Accidental Blogger
A general interest blog
Category: Educational, Cultural & Social Matters
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We are a bit late here in reporting George Carlin’s death at age 71. Some of us are fans of the comic but no one felt up to posting anything personal or substantive about Carlin’s life or his philosophy that has not already been widely reported in the media. Rather than try to explain why…
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I haven’t read the book – only seen a couple of reviews. As Sam Anderson says in the New York Books article, Intercourse, a collection of 50 stories by Pulitzer Prize winning author Robert Olen Butler, is a well written gimmick. But a fine gimmick no doubt, because public interest in the sex lives of…
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As the companion of a geriatric cat, I am acutely conscious of the changes in nutritional, psychological and medical care that must be afforded to aging animals. With advancements in veterinary science and safer environments, just as domestic pets in affluent nations are experiencing unprecedented increase in their longevity, so are the inmates of modern,…
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A very interesting article by George Orwell from 1943 in which Orwell weighed in on the art and value of pamphleteering. [link: 3Quarks Daily] The interesting fact, not easily explicable, is that pamphleteering has revived upon an enormous scale since about 1935, and has done so without producing anything of real value. My own collection,…
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In order to make certain sections of America comfortable with his candidacy, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Hussein Obama has some nagging problems to tackle beyond just his skin color. He also has a Muslim problem, a patriotism problem, a friends and pastor problem. He even has an edgy wife problem. So it came as a surprise…
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Face lifts, tummy tucks, breast augmentations, collagen injections, skin lightening cream – all means of enhancing social acceptance, self image and sexual / matrimonial prospects. Physical attributes that are deemed attractive are polished and altered surgically or chemically – overwhelmingly by the female half of the population in prosperous societies. We accept these interventions, some…
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Summer is here, schools are out and the Texas State Board of Education is about to undertake the overhaul of the school science curriculum for the first time in a decade. As usual, the focus will once again be on teaching the theory of evolution in science classes. Conservative lawmakers and social activists have tried…
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During my blogging days at Dissemination I became somewhat familiar with friend and fellow blogger Ethan Leib’s views on "friendship." Ethan argued that friendship should be looked upon as more than a fuzzy and feel-good relationship. In fact he thinks that it can and often does become an important social safety net in time of…
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I happened upon this article about the inspiration behind Hermes perfumes via Asian Window. This year has been declared by Hermes to be the Year of India, with " silk scarves … vivid with raw pinks and fleshy mangoes, elephants harnessed to carriages and tigers rampant." Parfumeur Jean Claude Ellena travelled through Kerala, India in…
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Indian reporter Manoj Joshi was recently in Pakistan. Besides looking into the political health of India’s neighbor to the west, Joshi also checked out Pakistani food (the cuisine, the prices and the shortage), crime and cell phone connections. On the last three counts, he found out that things are not all that different from what…
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In his comment on my last post about a Japanese train company which turned its fortune around by appointing a cat as the station master, my co-blogger Dean informed me that US libraries have for long known the advantages of employing feline friends to add pizazz to their premises. Dean is notorious for burying nuggets…
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How often do we ‘say cheese’ for photographs without thinking too much about? Why does it always seem so fake? The local paper often puts out glossy editions of socialites at various ‘fundraising’ festivities baring their teeth for the camera, but I’ve always noticed that those who seem to be genuinely enjoying themselves could be…
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During my first few months in the US, it used to take me a little extra time to sort out the dollar bills in my purse. Being used to currency notes in India and Europe that provide a different look (size, color) for different denominations, the uniform look of the US dollar took a while…
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Abbas Raza of 3 Quarks Daily recently interviewed Richard Dawkins. The setting was informal and as Abbas points out in the comments, the interviewer didn’t quite know what to do with his hands (next time get a table on which you can rest your elbows, Abbas). Note what Dawkins says toward the last part of…
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In a previous post I had mentioned Clinton hack James Carville’s cavalier assertion that Hillary Clinton is 1.5 times more man than the average male and 3 times more so than Obama. Perhaps Hillary has displayed her machismo a bit too convincingly. I don’t know if Joe will agree but his [second most] favorite blog has…
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