YOUR MYSPACE PAGE IS KILLING YOU
Current mood: focused
Category: Web, HTML, Tech

MySpace is a great place for people who want to create a web presence with a minimum of fuss. You don't have to know code, you really don't have to know much of anything. That's both the boon and bane of MySpace.

The best thing is, MySpace will let you do an awful lot to customize your space with music, images, and movies. But all of those things have bandwidth weight.

So this blaag is to a fictional person (all identity has been removed. I sent this to them, and they decided they didn't want to be my MySpace friend anymore. Oh well)


Hey "X" (X! The great unknown! X the unnameable! Actually, there may really be someone on MySpace who goes by "X", but for me, X just signifies an unknown variable. All apologies to "X" if there is one)

I really like your concept, and I love cult music/movies/games/books (what have you. The subject is also "X"), but your comment section is killing you.

The quicker your webpage can appear, the better. Even with broadband Internet like DSL and the even faster cable, most webmasters want to keep their pages to no more than 100kb tops.

Even at 100kb, some pages on highspeed connections may take up to 5 seconds to load simply because of codes (like affiliate links that are actually offsite on another server) in the page connecting to the browser.

According to surveys, most visitors leave if a page takes up to 7 seconds to load. Virtually no one waits for a page that takes longer than 14 seconds to load. Those with highspeed internet (which now outpaces dial-up in the U.S.), have an even shorter patience with pages that take longer than 5-7 seconds.

Your MySpace page isn't 100kb. It's not even 10 times 100kb (about 1 megabyte). Your page clocks in at over 50 megabytes!

I have the fastest cable Internet available for the home and your page takes over a minute to load on IE, and is a shambles on Firefox or Safari. Your page takes over 14 times the amount of time that most people are willing to wait to see a webpage. I seriously doubt you would wait that long. Especially considering that a number of the images that are kidnapping your page aren't even about what your page is about!

If someone has a slower DSL, forget about it.

I'm assuming that your MySpace friends aren't out to hijack your MySpace and turn it into TheirSpace (I'm just guessing that they are new to the Internet and don't know what they're doing), but when you have people placing images on your website that are nearly 1 mb, and they are pushing 10 or more of these images - plus animated gifs - into just one comment, then nobody wants to wait around to read what you've got to say. The page just takes too damn long to load!

As I said, I like your concept, and I have no problem with MySpace friends using images in their comments (I allow folks to do that to mine as well), but you need to limit what these folks are doing to you, because they're trashing up your place. Most of the images look great (I'm assuming they own them), but they should be showcased on Their MySpace, not Your MySpace.

I'll be happy to add you to my MySpace friends list once your page is easier to navigate.

Of course, maybe your page is exactly the way you want it, in which case, ignore me.

A good place to go and learn how not to make
WebPagesThatSuck.

My vote for worst looking website EVER!
Havenworks.com.

7:37 AM - 19 Comments - 18 Kudos - Add Comment

FOOD RECALL: SOMETIMES THE SMELL IS JUST TOO GREAT
Current mood: understimulated
Category: News and Politics

Al Gore: ELECTIONS MATTER

A transcript from the Washington Post can be found here:
washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/17/AR2008061700697.html

And this is one of Al Gore's many quotes in his speech on why elections matter.

"If you care about a clean environment, if you want a government that protects you instead of special interests, you know that elections matter.  If you care about food safety, if you like a T on your BLT, you know that elections matter.  If you bought poison, lead-filled toys from China or adulterated medicine made in China, if you bought tainted pet food made in China, you know that elections matter.  After the last eight years, even our dogs and cats have learned that elections matter."

Let's take a look at this:

THE ENVIRONMENT -

"If you care about a clean environment, if you want a government that protects you instead of special interests, you know that elections matter."
- Albert Arnold Gore, Tuesday, June 17, 2008

This is how Al Gore reacted to the Kyoto Accord and Global Warming in 1997.

"Gore, who had stated in his 1992 book Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit that "we must make the rescue of the environment the central organizing principle for civilization," was an enigmatic figure for many attending the Kyoto conference. No political persona understood the issue of climate change better than Gore. Yet the Clinton-Gore administration risked little to move the public on an issue in which the Earth was in balance. Even before the Kyoto conference it was clear the Clinton-Gore administration would not fight for ratification of the treaty in the Senate. It may have been a question of timing."
freetimes.com/stories/15/31/youre-getting-warmer

Clinton could have signed the Kyoto Treaty, but he didn't. And Gore sat on his hands for 8 years. Meanwhile Al Gore's oil company (he's been a major ruling shareholder since the death of Armand Hammer), Occidental Oil, suffered under his rule. Occidental was thrown out of Venezuela and Ecuador for stealing oil. After a number of years, Ecuador decided to give Al Gore and Occidental another chance. By 2006, this happened (This was reported all over the world - just not in the U.S. You want to know why the world hates the U.S.? Say Hello to Al Gore. I'm not kidding here. According to various world news outlets, it is EXACTLY because of Al Gore and Occidental Oil that so much anti-Americanism around the world exists.). As well as trampling human rights and slaughtering indigenous people who happened to get in the way. By 2000 - and despite sweetheart deals that Al Gore created for his own company - Occidental had become one of the smallest of the American Oil companies.

Is Al Gore and his Occidental Oil company destroying the environment? Take the two-faced feckless coward's way out and Blame Bush!

But its not just Columbia, Ecuador, Venezuela: it's everywhere AL Gore and Occidental does business - like Peru.

Occidental, which is currently a Los Angeles-based company, is also a major donor to the DNC: Like Chevron Oil, also based in California. That may explain why they get a pass.

Yes, Elections matter.

If you care about food safety, if you like a T on your BLT, you know that elections matter.
- Albert Arnold Gore, Tuesday, June 17, 2008

From 1997 through 1998, the biggest meat recall in history was huge news in the U.S. This was not about mad cow, ut about tainted , spoiled meat.
cnn.com/HEALTH/9708/29/nfm.usda.crackdown/index.htmlUnder Clinton and Gore.

Then the cereal recall of 1998
cbsnews.com/stories/1998/06/06/national/main11156.shtml

Then, in early 1999 under Clinton Gore, the second largest recall. The Listeria outbreak on packaged meat.
accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-6636589_ITM
Elections matter.

President Clinton finally decides to do something about it: to have the government take over as watchdog of the food industry (President's Food Safety Initiative)
cbsnews.com/stories/1999/07/03/national/main53004.shtml

The Budweiser beer recall of Sept. 1999

The Chocolate Ice Cream recall of the same month
highbeam.com/doc/1G1-68422264.html

Hot dog recall in October
http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PBPB&p_theme=pbpb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAF40DEA2AFCB29&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM

Feb. 2000
Orange Juice recall -
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-27441377_ITM

Same month, Listeria in packaged sandwiches induces another massive recall -
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-27989010_ITM

March 13. Candy recall -
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-27546554_ITM

March 29 - E.Coli prompts fish recall
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-27710136_ITM

May. Recalls of of bad  strawberies and chicken nuggets from Mexico. Recall of 300,000 boxes of Minute Maid frozen juice bars.
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/53839580.html?dids=53839580:53839580&FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:FT&date=May+16%2C+2000&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=BRIEFLY+%2F+FOOD%3B+Minute+Maid+Frozen+Juice+Bars+Recalled&pqatl=google

June 2000. Massive recall of ground beef from Canada -
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-10416099_ITM

North Carolina recall of 7.5 tons of frankfurters due to Listeria.
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/54832268.html?dids=54832268:54832268&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Jun+05%2C+2000&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Recalls%3B+Listeria+Scare+Spurs+Recall+of+Frankfurters&pqatl=google

2000 cases of ice cream recalled for being contaminated with ammonia
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-28092773_ITM

December 2000
Over 8 million tons of turkey meat recalled for Listeria contamination.
(The book, MORE THAN A MEAL)
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/oa/recalls/prelease/pr075-2000.htm

Ground beef recall in the same month
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2000/12/03/national/main254314.shtml

Nearly one million tons of baking ingredients recalled by ConAgra Foods Inc.
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-28680260_ITM


 
   
 
And so much more that it isn't worth the time to list it all. Though all of the above links will reference many of the other recalls.

A story from 06/27/2001. Apparently, USAToday sat on this story until they could release it under a Republican President. Note that reporter, Eric Schlosser (also the author of Fast Food Nation), admits that the problem has been going on for years.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/2001-06-28-ncguest2.htm
But didn't write this until he could time it with the release of his book. Meanwhile, according to him, 14 Americans die every day from food poisoning. Thanks for the timely warning, Eric.

That Al Gore is a bare-faced liar who has been repeatedly caught at it throughout his long career, is nothing new. That people continue to follow him like herds of sheep is nothing new.

Yet it is all very pathetic. And in the face of these articles from sources (many of them liberal - just not American liberal) from around the world, this is far more than merely a matter of opinion. It's fact. Which is why I I can't respect anyone who would curry Al Gore's favor or attention.

5:48 PM - 5 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment

INTERVIEWED AND REVIEWED
Current mood: amused

I was interviewed by James Cheetham over at Unconventional Interviews. Yeah, its the same guy that zombiefied my face.

He asked questions that I'm sure he at least SUSPECTED would court controversy. But I'm not one to shy away. If you don't wanna know, don't ask!

But if you wanna know some of my deep secrets, then check out

Unconventional Interviews.

I caught an early screening of POULTRYGEIST: NIGHT OF THE CHICKEN DEAD. Since I know that some of you are mad for my movie reviews, check this one out.

12:18 PM - 2 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment

I CAN’T GET A BREAK!
Current mood: calm
Category: Life

What a lousy freaking month May, 2008 has turned out to be.

ZOMBIE MENINGITIS

It started with me still being sick over a zombie flu I caught in April. As far as I know, I got it from some damn Canadian. You know how THEY are! Gah! Don't get me started!


Anyhow...


Once I finally got over that, I tried to get back into the groove of Los Angeles, check out what was going on, when I saw that Del Howison's DARK DELICACIES was having a sale on Ray Harryhausen's new coffee table book, THE ART OF RAY HARRYHAUSEN (yeah, catchy! Really burned the midnight oil coming up with a snappy title like that!). Well I'm a big Ray Harryhausen fan so I went over there, stood in line forever to get my book signed, and then asked Del if he could get a photo of me real quick, as I held the book, for my website.

RAY HARRYHAUSEN AND FEO AMANTE

Del was pretty busy at that moment, but he agreed to take my picture. But just as Del is about to click it, some strange old guy plops down in the seat right next to mine, TOTALLY ruining the picture!
ARGH!
And Del was too busy to do it over again so I'm stuck with it!


GREAT!


So I went home and my wife calmed me down. She doesn't like me to mention her name in my posts, so I stopped.


The following week my old bud, John Everson (FAILURE, VIGILANTES OF LOVE, SINS OF THE SIRENS) came to town on a Saturday. He and I are super Techno Geeks in addition to being Horror Thriller fans, so I took him to my favorite tech store, Fry's Electronics. It's like a Super Wal-Mart for folks like us.


So John sees it and he's bowled over by it! They have nothing like this back in Egypt or wherever the hell he's from.

JOHN EVERSON NARROWLY AVOIDED A SWIFT BEHEADING FROM A CRASHING SPACECRAFT.

John is so overwhelmed by the sheer size of it, in fact, that he wants me to take his picture in front of the store. So sure, why not? I'll humor the hick: he's a bud! But the very second I snap the photo, this damn flying saucer comes out of nowhere and crashes right into the front of the damn building! TOTALLY ruining the shot!


It all happened so quick that John didn't even had time to react, though the shoppers around him are your typical Blase Burbank'ers.


Naive simpleton that he is, John thought, this being "magic movie land" that I was somehow behind the destruction of my favorite store and wanted me to take a second photo of him with the flying saucer. Yeah, you hayseed idiot. I planned an alien invasion from outer space for your freaking benefit!


Anyway, I didn't drive him all the way out to Fry's NOT to gawk at all the latest tech equipment, so we went in and let the store staff worry about the invading outer space mitochlorians or whatever the hell they were.


With the invasion behind us, back at the entrance to the store, John wanted me to get another photo of him standing in the computer section completely surrounded by the latest, most advanced computers. So I set up the shot but, true to my rotten luck, just as I snapped the picture, this god damn alien octopus came bursting through the wall! TOTALLY ruining the shot!

HOLY SHIT, JOHN! WTF IS THAT???

As I stood there, dumbfounded at all of my bad breaks, the freaking thing grabbed John and ate him! Which meant no photo for my website! Shit! Why does everything happen to me?


DAMN but I couldn't believe my miserable freaking luck! I had 30 minutes to get John to his next appointment, a dinner with Maria Alexander and her current consort, and here he was, dinner for someone or something else! SHIT!


While I stood there, wondering how I was going to explain this, the Octo-alien slithered past me, eating other humans in its way (I wasn't in its way - so I had to worry over confronting a miffed Maria), when it "extruded" out an alien replica of John. I stared for a hard minute at the thing standing there while the goo dried and then I thought, 'Close enough'. I grabbed the replica John and got it to the dinner with Maria with minutes to spare. I didn't hang around to see if she spotted the difference, but I haven't heard anything negative from Maria, so I'm good to go (actually, no one has heard from Maria since but, you know, don't look a gift horse in the mouth, there). Fortunately, after all of that stress, I went home and my wife was able to calm me down.

WE ARE IRON MEN!

The next day I returned to the Dark Delicacies (I hang out there somewhat). I just wanted to kill some time, nonchalantly ask if maybe, perhaps, Del or anyone had heard anything about John and last night's dinner. Del had a new IRON MAN cardboard standup with real lights, so I asked him if he could take a photo of me with it. Del was busy but said he could squeeze one off. Just as he was about to take the photo, Harry Shannon (BAD SEED, NIGHT OF THE BEAST, THE PRESSURE OF DARKNESS), there to peddle his latest book, jumped into the pic, pushing me around, and puffing out his chest. Not one to take a puff lying down, I matched him push for puff and that's what that photo is all about.


The following week, my amigo, Bob Burdon (THE FLAMING CARROT, MYSTERY MEN) came to town with a new script in tow (actually, its a very cool script!). When he had some free time, we hung out. At one point he invited me to The Dresden, which is one of the best steak houses in Los Angeles and has THE best Prime Rib in the city. That said, you don't want to eat there with yer buds as the decor is very romantic and, for two straight guys, felt a little awkward. Especially as how Bob isn't my type.


The next day we met for breakfast at The House of Pies. I invited producer, Sean Fernald along. Sean and I became pals after I gave his movie, RED VELVET, a good review. It's amazing how, in this town, people like you when you say nice things about their movie. Following this line of thought, I must be making a lot of enemies in this town, because you and I both know that most of the Horror Thriller pouring out of this place SUCKS! There's a reason why Hollywood is dry humping Japan and Korea for ideas, usually having to do with long haired ghosts and bath water.

In fact, I've had people who loved me when I said nice things about one movie, then won't return my calls when I take them to task on their next movie. Hey, it's not my fault that your movie tanked! Its not even Ebert's fault! Trying looking in the mirror! There is a reason why your celebrity authored, big budget, star powered, brand new movie, fresh on DVD at amazon.com, is ranked even lower than a direct to video, no-star, low budget Horror indie like TEETH. There is a reason why it's ranked even lower than FROM BEYOND, which is a very good, low-budget, no-star, movie but came out way back in 1986! I WISH all of those people were listening to me, but they ain't! Your mega-budget cult movie tanked and I called it, but that's all I did.


Don't hate me because I'm beautiful.


Hate the game, not the player. Hate the Klan, not the klansman.


Where was I?

CLOCK IT FROM ME, FEO AMANTE, SEAN FERNALD, BOB BURDON, AND OF COURSE, LOVABLE OLD UNCLE FORREY.

Oh yeah, So all three of us are having breakfast and Sean comes up with the great idea of visiting Uncle Forrey at his mini-mansion. I'm all for that, so we load up and move out, spending some time with Forrest J. Ackerman. Old Uncle Forrey will be 92 this year and boy does he look it. Still, his mind is sharp as a knife and he has some great stories. What's more, his house is like actually walking into one of his old Famous Monsters Magazines. Or even a Fangoria! While at the mini-mansion, I also had the chance to meet Sean Fernald's partner in crime, Joe Moe.


Bob had to go check out of his hotel and catch his plane, but Sean invited me over to his house to check out his own amazing collection of Horror and Monster paraphernalia. Wow! The dude has about every single issue of VAMPIRILLA, including the one that published my letter, lo these many moons ago when I was but a spike.


That weekend, I took my wife to the Dresden where the romantic ambience was more in tune. Dinner was superb and we went home and calmed down.


The next day, Writer and Director, Joe Monks (STUFF OUT'A MYHEAD, THE BUNKER) wrote me a press announcement about his buddy, Hart D. Fisher (FLOWERS ON THE RAZOR WIRE). Fisher has a wild and sordid past, the likes of which I'll let you leisurely explore via search engines. The press release was about Hart directing a music video for the band, Obituary. No images accompanied the news item so I was forced to use one of their old album covers for the anchor image. It had nothing to do with the story, but there you have it. Joe included Hart's phone number so I gave him a call. We got to talking and the next thing I knew, Hart invited me over to his place in the ghetto to shoot the shit.


Hart is another of these guys who is heavily into Horror and owns all kinds of fun Horror Thriller paraphernalia. I guess if you are an avid Horror Thriller movie plan, Hollywood is yer Nirvana. It's rare to actually meet someone who has gone out and had an actual life like me, but Hart is one of those guys, so we seem to have hit it off.


I had my short film ready for its premier and, over the weekend, drove down to San Diego to show it where I shot it, at the Chico Club in La Mesa. Mike, co-owner at Chico's, made sure to have a huge projection screen, projector, and a DVD player that would play any and all formats except maybe a sandwich.


As my bro and co-producer, Kelly Parks, were driving to the club, we were nearly sideswiped by an SUV that squealed its brakes, hit the car right behind us, did an in-the-air roll over flip and landed heavily on the embankment. Wow!

Naturally Kelly stopped his car and I (careful for the traffic) got out and ran to the SUV to see if everyone was okay. Amazingly, the sole woman inside suffered only minor scratches and when the first cop arrived, he let us witnesses go.


The rest of the trip to La Mesa was uneventful but Kelly was adrenalized. Close calls like that happen to me, not him - or so he says. On the other hand, I've never rode in an ambulance - AS THE VICTIM - anywhere near as many times as Kelly has. What's more, if he gets one more punch with a defibrillator, his card is full and he gets a free Subway sandwich. Bad luck is in the eyes of the beholder. As far as I'm concerned, that near collision was somebody else's bad luck, not our own and certainly not mine.


The premiere went off better than I could hope. I was pretty nervous and having second thoughts as the Chico Club filled with total strangers who, on a Saturday night, did not come to watch a short scifi Thriller movie. I could easily imagine the poor reception and this crowd was both tough and alcohol fueled. I prepared to use my 300 pound bro for a human shield if things got ugly.

LEFT TO RIGHT JIMMY DIGGS, CHRISTINA GRENARD, EDDIE MCMULLEN (aka Feo), MIKE (CO-OWNER), DANNY, KELLY PARKS

To my utter amazement though, the crowd not only watched my movie, they shut the hell up and kept quite while it played. And when it was over, they not only applauded, they cheered and several of them bought me drinks!


Some of the cast was there: Jimmy Diggs and Christina Grenard. The two leads, Terry M. West and Dean Newbury couldn't make it, but Terry's face was on the posters in the bar.


When I got back to LA Sunday night, I was feeling pretty good. Hart sent me an email letting me know of some damage that happened to his studio. Again, like me and the traffic, he narrowly missed any serious damage from someone else's bad luck. Hart had a hole in his ceiling and the fire department left his office door unlocked. But the poor bastard who had the real problem was his upstairs neighbor. His office caught fire and is a burned out charred hole!


So all things considered, and after a long month and a 30 day string of bad luck, my buds and I are finally getting a break!

6:02 PM - 4 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment

THE DAY I DIED IN T.J.
Current mood: adventurous
Category: Writing and Poetry

My MySpace friend, Dion Isis, is putting together a trip to Tijuana soon. After reading her blog, I was inspired to whip out a flash fiction story. The story is inspired by her upcoming trip, the 1990s Lucas Arts  computer game, Grim Fandango (one of my all-time favorites!), and my wife's various Dia De Los Muertos tales from Mexican Folklor. I didn't have a title when I first wrote this, so I'll just call it,


THE DAY I DIED IN T.J.

I'll say Tijuana is magical! I DIED there!

It was back in 1994 and my buddies and I had been partying pretty hard that weekend when a combination of too much alcohol, too little real food, exhaustion and dehydration grabbed me by the chest and gave me a cardiac kick right there!

Suddenly my friends and the other folks in the party appeared as still and unreal as colorful paper dolls. I had no idea what was happening.

That's when the candy colored esqueletos came dancing in!

They congratulated me and took me out the door to a great fiesta on a hill by the beach. There others like myself were coming from all over to participate in a dance party. We stood in a circle and danced, clapping our hands. The people who arrived first, got to go first. Which is to say, they shed their flesh and danced in their white and festive bones. So it went, in time to the music, around the circle coming towards me, and I couldn't wait to join in the fun. There were just four people ahead of me, when a hand fell on my shoulder, pulling me away. It was one of the esqueletos that brought me to the party.

"I'm sorry," the skeleton said, its hollow eye sockets deep with remorse.

I was stricken by a sudden panic. I needed to return to the circle. I had to! I looked back and my empty space had already closed in. The person who would have been after me shucked off the flesh of her mortal coil and, whipping her useless body like a towel, high over her calavera, danced naked and free in the sun.

"No!" I cried out, lunging toward the circle, trying to pull away from his hold, wanting my turn.

The skeleton who pulled me away was joined by others, holding me back, keeping me from the greatest celebration ever known. Their perpetual smiling skulls were somehow less than joyful.

"Please!" I cried out. "Don't do this!"

"Lo siento, amigo," another one said. "But I'm afraid..." he bowed his head for a moment, truly sorry for me. "...I'm afraid you didn't make it."

The bottom dropped out of my heart as a sudden sense of loss brought tears to my eyes. Light burst blinding across my vision and I woke in a Tijuana hospital to see a doctor, holding defibrillator pads, standing over me.

"Whew, Senor!" the doctor sighed to the ticking of a heart machine. "I was afraid you wouldn't make it!"

10:40 PM - 4 Comments - 8 Kudos - Add Comment

SOMEONE WANTS A FLAME WAR
Current mood: thoughtful
Category: Friends

I do this thing at my website, feoamate.com, where I go searching for other folks or organizations named Feo. I do it from time to time and, when the mood strikes me, I sometimes repeat it so new folks to the website can see other examples of the wonderful wide world of Feo!

What I also found in my searches, is that there is a guy who once called me a friend, who is running an ongoing war with me. 
Except he never let me know about it: he declared the war in private.

Instead, he's been trashing me like crazy at his own Myspace page. He made sure to do this after he stopped being a MySpace friend.

I've heard of such things going on from time to time but now it hit me.

Jason Brock is his name and we met in San Francisco at the World Horror Convention back in 2006. We hit it off, both being Horror fiends, and things seemed to go well. When we returned to our respective homes we did the MySpace friend thing.

Then one day, as I swung by his MySpace, I noticed this blog of his.

Saddam Hussein: Cowardice of the United States

If you read the comments then you know what I said in reply. You'll also notice that, even on his own blog, he had no response. I was open to a reasonable, rational debate with him, but none ever came.

Now understand that Jason and I are both huge Horror fans. Jason is even making a documentary about Horror writers and film makers, that's how much of a Horror fan he is. He seems to know pretty much all of the old dinosaurs of Horror (something I borrow from Asimov who once referred to himself and a number of other writers as the "Dinosaurs of Science Fiction"). So after you read Jason's blog, understand that he pretty much writes that way in most of his blogs and always when he is referring to someone who doesn't think what he thinks and feels what he feels.

Jason made his second appearance and first disagreement with me at my blaag when I wrote this
NANCI SEES GLOBAL WARMING

Jason opened with this:
"I find it curious that everyone that writes their opinion on this topic cares so much: maybe they are such human ciphers that they can only get interested in abstractions."

He referred to everyone who expressed their concern about this matter as human ciphers.

Meaning:
1. zero.
2. any of the Arabic numerals or figures.
3. Arabic numerical notation collectively.
4. something of no value or importance.
5. a person of no influence; nonentity.

Because my opinion and the opinions of others in the room differed from his own, who we were and what we thought meant nothing to him. And he wanted us to know that right from the start. Jason didn't see this as being hostile. To the contrary, when I pointed out that the attitude he expressed was the very definition of a bigot:

noun
a prejudiced person who is intolerant of any opinions differing from his own

a person who is utterly intolerant of any differing creed, belief, or opinion.

He felt that it was I ridiculing him. He said nothing demeaning to anyone, as far as he was concerned.

I discovered that he was also presenting it on his blog
My Response to Feo Amante Re: Global Warming

Again, he doesn't see what he says as being mean spirited, only what I said. He is also sick of Republicans talking about it (Global Warming). They won't shut up. But who is it who has made so many movies about AGW? Who was honored at the Oscars for it? Begged for, negotiated for, and finally won a Noble Prize for it, has dedicated 15 years of his life to it and who has been talking about it for the past 20 years (and before that, the same leaders of AGW were talking about the coming Ice Age)? I don't think it was Republicans or conservatives.

Those of you who've read my blaags on Global Warming know that I back up everything I say with evidence, reports, and facts. 
In short, I'm not only offering you my opinion, but I'm giving you links to science (not someone else's opinion to shore up my own opinion) to read for yourself, draw your own conclusions, and debate the merits of my argument should you disagree. I've never taken umbrage from anyone who wasn't openly hostile, but some, like Jason, clearly are.

Now Jason fancies himself a huge Horror fan, and I'm certain he is. But he takes exception to me writing about anything other than Horror. He doesn't understand how I can do that. Yet he spends most of his time writing about Republicans and this is what he says,
Republicans

Why George Walker Bush is a Lying, Traitorous Criminal

You'll note that Jason has a very long list of people he hates and his list keeps growing.

Which brings me to the current page I discovered today, dated December 8, 2007:

Dropping Friends on MySpace

So let me rebut a few things here, not for the people who know me, but for the people who don't. Naturally, this will be no more than a he said / he said, so you'll have to judge either of us by what we've written in the past.

Jason writes:

"OK, so I have a bone to pick...

I was trolling MySpace, and ran across yet another tirade by Feo Amante: I re-read some of his blaag's and I have to say that the guy must be an idiot.

Not only that, but a bit of a dick, also.

The reason that I dropped him as a friend was due to his incredibly obnoxious rant about the vegan poem (see his site). 
Really silly: as if the culture is not SLATHERED in pro-flesh consuming propaganda. If you don't like the vegan poet guy 
(Andrew Peel), then don't read him. No reason to slag the dude. I mean, he is in AUSTRALIA for Christ's sake! To my knowlege, he has never harmed Feo, so get a life..."

Actually, I was responding to the rant by Andrew Pell and only because said poem was sent to me. Andrew wrote this:

WHY DO YOU MURDER MY CHILDREN (Go Vegan)

As you can see, the poem is dripping with open violence and hostility. It's the kind of poem you'd expect from the Westboro Baptists, but this one is from a self-proclaimed Vegan. You'll also notice that, as much as Jason is sick of religious people (check that list again) he defends Andrew's God-Will-Smite-You poem.

I don't doubt that the American culture is slathered in pro-flesh consuming. I wouldn't call it propaganda though since our earliest human evolutionary ancestors ate meat.

Propaganda:

1. information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc.
2. the deliberate spreading of such information, rumors, etc.

Nope. The word propaganda doesn't fit Jason's definition at all. But more to the point, even IN our meat eating culture, I never see omnivores call for open hostility and violence toward vegans. The same cannot be said of the Andrew Pells and Jason Brocks of the world.

Jason continues
"I must say that Feo is supposedly concerned with the Horror/Thriller genre, yet he is seemingly preoccupied with non-genre topics a lot (AGW, vegetarianism, the price o' tea in China, and so on...). Enough already: I quit. He bores me."

And yet, while Jason also claims to be concerned with the Horror/Thriller genre he too is seemingly preoccupied... oh well. 
Onward.

Jason says:
"Awhile back, I offered some commentary on his blaag about the over-indulgence in the topic of AGW: his reply was absurd and rude, then he called me a bigot. He also referred to Charles Beaumont, Ray Bradbury, William F. Nolan and Harlan Ellison as "dinosaurs". Ouch! We had a couple of exchanges (which I still have up), and, when it got heated, guess what?

He called me.

"Why?" One might ask, after all the apparent vitriol spewed in my direction?

Well, the gist of the exchange was this: that he felt that things were a bit heated on the thread (he called me a bigot, and I responded to his spurious allegation), and he wanted be sure that we were "cool" and we were still "amigos". He then went on to tell me that he was sorry for what he had written (not retracted), and that I was a respected friend. Then he said that we should collaborate on some projects. All fine. Apology accepted and so on on my part, then we hung up (it was a three hour chat, BTW).

I was cool for a bit, but then I noticed the pattern: he went off on me publicly, and the Feo-lovers saw that, but he kissed my ass PRIVATELY, which only my wife heard. Not cool. Especially when I saw a recent post about how he had disdain for people that would not cop to something publicly. Hypocritical, anyone?"

Feo: It's true. I did call him. That's because at the time I thought we were friends and, as I've done in the past with others, I wanted to be clear on how I felt. There is a reason for things like emoticons on the Internet and it all has to do with knowing that what you say may be misread in regards to your attitude in saying those words. Not only do words have meaning, but so does the tone behind them and the facial expressions as well. I didn't call to kiss his ass, since I thought I was talking to a friend, I spoke to him as one: let him know that there was no animosity. This can be seen by anyone who reads what I wrote to him on my blaag.

Feo: "You are welcome back at any time and at all times, but try to stay on topic please."

I also asked my visitors who might feel so inclined not to go after Jason as I considered him a friend.

Jason, however, would have none of it and returned to accuse me of what he was doing: ridiculing people in the room. He felt victimized and told everyone I had a "small mind".

I ended my response yet again with a peaceful gesture,
Feo:

"You are always welcome to return and debate the merits of the topic. It doesn't have to be about Bush and it doesn't have to be about your feelings."

Now about that call -

Jason says,
1) He asked me to get an H.R. Giger book autographed for him (I interviewed Giger for a doc I am doing); I reminded him to send it several times: it never appeared.

Feo: Yep, it's true. My Giger books are coffee table huge (imagine the postal rate to get it to him), expensive, no longer in print (post office screws up and I'm out one very rare and expensive book) and, since Jason was coming down to LA (he has a home both here and in Oregon) and we were talking about getting together for lunch or dinner, it set my mind at ease to remove the post office out of the equation entirely.

And about that lunch or dinner get-together Jason offered (we'd dined together before, he, his wife, and I), Jason spoke of maybe bringing Dan O'Bannon along because Jason would be in town for a short time. He made it sound like a two-birds-with-one-stone kind of thing. Naturally I had no problem being at a dinner with Dan O'Bannon, but it was Jason who spoke of it, not me. Some of you reading this have your own amount of fame. Some of you may arguably be even more famous than O'Bannon. I'm pretty sure you'd recall if I ever tried to "Invite myself" to a dinner with you.

Jason says,
"He said that he had a script that was going to be filmed (for a budget over a million dollars) and asked my help as a cameraman (I have my own gear, and have shot hundreds of hours and conducted many interviews: Giger, Nolan, Johnson, Ray Bradbury, John Shirley, William Shatner, Harlan Ellison, and so on): I agreed. I reminded him several times. Guess what? NO  SCRIPT APPEARED. Then, on that Loooong call, he gave me the news that it was dead in the water."

Feo: Yep. It's all true. The script is called BLOODY MARY and in 2006/2007, I was approached by some folks who were making me all kinds of promises in regards to my script and directing it. So I set out to assemble a crew. But when it finally came down to the wire of put up or shut up, my presumed producers produced nothing and wanted me to sign a contract and hand over MY script for nothing. They kept none of their promises and the whole thing fell apart. It was very embarrassing for me and I called everyone I asked to be on my crew to let them know it was dead. With as many people as Jason knows in Hollywood, I'm surprised that he never heard of this kind of thing happening before.

Why didn't I at least send Jason the script? We had made several plans to get together the very next time Jason came down to LA. How hard would that be? He lives here part time. I know that Jason did, in fact, come to Los Angeles many times in 2007, but he cancelled our get-togethers every single time. So the reason I never handed a book, script, or anything else over to Jason was, he kept cancelling on me, on at least five separate occasions.

Jason says,
"He asked me to say "Hi" to Robert Williams during an interview that I conducted with him. Robert Williams looked at me like I was insane: had never heard of the guy."

Feo: Nope, it's NOT true. I've met Robert only three times in my life and they were all during the 1980s. Two of them were at a signing and once was in his house. I sat in Robert's Barber chair, in his living room, and we watched Shaka Zulu. I bought a few of his books, gave him a T-Shirt that I designed, and we (my girlfriend and I) left. That was back in 1986 or 1987, so I didn't expect him to remember me. After 20 plus years, I might not even remember my old girlfriend if she walked up to me today. I'm certain she wouldn't remember me. I had real long hair and a clean-shaven face back then. So yeah, I didn't expect anything from Robert.

Onward -

Because I eat meat, Jason admits to thinking of me as a "devout murderous "carnivore"".

Ah, but there is nothing openly hostile about that!

Finally, Jason says:
"And, he's too damn conservative: I'm tired of religion and conservatism."

Considering that I'm openly atheist and he's openly into astrology, I've no idea why he considers me the religious one. Considering also that the final straw for Jason was when I went after a deeply religious man who promised God's wrath on all who didn't share his opinion, is also a head scratcher.

I mean, if he wanted to read me go after religious folks, he needed only read the blaag prior to the one about Nanci Pelosi -
JERRY FALWELL: Proof of Our Greatness As A Nation

If he wanted to read me go after Republicans, he needed only read this blaag -
YOU'RE SO GAY, YOU PROBABLY THINK THIS BLAAG IS ABOUT YOU

I mean, I'm not the kind of guy who trashes one group of people and only one group forever. That's hate mongering.

So after all of that vitriol, Jason finishes with,

"You can all trash me if you wish, but it is (still) a free country;)"

Ah! So after all of his insults and tirades, HE'S the victim! Got it!

As I said, I found this in a search, Jason never said it to my face, but behind my back. So Jason Brock and I aren't friends anymore, but that was his choice, not mine.

Jason, when I was concerned about your feelings, I personally called you, spent the dime and the time and, as you say, we spoke for a looong time. If you really want to be the person you like to think you are, why didn't you extend the same courtesy to me?

Everyone is, of course free to comment at this blaag, but I ask that if you go to Jason's blog, do not trash him. This was between he and me. The only reason I bring it up is to defend myself to those who may not know me. Said defense is over, and the matter is settled.

5:01 PM - 17 Comments - 16 Kudos - Add Comment

ANOTHER DREAM
Current mood: quixotic
Category: Dreams and the Supernatural

Long time readers of my blaag know that I sometimes have unusual dreams. Last night I dreamed I was a child in a sandbox. There was one other child, a girl my age, and her name was Hillary Rodham.

"When I grow up," she said cheerfully, "I'm going to be President!"

"Good for you," I said, carefully tamping down the sand in my bucket so I could dump it upside down and make a castle.

"The President of the United States!" She added, smiling.

"Good for you," I repeated, carefully setting up the first bulwark of my castle.

"When I run for President, will you vote for me?"

"Nope," I answered, filling my bucket again.

"What if I ask you nicely?" she asked me nicely.

"I don't know," I answered, tamping carefully again. "Ask me nicely."

"Will you vote for me?" she asked.

"No," I answered, then added, "Ask me again."

"Will you vote for me?"

"No, ask me again."

"Will you vote for me?"

"No, ask me again."

"Why should I?" she asked, growing angry with me.

"Because the next time I might say 'Yes.'" I answered.

"Will you vote for me?" she asked, anger folding into her tinny voice.

"No. Ask me again."

"Will you vote for me?"

"No. Ask me again."

I now had all four bulwarks and began crafting my turrets.

"Will you vote for me?"

"No. Ask me again."

Our conversation, such as it was, went on like this for about three minutes, which is a pretty long time for such a limited dialogue and even more when you are as young as we were.

Louder and angrier than ever before, Hillary demanded more than actually asked,
"WILL YOU VOTE FOR ME?"

"No. Ask me again."

"FORGET IT!" She yelled, tears welling up in her eyes. "YOU WON'T EVER SAY YES AND I'M NOT GONNA ASK YOU ANYMORE!"

"That's too bad," I said. "Because I was going to say 'Yes,' the very next time you asked."

Hillary glared at me in seething silence for one long cold moment. I used that time to roar like Godzilla and wreak havoc on my newly minted castle and all of its imaginary occupants.

As I sat back and viewed the destruction, Hillary began again,

"Will-You-Vote-For-Me?" she asked, enunciating every individual word.

"No," said I, starting another castle, "Ask me again."

6:15 AM - 11 Comments - 12 Kudos - Add Comment

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?
Current mood: animated
Category: Blogging

So many people believe the things they believe for whatever reason they believe them. Being naturally curious and interested in points of view different than my own, I'm always interested in knowing why folks believe what they believe. This often puts me at odds with those people who haven't thought through what they are saying or what they claim to believe.

The first is from MySpace friend, Seed of Eden®aka Jade Assassin®ø††.

She wrote this,

This is Christianity.
I've heard worse out of the mouths of those who claim to be Christians and, never before have I seen such a brutally judgmental group of people. I can count on one hand the few people I've met that really DO NOT judge other people. If you ask them why, they'll tell you it's not their place to do so.

I just saw this bulletin and I am disgusted. No one deserves this kind of garbage.

She goes on to post an image from the Westboro Baptist Church. For those of you familiar with this inane hate-group from godhatesfags.com, it says the kinds of things you'd expect from such a group.

But you know, this isn't really Christianity. If it was, Jade Assassin wouldn't have bothered posting it. I can't think of any other Christian group in the U.S. that aligns themselves with the Westboro folks. If you've ever watched a video of them, you know that they are incapable of even the most rudimentary forms of conversation. They only have enough mental capacity to yammer on about their hatred and disregard for any and all who don't conform to their beliefs(1). And not only can I not think of any other Christian groups like this, neither can Jade Assassin; which is why she posted this in the first place. Still, that headline paints an entire group of people at the lowest common denominator. There is a word for that, when you brand an entire group of people, based solely on their beliefs, or the actions of a few.  If this is Christianity, then Jade Assassin also believes the same of Mahatma Ghandi (he was Christian after all), Dr. Martin Luther King, Sister Mother Theresa, and many others. When Jade is counting on her hand those people who DO NOT judge others, she isn't including herself, right?

(1.) For you newbies to the game, don't go to godhatesfags.com and email or leave a message about how vile they are and how much you hate them, etc. and so forth. They are a hate-group, see? Like the KKK, Black Muslims, MECHa, Nazis and so many others who preach supremacy and hatred, Westboro folks thrive on violence, hate, bigotry and racism like any hate group. And like every hate group, they oppress their members into believing they are helpless outside of the group. You want to piss these people off? Tell them how much you love them. How much you want to cure them. How much you understand that they are hurt and lost and that is why they are lashing out with violence and hate - because they have not been allowed to grow into maturity. They have been damaged from childhood and, like children mentally deformed by cruel circumstance, they are unable to grow into adult men and women. See? We understand them. We love them (Hell, we LURV them!). We are intelligent enough not to trust them, but we still want to help them.

Which leads me into my next response.

This second one is from a MySpace friend at GLOBAL WARMING: THE ONLY SOLUTION

(FeoNote: Believe me when I say that he is not implying that global warming is the ONLY solution. There are many solutions. Bicarbonate of soda in H2O is one. Limestone molecules introduced slowly into H2O and pulled into complex crystalline forms by gravity, which in turn, attract available minerals into its self-organized spatial matrices, is another. There are many. So first read what he says is the problem, THEN you will understand the solution)

DOES GOD EXIST ?
Why is this such an important question?

Put simply, if there is a God who cares then perhaps there is hope for mankind. Alternatively no God means the future of the planet and all life on it is in jeopardy because we must put our trust in men to solve the crises we now face. How can we do that with confidence since man is the very cause of the suffering and injustice on the earth today?

Some argue that if God exists he simply does not care about the huge amount of suffering on the earth. He does nothing

On the other hand there are those who say God punishes individuals and nations for their immoral lifestyles

Still others say they cannot see God so that proves he does not exist

Let me tell you what I believe - That there is a God I have no doubt ; please read the following stories



Sir Isaac's Solar System

Sir Isaac Newton's work represents some of the greatest contributions to science ever made by an individual. Most notably, Newton derived the Law of Universal Gravitation, invented the branch of mathematics called Calculus, and performed experiments investigating the nature of light and color. He also was scholar of the Bible and devoted much time to its study.
Sir Isaac had an accomplished artisan fashion for him a small scale model of our solar system which was to be put in a room in Newton's home when completed. The assignment was finished and installed on a large table. The workman had done a very commendable job, simulating not only the various sizes of the planets and their relative proximities, but also so constructing the model that everything rotated and orbited when a crank was turned. It was an interesting, even fascinating work, as you can image, particularly to anyone schooled in the sciences.
A scientist friend of Newton's came by for a visit. Seeing the model, he was naturally intrigued, and proceeded to examine it with undisguised admiration for the high quality of the workmanship.
"Oh My! What an exquisite thing this is!" Newton's friend exclaimed. "Who made it?"
Paying little attention to him, Sir Isaac answered, "Nobody."
Stopping his inspection, the visitor turned and said, "Oh? Evidently you did not understand my question. I asked who made this?"
Newton, enjoying himself immensely no doubt, replied in a still more serious tone, "Nobody. What you see just happened to assume the form it now has."
"You must think I am a fool!" the visitor retorted heatedly, "Of course somebody made it, and he is a genius, and I would like to know who he is."
Newton then spoke to his friend in a polite yet firm way: "This thing is but a puny imitation of a much grander system whose laws you know, and I am not able to convince you that this mere toy is without a designer and maker; yet you profess to believe that the great original from which the design is taken has come into being without either designer or maker! Now tell me by what sort of reasoning do you reach such an incongruous conclusion?
adapted from Sir Isaac Newton Solar System Story (from the book: The Truth: God or evolution?, by Marshall and Sandra Hall, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI)*


The teacher who was taught a lesson

Miss, does God exist? Mary asked her teacher during class. Confident she had the answer she told the children to all move over to the window. "Tell me what you see said she. Trees flowers blue sky clouds birds was the reply. Can you see God? She said No replied the children with one voice. "Well that proves there isn't one, back to your seats now".
With the children now settled a small hand was raised. Yes Joel, said Miss Duffy. There is a God and I can prove it says Joel. Go ahead then Joel says teacher
Joel asks for the children to return to the window He then asks them, tell me what you see ? In response they say "trees, flowers, blue sky, clouds, and birds". He then asks them all to face teacher and says, now tell me can you see teachers brain? Chuckling among themselves they all say no. To which Joel responds well that proves that teacher doesn't have one.
MISS WAS NOT AMUSED!!!!!

God's invisible qualities are seen in his creation. Here in Bristol I am surrounded by works of the GREAT engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Does anyone here in Bristol doubt that Brunel designed and constructed the Clifton Suspension Bridge? The SS Great Britain or Temple Meads Station etc. OF COURSE NOT!! It is well documented in historical archives.

Therefore should we doubt that someone GREAT created the universe, our beautiful planet, and we ourselves. THE FOOL HAS SAID IN HIS HEART "THERE IS NO GOD" psalm 14:1

One dictionary definition of fool is
ONE DESTITUTE OF REASON OR OF THE COMMON POWER OF UNDERSTANDING; AN IDIOT!

Anyone who refuses to believe the evidence of his own eyes ears and other senses has to be a fool.

Apart from creation God has revealed himself to us through his Word the Bible. His name Jehovah is recorded there over 7 thousand times. In what is known as the Lords Prayer Jesus prayed for Gods name to hallowed. Jesus prayed on many occasions to his Father. Did not Jesus ascend back to his Father forty days after his resurrection or was that just a hoax.

If you would like to learn more about God and his will from His Word the Bible you may benefit from a free correspondence course.^


*Marshall and Sandra Hall also wrote in their book "The Truth: God or evolution?" that the earth was the irrefutable center of the universe and that the sun revolved around the earth. Only a fool would doubt this is so, blah, blah, blah.

^If I really and truly wanted to learn more about God and his will from his word the Bible, wouldn't I benefit MORE from actually reading the Bible? Are you saying that a free correspondence course is superior to the Bible? Who wrote the course?

By all means, visit their MySpace pages and see what's up with them. Please do not flame them or other such drivel. They've done nothing to deserve it. I'm presenting you with two points of view different from my own and why I disagree with both. I'm not painting either person in the negative, only my interpretation of what they wrote. The human mind is too complex and varied to be encapsulated in a few paragraphs, which is why I don't challenge who either of these people are (I don't know them), only what they wrote.

1:11 PM - 9 Comments - 8 Kudos - Add Comment

ARE YOU A WRITER?
Current mood: adored
Category: Writing and Poetry

THEN FREAKING WRITE!

Feo Amante's Horror Home Page has always put the creator first. And by that I mean that most of our content comes from writers or their representatives who want to spread the word about their premier or latest published work. Especially directed toward newbies in the field, anyone who is published or getting published is welcome and we are the perfect vehicle for the promotion of your stories, art, film and more in the form of Horror, Thriller, Mystery, and/or Suspense.

But I often get more email than I post. Why is that? There are quite a number of people out there that I'll put under the umbrella name of Reginald Buttwort (it sounds like a J. K. Rowling style of fictional name and Christ but I hope it's not! I haven't read all the books though so you never know).

Reginald Buttwort writes his press releases like this.

Hello, independent publisher. Banality Press has just published my book The Vile Bile. You can use this link
http://vilebile.banalitypress.com/damn/skippy/
to purchase it. Please buy my book and help support independent horror!

Ahem.

No joke.

I get an awful lot of "press releases" like that.

You would think that someone who is trying to promote themselves as a writer could write something better than vacant crap like that. Do I even have to mention that buying such an unknown quantity only supports the publisher - possibly. The author - maybe - and does nothing to support Horror? I thought I might.

Please tell yourself when you are writing a press release: "I must demonstrate my writing skill!"

I've had authors write to tell me the following: "I don't know how to write a press release."

I've never wrote anyone back saying this but I always think: You don't know how to say something positive about yourself? You don't know how to write compelling prose about your OWN freaking work?  God DAMN but you must SUCK as a writer! I sure as shit ain't buying your crap! The LAST thing I want to do is keep people like you in the market, representing Horror fans like me, and getting yourself plucked to write ignorant crap for magazines like Newsweek and Slate.

I don't say that to anyone because I don't want to discourage anyone. I also realize that writers tend to be shy and sensitive*. Not Brian Keene shy, but shy all the same. (*except when they are tearing someone else down - then it's a shark feeding frenzy managed by piranhas)

Basically, I don't want to do anything that might stop them from growing as a writer. People need encouragement not discouragement. But even realizing that - Holy Shit, man! You can't say something encouraging about yer own freaking work?

So by all means, send me your press releases! Get people excited about your story, novel, comic, movie, music, art or what-have-you! Get them charged up! Because your work is worthwhile isn't it? Your work is worth having people spend their money on it, right? Remember, YOU have to believe that before I or anyone else will.

Have fun!

10:34 PM - 13 Comments - 18 Kudos - Add Comment

BLINDED BY SCIENCE - THE CANDIDATE OF INEVITABILITY
Current mood: aroused
Category: Web, HTML, Tech

FeoNote: Each text link opens to another page with more information on the subject being discussed.

LATEST UPDATES:
Please scroll to the bottom of this blaag.

Some people felt, from the start, that THE BLU-RAY format was the candidate of inevitability. For a fact, even though it is 2008, the BLU-RAY DVD is largely no different than the CD from 1980. It's a plastic disc with a near molecular thin sheet of reflective material sandwiched inside it. For all of the advances in its design, it is still a plastic disc, of the same size, using a laser, to encode digital information. In short, it's not a big leap from the original tech from the 1950s when digital recording was first invented. In fact, BLU-RAY was available from the start in the 1980s, since the laser is merely a blue light (high wave-length moving toward the ultra spectrum) instead of a red light (low wave length moving toward the infra spectrum). The higher the wave length (the "tighter" or less space the waves have between each other), the more information it moves in the same amount of time (same amount because high or low wavelength, light moves at the same speed. Ultra violet won't reach you faster than infra red, it will just be more "excited" when it meets you).

This science lesson comes to you today because one of the biggest fish in the pond, Warner Bros., will stop backing both HD-DVD and BLU-RAY and carry only standard DVD and BLU-RAY disks from now on.

This news has stunned the many HD-DVD vendors at the Consumer Electronics Show going on right now.

Warner Bros. is nearly a third of HD-DVD sales. How are you going to laugh that off to prospective buyers? The 2007 holiday sales of machines pointed out the consumer confusion that people had over the two formats - neither sold very well because nobody wants to be the big-spending loser of the format wars (How's that mini-disc player working for ya? Say, how about that Sega game system, huh?).^ Warner, now joins Disney, 20th Century Fox, Columbia, Sony Pictures, and a few others, in going over to the BLU-RAY format exclusively, as BLU-RAY holds nearly twice the amount of information, and can attain far higher levels of high definition, than HD - which is apparently locked to a ceiling of 1080x720. BLU-RAY is capable of up to 1980i.

True, some software genius might come up with a revolutionary compression system that would allow HD a larger containment of information, but that would require a different player to handle it and what would stop BLU-Ray from also using that software to reach higher levels still (more on this in a moment)? HD is simply a dead end technology.

So for now, only Universal and Paramount, who historically have always been the last to the buffet table (they were the last of the major players to get onboard with home video and with the DVD market), still support the HD-DVD format exclusively. It would be more beneficial for Paramount to announce BLU-RAY exclusively, next, but Universal will probably do it first as Paramount has always stood last in line behind Universal for everything. Look at Paramount's movie offerings over the past ten years in comparison to the other major studios. Take their Dreamworks partner out of the equation and what have you got?

According to Variety Magazine, Toshiba, which holds the patent to HD, even has their own DVD consultant, Warren Lieberfarb (the "Father" of DVD), saying that both formats will soon be immaterial as everyone will download their movies.

That should come as no surprise since Warren has been saying that for years.

Well, Warren is a visionary and we're getting there, but it is still a long way off.

Maybe. Someday (How is that flying car working for ya? How's yer jetpack holding up?). But for right now, even the fastest home cable internet takes about 9 hours to download the information from a standard double DVD of movie and those coveted extras. If you merely have highspeed DSL, you might as well call it a day - literally! And if, any time in that download, you get an interrupted connection then you might have to start the download all over again. Plus that's only assuming that your highspeed Internet connection stays at highspeed and doesn't suffer from lag times. In other words, that 9 hours is if everything else is running at optimal capacity for 9 uninterrupted hours straight! Does your computer and Internet do that well? And if all of the DVD renting and buying public started doing that tomorrow that system would likely crash~ as we simply don't have the infrastructure for that right now. (~or go down, which is a preferred public relations term.
"OMG! I heard your girlfriend crashed! Is she all right?"
No, no, she didn't crash, she just goes down.
"Oh. Um... so how's that workin' for ya?")
And for the U.S. alone, a nationwide Internet infrastructure rebuilt from the ground up and replacing the entire network backbone that took about 40 years to make will take some beauceaup years and serious money to manifest. And even that's assuming that congress will get off of their fat, earmarked, pork-barrel, wait-and-see collective ass and allow the FTC and FCC to mandate it. And in turn that's assuming a whole lot of other U.S. government workers can get their bureaucrat movements from a bunch of young and old congressional farts who apparently can't even figure out how to properly send and open an email!

Meanwhile we have flash drives getting up to BLU-RAY storage capacity, but none of them, as of this writing, come close to the high-speed steady throughput rate required of watching a movie without those YouTube-type picture sputters. Granted you could transfer the memory from your flash drive to your computer: but that doesn't even cover the fact that those super high end memory flash drives are considerably more complicated and involve a great many more parts than a simple BLU-RAY disc; run about $200+ bucks each, and I'm not about to pay that kind of money for a single freaking movie.

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."
- Leonardo Da Vinci

Even 2 gig high-throughout flash drives run about $30 bucks and that's too high a price for a double disc standard DVD -