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Posts by iantimothy1

Apr 24

2 Comments

Photo Project – Article Three

Photo Project – Focus Verses Composition

The standard Canon 5000 and 40mm STM lens are used for the sequence of bike images. Remember the objective of this project is to discover if a hundred pounds worth of analogue equipment will reward the photographer.To my mind composition outweighs ultimate sharpness and quality. If the image is interesting, it will hold the viewer far longer than a cut-throat sharp picture of: as an example a cardboard box.

I’m not interested in the ‘my lens is sharper than your’s’ mindset. The feeling is, justification comes to play in the statement. Let’s be clear, if you have paid a thousand pounds for your lens, the need is to believe the lens is ten times as good as a ‘user’ purchased for a hundred pounds.

It is not possible for a single lens to be ten times better than any high performer. And if the photographer is unable to focus correctly, the expensive lens has no advantage. So, we return to the idea composition is of greater importance than sharpness.

Sharpness has no concern for the real photographer. Wide apertures give a shallow depth of focus. There are little foreground and background sharpness when using a wide aperture. As the aperture closes, the extent of the in-focus area increases and isolation of a subject diminishes. The nearer the lens to the subject the shallower the depth of focus. If you look at these images, you’ll discover there are areas of sharpness and the other regions which are blurred. Although, the limitation of the auto exposure does give a smaller aperture than I would have preferred.

The way to focus with autofocus is to place the central focus area on the part of the image you need to isolate: focus and hold the shutter button while recomposing the image to your minds-eye’s composition. See if you can work out where my point of focus is in these images.

Autofocus is good, but manual focus helps better with compositional areas of focus. Only when using an SLR, can you compose and then critically focus on your chosen field without MOVING the camera. When using a standard or short telephoto lens with wide apertures, you may be off with your focus.

The next article will review composition and focus. To do this, I will use a manual focus camera and lens combination to prove the point. In the meantime look through the images and see where the focal point is for the composition.

The negatives are sharp and would provide excellent six by nine-inch prints. All images are straight out of the scanner with NO adjustments. Many people will comment “‘it is only when you are enlarging to 12 by 16 will you find the resolution of the lens”. There is merit in their claim. However, the accurate reply is how many 12 by 16 images have you in your portfolio? And if I needed a 12 by 16 or 16 by 20 print, my choice of the camera would be medium format.

Film – FomaPan 100 – Developed in Rodinal – 50 + 1 dilution – 12.5 minutes @ 20°C

See You Soon

Mar 26

Protest Numbers!

On Sunday 24th of March, a group of protestors marched against the plan for the UK to leave Europe. The organisers stated one million people attended the march. I wonder if this is possible and toy with the numbers. 

Think about the logistics of moving a million people: 

Bus:

Fifty people travel on a bus – 20 buses are needed to transport 1000 people. To move a million people, the requirement is 20,000 buses. 

Car:

Four people travelling in a vehicle 250,000 vehicles are required to transport one million people. 

Train:

One hundred people to a train carriage 10,000 train carriages!

Lets split the requirement three ways:

Seven thousand five hundred buses, 85,000 cars and 3000 train carriages used to transport a million people into the city of London for the Brexit Protest. 

What if all the people were from London? How did they travel, tube, bus, or on foot? 

Next, we will consider the size of a group of one million people:

One hundred people wide equal a train of people 10,000 people long. If the depth of a human one-third of a meter (very generous ) and the line is tummy to back, The path of one million people would be nine kilometres long!

Break this into four lines of people:

For a million people 100 across, walking tummy to back four 2.25 km lines are need to see the figures being claimed.

Nice having fun with numbers! 

Now! You may think I’m trying to knock protest! Far from it! 

I’m just looking at the logistics of the claim. If you divide the numbers by four (25000 people), you’ll still need 5000 buses or 6500 cars or 2500 train carriages. or 2000 buses + 2500 cars + 800 train carriages. No extra trains were running into London on the 24th. Furthermore, a question requires consideration: Is there sufficient parking in London for 2000 buses?

I will put the figure at 200 thousand:

Maybe 100K came from London and 100K from outside London – To move 100 thousand people 2000 buses or 25000 cars or a thousand train carriages are required:- Spread the burden three ways – 800 buses – 8000 vehicles and 300 train carriages.

Something is amiss!

I receive a reply questioning the figures:

“You sound very good with the old mathematics? Just one flaw in your logic Ian – you do recognise that there’s no-one who lives in London, don’t you? It’s a ghost town with zero residents. 

Using my words – “Maybe 100K came from London and 100K from outside London” – maybe 1000k came from even within the bounds of London and no-one travelled from outside? Maybe creates Mayhem if taken as fact.

However, consider the following population of London currently, and see why it’s not that difficult to get a million there” 

→ Evidence is provided that 8.9 million people live in the surrounding area of London.

A second reply is Received:

Sorry, you took the first sentence in the wrong manner in which it was said. I was trying to set up the argument which followed in that many of the people in London who wanted to demonstrate would have not had much of an issue in getting transport there. 

If London were not populated, then everyone would have had to come from outside. But, London is not populated, and therefore we can expect a vast majority of those who turned out to actually be able to travel without as problem. 

End of reply:

There were other replies to my post: One suggested critical thinking was the answer to finding a solution. And my words are inaccurate: Because my thinking was inaccurate.

Is my thinking wholly inaccurate? Review the figures, especially the size of the crowd.

Will critical thinking take the idea further?

Critical thinking is not the solution per se. Critical thinking is a process which teaches us how to think. It is not a solution it helps us discover answers. The simple premise of critical thinking is: a series of facts are offered, and a counter-argument is provided. The counter-argument is reviewed. A critical thinker learns to use the process in a fair and unbiased way. Not only this there must be no personal opinion of people involved. This is hard to learn and a hurdle for many to overcome.

To comment critical thinking will prove my words incorrect is questionable. An analogy is: learning to read music will enable an individual to play the piano. Critical thinking is a process not an answer. The implication is my generalisations are inaccurate: Is this true?

One aspect of shoddy thinking is called ‘Critical Bias”- This is a process where one element of an argument is used to support the whole of the debate. In the example of the protest. My first observation references the logistics of moving a million people. And the second observation attempts to form a visualisation of a group of one million people.

The reply to my post is summed up here:

“I was trying to set up the argument which followed in that many of the people in London who wanted to demonstrate would have not had much of an issue in getting transport there.”

The reply has merit – although it does not establish if the number of protestors was indeed one million people. It suggests that one million people could get to the protest area with ease. Therefore the reply implies the figure indicated by the organisers is sound.  This is an example of conformational bias. 

Observing images of the march and reviewing the area and roads used in the march suggests otherwise. The figure of 300-400 thousand offered by Professor Keith Hall seems feasible. You will have to draw your conclusions after looking at the comparisons.

How could this be achieved? 

There is a need to see if a visual idea of one million people can be conceived. The reply to my original post infers that if it can be proven the protestors can arrive at the march, the figure of one million is accurate.  An analogy would be “a bath can hold seventy-five litres of water – Therefore because it can hold this quantity, it is always filled”.

The hypnosis is flawed if the number is lower than claimed. In my original post, I concluded 200 thousand might be feasible. The assessment of Professor Keith Hill suggests between 300 – 400 thousand. Here is his assessment of the crowd figures:

Could the image of a million people be realised?

Of course, it is possible to use a known figure or crowd and compare it to the area of the march. Glastonbury festival is a good example: The area of the land is known, the number of fans is known, and there is an accurate figure for fans attending a performance in a specific area. 

Glastonbury is the largest greenfield festival in the world, requiring extensive infrastructure in terms of security, transport, water, and electricity supply.

Organised by: Glastonbury Festivals Ltd

Genre: Music festival

Attendance: 135,000 (2019);

These figures are accurate. Here we will review one specific area: The Pyramid Stage.

The capacity for this stage and the area on the map is 120 thousand people.

The parameter of the festival grounds is superimposed over a map of London. And a box representing the Pyramid stage and arena is also placed in the plan. I have made the area serving the Pyramid stage smaller than the actual size on the Glastonbury map.

The area where the march took place is given generous proportions. If the organiser’s figure is correct, the protestors would have to fill the marked out space to prove the claim. Eight Pyramid arena areas would contain one million people.

Actual ROAD Route of March – The protestors marched on the roads:

The graphic is presented – The reader of this article is tasked with deciding if there could be one million marchers in this area on Sunday 24th March 2019.

Review the images with care.

Mar 26

Jon Talks – Haunted Borley Rectory

Harry Price

Lunch time chat with Jon and the subject turns to ghosts:

Jon says:

“Ian do you know anything about Harry Price and Borley Rectory?”

We grab the microphone and make the recording:

 

 

Borley Rectory

Mar 17

5 Comments

Portrait Photo Project

Canon One (remember I’m alternating between two EOS 5000’s) was loaded with Foma100, and the portrait project began.

The images were mostly taken at our market stall. Over the years we have made many friends at the stall, so the simple question “can I take a few pictures for my photo project?” was usually answered with the affirmative. All who declined no longer receive discounts when I’m serving!

Using my Minolta meter IV, I measured the market’s available light. It indicated f2.0 at 1/30th of a second. The plastic Canon showed a lens factor of f2.8, and the shutter speed seemed slow. So, exceptional care is taken to hold the camera as steady as possible. All of the market images were made using the 50mm STM.

Sonia was a lap dancer some years ago. She is a generous and kind lady with a cheeky attitude to life.

Claire has a food stall on the market. She runs Nottingham’s ‘mushy pea’ stall. Mushy peas are dried peas soaked in bicarbonate of soda and then boiled until super? Well, mushy!. They are served with mint sauce.

 

Darren is a brilliant artist. He makes carved animal pendants. I wish I’d taken a few images of his art.

Phil is a friend. He is a demon at picking winning racehorses. I am not joking or exaggerating.

 Noreen

Rob is my partner’s brother and the only portrait taken outside with reasonably decent light. Rob’s images were made using the 40mm STM.

The negatives are sharp, and the scans do not do justice to the potential of a wet print. Later in the series of articles, I will print a selection of images.

An initial conclusion is the camera and lenses are capable of producing excellent results. The next project will be bicycles. However, the next post will be about film processing. There are many inaccurate essays written about films and processing, so it is essential to learn the how’s and why’s of processing

Thanks for Reading This Article

Mar 13

4 Comments

Long Term Photo Project

I have decided to begin a long term photo project. Based on a belief that the type, make, or the price of a camera is of no importance to the quality, and more importantly the composition of the final image. There is no suggestion a throwaway snap-shot camera will provide the same quality of pictures made by an SLR or rangefinder. However, it is possible to demonstrate a low priced 35mm film camera is a viable alternative to higher priced ‘professional’ models.

→Helmut Newton sometimes used a Canon EOS 100 and Canon EF 35mm 2.8 – 50mm 1.8 and 85mm 1.8 lenses. Although he photographed with many other cameras: the fact he used ‘amateur’ equipment for professional assignments is a testament to the: ‘not what you use – it’s how you use it’ school of thought.

Canon EOS - iantimothy.org

After ten minutes searching on eBay, I discover two EOS 5000 cameras. The pair are purchased for eighteen pounds including postage. The 5000 is chosen because it does not have light seals or the dreaded shutter cushion found in the following EOS film cameras. (The shutter cushion deteriorates and causes problems inside the film chamber). It does have an easily replaceable mirror cushion. After delivery, the cameras were inspected: both function correctly, and the mirror cushions are in excellent condition.

Click on the pictures to enlarge images:

One camera had the infamous sticky ‘rubber’ grip, a problem for many buyers. Worry not; buy a bottle of methylated spirits, soak a tissue in the spirit and wipe away the ‘sticky grippy’ residue. You’ll use around fifteen tissues to remove the rubber finish: After removal, you’ll never know it was there or why it was needed in the first place.

The Cameras:

Basic automatic and semi-manual settings are the order of the day. In manual use, the user selects the shutter speed, and the camera finds a suitable aperture. There are four ‘pre-set programs’- portrait – landscape – macro – sports. The pre-set is aperture/shutter processor. Choose portrait and processor leaves the aperture wide open (for a shallow zone of focus). Choose landscape and aperture is small (deep zone of focus). Choose sports mode, and the shutter speed is high. Macro seems to be the smallest aperture possible. The presets will be used when needed. The fully auto setting indicated by the green rectangle marking will be the most used setting for this project. Helmut Newton preferred auto metering, so I’ll follow his lead.

Both cameras have their identities black taped. There is an advantage of black taping a camera if it is used for candid snapshots. People do not seem to notice the camera. Do not ask me why this works. I’m convinced the subjects do not see a black taped camera as quickly.

Camera batteries:

Another eBay find is four UltraFire CR123A rechargeables for six pounds. As I already have four CR123A’s and a charger; the battery situation is well covered. Incidentally, the cameras use two batteries. The rechargeables will last for around thirty cassettes of film.

Lenses:

I own Canon 40mm and 50mm STM lenses. The combined cost of the 40 and 50 was one hundred and fifty pounds. Cheapish purchases which prove if you keep looking, bargains are to be discovered. I may take the project further and purchase an EF 85mm 1.8. For the moment the 40 and 50 will be sufficient for the work in hand. It will be interesting to discover which makes the better ‘standard’ lens.

Using the camera:

Once fitted with batteries the camera is good to go. Loading the film is simple, extend the leader to the orange mark, close the back, and you’re ready. After the back is locked the motor rolls out the film onto the take-up spool. As every frame is exposed, the film is returned into the cassette. A led counter shows how many frames are left. Photographers should expect thirty-seven frames from each cassette.

The film will be developed using the classic Rodinal: diluted 1+50 and processed for twelve minutes at 20 degrees C. To test the consistency of exposure and focus I will alternate between the two cameras. It will be interesting to see if the negative density is the same for each camera.

Limitations:

Seasoned photographers will point out the camera has no exposure compensation facility. Exposure compensation is used to over or underexpose the negative in certain situations. For example: if the portrait of a white person is made with monochrome film I would over-expose by one stop (from the meter reading) to darken the skin tone ON the negative. When printing the negative the darker area of the exposure would make the skin lighter. If I were to take an image of a dark-skinned person, the exposure would be reduced by one stop to ‘thin’ the skin tone area ON the negative. During printing in the darkroom, the exposure compensated negative would yield the correct representation of the subject.

 

Canon EOS - iantimothy.org

The slowest shutter speed is one-eighth of a second. There is no concern for this apparent limitation. The reality is slow shutter speed is rarely used by photographers. Use open apertures and the fastest possible shutter speed to attain sharp images. Many so-called experts write about lens sharpness, they fail to acknowledge the certainty most ‘out of focus images’ are in reality ‘blurred’ from camera shake. Overcoming camera shake takes practice: the trick is to frame the picture – gently press the shutter and keep the eye to the viewfinder until the shutter returns. Another secret is to keep the eye open during the exposure, do not blink!

Over the coming weeks, I will write about the performance of the cameras and how they cope with different photo-projects. One cassette of film will be used for each subject type. For examples, portraits, motor cars and motorcycles, houses, architectural aspect of a building. The guideline is the same: one subject one cassette, thirty-six exposures.

From Film to Computer:

The choice is to scan the negatives using a basic Plustek scanner. It seems ironic the scanner is more expensive than the total cost of two lenses and camera bodies. Some people worry about the expense of using film. To my mind it is insignificant: Ten cassettes of 36 exposure FomaPan 100 can be purchased for thirty-four pounds including postage. A bottle of Rodinal developer costs fourteen pounds. By the way, 500ml of Rodinal will process eighty rolls of film. Stop bath and fixer is no more than ten pence a film.

Work on thirty-pence per film for chemicals and three pounds forty pence for the film: we can conclude it is a cheap hobby. A photographer could take a whole day to use a cassette of film. What could be more affordable? Once you begin to print the negatives in a darkroom the process becomes expensive; although I’ll show ways to use a hybrid darkroom later in this series of articles. Hybrid? Yes! The scanner is used for most of the work, and exceptional negatives are wet printed.

Seven Days:

The EOS will be loaded with film, and the project is portraits. One cassette and a series of images taken with either 40mm or 50mm lens over the next five days. Develop the film, scan the negatives and write the following article.

See You Soon

Mar 1

2 Comments

Should I Stay or Should I go?

Should I Stay or Should I go?

It is the defining moment. I am wondering where to take this weblog. Should I become dedicated to cameras or continue with the random thoughts format.

The certainty is the posts should return weekly or site should be allowed to become dormant. Another alternative would be to focus on a weekly podcast. I will make a firm decision over the weekend.

Why has my site become so neglected? The answer is simple: my work is writing. I am a freelance writer and editor of what is growing into a monster website. My fingers have tapped thousands of keys during the last nine hours. As I write this essay, my email has pinged three notifications. My audio files are stacked with interviews awaiting editing. Over twenty interviews the short ones take about an hour. The long speeches about two and a half hours.

There are tens of articles to edit and stack ready for publication. Plus Hundreds of photographs which need sorting and editing. Is it any wonder this weblog is neglected?

People talk about being a writer. I am a writer, and it provides me with a good income. Writing is a hard taskmaster: And if you write many words, you will make mistakes. And many of them.  Sometimes I’m sent submission I read the draft which is supposed to be a ‘finished’ article. Son of God! The piece is beyond useless or redemption. Send it back or reject it and most often the writer takes it persoanally.

If you are a writer and the desire is for ‘sharp’ writing which cuts into the imagination of the reader: You’ll understand honing the blade of influence is a skill which takes tens of years to perfect. The writing must flow. Readers must understand the information or story. It is a difficult enough task to achieve when the luxury of edit and re-editing is available. A professional scribe has no such luxury. We have to write the article, run it through Grammarly or trust to the spell and grammar checker in the software. Then move on to the next commission. Today I have written over ten thousand words in seven articles.

On top of this, I edited a sixty-thousand-word book during the last two weeks. And I am working on my book Philosophy of Selfness. It is a book which is already on Kindle! Even so, I keep reworking the chapters and replacing the file every month. Kindle is a great platform but do not think you’ll make much money by self-publishing. Unless you’re very lucky and the download goes viral. It does happen, but the chances are low. Your work can be a masterpiece, but truth to tell, there are many masterpieces on Kindle, Barnes & Noble and all the rest. The difficulty is there are thousands of masterpieces in the cyber publishing universe. Getting noticed and promotion is ninety percent of success. Write because you love mind expansion, deep thinking and meditation.

Some of the weblogs I follow are majestic examples of the writer’s art. And some which are not well written are brilliant exposes of the author’s creative minds. I’m not worried either way: to my mind the story, information or sentiment makes the essay. From my perspective, posts from my WordPress friends are equal to any Hemingway, Dickens or Rowling. There is writing magic on WordPress. One could argue a strong case that a fifty week a year weblog is a better writing education than an associated degree.

My time is up: Twenty minutes of free flow tapping. The question or purpose of the post is should I refocus my WordPress site or close it down? I have answered the question by typing the article.

I’ll stay with it for a few more years. That’s writing for you! It’ll answer most questions.

See You Soon

Twenty Minutes or one Thousand Words – Time won the race over word count today.

Feb 5

Jon and Ian Square Mile Island

Eye to Eye

Eye to Eye

People often wonder how to conceive the plot for a book:

My idea is to use free-flow writing. Set a random thought in one’s mind: Set a time or word limit and fire the starting gun.

If you have a microphone and recorder the seed of an idea can be germinated in a random and free-flowing conversation. The recording can be used as the basis for a short story or even a novel.

Do you doubt the idea?

Have a listen to Jon and my self talking about a plot: I’d bet most good writers could make a super story out of the suggestions:

Which Keys To Tap?

Which Keys To Tap?

See You Soon

Jan 31

Lion Heart
1 Comment

Selfness

The Philosophy of Selfness

Selfness – “The understanding of the personal unconscious, the inner being and a person’s essential individuality”.

Ian Timothy

An open-minded individual understands why people live an illusion and worship accumulated wealth. “What a fool believes – He see’s”. Therefore he sees excessive possessions as indicators of wealth, intelligence and success. One second into “The Final Sleep” he becomes pauper: another owns his estate. What a fool he is to believe he owns anything…

The intelligent man knows living within one’s means is, an accurate interpretation of the words ‘successful’ and ‘wealthy’. He understands why many work for little money and accept debt as the way of life. This man knows why people accept a decade of retirement for fifty years of toil. And he sees the indoctrination of ‘Establishment, Media and Celebrity’ lead populations to give away money exchanged for their life hours.

‘The Philosophy of Selfness’ helps an open-minded thinker discover different ways of reviewing the life experience. The thinker will realise society is a vacuum which takes all. He will realise nothing is given in return for his contributions: apart from manipulative rhetoric.

Selfness is about responsibility and integrity. The philosophy guides one to ask simple questions: ‘If you lived by your efforts and become responsible for your environment. Would life be easier? ‘Is this information true?’ ‘What can I conclude from this conversation?’ ‘Does this matter?’

Can you accept another man’s right to their opinion even though they are wrong? I recognise every human has a right to their own opinion and belief. I also know life is unfair, confusing and painful. I argue with no one. Without disagreement, feuds cannot manifest. I enjoy a brilliant life working with people who have diverse lifestyles and beliefs. Accepting they have beliefs opposed to my own and still working with them in harmony is one of the reasons for my happiness and success. Building trust and demonstrating fairness is paramount to success, and worth more than any possession.

The idea to accept and respect the opinions of other people is a compelling premise. Providing there is no attempt to influence, all is well. At the instant of sensing someone is inferring ‘My way is the way’ people, who desire to live within freedom will turn away. Test the idea of not interacting with those who seek argument or conflict.; it is a life skill which makes life comfortable and secure. I look after my environment and demonstrate truth and integrity. I expect the same from those I interact and work with: if they fail to meet expectations: we will not connect again.

Jan 24

Eye to Eye
3 Comments

Jon Talks Past Life Regression!

Ian and Jon Podcast – 240119

Jon Sharpe

During lunchtime, our conversation turned to the subject of Past Life Regression. Readers may know Jon loves all manner of hocus-pocus and alternative thinking. It is inevitable this aspect of spiritual ideas would be investigated.

Jon is a rarity: He is a respected historian and has worked in the city museum service. His formal knowledge of English history is without question. It seems strange to many people that his interest is so wide-ranging and obscure.

Well, it seems strange until you meet him: Enough written! Have a listen to this exciting interview.

See You Soon

Jan 22

3 Comments

Distract Me

Thirty Minutes or One Thousand Word Challenge:

Liz and I always take a break early in January. We travel to the Cinque Ports in Kent to rest and walk the coast. The wind is relentless: biting sharp burning the face within an hour of exposure. Is there an explanation why wind burn and aching muscles after an hour’s of wandering give so much pleasure?

I suspect it is mental freedom. Conversations with my inner-being seem to be about peace. “Free me from thoughts, and the nonsense of my environment” demands my awakened unconscious. The burned face, pained muscles, remind of the day and smoke-screen conscious agitation. I’m tired of the past, wary of people’s problems. Scar my face with ice needles, tear my muscles, do anything to exorcise these crazy demons within my mind.

Wandering Thanet:

I read, listen and watch everything I can about ‘Critical Thinking’. A process which transforms the ability to reason, bringing wealths and peace into my life. Although there is a barrier to pass before the process becomes wholly acceptable. The barrier is focusing on prioritising my life, not other people’s. And ensuring my security before all else. Accepting thre are not acts of selfishness, and understanding they are mindsets of selfness, empowerment, happiness and freedom: is a testing adjustment.

Critical thinking advantage’s one’s life. The process demands we find all aspects of an issue: It is a difficult task, as sometimes information learned tests or changes long-held beliefs. In pursuit of understanding people’s statements they are tested.‘Help Me to understand what you are saying. Enlighten and persuade me to your way of thinking ’ is the exploratory question. People become uncomfortable, suspecting I am questioning the accuracy of their beliefs.

A man tells me politician Corbyn is a statesman. Another informs the only way is politician May. A third has faith in professors of economic’s. My mind considers they pursue a failed process. I suspect Corbin, May, Academic are no more capable than astrologers.

The three messenger’s belief systems are supported by their conformational bias. Cherry-picking information to ‘prove’ their claims and holds their idols in high esteem. All three correct in their minds. Each one controlled by a parental power. As many people are tied to childhood. Mother, father teacher, protect and nurture. And politician, law and system, become parental replacements. Anything is more acceptable, than taking responsibility for realities.

Examples of incompetence:

Brexit, referendum, social charity, human rights given by and later taken away by the establishment, Mexican walls built above tunnels and missions to Mars. What does it matter? How do these situations affect me? It is my life, my journey, my security which is the focal point. I must be free of the incompetent lawmakers who hypnotise the blind disciples?

In the last hours, we all stand alone; this is the conclusion, reality and reason to follow our desires. Fools worship multi-millionaire, sportsman, industrialist, celebrity, politician: seeing them as examples of success. Ignoring certainty this minority are most often self-focused. The majority can never be billionaire or millionaire, so why care?. Read the biographies, look up the myriad of information available about these unique and rare people and you’ll discover they are tough, hardened and centred.

One could consider the ‘celebrities’ success is chance, luck, situation. How many mistakes they make are not rectified? Who takes responsibility? They talk in riddles. Hide the truth. The worshippers ignore the losses, suffering, greed and manipulation involved in the prosecution of their idols ideas, the pursuit of excessive wealth.

No wonder my burning face and aching muscles are welcomed. Physical distractions from irrational acts impossible to change. Excepting one thing has changed which has made me similar to the ‘celebrity’. I can no longer give, there is nothing left. I’m not writing about money. People’s problems are too complicated, demand too much, all seems to be the child-like attitude. The need for parental-like care and failing to accept reality. How can someone be helped who is determined to push hot pokers in their eyes of truth?

A warning sign. While reading book’s (my real love). I’m finding it difficult to concentrate and hold my thoughts. Is this an indication of something more sinister? Is madness infiltrating the corridors of memories and reason? Is a phantom entering my mind, disguised as a million words, conversations, information, and the power of imagination constructs the demon. Now so overwhelming, it controls my fingers, typing these words.

In a dream, I see helpless, lost souls kneeling in a desert, hands over their smoking eye sockets. They cannot know truth, although, it stands square in front of them. They’ll sense it, even reach out and touch the peace of its reality. And because it cannot be seen, it does not exist. I’m reminded of blind reasoning: Not everything we see it factual, many mansions are illusions.

How many fools? The dreams and memories haunt the libraries of my mind: A know-all spiritual says: “Everything balances out”. What! Another wise sounding non-sense! Balance these thoughts: calm the anguish and pain, redress the balance of these scarred people, your words fail to heal their wounds: Do: the tears of grief and life long pain balance the memory of a drowned child. Are: Millions slaughtered in war, offset by a fragile peace? Is: Diagnosis terminal, restored with a neighbours cure? Is: The raped woman’s pain balanced by her sister’s life as respected wife? Is: a species wiped out by man, re-balanced by man’s over-population? A flawed spiritual theory traps her from reality. Nothing balances out; it is chaos and coincidence which forces creativity and change.

Peace is Truth

Ian Timothy

No editing – No Interest In Grammar Nazis

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