Enter Sandman

Posted on February 22, 2006 by A N N A

Sudarshan Patnaik, an Indian artist who notably recreated the Taj as an “ultimate sand castle”, is cocky about his next endeavor (via the BBC):

(Patnaik) has built a huge sand sculpture of a rooster on a beach in Puri city, a resort in Orissa state, to create awareness of bird flu…

It took him five hours and eight tons of sand to create the sand rooster.

As Abhi already posted, the deadly H5N1 avian flu virus was discovered in Maharashtra a few days ago. I’m curious as to how well this sandy approach will actually work:

“This sand sculpture is basically to create awareness about bird flu because a lot of people don’t even know about this disease. And a beach is a place where a lot of domestic and international tourists come,” Mr Patnaik told the Reuters news agency.

Patnaik, who made a similar artistic statement after the tsunami, isn’t stopping with just a rooster– hens and eggs are planned, as well. Continue reading →

Saturday55: The “Late vs. Never” edition

Posted on February 18, 2006 by A N N A

I passed out after work yesterday, with this very window still open and a pending 55Friday languishing. My bad. I would normally feel a lot worse about this, but such an unintended delay means one thing: I can publicly wish someone whom I adore a very Happy Birthday. If you don’t already read Venial Sin, you are depriving yourself of some of the best blog on the internets. He’s an erstwhile resident of my Chocolate City who currently makes London an even hotter place to be and his blog is genius. (No pressure!) Happy Birthday, gorgeous. 🙂

Since I’ve slobbered all over him virtually, let’s start my run-down of the best examples of flash fiction from last week with Sin himself. He had no need to self-deprecate before introducing the following:

“No!” the lawyer yelled into the phone. “I don’t care if it WAS Valentine’s Day, “life partner” was not meant to apply to a cellmate. This isnÂ’t the path to true love, no matter how slim your options may seem.”

Pause.

Beat.

Sigh.

“Fine, I’ll bring you candy on the 14th for…”Big Mick” is it?Â” [link]

Next up, one of Nina’s 55s made me smirk happily:

The painting was titled “Agape,” and depicted the God of Trite having intercourse with the God of Sexual Starvation, nude. The Valentines Fundamentalists rioted, but the Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jews and Atheists finally united in common cause, cancelling out this most cancerous religion. The work sold for $2 billion, and everyone lived happily ever after. [link]

Fellow spelling-stickler Sirc penned a scathing 55:

Good mourning babe :), she texts. Still swimming or Barely stayin afloat in a sea of cheapnfree champagne reveries, He writes back, What’s so Good about Mourning? She writes back that, Every day is the First day of your life 😉 Why are Bad Spellers so drawn to unfounded optimism like lice to immigrant public school kids? [link]

Anyone who drops the k-bomb is going to get mad love from me ;), DDiA:

EvEr SiNcE wE stalked each other on Xanga You gave me anon. eprops; filled my Dreams with kaleidoscopic manga, I’ve wanted to buy you dil-shaped balloons. Now you will call me yo babydaddy, yayy! And me you snookums. Hug, kiss, And stop traffic with aww-inspiring PDA. Common bayyybee shake that kundi I’ll be your munda, you my mundi.[link]

This week? Write whatever you please. I toyed with different themes, ranging from “Jeopardy” (where I was going to have you all end your 55s in the form of a question) to “Crime and Punishment” (where you 55 regarding suitable punishments for Salman Khan). In the end, I chose none of the above. As always, leave your masterpiece or a link to it in the comments below. We’ll love it, promise. Continue reading →

It’s Time for a Chocolate City Meetup- Updated!

Posted on February 15, 2006 by A N N A

Manhattan has held three (including the first and last), San Francisco contained two (the best, Jerry…the BEST!), Brooklyn had quite a sweet one…and now FINALLY, the most powerful city on earth will host a Mutinous Meetup on Saturday, March 25th!

To continue with that nascent alliteration, it’s all going down in the month of MARCH, which comes in like a Singh and goes out like some…ghosht. Believe it or not, half-kundi’d me remembered to bring my calendar to my shimmering birthday fete two weeks ago, where our two squeakiest wheels (read: the SM loyalists who wanted a meetup most, who just happened to be my guests that night) provided valuable input with regards to when we should ~~get trashed~~ get together; Kenyandesi and Chai chose ~~the first Saturday in March~~ to mutiny earlier in the month, but at this point, the date you should save is MARCH 25. 🙂

I already know what our precious unbwogable bachi thinks (that’s her, on the right, in the picture to the left), but what say you Zzzzafar, Msichana, Timepass et al? ~~Does March 4th work for you?~~ Will this be a Tryst with Mutiny? Will my record of hosting the BEST meetups ever extend to the right coast? 😉 Will Santino EVER get kicked off Project Runway??? Sorry, I’m watching that show right now. 😀

If March ~~4th~~ 25th is an awful choice, do speak up, though if we choose something different, a certain Space Cowboy might not be able to attend. Continue reading →

Fire Licking Wood in Pakistan

Posted on February 15, 2006 by A N N A

Because torching a fast food joint is the best way to protest a cartoon (via the BBC):

Angry demonstrators protesting over Western newspaper cartoons satirising the Prophet Muhammad have set fire to a KFC outlet in Pakistan, reports say.

Police used batons and teargas to break up the demonstration in the north-western city of Peshawar…Hundreds of protesters are said to have torched the KFC outlet and ransacked it.

An eye-witness reports:

“Fire is still raging from the KFC,” resident Tehseen Khan told the AFP news agency.

“I can see smoke coming out of the windows, the furniture has been gutted.”

To be fair, the protests which go down almost every day in Pakistan are usually less violent, but unfortunately, that’s about to change:

…(the demonstrations) are getting bigger and angrier as Islamic opposition parties begin a rolling campaign of protests ahead of a visit by US President George W Bush at the start of next month, she says.

No word yet on whether the Colonel was injured. Continue reading →

Bollywood Actress Nadira Passes Away

Posted on February 10, 2006 by A N N A

One of Bollywood’s only Jewish actresses has died. Born Florence Ezekiel but known as Nadira, she starred in ‘Aan’, ‘Shree 420’, ‘Dil Apna Preet Parayee’ and later ‘Julie’.

From the BBC:

Veteran Bollywood actress Nadira, 75, has passed away in Mumbai (Bombay) after a prolonged illness.

Tributes have been pouring in for the former star, who is best remembered for her role in the film, Shri 420.

She had a golden career:

She had won several awards in a career spanning 50 years.

She will be best known for her portrayal of a Westernised woman and her arched eyebrows. Many critics considered her to be far ahead of her times.

Continue reading →

55Friday: The Lupercalia Edition

Posted on February 10, 2006 by A N N A

A few shame-spiral-filled weeks pass and the prodigal blogger returns. My apologies for not giving you a space and reason to play— an especially regrettable fault, since the last nanofiction orgy inspired some of my favorite 55s ever, as you wrote miniature matrimonials for yourself and others.

One-time SM guest-rockstar Cicatrix was two for two with her dead-on impressions of certain boys we know:

Mysterious pajamahadeen, muscular yet partial to velvet, seeks wheatish girl for soulful rocketblogging sessions. Must be fluent in Unix, C++, Perl, DHTML and more. Lissome, long-haired, and bra must match panties at all times. Jewel-toned clothing preferred. Implanted microchips a plus. Come let your airport meet my wifi, as I bathe you in rosewater…my Padma. [link]

Open-minded parents seek adventurous girl for rocket-scientist son. Must have beauty and wiles of Sita to draw son away from this blogging plogging nonsense. Must be outdoorsy since he likes to hanky panky on campsites, hiking trails, zero-G flight simulators, the moon. Must also be ready for a three-way with Paul Krugman should opportunity arise. [link]

Meanwhile, over in the Ewe Kay, Jai was making me (and countless others) swoon…as if that’s novel:

Roguish-but-charming professional North Indian guy seeks equally saucy girl with a good heart for lots of naughty, borderline-illegal fun and potential marriage. Romantic fool at heart, much more sidha than he pretends to be. Woman must be smart, sexy, kind, and look great from all angles in low-rise skinny-fit jeans. No gold-diggers, social-climbers, or neurotics. [link]

Finally, Desi Dude in Austin got a wee bit of snark in at the end of his 55; I sincerely hope he ends up with someone like me, just to make things interesting. 😉

Well educated Indian Boy, likes to read and cook, needs a bad Indian Girl with a taste for bad movies and good wine. Must be willing to put up with disorder and the occasional wild partying. Also, must be able to act coy before in-laws and ridiculously large extended family. Must like MIA only in moderation. [link]

This week? Since I’m an established quirkyalone, I propose a black take on cupid, a scathing flash of fiction about the needless fetishization of couple hood, a snide dissection of the pink holiday which rapidly approaches. Of course you are welcome to write about anything your precious, candy-filled dil desires; kindly leave it or a link to it in the comments below. We’ll heart the results, promise. Continue reading →

In the Land of the Arizoni

Posted on February 9, 2006 by A N N A

In case you missed cliche-ridden, inaccurate and hackneyed writing, my little sister hooks you up with some more– a LOT more (thanks, Veena).

Apparently, a goth belly dancing teacher who also loves participating in renn-faires has conceived, choreographed and executed a Bolly-flavored show in the state represented by the greatest Senator in the U.S. That’s cool– mad love to any gori who loves the brown enough to be down (shout out to our Andrea, who sings in Hindi so beautifully) but the…erm…journalist who wrote this article? I sentence him to a meeting between his ear and my super-vindictive fingers.

From the Phoenix New Times:

Once upon a time (okay, about a month ago), there was a woman named Samantha Riggs who so loved Hindi films (otherwise known as Bollywood, India’s global cinematic export) that she staged a tribute, Bollywood Love Rules…

The lead character of Riggs’ production, Varsha, floated across the stage cradling an oil lamp, which signified her love, and she and her chorus danced in complex formations to a deep, resonant beat, wiggling their hips and snapping their wrists with the attitude of the best Bollywood dancers in all the world.

Ready for the most egregious paragraph? I’m not. And I’ve already read it. Twice. Deep breath

Now, one might think Samantha Riggs and her ensemble cast must be of Indian heritage. But, in reality, their pale faces reveal they’re just a bunch of American girls, more like goth chicks than the daughters of goat herders from Delhi. Bollywood Love Rules would likely be a smash hit back in India. As it is, onstage at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts on a night in early January, the hundreds in the audience — some Indians, some not — don’t seem to care that they’re not in the land of the Punjabi.

Kindly excuse the vein popping out of my forehead and we may commence. FIRST of all, I’m an American girl too, asshole. I think what you meant was, “the performers are not desi”. SECOND, I know dozens of people from Delhi, some of whom I am closely related to– and none of them, family or not, herd goats. Finally (not really, but for the purposes of this paragraph, sure why not) those Arizonans don’t seem to care that they’re not in the land of the PunjabiS, BengaliS, KashmiriS, GujuratiS, MalayaleeS. Tell me, my trite friend, where is the Land of the Punjabi? Is it in the same nation as the Land of the Malayalam? Continue reading →

Today in 1819: Sir Raffles Finds Simha Pura

Posted on February 6, 2006 by A N N A

Apparently as a result of all my negative memories of being stranded at Changi airport in 1989 while returning from my LAST trip to India, I stopped thinking critically about Singapore— there’s no other reason for why my etymology-lovin’ self didn’t think, “Sing-…Singh…lion” and “-pore…-pur…city”. When did I have my eureka moment? Today, as I glanced at Wiki’s main page, where under “Selected Anniversaries” I learned that today is the day that a British Knight (no, not the sneaker) founded Singapore.

Sir Stamford Raffles, a man who went from London clerk of a certain trading company to Governor of Sumatra is the BK I mention:

In 1817 he was knighted by the prince regent. He came back to the island of Sumatra in 1818, and on 29 January 1819, he established a free-trade post at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula Â— a site that became Singapore. This was an audacious move, against British policy not to offend the Dutch in a zone conceded to be a Dutch sphere of influence. In six weeks, several hundred traders appeared to take advantage of the no-tax policy, and Raffles gained retrospective approval from London.[wiki]

Raffles declared the foundation of what was to become modern Singapore on 6 February of that year, securing transfer of control of the island to the East India Company. He was also responsible for the Raffles Plan of Singapore. By the time he left the country in 1823, the city was on its way to become the largest port in the world. It continues to thrive as a low tax trading hub.[wiki]

Do tell “Everything-Is-From-India” Uncle that I was thinking about him today, would you please? 😉 Continue reading →