Author Archives: A N N A

Reminder: SF Meetup TOMORROW, 4pm

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Last night, I held a meetup of my own at Enoteca Viansa (yes, Kingsley darling, you can totally say it…it’s not like it’s Malayalam or something difficult). Fortunately for me, a few of my closest wessside friends indulged my greedy desire for their Thursday evening– if it wasn’t clear to them before, I now heart Salil/Jay/SJM, MP, Kingsley and of course, mutineer Vinod even more. Viansa makes my favorite non-cab red ever, so I’ve always wanted to check out their somewhat random Napa-esque tasting room in the city; a refined time was had by all and at no point were the words “sodomy”, “that skank who cheated on you”, “dry hump” or “back channel communication” uttered, though there was some mention of “the futility experiment”, which was M’s kind way of characterizing my prospects for reproductive success. We poured some out for my forlorn alleles and then called it a night. Don’t fret, I wasn’t two-timing you…it was a pre-meetup before tomorrow’s hotness, if you will.

Speaking of 20+ hours from now, we will not be swirling or checking out the legs on anything other than shorts/miniskirt-clad mutineers– we’re meeting at Greco, which is good for espresso, not dolcettos.

Just down the street from that obnoxious Pimps of Rome spot, Greco has Razib’s AND my seal of approval. Do explore it for yourselves, so that we may fatten the Sepia Flickr group and make merry in North Beach on a Saturday afternoon. See you at 4pm, you back-channel-loving perverts (I can totally say that, because Salil, Vinod and I are going to be there).

NB: Not to spook or guilt you or anything, but this may be a certain mutineer’s last appearance at a meetup… 😮


When: Saturday, September 4pm
Who: You
Where: 423 Columbus Ave Continue reading →

IMPORTANT: SF Meetup…rescheduled?

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A few weeks ago, I put up a monster meetup post outlining social possibilities for my three cities: NY, DC and SF. New York’s Summerstage meetup (soundtrack provided by Talvin Singh…sort of) was epic, DC’s was private and fabulous and San Francisco…um…gosh, this is awkward. It’s not you, it’s me. 😉 Two out of three ain’t bad…

Here’s the story, morning glories: originally, I was supposed to be in Baghdad-by-the-bay for the entire beginning of September, from the first through the tenth. We planned a meetup on the 9th and it was good. Unfortunately, we may have to rethink that thought. I landed in heaven Northern California at 11pm yesterday and I’m leaving on Tuesday. Which means that on the 9th, I’ll be in DC, probably at work. We have two options:

1) Meet tomorrow evening (spontaneous! edgy! unpredictable! fun!), since I will be in the city all day.

2) Meet sometime this weekend, i.e. Saturday or Sunday. I had assumed that all of you international bright young things would be out of town because of the holiday, but I’ve heard from a few of you (coincidentally, all my favorite peeps) that I am quite wrong, that you WILL in fact be right here in the bay. Goody!

What do you want to do? Pipe up or forever hold your mattar.

Oh, and because I feel terrible about this calendar cluster #>@%, I’m letting you see a picture which was taken a few days before the LAST SF meetup I hosted; it was never supposed to go public, since it shows two mutineers wackily impersonating an uncle and an auntie…well, that and it’s someone’s proof. Peek the illicit photo after the jump. 😉 Continue reading →

Reminder: DC Meetup THIS Saturday!

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118028639_0cfa3f4a10_m.jpg Who told the clock to spin away time so quickly? One minute I’m grabbing Nina Paley‘s kundi in Central Park while grinning shamelessly for the Parsirazzi, the next thing I know, we’re less than three days from the SECOND chocolate city meetup, ever!

We haven’t solidified exactly when we will meet at Amma’s wegetarian or if we will do so pre- or post-debauchery, but that’s what this post’s comment section is for, so hop to it, my little brown bunnies. 😉 I can’t remember which of you I’ve spoken to about this, but so far most conversations include the words: drinking, Sequoia, afternoon, waterfront, summer, drinking and “great lighting”. We can all meet at 6pm, toast the mutiny, take pictures and then stroll up to Amma’s by 8pm, where we will eat like panthis and take even more pictures.

So, RSVP below if you are up to joining me, our favorite Barmaid, duologist Sriram and his sister (I think Saturday is her birthday!), Mayur, Kenyandesi and yes, potentially YO DAD in Georgetown for some vada, masala dosa and peppery rasam. Mmmm, South Indian food (that picture is of the actual receipt from the first DC meetup!): you, too, can have plenty but I need to know how many to reserve a table for, so holla. SOON. Last time, we had a mutinously good time– I think you’d regret it if you didn’t hang out with us on Saturday. No pressure, or anything. 😉 Continue reading →

Save Her Life

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That precious, happy little girl you see above is Nirali. She has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (Thanks, bean). According to the following,

Despite overall improvements in outcome, the prognosis for patients…is poor. Their estimated event-free survival (EFS) is only about 30%. [link]

her life is very much at stake, so the way I titled this post isn’t sensational or an exaggeration of any kind. After losing an Uncle to Leukemia two years ago and having an even closer family member go to the hospital this week because of the looming possibility of cancer, Nirali’s story makes me want to weep.

She needs a bone marrow transplant.

She needs that transplant from someone who is brown.

There aren’t anywhere near enough desis in the National Marrow Program database.

We have no excuse for this.

I am terrified of needles, I’ve said this many times. I avoid flu shots, because I find them so traumatic, but even I sacked up and then felt like the biggest baby for being afraid of the “typing” process which put me in the database of potential donors. Apparently, they’ve even taken care of THAT obstacle; now you can just get your cheek swabbed and that is enough.

Look here for a desi-centric list of opportunities to join the database, nationwide. Go. Give a tiny part of your physical self. And then pray, if you are inclined to do so, that we follow-up this post with some joyful news. Continue reading →

Assisted Suicide

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An anonymous tipster sent in a news story which has haunted me since I read it. Sick, sick, sick:

A group of television journalists gave a man matches and diesel to help him commit suicide in order to get dramatic footage which was later broadcast on the news, police said on Thursday.
The man died from severe burns to his body in hospital in Gaya town of Bihar on August 15, Independence Day.

These people aren’t journalists, they are criminals.

Footage of the man, screaming and writhing in pain as he ran with his back on fire, was aired on several television channels. Police identified the man as Manoj Mishra.
“We have seized footage clearly showing a group of journalists handing over matches and some inflammable substance — which we later verified to be diesel — to the victim,” acting Gaya police chief P.K. Sinha told Reuters by telephone.

It’s really depressing that people could be this callous, this heartless. Taking advantage of someone troubled, for what? Sensational footage?

Mishra, who worked as a delivery man, was upset over what he said was a large sum of money owed to him by a state-run dairy farm whose milk he transported to customers, police said.

They handed him a flammable substance and matches, filmed this atrocity and then…

The TV crews left the scene without aiding Mishra who suffered burns to over 70 percent of his body, Sinha said.

Why would such cold-blooded bastards do this in the first place?

There has been an explosion of private TV news channels in recent years in India, each competing aggressively for exclusive stories and dramatic footage.
These channels often show graphic footage of victims of bomb blasts and other violence as well as partly blurred pictures of sex acts while exposing scandals as part of sting operations.

Continue reading →

Is Nothing Sacred?

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Taj.jpg After threats in a handwritten letter from some al-Qaeda fan indicated that one of the world’s most famous and beloved monuments was in danger yesterday, the Taj Mahal was surrounded by paramilitary soldiers on 24-hour guard (Thanks, DJ Drrrty Poonjabi).

“Police are verifying the source of the letter,” said Ashok Kumar, a senior government official in Uttar Pradesh state where the Taj Mahal is located. “The letter could be false but we cannot afford to be complacent. We are not taking any chances and have enhanced security at the Taj.”
…The state government has asked the federal civil aviation authorities and IndiaÂ’s air force to declare a no-fly zone within a 2.5-mile radius of the Taj Mahal, said N. C. Bajpei, Uttar PradeshÂ’s highest official.[link]

After recent events, security-based prohibitions against carrying liquids of any kind don’t really surprise me, but what does shock me is how an iconic structure which I associate with Islam is being targeted. WTF?

In similar head-scratching developments, details about the letter are…interesting:

“The letter is written in Hindi. The writing resembles either that of a junior class student or may have been written with the left hand,” Juneja told TOI on Friday evening.

How sinister.

“As the writing is similar to that of the two previous letters, it can be safely said that it has been sent by the same person. We have picked up matching fingerprints from the three letters,” he said.
“Though Thursday’s letter bears a local postal stamp, the earlier ones had no such identification and may have been delivered by hand,” said another senior police officer, adding, “in place of the sender’s name, the letters carry the term ‘MM009’.”[link]

Smile, you’re on a not-so-candid camera:

“We have also launched an extensive drive to photograph every individual who has access within 500m radius of the monument,” said Juneja.[link]

So, one of the greatest physical manifestations of love the world has ever known is now endangered because of hate. Everyone says the former is sightless, but I think the latter is what’s blind. How else could anyone aim such evil at something so magnificent? 🙁 Continue reading →

55Friday: The “Monkey Gone to Heaven” Edition

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…and that mother$>@%!#& Macaca apparently got there on a mother$>@%!#& plane. Whether the simian sported a mohawk or a mullet is still open for debate.

Today is Friday and on most Fridays at the Mutiny, we write flash fiction. Co-ink-i-dinkily, today is also August 18th and thus, a very special holiday. It’s Bad Poetry Day!

Bad Poetry Day is a day to create some really bad verse. But, why you ask? Perhaps, the answer is simply “because you can”. Maybe, it exists to allow us to better appreciate good poetry. Or, perhaps it is to be written to irritate someone…the intention is to gather a group of old high school friends, and write some really bad poetry. Then, send the poetry to your old high school teacher. Wow!, That sounds like a lot of fun…[linkage]

Indeed, it does, especially if you ignore that part about sending it off to a teacher– I mean really, who has the time?

The last time the Mutiny did anything collaborative with poetry, it was Valentine’s day and we invited you to submit haikus; since you enjoyed that so much, I thought I should encourage you to write more of those spare, elegant poems, especially if it means that people who normally don’t 55 can participate in our creative corner of Sepiadom.

Many of you ask me either in person or via email, “but how do you write one of those 55 things?” To which I generally and unhelpfully respond, “You just…do. MS Word. Wordcount. Before you know it, you’ve got 65 words and then you find yourself doing some careful pruning.” The reaction to this incoherent response is almost always further confusion or frustration. Well, it may seem daunting to tell an entire tale using less than five dozen words, but what about a three-line work of art? You could manage that, right? It’s a mere 17 syllables (arranged thusly: 5-7-5), you can so do it.

Annnnnd, I think I’m done here. I have one of the most addictive college rock hits EVER happily lodged in my head, you have TWO options to get busy in a thoughtful, literary way and we all have fantastic reading material to look forward to…right, Kobayashi-san? Any mentions of

  • snakes
  • the Confederate flag
  • planes
  • macacas
  • noose-lovin’ Senators
  • Tunisia
  • hairstyles which are all "business in front, party in the back"
  • fake-ass-cowboys
  • Palos Verdes
  • the power of the interweb (in both of those situations!)
  • Samuel L. Jackson

will be enjoyed heartily, I assure you. Now get crackin’, macacas. Continue reading →

London Flight Diverted to Boston?

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Apparently, a flight from London to Washington, D.C. just landed in Boston instead, because the pilot was concerned about a passenger’s actions:

A flight from London to Washington, D.C. was diverted to Boston Wednesday morning after the pilot declared an emergency because of a passenger disturbance, the airline said.
United Flight 923 with 182 passengers and 12 crew members landed safely at Boston’s Logan International Airport, United spokesman Brandon Borrman said.
A Logan spokesman said three passengers had a confrontation with the flight crew. State Police took control of the plane after it landed. All the passengers were being taken off the plane and their carry-on luggage was being checked, said spokesman Phil Orlandella.

What got MY attention was the clip NBC just showed– passengers slowly exiting the plane in Boston. To be expected, right? Sure, except all of those shown during the few seconds of footage were wearing Salwar Kameez. Way to zero in on a visual, there.

Developing… Continue reading →

Jindal: Congressman, Finger-Inker…and Obstetrician?

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selia.jpg Putting aside his politics for a moment, I think most of us are capable of agreeing that Congressman Bobby Jindal has accomplished several things which would make any brown parent gloat; a quondam Rhodes Scholar, he was appointed Secretary of Louisiana’s Department of Health before serving as President of the University of Louisiana. Later, he was an Assistant Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Just one of those titles would make my family faint with joy, but I happen to think his latest accomplishment is the coolest of them all (via CNN):

Rep. Bobby Jindal barely had time to call 911 when his wife woke with labor pains Tuesday. Minutes later, he helped deliver his own son.
Slade Ryan Jindal arrived before the ambulance did at about 3:25 a.m. Jindal, coached over the phone by a nurse at the doctor’s office, put the baby in the arms of his wife, Supriya, and tied off the umbilical cord with a shoestring.

Dr. Bobby Jindal? It almost happened– according to his official bio, he “turned down admissions to medical and law schools at both Harvard and Yale.” On a more serious note, it’s probable that this unexpected turn in Supriya Jindal’s pregnancy was extra-worrisome, beyond the obvious not-in-a-hospital angle.

The Jindals already had two children, Selia who is four and Shaan, who is two. Shaan was born with two holes in his heart, requiring open heart surgery soon after his birth. Due to her son’s medical issues, the Congressman’s wife was being watched closely in the days before her delivery.

Supriya Jindal had been to the hospital twice in the last week with pains thought to be contractions, her husband said. She was at the doctor’s office as recently as Monday and was told there were no signs the baby would be coming as soon as it did, he said.
Mother and baby were resting comfortably Tuesday at a nearby hospital.
“We were very fortunate. There were no complications,” said Bobby Jindal, 35.

Two days early and weighing a healthy eight pounds, Slade Jindal entered the world on a very special day. His older siblings were typically oblivious (when my little sister was born, I looked at her for four seconds before requesting Baskin Robbins):

Slade’s 4-year-old sister, Selia, and 2-year-old brother, Shaan, were at the house and slept through the birth, Jindal spokesman Trey Williams said.

Continue reading →

In Barbie’s Closet

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A coworker sent me a link to this toy (thanks, Abi!) and I can’t resist posting it, if only because I wonder how much of “us” Mattel got right and wrong. From Barbie Collector (where it’s cheaper, if you’re about to make some little girl or boy really happy by buying it for them):

The most important and magical festival celebrated in India is Diwali. Homes are decorated with marigolds and mango leaves, thousands of oil diyas or lamps are lit as auspicious symbols of good luck, and everyone enjoys sweets to the sound of firecrackers and revelers.
Diwali™ Barbie® doll wears a traditional teal sari with golden detailing, a lovely pink shawl wrap, and exotic-style jewelry. The final detail is a bindi on the forehead—a jewel or a mark worn by Hindu women.

Mango leaves? Really? Since I’m a 2nd Gen (and a Syriani Christiani) penne I’m not going to claim that I know much about either that or the festival of lights, but I do have an opinion on Barbie’s ethnic dress. I don’t think that is a “traditional sari“. Perhaps it’s half-of-one? Honestly, I think it’s more of a lehnga, since I’ve never worn a duppata with my very traditional (can it get more old skool than kanjeevaram?) outfits.

I was curious about the “exotic” jewelry so I started fruitlessly looking up words after AIMing an equally clueless friend who insisted that the chain and pendant which decorates Barbie’s hair is called a “tikka“. I associate this word with murgh, but whatevs. After reading an entry in Stephen Colbert’s favorite online resource, I was concomitantly disagreeing with her and picturing 55 word nanofiction written by Jai. Here’s what was so evocative:

* When Rajput men married, they are said to have cut their thumb on their sword and applied a tikka of their own blood to their brides. This custom evoked the Rajput values of courage and indifference to pain.

Continue reading →