I don’t mind listening to Red Hot Chili Peppers.
They are a band that I occasionally enjoy.
Recently I had a dream that involved the band.
I’m not sure why, but Red Hot Chili Peppers were suing me.
They were suing me for getting them addicted to drugs in the nineties, therefore affecting their ability to put out music.
They were really upset.
I wasn’t sure as to how I should react to this as I was taken by surprise.
Then I woke up.
Sunday?
IT’S SUNDAY?!
So I was going to write this yesterday, but procrastination took over, so now I am writing what I am about to write today.
Today I am ranting about pedestrians. Drivers will get a brief break and I may include a little about other cyclists, but today is predominantly pedestrians.
Pedestrians. We love them. They are so very much the type to walk about in places and other places.
What I really like about them is that they seem to want to refuse as much as possible to be aware of their surroundings which leads to a number of problems.
The other day I had left my place. There was a big car in front of me. I was on my bike. There was a pedestrian walking on the road.
Seeing them walk on the road on my street is not unusual, but usually they get out of the way when there are vehicles approaching.
Not this one.
They kept on walking in the middle of the road and were walking at a casual pace.
Of course the big car was right behind them and had to stop and wait.
The pedestrian did not turn around or move out of the way, so the driver honked their horn.
The pedestrian then decided to turn around, then continue walking at their casual pace as though they did not have any obligation whatsoever to get off the road, or walk faster.
Something like this is not unusual. Well, it is unusual on my street, but otherwise pedestrians choosing to be as oblivious as they can possibly be is not something that I consider as being unusual due to the rampant frequency at which it seems to occur.
There have been times when I’ve almost taken someone out because they decided to start crossing at a time when they are not meant to be on the road due to traffic flow.
There have been times when they’ve decided that the best course of action is to ignore a bell that is being rung to indicate for them to move out of the way.
There have been times I have seen them decide to block a pathway by standing there, ignore the vehicle steadily approaching them and then give a dirty look because supposedly it is a crime to not want to cause an accident.
I think that there are far too many pedestrians think that they are entitled to do whatever they want because of the unjustified belief that they can’t be responsible for bad outcomes.
When I say that I think there are far too many, I mean more than one pedestrian.
Pedestrians, you are not invincible. No one thinks you are invincible. No one wants to cause you to become horribly mangled in some manner. No one wants to be in an accident because you decided to obstruct traffic because you think you are important.
Stop behaving as though right of way means right to be an asshole.
The time it took to write five-hundred words: 09:43:83
Well, this rant certainly was… pedestrian.
A haw haw haw, haw haw, haw haw haw, haw.
Written at work.
A path through the bush that leads to an exit and an entrance, either directly or indirectly.
I think that part of the reason as to why the dirt appears to be as compressed as it is in this photo has to do with rain and moisture buildup.
I do like that the road allows for the plants to be more discerned as the scene is not being overwhelmed with detail, but I do wish that it was more of a walking path than a toad.
Still, it is useful.
I like how the smoothness, low amount of detail and brown of the road contrasts with the green, dense and highly detailed vegetation.
The lighting isn’t the greatest, but I do think that it provides a very good idea of how well light can filter through into an area of dense vegetation.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy.
Melvins are a band that have not been known to do anything other than what they want to do; something that has lead to some great pieces of music, as well as some pieces that can be passed over.
Due to an increase in their productivity, A Walk With Love & Death is Melvins’ eighth album released since 2010 (eleventh if you decide to count the three live albums that have also been released since 2010; twelfth if you count a cover songs bootleg).
The first half, Love was recorded as a soundtrack for a short film of the same name.
Without being familiar with the film, it is difficult to tell how effective Love is as a soundtrack.
As a collection of songs, some of the tracks work well. There’s an intensity that can be unnerving, drawing on elements of early industrial music as well as found sound to build the atmosphere. At times the songs on Love sounds more like stuff happening in the background that is trying to grab your attention whilst lacking much in the way of giving a reason as to why.
Death is something closer to “traditional” Melvins. It is a bit slower and more laid-back than many of their previous releases. It is also, in some ways, less sludgy and more dirge-like. However, they sound decent enough, with instruments being as punchy as they need to be in any given situation and vocals being no stronger or weaker than usual.
In ways, Death shows that Melvins might need to slow down.
The songs work well enough but they don’t seem to have had enough time. Parts can feel as though they drag when they should feel as though they aren’t and there’s a sense that whilst there is a continuation in sound from the past few records, there’s not enough in the way of refinement.
With that being said, there are more quiet moments and it does feel like an improvement in some ways, with some of the songs being more of the growing type rather than the the type that reveal themselves immediately.
Furthermore, both Love & Death do show that the band work well as a unit. There is a fluidity to their songs that still sounds natural and shows that they know how to feed off of each other and there’s an undeniable talent in their playing.
A Walk With Love & Death doesn’t quite work as an album. It does show two very different sides of Melvins, but there’s a disjoint between each part. Some of the songs on each part work really well, whereas some don’t. There’s enough to warrant one really strong album had the material on Death more time to develop.
Perhaps these should have been two separate albums, with Death coming out in a year or so to give it a bit more time. Perhaps the title of the album is an indication that these are meant to be considered as two separate halves and there is some sort of thematic unity.
Perhaps Melvins need to rest for a little while.
Another Long Exposure at Rozelle Bay, although it is most likely not as long as the other one that I recently shared.
I like the gradual shift in light and colour in the sky and water as it also gradually obscures the details.
I think this works well with the reflection of the ANZAC Bridge arch as the reflection seems to not stop.
I hope you enjoy.
When I was processing this photo, I decided to try and make it look more “impressionistic” to see how it would affect the photo.
I didn’t quite get there, but I’m happy with the result.
I do like how the light and detail was captured.
The second version is closer to how the scene originally appeared.
This was taken when Si and I were walking through the Royal National Park.
I thought that this made for an interesting scene.
There’s dead vegetation on both sides, but there’s a clear indicator on where it is regenerating with greater speed.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy.
I need to shave.
Too much of my face right now has been eaten by the tyranny of beard.
It is a horrible experience.
Where is my chin?
What has this beard done to my chin?
Why is it creeping up to try and meet my hair line near my ears?
Why is this something that I have to deal with?
I know that if I shave, it may cause some problems and the skin may feel tender for a little while, but the skin does know that the beard has to go.
Why does the beard like to sit predominantly on the underside of my jaw and not on my face?
Why does the mustache refuse to grow as big and bushy as it should?
These are questions that I have no answer for, for I will never have enough time in my life to be able to learn how to reach them.
It’s more hair than I could ever feel comfortable dealing with in any given amount of life time.
Well, that could change, but right now it is far too much and I do not want to have to deal with the evil malice that this beard spreads all over my face. I do not want to deal with its getting itchy and trying to lure me into scratching it, for I may scratch too hard and accidentally decapitate myself and that would take a lot of work to fix.
It might also leave a fairly unpleasant mess that would require a little bit of cleaning. Perhaps the carpet would have to be replaced if it was stained a little too much.
I need to shave and remove this blight upon my perfect being, but how do I shave when I do not have enough time to shave?
I must wait.
I must bide my time.
I need to make sure that the timing is as perfect as my graceful stroke over the tissues covering my body glides along and removes the hair that is trying to force its way into my life with an ease that needs to be seen to be believed, for it is very difficult to believe if one has not seen the ease at which my hair-removing stroke operates.
It might take a while, but once it is done, then I would not have to worry about the beard for a while.
For a while.
It will inevitably try to return and claim its stake on my face, but so long as I remain diligent, it would remain as something that is no more than a light nuisance that can easily be dealt with.
Right now it is as though a burgeoning forest is approaching a point where it would require more deforestation than if it was dealt with now due to the amount of wild, untamed growth that it is currently exhibiting.
This beard is an offense and it must be dealt with so we can all live in true peace.
The time it took to write five-hundred words: 07:44:57
Behold! A dramatic talking about my need to shave.
Written at home.
Whilst Si and I were walking through the Royal National Park we could see a rainbow forming from a wave in combination with a number of other “Elemental” pieces.
I like that the rainbow is clearly there, but still subtle rather than an overt part of the photo.
I think that most of the elements are low-key in this photo despite not quite being low-key in reality.
The wave was moving fast and was large, despite it appearing small and not very powerful.
We were quite high up and the rocks were big, despite appearing to be small and the vantage point being close to the water.
I think that there’s a good colour balance to the photo. It doesn’t seem saturated.
I also think that the even lighting prevents anything looking dull.
This is my submission into The Daily Post‘s photo challenge for this week.
I hope you enjoy.
Well, here’s another photo taken in Brisbane.
As far as I’m aware, this is the City Hall Clock Tower.
I think that in this shot, it seems rather tall, yet due to the perspective it also seems much smaller than it just so happens to be.
I do like the geometry and structure of the clock tower, as well as the surrounding buildings.
I think that there is a lot of nice detail within the architecture that didn’t quite come through, but I do think that what is visible works with the tones of the light and shade.
I like that the clouds fill the sky randomly and don’t align well with the buildings as it feels more real to me.
This is my submission for Leanne Cole‘s Monochrome Madness this week.
I strongly recommend checking out Monochrome Madness and, if you partake in photography or have an interest in taking it up, then I also recommend submitting something. It’s a small,yet strong community-driven event that I honestly believe is worth the time.
I hope you enjoy.
This was a photo taken at Balls Head Reserve.
I don’t like the buildings on the left side of the photo. I think that they are a hideous blight.
With that being said, I do like that they work well with the rest of the buildings in this photo.
I think that there’s a good idea of where each building sits in relation to each other, and I like how they work as a pattern, as well as the window patterns on each building.
I hope you enjoy.
Stupidity Hole 