March 2007

The Archives

• homistan

  Dusk

  03.31.07 | Permalink | 2 Comments

  For now, I will let this speak for itself.
  Record of the conflict between the Government and Dawn 2004-2007.
  Dawn is Pakistan’s largest circulation English daily, published from Karachi.

• homistan

  No One Writes to The General

  03.27.07 | Permalink | 5 Comments

  In the NYT today is Pakistan’s Silent Majority Is Not to Be Feared, an op-ed by the author Mohsin Hamid on Musharraf and the rising tide of discontent with his dictatorial ways. He begins by admitting that he was an early supporter of Musharraf and cites some of the economic booms during the last 7 […]

• optical character recognition

  Sunday Reading for Bostonians

  03.25.07 | Permalink | 8 Comments

  Had all things been normal, I would have been on a panel this Sunday morning, at the AAS in Boston. Instead, I could only hope from a distance that Countervailing Connections: Islamicate Mobilities in Imperial Moments proved to be the barn-rouser that I had imagined. So, today’s late - very late - list of readings […]

• not baseball

  Cricket Woes

  03.23.07 | Permalink | 7 Comments

  Nothing lifts the spirits more in such desperate times than the memory of a young player gaining simple pleasure from one of his first tastes of cricketing success. India’s cricket commercialism was shaken to the core because last week a carefree 17-year-old Bangladeshi, Tamim Iqbal, smacked the bowlers to all parts. Yesterday, Sri Lanka also […]

• homistan

  Lawless in Pakistan

  03.21.07 | Permalink | 11 Comments

  The headlines everywhere are filled with the scandal of District Attorneys fired for political reasons. The White House, the Justice Department, Congress and pundits are immersed in pondering the consequences of such gross politicization of the Law. Gone un-noticed, outside of a few reports, is another crisis involving the executive and the judicial branches […]

• noted

  Bollypolitans

  03.18.07 | Permalink | Comment?

  Oh, yeah. Desis are here. And they can write, bitches. About themselves, sure, but it’s all ehch to da eye to da pee in da NYC!

• not baseball

  Luck O’ The Draw

  03.17.07 | Permalink | 12 Comments

  The World Cup of Cricket is currently underway. Those of you who care, already know this and I am informing the rest now. The concept is beguilingly similar to other ‘World Cup’s - a bunch of teams from across the world gather every 4 years and find out how bad they suck compared to Australia […]

• portraits, univerCity

  Pakistan Education Project

  03.16.07 | Permalink | 1 Comment

  In 1957, Francis S. Chase, the founding Dean of the Graduate School of Education, established at the University of Chicago the “Pakistan Education Project” with support from the Ford Foundation. The purpose of the project was to improve education through teacher-training programs at extension centers in what was then East and West Pakistan and to […]

• optical character recognition

  Fire in the Belly

  03.12.07 | Permalink | 8 Comments

  I admit that I find it extremely hard to post here. In general, for a variety of reasons, I have very little energy for anything.
  Last night, I saw 300 - the war porn movie. Usually, I’d expect myself to post some snarky review talking about Xerxes the cuban transsexual. Or at least some comment about […]

• portraits, purple people

  Welcome to the AARP, Mr. Ben Laden!

  03.11.07 | Permalink | 1 Comment

  Dear Mr. Ben Laden:
  Happy 50th birthday and welcome to the AARP! This is a very special birthday because it qualifies you for membership in one of the fastest growing organizations in the United States, the American Association of Retired Persons. AARP is all about beginnings, and depending on which type of membership you choose, […]

• talkies

  Desi Comedians Don’t Do Yo Mama! Jokes

  03.09.07 | Permalink | 6 Comments

  At a dinner table, recently, I asserted that ‘family’ was largely absent from the routines of desi comedians. Their comedy was largely set in the habermasian realm of the public [yes that is a joke. of course, I would never say anything like ‘habermasian realm’. ever]. You get lots of material about interactions with the […]

• stardust

  Kal Penn on the Namesake

  03.09.07 | Permalink | Comment?

  Many of us were surprised to learn that the actor who performed the role of Kumar in Harold and Kumar go to White Castle with such panache will now be starring in the film version of Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel the Namesake. There will be lots of publicity on this in the coming weeks; but […]

• portraits

  Interview: Werner Horvath on his artwork, his collection of totalitarian paintings, his two ateliers and life as an artist-physician

  03.06.07 | Permalink | 8 Comments

  Background: A few months ago I wrote about artistic depictions of Usama bin Laden. I posted a painting of my own and the works of three well-known artists, Werner Horvath (Austria), Sokari Camp-Douglas (Nigeria/UK) and Hassan Musa (Sudan/UK), as well as one (or more?) Bengali folk artists. Recently Werner Horvath came across that […]

• better with tablas

  South Siiiide

  03.05.07 | Permalink | 1 Comment

  Does Kanye love chapatis? Hell Yeah, he does.

• optical character recognition

  Chapati Review: Palomar and Locas

  03.04.07 | Permalink | Comment?

  Locas, by Jaime Hernandez (Fantagraphics Books, 2004), $49.95.
  Palomar, by Gilbert Hernandez (Fantagraphics Books, 2003), $39.95.

  Locas and Palomar, the incomparable works of Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez, a.k.a. Los Bros Hernandez, are my new favorite graphic novels. The comics of Los Bros feature a shocking, original and excellently drawn cast of curvaceous, sassy and powerful Latina women […]