Call Girl: Confession of a Double Life. by Jeanette Angell.
Jeannette Angell went to the US from France at the age of 21 after earning two university degrees. She went on to obtain three more in the United States, including a Masters in Divinity from Yale and studied for her PhD at Boston University.

At thirty-four, her live-in boyfriend ran off and cleaned out their joint bank account. She was left destitute. Despite lecturing and teaching at several universities, including Harvard, MIT and the London School of Economics, she saw no way out of her financial crisis until she read an ad for “escorts” in the Boston Phoenix.

This started a three-year dual career of teaching at universities in the daytime, while working as a $200/hour callgirl at night. Callgirl gives insight to a world usually distorted by caricature and stigma with honesty, humour and intelligence.(source)

Sounds very interesting…and what makes it so is that this person is not a random lost person. This is a highly educated person, with degrees from top universities (well. I guess this doesn’t really say much. I mean…George W. Bush went to Yale!)…is an educator. So what really drove her to take prostitution on as a second job while still keeping her daytime teaching job! I am looking forward to reading her confessions!
AND. Though this isn’t/wasn’t about prostitution, I still believe this (and similar) type of job could* be degrading to one’s dignity. But I will reserve my in-depth opinion of this book and prostitution till after I read it.

* (you know, because dignity means different things to different people and is measured differently)

P.S. I’ve always had a secret fetish for fishnet stockings!

“Poets For Palestine was published to unite a diverse range of poets, spoken word artists, and hip-hop artists who have used their words to elevate the consciousness of humanity. Sixty years after the dispossession of the Palestinian people, this anthology presents forty-eight poems alongside original works by Palestinian artists. All proceeds from the sale of this collection will go toward funding future cultural projects that highlight Arab artistry in the New York City area.”

Pre-order yours today!

Via Exploring Creative Words and Poetry 

Invest me in my motley; give me leave
To speak my mind, and I will through and through
Cleanse the foul body of the infected world
~As You like It. The Forest.

“Bush will visit the Occupied Palestinian West Bank and Israel on the first leg of a tour of the Middle East from Jan. 8-16.” He will then travel to Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. According to a White House press release, Bush will meet separately with Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

The meetings aim to “follow up on the progress made at Annapolis in helping Israelis and Palestinians to advance their efforts toward peace and achievement of the President’s vision of two democratic states living side-by-side in peace and security, as well as encourage Israeli/Arab reconciliation.”

yeah, yyeah…being hopeful is healthy…. so help set the agenda for his visit…
TAKE ACTION: I already did… Contact the White House and demand that President Bush raise concerns with Israeli leaders about steps that Israel has taken since Annapolis that are inimical to peace.

Support this Project. “Battlefield Without Borders” - Iraq Poems by David Smith-Ferri

“About two thirds of these poems were written while in Iraq, after encounters with Iraqi people, in a wide-range of settings –– from hospitals to homes to bomb sites. The remaining poems have been written since, during the escalating terror and insanity of the current war and occupation. Marcia Gagliardi, the publisher at Haley’s, is generously donating her proceeds from the sale of this book. And Smith-Ferri’s partner has generously agreed to match Marcia’s donation, so that for every $14 book that is sold, $12 will go into a fund for Iraqi victims of this war. Here is one of the poems from the Battlefield Without Borders:

The Unmistakable Imprint of Love

(Read on …)

We are, in a word, drifting away from the path of vision. We no longer find joy, as did the ancients, in pure thought. Pragmatism and utilitarianism are our gods.

…We often choose the line of least resistance. We must be practical and we must have our creature comforts. Moreover, we expect, we insist upon, our reward within a certain time in the material things of the world.

… We are a practical people — very busy — in a hurry. We have no time for ethics. Experience is knowledge; but knowledge, when it is sought only as a material resource, is not always a blessing. Experience is wisdom; but wisdom, with those who lack vision, is not always power.

… A thought in the crucible of life melts into the thought of the world; the footsteps of a pioneer become ultimately the highway of a nation.

… Every human action, collective or otherwise, has in it the possibility of a creative or destructive force.
-Ameen Rihani

A picture book written for children ages 4 to 8 is not getting a warm welcome at some Illinois schools. The book is based on a true story of two male penguins in New York City’s Central Park Zoo who adopted a fertilized egg and raised the chick as their own. Some parents of Illinois’ Shiloh Elementary School studnets are voicing concerns about the book’s homosexual undertones which tackles topics their children are not ready for.

The district attorney believes that moving the book and requiring paretnal permissin to be checked out is a form of censorship. She believes that a library is to serve an entire population, represting different families in a society, different religions, different beliefs.’ While this is true, I do believe that some form of censorship is a must. I believe the book should not be made available to 4-8 year olds for check out. I’m open to diversity, and I promote reading on a wide scale and I also see the importance of a large variety of topics that children should be exposed to, but teaching them about homosexuality at this young age in such a cute caring way is telling them that it’s a natural way of life… but it really isn’t.

Two Novelists, Two views on the Middle East…
israeli author Yehoshua lives in Haifa…
Elias Khoury, a Lebanese writer and editor, is from Beirut…

Both novelists portray the shared voice of their land and people…

Yehoshua’s latest novel, A Woman in Jerusalem, deals with what he calls Israel’s repression of its civilian deaths. Unlike the death of a soldier, he says, his countrymen don’t know how to mourn the deaths of those killed while simply drinking coffee or riding a bus.

Yehoshua focuses on this problem by telling the story of a woman who lies unclaimed in a morgue and the personnel manager who takes responsibility for and ultimately falls in love with her. But Yehoshua says his message doesn’t only apply to Israeli deaths. (Read on …)

I buy one pair a week…It seriously is an addiction - an addiction I see no shame in… This book inspired me to put my own shoes on center stage … It might take me a while though to get as creative as Eric Boman and Manolo, so I’ll put a few up for inspiration … ‘The epitome of sophistication and taste, they [shoes ] have graced the feet of royalty, supermodels [i fit in this catgory ] , and movie stars. In these breathtaking pictures by Blahnik’s longtime friend, photographer Eric Boman, the shoes take center stage in a dazzling array of intriguing and often lighthearted scenes and settings. A white leather stiletto plays an incriminating role in a suggested crime worthy of Hitchcock. A pale green mule nestles among ferns in homage to Blahnik’s recurring botanical themes. The straps of a sandal echo the strands of spaghetti in which it lays entwined.’

Red shoes with white slacks, white top and a red purse is dazzling! (substitute the cigarette for a cuban)

I don’t like the shoes too much…perhaps if they had higher heels, i would wear them … I do like peas though!

Exotic!

 
I would not be disappointed if I found this pair on my windshield!

Coffee tastes much better with those on!

A unique arrangement that i wouldn’t mind getting on a random ‘just because’ day!

Delicious!

Today on the way home, I read Anna Quindlen’s Being Perfect - a very short guide to a happy life … I like reading those inspirational guides … they allow me to take a step back and evaluate myself, my behavior, my approach, my way of dealing with others … more often than not, they tend to work as motivation to take charge of your own life, get in touch with the real you, and to make the best out of the worst… here, some of the most profound passages I read in Being Perfect:

…This is the hard work of life in the world, to acknowledge within yourself the introvert, the clown, the artist, the homebody, the goofball, the thinker. Look inside. That way lies dancing to the melodies spun out by your own heart.

someday, sometime, you will be somewhere, maybe on a day like today–a berm overlooking a pond in Vermont, the lip of the Grand Canyon at sunset. Maybe something bad will have happened: you will have lost someone you loved, or failed at something at which you badly wanted to succeed. And sitting there, you will fall into the center of yourself. You will look for some core to sustain you. And if you have been perfect all your life and have managed to meet all the expectations of your family, your friends, your community, your society, chances are excellent that there will be a black hole where that core ought to be.

I dont want anyone I know to take that terrible chance. And the only way to avoid it is to listen to that small voice inside you that tells you to make mischief, to have fun, to be contrarian, to go another way. George Elliot wrote, “It is never too late to be what you might have been.” It is never too early either. take it from someone who has left the backpack full of bricks far behind… and every day feels light as a feather! 

This is sort of perfect and goes so well with the on-going dialogue I’ve been having with a male friend of mine … his perspective is surprisingly somewhat different though! anyway, allright?! which men have they been polling? Any Arabs? because I am so interested in just one of those quality men!

Step 1 to understanding Men! Enjoy and take notes!

Want a man to propose? Be a bitch

Men want strong, self-confident women.(REALLY? then, what explains the fact that most of my friends (and myself!) who are successful professionals are still single?) In her new book, “Why Men Marry Bitches,” Sherry Argov says women shouldn’t be so nice. Read an excerpt

Have you ever wondered what makes a man want to marry a particular woman? Is it about timing? Sex? Money? In her new book, “Why Men Marry Bitches: A Woman’s Guide to Winning Her Man’s Heart,” Sherry Argov shows women how to transform a casual relationship into a committed one. She explains that being nice to your man won’t make him more devoted. In her interviews with men, Argov found that men want to commit to women who exude confidence and are in control of their lives. She was invited on “Today” to discuss her book. Read an excerpt:

(Read on …)

This definitely seems like an interesting read, and I will definitely be reading it very soon. It’s available for shipping next month!

An Arab Woman’s Memoir
By Jean Said Makdisi
When Jean Said Makdisi decided to write this family chronicle, she discovered she knew little about Teta, her grandmother’s past, and not enough about her own mother’s life. Using unpublished family documents, the memories of friends and acquaintances, and histories of the region and period, Makdisi traces her family’s personal story against the backdrop of political events as they take place in Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Egypt and the United States.
The story begins in the 1880s of her grandmother’s early childhood in Ottoman Syria; details her mother’s experiences of two world wars and their repercussions for the Middle East; and concludes with the author’s own experience of raising a family in Beirut, amidst the endless, futile, disillusioning fratricide of the Lebanese civil war (1975-90). This remarkable intimate biography reveals the unsung private histories of three extraordinary women — as they work, socialise and raise families under the most difficult of circumstances — and through them the history of the Arab people. Much more than just a memoir — it is a discovery for both the author and the reader of a richer and more complex past for Arab women than both ever would have imagined. (Read on …)

Blahnik by Boman: Shoes, Photographs, Conversation

Book Description
Long before their supporting role in Sex and the City, Manolo Blahnik’s shoes were legendary—exquisitely detailed, unabashedly luxurious, and impossibly sexy. The epitome of sophistication and taste, they have graced the feet of royalty, supermodels, and movie stars. In these breathtaking pictures by Blahnik’s longtime friend, photographer Eric Boman, the shoes take center stage in a dazzling array of intriguing and often lighthearted scenes and settings.  A white leather stiletto plays an incriminating role in a suggested crime worthy of Hitchcock. A pale green mule nestles among ferns in homage to Blahnik’s recurring botanical themes. The straps of a sandal echo the strands of spaghetti in which it lays entwined. Boman’s unerring eye and oddly keen understanding of Blahnik’s creations make for spellbinding pictures, full of wit, playfulness, and sole. Elegant allusions to Blahnik’s eclectic influences abound—from the cinema to history, from the natural world to art and literature. As covetable as a pair of Manolos, this is a book of consummate creativity, addictive power, and unrivaled individuality: a cult object on a cult designer.

About the Author Manolo Blahnik was born in the Canary Islands. He studied at the University of Geneva before moving to Paris and then London to work as a set designer. On a trip to New York in 1971, Blahnik was sent to show his sketches to legendary fashion editor Diana Vreeland, who famously suggested, “You should do shoes.” He lives in England. Eric Boman, originally from Sweden, has worked in London, Paris, and New York for, among others, Vogue, Marie-Claire, Yves Saint-Laurent, Vanity Fair, The World of Interiors, and House & Garden. Since 1988, he has increasingly explored art photography and still-lifes. He lives in New York.

Here is what some readers had to say about the book…

  (Read on …)