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The Purge 2

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Edited by Aideen Devine, Monday, 5 June 2017, 20:04

As the purge continues, a friend asked if I had cleared out my attic yet, which I hadn’t because I didn’t think there was much up there.  Then I thought, I better check it out, just in case.  So, up I went last night and lo and behold, I forgot, I had packed up all my videos and put them away;  3 boxes of them.

I packed them away when I started buying dvd’s, which of course, came out to replace the videos.   I had a quick look through them and pulled out a few that I really couldn’t part with, at least not yet; a special edition, 3 video, Star Wars collection, a collector’s edition of Close Encounters and Whitesnake Trilogy.  This has to be one of the most played video’s of all time and holds many happy memories for me of my cousin Marcy and his friends coming over to watch it, rewinding it and watching it, over and over again.  They were really in to the music and it had nothing to do with a half-naked and very sexy Tawny Kitaen, somersaulting and dancing around.  The video player was still there too but I think I’ll hold on to it for a while yet because it still works.

So, tomorrow the rest of them go to the dump.  They would have gone tonight only I left it too late and it was closed.  When I took them down last night, I remember how pissed off I was when dvd’s came out and video became consigned to history.  I had spent good money buying them and now I had to buy them again on dvd.  Then dvd’s turned to blu-ray, but I absolutely refused to buy in to that one. 

When my son was home last year before he headed off again on his travels, he kept on at me to get an online subscription for movies.  I point blank refused because I had paid for these movies now twice over, some 3 times if you count watching them in the cinema, and there was no way I was paying for them again.

The first cd I bought is now unplayable, and we were told when them came out that they would last forever and were virtually indestructible.  Now, I know several people who got rid of their albums, and as far as I recall, I think Virgin did offer some sort of discount on cd’s when you brought in your albums in exchange.  I got that first cd in 1992, so your cd’s if looked after, they probably have a shelf life of about 25 years. 

Funnily enough, I never got rid of my albums.  For a start, they had cost too much and there was no way I was throwing away something like Dark Side of the Moon.  I have about 50 in all, and they haven’t been played in years, basically because they stopped making turntables but now they’re back, just like the vinyl is coming back too!   So, now you can buy them all over again!

It’s a rat trap people and we have been conned!  And that is why I’m not spending money again on movies or anything else. 

It’s like the water charges they tried to bring in to Ireland and which, if the Tories get back in, they will try and bring in here.  I know water is already metered in Britain, but people this is a con.  Water falls free from the sky and the amount of water on earth is a constant and has remained the same for several million years.   The water goes down the drain, out into the rivers and seas, is evaporated upwards and turns into clouds which then drop it all back down as rain.  I know this is a simplified version of the process but that’s basically what happens.  So, as that water keeps being recycled back to us by nature and the water board, at what point are you paying for the same pint of water again and again.  Now, there is a case for putting a charge on for the maintenance of pipework and the managing of waste but there is no case for charging for the actual water itself.  It’s another con… 

(I've put a couple of links below as someone remarked recently about references, I didn't realise I was being assessed, I thought I was just having a bit of a rant, but there you go...so here they are, in case you don't believe me)

https://water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycle.html

https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/questions/earths-total-water-finite

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Weddin

The Purge

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Edited by Aideen Devine, Sunday, 11 Oct 2020, 09:29

I’ve grown tired of the noise of modern life.  Not just noise in the literal sense, but in the metaphorical sense too, the visual ‘noise’ and the ‘noise’ of stuff that seems to be clogging up my life.  The audio pollution seems relentless.   I try not to listen to anything more than I have too.  I had stopped watching the news and I’ve stopped listening to the radio in the morning because I just can’t stand the daily drivel as I drive to work.  And there’s another thing that gets on my nerves, the over the top dramatics of everything, the news, interviews, even quiz shows.  You can’t get a straight answer anymore, there has to be a dramatic pause before everything.  I used to enjoy quizzes but the minute the dramatic pause starts, I turn over or as it is now, turn off.  Which explains why my TV watching is down to 3 shows, The Good Fight, the Grand Prix and Gardener’s World.  Monty Don on a Friday night is the most chilled out moment of my week.  Yes, I know how sad that sounds!  

The sound of silence is seriously under- appreciated and it’s only when you try to find a silent moment that you realise, silence is almost impossible to achieve.  Even when there is no one around, there is still the background noise of cars in the distance or planes passing overhead.  Even at the top of Gortin Glen, you can still hear the distant drone of traffic.

So, I’ve been cutting back and cutting out a lot of stuff recently, I’ve also cut back on my time online, again the ‘noise’ of constant advertising driving me away.   

I’ve been having a bit of a clear out too.  As well as trying to get rid of the audio and visual pollution, I’ve been clearing out my ‘stuff’ as well.  Actually, it’s been less of a clear out and more of a purge, getting rid of all the old stuff that has been clogging up my life and my house.  There is just too much of everything and I feel overwhelmed by it.  Too many clothes, shoes, books, creams, jewellery and all the other useless stuff I have accumulated in pursuit of…I don’t even know?   What is the point of it all?  I mean, what is it all for?  I’ve also found, the more I get rid of, the more I want to get rid of, so I’m still purging. Minimalism here I come..

I’ve also called a halt to all spending.   It’s part of my life plan to try and bring capitalism down by not spending my hard-earned on anything other than the absolute necessities, like food.  So, I’ve set myself a weekly budget of £40, £20 for diesel (I need to travel to work, although I’m looking for something closer to home) and £20 for food, which is doable when you live alone.  I don’t have much debt and I’ll be rid of most of it within 20 weeks or less, although there is one loan that will run until next year, unless I get lucky and get a lift of money from somewhere. 

I was discussing the accumulation of stuff a few months ago with a good friend of mine and he recommended a great documentary called The Century of the Self.  It’s available to watch for free online, and was made by the BBC.  I highly recommend it.  It explains how government and business have basically being doing their level best to brainwash us all.  And they’ve been pretty successful at it too, I have to say.  We have moved from the concerns of the collective, to the promotion of the individual over all others.  It’s basically, divide and conquer by another name.  We’ve been encouraged to put our own individual needs, over the needs of the greater good.  Where we used to have neighbours, now we have competitors in the race to have and to own; better job, bigger house, fancier car, more stuff and more stuff and more... etc, etc. 

And what is all the spending for?  Profits, for the corporations.  The wars and misery in the world today are driven by profit for the few at the expense of the many.  The pursuit of money is a poison for humanity and the planet.  It has caused the most horrific damage, pain, death and suffering to the world and its inhabitants since its invention.  If we got rid of money tomorrow and instead started living by the maxim,’ everyone taken care of’, the world would become a very different place.  All we need is the will to do it…  To be continued

As always, comments are welcome..


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