Going for Gold!

Sanity Break #1

SANITY BREAK This is a gorgeous titled ‘Tokri’ that tells the tender story of a little girl who sells baskets on the streets of Mumbai. More details . Take a 14-minute break to savour this award-winning gem on your laptop and in full screen.

Headlines that matter

HEADLINES THAT MATTER TIME TO VOTE! We now have four leading contenders as names for our precious pooch: Khabri, Fetch, Bhaskerville (yes, you read that right!) and Anchor. Please vote for your fave . He will be forever grateful:) GOOGLE’S $10 BILLION INDIA PLAN CEO Sundar Pichai the company’s plan to invest $10 billion over a 5-7 year period—primarily through equity investments and partnerships. The money will be ploughed into four areas: * Affordable access and information to Indians in their own language * New products and services tailored to India's unique needs * Helping Indian businesses make the shift to digital * Leveraging technology and artificial intelligence for social good in areas like healthcare, education and agriculture. THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC: A QUICK UPDATE : the virus is now returning to states that had once beaten it back, including California: “It’s not just a matter of more testing. Hospitalizations and, in some places, deaths are rising, too.” Even New York is worried about rising cases. But people are increasingly unwilling to stay home—or wear face masks, making it that much harder to clamp down. : Hong Kong is shutting down its theme park due to an uptick in cases—even as Disney reopened its Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom parks in Florida. A reporter in Florida flagged lack of social distancing and another news outlet tweeted that an Animal Kingdom ride wasn’t being regularly cleaned and hand sanitizer dispensers were empty. : is the hardest hit country in Africa with more than 250,000 cases. The country has imposed a night curfew, made face masks mandatory—and banned alcohol! : There was hope that the virus would recede in the summer. But new models show that temperatures matter only once a large part of the population becomes immune to the virus. One other reason: heat kills the virus on contaminated surfaces, but there is increasing evidence that Covid spreads through the air. : TV series ‘Bold and the Beautiful’ is using mannequins for sex scenes. Its executive producer says: “We’ve had a lot of strange looks and questions like, ‘Do you really want to do this?’ But everyone is game. They are getting their first latex kiss.” Meanwhile, ‘Riverdale’ will deploy them for any shooting that requires crowds. : Kiran Mazumdar-headed Biocon unveiled “compelling” clinical trial results indicating that itolizumab reduces the need for ventilator support and risk of death in serious cases. The anti-inflammatory drug—typically used to treat psoriasis—may help prevent a cytokine storm. That's when the immune system goes into overdrive, attacking healthy organs and cells. An important caveat: Only 30 patients were tested in these trials. STUDENT VISA ROW HEATS UP Nearly 20 tech companies have in support of a lawsuit to block the new F-1 visa rules—that force students to leave the country if their universities move all classes online. These include Google, Facebook, Spotify, Paypal and Microsoft. The argument: The ban will "inflict significant harm" on their customer base and make it harder to recruit top talent from universities. In related news: including California and Massachusetts have filed a similar lawsuit against the Trump administration. In other Trump-related news: A US professor’s model predicts of him winning reelection in November. Helmut Norpoth has accurately predicted 25 out of 27 presidential elections. Norpoth says: "Where I would expect the pandemic to have an affect is on the approval rating of the president, and I don't see any dent in Trump's approval rating… Unless his approval rating collapses, I don't think this will have much bearing on my forecast." A TREASURE FROM AN AIR INDIA CRASH Cafe owner Timothee Mottin found a treasure trove of old newspapers in the French Alps—preserved in almost pristine condition due to the ice. These are copies of Indian newspapers from 1966 and were probably aboard an Air India Boeing 707 that crashed on the mountain that year. The big front page headline in The Hindu: ‘Indira Gandhi to be Prime Minister’. See photos . KELLY PRESTON DIES OF BREAST CANCER The 57-year old actor, best known for her role in ‘Jerry Maguire’, died . She leaves behind her husband, John Travolta, and two children, Ella Bleu and Benjamin. pays tribute to John & Kelly’s love story.

Sanity Break #2

SANITY BREAK Need an instant pick-me-up? Check out of a fabulous South African tune. We promise you, it’s instant earworm! You will thank us later when you play it on loop all day long. Want more to get in the mood? Watch this spontaneous featuring the same song. It’s an instant cheerer-upper.

Smart & Curious

SMART & CURIOUS A LIST OF GOOD SEX/LOVE STUFF * has an excellent report on Indians looking for companionship in their old age—and why Indian women aren’t quite as enamoured with the idea as men. * has an intriguing read on virtual reality porn—and research that shows it is far healthier than the 2-D kind. * of ‘ama’ women—who free-dived to harvest seaweed and abalone in post-war Japan—were taken by Yoshiyuki Iwase. (NSFW) * has a hilarious list of crafty animals that manage to masturbate without hands. What’s not to like... * Shaadi.com and Bharat Matrimony have to their platforms—to allow prospective couples to ‘meet’ online since in-person convos are out of the question now. And the service is proving to be hugely popular. A LIST OF GOOD READS * Why do we keep having the same dream over and over again? looks for answers. * offers an excellent essay on the bizarre urge to have a baby in the midst of a pandemic. * offers a deep dive into how Dalits are ‘vetted’ for work in US tech companies. * How do outsiders survive in Bollywood? talked to a bunch of them and it makes for an interesting read—minus shrill attacks or defences of nepotism. * offers an excellent list of eight Indian horror films that broke the cheesy mold.

Weekend advisory

LIFE ADVISORY FOUR USEFUL WORK THINGS lays out five words we all use in emails that make us sound weak and wishy washy. flags a free app Krisp that cancels all background noise during a video meeting. highlights a new feature coming soon to LinkedIn—an audio tool that lets you record the proper pronunciation of your name and display it on your profile. and OwnBackup are hosting a free 24-hour online conference on July 15. resilience and work. Their keynote speakers: Malala Yousafzai and Anousheh Ansari, the first Muslim woman in space. Also on the agenda: industry experts and thought leaders on topics like Tech+Impact, The Future of Work, Women in Tech, and more. Register .