Here We Go Again...
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Sanity Break #1
Mahima Dayal aka Bawari Basanti is a wonderful Indie musician who was trained in Hindustani classical singing, but has grown to create a sound that is uniquely her own. Her throaty, gorgeous voice doesn’t hurt either. We adore the lively, tongue-in-cheek ‘’. But if you are in the mood for something achingly beautiful, we recommend ‘’. More on Dayal and her career .
Headlines that matter
THE GREAT PANDEMIC: A QUICK UPDATE * From January 26, all travelers to the US must be armed with proof of a —citizens included. * The Chinese vaccine Sinovac only has —contrary to previously inflated claims. Just last week, Brazilian researchers who conducted trials in Brazil claimed 78% efficacy. * Australia’s leading experts have called on the government to halt its planned rollout of . The reason: It may not be sufficient to ensure herd immunity since it has only a 62% rate of efficacy. Some of them say: “We need it to be over 70% effective—preferably over 80%—to prevent significant transmission still continuing in the community”. * The developers of the Pfizer vaccine, BioNTech have scored another medical coup. They’ve developed a vaccine that may (MS). Yup, they are still in stage 1 of the trials, and have only mice data. But it looks very promising, and uses the same mRNA technology as the Covid vaccine. * There’s also good news on the : It offers immunity for at least one year. * Doctors are running trials to test if the popular might prevent a more severe case of Covid. * A good related read: on what happens when you and/or the people around you start to get vaccinated. Do things change? Yes, but not all at once. * The pandemic hasn’t ended but traffic congestion in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi, and Pune has crawled back to the good old days. has more on a new report. * Bruce Willis to leave a Los Angeles store after he refused to wear a mask. See charming photo below: A BIG COURT RULING FOR INTERFAITH COUPLES The law: Interfaith couples who get married under the Special Marriage Act have to publish a public notice—which calls for objections to the impending nuptials. This is unlike those who get married as per personal laws of a religion—where the wedding rites are performed by a religious priest etc. The case: A couple—a Hindu man and a Muslim woman—challenged the law in the Allahabad High Court. They argued that the public notice constituted an “invasion of privacy and brings interference in their free choice with regard to their marriage.” The ruling: The Court agreed saying that the provision invades “the fundamental rights of liberty and privacy, including within its sphere freedom to choose for marriage without interference from state and non-state actors, of the persons concerned.” The outcome: Couples can now decide whether or not they want to publish such a notice. Why this matters: interfaith marriages have become a flashpoint in places like Uttar Pradesh—where the conversion law is often deployed to block lawful marriages and arrest Muslim men. has more on the ruling. New marriage age for women? Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan has unveiled a to raise the marriage age for women from 18 to 21 in the name of gender empowerment. He also proposed this: “[A] new system will be put in place, under which any woman moving out of her house for her work will register herself at the local police station, and she will be tracked for her safety.” In case you think this is a pipedream, the PM has already endorsed a task force that has been appointed to look into its merits—and he endorsed the idea in his August 15 speech. offers five very good reasons why raising the age of marriage will strip women of their independence. This older op-ed dissects the flawed argument that links marriage age to better maternal health and nutrition. HOTTEST PRODUCTS IN THE WORLD The biggest companies showcase their newest and coolest products at the annual Consumer Electronics Show—which was virtual this year. Here are some of our fave reveals: A flying car: General Motors its entry into the air taxi biz with a : The smartest face mask: from Razer is called . It is a reusable N95 respirator that has active ventilation, auto-sterilization and voice projection. Also: internal LED lights to make your mouth visible. The smartest robot: Samsung’s can fill a dishwasher or of wine. The coolest lipstick: L’Oreal’s can mix lipstick shades together to create a custom colour of your choice—and it works kinda like this: AMAZON PRIME FOLLOWS NETFLIX’S CUE In a global first, the streaming platform is rolling out a mobile-only subscription service in India—exactly like Netflix. It will start at Rs 89 per month compared to Netflix’s Rs 199. But it’s only available to Airtel subscribers as part of a prepaid mobile plan for now. One caveat: You can only watch it on one device and not in HD. () In related news: Amazon has also launched ‘Amazon Academy’ to train students for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), which determines who gets into the country’s top engineering schools across India. Also, surprisingly: It’s free for now. has more details. Speaking of big tech: Remember the big news about Tesla setting up shop in Bangalore? Splainer subscriber Ajit Matthew wrote in to offer an inside scoop: > “I share the same space where Tesla is registered. They have only one seat and no one is present. It is only an address in a > co-working space. Meanwhile the floor manager is having a tough time fending off bank salesmen and other vendors, trying to make > a fast buck!” 😂 😂 😂 ! A related good read: on why the frenzied rush to invest in Tesla is a bit like hitting the tables at the casino. FRENCH WINE RETURNS FROM SPACE The SpaceX capsule will bring a case of Bordeaux back to Earth when it splashes down on Wednesday—after a year at the International Space Station. The reason for the outer space sojourn: to see how well agricultural products like grapes hold up in harsh conditions—which will be essential if we plan to hang out in places like the Moon or Mars. Also: if they have to endure severe conditions of climate change. The bottles will be uncorked at the end of February for a tasting by some of France’s top connoisseurs. We all must suffer for the sake of humanity… () HUAWEI’S BIZARRE EMPLOYEE POLICY Employees of the Chinese tech giant Huawei who work in Europe have very odd lines that they cannot cross. For example: They can be fired if they apply for citizenship or marry a local person. If they do so, they will be summoned back to China “as soon as possible” or be deemed to have “breached their employment contract” and ordered to resign. Huawei, OTOH, insists the policy is “no longer valid.” Why this is telling: Huawei is concerned about its employees’ loyalty even as it has lost billions of dollars in government contracts—in the US, UK and India—because it is seen as an agent for the Chinese government. (, sign in required) COFFEE IS GOOD FOR MEN Researchers examined data from 16 different studies from 1989 to 2019 and came to an inescapable conclusion: “Higher coffee consumption is significantly associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer.” To sum up: > “The team from the Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University found that men who drink several cups of coffee a day had a > lower risk of developing prostate cancer compared to those with the ‘lowest’ consumption levels. Each additional daily cup was > associated with a reduction in risk of 1%, the findings indicate.” Of course, each additional cup may also put you at risk of being sucker-punched by your life partner or work spouse—which can be no less life-threatening. has more. CLIMATE CHANGE IS PRODUCING WIMPY SHARKS New research shows that warming oceans are having an unexpected effect: baby sharks are born earlier than desirable. The reason: They hatch earlier in higher temperatures, which in turn makes them weaker. This in turn makes them less efficient hunters—and less able to do their job in an ecosystem. explains. THE RECIPE FOR A CHILD’S SUCCESS A dream team of 23 global researchers have found the one thing that can predict a child’s future: Self control. Apparently, folks that can say no to that bit of chocolate as kids develop into healthier adults who age slower—as in “their bodies are biologically younger and show fewer signs of brain aging than those of their middle-aged peers.” The good news: You can improve your results if you conquer impulse control at an older age. () MILLS & BOON GOES EX-ROYAL A sort-of member of the royal family, Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York—former wife of the disgraced Prince Andrew—has signed a deal to write a piece of romantic fiction. ‘Her Heart for a Compass’ is apparently a fictional account of the life of her great-great-aunt and is being described as an “immersive historical saga.” What caught our eye: Sarah’s claim that she “drew on many parallels from my life” for the historical tale. Ooh, is there a character who has sex with ? Now, we’re interested. Also: why is M&B offering a book deal for suspected pederasts—when even the Queen wants nothing to do with her son? ()
Sanity Break #2
This is an eight-minute clip of an at a party hosted by the Jazz Roots Festival in Paris in 2015. If you don’t have the patience to watch the entire thing, we suggest you skip ahead to the 3:30 mark for the really good bits.
Feel Good Place
: Birds, Mother Nature’s great artists! (h/t subscriber Sowmya Swaminathan) : Sloth bears + balloon = comedy hour. Baby bear on a golf course also = comedy hour.
I recommend
I RECOMMEND EDITOR’S NOTE Himani is a Certified Pediatric Sleep Expert and offers baby sleep counselling to parents with gentle, scientific, baby-led advice. She is Co-Founder of the Facebook support group and a Leader of the . Her first book, a bestselling and critically acclaimed novel titled ‘’, was published in 2009. Adjusting to a new normal means changes in every dimension of one’s life. And I’m not talking about Covid here. I’m talking about parenthood. A baby gives birth to a parent and a completely new existence. You’re living and breathing parenthood. Reading what experts have to say about this moment in our lives, gives us context and information to make decisions. It demystifies our new experiences and aids us to do the best we can for these new humans who depend on us completely. These are must reads that I would recommend to every parent: Before and immediately after birth: * by the La Leche League International * by the La Leche League International * by Carlos Gonzalez * by Sarah Ockwell-Smith * by Elizabeth Pantley * by Sarah Ockwell-Smith After 6 months: by Carlos Gonzalez Toddlerhood and beyond: * by Daniel J Siegel & Tina Payne Bryson * by Alfie Kohn * by Laura Markham * by Laura Markham * by Sarah Ockwell-Smith * by Sarah Ockwell-Smith * by Joanna Faber & Julie King Note: This is NOT sponsored content. We use this section to spotlight the recommendations of people we trust and admire. : Birds, Mother Nature’s great artists! (h/t subscriber Sowmya Swaminathan) : Sloth bears + balloon = comedy hour. Baby bear on a golf course also = comedy hour.
