Arches

Palazzo Barberini, Rome, Italy ©Tauseef Mehrali 2007

Leonine Facies

Palazzo Barberini, Rome, Italy ©Tauseef Mehrali 2007

Blair at War

BBC's News at Ten tonight ran a fascinating piece on an exhibition currently running at the National Portrait Gallery entitled Blair at War: Photographs by Nick Danziger. (A quick Google search revealed this is the same Nick Danziger behind Danziger's Travels!)

In March 2003, as Tony Blair took the final steps towards leading the nation to war with Iraq, award-winning photojournalist Nick Danziger and Times Literary Supplement editor Peter Stothard were given thirty days of unprecedented access to the Prime Minister and his closest aides.

On display to the public for the first time, Danziger's portraits tell the candid story of a decisive time in Britain's political history. Revealing the inner circle of the political players in Downing Street, at Camp David and in the power corridors of Europe, these portraits provide a poignant insight into Blair's hopes and fears as he took on a sceptical electorate, the Labour Party, Jacques Chirac and ultimately Saddam Hussein.

The collection comprises some exceptional black and white photographs of which a couple particularly stand out: 1) A shot capturing Blair reclining in an office chair mid-telephone conversation with Alastair Campbell's ghostly presence revealed via a reflection in a mirror and 2) a wonderfully captured portrait of Blair in eclipse with a shadow eliminating half his face seemigly staring into a mirror, only to reveal that the supposed reflection is George Bush in person!

Onions in the Souq

Onions in the Souq, Fez, Morocco ©Tauseef Mehrali 2006

Mauritania's 'wife-fattening' farm

Reading this recent BBC story reminded me of the observations of my old Arabic teacher during his sojourn in Mauritania, learning classical Arabic. He was amazed at what constituted beauty in Mauritanian culture as compared to well-established Western norms - an aesthetic relativity of sorts.

Obesity is so revered among Mauritania's white Moor Arab population that the young girls are sometimes force-fed to obtain a weight the government has described as "life-threatening".

A generation ago, over a third of women in the country were force-fed as children - Mauritania is one of the few African countries where, on average, girls receive more food than boys.

"Iraq is a wonderland for apocalytpicism"

Juan Cole's perspective on recent events in Iraq.

The Top 21 International Films. Discuss.

A list put together by a friend of a friend. Pan's Labyrinth and Cache are very worthy inclusions.

1. Fateless (Hungary/Poland)
   
2. The Clay Bird (Bangladesh)
   
3. Paradise Now (Occupied Palestinian Territories)
   
4. Tsotsi (South Africa)
   
5. Osama (Afghanistan)
   
6. City of god (Brazil)
   
7. Spirited Away (Japan)
   
8. Children of heaven (Iran)
   
9. Moolade (Senegal)
   
10. Pan’s Labyrinth (Mexico)
    
11. Etre Et Avoir (France)
    
12. The Edukators (Germany)
    
13. Life Is Beautiful (Italy)
    
14. Almost Brothers (Brazil)
    
15. The Colour Of Paradise (Iran)
    
16. Whale rider (New Zealand)
    
17. Cache (France)
    
18. Au revoir, les enfants (France)
    
19. Central Station (Brazil)
    
20. The motorcycle diaries (Argentina)
    
21. Abandoned (Hungary)

9 days to go!

Iran's Giant Shoe Box of Faded Photographs, Full of the Unexpected

A fascinating article from the New York Times on the evolution of photography in Iran, especially under Qajar auspices.

"The photographs also reveal the king's taste in women: his wives were plump and often had black, bushy eyebrows and dark, thick mustaches."

Proving a point

Just to completely eradicate any hint of idleness on my part: Pay to see me cry.

Leo gets published

The travel feature from this month's emel magazine proves I'm not completely idle.

Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5.

Sponsor my other half...or else!

Hitchens on Falwell

Christopher Hitchens ideological vacillations have tarnished his image and his demolition at the hands of George Galloway pretty much dealt him a death blow. It's good to a see a touch of the old magic in his scathing critique of the late Reverend Jerry Falwell.

Free time?

Destroy any remaining free time you have under the guise of productivity with goodreads.

Mr & Mrs Africanus

Yet another protracted spell away from the Blogosphere comes to an end and all is right with the world. Whatever could be the reason this time? Holidaying? (again!) Focusing on work? (a first!) Illness? (do doctors become unwell?) No, no and no.

The answer to my cyber-sabbatical lies somewhat cryptically in the accompanying image. Those are indeed Leo's very own hooves sporting a bit of pedal bling a la Sinbad. The fancy dress accessorised a transformative moment in my life; I had my nikah recited and have pledged myself to my soulmate, The Digressive Mind.

In doing so, I'm now leading intergalactic contender for the coveted title of happiest man in existence.

The rukhsati and walimah are lined up for Autumn of this year. I've never been so finely attuned to the changing of seasons; A man for all seasons.

Mind the Gap!

Brought to you courtesy of the Digressive Mind.

My VisualDNA

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

I'm 27 today!

Dreaming (or lack thereof)

Am I the only person in the world who has stopped dreaming? I've gone months, if not years, without so much as a faded memory of a dream on waking. I'm not totally regretful, as my uninterrupted, dream-less, corpse-like sleep is wonderfully refreshing but it'd be nice to quote Martin Luther King and mean it.

Nocturnalism

I'm convinced my night shifts are coming around quicker and quicker. As my second night of seven draws to an end, the minuscule portion of my brain that remains functional finds itself wholly diverted to dreaming up breakfasting possibilities. I subsist on two meals a day during nights - ascetic in principle but truly gluttonous in practice.

Breakfast takes on a whole new guise post-nights. Rather than a meagre means of preventing a potentially embarrassing ward round collapse, or worse still, a mid-ward round tummy rumble and filling the gap before a far more substantial lunch, breakfast in fact becomes lunch. My standard Sunday breakfast becomes a daily phenomenon for seven days. The resultant slumber is blissful.

However, with breakfast usurping lunch and sleep denying brunch an opportunity, my otherwise religious devotion to Philpotts is put to one side during a week of nights. Philpotts is not merely a lunch venue, it's a lifestyle choice. I simply cannot resist the opulent deli surroundings, the granary baguettes smeared in olive oil but most of all the bespoke smoothies. It is said you know you're in trouble when your local chip-shop owner knows your order before you've opened your mouth. My smoothie technician has me sussed out.

Having succumbed to different (admittedly delicious) smoothies for several consecutive days, at a certain point last week I decided to exercise some more will power. I marched to the sandwich counter avoiding eye contact with the predatory smoothie man with the gold capped front teeth.

Smoothie Man: Good afternoon sir!
Me: (Already resigned to yet another experimental beverage) Hello!
Smoothie Man: Not enjoying a smoothie today sir?
Me: (Talking as though possessed) What's today's special?
Smoothie Man: A lovely combination of kiwi, pineapple, honey and bio-yoghurt...try some.
Me: (Knocking back the taster). Give me a regular. You've really got me worked out haven't you?
Smoothie Man: Hahaha. Sir, if you don't mind me asking, do you buy smoothies for the taste or for the health benefits?
Me: If I'm brutally honest, it's for the taste and I retrospectively claim the health benefits.
Smoothie Man: Oh, I see. (Pouring in some honey). I can't actually partake of this drink you know sir.
Me: Why's that?
Smoothie Man: (Leaning forward and glancing side to side in a conspiratorial manner) I was diagnosed with diabetes last week.
Me: You can still have honey as part of a balanced diet.
Smoothie Man: Really?
Me: Yes. In fact if you crank up your exercising you can actually get rid of your diabetes.
Smoothie Man: No way! You see that lady across at the other counter? The one with the sad face. She has diabetes. I aint gonna let that happen. I'm gonna grab diabetes by the neck and overcome it. (Flashing a golden grin).

I picked up the smoothie, fleetingly cursed my lack of resilience and protractedly pacified my ravenous tastebuds.