Never assume the obvious is true.
Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
After eating, an epicure gives a thin smile of satisfaction; a gastronome, burping into his napkin, praises the food in a magazine; a gourmet, repressing his burp, criticizes the food in the same magazine; a gourmand belches happily and tells everybody where he ate; a glutton embraces the white porcelain altar, or, more plainly, he barfs.
Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
RIP
Word nerd and columnist William Safire passes away. Here is his obit link
http://www.hindu.com/2009/09/29/stories/2009092954940900.htm
http://www.hindu.com/2009/09/29/stories/2009092954940900.htm
Friday, September 25, 2009
Chandrababu
I have always admired Chandrababu's dance skills and comedy. It was delightful to read Randor Guy's essay on him in The Hindu. Here is the link http://www.hindu.com/fr/2009/09/25/stories/2009092550660400.htm
Sometime back, eminent Tamil writer S. Ramakrishnan had posted an article on the actor on his website. Here is the link http://www.sramakrishnan.com/deep_story.asp?id=156&page=
Sometime back, eminent Tamil writer S. Ramakrishnan had posted an article on the actor on his website. Here is the link http://www.sramakrishnan.com/deep_story.asp?id=156&page=
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
“Humour is dead. Long live humour!”
"Humourlessness is a sort of cultural swine flu. Given the epidemic proportion it has now reached, humour needs to be put on a high premium nationally. The gain thereby is sure to be, in the long run, far greater than the loss or harm that could eventuate from it. And that will be the case, even for the aam aadmi".
Read the entire article at http://www.hindu.com/2009/09/22/stories/2009092255370900.htm
Read the entire article at http://www.hindu.com/2009/09/22/stories/2009092255370900.htm
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Dolmens
Interesting archeological find in Tamil Nadu.
Check out this link
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article22589.ece
Check out this link
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article22589.ece
Quirky English Language
This news item caught my fancy:
Deipnosophists, stridewallops and shot-clogs - wondering what these words mean? Well, these are some of the lost words in English language assembled by Adam Jacot de Boinod.
Shot clog is an Elizabethan word for a drinking companion who is only tolerated because he pays, while stridewallop is a Yorkshire term for a tall and awkward woman.
Deipnosophist is a Jacobean word for a skillful dinner conversationalist.
All these quirky words had been lost over a period of time, the Telegraph reports.
However, Boinod has included them in his new book 'The Wonder of Whiffling'.
He writes in the introduction of the book: "As a self-confessed bowerbird (one who collects an astonishing array of sometimes useless objects), I've greatly enjoyed putting together this collection.
"I sincerely hope that you enjoy reading it, and that it saves you both from mulligrubs, depression of spirits, and onomatomania, vexation in having difficulty finding the right word."
Some other extraordinary words include crambazzled, which is used to refer to someone who is prematurely aged through drink and a dissolute life.
Word from overseas like 'twack' have also been incorporated.
Deipnosophists, stridewallops and shot-clogs - wondering what these words mean? Well, these are some of the lost words in English language assembled by Adam Jacot de Boinod.
Shot clog is an Elizabethan word for a drinking companion who is only tolerated because he pays, while stridewallop is a Yorkshire term for a tall and awkward woman.
Deipnosophist is a Jacobean word for a skillful dinner conversationalist.
All these quirky words had been lost over a period of time, the Telegraph reports.
However, Boinod has included them in his new book 'The Wonder of Whiffling'.
He writes in the introduction of the book: "As a self-confessed bowerbird (one who collects an astonishing array of sometimes useless objects), I've greatly enjoyed putting together this collection.
"I sincerely hope that you enjoy reading it, and that it saves you both from mulligrubs, depression of spirits, and onomatomania, vexation in having difficulty finding the right word."
Some other extraordinary words include crambazzled, which is used to refer to someone who is prematurely aged through drink and a dissolute life.
Word from overseas like 'twack' have also been incorporated.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Teacher' s Day
On this occasion of Teacher's Day cannot help but reproduce this heartwarming news item.
In a unique gesture of gratitude and love for their guru, over 4,000 students who had learnt Tamil from octogenarian S.C. Venkatraman over the last 30 years at a school in Namakkal and are now living in different parts of the country, have come together to collect a million rupees to build him a house.
The teacher will shift from his rented thatched hut into this new home that his students have aptly named as Guru Nivas on Teachers’ Day on September 5.
Eighty-five-year-old Venkatraman retired in 1985 after teaching Tamil for three decades at the Senguntha Mahajana higher secondary school at Gurusamipalayam in Namakkal district.
He used to be an iconic figure for the students due to the concern he showed not only towards their studies but also their general well being.
Two years ago, a group of students of the 1957 batch held a ‘reunion’ at the school and amid all the joy and back-slapping, discovered to their shock that their favourite guru, Venkatraman was living in a little hut sans electricity.
A ‘student committee’ was instantly formed and a project announced to build a house for the vaathiyaar. “He was reluctant, even embarrassed when we told him about the planned gift.”
“When we announced the house project, contributions from his students poured in from all over. We even received cheques from former classmates now settled abroad,” he told this newspaper.
“This house does not merely reflect our gratitude; it shall remain as a reminder for the future generations about our beautiful tradition of guru-sishya paaramparyam,” she said.
Due to his advanced age, Venkatraman has confined himself to his house but continues to see students dropping by to clear doubts and share happy stories.
“I am proud of my students. Though many have settled abroad in countries like England, America and France, they call me up every year on the Teacher’s day. I can’t explain to you my feelings seeing this luxurious two-storied house,” said the guru, his voice cracking with emotion at his students’ gesture.
Another ex-student Ms M. Alamelu, who retired as a teacher and is living at KK Nagar in Chennai, said, “Venkatraman sir inspired me to take up teaching as my profession. He used to explain our lessons through stories from the epics and hardly used the blackboard. Apart from lessons, he taught us to keep time and be sincere at work.”
“This house does not merely reflect our gratitude; it shall remain as a reminder for the future generations about our beautiful tradition of guru-sishya paaramparyam,” she said.
Due to his advanced age, Venkatraman has confined himself to his house but continues to see students dropping by to clear doubts and share happy stories. “I am proud of my students. Though many have settled abroad in countries like England, America and France, they call me up every year on the Teacher’s day. I can’t explain to you my feelings seeing this luxurious two-storied house,” said the guru, his voice cracking with emotion.
In a unique gesture of gratitude and love for their guru, over 4,000 students who had learnt Tamil from octogenarian S.C. Venkatraman over the last 30 years at a school in Namakkal and are now living in different parts of the country, have come together to collect a million rupees to build him a house.
The teacher will shift from his rented thatched hut into this new home that his students have aptly named as Guru Nivas on Teachers’ Day on September 5.
Eighty-five-year-old Venkatraman retired in 1985 after teaching Tamil for three decades at the Senguntha Mahajana higher secondary school at Gurusamipalayam in Namakkal district.
He used to be an iconic figure for the students due to the concern he showed not only towards their studies but also their general well being.
Two years ago, a group of students of the 1957 batch held a ‘reunion’ at the school and amid all the joy and back-slapping, discovered to their shock that their favourite guru, Venkatraman was living in a little hut sans electricity.
A ‘student committee’ was instantly formed and a project announced to build a house for the vaathiyaar. “He was reluctant, even embarrassed when we told him about the planned gift.”
“When we announced the house project, contributions from his students poured in from all over. We even received cheques from former classmates now settled abroad,” he told this newspaper.
“This house does not merely reflect our gratitude; it shall remain as a reminder for the future generations about our beautiful tradition of guru-sishya paaramparyam,” she said.
Due to his advanced age, Venkatraman has confined himself to his house but continues to see students dropping by to clear doubts and share happy stories.
“I am proud of my students. Though many have settled abroad in countries like England, America and France, they call me up every year on the Teacher’s day. I can’t explain to you my feelings seeing this luxurious two-storied house,” said the guru, his voice cracking with emotion at his students’ gesture.
Another ex-student Ms M. Alamelu, who retired as a teacher and is living at KK Nagar in Chennai, said, “Venkatraman sir inspired me to take up teaching as my profession. He used to explain our lessons through stories from the epics and hardly used the blackboard. Apart from lessons, he taught us to keep time and be sincere at work.”
“This house does not merely reflect our gratitude; it shall remain as a reminder for the future generations about our beautiful tradition of guru-sishya paaramparyam,” she said.
Due to his advanced age, Venkatraman has confined himself to his house but continues to see students dropping by to clear doubts and share happy stories. “I am proud of my students. Though many have settled abroad in countries like England, America and France, they call me up every year on the Teacher’s day. I can’t explain to you my feelings seeing this luxurious two-storied house,” said the guru, his voice cracking with emotion.
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