14 February 1989: fatwa for Salman Rushdie due to the Satanic Verses
14 February 2005: the killing of former Lebanese PM Rafiq Hariri
14 February 2009: Valentine's Day
So sorry for the radio silence, the reason being that Sharida got tricked into presenting a two hour LIVE radio talk show called Oba Live (major gulp)!I have been doing this since January and believe you me, the first time I was so incredibly nervous, I hardly took in anything the guests were saying. The jitters are getting less, but still...
Oba Live is broadcast every Tuesday evening from 19.00 to 21.00 hrs by NMO/NIO (Radio 5). And if you thought this was radio, well think again mates, because you can actually watch this live on the net. What's worse, the internet streams remain available for eternity. So if you can't wait to see me stammering away through the programme, simply go to NMO.nl.
Anyway, back to my favourite topic: my teenage students at Het Baken. Saw most of my lovelies last Thursday and felt utterly happy afterwards.
And the happiness continues. First, I finished reading the Dutch translation of a wonderful book called Dewey - The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched The World. This is the story about Dewey, an abandoned kitten from Spencer, Iowa, who transforms a sleepy library, inspires a classic American town, and captures the hearts of animal lovers everywhere. Unfortunately, Dewey died a couple of years ago, but he's got his own website if you want to know more about this cute ginger cat.
And from Dewey to Slumdog Millionaire, the film I am finally going to see tomorrow. Slumdog Millionaire is a 2008 British drama film directed by Danny Boyle, co-directed by Loveleen Tandan, and written by Simon Beaufoy. It is an adaptation of the Boeke Prize-winning novel Q & A (2005) by Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup.Set and filmed in India, Slumdog Millionaire tells the story of a young man from the slums of Mumbai who appears on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (Kaun Banega Crorepati, mentioned in the Hindi version) and exceeds people's expectations, arousing the suspicions of the game show host and of law enforcement officials.
Slumdog Millionaire won five Critics' Choice Awards, four Golden Globes and seven BAFTA Awards, including Best Film, and has been nominated for ten Academy Awards. The film is also the subject of controversy concerning its portrayal of India and Hinduism as well as the treatment of its child actors.
Source: Wikipedia
