The Frugal Swede

And you thought Narayana Murthy was as far as you could go to cite a boss who sets an example for his employees on simple living. Try the 4th richest man on earth! Ingvar Kamprad, a.k.a the man who created IKEA.


The Car that Ingavar drives, when he isn't taking the bus to work. A quick glance through this page shows that most of the other billionaires aren't in a hurry for an Auto update.

The Scotsman:
Asked to confirm that he drove an old Volvo, he said: "She is nearly new, just 15 years old, or something like that." Asked jokingly if IKEA employees were told to write on both sides of the paper, he said: "Why not? If there is such a thing as good leadership, it is to give a good example. I have to do so for all the IKEA employees.

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No More Tears Sister

A film about a Tamil Human Right's worker, who fought the LTTE, the IPKF and the Sri Lankan Government is making waves. The few lines on Rajani Thiranagama set me off Googling about the lady. When people assasinate Jaffna University's Head of the Anatomy Department, while she cycled her way back home, it fails to remain as a mere statistic. The more I read about her, the more humbled I am.

When doctors were too frightened to reveal an IPKF massacre at Jaffna Hospital in October 1987 which left 70 staff and patients dead, and were even afraid publicly to commemorate their dead colleagues, Rajani interviewed survivors…

With a handful of other women, Rajani cycled throughout the region, collecting information on the murders and tortures, and on the rapes that are a widespread but shamefully hidden consequence of the conflicts. She listed the experiences of the mothers and young girls, counseling them and giving them whatever they needed from whatever she had…

Critics rip LOTR Musical

Rahman with his Orchestrator, Christopher Nightingale.

Looks like A R Rahman's got another stinker on his hand. Sadly, the Lord of the Rings musical isn't really setting his stock on fire. Remember the kind of reviews Bombay Dreams received on its Broadway debut. With NY Times dismissing it right away, doubts about LOTR even making it to Broadway (based on reviews by the NYC-based media) have been raised.

NY Times Review:

You speak not the half of it, O cherub-cheeked lad of Middle Earth. The production in which you exist so perilously is indeed a murky, labyrinthine wood from which no one emerges with head unmuddled, eyes unblurred or eardrums unrattled. Everyone and everything winds up lost in this $25 million adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's cult-inspiring trilogy of fantasy novels. That includes plot, character and the patience of most ordinary theatergoers.

Boo Hoo Mr. Bo

Without citing India or the majority of Mumbai's population that lives in slums or the shanties ringing the conference venue, Bo referred to "some developing countries" that cram their poor into "clusterings of shantytowns" where life is too bleak for freedom to mean anything.

"Some people in those places cannot even have a shower for years on end. And these people - most of them have no access to education," he said. "So how can you imagine that these people are in a position to talk about democracy when they are simply illiterate?"

That was Chinese commerce minister, Bo Xilai responding to Manmohan Singh's swipe at China. I cannot agree more with Mr. Bo, but I would like to point out, what good does it do when you lock up your well-educated citizens in a 1x1 foot cell with no one to talk, for years together; forget means to a decent shower or a shot at Democracy!

Shymalan's AmEx 'pitch'

Got to give it to Shyamalan. His ad (also viewable here) for American Express is outright intriguing, honest and charming. Here's why Shyamalan says he made the ad. While you're at it, here's an interesting excerpt from that conversation:

I said to them before I signed on "you need to know right away there are certain levels of integrity that I have and that is going to make this difficult." The one thing I requested was they can't play this ad in movie theaters. Movie theaters are a sacred place. We don't go to the movies to be sold anything. I want the theater to be a pure experience. My diva thing was protecting cinema. But the point is American Express was very responsive to that.

If you're still reading, here's a view ("The problem with M. Night Shyamalan") from Kuro5hin, which thinks of Shymalan's movies as failed comedies.

Bush's N-Deal w/ India

A sample from Cagle's take on Bush's largess to India.