zigzackly

Friday, November 30, 2007

Jammed

We were just wondering what would happen to this thinker if he tried out his theories in Bombay traffic. Or worse still, in Delhi!

Seriously, though, he makes sense. Reminded us of our driving classes. Where on the first day, our instructor told us, in Hindi, drive as if every other driver was a ch****a. Which we have never found difficult to do.

Labels: science

Blogged for thee by @ 8:08 am | 2 Comments | Post a Comment | Link Love? |

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Hitting the Gujarat and West Bengal governments where it hurts: in the wallet

This is a proposal from a friend, Anjan Ray, left as a comment on a post at the Citizens for Peace blog.

To my mind, there is only one way to deal with State-sponsored terrorism. And that is a groundswell of economic boycott activity.

When the rule of the law morphs with willing connivance of the political leadership into the rule of the jungle, it is funded by government and party cadre revenues. These, in turn, come from economic acitivity within the State in large measure.

As a first step, I have sold - and encourage you to sell - every share of any company you hold that has its headquarters in the 2 states under discussion. You can also sell mutual funds that have invested in such companies. I will be happy to provide a list and propose alternate investments if the idea appeals to all those who read this.

Check the packaging of every product you buy, and choose a different option if the place of manufacture lies within these two states.

Simple enough? Pass this on, and I guarantee you will be amazed at the impact.

Should you wish to take Anjan up on his offer to provide the lists of companies HQed in those two states and the alternate investments, he can be reached at anjan DOT ray AT gmail DOT com.

Blogged for thee by @ 10:12 pm | 10 Comments | Post a Comment | Link Love? |

Why we're glad we work from home

Go see The 'Winners' of the Wired News Saddest-Cubicle Contest.

Top that? We can, actually. But we have a deadline. Maybe we'll come talk about it later.

Blogged for thee by @ 4:42 am | 0 Comments | Post a Comment | Link Love? |

Monday, November 12, 2007

Nandigram relief - an appeal

This email just in via Arka Mukhopadhyay, Trina Nileena Banerjee and others.
From: Anjum Katyal
Sent: Monday, November 12, 2007 8:12 PM
Subject: relief for Nandigram

Hi,
I just received an sms from Aparna Sen asking for relief materials for Nandigram victims (she specifically mentioned old clothes, children's clothes and rice) which can be sent to Mahasweta Devi's address, given below:
c/o Mahasweta Devi
W 2C 12/3 Phase 2, Golf Green, Kolkata 95. Ph: 24143033

We've been asked to forward the request to as many people as possible.

Regards
Anjum
Do please pass the word.

I had some misgivings about the old clothes, given past learnings, but sent it on nevertheless, since the folks who forwarded it are reliable sources.

I got this reply from Amit Varma:

It might be a well-meaning and genuine appeal, but in my experience, old clothes are generally the worst possible thing to give, because even poor people don't take hand-me-downs. When Dilip and I travelled in TN after the tsunami, the roadsides were littered with colorful heaps of old clothes nobody wanted. Both of us wrote about it extensively, Dilip also using the experience of previous trips through disaster-struck areas.

Of course, in this instance this specific need might exist for some reason. But in general, it is a bad idea, and I thought it fair to share that.

I wrote to Dilip D'souza as well:

What's your take on this?

I had my misgivings about this, given my learnings from the post-Tsunami scenario, not least because of your own postings on the matter. Nevertheless, I did send it on to several others. Amit Varma echoed my concerns thusly: [Amit's mail quoted here]
If you're in agreement, you may want to post a point of view somewhere.

Dilip said:

Amit is right: from Orissa '99 to Kutch '01 to TN '04, nobody in those areas wants old clothes. It's true, this is a slightly different case -- it's a manmade calamity rather than a natural one. I think we should hold off sending old clothes until we get some more info from the trenches. Maybe we should reply to that appeal asking specifically about the old clothes. (Once we get a reply, I'll post that somewhere). I'll send a note.

Money can be used to buy new clothes.

Dilip, after this exchange, wrote to the originators of this appeal, stating his concerns, and asking for clarification. He also notes that the "phone number listed for Mahashweta Devi does not work." I had got some further queries from people I had forwarded this to, so I followed up as well. After an initial reply promising more information, Anjum Katyal sent us this:

Friends,

I am sending this out to anyone in my address book who I feel would need the information, and be in a position to circulate it further. Over the past few days I have received several emails and queries about where exactly relief material is being collected for Nandigram victims. It seems that when Mahasweta Devi's phone number was called, they were being told that no materials were being collected there.

I managed to speak directly to Mahasweta di this morning and here is what she has asked me to circulate:

1. Her address IS being used as a collection and despatch centre for relief materials for Nandigram victims. For those who do not have it, it is:

W 2C, 12/3 Phase 2, Golf Green, Kolkata 700095.

Children's warm clothes, new (not secondhand) lungis and dhotis for men. sturdy saris in wearable condition, rice and dal are welcome.

2. If money is being donated, it should be sent to Account no. 24941, Canara Bank, Sealdah branch.

3. Mahasweta di has been focusing on working with a doctors' group at Nandigram. The contact person if anyone wishes to help with the health centre there in any way is Dr Devapriya Mallick, 9830510911.

Thanks and regards
Anjum Katyal

Blogged for thee by @ 11:03 pm | 0 Comments | Post a Comment | Link Love? |

Word-spotting

We saw a couple of dandy neologisms the other day, and we just have to share. The beauty of these is that they don't require an explanation. Well, okay, with the first one, a portmanteau, you need to know that "shloka" is a Sanskrit word that means a verse, usually a prayer. (See the Wikipedia definition for more details.)

Here you go.

Shlokaneering
Spotted on the Sarai Reader List, in a mail from S Fatima

Wantrepreneur
Spotted on Valleywag; ~~can't find the exact post or author, alas.~~ here (Thanks, Hanisha)

Labels: neologisms

Blogged for thee by @ 3:31 am | 1 Comments | Post a Comment | Link Love? |


zigzackly's omnium-gatherum *
Quid quid latine dictum sit, altum videtur
Like you haven't had enough of us already.. Blogger profile, older photographs, Flickr album, Picassa album, Facebook profile, Ryze page, Orkut page, LinkedIn page, published articles. Guest bloggers: Hurree and Annie Reactions, suggestions, any kind of feedback is always welcome. CollaBlogs infested: Jugalbandi; Caferati's blog; blogolepsy; indi³; We, the Media; Son of CSF. Now and then, when Hurree needs a holiday, i pinch-hit at Kitabkhana. And of course, the wonderful World Wide Help group blogs, which include: The South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Blog and TsunamiHelp Wiki \| MumbaiHelp \| Cloudburst Mumbai \| KatrinaHelp Blog and Wiki \| RitaHelp \| South Asia Quake Help \| Site feed: Atom or Feedburner. We endorse, approve of, and throughly adore: The Babu Annie Megha Calvin and Hobbes Frazz The funniest page on the web Luciferous Logolepsy Wired Google News Books at the Guardian Wikipedia Hobson-Jobson A.Word.A.Day List of Bests Word Spy Literary Encyclopedia Other Thieves of our Time [!] = updated in the last 24 hours Blogroll me? Recent Posts Swab your cheek - help save Nalini Environment-friendly spam You and I For Anonymous Imagine Why you should send your visiting card to a PR spa... Do they know it's Christmas? The problem is us Godawful Poetry Fortnight - writing cue - day 13 Godawful Poetry Fortnight - writing cue - day 12 D Mervin Ffingir writes, and having writ, moves on: September 2003 \| December 2003 \| January 2004 \| February 2004 \| March 2004 \| April 2004 \| May 2004 \| June 2004 \| July 2004 \| August 2004 \| September 2004 \| October 2004 \| November 2004 \| December 2004 \| January 2005 \| February 2005 \| March 2005 \| April 2005 \| May 2005 \| June 2005 \| July 2005 \| August 2005 \| September 2005 \| October 2005 \| November 2005 \| December 2005 \| January 2006 \| February 2006 \| March 2006 \| April 2006 \| May 2006 \| June 2006 \| July 2006 \| August 2006 \| September 2006 \| October 2006 \| November 2006 \| December 2006 \| January 2007 \| February 2007 \| March 2007 \| April 2007 \| May 2007 \| June 2007 \| July 2007 \| August 2007 \| September 2007 \| October 2007 \| November 2007 \| December 2007 \| January 2008 \| February 2008 \| March 2008 \| April 2008 \| May 2008 \| June 2008 \| July 2008 \| August 2008 \| November 2008 \| December 2008 \| January 2009 \| March 2009 \| April 2009 \| May 2009 \| June 2009 \| July 2009 \| August 2009 \| September 2009 \| November 2009 \| December 2009 \| January 2010 \| February 2010 \| March 2010 \| June 2010 \| July 2010 \| August 2010 \| October 2010 \| November 2010 \| December 2010 \| January 2011 \| February 2011 \| March 2011 \| April 2011 \| May 2011 \| August 2011 \| September 2011 \| December 2011 \| February 2012 \| March 2012 \| August 2012 \| December 2012 \| April 2013 \|	Friday, November 30, 2007 Jammed We were just wondering what would happen to this thinker if he tried out his theories in Bombay traffic. Or worse still, in Delhi! Seriously, though, he makes sense. Reminded us of our driving classes. Where on the first day, our instructor told us, in Hindi, drive as if every other driver was a ch***a. Which we have never found difficult to do. Labels: science Blogged for thee by @ 8:08 am \| 2 Comments \| Post a Comment \| Link Love? \| Saturday, November 17, 2007* Hitting the Gujarat and West Bengal governments where it hurts: in the wallet This is a proposal from a friend, Anjan Ray, left as a comment on a post at the Citizens for Peace blog. To my mind, there is only one way to deal with State-sponsored terrorism. And that is a groundswell of economic boycott activity. When the rule of the law morphs with willing connivance of the political leadership into the rule of the jungle, it is funded by government and party cadre revenues. These, in turn, come from economic acitivity within the State in large measure. As a first step, I have sold - and encourage you to sell - every share of any company you hold that has its headquarters in the 2 states under discussion. You can also sell mutual funds that have invested in such companies. I will be happy to provide a list and propose alternate investments if the idea appeals to all those who read this. Check the packaging of every product you buy, and choose a different option if the place of manufacture lies within these two states. Simple enough? Pass this on, and I guarantee you will be amazed at the impact. Should you wish to take Anjan up on his offer to provide the lists of companies HQed in those two states and the alternate investments, he can be reached at anjan DOT ray AT gmail DOT com. Blogged for thee by @ 10:12 pm \| 10 Comments \| Post a Comment \| Link Love? \| Why we're glad we work from home Go see The 'Winners' of the Wired News Saddest-Cubicle Contest. Top that? We can, actually. But we have a deadline. Maybe we'll come talk about it later. Blogged for thee by @ 4:42 am \| 0 Comments \| Post a Comment \| Link Love? \| Monday, November 12, 2007 Nandigram relief - an appeal This email just in via Arka Mukhopadhyay, Trina Nileena Banerjee and others. From: Anjum Katyal Sent: Monday, November 12, 2007 8:12 PM Subject: relief for Nandigram Hi, I just received an sms from Aparna Sen asking for relief materials for Nandigram victims (she specifically mentioned old clothes, children's clothes and rice) which can be sent to Mahasweta Devi's address, given below: c/o Mahasweta Devi W 2C 12/3 Phase 2, Golf Green, Kolkata 95. Ph: 24143033 We've been asked to forward the request to as many people as possible. Regards Anjum Do please pass the word. I had some misgivings about the old clothes, given past learnings, but sent it on nevertheless, since the folks who forwarded it are reliable sources. I got this reply from Amit Varma: It might be a well-meaning and genuine appeal, but in my experience, old clothes are generally the worst possible thing to give, because even poor people don't take hand-me-downs. When Dilip and I travelled in TN after the tsunami, the roadsides were littered with colorful heaps of old clothes nobody wanted. Both of us wrote about it extensively, Dilip also using the experience of previous trips through disaster-struck areas. Of course, in this instance this specific need might exist for some reason. But in general, it is a bad idea, and I thought it fair to share that. I wrote to Dilip D'souza as well: What's your take on this? I had my misgivings about this, given my learnings from the post-Tsunami scenario, not least because of your own postings on the matter. Nevertheless, I did send it on to several others. Amit Varma echoed my concerns thusly: [Amit's mail quoted here] If you're in agreement, you may want to post a point of view somewhere. Dilip said: Amit is right: from Orissa '99 to Kutch '01 to TN '04, nobody in those areas wants old clothes. It's true, this is a slightly different case -- it's a manmade calamity rather than a natural one. I think we should hold off sending old clothes until we get some more info from the trenches. Maybe we should reply to that appeal asking specifically about the old clothes. (Once we get a reply, I'll post that somewhere). I'll send a note. Money can be used to buy new clothes. Dilip, after this exchange, wrote to the originators of this appeal, stating his concerns, and asking for clarification. He also notes that the "phone number listed for Mahashweta Devi does not work." I had got some further queries from people I had forwarded this to, so I followed up as well. After an initial reply promising more information, Anjum Katyal sent us this: Friends, I am sending this out to anyone in my address book who I feel would need the information, and be in a position to circulate it further. Over the past few days I have received several emails and queries about where exactly relief material is being collected for Nandigram victims. It seems that when Mahasweta Devi's phone number was called, they were being told that no materials were being collected there. I managed to speak directly to Mahasweta di this morning and here is what she has asked me to circulate: 1. Her address IS being used as a collection and despatch centre for relief materials for Nandigram victims. For those who do not have it, it is: W 2C, 12/3 Phase 2, Golf Green, Kolkata 700095. Children's warm clothes, new (not secondhand) lungis and dhotis for men. sturdy saris in wearable condition, rice and dal are welcome. 2. If money is being donated, it should be sent to Account no. 24941, Canara Bank, Sealdah branch. 3. Mahasweta di has been focusing on working with a doctors' group at Nandigram. The contact person if anyone wishes to help with the health centre there in any way is Dr Devapriya Mallick, 9830510911. Thanks and regards Anjum Katyal Blogged for thee by @ 11:03 pm \| 0 Comments \| Post a Comment \| Link Love? \| Word-spotting We saw a couple of dandy neologisms the other day, and we just have to share. The beauty of these is that they don't require an explanation. Well, okay, with the first one, a portmanteau, you need to know that "shloka" is a Sanskrit word that means a verse, usually a prayer. (See the Wikipedia definition for more details.) Here you go. Shlokaneering Spotted on the Sarai Reader List, in a mail from S Fatima Wantrepreneur Spotted on Valleywag; ~~can't find the exact post or author, alas.~~ here (Thanks, Hanisha) Labels: neologisms Blogged for thee by @ 3:31 am \| 1 Comments \| Post a Comment \| Link Love? \|	Note: [*] = The site linked to requires registration. Zig's on Twitter Follow, all ye who must know more. Words We've all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually produce a masterpiece. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true. ~ Eyler Coates to be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best night and day to make you like everybody else means to fight the hardest battle any human being can fight and never stop fighting ~ e e cummings In three words i can sum up everything I've learned about life. It goes on. ~ Robert Frost Ring the bells that still can ring, Forget your perfect offering, There is a crack in everything; That's how the light gets in. ~ Leonard Cohen May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. ~ Edward Abbey, naturalist and author (1927-1989) I fell in love – that is the only expression I can think of – at once, and am still at the mercy of words, though sometimes now, knowing a little of their behavior very well, I think I can influence them slightly and have even learned to beat them now and then, which they appear to enjoy. ~ Dylan Thomas, Welsh poet, short-story writer, and playwright, "Poetic Manifesto" in the Texas Quarterly, Winter 1961 A writer is somebody for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people. ~Thomas Mann, novelist, Nobel laureate (1875-1955) The world in general doesn't know what to make of originality; it is startled out of its comfortable habits of thought, and its first reaction is one of anger. ~ W. Somerset Maugham, writer (1874-1965) In times of profound change, the learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists. ~ Al Rogers Assumptions are the termites of relationships. ~ Henry Winkler, actor (1945- ) Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds. ~ George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans), novelist (1819-1880) Either you think - or else others have to think for you and take power from you, pervert and discipline your natural tastes, civilize and sterilize you. ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald There is no remedy so easy as books, which if they do not give cheerfulness, at least restore quiet to the most troubled mind. ~ Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, author (1689-1762) Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching. ~ Satchel Paige Fake it till you make it. ~ (Heard on West Wing) This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. Follow this blog