Why people are bummed with the Newsweek cover story on luxury.

Recently(ok not so recently, since this post was originally written about a year ago. however i feel that the issues it rakes up are still relevent) Newsweek brought out a cover story on luxury or some such thing, and judging by the mail to the editor, the readers were upset. They were incensed that in these sad times, with the deluge of misfortune upon many people in the world, an established magazine of such a stature chose to focus on seemingly frivolous things.
Well, they had a very, very fair point. There is rampant inflation and a fear of economic slowdown all over the world. There have been major tragedies recently, most unfortunate among them being the cyclone in Myanmar and the earthquake in China. There were two terrible blasts in India, although they happened long after Newsweek had published their story.

However, despite tragic occurrences, we have to concede the fact people on the whole want to them behind and move on, remaining hopeful about better times. People won’t buy the magazine to OD on the gloom. Nonetheless, there are plenty of things to report about than the most expensive yachts on offer. For one, they could offer tips and advice on how to get over the gloom.

Newsweek has had several good ideas for a cover story in the past, like those on blogs, environment, etc (strictly speaking, I haven’t come across a cover story on blogs in Newsweek. I am not a regular subscriber and reader, thanks to the Rs. 100 or so that one has to fork out to purchase it. But its sister publication, Business Week ran a cover story on the business of blogs at least twice. Anyway, you get the drift)
One wonders at the lapse of judgement by the editors of such an esteemed publication. Surely they must have realised that readers interested in stories pertaining to luxury have various magazines to choose from which are focussed on this field only and therefore have several years worth of experience and plenty of expertise to possibly handle such stories better.

Another thing I noticed was the frequent attention given to environmental issues in the issues, which is laudable on its own. Recently, they ran a cover story on environment friendly countries in the world, rating the best and the worst, and those in between. How, then, can they promote the lifestyle of the so-called “rich and famous”, which gives scant regard to environmental concerns, that is if they ever bothered their heads about it. They have fuel-guzzling yachts, private jets, giant/ speedy cars they buy for obscene amounts. The carbon footprint of one individual or a group of them could well be more than that of a third world country. I can’t write further about them lest I get sick.

Can the guys at Newsweek please have some consistency with the issues they take up?

tirade against disney

I saw a bit of Disney’s high school musical today and it was kind of stupid. Dear pre-teen kids, there is loads of stuff way more entertaining than the high school musical or Hannah Montana. Playing noughts and crosses, for example. If you must make a show for light entertainment, at least make it fun.

Reservations about Reservations

All this reservation stuff is giving me the heebie-jeebies. I am really scared that unless I get a truly amazing, spectacularly wonderful rank in the engineering entrance exams I will not be able to get through anywhere.
What I don’t really get is why is the general category student being penalised so? Haven’t we a right to education. Why should it be our needs and our alone that are sacrificed at the altar of social justice?

I believe the number of doctors, engineers, research scholars; etc is very few in comparison to our population. And most of the graduates are deemed unemployable by the leading global and domestic firms and companies. This is evident in the mad rush for IIT graduates. A whole many government schools are in shambles. The quality and quantity of graduates is generally deemed to be pitiful for a supposed giant of the 21st century. So I suggest that if the politicians and ministers are really concerned about the plight of the people, they take a long, hard look at the education system today. That they try to improve the system that caters to a large amount of population, many of whom are underprivileged, including those who have borne the brunt of the caste system. Because the majority of the population doesn’t even get proper schooling. The majority include a lot of people who have been stigmatised by the caste system.




For the rest of us, raise your voice now.

Madhya Pradesh CM doing his bit to save the environment and the exchequers' money

I recently read in the newspaper about the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh taking to riding a bicycle and talking about cutting down on the security and stuff. A political party called it ‘drama’. I think that this is one of the better forms of ‘drama’ by politicians. At least it doesn’t harm the environment. In contrast to their cavalcades, with at least 20 cars and red beacons and sirens, designed to efficiently put the common man at discomfort and waste the exchequer’s money.
Btw this blog has no political leanings. It is to be absolutely apolitical. Any attempt to construe the meanings of the things written here to be something unintended will be unwanted and really, really cheap.

Argh

mosquitoes sucking my blood.
another rainy july.