ankurb – Page 139 – Ankur Banerjee's personal blog

A heads-up to all students up to the age of 17 who are interested in free and open source software. There’s a competition called The Digital Open and is being organized by The Institute For The Future with sponsorship from Sun Microsystems. This competition aims to encourage open source innovation among the youth. There cool prizes up for grabs provided for by Sun Microsystems. If you’re interested in participating, buckle up and start working because the deadline for submitting entries is 15th August 2009. Your entry needs to be licensed under a Digital Open approved license (this is an important point).

So what kind of projects can you submit? There are many entry categories for The Digital Open: Open Code (open source software), Open Community (using open source technologies to help community at various levels collaborate and take decisions), Open Science (scientific studies, lesson plans, etc), Open Earth (ecology-related projects), Open Gear (hardware-related projects such as robots, or other gadgets), Open Media (media – video, audio, presentations, etc), and Open Play (making learning fun). You should note that your project should NOT just be an idea, but include implementation details too.

You might also be wondering how ‘open’ can be applied to categories to categories other than coding. It’s the most common association for the word in this context of course. ‘Open’ has been applied to other categories as whatever studies, reports, illustrations etc must be licensed under free/open licenses. I would advise you to take this directive seriously. Don’t even think of ripping off images from the Internet if you don’t have permission for it; if source material is licensed under free/open licenses then adhere to the licensing conditions imposed.

Even if you don’t win a prize you can gain respect within the Digital Open community by winning ‘achievement badges’ under the following categories. I know it’s not a ‘physical’ award; still it shows your contributions were highly appreciated in some way. In the free/open source community many often contribute for the sheer joy of contributing. So approach this competition with that spirit.

In case you’re interested in participating (from India), contact me or leave a comment below about your project. I’ll get you in touch with one of the India coordinators for this initiative, who may be able to resolve any queries you have.

The Hangover – wickedly funny!

'The Hangover' movie poster — Every bit as crazy as it looks

My rating of The Hangover: A++ (Far out!)
Cast: Justin Bartha (“Doug”, the bridegroom), Bradley Cooper (“Phil”), Ed Helms (“Dr Faggot”), Zach Galifianakis (“Superhero for this Legendary Pictures movie”), STINGLAI KA’ABI
Directed by: Todd Phillips
Studio: Warner Bros / Legendary Pictures

Originally posted at Youthpad.

You walk in with expectations that a movie directed by Todd Phillips – one of the story writers of Borat – to be funny. The Hangover meets those expectations that you have and then surpasses them. This movie, surely, is going to get an Oscar nomination – most definitely going to win in the screenplay category.

When I saw the trailer/ read blurbs, it sounded so incredibly outrageous that I didn’t know whether to believe this movie would be good or not. Movies with good trailers are often terrible. On top of that, Legendary Pictures financed this film. The same Legendary Pictures famous for superhero movies such as Batman Begins, Superman Returns, Somebody Else Goes Away, 300 (“Rah rah dick flick!“), and The Jaagte Raho Group.

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Watch the trailer for The Hangover

The movie delivers exactly the Mike Tyson-ish punch of laughter that the trailer promises. The show had a jam-packed theatre and everyone was convulsed with laughter. (I, of course, kept laughing throughout the whole show – even during the intermission when I went to the washroom; hmm, that got a few people staring.) The story is about four guys who go to Las Vegas for their friend’s bachelor party. We get to see just about this bit before it cuts to the day after their partying. They find that their friend who’s supposed to get married two days later is missing. Also, they discover that in their suite they have a hen, a tiger, somebody else’s baby, a missing tooth, a stolen cop car – and no memory at all of what they did last night. Turns out that one of the group spiked the drinks they had with roofies (the ‘date rape drug’), thinking that it was Ecstasy. Hilarity ensues.

SPOILER SPILLER ALERT!!! DON’T BUY ANY DRINKS WHILE WATCHING THIS MOVIE BECAUSE YOU’LL MOST PROBABLY END UP SPILLING THE WHOLE THING.

That’s the basic setting. The main act is about the guys trying to find out where their friend is so that they can get him back in time for his marriage. Along the way they find out they won $80000 at casino, have a Chinese guys who says ‘motherfucker’ in a sing-song voice in their car’s trunk, one of them pulled his own tooth out and then married a stripper. Oh well. You get the idea don’t you. Lest you misunderstand, none of this is slapstick / lame comedy that American Pie series type movies have. There are very subtle parodies of casino movies such as 21 [my rating – A+ (Oscar-worthy)]. (Boy, that scene at a blackjack table is friggin’ hilarious!)

The story has a raw ad-libbed feel to it, along the lines of Borat. It’s scene-based and full of visual puns. Many of the jokes are straightforward, but there are quite a few intellectual / pop-culture reference based jokes too. A special note for the character of Alan (played by Zach Galifianakis) bakes the cake, eats it, haves it too, and then gets a Michelin three-star rating purely based on the analysis of what he craps out.

Each and every dialogue, each and every klutzy move by the characters trying to retrace their steps in search of a friend is so funny – and endearing at one level. The Hangover has amazing re-watch value you too. In the words of a wise-man-crack, “It’s a movie for which you can buy the original DVD and download a ripped version, then play both of them at the same time for extra laughs.” There is simply NO WAY that you should miss this movie.