Ted's Q & A.

[firkin@netconnect.com.au (Alastair Firkin)]

> 3/ What enlightment do you have after being engaged in the works at
> the "killing fields?" How do you feel about the future of mankind?

- - The killing fields, and every act of brutality are an indication that man
is no different from every other species in having scant regard for his own
kind or other creatures. Man has just become more adept and efficient at
killing. I cannot see man lasting forever as he exists today. Viruses
replicate too quickly and mutate so often, that the simple scientific
research efforts of man will not stop the development of successful
strains. AIDS is the tip of a viral iceberg, which will help cull mankind
before his numbers so pollute the earth that there is no future for it.
After this, we will become less "international" and more tribal, living in
smaller more manageable pockets of society. The transition will be tough
and my genes will not be there to see it.

> 6/ How important is the art of photography in today's society?

- - I like the idea that true art will last. The music of J S Bach is one
example. I like the answer given to the question of what we should send
into the space to represent the earth. "The entire works of JSB ......No on
reflection, that would be bragging."

> 7/ Will conventional photography gradually be phased out by the modern
> electronic equipment and video-cameras?

- - When a really appealing and convenient alternative to vinyl records
appeared, they died faster than anyone could have predicted. We live in a
world were the availability of things depends solely on sales. If the
public see a "better" alternative, film based photography will "fade".

> 8/ What are your re-actions to the paparazzi of this past incident?

- - Too much said already. The media has created a "Princess" who sadly
turned out to be very human, and was unable to live in the "inspection-pit"
the world created for her. The pressures of that life brought her's to an
end.

Alastair Firkin,

http://users.netconnect.com.au/~firkin/AGFhmpg.html