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Sunday, November 16, 2014

Thanksgiving: It would make you dribble! Drive you to madness!

"When I sprinkle my secret blend of spices; here, take a sniff, can you smell it? When I chop these mouthwatering sun-dried tomatoes, add a few cloves of garlic for good measure, and let it all sizzle with lentils and meat—it becomes so scrumptious, so lip-smacking, finger-licking, melt-in-your-mouth good!
There is a certain ratio of flavors, a balance that creates a feast for the tongue and a delight for the mind; and having mastered that balance, with a pinch of imported cumin from the north of Persia, a dash of Saffron from the south of Egypt, I can tell you one thing: When the pot comes to a full bubbling point, and the aroma of the stew rises up in the air—it would make you dribble! Drive you to madness! For a single bite, you would sell your brother, if only you had one! "

Yankle in A Favorite Son

This is a story about fathers and sons, and about brotherhood and rivalry. Modeled on the biblical story which is truly fascinating to me, this is a present-day twist. At this point in the story Yandle is preparing a lentile stew for his brother, who comes home so hungry from a day of hunt, he is prepared to pay anything, even his birthright, for a bite of that stew. 

Later in the story he will resort to cheating his father, who is lying on his deathbed, to steal away the inheritance. Below is my ceramic sculpture of him, preparing to wear the hide of a kid on his arm, so that if his father will touch him, he will mistake him for his hairy brother. In this piece, I focus on the moment of contemplating the crime, rather than the moment of action. He is about to make a choice: is the inheritance truly worth the price of losing his honesty, his soul?


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"There is so much I enjoyed about this book, that I do not quite know where to begin"

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