Quirkies

Quirkies is a section that will link up to any interesting article that I may have come across recently. Likely to be something that very unique and something to lighten your mood!

Its a big 'NO' for pants!!!
Sumo Wrestlers in Japan (where else?) have categorically declared that pants are a no-no inside the sumo ring despite the fact that many kids now days feel shy to be seen in the traditional almost naked attire of sumo wrestlers; which has led to dwindling numbers of kids taking up sumo wrestling.
Read More here.

Museums' latest worry - to stop paintings from being added to their collections!
Since ever, museums have always been on the lookout for their artifacts being stolen. But, with Banksy on the lose, they are now begining to worry about how to keep their inventory from increasing. Banksy, a British graffiti artist got his work displayed among those of elite artists on the walls of 4 major New York art museums - the only drawback: the displays stayed up only until noticed by the museum authorities.
Read more here & here.

Snooze No More!!
Do you suffer from the snooze-bug? Do you spend more time sleeping after hitting the snooze button than before the alarm went off? Then Clocky is for you! Clocky will make sure you get up on the first ring of the alarm, after all atleast then you know where your clock is!!!
Read more here.

Rocking mallus!

Until recently, the only avial I had known was what my mom (and my grandmom as well) made once a week for lunch. But now, avial literally stand for rocking mallus.

Avial is a mallu rock band I came across at Ashwin's blog. I followed it up with some determined Googling, and found that they are also known as 'Jigsaw Puzzle' (both their names are most certainly unique, to say the least )

Watch their music videos here.

Find more about Avial a.k.a Jigsaw Puzzle here and here.

You'll also find some discussion (& some real good links) in this blog by Mads. I should let you know that his site is quite slow and you may get the impression that it is a broken link, but give it time and it will open up, sooner or later.

Is 'Killer Waves' helping?

If you don't know about the Boxing Day Tsunami disaster, then god alone knows where you have been. The devastation that was left behind by the sea was unprecedented; hundreds of thousands were brutally killed, millions left homeless; thousands of acres of land ruined. Pictures of the disaster were flashed across absolutely every TV channel, newspaper magazine and all other conceivable forms of the media.

Last evening, on the bus home, TV Mobile was telecasting an episode of Channel 5's latest TV series "Killer Waves". The general outline of the program was to showcase the family of victims, to show how the 'killer waves' have affected their daily lives; how it took their beloved away.

It led me to think if such a telecast is needed at the current point in time. Most are still recovering from the disaster; and such a program can only lead their minds back to the savage actions of the seas. A deceased's aging mother weaping on the screen for her loss; his son clutching onto a school bag gifted by his father days before the disaster - such scenes can leave nothing more than more trauma for any affected person.

Arguably, the intent of the program was to enlighten people about Tsunamis in general; their raw power, their intense potential to destroy. But maybe this isn't the time to remind people about it. The wounds from Dec 26 are still fresh in many. Perhaps such telecasts can wait until these wounds heal, until a time when such telecasts are informative, rather than traumatic.

Another trip to Sepang!

For 3 races out of the 4 F1 races in Sepang, I've been there - the one I missed was because it was on the same day as the Cricket World Cup 2003 Finals between India and Australia.

There nothing that can beat the sound of an F1 engine as it decelerates from 7th gear all the way down to 2nd. And this sound just rocks at the start as 20 cars do the same almost all at once. Just simply brilliant!!

Added on 23-Mar-2005: For all my photos of this trip, goto http://www.flickr.com/photos/ayekay

America's oldest Outsourcing Venture

Judging by the uproar in the US press over the outsourcing of manufacturing to India, China et al, one wouldn't be blamed in believing that outsourcing is something that has just come up in the last few years.

This article however shows that Indian companies have been a significant part of New York life for the last 40 years. Infact, they're so important, that if all this pieces of this Indian product is removed over-night, New Yorkers may just 'go down the drain'. Don't you think so?

Indian Minoritism

I definitely haven't said anything like this before. I'll be damned if I'd have thought that I would ever say anything like this. But here it is - I actually think the RSS have actually said something sensible.

I do not agree with their definition of 'minority', but I definitely agree that it is India's interest to stop following this minoritism. Sadly, it is quaranteed that this will not happen in the period this generation and possible not in that of the next either. The reason for that - politics.

The number of 'minority groups' in India keeps increasing as differenct governments (usually local/state) try to asurp another vote bank by designating the people as minorities, and hence providing them with some benefit or the other. While I do not have any issue with making special arrangements for certain sections of people, such as those from the tribal region etc, it is the label of minority that will ruin India. Again the reason is simple (& the same) - politics. Once a section of people is designated a 'minority', no government who wants to be reelected will take the action to remove this label. This means that the number of minority groups has only 1 way to move - up, up & up.

I wish instead that governments gave these people purely financial support and create jobs for them. Do not label people as 'minorities'. While this can help governments get elected, in the long run, such label will definitely cause more problems that anything else. Given today's scenario, there may even be a stage where in India, the majority of people will be in 1 or other minority group!!