KidKruger Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 When I was I was an apprentice commercial photographer we used a Sinar monorail plate camera for advertising shots, typically 5" x 7" trannys, but sometimes up to 8"x 10". It was worth a fair bit and the Schneider lenses we used for it it were expensive too. Once, while working from the roof of a building opposite a hotel I was shooting, I looked down at the 3-4 storey drop to the ground and had an urge to drop the entire camera set-up off the top, just to see it smash to bits way down below.I didn't do it, but hell it would have felt good and I didn't care why.It would have been tough trying to do the same quality of work on the Hasselblads which were only 2.25" square image, if I'd bust the Sinar set.Some time later I confessed my urge to my photographer guru boss, he said this is called 'Imp of the Perverse'.EVER had such an urge - and DID you follow through ?I've has similar with 5L can of paint and new carpet laid in house. Mine seem to have been about destroying something valuable or smart, perhaps yours have a pattern too. Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/24544-imp-of-the-perverse/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Pibe Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 'Imp of the Peverse'Love it.I do get 'the printer scene in Office space' urges whenever I'm having to be super careful around fragile expensive stuff.I also blow stuff up in my head as an antidote to queue boredome. If you see me in the post office queue that has snaked out the front door you can rest assured that the Lordship Lane I'm inhabiting is a post apocalyptic wasteland within two or three minutes. Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/24544-imp-of-the-perverse/#findComment-560867 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annette Curtain Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 KidKruger Wrote:-------------------------------------------------------> Some time later I confessed my urge to my> photographer guru boss, he said this is called> 'Imp of the Perverse'.> EVER had such an urge - and DID you follow through> ?> I've has similar with 5L can of paint and new> carpet laid in house. Mine seem to have been> about destroying something valuable or smart,> perhaps yours have a pattern too.Oh hmmm I'm liking 'Imp of the Perverse' V. muchI've not done either, but I have been a voyeur to similar events Sat in my car on a back road off of the Kings Rd, watching in a daydreamy way, a handyman on the 1st floor. He was painting the outer sills straight from a 5lt gloss can, whilst leaning out of the window.In one move he lifted the can to bring it inside, but catching the bottom edge of the sash window. He unwittingly let go of the can as he did so. And in slow-mo I watched a whole can of white gloss fall toward the pavement. On its flight down it clipped the corbal on the masonry outside, thus altering its trajectory. It was all quite beautiful to watch as the can flipped and turned and landed square in the middle of the roof of a brand new two tone blue Shogun.All I heard him say as he stuck his head out was "Oh man"I quietly parked up and sat outside the Pub opposite, watching the ensuing chaos unfold.It was exquisite.Nette Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/24544-imp-of-the-perverse/#findComment-560907 Share on other sites More sharing options...
???? Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 A long, long, time a go, standing on an upturned crate in a field in Essex surrounded by nettles that were taller than us, on an urge that I can still recall almost totally, I pushed my friend Jamie ***** into them. I felt and still feel awful, he screamed and it went down with our mums as one of those 'accidents' between 5 year old boys. It wasn't, I wanted to see what happened and I deliberately pushed him from behind. I still, even today, feel guilty. He's 6'2"+ now and would knock 7 shades out off me with one hand. Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/24544-imp-of-the-perverse/#findComment-560916 Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidKruger Posted July 16, 2012 Author Share Posted July 16, 2012 Nette this sounds like it was an accident, rather than he succumbed to the Imp itself, however sounds a grand one to watch ! Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/24544-imp-of-the-perverse/#findComment-560918 Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxxi Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Damn, I thought this was going to be all about confessions regarding poisonous candles or hearts beating under the floorboards and such...I think the Imp of the Perverse would truly be at work were you to drop the camera gear claiming it was accidental - and then - when your explanation had been accepted and you'd got away with it - to confess that it was deliberate. Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/24544-imp-of-the-perverse/#findComment-560921 Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidKruger Posted July 16, 2012 Author Share Posted July 16, 2012 I think the Imp is the urge and the perverseness of the urge, rather than the dishonesty/honesty around admitting the deed, if the urge leads to a deed. Anyway I was always straight with the gifted one. Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/24544-imp-of-the-perverse/#findComment-560925 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salsaboy Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 I remember the first job I had working in an office, 9 floors up, night shift, wondering what it would be like to take a dump out of the window onto the bus stop below.Spectacular was the only word to describe it. Trouble is my mate and I were laughing so much about my arse sticking out the window we didn't actually see the impact. Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/24544-imp-of-the-perverse/#findComment-560953 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annette Curtain Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 KidKruger Wrote:-------------------------------------------------------> Nette this sounds like it was an accident, rather> than he succumbed to the Imp itself, however> sounds a grand one to watch !My I-P was to resist helping the poor guy, making myself enjoy what unfolded ( and boy was it good )Maybe an I-p by proxy maybe ?Netts Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/24544-imp-of-the-perverse/#findComment-560960 Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidKruger Posted July 17, 2012 Author Share Posted July 17, 2012 Proxy Imp of the Perverse, a sub-genre I'm happy to explore !!Another was dropping a couple of onyx eggs off the Gosport ferry into the harbour. Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/24544-imp-of-the-perverse/#findComment-561046 Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Pibe Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 I have to suppress a weird urge to jump whenever I'm up a tall building or crossing a gorge on a rope bridge, that sort of thing.Does that count? Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/24544-imp-of-the-perverse/#findComment-561051 Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidKruger Posted July 17, 2012 Author Share Posted July 17, 2012 Yes, the urge to jump from height is the one most people recognise.You know you shouldnt but man is it tempting ! Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/24544-imp-of-the-perverse/#findComment-561052 Share on other sites More sharing options...
katie1997 Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 KidKruger Wrote:-------------------------------------------------------> I think the Imp is the urge and the perverseness> of the urge, rather than the dishonesty/honesty> around admitting the deed, if the urge leads to a> deed. Anyway I was always straight with the> gifted one.KK - love this thread. It's Edgar Allan Poe.Am struggling to remember what but I think there is another name for these types of urges, its a commonly recognised phenomenon to have this self-destructive impulse esp to jump when on top of a cliff/high building/bridge etc. I think its supposed to be life-affirming or something (...?!)Not sure if this is a proper imp or not but for creative writing at school we were set a task to write an essay on a topic of our choice. So I wrote one on 'Why I always want to laugh at funerals'. Bizarrely enough, I had never actually been to a funeral yet but the teacher said I had captured the feeling of the suppressed urge perfectly :)Several years ago, I almost did laugh out loud at a funeral but only because the sermon/speeches given by the Minister were SO inaccurate about the person whose funeral it was. Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/24544-imp-of-the-perverse/#findComment-561096 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 katie1997 Wrote:-------------------------------------------------------> Am struggling to remember what but I think there> is another name for these types of urges, its a> commonly recognised phenomenon to have this> self-destructive impulse esp to jump when on top> of a cliff/high building/bridge etc. I think its> supposed to be life-affirming or something> (...?!)> xxxxxxI sometimes have the urge to throw myself in front of an incoming tube train.I know I would never do it (well I hope I wouldn't!) but nevertheless I stand back from the edge of the platform just in case :)I hate heights so I'd go nowhere near the edge of a cliff etc, but I guess it's similar. Glad to hear it's life-affirming, Katie but not quite sure how it can be interpreted as that! :) Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/24544-imp-of-the-perverse/#findComment-561114 Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxxi Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 KidKruger Wrote:-------------------------------------------------------> I think the Imp is the urge and the perverseness> of the urge, rather than the dishonesty/honesty> around admitting the deed, if the urge leads to a> deed. Anyway I was always straight with the> gifted one.Yes I was being a bit too literal - in the original the protagonist gets away with a heinous murder but the imp of the perverse keeps prompting him to do that which he really shouldn't, that which it would be crazy to do, i.e. confess to the crime. I think it's an urging to do not just that which is wrong but that which will cause the 'doer' great harm if they do do the thing they feel an urge to do (be do).A bit like posting something on this forum that would surely lead to an immediate ban. The urge is there - however strongly suppressed - in all of us; some succumb and some even do so on a regular basis leading to multiple re-entry personalities all of which end in expulsion. The I of the P is working overtime in some areas of Nunhead East Dulwich. B) Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/24544-imp-of-the-perverse/#findComment-561137 Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidKruger Posted July 17, 2012 Author Share Posted July 17, 2012 Maxxi - 'the original' you speak of sounds like Roskalnikov.I think the best IoPs are when it's the urge to DO something (which 'normally' is just not done). Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/24544-imp-of-the-perverse/#findComment-561159 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salsaboy Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Farting in a lift. A crowded lift. Just as you get out. Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/24544-imp-of-the-perverse/#findComment-561197 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jah Lush Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 I went to a casting yesterday and of the 50 or 60 people there they all had to stand up and speak for one minute about themselves and what they wanted to achieve. When it came to my turn I couldn't help myself. I stood up and said: "Hello, my name's Jah and I'm an alcoholic. Errr.... sorry wrong meeting." It got a laugh all round but I don't think it did my prospects of securing any work much good. Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/24544-imp-of-the-perverse/#findComment-561199 Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxxi Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 KidKruger Wrote:-------------------------------------------------------> Maxxi - 'the original' you speak of sounds like> Roskalnikov.> > I think the best IoPs are when it's the urge to DO> something (which 'normally' is just not done).It's more like another of Poe's 'unnamed' narrators (like the narrator in The Imp Of The Perverse) in the Tell Tale Heart. The IoP being: "an impulse in human beings that impels them to act irrationally, without apparent motive. This strange whim or caprice may be irresistible and may cause a person to carry out an annoying or embarrassing act?or even an act that can result in death. Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/24544-imp-of-the-perverse/#findComment-561215 Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidKruger Posted July 17, 2012 Author Share Posted July 17, 2012 Oh I wondered what Katie's ref to EAP was for. Didn't realise he'd done something on IoP, does that mean he invented the term or, at least, classified the behaviour ? I'd have thought the behaviour is as old as man, though.Someone mentioned farting on way out of a lift, I think IoP would be farting when you just got in.. Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/24544-imp-of-the-perverse/#findComment-561219 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jah Lush Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 maxxi Wrote:-------------------------------------------------------> KidKruger Wrote:> --------------------------------------------------> -----> > Maxxi - 'the original' you speak of sounds like> > Roskalnikov.> > > > I think the best IoPs are when it's the urge to> DO> > something (which 'normally' is just not done).> > > It's more like another of Poe's 'unnamed'> narrators (like the narrator in The Imp Of The> Perverse) in the Tell Tale Heart. The IoP being:> > "an impulse in human beings that impels them to> act irrationally, without apparent motive. This> strange whim or caprice may be irresistible and> may cause a person to carry out an annoying or> embarrassing act?or even an act that can result in> death.Sorry to be a pedant but Raskolnikov is the protagonist in Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime And Punishment. Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/24544-imp-of-the-perverse/#findComment-561232 Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidKruger Posted July 17, 2012 Author Share Posted July 17, 2012 Jah - yeah that's what I meant, Maxxi's description when he mentioned the 'the original' sounded like he/she was on about C&P. Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/24544-imp-of-the-perverse/#findComment-561238 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annette Curtain Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 Sue Wrote:-------------------------------------------------------> I sometimes have the urge to throw myself in front> of an incoming tube train.> > I know I would never do it (well I hope I> wouldn't!) but nevertheless I stand back from the> edge of the platform just in caseJust in case there's a local chef standing behind you ?*small cheer erupts 3/4 the way up LSL* Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/24544-imp-of-the-perverse/#findComment-561551 Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxxi Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 KidKruger Wrote:-------------------------------------------------------> Jah - yeah that's what I meant, Maxxi's> description when he mentioned the 'the original'> sounded like he/she was on about C&P.My fault - I should have been clearer. I meant the original short story by EAP which I first came across thanks to a tv adaptation back in 1975 by Andrew Davies (who adapted Micael Dobbs' "House of Cards" amongst other tv and film scripts).He was lecturing at Warwick University at the time and was a friend of my then English teacher (Coventry circa 1975) who exorted us all to watch - I did and that's when I got my first real taste (outside of the Roger Corman epics) of Poe - and I think that particular title stuck. Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/24544-imp-of-the-perverse/#findComment-561583 Share on other sites More sharing options...
giggirl Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I get it all the time. When people are talking to me and I'm smiling and nodding I'm thinking, what would happen if I continued to smile and nod but I struck you hard across the face? What would be said or done? Link to comment https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/24544-imp-of-the-perverse/#findComment-561592 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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