61 reasons why India is special !

On the occasion of the 61st Independence Day, i ponder on what makes India so special, so different from rest of the world . I have accumulated 61 different reasons. Check it out.


Disclaimer: I know, every country is unique in its own way.

The Dark Knight ... latest Batman Offering

Couple of weeks released, the sequel to the movie Batman Begins. The producers created a lot of hype around the movie, drawing more than the usual crowd for the movie.
Within the first weekend, it broke the record for highest earning over a weekend beating Spiderman 3. On IMDB it has shot up to Number 1 beating greats like The Godfather, The Shawshank Redemption, Schiedlers' List.

What makes the movie so special ?

1. Hats off to Christopher Nolan (Director) creating one of the most twisted villain of all times. The Joker, enacted by Heath Ledger is literally twisted and a true pyscho who challenging Our Dark Knight to raise his bar each time.

2. The movie finds a balance between, character development with power dialogues and the power-packed action sequences. This surely helps cater to a very wide audience.

3. One of the most important, things i felt that makes the movie great is the minimal use graphics/animations. Yes, most of the action sequences are done in the old-style with real stuntmen.

4. Most importantly, strong screenplay.

5. Also the all-star ensemble, esp Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman (both great veterans actors) that add a touch of humor and very valuable advice to our Caped Crusader.

Bottom Line: I am ready to see it again! ;)

The Economic Naturalist !

Currently I am reading The Economic Naturalist by Robert H Frank . This book teaches some of the most basic economic principles in a very unique narrative way. The author claims that any learning from a narrative ( type of story telling with real life examples) is very effective. This is very truly the case.
He shows how economics works in everyday life with examples in the form of questions and answers.

Here are some of the questions:

• Why do female models earn so much more than male models?
• Why might retailers deliberately hammer dents into their own appliances?
• Why do the keypad buttons of drive-up cash machines have Braille dots?
• Why are child safety seats required in cars but not in airplanes?
• Why is there a light in your refrigerator but not in your freezer?

Each of this has an economic angle to it.

I am sure after reading this, you'll surely head to pick up the book.