call me juvenile if you like

..but I couldn't resist making up this poster

after seeing who's who on the editorial board of The Harvard Crimson.
Has not the time come for people to acknowledge the obvious?

the mummy's curse

We don't do days, but this mother's day article is worth a peek: Free us from the curse of the yummy mummy
"On this special day, shouldn't we seize the opportunity to kill off the myth of the Yummy Mummy once and for all and perhaps replace her with the far more realistic Bummed Mummy? [...]
What else could explain the bizarre trend, started by celebrities, for women to slim back down to the size of a Twiglet straight afterbirth or how the fact that they've managed to get back into 'those pre-pregnancy jeans' is routinely perceived as far more marvellous, much more of a 'miracle', than giving birth itself?
[...]Despite society's best efforts, parenting has not turned into a Boden catalogue, so, arguably, neither should we[...] maybe it's time women stopped envying the Yummy Mummy and started seeing her for what she is - just another tiresome fiction of perfection that no sane person has got time for.
Do the women of today really want to be remembered as the Yummy Mummy wannabe generation that cried their eyes out because they weren't Posh Spice? Do they really want inscribed on their tombstones: 'Her greatest achievement was to get back into her jeans quickly'?
Thought so. In fact, to any mother reading this: just for one day, forget all about trying to be 'yummy'. Instead, relax...and spend the rest of the day barking instructions at your progeny to attend to your every need. Isn't this what Mother's Day is all about?"

you don't say!

Interesting: 7 Deadly Sins of the blogging world - a far cry from Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy and Pride!

places on paper

The Guardian has this list of books that transport you to places you've never been to before, except on paper. Ever had that feeling while reading a book? They've even got a name for the phenomenon: international books. Neat!

I have my own list, though:

Any biography of the Prophet /Companions to take you 1400 years back in time.

Palestine, by Joe Sacco for a virtual visit to the Holy Land.

The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy for all things Kerala.

Anything by Gabriel Garcia Marquez to transport you to a place where it's hot, mosquitoes abound and there's the smell of gun powder and bitter almonds, while parrots squawk outside on guava trees.

My son's father by Nadine Gordimer to apartheid South Africa.

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell to south American cotton plantations.

Pride and Prejudice / Sherlock Holmes' adventures / PG Wodehouse to Victorian England.

The Good Earth by Pearl S Buck to China.

Enid Blyton books to a place called childhood.

Daal-chawal with a capital K

So yesterday we tried Koshary from a restaurant called Koshary an-Neel.

The name conjured some really exotic images for me...I imagined a harmonious commingling of sun-kissed rice and tomatoes with fragrant spices from the Mother of All-Civilisation (Umm Dunya) and some sort of meat (it's an Egyptian dish after all :P).

Imagine my feelings when we unpacked our 'safari' order to encounter daal-chawal with shatta with layers of salty macaroni and spaghetti strings on top, with a few boiled chickpeas strewed on for good measure.

Good, hearty meal all right, but definitely not what I was expecting. Perhaps I get my hopes up too soon?
Anyway here's the recipe (with pictures and a story to go with them) for days when you want to make daal-chaawal by another name. :)

''say you're sorry!''

interesting article in 'Slate' that debates whether getting kids to apologise (to each other/otherfamily members during fights) and to others (if they're misbehaving in mixed company for example) is a good idea or a bad one?:

"OK, sorry," clears the air. It's one way to strive for a modicum of family civility. And after all, growing up is sometimes an exercise in learning to go through the motions, and sometimes a genuine feeling can follow upon an action that's repeated until it's instilled. If I tell my kids to say they're sorry 10,000 times, I can hope that someday the grudging mutter will turn willing and sincere.

The other time I hear myself barking "Say you're sorry!" is when I'm with a friend and his or her kids, and one of my kids is being obnoxious, and I'm embarrassed. This one I can't really defend: It's a cheap way to signal that I, for one, have some manners; that I know my kids are being trolls and won't let them get away with it, at least not entirely. Forcing an apology is a lot easier than imposing a real punishment. So, it suits for small- to medium-sized infractions that I feel like I should address (or rather shouldn't be seen letting go). Especially, if I'm honest, toward the end of a long day.