soapyblog.com

So… I’m working on building a big Drupal site that incorporates all my other sites into one big thing… So, this blog will be moving to the new home soon.

A direct quote from Google’s Chromium blog…

Though H.264 plays an important role in video, as our goal is to enable open innovation, support for the codec will be removed and our resources directed towards completely open codec technologies.

What…the…fuck? Seriously Google?

HTML5 video has the potential to revolutionize online video delivery and take it out of the hands of everyone’s favorite internet supervillain Flash. But it won’t if these damn browsers keep up their assinine pissing contests over supported formats.

It’s freaking VHS vs. Betamax all over again!
CORNER 1 -  h.264 with Microsoft and Apple
CORNER 2 – OGG with Mozilla
CORNER 3 – WebM with Google

Except with this stupid war, they’re all going to lose and take internet video down with it, because the only winner of this war is going to be Flash. These stupid companies are just handing the reigns of internet video right back to Adobe. Seriously does a single one of these people remember the REAL vs. WMV vs. Quicktime war that gave Flash internet video on a silver platter?

GROW UP! HTML5 video is made so that any number of formats can be accepted. It’s meant to be OPEN for fuck’s sake. So Apple, Microsoft, Mozilla and Google, get off your damn soap boxes and just fucking support all three formats! I guarantee you Flash will be dead in a year. But if you keep this crap up HTML5 video will just go the way of Betamax, Laserdisk, Superdisc, HDDVD, REAL video, Firewire, Casette tapes, 8-tracks and any other victim of a format war.

Make open standards, not format wars!

Kick starting this drawing of the day thing again. This time by experimenting with Skethbook Express and digital drawing…

Emergence

Ah, the FCC. There is no other government organization that elicits more vehement detestation and utter abhoration than the FCC. Entire movements of conspiracy theory have been founded on the “above the law” nature of this political coup d’état. In some ways you almost feel sorry for the unfab five who singlehandedly control all telecommunications in this country without any recompense or checks and balances. I mean can you imagine getting a call from the President saying he’s appointed you to the FCC. “So, Joe, you know how you were thinking of going into politics, well I’ve got this appointed position that’s opening up soon that I think you’re perfect for. What is it? [cue ominous music] Oh, just this little organization called the Federal Communications Commision.” [screams and maniacal laughter follow]

Back in the mid 1930s the FCC was created to do the ugly job of controlling radio. One part protector of free speech and two parts national security agency, they were responsible for making sure people could get on the air and spout nonsense, while also making sure that the military could use the airwaves to protect and serve without some Nazi spy overhearing their conversations. Since then, they’ve tackled such public relations disasters as regulating how people talk to each other through a series of ugly wires strung across the country, to telling people that they can’t show boobies on TV and now to telling internet companies that they kind-of-sort-of can’t sabatoge their competitors. They even singlehandedly forced Howard Stern to move to XM radio. Yep, the FCC has the ugly job of being the bad guy that makes all the yucky decisions.

In all seriousness though, someone’s got to do the job that they do. I mean can you imagine a world where Billy Joe and Peggy Sue could both set up a radio station on the same frequency just to drown each other out; or where some crazy guy on the street corner could listen in on the government waves and start a wiki online about all the government’s secrets. Or worse yet, imagine a world where Family Guy and Roseanne Barr could have full frontal nudity and every word on the radio is a swear and every show on TV is porn. And now, worst of all, imagine a world where Time Warner can put Netflix out of business because they are stealing customers from them. It could happen without the FCC.

The real question is “who the hell are these five old geezers that run our country.” The president, bah, the only power he really has is to appoint people to the FCC…seriously. “He who controls communications, controls the world.” Some important guy somewhere said that, or if they didn’t they should have. “Rule number one of a military engagement, take out the communications.” Some other important military guy said that.

So what we have in our country is perhaps one of the most important government security agencies being run by five appointed peons with no accountability and no checks and balances. If they screw up and blow up the world, oh well. You can’t vote against them next election. Sure, you can sue their asses; you might even win, but who has time to sue these days. On the plus side, the FCC is not military. Then we really could talk about Big Brother. Or the FCC could just be a committee of Congress, then it would have taken them five years to fine Janet Jackson for her wardrobe malfunction and they would have stuck some bill about saving pandas on there with it. Or even better, let’s just privatize it. The rest of the government is up to the highest bidder, why not the FCC as well?

Of course all of this could be solved if we all just lived in caves and hid from each other. Who needs communication anyway?

Anyone that hasn’t already, should check out…

Riese

The Guild

…two of the best series on TV and they’re not even on TV. Seriously.

Just did a couple updates and changed some security settings. Anyone can still post comments (first comment requires moderation). I’ve disabled users because it was kind of pointless and I got a bunch of spam users. So feel free to comment to your hearts content. I do respond to comments, when they do come along…

I’ve been waiting for Lexx to come to Netflix for a long time. A friend had recommended it to me, but I wanted to watch from the first season which for a long time was not available on DVD. Well now it finally is and it’s available on all the streaming medias. Amazon was giving away the first episodes of each season, so I figured I’d give it a try. We watched a few episodes/mini movies and got hooked. And yet, I had been expecting something a little more considering this was supposed to be one of the more edgy shows out there. Well come to find out that the versions on Amazon streaming are the hack and slash censored ones that aired on SyFy and not the uncut ones on the recent DVD sets.

Frustrated, I watched some more, of course wondering what I was missing from the editing. Then decided I wasn’t going to pay Amazon any more for the censored junk, so I added the DVDs to my Netflix cue. I had a number of other movies in there before them, so they hadn’t been sent. Well low and behold last week they also got onto Netflix Instant Watch. Took a look and, yep they’re the censored versions. Hulu? Censored versions too.

So, I guess I’ll watch the edited versions on Netflix because it’s better than nothing and then when I can I’ll get the DVDs which are uncensored or so they say. Meanwhile, I’ll just sit here and stew over how the lame-ass movie studios take something that is obviously meant for adults and tame it down so they can get a general audience picture. It’s one thing to edit for TV which has regulations, but Hulu and Netflix and Amazon all have plenty of other soft-core stuff that is totally not edited.

So why did the studio decide to put the censored versions on streaming media? My guess is because streaming media is still considered a third-rate citizen to the movie studios. They want to sell DVDs by saying it’s the never before seen uncut version or some crap like that. It’s no wonder people just bit torrent everything. There are plenty of money-making streaming options for TV studios and yet they continue to cripple them with late releases, missing episodes, censored episodes, incorrect aspect ratios, poor quality, etc. Eureka seasons 1 and 2 just made it on to Netflix. They’re on what, season 5 now? Come on movie companies, streaming is the future. This is the same kind of garbage they pulled with VHS movies back in the day. DVDs finally brought real versions of movies to the consumer. So why are we taking a step backwards with the cutting edge formats? And why the hell in today’s day and age are we still censoring boobs, some swears and a little violence.

It’s also a real shame looking at the history of Lexx as well. Syfy really botched it there. They aired it right next to Farscape so naturally it got cries of “Farscape ripoff” even though it predates Farscape by a couple years. Couple that with the editing and it was doomed from the get-go. It’s unfortunate too because it really was a strange, quirky, humorous and sometimes disturbing show.

After a long wait between seasons, I finished watching season 2 of Sanctuary yesterday. On the whole, I’d say that it is much improved over season 1. A lot of the aspects of the first season that really aggravated me have been ironed out in the second season making the show a much more solid production. The acting, on the whole is more consistent (including Tapping’s accent). The writing is a lot less hit or miss (though there are still some big misses). The dead weight from the first season has also been shed (Ashley, cough, cough, Invisible Girl, cough, cough) and the new regulars definitely add to the show.

Despite all this though, I do keep hoping for more. Maybe season 3 will be even better. A few thoughts and feelings…

• The wardrobe – I know, I keep harping on this one, but I really wish they would bring back some of the fashion flair from the pilot, in particular with Magnus. The second season is at least more consistent, but I can’t help but feel like I’m watching yet another Hollywood remake of a comic book with a “modernized super-hero outfits.” And in some episodes it goes a little farther and Magnus almost looks frumpy. Kate and Tesla stand out as the exceptions to this as their character’s wardrobes really fit their characters well. The worst wardrobe of course still goes to Zimmerman who’s “I’m not Daniel Jackson” pretty-boy styling does not match his character in the slightest.
• Edginess – The second season does a lot better with this, there are some really dark almost Whedonesque moments which is where the show really shines. The show needs to keep going in this direction. The best episodes continue to be when Tesla and Druid are there because their flawed characters add a chaotic side to the show which it really needs. And in this season you finally get to see Druid act like Jack the Ripper, though shortly after that, they write it off as a “possession” from his teleporting.
• Politics – Politics are boring and aggravating and can drag even the best stories down. They were a constant thorn in Stargate’s side with all the “shut down the Stargate program” nonsense and they are showing their ugly face in the second season of Sanctuary with all the “let’s fire Magnus” crap. At least in the X-Files, the government *was* the bad guy so when the politics came in, there was a reason. It is nice that they focus on the Sanctuary being more of a network and not just Magnus’ little party, but the whole Big Bertha stuff really detracts from the show. Here’s to hoping they ditch that whole subplot for season 3.
• More! Man, I hate these stupid 13-episode series. Come on SciFi and give them their full 22 episode run.

New render up at my Renderosity gallery…
http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/index.php?image_id=2076540

there’s a place, a tired and weary place
a place where distractions become
solutions
forcing impetus into a fetal position
while accomplishments get swept underfoot

frustration builds.