My turn.  the rant was interesting, and touched on issues that I feel strongly about, mostly that the image should tell a story, convey a feeling, or at the very least, document a moment.  reading the rant, I xcame to a conclusion that Penguinisto was this great artist with a great breadth of experience.  So, before I went through the rest of the thread I decided to check out the gallery, only to find that the images were nice, but not profound.  In the past, people have slammed my work, giving me advice on how i could "IMPROVE" it to their liking, and then when I check their galleries, I find out that they had never posted anything.  I'm glad that Penguinisto has posted some images to add backing to the rant....... however,
and there's always a however.........
check that annoying thing in the top left corner of this page, saying that this is an artist community.  By slamming new artists with the macaroni analogies is petty and insulting.  I tell my students when I do a workshop that a camera is merely a hammer, a computer is merely an anvil.  granted they are very delicate and expensive hammers and anvils but base tools none the less.
What you do with the tools is what makes you "an artist".  I didn't call myself an artist until someone else called me an artist.  
I too am tired of the Nude Vicky in a temple with a sword ( a while ago I posted a Nude Posette with a sword in protest), but then again, I don't look at those images.  What I look for is meat, substance, solid, depth.
when I post, there's a reason I post.  I have created something that I wish to share.
what could be truer than that.
rant and rave all you want, but remember, we are a community.
sorry, gotta go, Dr. Who is on.