You have noticed by now that my heart hasn’t exactly been in blogging these days - a high-paying but hard-working job, a demanding one-year-old (yes, he turned one this 20th) and other things have made blogging a pain in the neck to be honest. I don’t want to blog because I have to, so this is going to be an extended vacation…I don’t know something might catch my fancy and make me wanna talk about it sooner or later, but till then…take care!
Don’t forget to send Shivam your Mela nominations for this week’s Mela. I will still be co-ordinating the Mela efforts.
In the first letter in the link below, I see something good - The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Alarming - I see a woman who wants to protect herself and not rely on someone else to do it or even intimidated in the face of what is going on around her. I agree with the sentiments of the person who sent the link to me - I wish there were more like her.
Of course, before I celebrate too much, there is the usual clich-ridden letter right below by a man who blames the growing incidences of rape on poverty, frustration…everything but on the people who do it and the society which enables them by not punishing the perpetrators harshly enough and by blaming the victim. Typical, should I say?
May:
19th May: Amit
26th May: Shivam
June:
2nd June: Saket
9th June: Charu
16th June: Harini
23rd June: Spontaneous Order
Yo guys! We need volunteers, so sign up quickly before we are forced to draft!
Wow! I am just so blown away by some of the posts nominated for today’s Mela. There is something for everyone in this - sit back and enjoy the ride!
Saket wonders about the nature of God and how he relates with nature and the universe in this thought-provoking post.
Anand has another beautiful entry that talks about forced evacuations and the Bengal tigers of the Sundarbans. Very different!
Neelakantan muses on the way traditions start out in India, grow into habits and then evolve into lucrative businesses.
Shivam Vij is amazed by the Dilliwallahs’ diversity and their ability to tell where you are from just by looking at you and talking to you.
Navin Harish is hoping for “Bugger Off”, something that would scare away pesky salesmen/women who refuse to take “no” for an answer - I am with you here, Navin!
Charu laments the change of Bombay into Mumbai - not just by name, but by nature as well.
Rahul on the other hand experiences an un-Bombay-like day at the Juhu and loves it.
Abhishek has an interesting story about a student and his chance meeting with a cobbler that makes him think…
Abinandanan has an excellent comparison between IITs and other engineering colleges in India - he discusses the problems besetting the other organizations and has a few suggestions for improvement. He also points out and congratulates a few high-flying women in the finance filed.
Harini points out the new face of rape in India - rape in India is not new, but ways in which it is being handled by the courts seem to not help either…
Surya has lots of information about meeting and greetiing people from around the world. Fascinating and fun!
Jabberwock wants more Indian comic strips - I wonder why there aren’t more…I am guessing it could be our love for slapstick over subtle humor…who knows!
Avinash posts his picks for the World XI to play and win against Australia. I haven’t watched a cricket match in ages, but he still sucked me in.
Jitendra has thoughts about marriage in India and …polygamy in Nigeria. Boys - always looking for a way to get more women around you!
Uspeed has an excellent analysis of cultural context and how it influences what a society tolerates and what it will not in the public.
Hammer Sickle critiques a 3-hour documentary made by a gentleman called Rakesh Sharma on the Gujarat riots.
Charu talks here about the slow and painful process of trying to bring about social change and awareness in a community. I agree with a lot of what was said.
Vulturo has a great memory and proceeds to recall humorous events involving his childhood friends and teachers - very funny and will have you thinking back to a few experiences of your own :)
Sriram has a fine rant about the hypocricy and short-sightedness of environmentalists. Sriram, they really do care about everything other than people ;)
Tony Gill has a eulogy for his mom on Mothers’ Day! Beautifully written!
Patrix got to attend the Blog Nashville event where he got to hang out with the blogging world’s celebrities and tries to make us jealous impress us bring to us the entire experience a series of posts.
Amit is really into astrology…or cows(?!) of course, being who he is, he jumps right into a deep discussion about human nature and public policy. Chandrahas, Amit’s co-blogger talks here about the author Orhan Pamuk and how he gives us a vision of Istanbul in the novel, My Name is Red.
This is a first for the Mela, but this post does deal with the hypersensitivity of Hindus and Indians, so I think it is very appropriate for inclusion.
That is all the we have, folks! It was a fine mela and I am glad to have had a chance to read all the posts mentioned above. Amit Varma is going to be hosting the next one, so drop your nominations off to him.
Get your last-minute Mela nominations in - I will compile the Mela and put it up by Friday evening! Hurry up!
Yep, my Mavs put a 40-pt beating on the Rockets just now and Avinash has an awesome Blog Mela up.
We are hosting the next one right here at Dancing with Dogs, so hurry up and send in your entries…
Remember those puzzles? Here are two letters from the June “Atlantic”. Let’s see if you can see why I was alternately pissed and amused by them.
SpankingThe second one…
Sandra Tsing Loh, in “Marshal Plan” (March Atlantic), suggests that “today’s cutting-edge parents” spank their children, and jovially commends them for doing so.Corporal punishment of children - regardless of how “moderate”, and no matter by whom dispensed - is considered a violation of international human-rights law. The practice violates at least six human-rights treaties: the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; the American Convention on Human Rights; and the European Social Charter.
[rest snipped]
Susan H. Bitensky
Michigan State University College of Law
East Lansing, Mich
Letting Go of RoeBlast away!
In “Letting Go of Roe”, Benjamin Wittes essentially says, “Who cares of women have to travel to other states to get abortions, even medically necessary ones?” Apparently, Republican lawmakers care. The so-called Child Custody Protection Act would make it a federal crime to take a minor across state lines to have an abortion without notifying the minor’s parents beforehand. Atleast twenty-one states would quickly outlaw abortion if Roe vs. Wade were overturned, according to a study by the Center for Reproductive Rights. We cannot, as should be obvious, rely on state legislation to protect reproductive rights.
Timothy Rood,
Piedmont, Calif.
Yes, he does - I mean, does he seriously believe that the entire NBA league is out to get his poor, poor Ming? Does he realize that Erick Dampier and Shawn Bradley got into as much foul trouble as Yao Ming in the play-offs? Yao has 3.3 PF/game average in the regular season vs. 4.8 in the play-offs. Damp has 3.1/gm in regular season vs. 4.2 in the play-offs. Another big stat? Yao Ming has been 30 mpg in the play-offs vs. Dampier playing 20.6 minutes. Do the math and you will see who is getting more fouls called on them per minute.
All stats aside, I think even ethically what Mark Cuban did was right (and I admit 90% of the time Cuban goes over the top on issues). Cuban had a problem with the way Yaoi was setting moving picks and he sent the league the tapes to review - if that results in the refs being more careful while calling fouls and more vigilant, I am all for it. If JVG thinks they are missing calls (I can think of the obviously missed call against Finley when he was out-of-bounds while stealing from Barry), he should do the same. Just like the non-called fouls on Yao that may have made a difference for the Mavs in the first two games but didn’t, these missed calls while reviewed, will not help anything but to prevent such mistakes in the future.
I don’t think NBA officiating is all that great - every single fan out there feels like the referees have it out for them. That doesn’t mean it gives the coaches free rein to talk conspiracy theories. Play ball and leave the “truth is out there” fantasies to the X-files crowds, JVG! I hated it when the Mavericks used to whine for calls last year (they are much better this year) and I feel JVG is as pathetic in not recognizing his team’s weaknesses that are killing them and trying to focus the issue on stupid things instead.
Seriously, this dude needs to get on with his life and get a new wife.
ABC News: Groom Still Wants to Marry Runaway BrideDULUTH, Ga. May 2, 2005 - The jilted groom whose bride-to-be ran away four days before their wedding still wants to marry fiancee Jennifer Wilbanks, saying, “Haven’t we all made mistakes?” “Just because we haven’t walked down the aisle, just because we haven’t stood in front of 500 people and said our I Do’s, my commitment before God to her was the day I bought that ring and put it on her finger, and I’m not backing down from that,” John Mason said Monday in an interview with Fox News’ “Hannity & Colmes” show.I have been in a similar situation where I rejected the groom my parents tried to get me married to because I was in love with my husband (then still my boyfriend). This guy went and spilled the beans to my parents and still wanted to marry me. At that point, I was so disgusted that I would have run away from home rather than marry this creep. It is hard to respect a doormat and a lot of men will do better at relationships if they stop taking every single thing lying down.
Mavs have heart! Yeah! Take that, Houston! I know it took about two games for my boys to show it, but I am glad they did it. Of course, there are still two more games to be won, so I will refrain from counting my chickens before they are hatched. Hopefully, the German Pope will pray hard enough for Nowitzki to realize the play-offs have started.
Speaking of the German Pope, a former Hitler youth leading one of the world’s largest religion? In Dennis Miller’s words, anytime there is an adoring throng ardently and passionately in love with a German, it makes me nervous.
Via Prashant Kothari comes this story about a guy put to death in the Saud and they find out five-days later they find out he is innocent - turns out justice delayed was justice forever not served in this case. I am not surprised the Indian Government has not raised a stink over this - we are the kind of people who will put up crap just so others can tolerate us. We never believe we deserve respect like any other nationality. We will continue to be treated like crap until we decide we are as good as anyone else. It is one thing to be a squeaky wheel - it is another to go through impossibly great lengths to avoid confrontation of any kind.
Who woulda thunk it, but Laura Bush was genuinely fine in her well-scripted jokes about “Desperate Housewives” and “Chippendale’s”. Rock on, First Lady - a sense of humor only makes people more likeable - especially a self-deprecating one.
Thousands apparently marched for peace and against nuclear devices - I wonder how many flags were there denouncing North Korea or Iran who have nuclear ambitions…I am not exactly holding my breath trying to figure it out.