Election Badge
Tuesday November 17 2020

Leave Me Out of It

Read More

Sanity Break #1

This was Donald Trump’s last Diwali in the White House. Let’s bid him a .

Sanity Break #1

Headlines that matter

A DREADFUL DELHI DIWALI * The national capital lived down to its worst stereotypes over Diwali weekend. The so-called firecracker ban in the worst air quality in four years.  * On Sunday, the 24-hour average AQI was a toxic 435! The AQI on the day after Diwali last year: 337.  * The average number of daily new Covid cases last week: .  * that these Diwali celebrations may well turn out to be super spreader events. (We why pollution has a significant effect on the spread of the virus). * Meanwhile, the Delhi Health Minister insists that the city has already passed the peak of its “third wave.” (Dear Satyendar-ji: Allow us the difference between peaks and waves.) * But the Union government does not share that rosy assessment. At a meeting attended by Home Minister Amit Shah and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Niti Aayog that the city’s numbers will hit 500 cases per million residents. Delhi’s population: 30.2 million. * A thought-provoking read: Anil Padmanabhan in explains the psychology of bans—and why they often have the opposite effect. Doing far better: Every other metro. Air pollution levels dropped in . Noise pollution dipped sharply in . remained fairly mellow. Barely any firecrackers were burst in —OTOH, everyone turned to mourn Soumitra Chatterjee instead: MODERNA’S BIG VACCINE WIN Just weeks ago, Pfizer announced its potential vaccine is 90% effective. Moderna has now stolen its thunder by declaring that its candidate 94.5% effective. The upshot: The US may have two vaccines ready to roll out by December.    Point to note: Both are mRNA vaccines—a first of its kind. But Moderna is somewhat than Pfizer:   > “An additional concern is that both vaccines must be stored and transported at low temperatures—minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit > [-20C] for Moderna, and minus 94 Fahrenheit [-70C] for Pfizer—which could complicate their distribution, particularly to > low-income areas in hot climates… But on Monday, Moderna said researchers had found that its vaccine had a longer shelf life in > the refrigerator than previously thought: 30 days, not seven. And it will last 12 hours at room temperature, the company said.”   What about India? it isn’t clear if either vaccine will be available in India—or if it will even be affordable. The two-shot Moderna vaccine is expected to be priced at $64 to $74 per recipient. In happier news, Serum Institute of India says of the Oxford vaccine will be available by December. And two of the ‘Made in India’ vaccines are for human trials. Also see: our on the Pfizer version of the mRNA vaccine. Best Moderna/Pfizer : In related news: It took three months for the US to record its first million coronavirus cases. It took to record the last million. Total number of cases have now crossed the 11-million mark. Also this: Elon Musk has tested positive and now has a new nickname: . OBAMA’S MEMOIR STIRS CONGRESS POT The first volume of the former US president’s memoir is out. And it includes anecdotes of his close encounters with the UPA government—notably Sonia and Rahul Gandhi and then PM Manmohan Singh.   Faring the worst: :   > “As for Rahul, he seemed smart and earnest, his good looks resembling his mother's. He offered up his thoughts on the future of > progressive politics, occasionally pausing to probe me on the details of my 2008 campaign. But there was a nervous, unformed > quality about him, as if he were a student who'd done the coursework and was eager to impress the teacher but deep down lacked > either the aptitude or the passion to master the subject."   Doing better: his mother Sonia who "listened more than she spoke, careful to defer to Singh when policy matters came up, and often steered the conversation toward her son.” Also: "It became clear to me, though, that her power was attributable to a shrewd and forceful intelligence.”   The clear winner: :   > “A gentle, soft-spoken economist in his seventies, with a white beard and a turban that were the marks of his Sikh faith but to > the Western eye lent him the air of a holy man, he had been India’s finance minister in the 1990s, managing to lift millions of > people from poverty. For the duration of his tenure as Prime Minister, I would find Singh to be wise, thoughtful, and > scrupulously honest.” Related reads: has an excerpt from the memoir—which was also reviewed by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in the .   THREE NEW KEY BITS OF DATA One: According to a newly released report, Arunachal Pradesh India's best sex ratio—1,084 females born per thousand males. The worst: Manipur with only 757 females. Kerala (963) and Karnataka (957) did alright compared to Punjab (896) and Gujarat (896). has the rest of the numbers and charts.   Two: The number of Indian students studying in the United States has dipped by 4.4% to a three-year low—reflecting an overall sharp dip in foreign student enrolment. That number may seem small but consider this: The number of Indian students grew by 29.4% growth in 2014-15 and 24.9% in 2015-16. has more. Three: India’s job recovery is leaving women behind—especially those with young children and/or living in rural areas. The key stat: the likelihood of women being employed in August 2020 was 9.5 percentage points lower than that for men compared to the same period in the last year. Also this: “Both pre- and post-lockdowns, men with very young children remained the most likely to be employed.” has more.   THREE NEW TECH THINGS  Facebook: is rolling out a Vanish mode on Insta and Messenger. You can activate it when you plan to send messages that disappear the moment you stop chatting. explains.    Netflix: is testing a new feature called ‘Fast Laughs’—a collection of funny clips from its movies and shows. You can bookmark any show/movie that hits your funny bone to watch later. Translation: it’s just another way to increase viewer engagement and discovery. has more. Doosra: is the perfect app for India where you have to offer up your phone number just to sneeze. It gives you a dedicated dummy number that you can share with all and sundry. Your phone automatically blocks any calls to that number, but the app stores their messages just in case… FYI: this is a paid service. has details.   VOLVO’S EXTREME CRASH TEST The car company recently brand-new cars from a height of 30 metres! The reason: It simulates extreme car crash scenarios, and allows specialists to figure out how to extricate the passengers. See the test :   THREE FUN THINGS One: Shekhar Kapur is making a Hollywood movie. It’s ‘What’s Love Got to Do With It?’—and will feature Emma Thompson, Lily James and Shazad Latif. No one knows what it’s about but rumours suggest “a cross-cultural drama set in South Asia and London.” Hmm, have we seen one of these before? Two: Lego rolled out its biggest set ever—a Roman Colosseum made of 9,036 pieces! It will dethrone the previous title holder:  the 7,541-piece Ultimate Collector Series Star Wars Millennium Falcon. Lego nerds can check out the company’s . Photo :   Three: Harry Styles wore on the cover of Vogue— all the haters.   A FEW LOVELY SOUMITRA TRIBUTES Two good reads: There have been many articles written on the legendary Bengali actor. We recommend: Jawhar Sircar’s personal memories of the actor in . And Sandip Roy’s lovely tribute to an “acting legend, principled lodestar, utterly decent human being” in . One lovely throwback photo: Shashi Kapoor, Felicity Kendall, Madhur Jaffrey and Soumitra at Berlinale, 1965—when Satyajit Ray’s ‘Charulata’ was awarded Silver Bear Award for best director. (h/t founding member )  

Leave Me Out of It

Sanity Break #2

Your next is officially here! ‘Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives’—aka desi Desperate Housewives. What’s not to like about stereotypical spouses of B/C-list stars everyone’s forgotten (now being madly by A-list peers with skin in the game). We miss Sima Aunty.

Sanity Break #2

Smart & Curious

A LIST OF GOOD READS One big picture read: points to the rise of a global hipster culture—spreading (like a rash?) from Kabul to San Francisco.   One literary read: Yiyun Li’s exquisitely written essay on the “delayed crying club.”   Two good profiles: profiles the Indian king—Maharaja Ranjit Singh—who beat Winston Churchill to be named ‘greatest leader of all time’ in a BBC history poll. profiles Sash Simpson, the top Toronto chef who started out as a street child in Coimbatore.   Two pet-related reads: offers a brilliant and scathing takedown of Gurgaon’s bizarre and twisted relationship with dogs—which best symbolises its own dysfunction. answers a question no one’s brave enough to ask: what does my pooch think when it catches me mid-sex?   Five useful reads: * Not every veggie or fruit in your fridge has to be organic. points to 15 you can leave off the list. * Why do we sigh? Is there such a thing as sighing too much? explains. * flags the tell-tale signs that a photograph is fake.  * has a comprehensive guide to ‘co-washing’ your hair—i.e. Saying goodbye to shampoos and conditioners. * We usually think of attachment therapy in terms of parenting. A psychotherapist in explains why it is vital in healing adult marriages and relationships as well.

Smart & Curious

Feel Good Place

AN EXTRA LONG LIST OF GOOD STUFF… To make up for a very long weekend.    : Why ice cream cones need to come with user manuals.   The true spirit of sportsmanship.   : Young women demonstrate the high bar for masculine achievement. Ok, we’re being mean… lol!   : Highway robbery!   Future of Netflix courtesy the talented   : Gorgeous Diwali remnant   Pig + sock = joy. Also: Diwali is a state of mind:)  

Feel good place

archivetitle dog ic

Show No Evil

March 28 2024

What you can watch online is likely to shrink dramatically in the coming years.

Read More
Dance of Self-Destruction

March 27 2024

Why did Netflix and other OTT platforms in India slide so rapidly down the greasy pole of self-censorship?

Read More
No Proof Required

March 26 2024

The unprecedented arrest of Arvind Kejriwal reveals the high price of an anti-corruption law that may keep him in jail.

Read More
Devil Comes To Moscow

March 25 2024

The attack in Moscow is a reminder that ISIS is not dead and making sure it is not forgotten.

Read More
loader