Thursday, July 29, 2010
Go EUR Go!
today it's been 2 days in a row that the EUR : USD ratio got over the 1.3 cap. I'm glad that's all; hoping that this trend will go on.
what's with wikileaks?...
During one of my "TED sessions" I watched this video:
Julian Assange: Why the world needs WikiLeaks | Video on TED.com
it is about a Wikileaks, an "organisation" publishing confidential information that goes through the cracks in the system. It treated any kind of information and field: politics, economy, world peace/conflict, sociology and many more.
The main idea behind the interview is the role of this concept in the information world and its consequences.
That's what I'd like to point out briefly here.
I mean is it good or bad to give away info supposed to be kept secret.
My answer would be a "gray" one as always. In today's world we think to be and we demand to be more and more informed. So people should be told stuff, even critical ones as long as their security remains unharmed. Mainly these leaks hide information that is kept secret for the benefit of some individuals or for hiding "inglorious" military moments. In these cases, the truth should be known and the ones responsible brought upfront.
But information is also power, and as a comic-book uncle once said: "with great power comes great responsibility"; that is why I think that the impact of the information should be analyzed before its release. Because it can be really security-related, or of great psychological force or simply manipulative, and there are people who would not withstand the "shock" and could be led in certain directions using unfair means.
That is way in my slightly elitist view, I grant the governments the "right" to conceal critical data, and release it when the tides is gone, the sole interest being the well-being of it's citizens and of the entire planet. On the other hand I would prefer not to be fed crap; it consider that ignorance is better than lie. Last but not least, if the greater or lesser leaders fool around "off with their heads" metaphorically speaking; so this kind of media could be a great tool in the enlightenment of the people, just don't be like flies...too much light can burn.
Julian Assange: Why the world needs WikiLeaks | Video on TED.com
it is about a Wikileaks, an "organisation" publishing confidential information that goes through the cracks in the system. It treated any kind of information and field: politics, economy, world peace/conflict, sociology and many more.
The main idea behind the interview is the role of this concept in the information world and its consequences.
That's what I'd like to point out briefly here.
I mean is it good or bad to give away info supposed to be kept secret.
My answer would be a "gray" one as always. In today's world we think to be and we demand to be more and more informed. So people should be told stuff, even critical ones as long as their security remains unharmed. Mainly these leaks hide information that is kept secret for the benefit of some individuals or for hiding "inglorious" military moments. In these cases, the truth should be known and the ones responsible brought upfront.
But information is also power, and as a comic-book uncle once said: "with great power comes great responsibility"; that is why I think that the impact of the information should be analyzed before its release. Because it can be really security-related, or of great psychological force or simply manipulative, and there are people who would not withstand the "shock" and could be led in certain directions using unfair means.
That is way in my slightly elitist view, I grant the governments the "right" to conceal critical data, and release it when the tides is gone, the sole interest being the well-being of it's citizens and of the entire planet. On the other hand I would prefer not to be fed crap; it consider that ignorance is better than lie. Last but not least, if the greater or lesser leaders fool around "off with their heads" metaphorically speaking; so this kind of media could be a great tool in the enlightenment of the people, just don't be like flies...too much light can burn.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Nolan's mind-dazzling voyage to the deepest corners of the mind
Rating : 5/5Just like the dreams inside, this movie surpasses reality.
It's 2h+ of mystery, suspense and pure action, sprinkled with enough drama and having very well placed drops of humor. But moreover this movie is a mind challenge; one second of inattention and you could get lost in the web of "realities". At times, I could compare the intellectual involvement to the one needed for a quantum mechanics class.
The main idea of the film is subconscious control using dreams. The science behind it is to be proved but grabbing hold of you from the first moment and carrying you through layers of dream/reality without letting go for one bit, makes it seem damn real.
The cast, with Leo upfront, did their job brilliantly, there is not a split-second of misguided acting. What misses a bit is a greater development of the supporting characters, their background being unknown. Also there is a slight trend in Nolan's movies to keep the female characters on a pedestal or close to asylum-type behavior.
The filming makes you live the dream as if you were being part of it (I wonder what it would of looked like if it had been conceived for 3D) and the SFX are simply awesome: the Paris urban rearrangement is a masterpiece and the zero-gravity scenes are fun to watch, and not in a comic way.
The mind-crushing siren-type of sounds play their part in the total immersion of the viewer.
It's one hell of a experience, and it will be difficult to pinch yourself out of this one.
Cool details - Spoiler Alert!!!
The power and the tension of the movie are so great that at the end of it, millions of people will be completely focused on a turning spinning top.
Something that I barely realized: the characters are bad guys, but you're 100% on their side >:)
The behavior of main character's french wife is explained simply by her name: Mal (fr. bad/evil)
Friday, July 23, 2010
The Legend of The Seeker
Growing up with series like Xena, Warrior Princess and Hercules, I didn't fail to notice that the fantasy genre was a bit impoverished for quite a time, even though LOTR could have rebooted the trend. Still, a month ago I was told to try watching a more or less new series The Legend of the Seeker and I quite enjoy it.
The plot is based on a series of novels entitled The Sword of the Truth by Terry Goodkind, and tells the story of a hero (The Seeker) who must fulfill a prophecy by killing a dark wizard and thus saving the world.
The first season (which is as far as I got for the moment) follows the evolution of this Seeker for a mere young wood-something... to the hero meant to free mankind. Actually at the beginning the scenes are played quite clumsy at times and the dialogues are pretty cliche-based but the entire show evolves with the main character; so mid-way it offers a fair amount of entertainment.
To accomplish his destiny The Seeker is accompanied by a Confessor, member of a sisterhood possessing special powers whose mission is to protect him, and a powerful wizard (with a strange sense of humor) who's meant to guide him.
As expected the combination good-looking six-packed hero + hot companionship could not be avoided, and I'll be honest and tell you that NOT surprisingly Cupid is in the air, but stuff don't get that cheesy 'cas life's complicated (exaggeratedly complicated I would say).
Since there are at least 10 books in the series, there is enough inspiration material, but by the end of the end of the 2nd season (one season/book) (summer 2010) it seems that the show has been canceled.
Anyway, I found the first season enjoyable for a fan of magic-based adventures, so if you interested by The Legend of the Seeker here's where you can find the two aired seasons. Njoy!
The plot is based on a series of novels entitled The Sword of the Truth by Terry Goodkind, and tells the story of a hero (The Seeker) who must fulfill a prophecy by killing a dark wizard and thus saving the world.
The first season (which is as far as I got for the moment) follows the evolution of this Seeker for a mere young wood-something... to the hero meant to free mankind. Actually at the beginning the scenes are played quite clumsy at times and the dialogues are pretty cliche-based but the entire show evolves with the main character; so mid-way it offers a fair amount of entertainment.
To accomplish his destiny The Seeker is accompanied by a Confessor, member of a sisterhood possessing special powers whose mission is to protect him, and a powerful wizard (with a strange sense of humor) who's meant to guide him.
As expected the combination good-looking six-packed hero + hot companionship could not be avoided, and I'll be honest and tell you that NOT surprisingly Cupid is in the air, but stuff don't get that cheesy 'cas life's complicated (exaggeratedly complicated I would say).
Since there are at least 10 books in the series, there is enough inspiration material, but by the end of the end of the 2nd season (one season/book) (summer 2010) it seems that the show has been canceled.
Anyway, I found the first season enjoyable for a fan of magic-based adventures, so if you interested by The Legend of the Seeker here's where you can find the two aired seasons. Njoy!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
and so it begins...
a couple of day ago I decided to start a blog, thus following some of my friends. The purpose of this "space" is to share mostly my likings but also my dislikings on different subjects that matter to me:
So what's to be seen here:
Have Fun!
- cinema
- travel
- science & technology
- music
So what's to be seen here:
- movie reviews
- journey book (with the musts and the shouldn'ts of the places I've seen)
- news about scientific discoveries or just wacky gadgets
- events
- stuff that I simply like
- random thoughts
Have Fun!
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