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HMV have slashed their CD prices. The article’s author somehow manages to blame it on piracy. However, as Slashdot’s InvalidError notes:

It is really funny to read about a media outlet slashing prices to counter piracy after so many years of media outlets using piracy as an excuse for inflating prices.

HMV is simply using piracy as an excuse to hide the real reason behind the price adjustments: the fact that download services currently offer much better value. Being honest and stating this up-front would be like promoting the online competitors.

The filming for Docks has begun. The Canon HV20 I’m currently borrowing to film is rather an incredible little bugger. It’s HD (1080i, 720p), and shoots at ~24p (ie. same framerate as in cinemas… and yes – it matters.) It also sports an optical stabilization feature that’s very, very, good. Panning around the camera on a tripod has never looked so smooth.

The HV20 also uses regular MiniDV tapes. The camera uses the same amount of bandwidth of my standard-definition DV videocam (25Mbit/s.) This is due to a different compression algorithm, which in itself has some pros/cons. Nevertheless, it’s a relief I won’t have to be spending tons of money on special tapes for HD content – regular ($8/pop) MiniDV tapes will be exactly as reliable as they are for 480i cameras.

Yet another plus of this little gem. Most impressive is the budget price for such a piece of machinery ($1,300), and the fact that it’s low-price isn’t standing in the way of the incredible reviews it’s getting. Without further adieu, here is the initial footage I captured:

 

 

 

One of the most visible problems with current American politics, as I see it, is the association of very complex issues with stances pertaining to political affiliations. The emphasis is being taken away from the issues themselves, and onto political alliances. No more is this evident than countless forum debates, where political affiliations take precedence over the viewpoints in question. This is fueled by certain ultra-partisan individuals on both sides that use words indicating political affiliation such as “liberal” as insults.

Most responsible for this is FOX News, and it’s commentators – the likes of Bill O’Reilly and Ann Coulter. Their overt disdain of the political left is voiced on a daily basis. Behind them are 60 million viewers, including a few nutcases. FOX’ commentators regularly claim that they are politically neutral – revealing the truth – while the rest of the media world has a liberal bias.

That is complete bull, of course. FOX News is ultra-conservative, while the rest of the media is relatively politically ambiguous. They, and their lackeys, don’t get it. Criticism of government in power doesn’t mean anti-Republican. To the same effect, FOX News thinks John Stewart is a liberal puppet due to his criticisms of the Bush government. In truth, John Stewart, while left in his personal views, will make fun of anyone in power – Democrat or Republican. FOX News cannot get over this political ambiguity, instead resorting to making their own comedic answer to John Stewart that exclusively makes fun of the political left.

In this line, FOX News was recently caught editing a Wikipedia entry on Al Franken – an ultra-liberal. What business does anyone from this agency have in editing Wikipedia? Adding to the self-proclaimed media divide, by adding words such as “liberal” on front of the name of a national radio network. They also removed a negative remark about FOX News made by Franken. Yep, FOX News approves of the truth… as long as it’s their version.

I’ve just spent the last 5 hours coding in Notepad (woo) the site for the film! You can access it from:

www.docksmovie.com

It was the first time where I made concerted efforts to use straight CSS to take care of everything, instead of a mash-up of tables and other HTML relics that were standard back when I first learned the language in the mid-nineties. The end result is code that’s much simpler and easier to edit.

I still have a few issues… most notably, the inconsistent heights of the main border-thing on the page. Eh well, I’m no expert yet.

For the last few months, I’ve been hard at work with Docks. I’m trying, trying to get August as being the month where everything gets shot. Most likely, that’ll get extended into September. There’s a few hurdles that are left now, the main one being getting my hands on a decent boom mic. If I can get that settled, then I’m set.

I’ve also just ordered a bunch of shirts to be worn during by the staff of the fictional boat company in the film. With the launch of the film will also come the launch of some Docks paraphernalia, including the “official” company T-Shirts.