Israel, Palestine, why won't you learn from your past?

It's time to re-post an article I had blogged about back in 2011:

http://petty-change.blogspot.sg/2011/07/economists-take-on-israel-palestine.html?m=1

5 things little K has taught me

1. Nothing is worth rushing. And I mean nothing. Always take your time & the journey is as exciting as the destination. It's the screamers & worriers who eventually suffer the stress.

2. Holding on to resentment is pathetic. It's always possible to go from "I never want to play with you EVER" to "let's play together" in 10 minutes.

3. Everything is up for negotiation. The more you demand, the more you get away with! 

4. It's your curiosity which makes even ordinary things (like others' vomit or a dog's poop) seem marvelous. Sense of wonder is in the eyes of the beholder.

5. Don't waste your energy being politically correct. It's ok to say "did you seriously come here without a gift for me?!" if the underlying message is important to you. People appreciate the frankness & learn from it!

Malaysian Airlines & the worst kind of luck

When the first plane disappeared, I remember feeling scared and skeptical - doubting the whole system in which a huge airplane can go missing despite all those radars, gadgets, black boxes, the works.

This time though, I'm feeling depressed. The whole incident is a telling sign of what our world has come to. The utter lack of humanity is staggering. Loss of lives used for political one-upmanship & media circus shows...so depressing I can't write anymore!  

And they do the glossy feminism again….

Those in India may have seen this Femina magazine with the beautiful Indian actress Huma Qureshi on the cover making a feminist statement. Now how many times have we said that the media needs to stop the stereotypical portrayal of beauty…we should cheer for this cover then, shouldn't we?

I would've applauded this effort if it wasn't for the hint of hypocrisy and lack of credibility i felt. Maybe it's the fact that a glossy mag is choosing to take a stand against the glossiness and superficiality of the perception of beauty today. They've air-brushed Huma's already heavily makeup-laden face and arms and then tagged it as 'I don't owe you perfection'. If only they had photographed her in natural light, in a natural setting or even her natural body/ face, this would've been more credible.

I thought of this old post (way back from 2007) about how loosely feminist tag lines are thrown around for commercial reasons these days, but are they really a step forward for us?  

Working from home is tougher than you'd think!

And another adventure....

Everyone needs a hobby & this is the hobby that has chosen me: writing children’s books. I have started a series of illustrated travel books for children & I’m super excited to announce that the first book of this series “The Adventures of Pugs in Japan” is now published. Please support me in this new adventure of mine by buying my book, by writing reviews for it on Amazon.com & by reading it to your kids!

For all my friends in the US, its available on Amazon as well as Barnes & Noble. For those in India, its available on Flipkart & Amazon India. For those in Singapore & in other places, I have a copy for you, just drop me a note! Hope you all enjoy reading it!