Here we go, the journey continues despite everything. The surge in shares from publishing “State of Grace” didn’t lead to anything tangible, but the hope is that something is still moving and smoldering underground. I still remember when I used to burn the remains of the 150-meter hedge I had at my country house. One day I went on a Wednesday and set fire to a good chunk of the cut brush, then I used the hose to put out the blaze until even the tiniest puff of smoke dissipated, and I left. I came back three days later, on Saturday, prepared the barrel with all the firewood, and put paper at the bottom… well, would you believe I walked three meters to grab the lighter I’d left on the nearby wall, and I didn’t even make it in time because the paper had already caught fire! That’s what I’m hoping for. Ah, if you’re lighting fires outdoors, go heavy on the water, because my story goes to show that fire doesn’t extinguish easily once it’s been active, even for just a couple of hours. Be careful, stay away from the woods, or heavily restrict the burn area.
However, the biggest stress I’m dealing with right now is archery. Meaning, in terms of results, it’s not even that bad, but I don’t understand a damn thing about what I’m doing, and it’s driving me crazy. Will I manage to figure something out by September 4th? I don’t know. Currently, I’m working on the covers for the new songs, and I have to say Leonardo.ai is pretty great—it saves me a lot of post-production/editing, saves me a ton of time, and I also find it to be a fairly affordable platform. This is the most fun and challenging activity I’m facing right now, but it’s rewarding, so it doesn’t feel like a chore. Archery feels like more of a chore, also because I went back in March after a year and a half off, and a rumor spread around the club that I was some kind of prodigy, so I feel a lot of psychological pressure… I need to find out who the asshole was that spread those lies! I’m a beginner! I joined in 2023, shot for 13 months, stopped for a year and seven months, and have been back for 6 months. Do you really think I’m not a beginner anymore? I don’t even have two cumulative years of training under my belt, for fuck’s sake! I would’ve liked to approach the competitions with more peace of mind, but oh well, what can you do???
Let me tell you about another group/solo artist similar to me, with the difference that they—or he—actually have a band to perform live with: I’m talking about Jamiroquai. Naturally, they entered my life thanks to my brother, MTV, and other secondary TV channels where you’d call in and text the code of the video you wanted to watch. Since I spent hours doing that, needless to say, it was a constant stream of requests for “Virtual Insanity.” By watching it over and over, I fell in love with the song and Jamiroquai.
Though that wasn’t even the song that made me discover them; it was “Space Cowboy.” Every time I listened to it, I thought of Kung Lao, the Mortal Kombat character, because I was playing it a lot back then, even though I’ve always sucked at fighting games. Probably both the hat and Kung Lao’s outfit made me think of a cowboy, which is why I associated the song with him. I didn’t even know how to use him properly and hardly ever picked him because I could only get past the first two fights… I was truly terrible.
Anyway, “Space Cowboy,” “Virtual Insanity,” and then, obviously, “Cosmic Girl,” with the music video that had all those little pop-up windows giving you info about Jamiroquai, but as if referring strictly to Jason “Jay” Kay rather than a whole band. In fact, I realized pretty quickly that Jay Kay essentially was Jamiroquai, because without the lead singer, they wouldn’t have had a future. Thanks to Jamiroquai, I discovered the didgeridoo—an Australian Aboriginal instrument that produces a unique sound that adds a lot of “flavor,” grabbing your attention and curiosity.
Other songs worth a special mention are “Canned Heat” and “King for a Day”… I also really like “Deeper Underground,” which came out as part of the Godzilla soundtrack. A while back, I heard Jason say he was bored of playing the old hits because the arrangements felt dated. I can understand what he means, but nothing’s stopping you from reworking old hits to fit your current musical approach. I mean, you’re the author, you perform them, and you can change your songs however you want if you don’t resonate with them anymore. Sure, there’s always the fear that the audience won’t accept the changes, which is a risk, but after 20 years on and off the stage, you can pretty much give zero fucks.
I’ll wrap this up by recommending a video game that’s almost 10 years old now: Middle-earth: Shadow of War! I’ve heard and read a lot of criticism, but I personally enjoyed it a lot. From the orc ambushes to building your own orc guild, organizing feuds against rival warlords, unexpected betrayals within your own rank, and the carefully planned vendettas—I found all of it really enjoyable and interesting! Poisoning grog barrels and carrying out hits on orcs by blowing them up is super cool!
I almost enjoyed these side quests and ambient activities more than the actual story, of which I remember almost nothing. Oh yeah, capturing fortresses was awesome too! Maybe I’m being overly generous, but I’d give it an 8.5/10 for pure enjoyment.
Catch you later, take care!