Post-Apocalyptic World Books -- Sometimes They Are Wrong

In the last few years, I noticed that a lot of authors wrote about post-apocalyptic world. The Nobel Prize winner, Jose Saramago, wrote a book called "Blindness." It's about what we would do if we all suddenly lost our sight. Another great book written by Cormac McCarthy called "The Road" is a journey of a father and a son in a post-apocalyptic world.

The common theme of these books (besides that they were both made into movies) is that for the most part, people turn against each other -- each fighting for his or her survival. Becoming cruel creatures, humans seem almost worse than animals. And there is a lone voice or character in this dog-eat-dog post-apocalyptic world that cries out against people's cruelties... which gives some hope for readers that not all people will throw away all humanity.

Reading such post-apocalyptic books, readers definitely get the sense that the authors don't have much faith in mankind. When the situation turns dire, some authors believe that there will be anarchy and people will throw away any semblance of morality, civility, and altruism.

It turns out, fiction may just be fiction -- real life woes have shown that sense of humanity is stronger than some of us might have given credit. Last year, we watched 33 Chilean miners survive... with the unbelievable willpower to share their last bite of little food they had left until they were found. Right now in Japan, where the earthquake and Tsunami devastated parts of the country, disrupted power and food supply, we are witnessing a society of people who refuse to loot and voluntarily conserving energy.

I guess reality can sometimes surprise and inspire us with more hope than fiction.

Not All Blu Ray Dvd's Are Created Equal

The first blu ray dvd I rented and popped into my blu ray dvd player was "Prince of Persia." It was a jaw-dropping experience because the picture was sharper and clearer than HD channels on TV. It literally seemed to "pop" more. Thinking that blu ray dvd's were all going to "pop," I bought "Zombieland" in blu ray. I was disappointed because there wasn't that jaw-dropping "pop" I expected.

It turns out, not all blu ray dvd's are created equal. Some are formatted better than others. The only blu ray dvd's I have seen that popped are "Prince of Persia" and "Repo Men." It would be nice if the packaging disclosed what was formatted at the highest HD level and which are not. In the meantime, this website reviewing blu ray dvd's will have to do.