hmmm...I have been active (no longer) on Bonsai discussion forums since typing on keyboards was done in DOS. The same arguments, and the same rhetoric has been discussed ad nauseum. I check in here from time to time, maybe two or three times a month. Last week, my name was spoken in vain several times. To that end, I have always been active in discussion forums that serve a useful purpose, much like a hands on workshop. the internet could be used for that purpose. I feel that it should be imperative that forums hold people accountable for the rhetoric the espouse. If you go into a bar and shoot your mouth off, you better be prepared to take care of yourself. I find a place like this much the same.
For instance, meaning no disrespect, in just the last several paragraphs A chap from the Netherlands seems to have a lot of disparaging comments about Americans weight, their colleges, not being woke enough and many other things. So what to do, I clicked on his name. Looked at every post made on the forum, skimmed a lot, so may have missed a tree in there, but from what I could see, there is not a bonsai in the bunch. All I saw was a couple flats of azalea's in 4 inch; sorry 10 cm cups. So....from my point of view, and decades on a forum specifically for bonsai, not politics, I read a lot of politics and nothing useful to do with bonsai?
Leatherback felt it would be a pissing match to post up your five best trees. I agree. If done in a pissing match setting, you would be correct. So I implore everyone here to add some content behind their name and start your own media, your own photo gallery. Words mean things. When there is nothing to back them up, your words mean nothing. You want to be on a BONSAI discussion forum, then be proud of your work, post up your own gallery and explain why you think its worthy. Discussion about when to shut up will solve itself when we can go to your page and see what your worth when it comes to working with your hands and manipulating Nature. Its not easy, nor is it cheap. I think most people can look at a tree and tell how long they been working on it. Hell post a before and after of your three best and explain how long you been working on it. I hope something positive can come from this, because all of my friends are no longer here, and I left way before they did so it wasn't me that drove them off. Somehow, I feel that my departure here should have made things better, but currently not much bonsai is discussed here*.
* What do I mean by "bonsai", the taking of material and transforming it over a number of years with photo documentation of the journey. Real tree work, not asking stupid questions that could be answered with a few keystrokes on wikipedia. There are always going to be stupid questions as long as humans are involved, but a place like this should be 80 percent useful bonsai work and 20 percent stupid shit. I have about twenty boxes of magazines in my garage, the whole collection of Bonsai Today, the whole collection of Bonsai Europe/Focus and most of International Bonsai.** They were the crowning jewel of bonsai learning as Rock illuded to 40+ years ago. Magazines are all but gone today due to the internet. Much like the porn industry and newspapers in general. You young people are the future of bonsai and what will set the mood for the future. Not old guys like me and Adair. You guys you should be talking about how many branches you cut today rather than have to explain what the meaning of "WOKE" is. Wake up!!!!
** I'll take two hundred for all the magazines, shipping on you.
Edit:
This is exactly why you should post your trees. Talk is cheap! Remove all doubt.
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