selfies

My, What a Wide Tie You Have On

mikemjensen Life's Truths Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Hey Kids,

I hate looking at old pictures. Actually, I hate looking at me in old pictures. I wonder what I was thinking, and what was I wearing?pastphoto

At the time of the picture taking, I’m sure I thought I looked great with that haircut. My clothes, of course, would never be consciously thought of as embarrassing. The bell bottoms, the mullets, or the wide flared collars were, in their time, cool.

Yet if I took a picture of me today, I would assume I have moved past all those “childish” fashions. I now look as good as I have and ever could be. The thought that today’s photo would ever look out of style is not possible. And yet it will be. It always ends up that way. It could be a simple as the photo’s quality when compared to what it might be in 5 years from now. Or 10. Or 20.

And there lies the fallacy of every generation: the idea that the present is permanent.

It’s not.

The styles are changing. The materials are changing. The technology is changing. The style of things we use is changing. The phones, the media, the foods, the fuels, the attitudes, the beliefs, the understandings, the climate, the earth, and our language; are all changing.

It’s ok. It’s how we progress.

The problems comes when we hang onto the present as if it’s the only way. Or when we decide that the new generation will never survive itself. Or when we long for the past so much, we can ignore the future.

The only thing that doesn’t change is the past and the resurfacing of those damn embarrassing photos.

 

Post 3-096

Selfie, No Selfie

mikemjensen Life's Truths, Vanity Tags: , Leave a comment

Selfie1Hey Kids,

I don’t care for the term “selfie”; it’s too broad and vague in its use. I propose that there be a differential between a selfie and a self-portrait.

A selfie looks like this:mona-lisa-selfie

A selfie is self-serving. As in one is promoting them self. Lips pursed, puckered, or pressed in an odd manner to enlist, I imagine, thoughts of “I’m only looking this way so that if you think it’s stupid, that’s what I intended, but then again, if you find it hot and if you play it right, this sexy duck face could be yours.”

A self-portrait is like this:426659_392318984214561_93294153_n

It’s because there wasn’t anyone else around to take the picture. Or just fun to cram together and get the thing you want in the background in the background.

I like to take self-portraits of my baby and me doing things we love to do. It’s our chronicle, our proof. (If there’s no pictures, it didn’t happen.) We like to share our adventures and the pictures that people seem to like the most are the ones that we’re in.

The fact is that pictures are much more interesting when there are people in them. We focus on the people way more than mountains, rivers, and vistas. When you see a fellow human being in a picture, the question that usually follows is “Who’s that?” Rare is the question inquiring about the landscape. (BTW- It’s Bryce Canyon)

I hate that what we do is confused with the inane image of what people think when they say, “He took another selfie and posted it on Facebook.”

Trust me, it don’t look pretty when I pucker like a waterfowl.

 

Day 36