gavin's blog

Just came across Richard Dawkins' letter to his ten-year-old daughter on true grounds for belief (evidence, not tradition, authority or revelation), via kottke's blog. I differ on the most substantial issues with Mr. Dawkins, but with this letter, I think he's dead on.

Read about it here:

 
'A teenage boy has been locked in mediation allegedly without food or water in a Nepalese jungle for six months, and thousands have flocked to see him with some believing he's the Buddha reincarnated, police and media said on Wednesday.

 
Many visitors believe Banjan is a reincarnation of Gautama Siddhartha, who was born not far away in southwestern Nepal around 500 B.C. and later became revered as the Buddha, which means Enlightened One. But others aren't so sure. 

 
Mahat, the journalist, said visitors can catch a glimpse of Banjan from a roped-off area about 25 meters away from him between dawn and dusk. Followers then place a screen in front of him, blocking the view and making it impossible to know what's happening with him at night, Mahat said. We could not say what happens after dark, Mahat said. "People only saw what went on in the day, and many believed he was some kind of god.'' '

Reincarnation sure seems to be in style on the subcontinent. 

You know how English films are given really weird Hindi names in India? The new Harry Potter has been saved the disgrace with a straightforward translation. But Hindi is Hindi and English is English. So if you take the Hindi Harry Potter (Hindi alphabet I mean) on the poster and translate it back into English, guess what you get? Hairy Pouter! That's right - Hairy Pouter!

 
For those of you that thought this post was about mature porn, you need to check your testosterone levels. Seriously.

apparently, which totally surprises me!

who is the subject of this interesting story from NY Times, which says about him :

'Known across Britain by his tabloid nickname, the Lotto Lout, Mr. Carroll won £9.7 million (about $15 million at the time) in the national lottery three years ago and showed up to collect his prize while wearing a police-issued electronic ankle bracelet................"Before he won the lottery, he was a nuisance," Charles Joyce, a local official, said. "He decided to carry on being a nuisance." Among other things, he has appeared in court more than 30 times in the last three years. He has spent three months in jail on drugs charges, paid thousands of dollars in fines for vandalism and been evicted from several hotels after, for instance, ripping a chandelier from the ceiling while trying to swing from it.'

and about chavs:

'The derivation of the word chav, which began to be widely used about a year ago as the problem of binge drinking in Britain's towns and cities became a huge national issue, is murky. Some say it comes from an 18th century Romany word meaning "child"; others believe it may come from the town of Chatham in Kent, known, apparently, for its large chav population (the theory that it is an acronym for Council Housed and Violent is most likely untrue).

here, if you are into that sort of thing.

Do you love watching Amazing Animal Videos on Animal Planet?

Here's a page full of funny and cute pics of animals - such as this one - that I enjoyed, and hope you do too.

This one is my favorite, which is yours?

Sorry for that bad link. They've taken down the page it seems. In the meantime enjoy some Human Acts that are even funnier than animal ones, but not nearly cute enough!

More India unplugged.

'Peeved at the constant nagging of her husband over her frequent use of mobile phone, a wife in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir has left her husband.' Read it here.

Came across this really interesting article at NY Times about a scientist who experimented with his own body over a decade and discovered pretty crazy solutions to vexing problems such as 'It took him more than 10 years of experimenting, but he found that his morning insomnia could be cured if, on the previous day, he got lots of morning light, skipped breakfast and spent at least eight hours standing. Stranger yet was the fix he discovered for lifting his mood: at least one hour each morning of TV viewing, specifically life-size talking heads - but never such TV at night.'

The article is by the authors of Freakonomics, a book I just finished last week and meant to blog but haven't got around to, so why not now?