Inhabitants of a Perpendicular Plane by Chipka
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Description
Ghosts are such strange creatures; thinking about them makes me come up with long, artsy titles for images. Ghosts, in the twenty-first century, are a digital phenomenon. Ectoplasm and remote astral planes are a thing of the past and the new otherworldly milieu has more to do with radio frequencies and the wavelengths of quantifiable energies. The cyberspace plane seems to exist...well...perpendicular to the analog plane, with interface nodes embedded in every active computer chip.
Ghosts—in the twenty-first century—are known to dwell in coffee-houses rather than abandoned places. They linger, as artwork on walls, and beam themselves from the liquid crystal display screens of laptop computers, notebooks, and even the rude little rectangles of smart-phone displays. They spew from radio speakers tuned not to local radio frequencies, but to microwave beams spat down by orbiting satellites. Commercial-free digital radio, is—perhaps—the newest, form of digital ghost: second only to the most popular of all…the Facebook Friend.
Facebook friends are—beyond dispute—my favorite form of ghost. I have hundreds of them: some of whom I’ve had little contact with, or none at all since our initial flesh-space meetings. Other digital ghosts exist as well: Renderosity friends, Email friends, ICQ chat buddies (Or QIP chat buddies if those particular ghosts make use of Russian internet protocols.) The list goes on.
The funny thing about ghosts is the inaccuracy of the term. As ghost often implies one who has passed on, perhaps the more accurate term should be waif as waifs are—sometimes—recognized as ghosts of those who remain quite-adamantly alive. I have many waifs and I enjoy sporadic contact with nearly all of them. The aforementioned Facebook Friends are sometimes harder to maintain contact with, as interactions are sometimes reduced to little more than status updates and Farmville notices. I had no idea there were so many digital cows in cyberspace. Do digital cows produce digital methane?
Anyway, I thought of ghosts as I sat, interacting with ghosts, in a coffee-house filled with other people interacting with ghosts. It’s a friendly coffee-house, a place where face-to face analog conversations are possible. Indeed, familiar strangers often smile at each other and communicate in other subtle, non-verbal ways. I suspect that after enough visits, the familiar strangers I often see might become face-to-face friends, and eventually…Facebook Friends as our lives invariably take us into different and remote physical locations.
The funny thing about Facebook Friends and Renderosity Friends for that matter, is that they are all real and in many cases, a physical presence. I can read notices on Facebook, or comments on Renderoisty, and I can hear various voices in my mind. I find it absolutely amazing that the simple acronym "LOL" conjures the sound of either a giggle or a belly-laugh, depending on whether or not the letters are lower case or capitalized, in straight-type font, or italicized. I find it amazing that a digital ghost begins to take on the qualities of its flesh-space counterpart, once that ghost has entered into my mind. I like that, and I wonder what brave new (very human) world lies ahead. I also wonder if some of the coffee-house strangers I see on a weekly basis will become Facebook friends, and if LOL will reveal echoes of their laughter in my brain.
As I thought of ghosts and coffee-houses, I snapped this picture. In thinking of a different sort of ghost, I played with postwork. Kafka—a literary sort of ghost—occupied my mind as I worked, and so given the nature of my ruminations, I conjured him and found that his presence in this image is deliciously…um…haunting!
As always, thank you for viewing, reading, and commenting, and I hope you’re all having a great week.
Comments (30)
jocko500
I guess you think of me sounding like a cajun that have bad english and can not talk cajun lol ...ghost we are and where ywe go to also. anyway a wonderful thought and image to go with it
lucindawind
you are fascinating ! I love reading what you have to say always ..this was especially well done
NefariousDrO
I'm always fascinated by your perceptions and ruminations on the world around you. Like any true artist you see this universe in a slightly different way than the one we take for granted. Perhaps the plane of your existence is also tilted ever so slightly from the one we know? In any case, we're seeing that universe in a slightly different way after reading this, and imagining the disembodied presences of our digital friends as they move about in their universe, connected to ours, yet somehow a little independent from it, too.
MrsRatbag
A very Chip-esque image and rumination; I love reading how you see the world!
Ilona-Krijgsman
You are so talented with your art....always a nice image that goes with your story.....but also your writings...this story fascinated me...Ghosts....o yes allot of them swirls on the web.....Ghosts comes and goes....but for me I am better of with less Ghosts....sure I have some nice friends...but digital friends are different then real friends...I met some in person, then you get a better view how a person is....O yes Ghosts...I hope I will meet my mother in spirit life
geirla
Great insights. I don't see such "friends" as "ghosts", but more like "voices". But that could be the medication in need of adjustment...
jac204
Great image and narrative.
Orinoor
Wow, kind of gave my goosebumps reading that and looking at the image again. Either that, or I've got the air conditioning on too high again. LOL! Fantastic writing or narrative as jac204 calls it. Really made me stop and just follow your voice.
zoren
as a fellow 'ghost', I suddenly have an urge to say, BOO! :-) great photo!
auntietk
When I first started talking to people on the internet I thought of them as imaginary friends. People I could talk to and who would talk back to me, but I couldn't see them, and nobody else in the "real" world could see them either! Some of my imaginary friends have become quite real (like a certain highly talented writer in Chicago), and some of my real life friends have disappeared. Now I ask you ... how does one tell which is which?
kgb224
Stunning capture my friend.
helanker
Yes! Who else that you would call us ghosts? What a fascinating thought just to ust that thought and I think, I see what you mean. It is such fascinating way of thinking. These fantasy stores or rather thoughts are making your posts so much more exiting. I enjoy when you let your imagination free. LOL!
Meisiekind
Kafka was the first I noticed when I opened the image! WOW - what a wonderful piece of art Chip! I love your sentiments in the narrative too! Wonderful and entertaining as always!
bclaytonphoto
Everything just fits in this one
njb2000
Great looking image lovely narrative of history and communication! From my own point of view I live in an area which has a ghost village the Post office was the last to go and the church fell down with the famine, now holiday homes sit like ghosts with nobody in them, the old village road is only walked on by ramblers. Communications have changed, I cant imagine having a game of correspondence chess whilst informing your friends of your latest holiday. I now have social friends for eating drinking and partying and correspondent friend who share similar interests!
durleybeachbum
Called me old-fashioned (again), butI don't 'GET' the so called friends thingey on internet sites! It seeme to have no function whatsoever, even on here! But we certainly do have real friends online, the people who communicate with each other on a regular basis as here on RR. There is a school of thought that says a true friend is one who will hold your head over the bowl while you vomit, and wipe your backside for you if you have broken both arms. I thoroughly enjoyed your ramblings on this subject, and the image is a masterpiece!
flavia49
splendid image and awesome thoughts!
aksirp
greetings from a ghost friend anywhere in the cyberspace...:) this pic show very clear what about you think - very impressive - the young man and the world behind and around him, and i like very much the postwork you done! (sorry for mistakes in text or grammaire..)
MagikUnicorn
Gorgeous!!
Sepiasiren
terrific capture and treatment--as for ghosts--well...lets just say I never met one i liked--lol...
sandra46
absolutely wonderful remarks about e-ghosts! Am I dreaming or I can see Kafka in one of the pictures on the wall? superb postwork as usual!
MOSKETON
muy buen trabajo.
myrrhluz
I read this with much interest as I have thought about this often too. The relationships that people form or don't form, the reasons that they form them, or not, are so complicated and erratic. In some ways the face to face friendships are obviously more complete. You are going on your observation as well as the information given. Ghost friends supply most of the information, though some extrapolation from it is possible. Yet in other ways, friends who write, often share more deeply into what they are thinking. That's what writing is after all. There have been times when I have had issues with loved ones that were not addressed, perhaps not even understood, until they were written in a letter. Afterwards, there were long discussions, but the letter came first. Perhaps it is a quality of being an introvert that makes it easier to first broach something in a letter, or maybe it is the ability to get it all said without interruption and loss of train of thought. I'm rambling now and Rotella just climbed onto my chest and butted me in the nose with her forehead, so I'll quit. Very thought provoking and fascinating narrative. Excellent image and postwork. The young man is perfect for your narrative as he seems wrapped into his laptop. I love the texturing and that there is a big splat of it right over Kafka.
beachzz
I love your take on ghosts. I have lots of ghosts in my life, and each and every one is special. Some I've met face to face, others are out there in cyber land. But they're as real as if we were sitting in this coffee house, sharing conversation and coffee. Great shot here, and of course Kafka is right at home!!
lick.a.witch
In all honesty, I've never thought anything other that there is someone else, in person, either speaking directly to me, or typing a mail to me, via an electronic connection. I have, however, had a number of actual ghost experiences. There is actually a published book with mention of one of them! ^=^ This image is simply fabulous! ^=^
sawade
Hi Chip, from time to time I look in your gallery and found today this gem of postworked, good photograph, (and Kafka is always there, smile), all the best, Bernd
minos_6
There are some of my Facebook friends that I never hear from too (perhaps an occasional "poke"!). As I was reading your text, it made me think of you in the context of your own words. Did you realise that in my head you have a British accent???? This is a very nicely framed image, and your post work is excellent! I love the bleached out look of this with the monochrome, and just a splash of colour warmth for the web surfer. Very nicely observed, post worked and a gripping read as always to accompany it!
gonedigital
So well said my friend! lol I often wonder if we have cyberdopplegangers somewhere hanging out in the digital universe talking and laughing and wondering about us "fleshies". Well done. =-) Have a wonderful weekend.
Charberry
I agree ghosts can be many things, not necessarily of those departed. It seems a spiritual thing each of us may view differently. It is strange you mentioned all of this just now, and as my sister and I were having this conversation about something else, but it was a mysterious claim by the inventor. Look up "chronovisor" on the Internet, and you will see what that subject was about. If possible to do that kind of thing, so many ghosts may come alive. It stirs the imagination almost too much.
nikolais
wonderful pair!