Wall*E: Beyond the Ordinar*E

In the summer of 1994, there was a lunch. Me, John Lasseter, Pete Doctor, Joe Ranft, all sat down... Toy Story was almost complete... and we thought - Well, jeez, if we were gonna make another movie we gotta get started now! So at that lunch we knocked around a bunch of ideas that eventually became A Bug's Life, Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo... the last one we talked about that day was the story of a robot. Named Wall*E.

Andrew Stanton
Director of Finding Nemo

I have missed very few of animation movies on the big screen. And I have watched each of them at least three times. Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Toy Story, Cars, Monsters Inc. etc were works of staggering geniuses. Even the not so famous ones like Robots. And I am really really really looking forward to Wall*E.

Coming to a theater near me.
On June the 27th.

What if mankind had to leave Earth, and somebody forgot to turn the last robot off? After hundreds of lonely years of doing what he was built for, WALL*E (short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) discovers a new purpose in life (besides collecting knick-knacks) when he meets a sleek search robot named EVE. EVE comes to realize that WALL*E has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet’s future, and races back to space to report her findings to the humans (who have been eagerly awaiting word that it is safe to return home). Meanwhile, WALL*E chases EVE across the galaxy and sets into motion one of the most exciting and imaginative comedy adventures ever brought to the big screen. Joining WALL*E on his fantastic journey across a universe of never-before-imagined visions of the future, is a hilarious cast of characters including a pet cockroach, and a heroic team of malfunctioning misfit robots.

(Source)

There are two major trailers to the movie as embedded here (courtesy YouTube).

Wall*E: Trailer 1

Wall*E: Trailer 2

The PR and advertising of this in the US is great - they have shown it in several places including the superbowl this year as well! Disney has also released this other promotional clip on Wall-E, as if it were available in a store (Buy-n-Large, heh).

Disney Promotional Video (Wall*E)

I know I am not going to be disappointed when I watch the movie. And I love the way it says "Wall*E'.

The beauty of argument

That's the beauty of argument, if you argue correctly, you are never wrong.

One of my all time favorite movie has been and will remain "Thank you for smoking". I had seen it way back in 2006 and that movie is a big load of many-things-to-learn.
Nick Naylor, a lobbyist for a big tobacco firm has a tough job fronting an organization that kills 1200 people a day. But that does not make him a bad person - it's his job. To talk.
And in fact, this movie throws light on all those people who take the fall in place of others. While the world hates such people, there is something else in their lives which the mediocre brained do not see.
He fights for and teaches how to fight for one's dignity. He brings perspective to several things in life that are blindly taken as to be wrong. Here is the trailer - you must watch the movie if you have not seen it. For those who admire strong satire and good quality comedy, you will not be disappointed.

Trailer: Thank you for smoking

Here's my favorite scene from the movie - where Nick is describing the nuances of his job to his son. About how to be right, even if you are not necessarily right. All it takes to prove you are right, is to prove the other person is wrong. Even if it is on a different aspect. And you need to prove it to people watching, not to the person himself. Not the right thing to do, but unfortunately, that is how it works in the world.

Joey: So, what happens when you're wrong?
Nick: Well, Joey, I'm never wrong.
Joey: But you can't always be right.
Nick: Well, if it's your job to be right, then you're never wrong.
Joey: But what if you are wrong?
Nick: Okay, let's say that you're defending chocolate and I'm defending vanilla. Now, if I were to say to you, "Vanilla's the best flavor ice cream", you'd say …?
Joey: "No, chocolate is."
Nick: Exactly. But you can't win that argument. So, I'll ask you: So you think chocolate is the end-all and be-all of ice cream, do you?
Joey: It's the best ice cream; I wouldn't order any other.
Nick: Oh. So it's all chocolate for you, is it?
Joey: Yes, chocolate is all I need.
Nick: Well, I need more than chocolate. And for that matter, I need more than vanilla. I believe that we need freedom and choice when it comes to our ice cream, and that, Joey Naylor, that is the definition of liberty.
Joey: But that's not what we're talking about.
Nick: Ah, but that's what I'm talking about.
Joey: But … you didn't prove that vanilla's the best.
Nick: I didn't have to. I proved that you're wrong, and if you're wrong, I'm right.
Joey: But you still didn't convince me.
Nick: Because I'm not after you. I'm after them. (points to a crowd of people)

Michael Jordan plays ball. Charles Manson kills people. I talk. Everyone has a talent.

**
Aside, I am trying to come up with a good voicemail message for my phone. I am not being very successful.

And that will be $220,000,000,000

So, as of 16th May, the Zimbabwe annual inflation rate hit 355,000%.

Wow.
Stop printing money. Seriously. There's way too much of it in the market. Again, stop printing money. Seriously. There's way too much of it in the market.
A close second is Burma at 39.5%. No more zeros. Just 39.5%.

The inflation rate was 165000% in February, and it rose to this whopping figure now. To give you an idea as to what this number means - 355,000% annual rate means prices are doubling every week. Something, let's say - toothpaste - that costs $10 today is going to cost $20 next week, and $160 by the end of the month. And $4500 billion next year.
Ouch.
Even if my math is wrong, $4500 billion for toothpaste is slightly over the edge, by most standards.
But then, as you might think, nothing costs ZW$10 in Zimbabwe. The country needs major rebooting with a current unemployment fraction of 85%. Understandably, a HUGE section lies below the poverty line.
A brief history: A few disastrous decisions were made in the past few years. Currently, Zimbabwean people have $100 million, $250 million and $500 million currency notes. By May 20th, the $5 billion, $25 billion and $50 billion notes are hitting the market.
When it started in 1980, the Zimbabwean dollar was valued at USD 1.00 = ZWD 0.68. As of
May 2008, USD 1.00 is valued at ZWD 315,000,000.

Huh.
Going to Zimbabwe? Carry lots of money. Like $50.

Sources:
BBC News
The Zimbabwe Independent
Wikipedia - Economy of Zimbabwe
Wikipedia - Zimbabwean dollar
Image courtesy

HandiCAPable

Blade Runner.

Fastest man on no legs.
Oscar Pistorius.

On May 16th 2008, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that the Oscar Pistorius, the 21-year-old South African paralympic is eligible to race against able-bodied athletes, overturning a ban imposed by the International Association of Athletics Federations in January this year. The initial ban was on the grounds that Pistorius has an unfair advantage because prosthetic legs avoid any lactic acid buildup during the race, thereby making him less tired than other able bodied runners. However, Pistorius has been fighting against this, at the cost of his training just so he can compete at the same level as other able bodied racers.
Earlier in 2007, The British Telegraph ran this article "Pistorius is no novelty sprinter" highlighting the difficulties he is facing with trying to compete with artificial limbs. He has been doggedly pursuing for permission to race in the 400 m in the Beijing Olympics, where his timing for one lap is a really impressive 46.34 seconds against the world record (Michael Johnson's 8-year old world record of 43.18 seconds). Awesome what the fiber blades can achieve. Also in this race is

Pistorius has been the subject of criticism because of claims that his artificial limbs, which are J-shaped carbon-fibre prosthetics called the "Cheetah Flex-Foot" manufactured by Icelandic company Össur, give him an advantage over able-bodied runners. It has been claimed that the "blades" he uses are longer than is necessary, allowing him to cover more ground in each stride. Furthermore, it is said that the Cheetahs return more energy per stride without ever becoming fatigued or requiring the same "investment of energy" and that they are not subject to metabolite or lactic acid build-up that slows down ordinary athletes. Pistorius and his coach, Ampie Louw, reject these allegations, saying that his prosthetics do not give him an unfair advantage. They have brought up disadvantages that Pistorius faces, such as rain (which leaves traction hard to attain), wind (which blows the devices sideways), and the fact that he needs more energy to start running than others. Additionally, Professor Robert Gailey of the University of Miami claimed that they return only about 80% of the energy absorbed in each stride, while a natural leg returns up to 240%, providing much more spring. Pistorius has said: "If they [the IAAF] ever found evidence that I was gaining an advantage, then I would stop running because I would not want to compete at a top level if I knew I had an unfair advantage."

Source: Wikipedia

Personally I have no idea whether he has an added advantage or not. But I do think that he should be allowed to race, and no further restrictions should be imposed upon him. A big step for the physically challenged.

Picture Courtesy: Dailymail.co.uk