Site Update!!!

Woo Hoo!!!

I did it. Finally. Or rather, my webmaster did (thank you Shawnna!)

The point is, I've got a spiffy new "Intro" page with a listing of my upcoming tour dates (with details to follow) in case you happen to be in Miami the weekend of June 2nd - 3rd, or Grand Cayman on June 9th (hey - y'never know)

I've also posted my CJAD interview, in case some of you non-Montreal dwelling faithful blog readers would like to listen in.

So pop by at nadinedajani.com and tell me what you think!

What I'm reading now: The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson which I have to say is borderline genius. Any aspiring writer should pick this up as Ms. Robinson is very adept at actually making us laugh out loud one moment (and I am not prone to laughing out loud) and then promptly tugging at our heart strings the next.

Onwards!…. Er,….Backwards!

In no other country that I can think of, do abortion and gun ownership rights decide elections. (Dictatorships do not count as they are dictatorships, and who the heck knows how people in dictatorships really feel about abortion, guns, or thong underpants for that matter?) Can you think of any?

In light of what happened in Virginia Tech this week, some might argue it makes sense to put all other issues on the backburner, like say the fact that Iraq has seen it’s deadliest day yet since the “surge” at 168 fatalities in one singe day this week for example, in favor of exploiting – er – exploring this tragedy to its fullest extent.

Because senseless tragedies, the kind we can’t really do anything about or explain (to quote Chris Rock on this one: “Whatever happened to CRAZY???), and Britney Spears’ panties or lack thereof, are so much more mesmerizing than issues that we can actually DO something about, like, say, the fact that Roe vs Wade was effectively repealed for a huge segment of women this week, with no caveat to protect the mother’s health.

I think that last bit bears repeating. NO caveat, no out, no exceptions for women for whom a pregnancy might potentially be harmful, or perhaps even deadly down the line.

So Borat’s joke about horses and crawling insects being above women in the chain of relative importance to society has kinda, sorta come true in the US this week, and the US can now proudly join the ranks of dictatorships that also have laws telling women exactly where their opinion figures in matters that concern how they live their lives.

Here’s my question: where are the women of the US in all of this? 51% of the population and all I hear from that side of the fence is the sound of crickets.

I have my own opinion (surprise!) on the issue and I know you have yours. That’s not my problem. My problem is that the face value of “freedoms” that are supposedly being fought for are being slowly hacked away and no one makes a peep. Not a sound.

Maybe Vogue will do a feature on the subject in a month or two, which I will read while a man looks at me and rolls his eyes at my frivolous choice of reading material.

At least now you can say someone told you.

Top Ten Tuesday: Movies

I’m seeing a pattern with my Top Ten Tuesdays in that they would be more aptly called Top Ten Wednesdays. If you won’t tell, neither will I…

First off, Monday’s interview went GREAT! I advise anyone who ever has the chance to do this to just go for it – you’ll be surprised at how much fun it is. I nearly backed out I was so nervous, and just minutes before hand I was convinced my voice had left me. But when the phone rang and I heard: “Nadine, you there? Great – you’re on in five” there was suddenly no more room for nervousness.

And then a guy came on who sounded, well, just like a radio announcer would came on (shocking, huh? I don’t what I was expecting him to sound like… my uncle Mahmood, perhaps?) and the adrenalin kicked in and I was off!

I have to say that it takes more to be a radio announcer than meets the eye – I was worried my natural tendency to digress would lead me down some seriously off-topic paths but both Merv and Paris steered the interview so well it felt like they were doing the selling for me. The hook was basically this: how the heck does an accountant write a book and actually sell it??? They made it sound like I climbed Mt. Everest in a day, but hey, I wasn’t going to complain. We spent some time discussing how a Montrealer ends up in the Cayman Islands, and then back to the subject of the book, and, surprise, surprise, how much of it was autobiographical. We finished off by mentioning tour cities to come.

Really, really great experience. I’m planning to post the recording on my website, stay tuned for that announcement.

And now, our list of the day. I’ve noticed that my favorite movies tended to be a) period pieces, and/or b) have awesome soundtracks/singing, and/or c) star actors whom I adore in pretty much any movie they’re in. Also, I really hate black & white movies. Sorry. The year “When Harry Met Sally” came out, I was eight. This, along with Disney’s Little Mermaid, which was the first time Disney introduced a spunky, take-charge heroine, are what I consider “classics”.

Here we go, in no particular order:

1) Pretty Woman – can’t say that the acting in this one is genius, or even the writing, but when you hear something being referred to as a “magical experience”, I think this is the kind of experience in question.

2) Greencard – Ah, mon Gérard… the man is an unlikely hunk a’ burnin’ love, but one nonetheless. Is it his raw, savage persona beside Andie McDowell’s demure, vegan one that accounts for the sparks, or Gérard’s crushing “… Monaco… No, Monteverde… I alwayz forget zat one…” that get me every time?

3) Groundhog Day – I can recite this one backwards in Bangladeshi while hopping on one foot. That’s how many times I’ve seen this movie, which amounts to about 5 scenes running in a loop. A great study in character development in an environment where nothing but the main character changes. A masterpiece.

4) Cyrano de Bergerac – more hunk a’ burnin’ love o’ Gérand, this time with the added bonus of eye-Candy Vincent Perez and period costumes. And France. And poetry. Oo-la-la.

5) When Harry Met Sally – does this one really need an introduction?

6) Quick Change – I think Bill Murray is one of the funniest actors ever. This one kills me every time I watch it.

7) Disney’s Aladdin – You know you’ve made it as an ethnic minority in when Disney validates your existence with a character modeled after you. Plus, now people have a convenient point of reference when they’re trying to figure out which “celebrity” I look like (and you think I’m kidding…)

8) Labyrinth – I’ll be honest, I haven’t seen one in a long time, but it was so mesmerizing that even after all these years I remember it. Plus, had no idea who the hot bad guy was at the time, but am very impressed with my seven-year-old’s taste in men.

9) Pride & Prejudice, BBC version – this is my go-to anti-depression movie. Dunno why… is it the period costume? Mrs. Bennet’s strangely irritating-yet-soothingly-maternal on-screen presence? Darcy in culottes and sideburns? Or that the goodness lasts a whole six hours? Who knows.

10) Four Weddings and a Funeral – Let’s face it, Hugh Grant suffers from some serious typecasting. But who can argue with his best role as the town cad ever? Or the cad with a heart of gold, shall we say?

That’s it for me folks!

My First Interview!

Two major posts in one weekend - are happening at a dizzying pace or what?

Paris Mansouri, one-time senior editor for the Egyptian fashion magazine Enigma, contributor for CBC as well as a Host Hunt hopeful, a reality show based on the quest for a new host for one of Canada's most renowned fashion exports, Fashion File has asked me to be a guest on Montreal's CJAD!

I'd be freaking out except I still can't believe this straight-out-of-a-movie turn of events.

Paris co-hosts the cutting-edge-of-cool pop entertainment radio show with Merv and Chris who will probably be quizzing me about how an accountant could pull off writing a book about fashion, Cuba, love in the tropics, with a pinch of Middle-Eastern spice thrown in for laughs.

The best part? You can tune in online at CJAD.com sometime after 9 PM Eastern time and listen to my very first radio interview. Be kind. I'm learning.

And don't hesitate to write and tell me how much I rocked/sounded like a total dufus/killed/put you to sleep.

Oh, and Paris is GIVING AWAY the VERY FIRST COPY OF FASHIONABLY LATE to the first caller to get the answer to a FL-trivia question right (I am told no prior knowledge of rocket science will be needed to get this right)

So tune in. Please. If only for the comedy factor involved in witnessing an author's first attempts at self promotion. Hey, I didn't call this blog Confessions of a Newbie Novelist for nuthin'!