Showing posts with label The Loupster Related. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Loupster Related. Show all posts

2 March 2015

Vertigo - A Masterpiece? [1958 Trailer Included]

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Vertigo - movie poster

Vertigo, a 1958 suspense film, was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Many people believe that this film is Hitchcock's masterpiece.

The movie tells the story of a detective in San Francisco. The detectives name is Scottie who is played by James Stewart. Scottie leaves the police force after a fellow policeman falls and dies while the two were chasing a criminal across rooftops in downtown San Francisco.

11 February 2015

Stardust

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Based on the Novel Written by Neil Gaiman and directed by Matthew Vaughn, Stardust features a star-studded cast including Claire Danes, Charlie Cox, Sienna Miller, Ricky Gervais, Jason Flemyng, Peter O’Toole, with Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro.  

The Stardust Movie is set in England and goes to la-la-land, another magical world, as the story progresses...

10 February 2015

The Da Vinci Code

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This movie version of the Dan Brown classic was one of the most controversial and intriguing, and I doubt there is/was/will be someone else out there who would question that.

Before anything else, let us first establish that "The Da Vinci Code" was not an outright attack to Catholic religion conservatives nor was it an entertainment exclusive for those who had completed their Dan Brown (Langdon) series or their Holy Grail collections. The good thing about this film was that anyone could watch and understand it. Oh no, there was nothing cryptic at all with this Ron Howard masterpiece.

8 February 2015

Titanic - A Moral Deliberation

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The film "Titanic" was riddled with moral dilemmas. In one of the scenes, the owner of Star Line, the shipping company that owned the now-sinking Unsinkable, leaped into a lowered life-boat. The tortured expression on his face demonstrated that even he experienced more than unease at his own conduct: prior to the disaster, he instructed the captain to break the trans-Atlantic speed record. His hubris proved fatal to the vessel. Moreover, only women and children were allowed by the officers in charge into the lifeboats.

But the ship's owner was not the only one to breach common decency and ethics.

7 February 2015

The Matrix

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It is easy to confuse the concepts of "virtual reality" and a "computerised model of reality (simulation)". The former is a self-contained Universe, replete with its "laws of physics" and "logic". It can bear resemblance to the real world or not. It can be consistent or not. It can interact with the real world or not. In short, it is an arbitrary environment. In contrast, a model of reality must have a direct and strong relationship to the world. It must obey the rules of physics and of logic. The absence of such a relationship renders it meaningless. A flight simulator is not much good in a world without air planes or if it ignores the laws of nature. A technical analysis program is useless without a stock exchange or if its mathematically erroneous.

Yet, the two concepts are often confused because they are both mediated by and reside on computers. The computer is a self-contained (though not closed) Universe. It incorporates the hardware, the data and the instructions for the manipulation of the data (software). It is, therefore, by definition, a virtual reality. It is versatile and can correlate its reality with the world outside. But it can also refrain from doing so. This is the ominous "what if" in artificial intelligence (AI). What if a computer were to refuse to correlate its internal (virtual) reality with the reality of its makers? What if it were to impose its own reality on us and make it the privileged one?

 

30 November 2013

Which New 'Doctor Who' Companion Am I? [Warning: I Might Have Had A Sex Change While Taking The Quiz!]

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The full title should really have been "If I was not 'The Loupster' already (the Loupster is not one of the Doctors' companions and he's got companions himself), etc... etc... etc... which new 'Doctor' Who' companion would I be?", but... err... it would have been a tad too long, wouldn't it?


Anyway, this post is about the results I've got in the BuzzFeed's quiz "Which New 'Doctor Who' Companion Are You?". I'd already taken the "Which 'Doctor Who' Are You?" one, so I thought "why not take a quiz about the Doctor's companions as well?" After all, it was all in good fun and, let's face it, the chances of not being Captain Jack Harkness were rather tiny, weren't they? 

I mean, hey, I did make a point of answering all the questions in a manly manner, so what could go wrong?

Nothing much... except that, according to the quiz, I'm now one of the Doctor's female companions, d'oh!


8 November 2009

How To Create An Online Sock Puppet And Get Away With It

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The Tardis
The Tardis

The Definition

'Sock puppet n. [Usenet: from the act of placing a sock over your hand and talking to it and pretending it's talking back] In Usenet parlance, a pseudo through which the puppeteer posts follow-ups to their own original message to give the appearance that a number of people support the views held in the original message ...'
From: The Internet Jargon Dictionary.

The Problem

Imagine for a moment that you are involved in a heated debate about an issue which is very important to you but, somehow, your opponents are increasingly, and at a very fast and alarming rate, gaining points. Even when their views are blatantly incorrect, you find yourself in an ever decreasing minority when it comes to challenging their so obviously flawed arguments.

To top it up, there is no hope at all that the proverbial cavalry will arrive, as there is no one on sight to come to your rescue.

Not something very pleasant to imagine but not something to be dismissed as improbable either, as, unfortunately, even the best of us can one day find themselves in a similar frustrating situation.

So, the use of a sock puppet, as an emergency measure, might be the only way possible to get out of it but, if you open a new account then, your attempt is bound to fail lamentably. The sock puppets hunters will without fail spot it, especially if it comes to your rescue straight after having registered.

The Solution

The solution is actually very simple and, unless you are psychic and have already predicted the tricky situation and taken the appropriate steps to remedy it, you will agree that the following suggestion is definitely the best and the most efficient of all possible ones.

All you need to do is:

  • Time travel back to when the site has just opened.
  • Register your alter ego.
  • Build up a reputation of seriousness for it.
Once that's done, the rest is practically a piece of cake.

You should not worry about the fact that you might have to follow your alter ego's online life up to the point when you need its help as, even if it means spending years in the past, it will only take a few minutes of your time in the present.

There are still a few advices that need to be followed though:

  • Make a point of registering your puppet before the date you've registered yourself.
  • Do change the way you type while using that alternative persona. If not, you could be seen as your puppet's puppet when you register.
  • Do not let your alter ego get involved in other discussions you are in.
  • Do not be tempted to use your other account to settle scores with your own opponents before that crucial moment, as that would drastically reduce the effect needed when the time has come to make efficient use of your sock puppet.
There are some side effects that have been noticed as a result of intensive 'time travelling sock puppeteering' unfortunately. One of them being a high risk of identity crisis. So, it is advised that you try to take a break from your alternative persona as often as possible.

Of course, to time travel you need the proper equipment, but you should be able to get hold of a time machine by checking the local papers' classified adverts.

Failing that you have nothing to lose by:

  • Asking around.
  • Asking one of the scientists you have come into contact before.
  • Asking your country's secret services for a spare one.
  • Asking those guys dressed in black who are always hanging around the local ufologist's home.
  • Asking the BBC to borrow the TARDIS used in the old Doctor Who's TV series.
The Loupster - (Alleged) time traveller
The Loupster - (Alleged) time traveller

Just In Case

If your quest for a time machine has for some unexpected reasons failed, then the best option would be that you keep well away from that controversial discussion.
 
That will, at least, save you from some irritating but also very embarrassing moments.

Easier said than done, granted...

Some
'Tips on Anger Management' might come handy in some of those frustrating situations we are faced with at times.
'Often, when working with or coming into contact with someone who really annoys you, the best plan is just to walk away and leave them talking to themselves.You have no idea just how silly they look standing there raving away at, nothing!'

A very useful piece of advice that is not just relevant to Real Life somehow.

You might not have had a chance to make the points you wanted to make, but, at the end of the day, you will not be the one looking bad...

Of course, had you followed my advice on how to get hold of a time machine in the first place... etc... etc... etc...

Oh never mind...

Loup Dargent

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