I think that there’s a good sense of depth and strong patterns among the wooden structure of this bridge.
I also like how it looks quite aged, which is in part due to the leak of the metal into the wood.
You can see that, despite it being old it is still quite sturdy.
I think that the action of the waves provides some additional textures and I like that this seems to be a spot to relax due to the shade of the bridge.
I hope you enjoy.
This review can be read on Cool Try.
If you read this here, then please also go to Cool Try and check out more music-related articles.
Anyway, here’s the review.
—–
Lily Allen released another album.
Which album is this one? Album number four? I think it’s album number four.
Terrible joke regarding Lily Allen having no shame or something here.
The new album is No Shame.
On No Shame Lily Allen sings in a confessional, heartfelt and open manner. Her lyrics mostly are of events from her viewpoint. She alternates between tender, fragile, hard and tough. Sometimes she sings with more force. Usually Lily Allen uses her voice softly. The standard approach seems to be to sing lyrics of this kind with too much gravity which dampens their impact. Lily Allen gives the words just enough weight to be genuine whilst avoiding going into melodrama. Her approach also prevents (comparatively) more upbeat moments from coming off as forced.
It’s a bit odd that Lily Allen allows occasional vocal processing. The processing feels unnecessary as her voice is strong enough without its need. It’s possibly for stylistic reasons but it doesn’t always work. The processing can be distracting, but this mostly pertains to the auto-tune. Lily Allen’s voice ends up sounding diminished as though it is behind a thick wall. Thankfully the auto-tune is not too dominant and thus remains a minor issue.
The music itself is a mix of different styles kept. The melodies are light enough to lift the mood without the intent becoming obscured. There is enough space to help enunciate feeling without letting it drift away. As the songs are fairly simple, they don’t overplay. However, there is enough in each song to keep things interesting. Whilst there are some different styles, due to coming from the same sound template the songs fit together quite well. This serves to benefit No Shame through a consistent sound creating a smooth flow.
Quite often some pretentious artist will do their best to force their entirety down your throat. Their songs will come from personal experience but they are delivered with grievous amounts of cheese. Oftentimes this leads to the songs feeling cheap and hollow. Lily Allen shows clear understanding of how to make sure her songs effective. The subject matter is serious and frank, but you aren’t being beaten over the head. The tunes are (mostly) light enough to balance weight of the lyrics without diminishing their impact. Throughout the album sound is consistent despite using a few different styles of music. Whilst there are some flaws, No Shame does a good job of tackling common, yet uncomfortable subject matter.
There is a story about my experience with this hill that some might consider an anecdote.
I was walking along the footpath beside the road when I saw through the trees this hill.
I thought that it might be related to some construction thing so I decided to check it out.
It helped that there was no fence.
The grass on it was overgrown and it seemed to reach a fair distance so I decided to go up its side in order to get a good view of the surrounding area.
I went up the side through this long grass. It took a few minutes and it was tiring as the hill was a bit steep.
Once I got to the top I saw that there was a path that lead to to the top.
I like the contrast between “nature” and urban in this shot.
I think that the hill appears much more pleasant than the buildings.
I also like that no one has bothered to mow the grass on the hill.
I hope you enjoy.
“We have to get to the meeting room. Now.
“Now?”
“Now.”
“Okay then.”
I got up and followed. Many of my comrades in the office were making their way there too. It was a small office of only about forty, but in this moment it seemed as though there were much more as they hurried past me and my suddenly aware self.
“What are you waiting for?”
“I’m moving, I’m moving”.
I got up and joined the massive crowd of a few as we all made our way toward the meeting room and squeezed our way in through the door frame.
Of course the seats around the table were taken and thus most of us had to stand. This was going to be short, I hoped, but of course hope is not always something that can shift things to your benefit.
At one end of the table sat a person who seemed to think that they were were more important than they actually were. It was our boss.
“Where is everyone?”
“There’s a few tied up still.”
“Well get them. This is important.”
“Yes sir.”
WE waited in silence. Not one person made a sound outside of the sound of breathing and some shuffling about. This was awkward and far more tense than it needed to be. I could only think of leaving but I knew that if I decided to step away I’d have to deal with a whole heap of crap from the boss kicking up a stink for no reason. They were someone who was a little irrational and juvenile in their approach if you did something that they so much as perceived as a slight slight.
Actually, any reason that they could find they would throw a very calm tantrum over. Calm, yet firm and lacking subtlety. Sometimes also lacking tact.
There was no real explanation as to why we took his crap other than it was easier. They were ineffectual as a leader and a boss and so the less reason we gave them to leave their office, the more we could get done and the less we would have to see them.
Whenever they would come out of their office and start grandstanding, or just talking in general you’d glaze over and not take in anything. The boss would never notice and think that they’d be getting something into you and you’d just be on autopilot as your mind went elsewhere and disregarded as much as you possibly could.
It made the job much easier to handle. The moment you’d let the boss in was the moment you’d get pissed off dealing with a babbling idiot.
We waited in that room, waited for the last of the people to get into the office. It felt like an eternity, and it probably was to someone.
Eventfully everyone was all there.
“Is this now everyone?”
“Yes sir.”
“Good. Thank you all for coming. It is appreciated. Now that you’re all here, we can begin the meeting.”
The time it took to write five-hundred words: 10:43:87
Slow.
Not sure as to what I was going for with this one.
Not sure if I’m referencing any bosses I’ve had.
Pretty sure I’m not.
Written in Redfern.
I’ve (lazily) tried to find the title of this work and have found out it’s called Synergy.
It was made by two UNSW groups: Create, and Make.
There were also a few collaborators involved.
I like that the space prevents this from being cluttered as well as the richness of the colours.
I also think the layout works pretty well. There’s intersecting patterns between what are possibly ferns, the mushroom and the light tubes.
I hope you enjoy.
Tomorrow I am off to Melbourne.
It is the first time in a little over two years.
That is to say that the last time I was in Melbourne was more than two years ago.
I guess time has away of passing by as you progress through it in the forward direction as opposed to the backward direction. Such is the way of things.
I’ll have to get up at four in the morning and leave my residence before five in the morning. I’m not sure as to why I chose to go for an early flight.
Wait.
I’m not sure as to why I chose the first flight of the morning. I could have gotten a little more sleep and left a little later and paid about the same. I think. I could be wrong about that, but that is how I am remembering the situation so that is how I’m going to choose to proceed, or something.
It will be fun, or something. One giant, gliding leap interstate as I will no doubt stress out a bit as I’m still not one who enjoys flying. Such is the way of things.
Once there I will be sure to cover as much ground as I possibly can cover in order to see as much as I can.
I will enjoy being in Melbourne. Well, I probably will. Who knows as to what will happen?
I kind of miss Melbourne and how it’s a bit of a sleepy city. It’s getting busier, but it still feels much more relaxed and laid back than Sydney, I think.
Of course this could have all changed since I was last there, but maybe it has not and I will still be able to enjoy it as a relaxed place.
I can only hope, maybe, or something and so on.
Will there be the riding of the trams?
Will there be the walking of along the streets?
Perhaps there will be consuming delectable foods and there will be the laughing and laughing and smiles and laughing.
Maybe there will be some sort of going up and down various types of terrain.
Maybe there will be stairs.
Maybe on their will stand my hairs.
I do not know, for I am not there.
But soon I will be and without a care.
It may not be warm. It may actually be cold.
However, I am young and so wisdom may not be sold.
I don’t know as to what I am going on about now.
Soon I should try and find a solution to which I could bow.
I know that soon in the early morning I will wake.
However, that does not mean that there will be dough I shall bake.
After rising I shall head to the airport.
It is there that I’ll be too tired for witty retort.
If I run out of words then that is entirely on me.
This terrible rhyme will be how it ends, as you can see.
The time it took to write five-hundred words: 06:45:80
I do not know why this ended the way it ended.
As I reached the beginning of the rhyming, I thought that rhyming once would be okay.
Then it became what it became.
Written at work.
Taken near Olympic Park Station.
One of the few things that seems to be close to winter during this winter.
At the same times, the pictures feels a little more like autumn.
I guess it’s down to the type of trees.
I do like that the area mostly seems empty.
This is my entry into Leanne Cole‘s Monochrome Madness for this week.
It’s a themed one and the theme is “seasons”.
I recommend checking out Monochrome Madness and consider participating in the event. It has a dedicated community that is worth being a part of and the event does help to make you think about your composition, among other things.
I also suggest seeing Leanne’s work outside of Monochrome Madness.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy.
This review is also on Cool Try.
If you read this here, then please also go to Cool Try and check out more music-related articles.
Anyway, here’s the review.
—–
After being quiet for a while, The Presets blah blah blah, new album, HI VIZ. The question:
Will it stand out among a crowd of electronic music or will it be as invisible as the other faces?
There seems to have been a focus on percussion and how it works in a dance music context. “Knuckles” exemplifies this well as it is driven mostly by percussion and vocals. There are some minor electronic flourishes. When it appears, brass instruments change the song’s direction. However, “Knuckles” remains sparse and percussion-heavy which keeps it the main focus.
“Out of Your Mind” has a similar focus to “Knuckles”, but keeps things a bit more simple. “Brains” is quite minimal in comparison. However, it does have enough variance to prevent it from becoming filler. Whilst not every song is as percussion-heavy, HI VIZ has a very rhythmic feel due to how much room it gives to the percussion.
The Presets said that they set out to make a record with machismo and bravado.
Parts of HI VIZ sound bold and sometimes aggressive. However, outside of these parts are some are some more standard-sounding dance tracks.
“Do What You Want” sounds like it was designed for a car advertisement. The song contains a good, driving groove. It’s also fairly lean and doesn’t waste a second. However, whilst it does feel really well-developed, conversely it feels consciously calculated.
“Feel Alone” and “14U+14ME” are interesting but are mostly standard dance anthems. “Tools Down” and “Beethoven” take on a bit more space but are heavily redolent of other forms of dance music. The songs work well but they don’t feel as strong as they should. However, these songs still work within the context of the album. They don’t feel phoned in in any way and by the end of the album they are as satisfactory as the other songs.
Beyond that, there are little (if any) negatives. The issues found on HI VIZ are really minor and do little to detract from the experience. It stands out a fair bit from many other current artists. The production work is solid. The lyrics are delivered with genuine gusto. The songs are punchy and tight. There are plenty of enjoyable moments and nothing on the album sounds like filler.
Overall, HI VIZ is cohesive and fun.
A stairway that takes one to the top of the hill as it cuts into the hill.
A stairway among the drying grass.
I like the warmth of this photo and the way that the hill contrasts with the sky.
The sky seems soft compared to the hill, although the detail of the hill is not too sharp.
I guess that it’s a combination of the colours and the levels of detail.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy.
It was a bit of a cold day today. Today I am wearing shorts and came into work in a long coat.
The coat carried me along the path of destination of which I had to follow to get to work.
There were steps and the squeaking of the shoe.
I could hear it over the sound of the music that was being carried from speakers to my ears, but only sometimes. Still, when it was there it was distracting.
My coat should have carried me off the ground and let me float along along with my dreams on the way to my destination of reaching.
However, that did not happen and instead I had to manipulate the muscles in my legs in order to move my body structure forward. there was probably some sort of signal that could have been detected in some manner that showed that this was happening.
This was something that I had to do with much repetition, for had I not then I would not have been able to reach my intended goal within a time that I wanted to reach my goal within.
The coat did at least keep me warm as I was enveloped by its fabric body and protected from some sort of cold cold weather due to it enhancing the viability of my body heat due to it preferring to absorb that over the lower temperature that was outside of my flesh and skin.
It could have been much worse, now that I think about all of it, but then again it could have been much better.
At least I did not need to manipulate the muscles in my warms in order to manipulate the muscles in my legs. Well, as far as I am aware, I did not need to do that, but I could be wrong as I do not quite understand the machinations of the human body beyond a basic understanding, as far as I’m aware.
Perhaps I am deluding myself in this train of thought and realistically I caught a train to work. The body of the vehicle welcomed me with its gaping maw and I stepped in like the fool I am and yet I was not desiccated. However, it is important to understand that this is not what actually happened as my mind is not deceiving my thoughts and I distinctly know the experience of moving forward repeatedly this morning, for it was the experience that I had and I was not moving without moving at any point this morning.
That is, in a sense a bit disappointing, but then again not really, or is it?
Who knows, really?
Right now I need to get back to manipulating the muscles in my mouth and the muscles in my hands so I can get back to doing other things that do not involve the forward motion movement that carries one forward repeatedly a numerous amount of times, as the day is still short in the tooth.
The time it took to write five-hundred words: 06:34:59
These shorts are a bit longer than short shorts.
I think that this is kind of interesting. I’m not sure as to what I was going for, but I do like how the text turned out in the end.
Written at work.
Stupidity Hole 