by Ken LeClair

People all over the world go to the beach, but in New Jersey we go to the shore. Once you get there you can go to the beach but it is the shore until then. From Sandy Hook in the north all the way down to Cape May, it stretches majestically through towns like Sea Bright, Asbury Park, Bradley Beach, Belmar, Lavalette, Seaside Heights, Island Beach and then the great Atlantic City.

Generations of Jerseyites and Philadelphians have spent their summer holiday weekends, Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day at the Jersey Shore and most weekends in between with sunny summer days with little exceptions. The beaches and the boardwalks from Sandy Hook in the north to Cape May in the south will be packed with the annual migration of the faithful and the first timers, young and old.

Whether it’s the nude beach, Gunnison, at Sandy Hook National Park, the salt water taffy at Asbury Park, the casinos in Atlantic City, or the hot bar scene at Wildwood there is something for everyone at the Jersey Shore. It is a place where memories are made and revisited;  where everyone can feel the joy of a sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean,  build a sand castle on the beach, have a great dinner and drinks, or fall in love for the first or second time.   There aren’t many more places where you can feel alive and in tune with nature and it’s beauty.

by Ken LeClair

Everyone woman’s nightmare ….breast cancer….we all know someone or of someone who was diagnosed with breast cancer and subsequently went through chemotherapy, radiation treatment or a mastectomy only to have the cancer spread causing their untimely and tragic death. Is there a way to prevent the actual onset and or the reoccurrence and spread of this cancer?

Yes and yes! There is documented evidence that by simply taking an aspirin a day the onset of breast cancer
can be halved and the re-occurrence and spread of this cancer can be cut by 71%.. This same aspirin will also cut the risk of colon cancer and prostate cancer and also greatly reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke.

It is also known that calcium supplementation will cut the risk of breast and other cancers by 40% while warding off osteoporosis as well. But keep in mind that the calcium will not be absorbed unless you have adequate vitamin D-3 which most women and men do not. Unless of course you take 5,000 I.U. per day.

You can buy the calcium and Vitamin D-3 in most health food stores and many pharmacies or online, and of course you can buy the aspirin almost anywhere (keep in mind that the coated aspirin is the preferred kind to take as the straight aspirin may cause bleeding stomach ulcers).

That’s a question that really jolts people.  Do you have anything significant to say? What impacts you? Who are you? The best thing to do is be who you are and be honest. Don’t live hiding everything on the inside. Have some kind of belief system in yourself that separates you from the rest. But don’t do it just because everyone else says so. Do and live the way you need to live without other people’s preconceived notions about you.  Have an impact. Do more for yourself and don’t sit back and let it all fly by.

So Ann Curry of NBC’s The Today Show gave the commencement address at Wheaton College this past Saturday.  She named a few of the school’s famous alums, including Billy Graham, Wes Craven, and 9/11 hero Todd Beamer.

It was a great idea by Curry.  It’s too bad she was completely wrong, according to the Boston Globe.  Those three graduated from a small liberal arts college in Illinois, not the school in  Massachusetts she was speaking at.

What an embarrassing gaffe!  Especially for a journalist.  Even if someone else did the research for her, how could she not do some fast fact-checking?  We all know some colleges around country share the same name.  If you are going to accept an invitation to speak at commencement, the least you can do is know where you are.

In India, the movie stars of Bollywood are the Gods. In America, the stars of Hollywood are God. Its not to say that in America that Indians don’t watch Indian movies because that isn’t true. Its that the media here is so focused on Hollywood that Bollywood is microscopical to it.  Actually in America there’s a huge fan base of Indians and Americans consistently watching Indian films of Bollywood. It is growing even more.  The Brad Pitts and Tom Cruises should have a film together with the Shahrukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan.  With India’s dance moves and songs and America’s acting and narrative it would be the film of the century.  If these worlds emerge, interesting things can happen.

written by an outside contributor for desiexclusives.com

When I picture my ideal wedding, I envision a setting that is exotic and tropical.  I would love to have a wedding on a beach in the Caribbean or Mexico with my closest friends and family.  The last thing that I envision is having a wedding at a typical Indian banquet hall such as Akbar in Jersey.  A destination wedding is a great idea not only because it is a nice vacation for everyone that attends, but also a way to weed out certain people that you aren’t very close to, but felt obligated to invite out of courtesy.  I would prefer an intimate wedding with my closest friends and family that will make the trip no matter what it cost in order to share my special day with me.

Indian weddings are huge and very hectic.  In India, weddings that consist of 1500 people are not uncommon at all.  In America, Indian weddings usually don’t get to be that massive, but a count of 300-500 people is quite average.  Usually the guest list consists of aunts, uncles, friends (close and casual), your parent’s friends, your parent’s coworkers, and other miscellaneous people that your parents felt they had to invite out of courtesy.  Out of all those people that come to your wedding, there really are a small percentage of people that you really appreciate sharing your special moment with.  I understand that my parents would want to invite their close friends, but for a wedding, they feel obligated to invite everyone in their phonebook.  They might fear that if this one friend is invited and tells another friend they are going to the wedding, that uninvited friend will be upset.  There are a lot of politics involved with creating a guest list.  I was even told to invite few of my close friends for my sister’s wedding; despite the fact my sister didn’t know them well.  Honestly, is that really necessary?  More heads equates to more money, but that really isn’t the reason I don’t want so many people at my wedding.  After my sister’s wedding, many of my parent’s friends would go up to her and comment on how they enjoyed the wedding.  My sister would play it off and show her appreciation, but in many cases, she had no idea that person was even at the wedding.  I don’t want that.  I want an intimate setting where I can speak and mingle with everyone.  I want to remember that you were at my wedding and that we enjoyed it together.

We all know how hectic Indian weddings can become.  The wedding usually consists of many different functions that span around 3 days.  The more people that are around, the more hectic it will be.  It is not uncommon for the family of the bride and groom break down due to stress.  My mother broke down in tears before my sister’s wedding due to the inordinate amount of stress that came with it.  The last thing I want is for my family to feel overwhelmed.  As much of a special occasion a wedding would be for me, it is even more special to my family.  I want them to appreciate and enjoy every second of it, without a worry in the world.  For many Indian couples, weddings are happy occasions, but very stressful to a point where they are so relieved it’s over, almost as if they were taking a final exam.  I don’t want that feeling.  I want to enjoy my wedding to a point where I can envision myself doing it all over again and enjoying it as much as the first time.

What is Usher trying to say that is getting everyone off their feet?

Listen to this song “Oh my gosh” by Usher and ask yourself what does it mean…did he get married or did he discover more than 3 ways to do something? He says in the song “Baby I can break you down.” I wonder if this is physical or emotional. The beat eventually gets better though. It almost sounds like the end of a basketball game when the game is tied up in the last 3 minutes.  Whatever the case,  it gets you jumping

May 22nd at Vermillion- 480 Lexington Ave (between 46 & 47ths) in New York City @ 11 pm, no cover charge but RSVP reservation recommended.  Ages 23 and over, 2 bottles ($500) Grey Goose or Black Label.  Table reservations 917-548-9699.

Obviously this is not for the teenie bopper crowd or mom and pop. College educated Desi singles and couples who want to mingle with the in crowd of New York Desi society will feel right at home at this event. Those familiar with previous events organized by Nemesh Bhattle will recognize that this will be a night to remember as the summer of 2010 kicks off in high fashion.

DesiExclusives.com is not affiliated with Elite 8 Events, which is a separate organization.

Last night, Rima Fakih was crowned Miss USA in Las Vegas.

She admits she is somewhat concerned with the reaction of fellow Muslims to her competing in a beauty pageant; meanwhile TMZ has released photos of her in a stripping contest in Detroit back in 2007.

Should her crown be revoked for stripping?  I don’t think so.  The photos of her stripping have been online for three years- she cannot be blamed if no one has noticed them until today.

All in all, the 24 year old Lebanese girl went home a big winner last night.

Iran wants to continue to develop more unranium enrichment.  It undermines the swap deal it made with Turkey on shipping its low-enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for the 20 percent uranium fuel needed for its reactor. The world in Iran’s eyes are for the taking. Iran claims it needs the uranium for medical and scientific research and not to bomb countries.  Where will it go from here?