The Funny Indian Newsletter, Vol. 214
July 2024: It's On
Welcome
Welcome to The Funny Indian Newsletter!
Musings
I’ve read, watched, and listened to a ton of coverage since Joe Biden dropped out. And of course, I've written jokes:
"So a sitting president has decided not to run. Run? He can barely stand!"
"Donald Trump gets shot. Joe Biden drops out. Now that is one magic bullet."
But given how my phone blew up after the big news, even though I've largely avoided posting about politics the last four years, I promised I'd share my thoughts. Here are some points I haven’t heard others make — IF she's the nominee.
[Click to finish reading on Substack.]
Updates
See
Future:
08/06: Corporate Gig (Bangalore, Karnataka)
Past:
07/12: SABA North America Foundation Benefit (Toronto, Ontario)
Watch
I was overjoyed to host the immensely talented Danny Pudi.
You know him from Community, Mythic Quest, and so much more.
Two one-minute clips on my Instagram here and here.
View the entire episode (& more episodes) at WatchRajiv.com.
Like
This is the only time in recent history neither major party candidate is qualified for the Presidency. [Guess that’s not true now, but this is still a fun dive into history.]
It's the ultimate irony, given both of them have already been President.
This isn't about whether you agree with their policies. Put yourself in the shoes of the other party, which isn't easy to do, granted. In each election, at least one of them was qualified. Think about it:
- 2020: Biden was not yet senile.
[Click to finish reading on Facebook.]
Like
I first heard about Diljit Dosanjh as he headlined Coachella.
Last month, he debuted on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
This past Friday in Toronto, I performed at the South Asian Bar Association of North America Foundation Benefit.
On Saturday, on a last-minute whim, at 7:45 pm — while I was already at the gala reception — my friends Shraddha and Viren got us tickets to Diljit’s final tour stop at the Rogers Centre (capacity: 50,000).
I made the 19-minute walk, caught the phenomenal show amongst SO MANY PUNJABIS, and linked back up with all those Desi lawyers at the after party.
On Sunday, Diljit and I happened to walk back into our hotel, The Fairmont, at the exact same time — though he had slightly more security.
He’d already boarded the elevator but I asked him for a pic, saying I loved his show the night before.
He had the warmest smile, waving me on as I snapped this selfie.
I hit him with a “Shukriya” and then sat there in the lobby, staring at this photo and wondering how that all took place.
Next step? DM this to invite him to do MY talk show, given his friend Lilly Singh is a previous guest.
#punjab #punjabi #diljitdosanjh
Ask
At which age did you start your kids in various activities*?
[Click to read some great responses on Facebook.]
Laugh
Since this is a FUNNY Indian Newsletter, I present here the 5 funny things that I saw, heard, wrote, or remembered for the last month... otherwise known as FIVE - Funny Indian's V Events. Enjoy.
5. This is an old one and not wholly hilarious, but given Matt Damon has the highest hit/miss rate of any working actor (with the possible exception of Tom Hanks) and the story is about the GOAT, I’d say check it out.
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4. The comments betray the reality that this is 100% someone else’s joke, but comics with foreign accents have an advantage.
3. ICYMI (perhaps the only internet abbrev. I couldn’t figure out without Google and one that I normally hate), someone destroyed the National Anthem almost as badly as Fergie did. This was the rockin’ response. Best YouTube comment? “First Trump’s ear and now ours.”
2. Drake and Kendrick, “sit down.” The Kevin McCarthy and Matt Gaetz street battle is fire. My talk show guest Manu Raju interviews the former after the latter heckled him.
Guess JD Vance looks good by comparison.
1. I didn’t find this as funny as the storyteller himself but it still made me chuckle.
Close
THANK YOU to all of you for your support. You are my true core of fans — I couldn't do this without you.
Love,
- Rajiv