Monthly Archives: May 2005

148 years ago, today

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Under Wikipedia’s current “Selected Anniversaries”, a special date with regard to this blog– May 10, 1857, i.e. the Sepoy Mutiny:

…The Pattern 1853 Enfield (P/53) rifle was introduced into India. Its cartridge was covered by a greased membrane which was supposed to be cut by the teeth before the cartridges were loaded into the rifles. There was a rumour that the membrane was greased by cow or pig fat…The British claimed that they had replaced the cartridges with new ones not made from cow and pig fat and tried to get sepoys to make their own grease from beeswax and vegetable oils but the rumour persisted. The Commander in Chief in India, General George Anson reacted to this crisis by saying, “I’ll never give in to their beastly prejudices”, and despite the pleas of his junior officers he did not compromise.
…On 9 May, 85 troopers of the 3rd Light Cavalry at Meerut refused to use their cartridges. They were imprisoned, sentenced to ten years of hard labour, and stripped of their uniforms in public. It has been said that the town prostitutes made fun of the manhood of the sepoys during the night and this is what goaded them.
When the 11th and 20th native cavalry of the Bengal Army assembled in Meerut on 10 May, they broke rank and turned on their commanding officers.

…and a Mutiny was born. Read more here. Continue reading →

New CNN ad with Dr. Sanjay Gupta

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CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta betrays his roots by giving free, albeit useless, medical advice (“I probably would see a dermatologist”) in a new spot entitled “Melanoma.” Unfortunately, you have to register with CNN to watch the ad, and then fumble around with a clumsy Flash interface.

Bonus: In an ad entitled “Gandhi,” Lou Dobbs pops up as a creepingly lurking, know-it-all, third wheel. No registration required for that one.

Previous post: Gupta engulfed in romance with viewer

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Vijay Agarwal lands on People’s ‘Most Beautiful’

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People magazine names Vijay Agarwal, an aspiring doctor and founder of a non-profit for underprivileged kids, to it’s annual “Most Beautiful” list (thanks, Karthik R.):

“Beauties on your block,” the magazine headline shouts. “Everyday people whose stunning looks match their big hearts.” “Page 161,” Agarwal says. Agarwal, a sometime model from San Jose, doesn’t mind that his chiseled good looks are what are giving him his 15 minutes of fame. A good friend nominated him for the splash in People. Now he fends off requests for autographs. And remains tight-lipped about whether he is single. [San Jose Mercury News]

Oh sure, he may be handsome, smart and altruistic. But the boy’s so poor, he can’t even afford a shirt and belt.

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A series of unfortunate events

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frogman.jpg

My favorite radio show, This American Life, had a riveting and humorous, true story this past weekend. It involved a twenty-something Afghani American who only wanted to impress his girlfriend by spray-painting some “frogmen” on the sidewalk outside of her apartment. By the end of it all he was in jail and on several terrorist watch-lists. The story even personally involves Donald Rumsfeld. It sounds dire but it all turns out well in the end. The many twists and turns in the story make it worth every second of its 40 minute recording time. Continue reading →

Murderous Mirchi

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Coming soon, to the purse of an auntie near you, a hot sauce so hot it could literally kill you:

Ultra-concentrated “16 Million Reserve” is the hottest science can make. The sauce is 30 times hotter than the spiciest pepper and 8,000 times more fiery than Tabasco. Diners must sign a disclaimer recommending “protective gloves and eye wear” — but even sweating testers in safety gear were blinded by tears for 30 minutes. Medical experts fear it could kill asthmatics or hospitalise a user who touches a sensitive part of the body afterwards. It is made of pure capsaicin, the chemical that makes peppers “hot”. [UK Sun, via BoingBoing]

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MIA CD RLR @ NPR’s ME

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Oliver Wang gave a discerning review of MIA’s CD Arular on NPR’s Morning Edition, sidestepping the political hype and keeping the spotlight firmly on her music. He’s no slouch of a wordsmith either:

“Many music critics have played up her exoticness as she was the love child of Neneh Cherry and Che Guevara or the prodigal daughter of the third world returning home to soundbomb the empire”

The radio clip [RealAudio], is only 4:34 long, and worth listening to. Tomorrow, Morning Edition will be interviewing “the man who helped to spark the MIA Buzz.” Continue reading →

A model airline

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The magnate behind Kingfisher beer is launching an airline today which uses part-time models as flight attendants (thanks, Sapna):

Models work as flight attendants on the airline while its planes have seat-back entertainment systems… “We have a brand new fleet of aircraft. We have individual entertainment systems where every single seat has video screen…” India’s newest budget airline operates its first flight on Monday from Mumbai (Bombay) to hi-tech hub Bangalore.

Kingfisher Airlines is following the lead of Hooters Air. I suppose models will be able to shoot a beer commercial, then hop on a plane and get straight to work. They’re saving money, really. I think Van Halen did a video about this once.

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He blinded me with science (updated)

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As Abhi posted, Amal Dorai of MIT threw a party for time travelers last Saturday. He begged visitors to bring a cure for cancer or some other proof of their travels. Here’s a report from Afua, the Samoan particle physicist-slash-bouncer:

“Two surfer dudes named Bill and Ted showed up claiming to be from the year 1989. I asked them to prove it, but all they said was ‘way!’ and ‘bogus.’ So I threw ’em out. They yelled ‘Party on, dudes!’ and disappeared into a phone booth.

“A crazy-eyed old man with Van der Graaf hair showed up in a DeLorean. I ejected him, and he peeled out at 88 mph stuffing garbage scraps into a blender.

“Some huge thug showed up in a monster suit. He gave his name as Moore Locke, shrieked loudly and bit someone’s head off.

“A tall, thin man with pointy ears wandered by muttering something about a whale.

“A guy named Spicoli showed up stoned out of his mind. ‘Dude, I’m, like, from 30 seconds in the past,’ he said, adding, ‘huh-huh-huh.’

“So there were no time travelers at the party.”

By the end of the party, the only confirmed time travelers were Dorai’s purple leisure suit and zebra-stripe shirt. No other travelers showed up, so the party was a bust. The MIT boys squabbled over the only female-like creature in the room, a girl from BU who took a wrong turn and got trapped in Morss Hall like a dinosaur surrounded by velociraptors. Thousands of years later, they will find her bones.

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Hook a brother up

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The body of a GOD.

As far as I’m concerned, the best day to buy the New York Post is Snarkday Sunday. THAT’S the day when the Post gets extra wacky; weddings are announced and more celebrity photographs than usual are displayed, replete with delightfully rude captions which allow otherwise demanding readers to overlook the nightmarish-lack-of-editing this tabloid embraces, as a way to distinguish itself from big apple-rivals like the Grey Lady and the “Daily Snooze”.

Still, let’s be honest– other papers have “Vows” sections and every third magazine and fourth cable channel offers celebrity drivel. So why waste three-quarters-of-a-dollar (or hell, three quarters) on The Post? Simple. NYP goes a step beyond, by allowing you to recall the halcyon days of yore when Chuck Woolery helped hapless singles attempt a “Love Connection” with three potential dates.

Chuck is busy, so the Post’s uber-creatively named “Meet Market” feature is what’s in control of some New Yorker’s social fate. And this week? Oh, my Mutiny-lovers. THIS week (drumroll…er…tabla, please) Continue reading →