What I'm Reading: Link List #1

(This is the first of a new series I'm starting where I'm going to link to stories I read (and sometimes stories I write) on the internet.)

1) It's a pretty crap deal to have Prader-Willi syndrome, a disease that basically never lets you feel full, and sufferers can eat so much they RUPTURE THEIR OWN STOMACHS.  

In 2004, Peter and Gayle Girard held their annual Christmas Eve party for family members at their home in Orlando, Fla. Before dinner, they set out chips, vegetables and dip, shrimp, a bowl of punch and sodas. Their 17-year-old son, Jeremy, had Prader-­Willi, and they often hosted events at their home so he could join in while they kept an eye on him — as they believed they were doing that night. But the next morning, Jeremy’s belly was distended, and he complained of pain. At the emergency room, doctors pumped his stomach, but his condition worsened. A day passed before surgeons discovered that his stomach, which had been distended long enough to lose blood flow and become septic, had ruptured. Jeremy died that night.

2)  Everyone knows if you say "hey" instead of "heyyyy" you're kinda angry at the person you're talking to. Is The Innanet Ruining Teh English Language??? 

Language is shaped by the medium it has to move through, and today "the internet is no longer this special place you go to," Baron points out, "It's where we live our lives, for better or worse." As the technology matures, so does the online language we use to express ourselves.

3)  GAH HATE EMAILS LIKE THIS ONE.

Being accepted to our program means that a writer’s content has the opportunity to improve our site metrics instantly. We understand how important it is to our business model to expand our online presence by publishing an obscene number of posts to compete with numerous outlets that waste money on editors, like Jezebel. We hope that Listicle can become like one of those outlets, only more profitable because we’ll never pay anyone!

4)  I wrote this; but is still pretty good and worth a read if you want something about books and long distance and feelings. *smiley face* An Open Letter From India To the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

I have a dragon tattoo too, by the way. It represents a folly of youth, a small curled up dragon ‒ like a seahorse with wings ‒ sits on my left hip. At the time it was supposed to be my totem, my fire and brimstone amulet, my ward against evil. As time went by though, I forgot about it, except maybe when I caught sight of it in a shower or something, then I’d think, “Oh yeah, I have a tattoo.”

5) Urgh, even the Jaipur Lit Fest (which is ongoing, and no, I didn't attend this year) is becoming super politicised. 

It is possible that Malhotra does not endorse what Tariyal has done, in which case it would be good to hear him publicly say so at Jaipur. Perhaps “serious intellectuals” would like to ask him about his stance on books whose content he opposes. Does he support banning them? Does he support legal action against books, based on laws that impinge on the freedom of expression and free debate? Does he endorse the kind of objections Batra had to Doniger’s book—including objecting to the naked Gopis shown with Krishna on the cover—even though such depictions have been a staple of Indian art?

What interesting stories have you read this week? Leave 'em in the comments!

My suggestions for Obama's India hashtag - #LOTUSPOTUS - #Obamatrubhoomi - #Indobama - #BharatObama - #YesWeCancelledAgra - #Droneacharya
— Rohan (@mojorojo) January 24, 2015