Andrey Vystavkin Blog

It’s already 8 years, when the first movie from Matrix trilogy came out. After a couple of times, watching it with friends at the beginning I liked it. Some interesting ideas, scenario approaches, story line.

Comparing it with those movies released in 1999, Matrix was awesome. But I’ve never thought of the facts like:

• Agent Smith looks like a typical garbage collector with AI encapsulations. Could you imagine this utility with some humour and irony nowadays.
• Neo. A tiny bug in the system with machine learning capabilities. Of course, later on we’ll understand that’s not just a simple bug, however knowing the story in full, looks a bit amusing.
• Piphia, or a lady with a vase. Statistical path analyser. Looks like a Best-cost algorithm with some sophisticated evaluation functionality and a sense of humour. So you shouldn’t worry about the vase!
• Cypher, or a bad good guy. A very very greedy bug - impossible of being fixed - thus, rewritten from scratch or simply deleted.
• Switch,or the only girl in white. Very small and fast transition from “enable” to “disable” states in the movie!
• Mouse, or lady-in-red boyfriend. C’mon, there should be at least one kid hacker, otherwise that’s not a hacker movie!

Waiting to watch the Matrix Reload, hopefully, so more amusing computer alternatives will appear which I didn’t noticed back to its premier.

Blogging bugs, Humor, Matrix, Movies

Trying to keep the quality of the video, I’ve noticed a growing popularity of Matroska codec pack for anime releases. Most of the video players do not support mkv format from the box, however you can download VLC player which can do it.

Otherwise, for not creating a mess in your “video & sound” category, it’d be easier just to apt-get few extra packages needed for playing most of anime movies:

So you can easily run your matroska files on MPlayer or Movie Player. For VLC compilation of Matroska codecs, you can check out a full installation guide. However, the quality of playing the videos on VLC in Windows platform was better then in VLC under Linux.

Maybe, someone can advice some other solutions except writting own video drivers?

Links, etc Linux, Movies, Ubuntu, Video

A short summary of the actual immigration problem in France, which was brought up by the latest movie “Indegenes” by Rachid Bouchaber, with Jamel Debbouze, Samy Naceri. The movie shows how colony troops were fighting for France during WWII.But the situation got into a complete nonsense. The summary is represented as a dialogue.

Colonies: It’s all your fault, if you hadn’t colonized our country, we could have reached higher social and economic power then you!
France: [wordless, silent astonishment]
Colonies: We had such a huge potential in comparison with our neighbors, but you’ve ruined it all!
France: [feels herself ashamed]
Colonies: But there is a solution…You can give our people the ability of studying in your universities for free, simplify the residency receipt, pay retirement fees for the ones who were battling on your side during WWII, and we’ll forget about all historical injustices we had to go through being your colonies.
France:[malicious smile, takes her word in the conversation]
Actually, we’ve promised to do it, and since that time we keep our promises, your people study in our country, and they have same rights as our inhabitants. It’s not our fault that some of them prefer easy-money and to live on the RMI payments then working hard; just come over, integrate in our society and feel yourself home!
Colonies: [started tossing trying to find other arguments]
…You’ve destroyed everything we were creating through the centuries of our history, you’ve brought your useless schools and churches you called “culture”. We could have invent our own…schools and churches…
France: [sighing all-in]
Okay, you’re right - it’s our fault, we shouldn’t have meddle in our live. We take our responsibility.
Colonies: And don’t forget about giving some extra to our people!..
France: Okay-Okay, F-I-N-E!

This is how you should come to an agreement with powerful countries!

Blogging France, Humor, Live, Movies, Personal

Fyodor Bondarchuk, the son of Sergey Bondarchuk who has got an Oscar for the movie “War and Piece” by Leo Tolstoy, has directed a movie called “The 9-ya rota” which has got into the list of the movies nominated for the Oscar premium.

Fyodor has directed the movie about the last campaign in the Afghanistan war (1979-1989), precisely about the height # 3234, which was attacked by Afghanis.

In 2005, when the film was just released, there were a lot of information and buzz around it. The original soldiers from the 9th company were condemning the director for changing the actual fact of the battle at the height #3234. The director made more tragic final of the movie: the only soldier survived at that battle.

It’s been a year already, the attitude changed with the situation now about the Islam influence in the EU and the other countries. The buzz around the movie got down, so people got the ability of watching without being influenced by some other opinions and views on the fact.

The director, in my opinion, brought up a good (I’d say correct atmosphere) in his work: he showed for what they were fighting, with whom they were fighting, and what was the end of these people.

I’d say that the key phrase of all the movie was said by the character whom Fyodor Bondarchuk played: “When I come back, I’ll start drinking. After? Drinking until I forget everything about this place, then I’ll start to live a new life…If I do forget Afghanistan”.

The most interesting fact for me is the attitude the European and American societies will have after watching the movie. How will they react on it? I can’t give an answer right now, because Americans have there own conflicts now in Iraq, in Afghanistan, but the Europeans are more pressed by the Islam influence and authority now. So what kind of senses will be brought up by this movie - that’s quite interesting for me.

Blogging Afghanistan, EU, Interests, Live, Movies, Personal