Movie : Thank you for Smoking
Actors : Aaron Eckhart as Nick Naylor and his son (in the movie ) Joey
Scene : Nick teaches his kid how he is able to propagate his views and ensures that he is never wrong.
Now here is the dialogue !!
Joey Naylor: ...so what happens when you're wrong?
Nick Naylor: Whoa, Joey I'm never wrong.
Joey Naylor: But you can't always be right...
Nick Naylor: Well, if it's your job to be right, then you're never wrong.
Joey Naylor: But what if you are wrong?
Nick Naylor: OK, let's say that you're defending chocolate, and I'm defending vanilla. Now if I were to say to you: 'Vanilla is the best flavour ice-cream', you'd say...
Joey Naylor: No, chocolate is.
Nick Naylor: Exactly, but you can't win that argument... so, I'll ask you: so you think chocolate is the end all and the all of ice-cream, do you?
Joey Naylor: It's the best ice-cream, I wouldn't order any other.
Nick Naylor: Oh! So it's all chocolate for you is it?
Joey Naylor: Yes, chocolate is all I need.
Nick Naylor: Well, I need more than chocolate, and for that matter I need more than vanilla. I believe that we need freedom. And choice when it comes to our ice-cream, and that Joey Naylor, that is the defintion of liberty.
Joey Naylor: But that's not what we're talking about
Nick Naylor: Ah! But that's what I'm talking about.
Joey Naylor: ...but you didn't prove that vanilla was the best...
Nick Naylor: I didn't have to. I proved that you're wrong, and if you're wrong I'm right.
Joey Naylor: But you still didn't convince me
Nick Naylor: It's that I'm not after you. I'm after them.
[points into the crowd]
Amazing stuff, after this dialogue , I started to read all the books of Christopher Buckley , except this book all other books you should have an idea of US politics , but this is a great book with amazing dialogues and lot of ideas of public speaking, even when the entire crowd hates you.
The movie ends with the following line
Michael Jordan plays ball. Charles Manson kills people. I talk. Everyone has a talent.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
My Favorite Sufi Stories
Sufism is a type of Islam and Mulla Nasruddin is its superstar, he will be able to frame complex things into simple sentences so that the masses can understand.
Mulla looked at him and said, "You assume things are going to go well and when they do not, you call that bad luck. You assume things are going to go badly and when they do not, you call that good luck. You assume certain things are going to happen or not happen a certain way, but you do not know what is going to actually happen. You assume the future is unknown. When you are caught out (things do not work out for you), you call that Fate
A certain man asked the famous Mulla Nasrudin, "What is the meaning of fate?"
Mulla replied, "Assumptions."
"In what way?" the man asked again.
Mulla looked at him and said, "You assume things are going to go well and when they do not, you call that bad luck. You assume things are going to go badly and when they do not, you call that good luck. You assume certain things are going to happen or not happen a certain way, but you do not know what is going to actually happen. You assume the future is unknown. When you are caught out (things do not work out for you), you call that Fate
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
I am going to Miss Mr George Bush!!
Forget about all the sentiments that are going on and the amazing speech made by the new President, I miss George Bush.
He screwed up the country, but he cleaned up a lot of bushes in his ranch. I miss George Bush.
Lot of people lost their job during his presidency, but he showed the world that a president can take two years of vacation in 8 years. I miss him.
George Bush has done so much damage to English language, like an iceberg to a Titanic. I miss him.
He was the first MBA President, who made the economy freeze like John Kerry's face(Botox) . I miss George Bush.
He was the first president who proved that you don't have to be very well educated , but have a powerful father can get what you want. I miss him
Grades don't matter, you don't have to be smart, you don't even have to do the work of a president, but you can be the President. I miss him
He proved that you don't have to be a good public speaker. I am going to wait for his speeches.
I want to thank my friend, Senator Bill Frist, for joining us today. He married a Texas girl, I want you to know. Karyn is with us. A West Texas girl, just like me., A President who gets confused with his gender , who cannot miss him.
I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully." He does make people speechless, who can do that anymore ?
"I understand small business growth. I was one." Not sure which growth he is talking about.
He screwed up the country, but he cleaned up a lot of bushes in his ranch. I miss George Bush.
Lot of people lost their job during his presidency, but he showed the world that a president can take two years of vacation in 8 years. I miss him.
George Bush has done so much damage to English language, like an iceberg to a Titanic. I miss him.
He was the first MBA President, who made the economy freeze like John Kerry's face(Botox) . I miss George Bush.
He was the first president who proved that you don't have to be very well educated , but have a powerful father can get what you want. I miss him
Grades don't matter, you don't have to be smart, you don't even have to do the work of a president, but you can be the President. I miss him
He proved that you don't have to be a good public speaker. I am going to wait for his speeches.
I want to thank my friend, Senator Bill Frist, for joining us today. He married a Texas girl, I want you to know. Karyn is with us. A West Texas girl, just like me., A President who gets confused with his gender , who cannot miss him.
I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully." He does make people speechless, who can do that anymore ?
"I understand small business growth. I was one." Not sure which growth he is talking about.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Gold, Good or bad ?
My mom sent me a gold ring today, with all her blessings and her prayers. First time in my life I am wearing gold. Ironically I happened to read the latest issue of National Geographic Magazine and was fascinated to read the facts about Gold. There was an interview in NPR with the guys who had written this article..
is Gold good or bad ?
Some Facts about gold which I didn't know
1 ) Entire gold which was mined till now in the world , can be fitted into two Olympic sized swimming pools. (50 m by 30 m) (164 ft by 98 ft ) and 6.6 feet deep or only 161,000 tons .
2 ) Gold prices have gone up 350 % from 2001 to now.
3 ) There are only few mines in the world and the gold now is is a scarce resource and all the mines are running out of gold.
4 ) For gold which is required for a wedding band , around 250 tonnes of materials(rock and ore) have to be cleared.
5 ) India is a biggest consumer of gold and they don't care where the gold came from.
6 ) Except for the gold which is lost under sea, all other gold is completely accountable.
7 ) Most of them who work in the mines are very poor , some of them are "consultants", they work without pay for 30 days or 45 days day in and day out and they find one small ounce of gold.
8 ) Mercury contamination is so high that the people who work there age quickly and die quickly.
9 ) A vast amount of mercury—at least 30 percent of the world total—is used by small-scale miners to process gold.
10 ) When going to visit the gold mines , its completely controlled my warlords(with AK47) and child soldiers. So if we have to visit this place, make sure that we take a lot of jack daniels.
11 ) In India there is an industry where they scrap gold from the dustbin. According to the story , if someone gives a bar of gold say 103 grams , while making jewelery of 100 grams and rest is lost in washing and having contact with other metals. So for that 3 grams there is a huge industry for scraping through the trash.
12 ) The World's biggest Gold company(he didn't name that company ) is much more secure than the federal reserve and the raw sewage is checked if any gold passes through their system.
13 ) Through out history gold has been a very safe stone and a good investment.
14 ) In 2007, India consumed 773.6 tons of gold, about 20 percent of the world gold market and more than double that purchased by either of its closest followers, China (363.3 tons) and the U.S. (278.1 tons).
15 ) India produces very little gold of its own, but its citizens have hoarded up to 18,000 tons of the yellow metal—more than 40 times the amount held in the country's central bank.
16 ) Epicenter of Gold Purchase in India --- >Kerala !!
Check out some of the pictures
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/01/gold/randy-olson-photography
is Gold good or bad ?
Some Facts about gold which I didn't know
1 ) Entire gold which was mined till now in the world , can be fitted into two Olympic sized swimming pools. (50 m by 30 m) (164 ft by 98 ft ) and 6.6 feet deep or only 161,000 tons .
2 ) Gold prices have gone up 350 % from 2001 to now.
3 ) There are only few mines in the world and the gold now is is a scarce resource and all the mines are running out of gold.
4 ) For gold which is required for a wedding band , around 250 tonnes of materials(rock and ore) have to be cleared.
5 ) India is a biggest consumer of gold and they don't care where the gold came from.
6 ) Except for the gold which is lost under sea, all other gold is completely accountable.
7 ) Most of them who work in the mines are very poor , some of them are "consultants", they work without pay for 30 days or 45 days day in and day out and they find one small ounce of gold.
8 ) Mercury contamination is so high that the people who work there age quickly and die quickly.
9 ) A vast amount of mercury—at least 30 percent of the world total—is used by small-scale miners to process gold.
10 ) When going to visit the gold mines , its completely controlled my warlords(with AK47) and child soldiers. So if we have to visit this place, make sure that we take a lot of jack daniels.
11 ) In India there is an industry where they scrap gold from the dustbin. According to the story , if someone gives a bar of gold say 103 grams , while making jewelery of 100 grams and rest is lost in washing and having contact with other metals. So for that 3 grams there is a huge industry for scraping through the trash.
12 ) The World's biggest Gold company(he didn't name that company ) is much more secure than the federal reserve and the raw sewage is checked if any gold passes through their system.
13 ) Through out history gold has been a very safe stone and a good investment.
14 ) In 2007, India consumed 773.6 tons of gold, about 20 percent of the world gold market and more than double that purchased by either of its closest followers, China (363.3 tons) and the U.S. (278.1 tons).
15 ) India produces very little gold of its own, but its citizens have hoarded up to 18,000 tons of the yellow metal—more than 40 times the amount held in the country's central bank.
16 ) Epicenter of Gold Purchase in India --- >Kerala !!
Check out some of the pictures
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/01/gold/randy-olson-photography
Black Channa with Capsicum + Coconut
My mom always made this , but I tried to add some flavors to make it my own taste.
This is recipe
- Black channa : 2 cup , Immerse in water for 8 hrs.
- Water should cover the channa + a little more.
- Add an hint of HING(Asofedita)
- Coconut Powder : 1 cup
- Green Chillies : 7 cut into small slices.
- Capsicum : 1 (Cut into small pieces)
- Curry Leaves.
This is a tip which I got from Alton Brown of Good Eats. Whenever we use any dhal , other than toor, masoor or any other small dhal we don't need to immerse in water for long while. In a bigger dhal there is more space for water to enter its pores and make it soft.
After 8 hrs, most of the water will be absorbed. Keep it in the Pressure cooker and wait for 4 whistles.
Question : One thing I don't understand why most of the cooking shows don't use Pressure cooker, inspite of the fact that KFC made their success only after Pressure cooker.
Answers welcome.
- Wait for the cooker to cool down.
- Filter the extra water.
- Take a clean Tava in the stove ( Make sure you turn on the stove)
- Once the tava is hot , Add EVOO(as Rachel Ray says it, Extra Virgin Olive Oil).
- Once the oil gets heated , add Urad dhal , Jeera , and wait for Urad dhal to become red
- Add Mustard seeds and allow it to sputter.
- Add the green chilies and wait for two minutes
- Add the Capsicum
- Add the Channa
Just ensure that this doesn't stick and keep on turning the channa.
This is to ensure that everything is mixed properly.
- Add the coconut and curry leaves.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Art of convincing people
Everyone in the world tries to convince others. Once you practice this art and if you are good at this you can really make the world go around you.
I will be adding more examples to this , but I read the following in the Jewel of Medina.
Story # 1
Mohamed is already married 5 times and now he sets his eye to marry the 5th wife. Her name is Umm Salama. Umm Salama was already married and has been widowed, she has kids from her earlier marriage, she is very much in love with her husband. But women in that generation if there is noone to take care of, have either one of the two options begging or Prostituition.
Mohamed wanted to marry her and she refused two of her suitors also, literally he begged her to marry (it seems!) .
So finally she had the following questions and the answers from him
Q : I am set in my own ways and my years are too advanced for me to change them.
A : I am more advanced in years than you and I know your thinking and will make sure that you take the lead.
Q : I am hesitant to move my children to a home which may not love as his father
A : I have know you and your kids right from the time they were bor, so obviously I will love them as you do
Q: I am averse to Sharing my husband with other women and I am Jealous the man I marry will even look at other women ?
(This is the best answer ) : As for your Jealousy , I would ask god to remove it from you.
Very covincing answers, but most of his marriages ( 13 of them ) all are marriage of convieneince rather than for love. More short stories will be added in the future.
I will be adding more examples to this , but I read the following in the Jewel of Medina.
Story # 1
Mohamed is already married 5 times and now he sets his eye to marry the 5th wife. Her name is Umm Salama. Umm Salama was already married and has been widowed, she has kids from her earlier marriage, she is very much in love with her husband. But women in that generation if there is noone to take care of, have either one of the two options begging or Prostituition.
Mohamed wanted to marry her and she refused two of her suitors also, literally he begged her to marry (it seems!) .
So finally she had the following questions and the answers from him
Q : I am set in my own ways and my years are too advanced for me to change them.
A : I am more advanced in years than you and I know your thinking and will make sure that you take the lead.
Q : I am hesitant to move my children to a home which may not love as his father
A : I have know you and your kids right from the time they were bor, so obviously I will love them as you do
Q: I am averse to Sharing my husband with other women and I am Jealous the man I marry will even look at other women ?
(This is the best answer ) : As for your Jealousy , I would ask god to remove it from you.
Very covincing answers, but most of his marriages ( 13 of them ) all are marriage of convieneince rather than for love. More short stories will be added in the future.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Lage raho Munna bhai
I had this oppurtunity of seeing this movie (again) on Sony Max.What an amazing movie. This must be one of the best movies ever done in Indian cinema. Obviously the "Jolna bag" crowd will disagree with me , for them its only Sathyajit Ray films.
Each and every scene in this movie was a lesson or a way to learn to be a better human being. How many of us did our research on Gandhi after that movie. Till that time Gandhi was a factor either hated and loathed or loved by people. This was the first one which said how to use it practically. The story of Jimmy Shergill and his father , the climax of the movie (no fights , no stunts nothing ) , how many of us would have expected that type of ending.
I still cannot understand what makes a good film ?
The more you say about India's poverty , the more famous awards the movie will get.
Still cannot think why Lago Raho Munna Bhai was not named the best film of 2006 , it was given to KaalPurush. how many of them have seen that movie ? Till now I have not even heard of that movie. Even after the awards how many of them have seen/heard of that movie?
Why doesn't a best seller in the country be the best movie ?
Each and every person who has seen this movie has approved it and watched it and appreciated in reruns too. Everytime when I see Lago Raho I cry. What a movie, yes it is a masala movie and everyone made money out of it. So is that the reason why it should be given all the awards ?
Since there are few judges sitting in the benches who think they are much more acute thinking(JOLNA bags) than others.
When I was in India and when Doordarshan was the only one available , watching the movies which used to come at 1:30 in the afternoon. How many of them really were keen to watch those movies ? I would prefer to watch the "News magazine for the hearing impaired" than watch the movie.
So the criteria of a best movie is as follows
1 ) Make sure its a bengali film or a Malayalam Film ( because people living in communist states make better films!!!!) .
2 ) One more word , I cannot understand this , the people of West Bengal , they cannot even see a change of Chief minister for 30+ years and they may be intellectual , and they prefer to live in a authortative world than democracy. The leader will be 80+ years and then he will pass on the mantle to his other sucecessor who will be 70 +. Automatically he becomes the CM. I will write more about communists in India , they are a funny bunch. They are either with one side or other , oppurtunistic airheads.
3 ) Make sure that people outside of that state should not know that film.
4 ) If the Film is directed by a famous bengali director , no questions asked.
5 ) If the film has poverty and they should not be earning pennies and living in a place which is a slum , add 20 points to it. (this will be sent to Oscars also)
6 ) The average guy in the panel will be a person will not have friends , neither cannot hold steady conversation with anyone or he will be from the person from the states where they are representing.
7 ) The Film should have an ending either the hero dies or leave it the audiences , so that they could break their head.
8 ) Very very Important !! a NORMAL PERSON SHOULD NOT BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THE FILM.
9 ) The movie should be very very slow ( I remember watching in a bengali film , where they show a old lady having a smile on her face, the entire focus in on her face and around 10 minutes she starts to laugh , going to laugh , ..... and then u patiently wait and then she smiles!! Voila !! , my goodness I would have shot myself)
P.S
Jolna bags definition. You might have seen them everywhere in India. Typical looks are in the following
1 ) Very powerful glasses
2 ) always have a bag with them , which will have pens and a notepad.
3 ) Will wear a Veshti/Jibba.
4 ) 4 day beard.
5 ) Never say any good things about anything , always criticize about establishment.
6 ) In the young years , they must be good smokers of Ganja and then later on the life they will criticize of people smoking ganja.
7 ) Biggest Hypcrites of all.
8 ) If you know about Tamil Writes , typical one is Gnani , he writes in Kumudam(O Pakkangal).
9 ) They must be crazy RSS idealogues.
10 ) They are well educated , most of them have masters or Ph.ds.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Mystics and men of grace
When you start read about mystics and their powers , there is always a hint of doubt. People who knew me will always tell me that I like to ask more questions and will not be convinced by textbook answers. Its always enlightening to read the lectures of Sathguru Jaggi Vasudev and Swami Sukabodanda.
"Autobiography of a Yogi" talked about a lot of yogis who had amazing powers , but they prefer
I would like to start this to read and share stories about them and wonder if they could be true, one of the persons who I read recently about from my friend is the following story.
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fr/2003/05/02/stories/2003050201370400.htm
I am not sure if this is a true story. I have the following questions in this story
1 ) If I assume the story is true , is the meaning of the story is "Talk less and meditate more " ?
2 ) This question always bothers me , what does a yogi do ?
3 ) If they are going to be constrained to be in their own world , by being silent and being in their yoga position , what good does it do for others ?
4 ) Isn't one of the best things in life to do is to share your enlightenment with others so that they could get to advance in their life ?
5 ) All these stories even like "Vallalar" who had this great "Vadiya payire kanda pothu ellam vadinen" ( whenever I saw a plant which was sad, I was also sad). He also got married and he didn't even touch his wife. Doesn't the people's wife get more credit than these people, they have choosen their life , but the wives have been forced into this life.
"Autobiography of a Yogi" talked about a lot of yogis who had amazing powers , but they prefer
I would like to start this to read and share stories about them and wonder if they could be true, one of the persons who I read recently about from my friend is the following story.
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fr/2003/05/02/stories/2003050201370400.htm
I am not sure if this is a true story. I have the following questions in this story
1 ) If I assume the story is true , is the meaning of the story is "Talk less and meditate more " ?
2 ) This question always bothers me , what does a yogi do ?
3 ) If they are going to be constrained to be in their own world , by being silent and being in their yoga position , what good does it do for others ?
4 ) Isn't one of the best things in life to do is to share your enlightenment with others so that they could get to advance in their life ?
5 ) All these stories even like "Vallalar" who had this great "Vadiya payire kanda pothu ellam vadinen" ( whenever I saw a plant which was sad, I was also sad). He also got married and he didn't even touch his wife. Doesn't the people's wife get more credit than these people, they have choosen their life , but the wives have been forced into this life.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Wovel
I usually listen to NPR podcasts at work in my noise canceling headphones. Today I heard this concept of "Wovel". This is basically a Novel , but in the web.
New chapters come in every Monday and users who read the novel , can suggest a twist and the best thing can be used by the author.
The concept was amazing. People don't read much and I have seen hardback books here are so expensive.
In a book Titled "Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance" by Atul Gawande. He tells the story about an hospital in New York. One of the important functions of a doctors and surgeons is to wash hands and also they should ensure all the touch points are clean. Even if they wear watch they should remove it and wash it or cleanse it. So they had a devise a mandatory system for doctors to wash all the touch points.
But doctors ego is so high that even clouds cannot touch them. They can tell things to do to others, but having them implement this would be a difficult task. Making it mandatory didn't work because , doctors have the feeling that they know everything.
So the best suggestion which was given was have a meeting all the doctors and asking them their suggestions. Instead of having it mandatory and when they feel that they are part of the solution rather than the part of the problem , things changed dramatically.
Same holds good in this wovel too, if people feel that their story is also going to be part , it will spike up interest and people may read more. Hats off to their venture.
New chapters come in every Monday and users who read the novel , can suggest a twist and the best thing can be used by the author.
The concept was amazing. People don't read much and I have seen hardback books here are so expensive.
In a book Titled "Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance" by Atul Gawande. He tells the story about an hospital in New York. One of the important functions of a doctors and surgeons is to wash hands and also they should ensure all the touch points are clean. Even if they wear watch they should remove it and wash it or cleanse it. So they had a devise a mandatory system for doctors to wash all the touch points.
But doctors ego is so high that even clouds cannot touch them. They can tell things to do to others, but having them implement this would be a difficult task. Making it mandatory didn't work because , doctors have the feeling that they know everything.
So the best suggestion which was given was have a meeting all the doctors and asking them their suggestions. Instead of having it mandatory and when they feel that they are part of the solution rather than the part of the problem , things changed dramatically.
Same holds good in this wovel too, if people feel that their story is also going to be part , it will spike up interest and people may read more. Hats off to their venture.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Beet Juice
Beet Juice
I have the Jack-la lane juicer, I got it as a present from my friend and I have been using it very often and would do a different combination's of juices.
There's saying "when you have a hammer , everything looks like a nail" similarly when you are juicing every vegetable and fruit becomes your victim. We bought beets and i was too lazy to cook them. I was a little hesitant of making beet juice, not sure of the taste of beet. So I juiced the following
Three beets
2 Apples
2 Tomatoes
a Big Pinch of Ginger
10 to 12 baby carrots
1 Lemon ( I am delightfully suprized that when I use a lemon in the juicer , I get a lot of juice).
One quick tip :
Whenever you are going to juice , take a plastic bag and cover the drainer with that , this will ensure that all the junk from the jucier will directly go into this. so that you can take this and just throw it.
So first add the beets and then the carrots ,apple,tomatoes ginger and lemon at the end.
When I first tasted it, I was stunned , it was amazing.
Health Benifits
Beet juice reduces Blood pressure
These colorful root vegetables contain powerful nutrient compounds that help protect against heart disease, birth defects and certain cancers, especially colon cancer.
Side effects
Beet is a very strong cleanser and it will be so visible , you will see the after effects when you go to the restroom , everything will be red. But drink a lot of water and this will dilute the after effects.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Book Review : Jewel of Medina
This book had created a lot of buzz before the book was printed. Random house publishing had initially rejected this book afraid that this might be the "Satanic Verses " of this year. ( I will write about Satanic Verses later) . This book does not have any controversial statements or thoughts most of the stuff written is already there in lot of books.
This book is about Ayesha which means "she who lives", the third wife of Mohammad. Recently I have been reading a lot of Historical fiction , ( first one was Nefertiti ) and I have become huge fan of books which they talk in present tense.
Historical prospective in the Initial stages, Islam had two staunch lieutenants , one was Ali he was the Cousin of Mohammad and other was Abu-bakr a friend and confidant. These are two persons who were the pillars of Islam.
Ayesha is the daughter of Abu-bakr. Ali marries one of Mohammad's daughters and this strengthens his ties. Now Abu-bakr wanted to establish his strong ties and wanted to make sure that he is the second in command , so he agrees to marry his daughter to Mohammad, even though his daughter is just 9 and she is not even attained puberty. The reason why he does is to gain control,every human being wants it and if he does not have it , he tries his best to get it.
Marriages are the way families come together and it also gives access to the person. This is like Jodhaa Akbar, where Akbar marries a Rajput princess to ensure that they don't fight and a truce is formed (even though Akbar and Jodhaa are completely fictional).
Ayesha is married to Mohammad when she is 9, but since she has still not attained puberty she is still with her parents. Her mom is one of wives of Abu-bakr and she wants to ensure that Ayesha becomes a hatun (the best wife) , so that she can treat all other wives like slaves.
Ayesha is different , initially she is told that she is going to marry a foot soldier and she has feelings towards him and then when she becomes the wife of Mohammad , immediately she becomes his favorite wife , since she is the youngest one.
Ayesha is always independent and learns how to fight with Mohammad. She also has a sharp tongue and a good sense of humor. She lights up the house.
Ali hates her right from the beginning and he is also jealous the way Mohammad treats her.
So the story goes from here and it is handled in a good way. The following are my quick comments on this
1 ) Ayesha is described as having red hair , I was under the impression I may be wrong but red hair is usually a causacasian feature and I am surprized that a girl in a village in middle east has a red hair.
2 ) Attaining puberty , may be because I am a guy reading this , there is a lot of mention of ur blood flow should start , I read this atleast 6 or 7 times, she could have used a different sentence.
3 ) Lot of things happening are very situational , either she getting married and bringing her toys or she disappears in the middle of the desert, thats a fascinating part of the entire story.
4 ) The lives of the sister wives, it must be really difficult for them unless they are the lead one and all others make sure that they do all the mischevous thing to make sure that they get their time and have their authority.
5 ) The lives of women as a whole , there is a sentence in the book where Ayesha has not attained puberty and she is married , she wanted to go with Mohammed and he says you can come with me later. Her mom says "Men want only two things from a women , 1 )Pleasure and 2)create an offspring , you cannot do anything now so you cannot go". Women are treated like objects of desire and like a store item.
6 ) Add this to the fact that even if a girl has been kidnapped and raped , the guy can get a divorce from that girl.
But Ayesha still stands apart and she has done an excellent job , either in her war skills or the counsel or the power she yields. She is the first one who goes to the war , unlike normal women who give water to the soldiers , she fights valiantly.
This is my first draft and i will write more on this later.
This book is about Ayesha which means "she who lives", the third wife of Mohammad. Recently I have been reading a lot of Historical fiction , ( first one was Nefertiti ) and I have become huge fan of books which they talk in present tense.
Historical prospective in the Initial stages, Islam had two staunch lieutenants , one was Ali he was the Cousin of Mohammad and other was Abu-bakr a friend and confidant. These are two persons who were the pillars of Islam.
Ayesha is the daughter of Abu-bakr. Ali marries one of Mohammad's daughters and this strengthens his ties. Now Abu-bakr wanted to establish his strong ties and wanted to make sure that he is the second in command , so he agrees to marry his daughter to Mohammad, even though his daughter is just 9 and she is not even attained puberty. The reason why he does is to gain control,every human being wants it and if he does not have it , he tries his best to get it.
Marriages are the way families come together and it also gives access to the person. This is like Jodhaa Akbar, where Akbar marries a Rajput princess to ensure that they don't fight and a truce is formed (even though Akbar and Jodhaa are completely fictional).
Ayesha is married to Mohammad when she is 9, but since she has still not attained puberty she is still with her parents. Her mom is one of wives of Abu-bakr and she wants to ensure that Ayesha becomes a hatun (the best wife) , so that she can treat all other wives like slaves.
Ayesha is different , initially she is told that she is going to marry a foot soldier and she has feelings towards him and then when she becomes the wife of Mohammad , immediately she becomes his favorite wife , since she is the youngest one.
Ayesha is always independent and learns how to fight with Mohammad. She also has a sharp tongue and a good sense of humor. She lights up the house.
Ali hates her right from the beginning and he is also jealous the way Mohammad treats her.
So the story goes from here and it is handled in a good way. The following are my quick comments on this
1 ) Ayesha is described as having red hair , I was under the impression I may be wrong but red hair is usually a causacasian feature and I am surprized that a girl in a village in middle east has a red hair.
2 ) Attaining puberty , may be because I am a guy reading this , there is a lot of mention of ur blood flow should start , I read this atleast 6 or 7 times, she could have used a different sentence.
3 ) Lot of things happening are very situational , either she getting married and bringing her toys or she disappears in the middle of the desert, thats a fascinating part of the entire story.
4 ) The lives of the sister wives, it must be really difficult for them unless they are the lead one and all others make sure that they do all the mischevous thing to make sure that they get their time and have their authority.
5 ) The lives of women as a whole , there is a sentence in the book where Ayesha has not attained puberty and she is married , she wanted to go with Mohammed and he says you can come with me later. Her mom says "Men want only two things from a women , 1 )Pleasure and 2)create an offspring , you cannot do anything now so you cannot go". Women are treated like objects of desire and like a store item.
6 ) Add this to the fact that even if a girl has been kidnapped and raped , the guy can get a divorce from that girl.
But Ayesha still stands apart and she has done an excellent job , either in her war skills or the counsel or the power she yields. She is the first one who goes to the war , unlike normal women who give water to the soldiers , she fights valiantly.
This is my first draft and i will write more on this later.
Book Review : Supreme Courtship by Christopher Buckley
I always love Chris Buckley's books and this one didn't disappoint me. The first time I heard of Chris buckley was after watching "Thank you for Smoking". That was one of my favorite movies and I watched it around 5 times , just for the dialogue.
So after watching this movie and then I took the ardent task of reading his books. The first book was "Thank you for smoking". As the normal saying goes , the book was much better than movie. There is an amazing line in that book "If my job is to be right , I cannot be wrong". The hero of the book Nick Naylor is a fascinating character and I learned so much from that.
This book is also a fascinating , what happens when a president who has approval ratings lower than the number of villains in a typical Telugu Film. He cannot appoint a Supreme court , a very talented judge comes to the congressional hearing and he is rejected because when he was 12 years old , he had written a review about "To Kill a mocking bird" and said some parts of the movie was boring. Immediately the members of congressional committee grill him and they just stop saying that he is part of Klux Klux Klan.
So the president an ardent fan of the TV Show appoints a TV Judge and she gets appointed , and what happens next is the story. The heroine of this Judge Pepper Cartwright and she is a Texan, she has her texan slang and a straightforward honest talk. So what happens when she meets with the congressional committee is a laughter riot.
Once I read this book , two things came to my mind
1 ) Harriet Myers.
Harriet Myers was appointed by George Bush and one of the reasons given for her selection was she is just outside of his office and he knew her very well.
2 ) The other fascinating character was the judge from Anna Nicole Smith's trial, that guy used to cry and was a quite a character.
Chris might have got an inspiration from these two characters I believe. But all fictional books are all the cases of what if.
I read this book in two days and I like the style of writing lot of saracm and he really cracks you up.
With my review if I had even kindled interest in this book , then my mission is done.
So after watching this movie and then I took the ardent task of reading his books. The first book was "Thank you for smoking". As the normal saying goes , the book was much better than movie. There is an amazing line in that book "If my job is to be right , I cannot be wrong". The hero of the book Nick Naylor is a fascinating character and I learned so much from that.
This book is also a fascinating , what happens when a president who has approval ratings lower than the number of villains in a typical Telugu Film. He cannot appoint a Supreme court , a very talented judge comes to the congressional hearing and he is rejected because when he was 12 years old , he had written a review about "To Kill a mocking bird" and said some parts of the movie was boring. Immediately the members of congressional committee grill him and they just stop saying that he is part of Klux Klux Klan.
So the president an ardent fan of the TV Show appoints a TV Judge and she gets appointed , and what happens next is the story. The heroine of this Judge Pepper Cartwright and she is a Texan, she has her texan slang and a straightforward honest talk. So what happens when she meets with the congressional committee is a laughter riot.
Once I read this book , two things came to my mind
1 ) Harriet Myers.
Harriet Myers was appointed by George Bush and one of the reasons given for her selection was she is just outside of his office and he knew her very well.
2 ) The other fascinating character was the judge from Anna Nicole Smith's trial, that guy used to cry and was a quite a character.
Chris might have got an inspiration from these two characters I believe. But all fictional books are all the cases of what if.
I read this book in two days and I like the style of writing lot of saracm and he really cracks you up.
With my review if I had even kindled interest in this book , then my mission is done.
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