It's unedited BLISS-How a NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Photographer made the most IMPORTANT photo for Millennial(and Gen-Z) users of WINDOWS

It was a somewhat sunny but wet day in SONOMA COUNTY, California, USA.

A freelance NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC photographer named CHARLES O'REAR

was driving through FREEMONT DRIVE on his way to visit his girlfriend when all of a sudden, He stopped dead on the road, looked across his Car Window, and noticed a green hill with Cirrus Clouds on the horizon.

It was the exact shot he thought of for the longest time.... at least that's what he thought.

So he got out of his car with his Camera, took some Photos, and then drove off into the distance.

Little did he know that on that JANUARY 1996, he took one of the most important photos that would be viewed by many a late Millennial & early Gen-Zer on their CRT or LCD Computer Monitors or Laptop screens.

That photo you see above this paragraph is BLISS, or BUCOLIC GREEN HILLS.

This is a photo taken by CHARLES O'REAR on his MAMIYA RZ67 professional camera fitted with FUJIFILM's VELVIA Filmstock.

The VELVIA Filmstock was known for punching up the saturation of the colors a tad bit when compared to most CONSUMER filmstock from KODAK or FUJIFILM.

This photo was later made a part of DIGITAL STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY as he put it through his company called WESTLIGHT.

On May 1998, a SEATTLE-based company called CORBIS bought WESTLIGHT.

At first, not much happened after that acquisition until sometime around 2000, Microsoft contacted O'REAR to inquire about the photograph he took in 1996.

O'REAR was asked about an asking price for the photo to outright BUY the photo.

O'REAR sold his BLISS photo for a large sum of around US$10,000.

Why did MICROSOFT buy the photo?

MARKETTING!!!.

That's what.

The photo was just what MICROSOFT needed to market their then new Operating System WINDOWS XP which was coming around the corner and hyped to high heaven as a newly built, based on the NT kernel OS.

It also changed the look more modern to fit with the move into the 

TURN OF THE MILLENIUM

with the introduction of the LUNA interface.

But that photo of that hill, 

That intrigued a lot of people, especially in the STATE OF CALIFORNIA because some people were almost at it's vicinity so they want to see it themselves....

But then they look at the actual area once they get there and this is what they see now:

"WTF is this?

This ain't a beautiful green hill! 

IT'S A F**KING VINEYARD!!!

I WANT MY GREEN HILL!!!!"

That was the reaction from many a WINDOWS nerd for many years.

(I sometimes still see memes on Facebook of people voicing their disbelief on how the hill looks now)

But it's the same hill.

And yes, It's a Vineyard because it's actually a part of NAPA VALLEY

Yes. That part of CALIFORNIA where the best AMERICAN-PRODUCED wine is made and distilled.

The vines are also where the grapes are grown to make the wine.

However, during the mid-1990s, 

There was a PHYLLOXERA INFESTATION that devoured the grapevines, forcing the growers to rip out about 50,000 something acres of INFESTED vineyards.

In the gap where the vines used to be, the grass started to grow.

So the irony was that THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AMERICAN HILLSIDE PHOTO was in fact a crime scene photo of an agricultural disaster who's greenness was caused by rainfall and the saturation level of the color filmstock CHARLES O'REAR used.

O'REAR had for many years been looking for the perfect photo of NAPA VALLEY he wanted to take ever since he successfully convinced NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC to drop their NO ALCOHOL rule for articles and photos but those photos he took for NG were for them.

This one on the other hand was meant to be a personal photo to O'REAR until he sold the photo to MICROSOFT but even before that, he knew that at that moment in January '96, the perfect photo opportunity was NOW OR NEVER due to the perfect weather conditions.

Getting the photo to MICROSOFT was however much more difficult when compared to selling the complete rights to the photo.

O'REAR had to FLY in-person to deliver the photo negatives himself rather than have FEDEX ruin the photos with their rough handling.

And O'REAR has stated many times in the past that the photo is UNEDITED. PEROID!!!

But some refute that even to this day due to how green the photo is

The unnatural GREEN-ness of the VINEYARDS was due to the VELVIA film O'REAR used and probably the photo scanners that MICROSOFT used.....

Also, the photo is slightly cropped at the left to remove another blue hill at the distance as a way to provide more SCREEN DIRECTION to the hilltops.

But we can say that no tools like PHOTOSHOP or GIMP were used to edit so maybe that's where O'REAR's UNEDITED remarks come from.

But whatever.

This photo permeated the screens of those who owned WINDOWS XP computers for many years,

Including yours truly, ME:

DAN ARTURO MARTINEZ.

I had a WINDOWS XP Computer between 2005 to 2011

A Genuine MDG HORIZON 2900TV

Not my PC pictured here.

My MDG had more SILVERY ACCENTS 

and only had a CD-RW Drive and Floppy Drive....

Plus USB Ports.

To be honest though, I never once in my life used BLISS to it's fullest as we stuck with whatever photos were used in the HARD DRIVE that PC had. 

And most often we use Downloaded images or Photos we take on our Cameras to use as our wallpaper anyway so that's saying much.

Once again, 

I beat DAVE FARQUHAR of THE SILICON UNDERGROUND on talking about CHARLES O'REAR's Napa Valley photograph.

But not all of my info is complete.

If you really want to know more about the photo and how it really became that iconic to everyday WINDOWS users of the 2000s, I recommend this Excellent Video from MICHAEL MJD where he talks of the significance of the photograph

As well a surprise he did for us people of WEB3.
 

New Fractal Cases 02-Define ONE & SUMMIT

I usually avoid posting too much news about PC Cases unless they're interesting enough for my tastes,

As well as avoiding touching on the subject of that DUAL-CHAMBER aesthetic which I have nothing nice to say about despite the aesthetic being BELOVED by enthusiasts....

But it seems FRACTAL DESIGN was just in their EXPERIMENTAL PHASE.

After their release of the FRACTAL POP 2 VISION earlier this year

FRACTAL has decided to renege their commitment to DUAL CHAMBER in favor of the classic FRONT INTAKE design for their cases.

I woke up(I'm still coughing as of this post) and saw on FACEBOOK a post from FRACTAL about two cases they just announced:

Fractal SUMMIT

&

Fractal DEFINE ONE

First, lets go with the SUMMIT

Looks like FRACTAL DESIGN is still obsessed with their WOODGRAIN aesthetic ever since their 2022 success with the NORTH case

 But instead of the wood being the INTAKE GRILLE like it was on the NORTH series,

The WOOD seems to be decorative, a little similar to a certain case from ANTEC

But all-in-all,

The SUMMIT looks like FRACTAL is going back to their roots which is proper FRONT INTAKE for airflow.

Yeah.... Kind of like how this GIF of a JET TURBINE puts it.

But not quite.

We're talking about letting air in and letting air out to keep our components cool

Once again, FRACTAL is positioning this case to be for gamers, 

I can tell seeing as I've seen that this case is promising itself to be tool-less once again but I noticed that FRACTAL is finally putting in an IN-CASE Anti-Sag Holder to prop up GRAPHICS cards.

In the past, You had to use HOLDERS or BRACKETS that came with your GPU unless you bought yourself a 3rd Party Holder like my ASUS ROG HERCUL-X Holder.

This is indeed a welcome change.

I'm all in for this case... provided I can build one for a friend of mine.....

Next, we have the DEFINE ONE case.

I have mixed feelings about this case.

I was really hoping for FRACTAL to introduce the DEFINE 8 series of cases but alas, they didn't.

The name DEFINE ONE really does remind me of the XBOX ONE from 2013

Unlike the SUMMIT, the DEFINE ONE seems a little short on the HORIZONTAL side of things so please be mindful of what GPU or AIO you have before mounting them into this case.

I'm curious about the back side of this thing?

At least for the backside, this case alongside the SUMMIT is following the NORTH case's homework on tool-less for things like PSU Mounting, back exhaust, etc.

One thing I wish FRACTAL would have retained is at least a single 5.25" Optical drive bay but this breakup schematic shows it doesn't have it

Look... I get that you can just use USB Optical Drives to get around that but in my mind, it's more important to have an internal solution to mounting at least a BLU-RAY burner.

Either way or another, I'm more interested in the SUMMET CASE due to it's woodgrain and front intake airflow design aesthetic

Yeah, I noticed that these cases don't come with their own FRACTAL ASPECT RGB fans. But who needs them?

If you really want ARGB fans that badly, just buy your own.

Me? 

I just use my THERMALTAKE or CORSAIR fans that I have.

Here's hoping which case releases first...

and here's my closing line for this post:

IF THERE'S ANYBODY OUT THERE IN THE VANCOUVER AREA WHO'D LIKE ME TO BUILD THEIR COMPUTERS, HERE'S THE LINK TO MY WEBSITE'S CONTACT PAGE:

-Contact / Dan Martinez-

Maverick Update 09/01/2026: Another Motherboard SWAP

Yes, that's right.

Starting today, I'm going to swap out my old B650 AORUS Motherboard that's inside my FRACTAL POP AIR Case and in it's place is this:

The X870E MSI MPG CARBON WIFI ATX MOTHERBOARD.

I actually bought this at MEMORY EXPRESS at Broadway & Cypress Street in VANCOUVER because I determined that after the morning thunderstorm of AUGUST 14th & another one in AUGUST 23rd, I felt a little jolt in my brain that I need a new Motherboard, just to be safe.

While I'm sure my SURGE PROTECTOR as well as turning off my SEASONIC PSU helped to save the old MOBO, I just felt it was time to switch motherboards if I'm gonna rebuild my Desktop.

So.... On AUGUST 27th 2026, I bought the aforementioned MSI motherboard,

Yes, I'm back to MSI but at least I'm still on an AMD system.

And at least I'll reuse a majority of parts from the older build.

.....

Why did I wait so long to rebuild my PC?

PROCRASTINATION?

No.

I got sick on AUGUST 30th 2026 with a throat flu.

I'm in the midst of recovery at the moment but starting today SEPTEMBER 1st 2026, I'm rebuilding my Desktop.

And yes, I'm using WINDOWS 11 PRO so don't ask why I didn't use MINT, BAZZITE, Fedora, or Red Hat.

I need to have an OS that supports both my ANIMATION SOFTWARE and GAMING but DISTROS have their tradeoffs and I can't afford to do dual booting for each service. And I don't want to install plugins just to make one thing work or others in the event WINE doesn't do it's job.

What is different is that instead of using the MEDIA CREATION TOOL,

I instead used RUFUS to create my own installation USB so I can get rid of COPILOT and create a LOCAL ACCOUNT.

(Though I will re-install ONEDRIVE because I need to transfer files between my iPhone and my PCs and Vice Versa.  Email Apps will remain on my Laptop and Phone for the time being.)

But as usual as a failsafe, My blogging remains on my DELL LAPTOP connected to my ULTRAWIDE monitor.

Anyway, That's my September Opening.

Expect to see some posts for this month.

COYOTE VS. ACME-The Film that ACME and WB tried to Silence is now a TRIUMPH and a wake up call against Studio Meddling

On February 1990, a Satirical Newspaper article was written by writer IAN FRAZIER that was published in THE NEW YORKER.

The story goes that WILE E COYOTE has gotten so fed up with all the Defective ACME products he's been purchasing using his WARNER BROS. SALARY just to catch that GODDAMNED ROADRUNNER

It got to a point that he decides to sue ACME for damages to his EGO, BODY, and SPIRIT.

He hires a Less than stellar Billboard Attorney named KEVIN AVERY

Can't get his photo so I'm using this promo art of LIONEL HUTZ from THE SIMPSONS.

who agrees with the Canine that ACME has gone too far with their products and decides to represent his new Client in Court.

Of Course, BUDDY CRANE, a former boss of KEVIN at a previous LAW FIRM has a trick up his sleeve to not only intimidate AVERY but also keep ACME's Secrets from leaking into PUBLIC CONSCIENCE.

That's the basic outline for the original 1990 Article.

Almost 36 years later, A movie was released into THEATERS that expands upon that particular Article.

But that journey was majorly rough.

And that's because MANAGEMENT at WARNER BROS. can really be such a BITCH!!!

SERIOUSLY!

LATE 80s and EARLY 90s WARNER BROS. was too obsessed with making their 

CARTOONS SOFT AND GENTLE

Unless you subvert it with a BASSET HOUND 

accidentally snapping a TURKEY's neck.....

And despite efforts from those working within WB, 

WB always shot down attempts to harken back to their anarchistic TERMITE TERRACE roots

Going as far as to delay BLOOPER BUNNY until 1997 

due to DAFFY DUCK's joke about the WB executives' bones.

until FRED SEIBERT decided to change things up with CARTOON NETWORK in 1992.

Somehow, 2020s WARNER BROS DISCOVERY is even worse!!!!!

That's because of one ASSHOLE CEO who'd we wish we'd assassinate by ironically sticking an ACME Branded M80 in his desk.

Seriously, this man has no chill. 

Despite his jovial nature, he does not care about us millennials who've grown up in the 2000s watching mid to late 90s and 2000s era CARTOON NETWORK.

But aside,

In the summer of 2023,

WBD decided to not give the film it's release. 

Instead, the original intended release of the film had it's slot replaced with BARBIE.....

And then BARBIE went against OPPENHEIMER.

And we all know what that entailed that year.

Then the WORST NEWS came in NOVEMBER 9th of 2023 when WBD announced that the film would never get a release.

Because ZASLAV's an  ASSHOLE  with a deceiving jovial outer mask!!!!

His intention was to shelve the film in order to claim a USD$30 Million Write-Off which would therefore make it the third film by WBD to be shelved for TAX PURPOSES following similar cancelations of BATGIRL and SCOOB! HOLIDAY HAUNT.

THAT'S WHY.... Mr. COYOTE!...

And drop the GENMA SAOTOME act will ya.....

Oh right.....

You barely have a voice....

My bad.

But seriously, 

Not only were WARNER BROS. fans MIGHTY PISSED at ZASLAV's unapologetic actions but so were the production crew and pretty much the rest of the industry when news broke out about the WRITE-OFF attempt.

Even CANADIAN Voice Actor ERIC BAUZA was MIGHTY PISSED to a point that during the 51st ANNIE AWARDS, in an act of protest said in his DAFFY DUCK voice:

"I hate to be political but....

RELEASE COYOTE VS. ACME!!!!!"

But seeing that ZASLAV refused to kotow to industry pressure and viewer backlash or even boycotts, he remained firm with his decision for many years.....

Aside from when he offered to sell to other studios but cheated by raising the sales price of the film...

Then came 

who was fresh last year from releasing...

Announced on MARCH 19 2025 that they purchased the rights to COYOTE VS. ACME from WARNER BROS. for USD$50 Million, Therefore saving the film from PERGATORY.

The SOUR TASTE of the attempted TAX WRITE-OFF was still in the tongues of many to a point that marketing decided to have a little fun by mocking it that with things like 

Real Subtle COYOTE. 

and

It's been a long journey but it was totally worth the RANTING, BITCHING, etc. to finally encourage KETCHUP to save the film from TAX HELL and finally release it.....

on DIGITAL LASER 

Really wished KETCHUP would offer a 70MM screening seeing as I came off fresh from watching THE ODDYSEY in 70MM......

But I'll take the 4K Laser Projection any time....

And WILE E COYOTE is definitely happy

we all helped to save the film.

Let's all give him and KEVIN AVERY a GROUP HUG.

And I will confirm that I watched the film at this very theater in VANCOUVER:

CINEPLEX CINEMAS 

MARINE & GATEWAY.

I enjoyed it more than I expected it to be.

Be sure to read a future review about the film sometime later during the fall or maybe as per part of my YEAR-END LOONEY TUNES retrospective....

STAY TUNED!