Monday, May 11, 2009
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Friday, January 11, 2008
BEAUTIFUL MIND, A
A MOVIE REVIEW
Title: A BEAUTIFUL MIND
Setting: Princeton University, New Jersey
Characters:
1. John Forbes Nash – A mathematical genius who is obsessed with finding an original idea to ensure his legacy.
2. Alicia Nash – A later student of Nash who catches his attention.
3. Charles Herman – Nash’s roommate throughout graduate college.
4. William Hansen – A government agent for the Department of Defense.
5. Martin Hansen – Nash’s rival from his graduate school year Princeton.
6. Sol – A friend of Nash from Princeton University who is chosen, along with Bender, to work with him at MIT.
7. Bender – A friend of Nash from Princeton University who is chosen along Sol, to work with him at MIT.
8. Marcee – Charle’s niece.
9. Dr. Rosen – Nash’s doctor at a psychiatric hospital.
Plot:
John Nash arrives as a new graduate student at Princeton University. He is a recipient of the prestigious Carnegie Prize for mathematics and his Intellectual stamina and propensity to be too outspoken in his social life. He admits that he is better with numbers that people, saying “I don’t like them much, and they don’t much like me.” After the conclusion of Nash’s as a student at Princeton, he accepts a prestigious appointment at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Five years later while teaching a class on Calculus, he meets Alicia a student with whom he falls in love and he eventually marries. He also encounters a mysterious Department of Defense agent, William Parcher. Nash is invited to a United States Department of Defense Facility (The Pentagon) to crack a complex encryption of an enemy telecommunication. Nash able to decipher the code mentally. Parcher observes Nash’s performance from above, while partially concealed behind a screen. Parcher later encourages Nash to look for patterns in magazines and news papers. Nash becomes increasingly paranoid and begins to behave erratically.
Alicia observes this erratic behavior and informs a psychiatric hospital is sedated and sent to a psychiatric facility. Alicia, desperate to help her husband, visits a drop-box and retrieves the never-opened documents. When confronted with this evidence, Nash is finally convinced that he has been hallucinating. The department of Defense agent William Parcher and Nash’s secret assignment was in fact all decision. Even more surprisingly, Nash’s friends Charles and his niece Marcee are also only products of Nash’s mind.
John Nash and his wife decide to try to live with his abnormal condition schizophrenia. He still suffers hallucinations and periodically has to check if new people he meets are real.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Pin0cchi0
Pin0cchi0
Geppetto’s workshop was a magical place.there were cuckoo clocks and music boxes that tinkled merrily. There were ducks and geese and puppets all made of wood. And there were endless shelves of toys. the kindly woodcarver loved to make children smile, and so each toys was made with special care. But there was one toy more colorfully painted than the rest-a boy puppet made of wood. it sat on the workshop table, still needing a few finishing touches. Geppetto stood before the puppet and carefully painted on eyebrows and a mouth. his cat, Figaro, and his goldfish, cleo, looked on. now; sad geppetto; I have just the name for you – pinnochio! do you like it; Figaro? Figaro shook his furry head. No? well,you will grow to like it, said geppetto . Pinnochio’ it is’’ Later that evening,geppetto put pinnochio away for the and climed into bed .before he fell asleep, geppetto looked out his window at the brightly lit sky. Oh, Figaro-look!’ he exclaimed. The wishing star!. Geppetto made a wish.it was one dear to his heart. Star light, star bright. First star I see tonight. I wish I may,I wish I might,have the wish I wish tonight! Figaro;do you know what I wished? I wished that my little pinnochio might be a real boy,said geppetto. Then he settled into bed.while the village slept.a brilliant light sparkled and transformed itself into the blue fairy. Good geppetto,said the fairy to the sleeping man,you have given so much happiness to others.you deserve to haveyour wish come true!the blue fairy glided across the room to pinnochio.she lifted her golden wand and waved in through the air. Little puppet made of pine,wake!the gift of life is thine! She proclaimed.as jimmy cricket watched,pinnochio opened his eyes.he moved first one arm,then the other,then he opened his mouth. Pinnochio exited . I can talk! Yes pinnochio,said the blue fairy;I have given you life because tonight geppetto wished for a real boy. Am I a real boy? Asked pinnochio. No, pinnochio.said the fairy,you maybe a real boy someday,but first,you must prove your self brave.ect. as geppeto began to sink,pinnochio grave him and carried him on his back.swim for shore!save your self;the old man moaned;gasping for air; eventually they were washed up on shore.geppetto looked around to see if everyone was there.to his dismay,he saw pinnochio lying face-down in the water.my grave little boy, geppettto cried;lifting the still body into his arms.the sad group stumbled back to the willage.geppetto laid pinnochion his bed and klent by his side.little pinnochio,you risked your life to save me.sobbed the old man,lowering his head in sorrow.all of a sudden,the room was lit up by a brilliant blue light.the blue fairy appeared;waving her magic wand over pinnochio,she said,now you have proven yourself brave,truthful and unselfish. Today you will become a real boy.awake,pinnochio,awake!.the lifeless wooden boy was suddenly transformed into a real live little boy.sitting up,pinnochio blinked his eyes .why are asked.pinnochio! you’re alive’ gasped geppetto with joy. And you’re a real, live boy; Cleo jumped with joy and Figaro danced a jig. At last the gentle woodcarver’s wish had come true. Jiminy cricket watched the joyous scene.now I know that wishes do sometimes come true,he said with tears in his eyes..
Saturday, November 17, 2007
- Tell Me Your Dreams -
Title: ~ ♥ Tell Me Your Dreams ♥ ~
Author: Syndey Sheldon
Setting:
Characters
~ ♥ Toni Prescott ♥ ~
We quickly learn that Toni is a mischevious, bold character. She's young, independant, not afraid to speak her mind and free-spirited. It seems that there is a lot more to her than that though...and there's plenty that we don't yet know...
~ ♥ Alette Peters ♥ ~
She's the exact opposite of Toni - perhaps this is why they get on so well. Toni tries to bring Alette, who is a sweet but shy, kind-hearted young woman, out of her shell. Alette's very in touch with her creative, artistic side but she has a lot of pent up anger building up inside her...
~ ♥ Ashley Patterson ♥ ~
Described as 'elegant yet haunted', Ashley is the main character of the three. As I mentioned, she's convinced that someone is stalking her, but there's plenty more troubling her besides...
Theme:
Toni is mischievous, ebullient and venturesome, very attractive kind of girl. Loves singing and dancing.
Alette is timid, quiet and virtuous though there is something always burning inside her. Loves painting
Ashley is intelligent, elegant and attractive. She's convinced that some one is stalking her and the nightmares come along in every sleep of her.
Toni and Aiette are friend but Ashley may never be aware of them if it did not happen. 'It' here is serial brutal murders with all men victims and all link to three women. One is Ashley's colleague who has had a crush on her. One is Toni's chat friend and one is Aiette's artist friend.
Three beautiful young women are the main characters of this thrilling story and they all work together at the same company - Global Computer Graphics Corporation. After a series of brutal murders take place on men all linked in one way or another to one of these women, we are lead to an unexpected turn. Who killed these men, and why? What skeletons are hiding in these women's closets? It seems that each character has some deep, dark past and it becomes fascinating as a reader to see their stories intertwine.
Plot
Ashley Patterson is 28 years old, from Bedford,
Toni Prescott is 22 years old, from
Alette Peters is 20 years old, from Rome, Italian.
They three work at Global Computer Graphic Corporation in
Three women work for a computer company. All of them have very different personalities. Ashley is sensible and career minded, Toni is fun loving, always looking for a good time, and Alette who is shy and of an artist nature.
Men known to all three women end up dead and after an investigation it is discovered that Ashley’s fingerprints and DNA are present at all the murder scenes. After being arrested she is seen by a psychiatrist and it transpires that she is suffering from MPD (multiple personality disorder) and that Toni and Alette are actually manifestations of Ashley personality. Whilst she did physically commit the murders, it was actually her alter-ego, Toni that was driven to kill them.
Meanwhile Ashley had no prior knowledge of her alter-egos or suffering from MPD, so she had no knowledge of killing anyone. This all leads to a lengthy court room battle to plead her case and eventually she is cleared on ground of insanity. She is sent to psychiatric hospital for years to be treated and after many hypnotherapy sessions it comes to light that she created these alter-egos because she couldn’t cope with being molested by her father as a child. It is now that you discover that the men were killed because they had attempted to take advantage of her sexually, provoking childhood memories causing her alter ego Toni to take control of her. After years of different therapies Ashley finally accepted that this had all happened to her and that she was suffering from MPD and even got to know her Alter egos and to put them to rest and she was finally released back into the community. As she left the hospital she felt free and was ready to start her life again, cured of her illness, or so it would seem.
Resolution
The book could easily be classed as a psychological thriller or belonging to the genre of crime. At the same time as finding out who killed these men we are unwittingly learning more about out three leading ladies...there's just something about each of them...something lurking in their pasts. Sheldon creates depth and builds up the story to a climax we were not expecting. The pace of the story is good, with it moving it one direction at a steady pace before taking an unexpected turn.
The anti-climax then makes for extremely interesting reading as loose ends then become tied up. But there's no neat ending, Sheldon's conclusion is one that makes you think the story isn't ending. Oh no, it's just about to begin....
But it's readable. He doesn't mess about, describing every little detail to the point where you forget the point he was trying to make in the first place - a lot of his writing is actually dialogue between characters. I have to say though, that I favor this style, and think it's the best and most appropriate for this particular story.
There are some snippets of French and Italian in there with the dialogue, mostly due to the fact that part of the story is set in, and one character lives in,
I like it when books do this, it's just a small touch and doesn't make a huge amount of difference, but just makes it that little bit more authentic. Alette Peters is Italian, and though throughout the book she is speaking English, it makes sense that from time to time she might say something in Italian. Still, this might annoy some potential readers.
We also get an insight into the thoughts of some of the characters - Sheldon writes these in italics as thought we can hear the voice inside the particular character's head. It's an effective device, which makes a reader want to find out more about these complex characters.
Sphere by Michael Crichton
Title: SPHERE
Author: Micheal Crichton
Setting: Middle of the South Pacific
Characters: Norman Johnson
Beth
Harry
Theme:
The event that brought the team together was the discovery of a space vessel at the bottom of the ocean. It is clearly not an earthly vessel, since it has been lying down there for at least three hundred years, long before humans had even airplanes. Rather than an underground research lab, the scientists are confined to a U.S. Navy deep-water habitat. When they discover the power of the alien force facing them, they realize that not only they are, but the entire world is, at risk.
The ideas presented are no longer based on concrete scientific grounds -- some of them are as far-fetched as time travel, some even more than that. When scientific data is presented, it is done in a fleeting way. In fact, the leading character falls asleep during one of the explanations, a simple narrative device for sparing a boring lecture from the readers while hinting that this is, after all, real science. No maps, computer scan printouts, or diagrams are included.
Synopsis
The novel is built around an incredible discovery; in the middle of the South Pacific, lying all but buried on the bottom of the ocean, rests a spacecraft of unknown origin. Psychologist Norman Johnson, the author of a secret government paper on "Recommendations for the Human Contact Team to Interact with Unknown Life Forms" (a less than serious paper he wrote primarily for the money) is called to the site, where he is informed that he will be part of a team of scientists sent to study the mysterious craft. Alongside him are an irascible Navy project commander, a brilliant, young astrophysicist/planetary geologist, a complicated female zoologist/biochemist and a noted mathematician/logician -- an unlikely team of deep ocean explorers.
They soon find themselves in an artificial habitat resting alongside the location of the mysterious ship. Their exploration of the site yields more questions than answers, as the ship turns out to be an American spaceship from the future. The truly enigmatic discovery onboard, though, is a giant sphere of unknown composition. As the story unfolds, they find themselves effectively stranded on the ocean floor for a period of some days, and strange and frightening things begin to happen after one scientist somehow enters the sphere. The scientists find themselves in communication with a supposedly alien entity who calls himself Jerry; whoever and whatever Jerry is, he seems to have the power to manifest remarkable physical creations and changes in reality. The habitat and the team inside it soon comes under attack by such dangerous creatures as giant squid and killer jellyfish, but the problems eventually internalize themselves inside the group dynamic, a group that is shrinking in size as time goes by. The mysterious sphere imparts an amazing power to those who enter it, a power that such individuals may not even be consciously aware of wielding.
Ultimately, the last remnants of the research team begin pointing fingers at one another and take steps to ensure their own individual survival in the face of an unquantifiable threat, making this novel a gripping psychological thriller based in a fascinating science fiction environment.
Once the team arrives in the underwater habitat, nonstop action ensues. One emergency after another challenges the crew, and the group dynamic of the team ebbs and flows along with each jarring crisis. Along the way, we see ever more clearly into the minds and ways of thinking of our main characters, and a significant amount of ideas are expressed concerning the human condition. Crichton provides for no obligatory rest areas along the way, as he takes the reader for an incredible ride that had me turning pages hand over fist in anticipation of what was to come. Some of the science is questionable, but Crichton surely makes it all sound more than plausible. The only real problem with the novel is a logical breakdown of sorts in the concluding chapters. Still, the desperate attempts of the remaining explorers to survive, when they cannot even trust one another, make for a riveting reading experience.
Resolution
One beautiful thing that Sphere does include is the message encoding scheme used by the alien. The actual code is included in the book, along with an explanation on how it was cracked -- simple enough for every reader to try his hand in the act of deciphering. A computer is needed, but you don't even have to turn it on: it is the form, not the content that matters.
The characters, for example, are much more complete, even though their personalities are taken to such extremes that they are almost caricatures -- Beth, a caricature of a feminist; Harry, a caricature of a depressed child; and so on. But the characters are definitely better presented.
One redeeming feature of Sphere is the surprising twist at the last few paragraphs. It is so subtly hinted, though, that I have actually missed it on first read.
While it is heavy on dialogue, the story touches on a number of aspects of the human personality while mixing in some profound if problematic science fiction in the process. This is a fast-paced thriller that definitely registers impressively on the suspense meter, particularly during the climactic late chapters. The ending is something of a letdown, but the story leading up to it is gripping and fascinating, and important clues and plot points are presented with much more subtlety and effectiveness than what you will find in the movie adaptation.
Enigma by Robert Harris
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Title: Enigma
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Author: Robert Harris
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Setting:
=========================
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Characters:
Claire Romilly
Tom
Hester
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BACKGROUND.
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For anyone who has not heard of the Enigma machine, it was a device that was used to decode radio transmissions sent by the German navy.
In the most basic terms, it was a typewriter that was designed to type each letter differently to the key actually pressed. So a would become k, or an h would become e and so on.
The brilliant minds at Bletchley were able to crack five of the six codes, as they were typed on a standard 3 rotor Enigma machine. However the last code was typed on a unique 4 rotor machine, which made it almost impossible to crack without capturing either a specially adapted machine or a code book.
By disguising each letter as another letter, the German forces could send messages to each other regarding allied positions and effectively target our ships, or simply put, kill our troops.
The residents of
The book itself is a work of fiction, however Harris did talk to former residents of
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THE STORY.
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Tom Jericho is a brilliant mathematician. He was recruited from
He and others like him are cryptographers trying to break an almost unbreakable code designed by the Germans.
There are six variations of the German naval Enigmas. Limpet, Dolphin, Oyster, Porpoise, Winkle and Shark.
Of the six, Shark is the most difficult to decipher as it has been typed on a specially adapted four rotor machine.
After months of work and great loss of life, Tom discovers a back entrance to break Shark.
He is hailed as a hero, and many lives are saved from the German U-boats.
Unfortunately at the same time, he succumbs to physical and mental exhaustion, has a breakdown and has to be sent back to
What Tom is unaware of, is that the Germans have cottoned on to the fact that the code has been broken, and so modify their Enigma machines to another setting, one which yet again cannot be broken.
Tom is escorted back to Bletchley park to again pit his mind against the formidable Shark code.
To make matters worse, he only has a limited amount of time in which to do this, as a massive allied convoy is being targeted by U-boats as they cross the ocean, with both essential supplies and thousands of passengers aboard.
Upon his return, he finds that Claire Romilly, the beautiful young woman he is in love with has disappeared. Nobody seems to have a clue where she has gone, and it is suspected that she may have passed on the information that Enigma had been broken to the Germans.
Tom must investigate Claire's life and liaisons, as well as break the code before the German U-boats attack the allied convoy.
As
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RESOLUTION
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While I really expected to enjoy this one, I was mildly disappointed as to how little substance there was to most of the story.
I would say that over half of the book was more given over to a love story, or at least a search for his lost love. I personally thought that this short changed the people who were actually involved all those years ago.
The parts describing Bletchley and surrounding area were very detailed, and the way the author portrayed feelings and described the conditions of that time were very believable. I just wanted more of the struggle of Enigma and less about Claire.
While Tom's search for Claire did have some relevance for Enigma, I just thought that saving thousands of lives would be more important than a bunk up for the chaps at that time, so Tom lost my sympathies after a while.
Of course, all books are open to interpretation, and maybe if I had read this one while I was in a different frame of mind, I may have thought differently. It took me 5 days to plough through and at only 451 pages of standard size text, this is a long time for me, which must reflect my lack of enthusiasm for the story.
In conclusion I would say that it was ok, neither good nor bad. Not one that I would rave about or read again in a hurry though.
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