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Wednesday August 12 2020

A Lotus Blooms in America

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Sanity Break #1

This is a gorgeously rendered —with a 360-degree view—of Van Gogh’s most famous painting, ‘Starry Night’. What a way to literally put yourself in the picture.  Also highly recommended by founding member Insiyah Rangwala: This haunting VR version of ‘Archaeological Reminiscence of Millet’s Angelus’.

Sanity Break #1

Headlines that matter

RUSSIA ROLLS OUT FIRST (MAYBE) COVID VACCINE * The vaccine’s dubbed Sputnik V—after the original Sputnik which made USSR the first nation in space—and has been approved for widespread use even before passing its final stage trials.  * The vaccine was only tested on 38 volunteers in combined Phase I and II trials, and the results were never published.  * Phase III trials—when a vaccine is tested on a large and diverse number of volunteers—will only start today.  * But President Putin is already , “I know it has proven efficient and forms a stable immunity”—and claims it's been administered to one of his daughters who is all A-okay. * The global medical community’s : “This is all beyond stupid… Putin doesn’t have a vaccine, he’s just making a political statement.” * has more details. has the international reaction.   AMAZON’S $600 MILLION PRIME DAY The pandemic hasn’t slowed Amazon down. It clocked than its Diwali sale last year—making this the biggest Prime Day in India ever. the company, more than 4,000 small sellers crossed sales of Rs 10 lakh, while 209 sellers “became crorepatis.”   Not having a good day: TikTok. France has begun a —which will impact EU’s regulation of the company. The reason this matters: TikTok needs EU approval of its plans to set up a base in Ireland.    Hoping for a better day: Airbnb which plans to file later this month. The company laid off 25% of its staff in May—at which time CEO Brian Chesky said the 2020 revenue will be less than half of 2019.   A KOZHIKODE UPDATE Aviation authorities have wide-body planes from landing at the airport during the monsoon. Also: reports on how immediate action from the fire response teams prevented the plane from bursting into flames.   A GOOGLE CALLING CARD You can create your very own virtual visiting card—called ‘people card’—that will pop up any time someone searches for you. You just have to give all your information to Google—including “their website and social media profiles and, optionally, their phone number, address, work and education details, and email address.” Because people will opt to put their phone number and address on the web, of course. explains how it works.   SAY NO TO THE DENTAL WORK The WHO wants you to delay all routine dental checkups. : “Dental patients and staff need to be protected from any potential infection by aerosol-generating procedures”—such as three-way air/water spray, ultrasonic cleaning equipment and polishing.   In happier news for teeth: A says that gargling with an ordinary mouthwash reduces the quantities of viral particles in your mouth and throat—and could reduce the risk of transmission in the short-term. No, this won’t protect any of us from Covid or make us any less infectious. But it could be an effective precaution for frontline workers who have to work in close proximity to others.   Not-happy news for Kiwis: The virus has reared its ugly head 102 days after the nation was declared corona-free. Four members of an Auckland household have tested positive. The city has been alert level 3—which means everyone has to stay at home, and bars/restaurants are closed.   REAL ESTATE LOBBY TAKES ASTONISHING STANCE The Builders’ Association of India has taken a strong stance against the latest draft of the Environmental Impact Assessment—which aims to dramatically weaken environmental protections (we explained it). In a letter to the Environment Ministry, the BAI president made several demands:   > “...[H]e requested four specific things about the draft EIA 2020 : a) its withdrawal from public consultation b) reissuing the > draft only after the coronavirus pandemic is over c) full disclosure about the nature of comments received along with reasons > for acceptance or rejection and d) ensuring widespread and informed public consultation about the proposed law.”   This is astonishing as the EIA’s proposals will make life easier and far more lucrative for builders. When pressed by , a BAI official would only say: “We are also citizens of India and this letter has been written in larger public interest.” Hmm...   TWO TRENDING SOCIAL MEDIA MEMES Everyone’s named Binod: YouTube channel Slayy Point made a video making fun of Indian commenters—and they picked on a guy called Binod Tharu. His MO: to simply offer his name—‘Binod’—as a comment on a video. For some reason, this went viral and PayTm changed its profile name to, well, ‘Binod’. Then everyone else from Mumbai police to Tinder jumped in. Mint has more on this . The pandemic mood calendar: Reese Witherspoon kicked it off with a mock calendar with photos for every month, starting in January. Yeah, you can imagine how the ‘mood’ of each photo changed over the course of the last six months. Then, every other celeb decided to put one out as well (what’s not to like about a meme that offers an opportunity for multiple selfies!). has the entire collection, but the only one we really like is Mark Ruffalo. PS: PC scored an .   OLDEST BLOOD IN THE WORLD Scientists have extracted liquid blood from the mummified remains of a 42,000-year-old extinct baby horse in Siberia. They are calling it “the best preserved Ice Age animal ever found in the world.” And they hope to clone it! Well, at least it’s a horse not a T-Rex. ()

A Lotus Blooms in America

Sanity Break #2

This is of really goofy photos taken at airports around the world. That’s all. And it makes for an excellent scroll during that chai-break!

Sanity Break #2

Smart & Curious

SEX/LOVE: THE WILDLIFE EDITION : What we learned: the gentlemen have very strange penises, and the ladies are serious sluts! Whales rule!   Forget all those tall tales about storks delivering babies. This is what they look like when they deliver an actual egg. Were you and your bae this excited about your very first offspring? We think not. : A certain species of male angler fish latches on to his girlfriend’s belly (who is 60 times is size), and then literally dissolves into her: “His mouth then dissolves in a sludge of chemicals that physically fuse him to his bioluminescent bride, forever commingling his blood and tissues with hers.” Now, this is what amar prem truly looks like...  

Smart & Curious

Feel Good Place

: There is no right place to chill. Why, a bed of sea ice can be just as comfy! : Some stories have a happy ending—as it did for these two Beluga whales rescued from an amusement park in China and moved to Iceland, where they experienced natural sunlight for the first time.   : Sometimes, very scary things reside at the top of the stairs… like this ferocious cat! Lol!

Feel good place

Reading Habit

READING HABIT THIS WEEK IN LITERATURE curates their favourite literary long reads and a podcast to keep you engaged and entertained throughout the week. Find out where your favourite slang words originated from, add books by Asian women in translation to your TBR, and discover how literature is keeping the memory of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki alive. * Want to read books that celebrate the female form as “an organ of both thought and sense” instead of just celebrating beauty? Look no further than list. * Looking for more Asian women in translation book recommendations? Then you need to listen to this episode of the podcast to find books to add to your TBR pile. (Additional recommendations available .) * at how the pandemic has compelled comic creators to creatively capture our new normal. * Interested in learning about the origin of slang words? Find out . * this moving article by Yoko Ogawa to learn how literature helps us keep the memory of the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki alive.   BOOKS RELEASING THIS WEEK * : India has the potential to become a global superpower, but what is holding the country back? Read this remarkable book by Aparna Pande to find out. (August 13, 2020) * : Follow broke and recently-dumped Ivy Edwards’ hilarious journey as she navigates singlehood and annoying mothers in this chick-lit by Hannah Tovey. (August 13, 2020) * : Gautam Bhatia’s debut speculative fiction is the story of, well, a wall. Read this book to find out what happens when someone dares to cross this mysterious structure. (August 13, 2020) * : This book is the perfect choice for those who want to learn about universal human rights, how they are reflected in the Indian Constitution, and how we can protect them. (August 17, 2020) * : Marta has survived the Russian winters, slavery, and many other horrible situations. But what happens when she becomes Catherine I of Russia? Does she manage to survive the treacherous politics of the court? Read Ellen Alpsten’s sensational book to find out. (August 18, 2020) Brought to you by SEX/LOVE: THE WILDLIFE EDITION : What we learned: the gentlemen have very strange penises, and the ladies are serious sluts! Whales rule!   Forget all those tall tales about storks delivering babies. This is what they look like when they deliver an actual egg. Were you and your bae this excited about your very first offspring? We think not. : A certain species of male angler fish latches on to his girlfriend’s belly (who is 60 times is size), and then literally dissolves into her: “His mouth then dissolves in a sludge of chemicals that physically fuse him to his bioluminescent bride, forever commingling his blood and tissues with hers.” Now, this is what amar prem truly looks like...   : There is no right place to chill. Why, a bed of sea ice can be just as comfy! : Some stories have a happy ending—as it did for these two Beluga whales rescued from an amusement park in China and moved to Iceland, where they experienced natural sunlight for the first time.   : Sometimes, very scary things reside at the top of the stairs… like this ferocious cat! Lol!

Reading Habit

archivetitle dog ic

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