Skip to main content

Why I Watch Puppy Videos

Did you know that the number of people living in abject poverty around the world fell by 50% from 1990 to 2010? That means, in absolute numbers, about 700 million people have lifted themselves above the baseline poverty level in just 30 years. It's a remarkable achievement but few people are aware of it, probably because it didn't make headlines over the usual reports of violence, corruption, human rights violations and other scourges of humanity.

It's one of the reasons why I don't bother to read the news anymore, I just skim the headlines and stop to read only those articles which have at least a slightly positive tone. I'm sure I miss a lot of what's happening this way but then again, bad news always has a way of finding you - through a neighbor, friend, online or offline. I'm sure I'll hear about it somehow.

Through all this negativity I miss out on so many things that have the potential to make me happy, if only for a short while. I know that I have to stay informed and be aware of all the issues facing this planet – not just humanity but other non-human life everywhere - but sometimes you just have to stop and watch puppy videos to stay sane. Of course you don't really need an excuse to watch puppy videos, do you?

So in lieu of our regularly scheduled blog post on a suitably interesting topic, I give you for today a puppy video! Be Happy and Enjoy Life :D


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Why Don’t We Raise Our Sons like We Do Our Daughters?

This post originally appeard in Women's Web: Why Don’t We Raise Our Sons like We Do Our Daughters? One of the hot button topics right now in Indian media is the safety of women – or rather how our country doesn't really care about half its population. From rape, sexual assault, harassment (in streets, public transport, nearly every public place) to violence perpetrated on women, Indians are finally getting around to discussing taboo topics. One refrain that caught my eye throughout these debates – both online and off – is the fact that the reaction of the majority of Indians is the same: girls should stay at home, not go out after dark, dress appropriately and so on if they want to stay safe. No one seems to bat an eyelid when laying down these precautions for women. Except that the reality is women would be far safer if all the men simply DID NOT RAPE or HARASS any person that looks remotely female. No one has to stay at home and become a hermit! That got me th

Education and Learning

Fourteen years of school. Three - four years of undergraduate college. Two years for a graduate degree. Start working or making babies. Sound familiar? It should, it’s what the majority of lives in this country look like. Ten years ago, I was headed down the same street. Engineering, MBA and then on to a fat pay check, like countless other teenagers, products of a system seemingly obsessed with stability and an extreme aversion to risk and failure. While I did end up getting 2 degrees and the pay check (with a stable, GOI company no less!) I also realized I hated it. Going to work from 9 to 7, doing the same endless, mind numbing, repetitive tasks, sitting in the same chair for ten odd years before getting promoted and dodging responsibility in order to retire with a pension suddenly seemed a lot less attractive when I was looking at it from the wrong end of 35 years! And history shall say I quit. But now what? I did what any sane person without a job and all the time in the w

Arranged Versus Love Marriage

This post originally appeared in Women's Web:  Arranged Versus Love Marriage: Here's Why Things Are Changing In 21st-century India, change is so rapid that we barely have time to get used to something before some new trend is on the horizon. And I'm not just talking about technology here. Whether it is human behavior, relationships, societal or cultural norms, Indian society – along with the rest of the world – today is hardly recognizable to my parents or their parents. It's not a surprise that the institution of marriage and the process of finding a life partner is also undergoing a metamorphosis. Perhaps this is one of the areas where the gap between generations is the most obvious. Almost every day, there is a TV show or media report or blog post talking about arranged vs. love marriages. So I figured I would present my take on it as well! Whenever anyone talks about arranged versus love marriages - I don't know why they are always portrayed as opposing