[no comment on number of posts today]
I’m pleased to tell you that Tangerine Girl is writing again. Her long absence had actually managed to get me worrying…
A Rape in Cyberspace [en]
I’ve just finished reading My Tiny Life: A Rape in Cyberspace. It is long (it’s actually the first chapter of a print-book), well-written, and it is very interesting.
Julian recounts a case of “virtual rape” involving characters in an online community. It shows how much impact “online events” have on the real people behind the keyboards. It also shows an anarchic community struggling to get organized for dealing with the rapist.
In my online life, I have been faced by people who look upon online interaction as an “experiment” – who don’t care about their fellow chatters because they are “not real”. I think this text shows just how wrong these people are.
As an aside, I’m developing another pet peeve: haikus. Don’t get me wrong, I love japanese haikus. But this trend of sticking haikus everywhere on websites is so… “web”. I mean, short attention span and all that.
It’s a bit “easy”.
Critical Mass [en]
I often notice what I have come to call the “critical mass” syndrome. When a service or community becomes too popular, its quality comes down.
I may be pessimistic, but I see no way out of this.
Acronyms [en]
I don’t often laugh out loud reading stuff on the Internet. But every now and then I do.
So here are some slightly more elegant versions for GGP, from the bwg.
First Web Peeves [en]
OK, so I’m developping a new set of pet peeves.
- coloured scroll-bars
- “rate me” boxes
- chunk after chunk of IM (or IRC, or ICQ) conversations
- “see this” or “go here” links
- all-centered body text
Phew! enough for now.
Grandma and Bagha [en]
Each time I sit down to write one of these Life entries, I think of my Grandma. She lives in England – not that far off but still quite far.
My Grandma is over 70 now, and she logs onto the Internet regularly to visit my website. I know that what she looks for are these little (rare) Life entries.
So today I had two rather long phone calls with England. One with my Grandma – who will hopefully soon be fit to fly over and meet my animals – and one with Somak.
Speaking of animals, Somak told me he received an email from IUCAA with a rather intriguing signature:
When you find life is coming down on you, think of Bagha.
Well, Bagha was quite well known in IUCAA – particularly for breaking into people’s fridges and hanging around the canteen. And obviously, the word has spread that he emigrated from India and is now a lucky Swiss citizen. I’m sure he’ll be glad to learn that his fate helps members of the IUCAA staff lift their spirits during the hard times.
I should be going back to India beginning of August. I’m actually starting to miss India. I have cravings for dreadfully hot Marathi food (the kind of stuff I found simply dreadful when I first tasted it).
I will have a Hindi course in Rishikesh again, and I hope to be able to spend a couple of weeks in Pune before that. That means I’m going to have to work hard to get my October exams ready before I leave ; )
Fame [en]
Maybe being famous just means that people get a chance to see what you do. I’m not sure it means that what you do is better than average.
Chick Pea Salad [en]
Whoo! I’d forgotten how nice and easy to prepare this chick pea salad was. I used to do it quite often pre-India.
Here is my no-fuss meal-for-one version of Roshi Razzaq’s original recipe. It’s “Indian” – the kind of Indian you find in western cookery books – and it’s really yummy.
First, stick the following into a tupperware (or any lid-able recipient):
- 250g cooked chick peas (that’s about one tin)
- 3 tablespoons of fresh chopped mint and corianders leaves
- chilli powder (use paprika if you don’t want it strong), salt, ground cumin (the white “asian” variety) – 1/2 teaspoon of each
- 1/4 teaspoon of pepper
- 1 teaspoon of chopped fresh ginger (in little sticks)
Put the lid on, and shake.
Then, add about 200g of cooked potatoes (cut them up!), plus – follow your inspiration – tomato, cucumber, radish, spring onions (I usually end up with tomatos and spring onions, because I’m too lazy to buy everything).
Mix everything up together with some lemon juice – it’s ready!
You’re supposed to serve it with tamarind sauce, on lettuce leaves, with lots of fancy decoration. The tamarind sauce is really nice but a bit troublesome to prepare for one. If you have guests though, do take the trouble.
Bon appétit! – and tell me if you liked it…
Grimm Fusion [en]
So maybe you have heard about fusion. Now there is the text equivalent, daniel’s latest creation.
Have a peek at the second grimm. There’s a surprise for you at the end.
Animals [en]
If you’re an animal weirdo like I am, please do set some time aside to read Dr. Roen‘s column.
It’s funny and informative.