Tag: Words

500

by Ebb Then Flood

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I suppose it is some sort of milestone – five hundred posts on Ebb Then Flood; heaps of my words and pictures at any rate.

I firmly believe in milestones –  markers of time and achievement – even if only I note them.

Today, however I thought I’d share the number that WordPress’s stats counter threw up.

As a number it’s all a bit arbitrary in terms of whether this thing is worthwhile.

You can be the judge of that.

But I do know that I am really glad I kicked this project off sixteen months ago, for so many reasons, not least in rekindling a long dormant creative sense and finding an anchor for the random thoughts that swirl in my head.

Nice to pause and mark a moment…

Lastly, if you have tuned in along the way, and maybe found something on your wavelength, I am truly grateful – thank you!

 

 

A Fine Ensign

by Ebb Then Flood

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The ensign of The Royal Akarana Yacht Club furls in the breeze at Auckland’s Okahu Bay on a fine Sunday afternoon.

Simply, ensigns are naval flags.

I do enjoy a good flag, and especially the value they have to groupings of peoples as symbols and signifiers of their commonality.

Elsewhere on this blog I have discussed how symbols boil down to the essence of what is important to someone and lay that out in simple, readily understandable terms to others.

“This is who I am”; “this is what we are”.

This one ticks a few boxes with its triangular, sail-like shape and crown composed of sails and boats.

On the day I took this picture, there was practice for some international regatta, and I saw young Irish and Italian sailors at work . I could first tell where they were from by their flags!

Footnote: Akarana is a Maori transliteration of Auckland, using the phonetics of that language to spell out the English word. There are no “l” or “d” sounds in Maori, so the closest Maori sounds are used. Also, Maori words resolve in vowels.

 

The Dear Burden

by Ebb Then Flood

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The last post, Monumental, featured a dark monument to Sir Walter Scott

A monument is a sort of epitaph in stone. And often as lifeless as the departed.

But it is the words of great writers like Scott that live on, timeless and relevant.

Summing up what we ourselves cannot articulate.

Powerful.

I wish to god that I personally had not to go through a recent hellish time in my life when those words were way too relevant – but I am glad I clung to what was dear.

Cheers Walter…

So Many Books…

by Ebb Then Flood

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     “So many books, so little time.”

       – Frank Zappa

I  really find it hard to imagine Zappa actually sitting down with a book given his massive, sprawling musical career, but he must have – how else to explain the inspirations behind the often surreal songs? Or maybe he was lamenting the fact that his creative endeavours meant he couldn’t read everything he wanted to.

I know the feeling – my bedside table has a stack of half-read tomes and the shelves have many others I have been meaning to read or re-read. Frustrating!

Last night watched an episode of the new series “Catch-22” and realized that it was over thirty years ago that I read the amazing book by Joseph Heller (I bet Zappa read it too), and I had always meant to pick it up again. Time flying by…

Yet I know that the time and energy spent reading a book that miraculously seems meant for me, is a luxury that a time-poor person finds rewarded .Even if  it takes a while for me to get to the end, the journey of exploration through others’ words and worlds on the way there is nothing short of amazing.

I could extend that to blogs as well. So inspiring to see other writers and bloggers frame things I may not even have heard or thought of and give of themselves in the process.

Find time…