Five-Hundred Word Challenge 747: Lunchtime Ramble

Posted on August 28, 2020 by Stupidity Hole

I’ve waited a little too long to do any writing during this particular shift and there is little time left for my break reserved for the period referred to as “lunch”, so I need to get moving pretty quickly and make sue that I get all of the thing done. So long as I get the thing done (which in this case is the writing), then I can do more things, or something. However, there is little time left so I need to make sure that I get the whole thing done quickly and I also need to avoid repetition as much as possible. Repetition is weighing me down as it is an easy grab and I’m trying to beat the feeling of not completing things without some sport of variety that is not on the surface, so I need to do the thing, or something. I think you get the idea.

Anyway, I’ve got all of that said and now I shall move toward whatever the next thing is so that I can add the sense of expression that overrides the sense of urgency. Can you see that this reeks of desperation? I can. Well,I can’t as desperation does not have a tangible form… or maybe it does. I do not know, if I am to be honest, which is something that I say quite a lot and now that I think about it I do not quite know as to why I say that so much. I guess there are worse things that I could be saying, but I need to stop replying so heavily on the phrase “I don’t know”, even if it holds a lot of truth and thus a lot of weight so long as I use it within a correct context. Using the term (or phrase) incorrectly may create some sort of confusion and nonsensical series of words which is something that I’d much rather avoid, if I am to be honest. Still, I should try and substitute it with something else for the time being, assuming that it is a time being and not a time doing, or something to similar effect and so on and so forth and you get the idea, because I don’t.

Anyway, with all of that out of the way I guess I should look more forward to the future rather than backward to the future. There are things in play and I am looking forward to the embracing of those things. If I can embrace those things then the embracing will be the thing that take sit all ahead. I think. I don’t really know, but of course there is only one way to find out and that way of finding out involves more going forward than back, so going forward is what I’ll do from now.

Either that or I’ll do it a bit later as I do have work still and that needs to be addressed before I can do anything else with my day.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 04:57:25

I’m quite happy with the time. Slowed down a little toward the end as one of my wrists started hurting, but managed to get under five minutes, so… yeah. The actual writing is… it leaves a lot to be desired.

Written at home.

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Approaching Ducks

Posted on August 27, 2020 by Stupidity Hole

Behold: ducks.
To be more specific, these are both Anas superciliosa (aka pacific black duck).

I got really lucky with this photo. I was at a bad angle when I took the shot.

This is my submission into Leanne Cole‘s TPM photo challenge for this week.

The theme for this challenge is “Small Creatures”.

I suggest checking out Leanne’s photography, as well as checking out what other people submit into the challenge.

You can find the challenges here.

I hope you enjoy.

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Vent

Posted on August 26, 2020 by Stupidity Hole

Just a photo of a vent, as well as some small parts of its surroundings.

I like how cold and mechanical this looks. It’s just a fairly commonplace thing, but I think here it looks much more… well, not quite ominous. Perhaps menacing?

Structurally I think the curve of the vent helps it stick out a bit more. It’s size is a big factor to its prominence, but the other objects in the shot appear much more rigid due to their being constrained within straight lines.

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 746: About a Desert

Posted on August 26, 2020 by Stupidity Hole

Crossing expanses upon expanses and following the rolling dunes that change form and reshape themselves in some sort of eternal dance of metamorphosis. Perhaps they are a great amorphous body rather than some giant landscape. Perhaps.

Crossing requires time and effort, but that time and effort can pay off in dividends so long as the path of the cardinal directions are followed more than the layout of the land. Following the land will only lead to entrapment rather than escape. Following the cardinal directions will lead to a long journey, but eventual release from the massive expanses upon expanses that engulf the region.

Granules of sand flow interminably slow, and yet rather quickly all at the same time. It is a still, dry ocean made of earth broken down and thus flows freely when it is not compact enough to remain a stable element. Of course, as it is trodden upon, whilst there is a slight sinking the compression creates a sort of solid path underneath and thus travel is possible. The sand is not so freely-floating that it will not support someone’s desire to move across it; just free enough to not remain beholden to the desires of the land to remain something with a resolute and highly stable form.

In a way it presents a sort of comfort for those who admire it, as well as a sense of peril for those who  wish to cross it. It is as safe as it is dangerous. Whilst landmarks pockmark the extreme vastness, they can be difficult to find or even follow depending on how the desert interacts with winds on any given day. Landmarks are only useful sometimes. Shelter is scarce, but the desert is smaller than it implies. It is large, for sure, but it is only its constant shifting that makes it appear as large and overwhelming as it appears.

AS such, some who cross have huge dunes that they must move over directly, causing a great increase in time and a greater increase in danger. Some dunes become insurmountable and thus a longer route is required in order to get to any required destination.

Some who cross will have a far easier time. Their path is clear and straightforward. They have nothing to worry about as the terrain provided to them is relatively smooth and stable. It lacks the danger that some have to deal with.

However, most cross with a mix. There is some danger, some needing to cross over dunes in a direct way. Some parts of the journey allow for safe passage. However, for all of these, there still remains a great danger of becoming lost and disoriented. The expanses upon expanses can still lead to someone losing their way if they are not careful, for confidence can quite easily lead into hubris and as such many a journey remains incomplete as people head in the wrong direction and end up trapped and swallowed by the desert with little hope of getting out.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 09:32:37

Not sure why but I include desert settings in my writing quite often.
Anyway, this started off as being something rather fantastic and then just kind of became something a bit more grounded.

It’s alright.

Written at home.

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Frame’s gaps

Posted on August 25, 2020 by Stupidity Hole

I’m not quite sure what I was aiming for when I took this photo, other than capturing the bridge’s structure at a specific angle.

I think I did a good job of showing space. The bridge is not the widest out there, but it does have plenty of space so I’m glad that came through.

What I like most is how the frame appears to be moving away from itself, so to speak. Obviously it’s a perspective thing but I do like how that makes the frame’s gaps seem like they’re getting wider the closer to the camera they are.

I hope you enjoy.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 745: Morning Beckons

Posted on August 25, 2020 by Stupidity Hole

The morning beckons the waking of the up as opposed to the falling of the down and soon the ice thaws on the limbs, enabling a full range of movement into another place of time and history. That is the way that it rolls sometimes but tumbling out of the cloth that keeps us warm and then mercilessly feeling one’s way to a place considered just as comfortable is not always the best way to do things.

Sometimes it is, but not always. This is something that needs to be remembered when going on the adventure of a lifetime. Of course this lifetime adventure is the getting out of the bed quickly and making the way to the kitchen to brew some COFFEE, then drinking the COFFEE so as to be able to power up and then power through the whole day in all of its length and being and existing, so you can exist within the existence of another thing that exists. Then later in the day it will be time to have some TEA and pull oneself back down to the earth of the planet that is referred to as “Earth” and not “Oith”, though in some places it is referred to as “Oith” and not “Earth” and to be honest, that is fine. Not bad and not good. Just fine.

Actually, maybe it is a good thing and not a bad thing. Depends on how you view the whole thing, really. However, I’m getting away from the hand of the subject and as it is growing more limbs I need to tackle the beast and suppress its urges to get to a size considered unwieldy. The beast is of course this bloated format of writing in which I am applying in order to do the thing that I am currently doing. Probably shouldn’t do it, or something, but will anyway because I can and I will.

There shall be fighting. There shall be glory and shame in all of its shameless glory. There will be the many of a thing and many a thing will be what it is as the celebration of subjugation goes on unabated upon the rainbow’s guilt of knowing the unknowable but not expressing it in any way other than through translucent nightmares hanging on the morning’s dew.

See, now I’m descending into just throwing words together in the hopes that the chains they create create something that is profoundly vague more than they are vaguely profound. There needs to be the symbols and the meaning and the signs that suggest something far greater than something that isn’t all too great. That is one of the hopes and I am hoping that it comes on through to the other side with everything intact, but I guess in order to do all of that I should perhaps just try and crawl back into bed, then crawl out of it again and make my way to the kitchen to get myself a cup of COFFEE.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 06:08:65

This was pretty stream-of-conscious, but parts were a bit more forced than I would have liked.

It feels imageless to me, if that makes sense.

Written at home.

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Open 7 Days

Posted on August 24, 2020 by Stupidity Hole

So I was writing about a particular band for the next five-hundred word challenge, but I found that as I was writing about them the discussion of them and their emotional weight would not serve well for that kind of restriction and so I’ve filed away what I was writing and am going to expand it into something hopefully full and somewhat-encompassing.

Tonight it’s just a photo I’m sharing and in particular it is the photo beneath the text I was writing (and you currently are reading [look at how clever I am]).

There’s something about the way the words in this photo are worn down that I find appealing. It feels almost as defiant as the medical centre is to being closed.

I wonder if they attempted to remove the “24 HRS” bit, or if that just happened to fade out on its own.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

 

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tricot: Makkuro Review

Posted on August 23, 2020 by Stupidity Hole

This is a review I should’ve started and finished a while ago. Instead I started and finished it today.

It’s not as fleshed out as I would like, but I think I get across some of what I was trying to say with more clarity than usual.

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.

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.

—

tricot’s latest album goes by the name of 真っ黒 (Makkuro ). It’s a rather light-sounding album that (at the very least) suggests something more than just surface music. It’s tricot’s first album on a major label which either means something, or means nothing at all. Depends on how much you feel that affects your listening experience.Makkuro kicks off with “混ぜるな危険” (“Mazeruna Kiken”), which carries a juxtaposition between aggressive loudness and soft, gentle pop sections. It’s a pleasing and smooth opener; perhaps a bit disjointed relative to the rest of the album, but it’s not a bad way to begin things.

The rest of the album sees tricot balance their elements a bit more, though with a clear lean toward pop structures and melody. Sure, they’ve always had pop sensibilities among their mathy structures; one of tricot’s greatest talents is how they combine these elements without sounding as though they’re compromising. However, as a whole Makkuro is less abstract, angular and willing to play with sound than prior releases, giving a sense of of it being less adventurous, though not necessarily less enjoyable.

Many of the songs feel mid-paced (so to speak), though they still carry a great deal of energy and thrust. tricot still perform as a tight and cohesive unit doing what they can to solidify each moment, and they don’t shy away from using complexity to a song’s benefit. However, tricot sound like they’re letting themselves keep things a bit more simple and loose, though not in the strictest sense of what that implies. They’re not always making the most of their abilities and instead letting the album (on average) slow down. In a way it gives more time for both the emotional content and performative aspect to soak in more so than on past releases.

A lot of the vocal melodies and harmonies melodies are rather pretty and appealing; In conjunction with the music underneath they carry emotional tone with a great deal of ease. There’s a little bit of playing around with delivery, though not in a way that creates inconsistency. Generally despite differences in tone and delivery each vocal line fits within its song. However, the vocals seem more prominent both within the songs and in the mix, taking away from the songs a little more than it feels as though they should.

Where Makkuro sits among tricot’s discography is hard to tell. Performance-wise the songs are great; tricot pull them off with ease. Whilst the songs seem simpler and poppier, they still play with dynamics, sound and complexity. The mix is a bit more “clean”, allowing for more clarity in what is going on, though at times it’s a little too bright and polished. Some of the songs see the band mix things up a bit; some are a little too familiar with prior songs which gets a bit distracting.

That all said, whilst some parts are stronger and some are weaker, Makkuro is a solid slice of tricot. It’s an enjoyable listen that remains rather consistent the whole way through.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 744: Just Some Rambling About Creating a Whole Body of Work

Posted on August 23, 2020 by Stupidity Hole

Sometimes it is quite difficult to create a whole body of work. Sometimes. Not always. There is a distinction, but I’m not going to go into that. This is just a springboard for other things. That is the way it is going to work, unless it is not the way it is going to work, but I digress.

It can be difficult to create a whole body of work; even more so if that whole body of work is to be some sort of interconnected universe with little (if any) contradictions. It takes time. It takes a lot of hours and effort and there are things that may need to be given up in order to achieve such a thing that may be seen as a towering monument to only a few things. It adds to a collective pool of creation, but it itself probably has to be its own thing, so long as it is seen from certain angles.

You don’t want to overdo it. You also don’t want to underdo it. There needs to be a precious balance struck so as to be able to make sure that the whole thing doesn’t become this unwieldy beast that escapes from you, though of course there are times when that is completely acceptable, and even perhaps partially acceptable. But! There there needs to be caution and care and there needs to be the making sure that it all does the thing that it needs to do, when it all comes down to whatsoever it is that it needs to come down to.

However, there are times when perhaps the best thing is to let it do something else; something that you didn’t think that it needed to do. That is of course just as important, so long as you know when that is that that needs to happen. Wait; it’s important either way, so knowing when is better than not knowing when as you may force something in the wrong direction and cause it to topple over. Perhaps there is the possibility of knowing and then choosing to topple the whole thing anyway. This present a bit of a conundrum, but I don’t know if I can address it right now.

I probably can but realistically I am choosing not to. I don’t feel like it. What I feel like is sitting down and relaxing for a bit. Relaxing is nice, as are other things that are out there. Perhaps a work of relaxation is the best process to follow as that way you get to relax and build a foundation of relaxing, or something like that. I don’t know; I’m just throwing things at the wall and seeing what comes out of all of this. It seems like a futile thing to do, but there is every possibility that throughout this process the whole body of work of which I may or may not create may just spring out and rise up from this garbled ending of a sentence.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 06:17:03

Happy with the speed, but it’s clear that I ran out of steam before finishing. I think that if I had stopped the timer, then spent time fleshing this out it would’ve worked quite well. Oh well.

Written at home.

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Sunrise Crane

Posted on August 23, 2020 by Stupidity Hole

When I arrived at Hurstville the other morning I had a few minutes to kill, so I went to a rooftop parking area to catch some of the sunrise. I saw this and felt a strong desire to take a photo.

As with a few other photos of structures and machinery that I’ve taken, I feel as though this has an ominous feel. At the same time it sort of feels like a form of waking up. I feel conflicted as I like the colour of the sunrise and the way it works with the crane and the building; it has a pleasantness to it, but at the same time it feels rather unpleasant.

This is my submission into the one hundred-and-eleventh Lens-Artists Photo Challenge.

The theme for this one is “Everyday Objects“.

I’m not sure as to how it is in other places, but cranes in Sydney have become incredibly commonplace. It’s almost uncommon to see one in quite a few places, as well as the objects of which they are working with.

The challenge is hosted by four people and cycles weekly:

Week 1 – Patti

Week 2 – Ann-Christine aka Leya

Week 3 – Amy

Week 4 – Tina

This one is hosted Patti. Next week’s is hosted by Leya.

I recommend checking out how people are interpreting the challenges. I also recommend joining in. It’s a growing, fun community.

I hope you enjoy.

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