some more and plays a separate melody that matches the keys. That background noise disappears, then comes back and too starts building.

Suddenly the guitar starts cutting and percussion comes in, as does bass, and they play with grandiosity. They keep dramatic, and then they switch to a more driving, pounding mode. They push hard, cut and grind, and buzz and thud and stay tight and stay enthusiastic. They shift back, then shift into more dramatic forms.

Thundering and charging forward, slow and fast, and guitar asks questions as it takes action. And things are slow and fast, and almost at maximum. Maximised and pushing, and enveloping and increasing in intensity, seemingly about to stop, then pushing on harder still. Almost overwhelming, and driving into that final moment before the move to silence at the song’s end.

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Hotel Pools: Coast

Posted on November 26, 2025 by Stupidity Hole

One listen and I threw myself into this one. Just got it done and it turned out well. I think I captured a form of the song quite well, though perhaps not the most obvious of its shape and sounds.

Hotel Pools’ “Coast” is from Fall ’18.

I hope you enjoy.

—

Warming up, rising. Rising repeatedly, a little depth and rising still. And something builds in the background, like the fading of memory. The beat comes in, and a little extra pulse, too. And the sounds flow and move, and the rhythm is nice. It’s all nice and cool, and it’s distant.

Everything feels muffled and faded, and there’s some nostalgia to it, or maybe some illusion. An ideal that’s not as ideal as one would like to think. Who knows. It still all flows and moves, and goes further muffled and disappears for a moment… almost.

The sounds fade back to the forefront and continue their steady drive along, among idyllic scenery, through windows overlooking the dark, together with many others alone, and the coolness of it all rings through. It speaks volumes and comes off as illusory, and is genuine, and everything stops and the song ends.

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Rain Tree Crow: Cries and Whispers

Posted on November 25, 2025 by Stupidity Hole

One listen, and it felt pretty easy. I think I captured the song well and not at all at the same time.

Rain Tree Crow’s “Cries and Whispers” is from Rain Tree Crow.

I hope you enjoy.

—

Gentle percussion, seemingly for relaxation. It plays with space, and some other sounds waft in . Vocals soon follow, a little worn, a little smooth. They pick their notes and words carefully, clear and indistinct at the same time.

The percussion and other sounds keep drifting, wafting… or rather the percussion continues its relaxed push. And it all seems to start disappearing, but then it picks up again. It picks up but it remains calm, and beautiful. More sound, and vocals return.

There seems to be a sadness, but it’s all seems so impressionistic at the same time, and the sounds drop out again. And a new percussion, but an old percussion is here, playing out, playing sounds, lingering, and the voice returns, quieter. It’s quieter, and simple. and at its end, and hushed, and this time after the last word it is silence and the song ends.

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Central Station Clock Tower

Posted on November 24, 2025 by Stupidity Hole

I think I’ve shared photos of this before, though perhaps not as gloomy or cold. I took this last week for the previous “Monochrome Madness, but I didn’t use it as I didn’t feel it worked as well for the theme as the one I shared. Still, I wanted to share it, and so here it is.

This is my submission into Leanne Cole‘s “Monochrome Madness” for this week. The next one is hosted by Dawn of The Day After, and she has chosen the theme “Leaves and / or petals”.

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

I hope you enjoy.

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