If there is a God, make him Irish

Ireland's pubs and beer are legendary, but the country's traditional drinking holes are experiencing a new phenomenon - the 12 days of Christmas have turned into the 12 pubs of Christmas... visited all in one night.

Slainte!

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30539356

The winter solstice

On Sunday, 21 December, the northern hemisphere will experience the shortest day of its year, marked at 23:03 GMT by an astronomical phenomenon known as the winter solstice - the moment the North Pole is tilted furthest from the sun as the Earth continues on its orbit.

It's a fascinating read:

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30549149

Time off to live Real

In Australia, “people leave and engage in their ‘real’ lives without fearing any repercussion for being away from the office.” Austria, Germany, Italy and Spain each offer their citizens more than 30 days off a year in annual leave and paid holidays.

So why is the US a no-vacation nation?

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20141106-the-no-vacation-nation

Holidays

Major holidays are a time when we reunite with close friends and family, eat in abundance and celebrate long-held traditions.

What happens when you are an ex-pat and your customs feel out of place, traditional food isn't available and your friends and families are miles away?

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20141211-hanukkah-in-antarctica

An ambulance driver's fight against the invisible enemy

Health workers fighting Ebola have been named as Time's "Person of the Year", and one face splashed on covers of the magazine is that of an ambulance driver, Foday Gallah, in the Liberian capital, Monrovia. This is the story of his determination to battle a disease which almost killed him.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30418759

Have we become resistant to Nature?

Have we boxed ourselves out of the natural world? And yet, see what nature has to offer us: its spontaniety and serendipity, its unscripted delights, its capacity to shake us out of the frustrations and humiliations which are an inevitable product of the controlled and ordered world we have sought to create.

A fantastic read:

http://www.bbc.com/earth/bespoke/story/20141203-back-to-nature/index.html

The continuing tragedy of Bhopal

December 3, 1984: Shortly after midnight, MIC gas leaks from a tank at Bhopal’s UCIL plant.

30 years after the world's worst industrial disaster, people are still waiting for justice.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/30-years-after-bhopal-gas-tragedy/article6652172.ece

Surviving Hiroshima

August 6, 1945: The atomic bomb exploded 600 metres above Hiroshima city.

The wounds are still there. Survivors are seemingly okay but they still don't have 100 per cent energy.

Keiko Ogura, a survivor was clear on one thing - “If we think of revenge, the world will be unhappy. This is my message.”

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/blogs/blog-free-for-all/article6658206.ece

The world's next Atlantis?

The Pacific Island nation of Kiribati may be the first country to disappear under the rising sea levels of climate change. Tebunginako was once home to more than 200 households, but today, it lies beneath several meters of turquoise water. "We used to swim out there as children," the Mayor repeats quietly, his gaze shifting blankly to the ocean. "And tie the boats to the coconut trees..."

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/12/05/world/kiribati-atlantis/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

Care for sick orphaned seal pups

A year ago, the worst storm surges in more than 60 years left the UK's east coast severely battered. The storms coincided with grey seal pupping season, which happens in early December. Dozens of the young animals were separated from their mothers in the strong seas. The problem, though, is not just weather - the centre is seeing increasing numbers of sick common seals (all but three of the current residents) but cannot pinpoint the reason.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30329782

Improve your memory

Memorizing, pairing words, quizzing, testing...tried them all?

The only effective way to learn is to practice retrieving items from memory, not trying to cement them in there by further study, say researchers.

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20141202-hack-your-memory-learn-faster

Women-only clubs

Most women live in the work/home rut. Women too need a place to get away, to be themselves and, well, just to let their hair down and, well, to just chill. On the other side, a great support network also build up.

These clubs could give women everywhere an idea of how to form their own little women-only clubs.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/12/03/business/womens-only-private-members-clubs/index.html?hpt=hp_c5

Move over Scotland

Rich, deep, and mysterious. A smell both fresh and musty at the same time. And your curiosity is piqued.

The Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013, made by beverage giant Suntory, took home top honors in Jim Murray's "Whisky Bible". The whisky guru referred to it as "near indescribable genius." Scotch didn't even make the top three.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/12/01/travel/japan-suntory-whisky-bible-award-winner/index.html?hpt=hp_bn6

Japan's humble 'comfort food'

UNESCO, the U.N. cultural organization, has added traditional Japanese cuisine, or "washoku," into its Intangible Cultural Heritage list. "'Wa' means Japanese, 'shoku' means 'to eat' or 'meal' or anything food-related," explains cooking instructor and "washoku" enthusiast Reiko Yoshikawa. For Japanese, food is associated with many things. "First of all, it means happiness, the gathering, of being together," Yoshikawa says. "Nutrition, in a sense, is also very important and also the appreciation to nature."

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/12/12/world/asia/japan-on-the-road-food/index.html?iid=article_sidebar

The hunger for honest content

Turkey’s young population is embracing social media. Its popularity is driven by a demand for honest content with a personal touch.

Tuba Unsal, actress, model and accessories designer, is the poster girl for Turkey's online generation. Tuba doesn't have staged-managed social media accounts – it’s simply her life in pictures, honestly portrayed. It is this honesty that gives her such massive appeal.

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20141201-the-face-of-an-online-generation

Australia grieves

It is remarkable - and there's a huge lesson to be learnt in this - how the whole nation grieves young Phillip Hughes. There aren't enough words to express what a remarkable person and cricketer he was.

At the same time it is truly, truly amazing how at this painful time, the people have not forgotten or sidelined Sean Abbott, but have enclosed him in a circle of love. No blame here - they just want him to know that they are all with him as he gets through this traumatic time.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1141201/jsp/sports/story_19109057.jsp#.VH1feTGUcX8

Animals too need their mothers

And we have no compunction in taking away the mothers of baby elephants merely to satisfy our insatiable greed.

It's traumatic for these elephant babies. Yet, despite this, elephant orphans try to rebuild their lives. They cope with their situation in many ways. They devise their own social strategy to help them to become part of a group - part of a family, for they need someone to teach them life skills. It is essential for them to be part of a support group, or else they just fade away.

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20141125-how-elephant-orphans-cope-alone

A hug can change the world

A 12-year-old black boy, tears streaming down his face, and a white police officer embrace in the middle of a Ferguson-related demonstration in Portland, Oregon.

All it needs is understanding, a reaching out, and a hug....

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/29/living/ferguson-protest-hug/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

Tough convict to super chef

Singaporean chef Benny Se Teo spent more than a decade of his young life in and out of prison for drug-related offences and rehabilitation centres because of a heroin addiction.

Beneath his tough exterior is someone who has managed to become one of the city-state's most inspiring and successful entrepreneurs.

Today, he runs Eighteen Chefs, a restaurant chain that hires ex-offenders and troubled youths, and turns over $10m (£6.4m) a year. His five restaurants employ about 140 people, nearly half of whom had difficult pasts.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-30077649

Tribute to a doorman

18-year-old Kottarappu Chattu Kuttan crossed to what was then Ceylon by boat from Kerala in 1938. He started working as a domestic servant, and then joined the Galle Face in 1942. Though he retired as a waiter in the 1980s, he was kept on at the front entrance, where he "found his true calling."

"Emperor Hirohito, Richard Nixon, Sir Laurence Olivier and George Bernard Shaw came and stayed with us," he told Agence France-Presse in 2010. He also met Lord Mountbatten and Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Princess Elizabeth, and the Bond girl, Ursula Andress. And he saw a Japanese fighter-plane crash-land in the grounds during World War Two.

The hotel held a minute's silence as a tribute to Mr Kuttan.

What a life!!

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-30104851

From banks to pubs

Many can't remember the last time they actually went into a bank. They can however remember the last time they went for a pint and it turns out the pub they were in just might have been a bank.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/29801667

There's only one kind of music

Good music.

Esteemed rock and pop critic Paul Morley makes an unexpected and revelatory case for classical music's futuristic credentials:  ‘Pop belongs to the last century, classical music is much more relevant to the future.'

But, it's not about music being pop or classical. There will always be good music - could be pop, could be classical...It has to vibrate with your heart and soul, and it has to make you come alive.

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20141006-does-pop-belong-to-the-past

Our integrated world

According to a study from Brookfield Global Relocation Services, the number of employees on foreign assignment rose in 2011 for the first time since 2006. While expats have long been valued for their skills and global acumen, businesses are also beginning to recognise that expatriates can also bring a fresh perspective from which local employees can learn.

Rennie Sweeney says similarities, differences and funny surprises have been fascinating to learn from. “They always end up affecting our own attitudes towards our work,” she said, adding, “The world is so internationally integrated that we can’t afford to live in a culturally isolated society, and I think that’s a big benefit of expatriates and locals working together.”

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20141015-why-locals-should-embrace-expats

Where is an expat's real home?

According to Pico Iyer, home for those who live abroad, sometimes from birth, is really a work in progress. They have one home associated with their parents, another with their partners, a third connected with the place they are in, a fourth with the place they dream of being in, and many more besides. Their whole life, he says, will be spent taking pieces of many different places and putting them together into a stained glass whole. They constantly add upgrades and improvements and corrections. What comes out is an almost unprecedented blend of cultures.

http://www.ted.com/talks/pico_iyer_where_is_home/transcript?language=en

All I have to do is dream

This Glen Campbell song continues, through the years, to be among my fave list. Hits like "Rhinestone Cowboy" and "Wichita Lineman" are immortal.

Campbell was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2011.

The Country Music Hall of Fame member  is out with the video for the final song he'll ever record -- "I'm Not Gonna Miss You." It was recorded in 2013 with producer Julian Raymond.
"I'm still here but yet I'm gone/ I don't play guitar or sing my songs," the tune begins as it details his struggles with the disease.

In his own words: "I just take it as it comes, you know. I know that I have a problem with that (forgetfulness), but it doesn't bother me."

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/14/showbiz/glen-campbell-final-song/index.html

Russia's Bob Dylan

Boris Grebenshikov (known in Russia as BG) prefers poetry to protest. He is still one of the most important figures in Russion rock. But recent events in the country have caused the singer a change of heart. As violence broke out in Ukraine in March, Boris Grebenshikov called a film crew to his St Petersburg studio. There, he held an emergency recording session for one of the new songs. “I feel how the shadows become thicker, the river’s on fire, but the bridges are up,” he sings, from behind his dark glasses, in the video he immediately posted for Love in the Time of War.

Window faces the sky, but there’s a dark spell on the house

     Morning is still far away

     That’s alright, we’ll wait.

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20141013-meet-the-bob-dylan-of-russia

Female programmers who created modern tech

They may now be forgotten, but decades ago, it was women who pioneered computer programming. Sadly, now that's a part of history that even the smartest people don't know.

So who started it?

Ada Lovelace, also known as the Countess of Lovelace, was born in 1815. She was the daughter of Lord Byron. Lady Byron didn't want her to turn out a romantic poet like her father, so she had her tutored almost exclusively in mathematics. Lovelace, though, saw the poetry in Math.

At 17, she met Charles Babbage who showed her plans for a machine he believed would be able to do complex math calculations. Lovelace envisioned that "a computer can do anything that can be noted logically. Words, pictures and music, not just numbers. She understands how you take an instruction set and load it into the machine, and she even does an example, which is programming Bernoulli numbers, an incredibly complicated sequence of numbers."

Babbage's machine was never built. But his designs and Lovelace's notes were read by people building the first computer a century later. The computer language ADA was named after her in recognition of her pioneering work with Charles Babbage.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/10/06/345799830/the-forgotten-female-programmers-who-created-modern-tech?utm_source=pocket&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=pockethits

"She just thought there wasn't anything we couldn't do

"We were going around the country living wonderful lives. Not depending on any men. We were earning our own living. Doing what we wanted to do and doing it very well too. Men tried to put us down, but we wouldn't have it and Ivy wouldn't have it," says Joyce Terry, nee Clark, who was a singer in Ivy's band from 1943 to 1946.

Ivy Benson was a gutsy and glamorous woman. Before the idea of girl power became a reality, Ivy and the members of her all-girl band were risking their lives entertaining Allied troops in war-torn Europe, and fighting the battle of the sexes back at home.

We are talking 1939...

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29557015

Iris Halmshaw

This little five-year-old girl is autistic and unable to speak. Her parents did a lot of research on autism and finally decided to try art therapy.  It clicked. The little girl picked up painting techniques astonishingly quickly and could spend two hours at a time, painting in consistent concentration. Her mother says, "From the first painting, she filled the paper with color and it wasn't random -- it was considered and thought out."

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/09/world/the-extraordinary-art-of-autistic-five-year-old-monet/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

Greening of a desert

Yi Jiefeng lost her son, Yang Ruizhe, in a traffic accident in Japan in 2000. Yi almost succumbed to grief. Something held her back and she decided to devote her life to living out her son's dream of planting trees in the deserts of Inner Mongolia,

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/10/world/asia/greenlife-yi-jiefang-profile-above-and-beyond/index.html?hpt=hp_c4

Ballet at 88 years of age

British dancer and choreographer Dame Gillian Lynne was 17 when she went to perform for British troops fighting in the second World War. Seventy years later, she's still working full time and has now re-created the ballet she performed in the midst of battle.

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-29122376

Smart-home technology helps people with Alzheimer's

Many companies have created various kinds of sensors to help those who are at different stages of Alzheimer's. Sensitive to the privacy of these people, these sensors keep track of what is happening and relay them to the family or a doctor. Knowing that they are being monitored gives the patients a feeling of security. These sensors are not a replacement for personal caregiving, but it makes it easier and more manageable for caregivers.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/25/tech/innovation/alzheimers-smart-home/index.html?hpt=hp_c5

A bakery in a desert

Two young sisters, Ana and Laura Marcen, chose Los Monegros in Aragon, Northeastern Spain, as the perfect place for their farming and bread-baking business. Neither had any previous experience of farming. The place is almost as arid as a desert. Their idea to start this business came from something their uncle told them - that in times gone by, the bread in this part of Spain tasted different!

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-28488660

Europe's last beer-making nun

The place: Mallersdorf, a 12th-century abbey in the Bavarian highlands

The master brewer: Sister Doris, Franciscan nun

And she's been doing this for more than 40 years!

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/22/travel/german-beer-nun/index.html?hpt=hp_bn6

Time shifting in the global world

People who work online and and whose clients are all over the world are now being referred to as time-zone-trotting professionals. They face a serious health risk because of sleep deprivation. Erran Carmel, dean of the Kogod School of Business at American University in Washington DC said, "Distance is dead, but time zones aren't." And, technology cannot solve this time zone dilemma. Time-zone-trotting professionals still need to sleep, spend time with their family and "construct a rhythm of their day."

Check out here how a rhythm can be constructed:

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20140820-secrets-of-time-shifting

Digital Detox

Constant use of the email and social media and keeping abreast of constant news feeds can be damaging to one’s health, according to several recent studies. Internet addiction disorder (IAD) is now a recognized problem. Indeed, when frequent internet users turn off their devices, they undergo withdrawal symptoms similar to those experienced by drug users, according to a 2013 study at Swansea and Milan Universities.

There is a solution - do a digital detox. Getaways have sprung up around the world in beautiful places - tech-free retreats, they are being called, which will help you reconnect with nature, become more mindful and get back to yourself.

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20140821-time-for-a-digital-detox

What the sparrows told Trish O’Kane

And what we can and must learn...


'Instead of wondering what was going to happen to the city, to the Gulf Coast, to the planet, I started wondering why one sparrow was hogging all the seed. I started thinking about their resilience, their pluck, their focus on immediate needs. If they couldn't find food, they went somewhere else. If they lost a nest, they built another. They had no time or energy for grief. They clung to the fence in raggedy lines heckling one another like drunken revelers on Bourbon Street.'

Read on here: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/08/16/what-the-sparrows-told-me/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD)

There are a number of studies that show that IAD, especially in those addicted to Internet gaming, is associated with depression, suicide, eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, ADHD and more.

Check this out:
http://www.beliefnet.com/Health/galleries/Internet-Addiction-Changes-the-Brain.aspx?b=1&email=lilibethgupta@gmail.com&nlsource=53&source=NEWSLETTER&utm_campaign=GLOW&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_source=NL&utm_term=gmail.com

The Wounded Warriors project

If you have had a loved one in the armed forces, his/her being wounded is the worst thing imaginable. While we are happy to get them back, and shower them with love and care, it is they who have to face the long, long painful road of rehabilitation, alone.

What can be more difficult than coming to terms with having lost a limb? Can you imagine the mental state of the person?

And then, as Jeremiah Pauley, Staff Sergeant said, "It's a big challenge for returning veterans to learn how to integrate with their families."

But, there is a way out, and they don't have to give in to the darkness of despair.

The Wounded Warriors Project aims at helping injured service members, and raising awareness in the community. It offers support and a renewed sense of purpose. And one of the ways to aid recovery is through golf.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/07/sport/golf/golf-wounded-warriors/index.html?hpt=hp_c5

Intelligent Workers, or iWorkers

These are the future of our changing workforce – and being able to activate and empower these workers in the coming years will be what separates the good companies from great ones.

So, who are iWorkers? iWorkers are powered by information and the ability to share, access and make use of it – anywhere and anytime. A workforce comprised of iWorkers is stronger, more efficient and agile in their decision-making. With access to the proper tools, they communicate and act on critical business data easily and effectively, allowing them everything they need to make the right choices and complete their goals. They’re more productive and provide a better experience for your clients and customers.

http://mds.ricoh.com/blog/the_rise_of_the_iworker?utm_campaign=ContentSyndication&utm_medium=NativeAd&utm_source=OutBrain&utm_content=&utm_term=rise+of+iworker

Success in Turkey's male-dominated business community

Ms Tuysuzoglu is a role model for young women who want to set up their own companies in Turkey. Fewer than one in 10 business owners women (according to the Women Entrepreneurs Association of Turkey) - but this didn't deter Ms Tuysuzoglu who leads a self-service restaurant chain 'Kirkpinar'. She opened her first Kirkpinar restaurant with her partners, seven years ago.

Her USP - Lokanta (traditional Turkish restaurant), but a whole lot cleaner.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-28207943

@GiftCards.com

Imagine the future when you are 10 years old and your mother - disabled, on welfare, and struggling to cope with several children - sends you to live in an orphanage.

Jason Wolfe, chief executive of GiftCards.com, says his difficult childhood made him resilient.

The inspiration to get into the gift-giving business specifically came from memories of his childhood.

"I can remember lying under a blanket one Christmas Day because there was no heat in the house. "Somebody knocked on the door and we looked outside and there was a box outside of gifts for us."

His life is a perfect example of turning the lemons life throws at you, into lemonade.

His USP - No outside investment. He wants to control his business and make it special for everyone.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-28409603

Internet de-addiction

With children becoming more and more inward living, Delhi's first Internet de-addiction centre comes as a huge relief.

Children are meant to play and dream...a lot....and they are meant to roam around outdoors and run on the grass and climb trees and enjoy the sun and the rain and the wind...

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Delhi-gets-its-first-internet-de-addiction-centre/articleshow/38824454.cms

#BringThemHome

The toll - 298 people killed

The place - Ukraine

The day - Thursday, 17 July 2014

The How and the Why - The plane they were travelling in, MH17 was shot down by rebels. It was another huge, huge mistake trigger-happy rebels made.

The grief is unbearable and all sane people around the world join with the grieving families. The people of Netherlands, which had the greatest loss, have changed their profile picture on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to a black square and are using the hashtag #BringThemHome.

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-28405291

Surprise?

At a time when thoughtfulness is so rare, here's a lovely example of one from no less a person than a pilot!

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-28238949

Two women

Adele Raemer lives in a Jewish community in Eshkol, just over a mile and a half from the border with Gaza.

On the other side of the border, across the security fence in Gaza, Rasha (name changed) lives in Khan Yunis.

When the sun comes up, Raemer will spend her day running for her life. Rasha will spend it, she says, waiting for death.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/09/world/meast/mideast-daily-life/index.html?hpt=hp_c3

Is the past really another country?

The longing to return to the past, is called nostalgia. We are told this is something we should never indulge in. The past is another country. It is the here and now that matters.

However, it does have some function beyond mere sentimentality. A series of investigations by psychologist Constantine Sedikides suggest nostalgia may act as a resource that we can draw on to connect to other people and events, so that we can move forward with less fear and greater purpose.

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140603-why-nostalgia-is-good-for-you

Appraisals at what cost?

Adobe Systems took a bold, almost unthinkable step in 2012. The company realised it was losing too many valuable employees because of the way it was providing feedback and labelling them with ratings. It scrapped its traditional annual performance reviews, including its ratings and rankings of employees.

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20140619-so-long-criticism-hello-cuddles

A woman will never say die

Egypt woman plans to open school for female taxi drivers:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28068937


A CEO juggles the corner office — and nine children:
http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20140619-the-corner-office-and-nine-kids

Animals understand what real friendship is

Animals with big brains such as elephants, horses, killer whales and some primates have close platonic friendships, according to the New Scientist. The friendships are not sexual, and are formed by animals in stable, community groups.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27608051

Lauding a girl child's achievement

A 13-year-old Indian tribal schoolgirl has become the youngest girl to climb Mount Everest. Malavath Poorna wants to be a role model for tribal children. She says,"For a tribal like me, opportunities are very rare and I was looking for one opportunity where I could prove my calibre."

She did and how!

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-27599570

I disappeared but I've never felt so alive

No text message, no tweet, no facebook post...indeed no instant communication...

A lone blonde woman, 26-years old, wrapped in a sarong, leads four camels and a little dog across one of the most uninhabitable environments on Earth - a nine-month expedition across the Australian outback.

In 1977, Robyn Davidson trekked 2,700 kilometers from Alice Springs to the Indian Ocean, armed with little more than a map and a rifle, in a landscape which had destroyed many a hardened explorer before her.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/05/22/showbiz/the-desert-woman/index.html?hpt=hp_c5

Holocaust defiance

When Adolf Hitler's troops marched into Czechoslovakia, the Jews found themselves on the Nazi hit list. Nicholas Winton, a young British stockbroker, went to Prague and moved by the plight of the children, came back and organized the rescue of the children. He saved 669 children. He hardly spoke of what he had done. Winton, who just turned 105, has managed to reunite with some of those children - now grown up and with children of their own.

http://amanpour.blogs.cnn.com/2014/05/22/an-extraordinary-story-of-holocaust-defiance/?hpt=hp_bn9

Another girl battling all odds to get an education

Malala shot at while coming back from school

Nigerian girls abducted from school

And here is another girl determined to get an education - Phung

Phung, whose full name is Dao Ngoc Phung, is from an impoverished and landless family. Room to Read is helping her get an education and today, 16-year-old Phung is ranked near the top of her 11th-grade class of 191. She sets her alarm for 3:30 each morning, reviews her homework and then commutes an hour each way to school. She washes her only school uniform — a white dress — in a bucket each evening and hopes it will dry overnight.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/22/opinion/kristof-this-smart-girl-says-thank-you.html?hp&rref=opinion

One of the world's most remote regions

Possibly the world's last Shangri-La

The haunting Sichuan-Tibet Highway

China is trying hard to increase the number of visitors to this beautiful place. But for now, the area remains largely untouched and a reminder of the Tibet that once was.

http://www.bbc.com/travel/feature/20140417-the-haunting-sichuan-tibet-highway/2

Raimundo Arruda Sobrinho, the homeless poet

He's been living for decades on a roadway median in Sao Paulo, Brazil, he calls "The Island." No matter his circumstances are dire, he writes each day with diligence and passion. His dream: to share his work with the world.

http://www.karmatube.org/videos.php?id=4895

I am utterly charmed by Jose Mujica

Jose Mujica is often referred to as the world’s “poorest” president. He himself, though, doesn't think he is poor. He says, “Poor are the people who need a lot – Seneca said that."
“I do not need much to live. I live in the same way I used to live when I wasn’t a president and in the same neighborhood, in my same house, and in the same way. And I am a republican” – small ‘r,’" he adds.

http://amanpour.blogs.cnn.com/2014/05/12/worlds-poorest-president-i-do-not-need-much-to-live/?hpt=hp_bn9

Kochi and Bob Marley

An unlikely combination? Not really. Revolutionary Telegu poet and Maoist ideologue Varavara Rao speaking at the inauguration of the sixth edition of 'Music and Resistance: Remembering Bob Marley' at Fort Kochi.

This annual program brings together writers, artistes, activists, students and the general public. Rao says the role of cultural activists, poets, writers and singers is that they 'should be the voice of the voiceless. That is the lesson we can learn from Bob Marley.'

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Kochi/music-event-seeks-to-strike-a-chord-with-the-oppressed/article5997806.ece

Two amazing entrepreneurs

G Rajendran, 72, founder of GRT Jewellers started his career as a gold appraiser in a bank. His mother encouraged him to start a small gold retail store using the knowledge he had gained advising people on gold loans. From a showroom which measured less than 500 sq.ft. in 1964, GRT is today a household name in the jewellery business.

Their mantra: Service to customer, more value for money in terms of quality, and designs are what are important.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/men-with-the-golden-touch/article5979766.ece


P. Rajagopal, 66, is the man behind the Saravan Bhavan chain of vegetarian restaurants. According to his competitor, restaurateur Manoharan who runs the Murugan Idli chain, Rajagopal 'brought prestige to the vegetarian business.'

His mantra: Serve the best - tasty and cheap food, freshly made every day.

With his profits turning, he didn't forget his workers. He expanded their benefits: free health care, housing stipends, a marriage fund for their daughters. The company looks after them well, and so they too give of their best to their Annachi, elder brother; they give him their unswerving loyalty.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/05/11/magazine/masala-dosa-to-die-for.html?utm_source=pocket&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=pockethits&_r=0&referrer=

Chicken casserole to chicken casserolla

Filmmaker Gurinder Chadha likes her food and what goes into it...

She shares her 'food' experiences here:

http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/Food/no-crossover-in-the-kitchen/article5985720.ece?homepage=true

Living the communal life

There is a growing demographic entering shared-living accommodations. Whatever be the reason - divorce, not enough money for a place of their own, students on a budget....maybe companionship... these alternate-living arrangements are on the rise.

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20140505-living-the-communal-life

All the President’s men

President Pranab Mukherjee, who has a penchant for history and a razor-sharp memory, reminisced with the ADCs at the first-of-its-kind reunion of ADCs hosted by the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday.

They are a storehouse of history.

Rear Admiral (Retd.) Kirpal Singh’s earliest memory of his days as the Aides-de-Camp (ADC) to India’s first Governor-General C. Rajagopalachari is being a witness to the long hours that Sardar Patel and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru spent discussing the country’s future.

Both the leaders were known to have often disagreed, but never disrespected each other.

And look at our political calibre today.....how low we have fallen....

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/all-the-presidents-men-ex-aidesdecamp-reunite-at-rashtrapati-bhavan/article5979886.ece?homepage=true

The village of widows

Devli Bhanigram is called the “village of widows” after the flash floods struck Kedarnath area last year.

There is full acceptance of their plight because these women believe that this is what god scripted for them. And yet, these are not the stereotype widows. There is grief, but there is also a sense of purpose. Their full focus is on their children - they want to educate their children in the hope that the future will be brighter. And they are striving to that end...

http://www.hindustantimes.com/elections2014/state-of-the-states/village-of-widows-overcomes-tragedy-to-vote-for-a-new-beginning/article1-1215820.aspx

Fashion fades. Style is eternal

The return of rock's women of the 70s.

Debbie Harry, Chrissie Hynde and Pattie Smith have endured because they were unwilling or unable to accept the stereotypes of pop.

Christian Joy, a stylist, says, "Nowadays it's all about fashion – who's wearing Chanel, who's wearing Gucci. Back then, those girls weren't going out and buying fashion. They had a style that almost doesn't exist any more."

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/may/03/women-rock-stars-1970s-style-is-eternal

The common Nightingale has the best birdsong

Research highlighted on International Dawn Chorus Day, suggests that the common nightingale is top of the feathered crooners because of the composition of its brain.

The nightingale's vocal range has far more notes than any other species.

Researchers at the University of Bath and Cornell say that 'it is possible to draw parallels between the ways in which the bird brains have developed to learn complex songs and the way human brains have evolved to allow language.'

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/may/04/nightingale-best-birdsong-brain-research

Meeting after 78 years

Longest-separated twins find each other...

Ann Hunt, a 78-year-old, had no idea she had a sibling at all until last year. Now she and twin Elizabeth Hamel have met for the first time since they were babies.

And it was Ann's youngest daughter, Samantha Stacey who helped bring this about.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27188642

A charmer if there ever was one

And a role model too!

With his white hair, tweed jacket, a pince-nez and sharp wit, he's clearly a sophisticated man of the world.

Francesco Maglia is also one of Italy's most exclusive umbrella makers -- and looks every inch the craftsman.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/08/travel/milan-umbrella-maker/index.html?hpt=hp_bn5

Superheroes and children

Fascination with superheroes can benefit a child in many ways, including boosting his self-confidence and making him feel powerful. Cynthia Falardeau of Vero Beach, Florida, encouraged her son, Wyatt, to explore superheroes for years, because of the way they changed her childhood for the better. She says, "I think he is learning that everyone is capable of being extraordinary."

What better lesson can we give a child than that?

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/28/living/irpt-kids-superheroes/index.html?hpt=hp_bn8

How many of us dream of a life filled with adventure?

This Austrian couple Daniela Reibnegger and Christian Benke are actually living it.

http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/travel/free-fearless-and-loving-it/article5962733.ece?homepage=true

Britain is a 'post-Christian' country

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said Britain was not a nation of believers and that the era of widespread worship was over. 50 public figures have insisted that the UK was "a non-religious" and "plural" society and that to claim otherwise fostered "alienation and division."


http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-27177265

Born Free!

South Africa's "born-free" generation now accounts for some 40% of the population. These six voices represent the generations born since 1994 when the country had its first democratic election. They have grown up without apartheid...

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27146976

Career curveballs

Here's how some career people have dealt with one of Life's toughest blows:

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20140424-coping-with-career-curveballs

Kabul's Emergency Hospital

This is an international NGO run predominantly by Italians -- and it treats all victims of war.

Founded by Italian surgeon Gino Strada, Emergency was first set up in Iraq in 1994. Then in 1999, Strada came to Afghanistan, initially working with the Mujahideen in the Panjshir Valley, north of the capital, before receiving permission from the Taliban, who were governing at the time, to set up Emergency Hospital in Kabul in 2000.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/24/world/asia/afghanistan-emergency-room-coren/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

RIP The Oxford English Dictionary

The OED is the world's most definitive work on the English language. Publishers fear the next edition will never appear in print form because its vast size means only an online version will be feasible, and affordable.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1140422/jsp/foreign/story_18265232.jsp#.U1XqbfmSwX8

Unbelievable!

A deed signed by the first president of the Indian National Congress, W.C. Bonnerjee, a copy of the 1854 Wood’s Despatch and photographs of eminent old boys Rabindranath Tagore, Sambhunath Pandit, playwright Girish Chandra Ghosh and actor Amritalal Basu will all make it to the archives of the 186-year-old Oriental Seminary at Chitpore.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1140422/jsp/calcutta/story_18263033.jsp#.U1XqT_mSwX8

A fashion revolution: Be a fashionista with vegan fashion brands

Major brands already have a cruelty-free line as part of their portfolios. Now designers are seeing greater potential for vegan fashion brands entirely free of animal-based material.

http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/fashion/crueltyfree-is-the-new-cool/article5928986.ece?homepage=true

Gulf to rival Paris on the fashion scene!

As Dubai gets ready for Dubai Fashion 2020, a serious fashion venture with local talent, the government has dedicated a business park D3 (Dubai Design District) to support this goal.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/20/business/middle-east-dubai-fashion/index.html?hpt=hp_bn1

A mother forgives

She is no ordinary woman - this Iranian mother - who spared the life of her son's convicted murderer as he awaited execution with the noose around his neck. She had already lost a son in a motorcycle accident...

What pain....the ultimate agony of living in an empty house...

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Last-minute-reprieve-Iranian-woman-spares-life-of-sons-killer-with-a-slap/articleshow/33877245.cms

Gabriel Garcia Marquez: One of the rarest artists in history

Is no more.

A man who succeded "in chronicling, not only a nation's life, culture and history, but also those of an entire continent."

His One Hundred Years of Solitude is, according to the New York Times 'the first piece of literature since the Book of Genesis that should be required reading for the entire human race.'

His backdrop - the poverty-stricken, and often violent world of Colombia

His stories - real life with imaginary magical elements woven in

His conviction - left wing, which caused him to spend the better part of his life in exile

He lives on in the vibrancy of his work.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-26893514

A long, painful fight is over....at least in Tamil Nadu

Treated ambiguously by society, more often than not shunned, transgender persons in Tamil Nadu cheered the Supreme Court order according them 'third gender' status. This opens the way for them to lead a better and dignified life - the right of every human being...

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Transgenders-in-Tamil-Nadu-first-to-protect-their-rights-welcome-Supreme-Court-order/articleshow/33796680.cms

The wonder of love

They had been committed partners for three-and-a-half years. When the female marmoset accidentally fell from a tree in a forest in Brazil, her partner stayed by her, embracing her and caring for her till she died. Scientists who filmed this say 'such behaviour is "astounding."'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/26924936

If this isn't innovation what is?

Everyone knows what a terrible environmental hazard plastic bottles are. And yet, we just cannot do without them. Residents of Salem in Tamil Nadu, have found a new way to use these bottles for drip irrigation - so not only is there a saving of water, there is also a lot of green all the year around. Fantastic, to say the least!

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Coimbatore/from-waste-to-wealth-saving-water-and-plants/article5910410.ece?homepage=true

When the neem trees flower, the Tamil New Year is here

It is also the time when the Punjabis, Bengalis, Assamese, Malayalees and many other communities bring in the new year. It is a time for new beginnings....A point of interest is that the food eaten at this time has one dish which blends sweet and sour, chilli hot, sweet, sour, and bitter flavors - to remind us that life is all of these...

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/chennai-is-a-melting-pot-of-celebrations/article5912292.ece?homepage=true

Can you imagine life without Dilbert?

Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, charts how to fail your way to success in a new book with entertaining anecdotes from his own life.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/specials/the-upside-of-failure-success-114041100755_1.html

Living in the Aquarius underwater research laboratory

Futuristic.....

Marine biologists who eat, work and sleep on the sea floor:

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140411-i-have-lived-underwater

The 'Company School' of art

How amazing is that...

An unnamed collector bought an exquisite late 18th century painting of a flying fox by Calcutta artist Bhawani Das. The striking pen and ink painting on watermarked paper sold for £458,500 (Rs 4.60 crore approximately).

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news-feed/indiatemplate/18th-century-calcutta-painting-fetches-rs-4-60-crore/article1-1206317.aspx

A girl pays off her father's debt

This little girl is every little girl from every part of the world, and like all girls she is priceless and yet...

Her fate: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/08/world/asia/afghanistan-child-bride/index.html?hpt=hp_mid

Thank-You notes are NOT out of fashion

Our parents made us do this....but now scientific findings link gratitude to increased optimism, stress reduction and a good night's sleep. All of us who swear by Emily Post are validated because good manners do have all kinds of unexpected benefits...

Why not text a Thank you?

Because, as Ms. Gelderman, who is 20, says, that when she wrote her Thank-You notes after she was named 2014 Queen of Carnival, she "actually enjoyed writing the notes because in the process of opening a note, feeling the paper, seeing the imperfection of the writing, reading the message in another person’s voice, you actually feel like you have a piece of that person in your hand.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/06/fashion/the-found-art-of-thank-you-notes.html?src=me&ref=general&_r=0

The peace of the forest is in me

Jane Goodall - a perfect blend of spirituality and science 

THE OLD WISDOM

    When the night wind makes the pine trees creak

    And the pale clouds glide across the dark sky,

    Go out my child, go out and seek

    Your soul: The Eternal I.

    For all the grasses rustling at your feet

    And every flaming star that glitters high

    Above you, close up and meet

    In you: The Eternal I.

    Yes, my child, go out into the world; walk slow

    And silent, comprehending all, and by and by

    Your soul, the Universe, will know

    Itself: the Eternal I.

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2014/01/21/jane-goodall-science-spirit-bill-moyers/

We mean business

You cannot just go and take over a part of another country. Well Russia just did.

And who ever said that fast food outlets are only driven by profits? McDonald's just proved them wrong.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/international-business/McDonalds-quits-Crimea-as-fears-of-trade-clash-grow/articleshow/33255233.cms

You cannot beat the dhabas on the highways in the Punjab

The charm of dhabas is that they haven't changed or lost their character since they first opened.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/specials/kundan-s-chhole-and-kesar-s-dal-114040401212_1.html

Stevie Wonder to headline the Montreux Jazz Festival

Stevie Wonder is all set to fulfil a longtime wish of its late founder Claude "Funky" Nobs, in its 48th edition which also brings red-hot Pharrell Williams to its famed stage. The line-up for the July 4-19 festival, unveiled on Thursday, includes former Blur front man Damon Albarn, hip-hop duo Outkast, the veteran Van Morrison, Massive Attack, and R&B Californian newcomer Banks.

http://www.voanews.com/content/reu-stevie-wonder-pharrell-williams-head-line-up-at-montreux-jazz/1885956.html

Photography in India - From the exotic to the horrible

Photographer Pablo Bartholomew looks at Kolkata of the '70s and '80s. He says Calcutta Diaries is 'a journey into the streets and culture of Calcutta from the mid-1970s, dealing with my exploration of identity and society…'

http://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/art/photographer-pablo-bartholomew-s-calcutta/article1-1203725.aspx

Democracy doesn't suit China: President Xi Jinping

The Chinese people experimented with constitutional monarchy, imperial restoration, parliamentarianism, multi-party system and presidential government, yet nothing really worked, Xi said. He believes that the uniqueness of China's cultural tradition, history and circumstances determines that China needs to follow a development path that suits its own reality.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/china/Democracy-doesnt-suit-China-President-Xi-Jinping/articleshow/33139149.cms

"Economic growth does not automatically lead to social progress"

Michael Green, executive director of the Social Progress Imperative, a non-profit organisation that publishes the index, told Thomson Reuters Foundation.

A global index, The Social Progress Index (SPI), that ranks countries by social and environmental performance rather than economic output, put India 102nd out of 132 countries. 

The SPI rates countries on more than 50 indicators, including health, sanitation, shelter, personal safety, access to information, sustainability, tolerance and inclusion and access to education.

New Zealand received high scores for personal rights and freedom, internet access and school enrolment. It was followed in the Top 10 by Switzerland, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Canada, Finland, Denmark and Australia.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/new-zealand-tops-social-progress-index-india-at-102nd-position/article1-1203618.aspx

Shakespeare Inspires a Cast of Young Syrians

Behind barbed wire.

The place - ZAATARI REFUGEE CAMP, Jordan

The stage - A rocky patch of earth in this sprawling city of tents and prefab trailers

The cast - Refugees who had fled the civil war in Syria

The play - King Lear

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/01/world/middleeast/behind-barbed-wire-shakespeare-inspires-a-cast-of-young-syrians.html?emc=edit_th_20140401&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=58824118


If this does not validate the indomitable human spirit, what does.....?

Slomo

Dr. John Kitchin, neurologist, abruptly quit a medical career to pursue his passion: skating along the boardwalk of San Diego’s Pacific Beach. He is one of those who have had the courage to make seismic changes in life, no matter how late...

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/01/opinion/slomo.html?emc=edit_th_20140401&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=58824118&_r=0

From Capitalism to the Age of Free

The internet of things has facilitated an economic shift from markets to collaborative commons, with costs close to zero. Siemens, IBM, Cisco and General Electric are among the firms erecting an internet-of-things infrastructure, connecting the world in a global neural network. There are now 11 billion sensors connecting devices to the internet of things. Anyone will be able to access the internet of things, and use big data to increase productivity and lower costs with all physical things, including energy, just as we do now with information.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/31/capitalism-age-of-free-internet-of-things-economic-shift

Who would have thought? John McLaughlin in China!

73-year-old Jazz guitarist John McLaughlin gave a two-hour show in a tucked-away venue in east Beijing. The guitarist who played with Zakir Hussain and Vikku Vinayakram in Mahavishnu Orchestra and the Shakti, performed "Love and Understanding" in the middle of the program.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/mclaughlin-s-concert-a-hit-dalai-lama-song-given-a-miss/article1-1202720.aspx

The Cinderella Law

Parents who starve their children of love and affection face prosecution under a “Cinderella Law”. Existing laws in England and Wales will be updated to include a law to enforce the protection of children's emotional, social and behavioural well-being.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/children_shealth/10732982/Parents-who-starve-children-of-love-face-jail.html

The butterfly effect

I learnt of this from my Kabbalah meditation this morning. The basic premise of this is that a change at one time or location can vastly affect circumstances at another time and location. For example, the flapping of a butterfly’s wings in America could bring about a tsunami hitting Asia. Thus, according to the butterfly effect, each one of us is in our own way contributing to the state of our world. Every positive or negative action of ours, small or large, insignificant or important, is sending out waves into the world. Imagine that....we can actually cause a shift in our world...........make it good somewhere....for someone....

What does India have in common with Ukraine, Bosnia, Thailand and Venezuela?

The people have had enough...

The angry middle classes of all these countries want a government that is 'accountable, responsible, and effective in moving their country further into the modern world.'

It's a question of broken faith on the part of the elected people, and a feeling of being taken for granted.

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/transitions-of-the-angry-middle-class/article5845213.ece?homepage=true

Life without a bookshop

Impossible to even imagine...

The browsing, dreaming, and roaming around the shelves is as important as the touch of real books. In fact, I do believe that there is no experience more enjoyable than spending time in a library...

Here are Ten fo the world's most beautiful bookshops:

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20140327-worlds-most-beautiful-bookshops

Pigeonly - Disruptive technology solves communication problem for jail inmates

This photo-sharing and low-cost phone call service was founded by Frederick Hutson who left prison after serving four years on marijuana-related charges. Pigeonly has already helped 50,000 incarcerated individuals connect with their loved ones, maintain their ties to society, and remain a presence in their children's lives.

A wonderful example of  Getting up, Moving on, and Helping others...

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/28/opinion/kapor-tech-diversity/index.html?hpt=hp_t5

'Girls are good enough to play with the guys at any level'

Is what Shannon Szabados, Women's ice hockey pioneer, says.

27-year-old Shannon is a double Olympic gold medallist and is the sixth woman to play professional ice hockey in a men's team.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/ice-hockey/26788081

WorldConnect - The Global News Relay

Journalism students in Chennai will team up with their counterparts from around the world for the Global News Relay - a 12 hour rolling news programme that will travel across the globe. Chennai picks up the baton at the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ) for the relay between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. for the continuous news marathon starting at 9 a.m. (3:30 a.m. GMT) on Thursday.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/chennai-journalism-students-to-join-world-news-relay/article1-1200876.aspx

Vladimir Putin's annexation of Crimea

Or as some say, his theft of Crimea.

Thomas Friedman says that one thing he learned while covering the Middle East is that 'there is “the morning after” and there is “the morning after the morning after.” Never confuse the two.'

Applying this to Putin - the morning after he was the hero of Russia. Friedman wonders what Putin will look like the morning after the morning after, in about six months.

Friedman: Putin is challenging three of the most powerful forces on the planet all at once: human nature, Mother Nature and Moore’s Law.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/26/opinion/friedman-putin-and-the-laws-of-gravity.html?hp&rref=opinion&_r=0

The Rumpelstiltskin of building design

57-year-old Shigeru Ban is the winner of this year's Pritzker Prize, the world's most prestigious architecture award. Ban 'has taken simple materials, including paper and cardboard, and created life-changing structures for people impacted by natural disasters.'

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/25/travel/japanese-architect-shigeru-ban-wins-2014-pritzker-prize/index.html?hpt=hp_c4

Timeless - Gone with the Wind

75 years ago, David O. Selznick adapted Margaret Mitchells's book for the screen and immortalized Scarlett O'Hara as the archetype of the Southern belle. The plantations are gone, but the friendly front porches, warm hospitality, charming social graces and etiquette are still very much alive, even though today's belles are more indpendent, liberal minded and better educated.
Tim Richmond and James Nutt's documentary 'Southern Belles' is worth a watch, especially for all of us who grew up with Scarlett O'Hara...

http://www.nowness.com/day/2014/3/25?utm_source=EM&utm_medium=EMA&utm_campaign=EMA250314EU

Yes, we have the time

How many of us can truthfully claim that we are so overworked, that we don't have the time to be with a loved one, to lend an ear to a troubled person, or to be with your child?

How many of us postpone that letter to a friend, that call to our parents, because, well, 'Where's the time?'

And yet, if we are asked to jot down all the things we did in a day, it wouldn't support our claim of having no time because we are busy.....not by a long shot.

How many times in a week/month/year do we say - Yes we have the time...

We are, many of us, suffering from the 'busy-bragging' epidemic. But, as the author says, 'Even more than that, we're suffering from an epidemic of people talking about how busy they are.'

Read the three especially useful insights that stand out: http://www.theguardian.com/news/oliver-burkeman-s-blog/2014/mar/24/busy-bragging-epidemic

The Great Escape

What daring!! and what a film!

'They were not prisoners of war, they were prisoners at war....'

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26712021

The indomitable spirit of the girl child

Nothing but nothing can keep the girl child down. Her beautiful, invincible spirit will find a way to soar.

Parkour, the latest craze amongst Tehran girls

http://www.hindustantimes.com/audio-news-video/AV-World/Parkour-the-latest-craze-amongst-Tehran-girls/Article2-1198927.aspx

The Lost Art of the Unsent Angry Letter

The days of paper and pen had a number of uses, not the least being the composition of a "hot letter" which could be put aside till the emotion had cooled. Today we can use "track changes" on Microsoft Word, and then remove them when we do the final edit, since an editor always puts in a little "time space" before the last edit check.

While the paper and pen did not have any other options, we, now, have many options to indulge in "public shaming with an escape hatch," such as tweets, threads on reddit, or sites like Thought Catalog. Of course there is also the chance that we can get entangled in our safety net.

Whether it was to write an "appropriate response" or shrug it off on second thought, the pen and paper style offered a cooling off period. A period that tends to get blurred in our digital age.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/23/opinion/sunday/the-lost-art-of-the-unsent-angry-letter.html?hp&rref=opinion&_r=0

It's all about music today

Ageless musicians who still make the heart beat a little faster....

There's Simon and Garfunkel celebrating 50 years of Simon and Garfunkel’s iconic ‘The Sound of Silence’.

(http://www.thehindu.com/features/magazine/tuning-in-to-the-two/article5788406.ece)

And, the Rolling Stones have been rescheduled to continue their 14 On Fire tour, late 2014. They were due to start on the Australian leg in Perth on Wednesday, but have rescheduled in deference to Sir Mick Jagger who is devastated by the death of his girlfriend L'Wren Scott.

(http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-26680694)

March 20

is celebrated as International Happiness Day. It is also celebrated as World Sparrow Day. I find a link here. Happiness comes in small, unobtrusive, 'brown' packages!

In her Thought for Today Newsletter, Oprah shares 13 quotes here: http://www.oprah.com/quote/Quote-About-Happiness-Ashley-Montagu?list_id=39898

Mukul Kesavan's 'Rhetoric Of The Times' is a must read

 It was the op-ed in yesterday's The Telegraph, Calcutta (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1140320/jsp/opinion/story_18095202.jsp#.Uyuv__mSwX8).

He has analysed the way Hindi, which is fast becoming the lingua franca, is being used by the three in-the-eye rivals: Narendra Modi's is the 'declamatory Hindi favored by the sangh parivar,' Arvind Kejriwal's ' is 'transactional, colloquial and peppered with basic English words,' and Rahul Gandhi's is 'atrocious.'

He has also critiqued the kind of speeches given by them.

Helps us see where we are heading...

Music is New Orleans

Jazz lovers would know what New Orleans means. Nothing, but nothing, not even Katrina has been able to keep her spirits down. The music and joie de vivre is not diminished though the wreckage is a constant reminder that life cannot be squandered...it has to be lived....

You'll love this - http://www.theguardian.com/travel/video/2014/mar/19/brass-new-orleans-bounce-rhythm-video

Modern-day slavery and human trafficking

A terrible truth we have to face. 

Andrew Forrest, Australian billionaire and mining magnate, has signed up Pope Francis, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Grand Imam of the al-Azhar mosque in Egypt, Islam's highest-ranking Sunni cleric to join forces with him in his Global Freedom Network to fight this scourge of modern-day slavery and human trafficking. 

He says that he 'got dragged, really, kicking and screaming, into this cause by my daughter, Grace.' Once in, it led to his discovering a whole lot of terrible truths which he as a business magnate had to face. 

And then there was no looking back. He has plunged into this cause, determined to do what he can.

Bringing in religion is a novel thing to do, no doubt, especially since we all know the power and reach religion has. 

Christiane Amanpour talks to Forrest and the representatives of the religious leaders here: http://amanpour.blogs.cnn.com/2014/03/19/religions-unite-over-anti-slavery-initiative/

When one thinks Invictus, one thinks Nelson Mandela

People with indomitable spirit...

The poem by William Ernest Henley reads:

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Launching the Invictus Games for injured soldiers at Olympic Par, Prince Harry ays he hopes championship modelled on US Warrior Games will stop soldiers being forgotten as Afghan war ends.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/mar/06/prince-harry-invictus-games-injured-troops-olympic-park

Celebrate World Sparrow Day on March 20

When was the last time you saw a sparrow?

Not so very long ago, they used to be our companions building their homes close to ours, peeping in at our windows, sitting on the fence and chatting with their friends. They don't have bright showy feathers, and they don't force themselves on our consciousness, but they are such cheerful little things that seeing them or hearing them, or even sensing them, was enough to brighten the day.

http://www.thehindu.com/features/kids/celebrate-a-companion/article5795647.ece?homepage=true

Encouragement for all of us women of a certain age

(incidentally, I think of it as 'women of a certain delicious age')

Here's Ernestine Shepherd: The 75-year-old bodybuilding grandma

Just listening to her talk is an inspiration - http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-18346128

Continuing mystery of Flight 370

Signals from commercial aircraft to Inmarsat satellites always include a code confirming the identity of the plane. You'll find more on this here - It's simply fascinating...

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/17/world/asia/satellite-signals-plane-identity-flight-370/index.html?hpt=hp_mid

Experts piecing together the mystery of Flight 370, are using this information to try and track the path that the plane may have taken...

In a talk with Becky Anderson, Professor David Stupples explains what a satellite handshake is, and how a plane can hide radar detection.

A satellite handshake - 'Think of it like a mobile telephone,' he says. Even though the telephone is not being used to make a call, it is registering continuously with its space station to say 'I am here.' This is what the aircraft is doing with the geostationary satellite which is 23000 miles up in outer space....

Professor Stupples breaks this down at - http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2014/03/17/ctw-malaysia-flight-370-radar-expert-stupples-intv.cnn.html

What courage!

You'll find this heartbreaking story of 'Two women trapped in Damascus', here:

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26474982

What is war doing?

Having been a teacher for most of my life...

this article caught me...

A Point of View: The case for not leaving education to the teachers. You can find it here: 

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26480053

The turmoil regarding education is happening in some way or the other in all countries. The old system is not working, nor is the new. Everyone connected with education knows a constant revamp has to be done to keep pace with the constantly changing world - children have to be taught new skills, new ways of thinking, new ways of problem solving...new ways of coping, even....In many countries, children have yet to be made literate...

Here's a thought that caught me:

Our country is full of people who know things, and of children who want to learn things. A successful education system is one that brings the two together, so that knowledge can pass between them. In every village there are people with knowledge that would be useful to the young - retired accountants and lawyers, musicians and singers, those who speak a foreign language, writers, plumbers, farmers, engineers and amateur historians. And many of those would welcome the opportunity to teach what they know. Somehow we have failed to harness this capital, letting it go to waste while our children drift in search of it. Gradually our governments have begun to wake up to this fact. We are seeing a revival in government circles of the old idea of education as a charitable gift from one generation to the next, rather than a form of state-controlled social engineering.

I've changed my blog...

Cal Kaleidoscope to Weft and Warp

I'd like to share stories and happenings that catch my attention. Would love for you to give me your opinions...