Word and Image

[wongkk.livejournal.com]

The image is adapted from the 2007 desktop calendar, which features Gackt in Canada and which is copyright to Dears.  The words are mine.

Comments

[karadin.livejournal.com]

Can you come back in and credit the author? (this doesn't mean changing the image just adding text)

[wongkk.livejournal.com]

Done. Sorry - forgot about that part.

Hmm - when I cropped for the 400 pixel width, I desaturated and grained the image to achieve a more impressionist (less crisply distracting) look but now I'm not so sure! Never mind.

[shinimegami21]

ooooh! such interesting words. I especially like the first two lines ^^ thanks for sharing this!

[wongkk.livejournal.com]

Mmm - I'm glad you found something to enjoy in this: it's not one that I'm particularly pleased with. "So why is it here?" you ask. The short answer is "format"! It's from a modern set of short pieces which use Gackt photos to imply a story (I took the idea from a Gackt interview in the German magazine Rockoon where he says that his MVs have stories because his songs all have stories - so I thought, yeah, his face always tells more than one story too!); this one was the easiest to cram into a 400 pixel width limit. That simple!

As I use a bmp/jpg for the words as well as the image, it is difficult to mess with the dimension. When I'm feeling strong, I'll tinker with the others which I'm sure you might like better.

The set uses Gackt's less comfortable images to float less comfortable ideas. The result is slightly un-fannish (sorry) but not, I think, un-Gacktian as he does like his dark side, no?

Thanks for troubling to read and to leave a comment (there's a small reward - er, hope you can call it that - over at UG)

[shinimegami21]

Well, you certainly think out your poems! ^^; I didnt expect such a thourough answer.

"So why is it here?" you ask.

I...didnt ask...LOL But thanks! ^^;

[wongkk.livejournal.com]

Aha - that's my careless wording! I meant that you'd be entitled to ask this question, given that I'd just said that this poem - the first I'd offered to GA - wasn't one that I was so keen on.

Yeah, I sure do think out the poems - my brain has got to chew on something: it's got big, long fangs and gets expensive to feed if I don't toss it a constant stream of these little morsels!

[susan-11.livejournal.com]

Thank you for sharing. Interesting effect and good poem ^_^

[wongkk.livejournal.com]

Pleased that there was something in this combination for you.

I tried to match the visuals with the sketchy, uncertain, shadow-ish tone of the words (which are almost song lyrics) but it looked better on the laptop than here! I think it's the inevitable contrast with the hard edges of the layout.

One of the things I like about this picture is that you don't know if he's arriving or leaving (to arrive somewhere else). Is he about to board the train, or has he just got off it? I tried to make the words fit either way.

Thanks for reading and leaving a view.

[mingoes.livejournal.com]

Nice poem.
instead of pixelating, you could've tried blurring effects?
It makes me wonder, what is he fleeing from?

[wongkk.livejournal.com]

Good idea. Yes, maybe blurring would have worked better, though it would still have the strong contrast with the sharpness of the layout here. There are a few more in this set but they're not exactly comfortable ideas or topics so I'm not rushing to offer them - definitely need something a bit happier in between!

Ah - you'll have to supply your own guess at what he's trying to leave behind. Could be something he's done or a person or a part of himself that he's not proud of. I like to sprinkle ambiguity about a reader's head!

Thanks for reading and leaving a comment. Nice to see you again - Captain.

[mingoes.livejournal.com]

Ah, at least the messages comes through. ^^
hmm you can post in your own LJ *is curious now*
this poem, it's light, yes, but it has a sad tone in it too. So I was wondering what you had in mind when you wrote this. I like ambiguity.

hehe..it's just because it's "workday" lol.
at home it will be olympics and other stuff..^^

[wongkk.livejournal.com]

My, I'm glad you like ambiguity cos I've scattered my replies to you round at least two LJ sites and goodness knows how many entries! Good luck trying to work out which reply matches what - that'll feel like competing in the Olympics.

The idea for this poem was quite personal, in that starting or ending a journey usually makes me think, respectively, about what I'm leaving behind (or, indeed, about which things I can't leave behind - like my own bad habits and bits of guilt) or about what I'm returning to (or about what came with me but maybe has changed because of something that happened on the journey/during the time away).

The sky for me also travels - and can be "new".

And I've quite liked playing the mind game of CHOOSING how one would be if nobody knew one - would I act tougher, or less confident, or more interested or reveal a liking for something or someone which current circumstances make me keep hidden? etc etc. You get the idea. Fresh start; same old, maybe.

Gackt's face in this photo is very much a picture of someone on a journey into - or out of - himself. The physical departure/arrival is not the significant focus in his expression (hence the fragmentation I've used in image treatment). That's what my eyes saw at the time. But you can see what you like!

You're welcome to add to the story with another couple of verses. Why not? ;)

[mingoes.livejournal.com]

Hehe this is still easy to follow still know where and to who and about what I'm replying to, though sometimes gets so OT it does get confusing ._.

Hmmm yes, now I see more human less android. lol
As you said, you hardly do something without thinking it through. So, I'm pleased to read more of your reasoning behind it, very interesting thoughts.

Adding? Me? To that? I might 'destroy' that journey...maybe..maybe one day I'll give it a shot. -not a promise- ^^

[wongkk.livejournal.com]

Someone like you won't ever "destroy" it. You might just change the destination perhaps - which is fine. Maybe even it's better that way!

[wongkk.livejournal.com]

Scan started 1230h UTC 12th Aug completed 1231h UTC 12th Aug. Threads checked: 1 Omitted replies: 1

Reply reads: Please correct eyesight. Android alive and well [ er... inanimate and well! ]

[lilyginnyblack.livejournal.com]

No matter what you did to the image, Gackt still looks wonderful in it! ^-^ And, that was a very interesting poem. Thank you for posting and sharing it! ^^

[wongkk.livejournal.com]

You are so right - perish the thought that I could ever wreck Gackt's wonderfulness!

I feel a bit bad posting stuff here that is not upbeat, but Gackt himself doesn't shy away from the darker side of life (I mean - have you counted how many times he winds up dead or comatose in his MVs??) and his face holds far more meaning than a bland nice-ness. Or, at least, it is interpretable un-blandly. (My - I've used some ugly language there.)

Pleased that you found something of interest. Thanks for saying so.

[lilyginnyblack.livejournal.com]

LOL! xD I loved how you described Gackt's face, the ugly words sure did make it funny. And, I agree with you about Gackt and his obsession with morbid things, that's why I always enjoy the moments when he laughs and smiles or just sings an upbeat song. ^w^

Oh, and your welcome! ^^