Person I plan on writing to before the election

Who: Mark P. Mays

What: the CEO of Clear Channel who recently rejected an anti-war
billboard on Times Square, and who I personally see as a threat to our
freedom of speech. Clear Channel is responsible for putting together pro-
war rallies, censoring anti-war musicians and saturating radio air waves
with Justin Timberlake and pulling Howard Stern. Mays is also a big
supporter of Bush and has donated thousands of dollars to his
campaign.

Where: His address, 120 Primrose Place, San Antonio, Texas - 78209

Here is the rejected ad, from the New York Times website.


Clear Channel apparently thought that the "bomb imagery" was offensive. Well, I find billboards with half-naked women in $300 underwear on Times Square offensive, I find George Bush's cowboy tactics offensive, I find recycled pop music offensive, and mostly, I'm offended that my friends who went to college for Broadcast Journalism can't find a job because Clear Channel owns the majority of radio stations across the country and is replacing djs with robots.

Lets boycott Clear Channel (I know its tough--they own EVERYTHING) and flood this guys office with letters.

Things to boycott:

1) Radio Stations owned by Clear Channel- In Philly, WDAS 105.3, Q102, WJJZ 106.1, Sunny 104.5, and Power 99 (if no one listens, they can't sell advertising)

2) Concerts- Pearl Jam, Aerosmith, U2, Madonna, N'Sync and Janet Jackson to name a few.

3) TV stations- CBS, UPN

Too many other things to mention... if you are interested in learning more, look it up. Maybe we can mobilize and start a national "Week without Clear Channel". Besides, think about how much cooler you will be with knowledge of other music and with all the free time you will have because of the boycott.

The album that best describes my mood right now

That's all I have to say. If you have heard the album you will know what I mean.

My Top Ten Birthday Highlights

10. A visit from the Neepster

9. Being taken out to an Italian lunch by Nahreen

8. Having the honor to co-celebrate with THE one-time host of AVS's community fund drive and friend who was born a day before me, Mo

7. Telling Lisa "I lauw you!"

6. Spending time with some of the coolest people I know - my friends :)

5. Being able to hit the yellow targets in the saloon shooting game even in my buzzed state (Mush and Phil....thanks for the Jolly Rancher and the shot)

4. Receiving an email from an old friend who hasn't spoken to me IN THREE YEARS

3. Getting a phone call from my grandmother in Bangladesh

2. Lorenzo's pizza at 2 a.m. with Anik, Mush, Jeff, Mike and Itty bitty P-Diddy....

and the number one highlight of my birthday.....

1. Anik dressing up as "Charles in Charge"

Dude, where's my bone marrow?

"Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi Donors are urgently needed to help Pia Awal, a 29 year-old educator. Pia has been diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) and is in immediate need of a stem cell blood, or bone marrow, transplant."

I've done this years ago, when a young Bangladeshi girl in New York needed a bone marrow donor and could not find anyone in her family. The Bangladeshi community in the Delaware Valley got together, and each person donated a tube of blood to the Red Cross for testing at the Springfield High School. Ok, I know y'all are greedy..... so if the possibility of saving another human being's life isn't enough incentive, they usually have donuts too. Mmmmm donuts :)

And it's also a good place to meet girls. Right ladies? "Aww, look at him! A cute AND socially conscious brother.... not only does he recycle but he is a bone marrow donor too!"

It doesn't hurt at all, and they take less blood than the pint they take for blood donations. After they have your tissue tested, you are registered permanently, and they will contact you if they find a match. The Red Cross says that it is more likely to find a tissue match in your family or someone of your same race group. The happy ending to this story is that my Shireen auntie in Maryland turned out to be a match for the little girl in New York and now she is alive.

If you have already had your tissue tested once, you do not need to have it done again, you are already registered with the Red Cross.

Where is Apu from?

I had a pleasant surprise when I got home today. It was the Simpsons episode where Manjula is angry with Apu for working long hours seven days a week at the Kwik-E-Mart, so to make up to her Apu romances her and makes all the men and women of Springfield angry and jealous.

When the Simpsons go to dinner at the Nahasapeemapetilon home, Marge remarks what a beautiful and charming place it is and Manjula does the typical-Indian-woman thing, and insults herself. Why do South Asian women do that? Why can't they take a fucking compliment?

For example:
Comment: Oh so-and-so, you look beautiful in that dress.
South Asian woman's response: Nah, YOU look nice. I look fat.

Comment: I can't believe you went out of your way and went to the trouble of cooking all this delicious food auntie.
South Asian woman's response: Oh, I didn't cook ANYTHING, please forgive me! I hope my food is tolerable to you.

Anyways, did you ever notice what record Apu played for Homer? Its the "Concert for Bangladesh!"

Which brings me to my question: Where is Apu from?

According to "The Simpsons: The Complete Guide to America's Favorite Family", Apu is from India. His accent is clearly South Indian, and who else would have a last name as long as Nahasapeemapetilon besides a South Indian? His features are also more South Indian.

But I remember him being referred to as "the jolly Bengali" on an old Simpsons episode and he attended Calcutta Institute of Technology, according to the "Everything you should know about Apu" site.

And Mush said that in previous episodes, his hometown was referred to as Bangalore.

Ahhhhh! This is killing me! Does anybody know? If you have any idea, please post a comment. I'm writing to the show's producers.

In the meantime, meet the new Punjabi family that moved to Springfield.

Stupid British Airways counterperson

My mom left for Bangladesh today on British Airways. Although things were last-minute and hectic, overall everything was going fine. So we get to the airport and the asshole at the counter says... (In a French accent)... "I'm sorry, but your suitcase is too heavy. Our limit is 32 kg. and you have 34 kg."

Then my mom is like "I'm sorry sir, my mind is everywhere, my father died, and I had to pack at the last minute to go back home. Can you please overlook it this one time?"

(Artificially-with the sideways head tilt) "Oooooh, I'm sorry to hear that..... but your bag is still too heavy. Please remove some items" said the French Fuck.

Asshole! I hope you get Mad Cow disease...

I talked to Tisa about it and she said it all depends on who your counterperson is. Some people will say "Don't worry about it" if you go over the weight limit, while others will make a fuss over half a kg.