Author Archives: Abhi

About Abhi

Abhi lives in Los Angeles and works to put things into space.

Fighting the name change

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Real cute story on NPR this morning (part of the StoryCorps series) about a man named Ramon Sanchez who recalls how, during the 1950s while he was growing up, all the teachers tried to anglicize his name to Raymond. This got me thinking about all the poor Hardicks and Shitangs and Ashfaqs out there and the struggles they must have faced growing up. Even the Poojas probably had a tough time. Anyways, the punchline of the story is TOTALLY worth it so take a listen.

Since kindergarten he’d been known as Ramon. “Rrrrrramon,” he says with a thick roll of the R.

But when he got to the second grade, his name was Americanized. “Everyone was calling me Raymond.”

“On the playground, in the classroom. Raymond! Hey, Raymond! Hey, Raymond!” he says.

And it wasn’t just his name that got changed.

“If there was a girl named Maria, her name became Mary. Juanita became Jane,” he says. [Link]

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Can you spell L-A-M-E?

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SM Tipster Vishal informed us of something today that I just assumed was a bad joke until I visited the website. There is a new Spelling Bee…exclusively for South Asian children:

About the South Asian Spelling Bee

The South Asian Spelling Bee is a platform that will give all South Asian students the opportunity to test their skills within their core peer group. In the 78th Nationals Scripps Spelling Bee, over 11% participants were South Asian and over the years many South Asian students have been champions. It is the effort of the South Asian Spelling Bee contest to encourage and promote South Asian talent across the US and to bring this aspect of a South Asian student’s life into the foreground by broadcasting this contest on National Television. [Link]

Are you kidding me? Is it not good enough that we already dominate the spelling world like the Kenyans do long distance running, or like Mr. T dominated Rocky in their first fight? Then again, that many geeky South Asian kids competing against each other is bound to provide an environment that engenders accelerated evolution (via hyper competition), resulting in the emergence of a super-speller. Its the same reason why you should always finish a course of antibiotics. If you don’t then the strongest bacteria will survive and multiply to create a superstrain. Speaking of multiply, desi parents can even use this venue to arrange child marriages like in the good old days. Mixing the right genetic lines would guarantee us victory in Scripps for years to come. Perhaps this new event has some merit after all.

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Too close for comfort

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I don’t know how I missed this article in the NYTimes when it came out a couple of weeks ago. Thankfully, a writer at Slate cited the article and how, with his wife tied to his hip, they duplicated this couple’s lifestyle for a single day. First, an excerpt from the original article:

TEN years ago, Michael Roach and Christie McNally, Buddhist teachers with a growing following in the United States and abroad, took vows never to separate, night or day.

By “never part,” they did not mean only their hearts or spirits. They meant their bodies as well. And they gave themselves a range of about 15 feet.

If they cannot be seated near each other on a plane, they do not get on. When she uses an airport restroom, he stands outside the door. And when they are here at home in their yurt in the Arizona desert, which has neither running water nor electricity, and he is inspired by an idea in the middle of the night, she rises from their bed and follows him to their office 100 yards down the road, so he can work.

Their partnership, they say, is celibate. [Link]

Admitedly I am terrified by the institution of marriage, even though I do hope to be married some day. I have Siddhartha-esque anxieties about the possibility that I may want to walk off into the woods some day. I emailed this story to four of my married-couple friends and three of the four responded with mild revulsion. “No freakin’ way,” to paraphrase. One of my friends responded that she had, due to circumstances, simulated this type of experience for stretches of days at a time, more than once since she’s been married (they travel a lot together). She also described it as soul-sucking to some degree. Even the Dalai Lama is a bit turned-off by the idea and wouldn’t allow it to be promoted in India:

… their practice — which even they admit is radical by the standards of the religious community whose ideas they aim to further — has sent shock waves through the Tibetan Buddhist community as far as the Dalai Lama himself, whose office indicated its disapproval of the living arrangement by rebuffing Mr. Roach’s attempt to teach at Dharamsala, India, in 2006. (In a letter, the office said his “unconventional behavior does not accord with His Holiness’s teachings and practices.”)… [Link]
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Floating Guantanamos in the Indian Ocean

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The Guardian is reporting something we probably should have suspected: According to the human rights watch group Reprieve the United States has been, and continues to operate floating prisons to extrajudicially interrogate and house suspected terrorists:

Details of ships where detainees have been held and sites allegedly being used in countries across the world have been compiled as the debate over detention without trial intensifies on both sides of the Atlantic. The US government was yesterday urged to list the names and whereabouts of all those detained.

Information about the operation of prison ships has emerged through a number of sources, including statements from the US military, the Council of Europe and related parliamentary bodies, and the testimonies of prisoners.

The analysis, due to be published this year by the human rights organisation Reprieve, also claims there have been more than 200 new cases of rendition since 2006, when President George Bush declared that the practice had stopped. [Link]

I think that as G.W. Bush’s term ends we will be seeing ever more skeletons (pardon the pun) fall out of the closet. Traditionally, as soon as the Democrat and Republicans have chosen a nominee, they begin to receive briefings from the CIA on a host of national security topics and current operations. This is done to assure some degree of continuity by keeping the potential president elect informed. A transition is also a time when you’d expect increased leaking of information as new people look under the hood.

Ships that are understood to have held prisoners include the USS Bataan and USS Peleliu. A further 15 ships are suspected of having operated around the British territory of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, which has been used as a military base by the UK and the Americans. [Link]

We have previously written about Diego Garcia here and here (where the use of the island as a secret detention center was discussed). Continue reading →

Taking the Long View-Next Stop Denver!

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SM began four years ago this summer after I wrote the bloggers who I read every day (who were all more accomplished bloggers than I) a hastily constructed email filled with bad grammar (some things never change). Part of it read like this:

Date: Thu, 29 Jul 2004 21:05:43 -0700 (PDT)
From: “Abhi ”
Subject: My Fellow Bloggers…
To: “Vinod “, “Manish”, “Anna”

Guys,

I have been thinking something over of late and would like to know your thoughts. This is me thinking out loud so don’t worry at all about saying so if the following doesn’t seem like such a good idea or you are not interested. My brain tends to think faster than I can process it all to see if I am actually making sense.

All of us are bloggers and it seems like we all enjoy it as a hobby apart from our careers. We all have different focuses or perhaps no focus at all 🙂 This past week with the Democratic Convention in the news, and all the talk of the bloggers that have been invited and how much power they seem to have, it got me thinking how there is no widely read news/issues/discussion/politics/random musings source target for South Asian Americans on the web. Sure there are lots of magazines like India Abroad and websites like Rediff, but all of these are “old media,” and so diffuse. They all rely on editorial staffs, deadlines, etc. and are not at all dynamic or interactive. There is none of the freshness that a blog can deliver. Plus, most of them lack the perspective of people that grew up in this country. I am convinced that there exists a vacuum out there on the web just waiting to be filled…

I was thinking “what if” all the most widely read South Asian American bloggers joined forces somehow and created a superblog based on the “Menudo” model. This could be the definitive source for South Asian issues/news/opinion/culture/entertainment etc.

All of the bloggers, guest bloggers, contributors, and administrators in our “Menudo” model have worked really hard over the years. Even our readers and commenters have been quoted by major media for their thoughtful opinions. Today, with the arrival of the email below, all of us can say we have a Macaca in the tent:

Congratulations. The Democratic Convention staff has completed its review of blog credential applications and I’m writing to let you know that your blog will be credentialed at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver.

We’re excited to welcome so many blogs to the Convention (about 3 times as many as 2004). And we know you’re eager to make travel plans for August. We’ll contact you next week with logistical information regarding housing, credential distribution, and other key details. You probably have several questions. Please be patient – as our goal is to distribute this information to all credentialed blogs at the same time.

We did it y’all.

[The full list can be found here]

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The other race: Abedin vs. Love

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With the Obama vs. Clinton contest in its death throes, I want to make sure we don’t lose sight of the big picture. There is another contest between an accomplished woman and a black man that is also about to come to an unfortunate end. It is the contest between Clinton body woman Huma Abedin and Obama body man Reggie Love (yes, that is his name).

Mr. Love now knows that when it comes to food, Senator Obama “eats pretty much anything, from chicken wings and barbecue and ribs to grilled fish and steamed broccoli.” But when he is campaigning in a small town with limited options, a cheeseburger is always a good bet. (“Cheddar is the cheese of choice,” Mr. Love added.)

He knows that “the boss,” as he calls Mr. Obama, likes MET-Rx chocolate roasted-peanut protein bars and bottles of a hard-to-find organic brew — Black Forest Berry Honest Tea. He keeps a supply of both on hand…

Mr. Love, 26, is Mr. Obama’s body man, the personal aide who shadows the senator and anticipates everything he needs — and everything he does not need. He is not a bodyguard (security is provided by the Secret Service), but rather the ultimate assistant, rarely more than a body length away from the candidate. [Link]

Even in a story about Obama’s body man, the Times lets us know that it too is smitten by giving a nod to the underdog:

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has a body woman, the efficient and glamorous Huma Abedin. [Link]

Yeah, that’s right. She is efficient and glamorous in addition to being dreamy. What does Mr. Love have going for him?

Mr. Love had summer try-outs with the Green Bay Packers in 2004 and the Dallas Cowboys in 2005 before being cut.

Which is how, in 2006, after applying for an internship on Capitol Hill, Mr. Love ended up interviewing with Robert Gibbs, Mr. Obama’s communications director, for a position in Mr. Obama’s Senate office. “It’s the only time I’ve ever interviewed somebody whose work experience included the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys,” Mr. Gibbs said. [Link]

Misogyny rears its ugly head once again. The popular jock is pitted against the female achiever. Continue reading →

Thank you readers!

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After we put out a call for donations to keep the site going last Tuesday, SM readers responded graciously by helping us meet our target for the next year in one week! We appreciate every dollar and will do our best to keep SM as interesting, informative, and relevant as we possibly can. I’d especially like to thank the following individuals who gave extra large sums to put us over the hump:

Alma, Sandhya, Susan, Jayanand, Anunradha, Chaitan (our admin), Rachel, Ansabenazeer

I’ll be writing each of you an email to thank you.

But I want to give a general thanks to everyone who contributed. I know a lot of the people that donated are students. Having been a college student for a total of 10 years I know that every dollar is a big deal.

For those of you who would still like to contribute, we will keep the money in a separate account to only pay for SM server costs. All our labor, including the bloggers and fabulous admins is on a volunteer basis (and if you are a website designer who thinks you can improve SM then let us know).

And in case you are wondering what the point of it all is, keep your fingers extra crossed this week.

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Toronto Meet-up Recap

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Props to the “Hogtown” mutineers who showed up at Epicure Café this past Saturday. My insult (calling Canada “America Junior” because the RSVP count was low) was certainly uncalled for as over 20 readers and lurkers (and even a few commenters) represented. Neha did an outstanding job picking a place as we had an entire upstairs section to ourselves at a restaurant that overlooked Queen St. in the fashion district. No posts were discussed and no issues debated (except Obama vs. Clinton is a popular topic in Canada as well). To clear up a common misconception, SM Meet-ups are not about who knows the most about topics on the site. Instead, liquor was consumed and a good time was had by all! If you attended and want to see the rest of the pics then email me.

The monkeys in the basement of our North Dakota world blogging headquarters have been throwing around rumors of upcoming DC and NYC meet-ups (in addition to throwing their feces).

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Final Reminder: SM Toronto Meet-up is Saturday

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We have received quite a few RSVPs for this Saturday but I honestly expected more from Canada’s most populous city. On this side of the border some people refer to Canda as “America Junior.” I hope this won’t be a “junior-sized” meet-up as well. Neha is primed to make reservations for us. How many will it be for? Just a reminder:

When: Saturday May 24th at 5p.m.
Where: The Epicure Café, Toronto.

Unless I get stopped at the border this is going to happen.
Please RSVP if you haven’t already so we can get an accurate headcount: abhi at sepiamutiny dot com

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SM Pledge Drive Time: Help us keep blogging!

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Dear SM Readers,

It is time once again for us bloggers at Sepia Mutiny to extend our empty cups and ask for donations to keep this website running. Remember, every time you visit our site it costs us money. We don’t bother you guys with any money-making ads on this site, nor do we sell out to the man and write what he asks us to write for cold cash (I drive a Honda Accord with 120,000 miles on it). We blog only the truth from our bunker headquarters in North Dakota, shunning the high life.

Much like NPR and PBS hold an annual pledge drive, we are asking you to donate whatever you can via our Paypal link. Keep in mind that we haven’t asked for any donations in 2 years! If you don’t want to use Paypal but would rather mail in a check, then contact us for a mailing address. Donations will keep our website ad-free and crap-free. Our administrator extraordinaire Chaitan, will soon put up a thermometer on the sidebar showing our progress in raising funds. It will disappear once we have met our goal for continuing service. If enough of you give just a few dollars we might be able to meet our goal in under a week like we have in the past. As an added measure (since it is only a trickle in terms of revenue) you can also take Amardeep’s recommendation from earlier today and help us out by buying South Asian literature (or electronics or DVDs, etc.) via our Amazon Affiliate link (we’ll soon put up a permanent widget). It will give us a nominal commission.

Whether you love this site (all you wonderful commenters and lurkers who use us as a time sink) or hate us (you fundamentalists who send us unintentionally humorous death threats) I’m sure you’d like to see us blog on!

Thanks in advance!

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