SAST Wingees

FTOTW Feb 24, 2007 – Walmart, Birds can “Plan” ..

1. Priya Raju picked the documentary Walmart: the High Cost of Low Price. Some of the things that Walmart does per this documentary are downright shocking. My main question to this documentary maker is – if you are so convinced that Walmart is evil, how come you didn’t give even one chance for Walmart to offer an opinion in the documentary?  The end result is that, the documentary comes across as a one-sided bashing of Walmart. Doesn’t Walmart do anything good?  The lack of a balanced perspective makes this documentary less credible, in the same way Fahrenheit 911 was less credible by its one-sided bashing of George W. Bush. 2. In a recent research report, Scrubjays have been shown to “plan”. We have long thought planning to be another uniquely human capability. The way this is headed, it is going to turn out that whatever we can do, some animal or bird or insect out there can do it, probably with a lesser finesse. Goes to show that we are not something special – just an artefact of the process of evolution. I am sure this fact is hard to digest for many humans. 3. It is widely believed that during sleep, some special brain processes kick in and sort  out the day’s happenings and file them  away for future use.  Recent research reports seems to corroborate this view about sleep.  As such, we yet don’t understand sleep or the brain for that matter that well for us to be sure. But we are getting there slowly. 4. Ian Landsman has some excellent insights on customer service and sales. Must read.

Lage Raho Munnabhai – master stroke of creativity

I had heard a lot about this Hindi movie Lage Raho Munnabhai. Last week I picked it up from the library and we watched it. The DVD came with English subtitles so the rest of my family was able to watch it as well.

Most will agree with me in that, Bollywood movies (including its regional language variations) usually revolve around various permutations and combinations of lovers and love stories. One other major variation is a shameless knock-off of popular Hollywood movies.

Yeah, yeah, there are exceptions and this movie Lage Raho Munnabhai is one such exception. The director has re-interpreted Mahatma Gandhi‘s principles to tell us that his principles are still very relevant. In this country where Mahatma Gandhi has just become a picture on the wall and his principles long forgotten and consigned to the dustbin of history, it is refreshing to see how his principles could be applied even today.

This movie has even spawned the application of Gandhi’s principles (Gandhigiri as they call it in this movie) in real life which are featured in popular newspapers. Yes, it has the usual Bollywood staples – song & dance sequences and corny/mushy events. But the overall concept is a master stroke of creativity.

Sanjay Dutt as Munna Bhai and Arshad Warsi as Circuit have hit it off again with some excellent emoting. Vidya Balan provides the added color. All of us enjoyed this movie a lot. If you are longing to see an Indian movie which is not a blatant copy or a quadrangular/multi-angular love story, see this one.

FTOTW ending Feb 17,2007 – Energy from Waste Heat, Amnesiacs, Smart Spider..

1. In what is potentially a breakthrough Researchers convert heat to electricity using organic molecules, that could lead to a new energy source. This employs the well-known Seebeck Effect. 2. TIME carried an interesting article on the web 2.0 gift economy. <Via Nick Carr> 3. In the animal watching department, check out Portia Labiata – a spider that does strategy. We typically associate strategy with large-brained animals including ourselves, but this tiny spider which has an even tinier brain is a master of strategy. Another bastion of unique human capability – strategy has fallen. 4. In the neuroscience department, researchers have found that amensiacs are unable to imagine the future. Till now, we associate amnesia with the memories of the past. 5. Priya Raju picked out “Thank you for Smoking” – a satire involving a lobbyist for the big tobacco companies – a part that Aaron Eckhart plays to perfection. This is a must see movie.

FTOTW ending Feb 10,2007 – Yahoo Pipes, Indus Valley Script, Power Corrupts..

1. Dr. Airavatham Mahadevan, one of the world’s top experts in the Indus Valley script wrote a brilliant article in The Hindu last week. This article shows why the Aryan (Rig Vedic) and Dravidian (Harappan) cultures were different. I have a dream – that the Indus Valley script is deciphered in my life time. 2. I love sitting on the beach and just observing the waves doing their dance. Complimenting this experience is the sea’s unique smell. Any guesses as to what causes this smell? Scientists have finally figured that out. 3. We all know the adage – power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.  Vicki Haddock wrote a brilliant article about the effects of power and how exactly it corrupts quoting some interesting research studies. <Via Bob Sutton> 4. Yahoo released its path-breaking Yahoo Pipes that sent the blogosphere into a tizzy. O’reilly had the best coverage with a series of articles showing just how powerful this idea is. Glad to see  Yahoo producing some creativity on its own, instead of relying on acquired glory through Flickr, Upcoming and other acquisitions. 5. In the neuroscience department, someone decided to understand the effect of Superbowl ads using brain scans. Guess what the results were? Is it worth the gazillion dollars for a spot? 6. You must have read my posts on the ABC theory of behavior. Now, Jeffrey Phillips comes up with the insight that lack of feedback is the biggest stumbling block to innovation. 7. Priya Raju picked the famous German movie “Run Lola Run” for us to watch last week. Excellent movie with some great visuals. If you liked Sliding Doors or Butterfly Effect type of movies, you will like this.

Spreading pop culture via T Shirts – Cool

A company called monthlytshirt.com has started a cool new monthly subscription service. When you subscribe you receive a TShirt every month with a topical message printed on it. Check out this image below of a sample T Shirt. For the  clueless – it refers to the latest Tyra Banks obesity stuff.  What do you all think?