@ЖЕНЯ Gelbelman: To be fair, he spent time in a place without very much English to do it. As a native of Montreal (and McGill grad, which as an anglo institution doesn't really help), most people will accommodate you in most places.

The thing is, she's actually genuinely gorgeous. She has modeled and won a Miss India-something pageant and is very involved in the community. For her to feel insecure about this irrelevant thing made me sad.

I found a great little documentary on youtube about this issue.

I've actually heard really funny stories from Bollywood fans. A girl at work is from Cameroon and apparently they watch a lot of Bollywood there (which I actually though was really interesting). Turns out, this skews people's view of what Indians actually look like.

It's funny their weird names people come up with for different shades. I'm not entirely sure what stuff like "wheatish" or "dusky" means.

@madvie: It's obvious early in life what is preferred. Many Indians and the diaspora watch Bollywood movies together. One does not have to look far to see that the actors and actresses (mostly the actresses) are not a fair representation of the general, Hindi-speaking population. While some "indianess" is required,…

As a woman of Indian descent, I can relate to this. Colorism is something that I've grown up with as part of my culture, as terrible as it is, likely due to some combination of casteism and colonialism (notably, under the British). Fairer and whiter-looking women (and men, but to a lessor degree) are more desirable…

I don't why so many people are speculating on who Jones' baby's father is. I mean, it's no one's business but her's and the father's. She is more than able to provide for a child, so why is it so important?

Provoked, my ass. If someone asks him why use German music, just say you like it and/or it has sentimental value due to heritage. "I'm a Nazi." Really?!

As a woman who has previously donated her thick, undyed, indian hair to Locks of Love, I didn't realize how much other people pay for it.

@adoringava: Ha! This was my reaction too.

Oh man, I watched pretty much all of that. I'd forgotten about Alex Mack and Sister Sister. Needed more Power Rangers though, methinks.

@palegirl: Wow. I had forgotten about these. I had to read them in 8th grade too. Night was made even more intense in that, every so often, some of the kids would chime in with the stories from their own grandparents that had been in concentration camps. It was really heart-wrenching.

The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold) when I was in 11th grade and the Bridge to Terabithia (by Katherine Paterson) when I was in 5th. Loads of books have made me feel strongly for the character, but these endings left me sobbing.

@LaComtesse: I don't think it was a political statement. It was a woman wearing the flag dress with a little girl with the Turkish flag. It looked like they were representing their countries for some sort of show.

Is it really that hard for people to stay away from using religious imagery on relatively sexualized clothing? I mean, I recently saw a one-shouldered dress made of the Saudi Arabian flag. That particular flag features the Shahadah, pretty much the proclamation of which is the minimum to become a Muslim.

@Rubbish_beard I heart Doctor Who: Yeah, but those things are culturally desireable. Just look at actresses (actors seem to get a bit of a pass in this regard).

I'd probably find some of these really amusing. But my friends and I exchange memes all the time and sometimes use them out loud. Yeah, we're geeks.

"What about those of us who value the comfort and privacy of shopping at home?"

Well, that intro music was terribly deceptive.