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FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 137 PHOTOGRAPHY   Ref: FA300029 Date: 05/25/98
From: LARRY BOLCH                                           Time: 03:39pm
\/To: EDWARD SUKACH                                       (Read 1 times)
Subj: Essay on Arts and Power

In the epistle "Re: photography/ Larry Bo" scribed 05-21-98 10:24,
Edward Sukach did thus proclaim to All:
Edward 
ES> >A parallel theme is that since a person has no will to
ES> >resist criminal temptations, they are victims of society
ES> >rather than victimizers since it is society that allows
ES> >the stimulus to exist. This has lead to some interesting
ES> >dismal failures in penology and rehabilitation. It was
ES> >a basic theme in Stanley Kubrick's "Clockwork Orange".
ES> 
ES> I had the impression that the "theme" here was of a society so far "out
ES> of balance" that they really had a sense of helplessness, and reverted to
ES> a contest of simplistic brutality... The crime was so heinous that the
ES> society *had* to be even more brutal in its punishment.  
It has been a long time since I last saw it, so sequence and details may
be a bit hazy.
If you recall, there was an old "liberal" and his wife who were brutally
beaten by the "hero". He was found and jailed and his treatment in jail
became a public issue. Not realizing that it was his attacker, the
liberal became his advocate. I remember a scene of recognition and
loathing, but behaviourist idealism was consciously evoked to overcome
his hatred. Our hero went on being as evil as he always was. It also
involved behaviourist conditioning to alter his basic attiudes - being
forced to watch films over and over with his eyes mechanically held open
writing new attitudes to his "blank sheet".
ES> Society does have its effect on the populace, and the crimes committed.
ES> To blame either the society, OR the individual SOLELY, is to me, a grave,
ES> simplistic error.
ES> 
ES> Enough "brutality" already.  Time to work on the causes, and not the
ES> symptoms.
Too often causes are transferred to fit the agenda, and only have the
slightest relationship with the problem. If one wants power, one has to
find something to have power over and some outrage that will rally the
sheep behind you. They need not ACTUALLY be related - non sequitur can
be an elegant tool to advance an agenda by one who has mastered
"govspeak".
Censorship of the arts is generally justified by saying "everyone knows"
and whatever the supposed consequences of letting artists be artists
will be. The bottom line is that artists are a threat to those who want
power and control but they are also great fodder for the bureaucratic
empire builder.
The freedom of mind that is intrinsic in art is considered out-of-
control and it has a way of ignoring power until it is crushed utterly.
Repressive systems feel that art can subliminally sway the masses
against them - Soviets had an official art style - Social Realism, and
the Nazis persecuted creators of "Decadent Art". Attacking an artist is
also a wonderful way to rally and consolidate power. Art on the leading
edge is generally beyond the comprehension of the general public, and
those who might speak for it generally have only a small voice.
A formula for power anywhere in the world:
Let us say that I am a senior civil servant and I want to build a huge
bureaucracy with myself at the head. My motives are simple - money -
power - prestige. I am a happy bureaucrat and have no aspiration to
elected office - those elected can be un-elected. Bureaucrats are forever.
I choose a target that is not apparently not organized to oppose me - it
was the Jews of Germany in the 1930s and it will be the Internet now. I
will find a few stereotypes that I will propagandize into shocking
indictments. Lies about the Jews and warnings that to snoop will bring
you into a dangerous ghetto and make us wonder if you might perhaps be a
"sympathizer" or "associate" or "fellow traveler", will keep those who
might contradict me away from the truth.
But this is 1998, and my target of opportunity is the Internet. I start
by spreading lies about child porn being everywhere on the Internet -
filth too revolting to be viewed, plus the risk of being drawn into
international crime and terrorism - will do fine today. Get the decent
people to write to their representatives that "everybody knows", and
something needs to be done now! None of these good people has a clue,
and are too timid and luddite to brave the Internet themselves - but
"everybody knows" - what I tell them to know.
I know that policing and controlling the Internet IS ABSOLUTELY
IMPOSSIBLE, so it is a PERFECT TARGET. No bureaucracy has EVER been so
successful, that they have been disbanded with the problem solved.
Cure poverty or conquer drugs, and a whole lot of bureaucrats will be
out of a job. No matter how decisive the victory, armies remain
mobilized "to prevent the next war from happening". You create a
bureaucracy to solve a specific problem, but it will somehow continue
to live forever. 
I know that the Internet is not a single community that could stand
against me but a community of a million interests - of people sitting
ALONE with their computers, separated by distance and anonymity.
Perfect - no marching masses or mass demonstrations. No scenes on TV of
citizens versus lines of black-suited SWAT teams with shields, water
cannons and police dogs.
There will be individual libertarians that will object, and I will send
out investigators in blue and grey suits to question their neighbors,
family and above all - employers. I will have operatives in blue or grey
sedans parked across from their homes and businesses. People passing by
will be stopped and questioned. People leaving the place of employment
will be looking into a very large lens. The local news media will hear
rumours of an investigation closing in on a large "ring", with arrests
and indictments imminent for undisclosed offenses. The term
"conspirators" will not be uncommon in the reports.
They will learn that is its wise to be quiet. To question agency motives
is to be in favor of depravity, degeneracy, spreading filth and crime to
"our children". "...There are limits to free speech when it is a cause
of crime, death, dysfunctional families and a breakdown of religion and
society's most cherished moral values." No one thinks I might be talking
about them, so everyone backs me up. 
As a senior public servant, I will help the representatives write a nice
ambiguous law that can be interpreted to fit every convenience.
"Redeeming Artistic Value" will be specifically excluded as a defense.
That one is easy - a bookstore that "panders" to decadent perverts can
be made to exclude minors. The 'net exposes "your children" to this
filth with no way of protecting them from it. Therefore there is no
"Redeeming Artistic Value" possible. Non sequitur is unassailable if the
proper buzz words are used. If someone tries to untangle your argument,
you roar: "You are FOR pandering perverted filth to 'our children'?" -
another blatant non sequitur, but quite intimidating.
Every year I will return to the government and wail that we are so poorly
funded that we can not hire the needed personnel and resources for our
War On Depravity - Operation Family Values or whatever - money to get at
the ROOTS OF CRIME! Since solving the problem is specifically excluded
from the realm of possibility, I have job security for life. I will get
the funds, and hire a FEW folks to cruise the net and LOTS of folks to
push paper.
My pay, power and prestige as a bureaucrat depends on the number of
people I boss. As long as the problem remains unsolved, I will be able
to hire more and more every year -  with an ever increasing budget. Now
and then we will run across someone who is too stupid to avoid us, fits
the ambiguities of the law and has no constituency or contacts with
power. Let us call him "patsy".
We will televise the bust and televise the trial. The art in question
will be discretely off-camera because of the despicable nature of the
filth - he!he! Next year I am going to ask the government for the power
of administrative incarceration so the hearing will be held before an
independent regulatory board - of my choosing - so not to risk a jury or
a judge laughing the case out of court. The hearings will be televised -
scripted, yes - and televised.
We need a visible bust several times a year, and this is where the
mission-creep comes in. It is much easier to bust a local artist that
is easily identified, than to arrest and extradite a vendor from
Scandinavia, where what he is doing is perfectly legal. The artist
probably even uses a real name and address on the web page to make it
easier for us. Sure, it is a cliche fantasy painting of "A Nymph and a
Unicorn" but she ain't wearing clothes, and the horse has that phallic
thing stickin' outa his head - you draw your own conclusions about what
depth of perversion will happen next! Two consecutive life sentences
should keep the taxpayers happy - one for the nymph and one for the nag.
I will make sanctimonious speeches of how we have rid society of one of
its most depraved predators. My staff will be there to applaud on cue
when I pause, and the government will feel good about me. I will have a
nice old mansion near the capitol and be invited to every party where
the powerful gather, and be admired for my strength and fortitude in
fighting to clean up society from those who are trying to corrupt us
with art and filth, bringing crime and corruption to neighborhoods with
white picket fences and rose bushes in the front yard where Mom always
has a clean apron and wholesome cookies and her children were conceived
in the dark without lust. The elected representatives will squeeze up to
me to be in the frame during photo-ops - showing their support for my
decent society. We intercept their e-mail, so they had better.
I will find that some of those folk who would be vulnerable but who have
learned to be discrete are very useful and can become good friends,
finding me evidence on the greenhorns who THINK they are on the way up.
It makes me look good and protects them from competition, AND their
CONTINUING success keeps me in business. If a local prosecuter starts
messing with them, we send a couple of agents to tell them that they are
messing up a major federal investigation that is nearing its conclusion.
Somehow it never does.
And I get to see the evidence first, and can keep filing cabinets full
of stuff that would get anyone else in the country busted - BY ME!
-*-
OK, an extreme scenario and a touch of satire, but being played out to a
greater or lesser extent in administrations from village to national
level. When you attack the cause, make sure that it REALLY is the CAUSE,
and not what "everyone knows" is the cause. And know the agenda of the
agency that will be dealing with the cause. Never has an administration
had an agency named anything like "Ministry of Evil, Nasty Tricks, Non
Sequiturs and General Skulduggery". Instead you get something positive
and bland like "Ministry of Public Safety" with the same mandate.
Regulation of the arts always cloaks itself in "the public good", starts
with obvious targets too blatant for decent folk to defend, and then
begins mission creep into your work and mine.
larry!
... Support bacteria - they're the only culture some people have.
                                                                              
    
--- DlgQWK v0.71a/DLGMail v2.63
 * Origin: Amiga Devil BBS, Edmonton AB, Canada, USR V.34 (1:342/53)
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FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 137 PHOTOGRAPHY   Ref: FA300030 Date: 05/24/98
From: STU TURK                                              Time: 11:45am
\/To: JANIS FOLEY                                         (Read 1 times)
Subj: Should I do it? (ALL)

Janis Foley wrote in a message to All:
JF> 1.    Any suggestions on what kind of film?  (indoor sit down
JF> dinner) 400 ISO?  Kodak?  Fuji?
JF> 2.    For that many people - how much film should I use?
    One of the main problems with photographing tables is not film but 
lighting. If you use flash-on-the-camera the people nearest to you are 
overexposed and those at the other end of the table underexposed. If you try 
to shoot across the table you get the back of peoples heads in the photo (and 
usually have to be careful using autoexposure because the autoflash will 
expose for the closer back-of-heads instead of the faces across the table.  
To avoid the 'back-of-the-heads' you can get close to the people on your side 
of the table (so they won't be in the photo) while shooting those facing you. 
You get fewer people in each shot this way (so you need more film) but 
usually get better pictures.
     I think I got the best results using a bounce card on the flash and 
manual exposure. But I hate shooting people at tables and prefer to pose them 
before they sit down if possible. Also you probably want to shoot before they 
start eating.
    Unless you have a powerful flash you probably want ISO 400 film so you 
can use a smaller f/ stop for depth of field when you have to shoot the 
length of the table. It also helps if you have a second flash (triggered by a 
photocell) that a assistant holds to light up the far end of the table.  You 
normally need some experience with using a slave flash though.
--- timEd 1.10+
 * Origin: SoundProof Point, Pittsburgh PA (1:129/26.2)
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FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 137 PHOTOGRAPHY   Ref: FA300031 Date: 05/25/98
From: RUSS MCMILLEN                                         Time: 08:04pm
\/To: ALL                                                 (Read 1 times)
Subj: RE: Graflex- Bob Dial

From: Russ McMillen <russm@idirect.com>
Subject: RE: Graflex- Bob Dial
On Sunday, May 24, 1998 10:07 AM, Bob Dial 
[SMTP:Bob.Dial@f64.n380.z1.wnybbs.net] wrote:
> ES> Most likely, metallic Magnesium.
> 
>  Aha!  Hope Russ sees this, and he probably reads the entire set
>  daily.  Thanks, Ed.
>
Yeah, I'm around here somewhere. Thanks.  What other materials were used in 
flashpowder?
Russ M.
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FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 137 PHOTOGRAPHY   Ref: FA300032 Date: 05/26/98
From: BRUCE FEIST                                           Time: 08:23am
\/To: ALL                                                 (Read 1 times)
Subj: Re: Essay on Arts and Power

From: Bruce Feist <bfeist@flock.org>
Subject: Re: Essay on Arts and Power
Hi, Larry;
Larry Bolch wrote:
> Edward Sukach did thus proclaim to All:
>
> ES> >This has lead to some interesting
> ES> >dismal failures in penology and rehabilitation. It was
> ES> >a basic theme in Stanley Kubrick's "Clockwork Orange".
> ES>
> ES> I had the impression that the "theme" here was of a society so far "out
> ES> of balance" that they really had a sense of helplessness, and reverted 
to
> ES> a contest of simplistic brutality... The crime was so heinous that the
> ES> society *had* to be even more brutal in its punishment.
I think you have it reversed.  A heinous crime was punished by something even
more brutal; the fundamental point of Clockwork Orange is that the perversion 
of
the mind, which was the punishment used by the government to prevent a 
recurrence
of a violent crime, was more of an abomination than the crime itself.
> It has been a long time since I last saw it, so sequence and details may
> be a bit hazy.
I'll throw in some additions below.
> If you recall, there was an old "liberal" and his wife who were brutally
> beaten by the "hero". He was found and jailed and his treatment in jail
> became a public issue.
The 'treatment' was essentially pavolvian conditioning.  The 'hero' was given
drugs to make him ill while he was forced to watch films of crime and 
iolence
(which he normally would have enjoyed).  This resulted in his inability to
perform acts of violence (or sex, for that matter) even in self-defense, 
hich
led to him being beaten first publicly in a demonstration of the 
effectiveness of
the treatment, and later by his old gang members, who had joined the police 
after
his incarceration.
One of the hero's passions had been Beethoven; the soundtrack for the films
consisted of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.  The treatments destroyed his 
ability to
listen to it.
> Not realizing that it was his attacker, the
> liberal became his advocate. I remember a scene of recognition and
> loathing, but behaviourist idealism was consciously evoked to overcome
> his hatred.
You were on target up to here.  The 'victim', upon realizing who the 'hero' 
was,
locked him in a room and played the Ninth to him until he attempted suicide 
y
leaping from a window.  The 'victim' was discredited, as was the government; 

new regime came into power who used the hero as a symbol of the wrongdoings 
f
the prior one.  They also 'cured' him, allowing him to listen to Beethoven 
once
again... among other things.
The film is grim: each of the major characters is ultimately evil.  The 
'victim'
gives in to a particularly sadistic form of revenge (his wife dies before she 
can
become a major character); the hero is a murderer and rapist, the old regime 
is
brutal, and the new one is corrupt... and presumably no better.  The hero 
really
is the least unattractive of the bunch, because he does have some positive
features and because he is actually LESS malicious than the others (his 
murder is
accidental, and his rape and other acts of violence are acts of destruction
rather than perversion.  He is intelligent, articulate, and loves music.
Both the film and the novel upon which it is based are frighteningly 
effective.
I had real problems listening to the Ninth for years after seeing the former 
for
the first time.
Bruce
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FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 137 PHOTOGRAPHY   Ref: FA300033 Date: 05/26/98
From: BRUCE FEIST                                           Time: 08:30am
\/To: ALL                                                 (Read 1 times)
Subj: Re: Stereo Realist: Viewing/Bob Dial

From: Bruce Feist <bfeist@flock.org>
Subject: Re: Stereo Realist: Viewing/Bob Dial
Hi, Bob and other Fidographers;
Bob Dial wrote:
> BF> From: Bruce Feist <bfeist@flock.org>
>
> BF> I recently picked up a rather nice Stereo Realist, and would like to
> BF> actually USE the glorious thing.  What's the best way of viewing photos
> BF> that I take?
>
>  Recently heard that someone is still processing and mounting the
>  slides for those (most were done for transparencies) but finding
>  a viewer in good condition might be a tedious effort.
The viewers are regularly available on eBay, actually.
>  Someone here likely will come up with better information for you
>  but the mere mention struck a familiar chord in memory here.  <G>
>
>  Does your camera have "White" anywhere in its name?  Seem to recall
>  there were at least two popular brands, one of them manufactured by
>  a company of that name.  Best of luck to you in finding suppliers!
Yes: it's made by a company called David White Co.
Thanks!
Bruce
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