Every day I say to myself:
Be brave.
Be fearless.
Even if you can’t be strong all the time.
Copyright
You will copy with risks to penalties and criminal procedures.
Friday, February 01, 2019
Sunday, January 27, 2019
The Good Wife
What did you expect I will be?
A good, obedient girl who opens her mouth and spreads her legs when and only when you want her to?
Someone who takes your abuses like she were grateful for any kind of attention she receives?
Your girl Friday who keeps track of your unwashed underwear and unpaired socks?
A woman who becomes more invisible every time you flirt with other women in her presence.
A womb for rent- for you to put an offspring and massacre it if it is a girl.
Because your greatest fear is that monsters like you exist in this world!
Disclaimer: SG asked me to say it is not from my own experience if I read it in an open mic 😂
A good, obedient girl who opens her mouth and spreads her legs when and only when you want her to?
Someone who takes your abuses like she were grateful for any kind of attention she receives?
Your girl Friday who keeps track of your unwashed underwear and unpaired socks?
A woman who becomes more invisible every time you flirt with other women in her presence.
A womb for rent- for you to put an offspring and massacre it if it is a girl.
Because your greatest fear is that monsters like you exist in this world!
Disclaimer: SG asked me to say it is not from my own experience if I read it in an open mic 😂
Friday, January 25, 2019
Book review: Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
Killers of the Flower Moon by David GrannMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is an exceptional tale of corruption and systemic exploitation of Osage Indians. The book is probably a tip of the iceberg, and the author acknowledges that. The voice is neutral, yet the horror is so palpable. You are left wondering about the atrocities that human beings are capable of inflicting on other human beings. More than the crimes, the breach of trust upset me. Wives poisoned their husbands, fathers were complicit in plans that entailed murdering their children- all for Headrights. A must-read for anyone who is interested in history as it was. No wonder, I have come across very few mentions of the Reign of Terror in history books. This was an embarrassment. Albeit a valuable lesson that we should never forget.
View all my reviews
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Why do you work?
My mom was asked this question- why does your daughter work? Doesn’t you son-in-law earn enough?
First of all, at this day and age this question is beyond ridiculous. Secondly, my husband is more than capable of providing for me. But my parents have supported me to have an education I wanted. That commitment feels validated when I tell them, especially my mother, the continuous learning experiences I have at work. And finally, it is up to every woman to decide whether she wants to work or not. She is the queen of her house and may choose to share the responsibilities with her king as she seems fit. In fact, having a job makes life easier in a lot of ways. You don’t have to explain to asshats what you did the whole day. ( সারাদিন কি করেছ ?)
First of all, at this day and age this question is beyond ridiculous. Secondly, my husband is more than capable of providing for me. But my parents have supported me to have an education I wanted. That commitment feels validated when I tell them, especially my mother, the continuous learning experiences I have at work. And finally, it is up to every woman to decide whether she wants to work or not. She is the queen of her house and may choose to share the responsibilities with her king as she seems fit. In fact, having a job makes life easier in a lot of ways. You don’t have to explain to asshats what you did the whole day. ( সারাদিন কি করেছ ?)
Thursday, January 17, 2019
She invited it
Men who rape and butcher women/other men/trans people don’t become monsters overnight. They get the fuel for their hatred every time someone laughs at their misogynistic jokes. When their mothers say,’Boys will be boys’ as an excuse for their mischiefs. When their Gileadean handmaidens allow them to behave like monsters and get away with it. No, not wives. A wife would have been an equal and would not have tolerated bad behavior. Also, every time a woman says to another woman, ’No one would dare to speak/do something like that to me ever. She must have asked for it.’ The false sense of security is laughable at best and disgusting at its worst.
Are these the first questions that come to your mind when you hear about an assault/rape/murder:
-Was she drunk?
-Were her clothes too provocative?
-Was she sexually promiscuous?
-Did she invite it?
Who invites rape and murder?
Don’t be ignorant.
Read up real news and try to clear the toxic cloud in your head. You know who equally lose in this game? Good, decent men who treat everyone with respect.
The next time I hear someone say ‘She invited it’, I am going to lose my shit.
Are these the first questions that come to your mind when you hear about an assault/rape/murder:
-Was she drunk?
-Were her clothes too provocative?
-Was she sexually promiscuous?
-Did she invite it?
Who invites rape and murder?
Don’t be ignorant.
Read up real news and try to clear the toxic cloud in your head. You know who equally lose in this game? Good, decent men who treat everyone with respect.
The next time I hear someone say ‘She invited it’, I am going to lose my shit.
Tuesday, January 15, 2019
I know you, I see you
Girl,
I know all your hickies and heartbreaks.
Your secret stash of cigarettes which you resolve to throw every new year but keep it for one last drag.
I know how many times you went to the restroom just to cry at your work because you felt incompetent.
Your alcoholic mother brings home her despicable boyfriends who try to grab your ass when left alone. You just thank your stars that you don’t have to live in the same house.
The jealous friend who secretly hates you but who wears a facade of liking you so that she doesn’t have to give up the benefits associated with you.
The world thinks you have it together but I know how fragile you are and how tired you are to have to put up that show. Just because it is expected of you.
I just want you to know that I know you. And I see you. You are not invisible to me.
I know all your hickies and heartbreaks.
Your secret stash of cigarettes which you resolve to throw every new year but keep it for one last drag.
I know how many times you went to the restroom just to cry at your work because you felt incompetent.
Your alcoholic mother brings home her despicable boyfriends who try to grab your ass when left alone. You just thank your stars that you don’t have to live in the same house.
The jealous friend who secretly hates you but who wears a facade of liking you so that she doesn’t have to give up the benefits associated with you.
The world thinks you have it together but I know how fragile you are and how tired you are to have to put up that show. Just because it is expected of you.
I just want you to know that I know you. And I see you. You are not invisible to me.
Monday, December 17, 2018
New Orleans: The cradle of Jazz
(A year ago, we were in New Orleans. Posting what I had submitted to a publication about the trip)
Some say that Jazz was born in 1895 when Charles ‘Buddy’ Bolden started his first band and played an improvised version of rag-time music or ‘jass.’ Others say that modern Jazz was born in 1917 when the Original Dixieland Jazz Band recorded their first Jazz record, ‘Livery Stable Blues.’ The music genre peaked in its popularity in the 1920s when it reached Britain, France and elsewhere around the world. Hence, the Roaring Twenties are also referred to as the Jazz Age.
When we reached New Orleans (often referred to as NOLA), we had two agenda in mind: eat Creole food and listen to traditional New Orleans Jazz. After we tasted some delectable charbroiled-oysters, seafood gumbo, redfish in lemon butter, and beignet bread pudding in a local restaurant, we headed towards Preservation Hall in French Quarter. Also known as the Vieux Carré, French Quarter is the oldest section of the city of NOLA, and famous for its restaurants and live-music venues. There are walking parades through the French Quarter during the famous Mardi Gras or ‘Fat Tuesday,’ carnival that happens on the first day of Lent each year (in February).
We watched the American Jazz trumpeter Wendell Brunious and his band play in a very intimate setting. No photographs or recording was allowed during the show and for a good reason. You can truly feel the power of music when you close your eyes and are transported to a different time. Jazz became a symbol of equality during the Civil Rights Movement in America. Music lovers could enjoy the art form irrespective of their skin tone. Jazz musicians took it upon themselves to promote social justice through their creations.
The famous lyrics by Louis Armstrong come to mind (Black and Blue):
Louisiana Wetlands
We booked a Honey Island Swamp tour via Cajun Encounters where we rode a flat-bottomed boat through the swamps. The tour began near Slidell, about 50 mins drive from the city. The swamp alligators usually hibernate from October to March and are difficult to spot under the duckweed, but we saw plenty of birds including great blue herons and swallows, wild boars, raccoons, apple snails, and a rodent called nutria. The bald-cypress, Louisiana’s state tree, that grows in the swamps are related to the California Redwood trees and can grow to 140 feet and be over 1000 years old. The trees produce a vertical growth from the roots for respiration and stability and are called ‘tree knees.’
We saw a lot of floating houses on the swamp that is accessible only with boats. Fishermen often live on the floating houses and fish or set traps for crawfish and crabs. Our guide who did shrimp fishing for a living said that commercial fishing has become less profitable and most of the people living in the swamps were switching to other professions.
Some houses flattened by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 were a testament to the cruelties of Mother Nature. On our way back we saw the Mercedes-Benz Superdome light up in a hallucinogenic display. The locals probably have bittersweet memories of the stadium when it served as a shelter for 10,000 people during the hurricane.
World War II Museum
Located in the Central Business District of New Orleans on Magazine Street is a military history museum that boasts of one of the most authentic experiences of the World War II. War veterans can visit for free using their military-issued dog tags, and I saw a lot of WWII veterans meeting up in the museum. Some were too old to walk and in wheelchairs. Some probably dead a long time now. My personal view on wars is simple: the human cost of a war far outweighs its benefits. Every single time.
The entire museum has five buildings, but I managed to view only ‘The Road to Berlin’ and ‘The Road to Tokyo’ exhibits in Building 3 in two hours. The artifacts and videos moved me to tears and reminded us why we must remember history. Both the Allies and the Axis powers made strategic moves and mistakes. I read about some forgotten heroes who put the lives of their others before their own. For example, Archer Gammon who stormed a German machine gun nest with grenades and forced a tank to retreat until it fired an 88mm shell that killed him. Whichever side you are one on, you can’t help but wonder what makes ordinary men and women like Gammon rise to occasions like these with immense courage and belief? What makes a man wake up one day and say to himself, ’I got this!’ amid all the terrors of war?
Garden District
The Garden District with its huge mansions, t manicured lawns, and oak canopied streets is a world apart from most of Louisiana. It is famous for housing rich and famous celebrities and for ghost stories.
We started our self-guided tour from the famed 19th century Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, which has 496 wall vaults, built above ground because the city is on a swamp. The cemetery with its unique style is often called the City of the Dead and has been filmed in numerous television shows and movies.
We drove around the neighborhood and ended our day with a walk inside the Audubon Zoo. You can also take an old-fashioned streetcar trip around the city starting in Canal Street for $1.25, walk through Bourbon Street and Frenchmen Street, grab a bite at Café Beignet or Café du Monde, or take a steamboat ride on the Mississippi River.
Some say that Jazz was born in 1895 when Charles ‘Buddy’ Bolden started his first band and played an improvised version of rag-time music or ‘jass.’ Others say that modern Jazz was born in 1917 when the Original Dixieland Jazz Band recorded their first Jazz record, ‘Livery Stable Blues.’ The music genre peaked in its popularity in the 1920s when it reached Britain, France and elsewhere around the world. Hence, the Roaring Twenties are also referred to as the Jazz Age.
The Original Dixieland Jazz Band
When we reached New Orleans (often referred to as NOLA), we had two agenda in mind: eat Creole food and listen to traditional New Orleans Jazz. After we tasted some delectable charbroiled-oysters, seafood gumbo, redfish in lemon butter, and beignet bread pudding in a local restaurant, we headed towards Preservation Hall in French Quarter. Also known as the Vieux Carré, French Quarter is the oldest section of the city of NOLA, and famous for its restaurants and live-music venues. There are walking parades through the French Quarter during the famous Mardi Gras or ‘Fat Tuesday,’ carnival that happens on the first day of Lent each year (in February).
We watched the American Jazz trumpeter Wendell Brunious and his band play in a very intimate setting. No photographs or recording was allowed during the show and for a good reason. You can truly feel the power of music when you close your eyes and are transported to a different time. Jazz became a symbol of equality during the Civil Rights Movement in America. Music lovers could enjoy the art form irrespective of their skin tone. Jazz musicians took it upon themselves to promote social justice through their creations.
The famous lyrics by Louis Armstrong come to mind (Black and Blue):
My only sin is in my skin
What did I do to be so black and blue?
We booked a Honey Island Swamp tour via Cajun Encounters where we rode a flat-bottomed boat through the swamps. The tour began near Slidell, about 50 mins drive from the city. The swamp alligators usually hibernate from October to March and are difficult to spot under the duckweed, but we saw plenty of birds including great blue herons and swallows, wild boars, raccoons, apple snails, and a rodent called nutria. The bald-cypress, Louisiana’s state tree, that grows in the swamps are related to the California Redwood trees and can grow to 140 feet and be over 1000 years old. The trees produce a vertical growth from the roots for respiration and stability and are called ‘tree knees.’
We saw a lot of floating houses on the swamp that is accessible only with boats. Fishermen often live on the floating houses and fish or set traps for crawfish and crabs. Our guide who did shrimp fishing for a living said that commercial fishing has become less profitable and most of the people living in the swamps were switching to other professions.
Some houses flattened by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 were a testament to the cruelties of Mother Nature. On our way back we saw the Mercedes-Benz Superdome light up in a hallucinogenic display. The locals probably have bittersweet memories of the stadium when it served as a shelter for 10,000 people during the hurricane.
Crab cages
World War II Museum
Located in the Central Business District of New Orleans on Magazine Street is a military history museum that boasts of one of the most authentic experiences of the World War II. War veterans can visit for free using their military-issued dog tags, and I saw a lot of WWII veterans meeting up in the museum. Some were too old to walk and in wheelchairs. Some probably dead a long time now. My personal view on wars is simple: the human cost of a war far outweighs its benefits. Every single time.
The entire museum has five buildings, but I managed to view only ‘The Road to Berlin’ and ‘The Road to Tokyo’ exhibits in Building 3 in two hours. The artifacts and videos moved me to tears and reminded us why we must remember history. Both the Allies and the Axis powers made strategic moves and mistakes. I read about some forgotten heroes who put the lives of their others before their own. For example, Archer Gammon who stormed a German machine gun nest with grenades and forced a tank to retreat until it fired an 88mm shell that killed him. Whichever side you are one on, you can’t help but wonder what makes ordinary men and women like Gammon rise to occasions like these with immense courage and belief? What makes a man wake up one day and say to himself, ’I got this!’ amid all the terrors of war?
Garden District
The Garden District with its huge mansions, t manicured lawns, and oak canopied streets is a world apart from most of Louisiana. It is famous for housing rich and famous celebrities and for ghost stories.
We started our self-guided tour from the famed 19th century Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, which has 496 wall vaults, built above ground because the city is on a swamp. The cemetery with its unique style is often called the City of the Dead and has been filmed in numerous television shows and movies.
We drove around the neighborhood and ended our day with a walk inside the Audubon Zoo. You can also take an old-fashioned streetcar trip around the city starting in Canal Street for $1.25, walk through Bourbon Street and Frenchmen Street, grab a bite at Café Beignet or Café du Monde, or take a steamboat ride on the Mississippi River.
The only truly dead are those who have been forgotten.
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