I completed a 365 ‘photo a day’ project last year largely because of how much I enjoyed looking through my 365 album from 2008. It’s not just a collection of photos, but a collection of memories. A visual diary of a year of my life. I recommend the exercise. Last year was a remarkable year. And a tragic year for many. The photo above was taken exactly a year ago today, along Bournemouth’s seafront. The photo on the previous day was taken just a few metres away. The biggest difference between the two photos was an event thousands of miles away. Covid had claimed another victim. A victim close to home in the figurative rather than literal sense. The second victim in a matter of days.
A year on, and I am amazed at the conversations, talking points and opinions that are commonplace online and offline. We have two pandemics for the price of one. The novel coronavirus rages across the entire world, accompanied by a pandemic of misinformation. Half truths and lies, statements without context, omissions of vital data and general pedalling of propaganda for profit. It’s not just the howl at the moon antivaxxers like Robert Malone (who didn’t invent mRNA tech) and RFK Jr. More sedate commentary from the likes of Dr John Campbell of YouTube fame is also filled with conspiracy theorist drivel.
I fear we are yet to discover which pandemic will cause greatest long term harm.
The Mexile 
As I was saying to Dr. Fry a few moments ago, the Yellow Journalism of our history books was not much different from today’s drivel but as in that era, there is just as much more serious journalism to be consumed. In the end, the boneheads will have effect but the truth will win the day-I can’t see it any other way.
And Yes, old photos are the bomb. A young women I know posted a photo/happy birthday greeting yesterday of her friend from when they were teens. In the photo they are looking at photos I took and had extras made for their collections, the delivery packet in hand . I had put a copy of that photo of my young friends looking at my work on Facebook some eight years ago and it was an old photo then-yeah, old photos are the bomb, Gary .
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There is indeed plenty of decent journalism still to be read. Almost all of it comes from the ‘Mainstream Media’. The final version of the story, of any story, is one’s own interpretation of the information available. Which is as it should be. But quite an industry has been built up around what people want to hear, to provide a service which is specifically anti-reality by nature. Joe Rogan, for example. I suppose it is unsurprising that the dimwits of society, the likes of the Patzcuaro chapter of the KKK, have provided such lamentable opinions during the pandemic. It is rather disappointing, though, that plenty of brighter folk have gotten sucked into a low IQ world.
I gave up on Flickr when they doubled the subscription price and froze my account. It still sits there, none of the photos deleted, thanks to a decision I took from the start – I set all my photos on a generous Creative Commons license. These days all my snaps are in Apple Photos, a private account. But it’s great to look back through old albums on my TV through my Apple TV box.
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I have my own daily photo project. I snap along my daily walks and put them on My Story on Facebook. They last for 24 hours. Just about as long as most of my memories do. It is a perfect fit.
And what is this covid of which you speak? I guess I have never heard of it — or, better, thought of it.
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Today, Steve, our Plan B restrictions have been removed. There are no longer any travel restrictions is place, no testing is required by HM Government. We are, pretty much, back to normal. The government have declared the U.K. franchise of the Covid World Tour Inc, to be over. Of course, the virus itself is the ultimate decision maker. But I am hopeful…
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The only response I give to anyone who tries to give me the anti-vax party platform is this: no matter what you want to believe in or like, from ice cream to paedophilia, you can find someone praising the benefits of it, and spouting statistics to back themselves up.
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They’ve become quite religious in their fervour, the antivaxxers. It is genuinely a mental illness.
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No contest as to which one of the pandemics will cause the most harm.
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Mine was a slightly flippant comment, at the end of the post. But I’ve since been pondering your reply. I could make a reasonable argument for either case. But I wouldn’t want to be asked to prove it. I could do so with the advantage that I hadn’t set the rules to start with and am now free to make them up as I go along. Let’s set the timeframe to ‘ever’ and throw in the book Malleus Maleficarum and Georges Dairnvaell’s letter about the Rothchilds, to support the misinformation argument. Both of which were arguably key in sending millions to their deaths. But anyway, how do we even begin to adequately measure ‘harm‘?
But it’s hard to see misinformation being even competitive over an even timeframe. We’re at possibly over 20 million deaths? That’s quite something.
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