Simplicity

Links For A Sunday Morning

2012-01-22T00:26:00.001+05:30

I Was Kim Jong Il's Cook
True stories from the Dear Leader's onetime chef.
Selco's Harish Hande Wants To Spread The Light
Harish Hande says small-scale, stand-alone solar installations are a better way of reaching poor, remote villages. That's why he wants to seed and mentor local enterprises in this field.
Art of the Steal: On the Trail of World's Most Ingenious Thief
Gerald Blanchard could hack any bank, swipe any jewel. There was no security system he couldn't beat.
Counter-Terrorism Is Getting Complicated
The Boy Who Heard Too Much
He was a 14-year-old blind kid, angry and alone. Then he discovered that he possessed a strange and fearsome superpower - one that put him in the cross hairs of the FBI.
Some Like Her Hot
A profile of actor Michelle Williams.
Conversations in the Nude
Open's staff writer Mihir Srivastava likes to sketch nude portraits of regular people-men and women, strangers and friends, thin and fat. Some are disgusted when he asks them if they would pose for him. But, surprisingly, many agree. Why?
The Fast Life of Oscar Pistorius
The "fastest man on no legs" may be Olympic-bound.
Kerala to have 450 e-toilets by March
An e-toilet has an automated door opening, power flushing, automatic closet washing and sterilisation and automatic platform-cleaning mechanism -- all backed by SMS alerts to inform a control room about the status of water tank and biogas plant in the event of any errors or failures.
Good but the cost is prohibitive.
Chocolates You Customize From Modular Parts
Nice.
In Which I Fix My Girlfriend's Grandparents' WiFi and Am Hailed as a Conquering Hero.
:)
How do the Japanese multiply?
Interesting.
TOI film critic Nikhat Kazmi passes away
Hers was the first review I would post every week.
Lucky Ant
Every week we bring you a project from a business in your neighborhood that needs to be funded.
When you see something you like, you can pledge money. Once the business reaches their goal, they will use that money to complete their project. If they don't reach their goal, we'll just give you your money back.
You get rewards and perks from the business that you invested in like free stuff, behind the scenes access, and VIP treatment! You also get the satisfaction of having invested in your neighborhood!
Kickstarter for the neighbourhood.
Video - Marcos Baghdatis blows up and breaks 4 tennis racquets
Rage!
Rajinikanth's website does not need the internet
Webchutney has developed a microsite dedicated to superstar Rajinikanth for the Bollywood site desimartini.com that runs without the internet.
Amit Gupta found a bone marrow donor
Well done interweb!
Double Dish - Serve snacks, hide what's left behind
Nice.
Watch The "Powers Of Ten" Remade Using Food
Julian Assange: The Rolling Stone Interview
The Whisky Water Trick
Neat.
Notification Control
Access your email notification settings for services like Facebook, Twitter etc.
Use along with MyPermissions.
Alain de Botton: Atheism 2.0
What aspects of religion should atheists (respectfully) adopt? Alain de Botton suggests a "religion for atheists" -- call it Atheism 2.0 -- that incorporates religious forms and traditions to satisfy our human need for connection, ritual and transcendence.
Computer Games - Look Around You
:)
Pictures - Animals in the News
Om my God, who wrecked our yoga? The Dirty Picture of a 5 bn dollar industry
In response to the NYT article, How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body.
Make Your Cubicle a Better Place to Work
Designer kitchens
Carl Kleiner photographed the ingredients for Ikea's Homebaked is Best recipe book in 2010. His latest work for the brand's kitchenware revisits the same minimalist, if slightly obsessive, aesthetic...
People Are Awesome: The Coffee Shop Where Everyone Pays for Everyone Else's Drinks
Urination at War: Don't Be Mad at the Peeing; Be Mad at the Killing
Hell yes!
On the uproar about a video that appears to depict four Marines urinating onto the dead, bloodied bodies of Taliban fighters.
Save cricket from lynch mob experts; it needs help, not curses
At last somebody is talking sense.

Links For A Sunday Morning

2012-01-15T00:50:00.000+05:30

The Cult of C-Grade Movies
This is cinema that can make a masochist wince. So how come it is acquiring fans who know-or ought to know-good cinema from bad?
Kitchen Confidential
Having spent three months snooping around a restaurant, Sohini Chattopadhyay reveals why even great recipes sometimes don't make it to the menu, the food service industry's unforgiving hierarchy, and other secrets.
Ricky Gervais Would Like to Nonapologize
A profile of comedian Ricky Gervais.
The Girl Who Tried to Save the World
The life and death of Marla Ruzicka, a 28-year-old aid worker in Baghdad.
Movie Trailer - London Paris New York
Stars Ali Zafar and Aditi Rao Hydari. Directed by Anu Menon.
Look forward to seeing Aditi Rao in a full-fledged role.
Grooveshark Mobile
The subtext of all tweets: ...
The subtext of all tweets: "Modern life has dissatisfied me in some immeasurably small way."
Photos: Death for 50 Rupees
On drug addiction in India.
Heartbreaking.
More here - The Needle and the Damage Done
Death and decay in a Delhi neighbourhood where chemists serve as drug dealers.
Bukowski's "The Blue Bird," Beautifully Animated
The Blue Bird is one of my fave poems.
India records one year without polio cases
Finally!
Stem
Stem is designed to allow a cook to spray juice directly from a citrus fruit. No longer do you have to cut and squeeze your fruit to get the juice out like a common cook.
Interesting.
Every Presentation Ever
Haha!
John Steinbeck on Falling in Love: A 1958 Letter
Tubalr
Tubalr allows you to effortlessly listen to a band's or artist's top YouTube videos without all the clutter YouTube brings.
OyeBazaar
Poster and prints store in India.
Slim pickings. Hope it gets better.
SuperEmbeds: Viva La Revolucion
Advanced tools to customise video embeds.
How to Sync Your Bookmarks from Your Computer to Your Smartphone
The biggest art show in Bangalore is back
Chitra Santhe will be held on 29th Jan.
10 Artists Who Make Unreal Fakes Of Everyday Objects, From Cigarettes To Trash Bags
Pictures - Haiti: 2 Years After the Quake
Acrobatic Ballet
Jaw droppingly good. More here - Amazing Chinese Swan Lake Ballet
The Complete History Of Art References In The Simpsons
Seven novels make Man Asian Literary Prize's strongest shortlist
Penis tattoo gives guy permanent erection
Will IKEA Be a Hit in India?
Not if they take the Apple route.
Cut the Rope
Browser version of the popular game.
swissted
Vintage punk, hardcore, and indie rock show flyers redesigned into international typographic style posters.
Nice.
Video - Fotoshop by Adobe
Excellent.
Fuseproject Unwraps The Third-Gen One Laptop Per Child
The Joy of Books
After organizing our bookshelf almost a year ago, my wife and I decided to take it to the next level. We spent many sleepless nights moving, stacking, and animating books at Type bookstore in Toronto.
The Science Behind the Smile
An Interview with Daniel Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness.
Search, plus Your World
Google integrates Google+ personalisation into search.
Reddit, teach me some street smarts
I think of myself as a relatively smart person when it comes to things like math and science. The problem is that I'm not very 'street smart'. What advice do you have when it comes to things like identifying aggressive body language, situational awareness, identifying shady people, etc.. This kind information seems like it could come in handy one day.
My Guantanamo Nightmare
On Wednesday, America's detention camp at Guantanamo Bay will have been open for 10 years. For seven of them, I was held there without explanation or charge. During that time my daughters grew up without me. They were toddlers when I was imprisoned, and were never allowed to visit or speak to me by phone. Most of their letters were returned as "undeliverable," and the few that I received were so thoroughly and thoughtlessly censored that their messages of love and support were lost.
Aakash Ubislate 7: The Inside Story of India's $50 Computer Tablet from Datawind
10 Stubborn Body Myths That Just Won't Die, Debunked by Science
The Restart Page - Free unlimited rebooting experience from vintage operating systems
Q&A: Former President Kalam on Eradicating Poverty
US scraps 8-decade-old FBI definition of rape, to count more people as victims, including men
Critics reviews and ratings this week - Chaalis Chauraasi, Ghost, Sadda Adda and Tutiya Dil.

Links For A Sunday Morning

2012-01-08T00:39:00.000+05:30

How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body
On the Trail of an Intercontinental Killer
What Defines a Meme?
Our world is a place where information can behave like human genes and ideas can replicate, mutate and evolve.
Climate Change and the End of Australia
Want to know what global warming has in store for us? Just go to Australia, where rivers are drying up, reefs are dying, and fires and floods are ravaging the continent.
11 Indian Startups To watch In 2012
Behind Every Great Woman
As more women earn high-level corporate roles, more husbands are staying home, raising the kids, and changing the rules.
Comic - The life of a web designer
Thats my life.
BIGFlix
NetFlix like service from Reliance.
How to Find Out if Someone's Secretly Been Using Your Computer
Paul Sahre Creates Stunning Boxed Set Of Malcolm Gladwell's Classics
Nice.
Movie Trailers - Jodi Breakers
Starring R Madhavan, Bipasha Basu, Omi Vaidya and Dipannita Sharma. Directed by Ashwini Chaudhary.
Movie Trailer - Kahaani
Directed by Sujoy Ghosh and starring Vidya Balan, Parambrata Chattopadhyay and Nawazuddin Siddiqui.
Everything you need to know about buying a camera
Scientists have figured out how to make entire events disappear
Aakash Update: Oversold, Underperforming
A Flowchart for Choosing Your Religion
:)
Remake
Photo remakes of famous art.
Indian Revolution Born in Farce Ends in One
The Indian news media generate public interest through two distinct kinds of stories - the reporter's story and the editor's story. In 2005, when Parliament passed the Right to Information Act, which gave any Indian citizen access to most government documents, it was the result of a long and difficult process of influencing public opinion by reformers and persistent reporters. It was never a sexy story. Beat reporters kept pushing the many aspects of the idea of right to information, and the story slowly made its way from the inside pages to the front pages, from the periphery of television reportage to prime-time discussions. It was the reporter's story, and at the end of it, all the public was reasonably well informed about the act, why it was important and how they could use it.
The anti-corruption movement, on the other hand, was an editor's story from the very beginning...
Pictures - A View Inside Iran
Pictures - Welcome 2012! New Year's Around the World
Pictures - Winter Arrives
Pictures - Afghanistan: December 2011
Your next hairstyle
:)
Wall Ideas | Frames
Nice.
Dinner Etiquette 101
How Doctors Die
It's not a frequent topic of discussion, but doctors die, too. And they don't die like the rest of us. What's unusual about them is not how much treatment they get compared to most Americans, but how little. For all the time they spend fending off the deaths of others, they tend to be fairly serene when faced with death themselves. They know exactly what is going to happen, they know the choices, and they generally have access to any sort of medical care they could want. But they go gently.
Start 2012 By Taking 2 Minutes to Clean Your Apps Permissions
Eight lazy ways to lose weight
Introducing Bajaj Auto's Brand New...Car?
One analyst described it as an "upgraded rickshaw" and said it would pose no challenge to the Nano, which itself has attracted only a fraction of the buyers once anticipated because of production delays and safety concerns.
"After seeing the RE60, you realize what a phenomenal achievement the Nano is," said the analyst, Hormazd Sorabjee, editor of AutoCar India, a trade publication. "It is nowhere near a full-sized car which the Nano is. Clearly it's just not got the sophistication of the Nano."
The Joy of Quiet
By Pico Iyer.
Trying to escape the constant stream of too much information.
My Top Ten Top Ten Top Ten list
Trials and Errors: Why Science Is Failing Us
For too long, we've pretended that the old problem of causality can be cured by our shiny new knowledge. If only we devote more resources to research or dissect the system at a more fundamental level or search for ever more subtle correlations, we can discover how it all works. But a cause is not a fact, and it never will be; the things we can see will always be bracketed by what we cannot. And this is why, even when we know everything about everything, we'll still be telling stories about why it happened. It's mystery all the way down.
Critics reviews and ratings this week - Players.

Links For A Sunday Morning

2012-01-01T01:13:00.000+05:30

#Riot: Self-Organized, Hyper-Networked Revolts-Coming to a City Near You
The Fat Trap
In the battle to lose weight, and keep it off, our bodies are fighting against us.
The Nik Evans Paternity Case
How far would you go to help your son fulfill his dream of having a child? What if that son fell into a coma, from which you know he'll never emerge? Would you reach inside him to extract and preserve his legacy? If you were Nik Evans's mother, you would-and you'd start a paternity fight unlike any the world has ever seen.
Navigating Love and Autism
A young couple's story.
The late great Lucy Grealy on her face, tragedy, beauty and identity
The writer contemplates beauty and identity following reconstructive surgery.
Original Fictions and Romance
Tehelka mag special.
Best Hindi movies of 2011 - The Hindu's Sudhish Kamath, Raja Sen, Rajeev Masand 1, Rajeev Masand 2, Subhash K Jha and Mayank Shekhar.
The Best Movie Posters of 2011
Men Shop in Bulk
Women shop, men stockpile. That's one theory, anyway, of how men buy clothes differently from women. If women see shopping as an opportunity, a social or even therapeutic activity, the thinking goes, then men see it as a necessary evil, a moment to restock the supply closet.
12 Of The Best Products Of 2011 and 10 More Of The Best Products Of 2011
Also - 14 Of The Year's Best Ideas In Interface Design
The best tech writing of 2011
I'll tell you why movie revenue is dropping... - Roger Ebert
The 101 Most Useful Websites on the Internet
Socket to Them
Photos of outlets from around the world.
Subpug
A new feed reader.
Pictures - North Korea Mourns Kim Jong Il
Best films of 2011 - The New Yorker, The A.V. Club, Time Out, Roger Ebert, Telegraph and Chicago Tribune.
Also - Roger Ebert's The best documentaries of 2011
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Qawwal and Party
An hour long rendition of Yeh Jo Halka Halka Saroor Hai, Live at Wallace Lawler Centre, Birmingham,1983.
Bio-design
Where the materials of design are not plastics, wood, ceramics or glass, but rather living beings or living tissues.
Critics reviews and ratings this week - Kya Yahi Sach Hai.

Links For A Sunday Morning

2011-12-25T00:48:00.000+05:30

What did it feel like to be inside the World Trade Center at the time of the 9/11 attacks?
Answered on Quora.
The Perfect Holiday Netflix Queue by Woody Allen and More
Fight the seasonal blues with these movies hand-picked by Hollywood's finest. George Clooney names his favorite political thrillers; Tilda Swinton chooses tales of human kindness. So grab the hot cocoa and hit "play."
Discovering Autism: Unraveling an epidemic
Autism rates have increased twentyfold in a generation, stirring parents' deepest fears and prompting a search for answers. But what if the upsurge is not what it appears to be?
A Thing or Two About Twins
They have the same piercing eyes. The same color hair. One may be shy, while the other loves meeting new people. Discovering why identical twins differ-despite having the same DNA-could reveal a great deal about all of us.
9 most clutter-breaking Indian commercials of 2011
Prime-time Confessions
A new channel, a new reality show and a new concept. Sunaina Kumar explores how Life OK aims to be different.
Sex and advertising: Retail therapy
How Ernest Dichter, an acolyte of Sigmund Freud, revolutionised marketing.
Outlook's special food issue
How Smart Is This Bird? Let It Count the Ways
Scientists knew pigeons could count, but now they have evidence that the birds can perform abstract mathematical reasoning.
All I want for Christmas...
What certain members of the cricket community would like for Christmas.
:)
Hitler reacts to SOPA
This never gets old. Surprisingly well written though.
Movie Trailer - Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya
Directed by Mandeep Kumar. Starring Riteish Deshmukh, Genelia Desouza, Ompuri and Tinu Anand.
2011's Most Promising Technology Startups from India
Thumbsaver
Magnetic nail setter. Can help you position a nail into position without leaving your fingers exposed to a hammer. It features a powerful magnet to hold virtually any nail, staple or screw.
Dennis Storm and Valerio Zeno eat each other's cooked flesh on Netherlands TV show
No words.
Masanobu Sato, The World Champion of Masturbation
9 hours and 58 minutes!!! And does it fall off after that?
Time Out Food Awards
Android app - IntoNow
Identify live TV, or anything that's run on TV in the last five years, from your television, computer or mobile device. Like Shazam and SoundHound but for TV.
Does Airport Security Really Make Us Safer?
As you stand in endless lines this holiday season, here’s a comforting thought: all those security measures accomplish nothing, at enormous cost. That's the conclusion of Charles C. Mann, who put the T.S.A. to the test with the help of one of America's top security experts.
Best table tennis shots of 2011
Is a cure for the common cold on the way?
Todd Rider, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is developing an antiviral drug called Draco, which has proven successful against all 15 viruses to which it has been applied in lab trials with human tissue and mice.
Kickstarted: How one company is revolutionizing product development
A Reluctant Twitter Experiment
Early on, Twitter was a wonderful well of serendipity that I'd dip into frequently throughout the day. During these dips I'd see comments, exchanges and anecdotes from friends that allowed for seamlessly picking up conversations with people I'd often go weeks or months without seeing face to face. It was the realest reflection of my social network and it was magical.
Those days are long gone.
Twitter has evolved from my social network to my RSS reader on a cocktail of crack, speed and steriods. It's gnarly. And I can't keep up.
YouTube Rewind
A timeline of this year's most popular videos and events and to see what the world watched in 2011.
Pictures - Winners of the National Geographic Photo Contest 2011
Four Reasons Why Shashi Tharoor is Wrong about whether we should abandon our Westminster-style parliamentary system and move to an American-style presidential system instead.
The Unintended Effects of Driverless Cars
Official North Korean TV making the announcement of Kim Jong-il's death
Holy crap!
And - Pictures - Kim Jong Il, 1942-2011
Also - How genuine are the tears in North Korea?
Its amazing how differently he was perceived in his own country and outside. Or maybe it just shows the power of mental conditioning.
What a Dog's Tail Wags Really Mean: Some New Scientific Data
Five Ways to Improve Indian Health Care
From the 'High Level Expert Group Report' on 'Universal Health Coverage for India', Instituted by Planning Commission of India. Full report (pdf)
Where are they now? The Vancouver riot Kissing Couple
Critics reviews and ratings this week - Don 2.

Links For A Sunday Morning

2011-12-18T00:05:00.000+05:30

Could This Be The End Of Cancer?
It's a disease that kills millions a year and a slew of hoped-for miracle treatments have gone nowhere. Now scientists say vaccines could hold the key-not just to a cure but to wiping out cancer forever.
Extraditing Christopher Coke and a Massacre in Jamaica
After the United States demanded the extradition of a drug lord, a bloodletting ensued.
Twitter Tips: Everything You Wanted To Know But Were Afraid To Ask
Google Zeitgeist 2011
Your Life on Facebook, in Total Recall
Facebook brings back the past with new design.
2011 Rewind – 11 songs we played in non-stop loop
Homaro Cantu & Ben Roche: Cooking as alchemy
Homaro Cantu and Ben Roche come from Moto, a Chicago restaurant that plays with new ways to cook and eat food. But beyond the fun and flavor-tripping, there's a serious intent: Can we use new food technology for good?
IE to Start Automatic Upgrades across Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7
Today we are sharing our plan to automatically upgrade Windows customers to the latest version of Internet Explorer available for their PC.
That's good news.
Do Vitamins Actually Work?
Sports Illustrated launches Swimsuit Issue in India
Aakash Tablet
is now available.
So why aren't our MP's getting it.
How hot is pepper spray, anyway?
Video - Bearded Dragon playing Ant Crusher
Haha!
Joyce Carol Vincent: how could this young woman lie dead and undiscovered for almost three years?
On 25 January 2006, officials from a north London housing association repossessing a bedsit in Wood Green owing to rent arrears made a grim discovery. Lying on the sofa was the skeleton of a 38-year-old woman who had been dead for almost three years. In a corner of the room the television set was still on, tuned to BBC1, and a small pile of unopened Christmas presents lay on the floor. Washing up was heaped in the kitchen sink and a mountain of post lay behind the front door. Food in the refrigerator was marked with 2003 expiry dates. The dead woman's body was so badly decomposed it could only be identified by comparing dental records with an old holiday photograph of her smiling. Her name was revealed to be Joyce Carol Vincent.
Pictures - The Ashaninka, A Threatened Way of Life
The Ashaninka are one of the largest indigenous groups in South America, their ancestral homelands ranging from Brazil to Peru. Since colonial times, their existence has been difficult -- they have been enslaved, had their lands taken away or destroyed, and were caught up in the bloody internal conflict in Peru during the late 20th century. Today, a large communal reserve set aside for the Ashaninka is under threat by the proposed Pakitzapango dam, which would displace some 10,000 Ashaninka.
Rahul Dravid's speech at the Sir Donald Bradman Oration in Canberra:
Awkward Family Photos
Truly awkward.
Alter Ego: Portraits of Gamers Next to Their Avatars
Catch the fever: It'll help you fight off infection, evidence shows
With cold and flu season almost here, the next time you're sick, you may want to think twice before taking something for your fever. That's because scientists have found more evidence that elevated body temperature helps certain types of immune cells to work better.
The Indian Road Romeo
Photoblog of M.S. Gopal, winner of Best online photojournalist at the T.S. Satyan Memorial Awards for Photojournalism 2011. (via)
The Facebook Resisters
As Facebook aims at millions of users, some are content to sit out.
Comic - Plastic Bags
Stores have a competition to see who can spread your items across the most plastic shopping bags.
:)
Archaic Ranji points system needs a revamp
Meet the Internet's newest boy genius
Get your personal Chrome experience on all your devices
Google updates Chrome with multiple user profiles.
How to Share Google Chrome with Multiple People on the Same Computer Without Screwing Up Your Logins
New Tweets Per Second Record - 25,088 TPS - Set By Screening Of Japanese Movie "Castle in the Sky"
Pictures - China's Abandoned Wonderland
In Chenzhuang Village, China, about 20 miles northwest of central Beijing, the ruins of a partially built amusement park called Wonderland sit near a highway, surrounded by houses and fields of corn. Construction work at the park, which developers had promised would be "the largest amusement park in Asia," stopped around 1998 after disagreements with the local government and farmers over property prices.
Shock as retreat of Arctic sea ice releases deadly greenhouse gas
Dramatic and unprecedented plumes of methane – a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide – have been seen bubbling to the surface of the Arctic Ocean by scientists undertaking an extensive survey of the region.
Vintage Steve Jobs footage on Apple
Rare 22 minute presentation given by Steve Jobs in 1980. The video was gifted to Computer History Museum by Regis McKenna.
Why Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance rejected the UID Bill (embeded report)
The committee headed by Yashwant Sinha pointed out several anomalies in the existing bill and urged the government to "reconsider and review the UID scheme as also the proposals contained in the Bill in all its ramifications and bring forth a fresh legislation before Parliament." The committee also suggested that the data already collected by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) could be transferred to the National Population Register.
Scientists discover a gene linked to short sleep times
German scientists have found a gene variant that may be responsible for some people's short sleeping habits.
WordPress 3.3 "Sonny"
Available for download.
Sherlock returns in January
Hope we get it soon on BBC Entertainment in India.
Minimalist Tees
7 tees...one for each day of the week. Nice.
Could Eiffel Tower become world's largest tree?
An engineering firm has unveiled plans to turn the Eiffel Tower into a vast, tree-like monument by cladding its mesh iron body in over 600,000 plants.
Why sexualisation of female news anchors doesn't really work
...a study conducted by two Indiana University researchers recently found that women looking to break through the glass ceiling into senior broadcast news positions or more prominent on-camera roles in television may hinder themselves when they succumb to pressures to dress in a more sexually alluring manner.
International Development Ryan Gosling
Nice 'hey girl' meme.
Critics reviews and rating this week - Faraar, Jo Hum Chahein, Pappu Can't Dance Saala and With Love, Delhi.

Links For A Sunday Morning

2011-12-11T00:03:00.001+05:30

The interactive Periodic Table of Swearing
Fucking genius! I wish the swear words were a bit better. Way too British.
The Year in Movies
"Drive," "Bridesmaids," Chaos Cinema, movies that weren't movies, hilarious old-person makeup and the sundry objects that were hurled off the screen in 3-D.
The Generous Marriage
From tribesmen to billionaire philanthropists, the social value of generosity is already well known. But new research suggests it also matters much more intimately than we imagined, even down to our most personal relationships.
On the Limits of Self-Improvement
There's an entire micro-economy based on the pursuit of betterment. The author-58, full-figured, and ferocious in his consumption of cigarettes and scotch-agreed to test its limits, starting with the Executive De-Stress Treatment at a high-end spa.
Part I, Part II, Part III.
Guantánamo Diary
The youngest prisoner held at Guantánamo on his seven years in detention.
The Top 10 Everything of 2011
In 54 wide-ranging lists, TIME surveys the highs and lows, the good and the bad, of the past 12 months.
Voice Control, the End of the TV Remote?
Samsung, LG, and others are racing to bring voice control to the TV set.
A Brave Comeback For Bahadur?
After more than two decades, Abid Surti is reviving his comic book superhero through the silver screen.
Shall We Call The President?
Pending bills, disrupted sessions, no legislation. Maybe it's time for Parliament to go, says Shashi Tharoor.
The recent political shenanigans in New Delhi, notably the repeated paralysis of Parliament by slogan-shouting members violating (with impunity) every canon of legislative propriety, have confirmed once again what some of us have been arguing for years: that the parliamentary system we borrowed from the British has, in Indian conditions, outlived its utility. Has the time not come to raise anew the case — long consigned to the back burner - for a presidential system in India?
The dolphin jetpack that lets you swim like one
Wow!
Startup Radically Reinvents The Disposable Coffee Cup, Eliminating Plastic Lids
Love me tender?
There is a question I have been wanting to ask for a long time now, particularly of my filmmaker friends: Can you name ten tender love scenes from Hindi films made in the last five years?
Can you? Because I can't. I can't even think of even five. Of course, people's interpretation and judgment might differ, but when I say tender love scenes, the emphasis is not on love scenes. The emphasis is on tenderness. Which involves a measure of gentleness. A certain degree of empathy, even respect.
Google Currents: First Impressions Of Google's Flipboard Competitor
Mind-Boggling Digital Portrait Uses Video Clips As Paint
The Bechdel Test for Women in Movies
The Bechdel Test is a simple way to gauge the active presence of female characters in films and just how well rounded and complete those roles are. (via)
ZopNow
Online grocery store catering to South Bangalore.
India Asks Google, Facebook to Screen User Content
As usual Sibal shoots off before thinking.
Censorship
The Indian government's most recent attempt at censorship may be mired in controversy, but it is hardly unusual.
Did Kapil Sibal Inspire Sonia Gandhi Hackers?
India's Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal may have unwittingly inspired hackers to deface Sonia Gandhi's web profile Friday, the day the Congress party president turned 65.
Saul Bass Made the Title Sequence Into a Film Star
Famous Magazines' First Covers
Introducing Graphic India
Liquid Comics presents Graphic India, a web portal that will not only be home to several popular and brand new digital comics but also aims to be the premier place to discuss pop-culture from around the world.
Tom kaun? Junior artists paid Rs 150 to play screaming fans of Tom Cruise at airport!
Twitter's 2011 Year in review
Twitter: Yours to discover
Twitter rolling out new design.
The new, new Twitter: 10 big takeaways
New York Times's Reveal is the Mirror of the Future
Reveal, created by The NY Times Company Research & Development Lab, is a mirror platform that explores the roles information and media might play in our future routines.
A smart mirror like Reveal displays your heath stats, the weather and news headlines while you’re brushing your teeth.
Apple Submits Updated Campus 2 Plans to Cupertino, Reveals Stunning Renderings
More - Apple's New Campus Will Put On A Spectacular Show Every Year, Starting On Steve Jobs' Birthday
H&M Puts Real Model Heads On Fake Bodies
The bodies of most of the models H&M features on its website are computer-generated and "completely virtual," the company has admitted. H&M designs a body that can better display clothes made for humans than humans can, then "dresses" it by drawing on its clothes, and digitally pastes on the heads of real women in post-production.
Twine, A Tiny Gizmo That Holds The Internet's Future
Twine, a puck filled with sensors, detects anything from moisture to magnetism: Stick it anywhere, and it'll tweet status updates at your command. And there's no coding skills required.
Luis von Ahn: Massive-scale online collaboration
After re-purposing CAPTCHA so each human-typed response helps digitize books, Luis von Ahn wondered how else to use small contributions by many on the Internet for greater good. At TEDxCMU, he shares how his ambitious new project, Duolingo, will help millions learn a new language while translating the Web quickly and accurately -- all for free.
How to Choose the Perfect Mouse and Keyboard
Infographic - Wal-Mart Is HUGE
A Drug That Wakes the Near Dead
A surprising drug has brought a kind of consciousness to patients once considered vegetative - and changed the debate over pulling the plug.
Kolaveri Di featuring Sonu Nigam's son Nevaan Nigam
At least this is cute. (via Megha)
Pictures - Fukushima: Inside the Exclusion Zone
In June, National Geographic sent AP photographer David Guttenfelder into the exclusion zone around the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station, which was badly damaged in the earthquake and tsunami earlier this year. He captured images of communities that had become ghost towns, with pets and farm animals roaming the streets. Later, in November, Guttenfelder returned to photograph the crippled reactor facility itself as members of the media were allowed inside for the first time since the triple disaster last March.
Cartoon - Death by PowerPoint
Shocking News Cast
The Most Important News Story You Will Ever See!
Haha. Spot on from The Onion.
Critics reviews and ratings this week - Ladies VS Ricky Bahl, Lanka and Ye Stupid Pyar.

Links For A Sunday Morning

2011-12-04T00:05:00.001+05:30

My Bridge to Nowhere
I am finally going to meet the birth mother, at her request, at a mall in Paramus, N.J.
I have a lot of feelings about the meeting. I have had a lot of feelings for a long time now. After several years of trying to have a child, and after several more years of science trying on our behalf, my husband and I decided to adopt. Somehow we thought that once we let go of the genetic link, out of the ether, a child would appear. I have been wrong before, but never have I been quite this wrong.
How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran
How a failed 1979 sci-fi project called Lord of Light became the centerpiece of a C.I.A. rescue plan for six Americans captured during the storming of the U.S. embassy in Tehran.
First 3D Movie of Orgasm in the Female Brain
Frequent Soccer-Ball Headers Linked to Brain Injury
Jeff Bezos started with books. Now his company dominates the web in more ways than you think.
Comment Moderator, the Dirtiest Job on the Internet
Someone has to sanitize websites' comment boards. The toil and thick skins of online moderators.
More Military Dogs Show Signs of Combat Stress
At least 5 percent of the 650 dogs used by American combat forces in Iraq and Afghanistan are struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder.
10 Books That You Might Have Missed but Shouldn't
Some titles that might have flown under the radar.
The Sex Addiction Epidemic
It wrecks marriages, destroys careers, and saps self-worth. Yet Americans are being diagnosed as sex addicts in record numbers. Inside an epidemic.
Retail Therapy?
The UPA government's decision to allow FDI in the retail sector has spawned heated debates all over the country and rekindled fears of the East India Company.
In an economy more globalised than ever in history, why is it so easy to scare Indians by raising the bogey of the foreigner?
Kathryn Schulz: Don't regret regret
We're taught to try to live life without regret. But why? Using her own tattoo as an example, Kathryn Schulz makes a powerful and moving case for embracing our regrets.
Serpentine
A collection of images of the seductive and mythological snake, which will be published as a book in Fall 2012.
The flowers one is neat too.
Why does entering a room make you forget things?
Have you ever strolled into the kitchen to get something only to immediately forget why you're even there? You're not alone. Psychologists from the University of Notre Dame have discovered a link between walking through doorways and lapses in our short-term memory.
BigRock.com commercial - Savitri Bai
Nice.
Comic - Your opinion is very important to us
The Secret of Life from Steve Jobs in 46 Seconds
The Astonishing Visual Lists of Autistic Savant Gregory Blackstock
From owls to lighthouses, or what a sixty-something retired pot washer can teach us about art and love.
Louis C.K. Hates Twitter
He is right. We are a generation who is more keen on documenting moments rather than experiencing them.
Movie Trailer - Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu
Starring Imran Khan and Kareena Kapoor. Directed by Shakun Batra.
Japanese Engineers Create Extremely Lifelike Robot Girlfriend
Like one of the commenters says...doesn't answer one obvious question.
Grandmother Tips
Just a few tips that my grandmother should have given me, but unfortunately never did.
Nice.
What Kind of Fish are You
People who look like fish or the other way around.
The 5 Best Toys of All Time
Bangaloreans gear up for Jagriti Theatre's first season
Wish it was closer to my place.
Annie Murphy Paul: What we learn before we're born
Pop quiz: When does learning begin? Answer: Before we are born. Science writer Annie Murphy Paul talks through new research that shows how much we learn in the womb -- from the lilt of our native language to our soon-to-be-favorite foods.
The next stage in our redesign
Introducing the new Google bar.
Little Printer
Little Printer lives in your home, bringing you news, puzzles and gossip from friends. Use your smartphone to set up subscriptions and Little Printer will gather them together to create a timely, beautiful mini-newspaper.
Infographic - Why Running Shoes Do More Harm than Good
Scientists Brace for Media Storm Around Controversial Flu Studies
Locked up in the bowels of the medical faculty building here and accessible to only a handful of scientists lies a man-made flu virus that could change world history if it were ever set free.
The virus is an H5N1 avian influenza strain that has been genetically altered and is now easily transmissible between ferrets, the animals that most closely mimic the human response to flu. Scientists believe it's likely that the pathogen, if it emerged in nature or were released, would trigger an influenza pandemic, quite possibly with many millions of deaths.
In a 17th floor office in the same building, virologist Ron Fouchier of Erasmus Medical Center calmly explains why his team created what he says is "probably one of the most dangerous viruses you can make"-and why he wants to publish a paper describing how they did it.
Most Shared Articles on Facebook in 2011
Pictures - Where in the World? A Google Earth Puzzle
Striking images via Google Earth.
Flash Mob Hits Mumbai
A flash mob of around 200 dancing to Rang De Basanti at CST.
Also - Meet Shonan Kothari, the Woman Behind Mumbai's Flash Mob
Zynga Builds Its CastleVille Walls, As Its Facebook Traffic Flattens And Falls
Also - In Some Virtual Worlds, the Thrill Is Gone
Zynga and other social game developers search for the next FarmVille-scale hit.
Comic - Privacy
:)
Aadhar, A Few Basic Issues
The much-feted UID project acquires a few enemies who take to attacking its methods.
All the Single Ladies
Recent years have seen an explosion of male joblessness and a steep decline in men's life prospects that have disrupted the "romantic market" in ways that narrow a marriage-minded woman's options: increasingly, her choice is between deadbeats (whose numbers are rising) and playboys (whose power is growing). But this strange state of affairs also presents an opportunity: as the economy evolves, it's time to embrace new ideas about romance and family—and to acknowledge the end of "traditional" marriage as society's highest ideal.
The man who's been photographed with 2,000 celebrities
Over 23 years Richard Simpkin has collared more than 2,000 celebrities to have his picture taken with them. Why, asks Tim Dowling.
Critics reviews and ratings this week - I Am Singh, Land Gold Women and The Dirty Picture.

Links For A Sunday Morning

2011-11-27T00:05:00.001+05:30

10 Books to Gift the Geeky Creative in Your Life
Palantir, the War on Terror's Secret Weapon
A Silicon Valley startup that collates threats has quietly become indispensable to the U.S. intelligence community.
Loony directors, phenomenal flops: Longform.org's guide to the craziest movie-making stories of all time.
Five amazing magazine stories about the film industry, from loony directors to phenomenal flops.
The Machine That Makes You Musical
Is everyone musical? One sonic pioneer thinks so. And he has the technology to prove it.
My Life as a White Supremacist
An FBI mole speaks for the first time about life in the seedy world of right-wing terror.
10 Bodily Functions That Continue After Death
Teacher, Leave Those Kids Alone
South Korean kids study day and night, which helps explain their world-beating test scores. Now the government wants them to go to bed early.
The Social Network 2 – If Zuckerberg Deleted Facebook Parody Trailer
:)
Jack draws anything
Welcome to my website. I am drawing *anything* to raise funds for the Sick Kids, just ask me. My brother goes in a lot. My name is JACK and I am 6 years old.
Video: "Warriors of Goja" on India Talent Show Goes Viral
I am surprised they let them go ahead with it.
The Sketchbook of Susan Kare, the Artist Who Gave Computing a Human Face
Susan Kare designed the original icons for the Mac.
Video - The History of the English in Ten Minutes
Most excellent.
International Year of Chemistry posters
Nice.
The American Behind India's 9/11-And How U.S. Botched Chances to Stop Him
Officials say David Coleman Headley slipped through the cracks despite repeated warnings to U.S. law enforcement. Indian authorities think the U.S. knew more than it has revealed about the ex-informant's activities before the 2008 siege that killed 166 people, including six U.S. citizens.
An Indian Chef Questions Whether 'Indian' Food Exists
There is no such thing as "Indian food." It's a fabrication of the West. Each state has its own regional cuisines: Maharashtra, Gujarat, Bengal. And then even the states have subcategories - there's coastal Maharashtrian, inland Maharashtrian, Muslim-influenced. Sadly, what most of the world knows today as Indian food is bastardized, trivialized - tandoori chicken, black dal, everything deep-fried. And it's just a shame that many Americans will only experience it in some buffet line in New Jersey.
Plus everything is overspiced and overcooked. I understand the history of why. In a hot country with poor refrigeration and sanitation, it was a safeguard against spoilage and contamination - but come on, we have refrigeration now. Plus, to me, cuisine should be allowed to change and grow. I don't see that being done successfully in India.
Comic - Porn Folder
:)
Pictures - Nearing the End of the Iraq War
A fall spring-clean - 1, 2, 3.
Google shutters a bunch of its products.
Artist Terry Border Imagines Everyday Objects in Romantic and Risque Scenarios
:)
Google Android 4.0: There's not enough to love about Google's confusing, overstuffed mobile operating system.
Design of the 60's and 70's for Nerds - a photoset
Money Chart
A chart of money, all of it, where it is, and what it can do.
Leonardo's To-Do List
In a book soon to be published, historian Toby Lester says Leonardo da Vinci used to travel with a small notebook hanging from his belt, and "whenever something caught his eye," he would make a note, or begin "sketching furiously."
Audio-Blogging From India's Maoist Heartland
Why did the 'happy' couple kill themselves?
They were young, intelligent, rich and well travelled. They were also extremely satisfied with their lives. So, they decided to end it, leaving behind many questions that might never be answered...
Their suicide note - "We have lived a very eventful and happy life together," they had written. "We've travelled the world, lived in different countries, made more money than we ever thought possible, and enjoyed spending as much of it as we could on things that brought us joy and satisfaction. We believe in the philosophy that our life belongs to us and only us, and we have the right to choose to die as much as we have the right to live. We leave behind no debts or liabilities."
The revolution man
What makes Chetan Bhagat, India's only author selling in millions, such a publishing phenomenon?
Last American Who Knew What The Fuck He Was Doing Dies
Steve Jobs, the visionary co-founder of Apple Computers and the only American in the country who had any clue what the fuck he was doing, died Wednesday at the age of 56. "We haven't just lost a great innovator, leader, and businessman, we've literally lost the only person in this country who actually had his shit together and knew what the hell was going on," a statement from President Barack Obama read...
Missed this one from The Onion.
Critics reviews and ratings this week - Dam 999 and Desi Boyz.

Links For A Sunday Morning

2011-11-20T00:10:00.001+05:30

Song - Why This Kolaveri Di
This one has been doing the rounds.
From the movie '3'. Written and sung by Dhanush and composed by Anirudh.
Getting Steve Jobs Wrong
Response to Gladwell's 'Steve Jobs was a tweaker' article.
The Rumors Are True. I Am Leaving TechCrunch.
Thats like the 4th exit. I need to find another go-to tech blog.
Pictures - A Trip to Bhutan
Teaser Trailer - Ek Deewana Tha
Directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon. Starring Prateik and Amy Jackson. Music by A.R. Rahman.
Are We All Ugly Indians?
The group, known as The Ugly Indian, describes itself as a "faceless, leaderless" volunteer organization. Formed a year ago to clean areas around Brigade and MG roads in Bangalore, it uses Facebook and its own website to attract new members and has organized 104 cleanup drives so far.
Airtel reveals iPhone 4S India prices; Rs 44,500 for 16GB, Rs 50,900 for 32 GB
Apple still can't get its pricing right in India.
What Women Want: Porn and the Frontier of Female Sexuality
A profile of a breakout male porn star.
This Is My Brain on Chantix
I'd heard it was the most effective stop-smoking drug yet. So I took it. Then those reports of suicidal ideation began washing in.
Lab mice: Are they limiting our understanding of human disease?
How the medical research industry came to almost exclusively use rodents for testing-and the danger that reliance now poses to human health.
Teaching Good Sex
On Al Vernacchio, the best sex ed teacher in America.
India's Burning Blindspot
A long time ago, India set out to eradicate dowry. Have we failed so badly that we've stopped trying?
Bustin Jieber: The 12-Year-Old App Developer Who Taught Himself To Code Goes Viral [Video]
7 Malegaon blasts accused freed after 5 yrs
Victimisation is what its called. (I know bail doesn't equal innocence but...)
n0tice
A community notice board from the Guardian.
Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner on His Beef With Alex Trebek, and How Mad Men Will End
Alexander Tsiaras: Conception to birth -- visualized
Image-maker Alexander Tsiaras shares a powerful medical visualization, showing human development from conception to birth and beyond.
10 classic Indianisms: 'Doing the needful' and more
(via Megha)
'If Manipur had 12 MPs instead of two, we'd have been wooed'
Must feel awful to be an integral part of the country and still be treated as outsiders.
Twitter, the conversation-enabler? Actually, most news orgs use the service as a glorified RSS feed
Most people are using it as a glorified RSS feed and a broadcast medium. Lots of shouting, no listening.
Critics reviews and ratings this week - Na Jaane Kabse... and Shakal Pe Mat Ja.

Links For A Sunday Morning

2011-11-13T00:16:00.001+05:30

Hard-Core Porn Obsession
Threesomes, fishnets, dirty talk—those are the vanilla sorts of fantasies we admit to. Then there's the truly filthy porn we actually watch when we're alone. Shalom Auslander discovers that everyone has his guiltiest pleasure.
Unfrozen
On the autopsy of a 5,000-year-old murder victim.
Eddie Murphy: The Rolling Stone Interview
Mercenary
If you learned that the man in this photo -- a professional assassin -- was the head of security at one of our nation's most vulnerable nuclear facilities, would it trouble you? Or would it sound like one hell of a story?
What Can the DNA of Ashkenazi Jews Tell Us About Living Longer?
Irving Kahn is about to celebrate his 106th birthday. He still goes to work every day. Scientists are studying him and several hundred other Ashkenazim to find out what keeps them going. And going. And going. The secrets of the alter kockers.
Gilad Shalit and the Rising Price of an Israeli Life
Understanding the exchange of a single Israeli prisoner for 1,027 Palestinians.
Social Power of The Republic of India
Facebook and Twitter have helped us harness the true power of our opinions. Ignored customers now have a platform to air their grievances and take on big companies.
Pictures - National Geographic Photo Contest 2011
Pictures - The Hajj and Eid al-Adha 2011
The Man Who Makes Money Publishing Your Nude Pics
The word "hated" adorns Hunter Moore's social-media bios. He has drawn the ire of the music industry, young people from all over the United States (as well as Canada, England and Australia), of privacy defenders—and, well, of many, many other people who happen to come across his website, Is Anyone Up?, and find it appalling. The death threats have not fazed him. Nor has the spectre of lawsuits; while many have been threatened, to Moore's knowledge, not one has been filed.
Video - Break ton Neck
Wow..some moves those...
Turn Off Your Gag Reflex by Squeezing Your Left Thumb
One Jar To Rule Them All (Thanks To Clever, Modular Design)
Movie Trailer - Ladies vs Ricky Bahl
Starring Ranveer Singh, Anushka Sharma, Dipannita Sharma, Aditi Sharma and Parineeti Chopra. Directed by Maneesh Sharma.
Dirty Hands
Rajiv Subba (Chandigarh Art College, NID) and Mamta Gautam (SPA, NID) got together to experiment and delve into something that had no set precedents in India. They formed Dirty Hands, a company that now makes hyper-realistic silicon mannequins and prosthetics for films and works at recreating what we experience.
Good work.
Ten top Indian rail journeys
Dyson Award Winner: A Gadget Draws Water From Air, Inspired By A Beetle
Keep Sensitive Info Out of Your Chat Logs and Email
How to share a password or some other sensitive piece of information over IM or email.
Google+ Pages Now Open For Businesses, Brands, Places & More
Google+ had a chance to compete with Facebook. Not anymore.
The search behemoth might not realize it yet, but its chance to compete with Facebook has come and gone.
26.2 Miles, 45 Sketches
My attempt at live-illustrating the New York City Marathon.
Cartoon - 'Pee' the change you want to see in the world
:)
Cartoon - How We Watch TV
:)
How To Be Alone
Nice video.
The Tweaker
The real genius of Steve Jobs. By Malcolm Gladwell.
Were Malegaon blasts executed by hired Muslim youth?
Latest investigations into the Malegaon 2006 blasts point to certain leads which suggest that while the blasts may have been the brainchild of a group of right-wing Hindu extremists, its execution was done by hired Muslim boys who apparently did it for the money.
Thats new.
Sugar, and candy, do not make kids hyper
This has been known for some time now but TV/movies/novels keep propagating the myth.
Putting Growth In Its Place
Is India doing marvellously well, or is it failing terribly? By Jean Dreze and Amartya Sen.
Critics reviews and ratings this week - Rockstar.

Links For A Sunday Morning

2011-11-06T00:20:00.001+05:30

Thirteen movie poster trends that are here to stay and what they say about their movies
Is Obama Toast? Handicapping the 2012 Election
The killer calculus of the president's re-election chances.
Khan Academy Gets $5 Million to Expand Faculty & Platform & to Build a Physical School
The Dangerous Politics of Internet Humor in China
In China, it's a form of defiance – and the government is not amused.
Inside Groupon: The Truth About The World's Most Controversial Company
The Future Passed: Jetpack edition
The age of jetpacks that never was.
Wired's Lab-Tested, Muppet-Vetted Formulas for Smartifying Your Life
The New Science Behind Your Spending Addiction
New science unveils how your brain is hard-wired when it comes to spending—and how you can reboot it.
The Once and Future Way to Run
Rediscovering the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other.
Kardashian Calculator
A "Kardashian" is a unit of measure representing 72 days of marriage. See how many Kardashians you have been married for.
Blogging is hard, even for Anna -
Anna Hazare's blogger 'left shattered' by Team Anna's treatment
Ex-Anna blogger releases letter to prove his point
Anna Hazare to shut his blog after controversy
10 More Stubborn Food Myths That Just Won’t Die, Debunked by Science
Murder by Text
Kim Proctor was no different than your ordinary teenage girl. Easily hurt by insults and just as easily swayed by compliments, she dwelled in an angsty purgatory familiar to most adolescents. But when Kim went from average kid to missing girl, her storyline took a tragic turn. David Kushner reports on the teenage nightmare that British Columbia police uncovered when they peeked behind the digital curtains of Kim’s supposed friends, Kruse Wellwood and Cameron Moffat.
SavePaste
SavePaste is a pretty interesting concept for a better toothpaste tube.
How Le Cirque Adjusts to Indian Tastes
Le Cirque opened a New Delhi outpost in August, but the famed New York restaurant made some modifications when it went overseas.
Ra.One Is Like Tron With Dance Numbers and Crotch Punches
Wired review of Ra.One. Always interesting to read a foreigner's perspective.
The Sound of Football makes soccer more accessible to the visually impaired
A project called "The Sound of Football" is using a combination of camera tracking, iPhones, and most importantly sound to turn football (or soccer, as we Americans call it) into an auditory experience. The setup begins with a set of cameras pointing at the field hooked up to a computer that can to track the ball and all the players in three dimensional space. That information is then processed and relayed in real time to the players on the field, each of whom has an iPhone strapped to his or her head. The iPhone uses surround sound to relay the position of the players, the ball, and the goal via different audio signals and also uses the built-in compass to help with relative positioning for the sounds.
Condo at the End of the World
A new breed of survivalist is wealthy, educated, and plans to ride out 2012 in style.
Wikipedia is a Mess, Wikipedians Say: 1 in 20 Articles Bare of References
Wikipedia has fallen behind on an enormous backlog of editorial work. This has led to hundreds of thousands of articles that don't meet the community's standards for quality remaining unfinished on the site and creating a "monster under the rug" for the world's largest encyclopedia.
Pictures - Afghanistan: October 2011
More weather disasters ahead, climate experts report
But nobody seems to be talking about climate change anymore.
India Get Your Business Online
Google offering Indian businesses free hosting and domain for a year.
Asha Bhonsle's Rarest Gems
Introducing Twitter Stories
Today we’re launching the first in a series of Twitter stories. Read about a single Tweet that helped save a bookstore from going out of business; an athlete who took a hundred of his followers out to a crab dinner; and, Japanese fishermen who use Twitter to sell their catch before returning to shore. Each story reminds us of the humanity behind Tweets that make the world smaller.
Tegels
Tiles is an animation made of a large photographic collection of street tiles. By viewing this collection of photographs as a sequence, different movements and processes become visible within the frame of the tiles. Both music and animation are trying to find a balance between a thought-out arrangement and an arrangement of 'chance' deriving directly from the tiles.
Welcome to The Verge
From the former team at Engadget.
Delhi blast: NIA finishes blast jigsaw, except for the bombers
New in Reader: a fresh design, and Google sharing
Also - Reader redesign: Terrible decision, or worst decision?
Pictures - Thailand Floods Pass Their Peak
Steve Jobs's Genius
By Walter Isaacson.
A Sister's Eulogy for Steve Jobs
Before embarking, he'd looked at his sister Patty, then for a long time at his children, then at his life's partner, Laurene, and then over their shoulders past them.
Steve's final words were:
OH WOW. OH WOW. OH WOW.
Angry Birds in the Wild
Artist Mohamed Raoof photo-manipulated images to create what the video game birds of Angry Birds might really look like in the wild.
Critics reviews and ratings this week - Loot, Miley Naa Miley Hum and Tension Doooor.

Links For A Sunday Morning

2011-10-30T00:19:00.000+05:30

Alaska's Billion Dollar Mountain
The story of one man who used a little persuasion-and a lot of luck-to win the rights to millions of tons of rare earths.
My Experiments with the Emu
This bird from Down Under has started making a special appearance on Indian restaurant menus.
Just Another India Story
The encephalitis outbreak in Uttar Pradesh has killed over 300 children in the past four months. Yet this does not shock a country where life is still cheap.
The Sex & Tech Issue of Tehelka
Delhi's Darwinian Rules of the Road
Probably true of most major Indian cities.
Video - Time lapse of brocolli growing
WordPress Post Formats Admin UI
Having been waiting for something like this for a long time now. Hope it gets incorporated in to WordPress core. And once it does, it will be the death of Tumblr.
Robotic skeleton helps paraplegic walk
Pictures - Bangkok Underwater
Pictures - 2011 Pan American Games
Pictures - Population Seven Billion
Celebrating Steve
Watch the special event, filmed live at the Apple campus in Cupertino, California.
The truth about Steve Jobs' number plate
The stories about the complete lack of a number plate on Steve Job's car are many and varied. But we can finally reveal the truth.
The Apple-fication of everything
One of the best things about Steve Jobs' return to Apple - which will live on and benefit society long after Jobs’ death — is how he basically spent the last 14 years teaching thousands of Apple employees to have incredibly high standards and to build amazing products.
Perhaps more importantly, through Apple's products, Steve also taught hundreds of millions of consumers to expect and demand amazing things.
Speaking of which - Brave New Thermostat: How the iPod's Creator Is Making Home Heating Sexy
Money Faces
A mashup of self-portrait + lower half of a bill.
The Dark Side Of Biometrics: 9 Million Israelis' Hacked Info Hits The Web
Biometrics are the next big thing in government and homeland security. But the recent theft of the personal information of 9 million Israelis living and dead--including the birth parents of adoptees and sensitive health information--could have big ramifications for foreign governments.
Swedish password hacking scandal widens
A password hacking scandal which on Tuesday exposed login details of 90,000 Swedes, including several journalists and celebrities, has widened to include 180,000 users on nearly 60 websites.
Lessons for India's UID project.
Use your Google profile with your Blogger blogs
I suppose they will eventually replace all Blogger profiles with Google+ ones.
Obama for America
Obama on Tumblr.
Cartoon - Buh-KAAAAWWW!
Angry Birds in bed.
A Racy E-Dress That Helps You Flirt
A sensor-enabled cocktail dress that flashes a whole lot of skin the more excited you get.
So say you meet some guy who sends your heart aflutter. The dress responds to your elevated pulse by growing transparent around the (already plenty skimpy) plunging neckline. Conversely, if he's such a snooze that you're about two seconds away from flat-lining, the dress stays opaque, sending an instant "no, thanks!"
Critics reviews and ratings this week - Damadamm!, Ra.One and Tell Me O Kkhuda.

Links For A Sunday Morning

2011-10-23T00:15:00.000+05:30

'Steve Jobs' by Walter Isaacson - Review - NYTimes.com
The Day Treva Throneberry Disappeared
A high school student disappears, only to turn up more than 10 years later - posing as a high school student.
Hacked!
An inside look at the unsettling perils of cloud computing—and how to avoid them.
A Death-Row Love Story
She was a landscape architect in New York. He was a death-row inmate in Arkansas. This is how they fell in love.
Highway Robbery
There is corruption beyond the 2G scam. India's highways and road construction projects are mired in multi-million financial scandals. Ashish Khetan exposes the builder-official nexus that plagues our roads.
Why I Left India (Again)
OMGWTF: A guide to Internet acronyms
Picures - 21st-Century China
Revealed – the capitalist network that runs the world
As protests against financial power sweep the world this week, science may have confirmed the protesters' worst fears. An analysis of the relationships between 43,000 transnational corporations has identified a relatively small group of companies, mainly banks, with disproportionate power over the global economy.
Couple Married 72 Years Dies Holding Hands
Gordon died at 3:38 p.m. holding hands with his wife as the family they built surrounded them.
"It was really strange, they were holding hands, and dad stopped breathing but I couldn't figure out what was going on because the heart monitor was still going," said Dennis Yeager. "But we were like, he isn't breathing. How does he still have a heart beat? The nurse checked and said that's because they were holding hands and it's going through them. Her heart was beating through him and picking it up."
"They were still getting her heartbeat through him," said Donna Sheets.
At 4:38 p.m., exactly one hour after Gordon died, Norma passed too.
Jumbo King vada pav launches first outlet in Bangalore
Some competition for Goli Vada Pav.
Video - 5 days of Facebook
Nice.
Two Upper Class Indians Try Living On 100 Rupees A Day
I, Steve: Steve Jobs in His Own Words
I like the one on creativity:
Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That's because they were able to connect experiences they've had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they've had more experiences or they have thought more about their experiences than other people. "Unfortunately, that's too rare a commodity. A lot of people in our industry haven't had very diverse experiences. So they don’t have enough dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solutions without a broad perspective on the problem. The broader one's understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have."
~ Wired, February, 1995
DC's Most Over-Rated Thinkers
Fareed Zakaria is included with a scathing profile.
Glaxo's RTS,S Malaria Vaccine Shows Promise, Scientists Say
Preliminary results from the trial of a malaria vaccine show that it protected nearly half of the children who received it from bouts of serious malaria.
SIMRAN
Indian Railways real-time train tracking service.
Blood and sex: TV's inaccurate portrayal of forensic nursing
Here are some of the differences between forensic nursing and the position which is portrayed on television.
Skin writing
Artist Ariana Page Russell has a skin condition called dermatographic urticaria that causes her skin to become inflamed when lightly scratched. Russell uses the condition to make art on her body.
Jotly
Rate everything. Everything about your life is exciting. To everyone.
:) Excellent social commentary.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Noses
A collection of photos of celebrity noses modified to look like ninja turtles.
Commit Logs From Last Night
Sort of a nerdy version of Texts From Last Night, Commit Logs From Last Night chronicles the often frustrating process of committing working code.
Good to Know
Advice for staying more secure on the web and an overview of some of the security tools that Google offers.
Notes From a Dragon Mom
...my son is 18 months old and will likely die before his third birthday. Ronan was born with Tay-Sachs, a rare genetic disorder. He is slowly regressing into a vegetative state. He'll become paralyzed, experience seizures, lose all of his senses before he dies. There is no treatment and no cure.
How do you parent without a net, without a future, knowing that you will lose your child, bit by torturous bit?
Pictures - Occupy Wall Street Spreads Worldwide
CMU Researchers Turn Any Surface Into A Touchscreen
Sharda Ugra meets Umesh Valjee, the England deaf team captain
The ECB's disability award this year went to Umesh Valjee, the leader of the England deaf team. He talks about what it is like to play among the "hearing" with a handicap.
Explained: The different types of mobile phone screens
Milaap
Bangalore-based, trying to replicate the Kiva model in India.
How Elephants Cope With Heat
They don't sweat, they don't pant-yet they manage to survive temperatures of up to 40 deg Celsius.
Got Change?
The logic of currency denominations. And the possible irrelevance of it all.
What Bollywood Thinks of You
...and why that should make you gnash your teeth.
Critics reviews and ratings this week - Be-Careful and Jumbo 2.

Links For A Sunday Morning

2011-10-16T00:08:00.000+05:30

Shit That Siri Says
Also - Siri says some weird things
A look at a number of bizarre items the AI-powered / voice-recognizing "intelligent assistant" lays on you on the new iPhone 4S.
Pamela Meyer: How to spot a liar
On any given day we're lied to from 10 to 200 times, and the clues to detect those lie can be subtle and counter-intuitive. Pamela Meyer, author of Liespotting, shows the manners and "hotspots" used by those trained to recognize deception -- and she argues honesty is a value worth preserving.
William Ury: The walk from "no" to "yes"
William Ury, author of "Getting to Yes," offers an elegant, simple (but not easy) way to create agreement in even the most difficult situations -- from family conflict to, perhaps, the Middle East.
Stalking in the age of Facebook
Looking Back at Six Years of RTI
No mention of the deaths of several RTI activists?
Why do eunuchs clap all the time?
The eunuch's clap is perhaps the best known but least understood aspect of their culture. "Our clap is nothing but a way of addressing each other, and drawing someone's attention," explains Kangana. "It is louder than the normal clap; it only comes with practice and experience." Truly, the clap has provided the community with a distinct identity and has become their trademark.
Wondered about this while watching the eunuch in Bigg Boss.
Have We Become Food Spectators?
Christopher Boffoli's weird, meticulous miniatures satirize America's "dysfunctional relationship with food."
Steve Jobs on Why He Wore Turtlenecks
Photoshop can unblur images now
Wow!
Decision Review System: DRS no longer mandatory, says ICC
Such adhocism.
Right To Broadband, Recognition For M2M Communication [Draft National Telecom Policy- 2011]
Sibal rings in One India, one number
Draft telecom policy unveiled
India unveiled on Monday the draft of a new telecom policy that is futuristic, business- and consumer-friendly, and transparent, although it wasn't immediately clear when and how it will be implemented.
Sibal always makes the right noises but fails when it comes to building consensus and implementation.
Cartoon - Real commitment
Jarrod Kimber on commentators with vested interests in players and boards
Also - Sambit Bal: Anil Kumble's conflicts of interest
The accusations of conflict of interest against him don't have to bring him down; they could provide an opportunity for him to enhance his stature.
Harsha Bhogle: Kumble conflict-of-interest situation is about perception not reality
Kumble has to assess himself not by the reality of what he actually does but by the possibility, in the eyes of the public, of what he might.
Not just Kumble, Dhoni has conflicts of interest too
Conflicting interests: Kumble's position is untenable
'I have never clamoured for power that is associated with position'
An open letter from Anil Kumble.
Android App - ShaPlus Mobile Info (India)
Identify the location of Indian incoming and outgoing calls.
Nothing romantic about a candle-light newscast
In Karnataka, where scheduled loadshedding will be in force from today, Suvarna News, the 24x7 Kannada news channel owned by the member of Parliament Rajeev Chandrasekhar, took an unusual step on Sunday. All day, from 6 am to 11 pm, anchors sat in suitably darkened studios and read out the news with a candle on top of their desks to convey the impact the loadshedding was going to have on viewers.
The New Yorker
Liked this New Yorker cover on Steve Jobs.
What's the Scientific Reason Women Have Orgasms?
Married to My Rapist
There are places in India where rape is grounds for marriage.
Equus Asinus
A site about donkeys.
The Freelance Surge Is the Industrial Revolution of Our Time
Study Cites Increase in Throat Cancers Caused by HPV
Blowjobs are apparently causing cancer.
The Wirecutter
The Wirecutter is a list of the best gadgets.
Mashable, Once a One-Man Blog, Gains Clout in Social Media
Pictures - Afghanistan: September 2011
Pictures - Worst Flooding in Decades Swamps Thailand
Kim Noble: The woman with 100 personalities
There's Judy the teenage bulimic, devout Catholic Salamoe, gay Ken and over 100 more. Artist Kim Noble talks about living with multiple personality disorder
Cartoon - Evolution of Creativity
Everybody is creative. Everybody should doodle.
PassMyWill.com
Will your passwords to your relatives if you pass away.
A Strange New Year Resolution
But I woke up this January 1 with an odd resolve dancing around in my head: in 2011, I will review EVERY SINGLE Hindi film that is released and that it is possible for me to watch. My brain didn't cleverly slip in the word "possible" to provide me with a loophole as the months wear on and my interest wears down. "Possible" means every single Hindi film that is released in my home city Delhi or her suburbs Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad; "possible" means that if the film is not released in the National Capital Region, I will even try to get the DVD from the producer.
Missed this post by Anna M.M.Vetticad.
Having access to press screenings, she just might. But otherwise its quite difficult. I have been trying for the last few years.
Ranking sports' popularity: And the silver goes to...
Which sport is the world's favourite? The answer, football, feels so self-evident that it is barely worth a post. But what about the world's second favourite?
Critics reviews and ratings this week - Aazaan, Jo Dooba So Paar, Mod, Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge, My Friend Pinto.

Links For A Sunday Morning

2011-10-09T00:19:00.000+05:30

Links For A Sunday Morning

2011-10-02T00:29:00.000+05:30

Silkroute
Ekta Kapoor's forthcoming film 'The Dirty Picture' revisits a sequins-and-pelvic-thrust era of Tamil cinema which was propelled by talent, scheming, hypocrisy and the intense loneliness of women like Silk Smitha.
Good read.
Falling Man
In search of the real Manmohan Singh.
Good read.
'It Just Takes Ones Madman'
Pedro Almodovar turns the preposterous into the sublime. He says his new thriller, about a surgeon creating his dream woman, isn't farfetched.
Between Closets
An online queer magazine that believes you don't need to wear your rainbow on your sleeve to matter.
Good to see Gaysi going mainstream. Too bad though...nobody remembers the web designer's contribution ;)
Album - Rockstar
Rahman is back.
Log In
:)
A Music Video Shows The Hell Of Falling Down An Escalator, Forever
Or...Why I Don't Use Escalators.
Anna Hazare is blogging
HelloGiggles
Founded by actress/musician Zooey Deschanel, producer Sophia Rossi and writer/Internet Sensation Molly Mcaleer, hellogiggles.com is the ultimate entertainment destination for smart, independent and creative females. Everything hosted on the site will be lady-friendly, so visitors need not worry about finding the standard Boys Club content that makes many entertainment sites unappealing to so many of us.
How to Automatically Download Movies as Soon as They're Released with CouchPotato
Introducing Flickr Photo Session and the Flickr Android App
Amazon's new Kindle Fire
Dynamic views feature on Blogger
Just a bit of a gimmick.
Yawning May Cool the Brain
Don Draper pitches Facebook Timeline
:)
I'm Here And There
I created an extension that sends every website I'm currently viewing to imhereandthere.com. It refreshes as soon as I visit a new website. It works a bit like a mirror to my browser and life – you can now see what I see.
Let the Games Begin
Glitch, the massively multi-player game, has launched for everyone.
A New Flavor...Still Delicious
Delicious relaunched. And it hasn't gone well - Delicious Fixes Firefox Extension, Starts "Bookmark Rescue Operation"
Humor Comes of Age in India
"In the 1980's, women told men, love me but don't touch me," said Mr. Chakradhar, a professor of Hindi at Jamia Millia Islamia, a university in New Delhi. "In the 1990's, they said touch me but don't kiss me. In 1995, they said kiss me, but nothing more. In 2000, it was do whatever you want but don't tell anybody. In 2010, they say do something otherwise I will tell everybody you don't know how to do anything."
How the Yahoo! homepage predicts your clicks
A Concise Guide to Android Rooting
Critics reviews and ratings this week - Chargesheet, Force, Hum Tum Shabana, Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster and Tere Mere Phere.

Links For A Sunday Morning

2011-09-25T00:01:00.000+05:30

The Truth Behind The Stage Show
Anumeha Yadav charts the dark story of how Gujarat's Muslims are faring in the fields of education, finance, housing and welfare.
Was Einstein Wrong? New Research Turns Physics on Its Head
A team of European scientists has reportedly clocked a flock of subatomic particles called neutrinos moving at just a shade over the speed of light. According to Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity, that can't be, since light, which cruises along at about 186,000 miles per second (299,000 km/sec.), is the only thing that can go that fast.
Pictures - Hindu Festivals
An actual working mind probe
...researchers at Berkeley have developed a system that reads people's minds while they watch a video and then roughly reconstructs what they were watching from thousands of hours of YouTube videos.
The World's Rudest Hand Gestures
Mike Tyson, Navjot Singh Sidhu in Bigg Boss 5
Other names doing the rounds are Poonam Pandey, Charles Shobhraj's wife Nihita Biswas, Lady Gaga(!), Shakti Kapoor, Pakistani actresses Humaima Malik and Meera, Mink Brar, Riya Sen, Jaspal Bhatti, and TV actors Sanjeeda Sheikh, Aamir Ali, Parul Chauhan, Kratika Sengar and Karan Singh Grover.
Hope this year will be better than the last couple of years.
Wild City
A new online music mag presenting an Indian and international audience with a sleek creative hub offering the latest pop and alternative music news, events and exclusive mixes to download, all for free.
Pictures - A Trip Around New Zealand
KeepRecipes Is Like Instapaper for Food
An easy way to save recipes from websites, cookbooks and other users in one place.
Have tried a few different places for saving recipes but most fell short. This one might just be a keeper.
Me on KeepRecipes
Girl kills self after being dumped on Facebook
This story has dominated headlines here in B'lore.
The Digg Newsroom - Sifting the News from the Noise
Google.com Has An Unmissable Ad Drawing Users To Google+
What happened to 'we count every byte that goes on the homepage'?
Tell Your Story with Timeline
New on Facebook.
Introducing the Subscribe Button
Subscribe to public posts on Facebook.
Interesting News, Any Time You Visit
The news ticker on Facebook.
Kun Faaya Kun from Rockstar
Rahman back in form? Hope so.
Comic - What Would Don Draper Do?
I have been watching a lot of Mad Men these days.
Online game Foldit helps anti-Aids drug quest
An online game has helped determine the structure of an enzyme that could pave the way for anti-Aids drugs.
This is likely to happen more often. A much more active role by the online community rather than the passive usage of their computing power via their 'idle' computers as it used to be earlier.
MIT's 1K House Project
Android app - Indibus
Bus route info for Indian cities.
Salman Rushdie on Twitter
Picking Their Lotus And Eating It Too
As the UPA regime flounders from one scandal to another, the BJP should have been in pole position to dethrone it. But an ugly power struggle is taking a heavy toll on the main Opposition party.
They have been offered opportunities on a platter but still can't take advantage of them. And they might just make another blunder by putting up Modi as the prime ministerial candidate in 2014.
Google Wallet review: photos, videos, and availability
Big Innovation Lives Right on the Edge of Ridiculous Ideas
"Most people think that the opposite of play is work (especially in the corporate world) but the opposite is boredom or even depression." To me, play is what you're passionate about doing. You want to do it because it's enjoyable and you want to keep doing it because it brings you joy. But play is a ton of effort.
Rajasthan village scripts history, goes online
In a unique initiative to bring transparency in work , every school, hospital, government office, bus stand and even road in Jhunjhunu's Budania gram panchayat will soon go live with anyone across the world being able to watch 24X7 what's happening in this small village on its website.
The Local Tea Party
Interesting blog.
Women's 'sex strike' ends fighting in Mindanao villages in Philippines
Reeling It All In
It's raining blockbusters suddenly. Alas, it's a very different creature from 'Sholay'.
Critics reviews and ratings this week - Mausam, Speedy Singhs and U R My Jaan.

Links For A Sunday Morning

2011-09-18T00:19:00.001+05:30

My Family's Experiment in Extreme Schooling
My three children once were among the coddled offspring of Park Slope, Brooklyn. But when I became a foreign correspondent for The New York Times, my wife and I decided that we wanted to immerse them in life abroad. No international schools where the instruction is in English. Ours would go to a local one, with real Russians.
Beautiful Brains
Moody. Impulsive. Maddening. Why do teenagers act the way they do? Viewed through the eyes of evolution, their most exasperating traits may be the key to success as adults.
Modi's tryst with the law has only begun. Not Ended
The question is not whether the Gujarat CM is guilty. The debate is whether his role in the 2002 riots can be nailed in a court of law.
The dumbing down of WikiLeaks
The site has unearthed a rash of diplomatic cables that amount to nothing more than gossip. So why are we giving it too much importance?
I know! As if its the gospel truth.
Pictures - Scenes From Peru
Make Room for Hinglish
A new rash of colloquial books in Hinglish outsell literature in India.
Forget the Standing Desk; You Just Need to Move Regularly
What is driving the rapid growth in daily and monthly active users of Pinterest?
They need to improve some of their core features though, like tagging. Me on Pinterest.
The giant crabs invading Antarctica
Hulking crustaceans with appetites to match are taking over the oceans near the South Pole.
World's Funniest Analogies
When Kickstarter Goes Wrong: Were 419 Backers Almost Taken for a $27,637 Ride?
I suppose one of these incidents had to happen.
50 Most Influential Designers in America
Android app - Bartender
Your personal drink-making assistant.
Android app - BookMyShow.com
Android app - PVR Cinemas
How To Back Up Your Life Automatically with Ifttt
Raise Your Hand If You're Still Using Google+
According to its data, the average number of public – i.e. not private – Google+ posts per day has decreased from 0.68 per day between 19 July 2011 and 19 August 2011 to 0.40 public posts per day between 19 August 2011 and 14 September 2011.
This represents a decrease of 41 percent, which could lead one to believe the early adopters are quietly turning their backs on Google+.
Chrome Web Store expands its borders
Chrome Web Store launches in India.
The 50 Things Every Creative Should Know
It's Nice That : Bookshelf
Ever wondered what's on the bookshelf of some of your favourite creatives? What books they turn to in need of inspiration or reference? Well look no further, every week we invite someone from the creative industry to share with us exactly that, but condensed down, to five titles and the stories behind them.
How Much of the Internet is Actually for Porn
Not as much as you'd think.
Immune System, Loaded With Remade T-cells, Vanquishes Cancer
At first, nothing happened. But after 10 days, hell broke loose in his hospital room. He began shaking with chills. His temperature shot up. His blood pressure shot down. He became so ill that doctors moved him into intensive care and warned that he might die. His family gathered at the hospital, fearing the worst.
A few weeks later, the fevers were gone. And so was the leukemia.
There was no trace of it anywhere — no leukemic cells in his blood or bone marrow, no more bulging lymph nodes on his CT scan. His doctors calculated that the treatment had killed off two pounds of cancer cells.
A year later, Mr. Ludwig is still in complete remission. Before, there were days when he could barely get out of bed; now, he plays golf and does yard work.
Improved Friend Lists
On Facebook.
Pictures - Vladimir Putin, Action Man
Putin doing a bunch of things.
Introducing Twitter Web Analytics
Grow the planet
Farmville for the real world. A social network that teaches you to grow your own food.
The India Growth Story: Glass Half Full or Half Empty?
Is monogamy making us miserable?
Marriage can be tough. But one expert believes it doesn't have to be – that our 'one mate for life' rule is unrealistic, unnecessary, even unnatural. We dare to ask if, perhaps, he has a point.
What crap!
Before and After Pictures - Japan Earthquake: Six Months Later
The Reckoning: America and the World a Decade After 9/11
Sinch, A Magnetic Cord Clasp For Your Smartphone
Can't believe we still haven't found a solution for this.
How to Get a Complete Workout with Nothing But Your Body
The Boston Globe's lovely new site
Newspaper site designers/developers take note.
Minimalist History Posters
Critics reviews and ratings this week - Jaana Pehchana and Rivaaz.

Links For A Sunday Morning

2011-09-11T00:33:00.001+05:30

Dazed & Confused. Again
Misguided focus. Sloppy intelligence inputs. Ashish Khetan runs through a history of recent blasts to expose both the alarming chaos and difficulties faced by India's anti-terror establishment.
India Ink
New York Times' first-ever country-specific site for news, information, culture and conversation.
Made by Hand
Made by Hand is a short film series celebrating the people who makes things by hand — sustainably, locally, and with a love for their craft.
Comic - File Transfer
How I Got My Stolen Laptop Back Within 24 Hours Using Prey
One hundred million voices
Twitter now has 100M active users per month...and other Twitter stats.
At 9/11 Memorial, Name Placements Reflect Bonds Between Victims, Thanks To Algorithm
In The Fall
A short hand-drawn animation created in Adobe Flash and After Effects about one mans reflection on his life.
Excellent.
'Malegaon Ka Superman' actor dies of mouth cancer
Shafique Shaikh passed away yesterday morning after the premiere of his film.
10 Things Henri Cartier-Bresson Can Teach You About Street Photography
Female Orgasm Remains an Evolutionary Mystery
50 Documentaries to See Before You Die
You just shared a link. How long will people pay attention?
How long is a link "alive" before people stop caring? Does it matter what kind of content it is, or where you shared it?
The Most Authentic Angry Birds Arcade Booth Yet
Cartoon - Windows on the iPhone
:)
Top-6 dailies devote 2% coverage on rural issues
A study of India's top-three English and Hindi newspapers shows that they devote only a minuscule porportion of their total coverage to rural India's issues, crises and anxieties.
Cartoon - Gamification
'Twitter terrorists' face 30 years after being charged in Mexico
A man and a woman are facing 30-year prison terms in Mexico for allegedly using Twitter to spread panic over a series of child kidnappings.
Pret A Manger, With New Fast-Food Ideas, Gains a Foothold in United States
Critics reviews and ratings this week - Mere Brother Ki Dulhan.

Links For A Sunday Morning

2011-09-04T00:47:00.000+05:30

Time to Rock the Vote
Corruption in politics begs for a larger reform than a Lokpal Bill. It requires funding of political parties to be made transparent. Prem Shankar Jha on what ails the system and how to stem the rot.
Gupshup - Short Message, Big Dreams
With 45 million users, SMS GupShup is India's answer to social networking. And it dreams of taking on the global giants.
Bollywood's Rockstar
He's rash and unpredictable, and the jury is still out on his acting skills. So what makes Salman Khan such a force to reckon with?
Don't keep calm and carry on.
Get excited and make things.
Yes!
Kurt Vonnegut explains the shapes of stories
Using a chalkboard and a simple graphical axis, watch as Kurt Vonnegut explains the different shapes that stories can take.
A list of all of Frank Rossitano's Trucker hat slogans from 30 Rock
Back to the Start
Excellent stop-motion ad for Chipotle.
Blogger's fresh new look
The long autumn of Roger Federer
Animated GIFs Capture Stanley Kubrick's Most Immortal Scenes
Amazon's new @author feature launches, and changes (just a bit) what a book is all about
An author-focused community page.
Force - OST
Have been waiting for a long time for Harris Jayaraj to come back to Bollywood.
Movie Trailer - Michael
Directed by Ribhu Dasgupta. Starring Naseeruddin Shah, Mahie Gill, Purav Bhandare, Sabyasachi Chakraborty and Irawati Harshe Mayadev.
Movie Trailer - Fatso!
Directed by Rajat Kapoor. Starring Ranvir Shorey, Gul Panag, Purab Kohli and Neil Bhoopalam.
Movie Trailer - Rockstar
Directed by Imtiaz Ali. Starring Ranbir Kapoor, Nargis Fakhri and Shammi Kapoor.
Movie Trailer - The Dirty Picture
Directed by Milan Luthria. Starring Vidya Balan, Naseruddin Shah, Emraan Hashmi and Tusshar Kapoor.
Movie Trailer - Agneepath
Directed by Karan Malhotra. Starring Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Sanjay Dutt and Rishi Kapoor.
The New York Times imagines the kitchen table of the future
The mystery of Sri Lanka's 'grease devils'
Over the last few weeks large swathes of the country have been gripped by a fear of nocturnal prowlers who have frequented rural areas assaulting women at night.
Ever wonder where the Windows XP default wallpaper came from?
Icon Ambulance
Nice story by Google exec Vic Gundotra about a call he got from Steve Jobs one Sunday morning.
Windows 8 - Improvements in Windows Explorer
What insightful and thought-provoking websites have you across throughout the years? Here are mine.
Apple is working on a television for 2012, sources say
The Story of Their Experiments with Gandhi
How a team of strategists has been hard at work dipping into the past and playing the media to project Anna Hazare as the new Mahatma.
The Troopers Who Triggered The Storm
Behind all the spontaneous public support was a meticulously planned agitation. Revati Laul puts a face to the team behind Anna Hazare.
Critics reviews and ratings this week - Bas Ek Tamanna, Bodyguard, Bol, Mummy Punjabi and That Girl In Yellow Boots.

Links For A Sunday Morning

2011-08-28T01:45:00.000+05:30

The 10 Greatest Books of All Time
Borderline Personality Disorder: Mental Illness on Rise?
How to Work Better. Mural on office building in Zurich-Oerlikon.
Jig
From Joshua Schachter, the creator of Delicious.
Our Jig is a website, one that helps you with your needs– by making it easy to share them with people who can help solve them.
Recession line greeting cards from 9SpotMonk
Nice :)
Why Are Finland's Schools Successful?
The Fierce Intimacy of Tennis Rivalries
Adidas's Barefoot Shoe For "Natural" Gym Workouts
Steve Job resigns as Apple CEO
What Makes Steve Jobs Great
The Kid Should See This.
Videos, photos, books, and other media that's appropriate for little kids.
Making It Easier to Share With Who You Want
Facebook rolls out major privacy changes.
I'd rather not be Anna
By Arundhati Roy.
The Story of Their Experiments with Gandhi
How a team of strategists has been hard at work dipping into the past and playing the media to project Anna Hazare as the new Mahatma.
Is the media manufacturing middle-class dissent?
Pixar Announces Two New Movies
One about dinosaurs - depicts a world where dinosaurs never went extinct. What if that life-changing asteroid missed Earth? Releasing Nov 2013.
And the other about the brain - a comic look at how ideas come together and the inner workings of our brains. Releasing May 2014.
Pixar's next two releases will be - Brave in August '12 and Monsters University in July '13.
The future of the supermarket (and possibly everything else)
Portraits genetiques
Research work on the photographic genetic similarities between members of same family.
Let me help you with that ... How women suffer from benevolent sexism
What could be wrong with a gentleman opening a door for a lady? According to some social psychologists, such acts endorse gender stereotypes: the idea that women are weak and need help; that men are powerful patriarchs. Now a study has looked at how women are perceived when they accept or reject an act of so-called "benevolent sexism"* and it finds that they're caught in a double-bind. Women who accept help from a man are seen as warmer, but less competent. Women who reject help are seen as more competent, but cold.
So, whether you open the door or not, you are in trouble.
Critics reviews and ratings this week - Chitkabrey - Shades of Grey, Shabri, Stand By and Yeh Dooriyan

Links For A Sunday Morning

2011-08-21T00:15:00.000+05:30

Movie Teaser Trailer - Trishna
Starring Freida Pinto and Riz Ahmed, with original songs by Amit Trivedi and an original score by Shigeru Umebayashi. Based on the novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy. Directed by Michael Winterbottom. Produced by Melissa Parmenter.
A thinktank brings Anna the eyeballs
Rajasthan Patrika Gets Politicians to Behave
Rajasthan Patrika's novel effort is slowly making legislators more accountable.
Lokpal Bill 2011 V/s Draft Jan Lokpal Bill
A ready-reckoner of the two contentious bills.
Luxpresso.com
Your guide to luxury living.
From the Times group.
Couple of sites from Indian corporates - Pure Air Lovers Society(PALS) by Suzlon and Spark the Rise by Mahindra
Honest Japanese Return $78 Million in Cash Found in Quake Rubble
In the five months since the disaster struck, people have turned in thousands of wallets found in the debris, containing $48 million in cash.
More than 5,700 safes that washed ashore along Japan's tsunami-ravaged coast have also been hauled to police centers by volunteers and search and rescue crews. Inside those safes officials found $30 million in cash. One safe alone, contained the equivalent of $1 million.
Extracts from Rafael Nadal's autobiography - Part 1 - Epic Wimbledon triumph in 2008 against Roger Federer freed me from my mental prison and Part 2 - Family crisis destroyed my body and soul
Tree bookshelf
Nice.
Minimal Business Card
Nice.
Pictures - Six Months of Civil War in Libya
Pictures - Ramadan 2011
Pictures - Animals in the News
What's the Most Popular Channel on YouTube?
Animal Farm: Photography by Daniel Naud
Nice.
The 50 Best Websites of 2011 - TIME
Yahoo India MoviePlex
Watch Bollywood movies for free.
20 predictions for the next 25 years
From the web to wildlife, the economy to nanotechnology, politics to sport, the Observer's team of experts prophesy how the world will change – for good or bad – in the next quarter of a century.
Comic - T-Cells
Critics reviews and ratings this week - Chatur Singh Two Star, Not A Love Story and Sahi Dhandhe Galat Bande.

Links For A Sunday Morning

2011-08-14T00:41:00.000+05:30

IAC branding
India Against Corruption has launched this website to provide "standard publicity material" for social activist Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement.
I like how well organised their campaign is.
Can designer T cells cure cancer?
A groundbreaking study suggests that a patient's own immune cells can be genetically re-engineered into tumor-targeting 'serial killers'.
Dear Photograph
Take a picture of a picture from the past in the present.
Nice.
John Stamos' Guide To Cuddling
:)
Comic - Why working at home is both awesome and horrible
Tell me about it...
Movie Trailer - Rascals
Starring Sanjay Dutt, Ajay Devgan, Kangna Ranaut and Arjun Rampal. Directed by David Dhawan.
Movie Trailer - Tell Me O Kkhuda
Directed by Hema Malini and Mayur Puri. Starring Esha Deol, Vinod Khanna, Rishi Kapoor, Arjan Bajwa, Chandan Roy Sanyal and Dharmendra.
Movie Promo - Soundtrack
Directed by Neerav Ghosh. Starring Rajeev Khandelwal, Soha Ali Khan and Mrinalini Sharma.
That Girl In Yellow Boots, My Friend Pinto and Malegaon Ka Superman (Posters)
Like the Malegaon Ka Superman posters :)
While on Malegaon Ka Superman - Tragic tale of Malegaon's Superman
You can call it a cruel joke or irony, but the lead actor of Malegaon Ka Superrman Shaikh Shafique who fights the evils of tobacco in the film is suffering from throat cancer (as a result of his tobacco intake) and has very few days left to live.
16 Months in Antarctica
The first Indian woman to set foot on this isolated desert continent, Dr Kanwal Vilku found that she not only had to endure two extreme winters here, but also the hostility of the 49 men she had travelled with.
The Pakoda Parallels
No matter how distinctive our regional cuisines, we are more like each other than we know.
Superheavy
Songs from SuperHeavy, A R Rahman's new band with Damien Marley, Dave Stewart, Joss Stone and Mick Jagger.
Bin Laden Turned in by Informant -- Courier Was Cover Story
...the US government killed OBL because a Pakistani intelligence officer came forward to collect the approximately $25 million reward from the State Department's Rewards for Justice program.
The informant was a walk-in.
The ISI officer came forward to claim the substantial reward and to broker US citizenship for his family. My sources tell me that the informant claimed that the Saudis were paying off the Pakistani military and intelligence (ISI) to essentially shelter and keep bin Laden under house arrest in Abbottabad...
How to Throw a Punch Correctly
Rocker, The Best Way To Crush Garlic
From my fave kitchenware store.
Where Children Sleep
Stories of diverse children around the world, told through portraits and pictures of their bedrooms.
Nice.
Overdone
Why are restaurant websites so horrifically bad?
Pictures - Student Protests in Chile
Is this the greatest ever cricket catch?
There were two other fab moments in the T20 matches - Dilshan's reverse pull and Warner's switch hit on drive.
Comic - Password Strength
:)
And comic implemented - xkcd Password Generator
Internet Access CAPTCHAs
Site administrators use CAPTCHAs to prevent automated scripts from performing certain functions, such as creating an account, sending email to a distribution list, or participating in a discussion thread.
That's fine, as far as it goes. But, frankly, I'd also like to see certain people on the Internet prevented from doing certain things. You know, like: logging onto the Internet.
And so, a modest proposal: Internet Access Captchas, built right into browsers, designed to greatly reduce the overabundance of youtube commenters, Facebookers, and Twittererers.
Here is my prototype:
:)
A Cigarette Box So Ugly, It Could Save Lives
The race to the bottom of the ocean
Why are Richard Branson and James Cameron, among others, so obsessed with the Mariana trench?
beta620
Experimental Projects From The New York Times.
Government logo fail of the day
This is like an Onion parody on steroids. Only it's 100 percent real.
Critics reviews and ratings this week - Aarakshan and Phhir.

Links For A Sunday Morning

2011-08-07T00:28:00.000+05:30

Typography Movie Posters
Nice.
Fiverr
The place for people to share things they're willing to do for $5.
Embedded Choristers
Well left! Why do Gavaskar and Shastri, Indian cricket's trusty duo, board up on honest opinion?
How Ravi Shastri, the big noise of cricket, called it wrong
Stop blowing your bubbles
Flipkart, Rediff, MakeMyTrip — American market myopia has inflated Indian internet company valuations once more. Our bubble could burst in another six months.
E-Commerce In India - The Second Coming
There is still some resistance and doubt but I think the tipping point has been reached.
FAUXGO
A blog about fauxgos (fake logos) created to represent fictional companies in movies.
3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage... all to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food ....into 3 beautiful and hopefully compelling short films.....MOVE, LEARN and EAT.
Pictures - Pakistan Floods, One Year Later
One year ago, record-breaking floods submerged one fifth of Pakistan's total land area for months, affecting some 20 million residents and causing some $10 billion in damage. Reuters photographer Adrees Latif was in Pakistan one year ago to record the disaster and has just returned to recreate some of his most iconic images. His then-and-now photos reveal what has changed (and what has not) over the course of a year. Collected below are photos from Latif and others that show how Pakistanis continue to cope with last year's disaster.
Infographic - How Do You Shop For An Engagement Ring?
Lifehacker Pack for Android: Our List of the Best Android Apps
The 100 Best Android Apps
Mysterious UFO-like object spotted on sea floor
Why diets don't work: Starved brain cells eat themselves, study finds
A report in the August issue of the Cell Press journal Cell Metabolism might help to explain why it's so frustratingly difficult to stick to a diet. When we don't eat, hunger-inducing neurons in the brain start eating bits of themselves. That act of self-cannibalism turns up a hunger signal to prompt eating.
Pictures - Inside North Korea
Earlier this year, David Guttenfelder, chief Asia photographer for the Associated Press, along with Jean H. Lee, AP bureau chief in Seoul, were granted unprecedented access to parts of North Korea as part of the AP's efforts to expand coverage of the isolated communist nation. Collected here are some of Guttenfelder's images from the trip that provide a glimpse of North Korea.
Doppelganger Dinners
Veggie and meaty twins.
Biggest series of cyber-attacks in history uncovered
Hackers infiltrated networks of 72 world organisations including the United Nations, security company McAfee discovers.
‪Movie Trailer - Mod
Director Nagesh Kukunoor. Starring Rannvijay Singh, Ayesha Takia Azmi, Raghuveer Yadav, Tanvi Azmi and Anant Mahadevan.
‪Movie Trailer - Shabri
Starring Eesha Koppikhar, Manish Wadhwan, Pradeep Rawat, Raj Arjun and Zakir Hussain. Directed by Lalit Marathe.
The Mission to Get Osama Bin Laden
Detailed account of the Abbottabad raid.
Rigour Mortis
The pursuit of justice in Mumbai's terror cases demands an investigative thoroughness. Which, for all practical purposes, seems dead.
Joke Studio India
The UN project-like earnestness with which popular singers like Sunidhi Chauhan are made to collaborate with not-so-famous talent from across the country makes for spectacularly unmoving performances.
Like I said after the first episode...way too much forced fusion.
Comic - Tattoo
:)
Core77 Taps $7 Carryall As Year's Best Product Design
Designed by Vikram Dinubhai Panchal at the National Institute of Design, in Ahmedabad, India, the Load Carrier for Labor adapts to three common modes of lifting and carrying: above the head (for light loads), on the back (for medium loads), and by pushing and pulling (for heavy loads).
Nice.
John Mayer 2011 Clinic - Manage the Temptation to Publish Yourself
Referring to the allure of having an instant, albeit often shallow and fleeting, online audience, John Mayer cautioned against seeking out "joy in little, tiny statements - little, tiny applause hits."
Mayer realized that pouring creativity into smaller, less important, promotional outlets like twitter not only distracted him from focusing on more critical endeavors like his career, it also narrowed his mental capacity for music and writing intelligent songs.
"The tweets are getting shorter, but the songs are still 4 minutes long. You're coming up with 140-character zingers, and the song is still 4 minutes long...I realized about a year ago that I couldn't have a complete thought anymore. And I was a tweetaholic. I had four million twitter followers, and I was always writing on it. And I stopped using twitter as an outlet and I started using twitter as the instrument to riff on, and it started to make my mind smaller and smaller and smaller. And I couldn't write a song."
Saudi Arabia Reveals Plans For Tallest Tower, With Terrace On 157th Floor
Window Gardener
A compact windowsill herb planter that encourages people living in urban or small spaces to begin growing their own food. Uses a passive sponge watering mechanism to reduce the number of waterings in order to cater towards busy schedules.
Nice.
India's New Warehouses
Through a new system, the government plans to improve storage and help farmers get a better deal.
Finally!
Estimates suggest that India wastes almost 20 percent to 25 percent of its food grains due to improper or inadequate storage.
Critics reviews and ratings this week - Aagaah - The Warning, Chala Mussaddi - Office Office and I Am Kalam.