Five-Hundred Word Challenge 1485: Roughly Halfway

Posted on April 13, 2025 by Stupidity Hole

Well, I’m kind of halfway through what I set out to do today. That’s a good thing, maybe. I think I can get there. Still have a lot to do, but I can do this.

Okay, so there are reasons as to why I’m setting out to churn out words and posts at the moment. Or rather, there is a main reason as to why, and perhaps ancillary reasons that are also there, but not as much, and all that stuff… you know. But there is a main reason, or rather there is a reason that has come forward today that is pretty much the reason… but I can’t talk about it yet. But that’s the way things go.

Trying to write this with my wrist playing up. Not great. Not fun. I can get through it, however. I can get through worse than this. I am getting through far worse than this. This is something where I should be resting, but I’m being stubborn, in part, because it distracts me from the stuff going on in my life. Not much time left and all that.

I should be resting, but I’m tolerating the pain so I can distract myself some more. I’ll get to the end of the day and probably forget about all of this as my mind goes back to thinking about pain of the heart and all that, and that’s the way it goes sometimes.

Well, it’s the way it goes now, but it also sometimes goes that way.

I want to write something long, and I think I just might after this. I have something that I want to start drafting so I can publish it… assuming I get around to publishing it, of course. Writing this is easy, but writing stuff that I want to publish as essays, as critiques, is difficult. Everything is difficult at the moment. Surprising, I know.

I’m getting there, however. I’m getting through today. If I can get through today, I can see tomorrow and if I can see tomorrow, I can keep going. Just need to try and stay focused. Need to stay on task. Need to get more bits and pieces done today so that tomorrow comes with a little less stress.

I think what I’m doing here is trying to stretch for words, and right now that’s okay. I don’t have many thoughts going on in my head right now, or at least not many that are worth rambling about… maybe. Or rather, they’re just not presenting themselves as much as I’d have hoped. I also hope, however, that by the time it gets to a few days from now, I’ll be ready and prepared to tackle a long period of time, and maybe I’ll see some sort of success come forward from it. I don’t know, but there are exciting things coming, despite all the misery in my life at the moment. I just really hope that I get to see them all come forward.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 06:47:23

Yeah it’s not great writing. I felt I had to, but this would’ve worked better not trying to write within a time constraint.

Written at home.

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Shota Kageyama: Unwavering Emotions

Posted on April 13, 2025 by Stupidity Hole

One listen.

I was expecting to describe the music as it was happening more than anything. I’m fairly certain I captured something about it quite well. At the least, I do like what I wrote.

Shota Kageyama’s (景山将太) “Unwavering Emotions” (“揺れぬ想い”) is from Nintendo DS Pokémon Black・White Super Music Collection, the soundtrack for Pokémon Black and White, and (to an extent) Pokémon Black 2 and White 2.

I hope you enjoy.

—

A firm conviction in one’s views comes forward, and what led to that drifts upon the keys and strings. Looking back at moments held firm, that marked changes in life and guided toward where one is now move past, but conviction can waver. Views can change.

Heartwarming, saddening, uplifting in moments that seem small, yet profound; all is carried forward to see where the path guides as the song ends.

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Early Morning Urban Scene

Posted on April 13, 2025 by Stupidity Hole

One recent morning after parking and walking over to the building in which I work, I took this photo. It was a good chance to capture space and so… yeah. I probably could’ve cropped more of the top off, but I like this bit of light sitting at the top. Impacts the feel.

This is my submission into the three hundred-and-forty-fourth Lens-Artists Photo Challenge. The theme for this one is “Abandoned“.

This area is most definitely not abandoned, but in this particular moment it feels like it was abandoned quite recently.

The host of the Lens-Artists challenges cycles weekly between the following people:

Tina

Patti

Ann-Christine aka Leya

John Steiner

Sofia Alves

Anne Sandler

Egídio

Ritva

This one is curated by Anne. The next one is curated by John.

I recommend joining the community and participating in the challenges. They’re pretty straightforward, allow room for interpretation, and provide a good way to think about photography in general. If not, however, then at the very least you should check out what others submit to the challenges.

I hope you enjoy.

 

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Go Ichinose: Pokémon League (Day)

Posted on April 13, 2025 by Stupidity Hole

One listen, though with a restart early on. The reason being was that I was thinking far, far too much about what to convey. Let go a little and the words came forward, and this became easier to write.

So before I go on, I have a heavy aversion to writing or covering anything about Pokémon. It has been covered far more and far better than I could ever want, and it’s not ground I care to go over. Generally I’m a fan more of the areas the franchise presents, as well as some of the music spread throughout, and that’s it. The Pokémon world is an absolutely fantastic one, and so very interesting to me, and it still has some great potential for exploration.

With that being said, right now I’m feeling like writing about some of the music the games use, so that’s what the below is. I teased out some of the mood that I felt was there and I think I did a good job of that. Not sure if I captured the song well enough overall.

Go Ichinose’s (一之瀬剛) “Pokémon League (Day)” (“ポケモンリーグ(昼)”) is from Nintendo DS Pokémon Diamond & Pearl Super Music Collection, the soundtrack for Pokémon Diamond, Pearl and most of Platinum.

I hope you enjoy.

—

Relaxed keys carry a subtle grandness to them. They ask to take it easy; to rest, perhaps due to the long journey to get to where they are. They fill a little, and keep it all low and relaxed, but some drama is rising.

The keys move lower and reflect upon what it took to reach this point, and there’s something fond within them. They carry that fondness, and that sentimentality into a further winding down.

A return to the start sees the keys asking the same things again, but at this point it does feel more relaxed. More calm. More time to take it easy, but there’s that drama. There’s that grandness and conviction, and there’s some joy in it all too. The reflection continues, and it’s what drives moving forward, into the keys fading away as the song ends.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 1484: Try Again Today

Posted on April 13, 2025 by Stupidity Hole

So this week just past I decided to try and get ten posts up in one day. I think I’ve done this before, though it may have been nine, but I thought I’d try. Didn’t work out. Might try to do nine today.

There’s no good reason for me to do this, especially when I have a lot of other stuff I need to be taking care of, but I thought it would post a nice challenge. Failed, might succeed today.

What I’ve learned from this is that I am not too functional in the afternoon. The morning, I’m good. I’m able to get a lot of things done. Well, so long as I actually get moving on things I am. The afternoon? Not so much. Perhaps I’m burning too much energy early in the day. Don’t know if that’s why, don’t care to know why. Do know that I’m being a bit lazy now, but I need to get on with it. There really is a lot to do today and so I need to start getting stuff done.

Some of that stuff will be writing. The first thing I’m doing this morning is churning out a bunch of things. I’ll take a step back after and then get back to it a bit later, but might space things out a bit. That way I don’t burn out too much… hopefully.

Why am I even writing about this? Surely there are other, far more interesting and important things to cover. Surely I can think of other ways to go with this bit of writing. I guess I could get a bit more into the why I’m talking about this thing I attempted this week, but that… I don’t know.

Really, what else is there to say? Or rather, what else is there that I could want to say? I’ve covered it all. I’ve said all there is for me to say at the moment.

Sometimes I wonder why I try to do some things. It’s not exactly an ambitious thing to achieve, this particular one, but I still wonder as to why I set out… sometimes. I don’t always. It is good to wonder at times. It helps with the brain juices, but it’s not always good… maybe. I don’t know.

At least, for now, I know what I’ll be doing today. I also know that it almost is the afternoon and if I don’t finish this now, then I won’t be able to claim that I started this morning, and that will be some sort of disaster, or something. Maybe. Who knows.

So I’m going to try again today. I’m going to see if I can do it at the present moment. I’m sure I can, and I will if I work on it, but I do need to work on it. I need to actually go ahead and try, and keep trying, and try some more. Once done? I might just try again during the coming week.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 06:20:19

Some stumbling, but got there in the end.

Written at home.

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Heavy Over the Fields

Posted on April 12, 2025 by Stupidity Hole

Best title I could come up with at this particular moment.

Sort of a quiet photo, in a sense. Feels small, pastoral kind of. Definitely feels small under those clouds.

I hope you enjoy.

 

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Lake: Tapper

Posted on April 12, 2025 by Stupidity Hole

One listen.

Decided it’d be good to write about this song from Lake also, though I’m not sure why I decided. Something in it revealed itself to me, I guess. Anyway, I feel this got better the further into the song I got; whilst I was thinking pretty actively, I was able to loosen up a bit toward the end.

Lake’s “Tapper” is from Lake. I hope you enjoy.

—

The gentle lapping of guitar. It echoes and rings out in space, in a silence It drops and ripples gently, and it forms screens, almost. This moment is a relaxing bit of gentle, but that relaxation lifts when percussion and bass come in, changing the shape of everything. That gentleness remains, however.

Exploring a motion-based prettiness, almost, though it soon turns to something a little more directed and maybe a little gloomy too. But maybe it’s just skipping and gliding along still waters during a quiet, cool morning.

Guitar raises above the murk in places and continues contrasting and keeping things gentle; bass locks down and becomes even more driving, and the percussion shifts around it all whilst keeping space a premium.

Some more space and perhaps this is something to drift off to. There’s questions, but it’s all sorts of easing up until the bass forces a shift in the flow. It takes a new direction, and the percussion and guitar build up around it, perhaps looking to continue what came before whilst finding something new. However, tension grows; guitar starts stretching and distorting, and soon it is what is left.

The guitar forms an expanse that soon melts when guitar and bass return, locked into a pattern that started just before they ended. Guitar is there too, and some of it remains expansive, but this is moments of strikes and scrapes. One hand atmosphere is there, drifting around; on the other, everything is direct and frazzled in a sense. Sounds keep striking and fraying whilst remaining concise and tightened, repeating and pushing the moment, repeatedly punctuating until the song ends.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 1483: The Specific Expressing of Nonsense

Posted on April 12, 2025 by Stupidity Hole

Bit of a lost day, today, but I’m getting on with it. Still have some time before I need to make myself present in other spaces. Still can do get some things done. Can’t waste tomorrow, so I’ve wasted today, I guess. Need sleep or something.

A fine day to spend doing nothing, and also a fine day to spend feeling tired as, but it wasn’t. There needed to be work done, but it wasn’t, so that’s all tomorrow. Tomorrow will be the big cram day, and I’ll get through it somehow. For now, however, it’s time to listen to something heavy and ominous, so I will.

The birds outside? Pretty. The vague sounds of traffic? Annoying. They all lack the punch that comes from the melding of sounds into a lurking, lurching and creaking boat. They lack that certain uncertainty and unease that comes from not knowing what is going on and how whatever it is is going to happen.

I have no idea what I’m saying with this.

I think I might actually be tapped out. I think I may have finally reached the end of my creativity. I think that, if I don’t try and do something about this, then this really is it. There’s nothing else to say. What do I say about that? How do I say anything about that? Do I even try?

This is like something that is really horrible. I can’t even. I literally cannot even right now. But I have to accept it. It has all floated away, down the river that was far beyond my reach in the first place. Bloody hell. What now? Truly, everything has finally become shit. There’s no going back from this. There’s no turning everything around. There’s no finding the path that leads out of this mess.

Well, I guess it’s time to slip into retirement, or something to that effect. It’s time to start taking it easy for the rest of my years, and by golly, I’ve earned it. There’s no saying otherwise, really. How can you combat that? The ability to be creative has left me, truly, and now I don’t know what else to do. I can finally retire and take it easy and relax. I can finally find out where all the pieces lie and I can go potter about in my garden and read a book and understand what it takes to rest and relax, and sleep in here and there. I can finally do it all, and that truly is the best of all possibilities for me. What else could I even think of doing?

It was a good run, creativity. It was a good run and a good time, but listening to this deep and foreboding music has revealed it all to me, and it just was not to be. As such, there are no more words to write. There are no more tales to spin. That’s all fine and good though. A good, long retirement now awaits.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 06:41:13

Not sure if this should be classified as Fiction instead of Life. Alas.

Written at home.

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Lake: Jettison

Posted on April 11, 2025 by Stupidity Hole

One listen.

I’ve wanted to hold off on writing about this song because I want to write about the album as a whole. It took a long time to get a hold of it, but I don’t know how long it will take for me to get to covering it, so here’s writing about one of the songs.

Got in the zone toward the end. Rushed through, wrote something super loose and messy, but this is one I’m pretty happy about because it does cover the song pretty well.

Lake’s “Jettison” is from Lake.

I hope you enjoy

—

Bass rumbling and charging with a calm intensity. Percussion comes in, striking hard, repeatedly, loud and quiet all the same. Guitar eventually joins, playing light notes, seemingly sinewy, seemingly terse. It too rumbles.

The sounds layer over each other through a muffled darkness, uncertain, unsure, stressed almost. Focused and moving through menace.

The rhythm remains steady; the guitar shifts forms, changing the feel whilst remaining anchored. It pulls away; the percussion shifts. More space, but it still feels cramped. It feels urgent and pressing, and there’s no breathing, almost.

But in all of this, there still is a calm. There is a drive and a desire to keep on moving; everything gets heavy and twisted and dark. Sounds move around each other, circling whilst moving forward. Linking, finding places of familiarity, and it soon all comes to a head.

Everything is driving forward, pushing on, urging, escaping. Finding the space, pushing into the dramatic, charging, thundering on forward, growing, making a statement, pushing to that final moment. Heavy release, thunder, strikes, emphasise and finally, getting there, finding relief, getting out from all the pressure and finding that relief, and letting go with a definitive statement as the song ends.

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Community

Posted on April 11, 2025 by Stupidity Hole

Almost every day I go to the local cafe. Might get a coffee; might be picking up milk. Could be taking over a classes’ lunch order. Work stuff. You know. But almost every day I’m at the local cafe due to work, and often just to get something to drink in the morning.

The cafe is pretty close. Maybe thirty metres away from the entrance of where I work. Easy to get to. I’m usually in and out, and that’s that. Interactions for the day end. Sometimes I’m there multiple times. Always depends on things.

Recently I became the local heartthrob for the cafe staff. Of course, this isn’t true, but they know what I’m going through and what I’m dealing with, and we talk and get along. They take an interest in my life and I, theirs. And it makes me wonder about what is going on in my life, that these people who barely know me are friendly and warm with me.

Though it doesn’t make me wonder, actually, because in a sense we are colleagues even though we work in different businesses. But we also get along. WE talk, and we form community. We speak about our lives and share stories and joke. We share sadness and we uplift each other.

Every now and then I interact with some of the contractors who help maintain this building whenever I request their help. We’ve gotten to know each other and are more relaxed. It’s more community. It’s the same with the facilitators who work here. We talk, we take interest in what we each go through. But we also get the work done. I’m there to assist where I can and so are they.

My contract is coming to an end soon and I’m not looking forward to the possibility that I won’t be here. I like who I work with, and I like the people I interact with. I like being part of a team, but I also like being part of a community. I like this community and I feel accepted, and it’s wonderful. I don’t feel like an outsider. But if I’m gone, that community changes. These people lose someone they like and are happy to work with, and I lose a space where I get to feel accepted. It changes.

Community isn’t necessarily a stable thing, of course, but it takes a long time to build and not much to break. It has familiarity, and that acceptance of familiarity and willingness to be part of it. It takes time and it’s not always operating optimally, but it’s one of the most wonderful things when done well. Looking after each other, taking an interest in people, and being reliable and accountable. And it’s going to be sad once I’m gone, because the community here will change once more, and that’ll be that.

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