The Richest

An 'India Rising' moment, if there ever was one.

In the the news, Mukesh Ambani edges out Carlos Slim and Bill Gates to become the world's richest man. This comes as a result of the extended price rally in the Indian stock market, with the index touching 20,000 today.

The five richest, with their net worth

1. Mukesh Ambani ($63.2 billion)

2. Carlos Slim Helu ($62.2993 billion)

3. William (Bill) Gates ($62.29 billion)

4. Warren Buffett ($55.9 billion)

5. Lakshmi Mittal ($50.9 billion)

Also, the Ambanis are now the wealthiest family, well above the legendary Walton family (Wal*Mart)

It will be interesting to see how long Ambani stays at the top. A correction in share prices is now overdue, and is just waiting for the right trigger... a political crisis, perhaps? Maybe a fall in oil prices..

Literature Nobel 2007

The Nobel prize in Literature for this year is to be announced tomorrow. If tradition is anything to go by, the political leanings of the winner will be as important as talent. The front runners for this year, as per bloomberg, seem to be Philip Roth, Ko Un, Ali Ahmad Said Asbar and Les Murray . Ladbrokes , the online betting agency which got it right last year, has this list of odds. Philip Roth is at the top (7/2), followed closely by Haruki Murakami (5/1), Amos Oz and Claudio Magris . The collective wisdom of the betting crowd is most often right. But then, the odds show JK Rowling at par with Salman Rushdie and John Banville ! Maybe this doesnt matter since they are at the bottom of the list anyway (100/1) .. I think Rushdie is gonna win the prize in a few years. I haven't read any of his works, but I feel his politics and life story is just right for Nobel winner.





Btw, I would place my bet on Amos Oz for this year's prize.

Update:The prize, as you might know, went to Doris Lessing . So much for ' the collective wisdom' (my bet was wide off too). From what I have read up on Doris Lessing, it seems to be a wise and well received choice. But, I am happy because she writes science fiction too, and Doris Lessing's win is in a way, recognition for the genre. I doubt if this will make the mainstream critics take SF more seriously, but it will be harder to dismiss it as just escapist fare.

Doris Lessing began writing SF only towards the later part of her career. She is best known for her early work, especially books such as The Golden Notebook, The Grass is Singing and The Fifth Child.

The Nobel committee in its citation describes her as,"that epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny".

An Obituary for Robert Jordan

Robert Jordan, creator of the best selling fantasy series 'The Wheel of Time', died Sunday, September 16 2007. The cause was complications from primary amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy.

The New York Times reports:

"Known for its epic sweep, intricate plotting and large cast of complex characters, the series centers on Rand al’Thor, a humble messianic figure who must stave off the forces of evil that threaten to overtake the faraway land in which he lives. Along the way, there are perils and portents, fair maidens, fantastical deeds and the like.

In an essay in The New York Times Book Review in 1996, Edward Rothstein wrote, “Even a reader with literary pretensions can be swept up in Mr. Jordan’s narrative of magic, prophecy and battle.”

The “Wheel of Time” books have often been compared to the work of J. R. R. Tolkien in terms of their ability to exert a magnetic hold on readers. Translated into more than 20 languages, the books have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, according to Mr. Rigney’s publisher. "

Robert Jordan was the pseudonym of James Oliver "Jim" Rigney Jr , born on Oct 17, 1948 in Charleston, South Carolina. He served in Vietnam from 1968 to 1970 as a helicopter gunner. On his return, he joined the Military academy to study physics and went on to become a nuclear engineer before switching to a full time writing career.

His first novel was The Fallon Blood , published in 1980. He followed it up with two sequels. However , it was with the incredibly detailed and complex worlds of the Wheel of Time, that he established himself as a master of the genre.

His books have had a cult following, with fans considering him the successor to Tolkien. The last 3 volumes of the WoT series were #1 on the NYT bestseller list. The final volume of the series remains uncompleted at the time of his death.


( Via Writers write ; Links - Wikipedia )

OneWeb

September 22 is the OneWebDay, a day to celebrate your existence in the web - "The mission of OneWebDay is to create, maintain, advance and promote a global day to celebrate online life: September 22 " .
The originalcelebration was held in 2006 ; events are now organised in more than 22 cities around the world. There are no rules, you choose the way you want to celebrate. It need not even be a part of the official event , you can just go online , find friends and celebrate.

Some suggested ideas are :
Collective art projects (see yourself as a pixel)
Teach your grandmother to blog
Make a website for your club, church, school.
Make an entry for your neighborhood in Wikipedia
Companies: run a virtual meeting for work-at-home employees
help a young student find a new educational resource online

Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the Web , has made this video in honor of OneWeb.

In India, an event is being held in Chennai. Maybe you could take the lead to organize it in our city. Go to the OneWebDay Wiki page, edit it to inlcude a line saying that you would be interested to organize , give your contact info .

There, I've done my bit for OneWeb ;)