50 Best Websites

From The Chicago Tribune
(my hometown newspaper)

Surely, we've all heard of many of the 50, but there are always surprises. Check out the Trib's 50 Best Websites. (I came across the list in HyperText, a blog maintained by Steve Johnson.

Also, equally interesting (and a lot more opinionated) are the Readers' choices and suggestions. In this list, again, were many sites that I had not heard of, but I am sure planning to check them out. If you have the patience to read through the comments, you'll surely be rewarded with a site or two that you didn't know existed.

Word Game of the Day

Merriam-Webster Word Game Of The Day

I have been a long time subscriber to the M-W word of the day, but only very recently did I notice the big button on the left panel. One day, out of curiousity, I clicked. That day's word game was fun and so I clicked again the next day. Soon, I became became a daily visitor and was looking forward to each day's game. They have lots of interactive word games of varying difficulty, all aimed to test our vocubulary and understanding of English words.

If words interest you, and you are not already a subscriber you should consider subscribing to the word of the day list. (It's free.)

And here's the Link to today's Merriam-Webster Game of the Day.

Vocabulary, word games

Naked Economics -- Incentives Matter

Yes, a second post about the same book. Some things are worth repeating. (I already recommened this book here.) In this follow-up post, let me try and articulate what I liked about the book.

For years, I have been searching for a book that would explain Macroeconomics to me, and this turned out to be the book. I still have a lot more learning to do, but this book served as a much-needed foundation. Now, I have to build on some of the concepts in Naked Economics. (As an aside, I found that wikipedia has some very good articles of topics like inflation, deflation, the flow of currency etc.)

Back to Naked Economics. It was in Chapter 2 -- Incentives Matter -- that Charles Wheelan really reeled me in. This fascinating essay starts by exploring the perilous lives of Africa's black rhinos and theire prized noses. He makes his points through real examples of the factors that are at play in eco-tourism, takes detours to India (Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation) and also uses the pollution in Mexico city to explain to us how incentives work (or don't).

Programs, organizations and systems work better when they get the incentives right. It is like rowing downstream.

Of course, I think that everyone should read every chapter, but if you end up reading only one, let it be Chapter 2.

Wheelan, Incentives,economics

Kronos Quartet -- You've Stolen My Heart

KRONOS QUARTET and Asha Bhosle
You've Stolen My Heart
Songs from R.D. Burman's Bollywood

Sometimes, the buzz builds from very disparate sources, which was the case with this CD for me. I heard one song from this collection (Mehbooba, Mehbooba) in the same transatlantic flight in which I also heard Patchai Kiligal for the first time. (I've posted about that song before.) At the time, I didn't know of the existence of the Kronos Quartet.

Then, in one podcast episode of NPR's All Songs Considered I heard an interview with the Quartet in which playack singer Asha Bhosle was referred to as the "India's Elvis," and the Kronos Quartet person (perhaps David Harrington) responded to the NPR interviewer by saying "imagine if you had the opportunity to introduce Elvis to the American public."

Finally, in my friend Jaideep's 2005 list (which you can find here) he'd also listed Churaliyaa as one of the best CDs of the year. So I got hold of the CD and have been enjoying these "old" songs anew. I am not a big fan of remixes, but am slowly changing my stance on that. (If a "re-interpretation" can lead to more enjoyment of a known song, I guess why not?)

I especially love the way the Kronos folks have churned out Mehbooba -- the playfulness of the instrumentation never fails to leave me pleasurably giddy. Lovers of classic Hindi hit numbers like Dum Maro Dum, Piya Tu Ab Tho Aaja and Chura Liya Hai will love this collection.

I know I did.

Kronos Quartet, Hindi film songs, R D Burman, Asha Bhosle

Spellbound

Spellbound: Everyone wants the last word (Documentary)

Saw this documentary after years of meaning to watch it. It didn't disappoint. If you like the whole idea of competitions (the preparation, the stress, your favorites getting knocked-out, and triumph) this is a movie you definitely want to see. (Don't read anything about the movie so that you can enjoy watching the results unfold.) This movie reminded me of "Mad Hot Ballroom" which I also recommend to all you competition buffs.

Keywords: Spelling Bee, competitions, preparation

Naked Economics by Charles Wheelan

Undressing the dismal science

Once in five years, may be once in a decade, you stumble upon a book that is so good, it is pretty much the definitive word on a subject.

For me, Naked Economics by Charles Wheelan is one such book. For years, I have wanted to understand Macroeconomics better, and I believe me I have tried. And boy, does this one hit home. (I usually recommend to people that they first read a book and only then decide if they want to buy. But this one you should buy. And read once a year to refresh some of the concepts.)

A highly readable economics book with no graphs and no equations (even though I happen to like graphs and equations) can't go wrong, can it? Wheelan has a great breezy writing style, with such great everyday examples to drive his points home.

I will post once or twice more about some of the details of this book, but in the very last paragraph of the book, the author has captured it wonderfully.

“The remarkable thing about economics is that once you’ve been exposed to the big ideas, they begin to show up everywhere. The sad irony of Econ 101 is that students too often suffer through dull, esoteric lectures while economics is going on all around them. Economics offers insight into wealth, poverty, gender relations, the environment, discrimination, politics. How could that possibly not be interesting?”

Tags: Economics, charles wheelan, naked economics, macroeconomics