Charities in India

Remember this post? I thought I'd put together a list of non-profits from comments there, as well as others I've discovered. These aren't necessarily recommendations, so do your research before donating.

Food
Since I'd asked for a way to deal with hunger, here are non-profits that help by providing food to those who need it.

• Akshaya in Madurai
• Samarthan's Vidyaprasad Mid-day Meal Program (A reader works for the organization) 

Mid-Week Reads: Relationships, Social Media and Sarcasm

Why you should date a social media geek.

And for those of you who aren't on Twitter, this is why I use it.

If you've ever wondered, here's what a successful open marriage looks like. My question: where do you find the time? Balancing work and chores and relationship-time and alone-time and catching-up-with-friends-and-family seems so difficult to me, and I have only the Guy, and no children. How do you manage multiple kids and multiple romantic relationships on top of that?

I loved reading this article about female characters in recent fantasy fiction: the Hunger Games (which I loved, by the way), Twilight and (of course) Harry Potter.

It's a good time for sarcasm. Read "We Are the One Percent" and "The Return of the Petite Prick: Could small cocks make a comeback?"

This made even a child-sceptic like me go all mushy.

In Praise of Online Communication

It should come as no surprise to anyone who knows anything about me that I like online communication. I have been a personal blogger for nearly six years, and I work in online marketing. And I'm an introvert who finds it easier to write than to speak.

Personal biases aside, I can't understand why people don't embrace the power of online communication, and especially email (which, closely followed by instant messaging, remains my favorite means of communication, though I realize that dates me). Especially for business.

If I am your friend, I'd love to get a phone call from you and chat about nothing in particular. I might be busy and ask to call you back (which I usually do), I might be surprised at hearing from you out of the blue, but I will always be glad that you thought of me.

Mid-Week Reads: the Art Edition

Here's a complete transcript of Dr. Martin Luther King's I Have A Dream speech. In case you haven't read it before: and even if you have, it's a good reminder.

Check out these beautiful winter-themed Pissarro paintings.

An argument for Rushdie attending the Jaipur Literary Fest.

Here's a politically incorrect career guide for the film industry. 

Egregious typos on the home page aside ("Haritage"? Really, Kala Ghoda?), any of you going to the Kala Ghoda festival this year? I might make it.

Mid-Week Reads: Equality in the Home

Here's more from the amazing Sheryl Sandberg.

"We've made more progress in the workforce in the last 30 years than in the home."
"If we would get to a more even division of labor in the home, more women would have it all."
"We don't make it easy for men to choose to do more in the home."
"Facebook has equal maternity and paternity leave."
"We need to give men choices. We need to make it not just okay, but something men can be proud of, when they're the one who choose to support women's careers."
"The problem is we demand and expect professional success from men, but for women it's optional and potentially threatening."
 "I have an awesome husband. We are at 50-50."
"As a family, we prioritized both of our careers, not just his."
"And that is something that very few women have and it makes all the difference. I tell young women, the most important career decision you'll ever make is who your life-partner is."

Mid-Week Reads: Uninvested in Being Beautiful

Since most blogs and websites seem to have slowed down for the holidays, I just have two links for you this week. But they are worth the read.

I used the title of the post in my post title: this writer explains beautifully why no one should have to be beautiful. If you feel beautiful, good for you. If not, no problem. It should make no difference to your worth as a person.

This article in the New Yorker asks why people love Stieg Larsson's novels. For my part, I thought they were vastly overrated and not nearly as feminist as they're made out to be. But hey, I won't judge you if you like them: they're hardly Dan Brown. 

And since, judging by the lack of comments, y'all are on vacation or busy partying, I'm going to stay off till next week too. Have a great New Year weekend, whether you party like a college student (or so I hear: I was an unattractively good kid) or go to bed at 9.

6 Funny Résumés—Make Sure Yours Isn’t One

Republished, with edits, from another blog

I have shared some serious advice on creating a resume that will get you hired. But what about resumes that are so awful they’re funny? Can any amount of advice save them? Of course! Most of the bad resumes I have seen fall into one of these types. If you have one of these, mend your ways immediately.

The Epic

I understand you are excited about your accomplishments, but recruiters are usually busy people (actually, it’s wise to assume everyone is—no one reads resumes for pleasure, whatever you may have heard). Of course, if you have fourteen years of relevant experience, your resume might be correspondingly long (but not fourteen pages: three would be quite enough and more than most recruiters would read through). I’ve seen resumes from youngsters fresh out of school that run into over three pages. Actually, most fresh graduates seem to think the longer the better, and they couldn’t be more wrong. Leave the intricate details of that mid-term project for the interview, and only write a two-line summary in your resume.

Mid-Week Reads: 'Tis the Season to be Snarky

Gender Stuff

Why aren't men angry?

Men modeling women's underwear? Bring it on! Best line: “I guess professionally I’ve left my gender open to artistic interpretation.”

Man Boobz is my new favorite site.

Everything Else

Apparently, you don't catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Now that's more reason to be snarky! (Not that I've ever needed one.)

My Book Review of Suits

I really enjoyed Suits by Nina Godiwalla, and as I wrote in my review on Women's Web here, I recommend it unreservedly.

However, there was one thing that kept striking me as I read, one recurring motif that made me want to cry out to the narrator-protagonist-author: "Don't do that!"

There are two threads to the story: the main one is of course about a young woman trying to build a career in one of the biggest, most successful financial companies on Wall Street. But also, there is the American girl from a Parsi family who grew up in a Houston suburb, who remembers her childhood and mostly, how her parents treated her. And almost every reminiscence involves a time when her father bullied her or didn't appreciate her for doing exceptionally well at school. How nothing she did was good enough.

Mid-Week Reads: Growing Old, Reading Maps and Labeling

This is a beautiful post about growing older. And I agree. I feel great at 30, but I can't say I feel 20. I don't, not really. Those years of life experience count for something!
If ladies just had more self-confidence, they'd be able to read a goddamn map.

Sheryl Sandberg shared this beautiful photo essay on Facebook (of course). Don't label people.


The National Geographic Society announced the recipient of the 10,000th grant it's given in its 123-year history: 32-year-old conservation biologist Krithi Karanth. And her admitting that she faced discrimination and her opinion that women have to work ten times harder is both brilliant and sad.


How to stay invisible when you're browsing LinkedIn.

Since I'm one of the few people I know who really love their job (though the Guy joined the ranks a few months ago, yay!), I really liked reading the comments on this post from people who like their work. Especially read this if you are, or what to be, a lawyer.