Nothingness

I got the idea for this cartoon while watching the movie Dead Poets Society last night. I must confess that I have always (though not openly) been fascinated by existentialism and have been reading and contemplating a lot on it recently.

Death has always been a major theme for existentialism. Is death the only certainty in life (apart from taxes)? Does death makes life absurd (other than providing a healthy source of food for the worms)?

I wonder?

God’s Address

I came across this cartoon last evening and found it intellectually stimulating. This cartoon is open to different interpretations from both atheists and theists.

Cartoonist Dan Pirraro himself stated “However you take this cartoon, I think it’s an interesting idea. If God is only in the minds of humans, how is he looking at the sign? If He actually exists and someone did this to Him as a joke, why does it make Him mad?”

While religious moralists may find any cartoon with God off-putting, I think this cartoon can be enjoyed by everyone.

The Colombian Blend

I am sorry that it has been such a long time since the last feature but here it is.

My friend Ian and I had a discussion over the phone last evening about the sad state of Travel Guide book writing in general and the fraud perpetrated by Lonely Planet’s author in particular. The topic came up when we were talking about another writer who has written quite a few Living and Working Guides. We were just wondering on what basis has he been writing the guide books. Has he really lived in all those 25 countries he wrote about or was he just being a fact gatherer?

The issue with Lonely Planet Colombian Guide is quite different. The author Thomas Kohnstamm in his book “Do Travel Writers Go To Hell?” claims that he plagiarised and made up portions of his guide books. He also claims to have traded in drugs to make up for the meagre salary his publishers were paying him.

For his book on Colombia, Kohnstamm did not even visit the country, but wrote the book from San Francisco, getting substanstial information from his then girlfriend, a Colombian. His main argument justifying his actions was that Lonely Planet does not pay its authors well.

Sadly, it is true. Lonely Planet authors are just writers for hire who can be replaced or sent to another country according to the wishes of the editorial board. Unlike other publishers, Lonely Planet does not pay its authors royalties but a lump sum amount. Not many people know how Lonely Planet calculates the expenses that its authors would incur but I can say by talking to its authors that the amount is measly. An author needs to be extremely frugal with his travel expenses in order to make money from a job.

Sadly, many publishers believe that guidebook writing is a fairly easy profession in which an author can be replaced by another without loss of quality in the final product. A recent New York Times story suggested that travel guide book writers were becoming fact gatherers who could be paid less and whose typescript could be rewritten by editors back home.

I do not think this is true. Best books are written by authors with a passion and a deep love for their subject. And to write a great travel book, you need to actually visit the places you write about and even great imagination cannot supplant what you will learn only by visiting.

Thank You

Just wanted thank everyone who responded to our recent email campaign and purchased our book. Amazon ranking was at 4001 today and looks like book is doing extremely well in its initial stage.

The book is currently ranked:

#1 in Books > Travel & Holiday > Speciality Travel > Living & Working Abroad
#3 in Books > Travel & Holiday > Countries & Regions > Asia > India

We just need to keep the momentum going. All proceeds of royalties from this book will be donated to Cancervive, India. We are sure that you will find the book useful to help you and your family settle quickly in India – and to ensure that it is the experience of a lifetime.

Kris and Ian