Ads or Aphrodisiacs

I have been noticing recently that increasing number of products advertised on TV can serve as aphrodisiacs. More and more products seem to be “sensual”. Yet it seems that couples are performing poorly in “those” terms as compared to a few decades ago according to a report I heard on the radio the other day.

I can understand promoting perfumes or clothes or even chocolates, in that way but yesterday I saw one for Italian frozen food! Who knew frozen food is sexy! What’s next? Anti-inflammatory? ;)

TV has been traditionally known to use sex as a selling point for advertising. However I see using sexuality to sell a product that is not related to the former as a mere lack of creativity.

I do appreciate a good Ad that gets the point across without resorting the good old, handy tool of sex. Please feel free to share some good links.

Antibiotics and vaccinations

I have been reading and hearing about the Swine Flu virus, as I am sure everyone has. It has triggered some disturbing thoughts about future generations - of humans and bacteria and viruses :).

I am pretty sure, that the first penicillin was discovered with the best intentions however, this "habit" of using antibiotics when and where possible has multiplied ever since. Thanks to the Internet, we can now be more aware of the drugs that doctors prescribe rather than just blindly using them. Here are a couple of helpful websites that can help us make informed decisions about the use of antibiotics and vaccinations.

I think we need to always remember that pharmaceutical companies are here to make money just like any other business. This reminds me of a very good book I read a few years ago: Strong Medicine by Arthur Hailey.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/antibiotics/FL00075
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiviral_drug

Wishing you all good health!

It is Simply a Matter of Habit

The TV yesterday was full of stuff about Earth day. I am very inspired by the little things we can do and form a part of our daily routines.

Did you know that the Pacific ocean is a huge garbage dump and the garbage mainly consists of plastics? It almost made me cry to watch what we have done to our planet. It is time that all of us cleaned up our act whether or not we have contributed directly or indirectly to it.

I would like to share some things that I find are easily achievable through habit.
1. Avoid littering the streets - looks shabby and not environmentally friendly.
2. This I would like to stress especially to my American friends - Avoid using paper towels for everything. I have never seen so much use of paper towels in Canada as I have noticed in the houses of my American friends. Old T-shirts are great to soak up liquids and wipe counter tops or please go ahead and use the market-bought wiping cloths, but please avoid paper towels wherever possible. How could we so easily forget what our parents (especially those whose parents are in India) used, to do the same, is beyond my understanding.
3. Try using organic fertilizers for lawns.
4. Use faucet water filters instead of plastic bottles for drinking water
5. Use the good old cloth bags for shopping instead of loading your drawers and/or garbage and/or recycle bins with the dreaded plastic bags. It is the toughest to get used to.. but again it is a matter of forming the habit.
6. Car pool or friends in Pune can try to scooter pool whenever possible.
7. Go vegetarian at least once a week.

I hope that at least few of you understand the gravity of the issue at hand. Let us give a cleaner planet to our future generations. It is our responsibility.

Beware of Western Media

Yesterday I was watching a documentary about super human powers on the National Geographic channel on demand. It was a documentary about how different religious and ethical groups have certain beliefs about super human strength and power. It tried to show how some martial art teachers claim that they can make a person collapse by a simple touch, or by throwing “chi” at them in the form of a ball.

They also showed the Sufi mystics piercing sharp objects through body parts and still remain unharmed. Also included in this film were the Hindu sadhus and fortune tellers who fool the rural and scam the urban population for thousands of dollars.

However, subtly and what seemed to be, quite deliberately – if I may accuse so – missed, was another major religious deviation and that is the scam run by some Christian faith healers. God knows what they do to rural populations in under-developed parts of the world.

What I would like to point out is not the actual subject of the documentary but the brilliance with which western media seeps into our finer minds. They don’t even touch upon the subject of the most dominant religion in the western world. The documentary to me seemed, as though it was only picking on what lies to the east of Europe and America.

We as conscious and educated people need to look at the western media with a more than an “open” mind.

To my friends who are media professionals I don’t have to explain how much of an impact a simple act like “exclusion” of an unsuspecting religion can have.

Stop kidding!

Recently I have seen a whole bunch of contradictions in the advertisement industry. One of them being: coke sponsoring The Heart Truth, an awareness campaign, sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

What bothers me is not the fact that it is sponsoring something to do with health and heart but the fact that it is advertising its sponsorship.

Stop kidding us. We know that it is not a healthy drink, diet or not.

See, people who are not media aware tend to take these things seriously and might even think that it is good for their hearts.

So, just wanted to make the public aware that coke sponsoring health charities or any other big brand name doing so, doesn't mean the content of these big brands is healthy. It is just a mask for them to hide behind. Like an old collegue of mine would say: what a bunch of baloney! Whatever that means. :)

Read this for further information.

http://www.emaxhealth.com/11/586.html

Criminal Candidates

Indian law does not allow those awaiting trial to vote but there is no bar on people fighting elections from jail if not yet convicted. The Election Commission has ordered all candidates to clearly state in an affidavit the number of cases pending against them. Close to 40 per cent of Lok Sabha candidates belonging to the leading political parties in face criminal charges that range from assault, extortion, rioting, attempt to murder and defamation. At least 18 people facing serious criminal charges, including the alleged mastermind behind the leak of papers for entrance tests to management institutes, are contesting the parliamentary elections from Bihar. The High Court has said that candidates with criminal records and lodged in jail have no right to contest the elections. The fact that the voting rights of prisoners with a criminal background are suspended under election laws gives additional support to this new ruling.While some of the political parties appreciate and support the High Court's stand, there are a few others who prefer to be silent on this ruling. The Indian Election Commission has in recent years tried to tackle the problem of criminal politicians by making it harder for candidates with criminal records to stand for election. But the trouble is that the cases against many candidates have not been proved. In fact, it is hard to find a single case of a politician being sent to jail for corruption in independent India. In 1997, the Election Commission issued an order requiring candidates to submit affidavits about their convictions for any of the above criminal offences. However there was no provision in the election law to make this information available to the voter. The Law Commission gave voice to the growing feeling among voters that it was not enough to disqualify criminals found guilty by a court. In the last general elections , it's estimated that around 1,000 candidates who were alleged to have committed a wide range of crimes stood for election. These varied from murder, theft and rape to extortion and banditry.

http://www.indian-elections.com/national-issues/criminal-candidates.html

Political Debate – Need of the hour

Since I have been living in Canada for the past 10/12 years, I have been observing the quiet political scene here, as compared to the loud and gaudy politics of India. I am not saying that politicians are well behaved or there is no mud slinging in the parliament.

What I am saying is that election times are seen as chance to choose, by the people rather than traffic jams, huge pandals and hoardings all over the place probably accompanied by loud music. The election commission does not ban processions or does not clearly ban the use of posters on public places and traffic signals. At least it is not mentioned on the following website.

http://www.indian-elections.com/national-issues/criminal-candidates.html

There is a code of conduct that is followed. The signs for cadidates are of a prescribed size and are posted only at prescribed places. They do not cover traffic signals.

What is more interesting and worth copying (for once copy the good things of the west), is the fact that political leaders participate in debates on National TV.

I feel India should hold debates for all types of elections starting from municipal to the national. I am not sure if this type debate is part of Indian politics.

The debates should, of course, be mediated and people should judge the candidates based on their behaviour and answers during this debate.

I think we as Indians, should challenge the candidates more. Make them sweat over answers to the real questions that matter and watch out for the standard memorized solutions. Let them face unforeseen controversial questions.

Sports

Sports - is a sensitive subject for me. Not because I play any kind of sport myself, but I feel offended by the thought that, despite such a huge population that India hosts, we are unable to produce, international quality sportsmen/women – obviously we are not talking cricket here.

I know that all of us have thought about this and felt bad about at one point or another, so, I am not making a brand new statement.

However, I think I can boil the widespread failure of our sports people, down to some very basic reasons and possible solutions.

• City folk are overburdened by competition starting at a very early age.
• Pollution probably contributes to the poor health of athletes and sportsmen from urban areas.
• I think village folk can make excellent athletes and sportsmen. Someone needs to invest in training them.
• Lack of dedication to a particular sport.
• Exercise and being fit, has somehow escaped the age-old routines of chores (eg. Taking a bath, doing pooja, eating breakfast etc…) followed by our people.

I strongly feel that people who are pouring loads of money in 20/20 should also concentrate some of their effort towards other sports like soccer, hockey, basketball or athletics.

I am sure that the simple glamour and charm of these rich tycoons, will attract people to watch those other games too.

I also feel that traditional sports like Kabaddi, Malkhamb, Kushti, need to get more media coverage. However, I can understand why these sports don't look glamorous. All they need to do is modify their outfits to portray a modern image.

Should I be optimistic about this?

Mission 10th pass takes off, traffic ‘culture’ bared

Posted on http://www.indianexpress.com/ on April 06

I am an optimistic person and I really hope Puneites cooperate.

The MissionThrough this mission, undertaken by STPM with the help of Pune Municipal Corporation and Pune traffic police, citizens will be urged to follow 10 basic traffic rules step by step, one at a time. The long-term campaign has the sole objective of improving the overall traffic scenario. At the end of the mission, SPTM hopes to discipline people and declare Pune as “10th Pass,” as far as following simple traffic rules is concerned. The Indian Express had published a report about this mission in December last year.

The 10 rules

* At red signal, stop before stop line, not on zebra stripes

* No free left turn at signals

* Follow one-way and no entry rules; no driving on wrong side while turning right

* No mobile usage while driving

* Don’t cut corners while turning right

* Honour zebra stripes even at places without signals

* Use blinkers/hand signals before turning

* Use headlights when it is dark; never use high beam in city

* Use correct lane for turning, beginning with signals* No parking on footpaths

If you put it that way!

Statistics for Pune

• In the last four decades, the population of the city has increased four times whereas the vehicle
  population has increased 87 times and the road length has increased by only five times.
• The vehicular composition indicates that 75% of the total vehicles are two-wheelers, followed by fourwheelersat 13% and three-wheelers at 6% of the total registered vehicles in the city.
• 53% of the work trips are performed by two-wheelers and bicycles.
• The existing public transportation system falls short while catering to the rising demand.
• Only 15% of the vehicle kilometers travelled in the city is accounted for by public transportation.

India Ranks 1st in the world in the following areas:

• Total number of recorded murders/homicides
• Highest square kilometers of irrigated land
• Cinema attendance

Source: http://hetv.org/india/top-rankings.htm

Where are Indian Scientists?

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Health--Science/articlelist/3908989.cms

I have noticed that most of the research published on websites belongs to foreign sources. I wonder why there isn't much research published from India. With a huge population and good education, I feel Indian research students and scientists need to do a better job at publishing.