Insomnia

Well today will be a holiday for our college. Its' an hour past mid night and i do not wish to sleep so soon. So, I've decided to start working on another title image for my blog. The new image will be uploaded soon.

Nvidia Drivers 181.xx

I clearly noticed a great deal of improvement from the last stable drivers. Download here.

I hope to see a day when Indian footballers play in BIG Leagues and Oscar nominations for Indian films is not a rare event.

Oscars 2009

Here are the nominations for various categories:

BEST PICTURE

• “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), A Kennedy/Marshall Production, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
• “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), A Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Working Title Production,Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers
• “Milk” (Focus Features), A Groundswell and Jinks/Cohen Company Production, Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers
• “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production, Nominees to be determined
• “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A Celador Films Production,Christian Colson, Producer

BEST ACTOR

• Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor” (Overture Films)
• Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon” (Universal)
• Sean Penn in “Milk” (Focus Features)
• Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
• Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)

BEST ACTRESS

• Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married” (Sony Pictures Classics)
• Angelina Jolie in “Changeling” (Universal)
• Melissa Leo in “Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics)
• Meryl Streep in “Doubt” (Miramax)
• Kate Winslet in “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Josh Brolin in “Milk” (Focus Features)
• Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder” (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
• Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt” (Miramax)
• Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.)
• Michael Shannon in “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Amy Adams in “Doubt” (Miramax)
• Penélope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (The Weinstein Company)
• Viola Davis in “Doubt” (Miramax)
• Taraji P. Henson in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
• Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler” (Fox Searchlight)

BEST ANIMATED FILM

• “Bolt” (Walt Disney), Chris Williams and Byron Howard
• “Kung Fu Panda” (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount), John Stevenson and Mark Osborne
• “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Andrew Stanton

BEST DIRECTOR

• “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Fincher
• “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Ron Howard
• “Milk” (Focus Features), Gus Van Sant
• “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Stephen Daldry
• “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Danny Boyle

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Screenplay by Eric Roth, Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
• “Doubt” (Miramax), Written by John Patrick Shanley
• “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Screenplay by Peter Morgan
• “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Hare
• “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• “Frozen River” (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Courtney Hunt
• “Happy-Go-Lucky” (Miramax), Written by Mike Leigh
• “In Bruges” (Focus Features), Written by Martin McDonagh
• “Milk” (Focus Features), Written by Dustin Lance Black
• “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter

BEST ART DIRECTION

• “Changeling” (Universal), Art Direction: James J. Murakami, Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
• “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
• “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Nathan Crowley, Set Decoration: Peter Lando
• “The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Art Direction: Michael Carlin, Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway
• “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Art Direction: Kristi Zea, Set Decoration: Debra Schutt

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• “Changeling” (Universal), Tom Stern
• “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Claudio Miranda
• “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Wally Pfister
• “The Reader” (The Weinstein Company), Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
• “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Anthony Dod Mantle

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• “Australia” (20th Century Fox), Catherine Martin
• “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Jacqueline West
• “The Duchess” (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Michael O’Connor
• “Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Glicker
• “Revolutionary Road” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Albert Wolsky

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

• “The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)” (Cinema Guild), A Pandinlao Films Production, Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
• “Encounters at the End of the World” (THINKFilm and Image Entertainment), A Creative Differences Production, Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser
• “The Garden” A Black Valley Films Production, Scott Hamilton Kennedy
• “Man on Wire” (Magnolia Pictures), A Wall to Wall Production, James Marsh and Simon Chinn
• “Trouble the Water” (Zeitgeist Films), An Elsewhere Films Production, Tia Lessin and Carl Deal

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

• “The Conscience of Nhem En” A Farallon Films Production, Steven Okazaki
• “The Final Inch” A Vermilion Films Production, Irene Taylor Brodsky and Tom Grant
• “Smile Pinki” A Principe Production, Megan Mylan
• “The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306” A Rock Paper Scissors Production, Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde

BEST EDITING

• “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
• “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lee Smith
• “Frost/Nixon” (Universal), Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
• “Milk” (Focus Features), Elliot Graham
• “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Chris Dickens

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

• “The Baader Meinhof Complex” A Constantin Film Production, Germany
• “The Class” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Haut et Court Production, France
• “Departures” (Regent Releasing), A Departures Film Partners Production, Japan
• “Revanche” (Janus Films), A Prisma Film/Fernseh Production, Austria
• “Waltz with Bashir” (Sony Pictures Classics), A Bridgit Folman Film Gang Production, Israel

BEST MAKEUP

• “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Greg Cannom
• “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O’Sullivan
• “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (Universal), Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

• “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Alexandre Desplat
• “Defiance” (Paramount Vantage), James Newton Howard
• “Milk” (Focus Features), Danny Elfman
• “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), A.R. Rahman
• “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Thomas Newman

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

• “Down to Earth” from “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, Lyric by Peter Gabriel
• “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar
• “O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman andMaya Arulpragasam

BEST ANIMATED SHORT

• “La Maison en Petits Cubes” A Robot Communications Production, Kunio Kato
• “Lavatory - Lovestory” A Melnitsa Animation Studio and CTB Film Company Production, Konstantin Bronzit
• “Oktapodi” (Talantis Films) A Gobelins, L’école de l’image Production, Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand
• “Presto” (Walt Disney) A Pixar Animation Studios Production, Doug Sweetland
• “This Way Up”, A Nexus Production, Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT

• “Auf der Strecke (On the Line)” (Hamburg Shortfilmagency), An Academy of Media Arts Cologne Production, Reto Caffi
• “Manon on the Asphalt” (La Luna Productions), A La Luna Production, Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont
• “New Boy” (Network Ireland Television), A Zanzibar Films Production, Steph Green and Tamara Anghie
• “The Pig” An M & M Production, Tivi Magnusson and Dorte Høgh
• “Spielzeugland (Toyland)” A Mephisto Film Production, Jochen Alexander Freydank

BEST SOUND EDITING

• “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Richard King
• “Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
• “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Tom Sayers
• “WALL-E” (Walt Disney), Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
• “Wanted” (Universal),Wylie Stateman

BEST SOUND MIXING

• “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
• “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
• “Slumdog Millionaire” (Fox Searchlight), Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
• “WALL-E” (Walt Disney),Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
• “Wanted” (Universal), Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

• “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
• “The Dark Knight” (Warner Bros.), Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
• “Iron Man” (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan

Nominations brought to you by Oscar.com

Winter Break 2k8-2k9

Well I write this post to remind myself of what I did on New Year's eve 2009. I hope I will read this again when I'm 50. :P

1. Besides spending quality time with my brother, family and PS2 :P , I ventured into the world of Online shopping. Registered on Ebay and made my first purchase 'online'. The Item was Rockstars' Grand Theft Auto 4. (If I am 50 now, I would be playing GTA10 most probably) The pricing in India compelled me to order it immediately after reaching home. It was only 500 rupees or 10 dollars (approx).

2. It was time for a small trip. Pranav and Dharnish have planned out a trip to Hamsaladeevi. It is the place where river Krishna meets the Bay of Bengal. It was the closest beach to Vijayawada.(I say 'was' because Vijayawada itself might become a port town by 2050.) There weren't any people except the fishermen. We played football in the cool ocean breeze. Then we went on a boat ride onto the waves. Some of my friends chased down some crabs and caught them too. But the crabs finally won the game of 'Man VS Wild' by causing a minor accident.

3. New Year's eve was excellent. I've met some friends whom I haven't seen for 4 years. Madhav was back in town and he presided over a rocking new years' party.

Bring Reality Into Gaming™ Idea1

We talk a lot about this particular topic. Some people say Crysis has realistic graphics. Some do not get satisfied with what they see. As the computing power increases, the graphics keep getting better, all the time. What is realism then?

I personally feel that reality is not what we see but is that which we feel. We feel something is real! This is in contradiction to the statement "See it to Believe It". But, it is what I personally feel. I've started playing GTA4 a couple of weeks back, not rushing through the game though. Anyone who has played the game might have been using the cell phone feature quiet often. Rockstar Games did a great job in bringing out the game in a brilliant fashion. I'm absolutely loving it. They also have taken great care to get the maximum from sales. There are a lot of things to be checked before you set out to install your copy of GTA4. The process was a bit irritating as well.

I got an idea which would improve the satisfaction of the player and make money for R* at the same time. Instead of creating a virtual cell phone, I feel that it would be much more exciting and interesting if the players could actually use their own cell phones to receive calls/ ask for jobs. The outgoing calls from the players' cell can be used to generate money for Rockstar as well. I know that this would mean that R* should put some effort in designing an efficient call handling system/link up with telecom networks around the world. But, if done, it would have taken the world of gaming one step closer to reality.


;)

Adios

Happy Sankranti

It's been a week into the second semester. I'm slowly settling down into my daily routine. This semester is going to be a very busy period. Lots of projects and papers to submit., and a magazine is to be brought out along with my preparation for the graduate record examination. Will be writing about how I spent my holidays, shortly.

Well tomorrow is a holiday on the occasion of Makara Sankranti. So, Happy Pongal everyone!

Games You Should Have Played in 2008(PC)

Here is a list of games that I think were worth playing in the year that has passed. The ordering is not according to rating of the respective games.

1. Mass Effect


2. GRID


3. Bionic Commando Rearmed


4. World Of Goo


5. Brother In Arms: Hells' Highway


6. Spore


7. Crysis Warhead


8. Pure


9. FarCry 2


10. Dead Space


11. Fallout 3


12. Call Of Duty: World At War


13. FIFA09


14. Left 4 Dead


15. Prince of Persia


16. GTA4


Wow! I didn't think that this list will become this long. Who the hell said PC Gaming is 'DEAD' ? The next thing I am waiting for is Mirror's Edge scheduled to be releases in Q1 this year.

Mixed Emotions!

I've been feeling that this semester is going all wrong for me. But, the day of registration game me other thoughts as well. We've arrived very late than we should have, to the college. Our train ran 5 and a half hours late, we were slowed down by the rush hour traffic in Delhi and to add to the misery almost all of the road from Delhi to Pilani was covered by thick and dense fog. Finally, we've reached our college just 4 hours before the registration. I found out that I god a couple of grades better than I expected. My PR number was good and had no problems/clashes in my time table. Picked up a couple of electives. It's very cold out here. The extra moisture is not helping as well. The water is biting cold. Can't even wash the hands/face with ease.

Hope this sem will not do much bad. Happy new year all!
Will be writing more on what I did this holidays soon.

Adios!