The Daily Delicious for March 29, 2008

Jhumpa Lahiri (nymag.com)

What Is Jhumpa Lahiri’s Hook?
“Jhumpa Lahiri isn’t afraid to provoke tears, or calls of déjà vu.” —Priya
(tags: literature)

Aamir Khan’s Blog
Leading Bollywood actor shares a pic of his latest haircut, thanks fans for “drubbing” him about his smoking habit, reports progress on his latest film, and tries to meet local bloggers on his travels. Typical posts yield 1000+ comments. —Pavani
(tags: bollywood film blogs celebrities)

The Daily Delicious for March 28, 2008

Charming? What do you think?

Waterlogged: A Journal Of 5 Days Wading In 4 Rivers
CBS reporter Hari Sreenivasan chronicles his trek around the Midwest and South covering flooding. —Nalini
(tags: brown weatherman bravery television)

Charming : Hermès
I got this email marketing message today from Hermès as part of their current Indian-inspired campaign. “Mr. Patel plays pipes for his pythons who proffer a polished performance… Perfection!” Yay Patels! But a small part of me wishes a less stereotypical image. —Priya
(tags: advertising fashion)

The Daily Delicious for March 27, 2008

Farheen Hakeem, Candidate for Minnesota House District 61B

Kapur to direct Minghella ‘New York’ piece
Shekhar Kapur, the Indian-born helmer of movies such as “Elizabeth” and “Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” will direct one of the last pieces of writing from the late Anthony Minghella, a segment of the urban ode New York, I Love You. —Priya
(tags: film NYC)

Pennsylvanian’s samosa taquito wraps up Pillsbury Bake-Off finalist spot
Scott Hatfield’s entry in the 43rd annual contest uses a tortilla because it needs a bakeable wrap. As an ardent observer of the N. American homestyle samosa maker, I notice frequent use of tortillas in the non-taquito, deep-fried kind too. —Pavani
(tags: food)

Farheen Hakeem, Candidate for Minnesota House District 61B
Indian-American Oberlin grad, educator, comedian and Girl Scout leader Farheen Hakeem is running for a seat in the Minessota state legislature. Prior runs for office include County Commissioner, and in 2005 Minneapolis Mayor, endorsed by the Green Party and getting about 14% of the vote. —Pavani
(tags: politics india(n) muslim)

Bismillah Takes Home Top Emmy Honor
Jolene Pinder and Sarah Zaman at University of Florida, Gainesville, recently won a Student Emmy for best documentary for their film Bismillah: In the Name of Allah. The two grad students followed Hakeem as she faced public scrutiny while running for political office in Minnesota. —Pavani
(tags: film politics)

The Daily Delicious for March 26, 2008

Leela, Sesame Street‘s newest character.

Sohini Ramachandran, Evolutionary Biologist
Ramachandran, who has been working in the same lab since age 15, talks about intelligent design, why she likes her field and answers “Do you encounter any opposition from religious groups that don’t like you proving that evolution is a fact?” —Pavani
(tags: science evolution career religion)

Oliver Willis: Million Dollar Democratic Fundraiser Behind “Grassroots” Hillary Clinton Site
Blogger attempts expose of Reshma Saujani, who was included in a 2004 Nirali article on politically active South Asians, revealing, uh, not much more than that she’s still politically active & doesn’t fit his notion of “grassroots.” —Pavani
(tags: politics nirali south_asian blogs hillary_clinton)

Muxtape
Who doesn’t love a good mixtape? Now you can create your own Muxtape and have the ability to play it from any computer connected to the internet. Can’t wait to make one. Who wants to share theirs? —Priya
(tags: music muxtape love)

Record US sale for Indian artist
MF Husain’s painting, “Ganga-Yamuna” goes for a record $1.6 million. It was previously reported that Christie’s expected “some of the artist’s paintings will be sold for up to $120,000.” (BBC News) —Priya
(tags: art)

Meet Leela, Sesame Street’s newest cast member
There’s a desi on Sesame Street! —Priya
(tags: children television)

The Daily Delicious for March 25, 2008

IT Girls, Julia Allison, Mary Rambin and Meghan Asha. (Page Six Magazine)

Of Condoms, Clinton, Obama and McCain
A Salon Life article from the series by Rahul K. Parikh, MD. “Which candidate will save sex ed?” asks Dr. Parikh. — Nalini
(tags: health politics medicine gender doctors brown)

Islamophobia: “She Wasn’t Dressed Right”
Scenario: Bigoted clerk at bakery north of Waco, TX, refuses service to hijab-clad woman and offers up hateful words. Primetime’s hidden cam reveals mixed reactions of bystanders – ranging from thumbs up to the clerk to boycotting the bakery. —Pavani
(tags: television hate religion muslim)

Meghan Asha on New Reality Show, IT Girls
A new reality show rumored in development for Bravo follows three 20-something NYC social fixtures as they “establish an online business.” The three in question are blogger Julia Allison, Mary (sister to soap star and socialite Leven) Rambin & Silicon Valley heiress Meghan Asha. —Priya
(tags: rumors television)

The Daily Delicious for March 22, 2008

Phagwah Photos, credit: Eric Harvey Brown

Monkey Gods to Textiles: Far East on the East Side
Asia Week in New York (which I didn’t actually know was going on) has stretched into Asia Fortnight. In addition, two Asian art fairs that usually coincide on a single weekend have spread out to fall on consecutive weekends. —Nalini
(tags: art south_asian design ny)

Comedian Kumail Nanjiani on Comedy Central
Stumbled across the CC bio of Karachi-born comedian Kumail Nanjiani while reading The Assimilated Negro. Nanjiani had a one-man show in Chicago at one point, I believe (“Unpronounceable” – now in NY). Anyone familiar with him? —Nalini
(tags: south_asian humor pakistan(i))

Annual Phagwah or Holi Celebration in Richmond Hill, Queens, NY
“If it’s a warm day, 25,000 may join the 2008 parade,” today for the Indo-Caribbean celebration. The Phagwah photos from recent years are striking scenes of color, winter clothing and baby powder. —Pavani
(tags: phagwah holi indo_carribean religion photography NYC)

The Phagwah Parade
This Barnard paper from a few years ago on the parade offers background on the Queens celebration started in 1989/90 by Pandit Ramlall. —Pavani
(tags: phagwah holi indo_carribean religion photography NYC)

Phagwah Caught on Flickr
Loved these photos from Flickr user Eric Harvey Brown from Richmond Hill Phagwah 2006. Good Holga lovin’. So ethereal… can’t wait to type in the tag after this weekend and see what I can find for this year’s festivities. —Priya
(tags: phagwah holi indo_carribean religion photography NYC)

Pretty to Think So, a film by Francis Hsueh & Steven Hahn
See it Sunday at SFIAAF. A NY love story set during the 2000 dot-com bust. Laid-off I-banker Hannah Shah becomes caught between the guy who has it all (corporate lawyer Jiwon Kim) and the guy who doesn’t have a thing (Bronx youth pastor Alex Yuen). —Pavani
(tags: film love NYC asian south_asian)

The Daily Delicious for March 21, 2008

NYC hero, Veeramuthu Kalimuthu.

• Snark Break: Man Jumps Three Subway Tracks To Save Drunkard
  Columbia University mechanic (and former cricket player from Guyana) Veeramuthu Kalimuthu saves a pickled fellow New Yorker from being hit by a subway train. Bravo! [via Gawker] — Nalini
  (tags: bravery desi NYC)

The Daily Delicious for March 20, 2008

Artist M.F. Husain.

Row over Indian artist hits NYC
Indian American Intellectual Forum has written Christie’s to threaten demonstrations if the auction house proceeds with sales of M.F. Husain’s art. Dubbed the “Picasso of India” by Forbes, Husain publicly apologized for paintings in 2006. —Pavani
(tags: art religion)

Tampa Physician and Philanthrophist Inducted into State’s Hall of Fame
Inducted last week into the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame, Dr. Pallavi Patel was born in Gujarat, began her medical career in Zambia and has a performing arts center named after her. —Pavani
(tags: philanthropy)

’90210′ Spinoff Details Emerge
Details are emerging about the characters on the 90210 spin-off currently in the works for The CW, including a possible opening for an Arab or brown actor. —Priya
(tags: television rumors arab desi)

Tibetan Exiles Question Dalai Lama’s Nonviolence
Out of a growing sense of resentment among Tibetans comes the feeling that their heretofore primarily nonviolent rules of engagement with China need to change, a shift that distresses the Dalai Lama. —Nalini
(tags: activism religion south_asian buddhism)

Beauty Tip from Mindy Kaling of “The Office”
Because “there is little worse in the world than a whitehead. Except if you are Indian and have DARK SKIN and you have a WHITEHEAD. And then you are forced to go on NATIONAL TELEVISION.” Recent product recs include yoga pants & a cute USB drive —Pavani
(tags: beauty blogs mindy_kaling shopping)

A Naughty Shirt from Spiced Tee
Super cheesy. I chuckled anyway. I mean, if you’ve got it, (fl)aunt it. Right? Gross. —Nalini
(tags: humor India(n) south_asian desi aunties)

Woman elected Pakistani speaker
Pakistan’s parliament has elected its first female speaker, weeks after polls delivered victory to the party of assassinated former PM Benazir Bhutto. —Ismat
(tags: pakistan(i) politics)

Marketplace: Bollywood’s copycat film industry
India’s movie industry cranks out hundreds of films every year. Some filmmakers seem to be cutting corners by borrowing ideas — and sometimes more — from foreign films. Rico Gagliano reports on the state of the silver screen in Mumbai. —Ismat
(tags: bollywood India(n) film)

The Sartorialist: On the Street … Early Evening, New Delhi
Sart snaps the gorgeous Priya Kishore again. And is that Sohiny Das (another ND subject) popping up in the comments? Zagga zagga zow. —Nalini
(tags: beauty fashion India(n))

The Daily Delicious for March 19, 2008

A look from the Peachoo + Krejberg Fall 2008 Collection.

• Indian Iron Firms Battle For Rural Support
  A rush on iron ore in Orissa. I wonder what the environmental impact is going to be. — Nalini
  (tags: environment India(n) business)
• Photos of Unnamed Target Go Collection Surface
  Images are floating about of a mysterious unnamed Target Go! Collection. Could this be Richard Chai? Oooh. Maybe this time around I’ll actually buy more than one piece! (Or all. This looks freaking fab.) —Priya
  (tags: fashion rumors)
• Peachoo + Krejberg
  Indian designer Peachoo Datwani and Danish designer Roy Krejberg collaborate for their line, Peachoo + Krejberg. Beautiful architectural clothes and they’ve being shout out by Style.com as one of the best ten to watch this Fall 2008. —Priya
  (tags: fashion)
• Art Contemporain Artcurial
  The forthcoming Artcurial Contemporary Art Auction in Paris will offer important works by international contemporary artists including those of the most renowned Indian artists. —Ismat
  (tags: art India(n))

“… In Other News, ‘Never The Twain Shall Meet.’”

Solid gold.

Hark! The goras, the gaijin, the waiguks, the vellaikaarans — whatever you call them, it’s serious: They’re finding out the face-reading secrets buried deep in our Oriental, collectively-oriented psyches. See, we Easterners read expressions differently, because we don’t process emotions as individuals! We assess facial expressions based on a holistic evaluation of the group. … Holistic like our medicines! (OMG) Maybe we’re so holistically-minded because we view life not as a line but as a circle, turn, turn, turn.

Well, I we don’t know about you y’all, but this exposé from The New York Times is too close for my our comfort. So saddle up your camels and flying carpets — we’ve got to meet somewhere and discuss how to stay inscrutably ‘Other’ in this changing age. Let’s meet in heady, spicy Samarkand. … If that’s cool with everyone.

East and West Part Ways in Test of Facial Expressions [NYT]