Teetotalism

Teetotalism (or T-total) is the practice and promotion of complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller (plural teetotalers or teetotallers).

Courtesy: Teetotalism - Wikipedia

Perfect!

Someone once told me, “Perfect is the enemy of good.”. I finally understood what it meant thanks to a similar reference by Obama in response to the Republicans.

"Let's not make the perfect the enemy of the essential," Obama said as Senate Republicans stepped up their criticism of the bill's spending and pressed for additional tax cuts and relief for homeowners. He warned that failure to act quickly "will turn crisis into a catastrophe and guarantee a longer recession."

On this day in...

1781: Spanish colonists found a settlement in southern California known as El Pueblo Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula, later shortened to Los Angeles!

Stumble Upon

I recently stumbled upon, er, Stumble Upon. I cant stop raving about it ever since I have started off early this week. Its a perfect tool for people like me who love surfing but want something new dished out to them at the click of a button. It reminds me of my love for the radio and the unpredictability that comes with it as you sit wondering what the next song is going to be like.

With that intro done, I will use this space to share a few interesting things I find there and are worth blogging about. Stumble Upon does have its own blog area, however, I find it comfortable to stick to one address.

In the meantime, if you are interested in taking a peek at my favourites as I stumble out there, please visit http://mdjani.stumbleupon.com/

Happiness Always!

Building Bridges with Rwanda

"I like to describe this as sitting between two stools. One foot in Rwanda. Another one in Canada," he says, smiling. "This is the beauty of Canadian multiculturalism. That you can jump into the salad bowl and remain a tomato."

-Lama Mugabo, balancing his perspectives as a Rwandan expat and as a Canadian Citizen.
Excerpt from Sept. 24, 2007, Vancouver edition of 24hrs. Article: small world, big problems - Rwanda.

Please visit Mugabo's NGO effort - Building Bridges with Rwanda - http://www.bbrwanda.org/

What did I learn today? The expression: That you can jump into the salad bowl and remain a tomato.

What did I learn today - paraskavedekatriaphobia

First things first. The credits for the title What did I learn today must go to Andy. His blog has a section with a very similar name/tag and I couldn't find a more fitting categorization. Going forward, I shall try and post more of what I learn each day to the same category. Andykaka, please treat this imitation as the sincerest form of flattery and let me know if you would like me to change it.

Coming to my learning for the day, is a word - paraskavedekatriaphobia. This entry is very fitting for today. It means the fear of Friday the 13th. The word is a derivation from triskaidekaphobia which means the fear of the number 13.

I was amused to learn that this fear or if you may call it a superstitious belief, existed much wider in geography than just India.

As I surfed more about it, I came across some astonishing details. Here is an interesting snippet courtsey an article on National Geographic.

"It's been estimated that [U.S] $800 or $900 million is lost in business on this day because people will not fly or do business they would normally do," said Donald Dossey, founder of the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina.

And some remedies.

Folklore offers other remedies, however. One recommendation is to climb to the top of a mountain or skyscraper and burn all the socks you own that have holes in them. Another is to stand on your head and eat a piece of gristle.

For a more detailed read, visit the complete article on National Geographic site.