October 16, 2007
Econ 101 Works: Call Centers
It’s pretty much a staple of Econ Development 101 that all economies start with crap jobs and that, overtime, competition for workers grows, productivity grows, and thus salaries grow. The amazing thing about India is how quickly we’re seeing it work right before our eyes -
Young people say it is no longer worthwhile going through sleepless nights serving customers halfway around the world. They have better job opportunities in other fields.…As recently as four years back, the choice was pretty clear,” Karnik said. “Either you got a high paying, good job at a call center or no job at all. Today, not only are there other options, but they are pretty close to the call centers [in terms of salaries].”
“Earlier it was considered cool to work at a call center,” said Nishant Thakur, 19, after the group had dispersed. “That died out quite quickly.” Added Thakur’s friend, Vishal Lathwal, 19, “If you work at a call center today people will think you don’t have anything else to do or were a bad student.”
From wired to tired in 4 years…. wild stuff.
vinod at 02:34 PM in Economics, Short · 42 comment(s) · Direct link
October 04, 2007
The Caption Game: The "Surjeet-o Bandito" Edition
Hold on, let’s get this over with…
Okay, now that I’ve stood in the corner and thought about what I’ve done during my time-out, I half-heartedly apologize for being so insensitive as to vaguely reference a politically incorrect, wayyy-before-your…and-really-my time cartoon character/mascot.
My bad. If it helps, it’s a rather obscure ref and I did change the “first name” to something browner (shout out to my friend Surjeet, who is sure to be THRILLED about this). Anyfoo.
Monday came and went, with nary a caption game in sight; I blame you. What, on top of everything else in my disorganized, estrogen-powered day, I need to discover non-existent time with which to ferret out funny pictures?
Wait, what?
I do? Meh.
Well, if we’re relying on ME, then prepare for tardy everything (including me). I saw this on the BBC website yesterday and that is why we have an uber-late* CG today, which is THURSDAY for those who are either hung-over, a disciple of Rip Van Winkle or too confused to keep count.
So, now that you’ve seen the amusing picture, kindly be doing what some of you do best— caption away. Why should you expend such effort? Because a photograph like that deserves more than this (you know there’s no-o-o-othing):
Indian cricketers pose with turbans, before a one-day international against Australia. [Beeb]
Perplexed? Bemused? Constipated? Consider previous editions of the Caption Game, awailable for procrastinating purposes here: éka, dvá, trí, catúr, páñca, s.as., saptá , as.tá, náva…
::
*Use of “uber-” in this post is courtesy of UberDesi— a.k.a. Sepia Mutiny for FOBs^, a.k.a. All the news which SM is too prim to print, a.k.a. the brown group blog which infamously advised you on how to improve the taste of your…stuff via pineapple juice consumption— which is a year old today. Thank you for granting us permision to borrow your GERMAN WORD and for letting us gank your trademark term there, you’re a peach. One should assume that all materials, information, data, text, or images, (collectively the Materials) which reference “uber”…anything, really, are either the property of or used with permission from UberDesi, which, again is celebrating its first year of blogebrity. As such, unless you are notified otherwise, these Materials are subject to the copyright laws of Desistan and may not be used without the prior express permission of UberDesi, to whom we vish a wery merry birrrday and a clap-py new year.
^Don’t yell at me! THEY call themselves that! Besides, DBD is our term and I didn’t feel like faking more legalese to remind you of that. ;)
anna at 04:27 PM in Caption This, Humor, Short · 31 comment(s) · Direct link
August 31, 2007
The Most Powerful Desi Women in the World
Forbes’s annual “100 most powerful women” list names Indra Nooyi, Chairman & CEO of PepsiCo the #5 most powerful woman in the world and the most powerful Desi woman. She edges out #6 - Sonia Gandhi, President of the Congress Party — thus creating a pretty impressive showing in the top 10. The final desi on the list, and a previously unknown one to me - #97 Vidya Chhabria - hails from the UAE.
A hearty SM congrats all around.
Worth noting - Pratibha Patil gets a nod as a “powerful woman behind the woman”; now that will get some SM tongues wagging.
vinod at 12:13 PM in News, Short · 119 comment(s) · Direct link
August 29, 2007
Gregory Clark @ GNXP
Gregory Clark is quickly becoming the economist du jour due to his recently published (and quite controversial) A Farewell to Alms. 
Late last year, Sepia Mutiny had a preview of some of the book’s content and, as schedule permits, we will likely cover more of it moving forward. As we said back then, for Mutineers Clark is definitely an economist to watch relative to others due to his outsized focus on Indian economic history.
So, until we get a chance to dive into more of the detail here, GNXP (Razib’s home when he’s not a 1-man comments machine on SM) has a great interview with Clark up right now and question #1 hits squarely into desi territory -
1) In some early work, you wondered why workers in British cotton mills were so much more productive than workers in Indian cotton mills. You discuss this in the last chapter of A Farewell to Alms. You looked at a lot of the usual explanations-incentives, management, quality of the machines-and none of them really seemed to explain the big gap in productivity. Finally, you seemed to turn to the idea that it’s differences between the British and Indian workers themselves-maybe their culture, maybe their genes-that explained the difference. How did you come to that conclusion?
…When I set out in my PhD thesis to try and explain differences in income internationally in 1910 I found that asking simple questions like “Why could Indian textile mills not make much profit even though they were in a free trade association with England which had wages five times as high?” led to completely unexpected conclusions. You could show that the standard institutional explanation made no sense when you assembled detailed evidence from trade journals, factory reports, and the accounts of observers. Instead it was the puzzling behavior of the workers inside the factories that was the key.
What was this “puzzling behavior”? Well, unfortunately, it appears a good chunk of it was IST.
Read the rest, let it whet your appetite for more, and expect to see Clark here on SM in the near future 
vinod at 06:00 PM in Economics, Short · 101 comment(s) · Direct link
August 14, 2007
Watch out now!
Oh, we zimbly HAVE to play the caption game with the picture below. It was thoughtfully submitted via a tip to our news tab from Msichana (thanks!)
Granny, get your gun: Ladies of the Village Defense Committee squeeze off a few AK-47 bursts during training by the Indian army in Sariya, India. [SFgate]
I don’t mean to make light of serious issues like empowering women or self defense and I wish I didn’t have to explicitly declare that in my post, but there you go, in case you needed me to do so. Having reluctantly typed all that, I will return to the gleeful state I was in when I first gazed at this— what a capture! Now you all caption away. :)
Previous editions of caption-palooza: onnu, rendu, moonu, naalu…
anna at 04:57 PM in Humor, Photos, Short · 84 comment(s) · Direct link
It All Came from India, Ch LVIX
So here’s another piece of ammo for your “everything came from India” uncle -
Newton’s Infinite Series: We heard it in Malayalam first
NEW DELHI: A group of Malayali scholars had predated a ground-breaking Newton ‘discovery’ by over 250 years, according a research paper published on Monday.
The team of researchers from the Universities of Manchester and Exeter reveal that the ‘Kerala School’ identified the ‘infinite series’- one of the basic components of calculus - in about 1350.
And thus, by discovering one of the building blocks of calculus first, Mallu’s used the knowledge to, uh, well, uh, I’m not quite sure…. The researchers were quick to note that this discovery shouldn’t be used to reduce Newton’s stature but instead, add some brown names to the pantheon of genius -
[Dr George Gheverghese Joseph, one of the researcher and Honorary Reader, School of Education at The University of Manchester said,] “The brilliance of Newton’s work at the end of the seventeenth century stands undiminished - especially when it came to the algorithms of calculus.
“But other names from the Kerala School, notably Madhava, Valloppillil, and Nilakantha, should stand shoulder to shoulder with him as they discovered the other great component of calculus- infinite series.
However, Dr. Joseph does note that perhaps, just perhaps, Newton wasn’t inspired by the proverbial apple at all -
…there is strong circumstantial evidence that the Indians passed on their discoveries to mathematically knowledgeable Jesuit missionaries who visited India during the fifteenth century.
That knowledge, they argue, may have eventually been passed on to Newton himself.
Let the attribution games begin! (Hat tip - Venkat & Sindhya)
vinod at 04:19 PM in History, Science, Short · 24 comment(s) · Direct link
July 26, 2007
More FREE fun for the People-- in Berkeley
Via my Auntie Valsa’s kid, Jasmin, over at ASATA, news of an upcoming free M.I.A. show at Amoeba Records in Berkeley, this Saturday at 2pm.
I “hella” thought those of you in the yay area who have reconciled your inner turmoil regarding her connection with/representation of/grahpic allusions to the LTTE might want to know. Me? I’m still conflicted, so I’ll keep humming
Let you be superior
I’m flithy with the fury ya
…it’s easy being morally inferior when there’s such a sick soundtrack to feel shame to. I keed, I keed.
anna at 03:45 PM in Arts and Entertainment, Events, Music, Short · 61 comment(s) · Direct link
"Trashed" Grandmother Passes Away.
A heart-breaking update to my previous post, “On Respect for our Elders”:
A SICK 75-year-old grandmother who was thrown in the garbage by her relatives in India last week has died, officials say.
Chinnammal Palaniappan, died on Sunday in a home for elderly people where she was taken after being rescued from the garbage dump in Erode town, 400km from Chennai, capital of southern Tamil Nadu state.
Palaniappan had told her rescuers that on July 19 she was taken from her home by her grandsons and on waking up found herself among a heap of rotting garbage.
“She was improving after she was fed and given necessary medicines in the facility but on Sunday evening she developed breathing problems and died,” an official said.
Thanks for posting this to the news tab, Anonymous. At least she’s finally at peace.
If anyone hears news regarding the worthless family who did this despicable deed, please let us know. I can’t be the only one who is interested in their fate, and how the TN government proceeds with this tragic case.
anna at 12:05 PM in In Memoriam, Issues, News, Short · 25 comment(s) · Direct link
July 22, 2007
Are you a Potterwallah?
Though I have never been a fan of Harry, I have always been an ardent devotee of pop culture, so Potter-mania interests me for that reason. I’m marinating in it here, but I’m tickled by what’s going on there, and by there, I mean India.
By 7 am, Strand Book Stall, Fort, Mumbai, who opened their doors at 6.30 am sharp on July 21, had sold 2,000 copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Queues of excited Potterwallahs, who had been in line since 6 am or earlier, wound themselves around the block in this busy Mumbai business district, where Saturday is usually a very quiet day.
Mothers and daughters, teenagers, young working people, plenty of youngsters with their parents and lot of oldies. all stood in a queue calmly clutching receipts for copies booked up to three months earlier.
The paan wallahs and chai wallahs nearby had seen this phenomenon before. “Yes it is for that book,” they said sagely. “I don’t know what the book is about.” [Rediff]
That is almost exactly what I said to a stranger, earlier today! ;)
And you muggle-borns? Did you skip to the last page, like the rowdy teens in Mumbai did?
anna at 12:51 AM in Fiction, Short · 103 comment(s) · Direct link
July 16, 2007
More Syriana Justice
The horrible treatment South Asian workers receive in Arab nations has been receiving more and more press coverage of late. Hopefully, the spotlight will ensure that something changes for the better but until then, it’s our job to bring forward stories like this -
The imminent execution of a teenage maid in Saudi Arabia drew fierce criticism yesterday…According to the Saudi authorities, Rizana Nafeek admitted strangling the four-month-old boy while feeding him with a bottle.
But Nafeek, whose job was not meant to include child care, has denied making any such admission. She claims the child had begun to choke before losing consciousness in spite of her desperate efforts to clear his airway.
Tonight is the deadline for appeals in the case.
This criminal trial is especially ghastly on 2 counts —
Kate Allen, the director of Amnesty International UK, said: “It is an absolute scandal that Saudi Arabia is preparing to behead a teenage girl who didn’t even have a lawyer at her trial. The Saudi authorities are flouting an international prohibition on the execution of child offenders by even imposing a death sentence on a defendant who was reportedly 17 at the time of the alleged crime.”
Prior SM coverage here and here and here.
vinod at 05:18 PM in News, Short · 87 comment(s) · Direct link
July 11, 2007
The Enemy of My Enemy is???
How do you solve a problem like Maria Musharraf? It’s so dang hard to figure out what we should (much less can ) do with him. Lets be clear, by nearly any measure, he sounds like a pretty awful leader. And yet, perhaps he’s a Stalin in our conflicted time — someone we’d otherwise hate but whom other, more pressing international circumstances force us to extend a bit more, uh, courtesy than we’d like. If his umpteen missteps have brought us to the verge of actively “regime changing” him (a great read, BTW!), then perhaps this latest diatribe from the Hitler of our time (no, not Bush, sheesh) wins Mushie back a few more points -
I talk to you today on the occasion of the criminal aggression carried out by Musharraf, his army and his security organs - the Crusaders’ hunting dogs - against Lal Masjid in Islamabad, and on the occasion of the dirty, despicable crime committed by Pakistani military intelligence - at the orders of Musharraf - against Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi when it showed him on television in women’s dress.
Not in the Musharraf Fan Club Either
This is a message of blinding clarity to the Muslims in Pakistan, the Pakistani Ulema, and indeed, the Ulema in the rest of the Islamic world, and this crime can only be washed away by repentance or blood. I call on the Ulema in Pakistan and tell them: this is what you are worth to Musharraf, and this is the treatment that awaits you in the prisons of Musharraf’s hunting dogs, and this is what you are worth to the Crusaders. Musharraf and his hunting dogs have rubbed your honor in the dirt in the service of the Crusaders and the Jews, and if you don’t retaliate for your honor, Musharraf won’t spare any of you, and won’t stop until he eradicates Islam from Pakistan. Lowly Musharraf, who has sold his honor and religion to the Crusaders and Jews, is arrogant with you in the extreme and regards you with the utmost contempt, and treats you like animals and dogs, and only is satisfied by portraying you in the lowliest and most despicable light.
This is an eloquent message [from Musharraf] to every scholar and every free and honorable person in Pakistan: that resisting Musharraf, confronting him and demanding that he adhere to Islam and refrain from worshiping the Crusaders and Jews will only get you the worst types of contempt, humiliation and degradation.
Of his litany of complaints, it’s almost comical that perp-walking Ghazi on TV in a dress ranks quite so highly. Perhaps there’s some insight here into the Honor/Shame dynamic commentators have noted in the shadowy corners of Arab society that breed Zawahiris…. Whatever the case, if the other guys think he’s out to destroy Islamism, then perhaps there’s another twist to this Gordian Knot. A tough problem to solve indeed.
vinod at 11:57 PM in News, Short · 73 comment(s) · Direct link
July 10, 2007
Cheek Swabbing Can Be Fun... Bay Area Mega Drive
Ultrabrown posted some picts from last weekend’s cheek swab fest in NYC. Vinay Chakravarty and his wife showed up and, as Manish points out, it’s almost weird how much revelry the event managed to create…
Additional events are happening all over the country to help Vinay, Sameer and countless others in the future.
In particular, this weekend, Bay Area volunteers are hosting their MEGA DRIVE spanning over a dozen sites.
So here’s a little game to liven things up & help get the word out — snap a pict or 2 of you and your friends getting your cheeks swabbed and/or holding up your donor cards, send ‘em to ME (vinod@vinod.com), and, in the spirit of the Desi Dad project, we’ll post some of our fav mug shots on SM and Ultrabrown alongside these folks -
vinod at 04:59 PM in Health and Medicine, Short · 9 comment(s) · Direct link
July 09, 2007
Did he or didn't he?
An anonymous tipster alerted us via the News tab to a possible racist/scandalous/nebulous slip of Michael Moore’s tongue. I sat through the entire, excruciating 10+ minute video at Breitbart.tv, only to discover that the controversial part is at the end; the video I posted below features the last eleven seconds of the entire segment and contains the relevant moment.
Link: sevenload.com
Well? What do you think? Racist or immature? Mispronounced or intentionally mangled? Or is this much ado about nothing? Comments on Breitbart were hot, heated and divided about whether or not Michael Moore started to channel Apu. What say you?
anna at 11:16 PM in Issues, News, Politics, Short, Video · 301 comment(s) · Direct link
June 28, 2007
Sometimes, There’s a Match.
 |
|
Meenu Bedi is saving a life she’s never met… |
Bedi said she was “honored and ecstatic” when she found out her stem cells were a match.“It was a privilege to do it for someone,” she said. “I would hope that they would do the same for me, if I was in their shoes.”
…”I know she’s 54 years old and that she has leukemia,” Bedi said. “They won’t release her ethnicity, but, yeah, she’s East Indian.”
Meenu was registered via a Team-in-Training program sponsored by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
As rare as matches are, what’s even more sad is the occasional response to a match (a problem which, sadly, Vinay appears to have run into) -
“We often get a lot of people to sign up,” [Program Director] Vlume said, “but the unique problem is getting people to say ‘yes’ after we’ve made a match.”She said that sometimes, as many as 70 percent of people deemed matches decline to go through with the process.
“They want to look like they’re doing a good thing, they want to show they support the community, but in the end they never really wanted to do it in the first place,” Vlume said.
Sometimes, attitudes are a far worse problem than numbers. Good luck Vinay & Sameer.
vinod at 04:20 PM in Issues, Short · 12 comment(s) · Direct link
June 27, 2007
Just when you think you’ve seen it all
I’m utterly speechless.
One of YouTube’s commentors tries to explain things -
This is a rite of passage in India. It has not fangs and it’s mouth is sewn shut. Also, it has no constricting force so it’s less dangerous then a dog or cat.
… And discussion on urban-mythbusting website snopes.com seems to concur. Any mutineers have insight here? I mean it’s one thing to teach a baby not to fear *this* snake but rue the day he should start fearing all snakes.
vinod at 09:47 PM in Short, Video · 92 comment(s) · Direct link
PostSecret isn't always tragic.
Ever vigilant mutineer and desi in NJ Shlok alerted us to a second browning of Post Secret:
The first postcard SM covered was passionately discussed here.
anna at 05:50 PM in Art, Short · 4 comment(s) · Direct link
June 13, 2007
Anand Jon: Now With Less Hair, More Victims
A few of you have sent in tips about Anand Jon’s latest legal issues. Here are some blockquotes about the dirty and disgraced designer, which I ganked from Reuters:
A celebrity fashion designer already accused of raping or sexually assaulting 12 women and girls who came to him as aspiring models was charged on Tuesday with attacks on six additional victims.
Los Angeles prosecutors have now charged Anand Jon, an Indian-born designer who has appeared on the popular television show “America’s Next Top Model,” with a total of 46 counts involving 18 victims, all with ties to the fashion industry and between the ages of 14 and 27.
Anand Jon Alexander, who was notorious for being a douche to our girl Julie Titus during season 3, is out on bail.
The charges against Jon include forcible rape, sexual battery, sexual penetration by a foreign object, sodomy by use of force, forcible oral copulation, false imprisonment by violence, assault with the intent to commit a felony, lewd act on a child, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and sexual exploitation of a child.
Oh, and as for the title of this post…Jon cut his “trademark” flowing tresses. Seventy percent of you had no idea he even had long hair, and I applaud you for your ignorance. Sepia Mutiny: we read TMZ so you don’t have to.
anna at 12:10 AM in Fashion, Humor, News, Short · 36 comment(s) · Direct link
June 08, 2007
Points & Desis
As Abhi points out, one of the key elements of the proposed immigration bill was a Canadian-/Aussie-style points system to allocate immigration spots. The overall bill failed.
The proposed point system, however, was pretty interesting. The general goal was to provide a more systemic, color-blind way of sorting the through the massive pool of applicants. Factors like English proficiency, degrees, and occupations would be allocated values and the sum determined where in the stack you ranked….
Of course, the world being the non-uniform soup it is, the second you start calling some traits more ‘desirable’ than others, you’re going to run into, uh, disparaties in how frequently those traits are found across ethnic groups. Towards this end, the NYT published this very interesting chart which showed how, based on the past 15 yrs of immigration data, a few select groups would have been allocated points. By my eye, Desi’s would have scored rather conspicuously well….
vinod at 06:44 PM in News, Short · 59 comment(s) · Direct link
June 02, 2007
"I'm Registered, Are You?"
There were several opportunities to join the NMDP’s database today; how many of you got swabbed? Tomorrow, there are drives in Fremont, Torrance and Cerritos— leave a comment and let us know if you went. More drives are planned, all over the country, during the next few weeks. Find more information about that here.
This reminds me of voting; it involves registering and we say we’re going to do it, but then we don’t always follow through. It’s one thing to be aware of Vinay’s situation, quite another to have actually done something about it. Don’t you want to be in the latter camp? :)
anna at 08:43 PM in Health and Medicine, Short, Video · 10 comment(s) · Direct link
May 21, 2007
The Unsinkable Monty Brown
Like Tori and some rather old rodents (oh, like any of you are old enough to remember them), “I don’t like Mondays”. I thought you might feel similarly about today; if so, then perhaps you, too, will find this picture irresistibly smile-provoking. Marinate in the exuberance:
England’s Monty Panesar (R) celebrates with Ian Bell after dismissing the West Indies’ Corey Collymore during the fourth day of their first test cricket match at Lord’s in London May 20, 2007.
Now if you wanted to play our favorite caption game with this photograph, I don’t think anyone would object to such fun. And finally, to all the patient-with-a-novice, possibly-in-withdrawal cricket heads out in Sepia-land…I told you I was no fair-weather-padawan. :)
anna at 12:12 PM in Photos, Short, Sports · 36 comment(s) · Direct link
May 18, 2007
Mosque Attacked in Hyderabad
A “crude” bomb exploded at the 17th century-era Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad during Friday prayers, killing five and seriously injuring at least 25 others (Thanks, Red Snapper and Tamasha):
Minutes after the blast, Muslims angered by what they said was a lack of police protection began chanting slogans — a situation that quickly devolved into mobs throwing stones at police, who responded with baton charges and tear gas.
Some reports I’ve read state that the tear gas was used to clear the area, to help ambulances rush to and from the scene.
The bombing and ensuing clash between worshippers and police raised fears of wider Hindu-Muslim violence in the city, which has long been plagued by communal tensions and occasional spasms of religious bloodletting.
Many of those injured in the explosion at the 17th-century Mecca Masjid were severely wounded, and the city’s police chief, Balwinder Singh, warned the death toll could rise.
Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh state, where Hyderabad is located, appealed for calm between Hindus and Muslims.
Reddy called the bombing, which killed at least five people and wounded 25, an act of ”intentional sabotage on the peace and tranquility in the country.” [NYT]
Mecca Masjid, so named because some of its bricks were brought from that holy city, took 8000 masons almost eight decades to complete; it is the largest mosque in Hyderabad.
Developing…
anna at 08:43 AM in News, Religion, Short · 89 comment(s) · Direct link
May 17, 2007
A Third Serving of Caste
…via SAJAforum. This ran in the WSJ today, as we were still discussing caste on this blog. What excellent timing for a barely-mediocre cartoon.
What do you think? Over at SAJA, commenter Sendhil had the following to say, which left me giggling:
If this is from the WSJ’s “Pepper… and Salt” spot, it’s not unusual that it’s not funny. Those cartoons are funny less often than “Fred Bassett”. I have concluded that they must serve some other, hidden, purpose, like sending coded messages about tomorrow’s Dow performance to the members of the Trilateral Commission.
Fred Bassett? Ouch.
anna at 03:41 PM in Comics, Issues, Short · 93 comment(s) · Direct link
May 16, 2007
"Those who spy for America will face this same fate"
A bomb exploded in the Peshawar restaurant where a “close relative” of Mullah Dadullah—the charismatic leader of the Taliban who was killed this past weekend—had been arrested, though there is no confirmation that said arrest provided the intelligence which helped us find Dadullah. The attack is especially ominous because it indicates that the war in Afghanistan is spreading to Pakistan [via PI].
The suicide bomber’s severed leg, found in the rubble of a restaurant where he killed 25 people, was wrapped with brown tape used to seal packages. On the tape, scrawled in the Pashto language, was an ominous warning.
“Those who spy for America will face this same fate,” it said.
The bomb went off yesterday in the four-story Marhaba Hotel in an old quarter of this frontier city, which served as the main staging point for mujahedeen in Soviet-occupied Afghanistan in the 1980s and is still synonymous with violent Islamic radicalism and political intrigue…
In addition to the warning for those who spy for the United States, provincial police chief Sharif Virk said, the parcel tape bore the Persian word Khurasan - often used in extremist videos to describe Afghanistan.
The timing of the attack is noteworthy:
The bomb went off shortly after the restaurant’s Afghan owner, Saddar Uddin, returned from a trip outside with some relatives, said waiter Hassan Khan. Uddin, his two sons, two other relatives, and seven employees were among the dead, he said.
A local intelligence official said Uddin, an ethnic Uzbek, had links to the party of anti-Taliban warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum, part of the Northern Alliance that helped the United States topple the old regime.
anna at 11:37 AM in News, Short · 14 comment(s) · Direct link
May 10, 2007
Ain't No Sunshine When He's Gone
A raccoon, a turtle and a squirrel walk in to a bar…and nothin’. But this procyonid, testudine and rodent are a bit more useful than that—they’re amusing. Via Sajaforum:
Sigh. This Sanjaya free-existence is almost unbearable.
Come back, little papaya, with or without those bees. We long to know what directions your tresses could have taken next, what conditioner you use, and whether you ‘poo. No, really…do you? And where do you stand on hair oil? Perhaps we’ll never know…
anna at 07:02 PM in Comics, Humor, Short · 27 comment(s) · Direct link
May 09, 2007
Who's That Girl? The SEQUEL!
So Sree emailed me a grin-inducing link to the SAJAforum blog, where once again they are trying to…
test the “all desis know each other” theory and see if one of you can identify this model. [linkaya]
While the Microsoft billboard which inspired our original WTG post is apparently gone, there is no need to mourn the thrill of emulating Scooby-Doo while we attempt to solve a mystery. You see mutineers, we have ANOTHER model to play Kevin Bacon with!
…yesterday, as I walked into the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue and 59th St with my wife and kids, we were greeted by the poster (above)…Come on, folks, let’s ID her and give the theory a second chance.[linkaya]
Sree was basically asking the Mutiny if we were “in” when he sent me that GMail. I was all like, “Oh, we’re HELLA in!”, except I didn’t say that since I’m the only Northern Californian who refuses to hella anything.
I was actually surprised that we didn’t figure out who Miss Office ‘07 was. Our failure to discover her name (and alma mater, hobbies, biodata etc) shook my faith in the previously unchallenged idea which insisted that even though we Brownz might number a million+ here in Amreeka, none of us is more than two degrees apart, especially when super-friendsters like Shail exist. Two degrees, y’all. If it’s not true, then Aunties have terrifying powers of omniscience.
Anyway, I love how last time, the unidentified smiling desi was a model for Office ‘07— a.k.a. poo— and this time, our brownette is reppin’ the maker of my beloved iBook. Ah, I’m easily amused, except by stupidity, so please, just like last time, no comments on skin color, weight, caste or anything else unnecessary, okay? Thanks.
anna at 12:02 AM in Humor, Photos, Short · 104 comment(s) · Direct link
May 08, 2007
Cricket: Reebok Hearts Dravid and Dhoni
What, you thought I was a fair-weather cricket pupil? ;)
Mutineer Sandeep sent in this tip after having one of those, “Hey. What the-? Brown??” -moments in front of his television:
Saw this commercial while watching NBC primetime TV, and thought I recognized that typical Dravid earnestness saying “actually, it’s 229 million…”. was kind of surprised when I paused and found desi cricket ishtars Rahul Dravid and Mahendra Singh Dhoni part of reebok’s new ad campaign…
As for other notables in the ad:
Stevie Williams rides his skateboard. Cricket players MS Dhoni and Rahul Dravid run together. Soccer player Thierry Henry and actress Emmanuelle Chriqui are paired. Tennis player Nicole Vaidišová is on the cell phone. Football players DeAngelo Hall and Chad Johnson run together. Track athlete (heptathlon) Carolina Klüft runs in yellow. Basketball player Allen Iverson and football player Vince Young run together. Track athlete Aries Merritt runs across a skywalk. [splendAd]
Finally, something about Reebok to appreciate. :D
anna at 07:51 AM in Short, Sports, TV, Video · 46 comment(s) · Direct link
May 07, 2007
Caribbean Queen
Who dat? Why, that’s your girl M.I.A., doin’ the damn thing in Jamaica during a video shoot last week; a tipster on the news tab blessed us with a link to this and several other photos from the shoot posted at hip arbiter Pitchfork Media. Apparently the sister’s new album, called Kala, drops in August; we’ve already gotten down to “Bird Flu” a few months ago, and now if you check the Pitchfork item you’ll find a link to a MySpace page that offers a stream of another new song (though not on the album), called “Hit That.” The topic is, um, exactly what it sounds like — a pure sex/party jam, containing interpolations of previous classics of the genre like Wreckx-N-Effect’s “Shake Your Rump.” Anyway make of the music what you will, but I’m digging the pan-Third World aesthetic that M.I.A.’s been putting forward of late in her videos and indeed, her choice of settings; she’s a reverse ambassador of mash-up globalization, bringing it back to its multiple sources, and the brown skins, big butts and ramshackle backdrops express a politics far more creative, democratic and satisfying than the tired and tendentious tigers of her first go-round.
siddhartha at 12:04 PM in Music, Short · 48 comment(s) · Direct link
May 02, 2007
Flesh for Fantasy
What “luscious, incomparable mangoes” you have! Now people can “go mad for the beautiful, supple flesh,” which we have “denied [ourselves] too long.” The subtext of articles and quotes from restaurateurs and political dignitaries about the re-legalization of U.S. imports of Indian mangoes is positively… fruity.
On less sweet a note, it seems that between production and transportation costs and the stranglehold exercised by Mexican mangoes (how dare they!) on U.S. distribution channels, Alphonsos may cost up to 10 times more than the plebeian mangoes currently available at your local yuppie food mart, tropical store or bodega. The pleasure of the Indian mango, it seems, shall be known by elite mouths only.
siddhartha at 03:02 PM in Short · 77 comment(s) · Direct link
Crazy Bout A Sharp Dressed Man
File this in the short & interesting category. Mohandas Gandhi’s grandson has recently had to turn down an offer to run Gujarat University because of a dress code violation -
 |
|
Rico Suave: The Next Generation |
A grandson of Mohandas Gandhi has turned down a request to head a university established by his grandfather, saying he does not always wear simple cotton clothing as required by the school dress code.Gopal Krishna Gandhi, the governor of West Bengal state, said in a letter to the vice chancellor of Gujarat University that he does not always wear the hand-spun or woven cotton called “khadi” that is mandatory for anyone associated with the institution, the Hindustan Times reported Tuesday…
‘Tis an interesting observation on cultural relativism that while Gandhi’s bare chest and barely-there bottoms would no doubt violate norms at universities across the West, his grandson’s attire is becoming downright fashionable these days…
UPDATE — an interesting error in the original article that some sharp eyed / knowledgeable Mutineers pointed out - Gujarat Vidyapeeth University is the university in question, not Gujarat University.
vinod at 11:32 AM in Short · 27 comment(s) · Direct link
April 26, 2007
No Balle Balle for Bally
HL Menken famously said, “No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.” That’s true not just of customers, but of corporate employees as well.
If I managed a gym and I was hiring somebody to do sales, I would care about how much experience they had, maybe how fit they looked, but I can’t imagine caring about the nationality or religion of the applicant. And this would especially true in a place like Fresno which is one of the most diverse counties in the state of California. Still, that’s just what one Bally’s in Fresno did - out and out discriminated against a Sikh man:
Sukdev “Devin” Singh Dhaliwal applied for a sales job with one of Bally’s five Fresno fitness centers in 2004. An interviewer quizzed Dhaliwal, who was born and raised in California, about his religious and ethnic background, and then denied him a job and hired non-Sikh, non-Indian applicants with less experience, according to the commission.
”He was basically asked where he was born, where his parents were born, what religion he subscribed to and whether he was a Muslim,” said EEOC program analyst Linda Li. “He’s very American.” [Link]
Why bring up news from almost 3 years ago today? Because it took that long for Bally’s to face justice and … lose:
Under the consent decree approved by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White, Bally must pay Dhaliwal $24,000 in damages and provide training in equal opportunity hiring practices to managers at its Fresno locations. Dhaliwal said he plans to donate some of the money to his alma mater, California State University, Fresno, where a business law professor steered him to the EEOC after hearing about the interview. [Link]
It’s not a lot of money, but it should send a message. Sadly, it’s a message that still needs sending.
ennis at 06:55 PM in Law, News, Short · 15 comment(s) · Direct link
April 20, 2007
A New Set of Wheels
A fascinating group of news stories discusses the goal many auto companies have of building the next generation of really cheap cars for the 3rd world mass market.
 |
|
Singing and Dancing into the Future |
Renault-Nissan Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn is betting that for autos, the magic number is under $3,000. At a plant-opening ceremony in India Apr. 4, he was already talking up the industry’s next challenge: a future model that would sport a sticker price as low as $2,500—about 40% less than the least expensive subcompact currently on the market. Renault-Nissan is the first global automaker to take up the gauntlet thrown down in 2003 by India’s Tata Motors, which plans to launch a $2,500 car next year.
India is target #1 on all fronts — design, manufacturing, marketing, and, of course, the ultimate consumer. Instead of looking outside for economic growth, this is a story of internally sourced, created, and most importantly executed growth.
One aspect of the story is a classic Innovator’s Dilemma problem — incumbent producers not just ignored but actually ridiculed the new low end market. Businessweek continues -
When Tata made its vow to build a $2,500 car, many Western auto executives ridiculed the project, dubbing it a four-wheel bicycle. They aren’t laughing anymore. Tata’s model is a real car with four doors, a 33-horsepower engine, and a top speed of around 80 mph. The automaker claims it will even pass a crash test. And while the car probably won’t win any beauty contests, it’s no ugly duckling either, according to the handful of industry insiders who have been given a glimpse. The rest is top secret, but Tata engineers are already testing a prototype as the clock ticks toward a late 2008 launch. The key is India’s low-cost engineers and their prodigious ability to trim needless spending to the bone, a skill developed by years of selling to the bottom of the pyramid. “You have to cut costs on everything—seats, materials, components—the whole package,” says Tata Group Chairman Ratan N. Tata.
Of course, in most of the cases chronicled in Innovator’s Dilemma, the new, low end market entrant eventually absorbs the upstream market through incremental features… In this case, however, there is at least 1 large hump that Tata et. al. will have to cross before their $2500 car can become a reality in the US -
Forbes quotes consultants at Roland Berger as estimating that it would cost as much as $4,000 on top of Tata’s $2,500 price to engineer the car to meet U.S. safety and emission regulations, transport, pay tariffs, market it, pay lawyers and other warranties.
As many an economist has noted, never underestimate the power of the regulatory apparatus when it comes to locking existing fat cats in their place.
vinod at 02:28 PM in Economics, Short · 57 comment(s) · Direct link
April 16, 2007
Clinton Endorses Malakar?
In further American Idol Idiocy news, Senator Bharat Obama isn’t the only Democratic Presidential contender being linked to our papaya Sanjaya! I am telling you, I can’t make up shit this good:
During a radio call-in on WOKQ-FM, Sen. Hillary Clinton was asked what the United States can do about Malakar, the Fox television show’s underdog candidate who critics say lacks any shred of talent.
“That’s the best question I’ve been asked in a long time,” Clinton said. “Well, you know, people can vote for whomever they want. That’s true in my election, and it’s true on ‘American Idol.’ “ [linkaya]
That’s right, America.
YOU ARE FREE TO VOTE FOR OUR PAPAYA!
In unrelated idiocy, it seems the utterly uncalled-for, haterade-fueled hunger strike against our cutie-patootie wasn’t pathetic enough; someone has exiled themselves to the roof of a car dealership, to protest Sanjaya’s winning streak:
The producer of “Chio In The Morning” on WRDW-FM in Philadelphia has been living in a little tent on top of the roof of a local Toyota dealership for the last week.
He’s battled rain and wind — but swears he won’t leave while Sanjaya remains on “Idol.” [linkaya]
No matter where you stand on Papaya, can we all just send Sanjaya Malakar a rousing chorus of “THANKS, FOR THE MEMORIES”? You must admit, this is ridiculously entertaining.
More power to you SM. And I’m not just saying that because you have bomb initials. ;)
anna at 07:44 PM in Humor, Politics, Short, TV · 20 comment(s) · Direct link
April 13, 2007
Yay! Today is WORLD TURBAN DAY!
…and obviously, that is why the bunker’s Malayalee Christian mutineer should post about it. ;)
Between Chachaji’s reminder and Ismat’s tip to our news tab (which lead me to this adoooorable picture on the left which I stole from Nirali’s The Daily), I was reminded to show some love to the most visible desis of all— the few, the proud, the hot, the turbaned. :D
The point is, with two Sardars in the bunker constantly bickering over who called which color (Ennis is really protective of his pink!) and bragging about whose dari smells best (we lost our impartial judge), it is incomprehensible to me that today should pass without commemoration from the mutineers. What could be more punk, more mutinous than a turban!
Now, yenjoy these three fast facts about today, as distilled from this BBC article:
1) The point of World Turban Day is to foster awareness.
2) “Traditional, hand-tied turbans” > “casual under-turbans and half-turbans”, i.e. don’t half-kundi it. Tie on a proper one, aight?
3) WTD is celebrated today because it’s the eve of Baisakhi.
Any questions? Kindly post them here, because Amardeep is better at turban-ing than I shall ever be. ;)
anna at 07:03 PM in Holidays, Identity, Religion, Short · 7 comment(s) · Direct link
April 11, 2007
Who's That Girl?
I know this is highly random, but ever since I read the email Sree sent out via SAJA, I’ve been curious about “her”, too. That and I truly believe that every brown person in Amreeka is two degrees apart:
You know your wife indulges your South Asia obsessions when she calls you from a cab to alert you to a pretty desi woman on Broadway. A pretty, very tall desi woman - over 15 feet tall, actually. See the photos below to see who my wife called me about (it’s a billboard for Microsoft’s Office 2007 on Broadway between 50th and 49th Street in Manhattan, near Times Square). Now, let’s test the “all desis know each other” theory and see if one of you can identify this model. [SAJAforum]
Bigger picture of our mystery model after the jump. Click to enlarge both images. Or not.
Anyone know who this lovely is? Has she popped up elsewhere? Can we have a thread that doesn’t devolve in to retarded commentary regarding weight and skin color? PLEASE?
If you have to wax immature and vicious, aim that shit at Office 2007, which has brought me (and everyone else in my office) nothing but pain. Soooo not intuitive…
anna at 12:00 AM in Photos, Short · 140 comment(s) · Direct link
April 10, 2007
Freeman Dyson on Desi Techno-Optimism
There’s an interesting interview with “Rebel Scientist” Freeman Dyson over at TCS (the longer version of it is here). Desi angle? I particularly liked this blurb where he points out the similarities between the technological mood of India / China today and an emergent US of the 1930’s -
…the western academic world is very much like Weimar Germany, finding itself in a situation of losing power and influence. Fortunately, the countries that matter now are China and India, and the Chinese and Indian experts do not share the mood of doom and gloom. It is amusing to see China and India take on today the role that America took in the nineteen-thirties, still believing in technology as the key to a better life for everyone.
Now, when Dyson speaks of a “western academic world” that’s losing power and influence, it’s really one specific Old Skool corner that brashly found the answer to man’s Tragedy in more / bigger / cooler tech . In its stead, there’s no shortage of academic influence amongst the segment that’s apt to equate economic growth with Global Warming / Consumerism / Corporate Tyranny and that finds the answer not in exuberance but in restraint. Luckily, it appears that message doesn’t sell so well in India.
vinod at 11:42 AM in Science and Technology, Short · 36 comment(s) · Direct link
Really Horny and off to Kerala
Q: What should one do if one really needs to get laid?
A: Go to Kerala, of course! ;)
Via the Mumbai Mirror:
Nine months after he went on a rampage while in heat, destroying his enclosure at Byculla zoo, Rajkumar, the 18-year-old elephant, is finally leaving town today to mate with his chosen partner, a similarly-charged teenager at Thiruvananthpuram zoo, appropriately called Rani.
No having the sex before the marriage, thank you:
In the best Indian tradition, their relationship will be duly solemnised and the two are to get married after Rajkumar completes his five-day journey on an open-back Tata truck.
Unlike most of my manwhores, Raju does NOT dig older vomen:
However, the road to love has not been easy for Rajkumar. Though the two other elephants at Byculla zoo were females, they are 45 and 50 years old each, and no match for the young stripling. When zoo authorities resolutely ignored mild sulks and tantrums, Rajkumar decided that a full-scale rebellion was called for and in June last year the mast haati went on a rampage, breaking open the steel gates of his enclosure and running amok through the botanical gardens, before coming out on the open road.
This bit reminds me of Madagascar, one of my favorite animated movies, ever:
He was caught by the desperate mahaout and the zoo authorities near Byculla station.
He’s from the North, she’s from the South…can they make it work? Language might be an obstacle:
Rajkumar will be accompanied by chief mahaout Jamal Khan and an assistant. At Thiruvananthapuram they will apprise the zoo keeper there of his hobbies and also train them how to give order, for Rajkumar only follows orders in Hindi.
anna at 08:08 AM in Animals, Humor, Short · 53 comment(s) · Direct link
April 06, 2007
w00t Team Brown! We're not fugly!
Well, well, well…looky here at what gossip blog Wonkette done uncovered:
There’s growing evidence that American Idol sensation Sanjaya Malakar and Decision 2008 sensation Barry Hussein Obama are the same person. If it’s not obvious that “Sanjaya” (right) is the same dude as Obama (left), here are some other striking similarities:
Both are accused of being all style and no substance.
Both are far better looking than normal Americans and the normal fugly contestants in their respective fields.
Both are “really cute kid[s] with a unique look and an incredibly dreamy smile that can get thirty 12-year old girls to vote a million times apiece on speed dial.”
Both are competing in a “silly, fun, really well-produced talent competition and you never quite know what’s going to happen.”
Both will end up outrageously rich, whether they win the talent show or not. [wonkette]
Wonkette forgot to add “Both of them have white Mothers” to that list; we’ll go ahead and do that for them, since we are Brown and we’re allowed to get down all incorrect and naughty like that.
Somewhere, “Everything-is-Indian”-Uncle is crowing about this surprising discovery to a long-suffering friend or relative like so: “I told you Bharat Obama was Indian! He went to the Harvard Law school, didn’t you know? Of course he is Indian!”
anna at 06:40 PM in Humor, Politics, Short · 47 comment(s) · Direct link
April 04, 2007
Mega Malakar Mania-- yours for $9.95
Since a few of you mutineers adore the artfully tressed, usually well-dressed, remarkably unstressed SANJAYA, perhaps one of you would like to create an online shrine in his honor? The perfect domain is still available (but act soon!). Via UberDesi and eBay:
Do you love Sanjaya Malakar from American Idol?? In almost every broadcast Ryan say’s “Malakar Mania” and NOW YOU CAN OWN IT on the WEB!
This URL / Domain name is guaranteed to get 1000’s of hits!
This Domain name / URL has been appraised at over $2,500 due to the popularity of Sanjaya, thanks to Howard Stern and the craze called American Idol!
Bidding starts at ONLY $9.95
Have at it— and don’t say we didn’t get you anything for Christmas/Channukah/Diwali/Eid/Nowruz/Onam. ;)
anna at 02:12 PM in Short, TV, Tech · 21 comment(s) · Direct link
April 02, 2007
Cricket: India hearts Guyana
It’s not the timeliest bit o’ World Cup mutinousness (oy, I meant to have it up last Wednesday…sorry Anonymous Tipster), but once I realized that a) the cricket stadium I’m about to discuss had already been mentioned on SM almost two years ago, by one of our earliest readers and b) it dealt with Guyana, a part of the diaspora we don’t get a chance to cover all that often, I couldn’t resist blogging it, tardy though I may be. :)
Read all about India and Guyana’s construction-lovechild, via this article in the Malaysia Sun:
Inaugurated by Indian Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat during his official visit to Guyana in November last year, Guyana’s new international cricket stadium, which will hold as many as half a dozen matches in the Super Eight stage, has been billed as the stadium of friendship between India and Guyana.
India gave the Guyanese government a grant of $6 million and a concessional line of credit of $19 million for the purpose.
The new facility was built by Mumbai-based firm Shapoorji Pallonji.
It sounds impressive:
The new picturesque Guyana National Stadium is set on the east coast of the majestic Demerara river, which flows into the mighty Atlantic just a few miles away.
The new stadium seats over 10,720 spectators and accommodates another 4,280 on a grassy mound…The wide area around the stadium has seen hotels sprouting up which are expected to boost Guyana’s tourism industry.
Even numismatists get some love ;)
The Bank of Guyana has also issued a special gold coin to mark the opening of the new stadium.
anna at 09:04 AM in Short, Sports · 10 comment(s) · Direct link
March 29, 2007
Just Say NO to Faux.
Sanjaya-kutta,
Why?
You make it so hard to cheer you on, when you do ugly things with your pretty, pretty tresses. It’s just not okay. At all. Don’t you care about the greater desi community? How will THEY be affected by your reckless decision to have bad hair? You represent our hopes and assimilative aspirations— be careful out there. We’re counting on you and if you fail, we will never forgive you. Ever. Unless you go to medical school.
Sanjaya Malakar performed “Bath Water.” Randy Jackson said “Listen, the hairdo is definitely interesting. I like the kind of Mohawk look.” Paula Abdul said “To watch it on stage and not go for it, it’s kind of like we’re going ah, come on.“ Simon Cowell said “I presume there was no mirror in your dressing room tonight.” Sanjaya replied “You’re just jealous that you couldn’t pull it off.” Simon said “I couldn’t I agree. Sanjaya, I don’t think it matters anymore what we say, actually. I genuinely don’t. I think you are in your own universe and if people like you, good luck.” [linkosity]
Still, I wish you only the best— I just do so with my eyes closed, until someone tells me it’s safe to open them again.
Sanjaya zindabad,
A K K A
anna at 05:18 PM in Fashion, Photos, Short, TV · 97 comment(s) · Direct link
March 28, 2007
May I be the Mother of 100 Sons...
…for they shall all be spermy. (Thanks Anonymous tipsters!)
My Stewie-like plan to flood the world with my genetics is even MORE likely to be successful than I previously fantasized. HA! From MSNBC:
U.S. women who eat a lot of beef while pregnant give birth to sons who grow up to have low sperm counts, researchers reported Tuesday.
They believe pesticides, hormones or contaminants in cattle feed may be to blame. Chemicals can build up in the fat of animals that eat contaminated feed or grass, and cattle are routinely given hormones to boost their growth.
“In sons of ‘high beef consumers’ (more than seven beef meals a week), sperm concentration was 24.3 percent lower,” the researchers wrote in their report, published in the journal Human Reproduction…
Of the 51 men whose mothers remembered eating the most beef, 18 percent had sperm counts classified by the World Health Organization as sub-fertile.
Score ANOTHER one for Team Vegetarian. I’ve never TOUCHED red meat. w00t!
anna at 07:22 AM in Short · 39 comment(s) · Direct link
March 21, 2007
Cricket: There's Something Black in the Dal
What a World Cup. And I say that as a cricket neophyte.
Stunning upsets, out-of-control fans, stocks in effigy companies spiking…and murder?
Bob Woolmer, 58, is dead. They found the unconscious coach of Pakistan’s team in his hotel room this weekend and he died soon after that at a hospital. At first, I was told by my cricket tutors that it was probably a heart attack; after a bruising defeat, it seemed entirely plausible. Woolmer’s family seemed to agree, from various reports that I had read. But what really happened to him? Did he die of unnatural causes (Thanks WGiiA, Anon and Anil)?
Police are now treating Bob Woolmer’s death as suspicious, Mark Shields, the deputy commissioner of police, told a news conference in Jamaica. A full-scale investigation has been ordered.
…”Having met with the pathologists, our medical personnel and investigators, there is now sufficient information to continue a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Woolmer, which we are now treating as suspicious.”
However, unconfirmed reports suggested Woolmer might have been murdered because marks were found around his neck. [Link]
Hmmmm. I’ll keep you posted. Well, you’ll probably keep ME posted, but you know what I meant. The education of this dilettante cricket fan continues…and really, it doesn’t need to be THIS interesting.
anna at 06:30 AM in News, Short, Sports · 72 comment(s) · 1 reader(s) linked · Direct link
March 18, 2007
This is Too Easy...
Via Uberdesi, your home for American Idol-related everything.
What perfect timing— some of us were just talking about both Sanjaya AND the utility of hunger strikes! I’d write more but I’m rolling on the floor, laughing my callipygian rondure off.
anna at 06:13 PM in Animals, Humor, Issues, Short, Video · 48 comment(s) · Direct link
March 14, 2007
Purple Reign
Shilpa Shetty blah blah racism blah reality show winner blah. ;)
…Shilpa was in London to meet Elizabeth II at Commonweath Day on Monday, celebrated at Westminster Abbey.
The actress delivered a speech on — you guessed it — racism.
Shilpa — reportedly wearing an intricate purple velvet Tarun Tahiliani sherwani — curtseyed before the Queen, and then almost slipped in her high heels. Apparently Prince Philip smilingly told her to be careful about the shoes, averting the fall. [linkypoo]
In other news, yesterday, Pakistan should have stuck with spinners, but decided otherwise. ;)
In other other news, Since I don’t talk cricket walk cricket and laugh cricket, I have no clue what the previous statement involving Pakistan means. I’m just shamelessly flirting with all you cricket-fiends.
Finally, for those of you who might be wondering why on earth I posted this if I was obviously sooo not interested in it, it’s really just because I thought sherwanis were for boys and I wanted to consult my kitchen cabinet. Well?
anna at 01:21 AM in Fashion, Humor, Photos, Short · 41 comment(s) · Direct link
March 07, 2007
Cut That Ghee! Cut That Ghee!
I am not, I repeat not, calling him a ho. Hey, $200,000 to me sounds like a perfectly fair price to make an appearance at a Sweet Sixteen birthday party. Even when you’re already on a $100 million contract with a $34 million guaranteed signing bonus. Yeah, yeah, I know, maybe the dough wasn’t that much, and maybe it all went to charity, or something. But that gets us to the more important question: Who the hell spends that kind of money on their daughter’s 16th birthday party? And if Peyton cost two hundred grand, what was the total bill for the event considering that Cedric the Entertainer and Mallika Sherawat were apparently also in the house?
Either way, the whole thing was lampooned yesterday on both PTI and ATH on ESPN; you can find the video by digging around here. The consensus view was: Tacky. Offer your own thoughts on the matter here, or if you prefer a more down and dirty environment, check out the comment threads at Deadspin (which broke this story) or AOL Sports, where the proportion of terrorist and camel jokes is actually refreshingly low.
siddhartha at 12:07 PM in Short · 72 comment(s) · Direct link
November 29, 2006
Old folk can still dance
I was thinking about the fact that, as an over 30, I am now officially old. I mean, James Bond is now a 30-something, which makes this the first time in my life that I have been in the same decade as a Bond actor.
However, between popping arthritis medicine and obsessing about the fact that I have to settle down before it’s too late, I remembered something. Old folk can still dance. I don’t just mean gorgeous professional dancers like DesiDancer, I mean ordinary uncles and aunties. I’m not saying that they can grind, freak or krump (although I’ll bet DD can krump like a clown) I mean that they can dance which is to me a far more beautiful thing.
Herewith, exhibit A [via Vinod], Gurdas Maan’s Babe Bhangra Pounde Ne:
If I can dance like that, when I’m that age, I’ll be a happy man.
ennis at 01:33 PM in Dance, Humor, Identity, Short · 117 comment(s) · Direct link
November 08, 2006
Showing his appreciation
UPDATE: Comments from people who say they know Sidarth indicate that this is not him. Thank you very much for the correction.
Webb showed a classy touch during his “victory” speech last night - standing behind directly behind him is S.R. Sidarth! [OK, no ID for sure, but the source I cite claims its him]
It’s a nice way for Webb to show his appreciation. Whether the Macaca incident was large or small in and of itself, it was the turning point for the Webb campaign. I’m happy to see that he remembered the little people who helped get him where he is today …
[Via TPM ElectionCentral]
ennis at 01:55 PM in Politics, Short · 36 comment(s) · Direct link
October 17, 2006
Underground art
Ranjit Bhatnagar of moonmilk.com just got a solo photography exhibit at Brooklyn’s Atlantic Avenue subway station, showcasing his art in 8 4’x6’ lightboxes.
What makes this exhibit extra cool is how it came about:
The MTA’s curator found my photos by searching Flickr and we used Flickr to choose and narrow down the photos for the exhibit. [Link]
More about the artist:
Ranjit Bhatnagar … works with interactive and sound installations, with scanner photography, and with internet-based collaborative art. Recent works have been exhibited at the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley, the Parc d’aventures scientifiques in Belgium, Flux Factory in Queens, in the Artbots series at Eyebeam Atelier and the Pratt Institute in New York, and the Mermaid Show at the Williamsburg Art and Historical Center in Brooklyn. He recently taught [title garbled] at Parsons School of Design, a studio course and rock band with homemade instruments.
Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Ranjit received a BA from U.C. Berkeley and an MS from the University of Pennsylvania, and was certified carnie trash by the Coney Island Sideshow School in 2002. He lives in Brooklyn and works at GameLab. [Link]
ennis at 12:16 PM in Events, Photos, Short · 9 comment(s) · Direct link
September 18, 2006
‘Kal’ Starring in Rap Opera ‘The Avon Lady’
Without LonelyGirl15 to satiate our YouTube obsession anymore, the viral video land has been somewhat quiet. That is until The Avon Lady hit the inter-waves (thanks, MadGuru).
That's right kiddies, starring in this insanity of a rap opera video with a dinosaur Avon lady is our very own Kal Penn (as well as Superman Brandon Routh as the cop). There is a perfectly good explanation why the video is trying to be the next 'Lazy Sunday'-- because it is housed out of the same group of filmmakers of said SNL fame, The Lonely Island.
The Lonely Island is a group of filmmakers, founded in 2001 by Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone and Andy Samberg... The Lonely Island has created numerous comedic films, shorts, parody songs, and music videos. They have made three full-length pilots, all of which have been rejected...The site also includes a blog from Chester Tam, often referred to as Chez. The blog, titled "Chez Chat", gives humorous summaries of the site's updates. [wiki]
Watch, comment, enjoy. As for me, Chez's you tube videos and podcasts are my new inter-addiction. I cannot wait for Part II and some more Kal Penn in speaking roles.
taz at 11:58 PM in Film, Humor, Short · 26 comment(s) · Direct link
January 06, 2006
Top Down, Chrome Spinnin'
Erstwhile Guest Blogger Ads finds the ultimate in pimp rides, on Craigslist of all places; I totally understand her desire.
I realize that this is completely impractical, but I still kind of want it. [link]
I want one, too. What a beaut. Classic red with tan top, street legal, meets strict emissions standards for my home state, a mere 400 miles old…book it, I’m sold.
Awww, made you look. You a slave to a post in my blog…book. ;)
anna at 03:27 AM in Humor,