Cleopatra’s Daughter

This book was launched on the 15th of August 2009 if I am not mistaken. I remember the first time i saw it on one of my favourite book bloggers sites and i wanted to get my hands on it immediately. I read every review written about it and i just couldn’t wait till it came to Sri Lanka because i know that the famous book stores we have dont really bother to check out the latest up and coming authors and purchase their books. The only launches you would see within a week of the actual publishing date would be either the Harry potter or Dan brown series (which i love by the way). But still I just knew i had to get my hands around this book. As fate would have it i had a friend by the name of Cupcake who knew i was dying to get my hands on this book and got it down for me as a gift. Well you should have seen my excitement when i saw this book. sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.. love at first sight.. and yes I am a bookaholic if no one has noticed by now.

The marriage of Marc Antony and Cleopatra is one of the greatest love stories of all time, a tale of unbridled passion with earth-shaking political consequences. Feared and hunted by the powers in Rome, the lovers choose to die by their own hands as the triumphant armies of Antony’s revengeful rival, Octavian, sweep into Egypt. Their three orphaned children are taken in chains to Rome; only two– the ten-year-old twins Selene and Alexander–survive the journey. Delivered to the household of Octavian’s sister, the siblings cling to each other and to the hope that they will return one day to their rightful place on the throne of Egypt. As they come of age, they are buffeted by the personal ambitions of Octavian’s family and court, by the ever-present threat of slave rebellion, and by the longings and desires deep within their own hearts.

The Author sticks to every original historical detail that was paved along the lives of these heroes. The fateful tale of Selene and Alexander is brought brilliantly to life in Cleopatra’s Daughter. Recounted in Selene’s youthful and engaging voice, it introduces a compelling cast of historical characters: Octavia, the emperor Octavian’s kind and compassionate sister, abandoned by Marc Antony for Cleopatra; Livia, Octavian’s bitter and jealous wife; Marcellus, Octavian’s handsome, flirtatious nephew and heir apparent; Tiberius, Livia’s sardonic son and Marcellus’s great rival for power; and Juba, Octavian’s watchful aide, whose honored position at court has far-reaching effects on the lives of the young Egyptian royals.

The parts in which that ticked me off i guess was the fact the most of the book is based around the 11 year old selene, who by the way acts and speaks as an eighteen year old which confused me immensely. The latter part of the book takes you to the love story of princess Selene and the tragedy surrounding Prince Alexander. It shocks you but also keeps you enthralled with suspense. The saddening fact about this book is that the book ends when the love story for Selene begins.. and i can only hope that the author continues this story with another book about Princess Selene and……. :p (read the book)

After reading this book I realized that she might actually get into my list of favourite authors as well as the book just got selected into a favourite read. If your looking for it then trust me its worth it. Buying it here is questionable but if your impatient then waiting for it to come here is never going to happen. Thanks cupcake.

The bookseller of Kabul

Its been ages since i wrote a post or even logged into wordpress to check on my blog. I guess i was either too busy or just didnt have the urge to write anything.  So all i have been doing for these past few days is just reading, and damn have i read a ton of books and i thought ill just share a little bit about them. Long time back i came across this topic “The bookseller of Kabul” but then its always hard to find a well known book here in Sri Lanka as soon as its launched.  So once i got my hands on this i just couldn’t put it down. The book is based around a true story of a Russian author who chose to live with one of the most famous booksellers in Kabul to understand the culture and the lives of the people.

In my view the book was excellent. The book tells a story of the booksellers family and what they go through specially once the Taliban regime entered Kabul. The way they burnt his books and forbid people to ever read again and the way they coloured every picture of any living organism in his books so that no one will ever see them and be corrupted as they say.  Whats surprising is that Sultan Khan (Bookseller) was always a modernized man who believed in freedom and human rights.. but the irony is that it never reached to the extent of his family. The females of his family had to still obey him and cover themselves up and ask his permission before they chose to do anything.

When the Taliban Rilled into Kabul in September 1996 16 decrees were broadcast on Radio Sharia as follows.

1) Prohibition against female Exposure

2) Prohibition against music

3) Prohibition against shaving

4) Mandatory Prayer

5) Prohibition against the rearing of pigeons and bird fighting

6) Eradication of narcotics and the users thereof

7) Prohibition against kite flying

Prohibition against reproduction of pictures

9)Prohibition against gambling

10) Prohibition against British and American Hairstyles

11) Prohibition against interest on loans, exchange charges and charges on transactions.

12) Prohibition against washing of clothes near river embankments

13) Prohibition against music and dancing at weddings

14) Prohibition against playing drums

15) Prohibition against tailors sewing womens clothes or taking measurements of women

16) prohibition against witchcraft

“Shakila is sitting on the only piece of furniture in the room, a sofa which has been brought in for the occasion. She watches from a distance and is forbidden to either smile or dance. Happiness would hurt the mother she is leaving, sorrow irritate the future mother in law. A brides face must be non committal, she is not supposed to turn her head or look around, but must stare fixedly straight ahead.”

“She is waiting for wakil to be let into her so they can walk out together. He enters rather shyly, they greet each other, eyes on the floor as demanded, they walk out, shoulder to shoulder, without looking at each other. When they stop they must each try to put one foot over the others. The winner is declared the boss of the marriage. Two chairs have been put out in the yard. They must sit down at the same time. If the groom sits down first the bride will dominate all decisions.”

Its an overwhelming book, specially when you consider all the rules and regulations they put up with and go through. We could only think and assume how tough it is for women who live in those countries. The only change you see is that once the Taliban left the singing and dancing all commenced once again but still.. there are certain rules and laws that the people of kabul, or more or less the men refuse to let go of, as they dont want to lose the control they have on the women of Kabul.

No Bras in Somalia

So where in the world has the latest stupidity occurred? oh look no further than Somalia. I read this article in the papers yesterday and was appalled by the circumstances in which these unholy acts are being performed. There’s a new rule in Somalia according to the new Sharia law, which means that if any woman wears a bra she will be whipped. Fancy that.

A hardline Islamist group in Somalia has begun publicly whipping women for wearing bras that they claim violate Islam as they are ‘deceptive’. The insurgent group Al Shabaab has sent gunmen into the streets of Mogadishu to round up any women who appear to have a firm busts. The women are then inspected to see if the firmness is natural, or if it is the result of wearing a bra. If they are found wearing a bra, they are ordered to remove it and shake their breasts.

At first when I read this I thought i had stumbled across some sick joke but its actually quite true. and I was just thinking.. damn I wouldn’t mind walking around without one once in a while.. and here they are not enough they make the women wear a veil but now they cant wear bras?? what the hell? Al Shabaab, which seeks to impose a strict interpretation of Sharia law over all Somalia, also amputated a foot and a hand each from two young men accused of robbery earlier this month. They have also banned movies, musical ringtones, dancing at wedding ceremonies and playing or watching soccer. Apparently all breasts should be firm naturally, or just flat. Any man caught without a beard was been publicly whipped so the laws for men are equally strong as well.

Its sad to see that its going all the way to the Taliban laws all over again. once you get rid of one party, another emerges.

Will it all END in 2012?

I never really paid much attention to all these predictions people kept making about this and that and how the world will end. A few years back we believed the world will end when we reached our millennium, and yet here we stand as always living our dreary lives.

Since their earliest recorded history, the ancient Maya were sincerely interested in the perception of time. Their cultural basis was formed on the comprehension and interpretation of time. They were the earliest civilizations with a recorded concept of zero and notational placement, thus forming the foundation of understanding time. The Mayan calendar has been described as genius, with intricate forms of dating interlocking with one perception to the next. Their numbers consisted of zero, a shell-like shape, a dot for one unit, and a bar for five units. These were simple symbols used in their hieroglyphics, yet they indicate an extremely advanced mathematical system. The best part of it all is that their calendar ends on the 21st of December 2012, that’s when the Maya calendar will turn over to all zeros — 13.0.0.0.0 by the long count.

This fact isn’t nearly as frightening as it sounds! The Mayans kept extremely detailed astronomical records and they followed the cycles of the planets and stars as they travel around in their orbits. We are currently in the 5th cycle recorded by the Maya. It started in 3114B.C. and lasts for 5126 years until 2012. The Maya believe that in the 5th cycle the ancient wisdom of the Maya will be rediscovered by the world and it will be a new dawn for mankind! “In just 12 years we face another apocalyptic test.

The prediction regarding the terrorists’ attack on the Twin Towers was even more terrifying.

According to the book “The Mayan Prophesies” by Adrian Gilbert and Maurice Cotterell, the Mayans prophesied that “great birds will come from the sky and end a great city to the north,” and indeed, two airplanes stuck New York City, a large city geographically located to the north.  Although New York City was not “ended” by the attack, a large part of their history will include this sad event.

Even if we chose to deny it or not people believe that something will happen sooner or later.. and my advice to everyone is we might as well enjoy ourself before we all either drown or get incinerated.

The way to a womans heart is through her stomach

Recently me and cupcake had a discussion regarding a very interesting topic.. well.. I think it was more like a fight but lets just keep it as a discussion for now. The point of discussion was regarding my brother. He wanted to get this girl (who is just a friend of his.. but he does like her after all) a birthday gift and me and cupcake were wondering what to get her as we were trying to help that lazy ass. So I was telling him why don’t we get a nice box of chocolates from Fine things and get it delivered to her place, and cupcake was going on about getting flowers which i thought was just such a waste of money. I mean dont get me wrong but I think i am one of those girls who seems to think that feeding me will get you everywhere. People spend so much on flowers these days and its a crime in my books as it only lasts for a maximum of 3 days. U get it and you get all happy about it and then you just discard it and forget it.

As always Cupcake was adamant about the damn flowers and we decided against it all. I know most people believe that giving your girl friend or loved one flowers is a great thing but seriously, is she going to remember it? I myself might sound very boring to you all right now but for me the real way to my heart is through my stomach. I would love to be gifted food. Yes you can eat it and finish it off and forget about it. But it fills up your tummy and makes you so happy. You wont go hungry. Basic human need. (Damn i sound like a little greedy fat slob now dont I?) Anyway for me some of my ideal gifts are as follows. Food, books, clothes and on those lines. I have warned my friends and boyfriend of buying me any flowers because its a freaking waste of money. So cupcake is trying to prove me wrong but I don’t care. I wont change.  I love Food. And everything in my life revolves around it. When I just think about hot butter cuttle fish my tongue tingles and the smell of a great lasagna right out of an oven and my personal favourite would have to be licking the left overs once my mum has made Christmas cake. yummmmmyyyyyy….. and to continue with the discussion of food, I love a BBQ night with some great pork chops and some spare ribs and pineapple. The Christmas Ham and the roast chicken. The battered prawns and even sweet and sour. My mouth is just watering thinking of all of this and I so want it all now. So cupcake trust me when I tell you this. Your flowers cant compete against all these dishes I have mentioned. I am not ashamed to say it as well. I am a FOODAHOLIC!!!! and I am proud of it. I LOVE FOOD.

Funeral

A friend of mine sent me this video and i wanted to share it with everyone who would take the time to see it.. It shows us exactly what love is about.. and even though at the beginning you think its some humourous clip.. its not.. it really hits you where it should.

Sometimes do you sit and wonder to your self and complain about the person that your in love with? he doesn’t do this and that and do you think to your self that his imperfect as a human being because of his tiny flaws?

Or are u one of those people who loves those imperfections about the person you love? Do you see his pot belly and think to your self that sometimes you just love that about him? Or that no matter how much he makes you mad sometimes, he always has a way of making u laugh with his little crude noises? This is something to think about…

Books, Books.. Read all about it….

So i was one of those crazy book addicts who went to the book fair.. and not once mind you.. twice.. and i loved every minute of it. It was horrendously crowded and you get pushed around and all that.. but when you see those books… ahhhhh.. now thats when everything just starts to go right.. So i walked all over.. practically memorized everything and got my hands around some amazing books that i have wanted for soo long at unbelievable prices. So my list of purchases contained:

The beach House, The White Tiger, Anna Karenina

The bookseller of Kabul, The Host, Eclipse and the Last Concubine

And it was all a steal for the prices that they were giving them out for, but word of advice.. before you go.. have a set of books you want to buy listed out. Check the prices of the book in many stores before you buy them coz sometimes ul find the same book dirt cheap somewhere else. And for all you dan brown fans out there, The lost Symbol has landed in the country and the best choice is to get it at the book fair coz you get your 20% discount.

So whoever hasnt gone yet.. my advice is to get ur asses there SOON coz it all ends tomorrow.

Me? Arrested? NEVER!!! :p

Well iv been tagged by santhoshi because she believes that i would get arrested because of my header, and here i was thinking it was for all my slanderous talk about how stupid the government is But if i was to get arrested.. then this picture im using in my header is well worth it First of all i have to thank one of my good friends for making it for me.. and i should warn everyone that i have worse headers than this which i haven’t uploaded yet.. but Santhoshi you will be the first person to know once i do

So lets get down to business. Im going to tag 3 bloggers who i feel would get arrested… and most likely i hope they will… lol.. just kidding

Cupcake – For believing for some insane reason that he is not mortal and is under some sad sad sad fantasy that he will take over the world one day Sorry cupcake.. had to do it.. lol

Pinky – for being sooo sweet and trying to make the world a pink place..

Shysly – For not being able to stay in touch with us folks in Sri Lanka once he left to England…

There… iv done my duty.. you’ve been tagged

Left Behind

I remember the first time i saw this poster.. it was in One Tree Hill. I used to be quite fascinated by it and i used to think to myself as to whats the percentage of this being right. When it comes down to it.. its pretty obvious that its all right.. people always do leave. No matter what you do or say to keep them.. end of the day your alone.. other than for your family. They are the only ones who were with you when you were born and they are the only ones who stand by your side when you take the last few breaths in your life.

I had a friend.. or more of have a friend. Lets call that special friend of mine Avacado. If you knew me well you’ll know that everything is based around food for me. Avacado was very close to me.. i told Avacado everything about me and everything i knew.. shared things with Avacado, joked around, had quite a number of laughs too, and not to mention some priceless moments that only the two of us and a bunch of people who were present  at those times knew about.

So Avacado and i were very close. Closer than anyone else we knew. But there were times that Avacado left me confused and questioning myself as to what i did wrong. Avacado used to walk in all grumpy and then just ignore me.. and i used to be all happy to see Avacado but never got the same treatment back. And then there were the great days that we used to kid around and make everyone else our little joke. Right now we are in that same situation again. The one where im left confused and i always end up going after Avacado and asking what i did wrong, eventhough im still bloody confused as hell. I sat myself down and told my self.. no matter what you end up doing, Avacado will eventually leave you and forget you. And you end up where you did long time ago… alone. So what did i choose to do? i choose to give Avacado time and not get in the way. I will sit back and wait. That day may come or may not and i hope to god it will come coz i miss my Avacado.. but theres nothing much i can do about it…. but wait… alone…

A Dedication to a Cupcake

I once had a friend, who has known me for a few years, but from the very first day it felt like we had known each other forever. That persons name is cupcake. Cupcake has been my guardian angel from the very beginning because cupcake believes that i am a trouble maker and i need someone to watch over me. All i can say is those words that were uttered has always been true. I have been the biggest prone for any kind of misfortune in life. But no matter what, Cupcake has been by my side to make sure that i am well taken care of.

I remmeber through out all the sad little misfortunes i have had with my relationships, cupcake has been the one true person who has always. no matter what, taken my side. Taught me to control my temper and adviced me on the one key rule that i still remember to this day. “No matter how angry you are and you want to say the meanest most nastiest things back to the person who hurt you, always remember that some things can never be taken back”

Its because i have listened to those wise words that i have kept myself out of certain incidents. This post is a dedication to you cupcake. To thank you for always being there for me and always being my friend and remembering me no matter how much i forget you and always having the patience to untangle me from the messes i make for my self. Wish i can be there for you one day and do the same for you.