As I was saying...

... about the "problem" with, e.g., Mormonism or Scientology:

Bibles is bibles is bibles—and any idiot can write a bible. And so long as people think they can win arguments by writing bibles, idiots are going to keep writing bibles. (Dan Savage, New Jesus vs. Old Jesus)

The "threat" of Mormonism or Scientology or any such "religion" has nothing to do with anything they might believe or practice, but with the fact and circumstance of their existence. Anything so blatantly invented by humans more-or-less within living memory just illustrates how simple it is for an entire, widely accepted faith system to have been blatantly invented by humans.

Who will win the DVD format war

Now we know for certain who will win the high-definition DVD format war, Blu-ray or HD-DVD.

New York Times: In Raw World of Sex Movies, High Definition Could Be a View Too Real

The article (entertaining in its own right) contains this little gem:

The pornographers’ progress with HD may also be somewhat slowed by Sony, one of the main backers of the Blu-ray high-definition disc format. Sony said last week that, in keeping with a longstanding policy, it would not mass-produce pornographic videos on behalf of the movie makers.

The decision has forced pornographers to use the competing HD-DVD format or, in some cases, to find companies other than Sony that can manufacture copies of Blu-ray movies.

The movie makers assert that it is shortsighted of Sony to snub them, given how pornography helps technologies spread.

This is exactly right on. It's like trying to build a new super-high-speed armor-plated helicopter and then refusing on principle to sell any to the Department of Defense.

Also, Blu-ray has a silly name. I believe the VHS vs. Betamax war proved that acronyms have a decisive advantage over phonemes.

Again, not sure what went wrong with whom.

Yes, it's alarming to find myself agreeing with Charles Krauthammer.

At least one of us seems to be broken

Recently I have found myself reading columns by George F. Will and at least broadly agreeing with them.

Does this mean there's something seriously wrong with him or with me?