According to this morning’s newspaper, Kinora Lee Simmons has an interesting clause in her divorce settlement with hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons. As part of the settlement, Russell Simmons will buy his wife a new car ( with a value of not less than $ 60,000 ) every two years. I realize that , from a legal point of view, [...]
Archive for June, 2008
It costs a lot ; it must be good.
Posted in American Scene, Culture, Daily Life, Thoughts on June 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
American Tourists… Not the Best in the World
Posted in Observations, Travel on June 25, 2008 | 1 Comment »
The online travel company Expedia.com has released the results of it’s first ever Global Best Tourist Survey and guess what ? Americans are not the best tourists in the world. In fact, they are not even in the top ten.
In conducting this poll, 4,000 hoteliers from all over the world were asked to rate tourists from 31 [...]
Japanese Waist Management
Posted in Asia, Culture, Daily Life, Life, Thoughts on June 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
The New York Times reports that the Japanese government, concerned by rising health costs, has begun an ambitious program to rein in its citizens waistlines. As per a law passed three months ago,companies and local governments are required to measure the waist sizes of all employees and retirees between the ages of 40 and 74 [...]
How Often Do You #^&%*! ?
Posted in Culture, Words on June 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Some years ago, a poll was conducted to find out how often people swear . I don’t recall the methodology used , nor do I remember the exact results. What I do remember very clearly is that , as a profession , secretaries swore the least, using a swear word once in every 20 words. [...]
A False Measure of Greatness
Posted in Sports on June 21, 2008 | 1 Comment »
When sportswriters assess a players career, they tend to judge him by the number of championships or titles won. This is perfectly logical when it comes to individual sports. Thus the yardstick for tennis players or golfers is the number of majors or Grand Slams won.
It is when the same criteria is applied to team [...]
NBA Finals… the Lakers Fall Short.
Posted in Sports on June 20, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Okay, so I was wrong. So were all the experts.
The Lakers did not win it all in 6. In fact it was the Celtics who did . You know,I can’t help looking back and regretting that fourth game when the Lakers were ahead by 24 and the Celtics somehow fought back to win. If the Lakers [...]
The Fading Charm of Travel
Posted in Observations, Thoughts, Travel on June 19, 2008 | 3 Comments »
I love to travel and I’ve done a fair bit of it. Over the years I’ve been fortunate in having traveled toseveral places including Japan, China, Jamaica, Hawaii , Switzerland, Italy, England, Spain, and several islands in the West Indies. Most people , when they retire, say that they will travel more and I was no exception. However, [...]
The Pleasures of English Schoolboy Stories
Posted in Thoughts, books on June 17, 2008 | 2 Comments »
English schoolboy stories, and adventure stories, were my staple reading during my own schooldays. The school library could by accessed on only one day each week and I used to wait eagerly for it. Favorite adventure heroes were Bulldog Drummond, Biggles, Gimlet and and the splendidly named Shark Gotch. As for the English schoolboy stories, [...]
A Very Fortunate Turn of Events
Posted in Life, Travel on June 11, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
This past spring,a group of American tourists was sightseeing in Paris. They were travelling on the Metro when a group of kids , in school uniforms, got on. Shortly afterwards, my friend who was one of the group , felt a little hand on the moneybelt that he had around his waist . He held tight to the money [...]
The NBA Finals…. Let the games begin !
Posted in Sports on June 5, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Finally ! The waiting is over. Tonight, the Lakers and the Celtics will tangle mix it up again on the parquet floor at TD BankNorth Arena. ( Oops, I nearly said Boston Garden). Basketball fans can hardly wait for the opening tap. Me neither.
This past week the sports pages have been packed with endless stories about sports [...]
