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Rohan D’Sa of Daily Humor sends a correspondent to interview Anbumani Ramadoss. Here’s what happens next:
(Comic reproduced with permission. If you enjoy such comics, also check out Fly, You Fools. Excellent stuff.)
Posted by Amit Varma on 07 November, 2008 in
Freedom |
India
That’s No. 44 in Time’s list of the best inventions of 2008. I love technology.
What will next year’s list contain? I’m betting on moisturizers for camels.
(Link via email from Ambuj.)
Posted by Amit Varma on 07 November, 2008 in
News |
Science and Technology
IANS reports from Lucknow:
With an estimated 3,000 monkeys at large in certain residential areas of the Uttar Pradesh capital, local authorities are chasing the animals on a war footing, particularly after a child lost his life to a marauding simian pack.
[...]
After chasing monkeys for nearly 48 hours, they had their first success on Tuesday afternoon when they trapped two monkeys.
So after “nearly 48 hours” of being on a “war footing”, our state authorities caught 2 out of 3000 monkeys. I’m just glad they didn’t shoot a couple of stray cats in an encounter.
It seems that the municipality had tried to catch monkeys earlier in a public-private partnership with “monkey catcher Harbans Singh”, who IANS quotes as saying:
Earlier I have trapped as many as about 500 monkeys, but my bill for more than 100 monkeys was pending for more than two years. So how do you expect me to do anything?
So now the government is doing the job itself. I can imagine Mayawati sending a minister to Lucknow to question the official monkey catchers on their progress. He walks into their office and asks, “Hello boys, how’s it going?” And then they jump on him with a net and pin him down. The local counselor asks, in horror, “What are you doing?” And they say, “We caught a third monkey! We caught a third monkey! Give advance Diwali bonus!”
Previous post on monkeys: 1, 2, 3, 4.
Posted by Amit Varma on 07 November, 2008 in
India |
News |
WTF
If anthropologists from 300 years later see the screenshot below, of the Times of India’s headlines right now, I wonder what conclusions they will draw:
Posted by Amit Varma on 07 November, 2008 in
India |
Journalism |
Media
... is now open.
Shiok is one of my favourite restaurants anywhere, and I wish Madhu Menon, my friend who runs it, had moved it to Bombay. Instead, he’s moved it to a new location in Bangalore—so if you live there, I hate you. Shiok serves South-East Asian food, and if you make the wise dining choice of going there sometime, ask for my favourite dish, Drunken Beef. (That’s just one minor masterpiece among many, of course.)
The old Shiok had acquired a cult status for its lounge extension, which served up some terrific cocktails. (Some of Bangalore best bartenders have been trained by Madhu.) This has now been expanded into a separate lounge named Moss. Check that out as well, and raise a toast to India Uncut if you go there after reading this post.
Here’s the address and phone number:
Shiok Far-eastern Cuisine
96, Amar Jyoti Layout
Koramangala Inner Ring Road
Domlur
Bangalore - 560 071
Phone: 6571 5555 / 6666 (changed from old number)
Previous posts on MadMan: 1, 2.
Posted by Amit Varma on 06 November, 2008 in
Personal
Here’s the WTF headline of the day:
Ganga to be declared a national river
I’m baffled about what purpose is served by declaring Ganga to be “a national river”. Protecting “the ancient river from pollution and other degradation” is a worthy cause, but why do they need to declare it a national river for that?
I now demand that India be declared our national country. Maybe then the government will look after it as well.
Posted by Amit Varma on 06 November, 2008 in
India |
News |
WTF
Accusing Hindi news channels of orchestrating an anti-Maharashtra campaign on the small screen, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday warned them of a “fitting response” to protect the image of the state.
Referring to NCP president Sharad Pawar’s reported refusal to speak to the media for distorted coverage, the Sena mouthpiece—Saamna—said, “Pawar has given a verbal lashing to these elements but this may not suffice while dealing with those bent on defaming Maharashtra.”
[...]
“Maharashtrians are being projected as an uncivilised and violent community on the basis of isolated incidents happened recently,” it said.
If anyone is distorting the news, it’s Saamna—nowhere in the media have Maharashtrians been projected as “an uncivilised and violent community”. Maharashtrians are thought of, to the extent that stereotypes hold, as peace-loving and hard-working people, and there is nothing in the media recently to counter that.
On the other hand, the media has faithfully reported what the Shiv Sena and the MNS has been up to recently, and those reports might well give the impression that those two parties are “uncivilised and violent”. That seems pretty accurate to me, and it has nothing to do with Maharashtrians, for these parties represent no more than a lunatic fringe.
Saamna’s editorial also says:
If this tirade against Maharashtra continues, we shall be forced to take concrete measures in the interest of the state. And when we do it, your so called freedom of expression could be a casualty.
Hmmm.
Posted by Amit Varma on 05 November, 2008 in
Freedom |
India |
News |
Politics |
WTF
Once it was a studio apartment; now it’s a 2 BHK.
It’s kind of sad that the more the real estate expands, the less attractive it becomes. Call it Varma’s Law of Middle Age.
Posted by Amit Varma on 05 November, 2008 in
Personal |
Small thoughts
Dear Times of India
In light of this post by Jyothsna of The Cooks Cottage, I’d like to inform you of a couple of things:
1. Everything on the internet is copyrighted by default. Blog posts and articles posted online cannot just be picked up and used without permission. This is especially true if your reporters put their own byline on it.
2. This applies to photos as well. (On that note, well done Twilight Fairy.)
I assume that your repeated infractions of copyright result from ignorance, not malice or apathy. Thus, it would be nice if you could educate all your staffers and editors on the points mentioned above.
And no, I am not implying that you are the only newspaper that treats the internet as a free resource. But you’re the biggest, and should lead the way by addressing this issue in your code of conduct. If you have one, that is.
Regards
Amit
*
More open letters here.
Posted by Amit Varma on 04 November, 2008 in
Journalism |
Media
A lot of effort went into putting up this Under Construction sign!
By Sanjeev Naik in The visual arts
A collection of good youtube videos, via Metafilter.
By Sanjeev Naik in Miscellaneous
Netherland is an Indian novel accidentally written by an Irishman
Read more...
Method acting meets controlled staginess in 3:10 to Yuma
Read more...
Sample clues
9 across: Van Morrison classic from Moondance (7)
6 down: Order beginning with ‘A’ (12)
Question by Amit Varma
This character’s creator described him as “insufferable”, and called him a “detestable, bombastic, tiresome, ego-centric little creep”. On August 6 1975, the New York Times carried his obituary, the only time it has thus honoured a fictional character. Who?
