loved PK because

- happy to see indian films get mature. The promos before the movie promise of an interesting 2015. 

- The story is so simple - one person wants to go back home and sees this new crazy place that he has to survive until he finds a way back. 

- I love the use of Bhojpuri - brilliant !! Relatable to the North Indian audiences and funny for the city dwellers. 

- I loved the idea that they were trying to tell a story where Anushka's character is trying to tell a story. Fun little Russian doll type story telling. 

- The approach to the topic of blind faith in india as an outsider was done by this funny alien. A complete outsider passing comments on us in a funny way really gets people thinking. 

- Beautifully touches on how Indian parents can completely get off course in their "love" for their children. The father who takes pride in a child's creativity, feels shame when she uses the same tools to examine his own beliefs. 

- The face off between the guru and PK actually dealt with the classic irrational argument that people make about "what is the harm if god gives people hope". He turns around to agree that god does give hope but not by blind faith. "which god should I follow" 

What can praying do ?

Can it help you handle things better ? 

meritocracy in silicon valley

Silicon Valley's Mirror Effect http://nyti.ms/1wsbYyX

Jodi Kantor http://on.cc.com/1ihg1sM 

http://www.stanforddaily.com/2013/03/16/maddow-visits-stanford-for-first-time-since-graduating/

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/12/23/us/gender-gaps-stanford-94.html

[AoTD] Poverty in NY

http://www.nytimes.com/projects/2013/invisible-child/#/?chapt=1

• One in five American children is now living in poverty, giving the United States the highest child poverty rate of any developed nation except for Romania
• wiry girl whose proud posture overwhelms her 4-foot-8 frame
• It is an ironic fact of being poor in a rich city that the donated garments Dasani and her siblings wear lend them the veneer of affluence, at least from a distance. 
• By the time Mayor Bloomberg took office in 2002, New York's homeless population had reached 31,063 — a record for the city, which is legally obligated to provide shelter.
• Dasani possesses what adults at McKinney consider an intuitive approach to learning, the kind that comes when rare smarts combine with extreme life circumstances. Her intelligence is "uncanny" and "far surpasses peers her age," one counselor writes. "Student is continuously using critical analysis to reflect upon situations and interactions.

[source : http://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-best-business-writing-2014/9780231170154]

Tagore on Love

http://www.iop.or.jp/Documents/0818/mukherjee.pdf

O what is this !

Mysterious and uncapturable Bliss

That I have known and yet seems to be

Simple as breathe and easy as a smile

And older than the earth.

Home

Home is an emotion
Not tied to walls and a roof.
For those who learn to stop and smell
This notion turns to truth

For some it takes a cradle
For some it takes a grave
Very few can realize it
Without a close shave

Home is also the people
Who you call your own
Some of whom
you might like to disown

It's a place
Where families thrive
Doing all that they
Need to survive

Home is a shelter
From all that's out there
But don't they say
The truth is out there

Home might be
A notion in our head
But a child
Would have nothing instead.

Facebook graph search for recommendations

Hands-On With Facebook Post Search: Strong Recommendations, Yelp Should Worry http://tcrn.ch/1zlTEwW via @techcrunch
Hmm how likely are people to post bad experiences on their facebook profile pages. They are more likely to Crib on yelp and more likely to praise on Facebook.