Dhalemna

What's been going on?

Well I've been away in Singapore for a couple of days, so there's plenty to tell you about that. I've got a list of around 11 possible posts I could write from the one about the joys of Abba to the question of whether Sri Lanka is a failed state. Needless to say the respective summaries of those posts are along the lines of "greatly written songs and a blonde with a gorgeous bum" and "not yet, but it's well on the way".

My Dad's dhal recipe is in popular demand, a post outlining it seems very likely, filled with a bit of discomfort on my part. You see he, or his wife, who is also my Mother, know nothing about the whole existence of my blog. You can imagine the problems that would ensue; daily phone calls from my Mum to complain about this and that, questions and suggestions and routine criticism, just like any Sri Lankan mother and son's average life really only slightly more extreme.

But I feel a bit awkward about the idea of publishing my Dad's dhal recipe. It's not exactly a big secret, he probably wouldn't mind a bit, but he wouldn't know that it had been put out for all to see.

I asked academic bro for advice on this situation. He gave none, well nothing useful. Some stuff about pretending that it was my recipe and then that would be ok. I said that that would be plagiarism, or maybe dhalarism.

He told me that I have lot to learn about ethics. He's right, but it's not as if I'm going to write a post about the conversation or something.

And I don't want to give his dhal a big drum roll, which you'll find unbelievable as you'll probably know about my whole drumming thing. But I don't want to stick the recipe up and then find lots of people try it and hate it. Frankly I don't think I'm man enough to face that level of rejection. Nor do I know if one can do a dhal drum roll. That could be a question to put to the Dhal Foundation for sure.

But I've promised to send the recipe to Indyana anyway, so I'll have to type it up at some point and then may as well put it up on the blog. Be warned though.

If, in a few days' time you see a recipe for dhal here and I say that it's my recipe, then it will actually be my Dad's recipe. Just don't tell him if you know him or meet him. But, if you do grass me up then please tell him that I only did it because one of his other sons, the academic one, told me that it would be ok.

Thanks.