When your mind’s made up

One of the best terms ever invented in a musical context is chill factor — the spine-tingling sensation caused by the effect of a song. And I can think of no better term to describe this stirring ballad from the movie “Once”.

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The critic and the creator

“It is a melancholy experience for a professional mathematician to find himself writing about mathematics. The function of a mathematician is to do something, to prove new theorems, to add to mathematics, and not to talk about what he or other mathematicians have done. Statesmen despise publicists, painters despise art-critics, and physiologists, physicists, or mathematicians [...]

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Starbucks shuts down

Erm..don’t panic, it is not long-term! All Starbucks stores across the country will be closed for three hours this evening to conduct an in-store education and training program for their employees. This is how Howard Schultz (founder, chairman and CEO of Starbucks) puts it. We will close all of our U.S. company-operated stores to teach, [...]

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Why the French are skinny and Americans are fat

Because, this study says, Americans stop eating only when the plate is empty (or the TV show is over) while the French stop when they feel full. (Link via Boing Boing)

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And the award for the worst campaign ad goes to…

Really, this Hillary ad is so bad, it makes you wonder if it was an Obama plant!

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Patriotism is the last refuge…

The war of gaffes gets more ridiculous each day. After the frankly irrelevant controversy over Obama using borrowed words in a speech, it is now Cindy McCain’s turn to make a not so subtle point about her patriotism vis-a-vis Michelle Obama’s. For those who missed it, here is the article. My first reaction to such news is [...]

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When conscience approves tyranny

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good [...]

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Faisal gets his freedom, finally

The local court adjucating on the Faisal Khan custody case passed its final judgement yesterday. The court held that Faisal need not be in anybody’s custody and can live anywhere he wants. I have been following the Faisal case since the news broke- click here and here for my previous posts. This ruling is a cause [...]

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Liking Obama is like liking an iPhone

This is extremely funny. Letter from a young, hip, cynical former Obamamaniac. (link via Instapundit)

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Britney in Guantanamo?

No, she has not gone on a cruise. Not yet, anyway. Her father is keeping a tight leash. Mr. Eardley, an attorney who claims to represent Brit, says that her civil rights are being violated. As he argues in the papers, Britney Spears is not being allowed to visit her friends, to use phones, or [...]

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The many faces of Valentine’s day

Some feel there should be no divorce today, some give them away for free. Some hug, others kill. There are many who crave to be free, in different ways. A wayward pop-princess wants her liberty, an exiled writer searches for her freedom of expression, these two want to merely marry. The powers-that-be have decided that [...]

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The unemotional case for Obama

Andrew Sullivan writes, A meme is developing is that support for Obama is all emotion, fantasy, hysteria, etc. There’s no question that the emotions behind Obama are powerful. And any fool can see why. His oratory does what oratory should. He is the greatest public speaker in American life since Reagan….But the strongest case for [...]

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Minimum wage, maximum irony

India is introducing a new rule stipulating that unskilled workers planning to take up a job in the Middle East cannot do so unless they are going to be paid a minimum wage (the exact amount is being fixed by the Indian Government for each Gulf country). DNA reports (emphasis mine): In a move that [...]

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Want a Segway?

Build your own!

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The obscene case of Karen Fletcher

A hundred years ago, you could be arrested if your drawing, writing or other form of creative expression was considered obscene by the authorities. Artistic freedom was not as important as preserving public morality. And the idea that a century on, pornography could be displayed and sold in perfectly legal shops was unthinkable. For good [...]

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