Five-Hundred Word Challenge 709: Not Overly Interesting

The droning of machinery drones on outside which contrasts rather harshly with the sunny appearance of everything as there are few clouds out and it is sunny and bright and there are a few birds about. It would be rather peaceful if it were not for the droning.

It continues on and pushes forward and stretches outward and cuts into the image of an ideal day, though realistically it only feels ideal in comparison to the cold of which I am currently dealing with. We’re in winter and it’s getting warm and as much as I would appreciate a bit of warmth, now is not the time (at least, in the general temperature that is), but that’s not something that I want to spend much time writing about; especially seeing as that droning coming from some sort of machinery in the external world has found a way to come to an end. I think that instead of that, I will write about something else as writing about something else is something that I may actually be good at doing.

Well, maybe not, but you get the idea.

So anyway, I’m inside, there is a world outside the inside of which I am in and now I am writing about this thing as though it was the most interesting thing in the world. Actually, I’m not, but I think I get the idea across. I need to pretend that it is interesting. I am trying to pretend that sitting here and writing words is interesting. I am also trying to pretend that sitting here and putting off hanging up the washing is interesting.

Well, I’m not, but I’m going to pretend that I am pretending that the writing about of things that aren’t interesting is interesting, or at least I find them interesting enough to write about them, which I guess I do, but I don’t, if that makes sense.

Anyway, I’m not writing about that stuff as there are other things of which I want to discuss, but right now it’s all about the warming of up as opposed to the cooling of down as once my hands are warm I’ll be able to get a good start on the things and once the things are started there is plenty of stopping, but there will be more doing than not doing, so that’s a thing but I think I might worry about that… now, actually. In fact, I should worry about that right now as opposed to later as then I will get more done and I’d rather get more done than less as that way I’ve gotten things done earlier and thus have an afternoon to slow down, though it nearly is afternoon.

However, before I even think of getting into all of that, there is something far more important that I need to get out of the way. This insidious beast has crept up upon me and now I must tangle with my greatest of foes: The washing.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 06:17:83

Well, this certainly is something I wrote.

It’s rather… well, neither ho hum nor hokum. Is kind of flat, however.

Will say that I do find writing words interesting, though sometimes it can be aggravating. No need to pretend about that.

Written at home.

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Livistona australis

Also known as the cabbage-tree palm.

This was taken whilst in The Royal National Park.

I like how the shade makes the stems and leaves look.
They have a kind of softness to them even though they’re not.

I also like the form and shape of the leaves and how they fall against the trunk.

I hope you enjoy.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 708: Racing Against a Song

Light is turning to dark and now I find myself in a race against what remains of a song and I don’t know as to why I decided that this would be a good idea, but I guess here goes, or something to similar effect.

Anyway, the transition of afternoon to evening is at hand and I’m sitting once more in front of my computer and I’m hurting the keyboard with the amount of letters that I am typing out. Now that I think about it, I’m probably jot typing many letters as generally I seem to default to less complex words when I do these, but sometimes that is the way that things go.

So anyway, here I am racing away and I don’t even know as to how many words I have typed at this point and it does not matter as what matters is looking for the cohesive among the mess that is being churned out by the way that I am typing and the way that I’m allowing for things to flow forward. Perhaps, however, this one will be more focused as there doesn’t seem to be a lengthy chain of gibberish pouring out for once. Perhaps this will be the pieces that says “I wrote something” more than other ones at this current juncture in time.

I don’t really know, but I do know that I want to engage in a bit of banter, ribaldry and sesquipedalian loquaciousness in the hopes of finding out something far greater, or perhaps far lesser than what this is coming out as. I do hope that perhaps this will lead to an exploration of sorts, but of course I am unable to guarantee anything in that regard as all I am doing is the conjuring of the words into the formations resembling sentences with the structures of sensibility in the hopes that all of this makes sense once it is all done.

Actually, I don’t really care right now. What I do care about is getting to the end of this before the song ends and that of course is going to lead to some mess at the least, but perhaps the construction will be worthwhile in the end. Perhaps it will not, but there is always hope that somehow doing all of this will lead to something worth reading. I don’t really know. I do know that I’ve come this fat and I am not ready to stop as there are only a few words left to go.

There are only a few more sentences remaining and I need to continue on if I am to do the thing that I am attempting to do. Right now I’ve realised that perhaps I need a bigger keyboard as this one really isn’t big enough. Still, I think I’m doing alright at the moment, so I’m just going to race on in the hopes that I reach the target before the song reaches its end.

I might just be successful.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 04:59:76

So I’m fairly certain that I did beat the song, but only by a few seconds as it was fading out when I finished.

Bit of a focused mess, this text seems to me.

Written at home.

 

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From Behind Grass

The trees in this particular spot are new to me. I imagine they sprung up some time in the gap between my recent visit and the one a few years ago.

That goes without saying, because of course they would have sprung up in that time; otherwise they wouldn’t be something new to me.

I find it interesting. With enough trees growing in this spot a stronger barrier will form, thus allowing more to grow and so on and so forth.

I do like that you can see that some are shaped by the wind. It adds an angular feel to the image. I also like how the vegetation came out in monochrome. Strong in appearance, I think.

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 707: Rambling in the Evening

It’s the evening and I haven’t bothered to lift the proverbial pen so far.

Actually, now that I think about it, there was an attempt at getting stuff done earlier, but that didn’t go far. Instead the day has been busy in other ways. There has been the sorting, unsorting, cleaning, dirtying and the recording of things. Not all at once, of course, but in close proximity. There has been the relaxing, winding, releasing, increasing and releasing of things in various orders to various success and failure, and of course levels in between, which I think might have been pointless to state as the words preceding “and of course levels in between” implied the implication that I was implying, I think.

Anyway, I think that now is a good time to state that it is indeed the time of writing. It might be getting late in the evening, but at least something is being done. I’m feeling the drive and push and as such I need to get on with the getting on and type away and get this done so I can move onto the writing about other things. There is an album that requires my attention, or something like that. It doesn’t, but I’m going to pretend that it does as that makes me feel more important.

I’m getting sidetracked, though when I think about it I’m rather good at getting sidetracked, so perhaps this is my attempt at showing my skill in a subtle, yet clever manner. In fact, that likely is what it is. I’m trying to show how I’m so able to easily get sidetracked without showing it that I have no idea as to how to end this sentence.

Perhaps the wait for evening before doing anything was not, in fact, a good idea, though it never was the intention; it was that there were other things that took precedence and now I’m here and I’m trying to make up for lost time, or something. Maybe.

I guess that at the end of the day, so long as I have written something, that’s a bit more than having written nothing, but there needs to be some sort of substance to the whole thing, but somewhere near the beginning I went off the rails and now I find myself trying to reorient, but I don’t quite think it is doable at this juncture so I’m just going to push on ahead and try and find something else that will express some sort of deep meaning about things and then there will be the meaning of deepness and I’ll have achieved all that it is that I am trying to achieve, or something.

Of course that isn’t true, but I’m going to keep on pretending as that is much easier. Wait; maybe some of it is true.

Oh, I just don’t know right now, but I guess that’s part of the journey and in knowing at least that much, I can think of this sentence’s end.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 07:07:60

Happy with the speed but I think it shows that I’m not awake enough to quickly churn something out with some sort of… focus?

Written at home.

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Jarboe: Illusory Review

This review is much shorter than I had hoped. I didn’t want to reveal too much about the album, but this feels too much like skimming in places. I’m still trying to catch up on the backlog and I think that influenced the writing by more than what I should have allowed.

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. We’re going to do a live broadcast of the podcast soon and are looking to add more things for supporters.

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.

Illusory (Jarboe’s currently-latest release) is about exploring the illusion of the perception of self. Perhaps due to the pursuit of expressing that, the album is both vague and distinct.

The title track opens the album with soft, drawn out sounds. Jarboe’s vocals come in shortly after the song commences, following suit by drawing out most of the words she sings. Whilst the underlying music is constant, the vocal expression sounds fragmented. Eventually there’s a bit more layering that comes in which increases the sense of fragmentation.

From “Illusory” onward, Illusory deepens in the sense that – as trite as this is to say – it seems to be going on some sort of journey. It dives further into itself, looking to get across meaning and expression in a rather clear manner. The songs become less immediate and more meditative; they remain distinct, but they seem to expand whilst reaching inward.

Jarboe’s voice often comes off more like something that builds on the music. Sometimes words appear but often they sound obscured in a way that makes them more about how they sound than their intent. It leads to the music being more inviting and easier to pull you in; You focus more on what is coming out, trying to make sense of it and in turn you ease into the music and its meaning.

Illusory closes with “Man of Hate” which – in terms of structure and melody – probably is the most “pop-like” song here. At first the song doesn’t seem appropriate for closing the album; much of what comes before is a lot more ambient and less defined. However, over repeat listens it reveals itself as holding much of the same elements as the rest of Illusory. “Man of Hate” is almost like waking up; it’s clearer than the previous songs, but there’s still a strong sense of ambiguity, making it a great fit for closing an effective, exploratory work.

Illusory is available here.

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Semi Detached Point

I don’t know why this particular place is called Semi Detached Point. It doesn’t seem semi-detached so perhaps there is another reason. Maybe it is but it isn’t obvious. Anyway…

The cabins near this place have a bit of history that has to do with mining families (as far as I’m aware).

I do like how scenic this appears. Some of the wake from the waves might be showing the stretch of rips. I do like how they look like they’re wispy trails coming off of the visible land.

I hope you enjoy.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 706: Writing About Writing Once More

When it comes to doing these, there can be a sense of folly in trying to decide a topic to write about beforehand. Often when doing such a thing it ends up leading to a struggle in trying to write. Perhaps it is due to thinking a little too much about what it is that I’m trying to convey. Not sure. However, it is only sometimes.

Maybe it is due to getting to a point where, somewhere around the middle of the writing about the subject I start thinking about how the subject needs more time in terms of writing about it so that the message (if there is indeed one) is much more clear than what my attempt at writing under what can feel like a strict limit often allows

I’m kind of getting something across at the moment, but I’m looking at the timer and I’m going much slower than I’d like. I had another subject in mind which I might write about later but I switched to this and I don’t know why. Perhaps I found it a bit easier to express something about something that I’m doing as I actively do it, but I feel that that’s a bit silly to do as it’s rather evident based on what it is that I do and do not write that… anyway, you get the idea.

Sometimes having a subject before starting is a good thing so long as I end up not sticking so stringently to one facet of said subject, though sometimes doing so comes with its own rewards, so to speak. Often it is not the case. It probably doesn’t help that at lest right now it is cold and my hands are feeling it, but… yeah.

See, I’ve crossed the halfway mark but I’m still struggling as I’m trying to find something to say about the nature of doing the challenges but really I should just be letting my mind wander right now. I won’t as I’m getting closer to the end, but realistically I should. It’s not a day for strict subjects and topics; It also is not the day for loose subjects. It just seems it would be better to let everything be loose and slinky and create a meandering mess of words and phrases that seem to have no connection with each other, but at least in this particular moment that will not happen. I’m going to persist and indulge my stubbornness as that feels like the easier path as this is now even closer to the end and in being closer to the end I might as well get this all finished off.

I guess that what I’m saying at this stage is that I’m writing about writing, though that seems to be my most common subject (at least at the moment) even if it is not necessarily obvious. Sometimes that isn’t how things go, but it certainly is a lot better than writing about often being in my bedroom.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 07:30:39

It seems as though I ended up wandering a little.
Rather grounded but a bit too repetitive.

Written at home.

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Transitioning to Evening

I think that I did really well with this photo. The colours are soft, the light levels are low. There’s a slight warmth to the image.

I think the scene is rather beautiful in a way. The clouds feel layered and soft, likely due to this being a long exposure. There’s a strong sense of the gradual shift to night too, I think.

The sunset was strong and I was able to capture it from a few different positions and angles. Whilst many of the other shots from this area are more vibrant, I feel that this is the best of the bunch.

I hope you enjoy.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 705: Illuminates and Restructures

Something shimmering shimmers its way on down and past all the crowds that are looking elsewhere. It leads to the ground and then disappears as the ground illuminates and restructures itself to form shapes relentlessly familiar, yet not recognisable as anything seen before. It’s a show and no one is looking.

Slowly, yet surely after the restructuring the ground unfurls and creates different shapes and sensations all to its own tune and beat and continues to illuminate, glowing brighter and brighter. Over time it becomes almost indistinct as anything other than a large mass of light, but that does not last forever as eventually people begin to look and realise that there is a far greater spectacle beneath them than among themselves.

The ground dims just enough so that some features and lines become recognisable as features and lines. Shapes gain some sort of distinction and as such the ground can resume its reshaping with witnesses to the spectacle.

And of course it continues to do so, but does so slowly and carefully. It is almost as though there is an expression of deliberation so that every move is calculated and there is a lack of waste. There is a lack of randomness in the reshaping and restructuring and reforming, but to the onlookers it appears as though it is random and confused. They are unable to make sense of it, though it is the first time they are witnesses to such an occurrence; there is little to do other than stare and try to comprehend the event that is occurring far beneath them.

Sharper, more distinct shapes take form and fall apart once they are complete, over time letting loose particles create what appears to be a thick fog of glowing soil. Objects reach higher and farther, but never so far up that they become a concern for the onlookers. As the ground keeps on with its dance and its creation it slowly loses its glow. It seems to slow more and more in its forming and reforming.

Eventually, after enough time has passed the ground has returned to its original levels of light and has settled back to how it was beforehand. Onlookers entranced by what they were witnessing slowly come out of their daze and, after attempting to talk to each other to work out what was happening, realise that there is no point in trying to make sense of it all and thus decide that it is time for them to return home. The audience breaks apart and empties the region of human element once more.

On their return home they try to talk to others about what happened, but most drop the subject after coming to a second realisation about trying to get others to believe. The event never happens again, leaving great amounts of disbelief regarding the recounting; As such the memory and information about it belongs only to those who just so happened to be in the right place and the right time.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 09:20:88

I’m not sure as to what it was that I was trying to express with this one.
Perhaps something difficult to explain. Don’t know.

I think this would have worked better if it was more expressive than descriptive, if that makes sense. Probably does make sense but I’m a little too tired to try and work out if it does or does not.

Written at home.

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