Life in HD.

I've been arguing with a buddy of mine about the High Definition vs Standard Definition video wars. He's a die-hard HD hero, and I opt for low-grade SD. I know that the future is in HD (think Blu-Ray discs, etc.) but I'm just not ready to jump on the bandwagon.

I like HD, but only for Discovery Channel animal/plant/landscape type footage. Sharks are amazing when it feels like you can almost touch them. Famous actors, not so much. For instance, has anyone seen The Matrix on a huge tv with DVD? Laurence Fishburn's face is nasty! The moon has less craters. I much preferred it when I originally saw it on low definition VHS and thought of his face as smooth and pristine. At least less zombie-after-nuclear-holocaust-ish than it was on DVD. If Laurence Fishburn looks that bad, I can't imagine what Edward James Olmos looks like in HD. I could film that for two hours and release it as a horror film.

Now even the Food Network is going HD. I want my food in low definition soft shimmery sultriness. I don't want to see every flaw with the creme brule's top. I don't want to see Rachel Ray's clumpy mascara on her face. I don't want to be able to count the folds in Paula Deen's jowls, because she uses butter like the rest of us use oxygen. I prefer to live in a falsely ideal perfection, based on not knowing what things really looks like. If I want sad reality, I'll go watch the people making my burrito at Taco Bell.