Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Silence is Substrate
(1)
Well, folks, rereading (5) just below, I am reminded of the old saying that, 'The road to hell is paved with good intentions.' In other words I am much less ambitious today (beginning tuesday night) than I was ending last friday night. In fact, the point was made and there is no need of an extended commentary. Whew. Saves me a lot of time. I would do the promised quote if I had more enthusiasm, but if you're really interested you'll just have to buy the book.
The couple upstairs move out (boom) over the weekend. Theoretically therefore, the apartment upstairs is empty (tap). But practice trumps theory. That is to say, nothing has changed. It is as if those two were still living up there doing their thing. And what was 'their thing?' (tap)
Quiet. Above all they were quiet (tap). Silence above was the norm. No walking around. No shouting. No tv. No music. None of the usual signs of normal habitation. The pervasive quiet formed the background against (tap) which small sounds (taps, faint wall booms) would be noticed. Stomps and wall bangs also stood out, of course. But these were all unusual in the sense that they were all small or large spikes in the pervasive silence. The silence served to provide the background against which subtle (and not so subtle) (boom) sounds would be perceived.
And these spikes were always related to some event down here. A cough, a comment (thump), a potty visit, a kitchen visit, an event on the computer (C-III, for example). A favorite was (and is) my penchant for commenting on streaming tv. Few of my comments fail to elicit at least a tap. So it is 'business as usual' down here, in the real world, as I endure (tap) The Exper(tap)iment (thump) above.
Well, folks, rereading (5) just below, I am reminded of the old saying that, 'The road to hell is paved with good intentions.' In other words I am much less ambitious today (beginning tuesday night) than I was ending last friday night. In fact, the point was made and there is no need of an extended commentary. Whew. Saves me a lot of time. I would do the promised quote if I had more enthusiasm, but if you're really interested you'll just have to buy the book.
The couple upstairs move out (boom) over the weekend. Theoretically therefore, the apartment upstairs is empty (tap). But practice trumps theory. That is to say, nothing has changed. It is as if those two were still living up there doing their thing. And what was 'their thing?' (tap)
Quiet. Above all they were quiet (tap). Silence above was the norm. No walking around. No shouting. No tv. No music. None of the usual signs of normal habitation. The pervasive quiet formed the background against (tap) which small sounds (taps, faint wall booms) would be noticed. Stomps and wall bangs also stood out, of course. But these were all unusual in the sense that they were all small or large spikes in the pervasive silence. The silence served to provide the background against which subtle (and not so subtle) (boom) sounds would be perceived.
And these spikes were always related to some event down here. A cough, a comment (thump), a potty visit, a kitchen visit, an event on the computer (C-III, for example). A favorite was (and is) my penchant for commenting on streaming tv. Few of my comments fail to elicit at least a tap. So it is 'business as usual' down here, in the real world, as I endure (tap) The Exper(tap)iment (thump) above.
