Woman’s Dictionary ( forwarded by a female colleague of mine)

Belief in God a ‘product of human weaknesses’: Albert Einstein

I think the news below should be a strong blow to all those theists and fundamentalists who since decades have been trying to intrepret Einstein’s hitherto vague views on religion to suit their own agendas by claiming that the smartest person who ever walked on Earth was on their side. How do you guys think these people will react to this letter written by Einstein?

Renowned scientist Albert Einstein dismissed the Bible as a collection of “pretty childish” legends and belief in God as a “product of human weaknesses,” according to a letter to be auctioned this week.

Einstein, who was Jewish, also rejects the notion that Jews were God’s chosen people.

The letter was written in German in 1954 to philosopher Eric Gutkind.

It is to be auctioned in London, England, on Thursday by Bloomsbury Auctions, and is expected to fetch between $12,000 and $16,000 US.

Einstein writes “the word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish.”

Born to a Jewish family in Germany in 1879, he also adds that “for me, the Jewish religion like all other religions is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions.”

He also wrote “the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong, and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people.

“As far as my experience goes, they are also no better than other human groups, although they are protected from the worst cancers by a lack of power. Otherwise I cannot see anything ‘chosen’ about them.”

Courtesy : www.cbc.ca

God punishing us?

Cyclone in Burma, Earthquake in China and now bomb blasts in Jaipur, killing many innocent people.

Things dont seem to be well anywhere in the world, I wonder. Why so many innocent people killed just like that, I ask? My boss says, God is punishing us..he is sending us signals that we better start behaving ourselves well before it’s too late..we stop being selfish and mean with each other..we stop depleting earth’s resources with complete abandon..

That’s fine sir, but if God has to punish us, why only those innocent villagers in Burma who lived in wooden huts & never polluted the environment with fancy cars? Why hundreds of those kids in China who were yet to learn the real meaning of being selfish and mean?

Do you guys know why all this is happening? Can we do something?

Zindagi Khwab hai

Donate online for Myanmar Cyclone Victims

The terrible cyclone in Myanmar has killed tens of thousands of people and numbers are dreadfully increasing with each news telecast. Once again, a poor country- with administration in shambles- has bore the brunt of unpredictable nature. Many of us, no matter how much we genuinely desire, wont be able to go there and give our support to the beleaguered people. I researched a bit on different organizations who are accepting online donations for their relief efforts.

British Red Cross was on the ground soon after the storm hit. It is gearing up to meet survivors’ needs for shelter and clean water. £5 will provide water purification tablets for 60 people:
redcross.org.uk

Tagged; 28 questions

Nova tagged me for this meme. I have mostly spoofed all the memes’ which have come my way so far, but this time I have decided to be serious . Also, those of you who might interpret my answers as one dimensional will do so at their own risk. I mean, common, real answers to anything in life are rarely in few words or few sentences.

1. Last movie you saw in a theater?

The Band’s Visit

2. What book are you reading?

The Brave New World by Aldous Huxley..actually nowadays Iam reading two books simultaneously ..Second one is , ‘The History of Sikhs’ by Khushwant Singh

3. Favorite board game?

I dont play board games

4. Favorite magazine?

Not exactly favourite..But, The Time magazine, The Economist & Intelligent Life are good I think..I used to read Outlook & India Today very religiously while in India, but havent read them since 5-6 years now.

5. Favorite smells?

If I visit a home where I have lived before or a building where I used to work/study in the past, a very familiar smell hits me. Even if I go there after 10 years, the smell is exactly the same.. it’s both bizarre and fascinating; Also, the smell of Gobhi Parantha..

Woody Allen to play in Montreal jazz festival

Film director and clarinetist Woody Allen is to appear at the Montreal International Jazz Festival for the first time this June.

He will appear June 30 with his New Orleans Jazz Band, a traditional jazz septet. Tickets for the show at Montreal’s Place des Arts go on sale on Saturday.

Woody Allen plays the clarinet during a January concert in Spain with his New Orleans Jazz Band.
(Albert Olive/Associated Press)

Allen, 72, plays every Monday night at New York’s Café Carlyle with the same group, and they were featured in the 1998 documentary Wild Man Blues.

Allen has been invited several times to the Montreal jazz festival, but this is the first time he did not have a conflict with a movie in production.

The director of Annie Hall and Match Point is working on post-production on Vicky Cristina Barcelona, shot in Spain.

Allen plays mainly traditional New Orleans jazz of the 1920s to 1940s.

“Allen’s love for jazz is all over his movies,” André Ménard, the jazz festival’s artistic director, told the Montreal Gazette.

“He’s a true believer in the music — and he’s one of the great artistic personalities of the second half of the 20th century.”

Allen has been a clarinetist since age 15, and although he dismisses himself as a “motivated amateur,” he and his band have a reputation for giving an accomplished show that draws a crowd to the Carlyle every Monday night.

Courtesy : CBC News ( www.cbc.ca)

I invite all my blog readers who live in east coast or are planning to be near Montreal around 30th June to come and enjoy the famous Montreal Jazz festival with Woody Allen.