Okay, so I found out today that this: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/05/14/michigan-same-sex-marriage-black-ministers/9094721/ is a thing.
*sighs* Okay, where do I begin?
Let's just start off by saying this: If you are classified as a minority, that's it, you're already legless when you try to speak out against any other minority. If you are a black person in any country other than Africa, especially if you're a black person in either the USA or Britain, the last thing you have any right to speak out against is another minority gaining the same privileges you have. It's baffling that such a thing could even occur. Until the late 60's it was illegal in some states for black and white people to marry. That sound familiar at all?
Secondly, if you are a woman, again, you have no right to speak out against other minorities. You yourselves at one point in history and in certain countries today, have been and are regarded as "lesser" or even "sub-human". You weren't allowed to vote, own property, or any of those sorts of things. Do you think we should suddenly go back to those ideologies? Hmm? Didn't think so.
I could go on, but I'll get straight to the point of this - If you belong to some form of minority, be it based on sex, race, creed, sexual orientation, gender identification, having ginger hair, whatever, you should not be rallying against one another. You should be embracing the diversity of one another that you yourselves represent.
And the fact that a straight, white, cisgendered man is having to say all of this, that really speaks volumes.
Thursday, 15 May 2014
Wednesday, 11 December 2013
A Day in the Life of a Park
For my subject I chose to take photographs within a park. I decided upon this subject matter because it seemed like an effective way to emulate the stylings of Henri Cartier-Bresson, whereby I would be taking advantage of the brief seconds to capture events as they happen as opposed to simply expecting to capture photos staged.
The park is a great focal point for relaxation, entertainment and simply a pleasant pathway to walk through or environment to be in as someone goes about their daily business. As such it grants a great opportunity to bear witness to any multitude of things as the day progresses.
The park is a great focal point for relaxation, entertainment and simply a pleasant pathway to walk through or environment to be in as someone goes about their daily business. As such it grants a great opportunity to bear witness to any multitude of things as the day progresses.
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| Life in the Park Emerges |
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| One Woman and Her Dog |
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| Anything Interesting in the News Today? |
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| A Cyclist's Rest |
 | |
| Home Time at Sunset |
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| Night walking |
Thursday, 14 November 2013
Documentary and Photojournalism
The following is my piece for my Documentary and Photojournalism module on the Journalism course at the University of Winchester. This short documentary piece will chronicle the experiences
of Gibraltar from the viewpoints of my grandfather,
Joseph Mills, who grew up there and was evacuated during World War 2 at the age
of six; and his daughter, my mother, Sally Scrivens, who visited there with
both of my grandparents when she was 19.
It will at times switch back and forth between both subjects
during points when it is appropriate to the narrative structure of the piece.
It discusses the emotional ties with the country, how often
they have returned, whether they would like to return and asks why they would
or wouldn’t want to.
For my grandfather it also discusses what it was like to be
evacuated, this experience acting as the key conflict within the piece as, in
his words “It was the biggest stab in the back”. It has also acted as a form of impetus for most future events proceeding from that point. Further questions can also be asked for attitudes towards returning had my grandfather not left in the first place.
I trust it to be found informative and entertaining. I certainly enjoyed researching and filming it.
Director’s Statement: - A Father and Daughter’s
Eyes of Gibraltar
Within this piece my
intent is to inform, explain and attempt to expound upon the experiences of my
mother and grandfather of Gibraltar . I wish to
share with everyone some of the knowledge of what it has been like to grow up
and then be forced to leave there, or to be introduced to the land that an
ex-patriot once called home.
Given the brevity of
the piece it will not have too great a level of detail, but it should hopefully
give enough information to make people interested enough to potentially ask
more and discover the richness of culture that the island possesses.
Wednesday, 16 October 2013
Depression
Disclaimer: I do not claim to know all the ins and outs of depression, this is merely my personal experience of it, both based on myself and some of my friends. There is plenty I haven't mentioned and I could quite easily go on for longer, but my mind is so addled that this is all that I can presently manage. There are also far more educated detailings on experiences with depression, but I felt it necessary to describe my experiences, if simply as an outlet for what I feel I can't vocalise.
Depression is...
Depression is...
Depression is...
.....
That's the problem, even trying to explain what it is is a task, because everyone experiences it differently, everyone has a different impetus, everyone has different manifestations of it and everyone has different ways of managing to live with it.
That's the key thing: LIVING WITH IT. It is not something that is simply gotten over. Even for those without clinical depression it can take months or even years before they can attempt to classify themselves as "not depressed". Depression is not simply a disease, it is a state of existence. Something which makes every day a struggle. Simply getting out of bed can be one of the most difficult tasks laid ahead of you, and it is your every right to feel a sense of achievement that you actually managed to do so, because you're making progress towards living with it.
So many people don't fully grasp the concept of depression. Some are under the impression that it is something that can be gotten over. They might think that you can continue fighting against something indefinitely, but eventually your last ounce of willpower will shrivel up and die. This is not your fault. It is never your fault. You've tried your damndest to survive and battle onwards, but there's only so much you can do when there is this all-consuming darkness running rampant throughout your mind.
One of the key things that depression does to you is make you feel completely powerless. As I said before, fighting against anything eventually breaks your will and you succumb, but even worse than that is the fact that it requires effort to convince yourself you can even attempt to fight against anything. So many times there will come a moment in which you think "Yes, I'm going to finally stand up for myself and say this!" but then you gradually begin to backpeddle, saying to yourself "Why should I bother? What would be the point in me saying anything? It won't get listened to, and even if it does, it'll be made to sound like my fault". You feel like any efforts made towards improving your life will just be met with derision and subjugation.
In conjunction with a feeling of powerlessness is a reduction in pleasure. The most simple things; your favourite music, your favourite food, everything like that, loses a spark that it once had. Interactions with friends become difficult simply by virtue of wanting to contribute more than you can. Sometimes you'll find yourself switching between the deadest of silences and the most verbose of ramblings because you are so terrified that you'll be caught out that you'll say just about anything. Eventually everything that makes you you becomes a suffocating smog that makes you want to completely reject it all. You'll find yourself saddened simply by the connections you can make between particular songs or meals. You could have loved something from the moment you experienced it, but because of the connections it has, even the mere mention of it makes you feel like you're about to drown.
Sleep can become either unnaturally easy or painfully difficult; you will either be so lacklustre that all you desire is complete oblivion and the easiest, least painful for anyone way of managing that is to not wake up, at least not until most of the day has vanished and so you only have to exist for a brief time. Alternatively your mind is swamped with every thought and reason that you are depressed and thus simply closing your eyes requires the greatest of efforts. You go on walks that are so long you hope you can exhaust yourself, but instead it simply gives you more energy to over-think things and you end up hating yourself even more.
Emotions become a chaotic mess that can not be predicted. In some cases depression governs you completely and the only respite is the occassional good humour to come from a close friend. Alternatively you could be switching between a sea of negative emotions, each set off by the tiniest of things. All it takes is for someone to say something at the wrong time and you end up breaking half your bed room.
And this makes you feel more worthless. You start thinking over things, wondering whether you're truly worth anyone's time if you are so prone to these horrible states. For those who it is brought on by a bad break-up, you don't simply wonder if you're worth another person's time romantically, you wonder if you're worth anyone's time at all. Moments when friends do voice concern and care become so invaluable to you that you become desperate to find a way to properly thank them. Nothing is sufficient for you because to you they have effectively saved your life, even if just for an extra day.
But even for those who it isn't brought on by a break-up, even those who it is chemically caused for, you still feel like you're a waste of everyone's time. Even being in the same room you feel like you're a nuisance and should just flee from everyone's sight. People will try to convince you that you don't need to do this, but it feels more like they do this out of obligation as opposed to genuine opinion or belief. And it doesn't matter how much someone argues the case, it won't change your opinion that you're a worthless waste of space.
The absolute worst thing though, is the boredom that comes with being depressed. You get so painfully sick of constantly feeling depressed that you try to convince yourself that you're okay, that everything's fine and you can manage it. But you can't. You try but it's impossible. You just feel worse because of lying not simply to other people, but most of all to yourself. You start hating yourself for your lack of honesty, which just layers on further depressed feelings, ultimately driving you to a completely unwinnable situation. You get to a stage where in the words of the director Lars Von Trier, "you fall down and you're like a bird with a cat and you say 'Eat me for Christ's Sake'" just wanting it all to be over and done with, but not by your own hand, but by the decision of the universe at large. You're desperate for a release, but for so many it's terrifying the prospect of ending it all. It's why so many with depression come to actually admire those with the will to take it into their own hands and just end it all there and then. We don't see cowardice there, we see a bravery that we wish we could have. As warped as an ideology as that might be, it's the coldest, most clear-cut truth for so many with depression.
For those who wish to see an excellent collection of comics depicting a great many of the effects of depression, here it is: http://www.buzzfeed.com/hnigatu/comics-that-capture-the-frustrations-of-depression
An important thing to note: NEVER comment on how depressed someone has been or is. All this will do is to propogate the ideas of worthlessness in the person's mind and make them believe that they deserve to be depressed. My ex used to say this all the time when I would have dark moments and all that did was make me feel worse.
Never look for the specific reason why someone is depressed, just understand that they are and be there for them, because ultimately that is what they desperately need, despite anything they might say. They need a connection with someone they can trust, with someone that they know cares about them and loves them. Whether the love is voiced or simply understood, it is important for them to be aware that there are people around who do.
In closing, depression is all of what I've detailed and far more besides. It is a static existence that anyone with it has to find the will to fight against every day. But for all those who do, I salute you, for you give me the strength to carry on as well.
I truly wish there was more I could say, but there is so much to detail that I couldn't hope to do the subject matter justice.
Depression is...
Depression is...
Depression is...
.....
That's the problem, even trying to explain what it is is a task, because everyone experiences it differently, everyone has a different impetus, everyone has different manifestations of it and everyone has different ways of managing to live with it.
That's the key thing: LIVING WITH IT. It is not something that is simply gotten over. Even for those without clinical depression it can take months or even years before they can attempt to classify themselves as "not depressed". Depression is not simply a disease, it is a state of existence. Something which makes every day a struggle. Simply getting out of bed can be one of the most difficult tasks laid ahead of you, and it is your every right to feel a sense of achievement that you actually managed to do so, because you're making progress towards living with it.
So many people don't fully grasp the concept of depression. Some are under the impression that it is something that can be gotten over. They might think that you can continue fighting against something indefinitely, but eventually your last ounce of willpower will shrivel up and die. This is not your fault. It is never your fault. You've tried your damndest to survive and battle onwards, but there's only so much you can do when there is this all-consuming darkness running rampant throughout your mind.
One of the key things that depression does to you is make you feel completely powerless. As I said before, fighting against anything eventually breaks your will and you succumb, but even worse than that is the fact that it requires effort to convince yourself you can even attempt to fight against anything. So many times there will come a moment in which you think "Yes, I'm going to finally stand up for myself and say this!" but then you gradually begin to backpeddle, saying to yourself "Why should I bother? What would be the point in me saying anything? It won't get listened to, and even if it does, it'll be made to sound like my fault". You feel like any efforts made towards improving your life will just be met with derision and subjugation.
In conjunction with a feeling of powerlessness is a reduction in pleasure. The most simple things; your favourite music, your favourite food, everything like that, loses a spark that it once had. Interactions with friends become difficult simply by virtue of wanting to contribute more than you can. Sometimes you'll find yourself switching between the deadest of silences and the most verbose of ramblings because you are so terrified that you'll be caught out that you'll say just about anything. Eventually everything that makes you you becomes a suffocating smog that makes you want to completely reject it all. You'll find yourself saddened simply by the connections you can make between particular songs or meals. You could have loved something from the moment you experienced it, but because of the connections it has, even the mere mention of it makes you feel like you're about to drown.
Sleep can become either unnaturally easy or painfully difficult; you will either be so lacklustre that all you desire is complete oblivion and the easiest, least painful for anyone way of managing that is to not wake up, at least not until most of the day has vanished and so you only have to exist for a brief time. Alternatively your mind is swamped with every thought and reason that you are depressed and thus simply closing your eyes requires the greatest of efforts. You go on walks that are so long you hope you can exhaust yourself, but instead it simply gives you more energy to over-think things and you end up hating yourself even more.
Emotions become a chaotic mess that can not be predicted. In some cases depression governs you completely and the only respite is the occassional good humour to come from a close friend. Alternatively you could be switching between a sea of negative emotions, each set off by the tiniest of things. All it takes is for someone to say something at the wrong time and you end up breaking half your bed room.
And this makes you feel more worthless. You start thinking over things, wondering whether you're truly worth anyone's time if you are so prone to these horrible states. For those who it is brought on by a bad break-up, you don't simply wonder if you're worth another person's time romantically, you wonder if you're worth anyone's time at all. Moments when friends do voice concern and care become so invaluable to you that you become desperate to find a way to properly thank them. Nothing is sufficient for you because to you they have effectively saved your life, even if just for an extra day.
But even for those who it isn't brought on by a break-up, even those who it is chemically caused for, you still feel like you're a waste of everyone's time. Even being in the same room you feel like you're a nuisance and should just flee from everyone's sight. People will try to convince you that you don't need to do this, but it feels more like they do this out of obligation as opposed to genuine opinion or belief. And it doesn't matter how much someone argues the case, it won't change your opinion that you're a worthless waste of space.
The absolute worst thing though, is the boredom that comes with being depressed. You get so painfully sick of constantly feeling depressed that you try to convince yourself that you're okay, that everything's fine and you can manage it. But you can't. You try but it's impossible. You just feel worse because of lying not simply to other people, but most of all to yourself. You start hating yourself for your lack of honesty, which just layers on further depressed feelings, ultimately driving you to a completely unwinnable situation. You get to a stage where in the words of the director Lars Von Trier, "you fall down and you're like a bird with a cat and you say 'Eat me for Christ's Sake'" just wanting it all to be over and done with, but not by your own hand, but by the decision of the universe at large. You're desperate for a release, but for so many it's terrifying the prospect of ending it all. It's why so many with depression come to actually admire those with the will to take it into their own hands and just end it all there and then. We don't see cowardice there, we see a bravery that we wish we could have. As warped as an ideology as that might be, it's the coldest, most clear-cut truth for so many with depression.
For those who wish to see an excellent collection of comics depicting a great many of the effects of depression, here it is: http://www.buzzfeed.com/hnigatu/comics-that-capture-the-frustrations-of-depression
An important thing to note: NEVER comment on how depressed someone has been or is. All this will do is to propogate the ideas of worthlessness in the person's mind and make them believe that they deserve to be depressed. My ex used to say this all the time when I would have dark moments and all that did was make me feel worse.
Never look for the specific reason why someone is depressed, just understand that they are and be there for them, because ultimately that is what they desperately need, despite anything they might say. They need a connection with someone they can trust, with someone that they know cares about them and loves them. Whether the love is voiced or simply understood, it is important for them to be aware that there are people around who do.
In closing, depression is all of what I've detailed and far more besides. It is a static existence that anyone with it has to find the will to fight against every day. But for all those who do, I salute you, for you give me the strength to carry on as well.
I truly wish there was more I could say, but there is so much to detail that I couldn't hope to do the subject matter justice.
Sunday, 28 July 2013
Follow-Up
In continuation from my previous post I share with you all a petition lobbying the Olympics Committee to condemn Russia's anti-gay laws:
https://www.change.org/petitions/stand-against-russia-s-brutal-crackdown-on-gay-rights-urge-winter-olympics-2014-sponsors-to-condemn-anti-gay-laws
Another one petitioning a general protection of gay rights
https://www.allout.org/fr/actions/russia-attacks-taf
And fortunately this is not going unnoticed on an international scale:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-akprn1/1013533_180761818771304_729340625_n.png
More to follow
https://www.change.org/petitions/stand-against-russia-s-brutal-crackdown-on-gay-rights-urge-winter-olympics-2014-sponsors-to-condemn-anti-gay-laws
Another one petitioning a general protection of gay rights
https://www.allout.org/fr/actions/russia-attacks-taf
And fortunately this is not going unnoticed on an international scale:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-akprn1/1013533_180761818771304_729340625_n.png
More to follow
Saturday, 27 July 2013
The Travesties of Reality
This post will predominantly be posting all manner of links to recent atrocities and a petition that can be signed against one of them that have happened over the recent months and years in both Greece and Russia.
To begin with I am going to share the petition link as it is the most immediately accessible thing that we can currently do something against:
http://act.watchdog.net/petitions/3322?share_ref=IUyNy_Ox9-8
Following are articles covering the most recent crimes against humanity that Russia and Greece have enacted upon:
http://www.queerty.com/russian-skinheads-using-social-media-to-lure-kidnap-and-publicly-torture-gay-teens-20130726/
https://www.amnesty.org/en/news/scores-musicians-urge-russia-release-pussy-riot-2013-07-22
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/lgbt-campaigners-boycott-vodka-in-protest-at-russian-gay-rights-abuses--even-though-their-main-target-isnt-made-in-russia-8734981.html
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20130724/182399366/6-Gay-Rights-Activists-Briefly-Detained-Over-Rally-in-Moscow.html
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20130723/182385163/Russia-Issues-Travel-Ban-for-Dutch-Gay-Propaganda-Suspects.html
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20130723/182370139/US-City-Mulls-Breaking-Up-with-Russian-Sister-City-Over-Anti-Gay-Law.html
http://www.globaldetentionproject.org/countries/europe/greece/introduction.html
Now admittedly these are just limited to LGBT issues, but I will be following up on these matters and discussing them as they come. And one specifically for England, behold the desperate attempts of a despotic leader to further place a stranglehold upon us:
https://www.openrightsgroup.org/blog/2013/sleepwalking-into-censorship
Undoubtedly a lot of you will not have heard about this, so you're welcome for the information.
This is Edmund Scrivens signing off.
To begin with I am going to share the petition link as it is the most immediately accessible thing that we can currently do something against:
http://act.watchdog.net/petitions/3322?share_ref=IUyNy_Ox9-8
Following are articles covering the most recent crimes against humanity that Russia and Greece have enacted upon:
http://www.queerty.com/russian-skinheads-using-social-media-to-lure-kidnap-and-publicly-torture-gay-teens-20130726/
https://www.amnesty.org/en/news/scores-musicians-urge-russia-release-pussy-riot-2013-07-22
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/lgbt-campaigners-boycott-vodka-in-protest-at-russian-gay-rights-abuses--even-though-their-main-target-isnt-made-in-russia-8734981.html
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20130724/182399366/6-Gay-Rights-Activists-Briefly-Detained-Over-Rally-in-Moscow.html
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20130723/182385163/Russia-Issues-Travel-Ban-for-Dutch-Gay-Propaganda-Suspects.html
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20130723/182370139/US-City-Mulls-Breaking-Up-with-Russian-Sister-City-Over-Anti-Gay-Law.html
http://www.globaldetentionproject.org/countries/europe/greece/introduction.html
Now admittedly these are just limited to LGBT issues, but I will be following up on these matters and discussing them as they come. And one specifically for England, behold the desperate attempts of a despotic leader to further place a stranglehold upon us:
https://www.openrightsgroup.org/blog/2013/sleepwalking-into-censorship
Undoubtedly a lot of you will not have heard about this, so you're welcome for the information.
This is Edmund Scrivens signing off.
Friday, 8 June 2012
Seminar Paper - Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus
The scientific imperatives put across within this work are
straight-forward enough to understand. The world is governed by facts and these
facts operate within multiple capacities. Everything can be boiled down to
atomic facts, that is to say, everything is constructed from a form of atomic
structure, right down to the very words spoken as they are manipulations of air
into specific patterns. However, that which does not exist can also be related
to atomic truths as they do not possess an atomic structure to allow it
existence.
The world is related to us as being a microcosm of the universe’s logical
existence. The Earth is in existence, therefore the universe must exist.
However, this is not necessarily a definitive inference of the true state of
the universe as we can not automatically infer the existence or non-existence
of other atomic structures. Each atomic structure is independent of itself and
only by definitive empirical facts can we understand what exactly exists.
Accordingly statements of propositions of logic being tautologies apply.
That is to say that logical statements are formed from reasoned, irrefutable
evidence and that further logical statements can be made because of those
easily understood and straight-forward statements. Furthermore all statements
and propositions of logic are of equal rank as they are true regardless of
interpretation of them. According to Wittgenstein, if a proposition is logical
then it can not, unlike as Bertrand Russell suggests, have a contradictory
state of being and must hold within itself tautological existence regardless of
interpretation.
However, logical objects and logical constants are impossible as the
universe because, as previously stated, atomic structures are independent from
each other and therefore can only exist within their own personal universe. A
logical object would require an object whose use has one singular, specific
application (even food can be used for more than simply nourishment as can be
seen in ancient practices of pagan worship) and a logical constant would depend
on a world that does not change. It could be argued that the speed of light is
a logical constant, but even that has been repeatedly revised and changed as
technological advances have come to light
The propositions of truth are indicative of the ideas of logic and the
state of existence. All truth, logic and existence propositions link together.
A proposition of logic needs to be proven and existence is typically based
within logic when broken down into a purely scientific mechanic. Thought
influences logical ideals. It lends name and progression to the inspiration
behind the proposition. Thought may manipulate truth and existence but can be
drawn back into grounding through logical reasoning. Our perceptions may
manipulate what we believe of this world but logic, according to Wittgenstein,
as based in tautologies, can not be edited by them and remain the same until a
time where their relevance ceases to be.
All thought influences the progression of propositions and therefore all
thought must at some point contain a form of logic and rationality. If our
thought lacks logic or rationality then we must maintain silent contemplation
until a more reasoned ideology presents itself.
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