Lindsay Lohan received an exclamation point on her terrible 2007 at the 28th annual Golden Raspberry Awards on Saturday morning, with her film "I Know Who Killed Me" earning a record eight Razzies -- including three for Lohan herself.
"I Know Who Killed Me," a thriller the Razzie organizers described as a cross between "the 'Hostel'/'Saw' genre of 'teen torture porn' and ... the old 'Patty Duke Show,' " picked up Razzies for worst director, worst screenplay, worst excuse for a horror movie, worst remake or rip-off, worst screen couple (Lohan's portrayal of two identical-looking characters), worst actress (two trophies for a tie between Lohan and Lohan) and worst film of the year.
"I Know Who Killed Me's" achievement surpassed -- if that's the correct word -- the seven Razzies won by "Showgirls" (1995) and "Battlefield Earth" (2000).
"I Know Who Killed Me" and "Norbit" won all but one Razzie category. That last honor, worst prequel or sequel, went to "Daddy Day Camp," a follow-up to a Murphy vehicle, "Daddy Day Care," that substituted Cuba Gooding Jr. for Murphy in the lead role.
I was surprised to read some of the other contenders... "Bratz: The Movie," "Who's Your Caddy?", "Epic Movie," "Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem," Diane Keaton in "Because I Said So" and Jessica Alba in "Awake," "Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer" and "Good Luck Chuck."
Thought some of these were quite well made! Guess that tells me bout my aesthetic skills :)
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Find me a more Ethical Player!
When he walked even though the umpire had ruled him not out in the semi-final against Sri Lanka in the 2003 World Cup, Adam Gilchrist took a quantum leap to become my favourite cricketer. He had always hovered around my top list - along with Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Steve Waugh, Jacques Kallis, Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan and Rahul Dravid - but this extraordinary gesture was the clincher. It is gestures like these that reveal that cricket was not just a sport but rather a way of life.
Well, you would have already guessed; I’m the emotional conservative type in these matters J
While the commercialization of cricket has been good, there is a great deal to be said still for integrity. Alas, this quality is altogether too rare in the current game. Therefore, a player who thinks and behaves differently is one to cherish.
By his own admission, his decision to walk did not go down well with his team-mates. Ricky Ponting, if I remember correctly, was candidly critical of Gilchrist after that match, and there were rumblings of dissent from others too. But Gilchrist has been unfazed, indeed even more convinced that he would do it again.
The craving for success blinds most of us to the need for honesty. Gains in the here and now are considered paramount, but Gilchrist's story holds out an example; and a moral. Shortly after the World Cup, I gathered, that he signed a record A$2 million deal with sports-goods manufacturer Puma. Yeah, good guys win too!
Australia were in deep crisis when Gilchrist joined Matthew Hayden, and the two left-handers broke the shackles with a truly awesome display of power-hitting. What impressed me most about Gilchrist was his refusal to surrender even in a grave situation. He was cool, but only in demeanor.
A year later he played one of the more remarkable innings in cricket history - a hell for leather – 204 to set up a win against South Africa. As he reveals in his book, Gilchrist was then going through deep emotional turmoil with the licentious press insinuating that his child was in fact his team-mate’s. To turn a crisis into a personal challenge and then into personal triumph appears to have become the hallmark of Gilchrist's career. As mentioned earlier, he was a contentious replacement for Healy; now, apart from sundry blazing innings in Tests, he has also become arguably the best batsman in one-day cricket. When Steve Waugh, while eating ice-cream, made up his mind to open with Gilchrist, he was taking a huge gamble, which must now rate as a historic decision, for Australia have won two successive World Cups since.
It is simplistic to say that Gilchrist is an exciting batsman. There are a few such around in contemporary cricket. But I doubt anyone bats with the same abandon or the same sense of certainty in strokeplay.
Well, you would have already guessed; I’m the emotional conservative type in these matters J
While the commercialization of cricket has been good, there is a great deal to be said still for integrity. Alas, this quality is altogether too rare in the current game. Therefore, a player who thinks and behaves differently is one to cherish.
By his own admission, his decision to walk did not go down well with his team-mates. Ricky Ponting, if I remember correctly, was candidly critical of Gilchrist after that match, and there were rumblings of dissent from others too. But Gilchrist has been unfazed, indeed even more convinced that he would do it again.
The craving for success blinds most of us to the need for honesty. Gains in the here and now are considered paramount, but Gilchrist's story holds out an example; and a moral. Shortly after the World Cup, I gathered, that he signed a record A$2 million deal with sports-goods manufacturer Puma. Yeah, good guys win too!
Australia were in deep crisis when Gilchrist joined Matthew Hayden, and the two left-handers broke the shackles with a truly awesome display of power-hitting. What impressed me most about Gilchrist was his refusal to surrender even in a grave situation. He was cool, but only in demeanor.
A year later he played one of the more remarkable innings in cricket history - a hell for leather – 204 to set up a win against South Africa. As he reveals in his book, Gilchrist was then going through deep emotional turmoil with the licentious press insinuating that his child was in fact his team-mate’s. To turn a crisis into a personal challenge and then into personal triumph appears to have become the hallmark of Gilchrist's career. As mentioned earlier, he was a contentious replacement for Healy; now, apart from sundry blazing innings in Tests, he has also become arguably the best batsman in one-day cricket. When Steve Waugh, while eating ice-cream, made up his mind to open with Gilchrist, he was taking a huge gamble, which must now rate as a historic decision, for Australia have won two successive World Cups since.
It is simplistic to say that Gilchrist is an exciting batsman. There are a few such around in contemporary cricket. But I doubt anyone bats with the same abandon or the same sense of certainty in strokeplay.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Don’t know how long this inflation balloon is gonna hold!
As I was reading through the business news of a popular news paper, this headline caught me wandering to make sense –
Zimbabwe inflation hits 100,000%
Government officials say the shortages make it hard to work out inflation with any degree of accuracy. About 80% of the country's population lives in poverty and it is estimated that three million people have left the country for a new life in South Africa.
The central bank has introduced new banknotes to cope with the spiraling prices. And would you believe me – if I said
“Last month it issued a 10 million Zimbabwe dollar note”
Unbelievable; don’t be surprised, if you notice this story in the next Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!
Zimbabwe inflation hits 100,000%
Government officials say the shortages make it hard to work out inflation with any degree of accuracy. About 80% of the country's population lives in poverty and it is estimated that three million people have left the country for a new life in South Africa.
The central bank has introduced new banknotes to cope with the spiraling prices. And would you believe me – if I said
“Last month it issued a 10 million Zimbabwe dollar note”
Unbelievable; don’t be surprised, if you notice this story in the next Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Are the Aliens here yet?
As i was drafting my previous blog about how small can small really get, i came across the term "Quantum computers"
A quantum computer is a theoretical device that would make use of the properties of quantum mechanics, the realm of physics that deals with energy and matter at atomic scales.
In a quantum computer data is not processed by electrons passing through transistors, as is the case in today's computers, but by caged atoms known as quantum bits or Qubits.
The Qubit phenomenon is supposedly the next breakthrough into small computers - just analyze this:
As we know, a bit is a simple unit of information that is represented by a "1" or a "0" in a conventional electronic computer. A qubit can also represent a "1" or a "0" but crucially can be both at the same time - known as a superposition. This allows a quantum computer to work through many problems and arrive at their solutions simultaneously. "It is like massively parallel processing but in one piece of hardware!
Well, I'm sure - once we have these Quantum computers in market we are ready to bust those alien ships :)
A quantum computer is a theoretical device that would make use of the properties of quantum mechanics, the realm of physics that deals with energy and matter at atomic scales.
In a quantum computer data is not processed by electrons passing through transistors, as is the case in today's computers, but by caged atoms known as quantum bits or Qubits.
The Qubit phenomenon is supposedly the next breakthrough into small computers - just analyze this:
As we know, a bit is a simple unit of information that is represented by a "1" or a "0" in a conventional electronic computer. A qubit can also represent a "1" or a "0" but crucially can be both at the same time - known as a superposition. This allows a quantum computer to work through many problems and arrive at their solutions simultaneously. "It is like massively parallel processing but in one piece of hardware!
Well, I'm sure - once we have these Quantum computers in market we are ready to bust those alien ships :)
Monday, February 18, 2008
How Small Can Small Get?
For more than 40 years the silicon industry has delivered ever faster, cheaper chips.
The advances have underpinned everything from the rise of mobile phones to digital photography and portable music players. Chip-makers have been able to deliver many of these advances by shrinking the components on a chip. By making these building blocks such as transistors smaller, they have become faster; and firms have been able to pack more of them into the same area.
But according to many industry insiders this miniaturisation cannot continue forever.
The consensus in the industry is that we can do that shrink for about another ten years and then after that we have to figure out new ways to bring higher capability to our chips.
Even Gordon Moore, the founder of Intel and the man that gave his name to the law that dictates the industry's progression, admits that it can only go on for a few more years.
So, herez the big question - what do we do, once we hit the rock bottom of nano? Where do we go from there?
Tiny tubes? Nano carbon tubes?
The advances have underpinned everything from the rise of mobile phones to digital photography and portable music players. Chip-makers have been able to deliver many of these advances by shrinking the components on a chip. By making these building blocks such as transistors smaller, they have become faster; and firms have been able to pack more of them into the same area.
But according to many industry insiders this miniaturisation cannot continue forever.
The consensus in the industry is that we can do that shrink for about another ten years and then after that we have to figure out new ways to bring higher capability to our chips.
Even Gordon Moore, the founder of Intel and the man that gave his name to the law that dictates the industry's progression, admits that it can only go on for a few more years.
So, herez the big question - what do we do, once we hit the rock bottom of nano? Where do we go from there?
Tiny tubes? Nano carbon tubes?
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