Friday, May 25, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
The greatest experience in the whole Universe
Do you not find something poignant about old photographs?
(Dorset, 1913)
Well I do. For me these are lives that were once lived, lives that fell in love, lives that walked along a pebbly beach, lives that felt the warm rays of the sun on their skin. Lives that have since been extinguished. Like gravestones in a graveyard - lives no more. Seeing the faces of people who once lived makes me realise that I too one day will be gone. Like the life above. It's a sad thought I know.
But I am pulled out of this melancholiness by the equally arresting thought that yes, I will be gone one day, but isn't it amazing that I (against impossible odds) am alive today? What is the probability that I would be born? What events had to take place in the past to conspire to ensure my existence? There are many many more people, possible people, who will never be born. Who will never see the light of day because events never conspired in their favour. We are the lucky few. The lucky one's. Rejoice in your luck. Saviour every moment of the experience we call life. There is nothing like this experience in the whole universe!
There is nothing ordinary about being 'you' - being you is magical. Being you is wonderful. Being you is the best thing that could have happened to you. For what is the alternative? The alternative is nothing. What do you remember of life before you were born? Exactly, nothing. You were born in a pre-packaged device that has the ability to see, hear, taste and feel the world. A device that knows it is alive. There is nothing ordinary about the life condition. Nothing ordinary about seeing dark clouds. Nothing ordinary about feeling raindrops. Nothing ordinary about having lunch. Nothing ordinary about driving your car. Nothing ordinary about the life experience.
I would not swap this experience for anything else in the universe.
(Dorset, 1913)
Well I do. For me these are lives that were once lived, lives that fell in love, lives that walked along a pebbly beach, lives that felt the warm rays of the sun on their skin. Lives that have since been extinguished. Like gravestones in a graveyard - lives no more. Seeing the faces of people who once lived makes me realise that I too one day will be gone. Like the life above. It's a sad thought I know.
But I am pulled out of this melancholiness by the equally arresting thought that yes, I will be gone one day, but isn't it amazing that I (against impossible odds) am alive today? What is the probability that I would be born? What events had to take place in the past to conspire to ensure my existence? There are many many more people, possible people, who will never be born. Who will never see the light of day because events never conspired in their favour. We are the lucky few. The lucky one's. Rejoice in your luck. Saviour every moment of the experience we call life. There is nothing like this experience in the whole universe!
There is nothing ordinary about being 'you' - being you is magical. Being you is wonderful. Being you is the best thing that could have happened to you. For what is the alternative? The alternative is nothing. What do you remember of life before you were born? Exactly, nothing. You were born in a pre-packaged device that has the ability to see, hear, taste and feel the world. A device that knows it is alive. There is nothing ordinary about the life condition. Nothing ordinary about seeing dark clouds. Nothing ordinary about feeling raindrops. Nothing ordinary about having lunch. Nothing ordinary about driving your car. Nothing ordinary about the life experience.
I would not swap this experience for anything else in the universe.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Slip inside the eye of your mind
Slip inside the eye of your mind - don't you know you might find - a better place to play - You said that you'd never been - but all the things that you've seen - are gonna fade away...
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Lyndon's Cayman birthday Pub crawl
(All pub crawl fotografs taken with a Canon G7 - light, nimble and er...relatively inconspicuous - but shitty battery life. No flash used except for the pic of the gangsta with the mobile phone)
Slip inside the eye of your mind - don't you know you might find
a better place to play - You said that you'd never been
but all the things that you've seen - will slowly fade away
Yeah nice camera. Watch me steal it from that showoff when he's not watching
...And how much do they pay you in the bottle factory Mike?
You wanna follow me into the toilet as well do you?
Don't look back in anger / Does my bum look big in this?
Fuming in the background
We've just come back from a holiday to Chernobyl. See, no side-affects
No, you can't have my lollipop
Whose the freakshow on my left?
I bet If I race you I can beat you on my scooter? Don't believe me? What's so funny?
piss take
Ok guys, whose gonna tell them that dominoes is a girls game?
Spot the twat with the white helmet
Absynthe minded
Menthol addiction
No, I don't think you should ride your scooter home tonight Lyndon
Commercial shot (for Smirnoff Ice) - soon to grace billboards in Cayman
Oh my god. That feels good. I'm about to explode.
Cheeky chapper / Mmm...threesome
Automatic for the people
Wasim! What have you done with the rest of my body? / Bobby's got Knobalitus
Human traffic
Mmm...shall I nick this bike?
Yeah, I've got a bike now!
Shhh! (whisper) : I think he's a heavy drinker
Short Canon G7 Review
This is a nifty camera for those people not wanting to shell out for an SLR. Features of note include manual controls allowing you complete control over aperture/shutter speeds and a maximum aperture range of f2.8 - 4.8. The design of the camera harks back to the Leica, with precision engineered dials that feel robust. ISO can be selected quickly and the camera layout allows quick and hassle free changes to all major settings.
This is a great camera for those starting out and wanting to learn the essentials of photography. It can also fit in one's pocket and doesn't draw much attention to itself. I've taken this baby to Cuba with no problems. It's not as responsive as my Canon 5D - shutter lag, slow focusing. But it's a matter of adapting to it and knowing it's limitations - and then you can make the most of it's abilities. Definitely comes recommended.
Slip inside the eye of your mind - don't you know you might find
a better place to play - You said that you'd never been
but all the things that you've seen - will slowly fade away
Yeah nice camera. Watch me steal it from that showoff when he's not watching
...And how much do they pay you in the bottle factory Mike?
You wanna follow me into the toilet as well do you?
Don't look back in anger / Does my bum look big in this?
Fuming in the background
We've just come back from a holiday to Chernobyl. See, no side-affects
No, you can't have my lollipop
Whose the freakshow on my left?
I bet If I race you I can beat you on my scooter? Don't believe me? What's so funny?
piss take
Ok guys, whose gonna tell them that dominoes is a girls game?
Spot the twat with the white helmet
Absynthe minded
Menthol addiction
No, I don't think you should ride your scooter home tonight Lyndon
Commercial shot (for Smirnoff Ice) - soon to grace billboards in Cayman
Oh my god. That feels good. I'm about to explode.
Cheeky chapper / Mmm...threesome
Automatic for the people
Wasim! What have you done with the rest of my body? / Bobby's got Knobalitus
Human traffic
Mmm...shall I nick this bike?
Yeah, I've got a bike now!
Shhh! (whisper) : I think he's a heavy drinker
Short Canon G7 Review
This is a nifty camera for those people not wanting to shell out for an SLR. Features of note include manual controls allowing you complete control over aperture/shutter speeds and a maximum aperture range of f2.8 - 4.8. The design of the camera harks back to the Leica, with precision engineered dials that feel robust. ISO can be selected quickly and the camera layout allows quick and hassle free changes to all major settings.
This is a great camera for those starting out and wanting to learn the essentials of photography. It can also fit in one's pocket and doesn't draw much attention to itself. I've taken this baby to Cuba with no problems. It's not as responsive as my Canon 5D - shutter lag, slow focusing. But it's a matter of adapting to it and knowing it's limitations - and then you can make the most of it's abilities. Definitely comes recommended.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Buzzing with intelligence?
Ever since my undergraduate days at Imperial conducting experiments on the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster, we were taught that insects (and indeed most biological organisms) are nothing but biological automatia; robots incapable of freewill; albeit very sophisticated ones. I've always believed that animals simply respond to external stimuli, which their brains then process and send out the necessary response. However, an international study of fruitflies appears to show that they appear to 'make choices' - that they may be capable of exhibiting a primitive form of freewill; a precursor to the advanced freewill we humans enjoy. Contrary to what most people believe, we humans don't have 100% free will either. We too, like our cousins in the animal kingdom respond automatically to stimuli without conscious thought. Don't believe me? Next time you see a gorgeous girl and your heart skips a beat, when you see a little child and you start going all goo-goo-gaga, the process of falling in love...well now you know. Freewill? How much do we really have? Are we not the product of our past and genetics. Creatures of habit. Break free from the determinism that binds us i say; that clogs us; that siphons off our childish wonder for life and the world. Live for now. Live for today. Because when tomorrow comes, it may well be too late...
Monday, May 07, 2007
One world, One life, One need...in the night (Cuba)
Foto-grafs taken with a Canon G7 (point and shoot)
Aperture priority, ISO 1600, widescreen mode
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