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Untold Stories from India on AIDS (Day-Late World AIDS Day Post)
"In the groundbreaking anthology, AIDS Sutra, sixteen renowned writers tell the hidden story of the AIDS crisis, illuminating the complex nature of one of the major problems facing the developing world.
India is home to almost 3 million HIV cases, but AIDS is still stigmatized and shrouded in denial. Discrimination against HIV-affected individuals in hospitals, schools, and even among families is common, just as discussion about HIV and participation in prevention or treatment programs are not. In this riveting book, sixteen of India's most well-known writers go on the road to uncover the reality of AIDS in India and tell the human stories behind the epidemic.
Kiran Desai travels to the coast of Andhra Pradesh, where the sex workers are considered the most desirable; Salman Rushdie meets members of Mumbai's transgender community; William Dalrymple encounters the devadasis, women who have been “married” to a temple goddess and thus are deemed acceptable for transactional sex. Eye-opening, hard-hitting, and moving, AIDS Sutra presents a side of India rarely seen before."
Posted by Anupam Chander on December 2, 2008 at 08:26 PM in Life | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 16, 2008
Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Mondavi, for Making Possible Many Wonderful Evenings at the Mondavi Center
Link: Mondavi Center.
Robert Mondavi, famed winemaker and philanthropist, died today in Yountville, California.
The University of California, Davis community will long remember you.
Posted by Anupam Chander on May 16, 2008 at 07:20 PM in Life | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 08, 2008
Slouch! Study Argues that Sitting straight 'bad for backs'
Link: BBC NEWS | Health | Sitting straight 'bad for backs'.
Posted by Anupam Chander on May 8, 2008 at 11:51 AM in Life | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 12, 2008
Dolphin rescues stranded whales - CNN.com
Link: Dolphin rescues stranded whales - CNN.com.
A dolphin swam up to two distressed whales that appeared headed for death in a beach stranding in New Zealand and guided them to safety, witnesses said Wednesday.
The actions of the bottlenose dolphin -- named Moko by residents who said it spends much of its time swimming playfully with humans at the beach -- amazed would-be rescuers and an expert who said they were evidence of the species' friendly nature.
The two pygmy sperm whales, a mother and her calf, were found stranded on Mahia Beach, about 500 kilometers (300 miles) northeast of the capital of Wellington, on Monday morning, said Conservation Department worker Malcolm Smith.
...
"Moko just came flying through the water and pushed in between us and the whales," Juanita Symes, another rescuer, told The Associated Press. "She got them to head toward the hill, where the channel is. It was an amazing experience. The best day of my life."
Anton van Helden, a marine mammals expert at New Zealand's national museum, Te Papa Tongarewa, said the reports of Moko's rescue were "fantastic" but believable because the dolphins have "a great capacity for altruistic activities."
These included evidence of dolphins protecting people lost at sea, and their playfulness with other animals.
"We've seen bottlenose dolphins getting lifted up on the noses of humpback whales and getting flicked out of the water just for fun," van Helden said.
Posted by Anupam Chander on March 12, 2008 at 08:15 AM in Life | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 24, 2007
Top Ten Worst Lyrics
Link: BBC NEWS | UK | Northern Ireland | U2 feature in worst lyric top ten.
Top 10 Worst Pop Lyrics1 DES'REE - LIFE
I don't want to see a ghost
It's the sight that I fear most
I'd rather have a piece of toast
Watch the evening news2 SNAP - RHYTHM IS A DANCER
I'm as serious as cancer
When I say rhythm is a dancer3 RAZORLIGHT - SOMEWHERE ELSE
And I met a girl
She asked me my name
I told her what it was4 ABC - THAT WAS THEN BUT THIS IS NOW
More sacrifices than an Aztec priest
Standing here straining at that leash
All fall down
Can't complain, mustn't grumble
Help yourself to another piece of apple crumble5 U2 - ELEVATION
I've got no self control
Been living like a mole now
Going down, excavation
High and high in the sky
You make me feel like I can fly
So high
Elevation6 TOTO - AFRICA
The wild dogs cry out in the night
As they grow restless longing for some solitary company
I know that I must do what's right
Sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti7 OASIS - CHAMPAGNE SUPERNOVA
Slowly walking down the hall
Faster than a cannonball
Where were you when we were getting high?8 DURAN DURAN - IS THERE SOMETHING I SHOULD KNOW?
And fiery demons all dance when you walk through that door
Don't say you're easy on me you're about as easy as a nuclear war9 HUMAN LEAGUE - THE LEBANON
Before he leaves the camp he stops
He scans the world outside
And where there used to be some shops
Is where the snipers sometimes hide10 BLACK SABBATH - WAR PIGS
Generals gathered in their masses
Just like witches at black masses
Posted by Anupam Chander on November 24, 2007 at 08:46 AM in Life | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 31, 2007
How Newspapers of the Day Reviewed Beethoven's Ninth
Link:
Reviewing Beethoven: How Newspapers Greeted the Greatest Piece of Music Ever
Editor & Publisher offers a fun interlude:
"Here’s a sampling of how the critics greeted the May 7, 1824, premiere of Beethoven’s monumental and revolutionary Ninth Symphony in Vienna.
Here are excerpts from the reviews, taken from the paperback “Beethoven: The Ninth Symphony,” by David Benjamin Levy (Yale). One further note: reviews of the first performances of the Ninth in London a little later were wholly negative."
from Bauerle’s Allgemeine Theater-Zeitung:“Imagine the highly inspired composer, the musical Shakespeare, to whom all means of his arts readily are available at the slightest wave of his hand, how, in the innermost belief in the holy work of redemption, he sings God’s praises and the hope of humanity….The most earnest wish of a large public is that these works of art that so beautifully reveal the divine in human nature, be heard again soon. May this be fulfilled!”
*A review in Leipzig’s Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung:
“Herr Kapellmeister Umlauf directed with the baton, and the composer himself participated in the general direction of everything. He stood, mainly, by the side of the presiding marshall and indicated the beginning of each new tempo, following his original score, because due to his hearing deficiency, the higher enjoyment was sadly denied him.
“But where can I find the words to relate to my readers…And still the effect was indescribably great and magnificent, jubilant applause from full hearts was enthusiastically given the master, whose inexhaustible genius revealed a new world to us and unveiled never-before-heard, never-imagined magical secrets of the holy art!...
"The critic now sits with regained composure at his desk, but this moment will remain for him unforgettable. Art and truth celebrate here their most flowing triumph, and with right one could say: no plus ultra! Who, in fact, could succeed in excelling these unnameable moments!
"Even the work's most glowing worshippers and most inspired admirers are convinced that this truly unique finale would become even more incomparably imposing in a more concentrated shape, and the composer himself would agree if cruel fate had not robbed him of the ability to hear his creation."
*From a correspondent for Caecilia:
“The greatest artist of our time proved that the true artist knows no standstill. Forward, upward, is the watchword, his battle cry…Beethoven has once again forged himself!”
Posted by Anupam Chander on August 31, 2007 at 09:50 PM in Life | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 19, 2007
Funny News: Star Wars duo 'least convincing'
Link: BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Star Wars duo 'least convincing'.
Star Wars couple Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen have been voted as having the least plausible on-screen chemistry by film fans. The pair beat Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez for their performance in Gigli into second place, who were a real life couple when the film was made.Former duo Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman also made the list with Eyes Wide Shut.
British pairing Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom were thought "too stiff upper lip" in Pirates of the Caribbean.
The 3,000 movie-goers who were surveyed for Pearl and Dean said their screen relationship was punctuated with too much old-fashioned romance and "not enough lust".
Catherine Zeta Jones and Sir Sean Connery's performance opposite one another in 1999's Entrapment landed in fifth place.
There was a 39-year age difference between the couple.
...The gay romance between Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain was more convincing, with only 5% of respondents saying it failed to win them over.
Posted by Anupam Chander on August 19, 2007 at 08:36 AM in Life | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 31, 2007
Why Your Car Has Lousy Gas Mileage - WSJ.com
Link: Why Your Car Has Lousy Gas Mileage - WSJ.com.
The apparent lack of progress in improving fuel economy is tied to a host of trends in the auto industry and U.S. consumer culture. A long-running focus on vehicle safety has resulted in cars growing heavier over time as manufacturers used more metal to strengthen structures and added heavy safety gear, including antilock brakes, airbags and electronic traction-control systems.Cars also are larger overall, and models that started out as subcompacts have grown to become more like midsize models. Honda Motor Co.'s Civic CRX, a mid-1980s two-seater of 20 years ago, was 12 feet long and weighed about 1,700 pounds. (See photos.) Today's Civic sedan is nearly three feet longer and weighs about 900 pounds more. Even the smaller Honda Fit, considered almost impossibly small today, is larger than the mid-1980s Civic CRX.
The considerable advances in auto technology in recent decades has benefited engines, structure and passenger comfort. Most of the effort in improving engine performance, however, has gone toward increasing horsepower instead of improving fuel economy. So while cars of all types are generally faster than the sports cars of 25 years ago, their fuel economy seems relatively poor, thanks largely to the energy required to move their added weight. Even the Environmental Protection Agency advises drivers to save fuel by cutting their cars' weight. Avoid cluttering the car with unnecessary items, it recommends, especially heavy ones. An extra 100 pounds in a vehicle may reduce your miles per gallon by as much as 2%.
Development of German car maker BMW AG's long-running 3-Series model has led to the 2007 model weighing more than 3,300 pounds, compared with about 2,900 pounds 20 years ago. In 1972 the 3-Series predecessor, called the 2002, weighed about 2,200 pounds.
Posted by Anupam Chander on May 31, 2007 at 03:51 PM in Life | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 22, 2007
Little Red Riding Hood In Danger Once Again
Link: Woods of Germany are home to wolves again - Los Angeles Times.
Woods of Germany are home to wolves againBaerwalde, Germany — THERE'S blood on the frost and blame in the air.
The wolves are back, hunting in the night, skulking through gardens, making the farm dogs restless. Sleek and mystical, they have roamed through folklore and fairy tale, a bit of enticing danger at the forest's edge.
But Joachim Bachmann, a hunter with a wall full of trophies, is not so lyrical when it comes to the wolf's reappearance amid the birch and pine of the eastern woods in Saxony.
In today's Germany, the wolf is a "protected species." Mention these two words and you'd better duck, because Bachmann can't quite get his mind around how a sheep-eating machine should not be shot on sight. It bothers him even when he sits at the big table in his big house looking out the window to a damp land speckled with paw prints.
Posted by Anupam Chander on January 22, 2007 at 02:24 PM in Life | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 03, 2007
Hero Jumps In Front of Subway Train to Save Stranger
Link: A Man Down, a Train Arriving, and a Stranger Makes a Choice - New York Times.
Mr. Autrey was waiting for the downtown local at 137th Street and Broadway in Manhattan around 12:45 p.m. He was taking his two daughters, Syshe, 4, and Shuqui, 6, home before work.Nearby, a man collapsed, his body convulsing. Mr. Autrey and two women rushed to help, he said. The man, Cameron Hollopeter, 20, managed to get up, but then stumbled to the platform edge and fell to the tracks, between the two rails.
The headlights of the No. 1 train appeared. “I had to make a split decision,” Mr. Autrey said.
So he made one, and leapt.
Mr. Autrey lay on Mr. Hollopeter, his heart pounding, pressing him down in a space roughly a foot deep. The train’s brakes screeched, but it could not stop in time.
Five cars rolled overhead before the train stopped, the cars passing inches from his head, smudging his blue knit cap with grease. Mr. Autrey heard onlookers’ screams. “We’re O.K. down here,” he yelled, “but I’ve got two daughters up there. Let them know their father’s O.K.” He heard cries of wonder, and applause.
Power was cut, and workers got them out. Mr. Hollopeter, a student at the New York Film Academy, was taken to St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center. He had only bumps and bruises, said his grandfather, Jeff Friedman. The police said it appeared that Mr. Hollopeter had suffered a seizure.
Mr. Autrey refused medical help, because, he said, nothing was wrong. He did visit Mr. Hollopeter in the hospital before heading to his night shift. “I don’t feel like I did something spectacular; I just saw someone who needed help,” Mr. Autrey said. “I did what I felt was right.”
Posted by Anupam Chander on January 3, 2007 at 05:46 AM in Life | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
