Bad Role Models

You know how you see a bunch of crazy/psychotic/weird people on TV, and go 'Gosh, I never want to be like them'? Well, you don't? Ah, well then. It seems I am the only one who watches too much vh1 and E! News. Anyways, here are some role models you DON'T want to have:

10 Well, things are different now, but before operation anti-corruption it sure was sweet, being a Bangladeshi Politician. You lie, steal, cheat, swindle AND got away with itit was the good life. But now, most of these 'smart' people are languishing behind bars (or are going to languish behind bars). So, trust me on this one. Don't get into politics. At least, not as long as the Anti Corruption Bureau is still around.

9 Indian cricket players sure get it good. They don't play a whole lot on the field, especially compared to the amount of time they spend off the field, preferably in ads. So if you really want to play cricket for the love of the game (and if you're Indian), I suggest you wait for your big shot until you get a new national team. Otherwise, we might just end up seeing you in a new Brylcreem ad.

8 Bart Simpson is the annoying yet lovable son of Homer Simpson, from (yep, you guessed it!) The Simpsons. But as funny as the guy is, you seriously don't want to take after him. He's wacky and reckless and he gives a damn about all things orthodox and decent. That might look funny on a TV screen, but trust meyou wouldn't want to be living with a brother like that.

7 If you want to be taken seriously as a legendary boxer for all the RIGHT reasons don't look to Mike Tyson. The guy bit someone's ear off while during a match (maybe he was inspired by Hannibal Lector?). Anyways, unless you're some ravenous cannibal hoping to chew one something fleshy and of the human face, don't follow in Tyson's footsteps.

6 Nero Popular legend remembers Nero as a libertine and tyrant; he is known as the emperor who 'fiddled while Rome burned' and an early persecutor of Christians. Basically, the guy was playing a fiddle (in stage costume) while Rome was ravaged by a fire. Hmm…I wonder if our deshi politicians were inspired by him on how to ruin a country?

5. Bangladeshi TV actress There's a reason why I don't watch Bengali movies, especially the commercial ones. Most of them portray women as sex objects, flaunting their assets in mind-bendingly revealing clothes and jiggling their many layers of fat to absurd item songs. These actors don't have skill, or even talent. All they have is a desperate need for publicity (take a look at the Bengali movie posters). I wouldn't mind if these women were portrayed more appropriately, but they're not. So there.

4 Indian soap opera star Well, let's see all the reasons why you should not be a fan of an Indian soap star (especially, the female ones). They marry multiple times for all the wrong reasons, they mostly plan to bump off some member of their extended family, and they get embroiled in extra-marital affairs just like that. Oh, yeah. After they get married, they mostly concern themselves without procuring more money. Gee, I wonderwhy would they make bad role models? After all, they are…fiercely independent women with goals and ambitions. Hmm….

3 Yessuddin This guy is famous for being the biggest yes man our country has ever seen. The whole political soup that he got Bangladesh embroiled in shook the world. It even shook US Bangladeshis, who have been living in a political mess for the last 5 years. I'm telling you, it takes some doing to impress us people. And Yessuddin did just that (for all the wrong reasons, of course).

2 I first saw Paris Hilton in her reality show The Simple Life, and she's a walking poster child for women as 'commodities'. The girl, heiress to the Hilton Hotels and a hot and happening socialite around Hollywood, has nothing better to do but drink, party, get into trouble, and bare her body (but not her soul) if it means she can get some MORE publicity. And oh, yeah. She made a sex tape when she was nineteen (aptly named 1 Night in Paris). There, is that reason enough for you?

1 George W Bush Okay, the guy stole the presidency from Al Gore, then brainwashed the American public into believing that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Now he wants to attack Iran. As it is, the American people have already lost their trust in him, and now he is the single biggest enemy of the world. Plus, he's a fascist, kind of like Hitler. Only differenceHitler thought Jews were cockroaches, and Bush thinks Muslims are. Oh, yeah, and the guy's a total moron. When asked what he and Prime Minister Tony Blair had in common, he said 'we both use Colgate toothpaste'. Yeah, how's that coming from a president?

By Shehtaz Huq

“Danielle Steel.”

“Hey! You made me read a romance novel!”

“Touché.”

The story is about Cassie O'Malley, whose father Pat owns a small charter airline firm. Pat O'Malley, a former World War I ace pilot, has old-fashioned values and believes a woman's place is in the kitchen, definitely not in the cockpit. Little does he know that his youngest daughter shares her father's passion for flying.

Bullying first her brother and then her father's business partner, the young and dashing Nick Galvin, into teaching her to fly, Cassie goes on to become a sterling pilot, and eventually, after a lot of blustering (especially after Amelia Earhart's failure to complete the world tour), Pat gives in, and lets her join his company.

Cassie's tenure there is short-lived, however, as her daredevil aerial antics catches the eye of Desmond Williams, an aviation tycoon, who needs a skilled pilot for testing his planes and preferably a pretty female face for promotional value. It is only after she goes off chasing her dreams that both Cassie and Nick realise their feelings for each other, but first Cassie's career, then the Second World War, and Nick's own reluctance to get involved with a girl some fifteen years his junior, stand in her way. Just when things begin to get really complicated, life throws Cassie another curve ball. Her boss Desmond offers her two things: marriage, and a chance to try her wings out on a world tour.

Will Cassie take up on Desmond's offer and become Mrs Millionaire? Will Nick stop playing hardball and give in to love? Will either of them fall victim to a disaster as the stakes are raised? Read the book to find out.

Steel has a comfortable pace of narration, and her characters are larger than life and makes for a good escapist read. Why this book impresses non-fans is because although Cassie herself is largely a malleable character, Steel does pay tribute to the female legends of aviation history, as well as highlight the feminist struggle that went on behind the scenes. I suppose the best way I could describe the book in a nutshell would be Judith Mcnaught meets Howard Fast meets Jonathan Livingston Seagull. If that weird combination grabs you, then Etc has the book.

By Sabrina F Ahmad
sabera.jade@gmail.com