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Archive for November, 2009

Life as a sports team mascot

Posted in Pop Culture, Sports, tagged , , , , , , on November 27, 2009| Leave a Comment »

The other day, I was watching a documentary on the 1979 baseball season on the MLB Network and the World Series winner of that season, the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Those Pirates were know for its team slogan and team song, the hit song by Sister Sledge, We are Family.   As they were recollecting that season and that team, several times, the man who played the team mascot- the Pittsburgh Parrot, Greg Brown, was interviewed and would comment on the intricacies of that team.   Now, Brown isn’t your typical mascot as he ultimately in later years become an announcer for the Pirates which is probably why he had the clout to be included in the list of people to comment on the team, but just hearing from a mascot for the first time, made me think, what is it really like to be a mascot, from someone who actually was a mascot? (more…)

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Beyond Freakonomics…it’s Superfreakonomics

Posted in Book Review, Pop Culture, tagged , , , , , on November 25, 2009| 4 Comments »

A few years ago, the book Freakonomics written by economist Steven D. Levitt and journalist Stephen J. Dubner came out.  I found that book to be ground-breaking and fascinating, a book in many ways that has inspired me to take my natural analytical inclination and apply it to a diverse set of topics and document it in this very blog (examples such as Internet Freedom by Country and Corruption Rankings, Steroids and Game Theory, and Will Facebook improve or worsen High School Reunions).   For me, Freakonomics helped ignite curiosity and evaluation of both every day and unusual, rare events.

Now four years later, Levitt and Dubner have released their follow up book—the aptly named SuperFreakonimcs.  I just completed reading the book.  Here’s my review of the book.

Summary (more…)

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The differences between India and the West- An eye opening TED presentation by Devdutt Pattanaik

Posted in India, tagged , , , , on November 24, 2009| 2 Comments »

Recently, Devdutt Pattanaik, the Chief Belief Officer at the Future Group based in Mumbai, India, gave a TED presentation in Mysore, India.   This 19 minute lecture and presentation depicts some of the inherent differences between the views and values of Indians vs those of the west and how that manifests itself in business.   I would highly recommend investing the 19 minutes to watch this lecture if you are doing or have plans to do business in India or are just interested in learning more about what drives Indian beliefs.

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