NBA's new marketing strategy?
Ankh has a huge selection of posts of all types and topics over here - Discussions over tea (Of course, Cutting Maar Ke!). The Mela is certainly coming of age, what with the awesome participation numbers…
Om Mallik is going to be our host with the most for next week, so drop by and send in your nominations to him.
Sandeep fact-checks TOI’s butt in this post - sandeep.blog-city.com :: One More Moron :: - of course, if us bloggers had editors, we would probably be as error-filled as the newspapers themselves ;)
True globalization of course, is James Lileks talking about Daler Mehndi in his bleat - LILEKS (James) The Bleat - not just talking about him, but bringing his name up with no introduction, just expecting everyone to be familiar with him and know him. Brings a smile to my face :)
In an operation worthy of a major movie, Guatemalan authorities have recovered an important Maya stone altar from looters.US archaeologists and Mayan villagers aided the six-month investigation, which led to several arrests. Three ringleaders will go on trial in January. Archaeologists are now deciphering the text, which they hope will help them understand the fall of Mayan civilisation shortly after it was engraved in 796 AD.
The altar was one of a pair at opposite ends of the royal ball field in the ruined city of Cancuén. It depicts a ritual ball game that symbolised an alliance between Taj Chan Ahk, the last and greatest in Cancuén’s long line of rulers, and another Maya king.
US sanctions forcing women into sex trade, says Myanmar : HindustanTimes.com
So, are the sanctions responsible for women turning to prostitution….Myanmar’s junta on Thursday blasted the United States for its tough new sanctions against the regime, seizing on a State Department report which found the measures were forcing young women into the sex trade.or, are they not…
However, it conceded that it was not yet clear whether the sanctions were working, saying they were having “some unexpected effects” on Myanmar’s economy, which has long been near collapse.As is usual in such cases though, these idiots find blaming the US sanctions if the easy way out instead of admitting that the real problem is the military control of the government and the harrassment of freedom-loving people like Aung San Suu Kyi. No sirreee, since that would actually involve taking some responsibility for the condition of the country they are ruling. We prefer to blame the zionist, imperialists for everything instead.
When Should You Put Your Dog Down? - How to make a decision you never want to make. By Jon Katz - that was a very interesting and sensible column about a topic that is very close to my heart, being as I am, owner of 4 dogs. I have seen plenty of people delay the decision to put their dogs down and instead keep them alive for years, in sickness more than in health. I believe that is wrong.
I know it might sound callous to many - it isn’t like I don’t love my dogs. Each of my dogs is like a baby to me, even if I didn’t give birth to them. Sammy, my Black Dane has been with me since he was 6 weeks-old - I put diapers on his little butt, potty-trained him, took him to obedience classes, got him his first shots - pretty much everything you might do to a little baby. But if Sammy ever got diagnosed with something that would make his life difficult for him, I think I would rather let him go than try to hold on to him, just so I can have my baby even if he is pain.
I think that is the part most pet owners fail to understand - that keeping your dog alive in misery is not a favor to the dog, but to yourself. For your selfish reasons, you are making the pet that you love so much, go through much pain and endure sickness. If we as pet owners truly care for our pets’ happiness, I think we should put them down when they are miserable and not keep them alive.
Note: When I refer to sickness and misery above, I mean that which cannot be cured - I am not advocating the putting down of pets who suffer from minor illnesses or injuries.
TRENTON, N.J. — Three of the four boys allegedly starved by their adoptive parents have improved enough to take a trip to a local mall and attend a birthday party, but authorities were still trying to determine Monday how the case “fell through the cracks” even though a child welfare worker had often visited the home.
Seriously, I think sometimes we take this whole “presumption of innocence” a little too seriously. In the above case, for example, the boys were either starved or they weren’t - how can someone be “allegedly” starved?
A very Happy Diwali (festival of lights) to everybody!
This is the one festival I really, really miss from back in India :(
Ok, being a sucker for punishment, I am putting up my top 10 books list of all time. Note that these are the books I can think of, off the top of my head right now - I might remember something better later on. So here goes the list in no particular order -
1. Ivanhoe - Sir Walter Scott. I love the swashbuckling tale of the hero-in-exile returning to gain his father’s favor. Honorable mentions to Ben-Hur and The Count of Monte Cristo, both with surprisingly similar storylines of wrongful conviction, escape, return as wealthy and powerful and ultimately revenge.
2. Kane & Abel - Jeffrey Archer. Superbly crafted story of the clash between a Polish immigrant and a Boston-born-with-silver-spoon-in-mouth man - wonderfully inspiring and not in the least bit boring. Honorable mention to “Prodigal Daughter” and “Not a Penny More - Not a Penny Less”.
3. Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell. Charges of racism aside, what is not there to love about Scarlett O’Hara? She is completely self-absorbed, oblivious to surroundings, childish and incredibly spunky! Oh, and Rhett is the perfect foil for her character - one of those huge, big books you cannot put down till you are done.
4. Harry Potters - J K Rowling. With special mention to the first and the fourth books, I think it is pretty obvious to regular readers why I love these books :)
5. Lord of the Rings - Tolkien. By now, you can see that I like epic stories with grand battles and strange destinies. One of the best in the genre.
6. Ghost Story - Stephen King & Peter Straub. The one book that kept me awake in the nights long after I finished it. Scared me like nothing else.
7. Murder on Orient Express - Agatha Christie. Of course, considering I like pretty much most Agatha Christies - including but not limited to “10 Little Indians” (it was niggers in the Indian version I read originally), “Murder of Roger Ackroyd” and pretty much all of the Poirot mysteries - it was hard for me to settle on one to point out.
8. Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain. Funny stories of childhood innocence and crazy antics.
9. Contact - Carl Sagan. You don’t have to believe in aliens to be sucked into this drama about what lies beyond - beautifully written.
10. Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer. A chilling true story of a doomed expedition to the top of Mt. Everest that ended in the deaths of eight people. One of those things that make you feel as if you were right there on the summit, helplessly looking on while people are dying around you. Honorable mention of course, goes to the Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger - for something very similar.
Other good books: Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver - the struggle of a a wife and three daughters of a religiously fanatic and culturally insensitive Preacher in Africa.
TALLAHASSEE, Florida (CNN) — The Florida House late Monday intervened to save the life of a severely brain damaged woman whose feeding tube was removed last week under court order at her husband’s request. The lawmakers authorized Gov. Jeb Bush to order that the tube be reinserted. By a vote of 68-23, the GOP-controlled House approved a bill giving Bush authority to issue a one-time order to reinsert the feeding tube that has nourished Terry Schiavo, 39, since she fell into what doctors call a persistent vegetative state after suffering heart failure in 1990.I really don’t understand how doctors can still call her vegetative when she can respond to her parents and breathe on her own without aid of a respirator. We have to also keep in mind that she has been pulled out of therapy years ago - therapy that could have certainly help rehabilitate her. I am of two minds about this repreive, because this charade has gone on too long. Her feeding tube was once removed for 60 hours before being reinserted due to the insistence of Terri’s parents. It has been removed again 6 days ago and maybe reinserted soon. I don’t think it is fair to be doing this every so often. What might be a better idea is to grant her custody back to her parents and kick that louse of her husband away from the hospital so he cannot claim a single right to murder her legally again. Nothing but that is going to solve this problem.
“Having been convicted or having pled guilty, it is likely that Mr. Richardson and Mr. Webber will be suspended at the start of the season,” Granik said. Commissioner David Stern said because Webber is injured, the suspension would be held off until he is healthy.
Check out the latest hosted by Deepak - Blog Mela Entries - 19 Oct 2003. Pretty good selection and different!
Ankh is going to be our host this week, so send your nominations in early and often.
Read JK’s somewhat related column here…It was funny to see both the items juxtaposed ;)
All-Star forward Antoine Walker was traded by the Boston Celtics to the Dallas Mavericks in a five-player deal Monday.I am still trying to make my mind up on if this is a good thing or a bad thing for the Mavs - I really liked Jiri’s potential and what he was capable of doing for the team. Not a good way to start a Monday off at all. I am wondering if this means there is another trade in the works, seeing as we are log-jammed in the PF position and have more shooters than possibly any other team in the league. I think this is a good one for Raef - he will probably be an all-star in the Leastern Conference.Walker and LaFrentz can still battle, after they switch uniforms.
Dallas is sending Raef LaFrentz to the Celtics along with Jiri Welsch and Chris Mills. Boston also will get Dallas’ first-round pick in 2004. The Mavericks will get guard Tony Delk from Boston.
ABCNEWS.com : Malaysian Explains Anti-Jewish Remarks - When foot gets stuck, try to back-pedal with even more stupid statements like - “But if you say anything at all against the Jews, you are accused of being anti-Semitic” - umm…the definition of anti-semitic is against Jews, moron! Of course, I bet your assertions that those damn Joos control the world and need to be defeated at all costs…
Update:
Is Malaysia sorry - IHT: Malaysia issues apology
or isn’t? Telegraph | News | Malaysia ‘not sorry’ for remarks about Jews
What about Chirac? Did he really condemn Malaysia - Chirac leads Europe in condemning Mahathir’s Jew remarks - OCT 18, 2003
or made sure EU didn’t go far enough in the condemnation? Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | West accuses Malaysian PM of racismThe EU response which was withdrawn from its final draft statement after objections by the French president, Jacques Chirac, said: “His unacceptable comments hinder all our efforts to further inter-ethnic and religious harmony and have no place in a decent world.
25. Little Women Louisa M. Alcott Victorian bestseller about a New England family of girls.That thing above is enough for me to lose all credulity in the list - it plain sucks! Here is why I hate Little Women so much…
I have read 17 of the 100 listed and “Catcher in the Rye” is another book that I think is vastly overrated to be included in the top 100 novels of all time.
So Lebron James, the biggest hype since oh-let-me-see…Yao? played awful against LA yesterday - big deal! I wish NBA would just stop hyping up individual talent to the point of ignoring really good teams around the league, already. Sometimes the NBA hype machine makes me sick the teams and people they choose to highlight - Vince Carter (bust!), Lebron James (who knows! - more importantly, who cares when the Cavs won’t even make playoffs), LA (the all-geezer team gets more respect than the defending champs). Seriously, I wish they would hype people like Tim Duncan who won championship rings with a team of scrubs than Kevin Garnett, who set a record in the number of first-round playoff exits. Bleah!
All this talk of course, is as stupid as most sportswriters and so-called experts predicting the Mavs might as well get ready to be a lottery team now that, that powerhouse scorer.ball hog called Nick Van Exel is no longer with us. It isn’t like we have one of the best PGs in Nash, one of the top 5 players in Dirk and an excellent team leader in Finley - I wonder if those that taken by Nick’s attitude in the Sacramento series last year even remember what he did against SA in the next series - I will tell you what! A big, fat nothing! He took more shots shooting at 37.5%, while Fin was sizzling at 50% shooting and trying ot lead the team to victory! So much for experts!
He dreams of being the first person to step on Mars and his inspiration is none other than President A P J Abdul Kalam. Meet 14-year-old Saatvik Agarwal, a Class X student at Amity International School in south Delhi’s Saket neighbourhood, who has been chosen to participate in NASA’s project on Mars exploration.I know how he feels - I have always wanted to be an astronaut as a child - of course, then I wanted to become a doctor and so on and so forth till I dropped everything to get into computers…
Bush Steps Up Effort to Destabilize Castro’s Regime” (Oct. 11), on the Bush administration’s plans for further restricting visits by U.S. citizens to Cuba, quotes President Bush as saying tourists support an “illicit sex trade” encouraged by the Cuban government that exploits “innocent women and children.” This is a falsehood. As visitors to the island for research and educational instruction over the last 30 years, and specifically once a year for the last four years, we can testify that this organized “trade” simply does not exist.I mean, really - if Cuba is such a thriving and vibrant country and such a role model to the world, why do people jump into leaky boats every single day to run away to the fascist Republic of America? Mmm…I guess these professors give a new meaning to the words, “those who can, do and those who can’t, teach!”.The vast majority of the Cuban people remain supportive of the present system. Cubans value their sovereignty, and most resent the increasingly overt way in which U.S. officials based in Cuba, including the head of the U.S. Interests Section, are instructing and materially supporting dissidents.
Even U.S. opponents of the current policy often claim that Cubans need to be able to enjoy the “benefits of capitalism.” The results of U.S.-dominated capitalism in most of the countries of the Third World have not proved beneficial for the majority of their citizens. Fidel Castro is a figure paid attention to and admired in nations whose peoples are seeking alternative models for progress. In the U.S., changing Cuba is the objective of most of the leaders of both our ruling political parties; the disagreement is on how to do it. Why is this? They do not recognize that Cuba is a still-vibrant and credible challenge to an unjust and destructive world order.
Donald W. Bray
Marjorie W. Bray
Professor Emeritus Political Science
Professor, Latin American Studies, Cal State L.A.
A Florida woman whose husband and parents have battled for nearly a decade over whether she would want to live in a comatose state may be removed today from the feeding tube keeping her alive. A state appeals court Tuesday refused to block the removal of the tube. That was one of the last legal hopes the parents of Terri Schiavo had against her husband, Michael Schiavo. Barring further appeals, the device will be removed at 2 p.m. today in accordance with the wishes of her husband and a court order.
Reprehensible, really! If they do want to kill her, why won’t they atleast do it humanely the way they kill really brutal murderers who get to die in minutes? Terry Schiavo on the other hand, will be starved and dehydrated to death for days and maybe weeks, before her body will give up and die. Why would we choose to do that to an innocent woman?
Here is what her parents, in a desperate fight to keep her alive, have to say -October 15, 2003 is the day the courts have ordered the withholding of nutrition and hydration from Terri Schiavo. It is also the Feast of St. Teresa - Terri’s name-sake.In a desperate effort to get the attention of someone who could stop this court-sanctioned death, the Schindler family has released a video of Terri that they took some 24 months ago, showing Terri laughing with her mother.
Because of this, Mr. Schiavo’s attorneys have ordered that Terri may no longer have visitors. Not even her mother and father are allowed to see her or to even say goodbye to her.
Here is a little more background on the story, as we wrote about it a little while ago - Terri’s Situation: A Brief Overview Of Her Court Battle
This week the Carnival stops at Priorities & Frivolities - check it out for a great selection of posts from all over the blogoshpere, as usual!
Atleast so says an extremely “smart” head of the College Democrats in a story brought to us by Joanne Jacobs - joannejacobs.com: Who’s smart?. The funniest part of the story of course, is when Ashley apologized for calling Jindal Arab-American and saying that he is sorry to have used the un-PC term, when the PC-way to call him is Indian-American. Huh?
Watched a lot of movies over the week and the weekend - here are some mini-reviews -
1. Anger Management - Very funny movie. Not very predictable like the usual romantic comedies, which was a good thing, or maybe it was because I didn’t watch too many trailers. Jack Nicholson was really fun and Adam Sandler a lot less juvenile than usual. Go check it out - it is worth the DVD rental price.
2. Hollywood Homicide - boooring! Josh Hartnett was alright - especially his so-called efforts to play Stanley Kowalski in his side job as an actor. Harrison Ford’s role was really sketchy in that the writers seemed to have focused a lot on trying to make him look so different from his previous roles that they made him look really washed out and stupid - making Harrison Ford look like that, I have to say is a major achievement - of a bad kind! Skip it!
3. Boom - one word! Gross! Ugly movie filled with ugly people and situations. I think the guy who played the transvestite in “The Crying Game” was a lot more feminie and beautiful than Madhu Sapre can ever to hope to be - what was up with the washed-up whore look? My husband and his friend wanted to watch the movie supposedly to look at beautiful girls walking around half-naked, but they gave up so fast it was amazing.
4. Joggers’ Park - I have to admit that one of the things that made me not like the movie was Victor Bannerjee. There was something about the way he talked, enunciated his words and even looked that just grated on my nerves. That aside, I was really offended by the story as a wife and a woman. Here it is, this retired judge falls for a young, vivacious woman he meets in the Joggers’ Park - she falls for him because he takes her to the hospital when she is sick. Great!
What about the judge’s wife? y’know that one who is so in love with her husband and respects him so much, but is lied to on every single occasion? Even when finally the judge lets go of his “passion” in the end, it is because his daughter lectures him about family honor. I thought that was ridiculous - forget honor. What about love? Didn’t the judge love his wife? After being married to him for 40 years, is this all she means to him? A big, fat nothing? Another thing that really irritates me about movies like this is how they call this whole affair from the “infatuation” to the “love”, friendship - as in, “Oh, this world will never understand our friendship”. Bull shit! This is not friendship - this is the respecful mask behind which rages a sexual urge that the old judge is obviously too scared of the society to unveil. On the whole, a very irritating movie.
This is just really good news! It is good on so many levels - Shirin is obviously a feisty woman to be in the filed of law and for having done well enough to have become a judge - she is a great role model for fellow Muslim women in that she proves to everyone that women are second to none - last but not the least, this is a good thing to stick it to the Mullahcracy of Iran by showing that they cannot keep a good thing like Shirin down forever.
The Globe and MailAn Iranian woman forced to resign as a judge after the Islamic revolution was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize Friday, the first Muslim woman to win the honour. Shirin Ebadi was recognized for her pursuit of human rights for women and children, and for her role in rebutting the argument that such freedoms are incompatible with Islam.
It is being hosted by Patrix at Nerve Endings Firing Away this week. Check it out for some good and fun Indian blogging.
Here is an interesting, if disturbing story about the headhunters of the Nagaland Hills - Classical Values: Traditional ways of getting ahead (warning: gory photo in the post)
Here is a little before and after about the California recall vote (I know I am little late, but I have stuff I can blame everything on ;))
Here is something I couldn’t include in yesterday’s Carnival owing to how late I got it - Operation Gothic Serpent - very instructive post about leaders and followers on the battlefield and mistakes…really costly mistakes - a very sobering tribute to fallen heroes.
I would have loved to come up with another new and interesting way to present the Carnival, but my brain cells have been a little too fried owing to overuse at work. So instead of making excuses, I will just get right to the entries and present them in the order I received them, divided into some broad categories :)
Blogging:
Acidman has a pretty mellow (for him) post about what blogging means to him.
Volunteer Tailgate Party presents last Thursday’s “best of” the Rocky Top Brigade, “a snapshot of life in the Volunteer Blogosphere”.
Sports:
It’s the biggest international tournament of the year, America’s in it, and it kicks off this week in Australia. It’s the Rugby World Cup, and it has a dedicated team blog, including US posters. Here’s a breakdown of the teams, fixtures and players to start you off Enjoy!”
Solonor of Solonor’s Ink Well thinks Baseball is stupid! Hmm…
The Smarter Cop is also a Red Sox fan defending his angst and reveling in brief,
if short-lived, victory.
How ‘bout them Cowboys? The Everlasting Phelps has a nice post on how the Cowboys have a Coach again in Big Bill Parcells.
Spirituality:
The Gleeful Extremist recounts a recent religious experience he has had in a Church, where he “experienced” the personality of Christ…”I didn’t have a vision (I remember thinking mainly of a statue of him I must have seen once on a tabernacle in white and rose robes with his arms uplifted). I just felt utterly and certainly that he was there.”
In Don Vs. God, an atheist debates God and comes away with his tail tucked between his legs.
Politics:
Dean Esmay thinks it is time for a sanity check on the Iraqi-war and it’s different phases.
Silent Running has a thought-provoking and sombre post about Yom Kippur - good reading and gut-wrenching!
Patterico summarizes the reasons that the smear job on Arnold by the Los Angeles Times shows the paper’s liberal bias in this post titled AN INADEQUATE RESPONSE BY THE DOG TRAINER.
Joe of The Sake of Argument has a few arguments about the Rush Limbaugh - ESPN brouhaha in the post, Rush Burns Us All.
Admiral Quixote looks at the history of science to defend Wesley Clark.
Chris of the Spacecraft gives new meaning to “equal opportunity” - he shared his space with a professional Bush-hater last week, so it is the turn of a professional Clinton-hater this week.
Arthur Silber is worried about freedom in America - he serves us a warning about the potential for censorship, in the war atmosphere in which we now live.
The Eleven Day Empire administers a fine “fisking” to Paul Krugman for defending perceived attacks on the patriotism of Democrats by attacking the patriotism of Republicans.
Joe of Attaboy takes on the other controversy surrounding Rush Limbaugh - his drug abuse allegations.
With the end of the Iraq war, comes the question…was the war
justified? QandO presents a link filled analysis of the official justification for war.
Sneakeasy Joint thinks “It’s a Wonderful Day in the Arnoldhood”.
The Indecisive Executive has a funny take on Bob Graham’s lack of decision to withdraw from the Presidential race…Is he running, or not?
Andrew of Rhetorica thinks that Journalists could report the persuasive tactics of politicians as verifiable news events if they knew more about how language works.
Society:
Ravenwood skewers a paralyzed Ball St. student suing a goal post maker.
John Ray has been tearing strips of some more psychologists who claim that conservatives are a bad lot.
PC Watch has a post showing that Christianity is now politically incorrect among U.S. troops.
In this witty and thought-provoking piece on The Semblance of Consent, Sarah Fitz-Claridge asks: what is the point in making the world politically free if at home we are in chains? She argues that in order to create a good society, we must be willing to eliminate the corrupting practice of accepting the semblance of consent instead of striving for actual consent, in our personal lives as well as in our political institutions.
“Wicked thoughts” says that poverty in the Western World is mostly a myth.
The Smallest Minority takes on the anti-gun propaganda from an organizaion called Commonsense about Kids and Guns.
Blackfive - The Paratrooper of Love and an old Army buddy of his discover that “race” runs deeper than they thought in this post called “Racism Sucks”.
In this thought-provoking post, Cold Spring Shops invites readers to compare visions of the university of the future.
Harvey takes a look at one of the lesser-known sacrifices that American troops make in the service of their country.
Interested Participant talks about Media Bias…”Imagine this scenario. Every year on the 1st of May, white kids at a middle school perform a ritual event. They select a black girl to attack and administer a beating. The beating causes her to suffer from psychological trauma and blackouts from blows to the head. She is forced to transfer to a different school.”…
Mojo Marks thinks It’s all in the Delivery, since according to the FCC, when the F-word is used as an adjective, it’s ok for broadcast.
The Laughing Wolf has Some Thoughts On The RIAA - he thinks the RIAA is making some big mistakes, and some of them are the questions raised that deserve full consideration — and perhaps investigation.
Humor:
The People’s Republic of Seabrook has the scoop on the breakfast of…Liberals!
The Talking Dog spoofs Schwarzenegger, in light of the recent allegations regarding his admiration of Hitler…just read the whole thing :)
If you, like the folks who wrote the manual for a recently-purchased Philips TV, have nothing more valuable to do with your time and attention than scurry around saving Watts one at a time, you need to read this scathing piece, sent in by Sarah Fitz-Claridge of Setting The World To Rights.
Warning: browsing the internet consumes energy. Energy consumption contributes to air and water pollution.
Happy Furry Puppy Story Time presents a semi-humorous look at the Prince of Darkness, Novakula, called “Little Known Facts About Robert Novak”.
Frank J shares with us, bite-sized bits of wisdom about - Gen. Clark, Recall Rules, Monkeys, Political Heroes, and an Iraqi Consitution!
Al gore meets his maker in humorous post by Quibbles ‘n Bits.
Here is Snooze Button Dreams’ hilarious take on why men think of women as sex objects.
These are three poems written by Gunther, inspired by a poem that G.W.Bush wrote for his wife…they are pretty, uh, touching ;)
Life:
Mike gets a death threat that is also a literary critiquing. (Looks like it has been shutdown at the request of the FBI)
Lisa of Field-Notes has some pretty interesting experiences with “Mouse Rap”.
Here’s Karen (Taken in Hand) on the subject of the surprising night two decades ago that changed her marriage for ever.
In Feeding The Family: Some Tips For the Cooking-Phobic on Taking Children Seriously (TCS), Sarah Fitz-Claridge offers some fun and clever ideas for how to feed the children without spending more hours than there are in the life of the universe cooking.
Chris Noble has a really nice story about sharing part of his childhood with his kids and of wanting to share more, while pointing us out-of-staters in the right direction if we want to see something other than Disney and Company.
Fusilier Pundit tells us of a hillbilly troubleshooting a computer and deepening his understanding of the human condition in the process - it is a story in four parts.
Jay Solo asks when is the right time for children to ask about sex and how they should learn about it.
Hey, I love this entry - it is the brief story of a simple confused dog (I own about 4 of them) by Caleb Walker :)
While we are busy making fun of the recall elections, Peak Talk has a discussion on California and why it is such an interesting and vibrant place.
Fred of Fragments nudges us gently into Autumn with a beautiful image and a very well-written poem…
I cannot describe this post in better words than the title - “My Name Is Pete… and I Am a Proud Slut!”
Cosmic injustice number 1784: “Brain cells only die; fat cells never do.” But maybe that’s no longer true - or so thinks Chris in the post Life’s Gotten Fairer. I dunno! ;)
David F has a pretty “hurtful” (that must have really, hurt! Ow!) about experiences with ear-piercing - self-ear-piercing!
Whew! That’s it, folks! Have a great time, will ya?
Patrix of Nerve Endings Firing Away is hosting this week’s Blog Mela - he has a pretty funny announcement up on his site seeking noms. He ought to be a lawyer for covering so much ground and trying to make himself as “flame-proof” as possible ;) Have a dekko at the blog and send in those entries.
Deepak will be hosting the Mela on 10/17
Ankh hosts on 10/24, and
Om hosts on 10/31.
Update:
Kolkata Libertarian (Suman Palit) hosts on 11/07
Kingsley (awesome dude that he is) hosts on 11/14
need volunteer for 11/21
Yazad (fresh out of exams) hosts on 11/28
Ravikiran hosts the BBM (Bitter mens’ Blog Mela) on 01/09/2004 ;)
Email me or leave comments below to reserve your spots further down the road. Remember, every Mela hosting comes with an Instapundit link for free ;)
Alcatraz or Honolulu? Solitary confinement or the NBA? … yeah, I always get those confused. Cut the gibberish. Kobe Bryant is a great basketball player. He’s a husband who acted like a knucklehead at least once. But he’s not a rapist until a jury tells us he is.Update: On a related note, Phil Jackson says he might call Jordan in to play in Kobe’s place, if it “absolutely becomes necessary”. I don’t know what is funnier - the thought of Jordan dropping his retirement plans for the 5000th time to go and play for Phil, or the all-geezer-line-up the Lakers would feature with (hypothetically) Payton, Malone, Jordan and Shaq ;) Maybe if they try hard enough to get Stockton out of retirement and play a two-PG backcourt of Payton and Stockton, with a frontcourt of Jordan, Malone and Shaq…. ;)Likewise, he’s not worthy of the unconditional puffery that’s being served up in his honor.
In a professional sporting environment plagued by profligate paternity, Bryant was irresponsible. Maybe worse.
No doubt he’s going through a hard time, fearful of impending court appearances, and surely feeling some chill on the home front.
If he’s exonerated, there will be time to praise his return to work and examine the terrible pressures he’s faced.
If not, then some people owe apologies to a young woman who has been going around carrying a significant burden of her own.
As for doling out sympathies, I’m going to defer until a verdict is reached.
Vidya Chhabria, who successfully took over the reigns of the $2 billion Jumbo Group after her husband Manu Chhabria’s death last year, and Naina Lal Kidwai, probably the highest paid woman executive in the country, are the two Indians picked by Fortune magazine in its World’s top 50 corporate women list. The “International Power 50” is composed of women who have an operating role in business profit outside the US (including women based in the US who run overseas divisions, such as Coke’s Mary Minnick).Take that, Mr. Women-cannot-do-business-Dhoot
Venugopal Dhoot had this to say later on: “I have always sought inspiration from Indian tradition - a way of life. This tradition started from the dawn of history, continued uninterrupted and will remain in the world forever. I salute and respect this and have followed this tradition since my childhood.As per this tradition, women are entrusted with a bigger responsibility to look after the family first, raise children, imbibe them with tradition, culture, customs and heritage of India.
Due to this priority, women find less time to devote to and run a Rs 1000-crore company with ease. These are my views only and not a generalized idea.”
…to host this week’s and future Blog Melas. Send me an email or post a comment - if we don’t get any volunteers, we just might force someone to do it and it ain’t a pretty sight ;)
It was pretty interesting to me to come across Susanna’s and Razib’s views on the Indian immigrant running for governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal - Susanna on one hand is very enthusiastic in her support for Jindal, as she makes clear in her post here - Tell me again about racist Republicans… Razib on the other hand isn’t that that upbeat about Jindal in his blog, Gene Expression: All American Brown Boy. The reason why the reception is so different is that Susanna sees it as a great sign that an Asian immigrant is moving up in ranks in her party - Razib on the other hand, sees the things Bobby Jindal had to give up and forego to reach that high. What a difference one’s cultural background makes :)
Jivha has a good post on honor killings here - Jivha - the Tongue: “Honour killings” - where is the honour?. I would answer him there, but didn’t want to take too much of his comment space. I think one of the biggest reasons for this ugly phenomenon is the balkanization of immigrant communities by nationality/religion/whatever in the name of diversity instead of assimilating all into the mainstream. Before you jump on me saying “culture-killer”, hear me out.
I don’t like the idea of having a society where everybody behaves the same and thinks the same. No way. What should happen when someone immigrates to another country though, is that even though the immigrant doesn’t have to renounce his old culture, he should embrace the new one and try to find a blend of the old and new that will work for him. If not, immigrants will tend to withdraw into their own little communities and forget that they should be a part of the whole - not a separate entity. When there is no embrace of the new culture, there isn’t a common bomd tying the immigrant to his chosen land and this leads to feelings of insecurity.
By insecurity, I mean feeling like you somehow are a representative of your culture in the foreign land (you forget you chose to leave your motherland and make a home in a foreign country)1 and that embracing the foreign culture is somehow a stab in the back of your country. These people somehow feel like they need to keep their culture going or it will just disappear into the mainstream. This leads the immigrants to be more old-cultured than the people they have left behind in their native country. Unfortunately, I feel it is the in-betweens, these immigrants’ kids who bear the brunt of this and are pestered to follow the old-fashioned ideals while being confused by the different way in which their friends and peers behave. I think diversity is a good thing when it isn’t so bone-headed as to take on the form of complete suspicion of the culture you have chosen to immigrate to.
1I am talking only about permanent immigrants here - not temporary workers or other such.
I am hosting the Carnival of Vanities this week - so send in your entries to madhoo.1atemail.com before 9:00PM CST 10/07/2003!!!
It is the weekend already, thank God for that! ;) I have had a pretty eventful week over the last week, which didn’t leave me with much time for blogging - there are plenty of things I have wanted to talk about, but none of them exactly warranted a complete post, so I am going to combine them all here -
- Watched the Telugu movie “Tagore” last Friday. The movie was alright, but the crowd was another story altogether. There were groups of men throwing pieces of paper at the screen, screaming in awe at the hero and screaming obscenities at the heroine, throwing condom-balloons at people around them. The behavior just sickened me to the core. I didn’t bother to stay on - left a little while after the interval. I cannot understand for the life of me why such people are allowed to even enter movie theaters when obviously all they want to do spoil the fun of movie-watching for others in the theater.
- Watched “Memento” a couple of days ago. What a movie! Loved every bit of it, even though I still don’t understand a few things I will not mention for the fear of spoiling it for you few people who still haven’t seen it :)
- Mavs have started training camp a few days ago. Check out here for the training camp news. For the views of course, you go hear to read Antawn Jamison’s camp journal and Josh Howard writes here. I am loving Jamison already and cannot wait to see him play, which of course, is going to happen tomorrow as they take on Utah in Mexico City in a pre-season game. I am going to be catching the Mavs vs. Orlando pre-season game at the AAC this Tuesday, so it will be a fuun and rowdy experience cheering my boys on :)
This week’s blog mela is now up and being hosted by Dina at Conversations with Dina. This has been a pretty eventful and slightly controversial event, which is pretty nice in a way, since this means people are actually beginning to care about the Mela instead of being apathetic to it the way it was before. This also means we are attracting the interest of a lot of new people, which means there is bound to be some adjustment, but this also means that the new blood ensures there will not be any stagnation in the affair :)
Trust a stupid Marxsist ideological group to blast a bomb in the midst of thousands of people milling around owing to the “Brahmotsav”, just so they can kill the one Chief Minister who has actually managed to put Andhra Pradesh’s name on the map. I guess we need to thank God these idiots didn’t manage to do this in the actual temple complex, where hundreds of people would have been injured or killed. I seriously think if these nutjobs are really so worried for the country that they kill, maybe they should actually come out in the open and work with the people instead of ruining their livelihoods by declaring stupid bandhs and inconveniencing them by hiding behind them from police and getting them caught in the cross-fire.
NDTV.com - Andhra CM Naidu injuredAndhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had a miraculous escape today when a landmine explosion hit his convoy near the Tirumala temple complex in Andhra Pradesh. The attack, believed to be a possible assassination attempt on his life, is suspected to be the handiwork of Naxalite groups in the state.
