Double Density Pinhole Photo (2)

As I promised before this is the sample photos of  “a bit sharper Double-Density-Pinhole

Images”, and those photos were taken by the Canon 5D Mk 3  and Nikon D810 camera.

Both of left images were taken by Tamuron 90 mm Macro Lens with F-setting 2.5 (fully open)  2000th second.  ISO 100.

Top two were by Canon 5D Mk3 and the Pinhole image was taken ISO 1600 and AV setting  (0.8 sec with +1 1/3).

Bottom two were by Nikon D810  and the Pinhole image was taken ISO 6400 setting.(Non-CPU-Lens setting  = Camera says F45.  1/2.5 second ).

—– By the way, I haven’t found why the Canon’s image (Top two) having Magenta and Green cast.  Both Cameras were set to AWB (Auto White Balance) though, as cloud moves, lighting condition was not exactly the same, therefore don’t make a conclusion about the color contribution of each camera on those photos.

Above those 6 photos were taken by D810,  ISO 6400,  F-setting was F45 or F64, Shutter time was  1 second ~ 1/4 second.  (with lots of Re-try  😀 )

On this time, Outer Pinhole was 1.2 mm and a smaller pinhole was made in the center of Metal-coted film, and the  panel was mounted on Nikon Revers-Ring  (hence, it enables to use it in different focal length, with or without extension ring. 

And with [Nikon —> Canon Mount Adapter] the same can be used on Canon as well)  🙂

As Pinhole panel was fixed on a revers-ring,  it enable ( just 🙂 )to use ordinary Lens-hood (Lens-hood is essential) = two photos above are the sample when hood was dropped and direct sun light hit the pinhole, though some might like a photo with strong halation  😀

By the way, I cover the Camera etc, with lots of stickers to conceal Camera name, Model name etc —– to make it looks cheap,  and my friend who actually possess D810 adopted the same attitude = It would discourage a mugger  😀

After dealt with a lots of Pinhole pictures —– ordinary photo looks rather fresh.

It looks not too bad too.     Ha ha ha  😀 

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What Photography to do with Buddhism

Someone asked me “ Why Photography in a Zen blog ?”

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The understanding of Zen is so wildly varied, let alone the understanding of the Buddhism.

It spreads from vague spiritualism to an endless peculiar practice.

A reason is that it lays in the person’s subconsciousness. Hence, the person oneself couldn’t

see it clearly, let alone the others, even the teacher.

Since, it was not clearly written down like as a Dogma, and to memorize it doesn’t mean

understood the Buddhism. (Though, some sect says, they got 100 of the rules written down

and follow them is the completion of the Buddhism.)

[]

My discovery of the Zen came from a peculiar practice = Disco Dancing  😀

With a peculiar mental tendencies habituated in my subconscious, I realized, this is

what people called the Zen —– Like a Pathological diagnosis, I found the symptoms all

matches to the description of the Zen of the past masters =

hence I understood, what I’m living is the Zen.

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So that, in Zen, the matter is a mental state or so-called mind-set, while the one is DOING

something. = Doing it unconsciously with the mind-set of what

Lord Buddha stated = IS the Buddhism. = Hence, able to receive all the benefit to live with

the Dharma. —– Here, it is crucial to be unconscious (=in Mushin). 

We can do a thing without thinking but not able to do thinking without thinking  😀

Try to do Mushin or talking it consciously is just a pretense or mimicry  😀

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Photography is a secondly art (it doesn’t mean second class art 🙂 ) = unlike an abstract

drawing or sculpture, unless the subject is there, its photograph couldn’t be created.

In other words, photography has to follow the existence and its moment.

That moment is the only moment. Photography is to capture and deals with this MOMENT.

As Lord Buddha stated, “Nothing stays the same and they change moment to moment”.

= Photography has to face this situation straight.

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Why and how you encounter its situation or subject was not necessary what you expected or

designed.  = To encounter it was what the Karma has worked.   You may think that

the idea to come to the garden to take picture was what you conceived and planed by yourself

alone though, without Karma has had pulled a string, you didn’t get the idea in the first place.

Whether you are aware or not this is how the system works.

And this system = the mechanism of the Dharma is what

Lord Buddha elucidated. = This is the Buddhism which is applicable even to a non-Buddhist.

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And we have to follow the subject = we didn’t create it, hence this is a secondly art =

we have to accept a humble position to be a secondly creator. Therefore, we have to see

the world with humble open eyes but at most diligent way, down to the minute details.

Once we start to see the subjects, what we are seeing is the environment or most likely

the nature. —– In fact, we are seeing the Dharma.

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When we try to capture and focus the subject, are we thinking what to eat for lunch ? =

Not only the lens, we are focusing what we need to do without any thinking but with full

attention to the subject on front of the camera whole heartedly.

This is the moment of Mushin and the Mindfulness.

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Then “Got it” = but what we got ? —– Even though we might think “I’ve got iconic image”

it is a mere reflection of the subject in the memory card, which could just disappear with a

glitch in a computer. —– And in most of the case, it wouldn’t do anything with the person’s

finance = it is nothing but a selfless, greed less act = expect no reward, still needs to put

so much effort for taking.

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—– Isn’t this Zen Buddhism ? —– If not,  What else   🙂

___/\___

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Double-Density Pinhole Photography

Ideally, soft-focus image should have solid focused core and the soft flair around it.

The more the photographer is decent grown-up person, even soft image is rather subtle.  Though, I’m not very well grown up decent kind = tend to take it to the extreme   😀  (Hence, if I cook for myself, the taste is pretty strong = if it got to be spicy hot = it would be extremely HOT = Otherwise, what is the point to cook hot food  😀 )

Therefore, my soft-focused image goes to even more extreme = and in this  experiment, I gave a larger pinhole halo to small pinhole image = Concentric Double pinhole photo image  🙂   My approach to the Life is ” Why not ?”  😀

How you can put small hole inside of another hole  ? ? ?  = 😀

This is a Philosophical Problem = Hole is where VOID is = unlike gap, hole was represented by its circular edge, and this edge define the area of the Void = its inside is already Void, hence, there is nothing to form yet another hole  😀 

In photographic term, Pinhole can act like a lens, provided when the correct exposure was given though, when two hole exists in the same place, how to give long enough exposure (shatter time) for smaller hole while giving shorter time for larger hole ?  = 😀

—– My solution was, to cover larger hole with ND filter to reduce the incoming light.

(There is a gray filter called Neutral Density Filter to reduce the light, though together with Kodak CC (Color Compensating) filter they became hard to obtain item now.) 

—– Instead to use ND filter, I found an Aluminum coted plastic film of tea packaging. —– Not good enough for normal photography yet, enough for fuzzy pinhole photography  😀

[]To measure the Density, I placed this metallic film on front of the lens = the exposure reading was dropped from 1/1000th to 1/15 = 6 stops drop on shutter speed. 

Hence, the size of pinholes should have also 6 stops difference in F-aperture logarithmic scale.

(such as 2mm, 1.4mm, 1mm, 0.7mm, 0.5mm, 0.35mm. 0.25mm = larger pinhole, 2 mm and small one should be 0.25 mm)  —> The metallic film was stacked behind of 2 mm pinhole and a 0.25 mm hole was pierced in the center.  —– (From the result, I think, the lager hole should be 1.5 mm and smaller hole 0.18 mm = images would be a bit more sharper  😀 )

Still, the experiment which costed virtually nothing = results are not too bad  😀

———————————

PS :  Few people who has failed to do this kind of pinhole photo asked me why —– I’m using equivalent lens (this time 100mm lens) for set-up and framing, then the View-finder was covered up with black-tape.  Stray light from View-finder makes wrong reading of exposure.

Most importantly, I’m using extremely capable Canon 5D (Mk 2 and Mk3).  

Pinhole photography may not be done with another camera. 

For instance, a pinhole shot done in 5D Mk3, with ISO 3200 and AV setting, 6 seconds —– the same pinhole mounted on Nikon D810 with the same ISO 3200 setting and 6 seconds couldn’t make picture, as it looks more than 3 stops under exposure.   Even with 30 sec’, 60 sec’, 120 sec’, further with ISO setting Hi2 (equiv’  25600) didn’t make ANY difference. 

Nikon couldn’t work with non-CPU incompatible lenses.

—– I wonder if anybody has ever done Astro-photography with Nikon D810, I would like to know how it was done ?

—————————————-

PPS :  I found the way to to take Pinhole Photo by Nikon D810.

(1)  Go to the Menu / Non-CPU Lens / and set Max F-Aperture to F22.

(2)  Push Meter Coupling Lever (for Aperture Ring) anti-clock-wise, till F-aperture indicator on the Control Panel shows F45.

(3)  With ISO setting, 3200 or so and [A] (Aperture priority) = camera would give more or less correct exposure.

(*)  To adjust the exposure, even if you use the Exposure Time given by [A], say 2 second for Manual setting and select 1 second or 4 second —— exposure couldn’t be correct unless you push Meter Coupling Lever to F45 position.  (Because, the brightness of the image was not determined by the size of pinhole and the shutter-time, but by the gain of signal amplification in the image process )

 —- In fact, you can control Exposure Level by this Lever (by pushing it to F32 or F64 etc) = it is very awkward —-> Solution would be, tie a string to the Lever and fix it to the position of F45, and the Exposure adjustment should be made by changing ISO setting to another value.

London 2012 Festival at Southbank

Way back from the center and crossing the Waterloo Bridge, I saw huge Baobab like tree !

And a lots of cloud around the Southbank  where Festival Hall, Hayward gallery etc are

situated = It was a festival or a kind of  massive gathering  🙂 —– it seems there are some

performances but most of the people with family or friends are just hanging out there. 🙂

It was a Friday early evening.  So, just have a drink and chat together.

Some set-up for the kids to play = in fact, sandy beach is a familiar set up in the Southbank.

But this time the sand got red and blue too = supposed to be the national color of the flag. 

The festival is a side-show of the Olympic.

So that, there is a Fair Ground and some ride as well. 

When thousands of the people comes, there always the street performers. 

A magician Diobo (photo, center above) showed incredible magic which I was utterly

bemused.  = As it is an open space = there couldn’t be any set-up.  And he was bare-hand =

no sleeve to hide any trick —– still he could move a cigarette and rift it up from the

ground (no invisible string or strong air movement) or make a mouse disappear and

reappear from inside of an egg etc etc = may be usual staff though, what impressed me

was, as I said, its impossibility.  How he could do that ?

Magic Circle must be the last secret Brotherhood.  Iron rule of secrecy and the devotion

to the perfection.  

Among many performers, a Yogi like performer (photo, above right) were sitting without

any movement.  One was perched on top of a stick = looks fascinating though, this is not a

magic = they were just sitting on an iron frame which was hidden in there loose cloths.

And there was the anti-capitalists campaigners as well.

Those wild meadow like flower bed must be created in few days on a shallow soil brought

onto the concrete, and when the event was finished, they will be just thrown into a skip =

a symbol of superficiality of this kind of Green pretense.

Then, I took a bus to go back to my place. 

(Those photos above were taken from inside of the bus)

—– all the photos were taken by Zeiss Planer 85mm F1.4 lens on Canon 5D MkIII = its mean, everything

were manual = hence, due to my eyesight some are not very well focused.  😦

(I didn’t expect to shoot the photos.  Only the 85mm lens was there which I have had brought to show

to my friend  😀 )

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N’s Sports Party at Abbey

Newly wed N is a web designer and keen cyclist, traveler and doing Kinetic-sculpture as well. (hence we met many years ago on an art event).   In fact, he had Stag-do in the south coast, doing canoeing etc with his old baddies weeks ago as well.

So, when I arrived to the Abbey, I was greeted by his fancy dancing.    😀

As I was warned, this party was not a kind of eat, drink and catch-up chattering but quite physical.     😀

I don’t know the name of this game, still, there is an almost identical game in Japan but played only by the kids.

Sports party though, it’s still a family occasion, N’s mum and dad and of cause his wife and her sister D were all there enjoying the company.

This game (photo above) said to be called “Sheep stack in the mud ” = may be Japanese equivalent of Oni-gokko”  🙂

On such sporting occasion, photographer shouldn’t be just an observer = gone to more pro-active. (or a bit naughty ? ! = to inflate size D to FF) — no, not me, lens did  😀

Then egg on the spoon race. Though, some confusion of the rules —– spoon on a hand or on the mouth ?

And the Prize giving ceremony = of Gold, Silver or Copper.    😀 

In the same time, yet another activity which was a bit more intellectual research and the interview was carried out by D as she was a student of London Uni’

Yet more Spoon race.  😀

And more common ball game. 

So, the party went on till sunset.  It was a fantastic day and a nice quiet evening.

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Waltham Abbey or its Garden

There was a party of the newly married friend in the Waltham Abbey garden.

Waltham Abbey was one of the Abbey destroyed by the King Henry 8th, situated just outside of north London, 15 min’ walk from the Waltham Cross station. 

Or just off the M25 by a car.  —– Despite its close proximity to the Capital, it is almost a forgotten place.   Hence, it was my first visit and I did it for a test of Nikon D810 (with Nikon Fisheye lens and their 85mm F1.8) too.  🙂

The  journey starts from the Railway Cathedral, Liverpool Street Station.

It was just a shot ride though, among a lots of train running on the same track, only few are stopping at Waltham Cross. (on the way back, only one train per hour ! )

Then from the station, walk straight down to the east, while crossing many creeks of River Lee ( —– I remember the image like this in a Belgian city of Bruges ).

Looks like the end of the road, there the Abbey is. —— and near by funeral parlor, a pretty well made model of the horse-drawn hearse !  

3D representation of What you are going to have  😀 

—– And Jesus is waiting for you with open arms !  How nice  😀  😀

The inside is a huge open space.

Other than the Rose garden etc, abbey garden is a sort of controlled wilderness. The grass was well-trimmed corner to corner though, rest was left for the wild plants to compete each other. 

—– still, I haven’t seen even a shadow of single fish in the water.

[]The camera, D810 worked well.  —– Though, go into the details of each point is not what Zen blog supposed to deal with = I’ll do it somewhere else.

—– still, it worthwhile to mention is = this camera might be in the point of no-return, in the aspect of the use of soft control of the imaging = departure from the pure optical image.   For example, professionals may no longer need to use wide-angle lens, instead,  resorting with  stitch-up photo = negates the needs of many specialized lens such as PC or TS lens, or ultra-wide-angle lens, even extremely large F-aperture lenses.  = (In fact, such special lens becoming perpetual [unsold] item in the show window, alongside  the huge dead stock of lenses for clop-sized image sensor camera. = such camera has been superseded by the compact Mirror-less system cameras) = Who want to carry heavy, big camera ?

And, when we can buy incredibly well designed small camera with the same money, who would buy expensive big old zoom lens ?  —–  Camera companies shot their own leg.

* Canon’s selection to use APS size sensor in their mirror-less camera, and selling EF lens adapter is to prevent their EF-S lens become obsolete and dead stock.  🙂

* Nikon’s 36Mp sensor may give higher resolution though, I found no difference on my same laptop screen.  = Any how the quality of  the image was limited to the optical quality of the lens = screen image shows the flaw of the lens even more.

And the Nikon’s heavy use of image processing program would make aware of thephotographers that [it is not the matter of the number of the pixels, but the after process].

Nikon seemed to be using variable gain control to amplify the out-put of image sensor = effectively act like a variable ISO setting and with the enhanced color-saturation of the image under dim light = the result looks brilliant.  = save the work on photoshop though —– I’m not sure, was that a correct approach to include the “Fan shot effects”  😀

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Is Charity Self-sacrifice ?

There was a search term = [is Charity self-sacrifice ?] came to my blog.

I think I’ve talked about those matters many times yet, it might be better to clarify them again.

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In Zen, there is no notion of [Charity] or [Self], let alone [self-sacrifice].

They are the notions exist only in the Mind, away from the situation. (It was deduced

from the memories = stacked mind with accumulated knowledges from the past 🙂 )

Charity is not a separate notion from one’s deep mind (in fact, whether Mind itself is exists or

just an intellectual hypothesis = artificially abstracted idea —– is an interesting argument)

or in the subconscious.

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Lord Buddha explained “ Nothing stays = only appear to be there in a moment”

in the context of the entwined mechanism of the Dharma as

the Karma = relation of Cause and the Result resulted.

The reaction, which is away from the thinking and we call as a Charity = it is in fact “it is nothing

but a prevailing Dharma” was explained in the post [Compassion and Charity in Dharma] (link)

By reading it, you must be convinced that the Charity is not the act of the SELF, far from it,

it exists because of NO-SELF in the first place.

NO-SELF, still the one was acted in such a manner — Who acted it = Dharma.

This is the Core of the Buddhism. = Acting moment to moment in its best, as

the Dharma IS, hence create the life as total is, What the Buddhism IS.

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Not only the situation, (situation is a mare face or appearance of the Dharma driven by the

Karma concerned) but also ourself is dependent to the Dharma (or we are the Dharma itself),

in moment to moment = hence there is no fixed notion of the Self could exists.

As Self isn’t there, but the Dharma = There can not be the sacrifice of the Self.

The person was just acted according to the Dharma or as the Dharma IS. =

To help others is not a sacrifice of the ONE, but simply it was needed

by the Dharma. (hence, the Dharma acted using the hand of someone)  🙂

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Therefore, it must be clear, there couldn’t be Charity or Self-sacrifice. If any of

those kind of notion exist there, it is a pretense derived from the knowledges

and a Self-conscious vanity.

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So-called charitable act to donate money to the Sect is just a system of sucking.

In most of the case, so-called founder of the Sect is not a holy man but an entrepreneur.

= that how those Sects became so rich and the leader became a millionaire, driving Mercedes

while leaving the followers in poverty.

Yet still, if you need to donate a money, it is in deed self-sacrifice and the

waste of the money :-D.

Since, the fact shows, = how many years the Sect there ? === has they changed the world ?

Where the money donated by the peoples has gone 😀

—– to see and hear what the Dharma says or requested you, IS the matter,

not what the sect tells you.

And to see the Dharma, you need the eyes of Mushin = Mind of No-Mind )

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Do a charitable act in Mushin is easy, just do it = it’s your spontaneous reaction.

(If it’s needed to have second-thought = it is not the matter of charity but the business project

= you have to asses the return in comparison to the investment = this is not Buddhism  😀 )

___/\___

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Gig on the Ship / Stubnitz

The Ship Stubnitz is a German Art Venue on the sea (on this moment

at King George V Dock  🙂 )  And when they arrived to the Dockland, they asked

OWN (Open Wireless Network of SPC.org) to connect to the Internet.  Then, 5Ghz Wifi

connection was made between the antenna mounted on the ship’s mast to a node in

Deptford,  4 miles (6.5 km) away.  —–  And we were invited to their Gig on the Ship.

When only the weather is fine, it’s nice to be on the ship, you know  😀

And the day was that kind of nice day = (I have a good luck of fine day, when ever  :-))

The Ship, Stubnitz used to be an East German troweler fishing boat,  and when she was

decommissioned, she was converted to a floating art venue 20 years ago.

Being as a German Ship, operated by the German = don’t expect any fancy food  😀

It was their traditional Bokwurst (common sausage) Hot-dog.   (fit to Human consumption :-D)

And the music were pretty cool Jazz Quartet, and then,  German Punk ! 

In fact, it was pretty impressive !  

Punk despise to be serious though, German Punk IS SERIOUS, so serious to be a Punk  !

In the eyes of Zennist, this serious dedication = [Oneness] seemed to be the Zen.

Unfortunately, Dockland area is huge = just walk back to the nearest DLR (Dockland Light

Railway) station took more than 20 min’ still, it wasn’t a bad walk under the moon 😀

Remote corner of London night street doesn’t mean to have robber, mugger or rapist.

(They knows where to look for rich pickings.  Ha ha ha  😀 )

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Ship in a Dock / Stubnitz

I went a Ship moored in the King George V Dock with my friends.

In fact, to see (and hear  🙂 ) a gig performed by German Jazz, and Punk Rock band.

I went there with my Canon 5D Mk2 with only 8-15 Fisheye Zoom since

the other lens is a bit too big and heavy  😀

(Though, some of the picture, the auto-focus was failed)

And some of the photos were taken using LED Ring Light)

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Olympic Opening

The evening before, I asked my neighbor “ Are you going to watch Olympic Opening ?”

as he got fancy satellite receiver and big screen TV.  He said, “may be, but shall we go to a pub to

see it in their big screen”. —– So, we went to a pub round the corner.

This is the first time to go into this pub since I moved to this area 11 years ago.

(As I don’t drink alcohol I rarely go to a pub, except a meeting took place in a pub).

The TV was there though, nobody was watching.  The next day’s news said nearly 27 million

people did watch the Opening program = out of 65 million in the UK = it was far less

than half of the population ! = this is the first fraud, the government and the media

have to juggle 😀  (Instead to say 40%,  27 million sound a lot to the most of the people’s brain)

So-called Democracy is based on the support of the majority = popular support

= populism.  While forcing austere measure to the people, still spending £9.5 billion =

In order to justify its spending,  government had to create an impression

“ Everybody excited and support the Olympic”.

In this populism concept, this Olympic Opening must be the most Politically

loaded and choreographed event in the recent history. (Of cause I don’t know all

the details of another Opening of such as Beijing, Soul, etc —– yet still, most others seemed

to demonstrates the power of the Nation = Government and Military. (such as exactly

synchronized mass demonstration of Martial-art play, performed by the soldiers,

and the mass game of the top beauties gathered from all over the country, kind).

Instead, London Olympic Opening avoided to go this kind, while pretending

GREEN and Politically Correct. = Hence, the people appeared there got to be looks like

just a man or girl next-door, and especially from ethnic minority.

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In this Political Correctness, there was no single Hero to light-up the

Olympic-Flame, but by the group of athletes. —– And the Flame-burner, its

head was a Copper piece brought by each country. (A girl or boy walking with Flag-bearer was

carrying looks like urinal shaped metal piece = it was for this purpose  😀 )

(In certain extent, I think it was a brilliant idea ! = Forget PC blah blah, here 😀 )

—– PS: My friend found the Info’ of the Olympic Flame in this link  —–

http://www.bdonline.co.uk/comment/the-flaming-dandelion/5040489.article#.UBaj-FBTs30.facebook

—– As the Info’ says, the Olympic Flame was built in 10 story mechanism, having more than 200 stems in

8.5m long = it can not be made with rotating shafts but be done only with linear air actuators (like a piston

cylinder to push-up) = still, more than 200 gas pipes, 10 pressurized air pipes crammed into small space,

and they  moves, while carrying combustible gas = what a task !  —– still,  I was surprised to know, it got

16 tons all together ! ? ? ?  —– couldn’t be done in 4 tones size ?

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Yet Populism has to have popular figure = David Beckham, Mr. Bean and James Bond may not

have an argument from the mass audience (along side the inventor of WWW = though how many

people knew his name, and the author of Harry Potter’s ).

And draw the Queen out of her holy residents and made her jump from a chopper

(in fact a stunt-man with Queen’s costume and her mask over his face, doubled her) must be

an Extreme-left-wing  Anarchist’s dream.

Still, it had made only eye-catching stories of the tabloid paper = not fool the population for whole. 

= The unsold empty seats are the evidence. (May needs the same measure of Beijing Olympic to

mobilize local school kids to fill the seats to COVER-UP).

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What-so-ever the COVER-UP story of this country’s history, the fundamental structure were

never touched. = Land owing system, hence the concentration of the wealth.

= Queen as the top landlord, and its status-quo of the Class-system.

Let Tory and Labor fight each other, is the traditional [Divide and Rule] tactics

of the Empire.  Top of the Government = Prime Minister is just a hired manager of the estate

= let him manage the people to keep status-quo in good order, while work hard to produce

enough revenue to run the estate.

If any left-wing dissident became a prominent figure, make him (or her) Sir

(like Bono 😀 ) and integrate into the Imperial SYSTEM.

(like the former director of Liberty, John Wadam is now a part of the establishment, and the

another member of Liberty, Shamira Chakrabarty was carrying the Olympic-flag.   😀

= Honor cost nothing still, the most powerful tool to coax the noisy dissident).

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Organizer might have thought that the approach of Politically correct Populism can give an

illusion of Democracy though, in contrary, it highlighted the deception more. = This irony is

exposed also in the history of the Industrial Revolution = “Where the industry started in this

country has gone ?” —– And the same was repeated again = the WWW was  invented by

Tim Bernard-Lee though, “Where the Industry using WWW, such as Google has gone to ?”

So, it was not the display of the Glorious Briton, but more of the sawer grape of own failures.

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——- So, it was an interesting program or political farce to watch. 😀

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