Rob, Keith,
Go back a few years snd read some of the old threads. It wasn’t politics, more current affairs - everything from hi-fi , wine, the Canadian health service and more. In fact some of the biggest (and more entertaining) bust-ups were both pro and photography related.
I won’t even mention the threads on RAW V DNG.
Good old days , when humour wasn’t drowned in male testosterone.
But hey, there are no more current affairs other than stupidly oversized cruise ships causing mayhem in Venice. Gone are the juicy days of Profumo, Mandy Rice-Davies and the rather exquisite Christine Keeler (who has a dam named after her - I think) and in their place just sordid politicians playing the main chance; the delightful peccadillos of the past have become venal and devoid of the saving glimmer of exoticism. I blame the music.
Pro photography is fading into the rarified stratosphere within which few of us have the lungs to breath; what's there to say about the high street guys that you want to know? I'd rather just shoot more dirty windows - or even wash them.
You mentioned hi-fi: I don't even use my system anymore. The most interaction comes when I have to dust it. My music is all iPad and earphones, and so much more varied and convenient: I can even listen having lunch somewhere just as long as the place is wi-fi alive (or weefee, as it's called here). Wine: love it, but it's now out of bounds after a single glass of red per day. As I only have one meal per day, and only home-cook once a week, I have abandoned buying wine for the home, and have started to buy six-packs of San Miguel instead, as they don't go off in the manner that does wine when you open it and use but a glass a week! And I don't even
like beer. But with my cooking, I need something drastic to wash it down.
Don't recall anything old about the Canadian Health Service, but that must have been political too, surely?
Really, I do believe that the trouble is that the newness has gone, and there's not a lot to replace it. I can remember being absolutely thrilled at being able to chat with somebody in Australia, America of South Arfica as if they were next door, all within the space of ten minutes and get replies, too. Today, who's impresed by any of that? And I think that lack of amazement leads to stagnation.