10- Brett Favre and his grey beard taking the Vikings to a 9-7 season.

9- Hooray for Monday Night Football drink specials at your local bar.

8- Superman Tebow leading Florida to another national title.

7- Michael Vick leading the Eagles into the playoffs with protestors chasing him but eventually taking over Donovan McNabb’s job and Chunky soup commercial.

6- Where’s John Madden?

5- Kyle Orton will take Denver to the Promise Land.

4- Brandon Marshall will be traded to the Giants (Please we need you LOL!)

3- Tom Brady doesn’t miss a beat after his injury.

2-  Dallas misses the playoffs

1- Philly versus Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl.  I will not be watching.  Blah.

Being humble is good. Growing will only happen if you have BALLS.  AND…knowing you had a real impact on others will actually make you never disappear as your legend is passed on.  Metaphysically is a different story as well.  You get two for the price of one if your worth your change!!  Your purpose and true intentions in life will dwell upon others like Simon and Garfunkel singing hears to Mrs. ROBINSON. And secondly, your spirit will continue to evolve if you do believe in a higher force.  So, boy- if you truly feel that your gonna stop the buck at a certain age or time- your done!  You have ages and eternties to battle or as i would say sing the song too.  Otherwise, if your true ego and spirit are weak–You will be gone soon!

PEACE

There is little doubt that those of us who are the happiest don’t look back on missed chances or failed conquests with contempt.  How we handle our past is a good indicator of how successful we will be.  Some of us allow ourselves to be weighed down by giant boulders because of mistakes of our past that we have harbored and kept next to us.  Almost like nurturing a pest.  Or picking away at an old scab.  It will keep bleeding.

And that is what time does.  It bleeds away as we try not to notice.  The solution is the solution to almost everything else: take care of yourself body and mind, your friends, your loved ones.   Be humble, grow, and enjoy every moment.  Look at the past, good and bad, as a learning experience totally worth having.  Stay positive and smile more.  We will be gone soon enough.  

What is India Independence Day? It is a national holiday that commemorates the withdrawal of British rule from the nation of India and respects it as a sovereign state.  A truly remarkable country that actually had many of the world’s firsts. In honor of this great day on August 15th, I would like to share with you 15 facts that I find truly fascinating.

1.  India is the WORLD’S LARGEST DEMOCRACY!!

2.  India has the most post offices in the WORLD

3.  India EXPORTS software to over 90 countries

4.  Chess was invented in India

5.  Algebra, Calculus and Trigonometry originated from India

6.  The first decimal system was created in India

7.  The four religions born in India – Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, are followed by 25% of the

world’s population.

8.  Yoga has its origins in India

9.  The largest employer in the world is the Indian Railways, employing over a million people

10. The game snakes and ladders originated in India

11. An Indian mathematician and astronomer, Bhaskaracharya, rightly calculated the time taken by the earth

to orbit the Sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart.  According to his calculation,  the time

taken by the Earth to orbit the Sun was 365.258756484 days

12. Until 1896, Indian was the only source for DIAMONDS!!!

13. The world’s first university was established in India

14. Martial Arts was FIRST created in India

15. India never invaded a country in the last 100,000 years!!

Many people have the idea that a dire recession that we are going through is an ideal time to further their education and pursue a graduate degree.

For some career avenues, it certainly makes sense.  Those studying to become lawyers or doctors will take on a heavy amount of tuition, but the financial rewards of those lucrative careers will certainly more than justify the cost of the degree over time. 

But for others, pursuing a graduate degree in a bad economy is used as an ‘escape’ or a way to delay the job search.  However, graduating with a bachelor’s degree followed by a master’s and having little or no real life, career relevant work experience is a tough road to go down.  The degree might look nice mounted on your wall, but your diminuitive paycheck and boatload of debt might leave a lot to be desired.

America has turned education into a commodity.  There are too many colleges and universities in this country, and too many people who should pursue other career means like trade school enroll in four year colleges.    These schools have found a way to make a quick buck, and have been met by a demand from unmotivated students looking for a layup degree.  Degrees that are as useful as toilet paper are diluting the educational field, and forcing Americans to get advanced degrees to keep up with the Joneses. 

Certain groups are known to have a certain tolerance for specific drinks.  Russians can hold their vodka.  Germans can chug down a liter of beer at a time.  Indians can sip whisky straight like water?  Though it may seem surprising, India is the largest consumer of whisky in the world.  Being an Indian myself, I have observed from the Indian parties I’ve been to that many Indian men, especially those from India, love having whisky on the rocks, with water, or with coke.  Their whisky of choice is usually Johnnie Walker Black Label.  If the party is upscale enough, the drink of choice could be upgraded Blue Label.  I have been fortunate to be at such a party and to have been able to drink Blue Label, and honestly, the experience was pure euphoria.  So for those who have doubted our tolerance, Indians can drink with the best of them. 

10.  711

9. OHHHHHH my GOD instead of Damn

8. Clothes from the 70s

7. More rotis on friday nites than pizza nites

6. Too much into the textbooks

5. SMELL

4. SMELL

3. SMELL

2. Submissively weak

1. Lack of Confidence

1. NO PACKAGE

Too many Indians are doctors and engineers.  We need more Shakespearen and philosophical DESIS.  We can count the numbers but not the emotions behind it.  We know the derivatives of the calculas but not the building blocks of ALGAE-BRA (Women of the Flowers if you know what i mean aha ha ha).  Can we add substance to our existence instead of just whats after the equal sign.  Sometimes in life things don’t always go in order of paranthesis , multiplication, addition etc.  You need to know why the x axis crossed the y axis in order to make the slope.  Sometimes the pythagorean theorem has more to do with the two legs on the side that opens itself up to you than just possessing the length that will cause no friction to release. How about that on for SIZE??

Written by a guest columnist exclusively for DesiExclusives.com                                                        

America is a melting pot of different cultures from all around the world.  Different ethnic groups coexist with one another in today’s society.  For some groups, assimilation into American society can be difficult and certain adjustments are made.  For example, many people adopt American names, because often, their ethnic names are quite difficult to pronounce for someone not part of that ethnic group.  This is very common among Asians, specifically from China, Korea, the Philippines, and other countries in the Far East.  It doesn’t sound odd for a Korean man to have a name such as James Park.  Many South Asians also adopt American names though, especially those who are of the Christian faith.  This is not so odd sounding because often the surname is something like Thomas, or other names derived from Catholic saints or names derived from the Old and New Testament.  However, for those with common Indian surnames, American first names just don’t sound right.  My uncle’s first name is Kishore.  Once he went into real estate, he wanted a name that his clients could easily pronounce, so he adopted the name Kevin.  Therefore, he was known as Kevin Keshwani.  I almost cried laughing once I heard he adopted the name.  That first name and last name just don’t go together.  So, for future Indian parents, please stay away from American names.  Just like oil and water, American names and Indian surnames just don’t mix. 

Written by guest columnist exclusively for DesiExclusives.com

Racism is a sensitive topic in America and around the world.  Any incident involving race is often a heated topic involving many different opinions and viewpoints.  Most recently, the arrest of a black scholar, Henry Louis Gates Jr. in Cambridge, Massachusetts has sparked a national debate on the controversial topic of racial profiling.  Many could easily say the police simply arrested the scholar because he was black.  However, the person that called in to the police described what he thought was breaking and entering, as Gates and his driver forced open his front door apparently because the lock was damaged.  I can’t say that the arresting officer didn’t have a racist bias against blacks, but I also can’t say that he did.  What would have happened if a white man was trying to force his way through his front door?  Would the local resident not have reported the incident to the police simply because he was white?  No one can answer that question.  The actual reason that Gates was arrested was for disorderly conduct.  Once the police came, Gates was not cooperative and continued to play the race card claiming he was arrested simply because he was a black man.  If a white man acted in a disorderly way in the same situation and verbally abused the officer, would that be ignored simply because he was white?  You can’t definitely say that is the case.  Racism in this situation is simply assumed.  Though this is my opinion, I definitely believe racism is very alive within our society, but I do believe that minorities are also responsible for aggravating the issue itself.

          I do not blame Gates for being angry at the situation.  He was trying to get into his own house after returning from a trip to China and was mistaken for breaking and entering.  Just because of a misunderstanding, he has to deal with the cops and answer questions.  If he had simply done what the cops had asked him to do, would he have been arrested simply for being black?  No one can answer that question, though many people would answer yes simply because they assume the arresting officer was racist.  Such trends among minorities I believe magnify and contribute to racism.  Though I don’t condone it, stereotyping is a way of life in our society.  We see a trend and we automatically believe that’s the way things are.  In this situation involving Gates, white people can simply stereotype that black people always play the race card and do not look at the facts.  Is that true among all black people?   I highly doubt it, but since it has happened numerous times, people will start to believe that.

          My intentions are not to single out black people, because many other minorities are guilty of going along with trends which make others stereotype specific groups in a certain way.  Everyone knows that America is a melting pot of different cultures around the world.  This is something America prides itself on.  There are so many different cultural and ethnic enclaves scattered throughout the country.  It seems in every major city, there is a Chinatown, Little India, or a Hispanic neighborhood consisting of ethnic restaurants, clothing stores, music stores, and even movie theaters displaying cinema from a specific country.  It is common for groups to stick together such as Indians, Asians, Hispanics, Russians, etc.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, as that is human nature.  However, it becomes a problem when groups isolate themselves from American culture.  An example of this would be a group of Indians who emigrated from India and have lived in America for over 25 years, but still do not know English and refuse to learn because the group only associates with Indians.  This is a problem among many immigrants coming from abroad.  Yes, it is definitely difficult to assimilate to a new culture and learn a language, but I believe many groups don’t make the effort to learn English or learn it properly simply because they only associate with their specific group of people.  Suppose for example, I was trying to order food at McDonalds and the person that was serving me was an immigrant from a certain country.  If I was trying to explain to him what I want and he can’t understand what I’m saying, I will simply get frustrated.  This is an isolated incident, but what happens if this occurs several times to different people.  They will stereotype that certain group and think that they do not make an effort to learn English.  This is not right to assume that, but like I said, people see trends and stereotype.

          Stereotyping is an unfortunate occurrence in our society.   I believe we can all say we have been guilty of stereotyping specific groups at some points in our lives.  We see trends and we start to believe that’s how it always is.  As minorities, we are constantly stereotyped, sometimes for no apparent reason.  After the Virginia Tech Massacre, some stereotyped Asians as angry reserved people simply because the mass murder was done by a Korean.  We can’t control such ignorance, but we can control trends that contribute to racist attitudes.  We can go against the norm and encourage others to do the same.  That’s the least we could do to lessen the issue of racism in America and around the world.