Elton One

Found a good quote today:

Holocaust memorial in Boston, with an adapted version of the quote.

Original version preferred by Niemöller (and myself):

“In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist;

And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;

And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;

And then . . . they came for me . . . And by that time there was no one left to speak up.”

Martin Niemöller, 1946

There is a lot you can get out of it, not only by placing it in it’s historical context but by applying it to more recent events too. The US Patriot Act for one, the shut down of tv-links.co.uk (and broader legal implications) and subsequent lack of reaction from it’s users, and of course British anti-terrorist legislation; three examples where the underlying message against political apathy can be seen clearly. We all deep down know what is right and what is wrong but a lot of the time we over ride that, and I’m not talking just politically. Even worse we refuse to accept or discuss those things that are bad because we know they are bad, but it’s so much to deal with we’d rather forget about it and flip the channel. It’s a reminder to me not to be ignorant or complacent and to base my actions on what is right and not what is convenient; to say when something is not right and take action. I try but not enough. Part of the problem, or part of the solution at the end of the day.

We all went to Chippy’s last night for a good bit of drinking and general debauchery. Unfortunately, it was fun for a bit until everyone got a bit too out of control. At first I thought it was the effects of the cocaine [I don't touch the stuff - it's shit, lasts 10 seconds, turns you into a twat and don't even get me started on the ethics of the horrible stuff..], but I think it’s more likely because people ran out of cocaine. I got asked to leave at the same time Adam fell on the table spilling all the drinks, not sure why but then again if someone starts screaming relentlessly in my face I’m either going to hit them or leave. And I’ll usually do the latter.

A freezing 2 hour walk down country roads narrowly avoiding being hit by speeding taxis and rich kids and I’m home. It’s hard to keep off the road when you can’t walk straight. Really lucky it didn’t rain or I would have been sleeping in a barn. I left in such a hurry I forgot my camera too.. gutted.

I learned a lot from the experience. I already knew coke was a shit drug, and what I had my suspicions of but had confirmed is that the majority of people there that night, whom I deem to be my friends, just want an easy life. They don’t want to hear about anything bad or even deal with it and when presented with it, they’ll just ignore it instead of discussing it with the aim of solving the problem. It’s nothing new but it’s just sad for me to feel as though the majority of things that interest me and that I think about are of no interest to most people, not because they are not interesting, but because they cause you to have to think and thinking is hard and stuff. Stuff is cool (to quote from Nathan Barley). I’ve thought this for a bit, but then really had it driven home when I left and tried to get in contact with people and 1 person replied, only to say they didn’t want to deal with it. Everyone else just ignored it, had another line and another drink and made it all better. And it’s two days later and I’ve heard nowt. Least I would have done if the same happened to someone else would be to ring them and make sure they got home alright.

So my conclusion is if my friends are like this with me, a friend who they have known for years and grown up with, then what hope is there for people who are not friends? And is this the way we should be to each other? I don’t thinks so, but increasingly it is the acceptable practice. Throw it away when you get bored and get a new one. And in that case, if it’s because I am a twat that my friends are acting like this, then why has no one ever told me I’m a twat? Either I’m not or no one can be arsed dealing with it, which is precisely what I am talking about.

Super foggy today from about 4:00am to just before lunch. It’s not unusual that I can’t see the market tower from my bedroom, but today I couldn’t even see the bottom of my road.

Here are two photographs I took up at Northcliffe. I’ve been pleased with the grain that my E500 produces - while not as natural as film in my opinion the effect is a good one. Due to the low saturation a combination of ISO 400 (I’m sure I shot it at 800.. hmmm) and the fog produced, and based on what I’ve seen before with this camera, black and white photography seems to look a lot nicer with the grain from the E500.