Television For The Blind

Originally uploaded by TSHolen

First of I'm a bit angry. If you guys really had to revive skins, then do it properly for fucks sake. Shallow and unrealistically stereotypical characters does not do it by far. Check out episode three of series two and that scene in the club where the Crystal Castles performs Alice Practice while Sid finally realizes what's happened. Dude, you guys aren't even grasping anything remotely near that authenticity in the new series. No need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that that Cooke guy is a migh suicidal and that it has something to do with his mother. Unless there's something impressive hidden behind it, I am ready to stop spending any more time on this series.

Speaking of television series; ever since I downloaded Smallville when it first came I have been aware of all the bad that comes with downloading series. Television series are in general made with the intention to get you rather addicted to them, - make you tune in your tv next week and all that. You know how this works, after the episode is finished pretty much all you can think of is how it continues in the next episode. The problem is that when you download several episodes and see them in a row this addictive element gets rather amplified. Obviously your own life seems disappointingly uneventful compared to that of the protagonist in the tv show. And you get super-addicted to watching the show. The worst is if the show mainly follows one character because then your life seems to follow his/hers in a way. If things go to shit with him/her you feel bad and the opposite. And when you sit there with a happy feeling after watching, in the end you realize that it doesn't really matter at all. It is not real (a lot like what I know accomplishments in computer games also makes you feel), it feels kind of shit, doesn't it? Of course if you end up feeling bad because something went to hell in the show then it really isn't as easy to shake it off. In essence the series makes your life seem pretty uninteresting. In this light it is funny that it is a well known fact that the Norwegian prime minister is a big fan of Sopranos and that he watches a lot tv-series. I can't help but wonder if he feels the same way after watching a show.

The other day my mom tipped me of this study saying that a lot of young people are suffering hearing losses because of playing music too loud in iPods and other mp3-players. I guess this is not really that unbelievable. My brother once said that he thought that this decade would be the one when everyone started experiencing the world around them with a soundtrack. Music in your ears. Constantly. I really think he was onto something, and another thing that strikes me is that in order to actually have contact with someone you meet on the streets of a big city (I only really have experience with London but I'm guessing it's the same everywhere) you have to have them take out a plug playing music in their ears. And that will only happen after you've taken out yours to start the conversation. Real world sound is second to that of your iPod and you are not really meant to have anyone talk to you, unless of course it's through your phone which incidentally is connected to, again, earphones. To top it all, today I was sitting on the bus next to an old fella. It seemed he had some difficulties breathing as his throat seemed to give of some kind of ticking noise once and again. After a while I realized how impossibly rhythmic his breathing was and to be honest I thought it sounded rather like a snare drum of some sort. I looked at him to check if the ancient guy could really be wearing headphones, and no it didn't seem so. The only ear I could properly see was filled with hair and wax, but no earphone. So I went back to listening, and I really couldn't help but making out a kick drum and some synths to go with the snare, and I even felt I knew the rhythm from somewhere. And then suddenly he gets up to leave and I notice that his other ear is indeed not quite as empty and a white little apple plug is anchored in between the hair and all that other stuff. And would you believe it, the old man sitting next to me was listening to Let It Rock by Kevin Rudolf and Lil Wayne! Not only is it a rather hip-hoppy track, it is actually pretty new too. Made my morning that one.

The other day we were out clubbin' at local Oceana (really ought to try some of the others soonish..?). Pretty allright night, didn't get too drunk but all in all good fun. In the queue I started becoming aware of the excessive number of guys wearing hats. I didn't really give it much thought seeing as, well, English guys like to wear hats sometimes. Anyways, inside we noticed a girl wearing a corset and hot pants dancing up on a platformy thing in the spotlight. In my understanding corset and hot pants are categorized as underwear. Not so much like that for her, for her it was more like: proper party wear. I know I'll get in trouble for this, but I have to say that I get a bit nauseous thinking about how she in every probability would complain to her equally dressed friends how the boys were coming on to her like she'd invited them to it or something. Now, let's say we skip that part where all the girls get f-ing angry saying that they should be allowed to wear whatever they want without having to become a rape offer. 'Even if the fruit is peeled it isn't yours to take' and all of that. I do by no means say that the guys have any right to take whatever they like because you wear, well, underwear or something other rather sexually inviting. But do you not see the POSSIBILITY that _maybe_ it gives some sort of signal when you yourself seemingly try to rape the railing on the platform your dancing on in the spotlight in a club. No? Anyways, this is more of a general frustration and not solely based on this happening, because it seems that very night was a themed one, namely 'Pimps and Pornstars', fair enough I guess. I have to say though, that when the spotlight was moved from one platform to the other, we noticed that our trusty underwear-clad friend had moved along with the light. Conveniently.

Another memorable thing happened in the club. We were dancing to some awesome-ish british drum and bass, and the Dj and the song agreed that everyone ought to have their hands in the air and jump. The kind of thing you hate when you hear the song the first time on the radio or whatever, but do rather shamelessly in the club. Anyways, when you do this there's the rather frequent situation where someone's head comes beneath your elbow on your way down from a jump and it all results in a heavy thump in that someone's head. I was wary of this happening, and therefore kept my eyes looking out for people. It just so happened that a guy standing not far from me went and smashed his elbow into some girls head, - rather hard I'd say. He seemed very sorry and apologized to the girl. Her (rather enormous) boyfriend was not impressed by the apology, and seemed to think it appropriate to trust violence to solve it. The other guy, foresighted enough to realize what the biggie was about to do was already moving away when mr tough guy launched his punch. Now here's the brilliant part: in doing so, running away that is, the guy accidentally pushed the girl into the trajectory of the punch making the big guy punch his girlfriend right in the head, making it her second head trauma for the night. It was a pretty awesome sight, and I really hope that guy got away in time because the brute seemed rather ill-content with him punching his own girlfriend being the final act of the exchange.

I'll try to write more often here, but I'm not sure that I will be able to. I'm more of a 'one f-ing big post now and then' than 'a small post every other day'-type i guess. Anyways, have a good one!

Pigeon Wharf

Pigeon Wharf
Originally uploaded by TSHolen

It's been a while since last post now. This is by no means of lack of stuff to write about, more the opposite to be honest.

Christmas was good, very good. To be frank, it was so cool meeting everyone again that going back kind of sucked for some days. And we DID have some good parties. As usual I have serious difficulties remembering what actually happened at these, but I am fairly positive I had fun. As far as parties goes, I feel the climax was reached new years eve. For the very first time (ever) I dared host myself, and I am truly impressed by how good everyone behaved. In fact after getting some recaps of the night, I actually have an inkling it was I who was the biggest troublemaker there. Impressive stuff. This conclusion was reached after hearing accounts of how I managed to drop my phone in a glass of water while speaking on it, only to continue the conversation casually with a wet phone (the poor thing is dying anyways) after fishing it up (I believe; with some difficulty) out of the glass. Apparently the guy I was speaking to, who had earlier seen the state I was in, merely thought it sounded like I drowned for a while. I don't blame him for not being overly surprised that it sounded like I was doing something crazy.

Following a photographic dry spell I finally managed to do a project I've been thinking of/planning for half a year. Big ups to you guys for actually showing up to do it. And sorry if anyone feels left out, but the 'roles' were taken so I couldn't add any people. I've got the films developed, and it's looking pretty good..! Now I only need to find time to scan them all (and the 8 other films I recently developed) within the 10am-5pm time frame the scanning room is open. This is actually such a big hassle that I consider buying my own scanner. It is pretty damned annoying to attend a university (for which I am paying £10k p.a.) and have colour negative processing, b&w processing, colour and b&w print-darkrooms, a studio (in fact 2), and two scanning rooms that are ONLY open between 10am-5pm. I think you might get an understanding that there is quite a lot that has to happen between those hours every day. And that is granted I have nothing else to do at those times. Of course that is not the case, for this is also when we are having all our lectures, tutorials, workshops and whatnot. And if you know what it involves you might also understand that all of these things; studio, darkroom and scanning, are things that you have to work quite a lot to get started so that there's no use to try and fit these activities in between, before or after etc. Well, all of this is mounting up to the inevitable eventuality that the weekends wind up pretty fucking quiet. All of a sudden nothing can be done. The only thing I really can do is to go out and take more pictures which would again only add to the workload in the week. Hmpf!

The reason why the rooms are not open any longer is that it is not felt that the interest is that great and that the facilities are being exhausted by the number of students using them. Of course not, we are supposed to be everywhere else aren't we? Granted, there really isn't that many students in doing darkroom/analogue work, and honestly I don't know what people are doing because everyone seems to scatter as soon as they have the chance, only to show up with some mediocre digi shots a couple of weeks later. I mean, people, you are paying for this! Maybe not as much as me (actually less than a third), but it's still money..!
And as far as facilities being used, there are really only three dedicated film scanners, and of those three I would find something else to do if none of the two best were available. So that leaves two people to scan. The studio can only effectively be used by one person (with assistant), and it is also nearly always booked. I would stay all night if they were open, honestly. And I do believe some five more students would as well, give or take. Maybe someone new would actually come in in the evenings. Who knows?

On another note. I am beginning to fear that photography is not for me, simply because in the long run, I really don't work well alone. Well, I work well enough, but I just somehow need to be around loads of people on a regular basis. I guess some areas of photography would not work too well, I'm thinking of James Nachtwey who travels around to war zones alone and that stuff. It'd be really awesome, but lonely in the long run I expect.

I feel ashamed to say I have not been following the Gaza war too closely, but I did do some reading up on it. It is and has always been a very complex conflict. One thing has to be said though, when the Norwegian doctor Mads Gilbert working in Gaza (up till today) states that he has "seen ONE military person" in the hospital, he really has no reason to lie. The people who are hurt and killed, simply are not military, they are civilians. In lack of a better way to put this:
That is unbelievably wrong!

till next..