The Scum Also Rises

When I put this blog on hiatus back at the end of 2009, I thought it was the end of the lunacy from the M.A.L.ady. Imagine my surprise to find out this evening that he crawled out from under his rock (not to mention his parents' basement...maybe he finally finished watching his Buffy the Vampire Slayer set for the tenth time?) last December, beginning a "2.0" version of the same old same old, complete with the same substance-free mudslinging, the same attacks on anyone who dares -- gasp! -- like Marc Adamus' photos, and, of course, the same refusal to show even a frame of his own work.

Well, if the M.A.L.ady is back again, so am I!

Frankly, I haven't had the time to do more than skim a handful of his rants, but I think it's worth pointing out several things that amuse me no end:

• The 2.0 blog has been up for almost a year, but this is the first time I ever heard of it, despite being on many photography and photographic industry venues on a daily basis. I'd say this speaks volumes about the impact the psychotic clown has had this time around -- in other words, even less than before. But, then again, sequels rarely live up to the original.
• Also, M.A.L.ady promised a new "MarcAdamusLies.net" website to accompany his blog. Well, it appears that new website has come...and gone. Now, it only leads to a CenturyLink "landing page." Whether this is because CenturyLink disconnected him (telephone company humor there) after seeing the contents of his site, or if his parents cut off his hosting allowance once again, remains to be seen.
• Finally, the funniest thing I've seen so far is the M.A.L.ady's claim that he is, in fact, a completely different person who "rescued" the venture after the "original owner" backed out (due to fears of being murdered by an Adamus supporter...I kid you not!). Strangely enough, this "new" owner just happens to write with the exact same style, cliches, and invective as M.A.L.ady 1.0. Meet the new clown, same as the old clown... (Incidentally, this was the final confirmation for me that it isn't a matter of "M.A.L.adies" but of "M.A.L.ady," since everything is written in the same voice, even when trying to convince people he's a different individual.)

A stunning bit of hypocrisy from the M.A.L.adies

Yesterday, we got a plaintive post from M.A.L.adyland, begging their followers to stop posting comments under their own names:

Due to fears of reprisals from THUGS, IDIOTS, & MORONS, we suggest that all fans and supporters post as "anonymous" or under assumed names from now on. The mood of the THUGS & MORONS has become quite ugly, with several threats of violence made in the last several hours.

MarcAdamusLIES.com appreciates your support, but please DON'T compromise yourselves by opening your life to indiscriminate slander and attacks from THUGS & MORONS, by revealing your real names. The first action of a THUG or MORON is to google your name to find any dirt he or she can. Be safe, post anonymously!

And to the THUGS & MORONS, well, you cowards already post anonymously, despite pretending to be innocent victims who were simply minding your own business. No one believes your Marc Adamus worshipping nonsense anymore! Grow up; grow a pair!

I guess they weren't counting on anyone actually going through all the comments on their site. Bad move, guys! (And I use "guys" advisedly.) I decided to check every comment to every post so far, and the results were illuminating, to say the least:

• There has never been a pro-M.A.L. comment on their blog that wasn't anonymous or using a fairly obvious fake name (like simply "Steve," "George," or "G. Pismo Clam") with no link or anything that would reveal their identity. Not one. For their supporters (if any) as well, hiding behind an untrackable identity is the M.A.L. way of life.
  
• As to the anti-M.A.L.adies being "cowards" who "already post anonymously," on the contrary, a considerable number of posts critical of their blog have been signed with the critic's real name. Many of those posters now have their names listed in the M.A.L.L. Honor Roll. Practically all of them have been targets of a M.A.L.ady slander campaign, touching on everything from their competence at work to their relationships with their parents to their sexual orientation. And, in some of those cases, the slander campaign began only after they had posted their negative comments on the blog.

So, when the M.A.L.adies warn people about "...opening your life to indiscriminate slander and attacks from THUGS & MORONS, by revealing your real names. The first action of a THUG or MORON is to google your name to find any dirt he or she can," they aren't talking about anything that's been done by Marc Adamus or his supporters -- they're describing their own despicable modus operandi.

An interesting omission, don't you think?

Over in M.A.L.adyland, while the blog has been full of the usual deranged rants, the main M.A.L. website has been strangely quiet. The same list of supposed "lies" from Adamus (without any evidence to support their claim that they are lies at all, of course), the same lists of "thugs" and "useful idiots" (although they promised that "many more names will be added in the near future," the lists contain the exact same names as when the website was launched), the same list of obviously-fake names of their "team."

There's one item on their page that's notable, though. It's the clickable region reading "what you can do to restore integrity to landscape photography" -- and it's notable because it's the only clickable area that leads nowhere. Even after all these months, it still has no link.

It's nice of the M.A.L.adies to admit that they have nothing at all to say about restoring integrity to landscape photography. If I can help them out here, I would suggest the link should lead to a new page that reads:

Don't believe anything you read on the Marc Adamus Lies website...and don't trust anything you hear from the psychotic clown(s) that run that site and its blog.

With that change alone, the M.A.L.adies could make a key step toward making their website at least partially worthwhile.

Quotes that (almost) don't need comment

Over the past several weeks, the THUGS & MORONS came dangerously close to outing one of our privileged sources. They tried all sorts of disgusting and despicable tactics to paint this person as some sort of lunatic.

Yes, in M.A.L.adyland, I'm sure that telling the truth falls under the category of "disgusting and despicable tactics," since it's something they avoid at all costs.

Pot, meet kettle... (8/7/09 edition)

After too long of a pause, the psychotic clown(s) is/are back. Presumably Mommy and Daddy finally restored Junior's computer priviliges after suspending them for a couple of weeks after getting their online service's bill. Anyway, his/her/its latest inanity is to claim that Adamus never went on a backpacking trip around Crater Lake, as he claimed to have done, because his famous photo was taken from a location near the hotel. (Note to myself: when returning from a hike, never take a photo within a quarter-mile of the trailhead; otherwise, it will be held up as "proof" that I never went on the hike at all.)

In any event, the M.A.L.ady is "challenging" Adamus to prove him/her/it wrong by releasing other photos from the same trip, taken at locations further along the path.

Now, I'm not going to tell Adamus how to respond, but all I can say is "Are you freakin' kidding me??? You have the nerve to 'challenge' another photographer to show more of their images? Look at the M.A.L. Challenge Counter on this site to see how long you gutless loser(s) have ducked my challenge to show your own photos. Until you've done so, what right do you have to 'challenge' anyone else? Put your money where your mouth is...or shut it."

A new M.A.L.ady Rule

The psychotic clown(s) seem to have a number of interesting and quite...creative rules for photography, such as that you can't be a real photographer if you ever take a workshop from another photographer. Today, they've introduced a new one, stating that Marc Adamus cannot be a "real photographer" because he worked as a part-time bartender two years ago. Apparently, according to The M.A.L.ady Rules, if you've ever worked at some other job in order to support your photography, you are forever excluded from being considered a true photographer.

Let's see how well that rule applies, shall we? While pursuing their photography...

• Ansel Adams worked as a piano teacher
• Minor White waited tables
• Eliot Porter was a biochemist
• Galen Rowell ran an auto repair business
  

...and, as far as we can tell, the M.A.L.adies sit at their computer all day, because we have yet to see any evidence that "they" are real photographers (in any sense of the term).

The M.A.L.adies and their sick Adamus obsession

The latest from the psychotic clown(s) -- a screed directed against a charter member of our M.A.L.L. Honor Roll:

The MORON, THUG, CRETIN, and TERMINAL LOSER Mark Metternich has been at it again. This time, he's got a page long, disgusting ode to Marc Adamus on FredMiranda.com

Wow...it sure sounds like Mark Metternich spent a whole post devoted to the praises of Marc Adamus, doesn't it? Imagine our surprise (or, for those who know The M.A.L.ady Way, complete lack of surprise) when we actually look at the series of posts in question (filled, by the way, with more of Mark's absolutely beautiful photographs) and find the "page long, disgusting ode to Marc Adamus" consists entirely of the following line from Mark's commentary on one of his own photos:

I used a twist on the popularized sharpening technique Marc Adamus has written about.

Yes, you read that correctly. The "page long, disgusting ode" consisted of one isolated sentence.

It seems that, in M.A.L.adyland, everyone is always talking about Marc Adamus -- even when they're not. Boys and girls, can you say "sick obsession?" Sure, you can!

(By the way, M.A.L.adies, I see you are now calling your enemies "cowards." May I suggest to you that those who refuse to show us examples of their own photographs, and who seem to have conveniently forgotten about their promised uncensored forum on their website, have no right to consider anyone else a coward, unless they happen to be staring in a mirror at the time?)

Here's how the M.A.L.adies rack up a hundred posts

This evening, the M.A.L.adies posted five "oldies but goodies" to their blog. In other words, exact word-for-word copies of entries from weeks or months before (and, to top it all off, one of these was one of their "PSA"s, and another was the "text version" of the same post).

And these psychotic clown(s) expect people to be impressed by their having more than one hundred entries in their blog??? It's simple, just post the same entries over and over. Unfortunately for my post count, I have this thing called "ethical standards." I know...I don't expect the M.A.L.adies to know what I'm talking about, either.

100 bags of manure = A whole lot of B.S.

Today, "Sam Forman" (another one of the alter egos living in the M.A.L.ady's head) announced proudly that the M.A.L. blog had reached the milestone of 100 posts.

In a related story from Central Park in New York City, "Crazy Bartholomew the Prophet" celebrated his ten-year anniversary of preaching that the world will end tomorrow, but I digress...

Anyway, the fictitious Mr. Forman declared that, although they had been "defamed on multiple venues" (much as Rev. Jim Jones undoubtedly told his followers while mixing the kool-aid), "our mission is true" (much as Rev. David Koresh undoubtedly told his followers while pouring the gasoline) and "just" (much as the "Heaven's Gate" leaders undoubtedly told their followers while passing out the pills and vodka).

By the way, in case you're wondering, here's the M.A.L.ady scorecard for the last four months:

Number of lying, mudslinging posts: 100
Number of photographs good enough to show the public: 0

That just about says it all, doesn't it?

A new definition of "Having No Life"...

It appears that the main M.A.L.ady site was down for a couple of days this week. (I was unaware of it, since it's even more petty, ridiculous, juvenile, and boring than their petty, ridiculous, juvenile, and boring blog site.) But there's an explanation! As the M.A.L.adies write (all typos left intact, by the way):

Due to a billing issue that occured while we were at a retreat (discussing the Marc Adamus problem), our site was down for several days. It is now back up and running again!

A "billing issue" -- I believe, in normal English, that means "failing to make your payments." Predictable. But what turns this into a real howler is the notion of a retreat to discuss "the Marc Adamus problem." Leaving aside the obvious attempt to fool people into believing that there really is more than one M.A.L.ady running the show, isn't the notion of spending your time in "retreats" considering the "problem" of how to run an envy-driven, mudslinging campaign against a talented and well-respected photographer pretty much the textbook definition of "having no life?"

Furthermore, the M.A.L.ady continues:

During our discussions, we also received capital commitments sufficient to keep MarcAdamusLIES.com going for a very long time.

Now it becomes clear what this "retreat" was about:

• M.A.L.ady gets disconnect notice from his ISP for failure to pay his bills for several months.
• M.A.L.ady runs to Mommy and Daddy, whining about how meeeeeeeaaaaan old Marc Adamus and all his meeeeeeeaaaaan friends are beating up on him. (M.A.L.ady probably mentions this site as an example, and erroneously claims that Bryan Swan is behind it, as usual.)
• M.A.L.ady gets Daddy to write check for a year's worth of server-space rental for further mudslinging.
• M.A.L.ady returns to the basement to stare at his Hannah Montana poster collection and wonder who else he can call a homosexual for not sharing M.A.L.ady's (lack of) taste in photography.

I think that's probably a pretty good summary of the "retreat," don't you?

We can only wonder what might have happened if M.A.L.ady had taken the "capital commitment" and used it to improve his own photography instead of wasting it sliming those better than himself. On second thought, forget that line of thought: funding an attempt to improve M.A.L.ady's own photographic skills would probably be a textbook definition of a different phrase: "throwing money down a rathole."

With enemies like these...

Too funny! The latest excitement among the M.A.L.adies (in other words, all one of them) is the BREAKING NEWS that "a team member" (in other words, all one of them) practiced a bit of "espionage" by taking a Marc Adamus workshop sometime this spring.

What brilliant thinking! What this means is:

a) Adamus should have a much easier time of identifying at least one (in other words, all) of the M.A.L.adies by simply looking over his attendance sheets from the past several months of group tours, and

b) that particular M.A.L.ady (in other words, all one of them) showed his dislike for and disapproval of Marc Adamus by giving him $600-$800 of the M.A.L.ady's (supposedly) hard-earned money. (Gee, if I start offering Tarzan Wilcox Workshops, will you pay me $800 or so so you can spill the "dirt" about my tours, too? There's this new telephoto I've got my eye on...)

And what was the breathless revelation about what happened at the group tour? Stripped of the usual M.A.L.ady invective, it boils down to, well, the news that group members respected Adamus and sought to learn from his instruction and example. Why, I'm shocked, shocked, I tell ya!

EXTRA! Proof that Marc Adamus lies...except that it actually proves he's telling the truth.

So now the psychotic clown(s) have a new idiocy -- claiming "proof" that Adamus lied about his trip last year to the North Rockies because he said that he had "hiked hundreds of miles of trails." To which the M.A.L.adies gleefully pounce: "there simply aren't hundreds of miles of trails in the Canadian Rockies National Parks, except in the tourism promoting 'guidebooks'."

I hope you caught those last six words.

For, in fact, the guidebooks (you know, written by people who, unlike the M.A.L.adies, actually know what they're talking about) list eight-hundred and fifty miles of trails in the Glacier-Waterton Lakes complex alone. And that's not even talking about the largest series of national parks in the Canadian Rockies, the Banff-Jasper-Yoho complex. "Hundreds" of miles of trails? More like "thousands."

And, by the way, M.A.L.adies, Adamus wrote about the "North Rockies," not just the "Canadian Rockies."

Of course, we can probably cut the M.A.L.adies some slack. For, by "trails," he/she/they/it probably mean "trails that are easy enough for us to hike." And there probably aren't hundreds of miles of quarter-mile-or-less, perfectly-level, paved loops just off the parking lots at various tourist traps.

M.A.L.ady "Logic" 2: Did you ever wonder...

...why being mistaken as to which branch of a gallery your photos were being exhibited at is a high crime against truth and integrity, but lying about someone's sexual orientation because they happen to like a photographer you don't is just harmless fun?

M.A.L.ady "Logic" 1: Did you ever wonder...

...how the psychotic clown(s) can target people whose only "crime" is expressing a liking for Marc Adamus's photographs, dig up (or, more often, make up) as much tabloid-style dirt as possible on each of those people, subjecting them to ad hominem attacks on everything from their supposed performance in their day jobs to their relationships with their parents to their sexual orientation (while themselves hiding behind a shield of cowardly anonymity, of course)...and then describe the recipients of their mudslinging as "thugs"...?????

M.A.L.adies run afoul of Godwin's Law

In a recent screed, the M.A.L.adies display this picture as an example of "people who think Marc Adamus is the best photographer in the world."



So, apparently Nazis from the late 1930s were able to jump forward in time seventy years to see current photographs? Gee, I've always heard rumors about the Nazis trying to harness time-travel; but this is the first I've heard of them actually succeeding.

But there's a bigger problem for the M.A.L.adies (aside from their psychosis and dishonesty, that is): Godwin's Law, which holds that the first person in an Internet dispute to try connecting their opponent to Hitler and/or the Nazis automatically loses that dispute.

So, sorry, M.A.L.adies, but you're the losers. So what else is new?

The M.A.L.adies jump the shark

Having drawn nothing but well-deserved ridicule for their juvenile vendetta against Marc Adamus, the psychotic clown(s) have reacted as they usually do: by upping the ante on their obnoxiousness. Now, they're not only devoting a blog to sling mud against Adamus, they are starting new blogs to do the same against other photographers who express admiration for Adamus's work.

You heard that right: if you have said nice things about Marc Adamus, you might reasonably expect a blog will soon appear devoted to personal attacks against you.

(One might wonder where this will all end...maybe with attack blogs against every other photographer in the world except the M.A.L.adies themselves? Oops...my mistake. I called the M.A.L.adies "photographers," while no evidence exists that they even know how to take a snapshot.)

And I would note that, although they seem to be developing their own Nixonian "enemies list," I don't see a blog devoted to this site yet. Come on, M.A.L.adies! Where's your Tarzan Wilcox Watch?

Meanwhile, it's worth noting that it has been twenty-three days since the issuance of the M.A.L. Challenge, with no sign that the gutless wonders will respond by showing us their own photographs.

Wrong again, M.A.L.adies!

It looks like the psychotic clown(s) have woken up from their mental haze long enough to denounce the campaign of "lies and intimidation" supposedly being spread against them by Bryan Swan. The thing is, since I haven't seen Bryan post a single comment about the M.A.L.adies in months (and, of course, the M.A.L.adies stay true to form and refuse to cite any examples for their charges, but merely sling mud without evidence), and virtually every photo site I'm aware of has chosen, after an initial burst of ridicule, to ignore the M.A.L.adies and refuse to dignify their lunacy by acknowledging their existence, I can only assume that the clowns are referring to this site.

Wrong, as usual!

Aside from my pleasure at knowing that "the truth hurts" even psychotic clown(s), I have to point out, once again, that Bryan Swan has nothing to do with this blog. I am the one person running this place, and I have had, at most, a very few e-mail or message-board exchanges with Swan over the past few years. I've never met him (nor any of the other Adamus supporters you single out for attack on your sites, for that matter).

M.A.L.adies, I suggest that you grow up, adjust your attitude, and stop making statements that can be proven false in a court of law; that way lies pretty hefty libel judgments, particularly when you make up lies about a private citizen's sexual orientation to boot.

Meanwhile, it's worth noting that it has been twenty-one days since the issuance of the M.A.L. Challenge, with no sign that the gutless wonders will respond by showing us their own photographs.

Pot, meet kettle... (5/20/09 edition)

The psychotic clown(s) continue their current favorite behavior of trashing anyone who dares to say positive things about Marc Adamus on a public forum. Today, they tee off on a poster at FredMiranda.com who commits the cardinal offense of taking a workshop from Adamus, and creating some really nice photos in the wake of doing so. Of course, such a person is a threat to the M.A.L.adies, and must be taken down at once! However, part of the takedown involves this utterly bizarre line:

Where is your website, HaloGLC? Perhaps IloveMarcandadvertiseforhim.com?

"Where is your website"...??? Hey, whichever M.A.L.ady (out of a group, I suspect, of one) wrote that: Where are your photographs??? Until you show us some of your work, and release your real identities, you'll get the respect anonymous cowards like you deserve -- NONE.

Meanwhile, it's worth noting that it has been nine days since the issuance of the M.A.L. Challenge, with no sign that the gutless wonders will respond by showing us their own photographs.

M.A.L.adies impersonate...Marc Adamus???

Check out this hysterical thread on NWHikers.net. A M.A.L.ady (posting as "MarcAdamusLIES" and "Eric Hut") starts a thread regurgitating all the insane garbage from their site.

A few posts later, "Marc Adamus" shows up, defending his work in not-very-convincing terms. Then...someone notices that "Marc Adamus" and "MarcAdamusLIES" are posting from the same I.P. (Oops!)

Long story short: in the end, "Eric Hut" admits to having forged the supposed post from Marc Adamus, but says he (?) committed the fraud to "make a point." Sure thing, "Eric"...and the point you made was that you and your M.A.L.adies have no regard for honesty, and feel free to lie as often and as blatantly as possible to get your alleged point across.

But, then, we've known that for some time, haven't we?

Meanwhile, it's worth noting that it has been seven days since the issuance of the M.A.L. Challenge, with no sign that the gutless wonders will respond by showing us their own photographs.

M.A.L.adies: try reading lessons

The latest from the psychotic clown(s) is their "discovery" that Adamus "admits" to taking an hour to edit each photo. Where did they get that impression? Supposedly, from this quote:

I almost never spend more than an hour on an image either (usually around 5-20 minutes on average).

So, five to twenty minutes per image (and practically never more than an hour no matter what the circumstances of the particular image) suddenly translates to "an hour per image?"

M.A.L.adies, I suggest you look into basic reading lessons. Illiteracy is such a handicap in today's world. While you're at it, better look at basic math as well; in particular, counting.