"Is your geek fu really strong enough to overpower the call of the ca$h?" It came as a question, but the reader - and a few of his philistine comrades - meant to slam our recent covers featuring famous film directors. (For the record: Three in a year doesn't exactly make us Premiere. And we've covered movies since Johnny Mnemonic - OK, we're not infallible, just consistent.) Those who didn't judge our book by its cover blogged about Peter Jackson's remake of King Kong. "Call me a hypocrite, but this is one time I am happy to wallow in all the studio-generated buzz," wrote one fan. In other industry news, readers couldn't decide whether the American who was busted for DVD piracy in China ("The Decline & Fall of Randolph Hobson Guthrie III") was a "dumb-ass" or just "got pawned." How should we know? We're waiting for the movie. (For a preview, see page 64.)
A Whirlwind Romance
I was thrilled to read "The Tornado Rider" (issue 13.10), but am really disappointed by the reaction of the scientific community. What ever happened to taking dramatic, daring chances in the name of science? Have inhabitants of the ivory towers become so close-minded that all they can do is watch reruns on the Discovery Channel? In my nonscientific view, Steve Green is science as it should be: brazen, imaginative, and - above all - adventurous. Godspeed, Steve!
Jonathan Posey
Washington, DC
What's the MiG Idea?
Regarding "Building Your Own Air Force, One MiG at a Time," issue 13.10, I'm really sick of seeing fetishistic treatments of military technology in almost every issue of Wired. I'm sure that story gave the carnage-and-grief wankers in your subscription base some serious wood, but those few of us still opposed to crimes against humanity are, like, what are you thinking? It's not enough to fantasize about the future. If things don't change in this country, there isn't going to be a future.
Roy Sablosky
Takoma Park, Maryland
The Parent Trap
In "The Decline & Fall of Randolph Hobson Guthrie III" (issue 13.10), the closing quote by Guthrie's mother struck a chord, as it echoed things I've heard my entire life about my ability (or inability) to relate to other people "the right way."
I have attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, and several of my friends have been diagnosed with Asperger's. I was profoundly angry at Guthrie's mother's reaction to her son's incarceration and abuse in the Chinese prison system. "Now he's being forced to accommodate other people," she says. "This may be a turning point for him." Being in prison will neither change the fact that Guthrie relates to the world in a fundamentally different way nor force him to figure out how to function socially like a normal person. Making your children feel like failures because they are different only makes it more likely they will end up in trouble like Randy.
Jamie Lynn Smulian
Owings Mills, Maryland
Listen Up, Kids
It's no great surprise that classical music keeps babies from crying ("Sound Science? ," Start, issue 13.10). A much more interesting musical effect was identified by a University of Alabama study that showed that students exposed to so-called radical rap music videos were more likely to support progressive politicians and racial harmony than students who listened only to rock.
Daniel Gardner
San Diego, California
Elemental Sound
New versions of the periodic table, eh ("The Elements Get Some Style," Start, issue 13.10)? Check out the electric organ of the Flecktones' drummer Roy "Future Man" Wooten. It's based upon the tonal scale of the periodic table of elements, and it plays notes other than those found within the traditional chromatic or 12-tone scale. This could lead to a style of music different from anything the world has heard before.
Sam Frazee
Nashville, Tennessee
Holy Grape Juice!
In your story "Juiced-Up Fruit " (Start, issue 13.10), that was no humble monk who exclaimed, "Come quickly, I am tasting stars!" It's believed that it was Dom Perignon himself.
Matt Klimshuk
Lawrenceville, Georgia
The Dangers of Antibiotics
Patrick Di Justo's "The Bug Wars" (Start, Infoporn, issue 13.10) sounds the alarm over the growing public health threat of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. But the piece doesn't mention that an estimated 70 percent of the antibiotics used in the US each year are fed to hogs, chickens, and cattle - not to treat disease, but to speed growth and to compensate for stressful, crowded conditions on industrial-scale farms. Because antibiotic use promotes the spread of resistant bacteria, eliminating all unnecessary use is essential both in human medicine and on the farm. Otherwise, we'll all be losers in the war on bugs.
John M. Balbus
Director, Health Program, Environmental Defense
Washington, DC
Spam-o-Rama
I was disturbed by the article about the spam software company Blue Security ("The Spam Vigilantes," Posts, issue 13.10). Giving these militants any sort of credence only fuels their fire. There is no place for their sort of justice on the Internet. These organizations get uneducated folks to sign up for their "service," which is nothing more than a zombie network gathered in a public manner.
I'm certainly not a friend of the spam senders. But there is a very real possibility that collateral damage during an attack will adversely affect other networks along the path to the sites in question. As a network operator, I'm appalled that Wired would not understand this issue.
Chris Morrow
Reston, Virginia
In "The Spam Vigilantes," Evan Ratliff writes that he tried Blue Frog but still got spammed. I'm a new Blue Frog member, and I can tell you that it sure as heck works for me! Within two to three days, I was receiving two-thirds less spam than I used to get. A service like Blue Frog is long overdue; spammers are absolute scum who think nothing of trespassing on private property - my email account - and depositing their droppings.
Michael DeYoung
Brockton, Massachusetts�
Don't Chip Me
Regarding Bruce Sterling's column about VeriChip's human ID tag ("Go Ahead, Chip Me!," Posts, issue 13.10), I have yet to hear of any technology that can outperform my MedicAlert bracelet. My most critical health data is available to any emergency responder with a pair of eyes. My complete medical history (which I can securely update online) is available to any emergency responder with a telephone. And MedicAlert will notify my family, too. The MedicAlert Foundation has been saving lives for 55 years. Beat that, VeriChip.
Sharon Mech
Columbus, Ohio
It's What's Inside That Counts
I've noticed a disturbing trend toward featuring "blockbuster" movies on the cover of Wired (War of the Worlds, King Kong). It's cool to read about how a movie was made differently or how an unorthodox method will change the way we experience this evolving medium, but emblazoning the cover with the characters from the movie makes Wired look like Entertainment Weekly.
Mordy Golding
Cedarhurst, New York
