Five-Hundred Word Challenge 1446: Filling in the Spots

Yesterday I challenged myself to a little bit of worldbuilding and it spiraled away from what I was trying to do, time-wise, and it’s still going but that’s okay. Sometimes that happens. But I was hoping to have it done within a certain amount of time and that didn’t happen, and now I’m here writing about writing. Again.

Too many ideas, not enough time. So it goes and so it stands. Surprising. Or not. And so on and so forth.

But I need to sit down when at home more often and get these things done. Get them sorted out, get moving, get going, and get on with the getting on. Need to stop getting home and just not doing anything as it’s costing me too much and it takes so little to keep on going. But I also need sleep and I need a lot of things, and it’s the same for plenty out there, really.

When did the idea of living become so devoid of enjoyment of time? When did it become so much about being tired and doing very little? People will say stuff about how that’s adulthood, but having been an adult for long enough, I think that anyone who would say that in a manner of “deal with it”, has an intentionally shitty outlook. We should be able to enjoy our time more rather than less, and we should have more energy to do things, I think. But of course some of that comes down to looking after oneself better, and sometimes you do and sometimes you don’t.

But I have these ideas and not enough time, but I can start putting them onto the page more often, and I should. And I do. But I should also see them to completion and I’m definitely not doing that, and that’s not good. But I’ll get there.

Sometimes the best you can do is slowly chip away to build things up, and that’s not always great, but if you can’t do much else, you may as well do that. Better than flopping about, flailing one’s arms and not getting anywhere… though sometimes that, too, is warranted. Sometimes when you can sit there and do massive chunks, that’s what you have to do, so you take advantage of those moments, and you try to find a balance for it all and get everything done and slowly, but surely the pieces start fitting together and you get somewhere, even if it’s not to completion.

Completion will come eventually, however, if you go at it long enough.

Or rather, if I go at it long enough because I need to keep going and pushing on, and maybe I will get there, but I need to keep going. But I need to actually keep filling in the spots, and I need to finish this worldbuilding thing that’s starting off with one small space in a larger world of the mundane, and gradually things will reveal themselves as I keep going.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 06:46:29

Bit disjointed, but also more stream-of-consciousness than this stuff has been in a while, so I’m happy with that.

Written at work.

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Gosling in Water

Toward the end of last year I was fortunate enough to get some photos of goslings, including the one below, which was drinking water when I took this. Could the photo be brighter? Sure, but it could’ve been better overall. I mostly like it as it looks like the gosling is watching the water fall, and the framing is a bit odd.

I hope you enjoy.

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Breaking into Light

On Thursday I left work early to take a couple of people to the airport. Had some time after so I went for a walk around Cape Banks. The weather was not great, but sometimes that’s what I want. Sometimes I want a miserable walk of sorts, or rather an unhappy one. You know.

I got to Cape Banks and it was incredibly windy. Little rain here and there, but the wind was just rough. Stood near a cliff edge, didn’t spent too long there. Well, probably longer than I felt I did, but it didn’t feel long. Felt dangerous.

Anyway, the photo below is from the photos I took whilst standing in one particular spot. There was something in particular I tried to capture (which I’ll show at a later date), but here we’ve waves moving through water, from the rough to the churned.

This is my submission into the three hundred-and-thirty-second Lens-Artists Photo Challenge. The theme for this one is “Shoot From Above“.

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 Ritva. The next one is curated by Egídio.

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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José Ramón “Bibiki” García: Iyo Echoes

Two listens.

Short piece where it felt like I took my time. Not sure as to how well I captured the song here, but I think I captured something in it.

José Ramón “Bibiki” García’s Iyo Echoes is from the soundtrack for Arco, Arco (Original Game Soundtrack).

I hope you enjoy.

A faint hum and a muted strike, and the hum continues. It wavers and the strike returns, more distant, then more present. It seems to loop.

All draws long, and another muffled sound appears. It stretches and reaches, and it’s almost like a voice calling, moving past, looking but finding nothing.

All holds in a moment that seems to loop, as though some sort of clarity is sought, but it all remains distant. It all remains vague, and maybe that’s distressing, or maybe it’s peaceful, but either way it’s almost as though something is slipping away, leaving easy reach.

But it’s all brief, and soon the sounds fade away and the song ends.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 1445: Cold day following a cold day

A cold day following a cold day. A series of cold days. It’s a series of two. I’d say it’s a series of three, but the evening isn’t the entirety of a day, so does it even really count?

I gotta go outside at some point but I want to write about things, but I still gotta go outside. Gotta brave the wind, though there’s not much to brave. Gotta walk a few blocks, get my moving on. Get moving and moving in a way that suggests moving in a moving manner. Not moving, but just the motion of moving. But it’s cold and windy and I don’t wanna.

Inside it’s nice and warm and this is appreciable.

Okay, so there is something that I want to write about but it’ll take time so I’m saving it for later, assuming I’m not too tired later. Could be; might not., Instead of that, however, I’m writing this as this is shorter and takes less time due to being shorter, but I’m also just wasting time. Trying to see if I can outlast the wind. Seeing if I can gather the courage to brave a few minutes of a slight chill.

See if I can actually get up and stop being lazy.

I don’t have many words left to write at the present moment and need to recharge, so to speak, but I won’t. I’ll get this done and whatever this is will be finished.

I think it’s just one of those days where everyone seems tired and I am tired also, but I’m getting on with it. Don’t have much of a choice, but I am. Wind is getting pretty violent, actually, but maybe things will be okay. Maybe it will lessen from here. Won’t find out until later, but maybe all will be good and all will be fine. This weather is pretty wild and, due to that it is concerning. But most weather is falling more into the realm of concerning these days. Having difficult remembering a time with weather this severe this regularly, because it has been a while.

And soon I will be outside, braving it for what little I have to brave. It’ll be fine though. I’ll be okay. I’m pretty lucky in this regard and so I’m not gonna have too much to personally worry about. I can;t comment on others, however, and I know there are plenty who won’t be as fortunate as myself.

God, here I was whinging pointlessly and this veered off into concern about the weather, which is something to be concerned about, but it was not something I expected to start covering. But sometimes that’s how it goes. Sometimes the concerning things come to the forefront and then… yeah. You write about them and then get on with your life. You go on to wherever the roads take you, and you see things to be worried about. There’s plenty out there, and there’s stuff we can do. Hopefully we do.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 07:27:19

Not slow and not fast.

I think this was heavily affected by my being tired. Not enough sleep and all that. Eventually stumbled onto something worth discussing, but dragged too much beforehand.

Written at work.

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Ken Nakagawa: Corridors of the Sky

Alright so this one was written over one listen, but with a few restarts and some rewinds. I kept on getting interrupted in some manner when I started, mostly because I paid attention to the interruptions. Then I had to rewind for a moment and I decided to just sort of break away a little.

Tried to not spend time thinking about what I was writing and just write it, but there was some overthinking. Not sure how well I captured the song either. On a surface level, yeah. I did. Beyond that, however, just not sure.

After I wrote this I thought about it and decided to scrap it and start again. However, I changed my mind again and decided to stick with what I initially wrote. I could probably do a better job, but I feel that in this instance I’d be losing something by trying again.

Ken Nakagawa’s (中河健) “Corridors of the Sky” (“空の回廊”) is from the soundtrack for Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny (also known as Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana 2), Atelier Iris 2꞉ The Azoth of Destiny Original Soundtrack (aka Atelier Iris – Eternal Mana 2 – Original Soundtrack).

I hope you enjoy.

Guitar’s notes gently float whilst another, brighter sound follows. Something more percussive joins and something builds, and then suddenly the guitar is left with keys. The keys keep space, meeting some of the notes and finding their own.

There’s an openness, and perhaps some sort of sadness and dreaming, and soon more keys meet and expand on the melody slightly echoing through the space. It’s getting busy, and that build comes back and then something akin to woodwind flies on in.

The sounds draw long and a steady percussion finds its way in. The move toward a melody that seems to pull and tug at the heart in this expanse, and it pushes the drama, not quite soaring, but perhaps marveling.

The woodwind flies high and then the guitar and keys return. It seems like a return to the start, but soon percussion comes in, steady, keeping the beat, and some shimmers too. The keys continue on as the flow shifts once more to something akin to that earlier drama, and the keys dance and float along, and carry a dream.

Most come to a stop, leaving one sound to shimmer and shine in a still space. Something builds, then a shattering, and the sounds fade and the song ends.

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Stick Shadows on the Sand

More dune stuff.

I wanted to get an overhead photo of this, but it was not the easiest thing to do and, based on the time of day, it would’ve been inevitable that my shadow would’ve been in the photo, which I definitely did not want. The shadows here work on their own as they long enough and give a distorted sense of size, I think.

This is my submission into Leanne Cole‘s “Monochrome Madness” for this week.

This challenge is open to all, and I recommend joining in. If want to, check out more information about it here, and include the tag “monochrome-madness” when you share your photo. If you’d prefer not to join in, then at the least check out Leanne’s photography, and what other people submit.

I hope you enjoy.

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Pat Metheny Group: Last Train Home

One listen.

Queued this one up a few weeks ago, only got around to writing about it now. Laziness, maybe. Anyway, I knew that going into this I wanted to try and touch more on the imagery, and I kind of did that but the sounds led me elsewhere, kind of. This is a bit of a mix and I’m not sure it is in the best way, but I do think I captured some of the song’s essence quite well.

Pat Metheny Group’s “Last Train Home” is from Still Life (Talking).

I hope you enjoy.

Deft percussion, sounding much like the tracks under a train as it glides through the countryside. Guitar and keys come in and strings underscore, and there’s something sentimental here. Something about greetings and farewells.

There’s space and simplicity, and keys take over for a moment as everything keeps on moving toward a destination. A grandness comes forward, but it all feels small, simple. Smooth. Gentle. Somehow exciting and adventurous too.

Up and down and the percussion remains steady, and it’s all a series of snapshots with motion between. It asks questions without necessarily looking for answers, and the keys and guitar keep moving around each other, and eventually they build and emphasise more than before. They rise, and the strings seem to fill out a bit more, but they remain in the background.

As much as there is looking at the scenery and seemingly implying some sort of reflection of the journey, there’s looking inward as well, and the sentimentality rises a bit more when the guitar pulls away and voice rises up and calls outward in the sensation of the breeze.

Sentimental and perhaps a little sad, but it’s only one part of a longer journey in a featureless expanse of many things. Open, and sometimes closed off, and the guitar curls around and bends, and the sound of a train can be faintly heard as the keys keep touching specific moments, and the percussion remains steady and moving ever onward as everything fades out and the song ends.

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Five-Hundred Word Challenge 1444: Plum Stone

Lot of pain right now, let me tell you.

So I was eating, as one does. I was eating a plum. Didn’t make an attempt and it was still covered in a bit of flesh, but somehow swallowed the stone and for the last few hours I’ve been able to feel it moving through me, and it hurts quite a lot.

This is not something I recommend. Again, I have no idea how I swallowed it. I didn’t attempt to swallow it and I’m fairly certain I haven’t swallowed a plum stone before. It just got to the back of my mouth and went down, and that was that and now I’m here, and I want it to pass gently and quickly but that’s not going to happen and so I need to be really careful now. Need to take it easy and rest and all those things, but I can’t rest and I can’t take it easy, and so stubbornly I am pushing through this pain to do stuff that doesn’t need doing at this particular junction in time. Story of my life, or something.

But it really isn’t pleasant, and I can probably state that enough, but this experience really isn’t pleasant. The feeling of something moving around inside and it’s just causing a good deal of pain… it’s not something I’d recommend going through, ever.

So what do I do from here? I’ve gotten the thing across and now I go to rest… so I guess I go to rest. But it feels like a good afternoon lost for no real reason, and I know I can’t do much about that, but I will probably be kicking myself over it for a good three minutes. Maybe four, if I feel like indulging myself. But after that and before rest, I’ll probably finish this off and keep dealing with the pain, waiting for the stone to settle and hopefully that will be the end of it for a while. Of course, I don’t know. This could go south pretty fast, but I don’t want it to.

Rather be able to go to work tomorrow and get through the day, and not worry about whatever it is that’s inside of me, causing issues. Rather get on with the day and all that stuff. Rather not be incapacitated due to unintentional swallowing of a stone.

When I  saw that it was accidental, what happened was the stone covered in flesh ended up at the back of my mouth as I was swallowing. Didn’t force it there; it just kind of happened, and that’s why it sucks, but I’ll go rest and I’ll take it easy. I’ll get through the evening and see how I am in the morning. Might be worse; might be better. Might be neither.

But yeah; the pain is really not great, like most pain. How surprising. But I’ll get to the end of it and I’ll come out okay, I hope. Just need to get rest.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 07:22:25

Not as fast as I’d hoped and that’s probably due to the pain.

Written at home.

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Finding Balance

A photo of this corella… finding balance. Made for a good opportunity to get some photos such as the below one. Made for a consideration of form too.

I hope you enjoy.

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