Taal 2010 is right round the corner. Musipals will take your breath away with their amazing vocals! Come and be a part of something special as they sing to collect funds to support theAsian and American Indian Charitable Trust (AAICT). An organization that helps kids fight Cancer.
Last year they enthralled a sold out audience with Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam film songs. The rave reviews from people who attended the program is a testament to their incredible effort. This time they are gunning to do even better!
Today, March 8th, is International Women’s Day (IWD). It is the 100th anniversary of IWD. While not observed in high profile (at least not in the US), it is a significant day in terms of how women are regarded in current times. We have come a long ways from where we were and hopefully we will continue to work towards mutual respect and equality.
Happy Women’s Day. Here’s empowering you to continue to make this world a better place!
Swathi Pradeep has created this comic to express her emotions
Reader and frequent contributor H*Pain sends us this link about eyebrow threading that seems to be gaining popularity around here and the origins of which are based in India. Hmmm…now I know why his eyebrows seem so well groomed !
Kavita Tambe, who learned the skill at a beauty school in India, uses cotton thread, creating a loop between her two hands and her mouth. She asks clients to hold their eyebrow and skin taut as she works.
Ouch!
It’s almost mesmerizing to watch Tambe bob and rock as she works on each eyebrow, moving in and then out as the thread twists around each unwanted hair, pulling it from its follicle.
Tambe says eyebrow threading is “safer and quicker than waxing or tweezing, it lasts longer and is less damaging to the skin.”
The process uses no chemicals and gives her greater control, she says.
“With threading you know exactly how many hairs are coming out at a time, I have complete control,” she says.
At the end of the procedure, Tambe applies moisturizer to the skin.
The history of threading is not clearly documented, with most sources crediting ancient Persia, now Iran. It has been practiced for several hundred years in the Middle and Far East and in parts of Europe such as Poland.
It’s been quiet here lately. Folks seemed to have noticed it. I have been getting some increased reader submission. Nila sends some deep thoughts our way:
We will add more information and details as things fall into place. If you have any ideas/suggestions to make the event a blast, please leave a comment on the Holi 2010 page.
MEMPHIS, TN — In need of repair work for your car? If so, you’ll want to get it done locally.
A new study ranks Memphis as the top U.S. city for fair car repair pricing.
For this study, mystery shoppers went to 600 repair shops for a brake replacement job. They were pleased with what they found in Memphis.
The city ranked at the top on three big factors: how affordable the initial price was, the difference between the highest quotes and the lowest, and how many shops changed their original quote when presented with the industry standard.
“The consumer would be glad to come to Memphis to have their vehicles repaired. It means that we’re fair” says Madison Automotive owner David Jayne.
Jayne says customers should do research before bringing their cars in, and ask lots of questions.
“What repairs do I have to have to keep the car going versus what do I need to just for preventative maintenance?” says Jayne.
Another good question– is the shop competitive?
“Feel free to get a written estimate and then call around to other shops or fax them the invoice and see if they can compete with the pricing.”
Jayne says your final bill should not include surprises. Repair shops are supposed to call customers if price changes come up.
It’s good advice for all car owners, not just the guys.
“Our average customer is 70 percent female, 30 percent male” says Jayne. “The females really seem to be able to handle it pretty well.”
While the Bluff City is at the top of the list, the Windy City is at the bottom. Chicago ranked worst for price fairness.
The study compared the 50 most populated cities in the U.S.
Thank you Maya Nair for sending in this positive piece on Memphis.
The editors at ToonDoo, a website where you can create cartoons and comics of your own have picked Swathi Pradeep’s comic on Sachin’s achievement as the Cartoon of the Day.
Editor's Pick
Swathi has been creating comic strips at a furious rate since she started her comics blog some days ago. I am amazed at the prolific rate with which has been creating her cartoons. Don’t believe me? Then,
Last night we had the free IAM Financial Workshop at the Cordova Public Library. Certified consultant Jim Piatcheck led the workshop and was well received by the attendees. We had quite a long question and answer session.
Although we had 30 people sign up, not all could make it. But those of you who attended gave us the impression that it was a very useful workshop and you got to take away something from it. We realize that an hour and a fifteen minutes did not really do justice to the topic and we hope that the next time around we will be able to do an extended session. The constraints that we have to work with include the workshop facilitator’s schedule and location/time restrictions.
This is the email that KM who attended the workshop sent us:
I attended the workshop and was very impressed with it! The hot tea and other munchies – didn’t expect at all. Very professional. Thanks for all the good work! Good luck in future endeavors as well.
KM
It is feedback such us this that encourages us, motivates us and let’s us know that we are doing something useful for the folks in our community. If you attended the workshop and would like to say something about it, please do so in the comments section.
Swathi Pradeepand H*Pain sent us the news about Sachin’s Double Century in a one day match. Wow!
Swathi writes:
SACHIN RAMESH TENDULKAR! Does the name “Ring the Bell”??! I guess it adds an “Icing to the Cake” now after his “Double Century” during today’s One-Day Match!
Sachin Tendulkar now becomes the “First-Double-Centurian” in One Dayers!
He carried his bat at Gwalior for an unbeaten 200 that came off 147 balls as India made a mammoth 401 runs for the loss of three wickets.
Tendulkar’s innings was a masterpiece. He played some beautiful shots, ran well between the wickets, found the gaps with ease in an innings that was laced with 25 fours and 3 sixes.
He cramped up towards the end but didn’t give up as he eclipsed the previous individual highest score of 194 recorded by Pakistan’s Saeed Anwar and Zimbabwe’s Charles Conventry.
Well,”Boost is Truly the Secret of His Energy”!!
As the saying goes,”Commit All Your Sins when Tedulkar plays,because even God will be busy watching this Little Master in Action!!”
Thank you Swathiand H*Painfor keeping unaware folks like me in the loop!
The images below are of a White Bengal Tiger named Odin. Odin is six years old and 10 feet long from tail to nose. He was hand-raised at the Zoo in Vallejo, California, near San Francisco where he still lives.
After being weaned, his trainer, Lee Munro(see image), discovered his “skill”. When a lump of meat is thrown into the water, Odin will happily jump in after it making funny faces in order to close his nostrils so water does not get through. Not all big cats enjoy the water but for tigers from South-East Asia, it’s one way to cool down.
Memphis resident Neeraj Kumar (Project Manager, Self Tucker Architects) was featured in the Memphis Business Journal this week . They wrote about him in the Spotlight section of the newspaper. The feature can be found at:
However, it looks like one needs to be a paid subscriber to read the story. We have obtained a scanned copy of the write-up. To read a larger version, click on the image below:
Phew! that was fast. We started this blog around the 10th of Jan 2010 and today we hit the 100th post mark. It definitely feels like a milestone since we honestly did not know how this blog would turn out to be. But from the get go we have been encouraged by many of you out there with positive feedback, ideas, suggestions and of course reader submissions. To all of you we say thanks!
Here's to the Next 100
Once again, we ask readers to submit their works to be published on the blog. Be it an article, poem, painting, photograph or an achievement by someone you know. Or it could be something that you read on the internet that you think might interest the Indian community at large. Share, so that we may continue to keep this web-space active and lively.
Special thanks to Swathi, H*Pain, and J*Phil for frequently sending us links of interest. Keep up the good work!
Oooh boy. This hurts. The city that we live in seems to rank in the top 3. Not sure how much credence can be given to this list but, it’s by Forbes.com and we know they love making their lists. Here’s what Kurt Badenhausen had to say about Memphis:
Violent crime is second worst in the country and public officials are getting locked up at an alarming rate. On a positive note, the city’s sole pro sport franchise, the NBA’s Grizzlies, is winning some games after losing 72% of the time the past three seasons.
So it looks like violent crime and corrupt officials that are to blame. I would include Memphis driving in there as well ! But hey, on the positive side, at least we stopped being number 1! To do some damage control we need to get the writer down here during India Fest and show him a good time. Unless of course he gets an upset stomach….
The Memphis Chapter of North South Foundation has announced the dates and venue for 2010 Regional contests. This year the Memphis contests will be held on May 1 and 2 for Public Speaking, Essay Writing, Geography, Math, Vocabulary, Spelling and Science.
These contests are open to Indo-American children. There are grade level restrictions and a Registration fee ranging from $15 – $30 for each contest. Those who perform well may get a chance to go for the National level competitions in summer.
(P.S.: FYI, when I tried to visit this site using Firefox the browser gave me a site may be malicious warning. But Internet Explorer did not seem to find anything. The information seems to be legitimate.)
Venue: India Culture Center and Temple 12005 Hwy 64
Eads, TN – 38028
Carmen Bolanos writes a guest post at Man vs Debt about 8 Effective Ways to Raise Frugal Kids. In a world of increasing materialism, it is getting harder to teach children about the value of things. Not to mention the amount of trash we are generating and the junk we end up collecting in our homes. We come from a culture where the value of money and hard work is emphasized. Maybe this will strike a chord with you.
She writes:
What a shock when my husband and I started our family and the arrival of our dear first baby was accompanied by a hurricane of accompanying stuff! Not only the necessities of diapers and t-shirts, but mountains of accessories, gadgets, toys … you name it. Little did we know that having a child in the U.S. would mean a constant barrage of media marketing directly to our children as soon as they were able to sit up.
So, how do we ensure that our values of a minimalist lifestyle and frugality are passed on through our children when mass media and the economic machine would love to have it otherwise? How can we support minimalism and frugality as values to be passed on through generations and not let them die out as the latest trend?
Having been in the process of raising our three daughters for 17 years now, here is a list of strategies that have worked for our family:
Turn off the media – If I could give only one piece of advice it would be this one. Your best intentions and teachings will be constantly thwarted if your children are bombarded by every marketing ploy known to modern man. Your kids won’t crave the latest gadget, because they might not even realize it exists. You may be amazed at Christmas when your kid asks for, “I don’t know, maybe a book?” Yes – really. It actually happened to us!
Limit electronics – While electronics don’t necessarily advertise to kids, they do have an impact on their attention spans. In addition, overuse may adversely affect their relationships with other human beings and their ability to enjoy other forms of activity, especially quality physical activity. If you want a child who will value a simple lifestyle, they will need to be able to find joy in simple activities, such as playing outside, playing board games, and engaging in imaginative games with their friends.
Talk with your loved ones about your values –When you are trying to raise a child in a minimalist lifestyle it can be frustrating to receive the latest electronic or cheap plastic gadget from loved ones each Christmas and birthday. Sit down and discuss your values with your family and friends and let them know that while you appreciate their gestures of generosity, simpler gifts may help maintain consistency. You may want to gently provided specific examples.“You know, Sally really enjoys playing with puzzles and outdoor games – so if you find something like that, she’d love it. Video games really don’t get used that much.”
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Memphis, TN
Themocracy