digihater
Newbie
This is probably going to be inconsistent, contradictory and full of rambling but there you go.
I am now 49 and I have a love of everything Black and White, I love old pictures and really old films, I will sit and watch the old B&W films till my eyes droop and I fall asleep, but I can't sand colour films, they bore me, I don't know why, they just do, it's like they have no character or story to them, they seem to have no character or life in them.
I sit an I watch the old war films, or I walk down the road and I look at an elderly person and my mind wanders to their youth, and what they went through in it, did this person or that person serve in the armed forces or in intelligence, how much suffering did they have or feel, are they one of the many who was never rewarded a medal because they couldn't be named, where they tortured by the enemy and I someotimes look at the world and think how cruel it is as well as we are to each other, look at that poor old man shambling in the street eyes dead and no aim in where he is going, looking like he has nothing left and no one to go too, no one who visits him or cares if he is ok, they see nothing more than a dirty rambling old man and they mock him my eyes peel the years away from his face and gait and I see a proud man, or woman even, standing straight and rigid wearing a uniform, young with life in their face and their eyes sparkling, and so much pride, or with the love of their life long past away or sitting in a cold home that they can't afford to heat or buy food to keep warm, and inside I cry for them, for their dreams and pains over the years, I ask why no one cares for them anymore, I wonder if I asked them if I took their picture and offered them a couple of pound for doing so even just to help them along a little if they would be insulted, and so I don't.
I walk into old public houses or peoples homes and I see on the mantlepieces or walls old faded and yellowing pictures of people from yesteryear, many who have past away yet those still living yearn for them back or will sit and cry at night some thirty,fourty or fifty years later because they still miss and love them, those who are "missing" and whom others want to come home, too just walk through the door so desperately, I sat and watched my wifes grandfather Alf who served in HMS navy in WW2 and has never shown any sign of weakness sit and cry because he missed his wife who passed away some 20 years ago and I flet his pain but at the same time I felt so helpless and couild do nothing but sit and feel a lump the size of a brick in my throat, he went through 2 sinkings from torpedo and many other things as many did and yet, it meant nothing to him as much as she did.
I don't just look at this one war, but all of them and people of all nations, and I feel a pain inside at the loss of all sides and those who still don't know where loved ones are or what occured to them. I wonder if I am mad sometimes or mentally impaired because I feel such things.
I walk down the road and I remember the old man in the news who used to wander round the streets of london for many many years with his point and shoot cameras, I don't remember his name, but I would look at some of the pictures he took online and for some reason I found myself feeling as if I was in his shoes, wandering and taking pictures and having some weird emotions as if it was actually me who took them, the pictures spoke to me, and I found myself having to pull myself short for fear I was acting " uncool and freaky". I also found myself asking myself what he felt over the years as he took these pictures, and what he sufferd to get them.
I don't think colour reflects life in a real way, yet B&W does, it strips the warmth out of things that in reality are dire, I look at a B&W pic of someone being tortured and it makes my mind race at how wrong it is and how th eperson must be in terrible pain, its stark and real, yet if you put colour into it, it takes away all that and makes it feel in some way warm and not so bad or scary but "normal". I can't explain it any better than that, sorry.
I like the old films like St Trinians in B&W , they make me fall about laughing, yet newer comedy films just don't do it for me. I wonder why.
I look at "progress" and I wonder why it is that we seem to be going backward rather than forward, even to the point that in many ways we are resurrecting the old ways again because progress has shown that they were tried and tested and proven, plastic knobs don't last as long as metal ones, and the manufacturing process is disasterous to the earth, or you can't get rid of it for toxins...
I look at all the trades and people who have gone missing in life, the guy who thatched roofs or who made bricks by hand, the old sheffield steel industry, I ask myself why progress means that we are killing ourselves in an effort to get what we had but threw away, our freedoms our libertys, and our right to be happy, I think people are killing themselves to attain what they had without realising they had it and lost it because they wwere blindsided or tricked into signing something that took away their rights in the name of security or such, or lost them their jobs too a machine that can do it 100 times faster on the promise they would still have a job. I feel like we have kicked all our predecessors in the teeth, all those who feel at ypres or dunkirk or vietnam for the right to give us our lives and happiness, I sit at night and I wonder what they would say now, and why they gave their lives for us to throw it all away, the ways they knew gone forever and the trades they would no longer see.
I often sit and think of many many things that cause me pain, or concern me in the pains of others, I ask why do we HAVE to move with so called progression, even when it is obvious to us that it is backwards or going to cause harm, or even cost someone their lives,livelihood or homes, dig an open cast mine in wales and 300 people live in misery, yet its touted as progress or needed by the masses. I just don't get it, why must we make others miserable for money or someone elses idea of progress, why are people allowed to use psychological warfare to tout things as progress and force it upon us.
I ask if I am messed up for wanting to stay with the old safe ways, or to be happy with what I know rather than be forced to embrace some new technology purely because it means Fred can do something easier than I.
My head sometimes swims with all these things, it is often full of the incongruities and incosistencies in life as well as the pain of other people and their loses. I will leave you with just these few things to mull over, as I sit and think of the many many things In my head. Excuse my rant or what you may think a nonsense.
I love B&W. It has character and meaning.
I am now 49 and I have a love of everything Black and White, I love old pictures and really old films, I will sit and watch the old B&W films till my eyes droop and I fall asleep, but I can't sand colour films, they bore me, I don't know why, they just do, it's like they have no character or story to them, they seem to have no character or life in them.
I sit an I watch the old war films, or I walk down the road and I look at an elderly person and my mind wanders to their youth, and what they went through in it, did this person or that person serve in the armed forces or in intelligence, how much suffering did they have or feel, are they one of the many who was never rewarded a medal because they couldn't be named, where they tortured by the enemy and I someotimes look at the world and think how cruel it is as well as we are to each other, look at that poor old man shambling in the street eyes dead and no aim in where he is going, looking like he has nothing left and no one to go too, no one who visits him or cares if he is ok, they see nothing more than a dirty rambling old man and they mock him my eyes peel the years away from his face and gait and I see a proud man, or woman even, standing straight and rigid wearing a uniform, young with life in their face and their eyes sparkling, and so much pride, or with the love of their life long past away or sitting in a cold home that they can't afford to heat or buy food to keep warm, and inside I cry for them, for their dreams and pains over the years, I ask why no one cares for them anymore, I wonder if I asked them if I took their picture and offered them a couple of pound for doing so even just to help them along a little if they would be insulted, and so I don't.
I walk into old public houses or peoples homes and I see on the mantlepieces or walls old faded and yellowing pictures of people from yesteryear, many who have past away yet those still living yearn for them back or will sit and cry at night some thirty,fourty or fifty years later because they still miss and love them, those who are "missing" and whom others want to come home, too just walk through the door so desperately, I sat and watched my wifes grandfather Alf who served in HMS navy in WW2 and has never shown any sign of weakness sit and cry because he missed his wife who passed away some 20 years ago and I flet his pain but at the same time I felt so helpless and couild do nothing but sit and feel a lump the size of a brick in my throat, he went through 2 sinkings from torpedo and many other things as many did and yet, it meant nothing to him as much as she did.
I don't just look at this one war, but all of them and people of all nations, and I feel a pain inside at the loss of all sides and those who still don't know where loved ones are or what occured to them. I wonder if I am mad sometimes or mentally impaired because I feel such things.
I walk down the road and I remember the old man in the news who used to wander round the streets of london for many many years with his point and shoot cameras, I don't remember his name, but I would look at some of the pictures he took online and for some reason I found myself feeling as if I was in his shoes, wandering and taking pictures and having some weird emotions as if it was actually me who took them, the pictures spoke to me, and I found myself having to pull myself short for fear I was acting " uncool and freaky". I also found myself asking myself what he felt over the years as he took these pictures, and what he sufferd to get them.
I don't think colour reflects life in a real way, yet B&W does, it strips the warmth out of things that in reality are dire, I look at a B&W pic of someone being tortured and it makes my mind race at how wrong it is and how th eperson must be in terrible pain, its stark and real, yet if you put colour into it, it takes away all that and makes it feel in some way warm and not so bad or scary but "normal". I can't explain it any better than that, sorry.
I like the old films like St Trinians in B&W , they make me fall about laughing, yet newer comedy films just don't do it for me. I wonder why.
I look at "progress" and I wonder why it is that we seem to be going backward rather than forward, even to the point that in many ways we are resurrecting the old ways again because progress has shown that they were tried and tested and proven, plastic knobs don't last as long as metal ones, and the manufacturing process is disasterous to the earth, or you can't get rid of it for toxins...
I look at all the trades and people who have gone missing in life, the guy who thatched roofs or who made bricks by hand, the old sheffield steel industry, I ask myself why progress means that we are killing ourselves in an effort to get what we had but threw away, our freedoms our libertys, and our right to be happy, I think people are killing themselves to attain what they had without realising they had it and lost it because they wwere blindsided or tricked into signing something that took away their rights in the name of security or such, or lost them their jobs too a machine that can do it 100 times faster on the promise they would still have a job. I feel like we have kicked all our predecessors in the teeth, all those who feel at ypres or dunkirk or vietnam for the right to give us our lives and happiness, I sit at night and I wonder what they would say now, and why they gave their lives for us to throw it all away, the ways they knew gone forever and the trades they would no longer see.
I often sit and think of many many things that cause me pain, or concern me in the pains of others, I ask why do we HAVE to move with so called progression, even when it is obvious to us that it is backwards or going to cause harm, or even cost someone their lives,livelihood or homes, dig an open cast mine in wales and 300 people live in misery, yet its touted as progress or needed by the masses. I just don't get it, why must we make others miserable for money or someone elses idea of progress, why are people allowed to use psychological warfare to tout things as progress and force it upon us.
I ask if I am messed up for wanting to stay with the old safe ways, or to be happy with what I know rather than be forced to embrace some new technology purely because it means Fred can do something easier than I.
My head sometimes swims with all these things, it is often full of the incongruities and incosistencies in life as well as the pain of other people and their loses. I will leave you with just these few things to mull over, as I sit and think of the many many things In my head. Excuse my rant or what you may think a nonsense.
I love B&W. It has character and meaning.
bmattock
Veteran
I like indoor toilets that flush, central air and heat, and digital photography's conveniences. I like hot water and soap every day and not once a week.
I like being able to use a cheap PC to earn my living and to connect with people and share ideas around the world.
I like being able to get on a plane for relatively little money and get off in some exotic place in the world that previously I would only have been able to read about in the pages of National Geographic. I like knowing that if I really want to know what the Mona Lisa looks like, I can go and see it, in person.
I like the fact that my father lived six years after the heart attack that should have killed him, because of advances in electronic technology.
I also like B&W film, and enjoy B&W movies. Not to the exclusion of all else.
I guess at the end of the day, I feel that technology does not push me around. I set the limits that are most appropriate for me. I don't have a Blackberry - don't want one. I don't have an iPod, no desire for it. But I love digital cameras and fast computers, so I do spend money on them.
I choose what technology I want to have around me. I'm 47, and rather than bemoaning how the world is, I live in it, take the parts I like, don't take the parts I don't like, try to change the things that really bother me, and go on about my life. I dunno. I meet a lot of people who seem to be life's victim. I can't prove it, but I think it's a fashion statement. I'm not a victim.
Simpler times, long ago? Maybe. But, I don't wish to live in a thatched hut and crap in a shed that surrounds a hole in the ground. But those who want to, have my blessing. Go and sin no more.
I like being able to use a cheap PC to earn my living and to connect with people and share ideas around the world.
I like being able to get on a plane for relatively little money and get off in some exotic place in the world that previously I would only have been able to read about in the pages of National Geographic. I like knowing that if I really want to know what the Mona Lisa looks like, I can go and see it, in person.
I like the fact that my father lived six years after the heart attack that should have killed him, because of advances in electronic technology.
I also like B&W film, and enjoy B&W movies. Not to the exclusion of all else.
I guess at the end of the day, I feel that technology does not push me around. I set the limits that are most appropriate for me. I don't have a Blackberry - don't want one. I don't have an iPod, no desire for it. But I love digital cameras and fast computers, so I do spend money on them.
I choose what technology I want to have around me. I'm 47, and rather than bemoaning how the world is, I live in it, take the parts I like, don't take the parts I don't like, try to change the things that really bother me, and go on about my life. I dunno. I meet a lot of people who seem to be life's victim. I can't prove it, but I think it's a fashion statement. I'm not a victim.
Simpler times, long ago? Maybe. But, I don't wish to live in a thatched hut and crap in a shed that surrounds a hole in the ground. But those who want to, have my blessing. Go and sin no more.
digihater
Newbie
I have no knowledge of you apart from the posts I have read that seem to be aimed at bullying people to accept your point of view, I refer to the one about police and rights on one of the forums, bellitling people for their opinions is not something I choose to do, or insult them for what they feel. I do notice that you seem to be all about you and not anyone else.
My life is not exclusively centred around what I can get for me at the expense of using or hurting other people or my environment, but how can you say that technology does not push you around, when it clearly does, nor can you say you only have the technology around you you choose to have when so much is forced upon you by whatever government chooses to force it upon you, take CCTV on street corners or your meter for fuel useage at home or the telephone you use or any manner of things, you may choose its brand but not the technology or its being there.
As for cheap flights to exotic places, well I suppose we all want to visit them, and as easily as possible, but I wouldn't want to think that my cheap flight is killing off wildlife, people ( in any way shape or form) or causing any kind of damage to the environment as it has clearly been shown to do, am I one of them green people or environmentalists, Nope sorry, I am not, I just have my own mind without being brainwashed or following the party line etc.
Likewise your nice cheap PC , I wonder how many children have been working in sweat shops at machinery or whatever putting the components together, or if that isn't the case all the other industries they do work in in an ancillary position to manufacter the parts. Cheapness comes at a cost to someone else somewhere. As does the money you earn to buy them, you go to work and you get paid, but where do they get their money to pay you, who along the chain however far back pays the price for your comfort, the 9 year old in india ?. Nope i promise you I aint a environmentalist.
I read you say you were a police officer on a thread, and my guess is that somewhere along the line you were trained in some way or other to use psychological means to get your man or your way, or prove your point, I'm not going there sorry. i had that kind of thing many years ago from a 15 year old girl I went out with, with the old if you loved me you would do X, or even the old if you have nothing to hide you would tell us.. Erm maybe I don't want to because thats my right not to have too or be bullied into telling you, not because I have something to hide.
I kind of like the "I take the parts I like etc etc" you wrote, it shows a very caring sharing feeling person.... one who is obviously aware of the pain and suffering he inflicts on others and shares what he has for the well being of other people.
I don't understand why you chose to reply either in the manner or way you did, I wasn't demanding you live in a hut, or throw away your digital camera, pc or other items, nor that you take a dump in the forest, I was merely letting you and others know how I felt about life in my head and why I like B&W so much more than colour. But like everyone else in life you are entitled to your opinion. I am just saddened that you seem to want to belittle someone for their thoughts because they aren't the same as yours.
Have a nice day. I will leave you to it.
My life is not exclusively centred around what I can get for me at the expense of using or hurting other people or my environment, but how can you say that technology does not push you around, when it clearly does, nor can you say you only have the technology around you you choose to have when so much is forced upon you by whatever government chooses to force it upon you, take CCTV on street corners or your meter for fuel useage at home or the telephone you use or any manner of things, you may choose its brand but not the technology or its being there.
As for cheap flights to exotic places, well I suppose we all want to visit them, and as easily as possible, but I wouldn't want to think that my cheap flight is killing off wildlife, people ( in any way shape or form) or causing any kind of damage to the environment as it has clearly been shown to do, am I one of them green people or environmentalists, Nope sorry, I am not, I just have my own mind without being brainwashed or following the party line etc.
Likewise your nice cheap PC , I wonder how many children have been working in sweat shops at machinery or whatever putting the components together, or if that isn't the case all the other industries they do work in in an ancillary position to manufacter the parts. Cheapness comes at a cost to someone else somewhere. As does the money you earn to buy them, you go to work and you get paid, but where do they get their money to pay you, who along the chain however far back pays the price for your comfort, the 9 year old in india ?. Nope i promise you I aint a environmentalist.
I read you say you were a police officer on a thread, and my guess is that somewhere along the line you were trained in some way or other to use psychological means to get your man or your way, or prove your point, I'm not going there sorry. i had that kind of thing many years ago from a 15 year old girl I went out with, with the old if you loved me you would do X, or even the old if you have nothing to hide you would tell us.. Erm maybe I don't want to because thats my right not to have too or be bullied into telling you, not because I have something to hide.
I kind of like the "I take the parts I like etc etc" you wrote, it shows a very caring sharing feeling person.... one who is obviously aware of the pain and suffering he inflicts on others and shares what he has for the well being of other people.
I don't understand why you chose to reply either in the manner or way you did, I wasn't demanding you live in a hut, or throw away your digital camera, pc or other items, nor that you take a dump in the forest, I was merely letting you and others know how I felt about life in my head and why I like B&W so much more than colour. But like everyone else in life you are entitled to your opinion. I am just saddened that you seem to want to belittle someone for their thoughts because they aren't the same as yours.
Have a nice day. I will leave you to it.
bmattock
Veteran
I did not intend to belittle you. I will ask you to note a couple of things.
First, your screen name - digihater. You define yourself by what you hate. Does that sound like a positive thing to you?
Second, you stated your sadness at the passing away of an age, with great eloquence I might add, but you did not note any of of the positive things that have come about as a result of this new technology and new ways of life. Even in your reply, you only note that these positive things have a human cost, choosing again to dwell on the negative.
Third, I replied to you that life is about choices. I do not feel hemmed in and controlled by technology, but you stated in both your initial post and your reply that you do. My outlook is positive - yours bleak.
I have no interest in telling you how to live or think or feel. I do note that even in today's society, there are places one can live and enjoy the world as it was. We have Amish communities where even electricity is not allowed, no phones, no cars, etc. That's just one example - it's all about choice.
So if today's society really makes you that sad - and you certainly seem to be filled with great sadness, depression even; then perhaps you might be happier choosing less technology in your life. I see that you believe you have no choices, but I must say that in my opinion, you do.
Roger Hicks
Veteran
Dear Bill,
Exactly, but 11 years further down the road than you. "Take what you want, and pay for it, saieth the Lord."
Too many people 'buy the package'. If they believe A, they think they have to believe B and C, not as logical consequences, but because their chums (who went to the same school) also believe A also believe B and C.
I'll quote again something the late Terence Donovan once said to me. I think you've already read it, but others may not have.
TD: "Let's face it, cameras are so ****ing cheap, you can buy a new ****ing camera for each ****ing job."
RWH: "Maybe you can, but we're not all Terence Donovan."
TD: "Not my problem, sunshine."
It's amazing the number of things that aren't your problem unless you want them to be.
Cheers,
R.
digihater
Newbie
I don't suffer with depression, I can assure you, but I do feel great sympathy with those who shall we say have lost in life, whatever that may be, in whatever form.
my nickname was chosen at speed whilst faced with a form to fill in and not wanting to have to keep guessing a new one that wasn't taken already, it means nothing more than that. I own a EOS 300D.
As for Technology, its fine, but at what cost Bill, and too who, a life saved here may mean 10 lost in its pursuit, I merely question myself if that exchange is worth it and who chooses who loses for someone elses benefit. No man may play god as far as I am concerned. I certainly don't "dwell" on the negative in life all the time, usually I am more than a happy person, however occasionaly something "more than the norm" sets me to thinking on my fellow man more than usual and to a greater depth, as well as the things we do to each other for greed, personal gain or in the name of technological progress, Bhopal and many other places come to mind over the years.
I really must stop this because I am starting to sound like a poster for greenpeace or the likes !!!. But I have to ask myself is it fair or right occasionaly.
I leave you in peace and with my regards and wishes Bill. Have a nice night or whatever it is there now.
Dave
my nickname was chosen at speed whilst faced with a form to fill in and not wanting to have to keep guessing a new one that wasn't taken already, it means nothing more than that. I own a EOS 300D.
As for Technology, its fine, but at what cost Bill, and too who, a life saved here may mean 10 lost in its pursuit, I merely question myself if that exchange is worth it and who chooses who loses for someone elses benefit. No man may play god as far as I am concerned. I certainly don't "dwell" on the negative in life all the time, usually I am more than a happy person, however occasionaly something "more than the norm" sets me to thinking on my fellow man more than usual and to a greater depth, as well as the things we do to each other for greed, personal gain or in the name of technological progress, Bhopal and many other places come to mind over the years.
I really must stop this because I am starting to sound like a poster for greenpeace or the likes !!!. But I have to ask myself is it fair or right occasionaly.
I leave you in peace and with my regards and wishes Bill. Have a nice night or whatever it is there now.
Dave