The Magazines

Came across an article on The Guardian (Link), lamenting the closure of WH Smith bookstores and the subsequent loss of magazines, which the author used to peruse.

The article was quite triggering, and as I read it I tried but failed to recollect when was the last time I bought a magazine. Growing up, with much less access to resources than currently available, I remember magazines were bought and read and stored and re-read. Special editions (related to festivals, mega-sporting events, elections, year-end editions) were much sought after and became collectibles. Magazines provided glimpses of the world far beyond and guess that is why they were treasured.

And there was a wide range, widely displayed in the magazine shops and newspaper stands

• For the children and teens there were Champak, Nandan, Suman Saurabh, Chandamama, Golukalam, Target. All accompanying the growing up years
• India Today & Outlook catered to the current affairs, as did Dharmayug
• Manarama, Grihashobha, Femina for the ladies.
• Sportstar for the sports buffs with a bonus pullout poster
• Competition Success Review for the UPSC aspirants (and a few more which slip my mind)
• And in the hair cutting saloons were found the likes of Filmfare & Cine Blitz
• The Telegraph newspaper also brought along its own magazine every Sunday
• Readers Digest was a niche in itself, coming via mail order service. National Geographic was another niche delivery.
• And there was one for the tech bros of the 90s, which came in its own packaging alongwith a CD!
• And there were quite a few others, but memory fails!

Magazines 90s edition (AI Generated Collage)

And fast forward to today. While magazines are still being published, the numbers certainly have dwindled and it is more and more difficult to access them. Every trip had to have a new magazine bought to kill the time, unlike today when the smartphone serves it all!

Times keep changing but the nostalgia remains!

P.S. Magic Pot - the one purchased most recently

BookMarks #144: Mind Reader

Title: Mind Reader

Author: Lior Suchard

Genre: Autobiography, Self-help

Published: 2013

BookMarks

Mind Reader is an autobiographical narration by a mentalist, Lior Suchard. The book tells about his performances as a mentalist, alongwith tips to improve the power of perception and persuasion in individuals. While no actual performance secrets are revealed (nor was it expected), he does give an insight into the human psychology and performing in front of an audience

He does highlight a couple of aspects

• The sixth sense - perceiving the world through the mind
• Chi energy, helping in telekinesis

Lines which stood out

• The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and lightning bug
• "A day without laughter is a day wasted" - Charlie Chaplin
• Always think happy thoughts as you never know who is reading them

P.S. In my mind read most of the narration in the voice of Patrick Jane, the most famous "Mentalist" of them all!

Previously on BookMarks: A Tiger for Malgudi

Road To Los Angeles: Episode 9 - Asian Games Edition

A lot of activity on the Indian Olympics front in the last few weeks with the Asian Games giving a preview of what to expect at Los Angeles. While the Olympics are still almost two years away, still get a good idea of things to look for. 

Here is a quick update on the events

The Qualifiers

• Hockey: Both the Men's & Women's Team have qualified by winning the Gold Medal at the Asian Games. While the Men made up a bit for the disappointing World Cup campaign, there is now a clear gulf in the class between India and the rest of Asia. The Women continued the upswing from the 5th place at the World Cup by winning the Gold after 44 Years
• Archery: Compound Mixed Team will be played for the first time at the Olympics. And the Indian duo of Chikitha Taniparthi & Sahil Jadhav earned the first ever Olympic quotas in the event. Kumkum Mohod broke the South Korean dominance in Recurve section and earned an Individual Quota place.

The Near Miss

• Squash: Both Anahat Singh & Abhay Singh lost in their respective Singles Finals to win Silver Medals. The Gold medallists earned Olympics quota

Asian Games Hits

• Recurve Archery, Shotgun Shooting, Boxing, Wrestling all brought in lots of medals and are in redemption phase 
• Team Sports getting double Golds - Hockey & Cricket (and of course Kabaddi as well)
• A first medal in Weightlifting since 1998 (that came as a bit of surprise - given that India won 2 Olympic medals in the interim!)
• Golf course providing a Gold
• Gulveer Singh & Vithya Ramraj  on the Tracks

Asian Games Misses

• Badminton - only one Team medal
• Tennis - a washout, after having been a guaranteed Gold supplier. Disappointing to see the legacy of Paes, Bhupathi, Bopanna, Sania going waste

And there were the usual administrative shenanigans, some sports excel in it and then the matter of doping which lead to few last-minute dropouts 

Asian Games Perspective for the LA

At first glance, it would seem there has been a decline in Team India's performance compared to Hangzhou, with medal count dropping from 106 to 85 & gold count dropping from 28 to 21, while the contingent retained the 4th place overall. However, if we consider it from a perspective of the Olympics events, a slightly different picture emerges.

17 of the 21 Golds have come in Olympic events. In contrast at Hangzhou, 12/28 were Olympics events. The boost has come from Cricket joining the roster and improved performances in Recurve Archery, Wrestling, Boxing.

A couple of caveats here

1. In many events at the Asian Games there are 2 Bronze medals awarded, unlike the Olympics which have a Bronze playoff. 
2. The Weight categories in Boxing may change, so there may not be a direct correlation between Aichi-Nagoya and LA
3. Mirabai Chanu's weight category is not included and she is likely to move up to a higher weight category

Qualification Summary: Sports - 3; Events - 5; Entries - 5; Athletes - 50 

Till Next time!

Links: Episode 8