Eloquent Incoherence

This is what the weather is currently like in Southeastern Michigan. This picture was taken today, April 7th, 2007. And yes; that’s snow on the ground. May God have mercy on us all.

When I was a kid, my parents had a PAL system TV and VCR on which they watched tapes of movies and television programs from India and Pakistan. Among the few programs they watched that I actually thought were good was Fifty Fifty, an Urdu language sketch comedy show from the 1980’s. Fifty Fifty aired back when PTV was the only channel on TV in Pakistan and didn’t broadcast 24 hours a day. I recently stumbled across some clips of this show on YouTube, and I must say, Fifty Fifty was not only good, it was light years ahead of its time. This show was sketch comedy at its finest, back when no one in Pakistan had heard of Saturday Night Live and MADtv was still at least ten years away. If you speak Urdu/Hindi or Punjabi, check it out (there are more clips in the ‘Related’ frame to the right of the video). I guarantee you’ll laugh. And not in a “man, this show is so poorly done, it’s funny” kind of way.

If you’ve seen the Comedy Central show Mind of Mencia, you’ve probably been struck by how lame and untalented Carlos Mencia is (especially if you saw it immediately after watching Chappelle’s Show). Every time I see this guy on TV, I wonder how he ever managed to become successful enough to have his own show. It turns out that he’s a fraud, a plagiarist, and a borderline pariah in the comedy community. If you like comedy and hate Carlos Mencia, watch Joe Rogan rip him to shreds during a confrontation at a Los Angeles comedy club (warning: contains profanity). Rogan’s commentary on the incident and Mencia in general can be found over at his blog.

UPDATE: Apparently, Rogan has been dropped by his agent (who also happens to represent Carlos Mencia) and banned from the comedy club at which his confrontation with Mencia occurred. I’m not a fan of Rogan’s, but I think it’s unfortunate that he’s catching heat over calling out a no-talent fraud like Mencia.

I apologize in advance for the petty nature of this post, but it annoys me when Muslims confuse South Asians with Southeast Asians. The former are from the nations of the Indian Subcontinent, most prominently India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. The latter are from the nations located in the region between mainland China and Australia, most prominently Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. The two regions are geographically and culturally distinct. I cringe whenever I read or hear someone refer to Indians and Pakistanis as Southeast Asians. Please don’t make this mistake. It makes you sound ignorant.

Temperatures here in Southeastern Michigan are expected to reach -5°F Monday night (that’s about -20.5°C). School districts across the area canceled classes Monday and Tuesday. While most of us can go home and turn the heat up, there are people who have no place to stay and are forced to sleep outdoors. Others have no heat because they can’t afford to pay their gas bill. Those of us who are fortunate enough to have both shelter and warmth should count our blessings. If nothing else, cold weather should keep us humble and mindful of how lucky we are.

This is one of the reasons why I’m, at times, ashamed that I live in America.

(courtesy of Imran)

This is one of the reasons why I’m happy that I live in America.

(courtesy of Imran)

Manal’s post on child discipline reminded me of my own childhood. If you were a kid who grew up in an Asian immigrant household, chances are your parents didn’t believe in the “spare the rod” philosophy. Acting up at home or at school would get you a whuppin’ (possibly followed by a humiliating session of standing alone facing the corner to think about what you’ve done). Nothing abusive or over-the-line; just enough to knock some sense into you. But we all had that one White friend growing up who we were shocked and fascinated by because he would mouth off to his parents without the slightest repercussion. Indian comedian Russell Peters has a hilarious bit about how his dad would discipline him growing up, and his ill-fated attempt to apply suggestions on dealing with his parents offered by his smart-mouthed friend (warning: contains profanity).