Movies of my mind

Exactly 4 years and 4 months ago, I was writing about capturing dreams. I started by calling it a weird thought, but looks like it is no longer weird anymore given that bright minds have started to think alike and work in this direction. Today, we have neuroscientists from University of California, Berkeley working on this idea made  some initial progress. An initial progress that would very well become an important breakthrough one day.

Shinji Nishimoto and his team are working on a project that would attempt to reconstruct a video by scanning a person's brain while that person is watching a movie. From their results, they show the similarities between reconstructed images and the original movie clips the person is watching. The subjects are made to watch movie trailers, and fMRI technique is used to measure the brain's activity by keeping track of the flow of blood through visual cortex. The cool part is, they have used Youtube videos to reconstruct thoughts of the subjects they were experimenting with.

Out of my curiosity to learn about research related to dreams, or thoughts - anything to do with capturing cognitive capabilities in visual form - I have tried to understand the procedure further. A two step process this is, where in the first step scientific data related to brain's activity is captured when a subject watches a movie clip. In the second step, this scientific data is fed into the computer, and the computer based on experimental results tries to make a  movie by making a fusion of sample clips available from video pool (in this case Youtube). Lo and behold! We now have a output video with hazy shapes and blurry figures which are quite similar to what the subject was watching while brain's activity is captured.

According to the Professor Gallant who headed Shinji in this project, practical applications of such a project in the long term can be to communicate and understand what is running in the minds of people suffering from Cerebral Palsy, where the patients cannot communicate verbally (A few years ago I have written another post about the feelings of a person suffering from such a case, although I really don't know what runs through their mind). Who knows, this might altogether make the research of interacting and interfacing with human brain popular!

Atleast for now I can say, we are one tiny step closer in understanding how our human mind works. Here is a short video demonstrating the results of their experiment, watch it out for yourself:

Have you found your inner peace?

"Anything is possible when you have inner peace" says Master Shifu to his student Po, and this is how "the dragon warrior" saves not just the Valley of Peace, but entire China. Enjoying the confidence he has gained as the dragon warrior after defeating the evil and ferocious snow leopard Tai Lung in the first part, our Kung-Fu Panda continues his adventures along with the Furious Five in this new sequel. Just like Spiderman reasserted the statement "With great power comes great responsibility", Po restates "To protect from a powerful villain, a great hero will be born". 

Source: moejackson.com

And this evil villain, a peacock, becomes a trouble to deal with for our warrior Panda when he claims "China is mine" and determines to eliminate and destroy Kung-fu with his almighty metal spitting weapons. In fighting the evil peacock Lord Shen, Po has to find answers. Answers about his past, about his parents and about how Lord Shen is related to his past. On learning the answers to all his questions through the soothsayer, a female goat with a long beard, Po finds his inner peace and sets forth to save his friends, the furious five, and China from the evil antagonist. All this action  doesn't mean that our Panda lost interest in gobbling up dumplings or lost his funny tooth. He is all the same, but a little more dynamic after perfecting his kung-fu skills.

Year after year, quality of CGI has been improving dramatically and this movie is no exception. There were pretty complicated scenes designed in this movie, and the action sequence in ocean as the movie ends stands out. I strongly felt that the movie and the animations were designed specifically keeping in mind the effect it would give while watching in 3D. So, if you haven't watched this movie yet, go for it. And go for it in 3D.

Until then, in search of inner peace!

 

Technology, Love and Hate!

Skype might possibly look like this later this year after it gets integrated with Microsoft Windows Office suite! Who knows if we are all made to create and use Windows Live ID if we want to continue using their services

Do you think it is a big deal when Microsoft announces to buy Skype, the free video conferencing software which became a huge hit in the recent years? I think so having been a loyal Skype user for the past few of years now! Microsoft having had this reputation to monetize their technology makes me wonder if Skype also encounters such fate. Worse if it gets integrated with their Office 2012 suite for which we have to shell out bucks and soon enough made to pay the $8.5 Billion they have invested in buying Skype. Who knows, Skype might be made to stop supporting iPhones in order to boost up Windows phone sales. But for Microsoft this is a big step in capturing the user base of the Internet and Video Communications leader. Pity the loyal Windows Live Messenger, hope it does not get shelved after all the service it has done since 1999. 

The founders of Skype had quite a bumpy ride all these years despite their product being a hit among the masses since their product is widely popular for the free services they offer. But I still am unable to comprehend if this deal with Microsoft is a fitting finish to their effort or not! Let's hope this deal at least adds the much need cool factor to Microsoft that Kinect failed to completely bring to this technology corporate. Steve Ballmer, the CEO of Microsoft, known for his eccentric behavior in the media and public conferences said "Skype is a phenomenal service that is loved by millions of people around the world. Together we will create the future of real-time communications so people can easily stay connected to family, friends, clients and colleagues anywhere in the world."  

On the other hand, Google has been trying a lot of different things! Latest being their Youtube service testing its luck in movies business. Starting yesterday, Youtube is offering movies for rent at youtube.com/movies. I believe performance wise this new step does not create any major lag, as Youtube is used to seeing 35 hours of free video content uploaded to its servers every minute. Buckle up Netflix; what's your strategy now?

With all possible updates from technology giants, I wonder what Facebook is upto! All hail the "Zuck" and wait for the next big security lapse in Facebook. 

Come What May

 

When I first watched Moulin Rouge movie nine years ago, I so cursed myself for spending my two hours odd trying to make some sense out of all the boisterous pomp and gaudy flamboyance. But today when I watched it again my reaction was "Magnificent, opulent, tremendous, stupendous, gargantuan bedazzlement, Spectacular spectacular, no words in the vernacular", exactly the words of the character Zidler. Not everyone might like this movie, but this certainly falls under the category where you either love it a lot or hate it. Fairly difficult to categorize since it falls under many genres unlike hollywood movies which follow a particular genre. And that is expected since the director of this movie, Baz Luhrmann was inspired to make it after watching a Bollywood movie which usually has almost all the elements in it. And just as the inspiration, Moulin Rouge has a bit of everything in it. It falls under musical, romance, comedy, tragedy and drama. And after this Indian connection it is only fair that the director included  an Indian play within the movie as part of the story.

Much like the story of Charudatta and Vasantasena (yes, yes! you guessed it right if the movie Utsav is running in your mind), this is a romantic love story between Satine, a singing courtesan played by Nicole Kidman and Christian, a story writer played by Ewan McGregor. Set in the year of 1899 in the village Montemartre, Paris where people celebrate living in Bohemian style following freedom, beauty, truth and love as principles, the movie is about telling a story as loud as possible. Narrated in emotions expressed through modern songs, the movie is a bold attempt to incorporate modern songs into a century old story. And the best part is that protagonists sing their own songs, and they do it really well with all those little imperfections which only add to the emotions of the song. I know its really hard for us Indians to imagine our actors and actresses rendering their own voices.

Never till now have I enjoyed English musicals as much as I did this movie. The songs are absolutely fitting, and they go perfectly synchronised with the vibrant colors on the screen. The adaptation "El Tango De Roxanne" based on the original by The Police is the best part of the movie with the intense music, passionate dance and piercing lyrics doing their best describing the plight of the male protagonist. I also liked the song "Come what may" for its lyrics. It is this song that sets the love story between the protagonists. 

Screencast from the movie Moulin Rouge showing an Indian play.

I am really happy I gave this movie a second chance. Better late than never, and it paid off really well. I have been listening to the songs ever since. All in all its a deeply involving musical tale of deceit and love with comedy and tragedy.

As the voice of the children of the free Bohemian revolution says in this movie "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return".

When aliens contacted Jodie Foster

Ever since my laptop crashed, I have been watching movies in Netflix regularly on my phone . I for one want to get involved in my movie. And since that sense of involvement one gets while watching on a phone is quite less I watch one movie over a period of days. 

The previous two days I watched the movie Contact, a 1997 film starring Jodie Foster based on a book written by Carl Sagan, an astronomer. This movie deals with conflict between technological advances and religious faith when scientists working on SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) receive radio signals broadcasted from Vega, fifth brightest star we can see from Earth. Embedded in the radio signals are engineering plans to build a complex device beyond human capability that can transport a single person from Earth to Vega using a wormhole mechanism, a hypothetical mathematical explanation that allows matter to travel in space-time instantaneously. Dr. Ellie Arroway, played by Jodie Foster, who heads the SETI team takes the responsibility to travel in that device and to interpret humanity's first contact with alien intelligence.

Jodie Foster from the film Contact. In the background is VLA Radio Telescope in New Mexico, an array of 27 independent radio telescopes whose combined power can be used to pick up radio signals from stars. Radio signals are least effected by Earth's atmosphere and hence these telescopes can be installed on Earth without worrying about the loss of signals.

Having read the Space and Astronomy sections in "The New Book of Popular Science - Vol I" very recently, my fascination for these telescopes (my haiku on Hubble Space Telescope) and outer space has no bounds. I was pleasantly surprised with the 3 minute graphics of outer space in the beginning of the movie. I was thrilled to see VLA radio telescope in Mexico live in action in the movie. And using the first video signal ever transmitted into air, Hitler's speech at Berlin Olympics in the 1930s, as the message from aliens, rather Vegans, is smart. Since the star Vega is about 25 light years away from Earth, any electromagnetic signal would take nearly 50 years to go reach that star and come back to Earth. 

I wish I were into astronomy, except for that unexplainable phobia I used to have  as a kid towards celestial bodies. May be I should visit some observatory or space related museum to make sure if I still have that phobia! Do we have a name for this kind of phobia?

 

Home, a must watch

Have you ever wondered why Jake Sullivan in Avatar film fell in love with the planet Pandora? Isn't the answer beauty of the nature in Pandora? Now watch this story to learn more about what we are doing to our own home, our planet Earth.

"Life, a miracle in the universe appeared around 4 billion years ago, and we humans only 200,000 years ago. Yet we have succeeded in disrupting the balance that is so essential to life." These are the words to which this documentary introduces us to our home, the Earth. Ever since I watched this, I could not stop thinking about it. Highlights are visually stunning aerial shots of most amazing places on Earth, the background music and above all the story it tells. And their message stands out, the message about what the wise humans have done to our home the Earth, and what we would lose if we don't act in a timely manner.

The film was shot by Yann-Arthus Bertrand, a famous French photographer from a helicopter using a HD camera, and it took them 217 days to shoot 488 hours of footage from 54 different countries. And the facts they share through this movie are really shocking. Yet in the end of the film, they infuse hope within us telling us about the measures currently being taken across the world in making up for the damage we have done. Here are some of those facts in the filmmaker's words and some screenshots from the film to motivate you to watch it.

Faster and faster. In the last 60 years, the Earth’s population has almost tripled. And over 2 billion people have moved to the cities.

Faster and faster. Shenzhen, in China, with hundreds of skyscrapers and millions of inhabitants, was just a small fishing village barely 40 years ago. In Shanghai, 3000 towers and skyscrapers have been built in 20 years. Hundreds more are under construction. Today, over half of the world’s 7 billion inhabitants live in cities.

Faster and faster. Like the life cycle of livestock, which may never see a meadow. Manufacturing meat faster than the animal has become a daily routine. In these vast foodlots, trampled by millions of cattle, not a blade of grass grows. A fleet of trucks from every corner of the country brings tons of grain, soy meal and protein-rich granules that will become tons of meat. The result is that it takes 100 liters of water to produce 1 kilogram of potatoes, 4000 liters for 1 kilo of rice and 13,000 liters for 1 kilo of beef. Not to mention the oil guzzled in the production process and transport.

Faster and faster. The more the world develops, the greater its thirst for energy. Everywhere, machines dig, bore and rip from the Earth the pieces of stars buried in its depths since its creation… Minerals. As a privilege of power, 80% of this mineral wealth is consumed by 20% of the world’s population. Before the end of this century, excessive mining will have exhausted nearly all the planet’s reserves.

Is excessive exploitation of resources threatening the lives of every species?

By 2050, a quarter of the Earth’s species could be threatened with extinction. Our ecosystem doesn’t have borders. Wherever we are, our actions have repercussions on the whole Earth. Our planet’s atmosphere is an indivisible whole. It is an asset we share. How can this century carry the burden of 9 billion human beings, if we refuse to be called to account for everything we alone have done? 20% of the world’s population consumes 80% of its resources.The world spends 12 times more on military expenditures than on aid to developing countries. 5,000 people a day die because of dirty drinking water. 1 billion people have no access to safe drinking water. Nearly 1 billion people are going hungry. Over 50% of grain traded around the world is used for animal feed or biofuels. 40% of arable land has suffered long-term damage. Every year, 13 million hectares of forest disappear. 1 mammal in 4, 1 bird in 8, 1 amphibian in 3 are threatened with extinction. Species are dying out at a rhythm 1,000 times faster than the natural rate. Three quarters of fishing grounds are exhausted, depleted or in dangerous decline. The average temperature of the last 15 years has been the highest ever recorded. The ice cap is 40% thinner than 40 years ago

It's too late to be a pessimist. It's time to come together for what remains. We all have the power to change.

Do watch it on Youtube for free, and help spreading the message by sharing it with as many as you can:
http://www.youtube.com/homeproject#p/a/f/0/jqxENMKaeCU

movies in the recent past

The list is not comprehensive though, here I go -

Bourne Supremacy - Loved the movie, but should've watched its prequel before watching this!

300 - There was a period when I watched this movie over and over everytime I had nothing else to do. Watched it again, and loved it again. 'No retreat, no surrender' 

Forgetting Sarah Marshal - Irritating but equally entertaining

Young Frankenstein - I shouldn't have watched this movie. My Halloween's day got screwed up coz of this one. Can't say more about this

Bourne Identity - Now am a fan of Matt Damon. Am not authorized to reveal more about Operation Treadstone.

The Gladiator - General Maximus Decimus Meridius stole the show and stole my heart with his acting skills. How can I not praise the background music (which I didn't observe when I watched this movie before)! Extrordinary!!

Bourne Ultimatum - this made me wait for the 4th part which happen to be in the making apparently. 

Step Brothers - I would give only 3 stars out of 10 for this comedy!

The Karate Kid - Motivating story of an underdog, Pat Morita is really charming. 

The Girl Next Door - Was searching for Elisha Cutberths movie which I loved when I watched some years back and ended up in this movie by the same name which was released in 2007. Movie based on a real story in which a teenage girl was physically abused, tortured and killed.

Artificial Intelligence - Director Steven Spielberg is famous for his creativity in science fiction and this movie just strengthens the fact

Wanted - Bullet curving madness and Angelina, oh my god she is just ......... (u know what i mean, fill the blank for urself)!

Troy - I've watched this movie N times, and watching it for the (N+1)th time still makes me love the movie. Eric Bana rocks in the movie

Toy Story I - I wonder how creative people get in making such movies. I'm not a fan of animation movies, but this one I just loved it. 'Buzzlight year: To infinity and Beyond'

Toy Story II -  Same as above

The Notebook -  Cute movie! This one made me wonder if I'm a sucker for romantic movies. 

My Sassy Girl - Ah! Jeon is cute, cuter, cutest!!!

Quantum of Solace - Not a typical bond movie. Bond gets emotional, which is not the case in general. And where are those crisp and sharp dialogues 'Vodka Martini, shaken not stirred' ?

The Departed - Jack Nicholson rocks, all in all a decent watch.

Karate Kid II - Loved this as well, this movie like the previous one is more about the relation between a teacher and a student.

Karate Kid III - My love for the previous two parts made me watch this, but this happens to be a desperate continuation. Not as good as the previous two, but still good!

Hancock - 'Call me an asshole one more time..' Will Smith is really an asshole to do this movie

The Passion of the Christ - Did Jesus really go through all that? :(

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benifit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan - Lol, what a movie

Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle - Funny one! 'The universe tends to unfold as it should' to these two Asian guys who goes in search of their White Castle Burgers. 

Hard Target - Add 3 or 4 songs and it makes a perfect Bollywood movie!

Fight Club - Superb concept! 'This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time... If you wake up at a different time, in a different place, could you wake up as a different person?'

Edit 1: Forgot mentioning a few which I've watched very recently - The English Patient, Rocky I, Incredible Hulk, The Game Plan and Wall E. That lil kid Madison Pettis is really cute in The Game Plan. 

TZP Effect - II

And the effect doesn't lose its charm yet...

TZP Effect...

If u havent watched Taare Zameen Par, then the first thing you should do is go watch it....

The Man from Earth

Happened to watch this movie "Jerome Bixby's Man from Earth" yesterday in office. Initially I was lil doubtful as to whether I should continue watching the movie, but then as the movie went on I found myself deeply involved, sitting at the edge of my chair, waiting for the next dialog. This movie, shot mostly in a single room with 8 characters without any hi-fi visual effects and whatnot, is undoubtedly one of the most intelligent and thought provoking movies I've watched.

The movie leaves you with an experience that cannot be explained to another person; it has to be experienced personally. I never happened to write a post on a movie, but this movie is quite different. I want people to watch this movie and feel it.

You can find more about the movie here, but I strongly recommend not to read it now. Go experience the movie and be a part of Prof. John Oldman's farewell meet.

Trailer: