Five-Hundred Word Challenge 1547: More Writing and Churning

Posted on November 29, 2025 by Stupidity Hole

More writing churning and once more I am racing as much as I can. Need to stretch the hands; have very little to do right now and if I do do it, then I’m gonna be screwed as I’ll have even less to do. I’ll have nothing, and if I have nothing I have no job to work for the day. Might be a good thing, but that’s not a concern right now. What is a concern is trying to get this done as quickly as I possibly can. I think. Or something.

So I can already see the words that I have churned out and there are a few. Is this a good thing? Is this a bad thing. Is this a thing that even matters? What matters? Matter is important, and so things mattering should also be considered important. But things that are important that matter are only here and there some of the time, and so that is something that needs to be accepted… some of the time. Not all of the time. You don’t want to be accepting whatever, whenever and wherever you go.

So I don’t know what I’m going on about and I’m hearing some music that is interesting, but has some of the most draining vocals I’ve ever heard. Constantly breathy, but it’s without a sense of passion or dynamics. Now vocals don’t need to be passionate, but these lack a lot of the feel that perhaps they should have. They feel expected, rather than warranted, if that makes sense. And it’s annoying as to how monotonous they are in comparison to what is happening with the music, and I don’t know as to how I will ever cope with this and woe is me and all of those other things.

However, it does annoy me as this could be so much better and it’s not. These vocals really are letting the music down which isn’t anything special, but is at least interesting. Is at least warranted and worth it and all of those other things that sound good to me, because I think there is something in the music, but it’s being held back.

Anyway, I’ve slowed right down and I don’t know if I can recover from this, but that’s okay. I’ll still have this done in under five minutes. That is, the minutes of five and that’s cool. I think that’s cool. It’s not cool; it’s not even noteworthy. I write better when I slow down, anyway. Or do I? I don’t know and I don’t care enough to know. That is life and that is my life and now it is your life, too. You’re living it and I’m on hiatus, or something. I’ll be back to reclaim my life at a later date, so you better treat it well. If you don’t, I’ll be upset and I don’t want to be upset. Not right now, anyway. Not when there’s sound to enjoy and lacking vocals to not enjoy.

The time it took to write five-hundred words: 04:44:45

Tried to get under four minutes. Didn’t get there. Wrote a mess.

I wrote this ten days ago and it took that long to get to sharing, and I’ve been slipping behind but it’s been a good time. About to pick things back up, however.

Written at work.

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Bruford Levin Upper Extremities: Cracking the Midnight Glass

Posted on November 28, 2025 by Stupidity Hole

One listen.

This song gave time for thought and I think that was good for what I was listening. I think that the writing may have been better were I to completely switch off, but I also think thinking wasn’t bad for what I was hearing as I didn’t feel I had to try and keep up.

Bruford Levin Upper Extremities’ “Cracking the Midnight Glass” is from Bruford Levin Upper Extremities.

I hope you enjoy.

—

A hum and a shimmer, and it holds and fades. The dripping of percussion fills moments between an empty space, echoing, becoming busier, but not by much. It’s slow, echoing, seemingly reflecting itself. The hum and shimmer return and change this from something dark and tense to something perhaps more work-like; that is, of the process of working.

The hum and shimmer disappear and not long after they are replaced by guitar, bright and muffled, playing something joyous, almost. Something definitive, striking, full of slow movement, and a shimmering of insects come in and cover and fade a little and take the sounds with them as they fade away and the song ends.

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Rise to the Sky: Levitating Towards the Sky

Posted on November 27, 2025 by Stupidity Hole

One listen, went into it, knocked it out. Tried to capture the awesome power of cheese in the song. Didn’t quite, but still got a good idea of it down.

Rise to the Sky’s “Levitating Towards the Sky” is from Moonlight.

I hope you enjoy.

—

Keys play descending, then back up. An underscoring soon after, by guitar. A calm noise sits in the background for a bit whilst the guitar fills out, and fills out some more and plays a separate melody that matches the keys. That background noise disappears, then comes back and too starts building.

Suddenly the guitar starts cutting and percussion comes in, as does bass, and they play with grandiosity. They keep dramatic, and then they switch to a more driving, pounding mode. They push hard, cut and grind, and buzz and thud and stay tight and stay enthusiastic. They shift back, then shift into more dramatic forms.

Thundering and charging forward, slow and fast, and guitar asks questions as it takes action. And things are slow and fast, and almost at maximum. Maximised and pushing, and enveloping and increasing in intensity, seemingly about to stop, then pushing on harder still. Almost overwhelming, and driving into that final moment before the move to silence at the song’s end.

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Hotel Pools: Coast

Posted on November 26, 2025 by Stupidity Hole

One listen and I threw myself into this one. Just got it done and it turned out well. I think I captured a form of the song quite well, though perhaps not the most obvious of its shape and sounds.

Hotel Pools’ “Coast” is from Fall ’18.

I hope you enjoy.

—

Warming up, rising. Rising repeatedly, a little depth and rising still. And something builds in the background, like the fading of memory. The beat comes in, and a little extra pulse, too. And the sounds flow and move, and the rhythm is nice. It’s all nice and cool, and it’s distant.

Everything feels muffled and faded, and there’s some nostalgia to it, or maybe some illusion. An ideal that’s not as ideal as one would like to think. Who knows. It still all flows and moves, and goes further muffled and disappears for a moment… almost.

The sounds fade back to the forefront and continue their steady drive along, among idyllic scenery, through windows overlooking the dark, together with many others alone, and the coolness of it all rings through. It speaks volumes and comes off as illusory, and is genuine, and everything stops and the song ends.

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Rain Tree Crow: Cries and Whispers

Posted on November 25, 2025 by Stupidity Hole

One listen, and it felt pretty easy. I think I captured the song well and not at all at the same time.

Rain Tree Crow’s “Cries and Whispers” is from Rain Tree Crow.

I hope you enjoy.

—

Gentle percussion, seemingly for relaxation. It plays with space, and some other sounds waft in . Vocals soon follow, a little worn, a little smooth. They pick their notes and words carefully, clear and indistinct at the same time.

The percussion and other sounds keep drifting, wafting… or rather the percussion continues its relaxed push. And it all seems to start disappearing, but then it picks up again. It picks up but it remains calm, and beautiful. More sound, and vocals return.

There seems to be a sadness, but it’s all seems so impressionistic at the same time, and the sounds drop out again. And a new percussion, but an old percussion is here, playing out, playing sounds, lingering, and the voice returns, quieter. It’s quieter, and simple. and at its end, and hushed, and this time after the last word it is silence and the song ends.

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Central Station Clock Tower

Posted on November 24, 2025 by Stupidity Hole

I think I’ve shared photos of this before, though perhaps not as gloomy or cold. I took this last week for the previous “Monochrome Madness, but I didn’t use it as I didn’t feel it worked as well for the theme as the one I shared. Still, I wanted to share it, and so here it is.

This is my submission into Leanne Cole‘s “Monochrome Madness” for this week. The next one is hosted by Dawn of The Day After, and she has chosen the theme “Leaves and / or petals”.

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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The Milky Way Comes From the Lights

Posted on November 24, 2025 by Stupidity Hole

I took this photo last year and didn’t share it until now. Not sure why. Getting this took going up a hill outside of Sydney in strong winds. The nearby town was visible and you can see the wind, but I don’t mind. The conditions are captured, and I’ve not done much astrophotography.

This is my submission into the three hundred-and-seventy-fifth Lens-Artists Photo Challenge. The theme for this one is “Where to Find the Mysterious“. Space is mysterious to a lot of people, and we can get a glimpse of it almost everywhere, but associate it with what’s beyond the sky… or what’s visible in the sky at certain times. Anyway, I feel this fits the theme. The Milky way can be seen well at certain times of the year, and in some locations you can get a really good view. The further from an artificial light source, the better.

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

Beth

This one is curated by Patti. The next one is curated by Beth.

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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Light Rail in Motion

Posted on November 22, 2025 by Stupidity Hole

This is my submission into the three hundred-and-seventy-fourth Lens-Artists Photo Challenge. The theme for this one is “On the Move!“. I took this specifically for the challenge and did so on Monday. Came through more in editing as the light was a bit blown out, hence the aggressive cropping. I think it works.

Transport in motion is still transport, but is it transport if it is not moving? Pointless, lazy philosophical question, but you know.

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

Beth

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

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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Yasunori Mitsuda: Reminisce -Enduring Thoughts-

Posted on November 22, 2025 by Stupidity Hole

One listen.

Figured I hadn’t done this one and it interested me, so I did it. It was easy to get through, but tough at the same time. I think it was due to the length (turns out there’s a longer version and, even though I’ve listened to the soundtrack this comes from, did not realise for some reason), which is why I switched writing very early on, or at least I think why. I’m not entirely sure.

Yasunori Mitsuda’s (光田 康典) “Reminisce -Enduring Thoughts-” (“回想 ~消せない想い~”) is from Chrono Cross Original Soundtrack, the soundtrack for Chrono Cross.

I hope you enjoy.

—

A quiet space finds a friend in emotive keys that play fragile and seem to ask some questions. They play with the space, dance slowly with it. Find moments within the steps they take, find the points in which they can look back fondly and look to the future, but also look at the now. The now is always important, and perhaps there’s a sentimentality for the now in the keys. They say enough, but before they can say more they stop and the song ends.

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Quruli: Mind the Gap

Posted on November 21, 2025 by Stupidity Hole

One listen and I’m fairly certain that parts of this song were easier to write about than others. I think it’s due to how it flows and how it makes use of samples, particularly the bagpipes. Anyway, I think I covered the song well enough. Probably could’ve written more about it being a somewhat upbeat, celebratory piece, or at least coming off that way.

Quruli’s (くるり) Mind the Gap (“静かの海”) is from The World is Mine.

I hope you enjoy.

—

Everything comes in; beat, bagpipes and other assorted samples. A voice saying “Mind the Gap”, then another that’s difficult to catch. A shift and the bagpipes continue with something a little different. The beat comes back in full and the bagpipes shift once more.

Everything is a steady procession, cut into slices and coming in where they fit. Seemingly filling out the space is, and seemingly calling for celebration, or procession. And it all seems to stretch into an eternity whilst the sounds of a busy space come in.

Everything changes and everything becomes more cut up in a sense, and everything seems to speak more of the train station. It moves more and more to that and seems more and more split into pieces, and then the bagpipes return and the piece continues as roughly close to how to it started.

And the beat drops away and bagpipes are left, fading away in what feels more and more a celebration of the train station, or station attendants. Fading away as the song ends.

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