The Golden 80s

AP big story reports that the literary magazine, The Strand Magazine , has published an unpublished story from 1956. The story is titled, A Room on the Garden Side. AP reports that the story is "...Steeped in talk of Marcel Proust, Victor Hugo, and Alexandre Dumas..." and is set in the writer's favourite city. Here's the link to the AP news story.

I like small blog posts. I think big posts, ranting on and on, are just fake. Synthetic and contrived. Created to impress. Soulless.Plastic. There is a song called Fake Plastic Trees from Radiohead. Poetry is rich, right? The experience the few words evokes is matchless. The neuronal networks it spawns are tremendous. I like to write brief blog posts.Small ones. If I have left anything unsaid or missed anything. you may fill it. 

Peter Bergen , CNN's national security analyst, asks some questions about the air strikes launched by US and its allies. In India, The Hindu asks what did the strikes achieve and what will be the response. Other Indian media seem to have been not aware of this development. There is a book club meeting today that will discuss books on World War I. I am sure someone will say this may be the beginning of another war. For the beleaguered Indians, what exactly is in store?

A blog post in Psychology Today says that the conservatives and the liberals reject evidence inconsistent with their ideologies. The report says because of asymmetrical ideological motivation "conservatives are more dispositionally distrustful of scientific evidence than are liberals. Also,  symmetrical ideological motivation  "...motivates people on the left and the right to reject evidence inconsistent with their ideologies..."

This page lists the new species of plants and animals discovered. The list is based on newspaper reports and will be updated till end of this month. Mesosticta davidattenboroughi - A type of damsel flies, shadowdamsels, named after Sir David Attenborough. Discovered from Burma. The hyperlink has a list of species named after David Attenborough. Hundreds of potentially new species of fungi discovered in the deep coral ecosystem from the University of Hawaii researchers. New species of Monkeyflower reported from Shetland, UK. Capinatator praetermissus, a new genus and species of arrow worms (Chaetognaths). New species of grass snake identified in England, says Guardian . Xibalbaonyx oviceps , a new species of giant sloth discovered from Mexico. Cycas pschannae and Cycas dharmrajii are two new Cycas species discovered from India, taking the total number of species in India to 14. New Species of Ocean Sunfish , the World’s Largest Bony Fish, discovered, says t...

Well known is the heavy metal Mercury's bioaccumulation in fishes and crabs. But a new study by University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, says that Mercury can affect the gene expression in algae found in aquatic ecosystems. The researchers studied the set of all RNA molecules that controls gene expression using molecular biology tools in a species of algae known as Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The study says: "...mercury disrupted the metabolism of algae, with numerous genes being deregulated, regardless of whether the concentrations were comparable with those set by European environmental standards." For more information, click here to read the study details.

How will you identify whether a news link, an image or video that you have received from your friend on Facebook or Whatsapp is fake or not? The SMELL test will help you check whether hundreds of messages circulating as news on various media is fake or not.  The SMELL test involves the following: S is for Source: Does  the news story mention the source of the news. From where did the reporter get the news. Have they quoted anyone? M is for Motivation : What exactly is the motivation? Is it to inform the reader or is it to mislead people? Is it to create a controversy, tarnish someone's image or to affirm our bias? E is for Evidence . What evidence is provided for supporting the news? Is there any contrary opinion provided or is there is any scope for a different angle? L is for Logic . Does the news look nonsensical? Is it just statement of facts or is there any editorializing? Are certain facts hyped to assert the writer's viewpoint?? L is for Left out...

A lazy Sunday prompted a quick review of the The Hindu newspaper's new look. But on page 19 of today's Bengaluru edition, there is a broken headline. Australia's spinners get a...? says the headline about the visiting Aussies tour against India A. The Chennai edition accessed online had a different headline for the same story: Shreyas leads India-A reply. It has to be assumed that someone tried to add a different headline based on the story's intro and forgot to adjust the space or recheck the proof.  The Sunday edition seems to have some interesting content to look at. While the body text font, Publico, looks OK, the Guardian Sans font used for the briefs looks too small for the eye. The brief news looks a tad too smaller compared to the body font on other stories. May be it is an individual opinion.  I will post a review of the content later. So far the weekend content does not look that impressive. 

Yeah, what caused the fire in the polluted Bellandur lake in #Bengaluru? Let us look at what the media reported: "...Fires are often sparked by deadly effluents in the lake, but this time, it was a pile of burning garbage that caused the scare." said Deccan Herald.  The Hindu newspaper quoted unnamed firemen and said " the fire originated in the thick layer of hyacinth in the lake". "...But they are clueless on what set the hyacinth on fire," added the newspaper. The New Indian Express in a report titled, Bellandur lake spews fire , named the reasons as methane from industrial waste, solid waste and rise in ambient temperature!  At least the editorial teams must have checked how and from where a gas called methane is created.  The Financial Express went ahead and made it even worse by saying that the entire city choked because of smoke. Is it? I was feeling better yesterday after a few days of allergic rhinitis , which is common in Bengal...

I am not a big fan of opinion polls, because I think I have the common sense and the knowledge to decide by myself whom I should vote for. I also don't want any marketing firm to tell me what is the 'mood' of the nation. My vote is purely my vote and I don't care what others think of the prevailing state of affairs in my country.  Let us look at the latest PR exercise and spin done by a media house that I trust the least. The following are the reasons why I distrust this sham poll and will kick it out of my window: Interviews with a few thousand invisible Indians are not a scientific methodology. So, can you publish the methodology of the survery, including how it was analysed and conclusions arrived at.  Why was the survey done only between Dec 30 and Jan 9. What prompted the agency to select this period? Why was this agency hired for the poll? What were the terms and conditions between the agency and the media house? What was the age profile of the responde...

Business Standard  is a pink paper published from India. This tweet raised my eyebrows, as the word, 'Braveheart' has been the Indian media's cliche for a rape victim. I searched the major dictionries and the Corpus of Contemporary American English. There was no word called Braveheart in any of the dictionaries. At least officially! And there is no reference in the Online Etymology Dictionary . " Braveheart  may now be used allusively to encapsulate a view of Scottish nationalism maintained against English oppression," says  Encyclopedia.com There was Mel Gibson's Braveheart in 1995. I remember the hype on the glossy mags and television. I did not watch that movie. To impose a non-existing word on the media audience is a crime. 

In the India of early 90s, there were no CDs, DVDs, or mp3s. There were only audio tapes. And one among them was a recorded version of Malmsteen's Rising Force album. I, along with a few of metal friends, was overawed by the sheer creativity and neo-classical wizardry of Malmsteen's lead solos. There were a few who hang up their guitars, admitting that they cannot ever play like Malmsteen. Malmsteen along with Joe Satriani and Steve Vai was too much to handle in those days. In fact we did not want Malmsteen to join other bands. We wanted him to keep on releasing one classic album after the other. David Chastain faded into memory because of Malmsteen. I was overjoyed when I read Malmsteen is making his first visit to India, that too for a not much hyped festival in the north eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh . Disappointed that I could not go to watch the master, or think about going, I thought a post on Malmsteen is due. Let me share one of my favourite Malmsteen songs...

Delhi, the capital of India, is reeling under an outbreak of Dengue and Chikungunya fever. The Delhi chief minister was in Bengaluru for a throat operation and his deputy is reportedly in Finland. All hell has broken loose and there is utter chaos. Another terrorist attack killed 18 soldiers in Uri, bringing Kashmir to the international limelight again. The Indian public wanted immediate retribution across the border, reported the media. The public wanted the government of India to do something, an eye for an eye, to avenge the lost lives. In both the cases, the public belonging to all classes exhorted the government to intervene or perform a proactive role. Whereas in other matters, we often hear arguments that advocate a lesser and lesser government role, regulation and control. While national security and territorial integrity would invite governmental intervention, the outcry for lack of government intervention in areas like health and education illustrate another point. Muc...

Heavy rainfall in India not associated with global warming It is common nowadays to link spells of rainfall and the collateral damage they create to climate change. It is not the rains, but the urban mayhem and disaster bred by human incompetence, so characteristic of India, that is hyped by the breaking news hungry media. A report published in The Hindu newspaper says that "... extreme rainfall events over India do not have significant association with land surface air temperature over India and sea surface temperature over central Indian Ocean. .." The report, quoting a paper in Scientific Reports , says that the widely held belief that climate change is responsible over extreme rainfall patterns in the tropics does not seem to be true. The authors recommend that "...the changing patterns of extremes over the Indian subcontinent need a scientific re-evaluation, which is possible due to availability of the unique long-term in-situ data."

India has once again lost to the Aussies in Australia. Chasing a big total of 309, the Aussies won the match in the last over with five wickets to spare. A bouncy WACA pitch usually does not favor the visiting teams. But an in-form Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli ensured that India reach a respectable total. After making 309, India would have expected to win this match, but the crucial let-off to Bailey by the umpire saw both Bailey and Smith growing in strength to clinch the match. And Steve Smith, as I had predicted in my previous post , went to win the man of the match trophy. It needs to be seen why umpires make such crucial errors and whether India's denial of selecting DRS has to do with such seemingly innocent umpiring errors. Bailey's dismissal could have changed the complexion of the match as the next ball was a hat-trick ball for the new-comer Sran. There are too many decisions going against India at crucial times and there seems to be no action against such umpiri...

The Grammarly blog has a few interesting tips on succeeding in business writing. They include the following: Keep it simple and short (KISS) - Mistakenly expanded as 'keep it simple and stupid" Consistent   Professionalism Review  If children aged three do not have Faecalibacterium, Lachnospira, Veillonella, and Rothia (Flvr) bacteria as their micro biome, there is a chance of them developing Asthma . This means that it is better to get exposed to these bacteria at a younger age so that your immune system has a better chance of not responding hyper actively to these microbes.  Every writer requires an editor , an editor who knows to edit. I agree.  As the liberal values were under attack in India, checked out what John Locke had to say about Liberalism. 

In hock is a phrase. Click to know its meaning. Sentence: British newspapers’ reputations suffer if they are seen as being in hock to their proprietors or advertisers. New Stateman

Everything and anything is social now. Companies and brands need the social media to generate leads and conversions. To achieve this, they will need a social media strategy to create brand loyalty and customer satisfaction, and increase revenues. Individuals need to list their websites and blogs high on Google page rankings and attract followers and likes and become thought leaders. The following are a few tips on how you can devise a social media strategy: Goals and objectives : Along with the company goals and objectives, you need to know for sure why you want to use the potential of social media. You need the KPIs to measure the success of your company’s social media strategy. You also need to know how you can achieve success on social media.  Demography : Users rule the social media and their behavior dictates whether your content can go viral or not. You need to know who your users are, where they come from, their habits, and which social media they use. You need to crea...

Some pop music songs remain in one’s head after you hear it first time. These rock or pop songs then replay automatically in your brain so that you want to listen to them again and again. Until another rocking song captures your attention. As a music buff, I have a long list of such rock songs. A long list. A cherished list spanning more than 20 years. First heard on radio when there were no CDS, internet, and mp3s. They include: Tom Sawyer – Rush Who Made Who – AC/DC Hysteria and Photograph – Def Leppard Sweet Child of Mine and Welcome to the Jungle – GNR Turbo – Judas Priest Neon Lights - Kraftwerk Such songs are always special. Special to that kid 20 years ago. When I heard the song Human Race by Three Days Grace , I remembered my cherished list of rock songs in a flash and this one belonged to that list. I liked this track from this Canadian rock band with its anthemic quality, good vocals and muted lead guitar solos. And they have a new vocalist in Matt Wals...

Last week, the media reported the alarming situation in Bengaluru city's Varthur lake as polluted foam from the lake spilled into the roads and surrounding areas. Similar reports appeared in the press about Bellandur lake pollution. The following are the 10 things you must know about phosphate pollution in lakes and streams: Phosphate along with nitrogen is a known naturally occurring ‘nutrient’. Phosphorus helps in the growth of plants like algae in aquatic ecosystems like lakes. Fish and other species feed on algae. Higher levels of phosphorus lead to faster growth of aquatic plants like algae. If you see weed like growth covering a large portion of a lake nearby, you can suspect nutrient pollution. Such growth of algae results in toxic algal blooms that are recognized by changes in the color of water. Faster plant growth in water bodies reduces the concentration of oxygen in these waters, and results in a condition called ‘Hypoxia’. Hypoxia results in the death of anim...