Sunflower

A sunflower appeared in my backyard. It has some nerve squatting here without my permission, but I have agreed to let it stay.

Copyright 2011 Cram / Kmuzu. All rights reserved.

Consumer God

First please watch the video posted right below. It's short .. so don't worry.





This post is not going to disrespect the police. This post is about consumerism and obedience to the social structure.

It's my belief that we are slowly falling asleep and in this sleep we are cleansing all memory of what it meant to be awake and alive. When I saw this video, I wondered what is society trying to stop?

When the policewoman says, "We don't know what is in the lemonade." I'm thinking either you just don't understand the concept of lemons, water and sugar mixed together or you're inferring that there's something nefarious with these three girls. My question is - how the hell do you know what's in that powdered lemonade you buy at the grocery store? Have you looked at the ingredients? Which is probably more safe to consume?

I don't think the main motivation here is protecting consumers. I think the motivation is to insure complete obedience to the system. Understand the police were not responding to a complaint, but were driving by when they saw the lemonade stand. They had the option of just ignoring it. Why did they respond? What was it in them that made them divert from the easier path of just driving away?

The lemonade stand must have been some kind of threat to their authority. The social structure of the the guards and those who are guarded was disturbed. This was independence. This was going around the system. And there is only one system. The system says you are to be an employee and you are to used what you make for money to buy stuff.

To play by the rules, would require the children to pay $150 for the license and $50 a day in fees. Which means it's impossible for them to make any profit on the lemonade stand.


They could always give the lemonade away for free and ask for a gift of the price of the lemonade. But once again, we are telling our children that in order to be free and independent you have to cheat.

This is what really scares me about the trajectory of America. That there is no way, unless you are fully compliant with the system to survive, let alone thrive.

Foto Friday - Super Super

 It's Foto Friday and still there is no logo and it's actually Saturday, but if I can do this quick, it will be done before sunrise. So it's still Foto Friday.

I am neither the creator nor do I own the copyright to any of these pictures. All presented here under a loose interpretation of Fair Use. I'm sure with a little research on the Internet you can find the original.

Always saw these is some small corner in Southern California

If Picasso painted Punisher

And Wonder Woman

Never believe something that you read on a small plaque

One reason I love dogs

Once you see it, Batman is never the same.

The REAL WW

How I imagine myself at the airport

After I place the pictures, I always try to determine if there was any kind of subconscious theme. Definetly, there is a superhero vibe going on here .. with a touch of superpowers ..

 As I mentioned before, I found these on the Internet and have no rights or privileges to the material. If you know the owner or creator I would be more than happy to provide a link to the website.

Agnostic View of Inteligent Design

I've been reading lately that some Christians want Intelligent Design taught in public schools. Now, I'm an Agnostic meaning that I lack the gift of faith. As the Boston used to sing, it takes "More than a Feeling" for me to believe something.

I'm not going to get into if Intelligent Design is real. ( hereafter called ID). However, if we're going to teach ID in science class, then ID must follow all the rules and processes of any other science topic


The students should theorectically be able to recreate life in their lab .. Religious scientists need to explain the engineering behind it .. so that the student can establish experimentation to replicate the "God Creative Process".

1. What are the exact powers of the Intelligent Designer? Can the IDer just snap His fingers and anything can happen or does the IDer have to follow the rules of the universe?

     A)  How does these powers works?
     B)  How did the IDer obtain the powers?
     C)  Has the powers remained the same or does the IDer learn new stuff?

2. Why did the IDer create the Universe? Did the IDer just create it then leave the universe to develop on its own or does the ID take an active roll. If so, then what things has the ID directly done and how did the ID do it?

     A)  How old is the IDer?
     B)  Is there more than one IDer?
     C)  How long will the IDer be in existence?
     D)  What happens to the IDer when the universe fades?
     F)  How old is the universe? How old is the Earth? How old are humans?

3. Is the ID a creator, interferer or modifier .. or a combination of the three. Please explain exactly what the ID had done.

     A)  What exactly has the IDer created from scratch?
     B)  When has the IDer changed or modified a design? Exactly how did He accomplish this?
     C)  Has the creator ever stopped the progression of a design?

4. Show what particular ID element that can be replicated and/or tested and measured.

     A)  What experiment can a student do to prove the existence of ID?
     B)  What is the mathematical or chemical theory behind ID? Specifics ..

5. What tools or technology does the ID uses?

    A)  Did the IDer use any tools or technology to create His designs?
    B)  What was the source of power to create the designs?
    C)  How did the IDer remember how to do the designs. Are the designs written down?

6. Make prediction of what the ID will do in the future. Show the process of those prediction - in other words something more logical than "The Bible says it's going to happen."

If these guys can't answer these questions, what really will the class material consist of - other than just reading passages from the Bible. You need more than just a statement .. science is meant to be explored, questioned and analyzed. 

How Netflix Alienated Its Customers And Became Less Popular Than Blockbuster In Two Weeks

If you look at the new Netflix price range it's not that unfair - take too long to explain why. However, how it was implemente­d was one of the worst fiascoes I think I've ever seen. This will be taught in colleges as what-never­-to-do. People at Netflix need to be fired.

If you're going to make such a dramatic change like this, you've got to implement it over eight months to year. And you better have a really spot-on migration plan. Really Netflix you send a letter .. a letter? I would have purchased some commercial time and put a video on the Netflix site from the CEO, saying simply -

We are at the mercy of the content providers and they have decided to drain us of our money. Over the next year, we will be forced to make tough choices but our commitment is to our customers. We will do everything we can to stabilize costs and monthly charges. However, because of the current environmen­t there will be changes.

Prepare your customers. Get the thought into their minds. And start pointing that finger of blame, so that when it hits, they're anger is at Fox and Sony and not at you. Also prepare a migration plan. There must be value added stuff you can give customer for choosing to stay. As I'm typing this, I've thought of about a dozen and half of them don't cost Netflix any more money.

Which brings me to my last point, Netflix if you ever find yourself in this situation again, for a few hundred bucks I can save you from ruining your reputation. Really, I've done this stuff before and I can help - I'm here to help and to heal.  Also, because I'm semi-retired, I'm cheap .. really cheap ... like let's talk free three year contract in exchange for saving company cheap. Just saying ..

Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Hobbit First Look

Things have not been going so great around her in the EiMB kingdom, but no need to go into other than to say, sometimes when you least expect it - fishing around the internet can have its rewards.

Here is a first look at The Hobbit courtesy of Entertainment Weekly. The movie will not be released until December 2012, but it certainly gives me something to look forward to  .. thank you Peter Jackson.

Dwarves as they should be.

Winklevoss Twins Slam Summers Over 'A**hole' Insult

These dudes have ensured that nothing they do for the rest of their lives will be greater that what they are right now. And that is the humorous tragic irony here .. They are in essence a privileged­, modern day Rosencrant­z and Guildenste­rn.

Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Friday Foto - Okay

It's another Friday Foto and once again I've failed to create a logo. I do NOT own the copyright to any of these pictures. All presented to you under "fair use". I'm sure with a little Google help you can find them for yourselves. Until then .. enjoy.

I'm not sure what the theme is for this Friday Foto, but this is it.

Awesome advertising .. poor drivers

Very creative

Using the Dark Side

Never has a dirty car looked so good.

T-Shirt Truth

Now I know what the theme is - Truth in Advertising.

Boing Boing - Reports Elvis Robs

Fair Use

The fantastic website Boing Boing is reporting that Elvis was spotted in England robbing stores with a fake handgun. I can assure you that Elvis would never us a fake handgun. Elvis carried two very real gold and nickel plated Smith & Wesson 357 magnum revolvers.

Also, Elvis is very safe and satisfied living in my basement. I have changed his diet to mango salsa chicken fingers, which he's very pleased with.

So don't worry.

Read More at BBC - Elvis Suspect

Space Shuttle Atlantis Makes Historic Final Landing, Ending 30-Year Era (VIDEO)

Other than transporti­ng and then repairing the Hubble telescope, I never really like the Shuttle program. When Kennedy dreamed of space .. we went to the moon, when Reagan dreamed we orbited a flying bus around earth a few times. And that was the problem, after Reagan, the space program was designed to make money. Now every post I see concerning space travel or astronomy has some guy asking how we make a buck from it.

Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

I've been following Marc Maron for years. He used to do stuff with Sam Seder. He is very funny in a kind of self-serving, narrasitic way.

He was on Conan and was so funny that I decided to blow out my blog margins to show the video. .. enjoy.

Asteroid Vesta Photographed By NASA's Orbiting Dawn Craft

Soon there will be all kinds of theories crawling out from the underbelly of the internet, saying this is really a giant spaceship. There will be colored lines showing the outline of ports and buildings. They will say that it's unnatural for there to be 90 degree angles in nature. And of course, this will all be some giant government cover-up. This thing will be the next "Face on Mars"
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Sunday Advice - Friday News is Bad New

There's Friday Foto and now I am starting a new theme day, called Sunday Advice. This is where I, the great and mighty Kmuzu tell you what to do. - I know it's now Monday, but only by a little. And like Friday, I'm too lazy to create a logo .. so this will have to do.

Sunday Advice

This advice concerns people delivering news. Almost always at the office or with people you see every day this is the standard protocol - The same is almost always true with politics as well, but for different reasons.


Good news is delivered on Monday or Tuesday and Bad news is delivered on Friday.

Here's why it happens and why it's important for you to know.

If a boss gives you bad news on Friday - for instance, informing you that you're fired, then it's usually too late for you to initiate any kind of defense or reaction. Everyone is preparing for the weekend. Human resources is gone and quite frankly no one wants to get involved in such a commitment of time and energy when they know they're going to be on the lake in twelve hours. Also, employees usually get paid on Friday and so it's an easy accounting cut-off.

By the time the weekend is over and Monday starts, all the momentum is lost - momentum is key - something I might write about in my next Sunday Advice.

Good news is delivered early in the week, because a business wants you to spread around the good news. It builds moral and confidence in a company when an employee gets Employee of the Month. And bosses, who have delicate but hungry egos, love to hear the praise all week long.

Here's why you need to know this - If you sense something is going wrong with your boss or with the company, and you have any suspicion that it might be the end for you, then Friday morning call in sick. Sometimes, a boss is not smart enough to hold his cards close to his chest and he might say something like we need to talk on Friday.

If you can, call it into human resources and really play it up. Now this isn't the time to go on vacation or to spend the whole day at the bar watching a baseball game. Stay at home, watch television or surf the web.

If it's really bad news, your boss will call and ask when you're going to be back. My advice is to be vague, but leave open the possibility that you'll be back on Monday. Make sure the conversation is short - say you're thinking about going to the doctor. Then on Monday call in sick.

Remember how I talked about momentum - well you just took all the momentum out of firing you. Usually mid-level bosses have to get approval from HR to fire and hire. And usually, they were too lazy to keep all the records and do all the due diligence. HR likes to have all the paperwork and notes kept the way the want it and they spend many hours training mangers on how to do this and most mangers ignore them. So, in order to get you fired, he/she had to go in and convince HR that it was important to let you go without any of those warning, performance reviews, or performance plans in place. This made HR angry.

Because you did not come in on Friday (and Monday) your manager has to go back into HR and to accounting. HR is going to gripe and complain that the manger can't do anything by the book and accounting's got to redo the whole payroll. It's just a mess.

All of this means, that your manager might just drop the whole thing because it's not worth the hassle. I've seen it happen before. One more thing, when you come back, stop off at HR first and just kind of inform them that you are feeling a bit better and thank them for helping out.

Just my little tip for you to be happy ..

This is just my opinion - I am NOT a lawyer or someone that has any experience in anything whatsoever. As a matter of fact, you're probably better off not doing anything I say.

Toy Story - The Real Story

It was real .. it was always real.

Friday Foto - Yea

Here it is again .. without a logo .. give it up for Friday Photo.

Sort of have a movie theme going.

Yes you are them.

I don't usually kill bears but when I do ...

Movies before CG and it was awesome

I wonder where that Stay-Puff is today?

Sometimes the French do awesome stuff.

I do not own the copyright to any of these pictures. Displaying them here as "Fair Use"

Once A Month Check-In

Here I am again at the Sunrise Hospital Infusion Center. I just recently purchased an iPhone and downloaded the Four Square app. I'm proud to announce I am one day away from being the Mayor of this damn place. That's right you are looking at the future mayor of one of the largest infusion centers in Las Vegas. And considering that my presence, brought the average age down from 83 to 82, I think I'm gonna be mayor for a long, long time.

The only good thing about this place, is the Turner Classic Movie channel is on. I am watching some movie with Marlene Dietrich. That German broad could act. You know without any of the special FX or computer animation or digital editing .. you had to act.

There was something else I wanted to talk about, but something about this place makes you forget - just forget

Super Fun Date Time

Every wish you could date a superhero? Here's your chance with SuperHarmony.

Westwood Associates .. Studios .. whatever

Kotaku recently did a post on Westwood Studios, called Let's Pour One Out for Westwood Studios. The gist of the story is comparing the take-over of Westwood to EA's new acquisition of PopCap. You can read the article here - Westwood Studios

Kotaku got a number of things right. When you're purchased by EA, it's a slow and painful assimilation. I saw first-hand what it did to many of my friends and if I have any advice to the employees of PopCap; it's don't purchase anything you can't fit into a suitcase.

Kotaku also go a few things wrong. But first let me -es'plain ...

A long time ago, in the late 80's I worked for Westwood Associates. I guess you could call me an employee - although I only made around 17k a year, had no health insurance and at that time Brett Sperry, the owner tried to convince everyone to be a contractor. - this is NOT a hit piece on Westwood, they were small, had no money and were trying to compete with well established companies. Not to mention we were all in our twenties and had no idea what the hell we were doing. So no regrets ..

That's me in the back by an eye.

I was a designer and a writer. I was a designer on Dune II. I was a writer on Eye of the Beholder II and there were other products.

I am not going to go into the whole history of Westwood. I will save that for another post. I'm just going to address some of the conclusion in the Kotaku post.

1. Brett Sperry was not the originator of the RTS. It was a game called Herzog Zwei created by Technosoft. A great little two-player game for the SEGA. Everyone loved playing it at the office. In another post, I will explain how Dune II became an RTS - mostly due to a wretched French company called - Cryo Interactive.

Brett was genius at taking embryos of ideas and designs and making them into something great. He did the same thing with Eye of the Beholder, Circuit's Edge and even Kyrandia. Why some company like Apple never picked Brett up as a VP of design I'll never understand.

2. Eye of the Beholder was NOT just another RP. It was the first (okay second) interactive RP. Games like Black Ops and Halo can thank EoB for establishing the engine. Also, games like World of Warcraft have taken a step backwards - they could learn a thing or two from EoB. *Trivia* - If you really want to the see the first - very first off-rail FPS game - check out DragonStrike. Louis Castle has an incredible mind.

So here is a big, huge, money-making tip for any wanna-be designer from your friend, The Mighty Kmuzu. Go git yerself a copy of EoB, EoB II and Lands of Lore. Play the crap out them and start  thinking of elements in those games that have vanished from modern day RP games. You will make a bucket load of money. good luck .

3. EA was not the destroyer of Westwood. Brett lit the fuse long before EA came around. Once again this is not a hit piece. I do not blame Brett or Louis, nor do I think they acted unreasonably. It was those damn Brits at Virgin Interactive. Brett fell in love (in a platonic way) with the guys at Virgin - hell, we all fell in love with the guys at Virgin. They were charming, funny and from Irvine - which at the time seemed a whole lot more groovy place than Las Vegas.

I left Westwood before Virgin actually took over. I did wait until after Virgin drove us all down in a bus to a some huge park for a party. The volleyball game between Westwood and Virgin is a priceless memory.. I will tell that amazing, funny story later.

After Virgin, there was Viacom and after that, EA grabbed what was left .. and by that time the poker game was pretty much over.

4. Westwood is not gone. It still remains today in Petroglyph Games. It's not run by Brett or Louis anymore, It's run by Mike Legg and Joe Bostic. And quite frankly, I think they're doing a better job - to be fair, its almost 30 years later and both Mike and Joe have a lot more maturity and experience under their belt.

I'm fairly sure Petroglyph is going to stay independent for a while. You can thank EA for making Mike and Joe gun shy about the beauty and fun of an acquisition.

I smell what this article is cooking and I agree, PopCap has no idea what's in store for them. EA has not been a design or game company for a long, long time. They're some kind of distribution company, who don't care if the games are good or bad or whatever - as long as it gets to the channel on time.

Kotaku Article --> Westood Studios

If you have any questions or comments - please feel free to drop me an email or put a comment below. And don't forget to give me a "thumbs-up" in Stumble Upon or Google's + thing.

Netflix - So long and thanks for all the fish

If you're a member of Netflix, you probably received an email today similar to the one I did (shown below). I love how Netflix tries to make it sound like it's a good thing .. Hey your plan has split - like a stock and now you can choose - either get dvd's in the mail or you can stream them online. But wait there's more - if you don't do anything we'll charge your credit card for a new plan.

If Netflix were honest, here's how the email would read:

Dear Former Customer:

Shit runs down hill.

The old farts who run the movie studios (who have no understanding of technology and still think the internet runs in tubes) have decided that they want to grab ALL the money for themselves in DVD rentals. Although they have no inkling of how this works, nor do they have a distribution channel, these cheese-heads are squeezing us out by charging  exorbitant fees. You can expect similar things to happen to Itunes, Blockbuster, DirectTV, Hulu and Redbox. 

The reasonable price you used to pay has now been replaced with a horrible plan that either lets you get movies in the mail or watch a small selection on your computer - or you can choose to pay almost double for both.

We understand you're probably not reading this paragraph, because you're busy canceling your account. Netflix doesn't blame you; we would do the same thing.

However, because these companies don't have any consideration for customer loyalty or trust, you can be assured that they will screw up the deal. It won't be long before Sony and other content providers are back to infesting your computer, DVR, PlayStation, XBOX with rootkit viruses and have exposed you to every hacker east of Czechoslovakia. 

In the near future, your own equipment will spy on your every button press and snitching on any suspicious activity.  It wouldn't surprise us if they don't go after you with a den of lawyers and force your ISP to only allow access to 100 or so approved websites.

Therefore, our recommendation is to wait. It may take a year or so to completely ruin what's left of their tattered reputations but when that is through, we'll be back with lower price and better selections.

You are always welcome back.

Sincerely - Netflix.

*******

The real truth .. the fact of the matter jack .. is that many people will go back to just downloading the movies illegally. I do NOT endorse this is any fashion. But it's reality - when rentals get too expensive and the commercials are way too long - and the added protection crap becomes unbearable, it will happen.

LA Times - Netflix raising prices

The authentic letter from Netflix

While I contemplate life, enjoy this.



Hauschka at NPR: Improvisation from NPR on Vimeo.

Star Wars - The Empire Won

It's 3:30 in the morning, my MS is acting up and I can't sleep - so why not go on a bit of Star Wars rant.

Recently, Greenpeace produced a satirical commercial - poking fun at the Star War - Darth Vader Volkswagen commercial that appeared in Super Bowl 2010.

I happened to like the Volkswagen commercial - It was cute.



Tonight, I Stumbled Upon an article in AutoBlog titled, Greenpeace parodies Little Vader ad to show dark side of Volkswagen. The article, in a non-biased way, explains that Greenpeace is upset at Volkswagen trying to squelch the EU laws on CO2 admissions and created a fake commercial, where Volkswagen is the new Empire. There's even a huge VW logo on the Death Star. To tell you the truth, it's not that funny - I mean it's okay I guess - but that's not what this post is about.



Even though the article was published a few days ago, it seems that George Lucas got his panties in a wad, a real tight wad and demanded the video be removed. Now, I'm not going to go into the political argument of whether Greenpeace is right or wrong about Global Climate Change. And it is a political arguement, because the science is conclusive. Maybe the CO2 laws in the EU are too strict .. I have no idea.

Here's what this post is about. Greenpeace suggests that Lucas has sold his soul to the Dark Side commercial marketing and become the Empire of capitalization. So, what does George Lucas do? He immediately turns around and proves it's all true by lawyering  up and forcing GP to shut down the video. It is the highest form of douchebagness to shut down a parody. 

In Star Wars 4 - A New Hope, which is really chronologically the first Star Wars movie.  There's a great line by Princess Leia. 

The Empire a-hole, Governor Tarkin says "... No star system will dare oppose the Emperor now."

To which Leia replies, "The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers."

Is this not a perfect analogy of what Lucas is doing to GP? The video Lucas is so desperately trying to shutdown is popping up all over the Internet.


The purpose of a parody is to provoke thought and conversation using comedy. And look, I don't really think the content of the GP's parody succeeds - first, I don't consider VW to be one of the big offenders of CO2 emissions and the video is too far reaching and over the top to be effective.


However, George Lucas reacting to the video in such a draconian way validates the parody. In sense VW may not be the evil empire but Lucas my be the Emperor. 


Article in AutoBlog

ViewBug Headline

My Elvis Frog picture just made it as a headline picture for ViewBug.

You can see the picture here ViewBug and if you are kind enough - purchase a cool photo. Send it to me and I will even sign it .. who knows in 100 or more years it could be worth almost what you paid for it.

To purchase Elvis Frog go here ---> Elvis Frog

This video was taken on July 4, 2001 just outside of the Red Rock Hotel & Casino parking lot. It is the fireworks show that Stations Casino does every year. I used my Canon EOS Rebel T2i



Copyright 2011 - Cram/Kmuzu. All rights reserved

Super Water Sport

Still working on paying bills and my head hurts. So, enjoy this picture of superheroes skying in formation in Orlando, Florida.

Copyright not owned by me - used under Fair Use

Tomato Heart and other Treasures

I hope y'all survived Independence Day. I guess if you live outside the United States it was a little less dramatic.

Yesterday, I pulled from the Ace Tomato plant a tomato that was almost perfectly shaped like a little heart. I forced my poor daughter to hold the tomato in different positions while I snapped photo after photo. But she's got to learn that such is the life, living under the oppressive boot of a determined photographer.

Copyright 2011 Cram / Kmuzu - all rights reserved

Copyright 2011 Cram / Kmuzu - all rights reserved

 If you like these pictures you can purchase them at ViewBug.

That's how it seems to her - because I made her miss half of Wizards of Waverly Place.

It seems like every bill has hit the your great leader this month and now I sit here completely broke. So, I am trying to come up with some revenue generating activities. Here's how you can help.

If you don't want to spend any money and I don't blame you because none of us have any money - you can simply click on one the advertisers. Next, if you got some cash and you like some product that I mention here just click on it - most often I link it back to Amazon. If you purchase said product through Amazon - through my link - Amazon kicks back some cash love. Also there is a little Amazon widget on the right hand side.

For the millionaires and billionaires out there and I know that this blog attracts a fair share of the super-elite-wealthy. There are two donation buttons in the upper-right-hand corner one from Google and one from PayPal. I suggest the magically, lucky number of $7.77.

Last, I'm going to open a couple of e-shops to sell some of my photography and other creative crap.

Shop #1 - Kmuzu's ViewBug - Selling photography in all kinds of formats.
Shop #2 - Photofinger Red Bubble - This has a lot creative crap. It's kind of old and I need to revamp.
Shop #3 - Kmuzu Treasure on Etsy - Currently adding items to this shop.

I will sign most anything you purchase from one of these stores for free, as long as you throw in a stamp or little money for returned mail.

One last thing, if you purchase or donate, please drop send me an email. Most importantly, I want to send you a great big "thank you" and also I want to make sure that the company doesn't rip me or you off.

All pictures are copyright 2011 Cram / Kmuzu - all rights reserved. If you wish to use any photograph or artwork on this site just drop me an email. I am very accommodating.

The 4th

Happy Independence Day

Except if you're part of the British Empire

And you're satisfied with it. 

The great and mighty world of EiMB wishes you a happy Independence Day no matter what flag you live under. May you live your life as free as Elvis wanted. 

No more posts for today, getting ready for fireworks.

Red Pop - Sums up everything I hate about living in age of the Intenet

I want you to watch the video below before you read my post. After, I will explain why everything I hate about the culture we live in today is embodied in this product. Please view the video now:


Red Pop from Beep Industries on Vimeo.

I hate the saying the, "The best camera is the one you have with you." The saying should be. "The best camera is the one you have with you - so you better bring a good camera. Cause if all you have is your iPhone then you're screwed."

I'm not exactly sure how to approach this. Everyone these days wants to be a hipster photographer. They want to capture those magical moments. And yet, I bet that almost no one is capturing those pictures, because they're trying to use their cell phone.

My main camera is a Canon EOS T2i. It's a mid-range DLSR . DSLR means it's digital and I can change the lenses. All this device was designed to do is take pictures (and video). Every menu, button and switch is about how to take a picture. The whole history of the Canon is about photography and optics.

When Brendan Dawes, owner of Red Pop tries to tell you that you can capture the same photos his dad did by adding Red Pop to your iPhone, he's lying. It's as big a lie as that red button.

I have to admit that I'm kind of a camera freak. Below is my baby. It's an Olympus OM-1. Made in the late 60's and probably very similar to the one Brendan's dad used. His Dad probably used a Canon or Nikon or possibly a Leica. But the mechanics are almost identical.

The OM-1 even had a built-in light meter.

See all those buttons and dials on the camera? Believe it or not they actually have functions. They allow the photographer to manipulate how much light comes in, how long the shutter stays open and other really cool stuff. And even back in the groovy days of the late 60's, photographers didn't rely on magically capturing the "moment". Their old mechanical cameras took one or two pictures a second and then the photographer chose which of those photos were the magic ones.

Look at the diameter of the lens in the picture below. See how big it is - size matters. That puny, little pin-hole on your iPhone ain't gonna cut it. It's just not .. okay, maybe it does alright taking a picture of a static object in full daylight. But then if you're taking a picture of a statue (minus the birds) what's the point of Red Pop?

Okay, so you don't want to spend the money on professional DSLR, nor do you want to take the time to learn all the functions of a mechanical camera. And both are too big to lug around. What's the answer? I'm glad you asked .. hold it .. put the iPhone down.

When I don't want to lug around my Canon, I have a little Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH5 . Great little camera. It's 16mp and has 4x optical zoom and pretty good image stabilization. It small, thin and solidly built. Takes fine pictures .. Much better than your iPhone, even with the Red Pop button.

Oh, but you want to be a hipster photographer .. then I recommend a Lomography Diana F+  

It's what every hipster photographer dreams about. It has unpredictable light leaks, forced perspective from the plastic lens and that great feel of spinning your own film.You can even change out the lens in the newer Dianas.

It's not the worst thing in the world to have a Red Pop hooked onto your iPhone. I really don't see the purpose, other than strangers asking you what the red button does, because everyone wants to know what a big red button does.

Here's what I'm saying. Brendan Dawes is trying to sell you this bullshit dream that by adding Red Pop (which I think the concept is pretty cool)  you're going to be able to take these incredible pictures, because now you have easy access to the camera on your Iphone.

I'm telling you - it just ain't so Joe. Sure, in full daylight with a non-moving object that is five to ten feet away that little iPhone can probably take just as good a picture as my Canon. But I would just hate for one of my loyal EiMB citizen to purchase a Red Pop and then try to take a picture of  say a mountain. Because through your eye that mountain may look huge, majestic, glorious - but to the iPhone it's a little green bump. Or you go to the ice skating rink and what you see is your daughter doing wonderful twirls but to the iPhone its just one blurry smudge.

Cameras got all those button and dials for a reason. It was an evolutionary process from a simple pin-hole camera. Photographers quickly learned that controlling how the light enters the camera and how light hits the sensor or film was critical to a good picture. And I can't discount the importance of lenses. Quality glass and mechanics are also key. As a matter of fact, my Canon camera body is actually one of the least expensive parts of the camera. The lenses can cost two to three times more. And it's worth it.

Photography is more than just investing in a button.

My many cameras - it is an addiction.