Monthly Archives: March 2018

Tim Walker’s Talking II

For those people who find themselves struggling through life with little or no support, the ability to enter into compelling self-discussion might just be the saviour.

Talking – whether or not somebody is there to hear it – is regarded as the most efficient means of dealing with hardship; clinical psychologists charge exorbitant fees to essentially sit and listen as their client unloads upon them, sometimes without even needing to offer any form of insight.

This is the beauty of talking; it allows the speaker to hear the issue spoken aloud – instead of bouncing arbitrarily around the inside of their skull – thereby enabling them to perceive it from a variant angle and perhaps with a different outlook to the way they have been viewing it in their head.

In the original ‘Talking’ I postulated that ‘talking to oneself is a sign of active imagination’; now giving strength to this assertion is the fact that, of all the world’s famously habitual self-talkers, I can find none who are/were dullards.

To elaborate, no person who has ever been guilty of merrily mumbling away to nobody in particular has ever seen the world in entirely black and white; thus the minds of self-talkers are not strictly superior but certainly, they are inherently more flamboyant than their dually-conversing counterparts.

2017 saw a number of self-inflicted deaths in the Rock Music Fraternity (RIP Chester Bennington and Chris Cornell) yet nowadays, this kind of revelation is received not so much with shock or a sense of outrage and loss, as it is almost with a feeling of acceptance or resignation, as though the terms ‘rock star’ and ‘suicide’ have become grotesque synonyms.

Today depression or ‘mental illness’ is accepted as an everyday condition but what is furthermore acknowledged is that, ostensibly selective as its debilitating effects may be, it can affect anyone.

Horrifically most people have come to expect that rock stars – indeed musicians in general – are a less stable variety of human and are probably more given to self-harm than other, regular, untalented or generally uninspired, folk; so here’s the thing about that: musicians are artists, developers, creators of passion; developers of beauty – a musician, composer or other artist’s mind is therefore able to perceive things that ‘ordinary’ folk might find difficult to comprehend, meaning they are more susceptible to emotion thus tend to feel things more strongly than others and in most cases they do require the support of frequent communication.

While it is true that an extensively creative mind is vastly different to the mind of one less gifted in this respect, it does not necessarily make them ‘more given to self-harm’; it simply makes them more tender, more able to recognise emotion and yes, it probably does make them somewhat less able to cope with hardship – without the aid of a voice.

Rock’s famed ’27 Club’ boasts names such as Hendrix, Joplin, Morrison, and Cobain (incidentally, all renowned self-talkers); of whom all died in their 28th year and all, presumably, suffering from severe mental illness.

The recent awareness on this topic has gone some way to ‘normalising’ the issue yet, even with as much publicity as there has been including widespread encouragement to ‘talk to someone’, I believe that for a younger mind afflicted by this blanket of gloom with its bleak and perpetually overcast skies, ‘talking to someone’ might still be too far out of reach.

In which case the answer is simple: Talk to Yourself; Listen to Your Issues, Understand Why You’re Hurting, Tell Yourself What You Need.

Be your own best friend because ultimately, no one knows you like you do.

 

 

Article by Tim Walker

Edited by Fey Lin Good

Photography by Torque Power

Tim Walker’s Talking

Whoever first made the assertion ‘Talking to yourself is a sign of insanity’ was likely a small-minded idiot; also probably an ignoramus.

The act of talking to oneself, logically, is less a sign of insanity and more a sign of highly active imagination.

The fact is those who do partake in self-conversation are, generally, not so much talking to themselves as they are conversing with another; it’s just that this other person is technically not present at that time.

Unbeknown to other, regular, normal folk, self-talkers are, generally, opening up a totally new world of imagination – a variant existence if you like – while still having the decency to physically remain in your current world of realism.

Many perceive this pastime of chatting away, ostensibly vacantly, to oneself as nothing short of ‘weird’, ‘unusual’, ‘crazy’ or yes, ‘insane’, but ponder this: how is the act of a person developing their own world of imagination then conversing with the beings therein any different to an idiot teenager becoming immersed in and utterly consumed by his idiot video game?

Alternatively, how is it any different to somebody allowing themselves to become so infatuated with a television rom-com that when their favourite character dies at the end, they break down in tears?

Additionally akin to this comparison are those joyful kinds of people who are seen murmuring song lyrics as music plays in the background; then there’s the 21st century phenomenon of ‘virtual reality’ goggles which, let’s be fair, if someone requires an alternate world to physically be put before their eyes in order for them to see it, they are obviously equipped with a downright insipid imagination.

Imagination is all it ever is and all it ever has been; it’s simply our ability as humans to convince our brains that something we know to be a fabrication is actually real.

There are many people in this world who regularly watch corny movies and find themselves crying uncontrollably, and there are a great many more who regularly allow themselves to become so utterly consumed by video games that they feel the world might end should they step down from their post; no one labels these people ‘insane’ – nobody questions these peoples’ hold on reality.

As a populous we tend to look down on those who ‘talk to themselves’ – or like somebody mindlessly reciting their favourite song to a vacant audience – as though because there is nobody physically able to reciprocate their words, this makes them something less than those partaking in discussion with an actual person.

There should be no reason to ever deride somebody simply for possessing the strength of imagination to create another world from nothing.

These people, these ‘self talkers’ don’t require a video game to see a fabricated reality in their heads, they don’t need a drippy rom-com to incite their emotion, they don’t need music playing to see a line of song lyrics running through their heads and certainly, they do not require virtual reality goggles to see an alternate world played out in their mind’s eye; these people are already transcendent before anything is even put before them.

The next time you witness somebody standing alone, staring into space with lips furiously mumbling in no apparent meaning, don’t judge, don’t be predictable and assume that this person is ‘weird’, or less able to be approached; throw down your proclivity to paste them with a 20th century stigma and just try imagining the world that this brilliant character might be seeing.

Chances are it’s infinitely more exciting than what you’re seeing, anyway.

 

 

Article by Tim Walker

Edited by Sal F Tolker

Photography by Brill Yant-Mind

 

Tim Walker’s Equality

Throughout New Zealand, employment inequality is a fiercely lobbied topic; yet is it even rational to expect equality across all industries?

Men and women are different. This is not disputed and, as far as I can recall, this much has always been true.

New Zealand now has activist groups seemingly dedicated to disproving the above truth; they are trying to establish a variant truth – that aside from their inherent differences men and women are the same.

In my opinion the term ‘gender pay gap’, in reference to the amount of respective remuneration a man and woman receive for performing essentially the same task, is the most nonsensical grammatical institution of the modern world. If a man leaves a particular position of employment which is subsequently taken up by a woman, of course she ought to be paid the same as he was; she’s obviously just as qualified as he was to do the job, therefore the job is being done to a similar level thus the same level of remuneration is obviously required.

Generally, women are equally as capable as men. They are the more delicate, more elegant and generally less robust of the two, yet with experience, most any female can perform most any job of their male counterpart.

Here’s my issue: much as we might hear about certain industries ‘not being well-represented by women’, or how ‘we need to get more women interested in this industry’, sometimes, it’s just not realistic to expect our biologically fairer gender to be interested in particular industries.

A female can work in the male-dominated Forestry industry and…

Providing she is content doing this variety of work, certainly, a female ought to be compensated on a level equal to that of her male colleagues.

A female can work in the male dominated IT industry and…

Providing she is content doing this variety of work, certainly, a female ought to be compensated on a level equal to that of her male colleagues.

A female can work in the male-dominated Heavy Road Transport industry and…

Providing she is content doing this variety of work, certainly, a female ought to be compensated on a level equal to that of her male colleagues.

A female can work in the male-dominated Mechanical Engineering industry and…

Providing she is content doing this variety of work, certainly, a female ought to be compensated on a level equal to that of her male colleagues; as much as the typical Women’s Rights advocate might refuse to admit it the female mind is very different from a male’s, with different likes, dislikes, interests, preferences, passions, repulsions, and such.

…Still, there are women out there who blindly maintain ‘A girl should be able to do anything a boy can do’…

Take a glance over ‘Tim Walker’s Inequality’ (circa September 2015) using the ‘Search’ box at the top right, and see what you reckon about that.

A female can work in the male-dominated Male Erotic Dancing industry and…

 

 

Article by Tim Walker

Edited by Adam N Eve

Photography by E Koala-Tea

 

 

 

Tim Walker’s Procreating

Following the close of New Zealand’s so-called Fertility Week, I am left chewing on two notable points: Women’s fertility is at an all time low; Men’s sperm count has approximately halved over past decades.

Obviously, at least as I see it, this is nature’s way of regulating the planet’s burgeoning population – it makes perfect sense that human fertility should be dropping off at around the same time that Earth’s population is at risk of reaching an unsustainable level – yet the Medical Profession is using science to ensure that any person who does wish to procreate – big or small, young or old, clever or daft, attractive or ill-favoured – is able to do just this.

Forget ‘natural selection’ and ‘survival of the fittest’, as compassionate human beings we seem to uphold the belief that – irrespective of gene quality, physical aptitude, medical history or indeed, basic human goodness; even in this time where it is becoming apparent that the issue of ‘too many people’ is destined to be the downfall of mankind – breeding is still every person’s right..?

For years men’s sperm count has been not only dwindling, those sperm that do remain in existence are becoming progressively lethargic, meaning a swimmer’s chances of coming home to a protein-rich feed of egg are lower today than ever before; add to that, cases of endometriosis – a condition which will likely affect a woman’s ability to reproduce – are at an all time high (further evidence that Mother Nature is crying out for reprieve) yet Medical Science is doing everything in its power – then repeating this act as many times as is necessary – to ensure that every woman, even those clearly fated to never give birth, has the opportunity to make a baby or two.

Surely, as people of the Human Race we have noticed the massive increase in the number of homosexual couples across the world (that’s right folks, ‘homosexual’ denotes male and female), which surely leads us to deduce that the conventional (breeding) pair of man and woman, at least in the eyes of our increasingly conservative Mother Nature, is becoming less conducive to Her future survival; yet bizarrely we now have same-sex couples raising children, which mightn’t actually be so bad if they adopted – of course our selfish human nature won’t stand for that – but ridiculously the majority of modern same-sex couples are out there harvesting sperm and/or eggs then going out and making a brand spanking new, albeit largely artificial, baby.

Additionally confronting is the way that Political Correctness has become such a large part of human breeding; hundreds of years ago the weak or disabled among us were considered inferior, were given less opportunity at life thus were much less likely to procreate than the strong – hence natural selection. Thousands of years ago children born with disabilities or malformations, within a few years of life – sometimes immediately upon birth – were mercilessly sacrificed to the gods, which might also be considered an effective form of selective breeding.

Today, in the animal kingdom, if you are weak, simply, you will not survive. If you are a weak male, unequivocally, you will not breed. This perpetuates a premium lineage, breeding a strong gene-pool, ensuring optimal future success.

Today though we celebrate our lesser-able individuals; we ensure they have every opportunity at life, and of course we encourage breeding regardless of circumstance.

Today we have impoverished African nations where, despite having none of the wherewithal required to raise children, there are mothers who are compelled to continuously add to their brood, and who then despair because they cannot feed their youngest.

Today we have an industry dedicated to curing or mitigating the effects of disease; thus because there are no longer such high numbers succumbing to these terrible illnesses, many of the people who, twenty years ago, would be dead are not, meaning that global turnover – the birth/death ratio inherent to this world’s survival – has been thrown severely out of equilibrium.

Today we have criminals who, upon leaving prison, despite their violent/thieving/abusive/shitheaded histories, seem to have no trouble finding a nicely damaged woman willing to mother their child/ren thus prolonging this toxic gene-pool; as ‘people’ we put so much weight in ‘human rights’, ‘humane treatment of man’, ‘equal rights’ and such, it appears to be a truth that either we are genuinely overlooking or simply we refuse to see, but for some folk, breeding ought to be rendered a physical impossibility.

Today procreation is considered a right that we believe every person on Earth ought to be granted; I believe we ought to take a look around our planet and perhaps rethink that liberty.

 

 

Article by Tim Walker

Edited by Rick Lass Breiding

Photography by Will Callous Awl