Here’s a little sum’n from Salon. But I must ask…frappe? What the hell?
Category Archives: Humor
Scene in New York
Just north of Manhattan’s Union Square (17th St. between Broadway and 5th Ave.), a small shop called Beads of Paradise has a big India display in the window. It’s the same old exotic schtick: saris, elephant statuettes, beads, you know the shpiel.
But the centerpiece of the display caught my eye: they’re selling some random desi family’s photos for half a G apiece so they can grace a Union Square trust-funder’s mantelpiece. Just imagine that poor family, the Griswolds of Rajasthan, cleaning out their attic and realizing some hippie’s snuck off with their family memories.
And what if we’d done it in reverse? Tourist in Delhi: ‘Thelma, come quick! I think I found cousin Edna’s bat mitzvah photos!’
Seen in San Francisco: here.
Bloggable things just happen to me
The bane of a blogger’s existence is that once you become one, once you descend into such a depraved state, EVERYTHING around you becomes a potential post. If you see a puppy you think, “how cute, but where is the blog angle?” Do something noteworthy puppy.
Last week I returned to my barber shop to get a much needed haircut (which by the way looks like ass today because my building seems to have no hot water for a shower). You guys seemed to like the story of my previous trip, so I thought why not post this one also. I sat down in the chair and proceeded to drift off. The buzz of clippers against my head makes me sleepy. I happened to have a very talkative barber though. After ten minutes he starts,
Barber: So man, what ethnicity are you
Me: I’m Indian actu…
Barber: Yeah that’s what I thought. I knew you were Indian. Were you born here or did you come over?
Me: I was born here. In Chicag…
Barber: Yeah I knew you were born here. You know how I knew? The Indians from India won’t let me anywhere near their head with a pair of clippers. They like big hair.
Me: Hmmm. You’re right actually.
Barber: Yeah. I don’t know what it is. At the most they will let me use clippers to clean up their neckline. That’s why I knew you were born here.
Me: Yeah, as a matter of fact when I went to India I stood out a lot because I have short hair.
I swear, every time I am at the barber shop I grow wiser. Continue reading
“Nightline” profiles desi Muslim comic
Last
Friday’s episode of “Nightline” featured an in-depth profile of attorney
Azhar Usman, an Indian-American Muslim who performs stand-up comedy. The segment
focuses on the role of religion in his act, and the reaction he’s received
from his family, the Muslim community, and audiences on the club circuit.
“Nightline”: Azhar
Usman Torrent (Quicktime,
19 MB, 18 mins.)
Requires a BitTorrent downloader — PC, Mac
Usman’s official web site hosts some choice cuts from his act: FBI Follows Me, Patriotic American Muslim, Spread by the Sword, Middle Eastern Characteristics and Criminal Defendants
A buttery delight
Amul Butter parodies the world of entertainment (via Boing Boing and Avi Solomon). Click each ad for a related post.
Some of the political parodies are in questionable taste, but always feature delightfully dorky desi punnery:
Check out the full archive, which dates back to 1976.
Aish to haters, “SUCK IT!”
Okay, so she never said that. But as her self-appointed advocate, I’m going to brazenly make that statement on her behalf. Oh, whatever. Just read it.
She’s very happy and flattered by the attention she’s getting in the US for Bride, especially after the bashing the film and Ash got back home. “But we all know that was premeditated. Now, after seeing the response in the US, I feel like I’m back to where I was when I was starting out as Miss World ten years ago — the same attention and the unbiased critical overview. It feels wonderful and comforting.
“…The US has been wonderful. When I landed there for the promotion of Bride, everything happened so quickly! I was on David Letterman’s show, and then in Chicago recording for Oprah Winfrey.
“They wrote about my clothes and appearance, but not about my giggling which a part of the Indian press seems to be obsessed with. Honestly, this is how I’ve been all along!In fact, (photographer) Gautam Rajdhyaksha wrote about my giggling habit in his book several years ago. So it isn’t an overnight affectation which I’ve acquired as part of my image. Please! Grant me more substance than that!”
Substance is what Ash is looking for in her roles as actress and brand ambassador. Does it feel good to be carrying Bollywood to the West? “It sure does! But wasn’t I doing that all along, even when I was a model and Miss World?”
Of course you were, Aishu. Do your thang, girrrl, do your thang. Continue reading
Please stop making “Drop It Like It’s Hot” parodies
Snoop Dogg releases a simple black and white video for his song, “Drop It Like It’s Hot.” A pair of UC Irvine students create a send-up of the piece called, “Drop It Like It’s Chaat.” Simultaneously, a trio of Northwestern students lampoon Indian immigrants with a video entitled, “Drop It Like a FOB.” Now, offended “FOBs” fire back with a piece labeling the three males from Northwestern as a bunch of girls (via Badmash). Apul shoots himself after realizing cruel world will never stop spoofing that damn video.
Bugs Bunny to the extreme
You’ve
probably heard about Warner Bros.’ plans to makeover
their beloved Looney Tunes characters into a crime-fighting gang of edgy superheroes entitled the “Loonatics.” Instead
of making us wait for the show to premiere this fall, animator
Niraj Shah offers a glimpse of what to expect from the new “Buzz
Bunny” (thanks,
Sanjay Shah).
TLG Media: “A New Bunny” (NSFW)
The Real Reason the GOP wanted Jindal in DC…
…to make Dubya hip. Enjoy this little gem from tworoots.org. It will be the hottest thing since JibJab. [Thanks for the tip Vidya S.]
Tworoots writes:
Holi (March 25, 2005) is a Hindu festival where people throw colored powder and water at each other. But really, anyone can play Holi. Neither Rep. Bobby Jindal nor President George W. Bush are Hindu, but perhaps they might be interested in funding our holi animations as a type of faith-based initiative.
GOP Babe of the Week — Namrata Singh Gujral
Reader RJ points out that this week’s (month’s?) GOP Babe of the Week is Namrata Singh Gujral. Namrata is the second Desi babe to receive the, uh, honor in a row – taking the crown from prior winner – Ms. Govindini Murty. Sepia Mutiny profiled Ms. Murty before she hit it big in one of the more memorable earlier posts.
Namrata is an actress / producer and, in true Hollywood fashion, plugged her production company in her acceptance speech –
“I am so honored to be on your site. We set out to make pro-America movies. We knew this was going to be a long, uphill battle. So encouraging to know it’s not a going to be a lone battle. Thank you, America – for your love and support. Please visit American Pride Films often. Thank you, again!”
Her company – formed with Naval aviator Lt Cdr Joe Cooper – attempts to provide positive media portrayals of day to day life in Amrika –
The company’s mission is to make movies that showcase the reality of average Americans, who are not interested in global domination and have a human and compassionate side. With this positive message, APFG hopes to overcome some of the negative American sentiment overseas and at home, changing hearts and minds along the way.
Namrata’s personal website can be found at the modestly titled NamrataWorld.
(why is it called “Babe of the Week” when the last one was named in Feb?) Continue reading