[plainoldme]

January 20, 2010 at 1:11 am

I would really really recommend them. I took their creative course last summer, it was so helpful and I swear I got more out of it that anything else I’ve done photography-wise.

Dave’s a great person to learn from and they will definitely lead you down the right path.

Best of luck! :)

[plainoldme]

January 15, 2010 at 1:16 am

Thanks Soda,

I really do plan on trying to do more! :)

[plainoldme]

January 3, 2010 at 4:13 pm

Starting with a bang eh robbie?? This is lovely, I don’t think I’d change a thing. I like the crop on it, tones are lovely also :)

Well done, would make a lovely gift for the parents!

[plainoldme]

December 22, 2009 at 10:57 pm

The Avett Brothers – great sound! Youtube them if you have half a brain! :P (no offense meant to those lacking headmeat…:P)

Also, Florence and the Machine and Biffy Clyro :D

[plainoldme]

November 4, 2009 at 8:23 pm

I am?!? ….I’m well too young to be suffering from this kinda memory loss :? :shock:

[plainoldme]

November 4, 2009 at 6:07 pm

i never knew that either… :?

[plainoldme]

November 4, 2009 at 1:14 pm

irishwonkafan wrote:

Now, some seem all for it based on the crime…understandable reaction. What about the American soldiers who are captured, beaten then mutilated and their bodies dragged through the streets on display. From the Afghan/Iraqi perspective they are criminals and see this as a fitting punishment for bombing houses where children and innocent people are killed. Or what about the Taliban who give the victim of a crime the choice of the perpetrators punishment…often giving them a gun to shoot them in public. Is it only right if it’s in another country or performed on people from Middle-Eastern countries?

Surely this is entirely different problem. While it might seem easy to compare it to a simple punishment-by-death perspective for criminals, what you’re now suggesting has an entirely different social context. Places like Afghanistan or Iraq are places of extreme social unrest, obviously so, as well as political problems, economic issues, and a list of other issues that are seemingly endless. In my opinion that can’t really be contrasted with places like America – who really don’t have a stable explanation for why they continue to practice the death penalty despite the virtual non existance of social/cultural rites like in places like the UAE.

If you’re going to mention the Taliban you’re talking about political activists, extremists, and to be blunt, terrorists. People who’s judgement may not be entirely rational but are a product of their own environment. The same can be said for the torture of American soldiers. It’s not simply based on criminality and social order, but more or less based on social disorder and the ways in which that manifests in local community. It’s about communities and individual groups that are rebelling against the solutions at hand, because maybe theyre not good enough, or maybe it’s just mob mentality. Wanting to cause absolute mayhem because they can, or to prove that they have more power over their own society than any external “peace-keepers” ever will.

I could rant all day but I’m not going to, I might just piss everyone off :lol:

[plainoldme]

November 4, 2009 at 12:57 pm

Mmm I think you misunderstood me a little Alessia, I really meant western society as in current western society, what we ourselves are physically exposed to, and really the people commenting on this thread also.
History is one thing, yes, and it is undeniable, but for most of us looking at this right now we have never witnessed such punishment for ourselves and nor has it been a part of our own society as long and we have been around to witness it…

And if we have, we are de-sensitized to it, because the only thing we ever will really hear about the death penalty in places like america or even eastern cultures is severely distorted or filtered by the media. I remember watching the death of one american convict on tv about ten years back…. I can’t remember exactly who it was. But you saw the entire process, the drugs being administered and the guy dying on the table. And for the most part you don’t really feel any response to that. It’s surreal in a sense because wherever it is it’s miles away from you and your life and your society…

Then again maybe I’m just a heartless B**ch :lol:

[plainoldme]

November 4, 2009 at 12:27 pm

justaguy wrote:

I don’t understand this.
Death penalty ok. i can understand. chop of his head, not nice but i also understand. but why killing him a second time by crusifiction. That doesn’t make sence.

More often then not in Eastern cultures, it’s more about the ritual aspect of the punishment rather than the punishment itself. It may not be right to consider “barbarism” in a western society, we may think it’s horrendous, and are perfectly entitled to think so….its not part of our culture and nor have we been exposed to such. But for them, it’s about tradition, it’s about their belief systems, their belief in ritual, god, allah, or who ever and whatever has been the basis of their culture since god knows when.

Granted it seems unneccesary to us, it seems wrong or immoral or whatever, but in a culture that has formed around institutions of religion and belief and kinship it’s absolutely nothing but “what needs to be done”, not “he must pay”, kind of thinking. It’s about respect for community, kinship, and the way of life that forms the basis of thier society as a whole.

To abolish a tradition or societal acceptance like this, in a culture like that, would essentially turn the entire society on it’s head… but thats an entirely different can of worms ;)

[plainoldme]

November 4, 2009 at 12:26 am

:lol:

I’m quickly being reminded how much I love this site!

[plainoldme]

November 2, 2009 at 8:52 pm

thanks again :)

[plainoldme]

November 2, 2009 at 6:11 pm

Whiskey!!! I looooove whiskey.

Coffee and cigarettes also. :D

[plainoldme]

November 2, 2009 at 6:02 pm

Dunno about the rest of you but in 2011/2012 I will be between Papua New Guinea, South America, and Slovenia. 8)

Probably still trying to avoid the swine flu, and trying not to die due to Ryanair flights :lol:

[plainoldme]

October 22, 2009 at 5:56 pm

Mark…It makes heaps of sense :)

But for now I’m going to chip in – cause I think we need Budda bags, an open fire and hot chocolate on tap for the winter…

:lol:

[plainoldme]

October 20, 2009 at 9:06 am

Thanks JB! I did think it was cramped too, but I had to rotate it slightly to make it level, and the flower filled the frame so much that in doing so I ended up having to crop a little tighter than I’d like.

I think I might have another bash at it tonight (there are some flowers left over :P ) maybe try and get it nicely symmetrical this time :P