suburban jungle A Man In Need

To funny Jeff, but not really; it is sad but all to true. Although this, as is, could be A People In Need unless man is used as mankind. We can be so overintoxicated with electronics and stimulation and some with over alcohol indulgence but I prefer the alcohol occassionally to distract from the sober everyday sensory overload.

 

Great setup.

 

Kirk

Very good composition,light and exposure,Jeff. Your caption reminds me that" Human need is insatiable."

Kirk: May I present to you my cluttered bedside table full of detritus after a week of hard living (kids and work, that is). I took the title from Richard Thompson's "A Man In Need" in which a family man plans his escape. Not really a happy song, given that he did leave his family shortly after. Despite the ominous title, I'm happily stuck in my plight, watching TIVO'd shows with an occasional sip of something red or foamy.

 

 

A.K.: I'm trying to capture the magic that is me. A glorious show I put on, don't you think?

Of course,Jeff. You are doing an excellent job effortlessly. But you can't leave your sweet-home like Gautam Buddha.

Pardon my ignorance, but please explain how Buddha fits into or onto my bedside table. I have the feeling I'm missing an important lesson or really good joke.

Now you see, what I know of you, what I said can not be true. Even with the stuff in sight, you seem to make time for the important things such as your family and art work.

 

My comment was guided by something I had just read in an e-mail sent by a friend with a piece written, alledgedly, by George Carlin after his wife died.

 

I'll post it here so you'll se why I was influenced to write what I did. Feel free to delete it or ask me to edit it out later.

 

Kirk

 

A Message by George Carlin:

 

 

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

 

 

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom...(it is longer than this but I thought this would get the gist across).

 

(by Kirk: I can't entirely agree with all of this as usually when we drink to much, laughing is not the problem.)

No, buddy, leave it in. It's a good commentary to pair with the photo. Plus, I don't feel it's appropriate to edit others' opinions and reactions to something that's posted publicly. Hope you have a good day.

Jeff, when I read your comment that "I took the title from Richard Thompson's "A Man In Need" in which a family man plans his escape. Not really a happy song, given that he did leave his family shortly after." I remembered that Gautam Buddha, known in his early years as Siddhartha , was a prince, had lovely wife and child. One day he left his palace in order to meet his subjects. During his sojourn, he was deeply moved by the sight of old age, death and ascetic. He quietly left his palace, leaving behind his wife ,child and kingdom. This is called 'The Great Departure'. The very little I know of Jeff (through photo.net), I feel Jeff is a loving father and dutiful husband. Jeff has no intention for renouncing life. I beg to be excused ,if I have made a personal comment.

As usual you upload photos that generate thinking and responses... It is your bedside, but belive me it is a very good general saying of our western life. We all have more or less the same ellements in our life and household.

 

What Kirk wrote you, citating George Carlin, is " traveling" in the internet( Hi Kirk...), and yes some of it is compatible to our era, but our era has a lot of beautiful life events as well. we work hard,but history shows that people worked hard from the down of humanity .Our life are maybe more hectic, but we have a lot of technological invention to help us. Communication is great. how could we talk to each other before. so not all is negative...;-))

 

Aside of that , Amal's conclusion about who you are.. is nice and I agree to what he thinks of you as a human being and family man..

I like the busy composition ! as it is a genuine one.Window light is soft and well lighting the scene.

Jeff, this could be a pic from my own study area except for the beer (replace it with an unopened bottle of wine or port). Pnina, you're always about the "glass half full." You have a point, but I agree with Kirk's assessment, as this depicts clutter, as perilous as a house of cards, endless noise with the remotes, which play more and more spin. I like the blues, the Blues, and the green path from money (can buy temporary escape), to drink (buys imaginary escape), to out to the window into nature, which brings this real relief, just swinging on the porch, which brings us to your next creation.... ; ) I like the lighting here too.

 

Oh, and I agree with the compliments you got--well deserved.

You hit the nail pretty well with this seemingly chaotic photo. Fortunately your unique color treatment makes these items keep together visually. But more important are those layered thoughts the collection of the essentials evokes in my mind, how they stand for what is happening around here too. So sorry that it's about too late to go on telling more, so for this time: thanks for sharing!

Excellent use of dof in a fine composition.

So, it was a lesson after all. No, I've learned that geographical cures for current stresses and struggles don't work. I'm not called to be like Buddha and leave all for the sake of enlightenment. In fact, I think doing so would leave a path of darkness behind. I can't say that marriage with little kids is the easiest thing I've done, but it certainly is the most fulfilling. So now worries, my friend. Also, there's never a need to beg excuse.

You are an optimist. So am I. Well, more of a frustrated optimist. Or maybe a realist. I think in the great "ledger of life," the modern conveniences are canceled by the modern hassles. Life is what it is. The essential elements of human nature and existence don't really change, they just take on different clothes and surroundings. Thanks always for deep thoughts.

Having only been a daddy for about three years or so, I can still call up images of a quiet, clean house with ample time to do as I please. When the kids are gone overnight with their grandparents and everything settles down, I can tolerate an hour or two of peace, and then I want the chaos back. I read and reread your comment, so interestingly written. It's a lovely commentary synthesizing the meaning behind this picture.

I did use a unique color treatment to pull everything together. In some ways, it mirrors the need to make order from chaos. Thanks for identifying with this photo as you did.

I'll repeat. Good to have you return.

This is a very nice execution , Jeff. I would have liked it better without the remote at front...too many electronic gadgets otherwise :-) compliments -koushik

I love your point of view here,by the way it is very good beer,best regards my friend

Old vices and new technological tools. All is well assembled. Warm regards. Glauco

Hi Jeff! What a great composition here !!! I love the lighting and the green reflection from the bottle on to the glass. Looks like you have everything you Need!!! LOL all our comforts in this busy life of ours...... I also like how you have the window in the back

ground, sets yet another mood to contemplate on..... Nicely done!!!

very good composition and shot congrats.

Aren't we adding need on need, Jeff? A thought provoking image. well done.

Ah Dr Long you are doing it all wrong. You buy a universal remote, 4 go to 1, and then you have space for more beer AND a bottle of wine. Stella Artois is affectionately termed 'wife-beater' by the social classes in the UK, due essentially to its effect after consuming 34 in one sitting. So I am told of course as I fall asleep after 4 these days.

 

Lovely shot though, it is the money that makes the shot interesting and maybe says something about you i.e. its disregard indicates it means little to you. I feel the same. Perhaps everyone who has commented on your photo should take a picture of their desks, it would be interesting.

 

Keep them coming Maestro.

 

Koushik: Too many gadgets was the point of the picture. Anyhow, although I did create this scene over the course of a couple days, this was a found picture, almost a throw-away shot that I thought had some emotional interest, even though the composition itself isn't phenomenal. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

 

Shuki: Another point of the picture is to drink good beer. Thanks.

 

 

Glauco: What is man without his vices? It's easy to laud a saint, but hard to love them.

 

 

Andrea: This capitalizes on the silliness of getting through the day. A rather spiritual scene, don't you think?

 

 

Mehmet: Thanks so much!!

 

 

Paula: Need on need is right. I need a housekeeper. I'm glad you found this thought-provoking. I didn't have any grand scheme when shooting this, but later it became a bit more meaningful to me.

 

 

Kevin: Yes, I find that the 34th beer is the tipping point for me, at which point I transform from an affectionate drunk to a mean one. I'm such a lightweight that two makes me drowsy. This seemed to be a page in a diary, a funny one to boot, and I've enjoyed the comments it's garnered, yours especially.