July 28, 2006
I See Delhi, I See Chennai...Fashion
…I can see Sophia’s thigh!
Brimful brings yet ANOTHER brown fugging to our attention! This time, the fuggee is Sophia Hyatt Hayat, whom I am not so familiar with…but like I said before, that’s irrelevant when it comes to a good fugging. It’s totally possible to fug someone you don’t know. Sometimes, it’s even better. Anonymous fugging, if you will. Ah, I’ll stop fugging with you.
Unlike the previously blogged fuggings, this time Jessica was on top of things:
One of my basic rules of thumb is that, whatever you wear, you should make sure that it a) fits and b) covers your bits.
Solid.
And I mean that in the most fundamental way: this is not a screed against halter tops or mini-skirts or even (for once) shorts. I just mean that a mantilla is not a gown, and no one really wants to see your panties.
Stop hey, what’s that sound, everybody look what’s goin’ down…all us South Asians look alike, yaar. Thus, like Matthew Sweet once crooned, “Baby, we’re the same.”
This dress does not look alluring, nor does it make our Sexy Indian Hottie look like a mysterious flamenco dancer, or even like a contender for a role in Zorro 3: Zeta-Jones Doesn’t Do Straight To Video. It makes her look like she forgot part of her outfit.
As my beloved Father would have barked at Ms. Hayat, “GET A PETTICOAT!”
I’ll forgive Jessica’s subcontinental confusion because she goes on to discuss something straight out of one of MY rants about kindness, courtesy and etiquette. It’s funny, so I’m quoting the whole thing:
In fact, it reminds me of something I once read on the subject of etiquette, which was that rules for social behavior don’t exist to control people, but rather to make everyone feel comfortable.
EXACTLY. No one sane gives a shit about what fork you use, just stop weirding people out.
I think we’ve all been in a situation where, say, you’re eating a cheeseburger at Hamburger Habit and the sun is shining and the birds are singing and the boy you like called you and your skinny jeans fit and all is right in the world. And you look at the table across from you, and a woman is sitting there in too tight low-rise jeans and SERIOUSLY? You can see her entire butt and thong. And I guarantee you what happens next: every girl at your table reaches back to make sure that her own derriere hasn’t made a break for it, everyone then quietly wonders if she can’t feel the draft, and then everyone can’t stop looking at her thong, but not in a hot way. In, like, a “should I TELL her that her thong is hanging out, or is she doing that on purpose?” kind of way. And then she leaves and everyone is relived.
So save us some social angst, ladies who like to flash your panties on purpose, and cut it out. Because of you, none of us know whether or not the girl at Hamburger Habit is thonging it up on purpose or not, and therefore, we are unable to decide if it would be sisterly to hand her a sweater to tie around her waist, or if that would insult her. And all we really wanted was a cheeseburger.
Well, more like a gardenburger for me…and speaking of, those of you who know me IRL are surely cackling uncontrollably, since I call those…(drumroll please)
Wedgieburgers.
Thank you, I’ll be here all week.
anna on July 28, 2006 03:28 PM in Fashion, Humor, Photos · T·r·a·c·k·b·a·c·k address · Direct link · Email post
thanks a lot ANNA... I *was* eating my lunch.
oh, and it was a wegetarian burger, too ;)
I think you guys are being unfair. If Zorro had x-ray vision then every woman would look like that.
some ruin it for all of the girls. Seriously in one of my classes, this girl who sat directly in front of me everyday, always had ass cleavage hanging out. I threw up a little in my mouth every. single. day.
"Anonymous fugging"
you crack me up anna
Some people look down on Sofia because she wears dresses like this to London movie premieres:
NSFW!
But I like her, because I always cheer for the Pakistani girl who dreams of being a star and gets disowned by her family because of it, and is called a harlot for it, and who also knows what to do with a cigar (scroll along)
God Bless Pakistani Rebel Women
you have a point, Abhi. But really, aren't there some you could be happier without seeing? Why subject the public to that?
Speaking as a photographer, I should point out that this girl probably only looked this way during the 1/125th of a second that the flash fired. Remember what happened to poor Alexandra Kerry (John's filmmaker daughter) at an event during the last election?:
Link
Light skin under sheer black fabric blasted by a 150 lumens of white light is a recipe for paparazzi-induced titillation.
oh dear god, Red Snapper! MY EYES!
1) Darling DesiDancer, I am sincerely sorry for fugging with your wedgieburger. What a horrid thing to do.
2) Abhi-kins, even Zorro don't wanna see THAT.
3) Jeet- I know exactly what you mean. (p.s thanks!:)
The more I look at that pic, the more I think that dress is atrocious.
Preston, my Merchant of gorgeous imagery, I thought the SAME thing (right down to a mental flashback of Kerry nip) and then I thought this; it still doesn't excuse the dress. F-U-G-L-Y, she ain't got no alibi, that's fugly, yeah...that's fugly.
hmm, i agree with the fugging, but I would advise her to go with the black underwear, instead of white, next time she wears this dress.
NSFW!
dude. respect the ladies.
ah man! i was just coming here to post the link to this!
Anna, as you may have gathered, the correct spelling of Ms. Wisecrack's name is Sofia Hayat.
She has a website, complete with a own not-especially-tuneful Hinglish pop song called, appropriately, "Shake Your Cha Cha."
DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE! I was WONDERING why not a damned thing was appearing apres a good googling. Thanks!
A side note: Who the FUG cares what she is wearing???
A very boring post indeed.
It's not your fault - the FUGgers spelled it wrong.
She's not an H-hotel-heir like you-know-who.
I would think that if you are one to frequent red carpets, you'd know that there will be cameras a plenty. Wouldn't you take the flash factor into account when picking out your ensemble? Nah, I don't buy the "oh, the flash," excuse. She knew exactly what she was doing.
oh wait, there is a whole other post discussing what Parminder Nagra is wearing.
Goddamn people! You guys must be bored out of your minds.
On to the NY Times.
If you are whom your IP addy implies you are, do remember to say that to my face on August 13th, since you RSVPd for it. We'll chat about why the FUG the REST of us care, as proven by the overwhelming majority of comments on both "Go Fug Yourself" threads. It'll be fugging FABULOUS.
Don't let the door hit your pretentious, judgmental self on the way out-- good riddance to bad snobbery (since you were trying for the "more-erudite-than-thou"-contrivance, you could have picked something less ubiquitous than NYT...I would have gone with The Economist, but that's just boring me)
Anna, I'll be sure to do that when I see you. I have no qualms telling you in person that this was a "boring" post. But, that's just me. I've been reading the news a bit much in the past week or so and frankly, it was difficult to appreciate the contents of your post given what is happening in the world at this very moment.
(Speaking of, I was wondering why we haven't had a post addressing Israel/lebanon or anything related to it. It might be too broad a topic and probably elicit hundreds of reponses)
Going back to the issue, I didn't ask why others care about this girls dress. I'm sure they have their reasons.
I do find your knee-jerk response to my post rather funny. So, thanks for that.
Allow me to quote from our FAQ, since you seem to be confusing us with MSM:
Rammi, If you have no qualms stating that it was a "boring" post, why hide behind a new alias?
Anna,
That bit about the nature and scope of this blog is good to know. Thanks.
Rammi, if I may answer that question (at least from my perspective). Finding a desi angle on the Lebanon story (which is not impossible and in fact I have another good one in addition to the angles we have already blogged about) and then sitting down to write the post takes a good hour and a half to two hours. As a counter-example, some of the lighter posts that I have been recently writing take 15 minutes. They aren't as deep but it may be all we have time for on a certain day, week, or even month. Plus if we blogged heavy issues on every post the responsibility of blogging would weigh us down so fast that we'd burn out and quit. I think our bloggers average about 6 hours of sleep a night as it is.
Just do what I do. Skip posts that don't interest you.
Well said, Abhi.
He's right. The average post I write takes an hour. This one took 25 minutes. The serious ones which require more research and thought? Don't ask.
AMARDEEP: "Rammi, If you have no qualms stating that it was a "boring" post, why hide behind a new alias?"
That's so funny.
It's because I don't even remember the last one I used since I use a different one every time or for every new post that I respond to. And this computer has two users, myself and my boyfriend, we both visit sepia occasionally.
Rest assured we'll both be sure to speak to you guys in person whenever we see you and remind you of this little episode here.
btw, my real name is Manu, and I don't think I have met any of you before. But I've seen the pics, so I'll locate you.
I think more Pakistani women should show their naked ass at movie premieres in England.
What does everyone else think?
(Just ignore this post if it offends you, or is not relevant to current Lebanon crisis. It took over an hour to conceive of and construct with the requisite wit)
Oh, great, I can't wait! And please, while you're at it, do tell us about everything else that annoys you about us. What a wonderful way to make friends!
Abhi,
Your point is well-taken. Although, I am certainly not interested in something based on whether or not it has a desi connection. But, I see what you are saying about the amount of work that would involve.
Thanks. Yeah, usually, I just skip them. But like I said, having been consumed and disturbed over this situation in the mid-east, it just irked me to read something light-hearted like this.
Aight no more.
Some of us read (or write) light-hearted things exactly BECAUSE we are consumed and disturbed over such situations. Beyond that, why look down on someone else because they cope differently or have dissimilar interests from your own? I respect how you are affected by war, but I don't think it gives you license to be so unkind.
Amardeep: Oh, great, I can't wait! And please, while you're at it, do tell us about everything else that annoys you about us. What a wonderful way to make friends!
Aight guys, getting a bit silly for me here. All I said was that I found the post/topic boring. Big deal!!!
Niceties are overrated.
I'm off and won't be checking back on this post. You guys did a good job.
PS: Amardeep, I do think a lot of your posts in the past have been totally fascinating, but sorry, I still think this one is a boring topic. Can I think and say that without you guys being so defensive?
Abhi, i think you may like this site: www.aldaily.com
Adios!
I've always agreed with the notion that SM is a never-ending online cocktail party which we host; I don't like it when people are rude to my other guests. Any topic which generates 100+ comments is obviously a conversation which said guests are enjoying. Bottom line: I'll stop being "defensive" when you stop being dismissive.
I'm not against it, but I think it depends; perhaps it should be taken on an ass-by-ass basis.
She seems to have taken her inspiration from that Sophia Loren quote: A woman's dress should be like a barbed-wire fence: serving its purpose without obstructing the view.
Voyeur Pleasure
rammi, all I have to say to you is this.
Wassup Mutineers - agree it is a Friday, but whatsup with all glam posts in last few days?
Too much flug makes mutiny a TOI wannabe....
I'm curious; do you laud posts you like as well as complain when you don't?
I'm amazed at how self-centered certain commenters seem to be today, i.e. "I think this is stupid. Obviously, my preferences are all that matter, so I will state this publicly in order to make my displeasure known." As if the rest of our opinions are irrelevant-- wait, what AM I thinking? Of course. The rest of us should obviously agree with and act like you. Then, we should kill ourselves. Here's a footstool: GET OVER YOURSELVES.
Rammi:
If this is such a boring topic, why stick around and keep poking the people with a stick who enjoy it. If you're looking for attention for the mere sake of it, please spare us the high horse. You see, the problem I [not speaking for anyone else] have is that you didn't critque whether you agreed the lady was fugly, or the structure of the post, or anything else. You said you were bored by it, which means it didn't interest you. You didn't offer constructive criticism of THIS post. You threw out the standard,"Give me something that interests ME, ME, ME, ME...".
I think these bloggers here do a good job of letting us in on THEIR thoughts and THEIR interests. They are courteous enough to take into consideration what we may or may not like. That is a courtesy, not our right or something we've paid for. Unlike a movie or TV show, or even a magazine subscription where you pay for entertainment, this is a free service to us all. Which means nothing is binding us to this blog other than mutual interests. Lodging complaints about how this wasn't worthy or boring does you no good because you, like me, are guests of this free service and the bloggers aren't catering (in my opinion) to selling a product for entertainment (like a movie, tv, paid magazine, etc.)They're just writing stuff, we're voyeurs who get to pipe in sometimes, and everybody learns a thing or two and marches along.
I love my petticoats
for more fugly... did you guys check out the photo gallery at ms hayat's site? there is more evidence of fugly and some eye candy for the boys... don't miss the pics below the gallery 'book'... there are a couple of 'wedgieburger' shots, one of them in the black lace number... oh dear! *blush*
A+ not T&A.
Worse than the pics was the godawful music! Sheesh, this is to warn any unsuspecting peeps to turn the volume to mute when looking at her sight.
TOI, I'm gonna have to agree about the glam posts lately comment.
But, we all deserve a little fun sometimes with that stuff.
I'm starting to wonder if there is a cultural or generational context for comments like this; truly, I don't think anyone who "gets" the glam/TOI references would know anything about GFY and v.v.-- I see two very separate audiences for the two. Perhaps it's an "American" or 2nd gen thing, but Go Fug Yourself has quite the following, so a desi appearing on its pages is understandably a noteworthy event. Three desis in one week? Simply astounding. I don't read "/." but I understand that being on it can be a big deal. Same thing, but again, for a totally different audience, I guess.
I do, and it is. Woe be anyone's server if an article about you gets slashdotted!
truly, I don't think anyone who "gets" the glam/TOI references would know anything about GFY and v.v.-- I see two very separate audiences for the two. Perhaps it's an "American" or 2nd gen thing
There are bloggers in India that talk about GFY. Some exmaples: here, here, here.
I'm too sexy for my love too sexy for my love
Love's going to leave me
I'm too sexy for my shirt too sexy for my shirt
So sexy it hurts
And I'm too sexy for Milan too sexy for Milan
New York and Japan
I'm too sexy for India
More civilians were killed in Iraq last month (3 times more than Lebanon) and more American servicemen died in Iraq compared to Israeli troop casualties. But who is counting ??
Sorry for the brief irrelavent point. Now back
to T&Ato clothes or lack there of.Btw, sepia did have a post related to the plight of Sri Lankan maids abandoned by their employers and stranded in Lebanon a few days ago. At least do a proper read-through before rushing to complain that some topic you want this free site to provide has not been covered.
we've had two, darling.
Dear bloggers,
You dont know me. But thats OK, all you need to know is that Im very important. Why? Because, I said so. I understand you have many readers, thousands even, but lets ignore them for a bit. Lets focus on me. The reality is that I have issues with you, and your blog. You see, I really enjoy it, but, some of the material, some of the prose, and some of the opinions dont sit well with me. I come to your blog to entertain ideas, explore issues, which interest me, and sometimes Im confronted by the specter of ideas and issues of no interest, perhaps of offense even! When confronted with this I must scroll past the post, and look for something of interest. That takes as many as 5-10 seconds. Sometimes, I am even inclined to read the comments on a post that I find uninteresting. And Im even more turned off. I waste another 10-30 seconds. And, on rare occasions I even waste my time and pound out a short comment. Another 10-30 seconds of my life down the drain!
I understand that some of you have poured a great deal of time into this weblog. Hours, days, over the course of it weeks! But you have to understand that this is all irrelevant from my perspective. What is the hour it takes you to write out a post to 15 seconds of my time? You have to realize, Im the most important person in the world, and it really offends me to read material which Im not paying for. I know you have other readers, but their opinions are irrelevant, listen to me, please. As for yourselves, get some perspective. It isnt like Im paying for this service, you arent a real publication to which I would warrant respect. Instead of having to write a letter, Im posting a comment box which you provide with your bandwidth. You are giving me a megaphone to express my very important thoughts, so of course you respect me, and our relationship is that of peers, at least symbolically. We both know that Im much more important than you, and thats why you should listen to me. I want to deal with existential issues, which I find to be very grave and worthy of your time as well as mine. My request is that you take your time to write material which I find interesting, I cant be bothered because Im a contemplator, note that there is no link to my weblog, because I dont have such a thing.
This is a public space you know, you dont own it anymore, even if you invested your time and money into it. By virtue of being here I now have as much of a voice as you. By public space, I mean my space, I tell you what the public wants, because I am the vox populi. The reality is that whats mine is mine, and whats yours is mine. Since I dont have a weblog you cant reciprocate, my own thoughts, ideas and time and are to use and abuse as I choose fit, your time and use of it is lent out to my own whims and preferences, not yours.
Please do what I say, I am who I am.
Righteous Reader
Awww, she looks like a Salma Hayek wannabe who's falled on hard times.
Ms. Hayat, you should've done a Jessica Alba or a J Lo and had the transparent bit over your bra-less chest, not over those naff white undies!
We are now after reading your paranoid comments, rammi :-)
GFY never loses its appeal. Yay for Heather and her army of fug-spotters!
She's fine. And that beautiful ass goes in the face of patriarchy, opressive brown power structures, eurocentrism, anglophilia, and y'all don't be jealous pls.
*fallen. Although I have a cold so I guess the typo is audibly appropriate.
Dude I agree. How do I know? It happened to me, at a friend's wedding. I was wearing a 3 layer sheer black chiffon dress along with a nude slip under (4 layers) and it was in the daytime and you absolutely did not see anything. I had my friend take pictures of me outside before I ventured into the wedding and nothing showed in the pictures. But then night fell and dark came and flashes came out and any picture I showed up in that was taken with a flash showed my thong! F**king shit!! I feel for the girl though a sheer black or nude liner under that lace would have done wonders.
re: the great rammi issue
the fact that SM is experiencing (meta)criticism is a sign of it's influence. the NYtimes must tolerate it (timeswatch, etc) as does andrew sullivan w/ sullywatch.
these sites are free to us too, so razib's and GujuDude's attempt to make an SM exception do not meet the test of consistency.
As for me, I just
demandwish that anna would post more pics of her feet. But I digress.I predict SM will become a mainstream blog w/ great influence one day, and the major sign of this happening will be appearence of an Army of Rammis. So, Hot Feet, Professor, and Rocket Man, if you wish Rammi would go away...be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.
the NYtimes must tolerate it (timeswatch, etc) as does andrew sullivan w/ sullywatch.
when readers start paying them lie NY TIMES staffers, or what sullivan getz paid (and he raises an upper middle class living from this, without comment boxes), letz talk. otherwise, cut the crap about equivalence. to whom much is given, much is expected. some readers have given, and i am sure their opinion matters more to the principals, but the rest. well, you know how i feel.
Manju,
WOW! Finally, someone actually found the right words to say what I was thinking about with refernce to the Rammi issue. In fact, I found some hypocrisy in the fact that we are accusing this guy/girl/rammi person of being "unkind" and "rude", while we dish out the same for the lady in the dress. oh, but she is a celebrity, and we are private mutineers.
But I agree about the 'hot feet' ;-)
Shizzles!
In fact, I found some hypocrisy in the fact that we are accusing this guy/girl/rammi person of being "unkind" and "rude", while we dish out the same for the lady in the dress. oh, but she is a celebrity, and we are private mutineers.
you know, when you people blog, you'll know what i'm saying. i don't give a shit if x or y is rude. fuck, i'm quite rude sometimes. but i don't presume the act as if my own preferences and whims shape how bloggers should produce content. yes, sometimes bloggers do take input from commenters, and 'community' matters, but at the end of the day you have no fucking idea how infuriating it is for people to sit back and armchair quarterback when they themselves don't get out there and produce content.
if i seem sensitive, i am, i deal with this shit all the time. i run a technical blog, between a full time day job, part time work, + relationship and reading. my time is marginal, but when readers ask me stupid questions, and i tell them to shut up and do some reading, they get all bitchy. the reality is i don't blog for a massive readership, i blog to learn more about the topics i'm interested and i invite readers to join me in the process, i'm not a teacher who wants to take time out going over the what exactly a selection coefficient is for the nth time when i'm overstretched time wise as it is.
but that's me, the principals behind SEPIA MUTINY have made their own opinions heard multiple times, at least since last summer (perhaps earlier, but that was the first time this crap about "this is a public space we own" came up). but the same old righteous bullshit always crops up.
whatever. i'll continue to shit the righteous until the principals shut me up, i do enough of it on my own blogs.
Razib:
ok, i could have also gone w/ dialy Kos and Little Green Footballs. They're free, have comment boxes, and were once money-losing...as are virtually all start-ups. But now much is given to them so much is expected as you say. Are you unaware of Anna's plan for global domination? ("other sites on my online empire," third line on left from top)
p.s. if you think i'm bullshitting you about having to deal with idiocy, check this out. i was going to post on chapter 2 of genetical theory of natural selection but i got all exhausted by that shit. fuck it, people should know the diff. between an average excess and average effect of gene substitution! and also which chix are fugly.
i could have also gone w/ dialy Kos and Little Green Footballs
both those are "tight message" communities. kos' content is generated by the community. LGF is heavily moderated and closed to new registration (last i checked). when SM getz diaries, the idea that this is a 'public space' makes a lot more sense. as for LGF, if you want to use that as a model, like i said, you are looking for a far more centralized and controlled model than SM.
btw, when i say LGF is "heavily moderated," i'm not talking about removing comments about savage "koranimals" obviously. it is moderated so that dissenting views are suppressed.
I still think you're just trying to get inside Anna's
pantsshoes.which is essentially the inevitable result of your argument.
BTW, as I was typing this I had Fox News on and Laura Ingram just complained about immigrants saying, "everyone wants to come to this country but when they get here they demand, 'America must do this, this, and this to accomadate me.'"
Her complaint sounds very familiar.
Razib,
I left work a few hours ago and I am exhausted. I want you to know that I am thankful you are here to fight the good fight, because at 11:50 on a Friday night, I don't have the energy to explain yet again why we do what we do, why we say what we say and how we blog like we blog. I don't know if I'm being mocked but I do think I'm being a little misunderstood and it's tough. I know, no one asked me to do so, but I skipped lunch today to write this stupid post, which was meant to be light-hearted and fun...it's awesome to know that it was so worth it.
I still think you're just trying to get inside Anna's....
LOL. don't tell my gf :=) she reads the blog.
Hi. Don't know if you realized, but I'm here and reading all this.
anna, get some sleep :) or get a drink. i'm coding on my freelance gigz, so i'll be online for several more hours. i might not agree with you what say, but i am ready and willing to defend your right to say whatever the hell you want to :)
peace.
...and yet...I am going to respond to your comment anyways.
Yeah, it sounds like RAMMI.
and Laura Ingram just complained about immigrants saying, "everyone wants to come to this country but when they get here they demand, 'America must do this, this, and this to accomadate me.'" Her complaint sounds very familiar.
i don't really get this. what are you trying to say? (i'm an immigration restrictionist who is staunchly anti-multiculturalist myself, as can be attested in the comments since this weblog started)
Razib:
MANJU:
ANNA:
Goddamit, your diabolical plan worked.
BTW, I'm not mocking you Anna. I love seeing Pune too.
Razib:
Well, I'm an anti-multiculturalist and athiest like you, though I like open-borders (like Saurav) but think socialism is an problem for that stand (unlike Saurav, but I digress).
Anyway, this was a bit of hyperbole. I assume you belive in the principle of the first ammendment, and often private insitutions--universities, libraries, websites, etc, choose to embrace this pricnciple even though they have the freedom not too. Laura's position was more restrictive, like yours.
Manju:
If you're not mocking me, then you won't mind my request that you stop talking about what or who might be in my pants or shoes. It's getting old and it feels a wee bit disrespectful. Thanks.
, choose to embrace this pricnciple even though they have the freedom not too
yes, but there are constraints here. consider a library, they allow (around here) homeless bums to look at porn on computers, but they also demand that everyone keep quiet so as not to disturb others. my own personal opinion is that meta-analysis adds 0 value to the 'conversation' on SM (or most blogs), though it does add a marginal net self-righteous esteem element to the individual moot their unwanted opinion (i do the moralistic schtick now and then on this weblog specifically because it has a magical neurological effect of making me feellike i'm a better person than others, though i don't intellectually believe this). i have specific disagreemants with the posts here now and then which i choose not to moot because it would simply not add anything to conversation (though i disagree on political and cultural issues with most principals here, i view them fondly and would not want to make their lives as bloggers inordinately difficult or unpleasant). i also would run SM differently if i was a god-of-the-blog...but i'm me, not them, and i wouldn't want to be a god-of-this-blog because i strongly suspect it is really stressful and time consuming managing a conversation with so many contributors (i specifically am an asshole on my blogs to tamp down on traffic and cull the idiots).
i strongly suspect it is really stressful and time consuming managing a conversation with so many contributors
and also, let me clarify, peopel don't blog out of altruism, there's a lot you can get out of it. but there are +'s and -'s to everything, and it isn't a black & white proposition.
I agree with Razib only about 1/3 of the time, and this is one of those times. And since a big part of his defense is that people aren't required to pay to read SM, I'd also add that even though I did donate money, I don't think I have any place feeling cheated if the bloggers don't cater to my tastes. Many of the recent posts have failed to spark my interest... but so what? I knew that I was about to donate my money to a private blog put together by a bunch of regular everyday people just like me (except for maybe the prof, he's kind of a rock star). I knew that the blog isn't about me, nor, I would argue, about the bloggers themselves. It's about the project that the bloggers took on for themselves, so really, it's only their place amongst themselves to say if a post is too boring.
Anyway, my point is, even for people who paid, that money was a donation, not a contract. And I did it because, overall, their project has served me very well. It's been a big part of turning me from IBCD to FOBulous. So carry on bloggers.
Razib:
At the end of the day we are on the same page. I recognize SM's right to be as restrictive as they want. My main point was only to point out that criticism is a sign of influence. I don't know if Anna & co. really have a plan for global domination, but if they have ambition and wish the meta-critics go away, i say heed the old warning; be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.
Manju, if this was a face to face discussion we could have security cart you out for sexual harassment. Please take the hint.
manju,
i remember when manish & vinod emailed GC & myself in the summer of 2004 and we linked up SM from gnxp, this, i don't think anyone expected. and yes, blogs that "get big" tend to get more critique, but the eocsystem has chex on that critique if it isn't useful.
p.s. on the vein of critique, manish, GC, vinod & myself had some elist mailings starting in the spring of 2003 about "brown" as an identity. count me as an initial skeptic about SM as representative of anything in particular (again, if you read my earlier comments you can see this), but over the past few years i've changed my tune. this has turned into something, and props to the principals. when something becomes something than of course people try to repossess and claim it as there own.
Whoa! There's been a Stalinesque erasure of the city "Pune" from the heading of this post, therby making my pun in post 72 incomprehensible.
Funny, in a strange way, this goes to the heart of the matter we were debating.
How can a "Brit-Paki" be a "sexy Indian Hottie"?
This is one time that I think I would let our well deserving neighbors bask in the glory of glamour. ;)
We have our fuggies (did i say that right?) to worry about.
How can a "Brit-Paki" be a "sexy Indian Hottie"?
Strange, it might sound she is British of Pakistani origin, was a Bollywood Star contestant and has clear ambitions of establishing herself in Bollywood. So, she can be all of it - through the magical Bollywood.
She has also done parts in English movies/ TV and commercials.
Why do you think that happened? Are we out to ruin your puns? Surprisingly, no. Perhaps you should interpret it as a conscious attempt to change the tone of this thread, after you took it somewhere it didn't need to go.
Anna:
I honestly thought it was your pun when I wrote it. I mean, it made perfect sense, with the panties, fugliness, thighs, and wedgieburgers and all.
This isn't about critics going away, its that the type of criticism leveled isn't helping. Rather, it is dismissive and ultimately a power move by the commentator in trying to assert his/her dominance by doing so. I don't know if such unconstructive criticism comes from their own lack of control, freedom to do as desire, lack of attention/validation, or sheer stupidity.
If this was entertainment tonight and you told them it was boring, that is something they'd look at. Their job is to garner attention in order to entertain. This is not an entertainment website, nor an investigative journalists website. it's just the streaming consciousness of some people who allow us to take a brief, yet deep peek in to their thoughts. In some ways, its quite an intimate (not in the sexual way) act of letting others in on what your're thnking along with: Their real names, pictures, and significant portions of their lives.
It's about respect and when one pulls a "I'm soooo bored by this post, why did you write it when there are million other things that interest meeeeeee", it shows a glaring lack of respect and doesn't add anything. It is worthless just like a guest at a party who drinks all the punch and beer, yet bitches about the party. The alcohol was free, too. NY TImes and many other sites may look free, but there is a difference between a 20 dollar all you can drink event and a free for all party where the hosts roll up 10 kegs on the porch and pitch a red cup to everyone. One is a great deal, but you can complain if they promised you top shelf, yet poured Gordons for Vodka or Milwaukee's Best for beer. The other is free and I'll take anything they give me: Gordons, Everclear, Grey Goose, Miller Light, Icehouse, whatever. If I don't like it, I bring my own shit wrapped in a brown paper bag.
Then I'll take the paper bag, take a steaming dump in it, and smack in on the diva douchebag who bitches about free stuff's head. Well, not really, though it would be pretty funny.
0wn3d. Creepy quasi-stalking = bad. And creepy.
In other news, god bless this post. I think of all people celebrities should take a little mockery. It boggles my mind that the post has somehow sparked controversy unrelated to Ms. Hayat's creamy, overexposed thighs.
Ape In My Suit:
.what does own3d mean?
But are you referring to Anna or Sophia? The answer may be obvious now, but if SM is succesful, it'll become less evident. this reminds me of the time Andrew sullivan had an Epiphany when he was referred to as an MSB (main stream blog) while he was mocking th MSM.
I've made similar complaints to those that have been echoed in this thread. Do you want to know why I stopped? Because the bloggers that responded to me had better arguments than I did. They are absolutely right. If you're not interested in a post or the comments it generates, you can simply skip over them. And I don't care if we are dealing with people virtually in the blogosphere or face-to-face, there's absolutely no need to be disrespectful. It's unnecessary, unproductive, and most of the time, an act of cowardice by people who have the luxury of being disrespectful by virtue of the fact that they are posting under a pseudonym. If you wouldn't say something to a person's face, then don't type it out in the blog. If you do say something mean, show some spine and let your fellow readers know who you really are.
Hmmm.....I think that there may be some slight overreacting to Manju's comments -- I regularly come out with far worse innuendos here, as regular commmenters will know, although it's deliberately tempered by the fact that I try to simultaneously be funny too -- but, considering that Manju may not be as prolific a participant on SM as many other people, Anna and some other people may find his salaciousness a little inappropriate. I guess it's the difference between making such comments to a total (and uninterested) stranger and flirting with someone who has got to know you a little over a certain course of time (especially the more serious aspects of your personality). I don't think there's any maliciousness involved here, but it may be in Manju's best interest to tone the salaciousness down a little until he's more established on SM.
*************************************
Taking this back to the main topic:
Correct. Amongst the British desi population she's also (possibly better) known for being an ex-anchor on the UK arm of the Zee Music channel. I can't remember the name of the show, but she would go out to various desi gigs (clubs, concerts etc) and interview the people there. It was quite a boisterous show as I recall, Sophia's very extrovert and has a fairly badmaash sense of humour (it probably didn't go down too well with any desi parents watching !). I thought she was a good choice as a presenter, given the "tone" of the show and the personalities/behaviour of all the desi clubbers she'd be interacting with.
It depends on whether the curvy ladies concerned are willing & able to fend off the wrath of the fatwa crew ;)
(Remember what happened to Deeyah)
Yep. It may be wiser to keep some booty under wraps. In fact, I'll rephrase that: For the good of the public, the self-respect of the owner of said booty, and in order to prevent the clouds of the Apocalypse from gathering any further, a caboose should be of a certain high quality before the owner considers airing it to the world for everyone else to ogle.
Now, instead of 50-comment-long diversions involving back-and-forth arguments about the boringness of this thread, can we please get back to more pressing matters such as low-rise skinny-fit jeans, thongs, and the propriety of displaying one's assets in public.
{PS. I can't believe Kush Tandon still remembers the lyrics to Right Said Friend's song ;) }
Razib,
Yes, a butt should definitely be of "A+" standard if the owner is considering displaying it for public, er, consumption. Irrespective of whether she's wearing a wedgie thong. Or not wearing a wedgie thong. In the sense of wearing some other non-thong item. Or not wearing anything, thong or non-thong. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
I'll stop now. Before this conversation gets any lower. Not that there's anything wrong with the current fashion for "low" attire amongst women, in fact as a fairly normal red-blooded guy I think it's great. Although I agree that seeing the wedgie does present quite a dilemma: "Is she doing it deliberately ? Is it accidental ? Does she want me to look ? Should I stop staring ? Has she noticed I'm staring ? Has everyone else noticed I'm staring ? Probably not, because they're all too busy staring themselves. Aaargh, to ogle or not to ogle, that's the dilemma....."
jai dude,
manju is a common unisex name. Like some of the western names are for both males and females.
there are she manjus, and he manjus. more commonly, females, so your whole answer might be moot.
Actually, this makes me think of a question. Does SM ever plan on becoming a pay site?
I don't care if she's a Brit-Pakistani or Indian....her sexy toes are driving me crazy.
let people live....serve the real purpose of this blog!
Guys,
I've been on this blog a few times. But I don't remember folks being so edgy in the past. Razib, you should get over it man. And what's with all the threatening posts.
SHRUTI: How are you going to charge someone for sexual harrassment for something like that? This is America sweety.
Maybe you all need to put a lid on the comments here. And while you're at it, make this an exclusive club of mutineers, and not open to public the way it is now...cos maybe y'all can't handle it. If you think someone calling a post "boring" is disrespectful, you need some growing up.
And with that, I'm off to California.
Dave P.
Oh but it is disrespectful. The 100 years war began that way, King Philip pronounced an edict which a common prince edward III declared as , oh such a drastic bore
and before you know it, they invaded England.
whatsup with the white panties. Saving black ones for a special occasion, miss Hayat?
Kush T,
Yes I know (I have female relatives with that name), but someone mentioned sexual harassment so I assumed Manju was a "he". Unless they were referring to harassment of Razib.
*shrug* Either way, it's probably a good idea to get settled into a discussion forum/blog before initiating any harmless-but-possibly-inappropriate innuendo-laden banter.
No biggie.
**********************
It's a shame this thread was diverted for so long into such animosity, when it could actually have been fairly amusing (as Anna no doubt intended, as indicated by the fact that this is filed under the "Humour" theme).
Jai:
Yes Jai, I'm a He...despite my sexual harrassment of Razib. ;-)
But thanks for the good advice: get to know someone well, and then smack 'em with some harassmant. ;-)
Manju,
Well, a little flirting or dubious joking is okay (within limits), but obviously they need to know that you're basically a good guy beforehand, which takes a little time sometimes. It's no different to making shady jokes in front of people we meet/know in the "real world".
Having read through the various controversial posts on this thread, I think it was just a slight misunderstanding along with probably catching people at the wrong time. Anna is actually a nice person and she does have a good sense of humour -- she certainly lets me get away with murder* sometimes -- so I guess it's a matter of being polite to your host and essentially being a good "house guest". Just basic manners and courtesy and so on. The usual stuff.
*Murder = metaphorically-speaking, in case certain parties are evesdropping here. Please don't send me to Guantanamo. Although I could pull off looking dashing in an orange jumpsuit. Not sure about the handcuffs though.
Quandifah:
"Oh but it is disrespectful. The 100 years war began that way, King Philip pronounced an edict which a common prince edward III declared as , oh such a drastic bore and before you know it, they invaded England."
Excellent historical reference, Q! I think it sums up what has happened in this comment thread to what is an amusing post.
here's another analogy: say you make an enormous feast, and leave an open invitation to your neighbors to come and partake of the food and drink. if you accept that invitation, even if you find the food unpalatable it is considered rude to express your distaste.
I've been on this blog a few times. But I don't remember folks being so edgy in the past. Razib, you should get over it man. And what's with all the threatening posts.
your opinions doesn't matter until you have actually walked in someone's shoes. again, "wisdom" from those who don't exhibit evidence of ever running a blog themselves. if you can't consider even the import of placing yourself in someone else's shoes, you should grow up.
CaliforniaLove
Dude, I said "we could have security cart you out for sexual harassment". I didn't say anything about a lawsuit. I was only half serious in that comment, but if Manju really had gotten hostile, well, I'll just say that I've had to call security to kick people out of public venues for being douchebags before.
And don't call me "sweety". Thanks.
Wow, Anna and Shruti both really seem extremely conservative, touchy, and uptight. And Shruti's "Don't call me babe", sorry "sweetie" bit was straight out of "Barb Wire"! I personally did not feel any post was that "disrespectful" to be honest, just some fun, given the topic being discussed. I am quire sure Manju would not have said something similar if the post was on 54 children being killed in Lebanon.
I also fail to understand this whole debate on the right of people to call a post "boring". They have every right to since the blog is a public one and there is space for comments from anyone. If SM bloggers cannot take criticism, they should probably delete comments or just not allow them at all, as some thin skinned bloggers have done. Or, they should have allow comments from a cosy club of people with user authentication, so that all comments are positive and laudatory at all times.
Anna wears see-thru shirts and posts the pics on her blog.
and b4 i get banned just sayin ppl who live in glass houses shldnt throw stonez...
Shan and Brown...your comments on Shruti and Anna are in poor taste. I think they deserve an apology instead of your rants.
Shan: It's not your right to decide when a woman feels uncomfortable because of someone's language. It's my right, however, to call you a douchebag for labeling a woman "uptight" because she had the temerity to ask for a more respectful tone. Anna could have banned him instead of nicely asking for him to stop, if she were as pathetic as you are alleging the bloggers here are.
brown: Anna is not a celebrity. Anna does not walk red carpets. Anna was not blogged about on the world-famous "Go Fug Yourself" website. The point of this post was that Sophia Hayat WAS featured on that very site. You stalked Anna to the point of finding an obscure, long-dead photo album to prove your non-existant point; bored, much? Despite your challenges with reading comprehension, try and grasp the following: bloggers are NOT celebrities. Sophia Hayat? Celebrity. Anna? Not. Bloggers don't get the same perks as the rich and famous, so they don't deserve the same headaches, despite what you might think. Personally, I hope she takes those stones and lobs them at you from the stoop of her glass house.
Hmmmm I didn't mind the pantie shot so much. I enjoy your blog btw, yours and turbanhead are personal favorites right now.
People need to chill the heck out. Especially Razib. Dude, get off your high horse and stfu. Nobody cares how "busy" your life is or how "hard" it is write your blog and also "work". Wa wa.
I actually care deeply since I can totally relate to all three of those facts, so your use of the term "nobody" is flawed. Also, it's not about getting off anything equine, the issue is one of expectations: those which are unrealistic vs. those which are realistic.
We have the right to have this dialogue (and some opine that we need to), even the people whom I found slightly deluded insisted upon that. Besides, Razib was correct when he said that it's almost always someone who isn't challenged with the same demands on their time who will pipe up to tell us what we do wrong or how we have no right to complain, etc...to which I often feel like replying, "if you haven't walked a mile in my shoes, STFU, indeed.
This gonna sound real silly but... which girl are you talking about?
I'm fairly sure he's referring to Sofia "crack-tastic" Hayat. ;)