Links For Monday

Mondays suck, so hopefully these links will make your life a little better.

Favorite read of the week, right here. Do not, under any circumstances, mess with Viv Richards. Quite possibly the most intimidating cricketer of all time -- and he never said a word on the field. There's about four quotes in there that make me thank God that I wasn't an international bowler in the 70s and 80s, but this one is my favorite: "I love a guy who is up in my face. I didn't like it when a guy would beat my bat and just smile. I wanted him to say something, to give me something to fuel my emotions. Guys used to tell me to eff off when I was out. I enjoyed that. I wanted to come back every time. I thought, "Have your day. You knock me over, it takes only a couple of seconds to walk off, but I tell you, I back myself enough to know that so long as I'm batting you are going to see my face for a long time and it's going to hurt. Big time." Hahaha. Classic Viv.

Speaking of quotable cricketers, read Shahid Afridi compare himself to Tiger Woods.

And speaking of Tiger Woods, here's Charlie Booker on adultery, where he compares flirtatious texts to a "Matrix shag". And here's an article advancing the theory that Tiger wouldn't have cheated if he were a Peru poison frog.

My two favorite pieces from the Pakistani blogosphere this week. First up, Tazeen deals with the PML-Q MPA who's been arguing vociferously in favor of polygamy, saying "If there is no bar on them marrying again, all of men’s frustrations would be reduced, while women would be able to salvage their honour and lead secure lives." By the way, the MPA is a woman. Good times.

Second, here's Rabia talking about the right in Pakistan arguing against Basant, and the methods they employ to do so. An interesting post. Basant is one of those strange things that (a) shouldn't really be politicized, but is because we're sort of a crazy country, and (b) is politicized in non-predictable ways in the sense that the dividing lines on the issue aren't the usual faultlines in our society.

Here's a nicely written piece in Dawn on Imran Khan's Tehreek-e-Insaf and Shaikh Rasheed's Awami Muslim League (the most poorly chosen name for a political party in Punjab that I can think of) attempting to be more than "drawing-room parties".

Jonathan Chait thinks the Republicans have declared victory too soon in the healthcare battle, and that they are in for a rude surprise (via Krugman).

Speaking of Krugman, here's a long profile of him in the New Yorker. As always with the New Yorker, it's a great read -- though I'm not sure they tell me anything I didn't already know (other than random personal details).

A really interesting piece on how being horny makes the economy stronger. Not just in terms of buying flowers and chocolates etc. But in terms of driving males, especially, to greater accomplishments than they would otherwise achieve. The key quote: "More fascinating, perhaps, and ultimately far more consequential, the urge to find a mate drives us — particularly men, it seems — to increase our productivity and make bigger investments in human capital (e.g. education) than we otherwise would. It’s also suggestive that so much creative genius — in fields as diverse as physics and jazz — seems to peak before or around 30. And, that marriage seems to have a negative impact on productivity in such fields." (via Andrew Sullivan)

In his last press conference, Mustafa Kamal claims that his city district government has completed 2,496 projects in Karachi, with 126 projects still in process. Even if the numbers aren't completely accurate -- how would we independently verify this? -- can anyone doubt that the dude worked his ass for the city and its residents, and will be dearly missed? Anyone at all?

Well, India has finally arrived. No, I'm not talking about their economy or military. No, this is much more important: an Indian-American has finally made it to the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. Well done. Kudos. By the way, make sure to check out her picture without makeup from the link provided.

I'd venture to suggest that the U.S. is one of the few countries in the world in which you'd find an online article titled "Outsmart Restaurant Menus". I'm not usually one to take on a menu in a battle of wits; I usually just read it and order. My basic point is that America, as a country, has a very strange relationship to the concept of diet and fitness. They worry and talk an awful lot about it, and yet aren't a particularly healthy country. Gymming is huge here too, and yet...I don't know. It's a tough one.