Family Guy

I can't say I am a devout Family Guy fan, I have watched a couple of episodes here and there. But it's really amazing that a biased network like Fox would broadcast a show like Family Guy. The season premiere informs/reminds its viewers that Bush's closet is full of more skeletons than we ever thought. Now, here is a family you can never under-estimate.

Please read this article for more information :D.

Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World

Mad Men

Being sick has provided me with an excellent opportunity to catch up on Mad Men (ahh, that silver lining of strep throat). A cable drama set in the late 50's/early 60's. The first look reminded me of Frank Wheeler's Manhattan that I read about in Revolutionary Road. The writing is amazing and very poetic. I think this new series is right up there with Six Feet Under. The characters are very well-developed, and multi-faceted. I like it when characters are ambiguous and there is no right or wrong, and they are flawed with a swirl of goodness, something very Shakespearean about that.

The series mainly addresses the issue of sexism. Women in the office, as the secretaries, are shown as sex commodities, but one of them actually gets promoted to be a copywriter. The show is about an advertising firm, marks the beginning of the commercialistic corporate era. Peggy Olson's promotion from Don Draper's secretary to a copywriter, made me wonder if she's earning the same salary as her male counterparts. But, the issue of salary discrimination is not archaic. Last month, a study showed that men still earn more money than women, even though more women are going for big corporate jobs.

I am probably going off on a tangent here, but sexism still exists in our western society. For instance, the other day I went to drop off my mom, and the entrance to the parking lot was closed due to construction. The big deep yellow sign saying "Men are working" warded off people, and made cars turn around to park elsewhere. I know this is something very small, and I am honestly not picking a fight here, as I have never seen a female construction worker. But, it just caught my attention, and as this Time's article points out, these signs give the impression that only men are suitable for these jobs.

Same thing goes for when I take my car for a tune up or repair. The car service area is a very high testosterone zone, and last year for the first time I saw a female mechanic, and I just wanted to say, "You go girl!". Moreover, you mostly see men bringing their wife's/daughter's car for repair.

In Rwanda, for the first time ever we have a female majority in the parliament. The legislative world is still dominated by white old men. Supposedly, we have surpassed the feministic movement, and my generation falls under the category of Post-Feminism era, where we didn't have to fight for our rights. But, sexism does exist. In my university math classes, I was part of a small number, there were only 4 other girls with me. This meant I couldn't be late for my classes ;-), because the profs didn't have a hard time remembering me.

Turning to Canadian politics, I couldn't be happier for Elizabeth May, the Green Party leader. She was the only woman at our debates, and she held her ground, in both the English and French language debates. Stephen Harper's advisors have asked him to wear a sweater to soften his image, so he can tap into the female demographic, who have gone for the Liberals in the past. Is it really that easy to get our votes?! But apparently, this strategy is working for Harper, and for the first time, compared to the previous elections, a high number of women voters are supporting Harper's Conservative party. Same thing goes for Russia's Vladimir Putin. Last summer, the then President of Russia, released bare-chested photos of him, so he could be seen as Russia's sex symbol.

But, the same sexism, in some cases, can also work for people's advantage. For instance in Sarah Palin's case, whenever her foreign affairs knowledge is questioned, the right-winged Fox News accuses the media for being sexist. Joe Biden, instead of attacking Palin's inexperience, and incoherent 'verbage', focused his attacks on McCain, in the last week's VP debate. He didn't want to be labelled as a pompous sexist.

You cannot really hold men responsible of sexism, when we have made the four ladies of Sex and the City crusaders of female independence and success. No strings-attached sexual behaviour shouldn't be a determinant of how far we have come. Nor does a woman's need of Manolo Blahnik to feel empowered. Why aren't we selling movies like Erin Brockovich, the only movie that comes to mind, I am seriously drawing a blank here, to show that women are intelligent. Carrie Bradshaw should not be put on a pedestal, and reckoned to be our heroine, it's women like Margaret Atwood who write about strong intelligent female characters who deserve the status we have placed on these four Botox-tod women. Or women like Mukhtar Mai, and Somaly Mam, who have made women's education and freedom their primary goals, and because of their will power have managed to transcend the cultural boundaries their patriarchal society imposed on them.

Two-Step Mainstreaming

Chris Brown's Forever is a song I'm sort of embarrassed to love. It's, after all, totally mainstream you know :P. Whenever this song comes on the radio, I find myself cranking up the volume and bobbing my head. It has been a couple of months since the song came out, but I still haven't grown out of it. This kid got the moves, yo. His grammar is very good too, he says, "Me and you...you and I."

Michael Buble's Save the Last Dance, makes me wish I could salsa dance. Plus, he's Canadian :D, so that's all I need :).

Okay, time to promote my own culture. The Bilz's 2 Step Bhangra is another old number, but I still love it. I heard it on Z103.5 the first time, and I was uber excited to hear a South Asian song on the radio. At the same time, it was very amusing how they struggled to pronounce the word Bhangra. Love this song, and who knew brown guys could dance too. They are from Montreal. Sadly, they have gone totally MIA after this song.

I loved the two songs the Killers performed on last week's SNL. Check out their new song called Human from their new album, which comes out in November.

Revolutionary Road

A lot has been written, and said about marriage. Visit a drugstore and you would find that every single magazine at least has an article generously sharing the secrets of marital bliss.

A couple of years ago, Time magazine published a list of 100 best novels of the 20th century. That summer my goal was to read as many books as I can from that list. Not because I am a conformist or a sad lonely nerd, okay maybe the latter, but it was sheer curiosity that got me working towards that still unfulfilled goal. The list contained some well-known books, some of which I had read or heard of before, but also had some lesser-known novels, including Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates.

The book showed a rather realistic, if not morbid aspect of marriage. In the book, April Wheeler was initially drawn to her Columbia educated husband Frank Wheeler, because of his worldly knowledge, and WWII European travel experience, he serenaded her with. These young lovers had dreams and aspirations, which made them feel different from their counterparts and elders. But soon, April got pregnant with their first child, and they found themselves settling into the sub-urban picket fenced lifestyle. The mystery, dreams, and sense of endearment that brought them together, slipped away with the passage of time, as April's life became about cooking, cleaning, and looking after her family, and Frank was stuck working, in Manhattan, at a job that he despised, but stuck it out because he had the responsibility to provide for his family.

I often joke with my friends that this is the book I am gonna give to the guy as a wedding present, so he is aware of the bleak side of marriage. I know, this might be a bad idea, because this book is hardly romantic, but I believe people should go into marriage with the knowledge that taking the relationship to the ultimate big step requires both responsibility and maturity.

Last year, I found out that they were turning this book into a movie. I wasn't too thrilled about the news, as they almost always fail to do justice to the original characters and the story. But my reservations were somewhat reassured when I discovered Sam Mendes, who directed American Beauty, is directing the movie, and it will have Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet playing the leads. I thought Kate Winslet did an excellent job in the film adaptation of Little Children. And well Leo is just Leo. He is not just a pretty face, but also an environmentalist - *gasping for air* (so I am not totally shallow).

The trailer looks very promising, and the movie comes out in December. I hear that they are advertising it is as Titanic's sequel, which is not a fair assessment at all. Be sure to read the book before you go watch the movie.

Kids say the darndest things

This year, my parents decided to throw a big Eid dinner, I think about 25 people were invited. So my Sunday was spent helping my mom cook, and clean. I think, I might have passed along my flu germs, while performing my domestic duties. Yum, eh?

But, the best part of the night were the kids. In the house of grownups, we have to be really creative when kids come over. They hung out in my room, the aunties and uncles had taken over the main floor, and it was too chilly in the basement. Poor kids amused themselves with my pens, drawers and camera - children are easy to entertain. They were very smart, they all knew how to work the camera, and took turns in taking random pictures of each other.

We also watched Enchanted, a Disney movie about a princess who is teleported to the real world by an evil lady. Obviously, the prince charming also follows her to the real world, to rescue her, and bring her back to the La La land so they can live happily ever after.

When the prince charming eventually finds her, the following conversation ensues:

Princess: We should go on a date?
Prince: What's a date?
[pause]

To that one of the kids, I was watching the movie with, said, "a date is a fruit." I thought it was the most adorable and innocent thing ever, especially considering that dates are Ramadan's staple food. I thought it was cute, because if someone had asked me about a date, my first reaction wouldn't have been the fruit date. Even though, I just spent an entire month breaking my fast with dates, an Islamic tradition.

Here's an anecdote that you guys might like:

A kindergarten student told his teacher he had found a cat, but it was dead. 'How do you know that the cat was dead?' she asked her student. 'Because I pissed in its ear and it didn't move,'answered the child innocently. 'You did WHAT???' the teacher exclaimed in surprise. 'You know,' explained the boy, 'I leaned over and went 'Pssst!' and it didn't move.'

Nuit Blanche '08

Nuit Blanche is a free all-night contemporary art event, where art galleries and museums are kept open from sundown to sunrise. It's a French import, but has become an annual thing in Toronto, was first introduced in 2006.

Artwork, live art, and visual installations by various international and Canadian artists were displayed throughout downtown Toronto. Unlike last year, the event was more organized and art displays were setup near the subway stations, so it was easier to get around, and locate the places. We were also more prepared, we already had our route planned out, and did not attempt to see everything, which didn't really work out too well for us, last year.

Last year, Nuit Blanche was during Ramadan so because of the night time prayers we had a late start. Not only that, we were also stuck downtown till 6 AM, so I had to struggle to find an open food place to eat my pre-dawn Ramadan breakfast or my pre-fast breakfast (the latter sounds a bit oxymoronic). Also, it took us ages to get home, since the buses had stopped running, and we even attempted to walk home from Kipling Station. All in all circa 2007's Nuit Blanche was a flop because of poor organization.

But this year, the organizers totally redeemed themselves. The TTC was up and running, and we were able to get home at a decent hour (what 2 AM is pretty decent ;-D. I know, on any other day, I wouldn't be allowed to stay out this late, but my parents are anti-Harper, hence they showed their opposition by letting me appreciate the art - I know, excuses, excuses...).

I have attached pictures of some of the displays that I liked. The exciting thing about Nuit Blanche is that it's not only about the art, it's also about the experience, of people getting together, trying to locate the art displays which are spread out, and enjoying the downtown experience.

Disclaimer: I am not good at describing events, but I just wanted to write something so you would sort of know what the following pictures are all about.

Comic Living

Love Factually

My friend sent me this Cosmo-ish article regarding interesting facts about love. Maybe finding these observations interesting make us desperate, but what the heck, at least, we are not totally over the hill yet.

My favourite ones are:

1. Men who kiss their wives in the morning live five years longer than those who don't. - There's something good about the stinky morning breath, after all.

2. People are more likely to tilt their heads to the right when kissing instead of the left (65 percent of people go to the right!) - I wonder if it's because majority of the people are right-handed...

12. Eleven percent of women have gone online and done research on a person they were dating or were about to meet, versus seven percent of men. - I am guilty of this, sue me for being well-informed okay! *embarrassed*.

17. People who are newly in love produce decreased levels of the hormone serotonin — as low levels are seen in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Perhaps that's why it's so easy to feel obsessed when you're smitten. - ah, finally an explanation.

19. According to mathematical theory, we should date a dozen people before choosing a long-term partner; that provides the best chance that you'll make a love match. - Have a lot of catching up to do here.

20. A man's beard grows fastest when he anticipates sex. - Who knew beard would be such an excellent marker. This is perhaps due to increased levels of testosterone.

More found here.

Ode to October

Eid Mubarak and Shana Tova.

I love it when religious festivals of different faiths coincidently fall on the same day. Last year, it was Diwali and Eid, which ended up being on the same day, and this year it's Eid and Rosh Hashanah. What can I say, us Muslims are very generous. We like to share our religious holidays with others. This way we don't seem like total slackers when we take the day off. On a non-lame note, I feel this coincidence may somehow remind people that we are more alike than we are different. Sorry to break it to you folks, we are really not that different from each other.

This year Eid also marks the beginning of my favourite month *drum roll please* October. My love for October is very deep you see. Beautiful autumn leaves. All these myriad fall colours, be it yellow, maroon, red, rusty brown, really are breathtaking, and make me pause to admire the beauty around me. Also, fall makes me want to go to Erindale Park for a nice walk by the Credit River, and hopefully have a close encounter with the deer and bunnies, that rule the land.

Oh by they way, I also heart October because I was born in this poetic month of beauty and perfection. Although, I have to wait almost an entire month for my birthday. It's on the 30th if anyone is interested in keeping a countdown, I know I am :-).

By the way, Black Tuesday was on the 29th, so I think my mom really had me on the perfect day. I am sandwiched between the infamous Wall Street crash (which is becoming a recurring nightmare, apparently), and R.L. Stine Goosebumps cavity-fest, otherwise known as Halloween.

Other not-so important things that happened in October:

October 1: The first postcards were issued in 1869
October 2: The comic strips Peanuts first appeared in 1950
October 4: Sputnik was launched into space in 1957
October 6: Thomas Edison showed his first motion picture in 1889
October 7: The first far side pictures of the moon were released in 1959
October 11: SNL premiered with guest host George Carlin in 1975
October 22: Apollo 7 returned to earth in 1968
October 23: The first iPod was released in 2001
October 24: Black Thursday in 1929
October 25: Jean Chretien became our Prime Minister in 1993
October 29: The International Red Cross was established in 1863
October 30: First ballpoint pen was patented in 1888

More found here - Today was my absolute day off, okay! :-)