Thursday, January 10, 2008

Conrad, Galloway & Somnolence

I'm midway through Joseph Conrad's 'The Secret Agent', my first foray into Conrad's works, and am in awe of the ingenuity and clarity of his prose. Furthermore, the sheer audacity and subversiveness of the book, considering it's early 20th century origins, is amazing. The depiction of late Victorian London as a hotbed of anarchist activity wherein ordinary citizens unwittingly share public transport, meals and glances with others who are hell-bent on bringing chaos to the city's streets is ominously resonant with the London of today. (Incidentally, the National Portrait Gallery has a small collection of what can only be described as understated yet statesmanlike portraits of Conrad on display in Room 29 marking the 150th anniversary of his birth that are worth seeking out).

Elsewhere, George Galloway continues to entertain. This time on Newsnight.

The Wellcome Collection's newest exhibition entitled 'Sleeping and Dreaming' is worth a visit too if only to find out just how damaging a week of night-shifts can potentially be!

Monday, January 07, 2008

The prodigal son returns...as a husband!

With rapidity equal only to the stealth with which I temporarily fled the blogosphere, permit me to bring you right up to scratch with events whilst on cyber-sabbatical.
  • I got "married, married" (fortunately to the same person I got "married" to). Having once been the "leading intergalactic contender for the coveted title of happiest man in existence", I have now fought off all competition.
  • Honeymooned in Malaysia - luxuriated in Langkawi, feasted in KL and trekked in Borneo
  • I managed to prise off my Brum-magnet and have relocated to Das Kapital itself. Sometimes I still see the Rotunda in my dreams.
  • My paediatric mantle has been placed in the wardrobe for now (not without successfully sitting my postgrad exams first) as I don the cloak of general practice.

With this humble offering I beg your pardon and resume service as normal.

Oh and for the doubters out there, I completed the 10k run (without the need for any major medical intervention).

Saturday, July 28, 2007

My Travelogue



courtesy of passportstamp.com

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Superman in Rome


Superman, Rome, Italy ©Tauseef Mehrali 2007

Arches


Palazzo Barberini, Rome, Italy ©Tauseef Mehrali 2007

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Leonine Facies


Palazzo Barberini, Rome, Italy ©Tauseef Mehrali 2007

Tuesday, June 26, 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!

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Onions in the Souq


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

Saturday, June 23, 2007

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.

Friday, June 22, 2007

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!

Monday, June 18, 2007

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."

Friday, June 15, 2007

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!

Friday, May 18, 2007

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.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Free time?

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

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

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.

Monday, April 02, 2007

Mind the Gap!

Brought to you courtesy of the Digressive Mind.