Vice-versa

Sometimes the Disquiet Junto projects really surprise me

There have been many examples over the years, such as the "layered sameness" exercise that led to a revelation when I heard all the takes together.

Late last year there was a Junto activity that gave me a glimpse of a different depth in my recording.

It was the "switch back" direction to "Make the quiet part loud, and vice-versa." 

Listening back to it now and I'm surprised at how much I enjoy the spaciousness around the instruments.

I can hear a place that I'd like to visit again.

Are you chicken?

I have simple tastes, so one of my favourite things is finding the chicken has been discounted at the local supermarket

Admittedly, it's not as exciting as finding cheeses on special but it's still pretty special.

Their chicken is often given a marinade, either southern style or honey and soy.

They're both good and I like the wings best, but they also have good deals on unseasoned meat too.

Our town doesn't have a KFC, some swear by the Golden Chicken but I think the IGA supermarket has great fast food.

Okay, it takes an hour or so to cook but it's fresh.

In fact, the chicken was likely from the nearby town of Hanwood, where the largest chicken processing facility in the southern hemisphere is operating.

If you drive that way to Griffith, you can see there are many chicken farms in the region.

It's actually an interesting story about how a boy named Peter Bartter started a business with 100 birds and sold eggs to local restaurants.

Along the way they built an empire and you can still recognise a lot of their farms by the oleander bushes planted out front.

 

New year new

Made this poem from my senryu/microjournal habit

The creative prompt shared by Naviar Records led me to revisit a process from previous years.

I sampled my daily writing practise, then quickly recorded a reading to go with a piece of music.

The words are below, since you can't really hear them:

Clear a space for truth

put demons on the table 

we all have monsters
The familiar

our lived experiences 

we never escape
Preoccupation

knowing unmentionables 

hiding maligned forms
In these descriptions

old paraphernalia 

wrestling for new life
Anchored ideas

peppered onto bathroom walls 

I read the comments
My steps unbalanced

finding a new way forward 

these steep learning curves
Personal essays

images that resonate 

using metaphors
It leaves me beaten

along branches of wisdom 

stick with what I know
Dulled by the moment

anything is possible 

love profound boredom
Title on the door

master procrastinator 

holds me to account
I don’t play tennis  

when the ball is in my court 

I’m hitting it back
The role I’ve taken

allowed to fully occupy 

where I’m meant to be
Sometimes giving up

letting loose parts of myself 

and it’s positive
I’ve backed myself in

wet paint around the corners 

I’ll spend some time here
A love of the thing

not really a career 

expert of nothing
Enjoy the journey 

it’s different for everyone
like so much guidance



interpretations vary 

so I guess words will travel
Robust narratives

explaining our lives away 

it’s not magical
Without little words

sensibly made into thoughts 

would I know myself
Finding small spaces

unused outlooks on the day 

to make a window
My opacity

hiding in the everyday 

beliefs are porous
We can save those gifts

people don't want those insights

lies are easier
We hold opinions

underestimate vastly 

how truths destroy us
That crushing feeling

to hold a sensitive heart

wishing it weren’t mine
Something in my chest
resonates with emotion
reciting your words 
It’s the easy thing

seeing only what I know 

can you really blame me?
A slippery slope
I can go down a wormhole
lose myself a while 
These are summaries
so when revisiting them
I'll find my own words 
Thinking of my poems
as conversation partners
go let them mingle 
We sometimes struggle
as our own brand of magic
fails to charm ourselves 
Sometimes I’ll look back

some will say I’m different 

but it’s just I’ve grown
Through a world of sound

the only filter I have 

my discerning ear
Scanning the dial

your radio call signal 

I’m the antenna 

It seems obvious

that lozenge rhymes with orange 

but maybe that’s me

Mechanical massage

Not sure where this massage machine came from

However, every few years or so since it arrived I will return to its embrace.

The rubber skin covers a series of mechanical fingers that work up and down either side of the spine.

This means that you can position yourself for it to focus on areas that need massaging, but it's weird.

Usually when I am receiving a massage I will be moaning and thanking the person.

So it's embarrassing to be trying to hold my pleasure in as my family goes about their days around me. 

There as I am writhing and gasping, the machine whirs and I'm left feeling like I'm using a vibrator at the dining table.

It surprises me how the motorised noises contrast with the sensations and thrills.

Foot rubs

One evening last year, for no particular reason, I thought to ask my partner if she'd like her feet rubbed

After attending to both her feet, she reciprocated by rubbing my feet in turn.

I didn't think much about it until afterwards, when she said we should do this more often.

At that time I remember thinking that I felt my feet get rubbed when I have a bath and that's all good.

So I was surprised within a few days when the topic of rubbing feet came around again and this time she was saying it should happen every night.

It seemed remarkable that after living together for decades, we've found something new other than the occasional TV series.

That's a lesson from 2024 to share.

 

Looks alcoholic

Should I try this first or chuck it out?