Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Very superstitious.

I wouldn't say I'm a superstitious person, those people are stupid. I don't believe that some things mean bad luck; walking under ladders, breaking mirrors, spilling salt etc. However, there are certain things that bring bad luck upon you, for sure. A black cat crossing my path is way too random for it not to mean something. My most firm belief lies within the art of jinxing stuff that you really want to happen. I'm terrible at not jinxing things, which is why I made it my new years resolution. It is not going well. At all.

I have a couple of weird superstitions as well. For instance, I think it's bad luck fastening your seat-belt on an airplane. That's a really stupid one, right? You know what else is stupid? Not realizing that commercial airplanes are a relatively new invention. Hence, giving people the illusion of safety is still really important. Not a lot of people our age are afraid of flying, since we know that the million gadgets on an airplane have been checked a million times by people a million times smarter than us. However, airlines don't make their money off people like us, who pay 400 dollars for a round-trip ticket to New York. They make their money off our parents and grand-parents, who pay 1000+. People that age wouldn't fucking set foot on an airplane, unless there was a seat-belt.

Here's what I'm thinking. In terms of velocity, an airplane finds itself in four general situations:

1. Standing still
2. Going at slow speed(Backing out of the hangar etc)
3. Going at moderate speed(Take-off and Landing)
4. High speed(Mid-air)

1: The only things that could injure a passenger during this state, would be another plane crashing into the plane I'm in, or maybe an explosion. At what point during those scenarios is the 3-inch textile-strap going to do anything for me?

2 and 3: I think these two scenarios would occur in the same manner as a car crash. The natural outcome of a car crash(if you're not wearing a seat-belt) is being thrown out through the windshield, since there is no force to drive your body upwards, only forward. I don't think you've heard of anyone who has been in a car crash and have been thrown out through the roof. The same thing would happen in an airplane. If you're going at a slow/moderate speed, you would be jolted forward. This is were the airplane-seatbelts become pointless. Since airplanes don't have three-point seat belts(Swedish invention, thank you), your lower body will be strapped down, but your upper body will still be jolted forwards. Ergo, you will smash your fucking face against the seat in front of you, whether you're wearing a seatbelt or not.

4. You are going at a speed of like 600 mph. If you have a mid-air collision or crash, that thing is going to be about as useful as a combination between a Snickers-bar, a hockey-stick and a pair of dirty underwear from one of the former members of The Ramones.

Of course, I base these theories on absolutely nothing, it's just what I'm thinking. I'm not saying that people shouldn't wear seat belts on airplanes. I'm just trying to justify me being superstitious and a general fool.

Pictures from all the mayhem in Sweden are coming on Thursday. I have a shoot tomorrow, keep your fingers crossed, people.

// R

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