A Passage to India - Jenny and I went to Berkeley today with Samir and his wife Preeti to find a sari shop that could sew Jenny's punjabi, which is a suit-like outfit that she plans to wear at her baby shower. For lunch, we went to Vik's Chaat Corner, an Indian fast food restaurant that's located in a garage. Vik's looks cheesy, but the food is cheap and very filling. I stuffed my face with three samosas and a bunch of other Indian dishes whose names I couldn't pronounce. We accomplished our mission, and then I took Samir and Preeti on a tour of Berkeley. They were surprised to see armies of bums and drunks lining the streets, but I wasn't. I explained to them that Berkeley's Marxist, liberal government encourages people to live on the streets and beg. It's part of Berkeley's utopian vision for society. Samir and Preeti remarked that Berkeley was filthier than Bombay, Samir's hometown in India, and that Bombay has fewer beggars. Take that, Berkeley!