Poison Coffee
The meme for blind faith secures its own perpetuation by the simple unconscious expedient of discouraging rational inquiry.—Richard Dawkins
[one_half padding=”4px 10px 0 4px”]Welcome to meme week! Sort of. I have this well-engrained habit of taking pictures that leave room for copy (those are the words in an advertisement). Almost every set I shoot has a couple of images that leave that kind of space. So, I thought we’d play with that a little bit this week.
In the most strict sense of the word, what we’re presenting this week probably falls short of actually being a meme. You see, we have British biologist Richard Dawkins to thank for putting the concept of meme into the public lexicon. The definition he was using, though, had nothing to do with silly pictures or the Internet. He coined the word in 1976. There was no Internet. Rather, he was using a definition more like this:
a cultural item that is transmitted by repetition and replication in a manner analogous to the biological transmission of genes.
For something to actually be a meme, it has to spread, such as from parent to children, President to citizens, teacher to students, or pastor to congregation. The presumption is that for a meme to spread, there must be some value to the idea or concept, something that make it worth sharing.[/one_half]
[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 10px”]Nothing we’re going to share with you this week is that heavy. I’m not going to pretend that any of our photos this week have an ounce of actual value to them. Instead, what we have here more falls in line with the Urban Dictionary’s definition:
Used to give a bit of pseudo-academic gravitas to stupid viral shit.
I’m not even going to claim that any of this week’s photos are funny. Funny wasn’t what we wanted. Instead, we went for things more along the line of insulting (such as today’s), egotistical, and sexually inappropriate. If my read of the Internet is correct, those factors should make them immensely popular.
But that works only if you share them. And since we’ve disabled right clicks on this page, you’ll need to share the whole post, not just the picture. If you don’t share them, then all we have are pictures with bad copy on them. You’ll find the social media sharing icons below each post, or if you came from Facebook, you can share the link there. The success or failure of this week lies in your hands.
Yes, I’m very frightened.[/one_half_last]
The Joys of Coffee
At The Coffee Shop (2011)
If it wasn’t for the coffee, I’d have no identifiable personality whatsoever. -David Letterman
[one_half padding=”4px 8px 0 4px”]Yes, I’m well aware that today is Mother’s Day in the US and yes I’ve shot enough mothers and children to have given that the theme for the whole week. That’s rather crowded territory today, though, and if you’re sitting on your computer or mobile device reading this then you’re obviously not spending time with your mother, for reasons we won’t discuss, so we decided to go a very different direction for this week and talk about something that is near and dear to my own heart: Coffee.
I have been drinking coffee since I was 14. Granted, I didn’t drink as much of it then as I do now, and I tended to dump loads of sugar and milk in it until Poppa caught me and said if I were going to drink the stuff I had to drink it straight. I think he was hoping that would put me off and that I’d stop, but it didn’t. I learned to drink it black and enjoy the flavor of the bean itself, not all the flavor and garbage dumped on top. To this day, I fail to understand the fascination with lattes and cappuccinos and other fancy coffee-based drinks. I suppose there’s nothing wrong if you really like all that sweetness and confection actually in your coffee. I prefer my coffee black, a bold roast if you please, something of moderate acidity.
Coffee drinking has taken a lot of heat over the years (pardon the pun). I was told it would stunt my growth, that it would damage my kidneys, and that it could lead to more dangerous addictions (yes, a dear old church lady actually told me that). Some religions forbid the drinking of coffee because of its caffeine (they’d rather their members not be too alert). Like anything else we try to enjoy, there’s always someone right there waiting to tell us we shouldn’t. We tend to ignore those people.[/one_half]
[one_half_last padding=”4px 4px 0 8px”]Instead, we prefer to consider facts that say things like:
What may be most compelling about coffee in today’s society, though, is its qualities as an object of social construct. Coffee shops have become the meeting place for everything from first dates to important business meetings. Today’s picture, made somewhat humorous by the expressions on the men’s faces, is an example of coffee’s social attraction. A large storm had just swept through the area, flooding streets and knocking out power. Anyone in the neighborhood when the storm hit was just stuck. There was no getting out. Where did they go? The coffee shop. Their large carafes of coffee were already full and an honor box let patrons pay without needing a cash register. The coffee shop offered comfort, safety, friendship. and a place to pretend to get work done.
So here’s to coffee, the good and bad and everything else we’ll talk about this week. Now, put down your phone and go talk to your mother. Maybe over a cup of coffee.[/one_half_last]
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