i just read this thread from to back.. i was going to get on and defend JC and HT.. and i still am a little bit.. but not near as much as i was...
first, as its been said, you have to give JC some respect for being the first to stand out in the crowd... he did a lot to bring the culture public, as well as HT... they pretty much opened the door to let everyone out... but somehow they just stayed in the door way...
with that being said, they are also business man/people... they are in it for the money.. and we all know there is PLENTY of money to go around in the "weed world"... not that its right... a true ganja grower and stoner at heart cares little about the money.. just enough to cover costs and maybe eat a nice steak dinner or two... but the main focus is on growing the best plants we can.. and sharing how to do so with the next person... if sites like RIU were available back when JC and HT were getting their starts, there is no doubt they would have failed....
HT is great for the causal reader... its like picking up a maxim or FHM or any other bullshit tabloid mag.. they are all full of advertisements and bullshit, and, every once in a great while, something ACTUALLY worth reading.. otherwise its eye candy... i dont care if the buds are premature or not cause i dont smoke them.. but i can help but stare at them when i open a HT and see a centerfold of some beautiful buds...
after thinking about the past issues ive read it is true, they dont have shit for information... and what they do end up trying to teach you is some how related to the ad on the page behind.. you cant blame them for having JC write for them, as he is famous, like him or not.. and you cant blame them for capatilizing on the fame both HT and JC share... although from the sounds of it its mostly here in the states... even if it isnt right or noble what they are doing, its just business...
even if JC did promote the seed company, and the seed company ended up fucking everyone over, its really not JC's fault... it takes a LOT of credibility away from him, makes him look like an ass, and ruins his reputation.. but it isnt his fault.. maybe he should have investigated things more before endorsing the bank, and he sure as hell should have done more to fix the issue which would have saved his name... but in the end its not HIS fault... and he is right about the fact that sending seeds to the USA is illegal and puts people at risk ect ect.. but that is a LAME ass excuse and a terrible way to try to pawn the repsonsibility he had to the readers he talked into buying from them.. not responsibility in the form of refunds ect.. as again it wasnt him.. but responsibilty into investigating the problem and working to find a solution to help out those he claims to be trying to help in the first place...
as far as his advice goes he does have some good stuff to say.. and he also has plenty of the typical stoner myths he throws in there.. even tho he has aged over time, it doesnt seem his knowledge has grown either.. and its pretty hard to be the "guru" of anything you dont do yourself... book knowledge and pratical knowledge are 2 very different things.. and if he ever grew his own shit he would realize that he is confusing more people than helping.. and that 2/3rds or better of what he says is complete bullshit or misleading...
LASTLY.. on the note of his bible.. i bought it and read it for basic information.. more as a guide line than a study guide.. i found another book tho "gardening indoors with soil and hydroponics by george f. van patten"... the interesting thing, and reason i bring this up, is this book is almost IDENTICAL to the grow bible.. exact same book layout... same chapters.. same pictures.. same page colors.. SAME EVERYTHING.. except that the grow bible is more in depth with specifics word weed, and this book is more general growing... this makes me wonder whether G.F.V.P stole the info in it from the bible, or if JC stole it from him.. and if JC stole it, how much other shit has he directly pulled out of other books??