Accidental Blogger
A general interest blog
Category: Educational, Cultural & Social Matters
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I love the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, - loved them from the moment they arrived on the scene and shook up our notion of how women's tennis is played … and much more. Ever since they made their debut on the Grand Slam circuit, I have heard it said, in different grudging ways, that the sisters are ungracious, un-sportsmanlike,…
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New posting has been sporadic at best for some time. Rather than leave the pages static for long periods, I plan to bring to the front older non-time sensitive articles that are either interesting in themselves, generated a lively discussion or both. Here is one about dying languages. The comment section (do read the thread) in the original post is…
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The "Musalman," an Urdu newspaper has been published daily for 85 years in the southern Indian city of Chennai. It is written by hand. (h/t: Azra Raza of 3 Quarks Daily)
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In a comment on my last post on the Higgs boson discovery, Dean asked why scientists are okay with cocktail party and other trivial analogies in describing scientific phenomena, but evoking God is an "allergen." The reason certainly is that most scientists are not in the business of explaining god although the temptation arises whenever a hugely significant finding…
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Christine Overall: “The burden of proof — or at least the burden of justification — should therefore rest primarily on those who choose to have children, not on those who choose to be childless.” REALLY?
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Do watch. It is not silly, I promise. Can't say whether his will be a "rags" to riches story but the man is an inspirational speaker and exceptionally diligent. Hope his wife and mother are back. (via 3 Quarks Daily):
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I finally got to read Katherine Boo's 'Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity" a few weeks ago. Praised to the high heavens as an authentic portrait of authentic people (as opposed to fake Slumdogs) in Annawadi, a dirty, sewage cesspool surrounded by assorted huts, inhabited largely by upwardly mobile…
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Two stories about Bengali immigrants to the west - one dating back to a hundred years ago and the other now.
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The National Geographic Bee finals were held yesterday in Washington DC, with 10 finalists selected from all the state champions. Seven out of the ten were of Indian origin, one was of Chinese extraction, two were Caucasian. As always, we wonder why there is a preponderance of kids from India in competitions like these. Is…
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Never mind that in Marin County, California one can qualify for affordable housing with an income of $88,800. Some residents worried that George Lucas' original plans would “pose a serious and alarming threat to the nature of our valley and our community,” “dwarf the average Costco warehouse” and generate light pollution so that “our dark starry skies would…
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It’s the time of the year for the return of the Mommy wars in the media, with Time magazine’s choice of shock-jocking cover leading the fray. What could be more motherly than a mother with her nursing child, after all ? But no, Time’s editors chose the worst shot possible out of those that were…
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A Fishy analysis of The Hunger Games (yes, I know, that is So Last Month, but please bear with the professor, he is not quite upto speed with the 'passé'ness of some memes) ) vs. my own market-colored (and timelier, of course) take on the books. A treasure trove of photos from early…
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It is more than two years since I had written a post about street names – the overabundance of homage to politicians among them and names that change at the whim of people in power or because of changing politics and local sensibilities. I find road names a fascinating subject and take note of them, always…
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Given that this pretty little speech was delivered at the NRA convention in front of an audience that already believes it is losing money and freedom to an "enemy" government, does it amount to crying fire in a crowded theater or at the very least, come close? How much vileness can be excused for the…
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I may visit this place during my trip to L.A. next month. (Via Boing Boing)
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