The Unreasonable Man

Driving an ethanol-powered car may be a sin, warns an Islamic scholar (link). Ethanol is a form of alcohol.

I do hope that is a joke.

You all know what I think of religion. Now you have another reason why.

I should remember to take a picture of the day every day - more, I should find a way to streamline the upload process so it does not take me too long, as it currently does.

Here is today’s, at least. An old friend and colleague (old as in long ago, not as in age, in which I outdo him), Keith. Available light, 50mm f/1.4 on a 1Ds3.

(Click for larger).

Doesn’t that show how nice B/W pictures are? Much better than the colour equivalent, where the colour competes for attention with the subject.

I just sent in a photo book to be reprinted by Apple (they have printed it before). This book is for a photographic documentary art gallery exhibit I am doing in April/May, during the major Contact event, and its message is against drug use.

But even though it is against drug use - that is the entire message - Apple apparently thinks it is illegal to print an image depicting drug use in the USA. Apparently aware of such finesses as the First Amendment, and of the separate roles of writers and government, Apple rejects my book and, just now, writes:

“Firstly, I’d like to say as a fellow artist, I understand the difficulty that this poses and I apologize for the inconvenience. Unfortunately, what has caused the rejection is the illegal drug use portrayed. This is a commonly rejected issue with not only us, but the majority of printers for books, prints, and other photography industries within the United States.

While I understand that this book is being used as an anti-drug message, we have to follow the guidelines placed not only by the printers but also the US government as the printers are located in the USA, and cannot print these images. I wish you the best and again, apologize for the inconvenience.”

Good grief. That beggars belief. Is Apple right and is depicting drug use illegal, or is Apple hiding behind silly excuses? They only print what is OK as per “guidelines placed by the US government”? The irony is that this is an anti-drug message, and that I will be supported by CAMH.

OK, my next exhibit will be about kittens and Bambi. Either that, or it will not involve America in any way, shape or form. It certainly will not be involving Apple.

Serious photographers who want to know the details of their camera’s settings download a utility called exiftool.

Your camera stores a lot of settings that no other utilities show you - things like the camera’s shutter count, the temperature, the AF points used, all the camera’s detailed settings: This small utility tells you everything you would ever want to know. A must have.

Do I seem odd?

Is it a crime to take pictures in the UK and in the US, two of the most extremist countries when it comes to handing in liberties in response to terrorism hysteria (or I should say “using terrorism hysteria to allow reductions in civil liberties)? Apparently, it can be.

Makes me want to shoot people.

With my camera, of course.

Kudos to Margaret Atwood for refusing to attend a Dubai book festival that banned a book that contained a gay character. Intolerance cannot be tolerated by writers; Atwood is taking the right stand. This is the same Dubai that refused an Israeli tennis player a visa for being Israeli.That last decision was so unpopular that it caused an apparent shift: outing this kind of intolerance can help.

More intolerance in the case of the NY cartoon. It is, in the words of the cartoonist, “absolutely frigging ridiculous” that blacks are angry because a chimp and Obama were in the same cartoon: these people are so unsure of themselves that this is apparently forbidden - as some may associate the chimp with a black man. Huh? Obama did not write the stimulus bill: democrats on congress did - either that or an army of typewriting monkeys did.

FInally, a UK study shows you must be an ascetic monk to avoid stroke. One point was given to people who did not smoke, one point awarded for drinking just one to 14 units of alcohol a week, one point for consuming five portions of fruit and vegetables a day and one point for being physically active. Only those with four points had low stroke risk.

Yes, but they have a life. I do not even eat five items a day, let alone five portions of fruits and vegetables.

New Rule: the phrase “five portions of fruits and vegetables” will henceforth be forbidden. Any books containing references to it will be banned.

..and heavy. My elbow and hands hurt from all this lifting - but biy, do I ever have the right camera at hand at all times.

Why is the lens mount on top? Simple - it enables me to lift the camera out of the bag in one smooth move.

The BBC today quotes a report, in an article here, that maintains that the post-9-11 wave of “anti-terror legislation” appears to have weakened the rule of law, and appears to not have been necessary, as existing laws were sufficient to handle terrorist threats.

The International Commission of Jurists says in its report that many states used the public’s fear of terrorism to introduce measures, and that the UK and the US have “actively undermined” international law by their actions.

This is of course what I have been saying since the morning of 9/11. I knew this would happen, and I turned and said so to my wife as tower 2 fell. I also knew that it would be easy for governments to use public naivety and fear to increase their own powers. And I knew that the change in our way of life would be due not to the terrorists, but to us, our governments, and our willingness to hand over freedom in exchange for liberty.

Download the report here and get depressed, or happy, depending on your outlook.

Michael

Does this:

I like 50mm on a full-frame camera.

A new rule from me, a la Bill Maher.

Never, ever tell me condescendingly that something is “delicious”. This means you, media and government people who point out that “not only is [lettuce|spinach|dark chocolate|orange juice|wholewheat bread|whatever] delicious, it is also very healthy, and eating 17 portions of it a day will keep you healthy”. I will decide what is delicious. Dark chocolate is not delicious: milk chocolate is delicious, thanks. Please no more kindergarten style condescension. It hurts your cause more than it helps you.