I know this is really late in the day with FT.com about to come out with their ranking for 2011. Nevertheless, here is a summary that might help. This is an annual feature I do (at least in 2008 and 2009) for the same clueless reasons as mentioned in those posts. I still think that there is no reliable and good ranking of PhD programs out there. You would need to click on the image below or ruin your eyes!
I thank my friend Kartikeya for sharing this with me. This gorgeous video has all the longing and love, the magic and flow that is impossible to create with real people. I especially loved the video at 1:30 where only her hand on his chest is visible. Simply remarkable. Kartik, I owe you an ice-cream! I really wish I could dance thus with someone. Endlessly.
This site has some amazing portraits (mostly, unsafe for work or to be displayed to your parents, whichever is scarier). I am not sure whether all of them have been shot by the same person but the collections is simply superb. Enjoy the array! Once again, if you are uncomfortable with aesthetic nudity then you should not click on the picture above but simply enjoy this one that I have picked.
What I liked about this pic vis a vis the others was the sheer musculature. As in, look at her shoulder blades symmetrically placed on either side of her austere bun.. The slight line of her spine is barely visible against the black. Her hair shines just enough to create lines and curves of a different kind. And then those thighs, while perhaps not sensuous enough when uncoiled, are splendidly voluptuous when pressed against the calves. The dark outline of this meeting is beautifully curved near the knee and the triangle of the knee itself is simply perfect. A beautiful body. A beautiful picture.
Since it does seem to be happening, I will post details about it. Recently, Madness Mandali decided to organise a visual poetry project. 33 poets were chosen from around 150 and the artists were assigned to each poet. The artists and poets worked closely to come up with a poem-art combination. I would love to post the final piece my artist developed for my poem which was chosen but I will have to wait for a green signal from Madness Mandali. It seems that the book might be available for ordering sometime next week. Let's wait and see.
I think the selection of poems is pretty good (since I got to read everyone's). I would recommend this book because the combination of art and poetry is something I wanted to do a while ago but couldn't. Maybe I will eventually do it. :-)
Here is the project flyer that was put up a while ago:
Here is the poster I made for the publicity!
Here is the cover of the book:
I was appalled when I read about the Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510). Coming from a country which considers itself rational and prides itself in its "freedom" and "liberty" to do just about anything, the articles I read (here and here) only reminded me of 1984 and Atlas Shrugged. An excerpt:
Practices such as saving seeds for use the next year would be prohibited and
doing so could result in a federal offense, punishable by fines and prison
time. Some speculate that the practice of saving seeds is being banned in
order to give seed companies, such as Monsanto, a monopoly over the seed
industry.
Similar stuff seems to be happening in India too. Read this.
One Day on Earth Participant Trailer from One Day On Earth on Vimeo.
Enjoy this trailer and participate in the project. I am going to.
I am fortunate to be introduced to Sinu C who is an artist (the kinds that first comes to your mind when someone says artist). His works are amazing and beautiful ranging from the voluptuous styles of some artists to the boney large eyed ones of several modern artists to Manga-like works. His sheer range is a delight and I have been spending all morning going through his site. Please do visit his works here: http://sinustash.blogspot.com/ Here are some samples to form basis for what I call "variegated". (All the works below are taken from his site)
Aren't they beautiful!?
His is a blog worth reading (with a pinch of salt) and he has some very interesting points to make about the ongoing CWG debacle. Yours truly, as always, had some vishesh tippani to offer (useless but supposedly grand). Drop by there: http://www.deeshaa.org/2010/09/22/the-games-built-on-a-cesspool/
Personally, I think we should boycott the games and demand that the government repay all the money spent on this sham (in cash or kind).
Been so busy over the past couple of weeks, I can only manage a post like this (which is still good for those in Bangalore).
YLDC has a very interesting performance on 28th June 2009. It would be wise to keep your Sunday evening free for this.
So, why am I doing this? If you searched for PhD Management Ranking in Google, my blog shows up in the top few results. The others are not offering good data (except phds.org and even there the results don't seem to tally with FT.com). Hence, if there are people out there searching for this info and they seem to like what they found on the previous post (and hence the high ranking of that page) then they might find the 2009 thingy also useful. Alright, I seem to have lost track of what was it that compelled me to write this post!
(Click on the image below and don't strain your eyes)
I don't remember the last time I had a post like this but this blog floored me. I was looking for recipes of salads with potato, corn, carrot and onion and for some strange reason Google simply ignored my need for potatoes and corn in the search results (though they were shown as selected). I stumbled upon this post: http://disposableaardvarksinc.blogspot.com/2008/10/24-carrot-meals.html
Please take some time to read that post (whether you like food or not, whether you like cooking or not, whether ... btw, why on earth are you alive? ;-). That blog post was the delight of my day.
veganf is from MA, USA and is vegan. Her blog is amazing (though I am yet to understand the relevance of the blog title) in its creativity. I would expect someone to run out of steam after a while (given that you have only these many parameters to work with) but she brings enormous energy to her blog and indeed to her life.
Please do go through her blog (though I still don't get the blog title). I was very impressed that there really is someone who can be so interested and involved with her family and the family's well-being and health (hallelujah! There is still hope for mankind). Had you read the post, you would note how she was eager to cheer up the family at one of its really low periods. Very sincere and touching. Secondly, she doesn't cook with a let's-get-it-over-and-done-with attitude which is refreshing. Thirdly, she is vegan (which is a stricter cousin of vegetarian in my heirarchy of relationships with the world. I can't really get myself to give up honey and dairy products.) which sets her (consciously or otherwise) on the path to Conscious Living. Did you know that there was something called rice cheese? The meals she conjures for her children are not only varied but also colourful and shapely! Lucky kids! Lucky kitchen for what she carries is such a beautiful attitude. Oh yes, I will write a post about the most appropriate and constructive attitudes that should be brought to each room of one's home.
From her blog, I went and am still going to other blogs. Each one is beautiful in its own way.
Of the many initiatives that have come up recently in the wake of the Bombay attacks, I find this site doing a good job. They have a questionnaire which seeks to gather information and opinion. They also seem to have a plan of action which reassures that not everyone is clueless enough to just have candle parties and beach side congregations. Please go visit them and offer your opinion.
With this post, I am done with talking about terrorism and what can be done. I pray to God that I do not have to write about this anymore. Here are the posts that touch this topic:
