Kal Penn! &hearts

[glass_icarus]

Okay, so today is also not a poetry day, but that's because I want to mention this man:

"I have a huge political problem with the role. It was essentially accepting a form of racial profiling. I think it's repulsive. But it was the first time I had a chance to blow stuff up and take a family hostage. As an actor, why shouldn't I have that opportunity? Because I'm brown and I should be scared about the connection between media images and people's thought processes?" (in New York Magazine, commenting about his recurring role as a terrorist on TV's "24")

There are a ton of reasons why I admire Kal Penn: his acting skills (see: Kumar, Gogol of The Namesake, Kutner of House...), his sense of humor, his approachability, the way he presents himself to the world. He isn't afraid of expressing his opinion or speaking out against prejudice (see the above quote), and he stumped for Obama during the presidential campaign alongside many other celebrities and speakers.

Now, Kal Penn is leaving House to work for Obama at the White House [warning: House spoilers!], and I find myself speechlessly, hopelessly proud:

"I've been thinking about [moving into politics] for a while. It's probably because of the value system my grandparents instilled in me. They marched with Gandhi in the Indian independence movement, and that was always in the back of my head. So the past couple of years I thought about it a little more ... and I thought this might be the right time to go off and do something else."

Rock on, brother. Rock on. \o/

Comments

[secretsolitaire.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I just saw The Namesake a month or two ago and really enjoyed it (and him)!

[glass-icarus.livejournal.com]

hee, i keep meaning to watch it and just... never getting around to it. *headdesk* i am going to, though! one of these days!

[secretsolitaire.livejournal.com]

It's a gorgeous film. For what it's worth: while Kal Penn is good, the actors who play his parents in the movie actually steal the show, I think. Check it out! *pokes you*

[glass-icarus.livejournal.com]

ooh! the parents were my favorite thread in the book, actually. *moves farther up the list* :D

[woldy]

Yay for Kal Penn and his grandparents! And this is terribly shallow of me, but he looks hot in that picture.

[glass-icarus.livejournal.com]

haha, i chose the sex!specs picture for a reason!

[woldy]

I'm going to try & put the sex!specs out of my mind because my subconscious is already slashing Kal/Barack and that way madness lies...

[glass-icarus.livejournal.com]

ahahaha, KAL/BARACK! xD now there's a new one. i know rahmbamarama exists (handsiest administration EVER), and the actual married-Obama-love is adorkably obvious in every picture, but... man. *g*

[woldy]

The folks at rahmbamarama are all over this picture already


I mean, seriously, is it flirty or what? And then imagine it with sex!specs.

[glass-icarus.livejournal.com]

KS:DGHLSKDJF AWWW. &hearts our president: so awesome because he loves everyone, y/y? xD

dude, this + sex!specs = OVARIES GO SPLODEY.

[woldy]

Totally. Politics cannot get any cuter than this :-D

[kispexi2.livejournal.com]

From House to the White House! Yay.

Not sure I want to Yay over the S&H wanting to get into politics though. I think it's a terribly dirty business. Yes, I know we need good people but it's a mother's right to (privately) fret.

[glass-icarus.livejournal.com]

I think it's a terribly dirty business.-- yes, this. *g* it all hangs on the individual, of course, but i'd hate to see someone i know get... idk, changed/worn down/whatever because of it. i think Kal Penn's got the right combination of strong character/thick skin, though (acting experience being a plus in terms of the latter!), and his position as a liaison is probably sort of under-the-radar enough for him to do really good work without being hounded like our senators/governors/statesman-types are.