cydonian

cydonian, 3 days ago to random

I have always said that as a person of Indian descent, the Koh-I-Noor on the Queen Mother(?)’s head angers me less than the priceless artifacts in the V&A. Here’s one such artifact: a tampura that’s beautifully painted on with a style that’s very close to what I know as the Nirmal school of art.

And yet, the description absolutely has no clue: doesn’t mention the Ganesha in the center (which is how you traditionally start a Nirmal painting), doesn’t mention who the king and queen on either side represent (are they royalty? Are they gods?), doesn’t talk about how intricately the painter and the instrument maker collaborated to make this, doesn’t say where it was made or how it was used.

Nothing beyond a clinical description of where and when it was stolen from, and only for onlookers to gawk at it and feel cultured.

cydonian, 8 days ago to random

“When you put all of these stories together, a clear picture emerges. The Indian government has developed a repertoire of tactics for repressing criticism abroad, and is currently deploying all of them as part of a campaign of intimidation in the United States. Human rights activists, experts, and Indian American community organizers are aware of India’s efforts and speak of its campaign as an everyday concern for themselves and people they know.

Which means it’s probably working.” https://www.vox.com/world-politics/24160779/inside-indias-secret-campaign-to-threaten-and-harass-americans

cydonian, 14 days ago to random

Didn’t realise the Indian crew of the Singapore ship that crashed into the bridge in Baltimore are still isolated on the ship, and will be for the foreseeable future. https://mothership.sg/2024/05/21-crew-singapore-flagged-ship-baltimore-bridge/

cydonian, 16 days ago to random

2023: the warmest year in the last 2000 years. https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/05/this-past-summers-heat-was-an-extreme-outlier-in-past-2000-years/

cydonian, 22 days ago to random

World looking at an average of at least 1.5 C increase in temperature. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/may/08/world-scientists-climate-failure-survey-global-temperature

That doesn’t necessarily mean a uniform 1.5C increase across the world. It’ll be severely more in the equatorial regions, particularly in South East Asia, where we potentially have already seen an increase of ~3C in April/ May. https://social.vivaldi.net/@cydonian/112335789047432896

cydonian, 24 days ago to random

Sending a bee signal to other Yellow Jackets here on Fedi. 🐝🤘🏾 😀 @evan @Riedl

cydonian, 25 days ago to random

“Sumitra Maurya did not withdraw from the Gandhinagar race. But Chauhan who had made the video did. An aspiring politician who runs a small painting business, he was born in Etawah in Uttar Pradesh and moved to Gujarat in 1998. “Two of my clients have already cancelled their contracts with me since my withdrawal,” he said. “They got scared. I’m afraid my business will shut down.”

[…]

On April 21, Chauhan alleged, four men from the Crime Branch followed him everywhere in Ahmedabad. “They even harassed four of my 10 proposers,” he said. “They told me, ‘Take care of yourself and your children. Politics is not your business.’ When I returned home, I felt like they wanted to put me under house arrest. That’s when I made the video that night and uploaded it on my Facebook page.”

World’s largest democracy.

https://scroll.in/article/1067398/in-amit-shahs-gandhinagar-three-lok-sabha-candidates-allege-they-faced-pressure-to-withdraw

cydonian, 27 days ago to random

“Doctors meanwhile are scrambling to figure it out. Pregnancy in previously infertile women taking semaglutides including Ozempic may, some surmise, simply be a result of weight loss itself — obesity can lead to hormone imbalances that make pregnancy difficult to achieve or sustain. Mounjaro and Zepbound, on the other hand, are tirzepatide, which may interfere with how medications are absorbed, rendering birth control pills less effective.

“May” being the operative word; no one appears to know for sure.” https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2024-05-03/ozempic-babies-abortion-rights-birth-control-menopause-womens-healthcare-us

Feel quite strongly about this, but the amount of fatshaming and lack of insights on women’s health is ABSYMAL. Know this first hand from my experiences visiting the doctor with my wife.

cydonian, 28 days ago to random

“[F]act remains that youth unemployment is at an all-time high; according to the International Labour Organization, 83% of India’s unemployed are in this group. Hunger among the poor is chronic. As many as 800 million Indians rely on subsidised food rations. The number of billionaires in Forbes’s list of the world’s wealthiest people shows an increasing number of Indians, but inequality has worsened significantly, and India today has greater income inequality than during the British Raj” https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/29/india-election-narendra-modi-anti-muslim-rhetoric

cydonian, 28 days ago to random

People already don’t believe me that, even as recently as four years back, you used to get everything from The Economist, Nat Geo, Monocle, FT, WSJ, IHT (later NYT) to yesterday’s Dina Tanthi, Eenadu, Swāti and other Tamil and Telugu newspapers and magazines on Singapore’s street corners. This is in addition to the local press: SPH and MediaCorp’s selections in Singapore’s four languages.

Sadly, one very large iconic roadside seller will close as soon as this Sunday. https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/living/thambi-magazine-store-holland-village-closing-389536

cydonian, 1 month ago to random

The looming job crisis for 40-something techies in India. https://the-ken.com/story/why-more-40-somethings-are-becoming-unwilling-retirees/

cydonian, 1 month ago to random

Johnny Johnny in Raag Malkauns. Come for the laughs, stay mesmerised by the guy’s ability to hit so many notes. Spell binding. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6JJduvSpeI/?igsh=YmFkdHF5eGhpMjhm

cydonian, 1 month ago to random

““It felt too difficult to my job in India,” said Dias in her podcast. “I was struggling to get into public events run by Modi’s party [the Bharatiya Janata Party], the government would not even give me the passes I need to cover the election. And the ministry left it all so late, that we were already packed up and ready to go.”

Dias added: “It’s all by design...the Narendra Modi government has made me feel so uncomfortable that we decided to leave.””

World’s largest democracy.
https://scroll.in/latest/1066942/too-difficult-to-do-my-job-in-india-abc-journalist-avani-dias-leaves-country-amid-visa-troubles

cydonian, 1 month ago to random

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

cydonian, 1 month ago to random

Either Avatar the live series has gibberish in its traditional Chinese text, or Apple’s translation is gibberish.

Or a bit of both. 😀🤷🏻‍♂️

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cydonian, 1 month ago to random

“[A]n overwhelming majority of respondents (79%) appeared to support the idea that India belongs to all religions equally and not just Hindus; that it must remain a country where people following different religions can live and practice their faith freely.
[…]
Nearly eight in every 10 Hindus said that they have faith in religious pluralism. “

Your feel-good story of the day.
https://www.thehindu.com/elections/lok-sabha/csds-lokniti-2024-pre-poll-survey-remarkable-support-for-religious-pluralism/article68055497.ece

cydonian, 1 month ago to random

Selamat Hari Raya/ Eid Mubarak to all those celebrating!

Images of the Sultan Mosque and Kampong Glam.

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cydonian, 1 month ago (edited 1 month ago) to random

PM Anwar Ibrahim wishing ugādi subhākāmkshalu in Malay wasn’t on my Bingo card.

cydonian, 1 month ago to random

I wade into my muted alumni WhatsApp group after a month and the first thing I see is a grossly transphobic message, reminding me once again why I muted it in the first place.

Sigh.

cydonian, 2 months ago to random

Day 2 of being on Semaglutide:

I’m on the pill (Rybelsus), not the needle (Ozempic or wegovy). My insurance via company or MediShield Plus (Singapore) doesn’t cover it, so it’s all out of pocket. But despite willing to pay, we in Singapore still can’t get access to the needles: “global demand is high, we are a small country”, says the doctor. Wegovy isn’t available till end of the year, Ozempic for the next 2 months. And whatever stock there is is reserved for high risk Type 2 Diabetes patients. I have diabetes now, but am not high risk. So tablet it is.

Now I have been losing weight already: 7-odd kg since Nov 2021. But you hit a plateau soon; the body is used to having a certain level of food, and gives you signals when it thinks it’s not receiving as much. Lifestyle problems - insomnia, work/ commute hours etc - make it harder.

The theory is semaglutide makes that disconnect; it reduces food cravings by delaying the production of a certain hormone. I’m deliberately not looking the names up; the concept is more important than scary-sounding scientific words. Basically: it’s not like you burn calories, just that you end up taking in fewer calories. Which apparently is safer.

cydonian, 2 months ago (edited 2 months ago) to random

And on this fine day, I’ve come upon the Answer to Life, Universe and Everything.

cydonian, 2 months ago to random

HRW notices what we (OCIs in favour of free speech in India) have been saying since 2019.
https://mastodon.social/@sushubh/112114776266447793

cydonian, 2 months ago to random

King of fruits: why choose between mango and durian?

cydonian, 3 months ago to magASEAN

South Indian thali yesterday. Nalan’s thali shot up from $8 to $24 in 16 years, but is as awesome as it has ever been. #makanapatoday

cydonian, 3 months ago to random

French journo who lived in India for 23 years, married an Indian, raised a son in India, is being stripped of her permanent residency and is being asked to leave India for good. Reason: her French articles in Le Point aren’t palatable to the powers that be.

(As someone married to an Indophile who has reported from/ on India before, this is scary af. ) https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2024/02/16/french-journalist-says-leaving-india-after-expulsion-threat_6532610_7.html