Bastard Islandwords and images by Steven Ball
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A picnoleptic production in the English Asteroid seriessteven-ball.net
Linear Obsessional LOR1202019
the weather is routinelyunseasonableno reliable reportsunpredictable
set up the microphonetime enough to prepare
wireless reports the bay the sunsetthe gale wind chimeswatching makes time
enough to prepareto set the levels
deep height of dayreports wireless booster trees ticking web signal transmission
long distance thundersupercell updraft
trees ticking web microphone knitting
reports wireless booster on the cumulus bayto make more timetime enough to prepare
calm wind of dayhailstones prepare
away from the landand away from the landthe trees move enough watching makes time
wireless reports incoherent
supercell updrafton the cumulus baytwo hours to sunsetcable delivery
time and the weather storm clouds blow in
band unpredictable two hours to sunset
portable trees accumulating nimbuswatching makes time unseasonable
watch the trees movewatch enough time
test the limits west, north, south, eastmove across microphone unpredictable
thunder wave band dusk came quickly
calm wind of dayrough wind of stormtwo hours to sunsetthunder spins level
and spirals around away from the land
Time and the Weather
attenuatingtalking ticking
scattering of lightthe bay makes weather
test the limits scattering of lightantenna systemtwo hours of night
the bay makes weather the bright blinding light
some incoherentdeep height of day
blizzard against windowantenna system weather routinetrees move enough longer transmissionaccumulate report
hailstones preparesignal transmission
moving across the baysong of cicada cracklehissing from treeselectric nightmoving in from the bay
Without Momentdragonflies, ants, and mothslocusts, termites, and beetlesfirefly nightdeep in the lightwarm afternoon autumn
anticyclonic rainin hanging dark cloud staticthrough misty hazeinto the lightin the darkness of day
and nowwithout moment the stormthat blows in tonightis riding the crest of the bay
and then without movement in thecold morning lightwas rounding the west of this day
silver light water steelgrab and hold swell kite ripplesmorning glows redfrost, snow, and droughtmoving across the bay
and soonshort and long waves will crossthe beach some nightriding the north of a day
and when thelong dusk short twilightin warm evening sunthe white full moon will rise again
printed on the windthe material of spaceatmosphere of the planetwave and radiation
a built-in speaker’s tinny soundstruggles to be heardand speaks of distance
category onenetwork crypto worms double pulsar toolkilled the operation
Small Sounds
surfing the short wave nowstraight line of sight for distance communication
reflected and refractedacross the ionosphereskywave propagationstratas of air and gas
electromagnetismbeyond the shores of this bastard island
percentage clear clouds1705UTCsea level pressure17,850 kHz, June 25 10:48UTCthe signal is weak
13,710kHz12,035UTC 20:52 clouds percent broken clearfew overcast scatteredRussian channel markerprecipitationlevel pressure snowfalldiurnal temperature range20:33 UTC
The Voice of Vietnam in Russianannouncing number & letter groupssnow depthmean wind vector magnitude wind chill15,435kHz
dewpoint temperature7,260kHzquarter diurnal reading April 22military parade style music
11,735 kHzUSB E07 The Englishman Russian numbers stationa lot of fading and noise December 11UTC 20:52 heat index
Voice of Indonesia with Arabic language speech and music few overcast scatteredThe Voice of Mongolia
Radio Thailand, a regular visitor daily minimum temperatureNorth Korean Broadcasting Service Jul-1617:15UTCKorean weather broadcast
Asian drift net fishing beaconon five-minute cycle9,730kHz 9,665kHzcooling, clouds, snowfalljamming signal in background15,435 signal had men talkinglike a news or interview UTC 1643
Fair to good signal with low modulation and some noise/fading
11:48 UTE 1.762MHz CW 2AFVW 2AFVW 2AFVW
heating degree days
17:05UTCRadio Vanuatu China with male & female chatting in Chinese sounds informal16:45UTCChristian music national anthem
Pattern Accumulating
waiting for the brownoutthe lapse occurred at breakfast the dropped cup overturned on the table againabsent seconds began and ended suddenly
then time came together again flat screenhorizoneating
horizoneating sleeping tracing a line on a page
super eight and video tapekept us young
waiting for the brownoutwe were woman and manwe were both and neithernothing seemed to exist
Brownout
sleeping tracing a line on a page
super eight and video tapekept us young
waiting for the brownout after the crash 1979 going nowhere fast speed flattening everythingwe were man and womanone hundred brownouts daily
but time came together again
middle distant flat screen
or couldn’t be describedor communicated
when time came together again
twilightbrownoutmiddle distantflat screenhorizoneating sleeping tracing a line on a page
super eight and video tapekept us young
straight streets colonyneatly gridded plotboarded up windowsabandoned infill housingpothole cracked pavementscanal floating garbagetopsoil runoff aridalleyway lanewaybeach abandoned cyclesdistant ticking high-hatnineties Berlin technowarm diurnal breeze
brownout daysblackout nights
esplanade speeding trafficplantation reclamation
unexpected duskship on the horizoncity tower skylinedistant highway bridgedockyard static cranesbreakwater black rockscold dark twilight secondsmidnight deep black hourshuttered supermarket little stock remainsunharvested crops
brownout daysblackout nights
nostalgia out of placelocation out of time
In Dixon
scrubby undergrowthlandscaped foreshore bushstrange lizard mutant rodenttriangulation middenlone cyclist dog walkerhorizon swelling waveswind-blown beach bushessingle lone windsurfer eighteen hours of daylight
brownout daysblackout nights
mainland ferry twice a weekroll through townshipwitness behaviourconversation social orderface to face situationstest the limitsconversation interaction no offence takenstave off boredomperformance etiquette
self-presentationself to the otherself to the selfconscious experiencephenomenal self-modelsomeone sociallyan ideal real
everything green super gassed trapfit math get bunsoul food step flexrestaurants cinemas theatres living roomsshopping centres streets and stationsbored young bored old heat and cold
hotbox takeawayProtein Barfood prescriptionsterilised tinned food hygienic and tastelessparasitic wormsscurvy ticks lice hotbox takeawayProtein Barfood prescriptionsterilised tinned food hygienic and tastelessparasitic wormsscurvy ticks licedeserted township after sunsetconsensual curfew
back to the islandback on the islandsound of the blizzard from the westdistant neighboursfrom a distancekeep the distanceexperience of realitykeeps a body goingin relation to this windin relation to the sunthe days which last for weeksthe week that lasts a minute
this invented personthis one that you constructedright here on this islandstep off from the islandif this is an islandif there is free movementto another island
can’t take your eyes off what you can’t understand words out of contexthang in mid-airrandom connections defy explanationthis story, for examplethat I’m about to tell that I’m going to try to tell
Mainland Narration