i’ve left again and again heading for south africa.
this blog, instead of a blog written by a photographer on photography is becoming a blog written by a air pilot on south africa …
any way, i’m flying and i cannot help but notice crazy things we poor passenger are given in the name of security.
my impression is that most things are done only to give us the illusion we are protected. is like if they told us to touch our nose twelve times and this will protect us from any terrorist attack.
i’m afraid all has stayed like in vienna at the beginning of the nineteen century, like i saw the other day in the beautiful movie “ the illusionist””, where those on power do what they want with complete autonomy.
let’s go back to the security controls at the airports.
i said already in the past, and i say it again, you are not allowed to take knives on board, and this I can understand. the problem is that they bust you for nail clippers and mini swiss knives.
it’s fine. the problem is that when you get on the plane they serve you food providing you with a whole big set of steel cutlery. as you can see in the picture above.
if they found the same in the pocket of your pants while checking at the airport, not only they would have taken them away, but they would have place a gun in front of you, thinking they found a dangerous terrorist.
i already wrote this in the past, and it’s fine.
the new fucking obsession is for water and liquids in general.
they opened my backpack and obliged me to throw away the water and the small bottles of shampoo i took from hotels.
now i say : are we all going mad!!!!! there are other problems in the world, i agree, but we accept this without saying a word, like sheep? 1?
they take away half a litre of water, small bottles of shampoo, and once over the security control that’s it! i find in front of me 50 shops where i can buy as much shampoo and water i want!
there can be only two reasons why they take away a simple bottle of water: they either think that water is an important ingredient to make a bomb or they think the bomb is in fact inside the bottle.
i don’t see any other possibility.
so if water is useful to make a bomb a can buy litres and litres of it after the security check.
if the bomb is inside the bottle …. please, don’t make me laugh! Of all places where I can place a bomb, especially me, (camera, computer, hard disk…) does it make any sense to think that it can be concealed inside a transparent bottle of water?!?!
i even realized, once i arrived in cape town, i had a box of matches in my pocket.
is more dangerous a box of matches or half a litre bottle of water?

fuck! what a light topic!
don’t worry, i will soon go back and write about the light and transient life of a photographer, but this thought has been in my mind for few days now, and i would like to write about it before is gone….
The world, as we all know by now, is heading towards an ecological catastrophe, so authoritative researchers and scientists say: overheating of the planet, pollution,
global warming, greenhouse effect, and so on ….
everybody says, and they must be right, that all this is caused by man, that by destroying nature and polluting everything, is making sure that all this happens.
it is a fact that modern technology seems as if it is helping to decrease pollution, surely is helping to decrease pollution.
in my field digital technology contributed enormously to reduce toxic waste from film and acids.
internet and computers have contributed by wasting far less paper,
new speed exhaust pollute less,
solar panels contribute by producing clean energy,
it looks as if at the moment only modern technology can save us from global pollution.
everybody says: write more e-mails, we will use less paper, and will cut fewer trees,
nobody is saying do not write at all.
everybody is saying drive cars euro 5, nobody is saying walk around.
it looks as if technology will save us.
pity that technology is the mayor cause of the disaster: if we were still in the caves killing animals with our bare hands the world surely would not be polluted.
so?
so my question is: when is it that technology has stopped to create damaged and has started to be useful?
was there a precise day, or year?
some times ago, in the seventies, people used to say: “let’s have a revolution, let’s change the world”
now people say: the real revolution is to not change the world.
imagine if i have answers.
but can be helpful a great book i just read:
“how societies choose to live or die” by jared diamond