The Houston Rockets won Game 5 of their playoff series against the Utah Jazz last night.  The Rockets played an amazing game and blew the Jazz away with a 95-69 victory.  The crowd was into it the whole game and the Rockets performed well under pressure.  If they can continue this momentum into Game 6 on Friday, who knows, we may have another Game 7 on our hands.

T-Mac suprisingly played pretty well last night after all the criticism he has received over the last couple of days.  He needs to lead the Rockets to two more victories this year if he wants to finally get out of the first round of the playoffs.  Whatever outcome happens in game 6, I must say that the Rockets have had one heck of a season despite losing their best player, Yao Ming, to injury.  I am looking forward to game 6 and hopefully game 7!  Go Rockets!

Rapper Kanye West is making his way down to the Lone Star State!  For those of you Indians and Desis who don’t know who Kanye West is, here is a little Kanye West 101, provided by Wikipedia.com:

Kanye Omari West (pronounced /ˈkɑnjɛj/) (born June 8, 1977)^[1] is an American rap artist and hip hop producer. He released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, his second album Late Registration in 2005, and his third album Graduation in 2007. His first three albums have received numerous awards (including nine Grammys),^[2][3][4] critical acclaim,^[5] and commercial success. West also runs his own record label GOOD Music.^[6] West’s mascot and trademark is “Dropout Bear,” a teddy bear, which has appeared on the covers of his three albums as well as the singles cover for his songs “Stronger” and “Homecoming.”^[7]

West’s parents divorced when he was three years old, and he and his mother moved to Chicago, Illinois. He enrolled at Chicago State University but later dropped out to continue pursuing his music career. He later gained fame by producing hit singles for musical artists including Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, and Janet Jackson. West’s style of production often utilizes pitched-up vocal samples, usually from soul songs, with his own drums and instruments. Some controversy has also surrounded West, such as an incident during a live telecast of a benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina relief, when he deviated from the script and told the audience, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.”

Here is the schedule for Kanye’s ”Glow in the Dark Tour”April 30th - Austin - Frank Erwin Center

May 1st - Dallas - Superpages Center

May 2nd - Houston - Woodlands Pavilion

Check back next week for our review of the concert. 

We received this letter in from one of our readers yesterday:

Dear SABAsearch Blog,

I just got finished with my wedding recently, and I want to let everyone know how frustrated I am with the entire process due to the rigid nature of most of our wedding vendors.  My fiance and I worked so hard to earn enough money to have the perfect wedding, and some of our wedding vendors did a great job of screwing it all up! I am not one to complain, but I wanted to send you guys my thoughts so your other readers can prevent this from happening to them.

First, the wedding hall we booked called us a WEEK before the wedding to let us know that we could not have the event at their facility (due to some city violations).   We had a horrible time arguing with them and tried to have them place us in a new facility, but they said their contract does not require them to do so.  How rude!??  So lesson 1:  Make sure you clearly work out the terms with your wedding facility for these types of situations.  Make sure they are held responsible for re-placing you if there is an unexpected reason you cannot use their facility.

We were forced to use the only venue that was available (we only had 2 weeks left!).   The place was extremely beautiful, and we had a great time, but at the end of the event, we were informed that we would not receive all of our deposit back!  We met all of their so-called guidelines, and even had our hired staff clean their restrooms, but they found some weird reasons to keep our deposit.  Lesson 2:  Make sure you clearly understand the terms for the deposits to the facility!  It is an easy way for the venues to take more money from you!

Our final problem was with our decorators.  They came late and didn’t bring enough people.  Therefore, my uncles and aunts were helping them finish the decorations in their saris and suits!  They didn’t even offer a discount for their faults.  Lesson 3:  Go with a reputable company.  Small time shops are not reliable and do not have enough staff to support your event.  Make a list of every single item they are suppose to bring, and don’t pay them until every item has been checked.

OK, enough of being a debby downer… I do want to be fair and aknowledge the folks who made us extremely happy and did a GREAT job at our event!  The following wedding vendors saved the day because they went above and beyond to make sure our wedding was as spectacular as we had dreamed!  If you are still in the middle of your wedding planning, make sure you at least touch base with these Houston wedding vendors…

A&A Video - On time, great service, and our video turned out amazing;  713-772-6899;  Ask for Imran
Joe Cogliandro Photography - Super nice, great creativity, and amazing pictures!  Great with Desi weddings.  832-859-1982;  Ask for Joe
India’s Restaurant - Great Service, All our guests love the food, great staff!  713-266-0131;  Ask for Satish
DJ Rpan - Kept the dancefloor jumpin’ till 2am!  Great Bhangra music and mixes!  Brought a great dhol player too!
Mira Slavo - This one gets the most stars!  Amazing serving staff and cleaning crew at affordable rates!  Idefinitely recommend her staff for people who are having events in privately owned venues in Houston and need their own bar/cleaning/wait staff;  Really professional and super nice!  832-495-3451

Hope this helps!  And best of luck to all of the couples who are currently planning their wedding! 

Sincerely,
DesiBride08

Note from SABAsearch:  If you are looking for other desi wedding vendors in Houston, please visit the SABAsearch Wedding Portal

Here is what your next job posting will probably say…

- Must have a MBA
- Must be able to multi-task
- Must have at least 3 years of experience in related field
- Must know how to do a beer bong
- Must like Tequila (Patron)

According to a new study, people who are social drinkers
are earning more money than those who are party poopers! 
Makes sense though,  if you know how to socialize
effectively, you will probably be able to make more
sales, right?  That’s what the researchers are saying.

The study, published by the Department of Labor Research, concluded that drinkers earn 10 to 14 percent more than teetotalers, and that men who drink socially bring home an additional seven percent in pay.  So does this mean that we should bring our Johnnie Walker black label to work tomorrow?

Here is a quote from the article published on brietbart.com:

“Social drinking builds social capital,” said Edward Stringham, an economics professor at San Jose State University and co-author of the study with fellow researcher Bethany Peters.

“Social drinkers are out networking, building relationships, and adding contacts to their BlackBerries that result in bigger paychecks.”

So, there you have it!  Drink up people!

***And, for those of you that will actually take our advice, get drunk with your colleagues, and get yourself into trouble, here is a link to all of the attorneys listed on SABAsearch.com that can bail you out of jail:  Houston Indian Desi Lawyers (Criminal Attorneys)

It brings us no pleasure to bring you this article published by Houston Chronicle….

AUSTIN — The founder of the Barsana Dham Hindu temple in Hays County
has been arrested in Washington, D.C., and charged with 20 counts of
indecency with a child.

Prakashanand Saraswati, 78, was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals
Service on Thursday afternoon at Dulles Airport and was being held in
Alexandria, Va., according to the Hays County sheriff’s office.

“He’s waived extradition, and arrangements are being made to bring him
back to Hays County,” sheriff’s office spokesman Leroy Opiela was
quoted as saying in the Austin American-Statesman on Friday.

The charges stem from an investigation that began in August, sheriff’s
officials said.

According to his indictment, Saraswati, known as “Shree Swamiji” to his
followers, is accused of groping two girls who were under the age of 17
at the time on several occasions between 1993 and 1996.

In a statement, the temple described the allegations as “groundless.”

“Shree Swamiji has dedicated his entire life to serving humanity … No
one who knows him would ever believe he would do anything such as
this,” the statement read.

The Barsana Dham center is located in a rural part of Hays County on
the outskirts of Austin. Society members have been living at the
200-acre spiritual retreat center since 1990, practicing Saraswati’s
philosophy of “divine love consciousness” based on ancient texts common
to Hinduism.

The center’s Web site says Saraswati was born in India and that he
traveled the world before establishing the Hays County temple. It was
designed as a representation of the holy land of Braj in India,
according to the Web site.

Brought to you by the HoustonChronicle.com

In any case, however this may turn out, it’s a bad day for the South Asian community.  Please share your thoughts and feelings about this news.  If you have any additional information regarding this recent news, please feel free to leave a comment below.

The rockets stunned the Jazz on Thursday night with a win in Utah.  It’s amazing to see what a difference Rafer makes for the team.

Tonight the Rockets take on the Jazz again in Utah for game four at 9:30 CST (the game will be aired on ESPN) .  Make sure you cheer on the rockets tonight.

Oh, and did anyone see the video of TMac mocking the reporters on how they always blame him for everything?  Haha..here is a quote of his comments:

“It’s my fault,” McGrady said. “It’s my fault we missed free throws. It’s my fault we lost both games. Blame me. It’s my fault we fouled to tie the game up. That’s my fault. It’s my fault they get easy layups. It’s my fault we’re not executing well on the offensive end. It’s my fault a couple people in the stands ordered Heinekens and they got Budweiser. It’s my fault. I’m sorry.”

Here is the video of that clip in case you missed it. 

Go Rockets!

Harold and Kumar 2:  Escape from Guantanamo Bay hit the theaters today.  Kal Penn must have woken up today with money bells ringing in his head…”cha ching!”.

Here is a small excerpt from latest review of Harold and Kumar 2:  Escape from Guantanamo Bay on from Cinemablend.com:

 Cho and Penn continue being the best part of the series—it’s hard to imagine the first one succeeding without their charm and camaraderie. Penn even gets a chance to show off his real acting chops, in a flashback to college when Vanessa helped him break out of his nerd shell. The men make Harold and Kumar enough fun to spend time with, even when the jokes get slow and repetitive. Same goes for Neil Patrick Harris, who tries valiantly to make his on-screen persona different from the character he plays each week on How I Met Your Mother; it doesn’t really work except when Harris takes mushrooms, which is something no one on CBS primetime ever gets to do.

Harold and Kumar is a bit grosser than Judd Apatow’s usual fare, and won’t have quite the same crossover appeal as the equally stoned Knocked Up. But its fans will leave the theater happy. Provided they ever make it to the theater to begin with. Hard to smoke in a public place, you know.

Harold and Kumar is sure to be a grossed-out, in your face comedy.  We love it!  Kids, make sure you don’t take your parents to see this one (Your daddy will be beatin’ your a** before you even get through the first scene!).  Break out your fake id’s…because nobody under 17 will be allowed into this movie.

Much Props to Kal Penn for breaking every single barrier for South Asians in one movie.  Sex, Nakedness, Stealing, Smoking Pot, Going to Jail, and the list goes on!  Andfor those of you who are “disgusted” by his choices to shoot a movie like this…TOUGH LUCK!  You’ll probably be sitting at home by yourself tonight while all of your friends are at the movies.  Don’t be a loner…go see the movie!

Click here to find the showtimes for Harold and Kumar 2 in your area.  After you go see it, let us know what you thought.

Peace!

I was really never into watching Hindi movies, but after watching Jodha Akbar, I’m definitely going to start watching them.

The movie is set in the 16th century and is a love story about a marriage of alliance that gave birth to true love between a great Emperor, Akbar (Hrithik Roshan), and a Princess, Jodhaa (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan). Little did Akbar know that when he married Jodhaa, he would be embarking upon a new journey; the journey of true love.

I recommend everyone to watch this movie. If anyone has any suggestion on what I should watch next, please let me know.

To read a more extensive review of the Movie Jodha Akbar, please visit the Hindi Movie Reviews section on SABAsearch.com

So here is the romantic story of Microsoft and Yahoo as it stands today:

Microsoft was walking through the hallway of Internet High, when all of a sudden, it sees Yahoo through the corner of its eye.  Yahoo was looking mighty fine that day, especially because rumor had it that she was becoming more “easy” to get.  When Microsoft walked by Yahoo, Yahoo gave Microsoft a nice little wink to show Microsoft that she was interested.

A week goes by, and no word from Microsoft.  Not even a phone call!  Yahoo was upset, when finally, Microsoft (Steve Ballmer) called up Yahoo and asked her out on a date.  Yahoo obliged.

Microsoft took Yahoo to McDonalds, where Yahoo was severely dissappointed.  “You takin me to this cheap ole’ place!  I deserve some better lovin from you!” said Yahoo.  Needless to say, the date wasn’t as nice as Microsoft had expected.  After the date, Microsoft had this to say, “She ain’t worth more than Mickey D’s meal…don’t worry, she’ll be back!”. 

The next week:  Microsft notices that other jocks are trying to hit on Yahoo in the school hallway.  TimeWarner, Google, and other big Internet players are all eyeing Yahoo with the interest to take her on a date and score.  Yahoo doesn’t seem interested, as her mind is still set on Microsoft.  Yahoo goes to Microsoft and tells him, “You can have me, but you’ll have to treat me better, and wine and dine me next time.  Otherwise, you’re not gettin’ any of my lumps.”  Microsoft, as cocky as he is, looks her up and down and says, “I don’t need you woman!  I’m not desparate!  I got plenty of Search Engines that wanna get some Microsoft lovin!”

So that’s where we stand today.  Microsoft is trying to woo Yahoo with their mind games and Yahoo is playing hard to get.  Is this just another internet crush, or will this turn into true love? Vote Below!

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Read the latest Love letter written by Steve Ballmer to Yahoo. 

I know we were not expected to win this series….and I know we are not expected to win the championship…but come on!  We have a good enough team to win some playoff games and that is exactly what we have not been doing.  I really thought T-Mac was finally going to silence some critics in Game 2.  He had an excellent three quarters and once again disappeared in the fourth.  I know it’s tough for him considering he really does not have anybody around him to help out, but I think it’s fair to think that he should be able to score more than a few points!

The series has shifted back to Utah where it is almost impossible to win.  The next two games are going to be extremely tough, but hopefully we will be able to come back home with at least a split.   I guess we’ll find out this week…

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Irfan from Seven Seas Promotion is bringing Udit and Aditya Narayan to Houston!  Here is a little bit more info on the event:

 Udit and Aditya Narayan Concert - Houston
Date:  May 2, 2008
Location:  Arena Theater (7322 Southwest Freeway, Houston, TX  77074)
Time:  9:00pm  (Add 1 hour for Desi Standard Time )
Tickets: $15, $25, $35, $45 and VIP.

To view more information on the event, or to access the event website to purchase tickets, please view the Udit and Aditya Narayan Concert event listing on SABAsearch.com.

Want FREE Tickets?

If you are a typical desi, and want to go for FREE, you’re in luck!  SABAsearch.com will be giving away 2 FREE tickets to this concert to one of our lucky blog readers!  Please register yourself in the contest by visiting the 2 FREE Tickets - Udit and Narayan Concert Houston promotion page on SABAsearch.com.  The winner of this promotion will be announced next Wednesday, April 30th. 

SABAsearch.com has given away lots of prizes in the past - here are some of the past lucky winners.

Good luck!

We’ve all experienced it.  Airline agents who suck at their job - the ones who have no customer service skills in a customer service industry!  Sometimes it’s worse than going to the Post office.  There should be some rules set forth to protect the customers from the monopolistic airlines, who apparantly believe they can treat their customers like crap and get away with it.   The airlines should be held more accountable for their actions.

The letter below was received by one of our readers yesterday:

Dear SABAsearch Blog,

I am totally horrified by the service I received from US Airways and United airlines last week, and feel that we need to do something about the obligations airlines should have to their paying customers. 

I was returning from a vacation in Puerto Rico and our US airways flight from PR to Philadelphia was delayed due to technical failures.  Therefore, we left late and missed our connecting flight (which was the last one out of philly that night).  They informed us the flight would wait for us, but that didn’t happen.  At that point, i wasn’t too upset as I do understand accidents happen.  However, the next set of events is what really pissed me off!

When we got to Philly, we had to FIGHT with multiple agents to even get vouchers for hotel that night.  They were very unsympathetic and even left us in the middle of our conversation because their “shift ended”.  They handed me the boarding passes of all of the stranded passengers and told me to wait for the next agent.  Unbelievable, not to mention a total violation of airport security to give me all passengers’ boarding passes.

They told us they confirmed us on a United flight first thing in the morning and it turned out they lied!  We were on standby and got booted from the United flight.  When we tried to reason with the United agent to allow us to fly on that flight, we were told “move away from our desk, you are not our customers”.  The agent turned her back to us and pretty much gave us the middle finger.  At that point, we were FURIOUS!  No manager was around to help us.

We finally bought our own southwest tickets to get home.  The airlines are total bullys and didn’t even return our money.  We need to stop this type of behavior somehow.  Customers are considered powerless and most can’t afford to spend the time to fight the airlines.  Please help.

Sincerely,
Airline Bully Victim

Needless to say, the SABAsearch blog staff was also furious when we read this letter.  We do understand that US Airways and United are fighting a high oil cost crisis, but they are being allowed to operate in a way that is unethical and unfair to its customers.  Moreover, the airlines make it extremely difficult for customers to receive fair treatment.  The customers are left at the mercy of the airlines when trying to get home, and the airlines are forced to do nothing to improve their obligations to their customers in this regard. 

In essence, they have forced and encouraged the individual above to take severe forms of action just to rectify the situation.  Is this behavior from the airlines occuring because US airways and/or United is planning to file bankruptcy anyways?  Do they not care at this point to take care of their customers?  If this is the case, then the government should protect paying customers from this type of situation, or we should protect ourselves in some manner.  Or we should intall an organization dedicated to protecting the rights of airline customers, kind of like the EEOC for the skies.  There needs to be more justice in the air.

If the govt or other organizations fail to come and rescue us, how do we protect ourselves and make a statement against these bullying airlines?  Boycott!?  If the South Asian and other communities boycotted United and US Airways, they would definitely feel the holes in their wallets!  But this won’t help if they’re going bankrupt anyways.  Instead,  maybe we should put pressure on the politicians to enforce accountability on the airlines.  Start from the top and work our way down.

The airline bullying needs to STOP! 

I drive a truck and its roughly $70 for a full tank which needs to be filled roughly, every 3 to 4 days…. Needless to say, I’m not a big fan of the gas prices now-a-days… Because of these crazy gas prices, car manufacturers are getting smart and making more fuel efficient cars to compensate for the increase in gas price. I’ve heard sooo much about the new “Smart” car… how its tiny and can get an estimated 40/45 (city/hwy) miles per gallon! It also has a low starting price of $11,590! Now, hearing all that makes it sound like the car of choice in a time of extremely high gas prices, right? well… not completely….

I’m driving into work a few days a go and there it is… parked on the side of the road in downtown Houston… a Smart car! If you’ve ever watched “Family Matters” this Smart car has many similarities to Steve Urkel’s first car! I’ve never felt sooo ashamed of a car in my life, and I dont even own it! It looks like a Hummer took a dump! OK, that might be kind of harsh, but its not the most attractive car out there…. After a little bit more research I discover that the Smart Car is a product of Mercedes-Benz Cars! Now, I’m not a huge fan of Benz, but they make a pretty beautiful looking car. Why would they go and make something like this? Why cant we get fuel efficiency in a sleek design and for a reasonable price? Am I asking for too much?

As I read this over, I’m realizing that this might be pretty insulting to those who own a Smart Car (all 2 of ya’ll in the USA), but please believe me when I say….. its not you… its the car….

Readers, I’m totally kidding… Although I might not like the design of the Smart Car, I am very happy to see car manufacturers actually taking steps in making vehicles that are friendly to our environment and our wallets as well… Who knows… maybe one day you’ll see me rolling in a Smart Car! If you want more info on that Smart Car, or even just wanna see what it looks like, check out the link: http://www.smartusa.com/index.aspx

For a long time I believed what food companies would print on their nutritional facts section, but the truth is behind every low-fat label is a list of ingredients that would give even the most relentless glutton a reason to reconsider. I was extremely surprised at the content of one of my favorite so called ‘health foods’, listed at #5 of the worst healthy food, is the turkey burger. This blog is to help educate the readers, so be weary of everything that claims to be healthy…

Source

***UPDATE***

WIN 2 FREE TICKETS TO THE UNFORGETTABLE TOUR AMITABH CONCERT IN HOUSTON !!!!

The SABAsearch Blog staff is excited to announce that we have posted the promotion to give away 2 FREE tickets to the Amitabh Bachchan Concert (Unforgettable Tour) on SABAsearch.com!  Registration is FREE, and one lucky winner will be awarded the tickets.  Register for the promotion by clicking the link below:

http://www.sabasearch.com/promDetail.asp?promid=45

Good LUCK and Enjoy the Concert!

Rumor on the street has it that Star Promotions is bringing Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwairya Rai to Houston!  Star Promotion’s Rajinder and Hum Tum City’s Rehan Siddiqui are cooperating to bring you the biggest desi concert EVER in Houston.

The concert is part of Amitabh’s final world tour event.  This will be Abishek’s first world tour concert, and he will be performing alongside his wife Ashwairya Rai.

The world tour is set to begin in July of this year, and will make it’s way down to Houston sometime late this summer.

As soon as we get more info, we will be sure to post the event information within the Houston Indian and Desi Events section on SABAsearch.com.

IT HAS BEEN CONFIRMED! 

UNFORGETTABLE TOUR - AMITABH, ABHISHEK, ASHWAIRYA IN CONCERT!
AUGUST 2ND, 2008 @ 9:00PM
TOYOTA CENTER
TICKETS:  $65 AND UP
More Info:  Unforgettable Tour Information

Stay tuned into the SABAsearch Blog because we will be giving away 2 FREE Tickets to the concert!  Announcements to be made shortly.