Create52: #2 -- Back Out / Out Back

So this is January 12th -- the date of the scheduled second entry in my Create52 weekly blogging event. I hope the new year is treating you well so far, and I thank you very much for taking the time to stop by my blog,

Let's get right to today's offering:


Back Out

Since I started last week's Create52 post with a confession, how about I do it again:

I have to admit that in the past, I might have backed out of something like this by now. I mean, my intentions are great, and this is something I really want to do, but there are still 51 more entries to make! And it takes a lot of time and commitment to regularly create new things for this blog.

Yes, there have been times where, in spite of my best intentions, I might not have stuck with it.

But you know what? This time I am.

I'm still creating new things and not backing out. Instead, I'm getting back out here with more to share. And I confess I'm feeling pretty good about that.


Back in the Outback

Today, the first thing I want to offer you is a musical piece. It's a wikiloops jam I call "Back in the Outback."

I took a very cool Australian-themed track made by wikiloops user, "jamlady," looped it twice to make it longer, added bass, and then laid down three tracks of guitar on it -- one spacy, distorted, and full of delay; one a chiming rythym; and the last one a lead that one wikiloops commenter said was something between Mark Knopfler and David Gilmour.

I think I would probably have to agree -- I guess I can wear my influences pretty blatantly at times. :)

This might not be your normal verse-verse-chorus kind of song, but I hope you still like it.  Take a listen and see what you think,

You can click on the image, my "StratoRaptor" icon, or HERE to check it out.


Out Back

And for a bonus offering for this Create52, I'm serving up another small sample of my writing -- a new piece of poetry I created especially for this blog post.  I took the phrase, "out back," and let my imagination wander, and this is what I came up with.

It's a bit of free verse.  There is no particular rhyme scheme, although there are a lot of rhymes in it. I hope you like it -- it's a bit different from my normal writing:

======

Out Back

Out back, I hear the children play;

The swings swoop and sway, their chains creaking

amid the laughter, and young voices shrieking

with delight.

Chasing after each other, they frolic in a choir

of giggles and whoops as they swing ever higher;

A timeless sound.  I hear it every day, unless it rains,

until the quiet of the night.

Out back, I hear a few muffled clinks

from a swing, hanging by the links of its broken, rusty chain.

No laughing refrain – the choir shall not sing again;

not here any more.

The swings are banging, un-ridden in the wind.

A gusty blast, and one thinks of voices past,

of laughter I no longer hear. At the end, I remain here,

wishing for before.

======


Thank you so much for visiting, listening, and reading! See you next week for another Create52 entry!

Blood Moon Updates: BOTB Results & Newsday Rhyme

(Image from NASA)

Hopefully you don't take this as yet another sign of the impending apocalypse, but I'm actually posting something on my blog besides a Battle of the Bands (BOTB) post!

Today was a Blood Moon -- a total lunar eclipse, the second of the tetrad of 2014-2015.  It was thankfully very clear where I live and I was up early and got to see it this morning.  It was absolutely gorgeous and very cool.  I took several photos, but my iPhone either couldn't focus on it or focused on the foreground and left the moon as a small dot in the picture.  Not too impressive, so I hope you don't mind that I borrowed an image from NASA.

I've been wanting to try and be a little more active on my blog (a familiar refrain), so while I don't really have anything of major significance to share, I'm going to use the occasion of this lunar eclipse to at least give the results of last week's BOTB post.  Plus I'll also offer a teensy morsel of "the creative outlet of StratPlayer" by including a rhyming Newsday piece.

Battle of the Bands Results

In my last BOTB post, I shared two versions of The Last Time, with the second one done by a band that was attempting to rip off the Rolling Stones with unoriginal material before lawyers managed to save the trampled rights of the holders of the original copyrights.  OR -- I shared two completely different songs, with the second of them done by a band who was bullied into surrendering its rights to entirely original material by zealous lawyers unleashed by the greedy owners of the first song.  It depends on your perspective, I suppose.

In the end, regardless of the intents of those involved, the Verve agreed out-of-court to relinquishing all the rights to Bitter Sweet Symphony, and these became 'the same song' for all intents and purposes.

Personally, I think it's clear that the Verve relied heavily on the sample of the symphonic production of The Last Time done by the Oldham Orchestra.  But the issues gets murky as to what, if any, agreement was in place for using that sample, "how much" of the sample was OK to use, and who exactly owned the rights to that sample.  I also think if the Verve had only used the sample as a small part of a larger composition that was clearly "different" from the sampled work, there might not have been as much of a fight,  Or -- unfortunately -- if the song had not been a successful hit, likely no-one would have cared as much. Money tends to affect perspectives.

In the voting from the BOTB post, the results are a 5-5 tie as to which song is the favorite "version" (with the esteemed Mr. McCarthy voting for the Oldham Orchestra). So it's my job to break the tie.  I was a bit surprised by how many people didn't really care for either version, with the Verve song called "boring." I find myself liking both versions for different reasons. But I think that while it's a bit repetitive and relied entirely too much on the original sample, Bitter Sweet Symphony is the better song. It's deeper lyrically, has very interesting production (this is one of those 'headphone songs' where you hear a ton of cool snippets in the background), and an infectious groove.  I like the guitar riff in The Last Time, but that damn sample used in Bitter Sweet Symphony will plant itself in my brain for days. ;)

So I break the tie by going with The Verve, making the final vote:

The Verve 6, The Stones 5, Oldham Orchestra 1

Rhyming Newsday

Back in August, was the last time I posted a "Newsday" item.  I originally did these as "Tuesday Newsday 200" stories, where I'd write a 200-word story based on a recent news item that I'd found.  The last time I did it, I went for a different approach.  I took the headline and created a short rhyming piece based on the words in that headline.  It was fun to do, so I'm doing it again for today.

Here's the headline I'm using with a link to the story itself:

"Woman says she dug up dad's grave 'with respect'"

This headline has nine words, so I'm going to use those as the basis for a nine-line piece where each line has exactly nine words, and where each line also uses the words from the headline in the proper order.  Oh -- and there has to be a rhyme scheme, too.   

See what you think:

=====

Woman omitted in the will still wanted her share;
 

She says her dad really meant to be fair,

but that she was cheated by her sister's neglect.

And so she dug up a plan to finally uncover,

what had been closed up, and she would recover

the real copy of her dad's will to inspect.

 

Yet she got nothing from the grave but regrets;

It wasn't a will -- he'd been buried with cigarettes!
 

Desperate, she rummaged his casket, but still with respect.

=====

Thanks for reading!

I'll be back on the 15th with another BOTB post, and maybe even sooner.  And now you can't say I only post once in a blue moon -- blood moons work, too.

Fifty States of Pray -- My Christmas Eve Prayer

Merry Christmas!!!

OK, I guess technically it's Christmas EVE...  But this is still a day that has "Christmas" in the title, so I'm going to wish you a merry one!

It's also the day for the Fifty States of Pray blogging event hosted by Mark Koopmans.  I'll let Mark share his thoughts behind it:

"About two months ago, I had a random thought.  Normally, these get me into trouble, but this one sounded like a great idea:

'Why not set aside a moment to reflect on the year that was and share some hopes for the next year?'

I’m calling it the 50 States of Pray event and I’d love to find at least one person (but the more the merrier) from each U.S. state to participate.

All that’s required is to take a moment and about 100 words. Then, on Dec. 24, 2013, please share a prayer, a thought, a memory, a hope and even a regret about the past and/or a wish for the future.

Here’s my simple goal behind 50 States of Pray:

'Is there not a better time to help make the world a better place than Christmastime?'

Deep down in my heart, I truly believe someone, somewhere will absolutely benefit from your words."

I thought this sounded like a wonderful idea and so I signed up to participate, representing the state I live in -- Indiana.

Yes -- my blog is called The Creative Outlet of StratPlayer and I normally use it to share my writing, my music, other creative pursuits, and my thoughts related to those things.  So why am I choosing to take part in an event that doesn't really tie to a creative activity?  Is my blog turning religious?

No -- this is and shall remain a blog that focuses on my writing, music, and other creative outlets I have.  But I do have these two points about today's prayer posting:

• It's Christmas!  This is the time to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, to share, to give gifts, and to express our love for those we care about.  Although I guess you could consider all the creative things I normally share with you on my blog to be a form of a gift, I think this blogging event gives me an opportunity to also share another kind of gift with you.

• I think this post IS creative -- I'm going to offer you a prayer that I've written myself.  I'm not quoting someone else or just sharing a few bible quotes with you. I've even written each nine-syllable line into an ABAB rhyme scheme -- yes, it's a prayer in poetry!  ...and just when you thought it couldn't get any verse...  :)

Anyway, I hope that at this special time of the year you will indulge me a little, and allow me to offer you this:

=====

 A Christmas Prayer

Lord, I ask for Your blessing on each,

     and every person reading this post.

I pray that Your compassion may reach,

    wherever they may need You the most.

Please heal each body and soothe each ache;

     restore broken hearts; lighten their loads;

Any heavy burden -- may You take;

     turn all their steep paths to gentle roads.

Even if they don't believe Your creed

     please share Your blessings -- this I ask still.

Provide relief, whatever their need,

     let them see Your light, Your grace, Your will.

Lord, I ask that You may bless them all,

     on this joyful, holy Christmas day.

Please show Your love, let Your favor fall

     on all who read this -- Lord, this I pray.


(All images from Wikimedia Commons)

=====

Now and throughout the year -- thank you so much for reading!  Simply by stopping by and giving me some of your valuable time, you have offered me the best gift possible, and I want you to know how much I appreciate it!

This will be my last post for 2013.  I will be around sporadically but there won't be another new blog post until my next Battle of the Bands entry on January 1st. In the meantime, please take a little time to visit the other bloggers taking part in the Fifty States of Pray blogging event -- you can click on the link HERE.

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a New Year filled with love, joy, happiness, and many glorious blessings!

A Handful of Haiku

(Image from Wikimedia Commons)

You might notice this blog is titled "The Creative Output of StratPlayer."  For most of the time, my posts about my 'creative output' is related to my genre writing (speculative fiction and noire-ish mysteries, mainly) or my musical dabbling.

However -- I warned people in my very post here that I rebooted my blogging presence from my old writing blog with the clear intent to open things up a little.  The music is a big part of that.  But there are other forms of artistic creativity that I like to experiment with.

So how about some poetry?  Perhaps a post focused on Haiku?

Why not? The Haiku is a long-lived Japanese form that tries to present as much emotional content as possible in a short, tightly-defined structure.  The traditional English format uses 17 syllables in three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables each.

I love the challenge of being as expressive as possible in a well-defined, 'limited' format.  I think the innate tension and conflict of freedom versus constraint is a wonderful backdrop for creative output, and I find it particularly stimulating.

So today, I offer you a smattering of Haiku I've written, over a variety of subjects, but united by a common StratPlayer-ish theme.

I hope you enjoy them!

==============================

White dove flies skyward,
lands on a windy tower,
and sings a high, "coo..."

*****

On the Enterprise,
Picard greets a frequent foe 
with a glib, "Hi, Q."

*****

Hugh Mour loves the wilds.
He's left on a nature walk;
"Have a good hike, Hugh!"

*****

Before the concert,
stoned teens stumble into line.

They form a high queue.

*****

Minnesota Fats
scowls -- he didn't sink the shot.
'Twas his too-high cue.

*****

The center stumbles;
The quarterback needs the ball!
He yells out, "Hike, you!"

==============================

So now I hope you have an appreciation of the beauty that can come from the form, and the next time you hear someone say "Haiku", you won't just offer them a Kleenex and a "Gesundheit!"

Thanks for reading!