tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-225755312024-03-07T16:47:25.703-08:00An Anthropologist WannabeLotus Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22575531.post-42800171139535643232007-07-29T11:55:00.000-07:002007-07-29T11:49:17.686-07:00Yakuza Moon: Memoirs of a Gangster's Daughter by Shoko Tendo<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsc3EGCcQkCp016CouDmfGUnShenScH4nYmpJw1Ba9JJSVYylx3uOY_PggK9OludMaqKPb3oTC09UWqspwsV-JMvXCwkP518_dIzfw-eBduy5SrzO87ZA95mDL2XHovC8XyY3nvA/s1600-h/YakuzaMoon-cover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsc3EGCcQkCp016CouDmfGUnShenScH4nYmpJw1Ba9JJSVYylx3uOY_PggK9OludMaqKPb3oTC09UWqspwsV-JMvXCwkP518_dIzfw-eBduy5SrzO87ZA95mDL2XHovC8XyY3nvA/s400/YakuzaMoon-cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5090470978815799522" border="0" /></a>Translated by Louise Heal<br /><br />Hardcover 192 pages<br /><br />Genre: Memoir/non-Fiction/Japan<br /><br /><em>Publishers</em> : <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" href="http://www.kodansha-intl.com/books/html/en/9784770030429.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Kodansha Intl</span></a> Jul, 2007<br /><span class="price_eng">Price : $22.95<br /><br />Distributers (Canada):<a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" href="http://www.fitzhenry.ca/">Fitzhenry & Whiteside</a></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I grew interested in this story after reading about it in the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/japan/story/0,,2112374,00.html"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Guardian UK</span></a>. Shoko Tendo is the daughter of a member of the Yakuza in Japan. According to Wikipedia, the <b style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Yakuza</b> <span style="font-weight: normal;">(<span class="t_nihongo_kanji" lang="ja">ヤクザ or やくざ</span> <span class="t_nihongo_norom" style="display: none;"><span class="t_nihongo_comma" style="display: none;">,</span> <i><span class="t_nihongo_romaji"><b>Yakuza</b></span></i></span>) are</span> members of traditional<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organized_crime" title="Organized crime">organized crime</a><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> groups in </span><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan" title="Japan">Japan. </a><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Yakuza groups are referred to as the "Japanese </span><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mafia" title="Mafia">mafia</a><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">" with reference to </span><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_organized_crime" title="Italian organized crime">Italian-Sicilian organized crime</a><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span><br /><br />Shoko had a pampered childhood but when she was six her father was sent to jail and that event triggered his descent from a top ranking member of the Yakuza to a man hounded by debtors. His descent also meant troubling times for the home and family and when she was 12 years old Shoko, in a fit of rebellion, decided to follow in her older sister's footsteps to become a<span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"> </span><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">yanki</span>. Yankis are usually a sub-culture of bored, disenchanted Japanese youth between the ages of 14-19 years. They love to ride fast bikes, sniff paint thinner and embrace a lifestyle of sex, drugs and violence.<br /><br />Soon, running around sniffing paint thinners didn't do it for Shoko anymore and she graduated to hard drugs (speed) and would attach herself to men who would be willing to buy the drug for her. Many of the men she hooked up with just used and abused her but she put up with it because she needed the drug, also, going home to a house besieged with creditors made her very depressed.<br /><br />Finally, in her late 20's after a botched suicide attempt Shoko decides to ask forgiveness of her parents (especially her mother) for putting them through all of us and settles down into a more normal lifestyle but not before she takes herself off to a tattoo parlour and gives herself </span>a tattoo that winds its way to her chest and across her back, culminating, on her left shoulder, in the face of <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Jigoku Dayu</span>, a famous courtesan from the Muromachi era with breast exposed and a knife clenched between her teeth.<br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br />I was quite disappointed with the book. Shoko is not terribly different from any adolescent anywhere in the world who falls in with the wrong crowd and adopts the sex,drugs and rock 'n' roll lifestyle. As the daughter of a Yakuza I expected there to be more information on the Yakuza, their origins, how they operate, the culture, etc., instead, what you get is the story of a desperately unhappy girl who makes so many wrong decisions in the early chapters of her life. I guess some would argue that</span> much has been written about the male members of the yakuza fraternity already, the drink, the money, the women, the fast cars and the violence. Much less is known about the women in their lives, their wives, daughters and lovers. Tendo has been all three.<br /><br />The book made me think about tattoos though and their significance. For some they are just body adornments done on a whim and sometimes regretted because of their permanency; for others, it is a religious ritual and they will, as mentioned on <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" href="http://chummachumma.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Chumma Chumma's</span></a> blog have a prayer or a deity drawn for strength or spiritual well being ; some sport military tattoos that tell a story of the battalion, brigade or platoon they belong to; some use tattoos to indicate which street gang they belong to, but I am most interested in that group of people that use tattoos to commemorate milestones in their lives for they always have the best stories.<br /><br />If you would like, feel free to chime in with favorite your tattoos or tattoo stories. Mine has to be the one of the woman who had <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">"DO NOT RECUSITATE"</span> drawn across her chest. Guess she was really serious about doctors not trying to prolong her life. Read about it at the BBC site <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2819149.stm"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">here.</span></a><br /><br />Finally here's a cool site mooched from <a href="http://tanabata.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Tanabata's</span></a> wonderful blog<br /><br />What is your Japanese name?<br /><p>My japanese name is <b style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">長谷川 Hasegawa (long valley river) 千秋 Chiaki (very fine in autumn)</b><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></span><br /><a href="http://rumandmonkey.com/widgets/toys/namegen/969/">Take your real japanese name generator! today!</a><br /><small>Created with <a href="http://rumandmonkey.com/">Rum and Monkey</a>'s <a href="http://rumandmonkey.com/widgets/toys/namegen/">Name Generator Generator</a>.</small></p><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSn9r4cK79zw6vwFmD8wTFP4pqrX2QD6_lWj7FVe-ZUalkyCO5uJT2aF3jfT1W2o2zrpiUS1IuTG8vENNHfM9_hfea9oj5-17rKH3sxLGhK9USf9MmMBKoG2UcGfiox-08ujewiA/s1600-h/Shoko+Tendo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSn9r4cK79zw6vwFmD8wTFP4pqrX2QD6_lWj7FVe-ZUalkyCO5uJT2aF3jfT1W2o2zrpiUS1IuTG8vENNHfM9_hfea9oj5-17rKH3sxLGhK9USf9MmMBKoG2UcGfiox-08ujewiA/s320/Shoko+Tendo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5090470446239854802" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMUCwvy7gOf2UzyN9ErToLkXGE6auBpcipXDDTY7TFSKGsGVgXmRyOWpTI6C4rIWNdwwCGobNUkMwTRrwLRNDli1CZuf_Fbi484nFaz79-vTSoqA6qZ9gRyjO9GI6VAL9TlcLJcA/s1600-h/Shoko+Tendo1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMUCwvy7gOf2UzyN9ErToLkXGE6auBpcipXDDTY7TFSKGsGVgXmRyOWpTI6C4rIWNdwwCGobNUkMwTRrwLRNDli1CZuf_Fbi484nFaz79-vTSoqA6qZ9gRyjO9GI6VAL9TlcLJcA/s320/Shoko+Tendo1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5090470360340508866" border="0" /></a>Pictures of the author, Shoko Tendo<br /></div>Lotus Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22575531.post-58859029760104292942007-07-04T21:07:00.000-07:002007-07-12T19:23:19.098-07:00Faces of India...part 2Thank you so much, all of you, for your wonderful responses to the first set of pictures...here's the next lot. Hope you enjoy them as much as my dad enjoyed taking them.<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEdckFr45lBSWsjX10Ue69-FVTkTop0EbEUb5H1hyykt2TebqXAO6GZYKYiXyZ0OKfHyROANOBarHCgzZdoE7fqn6foaHnBphRIKen7OOQxuj1KOCAcMC_Ti9wwiUsNO5vC4qCPA/s1600-h/newspaper+boy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEdckFr45lBSWsjX10Ue69-FVTkTop0EbEUb5H1hyykt2TebqXAO6GZYKYiXyZ0OKfHyROANOBarHCgzZdoE7fqn6foaHnBphRIKen7OOQxuj1KOCAcMC_Ti9wwiUsNO5vC4qCPA/s400/newspaper+boy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5083529616819200386" border="0" /></a>Ok, so this little boy doesn't look too happy to have his picture taken! BTW, the sale of old newspapers is a thriving business in India.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTSqzWG_3sH_j8lluV2lXoacRUe4SHgelfoFQkt9VzPkQauQ1Nt_31kZ4w70zh172cp0JZ9sQB3Muhg2X1aL77pJpHby68JnjD4NNK3DPB2a-t8sxiwpMTxEbBsB_T5L9pmPjSGA/s1600-h/DSC00058.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTSqzWG_3sH_j8lluV2lXoacRUe4SHgelfoFQkt9VzPkQauQ1Nt_31kZ4w70zh172cp0JZ9sQB3Muhg2X1aL77pJpHby68JnjD4NNK3DPB2a-t8sxiwpMTxEbBsB_T5L9pmPjSGA/s400/DSC00058.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5082265015238500674" border="0" /></a>A clothing store on Bangalore's famous Commercial Street. Wait, those mannequins don't look Indian!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB97efIylhjv5IZW7nW5gVlNLWk0bx4NMyoNDkNxw8lOrCzWPrDrUdkL7RWCyzylfmD1Zki7emSb1jA4G26DrxW8-FxB8wVECbF2vDi4KZSWbHU-dTd-yYxxN3caoTqlrPyZqX3w/s1600-h/sweeper.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB97efIylhjv5IZW7nW5gVlNLWk0bx4NMyoNDkNxw8lOrCzWPrDrUdkL7RWCyzylfmD1Zki7emSb1jA4G26DrxW8-FxB8wVECbF2vDi4KZSWbHU-dTd-yYxxN3caoTqlrPyZqX3w/s400/sweeper.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5086500527266642018" border="0" /></a>A Sari-Clad Janitor<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhjux9DOT-kPgrkfqNWnGz4DQGEf7OX13XRozjATGGEcDJ5hV-M0UNhsjYQLa9EIMuEW0EB0cWDREt7DIc0cBHvrl9TwZx7VyrzWTdRvmYj8jHvNMrJjIS0H3kDwAXxGKMtnng-Q/s1600-h/DSC00010.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhjux9DOT-kPgrkfqNWnGz4DQGEf7OX13XRozjATGGEcDJ5hV-M0UNhsjYQLa9EIMuEW0EB0cWDREt7DIc0cBHvrl9TwZx7VyrzWTdRvmYj8jHvNMrJjIS0H3kDwAXxGKMtnng-Q/s400/DSC00010.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5082264620101509426" border="0" /></a>A roadside temple on an overcast day...you see a temple on almost every road in Bangalore<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRpaInavTyrgN69X3zZ8uKcTWY_qTgcimvBxMbD4QaVSVO4w2HVLHsZyH8Ph5HNuv93ymFG7aY7JsPAZRYQ5I332qU7EQLz_EGAj3b4bzVPqotPpGZNq0m0UrECrO9Y17lBaFnRw/s1600-h/DSC00011.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRpaInavTyrgN69X3zZ8uKcTWY_qTgcimvBxMbD4QaVSVO4w2HVLHsZyH8Ph5HNuv93ymFG7aY7JsPAZRYQ5I332qU7EQLz_EGAj3b4bzVPqotPpGZNq0m0UrECrO9Y17lBaFnRw/s400/DSC00011.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5082264405353144610" border="0" /></a>Temple roof detail<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyyaHlRVh240MyWaqQB0tGR8ibuxyZOHUb9s2emQ7Jbbe5AisJYLOM2tmSzDkfi1U1tZGURDBfDVYZeiUE10DpKIBDriGTNMbkboro-LoncixiTvt7z01CF6A6gNSqczh8F3VhxQ/s1600-h/mom+and+veggie+seller.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyyaHlRVh240MyWaqQB0tGR8ibuxyZOHUb9s2emQ7Jbbe5AisJYLOM2tmSzDkfi1U1tZGURDBfDVYZeiUE10DpKIBDriGTNMbkboro-LoncixiTvt7z01CF6A6gNSqczh8F3VhxQ/s400/mom+and+veggie+seller.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5082262506977599762" border="0" /></a>Ohhh, look at all those fresh vegetables!<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLmKQgIN6Eo4Vt9hwYZqqp8cRD7KFkuzVq5ytY5wIL9yzP7q1EZQr4Qea-QC2Hm91kuSypa3SFgMMQ7nkY39fiy3ZGmB5Xx8XdbttKiJtU7x9U9mUFfAbrva73o6Yva_FamHdktA/s1600-h/mutton.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLmKQgIN6Eo4Vt9hwYZqqp8cRD7KFkuzVq5ytY5wIL9yzP7q1EZQr4Qea-QC2Hm91kuSypa3SFgMMQ7nkY39fiy3ZGmB5Xx8XdbttKiJtU7x9U9mUFfAbrva73o6Yva_FamHdktA/s400/mutton.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5082262180560085250" border="0" /></a>A roadside butcher at Cox Town market. I have to wonder, is there an extra charge for the flies packed along with your leg of lamb?<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU6pWgqtSvFEBSrQqxOCx1EkJcYxjtqA1ylzNiKmXl2lwqddsQe73tRA6PexYqKDA-vek-fy7nnhrEorcBSPEZvFNrWgSL7EBf2LJipIafC5NKh35ur1DFgWxiO16FPVMlgPFE3A/s1600-h/fishmonger.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU6pWgqtSvFEBSrQqxOCx1EkJcYxjtqA1ylzNiKmXl2lwqddsQe73tRA6PexYqKDA-vek-fy7nnhrEorcBSPEZvFNrWgSL7EBf2LJipIafC5NKh35ur1DFgWxiO16FPVMlgPFE3A/s400/fishmonger.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5082261407465971954" border="0" /></a>Never been good at identifying fish, so if you want to give it a go, please do!<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFsGJLPLkFHyn6cjA1XIzcTw6ctXNol4EvDE4mRDL075bpme2mthCvzHwj563jBp1apBjhK30wmWQMLMhbb_0fpTliuWCec-zU3f7C8qVQvTiijEFJBSedilgKRL5z1yyD3yE_cA/s1600-h/barber.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFsGJLPLkFHyn6cjA1XIzcTw6ctXNol4EvDE4mRDL075bpme2mthCvzHwj563jBp1apBjhK30wmWQMLMhbb_0fpTliuWCec-zU3f7C8qVQvTiijEFJBSedilgKRL5z1yyD3yE_cA/s400/barber.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5082261141177999586" border="0" /></a>I am told the vigorous head massage is the best part!<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU-5ilXKZPTO9NQbQtbMN8PpVJ6Kc86Siu7dFEzf_DjOv_VfcoN2YaDRjqmssqqw108ldLkSNN2U1LIJR74_PxQnhMrF7zsDnDDnzzOfjQgb_fMRUlMQUkQZP0sEPr4KLqrdgIvw/s1600-h/pot+seller.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU-5ilXKZPTO9NQbQtbMN8PpVJ6Kc86Siu7dFEzf_DjOv_VfcoN2YaDRjqmssqqw108ldLkSNN2U1LIJR74_PxQnhMrF7zsDnDDnzzOfjQgb_fMRUlMQUkQZP0sEPr4KLqrdgIvw/s400/pot+seller.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5082260977969242322" border="0" /></a>A prize if you spot the cracked pot...<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjouYYOkF_bxMKME_HW_cB0Z6tmc30jy6yThiDB9pnxl01ASYeKS9ECohUcTOcAuqkscyrRB-Bd64D2qiJdcBt2Bz0vxVyvmXFm1hJ7k6ecj1lOVQEMNfQPGj9swfPcrqVfb4aOGA/s1600-h/water+carrier.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjouYYOkF_bxMKME_HW_cB0Z6tmc30jy6yThiDB9pnxl01ASYeKS9ECohUcTOcAuqkscyrRB-Bd64D2qiJdcBt2Bz0vxVyvmXFm1hJ7k6ecj1lOVQEMNfQPGj9swfPcrqVfb4aOGA/s400/water+carrier.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5082260806170550466" border="0" /></a>Lotus Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22575531.post-90544279366423483792007-06-20T07:47:00.000-07:002007-06-26T15:18:45.739-07:00Faces of India..Part 1My father has a new pastime, he takes his camera with him on his evening walk through the market and captures the local people as they eat, work and play. Thought you might like to see some of his pictures. Feel free to click on the picture for better clarity.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGfHMWfIrLViIpuBfhV4yumhTCYR8ShzyIj0GMjEuL9n_3HVEP2F3VNvKkwsD40W42r2Jkh8o1H_CJL1Z_XrlOebQrjV-_8QnVAPczA0keihXmA3oNPKYHgTnpVvwiWWdG_rcKLA/s1600-h/bhelpuri+vendor.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGfHMWfIrLViIpuBfhV4yumhTCYR8ShzyIj0GMjEuL9n_3HVEP2F3VNvKkwsD40W42r2Jkh8o1H_CJL1Z_XrlOebQrjV-_8QnVAPczA0keihXmA3oNPKYHgTnpVvwiWWdG_rcKLA/s320/bhelpuri+vendor.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5080362915270580450" border="0" /></a>Bhelpuri Vendor with a happy customer!<br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD7sOAF5eqT0E5D5FJOzn18zRnOgPWFBudjU_jp-gBgAUZWEKD_COal-W-v6AV93rBVh2vqJypW50HC52UkpkBFtdrnaZnmrDIhBaS9sHh2zQni2toRcMRhmfrOzB97NfEwiTC2Q/s1600-h/cement+shop.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD7sOAF5eqT0E5D5FJOzn18zRnOgPWFBudjU_jp-gBgAUZWEKD_COal-W-v6AV93rBVh2vqJypW50HC52UkpkBFtdrnaZnmrDIhBaS9sHh2zQni2toRcMRhmfrOzB97NfEwiTC2Q/s320/cement+shop.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5080362172241238226" border="0" /></a>An equally happy cement store worker<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU4OLbZ_bJVDQM2XRj7GR8MvyzZaZ3Ff0Ax3m2lHIFRhgiuxHWeySElilZ9dIaruRV1ubYC9nuxyUga82jVCWU-s9S5vMfjsMM_kEZZHaSEVV7u9PRenogKTQ_l0vatER67u-uBA/s1600-h/coconut+women.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU4OLbZ_bJVDQM2XRj7GR8MvyzZaZ3Ff0Ax3m2lHIFRhgiuxHWeySElilZ9dIaruRV1ubYC9nuxyUga82jVCWU-s9S5vMfjsMM_kEZZHaSEVV7u9PRenogKTQ_l0vatER67u-uBA/s320/coconut+women.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5078162072398102194" border="0" /></a>Shy coconut-seller<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivgBiO9SXuN_VXoxtc5vUme5OqiEbobnz1FbLH59nPZaI_D1UEadfYwLp-huSP1Pmr7fqrmp_vIBOlu7qyCPpfri7aKJ_oMW32XbrJBkCjmQCvm4GoGosngK8eAeE_BRxS2CkyQw/s1600-h/funeral+home.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivgBiO9SXuN_VXoxtc5vUme5OqiEbobnz1FbLH59nPZaI_D1UEadfYwLp-huSP1Pmr7fqrmp_vIBOlu7qyCPpfri7aKJ_oMW32XbrJBkCjmQCvm4GoGosngK8eAeE_BRxS2CkyQw/s320/funeral+home.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5078161737390653090" border="0" /></a>Casket makers...I kinda fancy the mustard-yellow one! ;)<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIUJwL6L_8nYqfSMEFVZkvic_bsifC8nhnJgkfEhkGeSKSQnBPlLbal9-90Q5bSVbZko0d0r8wt12kv2l1puNJ5jxwUPM3YgwWmVmr4gXAEU3gcJ9uA-VZzPX2N7qcX6hZj2ZySA/s1600-h/cobbler.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIUJwL6L_8nYqfSMEFVZkvic_bsifC8nhnJgkfEhkGeSKSQnBPlLbal9-90Q5bSVbZko0d0r8wt12kv2l1puNJ5jxwUPM3YgwWmVmr4gXAEU3gcJ9uA-VZzPX2N7qcX6hZj2ZySA/s320/cobbler.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5078161342253661842" border="0" /></a>A dirt poor cobbler or Mochi as they are known as in India<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRFylev8UJk0zJFQ6RewqmLrWbnud95hIleYYCobmahDTZD4nmcSe1JSrw8KjjRusIVLJD897aG-TNXOMayDuUC35vdQ_bj7q3s6cSxHeoNf4X1NrsveWor4FMO3KZQ9I5VZGBeA/s1600-h/mango+lady.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRFylev8UJk0zJFQ6RewqmLrWbnud95hIleYYCobmahDTZD4nmcSe1JSrw8KjjRusIVLJD897aG-TNXOMayDuUC35vdQ_bj7q3s6cSxHeoNf4X1NrsveWor4FMO3KZQ9I5VZGBeA/s320/mango+lady.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5078161153275100802" border="0" /></a>A Mango and Banana seller. Can anyone identify those mangoes?<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ne77hJ1JeUPmOJxGJa9mjeFpoDSPq2pHQAfEKHwxy7ocVbUWwRx8QCCGbpv72jDMEjI3aLseEn7FiKjGQ-d8Pgw0b552AjcUk4QnoG0wDwKcW6N2rGpqh7dGUpUE2yMHEyYFqQ/s1600-h/cloth+man.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ne77hJ1JeUPmOJxGJa9mjeFpoDSPq2pHQAfEKHwxy7ocVbUWwRx8QCCGbpv72jDMEjI3aLseEn7FiKjGQ-d8Pgw0b552AjcUk4QnoG0wDwKcW6N2rGpqh7dGUpUE2yMHEyYFqQ/s320/cloth+man.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5078160947116670578" border="0" /></a>Who will buy these wonderful shirts and trousers?<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Ud_MZmLHhqQVKHvmE0jmcZa64zm7Ryj8nEo86Gce896426oJyO2lE2rUCTvGtAr9EeJ7C2tOvYPpjFt_V_HTs0RCAzLBsv9dQ65sg8krx-oYY6L0eWG_EBjXQP_gDxTzvSDhQw/s1600-h/beggar.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Ud_MZmLHhqQVKHvmE0jmcZa64zm7Ryj8nEo86Gce896426oJyO2lE2rUCTvGtAr9EeJ7C2tOvYPpjFt_V_HTs0RCAzLBsv9dQ65sg8krx-oYY6L0eWG_EBjXQP_gDxTzvSDhQw/s320/beggar.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5078160758138109538" border="0" /></a>An urban beggar man<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif8QOEPW8dvOA_MSwsHJS3xPCsmgrdqNlNl3VGfD3bt9H_lXQea0N1SWqCnM7DMsH8n0aYLQGK1EvPBxDdBYoz6y0QEJmvoK-zdmDkuyNUtdl1ce4shEGEjftmiDf5AumpGswb3Q/s1600-h/comrades.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif8QOEPW8dvOA_MSwsHJS3xPCsmgrdqNlNl3VGfD3bt9H_lXQea0N1SWqCnM7DMsH8n0aYLQGK1EvPBxDdBYoz6y0QEJmvoK-zdmDkuyNUtdl1ce4shEGEjftmiDf5AumpGswb3Q/s320/comrades.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5078160582044450386" border="0" /></a>I have no idea what these lads are smiling about. I'd be so glum if the ice cream store was closed as it seems to be.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP6HSZ0ffWTjEPaVrISsyYs7qAjMmRGW1oj6b7J8HVdpSswGzJBB8cm7OBUI6gnCwEn2XJmXTHKqtfzwR9T0WZ_nFkocKO8phhYUh9C_8ZV-OIxSZpFv9udl0gM1TwxPUQ1Xwlkg/s1600-h/banana+vendor.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP6HSZ0ffWTjEPaVrISsyYs7qAjMmRGW1oj6b7J8HVdpSswGzJBB8cm7OBUI6gnCwEn2XJmXTHKqtfzwR9T0WZ_nFkocKO8phhYUh9C_8ZV-OIxSZpFv9udl0gM1TwxPUQ1Xwlkg/s320/banana+vendor.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5078160101008113218" border="0" /></a> Clusters of bananas, not my favorite fruit!</div>Lotus Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22575531.post-44555103077850136832007-06-02T23:14:00.000-07:002007-06-19T05:37:09.512-07:00Born -Again Virgins<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ2ueYE8aQY3-4W0mi6GXEcj7j1AdpYuRq0F47RwRCf-5nhhdQVo5LpDHk_oVnsS8FqJ6rQre7XxI1JURDpEqh1Y6L4d3kcib2SkcP6AjZ5T8YA6uw9F93jDuW2rnFjiMxpfhirg/s1600-h/muslim071006PA_700x440.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ2ueYE8aQY3-4W0mi6GXEcj7j1AdpYuRq0F47RwRCf-5nhhdQVo5LpDHk_oVnsS8FqJ6rQre7XxI1JURDpEqh1Y6L4d3kcib2SkcP6AjZ5T8YA6uw9F93jDuW2rnFjiMxpfhirg/s320/muslim071006PA_700x440.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5071678114906380610" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 204, 204);">Hymenoplasty:</span> I first heard of this procedure when I lived in the Middle East, but since it was always spoken of in whispers, I thought it was an urban legend. Fast forward to now...several leading newspapers last week reported that<a style="color: rgb(255, 204, 204);" href="http://encyclopedia.tfd.com/Hymenoplasty"> hymenoplasty</a>, or restoring a woman's virginity by surgically reattaching the hymen, is fast becoming a <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article1756072.ece"><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 204);">phenomenon of sorts among women of Muslim origin in Europe,</span> </a>especially France, Germany, Sweden and indeed<span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 204);"> </span><a style="color: rgb(255, 204, 204);" href="http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060910/asp/opinion/story_6723736.asp">other parts of the world</a><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 204);">, too.</span><br /><br />But now the chair of the French College of Gynecologists and Obstetricians is calling for an end to this practice in France. Dr. Jacques Lansac believes there is no place for this kind of surgery in secular French society...he believes that giving in to a procedure like this goes against all that France stands for...equality of women, human rights, religious extremism etc.<br /><br />But how do we turn our backs on these women who in all likelihood could be killed by their fathers, brothers or husbands <a style="color: rgb(255, 204, 204);" href="http://www.gendercide.org/case_honour.html">(Honor killings)</a><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 204);"> </span>if it is found out that they are not virgins? Aren't doctors morally bound to help these women who could face certain death if they are discovered to be non-virgins?<br /><br />But I could also make the argument that if we give in to the fundamentalists in this matter, what's to stop them from making more demands as the years go by? <span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 204);">What if they want to stop sending their girl children to school, are we to stand by and watch that happen as well?</span><br /><br /><br />Apparently, this (having to be a virgin when you get married) has given rise to a very creative alternative...many immigrant Muslim women in Europe are now very keen to marry non-Muslim men who do not care if they are virgins or not. <span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 204);">Is fundamentalism pushing young women away from Islam?</span><br /><br />Hymenoplasty is not uncommon in the North America, however here women do it for the thrill of appearing virginal again or as a treat for that special someone in their lives. Is that just plain weird? Ok, I do understand <span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 204);">vaginal rejuvenation <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">(surgery to tighten one's vagina)</span></span> because that has certain benefits for the woman as well...but <span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 204);">hymenoplasty</span> or even<a href="http://oxygen.feedroom.com/?fr_story=a99b6d87e9e9f69bcf7f0c79bd973e8ac194f175&rf=sitemap"> </a><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=abrbOGFfldl0&refer=uk"><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 204);">labiaplasty</span></a> (which surgically reshapes or reduces the external appearance of the vagina, but in doing so one gets rid of skin rich in nerve endings) for that matter escapes my understanding.<br /><br />Anyway, if you want to weigh in on any of this I'd be pleased to see your comment.Lotus Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22575531.post-68168350300658861432007-05-17T13:31:00.000-07:002007-05-18T04:14:15.358-07:00Lust in Translation<span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" ></span><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" ><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrHiPJk-paJOW4UkXbCt7sktw2kyq8HgLy8qt-ka07r9CXMiAMn_zlzWEdKtVsAIGkomWMiV6kkC_dtl6IJF_yhtGorlybt5W50TTOOhFecXLLDdRWuaFGZDM2Msbb11Xsgt12/s1600-h/9781594201141H.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrHiPJk-paJOW4UkXbCt7sktw2kyq8HgLy8qt-ka07r9CXMiAMn_zlzWEdKtVsAIGkomWMiV6kkC_dtl6IJF_yhtGorlybt5W50TTOOhFecXLLDdRWuaFGZDM2Msbb11Xsgt12/s320/9781594201141H.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062933812835955186" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Book:</span> </span><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >Hardcover |304 pages | 19 Apr 2007 | <a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781594201141,00.html#"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Penguin Press</span></a><br /><br /><br />For those of you who do not wish to read on, I'll understand, but for the rest of you,</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" > Pamela Druckerman</span><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >, former foreign correspondant for the </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >"Wall Street Journal"</span><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" > came upon the idea to write about infidelity when on a trip to Columbia she kept being propositioned by married men all the time. Once she got over her shock and horror, she realized that extra-marital affairs are not frowned upon everywhere in the world and she decided to explore what the rules of infidelity were in different countries resulting in this cracker of a book, <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" href="http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781594201141,00.html"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">"Lust in Translation: The Rules of Infidelity from Tokyo to Tennessee".</span></a><br /><br />T0 make it more interesting and readable, I've decided to share, countrywise,what Druckerman found out about infedilty in her research and trips abroad and how it contrasts with the American view:<br /><br />Let's start with </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >Finland</span><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >, because, in sexology circles, Finland is known for having Europe's best sex research </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >(in 1970, Finnish researchers sent uniformed nurses door-to-door to question people on their sex lives and got a 91% response rate!)</span><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: bold;">.</span> The Finns aren't ambivalent about sex...they see it as a positive experience. Unlike elsewhere, the Finns or their media do not focus on the perils of sex, such as diseases and unwanted pregnancies. Also, they travel a lot, creating a lot of opportunities for affairs. Although they value being faithful to their partners, they believe that if there is an opportunity for an affair that no one will get to know about, they will grab it with both hands because they consider it a positive and valuable experience!<br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >The French</span><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" > surprisingly (and I say surprisingly because watch any French romantic comedy and you will imagine that l 'adultere is a national pastime) are </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >boringly and staggeringly faithful</span><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" > to their spouses. When, and if, they do stray they don't tell their spouses and their spouses don't seem to want to know <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: bold;">"</span></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >...Extramarital sex becomes "adultery" only when your partner finds out"</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" ><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">.</span> </span><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >Also, although they view adultery as a transgression, they seem to understand that it can and does happen and do not usually experience terrible guilt over it. The only realm of French life where infedility is derigueur is politics (there are some very nice passages on Mitterand, Chirac and even France's new PM, Sarkozy in this book)<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >The Russians </span><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >probably have the most laidback attitude when it comes to extramarital affairs, a fling is almost always welcomed and enjoyed, not at all surprising when you read about the problems facing today's Russians (alcoholism, violent crime, cramped living spaces, poverty, illhealth, car accidents). An affair seems like therapy for all the problems they have in their day to day lives. Another reason there's so much adultery in Russia is that there are so few men. </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >"...</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: bold;">For Russian women in their 30's and 40's a man who isn't married or an alcoholic is as rare as a Feberge egg."</span><br /><br /></span><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >From all accounts, <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">the Japanese</span> are probably having the least sex of anyone around.<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">It's the land of the single bed</span>.</span> </span>The minute a Japanese wife has her first child, she moves out of her bedroom and into the child's room and sleeps there until he is 5 or 6, giving rise to a phenomenon they call a "sexless marriage" or the abbreviated, "sexress". Many of the men actually pride themselves on having chaste marriages. Sexress has spawned the development of a thriving sex industry with <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: bold;">hostess bars</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: bold;"> </span>(where businessmen pay by the hour to talk to young women); <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sex</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">clubs</span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: bold;"> </span>(self-explanatory);<span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: bold;">love hotels</span></span> (where couples can rent rooms without comingn face to face with a clerk.) Japanese couples have a <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: bold;">"don't ask, don't tell"</span> policy. <span style="font-weight: bold;">"Have your affair, but be discreet about it" </span>is what Japanese women seem to be saying to their husbands.<br /><br />The chapter on<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> South Africa</span> was the saddest chapter to read...the culture seems to not just accept, but even encourage promiscuity and with AIDS being so prevalent, not being monogamous is a death sentence, literally and yet, <a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: bold;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mswati_III_of_Swaziland"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">King Mswati III, King of Swaziland</span></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span>(the last absolute monarch of Africa) with his multiple wives is held up by most South African man as someone to admire and emulate.<br /><br />Polygamy is legal in <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Indonesia</span> and although it has fallen out of favor, the fact that it is legal makes easier to justify.<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: bold;">"...</span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Polygamy legitimizes the idea that one woman isn't enough and effectively gives married men permission to date , even if they have no plans to convert thier mistresses into wives."</span> </span>Although extra-marital affairs are forbidden by the Koran it doesn't stop Indonesians, especially the upwardly mobile, from having them.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">China's</span> new economic boom means that even working class men in China can now afford to keep second wives or <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: bold;">yi lai</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>as they are called. Many Chinese explain away their extra-marital affairs by saying it is not cheating when you fall in love with someone other than your wife. Does that sound familiar to Westerners? Although you can sympathise with the Chinese when they say it because romance was considered a vice during the Cultural Revolution. Are the Chinese simply making up for lost time?<br /></span><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" ><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">The American view:<br /></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: bold;">"Adultery provokes more outrage in America than in almost any other country on record (Ireland and the Philippines are two exceptions)."</span><br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >Americans have become more tolerant on practically every major sexual issue from having a child out of wedlock to divorce ... and homosexuality. They are more accepting of all these issues except infidelity, where they seem to have become stricter.</span><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" ><br /><br />Not only do the Americans feel a lot of guilt, but they also believe there must be complete honesty between spouses, which means, when and if they have an affair, they will feel a burning need to confess every little detail of the affair to their partners once the affair is over. Americans are extremely bothered by "lies" or "witholding the truth" in relationships. Even when it comes to their leaders having affairs (eg. Bill Clinton) the American public were more concerned about him lying about the affair than the affair itself.<br /><br />Adultery is traumatic everywhere, but in America it's especially so. The reactions of a betrayed spouse resemble the post-traumatic stress symptoms of the victims of catastrophic events like 9/11 or the Asian tsunami. </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >"Betrayed spouses"</span><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>as they're called here, can take years to recover, they feel so out of control,they feel their going crazy. </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >One person described a spouse's betrayal as feeling worse than when she lost her child.</span><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" > In Europe, betrayed spouses either take the affair with a pinch of salt or like in France, they may opt for a "revenge affair".<br /><br />It's hard to sum up a book which is packed with so much information, but if I can make any conclusions it would be:<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">1.</span>Religion is not a deterrent when it comes to adultery. In other words, religious societies can have the same rate of infedility as non-religious ones.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">2.</span> Location trumps religion because the stats have consistently shown that people in warm places are more promiscuous, with Scandanavia and St. Petersburg being the exceptions.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">3.</span> There appears to be more infidelity in poorer countries than others,especially by men.<br /><br />While the evidence Druckerman presents is primarily anecdotal (this is not a scientific study by any means)she still manages to provide the reader with a cultural, albeit voyeuristic, guide to infedility in various parts of the world in an engaging and interesting manner. The anthropologist in me enjoyed this book! Oh, and one last word, don't be fooled by the cover, there is no sex in this book!</span>Lotus Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.com41tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22575531.post-72845592322151260722007-05-16T04:40:00.000-07:002007-05-16T04:42:54.707-07:00The Seven Wonders of Canada<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinpB_TbTUz4wyQaafMiGgviZiABHUvCxfyG3sa1En-cztcdnSROWhic-Y2k-7FT_TFwAeVQmpNGrMGO9g7DAESf30FT6Eiquy_fFPlW_0LFzikKu3uUYnTIaYy49tch0Hx9ALXdg/s1600-h/polar-bears.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinpB_TbTUz4wyQaafMiGgviZiABHUvCxfyG3sa1En-cztcdnSROWhic-Y2k-7FT_TFwAeVQmpNGrMGO9g7DAESf30FT6Eiquy_fFPlW_0LFzikKu3uUYnTIaYy49tch0Hx9ALXdg/s320/polar-bears.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5064937986310189570" border="0" /></a><br />The<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/national/"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">National</span></span></a> and <a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" href="http://www.cbc.ca/soundslikecanada/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sounds Like Canada</span></a> are searching for the Seven Wonders of Canada and need our help.<br /><br />After pouring over 18,000 suggestions from Canadians all over, the Seven Wonders team at the CBC had the unenviable task of reducing all those pitches to a <a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" href="http://www.cbc.ca/sevenwonders/nominees.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">short-list of 50 nominees.</span><br /></a><br />I want you to take a look at the nominees and if there is something on there you recognize and have visited and would like to see it nominated as a wonder of Canada, please feel free to do so, <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/sevenwonders/vote.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">here</span></a>.<br /><br />Guess you're wondering which one gets my vote, well, even if you're not, I'm going to tell you :) ...It's the <a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" href="http://www.cbc.ca/sevenwonders/wonder_northwest_passage.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">NorthWest Passage</span></a>. The Passage is rich in scenic beauty and history and is also endangered on account of global warming, just for that I think it deserves a vote!<br /><br />While CBC and the National were putting together the WOnders of Canada, I had to ask myself why they were doing it, what is the value of an exercise like this, and ofcourse many different things came to mind...<br /><br />It instills a sense of pride in one's country<br /><br />It honors monuments, institutions, natural wonders together as a nation<br /><br />It encourages dialogue...Canadians are coming together from all parts of Canada and indeed, the world, to talk and debate on the various nominees<br /><br />Last, but certainly not least, if you believe that your physical landscape has a lot to do with the making of who you are then this list is a representation of the Canadian people themselves...who they are, what they believe in and what they stand for. The list gives one a sense of place, a sense of what Canadians are all about.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/sevenwonders/vote.html"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: bold;">Vote with me!</span></a><br /><br />To read more about the Northwest Passage and what it means to Canada, go <a href="http://thetyee.ca/Views/2006/01/30/DefendNorthwestPassage/"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">here</span></a><br /><br />And listen to Stan Rogers' glorious hit, "Northwest Passage", <a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" href="http://lovelace.ucsd.edu/Ted/Arcticwild/Music/nwpassage.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">here</span></a>Lotus Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22575531.post-19469448027707181512007-04-25T03:43:00.000-07:002007-04-26T12:01:13.791-07:00PROVOKED (the movie)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6KKxa4lAPLuPGZBL9T9edZ-BHLlChqYDfkBTwSMyNr9azEe3XkF1aPkdvhxjMDE8l_Z9cJh60LwsEzQWmDbZPMFI6kdPAJlw7-dX2n6_JN0hD55bDNE2nc5-HAraH4v-Fn1LK/s1600-h/Provoked.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6KKxa4lAPLuPGZBL9T9edZ-BHLlChqYDfkBTwSMyNr9azEe3XkF1aPkdvhxjMDE8l_Z9cJh60LwsEzQWmDbZPMFI6kdPAJlw7-dX2n6_JN0hD55bDNE2nc5-HAraH4v-Fn1LK/s320/Provoked.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5056229508040557186" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Director:</span><br />Jag Mundhra<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Cast:</span> Aishwarya Rai,<br />Miranda Richardson, Naveen Andrews,<br />Nandita Das, Robbie<br />Coltrane<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Release: </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">April 2007</span><br /><br /><br />In 1989, Kiranjit Ahluwalia housewife of Indian(Punjabi) descent living in London, set fire to her husband, Deepak, as he lay in a drunken stupor in their bedroom. Kiran admitted to killing him in self-defence (she was afraid for her life after he came close to killing her several times in their abusive 10-year marriage) She was sentenced to a life in prison because the judge ruled that self-defence could not be used in her case as her last physical beating from her husband occured more than two hours before the killing signifying that the murder was premeditated and not in self-defence.<br /><br />Kiran's cause was taken up by a women's group called <a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.southallblacksisters.org.uk/campaign_kiranjit.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">"The Southall Black Sisters"</span></a> . SBS is a non-profit group working against domestic violence and they brought her plight to the attention of the media by organising rallies and gathering public support. When her appeal was heard, in September 1992 at the Old Bailey, Ms Ahluwalia’s plea of manslaughter on the grounds of <span style="font-style: italic;">"diminished responsibility"</span> was accepted. The judge sentenced her to three years and four months in prison — the exact time that she had already served.<br /><br />By acknowledging the state of "diminished responsibility" and of "being provoked" the British court allowed, for the first time, "the battered woman syndrome" as a legal defence, acknowledging that a battered woman doesn't always strike out in self-defence immediately, many a time the hurt and the abuse will lie smouldering within her and she might strike out even at a time of low abuse, <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">because she believes she will be abused again</span>. Kiranjit’s case upturned the British judiciary and her appeal and retrial are now the stuff of every basic criminal law text in Britain.<br /><br />So, while the story itself is compelling...I thought director Jag Mundhra could done a much better job with the movie. The movie <a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.provokedthemovie.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">"Provoked"</span></a> was based on Kiranjit Ahluwalia's memoir <a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Circle-Light-Autobiography-Kiranjit-Ahluwalia/dp/0006383297"><span style="font-weight: bold;">"Circle of Light"</span></a>. <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Aiswarya Rai</span> who plays Kiranjit, was inconsistent...she was good in some parts but failed miserably when trying to play the shy, battered, non-English speaking Kiranjit. She does get better as the movie progresses or so I thought. The character of Deepak Ahluwalia, the abusive husband, played by <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Naveen Andrews</span> (of "Lost" fame) could have been fleshed out some more...the viewer doesn't get to know Deepak well and why he was so violent towards his wife. The movie seems to point to alcoholism, but the viewer realizes there has to be something more. The one actress who stole the show is <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Miranda Richardson</span> (who is also in prison for killing her violent husband and who befriends Kiranjit in jail).<br /><br />Having said that however, I think the movie should be seen because it speaks very strongly about domestic violence suffered by women. And in recent years, South-Asian women in Canada, especially from the immigrant Punjabi community, have witnessed a rise in the number of domestic violence victims. <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">"...One in every four South Asian women is abused - physically,<br />emotionally, financially or psychologically,"</span> says Baldev Mutta, community development officer at the Peel Health Department, Toronto, a government agency.<br /><br />This raises some troubling questions:<br /><br />Why is this happening to this group of women? How do we empower them? Why are these men so violent? Do they need help too? What happens to the children when they witness such terrible abuse in their homes?<br /><br />I guess there will always be more questions than answers.<br /><br />Read more about Kiran Ahluwalia go<a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,2049523,00.html"> <span style="font-weight: bold;">HERE</span></a>Lotus Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22575531.post-46120157600238862212007-04-11T09:27:00.000-07:002007-04-12T07:52:51.233-07:00I've goneTunic-Mad and "Thinking Blogger Awards"Yes! Finally we can leave the cold weather behind us and step into spring! The best part about spring as we discussed in my previous post is swapping those heavy winter jackets for beautiful light clothes. Every year around spring time I indulge in a new trench coat and a few new tops and pants. This year, the tunic is all the rage! The tunic reminds me so much of the <a href="http://zarmina.com/kurti.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">"kurti"</span></a> we wear in India so ofcourse, I am over the moon at being able to wear all the kurtis I picked up when I was in India last year. But, ofcourse, because kurthis are not readily available in North America I thought, that if you shared my passion for tunics, you might want to see what's available in our neck of the woods...pictures below are some of my favorites this season, enjoy!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinEOtGDAnFQ7AlfH1ylPaHPZDgkLwutanxsys9pNZA6J6jtVcmFQJ63W1GM7GRp1R-PjmWg7fKrHWPWIAHlAj3llGUpTjUuqdsZOa6ZMbNwY48qF3AFhJeIi0wwmv-ZZ3v4JbCtg/s1600-h/tt9.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinEOtGDAnFQ7AlfH1ylPaHPZDgkLwutanxsys9pNZA6J6jtVcmFQJ63W1GM7GRp1R-PjmWg7fKrHWPWIAHlAj3llGUpTjUuqdsZOa6ZMbNwY48qF3AFhJeIi0wwmv-ZZ3v4JbCtg/s320/tt9.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5052209153192404434" border="0" /></a>This black and white ensemble is from <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 204, 0);" href="http://www.toryburch.com/index.aspx">Tory Burch's</a> collection. Ever ever since Oprah wore one of hers on the cover of the Oprah magazine, Tory's name has become synonymous with tunics (her recent dalliance with Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, has also helped push her into the limelight). I love the black and white piece because it has gorgeous embroidery and that mandarin collar is so beautiful as well.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQIs1Eht_83tnW1avuyb2MwMvS7ebk9HeKW0yCtK_xDX42R9ycelx3g4tvtTWsiTOZd6pN6KyaVzkFM-2XNDKMKyF_H3ktGwLurVqOG1QhuZaKLwLdAWj2HfiniJsINnM_6ZAaJA/s1600-h/tt7.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQIs1Eht_83tnW1avuyb2MwMvS7ebk9HeKW0yCtK_xDX42R9ycelx3g4tvtTWsiTOZd6pN6KyaVzkFM-2XNDKMKyF_H3ktGwLurVqOG1QhuZaKLwLdAWj2HfiniJsINnM_6ZAaJA/s320/tt7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5052208972803777986" border="0" /></a>Another one from Tory Burch...I just love the colours here...and the border is vintage Tory..it's this particular style that first made her tunics famous. If I am not mistaken, this is the one Oprah wore on the cover of her magazine. For spring she has <a href="http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2924854?Category=&Search=True&SearchType=keywordsearch&keyword=Tory+Burch+in+All+Categories&origin=searchresults"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">new colors</span> </span></a>in this same style.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg207I7J7UED-vM6dJKSmadZaetQJriSJ2TSZZ2VJQmSt45Q__BJJ_zIe-BHwmdfJTB2SUSc0sf2P1yDxUSGLuICrr-fydNSIPdjNMGR7IQdMmEZwg6dYnmEbYYzKi3FKSUU1sUyw/s1600-h/Good+Karma+Tunic+Softsurroundings.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg207I7J7UED-vM6dJKSmadZaetQJriSJ2TSZZ2VJQmSt45Q__BJJ_zIe-BHwmdfJTB2SUSc0sf2P1yDxUSGLuICrr-fydNSIPdjNMGR7IQdMmEZwg6dYnmEbYYzKi3FKSUU1sUyw/s320/Good+Karma+Tunic+Softsurroundings.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5052208646386263458" border="0" /></a>I love this one from<span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);"> </span><a style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);" href="http://www.softsurroundings.com/search.php?search=tunics">softsurrounding.com</a> because it looks so much like something out of India, also, I haven't seen too many sleeveless tunics with embroidery so this one was quite unique.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7eFRDBbKyygsDT3WMt7rNCggWFORQ98ySgui0RpyAwDSZNXSImsj4nD8sp_LLmY4s-G9R3PdpbGUsOyImoFajVIj6LbOvVVrqfKwFsZt_FrrQrNyGSBbg0S_7o-Cx1nwNl1lntA/s1600-h/Soho+Tunic.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7eFRDBbKyygsDT3WMt7rNCggWFORQ98ySgui0RpyAwDSZNXSImsj4nD8sp_LLmY4s-G9R3PdpbGUsOyImoFajVIj6LbOvVVrqfKwFsZt_FrrQrNyGSBbg0S_7o-Cx1nwNl1lntA/s320/Soho+Tunic.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5052208427342931346" border="0" /></a>Doesn't this look like something that could have been taken out of a Middle Eastern dress catalogue? Love the colors and embroidery, again from <a href="http://www.softsurroundings.com/search.php?search=tunics">softsurroundings.com</a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTNBxBmJTmvoVwiaFvCxBsX2GWRCCMie1EAjjbniFsL4I9mLYcOExPwwgP70nRma8_X65A_hdvKn3OWsPDOQZVrkSUqsWH30FrbfxJEUmxNRYnGy6k-hIUqx-NwnNopCyQLvN2SQ/s1600-h/tunic+max+azria.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTNBxBmJTmvoVwiaFvCxBsX2GWRCCMie1EAjjbniFsL4I9mLYcOExPwwgP70nRma8_X65A_hdvKn3OWsPDOQZVrkSUqsWH30FrbfxJEUmxNRYnGy6k-hIUqx-NwnNopCyQLvN2SQ/s320/tunic+max+azria.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5052208285609010562" border="0" /></a>This is from BCBG Max Azria...I could easily wear this...I love the floral print and the contrasting geometric designs on the cuffs..also it's stretch material...my favorite..the belt is a nice touch, too!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjua91hvDXiSt2-5RDYjqvS_xYCq-aAXOqlo0eldRDZWQZL9pcVmvUCy4xyVDtfJ9wAEtjuUFg8rU01UO6bKdzB10se99nBHd2JCm8duvTuLwm81-YmcbtCyZd9lU5jjSti_q9mnw/s1600-h/tunic+bebe1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjua91hvDXiSt2-5RDYjqvS_xYCq-aAXOqlo0eldRDZWQZL9pcVmvUCy4xyVDtfJ9wAEtjuUFg8rU01UO6bKdzB10se99nBHd2JCm8duvTuLwm81-YmcbtCyZd9lU5jjSti_q9mnw/s320/tunic+bebe1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5052208182529795442" border="0" /></a>Last, but not least, one from Bebe...I have something similar but because it's not from Bebe it cost me half the price!<br /><br />So you thought these tunics were nice? So did I, but when I visited Maryam's blog this morning, I was blown away by some of the tunics she was showcasing, take a look<a href="http://moroccanmaryam.typepad.com/my_marrakesh/2007/04/morocco_and_fee.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> here.</span></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">Thinking Blogger Awards:</span><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="185"><tbody><tr><td align="center"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />While I was on hiatus I had a few wonderful bloggers nominate <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" href="http://lotusreads.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lotus Reads</span></a>, my book blog, for the "Thinking Blogger Award"...it was such an honor and I feel so bad this post is so delayed for I, in turn, had to nominate 5 other bloggers for the same award.<br /><br />I decided to nominate 5 people or blogs that rarely post here (some never have), but I nominate them because they have blogs I like to visit and you might like to visit them too.<br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" href="http://parisparfait.typepad.com/paris_parfait/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Paris Parfait:</span></a> Stays very true to the promise her blog makes to <span style="font-style: italic;">muse about a "parfait sundae" of art, antiques, culture,poetry and politics.</span> If you love Europe in general and Paris in particular, head on to her blog and enjoy her pictures with the accompanying write up.<br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" href="http://whitesroad.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Daylight Again :</span></a> Rauf is a wiz with the camera and takes stunning pictures as he travels all over India...his recent pictures of Benares and Hyderabad are "must see's" (beenzzz, you'll enjoy these) . Rauf is also a very entertaining and witty guide.<br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" href="http://thebuddhasmiled.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Buddha Smiled :</span></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"> </span>You can alway count on 'the buddha smiled' to give you the most candid, thorough reviews, be it books,films, cultural events or anything else. He's the source I turn to if I truly want to know what a film was like...I trust his judgment but wish so much he would update his blog more often.<br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" href="http://hindumommy.wordpress.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hindu Mommy: </span></a>I love HM's blog because it's a great resource for Indian parents bringing up children in North America, not just that, HM has some great posts on Indian culture, festivals and the Indian community in North America. I hope she continues to blog for a long,long time!<br /><br /><a href="http://youthcurry.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Youth Curry:</span> </span></a> This is the blog I use to stay in touch with India. Rashmi Bhansal, does a great job of keeping her readers up-to-date with the goings-on in that big country, especially if they are youth related. Insightful and topical, you won't want to miss this blog if you are interested in what's going in contemporary India.<br /><br />So, there you have it the five blogs I have nominated for the "Thinking Blogger" award. Thanks to <a style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);" href="http://dolcebellezza.blogspot.com/">Bellezza,</a><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);"> </span><a style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);" href="http://tanabata.blogspot.com/">Tanabata</a>, Laura of<span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);"> </span><a href="http://maudeandmozart.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">Maude and Mozart</span>,</a><br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);" href="http://readatpeace.blogspot.com/">Deepika Shetty</a>, and<span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);"> </span><a href="http://gaijinmama.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">Gaijin Mama</span> </a>for honoring me with this award. Thank you, thank you!Lotus Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22575531.post-39786476241787473852007-04-07T07:41:00.000-07:002007-04-08T06:31:11.167-07:00The Summer Tag<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPZSkhuvwtinFOpscp-A4MLrVnfl3hghs6fpwdbCG-LMxgYH79ar-xLYpY2M9icypao5Ak6zxCnUZyB31J7a-Ra9236JdqBEmtWb_5Vq3uqqgK63G_7R1VGKsBNHJOKLxG_tHBw/s1600-h/all3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLPZSkhuvwtinFOpscp-A4MLrVnfl3hghs6fpwdbCG-LMxgYH79ar-xLYpY2M9icypao5Ak6zxCnUZyB31J7a-Ra9236JdqBEmtWb_5Vq3uqqgK63G_7R1VGKsBNHJOKLxG_tHBw/s400/all3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5050701391333493842" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">(painting by<a href="http://www.neoncrunch.on.ca/pix/index2004.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Jerry Waese</span></a>)</span><br /></div><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">The lovely diyadear has tagged me to write on 8 favorite things about summer. Truthfully, I am not a summer person (shocking, isn't it?), I am more a Fall person, but having said that, there are several things I love about the lemonade season:</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">1. The longer days: Being a day person ( I always prefer the sunrise to the sunset...there's something rather sad about a sunset, don't you think?) I love the extra hours of daylight...I feel like I get so much more accomplished in my day.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">2. I love that the rose bushes are in full bloom! After the lotusflower, the rose is my favorite and I have a ton of them around our front lawn, they exude the most delicious fragrance ever...especially our English tea rose.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 204);">3. I love hearing the happy cries of children in their pools and the squeals of delight as they play basketball in their front yards and the birds twittering...summer is full of happy sounds...wish I could capture them on my mp3 player to listen to in the winter.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">4. I love eating alfresco at my favorite cafes, watching the world go by as we sip our coffee or dig into our pastas.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">5. I love seeing my neighbors come out of hibernation after 4 long months...it's always nice to discuss who has put on weight, who has grown a beard, and how Sally went from a brunette to a platinum blonde. Bet they discuss me too! :)</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">6. Love being able to wear flipflops and show off my new pedicure! ;)</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">7. Love the free concerts all over Toronto...man, come July and we are so spoiled for choice, seems like every park is vying with the other for who can put on the best show! Ofcourse, the <a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 0);" href="http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/noflash/frontpage.php"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Harbourfront</span></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 0);"> </span>wins every time. A couple of years ago I saw <a href="http://www.liladowns.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Lila Downs</span></a>, <a href="http://www.youssou.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Youssou N'Dour</span></a> and <a href="http://www.autorickshaw.ca/"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 153, 255);">Autorickshaw</span></a> perform there and all for free!!!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">8. The best part about summer, however, is to feel the sun kiss my face, arms and shoulders...wish I could remember to slap on the SPF sun screen though!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">If you would like to tell us your favorite things about summer feel free to go ahead...you can either use the comments section or write up your own post!<br /></span>Lotus Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22575531.post-90412497459792278302007-03-18T13:12:00.000-07:002007-03-18T19:33:22.210-07:00The sexy older woman - is she now an endangered species in Cinema?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/132/039_UNFAITHFUL%7EUnfaithful-Posters.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/132/039_UNFAITHFUL%7EUnfaithful-Posters.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Seems to be my week for watching onscreen unconventional pairings.<br /><br />Two days ago I saw Bollywood's "Nishabd" where a 60-year old man falls in love with an 18-year old girl and today I saw <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" href="http://www.unfaithfulmovie.com/">"Unfaithful"</a> with Diane Lane and Richard Gere.<br /><br />This is one those movies where an affair goes badly wrong (not sure an extra-marital affair should go any other way, but I digress). In a nutshell, Diane Lane is a suburban housewife who has a hot and steamy affair with a much younger French book dealer. Diane Lane was 36 when she made the movie and I have to say she looks great! No attempt was made to hide or cover her wrinkles and yet she looked hot! But, matching a younger man with an older woman is not regular Hollywood faire, is it? After <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Ann Bancroft</span> as Mrs. Robinson in 1967's <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">"The Graduate"</span>, I can't think of a movie with a sexy older lady paired off with a younger man that became a box office hit. Is the cougar an endangered species in Hollywood? I would think so. And yet, offscreen romances abound, with Demi Moore, Susan Sarandon, Madonna, Cameron Diaz and Barbara Hershey all landing younger men and quite effortlessly too.<br /><br />Ok, let's move away from the older woman-younger man scenario for a while. How often do we get to see women over 40 playing sexy and romantic roles in Hollywood? Sure, there are exceptions...<span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Meryl Streep</span> in "Bridges of Madison County", <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Diane Keaton</span> in "Something's Gotta Give", <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Helen Mirren</span> and the ladies in "Calender Girls" but they are usually few and far between.<br /><br />What keeps Hollywood (and Bollywood) from celebrating an older woman's sexuality? Surely they're not scared of wrinkles? Or does the problem lie with us viewers? Do we have trouble accepting older women in sexy roles? Are we just more comfortable with them playing frumpy mothers or aging queens? Bollywood is especially guilty I think...when was the last time a woman over 40 was caste as the female lead in a romantic role?<br /><br />BTW, feel free to agree or disagree. Maybe you think the older women aren't getting such a bad deal after all, write and let me know, suggest movies, I'm open to all points of view...Lotus Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22575531.post-22461403734503926522007-03-17T05:55:00.000-07:002007-03-17T07:13:37.519-07:00Nishabd: A very casual review<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfo2qo-M5b_-rg86ofQ5iaqP9QONg6meC7_jrGcuDcn1TkXo5_hlGADo1N0BJ1LRAlmf-TRkyLwT74xQb7nPPRnoyIic70e_6KdfdjpeFQY7FjIA7ZImpz_VzKC6LPKrhmbSOcgQ/s1600-h/Nishabd.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfo2qo-M5b_-rg86ofQ5iaqP9QONg6meC7_jrGcuDcn1TkXo5_hlGADo1N0BJ1LRAlmf-TRkyLwT74xQb7nPPRnoyIic70e_6KdfdjpeFQY7FjIA7ZImpz_VzKC6LPKrhmbSOcgQ/s400/Nishabd.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5042882132885274146" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">Duration:</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"> <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">1:50 hrs (approx.)</span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">Genre:</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"> <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Drama</span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">Director:</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"> <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Ram Gopal Varma</span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">Story, Screenplay:</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"> <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Kusum Punjabi</span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">Dialogues:</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> Amrik Gill</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">Music Director:</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"> <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Vishal Bharadwaj </span></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Saw Nishabd yesterday and I don't know what I was expecting before I sat down to view the movie, but whatever it was, I was disappointed.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">So here's a man, Vijay<span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">(Amitabh Bachchan</span>) </span>with an 18 year old daughter Ritu <span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">(Shraddha Arya)</span> - he obviously had the child quite late in life because he is over 60 years old. One summer Ritu brings a friend, Jia <span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">(Jiah Khan)</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">,</span> home for the holidays and Vijay is captivated by her youthfulness, her spontaneity and her zest for life. It doesn't help when Jia is equally captivated by him and goes so far as to tell him she loves him, which to my great horror he believes!!!!!!!!!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Ok, I am not saying an 18-year old is not capable of love, but for goodness sakes, if you have learned anything by the age of sixty, it's that love is a mutable, changeable thing. What seems like love today may change into respect or some other quality tomorrow, and the younger you are, the greater the possibility of that happening.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Anyway, so he falls crazily in love with her. Jia does perhaps remind Vijay of his youth and when he's with her he feels half his age...but is that good enough reason to throw your family over for a nymph? Or perhaps it is... when I reach 60, I will have to revisit the post to see if I still feel this way. But then again, being a woman, it is perhaps unlikely that I will feel like Vijay did. Who knows?</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Is getting older really such a terrible thing? Do we have to fall down on our knees before youth all of the time? If we didn't worship youth so much, do you think we'd have fewer men wanting to have a woman half his age on his arm and will we have fewer women courting botox and other bizarre forms of cosmetic surgery?</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">What about in societies like India and China where the old are revered? Do the men and women there feel the same way when they reach their twilight years or are they too busy basking in the adoration of their family? Ironic question this, when you consider Vijay is an Indian man....but hey, that is Bollywood. What goes on in real life in those societies I wonder?</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Nishabd has been promoted as Amitabh's<span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">"Lolita"</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">. </span>I am now in the mood to watch Stanley Kubrik's interpretation of Vladimir Nakobov's novel Lolita, to see who really captured the essence of Lolita better. I think I already know who wins!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Oh and I know the concept of<span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">"older man-younger woman"</span> isn't an alien concept in Indian cinema, however, no titles come to mind, can anyone suggest a few?</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Finally, I have called this a casual review because I have not bothered to go into details about the acting, the script, music or cinematography - I just wanted to explore what <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">I</span> took away from the movie - society's obsession with youth.<br /><br />However, I will say that Amitabh has excelled in his role as 60-year old Vijay. Was it deliberate or is he really looking his age in the movie?. There are more wrinkles on his face than I ever seen and noticable pouches under his eyes - I am guessing it's the makeup. Jiah is also quite convincing as the manipulative, and also misguided nymphette, but I found her high-pitched whine very irritating at times. The movie was shot in the beautiful tea plantations of Munnar, but everything seems to have been filmed through a<span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"> blueish-green </span>lens, which lent the movie a rather melancholy look. Perhaps a cineaste would appreciate it, I didn't.<br /><br />Stay tuned for Stanley Kubrik's "Lolita"</span>Lotus Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22575531.post-70606651267960102482007-03-14T06:13:00.000-07:002007-10-13T05:07:40.213-07:00Sleeping with the enemy<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiIvx9BwrD2FufACZtxQt4_CL9XNK2HrLPVycHJk-BwcgZ9GLVzQlNA5V2dtZ45hbaSrBe-fMltU3_kvfQMkVe_zmDt8cbPPhX_6w64bHaNs6RFdfsb8pQPIa6AyCRyFHsAPgfkg/s1600-h/Cross+Border+Marriage.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiIvx9BwrD2FufACZtxQt4_CL9XNK2HrLPVycHJk-BwcgZ9GLVzQlNA5V2dtZ45hbaSrBe-fMltU3_kvfQMkVe_zmDt8cbPPhX_6w64bHaNs6RFdfsb8pQPIa6AyCRyFHsAPgfkg/s400/Cross+Border+Marriage.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5041768563829538306" border="0" /></a> I saw this picture in yesterday's "Globe and Mail" and the contrast between the beautiful Western-dressed bride, the Arab-veiled mother and the barbed wire, stopped me in my tracks (wish I could have got a clearer picture for you).<br /><br />The bride, Arwad Shahin, was being given a send off as she prepared to leave for her bridegroom's house. But this was no ordinary send off because although Arwad and her husband-to-be were both Syrians from Druze families (the Druze are a breakaway Islamic sect following al-Hakim, an Ismaili caliph, as the embodiment of God), they live on opposite sides of the border, with Arwad living in one of the villages of the <a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli-occupied_territories"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Israeli-occupied Golan Heights</span></a> and Harb (the bridegroom) living in Syria. Once Arwad crosses the border into Syria, she relinquishes her residency and any right to return. Infact, from now on, the Israelis will consider her a "foreigner from an enemy state."<br /><br />THis also means she will never be able to meet with her family again as she will never be allowed back into Israel and nor will her family be allowed into Syria.<br /><br />Israel's occupation of the Golan Heights and parts of Palestine has separated 100's of families. Not being able to see your family must be the hardest thing for anyone to endure. No doubt it happens in other parts of the world too, I am reminded here of the 100's of Indian families that were separated when India was divided into India and Pakistan and also, <a href="http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/02/news/korea.php"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">families from North Korea and South Korea</span></a>. Still, some of those countries have come around and now special dispensation is given for visits between family members...why isn't this happening on the Israel-Syrian border as well?Lotus Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22575531.post-77111689905882451562007-03-09T03:54:00.000-08:002007-03-09T12:45:45.142-08:00Before Sunset (2004)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd6xgCGIN-6pq4kpuaoZQ-iCxcRCVJ2EFgGdfb3HH9ZA-avEzNVVnAeJkOSm9qE1o9_D01EzB8dnW4ktd599ewzuo5VbEmlxfPDETCkIcH-X6DRL0yzsLfCTlt3oQvqOSMD7UQ2Q/s1600-h/before+Sunset.htm"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd6xgCGIN-6pq4kpuaoZQ-iCxcRCVJ2EFgGdfb3HH9ZA-avEzNVVnAeJkOSm9qE1o9_D01EzB8dnW4ktd599ewzuo5VbEmlxfPDETCkIcH-X6DRL0yzsLfCTlt3oQvqOSMD7UQ2Q/s400/before+Sunset.htm" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5040018536455110018" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">Before Sunset</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">Directed by</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">Richard Linklater</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">Written by</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">Linklater, Kim Krizan, Julie Delpy, and Ethan Hawke</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">With</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">Delpy and Hawke.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">Imagine this: You're a young, single man or woman and you're travelling through Europe as many young people are want to do. You meet this really wonderful man (or woman) on the train and have a wonderful time conversing together. When you realize you have a common destination (Vienna) you decide to spend the day together taking in the sights of the city. You find, as you walk and talk, you have even more in common than you dared hope, and at the end of the day you do what only seems natural - you make wild, passionate love in a park to this person you have enjoyed the day with. Obviously, you want to meet her or him again, but in typical youthful impulsiveness you decide not to exhcange addresses or phone #'s, but instead, you both plan to meet 6 months from now on the same train platform in Vienna that you disembarked from.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">However, 6 months later, you find you are unable to make it to Vienna because of certain commitments. You torment yourself for a while, for not being able to make it, you curse the fact that you never exchanged addresses, but such is life. Nine years go by, you have never forgotten this person, but life goes on.<br /><br />Have you ever had that happen to you? Have you ever clicked so wonderfully with someone for an hour or two and wondered what life might have been like if you had more time with them?<br /><br />Anyway, I digress...the story I was having you imagine is the story </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);"> of Jesse and Celine (<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">Ethan Hawke</span> and <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">Julie Delpy</span>) from </span><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 0);" href="http://wip.warnerbros.com/beforesunset/">"Before Sunset"</a><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">. In the years that go by Ethan Hawke becomes a writer and recreates that day in Vienna with Celine as a theme for his first bestselling book. A chance meeting in Paris (where Jesse has gone to attend a book signing) brings the couple together after 9 years. Hawke has only an hour before his flight takes off and they spend the hour reminisicing, first in a beautiful Parisian cafe and then on a stroll in a Paris park and suburbs...they even manage to squeeze in a quick boat ride.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">This movie takes place all in a span of 60 mins and I found its main characters are not Jesse and Celine, but the conversations that take place between them. If you ever want to watch a movie with<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 0);"> impressive dialogue,</span> this is the one for you! Their conversations provide such keen insights and understanding to the human nature: our wants, our needs and what we are able to sacrifice to achieve them. Their chats touch on human relationships,religion, the environment, love lost and found and the tenacity of bonds that develop between people that are truly connected to each other. However, you also realize how often we choose to live our lives by default, content to let things happen to us rather than to go and make it happen for us. You learn that no man is an island and sometimes, we will be with someone we don't love only because we can't bear to be alone. <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 0);">But, as wonderful as the conversations are, what is equally wonderful is what is not said but merely suggested by the very talented actors' expressions and body language.</span> If you have 1hr and 20mins to spare before your day ends, go rent the movie, you will enjoy the experience!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">Technically, "Before Sunset" would be considered a sequel to "Before Sunrise" (which is a movie about the couple's day spent in Vienna), but it is also a stand alone movie.</span>Lotus Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22575531.post-33630928561012722432007-03-03T09:29:00.000-08:002007-03-03T14:02:57.621-08:00Anwar and what I learned from the movie<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoBXWu4LzEeVBI-mOVo26ieryASs-LD8M51t0DN2uknmLURcL275kcrA-L5F-9ZujL7EncBny12yq1JBAuGu4k3MkkDvyNy0FJMKuelIQ5nODVUBeigI-qr11u9plaBeKdwOs75w/s1600-h/3014382120.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoBXWu4LzEeVBI-mOVo26ieryASs-LD8M51t0DN2uknmLURcL275kcrA-L5F-9ZujL7EncBny12yq1JBAuGu4k3MkkDvyNy0FJMKuelIQ5nODVUBeigI-qr11u9plaBeKdwOs75w/s320/3014382120.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5037760534188003426" border="0" /></a>I saw<a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" href="http://www.movietalkies.com/movies/index.asp?MovieId=18986"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> "Anwar" </span></a>the other night. When I rented the DVD I had no idea what it was about, but I was determined to see it because I loved the songs.<br /><br />In a nutshell, most of the movie takes place on Valentine's Day with a ton of flashbacks. Anwar (Siddharth Koirala) is a depressed young man (he has lost several people near and dear to him, in horrific suicides and murders) and in his disturbed state, takes refuge in a ruined temple (although a Muslim he is fascinated with temple art). Someone discovers his drawings at the site and news spreads of a Muslim terrorist hiding in the temple. Soon the police, politicians and hoardes of RSS men gather at the site asking Anwar to surrender, but he does not.<br /><br />In flashbacks we learn that Anwar loved a girl Mehru (Nauheed Cyrusi) but she was in love with his Hindu best friend Udit. Understanding that their parents would not approve of a inter-religious marriage, Mehru and Udit elope. Mehru's mother with the help of all her relatives begins her search for the eloping couple and Anwar provides the information for where they could be found. We are not exactly sure why he let his friends down, but one can assume it was due to jealousy. The couple is caught, Udit is murdered and Mehru hangs herself after a couple of days leaving behind a very distraught and guilty Anwar.<br /><br />On the surface of things the movie, set in Lucknow, appears to be about the age old Hindu-Muslim rivalry, but really, Anwar is a love story. What I took away from the movie is this: everyone, whether that person is a criminal, a Lord, a servant, a law enforcer, a media darling or just an ordinary person like you and me, is somebody's love and at the same time, someone's fool. No matter who we are or where we are placed in the social heirarchy, we love someone enough to be their complete fool and someone (not necessarily the same person) loves us too. So the next time someone gets on your nerves try to see him as the love of someone's life and hopefully you'll be able to feel more charitable towards him/her.<br /><br />But coming back to the movie, the acting was mediocre, the storyline a little tedious and there is nothing to recommed it except for the music which was created by Mithoon and Pankaj Awasthi. I beseech you to listen to the songs, especially the Sufi- inspired <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">"Javeda Zindagi"</span>, <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Maula Mere Maula</span> and <span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">Dilbar Mera</span>. Songs available for download<a href="http://funfilledblog.wordpress.com/2006/12/04/anwar-movie-songs-free-download/"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">here</span></a>Lotus Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22575531.post-84536149431887549662007-02-20T07:10:00.000-08:002007-02-20T14:00:49.492-08:00Kung Hey Fat Choy<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbF9dIwNM6Mm0Mma57YghRE6Mv9iHwSE_ji-mURk6PyexVjbgEeLxTjdqHQdCvaR0VWVRCaPba6nAbebOCfO8b6RCULnofQJYwl6lXw6V9u2H5EtRIPPBdU0fkQNaDtoIk1n-17A/s1600-h/2005Pig.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbF9dIwNM6Mm0Mma57YghRE6Mv9iHwSE_ji-mURk6PyexVjbgEeLxTjdqHQdCvaR0VWVRCaPba6nAbebOCfO8b6RCULnofQJYwl6lXw6V9u2H5EtRIPPBdU0fkQNaDtoIk1n-17A/s320/2005Pig.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5033633963570470594" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Kung Hey Fat Choy</span>, albeit belated! Hope everyone had a very Happy Chinese New Year!<br /><br />Many of you might know that this is the year of the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Golden (Fire) Pig</span> (which comes once every 60 years) and because babies born in this year are considered supremely lucky, maternity hospitals in China are bracing themselves for a baby boom which makes me wonder what that will do the 1980 <a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-child_policy"><span style="font-weight: bold;">One-Child Policy</span></a>?<br /><br /><br />It's funny how years ago babies born in the year of the Dragon were considered the ideal babies (dragon babies are considered to be intelligent - they will work hard and do well career-wise ), but now that Chinese society is becoming increasingly capitalisitic, the focus has shifted from academia to prosperity and wealth, and the pig which stands for both those qualities has come to be the most sought-after Chinese Zodiac sign.<br /><br />Speaking of the Chinese Zodiac, do you know which animal rules your year? I've been doing a little sleuthing and found I was born in the year of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Fire Horse</span>. Apparently, Chinese girls born in the year of the Fire Horse traditionally have a very hard time finding husbands because they are not considered docile enough...lol<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">CHARACTERISTICS</span> (general) about Horse People:<br /><br />Self-reliant, Joyful, Outgoing, Sophisticated, Greedy, Resilient, Arrogant<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Fire Horse</span> is animated and sociable. He has a wild side that leads him to a life on the edge. Fire Horses are generally either incredibly lucky or ridiculously unlucky. They love the excitement of action and the change it brings. The Fire element makes them passionate about their feelings and they always take a stand in a situation. Fire Horses are never on the fence about anything and have definitive opinions about the world. Their tempers can be overbearing.<br /><br />Go <a href="http://www.chinesezodiac.com/calculator.php"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">here</span> </span></a>to check your Chinese Zodiac SignLotus Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22575531.post-70771870480254504912007-01-29T03:22:00.000-08:002007-01-29T05:45:38.972-08:00Meme: Five Unknown Aspects About MeI was tagged by<a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://firmlyrooted.blogspot.com/2007/01/5-unknown-things-about-mea-tagd.html"> <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Gautami</span></a> for this meme. Thank you, dear one!<br /><br />1.I have stylish <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: bold;">handwriting</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>(or so they would tell me in school/college) and was often selected to write the Bachelor degree certificates in calligraphy for the University of Bombay for a small payment.<br /><br />2.My college dorm was right next door to a famous Mumbai Auditorium or theater as we would call it here in North America and it aired popular plays every night. The ushers were our friends and every evening at intermission they would tell me and my friends where the empty seats were and we would watch the second half of the play. Now when I look back, I realize that I spent three years of my life <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: bold;">watching a play</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>almost everyday. Why am I not in the performing arts or how is it I review books instead of plays?<br /><br />3.I love <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: bold;">"people watching"</span>. When I travel, I will deliberately go to the airport early so that I can watch people...not sure what that says about me, but it's one of the most interesting things to do. Often I will strike up conversations with people that interest me and I'll have to say I have learned a lot. I would like to take this to the next level and travel with my camera in tow (a la <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Morris"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Desmond Morris</span></a>), but I'm not sure how well that would go down with most people!<br /><br />4.I am a<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: bold;"> gypsy</span> by nature. I find it very difficult to settle down in one place for a long time. I have lived in India, the Middle East, the UK and now Canada...I love Canada but am starting to feel the 7-year itch. I'd like to go live in Singapore (closer to India) for a few years, but we'll have to see.<br /><br />5. I love attending seminars, conferences, talks etc. I think it's because it fits in so neatly with my <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: bold;">love of learning</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">.</span> I love to record things I learn at these seminars - I think I might have made a good reporter!<br /><br />Well, there you have it, 5 aspects that you may or may not have known about me.<br />Thanks for tagging me Gautami, I have enjoyed playing!Lotus Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22575531.post-75428942038074347072007-01-22T05:42:00.000-08:002007-01-22T03:52:31.635-08:00Vot men? You don’t know how to tell a typical katlic? by Joan PintoWhen I first moved to Bangalore from Bombay I was often asked (after establishing I lived in the suburbs ofcourse) if I had been to a lot of Mac parties. Mac??? I didn't even know what the term meant until one helpful person pointed out it meant "Macca Paus" the term by which Bombay-Catholics are affectionately called. It came as a surprise to me, but people outside Bombay really do dig the "macca paus" - let's face it, they're one community that really, really knows how to have fun. So when I came across this article by Joan on her<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 255, 0);"> </span><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 255, 0);" href="http://joanpinto.wordpress.com/">blog</a>, I couldn't resist asking her if I could put it up on this blog. The Bombay Catholics, in particular the Bandra Catholics, have their own little unique thing going on, something you don't often get to see outside of Bombay.<br /><br />This is a great article...if you've lived in Bombay you will read, nod your head and smile, and if you don't, you will be just as amused. Read and smile.<br /><br />A big thank you to Joan for letting me use the article on my blog.<br /><br />Here we go:<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Vot men? You don’t know how to tell a typical katlic?</span><br /><br />By Joan Pinto<br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);">‘Thou shalt drink. Thou shalt jive.’ If there were commandments requiring you to be a ‘katlic’ these would be first. ‘Vot to do man, bugger it comes with the genes.’</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);">People are always exclaiming, “You don’t drink! What kind of catholic are you?” - As though the Pope decreed it. Then, as if the answer to the next question would redeem me they hastily ask “Do you jive?’ An affirmative nod saves my soul and I am admitted back into the fold.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);">By religion, we are Roman Catholic. Roman, because we are governed by the church in Rome, not because we have dual passports. By culture, katlic. Or ‘Mac’ as people refer to us after they’ve known us for two sentences. How can anyone miss the “Vot men? Or “kya man? ” where the ‘man’ comes free with every sentence quite oblivious to the fact that you’re a woman. Or other phonetic jewels like tree (three), aahks (ask), ‘doll’ (dal), dat (that), or the “faader - mudder” (father/mother) that I would like to believe is some dialect of German, but nein. It’s trademark ‘Mac’ talk.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);">Of the several theories that float around, one says Mac is a derivative of ‘macca pau’ (butter ‘n’ bread) because supposedly that’s what katlics eat.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);">The drinking of course, we’re sure of. “Michael daru peekay dhanda karta hai” from “Amar Akbar Anthony” tells a small part of the story. We drink at Holy communions, christenings, at other festivals too: Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays…. You get the picture.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);">And of course we drink at those crazy carnivals called katlic weddings. Where you dress up, quaff wine, slip on confetti, stomp at the Wedding March like drunk soldiers, get sozzled, stuff face with potato chops, vindaloo, sorpotel, pork roast, let face fall forward involuntarily into plate of salad, do the mandatory birdie dance, throw the bouquet, wake the neighbours with off-key rendition of “He’s a jolly good fellow” as you zig zag home.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);">Katlics like to sing. Where there’s a Mac gathering, not counting funerals, there’s a ‘sing-song’ session. “My Bonnie lies over the ocean’, ‘When the saints go marching in’ and the quintessential ‘Annie’s Song’. No Mac party is complete without a guitar and one sloshed uncle who will be dragged home by the toes.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);">Katlics mourn with the same passion. Wearing black at funerals and for months after, and fasting with fervour at Good Friday. But as December knocks on their doors you‘ll find Crawford market besieged by katlics from ‘Maim’ (Mahim) to Marine lines taking home so much lace you’re not quite sure if it’s for the curtains or the dresses.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);">At Christmas katlics eat guava cheese and cake and drink (more) wine, go to midnight mass at 8.00 pm. because Jesus said ‘Never mind, keep the peace’ or similar, then in 27 degree heat wear jackets to Willingdon or Catholic Gym and jive the night away.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);">Though being a katlic may be more about cultural togetherness than going to mass every Sunday we religiously fulfil the requirements. To be a really good katlic you must go inside the church. They have a name for people who don’t “Outstanding catholics”. And if those black sheep did go in it would be a miracle close on the heels of Jesus’ turning water into wine.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);">If you’re katlic you subscribe to the Examiner where katlic girls search for katlic boys with sober habits and own accommodation.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);">Good katlics go to confession. When we were kids we knelt in the dark confessional and sincerely asked forgiveness. Standard sins were ‘I beat my sister’ for the boys and ‘I told lies in school’ for the girls. Of course when we grew up we either stopped going or told only the simple one and hoped god would get the others telepathically. We didn’t want to give old father Andrew a minor coronary. Besides, our idea of what constituted a sin had changed.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);">Hindi movies have katlic girls rushing tearfully to church to pray to Mother Mary for the safety of their threatened love. Maybe that’s why it’s believed that Catholic girls will anoint themselves after every four-letter word and, ‘The morning after her wedding night, she’ll go to confession.’ Katlic boys are in a different league altogether. They play hockey or football till they die and are very eloquent with words like ‘pasting’ (beating), loafer, bugger, as in ‘Vot you doing men, bugger?’</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);">Now some katlics don’t drink or jive or play the piano or chase football, or sing off-key. To them I’d say ‘Come let’s wash away our sins, let’s have a beer. Cheers and Hic!</span><br /><br />——————Lotus Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22575531.post-13195061770059347062007-01-19T05:39:00.000-08:002007-01-19T05:51:43.222-08:00Learning Hindi from Bollywood MoviesA big "thank you" to all of you who responded to my plea for tips on how to learn new languages and how to retain my fluency in the Hindi basha despite hardly ever getting to hear or speak it - your suggestions were varied and most helpful!<br /><br />Whilst researching the subject ( I told you guys I was serious,lol) I came upon <a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" href="http://www.cuttingchai.com/HouseFull/transcripts.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">this</span></a> brilliant site which teaches you Hindi using Bollywood movies as a tool.<br /><br />I tuned into their 16th podcast and now I can have a very educated discussion on malaria! Yeay for me! :)<br /><br />Thank you<a href="http://www.cuttingchai.com/"> </a><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" href="http://www.cuttingchai.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cutting Chai</span></a>! ;)Lotus Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22575531.post-23832190330403842082007-01-12T06:04:00.000-08:002007-01-12T06:27:10.722-08:00Speaking in more than one tongueThis being the month of January, many bloggers are talking about new year resolutions. Some abhor making them, but I just love them and regardless of whether I keep them or not, I always make them. One of my resolutions this year is to learn a new language or atleast to go back and polish up my Arabic. I haven't acted upon this resolutions thus far (well, to be fair to me, it's only Jan 12), but after reading in today's <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070112.wxdementia12/BNStory/specialScienceandHealth/?cid=al_gam_nletter_newsUp">Globe and Mail</a> about how a knowledge of more than one language has been linked to a significant delay in the onset of dementia symptoms, I want to get to my Arabic classes NOW!<br /><br />According to the article, a working knowledge of more than one language can help stave off dementia by atleast a few years! (Among the unilingual people studied, dementia began to appear in men at an average age of 70.8 and in women at 71.9. But among those who knew two or more languages, dementia did not begin to appear in men until an average age of 76.1 and in women until 75.1.)<br /><br />Considering that this disease is incurable, it is heartening atleast to know that it can be deferred with the right mental activities. Working as an ER volunteer I have seen so many Alzheimer patients and what I see makes me very despondent. It's a terrible disease, both for the patient and for all the people that love him/her or who have to care for him/her.<br /><br />Having said all of that, however, how does one practice a language other than English in North American society? I used to be fluent in Hindi but now I find myself floundering everytime I have to speak it because I don't speak it enough. Any ideas?Lotus Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22575531.post-45699589082438832352007-01-09T09:14:00.000-08:002007-01-09T09:22:26.764-08:00Which Superhero Are You?<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">I got this from </span><a style="color: rgb(102, 51, 255);" href="http://anocturne.wordpress.com/tag/uncategorized/">Anocturne</a><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, who got it from </span><a style="color: rgb(102, 51, 255);" href="http://thinktome.com/blog/?cat=12">ThinkTome</a><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 255);"> </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">I am kinda embarrassed to admit this but the only comics I read growing up were Archie/Betty, Richie Rich and Amar Chitra Kathas, so when Anocturne tagged me with this, I floundered a little because although I had heard of most of these superheroes, I didn't really know what each one did, apart from "Superman", "Batman" and "Spiderman" ofcourse. I got the Catwoman, who doesn't sound very nice! Why do I always get these negative creatures everytime I do one of these quizzes? hmmmmm</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Your results:</span><br /><b style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">You are <span style="font-size:6;">Catwoman</span></b><br /><table style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><tbody><tr><td><table><tbody><tr><td>Catwoman</td><br /><td><hr align="left" noshade="noshade" size="4" width="65"></td><td> 65%</td><br /></tr><tr><td>Robin</td><br /><td><hr align="left" noshade="noshade" size="4" width="56"></td><td> 56%</td><br /></tr><tr><td>Green Lantern</td><br /><td><hr align="left" noshade="noshade" size="4" width="55"></td><td> 55%</td><br /></tr><tr><td>Supergirl</td><br /><td><hr align="left" noshade="noshade" size="4" width="55"></td><td> 55%</td><br /></tr><tr><td>Hulk</td><br /><td><hr align="left" noshade="noshade" size="4" width="55"></td><td> 55%</td><br /></tr><tr><td>Wonder Woman</td><br /><td><hr align="left" noshade="noshade" size="4" width="50"></td><td> 50%</td><br /></tr><tr><td>The Flash</td><br /><td><hr align="left" noshade="noshade" size="4" width="45"></td><td> 45%</td><br /></tr><tr><td>Superman</td><br /><td><hr align="left" noshade="noshade" size="4" width="45"></td><td> 45%</td><br /></tr><tr><td>Spider-Man</td><br /><td><hr align="left" noshade="noshade" size="4" width="40"></td><td> 40%</td><br /></tr><tr><td>Batman</td><br /><td><hr align="left" noshade="noshade" size="4" width="40"></td><td> 40%</td><br /></tr><tr><td>Iron Man</td><br /><td><hr align="left" noshade="noshade" size="4" width="30"></td><td> 30%</td><br /></tr></tbody></table></td><br /><td>You have had a tough childhood,<br />you know how to be a thief and exploit others<br />but you stand up for society's cast-offs.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.thesuperheroquiz.com/pics/catwoman.jpg" /></td><br /></tr></tbody></table><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" href="http://www.thesuperheroquiz.com/"><br />Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test</a>Lotus Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22575531.post-57500200727166251202006-12-19T18:06:00.000-08:002006-12-19T18:43:41.866-08:00Romance on the Road: Traveling Women Who Love Foreign Men by Jeanette Belliveau<a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/10780000/10782032.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://images.barnesandnoble.com/images/10780000/10782032.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"># Paperback:</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> </span>412 pages</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"># Publisher:</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> Beau Monde Press; 1st edition (May 23, 2006)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"># Language:</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> English</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">From the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">It's a largely unspoken phenomenon. Women from wealthy nations who travel to tropical lands to indulge in sex and romance provided by willing local men. Though there aren't clear numbers about how many women pay for sex in foreign lands,it is believed the phenomenon is on the rise.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">In Jamaica it's called "rent-a-dread" -- local men who cruise their country's beaches for wealthy, foreign sugar-mamas. And in case you wondered, the going rate for oral sex is about $100, according to research conducted by travel writer Jeannette Belliveau.<br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">According to a review, journalist and world traveller <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Jeanette Belliveau</span>, 51, is uniquely qualified to finally reveal the hidden behavior of traveling women. After a painful divorce, she spent 12 years in sexual exile, with only cheerful foreign men able to provide the no-strings intimacy that was all she could handle. Her book is based on the sexual experiences of those 12 years.</span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><br /></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The idea of women going south for sex doesn't sit well with me at all - the chances of catching sexually transmitted diseases are high, also, I feel certain many of those men who ply that particular trade are married and these rich women tourists must cause their families a lot of heartache. What do you think? Are these holiday flings seedy or are they simply harmless?</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">I seem to recall however that psychologists been telling us for years that women like to feel an emotional connection with a man before they are intimate with him, so where is all this hedonistic sex coming from? Also, why do women travel south for these adventures, is it for anonymity? Economic reasons? Or is it just because they find it exciting to have a fling with men from cultures other than their own. As you will tell, I haven't read the book but the very fact that this is a growing phenomenon interested me enough to want to find out more.</span>Lotus Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22575531.post-26339319230432017422006-12-15T16:50:00.000-08:002006-12-18T09:55:46.555-08:00The Mahabharata and Epic India: Paintings by M.F. Husain<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.pem.org/epicindia/images/mahabharata.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 600px;" src="http://www.pem.org/epicindia/images/mahabharata.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">Reading the<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> </span></span><a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.pem.org/epicindia/images/mahabharata.jpg">"The Penelopiad"</a><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);"> from the Myth Series recently made me realize how much I enjoy reading a condensed and modern version of the great epics. It also got me thinking about which epics I might like to see as part of Canon Gate's </span><a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.canongate.net/myths">"myth series".</a><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">. There are many I would like to read but the one I really,really would like to see is the <a style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabharata"><span style="font-weight: bold;">"Mahabharata"</span></a> (although, as motorama has reminded me in the comments, this great epic holds core philosophical and religious concepts that are central to the Vedic traditions and I would not like to refer to it as myth). For those of you who might not know, the Mahabharata is one of the world's longest epics, ten times the length of the Iliad and Odyssey combined!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">Over the course of nearly a thousand years the story was told and elaborated, until between 300 and 500 C.E. the immense text was compiled in the sacred language of Sanskrit. The overarching narrative relates a battles between the army of the five Pandava brothers and the army of their 100 cousins, the Kauravas. The Kauravas resort to deeds of malicious trickery in order to defeat the Pandavas and possess their kingdom which leads to a war of near-total destruction.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">One of Hinduism's most important texts, the </span><a style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita">Bhagavad Gita</a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">, is presented as the guidance Lord Krishna gives to the Pandava hero Arjuna just before the battle begins. The characters and events of the Mahabharata expose the conflicts between desire and righteousness that confront everyone human and superhuman, challenging even heroes with the difficult decisions that must be made.</span><br /><div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">(from a write up at the Peabody Essex Museum online)<br /></div><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);">If you would like to see eminent artist MF Hussain's splendid paintings of the Mahabaratha, please visit </span><a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.pem.org/exhibitions/current.php">The Peabody Essex Museum site</a><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);"> where they have created a wonderful slide show of the exhibition currently on display.</span>Lotus Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22575531.post-56877748140375371582006-12-13T03:24:00.000-08:002006-12-13T03:42:03.061-08:00Tarot Cards<p align="center"><img src="http://www.flarn.com/%7Ewarlock/tarot/chinese/18.jpg" /></p><br /><h2 style="color: rgb(255, 255, 153);" align="center"><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><b>You are The Moon</b></span></h2><br /><p style="color: rgb(102, 255, 255);" align="center"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Hope, expectation, Bright promises.</span></p><br /><p style="color: rgb(102, 255, 255);" align="center"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">The Moon is a card of magic and mystery - when prominent you know that nothing is as it seems, particularly when it concerns relationships. All logic is thrown out the window.</span></p><br /><p style="color: rgb(102, 255, 255);" align="center"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">The Moon is all about visions and illusions, madness, genius and poetry. This is a card that has to do with sleep, and so with both dreams and nightmares. It is a scary card in that it warns that there might be hidden enemies, tricks and falsehoods. But it should also be remembered that this is a card of great creativity, of powerful magic, primal feelings and intuition. You may be going through a time of emotional and mental trial; if you have any past mental problems, you must be vigilant in taking your medication but avoid drugs or alcohol, as abuse of either will cause them irreparable damage. This time however, can also result in great creativity, psychic powers, visions and insight. You can and should trust your intuition.</span></p><br /><p align="center"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;" ><b style="color: rgb(255, 255, 153);">What Tarot Card are You?</b><br /><a href="http://www.flarn.com/%7Ewarlock/tarot" target="_blank"><span style="color: rgb(102, 255, 255);">Take the Test to Find out.</span><br /></a></span></p><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 153);">I recently watched the movie <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 255, 255);" href="http://www.bollywoodpremiere.com/movies/preview/04/rakht.php">"Rakht"</a> in which the main character was a tarot reader and that got me interested in finding out more about the Tarot. So when I saw this quiz on </span><a style="color: rgb(51, 255, 255); font-weight: bold;" href="http://kimananda.blogspot.com/">Kimananda's</a><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 153);"> blog, I couldn't resist. Kimananda says ,</span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 255, 153);">"<span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">I'm curious to know what you get as your card, and if you feel it represents the you which exists, or perhaps the you which you would like to become"</span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 153);">. The moon is the planet that rules my sun sign (Cancer) so I'm not at all surpised that it ended up being the card I got, but I'm so left-brained that I find it weird to believe that I could have dormant psychic powers and high levels of creativity.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 153);">Let me know how you fare, or if there is a more comprehensive Tarot quiz that you know of...</span>Lotus Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22575531.post-40259809069029068492006-12-06T05:41:00.000-08:002006-12-06T06:09:08.579-08:00Daaku by Ranj Dhaliwal<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://newstarbooks.com/thumb.aspx?src=/book_covers/9781554200276.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://newstarbooks.com/thumb.aspx?src=/book_covers/9781554200276.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">First off, an apology to those of you who read my<a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://lotusreads.blogspot.com/index.html"> book blog</a>, for this post is pretty much a repeat of what I have there (yes, I know, I know, I have been meaning to merge my blogs, but I am having technical issues with the book blog, hence the delay).</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">Living in Toronto as I do, I don't often get to hear of the Indian diaspora on the West coast of Canada, but lately there have been murmors that many young men in Punjabi community are involved in gangs and gang warfare. I didn't pay the rumors too much attention until I heard <a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.cbc.ca/soundslikecanada/interviews.html">Ranj Dhaliwal's interview on the CBC.</a><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.ranjdhaliwal.com/"> Ranj Dhaliwal</a>, a first-time author, is himself an Indo-Canadian and lives in Surrey, BC which is home to a large chunk of the Indian disapora in Vancouver. He grew up seeing and hearing of boys involved with gangs, and 5 years ago he sat down to write a book about it, titled <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://newstarbooks.com/view-book.asp?id=1&c=Fiction">"Daaku"</a> which I found to be a real eye-opener. You can see my review <a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://lotusreads.blogspot.com/2006/12/daaku-by-ranj-dhaliwal.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">here.</span></a></span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">You see, I've always been of the opinion that Desis lay great emphasis on academia or business skills, many times to the exclusion of other extra- curricular activities, so it came as a shock to me to discover that there were Indo-Canadian or Desi gangs dealing with drugs, exhortation, smuggling rings, collections and so on. The question I asked myself repeatedly was "why"? Not just that, why is this a phenomenon so peculiar to the Punjabi community and not so much to the other Desi communities ? Ofcourse, the book doesn't have the answers, it is just to make us aware of what is happening in certain communities and to tell us the story of a gangster.<br /><br /> I thought it was an excellent read, I hope you do, too.</span>Lotus Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22575531.post-76741902500150108142006-11-30T16:56:00.000-08:002006-12-01T04:38:26.104-08:00Are Indian Designers Stepping up to the World Stage?<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">The other day, my youngest daughter, who prides herself on being very fashionable -she's only 11 years old- :) asked me to name a few Indian designers who had made it big on the international stage - to my great shame I couldn't think of anyone.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/6571/2755/1600/82115/28.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/6571/2755/320/161794/28.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">I know that henna, kurtis, embroidered Indian shawls, mohjaris, decorated table runners, brocade bedspreads etc., have been hot ethnic trends for years, and while they may be imported from India with the "made in India" stamp on it, they are usually brought to the west by international companies like Pier 1 Imports, French Connection, Old Navy and countless others. There are also little ethnic boutiques in Brampton (if you live in Ontario) that stock creations by Indian designers, but this is mostly for sale to Indian expats and do not cater to other sectors of the global market.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/6571/2755/1600/324407/38.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/6571/2755/320/885948/38.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">However, last year </span><a style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);" href="http://www.ashishnsoni.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ashish N. Soni</span></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);"> was the very first Indian designer to debut his work at the New York's fashion week, so hopefully more will follow.Soni's creations are now sold in select boutiques across Europe and the United States. BTW, all these pictures are creations of Ashish Soni from the display at the New York Fashion Week.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/6571/2755/1600/208483/Ashish-N-Soni-MAIN.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/6571/2755/320/907460/Ashish-N-Soni-MAIN.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">This is what Soni had to say in New York:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">"I am very proud to be Indian and I think that subtle Indian references or flavors naturally creep into my work,"</span> <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">he says</span>. <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">"However, they are never in your face and require a trained eye to spot them." </span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);" href="http://www.boston.com/yourlife/fashion/articles/2006/11/30/unwrapped/">http://www.boston.com/yourlife/fashion/articles/2006/11/30/unwrapped/</a><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">"India is a very important resource for designers for fabric, embroidery, and production accessories,"</span> <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">says Roopal Patel, senior women's fashion director at Bergdorf Goodman.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> <span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">"But there is a difference between being a great resource for fabric, production, and textile, and a great source of fashion designers. The challenge for many Indian designers is to be able to address a more global market and global customers."</span><br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">Well, let's hope our designers take up the gauntlet and reach out to an international market - I think the world is more than ready for Indian designers to show off their wares.<br /><a style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.abusandeep.com/">Sandeep Khosla</a>, <a href="http://www.rohitbal.com/"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">Rohit Bal</span></a>, <a href="http://www.taruntahiliani.com/"><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">Tarun Tahiliani,</span></a> are you listening?</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>Lotus Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.com13